Adrien held out his arms, and watched as Marinette stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, so that he could pick her up.
She immediately leaned her head against his chest and relaxed.
Adrien had held her like this before, but it hadn't felt like this. Only this time, he understood why his heart was beating like crazy with her slender body so close to him. And he was very aware of how soft her skin felt where her hands touched his neck.
He liked this kind, funny, and clever girl in his arms - so much. And he was so excited that in some miraculous way she liked him, too. Even if she had said so referring to his boring civilian self, she had simultaneously hinted at the fact that she knew he was also Chat Noir.
The fact that she might truely knew him in that way, made the news of her affections for him a thousand times sweeter.
Soon, way too soon, Adrien landed on her rooftop balcony.
Marinette's eyes were half-closed. She looked exhausted.
"Marinette", he whispered. "Marinette, we are here."
"Mmmh", she made and snuggled into his chest.
His heart made a jump.
"How did you fall asleep so quickly?", he asked, and added with a nervous laugh, "Do I need to carry you inside?"
To his surprise, more mumbling followed, in an affirmative tone.
So Adrien used his feet to open the door to her room, and carefully maneuvered down the stairs, making sure not to bump her feet into the wall.
Then they were standing in front of her bed.
"You can put me down", she mumbled.
Adrien lowered her onto the bed. When she did not move, he took off her shoes and placed them neatly next to her bed.
"Thank you", she whispered, turning to the side to sink deeper into her pillow.
He couldn't help himself, he sat down next to her on the bed and gently stroked across her forehead to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
It was quiet for a moment. He looked at her. She was very pretty, even with her stunning eyes closed.
He didn't want to stare. But he didn't want to leave either.
There was so much that they needed to discuss.
"I know you think that we need to talk", Marinette mumbled, eyes closed, "but I think it is very important that I can think things through before we do."
He sighed, and she reached out a hand to pat his hand.
He looked at her small hand. Her pale skin formed a stark contrast to his black, leather gloves.
When he turned his hand around to meet hers, their fingers intertwined as if out of a mind of their own.
"It would be nice to do this without the suit", he whispered, a little shocked by his own bravery, and not daring not meet Marinette's eyes.
But Marinette did not respond.
When he finally looked up, he noticed that her breathing was deep and regular – she had fallen asleep.
Adrien sighed.
He remained there for a while, sitting next to her. Listening to her breathing and trying not to imagine what could be.
When his own eyelids got heavy, he contemplated just lying down next to her bed. But he did not want to intrude. He wanted to give her the space that she had asked for, to let her think.
So he carefully unwrapped his fingers from hers, and picked up one of the post-its on Marinette's bedside table.
"Good night, Marinette. Please let me know when you are ready to talk. C"


When Marinette woke up the next morning, she felt a pang of guilt.
She had panicked. She hadn't known how to handle the conversation with Chat – hadn't been ready to hear that he liked her and been terribly afraid that he might say something that could reveal his identity before she could convince him that she had no idea who he was. And for a lack of better ideas, and because she had felt so comfortable and cozy in his arms, she had exaggerated a bit about being tired. She had meant to stay awake and think things through after he had gone. But instead, she had actually fallen asleep and hadn't even noticed him leaving. Something about Chat's presence made her feel safe and forget about all the ups and downs of the day.
And what a day it had been!
She had been so excited about spending time with Adrien.
The breakfast on the roof had been marvelous. So romantic.
And the tour through his father's company. She had learned more about fashion than in all the 16 years of her life before.
The embrace when she had been so overjoyed about the possible internship that she hadn't noticed what she was doing before it had already happened, and she was in Adrien's arms..
Marinette hugged her cat pillow, remembering how they had laughed at each other when he had twirled her around.
Then, Adrien had grapped her hand, they had run away from the Akuma, hid in the storage area.
Waiting with the transformation until it was safe to come out.. Until Tikki had told her that Adrien had left the room.
The fight – another energy-sapping fight, but Chat Noir had been there even before her, fighting the Akuma.
Afterwards, she had run into Adrien as Ladybug, which had ended their wonderful day early because she had had to come up with some excuse that she had taken Marinette home.
So she could only text with Adrien to tell him that she was alright.
And then at night Chat had dropped by. The other charming blond boy in her life.
Another hug which had felt way too good.
But she had barely had a chance to thank him and..
Marinette blushed when she remembered how she had told Chat about her crush on Adrien. And then they had talked about..
Marinette gasped.
Was that possible?
If thoughts could make card wheels, her thoughts were doing acrobatics.
She had told Chat that she liked Adrien, and minutes later, he had told Ladybug that he believed that she liked him because she told him so.
Was that possible?
Marinette pressed her hands to her mouth.
"Oh my god, oh my god", she squeeled.
"Tikki!"