Nights like these...

Confession

Nights like these didn't come around nearly often enough. The Paris skyline stretched out toward the horizon. Lights flickering in windows slowly slipped away into a sky full of stars. The moon hung fully in view, casting its image across the Seine. As incredible as the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower was, it could never beat this.

Chat Noir wasn't sure when, but at some point, the incredible view before him had lost his attention to a sight every bit as magical. If he didn't know any better, Chat would say she were glowing as the warm yellows and reds of the city below and the cool white from the moon and stars enveloped her.

Although the night was calm and quiet, her mind was racing. Chat had learned to notice a few small mannerisms during his time with her. Her eyes were fixed on the horizon, staring into nothing. Her lips pursed slightly in a thoughtful frown. She was happy, but she had a lot on her mind. Chat stared for a while longer, committing the image of this beautiful girl to memory, before finally breaking the silence.

"Something on your mind, Princess?"

Marinette remained still, lost in thought. Chat wasn't sure if he hadn't been heard, or if he'd just been ignored. Either way, he knew exactly how to find out. Smugly, and with a playful smirk, he spoke up again.

"Have I ever told you just how beautiful you are when you ignore me?"

Marinette's eyes went wide for a moment before sighing and finally turning to face her visitor.

"Sorry, Chat. Thank you." A weak smile appeared, quickly fading away. "I've just had a lot on my mind recently."

"I could tell. What's got you so distracted?"

Marinette turned and gazed back out at the scene in front of them, still clearly processing whatever was going through her head. "You."

Now it was Chat's turn to freeze. The contented smile that had been stuck to his face all night slowly faded, replaced by a look of concern. "What about me?"

Marinette sighed. Truthfully, she had hoped to avoid this conversation. No amount of advice or comfort from Tikki could make her feel ready for this. She couldn't deny how she felt anymore, but she knew what admitting that to Chat would mean.

She had tried her best to act natural and let the night pass by, but she should have known Chat would notice. He was far too curious for his own good. She took in a deep breath, taking in one last glimpse of their city and closed her eyes.

"I used to have a crush on this guy in school. It was terrible. Any time I was around him I turned into this stuttering, stumbling mess. I couldn't talk to him to save my life, but I loved him, even though to him I was just a friend. Recently, it's been getting a lot easier to be around him. I'm more comfortable than I used to be, and we've been getting a lot closer because of it. It's been wonderful, but I've been really bothered trying to figure out what changed."

"What do you mean?"

"One day I couldn't form a complete sentence around him, and suddenly, a week later, we're cracking jokes with each other and hanging out to study like we're the best of friends. It came out of nowhere. Nothing about him changed, so something about me must have changed, and that's what I've been thinking about."

"I thought you said you were thinking about me?"

"I was."

There was a long pause as Chat tried to understand what she meant. His head tilted to the side, curious and confused. Before he could open his mouth to speak though, she answered the question that was currently flooding his mind.