Chapter Text
“Ladybug, in the flesh,” Hawkmoth mused, moonlight form his wide window behind him making him glow. “I’ve waited a long while for this.”
Flanking him were Mayura, her fan covering her face, and Volpina, her flute in fighting position, eyes narrowed with hatred.
“As have we,” Ladybug growled, spinning her yoyo. Chat Noir was standing next to her, for once not making a pun. The pair had followed Volpina back to his lair through the sewers, right into Hawkmoth’s trap.
“You’ve been led to your doom, Ladybug. And soon I will have your miraculous!” Hawkmoth exclaimed, thrusting his cane in the air. Mayura and Volpina charged forward.
“Chat Noir!” Ladybug exclaimed, running out to meet them. “His miraculous!”
“On it!” he shouted back, sliding past Mayura and charging Hawkmoth directly. “Cataclysm!”
“Why thank you,” Hawkmoth chuckled, turning out of the way. Chat Noir slammed into the window, the destructive energy shattering the glass. Hawkmoth pressed his arm against the hero’s back, pinning him to the broken window, and yanked his arm back, nearly breaking it. Chat Noir cried out as Hawkmoth slipped off the ring and stepped back.
“No!” Chat Noir shouted, falling to his knees, his suit disappearing in a flash of green. “No!”
Plagg appeared next to Hawkmoth, tears falling down his dark cheeks.
“Adrien,” he whispered, staring at the blond boy, holding his arm.
Hawkmoth fell back at the sight of his son, glaring up at him. “Adrien.”
“Adrien!” Ladybug gaped, leaping over Volpina. “What…how…?”
“Aah!” Adrien screamed, leaping up to charge Hawkmoth. But his arms were pressed to his sides as Mayura came from behind and pulled him to the ground, his arms pressed under her knees.
Ladybug was frozen for once, staring at the blond struggling against their nemesis.
Adrien is Chat Noir. Adrien is Chat Noir. Adrien is Chat Noir. Adrien is Chat Noir!
Volpina slammed her flute against Ladybug and she fell to the ground, dizzy.
“Help!” a weak voice called from across the room. Mayura had flung Adrien across the room and he was struggling to crawl away. “Ladybug, please!”
“Hold on!” she screamed and raced toward him. But as she knelt down to grab him his hands reached up and ripped out her earrings. The illusion disappeared, revealing Volpina with Mayura’s hand over Adrien’s mouth behind her.
“No,” she gaped, falling back, hands reaching up to touch her bleeding earlobes. “No!”
But her suit was already shimmering away, revealing her true identity.
“Marinette?” Adrien gaped. Marinette is Ladybug. Marinette is Ladybug. Marinette is Ladybug!
Volpina tossed Hawkmoth the earrings then tackled Marinette, pinning her to the ground. But Hawkmoth was still staring at Adrien, both miraculous in his hands.
“Hawkmoth!” Mayura yelled as Adrien struggled more. “Your wish, make your wish!”
That seemed to stir him and he placed the two jewels in the same hand, squeezing them together in his fist. Tiki and Plagg watching on began to glow purple, slowly moving together.
“Marinette!” Tiki screamed, reaching out her arms to her old owner. But she couldn’t do anything.
In a few moments they had merged into a spinning purple orb.
“I wish to have my wife healed completely! I wish to have her back with me!” Hawkmoth declared. The orb glowed brighter and brighter till the light burst out, washing over each person in Paris.
When the light was gone Tiki and Plagg were on the ground. Everyone was stunned.
Marinette used this to her advantage. She dug her elbow in Volpina’s gut and ran out of her arms, straight at Hawkmoth. One kick and the miraculous were flying out of his hands. She grabbed them both and slipped her earrings on again.
“Tiki, spots on!” she shouted and transformed. Then she grabbed Plagg, kicked Mayura in the face, hugged Adrien, and leaped out the window. They disappeared into the city as Mayura and Volpina ran to the window.
“Let them go,” Hawkmoth told them.
“But sir-” Natalie protested.
“I have what I want.” He started to leave but before he did he turned to Volpina. “Thank you, Miss Lila. You’ve been a great deal of help.”
The akuma flew out of her necklace and Lila was returned to normal though her evil smirk remained.
“Mayura, take her home.” Then he left, leaving to think about what had just happened.
**************************
Ladybug landed on a roof across town and Adrien stepped back, Plagg in his hands. Neither could meet the others’ eyes.
“I just wanted to-” they both started then stopped.
“You go,” Ladybug said, still staring at her feet.
“I just wanted to say, uh, thank you. You saved me again.”
“We still lost. Hawkmoth still made his wish,” Ladybug mumbled.
“We’ll set it right. Talk to Master Fu. You’ll solve this,” Adrien assured her.
Awkward silence settled around them again.
“I probably seem really dumb now,” Adrien sighed. “I said you were our everyday Ladybug, Marinette, never guessing you were the real Ladybug. I can’t believe I didn’t notice…”
“You and Chat Noir…,” Ladybug started. “You two are so different. I never would have…I never even…”
“Lady…Marinette.” The way he said her name made her meet his eyes. “I…I still…I still really care about you. That…that hasn’t changed. Have your feelings changed for me at all?”
Here was her chance. The chance she’d always been waiting for. But fear was clenching her heart and stinging her eyes. “I…I don’t know. But with Hawkmoth still out there I don’t think we should be focusing on that now.”
“Of course. Did you want to go talk to Master Fu now?”
Adrien was standing before her, hand outstretched, talking about Hawkmoth and Master Fu and being Chat Noir and Marinette got goose bumps at the weirdness of it all. She took a step back.
“I…I need some time. Just a night. It’s all so….”
“Yeah, okay, I get that,” Adrien quickly replied, retracting his hand. “I guess I’ll see you at school. Can’t believe I was going to school with Ladybug this whole time.”
“Bye.” Ladybug flung her yoyo out and swung off the roof, headed home. Adrien stared after her.
“You knew, didn’t you?”
Plagg didn’t move. He knew Adrien was talking to him.
“That’s why you encouraged me to pursue her at the ice rink. Why didn’t you…?”
“No one’s supposed to know. And Tiki’s a real pain if I break the rules,” Plagg sighed. “I figured you’d get it eventually.”
“I should get home. Plagg, claws out!”
*********************************
Adrien walked through the front gate of his home and started toward the door. But before he reached it, it swung open to reveal a beautiful blonde woman with stunning green eyes. Adrien nearly fell over.
“M…mom?”
“Adrien!” she exclaimed and rushed to embrace him. She still smelled like lavender and makeup powder. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much! Where were you?”
“Where…Mom, how are you….?” He stepped back to stare at her. Everything was just like he’d remembered, her skin still soft, her smile still glowing. The only difference was she was alive.
“Your father put me in a suspension chamber before I died. And now I’m back!” she exclaimed, spinning for effect. “Now we can be a family again.”
Adrien almost hugged her again but a little pool of dread was curling in his stomach.
“You’re back…. the wish….”
“What are you talking about, honey?”
“Adrien.”
The boy glanced up to see his father standing on the stoop of their front door, cold eyes gazing out of him.
“You’re Hawkmoth!” Adrien accused. Gabriel just looked down, fingers going to his scarf. The scarf that always covered his miraculous. “So it’s true?”
“Please, Adrien, just let us explain,” Emilie asked, hand outstretched to him. “Your father had very good reasons.”
But Adrien was already dunning, blinded by tears.
Father is Hawkmoth. Father is Hawkmoth. Father is Hawkmoth!
Adrien slumped over his knees when he’d run as far as he could. He needed to get away but how? And who would he turn to.
He pulled out his phone and hit Marinette’s number.
“Please pick up, Ladybug.”
******************************
“I tossed him across a building!” Marinette wailed into her pillow.
“For the supervillain,” Tiki reminded her.
“I kissed him! Oh no, Tiki, I kissed Adrien! I told him I didn’t like him!”
“You didn’t know.”
“But you did.” Marinette’s blue eyes were piercing as she looked at her kwami. “You knew and didn’t say anything.”
“You’ve said it yourself, your identities had to be kept secret. Remember what happened when Alya got akumatized during Hero’s Day? Nino got akumatized just from seeing that. I couldn’t risk your safety.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Marinette sighed as her phone started buzzing. “Ah! It’s Adrien!”
“You don’t have to answer, you’ve been through a lot.”
Marinette nodded. “Besides, I’ll see him tomorrow. It can probably wait till then.”
She declined the call and went back to sobbing into her pillow.
*****************************
Adrien stared at his phone as Marinette declined the call.
“What am I going to do now?”
“Call Nino,” Plagg suggested.
But before he could Emilie came around the corner. “Adrien!”
“Mom.” He almost ran to her. Almost.
“Adrien, please come home. Your father, he can explain everything. Please, Adrien. I’ve missed you so much.”
The crack in her voice made Adrien embrace her again. And this time he let himself be led back home.