I'm gonna be posting this one that was due yesterday, and the one that's due today. Sorry that I wasn't able to get the prompt out yesterday. It was a long day.

"Cataclysm!"

Dust filled the small area as Chat took long and exhausted breaths. His trailer had been reduced to nothing but scrap metal.

"Plagg, claws in."

The little Kwami swirled around him with a worried look on his face. "Look, kid, I'm all for destroying things just for the fun of it, but don't you think that will have consequences?"

Adrien huffed at the little being, a slight grin wrapping around his face. "Ladybug and Chat had one heck of a battle today. So what if Chat missed his target and got Adrien's trailer instead?"

Plagg floated next to him as he walked around the deserted ally. "I think maybe you should talk to Ladybug a bit more."

His face was blank as he asked, "What about? She was right there when my father went all 'I forbade it'. So yeah, there's nothing else to really say."

The little creature's face contorted at his owner's words. "Uh-hu, and you just blew up that trailer because it was looking at you funny?"

Adrien sighed, knowing the creature wasn't gonna let this one go, but begging him to do all the same anyway. "Plagg, I'm fine. I just need to go get some food, I don't know, maybe a nice salad

The burger was hot, greasy, and hit his stomach in all the right ways as he placed the order of cheesy fries under the booth, so Plagg would not be seen. "Salad, huh?"

Adrien shot a food-filled smile down at his Kwami. "Yep, and it's the best one I've had in years."

Upon finishing the fried monstrosity, he looked down at the little paper placed on his fast food tray when a single hot tear flickered in his eye. On the paper was a picture of a happy family enjoying a simple, grease filled, meal.

He stared a few more minutes at the picture, fighting back emotions that bubbled in the back of his throat before he spoke. "Let me know when you're done, Plagg. I think I want to head home."

After hearing a belch escape the endless void of Plagg's stomach the two made their way back to the large mansion. The room had never seemed as empty as it did at that moment.

However, it wasn't that way for too long, when Ladybug pounced through his window wrapping him in a breathtaking hug. She seemed to take notice of his off put mood almost right away, then again, when didn't she. "Are you okay? I heard that your trailer got hit by a stray cataclysm."

He shrugged, feeling a little tap against his chest from his Kwami. "Yeah, he must have been off today during the Akuma attack."

Releasing him she stepped toward the window as if signaling him to follow. "What are you doing, Lovebug?"

Even with him as exhausted as he was, he could still see the smile she was desperately trying to hide. "I might have set up a little surprise for you while the sun is still out."

Seeing her little bug-butt wiggle, broke through his anger and rage to form a small smile in the corner of his mouth. "I thought we couldn't go out in the sunlight. I mean 'I do have an image to uphold' after all."

His smile widened when he saw the angry twitch she made upon hearing him quote his father. The fire in her eyes warmed his heart. "Listen here, you little. I have been nabbing your clothes for about a month now and even bought an extra five dollar Ladybug mask-"

"Oh, big spender."

She sneered at him in play for a quick second before continuing. "It's supposed to look fake, dipstick. That way if people see us where we're going they'll think I'm just some nutter in a cheap mask, that you were nice enough to hang out with."

He paused to consider the plan, finding a few flaws within it. "Won't people think you are my girlfriend then?"

Her smile screamed Ladybug confidence, as if she had thought this plan out from A-Z. She probably already had. "I will be wearing your outfit, a ladybug mask, and pigtails. If that doesn't scream stalker than I don't know what does."

He couldn't hold back the laugh that slipped out. "You've got a point."

She punched his arm.

"You didn't have to agree so quickly."

Chat bounced down from her balcony and into her bedroom. "I'm sorry, but I get a text, out of the blue, I might add, from my little princess, that I gave my superhero number to text only for emergencies that she has questions about some boy that she likes. How am I not going to pounce on this opportunity?"

She smiled at his sly remarks, arms crossed over her chest, one leg over the other as she leaned on the railing of her stairs that lead up to her bed. "You know, word on the street is that you're seeing someone, Should you really be flirting so much with 'your' princess. There are rumors all over Pairs."

He smiled as he shifted his weight on her desk as he kept his expression aloof."I have no idea what you're talking about. Now, what can the master of love do for you tonight?"

She tapped a finger to the bottom of her lip, matching his tone of snark. "Well, first of all, I don't have the money for the master of love, that's why I have you." She shot him a sassy smile at the slight shock that flashed in his eyes. "Yeah that's right, kitty has claws too. Now, I have this boy in my life and he's in a bad place at the moment. I'm just wondering what I can do to break him out of his funk?"

Chat paced back and forth before he shot up in excitement. "Well, I know you're not one for grand romantic gestures, so maybe do something personal for this boy. Something small, but something distinctly Marinette."

She was hoping it would be more 'distinctly Ladybug' than Marinette.

While the line between the two was beginning to blur, she didn't feel quite ready for that... event, quite yet. More than anything though, she just hoped it would cast out any doubt his father had cast on him about there relationship.

She knew he was strong but she needed to show him that nothing between them had changed. Seeing that frown on his face when she entered only reaffirmed that she was taking the right action.

On the way to their destination, she had placed a pitch black blindfold over him, making sure to walk as to not gain suspicion. Yet, having a blindfold over her boyfriend's face didn't help that much but hey, she was going for stalker, so she definitely hit the right notes.

"Open your eyes, hot stuff!"

He was about to raise his finger, when she realized her mistake, removing the blindfold.

When his eyes adjusted to the twilight hour he saw a small spread of food on a large yellow blanket with white polka dots spread throughout.

He looked at her with awe on his face. "You did all this for me?"

She smiled for just a moment before he snatched up her face pressing his lips against hers.

Gasping for air she let out a quiet, "You're welcome."

As he pulled back and actually scanned the little area in front of them, something unreadable ran through his face, causing his lips to tighten in a straight line as his eyes went hard as a thought was obviously deep in his mind. Something was stirring in his head and Ladybug wasn't sure if she should have been excited or terrified at that.

Then, as quickly as it happened, his face dropped and relaxed back into his happy, easy grin.

As day turned into night, they sat and talked about their day, making sure that the more private information was in code. She tried not to think of what could've possibly been running through his mind when he saw all that she had set up. What possible secret could he.. could've actually gotten from this? She was being ridiculous.

It was probably nothing.

Probably.

After a while, Ladybug noticed that he kept going back to his phone in the middle of their conversation. While it did sting a little, knowing he was being distracted from her, she knew it wasn't her doing.

Taking a quick glance she saw the image of a blonde woman before he moved his hand to swipe for the next photo. "Adrien, is there anything you want to talk about?" When he didn't answer right away, she took ahold of his chin, guiding his face back to hers. "Please don't shut me out."

He glanced up at her, making sure to keep his phone tilted toward his chest. "I think I'm just-" He paused, realizing who he was speaking to, and sighed. She knew that he knew that she was the one person he'd always be able to talk to. "It's my father, still. He tries to control every aspect of my life, to the point where I don't even feel like I have one at times, and when I do, I know that no matter where I am, I'm just one text away from being called home. Sometimes I wish it was my mother that came home, rather than him."

She could feel a second of shock on her face after hearing him express such a dark concept. "I know he's hard, and I know it doesn't seem like it, but there's still good in him. He's grieving as much as you, he just doesn't know how to express it and while that doesn't make it right maybe-"

He raised his finger "I know what you mean and I don't actually wish it."

Oh, thank goodness because she did not know where to take that.

His eyes went to the tips of his shoes. "It's just hard to deal with him. He lost such a big part of his life, that he is trying to hold onto me with an iron grip but he's not seeing that what he is doing is pushing me away."

He stretched as he let himself fall back on the blanket, simply watching the stars as he spoke softly. "You know, there was a time before this. Before we lost my mom, where they would go on these grand trips and take photos of all these cool places. I would beg them every time to take me with, but they always said the same thing. 'It was too dangerous.' In the end, I guess they were right. When dad returned he was not the same."

His thoughts seemed lost to him as he paused for a mere second. "I don't think he ever really will be. He hid away and took the photos of from their trips with him. I think he was either trying to relive his time with her, or didn't want me to follow in her footsteps. I still have some on my phone if you want to see."

She nodded as he held the phone between them.

His smile grew as he swiped through the photos of his mother and father, always these beautiful places surrounding them, always highlighting the smile and the, oh, gosh, she just noticed the dirty blonde hair on top of his father's head. She was about to point it out when she saw a speck of light shining next to her. looking to Adrien she saw tears streaming down his face refecting the light from his phone.

"Adrien."

He couldn't hear her. He simply kept looking at the screen. Looking back, she saw the photo had changed. The photo wasn't as grand as the others.

No exotic locations, no ancient structures.

Instead, just a simple family sitting at a table for dinner, each one wearing an honest, simple, smile.

I hope you guys enjoyed! Lemme know y our thoughts! Lots of love!