A/N: So some of you knew where I got the name 'Erika Carp' from :) It's from Barbie Princess and the Pauper. Erika was an indentured servant/seamstress who worked at Madame Carp's Dress Emporium. Also, I'd like to thank everyone for their condolences :) It means a lot.

Side Note: It seems Selfless has been plagiarized on Wattpad, thank you to the guest MiraculousPotato for bringing it to my attention. It's called 'Wanted' and it's written by LBandCN123. I've left a comment asking them to remove it but it's still up :/

Chapter 11

Dear Everyone,

As you can see by this letter, I am alive and well. I can't tell you where I am, but I can tell you that I'm not being mistreated at all. Chat Noir is far from a cruel captor and has been treating me well considering the circumstances. Bascially, I'm okay, and you don't have to worry about me.

I miss all of you and love you very much. I'm not sure how long I'll be here, but to be honest, I have a feeling it won't be for much longer. Just please be patient during this time. I WILL see all of you again.

With much love,

Marinette

Alya didn't know what to think after reading the letter. She had come by after school to Tom and Sabine's bakery to check in on them (she did it about every other day to see how they were doing) when they presented her a letter, supposedly written by Marinette herself that was found in their mailbox.

They were stunned, and had at first been suspicious. But once they recognized Marinette's handwriting, they were immediately filled with relief, not to mention an enormous amount of curiosity.

Chat Noir had spared their daughter, but why? He was a supervillain, so why did he keep her alive?

At first they had thought the worst, that she became a source of 'entertainment' for him. But once they read the letter their concerns lessened. She claimed to not being mistreated, but was that true?

Alya, ever the skeptic, doubted her best friend's words. While she did believe the letter was written in her hand, she didn't think she wasn't being abused at all. It was possible that Chat Noir had threatened her to write those reassuring words.

Although the bigger question here was why. Why would he even bother with sending an 'I'm safe' letter when no one knew where to find Marinette? And even if they did, Paris agreed to the deal to trade the young girl for peace. There wasn't much they could do.

Alya wanted to just go search for her and kill the supervillain, but nobody felt very keen to her plan. Sure, they all wanted him dead, but it would put Marinette at risk if her captor found out about the manhunt for them.

But Tom and Sabine, for a rare moment, were just happy that their daughter was okay. So instead of Alya voicing her opinions, for a rare moment, she kept her mouth shut.

...

When Marinette asked, Chat Noir claimed to not have read her letter. Even when she had crossed her arms and gave him the look that would've made anyone back at home confess a secret to her, he still held by his statement that he did not peek.

A small courtesy, but it did increase her trust for him.

At lunch the next day she thanked him for allowing her to get into brief contact with her family and friends, highlighting the fact that as her 'captor' he didn't have to do that at all.

He simply shrugged and told her it was alright, that it was no big deal. Everything was fine, up until afterwards when she wanted to go out for a walk in the forest.

"What about your sewing room? Your designs are coming along nicely," he complimented, indirectly asking her to stay.

However, Marinette didn't see that.

Her eyebrows drew down in suspicion. "Yes, they are. But I would like some fresh air."

"You can always open a window," he responded cheekily, leaning against the fist laying on his cheek.

"Chat," she deadpanned. Was he serious?

"Marinette."

She rolled her eyes. "Look, I want to go for a walk in the forest and get some fresh air. You never had any problems about it before."

"Yes, well, that was before I found a problem out there," he retorted, now crossing his arms in front of his chest. She couldn't help but note that it looked like a firm chest, one that was pressed against hers not that long ago-

What? When did she start having thoughts like that?

She shook away the strange thoughts and quirked an eyebrow. "Problem? What kind of problem?"

"There's...a...bear out there!" he exclaimed, raising his arms in the air and wiggling his fingers. "A big, scary bear that can hurt you."

Once again her eyes went heavenward. "I think I'll take my chances." Not only did she need a break, but she also wanted to talk to Fu again. He was a nice companion to have, and she couldn't wait to tell him that Chat had allowed her to write a letter.

"Then I'll go with you!" he proclaimed, standing from his chair. "You can never be too careful."

Her eyes widened at this new offer. He wanted to go take a walk with her? "Um, that's okay, you don't have to-"

"No, I insist," he interrupted, quickly gathering the dirty dishwear to only dump them in the sink. Marinette could only stare in bewilderment as he hurried to her side and smiled comically wide. "It'll be fun!"

"What kind of fun is there in a forest?" She couldn't help but ask. Why was he even acting like this? Did he think she was going to run away?

"Lots of fun!" He argued, placing a hand on the small of her back and guiding her out of the kitchen. When she looked down at the offending appendage, clearly perplexed by the action, he removed it and placed it on the back of his neck in a sheepish manner.

"Besides, I've been meaning to get some fresh air, too!"

She blinked in confusion. "But you went out for supplies and delivered my letter yesterday!"

"Well, today's a new day."

Marinette sighed, resigned to this new turn of events. She knew she wasn't going to be able to see Fu today. Although, she couldn't help but wonder what a day out with the alley cat would be like.

...

It was...actually turning out better than she thought it would.

They had left the mansion no later than fifteen minutes after breakfast. Marinette had brought her backpack and filled it with snacks and drinks for the pair, along with a sketchpad and a pencil in case a sudden wave of inspiration hit her.

She noticed that he had brought his baton with him. Briefly, she wondered if perhaps there was a danger in the forest after all.

"Chat? Maybe we should just stay home-"

The blackette stiffened and clamped her mouth shut as soon as the last word was out of her mouth. Did she really just call the mansion 'home'? What was wrong with her today? Did she have a fever?

But the back of a hand pressed against her forehead proved her theory to be false.

The blond craned his neck to the side to look at her, a delighted smile playing about his lips. Luckily he didn't comment on her rephrasing of the mansion, instead replying with:

"I doubt I'll need it, but you can't be too careful."

Wait. Something wasn't adding up.

"But you said there was a bear in the forest. Why do you think you won't need your baton, then?"

"Ah-b-because the animals are frightened of me as soon as they hear my footsteps. I'm a force to be reckoned with, you know." He sent her a mischievous wink, to which she only rolled her eyes at.

But...why were the animals afraid of him?

"Chat, you never abused any of the animals, did you?" Her voice was a whisper of incredulity. Suddenly she was beginning to see him a new, unpleasant light. Why wouldn't he hurt an animal? He was still a criminal.

"No!" he shouted, bringing his hands up and waving them wildly. "No! I'd never hurt any animal! I was just kidding, it was a joke, I swear!"

The way he looked so scared, yet truthful, brought about an amused laugh from the girl's mouth. Chat looked at her with concern, though it mostly directed to himself. Laughing was good, right? That meant she didn't think he randomly hurt animals, right?

"Why do you care so much about what I think of you?" she asked after maintaining her control. "You're a villain, you shouldn't care what anyone thinks of you."

"Because your opinion is the only one that matters," he mumbled truthfully, green eyes gazing off to the side to avoid her inquiring blue ones.

Marinette stared at him in a stunned silence. What does she say to that? What did it mean?

"So," he cleared his throat and redirected his eyes back to her. "Shall we get going?"

She nodded, eager to push his earlier response to the back of her mind and deal with it later.

"Yeah."

They walked through the forest, with Chat Noir not even bothering to mark their places so they could find their way back. She voiced this concern to him but he said that he had great tracking skills while wearing the suit, and he also had a heightened sense of smell. He could find his way back with his eyes closed.

Marinette accepted the excuse and they continued on. She didn't know how far they had been walking until her feet started to get tired, and she requested that they have a rest. Chat granted her wish, which brought them to sitting together under a large tree's shade.

While he took out a bag of Curly Balls from her backpack to eat, she brought out her sketchbook to touch up a few designs. They sat in relative silence, up until she felt something small hit her nose.

Her eyes strayed from her page to the ground below her, where she spied a Curly Ball. Instantly she looked up in suspicion and saw Chat Noir staring away from her and chewing on his snack innocently. His lips were pressed together tightly, but she could see the edges of them twitch.

Busted.

"Did you throw this at me?" she questioned, holding up the tiny snack. She tried sounding stern, but the smile on her face ruined the entire purpose.

As though startled, he whipped his head back around to look at her in astonishment.

"Me? Throw something at you? I'd never!"

"Oh?" she replied, raising both eyebrows. "Who was it then?"

"It was probably a squirrel," he answered, his mouth slowly stretching into a grin.

"A squirrel? But you're the one with the bag of Curly Balls," she pointed out, barely suppressing her giggles.

"I was feeding this adorable squirrel with some, I guess it got a little mischievous and threw one at you."

"Yes, Chat, because squirrels regularly throw things at people." She shook her head with a grin.

"No," he drew out the syllable, an evil glint in his eyes. "But it looks like they steal pencils."

"Wha-?" Marinette looked down to her side, where she placed down the sketchbook and pencil, only to see her writing utencil was, in fact, missing-

-and held by a small, furry brown squirrel just two feet in front of her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, annoyed. "Give that back!"

The little animal simply stared at her, unmoving.

Marinette got up and took a step towards it. She replaced her expression to more of a sweet, inviting one. "Here, squirrelly, squirrelly-"

"Squirrelly?" Chat repeated, laughing.

Marinette continued as though she hadn't heard him, but making a mental note to somehow get back at him for that.

She reached out a hand. "Just give me the pencil, now...that's it..."

However, it seemed the creature had other plans. It placed the pencil in between its teeth and darted off for the tree she and Chat had been sitting under, going off high into the branches until it was no longer visible.

"Hey!" she shouted and took off after it. She ignored the feline's yowls of laughter and stood at the base of the tree, looking for the little demon to no avail. She didn't even see any leaves move.

The ravenette stomped over to the blond, hands on her hips as she regarded him with a frown. His tanned cheeks were pink with his laughter and his bright teeth shone in a brilliant smile.

In a fleeting moment, she couldn't help but notice that he looked particularly handsome when he laughed.

But then she remembered the reason why he was laughing and narrowed her eyes at him, patiently waiting for him to stop. She took to crossing her arms and tapping her foot against the grass to pass the time.

At long last he ceased his laughter, though he gazed up at her with lingering amusement in his eyes. Yet at her scolding look they darkened with seriousness and the leftover smile was wiped from his face.

"What?" he asked.

What? What? He had the nerve to ask 'what'?

"A squirrel stole my pencil and you laughed," she growled.

At her words he snorted, the humor he held of the situation making a comeback. "Yeah, I've never actually seen something like that before. It was pretty funny."

"Oh I'd say you thought it was more than just 'pretty funny'," she mocked, still not relenting on her glare.

"Aw, come on, Princess! It was hilarious!"

"Maybe for you, but not for me. That was the only pencil I had."

"Well," he said, mouth quirked into a half-smile. "There's nothing we can do about that now."

Her eyes suddenly brightened with devilry, and her lips curved into a calculating smirk. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. Aren't cats skilled at climbing trees?"

His mouth drew down in a line. "Marinette, don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking."

She said nothing, only lifting her eyebrows and smiling at him.

"I am not chasing after a squirrel," he refused vehemently. "It's just a pencil, Marinette."

"But it was my only one!"

"You'll survive."

The blackette pouted and stubbornly turned away from him. A few seconds of tense silence later, an idea popped into her head. She had no idea if it would work on him, due to his villainy, but she had to give it a shot.

The guilt trip.

Marinette relinquished the anger showing on her face and sat down next to him. He tilted his head as he regarded her warily, but didn't say anything. In turn she looked at him and puffed out her bottom lip as she peered up at him beneath her lashes.

"That was my only pencil, and now I won't be able to draw," she explained forlornly. She turned away to pay attention to the ground, where she twirled a finger in sadness. "You didn't even do anything to help me. All you did was laugh."

His cat ears drooped as he frowned. "I'm sorry, Princess. We'll go home, and then you'll be able to draw again. I'll even get you a pack of brand new pencils when I go out next, and some colored ones, too."

"But I was having so much fun out here," she protested brokenly, returning her sorrowful sapphire orbs to him. "I liked spending the day with you."

It honestly wasn't a lie. He proved to be a good person to take walks with through the forest today.

She wasn't expecting the fierce blush to light up his cheeks, or how he bit into his lip as if he was nervous about something. She mentally questioned why he reacted that way, but filed it away for later.

"I-I liked spending the day with you, too," he stammered. "But I'm not going after-"

"Please, Chat?" she begged, shuffling closer to him. "I wanted to retouch my designs. What if I don't have the same ideas when I get home? What if I forget?"

His emerald eyes strayed off to the side.

"It will only take a second," she continued, and dared to take a hand that was supporting him in his sitting position. His head spun to her so quickly she was surprised he didn't get whiplash, his mouth was partially open in astonishment.

She couldn't help but feel how warm his hand was. As she lazily circled her thumb on the top of his hand, she peeked up at him again to see his cheeks gained a fresh coat of red.

"P-Princess? Why are you-?"

"It shouldn't be too hard for you, to get a pencil from a squirrel. You've stolen much larger things in impossible situations. A squirrel shouldn't be a match for you."

And now, stroke the ego.

"Well, obviously not," he bragged, his earlier bashfulness forgotten at her praise. "But-"

She leaned her face closer to his, although she couldn't explain why she did so. Now his bravado was gone, replaced by wonder as his breath hitched. "Didn't you promise me that night in my room that I would have whatever I wanted with you?"

"Y-Yes-"

"Surely a pencil shouldn't be too hard for you to retrieve for me." Her lips barely brushed against his. Her face felt like it was on fire, her eyes were half-lidded but alarm bells were blaring in her head. What was she doing? This wasn't how the plan was supposed to go!

He stayed still, as his eyelids lowered as well. His voice was a husky whisper as he answered her, "no, it wouldn't."

"Could you please get it back for me? Please?"

"I-I-"

One more push, just one more...

"I'll make it worth your while. Please, minou?"

She had no idea where that line came from, but she had no time to think it over when he suddenly brought his hand up and cupped the back of her neck. She gasped at the new contact, and his eyes were brightened with a new kind of light.

He smirked wickedly at her, and suddenly she had a sinking feeling that maybe she should've just listened to him before and went home instead.

"You make a convincing argument, Princess," he purred. Marinette felt a shiver go down her spine, though it wasn't in fear. "You better have a nice payment for when I come back."

She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding when he released her and made for the tree. He jumped and sunk his claws in the bark, in no time he was crawling up into the tallest branches.

The young designer stood and walked under the tree, trying to pinpoint a leather-clad body, but could only see rustling leaves.

"I found his home!" She heard him shout. "And I see him in there! This'll be like taking money from a-OW!"

Marinette tilted her head in confusion at the cry of pain. "Chat? Are you okay?"

"He bit me!" he exclaimed, sounding purely insulted.

She brought a hand to her mouth to muffle her giggles.

"Hey! Give me that-OW! Stop that!"

She couldn't hold back any longer, as a peal of laughter escaped past her mouth. A squirrel was accomplishing what Paris's police has been trying to for the last three years: hurt Chat Noir.

"I'm warning you, I will cataclysm your entire ho-OW! That was my nose!"

The blackette crashed onto the ground, literally rolling with laughter. Her cheeks were hurting from smiling so widely as she clutched her sides.

This continued for awhile, Marinette had no idea how long he had been up there. But he finally returned, looking more haggard in his appearance. Bits of leaves were in his even-messier locks and his nose looked slightly red. Yet in his fist, held tightly, was a single, perfectly intact pencil.

The girl rose from the ground and tried to hold back her laughter at how he looked, but she did feel a bit bad for him. It didn't sound like a pleasant experience, being attacked by a squirrel.

But it was still funny.

"Here," he grumbled, holding it out to her. She happily accepted it and thanked him, even sifting her fingers through his hair to get out the leaves to express her gratitude. He seemed to calm at that, as his shoulders that were previously hunched up now relaxed and he let out a sigh.

"Now, about that payment..."

She stopped, removing her hand to stare at him uneasily.

Shit. She forgot about 'making it worth his while.' Why, oh why, did she say that?

He grinned. "I'll cash that in at a later date. Now, let's go home. The sun will be setting soon."

She could only nod, stupefied, as she stood there. On one hand she was glad he dismissed it for now, on the other she was worried of what they payment would be in the future.

But neither were aware of the pair of knowing brown eyes and the equally secretive smile from a nearby bush.