You guys watch the season finale? My heart is on the floor in pieces.

As of Miracle Queen, this story no longer follows canon. I really don't want to change it either.

For the next few chapters, we will be showing what happened in the outside world during Adrien and Marinette's month in isolation.

There's nothing graphic in this chapter.

—

Alya didn't go to school the day after Marinette and Adrien's drug trip, or their 'wedding'.

After the drug trip had finally ended, Marinette and Adrien were thrown into their cages to 'sleep' through the day. Then at around 8pm, the stream changed to the big room where they had been tortured.

Sabine noticed it first, the TV in the living room always showing the stream. She was the one to gather everyone together, so they could watch.

The reactions were no different than the last dozen times they watched a session, and as unbearable as it was to watch, it was better to all be together than watching alone. They took turns leaving the room when things got too bleak.

Specifically, the branding.

The wedding lasted only 15 minutes, but it was so painful to watch, it felt like an hour.

When the stream switched to the closet, the 'Honeymoon,' it was easier. Much easier. Alya had taken notes when she could bear it, and made sure to write down every detail she could about the wedding, and Marinette's dream wedding.

As the night went on, Nino and Tom felt hopeful enough to go to bed. Eventually Gabriel felt himself nodding off too much and called it a night. Then Sabine left as well.

Alya, still on her strange sleep schedule from the night before, stayed up all the way until dawn, when Marinette and Adrien were taken out and separated.

After posting on the Ladyblog, Alya took a shower to calm down.

In Adrien's room, Nino had stretched out on the couch and slept with a hard frown.

Alya draped a blanket over him, and crawled into bed.

Hours later, she woke midday.

Nino was gone, and she was alone.

Well, not quite.

"Nino went to school," Trixx provided, helpfully. "He was going to wake you up, but I told him not to. You needed your rest."

Alya sat up, a flash in her mind of the horrors she had seen the night before. But she shook her head to get rid of the image. "Thanks, Trixx. I don't know how I was supposed to function with how little sleep I got. You were right."

"I tend to be," he said smugly.

"What time is it?" She rolled over and looked at the clock. "Ugh, noon."

"I smelled something really delicious downstairs if you're hungry."

"I could eat. What about you? What do fox kwami's eat?"

"I like eggs!"

Alya blinked. "Eggs?"

"Sunny side up, scrambled, runny, on toast, all eggs!"

"…okay. I'll see if we can whip you up some eggs."

Alya slipped into a robe, and shuffled down the stairs.

Gabriel came out of his office at the same time, a familiar pink sketch book under his arm, making eye-contact with her. "Miss Cesaire, I didn't realize you were here."

"Yeah…I stayed up all night watching the stream. I only went to bed an hour before school started." She rubbed her tired eyes. "Again."

Looking at him a little longer, she could see the bags under his eyes, his unshaven face, blood shot eyes and hair that didn't quite cooperate with the comb.

"I understand, completely." He said with a nod. "Unfortunately, I had to turn in around midnight. It was…just too painful."

Alya nodded. "Yeah…it was awful. I should have stopped there too."

"Did…did anything…helpful happen, at least?"

"Hmm?"

"Was there anything said that could have helped us find them?"

She shook her head. "No. Marinette and Adrien were in the closet, talking. They mostly just talked about all the times they had to give flimsy excuses to go fight akumas. Honestly, I'm just happy they were able to talk like that."

"I agree."

It was like a switch was flipped, and Alya suddenly realized she was taking to a fashion mongol while just wearing her pajamas, and hunched her shoulders.

"Well, you must be hungry. Go on, Tom's made these wonderful raspberry danishes." He gestured to the dining room.

"Mr. Agreste?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you...for being so...cool. I know you didn't really want Adrien hanging out with Nino and I...so it means a lot that you'd let us stay here."

Mr. Agreste screwed up his lips, thinking. "I thought I knew what was good for Adrien. I thought it was being at home, safe and protected, with no outside influences. But I was wrong. After his mother disappeared, he became withdrawn, quiet…depressed. Going to school and having friends, being Chat Noir, it brought that light back into his eyes. I just…didn't realize it. I was grieving myself." He sighed. "I know now, that there was nothing I could have done to prevent this."

That was a big fat lie and he knew it. If he hadn't emerged as Hawkmoth, the guardian wouldn't have had to pick wielders for the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous.

And of course, the guardian would pick Adrien, because he is perfect. This was Gabriel's opinion, and he couldn't fault the guardian for the decision. Why choose someone second rate?

And Marinette Dupain-Cheng proved herself time and time again as a perfect pick for Ladybug.

Yes, they were kids.

But they were perfect for the Miraculous. For each other.

And Gabriel had a hard time blaming the guardian over himself.

"You did what you thought was right." Alya shrugged. "No one can fault you for that."

Gabriel gave her a half smile. "I appreciate the sentiment. When Adrien gets out, I promise he can have all the free time he likes."

Alya smiled at that. She had been certain Gabriel would double down and lock Adrien up again for the rest of his natural life.

What went unspoken was the mutual thought: He's not getting out.

Nathalie came out of the office. "Pardon me, Mr. Agreste, there is an elderly couple here, wanting to speak to Tom and Sabine, by name of Gina and Roland. Should I let them in?"

"That's Mr. Dupain's parents," Alya provided helpfully.

"Then let them in." Mr. Agreste agreed.

"I'll go tell Tom and Sabine," Alya scurried off.

Nathalie buzzed the grandparents in, and welcomed them into the manor.

A few days after the initial broadcast, the media had completely given up loitering outside the gate. If no one in the house had given an interview yet, they weren't likely to do so. So there was no worrying about anyone unwanted coming in the gate.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dupain, thank you for coming, Tom and Sabine will be out shortly."

"Thank you for having us," Gina said with a nod, her eyes wandering all over the fine atrium. "Please, just call me Gina, and this is my husband Roland."

"Nice to know you," the old man greeted with a bone breaking hand shake.

"The pleasure is mine." Gabriel stated, hiding a grimace.

A moment later, Sabine came hurrying out of the kitchen. "Gina!"

"Oh my sweet cannoli!" Gina hurried to her and hugged her tightly. "How is the momma today?"

"Exhausted, I haven't been able to sleep all week."

"I understand my dear, I've been worried sick too."

Then Tom came into the room, followed by Alya. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

Gina embraced him next, cupping his cheeks with her hands. "Oh my sweet boy…Sabine texted me and told me you were here. I was just happy to know you were safe."

Roland spoke up. "When Gina told me what happened, I was absolutely horrified. The audacity of that woman—"

"Roland," Gina warned. "We're not here to bring that up."

Marinette's grandfather trembled with anger, obviously not wanting to drop it, but doing so for his family.

"We stopped by the bakery," Gina was saying, "I used the spare key to get in the back door."

"Was there any media out there?" Asked Tom.

"No. But there was a ton of flowers and cards. We gathered what was salvageable and have them in the car, if you're interested."

Sabine looked at Gabriel.

"I think flowers and cards are fine to bring in. But I wouldn't touch anything that would be edible. There's no telling what people could do to tamper with them."

A shiver went down Alya's spine at the thought. The idea that someone would try to hurt them during this time of grieving was horrible.

"We also cleaned out the bakery shelves and any perishable foods upstairs," said Roland. "It won't do to come home to mold and flies everywhere. That would be devastating to a bakery."

That was one of Tom's biggest worries, and he sighed in relief. "Thanks dad."

It lessened the stress from them ever so slightly, knowing that everything at home would be okay when they could return. It was a small gesture, that helped.

"Did you check upstairs and in Marinette's room?" Asked Sabine. "Did it look like anyone tried to break in?"

"I did check, but all the windows were closed and locked. Except for one small window in Marinette's room. It was opened a little and I couldn't get it to shut. But it would be nearly impossible for anyone to get in there, unless they're a tiny acrobat."

"That window has always been opened. There's no ledges nearby, so I wouldn't worry about it." Sabine assured.

Nathalie came back into the room from the office, and spoke to Gabriel. "Sir, there's a Nadja Chamack outside. She's a reporter from TVi news."

"I supposed she'd like to speak to us?"

"That is what she said, yes."

Gabriel frowned in thought. At some point, he would have to make a statement to the media. And he'd rather do it on his own terms than to be accidentally cornered on the street.

"Oh, Nadja did you say?" Asked Sabine. "Marinette babysat her daughter Manon all the time! She's a really nice woman."

"Alright, if Sabine says she's good, I'll believe it. You can let her in."

A moment later, Nadja came in, shaking Gabriel's hand in greeting. "Thank you for speaking with me on such short notice."

"You can thank Sabine Cheng, she's the one who pointed out that you personally know Marinette."

Nadja then noticed that the Dupain-Cheng's were in the room too. "Oh Sabine!"

"Hi Nadja." She greeted with a sad smile.

Nadja kissed her cheek and held her arms. "How are you doing?"

Sabine may crack if she was asked that one more time. "I'm…I'm holding in there." She delicately wiped her cheek. "Did you want to talk to us?"

Nadja gave a sympathetic squeeze to Sabine's arm. "Yes, I wanted to talk to you and Tom, and Mr. Agreste—I'm sorry, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Oh no no, these are Tom's parents, Roland and Gina."

"Hello!"

"Ciao!"

"And I think you've met Alya, Marinette's friend?"

Nadja smiled at her. "Yes, but I know her as the Ladyblogger and Princess Unicorn!" She stated the last bit with a bit of pizazz.

Alya laughed. "Manon told you all about that, huh?"

"Yes, she told me all about the times Marinette ditched her and you had to watch her…usually during an akuma attack," she winked.

Yet another piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

"Anyways," said Nadja, "I know this is an extremely sensitive time for you all. But other news stations are putting stories out about Adrien and Marinette, and frankly, some of them just aren't true. From what I've seen, they're pulling information from their instagrams and making everything else up. I was hoping to sit down with you…where ever is most comfortable. You'd be given questions ahead of time so you'd know what I'd ask, and if there's any topic you'd like to stay away from, we won't talk about it. I just…I know Marinette. I love her, and I want to do her justice. I'd be honored if you'd let me do a news segment on them."

Sabine and Tom shared a look, and then glanced over to Gabriel.

"Well," Said Tom. "It's alright with Sabine and I, since we know you and know you'd take good care of them."

"Thank you, I will."

"…but ultimately, it's up to Gabriel. He's kind of been our PR director."

Nadja looked at him, barely holding back the need to outright beg.

"I remember now," said Gabriel, eyes narrowing. "You did that interview with Ladybug and Chat Noir and pried about their relationship. You prodded Ladybug to the point where she left and you became akumatized over it."

Nadja shrank over the accusations. "Yes…that did happen. That was awful, but…to be honest with you, Mr. Agreste, that was my editor's fault. She threatened to fire me if I didn't get a juicy secret from Ladybug. But, that editor is no longer with the studio, and I'm free to conduct this interview how I see fit."

"Ah, the editors." Gabriel chuckled darkly. "Always wanting the best scoops, and never taking no for an answer."

"I will though," she assured. "I know this is difficult, so if you'd rather not, I completely understand."

Gabriel raised his chin, looking at her evenly. "You'll only ask us questions that we've approved ahead of time?"

"Yes sir."

"And it will be recorded and edited before it airs?"

"If you don't want to do it live, we won't."

"And I will approve those who will be interviewed?"

"Of course."

He nodded in agreement. "Then I see no reason it would be a problem. If things are just like you said, and people are making up stories about them, I'd rather we get the facts straight."

"Oh wonderful! Thank you so much, Mr. Agreste!" Nadja clenched her hands in front of her heart, mostly in relief.

"Oh Nadja, have you had lunch yet? Tom was just about to bake some fresh bread for sandwiches, if you'd like to join us."

"That's sounds wonderful! I'd love to!"

Alya took the opportunity to scoot back upstairs and get dressed. It may have been fairly pointless now that everyone had already seen her in her pajamas, but she'd be damned if she had to sit through a meal like that.

As she came back downstairs, Nathalie was going to the door.

"My, they all decided to come at once, hmm?" She muttered to herself.

This time, the mayor and Chloe were at the door.

"Please come in, Gabriel is entertaining some guests in the dining room." Nathalie gestured them onward.

Chloe sided up to Alya. "What guests?"

"Marinette's parents and Nadja Chamack." Alya answered easily.

In the dining room, the mayor and Chloe were enveloped in the Dupain-Cheng hospitality, whisked into seats with plates placed in front of them. No questions asked.

"Mayor Bourgeois, Chloe, you know Nadja Chamack." Gabriel gestured.

"How are you?" The reporter greeted kindly.

"And then of course, Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng, Marinette's parents."

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Mayor," Sabine greeted, as she set down a pitcher of water and finally took a seat. "These are my in-laws, Gina and Roland."

"Yes, very good," the Mayor finally got out, not quite expecting to be swept into a party of people.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Gabriel asked, noticing the man's unease.

"Oh, yes, well…" He took out a folded piece of paper from his coat. "I've just been to the Civil Registrations office. I was curious, you see. I watched the wedding last night, and…well, you know an elected official has to be the one to conduct a wedding ceremony, but the marriage certificate must be registered with the Civil Office." He handed the paper over. "I'm afraid, that wedding was legitimate."

There, in plain writing, the document stated that Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste were married by a Dr. Jean-Pierre Baptiste. It was dated and notarized. The city of the ceremony was blank, however. "Despite the city not being filled in, it is still valid."

"So…what?" Asked Gabriel. "There's nothing we can do?"

"Since they were forced into it, and Marinette is under 18, we can annul the marriage, but one of them has to consent to it first. Until we hear from that from them, the marriage is still legally acknowledged."

Sabine pursed her lips. "Is there any problems that makes for us? I know for them, where they are, it might be easier for them to just be married. But does that effect us at all?"

"It makes you, as parents, no longer guardians of them. Adrien is 18, so he becomes Marinette's guardian. I'm not sure what that will effect right now, but…if one of them passes away, the other will receive any inheritance they may be entitled to. Once they get out, it is ultimately up to them what happens next. In all honesty, I wouldn't worry about it right now. Neither of them are vindictive enough to try to use this against the other for unlawful gain."

Tom stood behind his wife, resting a hand on her shoulder. "So that's it then? Let's say…they want to be married. They want it officially. Do we need to do anything else?"

"Nope. Unless you want to have a religious ceremony or blessing, that is. The civil registration is done, so you're all set to do any sort of traditional ceremony you'd like."

Gabriel smiled slightly to himself, an idea forming in his head.

Alya finally placed the pink sketchbook that he had earlier. It was on the table next to him, though he didn't seem to be thinking about it at the moment.

It was Marinette's. Alya was sure that was the same one she had packed earlier. So why did Gabriel have it? When did he grab it?

"I was wondering, Mr. Mayor," began Sabine, "…I don't know if you're at liberty to talk about it, but I wondered if you knew the status of Edward Savauge?"

The mayor set his fork down and took a shaky drink of his wine. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to tell. The Minister of Interior and I are working very hard to come up with a plea deal."

Alya, smart as she was, wasn't an expert in law. As the Mayor explained the situation in not so plain terms, most likely to keep things vague, she focused instead on the Gorilla, who was bringing in boxes full of flowers and cards from the bakery.

"What's happening now?" Asked Chloe, from her side. "In the stream. I haven't watched since the other night when they were hanged. Daddy said they were married…"

"Yeah," Alya said softly. "Its better that you didn't see it. At bare bones, it was a wedding, but…they were both branded with each other's names on their palms. Marinette wore just a corset with a tutu, and Adrien only wore a bowtie. Afterwards, they were put in a closet together. Early this morning, they were both taken and placed in separate closets. I…I haven't actually checked to see what's happened since then."

"They're still there." Supplied Gina, eavesdropping. "I checked just before we came here. They're both in those closets."

Alya sighed. "I guess they get some sort of a break then."

Nathalie came in the room and cleared her throat. "Ahem, a…Mr. Jagged Stone, sir."

Jagged Stone strolled in, looking far less Rock and Roll is usual, and a bit more serious. "Sorry for popping in like this. I just had this totally rock and roll idea that I wanted to share with you, Gabriel! But if I had known you were having a party, I would have brought my guitar!"

Sabine greeted him first, standing to get him a place at the table. "Hello again, Jagged. Won't you join us for lunch?"

"Sabine!" He sang, kissing her on the cheek. "Lunch sounds fabulous! How are you doing, love?"

A wobbly smiled graced her cheeks. "I'm…I'm hanging on."

"Who is this, Sabine?" Asked Roland.

"Who am I?" Jagged laughed, "I'm the Jagged Stone, Old Man. And who are you?"

"Never heard of you. I'm Roland Dupain! The grandfather of Ladybug!" He boasted.

Jagged laughed. "Oh your Marinette's grandfather! Too awesome!"

"He's a famous musician," Gina told her husband. "All the kids like him these days."

"Oh yeah? One of those techno-mumbo-rappers?"

Jagged made a gagging sound. "Eugh, no way! I'm all about Rock and Roll!"

"Rock and Roll huh? Like the Beatles?"

"A bit more…passionate than the Beatles." Jagged clarified. "But I'm prone to a ballad or two."

"Then you're alright by me." Roland gave him a thumbs up.

He took a seat between the mayor and Gabriel, helping himself to four raspberry danishes.

"So, Jagged," began Gabriel. "What was this…totally Rock-and-Roll idea you had?"

Jagged shifted in his chair, gesturing broadly like he was presenting a million dollar idea. "Picture this. A benefit concert in honor of Ladybug and Chat Noir, with me as the headliner. We take donations at the door, and all money goes to Adrien and Marinette's recovery when they get rescued."

Gabriel screwed up his lip. "A benefit concert, hm?"

"And we can get pictures and videos of them from their friends, and play them in between songs. And maybe we could have their friends tell some favorite stories too!"

"Too risky." Gabriel said definitively. "I've asked Adrien and Marinette's classmates not to say anything to anyone for their own safety. Salo could potentially capture someone else to use against Adrien and Marinette. Anyone they are associated with could be a target for this woman."

Jagged crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, thinking. "Well. That is a pickle. But you know, I figure a lot of people don't really know what to do right now. I think gathering everyone together to just…think about them, and pray…that's really the best some of us can do. I have the resources to put on a concert, but I can't even imagine where to start tracking down some mafia types. "

"I do like the idea of the benefit concert." Gabriel assured. "I know Adrien really enjoyed your music. He begged me to let him go to one of your concerts with his friends. I think he would be honored if you did that. I just…we can't put anyone in jeopardy."

"What about recording their voices?" Asked Alya. "I know I have plenty of videos of us hanging out. We could dub over them with stories."

"Hey, now there's an idea! And no one gets stage fright!"

"And…" Alya pushed her luck, "you could get Kitty Section to join you."

"Kitty What-who?"

"Kitty Section. It's a band that Adrien and Marinette were both involved with. Oh! I think you met them once. Mrs. Couffaine's family?"

"Anarka! That's right! Her scraps have a band! Aw, if Adrien and Marinette were involved with them, I'd sure like to play with them."

"Oh! And I know what Marinette's favorite songs of yours were! If you hang around after until after school, my boyfriend could tell you Adrien's. And I have some of Kitty Section's songs on my phone!"

Jagged clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Alright! Let's get this concert in the works!"

An hour later, after most 'business' had been taken care of, everyone continued to sit around and chat. These were people from all different walks of life, each individually effected by Marinette and Adrien, in or out of the suit. They talked and laughed, reminiscing and sharing funny stories.

"And even though it was an all boys party, Marinette still ended up there. She was wearing this really ridiculous outfit that made her look like a Mexican biker. Oh she was a riot!" Jagged was saying fondly.

"I can't believe my daughter would sneak into a party like that! I knew she was goo-goo over Adrien, but that's just ridiculous!" Sabine laughed.

"She's always been ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" Chloe stated, "You know that, despite her ginormous crush on Adrien, she still organized a double date for him with another girl?"

"How did you know about that?" Asked Alya.

"Adrikins told me. He gushed about Marinette more than he did about Kagami after that date. If you ask me, he's ridiculous too!"

They all laughed at that.

Sure, airing out Adrien and Marinette's dirty laundry wasn't the most wholesome thing to do, but it was refreshing to see how much nonsense they had gone through together. How ironic their relationship was over the last few years.

Alya watched all of this with a smile.

Then a tear rolled down her cheek, followed by another.

It startled her, and she sniffed heavily, catching Sabine's attention.

"Alya...honey, what's wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I just...I got emotional for minute. I'm just...happy that everyone is having a good time and have nothing but good things to say about them..." she wiped her eyes. "The last few days before...before the capture, Marinette wasn't always talked so fondly of by our classmates. That's mostly Lila's doing. They were trying to take Lila's side, since she was new to the class and couldn't possibly be lying...It's just nice that everyone knows the truth now. That Marinette is good and mostly honest. She only lied to keep her identity, to protect her secret. To keep all of us safe from Hawkmoth." She covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry...I just—"

Several pairs of arms wrapped around her.

"It's alright, honey." Said Sabine, with the calming voice of a mother. "We know."

This was a safe place, a room of people who loved her friends. On at least one side of the mask.

"Ahem," Nathalie spoke from the door. "You have another visitor, sir."

"Yes, Nathalie, who is it?"

"A Mr. Wang Fu. He said he'd like to talk to Tom and Sabine as well."

Alya's eyes widened, though she tried not to show any semblance of recognition at the name.

"…let him in." Gabriel stated, suspiciously.

A little old Chinese man in a Hawaiian shirt entered the room, and both Alya and Gabriel froze at his sudden appearance.

But Gabriel wasn't supposed to know who he was, so he just stood and greeted the man cordially, "Welcome Mr. Fu. Is there something I can help you with?"

The man sighed, knotting his hands together. "I've come to apologize. My name is Wang Fu…and I am the one that bestowed the Miraculous on your children."

—

This chapter got too long, so I decided to split it in half.