Salut! You thought I'd be back on Monday or later, huh? Well guess what, I go the old-fashioned way. Long time ago the first day of the week was actually SUNDAY. And I really want to do something for Valentine's day since I don't have any other plans. ^^

"P-princess?" the boy asked as he entered the room through the window.

Marinette let out a dejected sigh and slowly turned to where she heard the voice, "I... I-"

"A-are you Ladybug?" he asked.

Oh no, this is really not her lucky day. She doesn't want to reveal herself but now when he's seen Tikki it would be quite obvious. Unless...

"No... I... I just know her! She's... she's here somewhere but... I guess she doesn't wanna reveal herself." she said, trying to sound reliable.

It took some time 'til she got a response, "Oh, okay. ...I didn't know she... shared such big secret with you. She must have a lot of trust in you."

She shook her head, "Yeah...". It was kind of true, Ladybug was there but since Marinette doesn't want him to know it's her then Ladybug doesn't want to reveal herself...

"So... I guess she's her kwami?" he said, most likely talking about Tikki.

The little kwami chuckled, she thought the scene was really fun. "Yep, the name's Tikki." she said and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Tikki." Cat Noir smiled back.

Marinette couldn't believe it worked, if he hadn't bought it she'd have a very long night. "So, how has your day been?" she asked to get a different subject.

He took a deep breath and went to sit next to her, "Well, just a normal school day, actually. Spent some time with friends. You?"

"Sort of the same, I got bullied by Chloé at school today and some friends of mine wanted to get the whole class together to protect me... and each other of course. But I thought it would be better to see if Ladybug could help so they won't get into trouble in some way." she said and fiddled with a pillow.

Cat Noir didn't seem surprised, "Really? I know Chloé and it doesn't really surprise me... I heard someone stood up to you."

Marinette felt a blush heat up her cheeks, "Yeah, Adrien in my class. He's a really good guy."

"Do you like him?" he asked. He seemed nervous, it's quite rare for him to be that. He's always been that straight forward type of guy.

The blush spread a little, "Y-yeah, a lot actually." she said as she had her head down, she felt Tikki land down next to her.

"H-how much? Do you have a crush on him?" he asked, sounding even more nervous.

Marinette didn't really wanna say it, but it felt so easy she couldn't stop herself, "Yea, I love him. But not like the girls who awe at every poster of him in Paris, and not like... Chloé." she made a disgusted look as she remembered how Chloé was acting around Adrien, how straight forward she was and how she acted like she was his girlfriend even if he didn't seem comfortable about it. "Sometimes I feel like I don't have a chance with him but..." she turned her head up to him, "I've always tried my best to... be a good friend. For example- you can't tell anyone about this but... I sent him a scarf on his birthday once and... I was sure I signed it but somehow the next day he said it was from his dad and... I didn't want to say it was from me because he seemed so happy about his dad... and I didn't want to spoil it for him." she said and turned her head back down again.

He didn't know what to say, she just told him that incredible secret. And she trusted him to keep the secret... but... doesn't that mean... "So... you knitted the scarf? And... you kept quiet to keep him happy?" he asked to see if he got it right.

The girl nodded. "Please don't tell anyone, I don't want him to know."

"Why not?"

"Because-... if he gets to know then-... actually... I don't know..." she stammered, she actually didn't know.

The little kwami flew up, "Maybe he'd think his father didn't send him a gift?"

Cat Noir just sat there, his mouth open and eyes staring at the kwami and then at the girl. "I-... I don't think he... he wouldn't take it that bad. I mean, his father isn't really himself so... he-... you don't have to worry." he said and placed a hand on her shoulder.

It was quiet for a while, until Marinette sighed. She lifted up her legs and hugged them, "I- I just want him to be happy."

The boy stared at her again, then he finally got a question, "W-why do you tell me this? I mean, sure, I asked you but... I didn't expect you to say so much... why?"

She smiled at him, "Because I trust you, kitty. ...and you're someone really close to me." she smiled wider, until a thought came up and she almost regretted saying that.

But he smiled, somehow it was just what he wanted to hear. "...what a coincidence, you're someone close to me too. I don't have so many others to have close to." he sighed, "But I'm happy I got you."

"Don't forget Ladybug." Tikki stated.

"Yeah, her too. She's in the center of my heart." he said and scratched the back of his head.

Marinette felt lost, if he really did have Ladybug in the center of his heart... then how come he's like this around Marinette? And if she really did have feelings for Adrien then how come her inner self says Cat Noir is closer to her heart than she thought he was? Ugh! It's so annoying! She thought of a way to end this. "Talking about her, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't like to see you here so... maybe we should end this here." she tried.

He seemed to agree, "Y-yea, eh... good night. Nice to meet you, Tikki!" he said and waved to the little kwami.

"Good bye!" she chuckled and waved back.

He was about to go when Marinette got on her feet and grabbed his arm, "Wait! ...thank you, Cat Noir, for cheering me up." she said and quickly got up on her toes to give him a kiss on his cheek. Unfortunately for her she accidentally missed his cheek and her lips met his. Surprised she felt like pulling away but nothing happened, instead she felt him kiss her back. After what felt like minutes, but was actually some seconds, they pulled away and Marinette didn't know what to do, her face heated up as she stuttered, "S-sorry, I just-... I just... wanted to kiss... your cheek-"

"It's okay, you... you couldn't see so... it's okay." he stuttered too, half of him wanted to feel her lips again while the other just wanted him to get out as quickly as possible. He decided to just give her a hug, "You're welcome. Cheering you up cheers me up." he pulled away, slowly walking backwards to the window, "Sleep well, princess." he said before jumping out from the window leaving her there.

The sound of Tikki flying reached her ears and then she heard the kwami's voice, "So... this is confusing. I thought you guys said you liked Adrien and he liked Ladybug. If that's true then... WHAT WAS THAT!?" she shouted in Mari's ear.

"OW! ...I- I don't know, Tikki. I just..." she sighed, "I don't even know what to think right now." she moaned and found her way back to the couch. "Ever since I got blind he's been this sweet and cute guy- well, more than usual. And my heart's been drawn away from Adrien and grown fond of him instead. I just-..." she sighed again and hid her face in her hands.

Tikki floated near Mari's head, "...you like him, don't you."

"Ugh! A lot, but it feels like a CURSE!" she said and slammed herself down to crash down on the pillows, she sighed, "But at the same time... it feels like a dream come true."

Tikki couldn't stop her giggling, "Wow, and I thought it couldn't get more complicated than I thought it was!"

A knock on the trapdoor made Tikki gasp and fly away to hide. Marinette got up and tried to fix the pillows, "C-come in!"

The door opened and Alya came up, "Girl, are you okay? I heard screams. Was anyone here?" she asked as she got up and closed the door behind her.

Mari shook her head, "N-no! I just-..."

Alya didn't seem to buy it, "Don't you dare lie to me. I know I heard some convo between you and someone else." she said dead serious.

The girl held her breath before letting it out in a heavy sigh, "Okay, you win. Ladybug was here."

"She was? Then what was up with those screams?"

"It's was her being very mad at Chloé. I told her what happened at school today and she was very glad to help." she said with a smile growing in her face. It actually was a pretty good answer, even if she hasn't transformed yet she still knew Ladybug is willing to help her alter-ego.

Her friend laughed, "Go Ladybug! It doesn't surprise me at all she had to scream about it!"

Marinette chuckled, it was actually fun to hear her friend's reaction. But now she had to hurry, if Alya doesn't leave soon then Marinette wouldn't have enough time to transform and it would be too late to deal with Chloé. She yawned and tried to look as tired as possible.

"Wow, looks like someone got tired after a chat with a bug and a cat." her friend giggled.

Oh, please no. "What? Please don't say you've spied on me when Cat Noir was here!" she begged, unknown to what she'd just done.

"Ha ha, no. I just said that to see if he really was here. Thank you!" she laughed even harder.

Mari almost felt like crying, she'd gone right into the trap. A very bad one. Stupid bad luck!

"Don't worry, you seem too tired to give me info so I can leave." she said and went back towards the trapdoor, "Don't stay up late or anything now. I want all the info tomorrow morning, is that understood?"

"Sure. Good night!" Marinette sighed.

"Good night."

She let out another sigh when she heard Alya close the door behind her. "Tikki, let's just get this over with so I can go to sleep."

"No, this is no good! And this is too red!" Chloé went on as she looked through her huge closet for a night dress. She heard a knock on her glass door and leaned to her side to look out and see who it was. She gasped when she saw the masked lady in her red suit with black spots, "Ladybug!"

She ran to open for the superhero, "What can I do for you, bestie?"

"May I come in? I need to talk to you." she asked.

"Well, of course!" said Chloé and let the superhero in. "What is it?"

Ladybug walked in and sat down on the couch, "It's about your classmate, Marinette."

Chloé sat down on the other couch and looked at Ladybug, "Oh, the blind girl. I know her."

"Yes, and she's the reason I'm here. I need you to respect her more, now when she's blind people must be more careful around her. I've heard about the incident at school today and I don't really think it was nice, Chloé."

"Oh, okay. I... can try not to laugh at her, it is actually quite funny to see her bump into things." said Chloé and chuckled a little.

Anger grew in Ladybug, but she knew what to do. She stood up and looked at the blond girl seriously, "If it really is so fun then try to imagine yourself being blind, Chloé. Would it be fun then?" she asked, it made Chloé quiet so Ladybug started walking back to the glass door, but when she reached it she stopped, "Listen, I'm not trying to be mean or anything, I'm just trying to help Marinette. Her life is kind of tough right now." she said before she went.

Chloé was left with a thinking face, Ladybug was actually right. How would she be able to see what she was wearing? Or how her hair would look? "What a terrifying thought!"

Happy Valentine's day! À plus! ^^