The Miraculous Marichat

Part Thirteen

Chat Noir steeled himself before knocking on Marinette's skylight. It was late. It had taken much too long for him to gather the courage to come see her.
Plagg had laughed and teased him all day for what he said to her once they landed beneath the tower.
He would be lying to himself if he said what she had done hadn't made his heart stir.
Marinette was kind, helpful, funny, resourceful, witty, smart, and secretly a badass.
Not to mention beautiful.
She had put herself in harm's way multiple times for him. He was the superhero, and yet she cared so much about him that she had saved him twice.
"Chaton," she said with a small smile as she pushed open the window.
"Hey, Princess. I'm sorry it's late, but can we talk?"
"Of course. Let me put on a robe."
Chat clicked his claws against the railing as he waited for her to reappear.
She came up next to him with a mug of something steaming.
He took it from her and sipped the hot chocolate, full to the brim with marshmallows, just the way he liked it.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking," Chat said, unable to meet her gaze. "I've realized that I really like you. I've gotten to know you some, but I want to know you more. You're amazing, and beautiful, and so wonderful to be around."
"Chat—" Marinette whispered.
"But I also know that I can't have that."
He finally turned to face her. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were dusted with that adorable blush of hers.
He set the hot chocolate down and the banister and wrang his hands in front of him.
"Everything I've done concerning you has put you in danger. I can't bear to see another super villain take you hostage or to see you hurt. Ladybug is always saying I need to think with my head, and she's right. As much as my heart might want to be with you, I have to do what's smart. Being with you would just put you in more danger, so—"
Chat Noir choked off his sentence as Marinette placed her hands on either side of his face.
"You know, I've spent so long listening to my head," she murmured as she leaned forward and rose on her tippy-toes. "For once, I want to follow my heart."
Her lips were just as soft as he remembered. She tasted just as sweet as before. This time, he did kiss her back. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him. He could feel her body heat even through the magic leather of his super suit.
When they finally broke apart, Chat Noir rested his forehead against Marinette's, right where they had bumped together after he first kissed her.
"This is crazy," he murmured.
Marinette hummed and looked at him with her bluebell eyes.
"What's crazy is how long it took me to realize I loved you," she breathed in reply.
Chat's breath caught. She loved him. She said she loved him. For real this time.
"I love you too, Princess," he said as he captured her lips once more.
Hawkmoth could send as many villains as he wanted. Chat wasn't going to let anyone, super villain or no, take this away from him.