based on the writing prompt "come back"

The wind ruffled through Cat Noir's hair as he wrapped his arms around himself. From his high position on the Eiffel Tower, he eyed the Champ de Mars once more; except for the local wildlife, not a soul moved. Well, that was it - his part of tonight's patrol was finished. Now to wait for Ladybug … Nimbly, he leapt down to the observation deck and nestled himself into a corner away from the wind.

Cat Noir had always made it a point to finish his part of the patrol after Ladybug so that he wouldn't be the one waiting. He hated being alone with the moonlight, the wind, and his memories. The ring he wore suddenly felt heavy and his fingers trembled. He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged himself tighter. It was alright, he told himself. Ladybug would be here any minute. Out of anything and everything he had ever encountered, she was the only thing that could successfully chase away his memories. But she wasn't here.

Suddenly, he was eight years old again. He couldn't recall exactly what it was he had dreamt, but he had woken up drenched in his own sweat, crying out for his parents. His mother had always been there for him, and at the time, his father was the kindest person he had ever met. But no matter how much he cried out, neither of them came to his rescue. Shaking, he climbed out of bed, clutching his blanket to his chest. His hand had barely touched the doorknob when something large and black had swung into his window. He dropped his blanket and opened his mouth to scream, but the black thing strode across the room and placed a gentle finger on his nose. Only one person had ever done that to him.

"Maman?"

She smiled. Now that he had calmed down a bit, he could see her through the disguise - the green eyes he had inherited from her peering out from a black mask, a pair of leather black cat ears sitting on soft blonde curls so much like his own, and the gentle smile that had comforted him so many times. He extended his arms and started crying, "Maman, I had a bad dream -"

"Oh, mon petit chat, come here …" She swept him up in her arms, holding him close. "I'm sorry I wasn't there …" She set him back down on his bed and looked him in the eye. "It is only a dream, mon petit chat. It cannot hurt you."

His small hand found his mother's and he squeezed it. "Promise, maman?"

"I promise." She glanced back at the window and touched the ring on her right hand nervously. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she said, "Listen, mon petit chat. I am on a very important, very secret mission. Do you understand?"

"Yes, maman." His eyes had widened. His father had always told him that his mother was a model for his fashion designs; never in his life would he have guessed that she was some kind of secret agent.

"I need to go away for a while. Since this is secret, you can't tell anyone about it, okay? Especially papa - he can't know about this mission. Here …" She took the ring off of her finger and to tiny Adrien's surprise, a shimmer of magic transformed the secret agent cat into his familiar mother. She placed the ring, now silver instead of black, into his hand and closed his fingers around it.

"Promise me that you'll keep this safe until I come back, okay?"

Adrien had nodded his head solemnly.

"Alright." She rose to her feet and returned to the open window. The moonlight bounced off of her golden hair, making it glow in the dark. His curtains fluttered around her as she turned back to look at him one last time. Her tears glinted in the dim light as she said, "I love you, my dear Adrien." With that, she leapt out of the window.

Adrien gasped. "Maman, wait!" He dashed to the window, but no matter where he looked, his mother was nowhere to be seen. Tears started welling in his eyes. In a small, pained voice, he begged, "Maman, come back …" To this day, he wasn't entirely sure how long he stood at his window, the biting wind drying his tears and clutching his mother's ring in his small hand.

"Cat Noir?"

Shouting in surprise, he leapt to his feet. As the world around him came back into focus, he calmed down; it was just his lady, returning from her part of the patrol. She stepped forward, asking, "Cat Noir, are you alright?"

What he meant to say was, "I am perfectly fine my lady, how did the patrol go?" Instead, he opened his mouth, made a strangled noise from the back of his throat, and pulled Ladybug into a tight hug.

Gingerly, she placed her hands on his back and whispered, "What's wrong, Cat?"

His mind suddenly conjured an image of Ladybug saying goodbye, Ladybug leaping through a window, never to be seen again - and he whimpered. Holding her tighter, he whimpered, "We'll always be together, right? I mean … together, saving Paris, you'll … you'll never leave me alone? In, in saving Paris?"

"Cat …" He felt her relax and start rubbing his back. "Whether we're heroes or not, I will always be here. You're my partner and my dear friend."

Despite his best efforts, tears leaked out from his tightly closed eyes. "Thank you, my lady."