Discordant Sonata

Chapter 2: Blues (Part 1)

👉(Note:  SHIP HATE COMMENTS OF ANY KIND WILL BE DELETED)👈

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(Mood Music:  Ballad Of The Sad Young Men - Roberta Flack)

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Chat Noir leaped through his bedroom's open window and promptly detransformed. All he wanted to do was shower and plop on the couch to become a proper vegetable for an hour or two. He could use the downtime to decide whether or not to meet up with Ladybug later that night.

His face felt hot as he remembered how her lithe body felt in his arms, how soft her cheek was when he whispered to her as they danced. The horrified look on her face that morphed into an empathetic one when she found out his relationship to Hawkmoth. He couldn't forget the way her arms felt around his neck, her head lying on his chest, or how he could smell her shampoo when his head rested on top of hers while tears streamed down his face. He just couldn't get it out of his head. It was so confusing, so unexpected. He was never meant to get to know her, nor to realize that she was so normal and just so... nice. It would make his job much harder if he thought of her as anything more than an enemy, an obstacle to his father's-- to his goal.

He pushed those thoughts aside and walked towards the bathroom when there was an abrupt, though not unexpected, knock on the door.

Adrien grumbled before calling out, "Come in."

His father's assistant entered the room through the door closest to him (why did his bedroom need TWO doors, honestly?). Her mouth twitched as if she was trying to find the right words, then settled for, "Your father would like to speak with you, Adrien."

"Thank you, Nathalie," he replied dejectedly. He was walking past when Nathalie grabbed his shoulder, gently but firmly. He stopped and stared at her, a bit puzzled. She closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly.

She sighed and looked back up at him. "He... isn't pleased. Just thought I'd let you know."

Adrien placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed. He quirked a small smile at her and murmured quietly, "I'll be fine, Nathalie. Thanks."

She nodded and let go, the creeping sense of dread in her stomach growing as she watched Adrien make his way towards his father's study.

Adrien stopped short of the door to the office and took a deep breath to try to gather up as much courage as he could muster. He turned the doorknob with a shaky hand and walked in until he stood a few meters away from his father, then waited, knowing that Gabriel was already aware of his presence. The blinding fluorescent lights made him feel exposed, as if he were in an interrogation room and he had already been pronounced guilty.

"What were you thinking?!" Gabriel barked suddenly, making Adrien flinch. "If you'd only been able to keep Ladybug occupied until my servant returned to you, we would have easily taken her miraculous. It should have been child's play. But not only were you apparently incapable of doing such a simple task, but you had the nerve to actually help that... that PEST?!"

"F-Father, it wasn't like that!"

"Then explain yourself! You'd better have a damn good explanation for such insolence!"

Adrien tried to steady his breathing before speaking. "When the akuma turned on me I knew she wasn't going to work out. She was only interested in her pointless ball and couldn't care less about helping me; her lack of focus would have resulted in defeat regardless. Delaying the inevitable would have been impractical, so I allowed Ladybug to use her lucky charm to speed things up a bit. I know how much you hate it when people waste your time."