Chapter Nine

For the most part there were two types of people in Adrien's life, those who put him at ease and those he needed to dance around. Glancing over the rim of his wine glass he already knew Chloe Bourgeois firmly fell into the second category. His childhood friend was staring at him with bedroom eyes and he resisted the urged to pull at his shirt collar. "How was the salmon?"

The overly made up blonde primped as she eyed her silverware neatly aligned on her plate. Nino would have approved. "It was divine, but the sauce was too… fishy."

Adrien raised a brow as he took another sip of his chardonnay. While Chloe was his oldest friend, she was also his most high maintenance. He almost choked on his drink when he felt the toe of her shoe riding up his pant leg to circle his ankle. He quickly tucked his feet under his chair and put his glass down with flustered haste. When would the woman take the hint that he wasn't interested?

A fleeting snarl of frustration curved Chloe's lip before she pursed them back into a crocodile smile. He could tell his brush off had been dismissed as accidental. Inwardly he sighed as she resumed her tirade about her latest adventure into reality TV. "Can you believe they got my foundation mixed up with that obnoxious brat with the green hair." Blah, blah, blah…

The model had been tuning in and out of her conversation all night. The only thing that had piqued his interest was Chloe's suggestion about taking the Notorious line on world tour in conjunction with the Formula One calendar. It was a brilliant idea. Anyone who was anyone frequented the race track, it was the domain of the rich and famous, heck the sponsors were some of the most luxurious brands on the planet. Already his mind was turning over with concepts of how it could work. The downside, it meant he'd be away from Paris for a year.

Part of him was elated at the concept of escaping his problems, avoiding the trial and the fanfare at his reappearance as Chat Noir. Yet another part of him was saddened. Being absent meant no more time with his friends, or Ladybug, for an extended period and while he'd been avoiding the whole superhero side of his life he had no intention of letting it go completely.

Perhaps he could contact his partner to make her understand that he'd be gone for twelve months. It wasn't like she needed him with Hawkmoth gone. His hand shifted to the base of his wine glass, his thumb and forefinger tracing the circumference as he mulled over his thoughts.

Suddenly Chloe's hand was covering his. "Do you want to see the dessert menu?" she asked as she cocked her head towards their waiter.

Adrien shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Four days later, Adrien was perched on the Gabriel building rooftop again. The early morning sun was peeling away from the horizon as he blew steam off the top of his coffee mug. More than a week had passed since his jaunt across the Paris skyline as Chat Noir and deep down he yearned to do it again. His thoughts whirled as he considered the future of the business.

After his dinner with Chloe he'd emailed the appropriate business personnel with the proposal Chloe had suggested. The concept had been received with enthusiastic chatter the next day at work. Emails and phone calls had bounced back and forth and already things were being lined up. It was all happening so fast. He let out a sigh and his shoulders hunched.

"What's up, kid?" Plagg asked from his coat pocket.

Adrien adjusted his scarf more firmly around his throat to keep out the cold. "I'm wondering if I did the right thing. Between this now imminent world tour and returning briefly as Chat Noir, my head is in a spin."

Plagg's paw batted one of the tassels at the end of Adrien's scarf. "Your life is full of obligations at the moment. You shouldn't feel guilty about making decisions that needed to be made."

"True but returning as Chat Noir has stirred up a lot of speculation. Heck, the Ladyblog is running a competition for 'Chat Noir sightings' and requesting photos for confirmation."

"People miss you. Chat Noir is a much-loved hero."

"I'm no hero, Plagg."

"Are we going to go over this again? You're not your father. You're not an idiot. Kids are meant to trust their parents, but sometimes the parents aren't worth trusting. Thankfully that's not usually the case, unfortunately you're one of the exceptions."

Lifting his mug, Adrien took a long sip of his coffee. "Lucky me."

"It could be worse. You could be lactose intolerant."

"Heaven forbid," Adrien chuckled. "But in all seriousness, I can't go back to being Chat Noir now. Not when I'm scheduled for a year of travel. I won't be in Paris for some time."

"You're in Paris now."

The model ran a hand through his hair. "What about Ladybug?"

"I don't know, what about her?"

"How do I explain my behaviour? I'm ashamed of how I acted, of how I'm still acting."

"You need to tell her at some point."

"I guess."

The black kwami snuggled deeper into Adrien's coat pocket. "If you're going to procrastinate, may I suggest doing it with cheese?"

A lopsided smile spread across the model's face as he chuckled. "I'd be surprised if you didn't suggest it, Plagg."

"Stop putting it off. You know you want to transform. You regretted the last time you wasted the opportunity. What if now is your final chance?"

Adrien let out a huff that blew his fringe away from his eyes but his locks fell casually back in place. "Alright, I'll do it." Adrien sipped the last dregs of his coffee and sat the mug on the ground. "Plagg, claws out."

Most of the time Adrien would have settled into a number of poses as he transformed, enjoying the flex of his muscles within the magic. Now he stood immobile with eyes closed as he morphed into Chat Noir. Simply letting the magic splash over him. When he opened his eyes, he squinted against the brightening sky. Again, his baton buzzed at his back.

He shouldn't have been surprised to have received a response but his hands began to tremble. No doubt Ladybug was trying to reach out to him and he cringed at the thought. It wasn't that he didn't want to see her, he really did miss her. What truly terrified him was the fact that there was no longer a viable reason to withhold their true identities from each other.

While Ladybug had never been enamoured with him as Chat Noir, she did hold him in high regard. The thought of her learning who he really was, of knowing that he was Adrien Agreste spawn of their enemy, made his stomach churn. She would look at him differently, potentially with disgust and he couldn't handle that.

His baton buzzed again and he finally flicked it open. He had a number of missed calls but only one message. Sucking in a deep breath, Chat Noir hit play and his beautiful partner's face filled the screen. Hi Chat, I got your message. You don't have to explain to me why you disappeared if it makes you uncomfortable. If you needed space after Hawkmoth's defeat, I understand. I know I was shocked to find out it was Gabriel Agreste and I can only assume you must know him in some way. It would explain your reaction. Whatever your reasons, it's okay. I want to see you again. Can we meet up? And just so you know, you never let me down. Talk soon.

Chat Noir slammed his baton shut as a chill ran down his spine. Ladybug had concluded that he had ties with Gabriel Agreste. Her compassionate message resonated with him, yet the urge to flee was almost inescapable. His respiration was so fast he was on the verge of hyperventilating. His baton shook in his hand. Part of him wanted to extend it and vault across the rooftops but a stronger part of him wanted to distance himself from Chat Noir and from the possibility that Ladybug would discover the truth. He looked at his miraculous and considered taking it off. After a brief pause he did.

Marinette was busy shoving her notes into her bag and missed the way her kwami shot into the air, a quiver going through her tiny body as her eyes widened in sad disbelief. It was only when Tikki let out a whimper that the girl turned to see a single teardrop streak down her kwami's cheek. "What is it, Tikki?"

Her words were rasped, "He took off the ring."

The bag slipped through Marinette's fingers. "What?"

"Chat Noir took off his miraculous. I sensed it."

"Why would he take off his miraculous? Do you think he's in trouble?"

"I don't know."

Marinette knew she should have been paying attention. Normally she would have been completely enthralled by the sound of Adrien's voice but her mind was reeling from shock. Why would Chat Noir remove his ring now? More importantly had he done it voluntarily or had he been forced? Was her partner in need of her help?

Adrien paused midsentence to look at her. "Are you listening?"

Lifting her gaze from the page she'd been staring blankly at, Marinette plastered on a smile she hoped was convincing. "Sorry, faded out for a minute there."

"Inspiration struck?" he beamed as he tapped a finger on the open page.

"Not exactly." She eyed him for long moment, considering the wisdom of bring up a certain black clad hero. Although she needed to use an angle that was common knowledge. "I heard that Chat Noir resurfaced recently."

Adrien's smile became brittle. "It seems to be the topic of the week."

"Alya rang me. Apparently, it's true but there's still no hard evidence at this stage." She caught the flickering pain in his eyes before he looked away. Was he trying to hide his feelings? "I hope I haven't upset you."

He turned back to her, his gaze going no higher than her chin. "Why would Chat Noir upset me?"

"Well, because of your Dad and what happened." She couldn't go into the details of Tikki's discovery, how her mystical powers had alerted her to the fact that Chat Noir was no longer wearing his ring. Maybe he needed space, that was all. She wouldn't dwell on any other possibilities.

"My father got what he deserved."

Marinette snapped to attention. "So, you're not upset with Chat Noir for vanishing?"

A strange look passed over Adrien's face. "No, he has his reasons." Her eyes narrowed, did Adrien know more than he was letting on? Before she could question him further, his attention returned to her sketches. "What I was saying before is that your designs look great. I'll need to finalise the selections as soon as possible because I'll be going overseas for the next twelve months."

"What!"

"Yeah, it is rather sudden but an opportunity came up that I can't ignore. The Gabriel brand needs a lot of spruiking, it's starting to get back to where it used to be in terms of sales but further promotion is needed to keep the ball rolling. Hence 'Adrien's world tour' is about to get under way. Yay." He said with a wink.

Marinette stared at him in shock. "You're really leaving?"

He nodded, "Yeah but not permanently. I'll be living out of a suitcase for longer than I'd like, thanks to dear old deranged Dad."

"He caused a lot of problems," Marinette muttered to herself, thinking of Chat Noir.

To her surprise Adrien's hand suddenly covered hers. "I've got enough bitterness towards my father to sink a ship, you don't need to carry around that burden. Let it go, Marinette. I know I'm trying my best to do the same thing but it's easier said than done. Hopefully this time away from Paris will help me heal. God knows I need to do something."

"But twelve months? That's a long time to be gone. Why so long?"

"I'll be touring in line with the Formula One schedule. It's the perfect opportunity to rub shoulders with the rich and famous. Many of the elite brands are intertwined with the sport. I'll also attend the various fashion week celebrations around the world where it coincides. I believe if I do this it should cement the Gabriel brand more firmly than it was previously and I can finally hand the reins over to someone else."

"Wow, that does sound promising." She slouched back into her chair. "When do you leave?"

"In about five weeks. We kick off with fashion week in New York. In the meantime, I'll be doing a load of photoshoots to prepare. My schedule is going to be insane but I think it'll be worth it in the end."

Marinette wanted to break down and cry. Now when she was finally getting closer to Adrien he was about to leave. Now when Chat Noir appeared to be returning, he relinquished his miraculous. She wanted to grab Adrien by the hands and beg him not to go, or at least take her with him but that meant abandoning Chat Noir. Or at least the hope that her partner would eventually resurface again. Her lips trembled as she pulled them into a supportive smile, yet her eyes couldn't meet Adrien's.

Everything seems to be falling apart for Marinette, while Adrien commits himself to his father's business. Where to from here? Wait and see.

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