Being forced to stay home had become an all-too-common occurrence for Adrien. Thanks to his dad, the only time he was allowed out of the house was for school, fencing, and modeling shoots, aside from that, he was basically a prisoner in his own house. He didn't have any siblings and was rarely allowed any friends over. And while he knew the staff were always around, and that they cared deeply for him in their own way, it could still get pretty lonely.
Over the years, this limited what he could do to entertain himself. Except for one guilty pleasure that's been by his side since even before Plagg, horror movies.
He had fallen into the genre by accident, where bored aimless scrolling had introduced him to the works of Stephen king and H. P. Lovecraft, getting him hooked to the thrill of a good scare.
Overtime, this led to him watching movie after movie, and slowly broadening his scope from classical horror all the way to more light-hearted cheezy flicks. Luckily for him, after being introduced to his Kwami, Plagg found the same joy from horror movies as Adrien did, and his guilty pleasure had become their guilty pleasure.
When he wasn't allowed to go out during weekends, or had any modeling sessions, he would rush to complete his homework, leaving his nights to be free. Technically he wasn't supposed to stay up, as this would mess with his sleep and his overall meticulously calculated schedule (one that Natalie followed to the minute), but being Cat Noir left him with cat-like night vision, though its use was intended to protect Paris, being able to slip in and out of rooms and hallways to check if his father, Natalie, or any of the other staff were around was a nice bonus.
"K, we're clear," whispered Adrien as he snuck back to his room, while Plagg stared at him impatiently. Adrien jokingly stuck out his tongue at him before scooping up his laptop and joining him under the covers, earning himself an eye roll.
"Paranoid much? Why do we always have to waste time checking to see if we're alone, no one's gonna come up to your room in the middle of the night. So can we pleeease get started already!" complained Plagg through mouthfuls of Camembert.
"Oh hush, it doesn't hurt to be careful. And...is that?...it is! How could you betray traditions?" Adrien said with sarcastic shock, pulling over a bowl of popcorn.
"Popcorn is the only acceptable food for movies," though he knew trying to get his Kwami to try anything other than Camembert was a lost cause.
The duo, despite having differing food opinions, shared the same love for horror flicks. And like today, they had spent many nights under the blankets of their pitch black room, the laptop screen showing the movie being their only source of light.
In the past he had to limit himself to only moderately horrific movies, but having someone join him in watching them, even if they weren't human, gave him a stronger backbone. Though he never admitted this to Plagg, to his Kwami he was Adrien Agreste, afraid of nothing. "So what's the plan for tonight?" asked Plagg.
A certain age-inappropriate movie from one of his favorite horror directors came to mind, 'Locked In', it was considered a fan-favorite and was on the higher side of containing gore and violence, undoubtedly making it quite a scare for even veteran horror lovers. Thanks to Plagg being here now, Adrien got enough of a push to finally give it a watch.
"I'm thinking we should watch 'Locked In', it's got solid reviews and has been trending for quite some time. Think you can handle it?"
"Psssh, I'm a Kwami," said Plagg, deciding it was enough to back up his bravery.
With that said the duo watched as the screen rolled onto the opening scene. His director earned his position as one of Adrien's favorites, he wasted no screen-time, each scene being a deliberate choice and integral to the plot. Grabbing both Adrien and Plagg's attention from the start.
The fact that this was happening in the middle of night, meant that they both had to use earphones to prevent anyone from waking up, but it did little to take away from the experience.
The duo were so occupied at the screen, Adrien with his popcorn and Plagg with his Camembert, that neither heard the bedroom door creak open. Step by step the figure came closer.
On the screen a man was being held up with a knife right under his jaw, the duo watched in anticipation but suddenly Adrien felt a hand squeeze his shoulder from outside his self-made blanket tent.
His reflexes kicked in as he swiftly ripped off the blanket onto the intruder, popcorn flying everywhere, his stalked with his knees bent, ready to pounce, as the figure was temporarily blinded as they struggled with the blanket.
He didn't know if it was an Akuma or another Amok, but just before he could say his incantation, a familiar voice called out.
"Oof...Adrien what on earth...!"
"N-Nathalie?" Adrien stood back up and helped her untangle herself from the blanket.
Finally he managed to get the blanket off. "W-what're you-" he tried before being interrupted.
"Adrien...sigh...what are you doing in the middle of the night?" asked Nathalie with a tired look on her face. Her disheveled hair and night suit made it obvious she had just woken up a few minutes ago.
Adrien blushed as he looked from her face to the popcorn thrown everywhere and to his laughing Kwami, it was clear he might've had an overreaction. Plagg wasn't going to let him live this down anytime soon.
"Just...you know...watching a movie," he replied sheepishly.
"At this hour?" she asked quizzically.
"Heh...yeah um...my bad" he said with a nervous chuckle.
"Just because your father is away on a business trip doesn't mean you don't have a schedule, Adrien." She looked at him with a slight frown but eventually sighed, aside from his father, she knew Adrien the longest, and was willing to let things slide every now and then.
"Please just get some sleep after this," she requested.
They both went to work cleaning the mess and grabbing popcorn bits from various corners of the room, till finally Nathalie retired to her own room and Adrien decided to head to bed as well.
Which was easier said than done, Plagg circled around him making jokes and giving over-the-top impressions of his frightened episode, Adrien buried his face in his pillow.

YOU ARE READING
Days of Adrien and Plagg
HumorThe city of Paris has been saved numerous times with the help of Ladybug and Cat Noir. But who are they when they take off the mask? What's their life like together, when they aren't fighting crime? The original characters, settings, and concepts re...