Days of Adrien and Plagg

Sleep Deprivation

"How many times has it been this week?" asked Cat Noir, who was hunched over and breathing heavily. "I think," started Ladybug, who was equally out of breath. "5...or maybe 6 after today."

The duo were referring to Xavier Ramier, but in this case it would be more accurate to say Mr. Pigeon. He had a love for the city's pigeons as well as a tendency to be akumatized more frequently than their other villains. Both Miraculous users had been fighting him for hours and after finally distancing themselves from his flock of pigeons, they were finally able to corner him, with Cat Noir clawing the Akuma out of his whistle.

"Ah victory at last," Cat Nor said with his fist raised, before collapsing on the ground. Ladybug rolled her eyes and picked up his discarded staff and handed it to him. At this point his staff had become less of a weapon and more of cane he was relying on to combat his tiredness. Mr. Ramier, who was still recovering, stared up in confusion.

He eyed the many falling pigeon feathers and then to Paris' superheroes standing in front of him, before he finally put the pieces together. "O-oh I'm very sorry Ladybug and Cat Noir, it's just that I was in too much pain at seeing my hungry little friends and when I began feeding them that cop came and..."

"It's all right Mr. Ramier," interrupted Ladybug, "we know you care very much for the birds. And Cat Noir and I don't mind helping out," she explained. With how many times she'd deakumatised Mr. Ramier, she knew it always had something to do with pigeons and their 'unjust treatment' as Mr. Ramier liked to call it. "But please try to not let your emotions get the best of you," said Ladybug as she helped Mr. Ramier to his feet. "I will," he said before he started making his way back home.

"Well, Bugaboo...achoo...you know I love our post-battle banter but...achoo...I think I'll have to call it an early night. Please don't hold it against me," said Cat Noir as he struggled to balance being flirtatious and keeping his allergies in check. "Oh this betrayal," Ladybug replied dramatically while placing her hand over her heart. "How ever, will I cope?"

"Don't fret, I'm sure our love will last till next we meet," said Cat Noir, with an equally dramatic flair." "I'll try to hold on to hope," replied Ladybug sarcastically, with a tired smile. "Besides, I doubt either of our Kwami's can maintain their powers much longer."

It had already gotten quite late and both Miraculous users were quick to rush home.

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"I'm beat," Adrien whispered to his Kwami, as he climbed quietly through his window before collapsing onto his bed. Dealing with Mr. Pigeon had taken much longer than expected and he tried his best to salvage the few hours of sleep he had left. Even Plagg wasn't able to muster his usual excitement as he ate his Camembert, which was saying a lot when it came to the cheese-obsessed Kwami. Pretty soon both had dozed off to sleep.

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Bzzt Bzzt Bzzt Bzzt Bz-

Adrien groaned as he shut off his blaring alarm and sat up. He eyed Plagg still sleeping and felt a pang of jealousy, wishing he could do the same. He didn't bother waking his Kwami, it was better if at least one of them was able to get some semblance of a normal sleep schedule. He dragged his feet down the stairs, feeling as if his aching muscles were made of lead.

He wasn't able to muster up his usual conversational self, and barely gave Natalie a nod as he grabbed a seat. On the opposite side of the table, his father pretended to look at his newspaper, while looking at his son out of the corner of his eye. Adrien didn't even seem to notice his father and simply began eating his toast. Natalie was confused the most, Adrien was usually much more perky before going to school, especially when his father made the rare decision to join her and Adrien for breakfast. Gabriel Agreste simply chalked his son's out-of-the-ordinary behavior to last week's argument about Adrien going shopping with a friend.

Neither of the Agrestes broke the silence, and just when Natalie was about to take it upon herself to resolve this father/son silent treatment, Adrien stood up, having finished his breakfast, and went upstairs to get ready. Eventually he left the mansion, with his bodyguard dropping him off at school.

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"Ugh, what sadist makes gym the first class of the day," moaned Plagg inside the locker rooms. "I don't know why you're upset," Adrien said as he looked around to make sure they were alone, "all you have to do is sit here with your Camembert," he replied as he was about to close his gym locker door. "Please, this Camembert will only last me a few minutes, 5 at most," said Plagg as he began eating. "I hope you'll be able to survive this horrifying ordeal," said Adrien with a weak chuckle, as he locked his locker and joined the rest of his classmates.

Usually Nino was the first to greet him, followed by Alya. Until finally Marinette sauntered over with a blush across her face and fidgety hands, as she greeted him with her eyes to the floor. Except today, Marineete didn't have her usual spark, instead she just stared blankly at the wall, with faint circles under her eyes. Suddenly the sound of a sharp whistle being blown grabbed his attention. "Alright students! With track and field coming up, everyone is to do laps around the gym," said Ms. Bustier before heading back to her seat.

"Something on your mind Ms. Bustier?" asked Ms. Mendeleiev. The duo of teachers were supervising the gym class, due to the usual gym teacher being out sick. "Hmm, oh no. It's just...do Marinette and Adrien seem... off to you today?" said Ms. Bustier. "Well, they've definitely never been this fast..." replied Ms. Mendeleiev as she readjusted her glasses to see if she was mistaken.

It was true, at the front of the running group of students, both Adrien and Marinette were leading with a significant gap between the others, the faces both were neutral and neither seemed to be breaking a sweat.. Marinette was the first to notice how far up she was, she began to wheeze on purpose and make it look like she was at her limit, before slowing down and disappearing with the crowd. Adrien also gradually slowed, to a speed that made sense for a highschooler who didn't have superhuman abilities.

Both were happy when gym was over, at this point their late night was beginning to have consequences. Back in math class Adrien struggled to stay awake and take notes, it didn't help that Chloe decided to grab the seat next to him. "So with the flight delayed I had time to grab the latest trend in fashion accessories..." droned Chloe. With Adrien giving the occasional "oh yeah," "I see," and "fascinating." Chloe wasn't able to take a hint and continued talking his ear off, until finally Nino, who had noticed Adrien's bare replies, came over.

Wanting to see how much Adrien wasn't paying attention, he began "Duuuude, I love singing to the grass and being a rabbit. What about you?" "Huh? Oh yeah, me too Nino" he replied on autopilot, as he continued scribbling down notes. Alya and Marinette (who had recovered somewhat from her drowsiness) chuckled, while Chloe went back angrily to sit next to Sabrina.

The next few classes went by similarly, with Adrien getting more tired by the hour, until finally the bell rang at the last period. Both Plagg and Adrien sighed, unlike his classmates he still had fencing, as well as a photo shoot planned after this. He eyed his bodyguard and Natalie outside the car weakly, as he began walking towards them.

Nearby, Sabrina's father, Roger Raincomprix, was once again chasing after Mr. Ramier. "Drop the breadcrumbs and put your hands up," he yelled as Mr. Ramier continued throwing breadcrumbs to the pigeons at a 'no feeding' zone. Startled, one of the pigeons flew away, towards the school, and specifically near Adrien.

Just a brief second near a pigeon feather, and Adrien had a fit of sneezes as he walked up to the car. "O-off to fencing practice p-please," he mentioned to his bodyguard before stepping into his seat. Both Natalie and his bodyguard shared a concerned look, before they too stepped back into the car.

"Hey, aren't we going the wrong way?" asked Adrien. "No, you're clearly too sick to be doing anything, it'd be best if you went to sleep as soon as we get home. I'll prepare some medicine for you," said Natalie, as she began adjusting his week's schedule. "But my dad-"

"I'll speak to Mr. Agreste myself," she interrupted. Adrien wasn't sure why the sudden change happened, until he looked at his faint reflection in the window. He looked like he was about to collapse any second, and the sneezes likely didn't help either. He wasn't planning to let this mistake go to waste, "alright then, I guess I do feel a little under the weather," he said as he fell asleep. He didn't wake up even after they had arrived, and Natalie's light nudges didn't help. Plagg chuckled in his bag as Adrien was carried up to his room by his bodyguard.