Archive of Our Own

Sabine was concerned when she saw the door to her daughter's room open that morning. As she walked up the stairs, she wondered if perhaps Marinette's boyfriend woke up early and went up to force her to greet the day.

No. The room was instead empty of children, though the lights and crafting materials on Marinette's table indicated activity up until some point in the night. Sabine saw Marinette's phone abandoned, but plugged into its charger, alarm ringing with a pair of calls and a voicemail from an unknown number as her recent notifications. Knowing her daughter, it was clear that Marinette either somehow was kidnapped, disappeared in a hurry like she recently tended to do, or…

Slipping silently back down the stairs, Sabine looked to the guest room. She pressed her ear to the door, hearing what sounded like faint snoring from within.

Unmistakable, and yet… She opened the door as quietly as she could, hoping not to wake anyone inside.

Sure enough, in the mess of blankets, blond hair intermingled with black. Adrien hugged himself against Marinette, while she wove one arm possessively around his neck and the other she used to cover her eyes. Sabine's daughter was the one snoring, though her hearing caught what sounded like purring coming from Adrien. She was almost tempted to leave them be, if only because of how peacefully innocent they both appeared.

Almost.

Sabine opened the curtains in the room, letting in the morning light that beamed from the window onto the teens' faces. She chuckled at the snort and groan from Marinette, who twisted away from the light and snuggled herself into her partner without much thought. Adrien yawned, but also drifted easily back to sleep. The light appeared to have no effect on him.

Right. Then it was time for more drastic measures.

Hurrying out to the kitchen, Sabine grabbed her biggest pot and a sturdy wooden cooking spoon. As she returned to the room, she saw Marinette's free hand scratch behind her ear before slowing to stop on top of it, as if she could sense the impending cacophony of noise.

Said ruckus made Sabine's daughter scream, while Adrien sprang to sit up in a panic.

"Morning, sleepy heads," chimed Sabine once she stopped, smiling at the duo.

"Maman," Marinette whined as she propped herself up on an elbow and rubbed the crust out of an eye with her other hand. "Why with the pot again? Didn't you said you'd stop after you scared Nonna last time she was here?"

"Your Nonna's not here and you were both refusing to wake up. I'll excuse Adrien for sleeping through your alarm, but if you aren't in your room to hear it…" Sabine teased as she waved the spoon in the air like a wand.

Marinette blinked owlishly, not entirely processing her mother's meaning. Then, as it dawned on her like the morning sun, the girl shrieked and sped out of the room, her face redder than a tomato.

Sabine chuckled again and shook her head. With days like this, she wouldn't trade her daughter for anything the world had to offer. Her gaze landed on Adrien, who stared at the spot that his girlfriend had been with a mild blush on his cheeks. She pointed her spoon at the boy playfully. "And you," she said, "should steal the bathroom before Marinette does. She prefers to have breakfast before she takes a shower, so if you want to feel a little clean before she takes it…"

Adrien looked back at Sabine like a deer in headlights. Then he ran a hand through his hair as he stood, nodding lamely towards her before stumbling to the bathroom down the hall.

Though Sabine wanted to question what on earth happened to lead up to the interesting scene she walked in on, considering the pair were thoroughly mortified and clearly didn't do anything inappropriate for their age, she felt her parenting duties reasonably finished in that department.

And now, onto breakfast.

Adrien stared at himself in the mirror of Marinette's small vanity sink as he brushed his teeth, wondering how on earth he was making it through today if that was how he woke up. Granted, he felt more well-rested than ever, likely thanks his girlfriend coming in to comfort him.

Then, as embarrassing as it was to admit, he forced Marinette to sleep next to him in the same bed.

Gods, he hoped her mother spoke none of it to Tom Dupain. If the baker ever learned of how Sabine found the couple, Adrien would likely experience how dough felt the hard way.

He heard snickers from behind him as he spat into the sink, running the water long enough to clean the mess before drying it and his face off with the same towel he was given for his shower. Turning to his kwami, Adrien glared at the amused creature. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, lover boy. I'm just happy to know we'll be heading home today." Plagg licked his lips, likely at the thought of all the camembert Adrien kept in a small fridge in his room. "You don't have fencing this afternoon, right?"

Before Adrien could answer, a different voice did, "No. There was another photoshoot with Vincent, if I recall, but considering everything that's happened…" Marinette walked into the room, fixing her right pigtail's hair tie as she went to her chaise, where her purse and backpack were discarded haphazardly. "Oh, and Nathalie called me last night. Twice. Don't know how she found my number, but she left a voicemail asking me to help find you and, if I knew where you were, to tell you to head home immediately because your dad already pulled you out of school."

Adrien was tempted to smother himself with the towel in his hands. He really, really was. All his anxieties from last night swarmed his head and stomach at once, making him groan.

"I'm not done," Marinette said, regaining his attention. She put her backpack on with a confident smile. "I texted that bit of news to Chloé. Hope you don't mind I used your phone, by the way." At Adrien's shrug, she hummed happily. "But anyway, she texted back demanding an explanation, so I gave her a summarized half-truth about everything and now she's probably tearing through the school, if her single angry emoji in response was any indication."

"You weaponized my childhood friend to allow me to reattend public school?" Adrien questioned.

"Well, it's either that or you stay here, maman tells papa what she saw this morning, and you get baked into a handsome meat pithivier. Your choice," she offered jokingly.

With a gulp, Adrien squeaked out, "Yeah, you know what? I'll take my chances with Père after school."

"Great! Grab your stuff. Class starts in five minutes." Marinette headed back down the stairs, chipper despite the announcement of their limited time.

"I've never seen Marinette so lively this early."

Adrien turned his head to see Tikki hovering at his shoulder, rather than his own kwami, who was nowhere in sight. "Please don't say what I think you're implying," he requested, uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" the kwami asked, tilting her head in apparent innocence.

Oh, gods, Tikki, no.

"Nothing." Adrien sighed, then offered the pocket of his green shirt for her to hide in. After she darted in, he hurried off after his girlfriend, stopping to grab his bags from where he left them by the doorway to the guest bedroom.

Hopefully, after today, he will have figured out what to do about his father and didn't have to burden Marinette's family by leeching off their kindness for a second day in a row.

Then, as he went to close the door to Marinette's home on their way out, an idea struck him.

As they arrived at the school, Marinette slipped her hand out of Adrien's, back to pretending they weren't together. He followed her up the stairs to Mlle. Bustier's class, opening the door for her before she could even think to touch the doorknob. Then, when she moved to head to her usual seat, he held her in place with hands on her shoulders and a chuckle.

"Glad to see everyone that matters is here today because I'm here to make an announcement," he said as he pulled Marinette to his side.

"'Thanks for helping me stay in school, Chloé,'" whispered Chloé in a mocking tone, back in her typical seat at the front of the class with the second chair for the table presumably nowhere in sight. When she noticed Marinette heard her, she scowled and turned her head away.

"This right here," Adrien continued, either blissfully unaware or choosing to play ignorant to Chloé’s little remark as he pointed to Marinette, "is my girlfriend."

Of all the things he could have said in that moment…

"Oh my gods, yes! Finally!" exclaimed Alix in relief.

Alya pulled out her phone, propping it up on the desk to record Adrien's declaration.

"Wait… Really?" Rose questioned, amazed by the news.

"Please tell me you're not all surprised by this," Chloé muttered as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You knew?" asked Alix to Chloé, surprised.

"They weren't exactly being subtle about it in the slightest. A blind monkey could see the mushy looks they were giving each other and put two and two together," Chloé mocked, waving an arm towards the couple as she glared at everyone else's dumbfounded expressions.

"I'm just shocked you weren't tormenting Marinette about it relentlessly after you found out. How oddly merciful of you, Bourgeois," Alix teased the blonde, earning a roll of the eyes.

"Now it makes so much more sense why Alix made that stupid bet with me," muttered Nathaniel with a defeated sigh. He held his head in his hands.

"How… How long has this been a thing?" Kim questioned as Adrien and Alix's words sunk in.

"A while. Marinette wanted to keep it a secret as long as we could, but I'm tired of hiding it," Adrien explained. His fingers grazed Marinette's chin, leading her to look right into his eyes, filled with an unfathomable amount of adoration. "And I don't care what anyone thinks. She means the world to me and nothing will change that."

Oh, he was so lucky he was pretty.

"That's so great to hear!" spoke Mylène, clapping her hands.

"Yeah. Happy you two can finally tell the world, mec," Nino added with a knowing grin.

Marinette saw Adrien's gaze flicker to something behind her, a smug smirk forming. Then Marinette heard the annoyed huff before seeing the vague movement of someone in her periphery. The intent in her boyfriend's eyes as he focused back on her made it immediately obvious what he was thinking and why.

The reason for this was twofold. In defiance of his father, who was likely about to raise hell at the news of his son falling for a simple baker's daughter about as much as he was over the Grimoire and Peacock Miraculous. Because Adrien's familial relationship with his dad couldn't possibly be any worse than it already was. Then there was the matter of Lila. The only classmate who knew about their relationship. Who likely wanted it torched to oblivion more than Gabriel Agreste ever could. Who likely planned on using that secret to coerce the two of them into doing things for her because they wouldn't possibly want their secret relationship to be found out by Adrien's father. Now that Adrien put their relationship out on the table first though, what else did Lila really have? 

And honestly? Marinette thought that bit of cleverness from Adrien was so attractive. Plus she really wanted to kiss him, so who really cares what anyone else thought?

"Marinette?"

As she slipped her chemistry textbook back in her bag, Marinette glanced up to see Alya fidgeting with the ladybug charm on her phone while looking to Marinette, seeming hopeful.

"Can… Can we talk? Privately?" Alya requested. Her gaze flicked to Adrien, who glared back like an upset animal. She flinched before returning her focus to Marinette. "It's about yesterday. Please? I just--"

"Come on, Alya!" Rose called from the classroom door. "Lila's treating all of us at the new café by the Left Bank." She motioned to the group of classmates waiting for them beyond the door, eagerly surrounding the new girl. Minus a dismissive Chloé, who had been the first to leave the moment Mlle. Mendeleiev freed the class.

"No, thanks," Alya replied with an uncomfortable smile. After watching them all leave, she slumped her shoulders in relief, then gave Marinette a sheepish smile. "Look. I know I was acting like a massive idiot yesterday. I messed up and assumed everything at face value rather than checking sources or questioning things."

Nino cleared his throat, quirking a knowing brow at his girlfriend when she glared at him.

"Again. Yeah, yeah." Once more, she sighed. "Anyway, I'm… I know this isn't something you'll easily forgive me for, Marinette. Your whole deal is hating liars, so I wouldn't blame you for it either. And after being forced to deal with Lila's akuma so up close and personal… I recorded the whole fight too, but never posted it because I couldn't stand her having the nerve to act all blameless and unaware when Ladybug basically tore that entire original interview to bits."

Alya pulled off her glasses and ran a hand down her face in shame. "After I took down the interview, the Ladyblog forums had me in a chokehold for an hour before I gave up and went to bed," she explained. "I thought about editing that Volpina battle and proving to everyone that Lila was a liar and a fraud, yet it also felt like that would just… make things worse somehow. But I knew I had to fight to clear some of the mess. Not just because Ladybug said so, but because you were right and it felt like keeping up the faker's interview would do more damage to our friendship than to my reputation as a reporter."

Remaining silent, Marinette put her backpack on and twisted the strap of her purse around a finger as she listened.

Which made Alya all the more uncomfortable. She put her glasses back on and hugged herself. "Basically, what I'm trying to say is… I'm… I'm sorry. I still feel like a moron and I'm livid Lila tried using an illusion of you to trick Ladybug and Chat Noir into thinking she had another hostage." She smiled when she saw Adrien perk up. "I know, right? Neither of them fell for it, but I did and I'm mad at myself for it. Just another trick from Lie-la that I believed without thinking through things. Like, I watched her get beat up by Chat Noir for a solid five minutes before she pulled that."

She gave Marinette a hopeful look. "Like I said, I don't expect you to forgive me, but… can we try being friends again? Please?" Noticing Marinette's consideration, Alya knitted her fingers together and nearly fell to her knees. "Please, M, I'll do anything. Say the word. I'll embarrass myself in front of the whole class. Take you out on a date to the fanciest restaurant. Wear the ugliest clothes you can make. Scream from the top of the Eiffel Tower about how much of an idiot I am."

"Hold on. Run that second offer back?" Nino joked, pretending to clear out an ear.

Marinette couldn't help giggling as Alya pulled Nino's hat down over his face, a light blush on Alya's face as she did.

"How about you--" Adrien leaned over the desk, pointing mischievously to Alya. "--pay for a dinner date for me and Marinette instead? This Friday, Le Grand Paris."

"Wh-What? Adrien!" Marinette dragged her boyfriend to stand, swatting his chest.

"Oh, what, did your famous fashion designer dad forget to give you your modeling allowance this week?" Alya snarked, unknowingly making Adrien wince as she pretended to act all gloomy and stoic.

"No. Père forgot how to be a decent person. I don't think he ever really knew how to be a parent in the first place," he grumbled back.

Alya blanched, while Nino simply stuttered out a "B-Bro, what?"

"Did Chloé not make a huge scene about me nearly being pulled out of class?"

"That's what that was all about?" Nino's eyes widened as Marinette motioned for them all to follow her out of the classroom. "We thought it was just Chloé being Chloé over nothing important."

Alya's expression lit up and she sped up her pace to match Marinette's. "Does that have anything to do with how chummy you've been with Chloé lately?"

"I'm not 'chummy' with Chloé. She's still doing whatever she wants and getting away with things." Marinette gripped the straps of her backpack a little tighter. "I simply agreed with her opinion of Lila, is all," she declared carefully.

"I literally watched you talk to her without resorting to insults and bickering twice when you thought no one else was looking," Alya retorted, furrowing her brows. "Marinette, you're not… lying to--"

"I made a promise. She made me make it and I'm trying to stick to it." Marinette averted her gaze to the stairs as they left the school. "That's all I can say. If you want to know more, you can ask her yourself," she said, knowing full well Alya would likely never do that unless she had no choice.

Alya hummed with curiosity, but the reluctance was clear in her eyes.

They stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Though Alya was momentarily distracted by Marinette's vagueness on the Chloé situation, the other three were focused on the Gorilla, who stood patiently by the Agreste car, eyes trained on them.

Adrien grimaced. Part of him wished he could hide behind Marinette and pretend he wasn't there, but knew that couldn't be the case. There was no choice this time. No running and hiding. As aware as he was of the fact his father's fury would be immense, Adrien had to brave the scrutiny and face his problem head-on if he wanted anything to change. He wouldn't fold to the man's ever-changing whims any longer.

A hand tugged at the sleeve of his green tee, bringing his attention to his girlfriend. Marinette smiled at him. "Call me once you're home?" She tilted her head playfully and kissed his cheek.

"If Père doesn't purge me of everything I own," Adrien muttered. Though he found some comfort in her kiss, it couldn't ease the pain of knowing what was likely to come.

"Well, I'll be busying myself no matter what. Homework and all… If you can and want to, I'm available,” she offered.

"Can we come over, Marinette? Or is all this niceness an Adrien-exclusive offer?" Nino teased as he draped an arm over his girlfriend's shoulders. Alya tried to hush him.

Marinette pretended to think on it, then turned to look at him. "I don't know. Why don't you ask Lila and all the Hollywood directors she's friends with?" With that, she spun back towards Adrien, holding her head high with an entirely unserious pout.

Nino cringed, then placed a hand over his heart. "Harsh, dudette. But fair. For the record, I'm sorry too. After Alya told me what happened with Lila… Well, you know." He knocked on his own head.

Adrien winced when the Gorilla cleared his throat. While it was obvious Adrien was on borrowed time right now, he really, really didn't want to leave yet. He pulled his girlfriend in for a tight hug, praying that his racing heart wasn't as audible for her as it was to his own ears.

"I'll pick you up for patrol tonight," she whispered into his ear, then brought him to face her long enough to kiss him tenderly on the lips.

"I love you."

They broke apart as the Gorilla opened the car door, clearing his throat a little louder this time.

Practically dragging his shoes, Adrien collapsed into the backseats, trying his best not to growl and punch things in frustration.

It wasn't fair! He didn't want to go back! He shouldn't have to!

The world felt so much safer in Marinette's arms.

He waved out the window to Nino and Alya, then, as the car drove out, he placed his head in his hands.

"Hey, kid," whispered Plagg as he poked his head out of Adrien's shirt pocket. "Relax. You'll come up with something. Your dad can't lock you up forever." He patted a paw against Adrien's chest reassuringly.

All Adrien could think to do was whimper.

Meanwhile Marinette ran a finger delicately across her lips, mulling over why exactly she heard both their voices declare that confession of love so vividly in her ears while they kissed.

Then Alya spoke up, "Now that your boyfriend's gone, can we please head to your place so you can tell me everything about this promise you have with Chloé?"

"I told you. If you want to know more about that, you can ask Chloé yourself," Marinette stated plainly. "Besides, I'm not heading home right now. I have something I need to do first."

Alya slumped her shoulders, but quirked a brow, hopeful for an explanation.

One that Marinette chose not to give, playing ignorant to her friend's eager curiosity. "If you see maman at the bakery, tell her I'll be home in a bit." She waved goodbye haphazardly as she began to walk away. "Personal project. Gift for someone. No telling. Thanks, guys! Bye!"

The couple were left baffled by her departure away from the school and further from her home above her parent's bakery shop.

"You… think if we told Mme. Cheng that, she'll still give us treats like we're good messenger pigeons?" joked Nino to break the silence between them.

Alya let out a light snort, shoving him away as she failed to contain her laughter. "O-Only if you're paying, you goof."

"Bummer," he said, grinning despite his words. "How about 'last one there pays?'" With that, he began running, much to Alya's disbelief.

"Hey! Don't even try it, you cheater!"

Opening one of the doors, Adrien contained his groan of displeasure at the sight of his father, stood at the top of the foyer's stairs, waiting for Adrien's inevitable arrival. Instead, Adrien let out a harsh exhale, swallowed his nerves, and entered with his head held high.

Gabriel said nothing as Adrien walked toward the stairs, merely glaring at him.

As unnerving as that was, Adrien knew not to break. Plagg offered that much as advice on the ride home. All Adrien did was take a few steps up, pretending nothing had changed and he would be heading to his room like an obedient, silent son, matching his father's expectations.

"Where do you think you're headed?" Gabriel growled, grabbing Adrien by the arm and forcing the boy to face him.

"My room? What, you're doing more than grounding me this time?" Adrien snarked, though keeping his voice level.

The man bared his teeth. "Where were you?"

"My girlfriend's place. Then school." A plain answer, if only to spite Gabriel and his tightening grip on Adrien's arm.

"'Girlfriend?'" That threw Gabriel off, surprise momentarily tapering the fury.

"Marinette." Adrien grinned, delighting in his father's expression. "I finally had the courage to ask her to be mine. She's been a great friend since I started school and I've never felt this way about anyone else before." He glanced away from his father blissfully. "Then I told everyone in class, so now they all--" He stopped, gasping when Gabriel nearly threw him down the stairs with the sheer force of the pullback. At least he was free from the man's vice-like grip.

"You little--!" Gabriel refrained from completely losing his composure, but his anger grew tenfold. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Not only have you stolen from me, but you've ruined our family's reputation by pairing yourself with some--"

"'Some' what?" Adrien hissed, straightening and attempting to make himself appear as upset as his father. "Finish that, right now, and see what happens!"

Gabriel backed away slightly, but his rage still remained. "Nevertheless, I refuse to approve of such a relationship, especially after what you've done. Where are they?"

"'Where's' who? Nathalie? You tell me. I haven't been here in a day. And, last I checked, she lives here too, so…" Adrien pretended to be blissfully unaware and nonchalant with his response, which further frustrated his father and almost made him laugh at how red the man's face was slowly becoming.

If only his cousin could see him now…

"Not 'who,' foolish boy! The brooch and the book!" Gabriel held a tablet out with his other hand, presenting a screen that he tapped the play button on.

A video of Adrien sneaking a peak into the safe and later putting the Grimoire and Peacock Miraculous into his gym bag played. Interestingly enough, neither Plagg nor Duusu showed in the footage. Past Adrien stood, fixing his blazer like nothing was hiding in his shirt. And the brooch hadn't been visible on the feed, the entire exchange between Plagg holding it up, Adrien taking it, and him reacting to Duusu's appearance lost behind the safe door.

"I don't know about any brooches, but I'll admit, I was curious about that book when I saw you hide it in the safe," Adrien said, tapping the screen to replay the part where he slid the book into his bag again. Sure enough, the brooch was completely missing from view, the hand holding it moving quick. Between the safe door, his torso, and the bag, the Miraculous was nowhere to be seen.

Yeah, Félix would've been radiant with pride.

"Well, since you viewed the contents of the safe, you would have noticed a brooch in the shape of a peacock's tail feathers, which has suspiciously gone missing from the same moment as you thieving the book! There before, gone after. With you as the only culprit during that timeframe," Gabriel growled out as he took the tablet away. "Why did you take them?"

"You hid a weird book in a safe behind Mom's portrait, neither of which you've ever told me about. How could I not be curious?" Adrien stated. He shrugged, feeling as though that should've been obvious to his father more than anything. Surely Gabriel Agreste remembered being young and reckless at some point in his life. He couldn't possibly have been a horrid stick in this mud his entire existence. "If you want, I can find you a new copy to--"

"You lost the book?" Gabriel shouted, dropping the tablet, grabbing Adrien by the shirt collar, and shoving him against the wall.

Adrien grunted at the sudden pain and shock of it all. He never experienced his father like this before. Typically, the raised voice was Gabriel's modus operandi. Physical violence was generally…

"R-Relax,” Adrien coughed out. "It's just a--"

"That book was one-of-a-kind! The source of my inspiration! How did you lose something so important that wasn't yours to begin with?"

Adrien could've asked something similar, if only to frighten the man away with Adrien's awareness of the whole mess, but that would've been playing his hand too early. No. He needed to keep his secrets close to the chest. His father wanted to hide the truth? Then Adrien would hide knowing the truth.

"Wh-What 'inspiration?' It was i-incomprehensible gibberish and pictures of people dressed like Ladybug and Ch-Chat Noir. The only way for you to find inspiration is if--"

"Where did you lose it?" Gabriel snarled before Adrien could finish that thought.

"A new girl, Lila," Adrien answered quickly. "She took it, I went to confront her, she said she lost it, Marinette and I looked everywhere for it, but we couldn't find it."

The lie was a gambit. If his father pressed further, then Adrien had no choice but to admit Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth. The villain could read his victim's minds, after all, and likely knew from Lila's memories that Marinette had returned the Grimoire to Adrien. If not, then Adrien could still live in denial, fingers in his ears and hope in his heart that it was all a bad coincidence.

"'Everywhere?' You looked in every possible spot?"

Couldn't he have at least hesitated somewhat?

"Yes! I-I'm… positive. Let me go!" Adrien pried at his father's fingers in a desperate bid to be free.

"How can I possibly trust you again, Adrien?" Though still irate, Gabriel let Adrien go. "I've given you too much freedom. Allowed far too much to slip by unaccounted for. You will be staying home until I deem your misbehaving attitude snuffed. Your lessons will be given to you by Nathalie, no matter what you or your miscreant friends attempt to do," he declared, locking his jaw.

Panic tried to land in Adrien's chest, but a fire in his heart took it as fuel to burn instead. "No."

"What?"

"You heard me. No. I already told you I wasn't being locked up in this house anymore and I meant it." Adrien stepped up towards the next set of stairs, glaring down at his father. "You think you know what's best for me, but you don't. Mom knew. Nathalie knows. You pretend to because you think you can control me rather than take care of me. I'm not letting you get away with it anymore." Adrien squared his shoulders and declared, "I'm leaving."

"And where exactly will you go? Crawling back to that baker girl's home again?" Gabriel smirked. "I can report you missing and have her family investigated for kidnapping." His smugness showed he wasn't bluffing in the slightest. If given the chance, Gabriel would easily ruin Marinette's life in a heartbeat.

"You'd love to know, wouldn't you?" Adrien said with a scowl. "I guess I never really knew a thing about you, father." With that, Adrien turned and stomped up the rest of the way to his room. He stopped at the door, hand on the doorknob. "I would say I'm disappointed, but that requires my expectations to have ever been high enough in the first place. And honestly… what would Mom have thought, hearing you say such things?"

"You wretched--!"

Adrien opened the door, slipping in as fast as he could before slamming it shut behind him. He hurried for his closet while his kwami darted towards the small fridge where all the camembert was stored. He dumped out his gym bag, then grabbed a bunch of clothes at random, cramming them in without a second thought. Then he darted for his bathroom, changing into fresh clothes and underwear. He would have opted for a shower, but now more than ever, it felt like he was truly living on borrowed time.

Any moment, his father could activate the security system and cage Adrien in without issue. Either that or…

Would his father attempt to akumatize him? Gabriel may not have allowed for Adrien to be harmed during an attack, but would Hawkmoth be merciful as to not target him with a butterfly directly?

Not the time to learn.

Where would Adrien go? He only sprung his complete disdain for his father on Nino and Alya earlier today. Showing off his newly-formed rebellion would only complicate things. Not only that, but, with how inquisitive and talkative they were with one another, if either of them saw him transform or Ladybug appear to Adrien in the evening, his secret would easily be found out.

But he couldn't return to Marinette's. Not simply because his father was threatening to hurt Adrien's girlfriend, but because Adrien already felt he abused her family's hospitality enough. No. He needed someone to run to who wouldn't ask many questions or provide generously without compensation.

Oh, wait… Right.

He knew exactly where to go.

"Cheese is ready. Just need you to hide it in your bag and I'm good to go," Plagg announced as Adrien left the bathroom.

"Just cheese? No stinky socks or pillows that smell like you?" Adrien teased, trying to find a spark of humor in the chaos of it all. He went to his bed, where the small pile of camembert boxes sat. It was about two weeks worth of akuma fights, but Adrien wasn't about to fight his kwami right now. He simply buried them in the middle of his bundle of clothes.

"As much as it hurts to say, no," said Plagg as he draped himself dramatically on Adrien's shoulder. "But if this whole 'running away' thing works out for you, I can always rest in trash cans and dumpsters like I did when I was searching for a holder."

Adrien rolled his eyes, unsurprised by the confession. He motioned for the kwami of Destruction to hide with the stash, then rushed to head out.

Opening the door to his room, he was shocked his escape hadn't been blocked immediately by his bodyguard or thwarted by a barricade of some kind. As well, his father was nowhere in sight, though Adrien was quick to catch the sound of objects breaking. He snuck out of the room, careful not to make a sound. Then he scurried down the stairs two at a time and froze.

At the entrance doors, the Gorilla stood, eyes immediately meeting Adrien's.

The crashing and smashing noises were clearer to the ear, their source being Gabriel's atelier, with Adrien's father roaring out in genuine aggravation. A small part of Adrien was jealous the man had the freedom to display his negative emotions without a parasite taking advantage of the rage.

Mostly, Adrien was upset his plan was so easily thwarted by a single bodyguard standing in his way. His hope was to have presented at least some flair for the dramatics like his father, running away unimpeded and proclaim he'd only return if things improved. But no, he was meant to grovel and beg like a dog.

And Chat Noir was no dog.

Stepping closer to the Gorilla, Adrien kept his posture resolute, his lips pursed and brows screwed with determination.

His bodyguard gave a soft hum, motioning with his head for Adrien to return to his room.

Adrien shook his head, momentarily glancing to the atelier before fixing the strap of his gym bag and pointing towards the doors behind the Gorilla.

The burly man clenched his fists. Adrien could see the conflict in those enigmatic eyes. Though Adrien hated to admit it, he knew less about his bodyguard than he did his father, despite interacting with the former about twice as much in his life than he did his own flesh and blood parent. He could only wonder what the Gorilla knew and what his life was like before working with Adrien's father.

Rumbling quietly, the Gorilla placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder, squeezing tight. Then he pulled Adrien toward the doors behind him. With a cautious glance to the atelier, he motioned for Adrien to leave, nodding when Adrien silently questioned his certainty.

Not one to argue with miracles, Adrien tip-toed out the entrance. Once he was free, he sprinted to the gate, wrenching one of them back just enough to slip through and make his escape.

But he couldn't celebrate yet. He needed to find somewhere to hide and transform.

By now, word should have spread about his pairing with Marinette. If Adrien didn't turn into his alter-ego, his fans would surely find him and question him about his choices or his overall love life, alerting others to his location.

Running faster, he dodged past civilians, apologies and excuses leaving a trial of confused people in his wake. He cast his gaze down alleyway after alleyway, his scrutinous mind finding issues with each of them, whether they be distance or lack of spots to hide behind or the amount of viewpoints through windows and open doors.

A group of girls stood in front of a poster advertising his father's brand at a bus stop.

Adrien skidded to a halt, then backed into the alley nearby, hesitant.

"Who does this… 'Marinette' think she is?" hissed one of them to the rest of her friends.

"Some common tramp, I'm sure. Adrien must have taken pity on her," another said with a sneer.

"I heard from one of Adrien's classmates that she's a manipulative gold digger, so she's probably much worse than you can imagine." The third placed a hand on Adrien's face on the poster with a face full of longing.

Lila…

Adrien darted behind the alleyway's dumpster, scanned for any prying eyes, then transformed.

"Adrien, Adrien, Adrien…" drawled Chat Noir as he sprang onto the nearby building. He flashed the trio a winning smile, which they took with disgust, likely at his words. "All you girls fighting over him. No one ever fights over me, yet I'm so much more sophisticated, funnier, and definitely better dressed than him." He jumped from the rooftop, perching himself on the bus stop shelter that housed the advertisement. "Do I smell the stench of jealousy in the air? All for a girl as lovely and brilliant as Marinette?"

"What do you know about her, cat?" spat the second girl with an eye for gossip.

"I know Adrien's a lucky duck to have courted her," Chat Noir spoke with a hint of adoring mischief, splaying a hand over his chest. "I mean, if he hadn't done it and my heart didn't already belong to Ladybug, I'd snatch her up and serenade her with every bit of affection she'd allow." He hummed in amusement at their continued revulsion. "Purr-haps I should tell Marinette how everyone really feels about her. Maybe even let that boring boyfriend of hers know."

The trio gasped.

"No, no! Don't tell Adrien!"

"He can't know! Please, Chat Noir!"

"We're sorry, Chat Noir."

With a wicked purr, Chat Noir adjusted his perch so that he could reach down and touch the closest one, a brunette, on the forehead. "Don't worry. I'm a gentle-cat, not a snitch. But I would suggest watching your words, ladies. There could always be a nosy feline or ladybug listening. Or even… nasty little flies on the wall that want to take advantage of you."

The girls looked between one another sheepishly, then nodded towards Chat Noir.

Deciding everything would be fine from there, he hopped away from the scene before anyone else could attempt to capture his attention. He had places to be before Ladybug showed up on the rooftops for patrol this evening.

He noticed as he landed on a lamppost that his gym bag had actually transformed with him. The duffel bag was Chat Noir themed, pitch black with green paw prints on the sides and similarly colored zippers. Saved him from being asked why he had someone else's bag.

Thank you, Plagg.

Finally, Chat Noir arrived at his chosen destination without another hitch, de-transforming by the building's dumpsters before slowly walking himself to the doors.

The doorman gave Adrien a curt but welcoming nod before he entered.

When his eyes landed on André Bourgeois chatting with a pair of employees, Adrien sighed, grip on the strap of his gym bag tightening as he attempted to contain his worries. He merely needed to retain his composure for at least one more interaction, then he could let go.

That is, if she even agreed.

"Ah! Adrien, my boy! Great to see you," greeted André as he noticed Adrien's presence. "And congratulations on finding love! You and Mlle. Dupain-Cheng already seem like such a lovely pair. I'm certain your relationship will only blossom from here." He patted Adrien's shoulder, the smile of a gracious host broad on his face.

"Thanks, André. Is Chloé here?" Adrien asked.

"Oh, of course. Up in her room as always." The mayor hummed and rubbed his chin. "She's been strangely quiet since that akuma incident with Mlle. Raincomprix. You wouldn't happen to know what's changed, would you?"

It took everything in Adrien's mind to stop himself from quickly responding with 'yes.' Because he wasn't supposed to know. The only three who were supposed to know were Marinette, Chloé, and Chat Noir. Adrien was expressly aware that he was the last person who should ever know why.

"No. Do you want me to ask her?" questioned Adrien with a quirk of the brow.

"And risk her reverting back to her old ways? Heavens, no. The peace is nice. Her requests are manageable now. None of the guests or employees complain anymore, which is lovely." André fixed his tie and patted his chest pocket with its red handkerchief confidently.

Adrien wanted to complain, at least a little, at André's lack of proper concern for his daughter, but decided against it. He knew André meant well and what was happening with Chloé was nothing truly serious. Were Adrien entirely uncertain of what was happening, he'd jump to conclusions and questions in a heartbeat. And in that order too.

Instead, Adrien thanked Mayor Bourgeois for his assistance and walked across the rest of the lobby, taking the first lonely elevator available to him. Once he arrived at the fourth floor hallway, Adrien noticed Armand wasn't around. Likely, the butler was busy with another job the hotel offered for him.

Meaning all Adrien needed to do was knock.

"Thank goodness you're here, Jean--" Chloé froze as she opened the door, baffled at the sight of Adrien.

Probably didn't help that he was frowning, the pain of the past hour rolling over him like a massive boulder. "H-Hey, Chloé. Do you mind if I… stay with you for tonight? I-I can't really… Père, he…" His voice, already soft and timid as it was, crumbled into nothing as his throat constricted.

Scrutinizing him up and down, Chloé huffed, but stepped aside, opening the door a little wider to allow him in. As he skirted past her, he could see her scan outside her suite before shutting the door and thoroughly locking it. She turned and headed for her entertainment area, grabbing a remote from the couch-side table and turning off what appeared to be… Was that a camera feed from the hotel restaurant?

"Ignore that," she hissed as she hid away the remote in the small table's drawer. Quickly, she darted across the suite, disappearing into her closet. "So what did that ugly weasel you call dad do today? Kick you out himself or did you finally decide you were too good for his bad attitude?"

Adrien walked over to her bed and sat down on a corner, hesitant to say anything at first. "He didn't approve of my choice of girlfriend. I got fed up with his insults and left."

She poked her head out and groaned, "Oh, of course. Let me guess; it's the 'baker girl' part he doesn't like." At Adrien's nod, she rolled her eyes. "And people call me a diva." She went back to whatever she was doing in the closet, but her voice was loud enough for him to hear through all her clothes. "It's not the fifteenth century anymore! Who cares what sort of person you fall in love with? As long as you both like each other and neither of you are massive creeps, people need to mind their own business."

"Err… Weren't you the one who said Marinette was 'beneath me' on my first day of school?" Adrien reminded her, glaring at the closet entryway.

Chloé fully exited it, carrying an open box full of jewelry or smaller boxes likely containing more. She set it down on her bed, picking out a few of the loose bracelets and rings before deciding against them and tossing them in front of a nearby throw pillow. She glanced to Adrien as she twisted open a tiny case that rattled with what were apparently various colors of stud earrings, humming. "She told you about her promise already, didn't she?"

"Wh-What?" he sputtered out in an attempt to appear innocent. "What 'promise?'"

"Oh, don't play stupid, Adri-kins. You're bad at it," she spat while inspecting a few ring-sized loop earrings that were hidden in the mix of studs. "Dupain-Cheng's awful at keeping secrets and I'm sure she's worse around you."

"Not for lack of trying," he argued softly, resigning to his friend's whims with a light smile. "It's mostly my fault, Chloé. Don't be mad at her. After I watched you snatch her up and Lordbug dropped her back at school like nothing ever happened, I asked way too many questions and she just…" He sighed, taking his bag off his shoulders and setting it down in front of the bed. "She's honest, Chloé. It's a lovely strength, but also her biggest weakness. I'd rather she keep it than not."

"Suit yourself," she muttered, shrugging as she closed the case and tossed it onto the slowly growing pile of jewelry. She grabbed another box, flipping open the hinge-lid and scowling at the necklace inside before shutting it and throwing it aside too. "I never expected her to keep it a secret anyway. It was mostly a test. She failed, but at least it wasn't a terrible crash and burn."

"For what it's worth, she didn't tell Alya and Nino," he said.

"I would hope not," Chloé snapped back with a sneer. "If Césaire found out, she'd blab to the whole city and call it 'being a thorough reporter.'" She physically added the quotes with her manicured fingers, then dug back into her box for more jewelry. "As I'm sure you're aware, I'm trying to be better. I'm not making any promises of niceness or charity. You won't be expecting a naïve Chloé either. Got it?"

Adrien nodded, though it wasn't like he was expecting such a thing in the first place.

"Marinette told me all about you 'missing being my friend,' but I'm not letting myself be used by you morons just because you want me back." She found a familiar circular box, opening it up inquisitively and grinning at the sight of the strange bracelet Plagg had somehow stuck his head in. "Finally. I was looking for this everywhere." Taking it out of the box, Chloé twirled it on a finger before slipping it around her wrist.

And, much to Adrien's complete and utter shock, it compacted around her wrist, appearing afterward as though it were designed at that size. Was that how Plagg had been caught so easily by it? But the bracelet and its gems looked the same as they were before it happened. What exactly was this bracelet made of?

"Anyway," Chloé said as she tossed the now empty container back into the jewelry box, "if you blab about any of my 'changing for the better' to anyone other than Dupain-Cheng, I will raise hell on all of you."

"But Chloé--"

"Don't 'but Chloé' me! Ugh! You're just like her." She scrunched her nose in disgust, but dropped the expression quickly as she focused on putting her accessories away. "You're telling nobody or it's over."

"No. I-- Chloé, it's not the promise I'm arguing about. It's the threat of going back." He grabbed her shoulders, bringing her to look at him. "You don't have to do that, Chloé. Why tell someone you're trying to improve, but also say you're just as willing to take it all away at the drop of a hat? It doesn't-- I don't get it."

"Because I don't see the reason to change, besides wanting you and Sabrina to be my friends again."

Oh… Oh, this wasn't…

"You don't actually mean any of it?" Adrien questioned, appalled.

"Well, I do, just not the whole 'being nice forever' part. I'll behave, but only if it means having you back," admitted Chloé with a wry smile.

"But that's not real change, Chloé. That's doing the bare minimum and expecting to be rewarded." He let her go, disheartened. "You're lying to Marinette and me, just so I come back to you like nothing ever happened. That's…" His fists clenched at his sides, Adrien backed away, glaring. "Chloé, that's one of the reasons why I stopped hanging out with you. Manipulating people isn't the way to go about this. What's so difficult about being a genuine person and respecting others that you can't seem to understand?"

She shrugged. "I just don't see the point."

"'Don't see--' Chloé, you're no better than Lila at that point!"

Jewelry scattered across the floor. She moved to grab him by the collar, but he dodged. "Take that back."

"No. I don't think I will," he stated plainly.

"I said take that back, Adrien!"

"Saying it again won't change my mind. If you're going to be stubborn, I'll treat you just the same," he declared as he moved to the other side of her bed, taking a small bit of pleasure in watching her scramble over it to attempt another grab.

"I'm leagues better than that stupid faker! She's nothing compared to me!" Chloé shouted, her face reddening.

"Manipulative. Selfish. Cruel towards others. Uncaring of any other opinion but her own," he listed off before shrugging. "I don't know. Sounds a lot like the two of you. I'm honestly shocked you hate her so much. You could be hurting the rest of us twice as badly if you--"

"I am not like Lila! Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She threw a pillow at him, then another as he darted for the entrance, picking up his bag along the way.

He wasn't leaving. Not yet. He needed to know if she was being genuine with her relapse. Solidly certain. Without a doubt in her mind.

And this wasn't certainty. This was denial.

That meant there was a chance.

"I will! But only if you either admit you're no better than her or actually try to be better, Chloé. No lying. No pretending. No manipulating me or my girlfriend," he offered as he dropped his bag by the entrance door and raced towards the balcony.

Another pillow hit where he once was.

"Why? Why do you want that useless, ridiculous Chloé back? She wasn't anything special! She wasn't interesting or fashionable or even likeable! She was annoying and stupid!" Chloé complained as she crawled off the bed with a fourth pillow ready to throw if only he held still.

"That Chloé was special to me. She was my only friend in the world. She trusted me with all her silly secrets and played with me when all I had was Mom to keep me company," he asserted. "That Chloé was the one I promised a class photo with. That's the one I begged to help me go to school with her."

"Which you never thanked me for!"

"Because I found a bully in our class instead of the girl that did it!" He opened the balcony door, using it as a momentary shield until he saw she had somewhat caught on to his trick. Scrambling further out, he gasped when he peered back over his shoulder and saw her gaining on him. Then he backed up, hitting the stone guardrail as he did.

Chloé, seizing the opportunity, threw her final pillow at him.

Again, Adrien avoided the direct hit with ease, but before it could fall past him, he caught it deftly in his hand. "I found a girl that looked and sounded just like Chloé, but definitely wasn't the girl I knew."

"Because the girl you knew doesn't exist anymore!" Chloé protested as she grabbed his collar, not exactly able to bring him down to her level, but at the very least keeping him in place.

"Then who was it that fought for me to stay in class today, despite Père trying to pull me out of school completely?" Adrien asked, grinning.

Chloé opened her mouth, about to answer with some callous retort, only to shut it just as fast.

"Marinette didn't ask you to do that. She told you I stayed with her because I found out Père was hiding things from me. She told you Nathalie left a voicemail on her phone telling her I was no longer attending Françoise Dupont. You chose to change that yourself," Adrien reasoned.

"Because I already fought too hard to get you there and I wasn't letting that boring cardboard cut-out you call a dad ruin my work!"

Adrien laughed, loud, unashamed, and in spite of Chloé's annoyance. "Then you do have a heart!" He batted the pillow against her shoulder before tossing it towards a nearby lounge chair. "Have you ever heard of the saying 'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing?'" he questioned with a slight tilt of the head.

"N-No? It sounds like something Dupain-Cheng would say though," she mumbled bitterly.

"Actually, Alya told it to me. It's something Majestia says to inspire people," he explained, easily pulling Chloé's hands off his black Jagged Stone concert tee. "But I think it applies really well to you, Chloé. You could have done nothing and let Père drag me back into lockdown without batting an eye, but you didn't. You did good. You might not think you did, but Père was furious that you pulled it off."

He kept his grip tight around her fingers as she attempted to turn away, forcing her to look at him with eyes full of pain and regret. "The Chloé I know isn't naïve or useless or stupid. She's stubborn, demands what she wants, and can be a brat, sure, but she's also capable of kindness too. She's human and real. She's rich and spoiled rotten, but she gives and gives to people who might not always appear grateful at first, but they are. I am. I'm so grateful for you, Chloé.

"You've given me a chance at a better life that I never could have dreamed of having before school started. Because of you, I have a social life, people to hang out with, and a girlfriend that loves me for me and not what she assumes from magazines and advertisements. Thanks to you, I'm not cooped up in the manor wondering when my life was supposed to truly start." He watched her roll her eyes, but continued nonetheless, "I know it sounds cheesy and stupid, Chloé, but it's the truth. I'm not asking you to change. I'm asking you not to give up on the girl I became friends with just because she seems worthless to you.

"Like I said, she meant the world to me. And I'd hate to lose her more than anyone else," he stated, finally freeing her from his hold. While she remained there, shoulders slumped and eyes downcast, he walked back towards the balcony door. "That's the difference between you and Lila, Chloé. She only does things for completely selfish reasons. You do the same, but only because, deep down, you don't want to be alone. And I don't blame you for that. I don't like feeling lonely either."

He opened the door, glancing to his bag by the suite entrance. "I'll leave, if that's what you want. I didn't want to bother Marinette again, since it feels like I'm using too much of her generosity being at her place twice, but I know she won't say--"

"No!"

Adrien perked up, genuinely surprised by the exclamation. He turned, grinning, to see Chloé attempting to mask her desperation behind any other emotion and failing.

"S-Stay," she stammered out. "Take the couch. Take the bed. I don't… care. Just… stay. Please. Don't… Don't leave again."

Sighing in relief and a hint of pride, Adrien said, "Of course, Chloé. Whatever you want." He motioned for her to come inside, chuckling as she snatched up the pillow from the lounge chair and hugged it against her chest before she begrudgingly obeyed.

He helped her collect her pillows back onto her bed, flinching as she threw one back at his head. "Well, you'll be needing one to sleep, won't you? I-If you're taking the couch, don't use the ones there. Trust me. They don't support anything," she advised at his questioning look.

Then Adrien helped pick up the scattered jewelry from the floor, even opting to search under her bed for her. Once they were all back in the box, she shut it and disappeared into her closet again. His keen hearing caught a sniffle or two as he went to grab his bag. "Chloé? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she answered quickly. "S-Sorry, I just… I-I need a moment."

Though part of him wanted to enter and console his friend, he knew it was best to give her the space she needed more than anything right now.

There was a knock on the door as Adrien threw his bag and the pillow on the couch. Seeing as Chloé was occupied and likely hadn't heard it, he walked back, unlocking and opening it some to see who it was.

"Oh! M. Agreste!" Armand's eyes widened in surprise, but he smiled and bowed his head slightly in greeting. "It's good to see you, as always, monsieur. Is the young mademoiselle here? I never received a call for her dinner and I became worried she was in danger," he said, expressing worry with a small frown.

"She's alright." He leaned back some and looked to the open closet. "Chloé! Armand's here!" When he saw her scramble out of the closet and walk over to him and the door, he added in a quieter voice, "He wants to know what you want for dinner."

"Tagliatelle al ragù. Ask Mme. Césaire to add a sprinkle of parmesan on top, if possible?" she requested, seeming sheepish about asking in front of Adrien. She glanced to him. "Do you want anything?"

The butler did his best to hide his surprise at Chloé's offer. Adrien still caught a glimpse of it, but he couldn't say the man didn't try.

"I'll have what you're having. That sounds delicious," Adrien replied eagerly, licking his lips with an exaggerated enthusiasm.

With another curt bow and a bright, amused smile, Armand departed.

Chloé shut the door and swatted Adrien's shoulder. "Don't start getting comfortable, dork. Just because I'm being charitable doesn't mean you have every excuse to act like a sappy moron," she chastised him.

"Aw," he groaned. "You're just like Marinette. No one lets me have any fun around here." He jokingly pouted, turning away from her with his arms crossed over his chest.

She spun back to the door, about to open it as she cried out, "Jean-Raoul!"

Adrien rushed to pick her up before she could tell her butler to cancel Adrien's order, slinging her over his shoulder and carrying her away from the doors with a wicked cackle at her protests.

"Disobedient little vermin!"

Nathalie sighed as she pinned the Butterfly locket to the lapel of her black dress jacket.

"The nerve of him to run off! And he expects me to accept this behavior lying down?" Gabriel continued to roar out as he stabbed a pen into one of the various framed photos of Adrien that had been hung on the display wall.

"Monsieur, he's a teenage boy. He hardly expects anything other than three square meals and a certain amount of privacy," she pointed out as she held a small cup of kibble to Nooroo for the kwami to eat.

"He's not just 'a teenage boy,' you ignorant buffoon!" he yelled over his shoulder, throwing a piece of the frame at her. "He's my son and I expect him to behave as I command him to!"

"Émilie definitely wouldn't approve of that, monsieur," Nathalie continued to remind her superior. "You know this, yet you insist on treating Adrien like a tool rather than someone to be cherished and respected."

"Only because he behaves like a spoiled brat and a thief! I refuse to bow to this behavior!" He tore up the remnants of the photo and scattered them on the floor. "Nathalie! Transform me! Now!" he barked to his assistant.

Nooroo stared with pleading eyes at the woman, quietly begging her not to go through with this.

Again, Nathalie sighed, closing her eyes and speaking in a tired tone, "Nooroo, wings rise."

If Adrien didn't already feel so full, he'd definitely start licking the plate he was served that delectable pasta. If only to annoy Chloé.

Instead, while Chloé showered, he freed Plagg from his gym bag.

"Finally," whined the kwami of Destruction, stretching his tiny body like an actual cat would. "I thought you were trapping me in that bag until she went to sleep at the rate you two were yapping."

"Don't be rude. Chloé needed some encouragement to do better, is all," Adrien argued in his friend's favor as he lounged back on the couch.

"I don't see why she has so much trouble. Maybe if you motivate her with camembert, she'll have an easier time." Plagg landed himself on Adrien's head, curling into a comfortable ball in the blond's hair.

"She's not you, Plagg. I don't know any girls motivated by slimy old cheese," Adrien joked, digging his phone out of his pocket to text his girlfriend.

"None of the girls you know have good taste, is what you're saying."

Adrien rolled his eyes as he sent a message to Marinette, warning her he'd likely be late for patrol tonight.

"Oh, no, kitty. Are you safe?"

He smiled at the text, replying, "I'm okay. Hustled out of there before Père could hurt me more than he's already done."

"You think he'll send a butterfly or akuma looking for you?"

He hummed, knitting his brows. Would his father stoop to such a level? Gabriel certainly had the incentive to do so. What did the man have to lose, honestly?

Besides the last of Adrien's respect, not much else.

"Unless he wants me definitely suspecting him of being Hawkmoth, I doubt it." Adrien sent the text, then felt the minuscule weight of his kwami disappear from his head as the bathroom door opened. He peered over the back of the couch, chuckling at the sight.

"What's so funny?" hissed Chloé as she brushed her fingers through her loose long locks.

"Nothing. I just wasn't expecting the Ladybug PJs," he said with a smirk.

"Oh, whatever," she grumbled, finally tying her hair back into its usual ponytail, through much lower this time. "You're just jealous that I'm rocking the look and you're not." She held her head up confidently, a wry smile presenting itself as she modeled the sleepwear.

"Can't argue with that." He glanced back to his phone as she went back into the bathroom for something she'd likely forgotten.

"Wait. Where are you now?" texted Marinette. He could sense the worry in the words.

"Bourgeois residence. Had to do a bit of a shakedown with Chloé, but she's behaving now. She knows I know about your truce. It's not your fault. She's mad I'm too smart. ;)"

"You can stay at my place again if you want." Adrien could tell that message was typed before his. He could already see she was scrambling to somehow retract the message before he replied to it. "I mean, that's okay too!" "I'm glad you're safe, mon amour. I'll be heading out for patrol soon once I'm done with homework." "Meet me at the tower like always?"

"Once Chloé's asleep, I'll hurry ovfrtdkfsknd"

"Ah! Chloé!" he cried out as a towel hit the side of his head. He grimaced at the message he'd unwillingly sent, but turned to glare at his friend.

"Bathroom's all yours," she chimed with little regard for his complaint.

He let out an exhale of annoyance, but that emotion was immediately snuffed at the sight of what Chloé was once again twirling on her finger. "Wait," he spoke suddenly, leaning over the back of the couch. "Can I see that?" He pointed to the strange bracelet, curiosity hopefully evident on his face.

Chloé pursed her lips, a brow raised in confusion, but she obliged nonetheless, walking over and placing the bracelet on his open palm.

Definitely not a Miraculous, since no kwami appeared at the presence of any human touch. But it didn't appear like advanced technology either. It was just a fancy bracelet, from the looks of it. Though that didn't explain how it affixed itself to Chloé's wrist perfectly or how Plagg ended up stuck in it rather than simply being able to slip right out. There had to be something more.

Adrien put it on his left wrist, interested to see if it would do to him what it did to Chloé.

And sure enough, it constricted…

But also changed from a gold band with blue gems to a silver one with emeralds.

"Wh-Whoa," he stammered out in shock.

"'Whoa' is an understatement. How'd you do that?" Chloé said, equally as perplexed.

"I-I didn't do anything. I just put it on." Adrien ran fingers across the gems, finding they felt all the same as they did when they were blue.

"Obviously, idiot. I'm talking about how you changed the look. I only got it to do that once with the band to match what I was wearing, but haven't been able to change it back at all," Chloé clarified.

"It wasn't gold when you bought it?"

"It was silver and gold, but after daddy bought it and I put it on, it turned gold and I never figured out why. Kind of annoying, to be honest. Daddy paid a lot for it." Chloé gave the bracelet a bitter scowl, then hummed, flicking her gaze back to him as she played with the end of her ponytail. "You can keep it, if you want."

"R-Really?" he questioned, surprised. Didn't she just say it cost her father a lot to purchase it?

"I mean, unless you can figure out how to make it change again, it's basically useless to me. I can only match my looks to blue and gold so much before I'm repeating and I hate that." She flipped her low ponytail over her shoulder.

He gawked at her as she strolled to the bedroom side of the suite, then shook his head and exclaimed with a grin, "Thanks, Chloé!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever!"

Adrien shot off the couch and hurried into the bathroom, closing and locking it behind him.

Plagg flew out of Adrien's shirt sleeve and glared at the bracelet. "You're mocking me by wearing that, aren't you?" he asked his holder.

"No, I'm not," Adrien whispered back as he curled the fingers of his right hand over the accessory. He tried twisting it to see if that would do anything, like trigger a mechanism that would enlarge the bracelet as easily as it contracted. "I want to understand how it works. There has to be some kind of trick to it." He held it towards the kwami. "You're sure you don't recognize it? This isn't another Grimoire situation, is it?"

"It's the shiny bracelet that got stuck around my head. That's all I can recall of it. Don't rub that memory in," the kwami of Destruction said with a huff before nestling himself in the towel Chloé offered.

Adrien glowered at the lazy creature, but focused back on the bracelet. He placed the phone in his hand on the counter too and started the shower to make it seem like he was doing other things. Then he hovered his wrist with the bracelet over the sink.

It didn't appear different in the reflection of the mirror. No amount of staring and mentally willing it to change color did the trick. Biting the band proved awkward and ultimately fruitless as well. It's only when Adrien finally decided he wanted it off that it returned to its default diameter, but now it remained silver and green.

"H-How the…?" Words died on Adrien's tongue as his phone buzzed against the countertop. He looked to the screen, seeing Marinette's shy smile on full display. With a brief glance towards the locked bathroom door, he answered, but forced a video call.

Marinette's squeak of surprise was the first thing to greet him as he propped his phone by the mirror. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay," she spoke with instant relief. She was sat at her desk, a smudge of what appeared to be paint on the side of her head, likely from a personal project she was working on. She stuck her tongue out towards something off-screen, likely Tikki from the tiny giggles he could barely hear.

Adrien motioned for her to lower the volume of her voice, eyes flicking towards the bathroom door for a second before he spoke quietly, "Sorry. Chloé threw a towel at me while I was writing that text. Then I got distracted by this." He held the bracelet up towards the phone, spinning it between his finger and thumb to show it off.

"And that is?" she questioned, bewildered.

"You might not recognize it now, but this is the same bracelet that nearly got you in trouble with Roger Raincomprix and Chloé." He watched her confusion turn into astonishment. "I know. Chloé brought it out and offered to let me have it after I showed interest. When I put it on, it completely changed its look. I'm trying to figure out how it works, but…" He demonstrated how it worked by allowing it back on his wrist, holding it towards the phone. "Does Tikki know what it's doing?"

Marinette flinched back and Adrien wondered what scared her. Then he heard a distinct hum from the kwami of Creation.

"I don't recognize it, but maybe Master Fu would know?" spoke the invisible kwami. Adrien almost forgot they couldn't be seen on camera. Marinette looked to her shoulder. "You already have to see him again tomorrow. You should ask him then."

Adrien almost wanted to question what Tikki meant, but the sudden gasp shared between her and Marinette, the latter nearly jumping out of her seat, worried him all the more.

"Wh-Who's there?" Marinette called out, leaning back in her chair and looking up towards her loft bed. She looked back to her phone, worried. "Ch-Chat Noir…?" Her eyes widened and she carefully stood, taking her phone with her. She paused, as if waiting for a response. "I'll be there in a second, Chat Noir!" She placed a gentle emphasis on the name.

"What?" he whispered as she seemed to dart for her bedroom door.

"A-Adrien," she hissed back, her phone pressed closer to her face, "there were footsteps and then… Someone claiming to be Chat Noir is on my balcony, I think."

"Another Copycat?"

"I don't think so. The voice sounded off. Like they're trying to mimic you, but couldn't get your voice exactly right," she darted into a dark room, the light from the phone the only thing allowing her face to be visible to him. Adrien could hear a concerned whimper, likely her kwami. "I know. Just… stay hidden, Tikki. I'll be careful."

"I can see if--"

Marinette put a finger to her lips, then the screen went black.

Adrien turned off the running water and swallowed a growing lump in his throat as he brought the phone to his ear.

"Puuurr-incess?" called a strangely warped version of Chat Noir's voice through the phone. "Where are you? I just want to talk to you."

"Marinette? Who-- Ah!"

Adrien could hear the gasps before loud banging sounds took over. His blood ran cold as Marinette stifled frightened whimpers.

That had been Marinette's mother.

"Marinette… Where are youuuuuu?"

And that sounded like her too.

"Purr-incessssssss, you can't hide forever," not-Chat Noir's voice came back, a growl punctuating its words.

Marinette appeared on the screen again, pale blue eyes darting around as she searched for something on her phone.

"Where are you? I neeeeeed you, Marinette."

A text appeared at the top of Adrien's screen. "Akuma, no doubt. If I can't shake it and transform, I'm sending Tikki to you. Stay safe, mon chaton. Whatever happens, I love and believe in you completely."

Then the video call ended abruptly. The last thing Adrien saw was Marinette's fearful yet determined gaze staring back at him as if to say one final goodbye.

Were Adrien somewhere truly private, he would have roared out in anger just to free the anxiety from his chest preemptively. Instead, he unlocked the bathroom door, glancing around to see if Chloé was anywhere nearby.

Slowly did he creep towards the couches, ears strained and other senses on high alert. If he could make it to the balcony and transform without his friend noticing, that was an easy escape in the making. All he had to do was be absolutely--

"What are you doing?" Chloé asked with growing concern.

Adrien fell backwards onto his butt, staring up at Chloé stood by the armrest of the couch he had been so close to passing by. "Err… N-Nothing. I just… forgot to grab fresh clothes from my bag."

"Okay, but why sneak around like you were avoiding me? Is there something you're hiding in your bag?" Chloé questioned, curious now more than ever.

Besides an unnecessary amount of camembert… "N-No. It's… I thought you were already asleep and didn't want to disturb you. Sorry," he lied again, using his already frantic thoughts to appear awkward.

"Oh…" Whether Chloé suspected he was lying and hiding something or not, Adrien couldn't quite tell. She looked tired at the very least, so his excuse held some merit to it, not that he was about to mention that aloud. "Well, if you're going to take forever in the shower, I guess I will. I'm not about to ruin my beauty sleep waiting all night for you to finish," she complained.

"My bad for having a standard to work with when I shower." He gave a light-hearted shrug. "What can I say? It's the model in me."

"Oh, shut up. I know you hate all the modeling your dad makes you do. Especially when you can't bring your girlfriend with you." She gave a coy smirk.

"Doesn't mean I can't work hard to look pretty either way. You're just jealous I look fantastic in every photo taken of me."

"Am not."

Gods, but he didn't have time for more of this!

"Anyway," he said instead, rolling onto his knees and grabbing his bag from the couch, "I have a shower to take. If I don't see you again before you fall asleep, good night. And if Armand comes up tomorrow before I wake up, tell him I like my croissants lightly buttered and warmed up."

While Adrien stood, Chloé glared hard at him, then something like recognition flickered across her features. Before Adrien could sprint back into hiding and mentally willing Chloé to head to bed, she grabbed his arm. She brought herself closer, tugging at his shirt until… "That was him, wasn't it?" She pointed to his neck as if he could see what she was talking about.

"Huh?"

"You have bruises here." She didn't say more at first, likely noticing his shift from uneasiness to complete distress. "He hurt you. Adrien, that's not--"

"I'm fine, Chloé. Can I please just…?" He yanked himself out of her hold and ran, once again shutting the bathroom door behind him and locking it.

Plagg poked his head over the edge of the sink counter as Adrien slid his back against the door and curled up into a panicked ball. Then the kwami flew to him, nudging at Adrien's free hand until it opened, allowing the feline to purr and rub his little head against Adrien's palm.

"I… I hate this," Adrien whispered to his kwami, doubts and fear coalescing into one big lump of dread.

"I know, kid. But you need to stay calm right now until you can leave and transform. Pigtails and sugarcube need you," the kwami of Destruction assured.

Adrien, though still stuck to the floor by the weight of everything happening at once, nodded.

Then Plagg shot up and over Adrien's head, only returning to Adrien at his shoulder with a brief "She's in bed."

That was all Adrien needed to hear. He once more started the shower, kicking his gym bag to the side of the toilet and unlocking the door. He steeled his nerves as Plagg flew ahead and nodded that the coast was still clear. Then Adrien shut the door quietly behind him and scurried back in front of the couch. When he momentarily lost sight of his kwami, he grimaced, but nearly bit his tongue when Plagg reappeared by his shoulder again.

"Keep going. She's in the bed, but she's still awake. On her phone. I'll watch to make sure she's distracted and run back to you if she's looking, okay? Just focus on getting outside," Plagg murmured into his holder's ear, not waiting for a response before darting through the couch.

Adrien poked his head around the other side, further now than he had been previously. He trained his sights on the balcony rather than Chloé, assured by his kwami that he was safe for now.

With cautious steps and little effort to abate his wild heart, Adrien crept along the floor. Each shuffle of movement felt louder than the last. Every time he stopped, he felt so certain that he was being watched. But Plagg never rushed to stop him, even when Adrien undid the latch locking the balcony door and carefully nudged it open. He was sure the hinges would creek or he'd bump too hard against the door as he moved, but, somehow, he remained quiet throughout the final stretch.

The moment he shut the balcony door and scuttled to hide behind a lounge chair, he silently cheered, grinning at his kwami as Plagg hurried over.

"Alright. We need to hurry to Marinette's. Plagg, claws out."

After Adrien was replaced by his alter-ego, he sprung off the balcony and let himself plummet, screaming once he was halfway to the ground. Then he grabbed his baton and fully extended it, both ends perfectly catching on two different lampposts and allowing him to preserve the momentum to fling himself up and over to the next rooftop. As his staff de-extended to a reasonable length, he used it to vault across streets, the rhythm of his movements matching the pace of his heartbeat.

All he could do as he ran was cling onto hope that Marinette had somehow escaped the akuma. If she hadn't…

The thought alone lit a fire in his chest, practically doubling his speed.

Green eyes widened as the sight of the Dupain-Cheng household came into view. The light in Marinette's room was still on and, from the minuscule glimpse he caught through her windows as he neared, her room was a total mess.

Whether it had been the case before the akuma or not remained to be seen. De-extending his baton further, he flicked it open to reveal the screen, tapping on the little ladybug icon and pressing the baton to his ear.

"Please, please, please," he murmured as he landed on Marinette's balcony and paced it.

The call dropped.

"No, no, no, no," he chanted just as softly, springing off the side of the balcony and breaking in through the residential entrance with a swift kick to the doorknob. No use following the akuma's trail. He had to confront it directly to bring his girlfriend back.

Darkness. The entire stairway was pitch black.

Claw marks lined the walls. As he walked in, fear crawled along his spine like the chaos that marred the hall. He didn't move far in, heightened senses picking up movement slowly trudging his way.

At the top of the stairs, lurching just barely into view, was something he could only describe as horrific. Like a mix between a zombie and a werewolf, whatever the akuma was didn't appear… alive. Its eyes were completely white, fur a matted mix of white and red, with paws tied at the wrists over its chest in red string.

Then he realized that what he presumed to be the body of the villain was actually a wolf's pelt. There was a man's face under all that fur, a twisted grin presenting perfectly white teeth. Pale blue eyes shimmered in the light pouring in from the open door.

"A caaat," the akuma rumbled out through guttural growls and strangely wicked laughter. "Just the type of prey I was hoping to catch." The way he spoke that last word, his voice sounded like Chat Noir's. Likely seeing the hero's stunned expression, the akuma chuckled. "Good. Hooold still. This won't hurt… much. Then I'll have one of the two Miraculous for Papillon."

On unsteady legs, he sprinted out of the building before the beastly hunter could capture him. He felt infused with fear, moving automatically across rooftops like nothing more than a cowardly feline powered by instincts alone.

But that sheet white face… The akuma's identity beneath that fur coat façade… No doubt. That was Adrien's father.

His legs gave out as he landed at the Notre-Dame, atop one of the hanging gargoyles. His nerves fired in a thousand different directions, but all he wanted was one final confirmation. He pulled out his baton, once more showing the screen with his finger hovering over the ladybug icon.

Please. He couldn't do this alone.

"Kitty?"

He nearly gave himself whiplash turning his head up to see blue eyes staring at him like the world had turned upside down. And, to him, it nearly had.

"L-Ladybug…? Ladybug! You're okay!" Crawling to his knees, he desperately moved to greet her, relief setting his heart aflame just as much as seeing his Lady always did.

From her perch on that rooftop spire, Ladybug extended an arm out, hand carding through his hair as her perplexity became affection. "Oh, mon chaton, thank goodness. I almost…" She cut that spoken thought off with an appeased sigh, eyes brimming with tempered worries. "I'm so happy to see you too."

"H-How did you escape? Père's akuma… He looked so…" He frowned, his cat ears flattening on his head.

"Tikki distracted him. Lured him toward the ovens while I ran for the door. I only heard him rushing after me once I slammed it shut and ran off," she explained as she hopped onto the gargoyle and brought him into a crushing hug. "I won't lie though; he looks terrifying from the brief glimpses I caught."

He couldn't help the purr that escaped him as he butt his head against hers. All his problems seemed to melt away at her touch alone.

Then he noticed the strange look in her eyes. Like she was fighting something. Immediately, his dread rushed back.

"Sorry," his Lady said when his purring ceased, seeing the panic in his expression. "I just… I can see why you had trouble recognizing me as Toxinelle the first time. This is too weird."

"Wh… What are you…?"

"Mon amour, I hate to admit it when you seem so stressed already, but you're not exactly Chat Noir right now," she revealed, watching with mounting concern as his world seemed to further crumble around him at her words.

He backed away, nearly falling from the head of the gargoyle before Ladybug steadied him by the arms. Then, after she pulled out her yo-yo and presented its hand mirror function, he blanched.

The green hair tied up at the nape of his neck alone was enough to startle him further, but the gold lining the top of his altered mask and parts of his suit didn't look half-bad, he couldn't lie. The grey was… weird. As a contrast to the black, maybe he could see himself liking it, but, all-in-all…

Oh, gods, even the tip of the belt tail, neat and pointed, was gold.

This was not his style.

"I think you look adorable, if it's any consolation," said Ladybug with a weak smile. "Like a little cat soldier."

"Thanks, I hate it," he deadpanned, his nerves seeking release and only finding vague purchase in the air between them as he flexed his hands.

She tapped a finger to her lips, humming. Then, much to his dismay, an idea seemed to spark a twinkle in her eyes as she scrutinized his whole new look. "I think we can work with this."

"C-Can't I try to change back instead? This really isn't--" he attempted to protest, that same finger landing on his own lips to stop him.

"That's the point, kitty. You're not Chat Noir. You're Cat Walker, remember?" Ladybug winked.

All he could feel in the pit of his stomach was a brewing mix of self-loathing and apprehension. Not to mention the use of that name, considering what it entailed. He had to deal with all of these painful feelings inside him and fight his father?

"Don't think of it as a torture, chaton. Think of it as being free to beat up your dad as Adrien," she suggested as she crossed her arms over her chest. A flicker of understanding crossed her face. "I guess that advice doesn't help, since it really is easier for me to separate myself from the Ladybug suit, but it couldn't hurt to try, right?"

Cat Walker stared at his hands, noticing immediately that his claws weren't there like they typically were. All he truly had for weapons were his fists and baton. He was well and truly dressed like a perfect version of himself the normal world imagined of Adrien Agreste, without a flaw in sight. All looks, no bite.

This was so wrong.

His Lady had a small point though. His father had already seen him like this, so changing would likely trigger suspicion anyway. If he remained like this and presented himself as 'Adrien the Black Cat holder' for one battle, then he had a viable excuse for the change in looks and the freedom to have his revenge on Gabriel Agreste. And if he slipped up and spoke like he knew the akuma personally, then he had a literal perfect cover.

It was something Chat Noir could never do unless Hawkmoth was on his last leg and there were zero risks in revealing his full identity. Adrien Agreste could fight his akumatized father, unapologetically venting all his frustrations, and feel no shame. Just chalk it up to nerves and resentment for the years of abuse.

Yet it felt so right in the moment.

"Yeah… I… I think I get it," he squeaked out after swallowing a hard lump in his throat.

"Purr-fect. Then let's put your night vision to good use and hunt down this akuma," she declared, flipping her yo-yo shut and tossing the head of it towards the flèche while wrapping her other arm around his waist. Before Cat Walker could think to cry out in distress, he was lifted high into the air like he weighed nothing at all. His Lady even took to laughing at his frantic expression as he clung onto her.

If this was what Marinette felt like as Toxinelle, he understood now why her emotions after Horrificator and before Guitar Villain seemed so out of whack. This was awful. He never felt so completely emotionally drained yet so vibrantly full of emotions all at once.

But there, at the peak of the Notre-Dame's tallest spire, Cat Walker quickly caught sight of a ghostly figure moving across the rooftops nearby.

Pointing a claw-less finger at the akuma, his gaze darted to Ladybug, who seemed to hesitate at the sight of his father.

"Did… Did he hurt you?" Cat Walker almost slipped and tacked on a 'too' to the end of the question, an echo of pain near his collarbone reminding him of the bruise Chloé had revealed to him earlier.

"No. But he hurt maman and papa. Tikki said she didn't see either of them at all when she went out to distract him. But I heard papa's shout and I'm sure you did maman's too." She balled her free hand into a fist, her yo-yo spinning fast in the other.

"Mimicry, sharp claws, and brute strength… Père really outdid himself, becoming the perfect hunter," he muttered irritably. "All that's left is mind control and some sort of physical restraints and he'll basically have every tool under his arsenal to defeat us."

"I wouldn't give him any ideas."

With that, the duo sprung from the monument, intending to meet the villain directly.

Ladybug landed in front of the akuma, eliciting a sandpaper laugh that grated on Cat Walker's ears. Meanwhile, Cat Walker dropped behind, movements silent as he pulled his baton off his back and stepped closer.

"M. Agreste, your son told me about the current situation between you two. I understand you might be upset, but Adrien--" Ladybug tried, a snarl of anger interrupting her speech.

"Adrien! You've spoken to Adrien! How daaaaare you speak to my son! Where is he? You know where he is! Tell me!" barked the akuma, sounding feral and ravenous. "Tell me or I'll make you! Take your Miraculous and make you hurt! Make you disappeeear! Make you pay!"

Cat Walker faltered with the way his father spoke so incoherently. Clearly the man's rage had blinded him, turning him into nothing more than a monster bent on stealing their Miraculous and hurting anyone who stood in his way. If Cat Walker struck, would Ladybug be hurt in the process? She stood in front of the akuma so confidently, as if the man wasn't frothing at the mouth for any excuse to attack.

But that wasn't Adrien's fault. It definitely wasn't Cat Walker's fault, nor Chat Noir's. In fact, the only one to blame for Gabriel Agreste's madness was Gabriel himself.

Fueled by pettiness, Cat Walker struck the akuma's fur-covered wolf-head like a batter hitting a homerun.

The mangled yelp that escaped the wolfman as he fell from the roof did little to taper Cat Walker's grudge. Had the akuma been anyone else, perhaps it might have blossomed some guilt. All it did was make him pity his father.

"You!" growled the akuma as he dragged himself onto his gangly paws and knees, glaring at Cat Walker as the duo landed on the street together. "The scared little kitten that fled with his tail betweeeen his legs! You fight like a weakling! What other tricks do you intend to play in your coward's game?"

Cat Walker narrowed his eyes right back, saying nothing.

"Speak when you're spoken to, insolent currrrr!"

"Say something worth replying to and I'll think about it."

That triggered the monster quite effectively.

The hot-headed beast bared a wild grin at them. "Smart mmouth for a faint-hearted feline! Always more than one way to skin a cat! I'll try them allllllll!" At that, the akuma pounced at them, claws raised to tear their suits off.

Cat Walker spun his baton, extending it smoothly and holding it out horizontally. Sure enough, the akuma snagged dagger-like nails on it, rage-fueled strength on par with Cat Walker's own base efforts to block him from hurting Ladybug. "Dad," he hissed towards the man, "snap out of it! You're acting like a lunatic! Don't let Hawkmoth control you like this!"

Another gamble. This time, Cat Walker wanted to know if that strange inconsistency he'd heard earlier was true or not.

"'Dad?' 'Daaaaaaad?'" the akuma mimicked wildly. "Adrien! Not 'dad!' Crocotter! Not Hawkmoth! Papillon! Tear that ring off your finger! Punish you for misbehaving! Wretched boy!"

Not Hawkmoth.

Papillon.

Not Gabriel.

Nathalie.

Simple enough. He wasn't even about to argue that. If anything, it fueled his partner's theory even more. The only way for Gabriel Agreste to be akumatized was for his assistant to help him. Now it showed that Nathalie, though she appeared trustworthy on the surface, was nothing but an accomplice caught in the act. No amount of pretending to let things slip and faux-empathy would be earning back that trust anytime soon.

Distracted by his thoughts, Cat Walker grunted in sharp pain as bony fingers grabbed around his throat. He bashed his staff against the newly dubbed Crocotter's head, hoping that would be enough to stun the beast. When the first strike didn't hurt, he tried again, only for the akuma to bite it, thrashing the weapon out of Cat Walker's grip and spitting it towards the ground away from either of them.

"Think you can huuuurt me? Make you hurt more! Have you beg for mercy! Take that ring and beat some sense into--!"

"You talk a lot for someone who hasn't done much!" Cat Walker cried out, voice cracking somewhat. He gripped hard on Crocotter's arms, leveraging his weight on the akuma's hold to lift his legs up and kick the beast square in the stomach. When the akuma unwittingly released him, Cat Walker backflipped before he could land on his shoulder blades.

Keeping the momentum, he hurried to snatch his baton back up.

A cloven hind-hoof knocked the weapon away. "'Talk!' Discipline you for taaalking back!" Crocotter spat. "Take your tongue! Take that ring!"

"I'm waiting to see you try, you bitter old beast!" Cat Walker growled back, sweeping the akuma off his feet. As Crocotter fell, Cat Walker pounced, pinning the monster to the pavement. Hands grasped the white paws of the fur tied around his father's neck, not with red string, but with itself.

His father's ascot. That's what the fur was. It's where the butterfly was. The reason the fur was white and red. All this time…

"Turn you to paste under my heel!" Claws grasped Cat Walker's head, wrenching him off and tossing him away.

Cat Walker's back hit a wall, a gasp and cough escaping him from the sheer force. He righted himself just in time to avoid Crocotter's claws as they slashed up where Cat Walker's head once was. Springing back towards Ladybug, Cat Walker felt his blood boiling from adrenaline.

"Cat Walker, do you need a moment to breathe?" she offered, uncertain. "I know he's your dad, but I'm still willing to help if--"

Crocotter let out a strange mix of braying and howling as he charged the duo.

Spinning them both to dodge as if in a waltz, Cat Walker set his Lady back down gently, his focus set on the akuma. "Try to capture him with your yo-yo. If I can tear off the fur, I think I'll have his butterfly."

They both ducked as the akuma launched himself at their heads.

"Right. I can't guarantee he won't get hurt if he keeps things up like this," she warned as she cartwheeled around Cat Walker to dodge another lunge.

"I honestly don't care anymore. It's what he deserves," he confessed, annoyed. He swung his leg up, the back of his heel knocking Crocotter square in the jaw and halfway across the block.

"Adrien…"

No. He wouldn't…

Cat Walker and Ladybug glanced toward the akuma as it remained still.

"Adrien, dearrrrr… Stop this. Please. For your father's sake." The white eyes of the wolf pelt shined as the familiar voice continued, "I know this all must hurt to do, but you must thinnnnk better than this. Hand over the ring…"

Using his mother!

Like a lit match striking his skin, Cat Walker's fury burned.

"Shut up! Do you think I'm stupid?" He felt the bluntness of his fingers digging into his palms begin to hurt. "Mom's dead, Père!" he reminded his father with a snarl.

Crocotter lifted his head up off the ground, growling threateningly.

"I'm not delusional like you! You can live in denial all you want, but she died! I may not know why it happened, but I know you never cared enough to do something about that when she was alive! Acting like you can somehow fix that now…!" Cat Walker kept his fangs bared. "I guess that explains your current insanity."

"Worthlesssss vermin! Trade your useless hide for Émilie!"

"I said shut up!"

At the bite of Cat Walker's words, the pavement cracked between them. From the zig-zagging lines, a green glow appeared.

"Never speak her name ever again! You don't deserve to say it!"

As more of the earth split like a hungry maw, a green fire spewed forth, clamoring for Crocotter.

"If you ever mention her again, I'll make sure it's the last time you talk! You hear me?" Cat Walker stepped down the path between the chasms of flame, closing in on the akuma like the crumbling street and heat.

Crocotter rolled onto his backside, edges of his fur singeing as he barely avoided the fire. He scrambled off as Cat Walker neared.

"Don't run away, coward! Come back here and face me!" Cat Walker demanded, taking chase on all fours. "All bark and no bite! Just like always!"

He thrilled at the whine the beast sounded when it noticed his pursuit.

"Do something for once!" Cat Walker shouted as the matted creature vaulted over a gate. Instead of avoiding it, he crashed right into it. "You were talking big game a minute ago!" As Crocotter disappeared into the building, Cat Walker front flipped over the gate.

"Cataclysm!"

He knew he'd meet resistance when he reached the doors and he was more than correct. His powered up paw touched the doorknob before he could struggle to open it.

The doors collapsed in large chunks against the akuma's back.

"What happened? Did something scare you? Because I doubt you're smart enough to come to your senses!" Cat Walker snapped.

The building around them struggled not to buckle under its own weight. From the floor by Cat Walker's feet, that same green heat that threatened to burn Gabriel before slithered up the stairs in twin lines of flame. The moment they touched the portrait of the fashion designer and his despondent son, the whole thing lit up in seconds.

Crocotter's wolf-ish ears fell. He looked back to Cat Walker, eyes wide.

"Don't act so surprised, Père! You chose to play with fire! Now you get to watch your whole world burn down!" Cat Walker cackled. "At least your secrets will be safe in your precious walls. I know that's exactly what you want, isn't it?" he mocked with a sneer. He stomped up the stairs, flames abating under his feet and reigniting with the same vigor once he moved.

He grabbed at the burnt fur where his father's ascot typically was.

"Adrien… Please. I have to do this. How else will Ém--"

"I said keep her name out of your mouth, you monster! You lie! You lie!" Car Walker roared, tail lashing behind him and flames licking at Crocotter's fur. "No amount of begging and fighting will change her fate! She died! She's dead! Gone!" Claws tore at the ascot. "All your whining's done is let me know her death was all your fault!"

A butterfly escaped from the burning pelt, wing-tips charred and slightly lame.

"Catch!"

The beeping of the Black Cat ring sounded desperate, frantic. Considering Cat Walker had only used the main power a minute ago or so, it was surprising to hear there was so little time left.

Nevertheless, he glared at the man trembling on the floor, who appeared dazed and frightened more than anything. He doubted the man remembered any of it. Gabriel Agreste had no capacity for guilt or shame in his heart.

"You hurt Mom more than you've ever hurt me. Nothing you attempt to do can ever fix her broken heart anyway and you know it," Cat Walker concluded bitterly.

"Cat Walker!"

He turned to the foyer's front entrance, cat ears perking up at the sight of his favorite superhero. He hurried toward Ladybug, barely registering that the flames had completely died off, though the damage had already been done. Part of him wouldn't be surprised if the roof caved in soon.

"Sorry, Ladybug," he spoke sheepishly as he met her at the doorway. "I got a bit… Well…" He assessed the damage around them and cringed.

"That's… fine," she muttered. Even the look in her eyes showed that Cat Walker had gone a tad overboard.

Cat Walker hated to admit he wouldn't take back what he did in the slightest though. His father was dealt what he deserved. The past two days for Adrien were harrowing, considering everything he was forced to process. Being allowed to free all his bottled-up emotions and turn them into vengeance felt sweeter than nearly anything.

Ladybug motioned for him to come closer, which he obeyed without hesitation. Then he realized that she wasn't intending to kiss him, especially since he wasn't Chat Noir right now. Instead, she brought his head closer, her yo-yo ready to purify a butterfly, and tapped at the bell, which was part of the hair tie used to keep his pale green mane properly tamed like the rest of his unique look.

The more he learned about this Cat Walker look, the less it felt like himself and more like the ideal version of himself. The one that only existed in his father's mind, probably.

Nearly the second after Ladybug said "bye-bye, little butterfly," he de-transformed. Back to Adrien. Right in front of his father.

"Cheese!" begged Plagg, pawing at Ladybug's face after landing tired on her shoulder. "Please, bug, I'm starving!"

Rolling her eyes and sighing, she replied, "You'll have your cheese once we're done. You have to wait."

"I'll wither away to nothing by that point!"

Rather than play into the trap of Plagg's game, Ladybug focused her attention back on Adrien, smiling towards him. "You did amazing, Adrien. A little too well, but nothing I can't fix. Hopefully." She giggled at her own joke, taking Adrien's right hand in hers. "I do have to take this though. Can't keep my kitten stranded where we left him forever, you know?"

Adrien grit his teeth, grateful his father couldn't see his hesitation to unclench his fist and allow his partner to take the Black Cat ring. He needed to remind himself that this was all part of her plan. She wasn't about to take his Miraculous for nefarious purposes like his father. He could trust her with his life and know she'd never mistreat him.

Again, Adrien was very happy Gabriel had no way of noticing the blush forming on Adrien's face. Not that it meant anything, but part of him didn't want his father assuming he had any sort of crush on Ladybug. Their familial relationship was already up in flames, if the remnants of the portrait behind Gabriel were any indication. Giving his father any leverage at all felt like consenting to a worse level of manipulation.

"I know you said it's often difficult to express your true feelings at home, but I should hope you find comfort with friends. Chat Noir and I can't be around all the time to help, but if you ever need someone to talk to, don't be afraid to approach one of us, okay? It's not okay to hold in all that pain you feel forever," Ladybug offered as she handed the ring to Plagg. "There are better, healthier ways to relieve stress than this, I'm sure."

Maybe his Lady was right. Perhaps he needed a better outlet than simply being Chat Noir. Or maybe he could stop joking about receiving therapy and actually commit to it.

Could his friends help him with that? Probably Chloé. She might not see the benefit for herself, but if he asked politely…

"Right. Thank you, Ladybug." It felt so weird to not use one of his nicknames for his Lady. Saying her hero name rolled off his tongue like rough sandpaper. And even if he was often a cat-themed superhero himself, it just didn't feel right at all.

"Alright. I'll fix everything once I give the ring back to Chat Noir. Stay safe, Adrien." Her gaze flicked between his face and his neck, worry brimming in her eyes that she carefully buried. "Bug--"

"W-Wait," he interrupted, shoulders tensing. Adrien didn't want to be left alone with his father, especially after the chaos of the evening. "Can… Can I ask for an escort away from here? I'm not… This isn't exactly… home, right now." He hoped his desperate, pleading eyes were enough for her to consider being merciful. He didn't have the energy to verbally argue with anyone, let alone his dad. Not to mention the agony of having to admit Adrien had no real family to trust anymore.

Ladybug sighed again, the look of 'you can't run away from this conversation forever' saying more than spoken words ever could. She held out a hand, gave a soft smile as he took it, then lead him out of the ruined manor.

Nathalie opened the door to the atelier, stepping out into the foyer once it was clear the hero and Adrien were long gone. She surveyed the destruction that would inevitably be fixed, rather shocked.

Chat Noir never presented these abilities. How had Adrien, as Cat Walker, done so much damage this way with hardly any effort?

Walking slowly and cautiously up the stairs, she knelt down next to Gabriel, who slouched, defeated, on his knees, with his head held in his hands. "My apologies, monsieur, but I did warn you that things would likely end this way. You let your rage take over."

The man groaned and spat out, "I was so close, Nathalie. If the boy had only seen reason--"

"That would have required you not be akumatized in the first place," she reminded him plainly. "You know Adrien has moved on and you still allowed yourself to be turned into an irrational monster in an attempt to persuade him to your side anyway. No amount of fear or coercion has made Adrien complacent. In fact, everything you've done since Émilie's passing seems to have worsened your already failing relationship with your son." She saw her words fall on deaf ears and decided it best to simply stand, assisting her superior up along the way.

"He had the ring, Nathalie. If I could have convinced him to turn on Ladybug, we would have had Émilie back so easily!" Gabriel let out a half-hearted laugh, his manic grin quickly fading. "The heroes trust him enough to hand over one of the two Miraculous. If we work with this angle, I just might have victory in the palm of my hands soon!"

But at what cost, Nathalie wished to say, but didn't. She knew any critiques of Gabriel's plans wouldn't stick in the slightest. She was expected to be nothing more than an affirmation provider and obedient servant.

Nooroo watched, silent and helpless, as his Miraculous was returned to Gabriel without a shred of hesitation. With a dejected sigh, he resigned himself to being just as much a passenger in this madness as Nathalie.

Not that either of them had much of a choice, when Gabriel held all the cards.

The blasting of loud, obnoxious music left Adrien tumbling off the couch and scrambling to find the source in a wild panic.

Then Chloé turned off the loudspeakers on either side of her TV. Her mischievous grin remained despite Adrien glaring at her.

"What on earth was that for?" Adrien checked his phone, mouth agape at the time. "Chloé, why are we awake at this early of an hour?" Not even Nathalie and his father were this cruel to force him up this early in the morning. The sun was hardly up. Why was he?

"First of all, maybe if you hadn't taken twenty years to shower last night, you wouldn't feel this tired. Second…" A wind chime sound came from her phone, which she stopped immediately. She looked back to Adrien as if none of that had occurred. "I have make up to apply, people to speak with, and other things to do. All that means is that either you're being left behind and not getting a ride to school or you're joining me now on my terms."

"Okay, okay!" he groaned, knowing he was fighting a losing battle arguing with Chloé and holding his hands up in surrender.

She scowled, flipping her ponytail as she stomped towards the bathroom. "Great," she said, sounding similarly as exasperated. "We'll be picking up breakfast from that little bakery you like by school."

It took Adrien some time to register her words, he hated to admit. When he did, he gawked at the bathroom door from the sheer audacity, then pulled the pillow he'd been sleeping on to smother his face and scream into it.

Exhaustion from yesterday, as well as his and his girlfriend's lingering questions at the end of the fight, clung to his muscles like parasites draining him.

How did Cat Walker summon that fire? Did it have anything to do with the bracelet that still wrapped itself proudly around his left wrist? Adrien didn't notice the bracelet having transformed with him, but, then again, he changed into an entirely different attire from his usual leather suit. Could the duo summon these alternate forms at will? Did their emotions have anything to do with the changes like the usual pattern seemed to suggest? Were they circumstantial? Did the bracelet trigger the Cat Walker variant?

What were Ladybug and Chat Noir to do now that they knew their biggest enemy's identity? How were they supposed to approach defeating Adrien's father as Hawkmoth without everything blowing up right after? Would Adrien not simply be without a family after such a fight? He didn't want to be alone.

Would Adrien's father remember his akumatization or not? Would the man pretend to have forgotten? Would Nathalie begin to act more suspicious if she found out Adrien suspected her too? Would Ladybug and Chat Noir be encountering Papillon and Hawkmoth interchangeably to throw off the scent or would Hawkmoth continue to be the prevalent, singular villain people were expecting him to be? Was Nathalie intended to eventually use the Peacock Miraculous once they successfully brute forced a translation of the Grimoire and figured out the recipe?

"When did this happen?" she asked as they sat on her balcony, de-transformed, side-by-side.

He looked down from his view of the night sky towards the finger pointed at his chest. Right where Chloé once said there were bruises.

"I…" He thought about lying, saying he wasn't sure what she was talking about or that maybe it was a trick of the light. But his beloved detested lies, would see directly through his, and chew him out even further for attempting such a thing. "Père was demanding I tell him where the brooch and Grimoire were. I said Lila stole them and we lost them completely from there. He knows I was lying, since he probably saw Lila's memories when he akumatized her. But when he accused me, he grabbed me by the collar and slammed me into the wall really hard. It hurt, but I didn't think…" He sighed. "Chloé pointed it out to me first. There was…" He lifted his left arm up, noticing right by the odd bracelet were three small blossoming spots, like a cruel constellation on his skin.

"Oh, Adrien…" Marinette's frown deepened as she took his arm into her hands, lightly grazing her fingers over the bruises. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It's never been your fault. It's always his." Adrien swallowed back the tears as he recalled what he said to his father during the fight. Was there a truth to his own words, that his father was the reason Mom was gone too soon? Gabriel didn't even attempt to argue that.

"It still hurts to see you suffer like this," she murmured, a finger circling the bruises as if she could somehow magically make them disappear. "Your pain is my pain, which means these spots are mine too."

Adrien didn't like hearing that. He would rather suffer a thousand years of strife than see his girlfriend hurt. "So just because you're Ladybug, you suddenly have a monopoly on spots?" he joked, a small smile forming.

She sounded the softest snort at that, annoyed at herself for almost laughing. She glared at him, then let him go. "That's it," she hissed, sounding serious despite her own smile playing on her lips. "No more cats on my balcony. You're banned. Get out. Shoo. And take the cheese devourer with you."

"You're thinking too much again, fluffy," grumbled Plagg from atop Adrien's chest, kneading his little paws into Adrien's shirt.

"I have a lot on my mind, Plagg." Adrien tossed the pillow back onto the couch and sat up, running a hand through his hair. "You and Tikki never answered my question about the bracelet and the fire."

The kwami of Destruction shrugged. "Because neither of us know what this thing is nor how that fire started. Trust me, kid. If Tikki knew, she'd outright say it. All I know is that it definitely had something to do with my powers, but beyond that, you got me there."

"Have you seen any of your previous holders summon it before?" Adrien pressed, yearning for an answer to slip past the kwami's enigmatic lips.

"Kid, I'm thousands of cycles old. To me, humanity's existence has been nothing but a blip on my timeline. Do you think I can recall each and every chosen holder I've ever had and what they've done?" Plagg questioned, his words entirely rhetorical.

"Alright. I get it. A simple 'no' would've sufficed," Adrien muttered with a huff.

"You asked. I answered. Now how about some breakfast camembert?"

Adrien brought his gym bag onto his lap, sending a knowing glare to his kwami before Plagg could even think to try.

Rose was the first to question Mlle. Bustier about Lila's disappearance once class started.

Marinette noticed Alya shift uncomfortably in her seat. She could tell the liar was still a sore subject for her, which wasn't surprising. Of all people to be effected by Lila's behavior, Alya was one of the biggest victims.

To hear from Mlle. Bustier that Lila was currently in Africa aiding starving children… Well, that could only elicit five sets of eyerolls almost in sync.

For lunch, Alya offered to take the two couples to the same new café Lila had taken the rest of the class to. "I heard from Juleka that right when they all arrived and began ordering, Lila mentioned she forgot her purse with all of her money at home so everyone had to pay for their meals. Lila didn't even eat anything, saying that she felt so bad for leading them there that she didn't deserve to have anything," Alya explained as they made their way over.

"Heard the same from Ivan, but can I just say 'yikes?' Because that's a massive yikes, dudette," Nino commented with a grimace. "She was probably trying to trick one of them into giving her free food, acting all pitiful like that."

"This statement coming from the king of free meals does not escape my notice," teased Adrien, smirking towards his best friend.

"Hey! At least I'm honest about it, mec. Plus free food is free food! I'm not arguing with free food," Nino spoke defensively.

Once they arrived at the quaint little space, the four took a small four-person table outside. Marinette dug into her backpack, pulling a stack of purple and pink objects.

"Oh, a gift for me?" Nino questioned as he was handed something covered in wrapping paper.

"Gifts for the three of you," Marinette clarified as she passed another to Alya.

Adrien took the last one eagerly, biting at a corner and tearing the wrapping paper off like a rabid canine on a mission. "Whoa!" he exclaimed when he saw the contents. "I thought Jagged Stone wasn't releasing the new album until the end of the month?"

"He is. But I spoke with Penny after she sent me demos for the new songs as inspiration and I showed her and Jagged the sketches. She allowed me to burn them to distribute to everyone in my class. I bought the CDs and cases and used some of my alternative album covers for them. No album has the same cover, so they're each special in their own way," Marinette explained as she placed the rest of the stack back in her backpack. "I wanted to give them out to the rest of the class once Lila arrived, as a welcome gift, but… Well, you know." She shrugged disappointedly.

"Aw. Well, these are awesome anyway, Marinette! I'll definitely be listening to this later," said Nino, grinning happily at the track list on the back.

"Yeah, thanks, M! You rock!" Alya added, hugging hers to her chest.

Adrien gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek, brightening up her mood just as quickly as it had fallen.

Once they were back from the café, the four of them entirely in high spirits after the amusing jokes and banter between each other, Marinette was intercepted at the lockers by a familiar sight.

"What did your boyfriend tell you?" Chloé hissed as she blocked Marinette from moving past her own locker.

Marinette stared blankly at the blonde, imperceptive to her meaning until she remembered everything Adrien had mentioned before the akuma fight last night. "I'm sure you know that Adrien and I have a pretty honest relationship with one another, Chloé. I don't think I need to answer that."

"Great. So everything from tag to Mr. Cuddly." Chloé folded her arms over her chest and pouted. "What about what happened last night?" she asked with the crook of a well-maintained brow.

Again, Marinette stared at Chloé, her expression now presenting tiredness.

"It's a reasonable question!" Chloé argued, jabbing a finger against Marinette's shoulder. "Fine. You know. And since you know, I mercifully don't have to tell you. If you're comfortable with that amount of crazy, you're clearly a weirder girl than I thought, Dupain-Cheng. Hope Adri-kins makes you happy anyway."

Wait, what?

Before Marinette could question Chloé's meaning, Chloé waved a dismissive hand and stalked away.

Adrien probably felt as through his head were being drilled into with the length of time Marinette was staring at the back of it. At one point, while Mlle. Mendeleiev's back was to the class, he peeked at her over his shoulder and flinched, gaze darting right back towards the front of the classroom. She could see the light sheen of sweat on his brow. He was nervous. He was hiding something. He was in so much trouble.

"Before you start berating me," Adrien began as he was backed into the corner of the locker room after classes were done, "whatever I did was unintentional and I'm sorry in advance." He darted his gaze to their two friends watching behind his girlfriend, silently begging them for help.

Marinette remained upset, patiently waiting for him to crack. If not now, then later during patrol.

"Y-You're really pretty when you're angry and I love you, ma princesse, but please don't hurt me?" he added with a squeak. "Please? Be gentle?" He seemed to catch on that she wouldn't be backing down from glaring at him and folded somewhat. "Did Chloé say something to you? You know she won't hesitate to lie, Marinette. Tell me what she told you and I-I'll--"

"What happened last night?"

Adrien froze at her question, looking to her like a deer in headlights. Then his green gaze flickered towards Nino and Alya before he pried himself out of the corner, lurching towards Marinette. "I-I already told you everything that happened, mon amour. What more is there?"

"Chloé implied that there was something you weren't telling me," Marinette said, keeping her brows furrowed.

"Did I not mention she's prone to lying for fun almost as much as Lila?" He gave a nervous chuckle, hands intertwining with hers. "Chloé does these things for the love of the drama. She could easily be trying to prank us or break us up. Has this all escaped your--"

"Oh, so you don't know." Marinette couldn't tell if the tone of surprise from Chloé was genuine, but from the look in Adrien's expression, complete shock with a hint of frustration, she was beginning to have doubts.

"Wh-What did you say to Marinette?" Adrien questioned, misery cracking his voice again.

Marinette glanced over to Chloé, confused now.

"I just asked her if she knew what you did last night. She's the one that acted like she did," Chloé answered.

Adrien's face went from baffled to upset to despairing in the span of a minute. Marinette was almost impressed.

"And what exactly did I do that you can't seem to clarify, Chloé? Because I'm pretty sure I told Marinette about everything." Adrien waved his arms in the air.

Chloé paled, then scrunched her nose up in disgust. "Are you joking? I'm not saying that out loud. Gross!"

What?

Now Marinette was even more confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"Adrien, you were in that bathroom, whispering to yourself, for nearly four hours! Are you really asking me to spell it out on a massive marquee?"

Nino was the first to understand Chloé's meaning, grimacing.

Oh… Oh gods.

"Ack! No! Chloé!" Adrien, face entirely reddened by embarrassment, charged after his childhood friend as she raced off screaming. "Get back here!"

Alya sputtered with laughter against her boyfriend, while all Marinette could do was facepalm.

Of course it had been a massive misunderstanding. Granted, it was reasonable for Chloé to have made the assumption based on what she knew, but still.

At least Chloé didn't see Adrien transform, whether into Chat Noir or Cat Walker. Nor had she seen Ladybug drop Adrien off with a goodnight kiss on the cheek after their long discussion on her balcony about everything that occurred.

That secret was still safe. Mercifully, one of the couple's biggest secrets was still safe.

Now to take care of the other one.

"Have room for me in there?" Marinette asked after tapping the backseat window of Adrien's family car and watching it roll down.

"Um… Yeah. A-Are you sure you…?" He left the rest of the question up in the air.

"Yes, please," she replied, giggling as he opened the door and scooted over to allow her in.

Adrien's bodyguard sounded a gravelly hum, but smiled at her when she shut the door behind her and looked innocently towards him.

Most of the car ride was spent either texting her maman that she'd be over at Adrien's for a bit, but would be back well before dinner, or cuddling with her boyfriend as they slowly neared the Agreste manor.

In contrast to their usual dynamic, Adrien seemed to be a big bundle of nerves while Marinette was the calm, level-headed one at the moment. Not to say she wasn't worried. Quite the opposite actually. But she held onto hope her plan to save Adrien from his father's wrath would do better the second go around.

Once Adrien's bodyguard parked the car and let them both out, Adrien himself lead Marinette to the front doors.

"Alright. If routine's served me well enough, he'll be at the top of the stairs, ready to reprimand me for my mistakes  and, since you're here, probably tell you you're forbidden from dating me ever again. We'll both be saying no, obviously, and if he has any complaints about it, then he'll just have to deal with it," Adrien prattled, likely in an attempt to delay the inevitable. "If he asks again about the book and brooch--"

Marinette turned him into even more of a panicked mess, opening the front door and nudging Adrien inside before he could properly form words of protest or stop her.

Much to his surprise, Adrien's dad wasn't where he expected the man to be. Instead, the couple found two women in the foyer. House cleaners, from the looks of it. One was down on her hands and knees scrubbing what appeared to be burn marks somehow left on the marble floor. The other was on a ladder, dusting what appeared to be ash from the wall where only half of the large portrait of Adrien and his father in black remained. Almost purposefully, most of the lingering damage was on Gabriel's side.

Miraculous Ladybugs, with the Lucky Charm Ladybug summoned in the aftermath, didn't entirely repair the damage from the fire. It fixed Cat Walker's Cataclysm and the cracks along the ground, but not the one thing neither holder nor kwami could explain.

"Père?" called Adrien as he glanced around the main part of the foyer.

"In here, Adrien."

Marinette saw the shock on Adrien's face turn into alarm as he glanced towards his father's atelier. Again, she pushed him towards the doors, urging him quietly to move. How else would Adrien argue for his freedom if he didn't move to confront the problem directly?

Usually, and mostly as Chat Noir, he was brilliant at running right at the enemy without thinking. Now that the problem was personal… It was as if Adrien was still the nervously stumbling Cat Walker Ladybug found at the Notre-Dame.

She recalled seeing Adrien's catastrophizing on the day they first met. It had been because Adrien was worried his fans would ask questions if he and Marinette were seen together and word would reach…

Gabriel Agreste stood at the back of the atelier, looking up at the gorgeous painting of Adrien's mother with what Marinette could only perceive to be longing. From what Adrien told her though, she wasn't sure if the desire to have the woman back was anything other than the selfish need to hurt someone Gabriel believed wouldn't fight back.

Someone unlike Adrien.

Someone like Émilie Agreste.

Marinette could only imagine the pain the woman had gone through before her untimely passing. Not only from a strange illness, but… by the one she trusted to love and protect her.

Perhaps Marinette was exceedingly lucky to have such adoring parents who supported her fairly and with all the care in the world.

"I suppose I am expected to apologize somewhat for my actions these past few days," Gabriel spoke up, shattering the thickened silence and tension in the room. "You must understand, Adrien. Your mother was a shining beacon of light in an otherwise gloomy world. Without her, I would have nothing, be nothing, and you never would have been born." The man ran a gentle hand along the ridges of the frame, then turned to the couple. After a quiet second to purse his lips and glare at Marinette, Gabriel straightened, keeping all of his attention solely on Adrien. "The anniversary of your mother's death draws near and I have felt only melancholy ever since I realized that fact."

Adrien's fingers tightened like a vice around Marinette's hand and a swarm of prickling negativity lingered in the pit of her stomach as if she'd eaten a bowl full of sewing needles.

"I understood that I must have taken out my pain on you. Seeing you de-transform from Cat Walker after our battle made that all the more evident to me. In my moment of pride and weakness, I never considered your feelings." He stepped closer, only enough to be near arms-length of Adrien. "Very little remains in this house of your mother's things. I kept the few precious mementos of our time spent together in the hidden safe. The only other thing we shared… was you, Adrien."

In that moment, Marinette felt a war happening inside her mind. Half of it wished she wasn't here to listen to this discussion she very clearly intruded on. The other wanted to punch Gabriel Agreste for intending to manipulate her boyfriend like this.

Thankfully, from the way Adrien's grip relaxed into a comforting squeeze, she could tell his father's words weren't working any sort of magic on his heartstrings.

"You were your mother's perfect little miracle. After so many failed attempts… She was so overjoyed when you were finally born. She was better fit to be a parent than I ever could be," Gabriel reminisced aloud, wistful. Then he sighed. "I must admit that perhaps you inherited your stubborn rebelliousness from me more than her. We both disliked our parents for different reasons, but she still kept in touch with her side of the family. I, on the other hand, disowned mine the moment I could."

Marinette sensed the consideration and curiosity emanating from Adrien, though she couldn't see it at all in his steeled expression.

"What I'm saying is, I'll not be asking much of you, Adrien. I know I've failed you. Our relationship will never be like yours with your mother. As much as I disapprove of your antics, they were bound to happen whether I had any control of you or not. You are inquisitive of the world around you, just as I was at your age." Gabriel paused, glancing back to Marinette. "And you clearly have grown attached to Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. I'm certain, no matter how much I may argue against this relationship, you two will find each other. It's a fruitless endeavor of a fight I've experienced firsthand myself.

"I have already spoken with Damoclès about fully restoring your freedom to return to school. A certain Bourgeois has made it quite clear my efforts on stifling that end were doomed from the start." He allowed Adrien and Marinette to share a knowing look and snicker between each other. "Yes. I will also be lowering the amount of photoshoots you will have to do throughout the months. Though your grades haven't slipped in the slightest despite them often conflicting with your schoolwork, I presumed you would prefer more time for social activities with your friends or personal privacy in your room."

Adrien gasped. Though his moment of astonishment was smothered by Gabriel's resigned expression not long after.

The man hummed. "However, there are conditions included with these changes. Your bodyguard must be present at these outings with your friends. I will not be allowing uncouth strangers to come near you without him or Nathalie present. Secondly, should I hear from anyone outside of tabloids of misbehavior or unsavory activities, I will be grounding you until you have properly understood your mistakes. Just because I'm allowing you more freedom, doesn't mean general rules don't apply to you." At Adrien's small nod, Gabriel continued, "And finally, of your relationship with Mlle. Dupain-Cheng…"

Oh, boy. Would this be the second talk she's heard in her lifetime?

"I-I-I've already agreed to her parents' terms, Père. Treat her well, respect each other's boundaries, find compromises rather than victories in arguments, don't do anything inappropriate until we're older, have her back home before dinner, the whole deal," Adrien promised, holding his free hand up in surrender as a blush painted his cheeks red.

Gabriel seemed to consider Adrien's words, relaxing somewhat, but still adding, "I shall ask for a limiting of public displays of affection be included. There are fans of yours that view you as obtainable, Adrien. That attainability is what draws them to you and, by extension, the Gabriel brand."

"I mean, I don't mind being a fan stand-in, if that's what it takes to be with Adrien," Marinette joked, earning a laugh from Adrien.

"It's either they hate you for what you have or want to be you is what you're offering?" Adrien questioned her in his mirth.

"No matter what, you're stuck with me, so I don't see why that's an issue for us, mon amour." She leaned against his shoulder, smirking at his flustered expression.

"I believe," Gabriel spoke up, interrupting their banter with a clearing of the throat, "my choice of the word 'limiting' implies enough that I'm allowing such displays. Simply keep them from becoming too excessive and I hold no complaints." He spun on his heel, moving toward the large monitor nearby. "You may leave now. I have designs due for the winter season and I require silence."

This was Marinette's chance!

Before her boyfriend could stutter out a "thanks," she cut him off with a "wait!"

Both of them turned to her so fast, she almost hesitated. But she couldn't let it stop her. Things were already improving so much.

"I… actually have something of yours, monsieur," Marinette admitted. She let Adrien go, walked over to his father, and pulled out a pair of familiar objects from her backpack. "After all of the chaos with the new student in our class, it took me some time to find this book and clean it off as much of the damage as it withstood being in the trash for I'm unsure how long." She handed the Grimoire first to Gabriel, keeping the brooch close to her chest for a moment as she gulped.

"And--" she tried, only to pause again and glance to Adrien with an apologetic frown before turning back to Gabriel. "I'll be honest to both of you, when Adrien told me you'd lost a brooch as well, I went looking through Adrien's bags while he stayed with me. I thought that he was telling the truth and hadn't stolen more than the book. Then I found the brooch buried at the bottom of his satchel, broken. I-I panicked and took it, trying to fix it too. But no matter what I did, it wouldn't seal right and I… I'm sorry." She handed the Peacock brooch over, ashamed, and hugged herself. "Wh-When you started talking about special things your wife had that you hid in a safe, I didn't think you meant these at first, but…" She shut her mouth, then her eyes.

"Marinette…" Adrien murmured, sounding shocked.

"Perhaps I misjudged you," said Gabriel.

Marinette opened her eyes, then blinked owlishly at the man, hoping he'd elaborate.

"Between designs like that derby hat and those glasses you made for Jagged Stone, you're quite a talented girl, I will admit. But to be able to fix my son's mistakes so effortlessly?" Gabriel walked over to the painting of Adrien's mother, pulling it off a hidden hinge and revealing the safe inside. He inputted a set of numbers so fast that Marinette couldn't even register what the code was, then opened the safe and placed the book next to one on Tibet, while the brooch was set against a framed photo of Adrien's mother. As quickly as Gabriel showed off the hidden contents did he hide them, spinning back on his heel and nodding his head towards her. "Quite impressive, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. I thank you for returning them to me."

"No problem," she said with a relieved smile, then turned, grabbing her boyfriend and dragging him out of the atelier and towards his room with a delighted giggle. She closed the bedroom door and collapsed onto Adrien's bed, a wave of contentedness crashing into her as she found comfort there.

"Wh… Marinette, what did you…?" Adrien appeared at a genuine loss for words, wide-eyed to the point of mortification.

She sat up, patting the space next to her and motioning for him to sit. Once he slowly obliged, she whispered into his ear, "They're fakes."

"Huh? But… But they were--" He stopped himself from speaking, biting his tongue as she shook her head.

"I've been working on them since you asked to stay over at my place," she revealed quietly, pulling out her phone to show off the few progress shots she took to compare the originals with the recreations. "The Grimoire was the more difficult of the two, since I've not done book binding before. It took a few tries and a lot of paper. Master Fu let me borrow Duusu's Miraculous and take photos of the Grimoire's pages, then I edited the text from the pictures to make it even more indecipherable before printing them out. I spent basically all night yesterday after school working on it."

"Mon amour, did you even sleep last night?" he questioned in concern.

She shrugged. "Three… Maybe four hours?"

"Working?"

"Sleeping."

Adrien let out a soft whine. "And the brooch?"

"Clay was the original base, but then I borrowed a pair of pliers and bent some old jewelry I don't wear anymore and mixed the two. Getting the cracks to line up between them took the most time, but I think I matched them up enough that your dad won't notice." Marinette dug into her backpack for the original Peacock Miraculous, presenting it proudly towards Adrien. "Not until he tries summoning Duusu anyway."

The duo waited a beat, expecting Duusu to appear like their kwami did.

"Um… Tikki, is this… normal for kwami with broken Miraculous?" she nervously asked her kwami.

Tikki gave no reply, merely looking to Marinette with as careful a smile as she could muster.

"No. Sugarcube won't say it, but I will. No." Plagg picked up the brooch, shaking it a bit. "It's a great copy though. I can see why you mistook it for the real thing."

Slapping hands over her mouth, Marinette only barely stifled her whimpers, then spread her fingers and palms across her face to cover her shame.

Arms wrapped around her, bringing her in for the most comforting hug Adrien could give. "It's okay. We-- It's not the end of the world." He rubbed a shoulder to ease her worries. "Tikki, Plagg, can't you go to the safe and try stealing Duusu out of there?"

"Just because we can phase through solid objects doesn't mean our Miraculous can, kid," Plagg pointed out bluntly, only worsening the blow to Marinette's already dwindling pride even more.

"I hate to agree with Plagg about such a thing, but he's right. We'd only be able to free Duusu if we have easy access to the safe," Tikki added.

"Considering Adrien's old man has a camera pointed to the safe at all times… If we try moving things around, even if we're not visible--"

"-- he'd suspect either one of you of having a kwami and, therefore, a Miraculous. It's too dangerous. Oh, I'm so sorry, Marinette."

She could feel her kwami's gentle touch against her shoulder, but Marinette refused to reappear from within Adrien's hold. Not ever after the overwhelmingly stupid mistake she made.

Why didn't she just leave Duusu's Miraculous at home? Did she forget who she was? Of course clumsy, dumb Marinette would make such an awful blunder! She had the worst luck in the world, despite being Ladybug! One would think that after living with herself this way for so long, she'd learn to take precautions like stopping and thinking to take out the real Miraculous and setting it on her desk so she could remember to return it in the afternoon, but no! Once a moron, always a dumb-dumb idiot loser!

"It's not the end of the world, Marinette," Adrien repeated, forcing her out of her self-depreciating thoughts. "I promise we'll figure out a way to save Duusu soon." He paused, seeming to deliberate on that thought. "Eventually. Somehow." He shook his head lightly, as if flinging away that defeatist mindset. "But we will free them, no matter what. Just like we'll save Nooroo once we defeat Hawkmoth."

"Master Fu will be livid with me when he finds out," she remembered aloud. The concern from the Guardian when she requested both objects was enough to strike nervousness into her core. But she insisted she could be trusted and Tikki assured him of the same.

That evidently turned out not to be the case.

"Then let him blame me. I'll take the fall," Adrien suggested without thinking. "I don't care what Fu thinks of me. It already seems like I've given him a bad first impression. I'm not letting his trust in you be ruined after you did something amazing for me."

Marinette hummed with entirely too much worry. That wasn't fair to him, she wanted to say. It wasn't Adrien's fault she was a massive klutz. Why should he be punished for her mistakes?

"I love you, Marinette. You don't deserve to be hated for this," he told her, as if reading her thoughts. "Plus I want to make it up to you for nearly getting hurt during last night's fight. And your parents too. You were targeted because I told Père we're dating and it upset him."

"I thought the whole 'fighting as Cat Walker' bit was enough," she said, poking her head out from within his hold, her worries easing some at his grin.

"No. That was my punishment for wanting to beat up my dad. That's different," he declared, puffing up his chest and holding his head high.

She couldn't help the fit of giggles that escaped her at his goofy expression. "If you say so, kitty."

Her phone chimed with a new text message. As Alya moved to grab it, she glared at the moderation logs, seeing the absolute mess in the Ladyblog forums that Marinette did as much as she apparently could in the wee hours of the morning to quell.

One, what was Marinette thinking, waking up that early or, more likely, staying up that late?

And two, why were these banned accounts so insistent on Lila being genuine? Were some of them Lila herself? Contrarians? People duped by more of Lila's grand and impossible stories? Trolls?

Whatever they were, they were annoying. Alya wanted to thank her BFF for being so diligent and patient, but also berate her for not sleeping at proper hours. It's no wonder Marinette was barely on time for school or outings with the rest of them.

Then Alya saw the text.

"Miss me?"

Alya grabbed the notebook she stored the Long-Tailed Rabbit's note in, finding the one she wrote the phone number on with it. Sure enough, it was the same as the one that texted her.

"Let me tell you, all these pigeons really trigger a bug in my system. You should probably look into it, if you want answers."

"What?" she murmured to herself, glancing up from her phone to the Ladyblog. She stared at the logs, not really reading them, then an answer came to her. Clicking through to the past livestreams, Alya found the one with M. Pigeon's return.

She skipped through the archived footage until she found the point where the feed glitched because of the Rabbit. As her eyes combed through the chat replay, filled with that same message over and over from hundreds of different accounts, something caught her attention.

Just as the stream returned to normalcy, regular Ladybloggers taking back the chat from the madness and wondering with each other and past Alya as to what happened then, a single account stood out from the rest.

"What does a faux-fox do when they're outmatched by a true fox? Hide where none can find it until it has recovered its wit and reframed its merits."

Translation: Lila would return.

Great.

As much as Alya wanted nothing more than to believe Lila Rossi was an evil defeated like any akuma that came before her, it was obvious such a thing could never be the case. Though Alya wasn't quite sure who the 'true fox' was in this case, besides maybe Ladybug or Chat Noir, she understood then that villains like Lila were the type who wouldn't back down easily. Much like Hawkmoth, Lila needed a proper, thorough beat down to be solidly defeated. And, like with Hawkmoth, Alya was now curious as to who exactly Lila Rossi was.

Were there any truths to Lila's myriad of lies? How deep did those lies go? Was her name Lila Rossi in the first place or was that simply an alias?

Another notification ding, and Alya knew her line of thinking was on the right track.

"Are you ready to fall down a rabbit hole, Alya?"

Cracking her knuckles, Alya opened up a new tab and went to work.