The rain pelted down, hiding the sounds of the city under its own noise. Parisians took shelter in cafes, hands cupping warm drinks as lively music filled the air. Chat Noir wondered what they'd say if he joined them, the thought was disregarded the moment it crossed his mind. Though the warm drink and shelter were tempting, he didn't feel like the best company at the moment.

Chat didn't let the rain bother him, it was his night to patrol and a little rain wasn't going to stop him. He was protected from being completely soaked by the suit, the rainwater hit his skin but slipped off before it could sting his eyes. Plus he didn't feel like going home to an empty mansion anytime soon.

A hint of pink caught his attention. A lone figure standing on a balcony, in the pouring rain.

He slowed down to a stop, perching at the nearest rooftop.

It was Marinette.

Her eyes were closed, face turned towards the sky as raindrops fell all over and around her. Hair that was usually restricted in ponytails were free for once, water running down them, some dark strands stuck to her face but most resting over her bare shoulders. Chat felt frozen, spell-bound.

"It's rude to stare, you know. " Marinette's voice carried over to him despite the rain.

Chat noticed that Marinette hadn't even bothered to open her eyes while calling him out, nothing showed on her face. Chat thought about sprinting away, she'd probably end up thinking that her guess was wrong that she had been alone after all. It was the easiest way to avoid embarrassment, but-. Something about the scene bothered him, maybe it was the fact that Marinette had to have been standing in the cold rain willingly for a long time to get that wet or perhaps it was the expressionless look on her face.

It didn't take long to make the decision.

Chat took a few leaps and pulled up to her balcony, sitting on the railing.

"Hello, Princess." He forced himself to speak in his usually cheery voice, " Sorry, couldn't help myself. You just looked so purrrety."

The corner of lip tilted a bit, as if the beginning of a smile, before she slowly opened her eyes, looking at the darkened sky. It took a few moments before she turned her eyes towards him, "Hey, kitty"

Chat's breath hitched a bit. Marinette's usually happy pretty blue eyes were bloodshot, and while it would make sense since she had been standing in the rain, it was the slight swelling around the eyes that painted a different picture. Marinette had been crying. A lot, by the looks of it.

"Princess," Chat breathed out, not knowing how to ask, not knowing what to do.

Marinette gave him a wobbly smile, "It's fine, I'm f-fine." She told him," Don't worry, you don't have to worry about an Akuma attacking me"

"I don't care about an Akuma, Princess. I'm worried about you."

She took a small breath and turned away from him again, her breath shaky as she tried to muster up a smile for him

Chat saw water trickle down her cheek and wondered how much of it was the rain and how much was her own tears. He hesitated only a second before he climbed down from his usual perch and standing next to her, placed his hand over hers on the rail. Marinette stilled for a second, her body stiffening, Chat almost took his hand off but the next moment she visibly relaxed.

Marinette let out a sigh and as Chat moved a bit closer, she slowly turned to rest her head against the hero's shoulder, her hands raising up to hug his arm against her as she allowed herself to break for a moment. Chat pretended not to notice the small suppressed sobs that sometimes managed to escape her or the tight grip of her hands on his arm.

It might have been seconds or minutes before she pushed herself up, looking up at him with shining blue eyes, "Thanks, Kitty." she said in a soft voice.

Chat stared at her for a second then moved in a bit closer, he caressed her cheek, wiping away the moisture and the hair that was stuck there. He allowed his hand to linger on her shoulder,

"What happened, Mari?"

"I-I…...I was just proven how wrong I was, about everything, " She looked down, trying to get her words out, "There's this girl in my class..." She took a deep breath," You know how last week a lot of people were almost akumatized?" She waited for him to nod, "They were my classmates."

He nodded his head, urging her to continue. He couldn't forget that day even if he wanted to.

"They….They were traumatized because they didn't believe me, because they were disappointed in me. They thought I had done these horrible things, things I couldn't even think about doing and...and…"

"It wasn't your fault, Princess." He stressed, needing her to accept that fact.

Marinette glanced at him from under her eyelashes, wrapping her arms around herself. " That isn't it, Kitty. I was framed, " She let out a self-deprecating chuckle, " and I allowed myself to be caught in this stupid trap by this stupid girl and- agh." She turned away from him, looking up at the sky again, the rain had slowed down by this point.

She continued to look up unbothered by the water hitting her eyes, ", and the worst part is that a few weeks ago, she told me that she was going to take away all of my friends and-and I said...I said 'we'll see' because I was so sure, Chat. " Her voice broke, "I-I was so sure that my friendships were strong enough to resist whatever she threw at me and then ...last week proved that I was so wrong, they turned against me so easily. And even now it's still not the same, there's this rift between us that wasn't there before and it hurts, it hurts so much."

Her finger dug into her skin leaving red marks," She was right…. I have lost all of my friends."

Chat hearing the shuddering of her voice, pulled her close to his chest, "You haven't lost me, Princess. You still have me."

Marinette almost melted into the hug, her arms resting against his back as she rested her head on his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart.

Chat hugged her tighter, Wishing he could take away all her pain, he had no idea how much Marinette was hurting. He was too busy wallowing in self-pity after the whole senti-bug incident to pay attention to anyone else.

"I know who you're talking about, Princess. The girl, Lila, is done hurting you. I'll talk to them, Your class, that is." He whispered to her, "They'll listen to me. They'll listen to me and I'll tell them that Lila is a liar and-"

"No," He could feel Marinette shaking her head. She pulled away a bit to look up at him, "No, You won't." She put a hand on his chest right above his heart, Chat wondered why holding her in his arms felt so familiar, so right. "I-I promised a friend I wouldn't go after Lila,"

It was him. He was the friend. He was the reason she stayed silent.

"But Princess-!"

"No, Chat" She smiled tired," We're not going to argue on this and you are not going to do anything except keep me company until I feel better, Okay?" She raised an eyebrow.

Chat swallowed his protests and nodded in reply. Marinette smiled at him, lighter this time, less in pain and then shivered.

"I should get changed," She whispered almost to herself but didn't make any move to leave his embrace. The rain had stopped but a cool wind had started picking up.

Chat looked down at the girl enclosed in his arms," You should. I'm also gonna go and dry off," He said, noticing the way her shoulders slumped a bit, then added, "Then, maybe I can take you up on that offer of keeping you company, Princess?"

A bright smile lit up Marinette's face as she nodded and for a second everything seemed right in the world.

"See ya soon, Princess." Chat said with a smile and leaned in to kiss her forehead. He jumped away to the sound of her sputtering and laughed.

Apparently I can write nothing but MLB nowadays. Oh, well.

Midnight writing sprees are my favorite so no prob. I hope you liked the story. The title is a hint towards the song where the star symbolizes Marinette,good thing that Chat is always there to catch her.

Let me know what you think down below, even a single line means a lot. Comments really do make my day.

-Ms