"Ladybug…"

Chat wasn't entirely sure where to begin. The citizens below were already back up on their feet and going about their day. Some were even raising their cell phones to take photos and videos of their saviors. Ladybug waved to the crowd before walking towards Chat.

"Good job today, Chaton," she praised. She smiled at him, but Chat could see that it didn't touch her eyes. She looked worse for wear. She looked tired.

He could see the exhaustion in her blue eyes and wondered when the last time she had a good night's sleep. Strands of her ink-black hair was falling from her pigtails, brushing against her collarbone.

Ladybug was just barely holding herself together. He knew that the akuma had extracted some of her worst memories and the wounds were still fresh.

"That akuma was a tough one," she casually remarked, throwing her hands onto her hips. "Hopefully, she'll be able to work things out with her fiancé…"

Chat didn't answer, and she tilted her head quizzically, silently asking him a question.

Chat felt a lump in his throat and swallowed. So many questions whirled in his head until he felt dizzy. What did he just see? Why didn't she tell him about it? How did he get akumatized? Was that vision even real?

Why did she sacrifice herself for him?

Her actions were so uncharacteristically reckless that he had to address it.

"Ladybug," he said, "why would you throw yourself between me and the akuma?"

"What do you mean?" Ladybug replied, "She was coming towards you and you were wide open. I couldn't just let her get you."

"Well she got you instead," Chat countered. "She hurt you, and it wasn't a risk you should've taken."

She furrowed her brow.

"It wasn't a risk I should've taken?" she parroted. "Chat, she was going to hurt you—"

"Even so!" Chat interrupted, his voice growing louder as he became more frustrated with her stubbornness, "Even so, you are always the priority—"

"We're a team!" Ladybug argued back, "We're Ladybug and Chat Noir. You're my partner, not my sidekick—"

"And you're the only one who can cleanse the akuma!" Chat cried. He reached out and gripped her shoulders firmly, shaking her, "Don't you get it? If you get taken out or akumatized, then it's game over!"

"You don't think I know that Chat?!" Ladybug snapped, her voice now at full volume. Her eyes blazed with anger and something else Chat couldn't quite place. "If I get taken out, we're done for. Yes, I know that already because everybody reminds me of it every waking minute of the day!"

She backed out of Chat's grip, "You're just as important, Chat. Without you…" Chat was horrified to see a tear slipping down her cheek. Ladybug hastily spun around and wiped her face.

He'd made her cry!

Speechless, Chat reached out for Ladybug, stopping abruptly when she spoke next.

"Without you," she repeated, "we can't win either."

Chat didn't reply, and Ladybug took it as her cue to leave. Tossing her yo-yo, she flew from the roof, disappearing behind a cluster of buildings, the telltale sound of her bandalore disappearing into the bustling afternoon scene.

Chat didn't know what to say.

Everybody knew that Ladybug's cure was what saved the day. She needed to be around to purify the akuma. He'd even been in Ladybug's shoes before and has purified an akuma. He knew what it was like, and he was positive that he wouldn't have been able to perform the job had he been given Ladybug's earrings.

He wasn't sure what to make of her comments; however, all he knew was that he was missing out on something big and he'd also made Ladybug cry.

Chat gritted his teeth and ran his clawed fingers through his messy blonde hair.

"Way to go, Adrien…" he muttered to himself.

Chat was home in record time, detransformed and in his computer chair seconds before Nathalie came in to wish him good night. Plagg stayed hidden until Adrien's door was shut.

"I know you saw what the akuma showed me," Adrien said to Plagg.

The kwami shrugged, throwing another piece of camembert into his open mouth.

"That akuma had some freaky powers," Plagg replied, "I wouldn't worry too much about it. Besides, you guys already beat her, so why dwell on the past?"

"Plagg," Adrien rubbed his temples, "those couldn't have been fake, because those memories were pulled from Ladybug. I saw what she looked like after she purified the akuma and…" he paused, feeling shame wash over him, "…and I also made her cry…"

He winced at the memory of Ladybug turning away from Chat, wiping at her face after yelling at him.

Plagg chuckled, "Oho! A fight?" he flew up to Adrien's face, "I knew you were trying to get over here, but I didn't think you'd actually get in a fight with her."

"That's something different!" Adrien insisted impatiently. "That has nothing to do with what I saw."

"And what did you see?" Plagg asked.

Adrien paused for a moment.

What did he see?

He furrowed his brows in concentration, summoning his memories to the forefront of his mind. So many questions and not enough answers. He didn't understand the context behind any of those visions, all he knew was that Ladybug needed him.

"I saw that Ladybug was in pain," Adrien answered quietly. "She's been in pain since she's gotten the Miracle box, and she doesn't have anybody to talk to."

"Why not you?" Plagg asked, "Just talk to her."

Adrien sighed, "I'll try when she isn't mad at me anymore…but until then…" he pushed the thoughts of the akumatized Chat Noir—himself—to the back of his mind.

To his side, his phone gave a quiet chime, and Adrien lifted it to his face, reading the newest text message.

Kagami: It's a shame we weren't able to get that ice cream. Maybe next time?

Smiling softly to himself, he quickly texted back a confirmation before rolling over and falling asleep. With all that happened today, Adrien wanted nothing more than to fall asleep until he could make sense of everything.

He drifted.

"You're wonderful, Adrien," Kagami said to him. "You're perfect."

Kagami's hand was warm in his. She shyly peeked up at Adrien, and he in turn beamed down at the girl.

"Thank you, Kagami," he answered back softly.

She squeezed his hand.

Together, the pair entered the school, where all of Adrien's friends were waiting. He exchanged greetings with all his classmates.

He stopped to give Nino a fist bump and complimented Alya on her latest article.

He told Juleka, Ivan and Rose that their newest song was awesome, and he couldn't wait to record with them.

He told Mylene that he picked up a button from his latest travels for her to add to her collection.

Nathaniel was kind enough to briefly show Adrien his newest panel for his upcoming comic books. Alix stood nearby, giving Adrien a pat on the back as he passed.

Max and Kim demanded that all the guys get together for another hangout, to which Adrien happily agreed.

He received a hug from Chloe, and Sabrina was also there to witness the interaction. Adrien even acknowledged Lila, though he did not go near her.

Adrien was so happy. With his friends around him and Kagami's hand in his, he thought to himself, 'Maybe this is perfection…'

He took another glance around the room, his smile slowly slipping from his face when he noted something was off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something important that was supposed to be here.

He raised his hand to scratch his head in confusion, and immediately caught the flash of color that passed over his line of sight.

'When did this even get here?'

Clenched tightly in his fist was his lucky charm. It was a simple thing: a string connecting green and pink beads, but it was important to him. It made him feel better.

It made him feel like he wasn't so alone.

"Adrien?"

It made him feel like he could take on anything.

Kagami's golden brown eyes bore into his own, "What's wrong Adrien?"

It made him feel like he was safe to be himself.

He looked at Kagami for a long second, asking himself the very same question.

Yes, what was wrong?

He held his charm up to his line of sight, eyeing it carefully. Where had this come from? Adrien turned to look at Kagami again, drawing back immediately when he noticed that Kagami's warm brown eyes were now the color of bluebells.

Blue eyes peered sadly at him, and Adrien felt as if he had been struck.

"Where's Marinette?"

Suddenly, he could feel himself falling forward.

He expected to fall to the ground, instead falling towards those beautiful blue eyes. He fell down, down, down until he hit water. He floated deeper, not quite understanding where he was or what he was doing.

Bubbles swirled around him, obscuring his vision for the briefest moment.

He swam up towards the surface, gasping deeply when he came up. He looked around him, his heart dropping into his stomach when he recognized the scene. Though he hadn't been there in person, it was hard to forget Paris when it was in ruins.

Adrien swam towards an overturned bus, lifting himself onto the roof. For miles, he couldn't see any sign of life. The only thing around him were destroyed buildings and floating debris. He lifted his hands to his face to brush back his bangs, stopping abruptly when he noticed that he was no longer dressed as Adrien Agreste.

"Buginette!"

'Oh no…'

"Bugaboo, I'm coming for you!"

He was Ladybug.

He ran across the bus, passing in front of a skyscraper. His reflection in the windows confirmed his suspicions. There, starting back at him with wild eyes was none other than Ladybug.

"What…" Adrien began, jolting when Ladybug's voice came out, "…what is going on?"

"I'll tell you," replied a voice that was horrifyingly familiar, "you're going to give me your Miraculous so I can fix everything."

Chat Blanc grinned menacingly down at Adrien, who swallowed thickly. His akumatized counterpart was terrifying. He was covered head to toe in white, save for his eyes, which revealed an icy blue stare that seemed to pass through Adrien.

Perhaps the most terrifying thing about Chat Blanc was that Adrien hardly recognized any pieces of himself in this akuma.

He shuddered.

"C-Chat," Adrien stammered, "What happened? You need to tell me what happened."

"You really don't know?" Chat asked. He narrowed his eyes at Adrien, "You really don't know, Ladybug?"

"No!" Adrien yelled, "I don't! So tell me what caused this all to happen!"

Chat Blanc chuckled, shaking his head at Adrien. He stretched out his arms to the sky, and yelled, "Our love did all of his, Bugaboo."

He activated his cataclysm and walked towards Adrien.

"And Hawkmoth found out about us."

Adrien squeezed his eyes shut and raised his arms to protect himself against the blow, but nothing came. Three beats passed and he opened his eyes to another dimmed bedroom. He could hear muffled sobs and carefully began to walk towards the noise.

Ladybug was alone, in the middle of the room, her cries the only audible sound around Adrien.

"Ladybug?" he asked.

"Chat?" Ladybug replied.

She'd been crying. When she stopped, she peered up at Adrien. Her bottom lip began to quiver, and her eyes began to water. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist tightly. Adrien didn't hesitate to hold her, pressing his cheek to her crown.

"What's wrong, Ladybug?" he asked, "Why are you crying?"

She mumbled something incoherent against Adrien's chest, and Adrien gently gripped her arms, pulling her from his chest.

"…Bugaboo," he breathed, "I can't hear you when you hide your face like that. Can you tell me what's wrong?"

She sniffled, and hugged him again.

"I'm just so tired, Chat," she murmured. "I'm tired of the responsibilities, I'm tired of always having to worry about everything. I'm tired of having to be perfect."

Adrien understood her perfectly. He squeezed her tightly, feeling her tears seep through his t-shirt.

"You don't have to be perfect," Adrien said gently, "You can just be yourself."

"No, Chat," Ladybug shook her head, "I can't afford to be myself. Not while Hawkmoth is still around."

Adrien didn't reply.

"And now I'm the guardian!" she cried again, "I don't know how to be a perfect Ladybug, much less a guardian. What do I do?"

The weight he felt earlier that afternoon reemerged, making its new home on Adrien's shoulders. He wasn't an amazing feeling, but Adrien knew that if it meant Ladybug was less stressed, then he would gladly step up.

He was, after all, her partner.

Adrien brushed his lips against Ladybug's temples and rubbed her back soothingly.

"You can rely on me," Adrien whispered into her ear. "We can rely on each other."

The sun wasn't up when Adrien's eyes opened. The clock on his bedside table read 5:11am, indicating he had less than an hour before Nathalie came to wake him. He stretched and threw his legs off the side of the bed, sitting up.

Plagg lay snoring on his other pillow.

Adrien could remember nearly every detail of his dream, which he considered unusual since he was rarely able to recall his dreams. It all seemed so real to him. How much of it was real? Adrien wasn't entirely sure, but he was sure of one thing.

Ladybug wasn't doing well.

If the dream wasn't an indicator, then the argument they had gotten into should have been enough. Ladybug was the new guardian, and she wasn't adjusting well to the change. His heart throbbed at the idea of his lady—of Ladybug struggling alone, without him.

He frowned.

Ladybug had so many fears and insecurities, like him, and chose to face all of them. He knew that deep down, she was just as scared as he was. He knew that she was just as insecure as he was.

Ladybug was expected to be perfect.

She had to save the day. She had to purify the akumas, and cast the Miraculous cure. Adrien had been well aware of the responsibilities that came along with being Ladybug, but what about her civilian form?

"I can't afford to be myself."

She was trapped.

Trapped in these unrealistic expectations imposed by everyone, himself included, he noted with chagrin.

Ladybug was supposed to be flawless, so where did that leave her secret identity?

Who was she supposed to be behind the mask?

And alternatively, who was Adrien supposed to be behind the mask? He twisted his ring around his finger. The Cat miraculous, the very stone that granted him freedom from his life as Adrien Agreste. As Chat Noir, he could be whoever he wanted to be.

But how real was it?

Adrien was too afraid to answer.

"You're perfect," Kagami's words echoed in his mind. To anybody who didn't really pay attention to how much effort he was investing in his image, then perhaps Adrien was perfection. But he knew it wasn't him.

If Ladybug couldn't be herself, and Adrien couldn't be himself, then who was he supposed to be?

He couldn't answer.

And that was the worst part of it.