Song: Criminal
By: Brittany Spears.

Adrien tiredly made his way through the forest, Marinette on his back and Plagg laying on his uninjured shoulder. Branches kept scratching him, dragging along his bare chest as the twigs on the ground tore the only piece of visible clothing he had on. Marinette's head lolled against his neck before resting on the shoulder Plagg was on, knocking the poor kwami off.

"Hey!" The cat yelled in annoyance before realizing her face was pale and she looked like she was in pain, her eyebrows furrowed together, her nose scrunching up but her eyes still closed.

"Princess, are you okay?" Chat got a groan in response as she moved her lips breathlessly as she spoke.

"Just dizzy..." He held in the shiver he felt shooting up his spine as he felt the tickling sensation of her lips on his neck.

"Try to get some sleep. We won't be at a safe house for a while." He hiked her up, painfully aware of the cut on her leg. As he moved his shoulders, he winced in pain. It hurt to just hold Marinette up, but moving it made his shoulder throb, worsening the pain.

"Mm... Why do I need a safe house when you're my safe house?..." His face darkened as she said that. He should feel flattered, he knew that. But he couldn't. How could she feel safe around a monster like him? How could she feel safe around a person who enjoys killing people?

"She's right, so stop thinking that about yourself." Adrien turned to Plagg, with a bewildered and surprised expression.

How does he know I was thinking about that? Oh my god... He's a fucking mind reader or some shit like that!

"I'm not a mind reader, you idiot."

Ha! Caught in the act! You did it again!

"But I do know you kid, I know the way you think. You're thinking of yourself as a monster. But would a monster protect an innocent girl like the one you're protecting? Or would he save the city of Paris on a regular basis? No. Because monsters are monsters, and you are you. So shut up about that and keep walking, I wanna sleep."

The sleepy kwami laid on Marinette's shoulder, curled up into a ball like any other cat, and dozed off quickly, muttering something about Camembert and how he'll marry it some day.

It was silent for a few hours as Adrien quietly trekked through the wet, muddy, gloomy forest. The pain in his shoulder was intensifying quickly, creating a burning sensation with every little movement he made with it. But that didn't stop him. He was determined to get to the cabin where he could tend to Marinette's wounds, and if he kept his pace up like this, with little breaks, he was sure he could cut the three day journey down to one or two days. So his pain didn't matter to him, only Marinette's, his Princess's.

"Chat..."

The quiet words, muffled by the soft skin on the junction of where his shoulder and neck met, broke the long lasting silence he was wrapped in.

"Afternoon Princess. How was your sleep, may I ask?" She slightly giggled at his old time formality before speaking.

"It was was fine, thank you, kind knight." She felt the vibrations of his laugh as she wearily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, taking a look around them.

"Are we lost or something?"

"We're not lost. You gotta trust my animal instincts Princess!" Chat exclaimed as he continued to trudge through the mushy ground, his bare feet getting dirty.

"Mhm..."

•••••

Marinette kept the teenage boy company, talking about completely random things, or trying to throw in some puns to make him laugh as they walked in the dark. She was amazed that he could keep her up and walk for this long nonstop, especially with his dislocated shoulder. When the guilt finally became to much for her, she told him to set her down.

"I don't want you to hurt your leg even more, so why don't we call it a night? That way I can carry you again tomorrow." His back was to her as he spoke, not risking his identity. As much as he wanted to turn around to see her face, he couldn't. He's not one to break promises. And he promised his lady to keep his identity a secret.

Who was he, to know that in the near future two of his promises would end up contradicting each other?

"Go to sleep Princess. I'll make a fire." He didn't wait for a response as he left to go pick up some firewood.

When he returned, Marinette was already sound asleep on her side, Plagg sitting on her hip as he watched over her with a newfound protectiveness in his eyes, one that Adrien has never seen him wear before.

He kept glancing back at the cat kwami as he placed the mostly dry branches and dry grass around on the ground, circling them with stones.

"Since when did you get so protective?"

"Wha?" Plagg was caught off guard and fell back, hitting the ground before floating back up to his seat on Marinette's hip and clearing his throat. "I'm not being protective. I'm just watching over her. If anyone is protective it's you."

Adrien didn't deny the accusation as he began to roughly hit two stones together above the handmade fire pit.

"But what does that have anything to do with you watching over her?" He repeatedly hit the stones until one of the sparks hit the grass and ignited the fire.

"Ye-" He jumped up with his arms in the air in excitement before slamming his hand over his mouth. He stared at Marinette with wide eyes, his heart racing as he stood in silence, the only sound being the crackling from the fire.

Instead of waking up, Marinette just turned on to her other side, knocking Plagg off to the ground.

He sighed in relief as he sat down next to her, watching her face emit a glow from the fire.

"I'm watching her because, I think her wound is getting infected. Look at her, she's sweating, and it's 30 degrees."

"She might just be getting sick."

"Check the wound." Plagg commanded his holder, starting to push the hem of the sweatpants down.

"What the hell are you doing?! Stop that!" He pushed Plagg off just as he caught a glimpse of black lace.

"You need to check the wound! If it's infected, it could seriously hurt her, maybe even kill her! So stop being a coward, and pull down her pants!"

Adrien stared at Plagg with wide, innocent, green eyes. "Th... That could be taken the wrong way if she heard that..." Adrien nodded as he gulped, swallowing his fear. Your virgin eyes can handle this boy. You can do this, it's not like you're actually seeing it.

Oh my god, what if I see it?! What are you thinking Adrien?! How could you possibly see that? You could only see it if you take off her underwear...

He shook his head to get rid of these thoughts as he slowly began to tug the pants down, exposing her black underwear with a lime green bow in the center. His face flushed a deep red as he saw it. He didn't think she would actually wear it if he brought them!

He lowered the sweats even more until her wound was shown. The skin around it was fleshy and red, and the entire wound was swelling. Red streaks were coming from the wound, darting up her thigh.

"That doesn't look good Plagg..." He brought the sweatpants back up a he looked up to his kwami.

"Put two fingers together and press down on the space between her hips, the pubic area." His eyes widened once more but he nodded doing as he was told. He pressed in several areas but frowned when he felt nothing.

"What am I looking for exactly?" He glanced up to Plagg again who frowned.

"There's no bumps or lumps?"

Adrien shook his head. "I-is that bad?"

Plagg sighed in relief, flying to the ground. "No, no that's good. But we need to get her some antibiotics. This could get serious real fast." Adrien nodded as he sidled down next to a now shivering Marinette.

"Good night, Plagg."

"Night kid."

Adrien laid on his side, facing Marinette's back. He slowly drew circles on her hip with his finger, slowly making his way up her waist. He felt her shivering cease as he laid his hand on her side, the tips of his fingers just resting beneath the torn tank top.

What are you doing Adrien?! This could be considered assault! Right?... After debating for a few minutes, he finally decided to move his hand up, slowly trailing his hand up her ribs. The pads of his fingers lightly ran along her delicate skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake as he felt the smooth skin.

The top of his finger hit a soft wall and he gulped as his face flushed the reddest red ever seen.

Am, am I... Am I touching what I think I'm touching?! Why isn't she wearing a bra?! Granted, it was around the time we were supposed to be asleep when Proietille Velenoso attacked...

Her body moved as she scooted back so her back and his chest were flush against each other. He dared himself to move farther, all the while having worry etched in his face.

What if she catches me? What if she doesn't want me to do this?...

His thoughts were whisked away as his hand moved on its own accord, drifting further up his Princess's chest until it rested against one mound, just laying there.

He was about to take his hand away from it when Marinette's arm covered his, her hand holding on to his, keeping it in place. The back of his hand tingled with her touch, even though they were separated with a thin piece of cloth.

"M-Marinette? Princess?" He received no answer. Instead of dwelling on it, he snuggled into her and held her close to him as he fell asleep soundly.

Because how was he to know that his Princess was awake the whole time?

Happy late 4th of July! If you're American that is. I put a little bit of innocent sin in her for you guys ;)

Until next time, peace!