"You did good, pigtails, " Plagg praised, when they were back at Marinette's house after school that day.

"Thanks Plagg!" the teen replied with a grin.

"Not gonna lie, i would have bet money on you chickening out, but you did good!"

"Rude."

Mari couldn't decide if she should feel warm inside at her success, or offended he had so little faith in her. She also wasnt sure if she should feel bad about having orchestrated the whole thing, just to be able to talk to him, but on the other hand, it was no different than planning to ask someone out on a date. Her way just took a bit more work to reach that point.

Marinette placed a plate of cheese bread and croissants on her desk, and just as she was about to grab one, her phone started to ring.

Glancing down, Mari saw Alya's smiling face showing on the screen.

With a roll of her eyes, Mari hit accept, and put her best friend on speaker phone.

"Hey Alya, what's up?"

"What's up?! WHATS UP?!? You interacted with your crush today, and turned him into a babbling idiot, and all you have to say is whats up?!"

The blue haired teen had to cover her ears at the end, her friend was talking so loud!

"Alya, whoa! Going deaf over here!" she joked.

"Oh shush girl, you owe me a story!"

Mari just laughed fondly at her friend, before leaning back in her desk chair.

"Alya, it was nothing. Totally an accident! I bumped into him, and i dont know! I smiled, i think? It was wierd when he said he liked it, but at the same time, hes so adorable, he could make anything sound good." she mused.

"Girl, you're ridiculous." Alya stated with a laugh.

"Utterly ridiculous??"

"Do not compare me to Chloe! We've talked about this!"

Mari just laughed.

"But seriously, Marinette, how are YOU not a blubbering mess right now?! The last couple days, you've been all tongue tied and clumsy. What changed?!" her friend demanded.

Mari was glad Alya couldn't see her blush as she glanced at Plagg. But she couldn't very well say how.

"I was given some super helpful advice from a friend. And It really works! " she said instead, smirking at the little black God who glanced up at her with a knowing look, mouth full of cheese bread.

"Really?! And what would that be?"

"Oh!" Marinette choked out a laugh. "Ha ha. Well, you see... It's gonna sound stupid."

"Oh shush you, and spill the beans!"

"I'm getting mixed signals here Al, do you want me to spill the beans, or shush?!"

"GIRL, you better not leave me hanging!"

"OK, ok!! I was told to make him notice me. And uh... To do that, he suggested walking with confidence. But not cocky. There's a difference."

"Soo... What does that translate to?! Exactly?"

Silence was all that greeted Alya's question.

"Marinette?? You still there?"

"I sway my hips." Mari mumbled quietly.

"What was that girl?"

"I was told to sway my hips!" she all but yelled at her friend.

Choked laughter came across the line.

"Don't laugh at me!"

"I - i- I'm... Not!"

"Bullshit."

More laughter is all she got.

"I'm gonna hang up if you don't stop."

It didn't stop.

"Alright. I'm out." and she promptly hung up on her best friend.

"Rude." Mari said aloud.

Xoxoxoxoxox

Kitty Noir leaped from rooftop to rooftop, glorying in the feel of freedom and the feeling to almost flying.

She never would have thought being a superhero of Paris would be something she would be confident, or good, at. But she wasn't half bad.

Lordbug was a bonus. He was truely great! He never seemed to waver in his faith that they could do this! Which had definitely helped that first day against stone heart, when she had doubts.

But he had convinced her they could do this, and that he couldn't do it without her. And they worked together and beautifully that first time. And all the times since.

As Kitty Noir came to rest on the roof of the school, she made a 360 turn, and smiled at the beauty of the city at night.

There was just something about all the twinkling lights of the city that made her so happy! Like she wanted to leap for joy. Run around the city and scream about how happy she was! Heck, she was so giddy, she'd probably kiss someone - if there was anyone around to kiss!

An almost imperceptible thud landed behind her, and Kitty's leather ears swiveled to zero in on the sound.

A sniff of the air told her everything she needed to know.

She could picture in her mind how he'd look - red pants spotted black, with a strip of black running up the outside of each leg, tucked into solid black calf high boots. Red jacket spotted just like the pants, with solid black arms and a strip running down his side to match up with his pants, and black gloved hands. Shorter blond hair flowing messily all over the place, partially covering the red mask on his face.

Without warning, she turned and pounced on the unsuspecting Lord bug, knocking him flat on his back, and planted a kiss on his waiting, completely unsuspecting, lips.

Just as fast as she had pounced, she was up again, twirling around the rooftop with her arms spread wide!

"God, isn't it great tonight M'Lord?! Doesn't this view and this city and the lights just make you so happy?!" she cried out joyfully.

"Uh... Yeah... I think it's pretty great. Though not as much as you, apparently."

Kitty turned to gaze at her partner and watched him rub the back of his neck.

"What uh... What was that for?" he asked hesitantly.

Hearing the slight tremor in his voice, Kitty Noir decided to try out Plagg's advice on Lord bug as well. One test subject did not a conclusion make! For all she knew, Adrien could have been having an off day. Or maybe he and Chloe had been talking about something private, and he was worried Marinette had possibly heard said private conversation? Or maybe he was so repulsed by Marinette that it left him incapable of speech because his brain was shutting down?!

She wasn't totally discounting anything.

So, with a small swing to her hips, Kitty Noir made her way back over to Lord Bug. She felt her tail belt swaying with her every step and brushing up against her black, skin tight leather pants, and thanked the miraculous heartily that it made her less clumsy, or she may have tripped in her one inch heeled, ankle high boots. She tried to channel her inner Plagg by flipping her free flowing hair over her shoulder casually, letting as flow down her back in wild waves.

"Aww, M'Lord, does this kitty make you nervous?" she purred, and delighted in the blush that colored her bugs cheeks the same shade as his mask.

"N-n- no." he stuttered out, never quite meeting her eyes.

"Are you sure?" she asked soflty, as she drew near, and slowly and gently ran her gloved hand up his one arm.

"Y-yes, I'm sure. And uh -" he coughed nervously, "could you stop that? I - uh- already like someone."

"OH!" she cooed softly, running her hand up to his shoulder, and slowly walking around him, still trailing her hand across his shoulder. "M'Lord has a crush, does he? That's so sweet! Me too."

"Then - uh- why are you teasing me right now?" he questioned.

"Oh handsome, simply because I can," she whispered softly by his ear, before moving to stand in front of him again.

"Well, uh- ok? I-I mean, if your not serious about it... I guess it's ok?"

"You don't seem sure of that."

Clearing his throat, she watched his eyes dart everywhere but in her direction.

"I don't know, honestly." he muttered lowly.

Smirking, kitty backed off a bit, internally squealing at how bold she had been. And it had worked!!

She blew a kiss at him playfully. "You woo your girl, handsome. And if you need any help, maybe I'll give you some pointers." she ended with a wink.

"I'll uh... Keep that in mind. Thanks Kitty Noir."