Plagg rolled his eyes and stuffed another morsel of cheese into his mouth as Adrien let out another heavy sigh.

"Would you quit that?" he griped around his mouthful. "It's kinda ruining my appetite."

Adrien turned to Plagg halfheartedly. "Stop what?"

"All that sighing. I know you're in a bad way right now, but really," the Kwami swallowed. "It's not healthy to keep all those negative feelings bottled up. I would know. You should talk to someone."

Adrien smiled a little, touched by Plagg's concern, even if he did show it in a rather gruff way. "No," he said, leaning his head against the wall. "I wouldn't wanna bring anybody down with my silly problems. This is my burden."

Plagg set down the piece of cheese he had been eating. "Adrien," he began. "People care about you. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. You can't just keep putting yourself down like this." The Kwami got up and floated over to his charge's hand, placing a tiny black paw on the boy's ring. "Tell you what," he grinned. "How about we go for a stroll? Maybe we'll run into someone you can talk to."

Adrien seemed to mull it over for a few seconds. "You think I should?" he finally asked. "I wouldn't wanna bother-"

"You two are a team," Plagg interrupted, holding up his paw to silence the blonde. "Communication is a crucial part of your relationship."

"Okay..." Adrien nodded slowly. "A little fresh air never hurt anybody, right?" He held up his ringed hand as the Kwami zipped over to his pile of cheese and crammed some into his mouth before floating back.

"Ohkey. I'hm rhedy," the small cat managed as he swallowed heavily.

"Alright, Plagg. Claws out!"

Chat Noir leapt from rooftop to rooftop, enjoying the wind that rushed through his wild hair as he flew. As Chat, Adrien found he could experience a freedom he wasn't able to in his civilian form. Sometimes he wished he could transform into his alter ego, jump out the window, and never look back.

Of course, it would never happen. His Lady needed him, and even though his transformation lasted as long as he didn't use cataclysm, it was unfair to make Plagg stay that way for so long. All he could do for now was search for his partner in crime-fighting to maybe ease the pressing weight of sadness that threatened to crush him.

The young hero frowned. This was no good. He was getting too tangled up in all his negative emotions.

Panting, Adrien-as-Chat picked a relatively small building to rest on. He landed with a thump and settled against a generator on the roof, one leg bent and the other splayed out in front of him. Resting an arm on his knee, Chat closed his eyes and enjoyed the thrum of the generator on his back.

'Maybe this was a bad idea,' the hero thought to himself. 'What are the chances of Ladybug being out so late? Who says she'll even want to talk about our civilian lives? She'll probably laugh. Laugh at me, judge me, hate me, leave me-'

"-Chat? What're you doing out so late? It's my night to patrol. Is something the matter?"

Chat's eyes sprung open. He looked up to see Ladybug standing over him with a concerned expression.

Standing, he reached for the heroine's hand to press it to his lips.

"Not at all- I was just out for a late-night stroll. Everything's purr-fect." The hero grinned cheekily, but he could tell the gesture didn't reach his eyes at the way his partner frowned. "Actually..." Chat dropped the facade. He figured his best option was to just play it straight- get right to the point. "I was hoping we could talk."

Ladybug traded her frown for a soft smile.

"Okay," she said, settling against the generator. "Let's talk."

/Sorry for the short chapter! I'll try to make the next one longer lmao