Once again, opportunity laid itself at Hawkmoth's feet. And once again, the man hesitated to claim it. His fingers drummed against his cane. He had promised Michael his daughter's safety, and yet temptation made him want to break that promise. His gray-blue eyes focused on his open palm where a snowy-winged akuma came to rest. Was this right? Was his goal truly worth the risk?
"Why do you hesitate?"
Hawkmoth glanced at the wall beside him. On it hung a beautiful gold-trimmed mirror glittering in the soft light of the room. A pair of midnight eyes looked back at him, the only feature clearly visible of the woman in the mirror. Everything else about her was shrouded in black. Hawkmoth tucked his cane under an arm before turning to face her, suppressing a shudder. He loathed the silken sound of her voice. It was too much like his wife's.
"There has to be a line," he said, calmly. "She doesn't deserve this."
Those far too beautiful eyes narrowed. "You've let her slip through your fingers once already, Gabriel."
"And others have taken her place! She doesn't have to-"
"Need I remind you, Gabriel, that you don't have the luxury to waste this chance? We had a deal, and I am not a very patient girl. Take her, or I will. And I will not be as kind as you."
A glare shined across the mirror's surface, and in the blink of an eye, the woman was gone. Hawkmoth tsked, then looked back down at the butterfly still waiting in his palm. He knew he didn't have a choice, but that didn't make it any easier. So, as he cupped his hand over the akuma and darkened its wings, he could only pray that Adrien would keep his word. And that his further stalling would go unnoticed.
Adrien felt cold as he walked the street. Not that it was cold; at most, there was a slight breeze. But the akuma attack left him feeling drained in so many ways. Plagg was quiet for once, only asking for his beloved camembert in passing. Which suited Adrien just fine. His tired mind still lingered on Luna.
What had happened back there? What had scared her so badly? Those questions buzzed around his head. He was so focused on them that he failed to hear the footsteps rushing towards him. The resulting crash had both him and the run who ran into him on the ground. Groaning, Adrien sat up. As he rubbed his now aching head, he spotted his kwami splayed out beside him. The teen quickly scooped up the cat god and hid him in his shirt pocket. He then glanced at the other person to see if they noticed. He was surprised to see Marinette on her hands and knees, hurriedly shoving something into her purse. When she turned to see him, her already pink cheeks darkened to a bright red.
"A-Adrien!" she yelped.
The model flashed her a kind smile. "Hey, Marinette. How's it going?"
"You're great." Marinette let herself take on a dreamy look before she realized what was said. "I mean, it's great! No, wait! It's bad! Very bad! I have to go!" She scrambled to her feet.
Adrien stood as well, frowning in concern. "Wait a minute. What's wrong? Is there something I can do to help?"
Marinette adjusted her purse strap. "I-it's nothing, really. Just best friend duties."
"Well, what happened?"
The blackette pursed her lips, unsure on what she should tell him. Finally, she let out a sigh. "Alya just called me. Luna got caught up in the akuma attack, and I guess she had a pretty major meltdown because of it."
Adrien grimaced. He should've known. "How's she doing?"
"Don't know. I was actually on my way to Alya's house to check."
"Mind if I tag along?"
The blush returned with a vengeance. "N-n-n-no! I mean, there's no need for you to!"
Adrien chuckled. "I'd like to think she's my friend, too. So, it's only right that I go, right?"
"I g-guess that makes sense..." Marinette bit her lip as she thought about it, then nodded. "Y-yeah, why-"
"Adrikins!"
"-Not..." Marinette finished in a deadpan. Of all the people to show up in that very moment...
Even Adrien seemed none too pleased with Chloé's arrival. The blonde girl rushed over to him and grabbed onto his arm with a pout.
"What gives, Adrikins?" Chloé whined. "You totally ditched me back there."
Adrien scratched his head as he tried to think up an excuse. "I, uh... had to go to the bathroom! Yeah, that's it."
"Well, you could've said something." The heiress then took notice of Marinette. Her perfectly painted face drooped into a frown. "Hello."
The blackette gave her a strained smile. "Don't mind me. I was just leaving." She started to inch her way around them.
"Hold up, Marinette!" Adrien said. He turned to his childhood friend and gently pried his arm free. "Chlo, I'm sorry for ditching you, but something came up."
Chloé glanced at Marinette, then back at Adrien. "Are you serious? What could be so important that it can't wait?"
Adrien sighed. "Luna got caught up in the akuma attack."
"So? The entire city gets caught up in one at least once a week."
"Well, unlike the rest of us, Chloé, Luna's not used to them," Marinette snapped. "This one really freaked her out."
Adrien pursed his lips. He knew he wasn't being fair to Chloé. But he couldn't get the image of fear out of his head. He had to see her. Rubbing the back of his neck, the model blew out a sigh.
"Look, Chlo. I promised my dad I'd be there for her if she needed someone. I just wanna make sure she's okay."
Both girls looked at him; Chloé with a pout, Marinette in slight confusion. After a moment, the blonde girl huffed.
"Fine, let's go see her."
The others blinked before speaking in unison. "Huh?"
"Well, obviously I'm coming with," Chloé said. "I was promised a lunch date with Adrien, and as far as I'm concerned, you have some time to make up, mister."
Marinette blanched. "D-d-d-date?!"
"NOTADATE!" Adrien said far too quickly. He locked eyes with the blackette and blushed. What Chloé had told him suddenly came flooding back to him. Oh, God! Marinette had a crush on him! How the hell was he supposed to act normal around her, now?!
Chloé snapped her fingers at them. "Uh, hello? We going, or what?"
Adrien blinked out of his stupor. "Uh, no offense, Chlo. But you're probably the last person Luna wants to see right now."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Adrikins. Everyone adores me, remember? Now, let's go already!" The blonde pushed passed them, leaving Adrien and Marinette to gawk at her.
"Oh, she can't be serious!" Marinette huffed.
"Uhhhhhhh," was all the model could muster.
"Alya's so gonna flip."
"You don't know that," Adrien said with a shrug. "I mean, it's not like Chloé would..." He was cut off by Marinette's glare. One that felt a tad familiar to him. He ducked his head with a sheepish grin. "Yeah, I'm not finishing that sentence."
"That's what I thought." The designer sighed and went after Chloé, if only to tell her she was going the wrong way.
Adrien watched her for a moment. He vaguely realized that Marinette hadn't stuttered towards the end of their talk, though it didn't hold much weight in his mind. What did catch his thoughts, though, was the idea that she sort of seemed like his lady in that moment. Hell, he had felt like Chat, right then. But that was ridiculous. What were the odds that Ladybug had been sitting right behind him all year long without him realizing it? There was just no way... right?
"Hey, lover boy," Plagg pipped up from his shirt pocket. "They're leaving you behind."
With a soft curse, the oblivious boy ran to catch up.
Luna sat in Alya's kitchen, silently fiddling with her puzzle box. The mechanism was supposed to help calm her down. Focus her thoughts. It did little more than give her something to do. As far as she was concerned, she was calm. Didn't change the fact that she had made a complete fool of herself.
Thankfully, Alya hadn't asked too much about what happened. If anything, the blogger had been just as quiet. She'd gotten Luna the hot chocolate she'd promised, with extra marshmallows, and turned on some music. And now, the teen girls were settled in at the kitchen table; Luna with her puzzle cube, and Alya with her phone, replaying the Ladybug and Chat fight.
A knock came from the door, making Alya jump to her feet. "Well, it's about time!" she said with a grin. "That girl's gonna be late to her own wedding!"
Luna gave a small chuckle. It wasn't quite heartfelt, but it was a good sign, nonetheless. And Alya would take any good sign she could get. Giving her friend a wink, the blogger made her way to the door and opened it.
"Geez, girl! What took you-" As soon as she saw what was on the other side of the door, her smile vanished. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Luna set her puzzle down and leaned back to see who Alya was talking to. She had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. What was Chloé doing there? She was so enamoured with that question that she missed the flash of black slip into her cube.
Chloé rolled her eyes at Alya as she pushed her way in. "Well, hello to you, too. Can't a girl come and check up on a friend?"
"Which friend would that be?" Luna asked, blandly.
Chloé waved her off. "Friend of a friend, then. I'm here cause my Adrikins is. Plain and simple."
Luna's eyes shifted to the second blond to walk into the room. Adrien stood by Marinette with a look of guilt. He mouthed a "sorry" to her, rubbing his neck as he did. Luna glowered.
"You really shouldn't have," she murmured.
"Oh, I know I didn't have to come. I'm just that nice." Chloé sat next to the actress, ignoring the twitch in the other girl's eye.
Luna wasn't the only one miffed. Alya was glaring daggers at the heiress, while Marinette seemed to be in a permanent state of facepalm. Adrien, on the other hand, shifted on his feet nervously. This was swiftly becoming a train wreck. Clearing his throat, he slowly made his way to Luna's side.
"How... how are you?" he asked.
Luna shrugged. "I've been better."
Adrien scratched his head. "Marinette told me what happened... do you... want to talk about it?"
With a sigh, Luna opened her mouth to answer. Only to be beaten to the punch by Chloé.
"Of course she doesn't want to talk about it, Adrikins. What kind of question is that?"
Adrien blinked. "I... uh..."
"You'll have to excuse him," Chloé told Luna. "He's a bit naive about stuff like this."
"I am not!"
Alya and Luna shared a look that said they very much disagreed. Marinette, however, just frowned.
"He was just trying to be nice, Chloé."
The blonde girl huffed. "Well, believe it or not, Marinette, there is a such a thing as being too nice."
"Tch, like you would know," the blackette muttered.
"I actually would know, thank you very much!"
"Guys, please don't fight," Adrien said, weakly.
"Yeah, as much as I'd enjoy watching you two throw-down, I'm with pretty boy," Luna chimed in. "Can we just not?"
Chloé raised her hands. "Fine. I can be civil."
"That is way too big a word for you," said Marinette.
Luna groaned. "Mari, come on."
The designer rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. I'm sorry."
"No, you're not, but whatever," Chloé said, looking at her nails.
Silence hung for a moment before Alya cleared her throat. "Well, I'd tell you to make yourselves at home, but some of you have already done that. So, who wants hot chocolate?"
Chloé pulled a face. "Don't you have anything less fattening?"
"Bitch, you came to my house, unannounced and for no apparent reason. You're getting hot chocolate, and you're gonna like it."
Hey, look! This chapter didn't take a whole month! Maybe I have my muse back? Doubt it, but I can be hopeful. Once again, thank you guys so much for all the support. It means a lot to me that so many of you enjoy this story as much as I do. I do have to say that this is the last T rated chapter and from here on out, this story will have an M rating. You will understand why in the next chapter. For now, though, let me get to the reviews.
Typicalbooklover- She very well could find out. Who knows?
Awesomeness3013- You will just have to wait and see.
Alex- I'll have to get back to you about a sequel. Hope your sister liked it, too!
Davey- A pun master, I am not. Please bear with my terrible attempts at humor.
Guest- Yes, that was her thought. Yes, that happened. And, yes this will be mature, but not completely for the reason you're hoping for.
Thank you for reading and see you all next time!