Chapter One

Perfect. Why did everyone believe that Adrien Agreste was perfect? A sneer pulled hard at the model's lips as he lifted his squat glass and swirled its clear contents before swallowing the remainder of the gin and tonic. A laugh escaped him when the slice of lime hit his nose. See, not perfect. A perfect gentleman wouldn't have thrown his head back and ended up with a piece of fruit on his face.

Plucking away the offending item, Adrien dropped it into the glass now only containing melting ice cubes. Alcohol wasn't the answer to anyone's problems but the warm burn down to his belly was a nice distraction.

Two years he'd been with Kagami. And now she was gone. Because she'd learned that Adrien Agreste wasn't perfect. Shaking his blonde head, the model massaged the bridge of his nose as he looked down at the piano keys before him. While he'd loathed the forced lessons in his teens, Adrien had come to find playing a great way to express or release his emotions.

Ballads of broken hearts had been his tunes of choice over the last hour but even he was starting to tire of the sombre mood. When it came down to it, Kagami had never really been the woman he'd wanted anyway. No. The woman he wanted wore a skin tight scarlet bodyglove with black spots and refused to acknowledge his feelings. Adrien snorted at the thought, she'd congratulated Chat Noir when he'd announced he had an official girlfriend in his private life. A significant part of him had hoped she'd be jealous. He should have known better.

Raking a hand through his shaggy hair, Adrien pushed back the piano stool and walked to the panoramic expanse of windows which overlooked the city. Now at twenty, he had his own apartment and it was just as ostentatious as the family mansion. Primarily because his father had to approve his new digs before allowing his prodigy into the world on his lonesome. Green eyes rolled, like he was alone, his bodyguard lived in the smaller apartment below for supposed security reasons.

Turning out the lights, Adrien leaned against the wall and watched the night cityscape. A faint snore from Plagg had the model turning his head. His thick blonde fringe tumbled into his eyes at the motion and Adrien had to blow a huffing breath upward to cast it aside. He needed a haircut, although once styled and set with product it would look as perfect as he was supposed to be. Freshly showered meant Adrien looked more like a long-haired nineties rocker.

With a glance at his kwami, the model returned to his study of the night. Perhaps a run as Chat Noir would make him feel more alive. Yet it was Ladybug's scheduled patrol night and she'd probably think he'd come out to flirt. Not that Chat Noir did that very often anymore. Monogamous boyfriend and all that meant he didn't stray. It was Kagami who found a better version of himself. Slightly older and more mature apparently.

Shaking his head at his own thoughts, Adrien raised his right hand to study his ring. Yet another point of contention with Kagami who had asked if he'd give it to her as a token of love. When he'd said no she'd given him the cold shoulder for a week. Thinking back, he hadn't missed her company all that much, just the sex. At some point the friendship between them had dissolved and the only thing they were good at was the horizontal bop.

He should have known it was over when she'd stop coming to him for that too. But then he'd had his hands full between akuma attacks and photoshoots. Kagami's main complaint about their relationship was his unexpected absences. "I can't rely on you, Adrien," had become one of her most repeated sayings.

If only she knew how many women were willing to take her place. The moment the news of their breakup hit the media, Adrien had been bombarded with fan mail. Much of which had been offers to fill the void Kagami left behind, or sometimes they requested that he fill their void – so to speak. Again, they thought him some picture-perfect man, either that or a commodity to buy. Adrien Agreste high-class whore. Now wouldn't that make his father combust in a complete fury.

Plagg let out a twitching snore, blurting out "Not my camembert!" as his paws moved frantically as if he were running.

Adrien decided to do his kwami a favour and relieve him of his bad dream. "Plagg, claws out!"

The tiny black cat had only a moment to pry open his eyes before he was sucked into the magical ring upon Adrien's finger. A shimmer of green light engulfed Adrien and dispelled to reveal Chat Noir. With his masked eyes closed, the Parisian hero dropped his head back and let out a relieved sigh. There was something freeing about being Chat Noir. It was like all his day to day worries were swept aside and all that was left was the excitement of being a superhero.

As an adult, Chat Noir was no longer the lanky teen. He was still lean but moved with the easy grace of a predator. Chat Noir loped more than walked. The tight black fabric covering his body only helped to accentuate the definition of muscles which lay beneath. Years of being a superhero meant Chat Noir had a physique which made many a woman (and some men) drool at his very presence. Heck, his body was one of the reasons why Gabriel's swimsuit catalogues were so popular. Despite this, Ladybug never looked at Chat Noir with any sort of desire in her eyes. Hell, he'd probably faint if she ever did.

Slinking out to his balcony, Chat Noir removed the baton from his back and extended it so he shot upward. Leaning forward had the pole tilting which sent him sailing into the cool night air. With very little effort, Chat Noir distanced himself from his home and found a quiet spot amongst the rooftops.

Dropping into a crouch, the feline hero scanned from left to right before sitting down and dangling his legs over the rooftop edge. From what he could tell the place beneath him was empty. It was currently for sale and he'd not seen any lights on within it for the last couple of weeks.

Leaning back, Chat placed his hands on the tiles behind him as he gazed up at the stars. Unfortunately, the sky was dotted with clouds, blocking out his view. Regardless, green eyes were slowly dimmed by the heaviness of his eyelids. There was peace to be found when alone like this. The faint scent of rain touched his nose, but Chat didn't care. If he were to be caught in a sudden downpour, so be it.

With the wind gently tousling his hair, Chat Noir's eyes closed completely and he gradually sank down to lie on his back. Sleep was in the process of embracing him when a light thump nearby had green eyes fluttering open. Cat ears twitched as they honed in on the sound of footsteps, the gait very familiar.

Chat Noir remained on his back but stretched his arms over his head. "Good evening, milady."

She paused to look down at him. "It's been a long time since you've called me that."

A wry smile settled on his face. "I'm single again."

Ladybug let out a groan. "You're not going to go super flirty on me now, are you?"

Anger flared through his veins at her pointed comment and he rose to his feet. "I call you milady once in two years and suddenly you're worried I'm going to be inappropriate with you? I'm not some fanciful teen infatuated with you anymore, Ladybug. So, you needn't worry."

The heroine leaned away from him as shock lit her features. "Okay, calm down, Chat. I was teasing more than anything." She said with raised hands.

"I'm sorry," he said while letting out a heavy breath. A gloved hand lifted to massage his forehead. "It's been a gruelling few weeks."

Ladybug laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, I know what it's like to be dumped."

Chat Noir arched a masked eyebrow at that. "Wonder boy dumped you?"

"Pft, ages ago. We had this discussion like 18 months ago."

He hadn't forgotten, he just liked the idea that she was no longer with the douche, whoever he was. The only clue Ladybug had ever dropped was that her ex played guitar. Chat Noir had assured Ladybug that piano players had much more dexterous fingers, meaning they were much better lovers. She'd slapped his chest at that comment. It had been worth the reaction.

Ladybug dropped her hand from his shoulder but stepped a little closer. "So, um, what happened?"

Letting out a sigh, Chat Noir told it as it was. "She found a better version of me, apparently."

"What?" Ladybug's pert nose wrinkled in disgust beneath her mask. "That's total crap. There's nothing wrong with you."

"Says the girl who frequently rejected my advances."

"That's because I'm not attracted to you. She was."

Chat Noir inwardly flinched. While he'd convinced Ladybug some time ago that he no longer held a torch for her, he was yet to actually extinguish the damn thing. Why he couldn't move beyond his feelings for her was utterly frustrating. Though he'd never admit it, there were times when he'd visualised his partner beneath him instead of his girlfriend. Then of course he'd been racked with guilt over such thoughts, despite keeping them to himself.

Ladybug seemed to realise that she'd upset him. "Hey, we can talk about something else if you'd rather?"

Chat Noir lifted his chin. Feline eyes met round blue ones. "Why don't you find me attractive?"

"Well…" Ladybug gestured her hands in vague loops as she thought, "…you've always been my partner and when we met I was interest in someone else. So, I guess, I never saw you as anything more than a friend."

Green eyes narrowed as he leaned towards her. "What you're telling me is that you friend zoned me, correct?"

The heroine's lower lip turned downward as she contemplated his words. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Interesting," Chat said absently as he rocked back on his heels.

"What's interesting?"

Ladybug's curiosity had Chat Noir snapping out of his reverie. He considered how much he could say, given that she was still so strict about keeping their alter egos under wraps. Shrugging it off, he began to explain. "In my personal life I do not lack for female attention. If anything, I'm overrun with it. Which makes me wonder," his gaze was intent upon his partner as he loomed over her, "would I enrapture you when I'm not Chat Noir."

Blue eyes widened as she took a step back from him. A nervous giggle escaped his partner's lips. "Attracted to you outside the mask? Come on Chat. That's not going to happen."

"Really?" his tone was low and a little dangerous. "Is that a challenge?"

"Hardly, besides we're not allowed to know each other's secret identities."

A smirk settled on Chat Noir's lips. "You've come across me before without my mask on. You just didn't know it."

That had her eyes widening in shock. "Wait. What?"

"You heard me. You've seen me before and you had no idea I was Chat Noir."

"Well, seen is one thing. I mean, if we didn't talk or anything, of course I wouldn't know it was you."

The way she rushed her words and waved her hands gave Chat Noir the distinct impression that she was flustered by this revelation. He inched a little further into her personal space. "We've spoken and interacted. You didn't recognise me."

She was leaning away from him again and he heard her swallow. "This isn't a good idea."

Chat Noir crossed his arms and leaned back. "Why? Are you afraid I'll actually seduce you?"

Ladybug had the audacity to laugh, but it was the tint of a blush on her cheeks that gave Chat Noir hope. "You seduce me, as if."

"Not Chat Noir, just me without my disguise."

"And how do you suppose this will work?" she asked with brazen disregard of the possibility that he could actually do it.

"We've both been invited to the mayor's charity ball. We both go, but Chat Noir will have a pressing engagement elsewhere and will leave early. From there, my alter ego will sweep you off your feet."

"This fantasy of yours will never happen, Chat."

Dipping his head, he eyed Ladybug at her level. "Never say never."

Okay, so it's like 1.30am here so I'll apologise for any typos or other errors. Had to write and lost track of the time while editing etc.

Do you think Adrien will be able to seduce Ladybug? Almost too easy... or is it?

Thanks for reading, and please give the review box so love. Cheers :)

FYI... The next chapter for 'Things that Bump in the Night' is almost ready too.