"Adrien?"
His head snapped up for the fourth time that day, effectively ending his staring contest with the table in front of him.
"Dude, class is over. Why are you still just sitting there?"
Adrien's eyes scanned the classroom, seeing it was mostly empty. He then glanced down at his tablet pen, still clutched in his hand.
He didn't think he could remember a thing that happened since he picked it up.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm absolutely pawsitive, my lady! Couldn't be better! I do have you by my side, after all." His dramatic bow and the kiss he planted on her hand weren't out of the ordinary, but he seemed even more energetic than usual, and his eyes seemed just a bit wider when he looked up at her seconds later.
But it was probably nothing. So, instead of letting herself worry about it, she just rolled her eyes. Chat could take care of himself, she had more important things to think about.
"I didn't know you drank coffee."
Alya's words broke Adrien out of one of his now frequent dazes, and he turned to face the girl where she sat behind him.
She was smirking and kept glancing at Marinette, who was sat up very straight beside her and was desperately trying to avoid eye contact with Adrien as she chewed on her bottom lip.
"Heh, yeah. I've gotten kind of addicted lately, it seems."
"Addicted? More like completely dependant! I can't even remember the last time I saw you without a cup ofcoffee." Nino chimed in from beside him, leaving Adrien feeling a little bit embarrassed as he realized his friend was definitely right about his recent dependency on caffeine.
"It's not that bad..." The blond awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, giving up on trying to actually defend his new found addiction before he even tried.
"That much coffee's not good for you, you know. It can be really bad for your health. Right, Marinette?" Alya glanced over at her best friend, who merely grinned and nodded enthusiastically rather than replying.
"I'm sure I'll be okay." Adrien smiled at the girls before turning back around in his seat. The day had only begun and he already felt like the coffee was wearing off. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.
"I don't understand why you don't just go to sleep."
"It's not that easy, Plagg! I keep trying and trying and it's not working!" Adrien groaned and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. All he wanted to do was curl up in a little ball and go to sleep.
"Well don't keep me up! Cats are supposed to sleep 20 hours a day, you know. And eat the other four!"
"I don't think that rule applies to kwami."
"Have you been sleeping alright, Adrien? The bags under your eyes are absolutely terrible."
"Of course."
Adrien's makeup artist eyed him skeptically as she got him ready for his photoshoot, but continued on with her work anyway, thankfully managing to fully cover the very prominent bags under his eyes that he liked to pretend weren't there to begin with.
He hadn't had any coffee.
There was an akuma attack, Ladybug was calling for him, and he hadn't had any coffee.
He'd also only gotten about three hours of sleep.
Nevertheless, Chat Noir leaped across the rooftops of Paris to help his Lady any way he could, despite the fact he felt like he'd drop dead any moment.
Defeating and cleansing the akuma went rather well, despite Chat's fatigue. It had been a short fight, thankfully, and now Chat was fully ready to scamper off back home and get directly into bed.
Ladybug wouldn't have it that way, however.
"Chat? Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Of course, My Lady. What is it that you need?"
"Are you really sure you're okay? You seemed really off back there." She glanced up at him with worried eyes, and every bit of him that wanted to deny the fact something was wrong crumbled at the thought that he had her so concerned.
"It's not really that big of a deal, Bugaboo." He smiled softly at her, feeling as if any other gesture would just make him collapse on the spot. "I just haven't been sleeping well lately."
Ladybug raised an eyebrow(or, it seemed like she did. It was a bit hard to tell with the mask.) and answered his smile with a smirk of her own. "A cat with insomnia. Who would've thought?"
"Why must you mock me, My Lady? Does my pain really amewse you that much?"
Ladybug rolled her eyes. "You're not tired enough to hold back on the cat puns, I see. You better get home and take a 'cat nap', we have patrol tonight, remember?"
"I could never forget! I assure you I'll be feline much better by then, Ladybug."
It wasn't until he nearly collapsed during patrol that night that she became truly worried.
"Chat? Chat?" Chat Noir felt himself being shaken, and he saw a blur of red and black in front of him, but it took him a few moments to put two and two together.
Right. He was on patrol. With Ladybug. Not in his bed. Not sleeping.
He glanced at his partner, trying to focus. Was he going to say something just now? He couldn't remember.
Ladybug sighed, giving up on patrol for the time being. It wasn't practical right now. Chat was useless in his current state.
She pulled him along with her to the rooftop of a nearby building. It wasn't the best or most comfortable spot, but Chat needed to rest, and she didn't trust him to get himself home right now.
As soon as they were sat down Chat laid his head on her thighs and curled up, wrapping an arm around her waist. Ladybug sighed.
"You really are like a cat. If I pet you do you think you'll start to purr?"
"No, but I'd like it if you did that anyway..." His eyes were closed, but he was smiling, and Ladybug couldn't help but smile back as she began to pet his hair.
"How much sleep have you been getting lately, kitty cat? It can't be much. Is there something in particular keeping you from sleeping?"
"I don't know...I'll tell you if you get me coffee..."
Ladybug eyed him incredulously, although she knew he couldn't see it, since his eyes were still closed. "I can't just...waltz into a shop as Ladybug and buy coffee. Do you know how weird that would be?"
"Even superheroines need their caffeine. We use up so much energy saving the city, day after day...I think they'll understand."
"Chat..."
He was now pouting at her. Chat's lower lip was sticking out in a very ridiculous manner as he gazed up at her with wide eyes. Kitty cat eyes, perhaps?
"I'm going to die of tired! Will you miss me, Ladybug? How will you live without me to charm you day after day? Can you even go on knowing you never saw my true face?"
"Fine, I'll get the coffee. That way you can go home and I won't have to listen to you whine anymore."
She couldn't believe she'd bought him coffee.
Much less at midnight. Why were the coffee houses open at this time of night?
At least he seemed far closer to being conscious now. He wasn't causing her legs to go numb now by using her as a human pillow, at least.
She wanted him to go home and get some rest, but she felt like that wasn't going to happen. Clearly even when he tried to sleep he couldn't. She wanted to figure out what was keeping him awake. He was her partner, after all. He needed to stay in tip-top shape to defend Paris. They'd be in bad shape if his exhaustion affected him during a fight.
"So, Chat. Do you know why you've been having trouble sleeping?"
Chat glanced up from his coffee, seemingly startled by the fact she had begun to talk after such a long silence.
"No. I just can't sleep. It's pawsatively awful, My Lady."
"Are you having...nightmares?"
"Nope."
"Is there...something on your mind that's keeping you up at night?"
He looked thoughtful for a second. "Not really."
"Have you ever had this problem before?"
Chat's eyes shifted before completely looking in the other direction.
"Sometimes when I was little I had trouble sleeping. I'd always go and get in the bed with my mother. Usually my father would get angry about it and tell me to grow up."
"Oh."
"But I can't do that anymore, anyway." She didn't miss the look of sadness that passed through his eyes. She thought she remembered Chat saying something about losing his mother once before. She decided not to look into it.
"This might sound a bit silly, but...have you ever tried sleeping with a stuffed animal? Sometimes having something to hold does help you sleep."
Chat tilted his head. "Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?"
"I do, sometimes." She answered honestly. There was no shame in that.
Her partner smiled at her. "I used to have a stuffed cat when I was a child. Pretty ironic, huh? My father had it thrown out a few years ago, though."
Was it vain for Marinette to be making Chat Noir a Ladybug plush?
He just needed something to cuddle, she thought. And if his obsession with her was as big as he made it out to be, what better thing to cuddle than his very own Ladybug plushie?
She'd used the softest fabric she could find to ensure maximum cuddle-ability, and made sure to make the plush the perfect size to fit perfectly in between someone's arms.
It took her quite a while to be perfectly satisfied with the plush, it did have a very special mission after all. She had to remind herself not to stitch her name onto it somewhere after she was done, she couldn't have Chat Noir figure out her identity from a plushie of all things.
"You made this?" Ladybug didn't miss the absolute awe on Chat's face as he held up the plushie she had made for him of herself.
She couldn't help the bit of pride she felt as he looked over the plushie in disbelief.
"It's not your childhood cat plushie, but I hope it can help you fall asleep a little bit better, anyways."
"Thank you, Ladybug!"
"You're welcome, kitty cat."
She could tell he wasn't quite as tired today, but judging by his jittery movements and wide-eyes it was probably more from the coffee than anything else. She just hoped her gift would help him sleep at least a little bit better. She wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.
The next time Ladybug saw Chat just a few days later, he seemed awake and refreshed. And if Marinette had noticed that Adrien had been looking much more well-rested too, well, that was just a coincidence.