After reaching the Agreste mansion, the three heroes ended up in the sitting area. Marinette and Gabriel detransformed, but Claw remained as he was, though he did sit on the edge of the couch. "Tell me everything," he said evenly, staring his father down.

After a solid breath in, Gabriel began the same story he had told Marinette, but this time, he filled in the missing pieces.

The two Miraculous that they had initially found in their journey hadn't been the Butterfly and Peacock as she had assumed, but the Ladybug and Black Cat.

They'd held onto them, untouched, for a long time as they continued their research, up until Adrien had gotten sick. In a desperate attempt to save him, Emilie had decided it was worth the risk to make the wish, not knowing exactly what the price would be.

It had worked; Adrien had come back from the brink of death. But Gabriel had quickly realized that the cost had been in the form of a shift in Emilie.

While Adrien recovered, still out of it, Emilie became cold, focused only on finding the rest of the Miraculous and using that power. The two fought, verbally at first, and then physically as Emilie took advantage of his unwillingness to hurt her.

She took the Miraculous, making a second wish. Gabriel only had guesses to what it had been, but suddenly, she had control over many of the other jewels. She quickly created a new persona for herself, leaving Emilie Agreste behind.

She'd left him then, though before she did, Gabriel had agreed not to expose her as long as she left him and Adrien alone. Unbeknownst to her, he managed to steal back the Butterfly Miraculous before she left for good.

When Adrien had woken up, Gabriel, deep in the grips of grief and self-blame, decided to fake Emilie's death instead.

"I should have told you sooner, Adrien," Gabriel said, his eyes hollow. "I thought grieving for her death would be easier for you. I pushed you away because I thought if she ever discovered I was fighting against her, she might not go after you." His head dropped into his hands. "I failed spectacularly there. I do not blame you for hating me for my actions. I did what I thought was best, but clearly, I am more flawed than I ever realized."

He looked up once more, the emotion flitting away again, a trait Marinette realized he shared with his son. "Apparently, I underestimated her ability to discover and take advantage of others' weaknesses. It didn't take her very long before she recruited you, right under my nose."

Claw remained silent beside her, staring at the ground as the tension in his shoulders kept him on edge.

Gabriel continued. "I didn't bring you into the resistance because I didn't want you to have to face your mother. It was a burden I felt needed to remain on my shoulders alone. Perhaps I could have kept you in the dark, and still brought you in. I'm sorry, Adrien. I haven't made the best decisions. I've—" Gabriel cut off as his voice broke, and Marinette could see the weight of the emotion brimming over the edge in his posture.

A deep sorrow built within her. The man had been forced to fight the shell of his spouse, without anyone to really lean on.

Beside her, Claw jumped back up to his feet, his eyes slightly wild as he tore out of the room without speaking.

Marinette quickly rose to follow, motioning for Gabriel to wait.

She found him one room over, pacing. Closing the door, she walked over, reaching her hand out to him.

He took it, and though he stopped moving, he didn't look at her. "I want to hate him, Marinette. It was easier." He let out a hollow laugh. "Easier to believe he failed me than to admit I failed them both. I wasn't worth the sacrifice."

Marinette tugged insistently on his arm, trying to bring him closer. "That's not true at all, Adrien."

Pulling away from her, Claw resumed his pacing. "Bringing me back took my mom and broke my dad, and look what I did? It was fucking wasted on me." His breathing was heavy as he rounded on her, continuing angrily, "I'm not a good person, Marinette. I enabled her regime for three fucking years. The only reason I stopped was because the one person I cared about asked me to; I didn't do it out of a change of heart. Force of good, what a load of—"

"Adrien." Marinette yanked on his bell, ignoring the pain as the spikes nicked her hand. "Saving your life has not been a waste. Yes, you did some regrettable things for a while. Everyone makes mistakes. As for Shady being the only reason you switched—you keep saying that, but I don't believe it. You're telling me you never considered it before that?"

Claw's eyes shifted away, and she could see the truth there. "I've watched you for months, Adrien. I've seen the way you care. You care so much that you put yourself through isolation just to keep others out of harm's way. It was you who helped Shadybug calm down enough to accept help from Adrien back in my world.

"So you've destroyed buildings; you've done enough penance for that by saving each and every one of those holders and their loved ones over these past few months. You sacrificed your hand to save me just now. Those kids you care for at the gym. It all adds up. You don't have to be planting daisies and dancing in the streets to be a good person, Adrien."

He closed his eyes, leaning his head down to rest on hers. They both simply breathed together for a short time.

Finally, Claw brought his hand up and twisted it into her hair. "I don't know how, but you always seem to drag me out of the darkness. I can't seem to stop falling into it all the damn time, but then there you are, my own personal beacon of light."

Marinette smiled. "Try falling into me more, instead. I'll catch you."

He laughed softly, opening his eyes. "I hope you know how much I love you, Marinette. I forgot for a minute how much I have to be grateful for." His hand dropped down as he gently brushed his fingers against the side of her stomach.

Marinette finally released the bell, not managing to hide her wince well enough as Claw frowned and gently took her hand. He swiped his thumb over the pinpricks of blood. "You've bled enough for me, alright? This thing is spiked to keep people away, you know."

"Well, maybe cool it with the self-hate and I won't have to grab it to make you listen again." The corner of her mouth lifted in a brief smile.

He met it with one of his own before it fell away as he turned towards the door. "I need to…" He shook his head, not finishing his sentence as he started for the other room. Before opening it, he took a breath and detransformed.

He took Marinette's hand, walking back out with her at his side to try and fix what he could.

Later that evening, after escaping the meet up of the resistance that had turned from debriefing everyone on what happened into a celebration of sorts, Marinette explored the hallways of the mansion, trying to find where Adrien had gone.

She came upon Gabriel instead, sitting alone in the dining room and staring at nothing.

He'd left even sooner than Adrien had, offering the group a simple explanation before leaving them to celebrate. Marinette had understood why, of course; she expected he hadn't been in a mood to celebrate finally stopping his wife.

Marinette lingered in the doorway, debating whether to leave him be. When Adrien had talked with him earlier, they had reached what she had thought was a good spot: forgiveness, and a mutual desire to potentially repair the relationship moving forward. Gabriel had been greatly relieved, though Adrien was more reserved.

Finally deciding, Marinette took a step inside. "Mr. Agreste. How are you managing?"

Gabriel looked up at her, though the weary look had not dissipated. "Not as well as I'd hoped, I'm afraid."

She sat down at the table several chairs down from him. "Did you go and see her?"

He remained quiet for a few moments. "Yes. I did."

"And?"

With a sigh, he lifted his hand to rub his temple. "She was unremorseful. Seemed to believe she could convince me to see things her way." He laughed quietly then, his expression softening in a strange way. "She wasn't…completely wrong. What she said during our battle. My Emilie, she always did have lofty ambitions." The warmth fell away as quickly as it had come, his smile fading. "But never like this."

"Is there…no hope then?"

His eyes went far away. "She'll be locked away for a very long time. Justice will be had for what she did. And yet…" As he trailed off, she could see it in his eyes: the tiniest spark of hope. "What if there is a way to bring her back? Perhaps what the wish has done to her mind can be fixed. Connections reformed with time and effort." His shoulders slumped slightly, the spark disappearing. "Perhaps it would be best to grieve her fully now, instead."

Marinette wasn't sure what the answer was, which path would bring less pain. But if there was a chance, even a small one, she reckoned it was worth the consideration. Something he'd said earlier came back to her. "Everyone always wants to tear out weeds. But you know the funny thing?" She stood up, and with a small smile, she continued. "Weeds are flowers, too."

The ghost of a smile fell across Gabriel's expression. "You do see the good in everyone, don't you, Miss Dupain-Cheng? I admire that about you. I believe it's what helped us succeed in the end, today." The smile grew more defined as he looked at her. "No matter what happens, it's a comfort to know that a piece of my Emilie lives on in Adrien. He hasn't had an easy life, thanks to me. But he is a good man."

Marinette smiled warmly, her hand falling to her stomach. "I agree."

His gaze lowered briefly. "Emilie would have been ecstatic to find out we would be having a grandchild." The fondness in his expression gained a hint of pain as he looked back up. "I assume you plan to return to your own home after this? Will Adrien go with you?"

Marinette hadn't yet talked with Adrien about the future. They hadn't quite gotten past the shocking events of the day to fully take in the fact that they had finally achieved their goal. "I don't know everything just yet. But, I don't have too long left until the baby comes. I imagine I could at least stay until then. You could meet him, if you'd like."

The man looked truly happy at that. "I—yes. I would very much like that. Thank you, for everything you've done here. For the resistance, and for my son."

She smiled, leaving the room.

Marinette finally found Adrien outside, sitting on the ground against the outer wall as he stared morosely into the distance. She walked up to him, staring at the ground with a calculating look as she tried to figure out if she'd be able to get up again if she sat down next to him.

Adrien glanced up at her. He must have read her mind, however, because he quickly said, "Oh, no you don't." He jumped to his feet, pulling her against him to hold her in his arms. "Sorry I left you in there, Sweetness. Wasn't in a party kinda mood, ya know?"

She tipped her head back, using her hand to guide his head down to meet her in a soft kiss. "It's been a bit of a day, hasn't it?"

He snorted. "Got that fucking right."

Marinette knew there was still much for him to sort through in regards to both of his parents. Instead of ruminating on it at the moment, however, she chose to try and lighten his mood instead.

"Silver linings though. We made it. No more fighting."

Adrien let out a longer breath at that, and when some of his tension seeped out of him, she knew she had chosen right. "You're right. Fuck, I'm so relieved. I've been so in my head that I forgot it's finally fucking done." He looked down at her, his hand coming to her cheek. He opened his mouth to say something else, but she startled, feeling the baby give a few energetic kicks in her belly.

Adrien glanced down to where she held her hand over her stomach. "Is he kicking?"

"Yep." She brought his hand to the right spot, letting him feel.

It wasn't the first time he had felt the baby kick, not even close. But there was a joy that slowly overtook his expression, growing swiftly as he looked back up into her eyes, his mouth falling open slightly. "It's over. We can finally…we're having a fucking baby, Marinette. Holy hell—" His eyes widened as he suddenly grabbed her arms in a panic. "I don't know what to do. I've been so focused on the Supreme I haven't even thought about it. How do you take care of a baby? Shit!"

Marinette laughed. "There's still time, Adrien. I've been doing my own research." She'd already come up with a list of many of the possibilities, just in case something unexpected happened.

"Yeah. Time." Adrien seemed to calm down at that. "How much again?"

"Another month or two, most likely."

"Okay. That's fine. A month." He began to pace a bit more wildly. "Fuck! That's not enough time. Goddamnit, I gotta do it at least as good as fucking model-boy over there. Wait—" He twisted back to her, his breathing uneven. "What are we doing? What's the plan?"

Marinette didn't know which was stronger, her desire to laugh at him or kiss him again. There was something endlessly amusing and yet appealing about the way he handled his panic. Reining herself in, she walked over to him and took his hands. "First, calm down, everything will be fine. Second." She thought back to her conversation with his father. "I was actually thinking maybe we could stay here until the baby comes? Your dad needs help finding the rest of the Miraculous, anyway." It was the one loose end they still had to snip, finding where she had been staying and keeping the box with the rest of the missing Miraculous.

Adrien nodded cautiously. "Sounds fine. But then? We all go back?"

"Is that what you still want? I know you're only just beginning to mend things with your dad. I'd hate to take you away from that."

He gripped her hands tightly. "My place is with you, Marinette. And the little guy. We could come back to visit, right?"

"Yeah, I think so." She hesitated then, realizing something else they hadn't discussed. "If you stay with me over there, you'll have to leave your Miraculous here. With your dad, or whoever will be guardian of the box. Shady knows she has to do the same. We can't have two of the same Miraculous together for too long, so Tikki warned me."

Adrien merely shrugged. "That's fine. I'll do whatever it takes. Is that it?"

"That's it. Do we have a plan?"

Adrien grinned down at her, the happiness rapidly overflowing. "Fuck yeah, we do."

A/N: Only two chapters left! Might be persuaded to post the next one early, but I have to get my audio done for it first. Hope you enjoyed!

Song Rec: Fall Into Me by Forest Blakk