Inspired by Episode 16 – Animan because Chat Noir's expression at the end of the episode gave me more insight into Adrien's character.

This fic is dedicated to shishitsunari, angiensca, tei-gen and littleblackchat. You guys are very very precious friends of mine. I love you all.

Because You're Precious

Adrien Agreste had lost many things.

His mother. He did not know where she was. All he knew was that she disappeared.

His father. It was not like he passed away or disappeared or anything… But on the very same day when his mother vanished, Adrien felt like he had lost his father as well. His father… was not the same ever since.

Gabriel Agreste had, almost literally, vanished from his eyes.

Even when they live under the same roof, the only times they communicate were through electronic screens or the occasional phone calls Nathalie would receive from her boss, not that Adrien would be the one actually speaking to his father. It was as if they were total strangers.

Adrien was therefore, afraid to love in vain. He had already lost the two most important people in his life. The thought of losing more people terrified him.

But of course, though his mind told him not to, his heart still ended up getting stolen anyway.

By Ladybug.

His Lady.

Confident. Brave. Smart. Sassy. Selfless.

Adrien did not remember when his heart started beating for her but he knew that she drove him crazy. The more time he spent with her, the deeper he fell, the more he feared the devastation sure to come if he ever lost her, too.

Chat Noir was a gentleman. He would never touch her.

True, he might have intruded into her personal space many times by bringing his face close to hers, but he would never ever force himself against her.

He loved her too dearly to do that.

But this time, this time, Ladybug had gone way too far with her crazy idea of using the Lucky Charm.

She jumped into the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

A T-rex.

A creature that was known to have the largest bite force among all terrestrial animals.

And she had freaking jumped into said animal's gigantic mouth.

The alarm bells had gone off violently inside his head and he was practically shaking in fear of losing her. He had so much to say to her after she cleansed the akuma and he wanted to rant about just how crazy she was, how selfless she could be…

There were so so many things he wanted to say. It took him a great deal of effort to keep his tears from falling and he was prepared to scream at her but all he managed was…

"I thought I lost you."

And Adrien did not even realize he had breached his own code of conduct by hugging her until he felt the warmth of her body against his, the beating of her heart and the soft breathing resonating in his ears – signs of life pointing towards just how alive she was. He needed that reassurance and he had done it subconsciously.

He had released her immediately with an embarrassed smile on his face, thinking that he probably made her uncomfortable due to the sudden proximity but thank goodness, Ladybug did not seem to mind at all when she gave him a kind, reassuring smile.

Though he was not able to perform their customary fist-bump, at the very least, he was very relieved that Ladybug was alive.

And he swore to protect her and everyone else who were dear to him so that he would not lose someone ever again.