Chapter 2

It couldn't have been past three o'clock in the morning, at least that's what she thought when she first woke up to go to the bathroom and stole a glance outside at the dark night sky.

Marinette paused in her hallway to listen for any disturbances.

It was quiet.

Almost too quiet.

Marinette raised herself on her toes, as silently as possible making her way towards her living room, where she'd left the criminal to his temporary sleeping space.

Her accelerated heart beat calmed when she spotted his silhouette covered by the blanket, moving slightly in tandem with his breathing. He was still there.

Good.

She stood there in the doorway, her hand curling into a fist, her voice barely above a whisper disturbing the silence of the night, "I know you did it, but I don't have any proof yet. Once I do, you'll end up in the cell." She turned around to head back to her room, "You're nothing but a murderer, after all."

She failed to notice the green eyes staring into nothingness, fists curled and trembling beneath the pillow under his head.

Once she laid down on her bed, she tried to let sleep claim her again, but it proved difficult. She thought about the case, about everything they had so far.

Murders, thievery, arson, multiple identity thefts and forgeries, among some accounts of apparent prostitution done by criminal groups said to be associated with Chat Noir's organization.

The network was said to have spread in several cities, perhaps even countries. Perhaps Chat Noir's influence and power was greater than any of them realized, he was a wanted criminal for well over seven years. That was when the police first took notice of a series of crimes that were related, it could've been even longer since he was active.

Marinette sighed, shutting her eyes tightly closed and settling onto her back until a sudden icy sensation caused her entire body to still. The air shifted, why, she didn't know.

Tiny, pinprick needles seemed to stab every pore of her skin, her blood seemed almost frozen in her veins and the sheen of cold sweat spread out over the entirety of her body.

Something wasn't right.

When she opened her eyes, Marinette was petrified.

Toxic almost glowing green eyes stared unblinkingly into her own from above, something menacing in the way the slit pupils dilated, like a feline predator staring into the horrorstricken eyes of its prey.

Marinette tried to scream, but a gloved hand, tipped with sharp claws, settled over her mouth firmly, so tightly she couldn't breathe. Her body barely responded to her commands, she kicked, swung her arms wildly to no avail. The man remained seated atop her, each futile movement deflected like a fly and Chat Noir used more strength to press down against her mouth, nearly crushing her teeth with his hand alone.

Panic washed over her senses, her heart beating wildly as she tried to claw at his arm and get him away but all it managed to do was bring a grin to his face.

A wide, unsettling grin. All teeth. Sadistic. Cruel.

The look of a killer.

She began to feel dizzy, the lack of oxygen to her brain started made her movements frenzied and sloppy, the criminal atop her wasn't disturbed in the least, he calmly watched the fight slowly leave her, wild, unfocused pupils finally trained on his cold, sadistic form.

She felt the sharp claws run down her side harshly, like hot blades cutting through butter, deeply and easily, drawing blood, but all she felt was cold, so, so cold.

What…

No…

How did…how did he remove…the handcuffs…

Why…why was she…so weak…did…did-was she drugged?

Nausea spread over her entire being, she felt encased in ice as the gaze of her killer rooted into her mind.

Those cold, menacing green eyes…

"Sweet dreams, princess."

Marinette's eyes widened.

No!

N-

Marinette jumped, body lurching forward, eyes wide and unfocused as they scanned her entire room for any sign of the shadowy demon from her nightmares.

She touched her face and sides, blindly checking for the bloody wound. Her skin was smooth, unmarred.

She was safe.

Marinette clutched desperately at her speeding heart, taking deep, measured breaths.

Was that all a dream? She wasn't afraid of the criminal sleeping on her couch, why would she be?

Marinette ran her hands down her face, the insistent buzzing of her phone only now registered.

Just who in their right mind called so early in the-

They were all from Alya.

"Girl!"

"Giiiirrl! Answer your damn phone!"

"Are you alive!? Marinette!"

"Did Chat Noir do anything to you?! Oh my god, did you do anything to him?! You know you need him alive for the investigation, right? MARINETTE DUPAINCHENG!"

All were sent within a few second time difference of six in the morning.

Now it was 6:30am.

Alya was going to have a fit.

Hastily, Marinette's still shaky fingers typed a quick reply.

"Hey, Alya. I'm fine, sorry I didn't answer, slept in. Be there soon."

Sent.

The dark-haired woman sighed, running a hand down her face and through her hair before she took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself to confront the demon in the next room.

He was a criminal, despite what she said, she had to be wary.

Stretching and quickly hopping out of bed, she quickly changed into her work clothes, buttoning up her dress shirt and throwing on her dark blue blazer.

Grabbing her shoulder and thigh holsters, she quickly adjusted them on herself before opening her door cautiously, memories from her dream – nightmare – in the back of her mind.

The living room was still dark, the blinds pulled down so sunlight didn't immediately blind her when she came in.

When Marinette turned to the right, expecting to see the still sleeping form of the criminal she was housing, her blood ran cold.

It was empty.

The couch was empty.

Blankets strewn about, no sign of Chat Noir.

Just where could he-

"Gah!" a sudden force slammed into her side and her feet cleanly left the floor, body colliding straight into the armrest of the couch, a pained cry leaving her lips before her hands automatically moved to grab onto her guns.

Two hard strikes from claw-tipped hands easily disarmed her, dual guns sliding far away from her on the floor.

Marinette blinked rapidly, trying to gather her bearings when she felt painful pressure applied to her captured wrist, a dark voice promising pain whispering into her ear, "Good morning, lieutenant."

That mangy cat!

Fueled by anger and adrenaline, Marinette quickly struck her leg out, relief washing over her when it struck him in the stomach, a sharp cough reaching her ears before she used the armrest to gain momentum, headbutting him harshly.

Chat Noir stumbled backwards, holding his head when she advanced on him, elbow successfully hitting the side of his head. She yelped in surprise when she was thrown off by the forceful shove of his legs, his weight holding her body down onto the floor.

The sight of a wide awake, glaring Chat Noir making the nightmare come back to her, "You're fast." His comment made her want to punch him, it just oozed with mockery and some sick glee from their brawl.

"And you're in a breach of protocol, do you want to be sent to prison that badly?" she grit her teeth, the sting of pain from her side reminding her of the damage she sustained and made her acutely aware that her weapons were out of reach.

Marinette's gaze briefly flickered to the chain still around Chat Noir's hands and that's when he lunged.

His hands went for her neck first, just like a lion to its prey, but Marinette crossed her arms and pushed his hands away, shoving against his chest and raising her leg behind him, just barely making contact with the back of his skull, but that was enough to daze him just a bit.

She quickly shoved him off her, staggering to crawl over his lap and to her discarded gun.

Marinette was proficient enough in hand to hand combat, what she didn't see coming was his incredible speed and agility that far surpassed anyone she'd ever seen move.

She was fast, but Chat Noir was faster.

She felt more than saw his body slip out from beneath her weight and felt the full brunt of his harsh body tackle on her back, clawed gloves grabbing her stretched arm, fingers just shy of grabbing the barrel of her weapon.

"Oh no, you don't." his hiss rang sharply in her ears when she elbowed him again and Marinette released a short cry when he roughly slammed her elbow down on the floor next to her head, effectively rendering one of her arms useless.

"…Well, well, well, who would've thought. The purrincess knows how to fight." His threatening purr directly into her ear made her nerves light on fire, white hot anger racing through her veins at the thought of losing to him.

Princess? Did he just call her princess?

Marinette completely relaxed her body, her heart beating violently against her ribcage as she fought to regain her breath, "…I never thought Paris' most handsome criminal would actually harm a woman…" her voice was carefully low, a tone she detested to use but nonetheless found useful.

She hoped it would work.

She felt his shift above her, the air tense, "Tch, what are you getting at, cop?" his voice was full of venom, but Marinette pressed on further, raising her hips for emphasis.

She almost felt bile rising in her throat, "Nothing, kitten." Her voice dropped a few octaves, a seductive lull and Marinette used Chat Noir's momentary confusion to attempt to headbutt him again.

It didn't connect.

"Tch, stupid woman, did you really think I'll fall for that?" his amused tone made her eye twitch in annoyance.

Still, she smiled, "No, but for this." Grabbing a hold of the ceramic bowl that had rolled out of the cupboard near her, Marinette reached her arm back and slammed it against Chat Noir's head.

She almost winced in sympathy at what pain it must've dealt.

Using his momentary stillness to her advantage, Marinette used her whole strength and weight, muscles tensing in preparation.

He was too late to react.

With a cry akin to that of a warrior heading into battle, Marinette threw the man straight into the TV and low table, shattering the screen and tough wood in the process.

A low, drawn out groan of pain broke the silence that followed and when Marinette finally staggered to her feet, she had her gun pointed at the unconscious criminal and her phone pressed against her ear.

"Yes? Good morning, could you send some backup to my house? I got into a bit of a cat fight." Marinette promptly ended the call, hissing when she shifted her weight on the wrong foot, "Bastard…ow."

Her eyes gazed over the still criminal, fully understanding she could've lost her life in the scuffle just now if it weren't for her quick thinking.

Nathaniel will eat her alive for shattering the precious bowl that laid in shambles underneath Chat Noir's body, the shards covered by the splinters of the table.

She grimaced when a thin trail of scarlet trickled down the side of the blond's head and cautiously approached the unconscious criminal, gun still poised while she leaned her body forward to inspect the wound closely.

Green eyes flew open in that second and a strong arm coiled around her waist, bringing her body forward on top of his.

Marinette immediately tensed for another fight, but she realized the grip around her waist was weaker in comparison to his earlier holds and his eyes were pained and still dazed.

"…You …" a sharp hiss, the black cat ears atop his head flat to his skull, "d-damn…" Chat Noir's eyes closed and his head fell backwards against the rubble, falling back into unconsciousness.

Marinette knew he was at the top of the criminal food chain, but even she didn't expect for him to briefly wake up now, not from all the blows she'd dealt to his head.

Nathaniel used tough materials for his creations, it wouldn't surprise her if one of them could crack open a skull.

She really hoped he would forgive her for that bowl.

Marinette jumped when the door to her apartment flew open and nearly tore it off it's hinges, a loud, booming voice breaking the silence, "Lieut.!"

Marinette winced, trying and failing to move in her fatigue, "…Not so loud, please."

"Marinette!" a distressed, female voice sounded right after.

Oh shit.

"A-Alya!" Marinette weakly scrambled to move away from Chat Noir, but failed, hands slipping and accidentally cutting her palm on one of the shards on the ground, "Ouch!"

"Call for an ambulance immediately! We have two injured here!" the voices of Kim and Ivan barked orders at the uniformed people suddenly swarming her home and Marinette couldn't bring herself to care.

She just wanted to sleep.

Without further ado, Marinette leaned her head against the warm and surprisingly comfortable chest beneath her and closed her eyes.

"You look like you fought a pack of wolves." Alya's dry comment made Marinette roll her eyes.

"He's not that different. He has claws too."

And serious strength. But she wasn't about to praise the enemy now, not in her condition.

She bit her tongue from yelping in pain when the doctor applied the gauze to the cut on her palm, one last time checking the large bandage wrapped around her middle.

It was an ugly sight, the skin slightly swollen where she'd hit the armrest of her couch, but no sign of bruising yet, the doctor assured her that would come later, she had bruised ribs but that was all.

"You did a number on him though." Her gaze traveled to the other end of the infirmary, two officers along with the form of the sleeping criminal made her scrunch her nose in distaste, "It's a wonder he has no concussion."

The old doctor smiled, "Indeed. He's sustained several moderate injuries, but he is surprisingly durable."

Marinette snorted, carefully pulling her shirt down and rubbing her tender limbs, "He's got a thick skull."

Alya chuckled, "As do you." The small smile vanished from her lips, "You wrote you were fine, why did you lie to me? Do you know in what kind of danger you were in? Mari, he's not some petty thief next door, he's Paris' top ranked criminal. He could've killed you for fucks sake!"

While Alya was usually prone to more colorful and expressive language, it took a lot to make her swear like this, Marinette rolled her shoulder, testing its flexibility, "I didn't, I was fine at the time. He ambushed me in the living room and…well this happened."

The reporter walked over to help her best friend carefully put on her blazer, "I'm glad it's just that and nothing more, you're still alive and not in a wheelchair." She sighed, "Why don't you just throw him in the cell?"

The lieutenant immediately shook her head, "I can't, he would be too much of a danger to the other criminals."

"Oh and not much of danger to you?! Marinette this is serious! I don't want to lay awake at night worrying if this guy choked you in your sleep or not! He needs to be locked up!" the dark haired woman regarded her seriously, before scratching her neck.

"…I'll tighten up security at home. It'll be fine. I'll have Kim and Ivan share shifts to watch over him when I go to work." Marinette was already checking the schedule on her phone until a tanned hand covered the screen.

"Marinette…" Alya's concerned eyes looked at her imploringly, willing her to understand, "I know this is your job, but don't get killed doing it."

Marinette's expression softened and she hugged her best friend tightly, feeling relieved to feel the touch of a person not out to hurt her, "Says the woman climbing on top of burning cars to get the latest scoop."

Her teasing comment was immediately met with a annoyed huff, "That was one time girl! I had Alix's firefighter's helmet on!"

They broke apart and Marinette fixed her with a look, "Only because she threatened to spray you with the hose if you didn't."

The auburn haired woman rolled her eyes, smiling despite the teasing, "Alright, come on, let's get you something to eat and leave this place." She glanced briefly to the side, but quickly averted her gaze.

Before they left the infirmary, Marinette looked over her shoulder one last time.

She could've sworn she saw Chat Noir's hand twitch.

"Lieut." Marinette's head rose at the sound of her title, smiling slightly.

"Hello, what have you got for me?" she greeted her colleague, accepting the stack of files he handed her.

"Um, pardon my asking ma'am, but…" he glanced around himself, "When will the criminal be released from the infirmary?"

Marinette rose an eyebrow, "Why are you asking?"

The young man seemed to sweat as he twiddled with his fingers, "…To tell you the truth, everyone is waiting for him to leave or be locked up or be somewhere far, far away..if you know what I mean." He glanced at her nervously. She could clearly see it in his eyes.

Fear.

She cleared her throat, "I heard he'll be well enough to leave this afternoon."

The young man quickly nodded, excusing himself.

The lieutenant sighed, sitting back down at her desk and slaving over the paperwork, eyes scanning over the report she'd gotten.

"…It is said that the swing of his blade is like thunder – deadly, precise, burning. His movements were those of a predator, patient and smooth but foreboding and intimidating, never ceasing it's relentless pursuit of their prey. It is said the last thing his victims see and hear are the toxic green eyes and the flash of pristine fangs glinting in the moonli-"

Marinette massaged the spot between her brows, irritation increasing tenfold, "Marc!"

A sudden crash, before the young report writer came jogging up to her, a sweet, shy smile on his face, "Yes?"

Marinette gestured to the report file in her hands, "What is this?"

Green eyes glanced at the file then back to her, "The report based on eye witnesses of Chat Noir."

"Marc this…this sounds like some crime mystery story!" she couldn't believe this had been verified, just who in their right mind-

Alya.

She could practically hear her friend's words in her mind, 'Sorry, girl, he's still in training.'

"I-I'm sorry! I promise I'll try to fix it!" carefully grabbing the report from her, Marc quickly bowed his head before rushing to his own desk at the back.

She watched him go, internally debating whether to continue working on his case for today or not.

She flipped the page, his photo staring up at her, "The look of a killer…" a shiver raced down her spine and Marinette tried to shake off the ghostly touch.

Movement caught her eye and she glanced up to her computer screen, her e-mail open.

She had another mail.

It was…

A message from… Marc?

With furrowed brows, she opened the message.

"Dear Lieutenant Dupain-Cheng,

I'm very sorry for the delay of the report!"

Marinette swirled around with her chair, spotting the shivering mop of dark hair before it promptly dived behind his computer, out of sight.

She sighed.

As it turned out, Chat Noir had remained another day in the infirmary and she got forced on more check ups to confirm she hadn't sustained any more damage from the fight.

It was time to take him to her apartment again.

They must've looked quite the sight, her bandages were mostly hidden by her blazer, save for the bandage on her hand and chin.

He had a thick plaster stuck to the side of his forehead above his eye, along with more smaller plasters on his cheeks and nose.

The black suit he had worn was replaced with a dark jacket over black pants and a grey shirt with a cat on it, she had to school her features to not giggle at the sight, but the icy glare he was sporting was enough to banish any thoughts of amusement.

His legs were once again chained and she didn't think she would remove those anytime soon since the incident last morning, the normal handcuffs were replaced by tightly bound, durable cloth which she assumed wrapped his bare hands as there were no signs of any claw tips poking through the fabric.

Lastly, his neck had a thick chain and she grimaced at the sight.

He was injured and chained up and he looked like some battle-hardened stray from the streets. He almost didn't look human to her.

Marinette cleared her throat and looked at the two policemen standing on either side of Chat Noir, "Thank you for watching over him, I'll take it from here."

The men however kept a firm grip on the criminal, "We were tasked to escort you to your apartment."

Confusion washed over Marinette, "By whom?"

Wait…

"Me." The familiar male voice came from behind her and Marinette rose an eyebrow.

It was Luka Couffaine, her superior.

"Luka," she normally addressed everyone formally at the office, but working hours were over, "What's the meaning of this?"

Blue eyes narrowed, not at her, but at the man behind her, "I'm just doing my job of protecting my employees." There was a growl from behind her but she ignored it, "I'll have two officers stationed around your house Lieut. Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette frowned and took a step forward, Luka's eyes finally moving to look down at her, his icy glare softened, "Luka, I haven't gotten injured badly, you know I can keep watch over him."

His voice lowered so only she heard him, "After what happened yesterday, I can't allow to see you injured again or worse." Concern briefly flashed in his caring blue eyes, "Marinette, you know as well as I do that he's not one to mess with. It's always safer to have backup."

"But-"

Luka gently squeezed her shoulder, before moving passed her towards the captive criminal, "Chat Noir."

"Colonel Couffaine."

Both men greeted each-other with detest dripping from their voices, the tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

"I trust you'll behave like a good cat if you don't want to get beaten half to death in prison." The bold words even surprised Marinette. She knew Luka could have one hell of a mouth, but to be so deceptively calm and talk like this, it unnerved her.

A devilish grin crossed the criminal's lips, "Says the pet snake of the police force. Say, what's it like gobbling up the little rats and scoring such big prey due to a leaked lead?"

Luka's shoulders stiffened and Marinette braced herself, as if expecting a physical fight to break out, before Luka raised his hand and took a hold of the fake cat ears still atop Chat Noir's head, pulling roughly, "If you know what's good for you, you'll behave and listen to your master."

With that, he released him, turning his back to Chat Noir, who glared daggers at him, "I would be carefur choosing your words, snake." the unsettling grin on his lips made a shiver run down Marinette's spine.

She'd rarely seen Luka so hostile. She looked back towards Chat Noir.

He was already looking at her.

"Thank you for escorting me, officers. I wish you a good night." Marinette smiled kindly at the two uniformed men, watching as they left and moved to stand guard at her house for their night shift.

She sighed, locking her door and turning around only to find Chat Noir already walking towards the living room, his boots already off. How he pulled them off with his feet chained, she had no idea.

After taking her own shoes off, she noticed something odd about the criminal. He was limping.

She remembered their fight yesterday, but couldn't remember striking his legs. It had all happened so fast, she wouldn't have been sure if it really did if it weren't for the bandages and the pain.

Tired from the day's work, Marinette placed a glass of water and some cookies on the table and left, shutting off the lights, leaving Chat Noir in the dark.

When she made it to her bedroom, she made sure the door was locked.

Thanks for reading!