Landing on one of the upper floors of Paris's most-famous landmark, Chat places Marinette down gently, making sure that she stays on her feet.
"A lot more beautiful up here, don't you think?" he says, not meaning to be charming.
Marinette looks around, taking in the view for the first time as Marinette and not as someone who is there strictly to be helpful. With the sun setting, the sky is a mix of blue, orange, and pink. The city lights shine below, making the buildings stand out. The breeze has settled down and now blows lightly in their hair.
"Yeah, the whole city looks stunning from up here," she replies softly.
Chat jumps up onto a beam and begins walking across it like a tightrope, his arms outstretched on either side.
"I come here a lot with LB, whether on patrol or during an akuma attack."
Marinette looks up at the boy who she's too oblivious to realize that she loves before looking around again.
"But what do we do now?"
"Well...sometimes when I need to escape the house for a bit, I come up here to get some fresh air and clear my head."
"That must not be too hard…" Marinette mutters under her breath.
Chat jumps down off the beam and walks to the edge of the floor, no railing this high up to stop him.
"I usually lie down over here, letting my legs dangle over."
The two do just that and lie down next to each other, using their arms as pillows. They watch as the sky slowly gets darker.
"Hey Chaton?"
"Mm?"
"What's your home life like? Why would you need to escape sometimes?"
Chat Noir tenses up and his soft smile turns sour.
"While I have a big house and a small family, it often feels claustrophobic with how protective and overbearing my father is. I love him dearly but he's just so...careful. Ever since my mother went missing, he acts like anything and everything will take me from him too."
"Wow. I can't imagine what that feels like…" Marinette says sincerely.
"Yeah...it kinda feels like he's bracing to lose me with how distant he is. I hardly see him anymore unless it's something that has to do with business."
Marinette stands up and Chat sits up so that he can see where she's going. She walks up behind him and sits back down. She wraps her arms around him and buries her face in his back. Chat catches his breath and stiffens in her embrace
"I don't know you all that well. But if you ever need to escape again, my place is always open," she says softly, meaningfully.
The superhero looks down at the arms around his shoulders. Chloe had hugged him, well...Adrien, like this before but it felt different. With Chloe, he felt obligated to be nice and he always wanted to get out of her hold as soon as possible. He felt loved and protected in Marinette's embrace. He didn't feel weak anymore after what he had said about his father. He felt...like this is where he was meant to be?
Chat puts his hands over Marinette's, returning the hug without turning around. The two stay like this for a few more moments, listening to the breeze blowing in their ears, and feeling comfort in each other's company. Chat finally opens his eyes and realizes how dark it has gotten.
"I should probably get you home, purrincess," he says.
"Oh...ok."
The two stand up and Chat scoops her in his arms once more. He runs on the rooftops, back to her house.
"Are those your parents?" Chat asks, referring to the two people standing in the doorway of the bakery as they neared their destination.
"Oh no…" Marinette whispers.
Chat lands in front of the bakery door instead of Marinette's balcony and places her on the ground gently. Both Sabine and Tom were waiting for them outside. Marinette walks up to them guiltily while Chat lingers behind.
"Marinette! Where have you been? You had us so worried!" Tom asks, immediately pulling her into his protective embrace.
"You always tell us when you leave the house! " Sabine exclaims, putting her hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Mama," Marinette apologizes, taking her mother's hands in her own.
"Sir, ma'am, Marinette was with me the whole time. She was never in any danger and it was my idea to leave her house in the first place," Chat says, defending his 'new?' friend.
"Well...," Sabine trails off, looking to Tom, "I guess there was no real harm done."
"Just don't scare us like that again, young lady."
"Thank you, Mama! Thank you, Papa!" Marinette exclaims and hugs her parents.
Tom and Sabine go inside and Marinette turns around to say goodbye to Chat, only to find the empty night. She looks around in the darkness, hoping that it's just because of his suit the she can't see him. She turns around when she hears the bakery door open again.
"Marinette! Come inside! The wind is picking up again!" her mother calls.
Marinette turns around once more to look for Chaton before going inside, a little sad that she couldn't thank him for keeping her company. She turns and walks into the bakery, up the stairs to her house, and climbs the ladder into her room.
"Tikki?" Marinette calls out to a seemingly empty room.
Suddenly, her purse opens to reveal the red kwami inside. Tikki flies up to be level with Marinette's eyes.
"I feel weird," the teen continues.
"How so?"
"Up on the Eiffel Tower, it felt like I had known Chat for years and that we were already close friends."
The kwami says nothing, choosing to let the heroine speak her thoughts before interrupting.
"I was able to comfort him easily and I didn't feel awkward at all. Up on that tower, he was not a stranger. He was someone I cared deeply for. How can that be when, just a couple of hours before, I was shocked when he knew my name?"
"Is that so bad?"
"What?"
"Would it be so bad if you became friends with Chat Noir?" Tikki asks.
"Well...he's kind of a flirt!" Marinette says, remembering when he had kissed her hand before asking for help and all the times he flirted with her as Ladybug.
"Did he flirt with you tonight?"
The teen pauses for a moment, thinking back and analyzing Chat's actions from the moment he landed on her balcony until he disappeared after taking her home.
"...No...I guess not, Tikki," she says, cracking a small smile.
"I say you give Chat Noir a chance! Who knows? You two could end up becoming best friends!"
"I think I know what I want to say now, Tikki." Marinette says quietly so that her parents don't hear her.
Tikki nods and nuzzles Marinette's cheek before flying up onto the bed and settling on a pillow to sleep.
Marinette sits down at her desk. She pushes the Ladybug letter to the side, leaving the Chat Noir one in front of her. She picks up her pen and begins writing away.
Meanwhile, Chat Noir soars across the skies back to the Agreste Manor. He uses his staff to push open a window and flies through into his room.
"Plagg, claws in."
Chat is engulfed in a green light and Adrien stands in his place.
"You stole my nickname for her."
"It's not like you'll ever be able to call her that in person," Adrien responds, flopping onto his bed.
"What's wrong, kid?" Plagg asks, his tone changing in an instant.
"Nothing. It's just that I went to see Marinette tonight because I wanted to show who Chat Noir was. But I only talked about me as Adrien!"
"If it matters that much to you, then just go see Marinette again tomorrow. She is friends with the girl who runs the Ladyblog. Whatever you tell Marinette, Paris will find out," the black kwami explains.
Adrien glances over at Plagg before his gaze returns to the ceiling.
"That's not all that's bothering you, is it?" Plagg asks.
"When Marinette hugged me up on the Eiffel Tower...I dunno! I felt weird! ...But it was a good weird," Adrien says, his lips ever so slightly curling up.
Adrien gets lost in thought before he gets up and walks downstairs to his father's office, where Gabriel's assistant, Nathalie, is sorting through next season's fashion line.
"Nathalie, am I free tomorrow evening?" Adrien asks quietly so that he won't wake his father in the room above.
Without looking up from her computer, Nathalie responds, "Yes, except for handing your letter to Ladybug and Chat Noir, you're free the whole day."
"Thank you, Nathalie!" Adrien smiles and receptionist returns the expression, finally looking up from the monitor.
The boy turns around and walks back up to his room quietly. He closes the door behind him and strides over to a mini fridge, pulling out a slice of Camembert. Plagg flies up and snatches it out of Adrien's hand, gobbling it up in an instant.
"Eat up; you'll need your strength tomorrow," Adrien said as he turned off the lights and walked over to his bed, "Chat Noir is going to be in Paris for quite awhile."