Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or it's characters.
Chapter 10,
"How's he doing?" Plagg asked Tikki who sighed.
"Still adjusting." Tikki said. The two kwami's stayed in the kitchen while Adrien and Master Fu sat in the sitting room. Adrien's hands covered his face and he didn't say much; other than the occasional 'I'm stupid' or a pained groan.
"Adrien, drink some tea. Tea helps stabilize the body and the mind." Master Fu said and Adrien lowered his hands slightly so his eyes were exposed, and looked at the tea. Then he remembered how Marinette looked up at him, and Adrien groaned and fell into his back. Master Fu sighed.
"Sitting, or laying down, the answer to your concerns will not come without conversation and cooperation." Master Fu said and Adrien placed his hand down beside him.
"My mind is running a mile a minute. I don't even know where to start." Adrien said and Master Fu nodded.
"Start with the obvious truth. Say, out loud, 'Marinette is Ladybug, Ladybug is Marinette'. Then take a breath and say it again." Master Fu said and Adrien looked at him.
"Marinette is Ladybug, Ladybug is Marinette... Marinette is Ladybug, Ladybug is Marinette." Adrien said softly and it did calm him down, even if it didn't make him feel better.
"Alright, now I want you to repeat this whenever you feel overwhelmed. Even if it is just mentally." Master Fu said.
"Do you really think a mantra is the best answer?" Adrien asked and Master Fu nodded.
"At least for now. You see Marinette and Ladybug a lot. You need to remain calm so that Hawk Moth does not learn Ladybug's secret identity." Master Fu said and Adrien went ahead and sat up.
"I understand." Adrien said, sipping the tea.
"Now, let us focus on this issue; one detail at a time." Master Fu said and Adrien's heart ached.
"I hurt Marinette, and that's why she turned into Masquerade." Adrien said and Master Fu blinked.
"That explains her desire to find you. Why did you hurt Marinette?" Master Fu asked and Adrien wipes his eyes. He didn't even realize that he was crying.
"It all seems so stupid now. Plagg and I got in a fight and Chloe pushed me around, and Marinette touched my shoulder and I turned around, and..." Adrien sighed.
"What did you and Plagg fight about?" Master Fu asked, glancing at the kitchen door.
"He doesn't like how obsessed I get over Ladybug, and he said he knew who Ladybug was, and refused to help me win over Ladybug, and he said Ladybug will never love. So we argued." Adrien paused when he heard a noise from the kitchen.
"Ow! Tikki!" He heard Plagg say, and then Adrien continued.
"Then there was Chloe, then there was Marinette. And after practice I saw Masquerade and all this happened." Adrien said and Master Fu sighed.
"Someone once told me that it takes 100 compliments to balance out one insult." Master Fu said and Adrien bit his lip.
"It will take me over a thousand just to make Marinette forgive me. But what if she never forgives me? And if she never forgives Adrien, and she learns my identity as Cat Noir, then what if she stops trusting Cat Noir. Then we'll stop being an unstoppable team." Adriensaid and Master Fu put a hand on Adrien's shoulder.
"Listen, I understand your concern.
"But I have a sneaky feeling that you will eventually earn back Marinette's trust." Master Fu said and Adrien blinked.
"Why do you say that?" Adrien asked and Master Fu smiled.
"Because I know that Ladybug and Cat Noir are an unstoppable team. And even though you never realized it, that means Adrien and Marinette are also an unstoppable team." Master Fu said and Adrien paused. He and Marinette rarely worked together, and if they were alone together, she often got extra silly or klutzy, and at times panicked. It was hard to imagine them working together, even if he enjoyed her company.
"I don't know. I never thought about it like that before." Adrien admitted.
"You're still worried about Marinette forgiving you or not." Master Fu stated and Adrien nodded.
"I am. Saying 'I'm sorry' just doesn't seem like it's enough. What else can I do to prove to her that her friendship means the world to me?" Adrien asked and Master Fu pulled back his hand and thought for a moment.
"So many people want a quick fix to solve their problems. But a grand gesture is meaningless when trust is gone." Master Fu said and Adrien blinked in confusion. Was this a riddle or a trick question. Because it didn't sound like a solution.
"So what do you think I should do?" Adrien asked and Master Fu say in front of his tea and took a sip.
"You need to say you're sorry. Be sincere, be vulnerable, be private. You don't need to airlift a store of roses to her door. That might woo her or it can make her angry, but it won't gain her forgiveness." Master Fu said and Adrien blinked.
"What if she forgives me, but she still doesn't trust me?" Adrien asked.
"Trust must be earned. Be patient and be her friend and you'll start to gain it back." Master Fu said and Adrien looked down at his tea.
"What else is bothering you?" Master Fu asked and Adrien shook his head.
"I still feel really guilty for making Marinette an easy target for Hawk Moth. I mean that last fight Hawk Moth took over and her eyes turned black." Adrien said, sipping his tea.
"Ladybug has a instinct deep in her soul to help others and keep them from harm. It was so deeply programmed that Hawk Moth couldn't make Marinette forget it. When he finally had enough, he completely took over her." Master Fu said and Adrien shook his head.
"I didn't even know he had the power to do that." Adrien said.
"He hasn't been forced to do so." Master Fusaid simply.
"I know, but still." Adrien said.
"Finish your tea, Cat Noir. Or should I call you Lady Noir." Master Fusaid with a smirk and Adrien rolled his eyes.
"It was the first name I could come up with." Adrien said with a smile. Seeing the smile, the two Kwami's exited the kitchen and went over to the humans.
"Adrien, I just want to say that I'm proud of you for taking on this important battle. Ladybug was wise to place her trust in you." Tikki said and Adrien blushed.
"You really are good at pep talks, cutie bug." Adrien said and Tikki giggled.
"Yeah, thanks Tik. I wouldn't want him moping the rest of the day." Plagg said and Tikki crosses her arms.
"I've asked you for thousands of years to not call me Tik. I don't like it." Tikki said and Plagg shrugged.
"Say Tikki, do you know how I can make things right with Marinette? You know her best after all." Adrien asked and Tikki paused for a moment.
"Well, after you apologize, I think it would be best if you simply made an effort to spend time with her. She'll probably say no a few times, but you keep trying, and she'll know how sorry you are. Just remember, Rome wasn't built in a day." Tikki said and this made Adrien smile.
"Big deal, it was destroyed in one day." Plagg said and Adrien blinked and hung his head.
"And who burned down Rome?" Tikki asked and Plagg hesitated.
"Well, some historians believed Nero did." Plagg said, with an awkward chuckle and Adrien watched Tikki and Master Fu glare at the black Kwami.
"But we know that you caused the fire." Tikki said.
"Yet another reason your powers are too dangerous without an owner." Master Fu said and Adrien blinked.
"I didn't know you could use your cataclysm." Adrien said and Plagg shrugged.
"Back to the point at hand, Adrien." Tikki said, returning the conversation back to the main topic.
"You both have been friends for a long time, and I know that you both care a lot about each other. So much so, that I'm sure your friendship will still survive past this. At least, as long as you keep showing up for Mar-" bubbles filled Tikki's mouth.
"Excuse me. Keep showing up for Ladybug." Tikki said with a smile.
"I hope it's that simple Tikki." Adrien said, not knowing something else that was better.
"Besides, I think you're forgetting something important." Tikki said and Adrien looked at the happy Kwami.
"What's that?" Adrien asked.
"You're lucky enough to have Ladybug's two closest allies to talk you up." Tikki said, and Adrien blinked.
"I do? Who?" Adrien asked.
"Well, there's me, and there's Cat Noir." Tikki said and Adrien paused.
"Cat...? I... can I do that?" Cat Noir thought out loud and Tikki nodded.
"You did tell her that you wanted to go check up on her later. Perhaps after Adrien apologizes, Cat Noir can show up and take her for a night out on the town." Tikki said and Adrien smiled.
"That's kinda... brilliant, Tikki." Adrien said and Plagg's stomach rumbled.
"Let's go home and eat already. If we don't leave now, then we may not get another chance. I mean with Chloe's fashion thing, and you apologizing to Marinette, and then taking her out on a date; you still got a busy night ahead of you." Plagg said and Adrien's eyes widened and he blushed deeply.
"D-date? Would that really be a date?" Adrien asked, suddenly panicking.
"Plagg, stop making things worse. Adrien it won't be a date, not this time. You'll just be her friend and make her feel better." Tikki said and Adrien took a deep breath.
"After all this drama, I don't think either of us have the heart for a date." Adrien said and then he looked down at his ring.
"It's good to have this back." Adrien said and Tikki giggles.
"The ring better suits you anyways." Tikki said.
"But, for once, Plagg is right. I do need to get going." Adrien stood up, and Master Fu handed him a bag.
"Make sure to use these. They will help reduce redness, prevent infection, and in time your eyes should heal properly. If we're lucky the holes will plug up, as if you've never had pierced ears." Master Fu said and Adrien nodded.
"Thank you." Adrien said and then he turned to Tikki.
"I hope we get the chance to speak again." Adrien said.
"I'm sure we will, and I look forward to it." Tikki said, and then Adrien carefully shook her hand then left with Plagg. Adrien was starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but he wasn't the only one.
Gabriel Agreste stood in his office, staring at the picture of his beloved wife. Nathalie entered the room with her clipboard.
"You requested me?" Nathalie said and Gabriel turned to her.
"Tell me, Nathalie. Can you think of any reason why miss Ladybug did not fight today?" Gabriel asked and Nathalie blinked.
"Perhaps she's sick. Cat Noir said that she wasn't feeling like herself." Nathalie said and Gabriel nodded.
"That is exactly what Cat Noir said. He didn't say that she had the sniffles, or she was under the weather, or she had a fever. He said that she didn't feel like herself." Gabriel said and Nathalie paused.
"What are you suggesting, sir?" She asked and Gabriel pulled up two photos. A picture of Ladybug from the Ladyblog, and Adrien's class picture. Gabriel zoomed the class photo in on Marinette.
"I wonder if this Marinette girl I akumatized is Ladybug, and that's why Cat Noir had to wear the Ladybug Miraculous." Gabriel said and Nathalie blinked.
"If you're correct sir, then wouldn't she have the earrings on when she got akumatized?" Nathalie suggested.
"Perhaps. Still I would like to keep a close eye on this girl to see if I am correct." Gabriel said.
"Well, she is a friend of Adrien's." Nathalie said and Gabriel waved her off and walked over to the window.
"No, no, not good enough. It's well established that I don't approve of Adrien having friends over. I occasionally allow Lila, but it would be suspicious if I suddenly allowed this Marinette girl to come over." Gabriel said and Nathalie rapped her pen against her bottom lip.
"Perhaps she could be your intern. She did design a hat for one of your shows." Nathalie suggested.
"Good, but it's not quite right. If she isn't Ladybug, then I'm stuck with teaching her instead of finding the real Ladybug." Gabriel said and they both stood in silence as they thought.
"What about another contest? One that helps promote fashion. It's in your wheelhouse, and you have an excuse for having the girl over without being fully committed to the cause." Nathalie said and Gabriel turned to her again.
"I like it. I like it a lot. But Paris is the fashion capital of the world. Why would I need to promote fashion when I'm already a success?" Gabriel asked and Nathalie bit her lip.
"Perhaps if it were promotions for the Americans. They don't have the same sense of style as we do." Nathalie and Gabriel smiled.
"Perfect. Then we simply need to ensure that we pick Marinette's idea. If it's brilliant then we'll promote in America. If it's terrible, we pretend to promote in America. Oh, Nathalie you're so wonderfully brilliant." Gabriel said and he went over and hugged her.
She was frozen for a moment. The blush heating up her face. Then Nathalie hugged Gabriel back, softly inhaling his scent.