v i i

The ink glowed, almost ominously on his arm.

"My room. Once the lights go out." If Chat Noir hadn't known better, he'd be excited to receive a message like this. However. He knew the reasons behind her words – to continue their argument from earlier.

Adrien had just bid Marinette a good night and this was the message that awaited him on the other side of his door. He simply rolled his eyes and went to take a shower.

It had nearly been half an hour and Adrien was dried, dressed and ready for bed. "Are you ready?" He looked towards Plagg. He was sitting on Adrien's pillow, munching on a chunk of camembert. Usually, Adrien would say something about him eating on his pillow, but he couldn't.

Instead, he carefully picked up the kwami, holding him to his chest. "Plagg, I'm sorry. I went too far last night. The kwami was caught off guard, until he sighed.

"I'm sorry too. Things have been tough for the both of us. However, I don't necessarily forgive you for what you said..." his voice trailed off, looking up at Adrien. "I was proud of you today. You are one of the first Chats to ever do anything without a Ladybug." He put a small paw to Adrien's shirt and Adrien smiled softly.

"Are you complimenting me?" He sang, poking the top of Plagg's head gently with a finger. Plagg huffed and swatted his finger away.

"I didn't mean anything I said." He floated out of Adrien's hand with his tiny arms crossed. Adrien chuckled.

"'I was proud of you today'." Adrien tried to imitate the cat's voice. Plagg hissed at him and Adrien laughed, scooping the kwami back to his chest. "But really, thank you Plagg, thank you for believing in me. Chat Noir is not a sidekick, he's a hero, too. He's just as important as Ladybug." Plagg remained silent and Adrien continued to hold him until the kwami began to purr. Adrien pulled him away slightly, petting him gently.

"Yeah, yeah." He moved out from under Adrien's finger. "Come on, someone is waiting for you across the hall." Adrien nodded.

"Plagg, transform me."

Despite the lights being off, she was sitting on the sofa, her legs crossed and her arms against her chest. Marinette shone peacefully and beautifully in the moonlight, but Chat Noir could tell that she was like a bomb waiting to go off.

"Good evening, princess." He started as he slowly slinked into the bedroom.

"Don't 'princess' me." She snapped. She hasn't looked up at him once.

"Then don't put yourself in dangerous situations and stay away from akuma attacks." Her head snapped to him, a glare in her eyes.

"Oh, but you can?"

"I have a suit, Marinette."

"Is it indestructible?"

"I've yet to find out." She stood.

"So just because you have some fancy leather suit that may or may not be indestructible, you think that means you have the right to gallivant all around Paris?"

"Yes. There's magic in my suit, meanwhile, you're just limited to your skin."

"So if you get injured, does that mean those get healed right away?"

"Usually, but it's mostly with the aid of Lady-"

"Then stop being an idiot Chat Noir! Don't be so reckless! Ladybug doesn't exist!" She shouted at him while he blinked in disbelief. "She's not here to save you, she's not here to heal you, she's not-" Chat grabbed her wrist and pulled her in. His hand grabbed her chin and tilted her up, leaning in to silence her.

It was only momentary, but god, did he miss her. He wanted to cradle her, kissed her until she turned blue, but the moment was only so short lived. She pulled away out of his grasp quickly, her hand crossing his cheek.

It stung and she took a couple steps back, trying to regain her breathing. "Whether you know it or not, I've been doing this for many years, Marinette. I'm not the stupid kitten you take me for!" His voice rose only slightly and she could feel the sting on her own cheek. "If that's all you have to say, I'll be leaving for the night." He turned, without looking at her.

"C-Chat, wait!" She called as he went to her window and leaped up, before disappearing into the dark skies without a glance back.

The cool wind was welcoming to his heated face. His fists were clenched, his claws digging into his palms as he jumped from roof to roof until he arrived at the park. "?" Plagg asked. Chat Noir remained silent, if his suit really wasn't indestructible, his claws would be digging into his flesh.

They both pushed it – her with Ladybug and him with that kiss. Marinette was right. She usually always was right, but the only thing was that Adrien didn't want to admit it. At least, not at that moment. Chat Noir arrived at the park, bringing up dust on the floor. He kicked some left of debris from Sparkle's candy cage. Was it an understatement to say that he was mad?

"Cataclysm!" The urge to destroy, to utterly abolish something and have it turn into ashes grew.

"." Plagg had to dance around Adrien. Those dark clouds around him were word sensitive.

The rustic magic itched at Chat's paw and he quickly looked around, his eyes scanning the area for something to destroy. A tree? A trash bin? A light post. His nails swiped at a nearby lamppost, the metal rusting and snapping in half. A quarter of the part was now enshrouded in darkness as he tried to regain his breathing.

It wasn't until a familiar beeping that Plagg spoke up. "?" Chat sighed, laying down on one of the benches that was shrouded in the dark.

"Detransform me." A small flash of green revealed Adrien in his pajamas. It was chillier at night, but the last place Adrien wanted to be was in the confines of his room. "I'm sorry Plagg."

"We're all on edge." He didn't know the extent of Marinette's condition, but he could only assume that her dreams stressed her out. That and the so-called "criminal" that was visiting her often.

Adrien laid an arm over his eyes, taking slow breaths. He felt the familiar pressure on his arm and he sighed tiredly. "'Chat, I'm sorry.'" Plagg read. "'You're right, you're not some dumb kitten, I just-'" Adrien cut Plagg off, swiping the writing off his arm. Plagg sat on Adrien's chest, looking up at the boy expectantly.

"Is it wrong to ask for a break? Is that so much to ask for?" Plagg nodded silently, looking back as more writing appeared on his arm.

"'Please, where are you?''' Another wipe. ""Chat, would you listen-'" Swipe.

"Where-"

"I'm sor-"

"Please-"

"She really seems like she wants to apologize." Plagg looked up at Adrien as he continued swiping at his arm mercilessly. "She can probably feel the ache you're feeling."

"Good," Adrien laid back down sighing. Silence. Nothing was heard, except for the paired breathing, in the distance, the sound of a flying airplane and the rustling of the trees in the wind. "Maybe with that, she can know how I feel."

It was far away, but there was the sound of music. It was bell-link, kind of like a music box or a wind up box. Adrien glanced down at Plagg, whose ears twitched as they picked up the sound. Except for the couple of night owls who liked to walk around the Parisian streets, music was definitely out of the ordinary.