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Marinette shifted slightly where she sat on the floor of her bedroom, her body language switching subtlety from relaxed to nervous and tense. The train of thought that had been bothering her as of late suddenly presented itself once again to the forefront of her mind after having been momentarily forgotten throughout the course of the night.
She had been working on a design project that evening when an unexpected (or rather slightly expected if she were being honest) guest had landed on her balcony and rapped on the trap door above her bed, effectively ensuring that a good chunk of time from Marinette’s evening would be donated to her guest’s benefit (because despite how distant Marinette tried to be sometimes, despite how distant she wanted to be, in reality Marinette just couldn’t stand to say no to the face of such a pretty little kitten, especially without the reminder of her duty to the city that wearing her suit gave her.)
The two girls had then proceeded to goof around for several hours, talking and snacking on treats from the closed bakery below and all around having a pretty good time. In all the fun the two had been having Marinette had forgotten her current worries and was content to let herself relax for a while. But now, just as they had just gotten done with painting each other’s nails and laughing at the way the bright pink looked on Chat’s dark claws, Marinette’s train of thought was brought back to the same thread that had been nagging at her for the better portion of a week now. She debated whether or not it would be wise to mention it to her feline companion. Her nerves got the best of her and presented her mind with worst case scenarios. But ultimately she pushed them aside and began to gather her courage to speak, to bring up the topic that had been all but tearing her apart the last week. This was her partner after all—her best friend—even if she didn’t know the whole truth of that at the moment. She trusted her with her life and she would trust her with this. If she wouldn’t accept this about her then she knew that no one would, and she certainly wouldn’t be able to keep this bottled up for very much longer at the rate she was going. So she opened her mouth and willed herself to speak.
“Hey Chat….?” She said shakily, her voice uneasy but firm.
“Yeah Mari?” She replied, instantly reading serious tone in her voice and turning to face her, all her attention on Marinette. she had been slowly noticing her friend’s previous growing anxiety and wanted to help ease it in any way she could. “What is it?”
“Can I tell you something kinda… personal…” She looked up at her with a worried pout, hesitant and questioning.
“Ofcourse.” She replied, eyebrows furrowing and supportive resolve sounding strongly in her voice.
“I think I might…-I might… maybe… like girls…” Her voice trailed off as she shifted her gaze to her lap before she quickly opened her mouth again to clarify. “Well, I mean, it’s not that I don’t like boys too, it’s just that—I might like girls a little better, no, well, I guess it’s more accurate to say I like one specific girl. I’ve always… I’ve always liked only boys until… until now… until her…” She finished and turned her gaze from her lap to a very interesting piece of lint on the floor to her right, a deep blush graced her face. She waited another beat and when Chat didn’t reply the beginning threads of panic began to creep their way into her chest and she felt the sudden need to soften whatever damage she thought she might have done. “S-sorry for saying that all of a sudden like this—I totally understand if that makes you uncomfortable or anything I don’t expect you understand it, it’s not like you’ve ever—“
“Actually,” Chat started, cutting Marinette off, “I’m the same.”
Her intense emerald eyes now looking up to stare intently into Marinette’s own, shining with an emotion she couldn’t quite identify, then looking up at the window as she went to continue. “Well, not exactly the same I suppose. For me I’ve always thought girls were attractive, boys too actually. I’ve always thought they were both equally attractive, but I’ve just… never been very interested in actually dating any of them. So it was easy for me, easy for me to tell myself I didn’t really like girls and that eventually I’d find a boy and marry him like my father would want. He wouldn’t really like me liking girls you see… I just... didn’t want to believe in another way I could be a disappointment to him… But then I met her; and I felt a feeling I’ve never felt with anyone else. I’ve felt it since the beginning but I didn’t know what it was at first. In the beginning I thought I just admired her, wanted her approval and friendship and partnership, but… as time went on and we got closer I realized that wasn’t quite it. I just kept wanting more of her, needing more of her, all my time apart from her felt like I was leaving piece of myself with her, like some sort of unfinished puzzle. I noticed how hollow I would feel every time she ever even alluded to having someone she loved more than me. Then one day it all clicked into place and I realized… I’m in love with her…” She paused, her gaze becoming wistful as she continued staring out the window to the golden glow of the lights dotting the night of the Parisian skyline.
“I know that she probably doesn’t feel the same way. Honestly I don’t even think she’s into girls, but even so I know I’ll always be in love with her. I might even find someone else and be happy with them—there’s actually even another cute girl in my class that has been slowly catching my attention as of late—but even if that happens, there will always be a part of me that will never stop loving her, I’m sure of it.”
A strange aching feeling she couldn’t quite identify settled into Marinette’s stomach upon hearing about this mysterious cute girl that had potentially captured Chat’s affections. She didn’t nearly have the clarity of mind to decipher it and there were much more pressing topics at hand so she quickly brushed it aside and it was soon forgotten.
“You really love Ladybug, don’t you…?” Even as the words left her mouth she couldn’t quite process what that meant for her, hearing her partner’s response was much more important at the moment.
“You could tell who I was talking about huh…” Chat said with a self-conscious chuckle, turning to face her again as the edges of a blush peeked out from underneath her inky black mask.
Marinette’s heart twisted uncomfortably, knowing painfully well that really she was the one causing the heartbreak of her best friend. But there was also a strange warmth in hearing Chat declare her love so resolutely and so full of emotion to her face like this, even if Chat didn’t know who she truly was at the moment. She found herself inching closer to her, a thought forming on her lips before she even realizing what she was saying at all. Her eyes wandering to her plush pink lips caught in an effective pout.
“That other girl, the one in your class… Do you think you might start pursuing her…?” Chat looked thoughtful for a minute before replying, her eyebrows showing her slight confusion over the change of topic and her eyes daring to Marinette in a probing way that made Marinette feel like Chat knew something she didn’t.
“Umm, maybe? It seems like she might like someone else but I think she likes girls too so I might have a chance… Why?”
“So… If we both have people we like and we’re gonna both go for it we should cheer each other on. We’ll support each other and help each other.” Her eyes still didn’t leave her lips.
“Yeah I agree; we need to each have someone on our side supporting us!” Chat said, smiling at her with a familiarity she couldn’t quite place. Marinette edged closer their faces so close that their noses were almost touching.
“And maybe we could possibly… help each other practice… for when the real thing comes… so we’re not uncomfortable… We wouldn’t want to ruin our chances with them by messing something up…” They were so close now. Chat’s breath was coming out slowly in thick steady breaths, longing and hesitant.
“What exactly do you mean by practice?” She breathed.
“This…” the whisper would have been inaudible to anyone but Chat, who was barely an inch from her. The next moment, she leaned in slowly and touched her lips softly against Chat’s, gentle enough for Chat to pull away if she wanted to. Instead of pulling away she leaned into the kiss, pressing their lips together enough so that they could each fully feel the soft sweetness of each other’s mouths. They both pulled away after a moment, too stunned to do anything but stare at each other without really seeing. Marinette licked her lips and tasted the unmistakable sweetness of strawberry lip gloss, feeling a jolt of fuzzy warm static traveling from her stomach out through her entire body all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes.
They both stayed like that for a while, staring at each other in awe, neither sure of what they should say or do. The spell was broken when Chat breathed out a soft “Wow”. Both of them snapping back to earth to the reality of what really just happened. They looked away awkwardly at the same time as few moments of silence stretched on between them for what felt like an eternity.
“I… should get going. I-it’s getting late…” It’s Chat who finally breaks the silence, still unable to meet her eyes.
Marinette’s stomach sank, but she nodded her agreement anyway. Chat got up slowly and made her way over to the stairs that lead up to Marinette’s bed under her trap door. But she paused when she reached the top, looking back at Marinette from the top of her bed.
“Will I see you tomorrow…?” There is a silent plea under the polite question, the girl’s bright, clear, green eyes echoed it, her brows pulled together in slight worry. A pungent feeling of relief flooded through Marinette and she let out a sigh. Chat is of course, not really asking whether Marinette will meet her tomorrow, seeing that Chat is the one with the power to see her since she is the one doing the visiting. No, her question is if Marinette will still wants to see her tomorrow, as well as clearly indicated that she still wants to see Marinette . Marinette smiled softly and looked up at her her partner.
“Of course, silly alley cat.” She said with her voice full of fondness, the faint ghost of a smirk on her kissed lips.
Chat’s entire face immediately brightened, smile spreading across her face like a sunrise as she smiled one of the largest smiles Marinette’s ever seen before on her feline face.
“Then it’s a date princess~!” She sang and then leaped up onto Marinette’s balcony and away into the Parisian night. Marinette giggled and placed a finger on her bottom lip.
“I can’t wait, mon minou …”