It was a small step for Adrien and Marinette to get along since Marinette knew he needed a new friend to talk to other than Chloe who only talks about herself too much. Not to mention Adrien needed a true friend with a good attitude.

"I mean, I hear everyone says you always find a solution to all the problems" Adrien walking with her.

"I do, I guess," Marinette said.

"I wonder how you do it" Adrien chuckled.

"It depends on the situation," Marinette said.

"How did you find out that Lila was a pathological liar from the beginning? Don't get me wrong but she nearly tried to convince my father to be a co-model with me and he almost agreed without a second thought" Adrien asked.

"Well, many of her lies didn't add up, like when she fakes diseases or broken bones," Marinette said.

"What?" Adrien said.

"For example, she pretended to have an injured leg by looking like I pushed her dish the stairs, and the next, she could walk just fine. Walking with an injured or broken leg would not make a person walk normally in just minutes" Marinette explained as an example.

"Yet nobody saw it?" Adrien guessed.

"No witnesses. And pretending to have arthritis on her wrist. I tested her to catch the napkin and she caught it perfectly which should've caused extreme pain but then covered it up with her other good wrist" Marinette said.

"Damn," Adrien said in surprise.

"And pretending to have tinnitus without a doctor's note to prove it," Marinette said.

"Strange. Any student needs one" Adrien said.

"Yup. I tried proving so hard she was a liar but they think I was being overly dramatic. Until one day Ladybug unmasked Volpina which made them realize how wrong they were to think she was a nice person" Marinette explained why she never falls for liars.

"What can I say? Lying is a powerful superpower" Adrien said.

"Exactly. But Lila was very talented at lying her way out of trouble" Marinette said.

"I see" Adrien replied.

"And that's another reason why I tried and tried to prove it to them so that lies don't ruin everything in their lives because of her. Trusting a complete stranger is dangerous" Marinette said.

"Totally. My father still lies about my mother disappearing but I just think she's dead. It's been 2 years ago and my father still grieves" Adrien said, knowing how alone he's been until that cat that bit he changed his life.

"Grief affects anyone differently," Marinette said and saw an ice cream cart.

"It was hard for my father as well as for me. Being homeschooled was lonely and thank God he put me to public school since he thinks my homeschool grades are not perfect enough" Adrien said.

"You were lucky. Want some ice cream?" Marinette asked.

"Sure. Especially to get away from strict diets too" Adrien said.

"You definitely gotta try something new for a change than this" Marinette said before getting ice cream.

After paying, they both walk down the street.

"I suppose you heard of Cat Noir?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, Paris's most wanted thief," Marinette said.

"Scared?" Adrien tested her.

"No, of course not. Just because he's dressed like a cat?" Marinette asked.

"The only man in a tight leather catsuit which is the state of thievery art fashion" Adrien chuckled.

"Yeah, typical cat burglar," Marinette said.

"But he kinda is a badass," Adrien said.

"So is Ladybug too. Honestly, it's something new for her that she never faced" Marinette finished her ice cream.

"That Cat Noir beats her every time?" Adrien said, finishing his ice cream.

"Technically he got away from her. No criminal ever escapes from Ladybug" Marinette said.

"Heh, well, hopefully, she won't fail. I gotta go. And thanks for socializing with me as well as ice cream too" Adrien said.

"You're welcome, Adrien," Marinette said.

-

Later that night, Cat Noir sneaks inside the police station to have a word with Lila Rossi. The lights were cut off to make everyone go blind in the dark but for him, he can see with cat vision. He found the cell number where she was and used the security card to unlock it so he could get in. It was only a matter of time before the lights were back on.

Lila freaked out but the light flicked on and off repeatedly like a horror film of someone gonna get killed. It was only 5 seconds until she heard body thuds and there stood Cat Noir with a menacing look.

"Agh! Shit! The hell?!" Lila exclaimed and backed up.

"Hello, Volpina the Liar who cried fox" Cat Noir chuckled, "Don't worry. They are simply paralyzed from my paralysis technique to hit the nerve spot"

"What do you want from me?" Lila asked.

"My claws thirst for blood" Cat Noir bares his claws, "And the betrayal you put me through"

"Still holding a grudge?! It's not my fault I always get what I want!" Lila made an excuse as a scapegoat.

"This Dupain-Cheng told me everything that you did to her" Cat Noir threatened her, "Technically it is your fault for being foolish of yourself. Just like you tried to fool me when you left me to die with psychopaths" Cat Noir let out an angry hiss.

"You were a weakling back then, Noir," Lila said.

Cat Noir had his claws near her face if she repeated that threat again, "Not anymore. I got nine lives while your Fox lifespan is too short in the wild. You didn't last long until you got arrested. Too bad you don't know the meaning of being careful what you have until it's gone to the wrong path in life" He nearly went insane due to what she put him through when she left him to die, "I can make your life a living hell" He licks her cheek deadly.

"Are you threatening me with death?" Lila asked.

"Maybe I am until you learn what it feels like to lose everything. Especially with what you were doing in school to make so much lies for attention to gain. Face it, Lie-la. You're still the same unchanged bitch you'll always be" Cat Noir pinned her to make sure she doesn't escape his anger, "If you ever try to make someone miserable again, I will ensure you'll never see the light of day again!"

"You'll never last for long when Ladybug throws your ass in jail. You'll be my cellmate like the times you try to be sexy at pole dances in nightclubs" Lila cackled but got clawed in the stomach, "Agh!"

"She never succeeded in getting me!" Cat Noir cleans his claws, licking her blood to show how serious and dangerous he is when someone crosses the line, "But you will never escape this prison on my watch" He adds.

Squeezing through the tight bars like a cat which was impossible for a man but he was like a supernatural to do it, "See you in hell, Lila" Cat Noir said.

"Let the demon possess you more" Lila taunted.

But Cat Noir just ignored her as he left. He had to act fast before the police station saw him. So he went for the vents and snuck inside them. He came out on the rooftop safely. He sees Ladybug on the move and decides to follow her before any of those criminals have the upper hand.

Ladybug soon arrived at some warehouse, sneaking on the rooftop to see several criminals smuggling, "They're smuggling drugs. I better get started" She took out smoke bombs, "Blind as bats, boys" She set it off.

Smoke spread everywhere in the warehouse, "What the?! It's the bug!" They realized that the smoke was red.

"Haha! You're all gonna get your ass kicked!" She laughed in the smoke.

She drags one of the thugs into the smoke to knock him out.

"Shit! I can't fucking see! Find her now!" They all got scared at how hard it was to see.

Ladybug then lurked around in the red smoke. She giggled at how they were yelling and swearing a lot at being trapped blindly. It wasn't until she heard struggling and body thuds that someone else fought in the smoke blindly. Then she heard hard blows sending bodies around.

"Fuck! You're dead!" The thug tried to find the person but then got his nerves paralyzed and could not move as he fell.

"Nah, I think I hit a nerve," The familiar voice said.

The smoke cleared away and there stood Cat Noir who defeated the thugs and got the drugs, "Like I said, I'm more than just a common thief. One almost tried to sneak up behind you with a knife" Cat Noir tossed the drugs to her.

"You stalked me, Kitty?" Ladybug guessed.

"Correction, saving your life. You wouldn't last 2 seconds if one of them was able to see through blind smoke and stab you" Cat Noir said, going to the barely beaten leader struggling to get up but Cat Noir put his foot on the wrist to prevent him from reaching the knife.

"Miss me much, bad boy?" Cat Noir sneered.

"Fuck you!" The leader screamed from the pressure on his wrist.

"Attacking a lady like that seems very evil of you. What should I do with you? Claw you to death or torture you alive?" Cat Noir bears his claws.

"You're not serious, are you?!" Ladybug stopped him.

"If they cross the line, they answer to the devil they always call me" Cat Noir hissed.

He wants to taste blood like a predator but instead, he grabs some chains to tie him up, just so he doesn't have Ladybug get haunted by his menacing techniques.

"Good. By the way, thank you for saving my back" Ladybug said.

"No problem. But don't forget, I'm still a master thief, not a hero. Paris is gonna need you more" Cat Noir chuckled.

"Technically you saved me and that method you did is like a hero" Ladybug corrected him.

"Hmph. Don't get used to it, bugaboo. There are times I do bad things but not to the extreme" Cat Noir smirked.

"Right," Ladybug replied.

"And for that, don't I get a kiss?" Cat Noir paced her.

"Gross! Last time you kissed me to get me off guard!" Ladybug yelled.

"I saw you liked it. You can't lie to me, milady. Or are you worried about your reputation or Paris to write the story of a hero falling in love with a thief?" Cat Noir chuckled evilly.

"I don't like fake news," Ladybug said.

"Neither do I but it's the rule book you know. I'm a very bad kitty" Cat Noir pinned her against the wall, "You're so cute when you get feisty" He kissed her slowly, knowing she couldn't smack him when the kiss was filled with lust and addiction.

Ladybug's eyes widen by the kiss. He was right that it was addicting and she couldn't fight it since it just felt so right but still wrong to kiss a masked stranger she didn't know. He pulled away and smirked at her blushed face.

"This is so wrong, kissing a guy you don't know behind the mask," Ladybug said.

"And yet you like to pursue my ass" He put his hood down, "And my sexy look"

"But this time you pursued me, Kitty cat," Ladybug said.

"I didn't pursue, I sensed danger and if it weren't for me, you would be dead. So I jumped in and kicked their ass before one of them almost killed you" Cat Noir held her chin up, "You can't rush in without strategy"

"Well, the red smoke was a good one," Ladybug said.

"You're not the only one with gadget toys, milady. Cat burglars do the same too" Cat Noir said.

"Except I have no claws" Ladybug teased.

Cat Noir purred and held her waist, "And paws"

"And no long fangs," Ladybug said.

"No, but I can bite hard whenever someone tries to choke me to death. Next time you see the wanted crooks, don't engage. It's too dangerous when you don't have skills like me" Cat Noir warned.

"Since when did you care? Crooks and thieves like you only care about themselves" Ladybug pushed him off.

"I may be a thief but I'm not heartless," Cat Noir said.

"Yeah, prove that until I catch your ass in my hands one day," Ladybug said.

"We'll see," Cat Noir said.