✩𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕤𝕥 ℕ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤✩

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘈 𝘓𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘭

Marinette rolled her eyes at his theatrics.

"Hey but you weren't picking up. I was starting to get worried that you were into me anymore," he sulked, causing Marinette to bite the inside of her cheek.

Before she knew it was patting the back of the cat-themed hero as she watched his face turn to gloom.

"Do you have any idea how much I've gone crazy looking for you?! I've been having the craziest week of my entire life!"

Chat Noir chuckled sadly before giving Marinette a weak smile and standing atop of the balcony railing.

"I'm sure you have a lot of things to talk about but let's go out somewhere more...scenic," he said, holding out his hand to the girl.

Marinette looked down to her bunny slip-ons and her silk pajamas. No way she was going out like this. Just as she was about to turn around, she felt her legs lift off the ground and dangle in midair as Chat Noir placed one arm beneath her legs and the other under her back.

"Hold on Kit-"

"Hold onto me."

In the next moment, she was leaping through the sky in his arms under the dull moonlight. Marinette would usually carry civilians like this from time to time yet being on the receiving end felt so enchanting. The air flowing through their hair as they went up and the drop gave excitement. If she didn't have her arms wrapped around his neck tightly for dear life, she might have believed he was going to drop her. His super jumps kind of made her fly like she was flying in the sky and for once she loved not having her own wings flapping so desperately behind her.

Her taste of heaven beneath the clouds finally ends when Chat Noir lands on top the rooftop of a mansion with a metal elevator with its doors wide open. As Marinette was carried in, she couldn't shake off the mild sense of deja vu that began itching in the back of her mind. When had she ever stepped foot into a mansion like this?

As the elevator floors rolled down from 5 to 1, Marinette began to feel like she was getting too comfortable against the holder's chest.

"Hey, Chat."

"Hmm."

"Now would be as good a time as any to put me down, you know."

Chat Noir's eyes went wide before she gently placed her upright on her feet.

"Sorry about that, "he laughed nervously and rubbed his neck. "Force of habit."

Marinette cleared her throat as she stole a quick glance at the feline's face. He was blushing and that seemed to make her cheeks light up as well. The elevator door slid open to a large dark room. Chat Noir's claws search for a certain spot on the wall before opening on the side if the opposite wall opens. And before her very eyes, a sea of pure white butterflies awakens and flutters about in the dull moonlight.

"Whoa," she whispered under her breath. "This is beautiful."

Marinette held out her hand for the winged insects to land on her hand. Their legs felt ticklish on her skin. When did he find this place?

"With this many butterflies roaming around this place, I could almost believe that you might be turning into Hawkmoth."

"That's because they used to be his," Chat's voice spoke out.

His words alone had stricken her into a long silence. How was she going to tell him that he was back? After all the hard work they had put in after four years of chasing the same man who managed to bring pain to her friends and family. But it had to be said or else history would repeat itself.

"Chat, I wanted to talk to you about Hawkmoth. He's-"

"Back."

Marinette raised her eyebrows. "You knew?!"

"A little bird told me about that. Well, it's more of a bug," he said as he chimed his golden bell, causing a red and black spotted creature to materialize before Marinette.

"Tikki!" The girl cried as she gently palmed her magical companion next to her cheek. "What happened? I thought I lost you forever!"

Tikki frowned and slipped out of Marinette's hand before settling into Chat Noir's golden-blonde hair. If he didn't laugh it off a little Marinette's heart would have shattered.

"I'm sorry that you had to worry so much over her. She told me about the akuma you guys had seen on patrol earlier this week and decided to take things into her own tiny stubs. She is very mad at you though, but I'm sure the two of you can work it out later, right Bug-a-boo?" he said, making the small being in his hair puff out her cheeks and cross its arms.

The girl felt a twinge of guilt grip her heart however she had felt every bit relieved to see that her kwami was okay. It must have been frustrating for Tikki to remain sidelined like that. Then again, she seemed to trust Adrien enough to run to him. They must have known each other for longer than what Marinette initially thought.

"That sorts out one thing. Now for Hawkmoth-"

"There's no need for that," he said much to Marinette's surprise. "It's one of the reasons I brought you here. All the butterflies haven't experienced any sort of corruption since that time."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked with a clenched fist. "He could have broken out of prison."

"I went to see him recently. He's still in his cell."

"And the miraculous?"

"I'm still holding on to it."

Marinette frowned even more. She knows what she saw. Robin could even back her up, if he was here.

"I come down here nearly every day to take care of every single one of them.

"Why?" She asked with wide eyes. "You don't have to do that; you don't owe anything to that man Chat. Gabriel Agreste put peoples' lives at risk for his own selfishness."

He let out a deep sigh and rubbed his neck.

"I wish it was...easy...to let go of him, but all he has left is me," he said with a sad smile before stepping back from the teenage girl and taking off his ring.

A neon green light enveloped his body and his black leather suit and mask begin to disintegrate into black dust that blows off him. All that was left was a young blond-haired man in a white button-down jacket, a black shirt and blue jeans.

Marinette's heart dropped as she placed a hand over mouth. The boy smiled meekly as he turned his dull emerald-green eyes to face her bright bluebell eyes.

"Hey there, Marinette."

"Hey Adrien."