Author's Note: Minor, minor origin spoilers, in that Fu's occupation is listed. But if you've gotten to this point, it probably doesn't concern you anymore.

Moon, get your moogle.

Chapter 14

Fu's place was a massage parlour. A small room downstairs with a floor mattress for his business and a small apartment where he lived above it. The business side of the parlour itself was Chinese themed, with swirling murals of cranes standing over ponds, and incense and gongs, everything one might expect when receiving ancient Chinese massages, but his apartment above reminded Adrien of Marinette's place, a mix of French and Chinese cultures.

Which brought back haunting memories. "Your bakery," he mumbled to Sabine as she cleaned the cut on his face. "Your home."

"Don't you worry about that," Sabine told him. She tilted his face away again so she could see his cut.

Fixing his eyes on a mural on the wall, he swallowed the lump in his throat. "But—"

"We have an unpurified akuma in a jar," Tom said, cuddled up to Marinette on the floor by one of the walls. "When we're ready, Tikki says she can convert its energy to fix the bakery."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Adrien asked. "Keeping an unpurified akuma?"

"Separated from a host object, they're pretty harmless," Tikki piped from her spot on the table, amid the mass of snuggling kwami. They were all over each other, a big kwami reunion. Chirps, purrs, skitters, small moans from Wayzz, and a cornucopia of other animal noises had been occurring all night.

"The jar will keep it contained," Nooroo said.

"Even if she can't revert everything," Sabine said. "We have insurance. We're alive and that's all that matters."

"What happened?" Adrien asked.

"Hawk Moth walked into our home, dropped two jar akuma and then stood there and watched while they took my parents," Marinette murmured. "I followed one back to his base."

Adrien exhaled through his teeth. "Oh no," he mumbled and looked at Sabine in distress.

"We're okay," Sabine soothed. "It was unnerving, but I don't remember it."

"No one ever does," Adrien said. "Then the damage to your home was—"

"Me," Tom said. "Well… some of it anyway. The rest was—"

Marinette said, "Hawk Moth left when it became dangerous and I destroyed my home to hide the fact I was getting us out of there. I hoped I could get the drop on him." Marinette sighed. "Didn't work."

Adrien stared at her. So few words for what must have been traumatic. "Marinette—"

"No. I'm not telling you. It's not fair. Not after everything you've been through tonight."

"You've been through a lot too," Adrien mentioned.

Marinette raised her head from her dad's chest. "You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."

Adrien pressed his lips together and dropped his eyes.

"Exactly," she said and offered him a small smile. "Let's not add more to it. Not tonight."

"You should've called me."

"Our phones were still inside," Sabine said. "We had to get somewhere safe." She cast a glance at Marinette. "I thought she was going to get you."

Adrien closed his eyes and adjusted the ice-pack on his chest. "Has anyone told Alya?"

Sabine nodded, her finger's cold against his cheek as she applied the last of the bandage. "Ladybug left a message on the Ladyblog that she'd be in contact."

He was relieved at that. Thinking Alya could be still enduring was painful. By extension, Nino would know they were okay. "Good."

"Tea," Fu announced as he carried a tray into the room. Placing it on the table, he set out the cups, then rested a plate of food near the four snuggling kwami. "Special recipe for dreamless sleep."

"Thank you for opening up your home to us," Sabine murmured as she packed up the medical supplies.

"It is my pleasure," Fu said and swapped the supplies for a cup of tea. "There is much to discuss."

"Tomorrow," Sabine said and patted Adrien's knee. "The authorities know we're alive. They know it's an akuma attack. We've done all we need to do. Everything can be sorted out tomorrow." She picked up a cup and planted it in Adrien's hands. "Drink and sleep, that's what you need."

He had so many worries. Thoughts churning around inside his head. "I won't be able to sleep."

Sabine patted his knee again. "You'll be surprised what grief and exhaustion will let you do."

"I have money," Adrien mumbled. "And jewellery to sell. I raided my room, I didn't know what else to do and—"

Sabine cupped his chin and dragged his eyes up to meet hers. "I know you must be really scared right now, Adrien, but no matter what, you have a place with us."

Tears pricked his eyes again and he bowed his head to hide them. "Thank you."

"I have the guest bedroom set up for you and Marinette, Sabine," Fu said. "The bed is not big but it is comfortable. Tom and Adrien, the massage bed downstairs is quite—"

"Adrien and Marinette can take the guest room," Sabine said. "Tom and I will sleep downstairs." She smiled and spread her hands at Fu as he looked at her in surprise. "Saves them from having to sneak."

"Not tonight," Adrien muttered, too emotionally drained to stop his tongue. "I don't mind sleeping downstairs." Marinette's eyes widened and hurt splashed her face. Adrien ducked his head in response and refused to look at her.

"You are both injured," Sabine told him in a tone which told him there was no use arguing. "Neither one of you is sleeping on the floor." She touched his chin again. "Kitten, I think you need to be petted and I don't think you want to snuggle Tom, do you?"

There wasn't really anything he could say to that.

Fu and Sabine chatted to each other like old friends, gossiping about many things, from the bakery, to Marinette, and to the ancient Chinese traditions and histories in each of their families. At some point they slipped into Chinese, but Adrien really didn't listen to their conversation. Tom and Marinette murmured together on the floor and the four kwami's conversation hadn't stopped. Even with the chatter, Adrien felt so alone.

After draining his special sleeping tea, Adrien excused himself and followed Fu's directions to the guest bedroom. Dumping his bag on the end of the bed, he rummaged through for his toothbrush and a change of clothes. Finding he didn't pack his pyjamas, he grabbed a shirt and boxers, then found Fu's bathroom.

He didn't actually think he'd sleep. Stare at the ceiling in the darkness, maybe, but sleep seemed far outside the realm of possibilities. Repacking his bag, he put it on the floor and stood there, staring at the bed. The quilt covering it was red with a large oriental turtle in the middle. A nice looking bed. Intricate patterns in the stitching. A good thing to get lost in.

A soft knock on the door frame and Adrien turned his head to it.

Marinette hugged the doorframe to her chest as she looked at him uncertainly. "Safe to come in?"

Dropping his eyes, he nodded.

"I don't have to—"

"Do you want a shirt?" he asked. "I have spare."

She hesitated. "Please."

Picking up the bag, he unzipped it. "At least, I think I do. Not quite sure what I grabbed."

"Adrien—"

He found a clean one and offered it to her. "Here."

She took it with one hand, then reached over to close the door with the other. Placing the shirt on the bed, she wriggled out of her pants, then pulled her top over her head.

Adrien's eyes zeroed in on the bandage on her chest. "You're bleeding."

"It's old blood," she assured him.

He couldn't quite believe her. His hand reached for her, then hesitated. "He got you on the chest."

"Tikki gave me extra protection. I'm fine. Mom checked me." She reached for his hand but he pulled it out of reach. Hurt, she mumbled, "I'm really fine."

Adrien swallowed and ducked his head. "Okay. Oh. Um." He retrieved her necklace from the pocket of his jeans and held it out to her. "Here."

Marinette's eyes filled with tears as she took it from him. "Where…?"

"He… um… used it to try and convince me you were… um…" He choked on the mountain in his throat and stopped talking. Moving away, he picked a side and pulled back the covers before he climbed into bed. Removing his glasses, he left them on the small bedside table and stared at the roof.

The Marinette-blur fussed around for a while, then she switched the light off. Padding across the room, she slipped into bed beside him and fluffed her pillow.

Adrien lay there with his hands on his chest, staring at the roof and trying very hard not to think while he waited for Marinette to settle. She sighed, a long exhale, rolled onto her side and stopped moving. He concentrated on his breathing, trying to give the impression he was going to sleep but he didn't close his eyes. Reshuffling, he tucked one hand under his head and then tapped out a beat with his index finger on his chest.

Marinette's toes touched his calf then withdrew.

Adrien blinked and did nothing.

Tentative, her toes brushed against his leg again and stayed. Fluttering ever so slightly, he could feel the each movement of her toes against his skin. He didn't pull away and neither did she, but the tension in him felt like it grew.

Her fingers touched his hip, just enough to brush her nails against his skin. Testing boundaries or seeing if he was receptive to her, whatever she was doing, he was completely focused on it.

He sniffed and swallowed, twitching the leg furthest away from her but otherwise remaining still. The touch on his hip became firmer and her fingers slid onto his stomach. They rubbed, backwards and forwards, gently coaxing up his shirt so she could brush her fingers against his skin.

"I don't—" he squeaked as his voice cracked and he cleared his voice to try again. "I don't know how to be okay for you."

She shuffled closer and he could feel something soft against his bicep. "I'm not asking you to be okay."

He tilted his head toward her. "What are you asking?"

Lips against his the top of his shoulder. "I'm not asking anything."

Her foot hooked over his leg and tucked between. Her fingers tracked circles around his belly button. Sometimes they dipped against the elastic of his boxers, but never further. Some of the tension in him leaked away, but none of the grief and uncertainty he was hording did.

Swallowing, he said, "I thought you were dead."

The fingers on his stomach stilled. "I'm not dead. I'm right here."

He slid his hand down until it covered hers. "You gave up your heart."

"I know."

"You promised me you wouldn't."

Something wet against his shoulder and her voice trembled. "I know. I'm sorry. I never meant to—"

"My mother is alive."

"Adrien—" It was her turn for her voice to break.

"My father is Hawk Moth." He lifted his hand out from behind his head to pinch the bridge of his nose. Clenching his eyes shut, he said, "I don't… I can't…"

"Shh. I don't and can't either."

A burst of laughter, out of place and odd, but still somehow fitting. A noise from her that could've been a muffled sob.

They dipped into silence as he struggled to squash his emotions. He wiped his face with his free hand and sniffled.

After a while, she slipped her hand out from beneath his to start up her finger stroking again. Little brushes and nudges, her breath warm against his neck and her body pressed into his side. Adrien listened to the sounds of the room. Down the hall, he could hear the muffled voices of Sabine and Fu still speaking.

"What do you need?" she asked, eventually. "I-I don't know how to… I mean… Papa said—he said grief does crazy things to people and I should just take whatever comes and be there for you."

He adjusted his head on his pillow. "Is that what you and Tom were talking about?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not the only one hurting. Your home, your family—"

"The bakery is fixable. My family is safe. You… What can I do to help you?"

"Is it alright if I hold you?" he whispered.

A gusty breath. "I wish you would."

"I'm so afraid you're going to disappear."

"I'm not going anywhere."

He lunged towards her and she moved to accommodate him. After the initial tackle-grab-and-clutch, which turned out to be pretty uncomfortable, they shifted into a more natural position. Tucking one arm beneath her head, he gathered her into his arms. She slung her knee over his hip, her calf pulling him closer, while the foot beneath her tucked itself between his legs. A tangle of limbs, hands in awkward places, and it didn't matter because he had to stay as close to her as he could. One of her hands found the nape of his neck and travelled up so she could scratch her nails against his scalp.

A spluttering purr concealed a sob.

Her voice was so soft he might've missed it had her mouth not been at the base of his ear. "I doubted you."

"You never did," he whispered and held her tighter.

"I did, I—"

He made a noise of denial. "Your mind took presented facts and viewed them without taking emotion into account. You never doubted me."

"Adrien—"

"I refuse to believe anything else. The best thing about you is your heart," he said, repeating what he'd told Plagg. "I don't doubt if you were in complete control, you would've seen."

"The look on your face— I did that. I broke—"

"I knew there was something wrong," he whispered. "I knew the trust we had in each other couldn't break that fast."

"I hurt you and you… there was a moment you believed me. You can't tell me there wasn't."

He swallowed. "You did, and I did… but, lovebug, I am so emotionally compromised right now you could tell me the sky is green and I'd believe you."

"The sky is green." A hint of humour.

He snorted. "I believe you."

"I love you." A dash of faith.

He softened his tone. "I believe you."

"We'll get her back." A promise, clear cut and ringing with hope.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he mumbled, "I believe you."

Light kisses peppered his neck and jaw as she sought out his mouth. He waited until her lips brushed against the corner before he turned his head and greedily devoured her. A muffled squeak quickly swallowed. Desperate to feel, desperate to reconnect, he bent the arm she lay on at the elbow so his forearm could hold her head closer. He wanted to lose himself in her, to stop feeling, or maybe to feel something else entirely, he wasn't sure.

Grief nipped at ragged edges and made him raw, but loved bloomed between them, enveloped and covered them in a blanket. Fuzzy and numb, she kept him from breaking on the rocks, held him steadfast against the swell of the ocean threatening to pull him under. He didn't even think she knew how much she tethered him right now.

She pulled him closer, rolling onto her back. He followed her coaxing, settling on top of her and she hooked her legs around him. As her mouth opened under his, her nails raked against his scalp, sending bursts of heat through his head and down his spine. Her lips and her hands and her thighs gripping his hips and the heat generated between them and Adrien lost the ability to think.

She was anxious and needy and all he wanted to do was get as close to her as he could. His hips flexed, pressing against her and her calves pulled him even closer. He broke away from her mouth to scrape his teeth along her jaw and suck on her neck. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she arched her chest into him.

Guessing what she wanted and more than eager to supply, he nibbled his way back to her mouth as he propped himself up on one elbow. As he fumbled to drag her shirt up, Marinette let out a hiss of pain she tried to hide as a gasp. Clarity returned as cold splashed over him and he pulled away.

She whined, her legs locking him in place to prevent him from leaving. She wasn't done and, if he was honest, neither was he, but his intent had changed. Ducking his head down, he kissed her with more love and less frenzy. Back to the slow, easy, let's-make-out-until-our-lips-are-numb kisses rather than I-need-to-be-closer kisses of a moment ago. He brushed the back of his other hand against her face, gentle strokes and touches to sooth and tease.

Soft and easy, Marinette was just as into the gentle kisses as she had been the passionate ones. She thrummed at him, following his lead and didn't try to coax more. Feather light touches against scratching spots, gentle noises as they slowly dipped to light kisses, face rubs and nuzzles.

"We should sleep," he mumbled.

"We should snuggle," she returned.

"As my lady wishes," he replied. He shifted his chest to the side to take his weight off both their injuries and tucked his head into the curve of her neck. He closed his eyes and let the gentle caressing of her fingers and the sound of her breathing follow him into sleep.

Adrien was still curled around Marinette when Sabine came to wake them in the morning.

After a quick breakfast, Sabine and Tom went out to make some necessity purchases, like a change of clothes and toothbrushes, while Fu, Adrien, Marinette and the kwami all went downstairs to Fu's parlour to talk.

Fu sat in the middle of the mattress with his hands on his lap. Four kwami lolled on the mat around him, their eyes fixed on Fu with almost a reverence. "Many things came to light last night," he began. "Many hurts, many old wounds and many new ones. We will each have our turn to speak."

"Okay," Marinette said.

"I am Fu," he said. "My kwami is Wayzz, the turtle. When I become Gui, my powers involve strength and shielding. I am, as you are aware, old, but my true age would most likely unnerve you. My… tendency as Tikki has said you call it, is longevity. I usher in new guardians and mentor them and often see them leave."

Adrien swallowed at that prospect. A glance at Marinette and he saw her misty eyed.

Fu's eyes went to Adrien. "As such, it is normally I who hold the box. And I am ultimately responsible for your father's… loss."

Adrien sat forward. "He's not really gone, is he? I mean, we can save him. There has to be a way we can."

Fu ignored the question and Adrien didn't like the implications of that. "Your mother, Félicie, was Papillon, the inspiration. She fell in love, married and had a child. As such, her role as guardian was to inspire instead of protect. However, once a year… I am an old man," Fu said with a smile. "Sometimes Wayzz and I like to explore the world so we gave the box to her to watch."

He tried to steer the conversation back to his father. "And my father found it."

"I do not know what occurred that night," Fu continued. "That would be Nooroo's story to tell. But yes, the box fell to your father and Félicie disappeared."

"Trapped," Adrien corrected. "Not disappeared."

"Something which I did not know," Fu pointed out. "Or I would have come forward sooner. We are guardians, while you are the key bearers. Hawk Moth needs both of you to open the box."

"We know," Marinette said. "We don't intend on letting that happen."

"We told them what they needed to know," Tikki informed them.

"Very well, we do not need to repeat it." Fu turned his eyes to Adrien. "Would you tell me what happened while you were in Hawk Moth's lair?"

Adrien swallowed. "He… ahh… told me he wanted to make me exceptional. Miraculous. But, I'm already Miraculous, and we can't become akuma. At least, I assume he was trying to make me one, it… fits… with his behaviour since mom vanished. He promised he would… give my mother back if I brought him both Miraculouses and he seemed pretty sure I would." He looked at Marinette. "He said our yin yang was broken."

Fu nodded. "He would have sensed the imbalance in Ladybug, but perhaps not understood why. It is fortuitous that she gave her heart before venturing to his lair. If she had been whole, he never would revealed your mother and we would be heading into this final battle blind."

Adrien gripped his knees. "Hawk Moth thinks I'm with him. We can use that."

"That's dangerous, Adrien," Marinette said. "I don't want to risk you like that."

"He knows you're Ladybug," Adrien pointed out. "He knows I'm Chat Noir. He's aware of Gui, which might be why he attacked when he did. Or he knew you were injured and thought it was the perfect opportunity." Adrien stroked a hand through his hair. "He willingly gave me Nooroo and didn't change back when I removed the Miraculous."

"That troubles me," Fu said, scratching his chin.

"We have to come up with a plan, and soon," Adrien pressed on. "Otherwise, that thing inside my father will make a fuss and I'll be forced to go home. I can't exactly tell the authorities 'he's Hawk Moth and I'm afraid for my life'. We have to take the fight to him."

"That won't be easy," Plagg said.

Adrien looked at Nooroo. "What can you tell us? Is he the spirit of the box? Or is he a corrupted person?"

Nooroo looked to Tikki, who took a breath. "Adrien," she began, wringing her paws.

Realisation gutted him and Adrien shut his eyes. "Oh no."

"There has to be a way," Marinette said and he heard her crawling toward him. Hands on his upper arm and he leant towards her. "We can't just give in."

"We're not giving in," Plagg said. "Not ever, but we have to be realistic and—"

"Realistic?" Adrien snapped, snapping his eyes open so he could glare at his kwami. "We are going to have to give up our Miraculous to beat this. We have to give up you, Plagg. My father is gone, my mother is trapped. How much more realistic do you want to get?"

Fu frowned and shot a look at Plagg.

"What do we have to do to get the spirit back in the box?" Adrien asked.

"You have to combine us," Tikki said.

"Combine you?" Marinette asked. "How?"

"Cataclysm to lucky charm," Plagg said. "While in proximity of the box and Hawk Moth. We'll do the rest."

Adrien frowned at the lack of information. "And that's all you're going to tell us, isn't it?"

"It can't be that easy," Marinette said.

"To get him back in the box, yes," Fu said. "Combining the yin yang is enough to make him flee the host but it also burns the host body."

Marinette frowned. "Is that what separates us from our mirac—"

"Don't call him 'host'," Adrien snapped. "That's my father."

Startled, Marinette said, "Adrien—"

He growled. "No. No, this sucks."

She tried to soothe him. "Yes, I know and—"

"I am not going to sit here and casually discuss ways to kill my father. There has to be a loop hole," he bargained. "A way out. A way I can save both of them."

Sympathetic, she opened her mouth to answer, "Adrien—"

"My father is the strongest willed person I know. I refuse to believe he gave into this evil spirit— box— thing." He jumped to his feet. "And I'm going to prove it."

"What are you doing?" Marinette asked, scrambling after him.

"I'm going to talk to him. I'm going to make him believe I'm helping him and I'm going to find out what he is once and for all. Plagg, Nooroo, let's go."

"What?" Nooroo blurted and dove behind Tikki. "I don't want to go back."

"He gave you to me. He'll expect to see you and if he doesn't, he'll suspect. I'm sorry. I promise I'll never let him get you again."

Still looking concerned, Nooroo lifted into the air and followed.

"That is a really impulsive and rash idea," Fu advised. "You are not equipped to—"

Adrien spun to stab his finger at Fu. "One, that's my father. I am the only one equipped to deal with him. Two, Chat Noir is all about being rash and impulsive. I'm the one that takes the hits and is the distraction so she can do her job. So let me do mine and take this hit. Three, I've got one thing going for me that he's never seen before."

Pale faced, Marinette hugged her arms to her chest. "What's that?"

"I'm angry."

Author' Note: So, it's Easter. I won't be online as much, family time and all, so the next chapter won't be until after the Easter break.

Have a happy Easter everyone!