Chapter 20: Wings Down

A/N: This has been a difficult chapter to write, not only because finishing stories always seems impossible for me, but for the fact that I've just about fallen completely out of the Miraculous Ladybug fandom and it was hard to get back in that headspace to write this. I've been wanting to finish this for so long as it was really the last piece holding me in the fandom, and I finally forced myself to finish this before the 3 year anniversary of my starting it, which is today!

I'm glad it didn't take me another whole year to complete the fic (though 10 ½ months is p close) but to those of you who yelled at me to finish this fic? Go fuck yourselves what's wrong with you?
Anyways:

Adrien had been staring at the Peacock Brooch his father handed him for the entire walk to his bedroom, having awkwardly thanked his father and then wandered away to think over what to do with it in isolation, or more so with Plagg. The brooch was colorful.

Activated. His mind reminded him.

There was a kwami inside, it just wasn't attached to person to wield it.

There was a soft click of his bedroom door as he closed it, turning the lock for good measure, his eyes still never leaving the peacock miraculous. He leaned his back on the door and slid down to sit on the ground as Plagg zipped out of his pocket and freely looked at the miraculous with him.

"All this time and he was hiding," Plagg commented with a frown and a cross of his paws, "Sleeping away while we do all the work."

"Sleeping?" Adrien asked looking up at Plagg.

"In a way," Plagg shrugged, "We can hide in our miraculous if things are really dangerous and we want to ensure that no one can use us. But, after some time we tend to… lose our consciousness, if something like this goes on for too long, like falling asleep. It's quite comforting resting in our miraculous when not being used."

Adrien nodded along to the information, it was all very interesting, but it still left him to worry.

"So, how do we wake him up?" He asked, looking up at Plagg. They didn't have an electrum box to trigger a reaction and Adrien wasn't sure how else to free him, Plagg simply gave him a smug smile.

"Like this," And he flew into the miraculous without a second thought.

The peacock's feathers turned a dark green as the miraculous jiggled in Adrien's hands, after a few seconds, a soft blue light overcame it and Plagg came zipping out in a swirl, a satisfied grin on his face. The blue ball of light arose from the miraculous, taking the color with it and leaving the pin a plain silver in its wake, dissolving to reveal a kwami.

Adrien stared in wonder as the startlingly blue kwami stretched and blearily opened his eyes, they widened in recognition when he looked at Adrien.

"Adrien," He whispered in amazement, Adrien couldn't quite figure out what to say, still staring just as amazedly at this new kwami who recognized him, "You've grown."

A nervous smile made its way onto Adrien's face, "I have," He said softly with a smile.

"How… how long-" He started to say as he looked from side to side to assess his surroundings, he stopped upon seeing Plagg

"Duusu," Plagg said gently with a nod of his head, a softer expression on his face now.

"Plagg," Duusu replied, his red eyes widening, "You… you're out."

He turned switching from looking at Adrien to Plagg and back again.

"W- what happened while I was gone?" He asked Plagg, he switched to Adrien, "How long have I been dormant?" Back to Plagg, his tone suddenly riddled with worry, "Why are you out?"

"I've been working," Plagg said matter-of-factly, "Cleaning up messes, fighting Nooroo's Akuma, the works."

He flew over and lay himself over Adrien's shoulder so Duusu could look at both of them.

"A-and, if you've been "dormant", as you said, since mom's passing, then, i-it's been about two and a half years now," Adrien answered.

"Two and a half years," Duusu repeated, quietly tapping his paw against his face in worry, again he looked directly at Plagg, "You've been fighting Nooroo's Akuma?"

"Yup," Plagg nodded, a smug grin, "Tikki and I have been taking care of things."

"Tikki as well?" Duusu mumbled, tapping his paw to his chin and spinning as he thought, worry covering his face, "Were things really that bad?"

"Just about," Plagg answered with a shrug.

"Stars, I'm so sorry!" Duusu began in a panic, spinning more now "I should have been there! I shouldn't have hidden myself away like som-"

"Hey, hey! Calm down!" Plagg said, grabbing Duusu and stopping his frantic spinning before he possibly got dizzy, "You're fine, hiding away was probably the safest thing for you, it's okay."

Adrien couldn't help but smile, Duusu's fretting reminding him of his mother.

"It really is okay, and… things have been handled now," Adrien explained.

"Handled?"

"Yup," Plagg nodded, "Nooroo has been contained and returned to the Healer."

Duusu nodded, but gave a more cautious look, "…And, Gabriel?"

"His memories were erased," Adrien answered, Duusu gave him a concerned look, "Not all of them, otherwise you wouldn't even be talking to me, I didn't know about you, but, all of his memories from the past month."

A surprised look crossed Duusu's face but he simply pursed his lips and nodded.

"And… That's why you're here now," Adrien explained softly, "With everything that happened with Nooroo and my father… I'm not sure, but, he finally told me about you and passed you onto me."

Duusu gave a small smile, and nodded.

"You're 17 now, aren't you?" He asked.

Adrien awkwardly nodded.

Duusu hummed and flew around Adrien, observing him thoroughly, he stopped to look Adrien in the eye once again and gave a warm smile, "You've grown so much."

Adrien gave his own smile back, the way Duusu said that, it was like he was an old relative, though Adrien had no memories of interacting with him from his youth. In a way, with how close Duusu was to Adrien's mom, he was like an old relative. An old relative who knew things about his mother from as early as when she was born, one who could tell him things about his mother that she never got the chance to tell him herself and that he couldn't get his father to talk about in wake of her passing.

Duusu's expression shifted to a sadder one as he looked between Adrien and Plagg, "You two have bonded quite well, haven't you," He asked in a soft voice before Adrien had a chance to ask the questions billowing up from his realization.

"Oh, yes, I suppose we have," Adrien glanced as Plagg who gave a little smirk before turning back to Duusu, his expression became more somber at that.

"Traditionally," He tapped his paws together, "I would be passed down to you once your mother retired from wielding the miraculous, or, when she considered you ready to have a miraculous, it varied between the generations," He waved his paw side to side as he explained this, "You and I would have learned how to work together and bond…" He looked down sadly, before looking to Plagg, "But I see that you have already bonded to another miraculous. I suppose a change in tradition was to come when you were not taught about miraculous at a younger age Adrien."

Adrien considered his lack of knowledge of the miraculous before meeting Plagg thoughtfully before finally speaking again, "What are you going to do now? You can't go back to my father."

"Oh stars no," Duusu agreed, a paw to his chest, "What happens with myself and my miraculous is entirely up to you," Adrien frowned at the phrasing of having total control over the kwami and his fate, it made him uncomfortable, it felt too familiar, "You can keep me as a confidant for advice, hold onto me to eventually pass on to your own children, pass me on to another soul you feel worthy to wield a miraculous, or even… return me to the Guardian if you see fit," He looked nervous by the last two suggestions.

"The Guardian?" Adrien asked.

"Old term for the Healer," Plagg explained, he turned to Duusu, eye softening, "It's been a long time since we've seen you Duusu."

"I suppose it has," Duusu said, giving a weary smile.

"I…" Adrien didn't like this, having to make this decision for Duusu in regards to his livelihood, "What do you want?"

He looked surprised by the question, and Adrien could feel Plagg's eyes boring into him for even asking it, Adrien paid him no mind and just focused on Duusu and his answer.

"Personally… I would want to work with you, bond with you, and inevitably carry on the Beauregard legacy," His mother's maiden name, it seemed forever since Adrien had heard someone mention it, "You have all treated me so well, but," Duusu looked nervous for having even mentioned it, "I understand that you are already bonded to another miraculous and that is not something I want to break up purely for my own selfish whims."

He bowed his head as he said so.

"Well, after that, what do you want to do?"

"I…" Duusu stared at Plagg once again, who gave him an unreadable look as he thought over it, "Perhaps… perhaps it is best that I return with the others, I've quite a lot of catching up to do."

Plagg gave a lazy smile and flew over to Duusu for a hug, "Everyone will be happy to see you again," Adrien nodded along.

"Tomorrow then."

He finally took it upon himself to stand, stretching out the kink in his back from sitting against his door in an awkward way.

"And in the meantime?" Duusu asked, looking eagerly to Adrien.

"In the meantime," Adrien gave a warm smile as he took a seat on his couch, gesturing for Duusu to join him, "Do you mind if I asked about my mother? It's…" He looked down as Duusu flew around to sit next to him on the back of the couch to be closer to eye level, Plagg settled up next to him, "I only knew so much up until, she passed, and since then, father's gone silent on the topic of her, until today at least."

He couldn't help but hope that was to change in the future with recent developments.

"Of course, what would you like to know?"

It was a beautiful afternoon to go on a stroll to the Healer's home, one of which was far too warm for a black windbreaker and a beanie, but Adrien wanted to take this walk alone and that meant a casual disguise from the public, along with a pair of sunglasses. It wasn't that Nathalie and the Gorilla didn't already know the general vicinity that the Healer lived after the confrontation with his father, but Adrien felt better knowing he was doing this task completely on his own. Not even Marinette was with him, though he had stopped by her place before heading to the healers to talk more in depth with her about the situation of the peacock miraculous (he had called and talked briefly with her last night about it), and to allow Duusu to catch up with Tikki before returning to the Healer. There had been much rejoicing between the kwamis and a calm talk between Marinette and Adrien about his seeing the Healer, she seemed to agree that his decision to return Duusu was a sound one. He departed once the kwamis were ready without Marinette, there were still things he wanted to talk with the Healer about alone.

Part of him didn't want to let go of Duusu, having finally gotten this missing piece of his mother's life, it was too precious, but he knew this was for the better. Duusu would be safe with the Healer, with the other kwami and miraculous. And Adrien had Plagg, at the very least, someone that, despite all his grievances, he was glad to keep around.

He made it to the apartment building easily enough without being noticed, and calmly made his way up the stairs. Both Plagg and Duusu poked their head out from under his jacket once they reached the more secluded area and watched as he finally approached the door. It didn't fly open as if he was expecting Adrien like before, but the Healer did open the door with a warm expectant smile once Adrien knocked.

"Always a pleasure," He greeted and gestured for Adrien to come inside, watching Duusu closely with an unreadable expression.

Adrien thanked him and took off his jacket once the door was closed, both Kwami came flying out and greeted the Healer.

"Duusu," The Healer finally greeted back, his voice betrayed the surprise that his face hid.

"Duusu?!" Cried out Wyazz, and suddenly he was tackling Duusu in a midair hug.

They laughed and flew in circles around each other with Plagg, exchanging "it's been so long" and "look at how you changed" while they did so. The interaction brought a smile to Adrien's face, his confidence about bringing Duusu back solidifying even more.

"A Beauregard," The Healer suddenly said, bringing Adrien's attention back to him, he was staring thoughtfully at Adrien.

"I uh…" Things such as his mother's maiden name were public knowledge, considering the fame of his family, but of course, the Healer must have known more about his family in regards to their relations with the miraculous, "Yes."

He hummed and nodded thoughtfully, "It's been a while since the peacock miraculous has been with a Guardian, though this wasn't with much worry as your family took good care of the miraculous, I see."

Until recently, Adrien thought, and the Healer frowned in agreement as if reading Adrien's thoughts. He led Adrien over to the parlor, the Kwami followed suit, still in cheerful spirits.

"Had I remembered that your family was the one taking care of Duusu, I might not have given you Plagg," He waved his hand, dispersing the thought, "Ah, but with my age I can never seem to remember details like that in a moment of emergency."

"Wait, if you remembered Duusu was in my family, I wouldn't have received Plagg?" Adrien repeated, the Healer gestured to sit and Adrien did so.

"Oh my no, one miraculous is enough for a family, otherwise too much power gets to the familial heads," He pointed to his own head as he said so, "Tea?"

"Oh yes, thank you," Adrien politely accepted, the Kwami's settled down on the phonograph, Adrien briefly caught Wyazz pulling a tiny tea set out from a nearby drawer, "But what about Nooroo? Wouldn't you have intervened once you knew my parents had her?"

"Yes, but that requires knowing," He tapped his head in a wistful way as he pulled out a teapot, "I knew that Duusu was in your family, but there never was any information about a peacock hero being out and about the public or in certain circles, so I assumed it was a quiet affair, one that did not need my interference. Admittedly, I should have done more to keep an eye on them, but I wasn't particularly worried," Adrien couldn't help but wonder about the Healer's predecessors in observing his grandmother and great grandfather, "Nooroo's rediscovery was done completely without my knowledge, I only knew that she had been activated around Paris, not that she was with your family."

"And if you had remembered that Duusu was in my family?" Adrien asked, suddenly curious about this alternate history.

"I would have, just like Marinette, chosen someone equally qualified to wield the Chat miraculous," The Healer explained, putting the water to boil.

"Even if you knew that I had Duusu?" Adrien pushed, even if I knew about the miraculous and was handling a family affair? Was the underlying question he couldn't bring himself to directly ask.

"Familial issues are always hard ones to get intermixed with, but ones that need help just as much as any other," The Healer responded, having easily picked up on the underlying question, "I would not have wanted you to get involved like this should I have known from the beginning that your father was continuing Nooroo's corruption," Adrien felt himself bristle at the statement, it made him feel like he was being treated like a child, like this wasn't something he could handle had he known, "I didn't choose you to wield Plagg because of your family," The Healer explained, his voice calm as the teapot whistled, "I chose you because you are a good person, Adrien, and that goes a long way in wielding a miraculous."

Adrien looked down, shame dispelling the anger that had been building up in him, and leaving way for a warm sensation to flow through. He mumbled a quiet "thank you".

The Healer just smiled and asked Adrien what kind of tea he would like.

"Is there such a thing as a camembert tea?" Plagg asked, reminding Adrien of the kwami's presence, "Surely someone has to have taken it upon themselves to invent something like that with all the fancy flavors there are nowadays."

"You're still as disgusting as ever, Plagg," Duusu said, giving him a disturbed look. Wyazz, Adrien, and the Healer burst out laughing.

Adrien calmly sipped on his tea once he had it, the Healer sitting politely across from him, waiting for Adrien to talk. Adrien didn't, he couldn't, he didn't want to disturb the mood with more issues piled on.

"…You had something else you wanted to talk about?" The Healer finally prompted, having given up on Adrien initiating the conversation.

"I… yes," Adrien dipped his head, "My, well, my father needs help… Psychiatric help."

The Healer nodded solemnly, "The miraculous can be both a blessing and a curse depending on how many present issues one may have."

"A blurse," Adrien blurted out on instinct.

"A what?" The Healer asked as Plagg burst out into laughter from where he sat.

"Sorry, sorry," Adrien shook his head, "I was jamming the words together, it's a silly instinct."

The Healer smiled as he took a sip of his own tea, Adrien brought them back to the topic.

"I know that he obviously can't meet with anyone who doesn't already know about the miraculous," He drummed his fingers over his cup, "But, I was hoping that you might know someone he could meet with."

The Healer paused as he thought over it, his lack of an immediate answer worried Adrien.

"Unfortunately, I do not," The Healer let out a sigh, and Adrien deflated, "Over the years, those who had been privy to the miraculous have greatly decreased in number," There was a distant look in his eyes, one that spoke of a long history filled with regret, "As of now, there is only myself and your loved ones who are aware of the miraculous."

"Is… is there a possibility my father could talk with you?" Adrien asked, already knowing the Healer was cautious about such a suggestion.

"It would be dangerous for him to meet with me considering his history, you do know that," The Healer glanced over to the kwami's, half listening to the conversation at hand while sipping on their own tea out of tiny cups.

"Well, yes. But, y-you don't have to meet here," The Healer perked at Adrien's suggestion, "What if you met at our house," A pensive look, "Or even at a neutral location."

The healer lightened at that, mulling the thought over.

"You do understand that I cannot offer any professional help, yes?" The Healer asked, his tone sounded more refined though, as if warming up to actually agreeing with Adrien's proposal.

"Yes, I do, but any help is better than no help," Adrien nodded eagerly, hoping that he was really getting through to the Healer, "He doesn't have anyone else to talk to in regards to the miraculous, and I think, even something like that, can help someone. In whatever little way it will."

The Healer took another sip of his tea before finally agreeing, "Okay, I will meet with your father," Adrien thanked him profusely, "A neutral location will be best, somewhere away from here and his own home."

"I'll talk to him, he can probably arrange renting an office space for you two to meet," Adrien offered.

"Thank you… I'll try to help as much as I can," The Healer gave a soft smile to Adrien and sipped his tea.

"Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated," Adrien repeated.

"This of course extends to yourself as well," The Healer offered, "You're welcome to come by when you please and talk, I know things have been hard on you and…I want to be able to make it up to you in whatever little ways I can."

"You-" Adrien couldn't help but pick up on what the Healer was saying in his pause, "You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened."

"Doesn't mean I won't," The Healer gave a wistful smile before taking another sip of his tea, "This invitation extends out to Marinette as well, I know she needs it just as much."

"I'll make sure to let her know," Adrien said, watching the way the Healer nodded his head in confirmation and a bit bothered at how the healer changed the conversation from himself being blamed.

"Do you have any camembert?" Plagg said, pulling the attention back to the kwamis, "I think it'll make a wonderful companion to this tea!"

Adrien and the Healer laughed, while Wyazz and Dusuu recoiled in disgust.

"I'm afraid not," The Healer answered.

"You never do," Plagg grumbled.

They continued with idle chit-chat until the pot of tea was empty, both the Healer and Adrien thanking each other as he and Plagg left. Adrien reaffirmed that he would ask his father about the details of meeting and left the Healer's home feeling better about his father and his family than he had in who knew how long.

Alya was checking her notifications while the four of them walked to Marinette's place after school that day. They had only just crossed the light by Marinette's house, Nino and Marinette pulling Alya safely across while she studied her phone, when Alya made a sideways "hmm".

"Is something wrong?" Marinette asked, pulling the other three along by her interlocked arms with Alya over to the side entrance of her building.

"Well," Alya looked side to side to make sure no one was watching them as they talked, everyone picked up on the tone that her action meant. They walked a little faster over to the quiet side-entrance of the building, Alya finally spoke when they stopped in front of the door, "You're going to have to address the people about what happened with Papillon. Nobody knows if he's still active or not, they keep asking the Ladyblog about it since nobody saw the five of us that day, and I can't exactly answer with "insider information" without arising some kind of suspicion."

"Oh, right," Adrien mumbled, sharing a look with Marinette.

It was obvious in that moment of Alya mentioning it that was something they had to do, but somehow it didn't occur to them until just then.

"We should… do that now?" Marinette asked, looking between them with unsureness.

"Well I mean, it's probably best that you plan out what you're going to say," Nino suggested, they all nodded in agreement and Marinette turned to unlock the door to her building so they could go in, "You're not the best at improvising."

"What, you think my puns are planned out ahead of time?" Adrien grinned to Nino as Marinette opened the door.

"Of course not," Marinette said, pulling her key out of the lock, "If they were, they might actually be good."

Alya and Nino burst out into laughter while Adrien held his hand to his chest in mock hurt, crying out an exaggerated "You wound me!" as they all followed Marinette into the building and up the stairs.

The apartment was quiet, and they sat together talking for most of the afternoon about what to say and how to address the public, writing down points and scribbling out others. For the most part Tikki and Plagg were quiet as they observed, only occasionally adding pointers. Adrien liked this group conspiring they did, even though it always seemed to be focused on Miraculous stuff, taking away the context of their plans, he liked it. He liked the way they would bounce ideas off of each other, the way they would focus, but occasionally joke and make each other laugh, it made everything about the context of their conspiring more tolerable, Alya, Nino, and Marinette kept him sane.

"Okay, I think this is good," Marinette said after some time, reading over the cleanly transcribed script with Adrien reading over her shoulder.

Alya folded up the messy note pages and prompted the two of them to stand up and do a full practice read of the whole script now that they had it. They did, with only slight stumbling as they tried to figure out who would speak where, Alya and Nino watching them thoughtfully.

"That is, disgustingly formal," Adrien said, hearing it all out loud made certain points that already sounded overly formal even more so.

"Well, you're not going to have the script right in front of you when we're making the video," Nino said, they figured it would be easiest to have Alya record a video of them to upload to the Ladyblog than try and draw attention to the general public and try to announce what they wanted to say that way, "So it won't be exact, but the script is something for you to follow."

Adrien hummed and nodded along with Marinette, he looked to Alya, "Do we want to make the video now?"

"Maybe tomorrow," Alya said, looking out the window, the sky was waning, it wasn't long before the sun would start to set.

"Yeah, you two can take some more time to rehearse," Nino said, fiddling with his backpack. "Besides, we still have homework."

"Tomorrow, after school then," Marinette confirmed, putting the script aside for now.

"Thank you for helping us with this," Adrien said.

"Of course," Nino smiled.

"Always happy to be a PR manager," Alya grinned, Adrien and Marinette laughed.

"I'll know who to call when my next scandal breaks loose," Adrien grinned.

"You say that like you have it planned out," Nino gave him an amused look, "Is your illegal night life going to come to light?"

"Oh no, my illegal night life has already come to light in the most dramatic way," Adrien said bringing his hand to his heart.

"Hmm, "Dramatic" is one way of putting it," Marinette muttered.

"I mean "PR manager" in the manner of your vigilante superhero business," Alya said, "I'm a reporter before anything, if you did something legitimately horrible or illegal, I'd be the one reporting it."

"Ah, you'd sell me out like that?" Adrien clutched his chest in mock hurt.

"It's as much my duty to the people as your duty to the people is," Alya gestured at him, unable to hide her grin at their light jabbing at each other.

"Besides the only horrible thing that Adrien's done can be found in his online purchases," Nino said flatly, also holding back a grin.

Adrien let out a mock gasp, "I can't trust either of you! I guess Marinette will be my only confidant," Marinette gave him a disbelieving look as he pretended to turn to her and whisper in her ear, "For the record, the only thing questionable about my online purchases is the sheer amount of cheeses I buy for a certain somebody."

Marinette let out a snort as Adrien gave a pointed look to Plagg, who stuck his tongue out at Adrien.

"He claims to only buy questionable cheese online," Marinette said to Alya and Nino once she stopped laughing, though she knew they could hear Adrien just as well.

Adrien pretended to fall over as he lets out another dramatic gasp, "I can't trust anyone!" Alya and Nino laughed while Marinette rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Only cheese? What about the custom Ladyb-"

"OH LOOK AT THAT, WE HAVE A HISTORY PROJECT TO WORK ON!" Adrien shot upright, cutting off Nino as he pulled out his history book from his bag with a dangerous speed. Alya, Nino, and Marinette burst out into laughter.

They were in the industrial region of the city again, on the roof of the same building they trained at. They had taken the subway and walked the rest of the way, dressed in casual streetwear, with Adrien and Alya dressed in discreet disguises of sunglasses and hats to cover their hair as well as indistinguishable jackets. Marinette and Nino were lucky enough to not be well recognized by the public, but Alya and Adrien traveling out and about together? It would immediately raise suspicion by anyone who even knew anything about the Ladyblog.

On the roof, though, no one could see them, no one would notice as they recorded a video, and no one would be there to interrupt, it all seemed so… quiet considering how Ladybug and Chat Noir's escapades had been for the past two years, so surprisingly out of public view. It wasn't a bad thing by any means, and very necessary to their plan to eventually fade out of the public eye as Ladybug and Chat Noir, but it was very odd to Adrien to say in the least.

"Do you want to go over the script one last time?" Alya asked, setting up a tripod with Nino so the recording could be stable, framing Ladybug and Chat so that much of Paris could be seen behind them.

"I think I've got it down," Chat said, having read his copy over and over once they each returned to their respective homes until it was practically burned in the back of his head, he turned to Ladybug, "You?"

"Yeah, I think I've got it too," Ladybug nodded, she always appeared more confident behind the mask.

"Remember to breath you two," Nino said, his voice warm as he gave a relaxed smile to them, Ladybug and Chat Noir returned it with their own smiles.

"Ready?" Alya asked, her own chipper smile as her hand hovered in front of her phone, ready to record.

Ladybug and Chat Noir each took a deep breath as per Nino's advice as let it out together, giving a confident nod.

Alya pointed to them with one hand while she began recording.

"Bonjour Paris, this is Ladybug and Chat Noir, it's been a bit since you've last seen us," Ladybug began, a relaxed smile on her face.

"As you know, have lately been rather wild for us," Chat gave his own smile, that almost suggested he saw what happened to him as something amusing, and in a way, in some deranged way deep inside him, he did, "But, we have important news regarding the future of Paris and what is to come."

"As of now," Ladybug stood taller, bringing the news that Chat couldn't bring himself to actually say, "Papillon has been defeated," Defeated, it felt like such an inappropriate word in a way he couldn't describe, "His miraculous has been taken away and he has been reprimanded by ourselves for the crimes he has committed upon Paris, it's people, and the miraculous. He is no longer able to terrorize the city with his akuma."

Chat swallowed lightly for the next part, they all knew it would be the point to drive up the most controversy from the public, "For the safety of Papillon's family," They had discussed whether or not to use "family" or "loved ones" for the longest time, "family" seemed more solid and less likely to receive backlash, "His identity will not be revealed to the public, and this matter will be kept between miraculous users only."

"We know this is not what many of you want to hear," Ladybug said with a soft sigh clasping her hands together in front of her as she spoke, she was a better actor behind the mask as well, "But, please understand that Papillon has received consequences for his actions, and that he will not be able to act against Paris' people again."

"It is by the request of his family that he remain anonymous," That was a blatant lie, but one that from an outside perspective, would make sense if Papillon truly was an anonymous man who was hiding his horrible acts from an unknowing but loving family. No one had to know it was actually Adrien's father, who he considered by his own righteous justice to lock up, "Papillon's actions were purely his own, and his family was in no way aware of who he was and what he was doing." Just aware, not involved.

"We're glad to finally put this chapter behind us," She shared a brief look with Chat, who returned a small smile, "As for ourselves," Ladybug said, her tone taking on a lighter tilt, she shared another look with Chat, "Our initial job as miraculous wielders, to stop Papillon, is complete. And as such, we will be fading from the public eye."

"Rest assured, we will not disappear altogether," Chat gave a warm smile in some attempt to give their invisible audience some reassurance, "We'll still be on the lookout, and should a situation really need our assistance we are more than happy to give it," He always seemed to stumble at this part, when practicing it out loud last night, but now he felt ready to close this part of his life, it wasn't gone yet, of course, they still had much to fix with his father, and Marinette and himself, but saying it out loud, to the camera, knowing that millions in Paris and much of the rest of France and probably many other international viewers would see it in a short amount of time once they uploaded the video made this part of his life feel so much more complete, "But, we have our own lives to live."

"Well always be there for you Paris," Ladybug finished, giving her own warm smile as she brought up a hand to wave, "Stay safe."

They silently bumped their fists together to end the video. Alya tapped her phone to stop the recording and gave them a cheerful thumbs up.

"That was great!" She informed; Nino made a noise in agreement.

"Really?" Ladybug asked, her confidence practically melting once she was aware the video was over, "You don't think we need to do it again?"

"No, but here," Alya and Nino backed up from the phone, gesturing to come look at the screen, "You can watch yourselves and see if you like it."

They crowded around the little phone on the tripod and replayed the video, Ladybug and Chat mouthing along with the words and watching the way they presented themselves.

Chat and Ladybug both murmured a "good, good," once the video was done, turning to Alya and giving their approval.

"Send it to Nathalie, she'll show it to my father for one last look over, and then you can post it," Personally, he didn't like the idea of needing his father's approval for the video to go out, but he also realized that this involved him as well. He should at least have some small say in how he was presented, even if part of the purpose of the video was to inform no one of Gabriel's identity.

"Sure thing," Alya nodded, pulling her phone off the tripod and tapping away at it as Nino closed up the tripod, "Everyone's really eager to hear what you guys have to say."

"I'd imagine so," Ladybug said, releasing her transformation, Chat did the same. Alya had sent out a note on her Ladyblog shortly before they began the video that Ladybug and Chat Noir were meeting with her to record an announcement. Everyone knowing that Alya had that connection to Adrien was interested to see what it would be after such a tumulus time.

"And in an hour or so, they'll know," Adrien said as they made their way to the rooftop stairs.

They split as they headed home, Marinette and Nino going one way in their street clothes, and Alya and Adrien going another in slightly less disguised clothes, making a subtle point of being seen in public together so some people would take the claim of their recording the video with an ounce of legitimacy, but not outing Marinette's identity and dragging Nino into their possible known acquaintance.

It took only 30 minutes, Adrien and Alya having just arrived at her home, before and approval for the video from Nathalie came through. Adrien let out an invisible breath, somehow worried that his father might not approve for some reason, as Alya sent a quick text to Marinette and Nino that the video was going up and dragging Adrien to the safety of her room to actually post it.

Everything was… surprisingly well received, the issues that they expected to drive up controversy did come up, especially among the Parisian police. Luckily, Nathalie had a knack for making legal boundaries in Adrien's and Alya's being underaged (for now) and unable to make official statements without parental consent, something that Alya's parents were more than happy to go along with for the integrity of their daughter. Otherwise much of the rest of the public was thankful and welcome to letting Ladybug and Chat do at they please and fade.

And, they did eventually fade. Sure, they would occasionally appear for small things, but their public appearances became more and more sparse over time, until people were more surprised to spot Ladybug or Chat Noir out and about.

The last half of their school year finished without a hitch, Marinette and Adrien's grades improving significantly for a strong finish now that they weren't constantly being pulled away from schoolwork to fight akuma. Alya, Nino, and Marinette each applied and got into Universities in Paris, Adrien, took a step back from the academic life, taking a year to understand himself better and to also watch over his father and see that he was getting the help he needed.

It had taken a bit of working to get Gabriel and the Healer to meet, but both were open to the meetings, and met consistently every two weeks at a little office Gabriel had rented out. Was it helping Adrien's father? He wasn't certain in the clearest way, despite everything his father was still as steel faced with himself as before, but there were small things he noticed. Gabriel continued his more lenient hold on Adrien's schedule, allowing Adrien to manage his own life, which, while still strange to him, was very welcome. Adrien also found that, when he approached his father to talk, usually about his mother among all things, his father clammed up less, and shared small stories and pieces of her life Adrien hadn't known about before. It was a slow but welcome change.

Adrien and Marinette met with the Healer on their own time as well, each spending time with him drinking tea and talking. It wasn't always about his problems, Adrien noticed, sometimes it was about local events, or even sharing pieces of themselves. The Healer became like an old friend to Adrien, and Marinette shared a similar sentiment, it was nice, if odd for the mysterious air that he never officially lost.

The first year of university proved tough on all three of Adrien's loved ones, but only occasionally stopped them from actually being able to meet. And towards the end of spring, Adrien revealed his own plans to go to university… outside of Paris.

It was something he had been cautious to share with his loved ones, not only for the distance it would put between them, but also for the odd breaking of his promise to "always be there for Paris" as Chat Noir. He just felt like he needed to get out of the city for a few years, take some time to breath from its own bearing presence on his life. Marinette, Alya, and Nino, lights and loves of his life, were all supportive of his endeavor, and knowledge of this brought him endless relief from the caution he felt.

It was a slow odd step out of his comfort zone, but one that finally helped him feel like he was really, officially moving forward with his life. Not leaving behind his past as Chat Noir, as Plagg would be there with him every step of the way, but really finally taking the step towards being okay with everything that happened.

He was better now.

A/N: Thank you all who have read this fic, to those of you who have been with me since the beginning or these three years and endured those several month long hiatus' towards the end, to those of you who have only now found this story upon its completion. I hope you all enjoyed this story. I certainly have, and I'm glad to finally have finished it, this has been the longest thing I've written (so far!).

Thank You all again.