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   Chat Noir was running through the cold night. He didn't have any sort of destination. It was just to get his mind off of the awful day. The day his mother disappeared.

   He didn't want to be alone today but didn't have much of a choice. Everyone was either busy, wanted to be left alone, or had an excuse to be let out as Adrien. So, he left to be locked up alone in his room for the rest of the night. He escaped in his superhero form and continued to run since then.

   Chat paused to catch his breath and happened to spot people through a window. He recognized the bakery and the residents within the apartment above it. He could see all three Dupain-Cheng's sitting at the table laughing and chatting about something.

His vision began to go blurry with unshed tears. The cat hero growled and wiped at his eyes to dry them before continuing through the city. He couldn't stand it! Where would a stray like him find a house to call home?

His house was empty. It was not a home without some sort of life to fill the area with even the slightest bit of warmth. Was that too much to ask? Was it that difficult to have some of his friends to hang out with or even see his father more often? Just sit down and talk about something rather than working all day.

For just one day, he wished he could experience what a family was.

Screaming filled the air and flashes of light filled the dark night. Chat Noir paused for a moment before sprinting into the direction of the danger.

"Maybe this fight and Milady can get my mind off of things," Chat thought. A flash of red joined his side as they grew closer to the scene. A smirk appeared on the cat's lips and continued his thoughts, "Speaking of Milady."

   "Well if it isn't the fairest of them all," Chat flirted and winked at his spotted partner, who rolled her eyes.

    "Less charm, more fighting," Ladybug said, more annoyed than usual. Chat frowned for a split second before smirking again. The two heroes hid behind a chimney stack as they watched the floating Akuma zapping people into portals.

   "The name is Alter! I am tired and sick of people who think that some people are living the dream. Well, let's put them in each other's shoes for a change!" Alter snapped, pointing what looked like a giant water gun at civilians.

Ladybug quickly unhooked her yo-yo and flung it at the Akuma's weapon. The wire wrapped around the water gun much to Alter's surprise. Alter followed the wire to the top of the building to see the two heroes.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir, I wonder what it would happen if you both switched lives?" Alter questioned, yanking on the water gun. Ladybug was suddenly pulled off of the side of the building and fell.

She tried to unravel her yo-yo from the villain's weapon but it wouldn't budge. Chat dove without a second thought and caught his Lady just at the nick of time. The cat hero held Ladybug bridle style as her arms were latched around his neck.

   "If I mew you were going to fall for me, you could've warned me a bit sooner to catch you," Chat flirted, wiggling his eyebrows. Ladybug glared daggers before slipping out of his arms in a huff and pushed him back slightly.

   "Cut it, Chat. We don't have time for thi-"

   Suddenly, Chat Noir and Ladybug were both zapped at the same time and disappeared into thin air.

   "Finally!" The Akuma sighed, "Those two were so annoying!"

   A purple butterfly mask appeared on Alter's face and an angry, deep voice spoke, "What are you doing?! You were supposed to get their Miraculous!"

   Alter blinked for a moment before realization caught up, "...oh yeah."

   The villain modified his weapon while saying, "Don't worry. I'll go get them in their alternate dimension. Besides, that'll be way easier."

   "How come?" Hawkmoth asked. Alter merely smirked before answering, "Think, it's an alternate dimension where the two switch lives which means..."

   Hawkmoth's confusion melted away and a grin appeared on his lips.

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   The bluenette groaned as she slowly sat up and rubbed her head. She fluttered her eyes in confusion when her vision was tinted green.

She heard a groan come from beside her and immediately turned towards it. Bluebell eyes widen when seeing the blonde ladybug superhero sitting up and rubbing his head. Ladybug rubbed her eyes then looked again at the blonde bug.

"Chat? Is that you?" Ladybug asked, squinting her eyes in confusion.

"Who else would be as charming and as dashing as I..." Chat began, flirtatiously before trailing off when looking at his partner, "...Milady? You look...different—i-in a good way!"

Ladybug looked down at her hands. Instead of seeing her suits usual ladybug design, it was all black with claws. She then felt the top of her head and brushed against her fake cat ears. Ladybug glanced over at her partner, who was drinking in the situation of the costume change.

   Finally, the bluenette's emotions flipped like a light switch. Confusion changed into frustration as she stood and stomped away. Chat was surprised by the sudden change then quickly followed behind.

"Wait up, Buga-"

"Don't call me that!" Ladybug yelled, heatedly, "Don't ever call me that! I'm sick of the pet names, Chat! So, get over it and grow up! Can't you see this is all your fault?!"

The blonde froze, feeling hurt and saddened by Ladybug's words. If he were still in his cat suit, his fake cat ears would surely be drooping on top of his head. He felt his heart ache watching his partner grab the baton and vault off into the night.

Chat was left standing there and staring into the direction Ladybug went. He hoped she would return so he could apologize. He hoped that he could make up for his mistakes. Hoped to re-mend his bond with the love of his life.

Yet, she didn't come back.

   Didn't even look back.

So, he swung away with a broken heart.

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   Ladybug stood on a nearby roof right across from where she knew her home was.

   Yet, it didn't look anything like her home. It was a mansion. Confused and a little bit angry, she jumped into an open window as if it were muscle memory. She closed the window and de-transformed from her suit. A small black cat emerged from the ring and fell into her hands.

   "Won't you feed this poor, stray kit-" Plagg paused his dramatic speech, looking up at Marinette, "Well, you look more feminine than usual."

   "You're Chat's Kwami. Am I correct?" The bluenette asked before looking around the room in awe. This bedroom was the same size as the bakery and apartment combined! It was beautiful, elegant designs and quite exquisite furniture. Marinette could only dream of having a room like this!

   "The one and only Kwami of destruction, Plagg. Now...about my cheese..." the being said. The bluenette looked down at her clothes and couldn't believe how stylish they were. This was all a dream and hoped no one would wake her up any time soon.

   A knock came from the door, making Marinette's heart race in fear that she broke into someone's house and about to be caught. She froze when the door slid open to reveal...

   Bluebell eyes widened in complete shock.

   There at the door was her mother. Yet, she seemed more...stern and authoritative than usual. Marinette wanted to tell her to leave but the words were stuck in her throat when stopping herself.

   "Your supper is ready. After that, you have to finish your homework and practice your Chinese," her mother listed on blandly. The bluenette had many mixed emotions at the moment and didn't know what to say or do.

   Before all of this happened...before the Akuma, Marinette and her parents got into a bad fight. Her parents talked about her being late to school almost every day, not being where she was supposed to, low grades and figured out the few times she lied to them.

   They wanted the truth about what was going on but she couldn't tell them. So, with a heavy heart, she lied. They didn't by it and soon, things began to get out of control.

   There was lots of yelling, things being taken away, and curfews being set. Marinette felt angry, stressed, hurt, annoyed and overwhelmed with everything. She blew and said the wrong things from all those pent up emotions. Then locked herself inside her room, paced the floor, and talking to herself.

   Marinette snapped out of her memories at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Bluebell eyes locked onto cold gray, making her shiver.

   "Are you feeling alright, Marinette? You look a little pale." Her mother asked, blandly and not in her warm, honey-like voice.

   "Uh, y-yeah. I'm fine," the bluenette said, forcing a smile. The woman raised an eyebrow before nodding and saying, "Very well. Come down for dinner."

   Marinette followed her mother through the glamorous house. Bluebell eyes took in the surroundings in amazement, carefully looking at family portraits and designs. Yet, the family portraits were the weirdest part to her.

   Every picture only had Marinette and her father. Where was her mother in any of the pictures? Why did her father look more professional and cold rather than his huggable teddy bear-like nature? She could tell he was sad in every photo. But why? What was going on?

   Soon, the two arrived in a giant dining room with a long table and lots of chairs. At the nearest end, part of the table was a plate of food. A growl came from Marinette's stomach which made her blush in embarrassment.

   Sabine gestured for her to sit down and eat. Marinette hoped it was one of her father's homemade specials. She could use it right now with everything that's been going on but she didn't think it would be. Probably something else that would still be delicious either way.

   She was ready to dig in until noticing the food on the table. That looked nothing like what her father would make. It looked like someone on a diet would eat (plus, a plate of stinky Camembert on the side which almost made her gag).

   "W-What is this?" The bluenette asked Sabine. The woman looked up from her tablet then raised an eyebrow.

   "What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

   "Can I have something else, please?" Marinette asked, "Maybe a soufflé or mac and cheese?"

   Sabine narrowed her eyes and in a stern tone, said, "Of course not. You need to stick to your model diet."

   The teen's eyes widen at her mother's harshness and flinched. She went back to looking at her food then at the other chairs. Sabine turned to leave the dining room.

   "Is anyone else going to eat with me?" Marinette asked.

   "You know your father is busy, Marinette. Now, I've got other things to attend too," Sabine said, leaving the room. Once the echoing of the door disappeared, everything went quiet. She sat all alone at the table with no one to keep her-

   "Finally, I thought she would never leave," Plagg said, flying out of Marinette's jacket pocket. He sat next to the plate of cheese and began to eat. Yet, Marinette still sat frozen in her seat and stared at the food on her plate then the rest of the room.

   Bluebell eyes paused on a family portrait that hung above a mantle. She stared wide-eyed when seeing it and clutches the bottom of her shirt. There in the portrait was her, her father, and another woman she's never seen before. They were all smiling except for her father of course.

   Marinette quickly looked away then absent-mindlessly poked at her food.

   "What's going on?" She thought. She looked over at the cat Kwami for a moment until realization hit like a ton of bricks.

   They faced an Akuma that switched people's lives with another.

   She has Chat's Kwami.

   "Plagg," Marinette began and getting the Kwami's attention, "Is this...Chat's house and living style?" Plagg paused for a moment before swallowing the food in his mouth.

   "Yeah, the kid lives the dream life," Plagg said before looking around, "but sometimes that "dream life" can be a total nightmare. To me, it's heaven. I mean, look at all the Camembert I can get!"

   Marinette hadn't been listening after that. She scanned the room one more time before remembering her Kitty. How he would joke around without a care in the world. The times she would look out the windows of her home to see him out at night without a purpose. How he would sometimes fake a smile when he thinks she doesn't notice.

   "Is it always this...lonely and empty?" Marinette asked. Plagg stopped for a moment but didn't answer. He didn't need to answer for her to know it was true. This was Chat's life which meant...

   "Plagg, let's go out for a bit," Marinette said, opening her jacket enough for him to fly in.

   "But...my beloved cheese," the small cat complained.

   "You can finish it later. Right now, I need to go and check something," the bluenette said. Plagg flew into the jacket, then Marinette walked back to her room to transform into Lady Noir.

{+}{+}{+}

   Adrien landed on a balcony.

His mind was full and heart torn so he let muscle memory guide him home. Yet, he looked around confused as his instincts told him to go inside the room. Following his gut feeling, the teen opened the skylight and slipped into the room.

Green eyes scanned his surroundings in wonder. The room was way smaller than his own but it felt cozier and fuller. He de-transformed and continued to look at his surroundings. He fawned over the anime posters and silly card collections that his father would never allow him to have.

   The blonde jumped when hearing a knock coming from the floor. Not too far away, a trap door opened and a head popped in. His father's eyes locked onto his green. Yet, he was surprised to see those same eyes that held a sternness and coldness within them were bright and cheery.

   "It's time for supper. Your mom made your favorite so you better get down here before I eat it all," Gabriel teased his son before retreating back to the kitchen. Adrien froze in confusion and blinked in surprise.

   "What just happened?" Adrien asked no one in particular. Tikki flew out of Adrien's jacket.

   "Can you get me a cookie, please? I'm a little hungry," The small bug asked, stomach growling. The blonde teen looked at the Kwami before nodding in agreement. He slowly walked over to the trap door cautiously opened it.

   Adrien went down a couple of steps before scanning the area and two rooms. The kitchen was small but the living room took up most of the space.

   "Adrien, hun. Can you set the table for me?"

   Adrien froze once recognizing the sweet and soothing voice that disappeared a year ago. He never thought he would ever hear it again and not from his nightmares. Green eyes slowly and wishfully turned to the owner of the voice.

   There she was, standing in front of the sink with regular clothes, an apron covering the front, and flour smudged on her cheek. Her hair was still in its signature braid and eyes shimmering with mischief.

   Emilie Agreste.

   "Earth to the Great Hokage. Can you please set the table?" His mother teased.

   It only took a moment for Adrien to stumble down the rest of the stairs and run-up to his mom, engulfing her in a giant hug. The woman stumbled a bit and gasped in surprise. She stared down at her son, raising an eyebrow.

"Just yesterday you told me you were too old for my hugs and kisses," Emilie joked, a bit of confusion laced within her tone. Adrien buried his face into his mother's back and tightened his arms around her waist.

"I lied," he responded, breathing in the familiar minty and rosy scent that calmed him. Emilie smiled softly and placed a dish down. She loosened her son's grip to turn around and return the embrace fully, placing a kiss in the teen's messy hair.

What the two didn't know was a pair of cat-like eyes, gloomily watching a long ways away through the window. Heart torn and body shivering in the cold, Marinette made her way back to the empty mansion.

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