Adrien sat atop the roof of his old home, overlooking the mess of a courtyard and figuring out how he was going to have to neatened before his father came from London.

He'd climbed up earlier when Plagg found him crying in the observatory, but instead of saying something unwelcome the kwami had been considerate. He sat beside Adrien, curled against the nape of his neck and after a while he'd been able to pull himself together.

Crying wouldn't change the past, wouldn't fix things that he'd broken or bring back the things he'd lost. He had to deal with the consequences –one of the first lessons he'd learned from his father after his eighteenth birthday.

Glancing back over at the front gate, Adrien could clearly envision his last day at the house. He thought back to the day he'd stepped outside on the pavement and seen Marinette run towards him. He thought she'd try to stop him, but instead she'd encouraged him.

She knew it was something he needed. But maybe she'd been wrong after all.

Maybe he was just a coward, running away from his problems instead of facing them. Ladybug confided in him their last night together and he'd promised not to leave her, to stick with her no matter what the world threw at them. He thought they were unbreakable, inseparable. He'd been wrong.

He still remembered how she'd cried out after him, calling him back as he pushed himself further from her, further away from where they'd taken his father's miraculous and seen his face in the glaring daylight.

Adrien couldn't handle the reveal. So he'd done the only thing he could think of. He ran away, and abandoned her in the process.

The only one who seemed to understand –really try to understand –was Marinette. She'd always been there for everyone as a kid, the type of girl you'd run to for advice, for motivation and for security. Sure, she'd been clumsy and silly, but she was so much more than that. She was something special.

Plagg floated beside him with the same bored expression he wore whenever he'd unwind from a transformation. The kwami glanced around over the street, watching a couple cycle by and two men talk animatedly about something Adrien couldn't hear.

"Been a while since we were last up here, hey Kid?"

"Yeah, the last time was when father locked me up in my room for skipping piano. Can you imagine, you skip class to save Paris and you get grounded as reward?"

With his legs hanging over the edge of the roof, the cool air swept up his trousers and brushed against his skin. He couldn't help but think back to Ladybug, still aching to breathe in her scent and feel her body pressed against his while her nails bit into his skin.

He knew Marinette's child wasn't his, but he still couldn't get the idea of a child with Ladybug out of his mind. He'd thought about that night vividly for years, unable to forget a single second of it, but ever since Chloe brought up the possibility, he couldn't help but realize he hadn't taken precautions. Everything had just happened so quickly and unexpectedly, he'd been completely unprepared.

His only reassurance was that Ladybug had been. But the way she'd let him touch her, so shyly and insecure. No. No one had ever touched her like that before that night, but he couldn't say the same thing now.

She had someone else now and the thought of anyone else loving her the way he had dreamt of made his blood boil. But she deserved someone who loved her, treasured her and supported her, someone who wouldn't leave when things became difficult.

"Hey, Kid," muttered Plagg. "Who's the kid?"

"What kid?" Adrien lolled his head to the side and looked down at the kwami.

He was almost invisible in the young man's shadow, but his green, cat-eyes glowed like beckons in the dark. Staring at the road beneath them, Adrien's curiosity got the better of him and he followed Plagg's gaze.

Adrien couldn't see anything worth noticing at first. The scene looked mundane with two couples walking along the sidewalk and the occasional car passing by. "I don't see anything."

"The short one you blind, blond idiot – the one in the Chat Noir themed hoodie."

Adrien squinted and slowly, he could make out the shape of a short figure walking up and down the street. "Plagg –,"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he grumbled. He sighed, floating to Adrien's face and after muttering the words Adrien was once again enveloped in shadows, no longer the vulnerable civilian, but a superhero that prowled through the night.

With Plagg's vision it didn't take long for the boy's figure to come into view. He was short and chubby, probably five or so with a hood covering his head. His steps were uncertain, but he held his head high. He was going somewhere, and Chat was concerned that he was alone.

He knew it wasn't any of his business, that he should go back inside and forget what happened, but he couldn't leave a small child wandering alone around Paris in the middle of the night. If Mayor Bourgeois was right about more crime in the city then leaving this boy alone just wasn't an option.

Chat Noir grabbed the baton from behind his waist and vaulted across the street to the rooftop above the little boy. Watching him, Chat was unsure whether or not to approach him and decided to make sure he didn't run into any trouble instead.

The last thing he needed was to meddle in someone else's life after he'd done such a spectacular job of messing up his own.

The boy stopped in front of a young couple and mumbled something to them. His voice was too soft and slurred for Chat Noir to make much sense of it, but every man and woman who passed him simply shook their heads and carried on walking.

It was strange to see how easily this child would approach random strangers and he couldn't help but feel angered the longer it went on. What kind of mother would let her child wander around this late at night? Did she even know where he was? Did she even care?

Deciding that enough time had gone by, Chat Noir dropped down from the building and stood in the middle of the sidewalk. The boy didn't seem to notice him at first and he could really blame him. His suit was pure black with only a little golden bell to add any color. He was practically camouflaged.

"Hey there little fella," called out a man on the other side of the street. The child whipped his head to the sound and Chat was relieved to see the boy's dad here to fetch him. But that wasn't the case.

The man started moving towards the boy, but the child looked fearful. He moved quickly, sprinting down the sidewalk and slammed into Chat Noir's legs. Falling back against the pavement, he looked up at Chat Noir in bewilderment.

He crouched down to the boy, smiling softly and moved the ear atop his head animatedly, drawing the child's attention to them. Beaming, the boy sat up on the pavement with a breath-taking smile.

"Chat Noir?" The superhero looked up to see the Parisian man only a few feet away, grimacing at the sight of him with the child. "I wasn't aware you'd returned."

He narrowed his eyes at the man and stood up to his full height. Gripping his baton tighter and baring his teeth, he felt an odd satisfaction as the child raced behind him, clinging to his leg.

"Is there a problem here, Sir?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

The man glanced down at the child, his gaze flickering from the boy to the superhero. "I was just wondering if the child was okay. It seemed strange that he's wandering around alone so late in the night."

"Thank you for your assistance, but I'll take it from here." Chat Noir placed his gloved hand on the boy's head and ruffled his dark hair. "This little guy's had quite an adventure."

Chat Noir turned his back to the stranger and held his hands out to the child. "What do you say? Wanna have a superhero take you home?"

The boy gaped. "A –Are you really C –Chat N –Noir?"

"Well, what do you think?" he grinned, swishing his tail about the boy's legs. "Come on, let's get you back home."

The child looked a bit hesitant then, but after another look at the strange beside them, he quickly snatched Chat Noir's hand. Chat Noir saluted to the man. "Goodbye then, Sir, and thanks for being such an upstanding citizen."

The boy copied him playfully and Chat Noir couldn't help but chuckle, relieved, as the man started walking away from the two of them.

"He's scary," mumbled the boy.

"Most things are at night," he replied. Chat Noir looked down at the boy. "What are you doing out here all by yourself? Don't you know it's dangerous?"

"I'm looking for my daddy," he replied.

Chat Noir glanced around them and strained to hear for anyone sounding particularly frantic and scared, but the streets of Paris were nothing but peaceful.

"Well, maybe if we go back the way you came from...Where did you lose him anyway? If we find out where you last saw him, then –,"

"I don't know," he said suddenly, "All I know is he's somewhere in Paris."

Chat Noir chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "That's...a lot of ground to cover." He cleared his throat and did his best to remain optimistic. "Well, what does he look like? I'm sure we'll find him then?"

The boy scratched his head and bit his tongue. There was something so familiar about him, but Chat Noir couldn't figure it out and the longer he stood with this little boy, the more desperate he was to find out.

"He's got green eyes." But the child sounded more uncertain than Chat Noir felt. And that was far from reassuring.

"Green eyes," he mumbled. Chat Noir sighed and knelt down in front of the boy, their hands still joined. "Is there anything else you know about your daddy that you can tell me? What about where he lives or what color hair –,"

"I don't know that stuff," he said, "I have my mommy's hair so I don't know what my daddy's looks like. All I know is he's got green eyes and he's in Paris somewhere. I think he's tall too. Mommy said she used to like a tall guy."

"Wait..." Chat Noir grew pale, "Are you telling me you've never actually met your dad?"

The boy shook his head, his face flushing slightly and Chat Noir bit back a groan. At least the child knew his mother. That was a start.

"But that's okay though, because you're Chat Noir," said the boy, "You're a superhero and you can help me find him!"

"That's not exactly –," The child's eyes were so bright and so happy. He didn't want to hurt the boy so he opted for time. Maybe he'd get an idea somewhere down the line.

"What do you say about getting some ice-cream in the meantime? I know a great place near the bridge, you been there?"

The boy nodded eagerly and Chat Noir smiled triumphantly as they walked towards the bridge of locks. He was a lot lively than Chat Noir expected other children to be this time of night and he liked how it reminded him of his own childhood, stargazing with his mother during all hours of the night.

But two things bothered Chat more than anything else.

Just who was this boy's mother, and why did he feel so damn familiar?

There's nothing like a good first impression. Please don't forget to vote or comment if you liked the chapter, because now that the pieces are in place the fun can really begin *insert evil laughter here* Luv you guys and stay miraculous until the next update!