Chat looked out over the city as he leaned on the side of the gargoyle statue once more. Tonight was one of those nights where he was just completely alone, nothing to do because Paris is too busy with everything else to provide some excitement for his crime fighting career.
He actually wished that Rogue Wolf would make a show, he hasn't seen her since he took the ring back from her. Of course, he's heard from civilians of sightings of her. But with his own eyes has he not seen her.
It's so boring when he's on a patrol that there's absolutely nothing to do.
Not even Ladybug is out. When he talked to her the other night, she let him know that she would be busy on this night with her family. He was glad she was spending time with them, he could take care of the patrol himself.
He only wished he had a family that was close enough to him that they could just spend a night together. He...he honestly missed his Mother. He missed having her to turn to, to convince Father to spend time together as a family. Instead of spending all his time in his office working.
Chat sighed and pushed himself back further against the statue, bringing his legs up so they wouldn't dangle over the edge anymore.
This was part of why he didn't like being alone. It gave him time to think about his life, think about some of the things he wishes he could have that he doesn't.
His cat ears twitched when he heard a thump near, turning to see movement on the roof on the other side of the building. Upon seeing the moonlight catch white hair, he jumped up and dashed over to her as she ducked towards a window.
"Wolf, it's been a while." Chat mused as he neared her, noticing the way her body tensed before she turned to face him. What was she doing? Was she trying to steal something on this quiet night?
"It has, I've been busy." Rogue replied to him before he noticed her eyes dart away from him for a moment.
His suspicion grew, before a second later Rogue took off running and went flying off the edge of the building. Without hesitating, he took off after her. No doubt that she was up to something now.
Either Rogue was slipping, or she wasn't really trying her hardest to get away from him like she usually would when caught in her misdeeds. Because as he chased her and she touched down on the Champ De Mars for a brief second, he shifted his weight in his vault with his staff and tackled her into the grass with more ease than usual.
"I'm a little disappointed in you. Usually you put up more of a fight." Chat teased as he held her down against the grass with one hand and used his other to search for whatever she may have stolen.
He noticed first though that she didn't have her usual black bag attached to her hip that she would use to store small takes in. Where else could she have hidden it?
"I don't know what you're looking for. I haven't done a thing tonight, you just interrupted my stroll." Rogue replied rather languidly as she turned to look back at him.
"If that were true you wouldn't have run from me." Chat replied to her failed attempt of lying to him.
"Maybe I assumed Ladybug was nearby. She usually is around you, being that you're partners." Rogue said and he smirked down at her for how she openly hid from his partner.
"While I'm touched that you'd rather spend time with me alone, Wolf, I have to believe because of how you ran from me so quick that you're up to something." Chat said before rolling her over to check her if she hid whatever she might have taken on her front.
As he went to check if she had whatever around her neck, he yanked his hand back suddenly when she tried to bite him. "Haven't you ever heard that caged animals will bite?" Rogue asked as he sighed at how she had to be so difficult.
"It's nice seeing you after a while too, Rogue." Chat sarcastically replied before continuing his search. When he found nothing on her other than her own usual tools, he reluctantly let go of her and stood, offering her a hand to help her up.
Rogue stared up at him for a moment before taking his hand. Once on her feet, she brushed herself off before leveling him with a weak glare.
"I don't know why you're glaring at me. If you hadn't acted so suspicious, I wouldn't have had to do that." Chat reminded her as he folded his arms over his chest while watching her.
She seemed more tense than she usually would be around him. If she wasn't up to something devious, then why was she acting this way?
"What's wrong? Something seems off about you tonight." Chat pointed out his suspicions by pointing a finger towards her posture first and how rigid it was. Usually, she would be more calm and relaxed instead of stock stiff like she was now.
"Well, I was just tackled in plain view of whomever might be out tonight. So that's one thing." Rogue quipped back, Chat frowning at her obvious hostility towards him tonight.
"You know, I don't know what's actually wrong but at least I'm wanting to help. The hostility isn't needed." Chat said before turning away from her and pulling his staff from his back again. "When you actually feel like talking, you know where to find me." Before he could vault away, Rogue's sarcastic laughter reached his ears.
"That doesn't sound like asking for trouble at all, now does it Kitty Cat?" Rogue replied before he turned to face her again. "We aren't allies, Chat Noir. As you've made clear these past two times seeing me, you've pinned me both times to try to find whatever I've recovered from establishments. Why still try to be friendly to the wolf when you've got a bug who's got her eyes on you once more?" Chat frowned at how she snarled her words out at the mention of Ladybug.
"She's my partner, I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about her like you're trying not to spit at her name." Chat said before earning a snort from the girl in front of him that was being unusually hostile all of a sudden.
"Your partner who wants me caged. Who hates my very presence and even the thought that I draw breath in what she thinks is her city." Rogue remarked as she walked past him, Chat turning to face her as she walked. "Just go to her, Chat Noir." For a moment it sounded like she was going to say more, but she opted not to and instead the zip lines shot from her belt and she zoomed up into the sky towards the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Chat stood there in silence for a moment, just taking in what she had said. Why was she so angry at Ladybug, his lady hadn't even seen her since the Beast Akuma.
A little voice in the back of his mind, or probably Plagg, whispered jealousy. That couldn't be right, but looking back on the past few weeks he has been with his lady more than Rogue Wolf.
But since when would she care? Since when would she ever be jealous of anything about him or what he does? She's the laid back cunning wolf that has reminded him before plenty of times that they aren't technically allies.
But this was also the wolf who openly went out of her way to distract him from the problems of his own life and even make many of his long nights better. Who even let him be a shoulder to lean on and listen to.
Was it actually possible that Rogue Wolf could be jealous of his renewed relationship with Ladybug, when outside of their own issues they hardly know a thing about one another.
With confusion and slight worry over her behavior, Chat pulled out his staff and aimed for the top of the Eiffel Tower where he saw the wolf head for.
Reaching the balcony, he was confused when he didn't see her. Before hearing muttering and looking up to see a figure tucked into the metal work.
Sighing through his nose, he lifted himself up towards the metal and started climbing.
"Shut up, Verro." His cat ears twitched as it sounded like she was talking to someone, looking around for a moment before realizing she was alone. Was she using a phone?
Chat continued climbing up towards her instead of letting her know he was there outright.
"You wanted me to be more careful, I'm being careful. Stop berating me for what I've done when I'm only doing as you told me to." Chat pulled himself up onto a metal bar just below her as she continued talking to this Verro person.
But as he focused his hearing more, he realized he didn't even hear the sound of noise coming from another source. It was completely silent aside from her occasional words towards this Verro.
Climbing the last bit, he reached the metal beam where she was and pulled himself up, Rogue snapping her golden eyes towards him as he tried to ignore the fact that they were in a not so safe local this time. "I know you're going to tell me to leave-"
"You're right I am. Why did you follow me?" Rogue questioned him as he slung a leg over the other side of the metal beam so he was straddling it and a little more secure.
"Because something is obviously wrong and I'm not just going to walk away and let you suffer alone. You may act like you hate me now but that doesn't mean I won't try to help you, Rogue." Chat reminded her, frowning a little when her tough facade faded a little and her eyes softened on him before she looked away. "Rogue-"
"Please just go away." Rogue's voice was much softer and more gentle this time than it had been all night, and his chest clenched painfully at having to hear her sound like that.
"Why? Why do you want me to leave? Why are you pushing me away?" Chat asked, watching as she tried to scoot away from him but must have remembered that they were near the tip of the tower and not exactly on safe grounds.
It was silent for a minute. Chat almost thought she just wasn't going to answer him but a sigh left her as she looked down at the city far below them. "I don't hate you." Rogue said instead of answering his actual question, but it was a start.
Chat smiled a little at her correction to what he had said to her. "I know you don't, I shouldn't have assumed. Please, tell me what's wrong. It's not fair of you to help me but I can't help you. It's not fair of you to push me away either when I actually really enjoy our visits like this." Chat revealed to her, noticing the way she watched him out of the corner of her eye for a moment before looking down again.
"Let's continue this back on the platform then, instead of up here where you'll probably fall." Rogue said and stood up on the beam. A zip line shot to a metal bar above her and she jumped off the edge, zooming down to the platform.
Chat grabbed his baton and made his way back down to her. He felt a little better once his boots touched the platform before making his way over to Rogue where she sat near the edge of the balcony.
Sitting down beside her, he frowned at how she looked so troubled. Part of him was screaming at himself for not doing more to help her, for wanting to know how long she's been like this as he hasn't seen her in a bit.
Ignoring the fact that she previously tried to bite him when he got too close, he scooted closer to her and slid an arm around her shoulder. Her head immediately met his shoulder and he felt his own tension melt away a little, but her own only dissipated a little.
"Talk to me, Wolf. I'm all ears." Chat wiggled the cat ears atop his head as she looked up at him, smiling when she actually chuckled a little at his actions.
"It's supposed to be me that listens to you, not-" Chat shushed her and earned an indignant look that only served to make him smirk at her. "Really?" Rogue questioned his shushing her excuses.
"You can give your excuses to people that they actually work on, wolf. As for me, they don't. That, and you know that I will help you too. Heck, I'd rather see you laughing evilly while trying to steal something even than the way you are right now." Chat admitted, as anything was better than seeing her as she was right now.
Rogue pulled away from his shoulder, and he thought he might of insulted her for a second before noticing the soft look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, for earlier. For letting my emotions get the better of me and taking it out on you." Rogue apologized and he smiled gently at her.
"It's fine."
"No it's not. It wasn't fair to you, you already had to deal with mistreatment from your partner enough and I ended up doing the same." Rogue looked away from him and his smile melted into a frown at her genuine remorse for how she treated him.
It's not like he's not used to it, but he really doesn't want to see her sad or frowning. "Rogue, everyone has bad days. I've taken my anger out on you before too, we're only human." Chat said but she didn't look back at him and kept her eyes on the city in front of them.
Chat wrapped his arm around her shoulder again and pulled her back to him, frowning to himself when she didn't lean her head on his shoulder. Her warmth at his side didn't do much to comfort him when he knew she was upset.
"Why do you keep coming back?" Chat turned his head to look at her in confusion to the question.
"What?" Chat asked, watching as Rogue ran her clawed fingers through her hair to push it away from her eyes.
"You and Ladybug are fine again. Why do you keep risking that by coming back to me when you know she hates me?" Rogue asked, Chat faintly hearing the word jealousy echo in his head and cursing Plagg for a half a second before really letting her words settle in.
She was right, he knew that as well as she did. Just standing by her for too long without it looking like he was trying to stop her from committing a crime could be misconstrued by any passers by. He could only imagine the firestorm if the paparazzi snapped a picture of him and Rogue together.
But he also knew that their usual places to meet were out of sight and out of reach of civilians. Also that it was typically the dead of night when normal people would be fast asleep. But before now, he's never really thought about the what if of being seen by civilians, only Ladybug.
"Just walk away, Chat Noir. Before it ends up ruining the good thing you got going with your lady." Chat frowned at her suggestion, not able to see himself doing that. Yes, he and Ladybug were good right now. He's talking better with her now than he has in the years of them knowing each other.
But that didn't mean he didn't enjoy his time with Rogue too. Even considering the situation of him being a hero and her a neutral thief, he still enjoyed her company. Was grateful to her for all the times she has managed to help him keep the negativity at bay and actually smile and laugh again. He wanted to do that for her too, and he couldn't if he walked away like she was suggesting.
"I can't do that, Rogue." Chat said honestly, Rogue looking to him in surprise for his reply. "Even though you're the one suggesting this, I know that's not what you want either." Chat revealed, not needing her to verbally say it to know just by her body language.
She might portray herself as some big bad wolf, but she was still a woman with feelings. She was still a person. One whom he was still learning to read the real meaning behind the things she does.
"Why? How?" Chat chuckled a little at her short word responses to him.
"Because. Not only is it not fair, but I don't want to either. I like spending time with you, listening to the smart girl that you are instead of the cunning wolf that you come off as for this job you chose." Chat waved a hand towards her from top to bottom to indicate her attire. "Also, I know because if it were really what you wanted you wouldn't show remorse for having to say this. You wouldn't look like it's troubling you so bad. You would just be okay with it, indifferent which you are not." Chat explained his reasoning for knowing the real meaning behind her words.
Rogue looked even more taken aback by his explanation, but he just smiled at her to let her come to terms with the fact that he was learning to understand the double meaning to some of the things she says and does.
She was silent for a few minutes even, so he just looked out at the city lit up around them. Honestly, he enjoyed sitting with her at night a little more than with Ladybug. He loves his lady still, but being around her is also a reminder that he has to move on.
Even if now that he's admitted it to not only himself and her she's actually opening up to him more and being a better listener for him.
With Rogue, it gave him not only a chance to relax, but a chance to escape from the thoughts about moving on from Ladybug. A chance to just forget for a little while the bad hand he's been dealt with his love life.
"You're...you're something else." Rogue pulled away from him and looked out at the city like he was.
Chat laughed at her comment. "So I've been told." Chat replied, turning his full attention to her to see the way thoughtfulness had replaced her shock at his own words now.
"You're going to come to regret your choice when or if she finds out that you make nice with the thief." Rogue commented, Chat snorting at her words as he honestly didn't see Ladybug finding out so easily. Every time he sees Rogue like this where she's not committing a crime, Ladybug is without a doubt not coming out for the night.
They were safe, for the most part.
"It's doubtful she'll find out, wolfie. But I won't regret my decision. So long as you keep up the good job of not committing any heinous crimes." Chat reminded her of what he said when they first really started talking, Rogue scoffing dramatically before turning to level him with her devious smile once more.
"I thought I told you that I couldn't promise that. I'm still a neutral, Chat Noir. I do as I please." Rogue said with a wink as he smiled at her, slowly noticing the tension in her body melting away.
Good, he wants to see her calm, relaxed and happy. It's so much better than seeing her hurting, he could almost feel himself hurting just at knowing she was.
They stayed there and talked well into the night, only leaving when his Miraculous was warning him to leave. But even then, he didn't quiet feel ready to leave yet. Even though he knew she was better, he still wanted to talk with her more. Make sure everything would be alright.
He would no doubt see her soon though. So long as she still wants his company he has no problems lazing about with her.
"Come on, Nino! You have to!" Tiana rolled her eyes at the couple as she watched Marinette sketch on her notebook beside her. "It's a ball, you can't just show up in jeans or t-shirts. You have to dress up!" Alya protested as she swatted her boyfriend on the shoulder with the magazine of men wearing suits.
"We were supposed to be going out after the show, not to a ball." Nino protested right back to Alya, Tiana and Marinette exchanging a look before they both rolled their eyes.
"Yeah, but then Tiana's Mom announced this ball for after opening night! We've never been to some big fancy ball before!" Alya pointed out and to emphasize her point poked the magazine in his chest.
"It's actually a masquerade ball too, so aside from all the dressing up and everything you also need a mask." Tiana revealed, none too pleased about that little tidbit herself as she did not like wearing masks. It could possibly give away to her alter ego.
"It is? Darn it, now I have to redo this!" Marinette complained before scribbling out the sketch she already had and opening up to a new page.
"Even more of a reason why you have to go! There hasn't been a masquerade party in years here! Think of how much fun that will be! You might even meet some important people who could help you with your career!" Alya said and that one seemed to do the trick as Nino's eyes lit up.
"Fine, I'll look for a tux." Nino agreed with much reluctance, Tiana snorting at how he finally agrees once it becomes to his possible benefit.
"Why is she even throwing this anyways?" Alya asked, turning her attention back to her and Marinette at last after Nino took the magazine from her to flip through.
"A few reasons. The main one being that it could bring more attention to the show, which I don't understand then why she would do it after opening night instead of before. But it's also a nod to what next year will be." Tiana admitted, Marinette squeaking before her with excitement before Tiana pointed to the paper to remind her that her design was more important than fan-girling.
"So does that mean we won't be seeing you until you make your grand appearance, dudette?" Nino asked with a teasing smile at her before looking back down at the magazine.
"Probably not." Tiana shrugged as she knew that Mother would fuss about her needing to focus on the work and not her friends. That she needed to make a grand show for their family, when she knew that by family she really meant do it to make sure that she still looks good.
Mother didn't care about their family, she only cares about her career and fame or herself. Sometimes Father when he's done exceptional work as the Prime Minister.
"What are you guys up to?" Tiana scooted over for Adrien to take a seat beside her.
"Talking about the masquerade ball." Marinette answered but didn't even look up at him, only continued to keep working on her dress design for said ball.
"It's a masquerade ball?" Adrien asked, looking to her with slight confusion.
How did he not know, when she's sure his Father is going as well. He's been working with Mother plenty to know that it would be a masquerade.
"Yes, she made up all the poster designs and such with a mask right on front for emphasis. But let's see how many people actually end up wearing one." Tiana said with another shrug.
"Well I think it sounds fun. It's different, and I'm sure we'll all have fun." Adrien commented, ever the positive person that he is. Tiana couldn't help herself from smile even and forget, at least for a second, that she was being forced into this by her mother and really had no choice of her own.
"What is your dress, Tiana?" Marinette asked, finally looking up from her notebook.
"I have no idea, Lover Boy's Father here is probably the one designing it, since he's probably also designing Mother's. Our parents are becoming good friends, aren't they?" Tiana asked and leaned her shoulder into Adrien's with a smile his way.
"Yeah, as long as they're both beneficial to one another." Well that one didn't sound as positive as he would usually would be, but she couldn't deny that he was right on that.
Marinette whined beside her though and stopped her from agreeing to what Adrien said. "I need to make something special then if there will be people wearing Gabriel's designs at the ball. I have a lot of work to do." Marinette muttered before standing up from the table and shoving all her things into her bag. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Marinette waved goodbye before she was off.
The only reason any of them were still at the school really was that they had been waiting for Adrien to join them finally.
"She's going to burn herself out with all that designing." Alya commented with a shake of her head. "Nino, you and I need to go shopping then for the ball since it's next week. We gotta be ready!" Alya nearly shouted the last part due to her excitement as she stood from the table.
Before Nino could even try to protest, Alya had grabbed him by the bicep and pulled him to his feet as well to begin dragging him off. "I guess we'll see you guys later." Nino called back to her and Adrien before he was dragged out the door by his girlfriend.
Tiana chuckled at the way those two acted with one another before turning her full attention to the blond boy beside her. "So we still going back to mine to play State of Decay 2, now that it's finally out?" Tiana asked, Adrien smiling before standing from the table as well.
"Of course, after you Kitten." Adrien waved a hand towards the door. As they walked towards it though he quickly held it open for her before she frowned upon seeing Beau's car parked at the bottom of the stairs.
"Guess we don't get to walk." Tiana muttered as the big hulking man stood impatiently beside the vehicle.
Tiana was glad that the ride was short and they were soon back at her estate, leaving Beau immediately to head up to her room with Adrien. Fortunately, she had asked Louie ahead of time to grab one of the flat screen TV's from an extra room and set it up beside the one in her own room.
So everything was all ready and waiting for them when they entered, including a spread of drinks and snacks courtesy of the only non-family member of the house she actually liked.
"Is Louie like your personal butler that he did all of this for you before we even got here?" Adrien asked as they walked over to the couch to sit down, Tiana dragging the coffee table to one side and pulling the ottoman she hardly ever used in front of the couch instead.
"He prefers the term babysitter or nanny." Tiana pointed out, Adrien chuckling before sitting down on the couch. Tiana joined him a second later after grabbing the controllers.
"It's going to be boring playing this after today without you. Well, if I even have time to." Adrien commented as they loaded the game up on both TV's, Tiana sending him a half smile as both of their schedules were getting increasingly busy. This was the last time before the performance that she would have more than an hour to herself, and she wanted to spend it with her friend.
"We'll play again when our busy lives calm down. Remember, school ends next week too so we'll have summer to play." Tiana reminded which earned a small chuckle from Adrien.
"Next year is our last year, it feels weird to acknowledge that." Tiana only sent him a half smile again, as it didn't really feel like it would be the last to her either since this was only her first real year in public school.
"Are you going on that school trip before class starts back up?" Tiana asked, just remembering it as they tried to pick their characters for the game.
"The one to your home country? Maybe, it's up to Father." Adrien answered before snorting at the game they were playing. "Did you really pick those two?" Adrien asked with a smirk her way as she looked away from the screen.
"Of course, she's sassy just like I can be." Tiana propped a hand on her hip for emphasis before turning back to the game as Adrien laughed at her.
"I would think you'd want to pick the odd couple, you know since your odd relationship with Chat Noir." Tiana didn't hesitate to swat him with a pillow as he laughed beside her.
"Ooh just you wait until we get in game together. I'm going to make sure to let the juggernaut get you first." Tiana warned as Adrien continued snickering beside her.
"You wouldn't. You'd miss me too much." Adrien challenged her words as they continued going through the tutorial.
Tiana mocked his words for a moment before focusing on the game now that they were finally playing together.
It was fun, it was nice to just laze about playing video games with Adrien. To just have fun and focus on another word for a minute instead of their own. That's part of why she liked video games, is that for a brief moment she could forget that she was basically a prisoner in her own world and be whoever she wanted to in the video game world.
In this case, a sassy girl slaughtering zeds.
As they were playing, she faintly became aware of the fact that she would start leaning into him while they were in tense moments. Of the warmth at her side that was leaning into his own.
With other people, being so close would make her feel uncomfortable usually. But with Adrien, for some reason she was comfortable. It didn't bother her, much like it didn't bother her to be close to Chat Noir.
She always attributed that towards the fact that he was a hero though, so people were supposed to be comfortable around him.
Adrien was just a normal guy though, granted with a not so normal life.
But as they laughed together and enjoyed their new game together, she was comfortable being so close to him. Spending time with him was far more enjoyable than being alone in this prison of her Mother's concoction.
There was that faint nagging at the back of her mind reminding her that this boy could have been the prediction Andre had given her. But for the moment she was able to forget that and just enjoy herself and laugh as he blew up his vehicle.
"That's your own fault!" Tiana barely managed to speak through her laughter at his pouting over how he destroyed the truck by trying to ram her own.
"It's your fault too since I was trying to hit yours!" Adrien protested as she continued laughing, dropping her controller on the couch beside her as she laughed. "Really, are you enjoying yourself?" Adrien asked as she looked up at his pouting face and started laughing harder once more.
"Oh yes I do believe I am." Tiana answered through her laughter as Adrien shook his head at her beside slouching down in the couch beside her, nudging his elbow into her side with a smirk as she flinched away.
"Remember, I could always bring back the tickle torture." Adrien warned her with a devious smile.
Tiana just snorted at him before setting her head on his shoulder, still laughing. She could have sworn she heard purring at one point, but she was probably either hearing the game or hearing things.
After her hysterics died down, they got right back into playing as Tiana forgot her head was still on his shoulder.
I'm going to first start this with this game is my current favorite game and why it took me so long to do this chapter. I only just finished this chapter a little bit ago because I've been playing this game way too much. I'm also going to say that this week I may or may not post Wednesday. I might only post today and Friday so as to make sure I don't burn myself out on this. It was hard finding the inspiration to do this chapter this time, but that could have also been because of the new game. So if I don't post Wednesday, forgive me. I'd rather take longer to update than burn out and not finish this story. Back to the chapter, ooh I wonder if Rogue's only reason for trying to keep Chat away was because of trying to protect his relationship with Ladybug, or if there was more to her actions too. Like the fact that she has no doubt been drawing confusion over his presence recently. Too bad Chat won't let her go just that easily. But look at that end there, a nice little moment between Adrien and Tiana. Doesn't even realize that she's still leaning on him in the end, is just so comfortable together that they don't care. Isn't it cute? Anyways, thanks as always for reading! I'll try to make sure I don't burn out on this story but might have to pace chapters this week to ensure that. Thank you to those whom have commented, I love hearing how you feel about this story! I will see you guys next chapter!