Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or it's characters.
Chapter 44,
"Marinette? Can I ask you a question?" Tikki asked her owner as they walked to the Agreste home.
"Of course Tikki." Marinette said.
"Are you more concerned with working with your favorite fashion designer on the show... or are you more concerned about choosing to attend the dance with Adrien or Cat Noir?" Tikki asked and Marinette stopped, then sighed.
"I'm concerned about both, I am. But I guess I'm more worried about the dance, even though the show is clearly more important then some dance." Marinette said, looking down at her purse.
"Well, I know you'll do your very best on the show. I know you will, and I have faith in your designer instinct and your friends are there to help you out. With so much support on that, it's not so outlandish that you'd be more concerned about the dance." Tikki said and Marinette sighed.
"It's just frustrating Tikki. I've been so close to kissing Cat Noir and Adrien..." Marinette hesitated and Tikki giggled.
"I feel like we've had this conversation already." Tikki said and Marinette rolled her eyes.
"Maybe we have, but I can't help it. My feelings for both are very strong... Quite honestly I think I'd like to date both, by that's wrong. And a small part of me wishes that they were the same-"
"Hey Bluebell." Marinette heard and her face lit up like the sun. She turned and saw Cat Noir hiding in a nearby alley and she walked over to him.
"Cat, what are you doing?" She asked, not that she minded that much.
"Well, word on the street is that you're putting together the world's greatest fashion show. So I had to find you and say congrats." Cat Noir said and Marinette smile.
"I'm surprised you heard about that. I thought only kids in my class knew about it." Marinette said in a teasingly suspicious tone.
"Oh don't be too surprised, I got my ways, you know." Cat Noir said and Marinette giggled.
"Maybe you do. It seems like every time I'm thinking about you, you show up." Marinette said.
"Do I? were you thinking about me just just now?" Cat Noir asked and Marinette blushed a little.
"Actually I was. I was debating on asking you or Adrien to the dance." Marinette said honesty and he blinked.
"Really?" He said with a smile.
"Yeah. I mean it's probably not worth your time to go to some lame high school dance, but a part of me thought it might be more fun if you were there." Marinette said, and then she rubbed the back of her neck.
"Though, even if it's a costume party, it's still not very wise for you and it's just..." Marinette bit her lip.
"Then again with Adrien, I know CHloe will try to hog him all night, but I don't want to ask him to the dance just for his dad to keep him at home for wearing the wrong pair of socks." Marinette said, crossing her arms over her chest and Cat Noir thought about his for a second.
"Well... I'll try to go to the dance if I can find the right costume. But perhaps... well, as frustrating as it can be for me to say, perhaps you should think about attending the dance by yourself." Cat Noir said and Marinette blinked.
"By myself?" Marinette asked, unsure if she'd heard him correctly.
"My mother told me me something years ago about how her final dance in high school. She attended it alone and she had a lot of fun. She danced as much as she wanted, with all the guys she ever had a crush on too, and was able to laugh and joke with her friends. She said for years that was the greatest dance she ever went to, until she went to one with my dad. Maybe this could be the best dance of your life... for now." Cat Noir said and Marinette paused. He did make a rather interesting point.
"You know, I don't think I've heard you talk about your parents before?" Marinette said and Cat Noir shrugged.
"Well bluebell, you always said that we shouldn't know anything about each other. Aside from that we just didn't talk about our families. We do our job." Cat Noir said and Marinette glanced away.
"You know I only said that because I didn't want our identities revealed. I didn't say that because I didn't care about you." Marinette said and Cat Noir nodded.
"Yeah, I understand Marinette." Cat Noir said with a smile that made her smile.
"Well, if you can't come to the dance, I won't make you feel bad for it. Maybe I'm just concerned because I don't know how much I'll be able to see you until after the fashion show." Marinette said. Cat Noir's face fell into a loving gaze and he gently took her hand with both of his.
"Marinette, it's gonna be fine. Even if we don't see each other for a while, you've got to know that there's nothing in this world that would make me give up on our friendship. I've told you this before, but our relationship means the world to me. So don't worry about me, I'm not going anywhere." Cat Noir said and Marinette was stunned a moment. She smiled and her eye watered a little from the sheer joy she was feeling in that moment. She embraced Cat Noir in a death defining hug. In that moment she wanted nothing more then to tell Cat Noir that she loved him, but instead she just said:
"Thank you Cat Noir." Marinette said and Cat Noir." Marinette said, and Cat Noir hugged her back.
"You're welcome. But honestly I haven't really done anything." Cat Noir said. Marinette pulled away slightly and brought their foreheads together sweetly.
"There's a quote I'd like to share with you from the American TV show Castle, if you don't mind." Marinette said.
"That murder mystery show with the writer? Sure." Cat Noir said, though a little confused.
"Ok, here goes... 'If you tell anyone this, I will kill you; but I've kinda gotten use to you pulling my pigtails. I've got a hard job and with you around it's a little more fun.' You do that for me Cat. You may drive me crazy, but at the end of the day, you're the one keeping me sane, and I don't tell you 'thank you' nearly enough." Marinette said. Cat Noir was surprised at first, but then gently pressed against her head as a subtle way of understanding what she was saying and that he felt the same. They stood there for a minute longer, simply enjoying each other's company before Marinette had to leave. But she noticed some light glinting off of something in the bushes. She needed to hurry to get to the Agreste house, so she simply ignored it, thinking it was some type of watering device.
But she was wrong. Lila emerged from the bushes, camera in hand and grinning like a pure devil.
"Why Marinette. I had absolutely no idea you hung out with those type of people." She said to herself.
"I think Gabriel will love the work I've done on this little photography project he asked me to do. Ooo, I cannot wait to show him." Lila said right before laughing like an evil Banshee into the night.