Today was quiet; they didn't need to be here. But yet, here they are.

When Adrien came back from school today, he reached his mansion and felt the silence more acutely. No one was home. Nathalie left for the day and who knows where his father is. Even if his father was here, he might as well not be. Talking to Plagg left little to be desired. Adrien trudged up the stairs to his room. He pushed his door open with a flourish and he heard Nino's words from way back when, "Whoa, your room is huge! You're so lucky!"

Is he? Is he really? He flicked the light switch and lights flared on. He sat at his desk and booted up his computer. He gazed at the screen, lazily scrolling through his feed before throwing his hands up in frustration. He needed to get out; he feels suffocated.

"Plagg, transform me," he said authoritatively to the kwami who was snacking in bed again, though he was constantly reminded not to.

"But you're not needed," Plagg pointed out, curling his lip in a silent snarl at Adrien's tone. "There aren't any akuma today."

"Can't I just be Chat Noir without the presence of akuma?" Adrien sighed. "Please Plagg, I need it. Just this time," he begged anxiously. "I just need this one time."

Plagg saw the honesty on Adrien's face and pondered it. "Technically speaking, you're not abusing your powers. You just want to change, right?" Adrien nodded vigorously. "You're not going out to cause trouble, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I swear. I just need to get out of here."

"Sure you can," Tikki soothed her and brought over a glass of water, which Marinette sipped sullenly. "You just need a little break."

"A little break can turn into a very long one if I stop right now," Marinette returned sardonically. She forgot how much she disliked this subject.

The pink kwami was about to reply when the dot on her head suddenly lit up and she began rocketing in random directions. Marinette dove under her table. "Tikki!"

As soon as it started, it stopped. Tikki landed on the table with a loud thud and she rubbed her head, moaning.

"Tikki, what happened!" Marinette asked, shooting out from her place under the table. Gingerly, she picked up the tiny kwami and stroked her head. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Tikki replied, still rubbing her head. "Wow, that hasn't happened in aeons!"

"What?"

"Chat Noir called you."

"Called me?" Marinette frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When you're Ladybug, your bag acts like a communicator to Chat Noir's baton, right? Well, since you're not transformed, the communication path is sort of unfinished."

"So you become like that?"

"I become like that, yes."

"What can I do to help? Because that looks painful," Marinette added with a grimace of empathy.

"The only thing you can do right now is transform. I have no idea why Chat Noir would transform right now; there's no akuma about. Not that I can sense, anyway. Would you like to transform now?"

Marinette nodded.

"What's up?"

"I need to see you."

Ladybug swung out of her window into the night. "Are you okay? Are there akuma about?" She landed on an opposite roof and hit the ground running. The other side remained quiet. "Chat?" Ladybug screeched to a halt and leaned on a chimney. "Chat, are you okay?" she asked, concerned. He wasn't himself. At least, he wasn't sounding like himself.

Chat Noir was silent for a while. "Yeah," he finally replied. "Meet me near the park in five minutes. Near our statue."

"I'll be there." Ladybug confirmed as he hung up on her. She swung to the next building and ran on the rooftop there, her mind churning uncomfortably. What is wrong with Chat and why is he acting so strangely? She supposed the only way to get the answer would be straight from the cat's mouth.

By the time she arrived at the rendézvous point, Chat was already there, pacing restlessly like a worried cat. She cleared her throat to announce her arrival but he continued pacing, as though he didn't hear her. "Chat?" she called out uncertainly. Still, he continued his restless pacing, face scrunched in concentration. "Chat?" Ladybug tried again, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Chat Noir jumped in shock, whirling around wildly. "Oh! You're here!" It was obvious he did not realise her arrival. "Great!"

"Are you okay?" she asked dubiously, hand still on his shoulder.

"Good thing you're here!" The question was completely ignored. "I was thinking, who would win in a race?"

"What?"

"Between us. Who would win?"

"Chat, are you okay?" Ladybug's face and tone betrayed her concern. He turned to face her and she winced. His face was pale, his great green eyes were wide open. She shook her head to pull herself together and beamed at him. "Okay, where's the finish line?"

Chat grinned, one corner of his lips tilting up and his canines gleamed. He mentioned a place about 3 kilometers away. "We'll start here then. Are you sure you can keep up? A cat's much bigger than a ladybug."

"Yeah?" Ladybug matched his grin. "Well, a ladybug can fly." With that, she launched into the direction of the finish line.

"Hey!" Chat laughed when the shock died off. He started running as well. "You're cheating; you got a headstart!"

"Afraid you can't catch up?" Ladybug laughed breezily as she threw the challenge over her shoulder at him. She took out her bag and hooked it at a building's ledge, pulling herself into the air as she swung forward.

Chat just stared at her as she swung forward onto the roof. He shook his head and laughed as he took out his baton. Like a pole vaulter, he wedged one end into a groove on the ground and vaulted himself up into the air, using his claws to clamber on to another roof.

"Nice to see you can keep up!" Ladybug teased when she saw him gaining on her. Folding her arms close to her body, she leapt between two chimneys, her slim body slipping easily between them. She looked over her shoulder to see Chat having to swerve around the chimneys, seeing as he couldn't fit.

Chat Noir just let out an ecstatic laugh, the wind flattening the hair on his forehead. The cool night air stung his throat and whistled in his ears. He loved this, this feeling of running on rooftops. He loved the freedom that came with it, even if at times he was risking his life. But he knew he was in good hands. He watched as Ladybug vaulted over an air duct, legs pumping, laughter teasing, ringing in his ears.

Suddenly she looked over her shoulder at him briefly. "Keep up, Chat!" she called out before leaping off the edge to another building, throwing her bag to pull herself the last two feet. She stopped and looked back at him.

His grin widening, he leapt off the building to meet her. But he misjudged the strength of the jump and collided with Ladybug instead. They both fell to the ground in a heap, breaths knocked out of them. They both rolled off the momentum of the collision and lay there, panting. Chat Noir lifted his head off of Ladybug's shoulder to find her staring at him curiously, a slight frown on her brow. Their pants of breath mingled.

He was stunned by the closeness of them, their faces inches from each other. For the first time, he noticed her thick eyelashes, startlingly dark against her blue eyes. Her face was pale and he could feel the heat radiating of off it. Her lips were deep pink from the run, half open as she panted.

"Chat? Are you okay?"

Her voice jolted him out of his reverie. Chat blinked rapidly and stood up, dusting himself as nonchalantly as possible, trying to hide his shaking hands. He held out a hand and pulled Ladybug to her feet as well. "So does that mean I win?" he chuckled.

"If by bowling over competition you count as a win," she huffed in response. "We're only halfway through, you can still catch up." She pushed him lightly and sprinted off to the finish line.

Ladybug slid underneath an air duct, looking back when she reached the other side to see Chat leaping gracefully over it. So she increased her speed and threw her bag to hook on the ledge of a building on the other side of the road. As she swung to that roof, she reveled in the feeling of flying. The absolute weightlessness of being airborne. The wind in her hair, ribbons whipping in the wind and finally coming undone. She landed on the roof lightly and touched her hair, free and untied. Seeing that he was rapidly catching up, she had no choice but to forge on. So she ran.

Chat Noir hosted himself over the edge of the building onto the topmost floor, which led to a balcony, only to find Ladybug already there, her legs swinging off the broad marble banister. She was staring at the moon, which was hidden by thin clouds, making its cold light veiled. Wordlessly, he climbed on the banister next to her and settled down a foot away.

"I win," she turned to him and beamed.

His heart constricted, his breathing hitched and his brain buzzed lightly. "That you did," he forced out, lips curved slightly. Her smile widened marginally and turned back to the moon, still panting slightly. Her eyes became darker through the veiled light. Exhausted in a way that went beyond physical exhaustion, Chat Noir pushed himself closer to her and rested his head on her shoulder, slumping down ungracefully.

"Chat?"

"I'm just tired," he whispered, so she left him as he is. They remained there for a while, his head on her shoulder, their pants slowing down to regular breathing, silent as the breeze.

"Your hair's down," Chat commented after awhile.

Ladybug subconsciously fiddled with her dark hair, feeling odd with it swinging around her face in the slight breeze. "The ribbons came off just now when I was swinging."

"When you were flying."

"Ladybugs do fly," she agreed.

"I like it," he said after a short period of silence.

"It's hard to fight in."

Chat Noir nodded.

Without using her Lucky Charm nor his Cataclysm, their transformations lasted longer than usual. The moon dipped low in the sky as they sat there, each wrapped up in their own thoughts, listening to the other breathe.

Ladybug cast a sneaky glance out of the corner of her eye at Chat Noir. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady. "Chat Noir?" she whispered, reluctant to break the tranquil silence.

His eyes flickered briefly and he sighed, his head slowly slipping off her shoulder. Carefully, she shifted her body so that his head now lay on her lap. He frowned slightly and turned on his side, curling into a ball.

Ladybug let him sleep, watching him so he doesn't slip off the banister. In this position, he looked remarkably young. Of course, she doesn't know who he is and vice versa. It was something she'd rather not disclose just yet. She placed a hand slowly on his head and stroked it gently, which elicited a low moan from deep inside his throat that sounded suspiciously like longing. She knew the mask will never come off by force and she won't ever sneak a peek at him. He never sneaked a peek at her so she won't do the same to him. So she just continued stroking his hair.

She stroked his hair in a trance for a long time, her reverie shockingly broken when her earring and his ring pinged. She flinched and turned his hand over, watching his ring. There were two dots left. Gently, she shook his shoulder. "Chat. Chat Noir. Wake up."

Chat's eyes fluttered open. "Wha-?" he mumbled.

"You fell asleep."

He looked around and scrambled away. "Sorry!"

She jumped back and her eyes widened in shock at his reaction. "No, it's okay!" Ladybug cut him off, hands up. "I don't mind. You looked tired so I just let you. It's not a problem to me, honestly."

He hung his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to impose myself on you. I didn't want to keep you here."

Ladybug put her hand on his shoulder slowly. "Chat, look at me." When he didn't, she squeezed his shoulder and said authoritatively. "Chat."

Finally, he lifted his head. However, his eyes were still closed.

"Chat Noir, please."

He opened his eyes, his green eyes meeting her blue ones. "My lady, can you do me a favour? Please?"

"Of course."

Her quick reply made him smile, heart soaring. "Can you close your eyes, please?"

She frowned and her eyes clouded in confusion. But she closed her eyes without further questions.

Chat Noir took a deep breath and she sighed in unconscious response. At that moment, the clouds rolled away from the sliver of moon in the sky, throwing his entire world in weak, silver light. "Open it for a while, please."

Her forehead scrunched up slightly but her eyes flew open. She blinked for a while to adjust to the light. "Chat?"

He smiled softly. "Now close them."

"There better be a good explanation for this," she huffed.

He just laughed, the image of her eyes in the moonlight seared into his mind. He put his palm to his mouth and kissed it softly. Then, he gently placed his hand over her mouth and pressed it to her lips with the lightest of touches. She gave a small gasp and he longed to make that small intake of air his.

He took his hand away. "Okay, now you can open your eyes." She did what she was told and he could see the question in them. "Let's go down now, okay?"

"I need to go home," she pointed out. He didn't explain what he did. But at this moment, she figured that she didn't need an explanation so badly. She's just glad he looks so much better now.

"I'll accompany you," he said brightly.

"You're perky," she commented wryly as she began running swiftly in the direction of the park before her transformation wore off.

"I feel better," he grinned, easily keeping step with her. "Let me escort you home, my lady."

She twisted her mouth in a wry grin. "You are not sending me to my house, Chat. I can handle myself."

"Of that I have no doubt. I'll just escort you to the park, then. Is your house far from the park?" He jumped over an air duct as she slid underneath it.

"I don't know, is it?" she asked cryptically.

He shook his head with a low chuckle.

They remained quiet the whole journey back, enjoying the company of the other, running in complete tandem with the other.

Finally, they reached the park and slowed down under their statue.

"Chat?" Ladybug broke the silence, turning to face him.

"Yes, my lady?"

"You're purring."