So far, Adrien's day had gone surprising well. When he had taken Marinette breakfast at the studio that morning, she hadn't said a word about his escapades of the night before. This had him a bit on edge at first. He wondered if maybe she was only waiting for the right time to confront him. But, when she gave him no reasons to believe that she had any idea of the incident, he decided to relax and enjoy their time together.

But this still raised a question in him: why didn't she know? He knew Alya had already posted the article, and it already had thousands of views. Of course, she had left out the part where he had stopped by and asked her to write it, so perhaps Marinette assumed it was an ordinary blog post? Still, Adrien had a feeling Alya would call Marinette and tell her about his visit before long.

Now, he was sitting in his room doing a bit of apartment hunting. Sure, living at home was practically living on his own. But, his time in New York had given him a taste of true freedom, and he was determined to have that same level of autonomy in his home city. Plus, he knew he and Marinette would be married one day, and when that day came they were gonna need a place to live. So, why not lay the groundwork for that now?

A knock at his door brought a fond smile to his face. He recognized the soft, yet audible, sound and habitual rhythm of Marinette's hand against his door. "Come in!" He shouted to her, as he quickly scrolled past his "must-have" list. He wasn't quite sure that he wanted Marinette to know he had been looking for apartments with double-vanity sinks just yet. Especially if she was here to scold him.

When she walked into his room, Marinette had a cool, calm demeanor about her. Too cool and calm. There was a slight look in her eyes that reflected a deep suspicion, but he doubted a stranger could notice it.

"Hey, you busy?" She asked, her tone gentle and innocent.

"Never too busy for you, Princess." Adrien tried to sound oblivious, but his voice was saturated with unease. "How can your valiant knight help you today?" He stood from his chair and bowed to her dramatically. His worry ramped up when she didn't laugh at his antics.

Marinette shrugged and walked towards the couch. "I just wanted to ask you about something Alya said when I talked to her a few minutes ago."

Adrien nodded as he too headed towards the couch. He was sure he detected a hint of sharpness in his Lady's tone.

"What did she say?" He asked as he sat down next to her. Marinette started drumming her fingers on her knee.

"Well," She began slowly, "she said Chat Noir came by her apartment last night and asked her to write that article on the Ladyblog. He gave her the cover picture too."

"Oh, did he now?" If there was anything Adrien knew for certain it was this: whenever Marinette referred to 'Chat Noir' as a separate person than himself she was either A) about to kiss him senseless, or B) About to kill him. He was pretty sure it wasn't option A this time.

"Yes, he did." Marinette said, her tone growing more impatient by the moment. "She also said it was supposed to cover something up. Adrien, what on earth were you up too last night?!" Adrien cringed. As prepared as he thought he was for this, boy he was wrong.

"Well... I was, um..." "Yes?" Marinette's tone was sharp and Adrien had nowhere to run. And so, with a very uneasy tone of voice, he began the entire chronicle that had led up to his meeting with Alya the night before. Marinette nodded slowly throughout. Showing little emotion throughout the story, except when he had told her about dangling the man from the window. That had earned him a cringe. When he finished, she was silent and her face was expressionless.

"I see." Was the answer she gave him after some time had passed. He fidgeted in the tenseness of the moment, fingering his ring mindlessly. A million results flew past his mind, and very few of them ended well.

"I don't know whether to kiss you or to fuss at you Adrien." She admitted without meeting his eyes, "Your action was wrong, very wrong. But at the same time, you did it in my defense, and that's really sweet."

Adrien breathed in relief, shifting closer to her and pulling her hand towards his mouth. "But-" Marinette snatched her hand from his, using it to point at him accusingly. "That was incredibly stupid! What if you had dropped the guy? Or what if he had connected why you were so worried that he was writing about me? Chat Noir has no business defending Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Or what if he had reported it to the police? You could have been arrested!"

"That's right!" Adrien heard a familiar squeaky voice say. Tikki had left her refuge in Marinette's purse and was floating in front of his face now. She looked incredibly cross.

"Your actions were incredibly reckless, Adrien. I'm beginning to think that letting you take Plagg to America with you was a bad idea. His reckless behavior is rubbing off on you more and more!"

Adrien gawked at the red Kwami before him. Had he really adopted Plagg's recklessness? The very idea shocked him.

"Oh give it a rest, Sugar Cube! The kid didn't hurt anybody!" Plagg interjected, "That guy needed a good shake-up anyway. Besides, he wasn't completely stupid! He had Alya post that article so no one would pay attention if the guy decided to complain. And, even if he did tell the police, Alya's blog says Chat Noir and Ladybug were out all night being all lovey dovey and gross. So who would believe him?" Plagg made a gagging gesture before stuffing his face with cheese. The little guy chewed heedless of the group's shocked silence and it wasn't until Tikki shouted at him angrily did he show any interest in the three again. She lunged at Plagg in a frustrated grumble. But Plagg, acting quickly, blitzed away to hide in the bathroom. Tikki chased him, scolding as she went and leaving Marinette and Adrien alone.

Adrien looked at Marinette, whose eyes were still looking with concern towards the bathroom where Plagg's muffled cries could be heard. He leaned towards her and gently pivoted Marinette's head towards him so that she was staring straight at him. She blushed at their proximity.

"He's gonna be fine." Adrien said in a low voice, knowing full well that Tikki would never hurt Plagg, regardless of how much she wanted too. "But I need to know that we're fine. I'm sorry that I got so carried away. I've been so impulsive since I got back. Can you forgive me?"

A soft smile grew on Marinette's lips. "Of course." She whispered in response. Adrien couldn't even hear Plagg's screams of terror anymore as he leaned in to Mari and gently brushed his lips against hers. "But you know, I do like my impulsive, jealous kitty." Marinette said with a smile, scooting back a bit. "As long as he doesn't do anything illegal again." She tapped his nose, beginning a stampede of memories in Adrien's mind. He smirked at her, "Oh really?" He asked, his fear now gone. "Well puurhaps I'll continue being your jealous kitty. Or even better, your green eyed monster."

Marinette chuckled as her cheeks became a glorious shade of pink, "You're a lot of things, my kitty, but a monster? More like a house cat."

"House cat?" Adrien asked, feigning offense. "Do I need to prove myself, my lady?" He slid closer to her again, doing his best to roll his shoulders in a cat-like motion.

Marinette snatched the throw-pillow from beside her and smacked it across his face, stunning him. She began giggling uncontrollably, and Adrien blinked in a light daze. "Hey!" He shouted, as the realization washed over him. Marinette was laughing heartily now, buckling over in her seat as Adrien looked at her with a pouty expression. He stared at her indignantly, but she hadn't yet stopped laughing enough to notice. Suddenly, an idea crossed Adrien's mind.

As Marinette guffawed, he leaned forward and caught her in his arms. She looked up in sudden surprise, and he took advantage of her position, catching her lips in his own. Her surprise melted, and soon she was returning his affections.

Adrien wondered to himself how he ever got so lucky. His lady was amazing. She was talented, loving, brave, heroic, and most importantly she was his. He wasn't sure what he had done to prove himself worthy; why, out of all the guys who fell at her feet, she would choose him. But in that moment he didn't care. She was his, and his alone. He felt her deepen the kiss, and his mind went nearly blank as he began acting on impulse once again. Only one clear thought remained-

This cat would never go away again.

A.N.- And so, we draw the curtain. Man, this has been fun. Thank you so much to everyone who has kept up with this. When I first started this, I never imagined it would get this kind of support. I hope it has been as much fun for you guys as it has been for me.