Trigger Warning. Mentions of rape and blood. Shock/Panic Attack. Probably the darkest chapter for most of the book(only in the first few pages).

Nathalie unceremoniously dumped the stack of designs on Marinette's desk. She looked up at her boss with a wry expression. A whiff of newly printed paper smell hit her suddenly. "More?" She stared disbelievingly at the new stack added to her already packed desk. She had had to invest in several file folder boxes and a container or two when she was promoted a few months back. Marinette had taken it in stride, this was not only her dream but she had to have a close eye on Adrien. Now so more than ever, what with his late night visit and hint at visiting again. Her heart beat a little faster at the thought.

Marinette had known that Chat Noir couldn't have shown up at her home last night or the previous because Adrien had been attending a conference. Nathalie had gone with him, so Marinette had had to run Agreste Inc headquarters for two days. She was glad that the hard work kept her mind off of Chat Noir. She needed a few days, a clearer head, and perspective. Just an hour ago, in one of his characteristically spontaneous moods, Adrien had mysteriously asked Nathalie to cancel his last meeting for the night and Marinette was prepared to play the dangerous game they had begun only 3 days ago.

"The free-lance box has grown quite popular. I'm swamped with the absorption deal with Grey Designs and you admittedly have a more excellent eye for design than I do." Nathalie smiled at Marinette just barely, and Marinette couldn't contain her grin.

"I'll preview these right after the other paperwork you handed me. Oh!-I took care of that employee in the west wing and here-" Marinette dug into one of her little shelf boxes and took the small pile of about 4 or so applications. "We needed a replacement after that so I took the liberty of combing the applications for someone with a specific interest in that style of skirts. These stood out." Nathalie took the papers as she straightened her glasses. Marinette noticed the genuine gratitude in the slight relaxation of Nathalie's shoulders. The poor woman had to deal with so much… she just wanted to help her mentor of sorts.

"Honestly Miss Dupain-Cheng, you may just be standing where I am in a few years. You're the only person I know with so much of drive… you remind me of the late Mr. Agreste…" She trailed off before snapping back into her professional demeanor in one quick breath. "You can stay late to work on approving the designs? You're already being paid overtime, but you'll get an extra bonus, of course." The comparison to Gabriel Agreste brought a small chill to the small of Marinette's back but she shook it off. Nathalie was merely complimenting her professional work, she had no way of knowing that her former boss had secretly been Hawkmoth. She wasn't comparing her to the monster that had replaced Gabriel after Adrien's mother went missing only 7 or 8 years ago.

Marinette had forgotten that it was already 9 o'clock, but she didn't mind the extra work. She needed to get her mind off of all this. Extra time to mentally prep for the surety of a rogue not so hero showing up at her window was welcome. "Of course, ma'am."

Needless to say she was tired. The pile had taken hours and when Marinette finally put the refined stack of worthy designs and their artists' information onto Nathalie's desk she stumbled straight into the elevator that took her down to the lobby. The thrum of the elevator made her even more tired, her body knew that when it was dark out and she had ridden the elevator down she was close to sleep. It was her nightly routine. Her fashionably matching wristwatch(a gift from Nathalie, who had taken the ambitious girl under her wing), told her that it was 11:52. Now she knew exactly why her feet were so heavy. At least it was a saturday. She had tomorrow off.

"Great," Marinette muttered, her eyes narrowing. If Chat Noir was waiting in her apartment she was determined not to have a heart attack, though she couldn't guarantee that the shock to her system wouldn't kill her. She simply refused to embarrass herself like that. She put the strap of her purse around her shoulder, it was harder to steal it that way. The walk to her apartment was short but her hand was ready to defend herself with her 'mad' yo-yo skills, as Alya liked to say. Marinette felt the jitters in her stomach that were screaming about her nervousness as if she didn't already know about how scared she was. She couldn't put this meeting with the feline villain off any longer. Tikki smiled tiredly at Marinette from her purse as the girl pretended to pull something out in an effort to hide her quick check-up on the kwami. Just in case someone was watching.

She kept her pace brisk and even, despite her exhaustion. She needed to be alert at all times, someone might randomly attack her, and when she got home Chat Noir was probably waiting. She needed to be attentive. Her ears and eyes scanned the area. One last block. She really ought to get a bike or something to speed this scary transition home at night.

And again, like three days ago, she heard footsteps. She sighed. Did she need to move or something? Seriously- this was supposed to be a very safe area. She whirled around immediately and swung her fist towards the direction she assumed the face of the man who was following her was. Her fist impacted flesh with a satisfying crunch. She swung her leg up to kick him in the balls but he caught her leg with an angry cuss. She tried to yank herself away but this guy was strong. She could smell alcohol and drugs in his breath from where she stood. He started to drag her into the nearest alleyway. When they got there he growled again and Marinette started to really panic internally.

"You're going to regret that, you little bitch." He hissed, grabbing her arm and yanking her face close to his. His breath was hot and sticky against her face and the stench enveloped her senses. It was much worse than she had thought a moment ago.

"I was going to do it quick but now I think I'll tear you so hard you wouldn't be able to walk even if I wasn't going to kill you afterwards." The man got closer to her face, studying it with a discomforting amount of zeal. Marinette felt even more fear, if she could just get her weapon… Could she even get away without Tikki's help? He would surely be able to identify her as Ladybug later on if she transformed in front of him. He was still admiring her face. The creep.

"You really shouldn't have said that," A voice snarled from the shadows nearby. Despite the dark and savage tone to his voice Marinette felt nothing but relief. She was safe, for now. She relaxed and the man promptly pushed her behind him down to the ground. She held in a cry of pain, determined not to make a sound and remind him of her presence any more than she had to. Her wrist and side burned from taking the brunt of the force of the push. The intended rapist pulled a small handgun out of his jacket and leveled it at Chat Noir's glimmering eyes. Marinette held in a laugh. Like he'd never had a gun pointed his way before.

Chat was in the shadows and he blended in so well, his dark leather suit making him almost invisible... All she could see were those glowing irises. If she didn't know him; she'd be frightened.

Wordlessly, with fury burning in those sapphire green eyes, Chat extended his baton to knock the black gun to the ground. He quickly swung the staff around to slam it into the criminal's face. The man cried out as blood spurted from his nose and he fell down, narrowly missing Marinette. Until that point she had been stunned stiff. But now she quickly hopped up and edged around him to get to Chat Noir. He met her halfway, surprising her by being gentle as he guided her behind him. But his violence was swiftly back as he casually punched into the man's gut and forced him down. He kicked the gun out of reach, strolling forward to forcibly bury his steel tipped boots into the man's gut.

Marinette could feel the anger rolling off Chat and she was oddly moved by the lengths of what he was willing to do for her. But her anxiety grew as Chat kept mercilessly pummeling the criminal. Marinette hadn't gotten a good look at him, and she couldn't now, not with all the blood…. All that blood. It pooled in the cracks in the brick at her feet. The dark red turned black in the night was oozing everywhere and she felt sick. Her throat went dry. Chat kicked again and again and again. She heard ribs crack, cheekbones fracture, an arm break? He put a foot on the man's mouth to block the screams… and his air. Chat venomously growled and whispered things to the man that Marinette was glad she couldn't hear. He hissed at the man before stepping down hard onto his ribs.

"Chat," She tentatively reached a hand out. Her vision was pulsing and she felt cold. She couldn't allow someone to be hurt so badly for her. But she was a bit afraid of him in the moment. She had never seen violence quite like this… Never seen someone beat a person so soundly as Chat was doing. Thiswas really starting to scare her.

Suddenly the blond villain paused in the middle of exacting his vengeance, arm outstretched and ready to strike the man once more. His talons and hands dripped in the blood. He was breathing heavy and slowly, yet his back relaxed. Humanity returned to his eyes.

"If I hear of you within ten miles of this area ever again I swear I will dump your ass in the Seine after gutting you like the slimy eel that you are." Chat strolled away from the man and quickly- yet gently- scooped Marinette into his arms bridal style. He held her tight, and Marinette buried her face into his chest, and her fingers into the hairs at the nape of her neck. She started to tremble, and her face began to burn in little prick points. The wind briefly whipped at her, and she started to shiver.

"Shhh," Chat whispered as he took to the rooftop and presumably headed for her apartment. She couldn't breathe and the world started to shift in unnatural ways as she felt shock creep into her bones. She felt the tears build up as Chat carried her through her window and set her down on the kitchen countertop. She didn't know why, she just knew that she was starting to shudder and her skin was crawling uncomfortably. She felt like walls were closing in on her and tears pressed against her eyes. She squeezed them shut.

Chat was back and the smell of blood had diminished but it still felt like it was clogging up her senses. She felt his arms remove her purse and coat and set them down next to her. He continued to quietly reassure her, but he paused to envelop her in a warm hug. She sunk into his arms, sobbing and unable to catch her breath.

"It's okay princess. You're fine now. No one will ever hurt you… I'm sorry for scaring you back there. I just lost control- seeing you so close to- I'm sorry. You've got some blood on your clothes, we need to get those off. You're going into shock so you need to eat in just a minute. But don't think of that now, okay? Just try to match my breathing and help me take care of you okay?" He spoke softly and slowly, and Marinette tried to let the words sink in.

Chat disappeared for a quick second before returning. He gently guided her sweater up over her head and helped her into a large pj shirt. It was soft and Marinette was too shell-shocked to protest the assistance. His arms were strong and despite the images swirling in her mind she felt safe. He helped her stand as he quickly helped her out of her jeans, fingers quick and refusing to linger. Something in her wished that they would. Before she knew it she was in sweatpants and back up in his arms. He cradled her against his chest for a few moments as he walked her back to her room. He sat down on her bed and held her as she cried and shuddered.

Marinette felt like she couldn't breathe, her body just kept gasping for oxygen even though she knew that she was safe. But a part of her was stuck in that alleyway. She curled up in his arms, glad for his warmth, the strength in his arms, and the quiet reassurances he murmured to her ear.

"I've got you, Nette. You're going to be okay." His face nuzzled into her hair and she felt her body begin to relax. The world stopped spinning and she finally felt like she was actually in her room, in his arms, and perfectly secure. She shuddered one last time before forcing her body under control. She was still crying but as Chat lay her down and tucked her under her blankets the tears gradually slowed to a trickle down her cheeks. He sat on the bed and smoothed her hair and rubbed her back.

As exhaustion from the day and her very near death-rape experience caught up with Marinette, she fell asleep in the arms of Chat Noir. This was definitely not how Marinette had expected this second reunion to go. She left her eyes shut and listened to his light humming. Everything worked together to lull her to sleep and she was briefly and blissfully glad that Chat had visited her 3 days ago. She was ready to stop being selfish and was prepared to fix things. Besides… She had missed him dearly.

Marinette woke in the morning, groaning as her mind returned. She wasn't sure why she was so groggy. She turned to look over at her bedside table. 8:30. Her mind came spinning back and she gasped as she remembered last night's events. She stumbled out of bed as she threw off her covers. She tumbled into the bathroom and clutched the edges of the sink. Chat had saved her, taken her home, took care of her, and tucked her into bed. He hadn't taken advantage of her in her weak state. He hadn't breathed so much as a hint of anger in her direction. Sure, he had nearly murdered that other guy, but he had stopped when she prompted him to. Marinette turned on the faucet and splashed cold water onto her face. She couldn't believe that that had all happened.

She went into her kitchen to get a glass of water, rubbing her eyes and padding through her apartment. She looked down at her baggy sleepwear, and despite herself, her face began to glow red. Chat had been pretty respectful when he had helped her change, he hadn't so much as taken a lingering look at her bare skin. But still, the idea that Adrien under the black mask had taken her clothes off of her, even if he had honest intentions, was making her feel faint. She gulped down some cold water, resting her face in her hands for a moment. Gosh she was burning red…

"Good morning, purrincess." Came the silken voice from her window. She spun around, her heart beating even faster than it's flustered pace a moment ago. Now she was even more flustered with the object of her thoughts and embarrassment standing right there. She tried to shut down her blush.

"Hey, Chat." She said, trying to imbue a great deal more confidence in her voice than what she was feeling. But her voice cracked a bit. The cocky smile on the feline man's face faded as he saw through her attempts at looking somewhat normal. He stepped into her apartment, walking so that only the countertop separated them. He probably wanted to give her a sense of security by hanging back.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly, his eyes boring down into hers. She paused, studying him for a moment. He looked genuinely worried. It wasn't that she did not like the fact that he was fond of her, she just didn't understand it. Why did he care? Why wasn't the akuma clouding his mind and making his old friend impossible to be around?

"I don't know." She finally murmured, turning away from those glowing eyes. She leaned back against the counter and tried to calm her heart. She needed to be so careful, she had to make this all right, not accidentally trigger the evil inside of him by saying the wrong thing.

"Nette, I'm sorry that I scared you," He gently laid a gloved had on her shoulder, turning her to face him. Nette. That brought memories back…

"Nette!" Chat called, his voice echoing down from Marinette's terrace above her room. She glanced up from her sewing machine, lifting an eyebrow as Chat came bounding down the ladder and landed in his usual feline position on her loveseat.

"Nette?" She asked, smiling wanly at him. That was a new nickname. If Marinette didn't know better she would have sworn that he was blushing under his black leather mask. "What's going on?" She asked, turning back to her work.

"I realized something," He came over and leaned against the wall, smiling at her rougeshly. Marinette pushed down the thoughts of how hot he looked when he did that.

"And what did you realize, kitty?" She teased back, gazing up at him.

"The perfect way to tell LB how I feel," Chat grinned. Marinette sighed. Of course he just had to talk about his undying love for Ladybug.

That was the first time he had called her Nette, after they'd been close for over a year. He never stopped, not until he stopped speaking with her at all. Not until he didn't confide in anybody anymore.

"It's okay, Chat," Marinette said quietly. Slowly she met his gaze. Slowly his hand fell from her shoulder, only to lightly brush against her fingers. Neither said anything, but the silence grew deeper with each second. His fingers nudged a bit more insistently against her own, and her fingers shifted to glide in between his. What the hell was she doing? She didn't care. Her eyes drooped a little, and his expression matched hers as he stepped closer. He didn't press against her, but he stepped forward until she was trapped between him and the counter.

"I was just so worried that you would get hurt…" His voice trailed off as his face bent closer and closer to hers. She strained onto her tiptoes slightly, her mind clouding as he got intoxicatingly nearer to her. Both their lips parted as he slowly hovered closer. Her heart beat horrendously fast; she was sure that he could hear it trembling. A chill shuddered down her spine as she felt his hot breath against her face. So close. It was all just so- she fainted. Her brain just shut down with the sheer surprise and want flying through her. Marinette fell back against the counter, but he caught her head before she managed to bang it on the tile. He sucked in his breath with worry.

"Nette?" He demanded as she blinked hazily. She moved to put rub her forehead with her hand, and he backed away from her a pace. She looked up at him and blushed. He looked somewhat angry. Marinette blinked and looked up at him with worry.

He looked away, as if ashamed. "I'm sorry for scaring you again, I'm just kidding myself, aren't I?" He raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Won't happen again." He promised softly.

Marinette quickly and furiously shook her head. "That's not why- no, I um..." Her cheeks grew red again, and Chat's brow furrowed.

"Why would you faint if you weren't scared of me?" He wore a bitter smile.

"I…" Marinette struggled for words. What was she supposed to say? That he was too damn attractive to handle.

"Forget it, princess. I'll not bother you again." He said bitterly over his shoulder as he walked towards the open window.

"Chat!" Marinette ran after him, catching his hand. The black leather was sleek under her touch. He paused, turning to look at her and making no move to pull his hand away. "It was a… different kind of nervous." She blushed, looking down. "I'm not scared of you." She looked confidently into his eyes, meaning every word of the short phrase.

His green eyes seemed to light up and he squeezed her hand lightly. "Good," He murmured gently, his eyes open and kind. Marinette gazed up at him. And then she did something that was probably very, very stupid. She lifted shaky fingers to his face, lightly resting them against his skin. He leaned into her touch, a soft and faint rumbling coming from his chest. She had long known that he purred. It was still endearing. She leaned up, closing her eyes and kissing him.

The kiss was gentle, a mere test of their affections and interests. Chat's fingers twitched against hers and he leaned into her. He released her lips after only a moment, but it was enough. Both of them opened their eyes and looked at the other for a moment, soaking in what had just happened.