A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Great point Neon-s I will work on conjuring stronger imagery, thanks for the review! Sorry for the delayed posting, life is crazy! Since we got the reviews rolling, this chapter shall be over double the length! Thank you! 😊
Chapter 14
Nature paints the sky with a beautiful sunrise that reflects off the Seine River and the buildings of Paris to create a beautiful glow as far as the eye can see. The hustle and bustle of Paris is a little slower today because of the weather dipping just below freezing overnight. Many people enjoy the view from the comfort of their homes and some even capture the moment with a camera or a paint brush. Tikki just happens to be using a camera to capture the moment, however not the one that's outside. She takes a picture of Plagg sandwiched between two wheels of camembert snoring away. She also makes sure to take a picture of Adrien falling out of bed while his alarm goes off on his phone, which pulls the comfy covers off Marinette. Marinette, immediately feels the loss of something great in her life bolts up. She sees Adrien on the floor and slowly pulls the comfy covers from him and surrounds herself in them. She starts to doze off again. Adrien pokes her. "Really…you wake up because you lose the covers; not from me falling out of bed…or the alarm?"
Marinette muffles a 'mmmhm' through the pink comfy cover. "Why…did…alarm go off…on Saturday…?" She stretches her leg and 'accidently' kicks his phone to the ground. "I will end it…" She grabs the pillow and throws it onto the phone."
"Are you trying to smother my phone into silence?" There is a slight pause.
"Yes, I'm about to use a more permanent solution though…"
He quickly grabs his phone and throws the pillow back at her. "Hey now…don't get any ideas…how would you ever get a hold of me?" She narrows her eyes as he turns off his alarm.
I have my ways." She glances to Tikki.
"Eep, leave me out of this one Marinette!" Tikki hides behind Plagg and he stirs from his sleep.
"Ugh Adrien, why is that annoying box making noises again?" He takes a bite out of the camembert and watches with sleepy eyes.
"Oh, I must have set a reoccurring alarm clock by accident." He scratches the back of his head.
There's a knock on the trap door and Sabine talks through the door, "Marinette dear, I'm afraid we need you two downstairs." Marinette bolts up and looks at Adrien with worry.
"Ok mama, we'll be down in five." She scrambles up and grabs a long purple plain shirt that she made awhile back that has simple pink flowers sewn in along bottom. She throws on some black leggings and whispers to Adrien, "Something must be wrong, her voice sounded oddly serious." Adrien smooths out a couple light wrinkles on his shirt.
"Hmm strange. Well I guess there's only one way to find out what's up." He stands up and drops his phone into his pocket. "You better stay close just in case Plagg."
"Don't worry kid, I've got you." Adrien nods and opens the trap door. They make their way downstairs and Adrien comes to a halt on the last step and looks at Marinette with horror. Marinette scoots past him and whispers slowpoke in his ear along the way. She freezes and straightens up when she sees what's up.
"Good morning dear." Her mother greets her cheerily.
"Good morning Mama." Marinette walks closer to her mom, with a stiff Adrien following behind her. No one, aside from Marinette, takes note of how on edge Adrien really is.
'Hmm strange, Adrien is so guarded and stressed right now. I can see it in his eyes…and in his body language. Maybe things are far worse between them than Adrien lets on.'
Adrien nods, "Father".
Mr. Agreste nods, "Son". They lock eyes and a thick tension fills the air. It's only Adrien, Marinette, Mr. Agreste, and Sabine with Tom making icing close by. Luckily no customers were lost during the 'silent battle'.
Mr. Agreste's attention shifts from Adrien to Marinette. "That's a lovely outfit, did you make that?"
"Ye..yes sir! It's just something I threw together…" Adrien steps forward.
"She's very talented, she also won the derby hat contest that you judged."
"Ah yes, I remember that well. You are very talented. I'm looking for a talented young lady such as yourself to fill an intern position. If you would like, you can stop by today and shadow me to see if it's something that you'd like to do."
Marinette's mouth drops, "Yes sir! I mean that sounds great! I dream to be a top fashion designer such as yourself!"
"Ok then, I'll have Natalie get you the details and I'll plan on seeing you later."
"Thank you, sir, for this opportunity!" Her parents beam and Adrien shows a mixture of apprehension and happiness for her.
Mr. Agreste turns his head towards Adrien and says sternly, "Adrien…we will talk later." He turns around and walks out the door. Adrien tries not to let his father's words bother him, but it worries him slightly.
"Oh my gosh! Pinch me! Is this really happening?!" Sabine wraps an arm around Marinette.
"Marinette I'm so proud of you. This is such a great opportunity to show them what you're made of! Awww our baby is going to be famous Tom!"
"Mama! Don't get ahead of yourself, you never know it may not work out…" Marinette's Excitement turns to worry. "What if I'm not good enough?"
"Sweetheart…no matter how hard things get, never give up. You'll have setbacks along with your many accomplishments but remember, it's better to try and fail than to fail by not trying." Marinette hugs her mom.
"Thanks Mom, I'll try not to stress about it and put my best foot forward."
"That's my girl!" Tom walks over and hugs her too. Sabine pokes her head up.
Adrien looks on the loving family and wipes a tear from his face. 'I wish I had this, being here makes me realize what I don't have anymore…I wish mom was still here.'
"Come on and join us in this group hug. You're a part of this family now." Adrien jumps a little and gets dragged into the group before his brain realizes what's going on. They all embrace each other in a hug and Adrien lets the tears fall freely, unable to wipe them away. Tom ruffles Adrien's hair with a hand and side glances s at him with sad and understanding eyes. They all eventually let go, except for Adrien clutching onto Marinette's side. The parents go back to their business and starts on a cake order that's due soon. Marinette hugs him, "Adrien, are you ok? What's wrong"
"Seeing the love that you and your family share makes me realize how much I miss my Mom. She cared for me like that, and she was my world. I forgot that feeling." She hugs him tighter.
"The feeling of having your mom with you?"
"The feeling of what a family should have, love."
"Oh Adrien, I'm sorry. You know you're loved, here right?" She kisses him on his cheek. "I know it's not the same but I'll always be there for you." He smiles.
"Thanks Marinette, you're awesome." They hug it out. Adrien's phone dings from his pocket and he pulls it out to see who it is.
"Oh, it's information about later." Marinette squeals softly and stops abruptly.
"Adrien, I know your relationship with your father isn't the best, how do you feel about me doing this?"
"Marinette, the relationship with my father has nothing to do with your career as a fashion designer. I think it's awesome that you're doing thing. I'm worried that he might have an ulterior motive though. He probably wants to figure out more about us and our relationship. Still, it's been awhile since he has done something like this for me, let alone someone I care for." She hugs him.
"You know Adrien, you're pretty awesome too. So, what time should I head over?"
"Natalie is heading over in about an hour, and I'm not letting you go in it alone. We're partners!" He smiles cheekily.
"But we aren't going into a battle…I can handle myself." She puffs out her chest.
"Oh, trust me…anything with my dad is a battle. I'm tagging along even if I have to hide around the corner like a creepy stalker."
"Well, I'll actually feel more comfortable with you around, so I won't fight you too hard on this." She smiles.
Marinette's parents smile to each other as they stealthily mix up some cake icing in the back and listen in. Sabine steps loudly forward and the couple jump.
"Why don't you two head upstairs and I'll bring you a nice lunch for you to enjoy."
"Thanks mama!" The couple head upstairs, leaving the parents in the bakery. Sabine grabs a couple chocolate chip cookies out of the case and sets them on the counter.
Tom looks worried. "Honey, do you think she's going to be ok?"
Sabine leans into Tom, "If anyone can handle another thing to her plate, it's our daughter. Just look at all the things she juggles already? I mean she has school, the bakery, her sewing projects, friends, and…."
"Shhh honey…sometimes the ears have walls." Sabine kisses his cheek.
"Yes, they do. Anyways, let's get a lunch together for them to enjoy." They make grilled chicken sandwiches on freshly baked bread, sweet potato fries for a side, a pickle, chocolate covered strawberries, and decides to add the chocolate chip cookies to the mix. They carry the meal upstairs and knock on the trap door. "Sweetie, lunch is ready."
Tom chuckles, "They are probably already enjoying their own dessert…" The trap door opens abruptly to a red face Marinette.
"Papa, you're not even trying to whisper!" The parents hand over the food. Tom looks side glances at Sabine.
"Oh, trust me we can be quit." He winks.
"Ugh…thanks for lunch guys." Marinette shuts the door and they carry the food to the roof. They set the food down and enjoy the meal. Marinette notices some lip gloss on Adrien's neck and rubs it off with her hand. "Will I ever get use to their teasing?"
"I think it's pawsome." Marinette groans and they finish their meals in a comfortable silence. She reminds herself to pack the cookies for Tikki without thinking much about it.
"Well, are you ready for this mylady?"
"I'm nervous, but excited. If I'm able to fit in as an intern there, it will be a great career launcher. Of course, I plan on still plan on studying fashion when I graduate though." Adrien smiles.
"Man, I admire how you know exactly what you want to do in the future. I still have no idea."
"Don't stress out about it, you will find your passion. Plus, the world sometimes has a plan already, and it may not work out for me in fashion. I plan on doing everything I can to make it work though."
"You've got this."
"So, do you." They fist bump.
"Thanks for believing in me."
"Always." Adrien's phone dings and he pulls it out of his pocket.
"Oh, looks like Natalie is on the way."
"Well, here goes nothing!" They carry the empty plates downstairs.
"Thank you, that meal was delicious." Marinette kisses her mom's cheek and hugs her dad.
"You're welcome sweetie. Text me as soon as you're done!"
"I'll let you know how everything goes mama." Adrien's bodyguard walks in and nods his head to everyone.
"Hello!" Marinette's parents hand the bodyguard a box of random sweets and he smiles thankfully. Adrien, Marinette, and the bodyguard all head out the door and climb into the car.
The car comes to a stop in front of the mansion and Marinette practically squeezes Adrien's hand off. He pats her hand and the driver opens her door for them. They thank him and head to the gate. Adrien puts his hand on the scanner and the gate automatically unlocks. They walk to the front door and the door opens before Adrien gets his key out.
"Thank you, Natalie."
"You're welcome Adrien. Go ahead and get comfortable. I will come by your room and get Marinette when your father is ready."
"Ok, thanks." Adrien leads Marinette to his room.
"Man, I can't ever get use to how awesome your room is." He gives her a quizzical look.
"Oh, that's right, you've been here a few times, haven't you? Man, that was painful, not stepping out of the bathroom after that one akuma pretended to kidnap me."
"It was painful for me too. You want to…" She stops mid-sentence at the knock on the door. Natalie opens the door.
"Mr. Agreste is ready for you."
"Wish father was this prompt with me."
"Your father is a very busy man Adrien. You know there're are some things out of his control." Adrien mutters under his breath and Marinette wraps an arm around him for a side hug.
"Alright, let's get going." Adrien steps forward and Natalie holds up a hand.
"Your father only wants to see Marinette now. I'll come back for you when they are finished with their business.
Adrien grumbles. "Ok." Natalie leads Marinette down the hallway and up the stairs to Mr. Agrete's office.
Plagg flies out of hiding, "Shesh I thought she'd never leave. I don't like Natalie, she's always knocking on your door and I always have to hide." Plagg eats a piece of cheese on Adrien's shoulder.
"Where do you get all this cheese Plagg?"
"I have my ways. Hey, aren't you going to eavesdrop kid?"
"You know that's right Plagg, I'm going to give it a few minutes so I don't run into Natalie in the hallway."
"Good thinking."
Natalie knocks on the door and Mr. Agreste opens the door. "Ah Marinette, thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me. Please come inside and have a seat. Natalie, make sure no one disturbs our meeting." She nods.
"Yes sir, I'll be outside the door if you need anything." She shuts the door and lets out a puff of air. 'He is so intimidating.' She stands like a solider outside the door.
"Please, sit down." Marinette sits in a very leather plush chair near the desk and pulls her sketchbook out of her bag.
"Ah good, I see you've brought a sketchbook. Do you have designs in them?"
"Ye…sir!" She sets it on the desk and slides it over for him to look at. He opens the book and flips through her designs slowly. He looks at a couple of the papers a little longer than the others.
"These are magnificent, especially for a beginning artist. You show a lot of talent." He stands up, walks around the desk to her, and hands her the book back. He continues to stand next to her. Those earrings, did you design those too?"
"Thank you, sir! Oh, what earrings? I don't think I had any designs of earrings in there…"
"No I'm talking about the ones you're wearing." He reaches down with his hand and stops when Marinette throws her hands over them.
"Oh no not these old things, I'm embarrassed to show you these. It was an early creation of mine…"
"Please let me see. Despite all the stories I'm sure my son has told you about me, I don't bite."
"If I'm honest sir, he hasn't told me much about you. Other than he wishes you spent more time with him to get to know him better. He doesn't feel like you love him."
"That's ridiculous, I make sure he has a good future ahead of him. Everything I do, is for him." Gabriel looks genuinely sad about something. "I know he misses his mother, I do too." His eyes turn hard. "Which is why I must do everything in my power to get her back." He fists a hand and shows his determination.
"Wait, you mean she's still alive? I thought she died?" Gabriel casually walks over to the door and makes sure it's locked. 'Ok something weird is going on here…'
"She is. Let me tell you the story of how it all happened." He walks back over to the desk, pulls his chair over next to Marinette, and sits down."
"Oh…um ok, but I think Adrien should be the one you tell the story to?"
"I can't bring myself to do that, he would never forgive me."
"Well…we all make mistakes?"
"Not as bad as mine, girl… Anyways it all started when my wife and I took a trip to Tibet. We wanted a vacation because we were both so busy. We left Adrien with Natalie and we took off." He chuckles. "We were so young back then, and foolish. We didn't have much experience with hiking or climbing or being in nature at all but we were determined. There's a legend that two heroes were last seen in the same area we were hiking. Of course, the legend allegedly took place decades before our time so many people have already searched the area. Well we were young, in love, and thought we could accomplish anything together. We started with a guide but he refused to go any further due to the trail being too dangerous ahead. We were convinced that it wasn't as bad as he said, so we wanted to push further. We wouldn't stop, despite the warnings. I told him to head back, because we knew what we were doing. He called us foolish, tried to reconsider with us, but we just ignored him and kept moving along." Marinette sits quiet listening to his story, Gabriel takes a sip of water and continues.
"Well, we were prepared but after a while the weather took a turn for the worst. The wind was blowing the snow to where we couldn't see in front of us; the path disappeared and the ground became unreliable. We took a step too far and next thing we knew we were falling and sliding down a rocky hill. I don't know how long we fell but eventually the slope ended and took a hard fall to the ground below. I was knocked unconscious and when I woke up I knew I had a broken arm, leg, some broken ribs, and bruises/lashes all over my body from the rocks. I could hardly move but my will to see how my wife was, was stronger. I put my weight on one side and started to use my good arm and leg to move. It was slow, but I needed to find her. I couldn't find her, she was nowhere to be seen. I came across an opening and took shelter in a cave. I waited out the weather in the cave, but while I was in there I found something. I found a book with two boxes filled with brooches. One was a peacock brooch and the other was a butterfly brooch." Marinette's brain kicks into overdrive and she panics a little. She remembers Gabriel locking the door, and she looks around the room for other exits. "Well, I took one out and a strange creature appeared before me. He called me by another name and quickly looked disappointed when he found out I wasn't this person he was looking for. I suggested that we could look for his person and I could look for my wife, but only if I was in better condition. He told me to put the brooch on, so I did." Gabriel pulls out a brooch from his desk and puts it on his suit jacket. "Dark wings rise." Gabriel turns into hawkmoth before Marinette's eyes. "He told me to say those words, and I did. Suddenly I could move almost normally again. My limbs were still sluggish, but it didn't feel like I had any broken bones. I could move, although it was still painful. I took the book and the other brooch with me in hopes of saving my wife. After hours of searching I found her. I came across some other frozen bodies, that thankfully wasn't her. She was unconscious, I feared the worst. I decided to go back to the cave but I couldn't ever find it again. At some point during the travels her eyes fluttered open. She was disoriented and told me she couldn't feel her body. I put the peacock brooch on her and another creature popped out. Its name was Duusuu and it told my wife what to say. She barely got the words out and she transformed. Sadly, it was too late. Her injuries were too much and she succumbed to darkness. The creature popped out and burst into tears. I put the brooch back in its case. I lethargically took my wife's body back here. I was so heartbroken, I still have no idea how I found myself back here. I buried her in the back yard and told Adrien that she disappeared. I can't bring myself to tell him what happened, it hasn't been that long and I'm still not ready to tell him. I promised myself, and to my wife's grave, that I would find a way to bring her back. That's where you come in…ladybug."
"What? I don't know what you're talking…about." Hawkmoth appears in front of her and he chokes her with his hand so she can't say the words to transform. Tikki flies out of her purse and bites hawkmoth's hand. "You're an annoying little brat." He swats Tikki with his hand and she hits the ground. Marinette chokes out a soft and garbled "Spots on" and she transforms. She rubs her neck and coughs uncontrollably. She calls Chat with her yoyo.
"Chat," she pauses to cough, "there's a lot to explain but I don't have time to beat around the bush. Your father is hawkmoth. Please, come help if you can." She starts coughing again and ends the call. She grabs the glass of water on the desk and drinks it.
"Hawkmoth, I don't know how I tie into any of this but if you're planning on using my miraculous I'm sure things won't work out to the way you want them to."
"You're wrong ladybug. I will combine your earrings with Chat Noir's ring and they will grant me a wish. I will get my wife back, no matter what!"
"What?! Even if that's possible, there must be balance in the world. If you wish for her back to life, don't you think something bad will happen in return? You could lose your own life…or even…Adrien's life."
"That's ridiculous. I've translated almost everything in this book. I'm tired of researching and considering what if's. I want my wife back, and I want Adrien to be happy."
"Why don't we all talk this through and figure this out? You're not a bad person deep down…the power of the miraculous isn't meant for you and it has twisted you into something evil. You've pushed Adrien so far away, when all he really wants is to be closer to you." Hawkmoth launches at ladybug but she dodges quickly. He laughs. "You think talking will fix everything? You're foolish, kid."
"I may be a kid, but I'm also ladybug and I'm not blinded by revenge and greed like you are. Sure, I can be greedy at times, but this is next level. Would you really sacrifice a life to bring back your wife?"
"Yes." He answers without hesitation.
A/N: Uh oh, what's going to happen? Find out next time. Reviews plz. Your reviews inspire me! Sorry for the long break of not posting. I will try to be more consistent with the chapters in the future.