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(Mood Music: Ballad Of The Sad Young Men - Roberta Flack)

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Chat Noir leaped through his bedroom's open window and promptly detransformed. All he wanted to do was shower and plop on the couch to become a proper vegetable for an hour or two. He could use the downtime to decide whether or not to meet up with Ladybug later that night.

His face felt hot as he remembered how her lithe body felt in his arms, how soft her cheek was when he whispered to her as they danced. The horrified look on her face that morphed into an empathetic one when she found out his relationship to Hawkmoth. He couldn't forget the way her arms felt around his neck, her head lying on his chest, or how he could smell her shampoo when his head rested on top of hers while tears streamed down his face. He just couldn't get it out of his head. It was so confusing, so unexpected. He was never meant to get to know her, nor to realize that she was so normal and just so... nice. It would make his job much harder if he thought of her as anything more than an enemy, an obstacle to his father's-- to his goal.

He pushed those thoughts aside and walked towards the bathroom when there was an abrupt, though not unexpected, knock on the door.

Adrien grumbled before calling out, "Come in."

His father's assistant entered the room through the door closest to him (why did his bedroom need TWO doors, honestly?). Her mouth twitched as if she was trying to find the right words, then settled for, "Your father would like to speak with you, Adrien."

"Thank you, Nathalie," he replied dejectedly. He was walking past when Nathalie grabbed his shoulder, gently but firmly. He stopped and stared at her, a bit puzzled. She closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly.

She sighed and looked back up at him. "He... isn't pleased. Just thought I'd let you know."

Adrien placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed. He quirked a small smile at her and murmured quietly, "I'll be fine, Nathalie. Thanks."

She nodded and let go, the creeping sense of dread in her stomach growing as she watched Adrien make his way towards his father's study.

Adrien stopped short of the door to the office and took a deep breath to try to gather up as much courage as he could muster. He turned the doorknob with a shaky hand and walked in until he stood a few meters away from his father, then waited, knowing that Gabriel was already aware of his presence. The blinding fluorescent lights made him feel exposed, as if he were in an interrogation room and he had already been pronounced guilty.

"What were you thinking?!" Gabriel barked suddenly, making Adrien flinch. "If you'd only been able to keep Ladybug occupied until my servant returned to you, we would have easily taken her miraculous. It should have been child's play. But not only were you apparently incapable of doing such a simple task, but you had the nerve to actually help that... that PEST?!"

"F-Father, it wasn't like that!"

"Then explain yourself! You'd better have a damn good explanation for such insolence!"

Adrien tried to steady his breathing before speaking. "When the akuma turned on me I knew she wasn't going to work out. She was only interested in her pointless ball and couldn't care less about helping me; her lack of focus would have resulted in defeat regardless. Delaying the inevitable would have been impractical, so I allowed Ladybug to use her lucky charm to speed things up a bit. I know how much you hate it when people waste your time."

Gabriel paused for a moment and asked rhetorically, "Is that so?"

Adrien gulped and looked down to the ground avoiding his father's gaze, a cold chill trickling down his spine.

Gabriel sighed heavily. "How long, Adrien? How long must we keep fighting this exasperating war where that troublesome girl frustrates our plans due to her power of dumb luck? Have you given up on our objective? Have you given up on her?"

Adrien's eyes widened and they shot upward to meet his father's steady, unforgiving gaze. "N-no! Never!" he replied desperately.

"If you won't help bring your mother back then you are useless to me. I will take back your miraculous, and your freedom along with it."

"Father, please!" Adrien begged. "I'll get you the earrings, just give me another chance!"

"See that you do. Don't make me regret placing my trust in you." He turned away and waved his hand dismissively. "You may go."

"Yes, sir." Adrien nodded morosely and turned to leave, trying to remember the last time he felt proud to be an Agreste... or if there ever was one.

Adrien re-entered his bedroom and locked the door. Leaning his back against it, he slid down to the floor and buried his face in his knees.

Plagg zoomed out of Adrien's pocket. "Sheesh, what a killjoy." He shook his head. "Forget about him, Adrien. Let's go out and get something to eat before we meet up with Ladybug."

Adrien laughed incredulously, "Why in the world would I want to do that? You heard my father. One more mistake and that'll be the end of Chat Noir." He looked up at Plagg and his expression softened. "I'm not ready to give it all up. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don't want to lose you. I don't..." he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to steady his voice. "I don't want to be caged up again."

"Adrien, Ladybug was right. Your father's an ass. Plus, a little teenage rebellion is good for you! You should try it sometime. You'll be eighteen soon, so do it while you still can."

Adrien gave him a lopsided smile. "And you're not just saying that because you want me to become Ladybug's ally and you can hang out with her kwami?"

Plagg crossed his tiny arms and said with feigned outrage, "Hmph! How rude!" Then he smirked and replied with a wink, "Although, that would definitely be a perk."

Adrien chuckled mirthfully and extended his hand for the tiny cat faerie to land in. He held him close, the other hand scratching his little head. Plagg nuzzled into his chest and returned the hug.

Adrien stood up and walked towards the window. "Well... there's no harm in just talking, right?"

"Your enthusiasm is contagious," Plagg replied flatly. "Anyway, let's just go!"

Adrien chuckled, "Okay, okay. Claws out."

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Adrien loved the liberty that was bestowed upon him every time he became Chat Noir, sprinting and leaping unfettered across the darkness of Parisian rooftops. The city was quieter up there, the loudness and chaos of the streets dulled to mere white noise. There were no akumas and consequently, no orders or demands made on him; he was free... at least for the time being.

He paused on a balcony railing to catch his breath for a minute. He could see Notre Dame from where he crouched, the full moon highlighting its façade.

Out of nowhere he felt prickles on the back of his neck, the kind you get when you feel you're being watched. His senses sharpened and he scanned the area, trying to determine the source. It was then that he locked eyes with a small child on the other side of the glass door of the balcony he was perched on. The little boy, around 5 or 6 years old stared at him like a deer in headlights, Chat's glowing green eyes staring back at him. Adrien loved kids, so Chat smiled and waved at him. Instead of being greeted back, however, he was met with a horrified shriek. The little boy gripped his blankets in terror and tears began streaming down his face. Dismayed, Chat promptly bounded away from the balcony before the boy's parents showed up and hurried towards his destination.

"Claws in." A flash of green and Adrien was back to his civilian self. He leaned on the railing closest to him and groaned in frustration.

Plagg hovered behind him. "Hey kid, forget about it, it's no big deal," he placated.

"Terrorizing children isn't exactly my idea of a fun Friday night activity, Plagg," Adrien huffed.

Plagg shrugged. "Well, you are considered a villain. Can you blame him?"

Adrien sighed heavily. "No. I really can't. That's the price I have to pay. The faster this is all over then the faster I can stop being seen as a bad omen to everyone in the city."

Plagg hesitated, then asked, "Are you going to try to steal Ladybug's miraculous during your meeting?"

Adrien paused to consider, then shook his head. "That would probably be the smart thing to do. Steal it while her guard is down. But this is a parley; it would be wrong."

"How noble of you," Plagg said sarcastically and zipped into Adrien's pocket to fetch some cheese.

"But... do you think she's trying to trick me and she'll try to steal my miraculous?"

Plagg made a noncommittal "I dunno" sound and bit into his cheese wedge.

"You're no help," Adrien huffed.

As he had arrived a couple of hours early, Adrien killed some time by reading a book on his phone while Plagg chased pigeons around the rooftop. At thirty minutes before midnight Plagg abruptly zoomed into Adrien's shirt pocket. Adrien heard a faint yet unmistakable zipping sound, followed by gentle footfall a couple of seconds afterwards. Sure enough, Ladybug landed a few feet away on a raised platform, facing away from him and he froze. He hadn't expected her to show up this early or he would have transformed already. He couldn't risk doing so now without revealing his identity.

He heard her murmur, "At least I'm actually early, for once."

A moment passed and she sat down, her feet dangling from the side of the adjacent roof. Adrien's eyes darted around frantically looking for an escape route, then started tiptoeing away from her ledge.

Unexpectedly, Ladybug began to sing softly as she waited.

( Please continue to Chapter 2, part 2)