"I just… I can't believe it," Ladybug said, shaking her head as she took a deep breath, steadying herself against the wall of the alley they'd fled into. She pressed her hand against the rough bricks, tiny brown flecks crumbling beneath her fingertips as she leaned heavily on the wall for support. "Gabriel Agreste. Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth."
Silence met her words, and Ladybug instantly knew something was wrong when Chat Noir didn't respond. She turned around to face her partner, and her eyes widened in shock.
"Chat!" Ladybug took a step towards her partner, who was shaking as he slid down against the wall she had just been leaning on. "Chat, what's wrong?"
He said nothing; his only response was to press his head into his hands, elbows resting on his knees as he curled into himself. Ladybug threw herself down in front of him, eyes wide with panic as dry sobs began to slip through Chat Noir's palms, his whole body trembling as the sobs wracked his frame.
"Chat?" Ladybug's voice was gentle, tense, as she knelt by him, reaching forward to place a hand against Chat's forearm. "Talk to me, please. Chat."
Chat Noir still didn't reply, his entire being consumed with the cause of his tears. Ladybug released his arm, and, after quickly checking that there was nobody else lurking in the alley, moved to sit by his side. When she'd re-positioned herself, Ladybug wrapped one arm around her friend, pulling him to her and resting her head on his shoulder. It felt like too small a gesture, but Ladybug didn't know what else she could offer her partner.
It seemed to give Chat Noir some comfort, at least; he leaned into Ladybug's embrace, and she rubbed the top of his arm in a soothing manner. Eventually, the shaking of his body stopped, and soon Chat Noir's shoulders began to rise and fall as he took slow, deep breaths.
He lifted his head out of his hands, turning his head to look at Ladybug. Concern lined her face, and she squeezed Chat tightly as she lifted her head to look at him. His eyes were bloodshot, visible even beneath the emerald colouring of his mask, and tears had leaked out of the tightly fitting mask to slide down his cheeks in thin rivers.
"Chat Noir?" Ladybug asked, the words filled with worry.
Chat Noir took a shaky breath, squeezing his eyes shut as if the next words physically hurt him.
"He's my father," he said, his voice thick and trembling. "Hawkmoth is my father."