Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sun beat down ceaselessly outside the apartment windows whilst Seb strummed on his bass, the clicking of console buttons filling in the gaps of silence between pieces. The international news channel played in the background, mostly drowned out by the various sound effects of Mecha Strike III, the latest game Seb’s friends were obsessed with. By all measures, today was a normal day, unspectacular… if it wasn’t for the photo that flashed on his screen.

Seb’s strumming stopped abruptly as he turned up the broadcast on his laptop.

“Paris’ new superhero duo, Ladybug and Cat Noir, have split up! During the recent attack of stone monsters running rampant through the city, our reporters remarked that Ladybug was nowhere to be seen! More on this from Nadija Chamack…”

“Superheroes in Paris? Now I know they’ve gone off the rails.” Seb scoffed but couldn’t take his eyes off the brooding image of this supposed hero. His eyes…seemed as familiar to him as his own.

“What’s up?” enquired his roommate, Alain, noticing the silence but still focused on his game.

“Oh nothing, I just realised it’s about time I paid my family a visit.”

Chapter Text

Sébastien woke up from the long haul flight into Paris as the seatbelt sign came back on, just in time to see the view of the grey and dreary city below. He felt a little smug being above it all like this, looking down at the streets he grew up on, the insectile people who did him wrong, the house where he-

Something unexpected caught his eye, even from this height he couldn’t mistake it. Clear as the day above it was an animated billboard spelling out the Gabriel fashion brand. A pang of anger went through him, even with the air conditioning of the plane he could feel his palms growing clammy, his heart pounding against his chest.

“Calm down.”

He levelled out his breathing and unclenched his jaw. It couldn’t be helped, he was the one who’d decided to return to France, this was Gabriel’s turf. As much as it disquieted him to see the man’s name plastered all over the place, that’s all it was, just a name. Just a word made of letters stuck together mostly by chance, he wouldn’t let it hold that kind of power over him anymore.

The first time he’d heard about the so-called ‘superheroes’ of Paris he was hit with this awkward urge to visit home. His roommate had quickly dispelled his idea at the time but Sébastien had secretly been keeping tabs on these ‘superheroes’ since then—something about the one who called himself Cat Noir nagged at him. Since he’d finally graduated, he was out of excuses to avoid going home and so, much to Alain’s dismay, he had booked a ticket to Roissy Airport about a year after the initial news report.

The jolt of the plane wheels touching down brought him back to reality. He wiped his hands on his black denim jeans, unsuccessfully drying them. The next 3 hours were a blur, from getting his bags checked out to the taxi drive, he was ready for a nap. At this point he was so checked out of reality that it wasn’t until the robotic voice over the intercom snapped him out of it.

“Sir, please state your business.”

It took him a second to take in the manor, the expansive courtyard, the dome roofs, and the tanned paint peeling off the perfect brickwork. He practically spat the word out before realising where he was. He gasped, in disbelief of his own stupidity.

“Sir…please respond or we will call the authorities to remove you from the premises.”

The voice sounded less mechanical and more impatient than earlier, making him realise it was a woman on the other end of the line, perhaps a new assistant? He collected himself and put on his signature smile. “This is the Agreste Residence is it not? Don’t you recognise me?”

“Sir, I’ll have to ask you to identify-”

“Oh come on, you don’t see the family resemblance? It’s me Sébastien, though I’d love to know your name, miss..?”

“Nathalie Sancoeur, Sir. Please bear with me as I confirm your identity.”

He had had no intention of staying in his childhood home and yet here he was by some twist of fate or his own carelessness. No delaying the inevitable but he couldn’t help but hope no one was home to greet him, besides this mysterious PA.

“Apologies for the wait, welcome home, sir.”

The intercom buzzed as the wrought iron gates screeched open for him. The boy had almost forgotten what it felt like to live in such luxury, though it had never meant much to him, he couldn’t help but feel small. Acutely aware of the CCTV surveying him, he fixed his posture and held his chin high, now that he was here he had no choice but to look above it all.

The front door opened with a click, as if in slow-motion, casting his shadow into the foyer. Before him stood a beautiful woman with bluebell eyes and straight black hair tied into a bun, and side bangs with the ends streaked a vibrant red. She stood tall in a suit with a neutral expression behind her winged glasses, the very picture of an assistant.

Sébastien put down his duffel before extending a hand to shake hers, “You must be Natalie, my father’s new PA?”

“Yes, sir.” She did not accept his handshake but instead clutched her clipboard and nodded at him.

Without allowing his smile to waiver, he retracted his hand before picking up his bag again and heading up the stairs. Something inside him was desperate to know what or who had convinced Nathalie to let him in. Was it Gabriel? Did she have a file on him? What did it say? These were all questions he’d likely never have the opportunity to ask, and so there was no reason to dwell on them.

As he headed up the stairs with his single suitcase and straight in through the door at the top, he was met with the surprise and disappointment that comes with knowing you shouldn’t be shocked at a situation but feeling off-balance nonetheless. He hadn’t expected the room to have remained as he left it—no, definitely not—but what did surprise him was the amount of his personal belongings that were still in there. Of course the room was much lighter in palette and things had moved around but most of his old stuff was still there. He would have thought Gabriel would throw it all away.

“Did he actually… No, that's not possible.” He swatted the thought from his mind. If Nathalie had allowed him entry to both mansion and room, then he must have permission to be there. Whatever that means. He honestly hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly which only meant that it was a matter of time before something went sideways.

Placing his suitcase, bass and duffel by the foosball table, he realised his worries over how little he had packed were trifling. Clearly Paris was plentiful. He took out a change of clothes and headed into the shower. Perhaps a warm bath would help clear his mind.

It was only as he locked the door and the water began to flow over his shoulders that he heard the sound of one—no, two muffled voices arguing about something.

Chapter Text

Through the sound of the shower he could hear two muffled voices coming from what used to be his room. In his hurry to freshen up and relax he hadn’t considered that his vacated bedroom may not have been so vacant anymore. So much for that nap. He hurried out of the shower and changed into another pair of black jeans with a matching t-shirt that he’d brought in with him.

He hesitated before turning the doorknob. He didn’t want to freak out the new renters but he’d already left his things outside, run the shower and heard their voices die down. Hopefully they didn’t think they were being robbed, but then again, what kind of robber comes packed with a suitcase and decides to take a shower before leaving? Tentatively, he opened the door.

He drew a sharp breath and he saw who the new resident was, the disbelief he felt was mirrored on the face of the blonde haired boy looking at him from the bed. Those ever familiar emerald green eyes stared right at him as though witnessing a haunting.

Seconds of silence stretched into minutes, neither of them moved a muscle, you could hear the sound of their breath if either of them dared let it out. To his relief he wasn’t the one who’d have to break the silence.

“It’s you…what? How? What are you doing here?”

Despite how simple the question may have seemed, he honestly didn’t know the answer yet himself. Showing up here was pure chance (or stupidity) but he was here now and not only had he not had time to work out how he’d navigate meeting his family or explaining his unexpected return, he didn’t think about his little brother at all. Neither name, face nor the possibility of seeing him again so soon had crossed his mind. Well, that wasn’t strictly true.

The reason the superheroes in Paris had so caught his eye last year and since was- well- exactly that. Their eyes. His mother’s eyes. Adrien’s eyes. But he had no right to tell him that. This boy whose eyes were robbed of innocence and replaced with betrayal, betrayal that Sébastien was partly responsible for.

Two years ago, a little after their mother’s death, Sébastien had been sent abroad to live with an uncle, “sent” being a loose term. In that time he had made no effort to contact home, nor had “home” tried to contact him. He’d assumed that Gabriel had fed Adrien some version of the truth and the boy had believed him. He knew how Adrien idolised their father even then, despite everything. Though he was partially to blame for that too, Sébastien had made his best effort to hide Adrien from the harsh realities of their relationship.

After their mother’s death, Gabriel had flown off the rails. He’d always been a controlling and conniving father, keeping his children as trophies more than kids. There were never any physical marks to bear witness to the events but Sébastien had always borne the brunt of his brutality. He knew that if he left, Adrien would not have to suffer the same fate—his father prized him as the picture of perfection, his golden boy, whereas he saw his own twisted self in Seb’s eyes. Both boys bore their mother’s likeness but only Adrien had inherited her irises.

He couldn’t protect himself or his little brother so the best thing to do would be to take himself out of the picture, at least that way both of them would be safe. Or so he’d thought. As he looked at Adrien now, he saw a sadness that had its claws in him, a fear that he had only seen when they were both boys but even then it was quick to leave him. Not anymore though. It was only now that he realised his mistake that was too late to fix, the only reason his brother had seemed so safe and happy all those years despite it all was because he wasn’t alone. Seb had taken that away and now so cruelly dropped back into his life as if it was nothing.

“Fine, don't tell me. At least tell me why? Why’d you leave me?”

And there it was. The slap in the face he’d been waiting for. He didn’t even deserve to be heard out and yet here he was. He owed his brother an explanation but the words that came out of his mouth weren’t that.

“Where’d your friend go?”

“My friend?”

“Yeah, I heard you both talking while I was in the shower, where’s he hiding?”

This seemed to catch him off-guard since he flinched, instinctively putting his hand on a silver ring on his finger. He looked…scared?

“Look I’m not going to tell anyone about your boyfriend, but I’m also not going to tell you anything unless he’s here.”

“Boy-boyfriend?! I don’t have a boyfriend and there’s no one here but me, I was just on a call with someone. What gives you the right to hijack my room and ask me all these questions out of nowhere anyway?!” Now he was really flustered. Even now he was just a little kid. It made Seb laugh to himself before he walked over to his little brother and ruffled his hair.

“H-hey what’s so funny? Get off me!”

“What? You didn’t miss me at all?”

This seemed to tick him off again. “How dare you? Of course I missed you, you- you asshole! But that doesn’t mean you can just show up unannounced after 2 years and expect me to be all buddy buddy with you again.” He flinched again before clasping his hands over his mouth.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”

Seb held his hand up to stop him, “No it’s alright, you’re right. I shouldn’t have barged in and made myself at home, if home is even something I can call this place anymore. I promise I'll explain everything soon, I haven’t made heads or tails of it myself yet. I thought I’d have a little more time before I would have to meet anyone so just give me some time to eat, rest and get comfortable. We can talk about everything after dinner. How does that sound?”

Adrien was clearly considering it. A minute went by before he sat down on his bed, sighed and looked at Seb in acceptance.

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

A moment went by before Seb saw a subtle smile on Adrien’s face as his voice came out, barely a whisper.

“Okay.” He agreed.

“Okay.” Seb responded with relief.

Chapter Text

“So what’s for dinner then?”

“Beef Bourguignon probably.”

“Cool, How was school?”

“Fine.”

“Fine? For someone who wants answers from me, you’re not very talkative.”

“Well you seem to have all the questions ready to fire.” Adrien rolled his eyes as he pushed open the door to the dining hall, straightening up as he did. Two places were set at the table and Placide, the butler/bodyguard/chauffeur/everything actually, pulled the chairs out for them. It had been a long time since Seb had had a dinner this fancy.

The uncle that Seb had stayed with wasn’t a far sight better than Gabriel but for the most part he was quiet and reserved, he let Seb do as he pleased and indulged his hobbies as long as he stayed out of the way. In truth he’d only spent a year with this uncle before moving out to an apartment with his bandmate, now roommate, Alain. He hadn’t so much as left a note for the man but since there was no police enquiry, Seb had to assume his absence was not one to be missed. It was shocking how quickly he’d become accustomed to his new life of pure independence with Alain. They both worked at a bar nearby and performed there on occasion too. Together, it was enough to live a modest yet comfortable life.

He had squirrelled away enough to make the trip back to Paris from London, and stay in a hotel for a few days. Alain had said that his parents would be happy to host him but Sébastien had profusely declined—he had said he was done with relying on adults. What a hypocrite he was. Not only had he come crawling back to his own father’s house on impulse but he was an adult himself now, though just barely. It was only another irrational decision to be thrown onto the pile that his scattered mind had made.

He had been noticing this for a while now, his thoughts, his feelings, his very ideas of the world. It had become clear to him ever since he was a young boy, though more so after his mother’s death, that his brain could not be trusted. His perspective was laden with biases planted there by his upbringing which had been plagued with uncertainty. Even now he didn’t know how much of it had been real and how much he had imagined. Despite being in such a state, he had thought of himself as a responsible authority to make decisions for Adrien’s life, thinking they were for the better. Looking at him now though, he couldn’t be sure if his choice to leave had been informed or simply childish.

The look on Adrien’s face had been expectant as they had sat down, though quickly soured and turned glum. He pushed his food around on his plate before finally deciding to put it in his mouth. Wasn’t he going to wait for Gabriel to turn up? Did Gabriel often leave his son to eat alone that this isolation had become commonplace?

As Seb searched his memories, he distinctly remembered Gabriel putting emphasis on the importance of eating together as a family, so much so that he had dragged Seb to the dining room by the ear and made him choke down food between sobs on multiple occasions. Adrien was quite young back then and Émilie, their mother, had her hands full tending to him so being unable to protect Seb from her husband's unorthodox discipline. The tradition was only further enforced after Émilie’s health took a turn for the worse after which dinner was taken in their bedroom till the very day she had died. It was beyond strange that Gabriel wouldn’t be here. To think he’d been dreading the dinner conversation for nothing. Oh well, it was probably better to talk to him after a full belly and a good night’s sleep if possible, maybe Gabriel had had the same idea. There was no way he didn’t know Seb was here by now, is that why he was avoiding dinner?

He wanted to ask Adrien desperately but he had also promised him no questions till after he’d eaten and had a chance to think things over. Adrien was right, Seb couldn’t drop back into his life out of nowhere and start poking around where his nose didn’t belong. Besides, perhaps it was a good thing, he’d have a chance to speak to his brother before Gabriel and maybe they’d be able to work things through?

He looked down at the Beef Bourguignon, perfectly cooked, plated and still steaming. It didn’t whet his appetite at all, and yet Adrien was sopping up his gravy with his last spoonfuls of mash. So much had changed in these 2 years, what seemed like a short time in hindsight must have been two of the longest Adrien had ever had to endure. “Time passes slower during one’s youth” or something like that, his Chinese tutor had once said that to him. Strange, he hadn’t thought of that short statured man in years.

Once again, it was Adrien who broke the silence between them—well, sort of. Adrien took his fork and gestured to Seb’s plate.

“Are you trying to delay our conversation?”

“Huh- no. I was just lost in thought.”

This house really did bring out the worst in him. During his time abroad and then away from his only remaining guardian, he had thought he’d learned not to take things for granted and yet here he was, neglecting a meal someone had worked hard to make for him. He didn’t deserve it.

Hesitantly, he picked up his knife and fork and placed the meat in his mouth, chewing it a few times. It had a nice texture to it, the taste was rich and paired well with the creamy mashed potato. He had to admit it tasted spectacular. Seb had never been a particularly good cook himself, though he lacked formal training, he had been subject to the basic instruction when he had lived at the Agreste Mansion, and he had attended a few food critique’s press conferences. While he had made do living with Alain, he had to admit it was nice to indulge himself every now and again. He tasted the metal of his fork and realised he’d practically licked the plate dry. Adrien tried to suppress a laugh at his brother’s surprised face which got a grin out of Seb. Though Adrien’s infectious gloomy demeanour was quick to return.

“Alright, as promised, let’s talk.” Seb pushed out his chair as their plates were collected and ushered into the kitchen. He followed Adrien back into their room and sat down on the gaming chair while Adrien sat on his bed. They sat there like that in awkward silence for a while. Seb supposed it was his turn to break it, so he picked the most unobtrusive question he could think of.

“So, how come you moved into my room?”

Chapter Text

This clearly wasn’t the question Adrien expected but after some hesitation he responded, “Will you tell me the truth if I tell you the truth no matter what it is?”

The innocence of his request took Sébastien aback, of course he’d tell the truth, he would. Wouldn't he?

“Only if you tell me the truth too.”

He thought about it for a moment. Seb was ready to have his request rejected outright, he had no right, but some hesitation was a good sign right?

“Okay.”
“Okay?”

“Okay.”

—

“So, my first question: where have you been?”

“With our uncle in London, at first, but I’ve been renting an apartment for the past year with my friend.”

“Why’d you leave?”

“Woah, straight into the deep questions huh?”

“You’ve dodged them for two years.”

“That’s fair.”

“Answer it.”

“Ok, ok. Gabriel sent me away, he thought I was a bad influence, and I thought it was a good idea for me to leave too given that you’d be safer.”

“Safer how?”

“Well.” Seb fiddled with his eyebrow piercing awkwardly, how was he meant to tell his brother that Gabriel was the biggest threat to him had he stayed? The words came out before he could find an answer. “Gabriel’s always cared about you, he’d never hurt you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Adrien’s voice was tinted with hurt, but he took a deep breath in and the confusion on his face was gone. Not even anger remained. What had pushed him to learn to hide his emotions so well? He hadn’t quite got it down yet but still…

Adrien waved his hand in front of Seb’s face to bring him back to attention but he hadn’t found a suitable answer for him yet. What was that supposed to mean? That Gabriel would hurt Adrien if Seb were there? That Seb left to protect Adrien from Gabriel? No matter what he pretended the reason was, none of his excuses made sense. He promised to tell the truth but the truth is he’d been selfish.

“The real reason I left was to keep myself safe. Like I said, I knew Gabriel wouldn’t hurt you but if I’d stayed then he would have kept hurting me.”

This changed Adrien’s expression dramatically. He hadn’t expected that either. Seb looked away and kept going.

“I was young and I didn’t think about what you were going through, I just convinced myself I was thinking about your wellbeing so I could feel better about abandoning you.” If he was being honest with himself, he hadn’t thought about Adrien at all in the two years since. Not out of guilt, nor worry, not even curiosity. But he didn’t need to shoot his brother with that arrow just yet.

A look of sadness and realisation came over Adrien. He was silent again. Seb’s shame may not have made an appearance during his hiatus from home but it was certainly coming to him now as he looked at his brother and considered how helpless and alone he must have been all these years. Maybe Seb had been wrong and Gabriel hadn’t been as passive with him as expected. His doubts were put on hold as Adrien moved over on the bed and patted the spot beside him in invitation.

It wasn’t quite a hug but maybe it was a step in the right direction? Seb sat down next to him and made himself comfortable, his hand accidentally brushing Adrien’s as he adjusted the pillows resulting in a subtle but not unnoticeable flinch from the boy.

“What was that about?”

Adrien paled and looked away quickly, responding with a curt, “Nothing,” as he fidgeted with his ring again.

Was that a reaction to Seb? Did he despise him so much that his mere touch scared him? No, this seemed like a conditioned reaction. Images of the worst started to bubble to the surface in quick succession. Had Gabriel really started beating Adrien? His ‘Golden Boy’? His most prized possession? His chagrin was quickly replaced with rage and without thinking, he went to grab Adrien’s wrists but the boy was quick—he pulled them back and kicked Seb hard enough that he fell off the bed.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“OW!” Seb exclaimed in mock pain

“Sorry!” Adrien responded sarcastically.

He reached out hurriedly to Seb from under the bed and hit his forehead on the frame recoiling back. Now it was Seb’s turn to laugh and apologise. They just lay there for a while, looking at each other from under the bed. It felt just like when they were both kids again…

Seb did the only logical thing and rolled over onto his back, yawning and stretching his arms above him like a cat. From the corner of his eye he could see the disappointment come back into Adrien’s face as if he were ready to have Seb delay the conversation further. Unluckily for him, Seb had other plans.

He reached over onto the bed and grabbed something from it with his right hand as his left grabbed onto the bottom of the bed post to be used as a pivot as he twisted his legs around and under the bed, straightening out into a kick. His legs were met with empty air and his head was met with a pillow similar in size to the one still clutched in his own hand. Adrien had leapt onto the bed and grabbed his own to defend himself with. It seemed his reflexes had improved, just how much training had Gabriel put him through?

Adrien wouldn’t let him get lost in thought again because before Seb could dwell on it, he was hit with a second barrage of pillows. He hoisted himself out from under the bed and looked at Adrien hungrily before charging at him with his own pillow, only to have Adrien let go of his own, grab Seb’s and twist his body clockwise to snatch it from him as Seb dived onto the bed. Or so he had hoped. Seb had held onto his pillow as Adrien had swung him, now in the perfect position to bring in his knees, hooking one leg through the gap between Adrien’s arms and torso and using the other to sandwich him before locking his ankles and rolling over with him.

He pulled up his arms so that the pillow was out of reach and Adrien, now hanging mostly off the bed, held up only by Seb’s legs, had no choice but to let go and guard his face, leading in Seb making contact with his forearms instead. He could hear Adrien laughing in between the “pummelling” and couldn’t help but laugh himself before Adrien started pushing back, waving his arms and saying,

“Stop, stop! You win,” playfully, still with a smile on his face.

Seb put down his pillow and let Adrien go, expecting him to fall clumsily onto the floor but being surprised by a back handspring as he landed on his feet instead. They bowed to each other courteously as they had all those years ago to mark the end of their sparring round. It had made them feel older and more respectable, both of them trying to please their father in their own little way.

It felt just like when they were both kids, but they weren’t kids anymore, or at least, Seb wasn’t.

“So, you’ve gotten better since I last saw you,” he said.

“Yeah and stronger too.”

“Not strong enough to beat me.”

“Not yet.”

“Not ever.”

“Not in this- Not like this,” he corrected himself.

There it was again, that secretive tone. Seriously-

“What was that?” Adrien asked him the same question, though clearly about the pillow fight.

“I don’t know, it just felt right.”

In truth he wasn’t planning it, his instincts (if you could call them that) had taken over and he’d used the pillow fight to confirm his suspicions. Adrien seemed content with the pillow fight so his flinching wasn’t because of any physical harm that had befallen him, it also meant that he could rule out Adrien being disgusted with Seb's presence since whatever awkwardness they had was surely gone now. He could rule out Gabriel using physical force on Adrien—for now—but that still left the question nagging at his mind, what was Adrien so afraid of? What was he hiding? A great many things clearly but what that he had pushed his body to limits a boy his age shouldn’t be pushing them to.

Seb knew he had felt pure muscle through that t-shirt, and those reflexes? This boy had been in battles since they’d last met even if they weren’t at the hands of Gabriel. But the idea of his unfailingly kind brother who always saw the good in people despite their misgivings getting into fights, much less instigating them, knowingly? The idea was absurd and yet Seb had seen the rush it brought him even from a simple spar with his brother. Had people finally taken advantage of Adrien’s seemingly limitless kindness? Had he pushed his brother into a world where he knew loss and pain? He hadn’t been naïve enough to expect forgiveness but the suspicion and hostility Adrien treated him with was uncharacteristic. It was a defense mechanism and a natural one at that but where did he pick it up and why, he was too young to have to have anything to defend himself from and his life was incredibly sheltered with Gabriel micro-managing it. He hadn’t even gone to a real school with other human beings, much to Sébastien and Émilie’s dismay.

Gabriel was convinced that the school and the unrestrained variables of the great outdoors were what led Sébastien astray. In reality it was the pressure that was put on him. The constant lessons, the physical training and the social isolation from his peers being the son of a wealthy fashion designer. He was an outcast. Not to mention his father had absolutely lost it when he found out his first son liked boys and would not be siring an heir to uphold the Agreste name. Seb had stayed up many nights at the time wishing that Adrien wouldn’t be mistaken for someone like him due to his naturally feminine attributes. He had since outgrown such thoughts and was steadfast in the belief that if his brother ever did come home with a boyfriend, he would be a staunch supporter and be there for him if needed. Who knows, maybe it would even bring Gabriel around to the idea.

Adrien got off the bed and walked over to the bathroom with a change of clothes before looking back at Seb who was still half lost in thought.

“Ok, I actually need to wake up early so maybe we should change into our pyjamas and get ready for bed. You don’t seem like you came back for the wrong reasons and seeing as father didn’t sic the defence system on you, you must be welcome.”

“Welcome?” Seb asked.

“Tolerated.” Adrien amended before shutting the door behind himself.

Seb got off the bed and decided to change into his night-clothes too, which mostly consisted of grey tracksuits and a looser black t-shirt with a painted on band logo. All in all, the day could have gone worse. He’d gotten the safest possible and likely most luxurious shelter in all of Paris, a warm shower, a delicious dinner and a chance to talk to his brother whilst ending it on good terms. Now, he was ready for an extremely long and restful night and in a bed he’d never thought he’d missed. He was grateful. It was perfect. Until he heard a voice from the bathroom.

“You’re on the couch.”

Chapter Text

Seb moved off the bed without much resistance, unable to tell if his brother had been joking or not. Even if he had been joking, complying felt like the sincere thing to do given he had just hijacked what had been Adrien’s space during his absence. Having his belongings already present in the room, though shuffled, did not make the room his, it just meant Adrien was sentimental.

Wow. Sleeping on the couch in his own home, guess he really couldn’t act like it was still his home to own. Adrien was kind enough to bring over a blanket though and Seb had to admit that the view wasn’t bad at all. It was a cloudless night in Paris and the moon shone brightly even in its crescent form. It was serene.

He’d assumed Adrien had had more questions—and perhaps he did but was holding back on Seb’s account—but he was grateful nonetheless for the break. He could only assume that the audience with Gabriel would come at his convenience not Seb’s and no matter how much he disliked it, he had to respect that. He’d let Seb stay in his house, eat at his table and talk to his son all without a price so far. Even now, with his childhood behind him, he knew that if he stepped one toe out of line, Gabriel would strip him of everything he’s worth and take away everything he cares about. He hated it, he hated him. But Gabriel wasn’t his father anymore, just a controlling man with a lot of power and secrets. A man who Seb would not be at the mercy of if it was the last thing that he did.

Once he could figure out what was wrong with Adrien and what fill in the gaps of the past two years, he’d move to a hostel for a few nights. While Adrien studied tomorrow, Seb would go out to the library and do his research on the ‘superhero’ aspect of Paris. He was past the point of speculating how serious they had been over the news but whether it was mass hallucination or masked vigilantes, Seb would keep his brother safe this time. Beyond that, who wasn’t a little curious about magic and superheroes?

The day’s events had left him exhausted and sleep washed over him fast as he lay on that snowy couch. Snow…

Sébastien awoke to the memory of a winter’s morning quick to be replaced by the early summer sun beaming down on him. Adrien had already gotten ready and left, likely in the study where Nathalie could keep an eye on him. Maybe Gabriel had made a separate cordoned off area of the house, gods know they had the room.

After taking a quick shower himself, and changing into some fresh clothes, he made his way to the kitchen where he would be sure to find some breakfast. As he descended the stairs and paid more attention to the décor in the house, he made a mental note of all the paintings, specifically the lack of himself in the majority of them. Gabriel had taken great pains to remove his first son from all the family portraits and hide the ones where he couldn’t—replacing them with new portraits of Adrien. Seb was no child model, nor was he a public figure despite being an Agreste so to all the outside world, it was as if Sébastien had never existed.

His mother had put in a great deal of effort trying to keep him safe from her husband once she’d realised what had been happening behind closed doors and the amount of pressure her child was being put under. Unfortunately, it seemed that Adrien was not so fortunate as to have found an escape. He’d caught a glimpse of his calendar as he made his way out of their room. Chinese, fencing, karate, piano, tutoring, modelling- the list just kept going. It didn’t even include his hobbies which if you looked around the room would be clear to most. It was then that Seb had decided to slot in some time during his day to take a look around Adrien’s room and get to know him a little more before their next chat, besides it was technically his room too, at least for a week or so. There was still the matter of his eyes being reminiscent of that superhero.

Seb found himself in the kitchen face to face with some leftover pancake batter, eggs, butter and sugar lying out for him to use. The fridge and cupboards hadn’t moved in the last two years so locating some milk, syrup and utensils was easy enough. Had Adrien left this out for him or had Nathalie? Was it intentional or were they waiting for Placide to clean up after he was done doing whatever he was doing today? The questions weren’t particularly important but they nagged at him anyway given that Gabriel still hadn’t made an appearance. Perhaps he was waiting for Seb to come to him. He always hated freeloaders but even he couldn’t bear to lose face over the scandal that Seb’s appearance to the public could cause. If that was the case then it wasn’t a priority but a formality to go see him.

—

With his breakfast and a glass of juice laid out before him and all the dishes but these washed, Seb had to admit he’d done a fairly good job with the pancakes. It wasn’t the healthiest breakfast but technically he was on holiday and he was allowed to indulge himself for at least one day before he’d have to pencil in time for the gym. As he ate he pictured his plan for the day.

The fresh pastries and hot drinks of Paris had been sorely missed in the glum London weather so a visit to a local boulangerie was in order before anything else. Then a trip to the library so that he could do his research on what had really been happening in Paris while he was gone. That should give him a clue of where to go for the rest of the day or most likely what would become his plan for tomorrow since he anticipated there would be a lot to do. Today he aimed to be back home for dinner so he could give Adrien company which meant he had to think of what he wanted to say to the boy too before he came back. After that everything was up for debate. He wasn’t exactly short on choice, he could practice his bass, work out, skate on the ramp in their room, sort out his things, really there was a lot. He also had to consider that he wanted to snoop around the room but it seemed like this would become a tomorrow-problem.

Right then, with that sorted, he threw on his leather jacket and washed up his plate before grabbing his bag and leaving the kitchen. As he walked through the foyer he noticed a lot of butterfly memorabilia and hidden butterfly patterns that hadn’t been there when he had last lived here. What had sparked this redesign, he wondered. Gabriel was a fashion designer not an interior designer so perhaps this was his mother’s will? How odd.

He simply added it to his mental checklist of things to look through at the library today and made his way out of the main door, closing the door behind him.

Chapter Text

As Seb walked out of the mansion he took his phone out only to realise he hadn’t checked it since last night and had a horde of messages to respond to. He’d plugged it in soon after reaching the Agreste Manor but hadn’t remembered to turn on his alerts hence not realising people had been trying to contact him. Oh well, they’d waited a day, they could wait an hour or so more while he got himself oriented. Seb opened his navigation app and looked for some decently rated and priced pâtisseries. There were a fair few in the area but the one nearest to him and with great reviews was the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. He hit the Start Navigation button and switched over to his music app, making sure to plug in his headphones and secure them over his ears, pressing shuffle play as he did so.

Almost as soon as he had, the instrumentals of a hard rock band blared through his head unexpectedly. The lyrics that followed were about as jarringly sung as the guitar backing it, making Seb take out his phone to check what song it was. “I love Unicorns” by the hit Parisian indie band “Kitty Selection”? It was so far from his usual music taste that he had to assume his phone had adjusted his recommended tracks based on his region.

The smell of freshly baked croissants pulled his eyes away from his phone. Looking up he saw that he had arrived at a corner building with cakes and pastries lining the window displays, the words: CONFISERIE • BOULANGERIE • PATTISERIE in golden lettering on a shiny black backdrop were visible. The ding of his navigation app sounded promptly after he’d finished reading the sign which was his sign to go in and get some snacks.

Ding! The sound of the bell as the door opened caught the attention of a large smiling man in an apron and floppy-white-toque baker hat. He waved over at Seb and gestured at someone behind the counter before returning his attention to the dough behind him. Seb stood there awkwardly for a few moments feeling like a tourist before he was greeted by a short statured, blue haired woman of east-Asian descent who introduced herself as Sabine Chen, co-owner of the bakery and wife of the baker behind her who was known as Tom Dupain. She told Seb to take his time deciding what he’d like and to ask either of them if he needed help before she returned behind the counter.

He could have spent all day breathing in the various aromas of the lovingly crafted creations in the room but he knew he didn’t have the time today. He would have to make some over the weekend to come back, something about this place made him feel like he was home. Not home with the Agrestes, nor in London with his uncle but the feeling of home he got whenever he was with Alain. A warm, comforting feeling wrapping its arms around you in a tight embrace, a place where you knew you’d be safe and loved. It was strange. He hadn’t exchanged more than two sentences with the owners but he knew that anyone in their lives was lucky to have them watching over them. He had the odd thought that they must be great parents before being hit with a familiar pang of pain in his chest.

He had loved his mother, he knew that, not just because she protected him from Gabriel but because she was a genuinely kind soul, always seeing the best in people. She had always wanted Seb to grow into a kind boy, always telling him, “To love is not a sin my sweet Sébastien, you will never be punished for loving someone in this house.” After her death and his leaving, he’d wondered numerous times, had she known? Their house had been cold after she’d left and without knowing it, Seb had carried that chill with him ever since. Until he’d met Alain of course, who’d found a way to melt his icy walls, his very own candle of hope.

Something about the way Mrs Cheng looked at her husband, the softness in her voice when she spoke to Seb, it was more than just hospitality. She was a genuinely kind soul. If they did have children then they were lucky to have parents like these, and if not then they would do a good job. Could Gabriel have been like that once? Time and children can change a person drastically.

Blinking away the mist from his eyes he straightened up his posture before politely requesting a box of pistachio macarons, a pain au chocolat and a warm cappuccino if they could. Mrs Cheng obliged with the coffee while Mr Dupain packaged his order for him. He put the macarons in his bag, being careful not to crush them, and decided to hold the pastry so he could eat it on the way to the library. As Mrs Cheng brought out the coffee, she paused before handing it to him as if deciding whether or not to ask him a question. She squinted slightly at his face clearly trying to place where she’d seen it before. Seb smiled awkwardly before Mr Dupain cut off the silence.

“My dear, won’t you give the boy his coffee?”

“Oh yes, my apologies!” Mrs Cheng said while hurriedly placing the cup in his available hand. She paused again before letting go of the cup and asking, “I’m sorry if this is impolite but are you related to Adrien Agreste?”

This certainly caught him off guard, he hadn’t examined their faces too closely but he was sure there wasn’t a resemblance. Perhaps age had made their features more similar than distinct or was this simply a case of being viewed by a discerning eye? He knew he had to respond but for some reason being related to Adrien and by extension Gabriel was something he didn’t want to admit to just yet.

“Oh never mind, it’s just that our daughter is quite a big fan of his and his father’s, they’re even in the same class at school.”

This caught Seb by surprise but all he managed to say was, “Adrien’s in school?”

“Why yes dear? Is he not meant to be?” A perplexed look came over Mrs Cheng’s face.

“I’m honestly not sure…” Seb wasn’t sure what had made him say that rather than lying but something about the concern in this stranger’s voice made him feel guilty at the prospect of lying to her.

“What’s your name dear?”

“Sébastien. Sébastien…Agreste.” He hesitated to say his surname but he really felt like he shouldn’t hide anything from this woman. She had a look of understanding in her eyes that he hadn’t expected as he pulled back her hand and went behind the counter to look for something, coming back with a small box which she put on top of his coffee cup. He looked at her confused for her only response to be.

“Come back here anytime, maybe next time you can say hello to our daughter Marinette too. She’d love to have you as a model.” The second part seemed like a cover but he felt grateful nonetheless. He had no idea what that was about but he graciously accepted the gift and walked out of the shop, putting in the location of the library onto his phone.

Taking a bite of the still warm pain au chocolat, he was almost brought to tears. The flavour was heavenly and you could tell a great deal of care was put into baking it. Seb had a feeling he’d be taking up Mrs Cheng’s invitation to visit sooner rather than later.

Chapter Text

Seb sat in front of the computer, an old model with a spotty wifi connection but the only one available to search the library’s records. At his insistence, the library assistant—a college student who looked to be about a year older than him—had shown him how to navigate the fairly dated archiving system. She’d stepped away to make them both some instant coffee after he’d promised he’d keep an eye on the reception desk. It was a wonder how many people were willing to  give you  help you with what you wanted if you just knew how to ask. Sébastien knew how to ask.

Whilst Gabriel hadn’t seen him as model material to represent the Agreste brand, it was not lost on Seb that he was ‘handsome’. Years of experimenting with his taste and style had bolstered his self-esteem and his seemingly natural confidence only served to help his appearance in seeming more charming. Over the years of living with Gabriel, learning what the man liked, disliked and tailoring his behaviour to fit his standards to avoid punishment had left Seb with a fractured sense of self. For the years that followed, he didn’t know who he was.

Living with that compulsive liar of a cousin Félix didn’t help. The boy looked similar to Adrien in many regards but groomed himself in a manner so distinct from his angelic brother that it was hard to compare the two from an insider’s perspective. While Adrien really was a lovely boy with an optimistic world view, Félix was the equivalent of a poor copy always trying to be him. For the life in him Seb couldn’t understand why. Félix had his talents but they were far removed from his Agreste counterpart. Even when they were children, Félix just wanted to play dress-up-as-Adrien to ‘confuse the parents’ and ‘play a prank’. Seb saw past that façade though, he knew Félix felt inferior to Adrien. He knew his father preferred the Agreste version of her son. But there was always something beyond that too, like an involuntary compulsion to be Adrien, like it was programmed into his very genetics to be jealous of a boy who had done nothing but love him.

After moving in with the Fathoms, Seb had a chance to get to know Félix a little better. Though he preferred to keep to himself, he was good at putting on a show for the adults, almost as good as Seb was for the public. Unlike his cousin though, Seb found his enjoyment in petty rebellion as opposed to fitting in and being the perfect child. Despite everything though, they’d grown closer in their own way. They’d faced a lot of the same struggles: trying to please their male parental figure yet never being good enough, pushing themselves to the limits but punishing themselves when they weren’t met, and most of all, always, putting on a show. And at the end of the day, Seb had been there for him when he’d lost his father.

Though Seb could never call Colt Fathom a father any more than he could call Gabriel it, Colt had been his uncle and guardian despite being a distant and almost non-existent figure in Seb’s life. He knew that Félix was losing a part of himself, a part of his identity, when he lost his father, even if in life the man had been nothing but scrutinous of Félix’s existence. As if he would blink and the boy would disappear, or worse, turn into a real Agreste. Seb had always felt that Félix inherited his subconscious insecurities and jealousy from his paternal guardian.

Seb had gotten closer to his aunt Amélie, though, with much reluctance. She resembled his mother so closely that sometimes it was hard to look at her face directly. She’d always been proud of Félix though, and reassured him the same way Émilie had with Seb, a mantle her twin sister had picked up in her stead while he stayed with them.

The door creaking open behind him snapped him out of his sentimental stupor. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the library assistant, walking towards him holding two steaming cups of coffee. She flashed him an awkward smile, blushing as she did before placing a blue ceramic mug that read “world’s best dad” with a cartoon cactus in a suit in front of him. He couldn’t help but laugh a bit at this since in her other hand she held a comically large white tumbler with pastel flowers on it. She giggled alongside him before taking her chair back and getting back to work.

Lost in memories he’d forgotten to check the archives for the information he was looking for. No matter, he’d just work it back into the conversation. Taking a sip of the bitter brew he almost retched, it was like sewer water in comparison to the beverage that had graced his lips not 2 hours prior. Even in London after moving out with Alain, he had insisted on buying a coffee machine (despite their limited counter space) to make himself pod coffee at the very least. Alain, ever understanding Alain, had agreed but teased him incessantly about his rich and cushy life. He smiled to himself and placed the mug to the side.

“Is the coffee alright?” asked the library assistant.

“Oh yeah it’s great, thanks.” he lied.

“Don’t worry, I know it’s not that nice, I only drink it for the caffeine.”

He smiled awkwardly at her in response, hoping it didn’t come off as rude.

“Old computers, crappy wifi and mismatched tableware. Can’t expect decent coffee in those conditions.”

Had she seen the disgust on his face when he’d drank it, was she being sarcastic now?

“Anyways, did you manage to find what you were looking for?”

At this he put on his flirtatious voice again, “No actually I was minding the desk dutifully as promised and forgot all about my hidden agenda.”

She laughed at this and didn’t ask anything further, likely waiting for him to ask for permission to use her computer again. Before he could, he had to go over what it was he had needed to check in the first place.

He’d reviewed the most viewed akumatisations from TV News, built a basic profile of each superhero and done some follow up research on the ‘Ladyblog’ —a shockingly trusted and widely cited page given that it was run by a junior high-schooler no older than Adrien. He wondered if they knew each other or even went to the same school. With that research complete he now had a decent understanding of what had been going on in Paris and how much of it was accurately reported while he was in London, despite its absurdity.

A villain named Monarch—formerly Shadowmoth, originally Hawk Moth—had been terrorising Parisian citizens through a metamorphosis known as ‘akumatisation’ by which they physically transform into ‘supervillains’ if they let their negative emotions get the better of them. The term akumatisation was coined in reference to the transformed white butterfly species, known as akumas, used to seek out and ‘evilise’ a person feeling negative emotions. It appears the emotion doesn’t need to be negative specifically but that’s just what the ones used by this “Monarch” hone in to.

Every time he strikes, two main heroes occasionally with a supporting cast of allies, called Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive on scene to dispel the transformed person’s power and return the world as it was prior to their disturbance allowing them to wreak havoc and fight without inhibitions.

Each superhero is entrusted with a magical shapeshifting artifact known as a ‘miraculous’ which can transform the wearer into a near invulnerable and advanced version of themselves. Each miraculous contains a mythical being known as a Kwammi which cannot be captured or recorded, can pass through matter and provide each miraculous holder with their relevant powers and counsel.

Another supervillain in league with Hawk Moth, named Mayura, was a holder of the peacock miraculous, used to create ‘senti-monsters’ to give people’s emotions a physical shape and body. Though it has been discovered that these beings are capable of independent thought despite being controlled by those who hold their controlling object working similar to an akumatised object.

Apparently, these phenomena were not confined to France but had found their way to London, New York and even Space. Each occurrence outside of Paris had ties to the Françoise Dupont College, of which Alya Césaire—writer of the ladyblog, is a student.

Whenever there was an akumatisation, either Alya herself or another student of their school had been present, responsible or referenced. Within Paris this wasn’t such a strange occurrence and it wasn’t 100% of the time either. But the very few gaps on the ladyblog were during the appearance of Lady Wifi AKA Alya when she was akumatised, or Rena Rouge who looks and acts suspiciously like her.

The suits and masks were magic as evidenced by the time Lady Wifi was unable to remove it from Ladybug’s skin and the fact that each miraculous holder has such distinct and identifiable features yet remain unidentified. This left Seb with two dominant theories. Either the magic of the masks warped people’s perception of them and worked as a filter to distort their image enough to seem normal but not accurate enough to be directly comparable to the ordinary people behind them. Or their transformations provided them with disguises, slightly or dramatically altering their appearance so that they do not resemble their real world selves at all.

It was almost insane to Seb how quickly he had accepted that magic had a factor to play in this but besides Ladybug being beholding the power of a God to undo all mistakes and create limitlessly if she so pleases by releasing her Kwami (in theory), all their powers and the powers endowed by Monarch were beyond reason and the bounds of their world’s science therefore being classified as magic.

At least now that he understood how Shadow Moth operated, he was able to understand Adrien’s reluctance to show how he felt and explained his motivations for learning to suppress his emotions. This butterfly villain primarily targeted children, even babies weren’t exempt and battled superheroes that were equally young despite knowing this. Seb’s blood boiled at the idea of this villain even though he had never seen the results or consequences of his actions. He was a despicable man, and Sébastien would not be leaving Paris until he was burnt and buried in the ground. Nothing more than ashes returning to the dust from whence it came.

At the back of his notebook he scribbled in rough handwriting:

Unmask Adrien

Unmask Monarch

Kill the fucker till he’s all the way dead.