No, this is not what I was meant to be writing. I should be doing Aftermath (I don't know how I want to end it yet, okay?) or Powerless (or Not)…

I couldn't resist though! So, this came from a comment on r/miraculousladybug that Speckleflower saw and told me about. It plays a fairly minor part in this now, but the original idea came from that. Yeah, so if you enjoy this, you should go look at the subreddit because they're some pretty awesome stuff on there :)

I wrote this yesterday because I felt like it, and it came from Speckleflower (who got to read the dialogue before I fleshed it out (yeah, I write in strange ways)) so this is for her!

Well, here we go…

—

Lila spotted the little, purple butterfly heading towards her, and a malicious grin spread across her face. Grabbing it, she held it to her earring, relishing the instant surge of power that spread through her veins, as her connection to Hawkmoth was created. Her smile only growing, Lila began, "Hawkmoth, I am Lila. I know you want to destroy Ladybug and so do I!"

Meanwhile in Hawkmoth's lair…

Hawkmoth swung his staff in the air, letting the orb, that usually sat on the top, fly up. He sighed heavily, feeling thoroughly bored- today had been frustrating for him. That insolent Dupain-Cheng girl, Marinette, had been teasing him with her anger all day!

The orb fell back into the bowled indent, and he threw it again, growling in annoyance. While waiting for his akumas to get to their victims, he'd found that using his staff as one of those cup and ball games, entertained him well enough. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good at it. He reached forward to catch it, not feeling the presence fill his head as the ball clattered onto the floor, rolling into the shadows.

"Hawkmoth, I am Lila. I know you want to destroy Ladybug and so do I!" A voice began, but his own spoke simultaneously, the words escaping before he could stop himself, "Ahh, dammit, Gabriel. You dropped it again! Why do you have to-" He gulped, praying that Lila- he guessed it was Lila Rossi… again- hadn't heard him.

Of course, she had.

"Gabriel? Hawkmoth?" She shouted into his head, making him flinch as she screeched. He yelled in surprise, having to catch himself using his staff as he launched himself backwards involuntarily. "You introduced yourself first- that… doesn't happen. I was waiting so long that I didn't even notice when I made the connection." He told her, skimming over the detail of his name, hoping she would remember she was about to be akumatised and forget about it. "Your name is Gabriel?" She asked, a proud lilt in her tone.

"Dammit." He sighed, "You heard that? Oh well- there are loads of people called Gabriel in Paris!" He smirked triumphantly, and felt Lila's anger bubble up as she realised he was right. "You want Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous, right?" She asked, sounding irritated.

"Yes, I-" he began, getting interrupted as someone burst into the room.

"Gabriel, shouldn't you be actually doing something useful? Your job maybe? The deadline for the spring collection is coming up and you having started any of the designs yet!" Natalie ranted, and Gabriel stared at her, words caught in his throat as Lila gasped. Eventually, he managed to call a startled and incredulous "Natalie?!" which she ignored, moving further into the room.

"For goodness sake, Agreste, stop sitting around in this dark room all day!" She added, pulling open a curtain and letting bright light flood the space. Hawkmoth hissed, squinting and covering his eyes, "Nataliiieeeee! Don't open the curtains- the light hurts my eyes!" Natalie raised an eyebrow, unblinking, and Hawkmoth completely forgot about Lila. "With all due respect, sir, I am not your mother." She told him, unimpressed.

Hawkmoth pouted, feeling petty, but also far too childish to admit it. Drawing himself up to his full height, he towered over her, attempting to assert his dominance, "I am your superior and you will-"

"Superior?!" She laughed, "You forfeited that when you made me Mayura, and I practically raised your son. Speaking of Adrien, why don't you actually talk to him instead of moping down in your lame excuse for a lair. I mean, is it it even upstairs or downstairs- the lift goes down, but then it-"

"Gabriel Agreste and Natalie Sancoeur? You guys are Hawkmoth and Mayura?!" Lila screamed, the sound making him wince. His eyes widened as he adjusted to her constant flow of cursing- and boasting- coming from the girl. "Oh crap-" he groaned, rubbing his hand across his face. "Hang on, let me put you on speaker." Getting on his hands and knees, he crawled towards where he thought the orb had hit the wall, hearing Natalie take a couple of steps towards him, but then stopping.

Hawkmoth froze, turned around slowly, and putting the orb back in its space. "Gabriel," she said, dangerously calm and soft, "ARE YOU TALKING TO AN AKUMA!?"

"Nooooo." Hawkmoth said guiltily, shifting uncomfortably, as she glared at him. Lila's voice came hurtling through the orb and filling the room. "As in Gabriel Agreste, father of Adrien Agreste, the greatest fashion designer in Paris?" She exclaimed, confirming Natalie's theories and exposing Hawkmoth's lie. He sighed, blocking out the shocked rambling coming from his staff.

Natalie shook her head in disbelief, smiling at the stupidity.

"You are screwed."

—

Hey, I just realised something- I've always spelt Natalie like… well, Natalie. But it's actually spelt Nathalie. And the thing is, I can't even remember if I had to add her name to my computer's dictionary, or whether it's an alternative spelling!

Yeah, I'm not going to change it. I'm going to be consistently wrong.