"You don't understand how bad this is!" Chat whined, his face buried in his hands.

"It's just a haircut, kitty," Ladybug encouraged. "It will grow back."

"Nooooo," he whined. "You don't understand. My dad is going to kill me."

"For a haircut?" Ladybug deadpanned.

Chat looked on the verge of tears when he nodded.

Ladybug sighed. "Kitty, it will be fine. It's not like Juleka is going to give you a mohawk or anything like that."

"He's still going to kill me."

Ladybug sighed. "Well, will he kill you less for the haircut or for the chunk of hair missing in the back of your head."

Chat whimpered.

Ladybug looked at the back of his head, the one with a chunk of hair missing from it thanks to the latest crazed fan.

She wished it would have been an akuma. Then she could have fixed the damage. But no, crazed fan with a death wish it was.

She really felt bad for him. But she was also thankful it wasn't her hair that was cut.

"Kitty, I know for a fact Juleka will do an amazing job styling your hair."

Juleka nodded. "My brother and I do each other's hair all the time. I promise it will look good."

"See?" Ladybug encouraged.

Chat whimpered once again. "I guess you're right," he relented.

"If it's any consolation," Ladybug said, "I like your hair, but I'm certain you'll look great with shorter hair, too. You're quite the looker."

She hoped to draw a smile out of him, but it didn't help in the slightest. "My dad. Is going. To kill me."

Ladybug watched as Juleka took her time styling Chat's hair. Chat officially freaked out when Juleka pulled out her electric shaver, but she swore he wouldn't end up bald. "Trust me," she said. "You're going to look great."

Ladybug held his hand all the way through the process. She swore it was like comforting a toddler that didn't like the barber shop. And it didn't help that with each tuft of hair that floated down, Chat cringed and mumbled about how his dad was going to kill him.

"He's not going to kill you," Ladybug continuously reassured. "You're not getting a bad style, just a new one. You're going to still look as sharp and presentable as ever."

Even all of her placating didn't help.

"And done," Juleka said, setting down the comb.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Chat said, looking at all his hair all over the floor. "It looks terrible. Tell me the truth, bug. My dad's going to kill me and I'll never be let out of the house until he breaks me of whatever rebellious streak he thinks I have and I'm not going to be able to help as Chat Noir—"

But Ladybug didn't really pay attention to his rant. Mostly because she was staring at his new look and begging her heart to slow down.

Where did Juleka take the dork that was her partner, and just where did she keep this devastatingly handsome young man to replace him with?

"You're staring," Chat said, breaking her from her stupor. His ears were flat on his head and he was hunched over just waiting to be yelled at. "It's terrible, isn't it?"

"No," she assured. "No, it's just… it's different."

His ears somehow lowered further, and he hid his face in his hands.

"No!" she quickly assured. She grabbed his shoulders in comfort. "Not bad different. Just going to take a little getting used to different. You still look great. The cut looks great. I'm just not used to seeing your hair so short."

He whimpered in his hands, proving that her ramble was not helping.

"Come on," Juleka said, handing Ladybug a mirror. "It's not all that bad. Look."

Chat whimpered again before peeking between his fingers and looking at the mirror Ladybug held.

She was worried when he froze.

Suddenly, he ripped the mirror out of her hands and brought it closer. He looked half feral the way he was running his fingers through his short hair while staring wide-eyed at the mirror.

"Holy shit," he said. "My dad is going to kill me."

The short hair felt weird. He actually felt the breeze on the back of his neck when he came out of fencing practice. He wasn't sure he liked it.

What he definitely didn't like was the way Gorilla did a double-take at him.

Adrien cringed. His dad was going to skin him alive.

When he got home, Nathalie was the first to greet him, but even her eyes widened in shock over the haircut.

Adrien did his best not to cower.

It took a rapid thirteen minutes before his father found out about the change, likely because Nathalie had immediately informed him. Hence why Adrien now sat in front of his father's desk feeling very much like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Explain," his father demanded.

Adrien cringed. "Well, um… it… wasn't my idea."

Gabriel quirked a brow, but otherwise didn't move.

"It was a fan," Adrien said. "A crazed fangirl with scissors who came up behind me while I was distracted and… well…"

Gabriel's eyes slowly widened, but then his brow lowered. "Are you saying," he said. "That some girl came up behind you and cut your hair?"

"She… managed to take out a chunk of it."

Gabriel's brow lowered, if that was even possible. "Do you have any idea who—"

"No," Adrien said. "No, I don't. I didn't see her face, only when she was running away."

Gabriel growled.

"So," Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck, "one of my friends who cuts other people's hair all the time offered to fix the problem, hence the haircut."

Gabriel's focus shifted from Adrien to the haircut. "Well," he said after some time. "At least she did well enough to make you presentable."

That… was much better than he expected.

"Nathalie, organize a hair appointment for Adrien. He'll likely need new products for his hair being as short as it is."

"You're not… you're not mad?"

"I am," he confirmed. "But it was not your fault that some girl cut your hair. And while I would have rather you come tell me so we could organize a hair appointment, I will concede your new style is flattering for you."

… Adrien wasn't quite sure how to process that.

"For now, do your best to style it with what you have. We'll organize an appointment with a stylist tomorrow."

Marinette was worried about Chat Noir. He hadn't contacted her all weekend. She left him a couple messages hoping he was having a good weekend, but she didn't know if he'd gotten them. Maybe his dad was keeping him under house arrest and he hadn't had a chance to escape.

Suddenly, she was nervous.

"Calm down, Marinette," Tikki said. "I'm sure he's just fine. Chat Noir can handle himself very well. And you said the haircut looked good on him, so there wouldn't be any reason for his dad to kill him."

"I don't know, Tikki," Marinette said. "From how Chat's described his father, it sounds like he's not very nice in general. Who knows what could have happened."

With a shrug, Tikki hid in Marinette's bag as Marinette walked out the door to school.

"Hey, girl," Alya greeted. "You. Will not. Believe it."

"What?" Marinette asked, noticing the stressed look on her friend's face.

"I missed a huge superhero scoop."

Marinette schooled her features, figuring she knew exactly the kind of scoop she was talking about. "What kind of scoop?"

"Juleka cut Chat Noir's hair kind of scoop."

Marinette was quiet while Alya ranted about how Juleka told Alya how she had cut Chat Noir's hair after a hair emergency.

"And I haven't gotten a chance to get a photo for the Ladyblog. Heck, I didn't even get the chance to fully interview Juleka."

"That's a bummer, Alya," Marinette comforted. "But I'm sure that Chat Noir will be running around in no… time…"

And that's when her eyes locked on Adrien stepping out of his car.

Holy. Crap.

"Looks like Chat Noir wasn't the only one who got a haircut this weekend," Alya smugly said, elbowing Marinette in the side.

She barely felt it.

How did Adrien go from being Mr. Adorable Boyband Pianist to looking like a guy who should be wearing thousand-dollar suits and a smolder with hot blondes pouring over him?

Marinette was certain she was going to die.

"Earth to Marinette," Alya teased, poking her in the side.

"Huh?"

"He's going to notice you're drooling."

With a squeak, Marinette wiped her mouth, garnering a laugh form Alya.

"Hey, girls."

And Marinette's heart momentarily stopped. "H-h-hey, Adrien," she managed to stutter out. "Haircut. Nice haircut. Really nice. Looking good."

He smiled, and she could still see her same-old Adrien behind his new look. "Thanks, Marinette. You really liked it?"

"Yeah!" she said a little too loudly. "Great looks! I mean, looks great! Really great. Like, wow, how-are-you-that-hot great. Like really."

It took a full five seconds to realize what she'd said and turn the deepest shade of scarlet she had in a long while.

"GottaGoBye!"

And she took off to class with Alya laughing behind her all the way.

Bonus:

"You're still alive, Kitty."

"Yeah," Chat Noir said. "Thankfully, my dad didn't hate it as much as I thought he would."

"See," Ladybug said, tapping his foot with hers. "I told you so."

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks."

She grinned. "No problem. And for the record, I like the new look."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm glad," he said. "I was fighting with it all weekend, but I started feeling better when the cutest girl in my class said I looked hot. What do you think, Milady?"

She could deny it. She could deny it. She could deny it!

"Yeah, you look hot." She instantly felt her cheeks warm. "Don't make a habit of hearing it, though!"

He grinned that smug smile that made him look like a rouge in black leather and be still her heart! "Thanks, Bug."

"A-any time."