"Well? Did you get the job done?"

Adrien sighed softly, peeling the black mask off his face. He shoved his fringe back as the cool night wind hit his face. He breathed in the scent of the city air as if it were water, intoxicating him. He was standing on a roof in the middle of Paris, gazing off vacantly towards the horizon. Dawn would break soon and the night would end. A peculiar emotion appeared to seize him, startling the man who had spoken to him. His expression was indistinguishable, a mixture of sadness and remorse. What exactly his mind was thinking in that moment was unreadable, the light in his eyes dimmed. He listlessly gazed far away before his eyes widened knowingly.

Returning back to his current reality, Adrien smiled and thrust a small satchel into the other man's hands. "Is this enough to satisfy you?" he grinned. The feeling he had given off before vanished, as the man opened the satchel and smiled wickedly.

He patted Adrien lovingly on the head, messing up his hair. "You're a great kid, you know that?"

Adrien laughed, but his laugh sounded off. He stared down at the ground as he grinned, struggling to keep composure. The other man patted the satchel next.

"You've turned out to be pretty useful."

"—in the end, he only gave me thirty percent."

Adrien collapsed face first into his bed, breathing in the scent of freshly washed sheets. He clutched the sheets tightly between his fingers. He was still wearing last night's clothes. It was already seven in the morning. He clung to the bed for a moment until the familiar sound of Natalie knocking on his door alerted him.

"Adrien, it's time to wake up for school."

"Y-Yes!" he replied, frantically sitting up. What am I panicking for? It was the same routine every morning. He first took the money from his bag and hid it in a safe he kept in his room under his bed, stripping off his clothes to put inside as well. He took one last look at his black mask before discarding that into the safe, muttering to himself. "So no one will find out."

In the car he pressed his head against the window pane, watching the world outside soundlessly pass away. A faint rain shower came down upon Paris, washing Adrien into a silent sleep. He was awoken by Natalie calling his name.

"You've been sleeping a lot more lately," she said. "Are you not sleeping well at night?"

"I'm sleeping fine. I've just had a lot of homework recently." Adrien chuckled. Her eyes narrowed on him but she did not question him anymore. She checked over his schedule as he prepared to leave the car.

"Your father is holding a party this weekend. Try to catch some rest before then so that you will be presentable." Natalie replied coldly. Adrien's lips squiggled into a funny line as he opened the door.

"Alright, I'll try! Have a good day, Natalie! Gorilla!" he smiled, saluting them off. He rushed towards the school, his smile fading into a frown. As if I have the time to rest.

I barely even have time to be myself.

Adrien stood outside the classroom for some time, glaring down at his calculator. Nino noticed him standing there and approached his friend with a smile. He put his hand on Adrien's shoulder, startling the other boy. Adrien stared at him with bewildered green eyes.

"Oh, Nino."

"What are you doing standing around in the hallway? Class is about to start."

"Just doing some math homework. There was a question I wasn't quite sure of how to answer last night, but I think I've figured it out now." Adrien said, returning a smile as they entered the classroom together. He tucked the calculator into the pocket of his pants.

Nino put his arm around his friend and guided him to their seats, chatting his ear off about what he did after class yesterday. Adrien smiled and seemed to be listening but found his attention distracted by a strange scent that had infiltrated the classroom. He looked around for where the scent was coming from before noticing the girl who sat behind him in class. She was eating a cookie, staring at him with wide eyes.

The cookie snapped between her teeth, the other half falling on the desk with a small thud. She appeared embarrassed to be noticed by him while she was eating, turning away. There was a faint smile on her face. Adrien wondered why she looked away from him, awkwardly nodding in her direction.

"Oh, hey Marinette." Nino said, half waving at the girl. She giggled nervously and began digging through her school bag.

Adrien took his seat but continued to wonder what the scent was that came from Marinette. It was the perfume she wore, it reminded him of his childhood. It was like the scent of his mother.

He tried to ignore that nostalgic feeling the scent gave him, instead turning his focus to the lecture. At times like this he wished he had a window seat. The rain was still coming down outside. He wondered if he would be called in to do any work tonight if the rain kept up. It would be bad if there wasn't any work, he thought. Without that it would just be one payday less towards freedom.

It had begun two months ago. He remembered his first mission with Ominous, an underground organization that was recruiting people to commit small crimes for money. Since joining Ominous, he had presumed a different identity while at work, namely calling himself Monsieur Noir, as he wore a black mask that disguised half of his face and black clothing. The Leader didn't appear to quite like the nickname though and decided to change it.

The Leader one night plopped a pair of black cat ears on Adrien's head. "There, now you are—Chat Noir."

"Chat Noir! Aw, look at him, such a cute little kitty." The others joked. Adrien found it embarrassing to wear the cat ears when out in public but the nickname had stuck.

He had gained a reputation before long for his efficiency and grace in finishing tasks. This became apparent when committing robberies. The first time he was told to rob a convenience store, Adrien hesitated. He knew coming into that line of work would require throwing his morals away momentarily and to think of the payment. Yet fear seized over him when he thought of getting caught. He could only imagine how much he being arrested would place his famous father in hot water. But he had chosen this route and there was no going back. It was the only way he knew of how to gain his independence, so that he could eventually slip away forever. The quicker he was able to make the money needed to vanish, the quicker he could quit this work and leave Paris. Going missing would be better than going to prison.

When he first had pointed a gun at a person he had never expected the fear that would overcome him. He had to harden himself instantly, but he knew the other person could easily have detected his hesitance to harm. It didn't come naturally to him. Yet Adrien had one advantage over the others he worked with.

"You'd make a fine actor." The Leader told him one night while counting out the cash. Adrien was huddled on top of a container to his side, his face burrowed into his knees. He was resting for a moment but didn't want the others to see the sadness in his expression.

"Ever since I was little, I was raised to always be perfect." Adrien mumbled into his knees. He moved his head slightly so that his voice was more audible, his blond hair dangling over his eyes. "I guess that's why."

The Leader handed him a wad of cash, which Adrien sat up astutely in order to accept the money. He eyed it ferociously as if it were food. The Leader noted his face and tried not to laugh.

"So what happened to make you decide to do this sort of work?"

Adrien flicked his thumb across the wad of cash. "I'm tired of it, my life. I need to break free. I can't escape this life I'm living unless I have the money to leave."

"Where do you plan on going once you have enough money?"

"I don't know."

He wasn't sure. Somewhere in his heart, he wanted to go and find his mother. It had already been three years since she disappeared. Three years of living alone in his father's mansion. Three years of pretending to be the perfect son for a father who barely had time to recognize him. Adrien wondered what he would do. Graduation was looming around the corner and if he didn't act quickly he would remain in his father's stronghold. He recalled a day in school where they were made to begin thinking about their futures. Adrien stared blankly into his notebook, pressing the tip of his pen into the paper until the ink bled. Even while everyone else was chatting amongst one another about their plans for the future, Adrien could think of nothing.

Who do I want to become?

It wasn't that he had never thought of what he wanted to do with his life. He did, every day he did. Yet actually planning his future, doing what he wanted to do, he wasn't sure how to put that into words. He had barely thought of university or careers. The past few years of his life had been so consumed by pleasing his father and working hard at what his father wanted him to become. But that wasn't Adrien. That was just a mask that he wore.

"It must be so nice to be able to dream."

His teacher put her hands on the desk and smiled gently at everyone as she spoke. "OK, everyone. Now that you've written down your future plans, I want you to pick a partner from the class and talk about where you see yourself in the future. Try to find a partner who you might not know much about."

Adrien felt dread at this. Nino stared at him as he stood up. "You cool, bud?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry." Adrien flashed a smile at him. Nino walked over to the other side of the classroom. Adrien glanced sideways across the room and noticed Chloe staring at him knowingly, a giant smirk on her face. He grimaced at the idea of having to discuss life plans with her because it probably involved them getting married in her twisted fantasies.

A gentle tap of someone's hand landed on his shoulder and Adrien turned. Marinette was awkwardly smiling back at him. "H-Hey, want to be partners?"

Chloe glowered as Adrien agreed. "Yeah, sure."

Marinette moved to sit where Nino's seat was and they exchanged papers. Adrien had scribbled something down in the last moment. She beamed as she read over his paper. Adrien wasn't quite sure what to make of her mild excitement and decided to read out her future plans.

"—Fashion designer." he muttered. Reading those two words caused him to freeze and glance up at the girl. He felt a tightness in his chest. He tried to make conversation to make the feeling disappear. "Wow, so you want to become a fashion designer."

Marinette didn't appear to notice his fake smile. There was a liveliness he hadn't often experienced in her expression. "Ever since I was little, it's been my dream."

Something in Adrien clicked when she said this and a tinge of jealousy surged through him. He could sense the confidence in her voice when she spoke. He wished he could be the same, to be as ambitious as she was. Yet his heart felt hollow. This girl, who was so different from his father, had the same goals as the man he had grown to detest the most. His smile wavered until she spoke next.

"I never knew you wanted to become a doctor!" Marinette exclaimed. Her excitement noticeably embarrassed him as he chuckled nervously. She flushed a pale pink when she noticed her mistake but he merely smiled. If only she knew the truth.

Adrien had no real dream. He didn't see himself becoming a doctor or anything he listed. He frowned as he walked towards his father's car after school. The way she had been so excited to discuss his dreams but he had blatantly lied to her about his goals. Why had she seemed so happy? He couldn't quite understand.

The rain was still falling that evening when Adrien received a phone call from his side job. He had just finished fencing practice when he answered the phone. "Got it, I'll be right over."

Since he could not escape his driver and left his work clothes at home, he quickly went to his room and changed before climbing out his bedroom window. The rain soaked through his clothing but he didn't mind. It was oddly refreshing. He began sprinting away from the gloomy mansion towards downtown.

In the dimly lit container the Leader organized their crimes in, Adrien entered solemnly, shaking the rain from his hair. A single candle was lit in the middle of the room where his boss was sitting shuffling a deck of cards.

"Oh good, you finally made it." his boss grinned, his expression warm. Adrien apologized for not arriving sooner and walked to where his boss was sitting. There was no one else around, which he found strange. "I have a special request for you."

"What is it?" Adrien asked. His boss flicked a photo towards him.

"You've done good, kid, these past two months. I think your talents shouldn't be wasted on petty crimes. So I'm gonna offer you a special job this week."

Adrien held the photo up under the light. "A photograph?"

"It might be a bit much. Plus yer around the same age so getting her to trust you probably won't be so hard. The Big Man asked me to kidnap this here girl for him. Pretty lil thing, ain't she?"

Adrien's hand faltered as he made out the figure in the photograph under the dim candlelight. His eyes widened with shock as he dropped the photo, letting it fall into the melted wax. The Leader stared at him wondering what was wrong. "What's the matter, do you know the girl?"

"You've got to be joking."

Staring back at him with her bright blue eyes was Marinette.

A/N: I wrote this mostly for fun. It'll be pretty different from the actual story. None of the characters belong to me.

Not sure if there's already a fanfic out there like this since I don't read much fanfiction. ^^;