He couldn't bring himself to look at Alya or Nino. He didn't even want to imagine what their expressions looked like. Instead, he focused on Marinette. She was as tense and anxious as he was, but something in her eyes kept him steady –kept him from drowning in the guilt and regret that was trying to swallow him whole.
He moved towards her, "How –,"
"I saw the battle," she said, "I saw him standing in Hawk Moth's place when his miraculous was removed. I never told anyone."
He was relieved that she'd protected his family, but he couldn't understand why she'd done it. Even in London there'd been articles about people asking about the disappearance of the akumas and questions on the identity of Hawk Moth. Rewards were listed, ones worth thousands of pounds, and yet she hadn't said a word.
Alya's voice died on her lips and Nino came up behind her, his eyes just as wide. "Bro...you...you're joking right?"
Adrien shook his head and Alya's face twisted into an array of odd expressions, changing as though she didn't know which one to settle for. "You mean to tell me that this whole time, Gabriel Agreste was the one terrorizing Paris."
Marinette didn't say anything else and Nino began rubbing circles on Alya's back. "Nino," she muttered, "I think I need some air." He didn't hesitate. Moving his arm around Alya's waist, he ushered her outside the kitchen into the lounge and left Marinette alone with Adrien.
He couldn't stop the questions formulating in his head. The final battle had taken place in his manor, a far cry from the average street in Paris. They'd shattered the window during their brawl, so it was possible, but he couldn't understand how he'd never even saw her.
"That's why you never questioned me," he mumbled, "You knew all along why I was leaving." She sent him a guilty smile and he couldn't help but admire the small blush along her cheeks. "You've been keeping my secret for all these years. Why?"
"It wasn't my secret to tell," she replied.
She turned her back to him, mixing the hot chocolate powder with the boiling water from the kettle and he sat down on the bar stool. With every passing second, the thought of her being his Lady didn't seem so far fetched. She knew something only he and Ladybug were supposed to, her child was the right age and the father was absent from their lives.
"I...I heard you have a son," he said, feeling his pulse quicken with every word.
"Did you hear it from Chloe?" she asked, her tone bordering on hostile.
Adrien sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, but that's not important. I –,"
"It's important to me," she snapped. She turned around to face him, leaning back against the counter on the far wall and glaring at him from over her mug. "What did she say to you?"
He didn't know whether it was a good idea to answer, but the way Marinette approached the topic of Chloe made him realize that one wrong word could still have him kicked out of her home and banned before he had time to blink.
He swallowed thickly. "She said you had him while you were still seventeen." He glanced up to see her reaction, but her eyes were void and hollow. She was hiding her emotions and he grew increasingly afraid the longer he spoke. "She said you don't know who his father is."
Marinette sighed, her face more tired and worn than irritated. "I was drunk that night. I couldn't remember where I was or who I was with. The next morning I woke up alone with a hangover and before I knew it I was pregnant."
"You didn't get an abortion?" she asked.
Marinette looked horrified. "No!" she hissed, "I'd never –," She inhaled deeply, the air seeming to spread throughout her body and relax every muscle. "I'd never do that to an innocent life."
YOU ARE READING
Too Young For Love (On Hold) ~ A Miraculous Love Story
Fanfiction"Chat Noir," she murmured. "His father is Chat Noir." It's been six years since Hawk Moth was defeated and Ladybug hasn't seen Chat Noir since. After sharing something special with her partner, she can't help but feel haunted by his abrupt disappear...
