That cliffhanger was torture, but this was harder than I thought. To be honest, this encounter had been decided a long time ago and I already had a couple scenarios scripted but too much had changed. Curse my brain for not sticking to the program.=^-^=

Ch. 27 - Chat's Out of the Bag


Adrien glared at his father who now sat nonchalantly on the sofa as poised as ever. Marinette had just stepped out when the front desk called about their laundry which Adrien had started earlier not realizing they would have a guest. The glaring match was tense and silent for a full minute before one of them broke it. "Adrien-"

"Aaron." The ravenette snapped in correction.

Gabriel narrowed his gaze. "Your name is-"

"Aaron." He cut in again with a much sharper glare. "As my wife already told you when she introduced me, Mr. Agreste, my name is Aaron." The tone was grinding which showed Adrien's patience for the argument was in short supply.

"Whatever alias you've dawned does not change who you are." Gabriel snapped back lacing his fingers together on his knee.

"You can check with the records office yourself, Mr. Agreste, my name is Aaron Bassett." Adrien made sure to enunciate every syllable at the end, as if explaining a word to a stubborn child. "Now, Mr. Agreste, why don't we get to the reason of your visit? My wife said you wanted to know a bit about me, yeah?" The younger man pulled out his old model smile as he glanced to the kitchen to listen for the soup he was cooking. Marinette had worked so hard for her promotion, and he wouldn't let anything, not even his ass of a father ruin it. "To be completely honest, I can't really say I'm all that interesting. I barely knew anything until I left home. You could say I was lacking in a lot of common knowledge. I couldn't even figure out how a washer worked." He laughed a bit at the memory. "Though my wife fixed that pretty quickly as you could imagine?"

Gabriel was not the least bit amused by his son's antics so far. How could he playoff who he was so readily? It was shameful! "I've had enough of this game, Adrien." The designer insisted with a pointed tone he was so practiced in.

"Mr. Agreste?" Adrien called with a strained tone and smile to match. "I'd greatly appreciate you not projecting the crap relationship you have with your son onto me." The way he said it oozed politeness, but the words were biting. It almost had Gabriel second guessing what was said. "Now then, did you need to know more about me? I imagine you already know I'm a baker by trade, but I'd be happy to tell you about my hobbies if you're interested. Of course, I know a man like you must be very busy so I understand if you'd like to leave." Adrien made it sound like it was less of a suggestion and more of a demand. "Though considering you came all this way, it would only be proper of me to invite you to dine with us?" That time it sounded more like a threat. "Speaking of, please excuse me. I need to check my stove."

Gabriel watched him carefully as he walked around the corner to what he could only assume was the kitchen. His composure was flawless, but internally he was raving. Adrien was acting like a completely different person. Since when did he so readily interrupt? Since when did he correct his own father!? And when the hell did he learn to weave in threatening inflections to his words!? If it weren't for the fact he was clearly his son, Adrien, Gabriel wouldn't have ever guessed it was his son just now. He'd worked so hard to mold Adrien into the perfect heir even without a shred of design skill. Now? Now he was some common baker wholly domestic if he was reading their relationship correctly.

Gabriel stood up and glanced around a bit more. There were family pictures showing the two of them. Some included friends, but the one that caught his attention was sitting on a shelf next to their TV. A large wedding picture surrounded by snapshot moments from the event. The two of them were the center piece and the designer noted something odd after a moment; it was the only picture of the many in that room where his son was posed. "Marinette did mention he hated posing…" He muttered more for himself than for the sake of remembering. His son, the model, refused to pose except for his own wife at a benchmark event. Though he still felt it childish it did bring to his attention that Adrien wasn't a teenager anymore. He wouldn't be able to simply order him back home like he'd planned from the start. Not to mention the records Nathalie found on Aaron Bassett were official meaning Adrien's official name really was Aaron. He would have to rethink his approach especially considering he still had no undeniable proof outside recognizing his own son when he saw him.

"Sorry for the wait, Mr. Agreste."

Gabriel's years of self control were all that stopped him from jumping at the pointed and underlying threatening tone of his son. He turned, easily seeing the cold expression Adrien had hidden under that plastic smile he wore. "It's no trouble… And, you had a point earlier. I really must be going. Thank you for allowing me into your home."

All the lip service in the world would never convince Adrien his father wasn't plotting something. Gabriel Agreste didn't give up easy, but he would take the win for now. "Of course, I'll escort you out." Much to Gabriel's surprise, Adrien actually followed him out and even to the elevator despite being told it wasn't necessary. Then again, he forgot this new Adrien didn't do what he was told. "I insist." Aaron gave a smile and pressed the button for the first floor.

Right as the elevator shook, all friendly pretense on Adrien fell away to the coldest Gabriel had ever witnessed on another living creature. "I'm going to make this very clear, Gabriel, so listen up. Don't you dare ever call me Adrien again especially not around my wife." The ravenette approached the older man who glared coldly back. "And also, you will be kind, courteous, and professional to my wife regardless of your feelings towards me. I love her very much, and promise you won't be anyone's problem, should I find out you treated her anything like how you treat members of your family." Even while maintaining his controlled posture of cold indifference, Gabriel felt something he hadn't in quite some time; actual fear. Adrien was definitely no longer the lean teen he'd raised, and for the briefest of moments, Gabriel was actually worried Adrien would make good on the threat he'd made. As soon as the bell for the door rang, he turned on his heel to get out of the small space.

"Oh, Mr. Agreste, are you already leaving?" Marinette was in the lobby with Lamar holding a basket behind her.

"Marinette? Oh, yes, I had a few more things to take care of this afternoon." He then started to briskly walk right to the door.

"Thank you for taking care of my wife." He heard Adrien call with his voice sounding as kind and pleasant as when he'd first spoke to his wife back in their apartment. It was tempting to glance back, but he dismissed the urge immediately. He needed to think on his next strategy. For now he would cater to Adrien's need to play house, but by no means was this going to be the end of it.


Marinette glanced over her shoulders at the man she married. At the moment Aaron was rubbing her shoulders but she could tell something was bothering him. Something had been bothering him since Mr. Agreste had left. "Aaron…"

"I'm fine, bugaboo. Really." He insisted back with a smile that felt short of his eyes.

"No you're not. Stop pretending you are."

"It's really nothing." He countered stopping his hands as she pulled away from them.

"Who was the one who chased me over the roofs of Paris over keeping secrets?" She emphasized with a frown.

Adrien turned away. "This is different." He crossed his arms and she slid over the bed to get into his line of sight.

"Different? You're keeping something bottled up just like I was."

The ravenette turned around. "It's different… This one has nothing to do with you."

"It happened right after Mr. Agreste left… No, it happened when you talked didn't it? Did he say something you?" Though she couldn't for the life of her figure out what could've been said to put Aaron in such a tense mood. Mr. Agreste had said he wanted to know more about her family first hand so why would Aaron be mad about it? Then again, Aaron did have a bit of a tumultuous past before they met…

"What he said doesn't matter at this point, Mari. It's over with and he left."

"It does because you're bothered by whatever was said." Marinette pointed out crossing her own arms.

Why couldn't she just drop it? He really didn't want to think about his ass of a father right now. This was supposed to be such a good day! Marinette got promoted! He took a breath and smiled at her. "Come on, Mari," He started as he took one of the hands from over her chest. "Is it really so wrong for me to be upset over losing more of your time?"

She raised a brow at him. "That's what it is? You're bothered by the idea of me working more?"

He nodded readily though she could tell something was off. "I want to support you, milady, so I don't want to hold you back but…" Aaron then pulled her close and laced his fingers through hers. "Not seeing my beautiful wife every day might just ruin me." He then took his other hand to press her head gently into the crook of his neck where he touched his cheek to hers. "You're my whole world, Marinette."

The designer felt her worry ebb away a little at his familiar antics. He loved to do this whenever they argued and for some odd reason, it usually worked. It felt so calming, but it also reassured her that he wasn't upset at her. That had been her first worry upon noticing his tense mood since she had brought a sudden guest into the house without warning. "Don't forget to carve out some space for Luis soon." She corrected with a grin as she relaxed into his arms. She felt him chuckle.

"Right, catbug too, of course." He heard her groan in return but held her close. Right now, he really just wanted to keep himself calm so she won't worry anymore. He could worry about Gabriel Agreste later while Marinette was working. Maybe it was time to talk to Alya about it?


Felix sat in his chair and whipped out his phone to cut his boredom. Vincent had been acting very picky today and what started out as a simple 1 hour photo shoot extended to nearly 3. "Hold on, Adrien, head over to make up for a quick touch up." Stephen instructed right as the model was getting comfortable. The designer made no indication he noticed Felix's irritation since he was busy checking clothes on a rack.

"You going to go?"

The blonde turned to the young woman who'd appeared on his opposite side. Bridgette, one of Vincent's assistants, was adjusting her camera's lens. "I'll go in a minute." He then pulled his phone back up to check his mail.

"Uh-huh, but Vincent might be done any second."

"Well, then he can wait on me for once." The blonde countered as he scrolled. "Besides, I barely have any make up on as it is so I don't really see what is there to touch up."

"How about the oil build up on your forehead from sweating under the lamps?" She watched him try not to react but he couldn't resist reaching up to his head to lightly check. Before he said anything else, she walked away to make sure she was ready when Vincent called.

Felix glared at her out of the corner of his eye and heaved a sigh as he stood up. "She's a real peach…"

"Adrien?" Marinette was the one approaching him now. "Why are you still in the first outfit?" Felix gestured to Vincent who was adjusting lighting with a disgruntled expression. "Oh… I guess he's in one of his moods today." She let out a sigh and pulled up a tablet. "But we really don't have time for this. Didn't Stephen say anything?"

"Lila." Was all the model had to say for Marinette to understand. Lila had a tendency to be very dramatic especially right before big events. Houte Couture week officially kicked off in less than two days. Since Marinette was being brought up to a senior designer position Gabriel had decided to give her more responsibility. Normally Stephen, his lead designer, would manage Adrien and Lila, but he told Stephen to have Marinette take over one of them. Stephen would still have final say, but Marinette would do all the work instead of doing as told. Of course, as anyone with eyes could see, Marinette and Lila barely got along so Stephen took her and left Adrien to his recently promoted junior.

Marinette turned to look around and spotted the older man picking through a rack while never taking his eyes off his tablet. Whatever he was doing, she wondered how he did it without looking. She then saw Frankie run up to him with an outfit on a hanger which finally made the man look up. Whatever he was brought looked to brighten him up as the two of them headed over to the set for the Italian model. "I don't know how anyone ever expected this to be done in an hour…" Felix muttered which got a slight chuckle from the designer.

"No, I don't see how either, but we really need to get this going." She took a deep breath to keep herself calm and headed over to Vincent. She had been so wound up that morning that Stephen had her go home for lunch, so she could calm down. It worked for the most part, but she knew if she acted crazy she would get sent home again. Apparently Aaron had called him up to set up a deal to keep her from being overly stressed, but neither would actually admit to it. "Vincent?"

The man stood up straight and turned while still tapping his chin in thought. "Yes, Marinette?"

She gestured to the scene. "You seem to be stuck?"

"Ah! Yes, the light! It is all wrong! Too many shadows there, but the clothes look terrible at this angle." He started into a very animated explanation that took him all over the staging area.

She couldn't help internally groaning. She'd never seen him this worked up over his scene before… She then noticed Bridgette out of the corner of her eye and an idea came to her. Time was important, and while it was already looking like it was going to be a late day, she might be able to speed things up. Gabriel only needed a photo catalogue of the clothes Adrien was to wear. Each designer had to do this with their models. "Vincent, you seem to be stuck so how about a change of pace?" She pointed to Bridgette. "Bridgette can give it a try and you see if you can find that lighting you're looking for while she does."

Vincent looked as though he'd been struck by genius. "Yes!" Marinette flinched at the loud affirmative. "Brilliant! Bridgette! Come show me your work!"

The young ravenette rushed over with her camera at the ready. "You want me to shoot Adrien?"

"Yes, be the photographer for me. Show me what you see, eh?"

She nodded in understanding. "I can give it my best, but did you want him to pose a certain way or-"

"What you see, Bridgette." He reaffirmed with a pat on her shoulder.

"Okay… Um…" She looked around in time to see Adrien head back to his seat. "Adrien!"

Felix used all his self control not to audibly groan at being stopped from relaxing again and looked over to the woman. When he saw Bridgette wasn't alone he figured it wasn't just her picking at him and strode over looking more professional. "Yes?"

"We're starting the shoot again with Bridgette." Marinette lead him up and adjusted his vest a moment before stepping back to make sure there was nothing else to check.

"Turn to the left a little." Bridgette directed as Marinette stepped away. "More aloof."

"I'm thinking casual indifference?" Marinette questioned as she watched him try to match what Bridgette asked for.

"Yeah, smile more, Adrien." Marinette found the younger photographer a little easier to work with the past few weeks they'd been acquainted. Vincent was a great photographer, but he had many odd quirks as well. With Bridgette's help, they were able to get through three more outfits before Vincent found his inspiration again and took over. Immediately Marinette had the photo file sent to her to look through while Vincent continued. Any time saved would be to her advantage at this point.

"Mrs. Bassett?" The woman nearly jumped at the sudden call. She turned to see Nathalie with a professional expression holding a tablet with Gabriel's face displayed on the screen. "Oh um…"

"Marinette? I've been expecting your pictures."

"Y-yes, well…" She arranged a few files on her tablet. "I was just about to send you the first three sets."

"Only three?" The designer looked unamused as he looked over her.

"Yes, Vincent got caught up in… Something…"

"And you didn't address it immediately?"

"Well… I wasn't here for the start of the shoot…" At least not Adrien's part.

"It's my understanding that Stephen sent her home for lunch." Nathalie cut in promptly to help the poor woman who was trying her best not to panic.

"Sent her home? At a time like this!?"

Nathalie cleared her throat. "Yes."

Though the way she said it seemed to say more as Gabriel's stern expression faded slightly back to his professional mask. "I understand. Make sure to get those to me before you leave the studio. Also, Katrina moved up the run through to 3pm. Make sure you are finished by then."

"Of course, sir." Marinette nodded and the screen went blank.

"Please do not get too stressed out, Mrs. Bassett. Mr. Agreste is fully aware of your condition and the last thing we want is for your health to suffer. Please keep Stephen informed of any issues." Nathalie finished with a slight smile before heading off to her next assignment.

"Yes, Marinette. Keep me apprised."

Marinette actually jumped this time due to her nerves. "Damn! Don't do that, Stephen…"

He chuckled at her expense as he looked over to the set. "Please relax, Marinette. Yes, Houte Couture week is stressful, but you can't afford that right now."

"I can't afford to sit back and relax either, Stephen. In just over a week I'm going to be a real senior designer."

"Yes, but in a few months you'll be a mom, which I do believe is harder?" He mused as he looked over his tablet and sent her a file. "So I finished your portfolio while Lila was having her little issue."

"You…" Marinette all at once looked relieved. Once the photo shoot was over she would need to go through the outfits and arrange them for the actual show which was bound to take awhile especially if there was something wrong with the clothes.

"Send the pants from outfit five to the seamstress, and you should be fine. I left a note for it already."

"You can't do my work for me…" She grumbled while still looking all too happy.

"What I think you mean, Marinette, is 'Thank you, Stephen, you're a life saver' eh?"

She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Thank you, Stephen, you're a life saver."

"Good, now keep Vincent on task. We don't need him getting stuck again."

"Definitely not…" And so she went right back to it with the thought that her day might not run as long as she'd thought.


Nathalie entered Gabriel's office with a slightly cold expression while delivering his latest file from Stephen. "The run through was finalized, and here is Stephen's last revisions. All the alterations will be finished by noon tomorrow."

"Good, set it down and go." Gabriel dismissed as he picked through the papers already on his desk.

"Sir?" She questioned when she took noticed of a familiar name on some rather official documents.

"What is it?"

"You're still looking into Mr. Bassett?"

"Indeed, since you decided not to. I felt the need to do it myself." He snapped without looking at her.

"But sir-"

"I saw he was Adrien instantly, so I doubt you didn't notice, Nathalie. It's obvious you chose to keep this to yourself." She could see his displeasure despite not seeing his eyes. "But, I'll deal with it myself. You needn't bother."

"Gabriel." Nathalie cut back which finally made him look up. "Adrien is his own man now."

"Yes, and acting the part of the domestic husband it would seem." He still loathed thinking about it and he could see the worn skin on his hands easily. Obviously Adrien hadn't been doing much to maintain his appearance. He was lucky enough to take after his mother, but it would only be a matter of time before that failed him at this rate.

"And he's happy with that, isn't he?"

"He would have to be since bringing him back to the brand now would be a herculean task with his skin alone!" At the very least, his face still looked striking, but everything else was a problem. He was too different now to serve as Adrien Agreste! He'd been working it through for days but that was his ultimate conclusion.

"Gabriel, you need to leave him be."

Gabriel looked at her with a cold glare. "How long have you known where he was!?"

Nathalie was taken slightly aback by the question but collected herself. "That hardly matters at this point, Gabriel." She then shot him a stern glare of her own. "And it's high time you stopped thinking about the company and your son together."

"My son is supposed to be the future of this company!"

"Your son is happy just where he is!" She nearly shouted back before composing herself once again. "It would do you much more good to move on, Gabriel. Choose one of your designers to succeed you like you were planning to." That had been the game plan while he didn't know where Adrien was, and that was still the best plan in her mind.

"You'll have me just abandon my legacy?"

"I'll have you act like a decent father for once! I would never be able to face Emily if I didn't at least do that much!" Nathalie hated when Gabriel got so stubborn but he needed to understand that Adrien wasn't a kid anymore. He was a grown man, and no amount of plotting would change that. With an uncharacteristic huff, she dismissed herself and strode out without waiting for Gabriel to say another word.

He growled and knocked the papers from his desk in fury not even thinking about whether anyone could hear him. A slow clapping attracted his attention and when he looked up Felix was leaning in the doorway of his office. "Damn, Uncle Gabe, you really are a master at being an ass." The smirk he wore looked amused, but his tone said he was more annoyed than anything.

"Felix, I don't have the patience for you right now." And it was all he could do not to curse and rave at him with his anger boiling just under the surface.

"Oh, you don't have the patience? I guess Adrien really does get it from Aunt Emily then." He lowered his hands to rest in his pockets. "He dealt with you for 17 years after all, and Nathalie… Just wow." He chuckled before his expression grew more serious. "But I guess your ability to be an ass outclassed her patience too."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at the young man. "If you don't have anything productive to say, then leave!"

Felix was a pain to deal with even when he wasn't in a terrible mood. "Yeah, I'll do that, but first I just want to run something by you. That deal you ran by me about modeling a few extra years… I've decided to agree, but on one extra condition."

More conditions? Gabriel almost snorted at the idea considering all they'd gone into already. "Fine, let's hear it…"

"I want a say in who I work with. There have been too many photo shoots to drag on because someone was being difficult. I just want more efficiency so I'm not wasting my time."

The older man raised a brow at the rather mild request. The other stipulations they'd argued about before were far more unreasonable. "Just a say?"

"More specifically, I'd like the ability to deny working with someone who's causing a problem." He wasn't going to name names but dramatic models and eccentric photographers were something he'd rather not put up with, and Marinette showed him just the other day that circumventing was quite possible.

Gabriel composed himself and placed his hands behind his back. "Well then, I suppose I see no immediate issue with that, Felix. So long as the person you don't want to work with can be replaced then it should be acceptable. Is that all?"

Felix smirked at the man and stood up straight. "For me yeah, but others maybe not." He shrugged and turned towards the exit. "You might want to keep a closer eye on your sets. I mean Stephen is competent yeah, but that woman, Marinette, she's pregnant right? Even if she is good at her job, stress can't be good for her." He then casually left the room feeling like he'd said plenty. It wasn't like he owed Adrien anything so he didn't see the need to put forth any more effort for Marinette's sake past reminding the old man of her condition.

Inside the office Gabriel looked on at the slightly open door with his eyes widening slowly. Why hadn't this ever occurred to him? It was obvious! "Marinette's pregnant with Adrien's child…."


For the next two weeks Adrien found himself growing a little more irritated by the day. Fashion Week was something he disliked on a general basis despite putting up with it for Marinette's sake, but this year it was even more annoying. Marinette was barely home! It wasn't as though he couldn't see her though, since she had given him a pass for all of the venues she would be going to, but he really didn't want to go. It might have been a little fun since he wasn't on display, but too many people could possibly recognize him and he'd have to dress up for the even too. Plus he didn't need another reason to run into his father. It was already some kind of miracle nothing new had happened. Seriously, what was his father doing!? It was making him a little paranoid at this point. There was also the worry regarding Marinette's condition especially since she was coming up on her seventh month. She was very obviously showing and it wasn't helping her coordination. He was lucky enough to have Cyrano and Stephen to give him regular updates through the day, but he'd much rather be there.

The man set down his groceries as he pulled out his keycard from his wallet. It was the last day of Houte Couture week so he hopped to have Marinette home a little more and planned to make her a big dinner to celebrate. "Hey, Aaron."

He pulled at the door before turning to who called his name. "Alya?" He gave her a smile. "If you're here to see Marinette, I'm sorry to say she's still working."

Alya shrugged with a hidden expression. "Oh, I had a feeling, but that's fine with me. I actually came to talk to you."

Adrien looked around for Nino who was usually with her. "Just you?"

"Yup, Nino's got a gig, and I figured you would be on your own tonight."

"Yeah, Marinette did say she'd be back later." He confirmed with a sigh showing he wasn't happy about it. "She told me she invited you to go, but I totally understand why you turned her down."

The journalist started as she walked into the lobby ahead of him making him curious. Alya almost never came over without Nino unless she was looking for Marinette. "It isn't really my sort of place."

"Especially not with your dad around, am I right?" She glanced back with a sly expression.

"The last person I would want to run…" Adrien paused as he realized what she said.

The journalist smirked and walked over to the elevator. "Why don't we go up and talk a bit?" It didn't sound like a suggestion especially when she walked into the elevator and waited. After a short silent trip up, Adrien opted to put on a pot of coffee. Alya accepted and sat at the table like she'd just bought the place herself. "Now-"

"Nino wouldn't have told you anything." Adrien cut in setting his coffee down and not even touching it. He didn't look particularly happy, but he wasn't angry either.

"No, he didn't tell me a thing, though I only asked once." It was pretty indirect but Nino had immediately changed the subject and ignored any attempt to go back to Aaron.

"Then?" He wasn't going to actually admit to it until she said it herself and how she found out.

"I was actually doing a story about it, to be honest. I had noticed that Adrien Agreste had been different, and not in the rebel kind of way either, and I had a hypothesis. Felix Graham de Vanilli." She took a drink of the coffee and Adrien finally sat down.

"Keep going."

"Right, I happened to overhear a bit between you and 'Adrien' that night I ran into you at Club Castle. I heard him refer to Gabriel as uncle, and then you said something about your father. I just put two and two together at that point and did some more digging." She pulled out her phone. "Its public record when people change their names, you know?" She held up the phone to show the record to him. "But I was pretty impressed with just how hard it was to find you listed. I mean, it took hours of looking through official announcements in papers and then the digital version of it was completely blocked."

Adrien read the paper she'd taken a picture of and let out a sigh. "Well, Chloe did do a good job if she made you work for the info."

"Chloe? Chloe Bourgeois?"

Adrien nodded and finally took a sip of his coffee. "Yeah, she helped me change my name legally. It's surprisingly hard to do in France. Movies make it look so easy."

"American movies make everything look easy." She dismissed and leaned on the table. "But I'm more bothered by the fact she found out before I did."

The baker chuckled. "Really? You do remember how long we knew each other don't you? We crawled around in diapers together." He mused. "Though I never intended to tell her."

"So? You just told her so she could help you?"

"No." He looked more serious. "I know everyone seems to think she's selfish and doesn't care about others, but she does. She recognized me immediately while surrounded by people in a dimly lit club full of noise. I was pretty shocked actually."

Alya raised a brow at that. "She did? And… Marinette doesn't know?" Chloe recognized him but not Marinette?

"Hmm… I suppose she doesn't…"

"You suppose!?" The journalist snapped. "She's your wife, Adrien!"

"My name is Aaron, Alya, and I'm quite aware of that." He let out a sigh as she crossed her arms looking ready to tear into him. "Look, I never really wanted to tell anyone. It's just… stuff happened."

He held up a finger. "First I told Max so he could set me up with a fake ID."

"Since you ran away before you were 18 and had to work?" Alya deduced aloud from her research.

"Yeah, and he made me promise to tell Nino as soon as possible or he wouldn't help me. I mean, I did want to see Nino again, but letting anyone know who I was could be risky." He shrugged. "But anyway, so I told Nino the first chance I got which happened to be when you both came over to Marinette's for dinner."

"Which is why you were such fast friends." She added recalling just how fast Nino had warmed up to him and forgot about Adrien. It had been a theory before, but that confirms it.

"Yeah, and when I first came to hear Nino play, that's when I ran into Chloe. She was pretty serious and wouldn't give my excuses the time of day." He thought back on it warmly. Chloe had cared even though he had nothing to give her at that point.

"Okay, so that's three, who else?" Alya asked next feeling the story wasn't quite done.

"Well, Felix found me out when he came to the bakery, but since he was my replacement he didn't blab about it, and then Nathalie, my father's assistant found out… Though I'm not really sure how she did." He paused to think about it. He never remembered seeing her at all before she sent those papers but she did become a regular at the bakery.

"So… Does that mean your dad knows? Wouldn't that make your whole identity pointless?"

"No." He quickly countered. "Nathalie didn't tell my father anything." Nathalie had made that clear in her letter and he trusted her.

"So your father still doesn't know?"

Adrien looked tense instantly. "Well… He probably does. I mean he…" He leaned on the table looking irritated. "He'd weaseled his way into having Marinette invite him over and made it pretty obvious he knew though I blew him off."

Alya set down her cup and took a quick calming breath to ebb the anger she felt. "So let me get this straight, you let six people including the guy you were trying to get away from find you out and not your own damned wife!?" She wasn't screaming but she still looked pissed as hell.

"Don't put it like that, Alya, I wasn't trying to let any of them know! I was really hoping Nino would be the last! But…"

Alya raised a hand to cut him off. "So when do you plan to tell her?"

Adrien raised a brow at her. "I don't plan to."

The journalist stood up and glared at him. "You mean to tell me you're actively planning to continue lying to my best friend?"

Adrien stood up next. "I'm not lying to her! I'm exactly who she thinks I am, and knowing who I used to be wouldn't change anything." He'd talked with Marinette about that already.

"You're not telling her your real name!"

"Aaron is my real name!" He countered back glaring. "And as far as Marinette is concerned, that's all that matters. I quit being Adrien Agreste the day I decided to be happy, and not long after, I met Marinette… Or, re-met…" He corrected.

"Wait, hold it, you started dating Marinette while lying to her and you thought that was alright!? You knew about the crush she had on you!"

Adrien held up a hand. "No… Not really, at least not until she told me." He pulled up his bangs to show the faded scar right above the edge of his right eyebrow. "I'm not really sure how, but I guess I forgot all about her somehow, and actually, I didn't even recognize her parents or the bakery despite having apparently gone there several times." He shrugged. "But nothing I told her was a lie aside from my real name before it changed and being Chat Noir since that was before we knew."

"But Marinette deserves to know!"

"I know she does, but… She doesn't need to. It won't make a difference."

Alya crossed her arms. "Maybe not now, but I still remember how hurt she was thinking she'd cheated on you with… you. She was a wreck, Adrien-"

"Aaron." He corrected so she wouldn't get out of the habit.

"Asshole." She shot back at his attitude and he wouldn't counter her on that. He'd felt like a heel back then too.

"You think I don't know that it could've been solved so easily back then!? You think I didn't feel like shit for being the cause of her tears!? Even if it was Felix who started it, I was this close to telling her that day, but…" He showed the amount with his fingers before leaning back with a sigh. "But she figured it out first."

"Wait, she does know!?"

"No…."

"Please explain to me what she figured out then!"

"She figured out I was Adrien." Alya glared at him but her expression was dead. "For about a minute at least."

"Yeah, that clears it all up."

"When we were talking that day she actually called me Adrien, and I wasn't going to deny it if she'd asked further but she must've thought I was hurt by being compared to her old crush so she backpedaled. I just figured my best course of action was to comfort her with how upset she already was, and it didn't really come up after that." Alya leaned on her hand and looked at him wondering if she should hit him like she really wanted to or let him be since Marinette was still so happy with him. "Alya, you really need to understand. Marinette and I worked together to save Paris hundreds of times without knowing the other's real name. We knew the other one and trusted implicitly. Now do I feel bad about never telling her my original name? Just a little bit. Do I think I should have? Not one bit. It's better this way especially considering she works for Gabriel. The last thing I want is for her to think that her promotion was because of me. She earned it, and I have nothing to do with Gabriel Agreste anymore."

Alya let out a sigh. He did make a valid point regarding their relationship, but it still felt wrong. "But your father knows where to find you now, doesn't he? Won't that cause problems for Marinette?"

"Gabriel isn't the kind of man to ruin his own company over a personal matter. He hired Marinette, and put her in for her promotion before he knew she was married to me. He recognized Marinette's talent so taking his anger for me out on her would hurt his precious company." Then Adrien's expression went cold. "And I'd make him regret ever doing anything to Marinette if he ever did."

Alya rubbed her arm from the sudden chill she felt coming off the man. Considering he held the miraculous of destruction, she had no doubt he could go through with that threat. "Okay…" The journalist relented after a short silent minute. "But I really hope if she ever finds out, that it's from you and not someone else. That's what will hurt her the most." Adrien agreed but didn't say anything. "And I guess there goes my latest article." She leaned over the table with an irritated expression. "And I'd spent weeks on it too…"

"Hmm? Oh right, you did say you'd been writing something about Adrien suddenly changing."

"Right, but I can't publish that now, obviously." She sighed again and pushed the mostly empty coffee cup away.

"Well… I might have another story for you." The baker admitted as he took her cup and brought it to the kitchen.

"Like what? I can't go running with just anything, Ad… Aaron. It has to be something I can research." Facts are the foundation of any good story.

"Right, well, it might be tricky but it's more of a heads up. Maybe you can get ahead of the story." He walked back out and sat down back in the chair looking more relaxed. "Felix… Or Adrien is probably going to break up with Lila soon."

"What?" Alya wasn't aware of anything like that. Sure there were stories where Adrien was with other girls, but he always went back to Lila and Lila had even told the girls she knew he only loved her.

"Yeah, he told me that night I met him at the club… Though maybe not directly. He was tired of dealing with her since she was a liar of epic proportions, super dramatic and always latched onto him like she was trying to be his newest appendage."

Alya furrowed her brow. "Lila?"

Adrien nodded. "Yeah, you didn't know?"

"I know she can be dramatic and tends to embellish."

"To put it very mildly. You should know that almost everything Lila has ever said was a lie even back in college. She's also never really cared about personal space. Not being her parasitic host was one of the benefits of running away to be honest." He crossed his arms and leaned back. "Though I'm not sure if it's as bad now considering she actually does have connections to use considering she's a popular model." Felix certainly still felt annoyed by it.

"I… Really haven't been spending much time with her myself." And she didn't pay that much attention to Lila if she was being honest. Lila had always had a tendency to blow everyone off for one reason or another so maybe she just subconsciously stopped relying on her? Either way, she felt Marinette was due for a big apology even if it was 7 years overdue. "Well… Romance buzz isn't really the kind of stuff I cover professionally, but I'll run with it if I can't find something else…." She trailed off and looked at the baker's more relaxed expression. "So… What do you expect your father to do?"

"The only thing I can say for sure is that he's not going to give up." But what was taking so long!?


I've been really busy with school work recently so sorry about that, but I hope you all are enjoying where the story is going. It's getting close to the end. Any guesses how this is going to play out? Adrien hasn't murdered anyone yet.=^-^=

Sorry if I haven't responded to your comments. (School, am I right) but I do read them. Please feel free to leave more or ask questions if something is off.=^-^=