Revealed (And Switched)

Chapter 9: Adrien Part 5

After a whole weekend of mulling over ideas, Adrien was ready to attempt his first match-making assignment. The fact that he didn't know which guy Marinette liked didn't deter him one iota. On Monday, as if fate was working with him, an akuma attacked, giving him the opportunity to talk to Ladybug.

"Hey, LB," Cat Noir started once the akuma was found and cleansed of evil. "Can I talk to you?"

"Make it quick," Ladybug said, touching her earrings. "We've got seconds before we transform back."

"Well, it's just that I have these two movie tickets," Cat Noir said, holding out the slips of paper. "I bought them several days ago, but I can't go. I thought that you could ask that guy you like."

"Uh…" Ladybug's mouth hung open.

"Here. You can do this, Ladybug," Cat Noir said, pushing them into her hands. "It's an action movie, so your guy will totally love it."

"Wait. I can't—"

"Oh, one pad left. Gotta go." Cat Noir saluted and ran off before his mask and costume melted away, grinning the whole way.

For the rest of the day, Adrien kept an eye on Marinette, waiting to see if she would ask any of the boys, but she never approached anyone. He did see her with the tickets every once in a while, but she would always keep them slightly hidden.

On Tuesday, she didn't fidget with the tickets. Had she already asked him? Were they going together?

Adrien burst with pride, thinking that his plan worked. He knew it would do the trick. Way to go, Marinette.

The movie was for a showing later that afternoon, and of course, he had his bodyguard station the limo outside of the theater so he could find out about this mystery guy. But to his great surprise, when Marinette came running down the sidewalk, she only met Alya at the doors.

What had happened? Was it a coincidence? No, the two girls went inside together. Marinette must have given the other ticket to her bestie.

"Dang. Which means she didn't ask him," Adrien grumbled. "Or the guy turned her down. That rotten, no-good…"

Plagg snickered from inside Adrien's jacket.

All Wednesday, Adrien contemplated his approach. He knew that the greatest hurdle was Marinette's shyness. If only she could get a confidence booster to approach him, he was sure everything would go smoothly for Marinette.

But he couldn't speak to her as Adrien. While they were classmates and friends, Adrien didn't know of Marinette's feelings for some guy other than the poem she read in school. Would it be out of place if he approached her about this subject?

While they had an excellent rapport, he didn't think he could broach about her love life so casually. He didn't want to come off as creepy or nosy, nor did he want to do anything to jeopardize their friendship.

Cat Noir on the other hand, he and Marinette already made a connection as unrequited crushers. If he was to bolster Marinette's confidence or get any information out of her, it would be through the super hero.

That night, he came dressed for the occasion, scratching at the window hatch on the Dupain-Chen roof.

Marinette, sitting on her bed with a book, looked up startled and scared.

To alleviate her fear, Cat Noir meowed and scratched again.

"Don't do that to me. I just lost a year of my life," Marinette said, unlatching the hatch.

Cat Noir poked his head in, upside down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to turn you into a scaredy cat."

"Ha ha. What are you doing here?"

"Why every cat comes to anyone's house. Food."

Marinette smirked. "Yeah, I think my parents have some old fish in the freezer I could get you."

"Me-owch. You're really going to do that to this poor little stray." Cat Noir opened his green eyes as wide as he could, giving her a begging look.

"Okay. Okay. Just stop looking at me like that," Marinette said, suppressing laughter. "I'll go see if my parents have any pastries they coudn't sell."

As she went downstairs, Cat Noir took a look at the book she had been studying: Algebra. He had just finished the assignment before heading out for the night. "You got number five wrong," Cat Noir informed Marinette when she returned.

"Excuse me, snoopy kitty," Marinette said, dumping the plat of tarts in front of him and scooping up her homework. "Why? What did I do wrong?"

"You forgot to work within the parenthesis first, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction," Cat Noir said, biting into a raspberry tart. "Trust me. I'm not just a pretty face."

"Okay, you've eaten my food and critiqued my work; why else are you here?"

"Can't a guy just come and visit a friend?"

"Usually you show up when you're having Ladybug trouble," Marinette said, brushing at her hair. "Are you having Ladybug trouble?" She looked worried.

"Not really," Cat Noir said, gulping down the last of his pastry. "Remember, I let her go."

"And you're over her just like that?"

"Well…it may take some time, but I've accepted the fact that Ladybug will never have the same feelings for me. I'm on the last step of rejection."

Marinette laughed. "That's the last step of grief."

"It's kind of the same." Cat Noir shrugged, biting into another treat. They were really good. If his dietitian knew he was eating so many sweets, she'd have him tested for diabetes. "I actually came by to check up on you."

"On me? Don't you have anything better to do with your time?"

He wasn't sure if she was joking or being serious. "You mean that checking up on friends isn't as important as fighting crime and keeping Paris safe?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"I think you're definitely more important," Cat Noir said, giving her a wink. "And far more interesting."

Marinette hit him with her pillow. "Enough of your flirting, Cat."

Cat Noir used his body to shield the real victim: the tarts. "Hey. Do you want to get jelly all over?"

"Hmph."

"But really, Marinette. I want to know if you've made any progress with that guy. You know, the one that you think is out of your league."

Marinette set the pillow down, looking somber. "It's not changed."

"Why not?"

"Well, unless he takes a major fall in the social hierarchy and gets…I don't know…braces, a broken nose, and a dozen zits, he's going to be out of my league forever."

Cat Noir frowned. Just who was this jerk who made Marinette feel this way? In fact, now that he thought of it, he didn't see Marinette smile all that much in school. Could it be because of this guy?

"You can't think like that," Cat Noir said, jumping from the bed onto the floor. "You're amazing, Marinette."

"No, I'm not."

"What about all of this?" Cat Noir scooped up her sketchbook that she had left on the desk. "You drew all this, right? This is amazing. These look professional. And you can make them?" He went over to a dress mannequin in the corner that sported a finished skirt. "How many people can do that? I can't."

"I don't think those claws of yours would do well with fabric," Marinette said, a smile growing on her lips.

"And didn't you win a contest lately with a hat design you made? You also designed Jagged Stone's latest CD cover. And you're class president. And you're in a Nightingale music video. And—"

"How do you know all this?" Marinette asked, scrutinizing him.

"Uh…" He had forgotten to tone it back. Cat Noir wasn't supposed to know all this information. "It's…you're friends with Alya, right? Since she's a huge fan and writes the Ladyblog, I've been keeping tabs on her. If anyone might find out about my identity, it's her. So, since you're friends, I sometimes find out things about you, too."

"That…makes sense," Marinette admitted. "Stalker."

Cat Noir inwardly sighed. He couldn't make any more slip-ups. However, it might solve a lot of problems if Marinette figured out Adrien was Cat Noir. He contemplated this avenue. Would it just complicate things?

Maybe it was just best to let sleeping cats lie.

"My point is, Marinette," Cat Noir said, getting back on subject, "whoever this guy is, I think you're putting him on too high of a pedestal. You think he's in a better league than you, but it seems to me that you're in a league of your own."

A delicate pink spread across Marinette's cheeks. She smiled but hid it by lowering her head.

He wanted to lift her chin so he could continue seeing her smile and blush. She was beautiful. Ladybug was amazing, but she had a kwami and super powers to help her fight Hawkmoth and the akumas. What Marinette did every day, she did without powers. He wanted to tell her that, but then she would know.

"Any guy would be lucky to go on a date with you," Cat Noir said, forcing himself to turn away from Marinette. He was afraid if he continued to look, he would try to kiss her. "You should tell him how you feel."

"I've tried," Marinette said with a groan. "I've tried calling him. I've tried writing to him. I've tried speaking to him in person. I always mess up. I turn into a total spaz. Besides, I told you that he likes someone else, someone way cooler than me."

"Somehow I find that utterly impossible," Cat Noir scoffed. "I'm going to tell you a secret that you can't share with anyone. It's a secret about cool cats like me."

Marinette smirked. "Oh, and what is that, O humble one."

"Coolness is all about perspective. It's relative."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It's like…Remember when Jagged Stone was akumatized? There were tons of fans saying Jagged was cooler and others that Mr. XY was better. And even though they had different opinions, nobody was wrong. It was just a different point of view. This other girl may seem way cooler than you through your perspective, but maybe this guy sees you both as equal in coolness."

"I doubt it."

Cat Noir shook a finger at her. "No you don't. You're not allowed to dump on yourself any more. Maybe the reason this guy is crushing on another girl is because he doesn't know you're interested in him."

Marinette bit her lip. Her perfect lip.

Cat Noir looked away. "So, maybe if you confess to him, he'll forget that other girl and give you a chance."

"I don't think he's that flighty."

"Flighty? It's not like he's deeply in love with this girl and they're having a secret relationship, are they?"

Marinette chuckled. "I don't think so."

"There you go. A crush is just a crush. It's not permanent. For all you know, it might just be a passing infatuation." When Cat Noir saw her wavering still, he patted her shoulder. "How about this Marinette, when you confess to this guy and if he turns you down, he'll get a little visit from this alley cat."

"Don't you dare."

"Who is this guy anyway? I don't think you mentioned his name," Cat Noir added nonchalantly, but his heart raced. Was he going to finally find out his name?

"No way. If I tell you, you're going to stalk him just like you did me and Alya," Marinette said, sticking a finger in his face. "You leave him alone."

"Okay, okay. Man, you have it bad for him," Cat Noir said with a smile although his heart ached. "But the next time I come over, you better have details on how you confessed to him."

Marinette's face dropped. "Wait, I didn't agree to anything."

Cat Noir jumped to her bed post then out the ceiling hatch. He stuck his head back inside. "I'm looking forward to talking to you again." He winked, grabbed another tart, and closed the hatch, Marinette's protests muffled.

On Thursday, Adrien was put in a group with Nino, Juleka, and Marinette to do a group project on Marie Antoinette for History class. He couldn't have planned it better. If he was going to help Marinette with getting the perfect date, this would be the time. They worked in the library, discussing how to present and who would do which part before their chatter turned to less formal subjects.

Adrien waited a while, letting things lull before asking, "Hey, Nino, do you and Alya go on group dates?"

"Uh…not really. I mean, we've doubled with Mylene and Ivan once, but we don't really go out on dates much," Nino said with a shrug.

"Why? Are you having troubles?" Adrien asked, hoping he didn't step into anything he shouldn't

"Naw, dude. We're just super busy. Alya has her Ladyblog, and I've been working on my beats, plus with school and all, we just don't have a lot of time," Nino said. "Mostly we just watch a movie or study at her house."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

"Why ya asking? Do you want to double? Is there a girl you're thinking of asking out?" Nino's eyebrows waggled. His jaw dropped. "Are you going to ask Ladybug?"

"No," Adrien said, shaking his head emphatically. "How would I even do that? I'd have to commit a crime if I wanted to see her."

Juleka and Marinette laughed at that.

"I need to get out of the house, and I think my dad will let me out for the evening for a group date. I think he'll buy it if I spin it as part of the whole teenage experience. We could go to the carnival at the fairgrounds this Saturday."

"Yeah, that sounds totally fun," Nino said, using finger guns to emphasize his words. "Do you want me to set you up with someone?"

"No. If this is truly the teenage experience, then I should find my own date." Adrien then turned to the girls in their group. "Marinette, Juleka, you should come with us. It would be a perfect time to ask out that guy from your poem, Marinette."

"Wha?" Marinette asked, looking dumbfounded. Her face reddened. "My poem?"

"Yeah, your sonnet. I'd like to meet the guy who inspired such a great poem," Adrien said, pushing down the green monster that was internally grinding his teeth. "Juleka, unless there's someone who you'd like to ask, perhaps you could be my date?"

Juleka looked surprised at his question, then quickly looked down and mumbled, "Uh, I—uh, I don't think…I can't…I have something…" Her eyes darted around.

"Maybe next time," Adrien said with a smile, hoping he hadn't embarrassed Juleka too much. "I'll see if Mylene and Ivan can come with us. We can go as one big group."

For some reason, after that, the group seemed tenser. Did he say something wrong?

The rest of the day, Adrien watched Marinette for she seemed particularly anxious. And as he thought last night, she wasn't smiling as much. As Cat Noir, he saw her smile more within an hour than Adrien had all week. But he had done all he could as Adrien. If he interfered any more, he might make things worse.

In the meantime, he had to keep up appearances and find a date for Saturday. Looking around the classroom, he thought about the girls available. Chloe would say yes, but she hated carnival rides. She would complain about the dust, the crowd and the food. And he couldn't ask Sabrina. With Juleka already unable to go, it was down to Alex and Rose. He decided to ask Alex since she seemed the type to like carnivals and wouldn't see the date as romantic. However, when he asked her, she burst out in raucous laughter before shaking her head and walking away.

"What was that about?" Adrien asked, looking at Nino who had witnessed the entire thing and was shaking his head.

"Dude, I…I just can't." Nino rubbed his head. "There's just so much that I can't say."

As Nino walked away, Adrien scratched his head. "Is everyone going a little crazy this week?" Perhaps this idea wasn't as good as he thought. Or was something else going on that he didn't know.

He was contemplating asking a girl from a different class when he spotted Rose walking out of the library. He took a deep breath and decided third time's the charm.

"Hey, Rose."

"Hi, Adrien," the blonde said with her usual sweetness. "Going to the library?"

"No, I wanted to talk to you."

"Me? Why?"

"Nino and I are organizing a group date to the carnival on Saturday."

Rose's face lit up. "That sounds like fun," she said before Adrien could say anything more. "Maybe I could find a date and go with you, too?"

"Well, that's what I was going to ask you. Would you like to go as my date?"

"With you?" Rose asked, her face looking less excited. In fact, she was doing a great impression of Juleka. "Ummm, go on a date with you? Oh…I don't know."

Adrien's heart sank. He was certain that Rose wouldn't turn him down, but here she was in a fluster. What was wrong with him? Did all the girls think he was too famous to go on one date with? Or did they think he was a snob? Or was it because they were too scared of Chloe?

He sighed. "It's okay if you don't want to. At least, with me. If there's someone else you want to go with…" His voice trailed off, feeling too defeated to finish his sentence. "I'll ask someone else. Fourth time's the charm."

"I'm the third girl you asked?!" Rose half-shouted, putting a hand to her mouth. Tears were coming to her eyes. "I'll go with you. I wasn't saying no because I don't like you Adrien. I do. I like you very much as a friend. I'll go with you." By this time, she was crying.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to."

"No, I want to. It's just—I know what it's like to be rejected," Rose said, wiping away tears. "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad."

"You didn't," Adrien said, surprised at how tender-hearted Rose was. "I'm sorry that you were rejected in the past."

"It's okay. Everyone gets rejected. It doesn't leave any wounds, but it still hurts," Rose said, a sad smile on her lips.

"That's really poetic, Rose."

Rose beamed at the compliment. "If we're going, we have to make sure everyone knows that we're going as friends. There's nothing between us. Nothing at all." She crossed her arms to show how serious she was.

"That's why I asked you. I wanted to go with someone I consider a friend," Adrien said. "It's actually my first date, so I thought if I asked friends to go with me, it would be more fun. You know, no pressure."

"Oh, that's so great," Rose said gleefully. "So, you don't like me like a 'dating girl'?" she said, using air quotes.

"No, and I'm guessing the feeling is mutual."

Rose nodded.

"I would be too nervous on a date if I asked a girl I liked," Adrien said with a chuckle.

"But it would have been amazing if Ladybug came with us to the carnival," Rose said with a grin.

"Oh, yeah. Ladybug," Adrien repeated, but that wasn't the girl he was thinking about. The image that lingered in his mind was Marinette laughing and joking around with Cat Noir.

In fact, he couldn't get Marinette out of his mind, especially when she had that frown on her face the entire day. He longed to do something to make her smile: a joke, a pun, a funny limerick. They were all things Cat Noir would say, not Adrien. He doodled and scribbled in his notebook margins, only half-listening to the teacher. Would be too weird for Cat Noir to visit two nights in a row? And once he asked himself that question, all he could think about was going to see her.

But not tonight. As much as he wanted to, it would be kind of creepy if he came around too much. Maybe tomorrow night. Yeah, definitely he could drop by tomorrow.

And just when you look forward to something, time moved by slowly. He barely registered when Kim told him that he was joining the group date and was going to bring a girl from the swim team. And when he got a phone call from Chloe interrogating him about asking Rose out, his impatience that rarely saw the light of day almost snapped at her for her rude comments. After he explained to Chloe that he and Rose were only friends, he invited her to join the group date.

"Ewww, and see everyone barf up nasty carnival food after going on those stupid roller coasters that'll just mess up my hair. No thank you," Chloe commented, just as Adrien guessed she would.

That night, he tossed and turned, his mind not letting him sleep with all the thoughts that sped through.

On Friday, more than one person commented on his haggard appearance from a sleepless night. Nino offered to steal some coffee for him from the teacher's lounge, and Chloe put on some concealer under his eyes to hide the dark circles. He tried not to let his sleep deprivation keep him from having a bad day, but that all fell apart when he saw the same frown on Marinette's face.

Was he really helping her? Or was he just making her sadder? After all, he was pushing her to do something that was out of her comfort zone. If only he knew who this guy was, then he could talk to him, show him just how amazing Marinette was, show him what he was missing out by not asking her out on a date.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked at the end of the day as he waited for his bodyguard to pick him up.

"Uh…Oh, yeah," Adrien said, giving her a small smile. "I'm just having a bad day."

"Why?"

Adrien sighed. "Because people are complicated."

Rose plopped down next to Adrien. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes, but I can't." Oh, if only he could unload on someone. Rose would be a perfect listener, empathetic and would probably say the right thing. But to tell her everything would tell about Cat Noir and Ladybug and Marinette's secret crush.

"Why can't you tell me?"

Except…there was a way he could tell her without revealing everything. If he omitted all the names, she wouldn't know who he was talking about.

"It's about a friend of mine," Adrien started, careful with his words. "You see, he's liked this one girl for a really, really long time. And he told her a while ago his feelings, but she turned him down because she likes this other guy."

Rose nodded, her face serious as she concentrated on the facts.

"So, my friend, he decides that he's just going to let this girl go. If she likes this other guy so much, he just wants her to be happy."

"Aww, that's so sweet," Rose said, her face sympathetic.

"But now, he thinks he's falling for someone else, but he's not sure. He's worried that he's flighty because it isn't that long after his heart had been broken," Adrien continued, fudging the facts. "And he's heard a rumor that this new girl also likes a boy."

"Wow, you're right. People are complicated," Rose said, cupping her face and resting her elbows on her knees. "It sounds like your friend likes girls that aren't available."

"But he liked them before he knew they liked someone else."

"Then he just has bad luck."

Like a black cat.

"What is your friend going to do?"

"I don't know," Adrien said with a sigh. "He's afraid to get his heart broken again, so he thinks that it's best to move on. He…can't go through the hurt again."

Rose put her hand on Adrien's. "I know how that feels. I don't blame your friend for his decision."

"What do you think I should tell him?" Adrien asked, hoping for some sort of advice.

"Marinette!"
"Oh, coming." Half-way tripping down the stairs, Marinette raced by them to Alya, who was waving on the sidewalk. By her trajectory, she had come from somewhere behind Adrien and Rose.

Had she been listening? Adrien wondered. He hadn't spoken in a whisper so anyone nearby could have overheard. Not that it mattered if she did.

"You should tell him not to give up."

"Huh?"

"Your friend," Rose said. "You should advise him not to give up. Even if the second girl might like another guy, if she's not dating anyone and he asks her out, she should at least give him a chance."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And those are the best romance stories. When the hero swoops in anc steals the girl away from some guy that doesn't appreciate or love her as she deserves. If your friend is a decent guy, he shouldn't give up. Even if the risk is getting your heart broken, the chance of love is worth it." Rose's face was scrunched up in an expression of determination. Even though she didn't know who Adrien's "friend" was, she was already in his corner.

Adrien smiled. "Thanks. I'll tell him." Although he wasn't sure if he agreed with that advice. After all, if he—Cat Noir—went where his heart took him, he would be confessing his feelings to the exact girl. He already knew how that would turn out.

Yet, he couldn't help himself. As soon as he could be in his room alone, he transformed into Cat Noir, heading back to Marinette's house. He had had a long day with a photoshoot going longer than usual because of a picky photographer, so he worried that the dark-haired girl would be in bed. But when he saw a form lit by the streetlights below leaning against the railing, his heart quickened.

"Marinette," he called out as he leaped from a building across the street to hers. He landed with precision, just outside the roof railing. He crouched, holding onto the bars, then rested his arms and chin the bars. "You're out late."

"I wondered if you would come visit me today." Marinette smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed in what I have to report."

Cat Noir hopped the railing, couching on top. "I'd never be disappointed with you, Marinette."
"But you said that I should tell him how I feel," Marinette said, crossing her arms. "And I couldn't."

"Hey, if you couldn't, you couldn't," Cat Noir said. Rose's words echoed in his mind.

If she's not dating anyone and he asks her out, she should at least give him a chance.

Was that true? Did he have a chance? She's still not taken. She could change her mind. But she didn't as Ladybug, so why would she as Marinette?

"I'm sorry if I pressured you to do something you're not ready for," Cat Noir said, stepping off the railing and getting closer.

"No, but you're right. Alya is right. Everyone is right. I need to tell him how I feel," Marinette said, gesturing wildly as if to push something away. "If I can't, then I should…let him go."

Cat Noir's heart pounded. Is she… "Hey, you can't give up," he said, although he didn't want to. But what kind of person would he be if he guided her with his ulterior motives. "You can't. You haven't even given him a chance."

"But…what if I get my heart broken in the process?" Marinette asked, her voice cracking. "Wouldn't it be better if I just…stepped away before I get hurt?"

"Maybe you won't get hurt." Why did he keep arguing with her? Just swoop in, be the hero, and get the girl, Cat!

"Ladybug broke your heart," Marinette said. She looked to be fighting it, but there were tears in her eyes. "She hurt you, didn't she?"

"Yeah." Cat Noir turned his head away, the hurt still there. Where was she going with this?

"Would you do it again?" Marinette asked, looking him in the eye with a piercing gaze. "Would you risk getting your heart broken again?"
"Marinette, can we talk about something else?" Cat Noir asked, trying to keep his voice light. "How about cookies? I don't suppose you have any on paw?" He grinned like a Cheshire Cat.

"I need to know, Cat Noir," Marinette demanded, her lip trembling. "I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can risk getting my heart broken, because I suspect that it will. Tell me, Cat. Would you do it all again, knowing that you could be hurt?" By this time, she had tears in her eyes.

Realizing that Marinette wouldn't let this go, that she really needed to know, he turned to her with his most serious face. If only she had been the one to ask Rose for advice, then maybe she would have gotten the pep talk she was looking for. But now, she only had Cat Noir.

And he suspected she wasn't going to like what he was going to say.

He took a step toward her.

She took a half-step backward, her back running into the brick chimney. "Cat, I—"

"Yes," Cat Noir said, his voice husky. He took another step toward her.

"Yes, you would. Even if you…knew your heart would be broken?" Marinette asked, lifting her chin as he took another step forward. Her eyes were so wide.

"I really wish I could say no, but the more I hear about this guy you like, the more I dislike him. In fact, my tail is practically lashing at the thought of him, whoever he is," Cat Noir said, his voice almost a growl. He lifted a hand and carefully wiped away her tears. "When I said I can risk heart break, I'm not saying it lightly. Marinette, I think I'm falling for you."

Marinette gasped, and her eyes grew wider although it seemed almost impossible.

"Because you're worth it, Marinette. I'm ready to let you break my heart, because I want you to be happy. But I'm not going to give up on you, yet. Please don't say I don't have a chance, not until you talk to this guy."

"But I—"

"I'm sorry, again. I'm putting pressure on you, and that was your problem from the beginning, so here's our new deal." He gave her a small smile, one to put her at ease. "How about we pretend we didn't have this conversation? I'll be your friendly, stray cat that comes by and eats your food and lends a friendly ear, and you be Marinette, finding your courage to tell this guy how you feel on your own time."

"B-but…Why? What about Ladybug?"

"Yeah, I guess it's flighty of me to admit my feelings for you so early…but I can't help it. I've learned so much about you Marinette, about how amazing you are. And I wouldn't have found out about you except that I let Ladybug go."

"So…What are we? I can't…Cat Noir, I don't want to hurt you." It almost sounded like she would say "again," but she stopped herself.

"You won't. It's my decision," Cat Noir said. "Don't worry about me. But also know I'm not going anywhere. Even if you don't…" He swallowed. "…choose me, I'll still be here."

Another tear leaked out of Marinette's eye. She quickly wiped it away with the heel of her hand.

"But I'm not going to let this guy, whoever he is, win without a fight," Cat Noir said, his usual smile on his face. "He is, after all, my rival. I'm going to be here, Marinette, whenever I can. I'm going to try to get you to forget about this guy. You'll not get rid of me that easily." Smoothly, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. With a wink, he turned and leaped back on the railing. "Next time, I'd like some macaroons, if your parents have any left." With a wave, he leaped into the night, leaving Marinette still leaning against the chimney.

(Author's note: This chapter is my favorite. The scene at the end is actually what sparked the idea for the whole fanfic. I really hope everyone has enjoyed reading the story so far. Thank you everyone who is reading. I noticed a lot of people favoriting the story since I posted Chapter 8, so welcome everyone. I'll see you in the next chapter.)