Chat cradled Multimouse as what she had said started to register. The words repeating in his head.

"It's for his son..he's doing it for Adrien..."

"...doing it for Adrien..."

"...for Adrien..."

Chat felt sick.

What on earth could terrorising Paris do for him? He was Chat Noir, he had been battling his father's Akumas since day one, what on earth was this twisted fate playing at?

Doing it for 'his son' would never be a good enough reason.

What type of father pays so little attention to their child, spends hours away from and practically ignores his only son's existence? He was only interested in Adrien when it came to appearances. He was only interested in 'his son' when it came to him as an employee. Or at least that was how it felt.

The seemingly calmer young lady lay in his arms, clutching at his chest and biceps as if he may disappear at any moment.

This was love.

It might not have been the type of love he wanted from her but it was love all the same. A platonic love. The love you would have for your best friend. He loved her, undoubtedly and unconditionally. He had been hurt by her not trusting him, but he would forgive her over and over again. He wanted to always be next to her. Marinette, Multimouse, Ladybug, whatever she would be called by others, she would always be his princess, his lady. His Marinette. If she never loved him the way he loved her, that would be ok, as long as she was in his life, he did not care.

She, was his centre.

The person who his heart beat for, the person who had saved his life, as he had hers, multiple times. She was the reason Plagg teased him. Marinette was the one he felt safe with, Ladybug was the one he looked forward to seeing on their regular patrols. They were a team, and now she was begging him for forgiveness. Asking him not to leave her, saying that she had made a terrible mistake. That she would stay, just for him. She was the one crumbling in his arms after he had left her, even though it was his father who had become the figure of all evil in Paris. He was staying strong for her.

After everything he thought, after everything he believed, she was joining up with Hawkmoth, their sworn enemy, for him.

"There must be a reason."

He brushed her hair, hoping for a response as her still watery eyes looked up to him.

Biting on her lower lip, she shifted position to look directly at him, but never did she relinquish her hold on him.

"Chat," her eyes flickered around as if trying to think how best to say the next words. "You know who Adrien is, don't you."

Chat needed to suppress his wince, he was not ready to expose that he, Chat Noir, was in fact the son of Hawkmoth. Would she think he knew? No, of course she would not. The want to not throw anymore unexpected surprises or reactions between them though kept him quiet. He would tell her, he just needed them to have this conversation, without that knowledge available.

"I do." He answered quietly.

"He wants to bring his-"

Multimouse lost her nerve as her communicator sounded out. They both looked at her rope.

Chat's voice cracked, "ca-n you tell me, be-before you answer that."

She looked alarmedly between Chat and her communicator. "Chat, he, right now, he is the only other person with a Miraculous bar us."

The girl lying in his lap suddenly became the girl sitting in his crossed legs. There was no way she would make it easy for him to leave unexpectedly.

"What if it's important?" Multimouse panicked, "what if it's Adrien?" She looked at her rope handle in her hand, hesitant to open it. "What if he's found out? What if he thinks I betrayed him too," she turned back to look at Chat over her shoulder, her blood shot eyes full of woe. "Like you do."

"I know you didn't mean to, and he will too," he brushed her hair behind her ear in a delicate fashion. She looked down ashamed. "Why have you taken your pigtails out?"

Looking back to the rope handle communicator, she answered easily, "I only put them back in because Kim doesn't want anyone to think bad of me because of the risqué way I was dressed today." She let out a hollow chuckled and wiped her face. "When you saw me I was normal, I guess," she shrugged, "I just fancied a change for a bit."

She was still looking with conflicted features at the communicator, still perched on Chat. The black clad hero wrapped his arms around her waist. "Find out what he wants, but promise me you will not go alone to see him."

She nodded and leant back onto him, it was strange how this whole series of events had brought them so much closer together. As ladybug, Marinette would never have been like this with Chat, yet nothing had really changed. It was as if the friend she was to him outside of the mask allowed the professional wall she had implemented between them as heroes to melt away. Honestly, she was glad.

She opened up her device and saw she had a voice message, Gabriel's voice came out strained.

"I need you to come here please, Adrien has gone and I'm worried about him. TIkki suggested I try your mobile but I could not get through. Please come back so we can regroup and figure out how to tell him." She heard a deep sigh on the other end of the call. "If you are with Chat Noir, please bring him too, if you have not already told him the reasonings, I would like to explain to him as I did to you."

Multimouse closed the contraption and held it loosely in her lap with a long drawn out sigh, "Kitty, I am sorry."

"What for?" He whispered, trying to keep it together, although internally he was falling apart.

Multimouse shook her head, "the feelings I have for Adrien have blinded my feelings for you-"

Chat froze.

"-it wasn't until I thought we would never be a team again that I realised I love you, I was willing to leave…" her breath caught as she let out a sigh. "But I don't want to leave you."

Chat was astonished. Marinette had always been his awkward friend. Less awkward and would probably count as his best friend in recent months, but still his friend. That was all she had ever referred to him as: 'My good friend', 'my amazing friend', 'a friend I could not imagine getting through this without', but still, just a friend.

But she does not want to leave him. Multimouse, Marinette, his lady, had just said that she loves him. All this time he had been battling for her affections, against himself. He cursed the irony of it all and found the whole situation rather over whelming. All he wanted to do was kiss her senseless, but the gravity of the reality surrounding them hindered him from doing so.

He whispered, "then don't," and rested his chin on her shoulder. "you know that I love you."

Kim had told Adrien about the meeting Marinette was having with his father. He told him with the hopes Adrien could get her to stay and take the offer. However, it was Chat that she did not want to leave.

When he had returned home, and Nathalie had confirmed his father was in a meeting, Adrien quickly transformed in the confines of his bedroom and made his way to the window of his father's office. He had not heard much, but he had surmised by the Kwami present in the room that they were not talking about dresses. That had been all the information he gathered before bounding off, full of many emotions, waiting for her to emerge from the mansion.

"Stay with me, and we can work this all out together." He held her tighter to apply emphasis to his words. "If you think Hawkmoth has good intentions, and we can stop Akumas from ruining our city, then I trust you."

"I'm sorry for not talking this through with you-"

He let out a low 'shh' to stop her from apologising again, "let's go and see what we can do to help Hawkmoth, and then we can talk about how you can make it up to me." By the end of his instructions, Multimouse could hear the smile playing on his lips.

She rolled her eyes playfully, "what did I do to deserve a partner like you!" She exclaimed, turning and placing a small peck on his cheek, a blush spreading over his astonished face. "Come on," she got up and held out both of her hands to her partner, "let's go Kitty."

"As you wish," Chat took her hands and allowed her to pull him up. Kissing her on the back of the hand he finished off with his signature wink, "M'Lady."

I've been so busy since this afternoon! I'm sorry but the updates I was planning have not been possible, still, here is another chapter and more will be on the way once work has quietened down.

Let me know your thoughts on how this went, did it go as you expected? Better…*gulps* worse?

Thank you for the reviews, follows and faves =) you lovely people!

Take it easy.

Lady Rhi X