Lost Kitten

Chapter 4: Chat Noir

"What did you just call me?" Marinette said softly, but he heard it very clearly. He had screwed up majorly.

"Mari..."

"Say it. What did you call me?" She was fired up now.

"Princess" he said it just for her ears.

"You can't be him, he's gone. You're supposed to be gone. You left me alone." Tears were ready to flow over now.

Adrien walked up to Marinette, but she backed up and went through the hatch again. She was on the balcony now, and she was freaking out.

"Mari, I wanted to tell you. So many times. I nearly did today." He was trying to remain calm for her sake.

"So it's true. How could I not tell! It's so clear. Same eyes, hair, I was so stupid." She was pacing out of frustration now.

Marinette thought back to the last time she saw Chat, he came to her as Marinette.

~~~~~~

Marinette was sitting at her desk, where the news was playing on her computer. She and Chat Noir had just finished fighting Foncé Pitre. Personally, to Marinette he was terrifying, she had never been a fan of clowns and this one honestly looked like one of those scary Halloween clowns. Suddenly she heard a small tapping at her balcony hatch.

She got up to open the hatch for her stray.

"Hello minou" Marinette said sweetly.

"Good evening, princess." He said with a bow.

The evening went on as usual, he helped her with homework, they watched a movie, and ate pastries. The usual.

As their time together came to a close they went up to the balcony. He bid her goodbye and vaulted to a nearby building where he continued to run. She watched him leave not knowing that that would be the last time she saw him for a while. As Ladybug or Marinette. It hadn't seemed like anything was wrong. Maybe nothing had been wrong then...

~~~~~~

Marinette was now on the floor crying. She hadn't said anything in a few minutes, Adrien was getting worried now.

"Marinette, Mari, please. Talk to me. What are you thinking? What can I do to help you?"

"Tell me," she said looking up, "what happened, to make you leave?"

"I can't tell you that, it could put you in danger."

"TELL ME WHY YOU LEFT ME TO FIGHT ALONE!" Marinette screamed, tears streaming down her face. "For two years! Two years I was fighting akuma after akuma. Alone. While you were still here in Paris? Did our partnership mean nothing to you?!"

Adrien was dumbfounded. He looked up and down, at her hair, and her eyes. Then his eyes finally landed on her earrings.

"My lady? You're Ladybug?!"