Thoughts of Marinette continued to occupy Adrien's mind as he went home and had his Chinese lesson.

After dinner he went to his room. Once alone his kwami Plagg popped out of his shirt. "That was an interesting day, don't you think?" he asked teasingly.

Adrien sighed. "I can't believe that I never figured out that Marinette was in love with me."

"Don't stress about it, kid. There's a lot of things that you can't figure out."

"Not helping Plagg," Adrien replied, clearly annoyed.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. But I'm just wondering, why didn't you tell her that you weren't dating Kagami anymore?"

"I don't know," he said. "I guess that I didn't want to make things more awkward than they already were." He closed his eyes. "We'll finish talking about this later. We have to meet Ladybug for patrol in ten minutes."

"But I didn't even get a chance to eat yet!" the kwami protested.

Adrien opened his eyes and went over to the mini fridge. "Here you go," he said, tossing a piece of Camembert to Plagg.

He ate it in one bite. "Ready!" he announced.

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien said, transforming into Chat Noir.

************************************

Ladybug and Chat Noir always met for patrol at the top of the Eiffle Tower. They rarely found any trouble, but it was good to keep an eye on things.

Chat Noir really liked patrol, it gave him an extra opportunity to get out of his house. Plus, he got to see Ladybug. Although he didn't love her quite like he used to, he still enjoyed being around her.

Even though she was busy with her extra responsibilities, Ladybug liked patrol. It was her job, after all. Plus, she got to see Chat Noir. Although she didn't return his feelings for her, she still enjoyed his company immensely. He could definitely tone down the cat puns, but other than that, he was a great friend and partner.

But she wished he would act more like his old self. He used to flirt with her constantly. Always kissing her hand and making up nicknames for her. Although it annoyed her to no end before, she found herself missing it when it stopped a few months ago. She couldn't blame him for stopping. After being rejected so many times he finally gave up trying to win over her heart. It was for the best, but that didn't mean she didn't miss it.

Ladybug arrived at the meeting point a minute before Chat Noir. "Hi Kitty," she said at seeing him.

"Ladybug," he replied, bowing to her with a smile. "Same route as usual?"

She nodded, taking out her yo-yo. He took his baton and the two left in different directions.

Like usual, nothing was going on so they met back up after half an hour.

"Another uneventful evening, huh Ladybug?"

"Yeah, luckily," she replied.

He sat down at the edge of the platform they were on. "Care to join me?" he asked.

"I wish I could, Chat. But I have way too much stuff to do. Maybe next time?" she offered with a smile.

"Next time," he repeated.

She waved goodbye and swung away. He remained in his spot, enjoying the view of Paris. It was so beautiful at night, with all the lights twinkling around him. His thoughts eventually returned to Marinette and the events of the day. He wondered what she was up to.

Not in a rush to get home, Chat Noir stayed overlooking the city for a while. His yawning alerted him to the fact that it was getting late. He slowly stood up and grabbed his baton, taking off across the rooftops.

When he got close to his house he saw the person that had occupied most of his thoughts that day. Marinette was out on the balcony that was on top of her bedroom. She was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and her hands resting on her knees.

Without even thinking he catapulted himself over and landed on the balcony behind her.

She jumped at the noise and spun around. Her eyes widened at seeing him. "Chat Noir," she said, standing up. "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry if I startled you. I was just passing by and saw you, so I thought I would stop and say hi. Hi!"

"Hi," she said back with an amused look on her face.

Neither of them spoke for a minute.

"So, is that it then?" Marinette asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Chat Noir replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Okay. Um... have a good night?" she said.

He nodded but didn't move. After a couple of seconds he finally spoke again. "What are you doing sitting there?"

"Oh, some meditation."

"That's cool. I didn't know that you meditated."

"I kind of picked it up recently. It's supposed to help clear your mind. I don't know if I've quite gotten a hold on it yet, but I'm trying."

"Why do you need to clear your mind?" he asked confused.

She paused for a moment and looked down. "It's kind of a long story. Pretty much I've been really overwhelmed lately with everything that I need to do. And I haven't been sleeping well because of that." She nervously tugged on her pigtail. "So my mind is kind of a mess right now."

"I'm sorry Marinette," he said, pulling her in for a hug.

She leaned into him. It was so nice to feel his embrace again. She didn't know why, but he always managed to make her feel better.

"Thank you," she said, breaking away from the hug. "I think I needed that."

"It's no problem Princess."

Her eyes went wide again. He gave her a nickname, just like he used to. She smiled brightly at him.

Chat Noir felt his heart skip a beat. He didn't realize until that moment that he had missed seeing her smile. She was so beautiful, even when she was on the verge of tears. But that smile transcended everything else. "It's, uh... getting late. Why don't you go to bed and try to get some sleep?"

Marinette nodded at him. "I will. And thank you again. Really."

"You're welcome," he replied, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

"Have a good night," she said, walking to the hatch that leads to her room and opening it up. She gave a small wave before climbing down and closing it behind her.