[A/N: Soooo, exams are kicking my ass. I will try to post in the next two weeks, but I just want to warn against any possible future delays ^^. Keep being miraculous and have a great day.]

Ladybug felt Chat Noir's sobbing breaths against her neck as the tears flowed over his mask and down his cheeks. A few drops fell onto her shoulder, but she didn't care. Ladybug only positioned herself so that Chat could lean into her more comfortably. Her arm wrapped around his side while her free hand grasped one of his gloved hands. Chat didn't know why Ladybug was being so nice to him, but his running emotions kept him from thinking about Ladybug's thoughts.

Chat responded to every one of Ladybug's movement with a skip of his heart or a tightening of his hand. His fingers quickly fell into her palm and closed over Ladybug's dainty digits. Chat thought of everything and nothing as the tears fell. He thought about how his father's coldness hit harder everyday, especially after that afternoon's time in the studio. Seeing his father smile for only an afternoon hit the poor boy like a train. He felt the full extent of his loneliness in one giant wave as memories of his father's past smiles and missing mother's warm laughter flashed before him. He almost felt bad as he clenched Ladybug's hand and nuzzled deeper into her neck. Time seemed to stop as the super duo sat atop the metal support, lost in each other's company and toiling emotions.

Ladybug was glad that the Eiffel Tower had such bright lights attached at night. She was sure that no one on the ground would be able to discern the two figures as the Parisian superheroes; if someone did and submitted a photo to the Ladyblog, she would just deal with it then. Chat was too important right then. She put forth her best effort all the way to the Chat's final tears.

Chat gave Ladybug's hand one final tug before sitting up and wiping his cheeks. He couldn't believe that he had just fallen apart in front of his lady of all people.

Ladybug faced her partner with her hand still lying open between them. "Are you okay, kitty?"

Chat wiped away some of the dried tears. "Yeah," he said quietly, "Sorry about all of this." He leaned over his knees, looking down the length of the historic tower.

Ladybug's gut twisted as a soft silence fell over them. She watched his furrowed brows and downcast eyes. She couldn't help but see Adrien's face behind the black mask. "Don't be sorry," she said while turning towards her partner, "I'm more than glad to be here for you." Ladybug didn't know if it was the mask or not, but she felt boldness build in her gut. She grabbed Chat's closest hand and brought it close to her face. "Look Chat, I'm always here to talk. Don't go thinking that you have to keep quiet for my sake," Ladybug said as she leaned in towards the bewildered Chat.

The black clad superheroes eyes grew to saucers as he faced his partner. Her claws nearly brushed her cheek as she leaned in closer. Fresh tears nearly brimmed as he felt the full weight of Ladybug's words. She cared for him. She really cared for him. No motives or coldness or business. He sensed the genuine concern in her blue eyes. Chat bit his bottom lip. He knew something was up. Ladybug was always adamant about not talking about their civilian selves. It was too much of a safety concern. So why? Why was she suddenly concerned about the boy behind the mask? He searched her blue eyes for some kind of answer, like looking for a lighthouse in an expansive sea, but he found nothing in her expression. He only read concern and determination. His shoulders sagged a bit as he pulled Ladybug into a hug. It wasn't constricting or particularly intimate, it was just nice. "Thanks," he managed as he his mouth moved against her pigtail. Ladybug squeaked as Chat pulled her into the embrace.

After a moment, she wrapped her free hand around Chat's back. "No problem, Chat."

Neither of them moved as another spring gust passed by. The duo relished in each other's heat as the cooling night air nipped at their exposed faces. Both of their hearts raced as eternal seconds passed by. Neither wanted to even breathe in fear of breaking the perfect moment.

Ladybug knew she couldn't just sit there. For one, her heart was ready to explode at any second, but secondly she knew that hugging wasn't going to fix anything. She didn't loosen her grip as she turned her face away from his shoulder. "Chat, want to talk right now?"

Chat sighed. She was really wasn't letting up at all. He took in a deep breath. Chat opened his mouth then bit down onto his lip before sitting again and holding Ladybug gently by the shoulders. He took one last look into her big blue eyes before his hands tensed up. "It's my father," Chat said cautiously, "he was caught up in today's attack. You could say that it hit pretty hard." He finished with a strained chuckle. He was just trying to lighten the mood, but not even his alter ego's confidence could overcome the young boy's loneliness. Ladybug nodded along. She didn't know that Gabriel Agreste was involved in the attack, but she could only imagine the emotional whiplash that Chat must have gone through. She nodded her head, and Chat continued. "Y-you see, my mom has been missing for a year now," he said with building emotion, "My dad turned cold after she disappeared and then he was suddenly happy and warm again. But now he's back to the way he was. Hell, he hasn't even come to see me since I returned home. He probably doesn't even know I'm gone."

Dots connected in Ladybug's mind as Chat spoke with downturned eyes. She knew that Gabriel Agreste wasn't exactly the most fatherly and that Adrien spent much of his time alone. She knew that he had disappeared after lunch; she could only guess that Gabriel had taken him for some father-son time because of the akuma. Her stomach sunk as Chat choked at his mother's disappearance. Ladybug gently grasped his hands as he explained her disappearance and his father's change. She realized that she had never seen Mrs. Agreste except from Adrien's desktop and the sizable family portrait in the Agreste manor. It had never occurred to her that she was missing, and finding out the fact only grew a lump in her throat. She couldn't even imagine what Chat's home life must've really been liked.

Chat's hand clenched beneath Ladybug's as a few fresh tears ran down his face. Ladybug bit her lip, unsure what to say or even do. She couldn't even imagine what kind of anguish her partner had gone through in the past few months. He had lost both his parents in one fell swoop. He was fortunate in the material realm, but unfortunate everywhere else.

Ladybug tightened her hold on his hand as she leaned in towards his shoulder. Her voice barely carried over the sound of the wind. "I'm so sorry, Chat."

"Don't be."


No more words were exchanged between the superheroes as Parisian nightlife came into full swing. The duo watched tourists and night owls alike flit around the streets in cars and bikes in a confusing array of bright lights and sound. Their hands never left one another as the quiet moments passed by.

Chat was the first to stand up as the first of the nightly police sirens rang out. The heroes were sure it wasn't an akuma or anything overly important. It was usually about this time they called it quits. They weren't needed and Chat never liked Ladybug going home alone any later than that. Ladybug stood soon after Chat left his seat. They stood at the support beam's edge for a moment, just taking in the city.

"Will you be okay?" Ladybug said.

"Yeah, thank you for today," he said with a small smile. He didn't know what he did to deserve such a friend.

She glanced at her puffy-eyed partner. She was still worried, but she couldn't do anything more from behind the mask. "No problem. I'll always be here for you." Ladybug gave Chat one last hug before leaping off the tower into the city.

Chat watched her form disappear into the sea of lights. His heart raced as recent memories flashed before his eyes. Melancholy and elation fought against each other in a vicious mental war as he ventured back to his room. He quickly found himself back in his bedroom, just as confused as he was at the tower. He felt so much better after talking with Ladybug, but he couldn't figure out anything. Why did Ladybug suddenly talk to him like that? Sure, they weren't strangers to each other, but they weren't the closest of friends either. He had bugged her for months to open up, but she always refused. But now? Now she was worming her way deeper into his heart through his deepest, darkest secrets. Why now was she talking like that?

He sighed as he plopped onto his bed and transformed back into Adrien. His thoughts still raced as Plagg helped himself to some of Adrien's secret stash.

"You were having quite the moment there," Plagg said between mouthfuls of cheese.

"Not now, Plagg," Adrien said with an arm covering his eyes. He could still feel the dried tears on his cheeks.

"Oh? But is it not true?" Plagg said, taking a seat on Adrien's other pillow, "Ladybug had a heart-to-heart with you. Aren't you happy?"

Adrien uncovered his face and sighed. "I am, but … oh, I don't know."

Plagg rolled his eyes before devouring his last bite. His chosen really was hopeless sometimes. He floated down to Adrien's side and curled next to the young boy's cheek. Adrien glanced down to the kwami with a slight smile while Plagg purred against his skin.


Ladybug bound onto the Dupain-Cheng bakery's rooftop terrace and climbed into her bedroom to transform into a flustered Marinette. Tikki quickly zipped to Marinette's desk where her nightly snack resided. Marinette collapsed into her desk chair as Tikki snacked on her cookies. A bright pink covered Marinette's cheeks as she tried to sort out the day's events. It was all almost too much. Chat Noir cried the same day that she found out that he was her beloved classmate? What were the chances?

Marinette changed for bed and collapsed into a confused mess. Dreams didn't come as she thought about her packed day. The day almost felt like a dream within itself, so much so that she felt like she could wake up at any moment to find that Chat and Adrien were two completely different blonde, green-eyed boys.