*Nightshade268 finally enters the stage*

Shh! Don't tell Lolly I copied her style.

Thank you all for the reviews, favorites, and follows! It really made my day!

With no further ado, I'll be giving you chapter 3! (With a mini Marichat sin)

Disclaimer (because lollipop forgot): We do not own Miraculous Ladybug and any of its characters!

-ฝันอย่างมีความสุขหลังจากที่เคย-


"Good evening, Princess!" Chat Noir said happily, popping upside down outside her window.

Marinette, who was in the middle of throwing out her 315th paper plane, fell back with a scream, causing her plane to hit him on the face.

"Meow-ch!"

Suddenly, Chat's hand slipped from the edge of the roof. With a heart-wrenching drop, he would've fallen if Marinette hadn't grabbed his wrist before he fell to the ground.

With a groan, Marinette placed her feet on the wall and pulled. "You're heavy!"

"All the better for you to have stronger arms, ma cherie." Chat grasped the edge of the balcony with his hand and swung himself inside. Both of them lay panting on the floor. They exchanged looks and burst out into a relieved laugh.

Chat Noir had come back again.

He tried to visit her as often as possible, bringing a souvenir every time he came, like a rose he picked from the palace gardens, a small brooch in the shape of a ladybug, sewing materials, etc. Although he couldn't meet her every night, Marinette didn't mind. She looked forward to his presence (although she would never tell him that, mind you.)

Over the course of his visits, Marinette had quickly warmed up to him, just like how one would warm up to a kitten asking for food outside of one's door. In exchange for his gifts, she baked him pastries that he indulged in with pleasure, and even fine tailored his suit, adding cat ears that he could clip on his head.

He tells her about life back in the kingdom. The bakery's business was faring well, but her parents were still worried. Chat told her that he had already assured them her safety, but he didn't know how long it would take to bring her back.

"You mentioned before that you adored Prince Adrien, right?" Chat said with a mischievous grin. He pulled out a red bound book from inside his satchel and handed it to her. "Ta-da!"

"What is it?" Marinette took it from his hands and opened it up. He watched with amusement as her face turned into a very dark shade of red. She looked back and forth from the book and him. "I-Is this-"

"A collection of portraits from when the prince was an infant and up to present." Chat said proudly. He didn't mention that he only picked what he deemed 'the good angles of his face'. "It's very up to date, the latest one just sketched yesterday."

Marinette turned to the latest pictures and exclaimed in delight as she recognized the art form. "Nathanaël!"

"You know him?"

"We've been friends for quite a while." Marinette said with a forlorn expression. "We learned the arts under the same teacher, but I drifted off to designing clothes."

Chat blinked. "Oh."

He wouldn't admit that he was slightly jealous that Nathanaël and Marinette knew each other before he did, which was ridiculous because it was through the young artist that he was able to meet his princess.

But then Marinette spotted a fluttering at the corner of her eye outside her window and she took a sharp intake of breath. "Chat! Hide!"

"Hide?! Where?!" Chat Noir asked in alarm. Without answering him, Marinette grabbed his hand and rushed him in her bedroom.

He only had a chance to catch a glimpse of the multitude of photos of his face around her room before she pushed him down her bed. Chat's heart leaped up his throat. "Uhh, Princess? Princess, what are you doing?"

Marinette still didn't answer him. He watched nervously as she quickly climbed up [on top of him] and pulled her blanket over their heads. "Marinette?!"

"Put your arms around me and stay very still!" She hissed, her warm breath fanning his neck, sending a shiver up his spine. The bell on his neck bobbed up as he swallowed. He nervously snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Her hair was tickling his nose.

He felt uncomfortable. This was a very very compromising and suggestive position. Oh what would Maman feel if she saw him like this? Very disappointed, most likely.

He was glad that they were covered in darkness because he was pretty sure that his face was as red as Nathanaël's hair and his eyes wouldn't stray to… places his eyes shouldn't stray to. He could feel her heart beating rapidly on his chest and he bet his beating heart was just as fast. For the same reasons, he did not know.

Several minutes passed by, both of them quiet and listening. When Chat was finally getting used to their position (And her smell. She smelled like bread and cream), she let go. Chat was both relieved and a little bit disappointed.

For a moment, her being in his arms was perfect.

"What was that?" Chat asked her.

"Papillion's spies. They're akuma butterflies that keep tabs on me when I least expect it." Marinette said. They fell into silence, refusing to look at each other.

"Well, if it caught me, it'd be catastrophic." He joked, trying to lighten up the awkward mood.

It did the trick as Marinette glared at him and slammed a pillow on his face, sending him toppling over the other side of the bed. "Meow-ch! You wound me, Princess!"

Marinette laughed and Chat smiled at the happy sound. Even if he did kind of like their position on the bed (oh gosh), he'd rather keep a safe distance and just make her happy.

But that safe distance was starting to get blurry the more time he spent with her.

As he got up, a box underneath the bed caught his fancy. He reached in and pulled it out.

To: Prince Adrien

Happy Birthday!

"Give it back!" Marinette snatched the box from his hands.

Chat asked hesitantly, "Is that for the prince?"

"His coming-of-age is nearing so I made a birthday gift for him." Marinette said shyly. The way her eyes were downcast and her cheeks were flushed, he couldn't help but feel a stab of guilt inside.

He shouldn't be feeling these things for her.

He should've known better than to keep her to himself. To keep her a secret.

He shouldn't have fallen in love with her.

"What's so good about Prince Adrien? He's just a useless prince."

The moment those words slipped out of his mouth, the moment her eyes blazed with hurt and anger, he knew he could never take those back.

"You don't know that!" Marinette said furiously. "Prince Adrien isn't useless! He studies hard! He's kind, polite, and gentle! He's anything but useless!"

Chat's chest warmed up at the compliments. But he couldn't stop now. "He does everything his father says, like a marionette."

"He's doing his best for the good of the kingdom!"

"He's a prince. You're a commoner."

Those words were bitter in his mouth. But those words weren't for her. Those were for him.

He had to remember his place.

His fists clenched as he said softly, "No matter how much you love, it'll all be for naught."

Neither of them spoke for a while. Chat looked up and grew shocked at the tears falling down her face.

"I'm sorry! I stepped out of line!" Chat said frantically. He didn't know how to deal with tears! He reached up to wipe it away, but hesitated. Would she let him touch her?

"I know that." Marinette's voice trembled as she clutched the box in her chest. "I know it'll never happen. I know he'll never love a commoner. He'll never love a nobody like me."

"You're not a nobody." Chat said.

Marinette smiled at him, but it fell as her tears grew stronger. Her voice broke. "I know. I know. I know. But can't a girl dream? Can't we dream of a happily ever after?"

He didn't answer her.

He did dream.

Countless times before he even talked to her, before he met her in person. Boundless times when he finally met her.

But those were just as they are, a dream.

Reality was cruel. But not cruel enough not to make dreams come true for one night.

He pulled out an invitation card with the stamp of the royal family in front and handed it to her. She stared at it in puzzlement. "What is it?"

"A private invitation to Prince Adrien's coming-of-age ball."

Marinette let out a squeal and tackled him, making them land on the bed once more. She squeezed him tightly and then sat up, her hands at the sides of his face, her eyes shining bright.

"Thank you." She breathed out.

One night.

Only one night, and then he'd let his secret princess go. But just one night, let him have her dreams come true.

"You're welcome." Chat said warmly.

~NS268~

As he ran through the forest, their exchanged words echoed in his head.

"He's a Prince. You're a commoner."

"No matter how much you love, it'll all be for naught."

"Can't we dream of a happily ever after?"

He had to draw the line between himself as Chat and himself as a prince. But along the way, it had blurred.

And he wasn't sure if he should be happy or terrified.

~NS268~

"Seriously, Adrien, you're acting weird these past few days." Nino said with befuddlement. "One day, you're all excited and can't sit still. Next, you're a bag of wet cats and you stare out of the window like a woman waiting for her husband to return from the seven seas."

"I-Is that so?" Adrien said uneasily. "I'm just looking forward to the ball, that's all."

"Right. You have to pick a bride."

Adrien spluttered. Directly after Nino had said that, Marinette's face had popped in his head. He wiped away the water from his mouth and played with his glass. "Hey, Nino."

"What is it?" Nino looked up from the music manuscript he was working on.

Adrien leaned his back on the window and asked, "If I decided to marry a commoner, what do you think will happen?"

This time, it was Nino's turn to choke. "Are you serious?!"

"I said if! If I marry a commoner," Adrien said quietly, "What do you think will happen?"

"Well," Nino scratched his head. "My dad was always against me writing plays and making music."

"But now your name is known throughout the kingdom." Adrien grinned.

Nino shrugged, but his smile was a little sad. "That still didn't make father proud. But that just shows that even if there are people who disapprove, you should go for what you think is good for you."

Adrien frowned. He still wasn't satisfied.

"If it's Marinette, I give my 100% approval!" His friend said with a wink.

Adrien blushed. "Nino! I don't think of her like that!"

"Right." Nino drawled. "Try saying that to yourself a year from now."

But as the prince remained silent, Nino said, "Look at King Alibaba from the Kingdom of Balbadd. He married a slave girl and their country is the richest in the land!"

"His queen is from a warrior's clan." Adrien pointed out.

"And you're saying that your queen will be less?" Nino said. "Adrien, whoever you choose, I know she'll be the greatest person to ever stand by your side."

Adrien smiled. He knew he had Nino's support.

But would the kingdom approve of a Cinderella bride?


-ฝันอย่างมีความสุขหลังจากที่เคย-

Lollipop: Why'd it turn into angst? I'm not writing the next part if it's angst!

(She's glaring at me while I'm typing this up) I can't help it! I like sad stuff!

Oh well, thank you all for reading! I hope you liked it! This is my first time doing a multi-chapter fic so I don't really know how long this story will draw out and how much I can put inside. I will do my best to write more each chapter!

The Marichat is a late Valentine's gift from me. ;)

See you at chapter 4! It'll still be me!