Chapter 1

The late August sun beat down upon Paris from a brilliant, cloudless sky. The city was full of bustling noise as its inhabitants tried to take advantage of the last days of Summer. Cars drove with the windows rolled down, blasting upbeat music as they passed. Hordes of people explored the many kiosks, strolled along the river banks, and flew kites in the refreshing breeze that blew through the parks and along the busy streets.

Alya sat perched at a small round patio table of an open-front bistro just off campus. The computer before her displayed the latest article she'd been commissioned to write, and her overflowing notebook and third coffee of the day rested beside it. She tapped her pen on the paper impatiently, trying and failing to find the right words to fill her introduction. Letting out a sigh, she set the pen down and reached up to nudge her glasses onto her forehead. Pressing her fingers against her eyelids, she enjoyed the cool wind that played across the back of her neck, momentarily dispelling the day's heat.

As she sat there, Alya began taking in some of the chatter of the people surrounding her. A couple of women walking along the sidewalk were gabbing about a dinner party they were planning. A little girl was asking her uncle questions at a neighboring table as he patiently tried to teach her the rules of chess; Alya smiled at the girl's names for each of the pieces, including "Princess Pony" and calling the pawns "prunes."

An irritated voice caught Alya's attention. She curiously peeked through her fingers to see a man around her own age standing in line for the bistro's counter, clearly in a heated phone discussion.

"No, Mother… Mother I'm fine… No, I'm not moving back home. School's starting and… Yes, I understand you're worried, but as I told you last week, I like my job. I mean I'm honestly used to the Akumas at this point! Everyone is!"

'Ah,' thought Alya, suddenly realizing what was going on.

It was a familiar discussion that she'd heard a dozen times in recent months. A number of people she went to school with had already left the city in favor of transferring to places where the threat of supervillain attack was a bit less common.

For the people of Paris who'd lived with it for nearly a decade, the Akuma attacks had sort of become standard news. Sure, there were still plenty of people who experienced a thrill of fear every time they heard some bangs and explosions in the distance. However, most folks planned the risk of attack into their daily schedule, much like leaving their house early to account for rush hour traffic. And when friends or family called to check in, it was not unusual for them to insist their loved ones move out of the city at once. Or, at the very least, ask for updates about the escapades of their favorite superheroes and villains.

Alya had always considered herself pretty good at keeping a cool head during attacks; after all, she'd been directly involved in enough of them. She'd had a deep love for superheroes ever since she was little, and the excitement she got from running straight into the heart of battles always overshadowed any fears she might've had.

It wasn't really until Puppet Master's attack in January – when Marinette had been so badly injured – that she finally started to see these attacks as truly dangerous. And it seemed as though the rest of the city was of the same mind.

Ever since that incident, Paris had been rallying behind their heroes with a new intensity she'd never seen before. To learn that their beloved heroes were not perfectly infallible – that they couldn't always set everything back to normal after every attack – made them all realize that there was actual risk involved.

There had even been a lot of anger towards the city's law enforcement and politicians for not doing more to bring this villain to justice. A new chief of police had been appointed, replacing the father of Alya's old schoolmate, Sabrina Raincomprix. From what she could tell, this new guy – Chief Thomas Benoit – had actually been extremely helpful to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Multiple times, he'd done an amazing job of getting civilians to safety so that the heroes could focus on the Akumas. He'd even contacted Alya about her old Ladyblog, asking her for permission to use it as a civilian hotline and resource in tracking down Hawkmoth himself. The Ladyblog was more popular than it had been in years as people tried to take matters into their own hands and bring the villain to justice.

A soft ding from her computer's speakers brought Alya out of her contemplation.

Pulling her hands away from her face and repositioning her glasses, she grimaced as she shifted to unstick her thighs from the wooden seat. As much as she loved Summer, she was really ready for some cool Autumn weather. The notification in the corner of her screen told her that Adrien had just sent her a large folder. Clicking on it, her mouth drew into a smile when she saw the page full of picture thumbnails from last week's camping trip.

Adrien had spent a week and a half earlier that Summer in the American Rocky Mountains, participating in a photo campaign for the prAna company. He'd joined a small team that climbed a handful of the 14ers closest to the city of Denver. When he returned home, he'd brought a huge assortment of backpacking gear for himself and Marinette, and enthusiastically insisted that the four of them go out for a camping weekend before school started up.

Nino and Alya were no strangers to hiking adventures. They both enjoyed traveling regularly for their jobs, and there was no better way to see a new place than to walk it.

By the end of that weekend, though, it was clear that Marinette was a city girl through and through. While she kept a good face about sleeping in tents, carrying heavy loads, and doing business in the woods, all of them could see how relieved she was to be back in urban civilization.

As Alya clicked through the pictures, her smile grew.

Adrien had done amazing work photographing their trip, capturing stunning shots of the wilderness and wildlife they'd encountered, sprinkled with plenty of excellent shots of the four of them. Of course, no small number of pictures featured Marinette as their focus.

Alya snorted affectionately as she clicked through several in a row of Marinette blushing furiously and laughing as she tried to snatch Adrien's camera away from him.

Her two friends had become next to inseparable in the past months. Alya had the sneaking suspicion that the near-death incident, as horrible as it was, had caused Marinette to finally break out of her comfort zone and take the next step in her relationship with Adrien.

'Well, at least one good thing came of that horrible time,' Alya thought.

She and Nino were beyond thrilled about this turn of events; it had been something they'd all be waiting for ever since their years in middle school.

"And speaking of waiting…" Alya muttered under her breath as her eyes flicked down to the clock on her computer screen.

Her friends should have joined her at the restaurant for lunch a while ago, and now they were all officially late.

Frowning slightly, Alya reached under her chair to grab the phone from her purse, preparing to message Nino. She was halfway done with her text when a flash of movement outside the patio gate caught her eye.

Alya looked up to find Nino and Adrien hurrying up the path between tables, looking gently frazzled.

"It's about time!" Alya called, waving them over. "What's going on with you two? You look like you've just seen –"

"An Akuma?" Nino offered, coming over to her as Adrien scanned the patio. "Well, you're not wrong."

"Really?" Alya raised her eyebrows, quickly closing her computer and feeling more awake now than she had from any of her three coffees.

"An attack just started a couple blocks down," Adrien confirmed. "Where's Marinette?"

"She hasn't shown up yet," Alya replied, shoving her stuff into her bag and leaving payment for her coffee on the table.

Adrien craned his neck to peer up and down the street when they got to the sidewalk.

Alya could hear distant screams and what sounded like a man shouting. She couldn't quite make his words out.

"I should go look for her," Adrien said, turning to face Alya and Nino.

Nino smirked at him, nodding in agreement.

"Give us a call when you find her, kay?"

Alya quickly pulled out her phone, opening up her camera and turning on the spot to try and see where exactly the battle was taking place. The commotion sounded like it was getting closer.

"We'll meet up here when all of this is over, kay?" Adrien called, starting to head off down the street in the opposite direction of the noise.

Nino nodded. "See you in a –"

"LOOK OUT!"

There was a loud humming noise and a flash of bright red.

Suddenly, Alya's breath was knocked out of her. A sharp pain in her shoulder told her that she'd just been knocked against the restaurant's stone siding.

Nino had his arms wrapped protectively around her.

Looking over his shoulder, Alya saw Adrien was nowhere to be found. She caught a glimpse of Ladybug swinging around the corner at the end of the block. It looked like she was carrying someone, but before Alya could get a better look, she heard a strained grunt come from Nino. Quickly she pushed him off her and placed her hands on his cheeks to see where he was injured.

"Babe! Are you ok–"

The words died on her tongue as she took a better look at him. It was as if time had been set on fast-forward; where one moment Nino stood there looking perfectly ordinary, the next his hair had turned grey, and he'd grown a bushy beard to match. Wrinkles framed his amber eyes as he looked back at her, worry streaking across his face when he saw her surprise.

"What? What's happened?!" he exclaimed, his voice coming out a little deeper and hoarser than before.

"Well, I guess this means we know what the Akuma's powers are."

Alya ran her fingers through his silver hair, and Nino frowned at her.

"What are you talking – " Nino stopped dead, staring at his reflection in the window beside her. He let out a yelp as his hands flew to his face. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Hun, calm down. You look fine!"

Alya fought hard against the laugh that threatened to burst out, pressing a hand to her lips as she watched her boyfriend closely inspect his new, sagely features.

"I look like my grandfather."

"Yes," Alya snorted, unlocking her phone and opening the camera once again as she hurried down the street towards the sounds of the battle. "Well, haven't you always said that you wanted to grow up to be as suave as him?"

"I mean, I expected it to happen over the course of decades, not seconds!" replied Nino irritably as he finally turned away from his reflection to hurry after her.

"Don't worry babe, you still rock a beard better than anyone!" Alya shot over her shoulder. "Oh, by the way…"

She spun on her heel and raised her phone up to him. When the sounds of the camera shutter went off, Nino scowled.

"Why?" he grumbled.

"For the Ladyblog!" Alya said brightly, turning around to continue running. "And for your Mom. You know she's gonna get a huge kick out of this!"

Adrien felt a great lurching in his stomach, and opened his eyes to find himself soaring through the air. Looking around, he discovered that he'd been flung over Ladybug's shoulder, and she had an arm wrapped securely around his waist. She used her yo-yo to swing around a building's corner and up onto the rooftops of a block of department stores.

He smiled affectionately at the back of her head, realizing that she'd just saved him from an Akuma's attack so that he could be sure to fight by her side.

"Sorry to snatch you up like that!" Ladybug called to him. "But we've got a monster to stop!"

Coming to a halt, Ladybug made to set him down, but Adrien grinned devilishly and wrapped his arms around her neck so that she had no choice but to hold him up, one hand under his knees, the other supporting his shoulders.

He beamed up at her, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Adrien, what are you –"

"Wooow, Ladybug!" Adrien gushed, fluttering his eyes at her. "You saved me! You're so cool and strong…"

"Oh for the love of –" Ladybug rolled her eyes and let her arms drop down.

With a whoomph, Adrien sprawled at her feet, flinching to keep his exposed skin from touching the roof's hot tiles. He let out a bark of laughter as he gazed up at her.

"Wait, nooo!" He reached out to her playfully. "You're my hero, Ladybug! You're so pretty and brave and awesome and –"

"And ready to smack you if you keep this up," Ladybug cut him off, but he could hear the amusement in her voice as she stepped over him and out of his reach. Her cheeks had taken on a shade of red that had nothing to do with the sunburn she'd gotten while camping. "Just transform, you idiot cat."

"As M'lady commands," Adrien said, smirking as Plagg emerged from his pocket to hover between the two of them.

"Do you two have to be stupid and lovey-dovey every single time?" he wined.

"Excuse me?" Ladybug scoffed, looking over her shoulder and putting her hands on her hips as Adrien sat up and rested his arms on his knees. "I'm the one trying to act like a professional over here!"

"Seriously?" Plagg drawled. "You're the one who didn't have to save the idiot cat's ass in the first place."

Adrien nodded stoically.

"He's got a point. I mean it's almost like…" He let out a theatrical gasp, his hands flying to his cheeks. "Does the beloved heroine of Paris like me?!"

Ladybug rolled her eyes again and turned back to fully face him. She opened her mouth to retort, but her words were drowned out by a shout of alarm from below.

Forcibly reminded of why they were on the rooftop in the first place, Adrien leapt to his feet and cried, "Plagg, transforme moi!"

Plagg's final muttering of, "Idiots" faded with the burst of green light that momentarily surged around them, and suddenly Chat Noir stood beside his Lady, flashing her his usual Cheshire grin.

"So, Bugaboo, what exactly are we dealing with?"

"Well…" Ladybug peered over the building's ledge, and Chat followed her gaze to see a tall, elderly man in a tweed patterned suit and homburg hat walking purposefully along the street.

He held a polished wooden cane in his hand, and Chat's ears picked up the sharp crack it made with his every step. For all the world, this man could have simply been enjoying an afternoon stroll in the sunshine, except for the fact that his skin was as pale white as parchment paper, and nearly as translucent.

Before either of them could move, the Akuma caught sight of a couple young men hurrying away from him.

There was a loud hum and Chat felt a sort of static pulse shoot through the air as the Akuma spun his cane and brought it against the ground.

CRACK.

Chat Noir gasped as he saw that the two young men suddenly weren't so young anymore.

"This'll teach you!" the Akuma cried. "This'll teach ALL of you! You can't just throw the Sage away because of old age! Not when everyone else is old, too!"

"From what I can tell, this guy didn't get a promotion or something because he's a bit older," Ladybug said beside him, and Chat looked down at her as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "If I were to guess, I'd say the Akuma is inside the cane. Thoughts?"

"Makes sense to me," Chat nodded as she glanced up at him. "That does look like where his power seems to be coming from. Do you have a plan yet?"

"You go low, I go high?" Ladybug suggested.

"Come from behind? I'll keep his attention," he offered, shooting her a wink before they both dove in opposite directions.

Chat lithely made his way down the side of the building to land on all fours in the middle of the street, several yards from the Sage. He noticed a few civilians peeking out from behind the shop windows on either side of the street.

"Aren't you a little old to be acting so childish?" Chat called, standing up and rolling his shoulders. "I mean, I know they say, 'act the age you feel,' but this seems a little counter intuitive, dontchya think?"

The Sage turned to face him fully.

"I am really, really tired of children telling me what to do," he growled, the grip on his cane tightening.

"Um, rude!" Chat scoffed dramatically, catching a glimpse of his Lady making her way along the roof behind the Akuma.

She was holding what seemed to be a large, elaborate kite. He assumed that must be her Lucky Charm.

"I mean, I think I should get a little more credit," he continued, "for the fact that I know how to file my own taxes, thank you very much."

Before the Akuma could retort, Ladybug flew off the roof. Holding the kite above her head, she brought it down with a cry of "Take that!" and effectively trapped his arms between the fabric and string.

The Sage, however, twirled the cane between his fingers and caught her ankle in its hook.

Ladybug let out a yelp of surprise and tumbled to the ground.

Chat hurried towards her.

"You ok?"

"The Akuma!" she cried, glancing up.

He spun to see the Akuma throwing the kite trap to the side.

The Sage began to swing his cane over his head, and a hum filled the air again.

Chat let out a battle cry and launched himself forward.

Trying to direct his attack, the Sage turned to follow him, but in a fluid motion, Chat flipped into the air, soaring right over the top of the Sage's head and snatching the cane out of his hands.

In another swift motion, he snatched up the kite and thrust it firmly back over the Akuma's head, this time wrapping his arms together with the kite's string.

"A gift for you, M'lady," Chat said, moving towards her and offering her a hand, helping her to her feet.

"Aw!" Ladybug gushed, taking the cane with a dazzling smile. "You shouldn't have, Kitty! It's not even my birthday."

"Anything for you, my dear," Chat swept into a low bow.

Ladybug raised the cane high and brought it down onto her knee, splitting it in half with a loud snap.

As she caught up the dark butterfly and quickly restored the world to its former normalcy, Chat turned and made his way over to the old man sitting on the ground where the Akuma had just stood. The man was gazing around in confusion until he spotted them. A look of understanding flashed across his face.

"I didn't mean to get so upset," the man said sadly as Chat helped him stand up. "I was just… angry. The company I helped build said they wanted to replace me with someone younger, and I guess I just…"

"I'm so sorry," Chat said gently. "It's not right that they were prepared to just get rid of you like that after all the work you've done to get your company where it is today. Is there any way you could still participate in how things are run?"

The man looked at him thoughtfully before shrugging.

"Eh, we'll see what happens. I'm sure my husband would be thrilled to have me finally considering retirement."

"I hope you can find a way to transition on good terms," Chat offered kindly. "Don't let them bully you into anything, yeah?"

Chuckling, the old man offered Chat a hand and he shook it. "You know, young sir, you're alright . Thank you for helping me out of that vile darkness."

"My pleasure, Monsieur. Good luck."

Ladybug appeared by his shoulder and offered the man his un-Akumatized walking cane, which he took gratefully before turning to go.

"Everything ok?" she asked, looking between the two of them.

"Yeah," Chat said. "I just… I wish we could help more, sometimes."

"I know what you mean," Ladybug said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But we can't solve everyone's problems."

Just as he heard her earrings give off their tell-tale beep, a small flood of news reporters appeared and quickly approached them, cameras and notepads in hand. A jumble of questions reached Chat Noir's ears.

Before he could open his mouth to respond, Ladybug had stepped forward to address them.

"Sorry to be rude," she said kindly but firmly. "But we really must be going!"

The two of them hurried off, launching into the air and soaring over the crowd until they found a secluded corner a couple blocks away.

Detransforming, Adrien looked around to see Marinette catching Tikki out of midair. The angry lines of her camping trip sunburn were made even more apparent under her navy sundress. Where her spotted suit had hidden the worst of it, these thin straps did not.

"Well, at least that was easy," he said fanning himself in the heat, and she shrugged.

"Too easy," she muttered, pulling her phone out of her pocket to check the time. "Crap, we totally missed our lunch window. Have you seen Nino and Alya yet?"

"Yeah, they were going to try and get some footage of the fight last I knew."

Plagg was staring at Adrien pointedly, so he began rummaging in his pockets for cheese.

"Did they say where to meet up?" Tikki asked over the bit of pastry Marinette had just fished out for her. "There's still a few minutes before you guys have to head back to work."

"They should be back at the restaurant," Adrien nodded.

Taking Marinette's hand, they hurried out onto the street which was once more filled with people going about their business. They wove their way down the block, and rounding the last corner, they heard a familiar voice calling their names. Looking around, he saw Alya waving them over to where she and Nino stood waiting.

"Are you guys ok?" Nino asked, giving them a sweeping look, searching for injuries.

"We're fine," Marinette smiled. "I just had to save Adrien's butt from getting blasted by the Akuma, but other than that…"

"Oh please, you're the one who fell over." Adrien exchanged an amused glance with her before turning back to their friends. "Did you get any good footage for the Ladyblog?"

"Ohoho, I did better than that."

Alya pulled her phone out and Nino let out a huff beside her as she flipped through it to a particular image, holding it out proudly for Adrien and Marinette to see.

"Wait… is that…?!" Marinette gasped and Adrien burst out laughing.

"Man! You got blasted?"

"Ha ha ha," Nino rolled his eyes, crossing his arms indignantly.

Adrien could tell he was fighting to hide a smile.

"Alya, please send that to me," he demanded, grinning as he pulled out his own phone. "This is absolutely going to be your new caller ID picture."

"Done!"

"Dude!?" Nino exclaimed.

"Don't fight it, babe," Alya patted Nino gently on the arm. "Do you guys still have any time left to grab a bite?"

"No, I'm sorry," Marinette wrapped her arms around Alya's neck apologetically. "I really need to get back to the bakery. The afternoon rush is probably just starting."

"Shall we raincheck, then?" Nino suggested. "We can figure something out for tomorrow?"

"Sounds good to me," Marinette smiled, quickly giving both Alya and Nino a peck on the cheek before taking Adrien's hand. "We'll have more time to catch up then, anyways."

They waved goodbye, and Adrien gave her hand an affectionate squeeze as they headed off in the direction of the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

"How long do you work tonight?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"I'm closing."

"Didn't you open this morning?" Adrien raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah," she sighed. "And I closed last night too."

"Isn't that a bit much?"

Marinette shrugged again. "That's what my parents said too. I'm just trying to get in as many hours as I can before school starts, you know?"

"I guess," Adrien looked at her sideways. "But you look kinda tired. Are you sure you're not pushing it too hard? I'm pretty sure they expect you to go back to school rested."

"It's fine," Marinette grinned up at him. "Although I think I'm going to skip patrol tonight, if that's ok?"

"That's fine, Bugaboo. Are we still going to Master Fu's tomorrow?"

"Yeah of course," she nodded. "I have a new shirt for him."

"Tropical?"

"Always."

They paused at the top of a set of stairs leading down to the underground subway system.

Adrien leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

"Be sure to get some good sleep tonight, kay?"

"I'll text you later," Marinette said, giving his hand a squeeze goodbye as she turned to go.

Adrien watched her walk away, admiring how the sun reflecting off her dark hair made it look exceptionally blue for a moment. He smiled to himself before heading down the stairs to find the train that would take him back to his office.

The remainder of Adrien's afternoon was filled with video calls and meetings. By the end of the day, he was thoroughly tired of work. He'd barely gotten to see his friends that afternoon, and he'd been counting on spending a little more time with Marinette than just taking down yet another villain.

He stayed late into the evening, though, enjoying how quiet the building got when the day lights had been turned down and most of the people had left. He cherished times like this when he could actually finish things up without interruption.

The moment he left his office, his feet made his mind up for him. He climbed up a few flights of stairs until he emerged onto the roof.

The night sky was lit up with the orangey glow of the city. A warm breeze ruffled his hair as he breathed in the delicious smell coming from a nearby restaurant.

Plagg flew out from Adrien's shirt pocket and perched on his shoulder.

"So, we're going to the girls' place, huh?" he inquired, and Adrien grinned down at him.

"I think the city can survive without a patrol for one night."

Plagg gave a little whoop of enthusiasm, spiraling off Adrien's shoulder to loop happily through the air.

"Beautiful cheese, here I come!"

Adrien laughed, amused at how much his catty Kwami had grown to love Marinette. As much as Plagg had tried to hide it, justifying his enthusiasm with the excuse of loving the cheese she always had, Adrien could tell how deep his affection for Marinette ran.

He rolled his shoulders before taking a running leap off the roof's ledge. In a burst of light, he landed as Chat Noir on a neighboring building and sprinted off in the direction of Marinette and Alya's apartment, his tail fluttering out behind him.

It only took him several minutes to make his way over the busy roadways and loud street corners where people enjoyed the pleasant evening. Even though the air was cooling off with the absence of the afternoon's blazing sun, by the time he flipped onto the building across from their apartment, he was feeling uncomfortably hot.

Pausing for a moment, he carefully observed his destination through the living room windows.

Alya was pacing in the kitchen, her phone held between her cheek and shoulder while her hands were occupied with a spoon and a pint of ice cream. She let out a laugh, and from what Chat's sharp ears could pick up, she was talking to Nino.

He smiled as his eyes slid over to Marinette's window, which sat open to let in the night air.

She was standing in front of her mirror wearing only some sleep shorts and a sports bra, twisting her arms around uncomfortably to try and reach her back.

Chat tilted his head in confusion until he noticed the bottle of Aloe Vera laying atop the bureau beside her, and suddenly understood what she was trying to do.

Springing across the street, he soared easily through her window. As his boots hit her wooden floor, Marinette let out a yelp and jumped back in surprise.

"What the– ?!" she exclaimed loudly, stumbling into her bureau with a loud crash.

Chat was before her in a swift, fluid movement, one hand catching her around her waist to stop her fall, the other pressed over her mouth.

"Shh!" he hissed, grinning. "Alya is still in the kitchen!"

"Mar?" came Alya's voice through the door. "Is everything ok?"

Chat widened his eyes imploringly.

"Is everything ok, Princess?" he whispered.

Marinette reached up to pull his hand away from her face with a huff, though he was pleased to note that she held onto it, weaving her fingers between his almost unthinkingly.

"I'm good!" Marinette called out. "Just tripped. No worries!"

"Ok, goodnight Ms. Clumsy!"

Chat noticed the kitchen light shining through the crack under in Marinette's turn off.

"Goodnight!" Marinette said distractedly over her shoulder, before turning back to him. "What are you doing here?" she asked softly, raising her eyebrows.

"I missed you," he shrugged.

Marinette let out a dramatic gasp. "Does this mean the beloved hero of Paris likes me?!" she said, making fun of his words from earlier.

Chat was only half successful in stifling his laughter as he dropped his transformation.

Plagg appeared to hover in the air beside them, looking rather expectantly at Marinette.

"Hello Plagg," Marinette smirked, glancing sideways at him. "Let me guess..."

Stepping away from Adrien, she reached for the insulated lunchbox that held a permanent place on her bookshelf.

"Hello!" came another familiar voice, and Adrien turned around to see Tikki perched on one of Marinette's bedposts, happily munching on a cookie that was easily twice her size and already halfway gone.

"How's it going, Tikki?"

Adrien reached over to give her an affectionate pet on the top of her head with his thumb.

"Great," she chirped. "Marinette was just talking about how she wished she could've seen you more today, too."

"Was she, now?"

He grinned, feeling thoroughly pleased at his decision to come over.

Marinette turned towards him away from Plagg, who was already filling his cheeks with a rather odiferous cheese.

"Yeah, yeah, so I missed you too."

She returned his smile, though.

He reached out to cup her cheek again, this time leaning in to brush his mouth against hers. He felt her hum happily against him, but as he trailed his hands gently over her shoulders, she broke away and hissed in pain.

"I'm so sorry!" Adrien threw his hands up in alarm. "I totally forgot!"

"No, no!" Marinette gave him an apologetic look, grabbing his hands and holding them tightly. "You're totally fine!"

"I guess this means minimal cuddling still, huh?"

"Correct," Marinette said, moving gingerly back in front of the mirror and grabbing the Aloe bottle again. "I'm just glad these burns are finally starting to get better."

Adrien thought her use of the term "better" must be very loose in this situation. The lines where her normally pale skin met the deep red of sunburn still stood out in high contrast. Now it looked almost worse than before, as the damaged areas were beginning to blister and peel. He really, truly felt sorry for her.

Despite their best efforts to be responsible with the sunblock during their camping trip, they had spent their last afternoon playing in a river, which must've washed a lot of it off. But where his, Alya's, and Nino's sunburns had already faded into healthy tans, Marinette it seemed would only every transition between the tones of "porcelain ghost" and "cooked lobster," as Nino had put it. None of their burns even hurt anymore, really. It was only poor Marinette who was stuck with the worst of it.

"I just can't – reach – this – one – spot!"

Marinette tried and failed once again to reach an elusive point on her back with her fingers covered in the soothing gel.

Adrien chuckled, reaching out to push her arms down.

"Don't worry, I got your back."

Marinette gave him a grateful smile and moved away from her mirror over to her desk.

As Adrien quickly stripped out of his work clothes down to a t-shirt and briefs, she switched on a small fan near her window. It slowly started to rotate, pulling the cooler air from outside into the warm room. Adrien sighed in relief, enjoying how the temperature was already beginning to drop.

Tikki and Plagg bid them goodnight (mostly Tikki, as Plagg was still stuffing his mouth with cheese) and flew up to the top of Marinette's tall bookcase. She had set up a sort of mini pillow fort in the space between the bookcase and the ceiling; it was their Kwami's favorite place to hide away and get some privacy.

Marinette climbed onto her bed and slumped face down on the mattress, letting out a tired sigh.

"Busy day, huh?" Adrien asked, moving to sit cross-legged beside her and putting a dollop of Aloe on his hands.

"Yep," Marinette grunted her voice muffled through the pillow before she turned her head to look at him. "I've been helping Mom and Dad train the new kid."

She yawned hugely, and Adrien could tell that she was fading fast now that she'd lain down.

"Edmund, right?" Adrien gently traced the skin of her back with the lotion, feeling how much heat the burn areas were giving off and trying his best to be delicate. "How's that going?"

"Mmm," she sighed, reaching out for his free hand and gently tracing the cat tattoo on his forearm, her eyes closing lazily. "It's going fine. He's a fast learner and seems to do really well with the customers."

"Do your parents like him?" he asked, smiling as her warm fingers left tingles on his skin.

"Yeah. I think my Dad is a little disappointed that I won't be around to help with the decorations as much," Marinette sighed, "but I'm sure they'll train him up for all that in no time."

Adrien reached out to put the lotion bottle on the desk and turned off her lamp light. Stretching out his legs, he laid down on his side, facing her.

"I have a hunch that he's more disappointed that you're going to be so wrapped up in your final year that you won't have as much time with them."

"Hmm," Marinette mumbled. "How 'bout you? How was your day?"

"Eh, fine I guess. The usual. I got all the pictures from our trip edited."

"I saw those. I wanna hang some of them up."

"I'll get you some prints this week."

"Mmm. Good."

Her breathing was already slowing to a soft rhythm.

After a moment, Adrien realized she was already asleep. He grinned as he watched her in the soft street light that came in through her curtains, moving his fingers to deftly pull a soft strand of hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear.

"I love you," he whispered, and closing his eyes, he too let himself drift gently out of consciousness.

He was in some sort of room. He could barely make out the walls in the darkness. There was no hint of a door or windows. Just endless walls and corners, trapping him in a box. He trailed his hands frantically along the paneling, turning this way and that.

There had to be a way out.

There had to be an escape.

And he only knew, with absolute certainty, that he had to escape.

In desperation, he threw his shoulder against one of the walls. He'd rip apart a hole with his bare hands if that's what it took. Again and again and again, he beat at the dark material. Yes, there! The sound of splintering wood met his ears. It was working!

"Adrien, my love."

Adrien froze, his heart jumping into his throat. He knew that voice. He hadn't heard it in nearly a decade, but there was no way he could ever forget. Slowly, hardly daring to believe it, he turned around. There, standing in the middle of the room, illuminated by a strange blue light, was his Mother.

"Mom?"

"Adrien, you can hear me?" Her eyes softened as she smiled and raised her arms, welcoming him in. "Oh honey, I've missed you so much."

Adrien ran towards her, stretching his hand out in front of him, trying desperately to reach her. But she never moved closer. As hard as he tried, his feet were not carrying him across the room. He sprinted with all his might, but she only seemed to be moving further away.

"Mom!" he cried, his voice feeling raw in his throat. "Mom wait!"

"I love you," she whispered.

"Mom please don't go! Don't leave me!"

Adrien's foot landed on nothingness and he lurched forward. There was no floor. He was falling, down, down, down into the endless darkness.

"I love you, my son."

Adrien woke up with a gasp, his eyes blowing wide to take in Marinette's dark room. The fan that sat on her desk slowly turned to blow a soft breeze in his direction.

Beside him, Marinette slept on, her breathing steady, and her lips puckered as she squashed her cheek into her pillow.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, Adrien pushed off the mattress and came to a sitting position, running his hand through his hair. He realized he was trembling. His heart was still pounding from the dream he'd been having moments before. He frowned trying to recall more clearly what had been weaving through his mind.

"It happened again, didn't it?"

Adrien looked up, just barely making out Plagg peering over the top of the bookshelf, his slitted eyes reflecting the soft golden glow from the lights beyond the window.

Ever since their battle with the Puppet Master, Adrien and Plagg had shared the residual effects of absorbing the Akuma's dark energy. Things had gotten much better over time, especially when they both spent more time with Marinette and Tikki. But it was not unusual for them to get a violent nightmare every now and then. And when that happened, linked as he and Plagg were, they would always feel the same darkness. It was a burden they shared, but because they were in it together, they could at least offer each other understanding and solidarity.

Adrien frowned. The dream he'd had was far from the normal night terrors. Usually they had something to do with Hawkmoth or some monstrous Akuma. But this dream had been no Akuma, so why…?

'It's the anniversary,' he thought suddenly.

They were approaching the anniversary of when his Mother disappeared from his life nearly a decade ago. He'd had dreams about her before, whenever this time of year came around. He supposed it was just another one like those before, but he still didn't understand why Plagg would have sensed anything when it was simply a dream about his Mother.

"What time is it?" Adrien whispered, looking around for Marinette's clock.

"A couple hours till dawn."

"Is Tikki asleep?" Adrien whispered.

"Yeah."

Plagg floated down from the shelf to hover beside him.

"Good. Let's let them rest. I need to run for a bit. Transforme moi."

Welcome to the official sequel of 'A Brand New Dawn'! You guys, I've been planning this story for about a year now, and let me tell you I am SO FREAKIN EXCITED to finally begin sharing it with you!

Now, if it's not quite clear, TWHU takes place between Chapters 12 and 13 of ABND. I really wanted to have fun exploring our dorks' relationship while it was still a bit new during that missing year, plus there's a lot I wanted to address regarding... *ahem* other things in the Miraculous universe ;}

As far as this fic goes, I currently have a whopping 16 pages of this story outlined chapter-by-chapter, with several different conclusions I have yet to decide on (but as with ABND, I'm pretty sure the right ending will present itself as I work through the story) so we'll see how that goes. I will try and update fairly regularly, but there's this pesky thing called a "day job" that I am pouring most of my energy into, as well as commissions and other aspects of a busy life, so please forgive any hiatus-type moments in advance! Just know that I'm fully committed to sharing this whole story, and with some much appreciated patience from you all, TWHU will get done eventually!

Thank you everyone who supported ABND and took the time to send in comments! Without you guys, I never would've gotten this far! This one is for you 3