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Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug

Adrien felt himself freeze and he saw Gorilla do the same. He stared, a terrible strangled sound rising from his throat. Adrien gently pushed past Marinette. He didn't want to fight with his bodyguard and he certainly didn't want Marinette caught up in a fight between the two of them.

The bodyguard was the closest thing he had to family. No, the closest thing he had had to family before his friends had come along. And Adrien knew him being abused in front of his bodyguard had killed the man, that he'd hated every helpless second but he'd stayed. Adrien didn't know why but he hoped it was because Gorilla knew how much he meant to Adrien, that having to deal with a stranger following him around everywhere would be the final straw.

"Please, don't do this," Adrien whispered.

He scanned every inch of Gorilla's face, looking for some sort of sign.

Then Gorilla gave them a look that Adrien knew meant go, get out of here, I'll cover for you. Adrien stared at him even as Marinette tugged weakly on his arm. Then Adrien started towards him. He limped, each step difficult.

Marinette urgently hissed his name, glancing around. But Adrien didn't care. He wrapped his arms around Gorilla, eyes closed as he felt the bodyguard return the gesture. It took all his effort to hold back the sob that swelled inside him.

And then Gorilla pulled away, his face telling Adrien he needed to leave. Although Adrien knew he needed to, it was a tough decision, tougher than some he had been forced to make as Chat Noir. Still he turned to Marinette and nodded to his head to say he was ready to leave.

"We'll take a back way," Marinette said. "You keep them at the front."

Gorilla nodded and Marinette helped Adrien limp away.

Adrien hated the relief that filled him as they slipped out of a firedoor at the back of the school. He loved school and was furious that it was another thing his father had managed to taint. He'd done the same thing with fencing and modeling and Mandarin - all had been his passions until his father had stripped them down into something clinical. And he had turned the school Adrien had loved so much into nothing more than a trap - a kill box. He tried not to think about it, preferring to simply be pleased they had managed to escape. Afterall, he could have so easily been shoved into a car and forced to return to his father, likely to be never seen or heard from in public without his father having some croony lingering beside him, censoring his every word and thought.

Adrien and Marinette half-crept, half-stumbled towards the front of the school, hoping to take the quickest path to Marinette's house. Marinette held Adrien back as she peered around the corner to see if the cost was clear. When she recoiled and leant up against the wall, Adrien could tell it wasn't.

"Nathalie out there?" Adrien asked, feeling a twinge in his ankle.

Marinette nodded and said Gorilla was with her too. Adrien grimaced. He didn't want to text Gorilla to tell him to get Nathalie to move but he wasn't particularly keen on the idea of using his phone at all and didn't know the number to give to Marinette.

"We'll just have to go the long way round," Adrien said.

The horror in Marinette's eyes told him it wasn't an option. His ankle was in no state and they didn't have the crutches. Before she could vocalise her protests, Adrien noticed Chloe out of the corner of his eye. Sabrina was following her closely and they both jumped when Adrien called them other. Chloe stood there impatiently.

"We have a film premiere this evening at my Dad's hotel. I have a dress fitting to get to," Chloe announced grandly.

Adrien was sure he vaguely remembered something about it. He believed that had been something put on his schedule. It felt so distant, so long ago.

"Could you two distract Nathalie and my bodyguard?" Adrien hissed. "They're at the front of the school and I can't get past."

Chloe paused for a moment before looking around the corner.

"Please, Chloe," Adrien pleaded.

Chloe gave him a wide smile.

"Of course, Adri-kins. Sabrina will text you once I've got their attention."

With a flick of her hair, Chloe turned. She crossed around the front of the school, Sabrina offering them an encouraging smile as she followed Chloe.

Adrien looked towards Marinette, offering her a small smile. He knew that Marinette had her reservations about Chloe. Adrien had some but he knew that Chloe was a good person beneath her hard exterior. She'd been through a lot growing up with the situation between her parents and it had toughened her up a bit.

Then Marinette's phone buzzed. She looked down and nodded, whispering to Adrian that Sabrina had said the path was clear. She slipped his arm over her shoulders and helped him along.

As they reached the front of the building, they both glanced over. Chloe was standing near the Agreste limo. Adrien noticed two large scrapes down the side of the car. Gorilla was panicking. Nathalie was furious with Chloe, eyes fixed on her. Chloe was proudly displaying her new bag, unapologetically saying that the buckles of her bag had scraped against the car.

"Daddy can pay for repairs," Chloe said dismissively.

Adrien met Chloe's eyes and gave her a smile of thanks. Then he and Marinette hurried back to the house.

When the two made their way through the bakery, Tom's eyes fell onto Adrien and Marinette. Adrien stopped dead. His stomach twisted. He waited for rage and shouting and lashing out. The shop was empty and there were no teachers with Adrien to keep him safe. Adrien stood before Tom, in a ruined t-shirt, without his crutches, having manipulated his way out of the front door in the first place.

"Adrien," Tom began, "are you okay?"

The concern and care in his voice made Adrien feel unsteady. Marinette rushed to support him but Tom moved faster. Even as Adrien flinched back, Tom collected the boy into his arms and carried him over to a stall beside the front desk. He settled him into it and offered him a jacket.

"You look a little pale," Tom said. "Are you feeling okay? Had enough to eat today?"

It was only then that Adrien realised he hadn't eaten lunch. Honestly, he'd not really felt hungry. He didn't even then. The Dupain-Cheng family meals were so much larger than what Adrien was used to and it was hard to reach the point of being hungry in a house where he was offered food more than he ever thought about it.

Still, he didn't want to admit that he had been scared of Tom, not after everything the family had done for him, so he sheepishly said he was hungry.

"Adrien, you should have said something!" Marinette gasped as though she was scandalised.

Tom shushed her gently, saying it was easily fixed. Then he turned away, reaching onto a shelf to get a pair of macaroons. He offered Adrien one and Marinette the other.

"What happened to your crutches?" he asked calmly.

Hanging his head, Adrien told him about what had happened, about how they had managed to trick their way past him and how his father had found out about where Adrien was. Adrien's heart pounded in his chest as he detailed how Nathalie and Gorilla had almost been able to take his father home with him. Tom slowly sank down to his knees, eyes meeting Adrien's. He spoke in a low, level voice.

Adrien prepared himself for a verbal lashing. He was used to them. He could take them. Tom carefully called his name to get his attention.

"Adrien, I understand wanting to see your friends. I'd have no problem with you doing that normally but right now you need to be more careful. I'm not going to ground you because I don't want you to feel like you are a prisoner here but I am going to ask you to ask me of Sabine before you go out again. We just want to be sure you are safe."

Tom seemed to stop dead, stifling what he had to say. He looked at Marinette and offered her a smile.

"Could you go and make sure Adrien has somewhere to sit when we take him upstairs, sweetie?" he asked.

Marinette rushed to agree and hurried from the bakery floor. A part of Adrien wanted to plead with her to stay but he didn't dare. He didn't want to offend Tom. Yet, while he knew in his head that the baker before him would never hurt him, he couldn't convince the rest of him he was safe.

"Officer Raincomprix called today," Tom said gravely.

Adrien felt himself start, wondering if Tom had told the police officer he had left the house. Tom did what he could to reassure him but the look in his eyes told Adrien there was bad news to come.

"He didn't think you should know but me and Sabine discussed it and decided you should be told. From what they can tell from the investigations they have managed, your father has been enquiring about you being moved to a military academy in America."

Adrien's eyes widened in horror. He could speak English well enough to attend a school in America but he would be so far from his friends and the prospect of attending a military academy made his head swim.

"He has begun making arrangements within the company so you could continue modelling around lessons. His sources inside the company say that it is for your safety but given what we know, he suspects your father wants to send you there so you can't talk to anyone about what has happened and so that you will be easily monitored and controlled by his assistants."

Adrien felt sick. America? Even if he could survive being so far from his friends, survive whatever control measures his father put in place for him, he couldn't be Chat Noir. He'd have to give up Plagg and Ladybug and the thrill that came from a rooftop run. He'd have to give up helping people, ignore the sound of screaming instead of rushing to the rescue.

He wouldn't be able to bare it.

Before Adrien could reply, they heard Marinette coming down the stairs. Tom managed a reassuring smile and whispered that no one is going to let Gabriel banish him to America.

"Least of all Marinette," he finished just as his daughter entered the kitchen.

Marinette lingered in the doorway for a few moments and Adrien forced a smile at her. She managed an uneasy smile back before coming forwards to offer her arm. Tom decided to scoop Adrien up instead.

"Come on, let's see what palace she has made for you," Tom grinned.

"Come this way my handsome prince," Marinette said without thinking. "No, wait. You're not my handsome prince! You're handsome but you're not a prince. Well, you are princely but you're not mine. And…"

She trailed off before whispering 'why am I like this?' under her breath. Adrien laughed gently, feeling genuinely cheered up. Haunting thoughts of America still lingered in the back of his mind but he was able to dismiss them a little and focus on what was happening in the world around him for that moment.

"Lead the way, princess," Adrien grinned back.

Marinette flushed brightly before turning and making her way up the stairs.

Marinette had set out a collection of pillows on the floor in front of the TV. Tom carefully deposited Adrien before before excusing himself to get back to the shop.

"Want me to put something on?" Marinette asked, glancing towards the TV.

Adrien nodded and Marinette switched the TV on. The first channel that came up was the news and Adrien normally would have asked her to skip over it if not for the image of Ladybug on the screen. It was a frozen image, some sort of CCTV footage of them fighting the latest senti-monster. The reporters were relishing the mystery of scorpion-monster. They had no clue what caused it, where it had come from or why it had disappeared. Normally, with akuma victims the story was simple. Senti-monsters was more complicated.

Adrien couldn't help but stare at Ladybug. She looked so beautiful on the footage and he was truly able to admire her now there was no monster to fight. He wondered how she would react if he told her he was being forced to move to America. He wondered if she would put together Adrien Agreste leaving for America with Chat Noir disappearing and make the connection. Yet that implied that Ladybug thought about him in either form in her spare time and he was a black cat - he wasn't that lucky.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" Adrien said without thinking.

A part of his mind had him tricked into thinking he was back in his room at the Agreste Mansion, with Plagg as the only one who could hear him. Marinette seemed to jump and stared at him, cheeks red once more.

"I… She'd be lost without Chat Noir," Marinette replied.

Yet another reason to do everything in his power to keep himself out of his father's hands and off a plane to America. But Adrien didn't truly believe Ladybug needed him all that much. She was the most capable girl he had ever met.

Thinking about what he might soon have to give up forever made his head hurt and his heart ache so Adrien shut off the TV and settled deeper into the pillows.

There was a long moment of silence between him and Marinette. It was comfortable, a silence that made Adrien feel safe. Still Marinette seemed awkward so Adrien offered her a smile to encourage her to speak.

"You and your bodyguard: you seem close," Marinette observed.

Adrien sighed, tweaking the pillows so he could rest his ankle properly.

"My mum hired him four years ago. She hoped it would convince my father to let me have a more normal life but…"

Adrien trailed off. Talking about his father in such a homely place felt wrong. He didn't want to do it. He didn't want to sully such a welcoming home with that negativity.

"Because he drove me places and was with me all the time, we got close. He does not talk much but he likes superheroes and I always thought they were cool. And when my mum died, I saw him more than anyone else. He was married once but she died. He was able to help me with everything."

He prepared to say more but Marinette's expression told him he had said enough. He settled back, feeling exhausted.

"What do you think would have happened if your mother was still alive?"

Adrien shrugged.

"My father was always cold but my Mum always loved him. She was devoted to him. My aunt says the only thing my mother loved more than him was me. I'd like to think, the first time he ever did it, she would have moved out. We could have gotten somewhere small and homely, just me and her and… But that's not what happened. I guess he loved her more than he acted because losing her broke him. He's broken and I can't fix him."

Marinette went to interrupt but Adrien's expression of acceptance told her that he understood his father's actions were not his fault.

"Do you ever do things? Stupid little things that you do because it's a little safeguard against who your scared of becoming?"

The confusion on Marinette's face told him she didn't understand and he went to fall silence. However she asked him to continue.

"There's this girl that I like… That I love. And I do all these little things to show her how much I love her. I tell her every time. I know it annoys her sometimes; sometimes she thinks it is all an act but… I do it because my father was so cold and kept all his love for my mother bottled up inside and losing her ruptured something inside of him. I don't want that to be how things work out for us. But now I'm trying to let her go. I… I'm trying because she loves someone else and I don't want that to somehow make me like him. It's hard."

Adrien looked towards Marinette and saw her face had fallen. She took a shaking breath and stood quickly.

"I have homework," she said before hurrying from the room.

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