When Marinette sat on her rooftop to watch the stars, the last thing she expected to see was a black cat making its way towards her. She felt her breath hitch at the sight of him. He was lean, his movements smooth, and his blond hair an untamed mess. She didn't know why, but somehow, his green eyes seemed particularly luminescent tonight. His pupils were large as he stared down at her, a small sly smile on his face. They stared at each other for the longest of time, neither one brave enough to break the silence between them.

"It's chilly tonight," Chat Noir said after a while. Marinette almost jumped at the sound of his voice. It was low, like a whisper, as though he was afraid the people on the streets below could hear him.

Marinette blinked once. Twice. 'Yes', she wanted to say, but it came out as a soundless breath of air. She nodded when she realised she couldn't speak. Marinette blamed Chat Noir's peculiar bright eyes.

"What are you doing out here at this time of night, princess?" he asked, with an affectionate emphasis on her nickname.

Marinette cleared her throat, not knowing whether to cringe or swoon at the nickname, and looked away from Chat Noir's eyes and over his shoulder instead. "Just thinking," she whispered.

She hoped Chat Noir wouldn't start flirting with her like he did the first time he met her civilian form. If he really liked Ladybug, then he wouldn't start flirting with other girls, right? Marinette wouldn't know what she would do if he did. She was certain her heart would break into pieces. After all, she was beginning to fall for him, fast.

But wouldn't that make things clearer for her? If Chat Noir doesn't have feelings for Ladybug, then Marinette wouldn't be torn between him and Adrien. The choice would be so much easier. Sure, it involves picking up pieces of a broken heart, but that's better than being stuck between a rock and a hard place, not knowing which way to go.

And so, Marinette waited, half of her hoping Chat Noir would start flirting, and the other half hoping he wouldn't.

But Chat Noir kept a distance from her. He didn't want to confuse Marinette by making her think that Chat Noir may be attracted to her. He had to consciously keep reminding himself to not be drawn in by Marinette's warmth. He had to tell himself to not stare at her for too long, because the glow of the moon softly lighting her features and the darkness of her eyes and the softness of her lips didn't help at all.

Chat Noir couldn't remember if he had spoken. He wanted to ask her what she was thinking about, and he thought that he did, but judging from the silence that fell between them again, he figured he had forgotten to ask. But that was fine by him. The silence was welcomed; it was familiar and comforting, like they've done it a hundred times – and they have.

"Do you ever get tired of it?" Marinette asked suddenly.

Chat looked at her, confused. "Of what?" he asked.

"This," she gestured to him. "Being a superhero, sacrificing your time and risking your life for people you don't know."

"No," Chat Noir answered without hesitation. He leaned against the railings of the roof, staring out into the quiet city. He felt Marinette step beside him, an arm's length away. "I love being Chat Noir. I love keeping people safe. I may not know them, but I do know that to someone else in the world, they're important and loved. I have the power to stop people from losing their loved ones. That's why it's worth it to risk and sacrifice so much."

Marinette looked at him with new, profound interest and admiration. She already knew Chat Noir had a big heart, but she didn't realise how true and noble his heart was. When his eyes met hers, Marinette gasped. They were kind, and brighter than the stars behind him. The hues of green and the gentleness in them mesmerised her. Looking into his eyes like this; it felt so familiar. It reminded her of…

Adrien.

Marinette looked away and shook her head. When she looked back at Chat Noir, she wasn't surprised to see an odd look on his face. She coughed, trying to recall what they were talking about before. Ah, yes, she remembered, being a superhero.

"Paris is lucky to have a hero like you."

Chat Noir blinked. He seemed to have forgotten their conversation too. A look of realisation fell upon his face after a moment, then, with a wide smile on his face, Chat Noir added fondly, "And Ladybug."

Marinette laughed quietly. "And Ladybug."

Adrien stared at Marinette, wondering why she was so quiet today. When he asked her, she had smiled and said that it was nothing. Naturally, Adrien didn't believe her. He wanted to find out what was in her head. He wanted very much to heal all the pain she held in her heart. Marinette fascinated Adrien endlessly, and he hated seeing her troubled.

She was on the treadmill today. He was on the treadmill beside her, and it reminded him so much of their first day as workout buddies. So much time had gone by since then, and he smiled thinking of how much closer they had gotten these past few months.

Marinette glanced over at him and grinned. "What are you smiling about?"

"The treadmill just told me a great joke."

"Oh?"

Adrien smirked. "What kind of belt does a postman* wear?"

"I don't know, what?"

"A conveyer belt!"

The joke wasn't funny, but the look on Adrien's face made Marinette laugh so hard that she was thrown off the treadmill. She landed on her butt with a look of shock on her face. Adrien looked back at her and laughed, only to lose his balance and be flung back too. He landed beside her with a grunt, and they laughed.

"This is familiar," Marinette said, sitting up after their laughter had subsided.

Adrien grinned. "I was just thinking about the first time we were here together, and then this happened."

Marinette nodded at him with a smile on her face. Adrien smiled too, genuinely this time. He leaned forward and gently took her hands in his. He was amazed at how they looked so soft, but were actually rough and calloused. Turning her hand in his, Adrien studied her fingers. He always thought he was one to admire ladies with soft fingers, but he realised how wrong he was.

Marinette had the fingers of a hard worker, a dedicated soul, and a strong spirit. He can just picture them working; over her sewing machine, in the gym, in the bakery, in school. Adrien admired her fingers. He admired her.

When Adrien looked back up and into Marinette's eyes, he heard her gasp. It was familiar, the first time he heard it was on that rainy day, when he first called her his friend. And last night, he heard that gasp too, but as Chat Noir. He wondered what it meant. Adrien stared into her eyes, trying to figure her out, but once again, failing to. But that didn't mean he would give up. He knew one day he would get to the bottom of it; he would finally understand her. And even then, he was sure he would never get tired of her. Because truly, Marinette fascinated Adrien endlessly.

"Tikki, am I just imagining it?" Marinette asked later that night. They were on the rooftop again, but this time, there was no black cat in sight. "Was that really the same look they were giving me, or am I imagining it because I really want them to be the same person?"

"I don't think you're imagining it," Tikki said, resting her cheek against Marinette's. "I think you're just starting to notice the similarities between them."

"You believe they're the same person?"

"Why not? Think about it this way. How differently do you act around the two of them?"

Marinette thought about it for a moment. "I don't think there's any difference."

"Exactly! We all act differently when we're with different people. I'm not saying that we become different people entirely, but what I mean is certain characteristics of ours become more prominent or repressed, because different people bring out different things in us. Sometimes they're subtle, like how you act when you're with me, and when you're with, say, Alya. But there are differences. We never act the same way towards different people. Everyone in the world is unique, and so how we interact with them is unique too."

"So what you're saying is, because I act the same way towards Adrien and Chat Noir, then they're the same person?"

"They might be the same person."

"Because the differences in how I act when I'm with them may be subtle…"

"Yes," Tikki nodded sadly.

Marinette bit her lips, thinking hard. When inspiration came, her eyes flew wide open and she beamed at Tikki. "I think I know what I have to do."

Her kwami smiled and spread her arms wide for a hug. "Remember what Alya told you – love takes effort, but it's worth it. You deserve love, Marinette. It will all work out soon, trust me, okay?"

Marinette looked at Tikki's large blue eyes, wide and full of hope. When Marinette shut her eyes, she could see nothing but the pair of eyes she had been thinking all day about, staring at her in familiar hues of green, and the same gentle, tender gaze. Those green eyes are worth it. Marinette opened her eyes again and smiled at Tikki, returning her tiny but warm hug.

"Okay."

A/N: *Postman = delivery man = mailman. We call it postman here.