[[AN: Thanks again, nebilas-writes! (3]]
Chat Noir was fuming.
Who did Luka think he was, talking about Marinette like that!? 'Amazing'!? Of course, Marinette's amazing! She's way more than just amazing! She's kind and strong and funny and…!
…well, she's kinda weird too, but in an attractive way, if that was a thing. Which was good for Adrien, since she tended to be that way more often than not around him.
Chat paused in his pacing and smirked to himself. Was it bad how self-satisfied he felt when he could get her flustered enough to elicit some of those crazy responses? Was it bad how often he maybe did it on purpose?
Chat took a few steps to lean on the railing of the rooftop he had stopped on to look to the balcony across the way. The lights of the Tour de Eiffel shone brightly, bathing the scene in a replica of yellow moonlight, giving the shared space a charming, almost ethereal glow. The scene was rendered to near perfect by the excited buzz of couples and tourists buzzing around in the parc by Marinette's house and the motorists hurrying along to enjoy the views of the Ville de l'Amour, 'City of Love'.
But all Chat Noir could concentrate on was how he had already been rejected by the girl of his dreams, and now, too suddenly for him to be able to properly wrap his head around, found the girl he himself had rejected had become something of an exhilarant to his insides.
"Marinette! Really? Love m-me!? I…I mean, I don't know what to say…. No, Mar, I don't feel the same way…
"I'm sorry."
He hated that he remembered every word of that conversation.
It was unfair.
So, once again, Chat Noir tried to reason with his stupid brain about the situation.
Because it wasn't like he was actually attracted to Marinette. Sure, there were certain qualities she possessed that were attrac-tive, but he never had considered himself actually attrac-ted to her. Like, he hadn't ever seriously thought of the two of them being together. Entertained the idea one or twice? Maybe. A dozen times might, in reality, be a more accurate number. Or even a dozen times a week, but who was really counting!? Thinking about it was safe, because it wasn't like anything would ever happen between the two of them! It was just, like, a fantasy or – no, NOT 'fantasy', that's not…that's not the right word. Imaginings of a love-starved boy? Yeah, that's all. Because, even though Plagg had whined about how cliché it was for him to say it (which was about 99% of why he was Chat Noir right now, so he didn't have to listen to the ornery cuss any longer), Adrien was still hopelessly devoted to Ladybug!
His Lady…
The one who didn't see him in that way at all.
"Chat, you know how I feel about staying strictly professional in the suit. We don't have that luxury, so I've never entertained the idea. Sorry, Chaton, but we can't be together…ever."
He remembered every word of that conversation too.
Chat growled suddenly, pushing off the railing and turning around to cross his arms and pout. Ville de l'Amour? More like Ville des mal-aimés, 'City of the Unloved'…
(…okay, maybe that was a little melodramatic.)
It took a few minutes for a still-scowling Chat's ears to finally twitch enough to draw his attention to the familiar sounds of a certain girl who had just come out from her balcony. When he turned, both cat ears turned too, concentrating everything on her.
"…Luka, that sounds, uh, that sounds grood! I mean goot! I mean, I can't wait! Heh, yeah, 7:00 is fine. Okay. Yeah, see you then. Bye."
"New boyfriend?"
Chat was a little satisfied in the terrified scream Marinette had let loose. He easily caught the phone she'd thrown at him and looked down to see a picture of her and Luka on her screen in an open text box.
"Chat!" she finally whisper-shouted at him, hand still clutching her chest from residual fear…though she did have mind enough to march over and snatch the phone out of his hands. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't answer my question," Chat responded instead, leaping down from where he had snuck onto her balcony railing and getting close enough to lean over her smaller frame. She maintained eye contact with him, surprise at his antics giving way to a small smirk. He felt his pulse rise compulsorily at the splendid sight of her needing to peer straight up at him in their close proximity, with that look on her soft features.
"Since when is it any of your business who I date, Chat Noir?"
Playful Marinette?
…yes please.
"I thought you liked the Agreste boy," Chat shrugged, "yet, it didn't sound like that's who you were talking to, Princessa. Just wanting to know if I need to protect you from another boy Akumatized because of his unrequited love for you."
This actually made Marinette laugh, though it was tinged with a bit of sadness. "Thanks for thinking so highly of me, really, but I can promise you 'Adrienette' – " she used air-quotes with her fingers to emphasize the word – "won't happen."
"'Adrienette'?"
"Adrien…Marinette…." She slapped her hands together. "'Adrienette'."
Oh. Never happen, huh…?
It stung, but Chat couldn't really think of – or maybe couldn't bring himself to admit – why. He cleared his throat a little, trying to ignore it all and get his head back in the game.
"But you like this guy? Luka?" Chat leaned on the rail and leaned in a little closer. "Like, actually like him?"
"Yes, Chat," she said simply. "I wouldn't exactly have agreed to go on a date with him if I didn't."
"Why?"
Marinette blinked, apparently not expecting that response.
(Neither was Chat.)
"Why? Why what?"
"Why do you like this guy all of a sudden?"
"Why does it matter?"
"Indulge me, mon Mari-Cherie," he said quietly.
Why this was so important, he couldn't be sure. It could be something simple and dumb, like reassurance. It could be – and probably was – something else. Either way, for some reason, the answer to this question seemed like the most important thing in the world right now.
"I…" Marinette sighed, looking away. "Well, he's nice, Chaton. And, well, he likes me. Like…" Marinette smiled to herself. "Like, he actually likes me. For me. As I am. Not because I'm –" Marinette's eyes suddenly snapped wide eyes back to Chat, searching his face like he suddenly could guess what she had been about to say. "That is, I mean, not because I'm someone – something! Else. Someone I'm not. 'Cause I don't like to act like someone or something I'm not. And, well…" She wouldn't look up at him now. Pointedly. "That matters more than you might think."
It felt like she was blaming him for being a person that would do that, and…Chat didn't know what to think. What had he done – or, more likely, said – that would have caused her to act that way to him now? He refused to think about how Adrien had turned her down for Ladybug, so what was it about Chat that had tainted her opinion of him? The fact that he had told her that he loved Ladybug before? Didn't he have a right, as one superhero to another, to have a "celebrity crush" on His Lady as Marinette had had for him?
Marinette sighed, the sound shaking Chat from his stupor. Without looking back, she walked quietly to her trapdoor, opened it, and slipped inside, pausing when only her head and uplifted arm could be seen. She looked over her shoulder at him.
"Goodnight, Chat Noir." Her smile was soft, maybe even a little sad. As he watched, unable to look away, and equally unmatched for any more conversation, Marinette's small smile turned up in the corner slyly.
"Don't stray too far, Minou. You're always welcome to my rooftop."
A quick wink – a wink – and she was gone. And Chat Noir was left to stew in his own mind, swimming in the confused goop that used to be coherent thoughts and steady emotions.
…I'm in trouble.
[[AN: Thanks for reading!]]
