Fingers intertwined with her own and she fully embraced her innermost emotions, sighing happily at their closeness. Marinette was so taken by this new tenderness to their relationship that she almost forgot the matter at hand. Though he was smiling, that quickly faded. Everything had to be so complicated and calculated. Sometimes, she wished they could just live normal lives. Perhaps it was time Adrien move out once he was well again. No good would come from staying in this environment. Especially if he ever hoped to break away from his father’s demands. ❛❛ It doesn’t matter if you’re used to it. It’s not fair. ❜❜ She wanted to do something, but she knew that it wasn’t her place. It was up to him to figure things out with Gabriel. The only thing Marinette could do was be there for him and provide her support when necessary. As for the story they needed to concoct, there was an idea, but was a bit unsure about it, not knowing if Hawk Moth knew anything about fixing Miraculous.
❛❛ You make a good point. I’ll have to gather the rest of the team. They can fill in until you get better. ❜❜
Rena Rouge, Carapace, Viperion, Bunnix, she had a lot of options. Though none of them could ever hope to fully take his place, they would be decent as temporary partners. Mentioning that he was out of town would be fair, but now tha tthey had their Astrochat and Cosmobug suits, that wasn’t a valid excuse anymore. They may have to rely on her idea. ❛❛ Yeah, but we’ve gotten pretty good at getting out of messes. Even better now than before. ❜❜ That Ladybug-esque smirk formed on her lips, conveying the confidence she had in her plan. Her schemes were usually pretty complicated, but in this case, simple was better. Less details meant less possibilities that he could be found out.
❛❛ No one knows I’ve fixed your Miraculous. We could just say it’s taking some time to repair it. I wouldn’t put it past Hawk Moth to underestimate us and buy it. Especially with how crazy that Cataclysm was. ❜❜
If they eliminated the notion that he was hurt at all, no one would suspect Adrien. Not to mention, with multiple heroes on the scene, there’s a slimmer chance that any of the villains could get the better of her. They were all stronger now and could handle themselves. She peered up at him, hoping that her suggestion would sound good to him. If there were any holes or problems with it, she knew he’d bring them up. She was good at thinking on her feet. All he needed to do was stand by and rest. She’d keep him updated so that he didn’t worry too much. Now that he knew what number to text to get ahold of her, the duo was even more united.
Adrien was painfully aware of that, so aware sometimes that he rather felt completely out of it. There was no explaining it really, he felt it in every part of him that his father was hard on him, too hard … But he’d known him once upon a time before he had become this man, when love had been a big part of the family. There was of course no excuse for treating his son that way, but Adrien still clung to the idea that perhaps someday the father of then could return to him and replace this cold and sometimes cruel man. There was no sign at all however that it would ever happen, which only made the young man feel even more helpless.
It was a comfort when Marinette moved the topic to the more pressing matter at hand however, and he smiled softly when she mentioned bringing in the rest of the team. “They will be happy to help, I am certain of that.” He spoke softly, nodding. There had been a time where he had been too ‘confident’ as Chat Noir to accept much help, even help from Ladybug had been a bit of a problem at first. But that had been more of a front, an act he’d kept up in hopes to try and win her affections. With age, he had become wiser and calmer, and especially after she found out who he was.
“You have a point there, … I think it might be the best option for now. We’re going to have to be careful though, now that he knows our Miraculouses can be damaged.” Glancing back at Plagg, he smiled a little, glad that the damage had been averted and that Plagg was alright. He had no idea what he would’ve done had the Kwami been hurt beyond healing. After all, she was right. His Cataclysm had been crazy … In fact it reminded him of the dreams he’d been having from time to time. A view of a destroyed Paris and a white clawed hand that felt like his but also didn’t. His power of destruction was growing and with the Miraculous damaged it had gone out of bounds.
Biting his lip, he glanced at her and sighed. “I’m glad you were able to fix the damage though …” He muttered softly, looking at her. “It’s still unbelievable how much damage it caused. I …” Casting his eyes down, he untangled their fingers and shook his head. “I have these dreams sometimes … of a broken moon, and … Paris in ruins …” His voice was so soft now, unsure if his words made any sense at all to her. “I have a feeling that, in those dreams, it’s my fault. Like, I know I wasn’t that powerful as a teenager but, our powers are growing and then today happened …” He stopped talking and wondered just how to even phrase it, but he knew she would understand him. She always had understood him better than he’d ever expected.
