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Chat Noir paced across the roof opposite the bakery. He had been waiting without success for Marinette to come up to her room ever since he'd managed to escape his own home after dinner. He snapped open his baton to check the time and let out a growl of frustration when he saw it was 21h58. "It's a school night! Doesn't she have to go to bed soon?" he grumbled to himself.

The sound of running sent him to the edge of the roof in a flash, peering down to see who was there. When he spotted a familiar pair of pigtails he quickly vaulted himself to her balcony where he waited (im)patiently for her arrival.

When the light in her room turned on, Chat sprang to the hatch, his claws millimetres away from tapping on the glass when he suddenly realized that he didn't have a reason he could give her for his need to see her so soon. He hesitated, torn between the overwhelming need to make sure that he hadn't been wrong about her interest in Adrien and his inability to justify his rapid return. Just as he pulled back his hand to flee, Marinette climbed up to her bed and glanced at the hatch. Her mouth dropped open in surprise and the slightest flush appeared on her cheeks. Chat found himself trapped in her gaze, unable to move.

A moment later, he was forced to jerk himself backwards as Marinette swung open the hatch and climbed up to join him, "Chat Noir? Have you been here waiting for me? Did we say we were going to meet tonight?"

Straightening up and leaning against the pony wall covered in potted plants in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner, Chat brought his claws up to pretend to examine them while actually studying her reactions between his fingers. "No, I was just feline a little lonely and thought I'd see if the Purrincess was in her tower," he raised his eyes and grinned at her.

Her anxiety faded to be replaced by an amused grin of her own, "Is that so?" She stepped in close enough for Chat to feel her breath ghost across his face and Chat felt his heart race in response. He struggled to keep his breathing steady as she leaned into his chest. "Well we wouldn't want a lonely kitty-cat now would we?" Her hands slid up his back until her fingers tangled in his hair, scratching just behind his cat ears. His eyes fluttered shut in bliss and he felt as though his bones had been liquified and were no longer able to hold him upright. Just as he was about to slide gracelessly down the wall, the scratching disappeared and Marinette let out a soft sigh. His eyes popped open to see the smile had disappeared from her face and she was stepping away from him, shoulders slumped and head hanging low.

He blinked rapidly, scrambling internally to pull himself together as Marinette wrapped her arms tightly around herself and stepped further away from him, "Princess? What's wrong?"

She hugged her arms tighter across her chest, "I'm sorry Chat. I couldn't do it."

"Uh..." Chat stared at her in bewilderment. Her sudden mood change left him reeling, and he couldn't figure out what she was talking about.

Her voice was tiny as she answered his silent question, "Adrien. I couldn't talk to him. I could barely even look at him. And I still don't understand how you can be so encouraging about me even thinking about asking him on a date!"

That would be because I am him, Chat thought wryly. "Well you're okay with the fact that I'm also in love with Ladybug."

"Yeah, but you're not trying to ask her out."

He felt a blush creep up his cheeks, "But I would if I got the chance."

Marinette turned back towards him and her eyes were swimming with unshed tears, "Even with all the times that she's rejected you? You'd still consider going on a date with her? She doesn't deserve your love. I don't deserve your love." Her hands suddenly shot out, waving erratically, "Not that I'm trying to assume that you love me, or that it's anything like how you feel about Ladybug! I mean–"

Ironically feeling grounded by her panic, Chat was able to push himself away from the wall and envelop her in his arms, gently pulling her in closer so that he could cover her lips with his own. She went stiff for a moment before melting into him and wrapping her arms around him to pull him tight against her. When he pulled away, Chat rested his forehead against hers and waited until Marinette's eyes met his own before speaking, "You're not assuming anything Marinette. I do love you. I told you that just last night. Don't tell me you've forgotten already," he teased.

Marinette flushed and pulled her head away, "Um, well... kinda?" His face must have shown his surprise, because she was instantly back-pedalling, "I mean no! Of course not! I just can't really believe it. You loving me. I'm just plain boring Marinette, of all the people in Paris, why would you love me? And for you to be not only understanding but encouraging of me loving another guy? Who does that? How can you possibly be sincere?"

"Well, for one, I don't own you," Chat quipped, "And if you ever do decide to pick me over Adrien, I'd rather have it be because you liked me better than because you couldn't even talk to him so you just gave up." He slid his hand up to caress her cheek gently before tilting her chin up enough to lock gazes again, "And you aren't 'just' anything, much less plain or boring." He lowered his hand to catch her own, absentmindedly drawing random lines on her palm, "You are kind, and hardworking, and thoughtful. You are an incredible designer, you're creative, and you're focused and driven when under pressure. You are amazing Marinette, how could anyone not love you?"

Chat watched as Marinette's face turned bright red, "I am not focused under pressure. If I was maybe I'd be able to talk to Adrien."

"Fine," he huffed, "You're focused and driven when under pressure on behalf of someone else. Is that better Purrincess?" Marinette spluttered unintelligibly and Chat hugged her tight with a chuckle. "I stand by what I said. You like me. You like Adrien. I'm pretty sure you also like Luka. I want you to pick whichever one of us you decide you like best after you've had a real chance to get to know us. You can't do that unless you also get the chance to really get to know each of us by dating."

Marinette pushed against his chest and Chat loosened his grip so she could pull away. He was equally pleased and disappointed that she had returned to a normal colour. "Did you seriously just encourage me to ask two other boys on a date?"

Chat shrugged, relying on his model training to keep his body language relaxed, "If I'm going to agree to let you date other people then I can hardly dictate who those people should be. What about that red-headed boy who was akumatized into Evillustrator? Nathan? Nathaniel? Didn't he have a crush on you? Maybe you should go on a date with him too." Chat felt his tail twitch, betraying his anxiety, and he had to consciously fight to keep the rest of himself relaxed and still.

Fortunately, Marinette didn't appear to notice. Instead she was slowly shaking her head back and forth with wide eyes, "You really are too good for me."

Pulling on his inner Chat Noir bravado, Chat sidled back up into her personal space, leaning down to bring his mouth near her ear, "Or maybe I'm just that confident that I'll come out on the top of that list," he purred.

Marinette swatted at him, laughing as she pulled away, "You're such a dork!"

Chat shrugged and opened his mouth to reply when he heard footsteps making their way up the stairs to Marinette's room. His hand sprang to his back, detaching his baton as he looked for the best hiding spot. Not keen on hiding under the table again, he quickly launched himself up and over the chimney, landing softly and pressing his back up against the bricks.

"Ch–"

"Marinette?" Marinette let out a startled screech and Chat could hear her shuffling as she fought to stay on her feet. "What are you doing up? You have school in the morn–" Chat heard Mrs Cheng interrupt herself with a tsk, "You aren't even in your pyjamas yet! Have you just been up here talking to yourself for the last half hour?"

Chat winced and glanced down at his baton to see that it was in fact now past 22h30. Marinette let out a strained giggle, "Is it that late? Wow, I'm sorry Mom! I just came up to water my plants and then I was thinking out loud and I completely lost track of time! I'll come in right away and get ready for bed."

There was the soft rustle of clothes and a couple of footsteps, "In you go then," said Sabine.

"Uh... right. Time for bed!" Chat shook his head, Marinette's overly cheerful voice wasn't exactly subtle. Maybe that was why her mother was acting as an escort. He waited until he heard the balcony hatch and bedroom trapdoor close and footsteps retreating down the stairs to the main floor of the Dupain-Cheng home, then gave it another fifteen minutes for Marinette to get herself changed and ready for bed before quietly sneaking back around the chimney.

Perched above her balcony trapdoor, Chat peered inside, using his night vision to make sure Marinette was alone before gently tapping on her glass. Marinette rolled over and climbed out of her blankets in order to crack open the hatch. "Chat!" she hissed, "You're going to get me in trouble!"

Sliding his fingers through the crack, Chat lifted it just enough to slip inside and let it close silently behind him. Marinette glared at him, but he just leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear, "Then you'd better speak more quietly, eh purrincess?"

She let out a huff and dropped back down to sit on her bed, Chat following. "I thought you left."

He rolled his eyes, "You didn't really think I'd leave in the middle of our conversation did you?"

Marinette huffed again, "Fine. But if we're going to talk, there's a bigger thing we need to talk about." Chat raised an eyebrow, though he wasn't entirely sure she could see it between his mask and the dark room. "You can't keep coming here."

Chat blinked rapidly, "Wait... what?"

Her hands reached out to grasp his, "That didn't come out right." She crossed her legs and scooted closer to him so her knee was resting on his thigh, "What I mean is that you can't keep coming to my balcony all the time."

There was a moment of silence, but Chat was still coming up blank, "Why not?"

"Because I'm not always going to be here. Sometimes I'm going to be doing homework, or helping in the bakery, or spending time with my family, or working on a project, or hanging out with a friend." She squeezed his hands, "Or going out on a date with someone else."

Chat shrugged, "So I check, and if you're busy I'll head out."

Marinette was shaking her head before he finished, "It's not just that, I will not be an Achilles' heel for you!"

Baffled, Chat stared at her for a moment before responding, "You could never be a weak point for me Marinette! You make me feel warm and safe and loved." He released one of her hands so he could slide his arm around her waist, tugging on her to twist her around so that she was leaning against him.

She resisted, craning her head to look at him, "Not like that. If you keep coming here regularly you're going to get caught. Someone will see you and figure out that you're visiting me, and there's no way you'd be able to keep that quiet. Then Hawkmoth will realize that I mean something to you and he will try to find a way to use me against you."

Chat frowned and pulled her in close to hug her. She gave in and settled back against his chest. "Then what? I know you don't really know me very well, but I don't have a lot of control over my regular life. There are very few things that I get to choose, and most of the things I have chosen I have had to fight to get and to keep." A slight growl crept into his voice, raising it above a whisper, "I may have just realized how important you are to me, but I'm not losing that. I can and will fight to keep you, and I'm definitely not losing you because of Hawkmoth."

He heard her breath catch and her heart speed up and Chat couldn't suppress a grin even as she shushed him. "I'm just saying that you aren't going to be able to come here every day, and if we decide to keep dating we're going to have to find somewhere else to meet up eventually."

His grin faded into a frown and his grip slackened, "But then when will we be able to see each other? And how are we going to set it up?"

"CallMe."

Chat shook his head, "Mari I know you're smarter than that. I don't stay powered up all the time and I can't constantly be transforming just for the sake of calling you. That's a good way to get caught and put my identity at risk too."

She giggled softly, "Silly kitty, there's an app called CallMe – all one word – that gives you an alternate phone number on your phone that you can use to text and call people. If you set it up on your regular phone we can talk and text without risking me figuring out who you are or having anyone else know either."

A lump in his throat prevented Chat from answering her and he heard the confusion in her voice as she twisted to look up at him again, "Chat?"

He swallowed hard and cleared his throat, "Sorry. Uh... I'm sorry but... could you not call me that?"

"What?"

He started to clear his throat again, then hesitated when he realized how loud it was. Swallowing again instead he turned his head away from her, "Kitty."

"Kitty?" He saw the moment she understood as Marinette's eyes grew wide, "Oh. Oh! I'm sorry! Of course that's Ladybug's nickname for you. I didn't even think about it. I'll uh... I'll think of something else to call you." She straightened her head and leaned her head back against his shoulder. There was an awkward silence before she spoke again, "But uh... what do you think about the app?"

Relieved by her understanding, Chat rested his chin on her head and felt her relax in response, "I think it's a great idea. If you give me your number I'll punch it into my normal phone as soon as I get home and download the app."

"Great!" Marinette sighed and pulled away from him, "Unfortunately, you really should be heading out. I have school tomorrow."

"Don't we all?" muttered Chat. At least I'll get to see you again there!

Grabbing a pen and a piece of paper, Marinette wrote down the name of the app as well as her cell number and handed it to him. Chat tucked it securely into a pocket and zipped it closed.

Chat swooped in to snag a quick kiss, then hopped up and out the hatch, giving her a two finger salute, "Until next time Purrincess! I'll message you when I get the app all sorted out."

Marinette jumped up onto her bed and stole a kiss of her own before he could close the hatch, "Good night Chat."

"Good night Mari."