I am so sorry that it's been so long, but this chapter is pretty long, so I hope that makes up for it. Please review! Love you guys!

They had fallen into a routine. Every night, Chat Noir came by at the exact same time. He would show Marinette some dance steps for a little while, and she managed to keep up the pretense that she had absolutely no idea what she was doing. At one point, Marinette just brought a speaker up on the roof so Chat didn't have to always hum, but the next day she had "forgotten" the speaker downstairs because she realized she actually really liked listening to him sing.

After their dance lesson, the two would sit on the floor or on chairs or even the railing and sketch. Marinette would offer pointers and show off some techniques, and in between, they would chat about whatever was on their mind.

It was a nice routine. And even on the nights where Chat had to leave to fight an Akuma, he always returned afterward to say a proper good night to Marinette.

It had been about a week of this when Chat and Marinette got into an argument about the upcoming installment of their favorite video game: Ultimate Mecha Strike IIII. That night they lost track of time and Chat wound up staying on Marinette's rooftop until well past midnight. By the time he finally left, she hardly got any sleep since she had yet to do her homework for the day and consequentially found herself tired in her first class the next day. Not that this was anything unusual. Still, as Marinette walked into the building, she was nearly falling over with every step.

"Jeez, girl," Alya said, walking up to Marinette's side, "I know you're usually half asleep in class, but this is extreme even for you."

Marinette let out a long yawn. "I didn't get any sleep at night. In fact, I haven't been getting much sleep recently at all."

"At least it's Friday. You can rest up all weekend!"

Marinette smiled, thankful for her friend's attempt. Little did Alya know, though, Marinette's weekend was bound to be filled with Akuma attacks as it always was. Maybe she would have to send Chat away for a few days just so she could get a wink asleep. She frowned at the idea; Chat's visit had become such a norm for her, and she couldn't imagine an evening without him.

"Probably not," Marinette said in response. "I have to help my parents bake for this wedding next week. It's going to take all three of us together."

Alya huffed. "Does that mean you won't be able to hang again?"

"Sorry..."

"It's fine, I get it, but it's like you're becoming a ghost! I never see you anymore."

"I know! And I promise that we'll try to plan something soon. Okay?"

Alya nodded, smiling. "Okay."

Sitting down at her usual seat, Marinette pulled out her sketchbook. Usually when she was teaching Chat Noir to draw she would just sketch him out. He never actually got to look at what she was creating, so while she waited for him to perfect whatever technique they were working on, she filled her time with candid drawings of Chat. For this reason, a good chunk of her sketchbook was now filled with Chat Noir.

"Hey, Marinette," Adrien greeted. He had already been in his own seat when Marinette and Alya sat down, and now he turned around to fact the bluenette in question. "What's that?" He leaned over, catching a glimpse of the page Marinette had open.

"N-nothing!" Marinette stammered. She threw her arms across the pages, scared that Adrien would think she was obsessed with Chat Noir. She couldn't have him thinking she was obsessed with anyone but him. Er-anyone at all! He couldn't think she was obsessed with him. That was weird. So weird. And she totally wasn't obsessed with him anyway. Yeah... "Just some drawings."

"That's not your usual designing sketchbook," Alya noticed, cocking her head and what Marinette was hiding. "I don't think I've seen that notebook before."

"It's not my fashion book," Marinette confirmed, her eyes flickering from Alya to Adrien. "This one's just for like random sketches. Nothing important."

"Can I see?" Adrien asked. Alya might not have seen this book before, but he certainly had. Well, Chat Noir had. Still, Adrien never got to see what Marinette drew during their little lessons, and he was curious.

"Umm..." Marinette chewed her lip. What could really be the harm of showing them her drawings of Chat? He's a famous superhero, after all, and it would be weird for Marinette not to have an affinity for him. As she was considering saying yes, Marinette met Adrien's eyes. They were so soft and supportive above his kind smile. She just couldn't say no to that face. "Okay. But you guys have to promise you won't judge me."

"Judge you?" Alya scoffed. "Girl, who do you think we are? We're your best friends. We could never judge you."

By now, Nino had turned around too with curiosity. So, Marinette turned her sketchbook to Alya and Nino and Adrien, letting them see the two pages that were currently open. On each there was one full-body drawing of Chat Noir in different suits that Marinette had thought of. Both just had small changes to the suit, making them more...her. Around these there were other little sketches, including Chat Noir's rings and the top of his head-his ears. Pawprints littered the page, and she had sketched out his strange green eyes a couple times.

"Woah, Mari," Alya started, "these are so good. Do you think I could feature them on the Ladyblog?"

Marinette hardly got the chance to nod when Adrien said, "You drew Chat Noir." There was clear surprise in his voice, and when his eyes met Marinette's, she was met with a look of appreciation.

"Yeah," Marinette squeaked, drawing her book back towards her. Adrien's reaction suddenly had her feeling shy again. "His suit just sort of inspired me and..." She trailed off, breaking eye contact from Adrien.

"Well, Chat Noir should definitely take your fashion advice," Nino said after a moment. "Those designs are way cooler than his current outfit."

Both Nino and Alya laughed as Marinette's face turns bright red. Adrien just rolled his eyes at the comment, but he wanted to get Marinette to open up more about those drawings. He felt honored that she would want to draw him...even if it was just as Chat. And Nino had been right, the little changes she made to his outfit were cool.

"So, you like Chat Noir?" Adrien asked, resting his forearm on the back of his chair.

Marinette shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I mean, he's cool-ish. You know, obviously not as cute as you. UH-cool as you. Cause you're like super cool, and Chat Noir is just okay. Unless you like Chat Noir too, cause obviously he's pretty great if you...like him?" She winced with the last set of words, not entirely sure of what had just spewed from her mouth.

Adrien's mouth quirked into a bit of smile. Marinette certainly was something else. Clearly, she didn't want anyone to know she was close with Chat Noir, and it made sense since they'd both agreed it would be best to keep their blossoming friendship a secret.

"Chat Noir's awesome!" Adrien affirmed. "I totally get why you'd have a thing for him."

Marinette blanched. "Thing? For Chat Noir? No, no. No 'thing.'" She almost laughed, a slight twinkle in her eye. "I admire him and Ladybug, but he can be a bit too cocky for his own good."

Adrien frowned. "Well, I think Chat is awesome..."

"Of course. That's not what I meant. Chat Noir is incredible in so many ways, and I have no idea what I'd do without him-" The moment the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake and quickly tried to amend it. "What any of us would do without him, obviously. He protects Paris from Hawkmoth. We all need him, not just me. Uhh, anyway...I was just saying that he seems like a good friend to have, but not someone who would be more. You know?"

As she spoke, Marinette had forgotten who she was talking to. Her mind traveled to Chat and she just thought of all the nights they'd been spending together. He really was an amazing friend; he was always there for her when she needed him, and she liked to think that she'd been there for him a bit too. But now, as Marinette's gaze rested on Adrien's face, and she was reminded of the way he made her heart gallop out of her chest, her face blazed red.

Adrien didn't seem to notice Marinette's sudden color change, though, because his eyes were fixated on a random spot on the desk. His eyebrows were knit together, deep in thought. After a few moments, he finally turned forward in his seat, away from Marinette. She had just told him that Chat was a great friend, and while Adrien was elated to know that, it broke his heart a little to hear that he-Chat-wasn't the type of person someone could feel more for. But after years of chasing after Ladybug, why was he surprised? He just had to accept that some things weren't meant to be. And he and ladybug were one of those things. Apparently, so were he and Marinette...not that that thought had crossed his mind at all, but it was a confirmed fact by Marinette herself.

Marinette sighed when Adrien turned away from her. He'd looked almost...hurt. But why? Had she said something wrong? She didn't think she'd said anything to offend him, but what did she know? Half the time she talked to him she had no idea what she was saying, and the other half she was just rambling. This was so frustrating! She was always messing up with him. Always doing something wrong. Why couldn't she just talk to him like a normal person? Stupid feelings getting in the way...It was like her emotions clogged her brain and stopped all logical thinking.

She needed to find a way to fix this. Marinette wanted so badly to talk to Adrien. Maybe now that he and Kagami were basically dating she could succeed in this. Maybe she could ask Chat for advice. He always seemed to know what to do. Hmm...that sounded like a good idea, so Marinette settled with this and went on with the rest of her day, trying her best not to fall asleep in the middle of class.

"Hey, Chloe." Adrien sat down across from his long time friend at lunch that day. He'd been trying to come up with a way to talk to her about the upcoming dance ever since Marinette had told Chat her plans to cheat her way to the top. Finally, he'd settled with the best idea he could think of.

"Adrikins! What are you doing here?" Chloe nearly shoved Sabrina away from her as she turned all her attention on Adrien. He felt bad for the red-headed girl. She deserved a much better friend than Chloe. Then again, she always seemed so happy in their friendship. What did Adrien know?

"I actually wanted to talk to you about the dance," Adrien sat, scratching the back of his head. Chloe beamed, her eyes wide and her grin impossibly wider, as she waited for Adrien to continue. "You see, me and a couple of friends were going to go in a group together, and I was wondering if you'd like to join us. Both you and Sabrina, actually."

Chloe's smile faltered. Then, after a few seconds, it fell completely. "A...group? I deserve so much better than that. Come on, Sabrina." She stood from the table, roughly pushing her chair back. With a quick glare in Adrien's direction, Chloe left, and Sabrina was quick on her heel.

Maybe he had imagined it, maybe it had just been wishful thinking, but Adrien could've sworn that in the moments before Chloe scoffed at the idea of going in a group, she had actually looked happy that Adrien asked her to join them. For just a split second, she considered it, and Adrien wished more than anything that she had let herself revel in the idea for a few moments longer. She was a good person. Even after everything that happened with Hawkmoth, Adrien still believed she was good underneath that rough exterior. He refused to think otherwise.

"IT'S PERFECT!" Marinette exclaimed, holding up the sketch she'd just finished for Alix's dress.

Tikki flew over Marinette's shoulder, examining the drawing. "It looks just like the last one," she mused.

"No, it's ten times better than the last one." For proof, Marinette grabbed the crumpled up ball of paper that had been her most recent failed sketch and unraveled it. Smoothing the creases, she compared it to the one she'd just done. Then, she pointed out the slight differences to her kwami. "See? The hemming would be different here because of the way I'm adding this to the neckline. And the sleeves are rounded instead of pointed. It's totally different."

Tikki squinted at the two drawings for a while. "Uh, yeah. I totally see it now..."

"You just don't have the same eye for fashion that I do," Marinette said, bopping Tikki on the head. The kwami giggled and followed Marinette as the girl started to head up the ladder to her roof. "It's almost time for Chat Noir to arrive, you should probably hide."

"What if your new master found out about your civilian relationship with Chat Noir?" Tikki asked. "I don't mean to be so negative...it's just that I was thinking about it, and, well..."

"I know it's a scary thought that I could potentially mess up and lose my Miraculous," Marinette started, the words nearly catching in her throat, "but I'll be okay. I'm smart, and Chat's slick. We're safe."

Tikki only frowned. "Yeah, I guess."

Marinette opened her mouth to try and comfort the kwami further but was unable to get out a word before Chat Noir landed on her rooftop and Tikki dashed below the floorboard. Marinette turned to the superhero with a grin. She was quick to notice that the smile he returned with wasn't as bright as usual.

"Good evening, Princess," Chat greeted. He sat on the edge of the roof, dangling his feet over.

"Everything okay, Chat? You don't have your usual pizazz." Marinette walked over slowly, joining him at the edge. She leaned against the railing and looked down at the top of his head. His ears drooped.

"I'm fine." As if to prove this statement, he looked up at Marinette with an extra-wide smile. It was obviously forced, though.

"Come on, Kitty." She lightly kicked him in the leg with her foot. "What's bugging ya?"

"Nothing really." He shrugged. "Just thinking about some stuff. It'd help if you got my mind off it."

"I can do that." Marinette plopped down, sticking her legs through the bars just as Chat Noir was doing. "I actually did want to ask for your advice about something."

"Yeah? What?"

"Well..." Marinette took a deep breath, attempting to summon the courage to go through with this conversation. "So, we've talked about my guy problems in the past."

Great, Chat Noir thought, just what I want to talk about today...relationship issues.

"And I was wondering if you had any advice on how..." Marinette hesitated, unable to find the voice to finish the question.

"How..." Chat raised an eyebrow. Even if he wasn't in the mood for this subject, he was curious as to what Marinette wanted advice on.

"How to be so expressive about your feelings for someone." She leaned her head to the side, resting it on the bar there. "You're always saying all this stuff to Ladybug. Everyone can see just from how you look at her how you feel, and you've been caught a million times on camera telling her how you really feel. How do you do that? Or is it just for show?" At the last line, Marinette glanced over to Chat, raising her eyebrow.

"It's not for show," Chat whispered. He broke his gaze from Marinette, looking down at his clawed hands. "It's the mask, honestly. I don't think I'd ever be able to be so open with Ladybug if she knew me by my real name. After all, my alter ego is nowhere near as suave as this kitty."

Marinette giggled at the dramatic way Chat said that last line. "Really? I never would've guessed for the person under the mask to be anything less than...well, this." She gestured to Chat's whole body with both her hands.

Chat gaped. "What is that supposed to mean? I am purrfect!" Again, Marinette giggled, and Chat nudged her with his elbow. "Alright, but seriously. It's only easy for me to tell Ladybug I love her because...I feel most free as Chat."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when I'm my other self, I'm so restricted in every way. It's like I'm a puppet being controlled by this person I call my dad. I constantly have to uphold this standard, and anything less than perfect isn't good enough. But when I'm Chat..." His eyes glossed over as he looked out to the skyline. The smile that tugged at his mouth was so soft and so strangely familiar in that moment. Marinette just couldn't quite place it. "I get to fly over the rooftops. I save people, and they gawk over me. I'm loved. When I'm just me..." Chat trailed off, thinking suddenly then of his mom. When was the last time he'd ever felt loved?

"Oh, Chat..." Marinette reached out to him. Her fingers barely brushed his arm when he shrugged her off and stood.

"Enough about me," Chat said, walking to the middle of the rooftop. "We were discussing you and how you need to gain more confidence to express your feelings for Luka."

"I never said it was-"

"Dance with me." He held out his hand to Marinette, who still sat on the floor. She looked up at him for a few moments, seeing beyond the mask and to the little boy who lived in a world where he wasn't loved. Whoever he was without the suit, Marinette was sure she would love him. Platonically, of course.

Eventually, Marinette accepted Chat Noir's hand to pull her up. They stepped together in a sort of waltz as they often did these nights. Marinette rested her head on Chat's shoulder, wondering what was going on in his head. It was useless to try and pry information out of him, and she knew it. So, she went ahead and danced.

Instead of singing some tune this time, Chat Noir talked while they swayed together. "Why do you think you can't express yourself to this boy?"

"Because he's so much better than me," Marinette answered almost immediately. "He's everything I'm not, and he certainly deserves someone who's actually in his league."

Chat Noir frowned, knowing Marinette couldn't see his expression. Luka was definitely not all that better than she was. If anything, she was out of his league. If Chat really thought about it, Marinette was out of most people's leagues.

"That's nonsense," he said. "Never think you're less than others. You're not."

"You don't see me on a day to day basis," Marinette sighed. "You have no idea just how lame I can really be."

And you have no idea just how much I know that's a lie. Instead, he said, "I'm sure that's not entirely true. But you can't think of Luka as being this untouchable god every time you talk to him. Treat him like a normal human being. You know what? Whenever you see him, just think, 'I do not have a crush on that guy.'"

Marinette chuckled to herself, knowing that thinking that line about Luka would be a piece of cake. Thinking it about Adrien, on the other hand...

"I don't know how sound that advice is, Kitty..."

"Shush, I'm the master. Listen to the master."

"I'm beginning to regret asking you for advice."

"Eh, too late." Chat separated himself from Marinette so that he could smirk down at her. He spun her around real suddenly, and when she landed back in his arms, she was laughing hard. As they resumed their swaying, Chat was smiling to himself. "Nothing you could say to this guy could mess up your chances with him, Mari. You just...you have to be honest. It's so important that we tell the people we love how we feel. You never know when you might lose that chance."

There was silence for several minutes between the two. Marinette was the one to break it when she quietly asked, "Have you lost someone, Chat?"

"Yeah, I told you, my Master-"

"Someone else?"

Chat Noir bit his lip. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"It was a while ago."

"I'm still sorry."

"Thanks, Princess."

Marinette stepped back from Chat Noir, still holding his hands in hers. "I love you, Chat Noir."

He choked on air. "Wha-"

"As a friend." Marinette giggled. "I love you as a friend. You've been really great to me the past couple weeks."

Chat shook his head, ruffling Marinette's hair. "Right back at you, Marinette."

Marinette looked up at the moon rising in the sky. "By the way, I was meaning to talk to you about this. I'm exhausted. I barely get any sleep anymore with you visiting so late. So, we're going to have to cut tonight short."

Chat scoffed. "Imagine how I feel. I come talk to you for hours and I have to fight akumas."

Me too, you silly cat. "Yeah, yeah. You always have to one-up me." Marinette pushed Chat towards the railing. "Off you go now. I'll give you your drawing lesson on Monday."

Chat Noir frowned when he turned back to Marinette but ultimately accepted that he should go. She was right, all the time they spent together was really cutting into his sleep schedule. Yet, he didn't find himself wishing for it to be any different.

So, Chat lifted Marinette's hand and placed a light kiss to her knuckles. "I'll see you soon, my Princess."

"Good night, my Kitty."