Criminal

Chapter 8: Closer

"If you need anything, please call me."

Marinette nodded at the concerned blonde, before he left with a small smile. Adrien was a sweet person, and she assumed he was just naturally like that with most the people he met. But she couldn't deny the nervous feeling she got whenever she was around him, she just attempted to ignore it.

The bluenette was currently in her bedroom surrounded by fluffy pillows and tucked in with her favorite silk sheets that had just come warm out of the dryer. Adrien had offered to wash everything and even cooked a meal for her. Marinette had a severe fever, and couldn't go to work for a few days.

Gabriel had understood, and pushed back the date for the photo shoot which brought her a major sense of relief.

What the bluenette hated the most about today was surprisingly unrelated to her fever. It was the fact that she couldn't get Chat Noir out of her head. Her laptop's search history consisted of several websites regarding the leather suited criminal.
Endless fan art could be found in her Google images, and an obsessive amount of searches attempted to figure out the identity of who he was.

Little did she know, the masked criminal had just left her apartment in his civilian form.

Ironic.

It had been a few hours since Marinette had fallen fast asleep to the sound of rain drops hitting her roof. A few hours until it hit midnight, and a few seconds until Chat Noir showed up to her locked French doors. The tile on the balcony was drenched with the rain water, so he did what he had to. He used his claw to pick the lock, something he was very good at by now.

The door propped open, and he left his wet boots outside; he kept his black socks on of course. Yes, his shoes were surprisingly removable. He was worried the black eyeshadow under his mask had gotten runny, so he took a quick glance in the bathroom mirror and decided it looked fine even though his blonde locks were damp.

His green eyes landed on the peacefully sleeping bluenette, stepping closer to the bed to get a better look at the beautiful woman. A small smile spread across his lips, when he saw her blue bell eyes slowly flutter open. "C-chat?" Her voice was weak and she looked incredibly vulnerable.

His expression quickly turned into one of concern, kneeling to get closer to her. "What is it?" He asked, only then realizing how extremely protective he had become for the girl. He noticed the beads of sweat on her forehead, and the makeup that had worn off her face which exposed her slightly bruised cheek. Once again, he was reminded of how he failed her.

He would never hesitate to help her again.

"You shouldn't be here..." she murmured sleepily, "I have a fever, and I don't want you to get sick." Adrien chuckled, "How considerate of you princess, but there's no way your getting rid of me that easy." He teased, and she hated the way her heart raced. "I-I--" before she could begin her sentence, she broke out into cough, using her elbow to shield her mouth.

She groaned, her head was hot and she felt terrible. Which was odd considering she thought the long nap she took would make her feel better. "Come on, I'll start a bath for you." He offered thoughtfully, and Marinette shook her head. "N-no... You always take care of me, chat... I can do this on my own."

"Marinette, I know you can. But I care about you, and I want to help. Please... Let me." Her eyes met his, taking her into a gorgeous forest of emerald green. He was begging her with his eyes, and she could never understand why he wanted to help her so much. She nodded her head slowly, giving in. Her body felt sore anyway.

He got up to run her a warm bath, adding quite a bit of bubble mixture into the water. A sympathetic smile crawled into his face when he saw her walk into the bathroom, rubbing her eyes at the unfamiliar light and groaning. "Here I'll help you." He offered, and she lifted her arms up, looking up at him. He chuckled, and gripped the end of her shirt, peeling it off of her body.