Not Alone: A Miraculous Ladybug Story

Chapter 42

 Gabriel's reaction was less composed than Adrien's when they told him. Adrien had cracked and allowed silent tears to slip down his face, thanking Chloé quietly, but there was still reservation in his eyes. He didn't dare to hope too much until they had successfully brought Adela back. Gabriel, on the other hand, was exuberant.

Apparently the Agreste boys liked keeping her on her toes, because Marinette had not been expecting that reaction from either of them. Maybe the reverse reactions, actually. Nonetheless, the Agrestes were varying degrees of hopeful, and the plan was made to stage a rescue attempt on Saturday night during the banquet. Chloé, of course, would be in attendance as to not arouse suspicion, but the rest of the miraculous holders would search the apartment complex Adela was in. It would be more difficult, they had all gotten used to having easy communication with Queen Bee's powers, but they had agreed that whatever team found Adela would call for backup the old way and they'd tackle it together. They knew there were at least two security guards and odds were they were expecting the power of a miraculous holder if any rescue attempt ever did happen, so it would be best if they were all there.

That was the easy part. They all decided, and went their separate ways for the night, getting home relatively early at nine. The true battle was convincing her parents.

Marinette was pleasantly surprised at how well her parents had accepted her boyfriend. She was even more surprised with how they had accepted her masked-vigilante status. While more hesitant, they had given her their blessing to help Adrien and Gabriel find Adela. Any normal teenager would be due for a major freak out at this point, except her parents surprised her again. They were hesitant and worried, but knew that it wasn't any more dangerous than what she'd been doing for the last year. Their one request was that they all reconvene at their place after it was over. They said it was more conveniently located than the Agreste mansion and safer if someone went to look for Adela, but Marinette knew their primary reason was so they wouldn't have to wait to make sure they were all okay.

Marinette felt tears start to fall down her face. She let all the stress fall away in her parent's presence and had never been more grateful for these two people that created her, physically and emotionally, than she was right at that moment. She had never fully appreciated the depth of their selflessness until then. They trusted and loved her, even when she was unsure and even though she had lied to them. She was putting them at danger just by being Ladybug, but here they stood, loving her and accepting her and inviting even more potential danger into their home because they loved and accepted her friends too.

Her Papa's arms came around her then and she felt her mother's cool hand against her cheek, soothing away the tears.

"Baobei" her mother said, just as her father said, "mon trésor" and the three of them laughed. It'd been a joke since she was young for them to give her the same nicknames in their native languages.

"I love you guys so much." She wiped her tears and her father kissed her forehead.

"I think this sobfest needs chocolate." He marched off determinedly towards the kitchen and Marinette chuckled watching him go as her mother came to her side. The slightly shorter woman stood close and wrapped her arm around Marinette's waist.

"Be careful, my child." She kissed the top of her daughter's head and Marinette tilted her head to lean it against her mother's.

"I always am."

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The next night Marinette stood in Chloé's room as she got ready for the banquet.They had decided that they should go over everything once again just before the event itself. Having a bunch of friends over might seem out of the ordinary for Chloé, and Penelope and a few others were still in residence at the Grand Paris presumably keeping an eye on Chloé; so, they decided it would be less suspicious for a solitary friend to come over and help her get ready. Chloé had asked Marinette to come, and she would transform and relay any message to everyone else.

The banquet was black tie, but that was no obstacle for Chloé's wardrobe. Marinette watched in fascination as Chloé applied makeup, did her hair and laid out various accesories trying to come up with a combination she approved of. It was frankly mesmerizing. As a designer, Marinette could truly appreciate Chloé's eye for detail and quality. The blonde settled on a one shoulder satin gown that was a shimmering champagne color with an ethereal chiffon overlay that made her look equal part Egyptian queen and part Greek muse. Her hair was gathered into a low bun skewed slightly towards the side, and pale bronze makeup accented her eyes. Large topaz earrings dangled from her ears, and a couple of diamond encrusted gold bangles finished off her look. She opted for flat strappy sandals, which grated at her, but they both agreed that heels would not be ideal if she needed to make a quick escape, besides it went with the vaguely grecian theme that seemed to be going on tonight and with Marinette on hand, she had a quick temporary hem to shorten the gown for the night. Chloé most certainly looked like she'd been touched by Midas.

"I'm nervous." Chloé blurted out suddenly as she fiddled with loose pieces of her hair.

"Me too." Marinette admitted. "But as long as everything goes as planned, you'll just have to smile and nod. You should be--"

"I'm not nervous for me." Chloé looked at her as if it should be obvious. "You all are facing armed guards. I just have to smile and look pretty. Trust me, I can handle that." Chloé muttered the last part to herself, less like a brag, and more like she had resolved herself to that fate in life. "He's not going to be right tonight. You need to watch out for him."

Chloe met her eyes in the mirror and Marinette knew exactly who they were talking about. If she had said this two weeks ago, Marinette would have been offended and probably would have responded in anger, but now things were different. Chloé and she understood each other, and Marinette knew without a doubt what she was saying. Adrien was keeping it together, and if there was a battle she knew she could count on Chat like she always did, but if something had happened to his mother...

"He's my first priority," Marinette admitted to Chloé. It sounded awful, but if it came down to it, she was getting Chat, Volpina and Honu out of there. She'd never asked for it, but she wielded the oldest miraculous and had become an impromptu leader in battle when needed because of it. They were a team, but when a decision really needed to be made, the other looked to her without question. Even Chloé. "But I think we can do this. The information you got us is good, and they don't know we're coming. Tonight is our best shot."

Chloé stared at her for another moment and then nodded. "Okay, go ahead."

Marinette transformed and opened her yoyo to video chat with the others. They all were waiting and after planning to meet, and giving Chloé a timetable of when the latest they would be at Marinette's by, they hung up.

Marinette released her transformation to walk out the way she came in, but before she left she turned to Chloé.

"Even if we get her out early, you need to stay at the event as long as possible. He needs to see that you're there so he doesn't connect you to us. But if he does, you transform and run. Do not try to be a hero. I'd rather your cover be blown than have you captured too."

Before Chloé could remark on Marinette's unexpected show of emotion towards her, Marinette gave her a brief but fierce hug and was in the elevator.

Chloé stood shocked, but smiling. She faced the night with newfound determination to distract Germain. She finally had friends she could truly trust, and she'd be damned if some deranged sperm-donor or his lackeys touched a hair on their heads.