December 8th, gift number 8 :

A fir-green envelope with gold shooting stars as a motif rested in her hand. She breathed calmly several times before opening it. Her partner had never stopped surprising her these few days and she was beginning to understand her little lovegame.

From day to day the gifts seemed bolder, more personal, more heavy with meanings... and this upset her to the point that her heart frantically swelled in her chest before unwrapping a gift.

When she felt ready, she took a deep breath one last time and delicately opened the envelope. It was a letter, a letter that was again written in black ink on thick, cream-colored grain paper.

"To you the young woman under the mask, the Lady of my heart,

Now that you are the guardian, I know that the rule that governs our secret identities is in your hands, I know that you want to keep this rule and I respect that, I'd be lying if I said I don't care about keeping our identities hidden. So I'll be honest. I wish I could throw that rule into oblivion because I really wish I knew by what first name I could call the girl I love, I wish I knew who she really is, to get to know her all those simple little things she can't disclose to me. I think we could make all this knowledge a real force, I think we could be better if we had no secrets from each other.

That's why today, in this letter, I would like to share some personal information with you (not compromising my identity, I promise you) so that you get to know the boy under the mask.

I like video games, it seems to me that you too, Bugaboo. I have the memory of an experienced player who gave the "Gamer 2.0" quite a beating in his own fighting game.

Oh yes, she remembered it perfectly, but without Chat Noir to reassure her, to put her in confidence and take over the time she was ready, she would never have made it.

My favorite movie is: Forrest Gump. A collection of hope and love for the eternal sentimental I am.

I'm a fan of Jagged Stone. I have all these albums, including the special single that came out in your honor last year.

Her partner would certainly be ecstatic if he learned that she was the one who drew the cover of his last album.

I hate anchovies and spinach. However, I could eat spaghetti with bolognese sauce every day. I also have a real passion for sweet things, I love "chouquettes", macaroons, croissants and ice cream. But I can't eat sweets because I have a pretty strict diet. Your partner can't afford to turn into a lazy domestic cat, he must remain svelte and agile.

This made her think of another blond boy who greatly appreciated macaroons and who unfortunately had to renounce this sweet pleasure because of the constraints imposed by the modeling, and especially, by his father.

Apart from climbing historical monuments, throwing sticks and running on the roof, I also practice a sport in my civil life.

Two years ago, if someone had asked me my favorite color, I would have answered: green. But today, I can only answer: red. I love red, it's warm and comforting, and above all, it's your color. Yes, I definitely love red, it inevitably brings me back to you, and it perfectly expresses the passion and love that invade me when I see you or think about you.

And as you saw two days ago: I play the piano and I can sing.

I regularly practice the piano, however, I have never sung for anyone since Mom left us. My mother was the light of my life, that's what I used to sing for. When she left, I didn't even sing, even for my father. You're the first and only one I've ever sung for since Mom left.

My mother was a wonderful woman and I dare hope I look like her. Because that's what I aspire to be, like her, do the right thing, radiate love and happiness.

A sharp pain settled in her heart, how was it possible that the two most important boys in her life, two so good boys, would lead such a sad and complicated life.

A doubt settled in her. A doubt that would answer this question, but she quickly drove the idea out of her mind, it was simply not possible, it was just a coincidence.

Mom always told me to listen to my heart, because the heart always knows what is good. You often blame me for not being reasonable, and yet I try, but my heart always takes over. I think you've understood, Underneath the mask, there's a sentimental, sensitive and reserved boy. Actually, without the mask I'm pretty serious and thoughtful.

You must think, "Chat Noir, be serious? Impossible" and yet it's true, the Civil part of Chat Noir is a quite different boy, because that boy must always wear a mask.

In fact, the one wearing the mask is not Chat Noir, the one wearing the mask is my civilian self.

Chat Noir is the most authentic part of myself, the part that fights locked inside me to come out and be liberated. Nevertheless, and I hope that you will have understood and noticed over the course of these few days that, Chat Noir, as flippant, extroverted and reckless as it may be, it remains also a sensitive, empathetic, respectful boy, and above all an eternal romantic.

Your sensitive kitty. "

Marinette folded her partner's letter with a trembling hand and slid it into her envelope.

In her mind, the last words written by her partner still floated painfully and shook her heart.

Her partner had deep and still recent wounds that were probably not healed yet.

She didn't expect to receive a gift like this. She did not expect Chat Noir to give her all this personal information about himself, but she took her as a mark of trust and an irrepressible need to be able to pour out all his pain and his melancholy to the person he deeply loved. She felt touched that Chat Noir was obviously confident and comfortable enough with her to give her the darkest secrets of his heart. She felt touched but ashamed at the same time because, if she now saw her partner differently since their fight against Glaciator, and against her own father, she had long judged her partner just on appearances.

Too often, she had focused only on the tip of the iceberg, whereas the man who really was her partner happened to be the part she had sunk in, the one she had ignored for a long time. He was still proving to her how wrong she had been about him since the beginning of the month.

Finally, on a happier note, she had noticed that out of the few elements he had provided her, without taking the risk of betraying his identity, they had several common points, and she wondered with curiosity, if there might be still others.

She put the letter away in her envelope and then carefully placed it in a drawer in her desk.

She then sat down with pen and paper in her hand and began to write.

To be continued...

Mepuppypro and Bluerose CS fangirl, thanks a lot for your reviews.

It really touches me a lot, it's a lot of work for me to translate this at perfect as possible.I'm really trying to make your heart feel betterwith this story, and knowing that it seems to work is something that I'm very excited about.
Thanks to all readers really, if my calendar please, feel free to leave me a little comment.
See you tomorrow.