Author's Note: Marinette does feeling guilty about how she left things with Chat hence the real reason why she removed Adrien's posters from around her room and her internal dialog at the end of chapter 5. I clearly failed as a writer to make her guilt clear, so I shall be going back and revising those chapters a little. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: A New Beginning, for Real this Time

Chat Noir continued jumping from building to building until he landed on the roof across from Nino's house. Peering into his window, he could see Nino sitting at his computer with his headphones on. Chat Noir watched Nino in silence as he worked, occasionally removing a CD from the computer's disk drive and inserting another one. I could just transform back, knock on the door, and tell Nino…tell him what exactly! Chat Noir hissed in frustration. He wasn't in the mood to come up with another lie explaining how he was able to sneak out of his house after curfew or why he needed Nino's companionship so badly. I could always just vaguely tell him about my fight with my dad. Chat Noir thought about this plan Nino for a minute before tossing the idea aside. That won't work, I'd still have to come up with a lie for half the story.

"Argh!" Chat Noir cried. He was feeling angry, frustrated, fearful, but most of all lonely, so very lonely. After leaving his house, seeking an escape from the suffocating atmosphere, he instinctively went to Nino's house. He craved his companionship, the support and understanding he knew he would receive from him. Maybe I could just appear to his as Chat Noir and, no, no, that would be stupid. Maybe I could appear as Adrien and just tell him… Chat Noir paced back and forth on the roof thinking for several minutes on how he could approach Nino without raising any suspicions before eventually giving up. As Chat Noir continued jumping across the roof tops, he glanced back at Nino who was settling down for the night.

Maneuvering through the night with no destination in mind, Chat Noir's thought back on the incident earlier today with his father.

Leave it to him not to notice what was going on with me for 6 whole weeks. Thought Chat as his father berated him.

Adrien was surprised when Nathalie appeared in his room for two reasons, it was pretty late and she said his father wished to see him. It was rare for his father to request an audience with him, usually it was Adrien trying to speak to his dad. Confused yet excited that his father wanted to spend time with him, Adrien gladly accompanied Nathalie to his father's study. However, when they arrived, Adrien was met with the disapproving eyes of his father. Word finally reached Gabriel's ears about his son's less than stellar performance over the past several weeks and needless to say he was not pleased.

"I'm sorry father," Adrien replied. "I was going through something and it was affecting me in a negative way, but I'm over it now."

"I can assure you that what Adrien says is correct," interjected Nathalie. "Ever since the photo shoot last Saturday, Adrien has been in top form."

"I see." Gabriel stated as he stared out the window. Adrien internally shuddered, he knew what was going to happen next and he dreaded it.

"Nathalie, could you wait outside." Gabriel commanded.

"Certainly sir." Nathalie nodded her head in compliance before closing the doors behind her as she exited the room.

"F-Father I can…" Adrien began.

"You can what, Adrien explain why your piano recital practices were a disaster. How you managed to lose a practice fight in fencing to Oscar of all people. The 14 on your pop quiz in physics. Or maybe you'd like to explain all the time you've been spending with a certain bad influence that I told you to stay away from." Gabriel slowly turned around to face Adrien.

Adrien cringed. The way he spoke, never raising his voice, disturbed Adrien to no end. He would honestly feel more relaxed and comfortable if his dad did just yell at him like a normal parent would. The monotone, finite way he spoke would usually cause Adrien to give up and admit defeat. Usually, but not always and today was one of those special occasions.

"Nino has nothing to do with this."

"Oh really, is that so."

"Yes." Adrien said with a sense of determination and force. "Nino noticed I was in a slump and went out of his way to pull me out of it. It's because of his friendship I was able to bounce back."

"If it wasn't Nino's bad influence that caused your poor performance, then what was?"

"I…I can't tell you that." Adrien looked down in defeat.

"So I'm just supposed to believe you when you say that Nino had nothing to do with it."

"You should believe me because it's the truth. Like it or not I can't be perfect and flawless all the time, I'm a human being not a robot. Maybe if you spend less time working and more time actually being a father towards me then you'd know that!" Adrien swelled with confidence as the conversation continued. He was finally standing to his father and it felt great up until the point when Gabriel became visibly angry. Adrien slowly began to sink into himself as he watched his father's eyebrows furrow, his eye narrow, and his mouth twist into a grimace. Adrien knew he had gone too far.

"I-I-I'm sorry, I did-didn't mean…" Adrien stammered out in desperation.

"Adrien." All it took was that one, icy word to shut Adrien up. "You are fully aware that I am a very busy man. Everything you have, everything that I have provided for you requires me to sacrifice a lot of my time. I cannot allow myself to be distracted by each and every little thing that occurs."

"Yes father."

"You are my son and my namesake. I don't want to hear any excuses regarding why you were less that flawless at any point in time. I expect you to always perform at très bien levels no matter what. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes father."

"Good." Gabriel proceeded back to the window before continuing. "Now, I shall overlook this little slip up and trust you are telling me the truth about Nino's involvement, but I want your word that this will never happened again."

"Yes father."

"Furthermore, to make up for your transgressions, you are grounded until the end of the school year and expected to make 20 in all of your classes; understood."

"Yes father."

"You may go now."

Adrien slowly turned the knob and proceeded back to his room.

"Man, that guy is such a slave driver," said Plagg as he flew out of Adrien's pocket. "Grounded for the next 2 weeks and expected to get perfect scores in every subject, what is he nuts! And all just because you got 14 on a quiz and screwed up in a few practices. 14 is still a high grade and it's called practice for a reason!"

"It doesn't matter Plagg if it was just practice or the real deal, an Agreste must be perfect at all times; and the only good grades in my father's eyes are 18 and above, everything else is just worthless."

Adrien slumped down on his bed and screamed into his pillow. "It's too suffocating in here, I need some fresh air. Plagg transforme moi!"

And with that, Chat Noir was out the window and jumping across rooftops with ease. Stopping by Nino's house before continuing his nightly stroll.

Adrien loved being Chat Noir, the power, the excitement, but most of all the freedom. Being Chat Noir allowed him to breathe and behavior however he wanted to. No rules, no image to keep up, no father to adhere to, and no standard to maintain; he could be who he wanted to be and did just that. Entertaining himself with endless puns, showing off his masterful fighting skills, and flirting with his lady…Ladybug? Chat Noir stopped in his tracks; he was at the Eiffel Tower. Without even thinking, Chat Noir's feet automatically carried him to the Eiffel Tower. Upon arriving, he glanced upward towards the apartment where he'd setup his first date with Ladybug. Expecting to see nothing more than the wooden door, Chat Noir was stunned when he saw Ladybug standing there. She was casually leaning against the railing with her back towards Chat, humming a tune.

"Ladybug," Chat whispered as the raced towards the tower. Is this really happening? Is my lady truly there? If this is all a dream, please don't wake me up. Within seconds Chat Noir's baton took him to the landing where his eyes connected with hers. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments before Ladybug gave a shy wave.

"Hey Chat," she said. Chat Noir didn't reply, didn't smile, or show any emotion at all. Instead, he walked over to Ladybug, took one look at her, and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Chat, what are you doing? Chat, answer me…Chat?"

Chat Noir remained silent, hugging Ladybug as tears began to drip down his cheeks. After the initial shock wore off, Ladybug held him back and began to stroke his hair.

"There, there," she soothed. All it took was one look, one embrace, one word of comfort in her voice, and Chat Noir felt completely at ease. In that instance, all his negative emotions washed away being replace with a sense of calm. Damn, I have it bad. Thought Chat Noir as he pulled out of the hug, composing himself.

"Chat, what's wrong?" Inquired Ladybug.

"Nothing," replied Chat as he wiped away a few stray tears. "It's just been a while and I'm so happy to see you again." Ladybug frowned before placing her hand on his cheek. She knew he was lying, there was more to this than him simply missing her; nevertheless, she was not about to pry into his personal affairs if he didn't want her to.

Chat placed his hand over Ladybug's and smiled. After so many weeks here she was, right when he needed her most. He reveled in the moment; the warmth of her touch, the sight of her gleaming blue eyes, the faint smell of roses she possessed. He wanted this moment to last as long as possible, but there was something gnawing him, something he just had to know. Slowly removing her hand from his cheek, he looked into Ladybug's eyes and asked. "Why did you leave before?"

Ladybug froze and visibly tensed. Looking down and away, she took a few steps back.

"I'm sorry for leaving you without saying anything. Truth be told I came to the Eiffel Tower preparing to turn you down, but then you took me to the apartment where you had setup the most romantic date ever. When you told me how you truly felt, how you truly saw me I felt my heart race." Ladybug shifted from looking towards the ground to looking Chat in the eyes as she spoke. "I've fallen for you Chat Noir, silly puns and all."

A smile quickly spread across Chat Noir's face, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Ladybug stopped him. "Before you do or say anything though I have to tell you, there's someone else."

Chat Noir paused. Someone else, please don't tell me. "You have a boyfriend." Chat's ears drooped.

"What? No, it's nothing like that!" Ladybug frantically explained. "It's just a guy that I've loved for a long time. We're nothing more than friends, he doesn't know about my feelings for him, and I've never had the courage to confess. When you kissed me that night, when I realized my feelings towards you I felt guilty. Guilty because I felt like I was betraying my feelings towards him. I didn't know what to do so I panicked and left you without a word. I'm sorry."

Chat Noir just stood there with his eyes drooped, looking at the ground in silence. Ladybug began to inwardly panic as Chat continued to say nothing. Tikki always told her to be honest about her feelings with Chat Noir, so here she was telling him the truth. She wished he would say something to break the awkward silence though.

"Do you still love him?" Chat Noir finally asked.

"I do. My feelings towards him are not going to disappear overnight, but I…"

"That's okay!" Chat interrupted, "you don't have to go into further detail, I understand."

"Understand, Chat I'm not done…"

"Its fine, you don't have to finish!" Why? Why today of all days do I have to hear Ladybug's rejection? I don't think I can handle this, not today.

"You don't understand Chat…"

"I understand perfectly, you'd rather be with him than me." Chat Noir turned and jumped on the railing not wanting Ladybug to see the tears gathering in his eyes. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. And don't worry about our team dynamic, I won't let this interfere with our heroic duties. Now if you'll excuse me." Chat began to jump off the tower, only to be forcefully yanked back by his tail.

"Stupid Cat!" Ladybug cried.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Chat said as he stood up rubbing his tail.

"I want to be with you!" Ladybug finally managed to spit out. "I'm saying that I want to be with you."

Wait, what? "B-b-but that other guy you were talking about, you said you still love him?"

"I did and I do. As I was saying my feelings towards him are not going to disappear overnight, but I want to move passed him with you." Ladybug smiled. "If you'll have me that is."

Chat Noir was flabbergasted. "Why wouldn't I want you?"

"Because I have such a fickle heart and because I just ran off that night without a word. I also didn't even try to find you afterwards to explain my actions. I'm hoping though that with time I'll prove to you that I'm serious about being with you."

Chat Noir looked at Ladybug for a moment, before bursting out in laughter.

"Don't laugh, I'm being serious here!"

"I-I-I know, ha, I just can't, haha, believe, haha, that you really thought, ha, that I wouldn't want to be with you over, haha, something like that." Chat Noir was having a hard time talking through his fits of laughter. He took a moment to fully compose himself before continuing.

"So you have a guy that you've been crushing on for a while and you're not completely over him. That doesn't mean that you have a fickle heart and it sure as hell isn't going to stop me." Chat Noir walked over to Ladybug and gently placed his hand on her cheek. "Besides, I'm more than confident I can make you forget all about him, Buginette."

Staring into her dazzling blue eyes, Chat continued. "I understand why you left you were confused, hurt and I don't hold that against you. What matters now is that you're here with me."

Placing his hand on her waist, Chat Noir took one look at her luscious lips before leaning in for a kiss. Ladybug closed her eyes, waiting in anticipation for the sweet taste of his lips. As Chat Noir inched closed, an explosion went off nearby. The two heroes jumped and turned into the direction of the noise.

"I looks like this is going to have to wait, mon minou." Ladybug stated while taking out her yo-yo and swinging away.

"Are you kidding me?" Chat Noir growled in frustration while taking out his baton. "This cannot seriously be happening right now."