There was actually some snow in the air as Marinette made her way towards her rendez-vous spot. She had spent a portion of the afternoon watching it float down slowly from the sky above. Whilst some of it was settling, there wasn't quite enough to form much depth. Instead, it formed a thin powdery coating over the entire city. As beautiful as it was, the young woman had also learned to her expense that it could be quite treacherous. The layer both concealing potential ice underneath and also being plain old slippery even by itself. Already, just on her way to the café, she'd seen a couple of people almost hit the deck and one car struggle to stop itself before it collided with a taxi.

She might have taken more of an opportunity to take note of how the snow changed the look of some of the buildings and the beauty of her surroundings were it not for the fact that she was running so fast. It had proved to be hard to concentrate be that evening be it on her upcoming project for Jagged Stone's album cover or her essay which was due in next week. Her mind had been elsewhere, specifically focused on tonight. It was impossible to remove the image of the young man from her mind. Her doubts had doubled, leading to only more uncertainty. This seemed a little premature. She'd told her parents about where she was going. They'd seemed oddly enthusiastic about the notion of her going on a date with him but like her, shared some of her apprehension. Her aim was to enjoy herself but be careful. Not that she thought Adrien might hurt her, he wasn't a violent person, it was more the potential emotional damage they risked exposing themselves to which were the concern.

Still, she'd made her choice. Truth been told, she was rather looking forwards to it.

At least, she had been until she'd checked the time and realized she only had ten minutes to make it to the designated meeting spot. Whilst not an impossible challenge, it did require her to sprint. She forced herself to travel as quickly as her legs would allow, struggling to avoid colliding with the other pedestrians and tourists making their way around the city. If she did indeed make it in time, it would be nothing short of a miracle. The young woman dared not even look at her phone to see how much time she had left. Given the stress which lay underneath it all, being late was the last thing that she wanted. The café was in sight however and no sign of Adrien… For once, she was relieved. Skidding to a halt, she allowed herself to breathe.

The café was fairly busy, she glanced inside at the groups drinking together in the warmth. With the Christmas decorations up, there seemed to be quite a warm ambiance coming from the building. She tried not to stare at any one individual for too long, unwilling to risk seeming nosy.

"Hey there Marinette..."

She managed to hold back the surprised shriek as she realized there was someone standing just behind her. Instead, she managed to control herself, turning around to face the young man. Whether she simply hadn't noticed him in her panicked arrival or he had managed to sneak up on her afterwards, she couldn't say. She wasn't about to question the matter. Her confused and somewhat startled expression gave way to a gentle smile as she brushed some of her hair behind her ear. His soft expression seemed to indicate that he was genuinely pleased to see her as well.

"Sorry about being late..." She was assuming that she was, based solely on what time she'd left the house.

"You're not late." He assured her with a gentle smile. "I only just got here. I take it you want to go inside?"

"As opposed to sitting out here in the snow? Yes, I think so."

He nodded once before gesturing for her to lead the way. She obliged, heading into the Café. It was pleasantly warm inside, far better than it was out there in the snow at any rate. Entering slowly, they found a table in the corner and settled there. Marinette was quick to unwrap her scarf and take her coat off. The young man did the same settling down opposite her so that his back was to the rest of the room. There were butterflies in the pit of her stomach. This scenario was one which she had dreamed of for months during her teenage years. She had grown up since then and there was a strange nervousness which took hold of her. She forced a smile, trying to appear as relaxed as possible. Adrien returned the gesture. Smiling docilely, he appeared to be relatively calm given the situation.

Despite that, there was a silence which hung in the air. Once more, both found themselves struggling to think of anything to say. An icebreaker was required. Unable to think of anything immediately, the young woman's gaze travelled around the room in search of something, anything to start a conversation. She found it outside in the form of the snow which continued to fall:

"It's chilly today." A somewhat irrelevant comment.

"Yeah. We might even have a white Christmas." The young man glanced out of the window, losing himself in the falling powder for a while. "Thanks for coming Marinette."

"Well… I'm happy to be here." She replied with a soft smile.

Adrien's green eyes softened as they rested upon her. She allowed herself to relax. Exhaling a soft sigh, she felt the tension in her muscles vanish. So far, the awkwardness was the worst part. She tried to think back to the first date she had been on. She discounted her somewhat unusual encounter with Evillustrator, that was a bizarre set of circumstances and the knowledge that her partner for the evening was akumatized hadn't exactly helped her relax. Her first proper date had been with Luka. She could recall being timid, nervous. In the early days, the image of her former crush had lingered in her mind, spoiling things. Juleka's brother had been good at appeasing her soul, allowing her to accept the loss. It hadn't taken much for her to find herself at ease with him.

They'd only been sitting together for a couple of minutes now, she was likely overthinking matters. The waiter arrived a few moments later to take their orders. With the weather outside as nippy as it was, she decided to forgo any wine or beer. Something a little warmer was required. She opted for a coffee. She wasn't all that surprised when Adrien ordered water, she was yet to see him indulge in anything else.

"Do you ever drink anything else?" She found herself asking once the waiter had left them.

"I drink tea but the stuff you have here doesn't taste the same." He informed her with an indifferent shrug. "It doesn't bother me."

"That stuff you made when we visited you was really nice." It was an attempt to stretch out the conversation.

"Thanks. Master used to make it better though." Adrien frowned for a moment. "You tried some of his tea, didn't you?"

"Once or twice." The young woman recalled thinking back to the few times she visited the old man. "I didn't spend half as much time with him as you did."

She reminded herself that the man had only been dead a couple of months. It could easily still be a sensitive subject for her friend given that he'd spent over a decade in his company. Perhaps in a while, when she knew a little bit more about just who he was and what made him tick then it would be safer to start asking about that part of his life. There were thousands of other things that they could talk about which didn't risk causing any upset. Their drinks arrived a moment later, providing a pause which allowed her to try and think of another subject better suited. As always, it was the quantity of questions which she had which prevented her from getting anywhere. Taking a sip of his drink, Adrien was the one to break the silence. It was with a slight blush and an uncertain tone that he admitted:

"This is officially my first date."

"I had figured as much." Her discussion over the phone with him and the presence of Nathalie had been enough to clue her in. "It can be a little intimidating, right?"

"Yeah… I never was much good with girls." He managed to muffle a chuckle. "No matter what approach I tried."

"Your Adrien wasn't too bad." Marinette offered him a knowing smile, catching onto what he meant. "It was Cat Noir's timing which needed perfecting."

"He was a little over the top at times, I'll grant you."

They both exchanged a grin. For the past decade, she'd only been able to talk about such matters with her innermost circle of friends, those who had actually been miraculous holders with her. That wasn't to say that Paris had forgotten its heroes. Theo's statue still had pride of place in the park and Heroes' day was still celebrated once a year, on the anniversary of the defeat of Hawk Moth and Mayura. They wondered where they had gone. Initially, when Ladybug and her allies had vanished, people had expected them to appear somewhere else that might need them. They never had and so, they had been made into the guardian angels of Paris, manifesting themselves only in its darkest hours. That meant that they had to be careful. Adrien must have known that people would be watching him, if somehow anything even remotely akuma related or otherwise supernatural happened to occur, he would undoubtedly get the blame.

Something occurred to Marinette in those few instants which for some reason, hadn't up until then. She was talking to both Adrien and Cat Noir. There were things that she'd kept from one in fear of the other discovering and vice-versa. The biggest secret she'd ever kept from either was just whom Ladybug had turned Cat Noir down for. She found herself hesitating, wondering if it was a matter which should have remained buried. Glancing down at her coffee, stirring it mindlessly with her spoon as she waited for it to be cool enough for her to drink. After all, a voice in her head seemed to say, he must have spent quite some time wondering as well. Timidly, she raised her gaze to meet his, wondering if she had the courage to confess now what she'd never been able to say before. Somehow, it just slipped out:

"I… Had a serious crush on you when we were in school."

"What?!" Adrien's gaze shot up to meet hers. "Why didn't you say?"

"I was a bag of nerves." She confessed looking away.

"So…" It was clear that his mind was working quickly, figuring things out. "That boy, the one that you told Cat Noir about, that was me?"

"Yeah." She laughed nervously. "Silly, huh?"

"Makes me feel foolish." He admitted his smile spoke of the fact that he was somewhat amused by the whole thing. "I really could be blind."

"Apparently it's a guy thing."

He didn't deny it, simply smiling in response.

Over the past decade, she'd spent hours in total wondering about what would have happened if she'd told him how she felt or if once, before the end, the masks had fallen. It was pointless, she conceded, only good to waste time with. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if things might have turned out differently if they had both been a bit more open and honest with one another. At the time it had seemed wise and safe but now, she couldn't help but doubt from time to time. They would never know.

Chatter seemed to come somewhat more easily after that. They avoided touchy subjects or overly serious ones, preferring to think back to days past or talk about the mundane of their present. Adrien seemed to be somewhat out of touch with higher education (hardly surprising give that he'd missed out those hours of guidance courses the rest of the class had been subjected to), as such, she found herself explaining a good deal to him after he asked just what it was exactly that she was studying for. He seemed curious, eager to learn but unable to get it through his head why she needed a degree to progress in the fashion world:

"I don't get it..." He muttered for about the fourth time that evening. "You're so talented. I think so, Jagged Stone thinks so, so does Audrey Bourgeois - heck, even my father thought so! Why do you need a degree?"

"You know how it is – well… You don't but that doesn't matter – you need a degree for everything these days, at least that's what papa says."

"Well yeah but-" He paused looking for the right words to avoid causing offence. "It's still years from your life."

"Says the guy who spent a decade on a mountain side." She was unable to stop it from slipping out.

"Touché..." Dread seemed to creep over him all of a sudden. "You think that means I'm going to have to get a degree too?"

"I don't know." Marinette shrugged her head, not wanting to give her friend bad advice. "You must be earning money somehow. You've got a Ferrari."

"Porsche." He corrected. "I don't know where any of that comes from. Sales I guess."

"You must do something, it's your company." She stressed the point to him.

"I do." He huffed, pretending to be offended. "I do exactly what Nathalie tells me."

If that woman ever leaves, the company will go under in half an hour… Marinette couldn't help but think to herself.

Her eyes couldn't help but drift to behind the young man to fix the rest of the bar. The other groups had grown somewhat quieter, speaking in hushed tones. It had started a few minutes ago, a whisper or two exchanged between the odd couple. Now, it seemed to have taken over the rest of those present. More than one set of eyes were fixing them. A few, when they noticed that she had caught sight of them, were swift to look elsewhere. She was quick to glance back down at her now empty mug, trying not to pay them any attention. Still, her unease must have been fairly obvious, as she sat there, a slight blush occupying her features and trying to ensure that she only focused on her companion without her gaze wandering anywhere else. Adrien must have sensed it too, glancing over his shoulder. When he turned back, he wore a soft and understanding smile:

"I don't suppose you want to go for a walk?" He suggested, quite calm.

She nodded shyly in response, eager to get out from the over-attentive gazes of those trying to get a glimpse of Adrien Agreste. As they had been so unfortunate as to discover in the past, the crowds only tended to multiply the longer they tried to hang around in any given area and word spread fast in Paris. They wasted no time, despite her friends insistence that he paid the entirety of the bill, she convinced him to let them slit it given that she'd already had a Chinese meal free of charge at his expense.

Escaping back out into the cold of the night, Adrien took the precaution of pulling his hood up, obscuring at least some of his features. Shivering slightly, Marinette gave him a slight smile informing him that she was ready to continue. They walked along, following the Seine west. The city was quieter than usual, the chilly temperatures having no doubt discouraged many from venturing out into the streets. It was all the more pleasant from it. Walking side by side, they continued their discussions. Her friend asked after their classmates, eager to know how Kim, Rose and Juleka amongst others. She told him of what she knew, which was comparatively a lot. All of them had stayed in touch. Some of them, she informed him, wanted to know how he was doing, too timid to ask him themselves.

"I'd love to talk to them again..." He confessed looking down at his feet.

"We could maybe organise something." Marinette suggested, it would take some planning but was far from impossible. "It would be nice for us to all get together again."

"Yeah. I haven't seen them since the day I skipped school." His voice trailed off.

"Of course… We didn't know. We never thought that-"

"We had Nino locked up in a cellar." There was bitterness there, clear as could be. "Yeah. It was a bit of a surprise for me too. That's when I realized just what my parents were..."

More unpleasant memories. She regretted the conversation going that way but it was her companion himself who had brought it that way. It was impossible for her not the think back to that terrible day. The panic of not knowing where their friend was and the horror of eventually discovering just where he had been hidden. None of it had made sense, they hadn't been able to think about it that much in the heat of the action. How to wonder just what was motivating Hawk Moth, Mayura and their assistant when all three were fighting tooth and nail to stop them. Nobody had ever questioned who was behind Cat Noir's mask when he'd helped them, nor where Adrien was. At some points, Marinette had honestly expected to see him surge out of the darkness, joining his parents in their last stand.

He hadn't and that left only more questions. He knew what his parents were… Memories of his interview less than a month ago popped back up in her mind. She became quiet, turning to look at the freezing waters of the river. Anything to avoid thinking about her friend, not with such thoughts and questions still spinning around in her head.

"Ask…" He spoke softly, somehow sensing just what was troubling her. "I'll answer."

"That night, on Nadia's show…" She recalled unpleasantly, never having wanted to bring it up before. "You stopped yourself."

"I mustn't lie." He reminded her, his voice softer than it had been. "A guardian must always be honest."

"So…" Her voice trailed off. "They did hurt you?"

"Once… That morning, when they ordered me to use the turtle miraculous. I refused." His gaze was lost somewhere ahead of him. "I don't know what she was trying to do for sure but I honestly don't think that she wanted to hurt me, just scare me into doing what she wanted but, she got it wrong..."

He stopped, taking her by surprise. She frowned, wondering just what he was playing at. He didn't explain himself, instead, he reached slowly for the zipper of his jacket. He lowered it down to about his chest. The young woman caught on suddenly, he intended to show her something. Her eyes widened, suddenly realizing just what it must have been. She didn't want to see. She opened her mouth, a thousand protests ready to erupt as he pulled it down to the right to expose the skin of his right shoulder. There wasn't the gruesome and massive gash that she had been expecting to find. In fact, standing at a distance, she couldn't make anything out. Taking a deep breath, to give herself some courage, she stepped forwards closing the distance that was between them. In the dull light from the street lamps, she could make out a small cut. It was an inch long but thin, visible only as a pale mark against his tanned skin.

Instinctively, she reached out fingers brushing against the mark. It had healed up completely, leaving nothing more than a slight bump in its place. She pulled away, looking up at the young man's face as she did so. He pulled up his zipper, masking the wound once more. He let out a sigh, beginning to walk as if it was nothing.

"One of her feathers, you know those things: soft as silk one second, like razors the next. She through it at me." He scoffed, somehow amused by the whole thing. "It's the only time I really saw my father get mad at her. I never heard him scream so loud… Of course, he forgot all about it five minutes later and was back to trying to take over the world or whatever they were planning."

"That must have hurt." A stupid comment but the only thing that she could think to say.

"It was Nathalie who bandaged me up." He commented rubbing the spot for an instant.

"I'm sorry Adrien..."

He nodded slowly but said nothing.

They continued on their way. In the distance, the lights from the fair lit up the jardin des Tuilleries. There were more people about as they got closer. She followed Adrien's lead, when he made no attempt to avoid them by crossing over to the other side of the river, she assumed that the proximity to the crowds mustn't have been that much of a bother for him. Perhaps, he assumed that none of them would be on the lookout for any celebrities and would simply be too busy enjoying themselves to take any notice of him. At least for the moment, the gamble did appear to be paying off. Although they passed by several couples or groups of friends, none of them gave her companion so much as a second glance.

The hustle and bustle of the fair was enough to prompt Plagg to stick his head out from his partner's pocket. The kwami glanced around before his eyes fell upon one of the food stands. He practically shot out of the young man's pockets were it not for Adrien's quick reflexes who managed to grab the creature and force him back into his hiding spot. Marinette managed to hold back a giggle, aware that the last thing they wanted to do was draw any attention to themselves. The look of exasperation on her companion's face spoke volumes:

"Aw… Come on!" Plagg begged a moment later, still refusing to take his eyes off of the sweets.

"They won't have any Camembert!" His owner replied sternly.

"Who's interested in Camembert? It was the candy apples I was eyeing up."

"Candy apples?" Adrien sounded confused, uncertain.

"Yeah. You know apples coated in-" She paused, frowning slightly as she fixed him before abruptly realizing just what had got her friend stumped. "Oh… You don't, do you?"

"Candy wasn't really something I had a lot of as a kid." He was smiling for some reason as he spoke. "Can't have a model with fillings in their teeth."

"Well, why don't you try one?" She suggested gently.

"I shouldn't… I've already had my dinner and-"

"Oh come on!" From his pocket popped the head of Plagg. "Live a little! Even Master Fu wasn't this uptight!"

"You're just saying that because you want some too." He reprimanded before smiling softly. "Okay..."

Adrien refused point-blank to get Plagg his own candy apple. If nothing else, he would look absurd walking along with two, one of which he was seemingly feeding to his pocket. He would share, he promised. Marinette got one herself. She noted the way that her friend eyed his cautiously, contemplating the red surface as if he'd never seen anything quite like it before. She warned him to watch his teeth, the sweet outer coating being especially thick and hard. He did so, taking his first bite slowly. He enjoyed it however, that much was obvious. Smiling once he'd finished the mouthful. The young man broke some pieces off, offering them to his kwami as they continued on their way.

They were back to chatting about life, about their plans or Adrien's lack of them. He couldn't continue staggering through his life the way that he was. He knew that but currently had no plan of what to do in the future. He'd find his way he claimed. She didn't challenge that assertion. They crossed over the river, drawn towards the light of the Eiffel Tower, pausing only when they were directly in front of it.

To her surprise, she found her companion to be somewhat mesmerized. The way that he stared up at the structure, in complete awe with his mouth slightly open, it was almost as if he had never laid eyes on it before. At night time, lit up the way it was, it seemed to be a towering pillar of light. She didn't say anything, choosing to wait until he spoke for himself. It was cute in a way, how he stared up at it like a boy starstruck. Surely, he must have set sight on the city's most famous monument since returning. Standing there though, she had her doubts.

"I forgot how beautiful it was." Adrien let out in a sigh after a while.

"Sure is. I never get tired of coming here." She confessed straining her neck to try and see the top of the structure. "We should go to the top some time."

"Why not now?" The young man turned to her.

"Because it's closed." She reminded him, pointing at the booths.
"Well, for you and me maybe but not for Cat Noir."

She turned to him, uncertain. Whilst his words made sense, in that she could understand them, she found it hard to believe that he was uttering them. The grin on his face was one which she recognized however, albeit she was more accustomed to it being worn by someone other than him. She allowed him to lead her away, into some bushes in the Champs de Mars. There, he looked around carefully, ensuring that they were well and truly alone and that no prying eyes would be able to catch a glimpse of what he was about to do. A smile crept onto her her face, one brought by the adrenaline of this sneaking around. The young man fixed his ring, the words hanging on the tip of his tongue:

"Should you really be doing this?" She couldn't help but ask.

"I'm a terrible guardian." He gave her a grin which would have made the Cheshire cat blush. "Plagg, claws out!"

There was a flash of green light and a few seconds later, she found herself face to face with a man that she hadn't seen in over a decade. Somehow, despite everything that she had learned, it proved difficult to get through her head that Adrien and Cat Noir were the same person. Her eyes studied him head to foot. He hadn't changed, taller (obviously) and she could make out his muscular form more easily. He still had that bell. For some reason, that small detail surprised her. Drawing out his staff, he stood there before her.

The young man said nothing, reaching out to offer her his hand. She hesitated slightly, unsure just what he planned to do next. During their time together as Cat Noir and Ladybug, they'd come up with various ways to reach the top of Paris' most famous landmark. Just what method, her companion was going to use tonight she didn't know. Presumably, something discrete. If one of the former superheroes reappeared so soon after Adrien's return to the city, questions were bound to be asked. Stepping forwards slowly, she took her hand, allowing him to hold her close, slipping an arm around her waist, whilst the other rested atop his staff.

"Hold on tight." He advised, his voice soft.

She obliged, sensing what he was about to do. A few seconds later, they were heading up, rising slowly towards the sky. Instinctively, she grabbed a hold of her companion, feeling her legs dangling over nothing. Nervous, the young woman glanced to her left. She found a pair of green cat-like eyes resting upon her. He gave her a soft smile, one which managed to banish all of her doubts and fears. She focused on him rather than how quickly they were travelling upwards, towards the sky and clouds. Coming to a stop, the young man shifted his weight, causing his staff to begin to fall. Instinct caused her to close her eyes, it almost felt like she was on a roller-coaster of some kind.

Then, they just stopped. Cat Noir took a step and suddenly there was something under her feet. She felt Adrien move slowly, carrying her until they were both stable. He stayed close however, his left arm wrapped around her shoulders for support.

"You can open your eyes now."

The first thing she saw were the stars and a bright almost full-moon. They alone were captivating enough for her attention to drift over them. Then, gradually, she lowered her gaze to fix the city in all of its splendour. It seemed like there was a thousand lights out there, more maybe. The few people that she could make out were no more than tiny dots. Even the cars and buses were little more than vague shapes moving around. She found Notre Dame, then the Louvre and Sacré-Coeur sitting atop its hill. Her home was lit up like a candle in the darkness for as far as they eye could see. They caused the snow which covered the ground and the building to stand out, bathing the city in a beautiful orange glow. The spectacle took her breath away, as did the chill of the night.

Her eyes stung from the cold winds which blew all about them. Instinct caused her to take some shelter from the elements, snuggling up to the nearest form of warmth available. Cat Noir tensed up briefly, before relaxing. He pulled her in more closely, allowing the young woman to rest her head against his chest. She might have taken more notice of his strong steady heartbeat were it not for another, somewhat more unconventional sound she found him to be making.

"Purring? Seriously?"

"I can't help it!" He defended himself, somewhat embarrassed. "Believe me, I can't!"

"I'll take your word for it… Speaking of I thought that you shouldn't be-" Flirting? It was a little bit more than that. "Aren't you sworn off of girls?"

"As an apprentice I was but as the last guardian, I sort of graduated. Master Fu didn't exactly complete his training either"

"You're making this up." She laughed as a reply.

"I'm still not allowed to lie." His voice informed her that he remained serious.

"Well, you could be lying about not being allowed to lie." Marinette responded somewhat teasingly.

"Then, I guess you'll never know."

She smiled, taking note of his grin before turning back towards the city. Up here, it felt so far removed from all of their woes and problems. Even the height as they were perched atop the antennae didn't seem to do so much as register. As much as the air might nip at her exposed skin and chill her, she found it easier to breathe. Like her, Adrien seemed to be engrossed in the spectacle, content to have her near him and to be able to relax and forget about whatever might have been troubling them whilst their feet were on the ground. The rest of the world was nothing more than white noise to them as they sat high above it all.

"I never want to come down from here..." Marinette confessed to the cat miraculous holder.

"Why don't we?.." His voice trailed off, as he rested his chin on her shoulder, whispering into her ear. "You and me, up here forever."

"Careful Chat, I might just take you up on that one..."

She let out a sigh, content to for those few moments, simply be.

/

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