Sometime, when it was dark out and the house was quiet, Adrien roused from his sleep. It was raining now, the thunder softly rumbling in the distance. He felt gross, having slept in his clothes. His toe hurt, his face ached, and he was so goddamn tired.

But he was also hungry, and his stomach growled loudly.

"…skipped dinner…" he mutter to himself as he sat up. Plagg was passed out next to him, his little tummy bloated.

Adrien changed into his pajamas, intent on going back to sleep after he got some food, and slipped on house slippers.

With a small smile, Adrien scooped Plagg up and deposited him into the pocket of his sweat pants.

Quietly, Adrien left his room, and began to head down the stairs, but stopped, just as he was about to round the corner.

Nathalie and his father were still awake, and they were talking.

"If she's making these kind of lies up about Adrien, it would be better to drop her as an ally. Adrien's in enough trouble anyways. I don't need fabricated problems on him as well."

"But what about her ability to facilitate akumas? She's even better than Chloe at it."

"It's a shame, but the betrayal she'll feel at being dropped will cause some perfect anger and rage. There might even be other akuma's in store too."

Adrien's blood ran cold. Why the hell was his father talking about akumas? Why did he care?

"Uh, master?" Asked a very small and timid voice. "You aren't still thinking about akumatizing Adrien, are you?"

"After the day he had, he would have been perfect. I'll wait until he wakes up to see what kind of mood he's in. I could always tell him I'm pulling him out of school for sure. That would put him over the edge."

Adrien's fist tightened, as he clawed at the banister. Without his consent, his feet started walking forward, until he was at the top of the stairs.

There, he could see his father and Nathalie seated, and two kwamis floating nearby. One that looked like a butterfly, and the other like a peacock.

He wanted to vomit.

Nathalie noticed him first. "Oh! Adrien!"

The two kwamis ducked out of sight, but it was far too late.

"What…are those?" Adrien's voice sounded foreign. Angry, cold, hollow.

"You're awake," said Gabriel, nervousness leaking into his voice. "Are you hungry? You missed din—"

"You're Hawkmoth." He breathed. "And…she's Mayura…."

"Adrien…" Gabriel said it so gently, reassuringly.

"Don't lie to me!" He hissed. "I heard you! You said you wanted to akumatize me!"

"Son, come on…" Gabriel reached for him, but he backed away.

Adrien started shaking his head. "This…this can't be happening. This isn't real!" He wailed.

Gabriel sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Adrien, I will explain everything. I promise. I'm sorry."

Adrien just stood and quivered, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Plagg was awake in his pocket, nuzzling against his leg to calm him.

"Come on. I won't hurt you." Gabriel beckoned him towards his office.

Everything in Adrien was screaming at him to run. Run far and fast. He'd tell his Lady, and this whole thing would be over. They'd get their happily ever after and this nightmare of a day would be over.

But he couldn't forgive himself if he went the rest of his life never knowing the 'why'. So silently, he followed him into his office, up to the painting of his mother.

Gabriel pressed on a set of buttons, and started to descend in an elevator. He was quick to pull Adrien on with him too.

Down they went, down into the depths of the basement. A large room, with a garden at the end.

He had to still be dreaming, right? Surely this was a nightmare induced by his terrible day.

But no. At the end of the walkway laid a garden with dozens of white butterflies fluttering around in the space.

And a glass coffin, with his mother inside.

At the sight of her, Adrien began to cry, fat tears rolling off his cheeks and he was helpless to stop it.

A heavy hand laid on his shoulder. "The peacock miraculous is broken," he began. "It wears the user out, and makes them sick. Emilie, your mother, wielded it first. Soon, she succumbed to the illness and fell into a long, deep sleep. If I can get my hands on the Black Cat and Ladybug miraculous, I can make a wish, and wake her up. Then we'll be a family again. Don't you see?"

Adrien's mouth was too dry, and his words were stuck. He couldn't even remember to how to speak. All he could see was his mother's sleeping face. The one he had so desperately missed in this passed year. She looked exactly the same.

"I did this all for you."

Adrien shook his head, refusing to accept that. "No…no you didn't."

"Adrien…" Gabriel began, trying to explain it to him like his was thick.

"No. Because if this was for me, you would have told me right away! You would have let me know that she wasn't gone! You would have let me see her! I—I miss her so much! And you knew that! But she's been here this whole time! And you never once told me about it!"

Gabriel held his hand out. "But you know now, and you can help me get the Miraculous."

"No. Absolutely not. You…you're crazy if you think I'm going to stay in this goddamn house one more minute! I need—I need to get out of here! How do I get out!?"

Gabriel sighed. "Calm down, Adrien. Let's talk this through."

Adrien ran back to the elevator, and pressed an up arrow, the elevator blessedly starting to move.

Upstairs, he burst from the office and practically sprinted up the stairs to his room. In his closet, he dug out his duffle bag and started to pack up his essentials.

Plagg didn't say a word. What comfort was there to give?

Far too quickly, Gabriel appeared in the doorway. "Adrien, you don't need to go anywhere. You're safe here."

"I don't feel safe!"

"Adrien, I promise I'm not going to hurt you."

"You say that now! Now that you've been caught!"

"Adrien—"

"You've akumatized every single one of my classmates! Some more than once! You constantly make me rub shoulders with people like Lila and Chloe, who brew akumas better than anyone! Now you expect me to believe I'm safe here?! Are you kidding me!?"

"Adrien, calm down." Gabriel demanded.

"Or what?! You'll akumatize me!?"

Gabriel didn't deny it, but the glare on his face showed otherwise. "I forbid you from leaving this house."

"If you want me to visit you in jail, you'll stay out of my way." He bit back.

That did it. The sternness in his eyes gave way to panic, and he stepped aside.

Adrien shouldered his bag and headed down the stairs.

"Your driver will take you to Miss Bourgeois hotel." Gabriel ordered, so plainly.

"No. He won't." Adrien bit, reaching the door. "I'm making my own decisions now. I'm going my own way. All my life, I have done everything I could to please you. To make you proud of me. But I can't anymore. Because you'll keep bending me until I snap. And then you'll walk over my shattered pieces. But I have people I'd gladly bend over backwards for, because they're willing to bend for me too. Maybe you should learn to be more flexible, Hawkmoth."

With that, he slammed the door shut behind him, and took off running.

—

He should have transformed.

Plagg was in his ear telling him to. It was safer. It was faster. But Adrien couldn't muster up the nerve to do so. He felt like he was being watched. Like Gabriel had the city in the palm of his hand, waiting to strike.

He couldn't breathe, he couldn't swallow, all he could do was run.

Finally, the bakery was in sight, and he didn't stop until he collided with the door. He pounded with his fist, and rang the bell, his knees threatening to buckle.

Finally, the hall light went on, and he could see a clock on the wall.

Midnight.

Marinette, Alya, and Nino all hurried down the stairs.

The door opened slightly, Marinette's face poking out, and then all the way when she realized who was there. "Adrien!"

"Dude, you're soaked! What happened?"

At the sight of his lady, Adrien broke down. He threw his arms around her and just started weeping. He clawed at her skin and buried his face in her shoulder as he wailed. He was soaking her with rainwater, tears, and snot, but he couldn't find the energy to stop.

"Dude!"

"Marinette! Look out!" Alya's cry pierced him in the heart before a chill over took him.

He could hear his father's voice in his head. "Adrien…"

"No!" Adrien shouted, pulling away from Marinette and keeping her at arms length. "Leave me alone! Leave me alone! You ruined my life! I hate you! I hate you so goddamn much! Why won't you just leave me alone!?"

The chill disappeared, and he was himself again.

Marinette's warm hands laid against his damp skin, and caressed his cheeks. "Hey...look at me Adrien."

Her eyes were filled with tears, sparkling like stars. She was smiling her heartbreaking smile at him. "You're safe now. I've got you."

"You got me…" He whispered, choking.

Then he hugged her again, sobbing as the day's frustrations rolled off of him one by one.

Nino wrapped an arm around him and brought him fully into the bakery, while Alya closed and locked the door.

He pulled away, rubbing his eyes. "I'm so sorry...you guys were probably having so much fun—"

"Shh." Marinette combed his bangs away from his face. "You ruined nothing. We are ecstatic that you're here."

"We were so bummed when you said you couldn't make it." Added Nino, hand still on his shoulder. "I'm so happy you're here."

Marinette took his hand gently. "Come on, let's get you some dry clothes. Have you eaten?"

His stomach growled. "I'm starving."

"Great!" Chirped Alya, "cause we made too much pizza! Mister 'I can eat a whole pie myself' over here only ate two slices!"

"But they were the biggest slices!" Nino protested.

Adrien laughed. Feeling better already.

In the apartment, Alya shoo'ed them upstairs. "Go on," she urged. "We'll keep the pizza warm."

Marinette blushed but took him up to her room anyways.

She closed the trap door behind her, thankfully.

"I've got just the thing for you." She announced, going to the chest next to her chaise. "I was going to give you these for Christmas, but I have another gift idea in mind anyways." She dug around, and then pulled out a pair of pajamas.

A red shirt that said 'Bug Out!" in black ink. Then a pair of extremely soft pants, that were black with red polka dots on them. "Here, I made them myself. I even designed the logo and screen printed it. Nino let it slip that you have a thing for Ladybug...do you like them?"

He gathered them into his hands, reveling in the softness of the fabric.

His lady made these, just for him!

He started sobbing again.

"Oh Adrien..."

"I-I-I'm sorry!" He croaked. "I love them! I'm so happy you made these for me! I love you so much!"

Out of all the things he needed to tell her, that wasn't supposed to be the first.

Oh well.

She stared at him with impossibly wide eyes. "You...you love me?"

She began to smile, before it faded into something akin to disappointment. She tried to hide it, but he was too familiar with fake smiles.

He wiped his eyes and took a breath. "That's not what I meant to say. Not that I don't love you! I do! I mean! You're great! And…I'm sorry…I'm…I'm a mess."

Marinette just wiped his face with her thumb. "It's okay…something obviously happened tonight. We'll talk about it, when you're ready." Then she glanced over to the duffle he brought with him. "That looks like more than an overnight bag."

"Yeah...I might...I might need a place to stay for a while..." he hiccuped.

With a soft smile, she steered him to the changing screen on the other side of the room.

"We have a guest room," she offered. "Maman and papa are gone this weekend, but I'm sure they'd love to have you. If you'd like to stay here. Unless the Lahiffe's don't mind if you stay on their couch."

"Wherever I am the least a burden." He came out from behind the screen, looking smaller than Marinette had ever seen him. "I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable, or intrude."

"You will be welcome here." Marinette assured, taking his hand. "I promise."

Tears started to fall again, and Marinette was quick to catch him. She pulled him into a hug, holding onto him tightly.

"I'm so scared, Marinette. I don't know what to do."

She squeezed him, attempting to crush the sadness in her friend. "Well, let's get you something to eat. Sometimes, being hungry makes things seem worse than they are."

"Okay…" Adrien doubted that was the case in this scenario, but he was very hungry.

Together, they travelled down to the kitchen, only to find Alya and Nino both asleep, each side of the 'L' shaped couch taken.

Marinette hummed. "Well, that's fine. Let's get you some food, and then we can sit in my room and talk. 'Kay?"

Adrien nodded. Not that he didn't love Alya and Nino, but he and Marinette had to talk. He couldn't push this aside for now.

She got him a plate, with two slices of margarita pizza, some chips, a soda, and a handful of chouquettes.

The meal looked amazing, because it was everything he wasn't allowed to eat.

When they retreated and the trap door shut, Alya and Nino peeked at each other and high fived.

In Marinette's room, she urged him up towards the bed. "It's more cozy up here," she explained, a blush staining her cheeks.

He didn't need to be told twice.

He scampered up the ladder and made himself comfortable, while she did the same.

While he ate, they made small talk. Marinette telling him all about what they did so far.

"No pillow fights?"

"We don't really do pillow fights. That's more of...an American thing? I think? Mostly just movies."

He pouted, before polishing off his last chouquette. "That's disappointing."

"Well, then you know you didn't miss it. Alya did paint my toe nails though." She showed off her sparkling green toes. Her big toes had little black paw prints on them.

"Oh my god!" He sobbed, and started crying again.

"Adrien?"

"It's so—so—cute! I can't stand it!" He wiped his eyes. "I'm getting really tired of bursting into tears over everything. I'm sorry. My emotions are shot."

"It's okay," she assured softly. "Are you ready to talk about what happened?"

He set his empty plate on the little shelf by her bed, and then reclined to get more comfortable. He took a little pillow and hugged it to his chest. "There's a lot I have to tell you. Each is equally important. I just…don't know what order to tell you them. I don't want you to get mad."

Marinette touched his head ever so gently, petting his hair. "I won't get mad."

"Promise?"

"Of course. I'm here for you Adrien. Whatever you need."

He clutched the pillow a little tighter, gathering his courage. "I…I know you're Ladybug."

He was expecting an explosion. A complete freak out.

But what he got instead, was a soft exhale and, "I know."

"Wait, what?"

"Tikki told me. She said you saw me this morning detransform. You were in the stall I ran into…and I totally didn't notice."

Adrien buried his face in the pillow. "I didn't know how to tell you! I was going to! But—"

"It was embarrassing, I know." She laughed a little. "I guess that's what I get for panicking and running into the wrong bathroom."

"Don't blame yourself, Marinette. You're perfect."

Her voice became a little deeper, a little softer. "I'm really not."

That grabbed his attention, and he looked up to her. "…do…you…have a crush on me?"

She sighed again, her face red and her lips pulled into a wobbly smile. "You found out about that, too?"

"I'm told Nino is a dead man if he told me, but he heavily hinted at it."

She shook her head. "Why? Why would he tell you that?"

"Because I told him that I was in love with you."

The disappointed look came back to her face, and she looked away. "No, you aren't."

"But I am!" He sat up quickly, kneeling in front of her. "I swear I am!"

"Adrien…" She took his hands, rubbing her thumbs over his knuckles. "You love Ladybug. And…while I am her…you never showed that kind of interest in Marinette. You only think you're in love with me now, because you know."

He shook his head, frantically. "No, no that's not it at all!" He pulled her forward into him, hugging her again. "Please let me prove it to you, Mari. I can't lose you. You're all I have left."

Concerned, and so full of love, Marinette hugged him back. He was shaking in her arms, and holding her so tightly, like he was afraid she'd disappear.

Gently, she pulled away just enough to look at him. "Okay, I believe you." She assured, even though she wasn't completely convinced.

He managed a weak smile, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"There's more, isn't there?" The joy and sunshine that seemed to live inside of him was completely snuffed out. "If you really love me, and found out I had a crush on you...you wouldn't be upset like this."

"No, that was the best thing that ever happened to me. The luckiest, actually. So…I only had bad luck the rest of the day."

She thought back to what she had seen that day. Him limping around, his failed test, his 'dump king' status…all of it seemed to pile up.

With a thoughtful frown, she pulled him back with her against the pillows, so that he could rest his head on her chest and she could pet his hair.

"Okay. I'm not going to talk. Pretend I'm not Marinette or Ladybug. Pretend I'm not even here. Just tell me everything."

He relaxed against her, snuggling into her hold.

"It started this morning. I grabbed the first stall, which I knew didn't latch properly, but I forgot until I sat down. I couldn't close the door, so you didn't notice that I was in there. But you ran in, dropped your transformation, and then left. It was only a couple seconds, but I recognized you immediately. I…I was elated. Ladybug, one of my best friends! The love of my life was right there!"

He hid his face, so he couldn't see her reaction.

"I was so happy about it, even though it was super embarrassing, and then Plagg had to go and ruin it by mentioning that it was likely that all of my good luck was used up for the day."

Marinette stopped petting him, but she didn't move away.

From his place on her chest, he could hear her heart rate increase. He swallowed, waiting for her reaction.

She just exhaled slowly, shakily, and said, "Continue."

Letting out his own shaky breath, he proceeded to recap the day. Starting with breaking his toe, and being humiliated in front of the class, then going into the threat from Lila and being suspended from work.

Then he grew tense. This stopped being a therapy session, and now it was a business meeting.

He sat up, straddling her legs. He wanted to hold her hands, but he didn't dare touch her. Just met her gaze, so she could see how serious he was.

"I woke up not long before I came here, and went downstairs to get some dinner. But…I saw my father and Nathalie talking…and…"

The moment came back to him, the horror of what he had learned, the very idea that his whole life had changed. Things wouldn't be okay for a long time. His eyes started to water again.

But Marinette just sat there patiently, listening with an easy smile on her face.

"I saw…they had…my father was saying…that he wanted to akumatize me. And both Nathalie and him had kwamis. I couldn't…I couldn't stop myself. I confronted him."

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around himself, squeezing his arms. "My father is Hawkmoth. And…Nathalie is Mayura." He sniffed. "He tried to recruit me, and he showed me why he was doing this. My…my mother…she's still alive. She's in a coma, in the basement. He thinks if he can get both of the Miraculous, he can use the power to wake her up—" He choked and covered his mouth with his hand.

Marinette watch him, as his eyes grew wide and he began to spiral into self doubt.

"Then what happened?" She urged, trying to get it all out now before he completely shut down.

"I told him I…I didn't feel safe being there. So I packed a bag, and threatened not to visit him in prison if he didn't let me go." He swallowed. "And then I ran here. Because…I knew it was safe. You were safe."

"You didn't transform?"

"I was too afraid to. I assumed he sent an akuma after me, to see where I went…and I was right. I'm sorry."

She shook her head, and reached out for him again.

"You're being awfully calm about this." He noted.

"One of us has to be." She eased him to lay on her again, resuming her petting. "I freaked out enough today as it is."

"Because I saw you?"

"Yeah. And because I walked in on you in the bathroom. Talk about embarrassing."

"I think I out-embarrassed you today," he said with a weak smile.

"It's okay, kitty."

He hummed and began to purr.

Suddenly, she shoved him off of her with a little scream.

"My Lady?!"

"You really are him! You are Chat Noir!"

"I mean—yeah? Did—did I not mention that?"

"Not explicitly! You just brought up Plagg a few times and the pigeon thing, but I was trying to separate myself from the situation to stay calm, but the second you purred it was like…it finally clicked! You're Chat!"

He hunched his shoulders. "Is…is that a bad thing?"

"No! No no minou not at all! I'm so happy! I'm just—shocked!"

"Then why did you look so disappointed when I said I loved you?"

She blushed. "Because it's like I said…I thought you only loved me because I was Ladybug. And Adrien didn't really know Ladybug. They had only met a few times, but Marinette…I was always there. But knowing that you're Chat softens the blow, I guess. Because I know Chat really does love me."

"Let's stop talking like we're different people." Adrien said softly. "I love you, Mari. Both parts of you. Yes, I fell in love with Ladybug first, but Marinette was always important to me. Finding out that you were the same person was just this moment of 'oh duh'. Ladybug can't be anyone but you, My Lady."

"Adrien…"

"Even before I knew, I called you our everyday Ladybug, right?"

She gave him a shy smile. "Alright, I guess you've convinced me."

"Good." He tackled her back to the mattress, trapping her in his arms. "Because I'm going to start crying again any minute now, and I need you to pet me again."

"Oh kitty cat…" She softened at his tone and got to work running her fingers through his damp hair.

"Marinette," He purred, settling on her collar bone. "I'm so glad I found you. I didn't know what to do and I—" he choked.

"Shh, it's okay. We're partners, right? We always have each other's backs?"

He nodded.

"Then tonight, don't worry about your dad, or any of that other crap that happened. Let's just…enjoy each other."

He melted. His purr growing with each stroke, his heart began to settle and the ache startled to subside. "I love you."

She didn't respond immediately, pausing her pets. Then she licked her lips and confessed, "You were the other guy."

Adrien pushed up on his arms, looking down to her. "What?"

She flushed. "The reason I kept pushing away Chat Noir…was because I was desperately in love with Adrien."

He blinked. "Desperately?"

"Desperately." She whispered.

They were already so close. Their noses almost touching.

She could smell his cologne. The spicy scent surrounded her, sending goosebumps over her arms.

"And…does that change now? Now that you know…" his voice deepened, as his nose brushed against hers. "This handsome model…is also your silly kitty?"

Her voice was just a whisper. "It makes things easier."

"Yeah?"

"It means…I can love, and I don't have to pick between the two most important boys in my life."

"Mari…"

She could feel the heat from his lips, so tantalizingly close. She raised her hands, one cupping his cheek, the other playing with the hair on the back of his neck. "Are you going to kiss me?"

He smiled, a huff of air fanning on her lip. "I'm just savoring the moment, My Lady. I know this is nearly routine for you. But this will be my first kiss that I remember."

She smiled back. "I'll be sure to make it memorable."

"Every moment with you is worth remembering."

He crashed his lips onto hers, snaking his arms around her to hold her.

Desperate is what she said, and that's what this kiss was. Giving so much, and receiving more in return. Short kisses that started again before they ended, peppered with little smacks and moans. Tongues that, nervously at first, darted out to tease. Then slowly, long, languid dances and tug-o-wars. Adrien inhaled her, savoring her scent, her taste, her silky smooth feel. His hand rode up her shirt, and he moaned at the flawless skin of her back.

Her hand skirted up his neck and into his hair, her nails scrapping against his scalp.

His purr came back, vibrating between them like a shared heart.

Almost effortlessly, he rolled, flipping them over so she was on top. It didn't even break the kiss.

Marinette broke away with a squeak when his hand went down and grabbed her butt.

"I'm sorry!" He blushed, still so close. "I…I had just been thinking about that adorable butt of yours all day and…sorry, I sound like a total pervert."

She shook her head, before pecking him gently. "Nah, I think your butt is pretty cute too."

"You check out my butt?"

"Honey, in that leather, it's hard not to."

He barked a laugh that almost startled her. "You're too cute."

"I'm not the one with the full page magazine spreads."

"I'm pretty sure Ladybug was on the cover of Time Magazine."

"And Chat Noir was on the cover of Vogue."

"Leather's in, baby."

She kissed him again to shut him up. When she pulled away, he was just smiling softly at her.

"I never want to stop kissing you." He admitted. "That was awesome."

"You can kiss me anytime you want. You just have to do one thing."

"Anything." He breathed, earnestly.

"Let me be your girlfriend."

"Psh, I'd let you be my wife this second if I could. But I guess I'll settle for girlfriend."

She kissed his nose. "Seems like your luck finally turned around."

"The luckiest I've ever been." He beamed, then he froze in horror. "Shit!"

"What?"

"I used up all my good luck in one go again!"

"Thats okay. You'll just have to borrow mine."

Aw, who needed luck anyway?