(A continuation from the previous chapter.)

Kitty Kisses

Marinette froze. Chat Noir pulled away from her, shaking.

"Ohhh… O-Okay… I-I um, yeah… I can explain—no, I can't," he babbled, stepping back further and looking extreme nervous. "I—umm, I'm so sorry, I don't know what—"

"Your body just moved?" Marinette finished for him, her voice strangely calm, considering how much she was screaming inside. He kissed her! HE'D KISSED HER! Chat Noir flushed.

"I—um, yeah—gah, that sounds like such an awful excuse," he said, grabbing his hair and stepping away from her further. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry and it'll never happen again and I'm just gonna leave now and never come back—"

"Wait, Chat!" she cried as he turned to go. Before he could leap out of her bedroom, she grabbed his tail and pulled him to a stop. He slumped, his head hanging.

"Marinette, I—"

"We are both hyped up on adrenaline and near-death experiences," she said, determined not to make him feel completely awkward about what had just happened. "I think we're allowed a bye on this one."

Chat paused for a moment and gave a short, helpless laugh. "Oh God, princess, please don't give me a bye," he begged.

She let his tail go in confusion. "Why not?" she asked.

He slowly turned to face her, guilt and humor warring on his face before he covered it again with his hand.

"Because I—," he stopped and took a deep breath. "There's a part of me that wants to do it again," he whispered, his blush visible underneath his hand. Marinette felt her own face heat up in response.

To be honest, she wasn't completely against the idea. It had felt good, no matter that it was obvious that neither of them knew what they were doing, or that neither of them had dared to move, or that he wasn't the boy she truly wanted to kiss…. Chat was a wonderful person in his own right, but he wanted Ladybug. And she wanted Adrien. This was insane.

"I'm sorry, please don't hate me," Chat babbled again, misreading the look on her face. "I know you're in love with A-Ad—someone else. And I am too—Ladybug, I mean! I'm in love with Ladybug! I'm not in love with Adrien, that would be super weird and—"

Marinette burst out laughing.

"—and now you're laughing at me and you must think I'm like, the sickest weirdo ever, to go around and kiss girls when I already—"

"Chat," she interrupted, grinning at him. "This is why I said we needed the bye."

Chat Noir looked at her and finally shut up, taking a deep, calming breath.

"You're not… mad?" he asked finally. She shook her head and smiled at him.

"It wasn't that bad," she said, rolling her eyes. He looked offended for a moment, then realized she was teasing him and scowled at her. She giggled. "Besides, if you just intended to seduce me by coming here and pretending to be my friend, Mr. Superhero, you should've made a move before now. Think of all the time you've wasted just lounging on my chaise!"

"I happen to like that chaise," he pouted, crossing his arms in a huff. She laughed again.

"Or stalking my balcony!"

"Hey, you have a nice setup!"

"Or stealing cookies and croissants!"

"You offered them to me!"

"Or talking to me, doing homework with me, trying to talk me through confessing to my crush, consoling me when I mess it up…." Chat chuckled and Marinette grinned. "Seems like a lot of work for one measly kiss."

To her disappointment, his face fell again.

"Chat…."

"It's just, I kissed you," he said.

She rolled her eyes. He really was much too much of a gentleman for his own good. She stepped up close to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"There, now I've kissed you," she said lightly. "We're even. No need to worry about it anymore."

He raised an eyebrow. "You kissed me on the cheek," he pointed out.

"Ohhh, so you really do want another kiss," she teased, smirking at him. He flushed deeper and opened his mouth to deny it, but then closed it again, his eyes darting down to her lips for a moment unconsciously. Her breath caught as he licked his lips and locked eyes with her.

He did, she realized. He really, really did.

She bit her lip uncertainly. Spur-of-the-moment was one thing, but going into it knowing… knowing what he wanted and who he really wanted and who she wanted and they were just friends, dammit—but that intense look in his eye was making her insides twist around in not-unpleasant way. And the heat and pressure before had been really nice, not to mention the way he'd held her…. Besides, she knew she could trust him. Chat Noir was the one person in the world she was absolutely sure wouldn't hurt her. He'd be the first to back off if she asked.

And it wasn't really cheating if they weren't actually dating anyone else, right?

"We still have that bye," she said softly, licking her lips and stepping closer to him.

His next breath came out kind of ragged and she felt his arm slowly slide around her waist, ready to jump back the moment she gave any indication she wanted him to. She couldn't help the way her hand trembled slightly as she reached up to cup his cheek, tilting her head slightly to avoid bumping noses. A self-satisfied part of her brain noticed that he was leaning in too, just as eager and nervous as she was. Then, slowly, tentatively, she brushed his lips with hers.

They both jumped back from the spark of the initial contact; the idea that they were really doing this crashing around them.

Gulping, Marinette summoned some of her Ladybug-courage, threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him back down to her. Their noses crashed into each other and they both winced away from the pain.

"Sorry," she muttered, her eyes watering.

Chat just chuckled and reached up to gently tilt her chin up a bit, and then, brushing past her nose, he pressed his lips gently against hers.

Oh.

Marinette sighed as her body relaxed against him, melting into the kiss. His lips moved slowly against hers, every touch sending shivers up and down her spine. To her surprise, he made no move to deepen it, or speed up or increase the intensity. He seemed content to simply kiss her at languid and almost-lazy pace.

It was wonderful.

This wasn't passion and instant regret. No promises or expectations. It was just him and her, enjoying each other in a way they never had before. And when he did start pushing just a bit harder, moving slightly faster, she simply drew away and he instantly backed off.

Marinette opened her eyes to see him staring at her. Then, he gave her a long, slow blink. Marinette giggled. Kitty kisses. Of course he would give her kitty kisses. A big, dopey smile blossomed on his face. Marinette giggled again, sure her own face matched it.

"Hi," she said, running her fingers through his hair some more.

"Hi," he answered, pressing his forehead against hers. He was still grinning broadly.

Marinette closed her eyes. She felt really, really good right now. She pressed another kiss, quick and chaste, against his lips, happiness bubbling out of her in another giggle.

"So…."

"I'm still mad at you," Chat mumbled, pulling her closer for another hug.

Marinette shook in silent laughter. From here, it was impossible not to feel his happy purr rumbling through his body, and she was sure he still had that dopey smile on his face.

"Are not," she said, hugging him back.

"Am too."

"Are—"

He kissed her again to hide his own laughter.

End.