Chapter 3

Adrien felt like his body was completely weightless and the realization of what was happening hit him like a bolt.

He willed his body to move, but it didn't react, not even his fingers twitched. His eyes were the only things moving, seeing and he wished they were closed.

In front of him, was the last crime scene he'd been sent to, a grotesque sight, even in his line of field.

Child murders were always the most gruesome, it wasn't so much to the way they died: shot, cut up or strangled, it was more the way that someone who was supposed to be human could do such a monstrous thing.

No breath left nor entered him as he watched, transfixed, as the body of the young girl with corn-starch hair and empty brown eyes stared into a spot on the opposite brick wall, blood from stab wounds spilling endlessly around her still form.

The mother had been confined into restraints, the kind Adrien always experienced a crawling sensation at seeing, as she shouted and kicked and howled as if possessed, the sight of her dead child unimportant to her.

Adrien's body felt electrified, but not in a good way, it felt like his stomach wanted to heave up everything he'd ate the past two days, which hadn't been much, and his torso felt burning hot but his legs were ice cold.

And finally, he moved.

He moved.

And he woke up.

The blond panted heavily, restless hands quickly spanning the soft bed for the familiar cold metal under his pillow, then the second weapon hidden beneath the second pillow beside him.

They were there, nobody was in his house, he was safe.

A soft meowl ripped Adrien from the dark abyss he almost spiralled into, Plagg shaking his head awake and crawling into his owner's lap, rubbing his head against Adrien's shaking stomach and purring, the vibrations and warmth calming him down.

Finally.

It was over.

It had been another nightmare.

With trembling fingers, Adrien gently patted Plagg's back appreciatively, silently thanking the feline for managing to rip him out of one of his episodes.

It always went like this. He would wake up in a messy cold sweat, nearly lose himself in all the terrible sensations and Plagg would be there to calm him down.

Adrien gently scooped up the purring cat, hugging him close to him, Plagg's head almost automatically rubbing against his unruly blond tresses, his purring doing wonders to slow the erratic beat of his heart.

With a long exhale, Adrien slowly fell back against his pillow, still holding his cat, trying to regain control of his body and will the icy shiver away.

It had been only a nightmare.

His shoulders tensed when he heard a noise in the kitchen, green eyes shooting to his locked door.

Was…there an intruder?

Why hadn't Plagg reacted? He was usually upon the poor fool before Adrien even took out his gun. Was he in too deep a sleep? Was Plagg to distracted to calm him down?

He heard another noise, this time it sounded like a moving ceramic cup and Adrien quickly deposited Plagg on his bed, taking his gun from beneath the pillow and stalking slowly towards his locked door.

The click of the lock wasn't heard, Adrien timing it perfectly with the next noise he heard. The sounds grew clearer and louder as he neared the living room, the sliding doors between the kitchen and living room partly pushed open.

He saw a shadowy figure move behind the thin paper of the doors and his eyes narrowed, pulling the safety of the gun and quietly moving closer.

The next time the figure moved, Adrien launched.

A scream sounded loudly in his apartment and it took all of Adrien's willpower not to pull the trigger, shocked bluebell eyes were locked on his still haunted, alert green ones.

Adrien quickly pulled the gun down, putting the safety back on and scanning his surroundings more clearly.

Marinette was there, holding a bowl clumsily between two bound hands, a cup set next to the coffee machine, a cabinet open, revealing his assortment of spices.

And her petrified look.

"What…what are you doing?" the breath the officer had regained earlier had been knocked out of him the minute he glanced at an equally shocked Marinette. That had given him a scare, it hadn't been an intruder, it had been the suspect in his house.

Marinette squeaked, an instinctive reaction Adrien deduced, and quickly set the bowl down, hands drawn tightly to her body, "I-I'm sorry! I, I-I just wanted-I-" Adrien realized what it must look like, gun poised down but still clutched tightly in his hands, his eyes locked onto her every move.

He quickly put the gun down on the table, sliding it away from both of them, running a hand down his face as his lips pulled up into a half smile, haunted eyes lightning up in amusement, "…Need some help?" Adrien gestured toward the milk carton and the bowl.

The woman's cheeks turned a concerning cherry red and Adrien briefly wondered if she was allergic to shock – could someone be allergic to shock? – before her lips moved in a flurry, "Y-Yes, please!"

She stepped aside to let Adrien have room, not meeting his eyes or even looking at him as he quickly grabbed the cereal box from the opposite drawer, patting it meaningfully so she knew where it was for the next time and throwing in a coffee capsule for their morning coffee, placing her cup underneath, "There, need help with anything else?" Adrien looked at her still form, before she quickly shook her head, thanking him and clumsily filling her bowl with cereals.

The blond watched her slowly sit down at the table and he sighed, pulling the chair out from the opposite side of her and sitting down, "Listen I…I'm sorry about earlier." Marinette was as quiet as a mouse, eyes locked on him, "I didn't mean to threaten you like that I swear, I…you caught me off guard. I thought there was an intruder here." He ran a hand through his hair, eyes downcast in shame.

The rattling of the chain caused him to look at the silent woman, who offered him a small, understanding smile, "It's alright…I understand, you don't have to apologize. I guess I wasn't thinking, I didn't think about how it might look like to you with me snooping around here."

Adrien quickly shook his head, "No, no, no. You…you may be a suspect, for now, but you'll live here too temporarily and you can always take whatever you want from the food I have." His eyes looked genuine and that seemed to calm her significantly, "It won't happen again, I swear." He offered her a smile and there was the fierce redness over her cheeks as she smiled back at him.

Then, Adrien became painfully aware of his state of dress.

Or undress.

Coughing awkwardly into his hand, Marinette's eyes moved to him curiously when he slowly tried to what looked like sneak out of the room.

For his sake, and hers, she looked away, the fierce blush on her cheeks growing even worse all the way to her ears, trying not to think of the way the undershirt had hugged his toned body, nor the obvious six-pack the man was sporting beneath it, nor the defined arms-

The spoon in her hand flicked upwards, splashing milk and cereal on the table and Marinette quickly scrambled to wipe it away, shooting a cautious glance at the door to make sure the officer didn't see what she'd done.

She was doomed.

In his defence, Adrien had thought he was being robbed.

It wouldn't have been the first time he fought with criminals in his PJ or underwear, he had even shot one in the shoulder dressed only in a towel after the scumbag had unceremoniously surprised him at home.

To this day, Adrien wondered how some people had no manners.

Still, having a woman, an admittedly cute one, a suspect, see him like this, completely disorientated, dressed in nothing but an undershirt and boxer shorts, had him feeling a bit shy.

When he came back into his room and spotted the lazy cat stretched out on his blanket, Adrien frowned.

Without warning, Adrien pulled the blanket, flipping the black feline twice in the air before Plagg landed on his feet, ears drawn to the sides in surprise, eyes wide on his.

Adrien crossed his arms and Plagg had the decency, for a cat, to lower his head as if in shame.

If Plagg were a human, he would've smacked him.

Instead, Adrien sat down next to the cat and ruffled his head, grabbing his fleeing form and cuddling him to his chest, raising a finger admonishingly right in front of Plagg's face, "You're a very bad cat, you know that? I almost gave her a heart attack Plagg." The cat stared up at him in disinterest and yawned, cuddling his head against Adrien's chest.

Adrien sighed, giving the feline a quick kiss on his forehead before he let him go, opening his closet to get ready for the day.

He didn't want a repeat of the embarrassing encounter from before.

Marinette was finished finally, albeit awkwardly cleaning her bowl and setting it aside to dry. She was now sitting at the table, packed cereal box waiting for the man to put it back where it was, since she was just a tiny bit too short to reach the drawer.

She felt something brush against her legs and Marinette glanced down, spotting the adorable black cat staring up at her.

Marinette patted her thigh, pushing the chair away to give Plagg room to manoeuvre in.

He didn't waste a second, already circling his spot on her lap to sit on, purring loudly when her hand absently petted him, while she drank coffee with the other.

She was thankful Plagg was here, it distracted Marinette from her very recent, very indecent thoughts about a police officer and sparing herself any more embarrassment this morning.

She just hoped she hadn't been too obvious with her ogling.

He didn't seem to have noticed much, still in his own shock from their encounter this morning.

Her eyes had unwillingly strayed to the way his body moved when he stretched a toned arm up to grab the cereal box, shorts riding up on those muscled thighs.

He had a nice ass.

Marinette frowned, trying to blame the heat in her face on the steam from her coffee.

Marinette had seen plenty of handsome men, Nathaniel wasn't a bad looking man for one, after high school, he had experienced several growth spurts, he let his hair grow out a bit more, his jawline had miraculously grown defined. She had plenty of handsome friends.

Just no jaw droppingly gorgeous police officers.

For the umpteenth time this morning alone, Marinette shook her head, trying to rid herself of the impure thoughts.

"Something wrong?" she froze when she heard the now clear, less sleepy voice somewhere beside her.

Adrien was dressed in full police regalia, previously messy hair combed neatly.

Marinette's heart was still racing, but she didn't feel like she would get a premature heart attack anytime soon, "No, I uh, I was just thinking." Plagg was now contently sprawled across her lap, the feline still purring, "Plagg is keeping me company."

Adrien's gaze shot to his traitorous cat, who looked like the epitome of bliss itself, laying there on Marinette's lap.

Traitor.

Adrien shook his head, "Yeah, I can see that. Just give him a shove if he becomes unbearable, he can be a handful at times." Plagg lifted his head, as if sensing Adrien was badmouthing him again and stared at his human before blinking slowly and letting his head fall back against the woman's cozy warmth, still purring.

He swore the cat was secretly a human, a very grumpy, old human who loved to annoy the living daylights out of him.

Adrien would just wake up one day, human Plagg next to him, drawling in a lazy tone, "Hah! Stupid kid, I was a human all along! Now get me my camembert!"

He was sure of it.

Marinette's question had ripped him from his thoughts, "Aren't you going to eat?"

Adrien blinked, "No, I…I'll eat at work." He cleared his throat, quickly fixing himself a cup of coffee, downing it in one go and grabbing his equipment, "A police officer will come here to keep an eye on you. It's, ah, routine, not that you're a dangerous criminal but since I'm not here to supervise you, you're not allowed to stay alone since you're still a suspect." Adrien scratched the back of his neck.

The dark-haired woman smiled, "No worries, I get it. Just um, how many times do I need to feed him?" she gestured towards Plagg, the cat still lounging comfortably on her lap.

"Oh, Plagg, you don't have to worry about that, the police officer that will come here is a friend of mine, she knows what to do. If you need help with anything, she can help you out. I can call her and ask her to fix you something to eat." It brought a smile to his lips when Marinette smiled and thanked him for his thoughtfulness.

Before Adrien stepped out of the kitchen, he stopped by the threshold, his back still to her, "Before I forget, you'll get a fresh change of clothes, it'd be useful if you tell my colleague where your apartment is, to pick up your own clothes." With that, he checked his gear one last time and left his apartment, locking it.

Adrien was slightly worried how Marinette would react to his friend, but he hoped the two women would get along.

Plagg liked her, she couldn't be bad.

Marinette sighed, looking down at the sleepy cat and giggling, petting his head tenderly, "Hey, you, you sure like to sleep, don't you?" she remembered how energetic Tikki used to be, that cat wouldn't give her even a minute to stay still, she was always on the move.

She scratched behind Plagg's ear and the cat purred, readjusting before slumping his head against her stomach.

She smiled, fighting back the blurry vision threatening to consume her.

How did it end up like this?

She hadn't expected any of it.

Now she was being detained like some criminal. Marinette wiped at her eyes quickly, drying her moist fingers on the fabric of her blazer.

It's all or nothing.

The words from one of the men she'd tagged along with echoed back to her and Marinette clenched her free fist tightly.

If only she had stayed out of it, if only she didn't poke her nose in where it wasn't needed.

If only she hadn't cared.

Marinette wept silently, drawing comfort from the now purring cat, heart clenching painfully in a vice.

Her life couldn't get any worse.

His phone was ringing just when he entered the precinct.

Adrien rolled his eyes tiredly, ignoring the incessant buzzing in his pocket and jogging up the steps to the first floor.

The buzzing of his phone persisted right until he reached the common area where all his colleagues were at their desks. He immediately spotted the culprit, who was anxiously jabbing at the numbers on his phone.

Adrien walked over and deadpanned, "Adrien here."

The brown haired man jumped in fright, hand to his heart as he gazed at the blond with wide blow eyes, "Oh my god! Adrien! Don't scare me like that!" the blond fixed him with a look, "I was calling you! Why didn't you pick up?"

All he received was a stare, "I was in the building, Wayhem."

The young man pouted, "But-but I called you a minute ago!"

"I was in the building, Wayhem."

Wayhem released a long, drawn out sigh, "…Fine…you still didn't pick up." An eyeroll, "Anyway, what's up with that suspect? I heard she's in your apartment! Do you need me to check her out for you? Not-not check out but you know, like, 'keep the situation under control'?" Wayhem smiled dopily and Adrien steeled his already fraying nerves. Wayhem was a good guy, but mon dieu was he a handful.

"No, thanks, I got it covered." he cleared his throat, checking his phone, "I called her in, so she should be driving to my house at this very moment."

Wayhem frowned, crossing his arms, "Oh? That blondie? Why does she get special treatment?!"

Adrien found himself eye-rolling far too often today, "Wayhem, she's a childhood friend, we've known each-other since our diaper days." He walked over to his desk, which was in front of Wayhem's, under his request, and sat down, scanning the new papers on it, "Besides, she's a woman."

The oblivious man before him blinked, "So? I can do girl talks no problem! I can even wear a wig perfectly!" he dramatically framed his face and posed.

Adrien chuckled awkwardly, "Heh…yeah…I know."

He definitely did after that very awkward birthday party where Wayhem showed up dressed as him, with a blond wig, green contacts and his outfit.

Adrien was glad his birthdays were limited to close friends, those present knew how…creative Wayhem could get.

Marinette held her hands in the air, giggling when Plagg raised his own paws and she gently pushed her hands against his paws, causing the cat to lean against them and rub up against her, purring.

The woman giggled, "Plagg, you're supposed to move your paws! Alright, let's do that again." She raised her hands and Plagg did the same, until the cat suddenly froze.

With a raised tail, Plagg trotted towards the door and Marinette watched him curiously, until she heard the clicking of heels sound from somewhere outside the door.

She slowly got up from the floor, looking at the room for anything to protect herself with. Maybe it was an intruder? Could it be one of the officers Adrien said would come over?

She braced herself, eyes locked on the door.

There was a rattling of keys and Marinette's heart nearly leaped up to her throat, sighing in relief when she realized it must've been Adrien, since he was the only one with keys.

Dread quickly filled the pit of her stomach when a different blond entered the apartment.

It was a her.

Dressed in full uniform and with noticeable make-up plastered to her face, icy blue eyes locked onto her apprehensive ones, "Miss Dupain-Cheng? I'm Captain Bourgeois, your new babysitter."

Marinette didn't like the arrogant tone in her voice.

She didn't like it one bit.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you guys think so far! :3