Adrien stood at front of his cage of a home. He had to keep reminding himself that it had been five days. It was almost as if nothing had happened. Adrien took a deep breath and took a step forward, then another. There were two possibilities that could happen. One, his father would be completely furious with him and ground him for life, or he would show some real concern for his safety. Adrien personally believed he would have to endure the first possibility.
Slowly and full of hesitation, Adrien gripped the front door knob and twisted it. He gently pushed open the door. He glanced around at the inside of the mansion, once again being reminded by his complaining stomach of how hungry he was.
"Adrien...?" Gabriel Agreste appeared out of his office, closing the door behind him. "You're back."
Adrien looked up at his father, frowning slightly. So far no worry. No love. "Yes. I...was attacked by the akuma." He said, keeping a straight face. That was what his father liked, after all. Professionalism.
Gabriel frowned as well, walking to Adrien. He took his arm, then the other, looking over him to check for injuries. "Are you alright?" He asked.
"Yes." Adrien answered. It was simple, but it was all he needed to say.
Gabriel nodded, taking a step back. He clasped his hands behind his back, his face emotionless. "You must be hungry."
Adrien nodded, and as if on cue, his stomach grumbled. Again.
Raising an eyebrow, Gabriel turned his head towards the kitchen. "I'll have a meal prepared for you and brought to your room. Wait there and shower." With that last command, he glanced at Adrien out of the corner of his eye, before Adrien sighed and left to his room.
"That went well." Plagg said, flying onto Adrien's bed as Adrien carried his pajamas with him into his bathroom.
"It's always like that, Plagg." Adrien replied, shutting the door and turning on his shower. He could hear Plagg scoff and grumble in response.
A while later, Adrien was in his pajamas sitting on his bed, sighing. His entire body was sore. And like his father had said, when Adrien had gotten out of the shower, a platter of food was waiting on his desk. Now that platter was on his lap, being emptied as he ate the food slowly.
"Adrien...I need to tell you something." Plagg said, sort of hesitantly. He flew towards Adrien and hovered in front of him.
Adrien looked up from his food, intrigued. "What is it?"
"Well...I was going to tell you earlier, but you transformed before I could say anything." He paused, obviously waiting for an apology. When none came, he continued, now a little sour. "Anyways I wanted to tell you that...Well, the akuma knows your identity."
Adrien's heart jumped and he gasped. This was not what he was expecting to hear. If anything, he was expecting to hear something about Camembert. "What?! When?!"
Plagg sighed and dropped onto the platter of food. "When you fell asleep." He paused, letting the information sink in. "I quickly hid, but Imperiumal didn't do anything. He only watched as you lay there. He didn't even take your miraculous! I still don't understand it."
"So you were there, by yourself for five days?"
Plagg nodded. "Well I had you, although you were out cold." He folded his tiny arms. "Anyways after a while Imperiumal left. I don't know why he didn't do anything to you. It was his golden opportunity."
"Personally I'm glad he didn't do anything." Adrien said, shrugging.
Nodding again, Plagg continued. "Anyways, I left you for just a little bit to try to figure out where we were, and I saw Blaze, or Imperiumal attacking buildings. He was in his fire form, if that's what you want to call it, and he was just senselessly destroying everything." Plagg shuddered. "I saw Ladybug once, but Blaze said something to her and she left." He added.
"Imperiumal was saying he had me hostage. That's why Ladybug hasn't stopped him yet." Adrien said, sighing and laying down onto his pillow. "So... if the akuma knows my identity, does that mean Hawk Moth does too?"
Plagg flew so that he was hovering above Adrien's face, his hands on his hips. "Yep." He replied simply. Adrien groaned and covered his face with his hands, feeling extremely tired. He yawned and grabbed the platter, sitting up and placing it on the ground before collapsing again onto his bed.
"But if Hawk Moth knows, then will he try to hunt me down? I mean, the whole reason to keep my identity a secret is so that Hawk Moth doesn't find out...right?"
"Yep." He said again, although this time solemnly. "But don't worry. You can get help from Ladybug."
Now Adrien nodded, stifling another yawn. Plagg sighed. "Get some sleep." The black kwami ordered before flying away. Adrien nodded again and turned over onto his side. Hopefully this time, he wouldn't sleep for five days.