Chapter 2

"Why do you love her so much?" The question, put forth by Marinette, seemed to hang in the night air between them.

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After their previous encounter, Chat Noir had returned, a few days later, to check up on Marinette. They had got to talking about anything and everything, and hardly noticed the evening slipping by. Eventually, the topic drifted around to Ladybug.

"She's really amazing," Chat Noir said, reverently, after he had finished relating an incident to her, and Marinette coughed clumsily. Even after two years of being Ladybug, it still felt awkward when anyone complimented her alter-ego to her face. As though she was going around behind people's backs. Which she technically was, though not from motives of self-interest, at least.

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Leaning on the balcony, Chat Noir was staring off dreamily into the distance, immersed, most probably, in thoughts of a certain lady.

He glanced down at Marinette when she spoke. She was looking down, away from him, and fidgeting with her jacket. "You mean, why do I love Ladybug?" he confirmed. Huh. That question came out of nowhere.

She looked up at him then, blue eyes filled with some unnameable emotion. "Yes." Trailing off, her voice was hesitant when she spoke again. "What made you fall in love with her?" She darted her eyes away from his again, staring out at the Parisian streets blankly.

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She knew she shouldn't be doing this. She shouldn't be fishing for information about her alter-ego while in her civilian form. But….

She just wanted to know what made her so attractive and desirable, in his eyes. Because in her opinion….. she wasn't anything special.

Chat Noir blushed a little, then averted his gaze. "Marinette," he began slowly, "No offense to you or anything, but….. I'd rather- I'd rather…"

He seemed reluctant to let the words out, so Marinette intervened. "You'd rather not say?" she finished quietly, curiously disappointed.

"Yes!" Chat Noir looked relieved. "I mean!" He hastened to assure her, panicked. "It's not that I don't trust you or anything, or that I don't want to tell you! I do, really! But, it's just…..I'd rather I told Ladybug first before anyone else."

You are telling her. I AM her!

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A sudden rash wave of impulsiveness and frustration washed over her, and she stretched out her hand towards him as if in a dream. What would happen if she said those words? Three little words. How would he react? What would he say?

Everything could change between them. Wasn't two years enough time that the two of them remained in the dark?

A hot, intense longing overtook her. To know and be known. To let all secrets, secret identities, and masks crumble away into nothingness.

Years of watching one's words, hiding one's true intentions, and concealment. It was easy, so easy, to let go of all that. Just three words…. and everything would be out in the open…...

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She almost said it.

Almost.

But-

As suddenly as the impulse came, it faded, and left behind the cold truth of reality.

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She let her hand fall back onto the cold railing, turning back to the glittering view. "It's alright. I-I understand." What am I doing? Gripping the railing hard, she bit her lips, as if afraid they would move without her consent.

He looked relieved, a stark contrast to her current feelings. "Thank you for understanding," he breathed, gratefully, and she merely nodded.

"Don't you have someone you love too?" his question, seemingly out of the blue, startled her momentarily.

Oh, wait. I was the one who started asking about crushes.

Letting out a sigh of affirmation, Marinette turned around and rested her back against the railing. "Yeah."

"Who is it? If you don't mind me asking." He was looking at her. Gently, curiously.

She didn't know how to reply to that. Her own arguments about secret identities rose forcefully in her mind, and she exhaled rather forcefully.

One little detail won't hurt.

"It's….. Adrien Agreste."

When he remained silent, she glanced up reluctantly into his face.

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To say Chat Noir was surprised was an understatement. He looked surprised, shocked, and disbelieving. His eyes were blown wide and a small blush tinted his cheeks.

She bristled. "Is something wrong?" she said tersely.

"NO! No, it's… there's nothing wrong," he said a little forcefully. "I just…. I never….. I never imagined that….. I didn't know," he finished, rather lamely.

Marinette rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I don't exactly go around broadcasting that fact on a daily basis." She raised an eyebrow, pointedly.

He ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Touché."

"Although… the way I act around him…. It's pretty obvious to almost everyone. Except him." She sighed, half-bitterly.

"Wow, he must be…. really dense." The black-clad superhero breathed.

"So all the posters…. It was because of that?" he said softly, almost to himself.

"EEP!" Marinette squeaked out, thoroughly embarrassed. "Chat Noir! You absolutely cannot, CANNOT tell him!" she grabbed his shoulders, pleadingly, boring a hole into him with her eyes.

Well, I already know anyway…..

"I won't!" he promised, holding up his right hand in a placating gesture. "Cat's honour!"

She let go of him, chuckling nervously. "Okay."

"I guess…you wouldn't want to tell me why you love him either?"

"No, you're right." She paused.

"Some things are better left….. unsaid."

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The moon had already risen high into the sky, and Chat Noir suddenly realized that they had been out for too long when he saw Marinette shiver.

"I better get going."

"Okay."

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After an awkward moment of silence, he extended his baton, leaping onto the railing.

"See you around," Marinette offered.

"You too. It was nice talking to you."

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Marinette sighed, watching his black figure disappear in between the rooftops for the second time that week.