Venom: A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction

Marinette-Chapter 23

Marinette rolled her eyes, her lips twitched all the same.

"Aww, you're such a charmer," she said with a little sarcasm, but she still felt glad that he seemed to be back to his old self again. She had almost lost him. She couldn't let that happen again. "I'm really glad you're getting better. I was so worried."

Adrien let out a low chuckle. "I'm okay. Besides, I couldn't leave you alone to fight crime by yourself, Bugaboo."

Laughing, Marinette swatted his arm exasperatedly. They laughed together for a moment before Ladybug became serious.

"Hey, Chat? There's something I think I need to tell you."

Adrien nodded, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "Okay, Purrincess. You can tell me anything."

Marinette sighed, casting him a scolding glance. Adrien looked a little sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry. Keep going."

"I think that you need to get back together with Alyssa," Marinette said carefully, watching a full spectrum of emotions from shock to worry cross Adrien's face. She knew he wasn't going to like this plan, she didn't like it either.

"Why?"

Taking a deep breath, Marinette plunged in. "Because we need to keep a close watch on her, figure out how to stop her. I can't get close enough to learn her weaknesses. But you can."

He took a deep breath and shook his head. "I can't. I kinda just started seeing som—"

"Please, Adrien," she interrupted. "This is for the greater good. We may not even be able to defeat Alyssa without your help and a lot of good, innocent people could get hurt. Please."

Adrien looked a little disappointed but nodded all the same. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Thank you," Marinette breathed a sigh of relief.

Adrien grimaced, picking at the sleeve of his shirt. "To be honest, I thought you were going to tell me who you are. I was kind of hoping things had changed between us."

Biting her lip, Marinette looked away. She didn't want to give Lady Hawk Moth any more leverage than she already had over them. She knew her next words would hurt him, but she didn't have a choice.

"I-I'm sorry, Adrien. But I like someone else, okay? I don't want to hurt you or anything, but that's how it is."

Marinette could see the heartbreak in Adrien's eyes and wished she could take it away and reveal her identity to him. But she couldn't—not yet.

"Oh, um...okay," he said with a forced grin. "Sorry."

"You're my best friend, Chat. I'm really sorry," Marinette had to fight to keep her voice even as tears sprang to her eyes. "Please don't hate me."

"I could never hate you, Ladybug. Never," Adrien promised, touching her hand lightly. "It's okay."

Marinette felt as though the walls were closing in on her and she knew she had to go or Adrien was going to see how she really felt about him.

"I need to leave," she whispered. "I'll see you later."

Adrien nodded as she opened the balcony door and swung herself into the night. Her tears began to fall in earnest as she climbed to the roof opposite the apartment building, freezing on her cheeks. She hated herself for breaking Adrien's heart again and again. But for both of their safety, she had to guard her secret a little longer.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the glowing window, sliding down to sit with her knees pulled to her chest. "I'm so sorry, Adrien."

She wasn't sure how long she sat there until she saw a shiny black sedan pull up in front of the apartment building. She watched closely as Alyssa got out. Marinette frowned, following her progress as she entered the building. If she could follow her once Alyssa left Adrien's, she might be able to discover what she was up to.

A light dusting of snow began to fall and Marinette leaned up against the chimney with her arms wrapped around her body to stay warm. Alyssa spent a long time with Adrien, so long that Marinette grew increasingly jealous. The sooner Alyssa was out of the picture, the better.

At last, Alyssa appeared again and got in her car, her spidery long legs on display below the very short dress she wore under her coat. Marinette pushed aside her jealousy, focusing on tailing the car. It wasn't hard to keep up, the driver made his way through the streets slowly because of the snow. Marinette nearly lost the car when it went through the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, but spotted it again as it turned right at the light. Her stomach flipped when she realized where Alyssa was headed—the Agreste manor.

Landing lightly on the brick wall surrounding the grounds, Marinette crouched in the darkness as Alyssa got out of the car. Her heels clicked on the cobblestones as she went inside without knocking. Marinette frowned—how was she supposed to follow her now?

Noticing a partially open window with the light on in an upstairs room, she climbed silently toward it. Two voices could be heard talking in hushed urgent tones.

"You're a fool, Alyssa," Gabriel Agreste spat. "You shouldn't have drawn so much attention to yourself. There are other ways to seize Chat Noir and Ladybug's Miraculouses."

Alyssa's voice held a bite of impatience as she spoke. "No, you're the fool. You nearly had their Miraculouses more times than I can count, but they always slipped through your fingers. Now it's time to try it my way."

Marinette covered her mouth to stifle a gasp as more pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Gabriel was the original Hawk Moth. Did Adrien know? If he did, was he protecting his father by not telling her?

The argument moved into another room and Marinette waited a few more minutes until she felt safe enough to leave. Her head spun wildly as she digested what she had just heard. If Adrien did know the truth, what else could he be hiding from her? Could she trust her own partner?