Guest Reviews;

Gate; That is correct on all counts. Gabriel, is, to put it lightly, in the category of 'Terrible-No-Good-Fathers'. He is indirectly physically abusive, and I suppose indirectly emotionally and mentally, since he's never around. In all seriousness, though, he's all the way around abusive.

(Hammerhead from The Deep, Fire Lord Ozai from Avatar; The Last Airbender, and Viren from The Dragon Prince are the other paternal parents that fall into the same category.)

Guest; Only if Hawkmoth can actually figure it out. XD

(:)

Next chapter will be the worst of them all. It took me weeks to get it right, a lot of research that didn't help at all, and a lot of making up random names and stealing a few from dead family members. It also took a lot of angst, and started a new tradition to go along with writing that I broke within three days.

It's also the chapter that serves as a gateway to the next several chapters which...um...I have somewhat mixed feelings about. Joy that I completed them, but annoyance because it's quite repetitive.

So stay tuned; and get prepared to despise me forever!

For now, let's get on to the last normal chapter before Cronus is freed from Tartarus.

(:)

Ours

-Taylor Swift

Adrien was on top of the world. He was smiling his head off as he glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time, glad to see patrol was only five minutes away. Two days had passed since he had confessed his love to Ladybug, and he was eager to see his girlfriend – girlfriend! – again. The last several days had been utter torture as he had waited for an akuma attack or the days they had planned for patrol.

To his surprise, she had chosen days she had never went on with Chat Noir to be the new patrol days, though he supposed he shouldn't be so perturbed anymore; after all, she had even changed the traditional fist bump for a simple high-five.

This was a new chapter in the book of his life, and he was looking forward to writing it with her. He glanced over to Sass and Plagg, who were arguing over their food choices, Sass clearly bothered by how much time he was spending with the Black Kwami, and Plagg was obviously enjoying the whole thing, laughing at the Guardian of Shapeshifting and formerly Second Chances.

"Guys, it's time to go." Adrien called, attracting their attention to him.

Sass perked up, nodding. "Ready to go!"

"Eager to see your lady and girlfriend, aren't you?" Plagg grinned, his grin all too smug.

"Oh, sush." Adrien snorted, shaking his head. "What would you know about love?" He took a step toward Plagg, grinning as he advanced upon his Kwamis. His right leg landed wrong and slid out from under him. Both Kwamis surged forward as he collapsed on the floor, hovering around him.

Adrien let out a hiss, grasping his leg. "Ouch…"

"Your wound iss sstill bothering you." Sass assumed, landing on the leg gently. "From the time you were beaten by the mob."

"Yeah." Adrien admitted, massaging his foreleg angrily. "I thought it was getting better…it hasn't acted up that badly for several days!"

"Remain careful." Sass cautioned, staring at it. "How'ss your head and chest?"

"They're better…" Adrien mumbled, touching his forehead. "They haven't hurt for a week except for the occasional headache, but those are normal."

Plagg narrowed his eyes. "Kid…" he warned, humming. "Try to keep movement to a minimum during the patrol, okay? Try not to go leaping from rooftop to rooftop, okay? That might slow down the healing process and might give off your identity if you take a tumble."

"I'll be fine." Adrien promised, planting his hand over his heart as an oath as he rose himself to his feet. "I promise, Plagg and Sass. I'll try not to move around too much."

The duo of magical entities exchanged a look, their argument from two minutes before forgotten.

"Cauttion iss your friend." Sass reminded him one final time, prompting a single smile from Adrien.

"Sass, Let's Rattle!" Sass vanished in a flash of light into Adrien's bracelet, the magic spreading across his whole body, Plagg at this point allowing himself to be grabbed and placed neatly in the pocket with only a small, worried smile at his former holder.

Aspik grabbed his civilian phone from his bedside table, sending a simple text to the Gorilla; Heading out to patrol. Be back in an hour or two.

A thumbs-up emoji greeted him before he lazily tossed his phone back onto the furniture, leaping out his window instantly. He kept his right leg tucked close to his chest as he leapt, his left leg the thing that provided the momentum needed to jump into the air and the first leg to touch ground, taking the brunt of the land. He began to run, making sure to allow his right leg less time on the roof and thus less time supporting his weight.

He reached the meeting spot punctually, exactly on time at 8:30 pm. He glanced around, doing a quick survey of the area. It was a different address from the old patrols used to begin. It was a different chapter in Ladybug's life, too. He had to remember that.

The heroine, as if summoned, landed behind him, laughing cheerfully. "Hey! Aspik! You're already here!"

Aspik perked up, whipping around, smiling brightly. "M…Ladybug!"

"I hope you weren't waiting too long." She blushed, fiddling with the pieces of hair hanging down at the sides of her face.

"Not long at all, trust me." He promised, approaching her happily. "Hardly a minute, if that."

"W-well that's good!" She chirped, smiling up at him.

Glancing down at her hands, he quirked an eyebrow, which only caused the mask above his eye to slightly rise. "What's with the basket?" He asked, gesturing at the wicker bin in her left.

"O-oh!" She glanced down, as if noticing the picnic basket for the first time. "That! Yes! I-I was thinking…since we're dating now…maybe we could share some pastries? Um… unless if you can't have them because, well… you know…"

"No!" He assured, stiffening slightly. "I'd love it! Thank you!"

She smiled, opening up the picnic basket as she laid it on the ground. She took out a blanket form within, checkered with the classic white and red pattern.

He took it from her and spread it out on the rooftop, making sure it was all straight.

"I used to do this with Chat Noir sometimes." Ladybug told him thoughtfully, setting out a small box of macaroons. "Except we didn't really stay in one place while we ate. I'd bring a package of macaroons, or he'd bring a box of chocolate he said he got in the mail, or we'd both bring a few treats, sometimes full meals like Chinese takeout or something. We'd snack as we went on patrol; it was rare for us to stay in one place. It was…nice, you know?"

"I know." He said softly, before realizing how wrong that sounded and hurried to cover up his mistake. "I-I mean, it sounds like you two had a lot of fun, before…well, you know. I guess staying in one place feels more like a date."

"It did." She agreed, rummaging through the basket. "I was always the one to tell him 'no' to anything that sounded remotely like a date. When we did stay in one place it was just talking. No real activities." Ladybug hummed, sighing quietly as she laid out a tray of brownies. She sat back on her heels, shaking her head. "But right now, it's just…it's a real date! Because we're dating! Heh. It's…surprising, you know. I…wasn't really expecting it."

"It was spur of the moment." Aspik admitted, tilting his head hesitantly. "I…admittedly wasn't expecting it either."

Ladybug smiled softly at that, her laugh crisp and clear. "So was this!" She stated, gesturing messily toward the buffet she had set up between them. "Tikki – my Kwami – told me that a picnic is a nice first date or hangout or…whatever."

"It's true." Aspik nodded sagely, smiling. "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, you know."

"I thought that was an old maid's tale." Ladybug grinned, covering her mouth to stifle the giggles escaping it.

"No, no, every word is true!" Aspik assured, a bit confused. He – as Chat Noir - had used the same maxim on her when she had brought food to patrol the first time, and she had just groaned and shoved the macaroons at him, telling him to take them before she changed her mind.

He had accepted it at the time, but now he was confused over it. She hadn't laughed at Chat, but had laughed at-? Then again, he had figured out the instant he had returned to the room he called home that he must've, somehow, been the boy she liked all along. The guy she loved, the one she kept rejected Chat Noir for, had turned out to be him. He was certain of it; why else would she consistently told Chat Noir 'no' then said yes the moment Aspik asked her?

It appeared that Ladybug had somehow known what his wish had been; for her new partner to be the boy she liked. Perhaps Marinette had found a way to contact Ladybug and told her after he left as Chat Noir. Otherwise, it was either coincidence, or she had been silently waiting for Chat Noir to mess up so that Adrien could take his place.

Aspik stubbornly refused to consider the second option, shaking his head slightly as he glanced at Ladybug, who was thoughtfully gazing out over the horizon. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle, and her dark hair blew out in the wind behind her. It was times such as this that he remembered just how amazing and wonderful she was; and how much he loved her.

"What are you thinking about?" Aspik asked, surprised as she jerked in surprise. He jumped back, wincing slightly as his leg hit the roof at a weird angle, though, fortunately, his girlfriend didn't notice.

"O-oh! You know! Just…things!" She stammered, turning her head towards him.

"Ahhh, yes. The infamous 'things." He teased, and she nervously laughed again, pink dusting her cheeks.

"I-I was thinking about something I was discussing with Tikki earlier. Um…we were thinking about getting new heroes. None of the old ones, all new ones. Except for, well, me. And hopefully Chat Noir if he ever comes back."

"Really?" Aspik asked, cocking his head. "Who do you have in mind so far?"

"Well…" she shrugged, glancing over the city. "It's…well, I'm not sure, yet. They're all anti-Chat or, in a few cases, accidentally revealed their identities to Hawkmoth…"

"Who?"

"You know I can't tell you that." Ladybug responded easily, flapping her hand. "I can't tell anyone."

"What if Chat Noir were here?"

Ladybug hunched her shoulders, curling her legs up to her chest. "Even him… though I'm positive he already knows their identities."

Marinette, AKA Multimouse, and Kagami/Ryuko. Aspik guessed, only nodding. "That makes sense. If Hawkmoth knew…"

"He could hurt our loved ones." Ladybug finished, nodding gently.

Aspik smiled in understanding, surprised that he didn't feel as hurt as he thought he would when she once more insisted to keeping their identities secret. It made him realize that, indeed, when she told Chat Noir that she wasn't going to reveal her identity to anyone, she meant it. She and Aspik were dating – ignoring it was literally their first date – and yet she still didn't reveal. It made him feel…good.

"I promise," he said, holding onto the peaceful feeling that countered his hurting right bottom limb, "I'll keep my identity secret, and won't press you for yours." I'll never hurt you again. Asking her if they could reveal hurt her when he was Chat Noir, and he promised he never would do that again.

"Good." Ladybug nodded, smiling brightly as she rested her head against his shoulder. In an automatic response, he draped an arm around her shoulder blades, holding her close.

The warmth of the last glows of the sun – as it was already sunset – lit upon their visages, casting them in a warm, peach-like light. The sun made the sky orange as it transformed the day into dusk, which would later become twilight then night.

They sat together, feeding on the pastries for about an hour, as the sky traversed through its daily cycles. Aspik, when he was Chat Noir, had always considered Ladybug the sun; when she truly glowed and showed off her powers and kept Paris safe from the cold rays that threatened to sweep in. Chat Noir was the moon, reflecting her rays and keeping only a little light for himself. Following the sun, chasing after her. Sometimes he was orange, sometimes he was blue, sometimes just a pure white, but no matter his hue, he helped Ladybug distribute her love to the city. He was barely noticed in the light of the day, but there, nonetheless.

"Well." Ladybug sighed beside him, speaking for the first time in over fifteen minutes. "It's getting late, and I have a test tomorrow. And if I've learned anything, I think you do, too."

"That's spot on." 'Spot on, as always, eh M'lady?' Fought his tongue for freedom, practically begging to be released to the air, to be spoken to her. Aspik battled them down, rising to his feet with her as she stretched, the male doing his best not to put too much weight on his right leg as he shifted his center of gravity gently.

"That was nice, Aspik." She smiled reassuringly, oblivious to his conflict. "I had fun talking with you."

"I did, too." He breathed, finally able to have some other words shared between them.

"Let's do it again sometime, yeah?"

"Yeah, that sounds great."

Ladybug grinned one final time at him, leaning up on her tiptoes to grant him a gentle, happy kiss on his cheek before lowering herself onto the flats of her feet. "Goodnight, 'pik." She waved, pulling out her yo-yo as she picked up the re-packed picnic basket and using her magical weapon to pull herself away from the building and far away from him.

"Goodnight." Aspik whispered after her, raising up one hand as a farewell as she vanished into the distance. The dangerous, dangerous, identity-threatening word spilled past his lips at that moment, filling the now-vacant space around him. "M'lady."