A/N: so this was all started when the idea popped into my head that Papillion acted like Chat Noir when he was a teenager (and we all know for sure that Pap is Gabriel) then it just evolved into angst.
"Peacock~!"
"Papillion!" The Peacock Miraculous owner jolted in surprise at the sudden appearance of her partner. Her green eyes softened and she lowered her hands from her chest, a gentle smile growing. "I thought you weren't going to show."
"And stand up my princess? I thought you knew me better." The Butterfly Miraculous owner leant down to kiss the bird superhero's hand, earning an embarrassed giggle. He straightened up, still holding her hand and began to dash across the rooftop. "C'mon, I've prepared something special."
"Papi, you didn't have to!" the blonde whined, though the slight nervousness didn't escape Papillion.
"Of course I did!" He sung as he finally let go so Peacock could soar unimpeded over the edges of the roof, taking the lead to guide her. "It's not everyday that one reveals their identity to their partner in crime."
The pair of teens laughed at his way of wording it. Peacock cartwheeled, her nervousness shedding away as they fell into their easy banter. "You make it sound like we're creating crime, not preventing it." She raised an eyebrow when she realised the direction they were going in. "The Eiffel Tower? Is that where we're going?"
"Yep, I've got a set-up on the very top." He said, blue eyes set on the shining structure.
Peacock chuckled and flipped off a building, blonde hair streaming behind her. "Don't tell me you organised a picnic?"
"P.C.!"
"You really did!"
Papillion stopped and drew his partner close till they were centimetres apart. A blush peeked out from underneath Peacock's mask but she boldly wrapped her arms around his head. "I want it to be special. I finally get to learn the name and face of the girl I love."
Peacock smiled and pressed her forehead against Papillion's, her green eyes sliding close. "You didn't have to go to all that trouble. I'm probably not what you're expecting, anyway."
Papillion closed his eyes and encircled the light of his life in his arms, holding her tight. "I have no doubt. I know that the wonderful, bright, clever, stunning and all around, miraculous girl is the same, feathers or not."
"You're so cheesey." She teased and bumped noses with him. They paused; just enjoying their company and each other's warmth, eyes closed. Peacock's fingers played with the white-blonde strands of hair at the base of Papillion's neck before sliding up to cover his eyes.
Papillion obediently kept his eyes shut, breath bated. He could feel the fabric of Peacock's gloves change to smooth skin and her suit turn to a flowing, light dress. Painstakingly slow, her hands fell to her side and Papillion was greeted with the sight of an angel.
Pale skin, emerald eyes, angular features and a soft, hesitant smile. She fidgeted and he caught the glimpse of her Kwami hiding behind her back. He smiled and activated his own return transformation, Nooroo flitting behind him as well. 'Peacock' gasped and her eyes went wide. "Gabriel!"
The lithe woman wrapped her arms around him, tighter than before. "I had no idea that you could possibly be Papillion!" A light went off in Gabriel's head – she was his model in the inter-school fashion show. He had designed a dress and his partner from the lady's college had been this creature of beauty before him. Unfortunately, he had not managed to catch her name before he had to leap off to fix a hostage situation with his beloved bird partner. But if Peacock had been her...
Then what better a pair for their civilian selves then a designer and a model?
X~X~X~X~X
"Hone- Gabriel."
Gabriel flinched at the way she switched from his pet name to Gabriel, but held steady. "You can't go out. It's too dangerous; think of Adrien."
Her eyes became pained and her fingers tightened around the Miraculous. "Gabriel, I have to do this. With your Miraculous taken, someone has to defeat... Papillion."
"It's too dangerous, I can't allow this."
"I'm not asking for your permission." Her head held high, she fixed the Miraculous to herself, breaking their vow to never don the items again after their son was born. "Transformer moi."
She raised her head, solemn green eyes peering out of her mask, and stared long and hard at Gabriel. Her costume had changed with the times, with her growth and development. Instead of a princess, a feathered queen stood before him, her eyes brimming with determination to protect her kingdom. She turned and opened the window, thunder and sleet pouring into the room. She mounted the railing in a fluid motion, already her hair soaking wet.
Gabriel stood frozen to the spot. He couldn't move, even though every part of him screamed at him to run, grab a hold of his dear bird's arm before she flew away from his life forever.
"Please..."
Her head turned slightly and he beheld the sight of his wife's face stained with not only the rain.
"Tell Adrien I love him and that... I'm doing it for both of you."
And with that, she disappeared into the storm.
X~X~X~X~X
"Papa?"
Gabriel's head rose from the table to stare at the small blonde child. His big, doll, green eyes, so alike Peacock's, stared at him full of worry. He had a stuffed animal hugged to his chest and he was in his pyjamas. Gabriel's hand instinctively went to hide the Peacock Miraculous lying on the table. Even after all these years, they hadn't told their beloved their child who they had been, saying that they had first met at school. They had planned to tell him when they were older, maybe. But now?
"What are you doing up, Adrien? It's late, you should be in bed."
The child fidgeted and flinched at the crack of thunder outside. Oh, he had been woken up by the noise and had gone to seek comfort. Gabriel's hand slid into his pocket, hiding the cursed Miraculous.
"Where's mama?"
Gabriel's heart broke at those words and he rested his glasses on the dining table, feeling ready to shatter any moment.
"Mama's..." Oh god, what was he supposed to say? That she had sacrificed herself to defeat a super villain? That she had used up all her strength to fling the opponent's Miraculous to some distant country? That, because of Gabriel's lack of caution, had fallen into the wrong hands?
That it was all his fault that their son would have to grow up without his mother?
"She's... gone."
"Is she coming back?"
He glanced at his son's expression; the five year old looked like a lost lamb, so weak and vulnerable. How could he tell Adrien that she was dead and there was no way she cou-
Wait.
Something inside him blossomed with insane, maddening glee. It was a small chance but he would take this flimsy ladder of hope in both hands. Chat Noir's and Ladybug's Miraculous, destruction and creation, when wielded together could defy the laws of nature. He could bring her back.
But alas, both of those Miraculous' locations were unknown and he had no way of locating them...
Unless...
His mind was jumping a mile a minute. The Papillion Miraculous was still intact and was merely flung to some distant country. It would take him a long time, months, if not years to find it again. But with Papillion's ability to create champions, what better way to draw out super heroes then with super villains? Then, it would only be a simple matter of taking the new heroes' Miraculous.
"Papa?"
"Yes."
The little boy frowned and shuffled closer, his sock feet slipping slightly on the hyper-clean floor. That reminded Gabriel – without his wife he would have to search for extra staff to care for Adrien, especially when he had a business to run and a wife to resurrect all by himself. He opened up his arms and scooped up the child, grateful to still have at least Adrien.
"She will come back – I'll make sure of it."
The blonde child, soothed by the presence of his father and tired from the storm, drifted off to sleep in his father's arms. Gabriel's eyes travelled to the window where the storm was beginning to let up, now that the faux-Papillion and their minions had been defeated. Outside was dangerous, filled with people like the thief. Filled with people that would try and rip everything Gabriel held dear away from him again. All he had was Adrien and he couldn't afford to lose him, not after her sacrifice.
X~X~X~X~X
It took many years.
Adrien was a teenager by that point. He had been raised so carefully and precisely that he was a synonym for perfection now. Of course, his dear bird's child wouldn't be content with being kept locked up in a cage and Gabriel had to relent in letting the child free to attend school, provided that staff was there to escort him.
It had taken a lot of patience, but Gabriel was finally reunited with the Miraculous that he owned when he was Adrien's age. The brooch had given off signals that unless you knew what to look for, couldn't find it. He had to journey to Tibet multiple times before he finally found it. Nooroo was pleased to see him, unaware of the time that had past; nor what had befallen his master's partner. However, his features softened and became grieved when Gabriel fixed a portrait of his wife inside the brooch, realising what his power had been resulted in.
"Nooroo, explain to me the Miraculous – Chat Noir's ring and Ladybug's earrings in particular." Gabriel growled quietly, staring at the portrait. He was so close now.
The kwami flinched and fidgeted, recounting the origins of the Miraculous, mentioning some of the Miraculous no longer in existence and about the power of the ring and earrings combined.
"I want this power Nooroo." He declared, closing the brooch, eyes burning with determination. He was so, so, so close. He had the room they now occupied built for its privacy and view of Paris, perfect for a headquarters. He had collected white butterflies, all ready to be used as Akuma's, their delicate wings quivering as though excited to fly off and cause havoc. "I want those two Miraculous."
The pale spirit looked positively sick as he caught onto what Gabriel was planning. "But, Master, no one knows where they are..." His violet eyes filled with pain. He wanted Peacock back dearly as well. He remembered all the happy, though sometimes dangerous, times the teenagers had together, how delighted they were at discovering each other's identities. They had even worn their Miraculous during the wedding, Peacock having passed it off as her 'something blue', so that the kwami could participate. He hated the fact that it was because of his powers being used for evil, that Gabriel had lost the spark in his eyes and the cheerful demeanour. But he didn't trust the coldness from the man. Whatever life and laugh he had when he was younger had been extinguished the night his wife disappeared into the rain.
"I still found you, Nooroo." The Papillion spirit started to really fear. Of course he wanted Peacock back, but he would be going, again, against what he was meant to do – and probably for an even longer time. "This Miraculous which you are bound to... remind me what it allows one to do?" Nooroo looked steadily at Gabriel, hoping that he could convey how much he was against the idea of them hurting people. Memories began to flood back of what his powers had been forced to do. Making innocent people turn into hideous creatures for a greedy man's army had turned his stomach and he was keen to never repeat it again. The feeling of being forcibly ripped away from his host had nearly killed him, and if they were going up against the two strongest Miraculous, he was anything but ready.
But... maybe Papillion wasn't planning to take the Miraculous by force? "The butterfly's brooch allows you to give a super power to someone and make them your champion." He smiled hopefully. 'Champion' didn't necessarily mean they were going to fight. Maybe he would create scouts to act as eyes and ears.
But Nooroo's hopes sunk with Gabriel's next words. "And when you need to attract superheroes, what's more efficient that super villains?"
"But... Master... the Miraculous aren't supposed to be used for evil..." he stammered. He didn't want this, no, no, no.
"I need this absolute power!" he stomped his foot, almost like an angry child. For a moment, Nooroo felt like he was staring at teenage Gabriel, lovesick and acting childish and impatient over the unknown name of his love. But this was the same boy, grown and weary, determined to get his wife back. The butterflies fluttered up and Nooroo flinched at how they almost seemed to be anticipating their corruption with excitement. "Your Miraculous is in my possession!" Nooroo couldn't help but curl in at the implication that his power was just a weapon to be used. "You are therefore in my possession!" Nooroo gave a gasp as Gabriel pointed at him, feeling himself quiver, almost on the verge of tears. "And you owe me obedience."
He caved in. "Very well, Master, at your service..." he clung to the hope that it would be over soon – that they wouldn't hurt too many people and that Peacock could mend this broken man. The butterflies flapped like a maddening drum as Gabriel fixed the brooch to his chest.
"Nooroo! Let the night's wings unfold!"
He felt the brooch pull at him and was pulled into the cluster of butterflies, helping them shape the new Papillion. Papillion's arms spread out, cane in hand as the butterflies dispersed. His new suit was more suiting for the situation, more mature. It was the battle suit of a king, preparing to bring back his queen. "Nooro...
"Transformer moi!"