In which the author has too much fun frazzling her characters... This chapter is a turning point and after this things will really begin to pick up so enjoy! I hope every ones New year is amazing cuz you guys are awesome! Questions are always welcome and I love every ones theory's so far! Keep them coming!

Elfie... Yes I do love cliff hangers sorry! Its my brains fault since it naturally makes them. As for your other question i was thinking of wings but they would be more for gliding than straight up flying. I like your theory but no soul is present quite yet... :)

oreganochica... I don't have a true background planned for Tikki quite yet since its not really important except where she is tied to Plagg Adrien or Marinette. We will hear the story how she died at some point though...

bhve... Yay! I'm always happy to entertain! Don't worry we still have quite a bit to go... I just hit 396 pages in the word document I am using... single spaced at 11pt font.

sweetXDmelody... She was very lucky! Its almost like she has some kind of supernatural ability making things work out in her favor... ;) The stone is still gaining strength so and laying the groundwork for the abilities she will have when it does finally activate. Unfortunately that means it can only purify so much at the moment.

kazza2182 ... The stone isn't quite ready yet. Still a few steps left before it can activate completely.

(Slow Burn Detective AU!) Marinette is used to working alone on the streets of Paris as she strives to take down the Hawkmoth gang. When the thief Chat Noir comes crashing into her life things are bound to get magical, especially when co-detective Adrien returns to Paris and seems to want to be her new partner. Will their fated partnership end in a capture or a kiss?

Moving Day

It had taken Marinette almost 30 minutes to drop Manon off and make her way home. Thankfully, the driver wasn't a talker although Chat Noir's mild glare in his direction after kissing Marinette's hand might have been the reason. As the driver pulled up to the curb outside Marinette's apartment Adrien seemed to materialize out of the shadows. As she opened the door, he darted forwards to help her out.

"Thank you for driving her!" he chirped, closing the door before the driver could do anything more than nod. To his surprise, Marinette actually held onto his arm as they walked to the stairs and he frowned when she winced slightly as they climbed. "How bad are you injured?"

"I'm bruised, nothing broken. A good hot bath will get the kinks out, but I probably shouldn't spar for a few days," Marinette answered feeling a bit of honesty was necessary. Adrien had been texting her for a bit since she had given him a truncated version of what went down with the Akuma and Manon, she could tell he was worried.

"You should probably just take a shower for tonight. You feel like you're about to collapse," Adrien sighed, opening the door for her when her hands couldn't seem to manage the keys properly.

Marinette went to huff a snarky retort, but then she realized just how heavily she was leaning on Adrien and reevaluated herself. Exhaustion was pulling at her and unless she wanted to spend all night snoozing in her tub, Adrien was probably correct. Seemingly in the blink of the eye, Marinette found herself next to her bathroom door with a concerned looking Adrien peering at her.

"Are you going to be able to shower? I mean I don't really want to have to call Alya to pick you up off the floor," Adrien said with worry coloring his tone.

"Gimme my phone and if I have to, I'll call Alya. I'm pretty sure I can make it through by myself but if I'm in longer than 20 minutes, I probably fell asleep," Marinette grumped, taking her phone and a nightgown from Adrien's hands before grabbing a pair of underwear from her drawer. She closed the door on his concerned gaze, any embarrassment from needing his help buried under weariness.

Adrien sat down on Marinette's bed, his gaze never leaving the bathroom door and his ears pricked to catch any and all movement from beyond.

"You ears are going to be sore tomorrow you're so focused," Plagg whispered, coming out of his pocket to sit on Adrien's shoulder.

"She's exhausted and injured… Maybe I should call Alya just in case," Adrien mused, even though he really didn't like the idea.

"Marinette will be fine. The stone didn't do anything but use a chunk of her energy. If anything, the stone might even heal her through the night, though she'll probably be asleep a good, long while. She should probably eat before going to sleep but I'm not so sure she'll make it that long. I'm guessing we're staying here for the night?" Plagg drawled, sounding bored and ready for sleep as well.

Adrien nodded, making Plagg huff something about stupid kittens and then flew off ready to catch some sleep himself. Adrien was tired, too, but he wasn't leaving until he was absolutely sure Marinette was safe and in her bed. Ten agonizing minutes passed until the water shut off, and then it was another five before the door creaked open. Marinette's eyes were half closed, her wet hair half in her face as she yawned. Adrien was at her side before she could get the door fully open.

"Oh, you're still here…" Marinette murmured sleepily as Adrien took her arm and guided her to the bed.

"I'll be here till you wake up, Princess," Adrien said keeping his voice light.

Marinette collapsed to the bed forcing Adrien to pull the covers out from under her. By the time he managed to pull them over her body, her wet hair was soaking the pillows and she had pulled a large stuffed cat pillow to her chest, curling around it.

Adrien grabbed a towel to wrap around Marinette's soaking hair and turned his nose up at the cat plush in her arms. He had the strangest desire to pluck the dang thing out of her arms and shred it, because dammit he wanted to be the one all snuggled up with her and- with an annoyed snort, Adrien banished the thought from his head before stalking from the room. His phone was on the counter and he eyed the messages that were coming across the screen. One was from Nino complaining about the fact that they hadn't hung out in a while. Another was a reminder from his father about the ball coming up in three days. The last was a text from Stormy, though it registered as an unknown number, asking for him to check on Marinette since she was less liable to kill him than anyone else she could send.

"How in the world did she even get my number?" Adrien hissed, moving into the kitchen to hopefully find something to nibble on.

"That's why I told you not to accept any electronics from them," Plagg snorted, tossing a bit of cheese in his mouth as Adrien turned on the lights.

"Plagg?! Where did you get that cheese from?" Adrien snapped and Plagg's eyes narrowed.

"I got it from the cabinet and I didn't touch her good stuff in the fridge even though it's my favorite. I needed something to replenish my energy, you dolt. Same as you. You don't see me growling at you for rummaging around in her fridge or stealing her cookies."

Adrien grumbled something about replacing food, but he didn't chastise Plagg since he hadn't thought to get any cheese for him. When the two of them were done Adrien went to the spare room, feeling odd as he changed into a pair of pajama pants Marinette had stored in his drawer for him. He was staying with Marinette more these days than he was at his own house. It shouldn't have but it made him happy when he walked into Marinette's home and could smell traces of his own scent on the air. The bed was as soft as he remembered and he sprawled out under the sheets after setting an early alarm. According to Plagg, Marinette probably wouldn't wake till late morning or early afternoon and he had some things to prepare for before she woke up. That now included shopping for foodstuffs, since this was the second or third night in a row she had fed him. He was starting to lose count and Adrien hated being indebted to people even if they never expected anything in return. With a sleepy snort, Adrien decided to worry about it in the morning.

Marinette awoke to a loud thump, followed by the sounds of what seemed to be cursing. It was all muffled and she groaned, smashing her face into her pillow for that extra few minutes of sleep. For once she actually felt fully refreshed and somewhat energized, but that didn't mean she wanted to move yet. The arguing was steadily coming closer and Marinette let out a soft annoyed whine when her door seemed to blast open.

"I don't care if she's tired, it's like 1 PM and I know she's going to hate sleeping while we do this, so, Marinette! It's time to get up!"

Marinette cracked an eye open, spying a grumpy looking Adrien as Alya did a flying leap right on top of her.

"OOF!" Marinette wheezed as Alya's weight came down on her. "Alya! What the heck!"

Alya grinned at her, ruffling her hair, "I hear you had a late night!"

Marinette grimaced, glancing at the doorway to find Adrien gone, "I did."

"Uh huh… finding Manon?" Alya hedged, knowing that something was going on and hating being left out of the loop.

Marinette shoved Alya off of herself and rolled slightly so she could look her in the eye, "Really, Alya, an interrogation this early in the morning?"

Ala snorted, "Girl, it's 12:45 give or take. You're lucky I waited this long."

Jolting upright in shock, Marinette snatched her phone up and checked for herself. It was 12:47 on the dot, she groaned realizing half the day was already gone, "Oh man… No wonder I feel refreshed."

"Uh huh… You're refreshed and I'm exhausted from helping Adrien move furniture. More has just arrived and I want my scoop. Oh, and Nino's here too, and since he and I have the day off tomorrow we're staying and having a welcoming party for Adrien. Just us four. I figure we can use some pizza, alcohol and gaming for a fun night of relaxation," Alya commented, raising an eyebrow at Marinette when she rolled her eyes.

"I have to work tomorrow, Alya, and so does Adrien. We won't be able to stay up late," Marinette warned.

Alya sniffed, "I've known you to go three days straight without sleep. You'll be fine staying up past midnight for one measly day."

Marinette sighed but couldn't fight Alya on that one. Deciding it was in fact time to get up, Marinette rolled out of bed happy to find that her body wasn't all that sore. The night before she had figured she was probably going to wake up unable to move the next day, but she only felt as if she'd had a really good workout the previous day.

"Sore?" Alya asked as Marinette shut her door.

"Fishing?" Marinette retorted.

"You know it!" Alya happily answered, not moving from the bed.

With a bit of a sigh, Marinette got her stuff together to get dressed and began talking.

Adrien had forced himself to walk away once he saw that Marinette was awake and alert. She wasn't sickly or pale looking and he took it as a sign that she had slept well. He could ask her later but he knew that Alya wanted to talk with her and he wasn't invited to that chat.

"The girls good, dude?" Nino called, shoving Adrien's brand new coffee table a little more forwards.

"Yeah, they're fine. I think if anyone else tried what Alya just did they might get their face clawed off, though," Adrien answered with a laugh.

Nino rolled his eyes knowing how enthusiastic Alya could get, "She's just worried about her. You went walking with her the other day, right? How did that go? Did you meet some of her Whisperers?"

"It was… enlightening… I did meet some of them and like to think I left a good impression on them?" Adrien answered, shifting the couch he had finally picked to the side a little more.

Nino shook his head, amazed Adrien could be so dense, and left the coffee table alone to help him move the massive piece of furniture. "Dude, you could charm a block of ice. Matter of fact, I've seen you do it! The only one who's never fallen for it is your father, but I suppose he's had lots of practice."

Adrien fluttered his eyes at Nino going for a sultry look, "Does that mean I've charmed you too?"

Nino laughingly threw his hat at Adrien who ducked, "Ewww, dude, never do that again… Or better yet, do that at Alya so I can watch her punch you."

Adrien laughed as he scooped up Nino's hat and tossed it back to him, "Alya is all yours. How do you think Marinette would take it?"

An uncharacteristic frown covered Nino's face as he caught the hat. Before he could answer in any way, however, someone beat him to the punch.

"How would Marinette take what?" Alya asked, walking into the room making Nino jump and Adrien frown at her.

He had thought he heard the door open but hadn't been completely positive since the flat was new. Before he got too settled, he was going to have to rough up the hinges so he could hear when doors were being opened.

Gaze swinging between one boy and the other, Alya crossed her arms, "Well?"

"We were discussing my ability to charm people," Adrien finally answered, not liking the look that crossed Alya's face.

"Is there a reason you would need to charm Marinette?" Alya snorted uncrossing her arms making Adrien realize she was teasing him like an older sister might.

It made an odd, warm feeling blossom in his chest, and deciding to roll with it Adrien tapped a finger to his chin, "Well, I'd like to think I charmed her into being my date to the police ball."

Alya grinned at him, "You know she called me that evening in a complete tizzy wanting to know if she should rework her dress because of you."

"Her dress is fantastic! Please tell me you talked her out of it?!" Adrien asked looking aghast.

Alya raised an eyebrow at him, "I did but it cost me several hours of sleep which you owe me for. Also, how do you know what her dress looks like?"

"I've seen it from afar once or twice. Marinette does splendid work and I'm quite excited to see it on her," Adrien said with a shrug.

"And after the ball are you planning on charming Marinette into other activities?" Alya asked, her tone all-too-innocent.

Adrien knew exactly what Alya was getting at and he rubbed at his temples even as he felt a blush heat his cheeks, "I don't suppose I can just tell you to mind your own business?"

Alya shook her head, a mischievous smile flitting across her lips

Adrien smeared hand across his face, "If we're going to continue on this subject, I need alcohol."

Nino laughed, feeling sorry for his friend but also having little mercy because he already got this talk from Alya when he had shown an interest in dating Marinette years back, "Dude, I don't think alcohol is going to help you."

"You're right…" Adrien said sounding rather resigned. "I doubt vodka is the answer, but it's definitely worth a shot… or two."

Nino raised an eyebrow at him, "Did you just pun?"

Alya cackled, "Oh geez, please pun in front of Marinette! It drives her nuts!"

"Babe, I don't think that's a good idea. Adrien wants Marinette to like him, not want to rip his head off," Nino hissed before casting his gaze back to Adrien.

"Whose head am I ripping off and why?" Marinette asked entering the flat as voices drifted from behind her.

"Adrien puns!" Alya crowed.

Marinette blinked then sighed, "I know… I was hoping it was just a fluke."

Alya cracked up, throwing an arm around her best friend, "Nope, he just punned splendidly for us! Be prepared, Marinette I think he's like your dad!"

Ducking out from under Alya's arm, she glanced up at Adrien who grinned weakly at her, "Fine, you can pun some but I swear if you start tossing them out every second word, I will do something horrible to you in your sleep!"

Nino frowned at Marinette and before Adrien could utter a word he cried, "Wait, so you know he puns and you're letting him? When I punned, I got punched!"

"That's because your puns suck. And they weren't funny at all. You just don't have the talent to pun," Alya huffed. "Come on, I hear the moving guys."

Darting forwards, Alya grabbed Nino's arm while shoving Marinette at Adrien. Adrien caught Marinette as she tripped over a cushion while Alya dragged a protesting Nino towards the door.

Helping Marinette stay on her feet, Adrien asked, "Marinette, do you really hate puns that much? I won't pun if you really don't like it." He would have to adjust his behavior some and watch out for flying fists as Chat Noir if it really was the case but he could do it. He could stop punning.

Marinette took one look at Adrien's face and shook her head before she even fully processed the question, "No, don't… Nino used to do it to irritate me because he knows that my dad used to pun all the time and it drove me crazy sometimes. My dad never did it to irritate me on purpose, he just loves puns and wanted to share that love. I know you like puns, too, and I wouldn't make you give that up."

"Aw, Princess, you really move me when you say things like that," Adrien commented, his lips turning up in a sly grin only to yelp as her fist hit him solidly in the arm.

"Don't even think about it, mister," Marinette huffed walking towards the doorway since she could hear Nino and Alya arguing the best way to move something through the door.

Adrien followed with a laugh, happy that Marinette had caught his little joke and that she hadn't rejected something he enjoyed outright even if it drove her little crazy. He could feel Plagg sniggering in his pocket and he didn't have to ask what was so amusing. Tonight, he knew, was going to be a good night.

In the end, it had been a fantastic night and they all stayed up far too late. Marinette woke up tired in the morning as her phone buzzed an alarm in her waistband. She groaned, trying to fish the darned thing out and managed to hit the power button so it shut off for a moment. It was so cozy where she was, and it felt as if a heater had been placed right next to her. A warm weight like a blanket was draped around her middle and her legs were pinned under something, but it didn't really bother her since she was pleasantly warm. The weight was probably Alya since she tended to be a bed hog. Marinette never understood how her friend could take up an entire queen sized bed for herself and she often wondered how Nino got any sleep with her in the bed. With a satisfied hum, Marinette snuggled closer to the heat, her hands hitting bare skin. The skin-to-skin contact pinged an alert in her brain and Marinette blinked open heavy eyes to find perfect lips and a mop of blond hair right in front of her. Instantly her brain turned to mush while her face lit on fire as she realized that she was currently laying half on Adrien, their limbs tangled in a sleepy embrace. They both had all of their clothes on, thank goodness, although somehow her one hand had snuck under his shirt. That was totally brain meltingly bad because it made Marinette want to pretend to be asleep a little bit longer and lean in just a tad bit further. Corralling her last not-melted brain cells together, Marinette forced herself to pull her arms back against her chest and wiggle just the slightest bit in an attempt to slip out of Adrien's grip. Managing to unpin her legs without waking him, Marinette rolled over gently and tried sliding for the edge of the futon. She didn't get very far. As soon as Adrien's arm hit the limit of it's reachability he grumbled and shifted dragging her back to him. Marinette went stiff as he threw a leg back over hers while huffing a warm breath against the back of her neck.

"Soft," Adrien purred rubbing his face into Marinette's hair as his arms curled her body more firmly against his.

Marinette couldn't take it anymore. She was either going to combust or kiss him or do something just super stupid, and just as she worked up the nerve to say (or rather squeak out something), her alarm buzzed again. This time with sound. It was enough to shock Adrien into consciousness and he suddenly went totally stiff against her before letting out a curse so colorful it had Marinette laughing as he did his best to spring away from her. He rolled, yanking blankets with him. Marinette, now free, twisted back around to see a bright red Adrien looking everywhere but her.

"I'm sorry!" Adrien blurted. "I swear nothing has happened! I just… last night there were people in the hall and I didn't think you wanted people seeing me carry you to your flat so I brought you in here and I swear I didn't mean to fall asleep-"

Marinette held up a hand, somehow managing not to laugh at his horrified, nervous tirade. She was super embarrassed, sure, but waking up next to Adrien definitely wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to her. In fact, the only thing that worried her was that she wouldn't mind letting it happen again.

"Adrien, its ok! No, seriously. It's fine! I grabbed you, didn't I?" Marinette asked shifting further from the futon. It was a surprisingly comfortable set up, even though it was all on the floor.

Adrien nodded mutely, unsure if the red in her cheeks was from embarrassment, anger, or something else.

Marinette sighed and slowly climbed to her feet off the futon, "Sorry about that… I'm sure Alya suggested putting me in bed and didn't tell you about my bad habit of clinging. There's a reason I have that giant pillow in my bed."

"Actually, Alya sorta passed out on Nino and he took her home since he only had one drink far earlier in the night. I didn't think the couch was comfortable enough to sleep on and I didn't realize you clung so… thoroughly," Adrien confirmed, watching as she stretched lightly.

To his surprise, her face actually darkened a little and she giggled nervously. "Uh… yeah… again, sorry about that. I-I need to work… you know, get to work and be ready… urg…" Marinette stopped and covered her face with her hands making Adrien finally stand.

She was embarrassed. These days, Marinette only started mixing words when she was badly embarrassed and, oh man, he could literally hear her heart pounding. It was like his own heart wanted to match pace because the second he became aware of her heartbeat, his picked up its own pace. It didn't help that Adrien felt a little bad for this morning's mess since it really was his fault. Last night he could have easily taken her home via skylight to avoid the people in the hall, and he could have untangled himself from her arms. Instead, he had decided to be selfish and keep her here in his territory, be damned the consequences. Now he needed to fix this before the tangle of desire and embarrassment messed up whatever they had blooming between them.

Reaching out, he gently pulled down her hands, "Do you want to head in, spar some, and shower at work?"

Somehow, Marinette managed to drag her eyes up to his as she nodded. All that had happened was that they had shared a bed. Instinctively, Marinette knew it was totally different than sharing a bed with Alya, or hell even Nino, but nothing had happened between them. Nothing inappropriate at least, and Marinette decided she really needed to get a grip.

"I think a spar would do us both some good," Marinette finally remarked. "I'll grab my stuff and be ready in, oh… 15 minutes?"

Adrien nodded, releasing her hands and letting her walk from his room. The front door closed quietly and Adrien turned to find Plagg floating directly in his path. The Kwami eyed him strangely until Adrien spoke up, "Are you going to yell at me?"

"I doubt yelling at you would do either of us any good," Plagg snorted. "You're allowed to be selfish sometimes. But if you're going to claim her, make sure she understands what that means to you. You idiots have been dancing around each other too long and it's starting to make me nauseous."

Adrien blinked as the Kwami's words processed and he spluttered, "Plaaaaggg, it's not like that! At least, not yet! I-I don't want to scare her off!"

Plagg rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, kit. You like her to the point where you want to tell her you're Chat Noir. And she likes and trusts you enough to actually sleep comfortably in your bed. You're a cat, you of all people should understand the significance of that!"

"She was drunk and exhausted!" Adrien defended. "She probably didn't even realize I'd moved her!"

"Dense, idiotic, ridiculous children… Gods, I wish Tiki were here right now. She would know just how to set you dorks straight," Plagg huffed. "Look, just use protection and don't let either of your insecurities get in the way."

Adrien turned beet red, his mouth opening and closing although nothing but garbled sound came out. Plagg dove down into the futon, wiggling around since he was already decided he was staying home today. It took a minute for Adrien's brain to reboot, and finally emitting a high pitched whine he stalked off to the bathroom. Ignoring Plagg for the few minutes it took him to gather what he needed for work, Adrien still hadn't managed to come up with a good retort when he was ready to go. Green, slitted eyes buried half under a pillow had been following him every time he had stepped into the room. Unable to take it any longer, Adrien glared at him.

"Are you coming?"

Plagg blinked slowly, "No. You'll be fine on your own today. Make sure you grab more cheese on your way home. And if Marinette sleeping over becomes a frequent thing, I want my own bed to sleep in."

All at once, Adrien was done. Not even bothering to give a response, he just turned and walked out of the room.

Poor goofy kids! Plagg is so much fun to write... Drop a review if you like it so far!