Darkness reigned in Adrien's bedroom, the crescent moon above and scattered streetlights below casting little light through his large barred windows. The room's blond occupant tossed and turned in his bed, his mind uneasy and troubled; his small black companion snored softly, asleep.

"Hey Plagg."

"Mmnn—wha? Whazzup?" Adrien's statement had interrupted the little Miraculous's nighttime dozing.

"I need to transform."

"Y-yeah, sure…" Plagg lazily drifted upward from his resting spot. "What's goin' on? Some late-night Akuma attack?"

"Y-yeah…something like that."

Plagg knew Adrien well enough to know that this wasn't like him. He wasn't ever reserved or the kind of person to dodge questions like this. He frowned quietly and stared at Adrien, waiting for a real answer.

"Well, it's…hey, you want some cammanber?"

Plagg's concentration vanished into smoke at the promise of his absolute favorite food, and in after a moment's wait a hunk of the stinky cheese was tossed his way. He started devouring it before remembering that something wasn't right.

"Wait a minute, Adrien, what's going on? This isn't like you, man. What's gotten into—"

"Claws out!"

Plagg's protests and questions were swallowed up as he was sucked into Adrien's ring, and Chat Noir took Adrien's place.

If there was one thing that Chat loved, it was freedom.

Scratch that, Ladybug would always hold the #1 spot in his heart.

If there were two things that Chat loved, the second would be freedom.

Even late at night, where the chill of the city air pawed at him as Paris slept, he was relieved to have this freedom, the freedom to leave, the freedom to get away, the freedom to forget.

Chat Noir bounded from rooftop to rooftop, his extending pole helping him with particularly tricky leaps. He had no destination in mind, only a direction: away. Away from that cage, away from that pit, away from that man. He desperately needed time and space, things that even his luxurious lifestyle could not afford him.

And so Chat ran on across the buildings of Paris, trying to ignore the chill of the night and the ache in his heart. When he finally couldn't remember the way back, when he couldn't even see it anymore beyond the blocks he'd put between himself and that place, he stopped running. Out here, he could almost believe that he was someone else, that he lived a different life. One that didn't involve an over-controlling father expecting perfection in every part of his life, one that didn't leave him restrained like a chained animal, one where home was a place to find love, not miss it.

He sat down and looked up. Though large cities like Paris were never great places for stargazing, looking up at what he could see always helped. It calmed him, to see all those lights twinkling up in the sky, like mirrors of the city below him. Staring at the spotted darkness made his problems seem smaller, almost manageable. If nothing else, he could lose himself in the sight of them and completely forget who he was. In times like this he could believe that he was Chat Noir and no one else, that Adrien Agreste was just a name he'd heard somewhere in the past, something unconnected to him.

Sometimes he'd thought about never returning from a nighttime escape. He'd imagined leaving his life behind, finally free from his father's clutches. He'd almost done it a couple times. But it never felt right, just fleeing like that. If he left, who would protect Paris alongside Ladybug? His powers were not just his; they belonged to all of Paris.

Besides, it wasn't like his life was completely devoid of life and warmth. He had all his friends at school: Nino, Marinette, Alya, everyone else in his class. Seeing Marinette's infectious smile or hanging out with his bro Nino who always has his back or talking with the tech whiz Alya…they kept him going. If dealing with his responsibilities and overbearing family was the price that he had to pay to be with them…then so be it. He was Chat Noir, protector of Paris, right? He could do this. He could try again. He could make it through.

But that didn't mean he had to return just yet. He could afford some more time out here, alone with just Paris and the universe for company.

Adrien nearly stumbled into class the next day, exhausted from not getting nearly enough sleep the night before. Nino certainly noticed, hounding Adrien as soon as he took his seat in the front.

"Hey bro, you don't look so hot. What were you doin' last night?"

"Ah, well…" Adrien put on the most charming smile he could in his fatigued state. "I was up kinda late doing homework, you know? Time got away from me a bit."

Nino glared at his friend, not satisfied with his answer but not wanting to press further. He crossed his arms. "Whatever you say, bro. Just get some decent sleep tonight, okay man?"

Adrien nodded as his smile loosened up a bit, grateful that he'd dodged that line of questioning.

Of course Marinette noticed that Adrien was clearly running on fumes; he could have put his socks on backwards and she would have noticed. Unfortunately for her (and Alya, who had to deal with a whole Marinette being anxious over his health and whether or not she should approach him about it), having a teacher that was both alert and strict made it impossible to talk to Adrien until class was over. Even once the final bell rang and he slowly packed his bag as the rest of the class filed out, leaving him alone with Marinette and Alya, her nerves still kept her from approaching him.

It wasn't until Adrien passed through the school's main door to his awaiting ride that she finally (with Alya's prodding) worked up the courage to talk to him about it.

"Hey, Adrien, wait up!"

The blond model took a moment to clear the fatigue from his face before turning around to face her.

"Oh hey, Marinette, what's up?"

Being acknowledged by her crush instantly sent Marinette into a blushing fit. "Oh, ah, well, I just kinda—I saw that you weren't looking too good tod—I-I mean you seemed pretty tired today, and I just, uh, just wanted to askifyouredoingokay?"

It took Adrien a second to parse that last jumble, but once he did the reflexive façade instantly came back. "Ah, yeah, I'm doing fine." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Just couldn't sleep last night. You ever have nights like that?"

Even Marinette's awkwardness was overshadowed by her concern for his health. "I get that sometimes, yeah. Just make sure you—" And then it clicked.

"Hey, didn't you tell Nino earlier that you were up doing homework?"

Adrien froze for a moment, caught in his own lie. "Uh, yeah, I was up a bit late with homework and then had some trouble getting to sleep after that. Typical high schooler sleep issues, really. Nothing to worry about." He put on his most winning model smile, though the effect was marred by the fatigue of a sleepless night and a full school day.

Marinette was not fooled. She'd heard excuses like this too many times to just let this slide. And if he was not just glossing over the fact that he'd lost sleep, but even lying about how…

"Hey Adrien."

"Yeah, Marinette?"

"I…" She took a deep breath. "I don't know what's keeping you up, but if there's ever something bothering you, you can come talk to me about it, okay? Seriously, whatever it is, if it's ruining your beauty sleep like this—I mean if you can't get to sheep—uh that would be sleep then—"

Adrien chuckled. "Don't worry, I get what you're saying." He averted his gaze off to the side. "And thank you, Marinette. Really, I mean it." He smiled genuinely, even his fatigue melting away as he faced her again. "I'll see you again tomorrow, okay?"

Her message delivered (and received successfully, no less!) Marinette's blushing infatuation returned. "Yeah, tomorrow sounds good for seeing you—I mean going to school with you—I mean I'll see you tomorrow, ahah."

Adrien nodded. "See you then. Later, Marinette." He turned and walked off to the car. Just before getting in the vehicle he looked back and waved at her one last time, Marinette waving furiously in return.

Maybe he wouldn't need Chat Noir next time. Maybe Adrien Agreste could handle this, with some help from his friends.