Miraculous Tales: Just A Friend?

Falling...

      Adrien arrived at his house early. He smiled to himself, thinking of how today had been. He played his piano for a while, and he started daydreaming again. Then he was interrupted. Plagg flew out of his pocket and said, "I know what you're thinking about, so let me get some cheese and you can do it," as he flew to get some cheese. Thinking about? What is he talking about? Adrien wondered. He thought about Marinette and smiled. His heart jumped at the thought. I have to see her. Wait, I just left! Oh. He realized what Plagg meant as the idea floated into his head. He could go to her house as Cat Noir! Adrien sat and waited for Plagg to come. He took a while. Once Plagg was ready, Adrien transformed and went back to Marinette's house.

      He went by rooftop, so nobody would know. He saw her on the balcony. He built up some courage, and jumped up. "Hi," he called.

      Marinette gasped, and turned to face him. "Oh, Cat Noir! Hello!" she exclaimed.

      He wondered what to say. "I-I have a question... for a...friend," he said.

      Marinette's mind jumped to the first person she could think of. "Ladybug?"

      "What? No, no. Adrien. I think you know him."

      Marinette jumped at the name. "A-Adrien? You're his friend? I know you saved him, but I didn't know that!"

      Cat Noir bit his lip, since he was Adrien. "Yes, I do. H-he's... wondering what you think of him." Marinette stood there, silently.

      "I like him," she said, watching Cat's expression carefully. His eyes lit up at her words. "He's... a good friend." Cat Noir seemed confused and surprised. It can't be. That's all Adrien thinks of me as, so I'm not lying, right? But... I could be wrong.

      "Er, that's good," Cat Noir said. Just a friend? I had thought she... Wait, I've been saying that to her all year. Ugh.

     Marinette wanted to verify what she thought. "Kitty? Are you sad?" she asked simply.

      He jumped, trying his best to hide it. "What? No, I'm not sad. Not at all disappointed. Purr-fectly fine, nothing wrong here!" and he went on, talking with his hands, and backing up. Shut up, me!

      Marinette saw where he was heading. "Uh, Cat?" she called. He kept on talking. He had forgotten he was on a balcony! He took one too many steps back and fell off. "Cat Noir!" she cried. She ran and grabbed his tail. He grabbed his baton and extended it to get back on the balcony.

      Cat looked into her eyes, and was shocked with what he saw. Marinette's eyes were tearing up. "Marinette? What's wrong?"

      She pulled him into a hug, and cried into his shoulder, "Oh, Kitty. Don't ever do that again! I don't know what I'd do without you! I need you!" The best part was, she wasn't acting this time. He held her close, and promised her that he would be more careful, and stop being clumsy. Holding her steady, he walked her to the chaise.

       "It's okay, Marinette. I'm fine. Please stop crying," he said, trying to comfort her. She wiped away the tears, feeling a soft fluttering feeling in her stomach. She was still shaking, but she wondered what was happening to her. For some reason, his voice seemed more familiar than before. Like from someone else. "You've stopped. I'm glad you feel better," Cat Noir said, not realizing that while trying to make her feel better, he'd adopted his Adrien tone of voice.

       "Th-thank you, Kitty," she said. Why am I stammering? Cat Noir picked up on her stammering, and realized what just happened. Could she be nervous, just around me? The thought of it made him nervous himself.

      "N-no problem! I- uh yeah," Cat's words tumbled out of his mouth. He stood up to say something, so he turned to face her. As soon as he saw her face, she was smiling for the first time since he fell, he felt happy for her, nervous, excited, and with the flurry of emotions coursing through him, he started to feel a little dizzy. No, I promised her I'd stop. I have to keep that promise. He took a deep breath, something Marinette has seen quite often in the past couple days. He sat back down. Marinette was very confused. He stood, and sat back down again for no obvious reason.

       "What happened?" she asked him, a bit concerned.

      "I don't know. I just felt dizzy," he said, "and I had to keep my promise." Marinette couldn't help but smile. He wanted to keep his promise.

      "Thank you, Cat. That means a lot to me, but why were you dizzy in the first place?" she asked. He looked up, and met her eyes. Should I lie?

      He bit his lip and said, "I'm not 100% sure." He managed to tell the truth and lie at the same time. He saw her, and felt dizzy, but he didn't know why. Even 2 nights ago, when it all started, he hadn't felt this way. He did his best to brush it off.

      They talked for a while, and Cat managed to stop stammering for a while. Afterwards, Cat Noir headed home. Marinette leaned on the balcony and waved goodbye. Tikki came out of her hiding spot. "Marinette? What was that?"

      Marinette turned to face her. "What was what, Tikki?" she asked.

      Tikki crossed her arms and said, "You know what I'm talking about. You cried into his shoulder and said you'd be lost without him!"

      Marinette was surprised at how Tikki was acting. "Tikki, I... Well, I wouldn't be able to defeat akumas without him," she replied.

      Tikki gave her an odd look and said, "It was more than that! Any wielder of the Cat Miraculous could help. Didn't Plagg help you by himself?" Marinette was taken aback. Why was Tikki acting like this?

      "Yes, he did. The thing is, Cat Noir and I make a good team. We were meant for each other!" she said. I didn't mean it like that. Tikki suddenly had a smile on her face.

      "You are? Well, then! Go to him!"

      Marinette shook her head. "Tikki, you know that's not what I meant. I don't love him, and I doubt I love him behind the mask. I don't even know where he lives!" Tikki flew in a small circle and went back into hiding.