6. Our Fans

Gustav's Eiffel Apartment

Adrien remembers the day his Mother disappeared.

He was thirteen. It was barely two years before he started his first day at public school. Back then, his mother facilitated most of his homeschooling. He didn't mind being homeschooled at the time. Because it meant that he got to spend time with his Mother.

His studies were never boring, Emilie always finding a way to keep his mind interested. Their favorite subject was science. Though his mother didn't teach him this particular subject, Emilie would always find a fun experiment for them to try out together as bonding time.

They shared a great love of puns that would drive his Father crazy whenever he joined them. He remembers how blissfully happy they were.

Until one day, they weren't.

Emilie had accompanied Gabriel on a one week business trip to London leaving Adrien in the care of Natalie and Gorilla. At the end of the week, Adrien went to the airport to meet his parents.

The second he saw his Father exit the plane without Emilie, Adrien knew that something was terribly wrong.

"Dad," he went to go give his Father a hug as usual, but was met with a stiff body. He looked up into his Father's eyes and felt an icy chill creep up his spine.

Hollow. Empty. Eyes that were void of emotion.

Adrien instinctively took a step back.

He swallowed hard, "where is Mom?"

"Your Mother is... gone."

And that is when the distance between Adrien and his Father began. Gabriel no longer laughed. Not like he used to. All explanation that Adrien got was that his Mother had disappeared before he was left alone to grieve.

Adrien watched as his father became more and more distant. Gabriel escaped into his work and would often be away on business trips. Adrien dreaded those days. Feared that maybe one day his Father would never come back. Overtime he learned to accept it.

The cold man his Father had become was also determined to cut Adrien of his freedom.

Adrien had added up Gabriel's new overbearing and controlling ways as a result of losing Emilie. He sometimes wondered if maybe his Mother had been kidnapped because all explanation he got was, 'it's too dangerous.'

Once, he overheard the security team talking about the investigation case opened for his Mother which later became a cold case. There were no leads. It was as if Emilie Agreste had vanished into thin air.

Except now nearly three years later at fifteen, Adrien had a much different view of the world. Being chosen to be Chat Noir will do that to you. When he fell in love with Ladybug, he felt that he could empathize better with his Father. Because if he ever lost Ladybug, Adrien was sure that he too would be a hallow shell.

But finding out that his Father is Papillon put everything in a whole new perspective.

Adrien didn't know what to feel. Everything was too much. His identity was about to be revealed and being already well acquainted with nature of the media industry he knew it was going to be a shit-storm of epic proportions.

And the only family he had counted on to help him and his Lady was the very monster who took advantage of other people's emotions. Gosh, they're going to need a damn good publicist when this was over.

He felt lightheaded, his breathing came out quicker, his hands became sweaty and a heaviness settled over his heart.

Adrien could hear someone call his name but he wasn't sure as his vision started to disfigured.

"Adrien!" Suddenly Marinette's worried face was in front of him and she cupped his face. "Look at me. Breath Adrien. Long and slow." He fixated his eyes on her bluebell ones. "Come on Kitty you have to breath. Breath with me."

Adrien forced his breathing to match his Lady's. Slowly, the lightheadedness went away and he started to calm down.

He dared to lean his cheek against her chest and hoped that Marinette wouldn't mind. She stroked her fingers through his silky hair. The hairspray made his hair to stick up awkwardly but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Better?" she asked.

He swallowed, "yeah."

Marinette bit her lip "Gabriel is going to find out who Ladybug and Chat Noir are behind the masks. We were supposed to turn him in to the police if we ever found out who Papillon was. But it's so much bigger than what I expected."

"What are you saying bug?" Adrien squeezed her tighter.

Marinette wiggled and he let her go free. "I'm saying that I'm leaving the decision for you to make. If you want us to send Papillon to jail, I'm with you. If you want us to just take his Miraculous and leave him be, I'm with you. Whatever you decide kitty. This affects you the most."

"What if I decided to work with him?"

Marinette laughed, "You wouldn't do that kitty."

Adrien pouted, "I bet I would make the purr-fect supervillain."

Marinette grinned at him, happy that he was feeling better enough to joke and pun. "Then I guess that would make me your partner in crime."

The TV screen chose this moment to unpause.

Origins

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

"Marinette, it's been ringing for the past fifteen minutes!" Sabine nagged from downstairs, "you're going to be late for the new school year."

Marinette's hand slid out from underneath her blanket to silence her alarm. She lifted up the blanket revealing her sleepy eyes. "It's okay Mama. I'm coming!" She walked downstairs to kiss her mother's cheek in greeting before taking a seat at the table.

"You can bet Chloe's going to be in my class again." Marinette decided that she was going to have the usual chocolate to dip her fruit in. She poured milk into her breakfast bowl.

"Four years in a row, you think that's possible?" Sabine asked.

"Everything is possible with my rotten luck." Marinette said hopelessly. She picked up the box of chocolate powder, lightly tapping the powder into her bowl.

"Don't say that. It's a new year with new beginnings. I'm sure everything will be fine." Sabine said, trying to cheer up her daughter.

Marinette managed a smile for her mother. However, Sabine had spoken too soon. As soon as Marinette put the chocolate powder box down, it started a domino effect. An orange rolls out of its fruit bowl and rolls over the butter to knock the milk over so that it spills onto the floor. Surprised, Marinette accidentally knocks the chocolate powder box over with her hand. The orange then bounced off the milk to hit the yogurt over.

Sabine walked over to clean it up. Marinette sighed and looked down. Sabine caressed her daughter's cheek with a smile to assure her that it was okay.

At the front of the Bakery, Tom Dupain is singing, "Dadadaaa Dada Dada dadaaadada..." he presents a box full of macaroons to his daughter.

"Papa, they look super!" Marinette says excited.

"Glad you like them." He hands the pastries over to Marinette.

"Thank you Papa, my class is going to love them. You're the best!"

Tom strokes his daughter on the head, "We're the best thanks to the new logo you designed."

Marinette gives her Father a spontaneous hug accidentally throwing the box into the air. Luckily, Tom catches it with his foot and kicks it into his hands before giving it back to his daughter.

"Oops! Thanks." Marinette kisses her parents cheeks goodbye before running out the shop. "See you tonight!"

Paris Reaction

"Ha! What a clumsy girl." Chloe laughed, happy that the Dupain-Cheng girl's klutzery is being shown to all of Paris.

Alya glared at her before returning focus to her phone with a frown. Why was her best friend being shown? Not that she had anything against it, but wasn't this supposed to be about Ladybug and Chat Noir? There was a fog in her mind that prevented her and every other Parisian from connecting the most simple dots. Everyone had their own picture of what she looked like behind the mask.

She turned a questioning eye to Nino who seemed to follow her train of thought and shrugged.

Alya sighed. Her best friend definitely had the qualities of a superhero, but she was pretty sure Marinette wasn't Ladybug. Afterall, Marinette tended to flake on her sometimes but she wouldn't lie to her face. Right?

Alya had the live Ladybug chat open too and was watching what the fans had to say. Their reactions went something like this:

"I know this place! It's my favorite bakery."

"Who is this kid?"

"Is she Ladybug?"

Three second pregnant pause.

"No way."

"I don't see it. Besides, I thought Ladybug was supposed to be older. This girl is what? Thirteen? Fourteen? Way too young to be Ladybug."

"I think you're right. Ladybug is definitely older."

"Maybe she knows Ladybug?"

"Possible."

"I don't know. If she isn't Ladybug. Why show her at all if she weren't? Then again she doesn't really look like Ladybug at all except for her height and hair. A fan maybe?"

"This family is so annoying."

"You're horrible."

"Shut up."

"No YOU shut up."

"Those macaroons look delicious. I want one."

"Guys I'm comparing pictures. It's making my head feel weird for some reason, but I'm sure these ladies aren't the same person. Ladybug has to be someone way more mature and responsible than this kid."

Origins

Marinette is waiting at the pedestrian crossing. She is about to cross over but stops when the sign indicates to stand still. She sees Master Fu struggling halfway in the street about to be hit by a car.

She acts without thinking.

Rushing up to the old man, she grips his arm and pulls him to the safety of the pavement. Unfortunately, she tripped and a few of her macaroons are ruined.

"Oh no, what a disaster." Master Fu says as people walk over the spoilt macaroons.

Marinette flashes him a small smile, "It's no big deal. I'm used to it. 'Disaster' is my middle name!" She picks up the box, "thankfully there are still some left."

Master Fu takes one to eat without asking, "it's delicious."

The school bell rings, "OH no it's already ringing. Thank you and goodbye sir!" she runs off.

Master Fu is holding the box containing the Ladybug miraculous. Using the senses given to him as the Turtle Miraculous weilder he translates Tikki's answer as: yes, she'll be perfect.

Back in the fan chat group

"Wow. RIP macaroons. Even if she isn't Ladybug, that was brave."

"This is the same old man as before. I'm sensing some kind of significance here."

"Me too. Maybe this girl is an important character?"

"I don't know why they would show her otherwise. I'm a film student. I can see the signs. She is either Ladybug or someone that would affect Ladybug greatly."

A.N

There! The public reactions will be separated into different audiences. Fans, their class and parents, people watching from their TV.

Up next, Kwami drama and Gabriel goes a little crazy.

Tell me what you think.

Am I progressing too slow for you?

Any Betas willing to help me?