Chapter 11
( Note: Hi everyone! Sorry it's taking so long to update. Most of you don't know but I'm finishing my fourth year in college working on my degree and I also work two jobs so writing is only really done in my free time. Which I have little of due to my new puppy and boyfriend (And also I've been bingeing the new fruits basket because it was the first anime I ever watched like twelve years ago so I've been having some thoughts of writing a fruits basket fic but we'll see haha. I still do appreciate the reads and love every single one of you!)
Marinette had a bad feeling about the coming evening. She had woken up, rather excited. She had fluttered about her room getting ready and imagining what the night would be like. But everytime she thought about it, a heavy feeling weighed on her shoulders. Maybe she was concerned for Adrien. After all, his father did expect him to announce his engagement tonight. His engagement to a girl he no longer was engaged to.
And instead, she would be there. The one who supposedly stole him away from Kagami. It was her fault that Adrien's father would be mad. She shook the thought away. No, it was no one's fault. Adrien deserved to be happy.
As she was slipping on her heels, a knock at the door made her jump. She moved to open it and to her surprise, there was her handsome boyfriend.
"Hey Adrien, what's going on? I didn't know we'd be riding together!" She looked eagerly to the car behind him.
"My father gave me the car today. I thought it would be nice to give you a ride, unless you'd rather walk."
Marinette scrunched up her nose at his teasing. "I don't think I'm wearing the proper walking attire." She laughed, ushering to her tight periwinkle dress. She noticed Adrien's eyes scan her and she grew momentarily shy. She wanted to hide her face but instead she stood her ground and gave him a smile. "You like it?"
He grinned, taking her hand in his own. "I love it. You look stunning." She blushed, allowing him to place a kiss on her knuckle. "Now come on, we can't be late." She clambered into the passenger seat watching Adrien move around the front to his own door. He was clad in a grey button down with a black vest and matching black slacks. Marinette only wished he had a pop of color somewhere on it. Adrien was too bright of a person to always be dressed in neutrals.
"Did you talk to Kagami? Is she coming?"
"I tried calling her." She noticed his grip tighten on the steering wheel. "She didn't answer. My father thinks I'm picking her up and that we'll be announcing our engagement at the show tonight but he's in for a rude awakening."
"That's going to be a mess. Your father will be so angry with me." Marinette fretted, tugging at her fingers. Adrien shook his head.
"No, He'll be pissed at me, Marinette. Although I fell for you, you really have nothing to do with this." She turned to look at him, feeling the tendrils of her curls tickle her cheek with the movement.
"Well, I'll be there for you ok?"
Adrien turned to her, a serious look on his face. "Stay away from my father tonight ok?" She froze, goosebumps prick her skin at the intensity of his gaze. "He's...He's up to something and I just don't want you getting hurt."
"You think your father will hurt me?" He looked forward, a twisted smile on his face.
"Yes."
The drive was rather silent after that. Marinette wondered if maybe Adrien knew more than he was letting on. She wondered if maybe he knew something important and was hiding it from her. She shook the thought away. The evening was supposed to be nice and enjoyable. A small party after the show. A show in which she had been excited to attend. She wouldn't let her evening be ruined.
The show was being held in the gardens of the Agreste Mansion. It was a big outdoor area, with lots of flowers and was overall visually stunning. Adrien walked silently next to her as they approached the large crowd. People were chatting excitedly about the show and Marinette wished she could join in.
She spared a glance at the stage where the designs would be showcased and wished she was sitting there already. She wanted Adrien to be excited as well, but he seemed completely out of it. She turned to ask him if he was ok when he stiffened and snatched her wrist.
"Ah Adrien, miss Dupein-Cheng. Glad to see you both here." Gabriel paused, looking them over "Where is miss Tsurugi?"
"She didn't come tonight." Adrien answered, crossing his arms. So this was happening now. Marinette felt her heart rate pick up and she stared at the floor, too nervous to look at either of their faces.
"And why is that?" Gabriel asked, and Marinette could tell without even looking up. He was pissed.
"I broke up with her." The silence hung in the air, and Marinette knew Gabriel didn't want to make a scene with everyone around.
"I don't think that was your choice to make Adrien."
"I don't think it was anyone's choice but mine, father." Marinette finally peaked up, heart skipping a beat at the look in Adriens eyes. She wanted to hug him, she wanted to wrap him in her arms and never let go. He looked so...angry? If looks could kill, Gabriel would be dead on the spot. Marinette had never seen Adrien like this. Nor had she even seen ChatNoir this angry either. What had happened?
She spared a glance at Gabriel when Adrien took her hand and Marinette could see him connecting the dots. "I see." He looked them both over for a moment before lifting his head. "We will talk about this later."
"I think what needs to be said, has already been said father." Gabriel's eye twitched and he turned to Marinette.
"Have a good evening and enjoy the festivities." With that, she watched him turn and walk away.
"Ah~ My heart is racing. I feel like I'm going to vomit." Marinette said, clutching her chest. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine." Adrien straightened his posture and dusted his shirt off offering his arm to Marinette. "Let's go find our seats. I suppose I will no longer be needed on stage this evening."
Adrien was scaring Marinette if she was being honest. He wouldn't let her out of his sight. The entire show he kept glancing around like they were being spied on. When it ended, he gripped her arm and guided her through the crowd without a single word. She wondered if maybe she had made him mad. They had gone from cuddling and kissing the night before, to not speaking.
The show however, was glamorous and she understood why her designs hadn't gotten first place, but it was still amazing to see them in the catalogue preview of upcoming designers.
She wanted to enjoy it more, but Adriens tense figure beside her had her mostly distracted. The party was outside and was equally as beautiful as the show's decor. Stringed lights hung about the garden and small tables with food and various clothing articles were strewn throughout the grounds. It was everything she had ever hoped of attending.
"Adrien, you're hurting me." She whispered, a smile plastered to her face as they stood around one of the pieces. She also didn't want to make a scene.
He instantly loosened his grip, a frown on his face. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't realize."
"What is going on with you? You're pale as a ghost and you're looking around like there's a murderer loose in your gardens."
Adrien tensed at the word murderer and Marinette frowned. She took his arm and lead him over to a more secluded area. "Spill. What's going on kitty?" She gently brushed her fingers over his cheek and was shocked to see the tears in his eyes.
He obviously was debating what to say. She could see the mental effort going into wording his sentence.
"It's ok." She soothed, gently stroking his arm.
"I need to tell you something Marinette, I know-"
"Adrien."
The two looked up, obviously startled. "Nathalie, what's going on?"
"Your father would like to speak with you, come with me." He reached for Marinette's hand but Nathalie spoke again. "Alone."
"I'll be ok Adrien. Trust me. Go ahead. I'll be right here when you get back."
"Ok. I won't be long."
She watched him disappear before peaking into her purse. Tikki and her shared a nervous exchange before she went back to join the party.
With Adrien gone, she explored a bit. Looking over the various booths and listening to the designers chat about their works.
She took a brief pause at one of the food tables, sneaking in a small cake for Tikki as she munched on a meat pie inspecting a coat near the fountain. She was about to speak to the designer when someone cleared their throat.
"G-Gabriel? I mean Mr. Agreste. What a surprise, I thought you were speaking with Adrien." Marinette glanced around, looking for him.
"I was." He paused, looking down at her. Marinette had never felt so small. "But I'd also like to speak to you." She stared at him, big blue eyes shaking. "Nothing like that, no need to be nervous. I simply want to ask you about your designs. Follow me."
She looked around one last time before following behind him. She didn't have much of a choice.
Adrien had just warned her not to be alone with his father and yet here she was, alone in his study. Her palms were sweaty and she made haste in wiping them off on her dress.
"Your designs were truly unique Marinette." She had never heard Gabriel call anyone by their first name, it sent uncomfortable shivers down her back. She had always looked up to Gabriel Agreste, but the malice in Adriens voice when he had warned her, she didn't know what to think.
"Thank you. I worked very hard on them."
"Yes, I'm sure you did. The males design was truly interesting, how did you come up with the detail work."
"Well…ChatNoir is a cat and his eyes are green so I just kind of went off based on that."
"Yes, and yet, you yourself bear such a striking resemblance to the bug."
"Well." She cleared her throat. "I-I don't know about that. I guess we wear our hair fairly similar, pigtails are pretty common." Lie better. "But I'm honored you think so! Ladybug is very special and it's nice to be compared to someone so amazing when you're just a normal girl."
"Hmm." he paced around, hands brushing the bookshelves on the wall. Marinette's eyes followed him as he moved, fists clenched at her side. "It's strange that I don't think I've ever seen you akumatized either." What was this about. She stared Gabriel down, narrowing her eyes.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Nothing, nothing at all. Just that your designs are so similar to the miraculous. The small pawprint on ChatNoirs outfit. It's almost identical. As though, you yourself have seen it. But how I wonder, if you've never been akumatized yourself." He stopped walking and looked up at her.
Her stomach dropped. This is what Adrien had been trying to tell her as Ladybug. This was why he was behaving so strangely. He had been trying to warn her.
"You're HawkMoth."
"Indeed, and I believe we know each other quite well, don't we Ladybug?"
Adrien zipped through the crowd, irritated that his father was not where Nathalie had told him. Why on Earth would she have sent him on a wild goose chase unless. He moved back to where Marinette had been standing, ready to apologize to her when he realized, she was nowhere to be seen. Panic surged through his veins as he moved around more quickly. He asked several people if they had seen her but to no alas. No one had seen Marinette leave.
Oh no.
"You're looking for a girl?"
"Yes, please. She has dark hair, pulled into a high bun, a light purple dress and big blue eyes. She was walking around with me earlier."
"Hmmm. Ah, Yes! I do recall seeing her leave with Mr. Agreste. They went that way." The designer pointed towards Adrien's house and he could feel his heart hammering in his chest.
He didn't even thank the man, instead he took off towards the manor. This was not good. Gabriel had planned that, he had lured him away to get to Marinette. Why would he even think Marinette had anything to do with the Miraculous!? It was his fault, he was ChatNoir. It was always his fault. "Plagg, claws out!" He didn't even stop as ChatNoir's powers surged over him. He couldn't stop. He barrelled into the house, the doors crashing open with a loud bang.
"Marinette!" He called, his voice echoing in the quiet house. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, sending him flying into each room. They had to be here, there was no other way. He couldn't have lost her.
He cursed under his breath. If only he had told Ladybug, if only they had dealt with this sooner than this wouldn't be happening. Why did he always do this?
"Marinette! Where are you?"
He heard a crash in the study upstairs, and skidded to a stop, running in that direction instead. He needed to be fast. What could his father possibly have planned for Marinette. She was just a normal person, she didn't have any powers to protect herself. Would he really harm an innocent girl just to know who ChatNoir and Ladybug were?
Yes.
Yes he would. He kicked open the door and the first thing that filled his senses was the smell of blood. There stood Hawkmoth and someone he didn't recognize. They were tangled in the string of Ladybug's YoYo? When had she gotten here.
He turned to see where Marinette was, and instead, he saw Ladybug, pressed against the wall, clutching her yoyo tightly, and a large wet spot, slowly increasing on her suit over her left side. She glanced his way and frowned.
"I'm sorry Adrien."
He breathed out, finally realizing the biggest secret of all.
"Marinette?"
