"Please, Natalie. Surely you can tell me what I'm doing wrong here. I canceled all of his shoots for the season, lifted his diet restrictions, encouraged his friendships. Why is he still so upset? I nearly akumatized the boy for kwami's sake!"

"Sir, you cannot stop Adrien from having emotions. People do not work that way." Natalie shook her head. Even with her new raise she still wasn't being paid enough for this. "Perhaps asking him about his mental health would give answers? Or perhaps it was just a moment of sadness- a bad grade on a test, a fight between friends- whatever it may be, I'm sure Adrien would enjoy more of your presence in his life nonetheless." Natalie turned away but at the last moment turned back. "If you gave up terrorizing the city you might have more time to do so."

"Adrien needs a mother."

"Adrien needs a father too, but you haven't seemed too keen to be one for him, have you?" Natalie walked away and Gabriel Agreste frowned, turning to his kwami.

"Adrien misses his mother."

"Master, if I may?"

"Yes Nooroo, speak."

"I don't know Adrien well..and I'm sure he does miss his mother very much. But..I've lost my friends too. The other kwami..I miss them dearly. But now that Duusu is here..the hurt is less." Nooroo quivered as he spoke. "I believe if Adrien had more of you in his life..the hurt from his mother's death would be less as well."

"His mother is not dead! She's- she's-" Gabriel fell to his knees and Nooroo, whimpered, coming to his master's side.

"I know, Master. I know." The Kwami sat comfortingly at Gabriel's side for what seemed like hours until-

"Gabriel. You can call me Gabriel."

~•••••~

"Mister Bug!" Alya yelled, catching Mister Bug's attention as he re-entered the building through a window.

"Ah! There you are." He crossed towards them and examined the akuma for a moment before pulling up his yo-yo. Catching the akuma and cleansing it, he took Marinette's chin with his thumb and tilted her face up to get a better look at her. When he was satisfied she wasn't injured, which was mostly for show since he'd already visually checked as Adrien, he sighed, shaking his head. "Getting into trouble, bug? You'd almost think you were catching some of my bad luck." He saw the moment the words registered in her brain, Marinette's eyebrows squinting as she frowned. "And you." He turned to Alya with a laugh. "You actually posted on the ladyblog instead of just transforming and calling me? I could have been here a lot sooner. Lucky for you, I keep close tabs on the ladyblog. Been following it since day one." He smiled cheekily. "I was even your third follower." He teased even as Alya's eyes widened.

"You know who I am?" Alya took a quick step back as Marinette's elbow collided with Mister Bug's stomach.

"We don't have time for jokes! We have to get back to class. And you have to get back to..to..wherever you came from!" Marinette started to walk away, but Mister Bug caught her hand.

"Just one itty bitty favor before I go?" He asked with a sly smile. Marinette rolled her eyes, turned around, and reached up for his head. He smiled like the Cheshire Cat as she raised up on her tip toes to plant a kiss on his lips.

"Goodbye, chaton." She stepped away, finding her way to the classroom as Alya followed behind, muttering rapidly about Ladynoir, Marichat..or was it Misternette? She couldn't decide. But whatever the ship name would be, it was setting sail faster than Alya could keep up.

~•••••~

"Those relaxation techniques Master Fu showed you sure did come in handy." Alya began, leaning over their homework assignments with a frown. "Do you know the answer to question forty-three?"

"Not a clue." Marinette pouted as she leaned back against the chaise. "Maybe we should call the boys? I'm stumped. You want a snack?"

"Ooh yes! Get me one of the chocolate filled croissants."

Marinette left her room and leaned against the wall, trying her best to catch her breath. Closing her eyes and concentrating on her heartbeat, she was unaware of her mother's appearance.

"Marinette?" Sabine asked, a laundry basket propped on her hip. "Is everything alright, dear?"

"Huh?" Marinette's eyes popped open and she nodded to her mother. "Just some tough homework. I was coming down for some snacks."

"Oh. Well your father is in the bakery, run on down and pick out what you'd like. And don't forget a chocolate croissant for Alya." Sabine carried the laundry off to another room and Marinette completed her journey down to the bakery. As she was grabbing a few pastries, Plagg's head stuck out from the pocket of her pajama pants.

"Ooh. Cheese danishes here I come!" The little kwami dove out of Marientte's pocket and Marinette couldn't help but laugh as Plagg practically inhaled one of the pastries.

"Are you always this hungry?"

"You have no idea." Plagg answered through a mouthful of danish. "Adr- I mean! My previous holder had a full cabinet of cheese dedicated to me. Always restocked daily." Plagg looked off, as if dreaming of the cheese cabinet, and Marinette sighed.

"Sounds like you two were perfect for each other."

Plagg stayed quiet for a moment, trying to place a meaning with her words.

"Aren't you and Tikki?"

"Enough Plagg. I have homework to do."

~•••••~

Alya sat back in Marinette's desk chair and stretched, yawning as her back curved with the seat. "Trixx? You okay?"

"Fit as a Fox in a fern!" Trixx answered back, popping out of the miracle box momentarily to check with her holder.

"We should be heading home soon. This homework shouldn't take much longer. Maybe another hour, okay?" Alya watched as Trixx nodded then disappeared back into the box with the other kwami. "Marinette is taking awhile to grab snacks." Alya murmured, pulling out her phone. "Might as well check the ladyblog while I'm at it." And that's when it hit Alya. The best, but probably worst, idea she'd ever had. Remembering Mister Bug's appearance from earlier that day, Alya whispered to herself, "I keep close tabs on the ladyblog…was even your third follower." Alya's fingers moved up their own accord, pulling up the ladyblog and finding the followers list almost immediately. Alya's thumb hovered over the screen for a long moment before she quickly began scrolling down. The page bumped to a stop and Alya read the names of her first few followers out loud.

First there was Marinette. That had been obvious. Marinette had been there when Alya created the blog and followed immediately.

Second was Nino. That made sense too. He had been there when she created the blog too, though he'd been more reluctant to follow. Her friends being the first two followers was expected, but surely the third would be someone she didn't know. Surely-

Adrien's username glared back at Alya from spot number three.

"No way. No way I missed that."

"Missed what?" Marinette asked from where she now stood in the doorway, a tray of pastries in hand.

"Uh..just part of question fifty. I think I'm burnt out on homework. Wanna finish this tomorrow?"

"Sure. It's not due until Friday. We've got time. Want to find a movie?"

"Uh, actually, I was thinking of heading home. I've got some chores I need to catch up on." Alya gathered her books and started shoving them in her bag.

"Okay. See you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Um, hey, before I go. I was just wondering..Adrien..do you still…"

"No." Marinette shook her head, eyes closing for a brief moment. "I mean, yes, he's my friend. Of course I still care about him. But I've..moved on."

"With Chat Noir."

"I don't know. Maybe. Hopefully? It's complicated. I don't know if he'll forgive me for giving up my miraculous." Marinette curled up on her chaise, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Wait. What? You're not getting Tikki back at all?" Alya turned to look at her friend and Marinette shook her head. "Why? Tikki is your best friend. Excluding me, of course."

"I'm done being Ladybug."

"Why? Is it because of what happened? Are you afraid to go back?"

"I'm not afraid!" Marinette growled in frustration, standing up from her chaise and beginning to pace. Her face screwed up in pain as she turned and Alya jumped to help her friend.

"Marientte! You're still injured. Why didn't you tell me? Does Chat Noir know?"

"I'm not injured. Just sore. I'm fine." Marinette sighed and collapsed back onto the chaise. Having this conversation over and over again was exhausting. "I think I need to rest. I'll see you at school in the morning."

"Yeah. Okay. Need me to get you anything?"

"No. I'm fine." Marinette rolled over and closed her eyes, leaving Alya to finish packing her things in silence. As she left she made sure to say goodbye to both of Marientte's parents, only pulling out her phone once her feet hit the pavement outside. It rang once, twice and then-

"Hello?"

"Hey Agreste. We need to have a talk."