My Kitty

15| Confessions

"Adrien..."

He looked up, "Hey, Marinette!" A smile graced his lips. Having her approach him more often at school left him elated. And with his recent knowledge that she was working up the courage to confess to him had him further excited.

"Can I..." She recoiled, her face reddening. "Talk to you?" Chat Noir's words rung at the back of her head, that gentle tone of his which had her stomach twist in knots. She had endless faith in him and what he'd said. And she prayed with the entirety of her heart that he wasn't wrong.

"Oh!" His joyful expression fell. "Sure. Have a seat." Patting the place next to him, he watched her lower herself down to his side.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you for the longest time and..." She gathered up all the confidence she could bear. The tips of her fingers were slightly shivering. She didn't know whether it was from the cold breeze or the nerves. "I..." Clasping the fabric of her pants into fists, she slowly breathed out. "I—I like you, Adrien. I have ever since... you came here." She chewed on her bottom lip, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Act surprised," Plagg whispered from inside his jacket.

"Uh, really?" He chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't know." Clearing his throat, Adrien averted his gaze. He could feel Plagg's disappointment from a mile away.

Silence infected the atmosphere, and Marinette wanted the ground to spilt and swallow her whole. It almost felt as if she had a rope around her neck. "I know you don't feel the same way and it was sudden and all, but you should at least say something. I'm dying over here."

"Marinette," he whispered.

She paid no attention to him, and continued blabbing further. "I just told you I liked you, and it took a lot of effort to get the words out of my mouth and that's how you react?"

"Mari—"

She was getting angrier by the minute. Her face was flushed, as if she'd ran a marathon. Her features were pulled into a scowl, and her pride was deeply injured. "I expected, at the very least, an I'm sorry or an I like you too—No! I mean—"

"Marinette." He raised his voice enough to stop her, his tone softening once more. "You didn't give me a chance to answer."

"Oh..." She closed in on herself. "Sorry." Giggling, she waved her hands in a dismissive manner. "You may go on."

Adrien smiled. "I think you and I would make a great couple."

She squealed, briefly curling into her body before she jumped to her feet. "What? What did you just say? Are you for real?"

"Marinette, sit down." He reached out to her hand. "People are looking."

"No! This is—this is—" She screamed. She was making an absolute fool out of herself. She came here ready to be rejected. She didn't expect this! Chat Noir was right after all.

Marinette's face hardened and her eyes went wide at the mere thought of him. Why is it that she felt so guilty? She promised him she would move on. With him of all people. Yet he helped her take a step forward towards her crush with no hard feelings. But why did she regret it so much now? Something about finally revealing her true feelings to her first love, didn't elicit the ecstasy she initially expected. Even him accepting the confession so easily... disappointed her. She felt rather empty.

"Are you okay?"

She shook her head out of her trance. "Yes! Yeah. I... I think I'm gonna get going. I'll call you later, bye!"

His gaze followed her as she hurried outside of the school gates. Plagg flew up to him, and they turned to each other. "Weird. What happened that..." he trailed off, confused.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Hm?"

"You," he cleared his throat, "I mean, Chat Noir made a move on her a few nights ago."

"Oh, that's right." After a moment of being lost in thought, he shook his head. "But who cares? He also told her to try harder. Marinette and Chat Noir wouldn't have worked out either way, you know that. Adrien is the better option."

"You talk as if you two are separate people." He crossed his arms, wanting to slap some sense into him. "You don't realize that she doesn't know you and Chat Noir are the same. You're playing with her feelings."

"No, Plagg. You heard her yourself. She said she still loved Adrien but that she'll simply try moving on with Chat Noir. She doesn't love him yet."

"Then why did you even promise her such a thing if you were going to do the exact opposite?" he blamed, irritated with his owner. Usually, he wouldn't care. But he couldn't help feeling terrible for Tikki's holder. She was getting her heart crushed by Chat Noir as Marinette and as Ladybug, just in different ways. It was unfair.

"I didn't expect her to confess. At all!" He hadn't thought she would actually do it. When he'd first found out she liked him, the first thing that came to mind was getting her to confess, just so he could accept it. That was the reason why he urged her to not give up. It was a plan he'd placed intact in the nick of time just to rid her of the Chat Noir pact, and allow her to move on with his civilian self. With whom everything will glide far smoother.

"You, humans, with your problematic love will be the death of me. Give me some camembert!"

Their conversation ended at that, but Adrien couldn't get his kwami's accusations out of his head. Marinette probably felt like she was betraying Chat Noir. Even though he was the one who asked her to.

But he knew, it was for the better that she remained with him as Adrien. Much safer too. Especially now that he returned at least half of her feelings.

She wasn't just a friend to him. Not anymore. Not after what he's been through. She was his comfort. The one who hasn't abandoned him like the rest.

Her and Chat wouldn't have ever worked out. Because either she'd be stuck with not knowing who he truly was, or he'd soon be obligated to reveal his secret identity. Something Ladybug told him he must never do. For Heaven's sake, his own father doesn't know about it, so he surely wasn't going to give it away to Marinette.

It only made sense for him to visit her one last time as Chat Noir. To pretend to hear how things went and settle things between them. To assure her that it was okay to go back to her first love. While he... was ready to sacrifice his own.