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The Week That Was	By : Cat_Eyes Category: +M through R > Miraculous LadyBug Views: 3443 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- 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-Monday
- 2-Tuesday
- 3-Wednesday
- 4-Thursday
- 5-Friday
- 6-Saturday
- 7-Sunday
- 5
- 6
- 7
Dismissing all other obligations, Marinette returned to her list of possible Chat Noir candidates the following morning. No new revelations had come to her during the night, so she stared at the two names, chewing her lip thoughtfully, and trying to remember if she had ever seen either of them in the same room as Chat Noir.

Adrien awoke, and stretched lazily, languishing in a sleepy haze. He adored being able to sleep in. It was a rare pleasure, so he took advantage of the times when he had no early morning photoshoots, school, or other duties, to delight in the warmth of his bed.
Plagg began to whimper. 'No, come back, cheese.'
Lifting the corner of a pillow, Adrien smothered a laugh at the sight of Plagg twitching in his sleep.
He poked him awake. 'Hey, you're dreaming. Your camembert isn't going anywhere.'
With an inelegant snort, Plagg roused. He blinked up at Adrien blearily, with his mouth hanging open. 'Wassat?'
'Your cheese is right where you left it.'
Plagg became lucid immediately. With a happy squeal, he flew into the trash bin. 'Good morning, my beauties.'
Adrien gagged. Desperately wishing to avoid listening to Plagg eat his breakfast, he went about his morning ablutions, mournfully leaving the comfort of his bed.
After he was dressed, he went downstairs for his own meal. To his surprise, Gabriel was already at the dining table, the remains of his breakfast set aside while he drank his coffee, and read the news on his tablet.
'Wow, Father, joining me for breakfast for the second time this week. Is the world coming to an end?'
Gabriel didn't look up. 'Roll back the attitude, Son.'
Adrien took his seat, while a staff member set a plate before him. He ate in silence, preoccupied with thoughts of Marinette.
As if Gabriel had read his mind, he asked, 'how are things going with the girl who hates you?'
Adrien put his cutlery down. 'She never hated me, I don't think. At least, she's beginning to see me in a better light. I'll bet it's actually because I'm friends with Chloe. She really detests Chloe, and vice versa. But, to answer your question, my relationship with her has improved noticeably.'
Gabriel nodded, sagely. 'I see my advice worked, then. You're welcome.'
'What advice?' Adrien scoffed, scrunching his nose up.
'My suggestion of an interpretive dance, pheromones, and tapping her wings, I mean, arms.'
He took a nonchalant sip of his coffee.
Adrien stared at him, hard, the cogs in his mind turning slowly.
'Father,' he began, cautiously. 'Did you tell me to act like a butterfly?'
Gabriel snorted, derisively. 'Of course not, that would be ridiculous. You're a boy, not a bug. Why would you even ask such an absurd question?'
'This week, my group and I did a project on the lifecycle and habits of butterflies. What you suggested matched their courtship ritual perfectly. Why would that be, Father?' Adrien folded his arms on top of the table, looking at Gabriel expectantly.
'You're imagining things. It was a coincidence.'
Adrien frowned. 'Which is it, coincidence, or my imagination?'
'That's enough,' Gabriel told him, sternly. 'I am the parent here. I don't have to be interrogated by you.'
A sudden thought occurred to Adrien, the cogs in his mind finally suppling the answer. In that moment, he was absolutely sure he was correct. 'You're Papillon, aren't you?'
'Yes. I mean, no. Stop saying such unreasonable things.'
'Oh my Bast, you so are,' he exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
Gabriel scowled at him. 'Fine, it's true. But so what if I am? There's nothing you can do about it. Besides, we're family. You wouldn't betray me, the only family you have left.'
Adrien's eyes darted from side to side. 'No,' he drawled, 'of course not.'
He took a cautious step backwards. 'I have some,' he snapped his fingers, 'homework. I have homework I have to catch up on. I'll just be going to my room, now. See ya,' he called, as he spun around and fled.

Feeling like she wasn't making any progress, Marinette transformed and leapt from her balcony, letting the rush of wind clear her mind. She raced around the city until midday, when she paused on top of a building to watch the passers-by for a while.
Across the road, she saw one of her possible candidates exit a café, licking his fingers as he turned to walk away.
Sensing an opportunity, Ladybug swung over to his side of the street, and stalked him until he turned down an infrequently used alley. There, she jumped down to land in front of him, startling a yelp from the boy.
She knelt on one knee, taking him in, inch by inch, as she slowly stood up. He wore red and white shoes, grey trousers, and a red knitted jumper. He had blue-green eyes, pale skin, and a slight build. She didn't know his name, but she supposed ignorance could be interpreted as dislike, if a person were insecure enough.
The boy had frozen in place, one foot back, and with his arms raised defensively, as if he were about to flee.
'Ladybug,' he stammered. 'Is there an akuma? Do I need to find somewhere safe to hide?'
She suppressed a sigh. This boy was not Chat Noir.
'No, there's no akuma,' she assured him, with a smile. 'Sorry for frightening you. I just missed my jump, and had to make an emergency landing here, that's all.'
'Oh, that's a relief. Thanks for all your hard work, Ladybug,' he said, waving to her as walked away.
She tossed her yoyo up, and reeled herself back up to the rooftops, suddenly faced with an undeniable truth.

Adrien stayed in his room for the remainder of the morning, pacing from his bed to the bathroom door, and back again, as he tried to think of a course of action.
His thought process was disturbed by Gabriel periodically sticking his head in the door, to check up on him, and make sure he hadn't notified the authorities.
Adrien was in a conundrum. Gabriel was his father, and the only family he had left. However, he still had a duty to uphold, as Chat Noir and as a citizen of Paris. He was honour bound on two fronts to see Gabriel arrested.
'Uh-oh,' Plagg muttered, from where he sat on the keyboard.
Adrien was about to ask what was wrong, when there was a loud bang from behind him.
Spinning around, he saw Ladybug standing on his windowsill, one leg still poised after she had kicked his window open. Frowning fiercely, she jumped inside, and marched right up to him, until they were standing toe to toe.
He gulped, but held his ground. 'Hey there, Ladybug. What're you - '
'I know it's you, Chat Noir,' she interrupted him, her hands on her hips.
His eyes widened, then softened as he gazed at her. 'I knew you'd figure it out.'
She backed up a step, suddenly looking uncertain.
Adrien's posture relaxed, as he indicated the chair behind him. 'Would you like to sit down?'
Ladybug nodded, then collapsed onto his bed like a puppet whose strings had just been cut.
He sat tentatively beside her. 'I know this is a shock, be we have more pressing matters to attend to, first.'
She sat up. 'Like what? What could possibly be more important than our identities?'
'Finding out Papillon's identity,' he supplied, with an upward inflection.
She blinked at him. 'Say what, now?'
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. 'I know who Papillon is. I just don't know what to do about it.'
'We kick his butt, that's what we do,' she told him vehemently, clearly setting aside the issue of his identity in the wake of this new revelation.
He shook his head. 'It's not that simple.'
'Why not?' she demanded.
'Because,' he groaned, unable to look directly at her, 'he's my father.'
She stared at him with wide eyes. 'How did you find out?'
'It was actually because of our science presentation. Father gave me some advice on how to, uh, interact with girls. What he described was the courtship behaviours of butterflies. Then, it just struck me, you know? All the pieces fit.'
Ladybug fell still. 'Tikki, detransform me.'
Plagg flew out of hiding to greet the new kwami. 'Hey, Red. This is my boy, Adrien. He's a sap, and a bit of a wet blanket, but he's good people. Adrien, meet Tikki.'
Tikki nodded at Adrien. 'Nice to meet you.'
'You too,' he replied.
'Plagg,' Tikki went on, 'this is Marinette. She's nicer than you.'
'That's what you say about all your wielders,' he snorted. 'S'up, Pigtails.'
Marinette gave a feeble wave in return.
Plagg nudged Tikki in the side. 'Wanna check out my secret cheese stash?'
Tikki clung to Marinette's face for a moment, before letting go. 'I'll be right back,' she promised. 'Ok, Plagg, show me what you got.'
They flew away, twirling around each other in an intricate dance toward the bathroom.
Turning back to Marinette, Adrien placed his hand over hers. 'I'm sorry, I know this is a lot to take in.'
He stopped talking when he heard the bedroom door handle turn. In a panic, he grasped Marinette's cheeks, and pulled her into a kiss. She squeaked in surprise, her hands flying up to cover his, but rather than push him away, she melted into it.
In the doorway, Gabriel cleared his throat. 'I don't recall giving you permission to sneak girls in here,' he said, reproachfully.
'Asking would defeat the purpose of sneaking,' Adrien pointed out.
'Touché. Carry on.' Gabriel closed the door after himself.
'Oh my God,' Marinette gasped, hiding her face in her hands as she blushed crimson.
Adrien shuffled backwards. 'Sorry, I panicked. He knows I figured him out.'
'He knows?' she whisper-screamed.
'Only that I know who he is. He doesn't know about either of us,' he assured her, holding his hands up.
Marinette leaned back, one hand curling over her lips while the other clutched his blanket. She wouldn't look directly at him, and her blush had yet to fade.
'He's your dad. What do you want to do?'
'I always imagined it would come down to this epic battle, where you would dramatically rip Papillon's Miraculous right off of him. Now, I just want to punch him in the face, steal his Miraculous while he's down, and run for it.'
Marinette wrung her hands. 'I know he's you dad, but he's terrorised Paris for over a year now. He has to face the consequences.'
'I know,' he sighed. 'I just wish it hadn't been him.'

Showing monumental willpower, Marinette set aside her reaction to his identity in the face of the bigger problem. Only deep, deep down did she allow her inner self to scream into the void.
She stood up and started to pace, in an attempt to ease her restlessness. 'Ok, so your dad is Papillon. You're Chat Noir, and your dad is Papillon. Jesus, how messed up is that?'
'Focus, Marinette,' he murmured, still sitting on the bed.
'Right, focussing. So focussed. One hundred percent focussed on how wrong that is,' she exclaimed, her voice rising with each word. 'Seriously, what was Fu thinking?'
Tilting his head, Adrien asked, 'who?'
Marinette dropped her arms and turned to him. 'The person who gave us our jewellery. I think we ought to consult him on this.'
He nodded. 'I think you're right. Let's go.'
Adrien rose, calling to Plagg and Tikki. Marinette told them they were going to see Fu, then held her purse open for them. The kwamies settled comfortably inside, smiling up at her as she snapped the clasp shut.
Adrien then led her by the hand down to the foyer.
'Where are you two off to?' Gabriel asked, as he stood in the doorway of his office.
'We're going on a date,' Adrien lied, holding up their joined hands as evidence. 'See?'
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. 'Aren't you going to introduce us?'
'Hell no,' he retorted. 'You'll scare her away.'
Before Gabriel had a chance to respond, Adrien tightened his grip on her hand, and power walked out the door, not slowing down until they were two blocks away.
'Fu's place is back that way,' Marinette informed him, pointing to a street behind them.
He paused, looking sheepish. Marinette rolled her eyes, and took the lead, tugging him back down the direction they'd come. She supposed she couldn't fault him for his sudden flight. Their greatest enemy was also his father, and neither of them had a solution. She was impressed he had held himself together so well.
She knocked on the door of the humble massage parlour, then pushed it open.
'Hello?' she called, 'Master Fu?'
Fu shuffled in from a back room. 'Hello, Marinette, how are you? I see you've brought a friend. Would you like the buy one, get one free special?'
'We aren't here for a back rub, Old Man,' Plagg said, phasing through the purse.
Fu nodded. 'I see, I see. Come this way,' he instructed, waving them in.
They sat at a low table in a rear room, while Fu poured tea. Tikki and Plagg flew off to meet Wayzz, then proceeded to fly around in an elaborate game of chasies.
'Ladybug, Chat Noir, I see you've decided to disclose your identities,' Fu observed.
Adrien ducked his head and cleared his throat.
'Yes,' Marinette answered, with a light blush, 'we did. But that's not entirely why we're here today.'
'It's not?'
'Master Fu,' Adrien began, 'did you know my father is Papillon?'
Fu's eyes bulged. 'No,' he gasped, in disbelief. 'That's messed up.'
'That's what I said,' Marinette shrieked.
'So, you didn't know?' Adrien asked.
Shaking his head, Fu continued to stare at Adrien. 'I had no notion. I gave you the Cat because you demonstrated the kindness and compassion necessary to wield such destructive powers, and not misuse them. Also, because Ladybug needed a partner.'
Adrien sat back with an understanding hum.
Marinette felt dubious. 'Then, why did you choose me to become Ladybug?'
'Ah, because you were the only one brave enough to face the ferocious oncoming traffic to rescue an elderly man.'
'Isn't that a little arbitrary?' she asked, her eyebrows shooting up at the explanation.
'Yes, completely,' Fu agreed, smiling and nodding.
'Back to the issue at hand,' Adrien cut in. 'My father is Papillon. What are we supposed to do about that?'
'You defeat him, and return his Miraculous to me,' Fu said.
Adrien gave him a flat stare. 'That is spectacularly unhelpful.'
Marinette held up a finger. 'No, no, I think I get it. You're saying we should deal with him the same way we'd deal with any other enemy. Jump in as Ladybug and Chat Noir, confront him, defeat him, take his item, and bring it here to be purified. Right?'
'Eh, close enough,' Fu shrugged.
'Wait a second,' interjected Adrien. 'Marinette, you said he needs to be held accountable. Are you suggesting we call the cops after we've taken his Miraculous?'
Marinette stalled, uncertain where he was taking his argument.
'I'm not sure if that's the right course of action, since for one, he's my dad, and two, if we take his Miraculous away, we have no proof.'
Marinette hummed thoughtfully, as she curled a finger over her lips.
'That is a quandary,' said Fu, smiling beatifically.
'Maybe we should cross that bridge when we get to it,' she suggested, finally.
Adrien frowned, but nodded.
Marinette turned back to Fu. 'How do you think we should take him down? Any advice would be welcome.'
Fu stroked his goatee while he thought. 'I think you should punch him in the face, and kick him while he's down, so to speak.'
'Hey,' Adrien protested.
Marinette punched him in the arm. 'You said the same thing, not one hour ago.'
Glaring back at her, he replied, 'he's my dad. Only I can suggest physical violence.'
'Is that your solution?' asked Fu.
'No,' Adrien shouted.
Fu pouted. 'Pity.'
Marinette bit her lip. Their bickering wasn't helping, and now that she knew who Papillon was, she wanted to end his reign of terror, once and for all.
'Adrien,' she said, swivelling to face him. 'Let's go get something to eat, then we can go back to your place to think of a plan. Ok?'
He gave her a questioning look. 'Is it really wise to do that at my place?'
'Trust me,' she told him, with a wink.

Adrien bought them both a late lunch at a small café, then led her back to his place, still feeling apprehensive about discussing their plans right under Gabriel's nose.
'Relax,' she whispered, as they entered the foyer. 'The trick to any good deception is to walk around like you own the place. Confidence is key.' She stood behind him, and gripped his shoulders firmly. She then pulled them back, forcing him to stand up straight. He felt something in his spine click.
Gabe walked out of his office. 'Did you have a nice date?'
Adrien's stomach lurched. 'Yes,' he squeaked. Clearing his throat, he tried again. 'Yes, Father, thank you.'
Marinette stepped out from behind him. Waving at Gabriel, she said, 'my name is Marinette. It's an honour to meet you, Sir.'
'Yes, it is,' he agreed, haughtily. Then, his eyes sharpened. Turning to Adrien, he raised a questioning eyebrow. 'This is the girl who dislikes you?'
Red faced, Adrien stared at the floor and nodded.
'I see you managed to trick her, I mean, convince her to like you back.'
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of a believable answer.
'Is that what you thought?' she gasped, in exaggerated shock. She turned back to Gabriel, one hand placed theatrically against her cheek. 'I never disliked him, quiet the opposite, in fact. The problem was, I didn't know how to express my feelings. I never meant to make you feel bad, Adrien.'
He floundered, caught off guard by her blatant lie. 'Well, when you refused to talk to me,' he trailed off, weakly.
Gabriel shot her a level stare as he tutted. 'Hurting isn't flirting, Mademoiselle.'
Marinette turned away, her cheeks a light pink. 'I know that now. I'm sorry for the pain and confusion, Adrien.'
'That's ok,' he stammered, 'it won't happen again.'
'It won't, I promise,' she vowed.
Gabriel gave a curt nod. 'Very good. Now, don't do anything I wouldn't do,' he told them, as he made to re-enter his office.
'I don't know if that leaves us too many options, or none at all,' Adrien admitted.
Gabriel slammed the door behind himself.
Up in his room, Adrien sat beside Marinette on the couch while Plagg and Tikki hid in the garbage bin.
'It stinks of cheese in here,' Tikki complained.
'That's just my natural musk, Babe,' Plagg informed her.
Adrien waited for Marinette to speak, but she looked deep in thought with her legs crossed, and brow furrowed, as she tapped her chin.
Adrien shifted, feeling awkward. 'So, that's my dad. What do you think?'
'He's kinda hot. I mean, where do you think he wears his Miraculous? I didn't see any jewellery on him.'
Adrien glanced at her sidelong. 'It sure would help if we knew what the Butterfly Miraculous looked like,' he said, loudly.
'It's a brooch,' Tikki shrieked from within the bin. 'It's small, purple, opens like a locket, and had a stylised butterfly on the front.'
'Thank you, Tikki,' Adrien and Marinette called, simultaneously.
'Now, the question is where would he wear such a thing?' Marinette mused.
Adrien shook his head. 'He wears so many layers, it could be anywhere. Under his coat, his vest, his cravat.'
Marinette suddenly jerked upright. 'His cravat,' she exclaimed. 'He's using the brooch as a cravat pin. I'd bet my earrings on it.'
'Oy,' Tikki hollered, warningly.
'How are we supposed to get to that?' moaned Adrien.
The door handle creaked. Quickly, Marinette grabbed his collar with both hands, and yanked him closer. Adrien prevented himself from crashing into her by bracing one hand on the back of the couch, but she didn't stop until their lips touched.
There was silence from the doorway, but Adrien doubted he would have heard anything if Gabriel had spoken. Either Marinette had done some research, or she was a quick study, since she was fast becoming an adept kisser, easily learning which way to tilt her head, and the actions he liked. He found himself responding in kind.
When they pulled away, the door was closed.
'Wow,' he murmured.
Marinette turned pink, and glanced away.
Suddenly, realisation dawned. 'So, that's why you wanted to come back here,' Adrien smirked. 'You just wanted an excuse to kiss me again.'
She went from rosy to vermillion in an instant. 'That strategy worked last time, that's all,' she explained, sounding defensive. 'We came back here to assure Papillon that you hadn't snitched, and he would never suspect we were planning his defeat under his own roof.'
Adrien nodded his understanding. 'All good points, but I still think you wanted to kiss me again.'
He wiggled his brows at her.
'Down, Kitty. Your Chat Noir is showing.'
Adrien's eyes flicked automatically to his lap. 'No, it isn't.'
Marinette slapped her forehead with a long-suffering groan.

They spoke until the sun began to set, pouncing on each other and making out whenever they heard someone at the door. Sometimes it was a false alarm, sometimes not, but they agreed it was better to be safe than sorry. In total, they kissed fourteen times; she'd kept count.
However, they reached no consensus on what they should do about Gabriel.
Marinette's phone buzzed with a text.
'That's my mum. She wants me to come home.'
'You'd better not keep her waiting,' Adrien advised, as he helped her to her feet.
Tikki phased into the purse before Adrien opened the bedroom door. Then, Adrien took Marinette's hand as they walked into the foyer.
Gabriel emerged from his office. 'Good evening, Mademoiselle. Please extend my greetings to your parents.'
She forced herself to smile at him. 'Will do. Thanks for having me, Adrien.'
He smirked back at her. 'If only.'
She slapped his arm as she smiled wryly at him. 'See you tomorrow?'
'Tomorrow?' he echoed.
'Yes, you should get to sleep early tonight. You need your rest.'
He looked at her closely. 'Really, tomorrow? You're certain?'
She returned his stare. 'Yes. It's important you be well rested.'
Nodding, he conceded her point. 'All right. Good night, Marinette.'
'Good night, Adrien.'
He gave her a peck on the cheek, and watched from the doorway as she walked out the gate. There, she turned to give him a final wave before heading home.
'Did you get much planning done?' asked Tikki.
Marinette sighed. 'Not really. We may end up just winging it.'
'Isn't that how you always end up doing it?'
'Pretty much.'
'So, how do you feel about Adrien being Chat Noir?'
Marinette paused to think on her feelings. 'I think I'm good with it,' she answered with a small smile.
That night, she shared a normal meal with her parents, which felt almost absurd in light of so many revelations. Afterward, she went to bed, deciding to follow her own advice on getting enough rest. Sleep, however, was a long time coming.
- 5
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The Week That Was