MY HEART IS GOLD.

seldom did she find herself in any way comforted surrounded by cold white and hard marble, but there were exceptions and the AGRESTE MANOR was one of them  ;  a brilliant structure that in many ways, with its grandiose layout and elegant choice of black & white accents, felt like her own home. a funny notion, considering the vast difference in location. she’d found herself at peace within the foyer, body strewn gracefully over ivory cushions, lithe arm propped against the arm-rest for support of her chin. her lap hosted a small, black book, an easy-to-read thing that was more to pass the time than for any personal gratification  ;  really, it was on the history of wine — she’d picked it up haphazardly at some street stall in central paris. thank god she had – it was unlike gabriel to run LATE.

her eyes had just gone over a bit on the tannin of grapes ( she could’ve used a taste at this point.. ) when her attention was snagged by the sudden inquisition of her name. certainly too jovial to be the man of the house, and she smiled.  ❝ why, bonjour ! ❞ quickly, margaryta rose to her feet  ;  teetering in her streamlined pumps, she rushed to give her surprise visitor a courteous kiss on the cheek – - leaving a red imprint on his skin.  ❝ je suis merveilleux, ma chérie ! my, you get more and more handsome each time i see you, adrien, you’re going to be such a darling young man one day. i thought for sure you’d be in school or…. – or with nathalie, at the very least. ❞ she paused, manicured fingers playfully pinched his cheek.  ❝ speaking of which, darling, is ton père around ? ❞

it doesn’t take long for margaryta to cross the distance between them, and adrien blushes and ducks his head when she kisses his cheek in greeting. he can feel the stickiness of her lipstick stain his skin, and adrien rubs at the back of his neck, a boyish laugh falling from his lips. he’s honestly SURPRISED at her speed in those heels -- a feat adrien knows all too well is not easy to walk in, let alone RUN IN (a lesson hard learned when reflekta turned him into a mirror copy of herself). the price of fashion and beauty, he supposes. a price much too high and insane, in his opinion. 

he shakes the thoughts off, coming to just in time to hear marg’s words, and he lets out an embarrassed laugh, lips pulling into a smile that causes his cheeks to ache. he’s not used to smiling in this giant house much, and despite marg’s warm presence, it still feels a bit taboo to do it even when he’s not under the watchful eye of Nathalie or his father.  ( it doesn’t stop him, though. )

❛       marg ...  ❜     he protests, but it’s a weak one. he’s sheepish ; unused to hearing such words thrown his direction.  ❛  come on. i’m sixteen already. besides -- if anyone should be showered in compliments, it certainly isn’t me, it’s you. 

 oui, mais il est ... un peu occupe. ❜      adrien casts a look towards his father’s office, the intimidatingly tall twin doors closed shut. far from unusual. looking back to marg, he smiles apologetically, arms slipping behind his back, clasping at his hands.      ❛   but if you’d like -- i can keep you company. ❜    and with a stroke of boyish charm he rarely shows, he grins.    ❛   une belle femme comme vous ne doit pas etre laisse en attente seul !  ❜ 

❛ fine, if you want to play it that way. ❜   two will play at this game.  a weapon extended and drawn, roman will take that as the first step. to match, cane is untucked from beneath his arm— he’ll call it manners, waiting for the ‘hero’ of this to make the first move with a near impatient tap of a gloved finger to the handle’s curve. item or not, he’s not going to waste his breath on all of this for longer than necessary. job be damned; he knows when worth is cut out.  yet still do lips twitch into a frown. jack-o-lantern. how degrading.   ❛ your loss, cat. we could’ve made a great deal. ❜

      ❝ You get kinda used to it! There’s a lot of weird stuff around here! ❞

 ❝ Bon- bonjour, Adrien ! ❞  The ravenette returned the greeting as he walked up to her, surprise on her face as he  reached her side and gave her the brightest, warmest smile. As he went on to offer his help, she nodded.  Her subpar grade in physics and lack of understanding it as well as she needed could easily be attributed to her dual lifestyle. It wasn’t exactly something easy for her to grasp in the first place, and throw in a time crunch? confusion.   ❝ O-oui, but– but I wouldn’t want to bother you though– are you sure? ❞

Man I don’t know about ya’ll but i am so 1000% down with the idea of Papa and Mama Agreste being the OG heroes of Paris before Ladybug and Chat Noir.

I love the idea of Hawkmoth reforming and/or Mama Agreste being found and lil Adrien being taken under their wings to be taught how to fight and superhero 310

He’s not a child anymore. Those days are long gone. While his personality retains much of the charm and jokingly childish humor he had as Chat all those years back (but was never allowed to show as Adrien), he’s grown up and he’s grown into who he really is, a process that was more painful and eye-opening than easy. Part of it has to do with the freedom that Chat gave him, the confidence he gained from becoming a superhero and from making friends. And the other part — the other part, he’d rather not dwell on.

Hawkmoth is gone: his champions and supervillains that he spawned gone with him. Crime still happens in the city, because while the first supervillain that threatened Paris is no longer a problem, his presence has spurred on new threats and new maniacs that are trying their hand to accomplish what Hawkmoth couldn’t. It’s gotten a little more difficult keeping his secret thanks to college and superhero-ing, but the thing that’s most difficult are the stares he get. Not because people know him as Chat Noir, but because they know him as Adrien Agreste, son to the man who was once Hawkmoth.

( AU. )  Hawkmoth is his father. It's devastating news, and Adrien hadn't handled it well. The shame, the disappointment and grief that came with knowing his father was the man behind all of the chaos and disaster the past year was too much for Adrien to bear. Especially when his father tells him reasons; reasons that have to do with his mother and her disappearance. He and Ladybug had Hawkmoth in their sights, this was their chance to stop the man behind the attacks on Paris, once and for all. But while he was able to get Hawkmoth’s miraculous while he bought Ladybug time to recharge her kwami, the unexpected happened.

Hawkmoth’s transformation reversed, revealing who he really was. Gabriel. Gabriel Agreste. His father. The revelation was shocking enough to forcibly change Adrien out of his transformation, revealing his own secret. Ladybug was nowhere. Adrien couldn't defeat Hawkmoth on his own. Not even if he wanted to. There were only two options ... And as always, when it comes to his father, Adrien has no choice. The devastation paired with his compliance, and all it took was his own grief and the help of a tiny akuma to cause Adrien’s miraculous to become corrupted. 

quiet bitterness aside, adrien blinks as he rounds the stairs corner, coming to a slow halt when he sees her.

❛      madame margaryta?  ❜     he’s surprised to see her here, but he knows logically he shouldn’t be. his father has just a strict schedule as adrien, only adrien isn’t privy to it like his father is to his. she’s a warm presence though, one adrien’s never minded seeing unlike most of the people affiliated in the fashion business, and he steps down the last remaining stairs with a smile.

     ❛      bonjour! comment ca va? ❜

❛      oh.  ❜      he blinks, thinking for a moment maybe that was the sablier’s real power, making people hallucinate. then he thought maybe it was another copycat, but this chat seemed just as surprised as he was. be that as it may, chat (him chat) straightened up but not without caution, trying to hide his nerves and confusion.

      ❛                        well ... this is awkward. i think one of us is going to need to change.  ❜