Marinette awoke to a comforting warmth . Her body was encompassed by an oversized hoodie that she had taken out of her closet last night in a haze after trying and failing to fall asleep for who knows how long .
Chat's hoodie .
The one he gave her when he found her in the rain .
The one he never came back for .
She noted that the hoodie was expensive and very well-made . Top-of-the-line material . Not something you just give away and forget about unless your filthy rich ... Or you had bigger problems .
"Tikki..."
The small red kwami looked up from where she was snuggled next to her and sadly shook her head .
He still didn't reply .
She got up and slapped her face .
No . He was fine . He had to be . And until she fights an akuma and he never shows , she'll believe it .
What about after that ?...
NO!
He had his own life to worry about and they never made plans so why on earth would he transform . Plus , he said he patrolled on most nights , not all just most .
"Mari ,...school starts in 15 minutes ."
That shook her out of her mental pep talk .
"WHAT ?"
.
.
"Hey Nino ! Where're you going ?"
It was a normal day . Adrien was absent due to work but apparently Nino kept in contact with him through texting. Alya and Marienette were walking to the cafeteria for lunch when Nino got a text and said he was heading out for lunch .
"Adrien's on a break and he's at a nearby cafe . Figured I'd join him for lunch . "
Of course , Alya couldn't let this chance pass .
"Mind if we join too."
"Alya!..."
Nino chuckles and shoots Adrien a text . The reply came in seconds .
"Sure ! The more , the merrier . Just a warning , Adrien's usually wearing some ridiculous disguise so the paparazzi don't recognise him . He does that when he leaves during an official shoot . They are the lamest outfits you will ever see ."
Alya snickers .
"Oh , this I gotta see ."
"I'm sure he doesn't look that bad ." Marienette tries to argue . After all , he always looks amazing .
"Oh, he doesn't , but the outfits are ridiculous ."
The gang reached the street-crossing opposite the cafe chatting ...when a shrill scream pierced right through the air .
All 3 heads turned to see a child in the middle of the street look to the side to face an incoming car as a hooded figure grabbed him and a bright green light engulfed them as they got hit head on and were flipped right over the car . The light faded as a leather-clad boy with cat-ears landed back first on the street , arms and tail wound protectively over the child .
It was him .
It was Chat .
He was here.
He was here!
"CHAT ! "
Alya gripped her arm to keep her from running into the road , momentarily forgetting that she was a civilian , not his partner who spend the last night freaking about his well-being and sleeping in his clothes .
But Marienette knew that light . She knew that he had transformed while running . Chat noir could brush off that hit but not ... whoever he really was . If he got hit before he transformed, then ...
Why did he keep Doing This ?
Then Chat's body relaxed and his protective arms unwound to show a whimpering child clutching his chest before looking up to see bright green eyes look down at him , a gentle smile on his face .
"You okay , squirt ?"
"I..."
"JAMIE! ..."
An grown woman flung herself at the child pulling him close and sobbing into his hair .
"...I told you to stay near me . Why did you ?... I almost lost you ..."
The little boy snuggled into his mother's arms .
"I'm sorry , mommy ."
During the reunion , Marienette saw Chat watch the mother and child with a strange look in his eyes before giving a small smile . Relief and slight hurt in his eyes .
But he was okay .
He was Okay !
He was alive and breathing and moving and ...Okay!
Chat stood up , patted the boy on his head and began to leave ...
"CHAT NOIR !"
...when Alya launched herself towards him . His eyes widened when he saw her and he gave a small bow and with a wink and a salute he shot off before she could reach him .
"HEY WAIT !"
"Sorry , mademoiselle . Perhaps another time ."
Marinette watched him leave with wide eyes . He didn't even realise she was there.
He was okay .
Marienette and Nino went inside the cafe leaving Alya to get an interview from the mother and child, Marienette didn't even realise they were seated until she heard a gentle voice penetrate her haze .
"Marienette? Are you okay ?"
"Huh!..."
She looked up to see Adrien ...in a pink beanie and a full-sleeved red-checkered shirt with green hearts on it and yellow pants . He was also wearing a green rimmed shades and black riding gloves .
It took her a while to realise that Nino was low-key laughing his butt off in the seat opposite hers and Adrien was rubbing his neck in embarrassment at her wide-mouthed staring .
Shoot ! Say something ! ANYTHING !...
"Is there anything you look bad in ?"
ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT !
Alya walked in to see Marienette with her head wrapped in her arms , the blush still somehow visible , Nino clutching his stomach and shaking like a mad man with his head down and Adrien giving her a small smile and wave , while wearing a ridiculous outfit .
Seriously, she was only gone a few minutes .
.
.
Adrien had managed to get a significant amount of break time and he was going to use it.
He was sitting in the cafe by the window wearing full-sleeved red-checkered shirt with green hearts on it and black pants hidden by a oversized hoodie he had borrowed from one of the interns at the shoot . The hood was up and hid most of his face , not that it mattered since he didn't exactly look like himself right then and the cafe was practically empty at the time .
He was watching a family that was outside the cafe . The child was asking for something while squeezing the small ball in his hand and the parents stopped their conversation and spoke to the child with a smile . The child laughed .
It hurt ...but he couldn't tear his eyes away from them .
That was what a family looks like .
A real family .
His heart was filled with a bittersweet pain.
The father got into a taxi after giving the mother a kiss . The child giggled and looked away as the mother waved goodbye and began to look through her purse for something.
And then it was all a blur .
The child dropped the ball .
The ball rolled across the road .
He stood slightly from his seat watching the child . He could feel Plagg zip around under his hoodie through his arm to peek out of the edge of his sleeve .
The child looked at his mother with worry before going towards the road .
He moved .
Jumping out of his seat , he scrambled to the door and just as he sprinted through the door , the mother turned around and saw her child .
She screamed .
He pounced.
Plagg's voice cut through his mind as the thought 'transform' was screamed in his brain .
His arms surrounded the child and he felt the power fill his body before getting tossed over a car .
He laid still on the street , seeing nothing , hearing everything . Then a whimper came from his chest .
The child was safe .
He watched the mother embrace the boy and resisted the urge to grab the kid and tell him how stupid he was for risking this , risking what he had for a ball nobody cared about .
Instead he got up . He wanted to say something, but had no idea what to say .
So he left .
He brushed off the junior journalist of his class and flipped around to the back entrance of the cafe , mindful of cameras and detransforming before sneaking into the empty men's room and removing the oversized hoodie . Couldn't risk Alya recognising it . Who knows how much she saw ? He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings.
Plagg zipped out as soon as he was inside .
"You idiot ! What if someone had seen you ? Or if you hadn't transformed in time ?.."
"I couldn't just let the kid die , Plagg ."
"WHAT IF YOU DIED ?"
He didn't answer . But Plagg knew . Plagg knew he didn't care , not really .
He wasn't suicidal . He wanted to live and he had plenty to live for , but... So did that kid . And if he had to choose between the life of someone so loved and happy and his own life , he didn't even have to think about it .
He didn't want to think about it .
Frankly , he doubts thinking about it would help.
And Plagg knew that .
Plagg was the only one who knew that .
"Ladybug left you like a hundred messages last night . She was freaking out ."
He blinked in surprise . Both at the news and at the annoyed and almost upset tone of Plagg's voice .
"WHAT ? WHY ?"
Plagg practically snorted , giving him a glare before diving into his shirt .
"Ask her yourself , moron ."
He was just about to transform and do just that when he received a text from Nino .
/Dude , where are you ? You just missed an epic scene here /
Okay . He'll ask her later then . Plagg was probably exaggerating anyway .
/Bathroom . I'll be right there /
Later , when he enjoys a nice meal with his best friends and his classmates , he'll notice the apprehensive and worried look that passes Marinette's face as Nino and Alya tell him about what happened outside the cafe before her eyes narrowed with what looked like determination as she looked out the window at the direction he had ran off as Chat noir.
Adrien couldn't help but think that those eyes all of a sudden looked very strikingly familiar .
.
.
.
AN:-
My college will be starting again soon . Warning , might not update often ...or for a long time .
Hope you liked it . Please review.