A Pinch of Potpourri ~ Oneshot collection

Denouement

Of all the things Adrien knew his father was capable of, being the supervillain that he and Ladybug painstakingly sought out for the past some odd years, was not one of them.

The first thing that crossed his mind was "why?" But that was all too quickly replaced by thoughts of the countless times that Papillon—his own father, had knowingly put him in danger. Everything that Gabriel had put him through, locking him up, not letting him go to school—he claimed that everything he did was to keep his dearest son safe. Adrien was inexplicably angry. But most of all?

He was hurt.

He had thought—no, he had been sure that Gabriel cared about him deep down. No matter how many times he had been let down, he still thought the best of his father. But the current revelation shattered such naive notions. Papillon was willing to sacrifice everything in order to obtain what he wanted, even him. He tried to reason with him; tell him that this present wouldn't matter if he was going to change the past. But Adrien—Chat Noir, would have none of it. He wasn't giving his Miraculous to his lunatic of a father.

Ladybug's anger was enough to rival his. He wasn't sure if she was angry on his behalf or in general, but his lady was incredibly patient with him, even in the midst of their final battle. She was kind and understanding—qualities that his father clearly lacked.

The battle was a blur. He didn't know if it was because of the increased adrenaline and mess of emotions that clouded his mind or maybe the tears that kept threatening to spill that blurred his vision. But when he had come to his senses, he only saw grayness ahead of him. A speck of cold wetness touched his cheek but it was soon replaced by a warm caress. A figure appeared in his line of sight as his lady leaned over him. He slowly raised a hand to her face, his naked hand and her missing mask merely an afterthought to him.

"Is it over?" His voice came out quiet and hoarse.

"Yeah..." She replied, voice just as quiet and shaky. "It's over."

She tried smiling, to show some sort of happiness for their victory, but he saw her tears through his own. His precious lady was hurting for him and it comforted him to know that despite everything, there was someone who cared enough for him to share his sorrow.

"Thank you, Marinette."