Ladybug turned slightly and the arms around her tightened possessively. A flutter of pleasure rippled through her body for a second before she squashed it. She had woken up in a strange place, being held by some mysterious stranger who...just happen...
Adrian unlocked the door of the luxury apartment his father had bought for him. After his last heart attack, Gabriel Agreste had wanted Adrian to move into the mansion with him, back into his old room, but Adrian had put his foot down. He was an adult now, with his own life and he needed his own space.
He would move back from America, he could visit regularly and make sure his father was receiving the best care, but he would live in his own apartment, one that he would pay for himself.
His father had protested, Adrian had protested back, and finally they had reached a compromise. Gabriel could choose the place, make sure it was safe and was furnished to his specifications, but it was far enough away from the mansion for Adrian to feel like he wasn't living on his father's doorstep and close enough so that he could visit a required three times a week without trouble.
Adrian opened the door to the balcony and looked out at the view. He had to admit, his father's choice of location was perfect. His apartment was part of a series of new luxury buildings that were situated close to his old neighborhood-but not too close-only four blocks from the new job Alya had gotten for him, and also boasted a gorgeous view of the Seine below. He could visit all of his old childhood haunts on foot as Adrian within ten minutes or take to the roof as Chat Noir in seconds.
The sound of gorging came from the direction of the kitchen. Plagg had gone exploring and had found the stash of camembert Adrian had ordered for him.
Seconds later the kwami emerged, his cheeks bulging like a chipmunk's, a half-chewed cheese wedge in his paws.
"This is a pretty sweet pad, kid." Plagg belched, "I've got enough cheese here to last me a week."
"I bought enough to last three months!" Adrian protested. The greedy kwami shrugged.
"Hey, what can I say, I've been sleeping in your ring for five years, a guy gets hungry."
He opened his mouth extra wide to swallow the last of the cheese in his paws, and burped again.
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One of the hardest things Adrian had ever had to do was remove the ring that housed his closest friend, put the ring in a box and store it in the back of his sock drawer. He had missed the slightly nasal voice begging for cheese, complaining about being cooped up, even the accidents that had happened as a result of Plagg's curiosity. The cat-like kwami might be greedy, selfish and impulsive, but he was also loyal, inquisitive and caring. He listened to Adrian's problems without complaint, was always there to cheer him up, and was the only person besides Master Fu who had known about his secret identity.
Master Fu.
Adrian had only received two postcards from the Miraculous Guardian, the first to wish him a Bon Voyage when Adrian left for the United States, the second a week before Master Fu had passed away, begging for Adrian to come home. But Adrian had been taking the month to go backpacking across the Appalachian Trail, and had come home, too late, to find the postcard and an invitation to the funeral, dated for the week before.
