Soft fingers brushed through his hair, a familiar voice murmuring to him. He heard nothing of what it said, drifting on the edge of consciousness, but he smiled all the same for he loved its sound.

Then it grew quiet, and he was displeased.

Adrien woke to the sun warming his face, surrounded by the most wonderful scent in the world. He inhaled deeply, turning to writhe in it, but his body was reluctant to move, both exhausted and utterly sated.

Ah, yes. He was bad at turning down freely offered treats. Not the first time he'd overindulged, but certainly the best. Marinette had welcomed him inside of her as much as he'd wanted.

Adrien wanted a lot.

"Marinette," he murmured, because he sensed her near but not near enough. Warm skin should be touching him, but there was none. So he propped himself up on his arms, his every muscle screaming in protest, and swung his lower half around to gingerly set one foot in front of the bed. Then the other. He heaved himself up.

Standing on two legs should not be this hard.

Though he didn't think he'd be any good on all fours either. His limbs were back to the way they should be, his hips aligned for this movement, and yet his muscle memory was failing him. He frowned and stared down at his feet, wiggling his toes. Then he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other without falling over.

It was far from his usual elegance, would have gotten him laughed off the catwalk he routinely dominated – heh, cat walk – but it got him where he wanted. Which was to the door of Marinette's room, leading to the rest of the bakery. She was there, he could tell, she had to be there.

Adrien paused.

He was forgetting something, something important, though he couldn't puzzle out what it was. Something human, definitely. So… it would probably be best if he didn't leave the room for now. Until he remembered how to be Adrien Agreste again.

A whine rose to the back of his throat. He wanted to see her now. But… her parents were probably down there. And it was important that they liked him and didn't start thinking of him as some weirdo who couldn't even figure out how to human. Those were his future in-laws, he had to impress them.

So he turned away from the door with great reluctance and prowled back into the center of her cramped room. He brightened when he spotted a familiar bouquet, and dropped down to all fours to examine the small flower pot in front of him. Were those his hydrangea? The ones he'd given her on their first date?

He hoped those were his. Because it meant she'd kept them all this time and cared for them to keep them blooming. He smiled at the thought, absently scratching his stubble. Stubble that was starting to feel more like a beard. He needed a shave. Though he probably shouldn't be handling sharp objects right now.

Marinette could give him a shave. He perked up as he imagined the intimacy of the act, how gentle she'd be, and how her hand would run over his jaw to make sure she hadn't missed a spot. Then maybe she'd give him a scratch under his chin, too. Yes. Wonderful idea, he should propose it to her straight away.

But where was she?

For that matter, where was Plagg? They were separated now, he should be here.

"Plagg?" His throat hurt, but that was his voice, his true voice. "Where are you?"

"Ugh." His kwami's noise of grumpy disgust was unmistakable, and Adrien pounced toward it, dispensing with the whole two-legs-thing he was supposed to be doing. Plagg was napping on Marinette's night stand, one eye cracked open to glare at him. "Last night was not cool, Adrien. Do you have any idea how exhausted I am?"

"Sorry," he whispered, and yes, he did have an idea. There was a bone-deep tiredness inside of him, like he'd been drained of everything he was.

Plagg's tail lashed. "Adrien," he said, his voice much more somber than Adrien could remember ever hearing it. "You came really close to something that could not have been undone. Seriously, don't do it again."

Adrien frowned. "Could I have gotten stuck like that forever?"

"Your body? No. That was just my true form overlaid over yours." Plagg sighed and closed his eyes. "But your mind, yes. You don't come back from becoming a predator."

"Oh." Adrien shifted uncomfortably, looking down at himself. He immediately rearranged his limbs, crossing his legs into a lotus seat instead of staying in the cat-like crouch he'd been in. He was… the way he was thinking wasn't normal, was it? Not like he used to think.

"Plagg," he whispered, eyes wide. "What if I'm already a predator?"

Plagg let out a tired laugh. "Well, there's an easy way to test that." He gestured to the table in the corner. "Marinette left you something."

Adrien didn't cross the distance as fast as he wanted to, because he made himself do it on two legs. There was a note, and he snatched it up. It took a moment for the symbols to become words.

Adrien, I'm sorry, so sorry, I had to go to class, I can't miss this one. I love you. I love you. I'll be back soon, and I left you food. Please stay in the room. Or go home if you're feeling better. Just let me know where you are.

PS: I collected your clothes, they're mostly unharmed. There was a small rip in your jeans that I mended. They're on the chair, along with your phone.

He smiled at the note. So sweet, so thoughtful, so Marinette. Who loved him. Loved him still, even though he was fucked in the head. Adrien opened the bag she'd left beside the note, fishing out a pastry, and happily bit into it. Had Marinette made it herself? He hoped so.

"There you go," Plagg said dryly. "Not a predator."

He frowned at the kwami, his mouth too full to ask the question he wanted to.

"What you're experiencing is just aftershock. It will wear off. Although some long-term mental shifts are inevitable for my wielders. Humans and cats are both mammals, there's a lot of mental friction. More than with, say, birds or insects." He sighed. "But if you were truly a predator, you wouldn't be eating that sugary abomination. Nothing less than blood and flesh would satisfy you." He paused. "Or cheese."

Adrien nodded. He had ramped up his meat consumption since returning to Paris. He had even joked about it with Marinette on one of their dates when he'd noticed she kept picking the vegetarian options while he kept devouring steaks. But his love for protein was still a long way away from being able to compete with his sweet tooth.

Relieved, he licked the frosting from his fingers, savoring the sugar high. For a moment he was tempted to keep going, clean the back of his hand, too, but – that was wrong. Think human thoughts.

He'd never struggled with being human before putting on that ring! This was all Plagg's fault! The kwami had really no business looking this amused. Adrien suppressed a hiss and looked around for the chair Marinette's note had spoken of.

Clothes. That was what he'd been forgetting. He'd feel much more human once he was dressed, yes. Trade fur for fabric. Not that he'd ever gone so far as to grow fur but… metaphorically speaking.

Could he grow fur? Did he want to know? He assigned Future Adrien to deal with these questions and put them out of his mind.

He slid into his clothes like a second skin and sighed in relief. Yes. Much better already.

Adrien picked up his phone, glancing at the alert. Stupid cryptic symbols kept slipping out of his mind, but he was able to decipher them because nothing escaped him for long.

Nino: Hey man, could you come over this evening?

Nino: I have something important I need to talk to you about

Nino: REALLY important

Hm.

His gaze slid to the clock. Four in the afternoon. He'd slept the day away, and evening was approaching fast.

He didn't want to turn his best friend down. Nino never failed to help Adrien, but he rarely ever asked him for anything in return. So if Nino said this was important, then Adrien had to be there. Their friendship still seemed fragile, like one misstep could undo their recent progress. Adrien couldn't afford to miss opportunities like this.

Adrien: bee tehre at 7

He squinted. That wasn't right.

Adrien: Be their at 7

Much better. He hit Send.

Surely three hours were enough to remember how to be human?

He would take the ring off, just in case. That always made it easier.

Marinette ran up the stairs, throwing open the door to her room.

Her empty room.

Swallowing her worry, she glanced around for clues where Chat might have gone. He'd found her provisions, his clothes, and – she snatched up the letter she'd left him.

And squinted at the utterly unintelligible scrawl he'd written below it.

Marinette was able to make out 'love', 'meddow', 'best freind' and 'imPURRtant' (next to a winking cat face he had clearly spent a lot of time detailing) before she gave up and reached for her phone.

Adrien was not surprised when it turned out Marinette had not been able to decipher the delirious scribbles he'd left behind for her.

Marinette: where did you go?

Adrien: Nino's asked me to come over for something important.

His thumb danced easily on the touch screen as he composed the answering message. Three hours was not quite enough to feel fully human again, but it went a long way toward restoring muscle memory.

Marinette: okay

Marinette: don't scare me like this

Adrien: I'm sorry you had to see that last night.

Adrien: I'll explain everything soon, I promise.

How? How was he going to explain this?

My Not-Ex likes another guy better than she ever liked me and that upset me.

In a life that consisted of a series of lows, that had to be the lowest one yet. He had dealt with so much shit, yet something that petty sent him tumbling over the edge?

And then he'd dragged his ridiculous issues to Marinette's doorstep, expecting her to do something to make him feel better. Amazingly, she had done just that, working that soothing magic of hers. But Adrien had scared her, he remembered that much.

Marinette: not what I meant

Marinette: I'm glad you came to me, Chat Noir

He squeezed his eyes shut, blinking before reading it again to make sure he was doing it right.

Marinette: I love you so much

He should be reassuring her, considering the way he'd ambushed her. He should be on his knees groveling for forgiveness. For one thing, he was pretty sure he'd bitten her more than once in his frenzy. Not gentle love nibbles, but sinking teeth into her neck with the intent of holding her in place. It had made sense at the time, the reasoning sound, because as long as he kept doing that, she couldn't leave.

Adrien: I love you, too.

Marinette: are you feeling better?

Adrien: Yes. Back to normal.

Adrien: Thanks to you.

Adrien: I'll make this up to you, I promise.

Adrien: I don't remember everything I did last night.

Adrien: But you won't have to put up with it again.

Adrien: I'm still the same guy, okay?

Marinette: I know

Marinette: your wild side doesn't scare me, kitty

Marinette: looked a bit scary at first

Marinette: but cuddling cleared that right up

Marinette: you were sweet :)

Maybe she really would accept all of him. And then Chat Noir could finally get someone who'd scratch him behind his ears while he purred as much as he liked. Adrien had a strong hunch that it would be the most amazing feeling. It just hadn't felt right to ask Alya, it was way too intimate for that.

Adrien: I don't know what I did to deserve you.

He didn't. Adrien absolutely did not deserve this woman.

Her reaction made it clear that she was wildly out of his league. While he struggled to stay loyal, she was utterly devoted to the point of letting a beast scare her and paw at her without complaint. Then reassured it afterward that she still loved it.

And this beast was selfish enough to take it.

Marinette didn't answer as promptly as she did before, though the three dots gave away that she was composing a message. When she finally answered, it was short, as if she'd erased what she'd written.

Marinette: I'm the lucky one here, not you

Adrien: I should argue with that, but your delusion works out in my favor, so I won't.

Adrien: I've got to put the phone away now.

Adrien: But I'll come back soon, and we'll talk, okay?

Marinette: ok

Marinette: I love you, my stray.

Marinette: …

Marinette: so many hints

Marinette: I'm sorry for being stupid.

Adrien: Don't insult the woman I love.

Adrien: I have magic that prevents people from getting hints.

Adrien: As I said, I'll explain.

Adrien sent one last heart emoji before sliding the phone into his pocket. Then he raised his hand to knock on his best friend's door.

Nino opened it at once.

Hello, human friend. It is I, Adrien Agreste, also a fellow human who is definitely not a cat in a human skin suit.

"Hi, Nino," he said instead, like a sane person.

"Hey, Adrien." Nino was smiling at him, too, and it seemed equally strained. "Come on in, man. Glad you could make it."

"Sure thing, anytime. You did say it was important." He felt himself relax as he stepped over the threshold, nerves dissipating. It was Nino, and Nino would take any residual weirdness in stride. "You even used all caps. I could hardly ignore the all caps, could I?"

"See, this is why you're my first choice. Alya has no problem with ignoring my all caps."

Adrien tilted his head. First choice for what? But his heightened senses caught something in Nino's voice, a hitch that wasn't normally there. So instead, he asked, "Everything okay, man?"

"Yeah, fine, fine." He frowned as he closed the door. "No, you know what, not fine. Alya and I had a fight. It's going to be okay though. I'll make it okay."

Yes! This was it! Nino was coming to Adrien for help! He tried not let his burst of glee show, keeping his expression somber. "What happened, man?"

"She caught me in a lie, and…" He sighed. "Assumed the worst."

Adrien nodded sympathetically. "She does have a tendency to jump to conclusions."

"The thing is, she's not… wrong. Per se. I have been keeping a secret." Nino cast him a sidelong glance. "That's actually the reason why I invited you here. I have something to tell you. And an offer that goes along with it."

Adrien arched an eyebrow and Nino gestured for him to follow into the living room. "Well, I'm intrigued," he said when it was clear that Nino intended to make this reveal dramatic. "Masterful use of suspense. Film school paid off. We're missing a soundtrack though."

Nino laughed under his breath, and Adrien patted himself on the back for being a good friend, being able to cheer him up at a time like this. "That can be arranged, you know."

"No, don't draw this out. I've been wondering what this is about for hours now." Well, mostly. When he'd been able to think clearly. Still, walking the streets of Paris – on two legs – and spending the time people-watching had mostly returned his thought patterns to normal. At least, he thought so. It was difficult to judge since cat thoughts had a rather unfair habit of disguising themselves as sane ones.

But he was here, clothed, on two legs, and with a reasonable grasp on his vocabulary. It couldn't be that bad.

As long as no one busted out a laser pointer, he'd be fine.

Plus, he had already deduced a reasonable explanation that had him vibrating with excitement. Logic was beyond cats, but not beyond him.

Nino's keeping a secret from Alya.

He called me first choice.

Adrien tried not to grin.

Don't get your hopes up. It might not mean Best Man.

Groomsman would be perfectly adequate. Wonderful, even. Probably more than he'd have gotten this time last year.

But Adrien really wanted it to be Best Man.

"So you seem to be in a good mood," Nino commented as they sat down at the main table.

Play it cool. "I had a good night." He could not help the affectionate smile that played at the corners of his lips. "Well, actually it started as an awful night, but Marinette…" He cleared his throat. "Sorry. Not the time."

Nino arched an eyebrow. "She spent the night with you?"

"Well, more the other way around, but yeah. Why?"

"Nothing, just surprised. She didn't have that great of an evening either." Adrien frowned, but Nino shrugged and smiled. "I'm glad you were able to cheer each other up."

Was she cheered up? Or had Adrien added to her problems? He shifted his weight, trying to resist going over his somewhat hazy memories of the night with a fine-toothed comb to figure out how she felt. That could wait, he was here for Nino.

"Enough about me, back to you. And your secret." Adrien infused the word with as much ominousness as he could muster. Nino rolled his eyes, smile widening into a grin.

"I think you're going to like this one, Adrien. It's the kind of secret boyhood dreams are made of."

Keeping his expression curious, Adrien grew more certain of his guess. Sure, not that many men would admit to dreaming about their marriage as children, but Adrien understood, though he knew better than to voice it in most male company.

"There's hoverboards, man."

What? Since when? If that was an option, Adrien was definitely adding them to his own wedding. Hopefully soon. Focus.

Nino reached into his pocket to pull out a small jewelry box. The ring. Called it!

But when he set it on the table, Adrien's eyes widened at the intricate and familiar red pattern painted atop the otherwise plain black box.

"Adrien. How would you like to become a superhero?"

A glamor broke.

No.

Please, no.

Anyone but you.