Chat Noir didn't show up last night, and Marinette couldn't help but feel disappointed. She knew that they hadn't made plans to see one another tonight, and maybe Chat had decided seeing her twice, two nights in a row was rather risky, but she still couldn't shake the bitter feeling of rejection.
She was gonna tear herself apart the more she kept thinking about everything that was going on in her life this much. So much of her mind was being occupied by the Soul Link. By Chat Noir. By Adrien. By other things she had barely paid any attention to. She wasn't even aware if there was supposed to be homework done for today, but at this point, she didn't even care. She'd take the consequences of not having done the work. She just couldn't care less right now.
There was a large part of her that felt like she was being a massive traitor. She felt like these feelings, these emotions that she was having towards Chat made her betray Adrien. Like she was doing something forbidden behind his back. It wasn't the same feeling she would get if she was cheating on him, not that she knew what that felt like... But it felt like she was just being unloyal. How long has she wanted that blond boy to see her?... And now she was falling for Chat?...
But her heart still pounded to think about Adrien Agreste...
Her heart was being torn between two different boys, and she felt like she was betraying both of them. Of course, she knew she was being irrational. She had never entered any sort of relationship with either of them... Despite her longing to, but she still couldn't help but feel guilty as hell about it all.
Thinking about all of this before going to bed wasn't helping her get to sleep at all. All it did was hinder the poor girl's efforts at getting to sleep. Was it wrong of her to like Chat Noir as well as Adrien? Did she like Chat more than she did Adrien?... Was that because Chat had always been there, loyally stood by her side when the Akuma had attacked, always having her back, and making sure she was safe, recklessly charging in like a lunatic to ensure her safety above his own. Was it how he had taken an interest in the more wild side to her personality, the more confident and brave part of her persona, or was it how he had taken an interest in her regular persona, the flawed, clumsy, stuttering one? Or was it that he had taken an interest in both?... That he'd been interested in the full picture
She wasn't getting anywhere by thinking about it this much... But it was impossible to stop thinking about all of it. Like it was set to remind her every second of her conscious state. No matter how much she tried, no matter how much she wanted to, she could never shake off these thoughts.
Dealing with a crush on Adrien Agreste, handsome, smart, intelligent and kind model, was difficult enough... Dealing with a crush on him and on the other half of the hero of Paris duo, Chat Noir... Dealing with double the emotions wasn't doing any good for her.
She sighed to herself, for maybe the hundred-and-fiftieth time that night alone. All she wanted was a simple solution... That really was the only thing she could ask for at this point.
Tap tap tap.
Not the solution she was looking for, but she'd take it.
She moved her head to the side and saw two glowing green eyes staring back at her. To anyone else, it would have been like something straight out of a horror movie, but Marinette had seen these sparkling emerald eyes a thousand times before. They gave her a certain feeling of comfort and warmth, like a guardian angel was watching over her and protecting her.
He had come tonight?
Throwing her covers off herself, she jumped from her bed and onto her wooden floor, not making a noise with her light landing, and practically skipped her way to her window, to fling it open for the dark clothed hero.
"Princess." Chat says with a smirk. He was in a good mood, she could tell just from his voice. "You look happy to see me." With that, he climbed inside, allowing himself to shiver ever so lightly due to to temperature difference from inside Marinette's room and the cold outside air.
"I thought something had happened to you, you dumb cat." Marinette informed him, shutting the window once he was inside her room. Once shut, Marinette realized just how warm this room had become.
"So you were worried about me?" A grin appeared on Chat Noir's face. "How touching."
There was something about Chat right now that would have normally sent out danger signals to Marinette. He seemed like he was on a hunt, more smug than he normally was. Every action he was making was deliberate, careful, and Marinette felt, rehearsed. He had planned this - No, he was making sure he enjoyed himself here. He knew something Marinette didn't.
Yet she was putty in his hands. She was just answering with her emotions, not with logic or knowledge. "Against my better judgement..."
"You were the one who asked me to return, if I recall, Princess." Chat Noir reminded her with yet another smirk. He stood up tall, maybe a half head taller than the blue haired superhero in front of him. "Did you have a purr-ticular reason for that?"
"I can promise it wasn't to hear those puns..." Marinette muttered with a groan, looking away from him.
"What a shame. Ladybug seems to like my puns."
'No, I can promise you she does not like your puns, at all.' Marinette thought to herself.
"So - Did you have a reason to ask me to come back here?"
"Not specifically." Marinette sat at her computer chair, swirling it around to face the worst possible choice of a crush she could have made. "I just... Wanted to talk to you, that's all."
"You called Chat Noir from his daily patrols to have a chat?" The miraculous holder chuckled to himself. "I'm not sure if it's more amusing that you asked, or it's more amusing that it worked - Here I am. I must be drawn to you, My Lady."
Under a normal conversation and circumstance, Marinette would have caught this particular phrase, but right now, she was focused on her blazing hot skin. The fact she was in her pajamas's in front of the hero didn't help matters once she realized that that was all she was wearing, sending yet another wave of embarrassment throughout the young girl. "I - I guess, so?..."
"You're acting all shy, but you like that you have that power over me, don't you?" Chat asked, taking a step closer to her.
The air shifted all of the sudden, and MArinete found herself closer to Chat than she had been before. Sure, they'd been closer than this as Ladybug and Chat Noir, but that was only ever when they were fighting Akumatized villains. Where they got close to each other and never had time to really think about it. This was different. This screamed intimate vibes. The moment was tender enough, and Chat wasn't doing anything to lessen it. He practically was thriving on it. "You can call this cat from anything, at any time, and you like that you've got that power, don't you?" He added on, with a particularly happy grin.
He wasn't wrong either. He was reading her like a book, specifically the chapter of her emotions, namely, embarrassment. He had hit the nail right on the head. The idea she could call upon Chat Noir whenever she - Not Ladybug, Marinette - Needed him, and he'd arrive... she liked it. And she was using this power to just... Talk to him... "Maybe I do..."
"So, let me ask you something, Princess." chat smirked in his victory. "I'm... Let's say, observant. I notice you when you don't notice me when I'm on my regular patrols. That boy, Adrien, right? The celebrity crush you've got?"
"I explained to you it's not a 'Celebtiry crush', but yes?... What about him?"
"You seem to stutter and be awkward around him... But not so much around me. Care to explain why?" His grin had become seriously smug now.
He knew.
He was aware about all these feelings she had been having about Chat. Chat Noir knew about her crush on him, and he was loving it. He was playing with her, and he was loving it. He had called her out on it in a roundabout way. He knew about her crush on Adrien, and asked why she wasn't nervous talking to him - Implying she had a crush on Chat.
Either he was very lucky, or he was psychic.
"Wha - That - I - I don't have a crush on you, that's why!" Marinette threw out a flurry of denials, knowing full well they were totally in vain, but she attempted to cover up her emotions out of sheer reflex. Her arms were flailing, like she was trying to stop Chat from coming any closer to her, cover up her blush, and punch Chat Noir in the gut all at the same time, but instead, wound up achieving nothing on that list. "You - you're - You're really thinking highly o-of yourself if - If you think that's the case!"
Chat seemed to lean back a bit, with a look of satisfaction. "You know what they say. Curiosity killed the cat. I guess my Soul Link was lying to me."
"Soul... Link?"
Marinette's eyes shot open. Chat had only mentioned the Soul Link to Ladybug. Ladybug was the only other person who knew. And they both knew better than to talk about their miraculouses to random civilians... Except, Marinette wasn't any random civilian. And Chat Noir was many things... But he wouldn't take a risk as silly as that unless he had damn good reason.
No - Unless he had concrete evidence...
'Oh my God.'
He hadn't known who his soul was linked to... Was he saying... He had figured it out?
And it was her?
And more importantly...
"That's two time's you managed to steal both my heart, and my soul," He bowed, and looked up at her, "Ladybug."
He knew who she was.
"You... How... How did you -" She wouldn't deny it. There was no point. She could deny it for the next few days, and Chat wouldn't buy it.
"Clue one - Both of you are cute as hell."
Chat took a step closer to her.
"Clue two - I happen to know both you and LB very well."
Another step closer.
"Clue three - Both of you have beautiful, blue hair."
He leaned in closer to her, their faces barely centimeters away from touching.
"Clue four - I saw you talking to your Kwami last night. Sort of a big giveaway, if I'm honest."
Marinette had to resist the urge to smack him in the head with the nearest article of clothing she had to offer as he came in even closer. Their lips were barley even an inch away. She didn't resist.
"And finally, clue number five - I'm drawn to both of you in ways I can't even begin to describe. I'm not sure if you're even a human half the time. There's no way any human can draw me in with such gravity, so you much be from space."
"That... Was a drawn out pick up line." Marinette commented softly, fully aware of how little space was between them. She couldn't back away even if she wanted to. He was going to kiss her, and she wanted it. Her lips were already parted, in anticipation of the moment their lips connected.
"It works if it's accurate." Chat said, suddenly bolting upright. "Much as I'd love to kiss you as much as you're wanting me to," He commented, tapping her lips with his finger, sparking a huge blush to appear on Marinette's face, "Not yet. There's no point to doing that unless you know who I am."
"Then - Then show me..." The flustered girl could only weakly argue, her heart pounding in both anger and disappointment that Chat hadn't kissed her.
"Hrrrrmmm~" Chat hummed to himself, his finger and thumb on his chin. "As I recall, wasn't it Ladybug who said 'We have to keep our identities a secret, even from each other'?"
"That's - that's not fair! You already know who I am!"
"Then call me an opportunist."
"You're really asking for it, Chat!"
"Oh I'm begging for it, My Lady, trust me, nothing would make me happier than the opportunity to ravish you as we speak." He put special emphasis on that word, which could have made the blunette girl pass out from embarrassment alone, had Chat nor finished his sentence, "But now I know you like me... I want to issue you a little challenge."
Marinette could only nod, her heart racing too quickly to allow her to respond.
Scooping up her right hand and holding it in front of him, like a knight taking his lady's hand for the first time, he said to her, "If you can figure out who I am by, say, the end of this week, I may just forgive all those times you've sidestepped me, along with the other more... Well, I'll let you figure out that when the time comes."
Part of her wanted to slap Chat. There they were, right now, Soul Linked partners... So close... All this stress, all this worry the two of them had mounted up for all this time... This tender, intimate opportunity to make it all go away... And he wanted to play a game with her?! Of everyone on this Earth...
"And... What happens if I fail?"
"Oh, I'll collect my debt, don't you worry about that." Chat told her with a wink. Marinette didn't even need time to imagine what he was insinuating. "So for my sake, please, don't even bother trying to figure it out."
"Well... You know Ladybug doesn't back down from a challenge, Kitty." Marinette replied confidently, despite being frail as water at the knees. "I'll play your game... But I reserve the right to punch whoever the hell it is underneath that mask of yours once I figure it out."
"Deal, My ladybug." Chat nodded, planting a soft kiss on Marinette's knuckles. "Don't be too disappointing by the lack of a kiss, by the way... That'll come later. Plenty of those will come later~ This is too much fun to pass up on though."
"You're enjoying this far too much."
"Oh, absolutely." Chat looked at his ring and noticed how little time he had left before becoming himself again. He had been teasing this girl for so long, he hadn't even heard his miraculouses beeping. "Well, this has been fun, Princess, but I've gotta run. Tell your Kwami, wherever it is, I say hello." Leaping backwards towards the window, he opened it up, and winked at Marinette once more "I'll see you tomorrow, Ladybug." And just like that, he was gone, leaving Marinette all alone to process what had just happened.
Chat had given her a lot of information to process... She knew that this person knew both her and Ladybug well... So that did help narrow it down a bit, but not by a lot. He also basically admitted he knew Marinette in school, so that narrowed it down further...
Absentmindedly, Marinette pressed her lips against the point Chat had kissed her knuckles. "Oh, I'll figure out who you are, Chat Noir."
And she was gonna punch whoever was under that mask for being so smug.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! I'M SO SORRY I MISSED YESTERDAYS UPLOAD. FORGIVE ME ;-; ENJOY THE EXTRA FLUFF. JUST ENJOY IT, PLEASE ;-;
I planned for a little more of a build up, but you guys deserve the fluff after my failure to update. Please forgive me on that front, but I had lots of stuff to do ;-;
There seems to be a HUGE amount of support for the Traits Universe on Tumblr, so I'ma go with that one. Don't worry, One shots and Reverse Crush will happen. The ask was just for which one you'd prefer to see first, and Traits has pretty clearly smashed that question.
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