Mine, His

For the next week, Chat took care of Marinette in the best way that he possibly could. She was as good as new and fitter than ever.

On the second day, after his talk with Plagg, he watched her for hours, just marvelling at her innocence.

His mind carefully went over the prior evenings events, and he smiled knowing that someone actually knew his deep, dark, dirty secret, and still cared about him regardless. It was an utterly humanizing moment for him.

Just before she woke up however, he carried her home as sneakily as he could and tucked her in.

Marinette, feeling up to it decided to open the bakery for a few hours.

When Chat arrived at five that evening, she was pretty pissed when he forced her to go back to bed, after multiple glasses of water, at 6 pm.

His objective was to get her sleeping pattern normal that week so that she could wake up every day at 6 and go about her normal day. He didn't want any suspicion to be drawn to her.

Now, seven days later, Marinette was overjoyed to know that she could sleep later than 6 pm, it was currently 9 pm.

Chat grins at the woman as she swirls around her room excitedly at the news, his legs are partly crossed as he sits on her chaise with his left hand on his t.h.i.g.h and his right hand stiff behind him, supporting his torso.

He's absolutely exhausted. All his tutors, instructors, and photographers had really clamped down on him this week to make up for last week. Thankfully, for the past week they had only pushed him till 15:30, so he had enough time to check on Marinette, make her drink her water whether she wanted to or not, get her to bed, sleep for eight hours and stare at her the other four. Yes, he was an unashamed sleep stalker.

She sighs happily, dropping down beside him on the chaise. She hadn't brought up their conversation as of yet, and he was very thankful for that. It was hard enough talking about it the first time.

He did notice however, her slight change in demeanor; she had become much less violent towards him, and much more comforting. She had taken to petting him, and playing with his hair. To say he didn't enjoy it would be a lie. He actually began to crave it.

More often than not, she came home happy and full of ideas for new designs, and that excited smile alone was enough to shoo away his exhaustion, and as he sat beside her for the two hours that he allowed to her before forcing her to hit the hay, he noticed many things about his friend that he hadn't noticed before.

For example, she had many freckles… twenty-eight from what he could see. Her hair was more black than blue. Her eyes were a very deep and dimension filled bluebell, and she had the most dizzying of smiles. In her sleep, she drooled very much and would sleep like a starfish if he didn't sleep next to her-Over the blanket while she slept under of course. Even when he did sleep next to her, however, she ended up rolling towards him and unintentionally shoving her backside into his side. Most of the time he had to scoot more and more to the edge, but somehow, her beautiful self and her intrusive b.u.t.t just followed him to whichever corner he went to.

She had a habit of shoving food into her mouth and holding it there between her lips before remembering it was there and then eating it. Her mechanic skills were on point, he noted this after his hand got stuck in her self-made diary box, and anything she drew looked so vivid and beautiful that it almost looked like a photograph. Her brows would furrow as she drew, and sometimes her tongue would stick out. She was right-handed, and her fingers had small dot-like scars from being poked many times by a needle. Her left hand would go to fiddle with something when she was thoughtful, and generally, it made his way into his hair. He never made any moves to reject her addictive unconscious tendencies.

It had been a really great week if he thought about all the time that he got to spend with her, including the hours that she slept.

He blinks away the recent memories and smiles softly as he watches her jump up and move to stand by her model chart.

She huffs.

"This would be much easier if you told me what color your hair was when you're not in the suit." She says giving him the evil eye.

He grins widely.

"I suppose it would be."

"So are you going to tell me?"

"Nope."

"Urghhhh!"She groans while he tilts his head in amus.e.m.e.nt.

It's a cool evening, and his entertainment happened to be as adorable as ever. He's about to say something when all of a sudden, the lights go out. Marinette squeaks and Chat is immediately at her side.

"I think the switches tripped." She says, feeling around for Chat's arm.

Chat looks down at her for a second before pulling out his staff. (A/N: So apparently the baton thingy is a Staff,*Shrugs* Kay wiki, just gonna take your word for it)

He taps the screen a few times to eventually find the power box. The switch had indeed flipped.

It had been faulty for a few days now.

"Stay here." He says to her, gently unlatching her arm.

"Where are you going?" She asks, looking unseeingly at him in the dark.

"Switches…"

"But it could be an intruder!" She says, uncomfortable that he would be going to the power box alone.

"I'll come with you." She says.

"No, you will stand right here." He says, pointing to a spot on the floor that she couldn't see and moving her to stand on top of it.

"You could get attacked, Chat."She says.

Chat snorts.

"Princess, you're reversing the roles here." He says, trying to suppress his chuckle.

She huffs again.

He pats her head. "I'll be right back, okay?"

She doesn't look happy, but doesn't argue any further.

Chat does a quick once over of her balcony trapdoor and her window before quickly slipping through her floor trapdoor.

It isn't long before he finds the box and the tripped switch. He flicks it up and the house lights up again. He walks back up the staircase, and enters Marinette's room quietly before pausing.

She stares out her room window, at the sky, and the twinkling of her hands lay splayed out high up at the top of the glass was as if she was trying to reach a star. She sighs against the glass and it turns misty. She wipes it away and continues to gaze up at the stars longingly. It had been years since she had been out late enough to actually look up and see the stars.

She loved stargazing, but it seemed that she wouldn't be able to actually go out into a meadow or her rooftop to actually lay and watch them in appreciation.

Chat looks at her silently,and she watches as shooting star falls, she looks almost sad. He sighs.

"Lights are on princess." He says, standing next to her.

She shakes her head to clear her thoughts before smiling brightly at him.

"I noticed, took you long enough to put them on again." She says teasingly, but a frown marrs his beautiful face.

Now Chat Noir was not a soft person. He was not easily persuaded, nor was he by any means a pushover. They had a deal. She said she wouldn't go outside. It was a dangerous world out there, and he knew that better than anyone…

But looking at the woman in front of him forced those unwanted feelings of tenderness to the surface. Those feelings that for some explicitly unexplainable reason made him want to bow down and worship her and the ground she walked on if that was what she wished. It was a creepy, unnerving feeling. However, it seemed to be something that he really couldn't force away.

"You want to go outside." He says. It's a solid statement, and Marinette blinks a few times.

"Not really…"She says trailing off.

"Yeah, you do." He says, tilting his head.

Marinette sighs.

"I just miss the stars."

" ...Why? You see them every day." He says, trying to understand.

"I do… But it's not the same when you have to watch it through a glass window and burglar guards, I did see them when I stayed out after crime time,but I was too concerned with getting back home than looking up to stargaze." She says.

Chat purses his lips, still not understanding.

"It's not a big deal, I just kind of miss normality. You know, when you could stay out late at a friend's house, and it would be safe enough to walk back."

He tilts his head,watching her talk. Being friendless made the statement difficult to deciper.

"When we could trick or treat, when people were free instead of being prisoners in their own homes."

Chat blinked, now THAT he understood.

"You want things to be the way they were before everything started changing." He says.

"I guess." She sighs before smiling.

"But I guess can't complain that much. I mean if things didn't change, I wouldn't have a stray cat with me." She begins, lightly punching his arm.

"So I say it's not that bad." She says.

Chat tilts his head.

"I can't say I know how it must have felt to stay out late at a friend's house, or to celebrate Halloween, nor do I understand what freedom was supposed to be like before my appearance as Chat Noir, but I can understand the feeling of wanting a bit of normality. I think normal is underrated." He says.

Marinette smiles. "It really is."

She glances out her window a final time before turning back to him.

He watches her with a thoughtful look.

"We should do something, seeing as it's the weekend. How about a game of charades? It's more fun than it sounds." She says to him.

"I prefer cat and mouse, but either way, I think we should do something else."

"Like what?"

Chat pursed his lips.

"God, if you're listening, don't make me regret this." He mutters.

"What?" Marinette asks, confused.

He just walks to her cupboard and pulls out a really warm coat of hers, along with a hat and a scarf before beckoning her over.

She appears next to him, confused as he holds her coat open so that she can slip into it.

"What are you doing?" She asks.

"It's a secret."

"A secret?"

"A secret."

"Are we going somewhere?"

"Secret."

"Is it the Eiffel tower?"

"No princess."

"Is it Notre Dame?"

"No princess."

"Is it your house?

"No, princess, it isn't."

She slips the coat on. Chat then pulls her wool hat over her head and then calmly wraps her scarf around her neck.

"Is it my kitchen?"

Chat shakes his head, and turns her around leading her up her ladder to her balcony trapdoor. Marinette stops.

"But wait…We have a deal…And you haven't attacked anyone this week…"

Well, that was true. He had been lying very low since the destruction of the hotel. It had been difficult to keep his urges under control, but nonetheless, he had done it somehow.

"I know, but you're not breaking your promise if I'm the one taking you outside." He says, picking the lock of the trapdoor.

"Besides, we won't be long at all."

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere."

Marinette huffs and gives Chat a small shove. He grins.

"Careful princess, I still haven't gotten revenge on you for your stunt the other week."He says.

Marinette waves her hand nonchalantly.

"Yeah yeah, good luck with that."

He chuckles, offering her his hand. She takes it and shrieks when without a warning he pulls her close and breaks into a run before jumping off her rooftop.

"You underestimate me." He says and she doesn't respond, instead choosing to hold on tighter.

She keeps her eyes closed and somehow Chat shifts her without much effort into a bridal-style hold. He nudges her head into the crook of his neck so that the biting wind doesn't maim her delicate skin.

He jumps and skids, ducks and bolts, and in a matter of 30 minutes, she's accustomed to his precise movements. He lands gently every time his feet touch a surface that at times she wonders whether or not they had actually landed. His breathing isn't labored, but it comes out in quick pants.

'He be tired of carrying me, I'm wearing quite a bit…'

Still, time continues to pass, 45 minutes, then an hour, then 75 minutes. He shifts back to holding her with one hand and begins to use his staff to help cover what seems to be large distances.

Her musings come to a stop as soon as Chat stops. For a moment, it seems as if he's almost hesitant to let go of her, but he does slowly. After being set down, Marinette opens her eyes and blinks around at the scenery.

She notices a large, pristine lake, and a familiar lighthouse. Her mouth drops open.

"That's…That's the old Marlborough tower by the Lake…Hameau de la Reine….We're in Versailles?" She asks in awe, looking back at him with wide eyes.

He grins.

"I doubt any other criminals can get you from here, right?"

"You brought me to Versailles!" She suddenly exclaims,then squeals and smiles brightly.

"Thank youuuu!"She says, jumping into his arms. He blushes before she lets go and runs down to the lake.

"Wow it's cleaner than the pictures!"

Chat tilts his head. "Have you not been here before princess?"

She blushes. "Well… I have never actually been out of Paris."

Chat's eyes widen a fraction and he blinks at her in surprise.

"Not Ever?"

"Never." She says,tucking hair behind her ear as she reaches down to touch the water. She looks around at the fantasy, fairy-tale like park. The lake glistens under the moonlight, and the flowers gently sway with a passing breeze.

It's so beautiful. Even more than magnificent.

Marinette knows it's common knowledge that the entirety of France is overridden with crime. That nobody dares to be out after five anymore, so she isn't surprised when she notes that the place, though well-kempt, is absolutely deserted. Criminals would only come if there were people to attack, so no people meant no criminals.

Paris had daredevils like herself venturing around after hours, which made all the difference. There was too much to be done in a day, and not all of it could be done before nightfall in Paris.

It's eerily silent.

She doesn't mind though, it's an amazing place to have the opportunity of seeing, busy or not.

"So many flowers." She says, walking and letting her fingertips delicately graze the colorful petals.

Chat just watches his princess explore, and selects the prettiest flowers that she seems to like best as she walks around, marvelling at the place.

She squats to look at the grass.

"It's so lush." She says.

She lets her hands grab fistfuls before letting them go.

A few birds fly above them in a V-formation.

Suddenly Chat sneezes.

She turns around. He rubs his nose with his index finger annd his eyes droop a little. Some feathers had fallen into his hair.

"Bless you." She says and smiles softly as he sniffs. "Thank you." Chat says as he holds out his makeshift bouquet. She looks at it before looking back at him.

"Flowers? For me?"

"Of course princess, the world's most beautiful woman deserves the most beautiful flowers."

She laughs and takes the bouquet from him.

"Thank you,Chaton."She says, with a curtsy before reaching up into his hair and ruffling out the feathers. He sneezes again.

"Stupid feathers…"He mumbles with a pout.

"How come you aren't allergic to Berry?" She laughs.

"The little shit is still featherless." He says.

She just shakes her head.

"Now, would you like to go see the stars my lady?"

She gasps and looks up as if only realising. The stars were indeed there. She's outside. She's seeing the stars without the fear of death.

Chat offers her his hand. She looks back at him to find him smiling gently, almost shyly at her.

"Yes," She says, taking his hand. "I would." He grins broadly at her before turning and walking along the sides of the lake. He comes to a small area where he makes a detour through tall flowers.

Marinette holds his hand tightly, and doesn't let go of her bouquet.

Soon, they're in a little circular clearing, surrounded by tall hedges, and rows upon rows of tall flowers, the colors mesmerize her and she can't help the excited look that forms on her face. She's still standing on grass.

Chat sits down on it, pulling her with him.

She complies.

She slips off her jacket, scarf, and hat. It was much too hot.

Chat then slowly leans backward, so that he lays flat on his back, and she does the same.

For some reason, the stars seem closer to her, bigger and more silvery than they did in Paris. She adored it.

"Wow, Chat it's beautiful!" She exclaims.

"I agree, it certainly helps the experience that this place smells good." He says.

Marinette sighs and watches the stars as they wink down at her. It had been so long since she had done this. Everything just seemed so perfect.

She looks at the brilliant cl.u.s.ters and smiles noting that there are so many of the stars that the sky is seemingly silver.

Chat lifts his gloved hand and points at something.

"That one, that's you." He says, pointing to a particularly large one, bluer than the others and a bit further from them too.

"Why do you say that?"

"You aren't a crowd follower."

She smiles.

"So that means you're that one next to me?"

"Huh?"

She points up to the star.

"Look carefully."

Sure enough, another star floats next to it. Not as big, also far away from the others.

"I see, why is that me?"

"Coz you're a stalker who follows me away from the crowd." She says, turning her head to him and grinning.

"Is that so?"

"Yes it is so." She says with a smug look.

"And this is coming from the woman who has a chart in her room dedicated to revealing my secret identity…"He says to her, turning his face to hers with a raised brow and a smirk.

She blushes.

"Tha-That's different!" She squeaks.

"If you say so princess." He says with a little smile.

Marinette huffs.

"Shut up and look at the stars." She says.

"Yes, your majesty."

"I'm going to strangle you with your tail."

"Ohhhh Rarrrr. Someone's getting feisty." He snickers, making a scratching motion.

"You're terrible." She says, rolling her eyes.

"You think I'm very cute though, don't you?"

"Nuh Uh!"

"Uh Huh."

"Nope, nuh uh, nada!"

He rolls his eyes.

"Yet you ogled me at the fashion show."

She huffs.

"I oggled everyone.You're so annoying."

"Really? I thought I was pretty A-meow -zing."

She groans. "Nooooo Chat not again."She w.h.i.n.es at him.

"You don't like my puns? What a Cat-astrophe!"

"Chaaaaat!"

"What? You don't think I'm punny?"

"NO!I don't."

"That's not furry nice, princess."

"Urgh!"

"Urgh? Do you also have a hairball?I hate those, they can be rather mangy cat times."

"Shush will you!"

He chuckles. "Fine, I won't speak… For meow."She growls.

"That's it!" She exclaims, jumping up.

Chat snickers, and rolls away.

"I'm going to make you choke on those puns!" She says, running after him.

"Animal cruelty!"

"Then I'm going to castrate you!"

"Did you mean Cat-strate?Or neuter?"

"You aren't google! Don't give me suggestions!"

"Google References? Hmmmm…"

"How dare you make a reference to Google References!"

He laughs and she runs after him at an alarming place. This was an open field however, not his room, it would be much for difficult to catch him out where he could run freely.

He decides to run through some flowers near the lake and she follows closely.

"Surrender!"

"You'll never cat-ch me alive!"

"Fine, roadkill it is!" She says, yanking his tail, but in the process slipping and plunging into the lake, accidentally yanking him with her.

The water is very cold, that's the first thing she notes. She's just sinking deeper and deeper. Where did Chat go? She hadn't managed to take a breath before she went under, and she found her eyes closing.

She doesn't have time to think anything else as she's drawn up to the surface.

She inhales deeply. Chat blinks the water out of his eyes ,coughs a bit and removes the hair from her face. They both concentrate on catching their breath. "You okay?" He asks. She looks up at him and realizes with a start that she's pressed against his c.h.e.s.t and her arms are around his neck while his arms have encircled her waist.

It seems he realized the exact same thing as he suddenly turns red.

Marinette splutters.

"T-T-This is just the best position to drown you!"

"Y-yeah, a-and swimming like this would help me drag you down with me!" He stutters, talking about his arms wrapped around her.

"How clean is this water?" She asks, changing the subject, but not letting go.

"I have no idea…We should get out of it."

She nods and she feels him remove one of his arms to grab his staff before extending it to get them out.

Their feet touch down on the grass but neither makes an attempt to move.

"Cold." She says.

"Okay, let's get your jacket."

She gives a jerky nod and Chat does his best to walk to the clearing with Marinette still clinging to him.

Eventually, they make it there, when they do, he picks up her jacket and wraps it around her.

"Thanks she says."

He smiles. "You just had to attack me, didn't you?"

She gives him the evil eye. "Shush."

"Couldn't resist?" He snickers as he wraps her scarf around her neck.

She rolls her eyes.

"You were the one who couldn't cut back on the puns she says, dropping to sit on the grass.

He smiles toothily.

"Admit it. You like my puns."

"Never."

"Hmm." He hums and looks up at the sky.

"Aren't you cold?" She suddenly asks.

He looks at her and blinks a few times.

"I don't think I am." He says, considering that his suit was almost dry again. Marinette frowns.

"Well…"She picks up her woolen hat and pulls it over his head.

"We don't want you getting a cold." Chat blinks at her gesture a few times and watches her as she lies down again.

He shakes his head to clear his mind and decides to lie down too.

They lie in companionable silence for a long time and watch the stars for a while.

Marinette sighs, it's a contented sigh.

"Someday I'm going to view the stars from all parts of the world."

Chat turns and leans on his side, propping up his head with one hand and tearing at the grass with his other.

"That could be fun." He says.

She nods. "I can't wait, but I have to get my degree first."

"In my opinion, your designs and seamstress skills surpass that of professional designers." He says.

Marinette rolls her eyes.

"I still have a lot to work on." She says, fighting back a yawn.

"Well, I think you're remarkable."

She yawns and smiles dopily.

"How sweet."

She yawns again.

"Do you want to go back now princess?" Chat asks quietly.

"No, let's just stay for a little while." She says through a yawn.

Chat watches her as she fights to stay awake.

"Chat?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think one day everything will be okay again?"

Okay again?

Paris?

The place festered with crime and teeming with criminals?

"Well, not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday, yes, princess."He says.

He doesn't know why he felt so certain when he said it, but he couldn't stop the words when they began to flow out.

"That's good. 'Cause someday we need to go for icecream, during the day."

"Are you asking me on a date?"

She yawns widely.

"No, I'm subtly saying you should get me Pistachio ice-cream."

Chat chuckles and feigns a gasp.

Marinette looks almost unconscious.

"And here I was, thinking you'd finally fallen for me."

"Hmm…would that…be…bad?..." she asks, before suddenly giving into slumber.

Would that be bad…?

What was that supposed to mean?

He frowns, wanting to wake her up to get the answer but he stops himself.

He pulls some hair out of her mouth.

"It would be very bad…" he starts, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"But…I wouldn't mind."

The words slip out and his eyes widen at what he has just said.

....

The next morning when awoke, she felt really happy. She'd gotten back into the habit of waking up at three-thirty again, and when she did earlier in the morning, she found herself soundly in her bed with a note from Chat next to her pillow. At the time she hadn't read the note in her dazed state, but

hours had passed,it was 6 a.m, and she was quite awake.

She unfolded the note.

Dear Marinette

I hope you slept well, sorry that I had to leave early, but something came up. I'll be back later. Have a great day.

C.N

She frowned. That was an odd choice of words. It was …curt. Where was the pun? Where was his half-hearted threat? Why did he not say 'Princess'?

It was odd. It was very odd.

She sighed, getting out of bed and dressing for the day.

****

"Thank you, please come again!" She said brightly to a customer.

One of the shop attendants had called in sick. Naturally, being Marinette, she'd assured the woman that it was perfectly okay and that she herself would take on the shift.

It wasn't so bad, she missed working in the bakery. She met many peculiar personalities, and she loved that. Unfortunately, with the start of University, she was unable to work much.

She waved goodbye to a customer.

"Hey Marinette, all the baking is done for the day." One of the bakers said.

"Oh, thanks, Manolo!"She said to the smiling middle-aged man.

"I'll take over, you go-as-you youngsters say- Chillax." He said.

She laughed. She was only a little tired, she still had enough energy in her to work.

"No Manolo, it's alright, I got thi-"She was interrupted by the door opening. She glanced towards the door and her eyes flashed in recognition. She suppressed a gasp.

The young man looked around. His well-defined face looks almost too good for the bakery and she found herself feeling self-conscious.

Their eyes met and she held his gaze. Slowly, a warm smile appeared on his face.

"Marinette." He says, walking towards the counter and extending a hand.

He knew her name?

"Urm…Marcus Galéo, am I right?" She asks.

"Spot on." He grinned. His eyes wandered around for a few seconds before they settled on her again. "We need to talk."

She looked at him with slightly wide eyes.

"Urm, yes of course." She said, looking back at Manolo who gestured for her to go with Marcus. She complied.

The two sat at a table in the bakery.

"Would you like something to drink? Or to snack on?" She asked.

He shook his head.

"Sugar and I…well things aren't very sweet between us."

She forced back a gasp.

A PUN?

Was that a pun? No…No it couldn't be…

But if it were…Then things would make a whole lot of sense.

Marcus had been the one to save her on that night, when he came in, they immediately listened to him and stopped hurting her…Not only that, but not even a minute after he stormed out, she was saved by Chat…So…

It was possible that…

That…

She was talking to Chat right at that very moment.

"But I think we need to immediately start discussing the pressing matter at hand…"

She looked at him in confusion.

"I know you have affiliations with Chat Noir."

She choked on her own saliva.

"Relax. I have not told anyone." He said.

"But the fact remains that I know about it. I promise not to tell anyone…But I just want to know why." He said to her.

She took a breath, thinking that it could just be Chat being insecure again.

"He's different."

"How so?"

"He's kinder than he seems, and he's intelligent and playful, he's hilarious at times, and he really cares."

Marcus' brows furrowed and he sighed.

"That's dangerous Marinette. Not to mention you could get into a lot of trouble."

"I know that, but he is worth the risk."

"The risk of endangering your own life?"

"Yes." She said firmly.

He sighed again.

"So that's that." He said to her before staring at her in silence.

"That's that." She said.

He remained quiet before an ashamed look formed on his face.

"Listen Marinette…I'm sorry about what they did to you…If I got there sooner…"He started but she shook her head.

"You got there on time. I appreciate it." She smiled.

He gazed at her before smiling too.

"Well then, you're welcome." He said with a wink and she laughed. He glanced at his watch. "I have to go, but I think it would be best if we stay in contact, just so I know you're not dying or being killed by that cat or anything." He said, handing her a card.

She took it from him.

"It's been a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e seeing you again, less bloodied." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"You as well, less angry." She said sheepishly too.

They both laughed.

"Well then, good day to you M'lady." He said with a bow before turning to leave, but he turned back.

"Would you like to go out sometime? Just to the park or a café, we could have coffee or ice-cream." He said.

"I'd love that."

She stared after him.

Marcus was Chat Noir.

She knew who he was!

Who else called her My Lady? And he made puns. And he was the only one who wasn't attacked by 'Chat'. And he showed up at the right times.

It was him.

She looked at the business card.

He couldn't know that she knew. She would have to play dumb.

Her eyes glossed over the number.

If she got closer to him on both sides…

That would help a whole lot!

She grinned.

Something whispered at the back of her mind. It seemed to say she was wrong.

But she couldn't be…right? All her evidence led up to Marcus.

She sighed happily. She briefly remembered telling him that she'd like to go out for ice-cream with him, during the day.

Before he left he'd asked her to go with him for some ice-cream.

Marcus was undeniably Chat Noir.

She realized with a start though that Marcus' face looked nothing like Chat's…

Oh well, his magical suit must have changed his appearance.

She hummed happily, deciding to leave the bakery to the assistants.

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

(MEANWHILE: Hours later at present moment with Adrien)

Adrien paces in his room.

"I don't see what's the big deal about being in love with Mar-"

Adrien turns sharply.

"I'm not!" He says in an undignified shriek.

Plagg rolls his eyes.

"Denial." He drawls out.

Adrien glares at him.

"I'm not. I just have some sort of attraction to her, that's it." Adrien says.

Plagg snorts.

"I mean, men get attracted to women all the time right? So it's just one of those things that I can get over." He says as he paces.

Plagg raises a brow.

"Are you attracted to Chloe in that way?"

Adrien stiffens.

"No."

"And what about the female models you've worked with, did you feel that you wanted to be with any of them?"

"No…"Adrien answers quietly.

"And so the conclusion that we can deduce is that you're in love wit-"

"Don't say it!" Adrien shrieks, covering his ears.

Plagg rolls his eyes again.

"I've only known her for almost a month. There's no way-"

"Fun fact, it takes a minimum of 8.2 seconds for a man to fall in lo-"

"YOU AREN'T HELPING!" Adrien says, yanking at his hair.

Plagg snickers.

"Shit. What now? What's going to happen? I can't just propose and say 'Hey princess, so we're gonna get married and have evil children, is that okay with you? Of course you'll have to live underground for safety purposes. How do you feel about a lack of vitamin D?' That would just go great." Adrien says, dropping on the sofa with a groan.

Plagg shrugs. "Sometimes you don't need vitamins to give a girl the D-"

Adrien gasps. "Where did you learn that kind of language?" He asks in utter horror.

Plagg points at the TV. Adrien's eye twitches.

"That's disgusting." He says to Plagg.

Plagg snickers at his first really perverted joke of the 21st century.

Adrien shakes his head.

"Anyway, off the topic of this L word situation, we need to prepare for what Chloe is planning."

"How do you know Chloe is planning something?"

Adrien raised a brow. "I threatened to expose her to all of Paris on live TV, she must know by now who my 'friend' I mentioned on the news is since she was the one who sent those men. And if that wasn't enough, she saw those shits in the hotel, she knows that I know, and she knows that Marinette is important to me. She may try and attack her again in another way."

Plagg blinks.

"Then why did you broadcast it if you knew she would target Marinette?"

"Because I will protect my Princess at all costs and I need to get that thing the harshest possible sentence for what she's done to her."

"So you want her to get her a harsher sentence by enraging her so that she attacks Marinette again?"

Chat blinks a few times.

"Attacks Marinette? I won't even allow her to breathe the same air as her." He says.

"This is very risky kid. Chloe's smarter than she looks."

Adrien rubs his temples.

"I will never let any harm come to Marinette again. That's why I'm confident about my plan." He says firmly.

"I hope you are."

"I am. She's going to pay." Adrien says.

"What about what she's doing to you?" Plagg asks.

Adrien purses his lips.

"Well, I'm not sure if I can help myself without risking my identity."

"Why does Marinette get retribution then and not you?"

"Because Marinette deserves justice."

Plagg sighs.

"I'm glad you believe in justice." He says.

Adrien gives Plagg a wry smile.

"Come on loverboy, let's figure out this plan of yours then."

Adrien blushes but stays silent.

******

Chloe examines her nails. He should be phoning soon. Her phone rings.

There he is.

"Hello?"

"Bourgeois speaking."

"I spoke to her…"

"And?"

"I think I can get close to her…"

"Excellent."

"But My lady, I don't want to hurt her…"

"And I don't want to expose a man harbouring illegal immigrants in his home, but if I have to, then I will." She says.

He remains silent.

"Now you need to find out whether or not she knows Chat Noir's identity. If she doesn't then we can use that to our advantage, we can get her to believe you're Noir, she'll trust you, and then we attack. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Madame…."

"I need you to get as close to her as possible, and she can't let Noir know that she's spending time with you. That would be all." She says, hanging up.

She grins.

Things were going according to plan.

"My move, princess." She says, thinking about the little gift that would be arriving at Marinette's home soon.

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

It was almost crime time. The assistants had all gone home. Marinette was ready to close up, but before she did, she noticed a package outside.

She didn't think much of it. It was addressed to her but had no sender details. She brought it in and locked the door, before pressing the lockdown button. It was almost dark out and the streets were empty.

She loved opening big mail packages, so she started removing the wrapping brightly.

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

Chat sauntered over the rooftops and leaped up onto her balcony before starting to pick the lock. He would not let Marinette's cuteness get to him. Not today. He would be a strong, good friend.

A tiny boom followed by a petrified scream made him freeze.

He gasped. It was Marinette screaming!

He opened the lock and darted down the stairs, skidding into the bakery to find a sticky, smelly red substance covering most of the surfaces, and Marinette. She looked pale as she stood pressed against the wall.

Chat rushed towards her.

"Princess? Marinette? Are you okay?" He grabs her and checks for injuries but he finds none. She lifted a shaky finger to point at the box on the table. He follows her finger and frowns. A strange, mewling, meowing kind of song plays, it sounds cute. He gently touches her face, noticing her saucer-like eyes before going to the box.

Inside laid the heads of several black cats with green eyes. The eyes had several toothpicks skewered into them. The rest of their limbs lay in containers. The remains of the blood bomb lay in bits and pieces.

He picked up a head and examined it.

There was no larvae or insects eating at the flesh, in fact, it was quite fresh, so these cats must have been killed earlier on that day.

He looked at Marinette who looked ready to faint.

He places the head down and looks at her with concerned and worried eyes.

The threat was clearly for him.

She was visibly trembling, and it seemed she couldn't take any more of the scene as she doubled over and began to vomit on the floor, thankfully not messing herself.

"Shit." Chat said, dropping to his knees and steadying her.

He rubbed circles on her back as she continued to throw up everything in her system, and when she's done, he wasted no time in running to get her some water. She just sat there, utterly stunned.

Chat looked around at the scene.

"Let's get you cleaned up." He said, moving to pick her up.

She just stared at the box blankly and lay limp as Chat carried her away.

It seemed she was in a state of shock.

Chat felt his panic of her being hurt morph into fury. How dare that thing do this to Marinette?

Though he had given cats a bad name, Marinette still adored them. She had at least twenty items in her room that were cat related.

He gently seated her on her tabletop and turned to get water and a towel, but as he did, his eye caught sight of something in her clenched fist. A bloodied piece of paper. He glanced up at her before looking back at her fist. He reached for her fist and tried to pry her hand open, but she was stiff. After a few minutes, he got it out and unfolded it.

His nostrils flared as he read it.

'Game on Purrrrincess...You're next.'

It was a pun. It was Marinette's turn to make a move, but it also meant that she would have the same fate as those cats.

Of all the sick ways of making a point, this was the absolute worst.

He crumpled the note.

It seemed Chloe had moved faster than he had anticipated.

He held Marinette's face. "Princess, I won't let this person hurt you. I promise." He tried to tell her but she didn't seem to hear him. Instead, her head fell forward onto his c.h.e.s.t, and she cried.

Chat didn't know what to say.

So he let her cry, uttering apologies that she couldn't focus on, and petting her hair till she fell asleep.