All characters belong to Jeremy Zag and are not my own.
He tilted his head slightly, looking every inch a cat, as she smiled at him.
"You look... different." The smile on her face slowly morphed into a puzzled frown as she mimicked his head position.
Cocking an eyebrow, she asked, "What do you mean?"
"You're... glowing..." A hot blush inflamed her cheeks, creeping down her neck as he observed her.
Think, Mari, think!
"O-Oh, yeah..." Her nervous chuckle turned into nervous rambling as she tried to dismiss the issue. "W-Well, you see, I had a really good day at school today so- "
"Did you meet someone?" She nearly choked.
"What?"
"Did you meet someone?" She waved her hand in anxious dismissal.
"O-Oh, yeah, I meet tons of people!" He crossed his arms over his chest, peering at her through his lashes. He wasn't buying it, and she knew it. Sighing, she sat on her day bed. Head down and hands folded in her lap, she finally opened up to his scrutiny.
"His name's Adrien."
"Adrien? As in, Adrien Agreste? But I thought you two were classmates?"
"We are. It's just... " Her hesitance concerned him.
Leaning forward, he asked, "What is it, Marinette?" She hesitated, choking on her own words as her gaze shifted between her hands and him. She took a deep breath - she could trust Chat, no matter how hard it was to tell him this. So why was she so nervous?
"He has no idea." Her broken sob pierced his heart. Worry flooded through him as he watched her head fall into her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. He was by her side before he knew what had happened, his gloved hand rubbing soothing circles on her back.
"Hey, hey it's okay. We'll fix it - whatever it is, we can fix it. Just tell me what it is. Please, Marinette..."
She sobbed some more as he drew her close to him, her cries muffled in his chest. Stroking her hair with one clawed hand, he held her in his arms as she wept. "I can't stand to see you unhappy..." he whispered, tears threatening to spill from his emerald orbs.
She hiccupped, trying to push past the pain that was choking her. Tears flowing freely, her lowered her head in embarrassed secrecy before mumbling her answer.
"I love him." Chat's cat ears perked up slightly.
"What did you- "
"I said I'm in love with him, all right?!" Chat stared at her openly, gaping like a catfish as her face slowly faded to its normal color. Meanwhile, he was pretty sure that his was turning beet red.
"What?" His voice came out as barely a whisper, the shock evident in his lack of a full response. His mind felt numb, his heart beat at a hundred miles per hour - what was going on?!
"Chat?"
"Huh?" He jolted from his trance, staring at Marinette in shock.
"Are you okay?" She was looking at him now, head tilted and a concerned pout on her freckled face. Since when did she have freckles?
His vision blurred as his mind slowly shut down, overloaded with this new set of information. In love with me? Marinette is in love... with me? Pfft, there's no way! ... Right...?
"Chat? Chat!"
As his vision darkened as his mind tapped out, Chat vaguely felt Marinette shake him. Head flopping onto her shoulder, the superhero's body went limp in her embrace. He felt comfortable here, he realized, though he doubted he'd remember that when he woke up. Her frantic words barely grazed his ears as dark oblivion took over. Body limp and head on her shoulder, he let the darkness take him. Maybe he'd actually have an answer for her when he woke up.
"Chat?" Mari shook him slightly, but nothing. She huffed in annoyance. Now what was she gonna do? It's not like she could move with him there. She may be hard on him, but she wasn't heartless.
"Mari..."
"Chat?" She looked at him expectantly, looking down at his peaceful frame. He really was cute, when she thought about it. Focus, Marinette, focus! "Chat? What is it?"
A long moment stretched between the two as Chat Noir's fried brain tried to come up with something coherent. A small whisper pushed past his slightly parted lips, bringing everything in the room to a shrieking halt, including Mari's heart:
"I love you, too."
