The second they arrived back through the castle walls and her car door was open, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was manhandled from person to person, forced to sprint as she ducked down, someone's hands pushing her head down. Chloe flanked her left side, while Luka, who was the one to initially pull her from the car, hovered over her right. She tried to see where Adrien was, but the swarming guards and forced body positioning disoriented her, making her vision swim. He wasn't in sight, and she had to accept it when she was forced through the castle walls and straight into her bedroom, where the door was instantly locked from the outside by Luka, whose gaze was so open with worry, Marinette wondered what else had happened.

She jiggled at the handles. "Luka, let me out!" she yelled.

His voice was firm from the other side, cold next to the expression he'd worn seconds before. "No, your highness."

"Luka, please!"

Silence.

"Luka, I'm scared. What happened with the attack?"

More silence.

Marinette jiggled on the handle, even more intensely, feeling the walls close in on her. Everything happened so fast. One second, she was having a pleasant hike on the edge of the kingdom, the next she was trapped in the back of a car for two hours... just like last time, only to be immediately trapped inside the walls of the castle.

The floor beneath her swayed, and she held onto the door hand, shaking it with less intensity as she lost track of her surroundings. It took all her strength to slowly crawl onto the floor instead of trip down. She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut as everything around her felt like it was pulsing, or everything was disconnecting. She couldn't watch that. History was repeating itself, and she surely lost someone again.

Did that guy die? What about Plagg? Why were the Akumas there? What if they weren't an Akuma, and just some innocent accident? Her breath quickly sped unnecessarily. Was she the target, or was it Adrien?

Her breathe caught. Adrien.

The ghost of Adrien's soft hand holding hers left that residual warmth. She felt the earth stop spinning, and she looked down at her warm hand. It still had leftover blisters from sewing so much, and there were a few random bruises from who-knows-where. She wondered if he'd noticed them.

Marinette replayed the quick scene in her head back in the forest. She checked the time on her phone, a small click sounding in the too-quiet room.

4:00 PM

9 October 2022

Marinette sighed. Time went by too fast, and it was already closer to dinner than the lunch they'd planned on having at the peak of the hike. They must have gotten pretty far in the walk if it was this late already. The run back to the cars felt so fast.

Putting a hand on her stomach, Marinette could only feel anxiety still inside of it, no room for hunger.

She inhaled deeply once more, and she stood, slowly pacing the floor. She tried her window, but it was locked completely. She knew about the upper lock, so she'd go to it later. She wouldn't get caught in the very real possibility Tikki barged in and found her.

Instead, Marinette opened her email as she paced and typed out a short message, her fingers silently passing over the smartscreen.

ladyofthenight: How are things going?

She clicked it off immediately. Her feet made their way back to the window, but she tried to stare as far off as she could before realizing she couldn't see anything beyond the same trees she'd searched for the whole past year.

A small buzz sounded from her bed. She ran back to her phone, expecting Chat Noir's email. Instead, it was a text from an unknown number.

x-xxx-xx-xxxxx: Hi..... It's Adrien. Are you okay?

Marinette instantly saved his number into her phone. She typed up a quick reply.

M: Yes, I'm okay. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?

Within seconds, a reply came.

A: you apologize WAY too much, your highness... please don't worry. im back at home in my room 

M: Same. I tried to get Luka to let me out, or tell me what was going on, but he's being cold.

A: luka?

M: My guard. Friend. My guard-friend. We knew each other, you know, before I came here.

A: Ahh cute... a good friend?

M: Yeah? No? He's been weird since. Everything's been weird since.

A: 

M: Yeah. Sorry. I want to go help the guard. I hope Plagg's okay.

A: he is. there's no way he's not.

M: I mean, that's a nice sentiment, but what if he isn't.

A: but he is... wanna bet on it?

M: Do you know something I don't?

A: i dont but my gut tells me everything is ok. i always trust my gut.

M: That's risky business.

A: thats the name of the game, babey!

Marinette chuckled, feeling her anxiety lessen with each second. She couldn't know what was going on with Plagg, or the guard, or anything. Adrien was probably right. She looked back down at the messages and reread them a few times before she wrote something else.

M: Hey, Adrien?

A: yes, marinette~?

For some unknown reason, Marinette blushed at the way he wrote her name. She rolled her eyes at herself and continued typing.

M: I'm sorry for getting annoyed. Again. I get frustrated sometimes. I don't try to get so mad, especially when I know it's just be feeling defensive, but

A: its really okay... i can be stupid a lot... i genuinely think i need a doctor to diagnose me with stupid-words-disease... but in all honesty its rly okay. im kinda bad at this whole friend thing lol. never really had one

M: Bull. I'm calling bull.

A: :o

A: is that an official declaration?

M: No, but, Adrien Agreste? Mr. Beautiful? Never had a friend?

A: are you saying im beautiful >:)

Marinette blushed heavily, feeling her whole face warm. She didn't mean it that way. He was just a model, and of course he'd have to have a lot of friends because of that. Obviously. She wasn't saying SHE found him beautiful. She decided to ignore his comment.

M: Well, I'm your friend now, as we've established. And now you have my phone number, so we can be good friends. It's like a level 3 friendship.

A: Yes, MA'AM! what level do i have to be at to get your tragic backstory?

Marinette flinched at this comment. She knew he was teasing, but honestly, everyone knew it already. She had a perfect life with her family, and it was taken away from a car accident. Everything was flipped completely upside down.

And she knew his. He lost his arm in a different kind of accident. There was nothing more to it.

M: Level 2. I'm an open book.

A: oooo! if thats the case, i need to know an important secret...

M: What is it?

A: tell me about your friends from home...

Marinette smiled softly. She told him all about Alya. And Luka. Nino, too, though they weren't ever quite as close as she was to the other two. She told him about her old classmates, how they would climb trees and play games during free time. It wasn't until Adrien had to leave for dinner did Marinette realize how she'd completely calmed down.

She lay there, smiling at the memories of her old friends and the beginning of this new one. Just as she was about to put down her phone, she got the email she was waiting for.

hamsterman32: things are going well, m'lady, but i think there was another akuma attack today. Thought i should let you know since you don't read the news. It was against the princess...

hamsterman32: By the way, here's a photo of the paper yesterday.

hamsterman32: * attachment*

Marinette pressed on the attachment. It took the photo a few seconds to load, but when it did, Marinette's heart dropped for the second time that day. The photo was slightly grainy, but it didn't stop her from recognizing it for what it was.

It was a drawing of her home.

~~~

Marinette was crouched by bushes she usually crossed to leave the walls, into the town. As risky as it was after this morning's Akuma attack, Marinette took the chance to sneak out that night. She had to. She and Chat Noir were going to meet up at the bakery, and he had a bike they'd take down to her old town. Her old home.

Suddenly, something grabbed Marinette's arm, and she swung around, instinctively punching a hard stomach, immediately following by a loud, "Ugngh."

Luka was crouched next to her, one hand on his stomach, one still on her arm.

Marinette's shock was evident in her whispered tone. "Luka?"

His expression was darker than the shadows they currently hid in. He took a deep breath before he whispered back, "What are you doing out here?"

Grateful he didn't immediately start yelling for someone else to come get her, she faced him head-on. She pulled out the lie she'd practiced in case she was ever caught.

"I just need to get out. Don't tell anyone. Please."

Luka's eyebrows scrunched together. "It's not safe."

Marinette looked down at her feet. She willed the saddest expression she could. It helped that there was so much sadness underneath her worry. She genuinely was sad. Her eyes slowly reached up to meet his, and she knew that he could see the raw emotions come to her expression. "I need to go home. Just for a few hours. Please, don't say anything. I miss home so much."

He was silent for too long, the only movement he made were from his eyes as they searched her face.

She kept speaking. "I need to see Alya. And Nino. And everyone. Please."

"Why?"

Her eyebrows scrunched together. "What do you mean why?" she said. "I miss it."

"Why now? You haven't tried to reach out at all before."

Marinette felt like she'd been slapped. She leaned back. "That's not fair."

"It's plenty fair," he whispered. "Message her. Invite her here."

Marinette flushed in frustration. "I don't want to invite her. I don't want to talk to her."

"Then why are you going all the way back?"

She let out a growl as she now leaned in, irritation filling her stomach. It was hot and felt like goo, slowly spreading into her chest. "I want to see her. Just not talk to her. I can't open that up right now."

Luka folded his arms. "That's ridiculous. You know she misses you, too. It's not fair that you don't reach out to her. She can't really reach out to you. You're the princess."

Marinette really felt the punch of those words. "Yeah, no shit I'm the princess. Being a princess is why I can't talk to her. Things are different now."

He leaned forward now, too, his face just inches from her own. "Things are different. But I doubt her love for you is."

Marinette felt her eyes water. Through gritted teeth, she said, "I just can't."

They were so close. Marinette missed when she could be this close to him without tension. She missed those childhood games of whoever makes the silliest face or sound, and the first to laugh would lose. Or staring contests. And then they'd burst out laughing together because they were friends, not necessarily because it was so funny.

He whispered, "Even if you do go, how will you get there? It's several hours of walking."

"I have a friend who's going to take me."

"A friend? Who?"

Marinette glared. "It doesn't matter."

He pushed himself back this time, his eyebrows practically reaching his hairline. His voice was very cool when he spoke. "It matters to me."

"Can't you just trust me?"

They stared a few seconds longer. Luka searched her face, and then his gaze lingered on her lips. Marinette ignored it, but for a moment, she imagined pulling him into her.

Luka had always been so important to her. But he was different, now, too. Because of who she'd become. She pulled away and counted the pieces of grass she could barely see. When she spoke, her voice was no longer a whisper, but it was the softest it had been yet.

"I need your help. I can't see the way things have changed. Please keep on the lookout here."

After several moments where only the wind danced, speed picking up and sending a chill down Marinette's spine, Luka finally spoke.

"Will it make you happy?"

Marinette's face jerked up to his, hope filling her eyes. "Yes. Yes, it will. Please."

He let out a long sigh, barely hidden behind the wind. "Be back behind midnight. Or I'm calling the other guards. I'd lose my job, but I'd be willing to lose it to know you're safe."

Marinette blushed and looked to the side. She turned back to where she run to the main street. Before she sprinted, she said, "I promise. I'll always come back." Without waiting for a respond, she ran until she got to the bakery, trying to run off the confusing wad of emotions that Luka left within her.

Chat walked out as soon as she was visible.

"How's your head?" he asked, glancing to her bangs-covered forehead.

Marinette pushed Luka out of her mind, putting him in a box she would revisit later. She said, "Fine, I got back no problem. Thanks for your help, by the way."

"Always here to help!" He smirked. But at her suspicious glance, his smirked turned into a bright grin. "By the way, like my outfit?"

Ladybug smiled. He wore the costume she made for him, and seeing him wear something she'd sewed with her hands filled her with a strange pride. "I guess it's alright," she teased.

He put a hand to his chest dramatically, mouth wide. "I think I look rather dashing!"

She rolled her eyes, unable to hide her grin.

"Well, then, should we take a look at this little guy?" He walked into the side street, bright with the streetlamp. Marinette's mouth dropped at what was very much not the bike she'd pictured.

"Oh," she said, staring at the black motorcycle. "That's not what I pictured when you said bike."

He glanced at it for a second before bursting out laughing. "Were you picturing a bicycle?" He immediately sobered up. "Actually, that sounds kinda cute."

She flushed. He should go around calling things they could have done 'cute'. They were on a mission. But it did leave an image in her mind with her and Chat riding a two-person bicycle in the main park. For some reason, that imagine shifted into her and Adrien. She waved her hand to push the image away into a separate box.

She glanced back at it. "Won't it be a bit... loud?"

He smirked, shoving the keys in the ignition. He sat on it and started it. She braced herself for a loud roar, but there was only a soft hum in its place.

"I, for one," Chat said, nodding for her to sit behind him, "don't like to bother random people for attention... At least, not like this."

She smiled, and grabbed the helmet he held out to her, hopping on the back, and grabbing onto his stomach. She tried to stop her shaking hands. A motorcycle was even more dangerous than a car. But she had to remind herself that there likely weren't any other cars on the road to run into. They were going to be okay. She had a helmet on. And her tough suit. They would be safe.

Even if she didn't believe it, that lie she repeated was more comforting than any anxieties her brain was shouting in the background.

In less than half an hour, they arrived at her town. She took in everything that she hadn't seen in so long.

These were the streets she'd grown up with. The saloon, mini mart, and doctor's office right next to each other passed by too fast. She remembered going to the mini mart every Thursday for little chocolates that she'd share with Alya. They'd walk down the street she and Chat passed most afternoons, just to pass by Nino's – Alya insisted, but she pretended it was Marinette's fault. If they kept going down that road, they'd eventually get to her father's old bakery. She wondered what the bakery had become after everything went down.

Chat's voice took her out of her reverie.

"Oh my god," Chat whispered, slowing down the motorcycle.

Ladybug followed his gaze, up the street, past the bushes, across the street, where her home was.

It was burning.

Chat Noir immediately jumped off out of his seat, once the motorcycle stopped. Ladybug was frozen in front of it. She just stared as he ran into the building, almost completely burned down. The fire had already burned down most of it. It was still standing in some places, but most of it had fallen. Chat tried to go inside the open door, but Ladybug could see him from the outside, the walls having fallen for the most part. The top of his head could be found in the holes, but the fire ended sooner than she'd expected it to.

It never had been a big home. Two bedroom, one story, one bathroom. It was small. But it was everything she had. It seemed so big when she was a kid. Minutes our hours passed as Chat searched the house. But all Ladybug could do was stare, and wish that she'd left two hours before. Just to see it. Even if the fire still had to happen. She wanted to say goodbye.

Her home was gone. It was gone. Forever.

How poetic.

Eventually, Chat walked slowly back out of the now darkened door, the only light coming from random leftover colors of warmth.

She felt like hands were pushing into her throat, a knee to her chest, a veil over her eyes. It was too dark, any moonlight that had been seconds before had to have been covered by a cloud. She desperately looked at the sky, but there were none. She just felt foggy.

"There were no bodies inside," Chat said breathlessly, coming out of the burned door. "They must have escaped. We should go see--"

"This wasn't meant to hurt anyone," Ladybug choked out, breathlessly. "It was another threat."

Chat looked between her haunted gaze to the burned house, still slightly glowing from leftover embers. His voice oozed concern, for her, when he spoke. "What do you mean?"

Ladybug's feet felt like someone had superglued stone to them as she took a few steps forward, willing her shaking knees to not give out. Her brain felt like it was stuck in quick sand. Finally, she managed to whisper, just loud enough for him to hear, "This was the king's home. They destroyed it. Home."

Chat timidly walked to her until his . "Are you alright, Ladybug?"

She couldn't look at him. She couldn't look away. Her home. Her family. Her memories. Everything. It was gone. Destroyed. Although she knew she'd never be allowed to live there again, she at least wanted to say goodbye. She'd never gotten the chance.

It wasn't lack of trying. She'd asked hundreds of times to go back home. And finally, when she chose to go on her own, she got distracted with more pressing matters. And now, it was too late.

"I'm okay," she managed to say. "The Akumas are relentless, huh?" she chuckled emotionlessly.

"Yeah, they are," Chat stated, his voice suddenly very hard. "So what we know now. The Akumas hate the king. The clockmaker was a part of it, but now he's dead. Somewhere out there, there's a whole file of information

"I guess the next step is to find that file. Where could we go for it?"

She shrugged, but as she turned away, an ember brightened and caught her attention because the light reflected off of something shiny. She felt like a robot as she walked toward it, and bent down, grabbing a brooch on the floor. This was a brooch she'd never seen before. It wasn't from her mother, Ladybug was sure. She'd snooped as a kid in her mother's jewelry bowl, which she'd gotten in trouble for. And nowhere had she found a peacock brooch.

She turned it around. It had some numbers on it.

"What did you find?" asked Chat, who she was surprised to see had followed her over.

She handed it over and pointed to the numbers. "Think it's a lock combination?"

He tried to read it. "1025. Maybe it's a lock combination. It makes sense. I wonder what it goes to."

She turned her head, trying to think of what locks it could hold. If it had something to do with her dad, maybe it was a lock or password into getting into the castle? She shivered. Maybe she'd be able to ask Luka. Or even Plagg, if she was coy about it enough.

"I'm not sure, but..." Suddenly the church bell rang. It was 11, now. She had an hour to be back at the castle. "But I think we should think about it, and get back to each other tomorrow. Can we head back?"

Chat stared at her, confused. This was the earliest she'd asked to head back. But he didn't say anything and instead held out his hand. "Ready to go?"

She hesitantly reached out to it, but together, they got back on the motorcycle.

At the edge of town, when houses became apartments and shops were steps in between instead of blocks, they passed a familiar cobblestone street. Ladybug couldn't help herself before she blurted, "Hey, do you think we could go down this road?" Then, in a millisecond, she added, "I think I saw something."

Chat immediately went into stealth mode, and he parked his motorcycle immediately. Ladybug tried to force it, too, but she moved too swiftly off the bike and to the apartment she'd not seen in a longer amount of time than even her own. The two-bedroom, ground-level brick apartment had light coming through the window. She didn't even worry about being scared as she froze in front of the same window.

It was late, but Alya's family, minus the kiddos, were always late to bed. Ladybug... Marinette... watched as Alya's father snoozed on the couch, mouth wide open and nose held high as if he'd had all the intentions in the world to play this game, while Alya and her mother flipped over cards quickly, laughing loudly enough that Marinette's chest squeezed at the familiar sound. They sounded the same. For a moment, she was tempted to go knock on the door.

Chat's hand on her shoulder shook her out of her reverie. "Milady?"

She nodded, slowly at first. But when she looked at him, his eyes widened slightly, with an emotion she hadn't seen in them yet. Her heart aching, in both a good and bad way, Ladybug said, "I'm glad to see that despite the fear the Akumas cause, they can't take away the love people have."

Chat hung his head reverently. Together, they walked to the bakery, crossing the streets, feeling the wind ebb and flow in its intensity. Marinette remembered holding Adrien's hand in the car, and she wished he was there now. Instead, she walked as close to Chat Noir as was allowed. But as they walked -- although Marinette felt tumultuous sadness over the loss of her home, fear for her father's life, and grief over the life she no longer had -- the silence that followed was the warmest Marinette had ever felt.