Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Adrien was not feeling well.

On the outside, Adrien was the perfect son, a successful young model with a guaranteed future in the fashion industry. He had perfect grades and spent his free time with his multiple hobbies which will all be useful when applying for higher education or when needed to impress potential clients. He’s well-behaved, charismatic and kind-hearted - truly a sunshine child.

On top of that, he was also one of the superheroes protecting Paris, the handsome and admired Chat Noir, always on Ladybug’s side. They faced danger nearly every day, never surrendering and always saving the day. Though no one knew about his secret identity, except for Plagg, the kwami of Destruction who was always with him and the previous Guardian of the Miraculouses who unfortunately had lost his memory.

But on the inside, things couldn't have been more different. Adrien was under constant stress, on the brink of a meltdown. He had to be perfect in every aspect of his life and couldn’t show any flaws, especially in front of his strict father who would always find new ways to take away his joys in life, by claiming that “they were a distraction and he shouldn’t have something like that in his life”. Hanging out with his few friends was one of those “distractions” which saddened him since it was something he had looked up for when he finally got the permission to go to the school like normal teenagers. 

Because of his time-consuming studies, hobbies and modeling work, he had barely any time to be by himself and most of it was spent saving Parisians from Hawkmoth. During the rare moments he truly had for himself - mainly just before bed-time - he couldn’t shake off the feelings of anxiety and guilt that were eating him up from the inside. Why was he like this? He had so much, he was “so lucky” to have such a perfect life and many would be more than willing to trade places with him in the blink of an eye - why didn’t he feel like that? Was he broken? Was there something wrong with him? Why is his father so distant? Why couldn’t his father smile at him or at least praise him once or twice? What would mom say? Would she be proud of him or would she be disappointed in him too?

Usually the thoughts about his mother broke him and he would cry for hours while Plagg desperately tried to comfort him. Adrien had lost his mom too suddenly and everything had gone downhill ever since. His father had grown more distant to the point that Adrien felt like an orphan living in a cold mansion once filled with laughter and love. He felt so lonely without his family, even more now that he knew his friends would abandon him from even the smallest mistake. Someone could try and argue that wasn’t the case but considering how fast they had turned on him because of Felix’s “prank”, he seriously doubted it. 

Sometimes he wondered why Hawkmoth didn’t just akumatize him during his breakdowns. He was a perfect victim after all, full of raw emotion. Or was he such a huge disappointment that not even the villain wanted to use him?

After the sorrowful nights, when the first rays of the morning sun hit his windows, he would just lay on his bed, eyes swollen, knot around his heart even tighter than it was before. He couldn’t feel anything. He was just… Empty. Adrien always managed to sleep for at least an hour or two before going through his morning routines on autopilot, waking up from his numbness at some point, only to fall to it again later in the evening.

The only joy in his life at this point was meeting one of his best friends (and the purest of them) at school, Marinette. He had heard that when Felix pranked their whole friend group, Marinette immediately told them that it wasn’t him on the video, there’s no way that could be real. She had always been there to support her, even though she kept stuttering around him. He couldn’t wrap his head around it though, why would she be so nervous around him? Was she afraid that he would tell his father about her, considering that she wanted to become a professional designer in the future? Nevertheless, he hoped that she would one day be comfortable around him, like she was with their other classmates.

One morning when Adrien was coming down the stairs in order to have breakfast in the empty dining hall, he noticed his father at the main doors of the mansion, looking at him with his cold eyes. Adrien knew not to expect anything pleasant from his father and his heart sunk. He had spent the night crying again, he was not ready to hear what his father had in store for him this time but unfortunately, he had no choice in the matter.

Gabriel didn’t need to say a thing to him because Adrien knew that look and hurried down, stopping right in front of his father, leaving a small distance in between them like he had been taught. He nodded to the suited man in front of him. “Good morning father.”

Gabriel didn’t react to the greeting at all, which Adrien was used to by now. Why would he even need to greet him back, when Adrien was just a loyal servant, always ready to be useful in some way. Not a human being, not a son, just an asset that could be used. Adrien knew better than to show emotions in front of his father but his next words shocked Adrien too much for him to just ignore them.

“From now on, you won’t be going to school anymore. You will be homeschooled from this day forward” Gabriel told him, like he was just telling him what the weather of the day was.

All the blood drained from Adrien’s face and his reaction was imminent. “No! Why? You can’t do this!”

Gabriel glared down at his son before answering. “I don’t find it useful for you and your future. Your grades are the same, no matter where you study. This decision will save time, since you don’t have to travel anywhere, which can be spent on more useful matters, like your career.”

Adrien looked at his father, feelings of panic and anxiety rising from within. “You.. No! I need school, to feel normal! What about my friends? What about what I want?” he pleaded desperately, only receiving a disgusted look from his father upon mentioning his friends.

“They are merely a distraction, you don’t need them. You will form better relationships with more suitable people when I start teaching you how to run this company.”

Anger rose on top of the panic, Adrien couldn’t believe what his father was implying. He dug his nails to his palm, clenching his fists. “More suitable people? They are my friends and I know they are more than ‘suitable’ for me. You don’t know what I need or what I want!” he ended up yelling, echoes of his words filling the room for a moment.

“Enough of this nonsense! I know what’s best for you and you will obey me. You don’t need to befriend common folks, only the ones who can help us to grow our business.” Gabriel started to show his annoyance, raising his voice just the slightest. “You will now go and eat your breakfast, your teacher will arrive in 30 minutes.”

“No! I won’t accept this! You really expect me to obey you when I can’t even say goodbyes to my friends? You are taking away my freedom!” Adrien yelled again, taking a step forward, keeping his back straight.

Gabriel stood his ground. “You WILL obey me until you show me that you can make decisions on your own. Going to school has just caused distractions and sleepless nights for you.”

This claim caused Adrien to pause for a moment, an odd feeling spreading from his chest to his fingertips. “Wh- Sleepless nights?”

“I know you aren’t sleeping well and your eyes are swollen from crying, I presume. It’s clearly visible in your photoshoot pictures which has caused harm to the ones editing the pictures since the make-up crew couldn’t hide it that well.” Gabriel stated, like it was nothing. 

Adrien on the other hand couldn’t believe what his father was saying. He.. Knew? He knew and did nothing to help him?

Before Adrien could protest, Gabriel continued. “I know you had no such problems before entering school. Just one more reason to resign you from school and to go back to homeschooling. That’s the end of this discussion.” Gabriel was about to take a step, probably to go to his office but Adrien was faster and blocked his way.

“You knew? If you knew, why didn’t you help me?” He tried to keep a straight face, but all the emotions inside of him were growing too strong, causing tears to form on his eyes. Gabriel’s face showed no emotions anymore, he was back to his strict and professional self.

“I did. I took you away from school, didn’t I? Now you don’t have to worry about it anymore and you can just focus on your work.”

“But father, it wasn’t because of school or my friends! It’s because ever since we lost mom, you have been so distant and cruel to me!” he cried out, finally spilling the beans to his father, who just stared at him. “I.. I need a family, father! I need people who love me and show it daily. I do everything that I possibly can to keep you happy and yet, you don’t even smile at me anymore!” Tears were now falling down his cheeks, one already falling to the ground. “I sometimes feel like I’m just a tool for you! That you don’t love me anymore! What happened to us?”

Gabriel just stood there for a moment, looking at the panting and crying Adrien.

“You are delusional. Of course I love you. Can’t you see how much I’ve done for you, to secure your future?” Gabriel’s words could have been comforting if he had shown any emotions. 

“I don’t care about my future! I care about the PRESENT. I need social contacts, father. I want to be loved and appreciated! I don’t want to work, I want to be with friends and have fun like normal people!”

“Your future is the most important thing and I’m doing my best to give you the best start. Trust me, you don’t need weaklings like your ‘friends’. They are just ready to use your fame and then they will abandon you. Love won’t take you far in life.”

“As I’ve said, you don’t know what I want or need! And how can you say that love doesn’t matter, you loved mom right? You were so happy when she was here.” Adrien didn’t like to use the “mom card” but he felt like he had to in order to get some kind of humane response from his father. And it worked, in a way. He could see Gabriel flinching just the tiniest amount, which was enough for Adrien to push forward.

“Mom would hate to see you like that, cold and empty. What would she say if she heard you abandoned your son when he had just lost his mother too? Or how you overwork the said son so that he doesn’t feel good at his own home?” Adrien continued when Gabriel didn’t interrupt him. 

For a second, Gabriel looked like a normal human being, shifting his gaze from Adrien, doubt in his otherwise cold eyes. But the moment didn’t last and when he turned to look at Adrien again, he had his armor on again.

“Things will change soon, Adrien. Trust me.” He paused for a moment, looking like he wanted to tell him something but just couldn’t. “I’m doing this for us, to help us be a family again. Now, go and eat before your first lesson, I’m almost late from my next appointment” Gabriel said, without any feeling in his voice, before stepping past Adriend and walking away, stopping Adrien from making any other pleas in his exhausted state. 

Adrien just stood there until he couldn’t hear the echoes of his father’s footsteps anymore. He felt so empty. Abandoned. He had spilled the beans, he had pleaded and cried in front of his father but… Nothing. His father didn’t seem to care.And what did he even mean by “doing this for the family”? He only had one family member left and it was him, his son. This kind of behaviour wasn’t fixing anything, just breaking everything!

Adrien felt the panic and anxiety taking hold of him from inside out, unlike anything before. This was way worse than anything he had experienced before. He had to fight to get air into his lungs. To contain the uncontrollable shaking. To not black out when his vision started to fade. He wrapped his skinny arms around himself, digging his nails to the soft skin of his arms. He felt awful. Nauseous. Desperate. Like everything was dying. Like there was a hole in the ground, trying to swallow him. He couldn’t ground himself, it felt like he was losing his mind. Oh god, someone save me…

And then he finally felt the tiniest nudge on his chest. And another one. Then something trying to push him back to the staircases. He forced his eyes to focus down, only to see a small blurry blob of black. Was it moving its mouth? He couldn’t tell, everything was so dark. Was it trying to say something? He couldn’t hear anything beside his aching heart. Still, it felt familiar, even through the haze surrounding his mind. Focusing on this blob helped him a little and he managed to take one shaky step to the direction the blob was pushing him. Blob seemed to like it and pushed him more. So he obeyed. 

Somehow he managed to walk up the stairs without falling down, straight into his room. Once there, in his own “safe space” that felt more like a jail, he was able to get a hold of his own mind. He could now hear Plagg and his pleas. Then he could see him clearly. The tiny god looked desperate and anxious, floating in front of his face. He kept talking to Adrien, trying to assure him that everything was going to be okay, that he needed to come back to him. Plagg was so busy panicking that he didn’t notice Adrien’s hands before they gently wrapped around him. Adrien smiled weakly, startled Plagg hugging his left thumb.

“Thank you Plagg,” Adrien said with a husky voice.

Plagg looked at Adrien’s eyes, almost crying himself. “Never scare me like that again.”

Adrien took a few calming breaths before slowly lowering his forehead so that Plagg could rub his little head to his like a real cat. 

“I love you too.”

After Adrien had calmed down, he had no time to do or prepare for anything else since his teacher came, knocking on his door. So he had to push his feelings aside and open the door for a middle-aged woman, carrying books in her bag. The teacher wasn’t one of the strict ones that he had had before and seemed to understand that something wasn’t right. She didn’t push him and taught him slowly, her voice filled with kindness. Adrien found comfort in that, he really needed it. And that got him thinking...

The day went on slowly, on autopilot. Nathalie came at some point to give him his schedule for the evening and soon after that, the teacher left. He had maybe 30 minutes to himself when he felt the sudden burst of determination. He turned to look at Plagg, who seemed to realise his holder’s intentions before he said them out loud.

“Let’s leave this place. Now.”

It must have been 7 or 8PM when Chat Noir landed on Marinette’s balcony, squeezing the handles of his backpack which only had the essentials - his passport, medical information, money he withdrew from his account and some clothes. He had left his phone in his room, he wouldn’t need it now. He couldn’t tell the time since he had spent some time alone, running on rooftops to release some of the anxious energy inside of him. He didn’t want to bother his friend but he had no other option. He couldn’t trust anyone other than Marinette and Ladybug and he could find Marinette anytime, whereas he only met Ladybug during akuma attacks or random patrols. He needed someone right now. It was okay to be selfish like this, right?

He knocked on the hatch to Marinette’s room. As soon as he did that, he felt the panic coursing through him again. Was it okay to be selfish? Maybe this was all wrong. He took a shaky step backwards as he felt the tears fill his eyes. No, maybe this really was a bad plan. He was going to be a burden for Marinette. He didn’t want that.

Before he could escape, the hatch opened and the soft light of Marinette’s room filled the balcony. Marinette was looking at him with a kind yet curious look on her face which faded fast when she saw the tears on his face. 

“C-chat? Is everything okay?” she said, quickly climbing up to the chill balcony. She was examining him, trying to determine what was wrong before he could even answer. Adrien liked that in Marinette. Nothing could stop her when she was worried about something. Always wanting to be one step ahead to help the best she could.

Unfortunately, Adrien had lost his tongue and couldn’t mutter out anything but it seemed like he didn’t need to. Marinette’s gentle but firm hands were around him before he had time to react, hugging him tightly. She didn’t say anything and he didn’t care. He just wanted to be loved and cared for and Marinette had more love than anyone else in the world. The tears rolled down on full force when he hugged her back, shaking and sobbing loudly. Marinette never questioned it, just let him cry. She even helped him to sit down, all the while hugging him like a lost child.

That’s how they stayed, until Adrien’s cries were merely hiccups. Marinette never let go of him, letting him bury his face to the nook of her neck even though the tears stained her light pink shirt. He could feel her hand on his back, her warm breath in his neck, her blue hair tickling his ear. He never wanted to let go of her, she was so important to him.

And that’s when he realised that she wasn’t just a friend. That what he felt for Ladybug wasn’t even close to how he felt about Marinette. 

And that’s when his transformation dropped, without any warning.

Chapter Text

"I swear, I didn't do this on purpose!" Adrien cried out in a not-so mild panic. He had no idea why his transformation had suddenly dropped but he didn't like it. He trusted Marinette but he really wanted Ladybug to be the first one to know his identity. It was supposed to be a huge moment for them, for them to connect even better, share every aspect of their lifes together. Preferable after they had defeated Hawkmoth so they could celebrate in peace, knowing they wouldn't have to fight akumas anymore.

Instead he was on Marinette's balcony, sitting on the wooden floor, eyes swollen from crying while Marinette was holding her face tightly against his neck, hugging him even tighter than before. Gosh, how did this girl have so much strength in her arms?

"I-I-I…" Marinette stuttered, her lips tickling the sensitive skin of his neck. "I can't move! Y-you have to transform back!"

"Oh no he won't. I won't recharge until everything is dealt with'' said Plagg, who was floating above their heads, seemingly relaxed. Though Adrien knew better than that, the little kwami was anxious just like him.

“O-oh, you must be his kwami, right? N-nice to meet you, though I can’t look at y-you, you know? To k-keep your secrets, I m-mean” Marinette let out a nervous laughter against his neck, Adrien barely holding still. For a moment Adrien was confused about how Marinette knew about kwamis before he remembered - Marinette had had a kwami of her own during one battle! She had been a wonderful Multimouse and Adrien smiled a little even in the midst of panic, remembering how cute and energetic she had been.

His little bubble of happiness popped though when Plagg opened his mouth again, looking around as if he’s trying to find something. “Oh shut up, I've been through so much today with him that I don’t have the energy to keep this charade up. Hey Sugarcube, is there any cheese in this place?”

He felt Marinette tightening her grip before freezing in place. Adrien looked at the still open hatch in growing shock just in time to see another kwami appearing. 

“Plagg! This isn’t how it was supposed to go! We made a promise to keep it a secret!” Tikki scolded Plagg who just shrugged. “I don’t care anymore. When you hear about our day - heck, about our overall life at that prison - you’ll understand. Now, answer my question - where’s the food?” Plagg went straight to Tikki, who just sighed and led him downstairs, probably straight to the kitchen.

The balcony got quiet again and Adrien could only hear his own pulse in his ears as he tried to grasp the situation. The kwami he had just seen was definitely Tikki but that’s impossible. Tikki, the god of Creation, was Ladybug’s kwami. And for Tikki to be here, it meant…

“M-marinette… Are you…?” he asked softly yet nervously, the petite girl in his arms wincing. For a moment they sat in silence, Adrien trying to calm himself as he looked at her back, watching as her rapid breathing slowly but surely slowed down. 

The life around them seemed to keep going even as he hold his breath. He heard the cars down in the streets and the muffled sounds of civilians, making their way home. He saw a couple of birds flying above the roofs, enjoying their freedom. But to him, the time had stopped. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest as he waited for an answer that could - no, would - change his life.

Finally, Adrien felt how Marinette took a shaky but deep breath before she opened her mouth, her words barely audible even though they were so close to each other.

“Y-yes… I’m… I’m Ladybug…”

Everything stopped for a moment. Adrien had heard her answer but he couldn’t register it immediately. His best friend, the most loving and caring girl he knew, was also his crime fighting partner, the strongest, most creative person he would ever know. The pieces of the puzzle he didn’t know he had been building suddenly fit together seamlessly and everything became so clear that he accidentally let out a raw laughter, making Marinette wince again.

“I-I know you m-must be so disappointed that it’s m-me but-” 

“I should have known. The two most amazing girls in my life are one and the same.” Adrien interrupted Marinette, relief and happiness taking over his body, panic fading away faster than you could say “Ladybug”. He placed his head on top of Marinette’s, hugging her tightly. He had found his other half. Nothing else mattered anymore. He could love Marinette without feeling guilty about Ladybug because they were the same person after all. He laughed, tears of happiness filling his still moist eyes.

“Thank you. Thank you for being there for both sides of me” Adrien said shakily as one of his tears dropped on her head, gliding down her blue hair. 

“B-both? I.. I know you already Chat?” Marinette asked, confused. 

Adrien just smiled, gently pushing Marinette away from him. She still kept her eyes shut, but Adrien could see the curiosity slowly taking over. He looked at the familiar face, taking in all the little freckles that faintly covered her flushed cheeks and wondered - how did he not connect the dots before this? He had seen both sides of her daily, even admired pictures of Ladybug AND Marinette, but still hadn’t realized it. He took a steadying breath and placed his hands on hers. “You can look. I want you to see who I really am.”

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and gasped as her gaze met his. Her hands covered her mouth so fast as she processed who was in front of her, Adrien still smiling.

“Hi Marinette”

“A-adrien… Hi..” 

As if they were synchronized, both of them hugged each other again, relief taking over them both. No more secrets, no more lies. No more fear or regret. They could now share their burdens in and out of mask, in full detail. He felt her relaxing in his arms and suddenly, he wasn’t in a rush anymore. They had all the time in the world.

It took some time before both were ready to talk. Marinette calmed down faster than him which Adrien thought was a miracle, considering how she was usually a big ball of stress but then he realized that unlike him, she had a loving family, a support group and freedom to roam outside her house whereas he had been kept a prisoner by his own father, without any kind of support. He was in a rougher spot and she was there, ready to help him with all her might. And oh dear, she certainly was a feisty one when needed.

When they were ready, Marinette gently but firmly guided Adrien with his backpack inside her warm room, planting him on her sofa and wrapping a blanket around him. She left the room for a moment and suddenly, it was quiet. 

At first it felt weird. Adrien was in her room completely alone since Plagg had flown somewhere else and he didn’t know what he should do but then the feeling of comfort settled on him. He felt safe. This silence wasn’t crushing him or twisting his heart and mind. No, this silence took him in and let him be himself. He relaxed and just looked around the room, waiting for Marinette’s return.

He could smell the sweets before he heard her and instinctively got up just in time to see Marinette open the latch with one hand, holding a tray filled with sweets and mugs of hot chocolate with her other hand. He took the tray from her, earning a small “thank you” before she climbed up. Then she moved a small table in front of the sofa and Adrien took it as a cue to place the tray there before sitting down with her. She left some space in between them, letting him decide how close they should be to each other.

“So… I know you like sweets so I took it upon myself to get as much as I could. I don’t know if you have eaten anything and sweets always make me feel better so I hope you like them” Marinette said, rushing the words out of her mouth in her nervousness. 

Adrien just smiled thankfully and took one of the mugs in both of his hands, feeling the warmth soaking into his palms. “Thank you Marinette, this is just perfect. I’ll make sure to eat everything.”

Marinette smiled and took her mug, sipping the hot chocolate. Adrien did the same, though he almost burned his tongue - it just tasted so good and it took some serious willpower to stop himself from drinking it in one go. The warmth settled on his empty stomach, spreading to his entire body. They sat there for a moment, both of them just snacking in silence. Marinette didn’t take much but Adrien on the other hand kept his promise and ate everything. Chocolate chip cookies, cookies topped with raspberry jam, croissants, even a delicious strawberry cupcake. He hadn’t had sweets in such a long time because of his strict diet and this was a meal sent from heaven. He knew it would hurt him to eat like this all the time but now he had definitely earned it.

By the time the tray was empty, Marinette had finished her drink and turned herself to face Adrien a bit better, determination in her blue eyes. Her knee was slightly brushing Adrien’s jeans but he didn’t mind the contact. It felt assuring.

“Adrien… Could you tell me what happened? It must be hard but I want to help you.”

Adrien looked at his mug and its chocolate covered bottom before placing it on the tray. 

No secrets. No need to hide your true feelings. She was there and she wasn’t going to abandon him. 

He braced himself and told her everything.

For once, Adrien didn’t hold back. He let it all go, without any sensoring. He told her about her mother’s disappearance and how it had affected him and his father. How he didn’t feel worthy anymore unless he worked himself to death. How his father didn’t treat him like a human being, that he felt like he was just an asset to be used by Gabriel. How his father never showed him even an ounce of love, abandoning him everytime he had needed him. 

He told Marinette about his anxious thoughts, about his restless nights. How he was numb most of the days and how his mind drowned in sorrow and self-doubt during nights, causing him insomnia and blackouts during the next day. He admitted that some days he would only wake from those blackout episodes late in the evening, with barely any memories of the day.

He told her about her strict diet and all the work he has been made to do by his father. How he sometimes didn’t get enough to eat and barely could get any seconds even if he asked for them. “It’s the life of a model, you have to take care of your body” was the only answer his father ever provided for him. How he had to stuff himself full of food at school and work sets to have enough energy for his normal life and for the super hero life he secretly lived. 

He told her about his lack of freedom as Adrien Agreste. How he could not choose how he dressed, acted or lived. How he had no say in where he would study, what kind of projects he had to work on or where he needed to travel just because of his father's schemes.

He emptied it all. And Marinette took in every word he said.

When it was over, he didn’t even remember when he had started to cry again nor when did his hands find their way to Marinette’s small palms. He didn’t remember Plagg or Tikki coming back but they were there, settled on to a small couch-like structure on Marinette’s work desk. 

He had to take several smoothing breaths to collect himself. Marinette gently stroked his shaking palms with her thumbs, giving him all the time he needed. It felt so comforting, how she never rushed him or brushed him off. She didn’t judge him and it was so important for him.

“Thank you” Adrien managed to say, voice raspy from talking so long, eyes swollen from all the tears. 

Marinette smiled comfortingly, squeezing his hands. “How are you feeling?”

“To be honest? Like shit. But better than before.”

Marinette chuckled a bit and before Adrien could ask why, she explained herself. “I think we’re way past having to warn about being honest. You just told me your deepest secrets. And to be honest, I think a therapist would have already said that you have serious case anxiety, depression and/or burnout. Maybe a PTSD too.”

This time it was his turn to chuckle. “Yeah, that might be true. I have only seen the school nurse maybe once last year about my overall health and I felt like I had to keep up a charade. But now…”

“But now you don’t have to pretend. You can speak your mind and be honest. You deserve much better Adrien, you have to remember that.” Her sincere words would have made him cry again if he hadn’t shed all his tears for the day - heck, maybe for a whole life-time. He just nodded and squeezed her hands in return, never taking his gaze away from Marinette’s eyes.

“Thank you.” 

The simple but honest “thank you” was followed by a big yawn and Adrien realized how tired he was suddenly. It took a moment to search for the clock but once he found it, he winced. It was way past midnight.

“Oh no, I’ve kept you awake for so long. I’m so sorry Marinette.”

She released her hands from his and just waved it off. “Shut it. You needed support and I never go to sleep early anyways. You should know that, considering how often you’ve seen me come late to class because I overslept.”

They both chuckled a bit before Marinette reminded him that they still needed to set up a sleeping place for him. Adrien, being tired from everything that had happened, agreed and helped her clean the place. She insisted on taking the empty tray down by herself, leaving him alone once more. Well, not completely alone.

Tikki had apparently accompanied Marinette but Plagg flew right to him. Adrien thought that the kwami would stop in front of him but instead he came to hug his cheek tightly.

“You look worse than any zombie I’ve seen in your games.” the kwami stated as he let go, causing Adrien to let out a small laugh.

“Really? That’s all you’ve got?”

“What can I say, I’m saving better jokes for more serious occasions.” Plagg got silent for a moment before floating in front of his holder’s face. “But for real, I’m so happy you came here. It takes a lot of strength to be able to do what you just did kid and I’m proud of you.”

“Well, you helped me, didn’t you? You just happened to drop my transformation at a convenient time.” Adrien smiled a bit. “Thank you Plagg, for being there for me all this time. I owe you a lot.”

The black cat snorted, trying to play it cool even though he had already shown his sweet side. “Yeah yeah, it was nothing. Now, it’s time to get our beauty sleep. We can figure this all out tomorrow. Trauma isn’t going to disappear in one night.”

Adrien smiled, letting the exhaustion take over. As he yawned, he instinctively laid himself on the sofa, wrapping the warm blanket tighter around him. He couldn’t resist taking a sniff of it and he certainly didn’t regret it - it smelled like freshly baked sweets, like home.

“You’re right, as always. We’ll talk more… In the morning…” and before he could even finish his sentence, he was fast asleep. Plagg just scoffed before making his way under the blanket, right next to Adrien’s face. If he purred for a moment before Marinette returned, no one could prove that.

And for the first time in forever, Adrien slept peacefully, his mind free of any swirling thoughts.

Chapter Text

When Adrien woke up the next morning, he felt so much lighter. His mind was at ease, he felt warm and safe under his blankets and the morning sun hit the back of his head just right, warming him up for the new day. For a moment, he just basked in the light, keeping his eyes shut until he couldn’t resist stretching. It was a habit he had gained after getting the cat miraculous but he didn’t dislike it. In fact, he liked it.

He heard someone shuffle in the room and opened his eyes to see Marinette sitting at her desk, her eyes on him. She was smiling, her right hand still holding a pen over a notebook full of sticky notes sticking from the sides.

“Good morning kitty. Did you sleep well?”

Adrien slowly got up in a sitting position, keeping one of the blankets on his shoulder. He smiled, mind still fuzzy after a good night's sleep.

“Yes, it was purrfect” he said, unable to resist the pun. Marinette’s smile grew wider.

“The first thing to come out of your mouth in the morning is a pun? Seriously?”

“Of course m’lady. I couldn’t resist after you called me a ‘kitty’ as the first thing in the morning.”

Marinette turned to look at him better, leaving her pen on top of the notebook. She was smirking, just like she always did as Ladybug. “Well I couldn’t resist calling you by your nickname considering that huge stretch you just did there. I thought you would fall down because of it.”

He tried to wave it off, rolling his eyes. “You don’t give enough credit to my reflexes. I don’t fall down, I land on my feet with grace.” He rubbed his eyes to get rid of the sleep crust and then focused on the notebook. “You’re so active straight in the morning. Studying even before school.”

Marinette tilted her head in confusion before she seemed to realize something. “Oh, I skipped school today to stay here with you. It’s already past 1PM.”

That statement shook the last of the sleepiness from him as he turned to look at the clock and lo and behold, it really was past 1PM. “I.. I slept for over 12 hours?”

“Yup. Last night when I came back with some extra blankets, you were already asleep with Plagg. I just put them on you and went to bed too. I woke up in time to tell my parents that I’m staying at home and then just did what I could, to not wake you up. You looked so peaceful compared to last night.”

“Oh… Thank you Marinette. Wait, your parents just let you stay at home?” he asked, confused. Marinette smiled fondly. 

“Of course. I said I needed a day off and they didn’t even question it. They’ve noticed I haven’t been feeling well and after a long talk, they gave me their approval to stay home whenever I needed a day off.”

“That… That sounds so.. So.. Unfamiliar” Adrien admitted, almost shocked. Was this how a real family acted? 

“After last night, I can believe that. But they are the best, always supporting me” she smiled again, before it faded away. She looked a bit guilty, shrinking to herself. “I… I actually wanted to talk to you about something but couldn’t do that yet…”

Now it was Adrien’s turn to tilt his head, frowning. “What is it? Has something happened to you? Did someone hurt you?” he started to worry for her, seeing her so small and scared. 

She quickly waved her hands, to assure him. “O-oh! Nothing like that, no one’s hurt me! Well, besides Lila and Hawkmoth.” Images of the sneaky liar appeared in his mind and he felt guilty for a moment, being too much of a people pleaser to help Marinette with Lila. He made a mental note to ask her more about it later, to help her before it was too late.

“Well, what is it then?”

She avoided his gaze, fidgeting with her fingers. “I… As you know, Master Fu had to retire… And someone needed to become the new Guardian. That role fell on my shoulders and it was crushing me. It was so much pressure to handle, after losing a mentor and being in a bad place mentally and… And… And one night, when my parents were worried about my mental health, they came to ask me if they could help me in any way and.. I told them. About Ladybug, About the miraculouses.” She looked so guilty, lifting her gaze to meet his. “I’m so sorry Adrien. I know we promised to tell each other first but I couldn’t handle it. It slipped. I’m really sorry.”

Adrien was silent for a moment, letting the information sink in. Marinette seemed to take that as a sign that he was disappointed or angry at her and tried to keep apologizing but he got up and took her hands in his, getting her to quiet down.

“Marinette, listen. You have nothing to be sorry about, I don’t blame you. That must have been so awful to you, I didn’t even think about how badly it would affect you. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to support you as your partner and I’m happy you had someone to lean on in your time of need.” He squeezed her hands, smiling. “Thank you for being honest with me, that must have been hard to admit.”

Marinette looked taken aback, her eyes big as plates before the warm smile once again spread to her face, her eyes shimmering a bit. “Thank you Adrien. Yeah, it was hard. I really wanted you to be first, like we promised.”

“I know. But it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you got help when you needed it the most. From now on, I’ll be there too.”

“I know. And I’m here for you.”

They both smiled a bit before Adrien’s stomach rumbled, making them both jump in surprise for the sudden loud noise. Adrien was the first to laugh, a little embarrassed.

“It seems that I’m a bit hungry. Can I still get some breakfast or is it lunchtime next?”

She got up from her chair, grabbing the blanket from his shoulders and placing it on the sofa. “Lunch will be around 5PM, after my parents stop working. But in the meantime, we can eat whatever we find from the fridge and cabinets. Does eggs and bacon with some croissants for dessert sound good?”

Adrien nodded, already drooling. “Oh yes please.”

Plagg flew from somewhere, to sit on Adrien’s shoulders. “I require food too! I’m starving!”

Adrien and Marinette both laughed, earning some scowls from Plagg, before heading down to the kitchen.

Marinette proceeded to answer Adrien’s questions about her current situation while they were eating. She told him about her parents' reactions - how they were ready to fight with her and welcomed all the kwamis to their home, even learning about their tastes to provide them just the right food. How they had been worried, of course, but then switched to supporting her. They planned her diet accordingly, to give her enough strength, got some new first-aid supplies and took care of the kwamis while she was away. Them knowing about her responsibilities is also the reason why they suggested that she could have a day off whenever she needed.

Adrien also asked about Lila situation and proceeded to apologize to her for not helping her earlier but she just brushed it off. Apparently she already had a plan in motion with her parents and Lila would go down, sooner than later.

When Adrien had eaten enough, she took him to their guest room right next to the kitchen which had been turned into a room for kwamis. The box itself was hidden inside Marinette’s room so that the kwamis could always return there in case of an emergency but she didn’t want to force them to live inside it. Instead, they each had small living quarters made of different sized boxes placed all around the room, right where they wanted them to be. Warm sunny spot for Sass, a comfy bed for Barkk, almost like a rabbit’s burrow for Fluff… Each place was filled with small details, placed there by the kwamis themselves. Adrien was so amazed by everything and felt like a kid again, when he went to a museum to admire dinosaurs with her mom. The kwamis greeted him eagerly and introduced themselves at the same time, barely calming down. 

Hours went by unnoticed while Marinette told everything she knew about being a guardian, with the eager help of the kwamis. Even though it was much to take in, Adrien felt happy that Marinette was able to rely on him so much, that she trusted him with the knowledge. They even got around talking about plans for how they should use the other miraculouses against Hawkmoth and who they should choose to be next temporary holders, considering that the previous ones' identities were discovered by Hawkmoth not too long ago. Adrien even had a good laugh, realizing that all the previous temporary holders were his classmates simply because they were unknowingly Ladybug’s classmates. 

They had just come up with some plans when a sudden knock on the door surprised them, making them jump a bit. They had been so invested in their conversation that they hadn’t realized Marinette’s parents had finished their work and come up to make dinner. Marinette looked at Adrien, suddenly very serious.

“I didn’t tell them your identity. I let them know that Chat Noir needed my help and he was staying here but nothing else. I wanted to give that decision to you.”

Adrien smiled, thankful for her consideration. “I had been wondering if you had told them about me staying here. I… Your parents have always welcomed me here. I’m okay with them knowing about me.” He got up from the comfortable pillows they were sitting on and offered his hand to Marinette, smirking a bit to hide his nervousness. “Shall we go, m’lady?”

“Sure kitty.” She placed her hand on his and with his support, got up too. She observed him for a moment and Adrien was pretty sure she sensed his nervousness but didn’t say anything about it. Instead she led him to the door and opened it just enough so that she could slide out. She stood there, blocking the view to the room but didn’t pull Adrien out with her. He smiled, fidgeting with his shirt using his free hand. He was more nervous than he thought he would be but Marinette had lessened it just by giving him the choice and control.

She didn’t pull. She didn’t force. She just held his hand gently, giving him silent support to either come out or to decide otherwise and stay in the room. 

It felt so unreal to be treated like this and Adrien almost cried again. 

Instead, he wiped his eyes, took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping out with a shaky step. He could see Marinette smiling at him out of the corner of his eyes but his gaze was fixated on Tom and Sabine. Tom was placing a basket full of bread on the table whereas Sabine was closer to the guest room, apparently being the one who had come knocking there a moment earlier. They both turned to look at him, sudden realization hitting them as they saw who Chat Noir was under the mask.

There was a moment of silence that felt like an eternity for sweating Adrien. When no one said a thing, he finally raised his hand a bit to wave at them, smiling hesitantly.

“H-hey there Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng.”

Sabine was the first to smile. “Dear, how many times do we have to tell you that you can call us Sabine and Tom? No need to be so formal.”

Tom nodded from his spot. “Just as she said. Now come on and eat so it doesn’t get cold! I heard you liked my croissants so I made sure to pick the best for dessert.”

Adrien was taken aback by their openness. He blinked a couple of times and finally, with a gentle nudge from Marinette, they walked to their seats. 

And oh boy, Adrien was ready to cry again, for finally having the family meal he had been craving for years. Tom and Sabine were as caring and loving as ever, making sure he ate as much as he wanted to, offering him seconds and thirds. They didn’t force him to tell them anything, only talking about general stuff, but after the dinner was over, Adrien took the initiative and told them everything they needed to know. What had happened, why he was there. He wasn’t as throughout as last night with Marinette but apparently he didn’t need to be for the Dupain-Cheng family to worry about him. Sabine looked so heart-broken and Tom looked like he was ready to cry with him as the tears involuntarily started to fall down on his cheeks again. Marinette had offered him her hand and he took it, grateful as ever.

When he was done talking, the couple assured him that he would be more than welcomed to stay there with them. They did apologize for not having a guest room prepared for him but they agreed on him living in Marinette’s room, as long as he was sleeping on his own mattress on the floor and not next to Marinette. He thanked them sincerely, all over again.

As they finally got up, Adrien was surprised to be embraced by the whole family. They held him there for a moment which felt like a heaven for the touch deprived Adrien. He hugged them back as hard as he could, to let them know how much he appreciated their help. All of them might have had tears in their eyes after the hug but they didn’t say a word about it. Instead Sabine brushed them to rest in Marinette’ room while they would take care of the cleaning, even after Adrien tried to volunteer to help. One can not defy Sabine and they once again ended up in Marinette’s room, with a jar full of cookies.

Since Adrien didn’t have his phone with him, Marinette did some snooping for him. Apparently Gabriel hadn’t made a big deal of his disappearance yet but had asked Chloé if she knew anything about his whereabouts. He had asked her to keep it a secret but apparently she couldn’t do that, letting it slip to many of their classmates who all had tried to contact him. Marinette didn’t tell them that Adrien was there, instead wished them luck in finding him while she was “recovering from flu” and that she would be joining them when she got better. 

Adrien sighed and sank deeper into the sofa, basically laying there by now. “I don’t know what to do. It’s only a matter of time before my father goes to the authorities or does something else, like forcefully visiting all my friends’ houses. I can’t return there like this.”

“And you aren’t. If you even try to do that, I’ll tie you up” Plagg bluntly told him, not joking. Adrien gulped.

Marinette seemed to ponder about it too. “This is indeed hard. You’re still a minor, barely 15 years old. He could argue that you’re too young to live alone, especially since you wouldn’t even have a job or money.”

“I do have a job, I work for him. Though that’s only more of a reason for me to return there. And I have some money in my bank account but some of it must be in a savings account or something because I should have more left.”

“What if you hide and get another job with another identity?”

Adrien laughed a bit. “Yeah no. My face is all over Paris, whether I want it or not. And where would I even get another set of IDs?”

“We could find someone to make them,” Marinette shrugged, sighing. “But yeah, not a good idea. We’ll have to brainstorm something fast.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll help you!” Tikki chipped in, cheerful as ever. “Together we’ll overcome any obstacle on our way!”

“Sugarcube, you’re way too sweet sometimes,” Plagg commented. “What if we just get rid of Gabriel? That would solve everything and it would feel so good.”

“And then I would be an orphan and get taken in by my aunt. I do like her and Felix but I would much rather stay in Paris.”

Marinette suddenly got up and walked up to her movable white board, picking up a marker before turning to face Adrien and kwamis once again. “Whatever the solution is, we’ll figure it out. We won’t stop until we have a plan!” She was standing there, righteous and determined as Ladybug. Or as righteous and determined as Marinette. Adrien had to start thinking of them as one faster. They are the two sides of the same coin anyways, no need to separate them. 

He got into a better sitting position and smiled at her, her energy filling him. “Let’s do it.”

Chapter Text

They got nothing.

They had been trying to come up with a plan for almost a week now, with the help of Marinette’s parents but they got nothing so far. Gabriel still hadn’t publicly stated that Adrien was missing, probably in order to avoid losing his image. He was smart enough to notice that Adrien had only taken the essentials with him, meaning that he left by choice. If he got police involved, they would interrogate Adrien upon finding him for what happened and he would tell them about his home situation and rumors would start to spread.

That however couldn’t be used as a plan because if Adrien went by himself to the police, without Gabriel setting a search party and without any evidence since his father only abused him mentally, they wouldn’t take him seriously. They would only think that he was hitting his rebellious state and that he was just regretting leaving home.

He didn’t know if it was luck or just his friends’ lack of commitment but apparently they stopped bombing his phone with questions, according to Marinette. Gabriel finally figured out that Chloé would cause a scene and had told them everything was under control, that Adrien was just adjusting to home school again. It wasn’t a complete lie and even Chloé believed it, with a promise that she would get to visit him once he was settled. She even bragged how she was jealous that he didn’t have to spend time with commoners like she did.

Adrien did not approve this promise since he had slowly realized how toxic Chloé was, even if she was his first friend. 

Marinette had to return to school after the weekend, to not raise suspicions and Adrien had stayed, helping Tom and Sabine in the bakery during the early mornings, before no one could see him and later in the evening with the family dinner. He also participated in cleaning duties even though they tried to assure him that it wasn’t necessary but he shot them down, saying he wanted to help. It might sound weird but he liked mundane chores like these and if it meant that he could spend more time with them, he gladly did so. They had maids and servants at the mansion and because of them, Adrien felt like he lacked some basic skills that normal people should have. He knew how to vacuum and sweep his room of dust but otherwise, he was a noobie. He learned how different cleaning sprays were used for different surfaces, how to use certain kitchen supplies and how to mop a floor.

And he was so damn happy that someone finally taught him how to do so. 

It was a Wednesday evening when Adrien and Marinette once again slumped on her sofa, giving up for the night. Marinette rubbed her face, frustration slipping into her voice.

“Why is this so hard?”

“Maybe because he’s had years of practice in hiding unwanted incidents and his awful behavior?” Adrien suggested, turning towards the small table and grabbing himself a blueberry cookie. 

“Yeah but still! This is your life we’re talking about, we need to figure out something!”

“I know I know but we’ve checked everything thrice already. Let’s just take a break, okay? We’ll figure out something eventually so no need to force it and risk making a stupid plan.”

“...Fine. You’re right” she sighed, taking a cookie too and biting into it.

They fell into a comfortable silence, watching their kwamis draw something on the table. He nibbled his cookie for a moment before talking again, absentmindedly. “I wonder how he’s handling my modeling sessions. He never cancels them and I had at least three scheduled for this week.”

Marinette snorted. “I hope he had a hard time canceling them without arousing any suspicions. It’s still so insane how much he made you work. How many hours do you have in that contract of yours or do you sign a new one for every modeling session?”

Adrien stopped in the middle of the bite, confusion visible on his face. “I actually don’t remember if I had hours mentioned on the contract. He just told me to sign it before my first job and I was too nervous to question it.”

Marinette turned to look at Adrien, concerned. “You don’t even remember your hours? How do you know if you overworked or not if you don’t even remember them?”

“Well, he never gave me a copy of the contract so I didn’t think about checking it.”

Adrien jumped when Marinette suddenly started coughing, almost choking on her cookie. He looked at her concerned for a moment before Marinette forced a question out of her mouth, voice rasby from coughing. “You don’t have a copy of your contract?!”

Adrien didn’t know what was so wrong about it. He kept looking at her, tilting his head a bit. “No…? Should I?”

It was clear that Marinette tried to resist the urge to facepalm. Instead she took a steadying breath and looked him straight into his eyes. “You always, ALWAYS, get a copy of the contract. It protects both parties in case of a misunderstanding.”

Adrien just stared at her, dumbfounded. “Oh. I didn’t know that.”

“How did you NOT know that? It’s basic information!”

“It never came up and I didn’t question it!”

Marinette stared at him before finally giving into her desire to facepalm and mumble something under her breath. Adrien couldn’t quite understand what she was saying but knew better than to interrupt or question it. 

When she finally lowered her hands, Adrien fully expected her to further question him about his lack of knowledge about work related issues but instead she was smiling. And that made Adrien nervous.

“Um… What’s on your mind?”

“We can use this!”

Before Adrien could ask her to clarify, she continued. “You don’t have a copy of your contract and you have no idea how many hours you should be working. If we can find the contract and check it, we’ll know whether he worked you overtime or not! And if you did work overtime, we’ll finally have at least some dirt on him!”

Marinette was so excited about this small little lead that Adrien couldn’t help but smile with her. “That’s actually true! And maybe I could check whether there’s a mention about some of my payments going into a separate account since I’m 99% sure that I haven’t received full payments on my main account!”

Marinette nodded eagerly, hopping from the sofa and back to her white board, making notes. “Excellent! This is the best lead we’ve had the whole week! And with us being super heroes, we can sneak there and search for the contract! Though that would be quite legal and put us in a tight spot if we got caught…”

“Only if we get caught” Adrien interrupted her before she could doubt herself and the plan that was forming in front of them. “I know where he keeps his most important files, I suspect that my contract will be there too.” He also glanced at the hiding spot of the Miraculous box. “And if Kaalki is willing to help us, we could just teleport there to avoid getting caught on any cameras.”

His chest filled with joy when the spark returned to her eyes. “Oh that’s true! We’ll have to ask him but I’m sure he’ll help us…” and she just went on and on, both of them polishing the plan to retrieve the contract. They both knew it wasn’t much but it was a starting point, just a crack on the damn they’ve been trying to break. But it was enough.

Darkness gave way to the blue light of the portal, two teenagers stepping out of it before it disappeared. It was 2 AM and Adrien knew that no one would be awake to spot them. And even if by some miracle his father or Nathalie were awake, they hardly came to this part of the mansion. He dropped his transformation, feeding the kwami of teleportation. Kaalki had been more than eager to help the pair and even though Marinette had more experience with all of the kwamis, it was better for Adrien to take the lead since he knew exactly where the room was.

After making sure that Kaalki was okay and that they couldn’t hear anyone walking outside the room, they turned on their flashlights, looking around the small room with at least a dozen cabinets. Adrien knew they contained every single contract and other legal document related to the Gabriel brand. His father was strict with everything and this wasn’t an exception.

“Let’s get searching, it has to be somewhere in here” he whispered to Marinette who had decided to come as a Ladybug just in case. That way they could muster up some excuse about why they were there in the middle of the night if someone caught them. She nodded and they both got to work.

They searched the cabinets in silence, settling into a comfortable rhythm. Though it was stressful, Marinette’s presence made it easier for Adrien whose mind was already racing. He hadn’t been in the mansion for a week but that didn’t help his anxiety at all. He could feel the familiar cold monster settling in his chest, wrapping itself around him. It made breathing harder, it caused his heart to nearly jump out of his chest. But he fought against it, glancing back to Marinette whenever he felt like it was too much. Seeing his best friend and his loyal partner right behind him calmed his nerves and he could keep focusing on the task at hand.

After what felt like an eternity but what was actually just 17 minutes according to his wrist watch, Adrien found it. He found the folder with his name.

“Marinette,” he whispered, the red suited teen appearing next to him in a heartbeat. She shone her flashlight on to the folder so that Adrien could use his hand freely and with just a little bit of hesitation, he opened it. Inside the folder, there was only one single paper, the very first contract he had signed.

Shock filled both of their faces as they read through the contract. Adrien couldn’t believe that he had been cheated like this. But on the other hand…

They had finally dirt on Gabriel.

“One time. It was a one-time contract” Adrien repeated to himself. 

They had returned to Marinette’s room and he was just sitting there, dumbfounded. Marinette on the other hand kept writing notes on the board, glancing through the contract every now and then.

“I was so stupid. Why didn’t I read the contract?”

“Because you trusted your father and didn’t know that he would use it against you” Marinette answered, turning to face him again. “This must suck but on the other hand, we have some serious dirt on him! We can definitely use this to free you!” She shone so bright, a wide smile spread across her face. Adrien shook his head a bit to wake himself up from his shock and let her joy spread to him. 

“You’re right. We can beat him.”

Marinette hummed happily and gave the contract back to Adrien. “I took a picture of it so even if you lose it, we still have proof that this contract existed. Now we just need to form a plan, decide what we want from him and set the terms. On paper, preferably.”

He chuckled. “You make it sound so easy.”

“Because it is easy. Trust me, I’ll help you through this!”

Adrien looked at the confident girl in front of him and smiled, pushing down his anxiety. Even if they come up with a new plan, he would still have to face his father to make it work. But he didn’t have to do it alone. He had support that he didn’t have last time he faced his father and he knew he would survive it.

He just had to do it.

Chapter Text

This time when Adrien entered the huge cold mansion he used to call home, it was a breezy evening instead of a silent night. And he entered through the front door alone, not through a magical teleport with his partner.

He walked past his worried bodyguard, through the empty halls and straight into his father’s office. The older Agreste sat behind his desk and only seemed slightly surprised to see his son after a week of silence. In fact, his father seemed more annoyed than glad to see him, possibly because he didn’t knock on the door before entering. 

“Ah, Adrien. I’m glad to see that you came to your senses and returned. We’re behind the normal schedules regarding your modeling sessions but it’s nothing we can’t fix.”

It didn’t surprise Adrien that Gabriel went straight to business. It still hurt, that his disappearance was brushed under the mat immediately. Adrien took a calming breath and interrupted his father who was about to continue.

“No.”

It took so much to say such a simple word but it almost felt like it had stopped the clocks. Adrien looked at his father who was briefly stunned before he parroted his words. “No?”

“No. I will not continue my work. Not now, not in the future.”

Gabriel improved his posture to seem more like a threat and it frightened Adrien. He had been conditioned to fear his father after her mother disappeared and it was so hard to stand up for himself.

“You will, whether you want it or not. Your contract…”

“A contract which is invalid considering that it was for a one-time gig.” Adrien interrupted again, raising his voice a bit so his father couldn’t stop him. Gabriel seemed taken back by his words and it gave Adrien the courage to continue. “I know about it. I found the contract and read through it. You have been making me, a minor, work hours after hours without a valid legal contract. You have told me how much I should be paid but you haven’t delivered the payments to my account and even if you had, they still wouldn’t be enough. I checked the rates for models and the amounts you have promised are way too low compared to them.”

Adrien felt exhausted already but he knew he had to push further.

“You have emotionally neglected and abused me, forcing me to work. You have made decisions on my behalf, dictated my life, brushed me aside. All without my consent. I can’t prove the neglect and the abuse since you never left a mark on me but I can prove that you have overworked me without any kind of contract, paying me less than you’re supposed to. Just imagine the press’ reaction if they heard this, how you treated your son. If you treat me badly, how much worse is it for the rest of your employees?”

The unspoken threat hung in the air, the men of the Agreste family staring at each other. Adrien could barely stay put, his skin itching and heart aching while waiting for his father’s answer. At first Gabriel seemed shocked, contemplating the things he had done but then he switched to a more neutral stance, clearly pondering his options and coming to a conclusion.

“What do you want?” Straight to the point. Adrien would have laughed bitterly if he wasn’t so anxious.

“I want to stop modeling for the Gabriel brand and I demand to get the delayed payment from all the modeling sessions I’ve had, with the proper rates, within a week from this moment. The payment should be deposited to my own account which I - and only I - have access to.”

Gabriel frowned but didn’t say anything to it for a while. To Adrien’s surprise, he eventually nodded.

“Fine. I agree. Was there something else or are you satisfied with that?”

Adrien felt a tinge of hope inside him. He had agreed. This was actually working. Though the next and the last demand was much bigger and would definitely enrage his father. Adrien braced himself for the worst and laid his demand out.

“I want you to give away all your rights to make any decisions on my behalf, regarding where I go to school, where I live, what I do for a living. I want you to have no say in my life from this day forward.”

His voice trembled only a little. He was proud of that.

Though this demand shocked his father enough to get an actual response out of him. He jumped up from his seat, slamming his hands on his desk. “What did you just ask?!”

Adrien wanted to turn invisible, go curl and cry in the nearest corner. Anything to avoid his father’s wrath. But he could see the fear, the hesitation, in his father’s eyes even though he tried to hide it behind his rage. He knew Marinette was waiting for him outside. He knew that Tom and Sabine were ready to help him move officially in with them. He knew he was valued elsewhere and that he didn’t need anything from here.

“I want you to have no say in my life. From this day forward. Or else I will drag your name through the mud.” 

He had done it. He had threatened his father. He felt so bad, so guilty.

But at the same time, he felt powerful. He could and would make demands. He will escape from his father. He just needed to survive and stand his ground.

“You are still a minor. Until you turn 18, I have every right to control your life” Gabriel said, threatening him. “You should be grateful that I offer you so much, you are privileged and set for the future, thanks to me.”

Adrien had to stop himself from shutting down. He had to fight. “Grateful? You keep me locked inside this house and treat me more like a slave than a son. Or can’t you differentiate them anymore? Was my mother the only reason you ever showed love for me?” Low blow, but it seemed to affect his father’s stand. “I will not submit to it anymore, at least not without a fight. You can sign a contract and give away all your rights in exchange for my silence. If you don’t accept this, you can still do whatever you want with me but you will fall, no matter how hard you try to keep me locked up. I’m not the only one with the evidence, you have no way to escape this.”

He almost added “suck it bitch” to the end of his threat but he bit his tongue. He had to stay civil and clear minded to win this.

Gabriel stood still, glaring at Adrien from behind his desk. Adrien could see how white his father’s knuckles were from clenching his fists and was suddenly really glad that his father had never physically abused him. 

Crushing silence filled the room, Gabriel looked like he wanted to say something but always changed his mind. Adrien’s anxiety was almost unbearable and he could see the edges of his vision fading. No. This was not the time to break. 

After an eternity, Gabriel moved, straightening his posture and relaxing his clenched fists.

“Fine. I will give away all my rights to control you. But on the condition that you will also lose your right to my name, never being able to use the name “Agreste” to your advantage in any industry.”

Gabriel looked like he was proud for coming up with this condition, from disowning him. But Adrien just wanted to laugh until he couldn't breathe anymore. Seriously? It wasn’t a punishment, it’s exactly what Adrien wanted. 

To hide his overwhelming joy from showing, he let his anxiety from this whole situation shine through. Maybe that would distract Gabriel and make him think that he had won when in reality Adrien got everything he wanted. “It’s a deal.”

Adrien had written the base of the contract with Tom and Sabine and now gave it to Gabriel who immediately called upon his lawyers to modify it to both of their liking. That unfortunately meant that Adrien had to stay in the mansion for a bit longer but to his surprise, the monster inside him had loosened its hold on him and Adrien felt like he could breathe better. It wasn’t much but it was something. It gave him enough energy to start packing his belongings since someone had already brought a pile of empty boxes to his room. 

After a couple of nerve wrecking hours, Adrien left the mansion with a suitcase full of clean clothes and a signed contract. He stopped at the gates, taking a deep breath.

He had done it. He was free.

He could finally get some therapy.

Upon returning to Marinette and her parents with the freshly signed contract, they had all cried together. Thankfully, they were all tears of relief and happiness. As soon as they calmed down, they went back to the mansion together, packed all the things Adrien wanted with him and moved him out of there. Even though his room was huge and he had an extensive collection of movies, games and books, he only took his favorites with him. He wasn’t a materialist like his father and he didn’t want to take bad memories with him to his new home. 

He lived in the same room with kwamis for a couple of weeks before Tom and Sabine surprised both him and Marinette by telling them that they rented an apartment from across the street. They had been trying to rent it for a while now, to get a place for Marinette to do her design work and handle her business. It was spacious and had multiple rooms so Marinette could have her studio and Adrien could have a room of his own. He may have cried again because of their kindness. It was a lot to handle but with the help of Marinette and plenty of sleepovers, he got used to the place. He would rest and sometimes make breakfast there but he prefered to walk over the street to the bakery. He was mostly alone there, Marinette sometimes sleeping on the couch while she worked on a new design, but it didn’t bother him. Being alone didn’t always mean being lonely.

Since Adrien now had full control over his life, he decided to enroll back in the public school. He felt anxious when he had to deliver the transfer papers to his father since he still needed his signature but was so relieved when Gabriel just signed them off and left him alone. He may have scoffed at Adrien's choice but he couldn’t control him anymore. And that felt so good.

Back at the school, Adrien made sure to transfer to another class with Marinette, cutting contact with all of his previous classmates. If they could abandon him without a second thought, he didn’t need them. They were furious at the start, blaming Adrien and Marinette for overreacting but they eventually calmed down, realizing that they may be at fault. After a while Adrien did contact Nino and they were able to parse their friendship unlike Marinette who couldn’t forgive Alya for all the things she had done to her because of Lila. Luckily they found new friends who were genuinely happy to be with them and cared for them.

With the help of Tom and Sabine, Adrien also went to therapy. It took a couple of tries to find the right one for him but after that, it went by smoothly. He got help with his anxiety and other mental issues. He got a prescription for anxiety medication but as the time went by, he was able to stop using them and live freely with all the healthy coping skills he had gotten from the therapist.

Life of a teenager is never easy, especially if you’re also a superhero with a secret identity, fighting a crazy power-hungry super villain. While Adrien was dealing with all the changes in his civilian life, Hawkmoth decided to go on a rampage. His attacks were harsher, more frequent than ever. They could barely get any rest in between the attacks and they both stayed home plenty of times instead of going to school, just to avoid exhausting themselves. 

Just as they were beginning to doubt if they could make it, Hawkmoth stopped. At first they thought he just got tired but when the peaceful days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, they began to wonder where the villain disappeared. Marinette was worried about the two kwamis Hawkmoth had - what if he had hurt them? They began searching for Hawkmoth more determined than ever, analyzing his previous attacks but couldn’t figure out where he was. It devastated Marinette as the guardian. Adrien supported her the best he could but since he was just getting used to his anxiety medication, he had to have rest days. 

They never stopped looking, not even when the winter came and covered Paris in snow. Christmas was just around the corner and they were preparing for it when sudden screams from the kwami room startled them. The pair abandoned the cookie dough they had been making and ran there, to make sure the kwamis were okay. 

To their surprise, they had all gotten an early present. Kwamis had screamed not because of terror but because Nooroo and Duusu, the lost kwamis, had just flown there. The celebration was huge and lasted many days. Even though the kwamis couldn’t tell who Hawkmoth had been or why he gave them up due to a spell he had found and used on them, they were able to guide the heroes to a quiet park where their miraculouses laid abandoned in the bushes. 

Despite Adrien and Marinette’s efforts to reverse the spell, Hawkmoth’s identity stayed unknown which meant he couldn’t be properly punished for what he had done. But at least they were able to calm the citizens of Paris and who immediately celebrated the superheroes’ victory. Of course it took a long time for everyone in Paris to heal from the traumas caused by the Hawkmoth but at least they could finally live in peace and express their emotions in a healthy manner.

So, what did this all mean for the teen heroes? 

It meant they could finally process all their traumas and heal. No matter how much it hurt them, they had each other and their loved ones.

It meant they could finally rest and focus on their studies, both eventually graduating from their dream colleges.

It meant they could start living their lives as they saw fit.

They started a business together, Marinette conquering the fashion world in a record time while Adrien stayed behind the curtains, taking care of the business side of things. True to his promise, he never used his father’s name and was even planning on taking Marinette’s surname in the near future, as long as Marinette would say “yes”. They had taken their time to heal before they eventually started dating and now the only thing Adrien was anxious about was how he was going to propose to Marinette in the most romantic way possible.