Marinette stood above the black-clothed stranger the lay unconscious on the floor. Mentally and physically, she was freaking out, pacing over him as if he wasn't even there. Her hair began to overlap on top of the unconscious person as she did so. She didn't even want to look at him, adrenaline and fear coursing through her veins and making her a perpetually moving machine. She had no clue as to what to do with the criminal at her feet. He could have been there to steal her and manhandle her into doing his bidding. Maybe sell her to scientists who would do experiments, dissecting her knowingly, displaying her organs while she's still awake, breathing, watching. People be repulsed by her figure and-

A meow forced her to stop pacing and sent her flying a few feet into the air, her hair practically standing on end.

When she came back down, her head turned to where the sound had emanated from. Marinette met the eyes of Plagg. They were slanted and mocking while her's were scared and defensive. It looked as if he was trying to say, Good job kid, you just knocked out a poor defenseless man who happened to find an 'abandoned' tower in the middle of nowhere. Marinette responded in kind, though she didn't know if it was her own guilty conscious she was talking back to or the cat that was tongue-bathing itself in front of her.

"Well, it's his fault for barging in uninvited and being Chat Noir." He tilted his head and his eyes squinted.

What part of, "a poor defenseless man who happened to find an 'abandoned' tower", didn't you understand? Marinette huffed.

"He should have asked and he could very well be Chat Noir with his clothes!" Plagg looked at his clean paw.

As he scaled this forty-foot tower? Plus, you don't know that based on his clothes. He could be gothic for all you know and admires the fashion.

"He could have yelled and there is no self-respecting person that wears a cloak with cat ears stitched onto it!" Mari shouted at either her conscious or the Black feline before her. The animal stared back at her in boredom.

Now your just making up excuses to answer why you just hit a man in black with a cool-looking hood on.

Marinette felt like screaming at the guilt, rush, and fear she brewed inside of her. Instead, she went over to the man that lay face first on the floor. His hood and hair covered his face for the most part, and his entire body was encased in black: felt, leather, and fabric. It was a rather pretty blend, and if Marinette hadn't been more focused on the man himself, she would have taken the time to admire the handiwork of the pieces. His black satchel lay by his side. The way the leather bag begged to be touched by her hands drew her in, similar to a bee spotting nectar. Mari was a rather curious being and gave in to her curiosity regularly. There could have been so many things that resided in that bag, but she wanted to know exactly what it was.

Gingerly, she rummaged through it, as if she was an archeologist discovering remnants of past civilizations. She found a few small items: a piece of string, a strange baton, a small box of peppermint leaves, and a paper with a list of names on it (the first ones being Nino Lahiffe and Alya Cesaire, not that she cared) and the title 'People to call'. She was kind of disappointed at her findings so far. Then, she finally one thing drew her attention away from everything else. It was a crown. Gently, she pulled it out and set it on her bed next to Plagg. Plagg stared at it in, what seemed to be, wonder. Marinette couldn't help but do the same.

It was golden, metal weaving itself to fit the teardrop-cut rubies perfectly. There were five rubies, the biggest one residing in the middle. Small opal gems studded the piece and added to its beautiful vine-like design. Not a hair was out of place in this magnificent work of art. She had never seen anything like it. Sure, books had told her all about crowns and where they could be found, but they were only ever worn by royalty. She had never seen something so delicate and wonderful in her sixteen years of being on the Earth.

It was breathtaking.

And as Marinette looked at it, she doubted that the man on her floor was the owner of such a treasure. This accessory was way too pricey and fancy for a person like him to be in the care of it. No one in the outside world was nice enough to be a messenger of this high of a risk item, delivering a package to someone, least not with the kind of attire he had on. It was possible but very improbable. She reminded herself as she shook her head, that people are not like her fairy tales and almost everyone, according to Papillon, was incapable of such a noble deed.

Gently, she turned him over, using her frying pan (that had been in her hand the entire time) as leverage to flip him over, similar to a pancake. Mari struggled, but only for a moment as he turned rather easily. Surprisingly, he was rather... thin in the middle. For having stolen as much money as he had, she was confused at his lack of gluttony. She still couldn't see much of his face, due to the hood, but she could certainly see the rest of his self. The only title to pop up in her head was 'Chat Noir'. It was the only word that seemed to fit him. Curiosity coming before her morals, Marinette slowly, yet shakily, lifted the hood from off the face...

And all at once, her thoughts were silenced by the bright blonde hair that fell over his eyes. Turns out, there was no mask at all, just a very good amount of charcoal plastered just below his forehead and stopping on the tip of his nose, going from one side of his face to the other. His jaw was slightly pointed, face still looking a bit pudgy with baby fat. It seemed extremely soft and squishy, radiant even. Heck, the boy seemed to glow. He didn't look much older then Marinette herself, maybe a year or so over her age. His unruly hair falling against his closed eyelids. She had only read about hair so wild on a redhead princess of Scotland. Needless to say, she was rendered speechless for a while. When Marinette came to her senses (meaning when Plagg meowed once again), she decided the safest option was to place the hood back on him, hiding his face and breaking her sudden trance, and tie him to her bed. It took her a bit, 'Chat' was heavier then she had once thought. Once she had gotten him on top of the bed, Mari began to search for some type of rope. She looked high and low but only came across scarves, small chains, and leather. She decided to use none of them and instead kept searching for rope. She checked everywhere, even Papillon's room. But alas, none could be found.

As she gave up searching, Mari sat next to her victim, sighing in defeat. Her dark scarlet hair trailing behind her. Marinette's hair had always puzzled her, but seeing it against his bright blonde locks, maybe it wasn't. Surely red is a normal hair color... It had to be. It must be a special type of hair if it can lose it color after being cut, she began to think as her finger twirled around the small black strand that usually curled behind her right ear. And as she did, an idea struck her. Facing the Blonde teen and grabbing a fist full of her hair, she got to work.

A/N: I know, I know, It's been so long (~since last I've seen my son~), But here it is, the long awaited chapter 5. To be honest, I am not sure where in the world I was going with that last chapter and the poem. I just thought it fit, somewhat. Now I find it extra and non-sensical. I may change it later when I find the time.

Thank you, everyone, for waiting this long, I am a cotton-headed ninny muggins and that goes without saying. I will continue writing for you guys and for this story, do not worry, I just may be heavily delayed some months, but do not panic! Because I have you covered and will post a new chapter when it is ready. Which, this one now is.

Now to get somewhat real.

Have you ever loved a person so much that you can't bear to be apart from them, not even for a smidge of a moment? That every second you spend apart is a chance for disaster and nothing, that could be said nor done, could fix it? I've been labeled as clingy and overprotective yet my only wish to be with him for as long as I can, loving him as if it's my last day in this universe and I knew I'd die tomorrow. Yet while my other has never seen me as clingy, I always feel like a burden. Like I am holding him back from really living his life to the potential it could be.

Long distance sucks.

...

Anyways, back to my crazy and abnormal self. I am hoping to get another chapter in by the end of the month, but do not quote me on that. A special thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter and has favorited/followed this story! I love to read your comments and you have no idea how happy they make a writer like me. I always show my friends (which sounds like I am bragging to them, but honestly, I am just so happy to actually get a comment that I just need to share it with the people I am close to). The follows/favorites are just as amazing. People actually see and want to be updated on something I wrote. It's just too surreal to even think about sometimes. They keep me writing.

So thank you, all of you.

Stay Tuned!

~Pheonix