Adrien
Wasn't her fault? Seriously? Why was she even there? Why hadn't she just waited for him? He poured rubbing alcohol onto a rag, before trying to wipe up the blood on her face. So much blood.
"Why won't you say anything?"
She asked, and he sighed, gently grazing the rag over the cut on her forehead.
"You already know what I want to say."
"Just say it."
His hands were shaking as he pulled a bandage out of the kit, slowly peeling it out of the wrapper.
"You were willing to die. For what? Why were you even in that alley? Did you go looking for trouble?"
The coolness in his voice was incredibly hard to maintain he realized, taping the bandage to her forehead, shifting his gaze to her hip. He had seen it when that happened. He had heard the gun go off. And the way she fell back... he shook his head, pressing gauze against it in an attempt to lessen the flow of blood. It had barely grazed her, but still.
"I heard someone calling for help."
"Didn't we already have this exact same conversation? You're not fucking invincible. You should have called for help."
She turned her head to the side, glaring at the rest of her room. He looked down at her hands, she was still clutching her shirt. He pulled it from her grip, revealing a gash on her palm.
"You can wipe that look off your face. You know what you did was reckless. You should've..."
He knew exactly what she should have done. She should have transformed. Tiki was probably in that stupid purse. Didn't mean Marinette had to die for her. He was sure if he asked Tiki, she would agree. He grabbed the thermometer, holding it up in front of her.
"You're seriously worried about my temperature right now?"
"More worried about your sanity than anything really. These wounds seem superficial. So obviously, something else has to be wrong. Because who in their right mind, would walk into a damn alley, following someone? Why the hell were you there Marinette? Are you trying to prove something?"
She glared at him, sticking the thermometer in her mouth instead of answering. Good choice, because nothing she could say would make any of this better. He cleaned up the cut on her hand, pressing gauze into it and wrapping it with an ace bandage. She needed to see a doctor about these, even if they weren't life threatening. The thermometer beeped, and he pulled it out of her mouth, turning it to look at the screen. 103. So she was probably having another hallucination episode.
"Mari... do you want to die?"
"No."
She sounded offended, but to him it made sense. She was too reckless.
"Then what? I can't always be there to save you. The only way I could even find you, was to have Grant give me the address from your phone. And that wasn't even an exact location, he just gave me a direction to go in. What if I hadn't have found you? What if the gun hadn't been aimed at your hip? You could have died, and here you are, acting like it's completely fine."
"I got lost, okay? I wasn't paying attention. Is that what you want to hear?"
No. He wanted to hear why she didn't transform. It was either that, or die. Yet, she chose not to. She was willing to die. He could still hear the pop of the gun, and it made him want to cry.
"I'm getting sick of this crap Marinette. You're constantly lying to me, constantly refusing help. You keep pretending you're fine, when obviously you aren't. You keep putting yourself in harm's way, over and over again. How much more can you take? How much more do you think I can take?"
She looked away from him, tears forming in her eyes. She was always crying lately.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry isn't cutting it. I want answers. That's all I've ever wanted, and you always evade them. You always brush them off."
His tone was getting harsher with each word, and he wanted to reel in his anger, but how could he? She kept going on suicide missions. He took a deep breath to calm himself, checking the bandage on her hip again. It was still bleeding.
"Let's go to the hospital."
"No."
No? Seriously? She just got shot, and again, refusing help like always. He couldn't take it anymore. The anger bubbled up, and this time he didn't try to hold it back down. Didn't even attempt it.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Stop acting like you don't care! Like none of this matters! Because it does. You matter. You can't honestly expect me to sit here and watch you try to kill yourself over and over. Because I can't. I won't. It's not fair."
He could feel tears streaming down his cheeks, and he hated it. He hated feeling so powerless. She stared at him with a blank expression, before she looked away. Again. Always avoiding his gaze.
"So go."
She whispered, and it was like she had stabbed him. Pain ripped through his chest, and he wanted to collapse. She wanted him to leave. She didn't care anymore. He really had lost her.
"I'm trying here, Marinette. Why am I the only one trying?"
"Get out."
He sat back on his heels, nodding. Fine. He would leave. He got up, calling out for Plagg. Plagg flew to him, and he wiped his face on his sleeve, looking down at Marinette. She still seemed indifferent, and he hated it. He walked over to the trap door, pulling it open.
"What are you doing?"
She knew exactly what he was doing.
"I'm going to tell your parents."
"Adrien-"
She started to stand, gripping her side in a grimace. He walked down the steps, letting the door slam behind him. She could cry, and beg all she wanted. He had to tell them. They needed to know. He got down to the bakery, almost crashing into Tom. They both looked at him confused, and Sabine stepped forward, touching his cheek.
"You're crying. What happened?"
"When did you come in?"
Tom interupted, and Adrien couldn't stress how unimportant those details were.
"Marinette's been running a fever since last night, she disappeared after school and I found her in an alley, fighting with some guy trying to mug her. He shot her, she's bleeding. Make her go to the hospital."
Sabine's hand fell from his cheek, and they both looked horrified. She was the first to move, turning and racing up the stairs to Marinette's room. He looked at Tom, who still seemed to be in shock.
"I tried to fix it. She doesn't want me anymore. I don't know what else to do."
Tom seemed to pull out of his daze, putting a reassuring hand on Adrien's shoulder, before following his wife to go check on Marinette. He walked out of the bakery, getting in his car. She would be pissed at him, but he didn't care. She wouldn't listen to him, so maybe she would listen to her parents. He pulled out of the parking lot, and Plagg sat down in the seat next to him.
"Are you okay?"
"The only person I've ever wanted, the only person in the entire world who knows who I really am, doesn't want me. No Plagg. I'm not okay."
He mumbled, driving in the opposite direction of his house. He couldn't go home. Not yet. He had to talk to Grant. Maybe he knew what was going on with her.
* * * * *
He stared at the American, who currently was sitting in front of a computer.
"Maybe she's just hormonal."
"What do you mean?"
"Like on her period or something."
Adrien made a face, sitting down on the couch. Grant glanced up at him, before looking back down at the computer.
"For some reason I don't think that's it."
"Then I don't know what to tell you. I stopped following y'all, so I don't know what's going on with her. Have you asked her Kwami?"
How did he know what a kwami was? It didn't matter.
"I did. Tiki refuses to tell me. But whatever it was is upsetting her. Tiki looked to be in pain when I saw her."
Grant shrugged, and Adrien leaned back, closing his eyes. Oh, how he did not want to go home. To an empty house, with no one there.
"You still think my father is hawkmoth?"
He mumbled, not opening his eyes to look at Grant.
"I do."
"So prove it. Give me undeniable proof, and I'll handle it."
* * * * *
She wasn't at school the next day. Or the one after that. She hadn't texted or called, and he was getting sick with worry. He wanted to give her space. He wanted her to be okay, for her to want him to come back. Alya never said a word to him about it, surprisingly. When he could no longer take it, he called the bakery, leaning back against his locker. Sabine picked up, and he ignored her cheery greeting.
"How's Mari?"
There was silence on the other end, and for a moment he wasn't sure if she had even heard him.
"She's okay. The doctors think that the fevers may be caused by stress, but they don't know. She had to get stitches on her hip, but other than that she's fine. She will be at school tomorrow, and at prom."
He took a small breath, the knots in his stomach easing.
"Maybe you should come by, check on her yourself."
She offered, and he closed his eyes, sighing.
"She doesn't want me there."
Sabine had nothing to say to that, and he glanced up as a few students walked into the locker room.
"I gotta go. Thank you. For letting me know how she was."
"It's no problem honey. Come by anytime."
He hung up, glancing at Kim. He wanted to go see her. She would get pissed if he showed up at her house though. So, a new plan formed. One where he could see her.
"Hey, Kim!"
Kim glanced up and walked over, grinning.
"What's up man?"
"Can you throw a party tonight? I'll pay for drinks."
"It's Thursday."
He laughed, and Adrien nodded.
"I know. Think of it as a graduation party. Tomorrow is prom, and sunday is graduation. You'll be a legend."
Kim thought about it for a moment, before nodding.
"Alright. You're buying, it's a deal. I'll let everyone know."
"Thanks."
Adrien grabbed his bag, jogging out towards the parking lot. He had to find Alya. She was getting in her car when he spotted her, and he ran over, tapping on the side of her car as she started to pull off. She stopped, rolling her window down.
"Sorry, I don't pick up hitch hikers."
She grinned, and he leaned against her door to catch his breath.
"Alya, I need a favor."
She hummed, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
"I need you to get Marinette to come to Kim's party tonight."
Alya frowned, looking through her windshield.
"Why?"
"I have to see her. Please?"
She sighed, rummaging through her bag to get her phone.
"Fine. But you owe me."
"Deal."
She nodded, and he stepped away from her car, so she could drive off.
"Adrien? Do you know what's going on with her?"
Yes.
"She just has a lot going on. She's stressed all the time."
"That's not all though. Is it?"
She looked at him, and he could see the worry written on her face. Yeah, he knew the feeling.
"I don't know. She won't talk to me. I was thinking maybe a party could cheer her up some."
Liar. He knew most of what was wrong. It was the little part she was hiding that bugged him though.
"I miss her."
Alya admitted, and he sighed, looking up at the sky. Something he couldn't look at without thinking of her.
"Me too Alya. Me too."
Gabriel Agreste/ Hawkmoth
"Come on."
He snapped, and Natalie hurriedly followed behind him.
"Gabriel, what if someone sees?"
He ignored her, pushing open the door to the crummy apartment complex.
"We've been here for days and haven't been able to catch up to any of the superheros. This is our only shot."
She grabbed his arm, and he tensed, looking back at her. She never touched him. Not to try to stop him. She never stopped him.
"Someone could get hurt."
He yanked his arm from her grasp, ignoring the hurt flashing across her features.
"People get hurt all the time. You've never stopped me before."
He began climbing up the stairs, using a henkerchief to hold onto the guardrail.
"Sir, if I may-"
"No, you may not."
He snapped, and she grabbed his arm again, her grip more urgent.
"Gabriel, Ladybug is in Paris. She won't be able to fix any of the damage you cause. People could die."
"I don't care! This is my last chance to get Emile back. I have to do this."
Her steps faltered, and he shook her arm off of him.
"You knew what you signed up for."
He hissed, and when he turned to look at her he was shocked to see tears in her eyes.
"I didn't sign up for this. I want you to be reunited with her, but not like this. Please. Please rethink this decision."
"I can't."
He lowered his voice, stopping on the third floor.
"I'm bringing her back so I can have a family again. For Adrien."
"You have a family now."
She mumbled, her gaze on the can at his side. He shook his head, she had gone along with everything, he couldn't believe this was where she was trying to draw a line.
"I don't. Not without Emile."
"Gabriel..."
"Enough Natalie. You won't change my mind. I'm doing this."
He tipped the gas can over, letting the gasoline travel down the stairs. The smell was suffocating, and he covered his nose with his sleeve.
"Fine. But I refuse to be a part of this. You're taking it too far. Ladybug can't fix this. There's no going back."
He stared at her with his usual grim expression, and she wiped the tears off of her face.
"I'll wait for you at the jet."
She marched down the steps, gasoline splashing as she did. She stopped at the base of the stairs, and he moved to the window next to the fire escape.
"I'm sorry Gabriel."
He heard her call up, and his features scrunched up in confusion. Suddenly an alarm started ringing, and he realized what she had done. She had pulled the fire alarm. He opened the window, stepping out onto the fire escape. A simple alarm would not deture him. Not when he was so close. This was the big finale and he wouldn't miss it for the world. He lit a match, flicking it into the window. There was a whooshing sound, and he climbed down the fire escape, calling on Nooru.
"Dark wings rise."
He whispered, and was soon cloaked in his suit. He listened to the cries patiently, and soon enough, a hero showed up. Night owl. He checked his list, knowing that she was one of the ones William had blackmailed. So he waited until she got all of the civilians out, before making his presence known. She followed him into the alley, approaching him carefully.
"Who are you?"
"I am an associate of William's. I've come to collect another payment."
She yanked her helmet off, looking pissed. Perfect.
"Another payment? He swore this was a one time thing. He can't just show back up threatening us again!"
Us? Her family, probably. Or maybe the other superheros? It didn't really matter. He handed her the slip of paper, with the amount she was supposed to pay.
"Thirty-thousand dollars? Is this a joke?"
She snapped, and he opened his palm behind his back, allowing a butterfly to land there. She was so close, he could feel it.
"That bastard thinks he can keep threatening us? Well, he can kiss my ass. I'm not playing this stupid game anymore. If he wants to out our identities, fine. Do it. I will not be pushed over again and again."
Her cheeks were stained pink, and he closed his palm, letting darkness seep into the butterfly. She would be his strongest creation yet.
"So you can tell William no dice. I refuse to be a part of this any longer."
She crumpled up the paper, and he released the butterfly. Her eyes were locked on his, completely missing as it flew around and disappeared into the crumpled paper.
"Hello Dark Owl. I am Hawkmoth. Put your helmet back on. We're going on a little trip, so you can get revenge against William for wronging you and your family. All I ask in return, are Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous."
A purple mist swirled over her, making her Armor a darker brown, almost black. She placed her helmet on, the deep voice covering her feminine one.
"I will punish the sinners and glorify the just. William will pay for his crimes."
Gabriel released his transformation, dialing Natalie.
"Do you have the jet prepared?"
"You managed to acumatize someone?"
He wanted to shout at her for ignoring his question, but resisted the urge. He wanted to get things done. They were finally so close. This was the acuma to end all others. This was his masterpiece.
"Make sure the jet is fueled and ready to fly when I get there."
Apologies for the constant scene changes. Regardless, hope you enjoyed.