Part 24: I Wish...

Kat grabbed Adrien by the arm and ran. She changed into her suit while Adrien transformed. She was still changing when he darted toward the door. He paused.

"Go!" Yelled Kat, smearing paint over her eyes. "Go, go, go!"

He hesitantly took a step out the door, only to have Nathaniel barrel into him.

"Uh, you're going to have to wait," Chat Noir said. Nathaniel stuttered out a reply.

"I-I already know. I'm going to keep everyone else out."

"Already know what?"

"Oh my gosh-ness, Chat, let him in! And go! Ladybug'll need your help, now go!"

Chat started in surprise. Kat scowled at the look on his face.

"I'll explain later!"

The answer satisfied Chat, so he ran out.

"Chat, over here!" Ladybug yelled. They began the fight, Panther coming in a few minutes later.

While they fought, Panther kept talking to Chat between his smart aleck quips.

"All I'm saying is that you'd both benefit."

"I don't think now is the time, Panther."

"Okay, but—"

"Not now, Panther!"

Panther sighed, rolled her eyes, and charged Angerachnid. Ladybug jumped in not two minutes later. After a glorious fight, the heroes helped Angerachnid (a girl named Suzan) and her boyfriend Basil (one of the fencers) fix their problem. Panther offered some great advice to the couple.

After that, Panther put her normal clothes back on top of her suit (a white skirt and jacket today) and told Nathaniel to meet her at 'their' park in an hour. She wanted to deal with everything right that second, but she decided it would be better to let Chat's miraculous recharge before doing anything.

——At the Park——

Nathaniel sat in an old swing, anxiously awaiting the two heroes. This park was a secluded one; it was abandoned, really, and you'd have to fight your way through trees to get to it, which made it the perfect meeting place.

The swing creaked. Kat and Chat dropped in via Chat's staff. Kat hopped down and Chat retracted the staff to its normal length.

"Hello my little tomato."

"Hello my little blueberry. Hi, Chat Noir."

Chat gave Kat a strange look. "Blueberry?"

"In honor of the pajamas I came with, seeing as both the shirt and pants were blue."

"Hm. Fitting."

The three stood awkwardly for a moment. (People do a lot of awkward silences in this fic. I should learn some new words or something.) Finally, Chat could bear it no longer.

"Can we get to the explanations now?"

"Yeah, we should probably do that," Kat replied. She and Nathaniel explained the entire experience.

"Okaaay. So basically what you're saying is: Nathaniel is now in on your secret."

"That's about it."

"Well, as long as he keeps your secret, I have no problem with him. I'll try to keep it from Ladybug, but if she asks me, I'm gonna tell her."

"Oh, go ahead." Kat lifted her hand in a gesture of approval. "I'm planning on doing that anyway. I don't know when, but I will."

"I love how open you are with everyone," Nathaniel said admiringly. Kat giggled, booped his nose, and turned back to Chat. Chat smiled. The two were so sweet, it was hard to remember they were from different worlds.

——Later, at Marinette's House——

"Hey Nathaniel, can I paint your nails?" Kat sat cross legged on the floor of Marinette's room. Nathaniel sat drawing next to her.

"Um, I don't know," he said.

"Please? I'll even do Ladybug colors! Ooh, and I can make a yo-yo on your thumb, and I can do Chat Noir colors on your other hand, and—"

"Okay, okay, you can do them!"

"Yay!" Kat giggled with glee. Marinette smiled, her eyes glancing towards the pictures of Adrien on her walls. She sighed. If only Adrien would see her as more than a friend. Mari opened her sketchbook and began to design what she thought Kat's future wedding dress would look like. And then what her future wedding dress might look like.

An hour later, Nathaniel had to leave.

"Bye bye my sweet guy!"

"Bye bye pumpkin pie."

Kat closed the door. Marinette looked up from her book.

"You two are so sweet together, Kat. I wish…" Mari didn't finish, leaving the sentence hanging in the air. She looked longingly at the pictures on her wall. Kat put an arm around her friend.

"I know. And one day, we'll figure out how to get you it."

Mari smiled, sighed, and went back to drawing.

——That Night——

Kat crept up onto the roof, via the window. It was a dangerous way to go up, but she enjoyed the feeling of climbing. And it didn't wake up Mari.

She sat on the railing, looking out over Paris's dull glow.

"I wish…" she whispered. Her eyes found the stars. "I wish I could make them happy. I wish I could tell them who the other was without completely messing up their lives. I wish I could make them happy."

She sighed and looked down again. That was a wish of any fangirl. A soft noise alerted her to Chat Noir, who landed on the railing next to her.

"Hey Kitty Kat."

"Hey bunny bun. You should be in bed."

"You should too."

They looked out at Paris together. Chat shifted his attention away from Paris and onto Kat.

"Hey Kat?"

"Yeah hon?"

"Do you miss your family? Your world?"

Kat laughed mirthlessly and replied, "Of course I do. Daddy especially. My brothers…even though they used to get on my nerves, I do miss them too.

"If you had the choice, would you go back home with them, or stay here here with us?"

"I don't know," Kat admitted. "Sometimes I feel like I'll die without home, but then I'll live in the moment and be so happy here. I don't think I could choose, not really. Besides, maybe I'm supposed to be here. Maybe I'm meant to do something. What about you? If you had the chance to go to another universe to be with your mom, would you go, or stay here?"

"I don't know, either." Chat turned his gaze back to the view. Kat put her arm around him and there they sat for the next few hours before the sun came up.

Hey guys, thanks so much for reading! I hoped you liked this chapter. It'll probably be a little more exciting in the next one (or two).