(Continued from part 1)

The rest of the evening was cozy and relaxing and quite possibly everything Chat could ever ask for on a Friday night, and the next morning, he woke up with a grin on his face despite the usual nightmares that plagued him. He even managed to find his missing sunglasses that he wore with his hoodie, so he was able to have breakfast without having to transform.

Chat exited his room and walked into the living area. He greeted Sabine, who was already in the kitchen preparing drinks and breakfast for the family. They conversed, enjoying tea and coffee together as loved ones do.

Eventually, a groggy Marinette waddled downstairs, stretching her arms over her head.

"Voila, la princesse!" Chat called out to her with a flourish. Marinette stuck out her tongue at him as she ambled past, and he cackled.

"Coucou, ma mignonette!" Sabine cheerfully greeted her daughter as she zombie-shuffled into a chair, giving her temple a smooch.

The three engaged in friendly conversation, Marinette's brain slowly rousing with a hot cup of breakfast tea.

In the middle of their chatter, the ringing of Chat Noir's cell phone cut sharply through the air. However, it wasn't his cell phone's usual ringtone. It was the ringtone from Nathalie's burner phone, which he kept on him at all times. His eyes bugged out in surprise, and he promptly excused himself so he could answer it from his bedroom.

Upon arriving, he closed the door and brought the phone out of his pocket, answering tentatively, "Nathalie?"

"Adrien? It's so good to hear your voice," he heard her reply, her voice almost a relieved sigh.

"It's great to hear yours too! How are you? Where are you?"

"I'm doing well. I've just arrived in Nepal earlier this week. It's quite lovely and the weather is quite pleasant during this time of year."

"Nepal?! That sounds amazing! Are you planning on climbing Mount Everest?"

She chuckled. "No, not this time. I have other business to take care of while I'm here."

Adrien furrowed his brows, remembering Nathalie mentioning that there was research she was conducting, but she hadn't been forthright about any details. His guess was that it was related to the magic of the miraculous, but he had no way of knowing for sure.

"Well, just make sure to take breaks now and then. Enjoy the scenery, experience new foods, and just enjoy yourself; be a normal tourist."

"Don't worry, I will." She sighed." I'd invite you to leave Paris and join me, but I already know what your answer would be."

Adrien hummed in agreement. "Yeah. My place is here. I have my own business to take care of."

"Please let me know if you ever change your mind," she added. "I know we're not blood related, but the Agrestes have been like family to me since before you were born."

Chat smiled, blinking away the moisture in his eyes. "Yeah, I know. You're family to me too, Nathalie." He cleared his throat to try to hide the crack in his voice. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call? Just saying hello?"

Nathalie laughed on the other side. "Well, obviously it isn't every day that my favorite family member turns into an adult. Happy eighteenth birthday, Adrien!"

"Huh? But my birthday isn't until next–" Adrien interjected, his face scrunched up in confusion, then muttered, "Wait, hold on." He pulled away from the phone to check the calendar, and his eyebrows rose up high on his forehead.

Yep. October thirteenth. It really was his birthday today.

He brought out his regular cell phone to check the lock screen. Sure enough, it displayed several unread messages and voicemails from his friends also wishing him a happy birthday. He hadn't seen any of them since he'd been too engrossed in conversation during breakfast.

"Wow... I guess I've really lost track of time lately," he replied. "Anyway, thank you, Nathalie! I appreciate your call!"

"It's my pleasure. So, why don't you tell me what's been going on since the last time we talked? I've... read some of it on the news."

Adrien exhaled sharply. "Oh boy... where to even begin?"

-----

About an hour later, the young man plopped face first on his bed, exhausted from the emotionally charged conversation he'd just had with his surrogate parent. His near akumatization, the attempted kidnapping, meeting the Guardian of the miraculous, finding out about the peacock miraculous, the protective talismans and spells performed in his room, his relationship with Ladybug... the whole ordeal sounded even more overwhelming when acknowledged out loud.

After resting for a while he arose and emerged from his bedroom, making sure his hood and sunglasses were back in place. A feeling of unease crept onto his shoulders, although he wasn't sure why. He tried to shake it off, but it slowly crawled down his spine and settled at the base. Ignoring it, he entered the kitchen, where Sabine watched the news as she painted her nails.

"Hello, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. Anything interesting on tv?"

"Not really, although apparently Jagged Stone adopted a full grown kangaroo during his current tour and his latest hotels have had very strong opinions about it," she added with a giggle.

"Oh boy, that sounds pretty chaotic," Chat Noir replied with a small laugh, although the odd feeling persisted. "So... where'd Marinette go? Is she up in her room?"

Sabine shrugged as she dipped the brush in the nail lacquer. "She might be, I'm not sure. She did mention she had to run an errand today, but she didn't say at what time exactly."

Chat paused, inklings of their conversation from the day before now rushing to the forefront of his attention, and he tried to remember the details. "Oh...? Did she say what kind of errand?"

Sabine pondered briefly. "I think she had to go deliver a present."

The blood drained from Chat's face. "Wait..." He gulped, his heartbeat pounding so hard, like it was trying to escape. "Did... did she say it was for a birthday?"

"Oh yes, that's right. It was a birthday present for one of her friends. I don't think she mentioned whose."

"Thanks, I'll go check her room. Excuse me," Chat said, then bounded towards Marinette's bedroom.

His heart pounded, blood now running ice cold as he scrambled up the stairs. Please let her still be home, please let her still be home.

Chat didn't even knock. He burst in so hard, the trapdoor slammed against the floor. Near hyperventilating, he spun in a circle to take in the room all at once, eyes darting to Marinette's favorite spots; but it was as he feared.

Marinette was gone.

(Continued in part 3)

Note: I came up with the date "October 13" for Adrien's birthday; October because we know it takes place sometime in autumn, and 13 because it's considered a lucky/unlucky number, depending on who you talk to. 😉 I don't believe they've stated his canon birth date in the show, at least not at the time that this fic was published.