Miraculous One-Shots

A Late Night Conversation

Marinette opened her eyes, groaning as she looked at the time on her phone.

2:34 am.

She'd been forced from her dreams due to the harsh sound of knocking on the trapdoor that led to her balcony, and after a minute of deciding whether or not to ignore it, she decided was going to give whoever it was that disturbed her a piece of her mind. Intending to do just that, Marinette opened the door, but instead of a cheeky grin or a muffled laugh like she was expecting, she instead received a mumbled apology from a leather-clad boy who looked as though he'd rather be in bed himself than on her balcony.

"Chat?" Marinette asked, failing to hide the tired annoyance clearly present in her voice.

The hero looked at the girl awkwardly, before apologising again and saying simply: "I can't sleep."

Marinette looked Chat up and down, sighing, before climbing up onto the balcony properly and closing the trapdoor behind her.
"Any idea what's keeping you up, Kitty?"

"I..." Chat gulped then continued, "I have an idea, but it isn't something I can share, Princess."

"How would you like me to help?"

Chat seemed surprised at her response, as though he was expecting her to just brush him off and go back to sleep. He sat down, leaning his back against the railing of the balcony before patting the ground next to him, encouraging Marinette to sit too.

"Wanna chat, Princess?"

Marinette sat next to the hero, trying to get a closer look at his face in an attempt to figure out what was wrong.

Beneath his mask, Marinette could clearly see that the boy had dark circles under his eyes - this was clearly not the first night this had happened and his golden hair was messy - more messy than usual - as if he had been tossing and turning before finally giving in and visiting his Princess. Additionally, Chat's usual swagger was completely missing, and in its place was a hunched-up posture that made Marinette regret feeling annoyed when she first woke up.

Marinette smiled at Chat before asking "What would you like to talk about?"

"Anything you'd like, I just need something to listen to, and there's nothing I'd rather listen to than your voice, Princess."

Brushing aside Chat's flirting, Marinette decided to begin with all of the new designs she'd come up with since he'd last visited the week before.

Chat had started making a habit of visiting Marinette every week or so after his patrols, and she couldn't figure out why. She supposed it was likely because she always had lots to talk about, or perhaps it was the fact she always seemed to have snacks handy ready to feed him, or maybe he knew her in real li- No, she'd know for sure if he knew her outside of the mask, there was just no way he could possibly be close to her outside of the miraculous.

Minutes flew by and Marinette kept herself talking. In-between words she could feel herself yawning, but she kept going. She told Chat all about her newest line of dresses with "some really complicated bows, I mean I know I designed them but come on they're so complicated? Why would I do that?" and she even went in-depth about the shade of tights she imagined people wearing with the dresses.

Unbeknownst to her, Chat wasn't actually listening to most of what she was saying.

He couldn't help but become completely distracted by the way she became so animated every time she got excited about one of the little details she'd designed, and the way her blue eyes glistened despite her obvious fatigue made him completely engrossed.

Suddenly, Marinette stopped talking, and Chat immediately zoned back into what she'd been saying to figure out why.

"Chat, what if no-one likes my designs?" Marinette drooped, "I put so much effort into them but I'm so scared that no-one will care, and I'll just end up failing..."

Chat was startled at her sudden vulnerability, and quickly started stuttering, somehow managing to fragment a sentence that almost sounded like "your designs are perfect, Princess"

"But... you're my friend, Chat, you're supposed to say things like that."

The word "friend" stung, and Chat wasn't quite sure why.

"Princess..."

"Kitty, even if my designs are fine, how am I supposed to even get them out there? I can't keep relying on competitions! Designers are supposed to be likeable and I'm-" Chat quickly cut Marinette off before she could finish her statement, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Marinette felt her face go bright red.

"K-Kitty?!"

"Don't ever claim to not be likeable, Marinette," Chat said sternly, "I know for a fact people like you. Case in point: Me."

Marinette's face went even redder as she attempted to make her mouth form the words "thank you."

However Chat wasn't done yet.

"Princess, you're the most amazing girl I've ever met. I mean, who else would be willing to sit outside in the cold at this time just because some stray cat started clawing at the door? You really are an everyday Ladybug! You always look out for others and you don't even expect anything in return, there's no way anyone who meets you could hate you - I mean you're perfect! It's no wonder I like you."

Chat froze.

"I- I mean I like you as a friend? That's what we are- I mean I do like- but you- I didn't mean that"

...

"I like you too, Kitty."