Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"M'lady." Chat drops into a bow before joining her on the rooftop.

"Hey Kitty. Sorry about the urgent call, something came up that I had to talk to you about." Ladybug pats the space next to her and motions for Chat to sit. "So you're a student here, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You're going on the study abroad trip, right? I mean everyone is pretty much no matter the school. Wait—" Ladybug covers her mouth with her hand. "— I forgot you told me how strict your mom and dad are. Are they even going to let you go?"

Chat nods. "Actually yeah. My parents said it would be good for me to get a new experience." He uses the term "parents" rather loosely, referring more to Nathalie than to his father. She was the one who had convinced his father it would be good for him to get out of Paris for a while, to spread the Gabriel brand elsewhere. "I haven't decided yet if I'm going to go to Canada or Australia. Both sound amazing, and so different!"

Ladybug's eyes light up and she grins. "I'm in the group going to— actually I shouldn't tell you, you could figure out my identity." She clears her throat and blinks a few times nervously when she realizes Chat's waiting for her to explain the meeting "But back to the reason I called you here. We're going to be gone for three weeks and so are the majority of the heroes of Paris. All except for Viperion are going on the trip, but I don't know if it would be the best idea to entrust him with either of our miraculous."

"Meaning we have to trust adults with the miraculous," Chat concludes. "Because our locations are way too far away from Paris to allow us to fly back every time there's a Megakuma attack. At least, I'm assuming yours is, since I don't actually know."

"Exactly." Ladybug lets her legs dangle off the building as she thinks. She couldn't choose a teacher at school as they were going on certain trips as well. She trusted her parents but that would raise too many questions, plus she didn't want to put them in danger. Chat hums in thought and Ladybug turns her head towards him. "You have an idea?"

"Yeah, I do actually. For my miraculous. The person I'm thinking of is smart, loyal, and she already has some martial arts training so she knows how to fight. I've seen her take on akuma victims to protect her family, she would be a great choice!"

"She sounds perfect, who is it?"

Chat hesitates on whether telling Ladybug would jeopardize his identity. He already basially told her where he was going, he didn't want to let slip anything else. "You trust me, right M'lady?"

"Of course, Kitty." Her eyes met her Cat's and he smiles gently.

"Then trust that I've made the right decision. If I tell you, you might figure out who I am. But I know she's the right choice. She's always going out of her way for other people and she works for someone that pushes her to her limits, this will be a good thing for her. What about you? Do you have a temporary holder in mind?"

Ladybug grimaces as she thinks of all the things that could go wrong if she made an incorrect choice. Finally, she nods. "I think so. He's not an obvious choice by far, but he has good work ethic. He's been akumatized before but has always accepted our help afterwards." Ladybug looks at her reflection in a puddle beneath them. "We'll go them in person, leaving instructions for when they will receive their miraculous."

"We'll need to establish a meeting point so they can get to know each other before Monarch sends out a Megakuma. It'll help them to work better together." Chat stifles a laugh. "You remember how pawsitively terrible we were together when we first started fighting Hawkmoth?"

Ladybug chuckles too, leaning into him. "I specifically remember accidentally tying you up with my yo-yo and leaving you to hang for twenty minutes from a lamppost." Any passerby would have sworn they could hear Chat's eyes rolling as he recalled the incident. "We can have them meet on top of the Eiffel Tower tomorrow since we all leave Tuesday." Today was Sunday which left them with one day to make sure their plan worked. Ladybug cringed at the short notice, hating when Marinette's poor sense of time got in the way of Ladybug's perfection.

"Sounds purrfect, Bugaboo. Just let me know what to tell her and Plagg." Chat stands up, offering a hand to his partner to help her up as well. "Until we met again." He bows again, placing a gentle kiss to the top of her hand. "If you need me before then…" he digs something out of his pocket, "…it's an email account I created." The scrawling script read [email protected]. "It's not connectd to my real identity in any way so there's no way anyone can trace it.

"Kitty, this is brilliant!" Ladybug exclaims, taking the paper. "Here." She pulls a pen and paper out of her yo-yo and writes something quickly. "So you can reach me. I'll make the account tonight."

"[email protected]?" Chat raises an eyebrow. "Very claw-ver."

"The twenty-two is in case for some reason twenty-one other people like that username." Ladybug winks before saluting him and dropping over the edge of the building with her trademark cry of, "Bug out!"

"Kid are you sure this is the right choice?" Plagg asks Adrien once they're back in his room. "I mean Nathalie's great and all but she has things to do." He leaves out the part where he's very aware that she aided Hawkmoth in his plans, the damn Kwami Curse.

"Plagg, she's a great choice," Adrien grins, "She would do anything to protect me and my father, you've seen how devoted she is to him."

"And you don't think that's an issue?"

Adrien shrugs. "Why would it be?"

Plagg gulps, considering the fact that giving Nathalie the miraculous of the black cat could very likely lead to the heroes' downfall. Sure, she was a loyal person, loyal to the man trying to destroy all of Paris. He would have to visit Tikki, get her opinion on the ordeal.

"It's late," Adrien tells him with a yawn. "I'm going to shower and go to bed, feel free to go find something to eat, I know we're almost out of cheese up here." Adrien waves his hand dismissively before sliding the bathroom door closed and starting the water.

Before the door is even closed, Plagg takes off, passing through the glass and soaring out to the city to find Tikki.

"Marinette think about this!" Tikki exclaims in a panic. "You're thinking of giving Adrien's father your miraculous! You see the way he treats Adrien, why would he care about saving Paris?" She tries to sound serious but the squeaky voice does nothing for her. "Marinette this doesn't make sense!"

"Tikki, relax." Marinette opens her palm for her kwami to come sit in. "It's not like Gabriel Agreste is Monarch." Marinette rolls her eyes, not noticing how Tikki stills. "That would be ridiculous. A fashion designer making ugly akumas?" Marinette giggles, letting Tikki go. "It'll all work out okay."

"I hope so…" Tikki mumbles.

"Now, I promised mom and dad I would watch a movie with them tonight. I left some macaroons in my desk drawer dad baked this morning if you'd like." Marinette looks back at Tikki floating in the middle of the room. "I know it's not the most obvious choice but I think Mr. Agreste could do good. He has passion and drive, he just needs to use it right. You'll see." She shuts her trap door softly, not noticing how her red creature takes off the second it clicks shut.

Plagg spots Tikki before she notices him. They're closer to Marinette's than Adrien's but he has no doubt she had the same idea to come see him that he did to go and see her. "Sugarcube!" He calls before she can pass by him. "We have a problem."

"I know," Tikki cries. "My holder wants to give her miraculous to Monarch! I mean, she doesn't know Adrien's father is Monarch but we know! But we can't say anything because of the stupid kwami curse."

"And it gets worse," Plagg admits. "My holder wants to give his to his father's assistant!"

"Nathalie?!" Tikkie squeaks, her little arms shooting up to cover her face in dismay. "Plagg this could be the end and there's nothing we can do about it!" Tikki shoots back and forth across the sky a few times, like a eprson would if they were pacing. "What are we gonna do?" She cries.

"We'll figure something out," Plagg reassures her gently. "If it's any consolation I don't think Nathalie's very happy with Gabriel right now. I hear them fighting all the time when I go to the kitchen to get Camembert. We have to trust out holders, as scary as it is…" he trails off. "Do you ever wonder what he wants to wish for?"

"Of course I wonder!" Tikki snaps, "But that doesn't mean I want to know."

Plagg goes quiet, looking out over the cityscape. Plagg had spent many hours eavesdropping over the two adults of the Agreste household, knowing he couldn't tell Adrien anything he heard. It still made him feel better to know if anything big was being planned, at least then he could advise Adrien to be ready, even if he couldn't explain why he needed to be. The secret weighed on him every day, seeing Adrien wake up and look up to the woman who was helping to destroy him and his friends. He wished there was some way he could tell Adrien, but there wasn't. He tried everything he could think of. Say it out loud? The only thing that came out was a burp of bubbles. Write a letter? The ink erased itself as it was being written. Send a text? Whatever letter he clicked would change to something else, utter gibbersh. Nothing worked.

Then Plagg thinks of all the times he had seen Adrien's father be kind to Nathalie. Bringing her tea when she was sick, carrying her to her room when she collapsed, simply sitting with her and making small talk when they were working. There was no doubt that there was some love left in Gabriel Agreste, he just didn't know how much.

And then there was Nathalie. Plagg stopped going to her room when she was there alone because it made him sad. He'd leafed through her journals to see if she had any information on Monarch's plans, but all that was there were sad stories about how much she missed the man Gabriel was before all this began. The man she had somehow fallen in love with. Plagg called it quits one night when he popped in on her crying. He didn't even know Nathalie could cry. But she was human after all.

He couldn't quite make out the specifics but he deduced that she was angry at Gabriel for putting Paris in danger for someone who was never coming back. He was pouring all his energy out on a dead woman, a woman Adrien missed but had healed from the loss of, a woman that would have wanted Gabriel to be happy. Plagg had heard stories about Emilie Agreste and all her glory, but something in his gut told him that Nathalie would be just as devoted, if not more (granted she did help him destory teenagers because she loved him).

"What are you thinking about?" TIkki interrupts.

"What if we're wrong." Plagg states. "What if this ends well? I mean… I've seen firsthand the lengths that Nathalie would go to protect my holder, I can't guarantee that she'll turn over her miraculous like that. Maybe.."

"Maybe?" Tikki prompts, wanting to know more.

"Maybe being superheroes will help them see the better side of things."

Tikki hums in agreement before freezing in mid air. "There won't be any akumas as long as they're holders."

"You're right!" It made sense, of course it did. Gabriel wouldn't make a villain he had to fight, and he certainly wouldn't if Nathalie told him she would be out of the house. He was too worried for her safety. "And if Adrien's father is personally visited by Ladybug, he'll know he'll be exposed if he makes the wish!"

Tikki nods in agreement, hope flooding her little lungs. "So all we have to do is cross our fingers that it all works out."

"It'll work out," Plagg says gently. "It always does. Besides," he grins, "if something goes wrong I'm sure Bunnix will have no problem snatching Ladybug and Chat Noir and getting them to fix everything like she always does."

Monday. One day until departure.

At exactly eight AM, forty minutes after Adrien was dropped off at school, Chat dropped silently into the bedroom of Nathalie Sancouer. It felt weird being there without Nathalie's permission, but he would have to let it slide for the moment. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Adrien knew her morning routine by heart, return from dropping him off at 7:30, eat breakfast at 7:45, do her morning journaling and drink her tea at 8.

At 8:02, the door creaked open and Nathalie entered with her tea and a pen. She didn't look up until she was halfway into the room, and when she did, the sight of Chat nearly gave her a heart attack. It took all her coordination not to drop the hot liquid un her cup as she regained her compsure.

"Didn't mean to scare you," Chat apologizes profusely.

"No, it's okay," Nathalie says shakily, placing her tea on a coaster and setting her pen atop her journal. "I wasn't expecting company." She takes a tentative step towards him, afraid of the news he was bringing. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm sure you're well aware of the study abroad opportunity that local students are going on," Chat starts. "Me and My Lady are taking the trip as well, and so are the others we entrust our miraculous to. With the latest development that is Monarch, we need to make sure Paris is in safe hands while we're gone."

Nathalie's eyes widen and she shakes her head, holding up a hand to stop him from saying anything else. "Oh no. That is not a good idea."

"Ladybug and I have talked it over and we've decided you're the right choice. You protect Adrien and are loyal to Mr. Agreste, there's no one better for the job."

Nathalie's eyebrow shoots up and she gestures to the fact she has to wear a mechanical walking aid. "Except I'm a liability."

Chat curses silently. He hadn't even thought about that! He must seem like a terrible person, asking a sick woman to risk her life more. He also hated the idea that she thought of herself as a liability, but that wasn't the focus of the conversation. "Oh, I didn't even think— that never crossed my mind, I'm sorry. You're right, that's a crazy ask." It hadn't crossed his mind beause he stil lwasn't used to Nathalie needing help or being weak. She had always been the rock of their family, giving comfort rather than receiving it.

"I am sure you can find someone more suited for the job," Nathalie says kindly. Chat nods, turning away from her to leave and for some reason a part of Nathalie's brain tells her to accept. She's going to die anyways, so why not help out the heroes while she could? She almost laughed at the idea of being the one to defeat Monarch. But how would she explain it to Gabriel? He would be furious, hearbroken. But then again… he hadn't exactly been the kindest towards her lately. He was doing things she didn't agree with and it nagged at her heart everytime she closed her eyes. "Chat Noir wait." She reaches out a hand like that would bring him back quicker and he turns from his post on the windowsill. "I'll do it."

"No, it's too risky for your health."

"I am so tired of people these days telling me what is and is not good for me. I can make my own choices. I will do it."

Chat hesitates before asking, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Nathalie says with certainty.

Chat jumps off the windowsill and lands with a soft thud on her carpet. After digging in his pocket for a second he produces a folded up piece of paper that Ladybug had written for him. "These are the instructions for your meet with the temporary holder of the Laadybug miraculous. Plagg will bring you the ring as soon as I get home. If you have any other questions you can ask him."

He leaps out the window without another word, leaving Nathalie with the piece of paper and her mind racing. Nathalie unfolds the paper gently, the handwriting is in a beautiful cursive she didn't even know was taught any longer, the seal of the black cat miraculous was set as a signature at the bottom of the page. She reads through the instructions, meet on the Eiffel Tower the day after receiving the miraculous, don't reveal your identities, whatever whatever. The idea of holding another miraculous should have stressed Nathalie, but it did the opposite. Maybe this would finally give her the outlet she needed to legally beat Gabriel up.

A little later than eight (Marinette would refuse to acknowledge how late of a start she had gottten to her day) Ladybug dropped into an open window of Mr. Agreste's atelier. Unlike his companion, he was not spooked to see the hero arrive.

"Ladybug?" He raises an eyebrow. "What must I have done to warrant such a visit?"

Ladybug cringes internally, thinking maybe Tikki was right and this was a bad idea. "You are aware of the impending trip that your son and many of his classmates will be going on?"

"I am." He puts down his pen but doesn't leave his spot at the giant tablet, beckoning for Ladybug to come to him.

"Well, because of this trip the previous holders of all the miraculous are unavailable, leading us to look for other options."

"Adults," Gabriel summarizes.

"Exactly. We know how much keeping your son safe means to you and Chat Noir and I thought that would make you the perfect candidate for the temporary holder of the Ladybug miraculous, if you choose to accept." Ladybug hands him an envelope with her seal on it.

Gabriel's eyes widen as he looks her over, making sure this wasn't some kind of joke. His hands work at the seal gently, careful not to rip it in half, and slides the letter out. It's short and sweet, detailing some guidelines of holding the miraculous. Reading it was quite funny when he realized he never did any of the things it was saying he should do. His fingers whitened as they gripped the paper tighter. After all this time he thought. He had hunted down the miraculous and here was one being delivered right to him, if he chose to take it.

Which of course he did. "I accept," he says without another thought.

Ladybug's straight face grows into a grin. "Good. Tikki will bring you the earrings as soon as I get home." She pulls her yo-yo out, keeping it close to her as to not knock down any of Gabriel's precious statues over. "I knew you were a good choice," she says before hooking her weapon on to something and launching to the sky.,

Gabriel takes the paper and reads it over twice more until he's sure of what it says. Meet at five PM tomorrow at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Little did Ladybug know that was the last time she would ever see her and Chat Noir's miraculous. It made him as giddy as a child, the idea of all that power being handed to him.

"My dear Emilie," he whispers triumphantly to her painting. "This is what we have been waiting for. The moment we can finally be reunited, the moment all our work comes to a close. Being a public supporter of Ladybug does have it's perks, I will—" his monolouge is cut short by a knock on the door. Nathalie doesn't wait for a response before pushing it open, not noticing how Gabriel stuffed the paper in his pocket and out of view. He didn't want her knowing about this, not yet. He had to make sure his plan would work or he would simply dissapoint her for the hundreth time.

"Sir, sorry to interrupt," Nathalie apologizes.

"It is never an interruption," Gabriel says mostly honestly.

Nathalie nods, not believing it in the slightest. She really didn't know why she was in here asking his permission for something. She was a grown adult with a big-girl life, she didn't need her boss's permission to get out of the house. Yet here she was, asking. "Tomorrow at five, if there's nothing you need I have an appointment I need to see to."

Five? Gabriel thought, that would be perfect. Get Nathalie out of his hair and he was free to meet his hero companion. "Yes of course, is everything all right?"

"Quite." Nathalie says tightly, annoyed that he now deicded to care about her. "I shouldn't be more than an hour or two." She turns on her heel to leave but freezes when she reaches the door. "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"If you so much as think about releasing an akuma while I'm out, I swear to you that I will not hesitate to reveal your identity to the people of Paris." She straightens her suit jacket and makes eye contact with him. "Do not ruin my day or I will ruin the rest of your life." She doesn't wait for an answer as she slams the door behind her.

Monday afternoon, seventeen hours until departure.

"You ready, Plagg?" Adrien asks as he throws his last sweatshirt in his bag. Plag was not, in fact, ready. Plagg was scared out of his little Kwami mind. Nathalie's intentions seemed good enough but… intentions could be deceiving. Plagg nods anyways. "We won't be gone that long, there's nothing that you and Tikki can't handle."

"Stay safe kid," Plagg says as he reluctantly nuzzles his holder. "You'll have a great time."

Adrien grins, tugging the ring off his hand and handing it to his kwami. "So will you. I'll see you in two weeks."

Plagg flies outside the room before he takes a turn and goes in through Nathalie's window. She's not in her room when he gets there so he slips under the door to search for her. When he finally finds her, she's sitting in the garden with her laptop and calendar. "Nathalie Sancouer?" He asks as he flies up to her. "You've been told about the arrangement? I'm here to officially present you with the miraculous." Plagg bows to her slightly, holding it out. Her hands are colder than they should be when she touches her. "Plagg, the kwami of destruction," he introduces himself.

"Nathalie," She says gently, slipping the ring on her ring finger. Instead of the plain ring Adrien normally wore, it transformed into a small silver band with a white stone. Her eyes widen as she watches the change, wondering if Gabriel would say anything, if he would even notice her new jewelry. "It's nice to meet you. Is there anything specific you like to eat?" Duusu always preferred pretzels and, for some odd reason, fruit roll ups.

"Aged cheese," Plagg says proudly. "The older the better. Especially kinds such as Brie and Camembert." He rubs his stomach as it grumbles, grinning wildly.

Nathalie shakes her head in disbelief. "Adrien, Mr Agreste's son, loves cheese. He has a whole cupboard in the kitchen filled with it. Absolutely putrid if you ask me, but he seems to enjoy it. I'll bring some up next time I go in there, if you can wait that long?"

Plagg's smile drop as he groans in frustration. "I suppose."

"Good." Nathalie opens her jacket for him and ushers the kwami inside. "I have a meeting with Gabriel and Tomoe Tsurugi in ten minutes, make yourself scarce." Nathalie realized the risk of brining the creature into a meeting with two of the most powerful people in Paris, but she also knew kwami's had a tendency to get into trouble if they're left on their own, and she really didn't have the time to deal with that.

She took the long way to the atelier, choosing to walk through the gardens for a moment before going in. It was the beginning of fall and the Cosmos bloomed brilliantly, shades of pinks and yellows lighting up the northernmost corner of the garden. It was also the quietest part of the garden where Nathalie often went to clear her head. Gabriel had found her out on the benches after nightfall too many times to count when Emilie was still here. She lets out a heavy sigh before turning away from the flowers and into the cold, marbled walls of the mansion.

Gabriel had just finished creating a shell-ter that wouldn't allow the Ladybug kwami accidentally go exploring in the basement, although he had no doubt that she had some idea of who he was. Kwami's had ways of communicating that he never understood and, although Nooroo couldn't say his name, it was likely he had found a way to tell Tikki who was behind the butterfly mask. Before he could even fully rirght himself at his podium, the little bug popped through the wall.

"Hi!" She says cheerfully, no indication that she knew who he was. "I'm Tikki, the kwami of creation, it's a pleasure to meet you!" She extends the two earrings out to him and he takes them from her, sticking them into his ears where they turned into small diamond studs. The look reminded him of his time as a youth when he decided purple hair, pierced ears, and black clothes were a good fashion choice.

"Gabriel," he responds back. "Good to meet you. I must let you know that my job requires me to talk to high level individuals who absolutely cannot know I possess you."

"May I remind you that kwami's cannot be filmed or photographed? I will hide if that is what you wish, but there's no real reason to worry." Her smile is sickly sweet and, if Gabriel was a better man, he would have smiled back, but he's not a better man and he does not smile back.

"My assistant cannot know, either, she would never approve of me risking my life to fight crime." That part was true, at least. At the mention of his assisstant, she walks in, tablet in hand.

"Your meeting with Tsurugi starts soon," she deadpans. "I hope you didn't forget."

"I didn't. I am not completely incompetent." He narrows his eyes at her. "Go check on Adrien, see how his packing is coming along."

Nathalie doesn't say another word as she slams the door behind her.

Chapter Text

"Marinette!" Sabine calls from downstairs. "It's time to leave, you're going to be late!"

She hardly hears her mother over her pacing. There was a time months ago where Marinette would have jumped at the idea of giving up her miraculous, but now, actually having to do it? It was driving her up a wall. Not only is she worrying for the safety of the city, but even a few hours without Tikki and she was going crazy not having another being to talk to. She pulls the crumpled packing list out that had somehow gotten stuck to her shoe, checking it over one more time.

"It's fine, everything is going to be just fine," she repeats to herself. "Mr Agreste might be strict but that might make it better for him as a hero, he'll know how to lead! Plus, we've ruled him out multiple times on being Monarch. I mean, there's no way he could be." She laughs a little too hard as a picture of Chat Noir catches her sight out of the corner of her eye. "I wonder who Chat picked. Ugh I should have asked him!!"

"Marinette?" A soft knock on the trap door to her bedroom before it swings open. Marinette jumps back with a screech.

"Dad! I'm ready, I promise! Everything is packed. I could just use a little help bringing it down?" She grins sheepishly at the luggage sitting behind her.

"Ok sweetie, grab your backpack and I'll take the two suitcases."

Unsurprisingly, Marinette is the last one on the bus, earning herself dissaproving glares from her classmates and others that she didn't know. The buses were divided into the four locations that students were being sent to: the US, Australia, Japan, and this bus— Canada. Students from schools all over Paris had the opportunity to go to one of the countries for a three week experience of the cultures and practices that other students followed in their daily lives. Other students from François Dupont going to Canada were Alya, Nino, and Max.

"Took you long enough," Alya jokes as Marinette slides in next to her.

"Sorry, stressful morning."

Alya lowers her voice, "worrying about who's gonna keep Paris safe while we're gone?"

Marinette nods as she closes her eyes, leaning back in her seat. "It feels weird not having her with me," she whispers, reaching up to her empty earlobes. "I feel like I'm betraying my job as Guardian. I mean, I've already lost all the other miraculous, what's stopping me from losing these too?" Her eyes shoot open when the bus starts to move. "I should go back! Mr. Agreste would understand, he knows how important it is to maintain responsibility!"

Alya's hand comes to rest gently on Marinette's arm. "Relax, girl. It'll be ok. Although I don't think that Gabriel Agreste was necessarily the best choice for a holder, it doesn't mean he's a bad guy, either. It'll be fine, you'll see."

Marinette's face softens and she relaxes again. "You're right. Hey…" she looks around the bus for the first time, "I thought Adrien was going with us? Don't tell me his father isn't letting him!"

"No dude," Nino interrupts from where he was sitting behind them, next to a boy they didn't recognize, "he's meeting us at the airport. His father wanted his bodyguard to go with him and there's not enough seats on the bus to fit both of them so they went seperate."

"Oh, phew, ok good."

"Who's your new seat mate, Nino?" Alya asks.

"Diego," Diego introduces himself. "I go to Le Collège Militaire Lafayette."

"The military boarding school?" Marinette swings her head around.

"Yeah, both my dad and my granddad served in the French Armed Forces, I'm following in their footsteps."

"Woah, that's so cool! I didn't know they let kids go on field trips like this."

"Me either, it was kind of a surprise. They picked the top four students from my class to go, one to each country. Y'know, my parents love your bakery, it's where we always buy our Galette's for Three Kings Day!"

Marientte shrinks down slightly at the mention of the holiday. "I hope you were able to eat it this year."

Diego laughs. "Luckily I was one of the first people in line so I was able to get home before… well before Ladybug's bug thing ate them all."

"Rightttt…" Marinette turns back towards the front of the bus, shrinking down in her seat. "How long until we get there?" She asks Alya.

"Not that long girl, why? Itching to see Adrien?"

"No! I mean, yes I am excited to see him but I just want to be in Canada already!"

"I hear you, me too. There's a girl I connected with through the Ladyblog that goes to the school we're placed at, I can't wait to meet her!"

They settle into a comfortable silence for the twenty minutes that it takes to drive to the airport, knowing it's going to be chaos as soon as they arrive. When they enter the airport, the first thing that Marinette notices is Nathalie and Adrien's bodyguard talking to Adrien by the entrance. He notices her first, dragging his suitcase behind him as he runs up waving.

"Adrien!!" Marinette exclaims, "I was afraid you weren't going to make it when we didn't see you on the bus!"

"Hah, yeah, sorry about not answering your calls, I was talking with Nathalie." He rubs his neck nervously. "Honestly the way things have been with her and my father recently, I was a little afraid to leave them alone together. They used to be so in sync and lately they just seem angry with each other."

"Have you tried to figure out why?" Alya asks as they make their way towards the check in counter.

"Sure, but you know how my father can be. He said work has just been stressful. I asked Nathalie and she said the same thing."

"Maybe that's all there is to it then," Marinette suggests.

Adrien shrugs. "I don't know. I just want to get away for awhile, let them figure things out without feeling like they have to hide it from me, that's why I'm so excited Father let me come on this trip!"

Nino and Diego push their way through the crowd, joining Alya and Adrien. They introduce Diego to Adrien and fall in behind the rest of the group, making it through check in before gathering around their group leaders, Ms. Mendeleiev and Mr. Atkinson, a surely social studies teacher from a school across the city. They went over the basic rules and handed everyone their boarding passes, making sure everyone knew how important it was to stay together.

"What's your seat number?" Adrien asks over Marinette's shoulder, making her jump. "I'm 26H."

Marinette gulps, her eyes glancing down to the piece of paper in her hand. No way was this going to be a repeat of New York. "26G," she answers.

"Oh perfect, we're next to each other. It looks like Ms. Mendeleiev remembered your airsickness from New York and put you in the middle of the plane!"

"Airsickness?" An elbow from Alya reminds her of the cover story for her own nervousness last trip. "Oh yes! My airsickness! But now that we're in the center of the plane we can sit next to each other. I won't get airsick if we're in the center of the plane. That was nice of Ms. Mendeleiev!"

Adrien chuckles, a genuine smile plastered on his face.

Two hours into the flight and Marinette was cluching her armrests, her knuckles white. The gentle hum of the plane engines usually lulled her to sleep, but not today. Why, oh why, did she agree to this trip? She thought that maybe over the past few weeks getting close to Adrien her anxiety may have subsided slightly. No luck. Adrien was being utterly charming, offering her a croissant from his little stash and pointing out the fluffy clouds that looked like giant cotton candy. Unfortunate, all Marinette could manage were awkward nods and stutters, her carefully rehearsed conversation starters evaporating the moment he helped her lift up her bag into the overhead bin.

Deciding that the silence was too much, she decides to try and converse. "S-so, uh, planes," she mumbles, then mentally slaps herself. Smooth, Marinette, real smooth. She can practically feel the blush burning her cheeks.

Suddenly, the plane in question lurches violently, sending Adrien tumbling her way instead of the other way around. It's a big bought of turbulence neither of them were expecting.

Marinette's eyes widen, and her stomach does a little flip-flop. She glances at Adrien who quickly rights himself, apologizing profusely. She almost doesn't notice the way his fists are balled in his lap, much in the way that Gorilla had been sitting next to them for the entirety of the fight.

He was usually so composed, calm. "Are you okay?" she blurts out before she can stop herself, her voice laced with genuine concern.

Adrien's smile was a little strained, and he swallowed hard. "Yeah, just not a huge fan of turbulence," he admits, his voice barely above a whisper, his gaze fixed on the back of the seat in front of him.

Acting on instinct, Marinette reaches over and gently squeezes his hand. His own hand was clammy, shaking.

"It's alright, Adrien," she says, surprised by the steadiness of her own voice. "Just breathe. It'll pass." She focuses on him, ignoring the shaking plane and the worried murmurs around them, and guided him through deep, calming breaths. "In, and out. Nice and slow." For once, the roles were reversed, and Marinette found herself surprisingly calm in helping him.

Adrien offered her a grateful smile, his eyes sparkling with genuine appreciation. "Thanks, Marinette. You would think that after years of flying with my father I would be better at the bumpy parts."

"I'm sure it's a lot different on a commercial plane versus a private jet."

Adrien shrugs, "not really, it's just different with you compared to my father. I feel like I have to hide things from him so I just stay quiet. I guess around you I just feel more comfortable." Adrien smiles and the blush returns to Marinette's face. "I'm going to try and get some of my Chinese work done if you don't mind. Vancouever's behind us by nine hours so we're going to be going to sleep as soon as we get there."

"Don't you find it weird that we're leaving and landing at almost the same time? I mean, if we're 9 hours different but we're adding nine hours, then we take it away, it's the same time."

Adrien chuckles. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty odd, I never thought about that. We're leaving at 4 and landing at 4." He gives her another smile before slipping on her headphones.

Marinette risks a glance in Alya's direction but her friend is using the time to nap. Marinette takes a deep breath, moving her arm to give Adrien more space and quickly falls asleep to the rhythm of the bumping of the plane.

The rest of the flight is smooth, as is the landing, though the jet lag was already setting in as soon as the tour's feet hit solid ground. The Vancouver airport was bustling, voices in the international terminal overlapping in a dozen different languages, the smell of coffee and fast food wafting through the terminal that made Marinette's already rumbling stomach even louder. They gather around the bathrooms, letting everyone go in as Ms. Mendeleiev and Mr. Atkinson went over a few things.

"Stick together!" Ms. Mendeleiev repeats for the billionth time. "We don't need anyone getting lost in Canadian customs."

"Yes, and it's very important you keep your passports on you at all times!" Mr. Atkinson adds. "Don't leave them in an outside backpack pocket where they could get stolen!" The social studies teacher could best be described as a bean pole with great hair.

Adrien falls into step beside Marinette as they make their way away from the bathrooms and to customs. He looked a lot less tight than he was on the plane but still tired.

"So how was the rest of the flight?" Marinette asks, trying to mirror the calmness she showed earlier in the day.

"Good, I slept as much as I could. Everytime I looked over you were either neck deep in your crochet or passed out. Thanks for being so reassuring during the worst part."

"I did what anyone would've done," Marinette shrugs.

“Not anyone,” Adrien said gently, his voice almost lost in the hum of travelers around them. “You. I would hate to see what it would've been like if someone like Lila was sitting next to me. I'm sure she would've found some way to make it about herself."

Her heart flutters, and she opens her mouth to say something—anything—when Alya's voice cuts in.

“Marinette! Adrien! Quit trailing behind!" Nino, Max, and Diego are with her, Nino raising an eyebrow at Adrien who just nervously rubs the back of his neck.

"Dude, you're not carrying a bomb or something are you?" Nino whispers over Max's shoulder, earning himself an elbow to the stomach from Alya.

They make it through customs and baggage claim with no major incidents and no lost bags (luckily). The moment they step outside to board the bus, the crisp Pacific air hitting them head on. Marinette takes a deep breath, the Vancouver air much cleaner than that of Paris. The skyline rose in the distance, framed by mountains that looked like something out of a postcard. "Wow, it's beautiful," Marinette murmurs.

"It is," Adrien agrees.

The bus rumbles through the city, headlights streaking across the windows as the group presses their faces to the glass to take in every sight. Alya sits on the window side to take pictures while Marinette struggles to stay awake next to her. "You ok, girl?"

She nods once, "just tired."

"Why don't you sleep? I’ll wake you when we get there. I'm sure being with Adrien for nine hours straight has really tired you out."

Marinette groans, sinking in her seat and pulling her sweater over her head to hide her eyes. "I need to stay awake so I don't mess up my sleep schedule. Sleeping now just means I won't be able to sleep later."

"So tell me about the plane ride! Did you and Adrien talk at all or were you too scared?" She says the last word teasingly.

"Alya.. actually I helped him with his fear of turbulence."

"Adrien? Adrien has a fear of turbulence? The boy that flies with his father everywhere?"

"I thought that was weird too," Marinette says with a shrug. "Who knows. I wonder how Tikki's doing."

Alya smirks, pressing the stop button on her watch. "8 hours, 23 minutes, and 16 seconds since you thought about Ladybug."

"That long? Hopefully Chat isn't worried about Plagg."

Of course Adrien was thinking about Plagg, but he wasn't all that worried; he trusted Nathalie. The only thing that did slightly trouble him was giving such power to a dying woman. Anytime he asked her or his father what her condition was, they would always assure him that she wasn't going the way of his mother. Adrien didn't really believe them but it was better to have a little hope than nothing at all.

"You and Marinette looked really cozy back there on the plane," Nino teases, pulling Adrien out of his thoughts.

"Me and Marinette?" He shrugs. "Not really, we were just resting."

"Right. Resting."

Adrien tilts his head in confusion. "Why do I feel like there's some underlying message here?"

Nino sighs, banging his head up against the window. "Never mind, dude."

The bus soon hisses to a stop outside their hotel, a grand building that towered even higher than the Grand Paris, Alya's voice pulls her back to reality. "Marinette, we're here!"

The hotel lobby was grand, with polished marble floors and soft golden lighting. A giant chandelier hung overhead, and Marinette couldn’t stop herself from gawking. She’d never stayed anywhere so fancy. Sure the Grand Paris was nice but it wasn't quite this nice. Somehow it was fancy and welcoming all at the same time, unlike Chloe's home.

The chaperones handle check-in while the students cluster around each other, buzzing with chatter. Marinette clutches her suitcase, her mind racing with silent prayers that she wouldn't get some weird roomate. They'd already been told they were going to room with someone from a different school as much as possible but Marinette was a little afraid of who she was going to have to spend the few weeks with.

“Room assignments,” Ms Mendeleiev announces, reading from a list. “Alya and Emmaleigh, Katherine and Deja, Max and Leonard, Diego and Nino…"

Marinette's pulse quickens as the list dwindles.

"Adrien and Marinette—" Ms. Mendeleiev stops. "That's odd…"

Marinette's head snaps towards Adrien, who looks equally surprised, his eyes widening before a slow flush spreads across his cheeks. "T-There must be some mistake!" Marinette exclaims, her bag nearly thudding to the floor as her grip on it loosens. "Th-they wouldn't—"

"Hold on a moment." Their science teacher whispers something to Mr. Atkinson who just shrugs, looking over the list again. "Well there's no mistake, we just don't have another boy or girl for either of you to room with. You'll have separate beds, obviously, I'm sure you both can handle it. I would give you each your own room but unfortunately the hotel is fully booked."

"Well," Adrien starts softly, "I guess we're roommates."

Marinette's brain short-circuts as she looks for some sort of response other than "uhh." Alya leans over with a wicked grin, whispering so only her best friend could hear, "try not to keep each other up all night, lovebirds."

A squeak escape's Marinette's lips as she bee lines for the elevator. The ride up to their floor was arguably the longest 25 seconds of her life. She stood stiffly in the corner as everyone bunched in as tightly as possible. Everyone was on the same floor so at least she didn't have to worry about being caught with Adrien everywhere that she went. She and Adrien are the last off the elevator and she nearly face plants on her rush out of the metal box.

Room 914. She flicks the keycard out of her pocket, fumbling with it and trying to slide it through the slot three times but it flashed red each time. Adrien plucks it from her hand gently, turning it so the barcode was actually the part sliding through the reader, before the door clicks open. The room was gorgeous, the beds far enough apart that they wouldn't feel like they were sleeping on top of each other. Adrien lets Marinette pick the bed and she chooses the one by the door, giving her quick access to escape if she had to. Adrien flops down with a relieved sigh.

"That flight took forever."

Marinette fiddles with the zipper on her suitcase. "Yeah, forever."

"You ok?" Adrien asks, flipping over and propping himself up on his elbows. "Not really used to this travelling thing, huh?"

She shoots him a mock glare, her lips twitching. "If you remember correctly I have traveled plenty. To New York, Shanghai, London."

Adrien laughs. "I stand corrected, you are a world traveler for sure."

Marinette huffs but can't stop herself from laughing, too. The tension she was feeling melted a little as she sunk onto her own bed, watching as Adrien began to unpack his suitcase. Surprisingly, he pulls a bag of cookies out, tossing them to her. "Emergeny snack stash, for jet lag survival."

"You brought snacks?" She asks as the bag thuds next to her.

"Always. I would've thought you would be the one to supply the sweet treats, honestly."

"Right…. So um… early start tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'm going to take a shower, unless you wanted to go first?"

The idea of Adrien coming out of the showers all hot and steamy with his model body made her face turn the shade of a tomato. She needed time to think. "You can stay! I mean—" she throws a hand over her mouth. "I'll go. Shower. I'l shower firsst if you don't mind. I'll be quick, promise!" She doesn't wait for a response, grabbing her pajamas and rushing into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her and sliding down the wall to the floor. "Ugh everything would be so much easier if I had Tikki!" She checks her phone, no emails from Chat's secret account or from Gabriel Agreste. She starts the water, letting the steam roll over her as she absentmindedly washed her body, then her hair. She didn't take longer than ten minutes, flicking the water off and braiding her hair quickly to stop it from dripping.

Marinette cracks the door open, peeking out to see Adrien writing something down at the desk, his own pajamas stacked neatly beside him. A quadruple check of the bathroom lets her know that there's no hair awkwardly sticking to the wall or toothpaste stains in the sink. "Ok!" She says as she comes out, "All done."

Adrien smiles, closing his notebook and tucking it down in his backpack. "If you want to head to bed I'll be quiet."

Marinette nods quickly, grateful to have a reason not to watch him come out of the bathroom with dripping hair and— no! She couldn't let her mind go down this rabbit hole! There was a light on her bedside table that she flicked off, plunging the room into darkness except for the soft glow that came from under the bathroom door.

It wasn't long before Adrien was finished. Marinette kept her head buried under the covers so he couldn't see that she was still awake. Unfortunately, being awake lasted longer than she wanted it to. Marinette tossed and turned in the unfamiliar bed, sheets twisting around her like a trap. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t ignore the quiet rhythm of Adrien’s breathing just across the room. Every sigh, every shift of the mattress on his side made her heart leap in her throat.

"It's fine, Marinette," she whispers to herself, "totally fine. It's just like a big sleepover, just pretend he's not there." Just as she settled back down, Adrien mumbled something in his sleep, making Marinette shoot upright. This was absolutely not going to work. Before she could overthink it, she snatched her pillow and her stuffed animal and tiptoed across the room, using her phone as a flashlight so she didn't acciently stub her toe on something and wake Adrien. She glances back at him for a brief second, somehow he still looked lovely and kind even as he slept. Shaking her head, she closed the door behin her, so softly, and padded to the room two doors down.

The next morning, Alya awoke to find her best friend curled up awkwardly on her couch, blanket half-slid onto the floor. Marinette groaned as the curtains were open, her eyes struggling to crack open.

“Girl. Seriously?” Alya looms over Marinette, arms crossed. “You ditched Adrien to sleep on my couch?! How did you even get in here?"

Marinette cracks one eye open, cheeks flaming. “I panicked. Your roomate was leaving to go see her boyfriend."

"Uh huh. You realize how insane this is, right? You've been dreaming about hanging out with him this closely since… well since forever! Now, when it actually happens, you run away."

Marinette squeaks out, "I couldn't help it! He was right there! Right beside me! He was breathing and existing and being Adrien! I thought I was going to explode!"

Alya sighs, sitting back on her bed. "You're hopeless," she mumbles, but a slight smile nips at the corner of her mouth. "You're probably sending that boy into a spiral, playing with his feelings the way you do."

"I know, but what else was I gonna do? I mean— who even decided it would be ok for us to room together?!"

"That is odd," Alya thinks aloud. "You would think Ms Mendeleiev wouldn't have allowed that with how strict she is. You could ask her at breakfast which we are about to be late to!"

Back in room 914, Adrien was in the processing of waking up, making a half-assed attempt to shut up his alarm before it woke his roomate. He opens his eyes slowly, blinking as the light streams in through the crack in the curtain. His first thought is Marinette and he glances over to her bed slowly.

Empty.

His mood falters as he rushes to check the bathroom, the hallway, even the closet. She was nowhere.

His first thought was that something bad had happened to her but he quickly dismissed the idea when he realized she probably just hadn't wanted to stay with him.

By the time he got over himself and drudged down to breakfast, Alya was already there, no Marinette in sight. he grabs some eggs, toast, and a bagel, before hesitantly sitting across the table from her, his expression skeptically neutral.

"Morning," he says quietly, not quite meeting Alya's eyes.

Alya raises an eyebrow at him before leaning across the able, "don't look so gloomy, sunshine boy. Marinette just had a little bit of a 'midnight freak-out.'" She says, putting air quotes around the last few words.

Adrien blinks. "Freak out?"

"It's me, isn't it? She's uncomfortable because of me."

"Not exactly. Listen, she's talking to the chaperones now because she thinks there's been a mistake with the room arrangements. She's uncomfortable because she doesn't want to embarrass  herself in front of you, not because she's actually uncomfortable around you."

"Oh," Adrien perks up a little. "That's a big relief, I thought I had done something wrong."

"Don't take Marinette's actions to heart too much. You know how she can be."

"Right. Thanks, Alya."

Chapter Text

Tuesday evening, 1 hour after departure.

Nathalie had just returned from the airport and was anxious to transform and get all the weight off her weakening body.

"All you have to do is say, 'Plagg, claws out!'" Plagg tells her after finishing a delicious piece of cheese. "Your suit will morph into whatever you want it to."

That was a fact she knew very well. Out of her own selfish wishes had she designed Mayura's appearence. No one could truly think the skirt was helpful in fighting. She felt utterly accomplished every time a news article or report mentioned the potential pairing between her and Hawkmoth. "Plagg, claws out!" Nathalie says. Immediately the power floods through her blood and her bones, making her feel the age she was before the impacts of the peacock miraculous destroyed her. It was nothing like the transformation into Mayura. Whenever she used the peacock, it felt as if the life was being sucked out of her. The black cat miraculous felt like life was surging in to her.

Her costume was a tight catsuit, much like Chat Noir's, but the top was unzipped slightly, leaving less to the imagination. Her heels were replaced with knee high boots and she was endlessly grateful that Chat Noir's stupid bell was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a loosened neck tie fell between her breasts and a simple black mask covered Nathalie's eyes. The patented cat ears stuck up from her hair, one with a small silver pearl, just like she normally wore in her ears.

She had debated on what to do with her hair. Leaving the red streak seemed too obvious but she rarely got to wear her hair down. She settles for a muted tone of red throughout her whole head instead of the singular streak. Turning to see herself in the mirror, even she would have fallen head over heels for herself. The leather of the suit was a stark comparison to the feathery lightness of Mayura's outfit. Making sure she had sent a text to alert Gabriel to her leaving, she clicked open her baton and launched out into the city.

"This is ridiculous," Gabriel murmurs to himself. A red polka-dotted suit was a bad choice no matter the occasion but the shoulder pads in the suit just made it all worse. Black gloves extended from his elbow down to his fingertips and instead of something that resembled shoes, there was just extra padding on the underside of his feet. Unlike the silver bald-headed mask that the world was so accustomed to seeing on the butterfly villain, Gabriel's hair was loose and unkept, his dotted mask the only thing covering his face. "I look ridiculous," he says again. Nooroo floats beside him, lips sealed so he didn't get himself in trouble. "Give me an honest opinion." Gabriel snaps at him.

"I think there's not much you can do as a man in a polka-dotted suit," Nooroo squeaks out.

Gabriel groans and swears he could feel Tikki's energy laughing inside him. She 'forgot' to tell him that he could change the appearence of his suit and Nooroo didn't mention it either. He puts his pride aside as he pulls out his yo-yo, hooking it on to who-knows-what outside and yanking himself out of the building. Gabriel had two options going into this thing:

One, he could show up before his companion hero, take her by surprise, and steal her miraculous. The wish could be made before she even knew what was happening and there would be nothing she could do to stop it. That was the less desireable option because she could land anywhere and end up surprising him from behind. The second option was to do just that, watch her land and wait for him before he snuck up behind her and ambushed her.

But there was still that thought in the back of his mind.. Ladybug knew who he was. Ladybug would ruin him if she realized he made the wish, which of course she would realize. He didn't want to put Adrien under more scrutiny and there was still the issue of Nathalie. How would she react? Not that it mattered of course. Gabriel shook his head as he landed on a rooftop close to the Tower. He didn't care what Nathalie thought, well.. maybe he cared. But it didn't matter what she thought. She was just another person. She may have helped him in the past but she sure wasn't on his side now. Yet, a little voice clawed at the edge of Gabriel's mind, he never could quite get it to shut up no matter how hard he tried.

As far as I'm concerned, Nathalie's already a part of the family. Adrien had said weeks ago. A flash of black against the cloudless blue sky pulls Gabriel out of his thoughts and he set his sights back on the tower, deciding once and for all he was going to get the miraculous today and end this all. The cat heroine lands first and Gabriel waits a few seconds, watching her. She moved gracefully, but curiously; this was all new for her. He drops lower on the yo-yo so that he's only slightly above her as he calculates his next moves. Before he can do anything else, though, she speaks.

"You gonna hang up there all day or are you going to introduce yourself?" She turns to him, an intrigued look on her masked face. Without Gabriel's permission, the yo-yo slips and he plops with an unceramonius thump! next to her. "Smooth," she purrs, an eyebrow raised. "And I thought the teenage heroes were awkward."

"I did not sign up for this," Gabriel snaps back.

She rolls her eyes, sticking her baton out to lean on. "No one ever does, do they? I certainly didn't wake up yesterday and think 'hm, I hope Chat Noir stops by to temporarily offer me his miraculous.'" Gabriel doesn't say anything as he looks her over. Sharp boots, a suit that seemed to perhaps be a size too small. "My eyes are up here, Bug," she says with a sly smile. For some reason all thoughts of taking the ring from her left Gabriel's mind. "Is one sentence all you're going to manage to speak today?" Nathalie asks. Oh yeah, she was having way too much fun messing with the man in polka dots. "I would love to know your name."

He grumbles something, crossing his arms over his chest. The motion lets Nathalie see just how fit he really is as he responds with, "Bicho." He says confidently. His lady, however, bursts into laughter. "What's so hilarious about that?" He spits. "It's Portugese for bug."

Nathalie can barely form the words but when she finally pulls herself together, she can't meet his eyes, "It's also a slang word used in Latin American countries referring to male.. parts." She giggles again, actually giggles, as his face falls.

"Oh. Well I don't suppose you have any clever ideas for yourself?"

"Panthera," she drops into a low bow. "And for you…" Panthera taps her chin a few times before, "Monsieur Bug."

"Monsieur Bug?" He asks lowly. "Really?"

"It's better than male genitalia."

"Right." Neither to the two say anything for awhile as they look over the city. Unlike Bug, Panthera noticed everything. Where he just saw normal activities she saw individual lives. An elderly couple eating ice cream on a bench, kids running around their mom even though she scolded them to stop. It was a tragedy that one day time would rip them from their pleasures. "You speak Portugese?" Bug asks randomly.

"A little. I speak thirteen languages fluently and know enough of many more to get by if I had to." Panthera shrugs like it's the most normal thing in the world.

"What do you do that makes that necessary?"

"Oh, nothing now," she says with a hint of regret and sadness. "I used to travel. I majored in archeology and went all over the world. What about you? What made you so worthy to be given the miraculous?"

Bug rolls his eyes. "Nothing. I am…" he doesn't want to say fashion designer, that's too obvious, if she had as many brain cells as she claimed she would figure it out right away. "I am an artist."

"An artist? Done anything of note?"

"I do comissions." Not really a lie. "What people want, people get. I rarely do anything worthy of a museum." Panthera nods, satisfied with his answer. "How do you feel about Monarch?" Bug asks, wanting to get a feel for her.

At the question Panthera tenses up, no longer curious. "I think that he must be a stuck-up bastard to treat the world the way he does."

Bug leans back on his heels, figuring out how to word the next question. "Do you have any theories on his identity?"

Oh boy, did she. "We all have theories," Panthera says flippantly. "What about you?"

"I think he is probably a lonely, desperate, poor soul with nothing to lose. Sits in the sewers all day and thinks of ways to make his miserable little life better."

"Interesting."

"You have a different opinion, then?"

She did indeed have a different opinion, and she would say how she felt as carefully as she could. "I think you're right on two counts. Lonely and desperate definitely fits my idea of Monarch, but I also think he's a rich man. He has more than he knows what to do with and is overwhelmed by it all. Or maybe he's so happy with it he's just greedy," Panthera pushes the word out from clenched teeth. "I think he has everything to lose. His family, his riches, whatever business he is in. But he doesn't care. He could have the love of his life in front of him and he would never know because he's so fed up with whatever wish he had in mind." She bites her tongue to keep from saying anything else, something that would get her in trouble.

Bug stays quiet, his stomach churning. Is that really what people thought of him? That he was a greedy bastard who was destroying his family? Or was that just this woman's idea of him? But what did she know, nothing, right? She was just a woman with a twisted idea of life. "Or maybe he lost someone that he's trying to save," Bug says without thinking.

Panthera turns, irritated. "Are you on Monarch's side? Or are you always just hard to get along with? Or do you just see an attractive woman and try to piss her off?"

"If we're going to work together these next two weeks we at least need to be able to hold a conversation!" Bug argues.

"Yeah, and someone needs to educate you on how to do that." Panthera flicks open her baton, getting ready to leap off the Tower. "If there's nothing else, Bug, I'm going to move on to an activity that does not waste my time. Unless there's a Megakuma attack, I have no need of seeing you."

"Wait." Bug grumbles. If he was going to have any shot of taking Panthera's miraculous he needed her to trust him. Making her angry was only going to hurt him in the long run. "Sorry." He bites out.

She walks percariously on the metal guardrail of the tower. "Can you say that a little louder? I couldn't quite hear you."

"I said I am sorry." He snaps.

"One more time, a little nicer this time."

Putting his pride aside, he sighs and says it again. "I am sorry that I was rude to you."

"Better." She hops down and leans against the guardrail, arms crossed in front of her. "There's an explanation in there, right? About how you're terrible with women or something?"

"If you must know, my wife left me a few years ago."

Panthera drops her act, getting serious for a moment. "Oh. Messy divorce?"

"Something like that." Bug walks over next to her and hops up on the rail himself. "It was a few years ago. I told you I was an artist, right? Well… she didn't like the way I behaved around some people." It was true. Emilie may have seemed perfect on the outside but she had her flaws like anyone, jealousy being the biggest one. Before the miraculous took her, she told her friends she was concerned about the way Gabriel behaved with certain women. "She thought I was sleeping with my assistant behind her back."

Panthera doesn't show any emotion when she asks, "were you?"

"Of course not!" Bug exclaims. Nathalie may have fancied him, but he was devoted to Emilie. "My wife was good friends with her, they talked about everything. Sure her and I were close but there was no reason for my wife to think anything bad. If anything rumours spread that they were having an affair." He hadn't told anyone this, not even Nathalie. Yes she knew about the rumors of her and Gabriel, everyone knew about them, but there was one specific print of a local scandal sheet that Gabriel had gotten stopped before it hit newstands. He could still remember the headline: An Agreste Affair: Allegations or Truth? And under was a photo of Emilie and Nathalie, completely taken out of context. Nathalie had been helping Emilie get ready for a ball, zipping up her dress because Gabriel was preoccupied. The scandal sheet took it to be them undressing each other. Just the thought of it made Bug squirm.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that," Panthera says gently. "And what is she to you now?"

"My assisstant? Just that."

It was never just anything, Nathalie had come to understand. Bug's eyes flick to Panthera's hand, the ring seeming to taunt him. He's close enough to her that his hand could slide across the guardrail and reach hers. He tries it, sliding his hand so that it's almost touching hers. She notices though, and pulls her own hand away quickly.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" He says defensively, putting his hands up.

"Uh huh. I've got places to be." With that, she leaves him standing on the balcony, alone.

Panthera lands silently in her room after checking to make sure it was unoccupied. Cleaning staff only came one day of the week but Gabriel seeing her in her catsuit would raise questions she did not have the energy to answer, although she was thankful he listened to her and did not create a supervillain while she was out. Before detransforming, she grabs a bottle of water from her fridge and downs one of her pills, knowing she would likely be dizzy once the power left her body. Taking a steadying seat on the bed, she readied herself for the transformation words.

When the suit faded away and Nathalie was left in her usual clothes, she didn't feel terrible. In fact, she felt energized. She could tell her legs were still weak but the rest of her body didn't feel as if it was dragging. "Here, Plagg." She pulls a piece of cheese from her jacket, the kwami excited for the snack. "There's something about you," she tells him. "Chat Noir, Ladynoir, they act different with you."

"What can I say?" Plagg smiles happily. "I have that effect on people. But what about that new Bug hero? He seems like a total drag."

Nathalie grimaces. "I think it's just men in general. They're miserable creatures, no offense."

"None taken. I'm a supernatural being, so you can't really compare the two."

Gabriel paces about the kitchen after scrounging up some bread for Tikki to eat. He put in an order of macaroons with the baker girl's parents but it wasn't coming till the next day. "This is bad." He tells her.

"What's bad?" Tikki squeaks.

"This," he gestures to her, "the whole situation."

"Doing good?" Tikki asks bitterly.

Gabriel narrows his eyes. "Sometimes I forget that you know me."

"Of course I know you," Tikki spits. "I may not know all your secrets, where you're hiding the other kwamis, or your motives, but I do know who you are, and that's a threat enough." She crosses her little arms over her chest, floating farther away from him.

"And yet you haven't asked me anything. Why I'm helping Ladybug, why I want to make the wish in the first place."

"I haven't asked because I don't think I want to know the answer."

"What if I told you I was going to change the world?" Gabriel grins maniacally. "Unravel and reknit the entire fabric of reality to fit my vision?"

"Then I would tell you you're insane."

"And if I told you that all I wanted to do was heal someone?"

Tikki floats down to the counter, landing lighter than a feather. "Then I would tell you there's a price. There is always a price. If you bring someone back from the dead, someone else would have to die. Sometimes you're allowed to choose the trade, sometimes you're not. It all depends on what the kwami of reality decides."

"I don't care. Some miserable nobody's life for my wife's is nothing."

Another piece of the puzzle fell into place for Tikki, that's the wish he wanted to make. Bring Emilie Agreste back. How could she not see it before? A man who had lost the woman he so dearly loved, the mother to his child. But living through the whole existence of the universe meant that Tikki had seen her fair share of bad situations and heard too many sob stories, this was nothing new. It still hurt her, but she still couldn't let it happen. "What if it's not a nobody?" She argues desperately. "What if Gimmie takes Adrien? Or Nathalie? How would your wife feel if she knew one of them died to save you?"

"Adrien cannot be taken. It's a human life for a human life." Gabriel states it simply, confirming something Tikki already suspected. "And Nathalie? She's been with me the whole time. She knows the risks, she knows she's dying."

"What about you? You truly have no desire to save her? Are you that blind to your feelings?"

Gabriel glowers at her, fire behind his eyes. "Nathalie is a valuable asset to me, those are the only feelings that I have. And whatever she feels for me does not matter. She works for me and that is that. I have one goal, to bring Emilie back to this world, to her son, to me."

"Yet you find yourself fantazising about Miss Nathalie!" Nooroo argues, suddenly deciding it was in his best interest to interrupt the conversation (it was not).

Gabriel's eyes darken and he snaps his fingers once to stop Nooroo from saying anything else. "You are not here." He tells Nooroo. "You exist to serve me and nothing else." He glowers at the clock on the stove, 7:13 Nathalie should be back by now and he was itching to get some of his stress out. He opens each of his pockets and each kwami flies into their respective one. "Not a word from either of you," he threatens. Technically the Guardian still possessed Tikki, so he couldn't command her to do anything, but his hold on the rest of the kwamis certainly provided him some leverage.

He takes the stairs to the second floor two at a time, passing Adrien's empty room before stopping in front of Nathalie's. He knocked once but there was no answer so he knocked again. This time her voice called in answer, telling him to come in. To his surprise, she was working fabric on her mannequin. It was a stunning soft pink satin, draped over one shoulder with an open back. One of his designs was pinned the cork board above it, measurements listed all around.

"The dress for Jagged's party." Gabriel remarks plainly. Jagged had asked if Gabriel could design a dress for Penny, for their engagement party. Although Gabriel thought Jagged was a ridiculous character, he was a prominent figure in society and, for some reason, Gabriel saw some of his younger self in him. A bit of fabric slips from Nathalie's fingers and she growls in frusturation. "Here." Gabriel comes up behind her, collecting the material from the floor and holding it up where the diagram said. He moves his finger only when Nathalie has secured it.

"Thank you." She says quietly. "I figured I would start to work on this. It's quite lovely."

So it was. In the years that Nathalie had worked for him, her attention to detail had grown immensely, she saw patterns where he couldn't and found ways to make fabric sit that seemed like pure magic. Her hand brushes his accidentally and he pulls back quickly, turning away from her. Nathalie coughs once, even the black cat miraculous couldn't help that, apparently.

"You should get some rest," Gabriel suggests, "you've had a stressful week."

"And who's fault is that?" Nathalie shoots back, a frown replacing her slight smile. "Maybe I could actually rest if I didn't have to be on my toes all day looking after you." Nathalie holds up a hand to stop him from saying anything else. "I think you should leave, I have no interest in starting a fight this late in the day." Nathalie watches him walk to the door, not turning back to look at him. Once the door shuts, she allows herself to fall gently to the floor, backing up against the wall.

"You okay?" Plagg asks, popping out of her closet.

"It's just hard with him," she murmurs. "It's incredibly difficult to love someone at their worst when you wish they were the person they used to be at their best."

"Tell me about it." Plagg flicks his tail as he lands on Nathalie's knee, looking her in the eyes. "Have you ever tried to talk to him about it?"

Nathalie scoffs, shaking her head. "Talking to Gabriel about feelings is like talking to a wall. He just stands there with a blank look, trying to figure out if I'm even speaking a language he knows." She sighs and pushes herself off the floor, a little unsteady. "He was right, though. I should get some sleep."