Chapter Text
Adrien could hardly keep it together until Ladybug leaped out his window. When she finally did, he broke. His knees collapsed, his lungs squeezed, and his hands flew up to his hair. He was never the kind of person to swear, but this situation called for it.
“Fuck.”
A dark blur flitted across his vision. Then a voice, soft, careful, said, “Adrien.”
Adrien could only breathe, filling his lungs, blood pumping red hot.
“Adrien.” Firm. Concerned.
After a few moments, he felt the word rise up his throat: “Why?”
Plagg floated up so he was directly in front of Adrien’s panicked eyes. His voice was back to its original cadence- airy, casual. “Well, you always knew Felix was an asshole.”
Anger flashed on Adrien’s face. “Yeah, but I never thought he’d be capable of something like this, something pure evil.”
“People do crazy shit for the promise of power.”
“But how? How does Felix know Hawkmoth? Is Hawkmoth someone Felix knew? Is Hawkmoth someone I know?” Adrien, descending into a tornado of thoughts, covered his eyes with his hands in claws, scraping the skin.
“Hey, hold on-”
“I can’t stay here. I gotta get out.” Adrien jumped into action, flying to his closet for his overnight bag and a change of clothes.
Plagg followed him. “Hold up, Adrien, don’t do anything brash. We can’t afford to take any more risks.”
“Felix has been inside this house, he might be inside the house right now.” Adrien tore a shirt off of the hanger and started to fold it, but his fumbling hands only managed to crumple it into a ball. He didn’t have the time to worry about wrinkles, anyway.
“And running off will look suspicious. You can’t let on to any fact that you know about him. It might cause him to discover your identity.”
“But Plagg, I can’t stay here. I can’t sleep here. I have to be on guard every second as long as he’s in Paris. As long as Hawkmoth is still out there.”
“Adrien, you are human, you need sleep. In fact, some sleep sounds really good right now.” Plagg floated over to Adrien’s bed and patted the pillow for good measure.
“How can you even think about sleeping right now?”
“Adrien, I can’t stress this enough, you can’t act like something’s up.”
“That’s not possible.”
“You have to try.”
“I need to think.”
“Adrien-”
“Plagg, claws out!”
Adrien, selfishly (according to Plagg), used his powers as Chat Noir quite often just to get away from home. His modelling career with the Agreste company wasn’t truly what he wanted to do with his life. His house, his room, with all the stuff he’d collected throughout the years was just a constant reminder of that life he’d been born into. As Chat Noir, all of that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the wind in his hair and the pumping of his legs as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop.
When he finally ran out of energy, the sun had fallen out of the sky and his breathing came out in puffs. He had landed on a tall office building, far enough away from his house that he was comfortable with being, without going too far outside of Paris, lest there be an akuma attack that night.
“Claws in.”
Plagg came tumbling out of the ring and reared his head, fuming. “You can’t afford to be impulsive, right now, Adrien. This is dangerous. Wow, this must be how Tikki feels.”
“You don’t understand, Plagg. I had to get out of there.” Adrien dropped down to the ground, pulling his knees up to his chest.
Plagg sighed and followed him down on the concrete. “I don’t want you to get used to the mushy, sentimental, sensitive, Plagg, but there’s something you gotta hear.”
Adrien looked up at Plagg in front of him, his chin resting on his knees.
“You and LB are going to get the Miraculous back. Every single one. I don’t know this LB, but I know you, and I know how well you work together. You two are the best Ladybug and Chat Noir I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
Adrien’s voice was just above a whisper. “You’re just saying that.”
“Maybe.”
Adrien rolled his eyes and dragged himself up off the ground. He looked out over Paris, at the glittering lights of night life, the soft sound of the wind rattling the leaves on the trees. It was the city he swore to protect all that time ago.
“If anyone’s going to get the Miraculous back, it’ll be Ladybug, I know it. And I’ll be there to help her. Every step of the way.”
They heard a rumble of thunder, then felt the cool of rain on their faces. In the distance, a flash of light and a booming voice. Was this it? Had Hawkmoth already started his final attack?
This was not the time to stand around. They had to move. Fast.
Paris needed him.
Ladybug needed him.