"Grab his Miraculous, Chat Noir! It's in his brooch!" Chat Noir launched a sneak attack on Hawkmoth from behind, catching him off his guard. Luckily, the cat was at just the right angle to snatch his Miraculous from his chest.
"Got it, m'lady." Chat tossed the Miraculous her way and she put it in the box with the Chinese markings on it as a blast of energy fizzled from Hawkmoth's feet up to his head, leaving Gabriel Agreste in his place.
"So I was right! You are Gabriel. And if my assumptions are correct, you have something else that belongs to the Guardian, and I will see to it that he gets it back. Where is the Peacock Miraculous?" Ladybug immediately started grilling him for answers, which was uncharacteristic for her, but it wasn't every day she defeated Paris' biggest supervillain. Besides, for once her hunch was correct.
She grinned, proud of herself and her partner, and offered a fist to Chat Noir as a mutual congratulations for the both of them. But Chat Noir didn't return the gesture, and he simply stood staring at the unmasked Hawkmoth. There was an emotion in his eyes that Ladybug couldn't quite place. Sadness? Fear? Hurt? Shock? Anger? Perhaps a mix of all of them.
Ladybug furrowed her brow. "Bien joué, Chat Noir?" She held out her fist again. Chat turned his body in her direction, only tearing his eyes off Gabriel for a second.
"Uh, yeah. Good job." He said absentmindedly, turning back to the fashion designer that stood only a few feet away from the pair.
"Is… anything wrong, Chat?" She asked. He seemed off all of a sudden. Yes, it was surprising that Gabriel Agreste had been Hawkmoth all the time, but Chat seemed like he was barely able to hold himself together over the news.
"Hm?" Once again, he turned to look at her, but he got the feeling that he wasn't really looking at her. "Oh, um, no. Everything's okay, Ladybug." He gave her a strained smile and she arched an eyebrow at him.
Now I know something's up, she thought. I can't even remember the last time he called me Ladybug instead of 'm'lady', or 'LB', or some other pet name. She looked at him with concern as his eyes began to get glassy. Even Gabriel was visibly confused at this display of emotion from the usually cheerful Chat Noir.
"F-father?" It was all he could manage. Hot tears burned behind his eyes, and he didn't know what he was supposed to feel. He knew his father could be rude and arrogant, sometimes he would even go so far as to say that his father was downright mean. But as evil as Hawkmoth? Never.
He could feel Ladybug's eyes on him, and he desperately wanted her to wrap him up in a big hug and tell him everything was okay. Even if it wasn't, it would still be nice to hear her say that. He could see the stunned Gabriel Agreste as he put the pieces together. It was easy to tell when he figured it out by the way his expression went from one of confusion to one of complete and utter disbelief.
"Adrien?" He managed to croak out. Suddenly the dams burst and Cat Noir accidentally let a couple of tears slip. He was oh so grateful so hear his ring beep so he would have an excuse to get out of the situation. He turned around to leave, but he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Adrien?" This time, the voice didn't come from Gabriel, but from Ladybug. "I know you don't want to talk, so I won't make you. Just… stay safe, okay?" She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before letting him retreat back to his bedroom where he could cry all he wanted.
After Ladybug escorted Gabriel down from the Eiffel Tower, he was placed in the hands of the police.
"Please, take care of my son." His voice was pleading, and surprisingly directed towards Ladybug, who nodded and gave a small smile.
"Don't worry, sir. He'll be fine."
"Thank you." The fashion designer had a change of heart after realizing he had been battling his own son for almost two years, and he figured he would go ahead and give up. He had already failed in bringing back a loved one he had lost, so why lose another one in the process? "The Peacock Miraculous is in my office safe, behind a painting. My assistant, Nathalie Sancœur, will show you to it."
"Thank you, Mr. Agreste. You won't regret this." He already had, but there really was no point in arguing. He had lost the battle and the war, along with his wife. No, Gabriel Agreste would live a life full of regret, some of which included neglecting his son for almost three years, ever since Emilie's disappearance. He sighed and sat back in his seat, preparing to be shut up for a long, long time.
Ladybug bit her lip nervously. She had only one spot left, and if she hurried, she could make it back to her house in time to detransform. But her house was nowhere near Adrien's, and that was her next stop. Instead, she ducked down in an alley where no one could see her, and she dropped her transformation.
Tikki sighed as she zoomed out of Marinette's earring and flying down to hover in front of her chosen's face. "What an adventure!" She said.
Marinette gave her Kwami a half-hearted smile and handed her a chocolate chip cookie. "Fuel up, Tikki. We have work to do." Tikki quickly ate her cookie, knowing that her chosen wanted to get over to the Agreste mansion A.S.A.P. "Tikki, spots on!"
There was no way to describe what Adrien was feeling. He had battling his own father, in and out of costume, metaphorically as well as physically. He was done crying. Imagine if his father could see him now. He would probably scold him for showing emotions without being ordered to. Adrien's sadness had been taken over by anger. Somewhere in the background, he heard Plagg's feeble attempts to comfort him, but it wasn't like he was in danger of being akumatized anymore.
Adrien was lying on his bed trying to decide what to do with his life. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice a figure perched on his window until it called him by name. "Adrien?" He shot up quickly, looking around until he saw Ladybug standing on his window ledge. "Can I… can I come in, or is this a bad time?" Judging from Adrien's glare, it was a very bad time, but he sighed and motioned her in regardless.
"Hey." She put a gentle hand on his arm as the two of them sat down on his bed. Normally his hormones would be going through the roof at her touch, and hearing his beloved Ladybug say his name would cause him to blush profusely. But this was different. He didn't even react to her.
"Nothing I can say can help you get over this, and you never will." She spoke bluntly instead of sugarcoating the truth like she usually did.
"Comforting." He mumbled.
She sighed and shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you I'm sorry, because that isn't going to help and you know it. All I want to tell you is that your father loves you."
Adrien scoffed at that remark. "Really? I didn't know he was capable of that." He wasn't meaning to sound rude, but he was finding it hard to control that. Ladybug looked hurt, but she was trying to cover it up for his sake.
"He loves you, Adrien. That's why he was ignoring you." Adrien was baffled by that logic.
"Are you saying neglecting me for three years was his way of showing that he loved me? That sounds like some bull crap right there."
"He loved you and he loved your mother. And… you reminded him of her." She sighed and stood up, sensing Adrien's skepticism. "Your father had stolen the Peacock Miraculous for your mother as a gift. He wanted her to have powers too. But her Miraculous had been damaged. As you know, the Miraculous are unbreakable, but that doesn't mean they can't be flawed. Your father took her to Tibet and left you with Nathalie for a while. Do you remember that?" Adrien nodded.
"Then you also remember your father coming back from the trip alone?" Another nod.
"He told you that your mother was sick, and that she wasn't to be disturbed. But you never did see her after that, did you?" Adrien shook his head.
"She was sick from using her powers. Since the Peacock Miraculous hadn't been used in quite a while, it was especially dangerous, and it caused her to fall into a coma. Your father was too afraid of what might happen if she went to a hospital, so after a week or two, she was said to be missing."
Adrien closed his eyes, remembering the news headlines as clear as if it were yesterday. Emilie Agreste missing! One read. Wife of famous designer lost? Another read. The images were burned into his mind, and it hurt to think about it.
"Gabriel - your father - was so upset, and he thought it was his fault. He spent months and months stressing over it. But he knew a little bit of the history of the Miraculous jewels. He knew that possessing the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses at the same time would grant absolute power, and he would be able to make a wish if he had them. Of course, his wish was to bring your mother back, Adrien.
That's why he akumatized Stoneheart. He thought if he could lure Ladybug and Chat Noir out, he could get the Miraculouses. But Adrien, there was one thing he didn't consider. As Master Fu once told me, 'For every action, there is a reaction; for every wish, a price to pay.'"
Adrien had a look of confusion etched onto his face. "Meaning?"
"Meaning, if your father used the power to bring back a loved one, another one would disappear. Maybe you."
"Do you… do you think if he knew about that he wouldn't have akumatized so many people? Or… did he just want his wife back? Maybe he didn't even care about me."
"Don't be ridiculous, Adrien! Why do you think I saved you when your bodyguard got akumatized into Gorizilla?"
Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Um… maybe because I was falling to my death?"
Ladybug sighed. "Gorizilla got a hold of me as you jumped. I couldn't get free. Your father… well, he thought you were Chat Noir at the time. He figured you would transform rather than risk serious injuries, or possibly death." She sat back down on the bed and placed her hand on top of his. "When you didn't transform, your father ordered Gorizilla to drop me so I could save you. He loves you, Adrien." She echoed back the same words she had said earlier, as if to imply that they really were true, regardless of whether he believed them.
There was a few moments of silence between the two as they sat there, gazing out the window.
Ladybug was the first to speak. "Well, I should go get the Peacock Miraculous and take it back to Master Fu." She stood up, but Adrien grabbed her hand in an effort to prevent her from leaving.
"Who are you?" He said.
Ladybug drew in a long, shaky breath. "Are you sure you're ready for that? I mean - after everything that happened today, are you prepared to know who I am?"
"Well, you know my secret identity, so…" Adrien said, not answering the question. "But I don't see how it would do any good, seeing as how you like someone else. That boy you always talk about?"
Ladybug giggled at that. "Well, actually, the boy I like… it's you." Adrien's eyes grew wide. "Now I can say it. Adrien Agreste, I love you. Even if you don't love me back, I just had to say it. I love you."
Channeling his inner Chat, Adrien bowed down to kiss Ladybug's red and black gloved hand. "You know my heart belongs to you, m'lady." He gave her a flirtatious wink, and was happy to hear her laugh at it. Her laugh could make the devil smile, he had told Plagg once. It's golden. Absolutely golden. Adrien couldn't help but beam back at her with his own trademark Cheshire cat grin.
Her smile dimmed as she remembered his request. "You… you wouldn't love me if you knew who I really was." She bit her lip in an effort to hold back the tears that were building up.
"Yes, I would. I remember when Stoneheart got akumatized. And I remember vowing to myself that I loved whoever was behind the mask. It's still true, I promise."
"But… I'm not Ladybug under the mask. I don't act anything like her in real life. I'm clumsy, I always trip over my words, and I'm just not… her." She said, referring to her alter ego.
"You said yourself that the Miraculous powers just give you enhanced abilities. While transformed, you do everything that you could do normally, regardless of whether you show it. I fell in love with a brave, funny, smart, kind, generous, beautiful girl, not a mask."
She gave Adrien a shy smile. "I guess… if you really want to know, that is… if it means that much to you… I suppose it's only fair." She took a deep breath. "Okay. Tikki… spots off." She closed her eyes as her transformation dropped, not wanting to know what Adrien thought of her civilian identity.
Meanwhile, Adrien's focus was locked on her, and he was sure his jaw dropped at least a foot when the mask and costume disappeared, leaving Marinette standing there by his bed, eyes shut tightly. He smiled, knowing that he couldn't have asked for a better Ladybug, or a better girl to fall in love with. His smile grew wider until he couldn't hold it in anymore. He chuckled quietly. The chuckle turned into a laugh, causing Marinette to open her eyes.
"You're disappointed, aren't you?" Obviously, she thought Adrien was laughing at her, but she supposed she deserved it. He took one look at her face and stopped laughing.
"Hey." He took her hand. "I promise, I'm not laughing at you. I just… I guess I can't believe we didn't figure it out sooner. But I want to make one thing clear." He furrowed his brow and pointed a finger at her. "My heart still belongs to you." They both smiled. It wouldn't change the fact that Adrien didn't have a family, but he had his lady, and that was something that would never change.