The person that stood before ladybug wasn't cat noir, but he was wielding the cat miraculous. She was confused, who was this and how did they get the miraculous? She just stared in stunned silence for a moment, looking the guy up and down.

Black roots with blue dye in the tips of his hair, his cat ears lined with piercings. His mask looked like a masquerade ball type mask with the swirly lacy pattern, the suit was somewhat gothic. The collar was spiked, and the bell was silver rather than gold. The body of the suit was similar to cat noir, with the leather appearance and tail belt. But the arms resembled gothic lacy gloves that went up over the shoulder. The shoes were thigh high platformed boots. This cat was very gothic-Halloween rather than the standard leather look of cat noir.

"I'm not an akuma or anything, I'm just filling in for Cat Noir, he's injured at the moment and trusted me with his ring" the new boy said.

Ladybug gave him a skeptical look.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" She asked.

"Purple spotted garden eels"

Ladybug snickered, that was a running joke between her and Cat Noir. Only Cat Noir would know it and be able to tell this guy about it. He must have told it to goth cat knowing she'd want proof he hadn't stolen the ring.

"Ok, so you definitely know cat noir-" She said.

"He broke his ankle, in a sport incident. He'll be back once he's healed, doctors think around 10 weeks" the boy replied

"Ouch, ok fair enough. He can't exactly fight if he can barely stand. How do you know Cat Noir though? In any other circumstance I'd be kinda pissed he told someone his identity when it's way too dangerous for anyone to know of us. But it can't really be avoided here, we need the cataclysm and without a cat, there's no cataclysm"

"I'm his boyfriend"

Ladybug almost got whiplash hearing that. This was the first she'd heard of Cat Noir having a boyfriend. She knew he was bi, but wasn't expecting a boyfriend after all the times he'd flirted with her in the past.

"Boyfr- well I'm less concerned about identity safety now. Boyfriend seems like the one and only logical person to trust with your identity and miraculous. Nice to meet you cat-noirs-boyfriend, what should I call you?"

He hadn't thought about that, when Adrien gave him the miraculous he was more concerned with asking 'are you sure?' And promising he'd keep it safe.

"Uhh... I mean considering I look like a goth Halloween cat, let's be predictable and go with Salem" he said.

"Salem it is, I'm sure the media will have questions. But we can talk later we have an akuma to stop, you know how to use the powers?" Ladybug replied.

"Cat filled me in, I'll figure it out"

"Then let's stop this guy from breaking the Eiffel Tower... it'd be the 4th time it's been broken from an akuma this week"

Akumas sure did like targeting the Eiffel Tower for some reason, but it did come with the benefit of always knowing where the villain would eventually end up. Just as Ladybug predicted, the news media recording the fight immediately took note of the different face using the cat miraculous. And back at home, Adrien watched everything go down over the TV, like he was watching an epic battle scene in a movie. All he really could do recently was watch TV or play video games, but it was a break he definitely needed.

After landing on the side of his foot and tripping over during fencing practice, he was left with a very mangled ankle. So no physical activity for a while, which was good for him because he finally got a break in his packed to the rafters schedule. The pain was worth it for a fucking break form modelling and sport for once.

It was a bit odd not having Plagg around him 24/7 now the ring was with Luka, but he knew Plagg would be taken care of and he'd be back soon enough. He just felt bad for Lukas family mysteriously running out of cheese all of a sudden. Adrien knew Luka would be the right person for the temporary role as cat miraculous holder, not only because he was already good as Viperion but because he was a calm and collected person who could think on his feet. And the only one that knew Adrien was Cat Noir, and his boyfriend.

No one knew they were dating yet, it was fairly recent and Adrien was still a bit worried about his dad finding out. But they'd both been extremely close and basically dating without a label for ages now, so Adrien trusted Luka with the miraculous. And he gave permission for him to mention their relationship freely under the mask, no one knew who they were so no one could trace it back to them.

As he expected, Luka picked up the skills for the cat miraculous very quickly, and within only 30 or so minutes the two heroes had taken down the akuma. And just as he also expected, the news rushed in wanting to know who this new catboy was. And also also as he expected, Luka went with some spooky gothic name ri fit the spooky witches black cat familiar aesthetic he had going on.

"I'm just filling in, Cat Noir has been injured. He's ok, but can't walk for a while. You'll have your favourite kitty back soon. For now you'll have to put up with me" he told the reporter.

Adrien smiled as he watched his boyfriend be interviewed, unable to help himself but admire the way his suit formed. It looked good on him... really good on him. Maybe he should lend the miraculous to Luka more often.

"So you know Cat Noir personally enough that he trusts you with the miraculous?" The reporter asked.

"He's my boyfriend" Luka replied, winking at the camera directed at Adrien, who he knew would be watching.

Adrien couldn't help but giggle like an anime schoolgirl at that.

"Boyfriend?!" The reporter said, not expecting it.

"Sorry ladynoir shippers but hey, I tried to tell you were just friends. Cat flirts with all his friends, but he only really means it with Salem here" Ladybug laughed.

"Sorry not sorry shippers. But hey, diversity win. Cat Noir likes boys who are trusted to hold onto the miraculous for a while. And by the way kitty I know you're watching-"

Luka blew a kiss at the camera, again directed at Adrien who again, giggled like an anime schoolgirl.

"What a simp" he laughed.

Looking down at the ring, Luka knew he had limited time left before transforming. And if he wanted to drop by Adrien's window he'd have to be quick.

"I gotta run, but I'll answer what I can next time. Bye!" He said.

"Me too, I need to go. Stay safe guys, bug out!" Ladybug added.

The two zipped away, and the report went back to the studio that continued news as normal. Soon enough Adrien heard a thump by his window and Luka had landed on the railing, claiming in.

"So, how'd I do?" He asked.

"Amazing, you picked it up quicker than I did" Adrien said, getting up and limping over to him.

"Hey don't move too much, you'll hurt yourself" Luka replied, pulling him into a hug and kissing his forehead.

"I'll be fine, I've kept pressure off it"

The timer on the miraculous ran out and he detransformed, Plagg immediately complaining about being hungry and heading for the cheese stash.

"Has he raided your fridge yet?" Adrien snickered, watching Plagg float off.

"There's not a single diary product left" Luka replied.

"Of course... thank you for filling in for me though"

"The world needs a cat noir, for you I'd do anything"

Adrien smiled, placing a kiss on Lukas cheek.

"I'm savouring this, not only do I get a break but I get to see you in that cat suit" he teased.

"Oh you like what you see do you?" Luka replied.

"Very much so..."