Adrien
"Why do you look like that?"
He glanced up at Plagg, slightly annoyed.
"Leave me alone. I'm thinking."
"Well stop it. You're creeping me out."
Plagg whined, and Adrien rolled his eyes. He got up, walking over to his bedroom door, listening intently. Was his father still awake? He couldn't get his heart to stop pounding.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I think Marinette might actually be Ladybug."
He whispered, and Plagg's face fell.
"That's ridiculous."
"Is it? Grant knew her. He said that she wasn't any fun to talk to when she was sober. The only time I've ever seen her drunk was that night with the acuma. He couldn't have been around Ladybug, because he was with Marinette."
Plagg shook his head, flying over to Adrien.
"He was only with Marinette for a few minutes. Maybe he saw Ladybug after."
Adrien leaned back against his door, watching Plagg. It was possible, but highly unlikely.
"Plus, since Grant was stalking Ladybug and I, it doesn't make sense for him to step in and help Marinette. Not when he would have been following us. I didnt know where Marinette was, but he did."
Plagg grew quiet, but he looked worried.
"Plus, he called her princess."
"He also called her darling. That doesn't mean anything."
Adrien frowned, turning and walking over to grab his phone.
"When he called her princess, it wasn't natural. It was a threat. And when he showed the bakery? I thought it was because I was always there. But Ladybug reacted by destroying the screen. She didn't want me to see it."
Plagg picked up a piece of cheese and ate it, smacking loudly.
"I thought Marinette helped with an acuma a few years back."
"Right. But I was thinking, that was around the time I suspected her. Maybe she faked the whole thing."
Plagg frowned at him, and he shrugged.
"Marinette is smart. Maybe she found a way around it. As soon as father goes to his room I'm going into his office to look at that book he has. The one with all of the different superheroes in it. Maybe there's a miraculous that she could have used."
Plagg was silent, which was odd, considering his kwami never shut up.
"It makes sense Plagg. That was the only time I've seen her with Ladybug. Ever. Maybe it was all fake."
"I don't think you should do this."
Adrien looked at him, before opening the door a crack to glance into the hall. All was dark.
"If it is her, don't you think I deserve to know? If Ladybug really is Marinette it means I fell in love with the same person twice, and I didn't even know it."
Plagg scowled at him, before turning and crossing his arms.
"If it is Marinette, don't you think she would tell you?"
"That's the thing Plagg. She wouldn't. Not willingly. Marinette lied to Adrien's face. She wouldn't tell him the truth. And she didn't even tell Chat about what happened."
Plagg sighed loudly, and Adrien glared.
"Shh."
"If you're going to do this, I don't want any part of it."
"But i need you to unlock the safe."
Plagg shook his head, flying back off into the room. Adrien closed his door and followed, grabbing a tin of cheese closest to him.
"Plagg, here's the deal. Over all these years, I have given you the best kind of cheese you asked for. I would hate to have to start buying off brand, that tastes like plastic."
Plagg glared, and Adrien crossed his arms.
"You're always getting me into trouble. The one time I'm the one that wants to do it you say no? How is that fair?"
Plagg hissed, and Adrien took a step back. Had Plagg ever hissed at him?
"Fine. Let's go."
Plagg snapped, flying through the door. Adrien quickly followed, trying to be quiet. He got down to his father's study, and the door was already unlocked. Plagg was waiting for him behind the painting of his mother, and he opened the safe. Ignoring everything else in there, he grabbed the book and set it on the desk, flipping through the pages. There had to be an explanation. Marinette had to be Ladybug, it was the only thing that made sense. They even acted the same sometimes.
"I think you're reaching. This is all because you want Marinette to be Ladybug. Not because she actually is."
"What about this one? What does it do?"
"I opened the safe and unlocked the door. Isn't that enough?"
Adrien clenched his jaw, flipping through the pages again. There had to be one of the kwami's that could have helped her. His hand froze, staring at a page that had a superhero like Rena Rouge on it.
"Son of a bitch. That's it? It was an illusion?"
"That's ridiculous. She couldn't have used two Miraculous at once."
He held the book up, squinting at the strange letters.
"Can you read this?"
Plagg rolled his eyes, sighing loudly.
"No."
"Whatever. If anyone could use two at once, it would be her. Marinette. I just have to prove it."
"What? What are you going to do?"
Adrien closed the book and stuck it back in the safe, locking it and covering it with the painting.
"I'm going to rip a page out of Chloe's book. I'm going to get someone acumatized."
He flinched when his phone started ringing upstairs, and he hurried out of his father's office.
"That goes against everything you've stood for these past several years."
Plagg snapped, and Adrien took the stairs two at a time to get to his phone. God it was so loud.
"What do you want me to do? Wait for one? Who knows how long that will take."
He ducked into his room, snatching his phone up and answering.
"Hello?"
"Hey kitty."
He glanced at the clock, it was almost one am. Why was she calling so late?
"Hey princess. Everything okay?"
"Yeah, of course. I just... had a bad dream, and I wanted to hear your voice."
She sighed, and he thought about how her voice sounded just like Ladybug. How could he not have heard it before?
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No. I just wanted you to talk to me until I fell asleep again."
He smiled, sitting down on his bed.
"What do you want me to talk about?"
"Anything."
He laid back, looking up at the ceiling. He could talk about Ladybug. See how she responded. But that would make her suspicious, and he didn't want her to get angry at him.
"Okay, once upon a time-"
"A bedtime story?"
"You said anything. So as I was saying, once upon a time, in a far away land, lived a far away princess."
He heard her stifle a giggle, and he grinned.
"She lived in the tallest tower in the land, and only one person could reach her. A daring, brave, strong, handsome-"
"Wow he seems like a dream come true."
"Oh I am."
She giggled at that, and he cleared his throat, continuing the story.
"A handsome and daring Knight, clad in black armor. He had the longest stick in all the land-"
She burst out laughing at that, and he couldn't help but chuckle with her.
"He'd venture up to her tower in the dead of night, blending in with his surroundings so well, that no one knew he visited the beautiful princess. But he did. He came to her and they fell in love, it was as if destiny itself had called him to that tower. To her. She needed him, just as much as he needed her."
"Sounds romantic."
He closed his eyes, taking a small breath. He wanted this story to mean something to her. He wanted her to understand.
"The knight loved her so much, he'd give up everything, anything, to have her by his side. He would abandon his knightly duties, and the entire world around him. He would give up anything, to stay up in that tower with her, from dawn to dusk and all over again. He would do whatever she asked, she need only say it."
Marinette was silent now, and he hoped she wasn't upset by his words. But they were true. If it took giving up Chat Noir for her, he would do it without a second of hesitation. He wanted to be her forever.
"No commentary princess?"
She was quiet, and he figured she was either asleep or pretending to be.
"I love you Mari. Sleep well."
Gabriel Agreste/Hawkmoth
He watched Adrien leave for school, before turning and walking into his office. He had changed so much over the years, Emille probably wouldn't even recognize her son anymore.
"Gabriel?"
Natalie moved into the room, walking over to his desk. He glanced up at her, and she turned the tablet around to face him. On the screen was a list of notifications, all of them mentioned hawkmoth.
"What is that?"
"Starting yesterday around one PM, a user by the name of Peper heard of strife. Iou, has been posting on hundreds of forums, and every one of his posts mentioned hawkmoth. He also mentioned clues to your identity. It appears they are trying to identify you."
Gabriel clenched his jaw, taking the tablet and scrolling through the notifications. There were so many. Who was this person? Who was peper?
"What do you make of it Natalie? An obsessed fan? Or should I be worried?"
"This account was created yesterday. As soon as it was, the notifications started coming in. I don't think it's a fan, in some of the posts he was berating you."
Gabriel handed her back the tablet, looking at his desk.
"Also, some of the notifications came in at the same time. As if the person was in two places at once."
She added, and he looked up at her.
"Do you think it's a hacker?"
"It certainly crossed my mind."
He nodded, running a hand through his hair. Ladybug and Chat Noir hadn't taken steps like this to find out who he was before. Maybe they were getting desperate.
"Well, the only way to beat a hacker, is to hire another one. Call Damien. I want him working on this as soon as possible. I've come too far to let all my work be destroyed by this peper person."
Natalie nodded, and she stepped out of his office to make the call. Damien was a risk, but he didn't have a choice. He was sure he could buy his silence. He walked over to the painting and pressed the buttons needed to activate the elevator. He went to the floor Emile was on, and walked up to her. He had come too far. He wasn't going to let anyone take her away from him. She didn't have much time left. She had been trapped in this coma for years. And he was failing her. Again. He pressed his hand against the glass, closing his eyes.
"I won't let them stop me. I'm going to bring you back Emile. I promise."
Marinette
She hadn't seen Adrien since Saturday, and he acted as if nothing had happened. For someone who cared so much about her lying, it was as if he had completely forgotten. He was chipper, grinning and talking nonstop. She was uncomfortable with his sudden change in attitude. Why wasn't he asking anymore? Had something happened?
"Mari, are you listening?"
She jumped, looking over at him.
"What?"
He shot her a sidelook, and that last butterfly woke up. She wished it would die already.
"I asked if anyone had invited you to prom."
Her heart rate sped up, and she felt her face flush. Why? Did he want to?
"Uh, no not yet."
He nodded, and pulled into the school parking lot. He held up a finger, before reaching into the back seat and pulling out a bouquet of red roses.
"Would you want to go with me?"
She glanced from him, to the roses and back again. He wanted to go with her? He brought flowers?
"Uh...what?"
He seemed to lose his nerve, because his cheeks turned pink.
"Well, I was thinking. We could go together, so I wouldn't have to ask anyone, and you wouldn't have to worry about Alya trying to set you up with anyone. But, if you're going with your boyfriend, I completely understand."
He gave her a nervous smile, and it sent shock waves through her. She had rarely seen him look nervous. A few more butterflies joined the one that was still alive, and she hated herself for it.
"Um, I'll talk to him and see if he's okay with it. He's busy that night anyway."
She whispered, and Adrien grinned, his eyes sparkling. Why did this feel different? Was it because of what happened with Chat the other night? Because she came with Adrien's name on her lips? He handed the roses to her, and she smiled softly.
"Just let me know what he says."
She nodded, quickly getting out of the car. This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to do this to her. He couldn't just suddenly show interest, when she was finally moving on. He got out, and they walked up the steps to the school. What was she supposed to say about the roses? Alya was going to question her, she just knew it. Maybe she could hide them in her locker before anyone saw. He opened the door for her, and that twinge in her gut made her want to cringe. She loved Chat. Not Adrien. Right?