"Your father wishes to see you in his office."

Adrien Agreste groaned inwardly. His father never wanted to talk in person unless he was displeased about something. The trouble was, he had no idea what he'd done to earn his father's ire. He'd kept up with his schoolwork and all his photoshoots; complied with every order, followed every schedule, all while maintaining his secret life as the superhero Chat Noir! The blonde model sighed as he turned to his father's assistant. "I'll be right up," he said dejectedly. "Did he say what it was about?"

"No," Nathalie replied. "I'll let him know you're on your way."

As Adrien ascended the stairs to his father's office, he noticed the door was slightly ajar. That's funny, he thought, Father would never leave the door open like that. He's too much of a perfectionist. Dismissing the thought, he gently pushed the door open. "Father?" he inquired tentatively. "You wanted to see me?"

Gabriel Agreste was sitting at his desk, as expected; however, his demeanor was not the usual cold, emotionless mask. Instead, the fashion mogul had ghosts of circles under his eyes, which were slightly softer than usual. His head was resting on his hands, fingers laced, elbows resting on the mahogany surface. Seeing that his son had entered, he straightened his posture and fixed his jacket. "Yes, yes, come in," he said, shuffling some papers in an effort to look as though he had been busy. "Sit down, please."

Bemused, Adrien complied, settling into a simple leather chair positioned before the desk. "Is something wrong?" he asked. This was not like his father at all. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was… worried about something, he thought.

Gabriel set his papers down, composing himself. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," he began, straightening his tie. "Adrien, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer me with absolute honesty."

Adrien nodded, curious and anxious. What could his father possibly want to know that was troubling him so? Perhaps he's figured out that I'm Chat Noir, the blonde boy thought, and he's testing me to see if I'll admit it? All his expectations flew out of his mind, however, when he heard his father's next words:

"Am I a good man?"

Adrien was stunned. What kind of question is that?! Certainly not the sort of question one might expect from the cold, impersonal Gabriel Agreste. As the model pondered his answer, he thought about the years of distance, the lack of any real emotional display, save for anger or disappointment. He thought about his most recent birthday; his best friend had been akumatized for God's sake, all because his father wouldn't let him have a birthday party! He also thought about how his father hadn't always been this way; when his mother was around, things had been different. There had been love and life in every corner of the Agreste mansion, and his father had been… happy? It was hard to recall. I don't really know my father at all, Adrien realized. We never speak unless he's angry about something, and I never bothered to ask about his personal matters when he might have been willing to talk. After what felt like an eternity, Adrien finally spoke up.

"I… don't know."

Gabriel sighed, half in sorrow, half in… relief? It wasn't the answer he had been hoping for, but it wasn't as bad as the answer he'd expected, either. "Of course," he said, resting his head on his hands once more. "I should have expected as much. When I think about how little I really know about my own son, it should come as little surprise that the lack of personal knowledge is mutual. We haven't exactly had the most conventional father-son relationship, have we?" With a sad smile, the fashion mogul looked towards the portrait on the wall. "You have your mother's eyes," he said, seeming almost lost in thought. "Based on how you defended your friend when he tried to stand up to me, you inherited her kindness as well. Now that I've really taken the time to think about it, I can't help but see so much of her in you."

Unable to find the words to respond, Adrien simply listened as his father continued. "I've never had an easy time understanding other people's emotions. Empathy is like a foreign language to me. But meeting your mother changed all that. She showed me the good in people, and helped translate their feelings for me. More importantly, she helped me understand my own emotions like I never had before. I felt free when I was with her, like I could take on the entire world as long as she was by my side." The fashion mogul paused. "And then… one day, she wasn't. I felt like my entire world had fallen apart. Everything I'd learned about emotions, about feeling anything except monotony… it left with her. I wasn't the same as I'd been before we met, nor was I anything close to the man I'd been when she was with me… You know, nothing is ever really forgotten. You can remember something by the hole it leaves behind. I remember how bright she made my life, how joyful she always was." A tear glistened in Gabriel's eye, only to be snuffed out as he blinked and composed himself again. "On that day, I decided that I would not lose you as I lost your mother. I did everything within my power to keep you from harm. I thought that if I knew where you were every moment of every day, I could ensure your safety. I thought that if I never let anyone get close to you, you wouldn't suffer as I had when you inevitably lost them. I couldn't understand why you constantly pleaded to open yourself to such heartache, so I always denied you, thinking I was doing right by you by keeping you safe here."

At this, he turned his computer screen around, showing clips of Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting Stoneheart, the very first akumatized villain. "Then, the very day you first set out to defy my wishes and go to school, this… Hawk Moth character began terrorizing the city with his akumas, and suddenly, two heroes appeared to save Paris. I admit, I was not impressed by their performance, especially when their failure led to the villain reappearing with a vengeance the following day. Yet, despite the previous day's danger, you convinced Nathalie to join you in your defiance and allow you to go to school. When I found out, I was half tempted to take you and leave the country altogether. But when Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated Stoneheart properly, and she gave that speech at the Eiffel Tower… I found myself wondering if, perhaps, you might be safe in the streets of Paris with those two heroes watching over the city. Seeing the look on her face as she swore to protect the people of her beloved city reminded me of your mother again. Against what I thought to be my better judgement, I elected to allow you to continue attending school. Though I was tempted to pull you out every time I heard that you had been captured or changed by whatever akuma Hawk Moth had cooked up, you always came home okay. At the time, I thought it was because of Ladybug and her Lucky Charm healing all the damage. However…" Gabriel paused, looking at Adrien's ring. "I now know that you were always in an entirely different sort of danger, while at the same time, you were in no danger at all. All this time, it was you wielding the Cat Miraculous."

Adrien was stunned. His father knew he was Chat Noir? But how? "F-father… how long have you known about my secret identity?" the blonde boy asked, not bothering to hide the truth any longer.

"I had my suspicions after witnessing Chat Noir's firsthand knowledge of the mansion's security systems during the incident with Simon Says." Adrien nodded weakly, recalling his rather terse word choices with his father that day. "Then, when I went to your room after it was all over, I noticed that ring of yours," Gabriel continued, gesturing to the Miraculous. "It reminded me of the images I'd seen of the Cat Miraculous in a book I had obtained on the subject some years previously. A book, might I add, that I suppose you're familiar with, seeing as you took it from my safe without permission." Adrien gulped, expecting to be reprimanded for stealing on top of keeping such an enormous secret as the Miraculous. "I won't ask you to explain yourself, as it doesn't particularly matter now," the designer said, standing up and walking toward the painting of Mrs. Agreste on the wall. "I will say that I hope you'll return it soon. I still have much to discuss with you on the subject of these Miraculouses. Such as, what you'll be doing with yours."

At this, Adrien stood, resolute. "I won't give it up, Father, if that's what you're asking."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Gabriel said with a weak smile. "Your stubbornness is another trait your mother passed to you. The Cat Miraculous is in good hands with you, and I wouldn't dream of separating you from your mischievous little friend."

Surprised, adrien cocked his head. "Little friend?" the young model asked, puzzled. "How do you know about Plagg?"

To his surprise, his father gave a small chuckle. "Remember, I had that book about the Miraculouses. I know all about their respective abilities, and how each one has a Kwami spirit that serves as the activating force behind it. Of course," he added as he keyed in the combination to the wall safe behind the painting, "I also know… from experience." With a beep, the safe clicked open, and from it, Gabriel withdrew a beautiful blue and sea green lapel pin in the shape of a peacock with its feathers fanned. As soon as he touched it, it flashed with light as a bluish blur zoomed out of it. Coming to a hovering stop, the blue blur became recognizable as a small blue creature, similar to a peacock. As it gave a yawn, Gabriel spoke up again. "Adrien, allow me to introduce you to Pluum, the Kwami who accompanies the Peacock Miraculous."

Pluum blinked the sleep from his eyes as he turned to Gabriel, before opening them wide in surprise at the sight of his old master. "Gabriel? Is it really you? I thought you'd given up on the Miraculous forever!" As the fashion mogul's words registered with the creature, he turned to Adrien. "So this is your son, huh? He's grown up so much!" Giving a happy little clap, the peacock Kwami flew up to the blonde model's face, inspecting him closely. "He has Celeste's eyes! His hair's all you, though," he commented. Bemused, Adrien could only watch as the blue bird-like spirit's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "And he has the Cat Miraculous?! Amazing! He really is your son! Celeste would be so proud! Hey, where's Plagg? Plagg! It's me, Pluum!" the peacock Kwami called out to his feline brother as he zipped around with barely contained glee.

Before Adrien could protest, Plagg was out of his shirt pocket and glomping his brother in midair. "Pluum! Good to see you, buddy! I thought you'd been lost forever along with Nooroo!" the cat Kwami paused, a rare look of concern crossing his face. "Hey, what happened to Nooroo, anyway? I thought you two were always teamed up? Now he's in the hands of the big bad guy?"

At the mention of the butterfly Kwami, both Pluum's and Gabriel's faces fell. The office was silent for a long moment before Gabriel finally spoke up. "Nooroo and the Butterfly Miraculous were lost with Celeste. I don't know exactly how Hawk Moth found them, but I do know that whatever happened, he must know what became of her. In a way, I envy him that."

At this, Adrien was filled with a sudden dread. "Father.." he asked cautiously, fearing what the answer might be. "What exactly happened to Mom?"

Author's Note

My first ever Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction! I came up with the idea for this some time ago, and started writing it while I was on vacation, albeit after I'd already finished the third chapter of One Night in Shisuta Town, my Doctor Who/Yandere Simulator crossover fic. I don't agree with the generally accepted notion that Gabriel Agreste is Hawk Moth, partly because the show seems to be trying too hard to make him look bad, but mainly because of certain details that don't match up. So, seeing as most of the fanfiction on this site that involves Hawk Moth's true identity end up having Gabriel as the big bad, I thought I'd finish at least a chapter of this and post it, just to shake things up a bit. Please forgive the cliffhanger, as I felt this would be a good place to end it (for now). There've been a lot of revelations in this thing already, and I thought going into detail about Mama Agreste's fate would be too much on top of all that. That said, if you want to see more, please follow, favorite, and most importantly, REVIEW!