Alright everyone we're back to our weekly updates now on Tuesdays. (Until they change my schedule again) Now that Varian is officially a bad guy again, how is he going to play his hand? I know everyone's looking forward to him and Luka meeting. We also get Sassy Varian this week as well. Not sure Gabriel will like that though. Anyway, on with the chapter!
Lyrics used in this fic are from the song, "I'm Just Your Problem" from Adventure Time.
Content warning: abandonment issues, rumors, false rumors intending to harm.
Chapter 8
The Basement Dweller
Shadow Moth could feel it. The familiar anger as his precious pigeons were once again misunderstood. But as he held out a hand to create an Akuma out of a butterfly a hand reached out to stop him.
"Nope! No, not again, Intervention!" Varian exclaimed as the butterfly flew off.
"What is the meaning of this?" Shadow Moth shouted, taking his arm back. It had been a week since Varian's first encounter with Ladybug and had officially signed on as Shadow Moth's partner. In that time he learned a lot about the Miraculous holders as well as Shadow Moth's battle strategy. He was not impressed with the latter.
"Look, I'm a scientist and I know experiments sometimes need to be done many times to get them right, but after 72 failures with no improvement it might be time to call it quits and move on to something that might actually work." Varian said with a hand on his hip and an annoyed expression.
"The more times I Akumatize someone the easier it is for me to control them."
"And the easier it is for Ladybug to defeat them because she knows them so well. She's adapting too." Varian countered and while he didn't want to admit it Varian did have a point.
"Gabriel you-"
"Never address me with that name in this form even if we are alone." Varian held up his hands in apology. They went over the rules after he first agreed to help, they were in place to keep them safe after all.
"Sorry Shadow Moth, but I was trying to say you've had some great ideas in the past. But you seem to be watching that unseen clock too much. It's like you're afraid if you don't send out an Akuma as often as you can she'll win."
"Great or not none of those ideas have worked." Varian rolled his eyes.
"It's like you're trying to break a window that's too far away so you keep throwing pennies at it. Sure, maybe you'll get lucky and hit it in just the right spot enough times it'll shatter but you're better off looking for a way to get closer before someone boards it up." Shadow Moth stiffened. He wasn't used to being criticized this way.
"Are you calling my Akumas useless?" Varian hesitated.
"Well, some…"
"I'll have you know I put a lot of work into all my Akumas each aimed at achieving victory."
"You Akumatized a baby once." Varian said deadpanned.
"That…that was an accident."
"And yet you still used it."
"It threw them off didn't it?"
"That it did." Varian rubbed his forehead feeling a headache coming on. "Look we've both come close to taking over our respective cities but that involves strategy and cunning, something I know you're capable of." It was easy to forget this young boy who was around his son's age nearly took over a kingdom with no magic and a music box.
"Alright then what's your brilliant plan?" Varian smirked.
"Just waiting for a few more things to come in and then I'll show you." Shadow Moth gave an exasperated sigh. Varian was working on several things at the moment. He was given a lab in the basement and had certainly been putting it to use. Research notes, various chemicals, and machine parts were scattered all about in a way that only made sense to him. He could only guess what the boy was up to.
"Fine." Shadow Moth said, rubbing his own head. "I'll leave you to your work while I think up a strategy of my own."
"You won't regret it."
"Can you at least give me an idea of what you're doing with my money?" He set no limits and what Varian was spending was just a drop in the bucket but he still hated to be in the dark.
"Let's just say it's a little experiment that, if it works, will give us a weakness in Ladybug's greatest weapon."
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It was Saturday once again but Adrien was booked with photo shoots for most of the day. He had to turn down several of his friends with requests to hang out. Maybe if he was lucky Nino and Alya could swing by after the photo shoot. They had been very curious to learn more about this mysterious stranger who was now living with him. Sadly Adrien didn't have a lot of answers for them.
He knew Varian had a troubled home life before coming here but not much else. He'd hoped to get to know the other boy a little better but he had barely seen him in the week he'd been here. He was almost never in his room, constantly working on that mysterious project. He caught glimpses of him when he came up to grab some food when Nathalie pretty much forced him to take a break but that was about it. With no real information to give his friends the rumors were…getting a bit out of hand.
He was just finishing breakfast when his father entered the dining room.
"Be ready to leave shortly Adrien, we both have busy schedules today." Adrien nodded and went to get his backpack.
"So is Varian going to be joining us for…anything?"
"He's very busy with his work and schooling." Adrien rolled his eyes when his father wasn't looking.
"I know he's working on some special project of yours but aside from the first day I've barely seen him."
"This project is very important to him, he has little time to socialize."
"Yeah but there have been some weird rumors floating around. One of the nicer ones is that you're keeping him locked in the basement as a-"
"EXCUSE ME!" but it wasn't his father who exclaimed it, it was Varian. "First of all I am not locked up!" The father and son looked up to see Varian climbing out of an air vent in the ceiling. "Second, I do not live in the basement, I have my own room." He managed to jump down and shut the vent with a boom handle.
"Varian what are you doing?" Gabriel asked in a calm voice Adrian recognized as angry but trying to hide it in front of others. Varian however didn't seem to hear him.
"I mean sure, I spend a lot of time down there. It is where my lab is and, OK, sometimes I lose track of time and just grab a quick bite to eat."
"Varian!"
"And maybe I take a little nap sometimes…that turns into a little longer one and…ha ha. OK, maybe I do live in the basement."
"VARIAN!" This time the boy heard him. He jumped and spun around to see a very angry Gabriel Agreste and a nervous looking Adrien who was trying to decide if it was too early to see about applying for the witness protection program.
"Why were you crawling around in the vents?" He was back to the quiet tone but no longer hid his angry expression.
"Oh, it's not a big deal really. I just used a little too much sulfur in my latest experiment. The ventilation system is doing a great job, very effective. I just didn't want to open the basement door and risk the rest of the house becoming contaminated." Gabriel raised an eyebrow and was about to say something else when Varian rushed for the door.
"So you're both busy today right? Perfect! Gabriel, you head to your office for that meeting or whatever it is you do there and I'll go with Adrien to his photo shoot. Should be at least 4-6 hours right? Plenty of time to get rid of the evid-I mean clear out that silly little mistake." Neither were able to get in a word edgewise as Varian escorted everyone out of the house.
Adrien could help but fear this wouldn't do much to help the rumors.
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Even though it was explained to him what Adrien's job was, Varian couldn't seem to wrap his head around it. While the idea of images being captured instantly and more realistic than any painting was fascinating it didn't seem like Adrien had anything to do but stand around while the photographer took hundreds of pictures.
He was even more baffled by the crowds of people gathered around behind the barriers watching as Adrien just…stood there. They were making him a bit nervous. He figured the Agreste family must have some high standing in society since they were treating Adrien like a nobel. Did one become famous in this world by just being attractive? He supposed Adrien was an attractive boy, definitely not his type though. Although judging by the amount of swooning fangirls and fanboys who looked like they would jump him and steal his backstage pass if given the chance, he supposed he was theirs.
Right now though, he was ready to fall asleep. This was mind numbingly boring and this was supposed to go on for a few more hours. Even Adrien looked bored in between shots. During one of the short breaks when they were resetting Adrien came up to him.
"You look as bored as I feel right now." Varian blushed, embarrassed that he had let it show.
"Sorry I was up a little late last night. I didn't mean to offend your…job." Adrien just smiled, he seemed to be very good at making them look real.
"I'm not offended. Truth is I don't really like modeling all that much myself." Varian's eyes widened in surprise.
"Then why do you keep doing it?" Adrien looked around to make sure no one was in ear shot.
"To be honest I'm doing this for my father, it helps promote his brand and he says it'll open all kinds of doors for me." That was something he understood. A part of him wished he'd helped his father more with the farm chores than his alchemy. It might have been boring but at least they would have been working together.
"Please don't tell father I said that though." Varian nodded. "Say we're breaking for lunch in about an hour. Why don't you grab something to drink, get away from the crowd, and we'll have lunch together." Varian spied a cafe across the street and a quiet spot by the lake and sighed with relief.
"That sounds great, I'll meet you back here in an hour."
"Great, I look forward to getting to know the boy who's been living in my basement." He said jokingly.
"I'm not living…you know what, that's fair." The boys waved to each other as Varian left to get some much needed caffeine.
Hot mocha in hand Varian found a quiet spot on a bench listening to the gentle waves as they splashed into the shore. There were only a handful of people out here today, most were back gawking at Adrien's photo shoot. Just a few families having picnics, some kids kicking a ball around and a musician playing a guitar in the background.
He let out a sigh and sipped his coffee letting the caffeine wake him up. He hadn't really had a chance to sit back and relax since he came to this strange new world. Being sick didn't count; he could barely think straight. Since then he had been focusing on finding ways to get Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous so much he'd been pretty oblivious to the rest of the world. It wasn't the first time this has happened but it was a bad habit he was trying to break.
Then again when he wasn't focused on his work his mind tended to wander, usually to things he'd rather forget. Like the way he used to fawn over Flynn Rider, AKA Eugene, was not too far off from Adrien's fans he saw earlier today. He shuddered. He knew he came off a little strong when they first met and the boiler blowing up probably left him with a bad impression but after seeing him and the others again he thought they were friends. Even just a little. He scoffed. Guess that just proves even if you're smart you can still be stupid.
Eugene and Casandra's abandonment hurt but Rapunzel was the one who really made him feel like they were actually friends. But actually friends don't hear you plead for help and just pretend you don't exist even after the danger has passed.
He shook his head. The way everyone was fawning over Adrien reminded him of how everyone saw Rapunzel. So perfect, without a flaw, like they can walk on air. It didn't help that they were both blondes with green eyes and had a parent who would like nothing more than to keep them locked away for-Varian shook his head again not liking where his thoughts were leading. It also wasn't a fair comparison. He didn't really know Adrien all that well but that was his own fault wasn't it.
He tossed his empty cup into the trash and tried not to think about the Princess. Try as he might, the music in the background was painting a picture in his head and before he realized it a song escaped from his lips.
"Sorry I don't treat you like a goddess, is that what you want me to do?
Sorry I don't treat you like you're perfect, like all your little loyal subjects do.
Sorry I'm not made of sugar, Am I not sweet enough for you?
Is that why you always avoid me? I must be such an inconvenience to you.
Well, I'm just your problem
I'm just your problem
It's like I'm not even a person, am I?
I'm just your problem, well-"
"Hey cool sound." Varian jumped so high he nearly tripped over the bench. The musician he had been listening to held up his hands.
"Whoa hey, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to see who was singing." Varian tried to calm his racing heart as the musician sat down on the bench inviting him to sit.
"Y-you just surprised me is all." He sat down next to the young man with green hair trying not to come off as rude. "Sorry I put a damper on your music, I didn't mean for all that to come out." But the musician shook his head.
"Music means something different for everyone. Truthfully I was just playing what felt right at the moment. No real plan or voice yet although it seemed to speak to you." Varian was a bit embarrassed to be caught in such a vulnerable state.
"That just kind of…came out as well."
"Sounded like your head was trying to work something out. Bad break up?" Varian snorted, almost laughing.
"No we were never involved like…that." he shuttered. "Just mourning a friendship that wasn't real to begin with." The green haired boy nodded and started strumming his guitar again.
"It's still a break up in a way."
"A pretty one sided one." Varian sighed. "Sorry for turning this into a therapy session."
"No worries for some people, music can help sort out their emotions." the musician held out his hand. "My name's Luka by the way." Varian tried not to show the shocked expression on his face. Luka Couffaine, the holder of the Snake Miraculous which had the power of second chance. He was kicking himself for not recognizing him sooner.
"Varian Ritter." he said, shaking his hand hoping the other boy wouldn't notice his distress.
"Oh, are you the one that's been living in Adrien's house?"
"Yeah I moved in about a week ago."
"Adrien's a friend of mind. He's told us a…little bit about you but not much."
"Yeah apparently just that I live in the basement. For the record I don't, live there I mean, I just work down there a lot." Luka chuckled.
"He really just said that he's barely seen you since you arrived." Varian rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah that's kinda my fault. I'm working on a big project with his father right now and I can get a little too focused on it." Luka nodded and repositioned his guitar.
"Let's just unwind a little then." He started playing the same song from earlier. "Any more lyrics?" Varian closed his eyes letting the music wash over him.
"I-I-I shouldn't have to justify what I do
I-I-I shouldn't have to prove anything to you
I'm sorry that I exist
I forget what landed me on your blacklist, but
I-I-I shouldn't have to be the one that makes up with you, so-"
But he paused as the music kept going. It had come so easily just a moment ago but now he seemed stuck. Luka didn't seem to mind though.
"It's OK if it's not finished. Maybe you just need to keep working on it. Maybe some lyrics will change once you understand your song a little better. No rush, just go at your own pace."
He switched up the tune singing one of his own songs as Varian listened. This…this was nice. Luka was pretty talented and had a good singing voice. He found himself jumping in, adding bits and pieces where they felt right. It was like they were in sync even though they'd never played together before.
In between songs Varian glanced at his watch. "Whops, I'd better be getting back, Adrien and I are supposed to have lunch together in between his photo shoots." Luka shifted his guitar behind his back.
"Mind if I join you?" Varian shrugged.
"If he doesn't mind. I'd like to quell a few of those rumors going around at least." Luka cringed.
"Yeah some are…worse than others." Varian raised an eyebrow.
"I've only heard the one about me living in the basement. But hey, at least no one's throwing stones yet." Luka paused as Varian walked on. There was something about that comment that didn't quite sit right. Was Varian joking or did he just let something slip? Luka shook his head, he didn't know enough to make any real guesses. Best just to go to lunch and hopefully find out more.
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The two met up with Adrien who had been joined by Nino and Alya who all decided to have lunch together until Adrien was called back. Varian now recognized Nino as the Holder of the Turtle Miraculous and Alya as the former holder of the Fox Miraculous. She had to give it up when Shadow Moth threatened her family. Varian wasn't one to judge; he himself had held Rapunzel's mother hostage to get her to help with the amber. It was something he felt guilty about later though.
"So now that we have you to ourselves," Adrien stated. "Tell us a bit about yourself." Varian was a bit uncomfortable in the spotlight but relented.
"Well I'm from a small farming town in Germany. Our town is pretty off the grid but I'm a lover of science and technology." He remembered the fake history Gabriel gave him so he could tell people if they asked. The town was real but very remote, practically cut off from the rest of the world making it a perfect cover for Varian.
"What kind of farm?" Alya asked.
"My family has an apple orchard but we also grow basic crops. We're known for our pumpkins."
"That's why you instantly went for the apple tarts at the bakery?" Alya observed.
"It…reminded me of home. Dad used to make them a lot." Sensing they were going to be approaching a sensitive subject soon Adrien stepped in.
"I know father said your home life was private but if you're not too uncomfortable maybe you could tell us a bit why my father took you in." He knew this would come up sooner or later and he wished he didn't have to go into this at all. But Adrien had given him control to tell as much or little as he wanted.
"My mom died when I was little. It's just been me and my dad for a while now. But a few months ago there was an…incident. My Dad's been…unresponsive ever since." The others looked concerned as he continued. "A few weeks ago I met Gabriel and he's been helping us ever since." Adrien thought for a moment.
"That was the weekend trip he went on that got extended right?" Varian nodded. Gabriel had purposely left town so that Varian's "arrival" would coincide with his return. Nino looked confused by this.
"So what made…Mr. Agreste want to help? Didn't your friends or neighbors lend a hand?" Nino was trying not to bad mouth Gabriel Agreste in front of Adrien but he was having a hard time believing the cold hearted fashion mogul would just randomly decide to help a poor kid and his family.
"Most of my neighbors left due to an emergency." He said, his face growing darker. "Everyone else either abandoned us or shunned me because of a false rumor." Luka remembered the comment about people throwing stones at him, he was beginning to think that wasn't a joke.
"I met Gabriel by chance and he was the first person who believed me instead of the rumors." He was twisting the truth a little but they had a solid backstory and he needed to stick to it as best he could. "I admit I'm not very comfortable talking about this but if rumors are going around again I want to squash them now before they hurt me or Gabriel." The others were a little surprised to hear him defend Gabriel so strongly and they felt a little guilty about some of their wild guesses about Varan when he wasn't there to defend himself. Alya pulled something up on her phone and handed it to Varian.
"Sorry about that, the rumor mill got a little carried away. Here's everything that was said, just correct anything that's wrong and if it's none of our business, that's fine too." Varian scrolled down the list of top rumors. Most were weird or random.
"Alright as I've told Adrien earlier I don't live in the basement. I have a lab down there but I'm never locked up anywhere. That's one of the rules." Most of the people there glossed over that part but Adrien remembered his father saying something about Varian being arrested. Was that why that rule was in place?
"No, I'm not running from the mob." The Corona guards sure but not the mob. "No, I'm not secretly a celebrity hiding out to escape my fans." They all chuckled at that one.
"No, I'm not some lost ancient deity with the power over the planets. Is that a thing here in Paris?" They assured him it was not as he continued.
"Technically I am an alien just not the kind this is implying." Sure he was from another dimension but both were planet Earth so not technically a lie. He paused for a moment looking at the next one before responding.
"I can say with 100% certainty that I am not Gabriel Agreste's love child." Adrien let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Of all the rumors this one made the most sense. Why would Gabriel go out of his way to help a poor German boy? If he was his son a lot of things would make sense. Having that one shot down was a relief. Adrien didn't like the idea of his father cheating on his mother. Varian didn't dwell on it and moved to the next.
"Mad Scientist might be a stretch but…not by much." He said playfully. "I don't even know what a Cylon is but I'm going to guess no." He continued adding bits and pieces of his likes and dislikes and personality to the picture. They were all starting to have fun with it until he got to the last rumor.
"WHAT! Eww gross, he's older than my Dad!" He looked up seeing the concerned faces ease with relief a bit. Did anyone really believe that? Seeing Adrien looking down he realized that his outburst might have been a bit insulting.
"Ah, sorry." Alya quickly stopped him.
"No need to apologize, that was a very appropriate response to a very inappropriate accusation." He handed back the phone to Alya.
"Well if everyone is satisfied please just nip these in the bud. Especially that last one. I don't want to see Gabriel railroaded just because he decided to help me and my father." Alya assured him she'd clear everything up.
"Who wrote that one by the way?" Adrien asked, checking his own phone for a name.
"It was anonymous." Alya said, seeing if she could trace it back with no luck.
"Was it Chloe?" Nino guessed but Adrian shook his head.
"No, she guessed he was a celebrity and she's not afraid to say stuff like that to people's faces." She sounds charming. Varian thought to himself mentally reviewing the files Gabriel had on her. Alya and Adrien shared a look. That had a pretty good guess who it was but without proof they'd just lie their way out of it.
All too soon lunch had ended and Varian didn't feel like a mysterious stranger anymore. Adrien had to go back to work and Nino and Alya bid them adieu. Varian and Luka wound up singing and playing the guitar back and forth while Varian waited for Adrien to finish up. They had a good time with one of them just playing random tunes while the other made up lyrics for them. All too soon it was time to go home.
Varian wished he could stay longer but he really needed to inspect his lab and pray the mess wasn't horrendous.
"It was cool hanging out Varian, we should do it again sometime." Varian felt his face blush.
"Ye-yeah I had fun too." And he did. He couldn't remember the last time he hung out with someone who didn't seem to want anything from him or that he had begged for a few moments of their time. As he watched the other boy leave he felt a familiar sensation in his chest he associated with semi rebellious boys like Flynn Rider. As soon as he realized this however he shook his head violently.
"Don't go there, Varian." he chastised himself. "You had fun today, leave it at that. You'll be leaving here soon so don't get attached. Besides as soon as someone starts to know the real you they'll ditch you like everyone else. Don't give them the chance."
With those thoughts resting in the front of his mind Varian and Adrien went home. They had a bit of small talk on the ride home but when they pulled up Varian jumped out and seeing the house not on fire breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh good, I didn't blow it up." Adrien thought he was joking. As Varian was about to rush off Adrien stopped him.
"Hey Varian, hold up!" The other boy stopped and looked back. "We only got to talk briefly at lunch, would you like to join me for dinner or we could hang out in my room later." Varian looked conflicted.
"Sorry I really do need to clean up my lab and you're father's going to want an update soon." Adrien's eyes fell.
"Oh, I understand if you're busy. I'll keep out of your way then." He watched as the other boy turn to leave as a series of conflicting thoughts and emotions going through his head before finally answering,
"Breakfast!" Adrien stopped and turned back to his house guest. "I am really busy tonight but Nathalie is trying to get to take breaks more regularly so…would breakfast work?" He said sounding a little unsure but Adrien just smiled, a real one this time not one of those model smiles.
"Breakfast would be great."
"Alright I'll tell Nathalie to remind me. I tend to lose track of time but…OK see you then." And with that Varian left.
Even if this was only temporary Adrian hoped this would be the start of new friendship.
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Varian was lucky his lab wasn't a total disaster and didn't take him that long to clean up. He entered Shadow Moth's lair hoping he had come up with some better ideas than sending endless Akumas at Ladybug and Chat Noir. He saw Gabriel facing the large oversized window only…it wasn't opened. Something about this felt…off.
"Gabriel?" Varian asked, slowly approaching the older man. "I see you didn't send out an Akuma today. Did you think up a new strategy?" The man was silent and Varian was afraid he didn't hear him. "Hey, you OK?" He was silent for a few more moments before he finally spoke.
"I may have sped up the clock." Varian blink in surprise.
"Why, what happened?"
"I… thought it was a fluke when I couldn't reakumatize Chloe Bourgeois." Varian remembered reading about her in the files. She seemed like a horrible person to be around but she was one of Shadow Moth's better Akumas.
"Did she fight you?" Gabriel pitched the bridge of his nose.
"It wasn't just her. Several of my recent victims now seem to be resistant to my Akumas. I think you were right, Ladybug is adapting." Varian seemed stunned.
"Wait, so are all your former victims…" This was not good. His plan wasn't ready yet and he needed a strong Akuma attack to make it work.
"I don't know, but a lot of them are currently blocked." Varian could see the man was distressed.
"OK so we need to figure out if she found a way to block new Akumas or just prevent them from being reakumatized. I can help with that."
"But what if she really has found a way to block me entirely? If that's true then…it's all over." The man sank into an armchair head in his hands. Varian knew he must have been one of the few people to ever see this side of Gabriel Agreste. The vulnerable, broken man who's tried for so long to fix his biggest mistake. Varian couldn't help but remember how it felt after he tried again and again to free his father but to no avail.
"It's far from over." Varian went up to Gabriel's side and put a hand on his shoulder. "We do a little testing to find out how far she can block your power. Worst case we still have my Fusion power and the Sentimonsters." Gabriel looked up at the boy, a spark of hope still left.
"And if all else fails I can just build a robot army again." Gabriel actually laughed at that one.
"You're right."
"I usually am." Gabriel ignored the cheeky comment and stood up.
"We can't give up, we'll get past this little snag and come out victorious." Varian leapt to his feat as well.
"That's the spirit."
"Now how do we go about testing this?"
"You leave that to me. I'll come up with an experiment and we'll start testing as soon as we can." Varian took a notebook out of his bag and immediately began to take notes. Gabriel watched the boy leave with a small sense of pride. He was so intelligent and ambitious, under normal circumstances he would expect the boy to be a sought after prodigy paving the way for a bright and shiny future. But fate had been cruel to them both but it was also what brought them together. They would get the Miraculous and their wish will change this world for the better. And no one was going to stop them.
To be continued…
Next time: Varian needs to take an assessment test at Adrien's school while he's at a fencing class. He also catches the eye of a certain swords woman.
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