Ladybug stood high above the street, watching Adrien's car roll down the road. She was confident he had not seen her at all last night. She also knew he was smart and capable, and had therefore reasoned out that she had followed him, whether he had seen her or not. These were the kind of mental gymnastics that she was always doing in her head, involuntarily. It kept her safe by keeping her paranoid.
She watched him roll down the road, following the speed limit, making safe turns, not in a particular hurry. It confused her. He hadn't left Paris yet? Why? What was his plan? Enjoy his vacation?
For a moment, the thought intruded in her mind that she could land on his car, bust through the windshield, and pry the ring from his unconscious body and be done with it. But she shook that thought from her mind. That would be bad for her image. She knew, and she knew Adrien knew, as long as they were in public, there could be no fighting.
And of course, hurting him in general was out of the question. No matter how angry she was with him, she couldn't bring herself to. He was Adrien.
She reverted to her normal self, allowing herself to lose track of his car. What good would following him do at this point? She would have the ring back tonight anyway.
Her kwami landed on her shoulder and they quietly watched the clouds roll by over the city. They had not spoken much since she lost the ring. The timing wasn't right, and Tikki, so full of kindness and sensitivity, would not be the one to bring up a sore subject at the wrong time. But maybe now was the right time.
"You should let him keep the ring," she said quietly. Marinette shot her a tired look.
"Why?" the woman asked.
"Because Ladybug needs her Chat Noir," the kwami explained. Marinette shook her head.
"Ladybug doesn't need anyone. It's safer for everyone that way. Imagine if Adrien had never been given that ring. If I had taken it the moment I met Chat Noir? He'd have been happier."
"And you would have lost to Papillon," Tikki scolded her. Marinette turned up her nose at this.
"Consider this, Marinette. Maybe Ladybug doesn't need Chat Noir, but Adrien does," the Kwami, ever considerate, continued. "He has had so little control over what happens in his life."
Marinette considered this. "So have I."
"You have too much control over what happens in your life, Marinette!" Tikki pleaded. "You're so afraid of losing things, you've given up all the things you were afraid to lose."
"Please don't do this." Marinette, gritting her teeth, turned away.
"Maybe Marinette needs a little Chat Noir in her life! A little instability, a little unpredictability! A friend," Tikki declared, joyously. She was confident that this was what she needed to hear. Marinette was not so convinced.
"If I let Chat Noir back into my life, he will endanger everything I have worked so hard to create," Marinette rebutted.
"What have you created, Marinette?"
"I have created a very delicate balance, wherein no one is put at risk but myself," she explained. "I can't let anyone in here, because what happened to Adrien might somehow happen to them. And I can't trust anyone with a miraculous, because what happened to Gabriel Agreste might happen to them."
"You have created nothing," Tikki corrected her. Was this harsh? Yes. But Tikki loved Marinette so dearly, and it hurt her so much to see her alone and unhappy. "You have very meticulously created a desert around yourself, where nothing can grow, and you have been very careful to starve yourself as well."
Marinette stared into the middle distance, clenching the straps on her bag so tightly her knuckles went white. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She swallowed. Tikki, seeing this, landed gently on her shoulder and put a hand on her face.
"I am saying all of this because I care more about Marinette than I do about Ladybug," Tikki whispered softly. "I wish you would too."
"Transform me," Marinette muttered. With a flash of light, she was returned to her costumed form. Safe from this conversation. Feeling the heat rising to her face, she looked down at the yoyo in her hand, gripping it so tightly it shook in her hand. With a scream, she threw it as hard and as far as she could, and watched it fly over buildings and into the distance.
She took a deep breath. And then Ladybug was back in control. She was calm, analytical, and didn't worry about how alone she was. She only worried about the safety of the city. And she had to go fetch her yoyo, which Marinette had thrown away.
And, maybe she had to have a long talk with Chat Noir.
Maybe.
"You understand that this visit is to last no longer than one hour."
"Yes," Adrien confirmed as someone patted him under his arms.
"You understand that no physical contact is to be made between you and the prisoner."
"Yes," Adrien replied emphatically. The man had moved down to his thighs now.
"You understand that the…." The guard checked his notes. "Er… No uh…."
"No superpowers," Adrien finished for him. He held up his hand to show the guard that he was not wearing his ring. The guard swallowed uncomfortably and nodded.
"I haven't had the ring in over a decade, sir. I have no powers," Adrien assured him, lying just enough to make him comfortable.
"I-Is that how it works? It's like a thing that you wear? Like a ring?" the guard asked as he finished frisking the man.
"It can be a ring or earrings or, you know, whatever," Adrien explained.
"You know, if I had a superpower," the guard began, smiling, forgetting himself, "it would be flight. Like, you know, flying around?"
"Sir, with all due respect, I just want to get this over with," Adrien said, cutting him off. The guard threw his eyebrows up and nodded. The two of them marched down a long hallway with exactly one door at the end of it. It was made of thick metal, and completely solid, without so much as a window. The guard nodded to the man standing in front of it, and they each produced two keys, one for each of the locks on the door. With a groan, the door was pushed forward and the two of them entered. The door slammed shut behind them, a light click indicating they had been locked in.
The room was completely featureless except for a clear wall of thick, translucent material in the middle of it, which bisected it completely. One one side, an older man, unkempt, stood crookedly, wearing a drab orange jumpsuit and facing away from the both of them. Adrien swallowed as the guard stood quietly at the door.
"Is it time for my meal already?" the old man asked the wall in front of him. "Please, please don't forget my allergies again."
He had lost weight and had gone greyer than he was before. He had once stood full and tall and proud and full of wrath, but that presence had fled from him and left only empty space in its wake. He had collapsed in, caved in to that concavity, and it left him looking small and pathetic.
"It's me, Gabriel," Adrien said, quietly. Gently.
"You?" the man asked, turning quickly. His eyes were shallow, with dark rings underneath them, and just a hint of desperation. He furrowed his brow.
"Your son, Adrien," the younger man followed up. The old man approached the wall, staring, hesitating. He took in the sight of the man before him. Almost a stranger after all these years.
"Yes. Of course. Adrien. Hm." He regarded the man almost neutrally. "For a moment, I could have sworn…"
He trailed off, staring at the floor. Then, after a moment, he placed his hand on the glass.
"How are you?" Gabriel began, awkwardly. There was no warmth in his voice. He said it because he didn't know what else to say.
"I've been better," Adrien stated, curtly. "I wouldn't say I've been great, but I've picked up the pieces you left behind. I managed to build something for myself out of the burned wreckage you left."
"The business?" Gabriel asked. "Are you provided for? Healthy?"
"I have everything I need, Gabe. I'm fine. The business is fine. We brought it back from the brink after you left it."
"Good, good," Gabriel responded. "You deserve whatever you want."
"I have everything I need, Gabriel, not everything I want. It's too late for that. How's Nathalie?"
Gabriel swallowed and shook his head. "I wouldn't know. We are not allowed to see each other. I haven't spoken to her since, you know."
"I suppose you wouldn't be happy to see me." Adrien sighed. He could scarcely bring himself to meet his father's gaze.
"No, son, on the contrary, I'm so happy to see you," Gabriel insisted, leaning closer to the glass. "I never thought I would again. Not after the unpleasantness between us."
"That's what you would call it? Unpleasantness?"
Gabriel looked up at his son. There was a deep, remorseful anger in his eyes that hinted at a betrayal deeper than Gabriel could fathom.
"Adrien," Gabriel began. Adrien cut him off, taking a forceful step forward.
"Don't. Don't tell me you did it for me. Don't tell me you were only thinking of your family. I got enough of that twelve years ago."
Gabriel shrank and stared at the floor. He took a deep breath, still feeling Adrien's furious eyes on him.
"Why did you come here?" Gabriel asked, after a few minutes. Adrien took a breath and began to speak, but paused. He had to think about this.
"I…" he began, scratching. "I want to know who you are. You used to be my father. Then you were Papillon. Who are you now? Is there even anything left in you?"
Without looking up, Gabriel crossed over to his bed, a small, shabby metal platform with a thin pad for cushioning and a drab pillow and blanket. He took a seat, still staring at the floor, elbows rested on his knees, hands dangling uselessly between them.
"I did it for me," Gabriel began. Adrien watched him quietly, he barely breathed. "When I lost your mother, I thought I had nothing left to lose. That I could fall no further. How wrong I was. How could I have been so blind?"
Adrien closed his fist tightly, then opened it again.
"I did it because I loved your mother, and I missed her." Gabriel continued. "But I also did it because it felt good. To have power. To be feared and respected. It gave structure to a life I was otherwise unenthusiastic about."
"You destroyed everything for me," Adrien finished for him. "You ruined my life. You corrupted everything you touched, for nothing."
The words were bitter in the young man's mouth, and they rang harsh and ugly in his father's ears.
"When we finally beat you, when I finally saw under that ridiculous cowl you wore, for a moment there, just a moment, I was the angriest I'd ever been. But you know what I felt after that?"
Gabriel did not respond. Adrien resumed.
"I thought to myself, 'How could I do this to my own father?' I was ashamed of myself. For being a burden. For getting in your way.
"My son—" Gabriel began, looking up. Adrien shook his head.
"I am not your son. Not anymore."
"Adrien." Gabriel stood. "What you did was correct. I had to be stopped. I understand that now. I was out of control. For so long, I was angry. There was so much hatred in me. Now there's only regret."
Adrien contemplated his words. Regret. That was what he deserved to feel. Gabriel was a monster, and this is what needed to happen. He needed to rot in a hole like this and have only himself to blame.
But there was a small fraction of him that still felt pity for the man. A small part of him that still recognized in that face the father figure he yearned for since childhood. This was his father, even if he didn't like it. He couldn't escape that fact, or the baggage that came along with it.
At least he knew the man was no longer the villain he had become. He wasn't a threat to anyone anymore. Even if he were free, Adrien doubted this husk of a man could bring himself to hurt anyone.
"I need your advice," Adrien began, sighing heavily and stepping closer to the wall between them. He spoke in hushed tones and beckoned for his father to come closer. Gabriel rose and brought himself close to the glass.
"I, uh," Adrien began, searching for the words. "I took something from Ladybug. And I think she's going to try and take it back."
Gabriel immediately stepped several feet back and put his hand on the opposite wall, shaking his head, eyes wide. His other hand was on his chest. He looked up at his son, and continued to shake his head, the expression on his face was grim and serious, but also very afraid. Adrien beckoned for him to come back, and he timidly did so.
"I need to convince her to let me keep it."
"I don't know why you'd come to me with this," Gabriel hissed.
"Desperation? You're my father, unfortunately, and I'm supposed to come to you for advice. You know a thing or two about keep things away from her."
"You want my advice?" Gabriel, still speaking in a whisper, pressed as close as he could to his son. "Give it back."
Adrien shook his head defiantly.
"Listen to me, son, that woman is not to be trifled with," Gabriel sternly stated. "If she wants it back, she will take it back. Whatever plan you think you have is not going to be enough. She is perfect. She is better than you or me. She does not make mistakes. The fact that you got whatever it is away from her is miraculous enough. Give it back to her."
"But it was mine to begin with," Adrien argued, desperately.
"The ring?" Gabriel asked, shocked. Adrien nodded. "Did you bring it here?"
"It's hidden. I don't have it on me."
"Good, keep that wretched thing away from me."
"It's not wretched!" Adrien protested. The guard cleared his throat to remind them to keep their conversation civil.
"It is wretched," Gabriel argued. "They all are. Those things need to go back in their box, and the box needs to be buried somewhere so deep no one will ever find it."
"How can you say that? You, of all people?" Adrien snapped, "After you abused the brooch for so long?"
"It is because I used that thing that I say this!" He retorted, a crazed desperation in his eyes, "That thing took everything from me. In time, it will take everything from you, and it will take everything from her."
"What are you suggesting?" Adrien asked. His father looked at him and let his eyes wander around the room, thinking. He bit his nail, and stayed silent for a moment, until finally speaking up.
"Instead of convincing her to let you keep the ring, a more noble goal would be to convince her to give up the earrings. You could both be rid of these things. You'd be happier for it."
Adrien stepped away from the glass, biting his lip.
"That's not going to work. She still wears them. She still goes up every night."
Gabriel stared, horrified, mouth agape. "You thought it was a good idea to take something from someone like that?"
"Whatever, Gabe, you did too."
"I thought I raised you to have more sense than that!" Gabriel snapped.
"What? When? I don't remember you raising me."
The two men stared in silence. Adrien's brow was furrowed angrily, and Gabriel met his gaze, staring straight back into his son's eyes. Then, suddenly, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You're right. Of course you're right. I never raised you. You think you're clever, don't you? How long do you think you can keep this up for, hm?" Gabriel hissed. "This conversation is over. You should go. Guard?"
The guard in the corner cocked his head and looked over, the only acknowledgment he was willing to give.
"When I arrived here, there was a ring in my possession," Gabriel explained. Adrien looked at his father suspiciously. "I would like it relinquished to my son."
"It's not a magic ring, is it?" the guard asked. Gabriel let out a small laugh and shook his head.
"It's my wedding ring. I'd like him to have it. Completely mundane, I assure you."
The guard looked at Gabriel inquisitively, then shrugged. Adrien turned back to the man behind the glass and raised an eyebrow,
"Why?" the young man asked his father. The man shrugged.
"Why not? It's what you came for, isn't it? You've always wanted it." he replied, taking a seat on the bed again. "It may as well go to you. I'll never have it again. Think of it as a reminder. Of your mother."
Adrien narrowed his eyes at the man, and stood there for a few moments. Gabriel had nothing more to say. Slowly, he turned back toward the door, and the guard opened it for him to walk through. As he left, Gabriel called out one last time.
"Oh, and, before you go?"
Adrien turned. Gabriel wore a knowing grin. He had always been quick on the uptake.
"Tell your cousin to come visit some time."
Adrien did not respond.