"W-What?" Marinette stammered. She looked at Adrien's face. It was a mix of clarity and astonishment. He took a step forward, as if to get a better look at her. She took a step back. This couldn't be happening.
"Ladybug." Adrien said again, almost childlike wonderment in his voice. Marinette swallowed, her heart pounding, her breathing becoming shallow and fast, but she tried to disguise it as best as he could.
He could not know. He must not know. How could this keep happening, after all these years? Had she become that sloppy? What the hell had she said that had clued him in? A million thoughts rushed through her mind and quickly blended into panic.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Marinette spat, more aggressively than she meant to. She averted her eyes and sat back down at the table, looking at her coffee more than she was at anything else. For her own sake, but also for his, she had to deny everything. She was doubling down on it now, after what happened with Felix. Every secret had to stay locked up.
"I just," Adrien began, still standing, "I just got this feeling, you know? In my gut. I looked at you and I saw her."
"Adrien, that's crazy." Marinette faked a laugh, trying desperately to act casual.
"No, it's not. Everything you just said, the way you act, that's her. That's all her!" Adrien exclaimed, excitedly. There was genuine joy in his voice. Marinette felt sick to her stomach.
"Adrien, I don't know what to tell you. Please don't project whatever this is onto me." Marinette hissed. Even now, she felt ugly for lying.
"I'm sorry, i-if I'm projecting, if I'm wrong, I truly am sorry, but," He began, sucking air through his teeth. Maybe he was wrong, but if he wasn't? This was everything. "When she used to speak, I felt inspired, you know? It was like, no matter the odds, we could overcome them. Even at our lowest moments, she never let me give up. And I just feel that. Now. With you."
Marinette said nothing. What could she say?
"Look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong. Trust me, I will leave! I want to be wrong, because Ladybug would be so mad at me if I guessed her identity." Adrien insisted, leaning over the table and removing his glasses. "Tell me, Chat Noir, that I'm wrong."
She looked up at her old partner.
"I think you should go." She said.
"Marinette, please. You know me as both Adrien and Chat Noir. So this shouldn't be a problem, just tell me I'm wrong, I'll leave, it'll be fine."
She looked at him again, in the eyes, the way she had countless times before, when he needed to tell him a plan, or lecture him for messing something up, or let him know how annoying he was being. She looked in the same eyes she looked into when she had to know everything was going to be okay. When she needed a mischievous grin, and subtle wink, to tell her 'Don't worry, I'm here, and we've got this.' She looked him in the same eyes that looked at her with sadness and confusion when she took the ring away and left.
"Adrien, please." Marinette begged.
"You can trust me, Ladybug."
She pounded on the table with her fist. There it was. The way he said it, it was so genuine, so much like him. It didn't matter what she said now, he was convinced. She ran her hands through her hair and let out a groan.
"You are the most irritating person I have ever met." Marinette uttered. Adrien smiled for the first time that night, a familiar, mischievous grin. Marinette looked up at him, flashing his teeth, with a deep scowl.
"I am not happy about this. I want you to know that." Marinette chided. "I didn't want you to know."
"Why not?" Adrien asked, sincerely.
"Because it's a weakness." Marinette explained.
"What?"
"You knowing my identity puts us both in danger." Marinette growled, her voice and temperature rising.
"From who?"
"Fucking Felix!"
Adrien folded his arms. That was true, he had to concede. But this was more exciting. This moment was real, and it had come, and finally! He knew. After years of wondering, his mind had been put at ease. Nothing else mattered right now.
"I can't believe it's you!" Adrien changed the subject. Marinette scowled again, and rose, grabbing his empty mug and hers, and walking swiftly into the kitchen. On her way she passed the bodyguard, who she forgot was there, and her eyes grew wide. He looked down at her with the same expression he always wore. She turned to Adrien and motioned to him.
"Oh, don't worry about him." Adrien assured. "He's trustworthy."
The woman made a furious face at her partner, and stomped past the bodyguard in to the kitchen, washing the mugs. How could he be so casual about this? This was huge! And bad! This put everything in jeopardy.
"I guess I just never figured it out." The man continued, leaning over the kitchen counter, "I mean, sure, you looked like her in passing, but you were always so nervous and stuttering. You couldn't be the same person! Was that all an act?"
"We are not discussing this, Adrien." She bitterly muttered, washing a mug in her sink. "I'd like you to leave."
Wait, was that what she wanted? She thought to herself. If he leaves and runs into Felix out there, he could ruin everything. She didn't know if he could trust him to keep this secret. After all, he didn't keep his own identity secret.
"No. No, you have to stay here. Just. Sit over there. Sit on the couch, and be quiet. Let me think."
She threw the mugs into her dishwasher and slammed it shut. Groaning, she walked back into the living room, stopping at the bodyguard again and pointing up to him. "Not a word about this to anyone."
The bodyguard scoffed and shook his head.
"I'm telling you, he's okay. He's not going to tell anyone." Adrien called from the other side of the room.
She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, then kept walking.
She turned her chair to face the couch Adrien was now seated on, sat down, and pinched the bridge of her nose. She took one deep breath in, and then out. Trying to center herself again. When she was done, she opened her eyes. Adrien was leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees, eagerly. She sighed again.
"So now you know I don't hate you." She began.
Adrien nodded slowly. Then he rubbed his chin. "So why did you take the ring? Why cut me off after all that?"
Marinette groaned. She had just gotten done going through all of this with Felix. She wasn't ready to have this talk again. It was getting late, and today had already been an emotionally exhausting day. She looked at the man across from her, and then twisted in her chair and looked at the other man by the door.
"Can we discuss it in the morning? It's been a long day."
"Oh, I guess so." Adrien said, rising to his feet. "We'll swing back by first thing tomorrow."
"No, no," Marinette insisted, holding out a hand to beckon him back into his seat. He lowered himself. "You're staying here tonight."
"What?" Adrien asked. He shot a glance to his bodyguard.
"Felix is out there. He knows you're in town. He'll find you. It's not safe. You'll sleep on the couch."
"So what if Felix finds me? He wouldn't do anything to me." Adrien argued. Marinette gave him a look.
"Felix's plan depends on everyone thinking he's you."
"Okay."
"You're you."
"Unfortunately, yes."
"So what do you think Felix will do to you if he finds you?"
"Mm…"
"You are a fatal weakness in his plan. You are undeniably Adrien Agreste, and you can prove it. At any minute, he could swoop down and take you, and lock you away somewhere. Or worse."
Adrien bit his lip. It was hard to imagine Felix doing that. He was his closest confidant. But, as he had now proven, he was also a scheming dirty liar. And Ladybug had always been better at this than he was, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to take her advice this time.
Marinette rose and crossed to the window, drawing the curtains shut. With a yawn, she told the men to wait and went up the stairs in to her room, returning a few moments later with armfuls of extra pillows and blankets. She placed them on the couch and tossed a spare key to the bodyguard.
"There's a garage in the alleyway out back, park your car in there."
The bodyguard nodded and turned to leave, but Marinette called out, stopping him.
"And sir?"
He turned.
"You're part of this now."
He smirked and nodded, looking both to Adrien and to her. Confidently, he cracked his knuckles, producing a hollow pop. Then he proceeded down the stairs and out into the cold Paris night.
"Tikki." Marinette called. Sheepishly, her kwami appeared from just out of sight where she had been hiding. Adrien's face lit up when he saw the familiar red sprite. She smiled and waved at her old friend. Marinette rolled her eyes at this reunion. She was too drained to find any joy in these circumstances now.
"Keep an eye on them tonight. Come get me if something happens."
"Of course Marinette!" Tikki promised, saluting. "Sorry I never told you, Adrien."
"It's fine Tikki, I get it." He replied, watching the little creature plop onto the couch next to him. He smiled. He was familiar with her from the very brief encounters they had in the past, but now knowing that she had been with Marinette the entire time recontextualized their entire relationship.
Marinette took one last look at him, on the couch. "Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. And yeah. Anything for me?"
Adrien looked up at her. She looked tired. The kind of tired that you don't necessarily come back from. Her eyes were glossy and hollow, the flame behind them faded to just an ember. He could see by her body language and the look on her face that there was a sort of resignation to her. Like things weren't going well for her, but she had accepted it. Adrien knew he was part of the problem. That what he did tonight had not made things easier for her. And that felt bad.
But now he had to start trying. Trying to make up for it. He wouldn't make a burden out of himself. He would show her he could still be useful.
"No, I'm okay. Thanks for putting me up for the night." Adrien said. Marinette nodded and began to walk up the stairs. She had a foot on the first step before the man called after her.
"Hey, Marinette." He said. She turned. "Thanks for trusting me. I won't let you down."
Marinette looked at him for a moment, then down at the floor. She took her foot off the stairs and turned to him.
"Listen," She began. She felt nothing. "Don't think that things are just gonna go back to the way they were overnight, okay? Don't put that on me."
She climbed the stairs.
The next morning, she descended to find Adrien on the couch with his bodyguard. Their eyes were glued to the television. She blinked at them a few times. It took her a moment to remember she had told them to sleep here last night. So much had happened yesterday, she was still in a bit of a daze.
The blankets and sheets she had supplied them were neatly folded and put aside, and their luggage was lying neatly in a corner of the living room. She realized she had forgotten all about her parents room, which was no longer in use. One of them could have slept there. Where did the bodyguard sleep, she wondered. The floor? If the man had a neck, she was sure it would be aching.
"Morning." She greeted, flatly. She went to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee, but found that it had already been made. She lifted the pot and turned to the others. "You're certainly making yourself at home."
"Yeah, Tikki showed me where you kept the coffee. I figured you'd want some, so, you know." Adrien said, not taking his eyes off the television. Marinette glanced at the kwami who smiled innocently.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." Marinette whispered sarcastically to her kwami companion as it floated over to her. "Just don't get any ideas, okay?"
Tikki folded her arms sweetly and nodded. This caused Marinette to scowl suspiciously at her.
"Go upstairs and make sure the others aren't getting into trouble." She instructed. She moved over to the couch.
"What are you watching?" She asked. She hadn't used her TV in years, and she was frankly surprised it even worked. The bodyguard scooched over to make room for her and she sat down.
"Look at this guy." Adrien said, pointing at the man on the screen. It was unmistakably Chat Noir, waving to cameras, answering questions from the press, waving to people proudly.
"What an asshole." Marinette muttered. The two men stifled a chuckle.
"I dunno," Adrien replied, "He's kind of good at it. Look at him go, it's like he's done it all his life."
Chat Noir did a flip on the screen in front of them to a reaction of delighted cheers from the crowd. Marinette rolled her eyes.
"He's calling me out." She hissed, bitterly.
"What do you mean?" Adrien asked her, leaning forward to peer past his bodyguard's massive frame at her. She pointed to the television in response.
"Chat Noir, will Ladybug be making an appearance alongside you? Will she be welcoming you back to Paris?" A reporter asked him. Chat Noir smiled confidently.
"Oh, I'm sure she'll be here any minute." He replied, innocently.
"Wow, he is calling you out." Adrien watched in amazement. It was uncanny to him, watching this approximation of Chat Noir prance around and do what he thought were things Chat Noir should do. Like seeing your reflection in a funhouse mirror, he was only so slightly off. Or maybe it was Adrien who had the wrong of it, and this was really what Chat Noir was like.
"Do you have to go deal with that?" Adrien asked her. She sighed and shook her head. When she went to meet him, it would be on her terms, not his.
"Won't he suspect you're onto him if you don't?"
"Let him!" She shrugged. "What's he gonna do, come find me? He doesn't know who I am. Let him squirm and make an ass of himself on TV, he can't do anything until I come for him."
Adrien stroked his chin and nodded. He thought she had a point. They were at a stalemate. It didn't matter now who knew what, until either of them made a move, nothing could proceed. The only thing Felix could do was commit some act of violence to force Ladybug out of hiding, but he imagined that would be a last resort. Felix was far too concerned over his public image to do something so drastic.
"This is why you always came up with the plans." He commented. She huffed.
"I don't really have one now." She admitted. Indeed, she had wracked her brain for any idea on how to get the ring back with out fighting for it, and she couldn't come up with any scenario where Felix willingly gave it up. She wasn't sure she could beat him, but outsmarting him was no simple task either. Felix held most of the cards here. He had the ring. He had the public's adulation. He had clearly been planning this for years.
"It was easier when we just went day by day, you know?" Marinette continued. "Remember when Papillon akumatized a baby? That wasn't a grand design of his. That was no master plan. He just did whatever he felt like. Sure, when he had a plan, he was dangerous, but he usually didn't. This guy? He probably has contingencies for contingencies."
At the mention of his father, Adrien sunk in to his seat. Marinette looked over to the man, deep shame creasing his face, and felt a pang of discomfort. Some instinctual caring that she couldn't shake.
"Sorry, I didn't…" She uttered. The man shook his head.
"It's fine." Adrien whispered sadly. He looked at the television neutrally, watching his doppelganger grandstand. "I once asked Gabriel why he did all that. Why the baby? Why the pigeon guy so many times? You know what he told me?"
Marinette said nothing, but let him continue.
"He said a part of him found enjoyment in it. He thought it was fun. I bet Felix is having the time of his life right now."
Marinette said nothing. She looked at Adrien. There was no sadness on his face, just a very far away look. He was in another place, or perhaps another time. It would have been a bit frightening if it didn't make her feel so sad. For her, the past was a touchy subject, but for him? It took him to another, sunken place.
"Adrien." She called. No response.
"Adrien?" He shook his head, blinking a few times, and then looking up at her.
"Yeah, sorry, hey. I'm okay. I just…" He exhaled deeply. "Zoned out a little there. I do that sometimes. Right buddy?"
He looked up at his bodyguard, who had been diligently reading the paper. He folded it, tucked it under an arm, and looked down at his ward. Heaving a sigh, he put a hand on the man's shoulder and patted it twice. Adrien smiled.
Marinette looked up at this great ape of a man, who had been protecting Adrien for as long as she had known him. She didn't know his name, or where he came from, or much of anything about him, but he seemed like a constant presence in Adrien's life. What was he doing here, all these years later? Hadn't he moved on?
"What's your story, anyway?" Marinette asked him. "Didn't you work for Gabriel Agreste back in the day? Surely he isn't paying you from prison."
The man gave her the side eye and shook her head.
"He stuck with me all these years. When Gabe, uh, you know. He didn't leave my side for an instant, even after he stopped being paid." Adrien explained, grinning up at him. "Doesn't talk much, but I trust him with my life."
Adrien gave his bodyguard a playful punch in the arm. The man, who still had not introduced himself, nodded and unfolded the newspaper and returned to reading. Marinette was impressed, but also relieved. At least there was one person in his life he could rely on. Even if it was a mysterious, musclebound brute with no name.
Once again, she found herself caring more than she wanted to. She sighed. She had to admit to herself that she did care about him, even if she was trying not to, but that was fine, as long as she didn't show it. As long as he didn't get the idea that everything was fine now. She still wanted to go their separate ways when this was all over, to avoid anything like this again in the future. That would be easier if neither of them got attached to each other.
Marinette stretched, rose from the couch and looked out the window. It was a sunny day. Still February, so the air outside was chilly, but at least the weather was nice. A perfect day for a walk. Instead, she'd spend all of it inside planning her move against Felix. What else could she do? This was her job. The man held in his hand the potential to destroy anything and everything around him. He had to go down.
"Alright, I have to go upstairs and think of a plan to kill your cousin." Marinette stated flatly. Adrien and his bodyguard recoiled.
"Kill?" He stammered, rising. "Y-You don't have to go that far."
"Relax, I'm kidding. Mostly." Marinette assured her new roommate. "Maybe. As a back up plan."
Adrien stared in horror.
"Kidding!" She was only mostly kidding.
Marinette made her way to the stairs and began to climb them, but stopped when she realized Adrien was following her. She turned and narrowed her eyes at him. He was smiling innocently.
"You stay down here." She commanded.
"Let me help."
"Why should I?"
"I'm your partner."
"What?" She stepped down toward him. "Adrien."
"Please, Marinette, let me help. I can do this. I know Felix better than anyone. You and I have always worked best as a team." Adrien pleaded. The woman looked down at him, his sincerity displayed in his eyes. She sighed.
"I get it. I do." She explained, "I know you mean it. But we aren't a team anymore. Things are different. It's dangerous to even know the things you know, much less fight with me."
Adrien clenched the handrail of the stairway tightly and looked down, deep in thought. After a moment, he looked up at her.
"Is that why you pushed me away? You thought it was too dangerous?"
Marinette sighed.
"Alright, come up. Let me show you something." She said. With no other comment, she turned and ascended through the hatch to her bedroom.
Eagerly, Adrien climbed the stairs two at a time and followed the woman through the hatch. He had seen this room before. Cute, modern decor, lots of pink. Every surface littered with scattered designs for apparel she dreamed of one day creating. It was spacious and bright and overflowed with her personality.
The room he entered, however, was unrecognizable. Very little natural light came in through the black out blinds, and instead the room was lit by a series of monitors on the desk, displaying various things: World news, police activity, local dispatch. The cute furniture had been replaced by a more utilitarian decor. Desks lined the walls, each seemed to serve a different purpose at one point, but now they were cluttered and neglected. Various papers were scattered across the floor.
"So," Marinette sniffed, standing in the center of the dimly lit space. "This is me."
She motioned around her. A whiteboard hung loosely on the wall with various locations throughout the world circled in red pen. Newspaper clippings about unexplained events littered a bulletin board on the other side of the room. Where her cute chaise lounge had once been, there now lay assorted work out equipment. A battered dress form that she had clearly been using as a punching bag leaned lopsided and broken against the wall.
"Marinette, what on earth is all this?" Adrien asked her. The woman looked at him wildly and smiled.
"This whiteboard here is where I track possible leads on other miraculous. You know, the ones we haven't discovered yet. Remember the eagle? Yeah, that kind of thing." She explained. "Ditto that bulletin board over there. This computer is how I keep track of all the crime going on in Paris. Fire? I'm there. Robbery? I beat the cops to it. I had a few projects going on those desks a while back. Have to get back to those."
"This is…" Adrien began. Marinette held up a finger.
"Check this out." She interrupted him, walking over to the whiteboard and pushing it aside to reveal a safe embedded in the wall. She quickly input the code and the thing creaked open, revealing a round container, red with black spots. "Remember this thing?"
"Is that the Miracle Box?"
"Sure is, with every miraculous in it." Marinette declared, feigning pride and a smile. A veritable legion of little kwami revealed themselves from within the box, excitedly curious about their new visitor. She shot them a look, and they scattered back into the box with mischievous giggles. She shut the safe with a slam that resounded through the room and deflated into a rolling chair near the computer with a heavy, defeated sigh. Slouching, she lazily spun herself in the chair to take in all of her kingdom. From this high seat did she rule Paris, invisibly. A queen with no subjects.
"Don't you think this is a little… You know," Adrien started, trepidatiously. He didn't want to offend her. But he thought this was crazy. This was the bat cave. This was the pentagon. Mostly, it was completely unnecessary in his eyes. There was no threat to Paris like there had been, and even when there was, they managed just fine without any of this.
"You know, Adrien, I was starting to think so. I really was. Just when I was starting to think I may have gone overboard," She began, facing away from him. She hit a few buttons on a keyboard before her, and a screen changed to display the news channel from downstairs. There was Chat Noir, looking increasingly impatient as he answered more questions. She pointed to him. "That happened."
"I am a target, Adrien." She explained. "People come after me. They come after the people around me. They want the earrings. So I don't work with a partner anymore."
"So you did it to protect me." He mused. She nodded. He took a long look around the room. Adrien knew she could be paranoid, but this was extreme. And this her against the world mentality? That was new too. She used to revel in working with others. They brought out the best in her. He remembered all the incredible people he had worked with that were hand picked by her. Pegasus, Viperion, Purple Tigress. What would they think if they could see this?
She was protecting him. Fine. Fair enough. He knew she had a point. The objects were inherently dangerous and any one using them made themselves vulnerable. Not just to outside forces seeking the power of a miraculous, but to the ever creeping influence of corruption. What a simple thing it would be to use them for your own personal gain. So, in so many ways, she was right. This protected him. But was it too much for her to ask him first?
"I'm not going to press the issue." Adrien finally spoke. His words were heavy from the weight of the unsaid things they carried. "But I didn't ask you to protect me."
That ring was a burden and a responsibility. It was also freedom. He knew why he couldn't keep it, and he was sure there was part of him that would have given it willingly, but he did miss it sometimes.
Marinette sighed. These words, this whole conversation, it was all just an echo of a conversation she had already had with Felix. It was a conversation she was unwilling to have a second time. Rather than rebuke him, she settled on a compromise.
"You can stay. You can tell me what you know about Felix. You can help me think of a plan. In that way, you'll be helping." She emphasized each sentence, clearly outlining her expectations, before punctuating it with one last dire stipulation. "Do not ask me for a new miraculous."
Adrien put his hands up and stepped away, shaking his head at this near accusation. "I don't want one!"
"You don't?" She didn't mean to sound so surprised. Adrien shook his head.
"Marinette, you said so yourself. Those things are dangerous." He continued. The thought of using one again made him feel anxious. The thought that they were all here in one place made him feel nauseous. "You should lock them up and hide them somewhere no one, not even you, can ever reach them. I mean, the black cat ring and butterfly brooch are dangerous enough, you know? Imagine then if someone got the watch? They'd be unstoppable. No. Those things stay in the box. That box stays in that safe."
Marinette, surprised, breathed a small sigh of relief. She did not agree that they should be hidden away, after all, the kwamis deserved better than that, but she was glad not to have another Agreste lusting after the box. Still, what a radical shift from Felix. It was almost jarring what an extreme position he took.
"Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't used the watch to make this all go away." Adrien mused.
Okay, now that was a little too far.
"Give me some credit, Adrien. You're right, they're dangerous. I'm not taking them out unless I have no choice. The more I take into battle, the greater the risk that Felix manages to get one. Besides, I don't even have the watch."
Adrien had absentmindedly begun sifting through discarded papers on a desk across the room, but when he heard that, he froze. Whipping around, he stared at her and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. How could she not have the watch? That was the worst one!
"Would you relax? Bunnyx has it." Marinette explained. "That thing is crazy, only she knows how to use it. I haven't seen her in years, though, she mostly stays hidden in her burrow."
Adrien put his hand on his chest and exhaled. If Bunnyx had it, it was safer than anything else. No one could get that thing away from her. She was a master of it.
"You've never tried to take it back from her?" What made her so different from him, he wondered.
"I couldn't if I wanted to. I have no way of reaching her, and if I did try to take it she would make it so I didn't. Maybe I have." Marinette confessed. Adrien nodded. This whole conversation served as a perfect example of why these things were better left alone.
Adrien stood in the dim, sordid den surrounded by the life's work of a miserable, obsessed person. He looked around, taking in the things which only served to vindicate his idea that no one should be using these things. They were dangerous. They had to be kept away from people who would use them for ill. Ladybug was not one of those people, but they had harmed her as much as they had anyone else.
He decided to help her. He would help her get the ring back, and he would help her get the earrings under control. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together.
"Well let's get started, then."
