Does he remember?

Chapter Three

"Um, hey, Marinette", Chat Noir landed on Marinette's balcony while she was sitting in her lounge chair, working on designs in her notebook.

"Oh, um", Marinette awkwardly set aside her notebook and sat up. "Hey."

Chat Noir recalled their last encounter, realizing that even though they did end on a good note, didn't mean it wasn't going to be awkward. "Can we talk?"

Marinette nodded but didn't say anything, allowing Chat Noir to speak freely for whatever he had to say to her. She remembers the last time she poured her heart out, it didn't go well considering she almost got akumatized.

"I've been thinking about what you said", he began. "About wishing you were able to love whoever you want."

Marinette nodded once more, but added words this time. "Yes, I said that."

"You were right. You should love whoever you want, and it made me realize that I too should be able to have that luxury, right?" 

"Of course, Chat Noir. I know it's difficult for you since you're a superhero, but that shouldn't stop you completely from being happy. You should be able to love whoever you choose freely", Marinette suppressed an encouraging smile.

Chat Noir was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry."

Marinette's eyebrows crinkled. "For what?"

"For leaving you the way I did. Acting like there was nothing we could do and that we couldn't be together. I'm tired of believing that. I just want to be happy", Chat Noir paused. "I can't stop thinking about that night where we were together. I can't say I've ever felt more free in my life than I did then. Free to be myself and to act normally when I was with you. I've never felt like myself more than I did with you, never felt happier. Just in that one night. And I'm so upset with myself that I left you, acting like it all meant nothing to me. I feel like I made you feel used, and I hate that I made you feel that way. I never intended on using you, not in the slightest. It certainly came off that way though, and I'm so sorry. I promise you that I was happy and wanted to be with you, but felt defeated when I thought I couldn't. But then I realized that I can't spend my life being unhappy because Monarch is still around. I'm tired of the fear of Monarch consume me and draining me of happiness. It's time that I do something for myself, for once. There's only one thing I need that could make me truly happy. The only thing I need is you Marinette. That is, if you still feel the same way I do. I don't want to push you into anything, but-".

Chat Noir was cut off by Marinette cupping his face with her hands and pressing their lips together. "Just shut up", Marinette breathed out, a smile brightening her face before she pressed her lips back on his.

After a few seconds, Chat Noir was finally able to process what just happened. Once he did, his arms were around her. Marinette felt the rush of weakness, the surging tide of warmth that left her feeling limp. She lifted her arms around his neck, but her arms were soon pushed up by Chat Noir's, forcing her to pull him closer. The kiss was soft at first, but a swift gradation of intensity swept through, causing her to cling to him as the rest of the world was blurred out of vision. Her hands were in his hair, playing with every possible strand in reach. His hands were around her back and waist, moving up and down and side to side, sending tremors along her nerves. The shakiness feeling in her evoked from her sensations that she had never known she was capable of feeling.

This kiss was definitely different from their first two kisses. And much better. 

Their lips separated, but the tiredness and exhaustion from their trembling nerves caused them to rest on each other's foreheads. 

"Marinette...", Chat Noir breathed out.

"Shhh", Marinette cut him off. "Not yet."

"Okay", Chat Noir agreed his forehead still on hers.

After a few minutes of them two simply being with each other, Marinette pulled back from his touch, standing up and walking up to the balcony railing. Chat Noir joined her next to her, but not touching her. He was waiting for her to make a move once she was ready.

"Chat Noir", Marinette spoke after a few silent minutes.

"Princess", Chat Noir turned his head to her direction, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Marinette couldn't help but return the smile, but she didn't meet his eyes. She kept looking forward into the city. "All those things you said to me, I can't make a speech like that to express how I feel."

"You don't have to", Chat Noir shook his head, still watching her.

"I want to", Marinette turned her head to glance at him for a moment before turning back to the city. "It's not fair that you're the only one that feels the need to say how you feel. I want to tell you how much you mean to me", Marinette shook her head. "It's just difficult for me to put into words."

"I think you're better at showing how you feel", Chat Noir smiled.

Marinette smiled, turning her head once more to his direction. Although this time, they held eye contact as if it were the last time they would ever see the other's eyes. Their eyes were doing the talking for them, letting each other know how much the other cares about them. 

 After a little, Marinette's smile seemed to slowly fade, as if realization knocked on her head's door. This caused Chat Noir's smile to also fade, leaving him wonder what was going on in her mind.

"What are we going to do?" Marinette whispered.

Chat Noir shrugged. "It doesn't have to be difficult. We both know what we want, right?"

Marinette nodded. "Yes, we do. But how are we going to hide this?"

Chat Noir thought for a moment. "I will only visit you at night. I'll blend in more and no one will be watching."

"Will you be okay?" Marinette worried.

"I have night vision, remember?" Chat Noir smirked, winking at her.

Marinette let out a small laugh. "Okay, okay. So you visit me at night. How often?"

Chat Noir smiled, kicking his feet back on the fence and pushing himself off of it toward her. "Marinette, this isn't something that's 'arranged'. We don't need rules on how often I come to visit you."

"But, I just wanna know", Marinette paused, distracted by Chat Noir pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"You wanna know what?" Chat Noir smirked, realizing the effect he has on her.

"I wanna know when I'll be expecting you. I don't know if I'll always be home", Marinette stressed.

"Well, great thing we live in the 21st century where technology exists", Chat Noir joked.

"Won't it be too dangerous? Couldn't someone like hack into one of our phones and see that we text each other?" 

"Not if they don't suspect anything", Chat Noir shrugged, his negligence causing Marinette to sigh. "Hey, hey. You're putting too much stress on it. I promise everything will be okay."

"Promise?" Marinette glanced up at him, her eyes widening in awe.

Chat Noir smiled at her marveling eyes. "Yes, promise."

He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head while her head rested on his chest. Her ear is aligned with his heart, hearing the beats pick up a pace as she tightened her hold on his waist.