Too Young For Love (On Hold) ~ A Miraculous Love Story

Chapter 1: Homesick

Six years later...

Watching the rain always reminded him of Paris.

Chat Noir would sometimes run along the rooftops at night, feeling the pattering of raindrops against his suit and the water run along his face. It used to help whenever he was down, consumed with thoughts about his father, his isolation and his love for the girl who always kept him at arm's length.

But he didn't have the time to do it now.

"Did I tell you about the last time I was in England?" asked Plagg. He was seated on the windowsill, munching on a piece of Camembert, "My holder was always stingy, more worried about beating Ladybug than feeding me. I think it had something to do with her looks, but then again he didn't really know what she looked like beneath the mask."

Plagg grew quiet and took another bite. "Humans are so confusing."

"We're not that hard to figure out," said Adrien, "We're just really stupid sometimes." Adrien rested his cheek in the palm of his hand and sighed. "Do you ever miss him?"

"Kwamis live forever. Humans don't. Once you accept that, it gets a little easier."

Adrien could feel Plagg's narrowed eyes burning into him, gauging for a reaction. "What about Ladybug's kwami?" he asked. His chest tightened as her name rolled off his tongue, but he pushed it aside.

He'd thought about her a lot these past six years. No matter how hard he'd tried to push her from his mind she was always there, haunting his dreams and thoughts like a ghost of the past. She was a mirage his heart refused to forget.

Plagg swallowed down his food. "Tikki's always been a kind of stick in the mud, but sometimes she's real sweet...When she's not telling what not to do."

Adrien couldn't help but smile. He'd often wondered if Ladybug had the same issues he did with Plagg and in a way it was comforting, knowing he had something in common with Ladybug no one else would. But the memory of her also served as a painful reminder of what he'd lost.

Of what he'd left behind.

His bedroom door swung open and Plagg hastily disappeared behind the morbid curtains. He watched Adrien from the shadows, hovering quietly between the cool glass and grey fabric. Adrien didn't bother turning to see who'd entered.

"Good morning, Natalie."

"More like good afternoon," she mumbled. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "Adrien, where have you been? You were supposed to be at your photo-shoot over an hour ago."

He shrugged. "I thought Father cancelled it. Besides, I didn't feel like modelling today. Mr Mason's daughter always sits in the corner staring at me. It makes me uncomfortable."

"Adrien, you're a model," she replied, "People are supposed to stare at you."

"They're supposed to stare at what I'm wearing," he grumbled, "Not picturing what I look like underneath."

"You're not a child anymore. You're twenty-two and it's about time you started acting like it."

Adrien huffed, his breath fogging up the window, and turned away from it to face her.

Natalie's hair had grown over the years, pulled back in a neat bun atop her head with a few delicate strands framing her face. She still had the red dye in her hair and wore the same suits she had while on duty taking care of him only now they were accompanied by a ring. A small diamond studded one from his father's private collection.

Adrien closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, Natalie. I'm...I'm just having a rough day. That's all." He could feel her presence lingering in the room and smell the scent of her lavender perfume wafting in the air.