Adrien never opened up to others, not even to his closest friend Nino. As Chat Noir, he would love to talk to his lady, but he never had the courage to talk about his personal problems. Especially now more than ever.

But when it came to Marinette, here he was, the fountain of truth overflowing for her.

"The girl I've come to love for the past few years told me she didn't love me and that she loves someone else. It's hard, knowing our red strings are tied to each other but she doesn't want to be with me. I don't know what to do with myself. I feel like everyone important to me is slowly disappearing. My mother disappeared when I was younger, then I lost my father once I lost my mother. To this point, I've practically lost everyone." Chat's voice started off at a normal volume and was looking down at her, but towards the end, his voice was quiet and he was looking away. Tears stung his eyes and threatened to fall, but he shut his eyes, blinking them away.

Marinette has never seen this of her partner. He was always the pillar that held her up as Ladybug, but now with Ladybug out of the question, Chat looked like he was going to crumble.

"I'm sure there's someone else out there for you. It will happen when you least expect it." Marinette rose her hand to the bottom of his chin and scratched it gently. Chat leaned into her touch, a purr rising out of his throat. This surprised Marinette and she laughed weakily.

"You purr?" She asked.

Chat looked down at her with a smile. "They don't call me Chat Noir for nothing." He gave a wink.

Marinette gave a smile now, humming thoughtfully. "Let me guess, you sleep and sunbathe during the day, and become active at night."

Chat gave a smirk and moved some hair from Marinette's face. He looked down at her, admiring her features – the beautiful blue eyes, her dark hair color and the silkiness of it, the small freckles she had across her nose.

"Has anyone ever told you... how beautiful you are?" Chat asked, not having noticed this before.

Marinette was used to him dishing out compliments to Ladybug, but as Marinette? The blush that covered her cheeks was embarrassing. She hurried to sit up, hitting themselves in the process.

"C-Chat, I-I'm sorry!" Her forehead throbbed and he ran his hand over his chin, laughing.

"It's okay princess, don't apologize. Are you okay?" He asked, bringing his hand to her forehead.

"I'm okay." She spoke sheepishly.

Chat gave a genuine smile. "So will you go back home? Many people are worried about you."

Marinette looked down, feeling guilty about the lie she fished out to her parents.

"I will. Thank you." She said quietly.

Chat leaned in and pressed his lips to the throbbing part of her forehead. "No, thank you." He whispered before he pulled away. "See you later." With two fingers, he mini saluted her and extended his baton to disappear towards some buildings.

Marinette had a blush on her cheeks as she watched him leave, her hand coming up to where he kissed her. Chat was so different when it was just her.

"Marinette!" Alya and Nino had just arrived at the park and found Marinette looking into the distance. They rushed to her, frantically looking her over to see if she was okay.

"We were so worried about you!" Alya cried.

"We stopped by your house to see if you were home but your mom said you told her you were with us. You could imagine their worry." Nino added.

"Nino? Alya?"

"Yes?"

"Let's go home."

The three of them went to Marinette's home, her mother and father were more than relieved to find their precious daughter safe and sound.

Marinette's parents treated Nino and Alya with some macaroons from the shop, allowing them to stay for a while as thanks for finding Marinette.

Their worry was a great one when they found out that Marinette was gone, but all of that worry was soon wiped away and Marinette's parents were not pleased as for her disappearance and her lies to them.

"I cannot believe you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. To skip school and then lie to us? We are your parents. If something is wrong, you're supposed to talk to us." Her mother scolded her and Marinette hung her head, her hands in her lap as they all sat in the living room.

"You know we're always here when you need someone to talk to." Her father added.

Marinette sniffled and she threw herself again her parents, hugging them as she let out a choked sob. "Mama, Papa, I'm sorry." She cried and her parents let out a sigh, their anger slipping away.

Marinette excused herself and went up to her bedroom, her parents watching her leave.

"I'm sure she really didn't mean it. I think... she's going through a rough patch in her life right now and she feels like she can't trust anyone with it." Marinette's mother said.

"What do you mean?" Her father asked.

"Have you ever seen Marinette writing on her arm or finding ink on her arm?"

He thought about it, shaking his head. "No, I haven't."

She no looked up towards Marinette's room, sighing softly. "I think it has something to do with her red strings and I also think that the reason she won't tell anyone is because she has no one to relate to."

Upstairs, Marinette had just gotten out of a warm shower, dressed in her pajamas, sitting on her bed.

"Marinette?" Tikki flew up to the teenager and looked at her worriedly. "How are you feeling?"

Marinette nodded. "Better. The talk I had with Chat Noir at the park made me feel... like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

Tikki sighed in relief, nodding. "That's good. The weather is warm out, you should go out and look at the stars to clear your mind." Marinette looked out her window and noticed the clear night sky. "I'll stay here." Tikki sat on her bed munching on a cookie.

Marinette went out into her terrace, pulling open one of her lawn chairs and laid down, looking up at the stars. Tikki had a good suggestion, the skies were cloudless and the stars sparkled in the dark skies, the full moon lighting up the nightlife.

"There's a western myth that says if you watch the full moon with someone you love, you will be together forever."

Marinette sat up and the black cat was leaning against the railing of her terrace.

"Good evening princess."

"Chat, what are you doing here?" She asked, adjusting herself on her chair so she can sit comfortably.

"Evening patrol. I was making my rounds and I noticed you were out, so I decided to stop by."

She nodded; she had forgotten that tonight was Chat's turn for patrol while tomorrow night was her turn.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you. How about you?"

He shrugged. "I guess I could say stressed. Another long day of work, my father forced me to do many sorts of things after I returned home. I probably had about an hour's rest before I had to come out for patrol." He shrugged again.

"I thought you said you lost your father?" Marinette asked.

"He's very much alive, however his position as a father is more than non-existent."

"Oh." Marinette's response was quiet. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Chat shook his head, a soft smile crossing his lips. "My father stopped being my father when mom passed away. It was long before I became Chat Noir too, so..." His voice trailed off and he looked up at Marinette. "Don't feel the need to apologize."

There was a small silence between them and Marinette slid onto one side of her chair, looking up at him.

"Care to join me?" She asked.

Chat smiled and pushed himself off the railing, coming to sit towards the end of the chair, while Marinette was expecting him to take a seat beside her. Either way, she accepted that he sat down and came to sit towards the edge of the chair, an arm's length away from each other.

"You know, I feel a lot better when I talk to you." Chat stretched his arms upward before turning his torso and laying his head down in Marinette's lap. "It's like the stress-burg melts away when I'm with you." He closed one eye, looking up at her surprise with triumph, before closing his eyes and settling comfortably.

Marinette had frozen, not know what to do. She decided to let him stay, bringing her hands to his blond hair, which was surprisingly really soft.

"Wow, what do you use on your hair?" Marinette asked, bringing her other hand into his hair.

Chat shrugged slightly. "I don't know, I don't really pay attention actually." They shared a laugh and she continued to run a hand through his hair. He hummed softly, the sounds of a soft purr growing. "Princess?" Chat asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"The end to your red string? He's there, certainly. You've just got to give him a chance to let him reach you." Chat opened his eyes, looking up at her. "It may take some time and it may seem like everyone else around you is finding their end, but a special girl like you?"

"Chat..."

He rose his hand to cup one of her cheeks. "Save the best for last, right?" He winked, letting his eyes close again and brought his hand down.

New tears threatened to fall from Marinette's cheeks as she processed his words. She pressed her lips together, looking up at sky.

"Watch the full moon with someone you love and you will be together forever, huh?" She spoke in a low whisper. She looked down at the boy who rested in her lap – his messy, yet smooth blond hair, his long eyelashes against his mask, the way his lips looked soft and were slightly slit apart.

Marinette found herself slowly leaning in towards Chat, letting out a shuddered breath she couldn't contain. Chat's eyes fluttered opened at her exhale and was stunned as he watched her lean closer to him but did nothing to stop her.

The distance between the two was slowly becoming a hair's breadth distance apart and Marinette could feel Chat's breathing on her lips.

Just as their lips were about to touch, Chat's miraculous beeped. Their eyes fluttered open and they met, Marinette's eyes clouded and Chat's full of an alluring mystery.

"Marinette..." He whispered.

"Chat, please, don't..." Marinette whispered back and her hands cupped his face as she shook her head, their noses brushing.

"I have to, my princess."

She let her shoulders slump in defeat and she pulled away. Chat sat up and stood, looking down at Marinette. He took her hand and pulled her up, bringing her closer to him.

"Can I see you tomorrow night?" He asked softly, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"I have something to attend to tomorrow night, I'm sorry." Ladybug had patrol tomorrow night.

Chat let out a sad sigh and a small pout. "Then I hope to see you again soon, my princess." He brought her close, tucking her head into the crook of his neck and shoulder, hugging her tightly. "Good night, get some rest." Chat pulled her away and kissed her forehead gently.

"Good night." Marinette watched as Chat disappeared into the night, before going down into her room. The room was dark and Tikki was asleep, so she was left alone to her thoughts.

Marinette replayed the previous moments in her mind – she was just about to kiss Chat Noir. Since when did she feel so comfortable around him? Let alone, what made him so keen to tell her about his personal life? He never spoke to Ladybug about this.

Ladybug. Marinette rolled up her pajama sleeve, expecting to find some sort of message from Chat, like usual- but she remembered. Ladybug had just rejected Chat and he specifically told Marinette that the girl he loved didn't love her.

As Marinette, she saw what a wonderful person Chat Noir happened to be; a genuinely caring person with a tragic home life and she couldn't get the black cat out of her thoughts.

But what about Adrien? Adrien has been her crush ever since middle school. Albeit they got off on the wrong foot when they met for the first time, the following rainy day made her realize that he wasn't one of Chloé's followers.

Adrien has been Marinette's middle school crush and Chat Noir has been her middle school partner. She's never really been able to properly interact with Adrien, she usually becomes a bumbling, stuttering mess. With Chat Noir, she's extremely comfortable, with his teasing but has quickly and undeniably gotten attached to this new side of him.

"Are you actually falling for Chat Noir?" Marinette whispered to herself. She began to think about the almost kiss they had and the chaste kiss he placed on her forehead. A blush exploded on her face and she face planted into a pillow, hoping to get some sleep.

Adrien sat in front of his computer, looking at Alya's Ladyblog. He watched all the videos of Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting akumas and the celebratory fist bump they shared after every victory.

Adrien was desperate to write into his arms – it was his favorite time of night, the time when he can talk to his lady when they're not together but... Nothing came to mind.

Chat Noir had just arrived from his visit with Marinette. He had only wanted to check up on her, see if she was doing better, but he ran into her. He ended up prolonging his stay with her, laying in her lap, letting her play with his hair, almost sharing a kiss.

Adrien remembered the way her breath shuddered as she leaned close, with his refined sense of smell, he could smell the citrus of her body wash off of her. He wanted to forever relish in her presence, the atmosphere she created was so soothing.

Adrien remembered the way her voice quietly begged him to stay... He quickly shook his head and turned off his computer, heading to his bed. His stomach made flips as he remembered every bit and smell of Marinette Dupain-Cheng and it honestly scared him a bit.

Chat Noir couldn't betray his lady, could he? Although his lady did betray him... But it's not like they were an actual couple, right? So his lady didn't really betray him. As Adrien, he loved his lady too, but now his princess was in his thoughts too.

Adrien ran his hand down his face, dreading the next thought that came to his mind. Maybe, if he could be allowed, he could focus on the new string he just made with his princess?