The Parisian night was cool as the pair huddled under a blanket on Marinette's balcony, sharing a thermos of hot chocolate. Chat Noir sighed dejectedly, looking out at the starless sky.
"I really wish I could figure out who she is," he bemoaned and Marinette wasn't sure if he was talking to her or just voicing his thoughts. "If only I could figure it out, it shouldn't be that hard, should it?" he turned to the girl beside him.
Marinette's brow puckered.
"But... she doesn't want you to reveal your identities, does she?"
"I know, I know, it's just... I don't think Ladybug takes me all that seriously. I'm in love with her," Chat Noir didn't notice the small gasp of surprise coming from Marinette's lips. "I just thought that, if I figured out who she was, proved that I saw all sides of her and loved her completely... I don't know, it's just an idea. Probably a pretty stupid one at that."
The hero slumped slightly, overcome by his misery.
"Then let's try and figure it out."
Chat was taken aback by her words, but no more than she had been herself. Marinette didn't know what prompted her to utter that sentence but she couldn't find it in her to regret it. Chat's declaration of love had somewhat blindsided her, and she couldn't deny that the idea of someone seeing all of her, and liking all of her, was a very tempting prospect. Marinette really hoped this wouldn't come back to bite her.
Oh well, in for a penny...
"You'd really help me?" he asked, slightly in awe. His visits to his classmate was something he had long ago stopped questioning and he knew that they both enjoyed the easy friendship that had blossomed between them. Everything was just so much easier between Marinette and Chat Noir. It was something that he truly valued. There was no expectation or artifice. This, however, was beyond the bounds of their usual relationship.
"Of course, Kitty," she replied affectionately, scratching him under the chin as if he really was a cat. He would never admit to how much he actually enjoyed that.
"So, let's start by listing everything you know about her. Oh, hold on," and with that she was gone, disappeared into the pink recesses of her bedroom. Chat barely had time to wonder what had happened before she was back, hauling herself through the skylight, a small notebook and pen in her hands. "Might as well do this properly," she explained.
Marinette opened the book and held the pen poised, looking expectantly at Chat Noir.
"Well," he pondered, thinking over everything he knew about the spotted hero. "I know that she likes gaming," he paused to allow Marinette to jot this down and remembered briefly the time the two of them had practiced for the gaming tournament, before he brought his mind back to his next point about Ladybug.
It was painfully obvious to Chat Noir who he wished Ladybug was. He just needed to stop his desperate desires from clouding the truth. The more he wanted Marinette Dupain-Cheng to be the woman he had been pining after, the more she fit in with his Lady. It would be all too easy. He liked Marinette. A lot. The guilt he felt over it was eating away at him. Chat decided to turn back to the job at hand. Marinette was trying to help him figure out who the love of his life was behind the mask.
She really was a good friend.
"I know that she has blue eyes and dark hair," he paused again as the pen scratched across the page. Chat took a moment to admire the pair of bluebell eyes beside him. It wasn't often that he allowed himself to notice just how beautiful they were. With the lights of Paris before them, her orbs reflected them back like stars swirling in galaxies. Focus Chat.
"I know she hates liars."
Marinette hated liars too, although, really, who liked liars? Stop it!
"She always smells like cookies..." his mind wondered once again to the girl who lived in a bakery. It was getting harder and harder for him to focus on his superhero partner.
"When we first met, she introduced herself as 'Madly Clumsy'," Chat remembered with a smile. Marinette shifted in her seat, putting the notepad on the small table beside her in order to better take notes. The smile quickly fell from his lips as the girl next to him knocked over the cup of hot chocolate she had placed on the same table previously, spilling the contents over the floor and just barely managing to save the notes from a similar fate.
Chat Noir quickly jumped to his feet, a sense of panic consuming him. Could it...? No... She wouldn't... would she? It can't be... No...
"I um... just remembered... I have a... thing. What I mean to say is..." Chat's eyes cast about him looking for inspiration before they settled back onto the bluenette. "I'm meant to be meeting Ladybug. Yep. Right now. So..." and without another word, Chat Noir withdrew his baton and threw himself off of the balcony into the welcoming black of the Parisian night.
Marinette was left staring after her partner, a small smile across her lips.
Please review. Also, I'm open for suggestions. This will get updated whenever I am hit round the head with inspiration from my muse. Otherwise I'll be working on my other fics. Thank you for reading
