Adrien/Chat Noir

No, it couldn't have been… That was impossible… But Adrien couldn't stop staring at Ladybug's true self, the girl under the mask, the person that he had fallen in love with.

He just couldn't believe that she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a girl who went to his school, who was in his class.

Perhaps he had been expecting someone completely different, but he soon began to realize how similar him and Marinette were - she pretty much had the same life as he did, had to deal with homework, friends, and teachers. But most of all, she had to hide an identity that no one else knew about.

She stared at him, open-mouthed, and he found himself gazing into those dark blue eyes, the ones that were identical to Ladybug's. Yes, it was truly her… and he was truly in love.

"A-Adrien?" Marinette croaked. "You… how -"

"Guess we're not so different after all," Adrien managed to say, but it came out as a sort of squeak.

"Well, well, isn't this nice," interrupted Hawkmoth with his oily voice, and Adrien noticed that the man was frowning at him. "And while you were in your little trance, I stole your miraculouses."

With both hands, he held up two squiggling figures - Plagg and Marinette's kwami, a ladybug, which made both their owners gasp. Adrien momentarily forgot the shock of discovering who Ladybug really was, and thought to himself, How could I have been so foolish, letting Hawkmoth get Plagg?

In fact, this whole scenario was foolish. If Adrien hadn't gotten himself captured, then perhaps he'd be able to prevent Marinette from getting captured, too. Then they wouldn't have to deal with stolen kwamis, and…

… and they wouldn't have discovered each other's' true identities.

But that didn't matter. Adrien simply had to get out of this, had to protect Marinette, had to be the hero even if he wasn't Chat Noir right then. He struggled against his chains and yelled, "Let Plagg go!" Marinette did the same thing, yelling her kwami's name, Tikki, but it obviously wouldn't work; perhaps they needed more time to make a plan. As of then, it didn't seem like Tikki or Plagg would be escaping anytime soon.

"Useless, really," snarled Hawkmoth, starting toward the door of the cell-like room. "You'll need to do better than that in order to stop me. Au revoir for now, though - I'm going to put my plan into action."

And the door closed behind him, the lock clicking into place.

Adrien just found himself staring after Hawkmoth, unable to move or say anything. He had a growing suspicion in his gut that he'd muse over later; right then, he turned to Marinette and looked her in the eye. She still looked overcome with surprise.

"I… I can't believe it's you," she said. "All this time, Adrien…"

"I feel the same way," Adrien agreed. "We were both right under each other's noses."

And for a moment, they smiled at each other; it all seemed so ridiculous.

"Well, I guess we aren't the most observant superheroes," Marinette giggled. "But anyway, what now?"

Adrien thought for a moment, then decided to tell Marinette about his suspicion. She was the only other person there, after all, and he felt that he had to share it with someone - especially someone like Ladybug, whom he knEw he trusted with his life.

"I've been wondering," Adrien said, "When I was knocked out before I woke up here, it was by my father. I was actually ready to jump out of the window as Chat Noir, because I just heard the police sirens, when he came in. And then I woke up here. But why? What happened?"

"That is strange," Marinette replied. "Maybe Hawkmoth somehow got to him, and then you?"

"Well, then, I hope he's alright!"

There was a moment of silence while Adrien mentally panicked. Even though his father barely ever payed any attention to him, Adrien still loved him and wouldn't want anything to happen to him. But just then, Marinette said something that made a chill go up Adrien's spine.

"You… you don't think… that your father's actually Hawkmoth?"

Now that Adrien thought about it, Hawkmoth did kind of look and act like his father. There was something about the villain that had always felt familiar, and Adrien never understood why. But he still couldn't bring himself to believing that it was true, for his father was a rich fashion designer, so why would he turn evil? He's always been cold, said a voice in Adrien's head.

Adrien felt like he needed proof. He prompted Marinette with this.

"Adrien… Look." Her eyes darted to the bottom of his shoe.

As he looked down, wondering what in the world she could be talking about, he noticed it. The shoes that Adrien was wearing were made by his father's company, and had two dark butterflies stuck to their soles. He started panting rapidly.

"No… i-it can't -"

"I'm sorry, Adrien."

Marinette's voice somehow made this more bearable. Knowing that she was there, that no matter what happened she would support him, was what got him through. He took a deep breath and straightened, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Look, whatever the case is, whatever happens, we're going to find a way out of here. I… I can't take this anymore. We need to find our kwamis and stop Hawkmoth before he takes over Paris."

There was a brave look on Marinette's face, the one that Ladybug always wore, and that Chat Noir always admired. His heart did a little flip, but he knew that he'd deal with his feelings later. Right then, defeating Hawkmoth was most important.

"We should have known that this was coming," Marinette said. "We're Ladybug and Chat Noir, the saviours of Paris, and it's our duty to save everyone."

Adrien nodded. His body flickered with a kind of inner energy, and he felt that he was Chat Noir right then, even though his ring wasn't activated. But true superheroes came on the inside, of their bravery, their courage, their cleverness. And he was ready to do what he had been training for, ready to stop the person who had sent all the akumas which had caused the attacks.

Even if he was his father.

Enjoying so far? Yes, I am all for the theory of Hawkmoth being Adrien's father, because it makes so much sense. And get excited, because the next chapter is going to be an action-packed one.

- Key