Back to Back 2

Assumption

Adrien was sitting at his desk, just about to finish his school work, when the arrival of Ladybug through his bedroom window made him stop.

She didn't give him a greeting, only a barrage of words. "Adrien, it's gone. I can't find it anywhere. I can't believe I messed up and lost it. I'm the worst Guardian in the history of Guardians. What are we supposed to do? I can't... I can't..." She stopped speaking and covered her face with her hands as the despair overwhelmed her.

"What happened?" Adrien asked, jumping up and hurrying over to her. "I don't understand what you're talking about." He pulled her hands down to look at her. "What's gone?"

"The Butterfly Miraculous," she cried. "It's gone. I put the brooch on this morning and now it's gone."

As she continued crying, he put his arms around her in a hug. "Shh," he whispered, stroking the back of her head. "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay. I'm sure it's not gone. You probably just misplaced it."

"I didn't misplace it," Ladybug insisted, not calming down. "I lost it. It was my responsibility, and now Nooroo..." she trailed off again with more sobs.

Holding her tightly, Adrien continued stroking her hair. After a minute the sobs quieted. "When was the last time you saw it?"

"This morning. Before I left for school. I pinned it onto my jacket."

"Are you sure that was this morning? Maybe it was yesterday."

"No, it was definitely this morning. I remember putting it on. And Tikki was there too when I did it. We were both talking to Nooroo." Another sob came out. "It was definitely today."

"Okay, it was today," Adrien said quietly, not letting her go. "So when did you notice it missing?"

"As soon as I got home."

"You didn't go anywhere else besides school today, right?"

She nodded into him.

"And you didn't take your jacket off for anything, right?"

Another nod.

Adrien still didn't let go. "Alright, it must have just fallen off at some point during the day. There's only so many places that it can possibly be. It's either inside your house, inside the school, or somewhere outside on the sidewalk between the two. We'll go and find it."

"I already looked everywhere," Ladybug cried softly. "I searched my room and my whole house. I went back to school and searched all of the classrooms. I retraced my steps for the entire day." More sobs as she shook her head back and forth. "It's gone."

Knowing how distraught she must be feeling, Adrien continued holding onto her. She always took it so hard whenever she made a mistake. Hopefully they would find the brooch soon; otherwise she would be consumed by guilt. "Detransform, Princess," he whispered. "Let's have Plagg and Tikki retrace your steps again. You're too upset right now, and I think that you need to rest until they get back. I'm sure they'll be able to find it."

Ladybug didn't respond for a minute. Then she whimpered. "Spots off."

When Tikki appeared, Adrien spoke directly to her. "I need you and Plagg to go double check the places Marinette went today. We're going to stay here."

The kwami nodded.

Then Adrien called out to the rest of the room. "Plagg?"

There was no response.

"Plagg?" he tried again, much louder and more serious.

A groan preceded his appearance. "What is it?" Plagg asked, coming out of the mini refrigerator. "I'm right in the middle of my second afternoon predinner snack!"