Marinette was sleeping soundly in her room above the covers. She'd fallen asleep on top of the covers, in her clothes. She was sleeping soundly, until she began to feel colder. She Opened her eyes slowly and groggily, and a pair of bright green eyes met hers. She opened her mouth to let out a scream, but a cold and clawed hand covered her mouth, keeping her silent. As soon as he was sure she'd be quiet, he lifted his hand and put one long finger over his lips. His eyes glanced to the side of the room suspiciously, and he bit his lip. Her hatch door was closed, so he pounced across the room and turned on the light, then raced around, turning on all the lights he could.

"You can talk now. Don't scream." He told her, closing her window and sitting on her couch.

"Wh- what... whats going on?!" She asked, eyes wide and fearful. He looked at her and rubbed the back of his neck.

"New Akuma. I heard it say it wanted you." He told her. "And I remembered your address from when we fought the puppetmaster akuma." He told her. She nodded, and gulped.

"What's this new Akuma?" She asked.

"He's called the Shadowlarker. He can travel through shadows, or become shadows- im not quite sure. He wasn't about to give me his backstory, but he did ask where you are. I didn't tell him, then I came to check on you. Of course, he moved on at night so that he would find easier travels." He said, sighing.

Marinette was terrified. First off, she couldn't help Chat until he left. Second, Chat was in her room, and some guy was after her? For what? She was scared, and she started to shake. Then, against her will, her cheeks grew wet. How could someone like Ladybug get scared over this? Well, for one, she was defenseless at the moment. She just didn't feel like the same person when she was Marinette, and when she was Ladybug. She pulled her knees to her chest, and she wiped her cheeks, resting her nose on her knees. She closed her eyes and sighed, sniffing slightly.

Chat looked around the room. The walls were blank, just as they had been earlier that day. He remembered the room well, though he'd only been in it a few hours before hand. He stood up from the couch, and began to walk around, thinking of a plan, when he heard a noise. He looked over, and Marinette's eyes were closed, and she was.. crying? No, that didn't seem like her. That didn't sound like headstrong Marinette, who took orders from big scary guys, who fussed at Chloe.. Could she really be this scared? He hadn't meant to frighten her..

His eyes closed, and he let out a silent breath, then he sat himself next to her, draping his arm over her shoulders. She stiffened, then leaned into his side, wiping her eyes. He smiled at her, and used a knuckle to wipe her cheek, since the claws on his fingertips might cut her. She smiled tentatively back, and relaxed.

"We're gonna get through this. But we need a plan. Can you help me?" Maybe this could help him figure out of she was Ladybug. She always came up with perfect plans, maybe Marinette could too?

"Yeah.. yeah, okay." She said, sniffing and dropping her legs. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes to think. "What if we trap him? Turn off all the lights in here, then when he appears, grab him so he can't disappear, then turn on all the lights?" She asked.

"How would we get him?" asked Chat.

"Hmm... I'm not sure. Grab him?"

"Well... that's.. simple, but alright. We can try it." he said. Chat nodded to her, and they turned off all the lights, and waited.

Soon enough, a man began to rise from the shadows. Marinette felt fear grip her stomach, and she swallowed it down. Next to her, Chat glanced down at her, and she nodded, then they both pounced out at the Shadowlarker. Marinette grabbed him, and Chat jumped past her and turned on the lights. The Shadowlarker looked around, looking for a big enough shadow to escape, looking around nervously. Marinette smirked and grabbed his hands and held them behind his back. She gripped his hands tightly and smirked slightly, then allowed Chat Noir to grab his sunglasses. He cracked them open, and the akuma flew out, and the boy detransformed. Chat grabbed it and encased it in a little bag he produced from a side pocket. He smiled and helped the boy down to the road, then made sure he got home safe.

He noticed he had some time left, so he returned to Marinette's room. She was sitting on her balcony, so he sat across from her. Her face was pale in the moonlight, making her pale skin look silver. Her blue eyes were illuminated as she looked off at the glow of the Eiffel Tower. Once Chat was on her balcony with her, she looked at him, and smiled at him.

"Thank you, Chat." She said, blushing a little.

"Anything for you. Pretty girls get that perk." He told her.

A soft breeze blew past them, and their hair blew around gently. Marinette shivered, and Chat sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her. She blushed and looked down, leaning against his chest. His chest was rising and falling quickly, so he must be still winded from running around. He was warm, and he smelled good. Familiar, almost. A mixture of sweat, cologne, and his natural, sweet scent.

Chat looked down at her, and stroked her soft hair gently. She looked up at him, and he felt a blush rise in his cheeks. Then, he did something he didn't quite regret, but he slightly wished he hadn't done.

He kissed her. Very lightly, gently and softly. She didn't react, though she sat in complete shock, frozen in her place. He blushed and pat her head gently, and she didn't move. Carefully, he lifted her up, and laid her on her bed gently, then darted away into the night.

As he returned to his own room, he thought about the kiss, and he thought about Marinette. He truly did like her, as both Ladybug, and as Marinette. Though, what if he was wrong? What if.. she wasn't ladybug? No, that was silly. He was almost sort of sure Marinette was Ladybug.

He laid on his bed in his normal clothes, and closed his eyes, reviewing the kiss in his head over and over.

The next morning, Marinette work up and held her head. She looked at her phone, and sighed, texting her friend.

-Alya? I just had the WEIRDEST dream.-


Sort of short, definitely shorter than the last chapter.

This one was more of a half filler, half im-not-quite-sure-how-to-go-about-this chapter. I imagined this scene and originally loved it, but now it seems kinda unimportant.

Well, dont expect a bunch of updates until friday, because its only monday and I have homework up the wazoo, studying to do AND tennis after school every day this week.

I wanted to thank all the kind reviewers and readers, and everyone who gives this story a chance. You are all the reason I've gotten my motivation back to write. Thank you lovlies!

I also met a 50-day learning streak on Duolingo. I'm learning french, and I am SO proud of myself. I have worked so hard to do lessons every day, and its really, really paying off. I'm slowly getting more and more fluent in the language, and have been reading and listening to music in french. I really enjoy it, and hope I can become fluent!

Thank you for reading, I can't wait to see what you all think of this chaper! Bye, sweet lovlies~