Chapter 4

"-and then he left."

"I can't believe it," Alya squealed, then faked a sob. "My innocent Marinette, all grown up and having secret rendezvous with a mysterious masked man in her bedroom."

She faked a hiccup before donning a wicked grin. "This is too good to be true!"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I'm not even that innocent. I'm 17, after all."

"True, unfortunately the ways of public school have corrupted a bit of your mind," she teased. "Anyway, what do you think of Chat Noir? Do you see anything happening?"

The designer blushed and picked at a stray string on her comforter. She didn't meet Alya's eager eyes as she spoke.

"I-I think so. I mean, he seems nice so far. He doesn't seem like the other guys at school."

"Yeah," Alya agreed, making a sour face. "Most of those guys are immature pervs."

"Chat Noir was nothing like that," Marinette said softly, smiling at the memory of him. "He may have been a little cheesy at times, but I think he's really sweet. He paid attention and stared into my eyes when we talked, like he was memorizing every word I said."

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but is he hot?" Alya demanded, leaning in closer to the perturbed blackette who leaned away. "While a great personality is gold, you didn't tell me if he's cute or not."

She sighed, knowing she'd have to answer. "He's cute." Her cheeks colored into a rosy pink. "Very cute."

"Come on, details!"

"Well," she faltered, biting her lower lip. "His hair is like sunshine, and it looked so thick and soft. And his eyes, even though they looked like a cat's, they were a beautiful emerald." She smiled and a rare, far-off look settled over the girl's face. "I think he's the most handsome man I've ever seen."

"You're so lucky," Alya grumbled, crossing her arms. "Wish that could happen to me."

Marinette laughed, coming out of her trance. "Don't worry, it'll happen soon. I know it."

"How could you know that?"

"Because what man could not fall for that invasive, mischievous, pushy personality of yours?" She ribbed, snickering before full-out laughing when Alya grabbed a pillow to hit her over the head with.

"But seriously," Marinette continued in between lingering giggles, trying to calm down. "You're a great girl, Alya. It'll happen one day, I promise."

Alya's lips quirked up into a half-grin as she regarded her best friend. "Thanks, girl," she said softly, wrapping her arms around the girl for a hug.

...

"Don't tell me," Nino began before adopting a breathless tone of voice. "You're just counting down the hours until the night, for when you can scale the bakery walls and be with your dear Loved One."

Adrien offered his friend an unimpressed look from his desk, noting the way the man was clasping his hands and holding them up to his cheek, while his hazel eyes blinked rapidly. He looked every bit like the cliche love-struck woman.

"Shut up," he grumbled, knowing if he was a human his cheeks would probably be burning.

"It's just weird seeing you like this, man. I mean, you've never really been into romance at all before Marinette," Nino expained, abandoning his teasings. "You just...well, couldn't care less."

"It's not really my fault, you know how a vampire's feelings work," the blond shrugged.

Nino nodded in understanding. When a vampire likes someone, it doesn't take them long at all to be utterly and completely in love with them. When they fell, they fell hard. It was the same for all of them, and Adrien was no different.

Even if this wasn't the case, Adrien knew he most likely would've fallen for her just as quick. She was smart, creative, talented, kind, and beautiful. He could spent an entire lifetime by just becoming lost in her eyes alone, those blue pools that never failed to pull him in their depths and drown him.

He was entirely smitten with the girl. And honestly, he didn't mind. He welcomed the intimate feelings.

"Ugh, you're doing it again," Nino moaned. "That's like the third time today I caught you daydreaming."

"I can't help it!" Adrien retorted, throwing out his hands for emphasis. "I just started talking to her and she doesn't hate me! That means I have a chance!" He grinned, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Maybe one day she'll love me."

"It'll happen," Nino agreed with a small smile, shaking his head at his best friend's almost child-like excitement. "Trust me."

"I hope," the vampire whispered half to himself and half to Nino. He still couldn't help but have doubts; Marinette could be terrified of him when she found out the truth about him.

In the few seconds of silence that stretched between the two, with the only noises being Plagg's messy eating of camembert from his bedside table, Adrien suddenly remembered just what he was thinking about before Nino interrupted him.

"Hey, I was thinking," he began.

Nino raised a brow and crossed his arms. "That's never good."

Adrien frowned and rolled his eyes. "I'm serious."

"Oh, you're serious?" Nino mocked playfully, dipping himself into a gallant bow. "What is it you're serious about, Your Highness?"

The vampire groaned at his best friend's antics, closing his eyes and covering part of his forehead with a hand. "Can you please stop and listen to me?"

The werewolf frowned and straightened again. "Damn, you really are serious. What is it?"

Adrien bit his lower lip and squirmed slightly, nervous about Nino's reaction. "It's...well, I can't see Marinette during the day. You know, the sun and all?"

"Sure you can," he protested. "That's why you have a Miraculous, so you can go into the sunlight without disintegrating yourself."

"That's one way to describe it," the blond chuckled darkly. "Besides, you know I can't go out. How many civilians do you see in cat suits?"

The Miraculous were items vampires used in order to shield themselves from the light. As long as a vampire wore one and had it activated, they could go out in the sunlight whenever they wanted and wouldn't have to worry about dying.

However, this power came with consequences. Yes, they could go out in the light, but they were clothed in often ridiculous costumes. As a result, whenever they had to go out in the daylight, they had to hide or else people would be weirded out and suspicious of why a costumed person was out and about when it wasn't Halloween.

Hence, why this plan wouldn't work if Adrien was involved.

"True," Nino agreed, nodding. "So what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking," the vampire answered slowly, "that someone should watch over her in the daytime."

Nino's lips pursed in confusion as his brows dived down. "Why?"

"I can't keep her safe in the sunlight, I have no idea what she does during the day. Anything could happen to her when I'm not there."

The werewolf shook his head at his friend's foolish worry. "Dude. She's survived this long, I'm sure nothing spontaneous is going to happen to change that anytime soon."

"Nino," Adrien snapped irritably. "I have to make sure she's safe at all times. What kind of vampire doesn't protect his Loved One?"

"I understand wanting to make sure she's safe, but come on, don't you think you're worrying too much. Besides, who would you get to watch over her?"

Nino paled in realization once he saw his best friend's lips slowly curve up into a devious smirk.

"No! No, that's stupid!" Nino refused loudly. "How would I even do that? It's not like I can shadow her wherever she goes."

"You see," Adrien drawled mischievously, "there's this place where human children go everyday to learn. It's called 'school', and as Marinette is still under 18, she has to go as well."

"I know what school is, why are you-"

.

.

.

"No. Way. You can't be serious," Nino scoffed in disbelief.

"I thought we've already established the fact that I am."

"Dude! I am not going to school! When I turned 18 I was done with homeschooling, so there is no way in hell I'm going to subject myself to something like that again."

Adrien grinned, knowing he was going to wear down his friend sooner or later. He was trained at a young age to be persistant and resilient, they were qualities a prince must have if he wants to successfully rule over his subjects one day.

"Why not? Maybe it could change your whole life."

"I'm sure it won't," the man scoffed, crossing his arms. "Sorry, man, but it's not happening."

"I could always order you," the blond pointed out lightly.

Nino spluttered out an indignant cry of exasperation. "You're not my Alpha, you can't tell me what to do!"

"Please, Nino," Adrien begged, going for the emotional tactic. "Please? I have no way of knowing she's safe during the day. You'd be a huge help to me." He even got on his knees and clasped his hands together to complete the act, something that a royal never does. But this was a special case.

The werewolf held back a groan. Already he could feel his heartstrings being tugged by the conniving vampire.

"Please? You're my best friend, I'd do the same for you with no questions asked."

This time he couldn't muffle the groan as he slowly slid a hand along his cheek in misery. It was true, after all. He knew that Adrien always had his back and would help him out with anything, at anytime, anywhere.

He sighed. It was time to repay that loyalty back.

"Alright," he grumbled. "I'll go to school and make sure she's okay."

"Thank you!" Adrien declared happily, jumping up and grabbing his best friend for a hug. "Thank you!"

"Dude, you're crushing me!" Nino exclaimed, a small bout of panic rising in him. Werewolves and vampires were both equally strong, but could squeeze each other to death of either one really wanted to. It would be more difficult, given both of the species' durability, but it could be done.

The blond instantly released him and took a step back, adopting a sheepish grin and rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Sorry."

"Give me the details," Nino growled, still not liking the whole prospect of being subjected to school again.

"Alright," the little shit grinned. "Her full name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng and she goes to Collège Françoise Dupont. I'll make sure your schedule will be the same as hers. Try to befriend her, don't just creep around her, you know?"

"I know," he ground out. "Relax, I know what to do."

"Okay, okay," Adrien relented, bringing his hands up in a peaceful sign of surrender. "Just making sure. Thanks, man, I owe you big time."

"Damn right you do," Nino agreed. His scowl morphed into a smirk when he thought of just how his best friend could owe him.

"Since I'm going back to school, naturally I'm going to have homework."

The blond raised a brow in curiosity. "Yeah, and? What-oh." He glowered when the realization hit him. "Are you serious?"

"Yep," Nino replied cheekily, popping the 'p'. "I'm basically just a placeholder for you. If you could go out in the sunlight without the catsuit, you'd be going to school instead of me. It's only right for you to do my homework."

Adrien had to grudgingly admit that it was true. Nino really was just a placeholder for him, it wouldn't be right to make him do all the homework or projects, plus he was making him get out of bed early and learn things he already knew before.

"Alright, I suppose it's a fair deal."

"Nice doing business with you, Your High-ass-ness."

Adrien rolled his eyes and playfully punched his shoulder.

...

Marinette tapped her fingernails against her desk as she waited for the mysterious Chat Noir to show. It was around 11:00 so she really needed to get to bed soon since it was a school night, she hated going through the school day being tired which was why she tried to avoid going to bed late.

She shouldn't be waiting up for him like this. They weren't secret lovers or anything, she had no excuse to wait for him like some princess in a tower. Besides, what if he didn't even show up? He could have lied to her.

As if right on cue, the sound of soft tapping coming from the skylight leading to her balcony reached her ears.

She bit her lower lip as she felt her stomach knot with nerves. Why was she suddenly so nervous to see him? She only met him once, it wasn't enough to get this affected by him.

The blackette released a breath to calm herself before rising from her seat and going up to open the hatch. When she was just below it and looked up, she found the man himself smiling warmly down at her.

When she opened it she got out of the way to let him jump down onto the bed on all fours, just like his namesake.

He reached behind his back and held out a brilliant red rose.

"For you, Princess."

Marinette couldn't help but smile shyly as she took it, dipping her nose into the bloom to inhale the sweet scent.

"I'm sorry for being so late, I had some matters to attend to," Chat Noir explained. "But now I'm at your disposal for as long as you'd like."

She took the rose away and smiled coyly up at him, staring into his alluring eyes. "I'm afraid your visit can't last too long, I have school in the morning."

"Then I'll be sure to make the most of my time," he purred flirtatiously, leaning down an inch closer to her.

She giggled and pressed a finger to his nose, gently pushing him away. "For someone who has just met me, you sure flirt a lot."

"Yes, but I've been interested for awhile now," he grinned. "We've technically known each other fur about a month, you know, with the whole roses thing?"

"Well that's your fault," she teasingly retorted, choosing to ignore the pun. "If you had gone up and introduced yourself to me properly, and not spent a month mysteriously leaving me roses, then we would've known each other well by now."

Her tiny grin faded into a neutral, inquiring look. "By the way, why did you leave me roses like that? Why not just introduce yourself like anyone else?"

He frowned, his eyes flickering towards her bedsheets.

Because I can't approach you in the daylight like this with anyone around, and I was too much of a scaredy cat to introduce myself at night.

"I thought this way would be more romantic." It wasn't a complete lie, he did like the idea and hoped she'd be swooning over it like in all those books and tv shows.

Her lips gradually turned up into an amused smile. "Well...it worked," she admitted, taking a chance and leaving herself vulnerable for a moment.

He perked up and smiled excitedly. "It did?!" Seemingly coming to his senses of how childlike he looked, he cleared his throat and continued in a much deeper baritone. "I mean, it did. Of course it did."

Marinette laughed at that, finding herself liking this Chat Noir even more despite only having officially known him for such a short time.

"So, we never got to finish our conversation from last night," Chat Noir prodded with a sly smirk.

She nodded, having already ceased her laughing. "We didn't."

"Why don't you tell me your most embarrassing story, then?"

...

"-and everyone saw me covered head to toe in flour. I looked like a total mess."

Chat chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sure you could never look like a mess, Princess. It's simply not possible."

Marinette rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Will there ever be a time when you don't compliment me?"

"Nope. Don't people compliment you everyday?"

She couldn't help but raise both of her eyebrows in surprise at the question. Was he serious? She was nowhere near good-looking enough to be complimented everyday. He had to be kidding. "No?"

His eyes widened as he stared incredulously at her. "No?"

She shied away from him, unsure. "No, they don't."

"You should hear compliments every hour of the day."

Sapphire eyes blinked as their owner gazed at him with shock. "Wh-what? No, I don't deserve or need that many compliments."

Chat appreciated her humility, but was wondering just how under-appreciated this girl was. She was absolutely beautiful, on the inside and on the outside. How could people not notice that?

"Well you still deserve them," he insisted stubbornly. "And you won't change my mind on this. I'm going to make up for all that lost time those idiots wasted."

He was serious. Marinette looked away, already knowing a blush was rising to her cheeks. She didn't understand how someone could feel so strongly about her to say that.

There were so many prettier girls at school, like the famous actress Lila Rossi. Lila had the male masses at her beck and call, waiting at her feet for her next order. Marinette never had a boy show devotion to her like this, like Lila's boys.

She had to admit it felt strangely thrilling at the prospect of having a boy like her just as much as one of Lila's. But her modesty far outweighed that tiny feeling and she shook her head.

"No, that's not necessary. Seriously, Chat, I'm just plain and boring. I'm not someone who people should be complimenting everyday. There are far more deserving girls out there."

The feline shifted closer to her on the bed so that they were only a few inches apart. His green eyes were narrowed to dangerous slits. She couldn't help but gulp in slight apprehension.

"Who told you this?" He growled. "Who put those thoughts in your head?"

"No one did! Just..." She fumbled with her words, "It's just life, I guess. I mean, boys have never really paid any attention to me. They all go after the prettier girls and give their attentions to them. Come on, you have to admit that I'm not some drop-dead gorgeous bombshell. I'm average, and clumsy, and-"

However, despite her claims, he only seemed to grow angrier for some reason.

"Quiet, Princess."

The only reason she listened to the command was because she was stunned to silence. He never said anything that rude before, so far he's only showered her with kind words and harmless teasing.

"Listen to me, Marinette, you're absolutely breathtaking. Don't believe me? Let me tell you how."

She continued to watch him, transfixed in what he had to say as her breath hitched in anticipation.

"Your eyes are the deepest and most beautiful blue I've ever seen. They remind me of a cloudless sky on a warm summer day, I could get lost in them forever if I'm not careful. I love the way they sparkle and gleam whenever you smile or laugh, and how they're wide like a doe's. The way you sometimes look up at me through those thick, black lashes makes me tongue-tied and dizzy." He paused to chuckle. "Like now. Only reason why I don't look like a stunned idiot right now is because I'm determined to get a point across."

The designer unceremoniously let her mouth hang open at his declaration.

He grinned. "I'm not done yet. Your hair is the color of the blackest night, and looks soft to the touch. It makes me want to run my fingers through it. Your skin reminds me of cream, flawless and glowing in the moonlight. Your lips are tantalizingly full and the sweetest, most enticing pink."

She was positive her heart stopped beating when he leaned down so that their lips we only a hair's width apart.

"I find myself wondering how they'd feel pressed against mine," he whispered.

Marinette could only gaze at him in silence. Was he going to do it? Her heart beat anew again as it pounded against her chest. How would she feel if he did do it? They'd only known each other for such a short time, yet she felt torn on completing the action.

But he pulled back before she could mentally decide.

"Do you believe me?" He solemnly asked.

With a confession like that? How could she not believe him? She may not see herself why he thought those things about her, but it was obvious he felt very strongly about her looks and was insistent on her agreement with him.

"I-I believe you," she whispered shakily and perhaps a bit breathlessly.

He nodded. "Good. Now, it's pretty late. You said you have school tomorrow, I better get going."

Without warning he took her hand and pressed it against his cool lips. "Don't ever doubt yourself ever again," he murmured and gave her hand another kiss.

He raised his eyes to her own to look for her confirmation.

She slowly nodded and he released her hand, in seconds he let himself out of the hatch.

"Sweet dreams, Princess," he bid before taking off.

A/N: I know Chat was a little forward in his compliments, but he couldn't do with Marinette being insecure about her looks. What do you think?

Also, werewolves in this story are all homeschooled in their packs by someone of their own kind. They try not to venture into the populated world so much. Nino's pack lives not very far from Adrien's castle, which is deep in the forest and far from Paris. Since vampires can't go out in the sunlight, they can't attend school either, so they must be homeschooled as well.