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“Emma! Over here!”
Adrien was standing next to the school gate amongst other parents and waved as soon as he spotted his daughter in the crowd.
“Daddy!”
A little blonde girl with big blue eyes stormed out of the school building and ran into his father's arms.
“Hey my little lady,” Adrien beamed.
He closed his arms around her tiny frame and lifted her in his arms, giving her a playful little bounce. Emma’s delighted giggle escaped from her mouth, and Adrien couldn’t resist nuzzling her cheek. Emma's laughter grew louder, and that sweet sound only deepened the love he felt for her.
Adrien loved the sound of her laugh. Her mother had the same infectious laugh that would always make his heart flutter.
“How was school today? What did you do?” he eagerly asked her.
“It was amazing! I learned about dinosaurs!”
“Oh, you had a class about dinosaurs?”
“No, I learned about dinosaurs, I don't know what everybody else was doing*,” she answered matter-of-factly.
Her very serious face made Adrien burst out with laughter.
His daughter was truly one of a kind.
“I love you, my little dinosaur” he said, his smile soft and full of affection.
“I'm not a dinosaur! I'm a crocrodile!” she retorted, puffing out her chest and striking a fierce pose, her hands in claw position above her head as she tried (and failed) to look menacing.
“Do you think crocodiles like ice-creams?” Adrien asked, a hint of mischief glimmering in his green eyes.
“Yes they do!” Emma exclaimed, instantly dropping the act.
“So how about we go grab some ice-cream before we head home?” Adrien suggested.
Emma’s face lit up instantly and she swiftly nodded with excitement.
Happy that his suggestion had sparked such enthusiasm, Adrien gently set her down on the ground and Emma eagerly reached out her tiny hand, as she always did when the two of them went on walks together. Adrien knew he would never get tired of these special moments they shared; that mischievous little gremlin had completely turned his life upside down in the best possible way, and his heart swelled with joy at the thought of getting to watch her grow, day after day.
Adrien glanced at her with a fond look before taking her hand, and together they began walking toward the Seine.
.oOo.
It was a beautiful sunny day and a lot of people were out strolling along the riverbank or enjoying drinks on sunlit terraces with their friends. Adrien loved Paris; after spending his whole childhood and a part of his teenage years locked up in his own house, just walking around the city felt like a gift.
He pulled his phone from his pocket, his thumb swiping across the screen. The moment it lit up, his expression softened, as it always did. There, smiling up at him, was a beautiful picture of Marinette.
Adrien sighed.
The photo had been taken on her 18th birthday. A cute blush was dusting her cheeks and she had looked so stunning in the dress she had designed herself that he fell in love with her all over again that night. He truly was the luckiest guy in the world. Four years later, the dress was still hung somewhere in the back of Marinette's closet, tucked away with all their memories.
Adrien had to force himself to stop contemplating Marinette's picture before getting lost in his thoughts like he often did, and hurried to open the app Max had once programmed to locate André the ice cream man before Emma grew impatient. He zoomed in on the map, and his blood ran cold when he spotted him at Place des Vosges.
“Oh no,” he muttered through his clenched teeth.
It had been years since Adrien last dared to set foot in Place des Vosges. He couldn’t. Just the thought of it made it hard to breathe. The statue of Ladybug and Cat Noir standing there felt like a weight on his chest, reflecting a version of himself he couldn’t bear to see.
A coward.
A failure.
A boy crushed under the will of his father, who had completely shattered him and destroyed his whole life.
The bronze Cat Noir statue stared down at him with a grin, as if mocking him, frozen in time at fourteen, when hunting down Hawk Moth’s akumas had felt like nothing more than a game without consequences.
Everything had fallen apart the day they discovered Hawk Moth’s true identity. Their final battle was by far the worst thing that had ever happened to him and it was burned into his memory, as vivid and painful as if it had happened yesterday. Even now, Adrien often found himself wondering how the world had kept turning, how life had dared to move forward when he had lost everything that day. And three years later, some mornings still carried the bitter and overwhelming weight of that defeat.
His heart tightened as he realized he was unintentionally drowning again into his most painful memories. He absentmindedly rubbed the two rings that never left his finger, nestled beside his wedding band. The gesture was unconscious, but it grounded him and helped him stay connected to the present whenever he felt himself slipping into the darkest corners of his memories.
Adrien silently chastised himself for not checking André's location beforehand, before suggesting ice cream to his daughter. Now, he had no reasonable excuse to back out, not after he had brought it up himself just moments earlier. Panic threatened to rise, but he took a deep breath that slightly calmed him. None of what he was feeling right now mattered. His daughter’s happiness and well-being always came first. He needed to be brave. For her.
His phone buzzed in his hand, providing a welcome distraction. He quickly unlocked the screen and for a brief moment, the shadow on his face lifted as he read the message he had just received.
“Uncle Nino and Auntie Alya are coming over tonight,” he announced to Emma, whose face lit up at once.
“Awesome!” Emma exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air with delight.
“And the ice cream?” she asked again, realizing her dad still hadn’t given her the vital piece of information she was waiting for.
“Place des Vosges,” he told her with a small yet affectionate laugh. “Come on, let’s go. We can’t get home too late!”
Emma nodded and set off, tugging her father along with a surprisingly firm grip for someone her size. Adrien let out a burst of laughter and allowed himself to be pulled along, despite the knot tightening in his stomach.
As soon as Emma spotted André in the middle of the square, she let go of her father’s hand and ran straight toward him.
“Ahhh, dear Adrien and his lovely daughter Emma!” André greeted them warmly, clearly delighted to see them again. “The usual, I presume?”
“The usual, thank you, André,” Adrien replied.
While his daughter eagerly licked her ice cream, Adrien stared at his own with a pang in his chest. The flavors had been the same since he was thirteen: strawberry, blackberry, and blueberry. Just like her suit, her hair, and her eyes. Some things never changed, it seemed.
Adrien looked up and allowed himself a glance toward what used to be Tom and Sabine’s bakery. Marinette’s parents had closed the shop and moved away after Hawk Moth’s defeat three years ago, and Adrien couldn’t blame them. Even so, so many memories still lingered between those walls. Knowing that he would never step through that door again, race up the stairs two at a time to Marinette’s room and squeeze her in his arms like he used to when they were teenagers… it broke his heart.
“Can we bring some ice cream home for Mommy?” Emma suddenly suggested, snapping Adrien out of his reverie.
The question caught him completely off guard, and he couldn’t hide the bitter smile that crossed his face as he answered her.
“Sweetheart, you know Mommy can't have ice cream,” he said gently, brushing her cheek with his fingers.
“I know,” she replied simply, before turning her attention back to her own ice cream.
Life seemed so simple through a child’s eyes sometimes.
“All done!” she announced cheerfully, the corners of her mouth still covered with ice cream. “Can we go home to see Mommy now?”
Adrien nodded, his voice stuck in his throat. Coming back to this square had clearly stirred something deep within him. He forced a smile onto his face - the kind he used to wear during his modeling days - and reached for his daughter’s hand. But Emma didn’t move. She simply stared up at him, eyebrows slightly furrowed, studying his face.
Then, without warning, she wrapped her arms around his leg and pressed herself against him, her small head resting gently against his hip. Adrien was both taken aback and deeply moved by the gesture; was he really that transparent in her eyes? He was always meant to be her pillar, her steady rock, and yet here he was, completely disarmed by some stupid emotions he couldn’t quite contain.
Completely overwhelmed, he quickly scooped her into his arms and held her close, kissing her as if he was seeing her again after a long and unbearable absence.
“I love you, my little lady,” he whispered. “And Mommy loves you too. More than anything.”
.oOo.
The Agreste Manor came into view as they reached the end of the street. Emma turned to her father, eyes suddenly sparkling with mischief.
“Race you to the door!”
She didn’t wait for Adrien's answer before taking off running at full speed. Adrien followed her swiftly, pretending to run as fast as he could, yet deliberately holding back to let her win. When he finally reached the bottom of the steps leading to the manor’s entrance, Emma was already jumping up and down in front of the door, visibly thrilled.
“I won!”
“You’re amazing, my love. You’ve triumphed once again. I surrender to your superior speed.” he said, bowing with a flourish worthy of his masked alter ego.
Adrien pushed the manor’s heavy doors open, and Emma darted inside. Despite the dark memories tied to the place, Adrien chose to keep the house after Hawk Moth’s defeat. But the place wasn't as cold and gloomy as it was when he was a child. Now, plants filled the entrance hall, and children’s toys were scattered in a corner. The sunlight, once seemingly reluctant to enter, now flooded every room.
Adrien had spared no expense to make the house feel warm and welcoming, and to ensure that Emma would feel happy there. And yet, deep down, he knew he wouldn’t spend the rest of his life within those walls. The manor was only a stop along the way, just a transition. Or at least, that’s what he liked telling himself.
His father’s office had been sealed off. Adrien had refused to set foot in it again after discovering the truth and losing the person he loved most in the world: his partner, and the love of his life.
The final battle had been so brutal that his own mind had locked away every memory of it, memories he was only able to recover after long therapy sessions. But even so, he knew that no amount of therapy could ever fill the hole left in his heart by Marinette’s death.
If it hadn’t been for Emma, Adrien knew he wouldn’t have been able to go on. Life had lost all its meaning without his Lady by his side. But he had picked himself up for his daughter, raised her on his own and made sure she was dearly and deeply loved. He had gathered the pieces of his shattered heart and patched them back together as best he could, just enough to offer her a sense of stability. But he knew deep down that even the smallest emotional shift could send him spiraling down into a destructive path.
Only Nino and Alya, who had pulled him back from the edge more than once, truly knew how hard some days could be for him. A deep guilt gnawed at him day after day, and he feared the moment this guilt would become too heavy to carry.
Emma was still a baby when her mother passed, and Adrien had made it his mission to keep Marinette alive in their daughter’s memory. He often told her stories about her mother’s heroic accomplishments, and all the little moments that had filled their lives since they first met at thirteen. Emma didn’t know how her mother had died, and Adrien carried the weight of that decision every single day, feeling guilty for keeping her in the dark, and for making her go through what he had gone through as a child. But he just couldn’t bring himself to tell her the truth.
Not yet.
Not now.
Adrien stopped in the entrance hall and lifted Emma into his arms before turning toward the grand staircase that led to the upper floors. The somber and depressing painting that used to stand at the centre of the staircase, depicting his father and thirteen-year-old self draped in mourning after his mother's death, had been replaced. Now hung a monumental custom-made portrait of Marinette, elegantly framed by beautiful drapes which gave it an almost sacred presence.
The smile she wore in the painting could warm the coldest winter day and melt even the hardest of hearts. She had always had that gift, that ability to bring light into the lives of those around her. Her absence had left an immense void in the hearts of everyone who had known her.
“Good evening Mommy!” chirped Emma from her father’s arms.
It had become their little ritual every evening: Emma adored that portrait of her mother, and never forgot to stop in front of it to say a few words or blow her a kiss from the palm of her hand.
Adrien often found her sitting cross-legged beneath the painting, playing or telling herself stories under her mother’s gentle gaze, and those moments never failed to move him more than he cared to admit.
Curled up in his arms, Emma began telling her mother all about her day while Adrien remained silent, his heart heavy and yet full of love.
When the doorbell rang, interrupting their moment, Emma let out a high-pitched squeal and jumped out of her father’s arms, dashing toward the front door.
“Uncle Nino! Auntie Alya!” she cried, clearly thrilled to see them.
“Hey Emma!” Alya and Nino replied in unison.
Emma threw her arms at Nino, who lifted her high into the air as if she weighed nothing at all, and she burst into laughter.
At least there was one thing Adrien could truly be proud of: having raised a little girl who radiated joy, and who inspired him to keep going and become better every single day.
.oOo.
The four of them spent a wonderful evening together, as they always did when they reunited. Even if life had sometimes a way of pulling them apart, Adrien, Alya, and Nino knew it was only a matter of time before they saw each other again. Marinette’s passing had only deepened their bond, and they have always supported each other through every hardship.
.oOo.
Once Emma fell asleep, the three of them settled comfortably in the living room, enjoying the calm night as they shared one last drink. But despite his apparent relaxed smile, Alya and Nino could tell that Adrien was feeling anxious. Whenever Emma wasn't with him, he had a harder time hiding what was tormenting him.
This day marked the third anniversary of Marinette’s death, and Adrien knew perfectly well that their impromptu visit wasn’t just a coincidence; they were obviously worried about him, and they didn’t want him to be alone on such a difficult day. They had lost their best friend too, and Adrien was deeply grateful they had chosen to spend what was left of this painful day by his side.
An awkward silence fell between them; Alya and Nino shared a glance and Adrien's heart suddenly felt like it had been replaced by a very heavy rock pressing on his chest. This weight had never really left him since the day he lost his Lady; he had never found the words to speak about it, always choosing to lock away whatever haunted him instead.
“Dude, are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” Nino asked, his brows slightly furrowed.
“I’ll be fine, Nino, don’t worry,” Adrien replied in a tone that was meant to sound as neutral as possible before downing his glass in one go.
He poured himself another one and drank it just as quickly. Alya and Nino exchanged an alarmed glance; they both knew Adrien could easily slip back into a depression similar to the one that had consumed him after Marinette’s death, and the thought terrified them. Adrien might have been wearing his brightest model smile, but Nino and Alya knew him well enough to see right through the façade he had carefully crafted, and everything about their best friend’s demeanor screamed an impending breakdown.
“Adrien, you know you can talk to us if something’s wrong,” Alya tried, acting like she was talking to a cornered animal fearing it would run away instead of coming to her.
There was something in her tone that made Adrien look up; as much as he tried to keep up appearances in front of his best friends, that simple sentence broke something inside him. Three years had passed, and yet the pain was still very much there; raw, alive, ready to eat him from inside when he least expected it. The guilt he constantly felt was unbearable, and he no longer knew what to do to make it stop.
“It’s all my fault,” he murmured under his breath before pouring himself another drink and emptying it right away.
He didn’t even like whiskey, but there was no way he would allow himself to find even the slightest pleasure in his own self-destruction.
A trembling sigh escaped his lips.
“It’s not your fault,” Nino replied firmly, without hesitation. “Marinette sacrificed herself to stop your father. He’s the one to blame here, not you. You told us yourself back then, you couldn’t do anything, and you—”
“Marinette didn’t sacrifice herself,” Adrien interrupted, his gaze fixed on the floor.
“What are you talking about? You—”
“Marinette didn’t sacrifice herself,” Adrien repeated, a little louder, and the harshness in his voice surprised him.
“What do you mean?” Alya pressed, a sinking feeling suddenly knotting in her stomach.
In response, Adrien let his head fall into his hands. To his surprise, the wetness on his cheeks made him realize he was crying. Alya and Nino noticed too, and rushed to his side, pulling him into a hug. But contrary to what he had hoped, the embrace didn’t comfort him, and his stomach twisted so painfully that he was on the verge of vomiting. His mind wasn’t as clear after drinking so much in such a short time, and he leaned his head on Nino’s shoulder, his tears flowing harder.
“I should’ve saved her,” he sobbed. “I should’ve protected her. And instead, I—”
Adrien stopped himself, his breath ragged.
“I can’t tell her, I can’t,” he murmured, clearly lost.
Alya and Nino exchanged a look full of confusion.
“Adrien?” Alya asked gently. “What can’t you say? Who are you talking about?”
“Are you talking about Emma?” Nino asked. “She’s grown now, she can understand what happened, you—”
“No, no, Nino, you don’t understand!”
“Understand what??”
Adrien fell silent.
“Adrien?”
Adrien regretted bringing up the subject now. But this secret had become way too heavy to carry. Even so, he was deeply apprehensive about his best friends’ reaction. He feared their anger and judgment, and he was terrified that they would never forgive him for his lies and betrayal, just as he couldn’t forgive himself. He let out a long sigh and straightened up. When Adrien looked up, Nino couldn't help but notice that his best friend’s usually bright gaze seemed empty, almost haunted. The sight twisted his stomach.
“Adrien,” Alya began again. “What can’t you tell Emma? What… What really happened to Marinette three years ago? You have to tell us!”
The look Adrien gave her in response shattered her heart: he looked completely devastated.
“I...”
His sobs became louder, more desperate.
“The story I... I told everyone about Chat Noir… after we defeated Hawk Moth… I-I lied,” he choked out through his tears.
“What do you mean?” Nino asked.
“I told everyone that... that L-Ladybug... Ma-Marinette sacrificed herself to defeat my... my f-father,” Adrien hiccuped. “But the truth is… is that—”
Adrien fell silent and buried his face in his arms. Alya and Nino exchanged a worried glance; both of them had figured something was really wrong with Adrien the moment Marinette died and his father was arrested. Of course, the anger and the pain Adrien felt were completely justified; no one could lose everything in the blink of an eye and walk away unscathed. But even so, Adrien had become only a shadow of his former self since that fateful day, and Alya and Nino could see that he was desperately trying to keep up appearances. They knew that Marinette’s disappearance had left a gaping hole in his heart; the bond between Marinette and Adrien - between Ladybug and Chat Noir! - was so strong, so unique. And they themselves also knew perfectly well that the emptiness they felt since their best friend's disappearance was only a tiny fraction of the pain Adrien must be experiencing every day from no longer having his partner by his side. But now, they were truly worried. Adrien had clearly lied to them about something, something big, and this secret seemed to be eating him alive. What had really happened the day Ladybug and Cat Noir defeated Hawk Moth? The night Adrien lost his partner, his wife, and the mother of his child, and Alya and Nino both lost their best friend?
“Adrien,” Alya ventured. “Please, what really happened that day?”
“You know you can tell us,” Nino insisted. “We're here for you, you know we won't judge you.”
Adrien gave them a heart-wrenching look before turning his head away, sobbing.
“I can't, I-I really c-can't.”
Adrien's distress was almost palpable, and Nino felt his heart break at his best friend's despair. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arm around Adrien's shoulders and pulled him close, as if this gesture had the power to free him from his pain.
“Adrien, it's obvious that all of this has been literally eating you alive since Marinette's death. Please talk to us! You can trust us! We can help you!”
“You can't help me.”
“Of course we can help you!”
“You're going to hate me... You'll never talk to me again...”
“Adrien, we could never hate you!” Nino exclaimed, visibly outraged by the very idea. “Why would you think that?”
Adrien looked away and straightened up slightly. He had already said too much; there was no turning back now.
He took a deep breath, as if he were about to jump from the top of the Eiffel Tower without a bungee cord or any magical powers.
“Because... when we discovered my father was Hawk Moth, he also discovered that Cat Noir was his own son,” Adrien confessed with a bitter laugh.
He angrily wiped the tears streaming down his cheeks with the back of his sleeve and forced himself to go on.
“I completely lost it when I discovered who he was, and like an idiot, I revealed my secret identity to him. Everything was doomed from this moment on. My father took advantage of this information, he—”
Adrien swallowed hard.
“He akumatized me. And he—he gave me an order. I—It all happened so fast. I wanted to resist, I really fought, I swear, but… He was stronger. He turned my distress against me. There was nothing I could do. He controlled me. I only realized it long after I found out that—”
Adrien stopped, unable to finish his sentence, and raised his hand to show them his parents' wedding rings. He saw a glimpse of horror flicker in Nino’s and Alya’s eyes and he quickly turned his head away, his throat tightening.
"M-My p-powers were multiplied tenfold by the akumatization," he continued bravely. "Marinette tried to free me from my father's control, but I—My father forced me to... he o-ordered me t-to..."
Adrien's voice broke, along with Alya’s and Nino’s hearts. Their best friend looked so miserable and fragile that they didn't know what to do. Feeling completely helpless, the next best thing they were able to do was to envelop him in a bone-crushing hug, hoping to comfort him, but Adrien only cried harder.
"I couldn't do anything. I couldn't do anything!" he sobbed, his heart clearly shattered into a thousand pieces.
"That's why I c-can't t-tell her," he continued, trying to contain his disordered stream of words. "I can't tell Emma."
Adrien suddenly met their gaze, and Alya and Nino could read so much pain, so much despair in his heavily haunted eyes that a violent shiver ran down their spines. They each grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it tightly, silently showing their support.
By now, both of them were ready for anything.
Anything, except for what Adrien said next.
Adrien opened his mouth, and, in a voice empty and devoid of emotion, he whispered:
"I cannot tell Emma that I'm the one who killed her mother."