He ran through the street. Fires raged all around him and smoke filled the air. Black clouds darkened the sky and thunder shook the city. Cars were in flames, windows were broken. Bodies littered the sidewalks and screams filled the sky.

But one, one in particular, he could pick out.

"MARINETTE!" He shouted, but nothing came out. He tried and tried and tried again to get his voice to work, to tell her that he was coming to save her, but it wasn't working. Frustration and fear built up in his chest and tears pricked the edges of his eyes.

Suddenly, he was in front of the bakery, her bakery, and his heart became lead.

The windows were nothing more than piles of shattered glass. The door was nothing more than a bunch of splinters. He could see the smoke billowing inside the shop. Her screams for help became louder, and his heart was responding with screeches of agony. He had to help her.

Adrien forced himself to enter the bakery and run up the stairs, ignoring the overturned tables and the cracked counters. The countless sweets and pastries that littered the floors. The small fires that dotted the carpet. He would care about those later. She was more important.

She was the most important.

"MARINETTE?" His voice was working again. "MARINETTE?!"

"CHAT? CHAT IS THAT YOU?"

Adrien let out a laugh of relief at her voice. It was full of fear and pain, but still there. She was there. She was alive. She was okay.

He forced open the hatch and pushed away the debris that lay on top of the trap door. His eyes searched the room, quickly taking in the situation. Small fires had sprung up in the carpet and on her bed. Half of her wall had been blown out and he could see the city of Paris sprawled out before them, chaos reigning over his beloved home. And then his eyes fell on his Princess.

Her hair was everywhere and her eyes were filled with tears, but

but he had never seen anything more beautiful.

"Chat." the way she whispered his name with relief, not in a damsel in distress kind of way, but in the exact same way he felt. Replief. Comfort that he was alive too and there, with her, in the flesh. She gave him a soft, watery smile, and that was it.

He vaulted forward, taking her in his arms and pulling her into a bone crushing hug. He buried his nose into her hair and smelled the familiar scent of sugar and cinnamon that had become the Marinette scent. He felt her skin against his, hot and alive, and his heart relaxed an inch. She was okay.

"I thought I'd lost you." He whispered, so soft she almost didn't hear.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Kitty."

Adrien pulled away and met her eyes. A forest of green met a sea of blue and he grinned, kissing her forehead. "Let's get you out of here."

But that was when he saw it. He glanced down and saw the terrible, huge, crimson stain on her shirt.

And suddenly she had fallen limp in his arms and her skin had gone cold. Her eyes were glazed and stared into his without seeing. Her mouth was parted but no breath was escaping her lips.

"No. No. No, no, nonononononono. NO!" Adrien felt the hot tears slide down his face before he could stop them. He pressed his hands to her chest and tried to feel her heart beat because she couldn't be dead. Not Marinette. Not his Marinette.

Fear enveloped him and sent him into a state he had never been. He tried in every way he knew how to wake her up, to bring her back. He screamed her name, shouted at her to return, but nothing worked. She remained lifeless and ice cold, eyes staring without seeing, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

His throat was screaming in pain and his vision was blurred with his tears. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. His Princess couldn't be dead. This wasn't possible.

Adrien was supposed to protect her. He was supposed to keep her safe. One minute she was alive and breathing, beaten but okay, and the next she had slipped from his fingers. The life had left her body and she had fallen still in his arms. Her breath had stopped coming, her heart had stopped beating and she was gone.

And he never got to tell her.

He never got to tell her how much he loved her.

How much he loved her laugh, her smile, her eyes, her voice, her hair and her nose. The way her lips would lift when he made cheesy jokes and the way she blushed when he complimented her work. They way she was always brave and confident and there was no one else in the world like her.

He never told her, and now he had lost his chance.

"Marinette, please." His voice was barely audible and shaky. His throat was on the verge of collapse, but he had to say this. She deserved that. "Please come back. Please come back. I love you, please…"

"Please…"

"Marinette? Marinette? MARINETTE!?"

"MARINETTE!" Adrien bolted upright, his eyes wide and fear gripping him harder than death ever could. Sweat poured down his face, mixing with the tears that escaped his eyes. He glanced around, eyebrows furrowing and realization dawning.

It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare.

His fear subsided to a high level of concern. His heart was still jumpy and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

He had to go see her.

He had to make sure that she was alright.

After some serious conversation with Plagg, he was jumping from one Parisian rooftop to the next, hidden by the blackness of night. He moved without making a sound, weaving in and out of chimneys, his eyes peeled for his favorite bakery.

Vaulting onto her roof, he immediately stared down into the glass trap door. Darkness shrouded her room, but there was just enough moonlight that he could make out her small figure, surrounded by blankets and snuggled up next to the wall. Her fingers were wrapped around the cat pillow he had given her and he could see her hair rustle with every breath she took.

She was alive.

She was okay.

Thank God.

His raven haired princess stirred and sat up, rubbing her eyes lazily. Glancing around, her eyes eventually fell on his form, glancing down from her glass trap door, and she jumped.

Adrien chuckled, but inside he felt guilty. He hadn't even thought about how his loud thump when he landed could have caused her to wake. But, since she was now opening the door, it would further confirm that she was alright.

He needed that.

"Chat, you ridiculous cat, what are you doing here? It's 1:00 in the morning!"

Her sassy whisper met his ears and he could have cried. It took him a minute to form words. "I had to come see you."

"Why?" She placed her hands on her hips.

Adrien had to force himself not to drown in that sea of blue. "I-I um… had a dream that you were in danger. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

He watched as Marinette's face slowly changed from annoyance to concern. Her frustrated frown flipped into a soft one, and her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes becoming full of a light fear. "Are you okay?"

He loved when she asked that. It meant she cared.

"I am now, Princess." Adrien smiled.

Marinette didn't seem to fully believe him.

"Chat…" She began softly, tilting his chin to make him meet her eyes. "I'm right here, right now. Alive. Well. Safe. No need to worry. Besides," she grinned, trying to lift the atmosphere. "I can take care of myself. I'm big girl, you know."

Adrien forced out a chuckle, but said nothing and she continued.

"And… I'm always here for you, okay? Please don't forget that." Her voice was sincere, and when he met her gaze, he felt a warm feeling spread through his whole body. "I'm here through it all. Thick and thin, good and bad, because that's what friends are for. So, anytime you want to talk about anything, I'm here."

Adrien felt tears begin to surface again, and when he spoke his voice was thick. "Thanks, Mari. I-I just needed to know that you were safe, that's all."

She placed her hand on his cheek and he immediately closed his eyes and leaned into it because it further confirmed that she was alive. Her warm hand against his cold cheek sent a chill down his spine and he purred.

Marinette giggled and ruffled his hair before withdrawing her hand, much to his dismay. "I know, I know, but I have school tomorrow, Kitty Cat. I need sleep."

Adrine nodded, a real grin making its way onto his lips. "Yeah, I should let you get back to that. I sincerely apologize for interrupting your beauty sleep, Princess, not that you need it." He bowed magnificently.

She laughed again and Adrien cherished the sound. "Anytime Kitty, anytime. I will waste my sleep for you any night. Really."

His heart swelled so much he could feel it coming to the point of explosion.

Man, he was so deep, and he never wanted back out.

"Goodnight, My Lady."

"Goodnight, Kitty."