The night before, Ladybug sent a message to everyone, agreeing to meet at 2 pm at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and if any of them couldn't make it, to leave a message beforehand.
Meanwhile, Luka told Adrien that he would be in Paris for his mother's birthday, which was in a few days.
Of course his friend didn't waste time and invited him to hang out for a while, they could go for a walk, he didn't care if his father didn't give him permission, he didn't even have breakfast with him .
And since Luka agreed to hang out, Adrien asked his bodyguard to drive him. Buying several collectible figures in London had certainly been worth it. Once he arrived at the house/boat, his friend called him; He was on the deck playing guitar.
"I thought it would take you longer to arrive." Luka said as he watched him, putting the guitar back in its case.
"No, I managed it just fine." Adrien smiled proudly.
"I'm glad, I just hope it doesn't cause you any trouble."
"Don't worry about it. By the way, when you were talking to me about the ship, I didn't think it was this cool, no wonder you missed this place so much." He looked around curiously, especially because it was as Luka described it,messy.
"It is. It's nice to be back. And I hope I can stay, after all, I already graduated from music school." That was his excuse to everyone, that he went to London to study.
"I hope so too, it would be great to have you here, I need my ballad partner." The blue haired boy nodded at that and smiled, he would work harder to catch Hawk Moth.
"Let's go, you said you saw a good bakery, although I think I know which one you're talking about." Luka mentally prepared himself as soon as he said they were going, he didn't know how Tom was going to react when he saw him.
"Yeah, I'm sure you know it, I was fascinated by the passion fruit macarons. They were amazing."
~
Marinette was in charge of the bakery that day, her parents went to deliver an order for a party.
Apparently, Chloé was planning something interesting, since she had sent everyone an invitation. In it she said that it was a welcome party for a friend who would possibly stay in Paris, Chloé wanted him to meet other people.
Everyone knew how reserved she was, and for her to do something this big for someone was shocking, however, it never hurt to have new friends. She was decorating a cake when she heard the door's bell ring, signaling a customer's arrival.
"Welcome, I'll take care of you in a second." She said without turning to look who it might be.
"Wow, you really have a gift for that, it looks incredible." Adrien couldn't help but praise her when he saw the design, it looked very elegant.
"Thank you." Marinette finally looked up to see the client, since his voice sounded familiar, but when she saw Luka, she went completely blank.
"Hello, Mari, so long." Luka greeted, although they saw each other last night, there was no need to mention it infront of the boy with the soul of a Latin lady.
"Luka…" The looks they gave each other reminded Adrien of how she and Viperion had looked at each other and... oh god, everything made sense now, that's why his relationship with her was complicated.
Viperion and Luka were fighting for the love of the same person.
"Uhm…" He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Do you have any passion fruit macarons left?" He asked, trying to break the bubble, he didn't know which friend to support now.
"Uh? Ah, yes, no, wait–" Marinette had become a mess of nerves, long forgotten emotions stirring. "I'm sorry, there aren't any, not finished at least, they are cooling out."
"What about chouquettes?"
"No, I'm sorry, I haven't prepared any yet." Luka could almost see Adrien falling to the floor crying with an abandoned-devastated puppy face.
He held back his laughter to the point where a stray tear escaped him..
"Hey, don't hold back, it looks like you want to laugh, go ahead and make fun of my misfortune." Adrien sighed dramatically, looking at what else there was on display.
"I'm sorry, I just-" Luka covered his mouth, stifling his laughter.
Adrien was certainly the king of bad luck.
"I don't eat a lot of sweet things, just that, can I wait until the macarons are finished?" He turned to look at the girl with a defeated look, she had gone back to decorating the cake.
"Sure, no problem."
"Thank you."
"Are your parents not here?" Luka asked after a beat of silence, he didn't know if it was a good idea to wait there.
"No, they went to deliver an order to Chloé's hotel, it will be a while before they come back."
"I see…"
"Wow, that was fast, Chloé–"
"Do you know her?" Marinette asked him curiously, accidentally cutting him off, she had never seen him anywhere near her.
"Ah, yes, she's my friend, she's preparing a surprise party for me, although it's no longer a surprise because I know... although I don't know how she's going to do it, it's not like she has other friends in Paris." He smiled a bit guilty.
"Oh…" So he was that friend who Chloe wanted to introduce to everyone. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
It wasn't a bad idea to introduce herself now since it might happen later too.
"Ah, nice to meet you, I'm Adrien Agreste."
Her jaw almost dropped when she heard his last name, she didn't know how she didn't recognize him, perhaps because she was keeping an eye on Luka.
She was a big fan of Gabriel Agreste, she even won a contest at school and he had congratulated her , even telling her that she could work for him one day if she wanted.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, confused, because she was giving him a funny look now and it was really starting to make him a bit anxious.
"No, she's just a fan of your father." Luka replied, Marinette still in her trance.
"Akdke yes, that, haha, I'm sorry, I just love his work, I also do design."
"Oh wow, you have many talents, that explains why you are so good at decorating cakes."
"You could say that." She carefully placed the cake on the counter and went over to the macarons to see if they were already cold so she could start preparing them. "Ah, the macarons will be ready in a second, give me a moment."
"Okay." He smiled, admiring the finished decoration, it looked very pretty.
"By the way, Luka, if it's the party today, will you come with me?" It would be a good idea to introduce him to Chloé once and for all.
"Sure, no problem, I just hope it's like you say and she doesn't kick me out when she finds out I'm Juleka's brother."
"She won't, don't worry." Adrien laughed softly at the mental image of the guards dragging Luka away.
"I hope…" Luka looked at Marinette, smiling slightly, he had missed seeing her.
"By the way… Was there something between you two?" Adrien ended up asking him in a whisper, he couldn't handle the uncertainty any longer.
"What? No... What would make you think that?" He looked at anything but Adrien, preferring to look out the window, feeling embarrassed.
Still, when he saw Tom walking back with Sabine across the street he turned pale.
"Mari, you said your father wouldn't be coming back any time soon."
"What? I think I miscalculated the time, leave through the other door." She said quickly, becoming aware of the fact that Luka might get crushed by her father.
Adrien didn't understand anything, he just watched as Luka turned into The Flash as he just disappeared through the door at the exact same time that Mr. Dupain-Cheng entered.
He held back his laughter so as not to come out as rude, he really needed to know the story between those two.
"Hello mom and dad, did it go well?" Marinette greeted, acting as if nothing had happened, although inside she also wanted to laugh.
"It went well, all the decoration is very nice and-"
"Shh, don't give any more details dad, he's not supposed to know anything." The girl said, pointing at Adrien who just smiled, raising his hand a little.
"Ooh, sorry, you are the boy who came with Chloé earlier, right?"
"Yes, I'm Adrien Agreste, nice to meet you, sir."
"You are the son of Gabriel Agreste, right? My daughter loves his designs." This time, Sabine spoke.
"Yes, she told me earlier, the world is a small place."
"Indeed, but do tell me, do you already know what to order?"
"Oh, yes, I'm waiting for the passion fruit macarons and some croissants." Since Luka couldn't order, he'd bring him that.
"I already finished a few, how many would you like?"
"Give me 3 and 3, please." He quickly took out his card, handing it to Tom.
Once he bagged his order, he left the bakery in search of his friend. Like last time, he gave his bodyguard a croissant before making his way over to the park, he could already see Luka there.
"Wow, I didn't know you were such a good athlete." He smiled somewhat teasingly as he came to sit next to him. "I'm curious about what kind of relationship is there between you two for you to run away from her parents."
"Mm... it's a long story." Although it didn't matter much if Luka were to tell him, it was Luka and Adrien, not Viperion and Chat Noir.
"I have enough time." Adrien handed over his croissants, beginning to eat his macarons calmly.
"Well…" Luka opened the bag, taking a piece of bread before starting his tale. "Two years ago I met Marinette through my sister, they study together, or well, they studied. My sister invited some friends over on the day of the National Music Festival. That day, we were going to have something to drink and she wanted them there. To tell you the truth, I fell in love at first sight, her inner music just caught my attention."
He wasn't completely lying, he had liked Ladybug ever since he met her, and knowing her identity had just made him be even more fascinated by her, but since he hadn't even known her name, he had been unable to do anything about it.
When he met her on the boat that day, it had scared him when she had almost shouted his hero name, he hadn't expected her to recognize him so quickly.
"And then?"
"We started talking, she came to see how we played on the boat, she even made us the logo of the mini band that we made. We started talking on the phone too, more and more until I confessed, however, for… reasons, I didn't get an answer. It's not that she didn't like me…"
As heroes, they couldn't be together, they had to keep their emotions under control to protect those around them.
And in the end, they had told Master Fu. He had told them that one of the two would need to leave Paris for their safety. In the end, it was Luka who decided to do it, Paris would be better off with Ladybug, it didn't matter if he left, besides, she had more people taking care of her.
"Shortly after, I decided to go to London to study music. My mother revealed to me who my father was, he was sorry for having abandoned us, so he went with me to London for a while, and when he went on other tours he made sure I was okay in the apartment, although I already told you that."
Luka smiled slightly, somewhere between melancholy and nostalgia, even now, they couldn't be together.
"I stopped talking to her shortly after arriving in London, she changed her number because she lost her phone and I didn't dare ask my sister for it."
"Oh, I'm sorry man, I hope you two work out something if you still like each other, you deserve to have your story." Adrien patted him on the shoulder, not knowing what else to do, he felt sorry for Viperion, but Luka's story was more convincing. "So… what's the reason for you running away from her father?"
"Ah, that..." Luka laughed nervously and threw a look at the bakery for a few seconds. "Mr. Dupain-Cheng is a good person, but if someone breaks his daughter's heart or hurts her, he could snap them like a breadstick."
"Oh... well, I see why you disappeared faster than Flash could ever blink." And he didn't even doubt it, if it weren't for his kind expression, he would be scared, it reminded him a whole lot of his bodyguard.
"Yeah, it's a shame, I like Tom, but I fear for my life. I don't know how he would react if he saw me." Luka glanced at the statue now, eating the croissants more calmly.
"But wow, now I know who you were dedicating those love ballads to." Adrien knew that his friend was a hopeless romantic, even though he was partly one, but he never knew who he wrote so much to, he always said 'it's a secret'.
Luka told him a little bit more about Marinette and the band, he felt freer talking about it and not locking up the feeling like he usually did. Around 2 pm, they both left with their excuses (although Luka knew the truth) so they could go to the agreed meeting.
Everyone arrived a little before 2, Bunnix had arrived in Paris recently, so she was able to arrive on time. The first thing she did was go to Chat Noir and ruffle his hair, she already knew what would happen soon. She would rather give him some comfort now.
"How are you, little crybaby?"
"Careful with the ears." He shook his head, removing her hand from his hair. "The only shorty here is you." He stuck out his tongue, hiding behind Viperion.
"Who are you calling shorty you little insolent?" She was ready to hit him with the umbrella, yet, Ladybug cleared her throat to get her attention.
"Forgive me for interrupting your reunion, but I don't have much time so I wanted to get straight to the point."
"Oh yes, of course, don't worry. I think we know who is who, but it would still be good to introduce ourselves. I'm Bunnix, I take care of the timeline, I can jump from place to place and even send someone. That place is my burrow, so everything is there. I don't promise to answer everything, because if something is told it won't happen, but I can answer any other questions. Oh, I can also rewind the time of some things, although I only return them to their original state, like a broken brick wall."
She put away her umbrella again and sat down on the floor.
"That seems fine to me. I'm Queen Bee, nice to meet you, I can paralyze people with my stinger, however, I can't paralyze more than 3 people at the same time."
"I'm Viperion, I can rewind time up to 20 minutes and make whoever listens to my music enter a trance for a bit, in that time, I can control them as I wish." He looked at Ladybug for a second and then at Queen Bee. He had gotten that ability a year ago, it helped him keep civilians calm and keep them away from the area.
"I'm not introducing myself since you've already seen what I can do." Chat said this time, leaning on his cane.
"My name's Ladybug, I can create any object I want, as long as I have one on hand, I can fix whatever the akumatized person has created or the situation, and if someone gets hurt, they are healed in the process." Although she hoped no one would get hurt in the fight with Hawk Moth. "Now that the introductions have been made, let's gather all the information we have."
"Well, let me start, Ladybug." Viperion stepped forward. "We suspected that Mayura had been working with Hawk Moth for a long time. There are times when she avoids certain places and we thought it might be where she was hiding at the time, however, every time we tried to get closer, the sentimonster would disappear or stay still. She started attacking at the same time as Hawk Moth and we have never seen any of their faces because they wanted it that way. Over time, we realized that they were not attacking just for the sake of it, but that they were testing our abilities. I've been keeping an eye on Paris since I left, I was worried that they would come for me, but thanks to that I saw the pattern, if one doesn't attack, the other won't either, usually, the sentimonster has some resemblance to the akumatized one, in terms of skills or strength. I know that they can only be coincidences, but too many coincidences make a pattern."
He remained silent for a few seconds, looking at Bunnix, not knowing whether to continue, but she shook her head, it was not the time yet.
"I understand, we also had the suspicion since they were both looking for the 2 most powerful Miraculouses, Chat Noir's and mine."
"If they get those 2 miraculouses they can make a wish, but by doing so the world will be rewritten and it would not be the same. If you change one thing from the past, everything changes completely. Events must change for the new ones to happen, it's impossible to change a single thing sometimes, not when that event is extremely important in the story."
Chloé continued, she and Ladybug had talked about it for a while, they had been trying to discover what Hawk Moth wanted.
"If you want to heal someone, another person will get sick; If you want to resurrect someone, someone else will die. Every wish has a price, you can't choose who it will bounce at. If they have been analyzing us all this time as you say, it's because they want to know what they are facing and thus formulate a plan to defeat it. That's where you come in, Viperion, your second chance will be crucial."
"I know, I'll use it anyway, I need to deal with certain things that day to make sure everything ends as well as possible…"
"What do you mean?" Adrien looked at him, narrowing his eyes. "Does it have to do with that thing that only you and Bunnix know and decided not to tell me? Will it finally be useful?"
"Viperion found out because it's his destiny, I already told you, Chat, we time bearers should not say certain things to maintain order."
"I know, but wouldn't it be better to tell it now?"
"This is not the time." They both said at the same time. Ladybug understood the delicacy of time, so she wouldn't ask what was going on, if it wasn't the time, it wasn't the time.
On the other hand, Queen Bee didn't understand it well, but if her partner didn't say anything, she wouldn't either.
"Anyway, I hope that when the time comes, they let us know or handle the situation well. Chat Noir, you've worked with your teammates for a long time, I think they deserve more trust." Marinette knew she had no right to scold him, but the boy has been looking anxious since they battled together.
"I know... I'm sorry, I just feel left out, Bunnix even knows when I fart." He pouted for a second; It was true, but he was also anxious about his father.
"Don't worry, Chat, we get it, but like Ladybug said, trust us." She approached him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'll tell you at the right time, I promise."
"Fine..." He released a sigh, avoiding looking at them, it was better that they carried on talking.
"If we capture Hawk Moth and Mayura, will we hand them over to the police after taking the miraculous from them?" Queen Bee asked, because in theory, they did commit crimes by breaking the law and harming people, many people had been left with trauma.
"We must, it's what Parisians want and it's the right thing to do, no matter what, they must pay for what they did."
"In addition to a considerable fine for the damage they caused in London these past 2 years." Bunnix added. "I hope to finally be able to retire, traveling through time has my brain all tangled up."
"Let's hope..."
Once the meeting was over, everyone left the Eiffel Tower. Chloé sent Adrien a message asking if he could go to the hotel at 7 pm, he assumed it was about the party and said yes, although he was still anxious after the meeting, he would go.
He hadn't seen his father since the night before and Nathalie was nowhere to be found either, so he could go out, but it depressed him at the same time.
When the time arrived, he told Luka and went to pick him up. His friend noticed his mood as soon as he saw him, but he didn't say anything, perhaps the party would cheer him up.
When he got to the hotel he told the bodyguard to come in, so he wouldn't wait so long in the car, and in the process, he could eat something at the party.
As soon as the elevator opened Sabrina threw confetti, taking the 3 by surprise.
"Welcome back to Paris, Adrien!" Chloé said, the guests behind her clapping animatedly.
"Thank you… although now I'm quite unsure about that." He smiled so as not to kill the mood and observed the people, he only recognized Marinette from the bakery.
"Ah, yes. I thought that if you stayed in Paris you could use more friends, maybe we might end up in the same university as some of them. We went to the same school, if your father had given you permission you would have met them."
Chloé led him to the front of the crowd so they could introduce themselves.
"Nice to meet you, man, I'm Nino." Was the first to introduce himself.
"I'm Alya, Nino's girlfriend, a pleasure."
"My name's Rosita and this is Juleka." The second one just raised her hand.
"I'm Milen and this is my boyfriend Iván."
"Hello."
"I'm Nathaniel, nice to meet you."
"And I Marc."
"I'm Max, and this is my friend Markov, he has artificial intelligence that I created myself."
"Hello, nice to meet you, Adrien!"
Of course the robot was going to be energetic.
"And I'm Kim, the best swimmer in Paris."
"Kagami."
"We already met this morning, but I'm Marinette, in case you don't remember."
"Hi everyone, it's really a pleasure to meet you too, I have heard about you from Luka and Alix." The world seriously was a small place, he finally knew who he had heard from, now he wished to have gone to school with them even more.
"Really? That traitor left us without a guitarist."
"I've apologized before, Rosita, but look on the bright side, maybe there's a pianist. " Luka said, pointing at Adrien.
He had told Adrien about the band when they had first met for the assignment. Shortly after, he even told him that if one day they were both in Paris again, he could join them, surely his friends would like the idea.
"That's great!"
"Do you play any other instruments?" Iván, who was the drummer, asked.
"No, just that one and the flute a little bit." He learnt the second one just to annoy Viperion.
"But he does it very well, he's an expert on the piano and keyboard, Alix, he and I played in London." Luka told them, his grades had been proof of this.
"Of the three, Alix is the best. She plays the violin like a professional."
It's not because Adrien was being modest, of the three she was the best, she played the vibratos as if they were nothing.
Chloé watched them chat while having a chouquette, she was happy that it was going better than planned. Maybe it's because of the help of his friend from London who knows the people from Paris, but they seemed to genuinely like him.
Marinette approached her stealthily, staying somewhat far away. The atmosphere between them was somewhat uncomfortable, because on more than one occasion when they were little, she had seriously gotten on her nerves, however, she didn't harbor any resentment towards her.
"You really don't dislike us if you dared to invite us so that Adrien would have more friends." She dared to say, she wasn't looking for a fight, just to solve some doubts that were left hanging long ago.
"Whether I like someone or not, it doesn't mean that someone else won't like them. Adrien needs more friends in Paris and you are the only ones I know who are suitable, so it doesn't matter." Chloe shrugged, she wasn't going to reveal anything.
"What do you mean by suitable?"
"That they won't be fake, they won't speak with hypocrisy nor act like gold diggers, not like Layla who only seeks to climb through others." She made a disgusted expression by just remembering her, she had disliked her from the beginning.
Layla arrived playing the victim and acting all cool since day one, Chloé wasn't stupid and she had known immediately what her game was. She tried to befriend her only because her father was the mayor and she wanted a life of luxuries apparently.
Marinette did fall for her deception at the beginning, she even defended her when Chloé insulted her.
"You really are a hypocrite, you don't know anyone you claim to know and you don't even travel the world, you probably only have posters stuck in your room or a green screen." Chloé spoke rudely to her that day, after saving her as Queen Bee she had been able to confirm her suspicions.
"Chloé, why are you talking to me like that? I thought we were friends." She had pretended to cry like a fool, just so everyone could see her and damage Bourgeois's image, which she had been trying to fix in her own way.
"For God's sake, stop playing the victim! You won't have anything from me, so get away from me once and for all." She had passed by her and bumped her shoulder into hers, Layla had fallen as if she were in an Indian novel.
"Oh! Chloé, I'm sorry, I don't understand why you're doing this to me... I sprained my bad wrist."
Marinette, who couldn't stand injustice, approached them, helping Layla; she still didn't see the problem at that time. Buying the story, she had confronted Chloé.
"You didn't have to push her, you know? You never really change, that's why no one wants to be your friend, you treat everyone badly."
"That's not true! I'm her friend and she doesn't treat me badly, it's not her fault that there are hypocrites who want to abuse her status." Sabrina wasn't going to allow her friend to be defamed, she knew she had her issues, but this time she was absolutely right .
"Sabrina, she used you as a slave and denigrated everyone. Even if she "changed", she does the same thing again."
"It isn't true! Layla's a liar, you can even ask Jagged Stone if he met her, he is at the hotel today, since you are friends with him, you should believe him, right?"
"Sabrina! "
Bourgeois had called her to leave, there was no point in arguing.
"Let's go already."
"But Chloé…"
"It's okay."
After that Marinette had actually asked Jagged Stone if it was true Layla had saved his cat once, after he told her that she didn't, she went to confirm if there were other lies.
She had ended up apologizing to Chloé for judging her, in the end, only Sabrina, Chloé and Marinette knew the truth about Layla.
"Well, it's true, plus, I think everyone already recognized who he is and knows that he is a good person. Whoever is Luka's friend is everyone's friend, he is the one who reads people the best."
Marinette poured herself the punch so as not to look stupid there.
"By the way, who is he? Adrien didn't tell me he was bringing someone."
"He's Juleka's twin brother, he went to London for a while, that's where they met."
Marinette went over to Kagami, who stood as still as a statue, watching the group from afar, practically dragging her there.
"Hmm... must be the one he mentioned a couple of times." Chloé muttered to herself.
"Hey, Kagami, why don't you talk to him? You said your mother and his father were partners."
"That doesn't make us friends, although I'm interested in having a fencing duel with him to see how good he is." Was the only thing Kagami saw in common between them.
"Then why don't you use that to say something?"
"The conversation is not appropriate, perhaps another time." She took a macaroon from the table, simply observing it.
"As you want, but don't just stay there."
At the given time, everyone exchanged numbers with Adrien, if he went to the boat with Luka, they would see him more often. It would also be nice if they met up afterwards to chat or go to the movies, he had certain things in common with them, even Max already invited him to play video games.
When the party was reaching its end, Kagami approached him, holding out her hand.
"I'm Kagami, in case you didn't hear it before."
"Yes, I remember." He accepted her hand, although it seemed a little strange to him.
"Would you have a fencing duel with me? I heard from my mother that you were the best at the academy here in Paris, but by the time I came here, you were long gone."
"Oh, sure, no problem, although I haven't practiced it in a long time." His fights as Chat Noir didn't count, they weren't the same, so he couldn't deny that he was excited by the proposal.
"If you beat her, would you have a duel with me?" Marinette turned to look at them. "I beat her once, although in the rematch she completely destroyed me."
"Sure, no problem, I would really like it, I will see when I can and let you know."
"I hope he agrees with you, my mother is like your father, no wonder they get along so well."
"Oh, I get it, too many rules." He smiled slightly, if they were really similar, she didn't have it easy either.
"Yes, at least I think your father is better than my mother, she barely speaks to me."
"No, he doesn't speak much to me either, and when he does, nothing good comes out of his mouth…"
His eyes watered a little when he said that, some things in common they had, family issues.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you had a better relationship, I shouldn't have assumed, it's just that he seems more open to people and I thought he would be the same with you…"
Kagami had a knack for being too direct sometimes, mostly because she didn't know how to socialize well.
More open to people than with him.
That was true, like, he got along better with Nathalie than with him, they even seemed to be in a relationship. The thoughts he had been holding back came back full force, anxiety increasing. When the tears began to escape, he quickly covered his face.
"I-I'm sorry, I need to go to the bathroom." He quickly ran away from there.
"I... I didn't mean to make him feel bad, I didn't mean for him to cry." Kagami was shocked by what just happened. Everyone was on alert, ensuring that no akuma approached, they had heard the conversation and it really wasn't Kagami's fault, not intentional.
To try to control the situation, Luka quickly went to the bathroom to check on him.
"Adrien?" Luka called as he stepped into the bathroom, finding him curled under the sink crying, or trying not to.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't want to ruin the mood, but I have been so anxious since I arrived. I know I should be careful because of the akumas, but it's difficult." He murmured without looking at him, he just kept his head hidden between his arms.
"It's not your fault, don't worry, we get it." He took some paper towels and crouched down infront of him. "No one can hold everything back forever, we will protect you from the akuma if it dares to come, okay?" He took his hand, placing the paper towel on it. "Do you want to talk about it?" Adrien raised his head a little, wiping away his tears even though it was useless because they kept coming.
"I haven't had a decent conversation with my father since I arrived. I haven't seen him in 3 years, not physically, and our conversations were dull while on the phone. I've always questioned whether my mother died because of me, since I don't remember having ever seen her healthy... My father kept putting me in classes over the years and didn't let me leave the house. I only met Chloé because he knew her mother. After our only talk since I came back, I haven't stopped wondering if he doesn't love me because my mother died and if he only took care of me out of obligation. He sent me to my aunt and cousin saying it was because I would be better off with my family, when I asked him if he didn't consider me part of the family he said no. He tried to change it, but I ran away out of fear and keep doing so. I haven't seen him since yesterday, Nathalie said he was busy and when I came back from our walk I didn't find her. Seeing Nathalie comforts me, because I know that my father has not abandoned me yet, but not doing so makes me nervous. I know she's his secretary, but I have gotten used to seeing her. I know I'm a fool for not running away from my father when I demand he talk to me, but I'm scared."
He felt calmer after talking with someone about it, Plagg recommended it to him earlier, so he was still thinking about it. Doing it with Luka was more relaxing, his calm expression calms everyone down, even Alix told him that he should be a therapist instead of a musician.
"It is not easy to talk about your problems with the cause, I understand that. Adrien, it's not your fault that your mother got sick, even if she was like that before giving birth, she made the decision to carry on with the pregnancy because she loved you and would never blame you. From what you've told me about her, I can tell that she loved you very much. Parents act in their own way, and if they don't love their child, they tell them directly. As you said, your father tried to fix the misunderstanding, so talk to him to find out what's going on. You told me that he isn't one to joke around, he wouldn't lie to you like that. Mr. Agreste has always been busy, hasn't he? So it would be normal if he wasn't at home, he can't abandon you just like that. Nathalie appreciates you a lot, or that's what I saw when I met her, so she wouldn't leave you either."
Adrien wiped away his tears, just then, the bodyguard came in, holding the phone out for him to see. It was a message from Gabriel asking him to bring Adrien back to the house, he had to talk to him.
"Give me a second, I'll come out now." He asked in a hushed voice, and when he left, Adrien got up from the ground. "In the end I do have to talk to him..."
"That's a good thing, right?"
"It depends on what he says... But thanks, Luka, I feel better with what you said." He threw away the paper towel, washing his face before stepping out.
"Let me know if it turns out well or not."
"Okay… Do please give my apologies to the others, the party was meant to be for me, but I have to go now."
"Don't worry, it's not your fault, they will understand, take care."
~~~~~
Gabriel was about to create an akuma a moment ago, but when he was looking for candidates, he was stunned upon what he came across.
Adrien's voice passed through his head and his words made him feel guilty.
••I really am a bad son, although I try to do my best. He treats everyone better than me, he must seriously hate me for mom's death, it's all my fault, if I hadn't been born no one would be unhappy and mom would be fine. I'm just an annoying burden, that's why he never wants to see me and just works. I'm useless, why did I have to be born?••
As soon as Gabriel heard that, he de-transformed, holding onto the table to keep his balance.
"Sir, what's happening? Do you feel ill?" Nathalie didn't take long to help him, although she insisted on him not transforming today, Gabriel hadn't listened.
"No... I'm not okay... Adrien... I heard Adrien, he thinks Emilie died because of him, I don't know what happened, but he keeps blaming himself for it and he thinks I hate him because I think it's his fault. If he knew the truth, he wouldn't believe that... I need to tell him, if Adrien has suicidal thoughts I don't think I might ever forgive myself."
"Oh God, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stopped you because of your health before, I'll ask him to come." She de-transformed in the same way to send a message to Adrien, but Gabriel stopped her.
"I'll do it." He took out his phone and dialed his son's number, waiting for him to answer, but he was just sent to voicemail, over and over again. "He isn't answering."
"Tryl the bodyguard."
"Right." Gabriel was quick to send him a message, begging him to answer, luckily, it didn't take long for him to do so. "Let's go upstairs, even if my illness flares, I'm not going to keep on postponing it, I have to tell him the truth no matter what."
"But if you run out of breath, go to your room, I'll take Adrien to it."
When they went up they had to wait around 10 minutes for them to arrive, for Gabriel, it felt like hours, and the worry just made him develop a headache.
As soon as his son stepped through the door of his office, he hugged him, taking him by surprise.
"Father?"
"I'll leave you alone." Nathalie shut the door behind her, staying outside in case she was needed.
"I'm so sorry, son, I know you're upset, but we have to talk, I have to tell you something." Gabriel walked away from him and pointed at the couch. "Sit down, please."
"It's okay..." Adrien blinked several times to get rid of the tears that threatened to come out due the hug and took a seat with his eyes fixed on the floor.
"I know we haven't spoken properly since you arrived... Or rather for years, and it's for a reason." He took a seat next to him, looking at the table; he couldn't see his face either.
"The reason why you don't love me?"
"No!" There he quickly looked at him, unintentionally raising his voice, it sounded too aggressive, he could see how Adrien shrank a little. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. Adrien, a long time ago, when I went on that excursion in Asia with your mother and Nathalie, we found something we shouldn't have. Your mother became ill after coming into contact with it, but since it wasn't enough, she was able to last many years. However, I was desperate to find a cure for her when I saw that it was only getting worse with age. I pushed you and her aside for a while. I thought that if I found a way to cure her, we could be together longer, but I just lost valuable time. Shortly after, I got sick in a similar way, it wasn't contagious from her, but from coming into contact with what made her sick in the first place. I sent you to classes when you were old enough to make sure you didn't notice how your mother's illness was getting worse and how mine was starting."
That's when Adrien looked at him, not believing what he was saying.
"I never wanted a perfect son, I just wanted you to have less time to worry about our health, but everything was worse. I know that our relationship was damaged over the years and that you even think that I don't love you, but it's not true. When your mother died, I got depressed and I didn't want you to see me like that. I felt useless for not being able to help her. I sent you to your aunt and cousin while I blamed myself for going on that stupid field trip. When you came back from London I was thinking about how to tell you, or if I should, but after our conversation, I made up my mind. I don't want you to think that I don't love you as my family, you are the most precious thing I have right now, but I never know how to say things in the moment. When I ran away at dinner that day after our talk, that was my illness flaring up, I didn't want you to see me like that, I didn't want to worry you, however, I just gave you the wrong idea. My illness has gotten worse over the years, your mother lasted 15 years, but I won't be able to last more than 12 if I don't find a cure."
"Wa-wait a minute, are you telling me that you sent me away so that I wouldn't know what was happening instead of letting me enjoy the time you had left with you?" The last thing he said was what brought tears to his eyes again. "If-if, you've been sick for a long time, if you got sick not long after mom, how much do you have left? Father, you can't tell me all this at once and then tell me that I'm going to lose you too."
Gabriel could hear the desperation in his son's voice and he blamed himself, but there was nothing else he could do.
"I'm sorry, I know I'm an idiot, I should have been with you all this time, but I didn't want to worry you, you were suffering from your mother's death, how could I tell you at that moment that I was going to die too?"
"That was better than telling me when you have almost no time left! I thought you hated me because of mom and I blamed myself for years! But you tell me that's not the case and that I'm going to lose you... " Gabriel thought Adrien was going to leave at that moment, but what he did instead was hug him and cling to him. "Father… please tell me it's a joke, please tell me that for the first time in years you are making a joke and it's a really terrible one...P-please." His voice had begun to shake.
"I'm sorry son... I wish it was, but I would never lie to you like that, however, I'm close to a cure, if I get it I will be able to stay with you." He reciprocated his hug, biting back his pain. It always hurt him to see his son in that state, that's why he refused to tell him the truth so much.
"Father…"
Nathalie could hear him crying from the other side of the door, and with that she knew that he had already told him about his illness, she had heard the screams too. She knew that Adrien blamed himself for Emilie's death, she once heard him say it, but she didn't dare ask.
After that he hinted that the trip to Asia had brought misfortunes, he thought he understood what he was referring to. She felt sorry for Adrien, he would lose everything if they didn't get the cure, or well, the Miraculouses.
If they were defeated they would both go to prison, she was aware of that, so she wouldn't be able to stay and care for Adrien and comfort him for the death of his father.
Gabriel stayed with his son for a while longer after he calmed down. He would have liked to stay longer, but his body demanded rest, his emotions affected his health.
"Father, let me walk you to your room." Although Gabriel didn't want him to see the oxygen machine and the one that Mrs. Tsurugi gave him, or rather helped him build.
Adrien didn't want to be separated from him and Gabriel understood, so he ended up accepting.
"Alright." He moved away from him so he could get up and they left the office. He nodded to Nathalie to follow them. He would take a bath before going to bed, yet, he needed the headache pills first, but if he went to get them, Adrien would follow him and see the rest.
"Father-"
"You can call me dad, Adrien."
"Dad… Who else knows about your illness?"
"Almost no one, apart from you now, only Nathalie, your bodyguard and Mrs. Tsurugi know."
"Who is Mrs. Tsurugi?"
"She owns one of the best technology companies in Japan, if you search on the internet you will find something right away."
"Okay." Adrien nodded, assuming it had to do with 'the cure' he was about to get.
Nathalie opened the door to the room for them to pass through, checking that there was nothing strange in sight. When they entered, the first thing Adrien saw were the machines, feeling somewhat anxious. It had to be seriously bad for his father to require oxygen when he never suffered from asthma, apart from the other weird one.
"Nathalie, please bring me the headache pills." Gabriel requested after taking a seat on the bed. "Adrien, did you have dinner yet?"
"Yes, I was at a party that Chloé threw to welcome me…"
"I understand, but please let me know from now on if you are going out, always go with your bodyguard. You can go out, but be careful, it's more dangerous here than London. The akumatized ones act on their own for selfish purposes, not like sentimonsters."
Knowing where he was he could at least order the akuma where to go.
"It's okay, dad. Could you… could you not be too busy now? I would like to spend more time with you... what's left, please." He felt his eyes get hot again, but if he continued crying he would get his eyes all puffy and run out of tears, and his father looked tired.
"Here are the pills, sir."
"I didn't plan to work so much since you came back, but I avoided seeing you if my illness was present, I'm sorry, son. Tomorrow we can have breakfast together." He poured himself a glass of water and took 2 tablets to relieve the pain a little, but nothing had much effect nowadays.
"Okay, I'll leave you to rest, see you tomorrow, dad." He left the room, giving him one last look before closing the door.
"Nathalie... I'll just look for the right candidate, if I don't get them in 2 attacks, I'll leave it be." Gabriel threw a look at the door, wondering if his son would be able to cope.
"As you wish, at least Adrien already knows part of the truth now, if we fail, he can prepare from now on." She took the bottle of pills back, returning it to the place where it was. "Rest, you must have maximum energy, we can't get back lost time, but we can make good use of the one we have left."
"I know." Gabriel got out of bed, going to the bathroom after he left the room as well.
~
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Emilie, wanting to help Gabriel decipher what the book said to see if it would help inspire him, had decided to use the peacock miraculous.
After finding the miraculous along with the book on that expedition, they kept the jewels, she only understood the pages. They tried to decipher what it said, but no known language was able to translate it. In the end, she decided to use the miraculous, what they were sure of was that those things were magical. The creature told her a little about its existence, but not what the book said for that knowledge was kept privy from her.
She passed the information on to her husband without telling him anything else, just helping him in that way, by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. She was already pregnant, Gabriel was worried that his son would get hurt too, but luckily that wasn't the case. He left the topic of the miraculous and the book aside in search of a cure, but when he couldn't find it, he came back to them.
For years, he worked hard to find a cure while keeping up his designing career to support his family. He barely saw anyone, Emilie had asked him to stop, but he was not willing to lose her so easily.
In the end, of so many failures, one was the worst, leading him to get sick as well. The more he came into contact with the miraculous, mixing chemicals and testing them, the more he progressed.
However, one day while trying to fix it, he created an explosion of cosmic energy that damaged him. He managed to fix the miraculous shortly after, but not his wife or him.
He was scared after losing her, knowing that the same thing would happen to him one day and he would leave his son alone, it was eating away at him. And after almost a year after his wife's death, he decided to become Hawk Moth. He didn't want to hurt people, but his son was the most important thing to him at that moment, so he would look for the miraculous to make the wish. Adrien didn't know he was sick, so he would make sure that that sickness would leave as quietly as it came, without him knowing.
He understood that his son was suffering away from him after losing his mother, but he did this for him, if this worked out he wouldn't lose his father too. He knew it was stupid to put Mayura in London, but he didn't know where the black cat and the ladybug were at.
Natalie could control the sentimonsters at will, so he was confident that his son would be safer there.
After seeing them divided, he began to formulate a plan to bring them together and be able to defeat them, during those 2 years, he spent it analyzing them. He decided to give them a little warning before starting the plan, perhaps a surprise attack was better, but he needed both miraculouses at the same time.
But if nothing worked, he would die in the hospital, questioned by guards and Nathalie in prison. Or so it should be, however, he would take all the blame to try to get her absolved of all crimes.
He wouldn't allow for his son to be left alone.