Adrien sits on his bed. He holds in one hand his coursebook whilst with the other, he strokes the large dog's head. Macaroon is next to him keeping him company as always. He's doing his best to remember all of this biology stuff. There's certainly a mountain of it to get into his head. He's pretty darn sure that most of this won't even be of use to him in the future. It's not like he's planning to become a biologist. Unfortunately, he's not able to pick and chose his classes, especially not for the end of year exam.

He's been at this a good few hours and is gradually growing a mixture of fractious and bored. It causes both his attention and eyes to wander round the room. It hasn't changed much. The most notable difference is the presence of numerous photos depicting him with a group of his friends, girlfriend and a couple where Nathalie makes an appearance. In the corner of the room is a dog's bed, complete with water bowl and a chewy toy. He keeps it clean.

The only thing enjoying himself less right now than Adrien is Plagg. The kwami is bored stiff by all of the revising and makes himself into a pest. No doubt he would fly somewhere else if it weren't for Master Fu's stern words about abandoning his partner. So he hovers near the teen's face or peers over his shoulder to see just what page he's on then lets out a frustrated huff if the progress isn't deemed to be sufficient.

"What's the point of spending all your life studying, the time you spend doing that, your life's passing you by!"

"I'm doing this to make sure I get a better life later on!" The teen snaps as a response, growing irritated by his kwami's constant interruptions.

"Okay but does it have to take so long! I mean you were in class all of today!"

Adrien doesn't even bother to respond to that one. He is growing increasingly weary. Perhaps he'll leave his room and go and see just what he can do to get a change of scenery. Perhaps he can help Nathalie with some of the-

His phone goes off. It's Marinette. She knows he's studying and there's only one reason why she would call him. He's quick to answer, startling the usually dopey animal which is still resting its head on his lap.

"Mari?"

"There's a fire in the seventeenth. Looks like they could use some help getting some people out of the tenth floor. You up for it, kitty?"

"Try and stop me." He gets to his feet, readying himself.

"I'll see you there."

Adrien is quick to transform. It's a feeling that he's gotten used to over the past few years. If Paris is no longer plagued by akumas or sentimonsters, there's still the odd emergency where it has need to call upon its heroes. It's never done officially but from time to time, if the situation is especially grave, Ladybug and Cat Noir and on occasion another miraculous user have been known to show up in order to provide some much needed assistance.

Before he can leave, there's somewhere he has to go. Unlike Marinette, his identity isn't something that he needs to keep a secret from his guardian. She's acutely aware just who lies behind the mask and worries for him. As such, Adrien has made it a policy to always notify her before he leaves, so that the first thing she knows about it isn't when she reads the news bulletin. As always, he finds her in the study, still busy working. Her gaze turns to meet him, her face is impossible to read:

"There's a fire. They could use with a hand."

"I know. It's on the news..." She averts her gaze for a moment, turning back to the screen with life broadcast. "Be careful."

He gives her a brief nod in response. He can't afford to waste any more time than he already has. Fire is as dangerous as it is unpredictable.

As Cat Noir darts over the rooftops, he can already see the smoke rising. It's dark and billows out into the wind. He can already tell that it's a bad one. His heart is in his mouth as they race to get there. He doesn't know what to expect. If it's simply a matter of extinguishing the flames then he will be of little assistance. If there are still some people trapped inside however then then every second will count.

Ladybug is already on the scene when he gets there. It comes as a relief. The flames are high and have already consumed a few of the lower floors. From one of the higher ones however, Adrien finds himself fixing at least two people, evidently trapped. Even at this distance, the heat is uncomfortable. He sees her discussing matters with the fire chief. He joins her silently, intent on discovering everything that he can. It would seem much of it's already been said as the other hero turns to face him:

"There's a family still stuck on the eight floor."

That's a task which Cat Noir and Ladybug can definitely try and help with. They're not fireproof but the miraculouses do provide them with that little bit more resistance. The two heroes are quick to use their yoyo and staff to climb to the window where they can see those still trapped. As soon as they're there however, they find themselves confronted with something they hadn't been expecting. Rather than approach as the teens had been expecting them to, the man and woman inside chose to back away instead. One of them pointing towards the door.

The heroes exchange a look and slip inside through the window.

The trapped couple don't even wait to explain just what's going on. They instead dart outside of their apartment and into the corridor. Ladybug follows, asking what's going on and informing them that they need to get out of here. As if the smoke which stings at their eyes and makes breathing difficult isn't enough of a clue that this is neither the time nor place for a leisurely sight see. Beneath his feet, Cat Noir can feel the building bubble and burn, its going to come down soon.

"The elevator is stuck, our sons are in there!"

Instantly, Adrien feels his heart sink. It takes both heroes to manage to pry open the iron doors which stopped working as soon as the power failed. The scene they find themselves faced with is a disheartening one: the elevator is stuck at least three floors further down. That part of the building is already consumed by flames. What's worse is that the iron frame of the comparatively small space is creaking from the strain, it seems unlikely that it will last much longer.

Ladybug is quick to weigh up the options. There's two boys apparently. She tasks her partner with getting the parents out, at this point, they are a liability more than anything else. That suits him well enough. Whilst he's scared for his girlfriend, he has faith in her. He'll occupy himself with saving this couple of lives and trust her to deal with the others.

It's easy enough for him to rescue the couple, as reluctant as they are to be lead away from the building whilst their boys are still in there. He uses his staff, extending it's height so as to be able to drop them both off, one after the other. He slips his arm around their shoulders, holds them tight and then it's just a simple matter of collapsing his weapon slowly so as to lower them down gently. He lets the fire brigade take over when it comes to ensuring that they're alright. They'll have some smoke inhalation to deal with no doubt but that should be the worst of it.

Cat Noir can't afford to spend the time required to check. Instead, he is quick to return to the burning building. Ladybug should have been out by now and he's worried. The heat is getting worse and he can scarcely breathe as he staggers through the flat and back out into the hallway. Coughing, he struggles to make his way along. He finds Marinette on her knees, a young boy, clearly unconscious, rests on her lap. The young woman is wheezing, struggling to both get enough air and to clear out the smoke which fills her lungs. She looks up to see him.

"Get him out! I'll ge-" More coughs cause her to stop.

"You go! I'll get the other one!"

She's breathed in enough smoke already. It's clear that she's struggling. He doesn't want her passing out as well. For all that, she seems to be reluctant. The young woman eyes the elevator shaft uneasily. All the time, she's wheezing, evidently attempting to give off the impression that she's better than she actually is. Cat Noir gives her a look however that lets her know that he's serious about this one. Still, she hesitates.

"Uh… Look, it's kinda cramped." Finally she articulates her concern.

Instantly, Cat Noir understands just what she's referring to. He gives it one last glance. It's a long and narrow chute, they're common in buildings like this, added in after they were built. She knows why he'll be unhappy down there. He himself isn't all that happy at trying to go down there. Now isn't the time for nerves to get the better of him. He tries not to think about the fact too much. He can already see the open hatch, all he needs to do is jump down and climb back out with the kid… They're wasting time.

"I'll be fine." He assures her.

She gets up to her feet and carries the unconscious child away. Cat Noir contemplates the shaft for a moment longer.

His heart begins to thunder as he makes his way down. The walls around him are too close to him. Concentrating, he tries his best to focus on what needs to be done. He's shaking as he makes his way along. Slipping inside of the elevator. The other boy is a bit older than the one that Marinette had managed to get out. Adrien moves forwards slowly. He can feel everything moving around him. The heat is unbearable. He's breathing rapidly and that only serves to make things worse as smoke burns at his lungs and eyes.

He finds himself taken back suddenly to a crumbling building three years ago. It's something that he struggles to shake from his mind. It almost feels like he's back there, buried under the rubble…

"Cat Noir!"

It's Ladybug's voice which pulls him out of it. He doesn't answer. Instead, he rushes forwards, scooping up the remaining child in his arms and climbing out. He can scarcely breathe and it's Marinette who ends up guiding them out of there. He carries the boy over his shoulder.

They make it out and it's a breath of fresh air. Despite their miraculouses, the heroes splutter and gasp. They've done it again. At least that's what the reporters say. They rescued a family. The building is done for but at least there are no casualties. They stay until the doctors assure them that everyone's going to be alright. Then once more, Ladybug and Cat Noir vanish, jumping over the rooftops until they're out of sight. The inhabitants of the city will continue to wonder just who they are, where they came from and where they are going. It's been that way for almost five years now.

The two teens continue until they're certain that they're out of sight before stopping to catch their breaths on a rooftop. Marinette is still coughing a little but slowly seems to be recovering. She turns toward her companion, eager to ensure that he too is alright:

"Oh Kitty, you're shaking."

"Just the adrenaline." A lie and not a very good one, so he doesn't put much effort into it.

"Uh huh?" Ladybug raises a dubious eyebrow. "Come here."

He doesn't object. There's a lot of benefit from snuggling up to Marinette. She's warm and gentle and never fails to soothe him. She tucks her head under his chin as he slips an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close as they sit down on a rooftop and take in the view of the city that they help protect. With his spare hand, Adrien sends Nathalie a text, just to let her know that he's alright. After that, he's able to concentrate only on his girlfriend and how peaceful he feels with her next to him.

He relaxes gradually. He focuses on little else other than the young woman by his side. Even the slight chill of the air begins to fade away, replaced instead with some affection and accompanying gentle warmth. From time to time, one of them might cough but even that isn't enough to disturb them.

"Do you want to come over at the weekend?" Marinette asks him eventually.

"I'd love to." He replies quite honestly. "I'll have to see if I have time with my revision though..."

"I understand." She sounds accepting more than she is disappointed.

They spend just a little longer up there. It isn't much but it's a chance to escape from the world and put some distance between themselves and what they'd just done. Things aren't the same as they once were. Both teens are somewhat more aware of the fact that they're mortal than they were when they first started. They've been torn apart once and it's something that from time to time weighs heavily on their minds, causing them to cling all the more to the other one.

They'll see one another at school tomorrow. That much is a promise. It's hard to say just when Ladybug and Cat Noir will next be spotted side by side however but it likely won't be all that long.

Paris will call upon its heroes again soon enough…