Chat rose with the sun. He blinked blearily as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. His bed seemed harder than usual... His bed. Chat didn't remember getting into bed last night. He didn't even remember going home. Chat's eyes widened. He was still on the roof. The hero craned his neck to look behind him. He stretched over his lady's lap with his legs splayed out behind him. Ladybug slumped over his back, her arms tucked under her head.
"Ladybug!" he hissed. "Ladybug, wake up!"
The girl groaned, squeezing her eyes and scrunching up her nose. "Mom, it's too early..."
"Ladybug, please!" Chat begged. "We gotta get home!" The boy tried to squirm free in a way that wouldn't throw his partner off him.
Ladybug's eyes finally opened. "Chat," she croaked. "What're you doing in my room?"
"We never left the roof last night," Chat gasped. "Please get off me!"
Ladybug's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no." She sat up. "Oh, no." Chat scrambled off Ladybug's lap as she stood. "OH, NO." The girl stretched, frantically mouthing swears as she hurried towards the edge of the roof. "I gotta go," Ladybug said as she tossed an apologetic smile over her shoulder. "See you later."
Chat Noir waved at Ladybug's receding form before he turned in the direction of his own home. He had to there soon if he didn't want any trouble. The hero made back in record time and transformed back into Adrien just as Nathalie's voice came over the intercom.
"Adrien, your morning meal is ready."
"O-okay! Be down in two seconds!" Adrien responded as he shoved his leg into a fresh pair of pants.
Plagg floated over to his pile of cheese. "I can't believe you fell asleep," he complained. "I'm exhausted! Utterly exhausted!"
"Cool it, cat," Adrien responded. "You didn't even do anything! I, on the other hand, have to put up with stiff joints, an aching back, and you."
Plagg grumbled, sticking out his tongue before gathering his snacks into his arms and bundling himself into Adrien's bag. The blonde gathered his own belongings and exited his room. His limbs really were sore from sleeping in such an odd position. He could only imagine how ladybug must feel.
"Yo, are you okay, dude?" Nino asked as Adrien flopped down in his seat. Adrien turned to wave at Alya, noticing Marinette's absence before responding to his friend.
"I'm okay," he said. "Why?"
"Well, for one, your eyes are all puffy," Nino said, motioning to his own face. "And you look tired. Did you sleep last night?"
"Yeah!" Adrien insisted. "I just slept a little funny is all. I'm a bit stiff."
"You look awful, man. Like-" Nino's sentence cut off when Marinette burst into the room right before the bell rang. "You look like that," Nino finished.
"Nino!" Adrien gasped. He turned around to gauge the girl's reaction and apologize for his friend's rude outburst, but she hadn't heard.
Adrien hated to admit it, but Marinette did look pretty bad. Her pigtails looked loose, like she hadn't redone them that morning. Instead of her usual outfit she wore sweatpants and a sweatshirt. The warmth and energy that radiated from her seemed muffled. Adrien frowned. He hoped Marinette was okay.
"Girl, you look baaaad," Alya remarked. Adrien winced. Alya was so straight-forward. Marinette gave a small laugh.
"Rude," he heard her tease.
"Are you okay, though?" Alya asked, her tone shifting from playful to concerned. "Nothing bad, I hope?"
'What a change,' Adrien thought wryly. 'That's Alya, I guess.'
"I'm fine," Marinette yawned. "I was up late and I slept funny. I'm just tired."
Adrien froze. That excuse mirrored his almost exactly. 'What a weird coincidence.' The teacher entered and Adrien tried to pay attention, but ears were trained on his classmates' conversation.
"Does this have anything to do with-"
"Shhhh! Marinette shushed her friend fiercely. "It doesn't! I was just out. With a friend," she added. The hushed chatter ceased for a few moments when Mme. Bustier turned and shot a warning glance over Adrien's head.
Adrien heard tearing and the hurried scratch of a pencil against paper. He wished he knew what Alya and Marinette were saying. The boy's curiosity peaked when he heard Marinette hiss a sharp "No!" and Alya snicker and one of them snatch the paper from the other. Apparently he wouldn't have to wonder for too long, though, because the note was passed forward to Nino. He glanced over at Adrien with a smirk on his face. Adrien shot him a questioning glance and Nino slid the note over to him. It read:
"You and Adrien are both pretty tired today, huh? ;)"
"Alya, no. It has nothing to do with him."
"Suuure. You can't slip anything past me, girl! You were totally smoochin' him last night!"
Adrien's eyes went as wide as saucers and his face turned red as he whipped his head around to face the desks behind him. Marinette's hands covered her face and her ears were deep crimson. Alya shot him a smug look, one eyebrow quirked. He saw Nino give him a thumbs up out of the corner of his eye. The boy's blush deepened.
Turning back around, Adrien wished for death. And his prayers were answered. A large rumbled shook the school. The students looked about confusedly before a boy burst in, wide-eyed and breathless.
"Run!" he gasped.
The class wasted no time, grabbing everything they could and flooding out the door. Adrien's jaw set with determination, his embarrassment forgotten. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he made his way to the nearest restroom.
"Man," Plagg whined once the door closed. "I was enjoying that nap."
"You can nap all you want later," Adrien responded. "Right now, Ladybug needs us. Plagg, claws out!"
In a flash, Chat Noir was out the window and on top of the school. the hero's brow furrowed as he searched for the source of the commotion. He spotted it a few blocks away. A boy with spiked hair made his way down the street. He held a sinister purple guitar in his hands. With every strum of its strings a new wave of noise barreled down the road with an electronic screech. Chat's ears flattened to his head and he crouched, reaching up with clawed hands to block out as much of the noise as possible.
"I am Sonic Boom!" the boy roared. "And I will be as loud as I want! Because I'm the best guitarist in the world!"
Chat winced. This was not going to be a fun Akuma to fight. He turned as Ladybug landed beside him.
"About time!" he called over the deafening sound of the Akuma's guitar.
"Sorry," Ladybug responded. "I had to make sure the students and teachers were safe. What's this guy's problem?"
"His mom or someone probably told him to ease up on the racket." Another powerful blast shook the building and Chat pressed his hands to his ears, desperately trying to keep the noise out.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Ladybug asked. The noise bothered her, but obviously she wasn't as bothered by it as he was.
"I'll be fine. I think the Akuma's in his guitar," Chat managed through gritted teeth.
"Let's get this over with. Can you get the strap on his guitar?" Chat nodded, removing his hands from his head. He had to get serious.
Chat sprung from the roof, tucking and rolling as he met the asphalt. "Y'know, all the noise'll make you go deaf," he called. The boy rolled his eyes.
"You sound just like my parents," he sneered. "Maybe I should give you a private concert like I did for them."
That definitely didn't sound good. Chat backed away as the boy approached. He continued backwards, backing up until he backed straight into a wall. The Akuma smirked and strummed his guitar, letting an ear-splitting roar rip from the instrument.
It was all Chat could do not to scream. Before, the noise hadn't been aimed directly at him from a few feet away. This time, the sound and the pain was all his own. Chat pressed his hands to his head which felt like it was about to burst. He wondered if that had indeed happened to the Akuma's poor parents.
Chat Noir didn't even feel the steel cord wrapping around him and pulling him to the roof. Ladybug steadied her reeling partner and set him gently on the ground. Chat could barely hear her over the ringing in his head. He wondered how he hadn't gone deaf altogether.
"...re you okay?" Ladybug's muffled voice broke through the ringing. She had what looked like heavy duty red-and-black spotted earmuffs and she held another pair in her gloved hands. She spoke loudly, as if she couldn't quite hear herself. Chat nodded weakly and took the earmuffs as his partner offered them. He shoved them on his head.
Struggling to his feet, Chat readied his Cataclysm before leaping down into the fray once more. "Ready for Round 2?" he shouted to the boy, interrupting his violent, loud rampage.
The Akuma rolled his eyes and let loose another blast. The earmuffs worked well, Chat realized with a grin. The noise was nothing more than a rumble.
'My turn,' the hero thought as he darted forward, clawed hand extended. Chat twisted and rolled to avoid another wave of sound- he may have not been able to hear it, but it could still probably tear him to shreds at such a close range- and snagged the guitar's strap. It rotted and melted away.
Ladybug was one the guitar before the Akuma could even react. The black-and-purple butterfly fluttered out. Ladybug made quick work of purifying it, sending a new, white butterfly away with a smile and a wave. Chat tossed her his earmuffs and she threw both pairs into the sky.
Chat was always amazed at the burst of pink light that spread across the sky, fixing everything that the Akuma had damaged. The boy smiled as the throbbing in his skull faded into nothing. The ringing stopped and Chat's eyes fluttered shut as he savored the blissful feeling of nothing in his head.
"Mission accomplished!" Ladybug was holding up her fist for Chat to bump. He did so with a smile. A beep from Ladybug's earrings ended the moment. "Gotta go," she said, stepping away.
"Wait," Chat reached a gloved hand out to his partner. "Do you... maybe... wanna join me on my patrol tonight?" Ladybug smiled. It was warm. Genuine. It was all he could do not to melt right in to the street.
"Of course," she responded. "I'll see you tonight." Chat couldn't stop smiling as he jogged into an alley to transform. Now that he had something to look forward to, he could handle any amount of teasing his friends threw at him.
/Sorry this took so long to get out! To make up for it I made this chapter extra long. Enjoy!