I don't know why, but I was in the mood to write some sad stuff today.

I don't own Miraculous Ladybug or any of its characters. They aren't mine, nor shall they be anytime soon.

Please leave a review! I really like them. :)

"Marinette!" called the masked hero cheerfully. Marinette looked up from her sketches to see him ducking his head through the skylight. She chuckled and stood.

"Why hello there, chaton," she greeted. Chat Noir crawled into her room and crouched on her bed, smiling. "What brings you here?"

Chat sat down, cross legged. "I wanted someone to talk to."

"You can always talk to me," Marinette smiled, moving up to the loft so she could sit next to him. "Why do you choose to do it like this?"

"More fun, I guess," the hero shrugged. "I had a couple of questions for you."

"I thought you just wanted to talk."

"Well, sure. I wanted to know how you managed to defeat Papillon, even after he killed your best friend. That must've been hard."

Marinette froze. She stared at her hands, folded together in her lap. "That's an interesting question, Kitty," she murmured after a few moments. He scooted closer to her.

"Does it have an interesting answer?"

There was another pause.

"Why are you here?" Marinette asked again, her voice slightly choked. Chat Noir took her hand and intertwined their fingers.

"I really need some encouragement right now."

Marinette sighed. "Righteous anger is powerful, Chat," she said. "Even more so when you're already furious. When Papillon killed my best friend, I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to. We'd done so much together, and the fact that it was suddenly over and we couldn't do anything together anymore… it was hard." She squeezed the cat's hand.

"I was filled with fury. I flew at Papillon with renewed strength. There was no akuma to cleanse. Papillon was a corrupted man, but… you know this."

Chat nodded in silence. "How did you cope with the loss?"

"Honestly, there are days that I don't. I miss…." she trailed off, then looked at the masked hero. "What's going on, Chat? Why do you want this encouragement?"

"My father was a good man," he said. "I've been told that by so many people, and I'd love to believe it, but today someone said something…"

"Your father loved you," Marinette interjected quickly. "He would've loved to stay, but the battle took him away from you. Away from us."

Chat could feel his eyes welling with tears. He buried his head into Marinette's shoulder and began sobbing.

"I miss him," he cried. "I miss him so much."

"We both miss him, Louis," Marinette murmured into his dark hair, pressing a kiss to his head. Her own eyes were swollen with tears. She wrapped her arm around him.

"Your father was a good man. You carry on his legacy with purpose and honor, more than I or he could ever ask for. Adrien would be proud of you if he could see you today."

The door suddenly opened, revealing an older girl and a younger boy.

"Mom?" the girl asked, slowly walking inside. The little boy followed.

"Hey, Emma, Hugo," Marinette said, stroking Louis' hair softly. The teen girl helped the little five year old climb the loft. They all sat on the bed in a large family hug. Louis let go of his transformation, and a little creature flew out of his ring.

"Hello, Plagg," Marinette said softly. The kwami was facing away from them, but she didn't miss him wiping his little arm across his face.

"Hi again, Marinette. How are you?"

"Better. And yourself?"

Plagg let out a sigh, and his shoulders drooped. He looked at the former miraculous wielder.

"I don't know," he murmured grimly. He flew forward, dropped softly onto her graying hair, and cried with the rest of them.

Tikki sat out on the balcony of her new wielder's house, staring up into the clear night sky. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach, and didn't know what to make of it.

"Tikki?" asked a disgruntled voice. The red kwami glanced back to see her wielder standing in the doorway, looking as if she'd just woken up.

"Hi, Jackie!" she piped cheerfully, concealing her worry. "What's going on?"

"I woke up and you weren't there. I got worried." Jackie dropped her hand from rubbing at her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Reminiscing," Tikki chirped. Jack exhaled through her nose, a little laugh. "I don't understand big words, Tikki," she smiled. Tikki laughed and zipped upward. She flew towards the American female.

"I think it's about time I tell you about your ladybug ancestry."

Thanks again for reading!

~Misfortune