"I just don't understand, Chat. I thought...all this time...," she clenched her fists at her sides and stared up at him, "What changed?"
Chat Noir stepped closer, pinning her against the railing of her balcony. The moonlight highlighted the dark rid...
Adrien awoke to the feeling of something sharp grinding against his ear. It cut deep into his skin and he shot up from the bed. Plagg flew forward from the force of his head and Adrien slowly reached up to his ear. His eyes widened. "You didn't –,"
Plagg hovered up to him and hurriedly pressed his paws over Adrien's mouth. "Now I don't know about you Kid, but we still got an hour before the sun comes up and I'd like to go before she throws us out."
That's when it hit him. He was still at Marinette's.
His head instinctively turned to his right and he saw Marinette's silhouette laying in the dark. Her dark hair was sprawled over the pillow and her chest rose and fell with her steady breathing. It felt so strange, seeing her like this and yet –he wanted to stay.
Unable to pull away completely, Adrien swallowed deeply and nodded. "Plagg, claws out." he mumbled. He watched her as green light engulfed the room and made an effort to remember every hair out of place, every wrinkle in her sheet and the sound of every breath she took beside him. She was perfect.
Carefully, he leaned over her and pressed a light kiss to her temple. "See you soon, Princess." He whispered. She muttered incoherently and he slipped out the trapdoor as quietly as possible. He lowered the door back shut and stretched before heading to her balcony railing.
When Natalie took him home, Gabriel had barely even looked at him. His words still echoed through Chat's ears. What a disappointment... Chat's shoulders slumped and he tightened his grip on his baton.
It wasn't the first time he'd thought about running away but as much as the idea appealed to him, he still wanted his father in his life. They were all they had left of their family and even though Gabriel was never present, there was something comforting about the way he'd hugged him after the incident with Simon Says.
And what would become of Marinette if he left...
Chat inhaled deeply and jumped off her rooftop to the street, flipping and sprinting from one building to the other. His back still ached from the burn he'd taken for Marinette, but he didn't regret it. He was grateful that he'd made it in time.
It wasn't luck. As the embodiment of bad luck he could hardly ever rely on anyone but Ladybug to get things done right, but good things happened when Marinette was around. She accepted all of him –Adrien and Chat Noir –and the thought of her safely wrapped up in his arms made him smile.
She was the best thing that ever happened to him and he would die if it meant she'd get to live.
If only he had the guts to be honest with her –to reveal the coward behind the mask.
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Marinette sat down behind her desk, doodling and with a pained heart in her chest. It had been five days since she'd last seen Chat –as either Ladybug or Marinette. She didn't think much of it in the beginning, but it had been such a drastic change from his nightly visits that she couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong.
