Adrien Priviliges

Chapter 1: Revoked

A tale of the Blue Dandy universe

by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires

All characters copyrighted to their original owners. If you like what you see, please support me on P-a-t-r-e-on or with a one time P-a-y-p-a-l donation. Every little bit helps keep a roof over my head and keeps me writing!

I will be taking no questions and offering no explanations.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Paris…

City park…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Adrien Agreste sighed softly. He was, quite frankly, bored out of his skull. He hated morning shoots. Especially this early. He sipped his coffee and yawned.

"Adrien! Sweetie, we're ready for you!" the photographer said. "It's time to be FABULOUS!"

Adrien cringed. He hated working with this particular photographer. He was honestly shocked to find out the man had a wife, as he was ridiculously flamboyant and almost as uncomfortably touchy as the long gone, unlamented Lila Rossi was. But his father had insisted on it, and honestly, Adrien actually liked how this new design looked. The man specialized in low light photography and for this particular line, Gabriel wanted to have a theme of darkness rising to light.

"Duty calls, eh?" commented Plagg, the tiny, cat-shaped kwami munching on a piece of camembert.

Adrien yawned again, sipping more coffee. "Seems like," he said.

Plagg frowned. "You sure you're okay? This is the third sunrise shoot in a row, and you were up pretty late on patrol..." he said.

"Yeah, it's okay," Adrien said. "I'll find a place to catch a nap later."

"Ah, the glamorous life of a supermodel," Plagg teased. Adrien just snorted, and turned to get dressed. Plagg just watched his partner worriedly, wishing he could do more. "...Seriously, are you okay? You've been pretty busy lately. Photoshoots, recording sessions, meetings…"

Adrien sighed. "...You know what time of year it is, Plagg," he said. "What it means to us…"

"And your Dad chooses to not let either you or he deal with it by overworking the both of you!" Plagg said. "This is the second year this has happened, Adrien. It's not healthy…"

"I know…" Adrien said. "But you know how stubborn Dad is. It's better to just… deal with it…"

"You won't be of much use to anyone if you collapse from exhaustion, Adrien…" Plagg said.

"It'll be okay, Plagg, really," Adrien said, smiling, and giving Plagg another piece of cheese. It was a testament to how worried the kwami was that all he did was glance at it before turning his attention back to Adrien, who finished getting dressed for the shoot. Having lost his appetite (and knowing Tikki would tease him about it later), he set aside the cheese and flew into Adrien's pocket.

He stepped out, clad in what he was wearing for the line. Dark black jeans fading to white from one side to the other, and a shirt and undershirt of the same coloring. The effect, especially in the early morning breeze, created an illusion of light coming through the darkness, of hope.

Nathalie was there, tablet in her hand, a sympathetic look on her face. "Another day in the trenches," she said.

Adrien sighed. "Yeah…" he said. "I don't suppose…"

Nathalie shook her head, touching the small, purple brooch on her suit. "Your father stopped listening to me when I claimed Nooroo from him," she said quietly. "I'm sorry…"

Adrien sighed wearily. "Worth a shot," he said.

"If nothing else, this will be the last time you work with Pierre this week," Nathalie said, checking the tablet she carried.

"Good," Adrien said darkly. "He's almost as grabby as Lila was…" He stepped into the main shooting area, which had several dark backdrops set up to look like a wooded area.

"All right," the photographer said. He came over to Adrien, looking him over. "Today, we will be walking you through the dark forest, elegant as a deer in the forest." He grabbed Adrien by the shoulders, the young man flinching, and guided him through the backdrops. "Once you reach this hill," he said, gesturing him to an outcropping which looked like he ripped it off from the Lion King, "you stand on it and watch the sunrise, then you THROW OUT YOUR ARMS IN JOY!" He leaped in front of Adrien, doing a twirl as he went into the pose he wanted. "As the morning breeze blows through, you smile and close your eyes, thinking of the true natural beauty of the world."

Marinette, Adrien thought, smiling at the image of his girlfriend.

"YES!" Pierre said, the photographer kissing each of Adrien's cheeks, the young man flinching in irritation. "That's the type of smile I want." He flounced away, sitting down in a director's chair.

Adrien sighed, glancing over to his father, clad in his usual white jacket and red pants, standing stoically straight, watching everything with the cold, calculating eye Adrien had become long used to. He just shook his head, knowing that it'd be useless to talk to him, and prepared to do this fairly silly scene.

However.

"THERE YOU ARE!" came a very familiar voice, startling everyone.

"What in blazes…" Gabriel said, confused.

Nino Lahiffe, clad in baggy shorts and wearing a red baseball cap, red headphones, and a green shirt with his personal branding, DJ Sh3llh34d, on it, stormed onto the set, ignoring everyone and huffing indignantly. "So this is where you've been all this time!" he said. "You come home with me right now, Mister! Your mother and I have been worried sick about you!"

"Uh, Nino…" Adrien said, smiling despite himself as the DJ grabbed him by the arm and started leading him out of the set.

Pierre just stared, his jaw dropping, as did Nathalie. Nino just silenced Adrien with a raised finger. "None of your backsass, Adrien Agreste. It's long past your bedtime and you are coming home NOW!"

Gabriel snarled, chasing down the two of them. "Now see here, you little-"

Nino whirled around and slapped him in the face. "NO," he declared, pointing at Gabriel like he was a bad dog.

Gabriel just stood stock straight, one eye twitching, as everyone else gasped in shock. Nino just stood firm, adjusting his glasses slightly.

"Come along, Adrien," Nino said, leading the stunned blond away.

Gabriel shook his head, clearing it, and went to grab Nino's shoulder. "Listen, you miserable little…"

Nino whirled around and slapped him again, Gabriel going stock straight and eye-twitching again. Nathalie had to hold her tablet in front of her face to hide her laughter. Despite the situation, Adrien found himself starting to smile, even with his jaw dropped to the floor.

"NO!" Nino said insistently. "You have LOST your Adrien Privileges for the day, sir! You have overworked our boy too much and he needs REST! Good DAY, sir!"

"You-" Gabriel tried.

"I SAID GOOD DAY, SIR!" Nino thundered, everyone taking a step back. Nino composed himself, adjusting his glasses and leading a shocked, VERY amused Adrien away. "Now. Once again, come along, Adrien. Let's get out of here." Under his breath, he added, "Before I realize what just I did."

Nino led him out of the shoot location, to a limousine waiting for them, a frantic Chloe Bourgeois leaning out of the door, gesturing for them to hurry. The two boys quickly got in, Chloe yelling for the driver to start moving.

A moment later, Adrien's bodyguard, the Gorilla, who was most definitely not a co-conspirator who let Nino in past security, stepped forward. "Don't worry, sir!" he said. "I'll go along with them and make sure your son's all right! You'll get your money's worth from me, yes sir! I will definitely look out for Adrien's welfare!"

Nathalie was having trouble hiding her smile, even with her tablet in front of her face. As the Gorilla drove off, Gabriel eyetwitched, staring in the direction his treasonous employee left. Pierre frowned, coming up to Gabriel. "Um… the shoot?"

In a low, tense voice, Gabriel said, "There will be no shoot today. Everyone just pack up and go home. You will be paid accordingly."

"But-" Pierre started. Gabriel turned and just glared at him, Pierre losing his nerve and flouncing away.

"Nathalie," Gabriel said, not turning to look at his assistant. "Cancel everything else this week. I am going to go home. I wish to be left alone for the rest of the day."

"Are you sure, sir?" Nathalie asked.

"Quite certain," Gabriel said, stalking off before Nathalie could say anything more.

From Nathalie's pocket, a tiny, butterfly-esque kwami appeared. "...I wish it was easier for me to feel sorry for him," Nooroo said quietly.

Nathalie sighed. "I know," he said. "But he brings so much on himself…" She shook her head, and turned to start supervising the cleanup. "Still, be ready. No way Hawk Moth will miss an opportunity like this…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Inside Chloe's limousine…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I don't know what's going on," Plagg said as he shot out of Adrien's pocket, "but I love it!"

Duusu giggled, the blue, peacock-shaped kwami, bounced about the limo happily. "It's a jailbreak!" he said excitedly. "We've come to save the day!"

"Damn right," Chloe said. The ponytailed blonde, clad in black men's trousers and dress shoes as well as a sleeveless yellow men's dress shirt and necktie, grinned as she lay back in her side of the seat. The peacock miraculous, glistening bright blue on the pocket of her dress shirt, flashed slightly every time Duusu floated by. "But Lahiffe here is the real legend. Holy SHIT, my guy," Chloe said, grinning wildly.

Nino giggled nervously. "Yeah! Didn't think I had it in me, honestly," he said, leaning forward and trying not to hyperventilate from adrenaline.

Wayzz, who had emerged from Nino's pocket when he got into the car, smiled warmly at his bearer. "It takes courage to stand up to men like Gabriel Agreste," he said. "I'm proud of you."

Adrien, sitting between Nino and Chloe, smiled warmly. "Was it really your plan to just walk up to my father and slap him like that?"

Nino sighed and chuckled weakly. "Would you believe I completely forgot what my original plan was when I got there? After the Gorilla got me past security, he-"

"He has a name, you know," Adrien said.

"You're literally the only person in this car who cares, Adrikins," Chloe said, amused. Wayzz and Duusu had the good sense to look abashed at that, while Plagg just grinned lazily, and Nino coughed innocently. Adrien rolled his eyes and motioned for Nino to continue.

"After I got past security I just… I just went on automatic," Nino said. "I didn't even fully realize what I did until I got in the car."

"It was EPIC," Chloe said. "I got it all on camera. Sent the vid to EVERYONE!"

"Oh no…" Nino groaned, pulling out this phone and checking the texts praising him. "Kim and Alix are never gonna let me hear the end of this."

"Especially in Alix's case," Plagg added helpfully, "since Fluff made her immortal."

"Will you quit picking on him?" Wayzz pleaded. "He's stressed enough."

"It is my sacred duty as a jerk to constantly make fun of Adrien and his friends," Plagg said sagely. "It is a responsibility I take very seriously."

Duusu smirked. "Really? I thought the only thing you took seriously was cheese," he said.

"That too," Plagg said, all the kwami laughing.

Adrien just grinned. "I'm appreciative, guys, but this really wasn't necessary-"

"YES IT WAS!" Chloe and Nino said firmly.

"For the past two years, ever since your Mom came back to life and turned out to be a BITCH, Gabriel's chosen to overwork the two of you on the anniversary of the date it happened instead of sitting down and dealing with it like a sane person," Nino said. "Dude, last year you were barely able to stand by the end of the week, much less fight akumas."

"I swore when Ladybug let Duusu stay with me, when she gave me a third chance I didn't deserve, that I'd never let her down again," Chloe said softly. "And I mean to keep that vow by any means necessary. Including kidnapping you off of a set to make sure you're feeling better."

Adrien smiled warmly. "Thank you… And I know I should stand up to him more, but… well, he's my father…"

Chloe scoffed. "Me and Lahiffe are your parents, Adrikins. If you really want to get technical about it, Duusu here is your father."

Duusu blushed sheepishly. Adrien just laughed softly, shaking his head. Two years since he'd found out he was a sentimonster, and it still felt weird. But literally everyone who knew had accepted him despite that, so it didn't bother him too much. "So what's the plan?" he asked.

"I booked you the penthouse at the family hotel," Chloe said. "You're going to REST, Adrien. In the lap of luxury no less."

"We even got you a cuddly teddy," Nino said, trading knowing looks with Chloe, who grinned and lay back, playing with her tie in amusement.

Adrien sighed tiredly. "I could use the rest," he said.

Chloe smirked. "GOOD. Then let's be off, shall we?" The trio made small talk, their kwamis occasionally joining in with some snark. Adrien, free of the need to be awake, sometimes started to drift off on the comfortable leather seating of the limo, Nino or Chloe waking him up, insisting that he wait until they got to the hotel. Eventually, they got to the hotel, the Gorilla pulling up behind them. The kwamis quickly hid in their partners' pockets as they got out, the Gorilla leaving his car to the valet as he walked up to the group.

"Kid, you got more balls than brains," he said to Nino, laughing. "I am impressed."

Nino shook his head, groaning. "He's gonna kill me," he muttered.

"I am the Drag King of Paris," Chloe declared, "and I say he'll have to go through me and my court first." She pulled Nino into a hug. "RELAX Lahiffe. I'm not about to let Alya become a widow before you even get married."

Nino smiled weakly. "Thanks, Chloe," he said.

Adrien folded his arms at his bodyguard. "So you're in on this too?" he asked, amused.

The Gorilla nodded. "Your father hired me to look out for your well-being," he said. "And that's what I'm doing. Just because he can't deal with Emilie turning out to be even more evil than he was doesn't mean he can take it out on you."

"Thank you," Adrien said gratefully.

"Come on," Chloe said insistently. "Let's get you to bed."

"Yes, mom," Adrien joked. Chloe blushed, grinning happily as she and Nino pulled him into the elevator, the Gorilla joining them. They got off at the penthouse level, escorting Adrien up to the door. The moment a wickedly grinning Chloe opened the door, Gorilla blushed and turned away, Adrien blushing just as much and staring.

Sitting on a couch in the main living area, blushing brightly and wearing a red, black-spotted teddy that left very little to the imagination, was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"H-Hi…" Marinette said, grinning in both excitement and nervousness. "I… uh… They told me to put on what was in the package and wait and… um…" She twiddled her fingers, giggling nervously, for a brief moment returning to the nervous girl she had been four years ago.

Adrien stared for a moment, a smile spreading over his face, before his shook his head, composing himself. "Um, guys?"

"What?" Nino said. "I told you, we got you a cuddly teddy."

"We just never mentioned who was wearing it," Chloe said, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Adrien smirked. "You put a guy into a room with his gorgeous girlfriend in a nightie, and he's not likely to do any actual sleeping."

"GOOD!" Chloe declared, shoving him further in the room. "The exercise will tire you out properly so you can get actual rest!"

"Ah, one more thing?" the Gorilla said, turning around just long enough to remove something from his pocket and toss it to Adrien. Both he and Marinette blushed when he realized it was a condom. "Because her father insisted."

"Have fun, kids!" Nino said. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Too restrictive! Don't do anything I wouldn't do instead!" Chloe declared, Nino laughing as they closed the door.

Marinette giggled. "We have some great friends," she said.

Adrien nodded, looking Marinette over as she sat up on the couch. "Yeah, we do," she said. "You look good in that, by the way."

Marinette grinned. Now that they were alone and their busybody friends weren't around, she could feel her confidence seeping back in. "I dunno, Kitty. I still think it'd look better on the floor over there," she teased.

Adrien grinned. "Sounds paw-sitivily purrfect, m'lady," he said, Plagg quickly abandoning him to join Tikki in the penthouse's kitchen. The blonde supermodel didn't care. He only had eyes for Marinette as she began to slip out of her teddy. This was gonna be a good day.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Outside…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Well, that's that," Nino said. "Is part two ready?"

"Almost," Chloe said. "I just have a few more people to bribe, then we're all set."

"Righteous," Nino said, he and Chloe fistbumping.

"You too make a scary team," Gorilla said, confiscating a chair from just outside and sitting by the door to the penthouse.

"That we do," Chloe said. "You gonna be okay out here by yourself?"

The Gorilla nodded. "I've got a ton of books saved to my kindle," he said, taking out his tablet. "You two go continue your plot to take over Paris or something." He waved them off, sitting down the in the chair by the penthouse entrance.

"I thought I already did," Chloe said, smirking.

Nino rolled his eyes. "Let's leave them alone," he said. He paused, and quickly whispered to the Gorilla, "Ah, you got any more of those? I had some plans for me and Alya tonight and if all goes well…"

The Gorilla chuckled, and then put a couple condoms in Nino's outstretched hand. "Righteous," Nino said, grinning. "Thank you, my dude."

The Gorilla just nodded, taking out his kindle as he sat down. Nino and Chloe, arm in arm, walked off, pleased with themselves.

"Welp, our boy's finally getting the relaxation he needed," Nino said.

"We really do make a good team when it comes down to it," Chloe said.

Nino nodded in agreement. "Perfectly balanced," he added.

"Almost like a married couple," Chloe said, the two of them looking at each other. "Let's immediately cheat on each other with our respective girlfriends."

"An excellent idea," Nino said, the two going their separate ways once they got to the bottom floor. Nino went out of the hotel, while Chloe began to stalk the lower hallways.

"SABRINA!" she called out. "Where are my puppies!? Chloe needs her snuggums!"

Almost immediately, the sound of barking came, a corgi running out from a nearby corner, followed soon after by a rather awkward young redheaded girl with glasses. Chloe immediately knelt down, the corgi running into her arms.

"Hi sweetie!" Chloe said, kissing the sentimonster adoringly, Duusu floating up to hug his creation as well. The corgi barked happily, tongue hanging out of its mouth. Chloe stood up, grabbed Sabrina by the front of her shirt, and pulled the skirt-wearing young woman into a deep, passionate kiss. "And hello to you, my beautiful pupper."

Sabrina practically melted into Chloe's kiss. "I take it everything went okay?" she asked once Chloe finally let her up for air.

Chloe, still cuddling the corgi-shaped sentimonster, offered an arm to Sabrina, escorting her to their own private room. "Part one is going swimmingly," she said. "Now all that's left is for tomorrow to go well."

Sabrina smiled. "Don't worry," she said. "I have a good feeling it will."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That night…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Gabriel sat alone in his office, sipping from a bottle of scotch. He hated this week. It was the ultimate reminder of how deeply he had failed, as a villain, as a father, and as a husband. It was why he tried to work so hard, so he wouldn't have to think about it.

And yet now here he was. Alone in his home.

Traitor, he thought drunkenly as thoughts of Nathalie passed through his mind. First that blonde boy, whomever it was, stole the peacock from him while he had been dazed from having a building collapse on him. And then Nathalie had stolen Nooroo from him, siding with Ladybug and that stupid, stupid, STUPID cat at the last minute. It had only been by sheer luck and a lack of evidence that he had avoided prosecution, changing the codes to access his hidden lair, which had been gathering dust ever since he lost all of his power.

And then there was Emilie… He shook his head, not willing to think about her. All he would ever admit to is that because of her, his entire life for the past six years had been a complete and utter waste of time.

He chugged from his bottle, scowling and muttering to himself. He knew, intellectually, that moping wasn't going to help anything. But it was all he could bring himself to do. He was too angry, with Adrien, with Nathalie, with the Gorilla, with Adrien's friends, with Emilie… all he could do was mope.

Finally, he ended up falling asleep at his desk, the booze he had been swilling all night taking its toll. With no one there to aide him, he ended up sleeping past his normal seven o'clock wake-up call from his tablet.

When he finally did wake up, it was to the sound of butterfly wings. He looked up… and saw it. A purple butterfly, radiating evil energy, fluttering towards him. Fear seized his heart as he realized what it was. Fear… and a sense of irony.

So this is what it feels like, Gabriel thought. So this is what every one I ever send an akuma after felt like… He got out of his chair, wincing at his hangover, and tried to back away as the akuma fluttered ever closer.

Have to get out of here, he thought. She's already hurt me enough. He turned and ran for the door to his office, but the akuma was quicker, diving down and settling into his tablet.

A butterfly-shaped outline aura appeared over Gabriel's face, as an all-too-familiar voice filled his head.

Hello, lover.

"E-Emilie…" Gabriel said softly.

TO BE CONTINUED...