This isn't how I was planning to make my comeback to the fandom (part three of Miraculous Comicon is coming, I promise) but I felt this needed to be shared.

Warning: This has more cussing than I usually use and is a little dark. See notes at the end to know more.


Adrien paced the floor of the hallway. What could his father possibly want to talk to Marinette about in private? She had looked so scared at the prospect of being left alone with him. At first he'd just thought it was her usual starstruck attitude getting the best of her, but the longer he waited out here, the more worried he became. Was he trying to get her to break up with him? He knew his father was overprotective and strict. It wasn't outside of the realm of impossibility.

Though muffled through the door and several yards away, Adrien still heard Marinette's shout of "No!" It sounded panicked and Adrien decided enough was enough, whatever was going on in there, he had a right to know.

He marched over to the door, ready to tell his father that whatever he had to say to his girlfriend, he could say to his son as well. Just feet from the door he heard a thump and a shriek of panic that had him throwing himself at the door, fearing an Akuma attack.

What he found was worse, but his brain struggled to comprehend it.

"What the hell!"

Because what else did you say when you find your father pinning your girlfriend to your bed? Said girlfriend looked at him wide-eyed, with tears already starting to form.

Gabriel Agreste jumped off the bed and away from the crying teen, who immediately curled up in a ball and clutched at the sides of her head, but kept his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Like some toddler trying to hide stolen candy from his mother. "Son, I can explain, if you'd just give me a moment-"

"Get out."

Gabriel blinked, not quite seeming capable of comprehending that his son was talking back to him. "Did you just tell me to-"

"Get out." Adrien repeated, looking absolutely livid. If looks could kill, his father would be dead right now.

"I am your father and if you would just listen, you would understand that-"

"Leave. Now."

It finally seemed to click with Gabriel that his son wasn't exactly in a listening mood. "Very well, we'll discuss this once you've calmed down." With that he left, with as much dignity as a man in his position could muster.

The door shut with a sharp snap of the lock going into place and Adrien rushed forward to scoop Marinette up off the bed and into his arms. She sobbed into his chest while her hands still clutched at her earlobes.

"What did he do to you?" Adrien whispered in horror as he continued to rub soothing circles on her back while he carried her away from the bed to cradle her in his lap on the couch.

Her words were more nonsensical than he'd heard in a long time and he barely understood most of it through her tears. He got the gist of it though "bed" attack" "scared" "sorry."

He crushed her against his chest. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for, Mari. Nothing. I'm gonna kill him."

"Adrien," Marinette whispered softly, her first clear word.

Her round, pleading eyes temporarily derailed him from thoughts of murder. His hand reached up to gently stroke her face before his hand slipped back to gently pry hers away from the ear she was clutching. Without her pressure there a bead of blood began to well up. He was going to commit patricide tonight.

Marinette wrapped her hand around Adrien's, which in turn was gently wrapped around the shell of her ear as he took in the damage with a quiet, shaking rage. As she took in his face of anger, Marinette took a few steadying breaths of her own. Her face took on the same look of steely determination that Ladybug wore.

"Adrien, it's not exactly what you think."

"Not what I think! So I didn't just see my father attack my girlfriend, pinning her to a bed?" He sounded incredulous, and pissed, and on the verge of a melt down.

Marinette winced. "No, that was real."

"I'm gonna kill him. I'm going to murder him-"

"Kitty!" Marinette put both her hands on either side of his face to get his attention and Adrien temporarily saw red as he watched another bead of blood well up in the other ear. Then the nickname came crashing through his brain.

"How did you. . ."

She gave a wry smile. "You really shouldn't reuse the same jokes on the same person, especially when you're dating said person."

Shit. Ladybug was going to kill him.

Marinette gave him a shaky smile. "Come on. There are some things I need to tell you, but it might be easier to show you."

He watched her get up and lock the door, then brace it with his desk chair. He finally snapped out of his stupor when she held out her hand to him. He launched himself off the couch and wove his hand through hers. Though he wasn't expecting it when she led him to the bathroom.

"What are you doing?"

She was still shaking and he wanted to scoop her back up and hold her until all her hurts went away, but there was a fierceness in her eyes that made him pause. She wasn't done fighting yet, and he wasn't going to take that from her.

"I need to show you something."

His confusion grew as he let her lead him in and then over to the shower. There she disentangled her hand from his and knelt on the tile floor. His mysticism at her actions promptly turned to horror once more as he watched her shove her hand in her mouth.

"What the hell, Mari?" He shouted, jumping back in his initial disgust before rushing forward to see if she was all right.

"I'm sorry. This is really gross, but I couldn't think of any other way to hide it where he wouldn't find it and I couldn't leave it at home or somewhere else because what if someone else found it or there was an akuma attack?"

"I'm not following," Adrien said, staring down at his girlfriend, kneeling in front of a puddle puke with rising concern.

She reached down and he almost puked himself when she plucked something out of the vomit. "I wanted to tell you, but I also desperately wanted to be wrong and I didn't want to put you through that a second time if I was wrong."

"Still not following."

She held up a small, clear plastic bag and he swallowed his revulsion to lean forward and look at what was inside. A par of small, black studds. The same earrings she'd been wearing earlier today. The same earrings she'd worn as long as he'd known her. But who would wear a decoy pair of the same earrings? And who would be crazy enough to swallow them to keep them hidden?

A bright smile broke out across his face. "My lady!"

She continued to look at him sadly. "Follow the thread of thought, Chaton."

He paused, trying to figure out what she was getting at, then other questions started coming- Who was Ladybug afraid of enough to make a fake pair of earrings and swallow the real ones? Who would want a pair of earrings? Want them so badly that they were willing to attack a teenage girl to get them? Who had Ladybug already accused his father of being and then reluctantly taken away her accusations after his akumatization?

Adrien saw tears well in Marinette's eyes and knew that the conclusion must show on his face. Adrien slumped to the floor in shock. Marinette came over to wrap her arms around him.

"Oh, Kitty, I'm so sorry."

His father, Gabriel Agreste, was Hawkmoth.

Somehow that was worse than his previous assumption when he'd first came in the room.

Later, somewhere else in the Agreste mansion

Gabriel held his prize in his cupped hands. Finally! After so long. After all his plans and struggles and fighting, he finally had his prize! Well, half of it anyway. But no matter, with the earrings of the ladybug in his possession, it wouldn't be long before the ring of the black cat followed.

A ding from his phone drew his attention. It was the ringtone he'd set for notifications from the Ladyblog. Perhaps Chat Noir was out on patrol right now! To get both in one night would be a dream!

He eagerly pulled out his phone and promptly dropped it with a curse. There, filling the whole damn screen, was a picture of Ladybug soaring over one of the many rooftops of Paris with the sub-caption- "Looking fierce and ready to take on not just Hawkmoth, but the whole world!"

Which meant, the earrings in his possession were not a Miraculous.

Which meant, he'd just assaulted an innocent teenage girl for no reason.

Who was also dating his son.

Both of whom he now had to explain his actions to.

.

.

.

Shit


When I was little, I used to see a therapist. During one of my visits with her we talked about nightmares and monsters. She told me that I could take something scary and make it silly. For practice, we drew the monster under my bed (a three-legged octopus looking thing with too many teeth) and turned it into a clown-fairy.

Last night I had a nightmare that woke me up and wouldn't leave my head, so I decided to try something I hadn't done in a while and rewrote it to try and take away the scary. I don't think I completely accomplish that, but that's okay, because I got it down to levels I could manage and let go of, and that's what this exercise is all about. Even after I finished though, I still felt a mad impulse that I wasn't done. So here I am, (over)sharing this with all of you in hopes that this method helps someone else as well.