The Ghost of Smokey Joe Chapter 2: Autumn Serenade, a miraculous: tales of ladybug & cat noir fanfic

Many hours later, the door clicked closed, and Marinette sat up straight in attention. "Adrien?"

"No girl, just me," said Alya. "Did you sleep at the table all night?"

Sunlight poured in the window.

"I guess I did." Marinette rubbed at her eye, smearing her mascara. "What time is it?"

"Morning time. Almost 8. I'm surprised Sunshine isn't still here. I have expected to catch you both cuddling on the couch together. Did you just…fall asleep at the table?"

Marinette didn't answer, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Marinette?"

"He bailed on me. Ghosted me. Not even a text."

"He what!?" She shrieked. "Why that dumb little—" Alya whipped out her phone, and called someone, putting them on speaker.

"He didn't answer me, Alya, don't even try."

Instead, Nino's voice spoke over the line. "What did you forget?"

"I didn't forget anything! It was that Best Man of yours!"

"Adrien? What did stuffed-with-fluff forget?"

"He forgot Marinette!"

"Marinette? He ghosted her!?"

"Yes! He never showed! And he's not answering any calls, so you better get a good excuse from him! He better be dead or in the hospital, or I'll put him there!"

"Alya…" Marinette said weakly. "I'm sure he has a good excuse…"

"I'll call him," Nino promised. "I'll figure this all out. He's a good boy, I know he wouldn't just…not call."

"I want to believe that too," Alya said with pain in her voice.

Then, Marinette's phone rang, and she hurriedly answered it, not looking at the number. "Hello?"

"Hello Miss Dupain-Cheng," said Nathalie.

"Oh, good morning."

"I'm calling to inform you that next week, you'll be working from the office all week. Mr. Agreste is…feeling unwell."

"Oh, okay. Thank you for letting me know. By chance, is Adrien there?"

"No." And without anything else, Nathalie hung up.

"Rude," Marinette muttered to herself. "Something smells fishy."

Nino called back a minute later. "I can't get a hold of Adrien either. He's not answering his phone."

Alya frowned, arms crossed. "Fishy indeed."

"Well, he can't avoid me forever. I am Gabriel's intern, so I'll corner him sometime." Then a horrible realization came over Marinette. "Oh god, he didn't actually ask me out!"

"What? Did you daydream this whole thing?!"

"No! He asked me if I wanted to have dinner, and he said he had something important he wanted to tell me! But he never clarified that it was a date! I kissed his cheek! What if he panicked!? Alya, this is my fault!"

Nino laughed from the other end of the line. "Dude, this is so not your fault. It sounded like a date to me. He still owes you an explanation. Regardless of what type. Don't blame yourself."

"Nino's got it right, Marinette. You didn't do anything wrong. When he stops being such a butthead, he'll come groveling. I promise."

"Yeah, well, we can only hope."

Through the trees

Comes Autumn with her serenade

Melodies

The sweetest music ever played

Autumn kisses we knew

Are beautiful souvenirs

A whole week of silence was torture. Marinette continued to go to work, and put on her big girl pants and acted like everything was fine. Gabriel only communicated to her through emails, and she was unanimously thrust into the leadership role in his absence.

It was frustrating, annoying, and stressful, since she was not prepared to become CEO overnight. By the end of the week, she had run herself ragged. Fueled by coffee and fear of failure, she wrapped up her last project for the evening, and went back to the apartment.

There, blessedly, Alya and Nino greeted her with hugs and leftovers.

"Rough day?"

"Rough week! Mr. Agreste has been basically AWOL, and I'm the one filling in! He doesn't answer my phone calls or texts, and answers my emails an hour after the fact. I'm exhausted!"

"And Nathalie didn't say anything to you?"

"Nope, she's sealed up tight. Apparently, Gabriel is sick. But I can't get any news about Adrien. Honestly, I'm about one mental breakdown away from breaking down the gates and demanding answers."

Alya chuckled. "No need to be so drastic, Marinette. Maybe both of them got the flu, and Nathalie is forbidding them from doing anything but resting. You know how strict she is."

Marinette kicked off her shoes and leaned her head back on the couch. "I know, I know, and you're probably right. It might be best if I come up with a plan in case this ever happens again. Specifically Gabriel getting sick, not Adrien being a coward."

"It's weird though," Said Nino. "Adrien's always been overly considerate. Even after all this time, he still asks too many questions about social faux pas. For him to just ghost you, for a whole week even; it's concerning."

Marinette had tried not to think like that. Adrien being awkward and scared was so much easier to stomach than something tragic befalling him.

And yet, if it had, wouldn't she know by now?

She took out her phone, and called Nathalie, much to the curious gazes of Nino and Alya.

"Hello Marinette." The woman greeted, as stoic as ever. "I was under the impression that you were done for the night."

"I am. I just...haven't heard from Adrien all week."

"With Gabriel ill, Adrien has been busy, much like you. It wouldn't surprise me that social calls would fall to the wayside."

"I was just...worried. Is he there?"

"Yes. He's fine."

"Can I talk to him?"

"He's asleep. He's had a hard week. You'll see him Monday, as Mr. Agreste wants you working at the manor."

"Oh, okay then. I guess...thank you, Nathalie."

"You're welcome." The call ended.

"So he's not dead in a ditch." Marinette announced. "Nathalie said he's asleep. And I'll see him Monday."

Nino frowned, though he didn't say anything.

It was just...odd.

As I pause to recall

The leaves seem to fall like tears

Silver stars

Were clinging to an Autumn sky

Monday morning, Marinette went over to the mansion. She rang the bell, and the gates opened. She crossed the quiet drive, the gates shutting behind her, and approached the door.

There was usually someone there to open it to greet her, whether it was Nathalie or the Gorilla. Not this time.

Marinette took hold of the handle and opened it herself, for the first time ever. She didn't think they would mind, if the gate opened.

"Hello?" She called. "Nathalie?"

The lights in the foyer were off. And despite the large windows beside her, dark shadows hung in the corners like cobwebs.

The house felt empty. Cold, and dark. The manor had always been cold, of course. It was picture perfect, sterile and modern minimal. But today it felt worse. Noticeably worse.

If this is what it felt like at night when she went home, it was no wonder Adrien hated it here.

The doors to Gabriel's office were closed, and she approached, knocking gently.

"Come in." Said Nathalie's voice.

She was at her desk, but Gabriel was nowhere to be seen. "Good morning," she greeted.

"G-good morning." Marinette nodded. "I'm just letting you know I'm here. You usually greet me at the door so..."

"You've been here long enough, I didn't think such formalities were necessary."

"They aren't! It's fine, totally fine. Just...unexpected is all. Is Gabriel still ill?"

"A bit. He may come down, but he may not. I will field all questions."

"Okay," she nodded. She prepared to leave, but asked. "Is Adrien home?"

"He's working in his room. He's very busy."

Marinette just nodded, and went to her own office down the hall.

It was a smaller room, used to belong to Emilie. Gabriel was very specific about how things were kept. The desk was Marinette's, but everything else was Emilie's. The bureau in the corner, the little settee, the curtains, it was all her design. Emilie had good taste, thankfully, and so the room was fine the way it was.

Even with the light off, this room didn't have that oppressive weight in it.

She could relax, however slightly, and get to work.

It was hard to concentrate on work when all she wanted to do was storm upstairs and demand answers from Adrien. At this point, she definitely felt like she deserved them. Date or not, she deserved a little closure as to what had happened, and why he had never followed up.

In all likeliness, it would probably just be, "my phone died, and then I forgot to text you back."

But Nino's comment about Adrien's extreme consciousness really nagged at her.

Before she knew it, it was time for her lunch break, and she took her sack lunch with her to Gabriel's office.

He still hadn't come down, but Nathalie was there.

"Nathalie? I'm taking my lunch now. Do you think I could visit Adrien?"

The woman stopped her work and screwed up her lips, an expression Marinette had never seen on her before. She seemed to be thinking much too hard.

"I will go see if he is able to handle company."

"Tell him I don't want to bother him, and we don't have to talk. I just want company."

Nathalie nodded, and stepped out of the room. Marinette followed across the foyer, before Nathalie harshly told her, "wait here."

She ascended the stairs to Adrien's room.

Love was ours

Until October wandered by

Let the years come and go

I'll still feel the glow

That time cannot fade

When I hear

That lovely Autumn serenade

Marinette never had to wait. Since working in the same house, they had developed a pretty open door policy. He was allowed in her office anytime, and likewise, she was allowed in his room, though she usually knocked first. Young men and all.

But this was the first time anything like this happened. Was Nathalie just paranoid about her getting sick too? Or her getting Adrien sick?

Was Adrien still ignoring her, and let Nathalie in on it?

What had she done to warrant this reaction?

Finally, Nathalie came out of the room.

"Adrien can see you for a little bit. But he's busy, so try not to distract him." Her tone was stern, in a way that made Marinette instinctively curl into herself. A sternness like she was in trouble.

Seriously, what did she do?!

She climbed the stairs, and approached the door, knocking slightly. "Adrien?"

"Please come in," his voice called back.

When she entered, she noticed the lights were out. He sat in his computer chair, facing her completely, sitting rigidly, and smiling.

It was the fakest smile she'd ever seen.

She sighed. "Relax. I'm not mad."

He blinked. "You…aren't?"

"I mean, I'm a little confused. Why didn't you show?"

He frowned. "I'm sorry, I think I'm the one that's confused. What are you talking about?"

She scoffed. "Last week? We were going to have dinner? You never showed or called?"

"Oh. I…forgot."

"It was your idea!"

"I…was sick. And I fell asleep. Yes. What day?"

"Friday night."

His eyes widened. "Oh yes. That is exactly what happened."

She sighed as she sank into his couch, and opened her lunch. "I understand. I really do, but next time, could you return my calls? I spent a whole week in silence from you."

"Nathalie confiscated my phone."

This made her chuckle. "Okay, that's an ironclad excuse."

He smiled, again, so fake.

"So what did you want to tell me?"

"Tell you? I was under the impression that you wanted to talk to me."

"Well yeah, but on Friday. You asked me to dinner and said you wanted to tell me something."

He spun around in his chair to look at his computer. He scrolled through a document, and then turned back to her. "I don't remember, I'm afraid. This past week has been…a bit fuzzy, to tell you the truth."

"What were you sick with?"

His eye twitched. "Uh, cancer."

"WHAT?!"

"Too severe? Strep throat then. Pneumonia. Bronchitis."

"You could just say you don't know instead of giving me a heart attack, you know."

"Apologies."

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Talking how so?"

"Like, really proper."

"Is it not how I usually talk?"

"Not when we're alone…"

He screwed up his lips. "Hmm. My bad. Too many period dramas while I was sick, I suppose."

She laughed. "Oh my gosh, like when we binged Sherlock together, and we couldn't stop talking with British accents?!"

He grinned. "Precisely. Just like that."

"Man, had I known you were sick, I would have brought you some soup and given you company."

"Nathalie wouldn't have let you."

"I know. It just kills me to think that you were alone all week."

"It kills you?" He looked horrified.

"Yeah…I know you get lonely…sorry, I'm prying again."

He shook his head. "Just…the phrasing caught me off guard."

Marinette noticed from the moment she walked in, he had only once glanced at his computer. She was being a distraction, just like Nathalie had asked her not to.

"Well, I heard you were busy, so I'll finish my lunch in my office. But, we're good right?"

"What?"

"Like, you aren't mad at me for anything? I didn't do anything wrong?"

"No, you did nothing wrong. We're great friends."

"Good!"

Something was wrong.