The sun had yet to peak over the sleepy homes of Paris. Streetlights shone, muffled by fog. Everything was still, the morning fresh.

I crossed rooftops, ghosted past windows. I crouched below a chimney stack and took advantage of the cover. I became a shadow.

Mist settled on my second pair of ears and threatened to ravage my hair. The cold wrapped around me, sank through my suit, and numbed my nose and hands. I stayed alert, muscles taut, eyes searching the gray sky.

You may wonder why I sit in this miserable weather, early on a Saturday, of all days. Shouldn't I be in bed, sleeping in? The very thought stirred a desire for warmth, and reminded me how tired I was. A cat nap would feel real nice right now. But this was a chance to patrol with Ladybug without cutting into class time. I was here for the men, women, and children of Paris. For their safety. . . Though the promise of seeing Ladybug was far from unpleasant.

I cast another studying look into the fog. My tail flicked with impatience. Where is she? My ears perked at the sound of wire on metal, a soft whirring sound. A sound as familiar as my own name.

I turned and saw something bright. A flash of red, of spots. She landed by my side and rose to her full height to take in the cityscape. Not that she could see far.

I risked a glance up at her, only for my heart to leap into my throat. Her hair hung damp, blue in the soft first light of day. Her cheeks were rosy under the mask, eyes bright against the dull sky.

She looked over at me, her mouth quirked in a near smile, but I could tell she was tired too. "Hey."

I broke into a grin, the world much warmer and cheerier now that she was at my side. The sky didn't seem so gray, the rain as cold. "Morning, M'lady."

"Sorry you had to wait on me," she said. "I was up late doing homework and slept through my first alarm."

I got to my feet and stepped from my shadow. "No need to apologize."

In fact, I was proud to think of her laboring over her school work. How she had to juggle her regular life and this life. It couldn't be easy. I knew it wasn't. Still here she was. Savior of Paris.

The air was electric around me, being so close to her. "You look pawsitively lovely this morning."

Her pigtails swayed as she shook her head. "Are you ever going to stop with the cat puns?"

"Haven't the foggiest, M'lady."

Ladybug gave me a dry look. "It's too early in the morning for this."

"Are you kitten? Anytime is pun time-"

Her yoyo shot out and she swung from the roof, the space beside me now hollow, and empty.

"Hey, I wasn't finished!" My feet moved, my hand reached back for my baton. I leapt off the building, pole extending to meet the pavement below, and followed her.

The streets grew steadily busier as people rose to face the day. We paused on the ledge of Pont de Invalides bridge. Cars and taxis went by, wind shield wipers running at full speed.

From here I could see the blue green glass roof of the Grand Palais, with Paris' flag whipping in the stormy wind. My nose tickled when I remembered how we faced down Mr. Pigeon and his battalion of birds inside. It took days before my allergies recovered.

The downpour grew harder, beat against my back. I shivered. "M'lady?"

She gave me an empathetic look. Her bangs clung around her eyes, and rain gathered in large drops before it rolled down her suit. "I know, Chat. How about we circle back to the Eiffel and call it quits?"

As she spoke, a guy wearing a raincoat came walking by, head down, huddled against the wind. Every car that whipped past sent a cold rush of air and a splash of water on his shoes. Poor guy. Didn't even have an umbrella.

He glanced up and froze when he saw us. "Ladybug? Chat Noir?"

Ladybug gave him a wave and a smile. "Hi!"

His face lit up with a great big smile. "You two are amazing! Can I have a picture with you?"

I jumped down and reached to shake his hand. "Of course. What's your name?"

"Oh, it's uh, Aaron." He searched his pockets for his phone. "Here we go."

Ladybug came to my side, hands clasped. "Nasty weather, isn't it?"

"Forget your umbrella?" I asked.

"Yeah," Aaron said, and seemed a bit embarrassed. He fumbled with his phone and looked at us uncertainly.

I stepped in and gave him a reassuring smile. "How about we do one serious, one goofy?"

"Can you be serious that long?" Ladybug said, and tried to disguise a laugh.

I put a hand over my heart, feigning hurt. "Meowch!"

The guy laughed at us, seemed more at ease. We leaned in together for the camera. When we were done, he scrolled through them, a sparkle in his eyes. "Wow. Thanks so much. You two really are awesome."

Ladybug shifted, uncomfortable with the praise. "Well, let me do one more thing for you." She took her yoyo in hand, and tossed it in the air. "Lucky Charm!"

Aaron's mouth dropped in awe as a red and black spotted umbrella appeared, then fell into Ladybug's hands. She held it out to him, her face warm with a smile.

"Whoa." He looked at it in disbelief. "T-thank you."

"Of course," she said, and tossed me a look of amusement. "Ready, Chat?"

I gave the civilian a wink and a salute. "See you around, Aaron."

With that, we took off, headed for the Eiffel tower like we'd planned. Again, we perched on a ledge looking out on the city. This time we had shelter from the rain, though the wind was fierce up here and pricked my skin like ice.

"I think you made Aaron's day," I said.

And mine. But I didn't tell her that. She could tell I was glad to see her, to be with her, right?

She shrugged. "He wanted a picture with both of us. Not just me."

I tilted my head. Maybe she really didn't realize how amazing she was. "I mean about the umbrella. That was really nice of you."

Her miraculous beeped. "Looks like it's time for me to bug out," she said.

I cast a look of disappointment at the ground, cat ears drooped. "Right."

Sirens broke through the calm. Across the river Siene, a police patrol car flew down the avenue at an urgent pace. The sound echoed from another that followed close behind.

"That doesn't look good," Ladybug said. She let out a sound of frustration. "I forgot to bring food for my kwami."

"She wouldn't eat Camembert by any chance?" I asked.

"No. Chocolate chip cookies." She looked down in uncertainty, before that familiar spark of determination caught in her eyes. "Come on. Let's go."

"But what about-"

"I'll figure something out."

Ladybug vaulted off the ledge and fell a couple hundred feet before she snagged her yoyo on a lower girder of the tower. We crossed the river and went after the pair of police cars. It wasn't difficult to find their trail. The flow of traffic stalled to allow them through. Soon enough the hotel, Le Grand Paris, came into view. The police parked outside the front door and emerged from their vehicles. The lights flashed and reflected off the fog.

Ladybug approached one of the officers, one with a familiar face. "What's going on?"

Lieutenant Raincomprix saluted both of us. "Armed robbery. We got a tip saying they're targeting Jagged Stone."

And we were off. Forget the lift. Ladybug swung her yoyo and caught it on the metal pipes along the roof. I extended my pole and zipped past the first floor, second, third. . . We slipped through a window, out of the rain, into the hushed crimson corridor. It smelled dusty and closed in after being in the fresh morning air for so long.

I stilled, muscles coiled, as I listened. My ears twitched at the slightest of sounds. People shifted in their rooms, water ran through pipes, and at the end of the hall the lift was running. That was probably the police on their way up.

Ladybug's miraculous beeped again. I glanced over and saw she only had three spots left.

"You need to go," I said.

She continued down the hall, her steps measured, yoyo at the ready. "I won't let you go in there alone."

"It's not like it's an akuma." I tried to charm her with a smile. "I can handle this. The police will be here in a minute."

We'd reached the double doors of Jagged Stone's room, and it didn't seem I was doing much to sway her.

She held up a hand for me to stop. "Can you hear anything?"

I leaned in to listen. Nothing. Even with my enhanced senses. I looked up at her and shook my head. She took a deep breath, and reached for the doorknob. We slid into the room, side by side.

Ladybug gasped, then pointed to a man laying on the floor. Wild, purple hair tumbled over his face. His hands were covered in lace and bling. That was all I needed to see to tell it was Jagged Stone. And he wasn't moving.

She circled the room and knelt beside him. She leaned in, probably to listen for his breathing. Her shoulders loosened with a silent sigh of relief.

The floor creaked from the next room. I dropped to a crouch and moved along the wall and positioned myself by the doorway. I spared M'lady a glance and she nodded to me. I rose to my full height and pressed into the wall. I could just feel the intruder coming closer, about to walk through that door. My muscles tensed, ready to pounce.

I chirp split through the room – Ladybug's miraculous.

The intruder paused, just beyond the doorway. "Who's there?"

I didn't dare move. My heart pounded in my chest.

Finally, the man stepped into the room. I hefted my batons, aiming to knock him to the ground. My momentum slowed when I saw the gun in his hand.

"Chat, watch out!"

I dodged, just as it went off. Oh, he did not. I was unscathed, but angry now. Was this guy serious? He couldn't take Chat Noir and Ladybug.

"I'm down to my last spot!"

"Cataclysm!" I leapt for the gun and my claws sank into the barrel. The blackness soaked through the metal, corrupted it, turned it to dust.

The burglar stilled, like he'd been stunned. I gave him one of Chat Noir's sliest smiles. Too easy.

"Go on," I said. "I got this, Bugaboo."

Ladybug moved toward the door. "Are you sure?"

I shouldn't have taken my eyes off him, shouldn't have looked back at her. I heard the movement before I spun and saw the man swing his bag of loot at me. It landed above my left eye, the weight crashed against my skull. My vision swam, the red room bleeding together.

"Stand down!"

Good. The police are here. They'll teach this punk a lesson.

The burglar dropped his bag of loot and its contents spilled onto the carpet. My eyes zeroed in on a small bust of Jagged himself, gold and amethyst studded.

I swayed as the realization of what happened finally hit me. Hard.

An arm wrapped around my waist, and there was Ladybug steadying me. "Chat, are you alright?"

My feet fumbled over each other as she led me from the room into the hallway. "You're gonna change back." The single spot on her earring came into focus. "You have to get out of here."

A door closed behind us and she sat me down on something soft. "Not until you tell me you're alright."

I leaned back against velvet pillows and my eyes slid shut. All I wanted was to sleep. . .

BEEP.

I snapped to fully awake and a pillow smashed against my face.

"Don't look!"

"I won't," I said, voice muffled.

"What should we do?" a soft, airy voice asked.

That must be her kwami. I felt an urge to see, to finally know who the girl behind the mask was. But I stayed still. I wouldn't do that to her. I couldn't.

"I don't know, Tiki."

"We can't just leave him here. He's hurt."

"What if I call an ambulance?" Ladybug asked.

"No," I said, pillow still smushed to my face. "That's not necessary, M'lady."

". . . Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Besides. My head was beginning to clear up. A little.

My skull pounded in the silence that followed. That's when I noticed how quiet the room had become. I lifted a hand to shift the pillow. No one stopped me. I looked around, part of me hoping she'd be there.

But the room was empty.

I let out a sigh, then hissed at the pain that shot through me. I needed to get out of here. I slunk across the room to the window. Somehow I got it open, and then I was out in the fresh air. I climbed up, until I found myself crouched on the roof of Le Grand Paris.

My eye sight blurred in and out as I watched the passersby walk the street like ants. I felt a surge of satisfaction as the police left the building, burglar in tow.

A girl came out a side door of the hotel. Pigtails, blue eyes and pink jeans. She seemed familiar, but I couldn't place her. A part of me felt desperately that I should know who she was, but I didn't. It nagged at me, and I felt drawn to her, so I followed.

I tried to keep a fair distance, to stay hidden. Each time I leapt to a new roof, I came this close to slipping or falling. The stone was still slick from the rain. More than that, my balance was severely off. I clawed my way over a ledge and caught another glimpse of the girl.

Marinette.

That was her name. She sat behind me in class. She was creative enough to win that contest with the derby hats. Was brave enough to stand up to Chloe. Sure, she could be shy and awkward, but she was my friend.

My ring shot me a warning. I was running out of time. And I knew. I did need help.

How messed up does my head have to be for me to forget Marinette?

She turned onto a quieter street and paused in front of a bakery. The Boulangerie Pâtisserie. It was her parent's bakery.

I trust Marinette, right? Did I trust her with this, though?

I stopped on the fire escape of the building across the street. I sunk to my knees, shoulders hunched, and tried to think through the haze in my mind. I'd always wanted to share my identity with someone, to show them the other part of me. I just always thought it would be Ladybug.

I stared up at the rooftop of the bakery where her room was. My ring chirped again. One minute left. I moved up the fire escape, until I was nearly level. My steps faltered, and I gathered myself, and used the very last of my strength to jump over the street. The landing was clumsy. I knocked over a plant on her balcony and the pot hit the floor with a crash.

The trap door opened and a head popped up.

I laid a shaky hand on the railing to try and steady myself. "Hey, Marinette."

Her mouth dropped open. "Chat Noir?"

I took a step toward her, desperate to come up with an explanation, but I stumbled and fell.

I heard her footsteps as she rushed up the stairs and over to me. She bent over and her hands grasped at my arm, at my collar as she tried to lift me from the ground. "You're hurt." She finally got me turned around so I lay on my back. "What happened to you?"

I put a hand on her shoulder. She frozen and met my gaze with confusion. "Marinette, I'm about to change back-"

"WHAT?"

My ears rang. I shook my head, cat ears flicking. "Please, I need you to listen to me."

She gently sank to her knees and knelt over me. "I'm listening."

"I need your help. Can I trust you with this?" I asked, praying she'd say yes. There was no turning back now.

"Are you sure?" she asked, and looked very afraid for some reason.

I didn't get to answer. My ring chirped and the last pad of the paw print disappeared. My transformation wore off, came away in particles of black, and left my regular clothes behind.

Marinette stumbled back and nearly toppled another plant. "A-adrie. . . Adrien?"

I gave her a weak smile. "Looks like the cat's out of the bag."

Her hands flew over her mouth and she sat there, motionless.

Plagg drifted in the space between us and gave me a pitying look. "Well that was slick." His eyes roamed to Marinette. "Do you happen to have some Camembert lying around?"

"I-I. . ."

I let out a groan. "Plagg, shut up."

Marinette's expression slowly morphed from shock to worry. She inched forward, and her hand hesitated above my left eye, where the sharp pain pulsed. "This looks really bad."

"Thanks."

"Can you stand?" she asked.

I scoffed. "Of course." I stood up. My vision blotted for a second and I swayed on my feet.

Marinette planted her feet, hands shooting against my chest to keep me from tipping over. "Steady!"

I let her bare the burden of my weight, and a question slipped through my mind, right out my mouth. "How are you so strong?"

She only grunted in reply, as she guided me to the trap door. Somehow she got me down the stairs, and suddenly there was pink everywhere. I buried my face in her shoulder and breathed deeply to try and stop the spinning in my head.

"Adrien, come on," she said.

Too tired to move, I thought, though I meant to tell her. And a thought I'd meant to keep to myself slipped right out. "You smell really nice."

She turned rigid, her shoulders stiff. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

That cleared my head up real fast. "Marinette, listen," I said, desperation leaking through my voice. "I don't want my Father to know-"

"Adrien, hush." She balanced me against her shoulder and slipped an arm around my waist. Somehow she managed to get the trap door that led downstairs open with her foot. "Listen, no one will know how you got hurt. We'll tell them you were in an accident. That someone mugged you. It'll be okay. Okay?"

I swallowed, the pain by my eye searing now. This was a fierceness to her I wasn't used to seeing. At least not aimed at me. Fighting her seemed too much effort, especially being in the state that I was. I finally gave in. "Okay."

She led me through the house and out the back way into an alley. I think it was an alley. I heard cars and the soft patter of rain.

"What about Plagg?" I asked. "No one can see him, Marinette."

"Do you have any ideas?" she said, and I realized she wasn't speaking to me.

"You got cheese here?" Plagg asked.

"You want to stay here?" she squeaked.

"He won't be more trouble than you can handle," I said, pleading.

She might have said something back, but it was getting harder to focus and for a second I forgot who she was. It scared me.

This is Marinette. I can't forget Marinette.

"You won't forget me, silly," she said, sounding panicked.

It was difficult to say what I said and what I thought. Everything swirled together, and I found myself muttering things that didn't make sense.

Another door opened and this time, a bell rang. The sound rattled in my head, making me feel nauseous. I smelled fresh bread and cinnamon.

"Mama! Papa!"

"Marinette!"

I felt rather than saw people crowding around me.

"Please, Papa. Help him."

In my dazed state, I found Marinette's hand and held onto it, and it made me feel safe, like I would be okay.

Sirens. Rain. A white light. Then? Then there was nothing.

I woke up surrounded by beige, the smell of disinfectant, and a hammering in my head. A stranger moved at my side. On reflex, my hand tightened, and grabbed nothing but a fistful of blanket. I startled up, only to be pushed back into a mound of pillows.

"Slow down there, champ," the man said. "Everything's fine. You're safe now." He flipped through the papers in his clipboard. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine," I started, frustration in my voice. The sheets tangled around my feet when I tried to move.

"Hey, calm down. You just need to rest. Your dad's on his way."

That stopped me. I eased back, the fight drained out of me. A cold type of sleepy took over. "He is?"

The door opened and someone tall took up the space. His stern gaze swept the room, then shattered when it landed on me.

"Hello, Father," I said, my voice tight, not wanting to let how glad I was to see him slip out.

The nurse glanced between us, then took a step back. "I'll give you both a minute to talk. But he really does need to rest."

"Thank you," Father said in earnest.

The nurse left, and shut the door behind him. I was left with sterile walls pressing in on me, the silence worse than the throbbing in my head. I stared down at the pale blue blanket draped over my feet, and willed myself not to look at Father.

"I can't believe you ditched your bodyguard again," he said, all sympathy vanished from his voice. "That's why I pay for one. So incidents like this won't happen."

"I'm sorry, Father."

He gave me an icy look. "Maybe this will teach you not to go running off and wander the streets like some vagabond."

"Yes, Father."

I cast a dull look at the tiled floor. Through all the coldness, the harshness, I still wanted to believe my Father loved me. . . And maybe he does. Why would he be here if he didn't? Or maybe I was only grasping at straws.

Things hadn't been like this when Mom was still here. Father had still been, well, Father. But Mom had a way of making us feel like a family, like we loved each other. She had a way of thawing the ice.

"I'm. . . really tired."

Father straightened his suit jacket. "Of course. Get some rest, son."

The door closed. I let out a sigh, and allowed my body to relax, to sink deeper into the bed. Then I remembered what I did. I tensed and pain spiked from the movement.

I told Marinette I'm Chat Noir. And I didn't just tell her. I showed her.

I spotted my clothes folded on the table beside the bed. Laying beside them, was my phone. I fought through the pain and sat up, then reached over for it. I scrolled through my contacts until I found her. Then I stilled.

I knew I didn't regret telling her. Of course I could trust her with this. She'd be totally awesome about it. Someone finally knew. I could finally talk to someone about being half of Paris' super hero duo.

I sent her a text.

How's Plagg?

A moment later she replied:

He says he feels full.

That's a first. Thanks for watching him. Hope he behaves himself. He can be a handful sometimes.

I contemplated sending her a crap ton of cat gifs. But maybe that would be too much.

I smiled, and set my phone on the bedside table. I did as the nurse asked, and settled under my covers and let the sleepiness take over, drifting to a heavy sleep.