( This video just gives me DA FEELS! The song caused me to tear up while writing this. Clarity suits LadyNoir so much! *sniff....sob.....who am I kidding? WAHHHHH! 😭)

Neither of them expected for Marinette to laugh at his pun but somehow she did.
"So you think I'm funny?"

"Maybe." She tapped on his nose. Marinette led him back to the bed. "You need to rest, Chat Noir. We'll think of a plan when you're in good shape."

"Resting can wait. What did you want to tell me when we met this morning?" He enquired. "It's about the akuma's powers. Apparently, she's not a normal akuma. She calls herself Predicta and as the name suggests she can predict all our next moves during fights. That's why she always wins. What's worse is that," her eyes trailed off to his suit, "she can find out where we are."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Back when I was Ladybug, I heard her say that she could find me wherever I was hiding. So I de-transformed myself hoping that she wouldn't concentrate on finding Marinette and it worked! It seems like she's only able to do that when we're transformed. We are different behind the masks, Chat, even though we deny it."

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing? Doesn't make any difference to me anyway, as long as it's you behind the mask, Purrincess!" He winked.

Marinette smiled. "Silly kitty!"

"Don't you think she'll come looking for me?"

"That's what I was thinking right now. She defeated you but why didn't she take your ring?"

"Well, it did seem like she couldn't concentrate whenever Hawkmoth's mask covered her own black one and it was outlined most of the time on her face. I didn't know about her extra powers until now. And I thought her only powers were some weird red rays!" Chat rubbed the wound on his head.

" The red rays can freeze someone in time. Almost like the Timebreaker, even better I guess. If what you're saying is true, then..." both of their eyes widened as they said at the same time, " she can't focus on someone when Hawkmoth is controlling her!"

A grin appeared on her tear-stained face. "We're different behind the masks, Chat. If we can't fight as superheroes, we'll always have our amazing selves to do the job!"

Chat rubbed his eyes. "Who are you and what have you done to the Marinette I knew?" He thought. But then he realised she was Ladybug. "Oh, right!" Chat flashed a smile at her. "Do I sense a plan, M'Lady?"

"Yes, but this depends on how much we know each other. We could still fight her as a team. The only problem here is that our identities will be at risk. We..." she mumbled "should fight in our civilian forms."

"Uh, sure, I bet you'll find my civilian form...irresistible." He faked an awkward laugh, thinking of his depressed self underneath the mask. Of course, everyone would love Adrien Agreste. Who would even bother to look beyond his fake smiles!

Marinette knew her partner well enough to recognise that fake laugh. Chat looked down at his black suit. "Marinette, we're not always perfect under the mask. Nobody is. Everyone has their own flaws, their own scars to hide from the world. The masks only protect you from showing these scars. It doesn't change who you are, unless you change the way you think of yourself. But I can't change anything about me in my civilian form. I feel like myself only when I'm Chat Noir."

Marinette felt like the situation just got reversed. "Wait, you're telling me you're not confident to do this? Chat, look at me. I'm Marinette. I'm so clumsy, Chat. I'm awkward, a pushover and I stutter like an idiot whenever I speak to-" she broke off her sentence. Her eyes unknowingly wandered off to the innumerable photos of Adrien across the room.

That's when Chat began to take account of his surroundings. The atmosphere was tense enough that he failed to look around the bright pink room he was in. He could tell Marinette was an aspiring fashion designer from the sewing machine and the thread rolls all over the place. The mannequins held some very refreshing designs. A sky blue dress hung around on one of them. He had to admit her fashion sense was so much better than his father's dark tastes in colour.

Chat looked up from his bed, following Marinette's gaze. A bunch of some drawings of her upcoming designs were pasted on the wall along with..."pictures of me?" He thought. (Aww, too bad he didn't say that out loud!)

"Isn't that the famous teen model, Adrien Agreste? What's he doing on your wall!?"

Marinette felt her face heat up. "Uh, it's for i-inspiration. I m-mean, the fashion line he wears, it's designed by his father, Gabriel Agreste, a world renowned fashion designer who I look forward to working with someday." She looked away immediately, but still felt Chat's stare on her.

"What?" She asked, still not meeting his eyes.

"Really, Purrincess? Your lies are a cat-astrophe!" He chuckled. Marinette felt her cheeks turn red. She felt as red as a tomato. (Yeah, tomato...get it? 😉) Chat was now laughing his head off, welp, until it began to actually hurt him.

"That's the guy who stole my Bugaboo from me!?"

Marinette slowly nodded. Chat sat up in the bed. He began to examine the photos across the wall. "Hmm..." He put a hand on his chin. "I wouldn't blame you. He is flawless. Rich, famous at a young age, a model and perfect boyfriend material. I doubt if you're the only one who drools over him."

"What are you getting at?"

"Bugaboo, don't you think every other girl in Paris would have a poster of him in their room? Maybe he doesn't deserve to be with you, Bugaboo. I heard he actually had a busy schedule with photoshoots that he misses school almost everyday. Who's gonna promise he'll be there for you when he doesn't actually get the time to live a normal life like others?"

Marinette looked disappointed. Chat placed a hand on her shoulder. "I was just telling you to look out for yourself, M'Lady. Fame and money isn't everything. Maybe he has an entirely different life back at home. Maybe he's not the same person you think he is when you see him on the cover of a magazine. Like I said, everyone has a mask to put on. The ones who truly understand each other, sees beyond these masks. And I don't want you to lose yourself in the process."

Marinette looked over to the photos again. "B-but..." Her lips trembled.

"I can't believe my Bugaboo of all people would fall for that guy!"

"But he's different, Chat Noir!"

"Different? Let's see. Blonde hair? Check. Green eyes? Check. Perfect Colgate smile that comes out from the heart? Well, that's only something Chat Noir can do! Hey! I pretty much have the same features, maybe even better than him!"

He felt a wheezy voice speaking in the back of his mind. "Hey, kid. You're being jealous of yourself."  Chat smirked. He wanted her to like him this way. Not when he was Adrien Agreste. "What do you see in him anyway?"

"What do I see?" Her blue eyes went all dreamy when she said, " I see a kind, polite and caring person in him. He's friendly, a bit depressed because he's alone. Sometimes, I wish I could hang out with him without stuttering and maybe change the way he thinks of himself. He's really nice and humble and doesn't at all treat himself as 'Mr.Front-of-the-cover-teen-model-weekly'. He's smart, he can do almost anything but sadly he doesn't get enough encouragement from his father. The good part is, he still doesn't complain when people around him mould him into being 'flawless'."
She drew imaginary quotes in air as she said the last word.
"He's simply amazing, Chat. I never fell for his money or fame. I fell in love with him the moment he didn't seem like Chloe!" She looked irritated when she mentioned Chloe. "Oh! And one more thing, Chat. He doesn't make puns."

Chat held a hand over his heart, pretending to be wounded by her words.
"You. Shouldn't. Have. Hurt. Me. Bugaboo. Meowch!"

"Stop it, you silly kitty!" She nudged him. They both laughed. Chat gazed longingly at her bluebell eyes while they finally met his own. The laughter had slowly subsided. Time stopped forever when their eyes locked.

"Chat-" he broke her off by putting a finger on her lips. Chat rested his back against the wall. He pulled Marinette into his arms. They laid that way for a few minutes. Marinette felt her cheeks burning as if they were on fire. Her hands felt cold and numb though. Is it even possible for her body to feel that way? She could feel his chest rising and falling as he breathed into her hair. Chat stooped down to her face. He gave a gentle peck on her bright red cheeks. He turned her head around. Their lips were almost touching now.

"I love you, M'Lady."

•••

Well, that was supposed to be all "lovey-dovey" if you didn't get it by now. This was just my imagination. 🌈🌈🌈
I seriously don't know how to write romance because...*sweats heavily*...

because I've never known what it's like to be loved by someone.

Crap! I didn't just say that, did I? *runs off in my cat suit*
Claws in!