A Masked Game

Ready Player One...

Quick note regarding this fic... so I started writing this in January 2023. I didn't quite realise how in tune with canon it would be. If you are waiting to watch season 5, I recommend reading this AFTER, as it follows on quite effortlessly. 

SPOILER ALERT FOR SEASON 5... If you're not planning on watching it, please read ahead, everything is explained as the fic develops.

*****

Flashback Cutscene: Gossip

10 years previously...

A tentative rap was heard against Adrien's window, pulling his attention away from the family portrait in his hands and in search of its source.

Adrien blinked, releasing the flooding in his eyes and clearing his vision to see what or who was behind the crystal clear glass. His eyes fell upon black spots dazzling in the light from the late morning sun and becoming disfigured by the pools of tears, once more, forming in his eyes.

Adrien lifted a hand and signalled for the polka dotted hero to enter his room, turning back to the photograph in his hand and looking at the three smiling faces gazing back at him — his mother, his father and him. Each face full of love and life, completely opposite to what he remembered.

Almost silently, Ladybug moved closer, her footfall soft and gentle, Adrien only aware of the movement thanks to years of coordinated partnership and his intuition when it came to her.

"How are you?" she said softly, keeping her distance from him as he continued to stare down into the photograph. A lone tear escaped, landing on the glass surface and expanding into a puddle of grief — another following mere seconds later.

Tightly, he screwed his eyes together, the action sending two, three, four more tears down and onto the picture of his family, distorting each of them, especially his father's face.

"I didn't think I would miss him, but I do!" Adrien sniffed, bringing a fist to his nose and wiping sharply.

"You have every right to miss him," Ladybug said, coming to sit beside him. "He's your father."

Adrien shook his head. "No!" he stated. "He was never a father to me. He was more of an owner. He controlled me, Ladybug. You know it and I know it." He looked down to the ring on his left hand.

"He's still your father though, Adrien. You don't just stop loving your parents — regardless of what they've done."

Reaching out, she took his hand in hers. An alien feeling considering how close he knew they actually were.

"What do you think happened to him?" Adrien asked, turning his attention from the photograph in his lap to the girl beside him; his best friend; one of his consistent supporters.

He could see her debate with herself and he knew her well enough to tell she was holding something back, hiding something from him she was worried to tell. Though, this time it was more understandable. Maybe whatever it was that was bothering her she'd tell him as Chat Noir. They promised to be more open with each other, to be more supportive and right now he wasn't sure who needed the support more.

"He made the trade and just... disappeared. He was a hero. He saved your mother," she whispered, barely audible.

The rather large exhale of air was easily readable; she didn't believe a word of what she'd just said. She had been there when it happened. She had experienced the sacrifice his father had made to save his mother, but he just couldn't imagine his father so easily volunteering for his son's happiness. Gabriel hadn't even allowed him to date Marinette, instead locking him away from the world as if that'd make him come to his senses.