Ladybug jumped from building to building, watching for anything out of the ordinary. Her partner, Chat Noir was a little ways back, but still following. Ladybug loved Summer, it was warm, but not too hot, and they also had school off, which gave her more time to patrol the city. The silence was very peaceful, it was nice and refreshing. Silent. Quiet. It was quiet. Why was it so quiet? Ladybug looked back to see that Chat Noir had stopped and was looking out towards the city. Ladybug stopped running and headed towards her parked partner.

"Is something wrong?" Ladybug asked, looking out where Chat Noir was looking. "Oh, nothing. Just thinking." Chat said before sighing. "What about?" Ladybug asked, facing her partner. "Nothing important, just...family." Chat said. "Family's important. What about your family?" Ladybug asked. She felt like she might be starting to push it, and the topic could be getting too close to identities, but then she realized that she didn't really know too much about her own partner. Chat Noir sighed, then looked towards his partner. "Shall we continue M'lady?" Chat asked, bowing. The tip of Ladybug's mask raised up, indicating that she lifted her eyebrow, but she just replied, "We shall."

They started off again, and ended up on the top of the Agreste Mansion. Ladybug looked down to see a man walking into the castle of a home. 'Must be Gabriel' Ladybug thought to herself. 'The father of Adrien' She thought, smiling. No. She couldn't get caught up as Marinette while she was Ladybug. "Is that Gabriel Agreste?" Chat asked, pulling Ladybug out of her day-dreamy look. "Huh. Oh, yeah." Ladybug answered. "Why?" Ladybug asked, seeing her partner start to look worried and rushed. "Oh, nothing. Just wondering." Chat said, similarly to what he had said earlier.

He had to get in there. If his father was home, that means he would have Nathalie check up on him...Adrien. And if Adrien wasn't in his room filling out the paperwork for his next modeling gig, Nathalie would tell his father and things would get out of hand. "I, ah, have to go." Chat said, jumping off the side of the building. He felt bad for bailing on his lady like that, but it had to be done. He quickly but quietly snuck around the corner, making sure neither his father nor Ladybug saw him. De-transforming, he got back in his room seconds before Nathalie walked in.

"Have you finished your paperwork?" Nathalie asked. "Yes, almost finished." Adrien said, acting as if he had been working on it the entire time. And he was almost finished. Knowing he would be going on patrol with Ladybug, he finished most of the paperwork early in the morning. "Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes." Nathalie said, before closing the door. "That should give me enough time to get back to Ladybug" Adrien said to Plagg. "Plagg, claws out!" As soon as he transformed, he got a call from Ladybug. "Couldn't stand being without me?" Chat said as he opened his staff. "I found another akuma, I'll send you the coordinates." Ladybug said, not looking at the screen. "Go it. On my way." Chat said, closing his staff.

Chat Noir arrived to see Ladybug fighting what appeared to be the akuma. It was a girl no older than 5, and she was wearing a brown dress that flowed to her ankles. "My name is Terrify, and I can control the earth." The little girl said. "What happened?" Chat asked. "An earthquake. It destroyed her home and killed her mom." Ladybug said. "Oh." Chat said, knowing exactly how the little girl felt. Not having a mother figure in your life as you grow up can be the hardest thing to deal with. "You don't have to do this!" Ladybug yelled. "Nothing you do will bring her back, trust me!" Chat shouted, getting the girl's attention. Ladybug looked at her partner, then at her enemy.

The girl lowered to the ground, looking at her feet. A single tear streaked down her cheek. "I just want her back." The girl said in a small voice. Anger turned into sadness, then back to anger. "I will bring her back!" She yelled, raising her hands towards the two superheros. As the ground shook from underneath their feet, Ladybug noticed a small bracelet wrapped around the little girl's wrist. It was glowing. 'That must be where the akuma is' Ladybug thought. The ground stopped shaking and they fell through. Unfortunately, the dirt covered Ladybug's yo-yo as well. Now, hip deep in dirt, a butterfly outline covered the girls face and she smiled.

"Now..." She said, reaching for Ladybug's earrings. "NO!...Lucky Charm!" Ladybug yelled, catching the object "A jump rope? What am I supposed to do with this?" Ladybug asked herself. She looked around for anything else that might be useful. She got it. Keeping one end in her hand, she swung the rope to the girl's foot. Just like she had expected, the rope wrapped around the little girls ankle, then, Ladybug yanked her down. Swerving to the side, Ladybug broke the dirt from around her. Guess it was just her luck. Ladybug jumped up, out and away from the danger. Using her yo-yo, she broke Chat Noir out and the two took defensive stances. "The akuma must be in her bracelet." Ladybug said. "Got it." Chat said, running up to the girl. "Cataclysm!"

Chat swiped the ground beneath the girl and she fell just like they had. Ladybug grabbed the accessory and snapped it, watching the black butterfly flutter out.

"No more evil-doing for little akuma."

"Time to De-evilize!"

"Gotcha"

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

"Pound it"

"What happened?" The little girl asked. "That's not important right now." Ladybug started, comforting the girl. "Mommy?" She asked, looking around. Ladybug sighed, how was she going to explain this to a child? Chat Noir could see that Ladybug was struggling to find the right words, so he decided to intervene. "Your Mommy is going on a trip, and she won't be back for a while." Using the same words his Aunt had used when his mom had been reported missing, Chat gave the girl a comforting smile. "In the meantime, why don't you go find your Daddy and help him start to find a new home." Chat finished. "Okay." The girl said, frowning. She walked off and Ladybug looked up at her partner. 'When did he become so sentimental?' "What was that?" Ladybug asked. "I just know how to deal with this kind of stuff." Chat said as a beeping sound emitted from his ring. "Tomorrow, M'lady?" Chat asked, running off, leaving a very confused and curious Ladybug behind.

He de-transformed and crawled into his room through the window. "Dinner is ready" Nathalie's voice said through the door. "Coming" Adrien said, opening the door. Once again, he ate dinner at the long, empty dining table. No one but him. He climbed up the stairs and into his bedroom. He lifted his hand to stare at his ring and wondered if Ladybug was still transformed. He decided that he wouldn't call her right now, he'd wait until tomorrow, which was a Saturday. Thank goodness.

Saturday's were one of his less crazy days. Less photo shoots, and sometimes no akumas.

Adrien woke up to Nathalie opening his door. "Breakfast" She said, closing the door. "Good morning to you too" Adrien huffed. He rushed down the stairs and quickly ate his breakfast. He was eager to get to Ladybug.

Once he was finished, he rushed to his room, where Plagg was busy finishing his cheese. "Plagg, claws out!" As soon as he transformed, he hopped out through the window and smiled. He loved being Chat Noir. He could be the person he always wanted to be. Funny, witty, and a bit ruthless. Chat Noir had no care in the world. Which is why Adrien loved being him. Ever since his mom disappeared, his father was becoming more and more distant. The only people that talked to him at home was Plagg, who only talked about cheese, and Nathalie, who only talked when necessary.

Adrien was starving for attention, and it was starting to leak through with Chat Noir. Adrien had tried to act normal, he tried to act like he wasn't internally begging for human contact. For a conversation that had nothing to do with photo shoots. School had helped a little, but since he had been home schooled, he knew a little more than all the other students, which meant the teachers wouldn't call on him as much.

Nino had provided some helpful conversations, and showed him true friendship. Heck, Nino was akumatized just because his father wouldn't give him a birthday party. But that wasn't really what he was looking for. He longed for someone who would see past his famous image. His famous name. His famous father. He wished for someone who would help him talk. Nino was his friend, not because he was famous and rich, but because he was a good person. Nino had stepped into the empty hole in his heart and filled it with friendship. And Adrien could never re-pay Nino for that.

But it just wasn't right. He wanted his father to be happy, to talk, not ignore and hide behind his assistant. He would go to all the photo shoots and do whatever pleased his father. He would listen and not complain, just because he wanted to see his father smile. He wanted to be able to come home from school and talk about his day with his father. He wanted to be able to help his father cook dinner instead of making the chief cook every meal. He wanted to be able to give the camera a real smile at photo shoots, and not one he plastered on every day.

Lost in thought, he ended up almost walking off the edge of the Louvre. A tug from his belt-like tail broke him out of his thought. "Are you trying to hurt yourself?" Ladybug asked. "Oh, sorry. I was just lost in thought." Chat said. "Speaking of which, I've been thinking about what you said yesterday and I have some questions." Ladybug said, stepping closer to her partner, just in case he tried to bail again. "Well, it doesn't look like there will be any akumas today..." Chat said, backing away. The last thing he wanted to do was spill every haunting feeling he had to his love and partner.

"Chat." Ladybug said, grabbing his arm before he had the chance to get away. "Can't let me go?" Chat said, smiling. "Chat, please. What did you mean yesterday during the akuma attack?" Ladybug asked, letting go of her partner's arm. "It's nothing you want to be bothered with." Chat said. "You're my partner, I want to know what you meant." Ladybug said, getting fed up.

Why was he so stubborn?

"You know, I don't even remember what I said. So-" Chat started before Ladybug interrupted him. "You said that you knew how to deal with that kind of stuff. What did you mean? Chat. Please, you can tell me anything and you know that." Ladybug said. "It's complicated." Chat said. "I can figure it out." Ladybug argued. "It'll take too long." Chat said. "I've got time" Ladybug countered. Chat sighed.

Why was she so stubborn?

"It's...my father." Chat said, shrugging. "What about him?" Ladybug asked. "He doesn't really seem to be human." Chat said, raising his eyebrows. Ladybug smiled. "He doesn't really pay much attention to me. And when he does, it's usually to tell me what I'm doing wrong." Chat said, sitting down. "Well, what about your Mom? Doesn't she pay attention?" Ladybug asked, sitting next to the boy. Chat chuckled. How could one person be so innocent? "My. My Mom disappeared when I was little." Chat said, staring at his feet.

"Oh. Well. What about your siblings. Brothers or sisters?" Ladybug asked. "I don't have any." Chat answered simply. "Wait. So you're telling me that you don't have a mom, your dad doesn't acknowledge you, and you have no brothers or sisters?" Ladybug asked. "Yep. The dinner table is really empty." Chat joked, snickering at himself. "You must have someone." Ladybug said, staring at her partner. "Well, I have Natha-" Chat started before he stopped himself. No names! Man. Talking to Ladybug was so easy. He almost started to talk about the assistant of the house, Nathalie.

"Well?" Ladybug asked. "Nobody." Chat concluded. "What about...what about your kwami. Surly you have one. Right?" Ladybug asked. To be honest, she wasn't sure if he had one. Clearly, his magic was the same as hers, but just because she had a kwami, didn't mean that Chat Noir had one. "Yeah, but he's kind of a pig. All he ever talks about is cheese." Chat said with a disgusted look glued to his face. Ladybug had to stifle a laugh at the sight of his face. "I'm guessing cheese isn't really your thing?" Ladybug asked. "I prefer sweet things" Chat said, smiling and looking in Ladybug's direction. Ladybug rolled her eyes at his attempt to flirt. "Well then, tell me about your dad." Ladybug demanded. "He's very strict, and only likes things to be perfect." Chat started. "I try to do what he wants, but it's kind of hard when all he wants is perfection." Chat said.

"Does he have a job?" Ladybug asked. Oh man. If only Ladybug knew. "Yeah, he has a job. It's a real important one, too. Which is why he doesn't pay a lot of attention to me. I'm his puppet." Chat said, more to himself than to Ladybug. Ladybug didn't know what to do. Her partner and friend was sad and lonely, and all she could to was pat him on the head and say 'There, there'

"But please, don't feel bad for me. This kitty doesn't need pity" Chat said, smiling at his rhyme.

She was so busy on focusing on how to help Chat, that she didn't notice him sneak away from her. When she turned her head to look at him, he was gone. And she couldn't have felt more guilty.