Dream a Little Dream (On Hold)

11

I walk into the bakery, and feel how gloomy it is. I look at Marinette's mother, and I can tell that she's lost sleep, and too much weight. She hasn't been eating. She gives us a smile, but it's not the usual warm one that I'm used to. "Hello" the woman says, and even her tone isn't the same.

My heart breaks a little bit for her, and I miss Marinette even more than I thought possible even though I saw her less than a day ago.

"What can I get for the Agreste family today?" She says, and I watch as her smile doesn't even come close to reaching her eyes. "Um, can we please get two loaves of bread, a dozen donuts, and 3 croissants with the melted cheese and ham in the middle. Anything else?" I look at the mother of my girlfriend, and say, "A box of strawberry of macaroons." Her eyes flash a little light in them, and she says, "Marinette's favorite."

I nod, and she mouths thank you at me. "Tom!" She calls, and the man comes into the room. His appearance breaks me down even more.

He's lost even more weight than his wife, and he hasn't shaved. The bags under his eyes are big, and his shoulders sag.

"Oh, hello. What is it honey?" He man asks, looking at his wife. "I just thought you'd like to see Adrien and his parents." "If you don't mind me asking," I cut in, looking at the pair, "do you know anything about what happened?" They shake their heads, and Sabeine says, "All we know is that she went missing a few months ago, and it was right before Ladybug disappeared." "Do you know anything about Ladybug's disappearance?"

"Just as much as you do. LadyMoth kidnapped her, and is holding her hostage until Chat Noir turns in his miraculous. He hasn't shown up either since ladybug was last seen by the public. Not on some camera being... tortured." I stare at her, but my mind is somewhere else.

Whoever I was before, who everyone else remembers, must be Chat. When she went missing, that person must have completely changed. He must have given up.

I must have given up.

And hid the ring.

I look away, and go into a different mood. A mood I learned to portray while acting. I hear my mother sigh, and she wraps her arms around me as I force the tears down my face. "I think that we will take that food, and go. Hon, I think our day of fun is over." My mother says, first the Marinette's mom then the second part to my father.

I feel the fake tears rolling down my face, and focus on pain that I've had in the past. My mother disappearing, my father being HawkMoth, and just the idea of me never seeing Marinette again.

As we drive back, I continue to force myself to cry, and my mother is in the back with me, holding me in her arms. I relish in the feeling, absolutely loving it. It is making it harder to cry, but I manage.

When we get back to the house, I immediately go up to my room, and think. Where would I hide that ring? I search for it, first under my bed, under my mattress, in my pillow case, in Plagg's cheese cabinet (which is still full of the gross stuff) in my closet, in the bathroom, in between the couch cushions, everywhere.

I look around my room, and huff out a sigh. Was I not Chat Noir in this reality? I go onto my computer, and go onto the ladyblog. I find a picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir, and sigh.

That is me.

I think about all the places I have already looked, and I gasp. I grab my trophy, and look inside of it. Still no ring.

I curse under my breath, and head up to where my cd's are. I look at one, and read the title. But, it's not in the right spot. I have it organized alphabetically, and it starts with a c. I'm in the p section. I grab onto the case, taking it out of the shelf, and walk over to the c's. There, where this cd should be, is a p. I take it out, and it's a movie called Papillons. Butterflies. LadyMoth.

I open up the case, and sitting inside is the black ring with a green paw print.