**INTIMACY WARNING. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.**

-Adrien-

Adrien was feeling weary. He couldn't stand the work he had to do ahead.

School had only ended moments ago, and he had two more jobs to do along with homework.

He wasn't sure how much more he could take.

He slowly climbed up the stairs, a yawn ebbed through his lips as he turned down the hall.

He paused upon seeing his father's office door all the way at the end of the hall.

It was open.

That was a first for him.

Could it be that his father was home for the first time in years?

Adrien could feel a surge of hope rise through his chest.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, as he began to make his way towards his father's office.

He kept his bag strap clasped tightly In his hand.

Adrien could already feel his palms sweating from the anticipation as he stepped in front of the door.

A part of his mind warned that he was getting his hopes up for nothing. He was sure that the moment he opened the door his father wouldn't even be there, and that his door was open simply due to a gust of wind.

For all he knew, Nathalie could have been in there, just simply dropping off paperwork for his father to compete later while Adrien was either working or in school.

Or worse, simply cleaning crew there to do their jobs and clean the occupied room in the house.

Adrien slowly pushed himself into the room, his knuckles carefully grazing against the solid mahogany colored door.

His father stood behind his desk, his glasses sitting on his nose carefully as his dark blue eyes concentrated diligently on the laptop screen in front of him.

Adrien noticed the furrow in his brow had deepened since the last time he had seen him, the gray streak in his hair seemed more prominent than usual.

Adrien rubbed his elbow nervously. It was as if every ounce of bravery he had in him, immediately shook from his body.

"F-father?" He asked softly, his voice emanating a lot more trembling than he had wanted it to.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had wondered if his father had been drowning in work, just as bad as he was. It would explain his fathers appearance.

Gabriel didn't say a word as he continued to work on what was displayed on-screen.

Adrien waited, and then cleared his throat.

"Father?" He asked once more, only earning a grunt from the other.

Adrien waited, taking the subtle noise as a response to his presence.

Adrien twisted the strap of his bag in his hands before clearing his throat once more.

"I... I know things... Are picking up... B-but... I wanted to know if I could get a break a bit sooner than scheduled? I need a mental health day, and finals are coming up-"

Adrien was caught off by his father's disapproving scoff.

Gabriel's eyes met Adrien's in an instant, his own self-esteem cowering the moment their eyes met.

A small shudder ran down his spine as his father spoke.

"You can handle this." Gabriel spoke. "You've done this for years. I shouldn't expect for you to back out now." He said sternly.

"I wouldn't schedule you for anything I knew you couldn't handle."

Adrien stared blankly at his father.

"B-but-"

Gabriel stood up from his set, his brow furrowed with frustration.

"I said no. That is final. I have work to do Adrien. I will not discuss this matter any further." He stated and pointed towards the door.

Adrien bit his lip and stormed out of the room.

He began to feel more and more as a marketing merchandise than his own son.

His fists clenched as he turned the hall and went straight into his room.

Adrien threw his bag on the ground.

Plagg, who was inside, groaned as his head banged against the ground. He slipped out from beneath the flap and peered at Adrien who was on the verge of tears.

"What was that

for?" Plagg whined as he rubbed the top of his head.

He immediately recoiled upon seeing how upset Adrien was.

Adrien sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his face anxiously.

Adrien felt incredibly lonely and tired.

He couldn't even fathom how he managed to go this far.

He stood up and walked towards his window. He sighed as he closed his eyes.

Plagg slowly floated up to his side, he perched himself on Adrien's shoulder.

"Mom wouldn't have ever let it got this far" he said softly as he opened his eyes.

Plagg remained quiet, he allowed Adrien to think on his own.

It wasn't until the two of them both heard an explosion just a few streets ahead of them.

The explosion was so forcefully it nearly toppled Adrien over.

He stumbled back, and quickly regained himself before rushing back to the window.

"What was that?!" Plagg exclaimed as he gripped on to Adrien's collar.

Adrien's eyes darted across the streets he could view down below.

"There!" He pointed. A large puff of smoke emanated a few feet ahead of them.

He pressed his lips together anxiously. He knew that building from anywhere. It was the mayor's building.

Adrien looked at the clock on his desk. He was due to be at a photo shoot in an hour. Of course under such circumstances... He couldn't help himself.

"Come on, Plagg."

-Ladybug-

Ladybug hadn't wasted any time. The moment she recognized the building she made a run for it.

She had brushed past dozens of civilians who were screaming. She hooked on to a lamp-post and swung herself up on the nearest building she could find.

Squinting her eyes, she could make out a small figure in the smoke but it quickly faded in a matter of seconds. The explosion broke up a few pieces of furniture from the roof. Bits and chunks of the building blew off, but for the most part, the building remained in tact.

Ladybug pursed her lips as she leaped to the next building.

"I thought I'd see you here again" a voice from behind her said once more.

Ladybug stood up straight and looked Chat Noir straight in the eye.

"I knew you'd show up behind me like a creeper" ladybug replied with a smile.

Chat simply chuckled with a goofy smile before he joined her at her side.

"So what do we have here? You think it could be smoke girl again?" He asked, as both their eyes began to survey the situation.

They both knew that there was a possibility that she was going to show up eventually. She seemed to be in a hurry the last time she got away. The worst felt like it was yet to come. It was due mostly to the fact that she more than likely had a plan that none of them could figure out.

"I'm not sure... But there's no way we're going to find out from here. We have to go inside and see if anyone's hurt. If we're lucky we could actually catch her this time" ladybug replied.

Chat Noir looked at her.

"Have you figured out the item of interest yet?" He asked curiously.

Ladybug shook her head.

"No, but now is as good of a time as any." She said thoughtfully.

Before he could even respond she had swung herself down into the double doors below.

Chat snorted before he followed suit.

Inside Mayor Bourgeois stood in the lobby, fumbling as his guards attempted to escort him out of the building.

"My Angel. They took my Angel!" He cried hysterically.

Ladybug froze, and barely gave Chat enough time to catch up with her before she took off running again.

"What happened?" Ladybug asked, her voice cracking as she spoke. The mayor seemed way too hysterical to speak, but she felt like she had an idea of what might have happened.

One of the guards looked at ladybug, as he struggled with the mayor who seemed to want to climb back into the elevator.

"We were attacked. Chloé is gone." He said in a breathy voice, his arms successfully ducking any of the mayor's attempts to retaliate.

"We can't let him go back up there. It's not safe. That thing has been here twice this week. We didn't think much of it until it started to attack us" the guard explained.

Ladybug looked at Chat who took in the information and went straight to the stairs to investigate the rummaged parts of the building.

"Get him out of here. We'll take care of this" she said softly and turned her back to investigate.

She had hope that the assailant would still be around, but her and Chat still had remaining questions on their minds.

Why would this thing attack the mayor and take Chloè?

Chat had reached the third floor by then, while ladybug kept on going.

They couldn't find anything in the building.

She had met Chat halfway in the hallway and grit her teeth with frustration.

"Did you find anything?" Chat asked, his lips slowly pursed in thought as his eyes continued to look across the hallways.

"No, but this doesn't make sense... Why would it take Chloè?" She asked curiously. "The guard said that they saw her here twice this week before it started to attack." She pondered. Her hands lightly traced her chin.

"The explosion came from the roof... Maybe Chloè is up there." Chat suggested and quickly rushed back to the stairway.

Ladybug nodded and followed him.

Upon entering the roof, Chat Noir pushed opened the door. His eyes widened as the site of the situation.

Pieces of the concrete were plowed open with holes, some of it even displayed some of the rooms below. The table and chairs were strewn everywhere. Remnants of smoke continued to cloud the air.

Ladybug lightly coughed behind him. Her brow furrowed as she took in the situation. Her chest began to fill in with something she'd never thought she would ever feel, and that was sheer fear.

She gulped slightly as she stepped closer to Chat.

"You don't think... She caused this explosion... Right?" She asked, her voice shook slightly.

Chat looked back at her.

"I mean... We don't have a choice do we." He said thoughtfully. "We need to figure this out quick"

Ladybug opened her mouth to speak, but heard something behind her. She quickly wiped her head back to face in noise. Before she could get two words out she felt two hands on her shoulders.

"CHAT!" She yelped before she was thrown across the roof. She skid across the tattered roof, and rolled towards one of the holes.

She gripped to the edges, hanging on her legs swung below her. She carefully let go, and landed on her feet to the exposed rooms below.

Chat immediately whipped back and glared at the girl.

"We meet again" she said with a cruel tone dripping in her voice heavily.

Chat clenched his fists as he looked at the girl.

"What do you want?" He asked, his mind attempting to trace back to where he had heard her voice before.

She looked at Chat's hand.

"We both know... What I want" she said sternly.

Ladybug had stood beneath the two of them. Her heart raced beyong her control and the wound on her arm ached as her mind flooded with memories of their last encounter.

Her legs and lower back ached alongside the wound she had already sustained that she hadn't allowed to heal completely yet.

She must've had a few scrapes somewhere.

Chat kept his miraculous clenched tightly on his finger.

"Surely, this isn't the best idea you've got." He said in a confident tone.

In reality he feared this akuma more than anyone he's ever encountered.

She laughed at his remark and rolled her eyes.

"I came here for one thing only." She said, her eyes turning black.

Ladybug carefully climbed up the wall, and slipped through one of the gapes in the ceiling.

Grunting, she hoisted herself back onto the roof and looked up fearfully as the girl took a lunge at Chat.

Chat quickly rolled out of the way, in the direction opposite of ladybug.

Ladybug ignored the pain as she seized the distraction to make her attack.

She whipped her string around the girls leg and pulled back, attempting to pull the girl back down to the ground.

She needed to buy the both of them some time to figure out what they needed to save her.

She girl was yanked back, but she lifted her thigh, forcing ladybug to stumble forward.

Ladybug grunted but used every aching muscle she had in her body to keep her grounded.

Chat Noir, turned to watch ladybug momentarily and then took a leap to meet her side.

He gripped her waist and aided her stance.

The girl growled, her eyes continuously clouded into a deep black as she raised her fist.

Almost as a trigger, ladybug cowered slightly in fear.

Just as a steam of black smoke began to venture it's way towards her, Chat pushed lady out of the way, forcing her to let go of her ladybug yoyo. The string released the girl immediately, and she stood up with ease, a content smile displaying across her face.

Chat grunted slightly as he was hit on his collarbone.

Fortunately, he didn't bleed as much as ladybug did initially, but he surely felt blood.

Ladybug grunted as she rolled and look up at the girl as she stood.

She wasn't aware of Chat's injury, but she couldn't think about him in particular for the time being.

She was focused heavily on the girl who was now coming straight for her.

Ladybug rolled out of the way as the girl lunged towards her.

Ladybug staggered to her feet as she made an attempt to jump to the next building.

The assailant gripped her ankle and yanked her back, throwing her against the ground as if she were simply a ball of the sort.

Ladybug landed on her back, a searing pain coursing through her chest, as the wind was literally knocked from her.

Chat looked up with grit teeth.

He felt useless. He couldn't do much for the girl who only ever seemed to give him genuine affection.

Chat immediately raced towards ladybug. She groaned and turned to her side. Her body ached more than it ever had before. She looked up at the girl, whose fists slowly began to fade out.

"You guys keep getting better and better." She said with a grin. A large mass of smoke began to slowly circulate around her feet.

"I've had fun guys, but we must cut it short." She breathed. "But I'll be back" she spoke, her voice fading out as her figure was engulfed in a cloud of smoke.

"What on earth was that about?" Chat grunted as he carefully lifted ladybug to her feet.

She staggered slightly as she gripped on to his wrist, attempting to hold her balance.

Chat ignored the pain he felt throbbing in his collarbone, and looked at his lady.

"You need to get home. The building is evacuated, and I'm staying here for the night. She could be back at any time, and she could possibly have Chloè.

Ladybug shook her head and walked around Chat, her eyes darting around for the holes on the roof.

"I'm not going anywhere. She's not like anything we've been against" she spoke softly. "You can't face her alone. I'm staying here with you" she breathed.

Chat continued to look at her. Usually at this moment, he would have said or done something to lighten up the mood, but the situation seemed too dire, and he was in too much pain. The things running through his head only placed more tension for the two of them.

Chat lightly clutched his collarbone carefully and it was then that ladybug realized that he was injured.

"Are you okay?"She asked.

He looked at her briefly and smiled.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He spoke as he made his way towards the door that led to the steps back inside the building.

"Come, my lady" he said softly.

Ladybug nodded and followed.

The two of them remained on the fourth floor, they decided that it would be best if they had stayed in separate rooms.

Marinette had locked her doors and texted her mother. She felt bad that she had to lie to her parents, but she didn't have a choice. She'd rather have them think that she was spending the night at Alya's house than the actual truth.

Chat walked towards the window and peered past the curtains. The streets continued as normal, but he could spot a few police cars on the corner of the block.

Adrien didn't feel the need to text anyone at home to acknowledge his whereabouts. No one really cared, or was too busy to even notice.

Adrien felt a little frustrated, even as Chat Noir. He constantly found himself conflicted with his life at home.

He could still hear the words of his father from earlier in the day.

Chat sat on the edge of his bed, and was about to remove his ring when he heard a soft knock at the door.

Looking up, he cleared his throat and slowly approached the door.

Opening it, he blinked a few times as he noticed ladybug, standing shyly in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

He blinked a few times.

This was a pleasant surprise.

Of course he didn't think twice. He took a few steps back and opened the door wider for her.

She held her hands behind her back and stepped in respectively.

Chat closed the door behind her, and watched as she walked towards the Windows. She pulled back the curtain slightly and began to examine the street. They both seemed almost frantic.

It was almost evident that neither of them would be getting sleep that night.

They both feared of her coming back.

Ladybug turned to look at Chat as he approached her, he gave her one of his signature goofy smiles and she giggled, shaking it off quickly.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she looked up at him briefly.

He nodded as he brushed his fingers through the collarbones of his suit.

"Yeah." He sighed. "She got me."

She nodded in understanding. She knew the pain he was going through, she had only experienced it the day before.

She reached up and carefully began to peel back the fabric.

He blinked a few times. He knew the touch was completely innocent, but he couldn't stop his heart from beating erratically.

She furrowed her brow as she inspected the wound.

"You're seriously hurt... How can you sit here and say you're okay. It looks pretty bad" she recoiled, and began to draw her hands away.

With a small smile he caught her hand.

"You do it all the time, my lady" he said with a smooth voice.

It caught ladybug off guard.

She was usually resilient against his sudden flirtatious remarks and gestures, but this time she found herself slightly subjectable to it.

She slowly pulled away, as it was unnerving. She didn't like it at all. She started to recover as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

She wasn't sure if it was because that they were both scared for numerous reasons, but she was beginning to feel a connection of the sort.

Chat sat beside her, he continued to look ahead with a grimace.

Ladybug twisted her hands against her lap nervously. The two of them Sat in awkward silence.

Chat slowly examined the wound himself. His skin stained with blood, but he was grateful that it still wasn't bleeding.

He pressed his lips together as his head hung low.

"I'm scared." He said softly.

Ladybug's eyes widened slightly. Her fists slowly clenched in her lap at his words.

They both were scared. She knew she was scared, but was even ashamed to admit it.

He simply said what the both of them were thinking.

She slowly reached over and touched his hand.

"I know... I am too." She whispered thoughtfully.