The trial resumed the next day, and despite his best efforts, Mr. Bazalgette was unable to locate any psychologist in the entire city that had ever seen Lila Rossi and the name that Lila had provided was someone who didn't even exist. It was with much trepidation that he announced this finding to the judge.
After instructing the jury to keep this fact in mind and simultaneously warning Lila about being held in contempt of court, he continued the trial.
Needless to say, both the defense and prosecutor were reluctant to cross-examine Lila given the bald-faced lie she told while under oath. But when the time came they both framed the questions into simple yes or no answers.
As the days went on and the evidence was presented, team Lila, as Nino called it, shrank more and more. Many were forced to remain sitting on that side due to space constraints, however, you could see them losing their devotion as how Lila played them for fools came to light. During this entire time, Lila continued to maintain her innocence despite the overwhelming mountain of evidence against her.
After almost a month and a half of testimony, the prosecutor finally got through all the evidence and testimony related to the events that happened at Collège Françoise Dupont. Currently, he was laying out the framework of the rest of the trial, specifically those famous individuals whom Lila claimed to have access to and had told many fantastical stories about. Those from the school were dismissed back to classes as their part was done.
Adrien and Marinette had opted to study at home and had retained the services of the tutor they had used previously. They had offered Nino and a few others the option to join them, but only Nino, Chloé, and Sabrina had accepted. Currently, they were working on the assigned classwork while Gabriel was at the trial to monitor any developments. Nathalie and the Gorilla were about but kept a respectful distance unless needed.
After three days of working near their friends, Adrien and Marinette had discussed with Chloé and Nathalie whether they should reveal their marriage to Nino and Sabrina. After debating the pros and cons for an hour they finally all agreed that with Lila in jail for the duration of the trial, and the fact that her sycophants were almost nonexistent now, all agreed that adding Nino and Sabrina would not hurt anything.
It had been agreed that lunch that day would be the reveal.
As the teens sat down to a wonderful lunch provided by the chef, Adrien, and Marinette exchanged a look with Chloé before Adrien spoke up.
"Nino, Sabrina," he began as both started to take a sip of a tomato basil soup, they looked up from the decadent soup to look at him.
"Despite Nino falling into Lila's lies at the beginning, you have both been there in some way for Marinette. Nino, the evidence you provided was rock solid and a boon for the prosecution. Sabrina, you never fell for the lies, while you were hanging around and associating with Lila, you still listened to Chloé and believed her when she told you Lila was lying. We both wanted to thank you for that, for being there in one way or another."
"Sabrina," Marinette said as she took the girl's hand in hers. "While we were never really friends, you were always as kind as Chloé would let you be," a jokingly incensed ridiculous came from Chloé who was seated next to Adrien. Marinette smiled as she continued. "I just wanted to say thank you for being there the best you could. I hope you realize why your dad couldn't say anything about the charges against Lila?"
"Because I might have said something and tipped her off," Sabrina answered with a nod of her head. "Dad explained it to me that night when he didn't have to keep it a secret anymore."
Marinette nodded as she released Sabrina's hand, she sat back in the chair and looked at Adrien.
"Nino, we don't need to tell you how much you helped us with the case, or how much it means to have your friendship back. You were my best friend," he laughed as Marinette cleared her throat to make a point, "second best friend." He amended, to which Marinette nodded, causing Chloé to roll her eyes, a smile on her face.
Adrien went on.
"While you were my second-best friend, you were Mari's oldest friend. I can't even begin to tell you how much your betrayal hurt her, but you figured it out on your own and came back to us with the offer to help. Mari was overjoyed to possibly have you back, but you still hurt her more deeply than anything Alya could do. We have welcomed you back, but any relationship you have with Mari will be at her pace."
Nino nodded his understanding, while it hurt, it was well justified.
Adrien paused to consider his next words; he took a few moments to weigh it over in his head before he turned to Marinette. He only had to look at her, but the others at the table could tell they had an entire conversation in the span of a few seconds. Adrien turned back to his soup and looked at Chloé, shaking his head in a 'no' motion. She pouted a bit but then cheered up at the realization that even though he had decided not to reveal he and Marinette were married, Chloé was the only one who did know, and she had that over anyone else.
"So, let's enjoy this soup before it gets cold, I remember I heard that the chef bought some pastries from the bakery just for lunch today.
.o.0.o.
Gabriel was chuckling to himself when he returned from the trial a few days later. Sitting down to dinner he fought and failed to hide his mirth.
"Something interesting happened?" Nathalie asked as she looked at Gabriel. During the last week, Nathalie and Gabriel had made their relationship with each other official, at least to the rest of the family. They were determined to take it slow and, much like Adrien and Marinette, announce their relationship when the time was right.
"You could say that," the designer replied with a chuckle as he folded his napkin onto his lap. "The prosecutor informed me that he will be calling us as witnesses to the events that transpired during Lila's employment with the company.
"Why is that so humorous?" Nathalie asked her boyfriend.
"Because," he replied with a suddenly manic grin, "it means that the video taken at the fashion show by Ms. Chamack will be shown."
"So they've wrapped up the celebrity testimonies?" Marinette asked.
"Yes," Gabriel replied as he took a sip of his white wine, he savored it for a moment as he pondered how to summarize the past week. While he was forming his thoughts the servants brought out the main course, a delicious fish dish that the chef had been developing for several days. Gabriel had heard rumors that the chef had figured out how to incorporate some of the leftover pastries from Tom and Sabine's Bakery into the main dish, of course, there were rarely any leftover pastries so the man had intentionally hidden some for the dish.
"With the abundance of audio and visual evidence showing Ms. Rossi lying about incidents, events, and meetings that never happened, the prosecutor was able to move through the various celebrities quickly. Mr. Stone was the first to testify and he made it very clear he had never met Ms. Rossi nor had he ever written a song about her. He was very adamant about it as the implications of dedicating such a song to a minor would be devastating for his career." Gabriel began to explain as he sampled the fish, as expected, it was perfect and delicious, it had a hint of chocolate to it, but he couldn't tell how the chef had done that. "Mr. Stone did personally pay for an audiologist to testify as an expert witness. She explained that the claims Ms. Rossi made about the exposure she had to jet engines would have rendered her deaf by bursting her eardrums and would not have simply given her tinnitus as she claimed. Mr. Stone's head of security also testified that had Ms. Rossi made it illegally onto the tarmac as she claimed, she would have been apprehended by airport security as well as Mr. Stone's personal security before she would have been able to get anywhere close to Mr. Stone. Furthermore, Mr. Stone added that due to owning his crocodile he has never, nor ever will, own a cat, adding that he was allergic to them as well."
"The defense did bring you up Marinette," he explained, "they tried to show that Mr. Stone's relationship with you was the same or similar to the one Ms. Rossi reported. However, Mr. Stone was quick to shut down that line of questioning. He very succinctly stated that the relationship with you was much different from the purported one with Ms. Rossi. For instance, you are like a niece to him and basically family, and he went on to elaborate on the work you have done for him as well as the fact that he was never alone with you and that Ms. Rolling was always present. The other celebrities did much the same thing when they were brought to the stand. Prince Ali told the court that he only knew one person from your class, and Ms. Rossi was not her. He went on to say that he had never even seen her before he was brought into the courtroom and that she had never worked for any of his charities, he'd had all the volunteer records checked."
Gabriel paused in his retelling to enjoy his dinner, the others following suit as they processed the information so far. Nathalie had known most of what had been happening thanks to various reports she had from informants inside the courtroom, but hearing Gabriel's take on the events was rather pleasant as he seemed to enjoy the proceedings as well as being out in public again.
Once the main course had been removed and replaced with a sorbet, Gabriel continued his retelling.
"After that, the various other celebrities sort of blurred together. Some sent in pre-recorded testimonies as they could not take time off to travel here to Paris. Others stayed only long enough to eviscerate Ms. Rossi's claims before leaving. However, as I said, the prosecutor has decided to call myself and Nathalie last as our testimonies lead directly into the terrorism charges."
"Well," Adrien said as he had a moment to process the last part of the retelling, "it seems like this will be over soon."
"Yes, he estimated only a few more weeks," Gabriel replied as he now sipped his coffee which had replaced his wine.
"Then this will all be over," Marinette replied with a sigh, happy that everything with Lila would soon be over.
"Indeed," Gabriel replied as he took another sip, savoring the deep rich flavor for a moment, "the most interesting thing to come from the trial so far is that Ms. Rossi lied about knowing several dead celebrities."
"I remember her mentioning a few and saying how she could get them to help others advance," Marinette added with a snort.
"Yes, that came up during the past few weeks, apparently the estates of several of those celebrities have decided to file a civil suit against Ms. Rossi for slander. Many are scouring her social media to see if they can add libel as well."
"Really?" Marinette asked in surprise when Gabriel took another sip.
The man nodded before continuing.
"Yes, it seems they don't want the name and memory of their loved ones tarnished by association with a terrorist, especially when some of those she mentioned have been dead since before Ms. Rossi was born. Rumor has it several of the living celebrities have been talking about filing their own suits."
"And with the evidence that will be presented tomorrow, Ms. Rossi will have no way to counter with more of her lies," Nathalie added as she poked at a few places on her tablet.
"No," Gabriel replied as he sat back as the staff removed the empty cups. "There is little she can do, the overwhelming abundance of evidence as well as the multitude of times the fabrications have been told will all but preclude her from being able to claim insanity."
"I wouldn't put it past her to have a few tricks up her sleeve," Adrien answered as he sat back and took Mari's hand in his, absently playing with her fingers as he thought.
Marinette smirked as he did so, he had recently taken to just playing with her fingers when he was in thought. She found it adorable and it melted her heart every time.
"I agree with Adrien," she replied as she turned from watching her husband deep in thought to look at her father-in-law and his girlfriend, "she may have nothing left to lose, and that makes her very dangerous."
"Yes," Gabriel replied as he sat back and contemplated. "It does indeed. While I do not foresee anything bad happening, especially since I am no longer in possession of the Butterfly, it would be prudent for the Heroes of Paris to be around just in case anything happens."
"You know that the Miraculous Cure won't fix anything unless there is an Akuma, right?" Marinette asked.
"I do, yes," Gabriel replied, "however, that does not mean that your powers are not needed for the protection of Paris. As long as there is crime, this city will need its Heroes, the police cannot be everywhere."
Marinette was about to open her mouth to reply, in her mind, Gabriel made a very valid point and she was going to agree when Adrien spoke up.
"You're right," he said as he gripped Marinette's hand tighter, "we do need to be there; however, I would recommend that the police double its presence at the courthouse just to be safe. For all we know Lila has become the symbol of a cult-like following someplace. There is no way to be sure, so it would be best to cover every base."
"A very valid point Adrien," Gabriel replied with a smile, "Nathalie will contact the police and suggest an increase in force just as a precaution. However, if they do not deem it a credible threat I believe that we can provide the necessary security in the form of a private security company."
Adrien nodded his approval as he sat back and processed everything that had happened. Lila was getting the justice she deserved and with the testimony and the visual evidence given tomorrow, there will be no way she can hope to get out of this.
.o.0.o.
The police had taken Nathalie's suggestion to heart and called in additional manpower to provide security, just in case. Thankfully, as the trial began to wind down the precaution wasn't necessary, but all involved felt it was justified.
Nathalie and Gabriel spent several days giving their testimony as to the nature of their relationship with Lila Rossi, both personal and professional. Gabriel had even revealed that he had initially hired the girl to act as a spy on his son and to report any potential bad influences. Gabriel admitted it was a poor decision on his part as she used the position to harass and assault Adrien, he also added that all the information she'd provided had been fabricated. Each concluded their testimony with the fact that Lila was fired once an internal investigation had determined that she had on numerous occasions sexually harassed Adrien Agreste. Nathalie even ended her testimony with the fact that these proceedings were started as a result of that initial investigation.
Following their testimony, the long-awaited video was shown when Nadja Chamack took the stand again to offer evidence relating to this portion of the case.
"This video was taken before the Spring fashion show," she explained as the video was cued by a member of the court staff. "My crew and I were given access to film promotional segments and it was during one of the times when we were taking shots of just the setup that we captured this video. In it, you will see Ms. Rossi speaking to the person who once called themselves Hawk Moth."
Nothing else needed to be said as the lights were dimmed and the video was started.
"Ms. Rossi," the video version of Butterfly addressed, "I had heard that you wished to see me, I have been looking for you as well. I have a wish to offer you help for your healing."
"You're damn right I did, and you can keep your pathetic wishes and help," she spat at the man, "how long are you going to let this game play out?"
"Game?" He replied with a hint of genuine surprise, "There is no game. If you refer to the announcement on the news it was entirely true. I have given up the ways of Hawk Moth and have embraced the Butterfly as a way to make amends."
"I don't buy it," she told him as she marched up to him and jabbed a finger into his chest. Butterfly just stood there with his hands folded behind his back. "There is no way that you just gave up, I know it has to be part of some plan. I want in, I want to destroy Ladybug and Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I want the power you have."
"As I said," he told her as he removed her finger from his chest and gave her a slight shove away, "Ms. Rossi, it is indeed true. I have given up. As for your desire to destroy Ladybug and Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I would suggest that you give up and move on. I have no desire to help you achieve your goal, while you were an excellent pawn when I was Hawk Moth, I do not need pawns now, especially willing ones. If you have no desire for healing and are hellbent on revenge for some perceived slight then I am afraid that our meeting is at an end."
"Coward," Lila almost screamed as Butterfly turned to leave, "if you won't help me destroy them I'll do it on my own. I'll find a miraculous of my own to use to crush them. Once I do you'll be sorry you turned your back on me, Hawk Moth."
"I highly doubt that," he replied before he walked away and left her fuming a few moments before she stormed off.
The video cut off after that and the lights came back up.
"Did you verify the footage?" The prosecutor asked Nadja.
"Of course," she answered, "It was filmed with our camera. We also had it sent to a lab to get it certified as being untampered with."
"Very wise," he told her as he checked something on his tablet. "While the validity of the footage is not in question, were you able to verify that that was Butterfly on the recording?"
No one could tell, but from where Lila sat a murderous gaze was being directed at the reporter.
"We were," Nadja Chamack told the court with some surprise, "a few days later I made a post to The Ladyblog asking if Ladybug or Chat Noir could get in contact with me. A few hours later both heroes swung into my office. I told them about the video and asked if they could help me find the Butterfly so I could verify it was him on the recording. In exchange for some anonymity, he agreed to answer my questions about the recording. The next day he came to my office and watched the tape, he explained that he was the person talking to Ms. Rossi that day and that he was the person on that recording. He went on to add that when he was Hawk Moth there had been several times Ms. Rossi intentionally got herself Akumatized, and they were not always parts of Hawk Moth's plans."
"I see, thank you, no more questions your Honor," the prosecution said as he sat down, furiously adding notes to his tablet.
The defense tried to cross-examine Ms. Chamack, but her replies shut down any questions almost before the defense could ask them.
A few times it was obvious that Lila wanted to scream and rant during Nadja Chamack's testimony, but given how the judge had threatened to have her placed into solitary for contempt of court several times already, the Italian girl thought it better to hold it in. After all, once this farce of a trial was over she'd find a Miraculous to use to get her revenge on everyone who had wronged her, starting with Marinette and Ladybug.
Once the testimonies were concluded the Judge released the jury to deliberate, and he adjourned the court until they came back with a verdict. The most interesting event that happened during the trial was when Lila's mother had taken the witness stand and had renounced her daughter and her activities. She also told the court that any diplomatic immunity Lila had had as the child of a diplomat had been stripped from her.
A few days later the trial was called back to session, the jury had reached a verdict.
Adrien and Marinette had been in class when the call came in, his phone ringing as they were taking notes. They had both decided it was safe enough to return to class a few days ago. Lila had lost any hold she'd once held over the class once details of her crimes came to light, especially given the testimony regarding students at her previous schools where she had almost driven a few to suicide using the same tactics she had with Marinette. Thankfully the teachers at those schools were more aware than those at Collège Françoise Dupont, the other teachers had noticed the changes in behavior and had reached out in time to help the students before they could do anything drastic because of Lila.
"Hello?" he said as he answered, he knew that there were only a few reasons Nathalie would be calling during class. Adrien listened to his assistant as she spoke, all eyes in the class on him as he nodded.
"I see," he replied, "we'll be waiting out front."
He hung up and turned to Marinette.
"The jury is back; Nathalie wants us to attend the verdict reading. The Gorilla will be outside waiting for us."
Marinette only nodded and started gathering their belongings. Adrien didn't say a word to the other students or teacher as he helped Marinette put their books into their bags. Once that was done, he shouldered both bags and offered her his arm. She took it with a smile and they both walked out without another word.
Footsteps behind them alerted them to Nino's approach as he ran after them, his bag bouncing against his back.
"Of course, you can come," Marinette said to his unspoken question, only turning her head slightly to look at him over her shoulder, never breaking stride with Adrien as she did. She smiled at her friend as he caught up and took a place next to her. While their relationship still had a long way to go to be anywhere close to where it once was, it was on its way. The help he had provided with evidence against Lila had done wonders to rebuild some of the bridges that he had burned.
Soon all three were in the car and headed to the courthouse, no one saying a word, their thoughts all over the place.
Adrien and Marinette both knew that if she were found not guilty Lila would stop at nothing to destroy them both as civilians and their superhero counterparts. They also knew that even if she was found guilty she'd still try to get her revenge. Either way, they'd have to keep a close eye on her in the future.
Overall, everything leading up to the verdict was uneventful; no outbursts from Lila when she was brought in, no interference from any cult of Lila or anything similar.
As the Judge waited for the verdict to be handed to him there was absolute silence in the courtroom.
Due to the nature of the trial, the terrorism charges, and numerous accounts of violence and retaliation, it had been decided that the Judge would read the verdict instead of the Jury Foreman. That way there could be no direct retaliation against the messenger as it were.
Soon the paper was placed into his hand and he read it over several times before he turned to the Jury.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, you have performed the duties you have been asked to and have delivered a verdict. Your duties here have ended and you are released from these proceedings."
The judge waited a few minutes for the jurors to leave the courtroom before he turned his attention back to the people before him.
"Before I read the verdict and pass a sentence, I must inform the accused that the International Criminal Court has opened their own investigation into the acts of terrorism that you performed while using the Akuma powers of Hawk Moth, the testimony provided by the Butterfly in connection to your intentional Akumatizations has also been taken into consideration by the ICC. Relevant evidence presented during these proceedings has been passed on to ICC investigators to facilitate their investigation. It is my understanding that as we speak their investigators are presenting their findings to the relevant people at the International Criminal Court and that charges and a verdict should be released soon."
He paused to allow those in attendance to absorb his words, he then picked up the paper and opened it, laying it flat on the desk before him.
"It has been found that Lila Rossi is guilty of all charges against her, including but not limited to, sexual assault, assault, coercion, intent to do bodily harm, colluding with a terrorist, slander, and libel. Based upon the charges of sexual assault, assault, terrorism, and colluding with a terrorist, as well as the obvious fact that you have no remorse for the pain and suffering you have caused and that there is no possibility of rehabilitation, this court sentences Lila Rossi to a minimum of 20 years in Maximum Security prison with no opportunity for parole. This court decides that Lila Rossi be taken from this courtroom to Maison d'arrêt de la Santé here in Paris, until such a time as the ICC has finished their proceedings, at which time Ms. Rossi will be transferred to a Maximum Security prison located within her home country of Italy or wherever else the ICC requires her to be incarcerated. While she is incarcerated she will have limited contact with other inmates and limited to no contact with the outside world. Furthermore, upon completion of her sentence, Lila Rossi is permanently banned from stepping foot inside the borders of France or any of her territories, doing so will result in immediate detention and a return to prison for no less than five years for each violation, with actual time to be served to be determined by a court at that time. This Court is dismissed."
As she was taken away, Lila began to spit and scream and fight her captors. Yelling obscenities and vengeance on all those gathered. The sounds of her voice was finally cut off once a team of five officers of the court had wrestled her out of the courtroom.
Reporters rushed to leave to be the first to get their articles published on their respective websites and newsfeeds, during the trial the judge had banned all posting of articles while the court was in session each day. Violators would be found in contempt of court and be banned from the proceedings, this meant all the journalists had to wait until the trial was over for the day before they could post.
Slowly the courtroom emptied until only the small group of Gabriel, the Gorilla, Nino, Marinette, and Adrien were left. Silently they all made their way to the car, pausing only a moment as the Gorilla opened the door.
No one spoke until after the car had pulled away from the curb and was on its way back to the mansion.
"Does that mean it's finally over?" Marinette asked with a weary sigh as she leaned back against the seat and looked at Nathalie and Gabriel, Adrien's hand taking hers as he too waited for a reply.
"Assuming there are no issues with the findings of the ICC, yes," Nathalie replied as she tapped a few places on her tablet before setting it down and looking at the children.
"Thank God," Nino sighed as he felt the tension leave his body.
"Yes, there was a bit of divine influence involved for everything to work out as it did," Gabriel mused as he contemplated the day's events.
There was silence for a few minutes as the Gorilla made his way through traffic.
"So," Marinette began as she clasped Adrien's hand between both of hers, her eyes downcast and closed as she absorbed the events of the last few minutes, "what happens now?"
"That," Gabriel replied as he glanced at Nathalie, "is a very good question, one that I think would be best discussed at home, especially given the nature of some of the topics."
There were nods of ascent from Nathalie and Adrien, while Marinette just processed the recent events. As for Nino, he could only look on confused at the cryptic statements.
Soon the car pulled through the gates of the mansion and stopped before the door. The Gorilla turned the car off before exiting and opening the door for his passengers, offering his assistance to Marinette as she tried to climb out while refusing to relinquish Adrien's hand.
Nathalie and Gabriel shared a smile at the sight, both finding her love for Adrien endearing in their own ways.
In moments the car was emptied and locked and the mansion door was opened with a small parade of people passing through.
Once inside they silently agreed that the more intimate dining room they had been using for the past few weeks would be the ideal space to continue the conversation.
Settling into the chairs no one was sure how to start the conversation, especially Nino who was completely at a loss as to what was happening.
"I believe that now that Ms. Rossi is out of the picture some confessions and explanations are in order," Gabriel began after a few moments of silence.
His gaze drifted to Marinette and Adrien who were leaning against each other as they continued to process the events of the day.
"Marinette? Adrien?" He called to get their attention. It took a few moments before they broke from their thoughts, heads which had been leaning against the other, turned to face Gabriel.
"I do believe that it is time that you shared your secret with Nino, perhaps explain to him why Chloé has been more smug than usual these past few months."
Adrien was the first to recover, he leaned over and whispered into Marinette's ear, a grin forming on her face as she turned to look at him before turning to Nino.
"Do you remember a few months ago when Chloé was called out of class for an hour and came back all smug?"
"How could you know about that?" Nino asked, "You were both out that day."
"We know," Adrien replied as he sat back and put an arm around Marinette, pulling her to his side, a grin on his face, "because we had her called out of class. We needed her help with something."
Nino was even more confused now, what could they possibly need her help with? He didn't have to wait long for an answer, he could see Marinette almost bursting at the seams to tell him.
"We got married!" She exclaimed as she held out her hand to show him the ring. It took a second for his eyes to focus as she put her hand so close to his face. Once his eyes had focused, he noticed the fancy ring she'd been wearing for months, along with the other clearly costume jewelry rings on her other fingers.
His mind spun for a few moments as he processed this, once he had his mouth dropped open in shock.
"How? Why? When?" he managed to stutter out after a moment.
"The when was several months ago, as Marinette just mentioned," Gabriel replied, a smirk on his face at Nino's shock. "As for the how and why, that is a bit more complicated."
"As my father said," Adrien started as he took Marinette's hand into his own, making sure to show off his ring, "the how and why are both complicated, but let's start by saying we have Lila to thank for it."
A choking sound came from Nathalie's direction at these words, when all eyes had turned to her it became obvious she had been drinking when Adrien had basically thanked Lila for he and Marinette being together.
Adrien grinned at her reaction even as Gabriel made sure she was okay.
"My apologies for saying that while you were drinking, Nathalie, but you cannot deny that Marinette and I would not have the relationship we have now if it weren't for Lila's actions."
"While I do not disagree with your assessment," Gabriel began once he was assured that Nathalie would be fine, "a bit more warning would be appreciated in the future."
Adrien only laughed before turning back to the even more shocked Nino.
"You…" he said as he pointed toward Adrien. "Joking with him…" This time his finger was pointed toward Gabriel.
"Yes," Adrien replied as he sat back, pulling Marinette next to him, she could only laugh at her friend's reaction and bury her giggles into Adrien's shoulder. "Many things have changed recently, even though you've been here to study you haven't been part of the inner circle as it were."
Nino was silent for a while, his finger still pointing at Gabriel and his mouth agape. In the past, Gabriel would have reprimanded Nino for this lack of manners, but currently, he was enjoying the range of emotions that flashed across the boy's face as he processed Adrien's words.
"Nino," Marinette began once she'd gotten her giggles under control, she leaned forward, took the still outstretched hand in hers, and turned his head to face her. "There is so much that we need to catch you up on. Dad?" She directed to Gabriel, who had insisted on her calling him that when the family was alone together.
"Yes, my dear?" he asked as he looked up from stirring his coffee.
"Could Nino use one of the guest rooms tonight? I have a feeling we will have a lot to tell him and may not get to all of it tonight."
Gabriel laughed at this, Nathalie joining in as she too understood how complex the explanation would be.
"Of course," he replied after a moment of mirth, "I'll have Nathalie inform the staff to prepare one of the extra rooms. However, I think it would be best if he asked his parents if he could stay the night before we make too many plans."
"Oh!" Marinette gasped as she realized she'd forgotten about that. "You're right. Nino!" She addressed her friend who jumped in shock at being spoken to directly, the fact Marinette called Gabriel 'dad' making his mind halt in its tracks.
"Yes?" the young man asked slowly, his brain struggling to keep up with all the information.
"Call and ask your parents if you can stay!" Marinette told him excitedly, almost bouncing in her seat in excitement.
Adrien laughed as he placed a hand on her shoulder and calmed her instantly, to Nino it was an amazing sight to see, but to the others, it was a common occurrence. Since their marriage, a simple touch from Adrien could instantly calm Marinette when she got too excited, and her touch could bring Adrien out of any sour mood that he may find himself in. Thankfully, her love had made those moods a rare occasion.
Nino nodded and removed his phone from his pocket, he quickly composed a text message to his parents, he did not think he could string more than two words together at present so the text was the best option. His mind was still processing everything a few moments later when his phone dinged and he read the reply.
"They said yes," he announced after reading the response. In the time between him sending the message and getting his parents' reply, he had been able to regain some verbal function as his mind had processed what he'd been told and had filed it away. He was currently enjoying a hot chocolate and a pastry from Marinette's parents' Bakery.
"That's great!" Marinette exclaimed with much excitement. "There is so much to tell you," she began, only to be halted by Gabriel.
"There is indeed much to tell," he told her, "however, as it is starting to get late Nathalie and I must retire for the evening. I have a feeling there will be interview requests regarding the trial and the testimonies so we should both be well rested to field those messages. You three are more than welcome to move to Mr. Lahiffe's room to talk so that you have the use of more comfortable seating. I'll inform the staff to be ready for late-night snack calls."
Adrien and Marinette nodded and laughed at his assessment, they knew he was right. Rising from their seats they pulled Nino to his feet and toward the foyer and the stairs.
"I'll grab him a pair of pajamas from our room," Adrien told Marinette once they reached the top of the stairs, "can you take him to the guest room and I'll meet you there in a few? I'll grab our pajamas too, it can be like a big sleepover." He told her with a grin that she returned eagerly. He leaned over and kissed her cheek before turning down a different hallway as Marinette and Nino headed toward the guestroom wing of the mansion.
Several minutes later all were settled in their respective pajamas; Marinette in her Ladybug-themed pajamas, Adrien in his Chat Noir-themed pajamas, and Nino in a very high-quality pair of Adrien pajamas.
"So, where to begin," Marinette mused as she leaned against Adrien.
"I think," Adrien began slowly, carefully picking his words, "that we should start after that fight that Ladybug and Chat Noir had with that construction Akuma, that is after all when things began to change for us."
"That's a good place to start," she told him as she kissed his hand, she knew they'd have to be careful about what they said as Nino still didn't know they were the Heroes of Paris.
"So," Marinette began as she leaned forward and began to talk. "It starts the day after the Akuma, at school…"