"Good evening Milady. You look purrfect tonight." He grinned as he looked down at her. She rolled her eyes, standing to look at him. He was taller than she was, and she realized this with their close proximity. Too close.

Her eyes left his and she cleared her throat, allowing herself to put some distance between them. The heat radiating off of him made it difficult. "Always with the cat puns. Aren't we getting too old for that kitty?" she giggled, the sound radiating through his chest and resting somewhere deep in the pit of his stomach, in a spot only she used to be able to.

He thought of Marinette and her soft skin, her sweet smell and her even sweeter taste. Ladybug hadn't been the only one keeping the feline up at night.

"Distracted?" the girl standing in front of him hummed softly, the question getting lost in the still warm night. He couldn't help but nod and plop down, Ladybug following right behind him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He couldn't look at her. He fiddled with the ring on his finger as he thought of what to say. "There's this girl.." He finally admitted, crimson washing over his cheeks and nose, the warmth of the thought of the sweet girl crashing over him like ocean waves.

A sound left his spotted counterpart that he hadn't heard in a while. A low sigh that barely met his ears. Jealousy? No. he shook his head, not allowing his hopes to soar like they have for the last few years.

She doesn't love you. If she had there wouldn't be another girl. It would be her.

He felt guilty for his thoughts even if they were true. If Ladybug had ended up loving him he wouldn't be developing feelings for Marinette now. He would have loved Ladybug. He would have followed her to the ends of the earth. He would have spent the rest of his life making a fool of himself just to hear her laugh and just to see that bright, beautiful smile of hers. He was a fool for following her for so long and not seeing the girl that had been right in front of him the entire time. She sat behind him in most of his classes for cheese's sake.

"Are you going to sit there or are you going to tell me about her?" she broke the uncomfortable silence stretching between them.

And so he did.

He told her about Marinette. He never used her name, but he did talk about her. About how blue her eyes are, how sweet the smell of her shampoo is. He told Ladybug about how soft her skin was and about how the faint freckles that dusted her chest and face drove him absolutely mad. He couldn't stop talking about the bakers daughter who loved fashion, and loved the people around her even more. He told her about the way Marinettes' hands touched him so delicately in a way he hadn't been before. The world around Adrien Agreste had been callous and sometimes cruel. Marinette was his safe space, his soft spot to land whenever he needed her. She had been there more than his own father.

"She sounds special." Ladybug spoke after a moment of silence.

"She is." He responded.

"Do you want to be with her?"

"I don't know. I've loved someone else for so long. This girl seems like she wants to be with me. I think she does. I just don't want to give up on the other girl that I've gotten so close to-" He was cut off by her fingers lacing through his. She turned to face him, her eyes both sad and happy at the same time. Those accepting pools of blue bore into him.

"I want you to be happy." She started, bringing her hand to his mouth when he opened it to speak. "You're my best friend Cat Noir. You know more about me than anyone else does. Even though you haven't seen the girl hiding behind the mask. You've always been there even when I didn't need you." She stopped to run her finger along his jawline. She knew having this talk with him was the only way for them to both get what they craved. Love and comfort.

"Milday?" he couldn't look away from her. He just couldn't.

"Cat Noir." A shaky sigh left her lips. "I'm making the decision to let you go."