"Princess?"

Marinette turned around in shock at the sound of a voice. "Chat?" She whispered. She looked around everywhere but didn't see anyone.

"Marinette?" Tikki squeaked. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Probably just my imagination." The bluenette sighed. She turned back to her desk and set up Tikki's bed. While in New York she bought a box that looked like a fashion book and fashioned it into a little place for Tikki to sleep and hide in so she wouldn't be seen. She added a small blanket to the bottom for a carpet, a corner for her cookies, and more blankets and a big seashell with a doll-sized pillow for a bed. Tikki loved it and added her own things to make it her own little home. She even added a small drawing of Chat Noirs kwami for comfort.

As Tikki settled into her room her holder tacked a couple pieces of fabric to her wall in place of paint swatches. Marinette then walked out onto the balcony again and just felt the cool evening breeze on her face. It was soft and it was as if a kiss was being placed on her cheek. "Is he even out there? Does he remember me? Does he even transform anymore? Probably not, I haven't seen news about an akuma since high school and Alya's blog is pretty dormant." She muttered to herself.

Shaking her head she turned around to sit and sketch some new designs when she slipped on a puddle and fell backwards. Before she could catch herself she was already over the edge and she closed her eyes in fear.

But, just as her foot was about to come off the balcony someone caught her. Marinette opened her eyes and saw a clawed black glove on her arm and another on her thigh, she dared to look down and saw only a silver staff. It all happened in a blur and suddenly they were back on the balcony, and the staff was in two pieces and attached to the hero's back in an X.

Finally Chat looked down at her, studying her a little bit, as if he was making sure it was her before speaking. "Marinette!! Are you alright?!" He asked.

Still in shock, Marinette found her voice and spoke the first thing that came to her mind. "Ch-Chat Noir?!"

"Are you okay?" He asked again, setting her down.

Standing up straight she looked at him. He looked so different, taller, longer hair, more muscular, and his goofy grin was replaced with a serious frown. He seemed like in these past thirteen years he had gone through nothing but tragedy and now he was a hardened man with no light left in him. The one thing that made Marinette internally sigh with relief was the way his emerald green still shined, and despite the serious stature he now had, she could still see a bit of glee in his eyes. She still wondered if there was anything left of her chaton.

Chat Noir looked down at Marinette, back once again in his arms and still clumsy as ever. She still had her shimmering bluebell eyes, cute button nose, and petite size, but other than that, she looked like a completely different person. Her midnight blue hair was definitely longer and was tied up in a high bun with a pink ribbon and her bangs were parted to the side. She wore a skin tight, rose colored, turtleneck sweater dress along with earrings and the necklace he had given her that caught his eye in the first place. Her whole spirit felt more professional and he hoped desperately that his princess was still in there.

A cool breeze passed them and snapped them both out of their trances and Marinette finally answered his question. "Yeah, I-I'm fine. Thank you."

"G-Good. And you're welcome." He replied.

An awkward silence crept up on the two, neither knew what to say next. Finally believing that she was really back, the cat let his tears fall. She was home. She was here.

"Chat..." Marinette said, walking closer to the cat, "What's wrong?"

"I... I just can't help it. It's been so long. I thought I'd never see you again." Chat sobbed, turning around and placing a hand on the balcony in shame.

Marinette finally saw her kitten in front of her, she didn't realize that while she was able to facetime her friends, she had left Chat Noir by himself. He lost Ladybug and her. "Oh kitty." She whispered, wiping a tear off his face.

He turned around to face her and placed a hand over hers, which still lay on his cheek. Chat then impulsively wrapped the girl in a hug, which Marinette wholeheartedly returned. She let a few tears escape as Chat whispered in her ear, "I missed you so much princess."

"I missed you too chaton."

They finally released each other and wiped their tears. Another cold breeze made them both shiver a little, and realizing that they were still outside Marinette laughed. "Hey, before we catch a cold, do you want to come inside?"

Chat nodded and followed her inside, and immediately noticed the difference in her room. The pink blankets and pillows on her bed were replaced with a purple comforter and black cat stuffed animal, her old cut-outs of his alter ego were replaced with posters of places in America, there was now a bulletin board of designs and fabrics next to the mannequin which now had a black and blue skirt attached. Her desk had her computer and a laptop plugged into it, a fashion design book, and a couple notebooks. On the wall by her computer there were pictures of people she didn't know, a black cat, and the picture of when Alya and Nino hung out with them at a cafe and drank milkshakes. There were a couple framed photos on her desk of her new friends.

"What?" Marinette asked.

"Nothing!" He jumped. "It just looks so different."

"Well yeah, I had to redecorate. That stuff just isn't me anymore. I was thinking of painting the room purple or green before the rest of my stuff arrives."

"Yeah, cool, wait. The rest of your stuff?"

"Yep. I'm home chaton."

Chat sighed of relief and leaned on the wall. While looking around again he noticed that a lot of the pictures had a guy in it, he was even framed on her desk with a cat. "Hey princess. Who's that?" He asked picking up the photo.

Looking at what he was holding, Marinette rushed over and snatched it from his paws. "No one!" She replied nervously. Turning to face him again her face changed to curiosity and she smirked. "You know Chat, I didn't tell anyone I was coming home. How did you find me?"

Chat suddenly got nervous about what he was going to say. If he said it was because of the necklace she surely would figure out his identity, and if he said it was because he knew her family well enough to know their measurements, she might be weirded out. "Uh-uhm... Well, I was out on patrol tonight and I saw the light on in here. This light hasn't gone on in a while, and I was concerned it might be a burglar." He explained, remembering their promise from before she left, he smiled. "Does that mean I was the first one?"

"Yes. You are the first one to see me."

"Wow. You know, I have to say this, but I hardly recognized you. You look so different." He said, receiving a raised eyebrow from the bluenette. "In a good way of course."

Marinette rolled her eyes and turned to face him. "Heh. Well it has been a few years since we last saw each other."

"A few? Thirteen years is more than a few princess."

"Yeah. Well, I meant to come back sooner kitty. But, I got caught up with other things."

"What made you finally decide to come back?"

Marinette shifted her weight nervously. "A lot of reasons, but the main reason was my homesickness was affecting my work."

Chat tilted his head in confusion. Marinette giggled and continued. "I loved it over there, really, the quick paced environment and the culture helped me flourish. I traveled everywhere and designed a whole collection dedicated to those places. I even got offered a contract with an agent from the Council of Fashion Designers of America."

"Congratulations, that sounds amazing."

"It was, I was going to be able to work with some of the top designers in America,go to the most exclusive events, and design dresses for the Met Gala. The only problem with it was the fact that the contract demanded I stay in New York City, and only New York City for the next five years. At that moment I had been planning on coming back, but I was told that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I took it."

"Then what happened that made you come back?"

"During the first few years I was great, but during this past year I thought of nothing but home, and I endured the worst designer's block in history. I had no inspiration at all and couldn't even design a scarf that I liked. When my contract ended, I left the CFDA and decided to be on my own, thinking it would help."

"And it didn't?"

"No, and I finally figured out why. I had been thinking more and more about home, and while America had been my home for thirteen years, I knew that I needed to be home, where I truly belonged if I was ever going to be able to design again. So in a complete act of impulsiveness, I packed my bags and hopped on a plane."

"And you came back to the castle." Chat joked, sitting down on the sofa.

Marinette settled on the sofa next to him. "Yeah." Her satisfied smile quickly turned into a sneaky smile. "You know chaton. You've changed a lot too. We've been talking for almost an hour and you haven't made one single pun. I have to say I'm a little disappointed."

Chat stood up immediately and put on a face of offence. "Why purrincess! I do not like that cattitude, we were just chatting about things of importance! I wasn't pawsitive if you were feline in the mood for some amazing puns." He joked, grinning from ear to ear.

Marinette laughed and stood up in front of him. "Now that's my chaton." She said, flicking the little bell as she walked past him.

"I haven't changed that much. I'm still protecting my princess."

"By popping in whenever you like."

The two laughed and Chat's eyes landed on a box below her desk, a box he put there. As the laughing ended, Marinette started to make her way towards her desk to grab her notebook to show Chat something. Panicking, Chat grasped her arm and pulled her towards him, so close that they were in the position of almost kissing.

"Marinette, I-I have to-" Chat started, but was cut off by the sound of a bell from inside the shop. Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng must have come back from their dinner. Chat glanced at the time and exhaled a sigh of relief, it was 10:00. The bakery closed at 7:00, so his alter ego was fine as long as Rochelle didn't snitch on him.

"Oh, that must be my parents. I should probably let them know I am home." Marinette muttered to herself.

When she turned back to Chat Noir he was gone. The bluenette ran up to the balcony to find her feline friend about to jump off. "Leaving without saying goodbye?"

"Oh! Sorry. It's just getting late and I should probably finish patrol for the night. And your parents..." He trailed off.

Marinette sighed and wrapped her arms around Chat's neck in a hug, which Chat happily returned. When they let go, Chat placed his leather-clad hand on her cheek. "I'm glad you're home Marinette. Are you sure you're staying this time?"

Placing her hand on top of his she replied, "Yes. I am staying."

"Pawsitive?"

"Yes Kitty, I'm pawsitive."

Smiling at her use of a pun, chat hopped onto the edge of her balcony and leapt out into the night sky.

Before she went inside to greet her parents, Marinette took another look out into the city. Clutching her kitten necklace from Adrien between her thumb and pointer finger, she smiled.

"I'm home."

Hi kitties!

Another chapter finished! I can't believe that I am writing so much now. I already have chapters 4, 5, and 6 in progress, so those should be out in the next couple weeks! I'm trying for at least a chapter a week, but with all this time I have, I might get out more!

'till next time kitties,

-- miraculouskathy101