III — a visitor

He found Marinette on her balcony staring at the night sky, dried mascara and eyeliner streaks on her cheeks. A blanket wrapped around her shoulders kept the girl from freezing in the autumn wind, and a mug warmed her small hands.

Chat could see her from his perch on a nearby roof. He had no idea what he would even say to her. How could he possibly explain knowing that she'd been rejected that day by Adrien, when he was Chat Noir and supposedly didn't even know of Adrien's existence?

Before he could even figure out one sentence that wouldn't reveal his secret identity, Marinette looked up and locked her gaze with his. A moment later, she called out to him.

"I know you're there, Chat Noir. There's no use spying on me if I've outed you."

"Why princess I wasn't spying, just merely passing through and noticed you standing there on your balcony," he replied back, smiling.

"Chat, you've been here for ten minutes. You aren't exactly stealthy," she pointed out, giggling quietly.

"I must admit —" he vaulted over, landing on the railing next to her, "—that I do take offense to that, being a cat and all," he continued, smirking at her.

At that moment, he finally turned and looked at her. Instantly, Chat's smile faded from his lips.

Marinette looked awful. Dark bags circled underneath her eyes, which were swollen and puffy. The normal brightness that lit up her blue eyes was gone, leaving them dull. Add the makeup smeared every which way, her fake smile, and the way her laugh seemed incredibly forced, it was evident Marinette wasn't having a good night.

"Are you—have you been crying?"

Chat watched as she took a small sip of her drink before she answered him.

"Possibly."

She wouldn't look at him. Pulling the pink blanket tighter around herself, she shivered lightly in the cool Parisian air.

"Marinette," Chat spoke softly. "What happened that has you this upset? Did you fail a class or something?"

"Promise you won't laugh at me?"

"Purr-omise, princess."

She scoffed. "Keep doing that, and I won't tell you at all."

"Sorry. That just comes with the job," he winked. When she didn't return his smile, he frowned. "Okay, seriously Marinette. What happened?"

"I told a boy who is way out of my league that I love him, and now I'm here. You can imagine the rest."

She went silent after that, running a hand through her disheveled black hair.

"What makes it so much worse is that he didn't have a single clue about my feelings. I thought it was painfully obvious, but I guess he didn't catch the signs," she paused, taking a sip of cocoa.

"He sounds like a complete asshole." The words left Adrien's mouth before he realized what he was saying.

Marinette turned and shot him an icy glare.

"Chat Noir, he may not reciprocate my feelings, but that doesn't mean he's an asshole. Adrien—" she paused, blinking back tears that threatened to fall again— "Adrien is the nicest guy I've ever met. He's selfless, and kind, and would give you the shirt off of his back if it could make you happy.

"He's such a good person, even though his father is cold and harsh to him. His mother is gone. That boy could be the absolute worse person, but he chose to be good and kind and gentle," she went on, peering into her cup.

"It's why I fell in love with him in the first place. He's a wonderful person. In fact—" she turned and locked eyes with Chat, blue mixing with green— "he reminds me of you the most," she finished softly, gazing at him. A tear broke free and ran down her cheek, and she hastily wiped it away.

Wow. Adrien's heart stopped. Then soared as it began beating fast and hard against his chest.

He wanted to tell her so many things: how sorry he was, how he didn't mean to hurt her, that he was beginning to realize his own feelings for her. But he couldn't, not as Chat Noir. That conversation would have to be between Adrien and Marinette, not Chat and Marinette. It didn't matter how much he wanted to kiss her senseless—okay, where did that thought come from?

Right at that moment a stray pigeon chose to take flight, bringing Adrien back to focus. Marinette wasn't looking at him anymore; actually, she wasn't really looking anywhere. Sure, she was fixated on the city lights in the distance, but he could see an emptiness behind her stare.

"Mar?" His gentle hand on her shoulder made her jump.

"Agh! Sorry, I kinda spaced there for a minute," she apologized.

He chuckled lightly. "That's okay, Princess. It's hard not to be starstruck when you're in a hero's presence." She rolled her eyes at him and yawned quietly.

"It's getting late, Marinette."

"Mmhm," she nodded sleepily, clutching the blanket even tighter around her small frame.

"Mar, you're freezing. Go inside and go to bed. You've got school in the morning anyway, and we both know your punctuality isn't the best," Chat pointed out, raising a brow at her under the mask.

"Fine." Sighing, she picked up the now empty mug and trudged over to her trapdoor, exhausted. Just before she went inside, she waved goodbye to Chat Noir as he prepared to leave.

"Goodnight, Marinette. I hope you feel better soon."

And then he was gone into the night, leaping across the rooftops of Paris with his baton. Marinette watched him go, a tiny smile playing at the corners of her lips. A hand drifted up to her earrings as she looked at the spot where the boy had stood only moments before.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Adrien."