Penguin: Hello chibis! I'm very sleepy, so let's get to the reviews!

~Responses to MMTT~

Guest: xDD

Guest: Not really. He's not the stalker. And he won't.

Aurei: It's not him. xD I do like his character in this story. It's more interesting to write about. I would have to agree too, it makes sense, but it's not him. Neither is a possibility. It would. You read it because you love it. :P You'll know now!

~Responses to MSM~

Pinksakura271: Ikr? Thank you. xDD No hitting when I'm here!

Ezpear: Thank you!

"It looks like the lady's going clubbing." Chloe Bourgeois said as she settled back into her car. An unmarked vehicle, it blended pretty well on the busy street. Friday night in Chicago. Sure, it was after two a.m., but the city usually just got pumping at this time.

She tightened her hold on the phone. "She's going into the club alone." What was the name of that place? The neon letters were flashing. Extreme. "It's a place called Extreme." She sure hoped that she wasn't given orders to go in that club.

Not my scene. The beat of the music was already giving her a headache. She'd rather take traffic duty over this detail any day. But, if she had to follow orders. Chloe sighed. She'd do her job.

"Your detective made a serious mistake, captain!" Adrien's lawyer snapped as she grabbed her briefcase. "He deliberately provoked my client and-"

"The charges have been dropped, Smith, what more do you want?" The captain, older, with gray shooting through his blond hair, sighed. "Mr. Agreste is free to go." Nathanael stood at the captain's side.

Adrien had no doubt that Nathanael had been ripped a new one by the captain. You shouldn't have gone after me. The charges might be dropped, but the situation between Nathanael and Adrien was a long way from over.

"Where's Marinette?" Adrien asked quietly. Nathanael's features tightened. "She went home."

"By herself?" He swore. "Damn it, I'm not the threat to her. Someone else is out there, and you just let her go-"

"Officer Chloe Bourgeois is keeping an eye on her." It was the captain who spoke. "Chloe took her home, and then we gave orders for Chloe to stay and keep watch on Ms. Dupain-Cheng's place." His racing heart calmed a bit. The cops hadn't completely screwed up.

Not yet.

"That's good to know." He jerked his head toward Amelia Smith. "Let's go. I've seen enough of this station to last a fucking lifetime." Smith nodded. The girl was on retainer. Five minutes after Adrien had called her, Smith had rushed into the station.

The lawyer had been threatening a law suit even as the door swung closed behind her. But, by then, the charges had already been dropped. Nathanael was jerking me around.

The detective should know better to play out of his league. Adrien's hands slammed into the main door and sent it flying open as he hurried outside. He need to get to Marinette and-

"I don't know who the girl is," Smith said as she grabbed Adrien's arm. "But with the cops involved, it might be wise to back off a bit." Adrien paused. He glanced over his shoulder, looking back at the station's entrance. Nathanael had followed him out.

Not surprising.

"Backing off isn't an option," he said and he shook off Smith's hold. His gaze met Nathanael's. "Not a fucking chance."

The club was packed. Lights flew over the crowd even as the music pumped out from the stage. At first, Marinette didn't move. Her gaze swept the club. Some women wore short and low-cut dresses. They writhed on the dance floor.

Others were dressed like Marinette- snug jeans, loose tops. The music kept blaring. The beat was hard, driving. A blond guy headed toward Marinette. "Want to dance?" He had to yell to be heard over that pounding music.

Marinette nodded. Dancing. It was what she needed. The only thing. Adrien lied. He lied. She took the blond's hand. Then she went into the dance floor. She stopped thinking. Started feeling the beat. And finally, finally stopped hurting.

The fucking asshole had his hands all over Marinette. Adrien stood a few feet from the dance floor. His eyes had found Marinette the instant that he stepped inside the club.

He could always find her. Some blond jerk had his hands on Marinette's hips. Marinette was undulating and moving fluidly to the beat of the music. Sensual temptation.

She pulled away from the man. Danced toward the center of the floor. Spun. Rolled her body. Another partner grabbed her. She met his moves. Danced. Danced. Pulled away. Went to another damn partner.

The music's tempo increased. Marinette easily matched the beat. There was no limping. No stumbling. Just grace. Temptation. No one else could dance like Marinette. Her body curved and spun. Dipped. Twisted.

Temptation.

Another partner. The crowd was loud. The band blasting. Marinette had nearly died that night. She should have been at home. Safe. Another partner. Another. Fucking. Partner.

Adrien stalked forward. Pushed his way through the crowd. When she spun again, he was the one to catch her and pull her close. Marinette didn't even look up at him. Her body was rocking to the beat. Moving, moving…

"Are you drunk?" Adrien growled out the words. Her head jerked toward him. She stopped dancing and seemed to finally see him. Fear flashed in her eyes. The band cranked their song up even louder. Marinette pulled away from him. Found another partner.

He followed her. "Taken," Adrien snapped to the blond. The man wisely stepped back. "No," Marinette fired right back at him. "I'm not. Leave me alone, Adrien. Get out of here." She didn't sound drunk. She sounded angry and afraid, but her words hadn't slurred.

He frowned down at her. "What are you doing?" Marinette laughed. "Dancing. It's what I like to do, right? The only thing…" She tried to break away again. Not happening.

"Someone is after you!" He pulled her closer. She was still moving. Her hips undulating. "You should be home."

Her lashes shielded her eyes. "Are you the one after me?"

"Marinette…"

"You're the only one I've ever counted on. Don't do this to me, Adrien." Her lashes lifted. There were fucking tears in her eyes. "Don't be the one hurting me."

Right there, on that dance floor, with that too-loud music and the hot press of bodies, she broke him. His hands were tunneled in her hair. He tipped her head back. "I'm not, baby. I'm not." He kissed her. Hard and deep and desperately.

Marinette had kept him sane for years, and she didn't even know it. Marinette had made life worth living for him. She thought he'd hurt her? Terrorize her? No. Hell no.

"Trust me," he breathed the words against her lips. "It's not me." He needed to get her out of that club. To some place quiet so that they could talk. He could explain then. She stared up at him. "I love you."

The words were a punch to his chest. "I never stopped," she said, lips trembling. "I couldn't." To Marinette, love was trust. He knew that. Because he knew her.

He pulled her close, and he got her the hell out of that club.

"She's leaving," Chloe said into her phone as she watched Marinette rush out of the club. "And she's not alone." Chloe straightened in her seat. "Wow, wait- wasn't he supposed to be in jail?" Because that guy holding Marinette Dupain-Cheng's hand sure looked like Adrien Agreste to her. That man was pretty unmistakable.

She thought the couple would head back toward Marinette's apartment. They didn't. Agreste bundled her up in his black Jag and he raced away with her moments later.

The guy never glanced Chloe's way. He'd been focused only on Marinette. Chloe listened to her orders as her hold tightened on the phone. "On it, sir."

She tossed her phone to the side and cranked up her vehicle. She was supposed to keep her eyes on Marinette Dupain-Cheng. That was exactly what she'd do.

Penguin: Some dramatic things happening here! I'll see you guys soon! Bai!