She stared at him in awe.

"But you said… How do you know about Chat Noir?"

That confirmed his suspicion.

"Chat Noir is in this castle. Chat Noir deserves whatever you have coming for him. However, Chat Noir cannot afford to die any time soon, because he is the heir to a country and people are depending on him."

She didn't say anything. She just stared. Her face was twisted, Adrien couldn't tell if she was livid or overjoyed. Probably livid though.

The slim girl reached out a hand to touch his face. And slapped him. Hard. It stung.

"Wha- Aren't you here to kill me? For what happened to Ladybug? Because it's my fault she's dead…"

…

"Dead? What made you think Ladybug is dead? She's not dead… She just wants to know why her kitten slammed the door…"

Tears begin to well up in the corners of her soft, bluebell eyes as she dropped to her knees. She punched him weakly in the chest.

"Ladybug just wants to know. Why did you shut me out? Why did you leave me to die?! You made it seem like you cared, but I don't know if you really did…"

The scarlet of the sky filtered gently, giving Marinette's hair a dark, blood like shade of red.

"Can we start again? I know I lied about being a woman-"

"I knew you were a woman. I kind of accidentally saw you getting chang-"

"YOU DID WHAT!? PERV!" She slapped him again, giving off a horrible but satisfying sound.

"You were saying? About starting again?" He asked.

"Right. I was saying, should we rebuild our trust as Marin- as Marinette and Adrien, instead of Ladybug and Chat Noir? Are you okay with that?"

At this point, he would be okay with anything. The woman he loved. The woman he thought he'd killed, had returned to him, saying she was willing to forgive and forget.

"I'm okay with that. And when we get back to where we were before, we'll discuss what happened. So, will you stay? I won't tell my father about you, so please, don't leave me again… I don't think I can…"

"Until we agree, this will be the last time Chat Noir and Ladybug meet. Do you have anything you want to say to Ladybug?" Marinette asked, drawing her mask from her pocket and placing it over her face.

Adrien took out his Chat mask and attached it.

"There's nothing I want to… say to Ladybug…"

The prince slid his hand up to trace the outlines of her mask, causing her to blush furiously.

"What are you doing…? Cha-"

He rested his forehead gently against her own, rubbing his thumb up and down her cheek.

The first time he kissed her he barely touched her. She was stiffening up, resisting gently, but not strongly enough to mean it.

He could feel her warm, flushed breath mingling with his own. He stopped.

He pulled his head away from her and turned around.

"Until someday, my Lady."

…

"Until someday, Chaton."

The two slipped their masks off of their faces and went their separate ways.

Adrien to his room, Mari, to report to the king.