Chapter Text
Adrien was used to his father’s absence. It was something that he had been able to count on for most of his life, and even more so in recent years. If he tried hard enough, he could catch tiny glimpses into happier times. They were hazy, faded with age like pictures that were fuzzy around the edges, lines blurred between fact and feeling in a way that made him question if they had actually happened at all. Even so, they were all that he had, and when the closed door of his father’s office weighed too heavy on his mind, it was a small comfort to be able to close his eyes and remember.
A picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens, him in his mother’s arms giggling as his father took a picture, a smile of contentment on his face so foreign to the man he was now that Adrien felt he must have imagined it.
A stroll along the Seine, his parents at either side of him, each hand firmly grasping his as they swung him back and forth, laughing all the way.
His father letting him color designs with crayons onto his base sketches, his unusually tight expression full of amusement at how excited his son was to help him with work.
But things were different now. The house was cold and lonely, his father didn’t smile, and his mother was gone. Adrien could squeeze his eyes shut and escape to his memories as much as he wanted, but it did little to replace the feeling of his mother’s arms around him, and even less to make up for his father’s absence in his life. They were strangers to each other, connected only by blood and the faint remnants of the love his mother had given them. Adrien had long since resigned himself to the grueling hours of the schedule his father subjected him to, and the fact that no matter how well he did, approval would never come.
That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
So when he walked up the steps to the mansion, first place metal displayed around his neck, only to be greeted by Nathalie’s impassive stare, it hurt far more than he cared to let on. It sparked a pain in chest that reminded him once again that he expected too much. He didn’t know what he was hoping for- his father standing in the entryway, arms open wide for a hug? To run into his embrace and have his hair ruffled like when he was a child? He shouldn’t have been surprised, he had won plenty of tournaments in the past, and his father had never been there to congratulate him then either. It was his normal, and he had no reason to think otherwise. He pulled at his collar nervously. The gold metal that should have filled him with pride, instead only served as a reminder that in his father’s eyes he would never be good enough.
“Will you let my father know I won?”
Would he even care?
“As soon he’s done with his work.”
it wouldn’t matter anyway.
Shoulders slumped, he ascended the marble steps up to his room, too tired to mask his disappointment.
It was the end of the weekend, and for once he had no other activities scheduled for the rest of the day. As such, Adrien had been prepared to go to his room, flop gracelessly onto the bed, and wallow (if only a little) as Plagg tried to cheer him up. He had not been prepared, however, to walk into his room to find Ladybug mid jump as she leaped out his open window.
“Ladybug?” his eyes widened in shock as he watched his partner swing into the distance. He couldn't for the life of him imagine what she had been doing. Sure, Ladybug had visited him a few times in his civilian form, but clearly this time she had not intended to be seen. Looking around, he spotted a package on his pillow and walked over to it. A small gasp escaped his mouth as he read Marinette’s name on the corner. Ripping open the wrapping paper, he held up the black beret curiously.
That’s strange.
“Why would Ladybug leave me a gift from Marinette? And with a heart embroidered on it?” He wondered.
Not that he would ever mind a gift from Marinette. He still carried her lucky charm with him whenever he needed some extra luck (which was almost always), and he felt its presence in his back pocket distractedly. No, he’d cherish any gift she gave him even if it was something as simple as a leftover croissant from the bakery (Actually, he would especially appreciate it if it was something from the bakery).
As he looked at the beret, he couldn’t help but admire her handiwork. It had three stripes along the top that matched the ones on his shirt, with two hearts embroidered on the side. The stitching was clean, and he smiled at the thought of her taking the time to make it. He pictured her bent over her sewing machine, biting her lip in concentration just like he occasionally saw his lady do.
Wait… his lady?
“Uh well it’s obvious because…” Plagg stumbled for an answer. “Because Marinette must have asked her to!”
Adrien wasn’t buying it. The more he thought about it, the more comparisons he couldn’t help but draw between Marinette and his lady. The way Marinette was always there to help a friend in need, so determined to fight for what she believed in, all the times he ran into her during Akuma battles, Ladybug ‘conveniently’ knowing her - it all pieced together!
“Or because…” he hesitated, afraid to admit what he suspected to be true. “Marinette is Ladybug!”
“Nonononnono! It doesn’t make any sense!” Plagg rushed to pull the beret away from him, tugging it as hard as he could. It didn’t matter, he was already too far gone. “Marinette is Marinette, and Ladybug is-”
“Marinette!” he exclaimed. His face lit up as he allowed himself to say again what he had thought impossible before. He pulled the beret from Plagg’s tiny grasp and held it close to his heart, thinking of both the girls it belonged to, and the fact they could be one in the same. It all made too much sense! He couldn’t believe how close they had been to each other all along. How could he have missed it? Granted they both acted differently without the mask, but the signs were always there.
“Adrien we’ve been over this!” The tiny god yelped. “You saw them in the same room together! You know Marinette can’t be Ladybug!”
His face fell and he sat down on his bed. It was true, he had seen her and ladybug in the same room. Why would it be any different now?
“Maybe you're right Plagg,” he sighed and turned the beret over in his hands, smiling despite himself as he caught sight of Marinette's signature stitched into the lining. “Unless…” he trailed off.
He still couldn’t help feel there was something more to it, and that he couldn’t rule the possibility out yet. Yes, he’d seen Marinette and his lady together, but she’d seen two of him in the same room before as well! If he knew anything about his lady, it was that she was a master planner. How was he to know she didn’t do something intentionally to avoid suspicion?
“Adrien, this whole thing smells like stinky cheese. Forget the stupid beret! Let’s go get some Camembert!” His kwami pleaded. “Or- or we could play a duet on piano- anything!”
“Ya know, it almost sounds like you're hiding something Plagg,” he said accusingly. “Almost like… I can’t think that Marinette is Ladybug.”
Plagg’s eyes widened as he zipped around nervously. It was all Adrien needed as confirmation to know that there was definitely something he was trying to keep from him. Could Marinette really be his lady? There were too many variables to be sure, but that did nothing to quell the excitement that bubbled up at the prospect. He’d always liked Marinette, even if she could be a little weird sometimes (albeit only around him). He’d always chalked it up to nerves, though why he could make her so nervous that she couldn’t even string sentences together, he didn’t know.
She’d improved in that respect at least. Since getting to know each other better, she didn’t trip over words nearly as much, and he could confidently call her one of his closest friends. She was amazing. Their ‘every day Ladybug’, he had called her, and he laughed at the irony. If it was really true though, he’d need proof.
A sly smile made its way onto his face, a plan formulating in his mind.
“Oooh no kid, I know that look! In fact- I patented that look! Whatever your planning, it’s not good.”
“I’m onto something Plagg! Ladybug doesn’t just run errands for people out of nowhere! I have to see where this goes… please.” He looked at his kwami and stick his bottom out, mustering up the best kitty cat eyes he could manage.
“I really can’t talk you out of this huh?” Plagg sighed, flying to perch on his shoulder.
“Nope!” He sank back onto his bed and grinned, clutching the beret like it was the most precious thing in the world. His head filled with images of his lady and his princess that blurred together to make one complete picture. Soon, he could test his theory out for sure.
His thumb traced the heart absently as he stared up at the tall ceiling. He didn’t dare hope it could mean what he thought it might. Didn’t dare dream it could really be that simple. Even if he was right, she was in love with someone else, always had been, and it was clear from the beginning that that someone was not him.
Right?