Adrien's perspective:

Adrien rolled over in bed, phone in hand.

10 p.m….

What was he supposed to do with himself?

…

Adrien hadn't been sleeping well and his body was growing used to it. So he wouldn't be able to fall asleep for at least three hours… And he really didn't want to spend his time thinking about Alya. Or anyone.

Figures…

He actually wanted to sleep, for the first time in, what? Months? And now he couldn't. Damn it.

Adrien was just so exhausted by his head. Alya this, Hawkmoth that.'

And Ladybug…

He shook his head.

Stop thinking about her! The sooner you relax, the sooner (maybe) you'll be able to fall asleep and the more energy you'll have when you actually get to see her.

That's how sleep worked, right?

You relaxed and your body just naturally shut itself down…?

…

He kind of understood why he'd never liked sleeping all that much before. He didn't like to relax. Not even that, he just didn't like to let go of his thoughts. Adrien could lie still in his bed for hours, just thinking.

But, damn it, not tonight. Tonight he wanted to sleep.

…

Ugh… this was so boring. So uneventful. It was a thousand times better to wait until you drop down, exhausted. Better to keep yourself busy. Because this waiting to fall asleep… It was so… useless.

He wanted to be out there finding Ladybug right now.

But the best, and maybe only, way that he was going to do that was by getting sleep. Last time, he failed. He wasn't as alert and aware as he should've been. Adrien knew that. Sleep was supposed to fix that, wasn't it?

Adrien checked his phone again. 10:05. He wasn't even sure bodies could fall asleep this early… All the highschoolers he knew stayed up to midnight regularly... That might just be a lifestyle choice though… Like him.

No wait! He was pretty sure that Marinette went to bed pretty early. She seemed like the type… Then again, he didn't really know.

Ugh.

This was such a chore.

But if sleeping got him what he needed, it was worth it. Ladybug was worth it.

She was.

Adrien put his phone on a table beside his bed so it wouldn't distract him.

Hmm. What would make Adrien tired?

Thinking of school? No. Adrien liked school. At least, he liked it more than literally everyone he went to school with.

Thinking of photoshoots? Okay, yeah. That would tire him out. He really hated photoshoots… Not sure if it would exactly put him to sleep sleep though.

Maybe he should, dunno, count sheep or something. That was a thing wasn't it? Yeah. It was. Adrien was almost positive.

Okay, here I go.

One.

Two.

Three. Four. Five.

Six. Seven Eight.

Nine. 10. 11. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 18 19 20 21222324252627282930-

Ok. Not working.

Adrien sighed.

This was so stupid.

Why was he having such a hard time sleeping?

Adrien heard his phone vibrate (it was on silent) from the table it sat on a few feet away. Ugh. The one time Adrien didn't need a distraction from sleep…

Sighing, Adrien reached his arm out away from his bed, resigned. If he ignored the notification, he would just end up checking it later that night, and that wouldn't exactly help him either. Would it?

He grabbed his phone from the side table and lazily read the notification. It was from the Ladyblog (interesting) and Alya had apparently distracted Adrien from sleep for-

What?

Adrien instandly sat straight up and turned up his phone's brightness.

No way. No. Way.

…

But there it was: a Ladyblog update. And since Adrien was right here in bed, that could only mean…

Adrien couldn't help the small laugh he made. This was unbelievable. It wasn't an old sighting from earlier either, like Alya usually posted.

He read it again.

"Ladybug spotted roaming the city right after 10 P.M."

Adrien couldn't remember the last time Alya had updated so soon.

Who cared?

Adrien had what he wanted and he wouldn't need to sleep to be able to do it well. He hopped up out of bed and called out for Plagg.

The dark little monster yawned from the other side of the room where he was reading some old comic of Adrien's. "What?"

Adrien waved his phone in the air, barely able to stay calm. "We're going out."

Plagg squinted at the phone. "Why on earth-" he flew closer. As soon as he was able to make out the words, he glanced back at Adrien. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Wouldn't you just rather, I dunno, go to sleep? Sleep sounds great, doesn't it?"

Adrien couldn't believe his luck. Out of all the times that Ladybug could've gone out into the city and Alya could've seen it, it happened now. He wasn't about to waste his opportunity.

Adrien narrowed his eyes. "Plagg, we're going out. I'm not taking no for an answer."

Plagg sighed. "You never do…" He turned and flew back to his comic where he folded the page (much to Adrien's horror) to mark his spot and closed the book. "I'm going to be honest, Adrien. I don't want to go out and stalk your partner at night like some kind of creep. Before you do anything rash, just know that some secrets aren't meant to be discovered. I know you want to find out who Ladybug is under the mask, but, kid, I'm telling you that knowing won't solve any of your problems. And you don't really want to get into another tussle with Ladybug, do you?"

"Plagg, you've said all of this before. I'm not changing my mind,'

"You saw how she was today!" When you went to fight Rubik's cube. She was jumpy. When is Ladybug ever jumpy? It was because of you. Because you snuck up on her and tried to follow her. Remember how distressed she looked today? She doesn't want anyone to know…" Plagg stared Adrien in the eye. "I think you should respect that."

…

"Plagg, what you don't seem to understand is that Ladybug doesn't know what she wants or doesn't want! That's the whole point of learning her identity! So I can help her figure out what she really wants, because I know that something is up with her. And it all stems from that guy she likes. That's why I'm doing this! So spare me all the talk about how I'm being disrespectful and disobeying her wishes! I refuse to sit back and watch her be influenced by something that is obviously harmful to her. Call this intrusive or invasive. I call it an intervention. I call it a rescue."

"... You're going to regret this."

Adrien looked at Plagg who was looking at the ground. He wasn't as spirited as he usually was. He looked almost… dejected. Usually, the arguments lasted a lot longer…

Maybe he was tired. Adrien knew he was.

But he wasn't going to give up.

"Let's go, Plagg."

It was windy. Kind of loud, but nice.

It had been a while since Chat had enjoyed a night out like this. Things had been… overwhelming lately. With any luck, this would be the night he finally ended all that. Or at least, maybe he would make the first step.

He narrowed his eyes into the darkness, forcing them to adapt. Alya's update hadn't said where Ladybug was, which was strange, but he would just have to deal with that.

He didn't exactly want to think of it as a game of cat and mouse, but that was what it was, wasn't it? Except, he wasn't going to eat her when he caught her…

… God… No. That sounded so bad and just creepy and wrong.

Ok, so not like a game of cat and mouse.

…

Hide and seek? No, still creep territory.

Tag? Not exactly what he was doing, but better than his other options…

What am I doing?

Chat, focus.

He looked around, trying to think again. Where would Ladybug be?

Where could she be that Alya had seen her?

… No, that wasn't helpful… Alya was a superhero now, she could go anywhere in virtually no time. Also, it was kind of her civilian job to report on Ladybug. She would be looking for Ladybug too, which meant she wouldn't necessarily be somewhere she would normally.

Anything else?

Chat was pretty confident she wouldn't be at her and Chat's usual meeting spot. It didn't feel right to be there alone… Chat could speak from experience. Plus, it wasn't like she was exactly trying to see him… So she would avoid their roof...

Oh.

Last night (had it really only been last night), Ladybug had been heading home before Chat alerted her to his presence. She had changed her direction when that happened. The direction she was heading initially... She was probably in that way.

Feeling smart for once, Chat set off into the night, instinctively hugging the shadows.

Some lights were on and lots of people were outside, but as Chat moved, it all faded into the background. The wind became loud. Much louder than before. It was… nice. Chat liked how it blocked everything out. He decided he enjoyed it.

After only a few minutes, Chat was outside Alya's building. He racked his memory, trying to remember which way Ladybug had gone after she had left last night. He traced his own steps to a bush he had hid behind. In his mind, he pictured Ladybug climbing out Alya's window.

Her phantom form hopped from window sill to window sill before landing on the ground. Chat made a move as to follow her, but her head snapped over to his hiding space. Chat froze in place until Ladybug turned away from him and shook her head before going…

Chat felt his eyes go back into focus. That way! That's where she had gone. He grinned and followed his memory of her, much like he had last night. Tonight, however, they walked side by side to go find Ladybug. As it should be.

Somewhere along the way, though, Ladybug started to fade. No, that wasn't the right word… She was still there, she just wasn't next to him anymore?

Somewhere along the way, they had become one. Chat smiled.

…

The roofs were as empty as they always were. Not really what he wanted seeing as he was trying to find Ladybug, but now that Chat had company, even if it was only an extension of himself, he was content.

He continued in his direction, starting to recognize city features as he went. This direction was where the park that he, no Adrien, hung out with his friends. It was where Marinette lived. It was where Adrien went to school. It was familiar.

And also irritatingly silent.

Where was she?

Chat felt his patience wash away so quickly, he wasn't sure he could call it patience in the first place.

Contentedness? Who was he kidding.

Chat growled into the night and squinted around.

If she isn't here…

Chat shook.

I have no idea where she could be.

If she wasn't here, Chat would have wasted his time.

Wanting that to not be the case, Chat ran around some more, frantically.

…

There.

Chat saw her silhouette on a far away rooftop. She was heading away from where Chat was standing now. Chat felt his breath knocked out of his lungs.

Her hair blew out behind her and her suit, now that Chat had actually spotted her, seemed to stand out against the black backdrop of the sky.

She was here.

The wave of relief that hit Chat Noir was overwhelming. She was here. He had- he had found her…

His breath caught in his throat for a second and Chat forgot he was supposed to be staying hidden. He took a couple of shaky steps forward, letting a streetlight illuminate him for all to see. He didn't care. All he cared about was her. And them.

Chat shook his head and tried to knock sense into himself, stepping back into the shadows. He would fail completely if he let Ladybug see him.

Luckily, it didn't look like she had. She was facing away from him and running farther away-

Oh shoot.

Chat scrambled on his building as he sprung forward, not ready to lose her as soon as he had found her…

He had found her.

She was maybe 200 meters away, if Chat's memory of a 'meter' was correct (it had been a long week). He was determined not to let her leave his sight.

He was here for a reason, and that reason was not to simply gawk at her all night…

This was actually happening… He had found her. He wasn't going to get caught.

He was going to do it.

He had to catch up with her first, though.

Chat leapt onto the next building, letting his own momentum build. She wasn't exactly moving all that fast so it wasn't difficult to situate himself at a good speed.

It felt… strange to be following Ladybug without her knowing. Not uncomfortable, just unfamiliar.

It also felt strange to just be out. Felt weird to have tracked Ladybug down based off of his phone and his memory. Felt off to be watching her at night…

Now that Chat thought about it… he wasn't actually sure why Ladybug was out here. He guessed when he had first seen the update, that maybe she was patrolling. But it was obvious now that he was watching her, that she was not.

Ladybug wasn't usually out just to be out as much as Chat was, or, used to be.

Why- why now?

His feet carried him behind her. Never close, but never far. He wasn't sure where she was headed. Wasn't sure if she was even headed somewhere.

All he knew was that she kept running and he kept following.

She kept running…

…

Until she slowed.

…

Chat watched as Ladybug stopped. She just… stopped moving. She stood on one of the tallest buildings around them.

Chat made his own feet slow him down and stop his body, mirroring hers from behind.

She- She stood there… and shook her head, hard, as if trying to shake something off.

Chat watched her, captivated.

What was she doing…?

Her body stood rigid above his and Chat managed to get a glimpse of her face. Of course, she was wearing her mask, but he had learned to read every part of her face, every expression, over their partnership.

And her face…

Ladybug- She seemed… different. Lost?

Chat's face fell.

What- what was wrong?

Because something obviously had to be wrong. And therefore, something obviously wasn't right.

It didn't sit right with him.

It didn't- didn't seem like his Ladybug…

Because it isn't… That's the whole point of this. Remember, Chat?

He had to remember that. Had to remember what he was doing and who he was doing it for.

Chat looked at Ladybug's still silhouette. Who he was doing it for...

Ladybug took a few small steps forward towards the edge, her back still facing Chat Noir.

He watched her, and the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat. Only thing he could see was her.

"Don't screw this up, Chat," he whispered to himself, creating a second noise in the silence of the sleeping city. Third noise if you counted the ever present wind.

…

"Not like you did last night… You just have to be… quiet. You just have to follow her, just have to watch out for her," he hissed to himself.

"Be quiet," Chat said. Of course, he didn't listen.

Chat sighed. Fantastic.

Just shut up.

"Don't let this end like last time…"

Stop talking to yourself, dumbass…

Finally, Chat's mouth stopped moving.

Anyway… He needed to focus.

Chat looked back up at Ladybug… except… she wasn't there?

Panicked and swearing at himself, he looked around for her.

Not again…

A red blur suddenly caught his eye and he saw her again, but she was moving again, and quickly too. Chat jumped up and made to follow her.

Chat felt the pull again. The one he felt when they had first met, the pull he felt whenever he thought of her. The one he felt during any patrol ever. He just felt so drawn to her, intoxicated.

Watching her run away… it sparked something inside of him. Chat growled at himself and leapt forward, quickly gaining speed.

She was like a light. And all Chat really wanted was to step out of the dark. He knew he was made for the shadows, but it couldn't possibly be bad to want to walk in the sunlight.

Chat followed Ladybug like a beacon. Like his beacon. She really shone. Even now, running through the dark labyrinth of the city, she seemed to glow, calling Chat.

And he thought to himself…

What would I do if I ever lost her...

It might be selfish to want to save her not only for her, but for himself too. But what else could he do? This was something he promised when they first acknowledged themselves as partners. He would do anything for her well-being. Would do his best to ensure her safety.

This fell under that category.

He ran after her, always behind, and never far, but Chat wasn't worried about her seeing or hearing him. He blended in with the dark and right now, the wind was loud enough to block out nearly everything, or at least at the speed they were going.

Nobody would've been able to tell if someone was following them in these conditions.

They ran together. Through their city. It felt… intimate.

Ladybug kept going faster and faster. Chat could barely feel his feet on the ground.

Slowly, all his thoughts spun around and around until they became both so jumbled and so numb that the only sane thought left in his head was Ladybug. Everything was… gone. Except for her.

She just kept moving, reaching a speed that Chat barely felt he could match.

God, it was always like that, wasn't it.

Chat felt the lightest he had in weeks. Here they were. Ladybug and Chat Noir, running through their city. Not held back with worries of Hawkmoth or akumas. Just the two of them. As it had always been.

And how it would always be.

Chat Noir huffed as he tried to keep up.

Ladybug was moving much quicker than she had been before.

Maybe she too was done with letting her worries hold her back. Maybe she also wanted to forget everything, wanted to go back to the good days. The simpler days. When Hawkmoth wasn't a threat and they were just starting to get to know each other.

Chat smiled against the wind and strained his muscles to keep himself at her pace.

God, he missed those days.

…

The two of them flew through the city. Ladybug ahead, Chat trailing behind her. Through the city, through their streets.

They flew together.

It seemed like they could keep going forever.

Seemed like they would stay like this forever, running forever.

…

And then,

She fell.

Chat could barely stop him momentum and he skidded to a halt, her sudden stop only allowing him enough time to stop a few buildings behind her.

She tripped, her feet catching on each other and her body tipping forward.

He watched, shocked as Ladybug collapsed right down to her shaking knees.

Chat gaped at her and stood, frozen, where he stood. He counted the buildings between them. It was only two.

He realized how close he was and looked around for a place to hide. He couldn't let her see him. It would ruin everything. Chat panicked, but as he looked at Ladybug...

… He realized he didn't have to.

Ladybug pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them. Blocking any chance of her seeing him.

She was- she was shaking.

Chat was only able to stand still for a moment.

He knew it was dumb. He knew it could possibly ruin his mission, but he couldn't just stand here and watch her cry.

Because she was crying. She was- Ladybug was…

Crying.

Chat Noir clambered over to Ladybug's building, watching her the whole time to make sure she didn't see him. But, honestly, not caring if she did. In this moment, his cover came second. Ladybug came, and always would come, first.

He- he approached her. Silently, of course. He was pretty sure if he was making any noise, the wind would cancel it out.

Chat Noir crouched down in front of her. In front of Ladybug.

In front of his world.

And- and he

He lifted his arm out, reaching out towards her.

He wanted to make it stop. Wanted so bad to make her stop crying. He could hear her now. They weren't quiet cries. Ladybug was sobbing.

He wanted them to be the best friends they always had been. Wanted them to be the soulmates he knew they were. Chat wanted Ladybug back. Wanted their hours spent patrolling back. Wanting their reckless fighting back. Their friendly teasing. Their easy smiles.

He wanted so much.

Chat could feel his own face quivering, could feel his own tears threatening to fall. He hissed and blinked up at the sky, forcing them to stay back.

He looked back down at Ladybug.

What he would give to have her back.

What he would do to make her happy…

Words couldn't describe what he would do for her…

Chat Noir had never been more sure of his decision than in that moment. As he and Ladybug sat together on that roof. Alone, but together. Had never been more sure that this was what had to be done.

Ladybug never used to cry… Ladybug used to always be happy.

And consequently, so had Chat.

Whatever was making Ladybug this sad… It wasn't her. Ladybug was such a happy person and always so full of love.

Chat knew he was right. In the beginning, when Ladybug had first told him of her crush, Chat was just jealous. He wanted Ladybug for himself and felt cheated out of her. Chat… Chat wasn't right then…

Now- Now Chat knew that something far worse was happening. He knew it. Something in Ladybug had changed… She wasn't the same anymore. The only reason for it…

It had to be him. The guy she liked. Before Chat Noir had heard about this guy, he and Ladybug were so close. So happy.

Now…

Chat looked at Ladybug. Her shoulders were tensed and heaving.

He hated it.

Chat Noir wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull her into his arms. To make her safe. To make her happy.

But he couldn't. Because the only way to make her happy was to get them both out of this mess. And to do that, he would have to go through her boy toy. And to do that, Chat would need to…

He sent one more look to Ladybug, at her shaking form. So small, so powerless. So unlike the Ladybug he knew.

Ladybug was strong. She was powerful. Ladybug could make the world listen, could make it bow down.

She was going to make the world a better place. But only if Chat helped now.

He told himself that as he got up. As he brushed himself off. As he watched the love of his life sobbing on the ground, as he stepped backwards, away from her.

As he got off the roof and onto another, hiding himself back into the shadows, where he'd stayed all of his life and where he would continue to.

Let Ladybug have all the light. She was the light. She would brighten up the world. Chat could only hope to save her.

…

They stayed there for a while. Around maybe two or three hours. Chat felt every second. It was hard not to.

Hard not to notice every second how Ladybug just sat there, unmoving.

Chat was, to say the least, concerned. But that wasn't new. That's why he was here: because of his concern. Because she needed help.

For a long time… Chat just watched her from where he crouched on a building. But soon… he began to lose focus.

When she finally untangled her arms from around herself and lifted her face up into the sky, Chat almost didn't notice. His attention had dwindled over the hours. He was lucky his sight was so good and he was able to catch the movement.

His own arms clumsily started to push himself up as Ladybug got to her feet, wiping at her face.

His heart was pounding.

What now…

Ladybug… just stood there are a while. It was terribly confusing. What was she waiting for?

Chat looked up at the night sky. It was even darker than before. Surely she would head home now, right?

When she turned her body to face the direction Chat speculated she lived, he felt relieved.

Until he remembered what that meant for him…

Chat Noir gulped and prepared himself for what would hopefully happen. He would follow her home. He would see her drop her transformation. He would go home knowing her identity and, therefore, being able to identify her mystery man.

That was the plan. That had always been the plan.

So why did he feel so tense?

…

A second before Chat felt he would be ready, Ladybug started moving again, for the third time that night. Knowing that he had to do this, Chat Noir followed…

He waited until she had a five building start before matching her pace. He didn't want to stay too close, especially now when Ladybug was sure to have her guard up. She had always been especially careful whenever she went home. But Chat didn't want to fall behind either. This was it for him if he lost her. Before, he could've just looked for her again. But Ladybug was headed home now. This was his only chance.

Chat made sure his footsteps were especially quiet and made it a point to blend into any darkness he had available. He moved from roof to roof as camouflaged as possible.

But…

It was almost like he didn't need to.

Ladybug wasn't… didn't appear to be as alert as she usually was… Definitely not as alert as Chat had expected her to be, especially after he had alerted her to his goal last night…

Something was up.

Chat couldn't afford to ask himself why. Couldn't look this gift horse in the mouth.

But it was weird….

For a few good minutes, Chat followed Ladybug tentatively, expecting her at any moment to turn around, or make a sharp turn, or something to make sure that nobody was following her…

No way she's going to just… go home?

Right?

But she just kept going. She kept jumping from roof to roof, only moving in one straight line towards what Chat assumed would be her destination.

Chat followed behind her in shock of her lack of precautions. Why wasn't she on the lookout? She should be watching her back! Chat didn't even care that it was him trying to find her identity.

She was making it too easy.

The wind was loud. The sky was dark. It was a prime time for people to be sneaking around. Ladybug was smart. She should know that.

Did she not?

He knew for a fact that she did.

So what was she doing?

…

Chat lost his focus on Ladybug and her peculiar actions as they began to near the neighborhood that Chat had gone to earlier. He had been right. She did live near here.

Ladybug moved through these buildings with ease, with a familiarity that only came with years of interacting. Yes, both heroes were at the nearby highschool for akumas a lot, but this went beyond that. Chat was shocked that he never noticed it when patrolling… But then again, he couldn't remember any time that he and Ladybug had patrolled this area together…

Smart.

Also familiar with this area, Chat was able to relax more, let himself naturally hug the darker places that he was aware of as he tailed his partner.

Where was she going? Exactly where did Ladybug live? As the heroes got closer to the school, Chat realized it made sense. Ladybug was always quickly on scene whenever something went down there. Chat usually was too, but that was only on school days. During weekends and Summers, it took him a few minutes to travel down here, even by rooftop.

Ladybug turned for the first time in their run, and Chat almost missed it. She began to head down a street Chat was familiar with because it happened to be Marinette's street, and he usually stopped by to visit or to buy pastries from her parents' bakery.

Chat Noir expected that they would just run past it. Maybe get a whiff of some late night treats being baked.

He was not expecting Ladybug to slow down and stop right next to the roof.

Chat was confused. He looked around at the buildings nearest to Ladybug. Maybe some of them were houses or apartments. Or maybe Ladybug was going to turn again…

But that didn't explain why she'd slowed to a complete stop. And Chat didn't think any of the other buildings had families living in them…

What? Why had she stopped here?

Ladybug walked over to Marinette's balcony… A bit strange, Chat thought, but he stayed back nonetheless.

Then Ladybug reached down, pulled open Marinette's trapdoor, and disappeared within.

What?

Chat swung himself onto a high window, trying to get a good angle so he could see inside Marinette's room. Had Ladybug gone inside? She had to… But that made no sense… Chat had thought she was going home. Was this why she hadn't been on the lookout? Was it because she wasn't going to her hou-

…

A quick flash of bright light flashed out of Marinette's window and Chat Noir lost his grip on the window. He fell to the ground, but quickly picked himself up to crane his neck up towards Marinette's room.

What was that?

What was that light…?

He couldn't see from down here. Chat Noir turned towards the building he had fell from and used its bricks to pull himself up and over the building, bringing him to the rooftop. With a better view, Chat leaned over the edge and stared directly into Marinette's room.

But… Ladybug wasn't there.

That made no sense… Chat had seen Ladybug go inside. Maybe she had noticed Chat following her, ducked in Marinette's room as a distraction, and climbed out the window the second Chat looked away?

No… She hadn't seen Chat. And she wouldn't have had time to escape without Chat seeing her.

But she wasn't there.

…

The only person inside the room was…

…

Marinette.

…

… what?

What.

Chat scrambled against the building he was hidden against, suddenly losing all of his composure and instincts. He gasped and his hand flew up to his mouth.

What?

No way…

It- it wasn't possible…. He obviously had missed something, Ladybug was somewhere else, happily evading him, Chat couldn't make himself believe that-

…

Chat trembled. He hadn't meant- He hadn't known…

…

…

…

…

His lip quivered. Not from the threat of tears, it just did. His hand was shaking. He should know, he was holding it up in front of his face.

What was happening?

Where- was he?

He glanced back up at Marinette's window.

Oh right.

Oh shit.

He knew what this meant, he knew he did. He was smart enough to. But at the same time, Adrien- no, he was Chat, couldn't exactly put his thoughts together… if that… made sense?

His eyes lost their focus and everything became blurry. Suddenly, the wind wasn't so loud anymore. Chat could hear his breath. He couldn't feel himself breathing, but he heard it. He was breathing… pretty heavily. He was. He could also hear… ringing? No… that had to be just in his head.

He squeezed his eyes shut so tightly that it hurt and he guessed his legs became too weak to hold him up because the next thing he knew, Chat was on his knees.

How… How did this happen?

What- What's going on…?

Chat kept clenching his hands together. He didn't know why. He didn't know anything. What was going on. What-

Marinette was-

Ladybug was-

Nono no no. no it didn't make sense.

There was no way.

Chat tried to open his eyes, but that just… didn't work…? So he- he

He pushed himself up with his hand… Chat almost fell over again, but he, he stayed up.

His eyes opened easier now…

He looked around him, not really looking, actually, more like seeing because Chat didn't really retain anything.

He couldn't- couldn't just stay here, could he? No. No he couldn't.

He couldn't-

…

Couldn't think straight…

Chat sent one last look up to Marinette's, Ladybug's (oh god... ), window.

And he bolted.