All previous warnings still apply.
I don't own anything.
III – Anger
To see his father sitting at the table when he came down for breakfast was clearly not something Adrien would have expected. The times he had been having direct interaction with him lately could be counted with just your fingers.
"Good morning father.", he greeted as he sat down.
"I need to speak to you.", Gabriel returned with his usual serious tone.
Adrien could tell this meant nothing good.
"Upon reviewing the pictures from your latest shooting, I came to notice you clearly did not perform as well as you usually do. It will be taking the editor a lot of work to have the pictures look as needed."
As the designer made a pause, Adrien let the information sink in. He remembered the shooting his father was referring to. And he did not even have a good reason for the decline in his performance. He had just been tired from an exhausting Akuma fight that had happened shortly before. He was taken from his train of thought when Gabriel continued: "I expect you to give your utmost best at any given time. Do keep in mind that it would have a negative impact on my business if the main model of the Gabriel brand was visibly not be giving enough effort."
His words left Adrien not really wanting any breakfast any more. The boy stared down at the food on his plate. All his father cared for was his business. Not with a word had he shown any interest in the thoughts or feelings of his son. It took Adrien a moment to find some words.
"I understand.", he said, "I will try harder the next time."
"Good.", Gabriel spoke and rose from his seat. "Now finish your breakfast so you are not late for school, I have work to attend to."
Of course he had, Adrien thought. He had always work to do, or at least he said so.
Even after his father had left, Adrien still did not feel hungry at all. But as he did not want to raise any suspicion for leaving his food untouched, he at least forced down a piece of Baguette and smuggled the cheese he had been offered into his pocket for Plagg.
After had had finished, Nathalie forwarded his schedule to him as usual. Normally, he would politely thank her, but the only reaction he could manage upon checking all the activities he needed to partake in today was a dissatisfied groan.
His father's assistant was clearly not pleased at this, and scolded him: "Please Adrien, mind your behavior."
The boy began shaking with anger, and ultimately raised his voice at her in a volume completely unnatural to him.
"Don't tell me what to do!", he shouted. That had already felt rather good, but Adrien wasn't done venting yet.
"You're not my mother!", he added and then stormed up the stairs and into his room.
Nathalie was rather shocked at how the boy had reacted. On the hand, he was a teenager, and teenagers were known to go rebellious at some point. It must have been puberty with all the hormones, she thought to herself.
Never before had Adrien been so thankful for the Gorilla's trademark silence. If anybody else had addressed him so shortly after he had let off some steam, he was sure he would have insulted them. The shirt time he had to himself in the limo helped him calm down enough that everyone in school wouldn't realize something was going on.
The classroom was already in quite a buzz when he entered, most of the pupils flocking around Alya.
"I tell ya, it's crazy.", the blogger told them.
"What is?", Adrien asked upon approaching the others.
Alya moved her finger across the screen of her phone, scrolling through what could only be the Ladyblog.
"The comments on whatever Chat Noir is doing.", Alya explained, "Let me read some to ya, cuz I can't even believe some myself."
After a short pause, she began reading:
"Chat is no longer my super hero."
"I'm seriously scared of him, hope I never meet him alone in a dark alley."
"He's like a rabid cat."
"He should just stop being a hero and leave everything to Ladybug."
"Chat Noir has failed this city."
Hearing all this effected Adrien more than he could openly show.
"What do you all think?", he questioned, "I mean, there is still a person under that mask."
"Sure,", Alya replied, "and I seriously hope he can get his shit back together. Ladybug needs him."
"And she still trusts him.", Marinette added.
Adrien often forgot that Marinette was a close friend to his partner. It was reassuring that she still had his back.
The day was almost over, and Adrien was ready to thank fate for some peace and quiet, when news about another Akuma attack started airing on the television.
The two heroes dealt away with it quite easily, which was much of a relief to both. They even managed to do their fist bump without any disturbances.
They turned towards the person that had just been returned to their normal self, inquiring if he needed any further help.
The man was about to speak up when suddenly Chat's claws made contact with his shoulder. The claws tore through clothing and skin, even though there did not appear to be the energy of Cataclysm present. At least something positive, but shocking nonetheless.
While the wounds Chat had just created were being treated, Ladybug took him to the side.
"This is going too far.", she said, "You need to find a way to stop this."
"I don't know how.", her partner admitted.
"Okay, but let me try to help you.", Ladybug suggested.
"You can't help me.", Chat came back at her more furious than she had ever seen him, "I can't even help myself. Just..leave me alone!"
And with that, he once again fled the scene at maximum speed.
Again, Adrien shot questions at his Kwami back in his room. And again, said Kwami could not give him any answers.
"This has to be somehow related to the Miraculous!", the boy exclaimed while pacing back and forth.
"Nope.", Plagg replied dryly, "That's all just you."
"What good are you even?", Adrien asked and ultimately withdrew to his bathroom again.
Not before long, he held the scalpel in his hand once again. His left hand this time, though. He was curious if it made any difference when not using his dominant hand for cutting. But the feeling when another bit of his skin was torn open did not differ from the last time.
After tending to this new cut like he had before, he looked at the previous cut on his other wrist. It had stopped bleeding long ago, and a crust of dried blood now covered it. He cleaned the area to make sure it would not get infected. An infection would mean someone would learn about it, and he did not want that.
A/N: Enter worst dad Gabriel Agreste. It won't be the last time you saw him in this *hint hint*
