There wasn't a single sound in the alleyway except for Chat Noir and Marinette's echoing footsteps.

Actually, the designer took that back. Because Chat Noir was a skilled thief, he barely made any noise at all as he walked. This only made Marinette become even more acutely aware of how unnaturally loud her own footsteps were. Each clanging step made her wince.

Unable to take the silence anymore and not wanting Chat Noir to be on bad terms with her, she took a deep breath and blurted, "I-I'm so sorry!"

Chat Noir barely slowed his pace as he continued down the path, but he glanced back at her, his piercing green eyes softening just a little. "Not here," he muttered. "Is there a private place around here where we can talk?"

She tipped her head to one side, thinking about it for a long while before finally suggesting in a small voice, "W-We can go to my place?"

He hesitated for a moment before he nodded, then dropped down to his knees in front of her. "Hop on."

She didn't want to trouble Chat Noir even further by making him carry her, but she didn't want to argue with him, either. She nervously climbed onto his back. "Hang on tight," he grunted, and then he had leapt for the roof of the closest building before she could open her mouth to speak.

Marinette couldn't help but admire how nimble he was even while he carried her on his back. He darted from chimney to chimney, hiding behind them and making sure the cost was clear before running for the next. He leapt over each roof with no hesitation in his steps, expertly using his baton to pounce high into the sky. He didn't even seem to be bothered by the darkness shrouding them.

Her familiar balcony came into view in no time at all, and he cleared the railing with practiced ease. She couldn't believe that he had taken not even half the time it had took her to reach L'Akuma. She breathed a sigh of relief as he lifted the trapdoor open and landed in her room, grateful to finally be back in her safe haven.

Without warning, he dropped her onto her bed, making her squeak in surprise as she landed on the soft surface. She pouted at him, but he didn't seem to notice, instead turning to close the trapdoor

As soon as Chat Noir had finished the task, he approached her bed, leaning one arm against the wall behind her and trapping Marinette between him and the wall. "What the hell were you thinking, going to someplace like that? Don't you know how dangerous that was?" he demanded, a furious fire flashing in his apple green eyes as he spoke. "If I hadn't gotten there in time...that bastard would have..." he trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

Marinette's heart soared at the concern evident in his voice. She still couldn't fully wrap her head around the fact that he truly did care for her, too. Before Marinette could find the right words to speak, he suddenly pulled her off the bed into a hug so tight that her breath was knocked away. But she found that she didn't mind, not one bit.

As Marinette became enveloped in his warmth, she realized that she never wanted him to let go. She had never felt safer than when she was in his arms, wrapped in his familiar, comforting scent. She wished they could stay like this forever, not having to worry about Hawk Moth, or the police, or anything else for that matter... but of course this wouldn't be the case.

"I'm sorry for making you worried," she whispered, ducking her head guiltily. "I...I only wanted to help you. But I hate how every time I try to do anything, I only make things worse!" She was unable to hide the frustration in her voice.

Chat Noir shook his head, almost growling out his next words. "Didn't I tell you not to put yourself in danger for a lowly thief like me?"

"Don't ever say that about yourself!" Marinette protested at once. It was her turn to feel upset - she had no idea that Chat Noir would think of himself like that, and she hated that that was how he felt about himself. How could she make him see what an amazing, wonderful person he was?

"Don't think that you're a low person. You're one of the kindest people I've ever met," she began, raising her voice in the heat of the moment. "You care about others and their safety. You saved me, not just once, but so many times. You...you kept your promise from all those years ago. That's why I've always wanted to help you in return, Chat Noir. And...that's why I never stopped loving you," she whispered the last words, so softly that she didn't know if he had actually heard her. Perhaps it would be better if he didn't know her true feelings for him. But she couldn't stop herself, not when she was falling for him, harder and harder every day.

He inhaled sharply, his actions telling her that he had heard. She nervously lifted her head to meet his gaze, desperately wanting to know what he was thinking. The expression on his face made her breath catch and her heart start to pound faster and faster.

Chat Noir was gazing at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of wonder, love, happiness, and worry all at once. The last thing he expected was for someone as kind and caring as Marinette to love him. But he had to admit that in the moment she confessed to him, he felt like the happiest man on earth because she returned his feelings and loved him as much as he cared for her.

But what he was most conflicted about was that he was scared his feelings would put her at risk, and bring danger that could be even worse than what they had faced so far. Because everyone he once loved was gone - his mother had passed away, and his father had locked himself in his room, never having time for anything besides his work. Chat Noir didn't know what he would do if he put Marinette in danger and lost her, too. But...Was it really okay for him to be loved by someone so kindhearted and pure?

"But I'm a thief," he countered, using the last ounce of self control he still carried to push her away. If he didn't, he knew there would be no turning back, not when she looked so adorable and desirable, sitting on her bed and defending him so passionately. "You don't really know who I am behind my mask."

"I don't care about that," she insisted stubbornly. It would be nice to know who he really was, but she knew that he would tell her when he was ready. She would resort to waiting if that was what it took. "The person I love is you, Chat Noir. With or without the mask."

You should give her a chance, Master Fu had told him once. And that was when he decided that she was too precious for him to push away. He wanted desperately to be with her, and he knew if he missed this chance, he would never love anyone else as much as he loved Marinette. With his mind made up, he reached forward, tilting her chin up with a long, clawed finger.

Marinette trembled in anticipation, automatically closing her eyes when she felt a featherlight touch under her chin. That was all the invitation he needed before he closed the distance between them and eagerly crushed his lips onto hers.

She could feel his passion and desire burning through their kiss, both of them having bottled up their feelings for a long, long time. Every bottled up emotion was released at once, and she had never felt anything so intense, so powerful...

She let out a moan, blushing when she made such an embarrassing noise. He chuckled against her lips, as though wordlessly telling her that he didn't mind. In response, she parted her lips, eager for more. She made another noise of satisfaction as his tongue slid in and bumped against her own, sending a pleasant shiver up her spine. Their mouths moved together hungrily, eager to drink in as much of each other as possible. She could never get enough of the feeling of his lips against hers.

Abruptly, Chat Noir ended the kiss and pulled away with a wary look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Marinette asked, wishing that he hadn't ended the moment so soon.

"Your parents," he hissed, nodding in the direction of the door.

Her eyes widened in surprise. Sure enough, she could hear them climbing up the stairs. She groaned inwardly, burying her face between her hands. Why hadn't she heard anything earlier!? She felt as if her cheeks were on fire when she realized that she had been so lost in their kiss that she hadn't noticed anything else...

She wanted to die as she awkwardly danced in the same spot and desperately tried to figure out what to do next. "Quick, hide!" she whispered-yelled, ignoring the amused look on Chat Noir's face as she mustered up all the strength she possessed and pushed him into her closet. She managed to slam the door shut just as her parents' heads popped up through the trapdoor.

"You alright, dear?" Sabine called up to her, a slight frown forming on her face when she saw Marinette standing weirdly in front of her closet with her body pressed against the door and her arms outstretched. Her cheeks were no doubt turning as red as a tomato.

"We heard some noises so we wanted to check on you," Tom explained innocently, exchanging a glance with her Maman.

"Oh, uh, just trying a new yoga trend!" Marinette lied, saying the first thing that popped into her mind. She almost wanted to kick herself. Yoga, really? What the hell was she thinking?

But just when she was thinking that things couldn't possibly turn any worse, a loud shuffling noise suddenly came from within the closet. It sounded like Chat Noir was having the time of his life in there while she was inwardly dying of embarrassment. She froze, wanting nothing more than to bury herself into a hole and die. Why, oh why did all the terrible things have to happen to her?

"What's that sound?" Sabine asked, now sounding more concerned as she made a move towards the cursed closet.

"Er, t-that must be Plagg! I was just wondering where he had disappeared to," the designer giggled nervously. She swept her eyes around her room, thanking the gods when Plagg had chosen that moment to hide somewhere. If her parents found out that it wasn't Plagg who was hiding in her closet, but Paris's number one thief Chat Noir...no doubt they would report him (and possibly her, too, for being his accomplice) to the police faster than anyone could say 'mouse'. She definitely couldn't have that.

"Well...if you say so," Tom said, raising an eyebrow at her. "Nice outfit, by the way!"

"Oh, er, thank you," she stammered, completely forgetting that she was still wearing her ladybug outfit. She hastily untied the mask and tossed it onto her bed in an attempt to hide it - not that it really did anything. "It's for a-a project that I'm working on with Alya. Y-yeah, that's it. But everything is good! Absolutely fine!" She made a mental note to tell Alya about it later, in case her parents decided to question her best friend.

Sabine smiled sweetly at her daughter. "We just wanted to make sure that everything's okay. If you're sure, we'll leave you to it. Love you, sweetie!"

"Love you too! Okay, bye!" she hastily ushered them out of the room. She hated the thought of lying to her beloved parents, but this was something that couldn't be helped if she wanted to protect Chat Noir. She turned to glare at her closet to find that said thief was now innocently letting himself out, acting as though nothing had happened. The amused smirk on his face showed otherwise, though.

"You! What was that for?" she glowered at him, though she couldn't really stay mad at him for too long. Not that she would ever tell him that, though. "I was doing you a favor by hiding you in there, Mr. Thief, but what do you do to thank me instead, huh? You almost got me into trouble!"

He openly burst out laughing, his twinkling laugh sounding like music to Marinette's ears. "Sorry, sorry," he said quickly, giving her a smirk as he leaned closer towards her. "It's just...you look so cute when you're all ruffled up like that, Purrincess."

Marinette's face flushed even redder if that was possible. She couldn't believe one flirty comment from the thief could make her react this way. "Okay, that's it! I'm never telling you my feelings again!" she pouted, albeit only half-jokingly. But she forgave him almost immediately when he leaned in to kiss her on the tip of her nose.

Suddenly, she froze when she heard a soft tapping come from the ceiling trapdoor. She exchanged a glance with Chat Noir, a puzzled expression etched on her delicate features. Who would be at her door at this time of night? And not to mention they were coming in from the ceiling - what normal person (besides Chat Noir, but he doesn't count) would enter someone's house through the ceiling like that?

"That must be the old bastard," Chat Noir muttered with a roll of his eyes. Marinette realized who he was referring to just as the door opened and a figure appeared in front of them.

Her eyes bulged as she witnessed Mr. Fu climbing down her stairs into her room in the middle of the night. That was the last thing she would ever think would be possible, but here he was, now sitting cross-legged on her floor and looking bemusedly between the thief and the designer. Having Chat Noir in her room was one thing...but Mr. Fu? Her night was definitely getting weirder and weirder.

"Did I miss anything?" the old man asked, a too-innocent expression plastered across his face.

Marinette sneaked a glance at Chat Noir, wondering if she should say anything about the change in their relationship to Mr. Fu. But another, more pressing question was currently dancing on her mind. "How did you get in here?" she blurted, unable to hide the curiosity in her voice as she stared at him.

"I may be getting old, but don't forget that I was once a thief, too," he answered with a laugh.

Of course, how could she forget? Marinette knew he was Chat Noir's mentor, the one who had guided him to become the skilled thief he was today. It shouldn't be a surprise that he would be more than capable to pull crazy stunts like this. Still...she would have to install a better lock on her door to prevent any other unwanted thieves from barging into her room. And maybe give copies of her key to Chat Noir and Mr. Fu while she was at it, so hopefully they wouldn't give her any surprises in the future...

Chat Noir cast his mentor a furious glare. "Perfect timing, old man. I was just about to find you and give you an earful, but you saved me the trouble. What the hell were you thinking, sending Marinette to that damn bar when you knew full well how dangerous it would be?"

"I trusted that she would succeed," Mr. Fu replied, his eyes twinkling. "And she is safe, is she not?"

"Only because I was there!" Paris's number one thief growled. Marinette could've melted in happiness because he was showing so much concern for her. "But what if I hadn't been?"

"That was part of my plan, too. I knew you would protect her if she were in trouble. That is why I told you she would be there," Mr. Fu went on, sounding ridiculously pleased with himself.

Marinette glanced between them, her mouth turning into a surprised 'o' at their exchange. That would explain how Chat Noir knew where to find her. "A-anyways!" she interrupted, not wanting the topic of her safety to cause an argument between the old friends. "I got the evidence you wanted, Mr. Fu!"

As she revealed her findings to them, she couldn't help but think how bizarre her current situation was. If anyone told her that she would one day participate in a strategic meeting with two infamous thieves - in the middle of her bedroom no less - to plot how to overthrow a third thief, she would have told them that they were out of their mind. But here she was, doing precisely just that, with Chat Noir and Mr. Fu both sitting on the floor in the middle of her room.

And she wouldn't exchange this for the world.

She quickly reached for her phone and scrolled through until she found the recording she had managed to make earlier that night. She turned her phone's speakers on and pressed the play button so the two thieves could hear the evidence she had obtained.

"Oh, I know he won't. Chat Noir is smarter than that," Volpina's voice rang out from her phone.

Chat Noir made a face as he recognized her voice, but he didn't comment as he intently listened to the recording. Marinette quickly fast-forwarded the conversation until it reached the appropriate segment. She didn't fancy having Chat Noir hear the part where Volpina declared that she would make him hers.

As the Bubbler's voice sounded next, Marinette couldn't help but shiver again as she was reminded of her kidnapping. A warm arm casually draped over her shoulders, and she scooted a little closer to Chat Noir, grateful for his comforting presence.

"I don't know the details, but it seems like my boss had something to do with Copycat's murder," the Bubbler's boasting voice sounded. "It won't be long before he destroys Chat Noir. That'll teach him for not partnering with the boss when he had the chance."

"Dammit!" Chat Noir threw his fist into the ground in frustration as soon as the recording was over. "I was right. I knew it was him."

"Were you partners with Hawk Moth before?" Marinette wondered, turning her concerned bluebell eyes in his direction.

Chat Noir's scowl deepened, telling her that this was clearly a memory that he didn't want to remember. "We weren't exactly partners. He offered me the chance to partner with him, but I refused. That was why he tried to kill me all those years ago," he added, referring to the night when Marinette had saved his life.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. I didn't know..." Marinette murmured, reaching for his hand with her own and squeezing it tightly. She didn't know how awful Chat Noir's past had been, but hearing it from him was especially painful. But she wanted to tell him that she was here for him now.

"It's not your fault," he reassured her, his gaze softening. "I didn't want to tell you back then because you were young. But now, since you're involved, I'd rather you hear it from me and not from that damn moth."

"Thank you for telling me, Chat Noir," she murmured gratefully. She knew how much he had avoided telling her about his past to keep her from getting involved with him. But now that she had voluntarily become entangled with his life, she wanted to know more about him.

Mr. Fu coughed loudly, making the two both look up at him with matching annoyed expressions on their faces. "That's very sweet and all, but we still have to figure out our next plan of attack, you know. The police won't rest until they lock someone behind bars."

"I know," Chat Noir smirked. "And we'll give them exactly what they want."

"We will?" Marinette asked.

"Oh, I have just the plan." A Cheshire grin stretched across Chat Noir's face as he rubbed his leathered hands together in anticipation. He pulled the three together, eager to set his plan into motion...

A/N: I'm so glad everyone liked the last chapter! Hope you like this one (and the Marichat moments hehe) too! /wink

Fun fact: The scene where Marinette hides Chat Noir in the closet is a reference to the anime Bleach! Not sure if anyone caught it but hope you like the fun moments in the chapter~

A macaron for your thoughts? :P I truly appreciate everyone for all your love and reviews for the story so far!

Next chapter preview - Chat Noir puts his plan into action. Marinette goes back to school, but she can't get a certain kitty out of her mind...