This story was actually borrowed from an idea I had for a much longer story that I outlined but never wrote. I liked the idea but it felt too much like a standard episode, focusing more on the akuma then our sweet-hearts. But this scene in particular within the outline, I really wanted to write.

Then last year, while going through past Ladrien June prompts, I came across 'Day #7: Sleeping Beauty' of the 2021 prompts and got excited. So I wrote this scene last year and called it a one-shot.

I was too proud of how it turned out to pass on posting it here. The tricky part was matching it with a prompt from this year's prompts. This one was the closest, but I'd rather call it 'Sleeping Beauty' just because it fits better.

Ladrien June 2023

Day #25: Goodbye Kiss (aka; Sleeping Beauty)

"I am Sleep Spell!" an akumatized girl in a dark blue night robe declared on top of a bus. "Soon, everyone in Paris will join my slumber party!"

Sleep Spell went after people, throwing handfuls of sparkly white sand into their faces that she pulled out from a small bag at her hip. As soon as she did, they fell asleep instantly. But that wasn't it. Once they were asleep, all the akuma had to do was touch them with the pillow she carried and then they were up again. Just not as themselves. Their eyes were open, but only slightly, with reddish bags under them. And they walked like zombies.

Sleep walking zombies that obeyed every command of their mistress.

Chat Noir and Ladybug stood on a bridge over the Seine, fighting off an army of sleep-walkers trying to grab their miraculouses, all while trying not to hurt them. They could see Sleep Spell sitting cross-legged on the ground, all the way on the far side of the bridge.

As much as she was enjoying the show, she knew this probably wouldn't work. Shadowmoth wanted their miraculouses and she wanted to keep her party going.

If her sleep-walkers couldn't subdue Ladybug and Chat Noir, then maybe she could just make them one of them. With them under her spell, they'll mindlessly remove their ring and earrings and hand them right over. Or she could at least take them off of their sleeping bodies.

With that, Sleep Spell approached the fight. If her sleep-walkers could at least distract them, she could hit them with her sand. But first, it might help to separate them a bit more.

She gave the order and the sleep-walkers split off. Half pushed Ladybug further down the bridge, the other half pushed Chat Noir in the opposite direction.

She went after Ladybug first. Upon seeing this, Chat Noir fought even harder to get to his lady and protect her. He knew she could take care of herself but they were very out-numbered and the last thing he wanted was for her to turn into a sleep-walker. He could not image having to fight her.

As Sleep Spell got closer, more and more people started just grabbing at Ladybug, no longer going for her earrings but trying to restrain her.

Sleep Spell approached. Sand in hand, an opening in sight, she threw it.

Hitting Ladybug directly in the face.

"Sweet dreams, Ladybug," Sleep Spell said smugly.

Ladybug tried to resist, but sadly, the magic was too strong. Her eyes closed and she fell to her knees, then the rest of her body hit the ground as well.

The sleep-walkers stepped away, allowing their mistress to get to her. Sleep Spell, with her pillow in hand, reached down and…

…a metal baton came out of nowhere and whacked it right out of her hand.

Chat Noir pounced, putting himself between her and his lady.

Sleep Spell ordered her sleep-walkers to attack while she went to retrieve her pillow.

"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir shouted, summoning his power. Then he slammed his fist into the ground of the bridge in front of him, cracking the structure in that area until it fell apart, creating a huge break in the bridge, of which the sleep-walkers could not cross.

There was a lot of dust in the air. Perfect cover.

Chat Noir turned around and grabbed Ladybug, lifting her up and carrying her bridal style.

With his lady in his arms, Chat Noir ran for it.

~*LB+AA*~

Chat Noir ran to the end of the bridge, then kept running until he came to the first big building he could see; the Le Grand Paris Hotel. Because he had used his power, he was going to transform back and needed a safe place to recharge. And to safely set Ladybug down. With her unconscious, she needed to be someplace comfortable and where nobody could touch her. She was totally defenseless if someone tried to take her miraculous.

As he approached the front entrance, the doorman let him in. There were a lot of people inside, hiding from the akuma. Mayor Bourgeois, approached them.

"Oh dear. What has happened to Ladybug?" he asked, concerned by the sight of the heroine unconscious in her partner's arms.

"She got hit with Sleep Spell's sand," Chat hastily explained. "If you don't mind, I desperately need a room. Something safe and secure for her to rest. Oh, and some camembert for my kwami."

"Anything for Paris's heroes. Right this way," Andre said respectfully, gesturing for the feline to follow him.

As a butler left to go fetch the camembert, Mayor Bourgeois lead Chat Noir into the elevator. They arrived on the top floor and the owner opened the doors to the Royal Suit. The mayor closed the doors after Chat walked in, leaving the two heroes alone.

Spotting the huge bed further into the room, Chat made his way over there and laid her down in the middle. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Chat ran back to the door and opened it to see the butler with a covered platter in his hands.

"Unpasteurized camembert, matured for two years, runny. We keep this specially reserved for you, Monsieur Noir," the polite man said.

"Thank you very much," Chat quickly said before just as quickly grabbing the platter and closing the door in his face. He didn't mean to seem rude, and the butler knew that from the last couple of times this had happened.

Chat went over to the table by the door and placed the platter down. The next second, his ring gave the final beat. In a flash of green light that traveled from his feet up to his head, Chat Noir turned back into Adrien Agreste.

Plagg flew out of the ring and landed on the table. "Uhhhhhhh. So tired. So hungry," he moaned in agony.

"I gotcha covered, Plagg," Adrien replied happily before removing the metal cover from the platter, revealing a small wheel of camembert.

At the sight, the black cat kwami immediately flew onto the stinky cheese. "Well hello, my ooey-gooey beauty!" he gushed before digging in.

"Eat up, buddy. We gotta get back out there," Adrien said, glancing at the open balcony glass door.

"What about her?" Plagg said with his mouth full, gesturing to his lady-love on the other side of the suit.

Adrien looked back over to her. What was he going to do? Adrien left Plagg to eat and walked back over to his lady, sleeping against her will on the luxurious bed. He stood on the side of the bed looking down at her peaceful form. He had tried to be careful when placing her down, but he was in a bit of a hurry at the time.

Carefully, he better adjusted her head on the pillow so it was nice and straight so she wouldn't wake up with a neck cramp. Then he took her wrists and folded them gently over the top of her stomach. Lastly, he fixed her legs to both lay perfectly straight together.

Satisfied that she was comfortable, Adrien sat on the side of the bed and just looked at her. Her beautiful face was relaxed and still.

Flashes of a familiar fairy tale appeared in his mind. A beautiful princess cursed into an enchanted sleep, then awakened from the kiss of her valiant and handsome prince.

Perhaps, the same thing could work here.

Ladybug had kissed him to free him from the evil influence of an akuma's power once before.

As much as he wanted to see if it would work…he just couldn't.

Stealing a kiss from his lady while she was out cold. It felt wrong.

He knew Ladybug did not love him. When Ladybug had kissed him, it was purely for the purpose of breaking Dark Cupid's spell. Were his intentions so pure? As much as he would try to convince himself that they were, he knew they weren't. Not completely.

In the fairy tale, the prince and the princess were already in love.

He loved her so, but she did not love him.

Not only would it probably not work, but it would be a sort of betrayal to her trust in him. Taking advantage of the situation just to get a kiss from her.

Then suddenly, her eyes opened.

Adrien jumped off the bed, startled.

Her eyes opened all the way, the spotted heroine sat up and looked at him in surprise.

"Adrien?" she asked, a bit confused.

"Ladybug…you-you're awake!" he exclaimed, also confused but very happy that she was indeed awake.

"What…what happened? What are you doing here?"

Adrien panicked for a moment but tried to not let it show as he quickly thought of a believable story and prayed that Plagg wasn't too focused on his cheese to hide somewhere.

"I was…hiding out in the hotel when I saw Chat Noir carry you in. I was worried, so I followed him up here. I knocked on the door and he had already transformed again so he asked me to just stay here and watch over you encase anyone came in," he quickly explained as naturally as possible.

"Oh," she said, seeming to buy his story. Adrien mentally sighed in relief. "Where is he now?"

"He left to go continue fighting Sleep Spell."

"By himself?!" she exclaimed. Ladybug moved off of the bed. Adrien offered her a hand encase she was groggy or wobbly from the effects of the magic. But she seemed fine. She stood with her own two feet on the floor without problem. "But…how am I awake? Did you…do anything?" she asked, a bit skeptically.

"No. Nothing," Adrien replied with his hands up in surrender. He had thought about trying something but thought better of it. And it's good that he didn't because it looked like the affects of the spell were only temporary. "Maybe Sleep Spell's spell just wore off?"

"Maybe," she said, walking passed him while she thought hard. "Her sand puts her victims to sleep, then her pillow turns them into sleep-walkers," she thought out loud, trying to piece together what she knew from observing this akuma. "She needs to be able to put them to sleep before she can turn them into a sleep-walker. Maybe the sleeping affect is only temporary, which is why she needs to turn them as fast as she puts them to sleep."

"Chat Noir told me that he got to you just in the nick of time before she could touch you with her pillow," Adrien added.

Ladybug's head snapped up. "Her pillow," she muttered before turning back to Adrien. "That's gotta be where the akuma is!" she exclaimed. She needed to go, especially if Chat was out there fighting alone. Ladybug walked back over to Adrien and took his hand. "Thank you so much for your help, Adrien. But I gotta go help Chat Noir," she said sweetly before leaning in and landing a quick peck on his cheek. Then she walked backwards until she made it to the balcony. "Stay here where it's safe. This nightmare will be over before you know it," she told him, then pulled out her yoyo and swung off into the city.

Adrien just stood there, frozen with his hand touching the spot on his cheek that she had kissed goodbye and a dopey grin on his lips.

"Who's having a nightmare? I've got nothing but sweet dreams," he said dreamily.

"Well wake up! We gotta catch up to Ladybug before she suspects something," Plagg said franticly, flying over to him from his hiding place, now reenergized from the cheese.

"Oh right. Plagg, claws out!"

Please review, favorite, and follow. I'd really like to know what u guys think of these (but please be nice).

Last chapter of Ladrien June will be posted the 29th. See u then ;D