Open Eyes and Butterfly Wings
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Zag and I make no profit from this work of fiction.
Hello there everyone! I decided to drop this here since the idea just wouldn't leave me alone. Also, Gabe is actually a half-decent person here, so there won't be a 'join me and defeat Ladybug' speech. Just…no. Especially after Glaciator 2 where he actually tries to be a parent for once this season.
Lastly, as stated in the summary, Adrien is not Chat Noir. Everything that changes because of this is mostly irrelevant to the plot of the story, and will therefore not be explored too deeply. If someone wishes to write a story in this universe however, they are more than welcome to do so as long as they tell me about it first, and (if they want to) send me the title so I can read it.
Now…without further ado…let's jump right into it!
Gabriel Agreste was not the best person in the world. He was not the best person in Paris, even. Hells, he wasn't even a good person, never mind a good father. Adrien knew this, but still loved him. His father might be cold and distant, but he did have his redeeming moments. Instances that proved that a part of his beloved dad, the one he'd spent so much time with as a kid- was still there somewhere, deep inside his heart.
That was probably the sole reason why he didn't run out of the house and start yelling out for Ladybug the second he learned his father was also Hawkmoth, Paris' resident supervillain who'd been transforming his friends into dangerous Akumas for past year and a half. He'd thought about it of course, for far longer than just one moment, but that man, Gabriel was still his father. His only family. His dad. And Adrien didn't want him getting hurt in a fight with Ladybug and Chat Noir, or worse, getting seriously injured.
Chat Noir's Cataclysm was extremely powerful. He and every other Parisian citizen knew this, given how many times he'd used it to destroy the Akuma's objects, the few but memorable times where he'd destroyed whole streets, and the unforgettable incident during which he annihilated the Eifel Tower. The monument had been fine one moment, and had toppled over in the next, before turning to dust in midair. He'd held his breath when Alya had been nearly crushed by the thing while filming. A great many people had.
Ladybug was also not afraid to actually fight the Akumas, given the amount of times the villains had been hit with a magic yoyo, or had received something like a trash can to the face which she'd thrown at them, despite the fact that it barely did anything more than daze them. Adrien knew that a Miraculous Suit offered protection because of how many hits the heroes had walked off, and from his own time as Aspik where he and the heroic duo and fought against an Akumatized Villain. Luka had ended up getting the Snake Miraculous because Adrien had known he'd be the one to get the job done, but he had still used it, and soaked up a good couple hits during those thousand odd resets he'd gone through.
Then again, for as dangerous as the Akuma were, Ladybug's Miraculous always restored everything to how it was before, so maybe his father, with a limited view from the villains' eyes if Alya's theories on the Ladyblog were true, didn't truly know the extent of the harm he was causing? Even if he did, Adrien was still determined to try and talk him out of this, if only to prove that the person standing behind his father's desk was still his dad, no matter how childish that sounded.
Taking a deep breath in an attempt to steady his thoughts, Adrien strode into the office, ignoring Nathalie's and Father's attempts to compose themselves and pretend that they hadn't just been talking about a plan to terrorize the city. Gabriel looked at his son in anticipation, knowing that he'd probably heard it all. Perhaps he'd expected Adrien to yell at him, or to scream or run away, but he was truly stunned by the word that left the teenager's lips.
"Why?", Adrien asked, his voice completely calm, as if they were discussing the weather. The shock he was feeling probably had something to do with it.
Gabriel and Nathalie stared at him for a good second, unsure of what to say, or rather, how to even begin explaining everything to him. Adrien didn't give either of them a chance to respond however, since he'd already made his way to where the two were standing, now looking Gabriel in the eyes.
"Why be Hawkmoth?", Adrien asked, his voice cracking under unseen pressure. "Why hurt my friends? Why hurt me?", he asked again, trying failing to meet his father's gaze.
Gabriel's eyes softened in that moment, a storm of emotions raging in his mind. He had nothing but the truth to offer in terms of a reply. "For you, son. I want to bring your mother back. Then we can all be a family again.", he said, but seeing the hurt on Adrien's face made him pause, giving the teen ample time to respond.
Adrien didn't say a word however, looking down at the floor, his emerald eyes beginning to water. "…Timebreaker killed me.", he says after a moment of hesitation, and Gabriel's mind goes blank. The room starts spinning for him, Nathalie helping him sit down isn't even registered in his mind. He can only hear Adrien's voice. "Alix, my classmate, pulled me aside the day after it happened. Said she'd had a nightmare. That she'd started to remember bits and pieces of what happened while she was Akumatized. As well what took place before her Akumatized self time traveled to save her watch. She apologized to me, because one of the only things she could remember was me, fading out of existence as she touched me."
Gabriel could focus on nothing else now, and with every word that came out of his son's mouth, he felt himself coming closer to vomiting. His stomach was spinning and he could barely breathe, but Adrien still wouldn't look at him. "Marinette's uncle nearly turned Chloe and I into human soup because I tried to save her. Lila almost threw me off the Eifel Tower. If I hadn't hid under my bed, you'd have trapped me in your book as the Collector. I had to jump off a building when Gorilla took me hostage, I got turned into a Popsicle when I tried to sneak out to get ice cream with my friends. When we went to Shanghai, all I could see was fire, at least until a building fell on top of me. I drowned during Siren. Almost for the second time if Ladybug hadn't saved me during Captain Hardrock. Stormy Weather froze me where I stood and I got caught in the blast zone of her volcano the second time she showed up. Do I need to go on?", Adrien suddenly asked his father, but Gabriel couldn't respond.
Hearing Adrien's voice, listening to him list off all the times he'd been hurt or killed, it made him sick. How had he done this to his son? He'd promised Emilie he'd protect their child even before Adrien had been born, and yet he'd directly caused his own son's death a dozen times, maybe more since Adrien probably wasn't even halfway done. Nathalie was saying something now. Was she talking to him? Gabriel couldn't tell.
The only thing he wanted to do was hug his son and tell him that everything would be okay, that he'd keep him safe, but that was impossible. Not when Adrien was dead. Or at least had died because of him, regardless of Ladybug's Miraculous Cure bringing him back time and time again.
Adrien finally averted his gaze from the floor, focusing on Nathalie, and then his father. Gabriel looked paler than a ghost, and seemed ready to throw up. Nathalie's gaze had darkened, she looked to be in shock as well. Had they not realized what the Akumas were actually doing? Had Adrien –or rather Alya- been right in his assessment? Adrien wasn't sure for a moment, but Gabriel's next action confirmed it. Ripping off the Butterfly Brooch along with his tie, he threw them both across the floor before visibly deflating, his body now collapsing on the chair, with Nathalie in no better condition.
Adrien, unsure of what exactly to do, slowly made his way to where the Miraculous had landed and then back to his father before passing him and moving on to Nathalie. Her eyes looked haunted, and she didn't make a sound as she quickly removed the pin on her chest and handed it over to the teenager. Adrien's mind had actually gotten a little foggy during all this, but he'd never forget trying on his father's brooch and meeting a small little being, a Kwami, if memory served, named Nooroo. The little being had expressed surprise that Gabriel had actually given up, and had then done his best to console Adrien as the teenager walked to, and promptly collapsed on, his bed, wanting to do nothing but stay there for the time being.
Ladybug was equally surprised, if not more than the little sprite had been, on the next day, having found a little Kwami named Nooroo struggling to juggle two brooches in his small arms, exclaiming that Hawkmoth had given up. Ignoring Chat Noir's skeptical look, Ladybug had stepped forward to relieve the little god of the items he carried, and after a few moments of inspection, confirmed that they were indeed the real Miraculous. Nooroo had never told either her or Chat Noir who Hawkmoth truly was, but he'd been shocked by the speed with which Ladybug had found him a new wielder, should he choose to accept, that is.
Needless to say, the first thing Adrien Agreste did when Ladybug showed up at his window with the Butterfly Miraculous, was to promptly collapse on his bed.
And…there you have it everyone! The one-shot made because the idea wouldn't leave my head. And in true Miraculous Ladybug fashion, we're going to omit most of the horrible things done by Akuma's, including how many people actually died during all of Hawkmoth's attacks. Let's not forget the guy was simping for his wife so hard he almost started World War 3 in the NYC special you guys.
Anyways, if anyone wants to continue this short story or write stories in the same universe you're all free to do so as long as I'm informed, but now if you'll excuse me, I do happen to have a Star Wars story in my WIPs that I need to finish sometime before 2022, so I should probably get going! See you all in the next one, but until then, stay Miraculous!