When Walls Crumble

Chapter 11: Espionne

Months later, Adrian walked into school. He sat down next to Nino and gave his friend their habitual fist bump.

"Hey, dude! Do you have anything going on tomorrow? We're planning to go to a movie if you want."

"Sure, Nino! That sounds like fun! Who's 'we'?"

"Me, you and Alya."

"No Marinette?"

Nino laughed. "As if! We asked her, but she and Luka had plans for the ice rink. It's been exactly a year since they started dating and that was where they were when she figured out for sure that she liked him. Also, he's really good."

Adrian felt his stomach sink. He missed hanging out with Marinette. Especially this last year when she didn't seem scared of him anymore. But she rarely had time for Adrian. She had Luka and was typically busy with all sorts of projects. It seemed like he only got to talk to her as Cat Noir.

"Um...Adrian?" Nino's voice cut across his silence. "Are you still there?"

"Oh, uh...yeah! It's just a bummer about Marinette, is all."

Nino raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Marinette walked into the room followed by Luka.

Alya giggled. "Look at the love birds! He's repeating a grade to be in class with her!"

Luka chuckled, while Marinette blushed and gave her an exasperated sigh.

"I'm just walking her to class. We were in the middle of a discussion about the band's next album." He kissed her forehead. "See you at lunch, mon amour."

"Yeah, see you later."

Adrian caught himself glaring. What was wrong with him? He had known they were dating since the very first day. He gave Luka a miraculous after all. And he hadn't had a reason to regret that decision. Whenever they called on him, he performed admirably and joked with him. Occasionally he said something to Ladybug that the jealous kitty couldn't tell if they were meant flirtatiously. From what he knew of Luka's character, he wouldn't be one to flirt with Ladybug while dating Marinette. So maybe he was just joking around.

Agh, he was way too suspicious of everything. Maybe he should take a night-time rooftop stroll. That always seemed to clear his mind.

And hey, you never know. He might get to chat up his lady again.

Marinette was waiting for Luka at the front of the school when all of a sudden, she found herself in the air with the surrounding area spinning. Then she was on her feet, looking at Luka who had picked her up and spun her from behind.

After getting over her initial shock, she started laughing. "Don't do that, Luka! For a second I thought I was being attacked by one of Hawkmoth's experiments."

He chuckled. "I'm sorry to disappoint, Ladybug." The last word was whispered in her ear, making her blush.

She pecked him on the check. "You sly serpent. Let's get going."

He put his arm around her back and they started the walk to the ice rink.

"Interesting," Lila murmured. "No wonder it wasn't working."

That evening, Lila had a rendezvous with Hawkmoth. He took the news surprisingly well, considering how almost a year had been wasted on filling Adrian's photoshoots with 'girlfriend' models and spreading rumors. They had been wondering if maybe Marinette wasn't hearing them, but apparently, she just didn't care.

"Well if they are happily dating, then the plan won't work," he mused.

"Actually, maybe we can go from the other side," Lila suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Your son. Groom him into your ideal soldier."

"I would never..."

"Think about it," she interrupted. "It makes sense. Also, him being one of the only ones never to be akumatized may raise some suspicion. It will help cover your tracks."

"But he might..."

"Get hurt? Please." Lila rolled her eyes. "Ladybug and Cat Noir never hurt their opponents. If he succeeds in getting their miraculous, he'll be fine. If he fails, he'll be fine. Ladybug's miraculous ladybug fixes everything."

"I'm more worried about his emotional state."

"Eh. He'd be in a dream. I'm pretty sure he kinda likes Ladybug."

Hawkmoth started. "Where did you get that?"

"When I became Volpina. It was because Ladybug outright exposed me in front of him, remember? He was looking at her with admiration when she first showed up. And she was definitely jealous. She has-or had- a thing for him. But here's the other reason to go with him. Today, he and his friends made movie plans. In the past, that included Marinette. But now that she's with Luka, he misses her. He even was glaring at Luka when he saw them kiss."

Hawkmoth raised an eyebrow. Hmm... "This may just work, Espionne. But if you are wrong and Adrian is hurt..."

"No worries, Hawkmoth."