Flashback Cutscene: Stay

9 years and 8 months...

"What's a good looking guy like you doing all alone on a rooftop like this?"

Adrien's head turned with enough force to give himself whiplash. Ladybug stood before him, her hair twisted and gripping in an intricate updo, her usual all in one outfit transformed into a wonderful, figure hugging dress. He couldn't help but think her boyfriend was a lucky man — and that Marinette would look amazing in that style too.

"I'm just waiting for the clock to strike midnight so I can transform back into my true self and head home," Adrien said. He lifted the wine glass he was holding to his lips and downed the remaining liquid, wincing at the bitter taste. He hated red wine, but his mother loved it, hence why he was drinking it now.

"Is the night that bad?" she giggled and he found his lips involuntarily moving up with a small twitch. Giving the wine glass a quick twist between his thumb and forefinger by the stem, he placed it beside him and hung his hands in between his knees.

Adrien sighed and looked over at her, a champagne flute being messed with carefully in her own hands.

"Not bad, just..."

"Your girlfriend?" she asked and Adrien nodded.

"She was meant to come, but then she had an interview at a university in London. I couldn't let her miss it just for my birthday party. She's worked so hard for all of this, she deserves it."

"But it's your 18th birthday, you should be enjoying yourself."

He shrugged, a small smile gracing his lips. "I am. I like being outside, looking at the stars. It always reminds me that no matter where she is, Marinette will be looking at the same ones. It's like a strange connection, you know? God, I probably sound pathetic right now."

"Not at all." She moved to sit beside him, looking up at the stars too. "I bet she's doing the exact same thing and thinking about you."

"She is. She sent me a message before she went to bed letting me know that she was missing me and that she sees my eyes every time she catches a twinkling star. I don't know what I'd do if she left Paris for university. I - I don't want to lose her." A sudden wave of emotion shot through him, sending a burning sensation through his nose and to the back of his eyes. He knew he shouldn't have been drinking.

"Would you ask her to stay?"

Adrien shook his head, looking down in front of him. "I couldn't do that. This is her dream. I'd like to think we'd stay together through it, that no matter what obstacles appeared we could get over it and stay together. Then, I do realise going to university will give us both a new life, new friends... but I know I would never love anyone like I love her. I'm also not naive enough to think someone as wonderful as her wouldn't find someone better than me."

"Have you tried speaking to her?"

"I have no right." He let out a huffed laugh. "This is about her, not about me. It's her future and she deserves the best."

They sat in silence, the stars above them appearing and disappearing as the clouds moved effortlessly across the sky.

"What if she wanted it to be about you too? If I know Marinette as well as I think I do, it's fair to say she loves with her whole heart, and I know that love spreads to you too. Talk to Marinette, you matter too much to her. She'll want to make the decision with you."

Adrien picked up his glass again, playing with it between his hands before placing it back down. "Do you really think she'd do that? I don't want to be the reason she puts her life on hold. I feel like I take so much from her, what on Earth could I give her back?"

"You really don't understand how much your love actually means to her, do you? Just, Adrien, please be honest. If you want her to stay, then tell her. Don't be afraid of the unknown. And if... if she decides to head to London it doesn't mean you have to break up."

"I can't just say to her 'stay', that's such an asshole move."

Ladybug sighed and downed the rest of her champagne. "Listen, this is how I see it —"

"If you say it would be a good test, I will throw you off the roof."

Laughing, Ladybug smacked Adrien on the bicep. "Not at all. What I was going to say is if you ask her to stay she'll know how much you care. Anyone who knows Marinette, knows her dream is to get into ESMOD, she's just looking at other possible options."

Adrien pouted his lips as he considered what she'd just said. "That is true."

The sound of music from the hotel's ballroom danced through the windows and up onto the rooftop. "Listen, Adrien, I need to go. But thank you for inviting me this evening. I've had a lovely time."

She stood up and prepared to head off into the distance.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Adrien stood and brushed himself off, straightening up and noticing the wide smile on Ladybug's face.

"See, it's not that hard, is it?" Stepping forwards, she pushed up onto her tiptoes and placed her lips delicately against his cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Adrien."

"Thank you, Ladybug."

He watched as she sent herself down from the roof, grabbing his empty glass and making his way back inside and to the ballroom. He was sure he could fake it for the rest of the evening, after all, everyone had made the effort to be here for him; lasting out to the end of the party was the least he could do. Then he could go home, transform into Astrocat and see if a Princess needed some company. Just another hour would be long enough.

Finally reaching the ballroom once more, he braced himself, putting on his model smile and heading into the ballroom, only to be frozen by the shouts and holla's of 'surprise'. Confusion struck as he tried to figure out what was going on, when suddenly, the crowds parted and standing right in front of him, was Marinette. His Marinette, looking more beautiful than he ever could remember — Ladybug failing in comparison.

Without hesitation, his feet lead him to her, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist and the silent promise that he would never let her go.

*****

Level 9: The Game is Afoot

Present Day...

"Here, I went to Starbucks so hopefully it tastes a little better."

Adrien came to sit beside Marinette as she looked through her phone. There were emails she desperately needed to respond to, and comments on the Ladyblog calling for Ladybug or Chat Noir to placate the citizens of Paris; but at this moment she was here for Alya, everything was about Alya.

"Thanks." She lifted the coffee cup to her lips and drained a large amount of the liquid before cringing. "What did you get me?" She popped the lid from the top of the cup and looked inside. It seemed the right colour.

"Just a Caffè Latte, don't tell me you've suddenly changed your drink order?"

"I didn't think I had, but this just doesn't taste right." Placing the lid back on securely, she lifted it to her lips and took another sip; her stomach stirred in response.

"Give it here." Adrien took the drink from her hands and placed it to his own lips. "It's a little cool, but seems fine apart from that."

She took it back from Adrien's hands and had another swig. "Nope! I can't drink that!"

"I can!" The drink was snatched out of her hands without having any opportunity to protest. The coffee thief sat down beside her, drawing the attention from the both of them.

"How is he?" Marinette looked at Alya, studying her friend's face for any sign of news.

"I've never seen anything like it! He's pretty much completely bandaged up apart from where the tubes are coming out of his mouth and nose. He looks so small in that bed and it kills me. I can't do anything to help him."

Marinette stretched out, pulling Alya in and closer to her body. "I know at the moment you believe there's nothing you can do, but Alya you're in the best position. We want this bastard to be taken down as much as you do, but unfortunately we don't have a blog to help us do that."

Alya nodded her head, wiping under her eyes and suddenly becoming all business.

"You're right!" she stated. "I can help! And I can start by asking for information on Crocodile Tears Records, Inc. See if anyone knows about new offices or anything?"

As Alya took her phone from her pocket, Adrien stood, seeing this as a good opportunity to take his leave.

"You might want to give Félix a call," Adrien said. "I'm quite sure he's a shareholder. Listen, I better get going. Call me if anything changes?"

"Of course." Marinette stood with him and embraced him tightly. "I promise, he'll be okay."

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before heading over to Alya and repeating the action. Marinette waved once more as he exited the room.

"He can't afford anymore time off work," Marinette said in a way of explanation, Alya barely listening as she continued to type rapidly on her phone.

"You need to tell me everything. I want to know what you saw, who was there, if you went in first or Chat Noir... I need to know."

Marinette watched as her friend pushed her feelings aside and buried herself into the Ladyblog.

"I'm adding a post asking for any eye-witnesses. With the reach on the site, there's a possibility someone would have seen something. Also, maybe Nino had contacted someone else, or someone might have heard of the company he was interviewing for. Nino's so on it with knowing companies and checking them out, he wouldn't have gone along with it if he thought it was a trick."

Alya's thumbs worked overtime as she kept her eyes firmly on her phone. Marinette didn't know what to do. It wasn't the first time her friend had gone off the rails with ideas and theories, but this seemed a lot more dangerous than anything they'd ever done before.

"Alya, you need to be careful. This person, or people, or whatever, are dangerous! If it's the same person that killed Aurore, then we're not safe to be looking into this. We need to leave it to Sabrina and the police."

Alya's fingers stopped abruptly and she looked up at Marinette. "Are you taking the piss? You're a Goddamn superhero who the police are counting on, and all you can say is leave it to them. Have you not realised they're leaving it to you?"

Marinette felt the room spin around her, suddenly collapsing onto the chair and grabbing what was left of the coffee Adrien had brought for her. Though the taste had her heaving, she needed to drink; and if she was being honest she needed something to eat too. When had she last eaten and kept it down? The visions of both Aurore and Nino spiralling her stomach and making it almost impossible for food to digest.

"I'm sorry," Alya sighed, sitting beside her. "I just don't know what to do, and if I can't count on your help, I may as well give up. You and Chat Noir are our saviours, and I know we're friends and that I shouldn't really put you on a pedestal, but I need to at the moment, Marinette. The hope that Ladybug and Chat Noir will sort this out is the only thing keeping me going."

Marinette took one of Alya's hands in her own. "I can only promise to try my best, but Alya we don't know who this person is. Myself and Chat Noir might not be able to be the people you want — or need us to be."

"Please Marinette, you're my only hope. Please just tell me what you know?"

Marinette began to recall the information not only from Nino's attack but also Aurore's, giving Alya all the details only herself and Chat Noir knew.

"So you think they know who you are? The killer?"

Marinette nodded. "Whoever it is, is making it perfectly clear they know our identities. When Chat Noir found the umbrella at the park, it took everything I had to hide the fear! Something spooked him too, but he's playing everything so close to his heart — not that I blame him for not trusting me."

"You need to give him time."

Nodding once again, Marinette rubbed a hand over her tired eyes and tried to focus. "So the only people who know my identity are you, Luka, Master Fu, Su-Han, Kagami, Félix and Gabriel."

"That's quite a list," Alya chuckled, typing them into her phone. The sound of her friend's laughter was music to her ears.

"Yep, so what do you think?"

"Well, obviously it's not me, I wouldn't attempt to kill my own boyfriend. Luka?"

"I can't see any reason why? Plus he's not a violent guy." Alya raised an eyebrow at Marinette. "That was one night a year ago. He'd had too much to drink, and you can't deny the guy a one off rant, he's repressed so much over the years. Fu can't remember anything Miraculous related, and he's now in a care home in England. Su-Han has once again gone off the radar —"

"Or he's on the radar killing people?"

"The guy spends his free time watching Tik Tok cat videos and couldn't give a shit about other people, so I doubt he would become a cold blooded murderer."

"What about Kagami and Félix?"

Shaking her head, Marinette took the phone from Alya's hands and edited it to add a strike through their names.

"Neither would do that to Nino. Neither would want to hurt Adrien's best friend. Remember what happened when he thought he'd completely snapped me out of existence? He couldn't cope with hurting his cousin."

"But he is or was in Tibet. Am I correct?"

"Yes, it must be Félix then... he obviously went to the temple in Tibet and told them he has the peacock Miraculous, so can they show him how to make magic killer bubbles."

Alya sighed and shook her head. "It's just an idea! Why don't you question Luka? He was at the temple for a while, maybe he knows about magic bubbles."

"Sure he does. He told me he can turn bubbles into unicorns and he'd be available for my first born's birthday party."

"We're in a hospital, Marinette, be serious! For fuck sake, Chat Noir comes back into your life and you turn in at a grade A asshole comedian."

Being the mature adult she was, Marinette stuck her tongue out at Alya before continuing. "So that leaves us with Gabriel. I just... I can't believe he'd do this. He's got his wife back, he's trying to make amends with Adrien... I don't know, as much of a bastard that he is... killing? I'm not sure!"

"He's the most likely suspect though. He knows about you, and the killer carved his freaking butterfly into Aurore's chest. I'm sorry to say it, M, but everything is pointing in Gabriel's direction."

Marinette knew Alya was right, out of everyone who knew their identities, Gabriel seemed the most likely. He never forthright said it, however Marinette was quite certain he knew Chat Noir's identity too. There were little indications, here and there, that he'd drop into conversation which just hinted at the knowledge.

The butterfly, the magical charms, the photos, everything seemed set for revenge on them. Marinette sat and considered the options. Gabriel, Félix... or someone else entirely!

"The outfit!" Marinette suddenly said, standing a little too quickly and throwing herself off balance.

"Easy, M, I've already got one love in hospital, I don't need a second."

"The outfit Nino was in, I - I knew it! I designed it!"

"What outfit? Nino didn't come in, in an outfit. You're not making any sense."

Marinette swayed again, Alya pulling her back down onto the seat and holding her steady.

"He - he was dressed as The Bubbler, but not in his original akuma costume. He was in the new one I'd designed. I need to go and see Chat Noir. We need to go and speak to Max!"

Pushing herself from the chair again, she found herself tilting to the side, stumbling into the wall and banging her hip off the radiator. Her head was swimming. Maybe coffee wasn't the best idea when you'd only slept for one hour the night before and was constantly seeing corpse-like bodies.

"Not until you've seen a doctor, you're not." Alya grabbed hold of Marinette's arm and pulled her down the corridor. Positioning her in front of the nurses station.

"This woman needs to see a doctor, now."

Apparently dehydration is a bad thing.

Ladybug sat on a rooftop, face void of emotion as she waited for her partner to come and join her.

Luckily, he'd been transformed and she could call him as soon as she left the hospital. Her mind was spinning with the abundance of information, far too much to take in on one day.

Was Gabriel killing innocent people?

Had someone got their hands on her Bubbler design? Or was Nathaniel keeping a deep dark secret? It would answer the question as to why he was constantly calling her.

But what about Max?

And even more important... Would Chat Noir ever look at her again with at least a small hint of friendship?

She just wanted the day to be over, so she could go back to her wonderful home and crawl into her warm, comfy bed, yet she was sure there would be no sleep for a while, not if her epiphany was anything to go by. Sometimes she was glad for the insomnia, it stopped too many questions from being asked.

"So, what's the information?"

His words were kurt and straight to the point. No small talk permitted, just get in and get out, unfortunately, their night was only just beginning.

"I have a lead." If he was going to be cold, she could be too. One thing was so sure, she was not going to be the one to apologise first. She may have called him an 'arsehole', but that wasn't anything compared to what he'd said to her.

"How?"

She sighed and rubbed her head. "I - there was something about Nino's outfit which puzzled me."

"That it wasn't the original?"

Ladybug nodded. "Exactly! So I did a little research and... have you heard of 'A Masked Game'?"

Chat Noir pointed behind her and at the giant billboard with the game plastered all over it. "Not many people haven't," he scoffed.

"Well, I registered for the free trial of the game and even though it's not online yet there were pictures. Just look."

She pulled out her yo-yo and found the page she'd bookmarked earlier, the page with 'The Bubbler' but in the new outfit. Handing it over to him, she noted the surprise on his face, an almost impressed look following but quickly wiped away.

"Max Kante's game," Chat Noir whispered, Ladybug nodded in response. "But it's not released yet."

She took the yo-yo back from his hands, stumbling slightly and gripping her head – her painfully throbbing head. If he'd noticed anything he didn't say.

"It's just a lead I thought we could look into."

"Sure," Chat Noir said, pursing his lips in thought. "Maybe, if you're not doing anything now we could head over to his apartment."

And what felt like the first time in forever (because it was) Chat Noir stretched a hand out for his partner. She stretched up to meet him, her breath momentarily taken away as her hand slipped into his. He gave her a gentle tug, pulling her close into his body.

If it wasn't for his lack of eye contact, Ladybug could have believed this was just like the olden days, days when there wasn't this awkward friction between them. He gave her one quick glance, looping an arm around her waist and launching from the rooftop.

"Don't let go."

Even if it wasn't intended, she was happy enough to take this as his apology.