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"Blondie...I mean...Adrien...Do you know this girl?" Goldilocks asks in confusion. Marinette takes a step further into the tent. Closer to the blonde young man. Adrien steps back nervously. He knows that he is probably already taking a risk by talking to her and not running away right this very second. But she looks so happy to see him. So relieved. He feels his own relief start to build up, threatening to overflow at any second.

"I...I Marinette?" Adrien stumbles out as she nods.
"Adrien...You're okay. You've been here this entire time? We were so worried!" She says walking forwards and throwing her arms around Adrien with a sniffle. She grips him hard and a few sobs actually come up. She had no idea that she had missed him this much! Of course she knew that she loved him...but this felt so much deeper then love, it felt like a paper cut on her heart. And it had just now stopped hurting.

"Marinette..."Adrien grumbles as he rubs her back with a smile. He had just seen her in the audience. But it felt so good, so relaxing, and so so so comforting to actually hold another member of his class. He felt tiny prickles at the back of his eyes. But he kept them back, he didn't want to start sobbing in front of his new friends after all.

"We can...ahem. We will just leave you two alone for a little while. Be right back." Stretch says as he ushers the others out of the tent. Larry pauses for a second and points threateningly at Marinette and Adrien.

"Hey Blondie guests aren't supposed to be back here! This is a room for circus performers only! So get her out! Now!" He said sternly. But not altogether unkindly. He was just following the rules of the circus. Adrien held his hand up with a grin.

"Of course! I will explain a few things to her and then she will be leaving." Adrien said breathlessly. Marinette had her hands balled into fists against his chest and looked at him suspicously.
"She will be leaving? I think you mean we will be leaving." She said warningly. Adrien just gazed down at her with a sad little half smile. She was then sudden;y aware of just how close the two of them were. She took a step back, his hands rested on her elbows and kept her right within grabbing distance. Adrien looked slightly brusied and beaten up, he was stronger though, she noticed muscles starting to stand out on his arms. But his hair was a wreck, his arms were brusied and the make up made him look absolutely horrific. She didn't know whether he looked like a clown or a victim of domestic assault.

"Adrien...What's going on?" Marinette asks she felt her heart starting to sink as he holds her hands for a second.
"Blondie. Please call me Blondie. That's the name that I have to go as around here. And Marinette it is so good to see you. You have no idea how much I miss you guys. But I told Nino to say good bye for me." He said shaking his head.

'Choose' echoes through Adrien's head as Marinette's eyes widen and water in confusion.

"Blondie? That seems a little...simple right? I mean who came up with that? And what happened to your hair? Have them been...Adrien have them been hurting you here?" She whispers glancing at the door nervously. They could still be standing out there waiting for her to come out. They might do something to Adrien while she is gone, something that he isn't permitted to talk about.

"Hurting me? NO! Oh! Wow! No!" He said quickly shaking his head. He raises his arms with a goofy grin "I'm a performer! It's fantastic! I wish that I could tell jokes or something while out there but I am also totally fine just you know doing tricks and stuff. People love it! And the people here are amazing! It's been wild! Although I'm a little confused about a few things. Like what you're doing here. And how you recognized me. I thought that my disguise was pretty good." He says as more of the wet grease paint falls down his face.

Marinette chuckles then laughs out loud, nearly bending in half at the absurdity of the situation. Here she was in the arms of the boy that she loved, and he was dressed up like a clown and performing with a bunch of circus freaks even though he had been kidnapped! This was the strangest kidnapping case she had ever seen! The strangest that possibly anyone had ever seen!

"I know I shouldn't laugh! I'm sorry! It's just...pffft!" Marinette snorts out rubbing her eyes as a few more tears, confused and nervous and overjoyed that he wasn't hurt came all at once.
"What is happening? Who are those people? Have you been here this entire time? Wait! Never mind! You can tell me all about this once we get back to the others." Marinette says taking his hand and starting to walk out of the tent. Adrien comes to a screeching halt and shakes his head. Marinette attempts to pull him along, ignoring the fact that he is dressed like a clown, ignoring the fact that she is holding hands with the love of her life while he is dressed like a clown, and ignoring the fact that Adrien didn't seem all that distressed for someone who had just been kidnapped and was now being saved.

"I...Marinette I can't see the class." Adrien says nervously as he rubs the back of his head. Marinette pauses and turns with a confused expression on her face. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I can't explain it, I don't think that I even know all the details myself. But it's just not safe for me to go out there. I want to see everyone so much. I want to explain exactly what happened. But I just can't. I'm sorry. I hope that you can at least tell everyone what happened and that you and Nino will tell everyone how much they mean to me." Adrien says with his hands up as if he half expects her to start screaming and throwing things at him.

Marinette blinks in confusion. She shakes her head.

"I...Adrien I don't understand. Do you know what's going on out there? What's happening with you gone?" She says as he shakes his head. "You've been missing for days! The entire city is on lockdown looking for you! Everyone is so worried! We've been searching high and low. Everyone thinks that you're in people think that you're dead! I mean your body guard kidnapped you! And you're just here? Hiding out? What is happening? Please you can tell all of us once we know that you are safe and sound." Marinette was close to tears. Begging him to come with her.

Adrien blinks in surprise at her words. Blinks in surprise at the tone of her voice. Blinks at the strange thumping in his chest that was geting harder and harder. He felt like a hand was gripping it firmly and squeezing it in time with some invisible rythm.

"Choose. Choose. Choose. Choose. Choose. Choose." The ryhtm went over and over again. Adrien rubs his eyes, streaking some more of the grease paint.

"I don't know anything about being 'kidnapped' all I know is that I woke up here and that my bodyguard told me this is the only place where I would be safe."
"From what? Or who?" Marinette says as she takes his hands. "Adrien. How is that not the very definition of you know...kidnapping? Or gaslighting? You need to come home. We need to get you safe."

"It seems like everyone wants me to do something, but no one will actually explain what's going on." Adrien says with a edge in his voice. Marinette steps back, her face flushing. SHe didn't know if it was in anger or frustration. But she felt like he was being incredibly unreasonable.

"Adrien! I told you! you were kidnapped! Most people think that you're probably half way across the ocean in an oil barrel! Or dead at the bottom of a ditch! Or holed up in some sort of dungeon getting tortured every single day! But you're here! And you're safe! And I was so worried! And so was Kagami and we searched everywhere for you! And...and! ANDANDANDAND!" Marinette said as she began to breath harder and faster. Her eyes widening as she had a panic attack, her mind dancing through all of the horrible possibilities that could have happened to him.

Sure he was standing in front of her, safe, sounds, actually looking better then ever. But she couldn't help but think that maybe just maybe she was going crazy and just seeing things and talking to someone that wans't there because she was so scared of him being gone!

"Hey...Marinette...breath...It's okay. Everything is okay. I'm not in a basement. I'm not in an oil barrel. I'm not dead in a ditch. I'm here. I'm safe. You're safe. Everyone is fine." Adrien said taking her hands and squeezing.

Choose. Went his heart as he blushes. She sure was cute up close. Her eyes were bright and lively, her hair glossy and black like the night sky. He gulps wondering why his heart was beating so fast.

"I know. I know that everythings fine. But please...you need to come with me. We all need to know that you're okay. Chloe is probably freaking out even more then I am." Marinette says with a chuckle and shook her head. Chloe had been going nuts over the past few days, it was probably the only proof that the manipulative psycho had a heart.

"I can't. Marinette I wish that I could-"Adrien began starting to get frustrated. He felt like he was going around and around in a circle here. He would say something she wouldn't listen and so on. A loud bang stopped him from going any further though. Followed by screams and the sound of running feet. Adrien and Marinette exchange a look before glancing out the tent doorway and seeing a large peanut cart getting tossed down the faire way. People running and screaming as they sprint this way and that way.

There was only one thing that could cause this much chaos in so little amount of time and so little warning. It wasn't a madman, it wasn't a natural disaster. It was a supervillain.

"Akuma!" Marinette and Adrien snap at the other at the same time. Marinette's hand clasped Adrien's wrist and yanked him behind her. She began sprinting deeper into the forest of tents. Her feet moving her confidently even if she didn't entirely know where she was going. She sprints around a small monkey running past with a chess set, a ring that was on fire swirled past, and finally a small grubby little person dressed in a fire breather suit. Marinette felt like she was down a rabbit hole and somewhere in wonderland. It was all madness! Utter and complete madness!

"This is-and I hate that I'm quoting her here-ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Marinette says as she races past the same tent three times. Adrien smiles before he runs up beside her, finally keeping pace and not taking that moment to check out how cute she looks from behind. How powerful, how oddly familiar. As if he had followed her lead thousands of times before.

"Don't worry Marinette. I know my way around here. And I have just the place." He said winking at her before pulling her through a tent and down a quick alley away from the akuma. Marinette bites her lips, she needs to find a secret place to transform. Someplace private, someplace that would-She feels around her side for her purse and gulps in fear. Her purse was gone. Which meant that Tikki was gone. Which meant that she couldn't transform. She cursed to herself silently as Adrien rounds another corner and glances around. His eyes light up the moment that he sees the cannon. He sprints for it his long legs eating up the distance.

"Here! The human cannonball trick cannon! It can fit you safely!" Adrien says opening the secret hatch that the human cannonball always slips into. MArinette glances around, they were in the main circus tent now. She could see the benches, all of the trash that people had dropped when they ran away to find hiding spots or to evacuate...And she spots it! Right beneath the main stage! Hidden by a half open carton of candy! Her purse! Now she just had to get to it!

"But where will you hide?" She asks before Adrien smiles reassauringly at her.

"Don't worry there are plenty of places to-" He is cut off as he hears a loud long roar that fills the entire tent and rattles the cloth like some sort of strange bellow from a roid filled elephant. Adrien is cut off by Marinette grabbing him by the shirt collar of his ridiculous costume and pulling him into the cannon with her and slamming the compartment closed behind him.

"This is uh..." Adrien stutters out nervously as she puts a finger to her lips while blushing deeply.
"I KNOW! NOW HUSH!" She scolds as she holds her breath trying not to think about how close she was to Adrien's chest, his biceps, his powerful arms and gorgeous chiseled jaw. How even though he has that paint and some sort of perfume on she can still totally smell the scent that is pure and utterly Adrien beneath it all. She gulps and tries to look anywhere that isn't directly at Adrien. Adrien for his part is holding his hands upwards, aware that he can feel her wrists and her elbows against him.

She is all gangle knees and calloused fingers from working, yet still so petite. He gulps and glances upwards feeling like he would be doing something indecent by looking at the top of her head. He had no clue why. After all this was Marinette for goodness sake! He should just relax and enjoy being so close to a good friend.

A crash came from inside of the tent. A loud snuffling and then it slowly eased away, following some invisible trace. The two let out eager gasps before Adrien shimmied around and presses against the cannon door and slips out. He glances around before glancing back.

"It's dangerous for both of us to be hiding in the same place. I'll catch up with you soon Marinette. But I think we should hide in different places okay?" He said with a reassauring smile. Marinette blushes and nods, Adrien turns to leave and she holds a hand out to him.

"ADRIEN!" She calls out, he turns and looks over his shoulder.
"Don't disappear again. Please. We need you. I need you." She says insistnetly. Adrien gazes at her and nods, it takes all his might to do it. In the back of his head he hears someone saying something.

'Liar. Liar. Liar.'

"Of course. Once this is all over I will explain everything." He turns and sprints off hoping that his tone was good enough. He can't see her again, he can't explain himself. He can't put the class in danger. Or his friends. Or his more then friends. He only knows two things.

"I need to find my ring and plagg, then I need to disappear. Forever."

I own nothing not even this computer.