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Redemption	By : Cat_Eyes Category: +M through R > Miraculous LadyBug Views: 2815 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Thomas Astruc and released by Zag studios. No profit was made writing this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Marinette watched carefully when Adrien entered the school the following morning. He made it to the locker room unharrassed, and was even smiling wide when he emerged. Spotting Marinette where she sat on a bench, Adrien waved and jogged toward her.
'Good morning, Marinette,' he greeted her, cheerfully.
'Morning. What's got you in such a good mood?'
Adrien sat next to her, his leg jiggling. 'Rose said "good morning" to me,' he crowed.
Marinette leaned back as her eyes widened. 'Really? That's awesome.'
'What's awesome?' asked Alya as she and Nino joined them. Alya took a seat on Marinette's left, while Nino sat to Adrien's right.
'Rose said "good morning" to me,' Adrien repeated, as both of his legs started to bounce.
Nino thumped him on the back. 'Good for you, Dude.'
'Rose always was a sweetheart,' Alya added with a nod.
Marinette and Nino hummed in agreement.
'Do you think other people will talk to me from now on, too?' Adrien asked, hopefully.
'Well,' drawled Alya, thoughtfully, 'if Rose is willing to, I guess. Juleka will, at least.'
'Rose has always looked for the best in people,' Marinette said. 'I'm not surprised she was the first to talk to you, apart from us, of course,' she added, hastily, at Alya's indignant glare.
'Is she a good judge of character, usually?' Adrien began to wring his hands.
'She always sees the best in people,' Marinette repeated, after a momentary hesitation.
Adrien's shoulders drooped. 'I see.'
'No need to feel discouraged, Bro,' Nino patted his shoulder, consolingly. 'Alya's right. If Rose starts talking to you, then Juleka will, too. Not that she ever says much.'
'This is great. If everyone sees you talking to more people, they'll see you're just like us. That'll help them work up the nerve to talk to you, too,' Marinette encouraged him.
Adrien's smile slowly returned. 'You think so?'
'I do,' Marinette confirmed.
'Hey, maybe you could ask your keepers if you can hang out with us some time,' Nino suggested. 'Like, outside of school. That'll really show everyone you're a regular guy.'
Adrien looked dubious. 'I don't know, but I'll ask. Can't hurt to try, right?'
'That's the spirit.' Nino slapped him on the back as the bell rang.

The rest of the week passed without fanfare. They all met up before class, and fell into a routine. They attended classes, ate lunch at Marinette's place, and then Adrien tutored her in maths after school every day, except Wednesday, when he saw his psychiatrist. His Keepers, as Nino called them, did not allow him to deviate from his regular routing, citing that it was still too soon for him to go out in public. Nino pouted for an hour after Adrien relayed their answer.
Of the rest of their class, only Rose and Juleka greeted Adrien. The others remained sceptical, but the hostility had diminished significantly. Instead, they chose to ignore, and avoid, Adrien. If he were upset by their continued frostiness, he kept it well concealed. Adrien smiled a lot, but Marinette felt like it didn't reach his eyes. She figured he was lonely, so she did her best to keep him surrounded by friends, and her family. Marinette hoped Adrien didn't think she was flaunting her good fortune, that he knew she was only trying to help him.
She wished he would open up a little more.

Two weeks after the Garbage Incident, as Marinette had come to think of it, she arrived at school to find it bursting with noise. Everyone was shouting and squealing as they gathered around two figures in the centre of the courtyard.
'I was permitted to come back early because I earned the right after apologising,' Sabrina explained to the restless crowd.
'I always knew Sabrina could be fierce, she just needed the right motivation,' gloated Chloe. 'I know you're wondering, so listen up. I came back because it was dreadful over there. Their accents were atrocious, the food was deplorable, and don't get me started on the accommodations. Belgium is full of unrefined plebeians,' she ranted.
As the crowd questioned them, Marinette was joined by Alya and Nino.
'When it rains, it pours,' Ayla quoted.
Nino removed his glasses and wiped them clean. He replaced them, and squinted through the lenses. 'Nope. I still can't believe this.'
Alya shook her head. 'Geez, you'd think she was sent to the other side of the world, not like, right next door.'
Marinette tried to be positive. 'Come on, guys, this is good news. Maybe now, things will go back to normal. Sort of.'
'If by "normal" you mean Chloe offending people, with Sabrina copying her every move. Then, yeah, I guess it'll be back to normal. At least Kim will be happy when he gets back,' Alya replied.
'Hey, guys. What's going on?' asked Adrien as he joined them.
Nino swept an arm out, indicating the courtyard. 'See for yourself.'
Adrien peered into the gathering, and gasped when he saw Chloe. 'When did she come back?'
Alya listened for a moment. 'Over the weekend, apparently. It seems life in another country didn't agree with her.'
Adrien merely made a face at her sass.
'She probably nagged her old man until he gave in,' Nino guessed, as he rolled his eyes.
The bell rang and the crowd dispersed. Chloe didn't notice Adrien until they met at the base of the stairs. They stared at each other for a moment, as everyone else looked on with bated breath.
'Hey, Chloe,' Adrien greeted her, with an unsure smile.
Chloe stared, blankly, back for a minute. 'Hey,' she finally answered, shortly. She then turned on her heel and went upstairs, winding between people as Sabrina hurried to catch up.
Nino patted Adrien's shoulder. 'Could've been worse.'
Adrien sighed and nodded, then made his way up to class.
Even though they had two of their number back, lessons were quiet that morning. Marinette rested her chin on her hand, half listening to the lecture, as she considered her classmates.
Sabrina seemed to have learnt her lesson, and karma had rewarded her by giving her best friend back. Chloe, however, was more interested in talking about herself, but the way she looked at Sabrina showed a fond pride that Sabrina had done what she did on Chloe's behalf.
Mylene kept to herself, most of the time. She didn't seem to have a strong opinion on anything, preferring to see which way other people leaned, before coming to a decision. So far, she had not openly accepted Adrien, but she didn't indicate she was against him, either. The only person she spoke to consistently since Alix's suspension was Ivan, and he had made his opinion very clear.
Max had been subdued since Kim's suspension. Ever the stickler for fact, it was unusual for him to be quiet in class for long, but it was understandable. Like Mylene, he showed no sign of how he felt about Adrien, but he ignored him whenever they crossed paths. Marinette didn't think that bode well.
Rose and Juleka continued to greet Adrien in the mornings and after lunch, but didn't go out of their way to interact with him any more than necessary. They were coming to terms with him in their own time, and Marinette didn't want to push them.
Nathaniel was scared of Adrien. He would actively keep his distance, scurrying away with his books clutched to his chest, and his head down, as if he were hoping to avoid detection. Marinette couldn't be frustrated with him; of all of them, Nathaniel had been one of the worst affected after his experiences with Papillon.
She chewed the end of her pen. Marinette had known it would be a slow process, getting people used to Adrien, but she was getting impatient. However, she also knew there was nothing she could do to hurry them up or change their minds. She would have to keep going as she had been, and hope for a turnaround soon.
After they were dismissed for lunch, Adrien stood up as Chloe walked by his desk. He raised a hand to catch her attention, but she breezed by him, with her nose in the air, as if she hadn't seen him. Sabrina followed her, but gave Adrien a brief nod as she walked past. Adrien's hand dropped once they were both out the door.
'She's been gone for a while. Give her some time to adjust,' Nino advised.
Adrien nodded and looped his bag strap over his head.
'I gotta go,' Alya announced as she hefted her bag up. 'The twins are home sick, and Mum has to duck out for a bit. I'll see you guys later.'
'I gotta go, too,' Nino said, apologetically. 'I've left some unfinished schoolwork at home that I have to finish before this afternoon. Bye,' he called, following Alya out of the room.
Marinette moved to stand in front of Adrien's desk. 'What about you, got any plans?'
Adrien shrugged. 'No, but I've got something I want to talk about, if you don't mind.'
Marinette's back straightened, as she smiled. 'I don't mind at all. Come on, let's go eat.'
She led him back to the bakery, where they greeted Tom and Sabine, before they were directed upstairs to eat their meals. Adrien sat in his usual spot as Marinette handed him a plate of vegetables and salmon, still hot from the pan. Marinette poured them drinks, then sat opposite him with her own plate.
'So, what did you want to talk about?' she asked as she began to eat.
Adrien pushed his peas around with his fork. 'I went to visit Father.'
Marinette coughed, choking as she almost inhaled her food. 'What?' she wheezed.
'My psychologist suggested it,' he explained. 'You know, to get some answers, some closure.'
'Did you?'
He shrugged. 'Not really. Father said he was doing it for us, for Mother, but that's what he's always said.'
'It doesn't even sound like an explanation, let alone closure.'
Adrien sagged in his seat. 'I guess you're right.'
Marinette fiddled with her fork. 'Did he, at least, apologise for dragging you into this mess?'
Adrien looked up at her. 'Father didn't give me my miraculous, if that's what you mean.'
'He didn't?' Marinette was shocked.
Adrien shook his head. 'No. It just appeared in my room the day Stoneheart was created. Father walked in on me just as I was transforming for the first time,' he added, sombrely.
Lunch forgotten, Marinette leaned forward on her elbows. 'Then what happened?'
'Father was as stunned as I was. No one was supposed to know, not even him. But then he smiled, and told me to follow him. He took me to his office and opened a secret compartment behind a portrait of Mother. Inside was a book full of superheroes. With that, Father explained that with my ring, and the earrings of the ladybug, Mother could be brought back to life.'
'He didn't tell you he was Papillon?'
Adrien nodded. 'He did. He said that by teaming up with his champions, I could defeat Ladybug easily.'
'But you didn't,' Marinette murmured.
'No. I think I was shocked, that first day, to see Ladybug was just a girl no older than me. The way Father talked, I was expecting a monster, not some little girl who looked like she was about to cry the moment I tried to take her miraculous.'
Marinette drew in a deep breath. Tikki had told her of a partner, and it had scared, and saddened her, to see him working for the enemy. 'How come you never bested her after that?'
Adrien laughed, humourlessly. 'She seemed to set aside her personal feelings on the matter, and concentrated on pummelling me. She just got better as time went on. She was better than me, in every possible way.'
Marinette folded her hands in her lap. Many times, she had felt like she barely made it out of a fight in one piece, her heart and body bruised and aching. 'You mentioned once, that you gave up on trying to defeat her.'
'Yeah,' he sighed. 'Over time, I came to realise that our cause was not a noble one. People hated and reviled us, and that gradually ate away at me. One day, I asked myself, would Mother want to be brought back like this, at the expense of so many others? Mother was a warm, kind woman. She would've been ashamed to see what I'd become. This realisation affected my performance during battles. I became sloppy, missing punches or letting Ladybug throw me into the Seine. Father became more and more agitated, which only fuelled my resentment. By the end, we couldn't even stand to be near each other for very long.'
'How come you didn't change sides?' Marinette asked, quietly.
'It never occurred to me,' he admitted, equally quiet. 'I was raised to believe you should do anything for your family, no matter the cost or how distasteful you found it.'
'That's why you, subconsciously, began sabotaging yourself?'
'I guess so.'
Marinette sat up straight. 'How was your father's mental health, when you visited him?'
Adrien poked his peas, again. 'I really couldn't tell. He's still furious he was defeated, saying all his planning had come to nothing. But, he had this weird light in his eyes, like he had a fever. I hope he isn't getting sick.'
Marinette rested a hand on his wrist. 'I'm sure he's fine. He should get pretty good health care, in there.'
Adrien's answering smile was wan. 'Thanks, Marinette.'
'Will you see him again?' she asked, pulling her hand back.
Adrien nodded. 'Yeah, he's the only family I have left. I can't just turn my back on him.'
Marinette disagreed, but not everyone shared her mindset. 'Ok, but don't tell too many people, they might think you two are planning something.'
Adrien hummed an agreeing note. 'I figured.'
'When will you go back?' she picked up her fork and resumed eating.
Adrien did the same. 'Probably next weekend.'
'Will you keep trying to get him to talk?'
'I guess that depends on whether he has anything new to say.'
'Adrien?'
He looked at her, expectantly. 'Yeah?'
Marinette stared at her plate. 'You still have a family with us. You're not alone.'
She pretended not to see him wipe his eyes.
'Thanks,' he whispered.
- 10
- 11
- 12
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Redemption