It was too cold tonight for Chat Noir's liking. He preferred the nights that were warmer, reminding him of the countless summer nights he'd spent having fun with his friends, or soaring through the city with a smile on his face, beside his partner with a sense of purpose. But as he jumped from roof to roof tonight, he couldn't help but grimace whenever his regret tugged at his heart.

All that seemed to occupy his mind was the realization of why he was even out at this time of night. He would be breaking some awfully heart-wrenching news to his girlfriend, Marinette.

Chat Noir absolutely loved her with all my heart and never wanted to leave her side. He'd hoped for a while now that somehow, they could've been something more in the future, when he was ready to reveal his identity to her.

But all of that had crumbled to the ground now.

After his high-school graduation, Adrien was given the choice—which he rather liked to call an opportunity—to leave his modeling career in the dirt and pursue what he always dreamed to be.

A professional pianist.

The only thing Adrien Agreste actually enjoyed as a young teenager still living under his father's roof was being able to play the piano. It was the only one of his forced hobbies that he actually enjoyed. What he wanted more than anything was to be able to teach students how to play the piano, and to perform.

Actually, he really wanted to start a music school.

The only problem was that his father wanted him to pursue that dream away from Paris. Somewhere far away... so that if he failed, it wouldn't ruin his father's reputation.

Gabriel Agreste wanted his son to build his school in America.

At first, Adrien was willing to give up on his dream and remain under his father's hand. He thought about it long and hard, because, as much as he wanted to reach out and snatch his dream, he also didn't want to leave everything he knew. Not only was Adrien Agreste secretly one of Paris' famous superheroes, but he would be leaving all of his friends, his crime fighting partner, Ladybug, and most importantly, Marinette, behind.

But... then Adrien thought about how selfless he'd been all his life, putting everyone else's wants and needs before his own just so that they could be happy—his father included.

It was his turn to be happy.

Eventually, Adrien Agreste gave into his father's conditions and decided to follow his dream to America.

So, Adrien was going to America.

But that meant... so was Chat Noir.

Which also meant... he had to tell Marinette.

Now, Chat Noir was perched on the edge of a rooftop, settled on top of a building that sat straight across from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. From what he could see, Marinette's bedroom lights were on, and with his super hearing, he could hear faint sounds of her humming.

Adrien couldn't help but smile, the thought of Marinette being in such a wonderful mood causing his chest to swell. But then, his frown returned just as quickly as it had vanished, because soon he would ruin that perfect mood with that he would say.

But... he couldn't not tell her.

He had to.

It was inevitable.

Inhaling deeply, Chat Noir leapt down from his spot up on the roof and landed quietly on her balcony. His tail twitched involuntarily—a little tick Marinette had noticed he made whenever he was sad or nervous.

Well, he hoped she wouldn't notice his tail twitching tonight.

Now that he was closer, Chat could hear his girlfriend humming more clearly, and though he knew what was about to play out would be hard, he couldn't stop from letting that smile replace his frown again as he tapped on her window lightly.

The humming immediately stopped the moment she heard him knock, and soft footsteps followed shortly afterwards. He waited patiently—and nervously—for her to open the hatch, silently praying that she would take her time.

However, it only took her a couple of seconds to swing the latch open. Her blue-bell eyes quickly met his glowing green ones, and her smile widened at the sight of him. "Chat Noir," his name rolled off of her tongue with so much adoration, something he never got tired of hearing her say. "Come on in."

Marinette was the kindest person he knew, and he didn't hesitate to carefully climb into her room—quietly too—making sure not to wake her parents. Chat shut the window behind him and met her on her bed where she was already seated.

"Hey." He said, smiling.

How was he going to break these news to her?

She responded by gently leaning in to kiss him, and despite his intentions, he welcomed the kiss wholeheartedly. Her fingers quickly wove their way over his chest and around his neck, weaving into his blonde locks. He found that even his own hands tugged her forward, wrapped themselves around her waist, pulled her closer to him. It was nearly impossible to turn her away, nor was he strong enough to pull away himself.

So he kissed her back, because he loved her. He loved this girl too much.

Which is why this hurt even more.

"I'm glad you're here," Marinette broke the kiss with a giggle, leaning her head against his chest as she embraced him. He kept his arms secured around her as he hugged her back. She seemed more cheerful than she usually was whenever he surprised her with unexpected visits. "I have something really important to tell you." She wiggled in his arms, and he could tell right away that she was full of excitement.

What a coincidence that they both had something that they needed to tell each other. One with good news apparently, and the other, with bad.

Chat Noir's heart was racing.

"I do too," He replied evenly, but deep down inside of him, he was terrified. He wished—and even prayed—that it didn't have to come to this, that he could just take her with him and start a newer and better life with just the two of them. But that was an overly-dramatic-imaginative fantasy. As much as he wished it were possible, Marinette would never agree to leave her parents... especially when they had no idea she was currently dating a masked superhero without knowing that said hero's identity. Slowly, Chat pulled himself away from her embrace, offering her a small smile. "Could I go first?"

Despite her nod, Marinette's excitement dialed down just a bit (though her smile remained prominent), and he figured it was because she was so eager to tell him her news. But, of course, as wonderful and kind-hearted as she was, she let him go first. "Of course, Chaton."

"It's not the best news, Marinette." He decided to say, and he watched as her facial expression morphed into one of concern. When she remained silent to that, he continued. "Well... um... my father has given me the option to leave modeling and start my passion for music..."

Almost instantly, Marinette's eyes lit up. "Oh Chat! Really? That's amazing!"

But when he didn't reply with the same excitement she had, her smile quickly faded back to the concerned look she had had minutes before. "What's the catch?" She suddenly asked, as if she knew his father all too well from the stories he's told her.

Chat sighed, and sucked in a deep breath. "If I want to build my school, I have to go to the United States and build there. Those are my father's conditions. He says it would be a better opportunity for me there. Either that, or he doesn't want to risk my possible failure ruining his reputation."

He watched as Marinette's facial expression twisted into one he couldn't quite read. "You can't be serious?" Her eyes bore into his, practically pleading without actually saying anything that all of what he was saying was a lie. "Are you going to go? To America?"

"Yes," He said, his ears falling flat on his head. "I have decided to go."

Marinette gasped, and he watched as her hands rose to her chest, almost as if she was clutching her own heart. Chat Noir knew her well enough to know that that action was one of self-security.

"What about us, Chat?" She asked suddenly, and this was the next topic he dreaded to speak of the most.

He didn't want to talk about their relationship, because he knew a long distance relationship would never work for him. Especially when Marinette didn't know his true identity. Especially when he wasn't ready to tell her.

He rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. "Listen Marinette, I love you. I love you so much, but I think it would be best if we just... broke it off..."

He hated the way those words left his lips so easily. He loved her so much, and he couldn't bare the thought of not being with her. But this had to be done. When he saw the look of horror on her face, it only broke him even more. "What?" She asked in such disbelief. "You want to b-break up? Really?"

"Just let me explain—" Chat tried to reach out for her wrist, but Marinette pulled away from his reach. Instead, she stood up from her bed.

He stayed rooted in his spot.

He could see the tears that had now stained her cheeks. "We can't even try to make this work? You just want to throw away everything we've built together?"

If she thought this was his wish come true, she was very wrong. He hated the mere idea of not being hers, seeing her like this; but when he tried to explain that to her, she continued on, "I can't believe you would do this."

"You're not even letting me explain." He furrowed his brows, somewhat feeling annoyed. "You think I want to do this?"

"I don't know, do you?" It was almost as if she was quizzing him, as if his answer would determine how much their love had been real. He watched as she wrapped her arms around herself. "You're obviously not willing to try. Instead you just want to throw it all away."

"No I don't!" He defended, growing angry that she was beginning to blame him for things he didn't want. "It's just better this way. It would never work when we're so far apart—"

"It would if you told me who you were."

Chat Noir shook his head. As much as he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Marinette, he wasn't ready to tell her who he was. "That's not an option."

"Why not?!" Marinette exclaimed. She looked even more frustrated than he was. "We've been together for almost a year, Chat Noir!"

"Well, I'm not ready!" He argued.

"Well, when would you have been ready? The one year mark? Two?" She crossed her arms, staring him dead in the eye. "Or were you ever planning on telling me?"

"Of course I was!" He couldn't even believe she was suggesting such a thing. "But when I was ready. I'm not ready yet!"

With that, Marinette's arms fell to her sides again. Instead of firing a retort like he'd thought she would, she curled into herself once again. "So that's it then? I'll never see you again?"

He wanted to cry right then and there. Would he ever see Marinette again? He hoped to. But would she ever want to see him again?

When he didn't answer, he watched as Marinette nodded silently. "I think you should go."

His eyes widened, because he wasn't ready to leave. He had so many things he needed to still tell her. "What? But Mari—"

"I don't want to hear it." Marinette said, her voice emotionless. "I just want you to leave."

In that moment, Chat Noir's heart broke into a thousand pieces. But Marinette's probably broke into a million.

"Didn't you have something you wanted to tell me?" He asked her instead, his voice wavering, as if he could grant himself a few more minutes.

He noticed right away as she hesitated, glancing from her bed to her shoes and to the window all at once. But then she shook her head, closing off whatever she might've had on her mind. "It's not important. Not anymore."

Chat Noir didn't believe that for a second.

"Are you sure?" He prodded sadly, only to receive another silent nod from her in return.

Deciding it would be best for him to leave the atmosphere she no longer wanted him in, he stood up from her bed and moved towards her window, ready to open it, before he added quietly, "I'll be leaving for the airport on Friday. I even thought I'd board as Chat Noir. Maybe you'll be there?"

When she remained silent, her eyes downcast and her face turned away from him fully, he decided not to push it any further. Pushing her window open, he jumped up onto her balcony, into the cool of the night, regretting leaving her behind. He really didn't want to break her heart, and he certainly didn't want to throw away what they had. But he wasn't ready. As he leaped onto the next roof, his heart stopped for just a second, and reality seemed to kick in for the first time that night as he shed his own tears.

He'd lost her.

God, he'd lost the love of his life.

_______________________________

Here's the NEW and revised first chapter to this book! I know you all are anxious for the second chapter, and I don't blame you, but I needed to edit this one first, correct my mistakes, and add a few things.

The second chapter already has a very rough draft from years ago. I plan to make it a much better before I publish it.

Please be patient with me! I know it's been so long I don't really have the right to ask you of that, but I want to give you only the best to read.

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