Adrien and Ladybug are already dating in this one.

During season 5 at least.

Ladrien June 2023

Day #15: Missing in Action

Today was not a good day. Once again, Adrien was being kept away from another akuma fight because of his stupid modeling job. He was at a photoshoot for his father's newest line for the summer. He could hear the crew talking about the battle while watching the news live-stream on their phones. Adrien wished he could at least pull out his own phone and watch too—just to see how she was doing—but he was too busy posing for a camera.

Ladybug no longer had the other miraculouses to loan to any of their other comrades to fight with her.

She was all alone. Which just made him feel ten times worse.

The fight wasn't anywhere near the set so they didn't need to stop. He could pretend to be sick and insist on going home. Or maybe sabotage a piece of equipment so they'll have to reschedule. They were decent ideas but he feared of either no one believing him or being caught, which was mainly why he hadn't done anything yet. And that was also bad because his lady was struggling, that much he could tell from the crew's mild chatter.

Against his better judgment, Adrien didn't want to do anything to ruin the photoshoot.

Until he heard about the worst words he could hear…

"Oh no! Ladybug's hurt!"

Hearing those words screamed by one of the crew members, Adrien froze as his heart stopped.

For one second, he didn't hear the photographer yelling at him to look at the camera and smile. All he heard was the blood pounding in his ears. Then the next second, letting his instincts run the show finally, Adrien ran past his photographer and toward the crew.

When he reached them, Adrien just snatched the phone from the guy and watched the live footage while continuing to pay no mind to anyone else around him.

The villain was gifted with the miraculous power of the tiger; clout. That, combined with the akuma's power from Monarch himself, they could deliver a serious blow and do some major damage.

To anything or anyone. Including Ladybug.

The feed showed his lady on the ground, on her knees, crutching her abdomen with one arm while she held herself up with the other. She looked to be in a significant amount of pain.

The villain was approaching her, confident that she was defenseless enough for them to just walk up to her and take her earrings.

Adrien knew he needed to transform and go help her but before he could think of a way to leave the park, he watched as Ladybug activated her Lucky Charm. Whatever it was, it was too small for the camera to see from the distance it was from the fight.

Another few seconds later, before the villain got too close, Ladybug threw whatever was in her hand down and a huge cloud of smoke appeared out of nowhere around her.

Her Lucky Charm must have given her some kind of smoke bomb.

Adrien's eyes frantically searched the gray cloud for his lady. As it cleared, the only person standing there was the villain. Ladybug was nowhere in sight.

Knowing that she had gotten away was reassuring, but she was still hurt. After the photographer insisted that Adrien come back over so they could continue, Adrien didn't protest. He still wished he could go out and join her—and make sure she was okay—but he had to do this. No matter how much he didn't want to.

~*LB+AA*~

Less than an hour later, the photoshoot was over and Adrien was on his way back home. As he road in his bodyguard's car, he watched more of the news coverage on his phone.

The akuma was still running wild and Ladybug had still not reappeared to continue the fight.

According to the reporters, she was officially missing.

Adrien didn't usually get carsick but through that whole ride, he did.

As soon as he was home, he went straight to his room, then his bathroom. He needed to pretend to be in the shower while he was gone but he didn't want to waste water. So instead, he had a recording of a shower running, playing on his tablet on loop—just like when he was pretending to practice piano before leaving.

With the recording playing in his bathroom, Adrien transformed, and Chat Noir jumped out the window.

He had to find Ladybug.

The first thing he tried was calling her. Five tries, she didn't pick up.

As he jumped across Paris, he noticed many other citizens combing the streets, looking for Ladybug too. They were all worried about her. Under his own worry, his heart was warmed by their love and devotion to them both.

His next idea involved searching the place where she was last seen, fighting the akuma. She would have had to have slipped away somewhere under the cover of that smoke. Unfortunately, his investigation was cut short by the akuma reappearing.

Chat was certainly irritated by this particular villain, and it showed in the way he fought them. No jokes, no mockery, just angry growls and raging blows.

Anyone who hurt his lady was going to get more than usual from him.

He knew he couldn't defeat this villain. Not like this. He needed his partner. To help him and purify the akuma. He needed to find his lady first. But he couldn't with this villain on his tail.

With some help from the concerned citizens, they were able to distract the akuma while Chat slipped away unnoticed.

As Chat caught his breath in an empty alley, he was startled by a little voice yelling his name.

"Chat Noir!"

Chat snapped his eyes open to see a little red being floating in front of his face.

"Tikki?" He exclaimed, startled at first but then smiled in relief. "Oh my gosh, Tikki!" He raised his cupped hands under her, letting her rest in them. "What are you doing here? Where is Ladybug? Is she alright?!" he ranted desperately.

"Calm down," the kwami tried to tell him. "She's hurt but not too badly. Her suit and powers protected her from the worst of the blow but she's still in some pain. That's why she sent me to come find you."

Chat did his best to take what she was saying and see the bright side. His lady was alive. She just needed him. "Well, lets go. Lead me to her!" he said, ready to start running down the alley.

"Wait," Tikki floated up in front of his face again, stopping him in his tracks. "She asked me to find Adrien and bring him back," she clarified.

The blonde was surprised, but not too surprised. Chat was her partner but Adrien was her boyfriend. Maybe she assumed that Chat would be busy fighting the akuma and it would be harder for Tikki to get him for her. Or maybe she just needed her prince right now while she was hurting.

"I can get there faster like this. I'll detransform just before we get to her," Chat replied. Tikki nodded then flew off down the alley, Chat following close behind.

~*LB+AA*~

It took minutes—several minutes too long for Chat's liking—to reach their destination.

A manhole cover.

Of course! The sewers were one of their primary hiding places.

Chat removed the lid and jumped down, Tikki flew down after him.

"Okay. Detransform now," she instructed him.

"Claws In," he said, allowing the green light to turn him back into Adrien Agreste. After saying a quick hello to his 'sugar cube,' Plagg flew into his holder's shirt to hide and eat some cheese.

"Wait. If you're here, that means she's detransformed too," Adrien said worriedly.

Despite that they were a couple, Ladybug still wouldn't let him know her identity, which he respected. But how was he supposed to make sure she was okay if he couldn't see her?

"Yes. She's at an intersection of a tunnel where it splits off in two directions like a Y, so you'll have to stay in the opposite tunnel until she's ready to transform again," Tikki described to him.

From that description, Adrien knew right away where she meant. They'd been there to detransform together but still separately before.

"Okay," Adrien agreed before letting Tikki guide him down the tunnel.

Another minute later, they reached the intersection. He couldn't see his lady but that was the point. Tikki had told him she was far enough down the right tunnel of the Y that he wouldn't be able to see her while rounding the corner or walking into the left tunnel.

"Milady?" he asked, facing the wall between him and the love of his life.

"Adrien…is that you?" her voice said weakly from the other side.

Adrien slumped against the wall with his hands out flat, sighing the biggest sigh of relief. "Oh, milady! I was so worried! Are you alright? How bad are you hurt?" he ranted again.

"My bones ache and I'm…a little winded. The pain got worse after I…detransformed," she told him, trying to keep her voice even. She wanted to lie so he wouldn't worry but he was already worried. And she didn't think she could cover it up.

"Are you sitting down?" he asked.

"Yes. Tikki made me promise not to try standing again until you guys got here." She tried before while Tikki was eating and fell against the wall hard.

"I can help you. After you transform back, that is." He couldn't do much for her as Adrien, but he could at least do that.

Tikki, now on her holder's side of the split-off tunnel, say her right where she had left her. "Go ahead. You should feel a lot better after a fresh transformation," she instructed.

"Right. Tikki, Spots On!"

Adrien saw the pink light coming out of the tunnel. "Milady?"

"Come over. It's okay," she called out.

Getting the all clear, Adrien dashed around the corner and there she was. Sitting with her back to the inner wall, her head tilted all the way back against the wall, arms holding her middle, and her breath coming out in odd, irregular pants.

"Ladybug," he uttered before running to her and kneeling at her side.

Ladybug turned her head to him and offered a grin. She held out her right hand to him and he took it. Adrien clasped it tenderly and kissed it.

"It still hurts but less. Tikki said I should be completely healed after my miraculous cure. But first, I have to purify the akuma," she said before struggling to push her body from the wall. Seeing this, Adrien automatically put his other arm around her middle, allowing her to lean on him as he helped her stand up. When she was back on her feet, she grinned again. "Do you know where Chat-"

Her question was cut off as Adrien's arms around her became tighter, but not too tight for fear of hurting her more, hugging her close.

She heard sniffling and a quiet sob. Ladybug's heart broke, hearing such a sound from her beloved prince. As another sob came from him, she wrapped her arms around his back.

"Don't ever do that to me again!" he cried. He felt a hand brush the back of his hair repeatedly. "You scared the shit out of me."

"I'm so sorry," she apologized. The last thing she wanted was to worry him or anyone, but she had to get out of there and needed time before going back.

She knew he didn't really blame her for anything. He was just upset but relieved that she was mostly okay. So she just held him and let him cry, while whispering how much she loved him and how glad she was that he had found her.

Next chapter here; the 25th. Other story, Ladrien chapter; the 21st.