I promise this is the last Chat-pter for a while...

(That was not my best pun)

but because I am the author...

It didn't take Chat long to learn that Marinette was difficult to persuade. He knew it was going to be a challenge, but he had sorely underestimated her. Marinette was not easy in the slightest. The very next morning, he had already tried numerous way to draw her longing out. Granted it had been slow goings, but there were still a few attempts made to get Mari into the idea of going outside.

The first try was a bit too subtle for his taste and ended up going nowhere.

"Your joking."

"I can assure you, I am not joking."

"You've never seen the ocean?"

"No, Chat Noir, I have not." Marinette didn't meet his gaze as she sewed a pair of red pants, following a pattern in one of her books. He watched as she threaded the needle and went to work. He could tell she wasn't exactly going off of the pattern, making the article her own by adding touches of flare that had probably entered her mind. While her art was nice, the clothing was beautiful and it was obvious that she made most of the dresses she wore on her own. Though, the pants she was making looked... almost feminine. He wondered what kind of male would wear those kinds of pants.

"Who are the pants for?"

"Me." I took a moment to process this, and it must have come off as funny because she started getting curious. "What?" I tried to avert my eyes before thinking of an answer. While I admired her gut, I also knew she had little to no knowledge of the world outside her safe haven. I debated whether to tell her but quickly decided against it. There was no reason to dampen her spirits, and a good change was needed in the kingdom. If she was rich, his father would have loved her as a possible candidate for marriage.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Silence settled. A few uncomfortable moments passed, and Chat tried again.

"You know, those are a lovely colour. Not pant-omime at all." A scoff rang out, and the conversation fell flat. Chat cursed in his head, his pun tongue having lost him a chance.

The other semi-successful time had been over a game of chess. This was around midday, and he had been looking for an opening for a good hour. Finally, he found one in the form of pastries.

The game wasn't going so well for Chat Noir and he had started a friendly conversation about food. He was surprised at her culinary knowledge when it came to certain pastries and soups, but aside from that, it seemed she had never really had anything that wasn't ordinary or basic to make. Coming from a rich family, Adrien knew not everyone had tried the delicacies and foods he had growing up, however, some of these "foreign" foods were mere cents on the streets.

"so, you've never had a crepe?" Marinette let out a heavy sigh.

"No, I have not." This time, Chat had an idea and decided on bribery through the stomach. It was full proof. No one he knew could resist the pastries of the kingdom. Mari moved her knight and snatched one of his many pawns.

"It's so delicious, the bread dough, the fruit, the yummy chocolate..." He dragged the last word in hopes of some type of drooling. However, it was he who was drooling just thinking about it. Shaking his head to clear it, he was about to tell Marinette which piece to move, when he noticed her face. Marinette had been staring at him.

"What's Chocolate?"

Chat's mouth dropped open.

This time, however, he was sure he would get her interested. Adrien hadn't seen much of her room when he had slipped out of it the night previous, but he had seen a few things he could take into consideration. There were her books, her pictures, her kitchen, but Chat figured he couldn't use them since he couldn't see it from the bed where he was "bound". There had to be something he could see that would give off some inkling to leave. His eyes searched the walls and the ceiling for a clue, but all he could see were just globs of blues and reds, white dots sprayed over them.

The more Adrien stared, the more familiar those dots looked. He could make out shapes and patterns that were known to almost every person on earth. The bright lights of the heavens that loomed above the world as we sleep. They were stars, he was sure of it, and this kind of chart would have made an astronomer stare in awe. It was odd what little she knew but how much she understood everything around her.

"Why stars?" Marinette stared at him confused, looking up from the book she was reading. Chat motioned with his head up at the ceiling. A look of understanding flashed over her face before confusion took over. "Why did you paint the stars?" He clarified. Adrien noticed her eyes look out the window, her mouth frowning a bit.

"It's a difficult story, Chat. I don't think you'll want to listen to this one."

"I'd love to hear it. After all, your stories are ear-resistible, Princess."

Marinette looked back at him with a chuckle, bringing her hand up to hide her mouth. "Do you only ever speak in puns?"

Adrien grinned. "I could speak in Chinese, but I don't think you'd understand me." Again, a rining giggle left her throat, bouncing off the walls before dissipating. The air fell flat, leaving the redhead to begin reading her pages once again. Desperate, Adrien tried once more, "You don't have to go into detail, but the curiosity may just kill this cat before you can send him off to jail." She didn't look up, and for a while, she didn't answer him. Frowning, Adrien began to think of new starters.

"Every year, on my birthday, there are these lights. Every year, at the same time, on the same day. I began to look at the night sky more and more, trying to make sense of them. I have been wanting to travel out and find them myself," her head didn't move, but blue eyes looked at the ceiling with sadness. "But Papillion has made it clear I am not to leave this tower. He says that people are horrid and despicable. He says they are people like..." Marinette's voice trailed off as her pupils lowered to the ground, guilt retracing her sombre gaze.

"People like me?" Chat wasn't very surprised, half expecting it from the numerous occasions where others had cursed his name. It didn't phase Chat. Adrien, however, felt a sting in his chest. He didn't know why, but there was something different in her words versus the words of the rich. A small sigh escaped him. She didn't know any better. "Marinette, I can assure you that I would never do anything to you. I have nothing to gain from it, and it isn't what I do." Chat saw her demeanour change, going from nice to defensive.

"Then what were you trying to gain from that crown?"

"I was-" He cut himself off. He wanted to tell her. He truly did, but the fact was, Chat couldn't tell her what he was actually going to do. No one could ever know what he was doing or really getting his money for. They would be found out, and he could get them in trouble for just associating with him. Adrien didn't want to get them into worse trouble, and Chat Noir was happy to help them. He must have taken to long with his pause because Marinette continued.

"I don't want to play mind games Chat," Mari glared at him. "I am not dumb and I am perfectly happy-"

"You are nowhere near happy." Chat watched her look over at him, staring at him with confused eyes. While he saw slight fear creep into her irises, there was also passion and recognition of wanting to go anywhere other than her tower. "I see how you look out that window, wanting more. Your eyes scanning the horizon, yearning for a taste of fresh air." Slowly, he sat up, letting the hair fall into his lap. Her eyes widened and made for the frying pan. Chat kept talking but stopped moving as soon as he was sitting up.

"Don't you dare move another inch!" She cried, trying to find her safety object. He complied, studying her as she scrambled about. Chat knew it was best not to move more until he had lured her curiosity. He noticed her start to lose focus when she glanced back, seeing him just sitting there, hands folded neatly, back straightened. What they didn't see was Plagg sitting up, and darting under the duvet downstairs. His attention was focused on Mari as she found her pan of choice. She went to reach for it, and Chat made his move.

"I know what the lights are. The ones about a week away?"

Before her fingers could taste the metal, they coiled away. Blue orbs looking back at him. "I can show them to you Marinette. I can take you to the village. I can show you good and honest people. I can tell you about town history, show you around, let you see the ocean. You shouldn't have to stay here. I can give you that out." Chat stood in front of her now but it was Adrien who spoke, voice soft, hand extended out to her. "If you let me, that is."

She looked up into his eyes, searching for something, anything, that could tell if he was lying. Minutes passed in silence as the two stared at each other. Visibly, he watched as her mind settled. Marinette raised her hand. But faster than she could take his hand, they paled, a booming voice from below making them pull away from one another quickly.

"Ladybug, Ladybug, May I come in?"

A/N: Dun Dun Duuuuunnnn! What will happen to our Marinette as she deals with Papillon and the knowledge that Chat Noir is in her house, listening? Sorry to leave on a cliffhanger (not very sorry) but it had to be done. Also, I am sure you have noticed how much I switch from Adrien to Chat Noir. While they are not different people, Chat is the persona Adrien created. It is still a part of Adrien. However, Chat is more of a front and has, not a separate personality, but his own traits. Adrien is under the mask, though, and his personality will always shine through. It is simply a matter of when it shines through. I like to make the distinction of what is Chat Noir and what is Adrien, even when the outfit is on, they are still one person.

So, I am not finished moving yet. The people buying our house didn't go through with it till the last day and the guy handing in our paperwork to get keys to our new house were late and it screwed with our moving process. It was a hassle.

My great grandma had two aneurysms and a blood clot. Scared the bejesus out of everyone in the family. It was great to see everyone drop everything and go down to see her. An entire waiting room was filled with my family and honestly, it was the first time all of us had been together under a roof. Even cousins I rarely see made the trip. One of my great uncles had gotten out of his job as a technician for a hospital (36-hour shift) in Napa. As soon as he heard the news, he took a quick nap and started to make the 8-hour trip. My great grandma is fine, Two days after, she was harassing the doctors and walking. Imagine an 83-year-old woman, trying to write to a nurse to take out her feeding tube, about a day after the incident. Two days later, she was walking again, claiming that " walkers are for old ladies" even though she has had a cane for twenty years.

That is Doña Maria.

Other than that, no complaints. Aside from junior state testing in California. It's gonna suck, but My body and taste buds have finally taken a liking to coffee. I think I'll live on that for two weeks, ween myself off, then go back for finals. What a nightmare.

Thank You All so Much for Reading and Stay Tuned!

~Pheonix

P.S. I think I might start adding a question of the chapter, for any interested. You can leave your story comments and then answer the question if you'd like. It will most likely pertain to the chapter. Today's Question: Do you think Astronomy is a pseudoscience?