Marinette was pacing the floor of Adrien's room. Alya was right. Her guardian angel must have had a burn-out while contemplating, impotent, all the (bad) choices she made lately. Being stuck with Chat Noir waiting for Ladybug—her, taking the icing on the cake hands down.
How was she going to transform now?
Chat Noir was like a tick clinging to the skin of a cat. He didn't let her out of his sight.
"Do you snore?" he suddenly asked, out of the blue.
"W-what?" she deadpanned.
"I was thinking about what Alya said earlier and I realized, even though I thought I knew you… I don't know that much about you," he admitted. One of his hands reached for the nape of his neck, rubbing it awkwardly as he made eye contact with her. "Except for the fact that you're incredible and that I like you a lot."
"I don't. W-what about you?"
"I don't know. I never slept with anyone." Chat Noir shrugged as he sat on Adrien's bed.
"You never had a sleepover?"
"Never."
"If we weren't being chased by a super villain, we could have cuddled and if it happened you would have fallen asleep; I would've been able to tell you," Marinette wondered as she sat next to him and snuggled into his side.
"We could have cuddled," he repeated, looking at her intently as he leaned closer. "We could cuddle," he stated in a pitch barely above a whisper.
His hot breath ghosted a mere millimeter away from her nose, and as she leaned in to close the gap, he abruptly jerked backward.
What was she thinking? This was wrong in so many ways. He was supposed to be outside fighting, not kissing her. She was supposed to be outside fighting, not kissing him. They had no right to let their guard down like that. They had to get it together—soon!
"I should go and fight," he said in an apologetic tone.
"You should go and fight," Marinette repeated. "I can take care of myself. Glaciator was after me earlier and yet, nothing happened to me. You're most effective when you're out there with Ladybug."
"I promised to stay with you. Besides, I'm not sure Ladybug would like to fight next to the scaredy cat I am right now."
The admission coming from the hero had her straightening up in the blink of an eye.
"I'm afraid to get hit…" He let his statement hang between them.
Although he didn't need to finish for her to understand what he was on about.
"You're afraid of being bound to her, aren't you?" Marinette inquired as she looked down at her lap.
Chat Noir sheepishly nodded as he looked out of the window.
"I know the feeling" she disclosed. Her fingers began to twist and intertwine in an odd dance showing off her anxiety.
His eyes were back on her as soon as she had let her thoughts fly out.
"Adrien Agreste?" he dared to ask, not ever letting judgement imbue his voice.
Well, he was in the same boat, after all.
"I've been head over heels with him. What if we are wrong and just blinded by the unrequited love coming from our first experience with romantic feelings? What if André's right? What if Alya's right?"
What did her best friend say earlier tonight?
You don't let Adrien in. You've been running away for days!
No. Not that. Let's rewind more.
Can't you just love each other without the masks?! How did Chat Noir fall in love with you? It's not as if he had much to do with you—something along those lines.
No. Not there either. Let's rewind a bit more. To before Glaciator happened actually.
You're lying to yourself, Marinette. The one you love is Adrien.
There!
Wait. No. She rewinded too far, Alya's words were more relevant later that night. After Glaciator. Why hadn't she paid attention to Alya's words sooner? Because you were drooling over your knight in spandex armor. Oh! Her inner voice was in a petty mood tonight.
But Alya was right. Chat Noir didn't know her. Not Marinette, her. They hadn't gotten that much interaction together. Just a few she could count on the fingers of one hand actually. But with Adrien it was… different. They had had more interaction together lately. He seemed to be interested in her. He had even told her that he wanted to spend more time with her. That his feelings for her had changed. Just like her feelings for Chat Noir had changed; she had fallen in love.
Nothing had changed, actually. It had been there in front of you the whole time. Her inner voice was back mocking her blindness. Well, she deserved it.
Oh dear, how could she have missed that?
Chat Noir had even brought her to Adrien's room of all places. He knew Adrien wouldn't be there and that they could get in. He knew how to get in—by the bathroom window left open for a superhero to easily sneak out or in.
And the boy never had a sleepover—no wonder!
In her head the whole equation started to slowly take shape and finally find its solution.
Chat Noir had fallen in love with the other side of her because he knew her better than she thought. Because he was closer to her than she thought. It made perfect sense. Far-fetched, but it still made sense.
And she… she had just fallen in love with the other side of… Adrien.
They said love is blind but it's wrong. Of course it's wrong. Love, real love, allows one to see what they could have never seen before.
"—nette?"
Chat Noir's—Adrien's—concerned voice pulled her out of her impromptu math assignment.
"You spaced out for a whole minute, are you okay?"
Her eyelids fluttered, blinking at him as she fully took him in and saw him in a new light. Her hands slowly moved with a mind on its own, reaching for his cheek and fondly cradling it.
"You go fight. Ladybug needs you," Marinette whispered in a soft voice. They needed to talk about what she'd just discovered, but first, the villain. She was now in the right frame of mind to defeat her. She no longer had any fear of being handcuffed to Chat Noir or Adrien. Exhibition's power would be useless on her, because she already knew everything there was to know. Nothing to hide anymore. The truth was out in the open.
Chat Noir nodded before turning his head, his lips grazing the inside of her wrist, lying a gentle kiss on her skin.
"I'll be right back. I promise."
See you tomorrow for the last part of this short story.
Miraculous kisses!