"Bugaboo? You awake?" I whisper. I'm ready to start the day, but I don't want to start it without Ladybug. Today is the day of the meteor shower that Aria talked about, but we have a full day ahead of us. Ladybug opens one sleepy eye. "Your lucky you didn't take a pillow to the face, Kitty." She yawns and sits up, smiling. She's so brave, I think to myself. Especially the news about her parents, and still she manages to keep her head up. "Grumpy, grumpy. I know!" I snap my fingers. "I know exactly what will put a smile on your face and a sparkle in your eye! Coffee!" "Mm, coffee sounds good." She mumbles, wrapping her arms around my tummy and snuggling into my chest. I can't help it when the purring starts up. "Or we could stay here and snuggle?" Whack! Ah, the pillow has met its mark. "No. Coffee. Come on, get up."

I ask Ladybug if she'd liked to get dressed, but she tells me she'd rather wear her hospital gown. "My tummy's still not perfect, and the materials light and loose," she explains as we enter the dining room.

We get in line to get food, and Aria spots us in the serving line. "Ah, good morning, you two. Ready for the shower?" "I wouldn't miss it. Cat might take a nap during it, seeing he loves cat naps," she teases, giving me a slight poke. "I'll get you back for that," I whisper in her ear. "I thought I should tell you about the pool room on the third floor. Hardly anyone goes up there anymore because of the dust, but the competition between you two is legendary!" Ladybug and I look at each other. "Only when we're not battling satsumas," Ladybug explains. "M'lady will always be first in my heart," I look at her lovingly. "Aw, Kitty. Are you trying to get brownie points?" She bursts out laughing as my mouth drops open. Aria laughs as well. "I'll leave you to your breakfast."

"You might always be first in the humor department," Ladybug banters with me. "But I'll always be first at making plans." "Hey, everyone could use a good pun." Ladybug's eyes soften. "I don't think I would have made it, if it weren't for your puns some days, love." Is there fuzz in my ear, and am I hearing her right? "Meow," I smile, digging into my cereal. "Don't get a big head!" she giggles.

We banter back and forth as we eat, and it feels good to laugh and flirt. After breakfast, we drop off our trays, then holding hands we make our way to the pool room. "Its not that dusty in here," Ladybug says. "Oh, what a beautiful table!"

The game is set up, just waiting to be used. "Sometimes when Papa wanted to get away from the bakery, we'd go and have supper and play pool, just the two of us." Her eyes are far away at the memory. "You any good?" I ask, shutting the door behind me. I quietly flip the lock as she answers. "Let's just say, I let him win...sometimes." I take down the sticks from the wall and hand one to her. "You wanna play?" She nods eagerly.

She's good, right off the bat, but my competitive side kicks in quickly. Plagg and I may not have had a pool table at home, but we had Foosball.

I lean over the table, setting up my shot, when I hear Ladybug gasp. I look up quickly. "What's wrong?" "Nothing, you just look kinda hot," she tells me, her cheeks flaming with color. "Oh? Am I distracting you?" I sink a ball perfectly and smirk at her.

I must have flustered her (in a good way) because the balls scatter and roll, and none drop into the pockets. I walk over to her, setting aside my stick. "Try again, love. Here, I'll line you up." I help her get into position, and then my hand slides down to her bottom. "Shoot."

Crack! The ball rolls and drops in with a satisfying clatter. "Thanks, Kitty. But aren't you flirting with the enemy?" My breath catches and my hand stills. "You'll never be my enemy." She nods, but I hear a soft sound coming through her throat. She backs up into me. "Cat, please," she whispers. I slip my hand under gown and leave my palm on her backside. "Kitty," she moans. I begin to rub in a circular motion, and she lets a tiny sigh. But then I change course, peeling them off. "You can have them back if you win," I whisper, nibbling at her ear. "Oh, its on."

Now the game is hot and sultry, and our "legendary" competitiveness kicks into gear. Ladybug walks up just as about to take a shot. "Cat?" "Yes," "Good luck," she giggles, brushing her fingers across my arm.

Thwack! Arrgh, off course! Ladybug claims victory in the end, and she leans against the table, grinning looking smug. "Better luck next time," she says. "You would have good luck, Lady Luck," I growl, and devour her lips.

I lift her into my arms, still kissing her, but scanning the room. A wide sofa catches my eye, and I stride towards it.

Laying down, I help pull the gown over head, and take her in. "You might have won the game, Bugaboo, but I got something even better. You."

I begin planting kisses, working my way down her body, and unhook her bra. She sits up for a second, tossing it aside. "You are the most beautiful creature on earth," I tell her as I slip inside her. "And mine, understand?" She nods, her eyes glowing. "Ready, M'lady?" she nods, and I start moving slowly, in and out, going deeper and deeper. Our breathing speeds up as I move faster, thrusting into her and hitting her sweet spot. She shudders as she calls out my name, and we collapse, only to catch our breath and begin to again.

It must start to rain, as we cuddle under the blanket I found. Ladybug is warm and soft as we snuggle, and I let out a contented meow. "Cat?" "Mm?" "You were snoring." "I don't snore!" Ladybug picks up a pillow. "Wanna bet on it?" "Okay, maybe just a little." I sigh. "I hope it clears up for the meteor shower. I'm really looking forward to it."

Fortunately for us, it does clear up and Aria loads us down with blankets and a picnic basket. If we choose to, we can sleep under the stars.

We find the tall pine easily enough, and I help Ladybug up onto a sturdy branch. By the time were settled, the clouds are cotton candy pink, and darkness is falling. Ladybug shifts beside me. "Cold?" "Just a little." We snuggle in a blanket, and soon all can be heard is crickets chirping out their evening song.

I'm growing sleepy when a streak of sliver flashes across the night sky. Ladybug and I sit enchanted, watching the celestial show. "We may not be able to rewrite the stars, M'lady. But I won't want to be on this journey with anyone but you."

The shower last about an hour, and the clouds roll back in. We find shelter in a tree just as the first droplets are splattering on the ground.

Papagino runs through the storm, hoping to reach the two heroes in time. He saw them waiting for the shower and took off once the coast was clear. He knew he had to be stealthy, or surely he would be caught.

But just as he reached the tree, the shower started and he dived into his hiding place. He sat panting, waiting to catch his breath,but before he knew it Papagino was asleep. When he woke, the sky was dark and angry. No, had he missed his chance to warn Ladybug and Cat Noir? No, they were still here, sleeping in a tree they have very cleverly camouflaged. He'd find them in the morning, and Papagino turned to go back to his hiding spot when he tripped on a massive tree root. He groaned in pain, holding his ankle. What would he do now? He was thankful for the darkness that hid where he lay, but if he called out, he could be discovered.

He sighed, curling up into a ball. This is not the way he had planned things.

Ladybug and Cat Noir slept oblivious, not knowing that the stranger was outside in the rain, coming to their aide. Ladybug shifted in her sleep, she could feel her senses tingling, or was that just a pine branch?

At Hawkmoth's castle, The Purple Butterfly couldn't sleep and took to the ramparts for a walk. He had seen Papagino leave. Fool! Now he'd have to find a new bird-man, for surely he wouldn't return.

His crows slept peacefully in their enclosure, and Hawkmoth grinned evil in the darkness. He would send the birds in the morning to teach Ladybug and Cat Noir a lesson. After all, birds like shiny objects, and what's more shiny then a Miraculous?

"Cat. Cat." I can feel Ladybug shaking me. "Ladybug, its still dark out. Go back to sleep, love." "Cat, I thought I heard someone or something out there." "Bugaboo, we have our powers, we'll be…" I slip back into dreamland.

When I open my eyes in the dream, a young girl that looks startlingly like Marinette is looking at me. "Chase me!" she squeals, giggling as she flees, her two pigtails flapping wildly. Its easy to catch her and I swoop her up in my arms. "Gotcha, Emma Boo!" "Daddy!" I sigh happily, as she hugs me, snuggling down onto my shoulder. "Let's go home. I'm sure Mama has dinner on the table."

A good smell gets stronger and stronger as we head for home, but the world keeps fading, getting blurrier. The last thing I see is Marinette opening the door to the house. Then I wake up.