Chapter 26 - Picnic in Paris
Ladybug strode over and helped Adrien to his feet.
"What did you do?" she hissed as Plagg tumbled out of the ring again.
"I made it so nobody could take off the ring," Adrien grinned proudly. "Not you, not Hawkmoth, not even me!"
Ladybug's jaw dropped. "You're joking," she said, reaching for his ring. This time, Adrien didn't fight her. Sure enough, instead of slipping off, the ring stayed firmly in place. It wouldn't budge, no matter how hard the superheroine pulled on it.
"Ow, Ladybug!" Adrien exclaimed. "Ow, ow, like seriously, ow!"
"You're not joking," she muttered, giving up. She settled for glaring at him. "All right, fine. How do I get the ring?"
"Well, we could start with a date…."
"Enough with the marriage jokes! Your father's not gonna wait that long!"
"My father has a long-standing habit of being disappointed in me," Adrien said solemnly. "I'd hate to let him down on that."
Ladybug was about to growl at him when Nathalie burst in the door.
"What happened?!" she demanded. She did a double-take at the superheroine. "Ladybug?! What are you doing here? And where's Marinette?!"
Adrien gave Ladybug a shit-eating grin. "Yeah… where'd she go? I can't spot her anywhere…."
"You're not funny," Ladybug muttered.
Nathalie looked at them, going from one to another until it clicked. "I see," she said calmly.
"You just outed me to a civilian!" Ladybug yelled at her partner.
"Right, like you aren't two minutes away from taking me to the Big Bad," Adrien retorted.
"Enough, children!" Nathalie snapped. "Adrien, your father wants to see you in his study, to make sure you aren't actually sneaking out."
"No thanks, I choose life."
"Oh, stop being such a drama queen!" Ladybug said, grabbing his arm and marching him out of the room.
"Says the girl who got upset when I wouldn't give her a ring. Even though she refuses to even go on a date with me!" Adrien gave a long, drawn-out sigh, pretending to pout.
"I didn't go on that date with you because then I'd be missing a date with… you!" Ladybug paused as she processed that and looked back at Adrien.
"I know," he said, nodding. "Think of how I feel about that night! I blew off a date with you… to have a date with you."
"Ugh, can our lives get any more complicated?!" Ladybug moaned.
"Hey, at least it's not like you're a superhero about to offer me up to a supervillain to fulfill his dastardly plans to take over the world," Adrien quipped. Then he looked down at where she was still gripping his wrist. "Oh, wait…."
"He is NOT going to hurt you!" Ladybug said, exasperated.
"Yes, because my life thus far has been a lovely picnic in Paris, and he's a snuggly bundle of positive emotions."
"Adrien?" his father's voice called from the study. To their surprise, he didn't wait for them to come to him, and instead stepped out into the hall to meet them. His eyes fell on Ladybug in surprise. "Miss Dupain-Cheng?"
Adrien covered his mouth in mock-surprise. "Ohhhh, plot-twist!"
"Hardly," Gabriel said dismissively, rolling his eyes. "As if I'd hire just anyone to stay with my son. Even at the behest of a superhero. I've known from the start. Now come in here, both of you. I assume you have a good reason for activating the security system."
He walked back into his office, leaving Ladybug gaping behind him.
"Does everybody know my secret identity?" she exclaimed.
"I guess you aren't hard to spot," Adrien laughed.
She turned back to him, still worked up, but decided not to say anything as she detransformed and marched him into the study. Adrien saw Tikki shoot him a worried look before disappearing.
"Adrien has something to tell you," Marinette declared.
On one hand, Adrien supposed he should be happy that she hadn't just simply outed him. On the other, thanks, princess, for making me do it myself!
"I do," he agreed, nodding. "I confess, father. I hate Adrien, the fragrance." He heard Marinette facepalm beside him. "It smells like the wrong end of a skunk bathed in body spray and then rolled in some dryer sheets."
"No, Adrien, I mean the superhero business," Marinette growled.
"Did you find Chat Noir?" his father asked.
The girl winced. "Well… umm…."
"Why are you wasting my time?" Gabriel snapped. "If you are incapable of finding your old partner, Miss Dupain-Cheng, you should simply say so, so I can find someone less incompetent."
Adrien glanced at Marinette out of the corner of his eye. Bad guy or not, nobody liked hearing that kind of thing. Sure enough, her hands were balled into fists. So, his father's callousness and taunting were getting to her. And despite everything, she was still his partner, and his friend, and his old instincts of defending her sprang to life.
"You could both be out there looking, and—"
"I have no intention of looking for Chat Noir, father," Adrien cut in. "Chasing your own tail is really more of a dog thing."
His father froze, mid-tirade, looking at him and Ladybug as if this was some sort of joke.
"You aren't Chat Noir, Adrien. I've seen both of you in the same place at the same time," he said, regaining his composure. "If you two think you can trick me—"
"You know," Adrien drawled at his father, "for all your creative genius and emphasis on my supposed safety, I'm surprised you never even considered the possibility of a body double."
His father blinked at him in disbelief. Whether it was his words or his tone, Adrien wasn't sure. And he honestly didn't care at this point. The world had already gone crazy. Why not enjoy the ride? There was a lot he wanted to say to this man before he died.
"B-b-body double?" his father repeated.
"His name is Wayham," Adrien nodded, shrugging. "Crazed fan. Loves cosplaying as me anyway, so I figured I'd use it. He's even thinking of dyeing his hair, so we don't have to keep relying on the helmet."
His father's eyes narrowed. "It's still impossible. You can't hold two Miraculouses at once; the powers aren't compatible!"
Adrien nodded and took off the flower pin. He held it up for his father to see, then took it in both hands and easily snapped it in half. He threw the pieces on the ground.
"You made it easy when you made a whole line of Miraculous imitations," he said.
Gabriel face mottled in fury. "Where's the real one?" he snarled.
"I dunno," Adrien shrugged. "I gave it to some old guy in a Hawaiian shirt."
Marinette gasped before she could stop herself, quickly covering her mouth.
Gabriel's eyes flew to her. "The Guardian, I presume?" he asked, his voice still tight. She nodded. "Do you know where to find him?!"
"Yes, but—"
"Don't bother," Adrien cut in. "I gave him the Peacock Miraculous the same day you gave it to me, along with the rest of my savings so he could go into hiding. He's long gone."
"HOW DARE YOU!" Gabriel yelled. "THAT WAS YOUR MOTHER'S!"
"AND IF SHE'S HALF THE PERSON I REMEMBER, SHE'D WANT ME TO USE IT TO SAVE THE WORLD!" Adrien screamed back, his eyes filling with tears. His father lunged at him, but then Marinette was there, standing in front of him.
"You will not touch him," she hissed, her voice dangerously soft. "I've put up with a lot from you, Hawkmoth. But I will not let you harm Adrien."
End Chapter 26.