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Things had been pretty good since Ladybug and Chatte Royale sent Style Queen packing with the help of Vesperia, Bǎolěi and Renard. Audrey was facing several years in prison for multiple laundry lists’ worth of crimes, and officially lost all rights to custody of both of her daughters.
There were no questions about who Zoé would be staying with; Sabine and Tom had signed her adoption papers that evening, with a little help from Nadja and Sabrina’s papa (who had recently quit the forceful force to become a social worker).
Hawkmoth was still a thorn in their side, but it was nothing Ladybug couldn’t handle, especially with her sisters by her side. They’d even gotten close to beating him once or twice. The way Marinette saw it, it was only a matter of time till they won once and for all. Things were looking up!
And then they literally began to look down one morning. Not in the fight against Hawkmoth, though…
… no, she fell down two flights of stairs.
For all the effort she had put into refining her athletic and gymnastic skills, she was still a total klutz. In her defense, Maman had asked her to carry something downstairs and the box was so tall that she couldn’t see where she was going. It wasn’t her fault that she missed her footing!
Marinette knew that her family could be a little protective, but it still startled her sometimes.
“Do you think we should take her to the hospital?” Tom asked, watching Sabine fetch an ice pack.
Sabine shook her head. “It’s only a bruise. She’ll be alright by tomorrow.”
“Are you sure? Maybe we should-”
“Tom, mon amour, you’re being awfully overprotective,” Sabine chastised. “Marinette isn’t a little girl anymore. She doesn’t need you to fret over her like this.”
Zoé stuck her head around the door. “Maman’s right. Being Ladybug is definitely more dangerous than this.”
Marinette opened her mouth. “Riposte, Animan, Benedictatrice, Darkblade, Captain Hardrock-”
“... okay, fair point,” Marinette conceded, pressing the ice pack to her cheek.
If her family was being this overbearing about an objectively minor injury, she couldn’t begin to imagine what her classmates would be like…
After spending the whole morning fielding questions about her “mysterious injury” - yes, Juleka, it’s a bruise; no, Kim, I didn’t get it in a fight - Marinette was done with school for today.
How unfortunate that it was only lunchtime.
At least she got to spend said lunch period with her sisters and her friends - a blissful break in her day. Zoé had been making more friends in the year below, so she didn’t always eat with her sisters, but Chloé always insisted on eating lunch with Marinette. It was honestly quite sweet.
Amongst their usual lunchtime companions of Alya, Adrien, Nino and Sabrina, Marinette and Chloé found themselves joined by Kagami. She was a newer addition to the group, her mother being a business associate of Adrien’s father. Despite a rocky first few interactions, Marinette befriended her enough that she trusted her as Ryuko, wielder of the Dragon Miraculous.
Not that the majority of the others knew that.
“I wonder if Luka’s having a good day so far,” Marinette said, glancing over to Kagami to gauge her reaction. “At least, a better time than I am…”
“He’s doing quite well,” Kagami replied.
Marinette raised an eyebrow. “Oh? How do you know?”
“We exchanged contact information recently after being caught up in an akuma attack together.” It had been a reappearance of Captain Hardrock, and both Ryuko and Viperion had been called in. Marinette wasn’t sure if they knew each other’s identities, but she knew they would tell her if they had.
Kagami was silent for a small while; she’d been raised to avoid addressing her weaknesses and fallacies, but she was working to unlearn that around the others. “I’ve been struggling with anxiety, so he’s been sending me music recommendations.”
“I’m glad you’re finding a way to deal with it,” Zoé said. “Living with Audrey wasn’t… great for my anxiety, so I get it.”
Marinette’s attention was taken by Chloé lightly elbowing her under the table. When Marinette turned, Chloé passed her phone over to Marinette’s lap. A message was typed in the notes app:
Do you think Kagami has a crush on Luka?
Marinette only just held back a snicker. For a self-proclaimed romantic, Chloé was terrible at figuring out other people’s crushes. It had taken her walking in on Marinette and Alya kissing for her to figure out they were dating.
Both Alya and Marinette had wanted to go at a slower pace; Marinette’s family was accepting (or working on it, in Roland’s case), but Alya’s maternal grandparents were staunch bigots. They really didn’t like Anansi, who was not only nonbinary but also Otis’ child from a previous marriage.
And if Chloé was surprised by her sister and Alya, it was gonna blow her mind when she found out that Adrien and Nino were interested in each other. Since Gabriel wasn’t super-accepting, the boys had to keep their relationship even more secret than Marinette and Alya did, so Marinette didn’t really blame Chloé for not knowing.
For now, Marinette typed a reply, confirming that Kagami did have a crush on Luka, but asking Chloé to keep it on the down-low for now. After all, if Mme. Tsurugi associated herself with M. Agreste, odds were she wasn’t much kinder, even if Kagami was a girl interested in a boy. Chloé read the reply, gave Marinette a tiny nod and then turned to Kagami to ask her about Luka’s music recommendations.
Marinette sat back, contentedly listening to her loved ones chatting. As she did, however, a pair of eyes fell on her, and she realized that she wasn’t the only one who had fallen silent.
Adrien was eerily quiet, staring at Marinette with sad eyes. “Marinette, do you have a moment?” he whispered to her. “There’s no problem from me, I promise, but it’s… sort of important.”
Marinette had a feeling she knew what this was about. Adrien was the only one in her class who hadn’t asked about her little bruise, and while he was willing to leave people alone (a bit too much, Marinette found, but he’d get there), he wasn’t endlessly able to hold in his curiosity.
Regardless, Marinette humored him. Her usual line of logic when it came to him was Chloé holds him in high regard, so give him a chance. His lack of common knowledge isn’t his fault.
Sneaking away from Chloé and the others, Adrien and Marinette moved to a private corner of the halls. “I know what you’re gonna ask, and it’s just like I told everyone else. I’m in no pain right now, and-”
“I… wasn’t gonna ask about how you are here. I’m concerned about how you, Chloé and Zoé are at home.”
Marinette stopped. “P-Pardon?”
“Did your parents do that to you?” Adrien asked bluntly. “I like it when we’re able to be honest with each other, Marinette; I won’t tell anyone, if you don’t want me to, but I’d like to know.”
“What…?! Why do you…?”
She meant why do you think my parents would hit me, but Adrien had a different interpretation. “I have a lot of experience with covering up stuff like this. If you want, I can use some makeup and color over the bruise-”
“Adrien…” Marinette warbled. Adrien went silent. “Where did you, um… acquire this experience…?”
Adrien shrugged like what he was implying wasn’t a huge deal. “Eh, take a guess.” Marinette didn’t know what to say. Adrien took her silence as permission to continue, “Father only hits me when I deserve it, so… I guess it's fine.”
Impulsively, Marinette wrapped her arms around Adrien, holding onto him tight, like he’d fade into dust if she let go. “I’m so sorry I didn’t realize what was happening. I should have noticed. You’re my friend, Adrien. I should have noticed that something was wrong.”
Adrien wanted to protest, but being hugged by Marinette felt kinda nice, so he didn’t try to stop her. “It really isn’t-”
“If you say this isn’t a big deal, you’re gonna have another thing coming,” Marinette muttered.
Couldn’t argue with that…
The rest of classes passed relatively peacefully, if not a little awkwardly. Marinette didn’t let Adrien out of her sight, and when he tried to head home, she steered him in the other direction. “What are you…?”
“You’re sleeping over at our house tonight,” Chloé said cheerfully, Zoé nodding at her side. “Marinette said you didn’t do anything bad, don’t worry. It’s a good thing she did, because I sorta wanted to kick your ass for making her cry.”
Marinette groaned. “Chloé…”
“What? It’s true!”
“Are you sure your parents will be okay with me coming over?” Adrien asked. “I wouldn’t want to be the reason you two get into trouble…”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. I’ve already talked to Maman about it, and she really likes you.”
“… I don’t want them to hit you again,” Adrien mumbled.
Chloé stopped dead in her tracks. “Maman and Papa would never!”
“Then why does Marinette have that bruise?”
“Weren’t you listening the first fifteen times?” Chloé huffed. “She fell down two flights of stairs ‘cause she’s a klutz.” Noticing Adrien had jumped, she quieted herself a bit. “Look, our parents would never hurt us. If M. Agreste is doing that to you… well, you knowing he shouldn’t be is a good start.”
Though Adrien seemed a little dubious, he still nodded, and they walked home together.
Chloé could count the number of times she had seen Tom genuinely angry on less than one hand. There had been one time he and Marinette’s Papy Rolland got into an argument (the old man was working on his biases, but this was in the beginning times of such change). Rolland had the gall to unintentionally insult Sabine; Tom escorted him to the door, allowed himself a moment to be angry and then turned to apologize to Sabine for his father’s actions. Even when he was dealing with Audrey, Tom managed to keep his cool.
Which made it pretty concerning when he promptly lost his temper after listening to Adrien’s story of how Gabriel had hit him after he came home late. It was only a momentary lapse of self-control, but Tom had still spooked Chloé a little. It seemed to have the same effect on Adrien, who flinched when Tom’s hands moved too close to him, even if it was for a hug.
Once he realized Tom was going for a hug, however, Adrien cautiously relaxed into it. “He really is touch-starved, isn’t he…?” Sabine whispered to Zoé.
Zoé nodded sorrowfully. Thinking back to the poor eclair Tom had let Adrien tear into, she murmured, “I have the feeling that’s not all he’s usually starved for…”
“We’ll sort this out, Son,” Tom said once Adrien and him broke apart, voice warm yet serious. “I don’t care who your father has on his side or what he does. I am not letting him take you back after this.”
Sabine patted Adrien on the arm. “We’ll make a few calls. You should stay for the night.”
“As long as I’m not an imposition…” Adrien mumbled. “Oh, and I can sleep on the couch.”
“Girls, would you mind Adrien sleeping in your room?” Sabine asked. “No worries if not.”
Chloé immediately said, “I don’t mind!”
“Me neither,” Marinette added.
Zoé, understandably, was a little more hesitant. “I don’t know Adrien that well, but if you two trust him, I do too.”
“Then it’s settled,” Sabine said cheerfully. Leaning in, she whispered to Marinette, “You may wish to… warn your friends about Adrien.”
Marinette gasped. How could she have forgotten about Tikki and Pollen? Glancing over at Chloé, she could see her coming to the same realization. They couldn’t let Adrien find the kwamis…
… or could they?
Nino and Alya had proven themselves as temporary wielders already, and Chloé was doing such a good job as Queen Bee that Marinette and Fu had agreed to make her a permanent Miraculous Holder. Marinette had been meaning to loan Adrien a Miraculous when she got a chance, but the model was never around during akuma attacks.
Besides, if Tom and Sabine’s scheming went to plan, Marinette would probably end up with a new sibling. Or maybe someone they trusted would end up taking care of him.
And she’d used to have a crush on him… geez, that was a weird thought.
Either way, Adrien was going to be around a lot more, and keeping the secrets of the Miraculouses from him would be difficult. Besides, Marinette knew she could trust Adrien.
“Adrien, why don’t we head upstairs?” Marinette said softly. “If you’re staying the night, Chloé and I… need to show you something.”
A strange look came over Adrien’s face. “Is it something bad?”
“No, not at all!” Marinette assured Adrien, pulling him upstairs. Chloé followed closely behind, shutting the door to their bedroom.
“You two are sorta… freaking me out.” Adrien mumbled. Marinette sat down on her bed, patting the spot next to her. After a moment, Adrien sat down next to her. Chloé took a spot on her favorite beanbag.
"If you're gonna be living with us, there's something you have to know,” Marinette began. “You can't tell anyone outside of our family, though. It’s top secret!"
Adrien raised an eyebrow. "... okay? What is it?"
“… Tikki, Pollen, you can come out now,” Marinette called. The Bee and Ladybug kwamis came out of their hiding places, with Pollen going to Chloé and Tikki hovering behind Marinette. “I know this won’t be easy to believe, but… Chloé and I are Queen Bee and Ladybug.”
Adrien blinked slowly, taking a shaky breath. “… you are not gonna believe this.”
“Huh?”
“Just to be sure of something…” He lightly brushed Marinette’s arm. “Okay, not an illusion or anything.”
“You know, I could have just told you,” Adrien’s pocket snarked, “I can’t locate my sugarcube from anywhere, but I know her presence at this kinda proximity.”
“This is Plagg,” Adrien began, scratching the back of his head. “He helps me transform into-”
“Chat Noir…!” Marinette gasped. “Oh, my- you’re Chat Noir?!”
“The one and only,” said Adrien, the smallest grin on his face. “I should probably apologize for asking you out so many times as Chat Noir, huh…?”
“Water under the bridge, chaton,” Marinette replied, taking his hand.
“Are you two done being sappy?” Plagg grumbled. “Me and Tikki are way overdue for a reunion!”
Adrien laughed a little, and nodded. Plagg immediately all but bowled the Ladybug kwami over, wrapping her into a hug. “Sugarcube! Good to see you!”
“Plagg!” Tikki giggled. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Not since La Mariquita,” Plagg replied. His ears flattened. “That was a doozy, huh…?”
“... it wasn’t your fault.” Tikki’s voice took a hitherto-unheard degree in softness. “You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I just… still feel bad about it…” Plagg mumbled, before cheering up. “But it's okay, I’ve got a better wielder now. Plus, I’m gonna see you more now too!”
“Does it bother you two that Adrien and I aren’t dating?” Marinette asked, genuinely curious. “Don’t the wielders of the Ladybug and Black Cat usually end up together?”
Tikki shook her head. “Not always. La Mariquita wasn’t dating Gatoscuro, Chat Noir’s predecessor.”
“Yeah, because he was trying to invade her homeland,” Plagg snarled. Once again, Adrien was reminded of how many evil wielders Plagg had over his lifetime. Too many, honestly. “Look, kitten, I couldn’t give less of a crap about whether you and Pigtails are dating or not. Far as I’m concerned, the less romance I hafta put up with, the better. As long as you two get along and can work together as Ladybug and Chat Noir, you’re good.”
Adrien seemed rather… calmed by that revelation.
Chloé, who was cuddling with Pollen while listening, interjected, “I think that’s enough news for one night. Adrien’s probably really tired.”
“Only a little bit,” Adrien conceded. “I’m used to long nights to begin with due to evening shoots. I can… sleep on the floor.”
“Let me at least get you a sleeping bag,” Chloé said. She and Zoé scrambled down the stairs, leaving Marinette and Adrien alone upstairs.
“… I do really love you, you know?” said Marinette. “Maybe not romantically, but…”
“As a friend?” Adrien finished. “It took me a while, but I feel the same way.”
“Oh… good.” Marinette rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad.”
The soft moment was broken by Chloé and Zoé hauling an air mattress and sleeping bag up the ladder into Marinette’s room. “I asked for the sleeping bag, but Maman insisted on the air mattress too. I have no idea how to inflate it though.”
“Here, let me help,” Adrien said, crouching down next to Chloé and Zoé. Marinette watched, feeling endlessly fond of her friend - or, if her parents had their way, her brother.
Dithering in his office, Gabriel Agreste felt oddly… listless.
He hadn’t been able to find a solid target as Hawkmoth for several days, and his professional work was progressing at an even slower pace. Even his personal life had stuttered to a stop, even since Adrien started refusing to come home.
Nathalie had insisted that he allowed Adrien space - twisted his arm with threats of going to the police about his abuse of his brand face - and as much as he despised it, Gabriel complied. Hawkmoth wouldn’t be able to akumatize her in time without bringing attention to Gabriel either way.
If he had known that hitting Adrien would have so many consequences, he may have hesitated.
Emilie would have his head for it, if not for the new world he would create.
He would have taken advantage of his son’s emotions, if Adrien was feeling anything for him other than a terrifyingly calm indifference.
Drumming his fingers on the desk, Gabriel considered his options. There wasn’t much to do, but he was sure he would be able to find something. If this persisted, perhaps Collector could make a reappearance-
His train of thought flew off the rails as the glass window behind him dissolved into pitch-colored ash.
A Cataclysm.
To his surprise, Chat Noir did not enter. Instead, Ladybug was accompanied by Queen Bee and two new wielders. One, that confounded cat’s replacement, was a short-haired blonde with green tips and lipstick. The other was a teal-costumed fellow who reminded him of Viperion - it was hard to make any details out with the hood that covered his face.
Ladybug opened her mouth, but he wouldn’t let her get a word out. It was too late for Gabriel Agreste. Somehow, he had been discovered. There was only one way out now.
Gabriel tore off his ascot, revealing the Moth Miraculous. “Nooroo, Dark Wings Rise!”
Aspik staggered backwards at the sight of Hawkmoth where the fashion mogul once stood, having to lean on Queen Bee to avoid toppling over. His family looked similarly horrified.
Luckily, Hawkmoth was too busy trading blows with Ladybug and Kitty Noire to care. Grabbing onto Queen Bee’s arm, Aspik hissed, “In a minute, he’s going to turn away from us.”
Realization quickly dawning on her, Queen Bee nodded, readying her spinning top.
When the fateful moment came, Aspik hissed, “NOW!”
Reacting swiftly, Queen Bee hollered, “VENOM!” and jabbed her spinning top as hard as she could into Gabriel’s back. Now immobilized, Ladybug all but ripped the Moth locket brooch off of Hawkmoth’s person, reverting him to M. Agreste.
The glare in Ladybug and Queen Bee’s eyes were murderous. If looks could kill, Gabriel would have been dead ten times over.
Gabriel Agreste was well and truly fucked.
Ladybug returned Nooroo to Master Fu, while Queen Bee and Kitty Noire took Aspik home. Their teammate had gotten a bit shaky after Ladybug made the call to the police, and he still hadn’t recovered.
“You feeling okay, Aspik?”
“Yeah, I just… I can’t believe he… I knew he was bad but I didn’t know…”
“No one blames you for not knowing,” Queen Bee said. “Did it… how long did you have to use Second Chance?”
Aspik frowned. “Only a few times,” he eventually said. “It was… easier than I thought it would be, at least.” Finally, tears began to appear. “Why does that feel wrong…?”
Queen Bee rested her head on his shoulder while Kitty Noire took his hand. “Sometimes, the biggest moments feel small. Things can change so quickly.”
Aspik winced, remembering how his friend had confided in him about André’s death. It had changed her life completely, and it only took a few whirlwind minutes.
“I think I’m gonna cry,” Aspik muttered. “That’s so embarrassing…”
Kitty Noire squeezed his hand. “It isn’t embarrassing to show your feelings. I know it feels weird, but… we aren’t going to judge you.”
At Kitty Noire’s assurance, Aspik allowed himself to cry.
It was surprisingly cathartic.
The court case was vicious. It would have been swift if not for Gabriel’s extensive list of wrongdoings.
One of the only forms of mercy he’d received was that he only got a month of prison time for every akuma he’d made. That number had stopped somewhere in the hundreds, mind you, and that wasn’t accounting for the breaking of labor laws, child neglect and abuse. The heroes had also not brought his now-former possession of the Peafowl Miraculous to light, wanting to keep that knowledge from going public.
Nathalie testified against Gabriel, but maintained that she did not know he was Hawkmoth. Marinette and company were only mostly sure that was true, but given she’d claimed to have suspicions (and had allowed Gabriel to slide for this long), she had so much community service ahead of her that any threat of her was likely going to be neutralized.
When the matter of Adrien’s custody came up for discussion, the Dupain-Chengs had barely won the case. It had almost gone to his aunt Amelie, but as she and her son Felix lived in London, the court ruled that a change of scenery would be undue on top of everything else Adrien had undergone. Regardless, the Graham de Vanilys and Placide, Adrien’s bodyguard, had been allowed visitation.
The Dupain-Chengs had to move some things around to make room for Adrien. They’d cleared out a basement storage room so any of them had space if they needed it, and Tom had installed a curtain upstairs for privacy. The basement ended up making the perfect place for movie nights, especially once Master Fu handed Guardianship over to Marinette and they had the kwamis to think about. It took longer than expected, since they had to find a way to remove the memory-erasing part of the transfer spell.
And, of course, Adrien and Nino’s wedding was amazing. It would be hard to go wrong when Adrien had three maids of honor, all of them intent on making it the best day ever.
The only family events that could possibly have topped it were Marinette or Chloé’s weddings.
Every year, Adrien did his best to be the sort of man his father - his real father, Tom - would approve of. He didn’t need the validation, he knew that, but Tom was a rather ideal person to aspire to.
And staring back at the two-year old sleeping between him and Nino on their first drive home, it was safe to say he succeeded.