23. Chapter 23

"Have you ever heard the word limitations?" Marinette huffed when Adrien nuzzled her neck. Why he was doing it, she has a slight idea.

A certain cat was trying his best to pacify her anger. Unfortunately, she didn't find him cute.

"It's just an eight meownce, my Lady."

"My ass. A glass won't make a person this drunk."

"I'm not drunk." he defended with a pout. "Just dizzy."

She cupped his red face and slapped a damp cloth on his forehead. The coldness made him squirm.

"You're so cold, Princess!" he yelped.

"'Coz bad kitties must be punished."

"Ooh, that sounds so kinky~"

She felt his brows wiggled against the cloth, and when he purred his words, she nudged his head backward. He groused on her harshness, but she wasn't sorry for her actions.

Besides, he deserved it.

"Pinot Meow," he grumbled as she wiped his face. "There must be a catnip on Pinot Meow."

"Of course there is, and before you say anything - yes, I know that it's real."

He smirked, recalling a certain memory. "I bought a bottle for Plagg once, just for a heck of it. And the fact that, you know, cheese and wine are partners in crime. And guess what happened?"

"As much as I would like to know the rest of it, and I bet I'm going to end up rolling on the floor laughing," she stated with a beady glare. "But no, I'm not interested. You're stalling, you're not admitting that Sean cohort you - and I don't like it. You're making me mad."

He gave her a dopey smile.

"You're supposed to say no if you can't tolerate alcohol," she muttered without stopping her ministrations. "I thought someone smacked you down when I saw you slumping on your chair. And I was gone for less than five minutes."

"I'm not drunk." he defended again. "And Sean was considerate."

"Uh-huh, and I'm Chat Noir."

Half-lidded eyes glowered. "Why do you women always want to win the argument?"

"That's because we have an evidence, and you," she emphasized. "Don't have an alibi."

He mumbled something about Tom and women's rights, but she didn't pry into it further.

The noticeable red patches on his skin began to dissipate, so she knew that the medicine she acquired from Celia has finally kicked in.

"Okay, I admit I'm drunk." he breathed with a lop-sided grin. "Drunk in love."

Rolling her eyes, she covered his entire face with a cloth.

"Wipe that damn smirk off, tomcat." she miffed when he gave a hearty laugh. "I think you're fine now since you're starting to goof around."

He removed the cloth, then frowned. "Meow-ch. You wound me, Princess."

The two were sitting near the chateau's small fountain located relatively far from the reception area. They might be away from the joyous crowd, but they could still hear the music in the air.

"You know, everything is first for me," he told her. "Spending a night under a starry sky with the most beautiful girl, in a beautiful town of Normandy, outside my beautiful mask, and now I'm starting to feel so damn lucky."

He was rewarded with a pinkish blush, and an adorable squeak when he planted a kiss on her hand.

"Is it the cat talking?" she asked, drowning herself in his glowing green eyes. "Or the wine?"

"It's from the a-meow-sing purr-ty boy named Adrien Agreste."

Her giggles made his heart leaped out, and her smile turned his knees to jelly. "Now that's Chat Noir who's talking."

He was a lost cause. He was too much in love with her, so much that he gave her the power to control his entire soul. That a mere snap of her fingers and he'd bow down like a puppet to his Master.

He told her about it once during Puppeteer, so she knew. She definitely knew.

"Whatever. Both were hot anyway."

"Ah." she deadpanned. "That's the wine talking."

He chuckled.

A familiar melody was played, perking both their attention to the tenor as he sung the lyrics fluently in English. Still holding her hand, he stood up.

"May I have this dance, My Lady?"

Her brows rose, eyeing his complexion. "Are you sure you're not dizzy?"

"Not if you're dazzling me with your beauty."

She exasperatedly sighed on his romances, then finally surrendered. "I've got two left feet. I don't know how to dance."

"It's alright - just follow my lead."

She complied.

Adrien pulled her closer, his left hand pressing her back while his right on her left palm. His cheek was on her head, inhaling her sweet scent with a mixture of vanilla and midnight dew.

Since he was a head taller, Marinette had to lean on his shoulder as they swayed on the rhythm. Then she chuckled when he muttered the first line of the song.

"Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you."

Why does this man have to be so perfect? she thought.

Perfect face, perfect body, perfect personality, and even a perfect voice enough to soothe her nerves.

And why, of all people, he chose her?

"Shall I stay, would it be a sin." the singer continued. "If I can't help falling in love with you."

"Is there anything in this world that you can't do, M. Agreste?" she murmured with closed eyes.

"Oh, a lot, Mme. Dupain-Cheng. One of them is scaling rooftops with a yo-yo."

She snorted.

He kissed her forehead.

In that cold summer night, despite wearing a thin sleeveless dress, her body was warmed by Adrien's embrace. If her thirteen-year-old self-was there, she would combust and faint on the spot, and probably squeal on their skinship. But her current self-had been intimate with him in spandex, and with the knowledge of his identity, she was able to relax in his presence.

"Like a river flows surely to the sea." the ballad continued, and this time the two were humming. "Darling so it goes, some things were meant to be."

"Mari?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember the topic we've discussed while we're en-route to Evreux?"

"Which one?" she asked. "Go with the flow?"

"Seeing ourselves five years from now."

"Oh, you have an answer now?"

"Actually, a wish." there was a hesitation in his voice. "If we...well, if we can still do these sort of things even after five years. If we can be like this - or stay like this for more than five years. Or forever. If...if that's okay with you."

Marinette tilted her head and met his eyes. His green orbs were filled with worry. If he wasn't holding her for a slow dance, he might've done that nervous tick of neck rubbings.

Adrien bit his lip, prepping his heart for her rejection, but nobody came.

"Well." the girl smiled. "If you'll be a good kitty then I don't mind."

Relief swamped his senses. Her bluebell eyes pored his soul, convincing him that everything would be alright. That they would be alright.

Oh, how he wanted to kiss her.

"Take my hand, take my whole life too. Cause I can't help falling in love with you."

Unable to remove his gaze from hers, he asked "Mari?"

"Yes?"

The song has ended, and an encore cheer was prompted, but the two didn't tear themselves off from each other.

"Can I..." he gulped. "Can I ki - "

Suddenly, a blob whirled on his face.

"Adrien! Adrien! This is horrible, Adrien! There's a - ACK!"

Plagg's loud yelp sounded when Tikki hand-chopped his enormous head.

"Plagg!" she scolded when the black kwami rushed towards their chargers. "Try to read the atmosphere, will you?"

He crudely rubbed the painful spot with his nubs. "The hell with that atmosphere reading! This is an emergency!"

"I know! But there's a timing for everything!"

"Let's hear it then." Adrien huffed at the flying kwamis, but his eyes were solely darted towards Plagg. "And I'm going to drown you in a fountain right now if this is about your cheese."

"C'mon, there's nothing as important as cheese." the black kwami rolled his eyes, earning a threatening growl. "But listen - there's a - "

"I think." the red kwami interjected. "It's better if we show it to them."

"What's wrong, Tikki?"

She met her charger's inquisitive gaze, and sensing her apprehension, she bowed her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Marinette, but we need to go back."

"Why?"

Plagg mumbled something incoherently, but Tikki didn't mind him.

"You need to see this."

It must be the superhero in them, or probably their unbreakable bonds to their little gods, that they immediately sensed a brewing trouble.

Without further questions, the teenagers followed their distressed kwamis.

They opened a door leading to a back kitchen, and on its counter was a small television.

Since the place was deserted with nobody to ask for permission, Marinette simply pressed the power on the appliance and flipped the channel immediately to TVi.

Everyone held their breath as they watched Nadja Chamack's face on the screen, and a LIVE sign projected on the bottom scrolls. The volume was low, but they could still hear the urgency as she repeated Ladybug and Chat Noir's name like a plea.

Adrien and Marinette knew why.

Because behind her was a city engulfed in flames.