A/N: Time for another update.
Chapter 10
Ladybug watched with trepidation as Chat Noir followed Hawkmoth into the green room, trusting her partner to set up the date and time of meeting with the (former?) supervillain to look at his wife.
Before too long Ryuuko took Chat's vacated seat, and they had to answer lots of questions from the audience members who had returned to the scene. Ladybug didn't really pay attention to what those questions were, as she was still thinking of the two people in the next room.
Eventually, the panel ended and the convention drew to a close. As Ladybug was getting ready to join her partner, she noticed the shy smile of a girl and her mother. Ah, yes, the young girl who wanted to go up to the Eiffel Tower with her and Chat Noir. She quickly made her way over to the two.
"Ladybug, are you okay," asked the adorable six-year-old girl she had interrupted during the voice acting panel.
Kneeling down to the girl's level, Ladybug looked her in the eyes. "I'm not sure. I mean that's Hawkmoth, and he basically said that he'll stop being a bad guy if he gets help for his wife. I hope he means it, but I'm scared that he doesn't. Does that make sense?"
"You're scared?" The little girl's eyes went wide.
"Yup. Even superheroes get scared sometimes. That doesn't mean we can stop doing what we need to do. And one of those things is to talk to your mom about taking you to the top of the Eiffel Tower," she said, bopping the girl on the nose. "If that's okay with your mom," she said as she looked up into the eyes of the girl's mother.
"Ladybug, if we can assure her safety then I have no objections."
"Okay! Then let's set up a time and place to meet." Marinette pulled up her schedule on her bug phone, and they eventually settled on meeting at the Eiffel Tower on a Saturday in a few weeks.
"Now remember, this is a special thing. You still have to listen to your mother. She's the one who will make the final decision on whether or not you can go. And I still need to check to see if Chat Noir will be with us. Okay?"
"Okay. Thank you, Ladybug!" The little girl wrapped her arms around the superheroine, then whispered in her ear. "Are you sure you'll be okay even if you're scared?"
"I promise, I'll be fine. I'll have Chat Noir and the rest of the heroes with me." Smiling, she spoke to the little girl again, "Time for me to go, little lady. Bye bye, little butterfly." Ladybug grinned at the girl, who smiled so brightly she could give Adrien Agreste a run for the "sunshine smile" award. Ladybug then decided it was time to check in on her partner.
She quickly made her way to the green room where she saw, of all things, Hawkmoth hugging Chat Noir.
"Well, this is unexpected," she said. The two masked males jumped apart and looked her way, Chat sporting a sheepish smile and rubbing the nape of his neck while Hawkmoth's visage was more stoic.
"Um, well… you see, um… LB, we were discussing where and when to meet and it ended up in an identity reveal."
"You mean Hawkmoth knows who you are?!" she asked, starting to panic.
"Yeah, well, it was a mutual reveal, and, well, um… he'stryingtowakeupmymother."
"Say that again. Slowly."
"Chat Noir is saying that he's my son. And no, we didn't know that until a few minutes ago."
"Okay, okay," Ladybug said, pinching the bridge of her nose. There was so much to unpack here that she didn't know where to start, so she started with what she could see. "So, you decided to… uh, hug it out?"
"Honestly, I think we're both still in shock," said Chat. "There are a lot of feelings to work through, but I, uh… I just needed a hug, I guess."
"So, did you set up a date and time to meet to examine Hawkmoth's… I mean to examine your mother?"
"About that. Um."
"My identity is going to be revealed because of where my wife is located," Hawkmoth advised.
"And that means my identity is also going to be revealed. I'd like to share that privately with you first, before going… home. Oh, yeah! I almost forgot." Chat handed Ladybug the peacock brooch. "He gave it to me right when we entered the room. Said it was to show his sincerity."
Ladybug carefully took the peacock miraculous and stored it in her yo-yo's infinite storage area. This day was just getting weirder and weirder. "Okay, I don't see any point in putting this off. Chat, can you meet me at Patrol Spot #7 in say an hour?"
Chat Noir looked at his father, thinking of all the things they needed to do before going home. "Let's say two."
Ladybug nodded.
The superheroes all departed the convention, though most of their civilian counterparts stayed behind to meet up with people they'd come with. Marinette was very glad that Chat had suggested meeting up in two hours instead of one, simply because of traffic.
Once they arrived at home, Sabine and Marinette couldn't wait to tell Tom Dupain all about what he missed, including the Miraculous All-Star Brawl premiere and, of course, Hawkmoth's plea.
Citing exhaustion, Marinette made her way up to her room before speaking with Tikki about the strange turn of events.
"So, what do you think?"
"It sounds like Nooroo finally convinced his holder to try something other than akumatizing innocent people," Said the wise Kwami. "I'm just hoping that we can do something about his wife. And Chat's mother."
"Yeah. That was a surprise. I wonder how he's taking it? I mean he was hugging Hawkmoth when I entered the room, but…"
"But you know his home life hasn't been the best, and you wonder how this is going to affect him." The little goddess looked her chosen in her bright, blue eyes. "Listen to me, Marinette. A.. Chat Noir may appear to be strong, but there is a vulnerability in him. He's definitely going to need support. I'm glad you've decided to reveal your identity to him. Trust me, he's going to need you and his other friends."
If Marinette thought Tikki's phrasing odd, she didn't mention it. She simply didn't have the time to worry about it before meeting up with Chat for the identity reveal.
Chat Noir paced nervously on the top of a very familiar roof. Why Ladybug had chosen the roof of Francois Dupont to reveal identities, he had no idea. But as much as he wanted his Lady to know who he was, he was still a tad nervous. After all, his father was Hawkmoth.
He'd been pacing for at least 10 minutes when he heard the familiar sound of a yo-yo.
"Hey, Kitty," Ladybug said as she landed. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm not sure, actually. I want to scream and yell at my father, and yet I want to hang onto him as tightly as I can. I want to punch him for keeping my mother's coma a secret, and I want to admire him for loving her so much he will do anything to revive her. Part of me wants to throw him in jail for terrorizing Paris, and part of me doesn't want to lose the only family I have left. I'm so…"
"Confused?"
"Confused doesn't begin to describe how I'm feeling. But it may be the closest word at the moment."
"Well no matter what else happens, Kitty, I'm here for you. And on that note, please come with me."
"Wait. I thought we were revealing our identities."
"We are, but not here. I'm taking you home first. It's not far." Chat Noir followed without a word, travelling the short distance to Marinette Dupain-Cheng's rooftop sanctuary. Ladybug opened up the rooftop access and dropped down into the pink bedroom, whispering her de-transformation phrase.
If Chat Noir was too stunned to be surprised. "Marinette," he whispered almost reverently.
Marinette looked down shyly. "Are you… disappointed that it's me?"
"What? Of course not! I'm so happy that my Princess and my Lady are the same person.," Chat reached out to caress Marinette's face. "I should have known that my Everyday Ladybug turned out to be the real thing..."
While Marinette gasped, realizing at last who was under the black mask, Chat whispered his de-transformation phrase and fed Plagg the camembert he carried in his pocket. "Adrien! Oh my god, it was you the entire time?" This is time to freak out, Marinette! You can do that later. Right now, he needs you.
Adrien nodded. "You're not disappointed are you? Knowing who I am and who my father is?"
"Of course not, Kitty. I'm a little surprised, but I could never be disappointed in you. You're my best friend as well as… never mind, we'll talk about that later. The point is that I trust you with my life." Marinette reached out to hold Adrien's hand. "You're my best friend in the mask, and my cr… really good friend at school, too."
"Thank you, Milady." He took a breath, relieved that the identity reveal went so well. "So… now what?"
"Now, your friends give you all the support we can… which leads me to a question. Do you want to tell Alya and Nino about this?"
"I... don't know."
"We'll go at your pace, Kitty. But if you're worried, I know they can keep a secret identity."
"What do you mean?"
"Alya is Rena Rouge and Nino is Carapace."
"What?" Adrien thought about it a moment, then smiled. "I guess it makes sense that you choose your best friend to be the first of the backup superheroes."
"And Nino was chosen in part because he was trying to protect Alya. And doing a decent job of it, I might add."
"For now, let's keep it between us."
"Okay. Now, where are we meeting Hawkmoth?"
"Apparently, she's in the mansion somewhere. Fa… Hawkmoth said he'll show me once we're there. Which leads me to another question. Are you going to come as Ladybug, or as Marinette?"
"Yeah, I think I'll need to go as Marinette. It will bring less attention to your door."
"Thank you, Bugaboo."
"Don't call me… never mind. So… when does he want to do this?"
"The sooner the better, if what he said is true."
"Will he keep you out of school tomorrow then?"
"Probably."
"Well, if I'm going to end up revealing my identity to your father I might as well reveal my identity to my parents, too. Come on, Kitty. No time like the present."
Taking a deep breath, the two secret superheroes went through Marinette's trap door and down into the rest of her home.