It was a dismal night in Paris. The pallid moonlight was scarcely enough to illuminate the snow caked streets below. The world below her was quiet like the grave as she swung through the sky line. Having completed her usual rounds, she perched on the roof of the old Agreste manor, a place she'd visited many times for many reasons, in happier times. Now it was abandoned, falling into disrepair.

She landed with some force on the creaking roof, which moaned in protest at her weight. These days, the manor was a sort of central base she would come back to when there was nowhere else she needed to be. It was nice and centralized, not too far from any one spot in the city. That, and she was sentimental, even after all these years.

She peered through the atrium window, into what used to be Papillon's lair. She did it every time, always half expecting to see him there, in the blackness, grinning his wretched, wicked smile.

But tonight, like each night before this, there was nothing. She hoisted herself up from the window and onto the rooftop, where she was able to stare out over the skyline. It was like looking out on a sea of stars that had fallen from the sky. She took a deep breath and wondered if other cities exhibited the same beauty at night. She'd been to New York, London, Shanghai, but those were all before. She didn't travel much these days.

"I thought you'd turn up here if I waited long enough."

She jumped. That voice! It sounded so much like that man. But it couldn't be. He was rotting in prison. He would be for the rest of his days. Which could only mean that it was his son. And in many ways, that was so much worse. She turned slowly.

He was there, sitting on a folding chair, bundled in stylish winter clothing. His face had grown sterner, longer, like his father's, but his eyes were still so gentle, like his mother. They looked at her through a pair of sleek, square glasses. He had a newspaper folded under one arm and a thermos of coffee held in the other. His chin was covered in stubble that looked just unkempt enough to look intentional, and there were light lines around his forehead and mouth. More than anything, he looked older than he should have been. But who was she to judge?

"Adrien!" She exclaimed, failing to stifle her surprise. There was a sudden ache in her chest when she laid eyes on him, which mostly annoyed her at this point. She turned away from him and back to the skyline. "I heard you were back in town."

"That's all you got for me? After all these years?" He rose to his feet and joined her by her side, holding a brown paper bag in his hands. "No kind words for a lost little kitten?"

She wretched at those words. That tone. Playful. Honey sweet. It was too familiar. Things were different now, that might have amused her once, now it just grossed her out.

"How did you get up here?" Ladybug asked, ignoring him like she had always done.

"I walked through the gate. And used a ladder." He said, scoffing and pointing out the means by which he ascended to the roof. "Because this house is kind of my property."

He sat down on the snow and motioned for Ladybug to join him, but she remained standing. He sighed, looking up at her. She looked so different. She had cut her hair and changed up the costume a bit, the jacket was a nice touch, but even more than that, he could tell she was different inside. Serious. Stern. Disciplined. Years ago, there had been a lightness and a grace to every move she made. Now there was a used to be fun, now it was a job.

"Croissant?" He asked, holding the paper bag up to her. She looked down at it, recognizing it instantaneously by the branding on it. She rolled her eyes and declined.

"You remember Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Adrien dug through the bag, producing a slightly squashed pastry and taking a hearty bite out of it. "These are from her place. You remember her, right? Small? Kind of clumsy?"

"Vaguely." Ladybug lied. "She was a classmate of yours, right?"

"Yeah. I heard she inherited the bakery from her parents, so I swung by to visit, but I guess she was out. She used to design hats and things, so I thought she might have an interest in working with me. Some part timer was there, so I told him to let her know I swung by. Left my contact info." Adrien explained between bites of flakey confection. Crumbs fell all over his jacket and scarf, which he lazily wiped off. Ladybug casually reached into her jacket pocket and fiddled with the note he had given to her employee.

"How's Kagami?" Ladybug broke the silence after a few awkward moments passed. Adrien laughed and stared up at her.

"Kagami. Kagami. Tsurugi?" He was incredulous. He laughed again, patting his hand with his knee. "How out of touch can you get? We barely talk, unless it's for business."

"I figured you two were closer than that. You know, after the two of you, uh," Ladybug began, trailing off before she could say what she didn't want to. Adrien cocked an eyebrow.

"No, no, what? That was forever ago." He explained, bringing his knees up to his chest. "It was kind of mutual. She realized after a while that my heart wasn't in it. And she had other, more important things to get too anyway."

"Oh, I uh..." Ladybug coughed. "Sorry."

"Meh." Adrien shrugged. "Too busy with the brand to worry about it."

"Then you're..." she hesitated.

"Single? Why, yes, Ladybug, I am."

"That's not what I was going to ask!"

"Oh, sure, sure."

Ladybug folded her arms and sighed. It was nice to have someone to talk to sometimes. But did it have to be him? There was nothing here to talk about except relics from a darker time.

"Do you ever visit your father?" She whispered, almost inaudibly, like the words themselves were forbidden to say.

"No." Adrien answered without hesitation. "No, I haven't spoken to Gabriel or Nathalie in a very long time. Sometimes I think about visiting them. Maybe. But what would be the point?"

Ladybug didn't say anything. The snow falling was the only sound that they could hear.

"I'd ask how things are with you, but..." he began, on the surface, his voice still carried the lightness he usually projected, but she could hear the venom in them in the silence of the night, "you wouldn't tell me."

Ladybug cringed. She could feel him staring bitter daggers up at her.

"I wish you would let this go." She sighed without turning to him.

"I told you who I was. I trusted you." He reminded her, rather pointedly. She grimaced. "Why didn't you trust me? Why can't I know the truth? Who are you?"

Ladybug snapped at him, whipping around to face him. He recoiled when he saw the anger on her face.

"There's a lot of reasons, but biggest of all of them is that it is my choice, not yours, who I tell and who I don't tell!" She hissed, barely restraining her desire to raise her voice higher. He stared back at her, brow lowered, lip quivering. "You showed me who you are. I didn't ask you to! I don't owe you a god damn thing, Chat!"

There was a pause.

"Adrien. Sorry, I meant Adrien."

"It's fine." He said, turning back to the skyline. She sighed and sat down next to him, rubbing her tired eyes.

"I just don't get it." Adrien continued. "We got Papillon. Every Miraculous is safe. Paris doesn't need Ladybug. Why keep going?"

Ladybug thought on this for a long time. There were the obvious excuses. Sometimes she could stop a mugging, or a carjacking, or a purse snatcher. Sometimes she could make public appearances, sign autographs, let the people of Paris know she still had their back. But those weren't really her reasons. The truth hurt to say.

"I have to keep going. I'm the guardian." She sighed. She kicked some snow off the roof and spoke quietly into the distance. "This is all I get."

Adrien's eyes widened and he swallowed anxiously. He could tell by her tone that this was a precipitous slope. He wasn't prepared for that kind of conversation, but he felt it was inappropriate to change the subject.

"Ladybug is powerful and admired and smart and graceful. Ladybug is talented. Everyone likes Ladybug." The woman continued, sounding more and more embittered as she spoke. "So it's not so bad. Who wouldn't want all that? The person under this mask has nothing. She's nobody. Ladybug made sure of that."

Adrien took a very large swig from his thermos and whistled. He looked at her through his periphery, not daring to risk eye contact. She had her head rested on her knees, looking down at the street, miserably. He put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

"Ladybug can't be all you have." Adrien began, without any real plan. He didn't know what he was supposed to say. That was a lot more than he expected. Tonight wasn't going the way he had hoped at all. "Whatever happened to the guy you used to like?"

Ladybug turned her head toward him and narrowed her eyes. Then turned back.

"That didn't work out. By the time I thought I could finally tell him, he had too much going on." Ladybug spat bitterly. "There was another guy. He played guitar. He's still trying to make it as a musician. That didn't work out either."

"Huh." Adrien mused. "Luka Couffaine?"

"How did you-"

"Just a guess." Adrien cut her off. He put a hand in the snow and traced out some shapes absentmindedly. "He's our age, so it seemed likely. You know his sister is a model now? I work with her. She's married too."

"I did." Ladybug said with a sniffle. She had been invited, but chose to go out on patrol that night instead. Better safe than sorry. She still hadn't had the nerve to reach out to Rose or Juleka since then.

"All the kids, er, 'kids' in my class. Most have moved on by now. Out of Paris, I mean." Adrien continued, reminiscing. "Except Marinette."

"And Nino Lahiffe." Ladybug blurted out, covering her tracks. Adrien smiled when he heard his name. They were still best friends after all these years. "He's making movies now."

"I know." Adrien responded. "I'm in one."

"Right." Ladybug responded. She thought for a moment. "Chloe Bourgeois. She never left."

"She can't leave."

"I can't believe how much she mellowed out. She's great now." Ladybug said as a sad smile crossed her lips. "Mayor of Paris. Can you believe that? Followed in her dad's footsteps rather than her mother's. Thank god."

"Ugh. Could you imagine Chloé, the fashion mogul, turning out just like her mother, not changing a bit." Adrien sighed between hearty sips of coffee. "Utterly ridiculous."

She laughed quietly, which made him smile, but it didn't last.

"Everything has changed so much." Ladybug muttered to herself. She cast an ashamed eye down to the street below. "Not me though."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Ladybug." Adrien sung, nonchalantly. He leaned back and supported himself with his hands plunged deep into the snow behind him. "It's okay to want to relive the glory days."

"Speaking of," Adrien chirped after a brief pause, "do you think that I could, for old time's sake, see my old friend?"

Ladybug stared at him, confused.

"Plagg?"

She shook her head. "That's a bad idea."

"Oh come on, Ladybug!" Adrien pleaded.

"A miraculous is not a toy, Adrien, especially not that one." She sighed, "I don't just hand them out."

"First of all, empirically untrue. Second of all, Please?" Adrien begged, desperately, "Not for long! I just miss him. He's my friend! I know you don't trust me, but have I ever let you down?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, Adrien, it's just," Ladybug began looking at him, then down at the yoyo on her waist, "He's dangerous. You remember how much he fought me when I had to take him from you."

"You didn't have to do that." Adrien, suddenly very serious, held out his hand. "You chose to do that. I'm mad about it too."

"Adrien, you know the rules, you have to give it back if-"

"No, no, we had beaten him. We were safe. There was no threat." Adrian declared, rising to his feet. "You took it because you didn't want me to have it."

"You weren't in the best place. I was afraid you would hurt someone." Ladybug reasoned, speaking faster as she rose to her feet. She tried in vain to calm him down. He leered at her before eventually dropping his gaze to the ground.

"I'll admit, I was beside myself. Who wouldn't be?" Adrien sighed, recalling the day he learned the truth about his father. "But I would never hurt you. I would never, ever do that. I loved you, and even now I..."

Ladybug stared at him, waiting for those next few words to come, but they never did. Adrien held out his hand. "Five minutes. That's all I ask."

Ladybug stared deep into his sad, emerald eyes and saw he was genuine. She sighed and opened her yoyo, reaching in to retrieve a small, featureless silver ring. She looked down at it, laying in her hand. It had once meant something to her, so much that it was almost hard to part with. But it was an icon from another age. It didn't mean anything now.

"Five minutes." Ladybug reiterated, handing it to him. Beaming, he slipped it on his finger. Somehow, it still fit perfectly. There was a flash of light and suddenly, there he was, yawning and stretching lazily.

"Five more minutes." The kwami moaned, rubbing his eyes. Ladybug rolled her eyes. All these years later and he was just as lazy as ever. Adrien's grin grew impossibly wide.

"Plagg!" Adrien cried, holding his two hands out for the Kwami to perch on. It twirled in the air and faced him.

"Adrien?" Plagg muttered in disbelief. It took a moment of staring for him to realize that it was really him. When it finally struck him, he laughed and twirled around his friend, cheering and hollering, before finally landing with a plop on Adrien's hands.

"Oh, Adrien, it was awful!" Plagg complained, dramatically, "I was so bored. How long has it been?"

Plagg looked up at his partner, examining the difference in his face since the last time they had met. "You look like an old man!"

The kwami floated around the man in a small circle, sniffing. "You smell different too. Are you sure you're Adrien?

"That's a bit dramatic, Plagg, I'm in my twenties, a lot has changed!" Adrien shot back, smiling. "Never mind how far into my twenties I am."

"Twenties?" Plagg asked, stunned. "That means it must have been at least a decade! Oh, but ten years really flies by when you're immortal."

"Yeah, they haven't been so quick for me, little guy." Adrien sighed.

"Oh, but you're here at last! You've saved me! Not a day went by that I didn't think of you, probably!"

Adrien laughed. He dug into his paper sack and produced something with a rancorous odor. "Hey, Plagg, I got something for you."

"For me?" He gasped, bouncing up and down eagerly. "It's been so long!"

"Good lord, Adrien." Ladybug muttered to herself, watching the boys celebrate. She put a hand in front of her mouth to conceal the smile that was growing on her face. It seemed that Adrien hadn't changed all that much either.

Five minutes had passed two minutes ago, but Ladybug found it difficult to stick to her mandate. The two of them seemed so happy, it was like they had never left each other. Like she had never forced them apart. She shivered.

"Okay, Adrien. It's time." Ladybug declared, as the pair settled down. Plagg turned to her and scowled, which made her feel like a villain, but she did her best to ignore that. She was doing what she had to. She was doing what was best. That's what she always did, no matter how painful it was.

"You!" Plagg screeched, flying up to her and bopping his head against her chest. "You've got some nerve! You took me away once and now you're going to do it again?"

"Plagg." Adrien sighed.

"Well, don't I get any say? What about my rights? I have the right to choose!"

"Plagg."

"I won't go back in that stupid box! You can't make me!"

"Plagg! Relax." Adrien yelled, gently taking him into his hands.

"But, Adrien! She's-"

"I am the guardian," Ladybug began, "I have a responsibility to keep you contained."

"Contain me?" Plagg shouted dramatically. "As if I need to be contained! Can you believe her, Adrien?"

The two of them continued to argue as Adrien stared down at the ring on his finger. Still a perfect fit after all these years. The last time he wore it was over a decade ago. After his father and his lackey had finally been put behind bars, it was returned to the miracle box. This was the safe thing to do, he was told.

And he believed it, at the time. When Ladybug said something was so, it was so, especially at that time. In that time, she was his only light. In a time of loneliness and alienation, one person in his life understood. Because she had stood by him every step of the way. And so he turned the ring over to her, confident that there would be no secrets any longer.

But the secrets didn't end. She took one look at him, then, wordlessly, though with a flash of sudden clarity in her eyes, she took the ring. And then she left. And from that day on, it wasn't the same.

He looked up at her, still shouting at Plagg. Her tone was insufferable. It was the same tone she used to lecture him with. Everytime he cracked a joke or made a minor mistake, she would bust out this tone, like a teacher scolding a student. First it was endearing. After years, it was grating.

"Plagg," he said, very calmly. The two of them stopped arguing and looked over at him breathlessly. There was clear intent in his eyes and words that made Ladybug shudder.

"Adrien," She tried to stop him, reaching out a hand, but it was a wasted effort. "Do. Not."

"Transform me."

There was a flash of sickly green. And then, he was there. Her old partner. Just like she remembered him, but older and slightly rounder. Before he could even take a breath, he was on his back in the snow. Ladybug had tackled him and was grasping madly at the ring on his hand.

"I should have known!" She shouted. He raised his knees up and extended his legs upward, kicking her off. She landed gracefully and was already throwing her yoyo toward him by the time he rose to his feet. "You have made a big mistake."

"The mistake here was giving you this ring in the first place." He shouted back as the rope wrapped itself around his forearm. He grabbed it with the other hand and pulled downward, send her stumbling toward him. "You've said yourself a million times, no one person should ever have both."

She ran toward him and grabbed the arm wearing the ring. He grabbed her other arm before it could reach up and grab it, and they were locked in a stalemate.

"I trusted you." Ladybug hissed. Chat's eyes grew wide.

"Trusted me?" He pushed her away. "You have never trusted me."

She began to run at him again, but hesitated as he continued. "How many times did we meet on a rooftop just like this so you could tell me how sorry you were for hiding something from me again?"

"I-I made my reasons clear, Chat." Ladybug stammered, a habit she hated that she thought she had finally kicked after highschool. Chat Noir stepped toward her, and without thinking, she took a step back.

"You have never trusted me." He repeated, anger rising in his voice. "You trusted Rena! You trusted god damn Luka Coffaine. You have never trusted me."

"That's..." Ladybug defended herself. She tried to feel anger, but she could only feel regret. "That's not fair."

"Not fair?" Chat yelled, incredulous. He stared at her, scoffed, and looked up to the sky, mouthing something unparseable. "Not fucking fair? What part of this deal was not fair to you, Ladybug?"

"You got everything! You were Ladybug!" Chat hissed. "You just said so yourself! You got all the powers and the fame and the friends. My fucking dad is the most hated man in France, he destroyed my life, and for all his terrible efforts, my mom is still dead!"

Ladybug shrank and sunk to her knees. She couldn't take her eyes off of Chat, who's cheeks were stained with tears. "Who the hell are you? Who do you think you are, that your life has been so hard?"

There was silence on the rooftop. Neither spoke for a moment as Chat caught his breath. Ladybug felt the cold of the snow against her and swallowed, looking up at the man, who now seemed like a stranger. He made her sound so cruel. Was she?

She looked down at the blanket of white snow before her. Everything she did, she did because she thought it was best. And the normal life she had forsaken, even today, she did so in the interest of protecting others. It cost her friendships and lovers and peace of mind, but she did it, because that was the job. That was the responsibility that was thrust upon her. It was always for a greater good.

Chat Noir didn't have that responsibility. He got to be Adrien when he wasn't Chat Noir. And maybe Adrien didn't have a pleasant life, but at least he had one. Ladybug was always Ladybug. There was no taking off the costume, not really.

"I'm Ladybug." She muttered. Chat turned to her

"What?" He asked. She rose to her feet.

"I'm Ladybug." She hissed, stepping toward him. He swallowed. "You've always wanted me to be this fucked up person you made up in your head. This perfect, wonderful person who wanted you."

"But I'm not that person." Ladybug insisted. Chat stepped backward toward the edge of the rooftop. "I'm fucking Ladybug. You're Adrien Agreste. Do you understand the difference?"

"What does that even mean?" He protested, but there was doubt in his voice that he couldn't erase. She looked dead in his eyes, and there was no emotion behind them.

"I did you a favor. You got to walk away." She growled. "You got to be Adrien Agreste. Holy shit. You. Got to be. A fucking person!"

She charged at him, knocking him over. They slid toward the edge of the roof which groaned over their combined weight. She narrowed her eyes.

"I've been Ladybug for sixteen years. I've given up taking off the mask." She reiterated. "You must think I have a life to go back to after this! You must think there's friends and a family and hobbies and plans that I made, well there isn't! I gave that up! All of it! To be Ladybug."

She pulled him to his feet by the shoulders and stared deep into his eyes. The cool, calm sadness in them had now been replaced by something more akin to fear, but all Ladybug could see was her own reflection. He wriggled to get free.

"I did you a favor when I took that ring away from you." She promised him, still clutching his shoulders tighter than was necessary, her fingers were digging into him like wet sand. He wrenched himself free, stumbling backward away from her, nearly off the edge. She held her hand out in one last gesture of good faith. "That ring belongs with me. Don't make me do this by force."

"You weren't the one who gave me this ring. I was chosen for it, that makes it mine." He hissed. "It was never yours to take back."

Silently, he leapt from the roof, skipping across street lamps and chimneys off into the night. Ladybug immediately began after him, but stopped at the edge of the roof, watching him disappear into the night among the city lights. She cursed under her breath, pounded her fist against the snow.

The last thing she wanted was to hurt him. Not after everything they had been through together. Even after all these years, her heart still made her indecisive. And here she thought she had finally locked the useless thing away.

If she wanted to, she could unleash hell on him. She had every miraculous at her disposal. She could make it impossible to run from her. She could be everywhere at once. She could chase him anywhere. Show him the futility of what he was doing.

But that would be a gross misuse of her power, and a betrayal of her responsibility. And it would scare her and hurt him. And she didn't want that. There was a part of her that only wanted to see him smile again. She also never wanted to see his stupid face again. Her chest ached.

She slumped against the arch of the roof and shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket, groping the note he had left at the bakery. She fiddled with it in her pocket absentmindedly for a moment before pulling it out to read. It was printed neatly on the back of his business card. The Agreste brand logo, which had become the silhouette of a black cat, looked up at her as she read.

Marinette,

Sorry I missed you. Would love to catch up while in town. Call me.
-A.A.

His phone number was printed neatly on the front. She smiled. At least she wouldn't need to chase him down. He would come to her.

Hey there, Scrap here. Thanks for reading. See you next week with the next chapter. Understand I'm taking some liberties with canon here, and enjoy the ride.