A.N: One more chapter after this one. :)
Thank you all so, so, so, so much for reading! :D
Chat Noir closed his eyes beneath the blindfold. This was his fault. Ladybug was going to come and get captured just like he was.
Wait, no, she wasn't.
Unlike him, she would be able to defend herself against the civilian who had captured him.
The civilian.
Had he really been taken out and tied to a chair by a civilian?
How weak was he?
"Looks like your Lady is out in the hallway. How about we go and greet her?" Félix said from behind him, hearing the footsteps in the hallway.
"Please just leave her out of this! She hasn't done anything!" Chat Noir cried, pulling harder against the ropes on his arm, feeling them loosen slightly. He kept pulling.
"It's not what she's done. It's what you haven't done." Félix replied. "Anyway, I'd like to get her back for punching me in the face a while ago..."
Chat Noir looked up to the voice, and wriggled his head desperately, trying to get the blindfold off. It sort of worked, as the bottom half of his left eye peaked out from beneath the fabric, and that was all he needed. He raised his head at and awkward angle so he could see. He gulped when he saw Félix.
What was Félix doing? Did he want to bring Emilie back, too, like Gabriel had wanted too?
Chat Noir turned his head even more, and saw a blonde ponytail, but nothing more.
He looked towards the door, his arms still pulling at the ropes. Once they were loose enough, he would be able to help Ladybug take Félix down. Well, more like Ladybug would take them down easily, while Chat Noir just stood there awkwardly like the weakling he was.
Félix was stronger than Chat Noir. A civilian was stronger than him. Chat Noir's stomach dropped again at the thought. He saw the door open, and then saw Félix throw a fist at Ladybug's head.
Then Chat Noir felt something he had never wanted to feel again.
"That's for when you punched me." Félix muttered.
Ladybug had quick reflexes, unlike him, and managed to dodge, causing the fist to brush past her earring. She jerked away and looked to Chat Noir, who was pulling his arm out of the rope. He managed to get it free and pulled off the blindfold, then worked on getting his legs and other arm free.
Ladybug tackled Félix to the ground and wrapped her yoyo around him tightly, looking around to find the other person she had seen.
"Hey! What are you doing? I'm Adrien-" Félix protested, bringing her attention back on him.
"No!" Chloé cried, leaping up from behind a sofa. "I let you pretend to be Adrien to get you into the party, but I will never allow you to get him in trouble!"
"I already knew you were Félix, so put off the act." Ladybug said calmly, standing up, knowing there was no way Félix could get free without help. She looked to Chloé. "Did you have anything, I repeat anything to do with this?"
"No! I just helped him get into the party, nothing more-"
"I think your spy gear says otherwise..." Félix murmured, chuckling as Chloé glared at him.
She stomped forward and stuck her face barely inches away from Ladybug's face.
"I wanted to look professional when I took you down because you are ridiculous and I wanted to leave Paris but I can't and that's your fault! I was Queen Bee until you stole my miraculous!"
Ladybug stared at her, confusion riddled across her face. She had no idea what Chloé had just said, and she didn't intend to find out.
"Chloé? You- you did this?"
Ladybug turned to see Chat Noir kick the final rope off, staring brokenly at Chloé.
"Well, I- no! This is all Félix's doing! I had nothing to do with it!" Chloé made her way to the door before Ladybug stepped in her way.
"If you had nothing to do with it, why are you so eager to leave?" Ladybug asked. "Exactly. Go and sit down where Chat Noir had been and stay quiet while we handle this."
"Stay quiet? How can I stay quiet when I am stuck in a room with a bunch of imbeciles?" Chloé snarled, looking at each of them in turn. "You, Ladybug, took away my miraculous and didn't let me become Queen Bee anymore. I'm sure people in New York would have been happy to see me and get saved by me, but no! You have to ruin my life by making my mummy and daddy fall in love again! Now I'm stuck in this stupid city with you! And you, Félix, I don't understand how you can even think about framing my Adrikins. And you, Chat Noir-"
"That's enough." Ladybug said.
She had tied Félix up using the ropes instead of her yoyo, and pulled him up so he was sitting beside Chloé.
"This seat is pretty warm... did you wet yourself from fright or something, kitty cat?" Félix asked, smirking at the look of disgust on Chloé's face.
"Ew!" Chloé practically screamed.
Ladybug bit her lip as Chat Noir lowered his head and wrapped his arms around himself, toes pointed inwards. She pulled him onto the balcony, ready to tell him to go to the bakery, when she realised that that wouldn't be the best option. She couldn't leave him alone, not again. She could perhaps keep him with her...
She unwillingly cringed at the sound of Chloé shrieking and Félix laughing his head off.
"Kitten, uh... did you?"
He lowered his head further, wrapping his arms around himself tighter as if they were the only things holding him together. Ladybug used her palm to slowly make him face her fully, and asked him again.
He nodded, mumbling a few things quickly after. "I- I- I d-didn't mean to- he- he was going to p-punch you and I- I p-panicked- I d-didn't feel it- it was only a l-little bit-"
"Shh, it's fine." Ladybug brought him into a hug, feeling his tears drip down her skin as their cheeks rubbed together. She whispered softly to him, trying to get him to calm down. "You're fine. There's nothing wrong with you. You just got scared for me, that's all..."
"Ew! Why are you touching him, Ladybug?" Chloé whined.
Ladybug felt Chat Noir nuzzle his head into her neck, squeezing his eyes shut tight. She rubbed his back, hearing him whimper into her shoulder.
Chloé continued. "I never knew you were that disgustin-"
"Okay, that's it." Ladybug pulled out of the hug, throwing her yoyo around Chloé and a chair, effectively restraining her.
Ladybug turned back to Chat Noir and pulled him inside, then out into the hallway. She didn't have her yoyo, so she wouldn't be able to call the police, but Chat Noir did have his baton. She saw him slip it off his back and hand it to her.
"Do you want to handle it, kitten?" Ladybug passed his baton back, hoping he would take it and feel like he could achieve something.
Chat Noir lowered his head again and shook it.
"Are you sure? It'll be really easy."
"No. I'll just mess it up somehow and then you'll need to save me because I'm too weak to save myself." Chat Noir muttered, not intending to say that aloud.
"Is that- is that what you think?" Ladybug's heart broke. "You're not too weak to save yourself... you were... just a bit frightened, because of what was done to you. There's nothing wrong with that."
She tilted his chin a little higher up so that he was looking at her rather than their feet. She took one of his hands and gave it a squeeze before she continued.
"You did exactly what I would have done if I had been in your place. You did nothing wrong and you've handled everything really well."
"B-but, I- I c-couldn't even g-get away from... from them without your help... you handled it... not me... I couldn't even get free by myself..."
"Chat Noir, how were you supposed to escape from two adult miraculous holders who probably had a lot more experience than you?"
"It's not just them. I barely managed to get free from those civilians. What kind of miraculous holder can't hold their own against two normal people?"
"A miraculous holder who has experienced some very bad things. You need to stop putting yourself down, kitten." Ladybug pressed the baton into his hand. "You call the police and tell them what happened. You're not incapable. You were just a bit... hurt..."
Ladybug rung the police on Chat Noir's baton and held it up to his face. She gave him an encouraging nod as he started to speak to the person on the other end of the line.
"We need the police... uh... in Le Grande Paris. It's the... third floor..." Chat Noir said, trying to hold his voice steady, trying not to mess up a basic call. "I got... kidnapped... and Ladybug had to save me... again..."
Ladybug clenched her jaw and snatched the phone away.
"Hi, officer, this is Ladybug. Chat Noir got into a spot of trouble and I helped him get out of it. Together, we restrained the two." Ladybug said.
Chat Noir glanced at her, looking more ashamed of himself than ever.
Ladybug quickly finished talking and shut the baton, placing it on his back. She took his hands, and gave him a small kiss on his nose, gaining his full attention as his cheeks reddened.
"We did do it together, right, Partner?"
"You did. I just stood there like some-"
"You were scared and embarrassed. I would have done that, too." Ladybug pulled him back into the room, where both Félix and Chloé were struggling to get free.
"I- Chat Noir called the police. They should be here soon to pick you two up." Ladybug said, looking at them both.
"What? Why? What did we do?" Félix asked, anger and frustration written all over him.
Ladybug clenched her jaw.
"You probably filled Chat Noir's head with lies. You made him think he was worthless and weak, as if he couldn't do anythi-"
"It's not lying if it's true." Chloé snapped, furious when the strings crumpled her clothes slightly.
"No. It is not true. Chat Noir is a hero who has sacrificed so much to keep you safe, and this is how you repay him?" Ladybug asked, not even trying to hide her disgust.
"Hey, how about we just... put this all behind us. We co-" Félix started.
"No. Don't you even think about trying to do that." Ladybug snarled.
She took Chat Noir's hand after taking her yoyo back, and pulled him to the balcony, shutting to door behind them. Chat Noir took his baton off his back, looking uneasily at the two people struggling to get free inside the room.
Chloé had been the first friend he had ever had, and Félix was his cousin. They were some of the people he had held closest to is heart, and yet they had done this. Chat Noir furrowed his brow as he remembered how badly Félix wanted to know how to bring Emilie back. Not just some random person, but he specifically asked how Gabriel had wanted to bring Emilie back.
Maybe Chloé and Félix wanted to do the same?
Chat Noir was sure seeing his mother again would be painful. How wouldn't it be painful? He had already accepted that she was gone, and wouldn't come back, so why couldn't other people?
His stomach dropped as he realised that, in a way, he was fine with his mother not being alive. That he was okay with her not coming back, because...
"Kitten? You're crying..."
"What? Oh- um... sorry-"
"Don't be sorry, just try to calm down." Ladybug wiped away a tear that was on his mask, and took his hand. "What's the matter?"
"Is it- is it bad that I'm- that I'm okay with her... not being here?" Chat Noir croaked, his eyes brimming.
"Oh... uh... well, it just means that you have accepted that she's not going to come back. It's not selfish or mean or anything, if that's what you're thinking. Accepting that she's gone... that would be the best thing to do, and you've done that really well."
Chat Noir nodded, even though he didn't fully understand. Of course he was being selfish! He had been fighting his own family and friends, to stop them from doing something that they were doing for him. That wasn't very hero-ish of him, was it?
No, he didn't think so.
He followed Ladybug back to the bakery and watched her look around to make sure no one was watching them. She detransformed and he did the same, both catching their kwamis in their hands. Adrien opened the trapdoor and slipped inside after Marinette, passing Plagg a piece of camembert while Tikki got a cookie.
Adrien saw Marinette sit on the chaise and pat the spot next to her. Adrien sat down and looked at her, hoping they would talk about-
"How are you feeling?"
"I- I'm fine-"
"Okay then, how are you really feeling ?"
"I- I- uh- I- f-feel fin-"
Marinette stopped him with her finger on his lips.
"You don't need to say you're fine, because you're not. I can tell. Are you... angry? Are you angry with Félix and Chloé?"
Adrien shook his head. "I d-don't think so."
"Okay, are you... upset... with yourself?"
Adrien swallowed a lump in his throat. She was really getting straight to the point...
"Y-yeah..."
She frowned, leaning back and pulling him closer to her. She took his hand and drew little patterns on the back of it with her finger, calming him down.
"What do you think of yourself?"
"I d-don't know-"
"You do. Come on, kitten, I want to help you." Marinette said. "What do you think of yourself?"
"I- I'm weak... and- and selfish... mean..." Adrien muttered, his voice barely more than a whisper, and yet it was still cracking. He tried to continue, but broke down instead.
He felt Marinette pull him in for a hug, and he rested his head on her shoulder. Through his sobs, he murmured more words he though he was, not one of them positive. Marinette waited until he had finished, then tilted his chin up, her lips placing a small kiss on his nose.
"Do you know how I fell in love with you?"
Adrien looked up at her. What did this have to do with anything? Unless... unless she was going to say that he wasn't the person she fell in love with, and she would leave him, and-
She placed another kiss on his face, this time on his forehead, silencing the words in his head.
"I first fell in love with you as Adrien. Do you remember that day? It was raining and you gave me your umbrella."
Adrien nodded.
"I didn't see some hot model- well, I did, but that's not why I love you. I saw someone who was kind and selfless and sweet and caring, and I'm seeing him right now when I look at you."
Adrien looked at her, his thought swirling in his head uncontrollably.
"I then realised I was sort-of in love with you as Chat Noir, too. Do you know what I saw?"
Adrien shook his head.
"I saw someone who was willing to risk everything for what they believed in. I saw someone who was willing to, and had, risked their life for me so many times. I saw a selfless, playful, free person who was just amazing. And I'm looking at that guy right now."
Adrien looked at her through teary eyes.
"You are not selfish, and you never have been. Yes, you did get overpowered by Félix and Chloé. But seriously, who can blame you? You were probably scared and frightened. Don't think I didn't see you shaking with fear when I saw you there. You have dealt with so much, emotionally, and physically, and you deserve so much more than what you have. Paris may not recognise all the things you have done, but I do. You are so full of heart and care so much about those around you that you literally never think about yourself. I love you, kitten."
"I- I- I- l-love y-you, t-too, m-m'l-lad-dy-" Adrien cried, hugging her.
...
"Ah, Robert, I've found you." Jenny said, smiling at the therapist.
"I believe you have. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting here?" Robert said, Gabriel's papers in his hand.
"Jenny. Just Jenny." She paused. "I trust you know that friends and family will be saying goodbye to Emilie Agreste in a few days?"
Robert nodded.
"The Mayor would like Gabriel Agreste, and perhaps Nathalie Sancoeur to be present and say a few words, would that be possible?" Jenny questioned.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? Looking at the things he has done, I don't think the public would be pleased to have such a dangerous criminal do something like this." Robert said.
"There are many who knew him personally, such as his son. It may be seen as disrespectful to those who knew him and his wife, if he didn't say anything."
"I can see where you're coming from, but, I'm sorry, I don't think his physical condition would allow that to happen..."
"The Mayor has understood this, and allowed us to do something that can help. If, on the day, he is on a video call with someone who is able to physically attend, he will be able to say a few words, and still technically be 'present'."
Robert looked excited about the idea, but didn't hide his worry.
"That's a good idea, but I don't think we can trust him to do that." Robert said.
"How so?"
"Recently, he has tended to act on his emotions rather than thinking things through. I fear that he may say something... disrespectful... and it will be a public environment, so..."
"I understand." Jenny said. Another idea came to her mind. "What if we have a little test with him? Like, we say that he's live and will be talking to Emilie's grave and the people there, while there is nothing on the screen. We would be able to see his genuine reaction, as well as what he would say, and if he says something wrong..."
"Do you think we would be able to pre-record what he says, and then play the video on the screen on the day? If he is unable to speak live, of course." Robert said.
Jenny nodded.
They walking into his room, and Jenny felt a shiver run down her spine as she saw the cold, blank look Gabriel was giving her.
"You remember your wife, Emilie Agreste, right, Gabrie-" Robert started.
"Yes!" Gabriel snapped. "Of course I remember her! She is the one I wanted to get back through the wish!"
Jenny stood by his feet, and held up her phone. "Would you like to say goodbye to her?"
Gabriel's demeanour changed entirely. "Why?"
"In a few da-"
"Minutes," Jenny interrupted. "In a few minutes, there will be many people gathering in a cemetery to say goodbye to her. You have been invited to do so too, since she was your wife. What would you say?"
"I would say that I am sorry that her failure of a son didn't give up his miraculous when he had the chan-" Gabriel yelled, the words not understandable because of his broken voice.
"Shh, shh, breathe." Robert said to Gabriel, before looking to Jenny.
"Recording?" She asked.
"Recording." Robert sighed.
...
Lila looked at the jury, who were sitting down after going outside to think. The evidence had been presented. Evidence she hadn't even thought would exist. Both for and against her. There was more for her being guilty, but she was sure that was just her nerves.
Curse the witnesses, too. Even Alya, who was one of them.
"The jury have decided," the judge spoke.
Lila shook her head, trying to get the pounding in her head to stop, so that she could hear what the judge would say.
"That Miss Lila Rossi is innocent."
Lila and the court erupted into cheers. Adrien ran to her through the crowd and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips, and told her how much he loved her. Out of the window, Lila saw Marinette crying, as she ran out, closely dodging several cars.
Lila grinned.
She should have never doubted herself.
Adrien pulled her into the classroom, where Marinette was sitting all alone. Lila and Adrien spoke all throughout the lesson, laughing about how Marinette kept getting late. They rushed out of the classroom like the couple that they were.
They saw Ladybug and threw tomatoes at her, the redness covering the spots on her suit. They passed Chat Noir and pushed him into the Seine, where he leapt out and started shaking, running back to his Lady on all fours.
They laughed and ate ice cream together. The largest scoop was orange, the middle scoop was green, and the top scoop was red. They giggled and went into the bakery where Marinette lived, their arms wrapped around each other.
Marinette started crying again, and she said-
"The jury finds Miss Lila Rossi guilty." The judge said, snapping Lila out of her fantasy.
The jury finds Miss Lila Rossi guilty.
The jury finds Miss Lila Rossi guilty.
The jury finds Miss Lila Rossi guilty.
Oh.
Heck.
...
"Do you think we should have a reveal?" Marinette asked, sketching a dress in her book.
"But we already know our identities." Adrien said as he turned off his phone
"Well, I know that, but... with the other heroes."
"Wait, you already know who they are, right?"
"Yeah, but you don't. How about we arrange a sort of meeting among us, and reveal ourselves to each other?"
"That sounds... fun..." Adrien said.
"You don't like the idea, do you?"
"No, no, it's not that. Like, it would be really cool if we all revealed ourselves and stuff, but... what if they're disappointed?"
"By you? No way, kitten."
"They probably don't even know me personally, and they're not going to like me, and I'm just going to have messed it up-"
"Actually, they do know you personally, as Adrien."
"Wait, like... personally personally?"
"Yup, personally personally." Marinette grinned.
"Are you sure they're not goin-"
"I promise you, they will not be disappointed by you in any way."
"Uh, yeah... can we do that reveal thing then?"
Marinette placed a soft kiss on his forehead.
"I'm working on it right now." Marinette said.
"Wait, weren't you Multimouse?" Adrien asked.
"Yes, but that stuff you saw after we defeated Kwamibuster was actually just an illusion."
"That was a really clever illusion, M'lady..."
"Hey, you're really clever too, you know."
Adrien nodded after a few moments.
"You have a miraculous, and Luka, Chloe, Max and Kagami had one... did you give them, to some of the people from school?"
"See, I told you that you were really clever!"
...
"Hurry up, Nino-"
"I just got in!"
"Well... still!"
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know! Just hurry, or we're going to be late!"
"Late for what? You still haven't told me." Nino said, unlocking the bathroom door.
Alya grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the house, and they started the walking to the park.
"Where are we going?" Nino asked again.
"Marinette invited us to go to the park with her and Adrien. They say they have something important to tell us, so do you know what that means?"
"Uh... damn, is it your birthday? I didn't forge-"
"No, not my birthday. That important thing that they want to tell us is totally them telling us that they are now a couple. I'm sure of it!"
"You sure, Al? I don't think they would make a whole declaration about it. Plus, if they did, Adrien's fans would... not be very happy."
"Yeah, well, they've got to deal with it. And there they are!" Alya said.
She pulled Nino behind a wall and peered over the edge, seeing Marinette and Adrien holding hands, with Adrien looking nervous and Marinette looking confident.
"It's like their roles have switched..." Alya said.
"What d'you mean?"
"Normally Marinette is the shy one, but she looks pretty confident now. Adrien's the nervous one."
"Really?"
"Yep. And this is definitely them telling us they're a couple, they're holding hands!"
"Your sisters hold hands, but that doesn't make them a couple."
Alya elbowed Nino and then pulled him around the wall.
"Hey, girl! You too, Adrien!" Alya burst.
"Alya! Nino! We have something very important to tell you guys. But, you can't tell anyone." Marinette said, lowering the phone Alya was no doubt filming them with.
"Right, of course... sorry... anyway, what did you want to tell us?"
"Uh, we have just gotta wait for a few more people... there they are!" Marinette waved to some of their classmates and friends as they came over. She counted them and then nodded to herself, and Adrien, squeezing his hand to assure him that everything will be fine.
"We all know each other, so yeah... that's good... Anyway before we tell you what we want to tell you, there is one this that links all of us, so... take a guess to what it could be." Marinette said, taking in their looks of confusion.
"We all go to the same school, and we're all in the same class?" Kim asked.
"I'm not in your class, so perhaps it is something else?" Kagami asked, nodding at Luka too.
Marinette nodded, despite knowing that there were never going to get it.
"It's something that no-one, except a few, know about you," she said.
She saw Nino and Alya share a look, and Alya mutter 'miraculous?' under her breath, not loud enough for the others to hear.
"It's something that you have previously not been allowed to let others know about because of Hawkmoth." Marinette rubbed her thumb across Adrien's hand as she said the word.
Marinette looked around, and clearly no one was going to say anything, so she decided to drop the bomb. She nodded to Adrien, signalling to him to say something that would give it all away.
"Do you think they're going to get it, M'lady?"
The group gaped at Adrien, unintentionally intimidating him with their stares.
"So, do any of you know what's in common with us all now?" Marinette asked.
"We- we're all- we all used a miraculous?" Kim said, looking at the others' reactions. They nodded along with him, then looked to Marinette and Adrien.
"You're Ladybug..." Luka said, struggling to his hide awe.
"Well, yeah, but this isn't about me. This is about this little kitten getting something he should have gotten long ago." Marinette said, gently guiding Adrien forward.
Alya started to speak. "I- I wanted to punch you when I thought you were a criminal... I thought you were a criminal... we didn't trust... I am so, so sorry, Adrien! I had no idea that you were the same person- I wanted to help Adrien, but you're Adrien, and Chat Noir is Adrien-"
"I knew there was something familiar about you, Adrien!" Kagami said.
Some other members of the group echoed about how sorry they were for mistreating him, while Adrien insisted that it was all fine, as he usually did.
"How did you manage to keep your identity hidden from your father for so long?" Max asked, fiddling with his glasses and he squinted, trying to picture Adrien wearing the Chat Noir mask.
"He never really checked in on me..." Adrien said, looking at the ground.
"So... that means that you... your father tortured you... Adrien, are you okay?" Luka asked, putting a hand on Adrien's shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..."
"Dude, you're like, the hero of Paris! My respect for you have just tripled and tripled again." Nino said.
The others nodded and agreed enthusiastically, eager to give Adrien the gratitude that he should have gotten long ago. They engulfed him in a large hug that melted his heart, and he only then allowed himself to cry tears of joy.
Did this mean that what Marinette told him was true?
That people really did want him?
That he wasn't worthless?
The affectionate hugs gave him his answer.
He felt a vibration come from his back pocket, so he took out his phone. He tapped on the notification and read through the email that he got sent.
"You okay? You look... upset about something..." Alya said, trying to see what had caused Adrien's mood to change so suddenly.
"I- I've been invited to- to s-say g-goodbye to- to my m-mother-"