#goggles writes

He wasn’t some spoiled child that demanded things, no, he worked hard for his success, his happiness. His parents, Michael and Claire, such ordinary names for ordinary people that expected their son to be exceptional. Who expected their exceptional son to take care of them even after they had denied him so much, after they pushed him so hard. Needless to say there was no love lost between them once he was old enough to move out on his own, he had saved up as much money as he could from his odd jobs and his grandparents had helped however they could, even letting him rent out their attic at a very discounted price. Truthfully they hadn’t even wanted to make him pay but he refused to be charity, he refused pity so he paid. Many thought Gabriel was handed things but no, sometimes he wished that were true but then he wouldn’t be the man he was today if that was so. That was why he made sure Adrien worked hard. He didn’t want his son to turn out to be the person his parents wanted, or the person people had thought him to be. It’s why he made his son a model, besides his son’s obvious natural talent that he got from his mother. He wanted Adrien to learn about hard work.

He liked to believe that Adrien understood all that. The one lesson his son never seemed to catch on to was how to spot potential in others and surround yourself with those people. Gabriel saw this first hand when he met his son’s “best friend” Nino Lahiffe, self-proclaimed DJ who only had “gigs” because his friends hired him. The boy had no potential, even if he did it was such a small amount that it was practically nothing and therefore not of importance. So Gabriel saw no point in being polite to the boy, he was a subpar director from what he had seen when his acquaintance André Bourgeois had come over and showed him the videos from that year's Young Amatuer Director’s Competition. That girl, Alya Césaire, had some potential but she wasted it on the awful Ladyblog. She had a way with words and reporting the facts but Gabriel had akumatized her, had felt her emotions, heard her thoughts, and someone who just jumps into things without fact checking when wanting to be a reporter will not go far. For crying out loud she hasn’t even caught on to Miss Rossi’s lies yet!

Ah, and speaking of Lila Rossi. Gabriel saw great potential in her, potential and mayhem. It was a gamble to work with her both in and out of the mask but it was one he ultimately deemed necessary. Lila was a liar. That was a simple fact, but she was a believable liar. The way she lied about things, it made weak-minded people want to believe her, so they did. Gabriel was not above admitting that it was entertaining to watch her lies at work. They provided entertainment and more akumas than he could count. Though, there was always a flaw in something that promised perfection much like Miss Rossi herself. She had potential, but she wasted it on petty grudges, gaining popularity and overall inflating her ego. It was that ego he had to keep an eye on, she already used her lies to trespass into his home, it was only a matter of time she tried to get away with bigger crimes as Lila thought she was untouchable. The young girl believed she could lie herself out of any situation and that was a liability that Gabriel could not afford. 

She was useful though so he kept her on, she was more useful than Chloé. Chloé Bourgeois, he had had such high hopes for the girl. She came from a good background, her parents were influential, she was the exact kind of friend he expected Adrien to make. Though that was all she had, when she was younger she had had a small talent and eye for fashion, but then she grew into someone who would steal another designer’s work and claim credit. Gabriel had dealt with his fair share of those sorts of people, he fully thought Adrien would try and break off his friendship with the spoiled girl more than the one time he did try, if you could even call that an attempt. Agrestes had to know when to cut their losses, though Adrien didn’t seem to understand that just yet. Gabriel would only let the boy be sentimental for so long. Chloé may have been good at making akumas but none of them were particularly strong. So like most of Adrien’s friends, she was a disappointment. 

He didn’t know enough about that Couffaine girl but he did know she was in that odd little band that Adrien had wanted to join. The music was dreadful but he did appreciate the creative costume designs and he was in no way surprised when he learned that it was Miss Dupain-Cheng who had been the designer. That Lavillant girl also fell into the same space as the Couffaine girl, Gabriel didn’t really see any potential from them and yet they were making a name for themselves. It was an odd thing, he didn’t understand why people liked their music, but not everyone could have his expectations and taste. Like M Kubdel, he was a respected man in his profession and yet he let his children be utterly unexceptional, his daughter believed she had a talent in skating and his son, Gabriel couldn’t recall his name, at least had passion on his side. A little too much though, it was an ugly and pitiful sight. Having passion was well and good but it didn’t need to be on full display, he was glad he taught Adrien not to show too much emotion. 

There were other classmates and friends Adrien had but they hardly deserved to be remembered by Gabriel, though Max Kante and Nathaniel Kurtzburg had great potential, both were held back by emotion and those they called friends. If they didn’t cut their losses they wouldn’t amount to anything Gabriel was sure. Besides, the Kurtzburg boy would fall and fail fast if he continued to just write comics about that blasted Ladybug. At least Max Kante made an AI capable of emotion! But the boy wasted it on “friendship.” It was so utterly disappointing, they were all so disappointing. Except, there was one diamond in the rough. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She had the passion, the drive, the determination, and above all, she had the potential. She was wasted on those she and Adrien called classmates, and though Gabriel did loathe her overly optimistic personality, he knew that it would be dampened by real work experience. 

Talent nurtured talent as they say, and Gabriel was prepared to do that. Marinette was talented and young and Gabriel knew if he didn’t get her working for his company as soon as he could, his competitors would snatch her away. Or worse, she would eventually turn into another competitor. Gabriel was confident in his designs but even he knew she would be tough to go against. That’s why he decided they were never going to compete, he would get her working in his company and there she would stay happily. He was sure if he offered her a couple raises and some mild promotions that she would be happy to stay whenever she thought she was ready to leave. It sounded backhanded and frankly in bad taste but that was simply business. Besides a high stake and high anxiety environment like a fashion company would be a beautiful place for an akuma to be birthed and besides her potential to be great in fashion, Marinette Dupain-Cheng had the great potential to be a truly spectacular akuma.

When he had tried to akumatize her before, he had felt her anger, her sadness, her pain. All of it was so raw, so powerful, it had him staggering every time he felt it, he needed that power to win, he knew it. Though aside from her potential of being his most powerful akuma ever, Miss Dupain-Cheng had tremendous ideas when it came to fashion and overall just creative projects. She designed for Clara Nightingale and Jagged Stone for crying out loud and she was still in collège! Gabriel himself won some small amateur design competitions when he was that young but he had never gotten commissioned by celebrities. He wasn’t jealous, he was impressed. She was already building a client list with very important, influential people. She impressed Audrey Bourgeois, the most difficult person to get a compliment from, and Gabriel would know. Despite them being “friends,” Audrey held nothing back when his designs displeased her and that had been often lately. 

That, and many other things, was the reason why Gabriel was even opening up an internship with his brand. They got tons of applications, Nathalie kept him updated from what she saw in the records, and yet Miss Dupain-Cheng had not applied. It baffled him. By all accounts she should have been one of the first to hand in her application, he knew first hand that she was a fan of his and he knew she was smart. She would know this would be a big opportunity for her and her future career. So really it made no sense for her application to be missing when they were so close to the application deadline. It got to him. It had him pacing his office more often than he would like to admit, he felt like some online shopper that made their purchase and eagerly awaited the delivery truck, checking for the package every hour despite knowing the thing they are waiting for hasn’t even shipped yet. 

He wasn’t eager, no, Gabriel was frustrated. So frustrated in fact that he had called Adrien into his office and told him to ask Miss Dupain-Cheng to their house as Gabriel wanted to discuss business with her. He did not fail to notice the hope and eagerness that lit his son’s eyes, nor the hesitation that crashed into the boy. But Gabriel had no time for whatever teenage drama Adrien was dealing with and he made it known that Adrien was to do said task as soon as possible. Thankfully whatever Adrien had said to the girl worked and she had set up an appointment with Nathalie for the next day. Gabriel had his office cleaned, artfully placed some designs he himself was working on and those he had to approve from his team. The final thing he did was have Nathalie print out the applications and made sure to place them on his desk where Miss Dupain-Cheng would no doubt notice them while they spoke.

So here Gabriel was awaiting the teen as he sat at his desk and did his best to look busy and uninterested. He was very good at looking uninterested, though that was more because he was never really interested in anything much since Emilie’s “disappearance”. She had brought this spark to his life like nothing else had and then the Peacock Miraculous happened and Gabriel regretted nothing more than giving that damned brooch to her. At the time he had thought it to be the perfect gift, Emilie had always had some weird fascination with the creatures and had many clothing pieces that had some kind of peacock motif on them. Gabriel shook his head to clear his thoughts, now was not the time to think of his wife, that would get him nowhere in this interview. 

A knock on his door helped fully pull him from his thoughts, “Gabriel, Miss Dupain-Cheng is here to see you.”

“Thank you Nathalie.” Gabriel said as his way of giving permission to enter his office. He watched as Miss Dupain-Cheng walked in, immediately he assessed the outfit she arrived in, what you wore was always important when meeting those you wished to impress or work with/for. 

The outfit wasn’t what he expected but it was certainly well made, though it wasn’t something he would have expected of the young girl. She wore high-waisted bell bottoms, the flares at the bottom looked to  have slight slashes in them but when she took a step he could see pale pink plaid stitched into the sides of the pants. A fold in the side of the pants hid the design until she walked, it grabbed your attention, it was brilliant. She wore a loose satin button up that was tucked into the bell bottoms, it was white with the flowers she always seemed to have in her designs embroidered on the right breast pocket. The buttons of the button-up were undone so he could see a black top underneath that had lace trim at the top edges, it seemed to be a tank top. Her black earrings tied the look together, as did the simple black music note choker necklace she wore. Her hair was done half-up, half-down with the up part fashioned into some kind of braid that he could see peeking from the top of her head. The biggest surprise was seeing the underside of her hair dyed pink, but it complimented her in a way he couldn’t hate on.

“Monsieur Agreste, it is nice to see you.” The young girl said with a small smile as she walked to his desk and held a hand out for a handshake. 

Gabriel abhorred physical touch so he merely nodded, he may want her to work for him but there was no need to inflate her ego. Though Miss Dupain-Cheng hadn’t even seemed hurt by the rejected handshake and that won her more of his approval. “Agreed Miss Dupain-Cheng. Thank you for agreeing to speak with me.” 

Once they both took their seats, Miss Dupain-Cheng gave him another smile, though this one was more tight than the one before. “I will admit Monsieur Agreste, I was more than a little confused when Adrien told me you wanted to speak with me.”

“I will get straight to the point Miss Dupain-Cheng, I was surprised when I did not see your name among the applicants for the internship with Gabriel. Forgive me if this is overstepping but, this seemed like something you would be interested in and I have to admit I did expect to see your name among the others. Adrien told me you were a fan.” Maybe he laid the charm on a bit thick but he was curious and he had the opportunity to get answers. 

“Oh he did?” Miss Dupain-Cheng said, yes it was phrased as a question but Gabriel had a feeling it really wasn’t one. “Well since you were so honest with me, I will be honest with you Monsieur Agreste.”

“I did see you had opened your business up for an internship, and maybe once upon a time I would have been interested. Over the moon in fact, but to be frank I had no interest, have no interest and that’s why I never applied.” She stated like she hadn’t just thrown Gabriel for a damn loop and all with a sweet smile on her face.

“I’m…I’m sorry?”

“I mean no offense Sir,” that felt like a damn lie, “I had considered a career in fashion, working in a brand I mean, maybe even starting one myself but I moved on from that.”

Gabriel had to physically stop his jaw from dropping, all he could do was utter out, once again, “I’m sorry?”

“I thought I would be able to handle that kind of environment, and maybe in the future I’ll get back into it like I once was but yeah…I have to admit, fashion is no longer my number one passion. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it, still do it, but I don’t think it’s my future anymore.” Miss Dupain-Cheng admitted like she hadn't destroyed every single one of Gabriel’s plans for when she joined the company. Like she hadn’t just broken all his expectations in the worst way. 

“I…I have to say Miss Dupain-Cheng you have surprised me. This was not what I had expected.”

“I’m sorry.” The worst part is he believed her.

“Can I ask why? Why you are no longer interested.” Gabriel clarified after he asked. He wanted answers. Why didn’t Adrien warn him?

At first Gabriel was afraid she wouldn’t answer, she just sat there with her lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed but finally she took a deep breath in and looked Gabriel straight in the eyes. “You’ve been nothing but polite Monsieur Agreste, and you checked in with me and I feel like I at least owe you this. To put it simply, I wanted to be happy. And if I stayed the way I was that would never have been possible. Fashion is an incredible thing, but it is also a highly competitive field that is as stressful as it is rewarding if you find the right place. I thought about it, more than anybody will ever know, but I thought and it’s not the right place for me. Not anymore. I had drive. I had passion. But the thing is, people see that and cling to it, and sooner rather than later you get burnt out.”

“I burnt out and it was the worst feeling in the world. It nearly akumatized me. There were people in my life, people who used me, maybe they did view me as a friend once but it stopped feeling like that when they asked me to make them things last minute, or say they were going to pay me but it wouldn’t be till later but they promised, or just downright expected to get things from me. The messed up part is I did it all. I wanted their friendship, I wanted their praise, I tricked myself into thinking they were giving me inspiration every time they asked for things, I thought their compliments were genuine with no double meaning and I let that drive me.” Gabriel could do nothing but listen in horror, what had happened to her? He had wanted her to become akumatized yes, but not at the cost of her potential. 

“It became stressful, so stressful and the more it continued, the more I realized that that’s how the fashion industry is. No one is satisfied with one thing from you. They demand more things, better things. And I used to be able to rise to that challenge but I can’t anymore Monsieur Agreste. And it’s not just the demands and the stress and the challenges, I like being challenges, it’s the people. I thought I could handle the people.” Miss Dupain-Cheng chuckled roughly and shook her head.

“And as much as I want to sit here and say the only reason I passed up on the internship was because I don’t think I’m up to putting myself in the environment, I owe it to myself to be honest and I owe it to you since you were once my mentor whether you knew it or not. I used to buy your catalogs and whatever magazines you were featured in with whatever money I could save up.  I passed not only because of the environment but because of your employees.”

There was no shame in her words, he could feel no anger despite them either. There was no heart-clenching sadness either, not like he expected, there was sadness but it was dim, like the leftover taste of a too-small piece of bittersweet chocolate. “My employees?”

“Yes. Lila Rossi and your son. I don’t know if you are aware or not Monsieur, but Lila is a liar. You may not believe me and frankly I don’t care if you do or not, but it’s the truth. She lies to be the center of attention and she lies to make others look bad and I am not so disillusioned that I will sit here and believe she is the only model capable of that level of self-centeredness. I would rather pull my hair out strand by strand than subject myself to that all for the sake of fashion. And your son used to be a friend. A good one. But he knows she is a liar and did nothing and I deserve better than that and I got better. A healthy workplace environment does not mean letting someone walk all over your employees and it also means your workers feel safe enough to bring their worries of such things forward which is something I don’t believe happens at Gabriel considering who you have representing your brand.” It was as though she was trying to offend him, Gabriel felt like he should be fuming and distantly he knew he would be later but all he could feel was a pit in his stomach growing bigger and bigger with every word.

“So thank you for thinking of me, but I will not be handing in an application now or for the foreseeable future. I have a new mentor, and I’m really happy where I am now but I thank you for the opportunity.” With that Miss Dupain-Cheng stood and gave Gabriel a wave before leaving him to sit there like a fool. 

It would be an hour before everything hit him and he stood up in a rage, practically throwing his chair in the process. He vaguely recalled yelling at Nathalie to tell Adrien to come to his office. He was pacing when his son finally arrived and Gabriel had to take deep breaths to calm himself. “I don’t know what you and that class of fools did but you will fix this. I don’t care how but you will make Marinette Dupain-Cheng change her mind.”

“What? She…She didn’t apply?” Adrien gaped unattractively.

Gabriel sneered. “Of course she didn’t, would we be having this conversation if she did? Miss Dupain-Cheng has great potential in this field and I will not have her waste it because of silly teenage drama. So again, I don’t care how you do it, but you will convince her to take the internship.”

“Yes Father.”

“Good. Now leave me.” Gabriel felt like he had more pacing to do.

Aurore had been like a lot of Paris’s population that saw their heroes as this dynamic duo. Best friends out to fight the evil of the world! Then the group grew and so had the belief, because here was a friend group bestowed with powers beyond imagination and they fought for good, they fought the evil that tried to oppress the people of Paris. It wasn’t hard for Aurore to get caught up in it all, the magic, the heroism, the fights, the everything. It was like seeing her favorite shows come to life and she was constantly in awe. She remembered feeling as in awe of the group as she was envious. They were living out her childhood dream. Then she along with all of Paris found out the fantastic group of friends that defended them from Hawkmoth and Mayura wasn’t as tight-knit as they all had believed. It shouldn’t have been as world-shattering as it had been.

And yet it was.

If Hawkmoth had not been…stopped by The Protector, Aurore was sure she would have been akumatized. Actually she was willing to bet money that most of Paris would have been akumatized if the villain hadn’t been stopped. It was weird, being able to feel emotions properly once more and Aurore, like many, hadn’t known how to move forward when they realized that. She had become so used to forcing herself to only be happy and when she did get angry or something like it all she felt was fear. Mireille and she had spoken about it often as neither had been comfortable enough to go to their channel's newly hired therapist. The lady was nice enough, but Aurore just couldn’t bring herself to trust the woman. Mireille had just been afraid to have to talk to a stranger about personal things, so the two of them decided they would just talk to one another. It wasn’t healthy, they knew that, but it wasn’t an easy thing to stop. 

The one thing they avoided talking about though after a particularly bad panic attack from Mireille and a rather bad dip in Aurore’s depression was Marinette going missing. Again, they knew it wasn’t healthy, Aurore’s father pointed it out any time she brought it up tentatively, but it hurt too much to acknowledge beyond the basics. Though Aurore knew that only made her parents worry more and she was pretty sure they were looking at therapists outside of Paris to take her to. She knew she was getting bad so she knew they weren’t going to ask if it was something she wanted to do, it was going to be something she needed to do. Even if she understood that, it didn’t make the anger, betrayal, or anguish she felt lessen. Mireille was in the same boat though, apparently her parents were talking to Aurore’s and this was going to be a group thing. That’s why she asked her friend to take a walk today. To warn her. 

The problem was trying to bring it up without it ruining their day out, though Aurore was not confident that could be accomplished no matter what. She didn’t want to wait till the end of their outing, because she knew holding in that information would make her act unlike herself and Mireille would notice. While they ate was also out of the question because she knew that neither she nor Mireille would be up to eating if she did, but that was also why she feared the ‘ripping the band-aid off’ method. If she brought it up right now, at the beginning of their day she ran the risk of their day being ruined and them not even making it to the cute little bistro their coworker Eileen had suggested earlier that week. But she couldn’t not tell Mireille, her best friend deserved to know what their respective parents were planning!

“What’s going on between those pigtails of yours?” Mireille joked softly.

Aurore gulped, she knew Mireille would notice something. “A lot.” 

The girl beside her hummed, “Anything I can help with?”

“I don’t think this is something that will go away so easily…” Aurore muttered as she looked down at her shoes, she watched the way the sun shined off the material as they walked, she absolutely couldn’t handle looking at Mireille. 

“Well,” Mireille mused, “it might not go away easily, most things don’t, but talking certainly makes things a little better. Don’t you agree?”

“I agree…” She said a little hesitantly, but Aurore did actually agree. “It’s just…I don’t think my parents do. Well I mean they do but they don’t. They- It's complicated. Or maybe it’s not and I’m the one complicating everything! I don’t know.”

Mireille stopped walking and gently tugged on Aurore’s arm to get her to stop as well which made the blonde girl look up at her friend. Something she somewhat regretted as Mireille looked at her with her big doe-eyes and Aurore knew she would tell her everything despite the fear that seemed to have her heart in a grip. “Aurore. Whatever it is, I bet it’s not worth you making yourself stressed. You’ll make yourself sick like that.”

She huffed in reply, Mireille was definitely the Mom Friend, though Marc told her she could be as well, maybe they traded off the role. “I know Mir. It’s just…I overheard my parents talking and I don’t think I would be as upset if I knew it was just about me but they were talking to your parents too. Not there. At my house or anything, but like, over the phone on speaker. I had just put Pier down for a nap and was going to tell my parents that he was sleeping and grab a snack but I heard them talking and it sounded serious. And I just…I eavesdropped.” 

Aurore watched as Mireille bit her lip, a bad habit her friend had when she was nervous. “Is it…Is it bad? What they were talking about. Is it bad?”

“No?”

“You don’t sound positive.”

“It’s not bad. I mean it’s really not but…” Aurore bit her lip now. “They uh, my parents were telling yours that they are looking at therapists outside the city to take me too. They didn’t talk to me about it which I guess I can kind of understand. I have turned down all the ones here in Paris…”

“Me too.” Mireille admitted quietly.

Aurore gulped because she guessed as much. “My dad never really said anything, but when I mentioned we talk to each other…he didn’t look happy. I mean he also didn’t look upset or mad, but he definitely didn’t look happy. He and mom brought up talking to a professional after that and I said I’d think about it-”

“Which, in Aurore talk, means no.”

“Yes, well, I honestly thought they had forgotten about it. I don’t…I don’t want to talk to a stranger about myself or what I’m feeling…but my parents think I need to. They found out I had overheard and well…It turned into an argument but, in some ways I can see where they are coming from. I don’t…I don’t feel like myself a lot of the time anymore.”

Mireille was quiet, but it wasn’t her normal quiet and it scared Aurore. Sure they often spoke to one another about how they were feeling but she was pretty sure they both held back a lot too so they wouldn’t be a burden. Which is nonsense because Mireille could never be a bother. “I…I don’t think I’m okay.”

The admission wasn’t surprising but it still made tears well in Aurore’s eyes. “Me too…”

“My parents…my parents are looking for a therapist for me too aren’t they?” Mireille asked in a small voice.  

Aurore nodded.

“I’m…I don’t want to but I know they’ve been worried…” The shy girl sighed. 

“Mine too. I feel bad…” Aurore admitted as she took one of Mireille’s hands in her own and continued their walk. “But…there’s really nothing we can do to stop them. I just wanted you to know. I’m sure your parents wouldn’t ambush you with this but…you needed to know and I couldn’t keep it from you.”

Mireille squeezed her hand. “I appreciate that.”

The two stayed quiet as they walked, occasionally they swung their hands but overall they didn’t speak. Aurore wanted to give Mireille time to digest everything she had told her and she had no doubt it was a lot to digest and sort through feelings wise. Aurore herself had been furious when she first overheard her parent’s conversation. She didn’t think she needed to see a complete stranger and talk about her life. Her life was fine, it wasn’t great but it wasn’t awful and that was something right? She was happy sometimes, though more often than not, if she wasn’t with Mireille, Marc, or her younger brother Pier, she felt numb. Like she was going through the motions as if she had gone through each day a hundred times despite knowing she hadn’t. She tried to keep her grades up but she knew they had been slipping, it wasn’t like she was failing but she could no longer say she was doing her best to achieve high grades. She did what was necessary or whatever she felt she had enough energy to do. Sometimes just staring at her homework overwhelmed her to tears.

So maybe, yeah, she could see why her parents finally had enough of her behavior and just straight up told her she was going to see someone to talk to instead of asking her. Though to be fair to Aurore, she had tried to talk to a therapist here in Paris but the first session ended up with the therapist themselves breaking down as apparently Aurore was the first client they had had post-Hawkmoth’s defeat. She had sat there through the most heartbreaking breakdown she had ever witnessed and she had seen a lot seeing as she worked in show-biz. The therapist went on about how he was scared he would become akumatized again-and boy hadn’t that been a sad eye-opener; even their therapists weren’t safe-he was terrified of feeling even the slightest bit of emotion during a session even if he knew that Hawkmoth posed no threat anymore. Aurore didn’t blame him. No in the least. But she did not return after that session and told her parents that they should email him and maybe suggest he go see a therapist, preferably outside Paris.

Maybe it was that, her suggestion there, that had given her parents the idea of seeking a therapist for their daughter in Reims. If anything she guessed they were going to tell her they were visiting her grandparents who lived in said city and would ambush her with the appointment. Sadly, it would have been effective as she felt like all she wanted to do was run given she now knew about said appointment, or future appointment. She didn’t actually know if they had booked anything but let it not be said that they did not know their daughter. They knew she would have protested or done something dramatic like run to her cousin CiCi’s place which was still a plan that lingered in the back of her mind. But…there was a voice in her head that sounded too similar to Marinette than she was comfortable with, shouting at her to not run away. To not back down. You got this Aurore! 

“You’re not thinking of running to CiCi’s are you?” Mireille really did know her better than most. 

Aurore chuckled weakly. “The thought has crossed my mind more times than I can count Mir…It’s always my back-up…but-but I know in this case I shouldn’t. Or well, more like there’s a voice telling me not to and giving me a right scolding if I even briefly think about CiCi.”

Mireille nodded before she bit her lip, she looked a little apprehensive which made Aurore feel apprehensive in return. “Scolding, huh? That little voice wouldn’t happen to sound like…like Mar…like Mari…like her would it?”

Another chuckle, though this one was remarkably wetter than the last. “You know I can’t lie to you Mir. Yeah…it, uh, it sounds like Marinette.”

Her name hung in the air like a noose but Aurore trooped on, she wanted to say her friend’s name. She wanted to hear her name. Her real name, not the idolized name people referred to her by, not the akuma name others called her in reverence, her actual name, her normal name. A name she introduced herself with with pride. “It sounds so much like her Mir…”

“I think I have a voice like that too…” Mireille confessed on a cry. “She scolds me when I’m being ‘silly’ or she comforts me when everything just gets too much. I miss her Aurore! I really miss her!”

The sound of her friend crying made Aurore cry and soon they were just standing on the sidewalk hugging each other like the other might disappear too and they just cried. As sad as it was to say, this was not an unusual sight for the people of Paris as of late, random bursts of emotion were as commonplace as a sneeze nowadays. The news said something about delayed reactions, others said something about repressed emotions, all Aurore could see and understand was the damage. These bursts were a good thing yes but they were also the ugly damage left behind by an unremorseful terrorist. Normal was a thing of the past and yet it was something Aurore ached for day by day. She yearned to not wake up and stare in her mirror and tell herself to be happy no matter how she actually felt, to wear a smile despite her facial muscles protesting. It was what she had done every morning when Hawkmoth and Mayura were still a thing and it was a habit she still couldn’t shake. It was like how her mother would play Vanina* every morning because it was her favorite song and would give her a little extra cheer, or how her father started his days wearing his fathers old Dog Tag because his father had been such a positive person, or so he said. Aurore never got to meet the man. 

The damage stayed like a persistent stain. Faded but never gone. 

The two gave each other one final squeeze before they let go and gave each other a strained smile. Aurore giggled sadly and shook her head. “You still hungry?”

“Mireille tiredly chuckled back and shook her head, “No. You?”

Aurore gave a wry smile. “Nope.”

“Want to just take a walk? I don’t feel like going home just yet.” 

“Mir, that sounds like an excellent idea.” Aurore declared as she looped one arm through Mireille’s and picked up her forgotten parasol, she hadn’t even noticed when it had fallen. 

They hadn’t even moved more than two steps when they heard footsteps rapidly approaching them and all of a sudden Aurore felt the breath knocked out of her and she was on the ground in a tangle of limbs. She heard Mireille shriek and all she could do was groan back. She thought she even heard a snap and prayed that it hadn’t been her parasol. She didn’t need another thing to add to the already big list of things she was feeling crummy about. Before she could shout at whoever decided to bulldoze her and her friend she was unceremoniously pulled up on her feet. She felt hands brushing off her shoulders and heard someone frantically apologizing and that’s when she finally noticed that the person-no-people who had knocked them over were Luka and Kagami. Both of whom looked pale, shaken, and just a tad frustrated. “I’m so so sorry Aurore! We didn’t mean to run you guys’ over!”

“Luka is correct, it was not our intention but you see we are running from some…rather persistent people and..” Kagami said with a wince as she tapped her foot. Adrenaline obviously still coursing through her veins and with the way he kept glancing over his shoulder, the same could be said about Luka.

“Wait, you guys are being chased?” Mireille cried out in shock. Aurore didn’t really think twice about grabbing at Luka and Kagami and running in the direction of the Seine. Mireille was startled if the noise she let out was anything to go by but she caught on quick and then all of them were running. There was no plan really, but Aurore knew Luka, ish, and she knew his family lived on that houseboat on the Seine, it was hard to miss. So she figured if they ran towards the body of water, they would see the boat sooner or later and that would be their safe haven. She voiced as much and left them all to discuss whatever they wanted but Aurore could only think about getting these two to safety. 

She had seen how crazed some people were getting over any information they could get about Marinette in any of her identities or forms. It was maddening. It was frightening. Like everyone else, she had seen the news about Madame Bustier’s murder, and had heard through the grapevine about what happened to Lila. It might not be The Followers who were after Luka and Kagami but there was no way that Aurore was going to risk it. So they ran and ran until they caught sight of the house boat. Thankfully it was docked and even though she was out of breath, Aurore pointed to it and they all clumsily made their way over but before they could even think of boarding they ran by an elderly couple who had been crossing the street at the same time as them but were doing so slowly. Aurore desperately wanted to just run on the boat, to get to safety but as the echoes of distant footsteps rang in her ears she shook her head and let go of Luka and Kagami. She felt the stop but she just continued to make her way to the couple even as her heart thumped in her chest violently. 

“Aurore?” Mireille wanted.

“They’ll get trampled Mir. You can hear them. They’re not going to stop even if they see them.” 

“They might.” Kagami said reluctantly.

“But they might not.” Luka said back.

Mireille bit her lip but nodded and all four of them ran to the couple and helped them across the street, trying not to rush them even as the footsteps got closer, got louder. The closer and louder they got, the more Aurore’s hands shook but she would absolutely not abandon these poor old folks. 

“You children are very kind.” The woman said with a kind smile, one Aurore couldn’t help but return. The woman reminded her of her grandmère.

“Yes, but I do believe you are in a rush. Do not let us keep you any longer.” The man said with an equally kind smile, though his was tinged with a sadness Aurore didn’t understand but somehow felt all the same. 

“Be safe.” Luka said firmly but with his own smile before they all waved at the couple and ran as fast as they could because they heard the footsteps come out of the alley they had come from shortly before and they didn’t want to waste any time. There were some shouts of recognition from the small crowd and Aurore had been tempted to look back but she did trust herself not to trip if she did so, so she just ran. She ran and swore to herself she would wear more comfortable shoes from now on because her undoubtedly cute Mary-Janes were pretty but her feet were killing her. 

They all clumsily ran on deck and promptly fell into a pile once more as it seemed their bodies had run out of adrenaline once they deemed they were in safe territory. The noise made Madame Couffaine come barreling out of nowhere with a sword of all things but when she saw the gaggle of children slumped on the deck and from the sounds Aurore heard and the way the woman’s neck snapped to shore, she was pretty sure she also saw a crowd chasing said kids. Without any help from the exhausted children, Aurore watched as the woman swiftly undocked the boat and before she knew it they were sailing and it was anything but smooth but she was grateful to get away. In time, the ride and they calmed down and Madame Couffaine-Anarka, as she asked to be called-led them down into the living room-esque room to let them calm down further as she got them somewhere safe and quiet. She recommended they tell their parents which Kagami, Mireille and Aurore did swiftly. 

For a moment they all just sat there until Luka made a face when he plopped down face first on the couch and sat up. “Ow.”

“What is wrong?” Kagami asked in concern.

“Something in my pocket poked me.” He mumbled as he reached into his sweater pocket. 

“Now that you mention it, it feels like there is something in my jacket pocket too. It feels heavier.” Mireille said as she furrowed her brows and stood up so she could rummage in her jacket pockets since said jacket was wrapped around her waist. 

Aurore watched in mild interest as the two dug in their pockets only to pull out two identical boxes. Mireille looked confused, Luka looked like he had seen a ghost. That’s what had Aurore sit up straight. “Gami…” His voice shook when he spoke too.

Kagami too stood up and started going through her own pockets before she took her mini backpack off her shoulders and saw the big pocket open. With shaking hands she opened it further and reached in. It was a surprise to Aurore when she pulled out a third identical box, but to Kagami and Luka it looked like they expected it and were still somewhat in shock. “What…?”

“Aurore. I promise we’ll explain in a minute but can you please check yourself to see if you got a box as well.” Luka pleaded and well, Aurore really couldn’t say no to his desperation. So she checked her small clutch and found nothing but remembered her skirt had pockets and she was wearing a petticoat so if something was in there she probably wouldn’t feel it. So with a deep breath taken in she reached into her own pockets and when her hand met wood her eyes widened. Out she brought the fourth identical box and heard Luka laugh a little hysterically, a little breathlessly while Kagami slowly lowered herself back onto the couch. 

Mireille and Aurore shared a look before Mireille frowned at the two other teens, “What’s going on?”