Shandy: One review.
Candy: Well, last chapter was short because I couldn't find a good ending point anywhere past that... but yeah.
Shandy: We hope you enjoy the chapter!
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"The police are still searching for Adrien Agreste, who had ran away just over a week ago. He has not been spotted anywhere, and the authorities are still searching the streets. Rumors are going around that someone has actually kidnapped the young man and forced him to write the letter, but this is very unlikely." Marinette sighed as she listened to the news radio as she worked on her homework. It had been a very depressing week, and all Marinette could do was hope that he was alright. Tikki was exhausted from searching the city for him again as Ladybug. It was as though he had literally disappeared.
Cat Noir had joined her a few times while searching, and now Marinette only seemed to grow even more worried for not only Adrien, but for Cat Noir as well. Cat Noir looked as though he had been going through a rough time lately, his hair looking as though it needed to be washed badly and smelling worse than the cheese smell he always carried around. What had happened to the both of them?
The beginnings of a storm began to howl outside, quickly becoming a downpour as she tried to work on her homework. She really hoped that they were doing okay.
A sudden tapping brought her to her skylight, and she crawled up on her bed to look out only to see a soaking and shivering wet Cat Noir, giving her what looked like a forced confident smirk. Lightning flashed behind him and he jumped as Marinette forced the window open, allowing him inside.
"Stupid cat, what are you doing out in that storm?!" She asked as she dragged him to the bathroom. Cat Noir was shocked to say the least, pausing slightly before speaking.
"I... got into an argument with my father and got kicked out of the house." He said as Marinette pushed him into the bathroom, starting a hot shower.
"Alright, that should do." Marinette nodded to herself. "And I'm sorry to hear about the disagreement with your father." Cat Noir blinked a bit.
"Princess, why are you starting a shower?" He asked.
"Because I can tell that you haven't had a good wash in a while." Was Marinette's simple explanation. "Besides, we need to get you warm before you catch a cold." She nodded when she felt that the water was the right temperature and stood up to leave, pausing for a moment. "I suppose you're hungry as well, right?" Cat Noir nodded. "Very well then, I'll get some food from downstairs. I'll be waiting for you to get done." And she closed the door behind her. Cat Noir waited a moment before locking the said door. Then he sighed with slight relief.
"Plagg, claws in." And he was Adrien once more. He dropped his bag of items from off of his back and began to undress as Plagg instantly dived for some stick cheese- not Camembert, but it would have to do.
He hadn't been Cat Noir for long, just pretending to also look for his alter ego until the cops left the area he had been staying in when the storm had crawled up on him without much warning. Being outside in the thunder had scared him more than it would've if he was inside. He had been aiming on going back to where he had been staying, but he could see Marinette's room and the light coming from it only a few yards away seemed like a better option if she would let him.
As the warm water poured over him, Adrien sighed again in happiness. He was glad that she had let him in, even more so for thinking of letting him use her shower to clean himself.
He owed her so much. He was sure that she didn't even know how much he owed her, as both Cat Noir and Adrien.
"Kid, ya got lucky." Plagg said simply after eating a cheese stick. "Not everyone would do that for you."
"I know." Adrien sighed as he looked over the many washing products she had. He wasn't entirely sure whether he should or not, but he selected what looked to be the cheapest she had and took a small dot of it, using it. He definitely owed her, a lot.
When he finished he dried off quickly and put his clothes back on, transforming once more into Cat Noir before walking out of the bathroom with his bag of things. Marinette had finished taking something's off of her wall, some cookies on a plate on her desk. Cat suddenly found himself curious as to what she was trying to hide, wishing that he had payed better attention to her room.
"Thank you, princess." Cat Noir said, gaining her attention and a sweet smile along with it.
"No need to, Cat. You already save Paris from the Akuma Attacks and other things. It's the least I could do, especially since you personally went with me with Evillustrator." Cat Noir paused a moment before nodding. "Go ahead and eat the cookies, sorry that they're not fresh."
"That's alright." Cat Noir smiled. It was silent as he picked up one, trying his best not to devour the entire thing hungrily like he wanted to. Marinette also picked up a cookie, but she didn't eat it, preferring to place it somewhere behind her.
"So..." Marinette paused. "What exactly did you and your father disagree on?"
"My freedom." Cat Noir sighed. "Ever since mom died he's been really protective of me and it's ridiculous because he only sees her when he looks at me and not who I am." Cat Noir nearly growled before he contained himself. "Sorry, I shouldn't rant my problems onto you."
"Oh, no, It's fine." Marinette smiled up at him. "It's nothing compared to the way I rant to Alya, so you're fine." Cat Noir smiled slightly before it faded, looking down at the cookie. Snicker doodle.
"These were her favorite." He said softly. "I love them too, but father refuses to eat any sweets and denies me my own privileges as well. A week ago I just... snapped." Then he realized that his story was becoming too similar to his other persona, and cleared his throat. "I was out and about when I saw the Agreste boy running away as well. I had offered him to take him to where he was headed, thinking it was home. He declined, and I haven't seen him since. Might have some family problems of his own." He sighed, biting into the cookie again as Marinette nodded sadly. It was silent before she spoke, softly.
"Cat?"
"Yes purrincess?" She rolled her eyes a little.
"Are you scared of storms?" She asked.
"Looks like the cats out of the bag." He joked. "But seriously, I'm only afraid when I'm Cat Noir. The only thing storms really do is bring back bad memories." Marinette nodded in understanding, and they sat there in even more silence. After a while, Cat chuckled.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" He asked with a laugh. Marinette scowled at him.
"No." She said clearly before sighing. "No, I'm just worried about Adrian. He's one of my classmates and I think that we're also friends but I'm not completely sure."
"What do you believe happened?" Cat Noir asked, reaching for another cookie.
"Well, the note he left was never really open to the public and wasn't even shared with anyone else, but I think that he really did run away." Cat Noir nodded.
"How is everyone else handling it?" He asked.
"Everyone is worried sick and hope that the authorities find him, though Alya believes that you and Ladybug will find him first. So do most of the people in class. Chloe's being her usual self though. She claims to love him, but when he disappears all she does is freak out and hope that no one kidnaps her." Marinette sighed. "How did she and Adrien ever become friends anyway?"
"I don't know." Cat replied.
"... Why did you come here, anyway?" She asked.
"Well, with dad kicking me out I've been living on my own." Cat replied. "And with me in suit and the rain coming down fast, I needed a place to be safe and saw your light on, princess. I would've tried to go to Ladybug's house if I knew where she lived." Marinette laughed.
"Well, you're welcome here anytime, Cat." She said with such a sincere smile that Adrien was shocked to say the least.
"Really?"
"Of course!" She chirped happily. "You can't be here 24/7 though, my parents would get suspicious."
"Thanks, princess." He said softly. "How can I repay you?"
"Silly kitty." She replied with a laugh. "You don't need to repay me." Cat Noir remained silent as Marinette looked out her window to see it still raining. "You can stay the night- here, let me get some stuff together." She stood up and walked over to a corner of her room where some extra blankets for winter were, along with some pillows that looked to have been repaired by her. Cat Noir stood up to help, and together they built a pretty sick blanket fort.
"There." Marinette whipped her forehead off. "You can sleep in there whenever you sleep over. Maybe I can make it more comfortable when I have the time-"
"This is purrfect, princess. Pawsitively perfect." He leaned down and kissed her hand. "Thank you." Marinette giggled.
"Go to bed, kitty." She said, ruffling his hair, enticing what sounded like a purr. "No doubt you'll need your energy." He nodded without a complaint, laying down in the soft bundle of blankets that smelled of sweet things.
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