Love this art style ^

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[Marinette's POV]

I lift my spoon of cereal up to my mouth when a sudden income of news catches my eye.

"Breaking news, a distraught mother is terrorising Paris, turning everyone into helpless children. So far she has been given many names, 'The Baby Bloomer', 'Miss Bloomer', 'Fontaine de Jouvence' and the most common, 'Floraison'." The reporter announces. "No matter what you call her, this woman is a threat and we beg citizens to stay inside safely until Ladybug can come to our aid."

I drop my spoon causing milk to splash over my bowl and onto the counter. But I don't care, I'm too busy sprinting up into my room.

"Tiki, spots on!" I call out.

My room illuminates in a flash of pink light. I emerge from the dazzling light transformed as Ladybug. I jump up onto my balcony and swing off into the city where the akumatized villain is causing commotion. There I find Cat Noir already in battle. Well, at least what he calls a battle. It's less fighting and more ticking off the villain with stupid jokes.

"How does a baby get food when it's hungry?" Cat Noir asks with a muffled laugh. "Womb service!"

Floraison looks horrified by this pun.

Cat Noir waves his hand as he tries to calm his laughter. "Okay. Okay. Why couldn't the melons have a baby?"

Floraison flinches, her eyes widening.

"Because they cantelope!"

Before Cat Noir even gets the chance to laugh, Floraison screams and fires a blue beam at him.

"Woah!" Cat Noir says as he leaps out of the way.

"You rotten child!" Floraison cries.

I'm about to run forward when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I spin around and grab the hand of the attacker, only to realise that it is just a civilian. A dorky looking man with rough hair and bags under his eyes.

"Please Ladybug, don't hurt her." He begs weakly. "That's my wife, Melisa. We've just found out that she had a miscarriage."

Pity pains me, almost to the point of tears. That's tragic. This poor woman, it's painful enough listening to Cat Noir's jokes without them making fun of the traumatic loss of your child.

"I won't hurt her, don't worry." I assure her husband. "I will save your wife."

I turn to run into battle, though I hope I won't have to fight her.

"Cat Noir, stand down." I order. "Let me talk to her."

"What do you think I've been trying to do this entire time? She just won't laugh at any of my jokes." Cat Noir complains.

I ignore his idiocy and call out to Floraison. "Melisa, please! Is this how a caring mother would behave? You're scaring everyone away!"

"What do you know about motherhood?" Floraison says angrily, firing a blue blast towards me.

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir dives to push me out of the way.

"Chat! Did you get hit?" I panic.

"It only grazed the tip of my toe, I'll be fine-" Cat Noir looks down to find his foot glowing blue. He recoils fearfully. "That...doesn't look good."

Floraison lifts her hand to fire another attack. I quickly get up off the ground and haul Cat Noir behind a nearby car before she can hit us.

Cat Noir sits on the ground, staring at his foot in horror. The fluorescent blue glow has begun to spread up his leg.

"Ah!" Cat Noir hollers in panic, frantically shaking his leg as if to kick off the infection. "Get it off. Get it off! What is this?"

I turn my attention to Floraison.

"Melisa. Return to your husband, he is worried for you. He loves you!" I plead, taking a step forward.

"Ladybug..." Cat Noir whimpers from behind me.

"Please, Melisa. I know that you are desperate for a child but this is not the way to get one." I continue.

I suddenly hear a cry ring out from behind me. I spin around to see a tiny Cat Noir bawling his eyes out. He's turned into a toddler!

"Mommy!" Cries the baby cat. "Where did my mommy go?"

Floraison approaches Cat Noir with care. "Do not cry my sweet child. Your mother is right here."

"You will not lay a hand on him!" I yell.

I snatch up Cat Noir and quickly swing away using my yoyo. This fight will have to wait, I have to get Chat to safety. He screams and cries the whole way, I swear I have gone deaf in one ear. Finally, I land in an alleyway far, far away and gently put him down on the ground. I crouch down in front of the tiny Cat Noir.

"Hey...sh sh sh, don't cry." I say softly, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

Cat Noir looks up at me with wide, shimmering eyes.

C-Cute! Adorable overload!

His big green eyes take up fifty percent of his chubby little face. As soon as he looks into my eyes, he falls silent. Cat Noir reaches out a tiny hand and touches my cheek.

"Pretty..." He says.

Even as a little tyke he flirts with me...

Cat Noir tilts his head to the side, his large cat ears flopping over. "Do you know where my mom is, pretty lady?"

"Yes." I lie. "You'll see her very soon, but she has asked me to take care of you for now."

I rest my hand on Cat Noir's small shoulder. He looks down at it curiously before grabbing it and observing my fingers.

"Why are you all red, pretty lady?" He asks.

"My name is Ladybug." I giggle.

"You look like a strawbewwy." Cat Noir begins to nibble on my fingers.

I laugh and pull my hand away. "That tickles!"

Cat Noir laughs, his voice small and cute. He grins up at me and says. "Hello Bug Lady. My name is-"

I panic and press my fingers against his mouth. "Ah, no no. No telling me your name now. We're playing superheros! Which means you have to keep your real identity a secret. I'm Ladybug and you're-"

"Batman!" Cat Noir exclaims enthusiastically.

"Uh...sure, Batman." I say, patting him on the head.

I heave myself up, realising once again just how small Cat Noir is. He suddenly hangs his head sadly, his lip quivering.

"What's wrong, minou?" I ask.

Cat Noir looks up at me, his large green eyes glistening with tears. "Hungee..."

Awww, look at his sad little face. My heart is about to shatter into a million pieces.

I look back anxiously.

But I need to stop Floraison...

Cat Noir begins to whimper and sniffle.

But-But baby chatton is hungee!

"Come on, little minou. Let's get you something to eat." I lift up Cat Noir and rest him on my hip. "Hold on tight."

Cat Noir wraps his arms around my neck and I swing off on my yoyo. I go to the first place I think of-home. I know the way easily and I know mum and dad are kind enough to spare some food for us.

I land in front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery and walk inside.

"Oh my!" Mum gasps. "Ladybug! Tom, it's Ladybug! And...Cat Noir?"

"Yes, I'm afraid. He's been turned into a child by Floraison." I say, resting Cat Noir on a countertop. "I was wondering if you kind people could spare some food for him. The poor baby is hungry."

"No problem!" Dad says jollily.

"Croissants!" Cat Noir cheers. "I want croissants!"

"Hey, what do you say?" I scold.

"Pleeeaaase!" Cat Noir says.

God, why am I teaching him manners? I'm too young to be a parent.

"We're playing superheros. I'm Batman!" Cat Noir says, swinging his legs in the air. "What's your name, moustache man?"

"My name is Tom." Dad chuckles. "It's nice to meet you Batman."

Cat Noir's eyes sparkle; he clearly enjoys being Batman. He looks up at me with admiration. "Can you be my friend, Bug Lady? I've only got one and she never plays superheros with me. All she ever wants to play is dress up or houses."

I smile kindly. "Of course I'll be your friend."

Mum carries over a plate stacked with croissants. Cat Noir's eyes instantly light up.

"Croissants!" He gasps happily before scoffing them down.

My Mum smiles and watches him with adore. Cat Noir looks at her, his cheeks stuffed and his mouth covered in crumbs. He lifts his hand and points at her.

"You look like the pretty lady." Cat Noir mumbles through his mouthful of food.

I shudder nervously. How does this kid recognise family resemblance even in my costume?

Mum chuckles bashfully. "What a sweet young boy. My name is Sabine."

Thank god she doesn't understand what he means. She doesn't know that I'm the pretty lady, she just thinks Cat Noir is complimenting her.

"I've got to hurry and defeat this villain or Cat Noir will never grow up." I say worriedly. "Would you mind taking care of Paris's precious protector for a while?"

"Of course," Mum says. "We're actually parents ourselves so we'll take good care of him for you."

Cat Noir, having finished his croissants, turns his attention to me. He grabs my hand and looks up at me sadly. My heart aches.

"I have to go now, minou. You'll be safe here with this lovely couple." I say gently.

Cat Noir's lip trembles, his eyes welling up with tears. He suddenly lunges forward, squeezing his arms around my waist.

"Don't leave me Ladymom!" He cries. "Don't leave me alone again! Don't leave me!"

His desperate pleas tear my heart in half. Poor little chatton...what has he been through?

"I...I have to..." I say weakly. "I'll be back, I promise."

Cat Noir nuzzles his face into my stomach and sobs.

"I promise I will come back for you, minou." I say again.

Cat Noir's grip on me slowly weakens. "You'll...You'll play superheros with me again?"

"Yes I promise." I say. "After all, we're friends right?"

Cat Noir releases me and wipes the tears from his eyes. "Yes..."

I lean down and give Cat Noir a kiss on the forehead.

"Now remember, no revealing your secret identity while I'm gone Batman." I say before running out the bakery door.

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[Adrien's POV]

Red magic sparkles around me. I run my hands through the light as it whizzes past me.

"...Miraculous?" I mumble in confusion.

I look around to find myself sitting on a counter in the Dupain-Cheng bakery, buried in a pile of croissants with Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng looking at me in surprise.

"Looks like Ladybug took down Floraison. How ya feeling son?" Says Tom.

"Just fine, sir." I reply as I hop down from the counter. "What exactly happened?"

The last thing I remember is fighting Floraison in the streets...a flash of blue light...then I wake up here after Ladybug's lucky charm apparently fixed everything.

"You don't remember? Floraison turned you into a small child but don't worry, Ladybug took good care of you. By the end of it, you were clinging onto her and calling her mommy." Sabine giggles.

My face burns with embarrassment. "I did what?!"

Oh how humiliating! Ladybug had to babysit me? And I couldn't even help her take down the akuma. I hope I didn't say anything embarrassing while I was a kid...well, not that calling Ladybug 'mom' could get any more embarrassing.

Marinette comes running down the stairs and skids to a stop. "Cat Noir! You're still here. How are you feeling?"

"Oh no, you didn't see me as a child too did you?" I ask shamefully.

"Unfortunately not. Marinette you were up in your room all day, I can't believe you missed it!" Tom says.

"He was so cute!" Sabine adds.

"Oh don't worry, I could hear him from upstairs." Marinette mimics me in a high-pitched voice, "'Don't leave me, Ladymom!'"

I groan and clutch my burning face.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go wonder the city in shame..." I say as I make my way to the door. "Thank you for your hospitality...and your croissants."

"See ya, Batman." Marinette replies.

Is that another reference to something stupid I said as a kid? When will the suffering end?

I extend my staff and leap away from rooftop to rooftop until coming to rest upon the Eifel tower. I sit there silently, watching over the city of Paris as the daylight seeps away, until a familiar voice interrupts me.

"Hello, little minou."

I turn to see Ladybug taking a seat next to me.

"Ladybug, how did you know I was out here?" I ask.

"Motherly senses." Ladybug smiles cheekily. She takes out a brown paper bag and hands it to me. "Brought you something."

I take the offering and open up the bag to find a croissant. "I love croissants, they are such an underrated food. You can have them at any time of day from breakfast to dessert." I take a bite from my croissant before returning to our conversation. "Hey, did I really call you mom?"

"Only once, and it was Ladymom." Ladybug informs me. "You also called me pretty lady, bug lady and at one point you thought I was dressed as a strawberry. You really don't remember anything?"

"No," I answer. "I'm sorry you had to take care of me. I hope I didn't do anything completely embarrassing."

"I actually...kind of enjoyed it." Ladybug says with a smile. "You were so adorable! And it was fun seeing the way you act outside of Cat Noir. I learnt a lot about you."

"Like what?" I mumble as I stuff the rest of my croissant in my mouth.

"Like that you love croissants," Ladybug giggles. "-almost as much as you love Batman. You didn't have many friends growing up, only one that always wanted to play dress ups..." Ladybug's face slowly drops as she talks. "And...you might have some abandonment issues... You were a pretty lonely kid, huh?"

Ladybug looks down on me with pity. I can't stand the sad look in her eye. I lower my gaze and keep my eyes locked on my feet.

"Sometimes...yeah. But I'm not lonely anymore." I smile up at Ladybug dearly. "I have you."