I do not, and never will own Miraculous Ladybug

He had been visiting her every night for so long that they didn't know exactly when it began. They were best friends, and neither of them could imagine what life would be like without the other. Neither of them wanted to imagine it. They were both fond of each other, so fond. Usually they would play Ultimate Mecha Strike 3, or watch movies. Or Chat simply sat nearby, when Marinette was working on her designs. It became so normal to them, that whenever Chat was even a few minutes late, Marinette started to worry. Marinette grew fonder of her Partner, so much so, that her heart beat faster whenever she heard him knock on her window, or whenever they met up to fight akumas. Chat was fond of Marinette as well, very fond of her. He truly wanted her to know who he was, for her to know him without the mask. But he'd have to work on that. H needed to get to know her as Adrien first. She had always seemed uncomfortable around him, and he didn't want that to ruin their friendship. He didn't want her to stutter around Chat, like she did around Adrien.

It had been a few months since he started bringing her gifts. It reminded her so much of an actual Cat, but she didn't mind it. She actually found it cute how cat like Chat really was. The first gift that he brought her was a charm bracelet, with a small pink cherry blossom charm. It matched the shirt she wore every day, and she absolutely loved it. After that he started giving her a new gift every week. He loved the smile on her face when she received the gifts, so he didn't want to stop. Sometimes he brought her roses, sometimes he brought her chocolates, and every few weeks he brought her a new charm for the bracelet. Each charm was added to the bracelet, and Adrien always smiled when he saw her wear it at school. That fateful day he had brought her a small black cat charm. He sat on her bed, and pulled her into his lap. She was surprised, but she didn't balk at it, in fact, she melted into him. Even so, he could feel her tense up.

"What's wrong?" He asked, knowing her every mood.

"It's nothing. Sorry. Just…. Alya is getting suspicious." Marienette said, with a small frown. "She knows that something's up, and knows that I'm keeping secrets. I don't like lying to her."

"Is she getting close to guessing?" Chat asked. If Alya was close to guessing, others probably were as well. And if people knew how much he cared for Marinette, she would be in danger. And he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let her be in danger, just because he cared for her.

"Yeah, she's is a journalist after all," Chat frowned for a moment, before he started rubbing Marinette's back. Keeping her close to him. He had to make a plan. He couldn't let her be hurt. And so he made up his mind, he was going to protect her, even if that meant he was going to have to give her up. But he pushed that out of his mind. He didn't want to ruin his last evening with Marinette.

"Goodbye, see you tomorrow," Marinette said, as Chat was about to leave.

"About that… I can't…." Chat struggled to say this, taking a deep breath to steel his resolve. He had to put her first, her protection meant the most to him. "I can't visit you anymore."

"Why?" Marinette's eyes were starting to fill with pain.

"Sorry, Princess. Goodbye." Chat said, not answering her question. He lept out of her window, not looking back. He hated doing this. She was his best friend. He cared for his Princess more than anything. And that was why he had to do this. The only thing that kept him from falling apart, was because he could still get to know her as Adrien. Still spend time with her. He didn't have to completely lose his best friend. He had finally gotten to the point where she didn't stutter around him in his civilian form. Which made him hope even more that he could get to be her best friend, while he was only Adrien. As he headed to his house, tears started to fall from his eyes, giving out the smell of wet leather from where the tears met his mask. It didn't feel like he was heading home, He felt like he was leaving it… Marinette was his home, and he was leaving her.

"Mon Chaton," Marinette lemented, laying down on her bed. She pulled her cat pillow close to her, closing her eyes, as tears flowed freely. Even though her eyes were closed, she didn't fall asleep, she couldn't. Her mind was occupied on figuring out why this happened.