Thank y'all so much for the reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying these little shorts. As I said before, all will be one shots unless otherwise noted. Enjoy!

Today was not Adrien's day. While he had grown accustomed to the dark cloud of bad luck that clung to him, this was just too much. How on earth did he get the black cat miraculous and a neglectful father who turned into a supervillian? By all odds, shouldn't he been the one snapping and going evil?

But no, it had to be Gabriel Agreste.

Gabriel Agreste, head of Agreste Fashions, ruthless businessman by day, Paris' terror by night. This couldn't be happening. He just imagined the small butterfly kwami that lingered by his father a little too long. Adrien was just seeing things when his father appeared out of the floor from a secret lair. This was all the effects of a really long day.

No. Adrien groaned. His luck wasn't that good. He had to tell his lady. They could figure this out together, "Plagg, claws-"

But what would his lady say? What would he say? Would this ruin his chance with her? How on earth was he supposed to prove that he knew his own father was Hawkmoth without giving himself away. If he told her that his father was Hawkmoth, would she distrust Chat? And if she knew he was Adrien, would she shun him? He couldn't do this. Why was the room getting so dark?

"Kid?" Plagg floated up into his vision, increasing worried by is chosen's silence, "We should call Ladybug. She'll know what to do."

His kwami was right. The world slowly settled around him, "Yeah, I just..."

"Come on kid. Stop overthinking. This isn't healthy."

Adrien's eye twitched, his mind still reeling, "Plagg! What if he knows I'm Chat Noir!?"

Plagg was curiously silent as he zoomed over to his cheese haven. Adrien gaped after him, "Plagg does he know who I am?"

"How am I supposed to know? He's your old man." But the kwami didn't meet his gaze as he gorged himself on a piece of cheddar.

It was all the confirmation he needed. "He schedules akumas during school on purpose! No wonder he told me never to have emotions!"

"Calm down. You're giving me a headache. Weren't you gonna call Ladybug?"

"He akumatized himself!" Plagg groaned loudly, belching at the end. Adrien's hand clenched around his ring. He wasn't going to bring his lady into this. Not yet. First, it was time for some good old fashioned Agreste revenge.

"Eat up Plagg, tomorrow, we go on strike."

Unfortunately, between his job and newfound hobby, his father did not see his son walk out that morning in garish garb. Adrien didn't care. It felt so freeing to wear something that wasn't by his father. There was even more satisfaction that it didn't match. He walked up to school with a smug grin plastered to his face that not even Nino questioned.

It wasn't until Chloe screamed that anyone seemed to notice.

"Adrikins what garbage are you wearing?!" she shrieked, his grin grew.

He looked down at his orange Hawaiian shirt, bomber jacket and white washed jeans, "Trying out a new look. Like it Chlo?"

"I can't even hear you. it's so ugly. Take it off now!"

He quirked an eyebrow, "You want me to take off my clothes? That seems a little forward, don't you think?"

She sputtered as few snickers broke out behind him. Granted, they were nervous and stilted laughs. No one was too sure about this new student. Gone was polite, sweet Adrien. In his place was an anomaly, an unknown. Chloe shuddered and sat in her seat, not even glancing his way. Finally some peace from her.

"Dude, I'm not complaining, but what is going on?"

"Just a little payback. Tired of following my hypocritical father."

Nino's raised an eyebrow, "I get that, but, are you sure? I mean, how far does this go? Can he disown you?"

Adrien shrugged, not really caring at this point, "I want to be myself for once Nino. And that's completely selfish and more than a little childish, but it feels really good."

"Alright man," he said with a slap on the back, "I got you. Say the word and I'll join you. Let's trash the old man's image of you."

He didn't deserve a friend like Nino, but he was super grateful for him in this moment. At least he knew Nino would be normal around him, he was the only one that's had a glimpse of who he was under the perfect son, besides Ladybug of course.

"Adrien?"

He looked up to see Marinette freeze in front of him. She had managed to come to school a few minutes early but now she wasn't sure if she really was still asleep. What was he wearing?

"Morning Marinette!" he said, smiling brightly. She cocked her head in confusion.

"That's a new look."

Nino slung his arm over his shoulder, "My bro is getting some much needed teenage rebellion. Wanna help? I bet it would rile up his father even further if Adrien showed up in a rival designer's clothes."

"That'd be paw-some!" Adrien exclaimed, the pun slipping out before he could catch it. Heh, cat-ch it. He shook away that dangerous punny trail, "Do you have clothes you made that I could wear Mari?"

Poor Marinette was so lost. She merely nodded as Alya dragged her to her seat before the teacher could get onto her. School was a blur around her, the only thought was Adrien and his seemingly complete 180 in personality. Though that wasn't entirely true, she mused. He was more outspoken and confident and a little blinding with his atrocious clothing choice, but still Adrien. He laughed more and smiled more and spoke his opinions. Even with that, there was something lurking under the surface. She was worried what would happen when it finally broke free.

So worried that she was now in her room with him, going over his clothes for tomorrow. Alya and Nino ditched them after swiping a few croissants, the traitors. But Marinette was strangely calm. Her crush came second to this boy that was obviously hurting.

"Wow, Marinette, I knew you were good, but this is amazing!"

"And now you don't have to look like a poorly disguised traffic cone." she said with a laugh as he put two bold patterns next to each other.

"But that's the point! I don't want subtle. I wanna scream disobedience from the rooftops. Or maybe I should yowl?" he added with a chuckle.

Her brow furrowed, "You wanna talk about it?"

Green eyes snapped to blue, for some reason surprised by her caring tone. She gave him a smile and offered out a macaroon. He accepted it with a cautious smile of his own, "I'm okay, thank you. Do you think it's safe to burn clothes inside a trashcan?"

"What?"

His phone beeped and he grinned, "Gotta go. See you tomorrow Mari!"

Adrien quickly packed the clothes she offered and hurried out, actually looking forward to this summons from his father. Yeah, he would be angry, but not as angry as he would be once he saw his clothes. Would it be possible to record it? That was probably too far. He rushed home, not noticing the red shadow trailing behind him.

"What in the world are you wearing, Adrien?" his father asked the moment his son stepped in the room.

"Found these in my closet. I assumed, I was allowed to wear it."

There was a slight twinge in Gabriel Agreste's left eye, but his face was otherwise stone. "Do I need to have Nathalie approve of your clothes? Are you five, Adrien?"

Marinette was right, this was too brash. Still, he was already here, might as well go all in. "No need father. I'll be wiser in my choices. I hope you don't mind, but I changed the dinner menu."

Right on cue, the chef brought out pizza and milkshakes. It took a lot of bribing for the chef to go along with this. As well as the promise that he wouldn't lose his job. "What is the meaning of this?"

"It was my request. As you said, I am admitted to choose our meal once a week."

"Within reason," he said with clenched teeth.

"Reason father? I'm sorry, but find that hard to understand coming from you." The silence bristled between them, unspoken threats and conversations stretching.

"What has brought on this unacceptable behavior?"

''Hawkmoth."

"What?" There was just a slight change of color in his father's face, a slight narrowing of the eyes.

"He's targeting my friends, my emotions, forcing everyone to live in fear. So I decided, the best way to defy this evil villain was to live my life without boundaries and follow Ladybug and Chat Noir's example. The selfish, blind ambition of a mad man shouldn't dictate my actions. Don't you agree father?"

The wheels were turning in his mind, Adrien could tell. The puzzle pieces beginning to fall into place. "On the contrary, the so called heroes of this city are poor examples. Not once have they led with true leadership. And not once have they questioned the motives of Hawkmoth."

"There's no good reason to manipulate people who are at their lowest."

"To bring back a loved one is a valid reason."

"Mom isn't coming back! And she would never want this," He shouted, anger getting the best of him, a chill fell around the room.

"Go to your room."

Adrien stood, his fists clenched. The door slammed behind him and Plagg floated up cautiously. "Is he right Plagg? Can he bring her back?"

"Can't say for sure. But it would come at a horrible cost."

He landed face first on his bed, groaning. Plagg nestled in his hair. "You got a message from your ladybug."

Adrien didn't even bother getting up. He called his transformation and pulled the baton to his ear.

"Hey Chat. I got a favor to ask. A classmate of mine is...well, I'm worried he could become an akuma. I'm outside his house now. If you could meet me, that'd be great."

A classmate of hers? A rush ran down his spine, could he figure out who she was if he knew the classmate? He shifted slightly and hit the tracker, jolting as he realized where she was.

"Crap! Crap, crap crap!" Adrien scrambled to turn off the lights, then snuck over to the window. There, posed gracefully on a nearby roof, his lady was perched. Thankfully, she didn't have night vision and she was pretty far away. Maybe she saw the flash of his transformation and assumed it was the tv. Only one way to find out.

With the grace of a cat, he opened the window and slipped out, cautious of Ladybug's eye trained on his window. She hadn't left yet, so that was good. And...he had to give himself away tonight anyway. That was inevitable given the Hawkmoth situation.

Wait. Her CLASSMATE.

Adrien stumbled over a roof tile. Ladybug was in his class? Someone that knew he had changed. Someone close. With bluebell eyes and dark hair. This couldn't be happening. He needed to sit.

"Chat?" Nope. He wasn't ready. Maybe he really could melt into the shadows. "I know you're there."

He slowly stood, trying his best to smile, "My lady called?"

She looked as uncertain as he felt. She must have seen him, there was no other explanation. Her desire to help overrode her own nervousness though. She was so beautiful. "What's going on, chaton?"

"What do you mean?" he squeaked, then cleared his throat, "Uh, you called me."

She pursed her lips, but can you blame a guy for trying? He wasn't ready. He was still reeling from his father and now Marinette. Of course, this was a great change. He was so excited. It was just a lot. Yep, there goes the light. He really should breathe normally.

Whether out of instinct or concern, Ladybug reached out and pulled him to sit by her, their legs dangling off the roof. She put her hands in her lap, fiddling with her fingers, "You wanna tell me why why the kindest guy I know is suddenly plotting revenge on his father?"

"Maybe he found out something that made him snap."

"Like what?"

"Like my father is Hawkmoth."