AN: This chapter starts with LB, juggles between LB and CN in the middle, and then ends in CN. There were some things that I felt were better addressed right here and now instead of coming back and going through it again. I hope it's easy to follow.

Ladybug stared at the photograph in her hand while she waited in Adrien's room for Cat Noir to show up. It was a photo of Adrien and his mother. They look so happy, she thought. She'd been in Adrien's room a few times before, but she'd never had time to look around at anything. It was an enormous space, kept in pristine condition, and it seemed to have everything in it that a teenage boy could want. Still, the air felt sad somehow.

Or maybe that's just me she thought, looking again to the photo in her hands. Adrien looked a lot like his mother, and he had her eyes, but he would never be able to look into them again, and Ladybug felt like that was somehow her fault.

She shook her head, knowing that was an irrational thought. Whatever happened to his mother to cause her current state wasn't Ladybug's fault, and letting Hawk Moth bring her back using the miraculous wasn't something she could allow, for sake of the balance. Still, she couldn't help but feel she was the reason this was happening.

Cat Noir landed in front of her, but his presence somehow only added to the grimness of the room. They should've both been pumped—they were about to finally defeat Hawk Moth—but instead they both seemed to have troubles eating away at them.

"You ready to do this?" she asked him, not feeling quite ready herself.

"Should we call the authorities?" he asked, sliding up the phone on his baton which made Ladybug panic.

"Maybe we should wait," she said, setting down the photo and catching the look on Cat Noir's face. "Well, there's still a big fight to happen, and we wouldn't want them getting in our way or getting hurt. We can call when it's done."

In truth, her stomach twisted in knots thinking of the authorities showing up there and she realized why she was uneasy. She was taking away Adrien's chance of having his mother back, and soon she'd be taking away his father too. Not to mention she'd be bringing a whirlwind of press down on him soon after news got out about his father. She could only imagine the torment that Adrien's life would soon become.

"Ladybug? Is everything alright?" Cat Noir asked, breaking into her thoughts.

She ripped her eyes away from the photo again to meet his. As terrible as it felt, Ladybug knew this was the right thing, and the only thing she could do. Looking up at Cat Noir, she felt a small amount of comfort knowing he was there with her to help bear the burden. She quickly stole a kiss, hoping to receive strength from it and set her mind to the task before her.

"It's nothing, chaton. Let's finish this."

"CATACLYSM!"

It had been a tough fight, and Hawk Moth was a formidable opponent, but in the end Cat Noir grabbed the Butterfly Miraculous from Hawk Moth's neck, leaving Gabriel Agreste lying on his back under Ladybug's lucky charm, and released the akuma for her to cleanse.

A quick toss of the Lucky Charm left the Butterfly Miraculous in Chat's hands, unharmed—victory at last. The room that was previously swarming with butterflies was now nothing more than a cold observatory with two heroes and one man left on his knees. The room was quiet as they stood there, catching their breath and staring at the man who caused all of this.

"Cat Noir, we need to get that to safety," Ladybug said quietly, feeling the solemnity in the room. The air was still charged with energy from the battle, but was quickly turning into something much more melancholy.

She looked from her partner and the prize in his hand to the man before her, still trying to believe that he was someone she'd previously admired so much, and thinking again of Adrien and his nearing circumstances. Seeing Gabriel, there on the ground, and knowing that he knew what he just lost made her feel sympathy that she couldn't push away.

Chat glanced at her, and then back at his father on his knees. There was so much that he wanted to say to him right then, but he knew that he couldn't and probably would never be able to. His emotions—anger, disgust, and sadness to name a few—were all over the place. So much that he'd probably be akumatized if they hadn't just defeated Hawk Moth. Cat Noir gripped miraculous in his hand and gave Ladybug a curt nod as he turned on his heels to find the exit.

"Wait!"

They stopped and turned to see Gabriel with his hand outstretched and despair across his face. His sentence was broken as he tried to choke out the words.

"The miraculous…my wife…" he hung his head unable to finish, and accepting his defeat.

Ladybug turned, not knowing what else to do, but Chat stepped forward and addressed him.

"I know you loved her, but this," he said stretching out his hands and practically yelling, "she never would've wanted any of this."

He turned and stormed towards the exit, past Ladybug who was shocked at his outburst. She gave one last glance at the man on his knees, and watched as he crumpled and began sobbing.

She caught up with Cat Noir on the roof as he pulled out his baton and was dialing a number. She briefly wondered who he was calling when Chat said the words "Get me the chief of police."

"Wait!" She cried grabbing his arm.

Cat Noir looked at her with confusion and she realized she had no idea what she was doing.

They stood there on the roof in the middle of a beautiful Parisian afternoon. There was a warm breeze, which was unusual for that time of year and the soft buzz of the city below could be heard. People chattering, cars honking, and birds singing. It was pleasantly quiet. Ladybug looked at the city around her, and at Cat Noir holding his baton. Nobody else had known yet what they'd done.

"Gabriel isn't a threat anymore, now that we have his miraculous…and…" she trailed off remembering the broken man on his knees. Her heart ached for him.

"He only wanted his wife back. And I know that doesn't excuse anything he did, but…he…can't hurt anyone now. And, and Adrien will need his father around, and"

Ladybug scrambled to think of anything else she could say that could convince Cat Noir not to call the authorities and allow things to pass over as if nothing had ever happened. Instead, she felt Cat Noir's arms around her as he pulled her in close to him.

He buried his face in her neck, surprised at the relief he felt, and breathed her a soft "Thank you, Ladybug," that he knew she wouldn't understand. But this meant so much to him, and he knew she would know it when the time came.

He pulled back and looked at the confusion on her beautiful face just as both of their miraculous beeped.

"Let's get this back to where it belongs." He said with a half smile.

Meg was sitting on the floor with Master Fu when Ladybug and Cat Noir entered. She'd already returned the Peacock and it was safe in its spot in the miracle box, Duusu no doubt happy to be reunited with the other Kwami.

Cat Noir held out his hand and presented the Butterfly to Master Fu.

"I think this belongs to you." He said, as Master Fu took it and placed it in its rightful position in the miracle box.

"Thank you Ladybug and Cat Noir. You have restored the Miraculous to me, and saved Paris, but not without a great cost." He said, bowing respectfully.

Meg walked over Cat Noir during the exchange, and she was studying him.

"Are you okay?" she whispered to where only he could hear.

"I will be." He said catching the nervous blush that ran across Ladybug's cheeks just then.

He felt as though a burden had been lifted, even though he had many more to bear. The fight that he and Ladybug had been fighting for so long was finally won, and now there was another burden he could lift as well.

Their miraculous beeped again, and he looked to Ladybug knowing that they were thinking the same thing.

Apparently everyone in the room was thinking what they were thinking because Master Fu and Meg stepped out to give Ladybug and Cat Noir some privacy. He might've found it funny under different circumstances, but he was running out of time. And under different circumstances he might've wanted to do this differently, but he was holding it together the best that he could, when really he wanted to scream. He wanted to cry or beat his fists against a wall. But that would have to wait, because he didn't know when or if he'd ever see her again if he didn't do this now.

Another beep.

He turned to her and took her hands in his.

"Ladybug, these past couple of days have been so hard for me, and in a moment you'll understand why. So before that happens I just want to say thank you for always being there for me. And for what you did for me today. I don't know when I'll see you again, so I need you to know—"

He was interrupted by the last beep before his transformation would drop, so he took her and pulled her in for a kiss.

It was much different from the first time he kissed her—desperate this time. She was a comfort for him that he desperately needed. He put on a good show, acting like everything was fine, when emotionally he was a wreck, and kissing her helped dull the pain he was feeling. He knew when it was over he'd have to finally deal with the pieces of his life that needed sorting through. Their transformations dropped, and for a moment he was afraid to open his eyes.

They stood there holding each other, foreheads together and eyes still closed. It was nerve-wracking. He'd wanted to know her identity for so long and the moment was here, but he didn't want it to be marred by his father's actions. Knowing Ladybug would be the only thing that would get him through these next few days. He let out a soft sigh.

"Ready?" he asked her, and felt her nod against his forehead.

They straightened up and slowly they both opened their eyes.

Adrien was surprised to find that he knew the blue-eyed girl staring back at him.

"Marinette?" he asked, his lips turning a small involuntary smile.

"Adrien?" she mirrored in response. "Adrien, oh my gosh." She said as her look turned frantic and worried.

And that was it. He did his part: defeat his father and give up his chance at having his mother back, and now the time to deal with reality had begun. Adrien hadn't planned to stick around after finding out who his Lady was. He hoped she'd understand now that she knew the truth.

He gave her a small, sad smile and left. He heard her call after him, but to his relief she didn't follow.

It was four in the morning and Adrien lied wide awake in bed staring at the ceiling. He'd walked the long way home that day, postponing the inevitable, and ignored Nathalie when she tried speaking to him. He locked the door behind him and blasted music through his headphones to drown out the world. He plopped down on his bed and had been lying there since, not even bothering to answer his door when Nathalie pounded and demanded he eat dinner.

The ceiling was tall. Far away, like Adrien wished he could be. And technically he could be. He had Plagg and could leave and go wherever he wanted, but there was nowhere that he wanted to go. He didn't want to be anywhere or do anything. So he lied there and stared. Tears came, off and on all afternoon and evening, and Plagg didn't talk much. He ate his cheese quietly and pretended not to be worried, but Adrien didn't pay much attention to him anyway. He just let the emotions engulf him as he lied there and stared.

Sunrise came and went, along with more knocking at his door. Most of the night he'd just felt numb, but hearing Nathalie's voice call to him sparked a new fire. She helped his father. She knew what he was doing all along and never said a word, never tried to get him to do the right thing. Instead she allowed and enabled him to terrorize innocents. He was just as disgusted with her as he was his father.

His father.

All this time Adrien only wanted the approval of his father. For what? What did he need to prove to a man who spent the majority of his time holed up in a secret lair manipulating people and destroying the city? Adrien previously believed his father's demeanor was only caused by the loss of Emilie, and that was something he could understand. It pained him when father drew away from him and he had to experience the loss of his mother on his own, but he understood. But to turn around and find out that everything was a lie was almost too much to handle. Of course Adrien was upset that his father was Hawk Moth, but what he didn't want to admit was that he was less upset about that fact and more upset that his mother was within his grasp this entire time and he was kept in the dark about it.

Right under his nose. Why tell him that she disappeared? Did his father even care about him? Didn't he realize how many nights there were like the one before where Adrien lied awake in bed wondering what terrible fate could've become his mother? Did something happen to her? Had she just run off? How could she have left him there? These were the questions that kept him up at night so many times before, and all to find out that his mother never left him. She wasn't even missing. His father knew exactly where she was this entire time. Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't he let me visit her? What really happened?

Adrien jolted up, suddenly feeling claustrophobic, and couldn't take the questions burning in his mind any longer. He needed to escape. A quick glance over to Plagg let him know that his escape was available.

"Claws out."

He ran across buildings without stopping and with no destination in mind. The world around him was a blur but he kept running. The buildings became fewer and fewer until he found himself at the end of a small forest at the edge of the Seine. He contemplated following the river all the way to the coast. But that was just his mind playing fantasies. With a sigh, he sat down and listened to the flow of the water.