A/N: Thank you for everyone's continued support. It means a lot to me. This chapter is dedicated to Imthepunchlord. Because it's been such an incredibly long time since I updated, please forgive me for not doing individual responses to reviews. I know that's a normal thing for me (or at least as much as I can). However there are over 20 reviews since time has stretched on between updates. That's a lot responses that would take me a very long time to do. Thanks for your understanding!

"No, I haven't had a chance to give Adrien his gift." Marinette groaned into her phone. She massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Oh mon chere." Alya sighed on the other end. "We'll just make sure you can get it to him at school!"

Marinette made a little noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. The pretty wrapped box sat on the coffee table in front of her. The book that Chat Blanc had left with her was what currently sat in her lap. Marinette also had her school tablet next to her on the living room couch as she slid through some of the very unhelpful responses she'd gotten to her translation question. Chat Blanc hadn't asked about any leads when he'd seen her that afternoon but if he followed his usual pattern that meant that Marinette had an umbrella coming her way later that night. There would most likely be a question about it also. She just wished that it was a little bit more favorable.

She also happened to have a lot of time on her hands now too. She was grounded. Her parents had liked her running back into the park for her backpack about as much as Mme. Chamack had. Not at all. A codex to the strange language in the book would've lead to a welcome distraction of getting the translation under way. "You still there Marinette?" asked Alya.

"Yeah, sorry. I got distracted a bit." Marinette apologized as she flipped over to the Ladyblog. Alya had all her latest photos uploaded. There were even some of Chat Blanc this time around. He'd probably get a kick out of that. Marinette couldn't stop the smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth when she saw the one of him jumping off the side of the roof with an umbrella in two pieces clasped firmly in his hand. "I did see though that wherever you left your memory card was close enough that you were still able to get some nice shots of the fight. How'd you get up on to the roof without Ladybug and Cat Noir seeing you?"

"Huh? Oh, that… well I guess you can say that I have my ways." Alya answered in a tone that distinctly said that there was no way she'd divulge that secret. Fair enough. Marinette seemed to have her own fairly big secret.

"You even got some of Chat Blanc this time around." Marinette pointed out. She giggled when she saw the one of him pelting a chunk of ice at Stormy Weather. She bookmarked that one.

Alya groaned. "I guess he's here to stay for whatever reason."

"Not the biggest fan of his I take it?"

"Let's not go there okay. Let's just… not."

"Alright. Fine by me." Marinette agreed easily. With her horrible luck, she'd wind up saying something and giving away her sort of involvement with him. "I can't believe the party ended that way."

"I know and before you even had a chance. Next time girl. It will be your turn next time for sure. We'll march right up to him at school and-"

Somewhere around the middle, Marinette heard something. A voice coming up from the open door to the bakery. A familiar one. One that she'd heard several dozen times as Adrien had been dropped off at school. The one that told him to remember that he had a photoshoot during lunch break. Basketball after school. Fencing before dinner. Harping on him for forgetting his lunch in the car. "M. Agreste's assistant is here!" she gasped.

"Wait? What?" Alya stuttered to a halt midthought.

"Nathalie! M. Agreste's assistant. The one that always drops Adrien off at school. She's in the bakery!" explained Marinette. The barest outline of a plan started forming in her brain. Thread after thread pulled together in it, especially as she stared directly at Adrien's present laying on her parents' coffee table. "I have an idea!"

"Dare I ask what it is?"

"I'll give his present to Nathalie so that she can give it to Adrien!"

"No! No don't do that!" Alya said sharply. "That is the exact opposite of what we talked about."

"But Alya!" she whined.

"Give it to him in person. Remember? It means more that way! That's what we decided on."

"If I give it to her now though, he'll get it on his birthday!"

"You're not suggesting this just to get out giving it to him face to face are you?"

Marinette scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

She snapped the book shut and set it under her tablet to hide the cover. Sliding off the couch, she double checked to make sure the wrapping was perfect. The edges were still crisp and clean like a professionally wrapped box from the mall. The bow still fluffy and bouncy to the touch even after being in her backpack. Her card laid on top of it all with the special curly writing that she only broke out for special occasions. Yes! The present was in perfect gift giving condition. "Marinette I have a really bad feeling about this." Alya warned her.

"It will be fine. Don't worry!" she assured her. "I gotta go! Talk to you later!"

Marinette hit the end call button on her phone. She jumped off the couch, swept the package into her arms, and charged for the stairs to the bakery. Just as she had suspected, M. Agreste's personal secretary was there. She hung over the display case and eyed the cakes and pastries with a frown. "Don't you have anything… bigger?" the woman at the counter asked her father, looking up with a heavily disheveled expression on her face. Not anything close to what Marinette expected to see on anyone who worked for Gabriel Agreste. Everyone knew that he expected nothing but perfection for all those who worked under him. His personal secretary usually kept herself right in line with those standards.

"I'm sorry. On such a short notice and so close to closing time, the only thing we have is what's in the case." her father said apologetically. "We can make something custom order for later in the week if you want."

Nathalie shook her head. "No, it's his birthday today. Anything on a later date would be unacceptable."

Marinette's jaw dropped. She'd forgotten Adrien's birthday! That was the only reason Marinette could see for her to be in this late and this frantic for something. The fact that she wanted an even larger item than the three layer tiramisu cake also helped with that assumption. How horrible. At least they'd been able to give Adrien a surprise party even if it had been interrupted by and akuma.

"Very well," sighed Nathalie. She pointed to a stunning chocolate tart. "I'll take that one please."

Well, as late and fairly thoughtless as it was, at least she'd gotten something that Adrien was sure to like. Her father stepped to the case so that he could box up the pastry. Marinette stepped out past the counter and towards Nathalie. She cleared her throat. "Mademoiselle…" Marinette broke off because she couldn't remember Nathalie's last name.

It didn't matter though because Nathalie turned around and looked at her anyways. One eyebrow raised over the rim of her glasses. "Yes?"

"I'm a friend of Adrien's… from school." she said by way of explanation. Nathalie's expression didn't change. Maybe Alya was right. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She swallowed her sudden rush of nerves and went on. "At his party today, I didn't get a chance to give him his gift. I was wondering if you might be able to take it to him for me."

Marinette held out her gift towards Nathalie. For a moment Nathalie just stood there looking at her and the box. Her eyes went up and down in a careful observation with a neutral expression. Marinette curled her fingers tighter around the box and tried to keep the bright smile on her face. Finally, Nathalie gave a stiff nod. "I suppose I can."

"Thanks so much!" Marinette breathed out a relieved sigh. Her smile turned into something less forced. Nathalie took the box from her and tucked it under her arm.

"Alright, is there anything else I can get for you?" Marinette heard her father ask.

"No, I think this should be all. Thank you."

Nathalie turned away from her towards her father. Marinette gave him a little wave as she passed him. He waved back before going back to finishing up selling the pastry to Nathalie. "Mission accomplished!" murmured Marinette as she mounted the stairs for her house.

And she hadn't even had to worry about making a fool of herself in front of Adrien. She gathered up the book and her tablet before heading up to her bedroom feeling quite satisfied with herself.

She wasn't all the way through the trapdoor when she saw the flash of white outside her window. Involuntarily, her heart jumped into her throat and she missed the step. "Marinette, Qīn, are you alright?" her mother called to her.

"Fine! Just tripped." Marinette called down quickly. She pulled herself into her room, threw the door shut, and locked it. Chat Blanc poked his head into view, upside down with his hair hanging in his face and a sheepish smile plastered on. Very subtle of him. When she didn't move to let him in right away, he waved at her. "You know I have trapdoor on my roof right?" she pointed out as she opened her window for him.

"You do?" he asked, clearly taken aback and curious. "I didn't know that."

Marinette sighed, "Not very observant while you're prowling around my house are you?"

"I don't prowl. At least not around your place. That would be rude. And weird. And probably a little creepy." he told her.

Chat Blanc slipped into her bedroom easily. It was nice to know that he didn't lurk around her bedroom when she wasn't aware of it. "Next time, use the trapdoor. If either of my parents found out that you, who still looks like an akuma, hung around my bedroom then you'd be a dead cat."

Or if Ladybug and Cat Noir happened to pass by. Marinette couldn't see that situation working out any better.

"Fair enough." shrugged Chat Blanc. He held out a pretty blue umbrella to her. "For you Princess."

Marinette quirked an eyebrow. "I'll put it in my closet so no one sees it."

"You were expecting this?"

The grin that stretched across Chat Blanc's face was about as close to insufferably smug as a person could get without being one hundred percent obnoxious. "Well you seem to be using me as a storage facility for everything else. It was an easy assumption."

"Can't argue with that logic. Your plan went off without a hitch just so you know. Ladybug and Cat Noir didn't even see it coming. Ladybug literally just dropped it out of the sky. Barely had to work for it."

"Don't get used to it." Marinette reminded him. "This isn't going to fly again."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You'll just have to help me figure something out the next time I have to go get a possessed item." he told her. His smug, cheeky, little smile hadn't disappeared. In fact, if anything, it had only gotten bigger.

Marinette huffed, "What do you mean 'I' and what is with that stupid smile?"

"Earlier today at the park you said we would cross the whole Ladybug-won't-fall-for-the-same- trick-twice bridge and then just now you. Key word being 'we.'".

That made her freeze. "I thought you didn't want me involved."

"No, I really didn't want to." he mumbled. His faux cat ears went flat against his head and the smug smile died on his face. "What I'm doing… It's dangerous and to make matters worse I don't really know what I'm doing."

"You're doing this by yourself aren't you?"

He nodded, "And every single step I take I have to either tip toe or look over my shoulder because…"

"Because of Papillion." Marinette finished for him when his voice dropped off. He didn't say or do anything to acknowledge the assertion. Thankfully, she was smart and could piece it together herself. She doubted that Papillion was super enthusiastic about having one of his former minions acting on their own accord.

"I should take all the stuff. The test, the umbrella, the book… I should take it from you and put it somewhere else so you aren't in danger. It was never meant to be a permanent thing anyways."

He said it more to himself than anything. His hand wrapped around whatever he had hiding underneath his bell as he looked towards her bedroom window. Marinette bit her lip. "No…" she shook her head. "No, don't do that. Leave it here with me. I can keep it safe."

"Princess," he started.

Marinette shook her head. "No! You don't want to tell me what's going on exactly. That's fine. I don't need to know everything. Whatever it is you're trying to accomplish it has to be for the sake of good and you clearly need someone to help you. After your 'I'm just gonna grab it' scheme this afternoon at the park I'm pretty sure you need someone to keep you from getting yourself killed by either Papillion or Ladybug and Cat Noir."

"I'm mildly offended that you doubt my sense of self-preservation." He wrinkled his nose up as he spoke. "And how can you be so sure that I don't have a nefarious motive."

"You might look like an akuma but you're more likely to chase butterflies. Whatever end goal you have in mind, it can't be terrible."

"I'm glad that you have some faith in me." Chat Blanc smiled. It was a subdued smile but a smile nonetheless. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Marinette nodded. She held out her hand to him. "Partners?"

"Can't think of one more purr-fect."

"Get out." Marinette grumbled, throwing her hand towards her window. That just made him laugh. He jumped forward and threw his arms around her shoulders. Marinette froze up again, eyes going wide and jaw dropping.

"You really are the best!"

She fought tooth and nail to keep the blush from taking over her face. Marinette's face was only mildly pink when she gently extracted herself from the impromptu hug. Chat Blanc's grin was back to it's usual dazzle. "Oh!" he said suddenly. "Anything on the book yet?"

"No…" she sighed. She set the umbrella against her desk and sat down. Chat Blanc followed her and craned his neck over her shoulder as she opened the mystery book. "I've gotten a few crack pot comments but nothing that's really helpful. I'm going to bump the post again to see if I get a few more responses. If not…"

Chat Blanc frowned. "We'll have to figure out something different."

"Yeah. Don't give up hope yet. There might be something after I bump it. Come back in another couple days and check to see if I've got anything new."

He groaned, "If we're officially working together we need a better way to communicate."

A thought popped into her brain. Marinette opened her mouth and then she shut it again just as quickly. Chat Blanc immediately picked up on it. He shot her a look. Well, she was already pretty far down the rabbit hole anyways. She might as well. "Do you have a cell phone?" she asked.

"What kind of question is that?" he snorted.

Marinette held up her own. "I do too. Give me your number."

It was apparently Chat Blanc's turn to freeze. His eyes even glazed over as he stared at her with a hanging jaw. "I can't give you my phone number."

"Why not?" She threw her hands into the air.

"I just can't alright!" He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair in evident frustration. If she had to take a guess it probably had something to do with the fact that he was still trying to keep her in the dark for her own protection. "Give me a day. I'll get a phone that will be just for you and I. We can get a hold of each other that way."

Marinette nodded, "Alright then. Maybe by that time I'll have more to tell you about our book."

"We can only hope." A bright light flashed at his neck, under his bell. Chat Blanc wrapped his fingers around the bell and frowned. "I have to go now. Some might start missing me soon."

"Be safe on your way home. Try not to get ambushed by Ladybug and Cat Noir. They aren't going to be very happy with you from here on out."

"Meh, I'll survive." He gave a shrug and then a little salute as he started for her loft where she'd told him the trapdoor was. "I think this will be the start of a wonderful new partnership my Lady."

"Go home Chat." She gave a little sigh and waved him up the stairs and out the trapdoor.

It closed with a soft click. Marinette sunk down on her bed, staring at her closed trapdoor. Partners… for good or ill, she and Chat Blanc were in this trip together now. She didn't think it was nerves or fear that made her stomach twist at the shift in their relationship. No. If Marinette had to take a guess, she'd say it was the anticipation and excitement that did it.

She wondered if that was a good thing.

Marinette shook her head and stood again. She had a forum post to bump and a secret code to see if she could bust.

X X X

Chat Blanc jumped into his room. Bright light flashed before his feet even hit the ground. By the time he landed on one bent knee, he was Adrien Agreste again. A cat like grin spread across his face as he stood. "Oh yeah! Stuck the superhero landing!"

If a butterfly could look unimpressed, it was definitely Mari. Mari hovered in the air for a half moment before fluttering off to where Adrien had a little bowl of sugar water set up. He shrugged. "Everyone's a critic but not bad for a day's work right? Had my first ever birthday party, fought an akuma, got away with another possessed item right under the noses of Paris's greatest heroes. And I even still have time to work on homework."

Mari left the edge of the bowl and landed on his hand. Immediately images hit his mind. Marinette holding the umbrella he'd handed over. Her looking at the book he'd stolen and asked her to keep safe. The voice of Papillion haunting his thoughts over the image of his father. All of it held a wary question.

Was bringing Marinette into this the smart thing to do?

Short answer… probably not.

There was constant danger. If Papillion ever found out about her, Marinette would become a weapon. His kryptonite if he wanted to break out the comic references again. She was quickly becoming the person who knew everything that could possibly hurt him. Possessed items and a magical book that held the secret to why they were all so important. He'd be royally screwed if Papillion ever got his hands on her. Marinette was technically a liability to him. Adrien scrunched his face up. That just sounded callous. Like he only valued her for what she could give to him which wasn't the case at all.

Marinette was his friend. Someone who was genuinely kind to him and not because he had money or happened to have a father who was in the very industry she was passionate about. It was hard to come by friends like that. The very last thing he wanted was to see Marinette hurt or in danger. That had very little to do with the fact that she a liability.

However, standing in that park with the wind and ice blowing all around them without a single solitary good idea on how to stop it had made him realize something. Marinette was smart. She was a planner. She was capable. She could truly help him. She'd taken his excuse of a plan, which was mainly just hope and prayer, and turned it into something that was actually helpful. Without her, he'd have most likely ended up frozen in an icicle or blown clear to the coast. Not only that, but Marinette was right. He was doing this all completely by himself. Okay. So maybe he had a magical, former akuma butterfly with him but it wasn't the same as having an actual person to work with. It made for a lonely mission and he'd had enough loneliness in the past couple of years to last him a lifetime. He wanted Marinette on his side despite how selfish the idea was.

Adrien swallowed and finally answered Mari. "No it isn't a good idea but I think I need her help. Did you see the way she acted in the park. She took charge."

Mari sent another flood of images through his brain. Marinette's balled fist when he first tackled into her while running with Open Book's test. How she'd pointed a pair of scissors at him when he'd come to retrieve it. Her unwavering determination in the park. "Marinette is strong. I'm pretty sure she'll be okay."

"Adrien." A knock came from the door. His head snapped up at the sound.

"Nathalie!" he whispered under his breath. Mari fled from his hand and hid under his bed. Good timing too because the door opened half a moment later.

"Who are you talking too?" Nathalie asked. She lifted an eyebrow as she studied him. Adrien plastered a smile on his face and wished he had his cell phone in hand.

"Um… no one… myself? The walls and loneliness are closing in on me. I must be losing my mind. Finally gone off the deep end with stress."

Wow! He sounded stupid and desperate.

Nathalie stared at him with an unimpressed look in her eyes. "I'm sure."

Everyone was a critic tonight.

That's when Adrien noticed that she was hiding something behind her back. He twisted his head to the side to try and catch a better look at it. "Did you need something Nathalie?"

She held out a pretty blue box wrapped with a perfect ribbon to him with one hand. "Your father sends his regards and regret that he couldn't be with you on your birthday again this year. There is also a fresh pastry downstairs for you to take with you to school tomorrow."

Adrien blinked in confusion. "Dad got me this?" he said, pointing to the box in her hand.

"Yes," Nathalie told him with a resolute voice. "Would like to open it now or tomorrow morning?"

"Sorry," he shook his head as he took the box from her. "I'm just surprised that he actually got me something."

"Your father always gets you a gift."

Maybe, but never on time. Adrien bit back the words as he untied the ribbon and opened the box. Part of him expected something half-hearted, like the fountain pen he'd gotten last year. The minute the lid was off though, he immediately felt bad about the assumption. Inside the box was a beautiful and sinfully soft blue scarf. He dropped the box as raised the scarf to his face. It was handmade. Adrien's breath caught in his throat. His dad had actually put some genuine thought into his gift this year.

"You should make sure you call him and tell him thank you," Nathalie reminded him. She bent down and picked up the discarded box. She slipped a piece of paper that she'd been holding in her other hand into the bottom before closing it up. Adrien assumed it was the shipping label or something.

"I… I will. Tomorrow morning. First thing before school."

"Good. Now you should get ready for bed. Don't forget that just because your father cleared your schedule for you today doesn't mean that you don't still have your commitments."

"Yes ma'am."

Nathalie left the room. The door closed with a soft click behind her. Adrien felt Mari land on top of his head. A stream of images of his father with the intimidating sound of Papillon's voice filled his head. You should be helping me. Stormy Weather's words ran through his head. Mari's warning was well received. "I know it doesn't make sense and I know he could just be trying to lure me into a false sense of security now that he knows I'm not answering to him… but there's nothing that says that Supervillains can't love their kids. It doesn't change my desire to find out the truth but… but just let me have this. Okay? If only for tonight."

Mari sent a wave of warmth through him to let him know his wishes were accepted. Adrien folded up the scarf. While Nathalie wanted him to get ready for bed, he still had some things he needed to do before turning in for the day. Such as figuring out where the best place to get a pair of burner cell phones was.

X X X

"He just turned off his light a few minutes ago," Ladybug whispered as Cat Noir came to crouch beside her. He pulled out his baton and zoomed in on Adrien's room like Ladybug was doing with her compact.

"Any sign of the test or umbrella?" he asked.

Ladybug huffed a sigh. "No. I got caught up with talking to Marinette and uploading those pictures to the Ladyblog didn't go smoothly. I only got here about an hour ago. He's spent most of his time on his computer. Couldn't see what though."

Cat Noir rolled his eyes. It was probably anime. Adrien hadn't been able to shut up about the new season of something or other being out over the past couple of days. Ladybug didn't need to know that though. "Was the website the problem or was it debating on whether or not to upload the pictures of Chat Blanc?"

"The last one. I had to maintain my image of impartial fan. Tikki thinks I'm overthinking it."

"You probably are. I give you props for continuing to update that thing. Peter Parker's got nothing on how you rig your camera up to take pictures."

Ladybug gave a snort. "Peter Parker's got nothing on me. Though I wouldn't mind if I could figure out some way to chase after Chat Blanc with a camera to see what happens after he flees."

"Maybe gain some clues as to why this keeps happening to Adrien in the first place."

"Exactly."

They sat in silence for a minute or two, watching the quiet and dark room. "When he showed up today did he seem any stronger to you?" Ladybug asked.

Cat Noir shook his head. "No more so than what we've already seen. Plagg says he probably hasn't extracted it yet… if he even knows how to."

"Which could mean that he still hasn't handed them over to Papillon."

"Or that Papillon is just saving the magic up for an even bigger akuma to throw at us." Cat Noir then paused. "There's something else we're not considering Ladybug."

"And what's that?"

"You heard Stormy Weather. She was genuinely surprised that Chat Blanc wasn't trying to help her. Angry even. It's possible that Chat Blanc isn't working with him now."

Ladybug stood. Her mouth set into a thin line. Cat Noir watched as she turned away from him, eyes downcast. She nodded for him to follow her. Apparently, they were done watching Adrien sleep for the night. "Adrien is our friend," Ladybug said quietly as they made their way across the roof. "I don't doubt that he truly has no idea of what's happening. I don't want to believe that Papillon's still using him. It hurts me just as much as it hurts you."

"Still doesn't mean you that he isn't though right?" Cat Noir filled in for her.

Ladybug reached out and caught his hand. She squeezed it. "I trust Adrien Agreste, not Chat Blanc. We have to be careful. This could be Papillon's way of getting us to let our guard down."

"I believe the saying goes keep your friends close but your enemies closer." Cat Noir turned to look back at Adrien's room. A vicious, angry feeling roiled through his gut. "I have to give my best friend the side eye every time I see him now. When I get my hands on Papillon…"

"Same Kit Cat."