Chapter 6: You had other plans to hang your hopes on

"Today could not get any worse," Adrien spat, squinting against the sun that was slowly setting behind the Ferris wheel, coating the previous blue sky with splashes of orange and red.

He gripped his cat plushie tightly by one of its arms as he glanced around for the exit. He hadn't really been paying attention to which way he and Nino had come in from, and every direction looked the same. Just stalls and rides and carousels, and every extra square inch heaving with people.

He hadn't noticed it before, but now it was becoming very clear that this place was full of screaming. Loud, unnecessary screaming, to the point where it sounded like people were more terrified than having any actual fun. Regardless, this only soured Adrien's mood even further. Did they have to shriek like their lives were ending?

He zipped open the schoolbag on his hip and rummaged around, checking to see if he'd remembered his earbuds.

Naturally, he was completely unprepared for the thunderous boom of an explosion that ricocheted through his ears from somewhere behind him.

Adrien barely had time to react before the shockwave crashed into his back, knocking the breath from his lungs and slamming him face-first into the unforgiving concrete. Both his schoolbag and the plushie had been ripped away from him by the blast, their whereabouts instantly lost.

The bloodcurdling screams increased in volume, but Adrien could barely hear them over the screeching tinnitus in his eardrums. His aorta threatened to burst open from the sheer force of his heartbeat, each thud vibrating all the way to his head and knocking painfully against his skull.

Gasping on empty lungs, he used his arms to prop himself up from the ground. Through his blurry eyesight, he saw a smear of blood mixing with the dirt below him. Was he bleeding? He couldn't tell. His face was too numb to feel any pain.

Movements sluggish, he sat back on his heels, swiping a hand across his nose and looking at it. Yep. Definitely bleeding.

Adrien didn't know if this was a terrorist attack, or some sort of natural disaster. All he knew was he should be a lot more scared than he currently was. But the explosion had left him in a state of paralyzing stupor he couldn't fight his way out of.

Other people were reacting accordingly: shrieking and rushing away like their lives depended on it.

Fear was something he understood well. When it took over, any sort of rationale was thrown out the window, leaving behind nothing but an overwhelming incentive to find safety, to survive. Nobody cared, or even noticed, if they accidentally rammed their shoe into the boy sitting on the ground as they raced by him.

Adrien winced as someone trod on his ankle, and he decided it was time to move. Ears still ringing and vision still glazed over, he struggled to get to his feet, fighting to gain control over his heavy limbs, and join everyone else in their mad dash to escape from whatever the hell they were running away from.

His efforts were thwarted when someone's knee struck him painfully in the chest, knocking him backwards so that he was once again sprawled on the ground.

A young blonde woman in her mid-twenties strayed from the roving crowd and crashed to her knees beside him, seizing his hand in hers and gripping it tight.

"It's okay, sweetie, I got you," she said in an attempt to be soothing. Adrien allowed her to pull him onto unsteady legs. She immediately took off running again, dragging him along behind her.

And that could have been the end of it. He could have fled, gone home, left this entire mess behind for somebody else to deal with.

But of course, his life could never be that simple.

As he stumbled over his own shoes, Adrien caught a shimmer of bright green from within the interlocked hands of himself and the woman. Curious, he glanced down, and immediately felt his heart drop.

The ring on his finger — which definitely hadn't been there two minutes ago — was flashing at him, color dimming and growing continually.

The miraculous.

His miraculous.

Beforehand, his brain might've been a bit too worked up to put two and two together, but everything that was happening right now suddenly made sense. The flashing green was a call for help. And he was supposed to be the one giving the help. An akuma attack was his mess to deal with.

But no. He couldn't. He'd told Plagg he couldn't— why the hell was the ring back on his hand?! He turned away, trusting the woman to guide him through the masses. He hoped if he ignored it for long enough, the ring would disappear again.

But the flashing didn't stop. He could still see it through his periphery, demanding his attention. The feeling of dread clamped tighter and tighter in his stomach, until he couldn't take it anymore.

Adrien tried to slow himself down, but the woman was stronger than she looked.

"Wait," he croaked, voice lost among the pandemonium. "Wait," louder. "WAIT! Let me go!" He dug the heels of his shoes into the ground until he skidded to a halt, and yanked his hand out of her grip. He balled it into a fist and held it close to his chest, ring still incessantly flashing.

The woman spun around and reached out for his hand again, but he resolutely shook his head, taking a step backwards for emphasis.

He looked into her eyes: desperate and apologetic, but above all, terrified. He wasn't worth waiting for and Adrien knew that. She turned on her heel and ran, leaving him behind.

But just because he couldn't run, that didn't mean he was prepared for the alternative. He stood frozen, like a rock amidst a stampede. The hustle of frightened civilians continued to pour past him, bumping his shoulder and pushing him around as they did so.

Stopping had been a mistake. His head was spinning. The coiling dread from his stomach had spread to his chest as well.

It burned. Like destruction. Like last night.

The memory of the demolished train flashed through his mind, causing the dread to flare through his lungs and suddenly he was choking.

"I can't..." Adrien gasped.

I can't use that power again. I can't hurt innocent people. I can't let the blood on my hands build up any more than it already has.

I can't.

His hands gripped his hair and pulled hard, trying to stabilize himself before fear dragged him into its icy depths. He couldn't allow himself to drown. Not again.

Fear was something he understood well.

It was all too much for him to handle. Reality washed away, The screaming, the chaos, the panic, the sky; they all evaporated from his consciousness, leaving an empty vacuum of darkness behind, in which he was the only inhabitant.

Looking upwards, he saw dozens of colorful swirling galaxies floating high amongst the black sky, raining very faint beams of light down upon him. They were taunting him. Because he knew he'd never be able to reach those galaxies.

Never.

No matter how hard he tried.

Adrien squeezed his eyes shut and hunched in on himself, hands still clinging to his hair, chest still heaving. He didn't want to deal with those galaxies; he didn't want to deal with anything.

It Will Be Okay
(Courage In Me - Chat Noir edition)

"I can't breathe.
There's no air up in space.
All the walls closing in,
Memories start to dim.
Nothing solid to place.

Spiraling.
All the hand-holds are gone.
Ladybug needs my help,
She can't do this herself.
Where is all this doubt from?"

A luminescent glow penetrated his eyelids. Adrien opened his eyes to see an ethereal ball of light drifting through the air, shrouded in dancing whisps. The light whizzed toward him and twirled around his body a couple of times, leaving a trail of glittering green and black, before taking off into the distance.

Unsure of why, Adrien's legs began working on their own accord and he found himself chasing after it. He jumped across large stepping stones and tore through the faint black clouds that swarmed the area, determined not to lose sight of the mysterious entity.

"Am I afraid to be who I am?
To do what I can?
Power that I hold inside me
Could destroy the city, but man
I don't give a damn.
I need to have faith and believe

Everything might be okay.
Why worry 'bout it anyway?
I can just do my best
And can learn all the rest,
So they say.

Everything might be okay.
Just get up and save the day.
Fears and anxieties
Have no place within me,
Go away!
It will be okay."

He tripped over one of the stepping stones and landed hard on his knees, hands splayed out on the surface beneath him as he panted lightly.

The glowing orb didn't wait for him; it flew further and further away until the murky black ink swallowed it up. His heart sank, and he knew he would give anything for it to come back.

"Chat Noir.
That's the name that I chose.
Testament to my grace,
Don't let it go to waste.
Will it work, heaven knows.

Enemies
Getting under my skin.
Things aren't in my control
And it's taking its toll,
But I won't let them win."

His eyes widened as the light returned and descended upon him once more. It hovered in front of him, cautiously gliding from side to side. In a cloud of sparks, Plagg manifested into existence, green eyes deep and inquisitive as he stared down at his holder.

"Are you ready, Adrien?" he asked, tone completely void of his usual jovial nature.

No.

That was the obvious answer. Adrien wasn't ready. Fear was like poison; it burned far stronger than his physical injuries did.

He wanted to diminish it. He wanted to be brave.

But fear wasn't the opposite of bravery. It was its source. He was slowly starting to realize that saying no just wasn't an option anymore. Not for him.

He was chosen for a reason.

Instead of committing to an answer, he tried a different approach.

"W-What if I hurt someone again?"

Plagg's ears twitched. "Kid, power always comes with risks. You've just gotta know how to enhance it properly."

Adrien nodded, rubbing a thumb over his flashing ring. He slowly stood up, one shaking leg at a time, and took a deep breath. Then he closed his eyes and forced himself to speak with as much assurance as he could muster.

"Plagg... CLAWS OUT!"

He wasn't sure why, but the magic was softer this time. Maybe because he was truly letting it in. It felt warm, freeing, serene. He glanced down to see the black attire wrapping itself around him, fusing him with his kwami to make one unstoppable force.

Every item came back one by one: the ears, the mask, the bell, the baton-

Chat Noir grabbed his weapon and extended it, a green pawprint shape glowing brightly from its center. He twirled the silver stick through his fingers before flipping it and catching it again, his dexterity in the suit unmatched.

With a grin that stretched wider than a chasm and an enthralling adrenaline that spiked through his limbs like lightning, he broke into a sprint. Not running away from anything this time, but towards.

Towards danger. Towards his destiny. Towards Ladybug.

"What's seen as monstrous
Is just a matter of perspective.
These powers I reap, I can keep
And only take what I can give.

I won't kick up a fuss.
I won't leave the Bug undefended.
I'll stand by her side, and I'll provide
Her with tools to get rid

Of bad guys, their allies
And the crimes that they try,
Tonight.

There must be a way,
I have to stay.
My moment's today.
It will be okay."

He rammed the end of his baton into the ground and catapulted himself high into the air, arm outstretched to touch the swirling galaxies as he ascended upon them.

It wasn't impossible. It wasn't out of his league. He could reach them. And he would.

His fingers brushed against the edges of their dust. Then the galaxies disappeared, along with the entire abysm of darkness.

Reality crashed back in rather abruptly, but Chat Noir was ready for it. His braced himself as his feet hit the dirt, leaving him standing in the fairground once again.

But this time as a brand new person.

He glanced around to survey his surroundings. The place was almost desolate now. Distorted circus music and empty crisp packets floating in the breeze were the only factors that proved people had recently been here.

Everyone had left, except him and—

"Chat Noir!"

Immediately after her shout, Ladybug lost control of her yo-yo's direction. She faltered mid-air and crashed straight through a hotdog stall with a deafening bang, breaking apart one of its wooden walls and landing in a heap among the debris.

Chat Noir instantly ran to her side and helped her up with his free hand. "I thought the suit gave you super agility," he said with a grin, suppressing the urge to start laughing. Though he suspected his elation also had a lot to do with the fact that he was genuinely happy to see her again.

"It does!" she insisted, wobbling to her feet and dusting herself off. "I was just... super distracted." She looked up at him and her blue eyes widened. "Shit, are you okay?!"

He flinched back. "What? What's wrong?!"

"There's blood on your face!"

"Oh..." He rubbed a hand across his philtrum and stared angrily at the patch of red that appeared on his gloved hand. The magic had numbed his injuries to an almost unnoticeable degree. Would it have killed it to fix the blood, too? "Yeah, no, that happened while I was in civilian mode."

"That doesn't answer my question—"

"Bug," he said quietly, catching sight of a blurred pink and black shape approaching him from the side. "Is it okay if we talk about this later?"

Ladybug followed his gaze and she nodded, yo-yo already poised in her hand. They both slowly stepped away from the ruined hotdog stall to address the new arrival, remaining close to one another like it was instinctual.

If Chat Noir didn't know any better, he'd say this woman was dressed for a Halloween party, the top-hat and wand completely selling the look for a magician.

But the gleam in her eyes was what really gave her away. They flickered with something remorseless and inhumane. He wondered how akumatized victims worked. If the magic inflicted upon them turned them evil. Or if Hawk Moth just chose people who already had a twisted heart.

Her pink-glossed lips stretched into a smile. "I think it's about time you both surrender your miraculous."

"Oh yeah?" Ladybug said, venomous. "Or what?"

The magician simpered. "Is that really a question you want answering, little bug?"

Her wand darted out, generating electricity from its tip. Chat Noir recoiled, wondering if it was possible to jump out the way of literal lightning.

But the weapon wasn't aimed at him. The lightning struck a box of balloon animals to his left, a flurry of plastic dogs instantly springing to life, growling and barking with perfect mimicry of the real thing.

They began advancing on a small blue bundle that was lying on the ground and crying softly, which he hadn't even noticed until just now.

Someone left their fucking baby behind?

"Hey, get away from him!" Ladybug's yo-yo swung into action, pulverizing the dogs on impact one by one and reducing them to plastic and air.

Simultaneously, Chat Noir skidded under her and grabbed the baby in his arms, holding it close to his chest. "It's okay," he whispered, gripping the wriggling form tightly. "I've got you."

The soft cries slowly morphed into high-pitched cackles. Confused, he glanced down at the infant's face. Instead of seeing cute and squishy flesh, a red balloon with an angry cartoonish expression was staring back at him.

He gasped sharply and threw the baby that was definitely not a baby away from him. It hit the ground hard and tumbled over itself a few times.

Ladybug clearly hadn't caught on. "What the fuck, Chat?!" she shrieked, making a beeline for the bundle.

"Wait!" He frantically grabbed her wrist as she passed him. "It's a trick—"

The blankets fell away from the not-baby as it began to grow in size, each appendage made up by its own individual balloon.

The two superheroes watched in dumbstruck horror as monster rapidly inflated. Within seconds, it was taller than the Ferris wheel itself, blocking out the setting sun with its translucent body as its cackle deepened into a malicious laugh.

One of its bloated legs moved through the air, intent on squishing them. Hand still fastened around Ladybug's wrist, Chat Noir quickly pulled them both backwards and out of harm's way.

"You see, cockroach?" the magician sneered, following them as they backtracked through the fairground. The colossal balloon stood behind her, as if waiting for further instructions. "All bets are off now!"

Ladybug pulled her wrist free and threw herself into a battle stance, propelling her yo-yo. "Not on my watch."

Chat Noir's sensitive cat-ears twitched as he heard a gun being cocked behind him.

He pivoted on the spot and came face to face with a man dressed as a mime, decked in black and white, with face paint to boot. There was no gun in his hand. Technically. But something told Chat Noir that the magic of the akuma did more than just give people fancy costumes.

"There's two of them?!" he proclaimed, throwing his arms up. "Are you kidding me?" It worked well enough to notify Ladybug without making it seem like they'd been caught off guard.

The magician pulled a handful of playing cards out of seemingly nowhere and narrowed her eyes. "Time to make you disappear."

Ladybug and Chat Noir found each other's eyes. One shared glance and they already knew which adversaries they were going to deal with, turning their backs on one another with complete trust.

The cards crackled with electrical discharge as she threw them at the two teens. At the exact same time, the mime pulled the trigger on his 'gun', ripping apart the sound barrier with a bang.

Chat Noir watched the trajectory of the invisible bullet. The way the air rippled around it was only evidence it was coming towards him at all. He muttered a 'cataclysm' under his breath, feeling his hand crackle with power, and then expertly caught it with a well-timed lurch.

He felt the bullet's momentum wither and die in his palm, barely sensing the impact through his suit. He opened his fist and let it crumble uselessly to the ground. It couldn't hurt him or his partner anymore. And that was because of him.

His cataclysm.

His heart thrummed with a rush of exhilaration. Maybe Plagg had been right. He just needed to enhance his powers and learn to use them correctly: to protect instead of destroy.

Behind him, he heard the whistling of Ladybug's yo-yo slice through her threats.

"You good?!" she asked him over her shoulder.

His grin flickered briefly, before he remembered they were in the middle of a battle, and snapped back to attention.

"I'm good," he replied, grip tightening on his baton. "Let's do this."

゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜

Ladybug blinked groggily from her position on the ground, the sudden silence deafening.

The monster was nothing more than pieces of torn balloon; the spinning Ferris wheel had come to a complete stop, its carriages creaking gently from side to side; the once-rogue rollercoaster was safely on the ground; the two akumatized victims were lying motionless; and dusk was rapidly falling, painting the sky a light shade of pink.

A pair of legs approached her, and she looked up to see Chat Noir offering her a hand.

"The Louvre," he said with a smirk. "Ha! Good point."

She laughed, despite the pun being terrible, and took his hand. Because any reason to be holding it was a win for her.

Their moment was cut short by a demonic screeching sound, and they both looked up at the source.

A swarm of dark virulent butterflies gathered together high above, assembling into the distorted shape of a man's face that grinned maniacally down upon them. The pinkening sky surrounding him began to blacken, as if his very presence was poisoning the clouds.

Ladybug stood tall, stoically holding eye contact with Hawk Moth's avatar. His 'eyes' were shadowed and soulless, and yet still managed to bore into hers with a glare that filled her entire body with prickling fear, chilling her to the bone.

"Next time, there will be no mercy," Hawk Moth's malicious voice boomed over the crowd, the soundwaves carrying an eerie dread along with them. "You will fear me. I swear it!"

Chat Noir angled himself so he was standing slightly in front of Ladybug. "Tell it to somebody who cares, Hawk Moth!" he shouted.

"We're not afraid of you," Ladybug said, her conviction impressing even herself. "And we won't stop until we've defeated you!"

Two purple butterflies pulled themselves out of each of the villains' unconscious forms and fluttered upwards into the air, their purpose fulfilled.

Chat Noir glanced at her. "You know what to do, right?"

With a nod, Ladybug took her yo-yo back out, hurled it at the akumas and caught them, ignoring the way Hawk Moth laughed as if mocking her.

She spooled her weapon until it was back in her hand and then opened the compact compartment, releasing the butterflies, now a harmless pure white, from within.

"Bye bye, little butterflies," she said softly. Then she held the yo-yo up above her head. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Her trusty bevy of glittering ladybugs shot out into the air, disbanding in all directions with her as the centerpoint, leaving glowing streaks of red in their wake.

She lowered her yo-yo and watched as her ladybugs enveloped the Ferris wheel, the rollercoaster, the nearby houses — anything and everything that needed to be restored or repositioned (or revived). They flew towards Hawk Moth's horde of butterflies and made quick work of ridding them from the sky.

It wasn't until after he was gone that the fear tightening around her chest loosened its grip, and she could breathe a little easier.

"You did it, watermelon," Chat Noir uttered, his eyes widened in awe and wonder as they followed the ladybugs through the city.

But her eyes, full of similar emotions, were locked solely on him. "We did it, kitty."

"La Bande aux Chapeaux!" a police officer called out, approaching the two teens. A whole crowd of people were not far behind him, evidently feeling safe enough to walk back into the battlefield now that the damage had been fixed. "You just caught the most wanted thieves in Paris!"

"And saved our lives," Alya added, stepping around him with a phone held up in her hand. She beamed at each of them in turn. "Ladybug, Chat Noir, you guys are heroes! Anything you'd like to say to the camera?"

Ladybug clapped a hand over her mouth to smother the laughter that threatened to bubble up, as she thought about the irony. Alya had no idea she was talking to her best friend right now.

"Um..." Ladybug composed herself and turned to look at Chat Noir, offering him a chance to take the lead. But he only smiled and nodded assuredly at her.

She exhaled long and slow, before reverting back to Alya. "W-We know we had a bit of a rocky start," she began. "But we're finding our feet a little now; we understand what we need to do. Hawk Moth is an enemy of Paris and we want him gone as much as everyone else. We're committed keeping this city safe, and we'd be honored if you allowed us to continue being your... h-heroes."

The last word left a bitter taste on her tongue. It fitted within the context, yes, but she wasn't a fan of how egotistical it made her sound.

She glanced over at Chat to try and read his opinion, but he didn't seem at all deterred by her words, instead offering her a thumbs up.

"I need to ask!" Alya continued, her eyes bright with excitement. "Are you guys dating?"

Ladybug felt all the blood rush to her face, and she casually glanced away from the camera to try and hide it.

"We're partners," Chat filled in for her. He said the phrase so fondly, Ladybug's heart flipped with euphoria.

She realized a second later that the word had more than one meaning.

"As in co-workers!" she clarified, her laugh strained. "Not dating in any way."

"Right!" he agreed. "Co-workers! That's what I meant."

She looked into Chat's eyes, alive with the green fires she loved so much. "But... we're stronger together."

"We are," he said softly, and then held out his fist toward her. "Pound it?"

Ladybug hesitated. "What?"

"Uh, first bump."

"Oh!" She bumped his knuckles with her own and laughed. "Pound it!"

"It's been real," Chat Noir said, bowing theatrically. "Until next time, milady."

Her pulse sped up and she opened her mouth to reply, only to choke on air as she forgot how to form words. Oh sure, standing up to a villain was a piece of cake, but this boy managed to shake her to the core with nothing but a smile and an endearing comment.

He must've caught her facial expression, despite how hard she tried to hide it, because his mirthful persona instantly dropped.

"Oh, um... it's okay if I call you that, right?" he asked, anxiously messing with his hair. "I swear I'm not trying to come onto you or anything. I only see you as a friend! I-I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable..."

"Haha, what?" Her voice shook like a washing machine in its final minute of a cycle run. "No! It doesn't bother me. It's like me calling you kitty. Lady, kitty, what's the difference? It's just a nickname. It doesn't have any meaning at all! I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable."

He visibly relaxed. "Nope, all good here. See you later, milady!"

"See you...!" She trailed off upon realizing he'd already pole-vaulted onto a nearby roof, scampering away into the darkening sky. "...later."

Her mouth lifted into a tight smile as she watched him disappear. His words were still echoing through her mind. I only see you as a friend!

Well, that was certainly a revelation. She wondered if she should be relieved. It meant romance wouldn't get in the way of their mission. Hawk Moth wouldn't be able to abuse their love for each other, because it didn't exist.

They were just friends. And every rational part of her brain told her that was a good thing.

But deep down, Ladybug knew she wasn't that selfless. She knew every time their hands touched, or he threw her a smile, or he said something to make her laugh, her heart would further swell with affection. These feelings inside her had become so tangled, she wouldn't even know how to begin undoing them.

And maybe she didn't want to untangle them. Because how could she let go of something this good?

"Is everything okay, Ladybug?"

Barely holding in a squeak of surprise, she wheeled around to address Alya, having forgotten she was still very much in public, and everyone within a fifty-foot vicinity had just witnessed her staring off into space.

"Yes!" she said, grin entirely too forced. "I should, uh, be heading off now! So, um... Bug out!" She threw out her yo-yo and zipped away before anyone could reply, cringing internally at her own ridiculousness.

Because she was a superhero, not the star of a romance movie.

And she needed to start acting like it.

゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜

Chat Noir strolled down an empty street, casually whistling as his tail swished from side to side.

Glistening stars were beginning to appear above him, as the last of the sun's light vanished from Paris. But they weren't what he was focusing on right now.

Surreptitiously glancing around one more time to check he was alone, he ducked into an alleyway next to a run-down thrift shop.

"Plagg?" he said, leaning against the brick wall. "Um... I've forgotten the detransformation phrase again. Could you please...?"

The black suit was swept away by the magic and the familiar kwami appeared beside him, his smile revealing tiny fangs. "See, kid? You're a natural!"

"Oh, I don't know about that..." Adrien fiddled with the strap of his schoolbag (which was inexplicably back over his shoulder, even though he'd lost it during the attack. The healing spell truly worked wonders). "That mime guy probably would've snapped me in half if Ladybug hadn't intervened."

"I once had a holder who tried to fight an active volcano and ended up melting to death in the lava."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be helpful?"

"Yes! What I'm trying to say is, you could be doing a lot worse."

"Yeah, well..." Adrien pulled himself away from the wall and began his walk home. "At the very least, this is going to take some getting used to."

Plagg flew into his shirt pocket to remain out of sight. The street was desolate enough for them to have a conversation, but that didn't mean someone couldn't be watching. "Does that mean you're sticking with it this time? Keeping the miraculous and all that?"

Adrien rubbed his lips together and nodded. "It's my destiny, right?"

"Destiny shmestiny," the kwami scoffed, poking his head back out. "You just got lucky. Or unlucky, depending on your perspective. Anyway, I'm starving. Got any camembert at your house?"

"I think I do. But I get the feeling I'm gonna need to buy a whole lot more, huh?"

Plagg snickered. "You won't be transforming otherwise, I guarantee you that."

"So, uh," Adrien cleared his throat, "How exactly does this work? Do you just... stay with me all the time?"

The thought made him heat up in embarrassment. Because, if he was being honest, there were a handful of activities he did not want company for whilst doing.

Plagg shrugged. "Within reason. You never know when an akuma attack might break out."

"And you're a secret, right?" Adrien asked, trudging up the driveway of the Agreste mansion. "I can't tell anyone?"

"Absolutely not. No one can know you're Chat Noir."

"I understand not letting the whole city know. But..." He thought about Nino, Alya, Marinette. "Surely telling a few friends wouldn't hurt."

Plagg's eyes narrowed into slits, the darkness of the night intensifying their green glow. "The word of mouth is the most dangerous information sharer of all. You tell one person, then they'll tell another person, then so on and so on, until Hawk Moth himself finds out. And after that, you might as well admit defeat."

"Got it. Tell no one," Adrien said, reaching for the handle on the front door. He hesitated and glanced at Plagg. "Speaking of keeping you a secret, you may wanna hide now."

Plagg ducked his head back into the pocket. "Am I about to meet your family?"

Adrien grimaced. "Sort of." He twisted the knob and stepped through the threshold.

Nathalie abruptly stood up from her desk, the paper she was reading slamming down onto the wood. "Adrien."

The front door banged shut behind him. "Hey, Nathalie."

Her calm composure was almost believable, but he could clearly see the frantic look in her eyes. "You haven't been answering your phone."

"It died," he said, the lie coming easy to him. He supposed lying just came with the territory of being Chat Noir, so he might as well get used to it.

"Why didn't you come home like your father asked you to?"

He countered her question with one of his own. "Why didn't you tell him about the fair?"

Her posture slackened as she sighed heavily, pushing up her glasses. "I figured you deserved some fun. But there's only so much I can do. At the end of the day, you are Gabriel's son. Not mine. So if he asks you to come home, then you need to do so."

Adrien shoved his hands into his pockets. "I tried. The, uh, akuma attack kinda got in the way."

Her brow furrowed. "Were you hurt?"

"I was fine. I found a safe place to hide." He wasn't necessarily annoyed at Nathalie, but the anger harbored within him needed to go somewhere, and he found it slipping out despite his best efforts. "And even if I hadn't, the magic ladybugs would've fixed any damage done. Even if I'd died, I would've just sprung right back, good as new."

Nathalie shook her head. "Don't talk like that."

He threw his arms up. "I'm just saying! You literally have no reason to be worried."

Her smile was tight. "And yet, I worry anyway."

Adrien rolled his eyes and advanced past her, toward the kitchen. "At least someone worries about me."

"He does care, Adrien," she said, making him pause. "You know that, right?"

Adrien didn't turn around. He didn't want her to see the sheen of frustrated tears clouding his eyes. "I'll believe it when I see it."

He made his way to the fridge, snagged a wheel of camembert without any explanation, and then stomped up the stairs, not even offering Nathalie a backward glance.

"Seems like there's a lot of family drama going on here," Plagg said after the coast was clear, head once again popping out of his designated pocket. "Mind catching me up to speed?"

Adrien chuckled cynically. "I wouldn't even know where to begin." He pushed open his bedroom door and flicked on the lights.

Planetarium the cat plushie was sitting on top of his bed, staring up at him with lifeless eyes.

Adrien blinked in bewilderment. He approached the toy and picked it up, examining it from all sides. It was definitely the same one he'd won at the fair earlier that day.

But how on earth did that work? The schoolbag technically made sense; it never would've left his person if the akuma attack hadn't happened, so of course it reappeared on him.

But the plushie being in his bedroom?

"Huh," he said, dropping the plushie down next to his pillow. "Guess the healing spell is even better than I thought."

゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜

When Ladybug saw the bedroom light up from the corner of her eye, she peered around the chimney she was hiding behind, confident that the darkness would camouflage her from view. The tilt of the roof and the uneven tiles she was sitting on meant it wasn't the most comfortable position, but she couldn't care less right now.

She watched through the wall-length window as Adrien cautiously approached his toy and picked it up, his face creeping into an amused smile.

The aching of her limbs suddenly felt worth it and her own face stretched into an expression tantamount to his. Considering her work done, she stood up and tossed her yo-yo, soundlessly swinging away.

This definitely wasn't part of Ladybug's job description. Tikki wouldn't be happy with her when they got home.

But no one said she couldn't occasionally abuse her powers for the benefit of her friends.