Chapter 23 - Family

Once the fight had finished the five heroes of Paris had brought Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur to the police office. They explained what happened, Nathalie helping them, admitting everything they had done. The police listened and decided that Gabriel would be sent to jail until the trial and see what they would do with him then. Nathalie, however, was released but if she did anything against the law she would also be facing a trial.

Ladybug had stayed back with Chat Noir, talking to the cops in the office. They let Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee keep their miraculous until the trial and decide later whether they could keep them for longer or if they should give them back.

Ladybug kept talking to the cops, making them aware of the situation with Adrien. The police asked if they could see him to decide who he would stay with. Chat Noir said he would go get him and then head home himself since daylight was already fading.

After a little while of waiting, Adrien arrived and was led into the police station where Ladybug was standing with a few more cops and Nathalie.

"Chat Noir already explained what happened," Adrien told the cop, his head hanging.

The man nodded, "Well in that case we'll start with the questions."

He asked Adrien several questions about his family, whether he had any other members, where they were and so on.

"I have an Aunt in England," Adrien explained. "But I want to stay here," He looked at Ladybug desperately.

"I understand but if there's no one else here willing to look after you I can't let you stay here on your own," The cop told Adrien carefully.

"I-I'll look after him." Nathalie had walked closer to where the conversation was taking place.

Adrien looked at her, not sure what to say.

"Would that be okay with you, Adrien?" The cop asked him.

Adrien nodded slowly, unsure if he should trust Nathalie.

"Alright then, we've got that organized. Anything else Ladybug?"

"No," Ladybug answered. "Thank you for your help sir."

"Pleasure to work with you, Ladybug," The cop gave her a small smile and walked to the door of the small office, letting them out.

Once they were out on the street Ladybug turned to Adrien and Nathalie.

"Are you okay to go home on your own?" The question was aimed more at Adrien than both of them.

Adrien nodded slowly, looking at Nathalie.

Nathalie looked at Ladybug, "I'm sorry. I just thought if I did this everything could go back to normal," She sighed. "I'll take care of Adrien, don't worry."

Ladybug smiled gratefully. She waved to them, zooming off into the distance with her yoyo.

Nathalie ordered a taxi for Adrien and her to go back to the mansion.

The next few days passed slowly for Adrien. It was almost unreal to him. Nathalie had cancelled basically everything on his schedule except piano which Adrien had insisted on keeping. Yes, he never really played but the piano still reminded him of his mother and he would never want to give away a good memory of her.

Adrien wasn't sure how he should feel about the trial of his father. Sometimes he thought maybe he'll be able to come back like nothing happened and then he would remember all he's done and hope that he gets locked away.

There was a knock on the door. Nathalie opened the door to his room gently, looking at Adrien. "It's almost time for school, Adrien. Breakfast is waiting downstairs for you."

Adrien gave a little nod to Nathalie to show he understood. He got up and walked over to the cupboard where Plagg was with all of his cheese.

"Come on, Plagg," he told him feebly. "We should go downstairs."

Plagg looked up at Adrien and gave him a worried look. Then he zoomed into the bag that was slung over Adrien's shoulder. He didn't need to hide from Nathalie but he didn't really like her because of what she did so he went in the bag anyways.

Adrien walked down the stairs and walked into the dining room. He saw that his breakfast was set up so he went to sit down. Adrien noticed that a second breakfast was also at the table. He looked around and saw Nathalie walking through the doors of the dining room.

"I have some free time right now so I thought I could have breakfast with you." Nathalie sat down across from Adrien who looked at her with surprise. She smiled at him, "I just thought you would like the company."

Adrien nodded and took a piece of the toast from his plate.

"Also, I wanted to talk to you about something," Nathalie continued. "You see, I need to find a new job so that we still have an income. My income probably will not be as big as what your father had so we most likely will need to move out," Nathalie looked down sadly. "I already told the cooks and the cleaners to get another job. But let's get back to the point, we need to move out, I don't have enough money to sustain the rent here and I don't think we really need this much space."

Adrien agreed, "Don't worry Nathalie I knew this was coming and I have to say I look forward to it. I never really liked it here."

Nathalie nodded, "So will you help me look for a new house? Or maybe an apartment?"

Adrien nodded, "Yes of course Nathalie."

"Perfect," Nathalie took a sip of her orange juice thoughtfully. "Would you be okay with doing it after school? You don't have any activities but it's up to you of course."

Adrien smiled at that, he was so glad for the freedom Nathalie was giving him. "Yeah after school sounds good. Do you mind if I bring someone?"

"Not at all," Nathalie responded. "Who were you thinking of bringing?"

"Umm… Marinette," Adrien wasn't sure if Nathalie knew who she was… but she doesn't know Marinette is his girlfriend so probably not?

Nathalie in the mean time had answered, "Yeah she's nice," which made Adrien think she didn't know but she'll figure it out soon enough.

Adrien had finished his breakfast and checked the time. "I should probably head to school. Is it okay if I walk?" Adrien looked at Nathalie expectantly.

"Yes of course," Nathalie smiled when she saw Adrien's face light up. He deserved so much more than he got from his family.

"See you soon, Nathalie!" Adrien walked out of the door and down the stairs to the main entrance.

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A/N: I truly believe that Nathalie would take care of Adrien a lot better than Gabriel does. And they're moving out. I mean Nathalie doesn't really have a job, not until it's decided whether Gabriel is put in jail or not. So yeah, they're finding an apartment for the two of them.

Yay, less than a week until the holidays for me! (And hopefully for you guys too!)