Adrien

Adrien walked quickly down the street, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his heart pounding in his chest. Every step away from the office felt heavier than the last. He had wanted to stay, to talk to Marinette, to explain everything. But when he saw her in that room, the look of shock and disbelief on her face when she realised he was Chat Noir... he couldn't bear it.

But worst of all, she was Ladybug. His partner, his friend... but now this changed everything.

He walked faster, trying to shake the thoughts from his mind, but the guilt clung to him like a shadow. He'd spent most of the meeting tapping the armrest to stop himself from reaching for her, then he had left so abruptly, without giving her a chance to say anything. Now, the regret gnawed at him, but fear—fear of what she truly thought of him—kept him from turning back.

On autopilot, Adrien pushed through the Christmas shoppers and towards the Couffaine houseboat, there was only one person who he could talk to about this, someone who had become one of his closest confidants over the years, and one who knew the whole truth.

He stopped at the lights, preparing to cross the road, when everything hit him hard.

Marinette was Ladybug.

He was Chat Noir.

They'd broken up all those years ago because Marinette was Ladybug, and he was Chat Noir. The irony clutched at his heart in an iron fist. If only they'd been honest with each other, their lives would be completely different. There was no doubt in his mind that they would still be together – or they would hate each other.

The sound of the crosswalk beeping pulled his attention to the task at hand. Walking over the road, Adrien concentrated on making it to Luka. He needed his friend now, more than ever. He needed someone who knew what this was like.

He made his way along the wall, grabbing his phone as he went and pulling up Sophia's number. The sound of her sweet voice was like music to his ears. This was his normality, not the fantasy or the dream he had dared once to have, the one which ended with the girl he'd left in the lawyer's office.

He ran a hand over his eyebrows. 'Hey Sophia, it's Adrien.'

A chuckle came through the speaker. 'You know phones come with caller ID, right?'

Adrien groaned. 'Sorry, today was a little... more than I expected it to be.'

'If you're calling to check on Emily, she's fine,' she said. And once again, Adrien was thrilled to have her working for him.

'You know me so well. She has her check up –'

'At noon. Yes, I know Adrien. I was there when you booked it, and it's on the calendar. And you reminded me for about the thousandth time this morning.'

A smile tugged at his lips as he made his way onto The Liberty. 'What would I do without you?'

'I know. I'm amazing. Make sure you remember that for my Christmas bonus.'

He grinned. 'I'm sure you'll remind me.'

'Definitely,' she said, amusement lacing her voice.

He heard the faint hum of a guitar coming from down in the living quarters and headed for the staircase.

He continued his conversation as he moved deeper into the boat. 'I know I don't say this enough, but thank you for everything you do. I wouldn't get by without you.'

'Anytime.' He could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke. 'And Adrien, I know I'm not one of 'the gang' but I just wanted to say I'm here, if you ever need to talk. I'm impartial and a good listener.'

He gave Luka a quick wave before heading to the fridge. 'I know. Thank you. Oh, and before you go, Luka's a great guy. Maybe you should ask him out sometime.' A gasp on the phone was met with a cushion sailing across the kitchen and slamming into the cupboards. 'He has a shocking aim, though.'

A second cushion was on target, smacking Adrien right in the face. He said his goodbyes to Sophia, before he began to frisbee the cushions back to Luka.

'You know it's true,' Adrien said, opening the fridge to grab a bottle of water before checking the table to see if Luka had one too. He took out a second bottle before using his hip to close the door. He made his way over to the sofa, placing a bottle on the ground and tossing the other to his friend.

'So, what do I owe this pleasure? Apart from criticising my aim, trying to set me up with your nanny and helping yourself to my things.'

Adrien picked up the bottle and saluted him. 'Firstly, your aim is appalling. That's why you have the snake Miraculous, you always need a second chance to hit the target. Secondly, my nanny? That sounds so wrong. And thirdly, your mother always likes to make sure I stay hydrated.'

Luka laughed. 'Can't deny any of that.'

'You know if you want to date Sophia, I am completely fine with it. Just don't scare her away.' Adrien watched Luka's cheeks heat.

'She's a wonderful girl.'

'She is,' Adrien agreed.

'I don't want to mess it up.'

Adrien studied him for a moment. 'Why would you mess it up? There would be no one more perfect for her. Plus, then you haven't got to keep hanging out with her behind my back.'

Luka chuckled, placing his guitar down and opening his water. 'You know I've never been successful with girls. I've only really dated Marinette, if you can even call that dating.'

'You and me, brother.' Adrien held out his fist for Luka to bump, before taking a deep breath.

'Talking about Marinette. I saw her this afternoon.'

Luka looked at him quizzically, but didn't interrupt. This is why he came here when he needed to vent. He just listened and offered advice when asked. Nino and Félix always wanted to take matters into their own hands and beat someone to the pulp.

'Master Fu, mine and Ladybug's mentor, died on Tuesday. I was one of the beneficiaries of the will. I was never told there were two of us, or that they'd bring us both in together. I had my...suspicions, but didn't want to get my hopes up.'

Luka's knowing gaze saddened, not for the loss of Master Fu, but for what Adrien had found out.

'I was told the other beneficiary was there, and straight away I knew it would be Ladybug. What I didn't expect was for Ladybug...' He stopped, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

'To be Marinette.' Luka finished his sentence for him. His eyes opened to see his friend looking back with a small smile. 'Crazy, isn't it?'

Adrien nodded. 'I thought the timing was strange that she was back, I just didn't want to overthink that it might be for this reason.'

'You know, when you two finally got together, it was a relief. Ladybug and Chat Noir, with their best friend and their partner. The one they trusted more than they trusted themselves.' Luka's smile was sad, knowing full well what happened next.

Adrien chuckled and shook his head. 'Then Adrien and Marinette were split apart by the same thing that brought them together. It's a joke, really.'

Luka moved from his chair to sit beside Adrien. 'What's the plan, then?'

'Plan?' Adrien asked. Those were not the words he expected from Luka.

'Yeah. To bring our girl home. You want her here, Adrien. Not just for you but for Emily too.'

He remained silent, suddenly taking interest in his water bottle.

Luka sighed. Adrien suddenly felt unwilling to talk and let his friend know he was right. He wanted her here, but there was more to it than that. He didn't just want her here; he needed her here.

As Marinette, she would have been supportive. She would have tried to be there through the dark days and the sleepless nights, only to be pushed away by him as he battled with the almost unbearable emotions. But, as soon as he felt himself again he'd wanted to find her. He knew she would want to know about what happened and why her friends hadn't been in contact with her to tell her. The truth of the fact: they were all too busy dealing with him. It was his fault she became so isolated.

And now, knowing she was Ladybug, he knew they would have survived through everything in a way he couldn't have imagined with Marinette. The past four years would have been a lot easier, and he would have certainly been a lot braver. But he was independent now. He could work through things himself without always looking to Ladybug for a plan.

'I spoke to her this morning,' Adrien said, his eyes on his hands as he played with his ring.

'I thought you said you saw her this afternoon.'

Adrien shook his head. 'I saw Marinette this afternoon, but I spoke to Ladybug this morning.'

'She put the earrings in again?' Luka said, in awe. 'When Marinette came to see me last night I didn't notice. I didn't think to look.'

Adrien huffed. 'I still can't believe I'm the only one she hasn't been to see yet.'

'Don't be so dramatic! You're not the only one, and I'm sure she doesn't mean anything by it. You two have a lot of history, and you know she can't put into words her emotions when it comes to you. She probably needed to build herself up to it.'

He shrugged. 'I don't know. She was fine with Chat Noir.'

'That's a bit of a different relationship. She sees Chat Noir as her equal. Adrien Agreste, however, she's always put on a pedestal.'

'Oh, how the mighty have fallen.' Adrien said dramatically, rubbing his eyes. 'She was on her balcony last night. She watched us leaving Emily's show.'

Luka shook his head. 'What did you do, Adrien? You promised you weren't going to do anything stupid.'

A small smile turned the corner of his lips up.

'Adrien? You stalked her last night because you 'had to see her', what have you done now?'

He sighed. There was no use in denying it. 'I walked out of the meeting. Luka, she looked at me as though I was dirt on the bottom of her shoe.'

'I don't believe that.'

'Well, believe it, brother, it's the truth.'

'Did she mention anything that makes you think there's a problem?' Luka asked, grabbing his water bottle.

'She seemed so happy to see me, Chat Noir–me, then...not, when she saw me as Adrien.'

'So, what happened? When you met as Ladybug and Chat Noir?' Luka asked.

'She told Chat Noir she went soul-searching and found out that her soul was the thing she was running away from.'

Luka smiled, giving a slight nod. 'Which we always knew. What happened next?'

Adrien replayed the conversation, then winced. His eyes looked down. 'Then I told her I had a kid.'

'What?'

'She thought I'd bought a goat.'

'Why?'

'I corrected her and said I have a child.'

Luka slammed a hand over his face. 'And she saw the child coming out of the collège with us all.'

He nodded. Maybe she had a valid reason to look at him like the scum of the earth. For all she knew, he knocked up some girl around the same time they'd broken up.

'Woah.' Luka breathed out.

'Not exactly the way I wanted this reveal to go. I'm guessing she doesn't know about Nathalie and my father.'

They were both silent for a moment, and Adrien knew for certain that Luka was trying to find anything that could help him. But they both knew this was a mess.

'I think I should use this time for closure,' Adrien said, standing up and preparing to leave. 'It's a mess and it's about time I man up and get over this. She has, so I should too.'

At least that's what his head was saying.