I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or any of its characters. I only own the story. Please enjoy!

It was 2 am. Marinette sat at her desk with piles of papers scattered around her. She had an interview with the Gabriel Agreste in 8 hours and she had to make sure he only saw her very best work. At first, she picked her favorite clothing designs from what she had previously made, but after deeming them too "imperfect", the only other choice was to create all new ones.

Marinette sighed. She looked down at a small red creature asleep in her lap, Tikki, her friend and miraculous creature. She shook Tikki awake. "What is it, Marinette?"

"I'm dead. I need out of this stuffy room. How about a transformation?"

Tikki flew up in excitement. "Good! You won't be able to focus with such stale air! Though, I still think sleep would be the best option."

Marinette let out a sarcastic, croaky laugh. She stood up, but in the process, knocked over a mini garbage can filled with failures. "I'll get that later. Tikki, transform me." In seconds, the normal raven-haired girl was covered in red spandex with black spots and a mask to match. She was now her alter-ego, Ladybug, savior of Paris! The mask hid her dark circles and gave her the effect of looking more alert. Perfect.

She rushed out onto the roof, making her exit through the hatch above her bed. The cold autumn wind blew onto Marinette's face and whisked its way through her currently loose hair. The ponytails had come out around 1, the moment the young fashion designer tried pulling all her hair out, but managed to only break the hairbands. She didn't care. At this point, she didn't care about anything. Not about her meeting. Not about Gabriel Agreste. Not about the ton of work she had left. Not about the all-nighter she would probably pull. She was Ladybug right now and Ladybug didn't have those responsibilities.

Marinette jumped from rooftop to rooftop through the illuminated night sky. Paris was beautiful and quiet at this hour. After all, it wasn't the first all-nighter she had pulled. Though, when she usually did this, it was because her and Chat Noir had a night patrol and she had piles of homework due the very next morning. But this time around, Chat wasn't there to spew puns and flirt with Ladybug. It was her and her alone.

Alone.

The thought struck Marinette. Sure, it was nice to be able to clear her mind, but she was quite lonely. A little sad, even. If Chat was here, she could vent and he would listen intently. If Chat was here, she could cry over her failed designs and he would comfort her. If Chat was here… the words hung in her head as she came to a sudden stop on top of shop's roof.

Marinette realized how much she was missing Chat Noir and weighed heavily on her heart. She sat down, legs hanging off the side of the roof, dangling in the wind like paper. The young girl sighed.

"Ladybug?" came a familiar voice from behind. It was the leather-clad partner she had just been thinking about. "My ears are burning. A certain someone must have been thinkin' about me."

"Chat!"

Marinette jumped into his arms and buried her face in his chest.

"Woah, My Lady! Did something happen? Or did you just finally decide to love me back?"

Though she couldn't see it, Marinette knew a cheeky grin had grown upon Chat's face. She hugged tighter despite it. She was tired, stressed, and sad. All she wanted was a warm hug.

Chat latched one arm around her shoulders and patted down her hair with the other. "What's a matter, Bugaboo? Chat got your tongue? And what's with the new hair style?"

Marinette leaned her head up and met eyes with Chat. "Stress."

The cat-like superhero chuckled and tightened his own grip, Ladybug pushing her face into Chat's chest again. He started humming a calm tune and swayed his body, taking his partner along with him. They stayed like that as if the world was theirs'. As if people coming home from the "late-shift" didn't stop to stare. As if everything was calm. And it was calm. Well, enough for Ladybug to fall asleep in Chat's arms, standing upright.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!