Gabriel Agreste.

We will grant you a second chance.

Don't mess it up.

Gabriel gasped and heaved, his mind reeling in too much information. Chat noir. His son. Adrien. Nathalie. Émilie, his wish. How everything had crumbled down when he finally thought he had the miraculous he longed for. But at what cost? Ladybug, the young promising designer… Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

The future. His future. A future without Emilie, no matter what he tried. Guilt spread in his veins, nerve wracking.

"Master ?"

The little voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Nooro. The little kwami stood in the air, in front of him, confusion on his face. Gabriel looked around. They were in the lair, and shaking, he pulled out his phone, the screen informing him it was september the first. The day where it all began. The day he was supposed to start chaos in paris. The first day of school of Adrien… Adrien. He had fighted his own son. His beloved son. The nausea came in waves, and he barely made it in time to his personal washroom, followed by the concerned voice of Nooro, where he emptied his stomach. Gabriel sat on the cold bathroom tiles, dry heaving and trembling with guilt and remorse. He had done so much evil. He had vented out his grief on Paris, lost in the pain of losing Emilie.

And now he understood, that she would never come back, she was dead. And Nathalie… had followed her too, in the footsteps of Mayura. She had fallen terribly ill, and it was all because of him. He had failed his son. He had failed as a father. He had failed Nathalie. He had failed Emilie.

"Master ? Is everything alright ?"

The concerned voice of Nooro brought him back to his senses. The little fairy hovered over him, confused and worried. Nooro worried about him? That couldn't be right, not after all the cruel treatment he made the kwami suffer through.

The kwamis… still had deemed him worthy of fixing his mistakes.. and had sent him back. But why? Guilt and grief clashed all over his mind, leaving him no escape. He retched whatever was left in his stomach once again. When he was finally able to speak again, his voice was creaking.

"Why, Nooro ?"

"I don't understand master, you were there then you spaced out, and you…"

"I was sent back."

"What ?"

"I was sent back by the kwamis. By you. I've… done terrible things. I became Hawkmoth. I promised her i would bring her back... that's why i wanted the miraculous of the ladybug and the black cat. To bring Émilie back. All is my fault Nooro. I battled my own son. I neglected him."

The little god was silent now, as Gabriel confessed everything to the kwami. It was like a dam had been broken, and the breach could not be fixed. A tear rolled on his cheek, then two. And in no time he was fully sobbing, pathetic, a mess of snot and tears on his pristine bathroom floor. Nothing could describe the regret he was feeling right now. The remorse was too strong and would not leave his mind. He finished his terrible confession, waiting for Nooro to leave, to yell at him, do something. But instead the kwami did none of that and after a beat of silence, flew to him and nuzzled in his neck, hugging him with all his tiny body.

"You were sent back for a reason, I believe," said softly Nooro, gentle as always. How dare he, abuse of such a kind soul like he did ? He retired his glasses and dried his tears best as he could, his mind racing still.

The kwami continued, still ignorant of the war battle his brain was in (or maybe he knew, and choose to speak no word of it yet)

"We kwamis, do not send back just anyone. If we did… then we believed you deserved a second chance."

A second chance ? After all he had done ? If someone had said this to him months before, he would have laughed in their face. He had promised he would bring back Émilie, no matter the price. But only now he understood that the price, indeed, was too much to bear. He couldn't fight his son anymore. Nor put Nathalie in death's arms. He didn't knew what to believe anymore.

Lost in his misery, he did not heard the knock at his door and thus jumped when Nathalie spoke through the door.

"Sir, Adrien tried to go to school. We got him back home, as you said. He awaits in the dining room."

He cleared his throat, and spoke -oh, how he hated how his voice slightly broke on the words- as cooly as he was capable

"Give me a moment. I'll speak with him later."

He had to maintain appearances, that was for the best. Slowly, he rose from his uncomfortable position on the floor, ignoring the dizziness that settled in him. Adrien… Oh gods, Adrien. How could he make it up to him ? He had not only fought him, he had neglected him through and through, lost in the akumas and his work. Never showing up to his classes meetings, to his fencing tournaments, to his birthdays even. If only he could go back in time…

He realized that he just did. That was his chance. To be a better father. To be a real dad. He could start over. Before getting addicted to being Hawkmoth. But for now, he had to apologize. Or he would lose Adrien again. And that, he couldn't live with a second time.

He smoothed his hair and his shirt, wiped the sweat on his brow and drank a bit of water to chase the foul taste in his mouth. When he finally was ready to leave the bathroom, he was praying no one would notice his red eyes and Nooro was hiding in his jacket. Ten minutes had passed and the dizziness following him still. He made his way to the large dining room, where Adrien was being tutored by Nathalie.

Nothing had prepared him for the shock of seeing Adrien alive and well. Not looking at him with an expression of disgust and reject, even if it was apprehension on his face. The boy expected to be punished. Gabriel gulped. He never wanted to see that look on his son ever again. The nausea came back but he pushed it deep down inside him. Something must have betrayed him however, because the nervousness on adrien changed to concern.

"Father, are you alright ? You look very pale." Adrien said, his green eyes so alike those of Émilie staring into him.

Émile. Thinking of her was still so painful. Everything in Adrien reminded him of her. For one moment, he was still tempted to repeat history, dismiss his son and go akumatize the first person he could feel, just to have a chance to see her again. But he couldn't, not again. Not when Adrien needed him. He blinked furiously, trying hard to not cry again. He could feel his hands starting to shake, his heart beating painfully. All he wanted was to hug his son. Apologize. Tell him he loved him. Promise him he would never hurt him again.

"Father ?"

He could feel Nathalie staring at him. Gabriel Agreste never was at a loss for words.

His head was spinning now, painfully throbbing at his temples.

"Adrien. I…" he tried to speak, but no words would come.

He took one step towards him. And suddenly, his whole world went black.

"FATHER !"

"No work for one week at least. He needs to rest. He is exhausted and his heart recieved a nasty shock."

Adrien slowly slipped away from the doctor, who was giving more instructions to Nathalie. Silently, he made his way to Gabriel's room and knocked, announcing his presence. Timidly, he entered the large dimly lit bedroom. His father had changed rooms after his mother passed. The room was still a master -everything in this house was- and as splendid their old room was, but it still felt weird. Gabriel laid in bed but turned his head towards him, his glasses on the nightstand.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Father. I was just…" Adrien started to say, feeling like a little boy under the impressive blue eyes.

But Gabriel extended his hand to him and beckoned him closer. Adrien almost ran to his side, but restrained himself and took the offered hand with relief.

"I was so scared" sniffed Adrien, quietly starting to cry. Gabriel slowly raised his hand and gently wiped the tears off his cheeks, like he used to do. Adrien smiled at him through his tears and would not let go of his hand.

"I'm sorry, Adrien" rasped his father. Adrien looked at him with wide eyes; it wasn't like his father to apologize like that.

"You're overworking yourself." Adrien said quietly, and laughed when Gabriel grumbled.

"No, seriously. You are" he continued. His father sighed and passed a hand in Adrien's hair, something he hadn't done in months. Actually, since his mother died. Adrien leaned into the touch happily. This was unusual, but he wasn't gonna complain. He felt like his dad was finally back. Much too soon, Gabriel stopped and then tried to sit.

"Adrien ?"

"Mmmh ?"

"You really want to go to school, do you ?"

Adrien raised his head, not believing what he just heard.

"Yes," he replied in a heartbeat "I really do, father. I want to make friends. I just want to be a normal kid, like the others."

But you won't be normal, thought Gabriel. Yet he pushed down that thought. This was for later. Adrien's happiness was important, and should be his top priority. Going to school, he would make friends, including Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And Gabriel didn't wanted to take that away from him.

Gabriel sighed, then smiled at his son.

"I will arrange myself with Nathalie so you can go to Françoise Dupont starting tomorrow then."

The biggest smile appeared on Adrien's face.

"Oh, thank you Father !"

"But you will continue your chinese lessons and photoshoots. These are important too."

"I promise you won't regret this !" said Adrien, almost jumping up and down with excitement.

"I trust you, Adrien."

Adrien looked more touched at those words than anything he could have said. Carefully, he put one arm around Gabriel and hugged him tightly. A bit awkwardly at first, he returned the embrace best as he could. He put his chin in his son's hair and stayed there for a moment. For Gabriel, this was the moment where he decided he couldn't go back to his old ways. Adrien was far too important to him. And he had to lose him to realize this.

"I'll let you rest now" said quietly Adrien, still smiling. Gabriel kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair a bit. Adrien laughed, and Gabriel marveled at the sound. All wasn't lost. He had a second chance.

Once Adrien was gone, he laid back, left alone with his thoughts. Nooro came out of his hiding spot to rest on his chest, pulsating with positive emotions.

"You made the right choice, Master." said the little god, smiling at him.

Gabriel patted Nooro's head lightly. The kwami's emotions surrounded him, much more pleasant than before. Was it because he hadn't used the miraculous to do evil and that allowed him to connect more with his kwami ? He could only speculate.

"I do have an idea, master. For you to give back to Paris, even if you did not started to be Hawkmoth here."

"Do tell, Nooro."

"You could maybe… Become a hero ?" said shyly the tiny fairy. At this, Gabriel stayed silent for a moment.

"I… I don't know how," he confessed, wincing. "I only knew how to create Akumas."

"I can teach you ! But first, you must rest. The magic has taken a toll on your body and mind. You need time to recover."

Gabriel hummed his approbation. He could feel himself drifting into sleep. And even if the pain of losing Émilie was still fresh, he felt oddly at peace for a bit. Guilt was still flowing through him, but knowing he had a second chance helped. He could make this better. He would not fail this time.

Meanwhile, two teenagers discovered two peculiar little boxes on their tables…