Chapter 4

Neither Ladybug or Marinette saw Chat Noir for the rest of that weekend. Marinette walked into school Monday morning trailing behind Alya and Nino, head not quite all there. Alya was talking Nino's ear off about the akuma attack that happened the past weekend when Marinette walked headfirst into Adrien. She stood there, dazed for a moment, wondering why she had involuntarily stopped moving. That's when she looked up at those beautiful eyes from her dreams. All the blood drained from Marinette's face.

"Sorry!" She didn't squeak. It was an improvement. Marinette mentally patted herself on the back for managing to say words to Adrien in a timely and orderly manner. Well, a word.

"It's okay, really it's my bad!" Adrien stopped and looked at his friend. She seemed really out of it. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you okay, Marinette?"

Marinette blanched. She met her interaction quota of the day. She felt Tikki hitting her leg through her purse. Right! Ladybug! Me! Same person! I can do this, Marinette thought to herself. Focus!

"I'm fine, thanks", she finally muttered. Good job Marinette! "Uh, I, uh, saw you at the park the other day! Are you okay?" She looked up at him with genuine concern. Marinette hadn't seen him since Ladybug saved him and left him stranded on that rooftop. She should've gone back for him. Marinette cringed at the thought of letting down yet another civilian. Adrien paused. The sound of her voice, the way she looked at him, he couldn't help but remember the beautiful superhero that cared about Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste.

"Uh yeah, I uh-well, I mean", he stuttered, moving to lean against his locker. He forgot it was open. He fell into his locker, banging his arm on the books inside. Why was he so flustered? This was how Marinette acted around him, not the other way around. Maybe she was stealing his cool? Was only one of them allowed to be a functioning human being at a time? Marinette giggled. Oh no. She's adorable. "I'm fine, never been better. Thanks to Ladybug, anyways."

Marinette turned bright red at the mention of Ladybug. Adrien grabbed the first thing in front of him and slammed his locker shut.

"But yeah! Thanks for asking. Um. I have to go to…", he looked at the book in his hands. Physics? Did they even have that class today? "I gotta go thanks bye!" Adrien walked briskly away, burying his face in the palm of his hand. What was wrong with him? He couldn't stop thinking about Ladybug. It was tripping him up. This was bad.

Marinette probably would've stared at the spot Adrien was standing in forever if Alya hadn't physically removed her from the locker room.

"Girl, Earth to Marinette. Do you read me?" She asked, snapping her fingers in Marinette's face.

"I think we have a problem." Marinette slowly responded, staring out a window. "Adrien Agreste is far cuter than we anticipated. May need back up."

Alya sighed and grabbed Marinette by the shoulders, directing her towards their classroom.

"What are we going to do with you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Her best friend had it bad.

Adrien was still thinking about Ladybug when he transformed into Chat Noir and slipped out his bedroom window that night. Usually akumas presented themselves to the masked heroes, and they almost always appeared during the day. Still, it never hurt to be vigilant. That's what Adrien said to Plagg to justify these midnight trips across the city, at least.

He was leaping across rooftops with ease when he thought he heard someone call his name. Chat Noir froze, perking up his ears.

"Chat Noir", the voice was faint. "Over here!"

Marinette was standing on her balcony when she saw Chat Noir running across her neighbor's roof. She didn't really think when she started calling after him. She could see his head turn and his bright green eyes shine in the darkness. He leapt in the air and flipped onto the chimney behind her. Marinette slowly turned around to lean on her railing as Chat nimbly stepped down next to her.

"Bonjour, Marinette", he said with a grin. "Is there something wrong?" He tilted his head. Chat Noir has only interacted with Marinette twice, and she never initiated it, Adrien thought to himself. Marinette shook her head and smiled.

"No, I just wanted to thank you for, uh, helping my friend Alya. She told me about how you managed to drag her away from the fight this weekend, and well", Marinette looked down, folding her arms across her chest, "I just, I really appreciate it. She keeps putting herself in stupid situations for that Ladyblog and this is probably so insignificant to you…I'm sorry, I don't know where I was going with this…" She looked down at the park beside her home and bit her lip. She really had no idea what she was saying. She just wanted Chat Noir to know that he was important too, she guessed.

Adrien was taken aback. He knew Marinette was sweet and cared about her friends, but it was only now he realized how much. He never remembered anyone flagging down the superhero Chat Noir just to thank him for something like that. It was endearing. He let out a small laugh.

"It's part of the job, Marinette." His smile left his face as he thought back on that day. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was taunting the akuma. He remembered how painful the attacks from that particular one were. He started to frown. "My job, that is. To help people out. Work with Ladybug. Distract akumas. I don't really encourage civilians doing it." He raised his eyebrows and looked at her. She blushed.

"You saw that?" She asked quietly. Oh goodness, Marinette hoped that he didn't see her disappear in the same spot where Ladybug appeared. Chat was there when the akuma showed up? She hadn't seen him. He must have been in the park as his regular self that day, too.

"More like heard it", he chuckled. He ran his fingers through his wind-swept hair and sighed. "I'd hate it for you to get hurt because I wasn't there to do my job, though." Adrien was being uncomfortably honest. While at this point he had started to notice parallels between his awkward classmate and Ladybug, one was still not the other, at least in his eyes. He would have said the same thing to Ladybug as well, but at least Ladybug had superpowers. Marinette was just that. Marinette.

"Sorry. I won't do that again." It was a lie. They both seemed to know that. Marinette was selfless and a little bit reckless. And Marinette knew, of course, that Ladybug was totally capable of taking care of herself, with or without the suit. But she couldn't say that to Chat Noir.

"Don't apologize! Just…be more careful. Please." Chat Noir swung one leg over the railing as his ring beeped. He flashed her a smile. "I should go. It was, as usual, a pleasure, Marinette." He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it before leaping off into the night. Marinette buried her face in her hands.

"That was awkward and terrible and embarrassing and I am never talking to anyone ever again, Tikki", she groaned. The kwami giggled as she zipped around Marinette's head and into her bedroom. She was still glad she did it, in a way. Chat deserved to know he mattered too.