"What was that Gabriel?"

The designer avoided looking at Nathalie and focused his attention out the window of the car. "I don't know what you're talking about".

"Rubbish." She snapped and Gabriel looked over to see her glaring at him over her glasses. "You knew exactly what you were doing. You were trying to provocate Adrien by attacking his manhood. That's low, even for you."

"Would you have me akumatize him instead?"

"Now you're just being facetious."  She grumbled, folding her arms and looking away from him.

"He needed a kick up the backside instead of feeling sorry for himself. The only way he will get himself out of the rut he is clearly in is by focusing his attention on Marinette instead"

Nathalie turned her head back to him, knitting her eyebrows together. "You think that was the way to get him out of a rut?"

Gabriel looked at her confused. "You don't approve?"

"No Gabriel, I don't approve." Nathalie retorted.

Gabriel smirked. "You know I had no intention of putting Ricardo into the same office as Marinette. I'm well aware of the kind of man he is. I think I would have ended up with a lawsuit on my hands."

Nathalie rolled her eyes. "Yes, I knew that, but Adrien didn't. It could very well have been Ricardo filing a lawsuit against Adrien for assault." She then narrowed her eyes at him. "You were trying to make Adrien jealous, weren't you?"

"I believe it had the desired effect."

Nathalie groaned and shook her head. "Honestly, I don't know why that even surprises me. And what about Félix? Is that some kind of angle too."

"It is, but not for the same reason. I had a long talk with Amelie and Félix about what had been going on with Illusions and he has agreed to be my eyes and ears at the Bourgeois function. This is the first item of the Miraculous collection being shown and I would almost guarantee that Illusions won't pass up the opportunity to have someone spying there. The private investigator said as much."

"Shouldn't you have told Marinette?"

"I think the less she knows for now the better. She means well, but this is above her pay grade so to speak."

Nathalie pursed her lips. "You still think Ricardo is the leak don't you?"

Gabriel nodded slowly. "That break in was nothing but a farce, but it makes it difficult to point the finger with any kind of certainty. We will have to wait and see what happens at the function, but I have a feeling that the mysterious entity behind Illusions will make themselves known very soon. They can't stay in the shadows forever."

Gabriel loosened his tie, feeling uncomfortable around his neck. He could still sense that frustrated man at the Mayor's office.

"When are you going to give that up Gabriel?" Nathalie asked, indicating where the butterfly pin was hidden.

"If I have the Miraculous, I can keep him safe." Gabriel replied, but Nathalie wasn't entirely convinced he believed it himself anymore.

"You can't protect him from the world Gabriel. Adrien is a man now, not a wide eyed little boy. Do you really think he would be happy to find out anything of this? As far as he knows his mother is buried in the family crypt. You know what the Miraculous Lore says about combining the Ladybug and the Cat Miraculous."

Gabriel lowered his head as the car came to a stop at the Agreste mansion. "A price must be paid. Yes I know, but what choice do I have?" He then let out a long sigh, balling up his fists on his knees. "Wasn't Emilie enough of a price?"

Nathalie reached a hand over and placed it on his fist. He looked up at her, surprised at the contact. "You know it doesn't work that way. A price would still need to be paid. You always have a choice, but the path you chose is up to you."

The bodyguard opened the door of the car and Gabriel helped Nathalie out, leading the way into the foyer. He stood in the middle of the floor with his hands behind his back. "Nathalie." He said suddenly as she was about to go up the stairs. "Would you still support me, either way?"

Nathalie came back across the foyer, standing in front of Gabriel. "I have always supported you Gabriel, but I can't keep watching you tear yourself apart. Make the right choice, for all of us."

Gabriel watched her and Nathalie walked up the stairs. Yes, he had to make a choice, but he just wasn't ready to give up yet. If he had all the Miraculous, if he held the ultimate power, he could always protect his family. It might be too late for Emilie, but he had promised his wife he would never let anything happen to their son, and he was determined to keep that promise.

~~~~~
Marinette picked up the cups and plates from the table, along with Adrien's tray, sitting them in the kitchen. Why did Gabriel always have to be so...Gabriel? She respected the man as a designer, but she was struggling to respect him as a human being. Clearly Adrien must have taken after his mother because he was nothing like his father.

When she came back into the lounge room, Adrien was looking out the window again with longing in his eyes. He turned to her and reached his hand out. She placed her in his and sat on the edge of the couch beside him. Adrien brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed the back of it.

"Thank you for what you said earlier to my father."

"I only spoke the truth, Adrien." She assured him. "You're one of my best friends and I don't want your father thinking so little of you. He's right about one thing though, we still don't look much like a couple despite Alya's efforts. I've been thinking that maybe we should do some selfies or something and post them to your Instagram, get people talking and..."

"Marinette." Adrien said softly, drawing her attention from her thoughts. "What if... what if I told you I don't want to pretend anymore."

Marinette felt like all the air in her lungs suddenly evaporated. Was he wanting her to leave? Had she done something to upset him? "What do you mean?"

Adrien held her hand between both of his, licking his dry lips before he continued. "I mean, I don't want us pretending to be in a relationship. I want a real relationship with you. I've been falling in love with you Marinette. I knew I was before I had the accident, but being this close to you everyday has just reconfirmed it. When I'm around you, there are times when I feel like I can't breathe. You're my first thought in the morning, and you're in my dreams at night. I don't care what my father does or doesn't want, all I know is that I want to be with you."

Marinette had to avert her eyes from his intense gaze. She had waited to hear those words from him almost since the day they had met. But somehow she couldn't help the doubts creeping in. He was feeling depressed, under pressure from his father and was in love with her alter ego. She wasn't ready for this right now.

"You're not in love with me Adrien." She said quietly, taking her hand out of his and standing up. "You're just feeling confused after your father's visit. You're the future CEO of Gabriel and he wants you to marry a designer, someone who understands the business and you don't know anyone else."

"I'm not confused, Marinette." He insisted, trying to sit up more. "If anything, for the first time I'm seeing things clearly. I know you said that you didn't want to get into a relationship while you're building your career, but I can't change the way I feel. Marinette I've had so much love for you in my heart that I've tried to ignore, but I can't do it anymore."

"Don't Adrien." She said, wrapping her arms around herself. "You know how hard it is for me to say no to you, but I have to right now." Adrien couldn't understand. He was sure that he hadn't misread the signs. The casual flirting, the lunches, the motorbike rides, the way she had been caring for him...he was so sure that she felt the same.

"Marinette..."

"Adrien please." She pleaded, her voice cracking. "This isn't the right time. You're upset, you're feeling vulnerable and... I just... I can't do this right now."

She was trying to hold back tears. In truth she wanted nothing more than to rush into his arms and kiss him senseless, but her fears were holding her back. Hawk Moth was still at large, the threats were still there, and she couldn't tell him who she really was. "Can't we just keep things the way they are for now without making it complicated between us?"

Adrien lowered his head. He hadn't wanted to make things uncomfortable between them. He let out a sigh. He should have known that he would be rejected. Seemed to have been the story of his life with the girls he loved. "Yeah, sure." He eventually said, clearly forlorn. "Forget I said anything. I might go and lay down for a while."

Shifting his leg over, he reached for his crutches. Marinette immediately raced over to help him, but he shook his head. "I'm fine, don't fuss over me. I'll see you later."

Marinette stood by and watched as he slowly made his way towards his bedroom and shut the door. Once he was out of sight, she ran out onto the small balcony and let out the sob she had been holding. She hadn't even noticed she had forgotten her coat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Plagg floating near where her hands were gripping the railing.

"Are you happy now?" The black Kwami growled.

"What would you have me do Plagg?" She said back to him. "This wasn't supposed to happen this way! I wasn't supposed to find out Adrien was Chat Noir and he can't find out I'm Ladybug. It's too dangerous."

"For who?" Plagg shot back angrily. "For you? You're so caught up in the fact that he first fell in love with Ladybug, you're forgetting that you are Ladybug! The idiot fell in love with the same girl twice, but you couldn't do the same for him."

"That's not fair." She bit back, wiping tears from her eyes. "Of course I love Chat, because I love Adrien. But he sees Chat Blanc in his dreams. He wasn't even supposed to know any of that happened. I can't let it happen again. I was the reason for that. Being with me will only ever hurt him."

Plagg folded his paws and flicked his tail around behind him. "You're doing a pretty good job of that yourself." Marinette let out another sob and Plagg let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, Tikki told me about what happened, but you don't really know what caused it. Sometimes the wires of the timelines get crossed as I'm sure you have figured out for yourself, but that doesn't mean it's still going to happen. I will tell you one thing though Pigtails, the biggest mistake you can make in life is to be constantly afraid you will make one. Do you have any idea how hard it was for my kid to tell you how he felt, how long he had been wanting to say it, and you go and reject him! Again!"

There was a loud crash in the distance. Marinette felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and knew it was an akuma alert.

"I'm not rejecting him Plagg, I'm trying to protect him."

"You're protecting yourself." Plagg spat out angrily. "I know SugarCube tends to sugar coat things for you, it's in her nature, but that's not going to happen with me. He loves you and he deserves some happiness in his life. Stop hurting my Kitten."

Marinette's eyes locked onto his fierce chartreuse ones and the Kwami could see she was listening to what he was saying. "I never wanted to hurt him." Her voice was shaking. She had been looking at all this from the wrong point of view. Another loud crash echoed through the sky and Marinette could see Scarabella flying in, using one of the space power ups she had given her.

Plagg shook his head. "You better go help deal with that. I don't think Scarabella can do it on her own."

The cat Kwami dived into her bag and came out again with the ring. Marinette took it from him and placed it on her finger.

"Alright. Plagg, Claws Out." She took out her baton to call Scarabella.

"Marinette?"

She froze as she was about to press the call button. Marinette didn't have to turn around to know, she could tell from the sound of his voice that Adrien had seen her transform.

"I thought you were in your room?" Marinette said, panic clear in her voice.

"I was." He said, hobbling closer to her. "I saw the akuma alert on my phone and came out to see where you were and..."

He stopped in front of her and looked deep into her blue cat eyes. "Is this why you pushed me away? Did Ladybug tell you to do that?"

"What? No, of course not." She said, waving her hands around but she saw the hurt in his eyes. "Adrien, I can't do this right now."

"Can't or won't?" He said bitterly. "You kept this a secret from me Marinette, and now you expect me to just sit here and watch you go out there and get hurt."

"I don't have a choice, Adrien." She yelled at him, frustrated. " It's not like you can go now is it?" Almost immediately as the words that left her mouth she instantly regretted them. Adrien recoiled back on his crutches creating more space between them.

"You're right, I can't." He said, lowering his head. She could hear the devastation and the heartbreak as he spoke. "You...you should go. Scarabella needs you."

Marinette stepped closer to him, her two long braids trailing behind her. "Adrien I... I didn't mean too..."

"Just go." He said barely above a whisper as he shuffled his way back into the apartment.

Marinette was torn between wanting to run back in after him, and what her duty was telling her to do. Looking across the city, she suddenly saw Scarabella flung across the skyline.

"Damn it." She mumbled under breath, before extending her baton and leaping across the rooftops.

~~~~~

"Ok girl, what gives? You were not yourself out there today."

Marinette and Alya both sat on a concealed rooftop as the sun began to set. The akuma had been more difficult than they thought at first and it had taken most of the day to finally defeat him. The whole situation was even more complicated by Marinette being distracted, the image of Adrien's pained eyes haunting her.

While being adults meant their timers didn't run down now, they decided to give the kwami's a break before Alya had to make her way back to Nino and the New Years party they would be attending. Thankfully he was able to cover for her.

Marinette pulled her cardigan tighter around her. She was really missing that coat she had forgotten now. "Adrien told me he doesn't want us to fake our relationship anymore, he wants a real relationship."

Alya's eyes lit up. "Yes finally!" She then saw Marinette's eyes look away and the angry look on Plagg. "What?"

"I told him I couldn't."

Alya blinked her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "You did what?"

"I wasn't ready." Marinette tried to justify.

"Not ready? Are you even being serious right now? How many years have I had to listen to you swoon and dream about being with Adrien Agreste, and now you're saying you're not ready!"

"Alya I know. To make it worse after that he then saw me transform into Femme Chat and I had to put the boot in by saying something hurtful which I didn't even mean." She ran her hands down her face. "Why am I such a disaster?"

Tikki floated over and gently touched her on the cheek. "Marinette, I think it's time you tear down these walls you have built around yourself. Adrien needs to know the truth now."

"But Master Fu said we couldn't never tell each other our identities while Hawk Moth was still around. Getting the Peacock Miraculous was a huge step, but we are still no closer..."

"So you're going to make my kid suffer?" The black cat interjected.

"Plagg, this isn't helping." Tikki said, trying to placate her counterpart, but he wasn't having any of it.

"You haven't seen him the way I have. You didn't see the heartbreak each time his father didn't come to dinner, or he was forbidden from being with his friends, or everytime Ladybug here made him feel unimportant."

"I didn't mean to..."

"Then mean something!" Plagg snapped, his tail flicking around furiously behind him. "You don't mean to hurt him, but you don't do anything to change it either. If you love him the way you say you do, then mean it."

"He's right Marinette." Alya said gently, placing her hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Nino and I have had to watch the two of you dance around each other for years because of your secrets. You know Adrien is Chat Noir, he now knows your Femme Chat, give him that last peice of the puzzle. Tell him you're Ladybug and give that boy the love he deserves."

Marinette wiped away the tear that streaked down her cheek. Telling Adrien, Chat, that she was Ladybug was scarier to her than even confessing her feelings.

"I'll try." She eventually said.

"Then that's all I can ask. Remember tonight is New Year's Eve, it's the perfect time to make a resolution - not more secrets from the people you love."

Marinette gave Alya a tight hug. "You better get back to Nino. I'm sure he can't cover for you forever."

Alya transformed into Scarabella and ate a space power up, giving her wings. "I'll see you guys after the Bourgeois thing next week. Make sure you fill me in on how it goes."

Marinette waited and waved, watching Alya fly off into the distance before calling her own transformation and heading back to the apartment.

Landing on the balcony, Marinette dropped her transformation. It was starting to get dark and not seeing Adrien around in the lounge room she wondered if he was having that nap he had mentioned earlier.

"Plagg, would you mind if I spoke to Adrien alone." She asked the Kwami. Plagg gave her a skeptical look before letting out a huff.

"Fine. I'll hang out with the other kwamis. But you better not upset him." He called back as he disappeared into her room.

Marinette took a deep breath and approached Adrien's bedroom door. She pressed her ear to the door but couldn't hear anything. She opened it slightly and saw the room was empty, but that the shower was running from the bathroom.

"Adrien?" She called out. "Adrien, I'm back. Are you alright in there?" She could still hear the water in the shower running but was getting no response. She knocked on the bathroom door and called his name again, but there was still no answer. Her brain suddenly started running all kinds of worse case scenarios. "Adrien, I'm coming in."

She opened the bathroom door to find Adrien slumped up against the shower wall, the warm water filling the bathroom with steam and water still running over his head. His commode that he normally sat on to shower was tipped over, his broken leg was stretched out in front of him, thankfully wrapped in plastic to protect it from the water and he was naked...Oh god, Adrien's naked! Her brain suddenly registered and Marinette quickly covered her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you didn't have, I mean your clothes no, I mean your no clothes, I mean..."

"It's a bit hard to shower with clothes on." He said in a flat monotone voice that almost sounded like his father's. "Apparently it's also hard to reach the soap when you can't walk either."

Marinette separated her fingers, looking through them before dropping her hands all together. Adrien was still slumped against the wall, his arm resting on his good knee. With the shower running she couldn't quite tell, but her heart told her he was crying by the way he had his eyes screwed shut. She had never seen him looking as broken as he did right now. He wasn't just physically naked, he was emotionally naked too.

Without caring for self preservation, Marinette crouched down in the shower with him, her clothes becoming soaked, and placed a hand on top of his on his knee.

"Adrien." She said softly. He rubbed the palm of his other hand over his eyes.

"I don't even know who I am anymore." Adrien choked out.

"You're still Adrien." Marinette said, but he shook his head, still not looking at her.

"Who is Adrien?" He said with hopelessness in his voice. "Is it Adrien the model? I never wanted to be a model, it was just something I did for my father. Now I'll probably never model again anyway."

"Adrien..." Marinette said softly, but he shook his head.

"Is it Adrien the fencer?" He asked, finally meeting her worried gaze. "I was going to make my own name Marinette. I was going to win a gold medal, everyone believed I would, my coach, my team, even my father. I was going to achieve something for myself, I was..." His voice broke. Marinette didn't know what to do or to say to comfort him, to tell him that the world wasn't as hopeless as he felt right now.

Adrien lifted up his right hand where he wore the imitation Miraculous she had bought him. He looked at it, his eyes almost empty. "Is it Chat Noir?" He said so quietly she almost couldn't hear him against the rushing water. "I thought it was. When I was Chat I had a purpose, a reason to exist. It was the best thing that had happened to me in my life. What am I now? I'm not a model, I'm not a fencer, and I'm no longer Chat Noir."

He dropped his hand down beside him, closing his eyes and lowering his head, letting the water run over him. Despite the water hitting her face, Marinette knew there were tears falling from her own eyes. Shuffling closer to him, Marinette reached her hands out and took his hand in hers, his shattered eyes turning to her hopeful ones.

"You will always be Chat Noir to me." She said, looking at him intently. Adrien reached out and gently tucked the hair stuck to her face behind her ear.

"At least I have you to come and check up on me, even if it's only as friends. Ladybug never even bothered to come and see me." He looked away from her and down to the ground. "I know she doesn't want to tell me her identity, but you said she knows mine." He snapped his eyes back to hers. "Why didn't she come?"

Marinette bit her lip as she stared into his pleading gaze. Her heart was racing in her chest and the steam in the room was making it hard to breathe.

"Ladybug didn't need to come to see you." She said, cupping his face in her hands. "Because I never left you. I could never have left you, mon Minou. You are my partner, my best friend and I promised you once that I would never abandon you."

Marinette wasn't sure if the sound she could hear was the running water from the shower, or her own blood rushing through her ears. For a moment Adrien's eyes looked over her face and the pieces started to fall into place.

"M'lady?" He asked tentatively. Marinette slowly nodded her head.

"I'm so sorry Kitty. I shouldn't have kept it from you, I shouldn't have pushed you away, but I was afraid."

"Why were you afraid?" He asked gently, his fingers brushing her cheek.

"Because, I almost lost you, and I couldn't live with myself if anything else happened to you because of me being Ladybug and because... because I love you."

Adrien's mouth fell open slightly. "But earlier, you said..."

"I know what I said." Marinette interjected, shaking her head. "And I didn't mean it. Any of it. I do love you Adrien, I have for years, but I was always too chicken to admit it. When I found out you were Chat, I allowed myself to be consumed by my fears. But I know now how wrong I was. Can you ever forgive me for all the pain I've caused you?"

Adrien looked at her for a long moment, then he gave her a soft smile. "You don't need to be afraid anymore Little Bug. I will always be your Chat Noir, even without my powers. You stayed by me and took care of me. When this is all over, I'm going to be the one to take care of you."

Marinette threw her arms around his neck and Adrien held her tightly, her clothes soaked from the warm water. Adrien held her head in his hands and looked into her eyes, drops of water dripping from her hair and her glistening lips pink and inviting. She did love him, he could see it in her eyes - Marinette, his Lady, his first love, and he hoped with all his heart his one and only love.

Without a single conscious thought, they both gravitated closer until their lips connected. Adrien ran his fingers into her wet hair, the metallic taste of the water mixing with the salt from her tears on his lips, Marinette slid her hand down from his shoulder and onto his bare chest, finding that comforting heartbeat under her fingers as Adrien tilted her head and deepened the kiss, neither of them caring for the water that continued to fall onto them.

Needing to break apart for air, Adrien pressed his forehead to hers, both breathing heavily and vibrating from their emotions. Marinette sat back slightly, hardly believing she had finally confessed - everything. It felt like the weight of the world had lifted from her shoulders.

"We better get you out of this shower before we both drown in here."

"Well I certainly didn't expect to be sharing a shower with you tonight." He said with a flicker of his usual cheekiness. It was at this point Marinette remembered that Adrien was still very much naked. Swallowing her thumping heart, she focused on his face as she helped him up off the floor and back onto the commode, turning the taps off and getting him his towel.

"I guess I did just barge in, didn't I." Marinette giggled. Adrien reached out for her hand, planting a kiss on the back of it.

"I'm glad you did." He smiled. "Don't cook anything tonight. Call up some Pizza and I have a few bottles of Rosé in the fridge. We can sit and talk...about us."

~~~~~

Adrien and Marinette spent most of the evening talking about their feelings and the confusions that had led them to where they had ended up earlier in the day. Plagg came and joined them for a while and Adrien was so happy to have his Kwami back again, even if Marinette was the one still needing to wear the ring. It was a little more overwhelming when the other kwami's also decided to come and see him, but their enthusiasm was infectious and their willingness to help made Marinette realise how foolish she had been keeping them a secret. There had been a lot of talking and tears, but lots of kisses too.

The hardest part of the conversation, but also the most necessary, was when she finally told Adrien about Chat Blanc. They sat together on the couch with his leg propped up on a chair so he could keep his arm around her. Ever since her shower confession Adrien had hardly kept a hand away from her. Whether it was holding her hand, or resting his hand on her knee or arm, he wanted to keep that contact with her.

Marinette laid her head on his shoulder in the dim light, recounting what she remembered of that strange future Paris. Adrien rested his chin on her head, lightly running his fingers up and down her arm as she talked. It certainly explained the strange dreams he had, but he also understood where her fear had come from.

"So this was the reason why you said you wouldn't date anyone." He said to her, lightly kissing the top of her head.

"I thought I was being clever." Marinette replied with a light scoff. "I wouldn't date Chat because I was afraid for the future, and I wouldn't date Adrien because I didn't want to hurt you. I still managed to do that anyway."

"The reason it hurts is because I love you." He said, pulling his head back to give her a soft kiss. "But it's nothing that can't be healed."

"Like you." She said, giving him a smile. "Because you are going to walk again, Adrien, I'm going to make sure of it."

Behind them the first of the midnight fireworks lit up the night sky. Adrien pulled her in closer to him and took out his phone. "Here, I want to post a picture of us." Marinette started fussing over her hair.

"Oh no, I look like a mess." But Adrien stilled her hands.

"You look beautiful just the way you are." Taking a photo of the two of them on the couch, Adrien quickly typed up a caption and posted the photo to his Instagram.

@adrienagrestebrand Making a New Year's resolution. To dance again with my beautiful girlfriend @marinettedesigned. There is nothing that we can't achieve when we are doing it together #strongertogether #loveconquersall #luckiestguyalive #sheismyeverything

(Nino was sure everyone at the party where they were at must have thought his fiancée was insane when she started hysterically screaming at her phone)