A/N: Welcome to my newest story! Little Ones will take place in any show that I feel inspired to write in. It'll probably include movies and if I ever am brave enough to write for a book, this is probably where I'll start.

As the synopsis says, these stories will take place between a main character and minor characters. Minor characters can range from less-seen partners, parents, side characters who don't do much canonly, or even original characters. The scenarios can be anything from injury, illness, or plain comfort.

Synopsis: Chat Noir falls ill, and collapses while on patrol. He is found by Tom and Sabine, who decide to care for him until Ladybug can help.

Chat couldn't remember the last time he'd been so tired.

Perched on the roof of the school, Chat wondered why he had even bothered leaving the house. Between long hard days as the school year was wrapping up and three akumatizations that week, Chat was dragging. Even Plagg had been lacking his usual attitude that day.

Transforming usually helped when he was tired or feeling a bit off, but this time it had only caused a headache that he had yet to shake. Add the fact that he'd been sneezing a lot in the last hour, and his head was pounding.

Heaving a sigh, Chat let himself sprawl on the roof. He pressed his face to the cool metal and contemplated heading home.

The only reason he had made himself come out, was because Ladybug had told him a few nights prior that she couldn't make it out to patrol that night. Figuring it would be a good idea to have someone patrol anyway, Adrien had ditched his homework for an early patrol in the hopes of getting a good night's sleep and deal with the homework over the weekend.

Now, it was barely eight in the evening, and Chat was exhausted.

"Might as well head home," Chat mumbled, voice raspy. He sneezed, accidentally smacking his face on the roof. "In just a little bit…"

Chat lifted his head with a start. He stared blearily around, then checked the time on his baton. He sighed when he realized that he'd been on the roof for over an hour.

"Now I really have to get home," Chat sighed. "Plagg is never going to let me hear the end of this."

Chat stood, then nearly fell when everything started spinning. He quickly extended his baton and leaned against it.

"Can somebody stop the roof, please?" Chat joked, closing his eyes. "I need to get off."

Once he felt balanced again, Chat opened his eyes. An abrupt sneeze sent him staggering backward, but he managed to stay upright. He briefly wondered if he should just walk home, but that would be awkward explaining why Paris' superhero was walking. And de-transforming and going home as Adrien would probably be worse, if the wrong people saw him.

"By roof it is," Chat said aloud.

He jogged across the roof and leaped, using his baton to catapult across the street. His landing was less than graceful as his legs gave out. He tumbled across the roof, narrowly stopping himself from rolling over the edge.

So much for always landing on his feet.

"Let's try this again," Chat said with a chuckle.

Chat managed to cover a couple blocks with minimal difficulty. He was feeling quite proud of himself, until he realized that he saw the school across the street. He'd gone in a circle? He threw up his hands with a groan of frustration and spun on his heel.

Bad move.

The next thing Chat knew, he was staring at the night sky. He blinked a couple times before realizing that he had fallen onto his back. He sat up slowly, closing his eyes until the returning dizziness faded.

Once Chat could stand again, he decided going home on foot would probably be easier. It wasn't like it was mid-day, anyway. No one would notice.

With that decided, Chat looked at where he had landed for the first time.

He was on a semi-familiar balcony, with a trapdoor leading into the building. Potted plants cluttered the floor, and ivy trailed along the balcony railing. A chair in the corner was tempting him to stop and sit, but Chat knew that if he stopped, he wouldn't want to get going again.

"Ah-choo!"

Chat clamped his hands over his mouth. He stared at the trapdoor, expecting someone to rush out at any second. When no one appeared, Chat relaxed.

Chat made himself go to the balcony's edge. He peered over and saw lights on in the building, so that way held the risk of being noticed. He moved along the edge of the balcony, keeping an eye on the trapdoor as he did, then climbed from the balcony to the roof.

That was when it went downhill, both literally and figuratively.

Halfway to the roof's peak, a sneeze sent Chat's head spinning all over again. He tumbled head over heels, fingers skimming the roof's edge before he found himself in free-fall.

Instinctively, Chat flipped his feet under him, but that was as far as he got before he crashed into something hard with a large clatter.

Chat didn't move from his landing spot. Although, "crash site" might have been a more fitting term. Something was digging into his back, but Chat didn't feel like moving. Didn't feel like keeping his eyes open, either. Chat briefly wondered if he'd hit his head too hard, then ignored the thought and went ahead with closing his eyes. Maybe a quick cat nap would make him feel better…

The sound of a door opening nearby caught Chat's attention, but it wasn't enough to make him want to open his eyes. He laid still, hoping he could go unnoticed and slip away once whoever it was had left, when his nose decided otherwise for him.

"Ah-choo!"

Heavy footsteps approached him. "What the-" a voice said.

"Don' min' me," Chat mumbled. "Jus' gotta take a quick…"

Chat couldn't finish before giving up on consciousness.

A sudden crash and clanging from outside made Tom and Sabine jump. They turned away from the TV to stare out the window. They were alone in the house, since Marinette was spending the night at Alya's.

"What was that?" Sabine eventually asked.

"Sounds like something getting into our trash cans," Tom said, standing. "Probably a stray cat. I'll go check."

"Be careful, Tom," Sabine said worriedly.

"No alley cat's got the best of Tom Dupain-Cheng yet!"

"Oh, Tom," Sabine said with a fond shake of her head as Tom strutted out of the room.

Once he reached ground level, Tom grew more serious. While it probably was just a stray, it could also be someone trying to break in. Although, after that racket, they would likely be long gone. Still, it didn't hurt to be cautious.

Hand on the doorknob to the back alley, Tom reached to the side and grabbed the nearest object, which turned out to be a baguette. Shrugging, Tom held up the bread and slowly opened the door.

Peering outside, Tom found the trash cans scattered across the alley. He didn't see the cause and was ready to head back inside, confident that the intruder had been scared off, when a sneeze from within the mess caught his attention.

He crept cautiously forward, then lowered the baguette in shock when he saw none other than Chat Noir hidden behind the garbage cans.

"What the…"

The cat-themed hero was sprawled on his back in an incredibly uncomfortable looking position. His head was on the ground, while his back was arched up from a can lid under him. Luckily for him, the cans had been emptied recently, or he would have been in a really smelly predicament.

Chat Noir's eyes were shut, causing Tom to wonder if he'd been hurt in a fight. It had been a busy week for Ladybug and Chat Noir, after all. He checked the sky and alley, but there weren't any signs of an akumatized villain.

"Don' min' me," Chat Noir suddenly mumbled. He made a few other noises that might have been words and shifted his body, then laid still again.

Slowly, Tom knelt for a closer look at the unconscious hero. Though it was hard to tell behind the mask and hair, he thought the hero's face was rather pale aside from flushed red cheeks.

"Tom?"

Tom started at Sabine's voice, then he turned to give a reassuring smile to his wife peeking out from the bakery. She stepped closer to see over Tom's shoulder.

Instantly, Sabine's worry turned to maternal concern. She knelt on Chat's other side and carefully swept back his sweaty bangs. She gave a slight gasp at the heat radiating from his forehead.

"He's burning up!" Sabine said.

Tom looked around the alley again, wondering how he had gotten there and where Ladybug was. Shouldn't she have noticed her partner's illness or absence by then?

But, Tom's search found nothing again. He was trying to decide what to do next -it wasn't like he could call up Ladybug, after all- when Sabine spoke up firmly.

"We can't leave him here."

"Of course not," Tom said, next course of action decided in an instant. "Let's get him inside."

Tom and Sabine moved the trashcans aside, then Tom crouched to scoop up the man.

Except...

Tom stopped and peered more closely at Chat. He'd always thought the pair of heros to be adults -Sabine had her own suspicions that they weren't even human- but the hero on the ground was so small and thin-limbed. Kind of ungainly still.

"He's just a child," Sabine gasped. "He can't be any older than our Marinette."

Tom's brow creased, but he shook off his confusion for another time. He moved his large hands under the boy's body and lifted him with ease. He was light, too!

Chat shifted and mumbled at being moved, but he didn't rouse. He turned his face into Tom's chest, gave a weary sigh, then stilled.

Tom, who had frozen when Chat started moving, relaxed. He and Sabine smiled at each other, then they made their quiet way inside. When they reached their living room, Tom bent down to lay Chat on the couch, when he paused again at an odd sound.

A soft rumbling was coming from Chat, sounding incredibly like he was… purring. It wasn't so far-fetched, Tom thought, but it was still unusual and rather cute.

Smiling wider, Tom set Chat carefully on the couch. This got another sigh and ended the purring, but Chat still didn't wake up.

Sabine came behind Tom and set their medical kit on the table. Opening the box, she took out a thermometer and pried open Chat's mouth enough to poke it inside. She held it there for a minute, until Chat sneezed it onto the floor. Sabine picked the thermometer up and checked it.

"He has a fever," she confirmed.

"What should we do?" Tom asked, staring down at the boy. "Take him to the hospital?"

"The fever isn't dangerously high. He should be fine with sleep," Sabine mused. "What was he doing out there if he was sick, though?"

Tom shrugged. Sabine wandered back into the kitchen and grabbed a towel to get it damp. She then went to Chat and started wiping his sweaty forehead. Chat started purring again, and leaned into the cool towel.

"If only we had some way to contact Ladybug or get her attention," Tom said. "Know any angry people?"

"Tom, don't joke about those things," Sabine said without looking at him.

Chat sneezed. He gave a small whine without waking up, and shifted his head away from Sabine. The woman frowned and pull a calming hand on his shoulder. Chat continued to shift restlessly around before curling his body into as much of a ball as his spine would allow.

"We can't keep him here," Tom eventually said. "Someone has to be looking for him."

"Maybe Marinette's friend, Alya, would know where Ladybug is," Sabine said.

"If anyone knows, it would be Alya," Tom admitted. "I'll call Marinette."

Tom went to the kitchen while Sabine tried to coax Chat Noir out of his tight position so she could continue wiping his forehead. Marinette answered on the first ring.

"Dad?"

"It's me," Tom said, automatically adding, "Did you and Alya get your studying done?"

"Yes, Dad," Marinette said with a laugh. "We're going to ace that test on Monday!"

"I'm proud of you," Tom said, smiling. "Listen, have there been any akuma attacks tonight?"

"No? Did something happen?" Marinette asked, voice rising in worry.

"No, nothing bad," Tom quickly assured her. "We just found a lost Chat in the alley, and we thought Ladybug might be able to help."

"Uh…" Marinette stammered something, before getting out, "That doesn't make any sense, Dad. You found a cat?"

"No, Chat. Chat Noir," Tom clarified. When Marinette remained silent, he went on, "We found him unconscious in the alley. He's sick."

"What?!"

Tom held the phone away from his ear with a wince. "Marinette…"

"Sorry, er, so, you're looking for Ladybug to help him?"

"That's it. We were hoping Alya might know."

"No sightings of Ladybug tonight, Mr. Dupain-Cheng," spoke up Alya, who must have been listening. "It's all quiet tonight. We can go check around, though. She's usually out about now."

"No, that's not necessary. It's late," Tom said.

"No problem, Mr. Dupain-Cheng," Alya insisted. "Besides, the twins have energy to burn before bedtime." Her voice faded slightly as she said, "Who wants a last-minute run to the park!" Cheers from the twins followed the announcement.

"Looks like you have a Ladybug search party," Marinette said.

"Oh, well, don't stay out too late," Tom said.

"Of course not, Dad. See you soo- tomorrow! See you tomorrow, love you, bye!" The last part came out in a rush before Marinette hung up.

Tom stared at the phone, then chuckled and put away his phone. He went back to Sabine and Chat. The boy -Tom couldn't think of him as anything else- was still in the fetal position and wretchedly shivering.

"Tom…" Sabine said lowly.

The parents gave each other worried frowns at the sight of the miserable teenager. If Ladybug didn't show up soon, Tom wondered if they would have to take the hero to the hospital after all.

Tom wracked his brain for something that would comfort Chat, then he remembered how the boy had purred at being held earlier.

Carefully, Tom sat down close to Chat and wrapped his arms around him. Chat gave a whine and curled himself impossibly smaller, but Tom picked him up and deposited the shivering lump onto his lap. Sabine slid in beside him.

"Come on, let's see your face," Tom said gently, nudging a finger under Chat's chin.

Chat whimpered and shifted an arm to hid his face. Tom's attempt to move the arm got him nowhere. He looked helplessly at Sabine.

Sabine carded a gentle hair through tousled blond hair. Quietly, she started to hum an old lullaby from her childhood.

Chat relaxed little by little, eventually removing his arm from his face. Tom grabbed the discarded towel and wiped away the sweat that had gathered. Once again, Chat leaned into the towel.

Whether it was the hand through his hair, humming, or the cool cloth, Chat started to purr once again. His frame relaxed until Tom was able to pull him out of the ball position.

Shifting so that he leaned into the corner of the couch, Tom pulled Chat along to lay against him. He was careful to keep gentle contact so the boy would hopefully stay calm. Luckily, the transition went smoothly, and Tom was able to halfway lay down with Chat's head on his shoulder.

Sabine stood and pulled a chair over so she could sit on the other side of the arm of the couch. She kept running her hand through Chat's hair and humming, while Tom focused on laying still and watching the boy's breathing.

Some time passed, in which Chat seemed to fall into a deep sleep. His breathing steadied out, and his purring had reached an all-time high. Sabine thought he was slightly cooler, and his face wasn't quite as pale.

Eventually, a quiet voice broke the spell.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng?"

Tom and Sabine looked up, startled to find Ladybug standing in their living room. Neither of them had noticed her enter through the open window that had been closed minutes before.

"Your daughter told me that you found Chat Noir," Ladybug said, eyes never leaving her partner.

"You're here," Tom said, relieved. "Yes. He's sick."

Ladybug stepped beside Sabine and brushed back Chat's hair. She murmured, "Oh, Chaton. Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"We did all we could," Sabine said. "But we were ready to take him to the hospital."

"I know someone who can help," Ladybug said. "Can I?"

Tom handed Chat over, albeit reluctantly. Chat's purring stuttered, then resumed more softly as Ladybug somehow managed to get him positioned so she still had a hand free.

"Thank you for taking care of him," Ladybug said, nodding to them.

"Will he be okay?" Sabine asked, standing.

"He'd better be," Ladybug murmured under her breath. Louder, she said, "He's a very tough kitty. I expect he'll be back out within a couple days, no matter what I tell him."

Tom watched Ladybug walk to the window. While she didn't appear to be struggling with the weight, Chat Noir was bigger than her.

Tom half wanted to insist on her staying. It was so late, and who knew how far she had to go to get to the doctor Chat needed. He almost said something, then paused.

"Be careful," Sabine said, sharing his thoughts.

Ladybug stopped beside the window and glanced back. "I will be."

"If you ever need anything, you can always come here," Tom said.

"Thank you," Ladybug said. There was a hint of mischief in her smile. "And thank you for watching my kitty."

And just like that, Ladybug was gone. For a minute, Tom and Sabine were silent.

"Tom," Sabine said. "The heroes of Paris are children."

"They are," Tom said, his amazed tone matching hers.

Neither said it, but both decided right then to keep a closer eye on their city's heroes

A/N: Kwami can get sick, so just imagine both the kwami and holder getting sick!