One week. One week was how long it had been since Adrien, or should I say Chat Noir, had taken the time to visit his princess. It wasn't that he didn't want to see her, he was just afraid of how she would react, sober, to what had happened that night. Would she be angry, and push him away? Would she demand an explanation as to why he let it happen in the first place? But above all, the question weighing him down was the one about how she felt. Had she meant what she said in their drunken makeout session, or would sober Marinette take it all back? Fear ate at his emotions as he pondered this over the span of a week, but eventually came to the conclusion that her friendship was more important than worrying about feelings. They could deal with that later on, but as of right now, Chat needed to find her in order to confirm that their friendship was in fact, just fine.

As the end of the day quickly approached, Adrien had put together a fool proof plan to find his princess, besides, how could she resist his devilish good looks? With this in mind, he decided to travel to the colleges dorms in order to find any hints that could clue him in on Marinettes location, then he would lure her out with a few taps of his baton and a smile plastered to his face.

"Adrien, come here for a moment." His father said as he walked past the entryway to his study, breaking his chain of thought.

"What is it father?" He asked as he cautiously stepped into the doorway, keeping his distance from the stern older man.

"I have a job set up for you with another company. They have offered me their location and time in next years New York Fashion Week in order to have you model for them. As a foreign designer, it would be extremely valuable to my business to show at such a popular location. That being said, they are American based so you will be traveling. You will leave next Tuesday and stay in New York City for three weeks, no exceptions. Also during this time, I have hired only the best personal trainers and tutors in order to keep you in tip top shape. None of this is negotiable." Adriens mind seemed to be racing a mile a minute trying to process this information. It seemed to him that his father sees him as nothing more than a company asset, bartering and trading him as he saw fit, completely disregarding Adriens thoughts and feelings.

"But father! You can't just ship me away like i'm another one of your garments! I have a life here, plans and friends, that you can't force me away from! I'm eighteen years old for crying out loud!"

"Enough! My decision is final and you are going! You can resume your life here upon your return." Gabriel said with a frown heavily set upon his face. Closing his mouth abruptly and gritting his teeth in order to avoid stepping even further into an unwinnable argument, Adrien nodded. He felt utterly defeated in this moment, realizing that not only would he be leaving behind his civilian life, his superhero persona would follow with him. He would have to alert Ladybug immediately, let his lady know that he would be taking a short break, and that she should keep the other miraculous users nearby in order to call upon them if necessary. Looking up to meet his fathers steely gaze, he clenched his fists by his side as he said;

"Yes father. I will make sure to pack everything I might need, including my credit card." On that note, he turned to take his leave with a bitter taste in his mouth. Mind still swimming with rage as he approached his room, he pushed past the door and shut it with a loud and intentional slam. The second the door closed, Plagg flew out from his place within Adriens shirt with a concerned gaze,

"Hey kid, you alright?" He asked in a soft voice.

"I will be Plagg. Besides, even if I weren't, in the end it is completely not up to me. That being said, I now have to put everything in place before I leave in order to ensure Paris' safety." Adrien answered as he flopped onto the couch and covered his eyes with his arm.

"I'm glad you can still think straight right now. I know it's not easy to deal with your father at all, but for what it's worth, I'm proud of you." Plagg said as he smiled at his chosen. His heart was pure and immovable in his morals, and his monster of a father had never been able to taint that side of him.

"Thanks Plagg, that means a lot, especially since your compliments only happen once in a blue moon." he chuckled as he peeked at Plagg.

"Well that's because I have to mean it! I can't just say something nice if there is no real meaning behind it." The kwami exclaimed as he crossed his arms over his chest. Next to him, Adrien sat up with a sigh and running his hand through his hair.

"Alright, well, let's have some fun! Plagg! Claws out!" Adrien smirked as the familiar green light enveloped his body, leaving in his place the black cat of Paris. The hero shook his head in an attempt to fluff the blonde tresses that gently touched his eyebrows, falling in their usual messy, banana looking places. He reached for his baton and dialed ladybugs number in order to leave her a message. "Hey bugaboo, I hope you see this, it is pretty important we talk tonight. I'll be wandering around for a bit tonight, but we can meet at midnight. Plan on going to our usual spot on the eiffel tower. Midnight sharp mi'lady!" He ended with a wink as he closed the communicator part of his baton. He sighed, gathering his thoughts and emotions for a moment before darting through his open window into the evening sky, travelling in the direction of another raven haired girl. A mixture of excitement and nerves consumed him as he quickly raced over the rooftops, never once faltering after years of doing this same thing at such a quick pace.

As he neared the Paris College of Art, his eyes started scanning the side of campus where students lived. It was a Friday night, so hopefully she would be there. Using his enhanced vision, he took in every detail, looking for any clue of Marinettes whereabouts. His leather clad feet landed silently upon one of the roofs, creeping along with the feline grace given to him by his ring. He continued scanning and with every minute, his heart fell a little more. So far, he had no clue as to where she was. There was one last building to check, and if he couldn't find a sign that she was there, he would just have to wait another day, but that was not something that he wanted to do. As he landed on the final building, his heart jumped as he spotted something he was certain was her doing. On the doorframe to one of the rooms, there stood a small black heart with a golden bell attached to it. He smiled to himself as he silently leapt down onto her balcony, using his baton to lightly tap the glass. A few seconds later, Marinette stood before him with a twinkle in her eye. Blue met green and stayed locked that way as her arm moved to open the glass door. Grinning, Chat stepped over the threshhold and into her new room. He took a moment to acquaint himself with his princess' new space. It was definitely different than her room back home, starkly contrasting the innocent feel was now one of boldness and mystery. He very much approved, as he saw this side of Marinette the night he carried her drunken self home. Breaking the silence, Chat leaned forward on his baton, his face mere inches from hers;

"Well hello Purrincess. It was such a lovely surprise to find my own little, hmm, beacon on the door to your room." He smirked at her hitched breath and waited to further gauge her reaction. Blushing slightly, she chuckled nervously and turned to shut the door, blocking out the outside world.

"Silly kitty, I told you that you could come and find me anytime, I just made it a little easier for you is all." She said as she placed her hands on her hips, waiting for another smug remark from the alley cat.

"I will admit, it did make my search a ton easier. Although you made it as a sort of beacon, I'm going to choose to think of it as a mark, saying you're mine." And with that, he knew he had won that little banter as her blush deepened and her legs rubbed together slightly. With that movement, he took the chance to let his eyes sweep over her body, taking in her delicious looking curves under a flimsy tank and polka dot sleep shorts. Returning his gaze to meet hers, he stood back up to his full height, which was about eight or so inches above her. Marinettes eyes followed his as a small smile replaced the smirk that was on her face.

"I didn't even think that it could be taken that way, but now that you've said it, I guess you're stuck with me Chat Noir." Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she took a step forward and reached toward a gloved hand. Taking it within her own, the tips of her fingers ran over his claws, feeling the sharp points, and then gently glided down to firmly hold their fingers together. Chats eyes seemed to brighten as she said this, confirming to him that their friendship was indeed, very much intact.

"Actually, I think it's the other way around. You're the one who is stuck with me Marinette." With those words, her heart sped up. It was rare to hear her name from the cats mouth, usually being called any number of pet names in both of her identities. She giggled lightly as she responded;

"Well than, I guess you're lucky that i'm okay with strays." A feign look of hurt crossed his features, but quickly turned into a light fit of giggles. After a few seconds, both of them stopped laughing to meet each other's gaze again. It was certain, in this moment they knew that one day, all of the feelings and such would need to be sorted out, but for now, they could just focus on having the other around. When ever Chat was around Marinette, and blue met green, time seemed to slow and all of the worlds problems melted away, even if it was only temporary.

AN: Yay! Chapter 7 is up, and I'm pumped to be writing with inspiration again. I do need to warn you, the coming chapters are going to get more serious and a little dark. I promise that I will ALWAYS post a trigger warning before a chapter. My whole idea behind this fic is that it is based on some things that have happened in my life, so it's important I put the darker parts in here. Make sense? Haha even so, it will end happily but not without a few bumps in the road. Soooooo yeah! PLEASE REVIEW! It truly means so much to hear your feedback because otherwise, I don't know what you guys are thinking about my story. As a creator, your opinions are important to me!

Thank you for reading and have a great weekend! :3

-Stormy Lights