The Rebellion of Adrien Agreste

by Rose Thorne

Disclaimer: Don't own Miraculous Ladybug or make any money writing fanfiction.

Chapter Sixteen

Tikki was almost falling asleep after the excitement of the morning when suddenly Plagg was in Marinette's bag with her. She only barely managed to stop from letting out a startled cry.

"Plagg!" she hissed, glaring. "If my holder—"

"That's why we need to go talk somewhere else, Sugarcube."

Plagg was, at least, keeping his voice down. Small favors.

She scowled. "We're not tempting Mme. Mendeleiev again. It was bad enough last time!"

He rolled his eyes. "Ugh, fine. We stay in the walls and floors until we find an empty room."

"You had best hope there isn't an Akuma Alert while we're gone."

It was unlikely, given that Marinette hadn't had a chance to purify the Akuma Mme. Mendeleiev had captured. She likely wouldn't even notice Tikki was gone, as Alya was sticking to her like glue, still occasionally crying when her guilt overflowed.

They did have to have a conversation—their holders had managed to get rid of the threat of the liar, but there were other issues to address. Namely the way his holder's father was likely to react to what was happening as it continued. It wouldn't do for Chat Noir to be on lockdown, after all.

They were able to make their way to the locker room and into an empty locker without any issue.

"Have you been reading the news?" Plagg asked once they had ascertained they wouldn't be discovered. "Good ol' Gabe tried to fire Lila a second time. Forgot he already had, I guess."

Tikki frowned, not sure whether that was a good development. "So he's irrational over it?"

Plagg snorted contemptuously. "When's he not irrational, is more the question. Just more so than usual. My kid deals with way too much shit from that man."

She was well aware of that, having heard enough through Marinette, who had always wondered how to help—both Adrien and Chat Noir, at that, since she was aware both had awful home lives but had no idea they were the same home life.

In many ways, Gabriel Agreste's latest act of assholery was a blessing in disguise if it finally made Plagg's holder snap and actively seek help. The boy was far too passive, and it was nice to see him finally put his foot down.

That it had involved an attempt to force him to date his "muse" the Liar was beyond the pale and more than a little creepy, in Tikki's eyes. Sure, in some centuries their holders and all their friends would be married with kids by now, but allowing kids to grow more was a civilized move and a boon of modern society.

"If he likes her so much, he can date her," Plagg commented.

Tikki had to suppress a smile at how in tune he was with her thoughts, truly her other half. "It's illegal now."

"Like Gabe cares about illegal," Plagg scoffed. "The man's a moral abyss. It's shocking Adrien is such a good kid given his sire, but I guess it's a good thing he's had little involvement in his life beyond donating sperm."

"Plagg!" Tikki frowned at him; that was taking it a bit far. Or at least she hoped it wasn't that bad. "I hope you don't talk like that around your holder."

"I wish," he muttered. "But no, the kid still hopes for his dad's approval. Though from recent events that might've waned a bit."

That was probably as good an opening as she was going to get.

"Recent events that might compromise your holder's identity. His dad is obviously a loose cannon, and while it's good the Liar was taken out, we need to counsel our holders to get the rest taken care of and their lives stabilized. Otherwise Hawkmoth could win."

"Yeah, I know. But no Fu."

Tikki already knew all the arguments he could bring up there, and she agreed with them. The man had trauma, certainly, but he kept making mistakes based on them that were hurting the kids. She had expected he would mentor them, not hide in his massage parlor and expect them to learn to swim on their own.

"Agreed. He's prone to panic and bad decisions."

Plagg looked briefly startled, but grinned. "Ah, always knew I'd create a rebel out of you, Sugarcube."

She rolled her eyes affectionately. "I trust our judgment better, is all."

"Been waiting a few millennia to hear you say that!"

He preened, and Tikki fixed him with an unimpressed stare.

"'Our,' Plagg. I know better than to trust yours alone. The dinosaurs, Atlantis…"

"Yeah, yeah. Make a few mistakes, everyone reminds you of them forever."

Thankfully he knew better than to argue or mention her own. She hated reminders of her own failures, particularly the one that had gone beyond its target and through the millennia to the present. Tikki hadn't expected the creation of abnormal cell growth to take on a life of its own… but maybe that was why she so rarely let herself lose her temper.

Plagg yawned widely, as though putting on a show to distract her, knowing she needed it.

Stinky Sock, always being so observant, making himself likeable.

"They'll all be at Pigtails' place tonight. We can plan more after we know their plan, right?"

Tikki hid a smile. "Let me guess. It's naptime?"

He smiled. "You know me so well."

She considered for a moment.

"Mind making a pit-stop along the way? I can purify that Akuma so my holder doesn't have to worry about it."

"Ooo!" Plagg brightened. "I wonder if that teacher has any of that delicious magic cheese…"

"Ugh, Stinky Sock. You and your cheese!"

Still, she felt the anxiety of the day start to ease at his antics as she led the way to the science room.

As it turned out, there was cheese, and a very pleasant teacher who actually apologized for trying to capture them and wished them luck fighting Hawkmoth. She even had a cookie for Tikki.

Life was good.

The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.