Marinette sat at her desk doing research for their government debate. It came in five minute spurts of productiveness, followed by twenty minutes of daydreaming, and punctuated by checking the clock to see if it was time to meet Tikki yet, but it was technically still progress. She had two pages of notes so far, but she didn't imagine the debates would be too hard. Marinette was definitely passionate about the subject. That was what worried her.

The groups had been paired off and given sides in a different debate. Some got to debate import-export laws, others the newest environmental protection policy, and even others the effectiveness of the current incarceration system. What did they get?

The MRA.

Similar to how the groups-well, most groups- were picked, Mr. Damocles went around the room with a bowl, and a student from each paired group would pick a topic out of the pile. Adrien had stepped forward for them and, as if he attracted bad luck, he picked debating the pros and cons of the MRA. A few groans went through the room from his classmates, all knowing that his father was in charge of the agency and murmuring about how unfair it was, but his eyes shot to hers in an immediate look of concern.

"Well, we can't let you have an advantage, my boy," Mr. Damocles spoke, ripping Adrien's eyes from hers. "You're team will have to debate against the existence of the MRA, then. Just don't tell your father," the man joked before moving on to the next group, but Marinette watched as Adrien's face went ashen.

Alya stepped forward to confer with the team they would be debating against, confirming the specific policies they would focus on, but Adrien silently moved to Marinette's side. Without a word, she laid the back of her hand against his, letting the comforting current flow through them and watched as he relaxed marginally.

"It's too close," he whispered to her cryptically without looking at her, and she understood. Arguing against the MRA was too close to her actual thoughts. A lot of people would be arguing against their true opinions, so they technically had some cover in this debate, but if they argued the wrong points, became too impassioned, or let the debate get too personal...It was risky. They were already the two kids who ditched the MRA visit, and the blood sampling that went with it. What they really needed to do was fly under the radar.

Marinette looked back down at her notes, willing herself to concentrate. It was still early to be doing research, but she'd decided that if she collected enough hard facts, evidence against the MRA for economical and political reasons, she would be able to temper her responses in a debate. She could respond with logic instead of emotion.

It was a long shot, since even just reading about some MRA policies and news was making her blood boil, but it was all she had to go on.

She had just picked up her pencil again when she heard a scratching on the skylight that led onto her roof balcony. She started to turn when her phone buzzed: another distraction monopolizing her attention.

You're welcome.

The message was from Alya and strangely cryptic. Marinette picked it up to reply when the scratching sounded again and she walked over towards the skylight over her bed. Looking up, her eyes met a green pair, currently feline but no less familiar, and Alya's message suddenly made sense.

Shaking her head, she opened the latch and lifted herself up onto the roof.

"I'd ask how you knew where I lived, but…"

"Alya," he supplied with a chuckle and she smiled, amazed at how used to this she was already. It should be strange to hear his voice coming from the mouth of a cat. It was impossible in the modern world they lived in, and yet, it just sounded as natural as when it came out of his human mouth. One blessed difference was that she could ignore how attractive he was while he was a cat. Thank god, otherwise she'd really need psychological evaluation.

"But you can't paw-sibly know why I'm here," he sauntered in front of her, his tail flicking good-naturedly

"To spew horrible puns?" She guessed with a quirk of her eyebrow and he stopped moving, one eye flicking over to her.

"A-mew-sing, Purr-incess, but no."

"Oh, please enlighten me, then," Marinette smiled down at him and took a seat against the railing. Adrien started to chatter and she let her mind wander along the tranquil waves of his voice without actually paying attention. Alya must have texted him her address, but she wasn't upset. He was actually a welcome distraction.

They'd all exchanged phone numbers and had started a group chat to more easily prepare for the bi-weekly debates which would run the course of the rest of the semester, taking place in three rounds. They had been texting and discussing strategies most of the afternoon before Marinette finally turned off notifications for the chat, finding her stomach churning at the mere thought of the debate. She couldn't avoid it, and had started researching on her to help herself tackle her fears sensibly, but it was just another source of stress. Because being a hunted species, preparing to thwart a radical purist and starting to fall in love with an enemy soldier wasn't enough already.

She glanced over at Adrien and blushed realizing what she'd just thought, but she wouldn't deny it. At least...not to herself. She felt the attraction between them, and after last night? It was obvious that what they had was just as much emotional as it was physical.

Looking at her pacing kitty, speaking veritable gibberish with a smattering of puns as if he knew she needed distraction, she smiled sadly. He seemed too good and pure. She hated the thought of that being manipulated. Her eyes averted to her hands as she fiddled with her thumbs and tried to find one scenario in which this didn't blow up in their faces.

"You're worried," his voice sounded nearer and she looked to see him sat right next to her crossed legs. She wasn't startled this time, becoming accustomed to his cat-like stealth.

"Yeah," she responded, even though his statement didn't call for one. She reached down and absentmindedly scratched his ears, giggling when it resulted in an involuntary low purr. In an instant he was transformed, and a blushing boy sat in front of her instead.

"Um," he cleared his throat. "Yeah, so...that happened." He reached up to rub the back of his neck nervously and she watched intently how it made his white dress shirt pull tautly against his biceps. Now it was her turn to blush as she looked away, hoping her hair hanging loose around her shoulders did enough to hide the sudden color in her face. She stared towards the burning horizon as the sun started to hid away instead, collecting her thoughts.

"Mari?" He broke into her ponderings easily, like a diver into a tumbling river: not disrupting the surface, just entering the flow. She felt him settled next to her and allowed herself to lean ever so slightly against him.

"I am worried," she spoke finally. "About a lot of things, actually, but the debate doesn't help. I'm not great at tempering myself, Adrien. When I feel passionately about something, I speak out. My classmates know that about me. What if they recognize it in the debate?" She turned to look at him then, feeling her panic start to bubble and wanting to find solace in his eyes. He reached down and grabbed her hand. She immediately squeezed back.

"What can I do?" He looked at her, somehow reading all the fears she held secure within them. Not assuming he had the answers, he offered to help nonetheless. He was in exactly the same situation as she was, if not worse, but he sat there ready to be the anchor she craved, without platitudes or empty promises. He held her hand and stared unwaveringly into her eyes and she knew they were in this together. She may be falling in love, but she refused to believe it was with the enemy.

"You're doing it," she assured him, and gave his hand another squeeze, closing her eyes and concentrating on their mixing energies. She felt his hand come up to cup her cheek and she leaned into it before his forehead came down to lie against hers.

"I know it's scary. I know with everything-the new threat of the MRA device, the division between métamorphes, this thing between us, and now this debate-it seems overwhelming. I mean...at least I feel…"

"I'm completely overwhelmed," she cut him off, opening her eyes and staring into that sage gaze of his, seeing the tightly contained panic slightly slip through their practiced and usually indiscernible depths. He smiled slightly, seeming to take heart in her words and angled his head so their noses brushed, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"It's a lot, but I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. You're not alone," he smiled softly at her. "I've got you, bug."

She laughed slightly at the new nickname, amazed by how the small word seemed to warm her entire being. She turned her head slightly, making her nose rub against his and angling her face even closer before responding.

"I've got you too, chaton," she whispered back, feeling him lay a hand on her thigh to steady himself as he leaned in further, but stopped a hair's breadth from her lips.

"I know it seems kind of sudden," she felt Adrien whisper, his lips moving in an agonizing rhythm against hers. "And it's kind of danger-"

She closed the distance between them, not able to stand his politeness for another second if it separated his mouth from hers. The moment their lips touched, he unfroze, moving his hand from her cheek to wrap around her waist. Displacing the hand on her thigh, he pulled her to a kneeling position and gripped the more stable railing behind her. Her hands, however, were entirely focused on that much too neat hair of his, threading upwards from the nape of his neck and scratching his scalp in her fervor. He seemed to purr into her mouth, but moved closer, wedging her delightfully between his body and the cool railing at her back.

He pulled away a far too abridged eternity later, gasping for breath but still impossibly close; their chests heaving as one. He let his head fall towards her again and she instinctively tilted her head up, lifting a hand and pushing his hair out of his eyes. She was savoring the way he leaned into her palm when suddenly he cried out in surprise. Before she could even blink, he was ripped from her arms and sprawled on the ground. She turned, springing to a defensive position in front of him, her eyes instantly zeroing in on their attacker.

Her heart stopped.

"No…"