[[ First off, I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who, whether you really realize it or not, helped me through the last 2 (3?) weeks. You all literally inspire me, and while it was a tough go there for a while, reading little messages taking about how this or that made them smile, or asking me to keep writing…it helped more than you'll ever know.

I'm still trying to, well, get "back on my feet", so-to-speak, so hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint!

Thank you. I love you. You're great. And…yeah. n.n xoxoxo ]]

Day 6 Prompt:

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Then stop looking."

On the list of acceptable activities for teenagers to be engaging in, Marinette didn't think "bridge jumping" or "swimming in the Seine" really qualified. To be fair, though, Marinette and her companion weren't normal teenagers, and, really, this seemed a bit mild on their personal "0 to Dangerous" scale.

Then again, Marinette was wearing something less fashionable and more in the form of fantastic super armor when these things happened.

Chat had fallen backward, Marinette practically still on top of him. After his wide-eyed realization seemed to finally sink it (Marinette was going to kill him – had he realized that yet!?), Chat seemed to make a grab for her, though Marinette didn't know what exactly he planned to do once he had her. Hold her to him? Cradle her fall? She knew how to catch herself in these situations, dang it, and she fought against him to let him know. It would only be a hinderance to them both if he tried to swoop in and "save" her now.

She could have sworn she saw an eyeroll before Chat batted her flailing hands away. In the next moment, Marinette felt a strange pull around her hips and up passed her hair. She could barely register something flying out of Chat's hand to the space just above them before both teens arched in preparation for the dive in. The next moment, all Marinette could feel was cold.

And it was cold. Colder than Marinette had mentally prepped herself for (but really, she didn't exactly have the time to do so). The sheer shock of the temperature change was causing a strange mixture of muscle spasms and frozen limbs. Move. Push. GO. The thoughts kept repeating themselves in her mind, Marinette trying hard to keep replaying the mantra as the light of the oh-so-distant sun kept her bleary eyes looking upward. The current was fighting against her slow progress, and, not for the first time, Marinette almost wished she had never become Ladybug, if just to avoid being frustrated by her limitations when she was just a "mere mortal". She hated how every movement felt so hard.

Just as she was about overcome by fatigue, Marinette jerked at the sudden feeling of something grabbing her around her middle. The next moment the water around her face was gone, and she was gasping for air, taking large gulps of the commodity her lungs were sorely missing. Vision blurry from the water, Marinette closed her eyes in needed respite and lolled her head back onto whatever – whoever – had just saved her. All of her current brainpower seemed to be dedicated to breathing – something normal people seemed to need, surprising enough. Ugh.

For the second time, Marinette internally scowled at her own human limitations.

Ladybug wouldn't have had this problem.

She should have transformed before she hit the water. Heck, she should transform now. Tikki would help –

Tikki.

Tikki!

"T-Tikki!"

Turning wildly in the water, she realized for the first time just who her "rescuer" was. Really, he should be considered her savior in this moment, but the fact that Chat Noir was kinda the reason they were in the river in the first place, Marinette's hero worship was a little less than favorable. That is, until she saw the little bag wrapped twice around his neck, the strap attached to it held tight in his mouth to keep the pouch above the water as they tread along. He was looking at her, and she was staring at him, suddenly ignoring all thoughts of her little red companion who poked her head out of the bag at that moment to wave.

He…he had saved Tikki.

He hadn't been trying to make a desparate grab for Marinette before they hit the water…the ever-the-hero cat-boy had been snatching her purse to keep Tikki from going under.

A surge of affection for her partner ballooned in Marinette's chest. The sensation sent a tingling feeling to all her extremeties that had absolutely nothing to do with the cold.

And suddenly Marinette didn't even regret falling in the river if it meant getting to see this display. She would kiss him again, fall from any height again, just to see this look of determined tenderness.

And Marinette really, really wanted to kiss him again.

The thought sent a shiver through her involuntarily, and she felt Chat turn his head to look at her. He looked completely adorable. Which was unfair, since, Marinette was sure, she looked like wet garbage.

When they reached the shore, Marinette scrambled up the ledge and away from her companion, grabbing Tikki's bag from around Chat on the way up. Chat took a few deep breaths, and when he spoke, his voice was a little breathless.

"How you doin' there, Princess?"

Marinette couldn't look at him. She was decidedly busy pretending to be interested in having a chat with her Kwami, but really, the only thing she was doing was repeating "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh" under her breath over and over again. Tikki, who was sitting patiently in Marinette's open palms, giggled quietly before zipping back in her bag. Marinette jumped when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Fine!" she answered finally, turning around to face her hero. He was standing too close, but Marinette thought that even if she backed up 20 feet, he would still be too close. Or…maybe he wasn't close enough now. His eyes searched her face before looking her over, his hand never leaving her shoulder. When he met her eyes, she tried to ignore the fact that she was realizing how wet and leather were really working for her and clamped her mouth shut to keep from saying something out loud.

"You sure?" he asked, eyes skeptical.

Marinette snorted. Yeah, she was having problems recovering, but it wasn't from her dip in the Seine.

(Okay, it was because of her dip in the Seine, but not for any of the obvious reasons.)

"Y-yeah," she squeaked in reply before clearing her throat and trying for a lower voice. "I'm fine, really."

Chat's lips twitched. Like he was trying not to laugh. Marinette felt herself flush. Maybe her voice had dropped a little too low. She cleared her throat noisily, shoving Chat away and starting to walk away from him. She really needed to put some distance between them. Like…now.

"You don't sound fine."

Oh, great. He was following her. She could picture him sauntering behind her…and she tried to pretend like she wasn't kinda sorta checking her out or anything.

(Or maybe she did want him to. If she swayed her hips a little more than she normally would…well, no one would need to know.)

"I'm fine, Kitten, really."

It was that precise moment when Marinette, of course, tripped over her feet. Luckily, she had caught herself when she tripped, missing out on a sweet face plant on the dirty pavement. Unluckily, she realized that along with some of her dignity, the Seine had also stolen her shoes. A hand on her arm made her finally turn around to face Chat.

"You don't look fine."

"Then stop looking," Marinette automatically replied. Because she was frustrated with herself and the stupid way he was making her think and act and feel all…stupid.

Chat chuckled. "That would be a real tragedy." He leaned into her personal space and Marinette clenched her fists at the feel of him so close.

"You look remarkably good wet, you know," he whispered to her.

The next move was completely accidental. Marinette blamed the months of fighting alongside a flirty tease. She blamed the comment. She blamed Chat.

And was ticked when he laughed after she punched him in the nose.

Because she was mortified.

And…entranced.

And really, really cold and wet and completely uncomfortable, but…

NNnnggggg….

Before Marinette could respond with another right hook to Chat's smug face, she yelped as she was literally swept off her feet. In one continuously fluid movement, Marinette watched, completely enraptured, as Chat repositioned the hand hooked around her knees to make sure the flowy skirt of her dress was tucked in between his hand and her inner knees modestly. It was a very good thing Marinette was already off her feet; that movement alone made her extremely weak in aforementioned joint area. To astound her even more, their first stop wasn't the bakery, or a rooftop, or even to the rescue vehicles that had appeared on the bridge. Instead, it was next to a very confused-looking Nathanael who was sitting by a rescue worker. A brief conversation followed – something about Nath being Akumatized and Marinette accidentally falling into the river but it wasn't Nathanael's fault, it was Chat's – where Marinette was faintly aware of Chat's grip on her tightening slightly until they were off again.

It was getting colder as they moved through the streets swiftly, the air moving against Marinette's soaked hair and dress with an uncomfortable chill. With a significant shiver, Marinette tucked herself into Chat's neck and chest more tightly. And while he shouldn't have smelled good, having just taken a swim in a city waterway, Marinette felt, just like when she was under the bridge with him, that this smell – his smell – was so distinctly designed for her…

And suddenly she couldn't stand it anymore.

She could blame the dip in the cold water. She could blame adrenaline mixing with her teenage hormones. Heck, she could even blame the Akuma, because why not? She could, but she wouldn't. This was all her. This was something she wanted so bad, and no amount of shivering or leaping through the air or stupid surprises in any form was going to get in the way this time.

She would just make sure and avoid the lips.

(They were still leaping over tall buildings in single bounds, and she didn't feel like pushing her luck twice in one day.)

So without thinking more about it, Marinette reached up the last inch or so and pressed her lips against Chat's cheek, lingering for a moment to try to memorize the soft feel of his skin.

Chat Noir stumbled a bit, but, thankfully, didn't fall off of any tall structures this time. Marinette was just a little pleased to see a red tint peeking out from beneath his mask.

The bakery was in sight, and Marinette noticed how he had slowed down to a walk even though they were still a block or so away. Another step and Marinette yelped a bit when they dropped carefully into an alley.

"Wait here for a sec, okay?"

Without waiting for a response (even if she had managed something, it would have come out as a gurgled, garbled mess), Chat placed Marinette carefully onto the ground, replacing the purse around her. With a slight flourishing bow, he placed a kiss on her hand. While the gesture was all-too-familiar, this time was different. It felt different. It sent a shiver up her spine. Especially when he carefully flipped over her hand and repeated the gesture on her palm, his nose ghosting across the skin of her inner wrist. (Marinette did not whimper. She did not.)

Then he was gone, vaulting over the edge of the building.

As soon as he left – as soon as there was no more sign of him, Marinette's body went into a fit of shivers before collapsing on the spot. All thoughts warred – as they had all day – between rejoicing in finally – F-I-N-A-L-L-Y – making some sort of move on Adrien Agreste and having the feelings associated with it aggressively reciprocated, and agony at Chat Noir not only realizing that her "tough girl" exterior was a fat farce but that Ladybug had harbored some strong feelings for the partner she had claimed to dislike so heavily…and admitted it.

Did she care? Maybe. Maybe deep down she really did have enough stubbornness to fight through all of these…feelings…and come out looking strong, confident, sure of herself, and antagonistically teasing.

But blame it on Chadrien Noigreste…she just didn't have enough fight left in her.

The stupid, stupid cat had won.

And Marinette was the happiest she had ever felt in her life.

She barely registered Chat's – Adrien's? – voice and the footsteps rounding the corner a second later. All Marinette could tell was that a familiar pair of arms had picked her up again. And oh how she wished he would never put her down again.

[[ Thanks for taking the time out and reading this.

One chapter left! xoxoxo ]]

[[ This was HARDLY edited. So if something is WROOOOONG, let me know! 8) ]]