A/N: Hello Miraculers! It's been a while since I last posted a chapter.(Sorry!) This next chapter is quite the major plot point in this story, so I hope you enjoy the drama.
After the Ladybug departed, she dashed back to her room where she found her sketchbook, and instantly began drawing Adrien wearing a Cat Noir inspired suit. It barely took long, but she was exhausted since that day was quite long, causing her fall asleep there in her desk chair.
When morning arrived, she found herself comfortably waking up in her bed. She questioned how she got there, since she didn't remember falling out of the chair and half-sleepwalking over to her bed. The designer got up, checked her sketchbook to see if what she experienced last night was a dream or not, and to confirm the events, she saw the design of Adrien in a Cat Noir inspired outfit and it all clicked.
She put her sketchbook down, and went downstairs where the smell of freshly baked bread, cakes and cookies filled the air.
"Good morning Marinette," her mother greeted.
"Good morning maman," she greeted back. "Where's papa?"
"He's keeping watch of the bread downstairs, sweetie," she informed her daughter.
Marinette walked into the kitchen to get herself some cereal, but she froze before she opened the door hearing the title of a news story coming from the family room: "Paris's beloved masked hero also Paris's most adored teen model?"
The girl rushed into the family room where she saw a blurry clip of her taking Adrien's mask off. It then went to live footage in front of the Agreste mansion where Adrien stood surrounded by more reporters with his bodyguard standing protectively next to him.
Marinette dashed back upstairs, closing the hatch behind her, and called for Tikki.
"What is it Marinette?" the kwami asked curiously.
"I need to get to Adrien's house to help him with the reporters," she said, immediately cheering, "Tikki, spots on!"
The heroine, dashed up to her balcony, and swung away to her partner's rescue.
Over at the Agreste Mansion, Adrien stood nervously in front of a mob of journalists and reporters.
"Adrien, what happened to your powers?"
"Are you retired from being a hero?"
"Has Ladybug known your identity all along?"
The teen sighed, and signalled for questions to stop.
"My Miraculous was taken away by Hawkmoth, the man who makes akumas. It wasn't violent or anything, but he has a very good reason to need it," he began. "I don't plan to be retired as a hero, since I will return to duty as soon as I get my Miraculous back. Ladybug didn't know my identity beforehand."
"What are your thoughts on the mysterious Hawkmoth Jr. who took over your roll?"
"I think he's great! He's actually someone I know out of the mask, and he's been giving me the details since I told him I was Cat Noir," he answered.
Ladybug finally swung in, and nearly knocked Adrien over. Immediately she was overwhelmed with questions.
"Is your relationship with Adrien confirmed?" one asked.
"Have you shared your identity with him?" another asked.
The heroine motion for the reporters to stop, and then replied: "Yes, Adrien and I are together, and no, he doesn't know my identity."
"What stops you from telling him?"
"Is there a more dangerous secret behind your mask?"
"There's no dangerous secret behind my mask. I just can't tell him since Hawkmoth may try to make him spill the secret," the spotted girl answered, getting nervous, looking at Adrien for help.
"Would the reveal result in a break up?"
"Do you consider this unfair, Adrien?"
The questions began making the teens continuously more nervous.
Mr. Agreste walked out to the slightly open gate, and exited assertively, intending to get Adrien out of the crowd, but was instead pulled in.
"Gabriel Agreste, what is your reaction to Adrien having been Cat Noir?"
Gabriel paused to think, and replied. "I'm proud that my son was protecting Paris, and keeping its people safe from Hawkmoth's akumas. It is somewhat a shame that he lost his powers, but he is safer now and I won't have to worry about my son getting himself hurt."
The crowd then began overwhelmingly asking all different questions at the same time.
"Adrien, let's go back to the house. You may come as well, Ladybug," Gabriel offered.
"Uh, sure!" the girl responded back with a nervous smile.
The Agrestes, the hero, and the bodyguard got back past the gate, and closed it. The four headed into the mansion where Adrien lead Ladybug to his room, but before entering, Gabriel pulled Adrien to the side to talk to him in private.
"Adrien. It's been a good amount of time since releasing another akuma. Could you please bring back past akuma soon? I don't want Ladybug to get more suspicious of our activity," Gabriel asked.
Adrien nodded, and walked into his bedroom.
"So, how was your morning, Ladybug?" he asked, hopeful for her to be feeling better.
"I'm feeling much more relieved to know that you are okay, Cat Noir," she smiled, walking up to him, and hugging him.
"I'm relieved that you feel better, my lady," he smiled sincerely, stroking her cheek.
After a few moments, Adrien paused, and asked:
"Ladybug, could you wait here for a bit? I need to use the bathroom," he cringed.
"Of course, Adrien," she smiled.
He walked into his bathroom, and closed the door behind him. He then transformed into Hawkmoth Jr. The boy was about to clasp his hands together to create an akuma, but he paused. What was the point of creating another akuma? He had no goal. Sure, he was supposed to get Ladybug's Miraculous, but he could do that just by snatching them off when he walked back out.
The boy sighed, transformed back into his civilian form, and walked back out to Ladybug.
As Adrien walked back out of the bathroom, Ladybug stared at him in concern. She noticed a strange vibe coming off of him.
"What's wrong?" she asked, approaching him, and placing a hand on his cheek.
"Oh, it's nothing," he smiled sadly.
"Adrien, please tell me. I know something's wrong," the heroine stated, brushing the model's bangs out of his face.
"It's…" There was a knock on the door.
Adrien walked over to the door, opened it, and saw his father on the other side.
"Adrien, can you come with me for a moment," Gabriel spoke sternly.
Adrien turned his head towards his girlfriend and smiled weakly. "Just wait here Ladybug," he shrugged nervously.
Gabriel closed the door behind his son, and led him to his office. As they entered, Gabriel closed the door behind them, walked towards his desk, facing away from the model.
"Adrien," he began. "Why did you not follow my order?"
The boy sighed and replied: "What's the point of making akumas now? Ladybug and her Miraculous are at our fingertips. I don't want her face more akumas than she needs."
The villain turned back around and looked at his son. He saw the boy's loving and worried expression, and sighed. "So, what do you propose?"
"I propose that tonight, we treat Ladybug to something nice, like that fashion show tonight. She can get to know this me better," he smiled.
Gabriel's expression suddenly changed to one of hurriedness.
"I nearly forgot that I need to go to work so I can help Marinette with her designs," he said.
He paused and continued with a smile: "I like your idea Adrien. I suppose it isn't good to overwhelm her. I need to get going, so if you and Ladybug need anything, you can go to Nathalie."
"Thank you, dad," the boy grinned excitedly.
"No problem, son," the adult smiled back.
The two left the room, and headed in opposite directions. Adrien went back to his room, and was glad to see that Ladybug was still waiting for him.
"That took a little while, kitty" she commented.
"Yeah," the former hero agreed, confidence surging through his at the mention of his pet name. "I talked to him, and I'm wondering if you are available to go the fashion show with me tonight."
The heroine gasped and replied, "Of course!"
"Do you have any good attire to wear there?" Adrien asked. "I could get you a dress and mask from my father so you could fit in without revealing yourself."
Ladybug rethought the situation. She wouldn't be able to just go there as Marinette with a dress design by herself… She froze. "Oh my goodness, I'm going to be late!"
"To what?" Adrien questioned with concern to his girlfriend's sudden panic.
"To work," she stated. "I need to go. I'll see you later at the show, Adrien." She quickly pecked his lips, ran off to his window, and swung away.
Adrien stared off in the direction Ladybug, dazed. "She's amazing," he murmured to himself happily.
After getting back home, grabbing her stuff, running back outside, and transforming back into a hero, she made her way to an alley next to her office. She detransformed, and casually walked towards bumping into someone.
"Ah, sorry!" the young designer peeped, looking at the person she bumped into.
"It's fine, Marinette. Just make sure you keep your head up," Gabriel Agreste replied, opening the door for his intern.
"Thank you!" she smiled gratefully, waiting for her mentor to meet her side.
"Marinette," the fashion designer began. "Would you be up to finalizing and making a sample of your Ladybug design?"
The girl was quite surprised, and waited for a small explanation.
"There's a fashion show tonight, and I invited Ladybug. Seeing that she keeps to herself, I don't know her economic class. Just in case, I'd like to provide her a dress and a mask that doesn't reveal anything about her identity, and your design would do perfectly," he explained, pressing the button of the elevator.
"Uh, of course!" the hidden heroine agreed, pulling out her sketchbook, and flipping to the design.
They reached their floor, and walked down the hallway. After reaching Marinette's office, they stopped. They entered the room, and Marinette pulled an extra chair up to a table. She set her stuff down, and her mentor sat across from her.
"Here's the design," Marinette pointed out in her sketchbook.
The fashion emperor nodded, as he made a few marks on the design.
"Mr. Agreste?" the intern asked. "If we are going to be making the dress, do you have Ladybug's measurements?"
The adult totally forgot to see if he could get Ladybug's measurements, so he pulled out his phone to call his son.
The phone buzzed a bit, but was soon answered.
"Hey, dad," Adrien replied. "What is it?"
"Hello, son. Is Ladybug still there? I need to get some measurements for a dress I'm helping to make for her."
"Uh, no. She left shortly after you left. She had to go to work," the boy answered.
"Oh well," the man sighed. "I'll figure something out."
"Alright bye, dad"
"Bye son."
Mr. Agreste hung up, and paused for a moment as he looked down at the design. He then looked back up at Marinette, examining her body measurement.
"Marinette, your body seems to be nearly the shape of Ladybugs. Could we use your measurements to make the dress?" he inquired.
Marinette began to worry. Could this endanger her secret? She shrugged it off since it was only her measurements. Mr. Agreste would be extremely impressed with her work if she were to make it fit perfectly. It's not like she was going to try it on.
She nodded before flipping to a page with her measurements on it.
"Alright. I'll write these measurements on a separate page, and we can begin making the sample."
The two began discussing edits to the design, and after a few more minutes, they finalized it. After that, they quickly had a lunch break, and then got back to work on making patterns, getting fabric, and making the dress.
At around 4 o'clock, the two finally completed the dress.
"Great job, Marinette," Gabriel complemented, examining the dress on a mannequin.
"Thank you so much for helping me," she grinned proudly, amazed at how well made the dress was. She checked out the trim at the bottom where she found her signature in black thread, and grinned wider.
Mr. Agreste quickly stepped out of the room to grab a pair of Ladybug earrings that was a part of his Miraculous jewelry collection and a mask. He quickly returned, with a knock on Marinette's door, and he was let it. He walked over to the mannequin with the dress and looked at it with an unsatisfied look.
He looked over at Marinette, and without think about it asked, "Marinette, could you try on the outfit? You know clothes never seem to be complete without a person to wear them."
"Uh…" Marinette's mind went into overdrive. She played out scenes in her head where Gabriel would discover her identity and blab to the press, and she'd have an angry mob after her, and she also played out scenes of her refusing to try it on, and Gabriel would fire her, refuse to let her date Adrien, not let her go into fashion, and many other terrible consequences occur. "Uh, okay," she cringed anxiously.
As soon as the door was closed, Tikki flew out of Marinette bag and exclaimed, "Marinette, you can't do this! Your identity is at stake!"
"But Tikki, Mr. Agreste is my boss. He could fire me, and then I could no longer date Adrien, and I'd not go into fashion, and…"
Outside of her room, the holder of the moth Miraculous paused as he heard distressed cries from Marinette, like she was having an argument. The adult pressed his ear against the door curiously, and gasped as he heard a high pitched voice saying something about her "identity". He refused to accept what his mind determined the explanation to be.
"Fine, Tikki. I won't put on the mask," the human finally agreed. "Mr. Agreste. Come in," she called.
The fashion emperor, opened the door, and saw Marinette in the Ladybug dress. She wore all of the accessories except the earrings, and the mask. He nodded as he paced around the dress, seeing how it fit, and as he passed the desk, he picked up the mask. As he reached her front again, he lifted the mask in the air above her face, and his suspicions were correct.
"Well, isn't that a pleasant surprise," he said, handing the girl the mask. He noticed how nervous she appeared, and noted how sensitive a situation this was.
"So, does it look okay?" she asked.
"Just relax, Marinette. It looks great."
The teen thought that she was safe, but then he said, "You're so talented. Having an internship, a boyfriend, and saving the world all in 24 hours. I never bargain for Cat Noir being my son and Ladybug being my intern."
"So, you know," she stated simply.
"Yes, I know Marinette. Don't worry. Your secret is safe between the two of us. Neither Adrien nor the world will know anything," he smiled. He knew better than taking advantage of the situation. He'd rather fail at getting the Miraculous than ruining his most valuable intern's life.
At that moment, a red blur flew across the room towards them. The blur stopped in front of Gabriel and inspected him carefully, stopping at his ring, his scarf, and then his face.
"Marinette, could you give us a minute to talk? I need to make sure I can trust him," the lucky kwami asked.
"Yes, but you may want to do that in his office since I don't want anyone one else to see me," the heroine suggested.
"Of course," the adult replied, leading Tikki out of the room towards his office.
In his office, he closed the door, walked over to his desk, and turned towards the kwami.
"Hello, Hawkmoth," she said flatly.
"Hello," the man replied, noting that the kwami knew and could have known for a while. He then revealed Plagg and Nooroo who flew out of his coat.
"Hey, Tikki! Long time no see!" Nooroo exclaimed happily, embracing the fellow kwami.
"Hey Nooroo," Tikki greeted back.
"Hey, Tikki," Plagg greeted casually, leaning back in the air.
"Hello Plagg," she chuckled.
"So, your name is Tikki," the moth Miraculous holder stated.
"Yes," she confirmed. "And you are Gabriel Agreste, Hawkmoth, holder of the moth and cat Miraculous." The kwami was stern.
He nodded in reply.
"So, you and Adrien have been manipulating my Marinette for some time now. I think that is a good reason not to trust you," she stated.
"Yes, I understand," the man sighed. "But I have no intention of hurting her, since it'd break my son's heart."
The ladybug took into account of the man's sympathy for his son. "So tell me, why have you been hunting for mine and Plagg's Miraculouses?" she inquired.
Gabriel sighed deeply once again. "I lost my wife. She was the most wonder woman in the world. She helped to prevent me from overworking myself, and she was a great teacher and mother to Adrien." A tear glistened from his eye. "I began this whole Hawkmoth thing based on revenge in the beginning, seeing that the Ladybug and Cat Noir from that time murdered her in battle."
Plagg gasped and then looked remorseful with droopy ears and all. "Your wife was Madame Peacock. I'm so sorry. I wish I was able to stop my holder for committing all of those unforgivable crimes, but us kwamis don't necessarily have a say."
The other kwamis were just as sad as Plagg.
"I'm sorry," Tikki apologized, feeling extremely guilty. "I guess I can trust you. If you keep me in on your plan, I can help ease Marinette into the situation, and you can bring your wife back, Gabriel."
The villain grinned, all feelings of happiness and excitement were running through him,making him want to jump around for joy, but he contained himself.
There was a knock on the door. The kwamis all hid themselves in Gabriel's coat, and he opened the door.
"Are you guys done?" Marinette asked. She was carrying the dress on a hanger with a cover over it.
"Yes we are," Gabriel replied as Tikki flew out of her jacket and flew into Marinette's pouch.
"I guess I should be quickly going home. My parents are probably worried sick, seeing that I haven't been there since morning," the girl told her mentor.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll drop you off and explain that I had you working for quite a while," he offered.
"Oh, you don't need to do that," the heroine responded. "I can just take a cab."
"I insist, Marinette. I was going to pick up some food from your bakery anyway, so it'd be nothing to drop you off."
The intern sighed in acceptance and slight defeat, "Alright. But what am I going to tell them about the fashion show tonight. What about getting there?"
"You shouldn't worry. Tell them that I asked you to go there so you could learn from it. I can keep your dress so you can swing over. I'll even get some crew to help you with your hair if you'd like."
Marinette was speechless. The Gabriel Agreste has given her so many offers, and there was no way she was allowed to refuse them. She wondered what drastically changed since earlier that week when Adrien was having problems with his dad. Mr. Agreste certainly didn't seem like the terrible father that Adrien seemed to believe he was.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! This took me quite a while to actually decide that I will have Gabriel discover Ladybug's identity, after making drafts of the chapter if Adrien did actually release an akuma and things got too complicated. If you have any ideas or suggestions for later events in this story, please tell me! Reviews help encourage my writing so much!