As We Grow

by KrazySuperGirl

A lonely boy and a brave girl find a refuge that will change their lives

When she was eight, Marinette had her own secret garden in the back corner of the local park. It wasn't really hers, but, to her knowledge, she was the only one who knew of it. It was enclosed by bushes which, in reality, were not very tall, but seemed as tall as castle walls from her vantage point. Her parents taught her what little they knew of gardening and she took various seeds there to plant and tend to. The garden was not especially tidy or even pretty, but the flowers thrived under her care and the garden held a special sort of childish charm and she always escaped there on days when she was especially upset over something.

On one such day, she found a little blonde-haired boy around her age sitting there. He was facing away from her, bent over something. She crept closer and looked over his shoulder. She saw he was fiddling with a flower from the snapdragon plants she had planted there.

Curious, she spoke to him, "What are you doing?"

He startled and his arms flew out as he turned around. One of his arms smacked firmly into Marinette's arm. She just stared at him but his eyes immediately widened to the size of saucers and his breathing quickened to panicked and shallow gasps. He scrambled back towards the bushes at the edge of the garden and started to babble, "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry you can yell at me or hate me or kick me out of here or anything because you think I'm a monster for hurting you and I'm so sorry I didn't mean it and if you want me to go I'll go I'm sorry"

After a moment he stopped speaking and just gazed through terrified green eyes up at this girl that had appeared out of nowhere. He thinks she is the prettiest girl he has ever seen, with black hair that almost looks blue because of the way the light reflects off of it, and deep beautiful blue eyes. He was sure she hated him though, for hitting her and for being in her garden, so he squashed that thought quickly.

Everything was silent for another moment. Marinette for her part had started to gape at the boy when he was babbling his apologies. She squinted at him. He didn't look like the scary creatures from books and TV or like the evil people who just wanted to hurt others that her parents told her to watch out for. He looked like a scared boy that was sorry for accidently hurting her. She noticed he'd been crying, and was crying again. She closed her mouth and promptly said, "You're not a monster."

The boy was starting to feel less scared, but he still said, "Yes I am."

Marinette instantly protested, "No you're not."

Little frown lines appeared on the boy's brow. "But I hurt you."

She insisted, "No you didn't."

The boy looked confused. "Yes I did. I can see a red spot where I hit you."

She looked down. "Oh. Well it didn't hurt."

He just looked even more bewildered.

"Do you want it to hurt?" She asked.

He shook his head so vigorously that his little locks of blonde hair flopped around on his head.

"Well then." Marinette declared, "You didn't want it to hurt so it didn't hurt. And you're not a monster."

"Really?" The little boy was still unsure. "But when Father is mad he yells alot. And sometimes he grabs Mama's wrist or hits her arm when she tries to touch him when they're fighting and she calls him a monster."

Marinette said, "But you weren't mad at me, you got scared. And you didn't mean to hurt me."

"But Mama says that hitting is always bad."

She crossed her arms. He thinks she looks like a queen from a fairy tale. "Of course hitting is bad, but this is my garden, and I make the rules, so I say that you didn't want it to hurt so it doesn't count as bad hitting. And you are not a monster."

His smile is tentative when he says, "Ok."

She grins at him. "Friends?"

He looked at her with wide eyes. "Really? You mean it?"

"I mean it."

He smiled, and she thinks he looks like the sun when he smiles. "Ok."

"Good." she said, and plopped down to sit on the ground next to him. "What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Adrien. Who are you?"

"My name is Marinette. What were you doing here?"

Adrien said, "I followed a ladybug."

She repeated, "You followed a ladybug?"

He blushed a little. "Yeah. I saw it on the grass but it flew away so I followed it and then I found your garden."

"Well now I know how you found this place, but what were you doing with the snapdragon?"

"Mama said when she was little, she used to play with snapdragons to make them open their mouths but I can't figure out how to do it."

Marinette smiled. "Here, let me show you."

She reached over and showed him how to squeeze the flower to make it open. While she did this, he was gazing at her face. He said without thinking, "You're pretty."

She looked up at him, a bit shocked, then shy. "Really? Are you sure you're not just being polite? Cuz there's this girl at school and she says I'm really ugly. And nobody else ever says that, but Chloe is never polite, so maybe she's telling the truth instead of being polite."

Adrien was somewhat confused. "Chloe says that? Me and her go on playdates alot because Mama knows her Dad but she isn't usually mean."

Marinette looked dejected. "Oh. You're Chloe's friend. You don't have to be nice to me. You probably don't like me because Chloe doesn't."

"What?" Adrien exclaimed. "Of course I like you. You were super nice to me and you let me stay in your garden. I'm mad that Chloe's being mean. I'm going to tell her to stop next time I see her. Or we can't be friends."

She beamed at him. "Thank you thank you thank you. You can come to my garden whenever you want. It can be our garden." She turned serious, "But it stays secret, ok?"

Very solemnly, Adrien said, "Promise."

They stayed there in their tiny garden until Adrien's mother called for him to go home. They talked about lots, like how Chloe was mean to Marinette, and how Adrien's parents were fighting alot about him. They laughed about the Agreste driver and decided to call him Gorilla, and about how Marinette's Dad keeps leaving the laundry in the washing machine until it ruins the clothes. When it was time to leave, Adrien surprised Marinette with a hug. He said, "You're the best friend I've ever had. Promise you'll stay my friend?"

She promises.

Adrien manages to convince his father to let him go to the park every week and him and Marinette meet up in their little garden. They spend hours there. They fill each other in on what's happening in their lives, good or bad. They come to know each other's worst nightmares, and best dreams. Marinette brings him sweets from the bakery and finds someone she can vent her frustrations to and Adrien basks in this true friendship amid a lonely life. He tells Chloe off and threatens that he won't be her friend anymore if she keeps bullying the other kids. Chloe sulks for a solid week after that, and when she realizes that he's completely serious, she sulks for another week. She stops bullying people, but she is more grumpy and unpleasant than usual for at least a month afterwards. It takes a while, but with Adrien's encouragement, she gradually realizes the value of kindness, and eventually, Sabrina and Chloe are true friends, and she is getting along well with the rest of the kids her age. She never loses her brusque and straightforward way of dealing with people, but she isn't unkind anymore. She even apologizes to Marinette and the two girls become, if not close, then at least good friends.

When they are twelve years old, Adrien's mother goes missing. No one knows what happened to her. That week, he flees to the garden. He finds Marinette there and cries in her arms. He is lonely and already his father is distancing himself from him. He is afraid of what life will be like without his mother. Marinette finds herself shedding more than a few tears on his behalf. It breaks her heart to see him like this. After a while, their tears dry up, and they sit there for a long time in silence. When it's time to go home, Marinette grabs Adrien in a hug and promises him, "I'll be here for you when you're sad."

When he comes home, it is to find that his father has forbidden him to continue going to the park each week. Instead, he has photo shoots added to his already busy schedule. He is shocked, hurt, and depressed. The blow merely adds on to the pain of losing his mother. The next time Marinette comes to the garden, she finds a letter. It is addressed to her, from Adrien. It says;

"Father isn't letting me come to the park anymore. He is making me do photo shoots instead. I had to sneak out to get this letter to you. I climbed out a window and I almost fell, but I didn't and now I'm glad I'm telling you this in a letter cuz you'd be mad that I almost got hurt, but I didn't so don't be super mad. I only see Nathalie's and Gorilla now. Nathalie's supposed to take care of me. Father's leaving on a trip soon and I don't know when he'll get back. Mari, what if he never comes back? I'll have no time to sneak out like I did today. Remember when we decided that we would live on an island and have a pet hamster? Well when I grow up, I won't have to stay home all the time and then we can go to the island and live there together. You'll just have to wait for me."

That day, Marinette cries and rants to the wind. When they were younger, Marinette had promised herself that she would never let Adrien be hurt. Now that she is older, she knows that she'll never be able to protect him from every pain, but she can help ease the burden by supporting him like he has done for her. Now though, she just feels powerless because he needs her now more than ever but she can do nothing to help him. She misses when his smile was brighter than the sun. She misses Adrien. She still comes to the garden every time she is feeling down which, for a while after that, is very often, but it's not the same without her best friend. Adrien sneaks away every so often, and he always comes to the garden. The first time he comes and she's there too, Marinette gives him her lucky charm so he can remember her when he's sad. She starts leaving sweets in the garden for when he comes. Sometimes, they end up in the garden at the same time, but Adrien is not able to come regularly so these are rare occurrences.

It doesn't take Adrien very long to realize that he will be miserable for the rest of his life if he stays at home forever. So, he starts asking his father to let him go to school. When Nathalie and Gorilla escort him back to the car after that first morning of the school year when he tries to go to school without his father's permission, his father informs him via video call that yes, he may attend school, and Nathalie will rearrange his schedule.

Those first moments of Adrien's first day of school are a whirlwind of emotions. He is apprehensive and anxious because he doesn't know if Marinette will be there or if the other students will be friendly. On the other hand, he is extremely excited. He has confidence that he'll make friends and he can finally go to school like the other kids. His mother had wanted for him to start school but then she disappeared and his father refused to send him to school. Excitement wins out and Adrien walks into school with a smile.

When he walks into the classroom, he sees Chloe chatting to a few other classmates. He greets her, happy to already have a friend a school. Chloe immediately announces, "This is my friend Adrien. It's his first day of school and he's super excited and nervous and he wants to make friends, so be nice to him."

Then she smirks because she knows Marinette will come stumbling into the classroom at any minute, late as always. When said girl does come stumbling in, Adrien turns to see what that noise is. Immediately, he yells, "Marinette!"

She just has time to exclaim, "Adrien!" before he tackles her in a hug. For a moment, they just stand there hugging. Once they've released each other, the class can only watch as they begin to talk over each other in rapid-fire half-sentences.

"What are y-"

"Father let m-"

"Why didn't you t-"

"I didn't even know unt-"

"I'm so glad you're-"

"I didn't even kn-"

They end up hugging again, but the teacher walks in and interrupts them. They sit in the two available seats, Marinette directly behind Adrien. After school, Adrien asks Marinette to come to the garden with him. "We haven't been there together in forever." he says. She agrees and they part ways.

When Adrien gets home, he manages to evade Nathalie, Gorilla, and his father. He goes straight to the garden. When Marinette gets home, she says hi to her parents and then goes up to her room. She's looking for the jacket she made for Adrien when she notices what looks like a small jewelry box. She definitely doesn't remember having anything like it in her room. She picks it up to examine it but she notices the time. She realizes that Adrien will be waiting so she shoves the box in her pocket and leaves for the park.

As expected, when she gets there, Adrien is waiting. He beams at her when she ducks into the garden. The space has grown smaller over the years, but it is just as special. They sit there and talk for a long time, catching up on all that's happened in each other's lives since they last saw each other. Eventually, Marinette suggests they exchange phone numbers. When Adrien digs around in his school bag for his phone, he finds a small jewelry box instead. He pulls it out and says, puzzled, "Huh. I don't think this is mine."

When Marinette sees it, she is just as confused. She pulls her box from her pocket. "That's funny," she says, "I found this in my room, and I've never seen it before."

The two exchange puzzled looks. After a moment of contemplation, Adrien pipes up, "Want to find out what's inside?"

Marinette frowns a bit, "We should find their owner and give them back."

"But we have no idea who the owner is. We should open them. There could be something inside that will tell is."

"You're right. We'll open them up."

When they open the boxes at the same time, they are startled when glowing orbs come out of each of them. They grab onto each other's arms as they back away a bit. When the glowing dies down, two small beings are floating in front of them. Said beings stare at the two teenagers in front of them, and then at each other.

After a moment, the red one speaks. "Well, this is unusual."

Adrien and Marinette jump in surprise. Marinette is the first to speak of the two. "Y-you talk?"

The little black being that looks a bit like a cat scoffs. "Course we talk. What did you think we were?"

The red one sends (him?) a glare but Adrien speaks up, "Uh, not really sure. What are you?"

The red one rolls (her?) eyes at the black one but answers Adrien, "We're kwamis. I'm Tikki and that's Plagg. We grant superpowers."

Adrien exclaims, "You grant superpowers? Does that mean we can be superheroes?"

Plagg answers, "Sure, kid."

Marinette asks, "But why are you giving us powers? Why now? Why us?"

Tikki speaks again, "We were given to you because a miraculous is being misused. The Butterfly miraculous. Its power is to make Champions but whoever got a hold of it is probably going to use it to make villans under his control to get what he wants. You were chosen because you are best suited for the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculouses and because we need to save the Butterfly miraculous and the kwami."

Adrien asks the question this time, "What are miraculouses?"

Plagg is the one who answers him, "They're jewels that grant powers. Us kwamis are tied to our miraculous. Looks like you, kid, got the ring, the Black Cat miraculous, and your girlfriend got the Ladybug earrings."

Of course both immediately protested.

"She's not m-"

"I'm not hi-"

Plagg just mutters, "sure" but Tikki interrupts them, "That's not the point. Do you two want to be heroes?"

They turn to each other. Marinette asks Adrien, "Do you?"

He says, "I'll follow you in whatever choice you make."

Marinette can only smile gratefully at him. She watches his face for a moment, and she knows he'll want to take this opportunity, to defeat this villain so he can protect her and help others. She remembers how powerless she felt when she couldn't help him and she knows that she wants the same thing as he does. She turns back to the kwamis. "We'll do it."

Tikki spins in the air cheerfully, but she stops and adds, "But you can't tell anyone. You have to keep your identities a secret. It's already risky with you knowing each other's identities, we can't let anyone else know. The other miraculous holder could find out and use that to his advantage."

Adrien nods. "Ok."

Marinette asks them, "What are our powers?"

Tikki explains, "The Black Cat and Ladybug miraculouses are opposites. The Lady Bug is the miraculous of creation and the Black Cat is the miraculous of destruction. Your powers reflect that. You as the Ladybug can summon a Lucky Charm in battle to help turn the battle to your side, and you can also use the Miraculous Ladybug cure to heal all damage from magic-related causes. You just have to say 'Tikki, spots on' to transform."

Plagg continues, "Because the Black Cat causes destruction, your power is Cataclysm. It lets you destroy anything you touch and you can control how it is destroyed. 'Claws out' lets you transform."

Just as Plagg finishes explaining, Adrien gets a text. He grimaces briefly before he notices something else. He shows what's on his screen to Marinette. "There's a giant stone monster in the city and he has a girl with him."

Plagg says, "Looks like now's the perfect time to try out your new powers."

Adrien is conflicted, "But I'm already in trouble with Nathalie."

Plagg just says, "So why does it matter if you're AWOL for a bit longer? Besides, with all the confusion over the akuma attack, they'll understand."

Adrien gives in. "Alright. Ready Mari?"

She gives him a grin which is the mix of excitement and apprehension. "As I'll ever be."

They put on the earrings and the ring and he smiles back at her. "Ok then. Plagg, claws out!"

Plagg is sucked into Adrien's ring and green light washes over him, giving him a mask, cat ears, a black leather suit, claws, a bell, a belt for a tail, and a silver baton.

Marinette takes a breath and says, "Tikki, spots on!"

Tikki is sucked into the earrings and a pink light washes over Marinette. A red polka-dotted suit and a mask cover her as a yo-yo appears at her hip and red ribbons in her hair.

The now masked teenagers turn to face each other. Marinette smirks. "You look good kitty."

Adrien says, "You don't look so bad yourself, My Lady."

She laughs, "My Lady?"

Adrien smiles sheepishly. "Because you're a ladybug."

"I like it."

He grins, "It's better than kitty."

Marinette retorts, "You're a cat. It's kind of obvious. Or would you prefer something else? Like...Chaton, Minou, stray..."

"If you call me a stray, I'll call you Bugaboo."

"Hmm, that doesn't sound too bad."

"Buginette, Buggy, red girl..."

"Now that one's just plain lame."

Adrien pouts while Marinette giggles. Then they hear the distant sirens. They sober and Marinette says, "Guess we better get going."

She takes her yo-yo, throws it, then gives it an experimental tug when it snags on a roof. Adrien fiddles with his baton until he causes it to extend. With one last glance at each other, they race towards the sirens.

They get there quickly despite a few mishaps along the way. As the two battle the akuma, Adrien's admiration for Marinette grows, and Marinette discovers the thrill of fighting alongside her best friend to save the city. When the two part ways, after exchanging phone numbers of course, they are known to Paris as Chat Noir and Ladybug.

Later, when Adrien sees the news of the multiplying akumas, he immediately calls Marinette. She is shocked at the news and dismayed at her failure. Tikki apologises for not telling Marinette everything she needed to know, but she still blames herself. It takes all of Adrien, Plagg, and Tikki's powers of persuasion to convince her not to give up the earrings. Finally, when the real Stone heart reappears, they go back out and successfully capture the akuma.

Back at school, everyone is raving over Ladybug and Chat Noir, but especially Ladybug. A quiet moment when no one is paying them any attention allows Adrien to give Marinette a thumbs up. "Congrats Mari, you got fans."

She chuckles aand says with a glance towards Alya, "If only some of them weren't such dedicated fans."

He replies with, "They think you're amazing. You're a hero and they have confidence that you'll save them."

Marinette had still been feeling guilty for not doing the job fully earlier that day, but his words eased that. She was grateful for that and from then on, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would always have her back.

Naturally, Marinette tries to dissuade Alya from her obsession with Ladybug and, naturally, they become fast friends. Eventually Marinette realizes that Alya can (mostly) take care of herself, and she gets used to her constantly talking about Ladybug. When Nino realizes that Adrien has never had a guy friend, and that his experiences in terms of fun are somewhat limited, he takes the young model under his wing. The four of them, and Chloe, become very good friends. It still takes being stuck in an animal cage during an akuma attack for Nino and Alya to get together. It also doesn't take long for debates to start up about when Adrien and Marinette will become more than friends, and when Ladybug and Chat Noir will get together. Of course, neither know anything about said debates.

Marinette and Adrien each grow with their roles as heroes. Adrien gains confidence as Chat Noir, even flirting with Marinette. She rolls her eyes but she wouldn't change it for anything. He remains as kind as ever but he begins to both stand up to and reach out to his father. Marinette also gains confidence. As Ladybug, she can shed her clumsiness to become a strong and intelligent hero and leader. The two are symbols of goodness in Paris, even taking the time to reach out to people who were akumatized, and make sure they are doing alright. They start up programs in schools and work places to help avoid akumatizations. They make sure mental health centers are prepared to deal with the effects of akumas. Above all, they protect the city from Hawkmoth's attacks. This earns them the city's trust and respect.

Their lives as Ladybug and Chat Noir fill the same role as their garden does, in the sense that the whole outside world melts away until it's just the two of them against the world. They work together as if they were one. When Lila appears on the scene, all it takes is one glance in Marinette's direction for Adrien to know the truth. She notices when the girl picks up the book, and he knows when Tikki realizes the book's importance. Together, they follow Tikki to Master Fu with the book in hand.

Since they are always in harm's way, Adrien and Marinette learn to trust each other like never before, but they never stop worrying when the other is in adangerous situation. The Volpina incident stirs up some unfamiliar feelings in Marinette, just as the Evillustrator incident stirs up similar feelings in Adrien. When Glaciator attacks and the two must pretend to be a couple, they realize that they do have feelings for each other.

A routine patrol turns into a battle when an akuma attacks. Her name is Cauchemar. She has an anxiety disorder but her peers don't understand. The final straw came when her boss told her to suck it up so, she now makes people's worst fears come to life. For a man across the road, a row of trees is a wall of fire advancing towards him. For a little girl in a nearby park, everytime one of her playmates looks at her, all she sees is derision and scorn.

Ladybug and Chat Noir are quick to engage but Marinette stayed up late the night before. Her fatigue is showing and Adrien is worried about her. This means Cauchemar takes them by surprise and hits them with a blast. She smiles cruelly when their eyes glaze over with a grey-purple coloured fog. What Chat sees is a villan coming from behind Ladybug and grabbing her by the neck. He collapses when he sees her dying. What Ladybug sees is her Chat falling to the ground in pain. She crumbles too. She reaches out to him, half in denial. His eyes are closed, mumbling and shaking, tears pouring down his cheeks in unbearable pain. When he feels a touch on his arm, they snap open. There! Marinette is alive! He breathes a sigh of relief. "Ladybug"

She sucks in a breath when she hears him. Images of him dead are superimposed with images of his face, showing only glad relief. "Chat?"

"M'lady. I'm here."

Cauchemar, who had been reaching towards the incapacitated Chat's ring looks up and growls when he snatches his hand out of reach and she sees that the fog over their eyes has cleared. His baton knocks her away and she retreats, faced with the realization that her spell can be broken. Chat Noir gives Ladybug a hand up. "Shall we, kitty?"

He nods and they pursue but for Marinette, the silence is deafening. She struggles to keep images of Adrien dying at bay. She ends up letting go of his arm and suddenly, his one link to reality is gone. He stops, and cries out, alarmed, "Ladybug!" His voice pierces through the fog in her mind and she dives forward to catch his swaying form. He manages to say, shakily, "Don't-don't let g-go."

She swallows tears as she nods. She manages a plaintive, "talk to me please?"

So as they seek out the akuma, he talks about anything and everything, keeping a tight hold on her hand. He keeps talking through the battle, and through the cleansing of the akuma. He stops when everything is returned to normal. Instead of their usual fist bump, he wraps his arms around her and buries his head in her shoulder. The tension from the fight drains from her as she hugs him back. He says quietly, "I'm glad you're ok."

She says back, sounding drained and relieved at the same time, "Me too."

They stay like that for a while, and would stay longer but they let go and turn to deal with the victim, the police and the media.

The two part ways after everything is dealt with and return to their respective homes. That night though, Adrien is awakened from an especially jarring nightmare when his phone starts ringing. It's Marinette and she's panicking. She isn't making any sense but she sounds scared so he quickly transforms and heads over to her house.

When he gets there, he slips into her bedroom. He finds her with her arms around her knees in the corner of her bed. Tikki has managed to calm her down a little, but she is still shaking and tears are running down her cheeks. He detransforms and climbs up onto her bed. He asks tentatively, "Mari? What's wrong?"

She sniffles a bit but says, "A n-nightmare. H-Hawkmoth there were two akumas a-and your father a-and Nino and Alya and Chloe and M-Mom and Dad and you died and I couldn't save you. You were t-trying to protect me but I-I got you killed."

"I'm here. It was just a nightmare."

He wraps his arms around her and settles her so her head rests on his shoulder and he lays his head on hers. "I had a nightmare too. There was my parents and our friends and my Cataclysm killed you and them and it was all my fault but then you woke me up. When you called, you woke me up."

Tikki settles on her lap, and Plagg rests in his hair. Her breathing is still shaky and she says, "But you were protecting me, and you keep doing that and it scares me because I love you and I don't want to lose you, but you keep doing stupid stuff like that, like with Dark Cupid and Timebreaker. You're going to get hurt. What if I can't fix it someday?"

He's crying too when he says, "I'm sorry Princess. I can't see you get hurt either. I love you, and my job is to protect you. I've got the Black Cat miraculous, remember? I stay in the shadows, I take all the bad luck, all the hits for you, I protect you. And that's what I'll always do, because I love you."

She chuckles a bit dryly, "Stupid cat. I don't want you to get hurt for me." She tilts her head to face him. "Promise me you won't keep doing that? Only if it's necessary. Please?"

"My Lady, it's always been necessary."

She slaps one of the arms encircling her. "Promise me."

He huffs and rolls his eyes playfully. "Promise."

He presses a kiss to her forehead. "Love you."

She hums then kisses him on his nose. "Love you too, Mon Minou."

They stay there in each other's arms for the rest of the night. When they fall asleep, they don't wake to Plagg taking pictures of them on Adrien's phone or to Tikki scolding him.

When Adrien wakes up in the morning, he carefully shifts Marinette to lay her down on her bed, transforms and races off to his house to get ready for school. When Marinette wakes up, she almost falls off the bed when she realizes she's going to be late for school. She scrambles to get ready and stumbles out the door. She finds Adrien standing outside the bakery waiting for her. She grabs his hand and practically drags him to school. When they get there late, they slip into the front desks, since Alya and Nino sit together now that they're a couple. Once they're settled, Marinette lays her head down on Adrien's shoulder and whispers, "Thank you."

He turns to her and whispers back, "For what?"

"For always being there."

"Anytime, Princess."

He lays his head down on hers and they sleep through the class. Mme Bustier doesn't have the heart to wake them, but Nino and Alya take advantage of the opportunity to take as many pictures as they can. When the bell for the end of class rings, Nino and Alya nudge them awake with smirks and Chloe walks by and quips, "Took you long enough."

The two blush and Adrien says, "I guess the cat's out of the bag."

She answers, "Kitty, it was never a secret that I loved you. We just took a while to figure it out."

"Well, I'm glad we did."

Chloe just rolls her eyes and says, "I've seen that coming since we were eight. He told me to be nice to her or he wouldn't be my friend." She snickers. "He told me he thought she was a fairy queen when he first saw her."

If Alya noticed that her two favourite ships happened at the same time, she just put it on her list of coincidences that are not coincidences. She had already put all the pieces together, after all, she had been there at the very start, when they had saved Stoneheart. She knew they were in love, just like she knew Adrien and Marinette had been in love since before that first day of school. After all, it was so much funnier to speculate about a heroine's identity to her very face. Besides, Ladybug and Chat Noir kept her identity a secret so she would return the favour.

Later, Adrien and Marinette are partnered for a school project and they decide to work at Adrien's house. When they get there, Gabriel Agreste meets them. Adrien introduces her as a friend and his father recognizes Marinette as the winner of the derby hat design contest. Adrien is quick to follow up with praising her design work, as well as telling his father that she designed an album cover for Jagged Stone. Gabriel gives them his equivalent of an impressed reaction, and sends them on their way after they explain that they're working on a project. They walk away with hands intertwined and Gabriel stands there for a few moments. He recalls the way Adrien praised Marinette, the way she looked at him, and of course, the way they held hands as they left. He allows himself to remember bittersweet memories of when he and Emilie were his son's age, and then he dismisses these thoughts and makes his way to the painting of his wife.

Adrien and Marinette work on their project for exactly twenty minutes before an akuma attacks. They groan simultaneously. They transform and are off to fight back against the akuma in no time. When they get back after the battle, they find Gabriel outside the room. He has a very disapproving look on his face. "Did you make progress on your assignment?", he asks them, emotionless as always.

Marinette is the one to respond, "Yes, sir."

He nods, "Good. I believe you must return home now Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

"Yes." Before she leaves she says, "It was a pleasure meeting you in person Mr. Agreste. Bye Adrien, see you later."

After she leaves, Gabriel turns to Adrien. "Where were you during the akuma attack today Adrien?"

He's naturally confused but he can tell something's up. "What do you mean Father?"

"The akuma attack today. You were not in your room with Miss Dupain-Cheng. Where were you?"

Adrien is both confused and worried now. "Uh, we got a message from our friends. They were stuck because of the akuma and they didn't know how long it would be until Ladybug and Chat Noir would be able to free them so they asked us to help them."

"Hmm" There is a long pause. "And Miss Dupain-Cheng convinced you it was a good idea to go to an area where an akuma was attacking so you could play hero?"

Adrien is shocked, but it soon morphs into indignation. "No Father! I went because I wanted to. Marinette wouldn't have me anywhere near a battle if she got her way. My friends were in trouble and I wanted to help them!"

His father may seem emotionless to a lot of people, but to Adrien, his father's displeasure was written as plain as day on his face. "Are you certain that your actions are not influenced by these friends of yours? Ever since you started school you have been constantly late or absent from your classes or your modeling. This past month, you have missed four school classes, two fencing lessons, and five photo shoots. You have been late to almost all of the rest of your commitments, and you have been emotional and impertinent."

"My friends have nothing to do with that. You know Hawkmoth is attacking us almost every day now. If you want me to be on time, get Hawkmoth to stop akumatizing people, don't blame it on my friends. My friends, especially Marinette have been amazing. They are there for me. They've helped me countless times and I would do anything for them. Marinette has been there for me when you haven't been. She makes me take care of myself, and talks sense into me when I need it. I can be myself with her, not this...mannequin you've forced me to be. You say I'm being emotional and impertinent, that's just because you have been hiding away in your study, you basically abandoned me when Mom disappeared. And then, you stopped me from seeing Marinette, when I needed a friend the most. You cooped me up in here. And for what purpose? You just made me miserable. I just want us to be a family again."

By this time Gabriel is both shocked and angry, but Adrien stomps back to his room and slams the door before his father can say anything. Maybe it's because Marinette has helped him to be happy, but what his father does has never upset him this much. Now, his father never fails to disappoint him. He throws himself onto his bed and buries his face in his pillow. Plagg slips out of his jacket and some mild concern registers on the little kwami's face but he decides to let the boy calm down by himself and goes to get camembert. Adrien wants to scream, to vent his anger and frustration but a voice stops him. "Hey, you ok?"

He looks up. "Ladybug."

She had just slipped in his open window. "I left my books here, so I decided to sneak back in to get them." She pauses. "What's wrong?"

He gets off his bed. "It's not..." He sighs. "It's Father. We had an argument. He thinks you and the others are bad influences because I'm always late and.." He has paced across the room. He adds, "..and he...he's changed! He just doesn't- he's just so-" Adrien finally lets out a frustrated yell. He punches the windowsill and let's the tears run down his cheeks.

Gabriel senses this spike in emotion. He knows, he promised himself, he promised Emilie after she died, that he wouldn't let Adrien get hurt by this. But his son has so much anger and disappointment and frustration. Deep down, he realizes all this is directed at him, that this is his fault and that he is hurting his son. But Adrien would be such a powerful enemy for Ladybug and Chat Noir. He could finally get the heroes' miraculouses and he could bring back Emilie. He could make Adrien happy. He turns to go to his lair.

Marinette is detransformed by now and she winces when Adrien punches the wall. She takes his wrist and kisses his fist gently. She simply says, "I'm sorry" and she wraps her arms around him and pulls him close. He hugs her back, and eventually, the tension eases out of him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that."

As Hawkmoth, Gabriel senses that Adrien's emotions have abated somewhat. He pours dark energy into a butterfly and sends it off, hoping Adrien doesn't get control of his emotions before the akuma can get to him.

In his room, Adrien goes over to his couch and sinks into it. Marinette sits beside him and holds his hand. He glances over to the picture of his mother on his computer screen. "It's been almost two years. He has barely spoken to me since it happened. It's always Nathalie taking care of me instead. I've tried to reach out to him, to get him to talk to me more, spend more time with me. I've even told him off a few times, for being unreasonable or for not being around, but he never does anything different. I'm starting to wonder if he'll ever go back to the way he was before."

Marinette can see the pain on his face. She frowns at her hands. "I don't think he'll ever go back to the way he was before. Tragedies tend to change a person. The thing is, your father doesn't seem to be dealing with his grief properly. He is shutting himself away from the world, and that's not healthy. He's not moving on with his life and he's probably not accepting the fact that his wife is gone, and he's hurting himself and you. I think the best we can do is just be patient."

"I know Marinette, but it feels like I've been being patient forever. What if I lose him to his grief?"

She looks into his eyes. "I don't know. But whatever happens, you'll still have me. I promise."

He smiles at her. "Thank you Marinette."

She smiles back. "Anytime kitty." She taps his nose. "I love you Minou, remember that."

He chuckles. "I know. I love you too."

Hawkmoth snarls. He searches for enough fear, sadness, anger, anything, enough to akumatize Adrien. There is still the ever-present sadness accompanied by some fear. Fear that his father will never be a father to him again. But these are just traces, not enough. He snarls again at the memory of Marinette's words. What right does she have to assess him! He does not need to move on with his life, he needs to get the miraculouses so he can make his wish. And she is preventing that. Adrien was right, she has a good influence on him. Thanks to her, he calmed down enough to avoid akumatization, though neither of them realize that.

He can sense that Adrien still has strong feelings. Yes, his sadness is now replaced with determination and purpose, but all of his other emotions are overpowered by something else. Something strong and bright and overwhelming, as bright and warm as the sun...something...love. Love for the amazing girl in front of him, and love for his father too. Love that means trusting Marinette with his life, turning to her for comfort and support, and doing all he can to do the same for her. Love that means waiting patiently for his father to open up, to be ready to move on and face the future together, and supporting him in the meantime.

Gabriel Agreste had not experienced pure love like this in a long time, and it was foriegn to him. His love for his wife had become something twisted and black, fueling his desperate pursuit of something that might bring her back. This hole is black inside his heart, sucking in even light. It begs to be filled and yet, nothing is ever enough for it. It leads him to disregard the price that must be paid, another life for that of Emilie, causing suffering to an entire city, including his son. He does not see that he has people who love him. If he could move on, heal the hole with love and light, he would be able to repair his relationship with his son and perhaps, he would see too the devotion Nathalie has for him. And so he has become the tragedy of Gabriel Agreste, the broken man who commits acts of terrorism in the name of love, and yet who destroys what chance he has to feel true love again. Perhaps Gabriel realized how despicable his actions were but refused to acknowledge the fact. Or, maybe he did realize it and decided that he couldn't or wouldn't fix his mistakes. Either way, he lost the moment he attacked innocents.

Perhaps Marinette fell in love with Adrien the very first day they met. Maybe she admired his bright fire and wanted to sheild it from the storms in his life, and maybe she loved his big heart. Perhaps Adrien loved Marinette from the very beginning. Maybe he was drawn to her compassion, determination and kindness and he couldn't help but want to help her the way she helped him. If this was so, they didn't know it and the only name they could give that bond of undying trust, support, and loyalty, was that of friendship.

As they grew, they learned about the concept of love and, gradually, they would see it's countless facets in their own life. Adrien would see it during each akuma battle, in how she stood up to Hawkmoth and promised to protect the city. He would see it when she helped a classmate, never wanting anything in return. Marinette would see it when he took hits for her, when he showed up soaking at her window in the middle of the night, or when he showed over and over just how big his heart really is. Others could see it too. Alya saw it each time her best girl friend brought food to school because she knew Adrien didn't always eat his meals. Nino saw it when Adrien dragged Marinette to the coffee shop down the street because he knew it would stop Marinette from stressing too much about the fashion design she wanted to get just right or about the test coming up. Chloe saw it when, during that year they couldn't see each other, her two good friends lost the light in their eyes and the spring in their steps. She would never forget what taught her to love. The whole city saw it every time they watched their heroes together. No one would forget it.

It will carry them through the worst of the storms. It will give them strength when the whole city suddenly and inexplicably turns against Rena Rouge, and she only has her fellow superheroes to turn to for support, or when Nino gets pneumonia, or when Chloe is diagnosed with mild bipolar disorder. It will give them hope when Marinette phones Adrien, frantic because Tom Dupain was injured in a car accident. It will give them courage when Chat Noir shows up shaking and wide-eyed on Marinette's balcony because he thinks that maybe his father might be Hawkmoth and he seems to suspect that he's Chat Noir. It would carry them through the bittersweet time when Hawkmoth is defeated and they would never leave each other's side for the rest of their lives.