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Beau and the Beetle	By : Cat_Eyes Category: +M through R > Miraculous LadyBug Views: 3721 -:- 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
- 1-Prologue: Alya
- 2-Adrien
- 3-Felix
- 4-Bridgette
- 5-Adrien
- 6-Sabine
- 7-Bridgette
- 8-Alya
- 9-Adrien
- 10-Felix
- 11-Sabine
- 12-Bridgette
- 13-Alya
- 14-Felix
- 15-Adrien
- 16-Alya
- 17-Felix
- 18-Bridgette
- 19-Adrien
- 20-Sabine
- 21-Felix
- 22-Alya
- 23-Bridgette
- 24-Adrien
- 25-Sabine
- 26-Adrien
- 27-Felix
- 28-Alya
- 29-Bridgette
- 30-Adrien
- 31-Sabine
- 32-Bridgette
- 33-Felix
- 34-Alya
- 35-Adrien
- 36-Felix
- 37-Sabine
- 38-Bridgette
- 39-Adrien
- 40-Felix
- 41-Adrien
- 42-Felix
- 43-Adrien
- 44-Adrien
- 45-Adrien
- 46-Epilogue
- 23
- 24
- 25
It wasn’t until Thursday when Alya finally caught Adrien alone in the locker room, just after lunch had let out. He gave her credit for holding out as long as she had; he thought she would pounce on him his first day back.
‘Hey, Sunshine,’ she called, with a friendly wave.
‘S’up. I suppose you want to hear all about my harrowing experience?’
Alya chuckled awkwardly. ‘If that’s all right with you.’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t mind, but I’m afraid there’s not much to tell.’
‘We’ll see. Is now a good time?’
‘Should be fine. Can we get something to eat, though? I’m famished.’
Adrien didn’t want to go somewhere as public as a café or restaurant, nor did he want to taker her back to his place. Gabriel had been especially wary of strangers the last few days, not that Adrien could blame him, so he hoped Alya had an alternative in mind.
She hummed as she thought. ‘How about we grab something from somewhere close by, and take it back to the library? We should be fine so long as the librarian doesn’t catch us.’
He agreed, but was dubious about taking food into the library. They strolled outside, before weighing up their options.
Adrien pointed to the bakery. ‘What about there?’
Alya paused, looking uncomfortable. Immediately, Adrien felt bad for suggesting she go back there, but he’d heard Alya’s last meeting with Madame and Monsieur Dupain-Cheng had gone well. He was confused by her sudden hesitation, and was just about to suggest an alternative when she spoke again.
‘Sure, we can go there.’
They approached the quaint storefront, and Alya took a moment to indicate the decals on the windows.
‘Marinette designed these,’ she informed him, like a proud parent.
Curiosity piqued, Adrien followed her inside like an obedient puppy.
A diminutive woman stood behind the register, wiping down the counter with a cloth. He guessed she was Marinette’s mother. She looked tired and careworn, with deep lines bracketing her eyes and mouth. It seemed grief had aged her prematurely. Adrien felt sorry for the woman who felt like she’d had no choice but to conceal her daughter in the tunnels.
‘Good afternoon, Madame Cheng,’ Alya said, leaning over the counter to hug the older woman.
‘Hello, Alya. It’s good to see you again. How are you?’
‘Well enough, you?’
‘Coping,’ Sabine sighed, ‘as usual.’
Alya drew back, and held out an arm toward Adrien, beckoning him forward.
‘Madame Cheng, this is Adrien. I imagine you’ve heard all about him.’
Adrien approached, nodding politely. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’
‘You too, Adrien. So, what brings you both here today?’
‘We wanted to get something to eat before Alya grills me on where I spent the last week,’ Adrien replied with a teasing grin.
‘You don’t need to make it sound so sordid,’ Alya groused, while Sabine laughed.
Adrien couldn’t help but notice Sabine’s laugh was nothing like Marinette’s. It was too high, sounding brittle and forced at the same time. He guessed that was what happened when someone bore such a large secret.
They bought a box of assorted foodstuffs, then carried it back to school. No one promised to make a return visit to the bakery.
Ducking into the library, they darted between the shelves to a desk by the back wall. No one would see them there, unless they came looking, so Alya was sure they would get away with bringing food into the library.
‘I’m not sure we should be eating in here,’ Adrien argued, looking at the books.
Alya placed a handkerchief on the desk before her, then a tissue across her lap. ‘Then don’t touch the books, and pick up all your crumbs.’
Following her lead, he lay a tissue over his own lap, and used another as a plate. Alya nodded in approval, then selected a slice of quiche.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, before Alya commenced her interrogation. She withdrew a pen and a notebook from her bag, then looked to him with an avid expression.
‘So, tell me what happened. Was it a kidnaping, or did you run away?’
‘Wow, you get right to it, don’t you? Well, since I didn’t go of my own volition, I suppose it would classify as a kidnapping.’
‘That’s pretty scary. Can you tell me what happened?’
‘Not really,’ he drawled, rubbing the back of his neck.
Alya cocked an eyebrow. ‘Why not?’
‘I don’t really remember what happened,’ he replied, with a small shrug.
‘What’s the last thing you do remember?’
He leaned back and rubbed his chin, as he thought back. ‘I was in my room, practising the piano.’
Alya hummed an acknowledgement, waving her pen for him to continue.
‘Then, someone grabbed me from behind, holding a stinky rag over my face.’
‘A stinky rag?’
‘Chloroform, I guess. I lost consciousness.’
‘And you got nothing of your attacker?’
He held his hands up in a helpless gesture. ‘They held me down easily, so it was someone bigger and stronger than me. That’s all I noticed.’
‘Ah, I see. What happened when you woke up?’
Adrien described the tunnel as best he could, but only touched lightly on what was going through his mind. He discovered he genuinely disliked reliving that particular moment, with its fear and uncertainty. He moved on quickly, to describe the scritching noises that drove him from his initial spot, and of the seemingly endless wandering through pitch black tunnels.
Alya nodded along, waiting patiently when he paused, though her pen never stopped scribbling.
When he reached Marinette’s role in the narrative, he hesitated briefly, before a lie rolled easily off his tongue. She had been adamant he not tell anyone of her existence, so Adrien told Alya he felt a draught, and followed it to a metro tunnel.
Alya was unsurprised. ‘If you hadn’t been blinded, your other senses may not have sharpened enough to feel something like that. A draught is very subtle, so you’re lucky your other senses compensated for the loss of your eyesight.’
‘Hey, that’s right. I didn’t even think of that,’ he said, going along with her theory.
‘So, who do you think could have left you down there?’ she asked.
Adrien shook his head. ‘I have no idea,’ he replied, honestly.
‘You don’t suspect anyone? You haven’t noticed anyone acting strangely lately? Since you were in your bedroom, it almost had to have been an inside job.’
He stilled. ‘Well, Felix has been acting weirdly, lately. But that’s because of the succession.’
Alya’s head snapped up. ‘What succession?’
‘The one over who will take Father’s place in the company after he retires.’
‘Were you one of the candidates?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Who else?’
‘Only Felix. Father wants to keep it in the family.’
Alya’s eyes narrowed as she tapped her pen against her lips. ‘You said your brother has been acting strange lately?’
‘Yeah, but he’s been distant since Father said I was going to inherit the company.’
‘Jealousy?’
‘I don’t think so. I told Felix that I didn’t want to be CEO, and that I would refuse Father’s offer. Felix had been working to take over Father’s place for years now. I didn’t want to take that away from him.’
‘But when your father said you were going to inherit the position, Felix’s place wasn’t secure anymore.’
Adrien frowned as he stared at the tabletop, trying to remember that day. ‘Father called us into his office to talk. He said that since Felix hadn’t made any significant contributions to Gabriel’s bottom line, the role of successor was going to fall to me.’
‘Because your modelling has brought in revenue.’
‘That’s right.’
‘So, in a jealous rage, Felix had you kidnapped and left for dead in the old mines, thus clearing the way for himself to take over the company.’
Adrien frowned, furrowing his brow. ‘No, it can’t be. The timelines don’t match up.’
Alya tilted her head. ‘Timelines?’
‘Father told us about the change in succession, like, more than a week before my abduction.’
Alya didn’t look convinced. ‘I’m afraid this still makes your brother the prime suspect. It could be that he just needed a week to come up with a plan to get you out of the way long enough for him to be announced the heir.’
Adrien crossed his arms. ‘I don’t appreciate where you’re going with this.’
‘I’m sorry, but I have to consider all possible avenues. It’s the nature of journalism.’
‘Then what are the other possibilities?’
‘I don’t know yet.’
‘I suggest you come up with an alternative, because if you go public with this, Father, Felix, or both of them, could sue you for defamation.’
Alya held her hands up, her complexion turning ashen. ‘Whoa, I never said I’d go public.’
‘Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.’
He strode from the library, feeling cross. Alya had no right accusing Felix, and if she had any sense, she would keep her theories to herself. Gabriel would not tolerate anything that reflected badly on his family, or his business, and he would pursue Alya until she gave in.
Wilfully putting her from his mind, Adrien waited out the remainder of the lunch break in the classroom.
He tried to think of a way he could slip out of his house unnoticed. It had been a week already, and he wanted to see Marinette again. He had made her a promise, and he intended to keep it.
- 23
- 24
- 25
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Beau and the Beetle