The first day Adrien didn't show up to school, Nathaniel was worried, but quickly assumed that there was simply a photoshoot or other event he'd had to go to, so he pushed his worry aside and focused on taking notes for Adrien. The second day he didn't show up, Nathaniel texted to ask if he was okay, and when he got a text back confirming Adrien was fine, he just shrugged and continued with his day. The third and fourth day were worrisome too, but after a whole school week of missing school, Nathaniel was ready to scream.
Adrien was always super intense about school, often times showing up even when he didn't feel well or hadn't gotten any sleep. He had told Nathaniel that he was always worried that if he missed school, his father would use it as an excuse to pull him out, so no matter how horrible he felt, he had to go. It helped that he genuinely enjoyed his classes and talking to his friends, but Nathaniel still worried that he might be pushing himself too hard.
Once the bell rang Friday, he hurriedly packed his bag and headed home, figuring that he could grab all the notes he had made for Adrien, grab some soup and medicine, and head to check on the boy. He wasn't actually sure if Adrien even was sick, but it was a good excuse to visit him either way. When he made it to the house, he rang the doorbell, waiting for the camera to pop out of the wall and question him, but it didn't.
Instead, the gates clicked right open and swung wide, allowing Nathaniel to walk straight up to the front door. Cautiously, he walked through the gates, quickening his steps so he could knock on the front door. Before his fist could make contact, the door swung open automatically, and when he stepped in, he realized that no one was there. Shutting the door behind him, his gaze drifted to the desk where Mr. Agreste's secretary, Nathalie, usually sat, but it was unoccupied, and judging from the lack of imposing figure standing at the top of the stairs, Mr. Agreste was probably gone too.
His first thought was to panic, since he had just seemingly broken into the Agreste Mansion, but the panic quickly faded when he realized that there was no way he had broken in since someone had obviously buzzed for the doors.
"Hello?" He yelled, eyes darting around as if Mr. Agreste was going to appear out of thin air and have him arrested. "Is anyone here? I came to see Adrien!"
He waited a few moments for a response before heading towards Adrien's room, figuring he would just check on the boy and leave if he was feeling alright. When he got to the door, he knocked, waiting a few moments for permission to enter. When there was no response, he decided to head in, opening the door quietly and slinking in, walking forward to peek around the skate ramps.
The first thing he noticed was that the room was darker than usual, with large curtains covering all but one window. The second thing he noticed was the giant mess on Adrien's bed.
The usually tidy bed had a giant blanketed lump on it, with a mess of tissues and cough drop wrappers surrounding it. When he stepped forward, he set the notes, soup, and medicine on the small table by the bed, reaching forward to pull one of the blankets back.
"Adrien? Are you okay?" He asked, continuously pulling back blankets until he finally saw the flushed face of his boyfriend.
"He's been getting worse since Sunday. I've been trying to give him some food and water, but he won't take any of it," a tiny voice behind him said, causing him to jump and turn.
Behind him was what looked like a tiny, black, floating cat. It's arms were crossed across its chest and it's tail lashed angrily behind it. Before Nathaniel could think of screaming, the thing zipped forward and kept talking.
"If you don't scream, I'll explain. I usually wouldn't reveal myself like this, but the kid needs help and he's been completely alone in this house since Wednesday."
Nathaniel looked back at his boyfriend, who had curled around one of his pillows and was shifting in discomfort every few moments. When he turned back to the weird cat-thing, it smiled, crossing it's legs like it was sitting down in mid-air.
"Alright, my name is Plagg and I'm the Kwami of destruction. I give Adrien the power to become Chat Noir and I'm attached to his Miraculous, which is that silver ring of his. There's more, but that's all you really need to know for now. What's important is Adrien. He hasn't eaten in a few days and he just keeps getting worse. I've done all I can, so now it's your turn."
Nathaniel's head was spinning at the thought of Adrien being Chat Noir, but pushing the panic aside, he figured that was a discussion that would have to be handled later, when Adrien was better.
"You said he's been all alone here since Wednesday?" Nathaniel asked, grabbing a nearby trashcan and bringing it close so he could gather up the used tissues and medicine wrappers. When Plagg gave him a simple nod in response, he frowned. How could Adrien's dad just leave him, all alone, while he was sick?
With a growl, he threw the last of the wrappers away and leaned forward on the bed to feel Adrien's forehead, brow creasing with worry when he felt how hot it is.
"Alright, I'll go heat up this soup I brought, grab a cool washcloth and some medicine, then come wake him up and see what I can do," Nathaniel muttered to himself, grabbing the soup and heading for the kitchen downstairs.
Once he got everything ready, he set it all on the table by the bed, and sitting on the edge, reached forward to shake Adrien's shoulder.
"Adrien, wake up," He whispered, watching the boy's nose crinkle as he started to wake up. "It's me, Nathaniel. I brought some soup and medicine so you can eat and get better."
Adrien let out a groan and opened his eyes, glazed green turning to look at the redhead sitting on the edge of the mattress.
"Nathaniel? What are you doing here?" He slurred, rolling onto his back as his right hand, the one with the supposed Miraculous, came to rest on his stomach.
"I brought you some medicine and soup. I was worried about you, and Plagg here told me how sick and alone you've been. I should've come sooner, but as I am here now, I'll do what I can."
Adrien seemed to barely comprehend what was being said, but nodded anyway and allowed Nathaniel to adjust his body until he was propped up against the headboard with Nathaniel spoon-feeding him the soup. When the bowl was empty, Nathaniel had Adrien drink a cool glass of water and take some cold medicine. Within 10 minutes of eating, Adrien was out like a light again, light snoring passing his lips as Nathaniel pressed the cool washcloth to his forehead.
Nathaniel watched his boyfriend for a few more minutes before standing up and heading for the door, quickly being stopped by a small shout.
"Hey, you can't just leave!" Plagg yelled, zipping over to where Nathaniel stood by the skate ramps. "With Adrien like this, there's no way he can work as Chat Noir. We've been lucky to have an akuma-free week, but I doubt that luck will last long."
Nathaniel blinked down at the small creature before turning to watch Adrien again, a smile ghosting across his lips when the boy adjusted himself in the bed with a sigh.
"What do you want me to do? Take his ring and stand in as Chat Noir?" Nathaniel joked, heart dropping when Plagg smirked.
"That's exactly what I was thinking, and you should probably grab it fast, I sense an akuma."
Nathaniel paled, but hurried forward to slip the ring off of Adrien's hand and onto his own, marveling at how the warm silver seemed to shrink to fit.
"Alright, let me explain how this whole thing works, and then you can transform and go help Ladybug," Plagg started, quickly delving into a speech on how to use Cataclysm and transform.
"Who are you and where's Chat Noir?" Ladybug hissed, yoyo string tight across Nathaniel's chest as it held his arms at his side. As soon as Ladybug had seen him, she had stepped back and tied him up, obviously realizing that he wasn't her Chat Noir. Luckily the akuma wasn't particularly dangerous, so she was able to question the new Chat Noir without feeling particularly guilty.
"I'm sure this is incredibly weird, and it's a crazy long story, so let me try to sum it up," He said, pausing as he tried to think of the best way to explain the situation as she raised an eyebrow at him. "Alright, so basically the real Chat Noir is my boyfriend, but he's horribly sick and his Kwami or whatever told me to take the ring and be Chat Noir for now so you can get some help and he can rest, and really, I'm super panicking right now, so if we could just fight the akuma or whatever you guys do, that'd be just terrific." He spoke, voice getting higher in pitch the further along he got. When he was finished speaking, Ladybug smiled before releasing him, stepping forward to put a hand on his arm.
"Sorry for tying you up, I just panicked when I saw you weren't the real Chat Noir. It's a bit weird the first time, but it's not hard to understand, so just fake it till you make it and follow my lead!" She yelled, stepping away to throw her yoyo and swinging away once it had latched onto a nearby building.
"Fake it till you make it," He muttered, grabbing the staff off of the back of his suit and vaulting after the superheroine, narrowly dodging buildings and accidentally knocking over a flower pot on someone's balcony.
When he caught up with Ladybug, she was standing on the edge of the building, staring down at the akuma that wandered the streets below.
"Alright, here's the plan. The akuma is in his tie, so I'll distract him while you sneak up behind him and grab it. Once you have it, toss it to me, I can destroy it, and purify the akuma. Once that's done, you're free to head home."
Nathaniel nodded and slid down the side of the building, staying to the shadows as Ladybug openly taunted the akuma. Whispering the 'fake it till you make it' mantra to himself, he managed to sneak forward, snatch the necktie away, and sprint to Ladybug, practically throwing the tie at her.
She caught it with a laugh, and with a quick yank of her hands and the sound of ripping cloth, the akuma was quickly taken care of and the victim was back to normal. Nathaniel let his shoulders slouch as he let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding, glad to be done for the day.
"Hey, I know this probably isn't what you signed up for, but you're a pretty great Chat Noir, so if the original is still out of commission when the next akuma strikes, I hope you decide to show up again," Ladybug spoke, pulling her yoyo off her waist and swinging away, leaving Nathaniel alone. Once he took a moment to process what just happened, he decided to head home, and hope that the akuma he had dealt with today would be the only one he would have to fight. Ever.
Luck was evidently not on his side that week, for not only was he visiting and caring for Adrien everyday, he had taken the role of Chat Noir four times that week, and he still panicked every time. Ladybug and Plagg told him he was doing fine, but he was more than ready to pass the torch back to Adrien when the boy was feeling better. His thoughts continued to run circles around how much he did not want to fight an akuma today when he got to Adrien's room, opening the door and stepping inside to find the blond sitting at his computer, the Ladyblog open and playing footage of the latest fight.
"Adrien! What are you doing up? You should be resting," Nathaniel questioned, setting his stuff down and walking to his boyfriend's side. Adrien didn't respond, eyes glued to the scene playing out, when Nathaniel had been caught by the akuma and thrown into the wall when he had pushed Ladybug out of the way of an incoming blast. The Miraculous Cure had healed him, but watching the video made him wince. "Adrien, why are you watching this, you should really be resting."
Adrien finally responded, pausing the video and turning his chair to face Nathaniel. His hair was tousled from sleeping and his face was covered in odd marks from his blankets, but he looked much better than he had a week ago.
"Did you take my Miraculous?" The blond asked incredulously, eyes narrowing on the silver ring that was currently wrapped around the middle finger of Nathaniel's right hand. Nathaniel froze at the question, hand reaching up to pull the ring off when Adrien's hand stopped him.
"I'm not mad or anything Nath, don't panic!" The boy chuckled, pulling the redhead into his lap. "I was just wondering why you took it and stood in for me as Chat Noir."
Nathaniel relaxed at the news that his boyfriend wasn't mad and let his head fall back onto Adrien's shoulder, smiling when the model gave his cheek a quick peck.
"It's a long story, but the short of it is that I came to check on you after school last Friday and Plagg told me about how you'd been left alone and weren't getting better, and then he told me to take the ring in case an akuma attacks. I still haven't completely wrapped my head around the fact that my boyfriend is Chat Noir, but that's a problem for another day."
Adrien hummed contentedly, nuzzling Nathaniel's cheek as he closed his eyes and took a moment to think.
"Thank you. For coming and taking care of me, and for taking care of being Chat Noir. You didn't have to, and I saw the videos of the fights, so I'm sure those were rough, but I'm thankful. I was worried when I saw you get injured though. I'm glad I'm feeling better, so I can take Plagg back and you don't have to be Chat Noir anymore. Might miss seeing you in the outfit though," Adrien smirked, kissing the back of Nathaniel's neck a few times. "I didn't realize how hot the Chat Noir outfit was until I saw you in it."
With a snort, Nathaniel pushed Adrien's head back, smiling as the boy simply smiled back at him.
"Whatever you big dork. Take your ring and weird cat thing back, and then get back in bed. You might feel better now, but more rest would do you some good."
Adrien sighed dramatically and flopped into bed, pulling the covers over him and holding one corner up invitingly.
"I'll only rest if you lay down and cuddle with me~!" Adrien smirked, flapping the blanket as Nathaniel kicked off his shoes and slid into the bed.
"Fine, but if an akuma shows up, you're going to have to let me go, alright?" Nathaniel asked, settling himself in his boyfriend's arms contendly.
"Deal," Adrien responded, stroking down Nathaniel's back as he hummed. "I'm almost hoping there's an attack so I can see you in the suit again."
Nathaniel let out a short laugh, burrowing further into the other boy's chest and drifting off, smiling when he felt the rumble of a purr vibrate through Adrien's chest and the space between them.