I'll Find a Way to Save You

"I know this might sound odd, but do you by any chance have some camembert?" Chat Noir asked, a little sheepish. "Also a bathroom, but that's unrelated." Night had long since fallen and after Tom and Sabine went to bed (they had to get up early to open the bakery, after all), Marinette and Chat Noir retreated to her bedroom.

Marinette giggled and nodded. "Yeah," she confirmed. "Bathroom's downstairs and to the left; I'll check the kitchen."

They both headed down the stairs, and Chat Noir followed her directions to the bathroom. The second he closed the door, he muttered, "Plagg, claws in."

Plagg came zipping out of the ring and took a seat on the edge of the sink. "Are you gonna tell her?"

"No," Adrien said with a nervous laugh. "I can never tell her, especially now that she knows Hawkmoth is my dad. Even if he's better, she may still call the cops on him."

Plagg just sighed. "Oh ye of little faith. Your girlfriend will protect you, kid, just like she's doing now. She may deck Gabriel, but I doubt she'd call the cops on him."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "She's not my girlfriend," he insisted. "She's just a really good friend who's there for me when I need her."

Knock, knock

"Um… Chat Noir?" Marinette's voice came through the door. "Are you okay? I thought I heard someone else in there."

Plagg grinned, a look on his face that could only be described as shit-eating. "That's my cue!"

Adrien's eyes went wide. "Wait, Plagg, no!"

It was too late. Plagg flew through the closed door, resulting in a quite yelp from Marinette on the other end. Their voices turned hushed, and Adrien went about his business. After washing his hands, he fished his phone out of his pocket to check for messages.

There was only one, a voicemail he'd refused to listen to since he saw it after transforming back a week ago. Part of him said to delete it; if it was anything Gabriel wanted to talk about, he would have already done so.

Curiosity won out.

Nearly everything in the message seemed to be strung together, the few pauses seeming forced and like nothing more than another part of a single sentence. "Adrien, it's your dad. Please answer your phone, call me back, just let me know you're okay. If it's the Guardians, I'll- I'll find a way to save you I promise just please-" Gabriel hesitated, taking a shaky breath. "Please call me."

Slowly, Adrien lowered the phone from his ear and set it down on the counter. "Plagg!" His voice didn't sound right to his ears, wavering and sad.

"Yeah ki-" Plagg stopped at the sight of his charge. "Kid, what happened?"

"My dad, he uh… the other day, he tried calling. He was scared, Plagg, that the Guardians had taken me." He shook his head, looking down at the phone. "Why didn't he tell me?"

Plagg didn't say anything, but he rested a comforting paw on Adrien's shoulder.

"Thanks," he whispered. "Plagg, claws out."

Chat Noir disregarded the feel of magic washing over him, and he picked up his phone again as he opened the door.

Marinette saw him and frowned. "Chat Noir, what's wrong?" she asked. "Did- did your father call? What did he do to you? I swear when I find that man I'm gonna-"

"No!" Chat took a shaky breath. "I mean… yes, but no. It's not what you think." He swallowed hard. "Can we go back up to your room please?"

Marinette nodded mutely, and the two climbed back up the stairs and through the hatch to her room. Once they closed it behind them, Marinette sat him down on the chaise and joined him, taking his hands on her own. "Chat, what's wrong?" she asked again, much more softly this time.

Chat took a shaky breath and looked at the phone in his hand. He pulled up the voicemail and pushed the starting point past the first second so Marinette wouldn't hear his name.

"-it's your dad. Please answer your phone, call me back, just let me know you're okay. If it's the Guardians, I'll- I'll find a way to save you I promise just please- Please call me."

The second time was more painful to listen to than the first. He heard all the cracks in Gabriel's voice, the absolute fear coursing through him. Even Marinette had tears in her eyes from listening, and a minute ago, she'd been ready to kill the man.

"This was from a week ago," Chat Noir explained. "After I was senshified and Ladybug and I fell asleep on a roof together." He swallowed hard, then looked past Marinette down at the ground, contemplating whether or not to tell her the truth.

Finally…

"Ladybug and I were given our miraculous by a man we call the Guardian. He was part of an ancient order, but all the others were allegedly killed before he could learn all their secrets. The real Guardians, the side he didn't know about… they were evil. They took kw- people away from their families, killed children. Turns out they weren't all killed though, and they started working more from the shadows. Hawkmoth- my dad- and I think they're all gone now for real, but if they're not… I'm number one on their hit list."

Marinette's eyes went wide, her jaw hanging open. "Oh kitty…" she sighed, pulling him into a hug. "I promise, I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you."

Chat Noir melted into the hug, wrapping his arms around Marinette and purring. A thought occurred to him, and it abruptly stopped. He pulled out of the hug, fear in his eyes. "I shouldn't have told you that; you're in danger now, too."

"I can take care of myself just fine," Marinette promised. "I will always be here for you."

Ring ring… ring ring…

They both jumped, eyes going expectantly to Chat Noir's phone, but it remained still and silent on the chaise lounge. Then, their eyes darted to Chat's baton.

Marinette cleared her throat nervously. "I uh… I don't think Ladybug would call you this late if it wasn't an akuma, and uh… well, we know those aren't gonna be around anymore…"

Chat Noir picked up the baton and looked at the screen. "It's my dad," he explained, and as Marinette's face didn't change, he knew he'd just confirmed her suspicions. He took a deep breath and pressed the answer button.

"Hello, fa- er, Dad," he said. "I'm at a friend's right now, so no names."

Hawkmoth nodded in understanding. "I know you need your space, son, so I'm sorry to bother you, but I suspected you were transformed and wouldn't have access to your phone."

Chat Noir's eyes darted to the phone. Well, he was half right.

"I'll keep this quick and let you get back to your friend," Hawkmoth promised. "When you come home tomorrow, I'd like you to use the front doors please. I have a surprise for you that I think you'll enjoy."

"Oh. Um… okay." Chat really wasn't sure what to say.

"Seriously?"

Before Chat could stop her, Marinette jerked the baton out of his hands and glared into the screen with a fierceness he'd never seen from her.

"You seriously think you can buy your son's love back?" she snapped. "You complete and utter tool, when I get my hands on you, you're gonna need Ladybug's miraculous to undo all the damage!"

Chat yanked the baton back from her. "I-I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't think she would-"

"It's alright," Hawkmoth cut in, voice soft and gentle and clearly hurt. "And… I'm not trying to buy your love back. I just really think this will help, and I want it to be a surprise." He took in a deep breath and cleared his throat, looking away from the screen for a moment before returning his attention to it. "We will, however, have to have a talk about divulging certain information to civilians. This is… obviously a unique situation, but you do need to be careful."

"I am," he promised. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Hawkmoth gave him a nod. "I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

Chat Noir couldn't quite get the response out, just hung up without another word. He turned to Marinette.

"I meant what I said," Marinette declared resolutely. "I know he's your father, but- but I had to, okay? What he did, that wasn't right, even if he was under a spell."

"I can count on one hand the people who have stood up to him as Hawkmoth or in his civilian form," Chat replied. "That was incredible, Marinette. And it means the world to me that you did it… Also, please never do that again if an actual supervillain pops up in the future."

A small smile curved its way onto Marinette's face. "No promises," she whispered. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat, looking away from him. He saw a slight blush pass over her cheeks, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "Let's get ready for bed, shall we?"

Chat nodded. "Yeah, sure," he agreed. "Um, can I have a blanket or something for the sofa?"

Marinette's brows furrowed together. "We can both fit in my bed, kitty," she said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "If that's okay with you?"

He gave a couple tries at forming a complete sentence, but nothing came out of his mouth. Finally he settled for a nod.

The next morning, Chat left with a confusing mix of excitement and fear. He wanted to know what his father had in store for him, but the past two years of instincts screamed at him that he was walking into a trap.

He bid the Dupain-Chengs farewell and rounded the corner before detransforming into Adrien, Plagg floating by his side. Thankfully, 7:30 on a Saturday yielded very little traffic, and no one noticed the tiny god next to the teenage boy.

Yeah, that would be fun to explain.

"So are you ready?" Plagg asked. He'd been one of the most supportive ones in his life throughout this entire mess, right from when Helena showed up.

"I think," Adrien replied. "I'm kind of nervous though, too. Pre-apathy-spell-Dad surprises were always great, but Hawkmoth surprises were always… not."

Plagg sighed, taking Adrien's words into consideration. "Look, kid, I know part of you is expecting a Hawkmoth surprise, but let me tell you: it isn't. Whatever it is, it's not that. I've seen the apathy spell in effect before, and it's a hell of a drug. I wouldn't even say it turns people into the worst versions of themselves, because they're not. They really aren't themselves. And I know it'll take some time for you to accept that internally, but please, at least remind yourself of it when you start thinking your father's going to jump back into villainy."

Adrien nodded. "Okay," he promised, "I will." After a brief lull in the conversation, he spoke again. "So does this make you my uncle?"

Plagg just laughed at that, and Adrien actually had to stop to let him recollect himself. "Unfortunately, kid, I think it does. The camembert is in your veins."

That got Adrien to laugh along, too. "Uncle Plagg," he managed to say between giggle fits.

"Never-" snort- "never call me that again."

Adrien nodded and continued walking, but now he had a bright smile on his face, all the way up until he got to the gates of the mansion and saw a truck in the courtyard. His heart caught in his chest at the sight.

Were they more Guardians? Were they going to take Madelaine? His dad? What were they-

Some of his fears were alleviated when he saw Gabriel walk out of the house in sleep clothes, just a t-shirt and a pair of lounge pants (which he also noticed had the disguised form of the butterfly brooch pinned on the waistband). The second Gabriel saw him, his face lit up, and he walked over to the gate, opening it for him.

"Hello, Adrien," he said. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to be home for another half hour."

Adrien looked around at the scene, still trying to piece it all together. "What's going on?" he asked. "Who are these people?"

"They were here making some… adjustments," Gabriel explained. "It will be much easier to explain once you're inside."

"Okay…" Adrien walked in, admittedly stunned when he saw his father get alone with the contractors and actually thank them for all they did. Only once they were inside and the door shut did the thought occur to him. "Were they here overnight?"

Gabriel nodded. "Rest assured, they were well-compensated for their time," he replied. "The owner is an old friend and was willing to bend the rules for me." He took a deep breath, and Adrien saw the change in his stance. Gone was the confident businessman working to get his home improved, replaced by… Gabriel, a father who was terrified of hurting his son. That alone made Adrien feel a little better, if not a tad guilty.

"Are you ready to see your room?"

"Sure…" Hey, just because he felt better didn't mean he wasn't still confused. He climbed the stairs and turned to go down the hall to his room, but Gabriel put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Not… not that way." He gently guided Adrien in the opposite direction and around the corner.

As they walked, Adrien could feel something was different; he just couldn't say exactly what that was. He looked around, trying to figure out what it was, but nothing stuck out. It was like the world's worst game of spot the differences.

"Right here," Gabriel said, stopping in front of a door that most certainly was not Adrien's.

Adrien cast him a confused glance, but he opened the door anyway. It looked like… like his room. Like his room, not some caricature of what a teenage boy was supposed to want. The basketball hoop and skateboard ramp were missing along with a few other things, but his manga and anime collection was on proud display in a bookcase.

The thing that really caught his eye, though, were the windows. Gone were the frames that made him feel like he was in a cage, replaced by simple sheets of glass so well put together he couldn't tell where one ended and the next began. Everything else fell to the background for him; the windows were the sole focus of his thoughts.

"Each panel will slide open so you can leave when you need to, and there's a hatch to the roof as well." Gabriel's voice just barely reached him, but it was enough to pull him out of his reverie. "This room faces north, rather than east, so you don't have to worry about the sun waking you up."

Slowly, Adrien turned back around, seeing his father standing just inside the doorway. Any thoughts of him as Hawkmoth, as the man who had made his life hell for the past two years, were banished in that moment. Without thinking, he ran up to his father and wrapped him in a hug, sobbing into his chest.