I was trapped in the tomb again, running for my life as the walls collapsed around me. Of course the one time Dad let me join him on an exploration this had to happen.

        "Be careful, [Y/N]," Dad had said as we entered the Egyptian Tomb. "No one has ever been in this crypt before, but if I'm right, it was built even before the Sphinx of Giza, so don't touch anything until I can get a team in here to properly catalogue everything."

       I'd promised, but once I was inside, once I saw the beautiful Sphinx amulet on glittering on the altar...It just seemed to call out to me, and before I knew what I was doing, I was snatching the amulet from its stand and stuffing it in my pocket. Immediately the walls began to collapse around us.

    "Run, [Y/N]!!" Dad yelled and shoved me through the archway before it collapsed on top of him, burying him under an avalanche of rock.

     "No!!" I screamed, and stumbled back as more rocks fell where I had been standing a second before. I ran as fast as I could, tears coursing down my cheeks, back the way we'd come.

    Right, left, right, left, the passageways seemed to go on forever, my lungs were screaming for air, and still there was no exit in sight. I skidded to a stop as I was confronted with a solid wall of rock. I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere!

    I turned to run back and the ground gave out underneath me and I was falling, falling into the pitch blackness ...

      "[U/N], you're having a bad dream!"

I wake up, gasping, covered in sweat. But this time I wasn't alone. There was something in the darkness and I lash out instinctively, catching the intruder in the stomach. I hear a grunt of pain then the person is grabbing both my arms, and a warm body is pressed against mine as I struggle to get free.

      "[U/N]! Stop, it's me! It's Adrian!"

I instantly stop struggling. Adrian? Here? In my room?

The bedroom is dark, with only the light of the moon through the window but as I squint I can make out the familiar figure of Adrian leaning over me, his blond hair tousled from sleep and wearing a T-shirt and P.J. pants.

     "Is everything okay?" He asks, looking concerned. "I could hear you crying from my room."

      "Yeah," I breathe, and realize I can hear the sound of my heart beating rapidly in my ears. Could he hear it? He had to, he was practically lying on top of me. The feeling of his thumb lightly brushing my wrist feels like a caress, and sends shivers through my whole body. "I just...had a bad dream," I stammer. I add reluctantly, "umm, could you get off of me? I won't hit you, I promise."

It might've been dark but I could almost swear Adrian blushed as he released me and sat near the edge of the bed.

     "Sorry," mumbled, and looked away. I sit up too, hugging my knees to my chest. My heart is still hammering away like a jackhammer in my chest.

We sit in awkward silence for a minute, unsure of what to say to each other.

    "Do you want to talk about it? Your dream I mean," Adrian asks hesitantly.

    "No. Maybe. I don't know." I answer. "It brings back a lot of bad memories."

    "About your Dad?" Adrian asks sympathetically and I nod. "It's okay if you don't want to say anything," Adrian says kindly.

     "He was an explorer, always going on trips to places like India, Africa, Brazil, South America but he always said I was too young to go along." I blurt out. "The year I turned twelve, I begged him to take me along to Egypt; he kept telling me we should wait a year but I convinced him it was the only thing I wanted for my birthday."

    "What happened?" Adrian asked.

    "There was an accident." I answer, my voice barely a whisper. "And he didn't make it."

Adrian moves closer and puts a hand on my shoulder. Without thinking I turn towards him, wrapping my arms around his torso. He feels warm and solid, and for a second I stop thinking about how he makes my heart race and am simply grateful for the comfort he gives without me asking. I didn't have a lot of friends who would let me cry on their shoulder without complaint, even when I got their shirt damp.

After five minutes, the tears slow and I pull away, wiping away the last of the tears on my sleeve. Adrian hands me a tissue from the box on the desk and I blow my nose.

    "Thanks," I manage, and gesture towards his damp shirt. "For everything. I mean, you came in here when you should've been sleeping, and you just listened to me and let me get your shirt wet and I-"

    "I lost my mom a few years ago," Adrian says abruptly and I stare at him, dumbstruck. "It's...something I had to deal with everyday too. My Father..."

He stops, clenching his fists and a look of frustration crosses his face. "He's a completely different person now, he almost never has time for me, it's like he doesn't even care she's gone!" He looks at me, his face miserable. "I guess what I'm saying is that I know what it's like to loose someone important. And I know how much it sucks when it seems like you're the only one that cares."

This time I hug him first, with enough force that he's knocked over on his back.

    "Thanks," I say, my voice muffled in his shirt. He smells of shampoo and soap, with just a trace of Adrian body spray. "It sucks a little less now that I know you care too."

He hugs me back fiercely.

     "Likewise," He says, his voice sounding a little choked up.

We lie there in the darkness and I start to drift off, lulled by the steady sound of his heartbeat.

A sudden beeping makes me sit up straight.

    "You have got to be kidding me," I mutter, reaching for my phone. The screen shows me that "Aunt Clara," is calling me, #412's code name.

      "What's wrong?" Asks Adrian.

     "It's my uh- Aunt," I say, crawling off the bed and heading for the bathroom. "I have to take this, she gets nervous if I don't answer. Just hang there for a minute, I'll be right back."

I lock the door and turn on the shower just to be safe.

    "What is it?" I hiss, as 412's face fills the screen.

    "Well, aren't you grumpy," 412 says icily, "Is that any way to greet your contact?"

     "It's three in the morning here, excuse me for not being more cheerful." Plus, I think to myself, you ruined my moment with Adrian.

    "You told me it was of utmost importance you get headgear that couldn't be detected and confiscated as easily for your Automated Linguistic Frequency Interface. But if you would rather wait for a week or so when I have some available time to call back..." She trails off meaningfully.

    "No, wait," I say, holding back a sigh of resignation, "I want it."

    "Of course you do," 412 says smugly, "now go into the bedroom and turn on the fax machine under your desk."

    "Wait, why?" I ask baffled.

    "Because it's a piece of C.L.A.W. Technology we had shipped over for your personal use." 412 says, looking superior. "Our Lab rats thought it would be a simpler way to send over small items necessary for missions. It also doubles as a 3-D printer."

I wondered how I was going to explain this to Adrian. I'd better get him out of my room first.

    "You'd better hurry," 412 continued, "we've gotten reports of some sort of trouble in your area."

    "You've heard what?" I ask in alarm. As if in response, I hear a roll of thunder and the bathroom shakes slightly.

    "It's some creature called the Weather Wizard," 412 says as I open the bathroom door. Thankfully the room is empty, though the window is open. Adrian must've transformed as soon as he heard the thunder and gone to investigate. Guess I'll just have to hurry and catch up.

I turn on the fax machine and it hums, emitting lights and the smell of melting plastic. After a minute it dings and a slot shoots out, containing...

    "Earrings?" I ask, pulling them out.

    "We've tried to make them look as much like common earrings as possible to avoid suspicion, but you should still avoid loosing them. They work along the same lines as wireless earbuds, can interface with your A.L.F.I. system from fifty miles away and are completely waterproof – so long as you don't drop them in the Pacific Ocean."

I wince as 412 brings up that memory.

    "Okay, firstly, you gave me a headset that was way too loose for my Sphinx form." I protest as I slip the earrings on. "Secondly, that was my first mission, I was still getting used to flying and fighting."

    "Still, just to be on the safe side, these come with a homing beacon. They are prototypes after all." 412 says, with a facial movement that could be a smirk or a muscle twitch.

Another thunder roll can be heard and a flash of lightning illuminates the room.

    "You should probably see to this new catastrophe that Chat Noir and Ladybug have created."

    "Right," I say with a nod and turn towards the open window. "This catastrophe that Chat Noir and Ladybug have created," I repeat. I hesitate, then turn back.

    "412," I ask, "What do we do...when things aren't as they seem?"

412 blinks then says:

    "Explain."

    "Well, I was hired to stop Ladybug and Chat Noir because we were told that they were the cause of all these akuma attacks. But the more I stay here..."

I think back to Marinette protecting me from Matriarch, Chat Noir jumping in between me and the spider-hybrids, Ladybug pulling Matriarch off us, Adrian holding me as I cried...It had been easy to figure out their identities, both Adrian and Chat wore the same body spray, not to mention they both had bruises on the same foot I had stomped on and I'd already figured out Ladybug's secret identity based on her hero attitude and hair style...

    "What if..." I ask 412, "Hawkmoth is lying to us and they're the real heroes?"

412 seems to consider this for a second then she says:

"Agent [Y/L/N], your objective is to stop whoever is behind the attacks in Paris. How you complete this task is...a little less explicit. I leave it up to you to decide how to achieve your mission."

    "So...you don't care how I do it, so long as these attacks stop?" I ask. 412 actually looks amused.

    "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." She answers, terminating the connection.

I stand in the dark, mulling over my options. Another rumble shakes the room, followed by another flash of lightning.

Hang on guys, I'm coming, I think silently. There's just someone I need to talk to first. I leap on top of the railing and let myself fall.

Hi everyone! I hope you like the story so far. I spent waaay too much time searching around for pictures that I could look at and pretend were the reader and Adrien but then I saw this and it was so adorable I had to post it as well.

I want to thank all my readers for continuing to check out the new chapters, it really makes my day to see how many people are interested in my writing. By the way, who liked the newest episode of Season 2? I shan't say anything to give spoilers but did anyone think that the discovery made was a little too *cough cough* convenient? 

On the other hand, Chat and Ladybug are still pretty darn cute together, as usual. <3