15. The Bodyguard Arc Part ll

2 Years Ago

For years, Chat Noir’s house had been just that. A house.

Not a home, but a cold, dark place, vacant of any life or love.

He’d always thought it was the absence of his mother that had caused such an emotional black hole where love had once been. This was only part of the reason however. Finally he understood why , in all its terrible truth.

Chat Noir stood in the hallway, glaring at the man in front of him...the source of all his anger, his rage, his pain. The reason he was a superhero to begin with, why he was so lonely, why he’d spent his whole life isolated and socially awkward.

His father.

Hawkmoth.

It was difficult to fathom the depths of betrayal Chat felt, how physically sick he was over the revelation. How what should have been the final battle had turned to a whole new set of horrors as Ladybug and Chat Noir had faced down Hawkmoth head-on for the first time, to take his miraculous away…

Only to see the eyes of his father reflected back at him the second Hawkmoth’s power was stripped away.

So. Hawkmoth was his father. His mother was still alive and being held prisoner by a deranged, disgraced former hero, who wanted their the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous’ for himself.

It was almost laughable, how adapted Chat had become to feeling like a chess piece most of his life. A pawn for his father to move about however he saw fit. But this was another level. Chat Noir, being Chat Noir, had been freedom. The kind of freedom he’d never even dared dream of before.

But it was tainted now. Tainted by yet another one of his father’s schemes for power. Only instead of business power, it was power of a much more sinister kind.

Could he trust anyone anymore?

Had Fu known he was pitting father against son?

And what would Ladybug think? Her own partner, the son of their mortal enemy.

Somewhere knotted deep inside him, underneath all the layer of rage and hurt, was fear. Fear for his mother. Fear of Ladybug finding out about him. The guilt. The shame…

She could never know. God. She could NEVER know.

Collecting himself before he had a full on mental breakdown, he pulled his shoulders back and marched over to Hawkmoth until he was almost nose to him.

“You know, Ladybug and I disagree on a few things. She thinks you could help us take down Puppetmaster. I on the other hand think we should throw you straight into prison like the vile snake you are. However I can’t deny that you know more about all of this than we do. Even so-”

He grabbed Hawkmoth by the collar, fingernails digging in, and lifted him up just enough for it to be uncomfortable. The blank expression Hawkmoth wore only served to anger him further. How many times has his father, the man standing before him, looked at him that way as he dismissed every emotional need Adrien had ever had?

He hated him. He hated him so, so much.

“- If you so much as go within a meter of Ladybug, if you look at her wrong, if I get even a slight indication that you change your mind in helping us in this ill-advised team-up, no Miraculous Cure will ever save you from what I will do to you. That is a promise.”

Hawkmoth arched an eyebrow at him. “I will bear that in mind,” he replied flatly. “But rest assured, all that matters to me is getting my wife back. No matter what the consequences.”

Even if it costs you your son whilst you’re at it, Chat had to stop himself from saying.

He released Hawkmoth from his grip, pushing him away with a growl.

“You disgust me,” he spat.

Chat Noir turned his back on his father and mortal enemy, storming out of the front doors and out towards the gates, where Ladybug was waiting for him.

Present Day

Ladybug stood at the gates to the Agreste manor, nostalgia washing all over her.

She hadn’t been there in years, but the times she had… the memories were so strong, so emotional, they were etched into her brain with permanent ink. She couldn’t remove them if she tried, nor did she want to.

It was here where the final battle had begun after all.

Ladybug shook her head, trying to rattle the memories back into a treasure chest in the corner of her brain. At least for now. She needed to focus on the present- on more pressing matters.

Glancing around nervously, she was relieved that her previous inspection was correct. No reporters were hanging around. She heaved a relieved sigh. They’d been absolutely obsessed with Adrien Agreste’s “secret flame.” Most of them had camped out at Adrien’s apartment, unaware that he was no longer there. Nino had texted her earlier mentioning something about Nathaniel and his boyfriend stealing paparazzi cameras and running away with them when they showed up at the campus looking for both of them.

She tried not to laugh at the image, having not been in the mood to find it funny earlier.

Then, predictably, the reason why she’d not been in the mood crept up in her mind. Looking around again, she wondered if Chat would be here too, if Emilie had asked for his help also.

She wasn’t ready to see him, too hurt and confused. The wound was too fresh.

What would she even say? Could she carry on with her confession, knowing how tainted it was with unnecessary drama and pain?

Much like her previous memories, she forced the fears of Chat Noir’s abandonment away for the time being. This was too important to be distracted. No matter how she was feeling inside, she had a job to do.

So she lifted her chin, marched forwards, and pressed the intercom to the manor.

“Who is it?” a curt, static voice buzzed out of the speaker as a camera popped out of the side of one of the walls, pointed directly at her fact.

Was it possible for security cameras to glare? Because this one seemed to be doing exactly that.

“Oh, umm, yes, hello!” Ladybug stumbled through a greeting, put off by the large, red eye of the camera and the abrasive tone of the static voice. “I’m here to see Emilie Agreste?”

“Uh-huh, sure you are kiddo,” the static voice sighed, moving from an aggressive manner to a more dismissive and patronising one. Ladybug bristled. “Listen I don’t know what you weirdo reporters are up to this time, but you’re not getting past these gates.”

“Excuse me,” a voice piped up from behind her, “But is that ugly little security camera broken? Do you not know who you’re talking to?”

When Ladybug turned around, she came face-to-face with a beautiful blonde. At first, Marinette wondered if she was a model friend of Adrien’s, as she was dressed head-to-toe in designer clothes. Dior trousers, a Gucci top from the spring line-up, and the latest Marc Jacobs bag every socialite was going crazy for. She raised her Chanel sunglasses to rest them on top of her soft, golden hair and shot the security camera a scathing glare. On first look, it might have been easy to confuse her for some ultra glamorous angel.

But angels didn’t look like they’d step on you with their Manolo Blahnik’s if you made them wait more than 3 minutes for the Cosmo they ordered.

“M-Miss Bourgeois!” the security person stammered.

“I’ll handle this,” the girl, who Ladybug now recognised as Chloe Bourgeois- the socialite with the famous fashion designer mother, declared. She crossed her arms across her chest. “I’m here to see my dearest Adrien, and are you telling me that you don’t recognise the other Lady whom you’re speaking to?”

“I’m sorry Miss Bourgeois,” the security person replied. “I’m not supposed to let anyone in today.”

“Excuse me,” she replied acidly, “It’s bad enough that you’re even daring to think of denying me, Adrien’s oldest friend, from visiting him. But to actually insinuate that you are going to turn the hero of Paris away?! Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! Give me your managers number right this instant! Good luck ever finding work again.”

It was at that point the gates began to open. Ladybug gawked as the security guard continued to stammer out apologies and pleas for Miss Bourgeois to not get him fired.

Chloe ignored him. Flipping her long, softly waved hair over her shoulder she linked arms with Ladybug and said, “Come on, let’s go.”

They wandered down the pathway leading to the entrance of the manor, Ladybug still reeling from the show of verbal dissection she’d just witnessed. She supposed, entering the fashion industry, she ought to get used to it.

“I am so, so, sorry about that,” Chloe apologised, her voice dripping in honey. “I cannot believe the nerve of some people! To even think about not worshipping the ground you walk on instantly. Disgusting. You’re our hero.”

Ladybug blushed. “I really don’t want people to worship the ground I walk on.”

Chloe stopped. Spinning around so she was now facing Ladybug, her back to the steps of the manor, she fixed her with an incredulous stare. “Why ever not?! You’re a hero! People should worship you. If I was a hero, I’d let everyone know about it.”

Ladybug found herself rather glad that Chloe wasn’t, in fact, a hero. She was about to say something inspiring and typically-Tikki-ish (“a hero’s work is its own reward Marinette!” “Just saving the day is good enough Marinette!”) which she also agreed with, but was caught off guard by Chloe’s arm slinking around her shoulders.

“Anyways, you simply have to take a selfie with me. Two Queens meeting like this? The internet will break. They can’t handle all this beauty,” she winked, then chuckled, and Ladybug was having a tough time figuring out if Chloe was being serious or not. Before she had a chance to really analyse it, however, Chloe was already pulling out her phone. “Plus it’ll really stick it to Winifred, bitch thinks she can go to Monte Carlo without me knowing it. This’ll show her what she’s missing out on.”

“Who- who is Winifred?” Ladybug blinked, as Chloe took a snap.

“My ex-girlfriend. Total cow, utter  loser, can’t stand her,” she explained, checking the selfie she’d just taken and nodding in approval. Ladybug had never met anyone in costume, in or out, who was happy with the first selfie take. This girl was terrifying. “OH EM GEE. I just thought of the best idea!” her eyes seemed to sparkle, somehow innocently and evilly, a perfect complement to the soft smokey eyeshadow coupled with eyeliner wings sharp enough to kill a man. “We should totally pretend to be dating. That would really piss off Winifred, the stupid sow.”

Ladybug stepped out from under Chloe’s arm and began backing up the stairs, waving her hands. “As much as I’d- err- love to stick it to your ex-girlfriend, I can’t talk about my loved ones in public. They could become a target for villains and I could never live with myself if you got hurt.”

That was the official reason, which was only the half-truth. The main reason was Ladybug had had enough accidental fake relationships to last a lifetime, even if that particular fake relationship was less than a day old.

At first, Ladybug was worried Chloe would throw a strop at her akin to the one she’d given the security guard previously. There was a brief flash of something in her eyes, but it was too quick for Ladybug to focus on. She then sighed, looking more vulnerable than she had so far. “See? This is why you’re meant to be the hero of Paris,” Chloe looked up at her with admiration. She tucked a strand of her behind her ear and Ladybug found this Chloe a lot more likeable. She wondered if all of the posturing and huffiness was just a mask. “You think of things like that instantly. Most of us would have to be taught. It comes naturally to you.”

Ladybug couldn’t help it. She blushed again.

“But can I at least keep the selfie? Like I said, Winifred would die ,” Chloe added, all traces of that vulnerability gone.

Ladybug chuckled. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to delete that for now, as I’m here on secret business,” she tapped her nose. “But I tell you what, you show me proof you’re deleting our selfie now and I’ll take 5 with you once what I’m here for clears up. And that’s a Ladybug promise.”

Chloe squeaked, actually squeaked, and threw her arms around her before scrambling to show Ladybug the photo. She watched at it was deleted, and heaved a sigh of relief. No more incriminating photos being leaked for the time being. Thank goodness. “Yay! Ok look- look see? Deleting it! Ooooh I can’t wait, I’m going to make it the best mini photoshoot you’ll see! We can even wear matching outfits. I could get a new suit to match yours, which I love by the way. So much better than the pyjama-type thing you wore when you were first starting out!”

Whilst Ladybug was contemplating exactly what she’d gotten herself in for, the door opened and a nervous servant popped out. “Were you waiting to see Madame Agreste?”

Chloe looked at her with a raised eyebrow. If Ladybug didn’t know any better, she’d say Chloe was worried. “You’re seeing Emilie? Why? Is there something wrong with her? The creep who took her isn’t back is he?”

“No,” Ladybug replied as they walked inside, insides flaring with anger at the mere mention of that person. “No, he won’t ever be bothering this family again.”

The cavernous entrance hall was almost exactly as she remembered it, but something was different. It wasn’t the artwork, that had mostly stayed the same aside from the family portrait hanging above the stairs. No, it wasn’t anything tangible. It was a feeling. The Agreste Manor had felt so cold, so empty and lifeless the last time she’d been there. It was the opposite now, as though the presence of Emile Agreste had brought all of the good things, all of the life, back into the house. In her return, she had transformed it into a home once more.

And she was currently standing at the top of the staircase, looking straight at Ladybug.

It never failed to amaze her, how graceful and elegant Emilie Agreste was. Wearing a softly flowing summer dress, adorned with her husband’s jewellery, she glided down the stairs with a soft smile, fingers gently brushing against the bannister.

Until, at least, she reached the bottom of the stairs and hastened over to Ladybug with open arms. Gently pulling her into a motherly embrace, she whispered, “Oh I’m so glad you came,” and Ladybug couldn’t help but pick up on the relief and slight fear in her voice.

Once she pulled away, she noticed Chloe and brightened, “Chloe darling, what brings you here?”

“I’m here to see your son,” Chloe replied, waving her phone up and down, “he hasn’t been responding to my messages, which is unlike him. So, I thought I’d grace him with my presence seeing as he’s definitely not at his apartment. Have you seen the vultures clinging around outside his building? Ridiculous!”

Emilie nodded. “Of course,” she replied gesturing upstairs. “He’s in his room. Be warned, dear, he’s in a rather… delicate mood these days.”

Chloe scoffed, already halfway up the stairs, “When is he ever not?” she clicked her tongue before waving back to Ladybug. “Ciao, ciao, Ladybug! I won’t forget those selfies!”

“I wouldn’t expect you to!” Ladybug called back with a wave.

Then Emilie and Ladybug were left alone.

Emilie guided Ladybug towards the dining area, closing the door behind her. “We won’t be disturbed in here. Please,” she said and gestured to one of the chairs. There were about fourteen of them. Ladybug wasn’t sure which one to pick. Once again, she wondered if the Agreste’s had any normal sized room, any place in the house that wasn’t equipped to hold a crazy important business dinner or a fancy charity gala.

She settled into the chair closest to her, at the edge of the table, and Emile came to sit perpendicular to her, at the head of the table. She then took her hand, holding it the way a some might do to a sick relative. “How are you, Marinette?”

Ladybug blinked, not used to people calling her by her civilian name whilst she was suited up. It took her a quick second to realise what Emilie was referring to, and her free hand instantly went to her side. “Oh, I’m fine.”

“Your wound hasn’t been bothering you, has it?” she asked, squeezing her hand tighter.

“No not at all,” Ladybug replied, “the healing sessions with Master Fu really helped. You can hardly see the scar anymore. It kind of looks like a birthmark. It hasn’t hurt in years. Promise!”

Emilie nodded and the tiny crease in her brow faded. She placed her fingers on her neck, so similar to Adrien’s mannerism that Ladybug was almost blown away by it. “I must confess, I do feel awful about having to ask for your help, especially after everything you’ve done for my family. But I felt as though Gabriel and I had nobody else we could trust and whom we could contact so immediately. I do hope you’ll understand?”

Ladybug nodded. She understood Emilie’s concern, and would have reacted exactly the same in her situation.  The whole reason Ladybug was here in the first place, was Gabriel Agreste’s reaction to his wife being held to ransom.

Many years before Ladybug and Chat Noir, another band of heroes existed, saving the day not only in Paris, but the whole of Europe. Gabriel and Emilie were part of that group, the wielders of the bee and the peacock respectively. Everything was well, and a long era of peace reigned in Paris, enough that most of the heroes decided to retire. They returned their miraculous, and led normal lives. Gabriel and Emilie got married and had a child. All was well…

Or so they thought.

You see, one wielder, a teammate by the name of Isaiah Slade, hadn’t enjoyed giving up his miraculous. He wanted it back. In fact, he wanted them all and was determined to do anything in his power to get them.

It was three days after Adrien’s fifth birthday when Emilie and Gabriel discovered one of their teammates and his wife had been murdered in cold blood, found dead in their apartment, their whole place ransacked. The police chalked it up to a robbery gone wrong. But the remaining heroes worried that something far more sinister was going on.

They decided that day, to ensure that Adrien was always protected, to give him the finest home schooling their rapidly growing money could buy. At that point, they didn’t know what enemy might have been wreaking revenge. They didn’t know it was a former friend. A friend who had attended Adrien’s aforementioned birthday party, had brought him a teddy bear and given him piggy back rides.

Years went on and it would be both Emilie and Gabriel’s biggest regret, to not realise how far Isaiah had fallen. They rarely saw him, and one by one, their friends vanished. This didn’t concern them, for the murder of their teammate had had them all rattled one way or another. This was an oversight they would also come to regret. But there was still peace in Paris, and nothing bad had happened.

Until one day, four years ago, when Isaiah turned up at the Agreste Manor. His black hair was matted like a stray dog and his eyes were wild. He twitched when spoken to. Nobody else was home.

Except Emilie.

He begged her to help him find Master Fu, so they could take all of the miraculous from him, trying to tempt her with seeing Duusuu, her beloved kwami, once more. Seeing how unhinged he’d become, she outright refused, tried to get him the help he sorely needed. But this was not the answer Isaiah was hoping for and so, in one last desperate attempt to win power, he picked up a vase and cracked it over Emilie’s head. Piling her into her own car, he snuck out of the secure manor, the blood from her would staining the back seat.

Later that day, Adrien returned to an empty house, shards of vase, and his mothers blood splattered on the floor.

This was how Gabriel Agreste became Hawkmoth. In his desperate search for his wife, Isaiah (who had renamed himself “The Puppetmaster”) sent Gabriel cryptic messages, threatening his wife’s safety unless he got him all of the Miraculous. He revealed that he had been the one to kill their former teammates, as they had borrowed their miraculous to take care of a recent flood. He had the fox miraculous, and so he could hide anywhere and Gabriel would never know.

In retaliation, Gabriel spent all his time and effort tracking down the famous lost Miraculous, the butterfly miraculous, and sought the power of his own in order to find Isaiah and get his wife back.

This all came to a head two years previously. They had reluctantly settled on a brief truce with him in order to save Emilie Agreste and put a stop the Puppetmaster’s evil plans of accruing all the miraculous.

That was when Ladybug, having rescued Emilie and severely depleted of energy, was hunt down and shot by Isaiah as she hid away, de-transforming. Tikki had had to push herself to her absolute limit in order to transform Marinette once more and protect her identity. They both spent months recovering after what Paris came to know as the day of Hawkmoth’s defeat.

So Marinette could understand why threatening letters, in particular, would make Gabriel and Emilie worry so much.

“So what kind of help do you need Ma’am?” Ladybug asked.

“ADRIKINS!”

Adrien flopped up from his sofa with an unholy screech and sent Plagg, who had been snoozing on his chest, flying halfway across the room. Plagg let out a hiss before rubbing his eyes. “What the-?”

Chloe strode into the room, placing her hand on her hip. “Are you just now getting up? Has it finally happened? Are you going through your Ibiza phase?”

Adrien rubbed his eyes, trying to get a bearing on what happened and why Chloe was suddenly in his room. Also why was he in his room?! Why wasn’t he back at his apart-

Oh. The death threats. Yeah.

“I’m not going through an Ibiza phase, Chlo’,” Adrien mumbled, referring to the notorious party island and Chloe’s brief stint as a wild party girl. Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet. His body felt twice as heavy, burdened with tiredness and stress. “You handled that enough for the both of us.”

Chloe chuckled, before walking to his desk chair and crossing her legs. “You’re correct there, but those days are far, far behind me,” she waved her hand out before checking her nails, heaving a faux sigh. “And now I wake up early, traipsing all across Paris to find out the wellbeing of my dear childhood friend.”

“Is Winifred not in town then?” Adrien grinned, teasing.

Chloe spluttered, completely taken out of her saintly act, “I beg your pardon, but I would come and check on you even if she was here. Which she isn’t, clearly.”

“Are you two fighting again?” Adrien frowned. “Seriously Chloe, your relationship with that girl isn’t healthy.”

“Oh. I see. Hmm. Interesting,” Chloe replied checking her fingernails once more, only this time in a way which suggested Adrien was about to be scalped by them. “The thing is, I know whatever I have with Winifred isn’t healthy. It’s toxic and dramatic AF, but I love it like that. I’m not ready to settle into an actual relationship, so it’s exciting. I don’t go around pretending our relationship is healthy. And nor do I sleep with a lovely girl for six months as my alter ego, and then claim to be dating her as my civilian self.”

Adrien gulped. God, why hadn’t he locked his bedroom door when he was younger? If he had Chloe would never have walked in on him mid-transformation and he would never have to have been held accountable for his actions. Damn it.

“So perhaps you might refrain from judgements on my love life, hmm, Monsieur Noir?”

At this point, Plagg flew towards Chloe cackling. “Ha! She told you, did she?”

He landed on Chloe’s lap and, as was usual whenever the two of them got together, Adrien ended up feeling outnumbered. But in a fun way. Except this time the subject matter wasn’t amusing in the slightest. Adrien groaned and slumped onto the edge of the sofa, facing Chloe and Plagg. “I messed up so bad.”

“Oh really?” Chloe replied dryly, “I hadn’t noticed,” she leaned back with a stretched grin. “So tell me all about it.”

“You could look less pleased about it,” Adrien admonished.

“But you always told me lying was wrong,” Chloe shot right back. “And I did warn you that sleeping with this Marinette person as your superhero self, even though you know her as a civilian, was going to come back to bite you. I am fully entitled to be pleased that I am- once again- right about everything.”

“I just wanted this rude jerk I work with to stop harassing her, that’s all!” Adrien huffed. “I didn’t mean for all of this to happen! Now everyone thinks we’re secretly dating and I couldn’t even see her last night and the stupid police took my phone so I can’t even talk to her as me!”

“Well… I mean they aren’t wrong I suppose,” Plagg replied. “You are secretly dating. Except not in the way everyone thinks.”

Adrien stared out the window, worrying at his lip and ignoring Chloe’s protest that he was going to make them chapped if he carried on. “I’m worried. About her. If she’s ok, if she’s overwhelmed by reporters looking for stories? The most Nathalie was able to find out was that the bakery is closed today. But I haven’t heard anything about her . What if she hates me now because of all of this? Ugh! I can’t believe the police took my phone. Why didn’t I memorise her number? Then I could’ve used to old landline…”

“All I can say is, I hope you’ve been very good to her in the boudoir,” Chloe added. “Else she’ll be furious when she finds out the truth. I know that I’m more willing to forgive someone if they’re masterful in that sense. Why do you think I still allow Winifred in my life after the champagne bucket fiasco? But then, I’m a lady and I won’t divulge my secrets.”

Adrien looked around his old bedroom, lamenting that he hadn’t changed it much since his teenage years. It could have really done with having a whiskey bar.

“But in all seriousness,” Chloe sighed, the teasing faded from her countenance and she sat forward. Plagg moved to sit on her shoulder instead. “Adrien, you aren’t like me. You’ve never been like me when it comes to relationships. Where I actually enjoy being young and dramatic and free for now, you’ve always wanted to tie your heart to someone and make a life with them. You’ve always been about- ugh- family. So, what are you doing playing pretend when you could have this girl for real?”

“I’ve tried talking to him about this tons of times, and he just won’t have it!” Plagg cried, shooting an accusing paw in Adrien’s direction. “He’s convinced she’ll never speak to him again if he says the truth.”

“Well it’s true! I’ve lied to her for so long, and any time I’ve tried to tell the truth, something has gotten in the way or I’ve ended up losing my nerve,” Adrien lamented. He stood up, running his hand through his hair. “I’m in way too deep. I feel like- I don’t know- she’s my oxygen. With her, I feel so… free. I can breathe, but I also can’t think around her. I lose all reason. It’s dumb and stupid but I’m hooked on it- the feeling of being loved by someone. It’s selfish, but I love loving her, and more than just physically ”- he added, cutting off Chloe as she opened her mouth- “I love being with her, laughing with her, talking about my day and hearing about her. I love her little laugh and her hair ribbons, and I love the way she plays with those ribbons when she’s nervous. The idea of confessing my lie, the risk of losing that, it’s overwhelming.”

“But it’s only a fraction of what you could have, if you let go of those fears,” Chloe pointed out. “Honestly, you should stop being a coward and go for it. Stop dwelling on all the ways it could go wrong and dive in head first. If it works, well that’s wonderful, and you’ll get your little house with the children and marriage- all those awful things. If it doesn’t work? Well, it wasn’t meant to be, and you’ll learn your lesson and grow from it. You think I got with Selena by acting shy?! No. If you want love, you need to be bold about it.”

“Pop stars aside, I’m not as resilient as you, Chloe. It’s not a fling to me. I really love her, you know?” Adrien sighed, leaning forwards and staring at the floor. “The idea of Marinette hating me? I can’t take it.”

“Well then you shouldn’t have lied in the first place? Or fallen in love? I don’t know what you want, ugh! You’re being too mopey,” Chloe folded her arms. “Plagg, he’s being too mopey.”

“Stop being mopey, kid,” Plagg said, with all the dullness of a 90’s skater boy.

“I’m not being mopey,” Adrien replied, marching over to the desk where Chloe was sitting and taking a swig of a bottle of water.

“You are so,” Chloe argued, leaning back with a raised eyebrow. “And nor are you looking at the bigger picture. Think about this. If it doesn’t work out with Marinette, you could date Ladybug instead.”

Adrien spat out his water, spraying it all over Chloe, who fled from the chair and shrieked “Adrien! This is GUCCI.”

“You want me to WHAT?!” Adrien spluttered, heat rising to his face. “I don’t have- Ladybug she’s just a fri- I can’t date- I’m in love with Marinette .”

Plagg and Chloe shared a look, which simultaneously made Adrien both baffled and infuriated. It appeared as though they were both in on something and weren’t willing to divulge anything to him to him, regarding his own feelings.

Ok. Now he was moping.

“Well, you’re right I suppose,” Chloe replied, a fond look crossing her features which made Adrien smile. Her soft spot (pun intended) for Ladybug always made him chuckle. “After all, she’s farrrr out of your league. I mean, have you seen her recently?! She’s gorgeous and so brave and wonderful- oh by the way she’s downstairs- and so noble too! She even agreed to take selfies with me! Can you imagine how jealous Winifred will be?

The smile crashed off of his face. “Wait. What?”

“I said she agreed to take selfies with me,” Chloe repeated, only louder and slower. Then she scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Plagg it’s like he doesn’t even listen to me.”

“You don’t need to tell me!” Plagg rolled his eyes. “In one ear and out the other.”

Adrien would have stopped to defend himself, but he was already halfway out the door. Ladybug was here? Ladybug?! Here?! In his house???

The last time she’d been here had been a very different story.

He raced down the hallway, footsteps echoing all around him- a reflection of the questions bouncing around his head. Why was she here? Had something happened? Was his mum ok?

When he got to the top of the stairs, he skidded to a halt, hand gripping the rail. For a moment his heart stopped at the sight below them.

The police were there, along with Ladybug. His parents were nowhere to be found. Flashes of memories- a drop of blood- a shard of glass- filled his mind and he felt him slip out of the present, if only for a second. All at once he was sinking, falling into a dark abyss of pain.

And then Ladybug turned around. Their eyes met, and she smiled. Suddenly, the sinking abyss was gone. The feeling of drowning was gone. He could breathe again. Because if she was smiling at him, things were ok. If she was smiling, he was ok.

He could breathe.

She whispered something to the police, who nodded and left out the front door. They were alone. Adrien was drawn to her like a moth to a flame, all but floating down the stairs. “Ladybug?” he heard a voice, soft and stuttering, and then realised it was his.

He stopped a couple of feet in front of her. Perhaps it was the scattered shards of light, shining across her, or the way she still smiled, but she’d never looked lovelier to him.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he said back. “Ladybug, is everything ok? Not that I don’t appreciate you coming to visit of course, but err, why are you here exactly?”

Ladybug blinked, tilting her head at him. A look of realisation crossed her features, that he wasn’t in whatever loop she was, and she giggled nervously. “Oh, umm, you see? Your mum called me about you. According to the police, you’ve had some death threats? So she asked me to help the investigation and- err- kind of act like your bodyguard.”

What.

The outright horror must have shown on his face, as Ladybug hastened to add. “Oh don’t worry! I know getting death threats must be distressing. But I’m on the case. And so are the police! We’ll catch the creep who threatened you in no time.”

He was about to open his mouth and say that no, no that wasn’t what he was worried about in the slightest. But he was interrupted by the arrival of his parents.

“Oh. Adrien, I see you’ve already met the young lady,” Gabriel declared.

There was a tense moment hanging in the air, like a lightning bolt ready to strike at any moment. A culmination of the shared, yet not completely shared, history. It was a while before Adrien realised that he’d stepped closer towards Ladybug, almost shielding her from their former enemy.

Gabriel Agreste had spent his years after being Paris’ number one villain trying to atone for his actions. It was years before his relationship with Adrien began to recover and, even now, it was still on shaky ground. Before the final battle, Ladybug and Chat Noir had struck a deal with Gabriel. He would choose a successor, train them up, have them take over the company and retire, quietly turning himself into the police. His assets would be frozen, but the only suffering that would come from it would be his own and not the lives and livelihoods of countless innocent people should he turn himself in immediately.

It was the worst fight Ladybug and Chat Noir ever had. She couldn’t understand why he was so angry and he was annoyed that she wasn’t agreeing with him and being so frustratingly rational. They both went into the final battle with frazzled minds, unfocused and out of sync.

And then he’d almost lost her.

His mother came to him and kissed his cheek. “Are you alright, darling? I know this is upsetting for you, but I hope you’ll indulge me on this.”

It was impossible for Adrien to be furious with his mother, even if he tried. But he was baffled. “Is this really necessary though? I’m not a child.” He twisted around to face Ladybug. “Not that I don’t want you here or anything. I only mean that this might be an inconvenience to you.”

Ladybug grinned again, tapping her nose. “Ah! But Monsieur Agreste! If it was an inconvenience to help people in their hour of need, I wouldn’t be a good superhero now, would I?”

Ok, that was cute. Why did she have to be so cute? Why couldn’t he ever say no to her?! They’d always been like this. It seemed as though his inability to deny her anything extended to his civilian self also.

He was a weak, weak man.

Tilting his head away, he exhaled and gave a half shrug. “If you’re sure. I mean, I think it’s fine. The death threat is probably a joke.”

“Threats of any kind aren’t jokes that people should be making!” Ladybug lectured, shaking her head. “And if they think it’s funny, then they ought to learn that they aren’t one way or another. Honestly, I hope it is a prank and this blows over quickly for you. But don’t worry! If there is someone out there who wants to hurt you, I can help.”

Adrien smiled at her encouragement. He had no doubt that she would kick the ass of anyone who tried to hurt him when he was detransformed. However, he couldn’t help but feel conflicted over this. It felt wrong. After all, he was Chat Noir and could handle himself. Both of his parents knew his identity. So all of this didn’t feel particularly like it was needed. On the other hand, he could argue that if someone tried to act on the death threat in broad daylight, it would be difficult to transform into Chat Noir without having to answer a lot of questions- possibly risking exposing his identity in that regard. Judging from the nervous look on his mother’s face all yesterday evening, she’d been worried about the same.

Maybe it would be good to have Ladybug around for a while after all. Besides, if it made his mother less worried about him, that was fine. As long as he didn’t have to give up his freedom for too long.

Holding out his hand to Ladybug, he offered her a polite nod. “Pleasure to be working with you Littl- Ladybug,” he corrected himself quickly. “Ladybug.  Pleasure to be working with you, Ladybug .”

Ah. Maybe this new deal was going to be trickier than he anticipated.

“Adrien, darling, why don’t you offer our guest some brunch? I’m sure chef is cooking something as we speak,” Emilie said.

“Oh no, I don’t want to impose,” Ladybug replied waving her hand frantically. As if she could ever impose.

Gabriel said nothing, content to nod once to Ladybug and once only. Ladybug blinked back in a silent conversation, before nodding back to him. It was the only interaction they had so far, and Adrien intended to keep it that way.

Narrowing his eyes a fraction, he took Ladybug’s hand without thinking. “If you like cheese, you’re in for a treat,” he said, leading Ladybug to the kitchens.

As Ladybug and Adrien left the entrance hall, Gabriel chuckled a little under his breath. “They’re still oblivious to their affections I see.”

“Well to be fair, neither of them has recognised each other yet,” Emile replied with a grin. “Maybe this time together will help?”

“Good grief wife, your matchmaking abilities are borderline occult,” Gabriel straightened his tie with a cough.

Emilie turned, straightening his tie for him. “Well, husband , I do my best.”

“Could we not simply tell them?” Gabriel asked, a frown lining his forehead. Emilie reached up to smooth the lines there with her thumb.

“I think we’ve meddled in their affairs enough already. We can give them a nudge, but it means less if they don’t work it out together,” she replied just as the police came to approach them once more.

Adrien had been in many surreal situations in his life.

This was perhaps, one of the most surreal.

Here he was, stuck on one side of the kitchen counter, pouring a drink out for his superhero partner. His superhero partner, who happened not to be aware that she was in fact exactly that because he was a civilian and honestly, he was getting a headache.

“Thank you,” Ladybug said as he handed her a glass of freshly pressed apple juice. She hadn’t wanted anything stronger, so Adrien felt like he should have apple juice too.

“No problem,” he replied and sat in the bar stool opposite her.

Silence.

Oh god, why was this so awkward? It’s not like he didn’t feel comfortable with Ladybug, of course he did.  But a part of him was so worried he’d slip up and start talking to her as if he were currently his alter-ego (hey it had almost happened once) that he was almost too afraid to say anything in the slightest. Perhaps Ladybug was picking up on his trepidation, and giving him the space he needed to quietly process his emotions, despite the fact she was unaware of what he was actually going on in his head.

Little did he know, on the other side of the counter, Ladybug was sipping her apple juice and internally screaming. You know. Like adults did.

Why did I turn down alcohol again? Oh right, because technically I’m on a job. Tikki would kill me if I got drunk as Ladybug again.

It was hard to concentrate when Adrien’s eyes were pretty much staring straight through her, to the point where she was glad he didn’t have any superpowers. Like x-ray vision or heat vision or something. He would have burned a hole straight through her brain. If she’d been lucky enough to remember hers today, that is.

Was she acting strange too? This was the guy she’d spoken to just yesterday, the one who everyone in Paris thought she was dating. The one Chat Noir probably thought she was dating.

Should she be resentful of the fact that his initial lie got them into that mess in the first place? Maybe, but she didn’t feel that way. All she knew was, if he kept staring her like that, she was pretty sure she was going to combust.

Sipping her juice nervously, Ladybug wondered what to say and found herself coming up with nothing but bland discussions about the weather. Aside from all the drama with him as a civilian, there was a history with Adrien as Ladybug too. It was small but it was there. After all, she’d helped save his mother and keep his father out of prison for the time being.

She wondered if he knew. About Hawkmoth being his father.

“This juice.” Adrien said. She lifted her head up, to find him staring at it intently. “It’s…great.”

Ladybug couldn’t help it. She snorted. Ok, so maybe he was finding this as strange as her, albeit for different reasons. It’s not everyday a superhero sat in your kitchen after all.

“Yeah,” her voice wobbled in response, trying to suppress her laugher. “It’s very apple-tising.”

Adrien coughed up the juice he was sipping on. The second time in under an hour he’d failed to keep a drink from spurting out of his mouth. His eyes widened in embarrassment when he noticed that he’d sprayed Ladybug with the apple juice.

Unlike Chloe, however, she didn’t yell. Instead, Ladybug wiped some of the spittle-juice from her arms and said, teasingly, “I asked for the news not the weather.”

There was a brief pause.

Then they both burst out laughing. Just like that, all of the strange tension in the air faded away. The chef came over with a lovely, healthy cooked lunch and they tucked in, both falling into a silence that was far more comfortable than the cricket-inducing one before.

“So,” Ladybug broached, after finishing her eggs. “Death threats huh? What did you do to warrant such ire?”

Adrien sighed, offering a half shrug. “I already told the police that I think it’s no big deal. I’m doing my PHD you see, so I have to complete teaching hours.”

“Wow, so you’re like a model teacher, in every sense of the word,” Ladybug nodded approvingly, offering him a little wink. Then she pulled back, remembering that Adrien didn’t know Ladybug, he knew Marinette. That level of familiarity wasn’t appropriate at this time.

Meanwhile Adrien was finding it very difficult to manage his cutlery all of a sudden. Why were his fingers sweaty?!

“I guess so,” he chuckled nervously, “But I think it’s probably a disgruntled student I gave a bad mark to or something. I’ve had abuse thrown at me on twitter and stuff from random haters in the past, I really don’t think it’s something to worry about.”

“Yes, but it’s a bit different when someone is going out of their way to send you physical death threats,” Ladybug argued. “Especially when they’re escalating the situation to involve your parents. My theory is that this person knows your parents would react badly to this, and there’s a possibility that this situation could become newsworthy as a result. So, we can ascertain that whoever is doing this wants attention. And people who want to call attention to their acts are usually the most dangerous. You shouldn’t take this lightly.”

Adrien exhaled shakily, feeling something rather like anxiety bubbling in his gut. “Did you just tell me off?”

“A little bit,” Ladybug replied, cutting into a piece of smoked salmon with all of the grace of a queen chiding her knight. “And for good reasons.”

“They are good reasons,” Adrien nodded, feeling a surge of pride and awe at just how smart she was. Far smarter than he could ever be. It never failed to amaze him. “And I don’t mind being told off by you. It’s actually pretty refreshing. I feel like nobody’s told me off in a long time.”

Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. Nobody had told off Adrien in a long time. Marinette told Chat off frequently and he loved it.

“I try to do it more often then,” Ladybug pressed her hand against her heart, letting go of her cutlery so she could raise her other hand in the air. “I solemnly swear, Adrien Agreste, that as long as I’m your bodyguard, I will continue to nag you senseless.”

“I’ve never felt more honoured or protected in my whole life,” Adrien’s lips trembled as he pretended to act just as serious as she was pretending to act. He did mean it though. As always, he felt so protected around her.

For years, his feelings had been disregarded, treated like they weren’t worth thinking about at best and an inconvenience and embarrassment at the worst.

It was never like that with her. With her, his feelings were always safe.

Their conversation went on, touching a little more on the death threats and possible suspects who the police were now questioning. However, it wasn’t long before the conversation devolved into sillier topics. Adrien found himself lucky that his schedule had been cleared and his phone had been confiscated. They talked for hours, laughing, teasing making jokes. How easy it was.

How…magical.

As soon as the thought came to his mind, he shut it up quickly. The reason it was so easy, and why it felt so right, was simple. It was because he’d known her far longer than she knew. That’s all it was.

Despite the pleasantness of the conversation, eventually they had to both meet up with the police to get caught up on the situation. Soon he found his thoughts drifting somewhere else entirely. To a bakery near the river, and the balcony a few stories above it with its little potted plants and fairy lights, to the small opening that led to a room filled with floral scents, fabric strewn furniture, and a girl with eyes that brought warmth to his heart.

He was worried.

Because of his rashness, Marinette was wrapped up in a faux scandal of a fake relationship with him. All of Paris and beyond probably knew about them by now.

He wanted to see her so badly. He wanted to shed the shackles of his fear and show her that it was ok, that he understood the mess they’d gotten into because he helped create it. He wanted to tell her who he really was.

He wanted it to be real. Just as Chloe had said. The idea that he might not get to sneak out and see her until this was all over was driving him utterly crazy. It was like an itch under his skin, an insatiable desire to see her, to hold her and cherish her and let her know that it was all going to be ok, that he was there and that Chat Noir hadn’t randomly disappeared on her for no reason.

No.

He wasn’t going to allow it. He wasn’t going to abandon her to the press wolves. She was his love and he was going to protect her.

He was going to find a way back to her.

Even if it killed him to do it.