Ladybug slowly peeked her head through the crack of the open door, the burst of blackness immediately engulfing her vision as she squinted her eyes, trying to see through the jet black dark.

In the middle of the room, invisible to the public eye and the world surrounding him, sat Adrien Agreste, who was rocking back and forth in his little space of solitude.

"You okay?" Ladybug whispered as she entered the room, not even being aware that the door closed behind her.

She blindly made her way over to him, nearly tripping over something in the process as she crouched down before him. She smiled, before reaching her hand out to him, "Adrien?"

"I'm fine." he shrugged it off like it was no big deal, his eyes looking up to see the faint blue shimmer of his lady's beautiful sea-blue eyes.

"Don't lock yourself up again." she scolded gently, placing her hand on his shoulder as he shivered from the brief contact, "It gives you more anxiety than you need."

"I'm fine." he whispered again, burying his face into his arms, "Really."

Marinette wasn't buying it. So she sat behind him as she placed her hand on the model's shoulder, "You know, don't forget to ask comfort from others. Some problems just overweigh the amount we're capable of dealing with on our own, but from the help of the right people, we can overcome that."

Adrien's vision clouded as his eyes were foggy from the previous tears, dryly gulping down his stinging throat as he whispered, "My mother, Emilie, used to say that."

Ladybug froze. He had never mentioned anything about his mother before, he had never been open about his family to anyone. Not even Nino knew much about his mother.

"Well then, she was right. I'm open to chat if you would like. I think you need it." she smiled even wider as she strode up beside the blond, crouching down on her knees again and cupped Adrien's cheek, lifting his face to meet her eyes, "It's okay to cry, Adrien. Everyone cries, not just the weak."

"I can't cry." he muttered under his breath as he chocked back another sob, "It'll ruin my father's image."

"You're always worrying about others. Let's think about Adrien for a change." the red-costumed girl insisted, while the model nodded slowly.

"My mother-" Adrien started, lowering his gaze to his knees, "She was always there to comfort me when I made a mistake. Yet, whenever I make a mistake nowadays, it just seems that I'm- that I'm adding more pain to my father then I should."

"You are not. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone cries, so what makes you different that you can't?"

The blond sighed, miserably meeting her gaze, "My father-"

"Ah ah ah." the heroine clicked her tongue disapprovingly, placing a finger on Adrien's lips to silence him, leaning in closer before she was a few inches away from his face, "Your father is out of the question. What makes you, yourself, Adrien Agreste, different?"

The boy blinked a couple of times before tearing his gaze off of Ladybug, "My status."

Ladybug's mind stopped. Status. It rang through her mind, buzzed through her ears, the word itself bringing meaning to her. Without warning, she immediately pulled Adrien into a hug, burying her face in the model's neck as tears were threatening to spill from her eyes, leaving Adrien to gasp.

"I'm here, Adrien. I'm here." she muttered, rubbing his back gently, "You don't have to pretend. Just be yourself with me"

"I-I" he started, but then was cut off when Ladybug muttered;

"Always."

—

Adrien gulped as Ladybug fiddled with the key to try and get them out of the storage closet.

"It won't budge!" she groaned, pushing the object through the slot even further.

"A-Are we stuck in here?" Adrien questioned hesitantly as he waited for a response. Ladybug pressed her lips together, closing her eyes as she slowly turned to him.

"D-Don't be scared- please. Right now the key isn't really working and-"

"We're locked," he concluded, the feeling of Claustrophobia soon creeping it's way up to his chest.

His breathing became heavier, more inconsistent as he tried to calm himself. Adrien's eyes fluttered closed as he clutched his chest, trying to think happy thoughts as he tried and envisioned his mother.

"...Adrien?"

No response as his breathing became louder. He slumped to the ground, Ladybug getting the feeling that he was going to have a heart attack and slid down beside him immediately, wrapping her arms around him as she gently rocked the violently shaking with fear teenager. "Hey, Adrien, it's okay. There's a way out. Please, breathe for me, please, Adrien."

"I-I..." he tried to respond but felt his voice being cut off as a whimper escaped his lips, pressing himself closer to Ladybug as he tried to restrain the heavy breathing.

"It's alright, Adrien, you're doing great." she cooed, rubbed his back gently, "Breathe with me, in, out, in, out, okay?"

Ladybug breathed in, Adrien doing the same, then they exhaled. They repeated this a few times as Adrien's shaking slowly died down. "There." the heroine smiled, slowly getting up but the model latched onto her immediately.

Marinette looked around, spotting a small closed door at the top of the room. Her eyes lit up, "Adrien, I can get us out of here. I'll go through the trap door and come back to the other side to unlock the door, okay? Will you be fine?"

"Y-Yeah..." he slowly agreed, the fear that once left soon quickly entering him.

"Breathe, Sunshine." she smiled as she swung her yo-yo around a nearby post and pulled herself up, removing the slot to the door open, "Think of me, your mother, alright?"

"Y-Yeah."

Then she was gone. She left him, by himself, locked inside a room with no possible way out. Plagg immediately zipped out of his holder's blazer, eyeing the blond who began breathing heavier again.

"Think of Ladybug." he insisted, setting himself onto his shoulder, "I could unlock the door, but that would be suspicious. She won't leave you, you don't need to worry."

Then Adrien nodded, slowly stealing a sideways glance of the locked door. Ladybug would never leave him, would she? Would she be like his father and leave him in the dust? Then his mother appeared in his vision. Ladybug was so alike with her, both had the same beautiful smile that could move mountains and calm one's heart.

He convinced himself that she would come back for him. She would never leave him.

But if he was so sure, then why did he have a slight feeling that she wouldn't?