Flashback Cutscene: Just Friends

9 years and 10 months

Ladybug climbed in through the window as usual. Her picnic basket in hand and a smile on her face, though the smile didn't last long, her face dropping along with her heels. She stood still on the spot, watching as Adrien paced to and fro, up and down his room in a similar fashion to a caged tiger. He had his phone in one hand and was tapping it impatiently against his chin.

She continued to watch him for a while. He looked agitated, something which she would never link to her boyfriend. He seemed deep in thought not even realising she'd entered the room.

"A-A-Adrien?" she asked tentatively, not wanting to startle him.

He turned sharply and stared at her. The glistening coating the bottom of his eyes breaking her heart, only for the fragments to be stamped on by the trembling in his lips. "You shouldn't be here!" He stated, a harshness in his voice causing her to cower. Her hands came up to her chest, both clutching tightly to the basket, her fingers aching in the movement.

"W-what? W-why?"

"You shouldn't be here. You can't be here." Adrien begged as he made his way towards her. His hands covered over hers, pushing her backwards towards the window. "If she catches you here — if she sees you —" he sighed and pushed her a little more forcefully. "Please, you need to go."

Her stance had her remaining firmly on the spot. Adrien was unable to move her thanks to her super strength. But why was he trying to throw her out in the first place?

"Ladybug, please," he begged. "You need to go! If she sees you then –"

"Adrien!" His name sounded through the closed door as Nathalie called up the staircase. Adrien's body began to tremble in front of her. Her feet carried her towards him, hands dropping the basket so she could take hold of his. Even through her super suit she could tell his palms were sweating. He seemed terrified.

"Adrien!" Nathalie called again, Adrien's eyes growing wide with anticipation. "Adrien, are you in your room?"

"Hide!" he whispered, just as the doorknob rattled behind them.

"Adrien, open the door please." Nathalie's stern voice had them both moving.

Slowly, Adrien walked to the door, an obvious ploy to give her time to hide. What the hell was going on? Ladybug looked around the room, trying to find an area to hide in.

Under the bed? No, Adrien's bed went right down to the floor and she didn't think he would appreciate a Ladybug shaped hole in it.

Up on the balcony? The glass walls would reveal she was there, she wasn't exactly inconspicuous decked out in bright red with black spots.

In the bathroom? Nope! Too many bad memories there.

With one last calculating look around the room, she set her sights on the closet. Quickly and cautiously, Ladybug headed in that direction reaching it just as the door to his bedroom unlocked and Adrien pulled it open.

"Ah, Adrien, there you are. Someone's here from lycée to see you." Peering through the crack in the closet door, Ladybug could see Nathalie with someone besides her, someone she couldn't quite make out.

She took a slight step to the side, the view changing slightly and allowing her to see the lower half of the girl's body. A girl? She didn't remember Adrien mentioning anything about any girls. The girls hands moved quickly in front of her. Intricate movements with her hands and fingers; Ladybug realising she was signing.

A brief exchange was passed in silence, Nathalie leaving and closing the door behind her. Adrien was alone, in his bedroom with a girl who was not her. Ladybug's heart began to beat rapidly as she considered what might come next. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Adrien wouldn't cheat on her, would he?

"Why are you here?" he said, his voice strong and meaningful.

As Ladybug expected the girl to respond once again with hand gestures, she was proved wrong as she heard a laugh she could only describe as a cackle — one she recognised.

"Oh, come on Adrien! You can't be dumb enough to not know."

The voice was so familiar and did nothing for the downward spiralling sensation in the pit of her stomach. Who was this girl? Moving herself forward, Ladybug could see a little more, finally getting a clear view of the girl's face. Though her hair was different, she was wearing glasses, and her eyes were now blue, Ladybug knew she would never forget that venomous sneer. Lila Rossi – or whatever she went by now?

"I'll ask you again. What are you doing here?"

Ladybug was proud of Adrien. She knew the depth of his feelings towards the bully, a depth that matched her own. They both despised Lila with all they were worth and it took all her determination to not jump out and take the girl down – or at least teach her a lesson or two.

Lila began to move, walking past Adrien and deeper into his bedroom; she wandered around as if she owned the place. Her gaze fell onto the picnic basket, forgotten in Ladybug's rush to hide, "I wonder what your girlfriend would say if she knew I was here?"

Ladybug looked at Adrien and noticed how his body had flinched and his hands fisted, the only indication he was angry. His beautiful structured face remained unbelievably calm considering she was ready to pounce out and rip the wig from the liars head. If it just so happened to be her real hair... well, she'd deal with the consequences after.

"You know exactly what Marinette would think, she'd want you out of my house, and life, as much as I do."

Damn right! She thought, proud of her boyfriend's response.

"Are you sure? You know, she's very... apprehensive about your relationship. After all, a model like you has loads of girls after him, why would you choose a lonely little baker girl like her?"

"Marinette's not the jealous type, plus she knows how much I love her and how devoted I am to her. She's the love of my life, and nobody else comes close."

"Is that right?" Lila's words escaped with a snort and Ladybug had to stop herself from heading out of the closet and throwing the girl out of the window. It was a good thing she was a hero and not a villain, because right now it would have been so easy to make the wrong choice. "What about your weekly visits from Ladybug? Does your girlfriend know about those?"

"What do you want, Lila?"

"Nothing," she said, walking towards him and running a hand up his arm. "My, my... you're turning into quite the man, aren't you?"

"Ever heard of sexual harassment?" he snapped back.

She laughed and stepped away. "You forget, Adrien. I'm the poor deaf girl who has been taken in by an ex-model. I'm sure it'll be seen as you having your way with me, rather than the other way around."

Gently, Adrien took Lila's hand off his arm and moved it to her side, careful not to leave a mark she could use.

"What do you want?"

"I need information and you're going to get it for me. If not, your little secret rendezvous with the super zero will be made public, and poor Marinette will realise she was never good enough for dear, old Adrien Agreste."

Moving around a little more, Ladybug attempted to telepathically tell Adrien to not to give her any more information, that Marinette wouldn't believe the lies, that she trusted him as much as he did her. But she couldn't reveal herself, it wouldn't help the situation in the slightest.

"Ladybug is just a friend and for your own safety, leave Marinette out of this... this... whatever this is!" Adrien's emotions were building, Ladybug praying he didn't do something stupid like go along with her request.

Lila laughed violently once again. "My own safety? You have no idea what I'm capable of. And I couldn't care less about whether or not I hurt Marinette! She deserves everything coming to her."

Lila began to move out of the room, stopping just as her hand touched the door handle and turned back. "Tell your secret lover, she has until Sunday to give me the rabbit Miraculous, or the butterfly will be put to use once more. But, unlike my predecessor, I won't fail. 9pm," she said sharply. "At the top of the Eiffel Tower. If she doesn't come I will start dissecting your life — Marinette first."

Without another word, Lila stormed out the room slamming the door behind her.

"Shit!" Adrien sighed, looking towards the closet. "I'm guessing you heard all of that."

Making her way out of the closest and back into the room, she headed straight over to him. Everything inside her was clenching, this was way worse than Lila's threats back in collége. If she did, indeed, have the butterfly Miraculous, then this could be deadly.

"How long has she been visiting you?" Ladybug asked.

"A couple of months." Adrien shrugged. "Ever since my father disappeared. What are we going to do? I need to tell Marinette."

Shaking her head, Ladybug came over to take Adrien in her arms and hugged him. "No, you don't. I'll speak to Chat Noir and on Sunday we'll finish this once and for all."

*****

Level 3: Unexpected Company

Present Day...

Adrien finished work earlier than expected, his last appointment of the day cancelling at the last minute. After years of training and education, he was proud to say he was a fully fledged youth psychologist, owning his own practice in the centre of Paris. He loved helping the kids, especially those, who like himself, had been neglected and pushed to one side.

Checking his watch and then his phone, he sent a quick message to his wife, letting her know he'd be home a little later than expected, and that he would meet her at the mansion. Heading through the back streets of Paris and into a hidden alleyway, he prepared to take to the rooftops once more. Night was creeping in, and he wished he was just heading back to chill on the sofa, watching old game shows and cuddling with his wife.

"Plagg?" he whispered, looking down in the direction of his jacket's side pocket.

"Plagg's not here at the moment," a small, nasally voice replied back. "Please try again later."

"Plagg, come on man, I need to go and patrol."

A black blob with illuminated green eyes poked his head out of Adrien's jacket and looked around. "Patrol? I do not know of such a word."

Reaching a hand into his pocket, Adrien grabbed the kwami around the waist and pulled him out, grateful that the abilities to phase through objects didn't include human hands. The last thing he wanted was a game of chase with a magical cheese addict through Paris.

"Stop acting like a little shit and help me!" Adrien demanded, only causing Plagg to cackle.

"That's where you've got me all wrong, Kitten." Plagg pulled himself from Adrien's hands and flew into his holder's face, putting on a rather disturbing smile. "It's not an act. I am a little shit!"

Cackling, Plagg made to get away, but Adrien was faster, calling his transformation and sucking the disgruntled kwami into his ring.

"Good try, you little nightmare."

Laughing to himself, Chat Noir grabbed the baton from around his back and launched himself up onto the rooftops of Paris. As he ran full throttle over the chimney lined race track of the Parisian skyline, jumping and flipping over the area which used to be so tightly linked to his freedom, he noticed how that freedom now seemed more of a hindrance than tranquillity. He moved like a shooting star. Burning through the sky with only the glint of his bell to be seen.

Chat Noir remembered a time he'd call Ladybug his shooting star. She stood for everything the burning rock did; she was his luck, his freedom, he's guiding light... but that light had long since been extinguished with yet another lie and hidden secret.

Without hesitation, Chat Noir was quickly back into the swing of things as he took himself from one roof to the next. Running before taking a cat powered leap and ending up at their old patrol spot — opposite the Eiffel Tower.

His feet hit the roof with nothing more than a tiny tap, but was still enough to draw a gasp from its other occupant. Noticing her in the corner, he wasn't sure he could do this right now.

"Oh, hi."

Her voice was small, shocked and stumbling, just like her feet as she attempted to stand up.

Chat Noir stared at her and waited. If she wanted to talk she'd need to start the conversation, for he had neither the will or the strength to try and be normal with her. They were too far gone.

"I didn't expect you to be out so early," she said. He noticed from the corner of his eye she was twisting her hands around each other, a clear sign of nervousness. What did she think he was going to do? Cataclysm her?

They'd briefly met the night before, exchanging times to patrol and promising to contact the other if something untoward was happening. They were pretty much relying on their kwami's to pass messages between them – he felt like he was back at collége.

"I had spare time." Chat Noir kept his eyes on the distance, unwilling to look at her, instead taking great interest in the Eiffel Tower. He was here by duty, that was all, his loyalty had long since passed.

"I'm glad you're here," she said, her voice growing louder as she finally figured out how her feet worked. "I couldn't do this without you."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, concentration still out in the distance. Couldn't do this without him? Please! If the past was anything to go by then she could, and would, leave him out of the loop. It was common practice by now.

"Please, Kitty! Yell at me, hit me, throw me from the top of the Eiffel Tower, please! Just, I can't stand this! I can't stand what we've become." She was emotional, but she felt nothing compared to how he did. How could she?

A raging inferno sat behind his eyes as he looked at her in anger. 'What we've become?' He couldn't believe the audacity of what she was saying. They hadn't become anything. She'd caused it with all her lies and secrets. If only she'd been truthful from the start, none of this would have happened.

"Stop!"

He saw her freeze in his peripheral vision, halting in her tracks and keeping a close eye on him. He felt like a caged animal instead of a free roaming cat. He wished he could rip the bell off and throw it off the tower – a final act of freedom.

"I'm here because Paris needs me. Not because you do."

Without a second thought, Chat Noir grabbed the baton from his back and prepared to ascend into the night sky and back home. This was a big mistake.

"Please," she cried, a hand reaching out towards him. "Just let me explain! Please!"

Her begging was almost too much.

Her sorrow was almost too much.

Everything was too much!

His nostrils flared with controlled anger. They needed to work together, so for now he'd have to keep it calm and on the level, but he didn't know how long that would last for — how long he could remain sane.

"I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely, obviously taking his silence for what it was.

"Yeah, well, so am I."

At that moment, he intended to leave. To just get out of there, go home and go back to his 'normal' life... but there was no normal life for him, there never would be, not whilst evil ran amok through the city.

The silence was excruciating. As someone who liked to talk, to be so tongue tied was unusual for him, another casualty of their past endeavours. She had always been the woman he could talk to about anything, even more than his best friends — than his wife.

"So, what are you thinking about all of this?" he finally said, not quite ready to leave yet. He didn't know what it was, but something was keeping him there. An unforeseeable pull that once more had him frozen to the spot.

"I think there's someone with a sick mind playing tricks."

"You don't think there might be anything more to it?" Chat Noir asked, looking towards a frail looking Ladybug.

For the first time that night he studied her, noticing she only seemed half the woman he remembered. Was there something wrong with her? Or had she lived like him, worrying every single day that they'd be dragged back into this world and made to put their lives on the line again? He never thought it might be literal.

He made a mental note to shower his wife in flowers, gifts and love.

"Not at this moment, no. Obviously someone had it out for Aurore and used her akumatisation to freak people out."

Chat Noir nodded. "It definitely worked. I haven't seen Paris in such an edgy state in years."

She nodded in response before pulling out her yo-yo to check the time. "I better go. Would you like to patrol tomorrow, or should I?"

He thought for a moment before answering. "I'll do it."

"Okay then." She closed her yo-yo and headed to the edge of the rooftop. "I suppose I'll see you around then?" she questioned, Chat Noir responding with a curt nod.

"See you."

She took one last look at him before sending herself off into the distance; a tiny red dot of a woman he used to want to chase after and find out about. But now, he didn't even care if or when he saw her next — at least that's what he told himself.

Turning in the opposite direction, Chat Noir headed towards his apartment building, dropping into an alleyway nearby and calling off his transformation.

"How did that go?" Plagg asked as he collapsed in Adrien's palms. Taking a chunk of cheese from his pocket, Adrien threw it to the kwami before pulling out his phone and checking the time. If he hurried he'd be no more than five minutes late.

"About as well as expected."

Cautiously, Adrien headed out of the alleyway making sure nobody caught sight of him as he walked; Plagg, once more, making his home in Adrien's pocket.

The two hurried down the road, dodging the growing crowds as they headed in the direction of his childhood home. He was still yet to understand why his mother and Nathalie remained there. As soon as he was old enough, he was out; not wanting to spend another moment with memories so bleak overshadowing him.

As he rounded the corner, he came face to face with his old windows, for a time the only view he had of the outside world. Most of the memories stung, yet he couldn't help recalling the good times too. Parties with the guys. Homework with Nino. Game nights with the gang. Marinette showing him how love could really be — and Ladybug.

Another turn and he was at the main gates, shocked to see them open for a change. His mother and Nathalie had both been extra cautious since Gabriel's return, so to have the gates wide open was quite a change.

Quickly, Adrien made his way up the path and to the doorway; he rang the bell and waited. A minute, or so, passed without a single glimmer of life on the other side; his heart beating erratically as he considered his options. This just didn't seem right.

Adrien tentatively placed one hand on the doorknob and looked down at Plagg's startled stare. As the kwami gave him a reassuring nod, Adrien opened the door to find the hallway silent and empty.

"Hello?" he called, unsure where everyone was. "Hello?" he shouted again.

As answers were still void, Adrien began to head into the mansion starting with the dining area. The table was set up as always, however this time instead of four place settings, he was looking at five.

Continuing out into the hallway, he considered his next option. He looked around the grand foyer and noticed something unusual — his father's office door was slightly ajar.

After a quick tap to signal Plagg to hide, he made his way over, heart racing and palms sweating. "Hello?" he called once more, any bravado missing from his voice as he attempted to keep it steady.

With a deep breath, he pushed open the door, allowing it to swing out in a way he would have been banished for in his youth.

"Ahhh, Adrien," Nathalie's voice said. "We've had an unexpected visitor."

Adrien looked around the room and studied the faces of those present: Nathalie, his mother, his wife - and a tall, thin, well dressed, one armed man.

He felt his knuckles tighten as he looked the man up and down, this was not going to end well. The man turned to address him.

"Good to see you again, son."