"Aaaaaaaaaawwwwhhh..."

Adrien Agreste allowed his exhausted body to simply collapse onto his bed, accompanied by a very loud yawn, the very moment he returned from what had been one of the longest photo-shoots of his entire life. This one had to come up to at least 8 hours, but at this point, Adrien couldn't care less how long it had taken. All he wanted was to relax for fifteen minutes.

Recently, his father had been pushing him with his photo-shoots, although claimed that this was the last big one in a while. It had cost Adrien an entire week of school, something he was less than pleased about. He had joined a public school for the chance to make some friends, and now he was feeling like he was slowly losing the ones he had made. He had texted Nino, his closest friend, to let him know, and once again, almost predictably, he had replied back, telling him it had been no problem.

That was an entire week ago. Well, exactly six days, but that had been on Monday. Today was Saturday. Thankfully, the good news was, Adrien relax and recharge tomorrow, and then go back to school on Monday.

Ensuring that his Kwami, Plagg, would not interrupt his planned nap, Adrien made sure he had prepared a small buffet of cheese, with small sides of the few things Plagg would ask for on the immensely rare occasions he asked for anything other than cheese. It was beyond the young Parisian how his cat-like partner could even stomach cheese, particularly Camembert, never mind how he could stand the stench of it. Regardless of the putrid smell of it, Adrien slid the tray he kept it all on from under his bed, thankful the cleaners hadn't found it. He had enough awkward moments as it was. Explaining why there was a tray of cheese and odd foods hidden under his bed was not one he wanted to add that that list.

"Adrien, you can be an absolute joy to behold sometimes!" His kwami chimed, staring at the buffet and variety he now had in front of him. "Almost makes your lovey-duvy sickly stuff worth putting up with!"

"Knock yourself out." Adrien said, with another yawn, totally ignoring Plaggs last statement. "Just don't wake me up."

"Can do!" His black Kwami said in compliance before charging head-first into the mountain of cheese he had to consume.

Smiling was something Adrien couldn't avoid. He and Plagg had a turbulent relationship, certainly, but he had definitely grown fond of the tiny magical creature. Rolling over onto his back, Adrien closed his eyes, and let out a loud sigh.

Only to be instantly met with a loud vibration coming from his right.

His phone, in his bag. He was being called.

The first impulse the young model had was to grab his alarm clock and throw it at his bag to stop the noise. The second one, which was the one he followed through with, was to open his eyes and groan. He wasn't sure if some cosmic entity had decided that he was their punching bag in the universe for the past week, but stuff like this seemed to be happening at an impossible frequency, like someone had something against Adrien getting rest. With a sigh, he muttered, "If its not you, Plagg, it's my phone."

Acting on friendly initiative, Plagg, after stuffing his cheeks with cheese like a dairy-based chipmunk, quickly flew inside Adrien's bag, and reemerged a few seconds later, carrying his partners phone. He hovered in front of Adrien with it, waiting for his human partner to take it. "Here!"

"...What do you want?" Adrien asked with a raised eyebrow, not thinking for a second that Plagg did that just to be helpful. There was always, always a hidden angle for his work.

"Another helping of Camembert."

"You haven't even finished the first one!"

"I don't see any deserts on here though."

"Plagg... You're killing me." Adrien said with a weak smile as he took his phone, promising to see what he could do for his Kwami. Barely able to keep his eyes open, Adrien hit the answer button on the call.

"Adrien, dude!" Keeping one eye open, Adrien saw his best friend, Nino, on the other side of the video call. It caught the blond model off guard slightly. He hadn't noticed that it was a video call, so he quickly tried to make himself look as awake as possible.

"Nino. How're you doing, man?"

"Dude, you look exhausted. You doing okay?"

'Well, that didn't last too long.' Adrien thought to himself. Then again, he knew he looked like a mess right now. It wasn't the normal situation you'd find a young model in, especially not one with Adrien's reputation. But he saw now, from his face in a small icon on the top right corner of the screen, he really could not hide his exhaustion. His hair was messy, and unbrushed, and there were small black bags appearing under his eyes. Normally, these would be covered up with some skin colored make up, but he had removed this particular cosmetic, mostly to avoid stains on his bed-sheets. Not only that, but his eyes were having trouble staying open, dimming his usually bright green eyes. He smiled weakly, trying to brush it off. "Long day, that's all. What's up?"

"Nothing much, man. Just wanted to make sure you were alright was all." Nino replied. That sounded like a thing he would do. Since he had met the guy, Nino had been nothing but cool with Adrien, helping him adjust to public school life, and just generally being a great person to be around. The blonde teenager couldn't have asked for a better friend. "Alya and Marinette have been asking about you all week. They're here with me right now."

Adrien's friend tilted his camera to scan over the two girls, whom were at either side of him. Alya was to his right hand side, and she had a calm, relaxed smile on her face. She waved a polite hello. Another one of Adrien's friends, Alya ran the Ladyblog, and was very dedicated to discovering Ladybug and Char Noir's secret identities. While this happening would be an absolute nightmare for Adrien, he had to admire his friends dedication and passion to reporting. He felt far more intimidated by her than he did any other media outlet, the trained professionals, which spoke a lot about her.

And to the left, a very clearly nervous and awkwardly laughing Marinette. Awkward really was the word to describe the shy blunette, but Adrien saw her as a kind person, and definitely considered her a friend. She was kind, caring, and had one hell of a talent for fashion design. Being at the front of fashion, Adrien knew that in maybe ten years, it wasn't unlikely to see her name as a brand for fashion clothing. She really was that good.

Although she did seem to have an issue speaking to the model himself. He had a few theories about this one, but he had decided that it was mostly because she felt a bit intimidated by him. He was a famous model, after all. It would be hard to not feel a bit intimidated by someone like that.

"Sorry to have you guys worrying about me." The model yawned, and wiping a tear that had swelled up from his bodily reaction to exhaustion. "I've been doing shoots all week. I didn't miss anything too important, did I?"

It was the first time Alya spoke up in the entire call. "Aside from Chloe acting up like always, not much. Although, you're gonna be behind on homework."

"Great." Adrien said with a small laugh. Despite his vocal reluctance, he didn't really mind homework all that much. It was better than a photo shoot. It made him feel normal. But the amount of homework French school gave was at least one or two hours a day. Tally that up, and you had roughly eight or ten hours worth to do. That was daunting for pretty much anyone.

From what Paris' famous model could almost swear, a glint seemed to appear in Alya's eye, as she pulled Marinette into the focus of the camera, with a small smirk on her lips. "Marinette could help you catch up!"

"Whaaa - Me?!" Adrien couldn't help but smirk as the shy girl was thrown into her direct discomfort zone. She had such little confidence, despite possessing so many talents. The truth of the matter was, they hadn't spoken as much as he would have liked to, ideally, for a friend. He didn't oppose the idea in the least.

"Well, someone needs to deliver his work to him anyway, girl." Alya said, listing off points with her fingers. "You live close by, relatively speaking, you know where he lives, and you're pretty good at the work."

"I - Uh... I mean, I suppose I could..."

"I hate to ask, but if you could, I could use the help." Adrien requested, as politely and as friendly as he could. He added a kind smile.

The blunettes face seemed to go a darker red than it usually seemed to do around him. Thrown out of her comfort zone and asked to aid someone she felt intimidated by, Adrien could hardly blame her. "I - I uh... I'd help to lov - I mean, I love - I mean, I'd um, I'd be happy to!"

A smile appeared on Adrien's face. "Thanks. You've got my number, right? Just... Sorry if I sound totally out of it. " He joked. "Speaking of which... I'm gonna get some sleep, guys, I'm totally exhausted."

"No problem, man, we'll talk later." Nino said with a smile, before hanging up his phone, leaving Adrien once again in a quiet room, filled only with the noise of his glutton of a Kwami stuffing his face with cheese.

Before the feed had been cut off, Adrien had seen Marinette going totally scarlet red, with a ridiculous smile on her face. Alya had even waved her hands in front of the blue haired girl, snapping her fingers, trying to get her attention. Before the call was over, she seemed to get through to the amateur fashion designer, as she turned around in embarrassment.

"That Marinette girl..." Plagg started, before taking another huge bite out of his Camembert cheese. "...Chat Noir ran into her a few times, right?"

"Yeah." The exhausted teenager said, laying in his back and closing his eyes. There was the deal with the Evillustrator where he had acted as her bodyguard, there was the deal with the Puppeteer, and various others that the tired boy couldn't even begin to remember.

"Don't you find it weird that she seems more nervous around you than she does around Chat?" The Kwami asked, with a mouthful of cheese, muffling his words somewhat.

Adrien had to admit, it was a bit weird. When he had spoken with the shy, blue haired girl as his alter-ego, Chat Noir, she seemed to be rather relaxed, and somewhat sassy with him, like a far more laid back version of Ladybug. When around Adrien, just plain old Adrien, the same boy whose face was everywhere in Paris, that it even made Adrien tired of seeing his own face in the mirror, she seemed to collapse into an awkward mess.

It was like she was a totally different person depending in whom she was talking to.

Not once really considering it, he had to admit, there was something strange about that. But it wasn't really his business, was it? The fact of the matter was, he didn't mind the way Marinette acted, and found it somewhat cute and amusing the way she was around him.

Hopefully, this little homework session in a few days would relax her around him. Show her he wasn't some sort of big shot superstar that had to be impressed. He was normal. Like her.

"Adrien?" Plagg asked again. He was met with the sound of silence.

Curious, the cat-like Kwami hovered up to the side of Adriens bed. "Adrien? Are you gonna answer me or - "

He was instead met by the light sound of breathing, from an exhausted soul. The fatigued Parisian had fallen asleep practically the second his eyes finally shut.

Curiously, those memories of times he had run into Marinette stuck with Adrien as he slept.

Aaaaaaaaaawwwwhhh..."

A quarter to midnight struck, and Adrien still was exhausted, even after his brief nap.

Except, technically now, he wasn't Adrien. Right now, he was Chat Noir, one half of the Parisian crime fighting duo. Equipped with an extending baton staff, skin tightly leather-like suit, and an artificial tail, and semi - useful cat ears, made of a similar material as his suit was. Enhanced agility, strength, and durability combined to make the Parisian hero, Chat Noir.

"Again?"

Alongside him stood the face of the duo, figuratively speaking anyway. A red jumpsuit covered in exactly 43 black polka-dots - Which Chat knew for a fact she would kill him for mentioning, as well as asking some very awkward questions as to how he knew that - Was Ladybug. Also known to Chat Noir and Adrien alike as the girl of his affections.

"I told you, other me has been busy all week." Chat said, defending himself, sitting in the edge of the building the two of them found themselves atop of.

The night had been quiet. Especially quiet for this week. The last Akuma attack had been at least three weeks ago, and Paris had been peaceful, and effectively crime free. Once or twice a night there would be reports of a burglary or a mugging, but the police handled it within moments. In the grand scale of the city, it was a very low amount of incidents.

But tonight had been exceptionally quiet even under those circumstances. There hardly even seemed to be a lone car on the roads, or a pedestrian on the streets, like the town was dead. Their nightly patrol had gone as expected. The lights shone on the streets, revealing absolutely nothing on the streets.

"Lucky for us, there doesn't seem to be anything going on tonight either." Ladybug said with a sigh, crouching down next to Noir, checking the streets for roughly the 24th time, ever dedicated.

"Yeah..." Chat replied, with another yawn.

"Well, somethings definitely wrong." Ladybug said, sitting next to her partner, glancing at him. "You haven't tried flirting with me, or making any of your awful puns all night. You really should have stayed home, I could have managed on my own."

"And miss the opportunity to see you tonight, m'lady?" Chat said, trying to pick up what he had left out. Ladybug had been right. He hadn't flirted with her, tried to swoon her, or made a single pun all night, practically his trademarks. He had just been too tired to even consider either of them. "I'm feline fine, bugaboo."

Stealing a glance at the girl whom he harbored romantic feelings for, he could see some of that rare, genuine worry in her eyes. "You don't suppose Hawkmoth decided that he had had enough of us and flew outta town, do you?" He still tried to recover the situation, albeit failing. Ladybug didn't even groan, but looked at him with concern. It was too little, too late.

"Chat, what's wrong?" She asked him, gently. There was obvious, genuine concern to her question, the kind that the two of them could hardly ever share. It was rare for them to even have a moment to themselves, but now that they had nothing but minutes to themselves, they were both a bit awkward around one another, unsure of what to say. Only now were they even having a proper conversation for the first time that didn't involve their work.

Appreciative and thankful as Chat Noir was, he couldn't say anything to Ladybug. How could he? She wanted to keep their identities a secret, even from one another, and as much as that torn Chat Noir to pieces inside, he respected her wishes in that regard. The issue lied with Adrien. And how could he even dare to complain? To everyone in Paris, he was a rich high school over achiever with fame and fortune, lived in a huge mansion near the Eiffel Tower, and practically had his future guaranteed. Excluding the fact that this was his alternative life, was there really anyone who would even take his issues seriously?

The fact remained that, despite how cold, demanding, and in some cases, completely cruel his father was, there hadn't been a single thing he hadn't given Adrien. Everything he asked for, he got, with little to no questions. Possession-wise, anyway.

The thing he really craved for was affection. Love. Someone who made him feel like he mattered. He hadn't gotten that since his mother had gone.

When he became Chat Noir, all these concerns disappeared, and he wasn't restricted to the same old routine of being formal and polite every time he opened his mouth. He wasn't required to be an obedient ideal son, a slave to his fathers demands, or the model that all of Paris loved. He was free. He could act how he wanted, allowing his true nature to come out. A slightly cocky, fun loving, wild and energetic pun machine. Confidence in place of formality, and courage in place of slavery to his father.

They disappeared, but they still existed. They were all Chat Noir had to look forward to as Adrien.

Perhaps that was one of the big reasons he fell for Ladybug, he contemplated.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine, m'lady." Chat Noir said again, trying his best to reassure the super heroine beside him. He smiled as brightly as he could, showing some of his white teeth as he did so. There wasn't any reason in bothering Ladybug with his other lives problems. Even if he found a way to tell her without her discovering he was Adrien Agreste - Not that he would mind her knowing - what could she really do? She was a hero. Not a vigilante.

Ladybug sighed, realizing the cat wasn't going to spill his guts to her. "Alright then, kitty. Maybe you should just go home, get some sleep. You look like you really need it."

Part of Chat agreed. He was running on reserve energy, and wasn't sure when he was going to just drop down out of exhaustion. Plus, he had to be ready for a call from Marinette tomorrow anyway. It would really be unfair to her if he slept right through that too. The other half wanted to say no. That he was fine, just to stay near Ladybug, for just a while longer.

"Maybe I should go too." Ladybug continued. "I have things to do tomorrow as well."

Chat Noir sighed. "Well, m'lady, if you're headed home early, I suppose I'll head home too. Care for an escort?"

"So you can figure out where I live and who I am?" The polka-dotted heroine smirked. "Nice try, Kitty."

"Ah, well. Had to try." Chat shrugged with his usual smirk that he wore when he had been caught out like that. "Then I suppose with that, I bid you, a fond adieu, m'lady."

Ladybug jumped from the building, and used her trademark yo-yo to grapple onto a ledge or a lamppost, or something else, whatever it was, and swung up high, leaping over buildings on her way home. She moved quickly, gracefully, and with elegance.

And for the first time in his life, Char Noir didn't watch her with jaw dropped and in awe. He didn't even feel his heart race as she disappeared. She was just gone. Just like that.

And he didn't feel a thing.

"Alright, spill it, what's wrong with you?"

Plagg had been unusually serious and adamant when Chat Noir had returned home and transformed back to Adrien. Under a normal night, Plagg would just retire instantly to a small bed next to Adrien's, located by his lamp, just on the table, filled with cotton that Adrien had gathered for him.

Not tonight though.

"Every time I've merged with you to become Chat Noir, I've been able to roughly tell whats going through your head and heart when you're doing what you're doing. Normally, your heart is going a mile a minute when around Ladybug, but tonight, it was totally normal. That can't relate to you being tired. Whats going on?" Plagg had bombarded him the second they were separated.

Seeing his Kwami friend being so serious was something Adrien was simply not used to, and he felt slightly overwhelmed by it. This was the same Kwami that convinced him to enjoy a party being held by the Bubbler, played difficult with him when he needed to transform, and only a few hours ago, had been cheeky enough to ask for more Camembert before he had even finished the first helping when Adrien presented him with a buffet of cheese.

Plagg being serious was just too weird for Adrien.

"I... I don't know, Plagg." Adrien admitted truthfully "I don't know."

The truth was that. He really did have no idea why he was like that. It felt so weird, so surreal to him that he hadn't felt a thing when she was there, and the same when she had left. It almost upset him, and he tried to think back to her, back to his Ladybug. His bugaboo. His lady.

But nothing came from it.

No increased heartbeat.

No blush.

Not even a smile.

"Plagg... Is there something wrong with me?" A concerned Parisian asked, worriedly.

"How would I know?" His Kwami responded, unhelpful as ever. "You're the one who insisted you had fallen in love with her."

"I am in love with her!"

"Your heart's suggesting otherwise."

"But... But that doesn't even make any sense!" Adrien exclaimed, a bit too loudly for his liking. Luckily, he hadn't been heard, but the fact remained.

This entire week of photo-shoots, he has been totally and utterly worn-out, but he had always, always, always made sure to go out on patrol with Ladybug, despite how close he had been to collapsing from fatigue. That spark, that energy, that love, it had always been there for her, it had never gone anywhere. It had been what had kept him awake.

Not until tonight. So what had happened?

"If you want my opinion, maybe you're just getting bored of seeing her?" Plagg suggested. He was trying to be helpful, but his suggestion made the model want to punch him.

"You can't just get bored of seeing someone you love!" He shot back at the Kwami, raising his voice once again.

"Why not? Even I get tired of seeing Camembert sometimes... Not often, but sometimes."

"Urgh... Plagg, eating your favorite dish over and over, and seeing someone you love over and over are two things you just can't compare like that." He tried to explain it, but it wouldn't do him any good, he knew. "Its like... Its like being lost. Completely alone. Unsure of yourself, and unsatisfied with your life. And then comes along someone who can just... Erase all that. Someone who you just... Can't be without."

"And you think Ladybug is that person?"

"I'm certain. At least... I was..."

"Well, has anyone else been on your mind?"

Adrien thought back over the past week, thinking about what he had thought about during that time. It was mostly w whiz, a slideshow, a rapidly moving motion of his photo-shoots, and how he had thought about what he was doing.

What had he wanted to do more than anything during that time?

The answer to that much was simple. He wanted to be in school.

He wanted to be around Nino, whom made him laugh on a regular basis. He wanted to be around Alya, whom made him feel comfortable to just joke around with.

He wanted to be around Marinette, the shy, clumsy blunette girl, whom barely even seemed able to speak to him for extended periods of time. Someone whom made him smile without even trying to. Someone whom... Whom...

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Adrien said aloud, vocalizing his thoughts. "Marinette?"

"You said it." Plagg told him, sitting down on the stand, next to his bed as he continued to converse with Chat Noir's alter ego. "Not me."

"Wait a second, Plagg, let me get this straight, are you seriously insinuating that I might have a crush on Marinette?"

"I never suggested anything." Plagg shrugged. "All I suggested was that you might be getting sick of seeing Ladybug. Anything else, you came to the conclusion on your own. And if I remember, Marinette is coming over tomorrow to help you, isn't she?"

Outsmarted by the laziest individual he knew, Adrien had to admit... It almost made sense. It explained why he had suddenly felt nothing when he was around Ladybug. Was that his subconscious trying to tell him something? Was his heart only just catching up to his brains thought process?

"But... But I barely even know Marinette." Adrien said, quietly. Even that aspect made sense. He wanted to get to know her. It only aided the current theory. He knew her a decent amount. Circumstance had forced them into various social situations, and they had all gone decently. Many had even been enjoyable.

"Don't most crushes start with the crushing person barely knowing their crush?" Plagg asked, this time with genuine curiosity. Clueless to emotions, Adrien was pretty much all that this Kwami had to go with when it came to emotional understanding.

"Besides, how well do you really know Ladybug?"

For the first time all night, Plagg had made a totally valid point.

"I mean, I guess." Adrien conceded, scarcely even able to comprehend that Plagg was being serious about romance of all things. The young model had to stifle a laugh and smirked. "I thought this sort of talk made you feel ill?"

"Urgh, believe me, all this lovey talk is enough to make my stomach churn. The only reason I'm even bothering is because you need to be in top condition if you want to do your work as Chat Noir effectively." Plagg defended.

"Aww, so you do care."

"This service doesn't come free, you know!"

"I'll make sure to get you some Camembert in the morning." Adrien said with a smirk as he laid down on his mattress again.

Could his Kwami be right? Was it something to do with Marinette? Was it possible he just missed his friends so much, and had grown so used to seeing Ladybug, that he wanted to be around them more than he wanted to be around Ladybug right now?

That could explain it...

"Well, either way, Marinette is coming tomorrow." Adrien muttered. "Maybe after that, I'll have a better idea."

Well, I told you all to expect something like this, and here it is! The first Miraculous work I've done so far. Now I do warn you, this story is on a slow boil, and won't get to the main point of the story for a few more chapters to come, but I'm hoping to provide you guys with enough entertainment and quality storytelling to keep you interested that long!

Now, because this is a brand new story, a brand new fandom, and a brand new genre for me to be writing in, I do need your guys' help - How is the story? It is good? Bad? Are the characters in character? Do their responses seem appropriate? I still have limited material to work with seeing as there's only 26 episodes of this show so far, so I've had to take what I can get from those, and their wiki bios. I'm hoping that you guys do indeed like this sort of story. If you're here because you're following me because of my Pokemon stories, don't feel like I'm forcing you to read this, but i do whole-heartedly recommend watching the show. It's something glorious.

Be sure to let me know guys, and I hope you enjoyed this. Love, Loss & Loyalty will be updated soon, for those of you who are wondering.

You can find this, my independent works, and more, on my Wattpad - Link is in my profile description, along with my YouTube, for games and such.

And I hope to see you guys in whatever it is I do indeed decide to write next - See ya!