Back to Back 2

Confusion

More and more dread filled Argos' heart with every rooftop they passed. There he was, bringing Ladybug to her doom, and she had absolutely no idea.

They were almost there. His mom was waiting in a spot close to the Agreste mansion. That would be the place where Ladybug realized that he had betrayed her. Again.

Just picturing the look on her face made him want to cry, and the feeling only got stronger as they got closer.

There was only one more block to go.

His resolve failing and the guilt crushing his soul, Argos slowed down. All of a sudden he wasn't sure if he could go through with it. Marinette loved Adrien, and he loved her back. How could he take that happiness away from her?

That was it, he was going to end things right then and there. Well, probably. Actually yes, he was going to do it. He was going to confess that it was him who stole the Butterfly Miraculous. He was going to confess that his mom was the new Hawk Moth. He was going to confess it all, and hopefully she would forgive him.

But wait. No, he couldn't. Or, maybe he could? The nonstop back and forth made his head spin. So much so that he had to physically stop.

But when he stopped, Ladybug didn't stop with him. Instead, she continued traveling into the distance. Confused, he started to follow her, and the confusion only intensified when she approached the mansion and landed in Adrien's bedroom. After landing next to her, he scrunched up his face. "Ladybug, what are you doing?"

She shrugged. "I thought we'd take a quick detour. This won't take very long, and then we can head to that hiding spot."

With a head shake, Argos stepped toward her and made a decision; he couldn't go through with it. "No, we won't be heading to..."

"Want to play?" Ladybug interrupted, walking toward the foosball table.

Now the confusion was at full capacity. "You want to play foosball?"

"Yeah. It'll be fun."

"We're in the middle of an akuma attack..."

"I know," she said with a smile. "So we'll make it quick and just play one round. Please?"

Too bewildered by her unusual request, Argos silently made his way to the table. Once there, he reached toward the point counter to have her go up nine points to zero.

"We can play the normal way," she continued, stopping him in his tracks. "No giving me nine points, no playing one-handed, and definitely no closing your eyes," she added with a chuckle.

He didn't understand what was so funny, so he frowned as he looked over at her. "Are you sure? It won't be fair."

Ladybug gave him a brilliant smile and nodded. "I'm sure."

Still confused, Argos retracted his arm back. Then he extended it out again to grab the ball from the goal.

"Don't bother," Ladybug continued. "I got one right here." And she held up a red and black spotted object.

He blinked in surprise. "Your lucky charm? I thought it was a ping-pong ball."

"I thought so too, but then I realized that it's too heavy to be that. It's actually for foosball."

With a slow nod, Argos thought about something else. "I thought you gave it to Adrien."

"Yeah," Ladybug laughed. "I did. But then I took it back." She set the ball in place, and looked up. "Ready?"

Another nod.

And the game promptly began.

Standing there, Argos had no clue what was going on. Ladybug's lucky charm wanted them to play foosball? How was that supposed to help with the akuma attack? Well, whatever it was, Ladybug seemed convinced about it so he would go along too. In fact, this would be the perfect opportunity to confess. He spun the handles and got one point before he awkwardly cleared his throat. "There's something I need to tell you."