When the news first came in, Adrien was busy typing away at his homework.
He was almost equal parts saddened and relieved to have gotten away from that dinner table. After that phone call, it had been as if Adrien had gotten his father back. He had told stories about how he and Adrien's mother had met, he had asked questions and apparently listened to the answers, he'd even smiled and laughed and tried to tell a couple of jokes. It had been as if a year and more of pain had been rolled back, and Gabriel Agreste was once again the so much more human father Adrien remembered from before. It had been somehow both excruciating and wonderful, or rather it had been wonderful because it was so excruciating and excruciating because it was so wonderful.
And then Natalie had slipped in and reminded Adrien's father that he had a videoconference with an American fashion label. And before Adrien's eyes, his father had once again become the Gabriel Agreste of the past year, the man of stone. It was uncannily like what Adrien imagined it must look like from the outside when he switched from being Cat Noir to being Adrien, or when he donned his model's face.
Adrien's dinner had long since been finished, and so he fled upstairs. He hadn't been altogether lying when he told Chloe he had a great deal of homework to do, and focusing on hydrogen and oxygen and ratios of stochiometry was just what he needed to distract himself from the pain of seeing that cold mask slip over his father's face once more.
And then his phone chimed, warning him of an incoming text. He reached for the phone. It was Alya, and according to the heading he, Marinette, and Sabrina were all receiving this message.
Just saw this, he read. Chloe has lost it big-time. Read and see.
Adrien clicked open the link. It turned out to be an article from one of the tabloid publishers that he and every other celebrity in Paris so loathed, that were always hunting for the tiniest slip or gaffe that they could turn into that night's sensation. And tonight was a doozy.
Mayor's Daughter Arrested! blared the headline.
In an event that could have stunning implications for Mayor Andre Bourgeoise's political future, Adrien read, his daughter Chloe was apparently arrested this night for public disturbance at Imagine Dragon's Eiffel Tower rock concert. Miss Bourgeoise seems to have had a violent disagreement with one of her fellow concert-goers, a young man whose name we have been unable to ascertain. Witnesses report that Miss Bourgeoise repeatedly accused the young man of having obtained his ticket illegally. When the young man denied these allegations, witnesses the argument rapidly escalated to the point where concert security was required to expel both parties. The unknown young man in question seems to have departed at this point, but Miss Bourgeoise apparently repeatedly returned and demanded entry to the concert. Eventually, the concert organizers were forced to contact the police. Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix responded, removing Miss Bourgeoise from the scene. Further details to come…
His phone chimed again, and he thumbed back to the group chat.
Sabrina: Dear God.
Hadn't heard from Dad.
Alya: No kidding!
Sabrina: Don't think he'll want to charge Chloe, would want to just let her off with a warning and a fine.
But that means Chloe would have to admit what she did, and if we're right she's not going to do that.
What do we do now?
Adrien:
No idea. Can't even begin to guess what Chloe's dad will do.
Marinette:
Nothing right now. See how Mayor jumps tomorrow. If necessary, tell him about Chloe.
Adrien:
Nothing to be done right now. Better to prepare and brace ourselves. May need to present our evidence to Chloe's dad tomorrow. I can probably get a chance to talk to him.
Sabrina:
Was afraid something like this would happen but couldn't get tickets. Please forgive me?
Marinette:
Not your fault.
Adrien:
Not your fault, Sabrina.
As Adrien typed, his gaze was caught by the blue flash of the ring on his left hand. A sudden surge of guilt welled up in him.
If anything, it's mine, he typed.
Alya:
This is in no way your fault, Adrien!
Sabrina:
If not my fault, not your fault either.
Marinette:
Not your fault. I'm the one who started this, remember?
Alya:
You have a perfect right to date whoever you want.
Adrien:
I've been Chloe's best friend since forever. I should have known she'd lose it when she found out Marinette and I were dating. I could at least have tried to break it to her more gently.
Sabrina:
I'm Chloe's friend too. I could have done more, especially after she was akumatized.
Alya:
Texting Kim on other line. He says story true. Doesn't know what happened to Chloe, went straight home to sulk after getting thrown out.
Not that he said last bit, but we both know he did.
Adrien snorted and sent a quick trio of laughing face emojis. Alya responded with a squirrel emoji.
Alya:
Anyhoo, Adrien's right. It's late, and I can't think of anything else to do just now. Let's see how things stand in the morning.
Sabrina:
Concur. Chloe not answering her phone. Will let you know if I hear anything.
Adrien:
Likewise. See you tomorrow.
Sabrina:
See you tomorrow.
Alya:
See ya!
Adrien stared at his phone for a while.
"Kid," said Plagg, bobbing up behind his shoulder, "You do know that this is no way, shape, or form your fault, don't you?"
"But it is!" said Adrien, unease condensing into bitter certainty even as he spoke. "I broke her, Plagg. I said the words, I hit her exactly where she was weakest. Maybe there was no way to avoid a fight, maybe even the akumatization would have come no matter how I approached it. But if I'd been even the least bit more tactful about this, if I'd spared even one thought for the girl who was supposed to be my first friend, then maybe Babydoll would have been the end of it. Maybe she would have at least admitted that Marinette and I are together now. And no matter how much she disliked it, she would have had to learn to live with that eventually. It could have been exactly the lesson she needed, and I ruined it."
"Look, kid," said Plagg, "I know all about mistakes causing destruction. I have extinguished species and sunk continents because I didn't think through what I was doing. So trust me when I say: This is not your fault. You were honest, straightforward, and made it very clear what was happening. If Chloe couldn't accept that, that's on her, not you."
Adrien sighed. "Maybe you're right. Anyway, it's not like it really matters. I did what I did, and Chloe did what she did, and not even Ladybug can fix that. What matters now is what we all do next."
"Very wise, kid," said Plagg. "I vote the next thing you do is get me some cheese."
Marinette gazed across the street at the L'Grand Paris penthouse. From this angle, she could just see Chloe on the screen of her yo-yo, lying in her bed. She hadn't stirred in at least a minute, and Marinette was fairly certain she was asleep.
She snapped her yo-yo shut. "Ok," she whispered. "If this is going to work, give me… give me a pair of earrings. And a ring if it won't work." She wasn't completely certain that talking to her powers like this would actually get a response, but she figured that if the Ladybug magic was smart enough (or possibly Tikki aware enough) to give her a teapot or a mallet as a sign to ask Master Fu for reinforcements, she could ask it questions.
"Lucky Charm," she whispered, tossing her yo-yo up into the air and praying for a response.
What dropped into her hands was neither earrings nor a ring. Instead, it was a very familiar and distinctively-carved bracelet.
"Ok, ok," she said. "I get the message."
She fastened the replica bracelet around her wrist and set out for Agreste Manor. It wasn't very far, and she thought she could make it there before detransforming.
There was a knock at Adrien's window, and he looked up from his history paper just in time to see Ladybug slipping in his window.
"Ladybug?" he blurted out. "What are you… akuma?" he cut himself off, leaping up out of his seat.
"No, no!" said Ladybug quickly, waving her hands. "Listen, there's something I have to show you before I detransform. Just a minute ago, I was over at Chloe's. Thought the Miracle might be able to fix her mind. Told the magic to give me earrings when I called for my Charm if it was going to work. Well, instead of earrings I got this."
She raised her left wrist, flourishing it before his eyes. Around her wrist was an ornate bracelet, the same red-with-black-spots as any other Charm. Adrien stared at it, the shape teasing at his memory. He'd seen something like that bracelet before…
"Master Fu's bracelet!" he blurted out.
"Exactly," said Ladybug. There was a rapid string of five beeps from her earrings, and the Ladybug suit dissolved away in a shower of pink sparkles, leaving behind Marinette. In that adorable polka-dot nightdress.
Adrien resolutely fixed his eyes on Marinette's, trying his best not to think about how adorably feminine she looked in that dress, how it made him want to kiss her and more, how she was in his bedroom…
Marinette fished a cookie out of her nightgown and offered it to Tikki, who took the treat and began to munch away. "Anyway," she was saying, "I think we need to talk to Master Fu tomorrow. It seems that the Lucky Charm is telling me that Master Fu will know how to cure Chloe. And..." her cheeks blushed an adorable shade of pink, "I realized we really ought to tell him about… us. At the very least, he needs to know that we know each other's identities now."
"I suppose you're right," said Adrien with a sigh. He knew he owed Master Fu more than he could ever imagine for giving him the Black Cat's Ring, but he still hadn't quite forgiven the old man for keeping him in the dark for so long.
"I think the best time to see Master Fu would be right after school lets out for the day," he said, quickly running through his schedule in his mind. "I've got a photoshoot tomorrow afternoon, from lunch well into the afternoon. Father's usually busy right after a shoot arranging and perfecting the images, so I will have some free time. I know where Master Fu's is, and we can meet there say… half an hour after school? Always assuming there's no akuma, of course. If there's an akuma, then we'll just dash over to Master Fu's right after we cleanse it. There should be enough chaos to cover a few minutes."
"Sounds like a plan," said Marinette with a smile. "Tikki, spots on!"
Pink sparkles swirled around Marinette, and then Ladybug stood there.
Adrien felt a blush stain his cheeks. Even now that he knew that the two were the same person, his feelings for Ladybug were still subtly different than his feelings for Marinette. In the "Adrienette" relationship, he had been the pursued and not the pursuer, and even now that he knew that his Lady lurked behind Marinette's eyes, he still felt more in control, more the dominant partner, when she was wearing that face.
But when Ladybug revealed herself, the entire dynamic inverted. Even as Cat Noir, Adrien had always been the pursuer in that relationship, the one who sought favor. And as Adrien, without the confidence that fusion with Plagg brought him, Adrien was almost as discombobulated as his own fanclub.
Ladybug's lips quirked in a smirk. "My, my, don't you look hot under the collar all of a sudden," she said. "What's wrong, not used to having strange women in skintight suits show up in your room in the middle of the night?"
Adrien let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, now that you mention it…" he said, before Ladybug cut him off by taking a step forward, grabbing him around the chest, and planting a kiss on his lips. Adrien closed his eyes and melted into the kiss, feeling his Lady's tongue slip into his mouth and twine around his own. He felt one of her hands tangle itself in his hair and reciprocated, slipping one and into her hair and one around her waist.
He was just starting to think about coming up for air, when he heard the door creak open behind him.
"Adri…en?" the familiar voice trailed off, and Adrien felt his Lady stiffen against him. Not without a slight twinge of regret, Adrien broke the kiss and turned his head to see what he'd already known would be there.
Standing in the doorway to Adrien's room, clad in light purple pajamas and with a large photo album under one arm, was Gabriel Agreste.