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★ ─── 悪役
There was something daunting about confronting your prime suspect for the mass crime in Paris. Then again, something like that should probably be daunting.
[Y.Name] had only met Gabriel Agreste on two separate occasions. The first time was scary as all hell and he didn't even talk to him, having been dragged inside behind Nino as he tried to convince the man to let Adrien have a party. His heart rate was through the roof as he stared up at him, more than ready to step out of the house the second they were all but thrown out.
The second time, he was lucky to even make it through the front door. Adrien had invited him over to study, with his father's (surely reluctant) permission, but once the results of the assessment came back high—even if he wasn't sure how much he actually played into Adrien doing well—Adrien passed on the message that he could come over again if he wanted.
And now here he was again.
Something about the atmosphere was disconcerting. Nothing appeared out of place, with simple sculptures to one side and pictures from Adrien's photoshoots on the other, but there was just... something. He couldn't place it.
His eyes skimmed over the rest of the room in mild interest before fixing onto the painting on the far back wall. Shades of the same muted yellow blended across the canvas, with small accents of gold and silver leaf giving it a little more vibrance. Beyond all of that, though, he gaped up at the green of the woman's eyes. She was definitely pretty, the pale of her skin preventing her from ever fading into the background, drawing your eyes up.
As he continued pulling apart the little details in the craftsmanship, [Y.Name] couldn't help but feel bad. He had heard little about Adrien's mother before, but he hoped she was a good person; that she earned having her image immortalised in such a beautifully extravagant painting.
[Y.Name] brought his eyes down with a sigh, watching out the window just to the left, just a voice called from behind him. "Do you like art, Mr. [L.Name]?"
He drew his lips into a thin line, glancing up once. "I can appreciate it when I see it."
"Well." Gabriel took a seat on one of the sunken couches. "It's awfully unusual that you've requested an audience with me."
"It's... important," he said, not sure how to phrase it. [Y.Name] walked towards Gabriel, standing on the floor in front of him.
Staring down at him like this, feeling so much more significant than him, he wondered if the man was uncomfortable.
"Basically, I've figured out that you're Hawk Moth."
Gabriel raised a brow, a completely deadpan expression. "Excuse me?"
"I'm sure you've been watching yourself carefully, not wanting to slip up. Not wanting to get caught before you've hit your stride. But you haven't been careful enough," he explained, folding his arms over his chest. "The Bubbler? I didn't get the chance to go far before adults started flying out of their houses and into the air. Close enough that I would've definitely seen you."
[Y.Name] adjusted, tilting his head in question. "Why didn't you go with the rest of them, Mr. Agreste? Too good for that? Total coincidence, maybe? Thing is, there are a lot of coincidences surrounding you and Hawk Moth. Too many for it all to truly be a coincidence. So I want to hear it from you." His speech was slow, bordering on condescending, and his arms dropped back to his sides. "How do you want to explain it?"
"Let me ask you a question, instead," Gabriel said, relaxing back nonchalantly into the seat. "You have all this so-called 'information', apparent proof that I'm Paris' most prominent villain, and yet, instead of going to authorities or passing this information on to the heroes, you've come to me."
The man then stood, gaze fixed on his. [Y.Name] curled in slightly on himself. Though Gabriel still stood shorter, to an outsider, the one with the power would be obvious. "Did you mean to confirm your suspicions? What do you hope to gain from this whole exchange?"
[Y.Name] remained silent for enough time that the atmosphere felt confining. He held eye contact through it all, watching for minor changes in Gabriel's facial expression; he was getting uncomfortable too.
It was all coming together for him. Although his plan boasted confidence, coming in here and confronting the man, he still wasn't completely certain that he really was Hawk Moth. However, every little tell in his body language was analysed, and it all added up. While Gabriel eased himself back, he was stiff, a growing sheen to his forehead. He changed his position too often, fiddled with his ring too much, to not be trying to cover something.
On the contrary, his act was practically foolproof. He'd get the man where he wanted him, one way or another. Maybe not to an outsider, but he realised who really had the power here, even if he was the only one aware.
"That," he started. "Is a great question, actually."
Looking over his shoulder, thinking back on his overarching goal, he knew what needed to be done.
He shifted around to face the adult properly. "I want to help you."
After all, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
"Why are you—why, [Y.Name]?"
The teen let his hands go lax, resting the dish he was scrubbing back into the soapy water. "I was wondering what you'd have to say," he muttered. His voice trembled with a subtle guilt.
Azzie was hovering behind him, eyes wide and shivering. "Working with Hawk Moth? Are you out of your mind?!"
"I know it sounds crazy," he told them, drying his hands on a towel and offering one out, which the kwami flew into apprehensively. "But I think this'll be the best thing to do everything I need to."
Instead of hanging around the kitchen, [Y.Name] brought the conversation into his room to prevent anyone from walking in on them (anyone being his mum; there was literally no one else who could see them talking).
"Sure, it's not ideal," he then said, sitting on the edge of his bed. "But it'll let me bring the heroes back a step, so the people in the city will start taking better care of themselves, and my friends will stop getting put in danger."
His tone was clipped with anger, fists clenching on top of his thighs. He took a breath to calm himself, but he still wasn't completely satiated. "It'll also give me the opportunity to get close with Hawk Moth and see what else he might be hiding before he's taken down." [Y.Name] grimaced, not looking up. "I don't wanna mess this up. Not now that I have this chance to set everything right."
Azzie was quiet. "What about Ladybug and Chat Noir?"
[Y.Name]'s brows furrowed. "What about them?"
"Are you going to figure out who they are, too?"
A moment to think. "I don't think I need to know who they are for this to work out." After another second, he added, "If I put it together, it won't be from any active research. I can tell you that much. Though they may be the most well-equipped to help me take him down in the end, y'know, a group against one... I don't know. It'll be easier to put a more detailed plan together after a bit of scouting."
The kwami stewed in their concern until their expression settled into firm determination. "We'll work it out together. I trust you, [Y.Name]."
He smiled weakly. "Thanks, Azzie. I appreciate it. Y'know, I'd probably hug you if you weren't smaller than my palm..."
Despite the jab, they flew into his chest, arms splayed out, burying their still-worried face in his shirt. [Y.Name] brought his hands over the kwami and held them there. It wasn't quite a proper hug, but it was the closest they'd ever get.
"I like to make my holders work for my affection for a bit longer, but I feel like you need the support."
