Hey guys, just a reminder that this is a chapter by chapter update. And I have a way that this story is going to go, and there's a certain reason characters act the way they do if you. It will make sense if you just… wait for the next chapter. I have an outline for everything that I really worked hard on... So, please if you have a way you want this story to go, or you think you can do it better, please write one of your own stories. Do not private message me telling me things that Chat would have done or that didn't make sense for the character, (AKA a lot of people don't like what Kagami did, but Lila is a manipulator and waits for shit to go down and when people are at their weakness. Ya know because she literally worked with Hawkmoth, they have that in common) or that I just flat out can't write because that's really mean. I've planned this story out as best as I possibly could. So please stop harassing my inbox with how many things I do wrong in life, I already know. If you keep doing it, I will report you. Got it? Thanks.

And to a certain reviewer, your review came at a horrible time. I don't know if this is the same person messing with me or not. So sorry if you're not. This is truly a wrong place wrong time situation, if you are a different person. But literally, just like… wait for the next chapter before you type something like that. You have no idea what I'm going to write next, so maybe my plan was for Chat to take Marinette to the hospital but now I can't use that idea because 'it came from the review' and I strategically left out what actually happened to Kagami so that in this chapter, it's revealed. So literally just wait or write a story with your ideas instead of leaving a comment that could force me to change my outline.

If that other person wouldn't have been in my inbox, this wouldn't have bothered me. Like I said, I just don't know if this is the same person messing with me or not. So sorry if you're not.

A situation like this is literally why I've previously deleted a forty chapter, 100k+ word story, so I'm not going to tolerate it here.

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"Princess? Are you okay? Does your arm hurt? Do we need to go somewhere?" The look on Chat Noir's face made more tears fall from Marinette's eyes.

She shook her head, "No, I told Ladybug I didn't want to go anywhere, I have to run the bakery tomorrow. I-it's just. W-we can't do this."

Chat Noir jumped down from Marinette's bed to approach her, "what-what are you talking about?"

Marinette fought back tears, "y-you can't come around here like this anymore."

Chat Noir cocked his head, what had happened, just last night she had offered him an extended welcome, what could have changed, "what's going on, Princess?"

Her shoulders slumped, "you can't call me that, Chat."

"Marinette, didn't you have fun last night?"

Marinette bit her lip, "y-yeah. We just can't."

Chat gently grabbed her shoulders, "Marinette, what is happening? You have to talk to me."

Marinette struggled to find her words and it was impossible to fight the tears, "someone could see you… Hawkmoth could see you. I just…I can't… Chat, I don't want anything to happen to you."

His heart broke at the sight of her tears. He hugged her close, "Marinette. No."

His voice was so stern that Marinette had to look to his face, "Marinette, I'm not going to let you shut me out because something could happen. I've been so careful. My dad came home sometime today, so I made sure I was even more careful sneaking out than I was yesterday. I'm careful, Marinette. I'm aware of my surroundings. I'm not about to give you a reason to stop talking to me too."

"Too? Chat… w-what."

Chat Noir rolled his eyes, but there was heat in his cheeks "we've already established I've been spying. Please don't make me admit it again."

Marinette let out a hollow, weak laugh. It made Chat's heart hurt. He held her arm's length in order to properly see her face, "Marinette, I'm not going to let you shut me out like you did your friends. There's nothing you could say. I don't know what is going on, and I would love if you could tell me, but I'm not going to let you deal with it alone, okay? I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let that happen. I can't."

He hugged her close again, "please talk to me, Princess. What is going on with you?"

More tears formed in her eyes and a desperate sob escaped her, "I can't, Chat. I can't tell you. I can't."

Chat's ears sat flat against his head, sadness in his eyes, "how can I help you?"

He got his answer when Marinette wrapped her arms tightly around him and began to sob into his chest, tucking her head under his chin. His eyes were wide for a moment, until he held her tighter. His heart aching but warm. Adrien had been hoping that Marinette would never try to shut Chat Noir out like she did the rest of her friends, but here she was breaking down and pushing him away. It hurt him in a way he could never tell her. Something had been different between he and Ladybug, and now Adrien and Marinette, Chat Noir and Marinette. It just wasn't right. Everything was going wrong.

He hugged her even tighter. Ladybug had all but shut him out. Separate patrols, less joking around during battles. He wasn't going to let that happen with Marinette. Even if he wasn't Adrien right now, he wouldn't let it. He couldn't.

"I just know something bad is going to happen to you, Chat, I know it." Her voice was small but it still made him jump,

"nothing is going to happen to me, Princess."

Marinette looked at him with so much pain in her eyes his heart broke,

"Marinette, I'm a superhero, remember? Basically indestructible."

She put a finger on his chest, "not here."

His heart, cheeky Princess, "then don't go breaking it by kicking this stray onto the street."

A small laugh escaped her lips, "I don't think I can, kitty. It's selfish of me, but I don't think I can."

He tilted her chin up, "it's not selfish, Marinette. I want to help. I want to be here."

She hugged him hard again, and she quivered. He expected she was crying. "Silly kitty."

It was the only sound the two of them made for quite some time. They sat there, holding each other for a while. Adrien had no idea how much this girl just needed to be held. And he understood it. He needed it too. Sometimes he's just wished someone would hug him and never let go, like his mom. His mom gave some of the best hugs. Though Marinette's were starting to win him over too. He knew what being touch-starved felt like. The smallest touch on your shoulder could make you cry. Sometimes he even enjoyed modeling, on the off chance that there would be a model with him and said model could hug him for a picture. It was desperate, but it was true. He was used to not getting any affection in his house. He had to be. Even with his father being home now, he knew nothing would change. His father had always been distant. He used to remember them being happy once, but that memory was becoming distant and misty in his mind. He remembered his mother, her smile, her laugh, her smell… but anything ounce of happiness on his father's face had been erased by years of cruel words and cold stares.

He felt Marinette release a small sigh and it brought him back. He looked down and the girl in his arms, and he realized just how long he had gone without trying to make her feel better. He bit his lip and thought for a moment,

"D-do you still want me to go back to the coffee shop and get our coffee?"

Her laugh was wholehearted. She pulled away and wiped her eyes, "no, no, Kitty. It's okay. They're probably ice by now anyway. Do you want me to pay you back?"

He laughed back, "no, Princess. Your knight messed that one up."

She offered a tearing smile, "do you want a coffee? We can go downstairs and make our own."

"Oh yeah, we can do that, can't we?" He bit his lip.

She gave him a look, "have you ever made coffee before?"
He shook his head and she smiled wider, "c'mon. I'll show you."

###

Chat Noir happily sipped his homemade drink on Marinette's chaise. Marinette had let him try every syrup and add as much of it as he'd wanted. He had unconsciously made her old drink. Her own vanilla-hazelnut concoction. She had made a strange face but she said nothing. She made her usual death brew, and he couldn't keep his mouth shut as he watched the sheer amount of espresso put into the mug. It seemed impossible for her to keep a straight face to drink it, but she did it anyway.

She bit her lip as he watched her drink, "do you want to order a pizza or something?"

Adrien chuckled. He'd never really been allowed to have pizza, "hell yeah."

She offered him a smile and grabbed her cell phone, "is plain cheese okay?"

He nodded with a smile.

He watched her climb onto her bed and begin to make the call. He looked around the room for something to do while she talked. He noticed the bathroom light was still on and got up to turn it off. He walked into the room, only to notice Marinette's glasses still on the sink. He bit his lip, was this snooping? He picked up the glasses and inspected them. The lenses were real, but they didn't seem to be any type of prescription. Eyeglasses were a trend, so that could be it… But he specifically remembered Marinette mentioning some sort of eye appointment a long time ago, before these glasses made an appearance. Marinette wouldn't…lie about needing glasses, right? That seemed a silly thing to lie about. Especially with the eyewear trend, she's a fashionista after all… or she was. He shook his head and put the glasses back where he found them.

"Fifteen minutes!"

He poked his head out of the room, "what?"

She laughed, "the pizza will be here in fifteen minutes. I ordered from right up the street, they always have cheese pizza ready."

Chat Noir nodded nervously, "o-oh, yeah. Sounds good!"

Marinette arched an eyebrow, "what are you up to, kitty?" She hopped off the bed and began to approach him,

"n-nothing! The light was on!" He stepped back to give her a proper view of the room.

She smirked at him and peeked around the doorframe, "it doesn't seem like you caused any trouble." She flicked off the light, "come on, I want to see what movie you brought."

He offered her a small smile and followed her back to the chaise, picking up his movie on the way, "I wasn't sure what you were going to want to watch tonight so I brought my favorite."

Marinette grabbed her coffee and held her hand out for the DVD. He handed it to her and she inspected it closely, "oh, Chat. I love this movie! Une Vie de Chat! My mom used to watch this with me whenever I was sick!"

Chat offered he a smile, "that must have been nice."

Marinette nodded, "warm soup, fresh croissants, and cookies. Couldn't beat it."

She put the movie into her laptop, "do you want anything else while we wait for dinner?"

He shook his head, "no, you've been spoiling this kitty, Princess. I just need to finish this," he gestured to his drink, "I don't think coffee and pizza will go well together."

Marinette took a sip of her coffee and smirked, "coffee can go with anything if you're not a pussy."

Chat Noir jumped up and stared at her in shock. "excuse me!? Who taught you that word? Who taught you to curse?"

Marinette laughed hysterically, and Chat just couldn't resist continuing the joke, "no! No! You tell me! Who corrupted my princess!?" He began to gently tickle her sides and she laughed harder,

"t-the internet, C-Chat! T-the i-internet!"

He laughed at her desperation, "hmmm, I don't think so. Give me their name!"

She laughed harder. No coherent words were leaving her lips. Chat's cheeks hurt from smiling so wide. She kept laughing until his hands went to her stomach and she gasped in pain.

"Shit! Shit! I'm sorry, Marinette are you okay?"

She nodded slowly, clutching her stomach, "y-yeah. I'm sorry. I forgot."

Chat shook his head and kneeled in front of her, "let me see, Princess."

She bit her lip and lifted her shirt to bottom of her bra, Chat's face contorted and a gasp left his lips, "Princess, I really want to take you somewhere to get all of this looked at. Even if they just give you something for the pain."

Marinette pictured the call to her parents and the things she could say under the influence of painkillers. She bit her lip,

"n-no, Chat. I'm fine."

He shook his head, "you're not fine, Marinette. You're not fine." He gently sat next to her, "you haven't been fine in a long time."

Marinette shook her head, "w-what?"

"Marinette, for months, you've been so sad. Your smiles haven't been the same. Your laugh… nothing has been the same. "

Marinette bit her lip. She had to give Chat something, this wasn't fair to him, "I had to give up my prince."

Chat looked up at her, "what?"

"I had to give up my prince."

He gave her a disbelieving look, "it's all over a boy?"

Marinette closed her eyes and sadly laughed at herself, "no, not all of it. But it's a part of it."

Chat nodded; she was talking to him. She said herself it wasn't all of it, but again. She was talking to him. She chose him to talk to. This was good, "why did you have to give him up?"

Marinette but her lip, "something so horrible could have happened if I… He chose someone else anyway."

Chat furrowed his brow. Who would possibly choose anyone else over Marinette, "what do you mean something bad could happen?"

Marinette chose her words carefully, "a friend could have been hurt."

Chat nodded. Okay, vague as hell. But it was something, "did you love him?"

Marinette nodded, "I loved him with all my heart."

"But not anymore?"

Marinette but her lip, "he's with someone else now. And she really loves him. But she's already nervous about their relationship because of me." She put her hand on her stomach, "I would never ever do anything to hurt either one of them."

Chat blinked a few times. Wait a second. Was he talking about… No, no she couldn't be talking about he and Kagami… they just… but she couldn't know that… She couldn't be talking about loving him as… Adrien, could she?

He tried to get more out of her, "what was his name?"

She let out a small laugh. She was about to speak when there was a knock at the door, "that's the pizza."

She grabbed her wallet off of her desk and retreated down stairs. And out of the corner of his eye, Char Noir could've sworn he say a red streak follow her. Thought when he investigated, he found nothing. What was Marinette about to say? Chat Noir cursed in his head. He heard her talking downstairs to some sort of womanly voice, he assumed it was the pizza deliverer. Would she have told him? What would he have done if she'd said his name? His real name? His chest constricted. Had Marinette truly been an option for him? It hadn't felt like it. He would have chosen her. That had to be true right? They could have been together. But who would have gotten hurt? Who had she been talking about?

Suddenly he heard her coming back up the stairs. He was still staring off when he heard the door open. He let out a chuckle and spoke, "Princess, you got the coffee. Plagg needs a rest anyway, so how about I pay you back for the pizza?"

He finally looked up at her to see her shake her head, "no it's okay, kitty. I got it. You're my guest."

Chat Noir chuckled, "I'm pretty sure I invited myself over today, Princess."

She laughed, "no, you were very much wanted."

He gave her a look, "I have to get food one of these times though, Princess."

"How about this?" She hit play on the movie's menu, "tomorrow, you bring ice cream."

Tomorrow? He liked the sound of that. He nodded.