Ch15
Adrien sighed as he watched the video of his fight with Ladybug. "I can't believe she is being so unreasonable," he muttered. "I really hope we can handle the akumas." Truthfully his heart ached due to his lingering feelings but at the same time he was nervously happy that he stood up for something he believed in. But deep down he didn't want this feud to get in the way of them defending the city.
Felix patted him on the back. "Don't worry I'm sure she'll come around. She'll give you space and you'll give her space. Besides look at the comments people are supporting Cat Noir more."
He nodded as he skimmed the comments. Many commenters were commenting on his return and saying things like thank goodness the real Cat Noir is back and I can't believe Ladybug is this upset I guess this is her true self.
He sighed. "Well I hope we can make things work between us. I don't blame her for being angry at me but I won't let her walk over me."
Plagg appeared in front of him. "If you want I can try to remove the curse I put on Alya"
"That would be great can you do that?" He asked. If she's better maybe Ladybug's anger will go away. A part of him was sad that Ladybug was upset at him but at the same time, he didn't want much to do with her outside of a professional relationship. For so long he had chased her without regard to his own well being and now he wanted to find out who he was himself. Well I think I should give her space, who knows maybe I can use this to build a new relationship with her.
Plagg nodded. "Yeah. We can go later if you want."
"We'll go later," he said as he got up and grabbed his backpack. "I'm going back to school today."
"Good luck," Felix said. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks," he said as he gathered his school supplies. To his surprise, Felix gave him a hug before he left which he returned. "I'll be safe don't worry."
"Don't let them step on you," Felix said with a firm gaze. "Be firm and set your boundaries. Don't let others do things to you if you aren't comfortable."
"I will," he said before leaving with his bodyguard.
Just like old times. He enjoyed going to school, he really did. His heart raced in his chest as his bodyguard pulled up to the school. "See you later," he said as he exited the car. His bodyguard nodded and drove off. Seeing his school was surreal, he had grown and learned so much here and honestly felt at home. He entered his classroom and was greeted by the sight of many familiar faces.
"Yo Adrien what's up bro!" He turned around to see Nino with a wide smile on his face run up to him.
"Hey Nino!" he smiled at his friend as the two embraced each other. "Like time no see how have you been?"
"I'm alright are you ok?" Nino asked. "I heard you had some mental health issues."
His face reddened as he avoided Nino's gaze. "Yeah you could say that. I'm back now though."
"That's good to hear," Nino said before avoiding his gaze. "I heard what happened between you and Marinette. If you need me to tell her to give you space I'll do it."
"Thanks." He knew Nino and Marinette were close and didn't want to have him choose between them. "I know she may have meant well but she violated my privacy when I wasn't feeling well. I like my privacy and my dad can be a papa bear when it comes to me. Trust he has done worse to past stalkers."
"I understand," Nino said firmly. "To be honest I don't want to take sides but I agree with you that you deserve your space."
"Thanks," he said with a smile. "I know you're her friend too and I won't make you choose but to be honest I want space from her at the moment, maybe in the future we can be friends again." He knew Marinette was a nice girl deep down and perhaps she was just misguided. However, he didn't tolerate people who did not respect his boundaries.
He and Nino chatted for a bit before going to class. "Oh Adrikins!" he turned and saw Chloe run to him and the next thing he knew he was being hugged tightly.
"H-Hey Chloe," he said as he hugged her back.
Chloe pulled away and frowned her eyes almost watery. "Don't you ever just leave like that do you hear me? Do you know how worried I was over you?"
He laughed. "Sorry I needed a mental health break. I promise I won't do it again." It felt nice knowing that Chloe and Nino cared for him. Looking around at his classmates he could see that many of them were indeed happy for him to be back.
"You better not," Chloe pouted before going back to her seat.
"Man I didn't know I was missed this much," he said sitting down next to Nino.
"Yeah dude we all care about you man," Nino said.
He nodded his insides feeling like a cage of butterflies had been released in them. I didn't know I meant so much to other people. As more and more of his classmates came they greeted him enthusiastically. It was just like the old times and he was grateful for their friendship.
Eventually the door opened to reveal a familiar person. Oh boy here we go. He turned around to see Marinette standing in the door way her jaw dropped as she stared at him with a starry gaze tears forming in her eyes.
"H-Hey Marinette," he said awkwardly as his anxiety flared a bit.
Nino placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "It's ok you don't have to engage with her if you don't feel comfortable."
He nodded and looked back down at his notebook while Marinette continued to stare at him with wide eys.. "Hey Marinette why don't you sit down," Nino said. "If you want we can visit Alya after school."
Out of the corner of his eyes Marinette muttered something and went to sit behind him. He scooted his chair as he felt her gaze on his back. Oh god I hope she gets over this phase of hers.
His heart skipped a beat at the mention of Alya. Oh man I'm so sorry Nino. I promise I'll make it up to you. Nino was always so good to him and his first friend at school and now his girlfriend was in the hospital. We'll find someway to fix her I swear.
"Alright good evening class," Ms. Bustier said as she entered the classroom. "Adrien dear it is nice to see you again."
"Thank you," he said. "It's good to be back."
Ms. Bustier nodded and took out a piece of paper. "Your father gave me the message don't worry I'll make sure people respect your boundaries."
Uh oh. He could hear the snickers in the classroom and out of the corner of his eyes saw Marinette shrink in her seat. What did he and Nathalie do? His father could be very cold to him but he still loved him and would raise hell to make sure he was ok.
"Marinette you and Nathaniel change places," Ms. Bustier said firmly.
"But Ms. Bustier this is my seat," Marinette protested.
"I know but it's for everyone's interest that you move seats," Ms. Bustier said in a tone that meant she wasn't playing. "Also you will be required to complete that online harassment training." More snickers followed as Marinette's face turned white.
Ms. Bustier cleared her throat. "Let me make it clear if anyone tries to stalk, harass, or encourage someone to do those things they will be met with strong punishment. I believe Gabriel Agreste gave all your parents a very thorough email of the consequences of harassing the Agreste family."
Oh boy. He forgot his father could be protective of him when he wanted to. Looking at his classmates he could tell whatever it was wasn't good.
"Also. Marinette will not be allowed in the same room as Adrien without a teacher present. Any students who help her with the harassment of Adrien will face legal repercussions," Ms. Bustier said setting down the paper she was reading from. "As we all know Adrien is our student and he deserves to be treated with respect. Crossing boundaries like a certain person did will result in disciplinary action here at school and with the Agreste Estate."
He nervously eyed his classmates, some were worried but others eyes Marinette with an I told you so look. Geez how long and to what extent has she been doing this stuff? His blood ran cold but he didn't want to know to what extent Marinette was stalking him.
A part of him felt bad for Marinette but he knew she had to get over this obsession with him and respect his personal space. Nino said nothing his face remained neutral the entire time as Marinette traded places with Nathaniel.
Maybe in the future, we can be friends again. He looked at Marinette out of the corner of his eye, she looked at him with a longing gaze as if begging for him to rescue her. He ignored the look as the lecture began. But I have more important things to worry about, besides she has to learn to respect my boundaries.
Later during lunch, he sat with Nino. "Did my father threaten you all?"
Nino avoided his gaze. "Oh I wouldn't say threatened. He just sent everyone in the class a very strong letter about what Marinette did along with video evidence."
"I see." He didn't know how to feel about it. On one hand he had to admit his father saw something problematic and took action. On the other hand, he was a little nervous for his other classmates who might get in trouble for any perceived slights.
"Don't worry though your father said trouble will only come if we stalk you or help Marinette stalk you," Nino said quickly. "Besides most of the class agrees, even those who knew of Marinette's crush thought she went too far."
"Good," he said firmly. Oh god I do have to be careful. He never would've thought some of his classmates would help Marinette in her behavior.
Nino sighed. "Yeah everyone was freaking out at first, they thought that if your father went on the warpath on Marinette he would accuse them of being an accomplice or something." His friend avoided his gaze. "A lot of people knew of her behavior and didn't want to get implicated."
"Oh I can see that," he admitted.
Looking up he saw the table where Marinette sat. Her face was down as she nibbled at her food. Ms. Bustier and some of the girls were sitting at a table with her along with another person he didn't recognize. "Who is the guy with blue hair?" He asked.
Nino turned around saw him. "Oh him? That's Luka, Juleka's brother. He's been close to Marinette lately."
He looked at the guy and shrugged. "Well good for her." Glad she's getting help.
Felix roamed the Agreste mansion his footsteps echoing throughout the halls. Something is off I can't put my finger on it. His uncle and his assistant were more weary of him than usual and the way he would just disappear during parts of the day was not normal.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed one of the security cameras zoom in on him. Well good to know that he doesn't trust me either. As far as he was concerned the only thing they had in common was keeping Adrien safe.
But still what happened to his mother? Even his own mom wasn't given the full details of what happened and wasn't allowed to see the body at the funeral. Did he even see her when she died?
His brow furrowed as he headed back to Adrien's room. "He must be done with class," he muttered as he sat down on a chair and pulled up a laptop.
Auntie lets see if there are records of you. He googled Emilie Agreste and looked through the various results. Most were articles about her passing and the private funeral.
Out of the corner of his eye, the kwami Pollen came up to him. "Sir Felix what is it?"
"Just looking into some family matters," he said as he scoured the pages for anything useful. It was a private funeral so no one saw her body for sure. Something isn't right.
After about a half hour of internet browsing, he sighed and turned off his laptop. He frowned at the doorway, "Adrien said he wasn't doing fencing today where is he?"
Pollen shrugged. "Maybe he got caught up in something."
He frowned and turned on the TV expecting to see news about an Akuma attack. "This just in Cat Noir and Ladybug are currently fighting each other near the city hospital," the news anchor said.
"Oh no," he muttered as he watched his cousin fight Ladybug. His cousin appeared to be holding his punches and trying to reason with her but to no avail. He turned to the kwami. "Pollen do you mind lending me your power to help him?"
Pollen nodded. "Of course Sir Felix."
Running to the drawer he took out the miraculous and placed it in his hair. "All you have to say is Pollen Buzz On."
He took a deep breath. "Pollen Buzz On!" A strange power enveloped him as he felt Pollen's power reverberate throughout his body. In a flash, he had transformed. Looking in the mirror he wore a yellow and black skin-tight suit with a black mask covering his eyes. Could be worse.
Taking a deep breath he ran and jumped at the window with the round top in his hand. Could take some time to get used to. Luckily he was a quick learner. He leaped from building to building till he saw them.
Ladybug was fighting Cat Noir and yelling various insults at him while his cousin tried fruitlessly to explain something.
There you are. He maneuvered himself in the air as he threw himself at Ladybug. The female superhero wasn't expecting him and was thrown against a chimney.
"Hands off," he said assuming a fighting stance.
Cat Noir stared at him in surprise. "Fe- I mean what are you doing here?"
He smiled at his cousin. "Call me Hive."
Cat Noir smiled at him. "Well glad to have you here Hive."
Ladybug got up and glared at him. "I don't know who you are but you deserve that miraculous, give it back now."
He smiled at her. "Really? You think I'm not worthy? You just attacked your partner out of nowhere I think you are unworthy of whatever powers you believe you have over us."
Cat Noir flinched behind him while Ladybug frowned. "He deserved it," she said coldly. "After all he did."
"Ladybug I swear I didn't harm her," Cat Noir said. "I was just going to try and help her."
"Stay away from her!" Ladybug yelled as she lunged at her.
He quickly countered her attack and kicked her to the ground before grabbing his top "Venom!"
Ladybug didn't have time to react as he stabbed her in the chest immobilizing her. "Now we are going to have a talk," he said folding his arms. "You hurt Cat Noir again or mistreat him in any way you answer to me. If you can't respect him you don't deserve to be his partner."
Cat Noir avoided looking at him as Ladybug tried to break free. "You call yourself the Guardian? I think you should act more professional," he said before turning around to Cat Noir. "Come on lets go."
His cousin nodded, his gaze watery before they both leaped off the building and headed home. "Thanks Felix," Cat Noir said as they leapt through the city. His cousin looked to the ground his eyes watery.
"Don't mention it," he said. "Sorry for causing you trouble. If I could help her friend I would."
Cat Noir smiled at him. "I'm glad to have you as a partner, we should do this again."
He laughed. "Sounds like a plan."
Marinette as Ladybug flinched under the gaze of Su Han. She and Viperion had an altercation with him regarding her being guardian and now they could tell he was not in a good mood.
"Not only does the wielder of the cat miraculous fail to respect you he no longer wishes to recognize you as guardian," Su Han said folding his arms. "He is also in the possession of the bee miraculous. How could you let this happen."
"I wasn't paying attention," She sighed. "But I'll get the bee miraculous back I promise."
"It's not enough!" Su Han yelled causing her to flinch. "They should be working for you not according to their will." The monk's gaze burned with anger. "The cat must submit to you that is how it is!"
Easier said than done. She was still angry at Cat Noir and his new friend Hive irritated her just as much.
"Don't worry I'll try to talk to them," Viperion said. "I'll make a bridge between us. This is all probably a misunderstanding, lets just focus on mending ties with Cat Noir and Hive."
Su Han folded his arms. "Fine don't let me get involved." His gaze narrowed on her. "I can terminate rogue miraculous users with ease," he said coldly. Cracking his knuckles his gaze turned deadly. "I'll end him if he doesn't get in line."
She flinched at his tone as the anger towards Cat Noir turned into fear. Cat Noir I hope he doesn't find you.