Chapter 10: The Moon's Recollection

Adrien stood before the mirror in his room looking over himself.

Well looking over his scar specifically.

Over the past two weeks the stab wound in Adrien's side had healed, the stitches had dissolved like they were supposed to and the nurses said it was mending well, exceptionally well. He had heard the comments from the nurses, "faster than any typical person with a similar wound" "a smaller scar then most" they found it fascinating and frightening how fast Adrien had healed. He could only think it was from his Miraculous, something with how he bonded with Plagg so many times over the past couple of years. Maybe some of Plagg was infused with Adrien since he was transformed when stabbed; he came up with a multitude of reasons but couldn't be quite sure. The nurses agreed that it must have been something from his Miraculous, but that only made them more concerned in how the Miraculous actually worked.

Never the less Adrien's stab wound had healed into a scar with only slight discoloration still remaining around it. With something like this I won't have to do swimsuit modeling, Adrien thought with a laugh. That was a relief, he could do without having to get oiled up, spray tanned, and shaved every summer season.

Adrien brought his hand up to the scar and lightly traced a finger over the bump out of curiosity. His stomach flexed in and he let out a light laugh in reaction before ripping his hand away and shoving down his shirt. His scar was ticklish, just perfect.

Adrien went over to his school bag to check that everything was there, it was his first day back to school since the incident and he was excited. It had taken an incredible amount of convincing on Adrien's part for his father to finally relent and allow for him to return to public school.

Adrien getting hurt had thrown his father into a complete and utter panic, which would have been fine and understandable if it didn't come with the undeniable action of Adrien's father cutting him off from the outside in a worried attempt to protect him from anything that came their way. During that first week he was awake Adrien honestly didn't think he would have a moment to himself with how his father hovered around.

Even with his father being around all the time, they only talked for brief moments, and it was never about being Chat Noir. His father made it very clear that he despised Ladybug. It made sense, he couldn't really blame Chat Noir for what happened, but he could easily blame Ladybug for it. In turn he seemed to treat Adrien and Chat as two separate people, Chat and Ladybug were foolishly trying to go about being heroes and Adrien was someone else that got hurt because of them. During their talks he could tell that his father was trying to be nicer, to be more conversational, but the man couldn't help being his typical secluded self.

Yes, Adrien was certainly glad to get out of the house and go back to school, to see all his friends, and be somewhat normal for once. However there was the matter of Ladybug, he needed to find some time to talk to Marinette in private and see if he could get his Miraculous back. He felt more than ready to be Chat Noir again, and despite Plagg being a royal pain in his ass 90% of the time, Adrien could admit that he actually missed the kwami's lackadaisical attitude and silly comments to everyday things. Adrien made sure to grab a section of cheese from his now very low stock and store it in his bag for when he would get to see Plagg again.

Adrien passed through the halls of his house slowly and quietly, making sure to listen should his father try to approach him last minute and keep in from attending class. He was very careful passing his father's office and barely caught the sound of Gabriel talking to someone else, against his better judgement, Adrien slowed to listen to the conversation.

"Why?" Adrien heard his father ask, almost as if he was bored with the conversation.

"You've been avoiding this long enough," the other, barely familiar, voice replied, clearly irritated with Gabriel.

"I'm not ready," Gabriel said.

"You've been "not ready" for a bit longer than necessary," The other growled, they sounded as if they were in the room with him, but Adrien knew this was an over-the-phone conversation as no one Gabriel worked with was allowed in his house aside from Nathalie, "If we don't make a move now, our window of opportunity will have closed and you'll be back in the same conundrum you have been lamenting about this entire time."

There was a pause from his father, and Adrien almost left having lost interest in the conversation about work, and what was obviously about Gabriel's lack of work since Adrien's injury, but the way his father said his next words made Adrien linger.

"I know," his father said with a defeated sigh.

Adrien had known his father to never show any emotions to his coworkers, or anyone for the matter, and certainly not what would be considered a "weak" emotion like he just did. Who was his father talking to? Adrien leaned in closer to try to hear more of the conversation but Nathalie startled him from where he stood, informing him that it was time for them to head to school lest they be late. He looked to the door once more before scrambling down to Nathalie so they could head to school.

The car slowly pulled out from the gates of the Agreste residence and pulled around to pass the front, a small crowd of reporters was eagerly waiting for them and frantically took pictures as they passed. The windows of the car remained closed but Adrien made an effort to smile and show everyone that he was doing well.

The familiarity of driving to school was welcome, is brought back a feeling of being normal, Just an everyday drive to school, like everyone else. He was brought out of the comforting lull when they pulled up to the front of the school and found another, slightly bigger, group of reporters waiting for their arrival. Nathalie and the Gorilla acted as a shield for Adrien as they escorted him to the front of the school when the reporters were not legally allowed to cross into. All the while they shouted questions at him, about his condition, about how he was feeling returning to school, about his father even. Adrien ignored them as he was too eager to head to his class.

Everyone in the hallways happily greeted him and voiced their joy at seeing him back and well, he gave many thanks in return before approaching his classroom door. For some reason a nervous flutter went through his stomach before he entered, curious about seeing everyone all at once, about how they would all react to seeing him.

He pushed open to door to see just about everyone was already in class and at their seats, talking casually amongst each other as if it was a day like any other. They all stopped and looked at him when he entered, there was a brief weight to the air. Before anyone could say anything or move, Chloé jumped up from her seat and nearly sprinted at him and she pulled him in for a hug. She gave him a tight squeeze before quickly loosening her grip, almost in a panic at realizing that she might hurt him, and shooting off in a tangent (?).

"Adrien! I'm so glad you're back. It's been terrible without you here! And not getting to see you for so long, oh my goodness I'm so happy to see you again!" She said in an excited swirl of words, hugging him again.

"I'm happy to see you too. And I'm happy to be back," Adrien said, looking up at everyone cheerful faces.

Chloé pulled away and Nino came forward to give Adrien a hug as well. He was much gentler, knowing how Adrien was beforehand when something like a hug could cause him a small pinch of pain. They shared a brief moment of joy before Nino pulled away and Adrien noticed the line his classmates had begun to form. They each gave him and hug and voiced their happiness at seeing Adrien again one by one until only Marinette remained. She slowly walked up to him and gave her own hug, being gentle like Nino before pulling away and welcoming him back.

Adrien almost wanted to kiss her right there and then and thank her for all her help and being there with him as much as she could, but he contained himself, knowing that no one knew about any of that, and no one would get to know either. Their teacher entered the class, and gave a very warm welcome back Adrien before asking that everyone take their seats for class to start.

Class had gone by well, thanks to Nino periodically coming over to his house to drop off homework over the past two weeks, Adrien wasn't too far behind in the lessons. Adrien wanted to spend his time with Nino, Marinette, Alya when lunch came around, but Chloé insisted that they spend the time together. Adrien and the other relented seeing as Chloé hadn't been able to see Adrien at all during his leave. He wanted to talk with Marinette while he had a chance, ask her for his Miraculous while he was here at school and could have a moment to himself, but he would have to wait until tomorrow.

Lunch with Chloé was different than the times before, typically Chloé would take it upon herself to continually talk about nothing in particular to fill the air, to hear the sound of her own voice. However most of the conversation was actually spent with Adrien talking, much to his and Sabrina's surprise. Chloé was asking him a load of questions, and actually listening to everything he said, actually having a proper conversation with him, it was a very pleasant surprise.

The day had gone by well, it was odd for Adrien not having any afterschool activities for once, all of them had been canceled by his father in worry and, aside from his Chinese lesson tomorrow, had yet to be called up again. He spent the evening to himself, trying to catch up with his school work as much as he could before the next day.

That morning Adrien had awoke eager to go to school again, and certain that he would have his Miraculous back by the end of the day. He had lunch with Marinette, Nino and Alya, they were settled in a quiet area on a bench next to the Seine, now would be a good place for Adrien to ask for his Miraculous. The panic that briefly crossed Marinette's face when he asked, however, made his stomach twist.

"Are… are you sure you're ready?" She asked slowly, barely able to keep eye contact with him.

"Of course I am," He replied with false confidence, hiding his worry that Marinette might not be as complacent as he would have liked.

"Adrien, just… just because you're here at school doesn't mean you're well enough to have your Miraculous back," Marinette said.

"Having my Miraculous back doesn't necessarily mean using it," He tried to reassure her, "Papillon hasn't made a move in a long time, we probably wouldn't have to fight an akuma."

"But that doesn't mean he can't strike at any moment now," Marinette quickly retorted.

Adrien briefly glanced between his friends, feeling his chest drop when he saw Nino agreeing with Marinette.

"And what if there is an akuma?" Alya asked, bringing everyone's attention to her, "Are you going to fight it alone? Marinette I have confidence in your abilities but I don't think it's best for you to fight anything on your own."

Adrien smiled at Alya, happy to see that she was supporting his case.

"I don't want to fight on my own, but Adrien, I don't want you to exhaust yourself either. You still need time to rest, if you're not at your full health than the risk of you getting hurt again is very high!" Marinette continued.

He wanted to feel some kind of comfort for her concern, but the fact that it was preventing him from getting the one thing he wanted was irritating him, why the hell wasn't she relenting?

"Then we take some time to practice one on one, get back into the typical maneuvers for a fight," Adrien offered, his fist clenching as he felt more and more desperate.

"No, Adrie-"

"Oh come on Marinette," Alya chimed in again, trying to alleviate the tension rising between them, "Surely you can do a bit practice between you two to see if he's up to par?"

"It would just be safer if we wait just a little bit longer before you have to protect the Miraculous again," Marinette said.

That hit a nerve Adrien didn't even know was there, "Are you saying I'm incapable of protecting my own miraculous?!" He shouted.

Marinette tensed while Adrien glared at her, Alya and Nino frantically looking around to see if anyone heard Adrien's outburst.

"N-no I just-" Marinette tried to get a word out but instead sputtered and launched out of her seat to run off.

Nino and Alya frantically glanced between each of them before Nino got up to chase after Marinette, he paused briefly to turn back to Alya and Adrien, "We just don't want to see you get hurt again," He said weakly before continuing after Marinette.

The flame of anger burning within Adrien was extinguished as soon as it had been ignited after hearing that. He had gone too far.

Alya put a hand on his shoulder in comfort as he slumped against the bench.

"I know she's being stubborn now, but just give her a bit more time to get used to it," She offered.

"I know, I know, I just-" He honestly wanted to see Plagg again, to hear his voice and give whatever profound unhelpful advice he would offer, but Marinette had a distinct advantage in that they have yet to tell Alya or Nino about the existence of their kwamis. Adrien knew it was important to at least hide their existence from everyone, yet in that moment between the four of them Adrien genuinely wanted to make a low blow and expose the kwamis just to have someone else on his side. Surely Plagg would side with him, though, was Plagg even with Marinette to the moment? He didn't know, "My head hurts," Adrien mumbled through to jumble of his thoughts.

"You wanna head to my house and get some medicine?" Alya asked.

"Nah, I'll be fine, let's go get some ice cream and head back to school," He said slowly gathering his trash and standing up.

"Alright," Alya offered a smile while gathering her own trash, it was good to at least have someone on his side.

They headed an ice cream shop in relative silence, happily greeting the excited shop owners and briefly chatting about how Adrien has been as of recent before taking the long walk back to school with their cones in hand.

"So… wanna see my scar?" Adrien offered, not sure why but wanting to talk about something, anything.

"Depends is it all gnarly and oozing of puss?" Alya asked offhandedly.

"Nah, it's healed up rather nicely," He answered licking his cone.

"Yeah, dude show me," She said with a smile.

Adrien lifted his shirt partially with his free hand to show the scar on his side.

"Wow, I was expecting it to be a bit worse," She said peering down at it.

"Yeah it's really not that bad, I feel like Marinette and Nino think I'm gonna reopen the wound somehow," Adrien said with a roll of his eyes.

"Can I touch it?" She wondered aloud.

"Nooo," Adrien quickly replied, remembering how ticklish the area was from before. He almost shoved his shirt back down when he noticed Alya's free hand twitch from her side.

"…Can I take a picture?" Alya cautiously asked after a few moments of looking it over.

"Yeah, oh yeah and you can post it to the Ladyblog," Adrien said with almost a bit of excitement as Alya pulled out her phone, "Put a caption like 'Chat Noir's kick ass new scar' or something just as cool."

Alya laughed as she backed up and positioned her phone for the picture, "Because scars are cool?"

"Because scars are cool," Adrien nodded repeated with emphasis.

"Smile," She said as Adrien held up his ice cream and did so.

Adrien sat on his bed, no longer able to focus of his homework at this point. He instead found his mind rolling over every possible way he could convince Marinette to give him his Miraculous back and how she might respond. His hand hovered over his phone for long periods of time as he considered every direction the conversation, or more so argument, could go. No matter how he went about it he always managed to lose to Marinette purely on the account that she was being irrational and would give up on that.

He thought of texting Nino, but with the way he acted after Adrien's outburst made him reconsider. It was likely that Nino was still on Marinette's side and Adrien didn't want to argue with him at all.

Minutes passed in which Adrien did nothing, he considered going back to working on his homework, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get anything done. Instead he got up and began to prepare himself for bed, some sleep would do him good. He was sluggish as he changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth. He took the last of his medicine remaining, the lesser pain medication. He didn't technically need it anymore at this point, he wasn't feeling any pain, but the nurses recommended that he continue taking it until he ran out just to be sure. As he walked out of his bathroom Adrien heard a light knock on his door.

He opened it to find his father waiting for him.

"Hello Adrien, how-" His father stopped and looked him over, "You're already in your pajama's?"

"Uh yeah," Adrien answered, bringing a hand to his neck, "Today was a rather long day, so I figured I'd hit the hay early,"

His father was quiet for a moment, pursing his lips in an ever-so-subtle way before speaking again, "You know if school is too much for you now you don't have to continue going."

Shit, Adrien thought, really hoping this conversation would come up again.

"No,no! School's fine! I want to keep going, I'll just take a couple of days before I'm used to

spending my time there again," He quickly reassured his father's concerned look, "This is just a readjustment period."

His father let out a small sigh, "If you insist," he mumbled, Adrien felt himself relax with this.

"I'm sure."

"Then get your rest, you'll need it," His father said before pulling Adrien into a light hug.

There it was again, Adrien still wasn't quite used to this hugs he and his father had been sharing as of recent no matter how light or how short. He couldn't say he didn't appreciate them, getting physical affection from his father was much better than him trying to talk to Adrien, he just wasn't used to them.

Not a few seconds passed before his father released him and left. Adrien crawled into bed, pulling his blankets up to his nose hoping the day would just end.

Instead his phone decided to chime right then reminding him of its presence and of the fact that he needed to plug it in for the night. He shuffled around without getting out of the blankets to grab his phone, pulling it up to his face to check the message.

It was from Marinette.

Adrien found himself sitting forward to unlock his phone and read the message.

"Meet me behind the school tomorrow morning before class" Was all it said.

A wild flutter of hope went through Adrien when he read it. It was quickly whirled away though, what could that mean? He wanted to ask for an explanation, for some more details, but refrained in case he say something wrong and she decided against it. He typed back a confirmation that he would be there and plugged his phone in for the night. Adrien's mind was once again spinning with questions, wondering what could happen with the meeting, what Marinette planned for him.

He hoped she would give him his Miraculous back, that he would see Plagg again.

He shoved his thoughts away in an attempt to go to sleep, the sooner you go to sleep, the sooner morning will come.

A/N: Hey now we're in Adrien's perspective, this is fun. Now that I'm back at my work study job I'll get into the habit of writing more frequently again, as the only time I could seem to bring myself to write was when I was avoiding my homework. Haha.

I'll try to keep updates consistent at every 3 weeks on Fridays. I'm hoping to finish this story before season 2 is released.