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Dangerous Games	By : Cat_Eyes Category: +M through R > Miraculous LadyBug Views: 11606 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
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
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The next couple of days dragged by. Adrien felt tense, overly alert for any sign of trouble. More than once, he returned home with a fierce headache and aching shoulders, but he maintained his vigilance.
He and Marinette had agreed to wait for each other after work, no matter who finished first or at what time. Then, they would run home together over the rooftops, under the cover of darkness.
He despised having to live like this. Whenever he was faced with an enemy, he would fight it head on. But this one, this coward, refused to come forward and face him.
Furthermore, the toll it was taking on Marinette was inexcusable. The jubilation of her recent promotion had diminished to almost nothing. She took only brief joy in her new role, which died the moment she clocked off. She was as tense as he, and as miserable.
It hurt to see her like that.
They offered each other what comfort they could, and spent every night within the other’s embrace, but the sense of impeding doom was ever-present.

Friday night, Nino and Alya arrived for their scheduled catch up. They knocked on the door as Marinette was pulling a large lasagne from the oven.
‘Something smells divine,’ Alya commented, her nose in the air as she inhaled deeply.
‘Thanks, I made it myself,’ Marinette answered, covering the tiredness in her eyes with a smile.
Adrien handed out plates and cutlery, Marinette poured the wine, then Alya and Nino served themselves before taking a seat on the lounge. Adrien joined them, and Marinette sank to the floor, nestled between his knees, to eat.
‘We can move over, if you want to join us,’ offered Alya.
Marinette shook her head. ‘It’s only a three-seater, and I’m fine here. Thanks, anyway.’
They chattered idly while they ate, letting Alya and Nino share news of their lives before they were hit with Adrien’s issues.
It wasn’t until Nino had finished a plate of second helpings when the conversation fell into a lull.
‘I have a plan to catch the stalker,’ Adrien said, without preamble.
Alya and Nino turned to him, wide eyed.
‘Tell me what you think. Marinette and I will put it out that we’re going on a date, like, to the movies or something. While we’re out, you two will tap into the camera feeds Nino and I installed to keep an eye on things from a distance. I won’t hear any arguments about that. I won’t risk your safety. You can use my laptop, now that the cops finally gave it back, and my phone. You won’t need to hack anything.’
‘What will you two be doing?’ asked Alya, her eyes darting from Adrien to Marinette.
‘We’ll be watching from points within the building, waiting for the guy to show up,’ Adrien told her.
‘Wait. That’s too dangerous. I won’t have my girl putting herself at risk.’
‘I won’t be in any danger, Alya,’ Marinette assured her.
‘Sounds pretty dangerous to me,’ Nino muttered, giving Adrien a dark look.
Adrien held up a hand, forestalling questions. ‘When Marinette and I leave to go to the cinemas, we’ll conceal ourselves in a dark alley, transform, and return as Ladybug and Chat Noir. The movies are just an excuse for us to be away.’
‘Say what?’ Alya yelped.
‘Wait, Marinette is Ladybug? Of course, she is,’ Nino sighed.
‘Ta da,’ Marinette sang, waving halfhearted jazz hands.
Adrien nudged her with his knee. ‘Yes, we’re Ladybug and Chat Noir. We apologise for keeping it from you for so long, but it was for your own safety. Now, if you could set aside your stunned amazement, we need to get this plan in place.’
Alya nodded, though she stared intently throughout the explanation. Nino took Marinette’s identity in stride, accepting the fact and focussing on the relevant topic.
Soon, everyone was nodding in agreement as they understood their roles.
‘When did we want to get this puppy into motion?’ Nino asked. ‘Tomorrow may be too soon, and Sunday is less than ideal. Some of us have to be up early on Monday.’
Alya dug her elbow into his side. ‘Don’t you think our friends’ lives are more important than work?’
Nino shrugged. ‘Well, yeah, but try telling my boss that.’
‘Hopefully, this won’t take more than a few hours. Ideally, it’ll all be over by midnight,’ Marinette interjected.
‘What if the guy doesn’t take the bait?’ Alya went on.
‘Then we’re back where we began,’ replied Adrien.
‘We have to hope this works,’ Marinette murmured. ‘Stay positive, guys. We will catch this creep.’

The following morning, Alya posted on her personal social media accounts that Adrien and Marinette were finally going on a date on Sunday evening. Dinner and a movie, starting at six and then claiming they’d be out all night. She had ended her comment with a winky face.
Many of their old friends left comments of congratulations, and exclamations of about time. Marinette left little hearts and thanked everyone for their kindness, while Nino claimed he knew Adrien had always liked her.
Adrien smiled at his screen. It all looked genuine; Alya’s suggestive comment, and its replies, organic and uncontrived.
The effect wouldn’t have been the same if Adrien or Marinette had posted the news. The stalker may have seen through their attempt to lure him out of hiding, and avoided their trap.
Yes, this is much better, he thought.
Since Adrien was going to visit Gabriel that day, Marinette had decided to spend the day with her parents as well. She had relayed Gabriel’s parting words after her promotion, and he realised he hadn’t visited him at home in a long while.
Adrien groaned, anticipating hours of passive-aggressive barbs and the obligatory parental guilt trip.
‘Come on, it won’t be so bad,’ Marinette consoled him as she walked in after her shower. ‘It’ll be nice to spend time with your father.’
‘I’ll try, but Father can be so ornery.’
She leaned over and pecked his cheek. ‘Get in the shower. The sooner you get there, the sooner you can leave.’
He grinned. ‘That’s a more realistic approach.’
Marinette tsked in exaggerated reproach, the began brushing her hair.
Adrien chuckled as he went to the bathroom.

He waved to Marinette from the footpath as Alya arrived to chauffeur her to the bakery. Alya beeped, then pulled away from the curb, waving out the window.
Adrien smiled as he watched them. She was a solid friend for Marinette, always managing to keep her grounded and steady, and undoubtedly screaming about her other identity as they drove. In turn, Marinette encouraged Alya to new heights, propping her up whenever she was down, with her endless optimism.
He hoped he could be a firm presence in Marinette’s life, supporting her just as much as Alya did. Briefly, he let himself wonder what it would be like to be married to her. They had been living together for a few days, the small taste of what could be almost tangible. He sighed, then turned away to head to Gabriel’s house.
Gabriel was every bit as difficult as Adrien predicted. He complained Adrien didn’t visit enough, he whined about work, and vented bitterly on the poor quality of workmanship from his household staff.
The woman bringing them their lunch rolled her eyes at his histrionics, but blushed alarmingly when she noticed Adrien had seen her. He gave her a subtle wink when Gabriel’s back was turned. Her posture sagged with relief before she scurried from the room.
After they’d eaten, Gabriel talked Adrien through some of the business he would have to conduct after he’d take over once Gabriel stepped down. Adrien suspected he’d never relinquish the reins of his empire willingly, but sat and dutifully followed along as Gabriel continued to talk.
It wasn’t until early evening when Adrien felt he could relax. Gabriel had run out of steam and had been drinking wine and reminiscing with Adrien about Emilie. They shared their fondest memories, and Gabriel even recounted the story of how they’d met.
It was rare for Gabriel to talk so freely about her. The wine had loosened his tongue, for all that he’d only had two glasses. But because he was a lightweight, it had given Adrien an opportunity to connect with his father like they never had before.
When Gabriel mentioned a headache, Adrien took his leave. He wished Gabriel a good night, then quietly saw himself out.
He was at the gate when he thought to send Marinette a text, telling her he would be home soon. He groped around the bottom of his bag, and in his pockets for a minute, before he realised his phone had probably slipped from his pocket during dinner.
With a sigh, he turned and approached the house.
Without bothering to knock, he pushed the front door open and entered. A glance around the foyer proved it to be empty, so rather than disturb Gabriel’s rest, he headed to the dining room to begin his search.
He found his phone under his chair, laying face down on the marble tiles. He shoved it back in his pocket, then turned to leave.
As he was passing through the foyer, though, he heard voices from Gabriel’s office.
Puzzled, he approached the door, which stood ajar since his earlier departure.
‘Of course not,’ Gabriel growled. ‘My decision is still the same, even after all this time.’
‘But Master,’ piped an unfamiliar voice. ‘It has been months. I thought you’d realised the folly of your actions.’
‘Folly?’ Gabriel spluttered. ‘You dare speak to me like that, Creature?’
Alarmed, Adrien peered around the edge of the door.
Gabriel stood behind his desk, his back to the rest of the room, as he spoke to a tiny, purple being floating by his shoulder.
‘My apologies, Master,’ it said, bowing.
Gabriel snorted. ‘My mission has not changed, Nooroo. I needed a rest to gather my strength, and rethink my strategy. Getting the Miraculous is still my top priority, and none of your blathering will dissuade me.’
Gabriel then placed his fingertips on seemingly random places on Emilie’s portrait. The, with a pneumatic hiss, he sank into the floor, Nooroo following close behind.
Adrien put his hand over his mouth, his eyes wide. Slowly, to avoid making noise and drawing attention to himself, he backed out of the doorway. He tiptoed through the foyer, slipped out the front door, and sprinted to the gate.
Once he was safely outside the estate walls, he texted Marinette, Nino, and Alya.
Abort. Abort mission. Marinette, get back to my place.
His phone buzzed with incoming messages the entire way back, but he ignored them. He needed to tell Marinette before he said anything to anyone else.
He impatiently tapped his foot as the Metro rattled along. He gritted his teeth, thinking it would have been faster to transform and run home. He excused his blunder in light of his recent discovery, but the train’s wilfully slow progress tattered his self-control.
Once he’d alighted from the train, he sprinted to his building, meeting Marinette in the lobby.
‘Adrien? What’s going on?’
Instead of answering, he hooked her by the elbow and continued running up the stairs. She staggered, flailing her arms to keep her balance, but kept up once she got her feet under her.
‘Adrien?’ she tried again, when he paused to fit his key in the lock.
‘Hang on, just one minute.’
He shoved the door open, and hustled her inside. She spun around to face him when he slammed it, and slid the locks into place.
‘Adrien. Tell me what’s going on.’
Finally secured behind his door, he rested his forehead against the wood and shivered. ‘My father is Papillon.’
Nothing but silence met his statement for a full minute.
‘What?’ Marinette finally asked.
‘How do you know?’ Plagg added, drifting out of Adrien’s bag and rubbing his eyes.
Only Tikki remained quiet, watching from her spot on the windowsill.
Adrien released a shuddering breath, then told them what he’d seen.
Marinette clapped both hands over her mouth, while Plagg muttered a string of obscenities. Tikki’s large eyes welled, great tears spilling down her cheeks. ‘Poor Nooroo.’
Adrien felt hollowed out and limp. He forced himself to the couch, and collapsed onto it, his limbs falling slack over the side.
‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered. ‘All these years, and I never even realised. I’m so sorry.’
Marinette edged closer to crouch beside the lounge. Patting him on the back she said, ‘it’s not your fault. No one close to us realised who we were, either. Don’t beat yourself up over this.’
‘How can I not? My own father,’ he trailed off.
He didn’t know how to continue that statement. The man who professed to love him had been the very same man who had nearly killed him.
Adrien was numb, but the sting in his chest was keenly felt.
Marinette remained close by that night, holding him tight until she fell asleep. Adrien, however, lay awake for hours berating himself for his blindness.
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Dangerous Games