À Bout de Souffle

III) The Meadow

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He was dazed. Their meeting had not only been a success, but he seemed to get to know her in so many ways just by their brief encounter. He planned to see her again soon, but his father had been bombarding him with duties he did not wish to fulfill. Plagg was resting most of the time, except for the precious minutes he spent eating his camembert, so Adrien usually lay in his room, daydreaming about seeing Marinette again. It had become some what of a routine.

One dull grey afternoon, Adrien decided tonight was the night he'd meet her again. He had been in countless meetings discussing future plans for the kingdom and needed a breather. When he suggested the idea of leaving tonight to Plagg, the kwami seemed almost resistant in accepting, but seeing the prince's pathetic face forced sympathy into his heart, so he agreed.

As the moon began to rise over the trees, Adrien found himself making up scenarios about he and Marinette's encounter tonight. What if she didn't want to see him? What if she had forgotten about him? Had she been anticipating his arrival as much as he had? So many questions floated around in his mind until Plagg woke him from his thoughts with a groan. "Do we have to go tonight? I'm so tired!" Adrien chuckled and sat up to look at him. "Plagg, you've been sleeping for three days straight. I think you'll be fine to spare me a few hours of freedom." Defeated, the kwami sighed and picked up his camembert. "This better not become a daily thing, Adrien, because my magical being is not meant for dumb things like seeing a girl in the dead of night! I'm supposed to grant powers to protect and help ones in need, not help you're craving for a girl who doesn't even know your name!" Ignoring Plagg's quite true yet somewhat hurtful words, Adrien walked over to the window and stated down at the town below him.

When a maid came in to grab his dirty clothes and left without saying a word, he knew he had succeeded in looking asleep. Now knowing he wouldn't be disturbed for a while, he felt comfortable enough to wake Plagg up and get mentally prepared for his departure tonight. What should he say to her? Mentioning he had been thinking about her non-stop would surely creep her out, yet wasn't communication and honesty important? So many questions and so little time to answer before it was pitch black outside. "Well, Plagg, you ready?" he asked the small creature nomming on his camembert. Plagg nodded and set down his cheese reluctantly.

"Claws out," he whispered into the darkness, and in a flash of familiar green light, he was once again who Marinette had called Chat Noir. He glanced at himself in the mirror and took a deep breath before walking over to the window, unlatching it, and jumping the hundred feet down to the ground. He almost expected to be crushed my gravity, but like the last time, he landed perfectly, and almost cat-like, onto the green prickly grass.

He had memorized his way to her house and found her window once again. He peered through, almost expecting her to be asleep, but he saw her at her desk, playing with a deep red quill. He smiled and knocked gently on the glass, startling her quite a bit. When she realized it was him, she let out a breath of relief before rushing over to the window.

"You came! What took you so long? I thought you'd have forgotten about me," she said hurriedly, helping him inside. He chuckled lightly and held her hand up to his lips. "How could anyone forget such a faire maiden such as yourself?" She blushed and rolled her eyes, but the smirk playing on her lips told him she wasn't annoyed. "Exuse me for my lateness. I was busy with-" He paused and thought for a moment. "Busy with work. My job is quite exhausting." She nodded and waved him over to her desk. He noticed a piece of parchment with extremely messy handwriting and a few ink blots scattered everywhere.