Chat Noir came back to Marinette's balcony two nights later.

Technically, they should have met a day earlier for their usual patrol. However, when Crazy- Ladybug didn't show that night, Chat didn't call her out on playing hooky like he normally would. Instead, all he did was take a small detour to make sure that she was okay at home, before he proceeded with patrol on his own. He didn't blame her for wanting to avoid him. He wasn't exactly ready to face her at the time either.

Tonight was long enough. He did promise that he would be back after all and he only stayed away for as long as his guilty conscience would allow. Everything was still muddled in his mind, but he could only hope that talking with Marinette would help sort things out.

His nerves alight with a very Agreste type of anxiety, he gently knocked on the hatch door. And waited.

After several excruciating eternal seconds, the hatch door creaked open and a pair of bluebell eyes peered out. "Good evening, Prrincess," he purred, sweeping into a bow.

"Don't you mean Klutz?" Marinette's voice sounded sharply from the crack. Chat winced.

"I, erm... might retire that nickname," he admitted. A pause. "...Do you want me to leave?"

A weary sigh sounded from the door. "No..." Marinette replied, pushing the hatch open fully. She held herself cautiously. So much so that Chat kept his hands to himself, lest she shatter. She folded her arms over her chest, looking him up and down. "So, are you done thinking?"

I wish.

"I'm sorry, Mari," Chat replied, every bit of him radiating with guilt. "I wish I didn't have to leave you like that. I was just having a difficult time reconciling you and Ladybug into one person. You see, the problem was that I always saw Ladybug as... as um..." he hesitated, "sort of as a sister."

Marinette cringed, her entire body expressing it as she stiffened up. Before she could say anything, he quickly jumped in, waving his hands, "But that's okay! I sorted that part out! I promise! I-I mean, we're not siblings and you obviously don't think of me as a brother." He worried his lip, his cheeks heating as he said softly, "I was just completely blinded by... by you."

The tension slowly eased from Marinette, her eyes widening. "By me?" she echoed, a pretty blush coming to her cheeks that made Chat want to kiss her.

He nodded, his lips spreading into a small smile. "You are quite enchanting, milady," he said softly. Testing the waters, he gingerly took her hand and pressed a small kiss to her knuckles. She smiled sweetly and he felt his heart swell at the sight of it. God, he was in love with this girl.

Both hands clasped hers and he held her delicate fingers to his lips. He sucked in a long breath, closing his eyes as he tried to stay in this moment forever. Before he ruined everything. Then, he spoke:

"I still don't know if this is going to work."

Her hand tensed in his, but she didn't pull away. After a long moment, she asked quietly, "Why not, Chaton?"

Chat peeked up at her. She didn't look mad, but concerned and a little weary. He swallowed. "I'm not as brave as you are," he admitted, squeezing her hand tighter. "I... I can't show you who I am. Not right now. Honestly, I don't know when I'll ever be ready."

Instead of tensing up again, Marinette relaxed. "What?" she laughed. "Is that all, Kit-Kat?"

...Wait. What?

Chat blinked, more than a little confused. "Wh-what do you mean, is that all?" he demanded, getting outraged for her sake. "You already revealed yourself to me and I can't do the same! That- That is hardly any kind of relationship!"

However, Marinette shook her head, grinning wide. "I don't care," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I was already in love with you for ages, you silly cat. I didn't know who you were then either. What makes this any different?"

"But I know who you are!"

"Yes, and that was my choice to reveal myself," she replied. "I don't expect you to do the same, Chaton. That's hardly fair."

Chat's jaw dropped. "Wha- tha- I can't possibly think of anything more fair than that!" he cried, utterly flabbergasted. "For Pete's sake, what are you going to do if I decide I never want to reveal myself?!"

"Invest in cat toys?" Marinette suggested, her lips quirking into a sly grin. She outright laughed when Chat sputtered unintelligibly, putting a stop to it by patting the top of his head. "You're worrying too much about this, Kit-Kat," she teased, her eyes sparkling at the way his face effused with a bright blush. "I'll take you any way you're comfortable with. Even if it means I have to leave my hatch door open until I'm 60. After that, I'll have to insist that you come through the window, because I'll probably have bad hips at that point. All that akuma fighting you know."

Chat stared at her. "You're crazy," he said incredulously. "Absolutely certifiable."

"Well, isn't that why you call me CrazyBug?" Marinette grinned, seeing the light ahead of the tunnel. She put a hand to his cheek and added fondly, "And I'm crazy in love with you."

Well. There really wasn't anything else he could say to that.

Chat Noir slowly shook his head, feeling all resistance give way to Marinette's sheer stubbornness. His lips spread into a smile as he threw his clawed hands up in the air. "Alright. Fine. You win, milady," he sighed with a helpless shrug. "Whatever shall I do with you?"

"I think I have a few ideas," Marinette replied with a wicked smile. He didn't have a chance. She tugged on his bell and yanked him down into her bedroom, shutting the hatch door closed behind them.

~o~

Adrien walked in class with the stupidest, goofiest grin that could ever be seen on any fifteen-year-old's face.

Nino raised an eyebrow as he took in his friend as he sat down next to him. "Uh... something good happen?"

"You could say that," the model replied lightly, giving the DJ a wink.

Nino's jaw dropped. His eyes flicked back to Marinette's empty seat, before they snapped back to Adrien again. "No," he gasped, "you didn't."

Before Adrien could respond, the classroom door burst open and Marinette twirled into the room. "Good morning everyone~!" she cried gaily, looking for all the world like a fairy walking on air. "How are we all this fabulous morning~!" Earning herself quite a few stares, she floated over to Nino and Adrien's desk with a basket of pastries slung on her arm. "Good morning boys!" she beamed at them.

The full force of her smile was too much for him in Adrien-mode. At once, the model's semi-automatic babbling/panic response mode set in. "G-g-good Marinette morning!" he stammered. "I-I-I mean, morgood Mari! GoomoriMari!"

"Aw, you're cute~ Have a cookie, Pretty Boy" Marinette gushed, before she summarily shoved a chocolate chip cookie into his mouth. "Cookies for everyone~!" she declared, going around to each classmate and passing off pastries to them whether they wanted them or not.

Nino gave cookie-mouthed Adrien an unimpressed look. "You didn't, did you," he said flatly.

Sighing in resignation, Adrien hung his head in defeat. "No," he lied. Glancing back at his secret girlfriend, he bit off the cookie and chewed it.

One day, he decided. One day, he was going to graduate to talking to Mari in coherent and complete sentences, to carrying on a conversation, to joking with and teasing her. He would, even if it took him thirty years to do it.

Boy, was Marinette in for a surprise when that day came.