In which, Chat Noir is an unlucky cinnamon roll and LB is perhaps too concerned about Adrien.

Marinette opened her eyes as her morning alarm rang out. She hadn't been asleep but she didn't feel like getting up either. Reaching out she turned off the alarm on her phone and sighed.

Chat Noir had tried to sneak out without waking her but she'd woken up when he couldn't resist placing a kiss on her forehead. She'd pulled him in for another hug realizing that he really was leaving. She could sense how desperate and nervous he felt as he hugged her back. His voice was thick as though he were trying to keep from crying as he bade her farewell. He had tucked her back in before disappearing through her skylight and into the darkness of the winter morning.

She was relieved that he was feeling better but she wasn't sure exactly how she felt about him leaving. Maybe he should have stayed just one more day? She thought to herself but then shook her head. No, he was right to leave when he did. He was sort of putting her family in danger after all...

Marinette groaned and threw off her blankets. She had just finished getting dressed when she noticed something on her workbench. She lifted the paper flower that had been folded and placed on top of a note and inspected it. The flower was a little crumpled as it had been folded in the dark but it was still beautifully done. Marinette set it aside and picked up the note.

"My Dearest Marinette,

I can never thank you and your wonderful parents enough for everything that

you've all done for me. I am truly, deeply indebted to you all for showing me such

kindness and welcoming me into your home.

I hope that someday I'll get to see you again. You've been a much-needed friend

for me when I needed one most. Now, I need to figure things out for myself. But rest

assured, I'll never forget what your family did for me, Princess.

No matter what my future holds.

Your Favorite Alley Cat,

Chat Noir "

Marinette let out a small sad sigh. Normally she would have been rather eager to get him out of her house but she found herself missing him already. Perhaps it was because of the knowledge that he didn't really have anywhere to go? She shook her head and gave a dark chuckle as she thought, He really is a stray now.

Her parents had received a letter from the hero too apparently. Marinette was glad that she didn't have to explain to her parents why Chat Noir was suddenly missing. She didn't really want to think about it at the moment. Instead, she finished her breakfast in silence and headed out for school.

She was quite certain that her day would be a sad one but when Adrien didn't show up to school, it made her day even worse. Of all the days she needed the distraction, this was it and he was nowhere to be found. Surely her day couldn't get much worse than this.

That was until Chloe started bawling in the middle of class. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared, even the teacher.

"Chloe, what's wrong?!" Mrs. Bustier yelled over Chloe's incessant wailing. The blond girl held up her phone that she'd been playing with under her desk. A news ad had popped up on her preferred social media page. It read in bold black and red words around a picture of none other than Adrien Agreste.

"TEEN MODEL ADRIEN AGRESTE: MISSING!"

oOo

Chat Noir set up camp in the attic above a vacant apartment flat. It was the perfect place to hide out. Because of his abilities as Chat Noir, he was able to get into the attic that was otherwise inaccessible. The building wasn't run down by any means, it wasn't an abandoned building, so the place was fairly well insulated from the harsh winter outside. Though it was still a bit cold, the heat of the lived-in apartments and the burning chimneys around his hideout warmed the space enough to make it tolerable.

With a grunt of effort, he set the rather heavy duffel bag on the ground and began sorting through it. To be honest, he hadn't exactly packed anything before leaving his father's house. He had been in something of a hurry. So last night when Marinette pulled her emergency kit from the depths of her closet and insisted that he take it, he was beyond grateful.

He initially tried to tell her he'd be fine without it but when she threatened to somehow get Ladybug to hunt him down and give it to him for her, he accepted it. With how determined Marinette could be, he knew better than to put it past her. Then he'd have to explain himself to Ladybug and that wasn't something he wanted on his to-do list.

The contents of the bag varied. A flashlight, lots of batteries, a sleeping roll, a blanket, a hammock, matches, a dry-bag, a first aid kit, bottled water, a reusable eating utensil, several days worth of canned food, and a can opener. There were several other things in it as well, such as a wind-up radio, toothbrush, moist towelettes, a length of rolled up plastic, a couple gel fuel canisters, and duct tape.

Wow, he thought as he rifled through the contents. Marinette was seriously prepared! She'd even been kind enough to throw in the fluffy sweater that Plagg had been sleeping on, saying that the cheese smell would never wash out anyway. All of this on top of the leftover cheese she'd also insisted he take with him. He was set for a week at least!

It felt really strange being a squatter but he figured it wouldn't hurt to stay there since the flat below him wasn't being used at the moment. The large slotted vent that looked down at the busy street was the only window he had to the world outside. It was also the only way in or out of the attic without going through the apartments below. The vent was easy enough to pop in and out of place when he decided he wanted to leave but for now, he just wanted to get settled in.

Adrien let go of the transformation and began setting up his hammock between two posts near a chimney. It was the chimney of the apartment next to his but the people had a fire going so it was warmer over there. Plagg nestled down into Adrien's coat pocket to rest while he worked on figuring out how he wanted to situate things around his new living arrangement.

"This is kind of exciting," Adrien said as he set Plagg's fluffy sweater on top of the duffel near the warm chimney. Plagg flitted over and buried himself in the folds of the fuzzy garment. "I've never really done anything like this before."

"Funny," Plagg's muffled voice called from the depths of the fabric. "most people in your current situation would think the exact opposite."

"Well," Adrien's tone grew dark and he pressed his hands down on the hammock to see if it would hold. He sat in his new bed, the ropes creaking under his weight but holding. "not everyone has Hawkmoth for a father."

"Nope," Plagg said nonchalantly still burrowing. "you're the lucky one in a million."

"Pff," Adrien scoffed at the notion of luck. "I wouldn't know what luck was if it came up and punched me in the face!"

"Hey," Plagg peeked out from beneath one of the sweater's arms so that only his face was barely showing. "luck is luck, my friend. I didn't say you had good luck."

"Yeah," Adrien swung gently in the hammock. "I guess you're right. I've got crazy amounts of bad luck."

"I didn't say that either," Plagg sighed. "I happen to be a firm believer in the idea that we make our own luck."

At that moment Adrien's hammock came loose and he tumbled to the ground hitting his tailbone on a floor joist. He let out a long exaggerated sound that was a cross between a moan and a growl as he lay motionless on his back. Plagg burst out laughing. Adrien looked back at him his eyes stinging with tears of pain. He was not unamused.

"I told you we make our own luck!" Plagg chortled as he buried himself again in the warm sweater. "You should try being more positive. All your negativity was bound to catch up to you at some point."

Maybe he did make his own luck? Adrien stood up rubbing his backside where he was sure a bruise was forming. Well... perhaps some of it at least. The only thing he knew for certain was that he had to tell Ladybug what was going on. Maybe something good could still come of this?

Adrien nodded his head in conclusion. He would tell Ladybug about his connection to Hawkmoth.

He would make his own luck.

oOo

This really is the worst week ever! Ladybug gritted her teeth and braced herself to jump from the building. The Akuma was simply the icing on the cake of the worst week of her life. First Chat Noir almost dies in her back alley, then he leaves her in the middle of the night, then Adrien went missing, and now an Akuma?! How much worse could things possibly get?!

Ladybug dodged this way and that as the Akuma shot tendrils of hair at her attempting to bind her. Apparently, the hairdresser had followed her client's instructions to the T and they hadn't liked the results. Pompadoura – as she called herself – couldn't handle the defamation of a very unhappy customer's scathing online review.

The battle was taking longer than she wanted and so far Ladybug had seen neither hide nor hair of Chat Noir. She only had a moment to wonder if the hero was still recovering somewhere and simply wasn't going to show up before a black and blond form came barreling into view.

"Chat Noir!" she called in relief as the boy grabbed her by the waist and pulled her out of the way of another attack. "Where have you been?!"

"I... it's a long story?" he said with a shrug. Ladybug rolled her eyes but the gravely sound of his voice didn't go unnoticed. "Sorry to keep you waiting, My Lady."

"Chat Noir are you... sick?" she asked as they ducked behind a car. She'd almost asked if he was still sick which would have been bad. Ladybug wasn't supposed to know that Chat Noir was sick. He gave her a playful grin.

"Aw, is My Lady worried about me?" he asked tilting his head and smiling wider. Ladybug's frown made a perfect upside down U-shape.

"Of course I was worried!" she scolded her arms gesturing madly around at the scene before them. "You're very late to the party! For all I knew you could have been caught up in one of these weird hair-cocoons! You could have been injured!" she felt herself getting mad at the fact that he'd shown up at all since he was still obviously sick. "Why are you even here?! You should go home and rest!"

"Hey," Chat's brows came together in anger. Why was she mad at him for showing up when a second ago she was mad at him for being late? This girl didn't make any sense sometimes. "I got here when I could! And I'm not going anywhere, my job is to protect you and I plan on doing just that!"

"Protecting me?!" Ladybug's voice hitched and she visibly blanched at the thought. But before she could scold him further the car they were hiding behind was lifted into the air by the Akuma's tentacle-like hair. "That's not your job Chat!" Ladybug yelled. They ran, dodging the car – which the Akuma threw – as they went.

"It is too!" Chat yelled back but his voice cut out and the words were lost in his throat.

The battle ended shortly after Chat Noir arrived. Ladybug deliberately didn't use Chat's Cataclysm as proof that she could function alone. At the end, when the white butterfly flitted about, Chat turned questioningly to Ladybug. She used her Miraculous Cure and set the world right again before she turned to him as well. Neither of them held out a hand to fistbump.

"I've been trying to get in contact with you Chat," she said as they watched the butterfly disappear against the cloudy sky. Her breath making puffs of fog as she breathed in the winter air.

"I'm sorry, LB. I've been trying to recover from being sick," he said honestly. He followed her to the roof of a nearby building to escape the crowds that were gathering. "But I needed to talk to you about something super important!"

"Really? Well, I've been doing something super important for the last four days! I've been searching for that missing boy, Adrien Agreste," Ladybug folded her arms over her chest, slight irritation evident in her voice. Chat stood up a little straighter at this.

"W-why are you looking for him?" Chat asked trying to sound nonchalant. "I thought your job was protecting people from Akuma attacks?"

"My duty is to the people of Paris," she shot at him, her frustration mounting. "as is yours!"

"I know that!" he shot right back. Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not an idiot! But what you fail to realize is that my job also includes protecting you!"

"I don't need you to protect me Chat!" she stomped her foot in protest her hands balled into quivering fists. "Citizens like Adrien need protecting! He's out there somewhere and we need to find him!"

"What if Adrien doesn't even want to be found?" Chat Noir growled his expression darkening.

"Of course he wants to be found! You're out of line, Chat Noir!" she practically yelled only making his hackles raise at such an accusation. Her earrings flashed, emitting a small beeping sound before he could say anything in his defense. "Look, I don't have time for this! If you're sick, then just go home! I can find him without your help! The fact of the matter is, I can do all of this without you, Chat!" Ladybug said it so sharply as though it were a truth that everyone knew but him. His gaze didn't waver from her's, a look of hard determination in her eyes. He hoped for a few wild seconds that she was going to take it back... she didn't.

Chat felt his heart give a particularly painful thump against his ribs, jarring him back to his painful reality. Her words were a fatal blow that narrowly missed its mark. They left him alive and suffering, bleeding from the open wound in his heart. Of all the things he needed to hear in that moment, that wasn't even on the list. He bent his arms up over his chest and pulled them tightly to his body as if holding himself together. His eyes grew wide and his pupils turned to slits as the panic set in. Perhaps it was then that she realized her mistake but she was too late.

Ladybug opened her mouth to speak again but he had started his retreat. She cursed her earrings as they beeped again. She didn't have time to case after Chat who was already jumping haphazardly over buildings and vaulting across busy streets. He was scrambling to get away, to lose her words in the wind, to leave them all behind. How could she be so cruel? Did she really feel as though she didn't need him? Was he nothing to her at all?

A thought pierced him. A realization from the night he left home.

I'm just a sacrificial piece! Chat grit his teeth so hard he was sure he cracked a tooth. The angry tears spilling down his face in streaming runnels, cooling his skin in the wind as he ran back to his hideout.

"I mean nothing to her!" he howled as he ran, unable to keep his pain inside. "I'm completely worthless!"

Chat Noir dove into the attic and began tearing his claws into the walls and posts around him. What was the point of it all? Why did he even bother run away? He meant nothing to her and he never would! Everything was wrong!

Chat dropped to his knees still his claws digging into the partition wall between the attics. The claw marks were deep and long, crossing over themselves and resembling like a piece of abstract art.

The senseless destruction was so very satisfying...