Chapter Two

Marinette was late again. She'd tossed and turned practically the whole night and slept way past her alarm. As she ran into the school she bumped into Luka. Literally.

"Whaa!" she screeched as she fell back onto her butt. "Oh. Hi Luka."

"Marinette." Luka helped her up. "I was hoping to see you."

"What are you doing here?"

"Juleka forgot her history book so I was bringing it to her. But I wanted to talk to you as well."

"Well…" Marinette glanced at her watch and saw that her first class was almost over anyway. "Okay."

The pair headed to a bench in the corner of the school yard, hidden by a flight of stairs."

"Marinette, you're an amazing girl and you've inspired me in so many ways. Mainly in how you always strive to do better. So I applied to a music school in New York City."

"Wow, Luka, that's amazing!"

"They offered me some scholarships and I'm leaving next week. I wanted to thank you for being such an inspiration to. I never would have done this without you."

Marinette blushed and smiled, staring down at her hands.

"There was something else."

She glanced back up and met his blue eyes.

"I think I made my intentions quite clear when we first met. I liked you. But you were in love with someone else and I've accepted that. I want you to be happy, Marinette."

"Wha…? Really?"

"Yes. You deserve to feel like a full crescendo, powerful and strong. You're going to do great things."

"So are you," Marinette told him and leaned forward, kissing his cheek. "I'm going to miss you, Luka."

"Goodbye." He stood and started to leave.

"Goodbye."

Maybe they could've been something. But, even though he was a superhero, Marinette's heart still beat for Adrien.

Adrien was late. His mother and father had eaten breakfast with him (the first time he'd seen his father eat in months) and it had been the most awkward meal of his life. Emilie kept wanting to talk about what his school was like and Gabriel couldn't stop staring at his wife. Adrien had left halfway through and spent hours walking all over Paris, his bodyguard following in the car, as he cleared his thoughts.

Eventually he arrived at school just as his first class was ending. And there, in the corner under the stairs, was Marinette, his lady. Adrien swallowed hard, weighed down by what he had to tell her.

But as he got closer he saw the boy sitting with her. Luka, his band mate and friend. What was he doing here?

Adrien stopped as Marinette leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Both were blushing, smiling shyly.

He'd seen those looks just this morning. Between his mother and father.

Marinette loves Luka. Ladybug loves Luka.

Adrien spun on his heels and walked to his next class, his eyes overflowing with tears that he didn't let fall.

"Girl, are you okay?" Alya whispered to her friend. Marinette was staring at Adrien's head, not focusing on anything their chemistry teacher had been saying. "You're staring way more than normal."

"Huh?" Marinette blinked and seemed to wake up from a daydream. "Yeah, sorry. Long night."

The bell rang and the students headed out for their lunch breaks. Marinette ran through herds of students and grabbed Adrien's arm.

"Hi Marinette," he said as he turned to her. She instantly let go of his arm.

"We need to talk."

Adrien sighed but nodded. The two headed off to a bench in the courtyard, Alya and Nino staring after them in shock.

Marinette found it hard to talk. She was used to discussing these things with Chat Noir, not Adrien.

Picture him in the suit. With his ears and his bell.

"We need to find Hawkmoth, maybe go back to his lair. We can't let him keep his wish," she started.

"Why not?" Adrien butt in. "He wished to save his wife, what's wrong with that?"

"Well…" Black leather, tail, floppy cat ears. "It's not right. We can't play God. And with every wish there will be a price to pay."

"What if he's willing to pay it?" Adrien's memories flashed to this morning, his father's smile. He hadn't seen it in a long while.

"It's still not right," Marinette muttered, fingering a loose thread on her coat. Tiki in her bag nodded at her to continue. "I'm going to talk to Master Fu after school. Do you…do you want to come with?"

"You sure you don't have plans?" Adrien asked snidely.

"No. I…I just thought since we know now that we could…"

"Well I've got plans," Adrien snapped, standing. "And I don't think Hawkmoth's wish was so bad. Saving the person you love isn't evil. You should know that, right?"

"Huh?"

But Adrien just turned on his heel and walked away.

"Why do you think he's so mad?" Marinette asked Tiki.

"You two have been through a lot lately and he's probably still trying to cope with it," the kwami replied. "I'm sure you can tell him what Master Fu said later."

"I guess. But something just seems off with him."

Adrien climbed into his car and slumped back, exhausted. Why had he been so mean to her? He didn't want to be but every time he looked at her, he saw Luka.

His bodyguard started driving away, headed to the next photo shoot Adrien had scheduled for the afternoon, when the car's phone began to ring. Emilie's face appeared on the screen and Adrien's jaw hung open.

"Adrien's photo shoot has been cancelled, drive him back to the house instead," she drawled, painting her nails a dark blue. When she glanced up and saw her son she beamed. "Adrien, honey, we're going to go on a family picnic in the park just like when you were little. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"But…but what if people….?" Adrien stuttered.

"Don't worry, we're going to wear disguises," Emilie chuckled. "I picked out this adorable beret and glasses. And your father's going to wear a sweater. I'm so excited!"

"But…the photo shoot."

Emilie placed her hand to her heart. "I'm just trying to make up for lost time, Adrien. If you want to go to the studio and take pictures, I suppose you can. I just thought it'd be nice to do things together. Like we used to. As a family."

The word settled in Adrien's chest and he found himself nodding, agreeing to this random outing.

"Wonderful! We'll leave as soon as you get here. See you soon my kitten!"

The screen shut off and the car made a right turn rather than a left.

I wish you were here, Ladybug.

"Master? Master?" Marinette called as she entered the apartment.

"Marinette," Master Fu called from his seat on the ground. "I know why you are here."

"Hawkmoth made his wish," Marinette sighed as she sat down with him. "And Chat Noir…we know each other's identities now."

"Yes, I always knew you would one day learn the truth. How is Chat Noir handaling it?"

"I don't really know," Marinette admitted. "He seemed mad today but I have no idea why."

She glanced at Tiki who was nudging her. "But we really need to focus on Hawkmoth. Is there any way to reverse his wish?"

"Yes," Master Fu replied. "You must recombine your miraculouses and make a wish to have his wish undone."

"Won't there be a price to pay?"

"Yes, but we must be willing to pay it. We cannot allow Hawkmoth to change parts of this world."

Marinette looked out the window, onto the streets of Paris that she and Chat Noir had roamed so many times. "He wished to save his wife. Perhaps…perhaps that isn't a bad wish? Maybe we could let him keep it?"

Master Fu's grey eyebrows furrowed. "We cannot allow Hawkmoth to play God. By saving her life he will have a much larger price to pay. This will result in terrible consequences for Paris."

"I understand. I'll find Chat Noir and we'll reverse the wish."

"If you need any help, you know I will be here," Master Fu reminded her as she left.

The sun was setting over Paris and couples everywhere stopped to take pictures at iconic landmarks. The sight of it all made Chat Noir queasy. He sat atop a building near the Eiffel Tower, not wanting to stop his nightly rounds of the city. Normally he ran into Ladybug during these patrols but he had yet to see her tonight. Probably because he hadn't done much patrolling. His heart just wasn't in it.

"Chat Noir," a voice said and he turned. There she was, red suit with black dots, her fair dark hair and eyes that always commanded his attention. "We need to talk."

She sat next to him, seeming much more confident then when they'd spoken at school. Maybe it was the mask or the powers.

"Master Fu told me how to reverse the wish. We just need to recombine or miraculouses and then we wish to undo his."

Chat Noir just stared the Eifel Tower. "We'll be hurting someone. Now that he's brought his wife back it'll be like us…killing her all over again. And what if she has a family? Kids? Won't they be hurt?"

Ladybug sighed, flipping her yoyo between her palms. "I know but Hawkmoth should never have tried to change things. This is on him."

"Is it really such a terrible thing to want to save your wife? To want to save your son's mother?"

Ladybug froze, her eyes roaming Chat Noir's sad face, his slumped shoulders.

"Hawkmoth's wish…your mom…your dad….Adrien, is your father…?"

Chat Noir saw her reach the terrible conclusion and nodded, not having the strength to look at her. "I know what he did was awful and he needs to face the consequences for it. But…my mom's back, Ladybug. She's back in my house, taking us on picnics, telling me she loves me. I don't want to lose that again."

Ladybug hesitated before she took his hand. "Chat Noir…Adrien." He looked up at her. "I understand. I can't imagine having to go through all this and I'm so sorry."

"So you'll let her stay?"

She couldn't say no. But she also couldn't say yes. "Let me meet her, please. See if everything's okay."

"You'll love her, Ladybug!" Chat Noir hugged her tight. "You'll see. She's just like you. I think that may be why I…" His voice fell off as Ladybug pulled back. "M'lady?"

"Let's just…let's focus on your mom first. Then we can talk about us."

She's in love with Luka.

"Right, fine," Chat Noir snapped, pulling back as well. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Ladybug said nothing as he left then returned to her own home.

"Spots off."

Tiki appeared in front of her as Marinette slumped onto her bed.

"Why won't you tell him how you feel?"

"Because we still have to defeat Hawkmoth. And with everything going on with his mom…it's just not the right time, Tiki," Marinette sighed, staring at the pictures of Adrien on her board. She reached past them, though, and touched the clipping of the newspaper article from her and Chat Noir's first victory. The picture showed them standing side by side, beaming.

"I can't believe it's been him this whole time…"

"You should tell him soon. Before he thinks you don't have feelings for him," Tiki advised, curling up on the pillow.

"I'll tell him when this is all over. Promise."