Slumping down onto the bench in a fleeting break during fencing practice, Adrien sipped as much water as he could stomach. As with every other water break, he kept sneaking into his bag in his locker to make sure that Marinette hadn't called.

It was disappointing that Kagami didn't show today, but it couldn't be helped. She was going to need some time.

He knew that.

But it didn't change the fact that he hated that he couldn't really talk to her. He understood...but...

Right now, he really needed a friend.

Plagg was great and all...but his advice wasn't always the most helpful.

"Mr. Agreste," Mr. D'Argencourt barked, his shout echoed enough to rattle the metal locker doors.. "It's time to come back to practice."

Aching from the extended fencing session, Adrien sighed heavily when he ducked into the car.

"Nathalie?" He smiled. Her presence wasn't really a common one anymore. She hadn't been up and about very much lately. "I didn't expect to see you."

She pushed her glasses back onto her nose and lifted the tablet in her hand. "Unfortunately, it appeared it was necessary."

Adrien frowned, eyeing the tablet for any hint that his Father would appear. However, it wasn't a video chat screen that was up on her tablet but his school logo.

"I checked your grades online and noticed that they have been slipping." Nathalie frowned, eyes dipping to the charm that sat out beside him on the seat. "I don't want to have to bother your Father."

His eyes shifted away, subtly shifting his hand to cover the charm beneath his palm, hiding it from view.

The Gorilla's brows furrowed, heavy with concern in the mirror.

Adrien's shoulders slumped. "I'm just a lot more tired lately. Maybe I could take a day off of fencing tomorrow?"

Nathalie sighed. "As long as you use the time to focus on your classwork."

Adrien nodded, stowing the Lucky Charm safely back into his pocket..

There wasn't any way that she was going to understand.

In his life, it was only Marinette - Ladybug - who was his one true constant.

It was worth missing out on some of the things he enjoyed to make sure nothing would get in the way of keeping her safe.

The second battle of the day went far more smoothly.

He took Viperion home and was letting Marinette refuel before he brought back the Miraculous.

Luka was quiet. Even more so than usual.

He thought nothing of it until he dropped him off near the Liberty, and Luka's hand shot out. "Wait."

Chat Noir's eyes opened as he looked down to where Luka had grabbed his wrist.

"Is Ladybug okay?"

Chat smiled. "She's just really tired. She's got a lot on her plate right now. It's why she needed the extra pair of hands today."

Luka looked down at the bracelet, reflexively making the second chance motion before he tugged it free and returned it to Chat Noir.

"Luka," Chat sighed, unzipping his pocket to safely tuck away the snake Miraculous. "How many times did it take?"

Luke shrugged. "More than a few, honestly."

Chat exhaled sharply. "I'll make sure she gets more rest. I purromise," he added with a belated wink, as he started to vault backup to the rooftops.

"Chat Noir!"

Paling, he stared back down into the alleyway where Luka had picked up his bike.

Luka's brows furrowed as he shouted up. "She wasn't the only one who was struggling."

With a half-hearted wave, Chat Noir raced away, sprinting back to bring the Miraculous back to Marinette.

Luka definitely had no idea that Marinette was Ladybug or else he would be far more worried, too.

And clearly, his friend had been right to be worried.

At least to him, everything was now that much harder, now that he knew who she was. Every single thing… it all mattered so much more, and he was already so worried about letting her down.

Sighing, he touched down on Marinette's balcony.

It was the same amount of pressure his Father had put on him in all aspects of his life.

He frowned as he met the worried look on her face. Hastily, she opened up her skylight door. "Are you alright, Chaton? You look tired."

His frown softened, as she rushed back up onto the balcony.

Stretching, he settled down onto her lounger and dug the spare Miraculous from his zippered pocket. "It has just been a very long day."

Smiling, she sat on the edge of the lounger beside him, ruffling the hair between his ears with her clever fingers. And if he leaned up into her touch, closing his eyes to savor it before those fingers inevitably slipped away, then so what.

At the end of the day, it really was only Marinette who treated him like he mattered to her. Even if he could only ever be her friend, that made all the difference in the world to him.

"I think we might really want to consider having two extra Miraculous in rotation, My Lady…"