*~*

~*~*~

I hope you guys are staying safe out there! This quarantine is kicking my butt because it's taken away what little free time I had ;;;;

In any case, thanks for waiting, and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :)

~*~*~

*~*

Music glossary:

Bravura - (from Italian "bravery/spirit") Style of music in which the performer plays boldly, requiring exceptional agility and technical skill in execution.

-----------

Marinette knocked on the guest bedroom door, or rather, on Chat Noir's bedroom door, as it had now officially become.

"Come in! It's open," she heard from the other side.

Marinette's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Odd, she thought. For someone who was supposed to be guarding a secret identity at all costs, one would think that Chat would always keep the door locked. First the "bathroom incident" and now this? She wondered what his aversion to locked doors was all about.

Marinette peeked her head into the room and saw him at his desk, writing in a notebook.

"Hey Kitt–uhh, Chat Noir, dinner will be ready in a minute. Would you care to join us?"

Chat's cat ears perked up. "I'd love to! Thanks! I'll help set the table in a sec."

"What are you up to?" she asked, sitting at the edge of his bed.

Chat swiveled his chair around to face her. "Oh, it's..." he grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck to ease the stiffness there. "I was doing some calculations, figuring out a monthly budget and that kind of thing. Trying to figure out how much all my bills will cost."

"Me-owch," Marinette cringed. "Sounds suuuuper fun."

"Yeah, definitely," he replied with matching sarcasm. "It's actually been more complicated than I thought."

"How so?" she asked.

He let out a long sigh. "Well... this is gonna sound weird, but my father as a civilian is, uh... pretty well-known. There's a lot of people who would recognize me. Any potential employers would be getting in contact with him, asking him questions, or even give him an idea of where to find me. So I can't apply to jobs as my normal self." He ran his gloved hand through his hair in exasperation. "But where could I possibly get a job as 'Chat Noir'?? 'He' can't start a bank account, has no birth certificate, driver's license, address, phone number. I'd have to get hired under the table, but I might run into some shady people. They might take advantage of the situation, and there'd be nothing I could do to contest them. Or they might try to use me to get free advertisement, and then my father would know where to find me anyway. Ugh, it's all just a mess," he groaned. "Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. I'm sure I'll figure something out, so don't worry."

Marinette hummed, thinking. "Well, actually..." she said, tapping her chin. "Since the school year's starting up again, a couple of our full-timers are switching to part-time to accommodate their university schedules; so the bakery will need some extra help. Obviously you wouldn't be able to work at the front of the store, attending to customers and whatnot. But there's still cleaning, washing, and heavy lifting that needs to be done behind the scenes. So if that sounds alright with you, we can talk to my parents about it. I'm sure they'd be happy to have you aboard."

"Really??" Chat's head shot up and he chirped excitedly, accidentally dropping his pen in the process. "Th-that would be great! I'll work really hard, promise! Are you sure it would be okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll say yes! My mom's already taken quite a liking to you; she's always talking about how polite and sweet you are." Chat's ears perked up and his cheeks reddened upon hearing this, which she found much too adorable. "And I'm sure my dad's slowly coming around; I can tell, even though he's stubborn." She reached over and squeezed his hands. "I'll put in a good word for you," she said with a wink.

"You will?!" he replied with a laugh. "Best job reference ever!!" He hopped out of his chair, then bent over and wrapped her up into a tight hug. "You're the best, Marinette. Seriously."

She shook off her initial surprise and squeezed back, smiling wide.

"Anything for a friend."

Dinnertime went over even better than Marinette had hoped. When the subject of a job was broached, Marinette's mother took to the idea immediately and, citing the need for some extra muscle, eventually managed to win over her father.

Thus, they hired Chat Noir on the spot for part-time work, adding a few extra household chores in lieu of charging him rent. Marinette could hardly contain herself when she saw Chat's face as he heard that; he looked like he'd won the lottery. And if anyone else had noticed how his eyes got misty and his voice began to quiver as he thanked them, nobody had mentioned it.

After dinner, Marinette invited Chat Noir upstairs to her bedroom, saying she needed help picking out the perfect outfit for her first day back to school. Truth be told, she really did need to choose an outfit; but it was mostly an excuse to hang out with him and serve as a distraction from his stressful circumstances.

Behind his cheerful smile and never ending stream of jokes, he always carried such a lonesome air about him. She'd never noticed it until that first night; the night they danced during the ballroom akuma attack. Or rather, she'd never allowed herself to open up to the possibility that he might be suffering. It would have made fighting him much more difficult had she known.

But as they swayed to the music that night, she could feel the melancholy in his voice, how it seemed to be yearning for more, and she couldn't ignore it anymore.

It was shocking to her; mind-blowing, even. Not the same shock as one might get from a slap in the face, but rather like she'd woken up from a deep sleep. And yet, even then, she never could have anticipated how things would've unraveled from that day forward. They had come a long way, and there was still much more ahead of them.

In any case, he was sure to appreciate an evening goofing around with his new roommate, to get his mind off of both his superhero problems and his civilian worries.

"So, what do you think?" she asked as she peered into her closet. "Classy? Trendy? Girly? Vintage? Boho chic?"

Chat furrowed his brows, cocking his head in uncertainty. "I dunno... You'd look great in anything! Just close your eyes and grab something, and voila!"

She wrinkled her nose at him. "What if I grab my fuzzy, pink bathrobe?"

"You'd look great in that too! 'Comfy chic', the newest trend on all the cat-walks!" he grinned cheekily.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, you dork, be serious! I wanna look good!"

"But you already look good!" he said, lifting his arms and motioning up and down her entire length for emphasis. "You'd even look good in a burlap sack. I mean it! You're really cute, Marinette! Besides, it's not like you need to impress anybody. Everyone already loves you."

She felt her cheeks warm up at the praise he gave so freely. "I-I... th-that's sweet of you to say. B-but I wasn't trying to fish for compliments or anything. I just... want to look a little extra nice. Maybe even stand out a little bit, that's all," she added more quietly, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

Chat paused and forward on the chaise. "Hang on," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Marinette... ARE you trying to impress someone? Someone special, maybe?"

Marinette made a startled noise that would best be described as a squawk and whipped back around to face the inside of her closet. "Uhh, NOPE! Nope, nope. Not at all! What makes you say that?!"

Wow, Marinette, convincing, she groaned inwardly.

Despite her stammering and weak attempts at protesting, Chat exclaimed with a gasp, "So there IS someone!"

He hopped off the chaise towards her, trying to get a peek at her reddened face. "So who is it?? Would I know them? Are you in the same grade, or just the same school? Do they already know you like them? How did you two meet?"

Marinette let out a long screech, rushing away from the closet towards her vanity desk and plopped down on the chair, dropping her head onto the table with a small thunk.

Chat practically glided across to where she'd sat and put his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently. "Our little Marinette has a crush on someone~!" he crooned in a sing-song voice. "That's so romantic! You'll invite me to your wedding, won't you?"

Marinette let out another long, muffled groan, which only spurred him on, becoming giddy like a small child who'd been given a pile of candy.

He's never going to stop now that he knows, is he? she bemoaned, cursing her inept, awkward self.

Foregoing any further attempts at denial, she decided to just be honest with him. After all, Alya knew about her crush, and so did her other gal friends. She could confide in Chat too; especially since they were going to be living with each other from now on. Surely there was no harm in him knowing. It's not like he'd go around blabbing it to anyone. She knew him better than that.

She sighed heavily, not bothering to hoist up her head, which felt like it weighed as much as a boulder at the moment. "He's a classmate," she replied in deadpan.

"A classmate, huh?" Chat repeated, voice full of wonder. "That's so adorable! What else can you tell me about him? Is he cute?"

"Gorgeous," she replied, with perhaps more emphasis than she intended. "And thoughtful and gentle and kind. A little awkward and nerdy, but friendly and optimistic to a fault. He's practically perfect. At least, perfect in all the ways that matter to me, anyhow. I've known him for a few years, and I've been in lov– I MEAN... I've had a crush on him pretty much since we first met."

Sensing her shift in tone, Chat dropped all the playfulness in his voice and asked in earnest, "W-wait... D-did you say... in love?"

Marinette let out a long, pitiful whine, grabbing the hair by the sides of her head and covering her face with it like a tent, trying to hide her eternal shame.

"I can't believe I just said that..." she moaned wretchedly, very much wishing she could shrink to the size of a mouse right now. "Can you just cataclysm me and pretend you didn't hear that, please?"

"Wait, so that means..." Chat interrupted, his brows scrunched. "He doesn't know how you feel about him?"

She shook her head, or rather, kind of shuffled it back and forth on the table's surface. "I've always been too afraid to say anything to him. I never wanted things to become weird between us, so I've always just... not taken the risk. He always just kinda... seemed to need a friend more than he needed a relationship, y'know? And I didn't want to take that away from him. From us."

Chat paused for a moment, pondering her words. "But what if he feels the same way?" he countered. "Wouldn't you rather get it off your chest and find out for sure?"

Marinette hesitated, turning her head sideways. "Have you ever liked someone you were too afraid to lose?" she replied quietly.

She could hear Chat's breath hitch, but he didn't respond. She wondered if that was something he'd been worrying about as well. He'd never confessed to Ladybug about his own crush; but was that merely due to shyness, or from not wanting to complicate their relationship and their duties as superheroes? Would he jeopardize it?

Chat was a romantic at heart; of that she was certain, judging from his taste in media and books, from their late night conversations, and especially from what Plagg had told her a few days ago.

However, despite his playful flirtatiousness towards her as Ladybug, he'd never verbally expressed any serious interest in a romantic relationship. She could only assume he wanted to keep things as friendly and professional as possible, in order to work on strengthening their relationship as a team, instead of risking a fallout.

Or, at least, that's what she'd started to tell herself. Everything in her brain was a terrible jumble. Especially after hearing about Chat's family situation the night before, after the akuma attack. Ladybug had finally learned about Chat's mother, Hawkmoth's wife, and things were way more complicated than she could have ever imagined.

Chat Noir had introduced a variable of unpredictability in her life, and she was still trying to sort out her own growing feelings towards him. Were these merely feelings of protectiveness, or was it something else? Had she been projecting her desire for Adrien onto Chat? She didn't think so, and yet, she'd never experienced anything like this before. How could she know for sure?

Unrequited love felt awful, but at least it was fairly straightforward. Trying to figure out her thoughts and feelings when adding another person into the jumble was frustratingly confusing.

In addition, Hawkmoth's cruel words from the akuma attack echoed in her head despite trying to dispel them countless times. They resonated within her, trying to worm their way into her brain to plant undeserving guilt and shame. Accusations of taking advantage of Chat; of blind infatuation; of festering doubts and lack of trust.

Not to mention the elephant in the room: the giant, seemingly impenetrable wall of having to hide their identities from each other, which prevented them from being able to grow closer.

Pursuing a romantic path with him right now would not be prudent.

Especially since she was still in love with Adrien.

UGH. She was in love with Adrien. Why had she allowed herself to fall for him?!? Why did he have to be so darn wonderful, so awfully talented, so ridiculously considerate?!

The uncomfortable feeling of embarrassment slithered down her spine once again, traveling all the way from her head to her toes. How could she possibly face Chat Noir now that he knew what a coward she was?

Moments passed and neither of them had broken the ice. She supposed she should be the one to do it, since she was the one that had made things awkward in the first place.

Before she could say anything, however, she felt Chat's hands settle on her shoulders, and he gently pulled her up into a sitting position. He gazed at her reflection in the mirror, a kind smile painted on his handsome face and she couldn't help but feel her face flush. His emerald green eyes were so piercing, so sincere, which caused a multitude of butterflies to swarm in her chest despite her having banned them.

Bringing his arms in front of her, he draped a colorful garment across her collarbones so it would cascade all the way down to her lap. Apparently she'd been too busy internally freaking out that she hadn't even heard him rummaging around in her closet.

"How about this top?" he asked softly. "The cut of the neck will draw attention to your jawline, especially if you wear your hair down, so the sides can frame your facial features. And if you wear this necklace here-" he said as he lifted the accessory from her vanity table, "-it will emphasize your blue eyes very nicely. For bottoms, I'd either go with some dark-wash skinny jeans paired with low heels, or a skirt with a bright pattern and some close-toed flats. Keeping it simple is best, in my opinion. Clean and sophisticated."

Wait... what?? How did he–

Marinette hadn't even noticed her jaw had dropped until Chat closed it gently with his index finger, her teeth coming back together with a soft clink.

"You should ask him out. This mystery person," he added. "You never know what'll happen. He'll either like you back, or he won't. But at least you'll know, and whatever happens afterwards, it'll mean you can move on."

She held the shirt in place with her own hands, but never broke eye contact with him through the mirror. "Would you do the same?" she asked quietly.

Chat looked away, cheeks darkening. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed deeply. "Someday, perhaps. But... I'm not ready yet. Maybe once I become a better person. Somebody worthwhile."

She turned around to face him, studying his expression. A weight settled uncomfortably in her gut, urging her to fix it, FIX IT!!

But fix what?! Fix it how?? She didn't know; but she had to try regardless.

She stood up, setting the garment down on the chair, then practically stomped over to him. Chat looked a bit taken aback at how close she'd gotten, his eyes widening in confusion. She threw her arms around his torso, pulling him as close as physically possible without literally merging together. She laid her head on his chest, relishing the sound of his heart thumping in his chest.

"You dumdum. You're already amazing. Anybody would consider themselves lucky to be loved by you."

She felt him freeze up, unsure of what to make of this sudden and almost aggressive display of affection. But a beat later he relaxed, practically melting into her embrace and hugged back just as tightly.

He laid his own head on top of hers, a motion that still felt so comforting and so familiar; and yet she couldn't figure it out. Whenever she would come close to making a discovery, the thought would slip away, as if by magic.

Or, come to think of it, most likely because of magic. His mannerisms and speech were so familiar, and yet she couldn't place where she knew them from, or whom they matched up with. Chat had said that they knew each other outside of the costume, so surely that was why they felt so familiar. But the glamour of his miraculous was quite efficient in protecting his identity; therefore, despite teetering at the edge of her recognition, she still could not identify him. She supposed that was for the best, even if it was maddening.

"I wish I could believe that. I really do," he murmured sadly, interrupting her train of thought.

She nuzzled her head into him. "Stop being so hard on yourself. Life doesn't revolve around achievements or some arbitrary measurement of greatness. Being you is enough."

"I... don't really know how to stop thinking that way, to be honest," he said with a shrug.

Marinette let go of him and took a small step back, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Well, it's too bad you don't have a choice, then. 'Cause from now on, you're officially enrolled in the Dupain-Cheng self-esteem boot camp, where you learn to be nice to yourself... or else, I'll kick your ass!" she said, poking him lightly on the chest.

His eyes popped open for a moment, then he threw his head back and laughed. "I believe it!" he said, squeezing his arms around her once again. "I'll do my best to meet your expectations and avoid all the ass-kicking, sensei! Bring on Du PAIN!"

She let out a snort and giggled, looking up at him from her lower height.

Her gaze softened once again, then added, "By the way... thanks for your help, and for your advice, Minou."

Chat chuckled at the term of endearment, and Marinette's brain froze.

How could she forget?? Again. She wasn't Ladybug right now. Marinette didn't have nicknames for Chat.