The days that followed were pure chaos. Especially once the body of Emilie Agreste was found in the secret basement underneath the house. It was the only thing people in Paris (hell, in the world) talked about. What happened to Emilie? Will she be okay? Gabriel did it for her? Did Adrien know? How is he?
Adrien himself couldn't answer any of these questions.
He didn't know either what had happened to his mom or how she had ended up in some form of coma. He hoped she was gonna be okay, but he didn't know that either. He guessed his father did it for her, but he thought that along the line, Gabriel had taken a liking to power and more specifically, to the terror he inspired. But no, he hadn't known. Should he have suspected it? Marinette always said no, absolutely not, that he was innocent. But Adrien thought differently. He should've known something was up. After all, everything had been happening in his own damn house. If he hadn't been so obvious to the whole thing...
Well, let's just say this wasn't a conversation he could have with his partner.
Now, how was he? That was the trickiest question. And even to this day, he couldn't answer it.
Although he knew that his father deserved to be in jail, he couldn't help but feel sad about it. How could he not? His father, his only living parent, was in jail! He was basically an orphan now! But he was also so, so mad at him. Had Gabriel really needed to do this? Was it really necessary? Couldn't he just be a dad to his son who, oh so desperately needed him?
He was also worried about Mayura and Lila. Where were they? Would they come back? They both had disappeared without a trace and no one in the world knew where they were hiding. Mayura, alias Natalie, had a warrant against her and was searched everywhere, with no luck whatsoever. And Lila was even suspected to be dead, perhaps killed during the final battle. Everyone pitied her. The last victim of Hawkmoth, who even Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't save. Ah, what a joke!
But above all, he felt this gut-wrenching guilt. He had put his father in jail! Didn't give him the chance to save his mother! Hell, he practically abandoned her! He had spent hours crying about it in Marinette's arms a few days after the battle, once Emilie's body was recovered. But despite Plagg's encouragement, Tikki's kind words and Marinette's loving presence, the pain he felt just wouldn't go away.
That is until he got the phone call.
He had been a month by then. Gabriel's trial was starting soon and Adrien had never been more anxious.
He was currently staying at the Dupain-Cheng, where they had turned the spare room into a small bedroom. It was pretty sweet of them, and Adrien never had the nerve to tell them he hadn't slept in his own bed once. But of course, that's not something Marinette's parents needed to know. Besides, they were only sleeping. Holding each other through their nightmares.
Well, okay, they did kiss like, a lot, but they definitely didn't need to know that.
Anyway, Marinette and him were playing video games when the phone rang. He didn't pay much attention to it until Sabine's voice screamed his name from the kitchen. After exchanging a worried look, the teenagers both ran downstairs, only to see the woman smiling at him, tears in her eyes.
"Is everything okay?" he asked, gripping Marinette's hand for reassurance.
"Adrien, your mother... Honey, she's awake."
He almost fainted right there and then. He went to see her every single day. Just last night, there had been absolutely no indication of things changing. And now, now...
The second he saw her, sitting in her bed, smiling at him, he broke down. Ran into her arms like a little boy and cried for hours. She didn't let him go either for a long time. Kissing his hair and cheeks, looking at him, crying just as much.
"I can't believe how much you've grown...," she cried at some point. "But you're still my little boy. My baby."
The doctors couldn't explain how and why she woke up. Perhaps, if Adrien had seen the knowing smirk on Tikki's face, he would've understood. But he didn't care. His mother was alive and well. That was all that mattered.
A few weeks later, Adrien and his mom moved into a new apartment. They obviously couldn't go back to the mansion, as it was now part of an ongoing investigation. And besides, Adrien didn't want to go back. Ever.
Emilie wanted to know everything about her son's life. His school, his hobbies, his friends. Did he like public school? How were his grades? Does he still play the piano? What about fencing? Could she meet his friends?
"Oh, Nino is so sweet! I'm glad you have a friend like him!"
"Yeah, me too."
"And Marinette..." she started, smirking, "Wow."
He blushed. "I'm gonna marry her, someday."
"You know what? I don't doubt it for a second. You two are perfect for each other. But not right now! You're both too young! Please, tell me you're using condoms?"
"Mom!"
"What?"
But above all, Emilie made sure that Adrien knew that what happened to his father was not his fault. That Gabriel was in the wrong. That he never should've gone this far. And when, one night, Adrien revealed to her that he was Chat Noir... Emilie broke down. She cried and told him how sorry she was that he had been put through this at such a young age. How proud she was of him. She watched every video she could find online (thanks, Ladyblog!) and cursed Gabriel's name for days.
"What are you watching?" Adrien asked his mom one night, after coming home from patrol.
"Some ladynoir compilation." She paused for a second before asking. "She's Marinette, isn't she?"
Adrien sighed. He knew this was coming. After all, Chat Noir was so obviously in love with Ladybug. And he was Chat Noir, and also in love with Marinette, so... Thank god, he had had this conversation with his girlfriend only a few days prior. She surprisingly didn't mind that his mother knew. Said that he needed as much moral support as he could get.
"And beside... Well, my mom knows, too. About both of us."
"What?" he exclaimed. "Since when?"
"She figured it out after everything. Why you and I were suddenly so close. It just... clicked, she said. So, if you want your mom to know... I'm okay with it."
"Yeah," Adrien finally answered his mom. "She is."
"Hmm. Well, you better marry her for real, now."
"Don't worry. I will."
"Good. But no grandbabies before a few years at least!"
"Mom!"
Two years had now passed and everything was pretty much perfect. Their lives had never been so simple, so sweet. Being Ladybug and Chat Noir, nowadays, was just about stopping the occasional crime and mostly about hanging out and running on rooftops.
Being Marinette and Adrien, however, was even better. Marinette was finally punctual. Never missed a girls' night out or a lovely date. And Adrien was free. No more modelling or an overplanned schedule. Now he could hang out with his friends. And Marinette and him could spend all the time they wanted kissing each other. On rooftops, in supply closets, in bed, in the street. They simply couldn't get enough of each other.
"Sabine, dear, can you pass me the salt?"
"Of course, Emilie! There you go."
Adrien and Marinette smiled at each other. Their mother's friendship had been unexpected. When they had introduced their moms, they hadn't expected them to become so close. But now, the two women could barely go a day without talking to each other. They were always at each other's place, talking about everything and anything, but especially their children and future grandchildren and how gorgeous they were gonna be.
"Oh, have you heard about...," Emilie started saying before stopping herself, her wide eyes fixed on the tv behind Marinette.
"Mom, are you okay?"
"Oh no..."
The three others turned, confused. They stared at the screen for a long moment before Sabine finally turned up the volume, her hands shaking.
"... as you can see." Nadja was saying on screen. "It's the first time in two years that Mayura is making an appearance. We are currently still waiting for Ladybug and Chat Noir to arrive on the scene. And... Wait, who is that?"
On top of the Eiffel Tower, right beside Mayura, another figure appeared. The woman was dressed in what looked like a stunning black dress which turned blue under the sunlight. Her cape was created to look like wings whose colours kept on changing. Green, purple, yellow, red, orange, and blue, but always fitting the mask that protected her identity from the rest of the world.
Marinette immediately recognized the long brown hair. The way she was holding herself. The smirk. No magic could hide her identity. And by the way Adrien was looking at her, she knew that he was also perfectly well aware of who, exactly, they were dealing with.
"I am Farfalla," Lila claimed on screen. "I have a message for Ladybug and Chat Noir. I hope you enjoyed the last two years because Hawkmoth was only the beginning. Your miraculous will be mine, and I will not hold back. Are you ready to play?"
Right as she said that, four cell phones started ringing.
"It's an akuma alert," Sabina whispered.
Adrien and Marinette exchanged a knowing look. Seemed like their peace had finally come to an end.
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Thank you so much for reading <3