Not Alone: A Miraculous Ladybug Story

Chapter 25

 Adrien was so not looking forward to the plan.

"That's why you're going to need to surprise him and use our secret weapon."

"Which is?"

"You."

He blinked at her. "Excuse me?"

"You need to release your transformation in front of your father. Show him that you're Chat Noir and hopefully that will shock him enough to drop any act. Also, he's not going to kill you and he's much more likely to believe everything you say when he sees his own son standing in front of him."

Marinette grabbed his hand under the table and he turned to look at her.

"It's a good idea, chaton."

"I know, I just wish it weren't"

He continued walking home. They had mapped out the other details during the course of the morning. Now, almost two hours later, Adrien was exhausted and just wanted a nap. They would wait until the fourth akumatised victim they fought together. That would give Alya and Nino some time to work with their powers, and Adrien some time to figure out what the hell he was going to say when he confronted his father.

It wasn't like he had never thought about it. He had rehearsed versions of it in his head since they found all this out. It wasn't a hypothetical anymore, and if he wanted to make his father listen, and ,per Alya's plan, have him work with them, then he could not speak in anger. He needed to come up with a reasonable and logical way to talk to him with just enough emotion to make his father see him as his son, and not someone who just lived in his house.

Adrien had seen the smallest amount of that paternal emotion peak out for the first time in a long time when Marinette had visited. He was still shocked by the tender emotion with which Gabriel had regarded them both, and he had no doubt it had to do with Marinette. He had always thought Ladybug's smile was like his mom's, but the more and more he was around Marinette he realized it wasn't the way her smile looked, but the emotions she emanated with it. It was warm and welcoming and safe. She had the kind of soul that echoed his mother's. Maybe his father had responded to that.

He wished Marinette could come with him, and maybe she could use that much stronger superpower on his father, but the plan had to be as it was. She needed to be there to cleanse the akuma, so he would just have to hope that they were able to do it quickly.

He walked into his empty house and into his room. Closing the door behind him, he opened his jacket for Plagg and got some camembert out of his mini fridge. He sat down at his desk grabbing a piece of paper and tried to brainstorm ideas. Plagg, about to moan about how long it took to be fed, looked at his charge and stopped himself. He ate a few pieces of cheese, and then went to sit on Adrien's head, falling into the plush cushion of his unkempt hair, and hoping his presence would comfort Adrien, even a little bit.

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The next week at school was tense to say the least. The four had fought two more akumas, luckily only one during school hours, because the entire front two rows on the one side of the classroom suddenly clearing out looked a little more than suspicious. They'd eventually have to figure that predicament out, but currently the only thought on their minds was the next battle. It would be the fourth they fought together, and it would be when they enacted their plan. Each of the four jumped at every little sound outside, and were starting to get looks from Ms. Bustier.

"I don't know what I'm dreading worse: the actual plan or how much longer it is going to be before another attack." Nino slumped onto the ground in the park where they met for lunch on Friday.

"If we keep this up much longer someone is going to notice something is going on. We're all fidgeting and being clumsy every time something that even remotely sounds like an akuma attack happens. Someone might start asking questions." Marinette groaned, cupping her head in her hands and leaning her elbows against her knees to keep her head upright.

"Or think you're rubbing off on us," Adrien sat next to her and leaning back against the tree, commenting on her known klutz status.

"Thank you," she looked at him wryly, but didn't have the energy to actually be angry. She was too tired. They were all too tired.

"We need to get some sleep, or we'll all be useless when it actually does happen." Alya piped in, opening her bag to get her lunch.

Adrien looked over at Marinette, already nodding off and swaying dangerously towards the ground.

"Forget lunch," he said, poking Marinette to wake her up. "We need naptime. Bugaboo, come here." He propped his back against the tree and and pulled Marinette between his knees and against his chest. Too tired to care that they were in public and no one else in school really knew that Adrien and she were seeing each other, Marinette turned and rested against the strong wall of Adrien's chest and was asleep almost immediately.

Alya looked over, amused, but well-aware of Marinette's true superpower of falling asleep anywhere with little-to-no notice. They had a two hour break, so she laid down in the grass herself, enjoying the warm pulse of the sun's rays against her face and the cool grass at her back. Nino stretched out next to her, his arm laying just against hers.