Author's Note:

Remember the little tidbit in the epilogue about Gorilla taking to his role as Alfred?

Here's a look into his head, because, why not enjoy his perspective on things?

Enjoy.

Timeline setting: Between chapter 4 and Chapter 5.

For the man known only as the Gorilla (who didn't mind the nickname that his young charge had given him despite others trying to act as if it should be seen as an insult) finding out that the boy he had been protecting, and raising apparently, was really the black-clad, wisecracking hero of Paris, Chat Noir, had been only the latest thing on this job to surprise him.

The first having been that he would be dominantly bodyguarding a child.

However, at the end of the day, he was a professional...even if he had become quite attached to the boy as if Adrien were his own son. But now...now he was going to have to live with the knowledge that, whenever night fell or danger reared it's head, the boy he had protected and raised was going to be throwing himself into the thick of things alongside of a equally young girl whom his boy was head over heels for.

It was sobering to realize that he couldn't protect the boy...the boy who was growing into a man whom he was, to be honest, very proud of.

Before, he had only had to worry about keeping Adrien safe from kidnappers and crazy fans, things that he had seen so often already in his life, but then the akuma came...and he realized how out of his depth this job had now taken him. And Adrien, the sunshine-bright boy whom he had often worried was too sweet and naïve to truly survive in the harsh reality of the world, the boy whom he had feared would be destroyed and ruined by the world beyond the gilded cage that Mr. Agreste kept him in like some manner of showpiece, was now the one protecting him and everyone else.

Becoming a hero had perhaps been the best thing that could have happened to help Adrien escape from his cage and, despite his worry, the Gorilla was proud of him in so many ways.

Things had not really changed after Mr. Agreste and Ms. Sancoeur were discreetly arrested for their acts of terrorism and other criminal deeds since, during the month prior, Mr. Agreste had seemingly retreated to his home office and buried himself in bottle after bottle of wine that was honestly too rich for the bodyguard's sensibilities. Adrien had stepped up impeccably to manage things with the company as well as deal with the household...though Gorilla had personally made certain that he was always at his charge's side in case the boy, no...the man, needed help. He had pushed himself to assure that Adrien, and Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng, had access to everything that they needed for their legal battles against that, quite honestly, despicable girl and the administration of their school.

He made certain that the two readily had all of the tools they needed...

And then the arrest happened and, in the aftermath, he swore that he saw both beginning to crack at the seams.

Their war against Hawk Moth and Mayura had drawn to its close (perhaps not in the way either had imagined) but the wounds left behind on both teens, particularly Adrien, had run deep. Mrs. Agreste had been discreetly transported to a hospital for proper examination and round the clock care while the teens worked out a way to have the man, "Master Fu" (whoever he was) be able to check over the comatose Emilie and see if something could be done. It had taken a week before the man was apparently able to provide a prognosis to the teens...and for the bodyguard to get the lawyers to do some fancy legal maneuvers to cover up where exactly the comatose woman had been. If Adrien knew the extent of the web of lies woven to keep a welfare check from being done at the mansion, he seemed deliriously happy to pretend to be oblivious.

On top of everything: their legal battles, Adrien being in charge of so many things that a teenager shouldn't have needed to be in charge of, and so much more...the pair were still running around as heroes trying to help protect the people of Paris.

They were, to put it lightly, exhausted.

From that moment, the bodyguard had chosen to start taking care of both of them.

He made certain that the chefs at the mansion provided nutritious food to both fuel the teens' bodies as well as help the duo recover from everything that they did. He made certain to always have a fully stocked medical kit tucked away in Adrien's room as well as in the library, where the pair stayed most often, just in case they came back to the mansion with injuries that their costumes could not prevent. He made certain that both got in naps whenever they could while at the mansion (or at the bakery, after a long chat with Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, who he had been pleasantly surprised to find were ;in the know' as well) since a full eight hours sleep was off the table due to their schedules...even though he wished that were not the case. He stayed ready to collect them in a car whenever they needed, be it for school, meetings, or needing a quick escape after a bought of costume-clad heroism.

But, he still wasn't sure if it was enough.

Then, it hit him.

Or...more specifically, he saw them hit a group of small-time thugs while he was picking up a late-night sandwich and coffee for himself while he waited to see if he would be called on to act as a ride.

He watched the pair fight: they were stronger, faster, and more agile than their mediocre foes...but their fighting styles were...they could be better.

Later, after he had safely gotten them back to the mansion to rest before he would drive Marinette home, he had spoken to the pair of kwami, the black one had been too busy stuffing his face with cheese, yet the red one had been happy to take breaks in her baked goods to answer the bodyguard's questions...and he had learned that his initial impression was correct: Adrien and Marinette were purely self-taught fighters.

Their connection to their kwami gave them enhanced physical abilities, all be it, to a lesser degree when they weren't transformed, but their fighting styles were made up of a veritable mish-mash of things that they had learned from facing enemies, trial-and-error, bits and pieces from this "Master Fu" whom the bodyguard had yet to meet, and what suggestions that the kwami could provide from their own experiences with past Ladybugs and Chat Noirs.

In that moment, he made his decision to clean-up, if not outright renovate, the unused gymnasium in the mansion.

It had taken a few days, mostly due to him working on it when the teens were at school or safe in their respective homes, but soon enough he had what he could safely deem as a fully functional training space.

The exercise machines were older models, but they were still perfectly functional after a few minutes of basic maintenance to deal with whatever minor issues had popped up from the few years of disuse. The mats on the floor had needed to be adjusted, and a couple replaced due to the weight of the machines resting on them, but that was easy enough. A pair of heavybags and speedbags had been easy to set up where he wanted them to be, as well as a pair of training dummies that he had found stored in a closet.

In fact, he had found a two full sets of freeweights still boxed up in that closet, as well as most of the other smaller equipment that he had been planning to discreetly purchase out of his own paycheck.

In the end, he had managed to get a small-sized boxing ring installed in the center of the room (and really, he had to wonder, why was the room so large but the equipment in it so minimal? Mr. Agreste had probably only set the space up to say that he had an in-home gymnasium) as well as a set of parallel bars and a pair of still rings set up without too many questions from the installation crew.

After checking everything over, the bodyguard finished fully stocking the medical cabinet in the room as much as he could.

He may not be able to protect the pair while they were saving the city, but he would make certain that they had a place to train their bodies to maximize their speed, strength, and endurance. He would train the pair in self-defense...

'Jujitsu to start with since it would work better with what they already do. Perhaps Savate after. When they are older, Sambo. Beyond that...we'll have to see.'

And he would teach them as much as he could of what he had learned from his experiences as a bodyguard so that they could handle more situations.

The Gorilla couldn't go into battle with them, but he would teach them how to better protect themselves. He would help them hone the skills that they were already developing. And maybe, just maybe, he and Marinette's parents would be able to breathe a bit easier.

Author's (end) Note:

Is Gorilla running himself a bit ragged turning the mansion into Ladybug and Chat Noir HQ? Probably.

He just wants to make sure his boy and his boy's girl are safe.