A.n.- I'm back with a new chapter! Its a pretty entertaining chapter if I do say so myself. Thank you for all the support of you guys, I'm so glad you are enjoying the story as much as I am writing it. Thank you to my betas who make sure I produce the best story possible.

"Hold up, time out girl. What's gotten into you today?" Alya stepped out from a defensive stance, resting her hand on her hip. "You're not on your A game. What's wrong, Marinette?"

The two had been sparring in a training room provided by Master Fu. The purpose was to improve their hand-to-hand combat if the situation ever arose as a last form of attack. They weren't in sync as a team, and it showed. Marinette dropped to the ground, retightening the bandages on her hands.

"I don't know," she admitted quietly. Her problems rarely carried over when she was focused on fighting, but today was different. An overwhelming sense of distance from a certain alley cat was starting to take its toll on top of her confusion over whatever feelings lingered for Adrien. She shouldn't have feelings for either boy, for separate reasons, but she did.

"Let me guess, Adrien or Chat Noir," Alya replied, taking a seat across from her. Mari let out a sigh, her best friend knew her so well.

"Both." Marinette fidgeted with the end of her pant leg. "With Adrien," she paused contemplating exactly what to say- admitting that she wanted to kiss him the other day wasn't something she was ready to admit yet, "It's a constant push and pull. I miss our friendship, Alya, what we used to have. But every time I allow him closer..." Her words faded out as her eyes hit the floor.

"Your feelings get stirred up again."

"They're not going away, Alya. I don't know what to do. Maybe it's just because I stopped hanging out with Chat but," she swallowed the lump in her throat, "It's hard to even look at him without getting butterflies."

"Speaking of the alley cat, have you called him yet?" Marinette's stomach twisted at the question.

"I don't see the point if he liked me he would have told me by now right? Maybe I'm seeing things that aren't there. Plus, we're partners; if anything happened between us, it would affect the team."

"You two are already impacting everything, Marinette." She let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, Chat isn't in much better shape. Yes, things could go downhill, but have you considered what if it doesn't. Your relationship could make you stronger. He practically begged for me to give you that number, the least you could do is reach out to him." She was right, Chat needed at least an explanation. She would tell Chat how she felt, and if it wasn't mutual, she would deal with it then.

"Tomorrow after my internship," she promised. The words brought a mix of giddiness and dread shooting through her system.

Alya's eyebrow lifted skeptically. "Why not tonight?" Not that she didn't trust Marinette but putting off important conversations was a strong suit of hers. She would not be the kind of person that would let two people that Marinette loved slip from her fingers just because she was scared to embrace it.

"I'm meeting up with an old friend." Alya did a double take at Marinette; that was a new excuse. She hadn't told her about meeting up with anyone.

"Alright, I'll bite, who?" She crossed her arms against her chest in a huff. The two of them weren't in the habit of keeping secrets from each other, not since the reveal of their alter ego.

"I'll tell you what," Marinette stood to her feet dusting herself off, "for every point that you get, I'll give you a hint." A wicked grin spread on her partner's lips, Alya wasn't one to turn down a challenge.

"Deal."

Adrien's music blasted between his ears, increasing his heart rate. His conversation with Nino just left him frustrated so he took out his remaining energy jumping rooftops, pushing himself harder and faster to the beat of the music. The only thing that made him venture back towards his new apartment was the knowledge of how much Plagg would complain and demand an absurd amount of Camembert.

Once inside, he glanced around; Amelie and Marinette were nowhere to be seen. He had the apartment all to himself. He tossed his sweaty shirt made into his room before he headed straight towards the bathroom for a shower. Amelie would throw a fit if she came home and he didn't freshen up.

He barged into the bathroom only to stop dead in his tracks when warm water vapor stuck to his exposed chest and a shocked Marinette, grasping a very flimsy towel to her naked form, stood before him. He wanted to tear his eyes away, but the smooth skin leading up her muscular legs was a siren song to him.

The heat traveled across both faces. Adrien was looking for some sort of explanation while the remaining blood traveled southwards towards the throbbing sensation making his pants skin tight.

"I'm sorry." It took more energy than he would liked to get the simplest sentence out of his mouth. Amelie had warned him that sometimes the bathroom door knob didn't lock properly, but he didn't really pay much heed to it. He never expected in a million years for the detail to put him in a predicament like this.

He shifted his eyes off the silky skin, but the damage was already done playing the image of Marinette in a towel. "I didn't mean, I mean I thought you weren't home-" His word vomit was making the situation unpleasant. He felt Marinette's eyes still on him, it scared him that she hadn't said anything.

Get out of there, his mind chided. With one swift movement, the door slammed shut and he retreated to his room. If he hadn't ruined his friendship with Marinette before, it was now. There was no present that said, I'm sorry I walked in on you practically naked but at least you looked fantastic.

He groaned the second he closed his eyes because she was there. His mind started to play out a fantasy of her inviting him to join her, but he stopped himself before going too far.

He would need a cold shower.

"You know, it could have been worse," Plagg quipped. "A couple seconds earlier and there wouldn't have been a towel." A fresh imagine saturated his mind once more.

A very cold shower.

The sound of a knock on the door caused Adrien's head to jerk up. Who could possibly be at the door? He paused his video game and made his way over to the door. There was no way it was the food he ordered a couple minutes prior. Amelie was at a work function, maybe someone was meeting Marinette? She hadn't mentioned hanging out with someone, but then again, she was still avoiding him. He reached for the knob and when the door swung open he was face to face with Nathaniel Kurtzberg.

His flaming red hair had grown shaggier, his style choice was subtler, but drawing sketches were peeking out from his bag; same old Nathaniel.

"Hello. Marinette said to meet her here?" Adrien watched as confusion flickered across his face at why he opened the door.

"Uh...Mari? Nathaniel's here?" He shouted over his shoulder not expecting a reply.

"I'll be right there."

Those was the first real sentence he received from her in two weeks. He sighed, wishing things would just go back to the way things were.

"Come on in," he offered, stepping back to allow the redhead inside. Nathaniel always had a thing for Marinette while they were in school. It was obvious to everyone around them, except possibly the source of his crush. "So, going out with...Marinette." He tried not to let any bitterness through.

"Yeah, something like that." Nathaniel's vague answer did nothing for him, he needed more.

"How did you manage to do that?" The curiosity was killing him, he needed to get the information some way.

"I ran into her on the subway the other day, then she asked me-"

"Ready to go?" Marinette's voice interrupted their conversation.

Adrien was glad he sat down because the girl in front of him was stunning and took his breath away. His eyes started on her black shoes to a black skirt and continued upward to a green sweater and a black leather jacket. Her hair was tucked up into a neat bun, another style he wouldn't mind seeing more often. She was teasing him, and the worst part was she didn't even know it.

She didn't have to ask twice as Nathan jumped up to join her. Adrien barely heard her call over her shoulder, "Don't wait up."

He flinched when the door closed, snapping him out of whatever mental stupor he was in.

He couldn't do this. Video games would not be able to distract him from Marinette going on a date with a man who was practically in love with her all throughout schooling. There was no way that she couldn't know. He would go stir crazy if he had to sit in the apartment all night. Following the two of them wasn't an option, he didn't know what he would do. He needed to get advice from someone who knew Marinette. Nino would get suspicious if Chat Noir suddenly showed up asking about Marinette, Alya would bombard him with questions for her Lady blog, which left one option.

"So, Adrien Agreste huh?" The smile that grew on Nathaniel's lips could probably be seen across the restaurant.

Marinette felt her cheeks heat up. As much as she wished that he was right, obviously he drew conclusions when he saw him at the apartment.

She opened her mouth to correct him but took pause. Would it be so wrong if she didn't correct him? She would be able to indulge the fantasy that her mind long played in her mind with no one getting hurt. She would be able to play out and hopefully close the book on her feelings for the blonde after all. If Nathaniel approached Adrien he would tell him there was a misunderstanding and the case would be closed.

Her shy smile must have been enough of an answer. "It's about time. When did it happen?"

"We bumped into each other a couple months ago." It wasn't a lie, it had been 5 months since he crashed back into her life and she hadn't been the same since.

"Took him long enough," he scoffed. "I'm surprised he didn't ask you out while in high school. It was obvious that he had a thing for you." Did everyone know about Adrien's crush except her? How could she have missed this? "In fact, it was common knowledge that you were off limits." Marinette choked on the liquid she was drinking.

"What do you mean," she cocked an eyebrow, "off limits?"

"It's not that he went around threatening people or anything." Nathan threw his hands in front of him in defense. "Just with the knowledge that he liked you, it seemed that you two would eventually become an item. But I'm glad that's in the past and you two are happy together."

"Yeah, happy." Her tone was softer as she tried to process everything. Adrien was protective over her in high school, but she had always written it off as being a good friend. With this new information, it did shine light on some questions though.

"Are you ok, Marinette? You look a little pale."

"Y-yeah," she sputtered. "I'm fine." She needed to distract herself and quickly. "What about you? Anyone special in your life?" she asked.

"Yeah, my girlfriend and I have been going strong for 2 years now." He smiled to himself. "Hopefully soon to be my fiancé."

"Congrats!" she replied excitedly. "Tell me all about her!" Nathaniel deserved being happy, someone that could make him smile every day, and by the way he glowed, he had found just that.

"We started hanging out during the summer after we graduated. I was taking an art class and she had enrolled too. I guess we gravitated towards each other because of the familiarity. We got to talking, which lead to hanging out, and now here we are."

"Summer after graduation. Do I know her?" Marinette's brain started racking through their fellow classmates.

"Uh...yeah you do." He breathed out forcing his gaze away. Why did it seem like he was hesitant to share? "It's Chloe."

"Oh?" She tried to suppress the shock that dropped her jaw. That was one of the last people she would had suspected.

"She's changed now, ever since she was forced to return her Miraculous. She's a lot more humbled."

Marinette, or rather, Ladybug, had the unfortunate duty of taking it away from her. Chloe cried and even begged for her to change her mind, saying that things would be different. For a second Marinette took pity on her, but Master Fu had made up his mind. When you announce to Paris who your alter ego is, there wasn't anything her Ladybug powers could do to correct the situation.

"Are you going to say something?" It seemed that even though Nathaniel wasn't in love with her anymore he still valued her opinion.

"I'm happy for you two." She forced her lips back into their supportive smile, but Nathan didn't seem convinced.

"No, you're not," he replied, searching her face.

"It will just take some getting used to. But if you say she's changed, I believe you. I hope that she says yes." This wasn't about whatever hostile feelings lingered between her and Chloe, this was about Nathaniel's happiness. She couldn't deny the way his face lit up when he talked about her.

"Thanks, Marinette." He offered a smile, defusing the tension. The two spent the rest of the meal exchanging stories from their past as laughter from the pair filled the restaurant.

Girls would always confuse him, Adrien decided. But since he found out that Rena knew Marinette in some capacity, she could think like Marinette, and therefore was invaluable. He reached out to Rena, and miraculously she agreed to meet.

"Why hasn't she reached out to me? Did I do something wrong?" Three weeks. Three weeks and there was nothing. Rena had assured him that she had given Marinette the number to his staff, what did he do wrong? Now Marinette was avoiding Adrien at the apartment and there was radio silence towards his alter ego.

"I thought you called me out here for some practice, not to talk about your love life." The sarcasm oozed off her voice. She didn't know if Marinette knew what the separation was doing to Chat Noir, but she was sure she had her reasons. Both people were stubborn to their core and she refused to be placed in the middle of a battle she couldn't win. The only way this would be solved was if the two were shoved in a room together to talk it out.

"And what about her date with Nathaniel-" He was silenced by a finger pressed to his lips.

"Kitten, you need to find some yarn and relax. You are doing no one any favors in being this wound up." His eyes narrowed at the comment but that didn't deter her. "Go talk to her. I know that both of you will feel better once you hash it out. If Marinette going out with another guy bothers you so much, step up and do something about it. Sitting here venting to me will do nothing ." She considered spilling that Marinette wasn't on an actual date but quickly decided against it. One of the last things she needed was Chat knowing exactly how close she was to this situation. She hoped that if she gave him enough of a push he would spring into action and she wouldn't have to listen to the same problem being repeated from both Marinette and Chat.

"Do you really think it will work?" His question was answered with Rena resting her hand on her hip. A sudden smile sprouted and he extended his staff. "Thanks, Rena." With a lazy salute, he took a flying leap in the direction of Marinette's apartment, leaving the fox behind.

Alya shook her head sighing, "Anytime, you stupid Cat."

Chat knew this was crazy, but he couldn't help himself. If Marinette was back, then he would surprise her and if not, he would wait. It was a risk coming back there, after all if the world realized it was Marinette she would have to answer to boatload more questions from the press.

He needed to see her.

He landed on the balcony silently hoping that Amelie had not returned. If she found him in Marinette's room, he feared he would get beat with an umbrella.

He reached for the window only to find it wouldn't budge. He tried again, but to no avail. The window was...locked?

A sense of panic rose as the superhero found he had trouble breathing. She never locked the window before. What if Rena was wrong and Marinette didn't want to talk to him? He glanced around cautiously, he couldn't stay here much longer, someone might see him. Talking to Marinette would have to wait for another day. He let out a sigh, his troubles settling back to the pit of his stomach as he jumped to another building to find an alley to de-transform in.

If only he would have stayed a few minutes longer he would have witnessed Marinette's room light up and the girl he desperately wanted to talk to flopped on her own bed.

The cell phone was mocking her. Alya was right, she was putting off talking to him, and the worst part was she didn't know why. This was Chat, her partner, she always knew what to say to him. She bit her lip and grabbed her phone out of impulse and before she could stop herself it was ringing.

She felt her breath hitch, a voicemail. He must have been out of the suite, she didn't know what she expected. He couldn't be Chat Noir all the time. Unfortunately, her luck ran out when it came to leaving a voicemail.

The beep rang in her ear and her throat tightened.

"Kitty…" Her brain racked with the possibilities of what to say which had been building up since that night. "I miss you….and I-I really think we should talk." She needed to tell him in person, it was too important. "Please….call me back when you get this."

A.n.- Just trust me, this was necessary for setting up the next couple chapters ( which I'm sure you all will like). Let me know what you think of the chapter! Until next time.