Author's Note: Secret santa gift for introspectres, who is the creator of the glorious Timebroken AU which you should check out!

That's (Not) My Name

1

Catherine Agreste looked up from her novel as the door to her room creaked open.

A mop of messy blond hair poked inside, followed by hushed whispers for its owner to 'please don't go in, young master! The mistress needs her rest!' Shaking her head fondly, she put the book down and sat up further on the bed, waving to the servants outside in a silent request to leave her son be.

"Adrien," she crooned, and opened up her arms.

The boy wasted no time in running over and throwing himself into her familiar, warm embrace. "Maman," he sighed happily, snuggling deeper into her bosom. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, mon chéri." Pressing a loving kiss to his head, she hoisted him up and plopped him beside her on the bed, earning a delighted giggle.

The past few weeks had been hard on the Agreste family. Catherine had been stricken with illness and bedridden, forcing her beloved son to keep his distance lest he caught whatever she had been afflicted with. While Gabriel was allowed to visit and brought her fresh flowers every day, it broke her heart to hear Adrien's cries for her when he was told to stay away. Now that she was on the road to recovery however, the doctors had deemed it safe for her to return to her family.

Small arms reached for the book on her lap. "What are you reading?" Adrien asked.

"Oh, that? Nothing important." She plucked it from his hands and deposited it on the bedside table, smiling warmly at him. "I want to hear all about what you've been up to lately. How are your lessons going?"

The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up on lost time, and when the servants arrived to deliver dinner later in the evening, they found the two napping peacefully together, with Adrien curled up at his mother's side like a kitten.

2

At the sound of the shrill voice in the main foyer, Adrien winced and took five seconds to brace himself.

"Oh Adrikinnssss!"

Right on cue, he thought wryly as his left arm was suddenly encased by one mayor's daughter. "Hey Chloé," he greeted half-heartedly, gently prying her off after the third kiss to his cheek. As much as she was his oldest friend – the only one he had growing up – her clingy behavior was pretty stifling at times.

"Hmph, is that how you treat someone you haven't seen in a while?"

"I followed you shopping literally two days ago."

"TWO. WHOLE. DAYS!"

Speaking of which… "It's going to be even longer from now on, I'm afraid," Adrien chuckled at the childish pout on Chloé's face. "My father finally allowed me to enroll in a public school, so I won't be able to spend as much time with you anymore."

"That's wonderful!" Chloé squealed, batting her eyelashes at him. "I knew Daddy could do it!"

"Wait – what?" Adrien's thought processes abruptly screeched to a halt. He had expected a tantrum, a storm of complaints, even her exaggerated crying and wailing, but definitely not the smug look that was sent his way.

Chloé gave a high-pitched laugh. "Who do you think convinced your father to let you out of private tutoring? And the best part is that I get to go with you! We can sit together, be partners for projects, and OH – we can run for class president and vice president! Isn't that exciting?"

The whole point was to learn how to improve his social skills and make new friends, but Adrien couldn't deny he felt better knowing that there was going to be a familiar face in his class. Chloé had always been there for him since they were young, and this was no different.

"Adrien?" Chloé blinked curiously, tilting her head at his silence.

Feeling a sudden swell of affection for the girl, Adrien reached out and wrapped her in a grateful hug, leaving Chloé frozen in shock, temporarily stunned speechless. But it didn't take her long to recover, and soon enough she was dragging him out the door, chattering about shopping for new clothes.

"Not for me, for you!" Chloé argued at his protests. "You have a reputation to uphold, you know? So don't worry, I'll make sure you're the best looking guy in the entire school!"

3

The sharp staccato of Nathalie's heels was unmistakable even amidst the loud bustling of models and staff backstage. Adrien's eyes flickered over to her as she approached his station.

"Your father sends his regards," were her first words before he could even say hello. "His meeting had gone into overtime, but rest assured he will be observing the fashion show remotely from his office."

Adrien tried not to flinch, he really did, but his makeup artist still clucked her tongue in disapproval as her brush was jolted roughly, costing her precious time to redo the area. Somehow the blond felt he shouldn't be surprised. This was hardly the first time his father had cancelled on him after all, yet the familiarity of the situation didn't dull the sting of neglect worming its way under his skin in the slightest.

"Adrien –" Nathalie began, frowning with a hint of sympathy for the poor boy, but the stage hands had already started calling for the models to line up.

"I know, I know," he sighed, getting up from the chair once his makeup artist was satisfied with her work. "Don't screw up, don't embarrass my father. I got it."

The secretary looked like she was about to say more, but eventually decided against it. Nodding sharply at him, she turned around and took her leave.

At the cue, bright lights blinded his vision as he strutted onto stage with the other models. Adrien carefully smoothed his facial expression into one of practiced professionalism, erasing any traces of emotion from before. He had to make a conscious effort not to let his shoulders droop or his back hunch, despite the heavy weight of disappointment hanging off of them.

It took everything in him not to react when he reached the end of the runway to see Nathalie in one of the front row seats, sitting stiffly as she always did, but clapping alongside the rest of the audience. She caught his eye as he passed by, a small but proud smile on her face.

This time, there was an almost imperceptible curl of his lips as he completed the walk backstage, his chin lifted slightly higher than usual.

4

'Hey man, you got any plans after school?' The note read.

Adrien angled his head slightly to glance at Nino, who was busying himself with copying down Miss Bustier's writing on the board, valiantly pretending he hadn't just committed the heinous detention-worthy crime of slipping his seatmate a note. Come to think of it, did reading it make him an accomplice? One month of public schooling and he still didn't know how to handle these kinds of situations…

'Not really. I don't have any photoshoots scheduled today, so I was just going to head home.' It should be fine so long as they didn't get caught, right? So what if he triple-checked his surroundings before passing it back? Better safe than sorry, especially since they were in the front row.

'Cool! You wanna hang out? A new arcade just opened up downtown and I've been dying to check it out all week!'

It took a moment for the idea to sink in. Sure, Adrien had acquainted himself with his fellow classmates since enrolling in Collège Françoise Dupont, but he wasn't so certain he could call them friends just yet. Don't get him wrong, they were all very nice and amiable (save for that Asian-looking girl sitting behind, who seemed outright intimidated by him), but none of them had sought his company outside of school before. Maybe Nino was just trying to be polite? After all, his status as the new kid hadn't exactly worn off yet.

'Sure, count me in!' He decided in the end. What did he have to lose?

The bell rang two hours later, sparking a flurry of activity as everyone packed up to leave. Adrien took his time arranging his notes from the day's lessons, unaware that someone was waiting for him at the door.

"Yo, Adrien! You coming or what?" Nino called, the wide grin on his face so open and inviting that Adrien had no doubt he was genuinely interested in spending time with him.

Beaming excitedly, the blond shoved the rest of his papers into his messenger bag and rushed to join his new friend.

5

In the cover of darkness, twin glows of light shimmered atop the Eiffel Tower, leaving Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste standing face to face with each other.

No words were exchanged for a few minutes, not while they stood separately on opposite ends of the wide platform, each coming to terms with their own revelations. There were no dramatic reactions, no pointed fingers or loud exclamations. They both had their suspicions, but there was just something about the truth staring them in the face that made the confirmation a little harder to process.

Marinette was the first to fold, unable to take the awkward silence any longer. "Are you –" She swallowed, and tried again. "Are you disappointed?"

Snapping his head up in shock, Adrien noticed that her shoulders were hunched and her eyes downcast, as though she was bracing herself for rejection. "No, I could never!" He hastened to assure her. "If anything, I should be the one asking you that. You always seemed so comfortable around Chat, but when I try to talk to you as Adrien, you just… Well." A mirthless laugh. "Sometimes I wondered if you hated me."

"I could never." Marinette shook her head, echoing his words with a sad smile. "It's ironic, isn't it? We both fell for the mask when the person wearing it was right in front of us."

"Or behind, in my case," Adrien quipped, trying to lighten the mood. Seeing kind, gentle, brave Marinette so subdued made his stomach clench, and he knew he had to fix it. "Can we start over? Try again? I know we agreed no more secrets, but if you're uncomfortable with me then –" It tore him to pieces to do it, but he had to give her the chance to walk away from him. "If you want me to leave," he whispered, "just say the word."

This time it was Adrien's turn to look away as he fought to keep his tears from falling. Marinette didn't reply for a while, and he swore he could hear his heart shattering with each passing second –

"Adrien."

Taking a deep breath, he lifted his head to meet her gaze, steeling himself to accept her decision no matter what. Marinette's blue, blue eyes were swimming with emotion; he could see uncertainty and doubt, but there was also kindness and determination, with absolutely no trace of the hate or disgust he'd so feared.

"You're still my kitty," she said tearfully, flashing him a wobbly grin.

In two strides Adrien crossed the distance between them to pull Marinette into his arms, earning a squeak of surprise. She went still, but only for a fraction of a second before hugging back just as tightly. "And you, Princess," he murmured into her hair, "will always be my Lady."

Choking back a sob, she nodded and fisted the back of his jacket.

Adrien couldn't help himself. "Guess the cat's out of the bag, huh?"

Marinette pulled back with an exasperated whine, looking as though she couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. She ended up settling for a playful punch to his shoulder instead, but she was smiling too, and that was all that mattered.

+1

There was no hesitation in Chat Noir's movements as he vaulted over Hawk Moth to intercept the burst of black butterflies swarming towards Ladybug, who had been knocked down and was struggling to her feet. He barely managed to take a swipe at Hawk Moth's face before the blast slammed into his torso, sending him flying and crashing into a wall.

"Chat, no!" Ladybug screamed, clutching her injured arm as she watched her partner crumple to the ground.

Pain rippled through his body like a shockwave, causing Chat to cry out in agony. He felt extremely weak all of a sudden, as though the surge of dark magic from the akumas had drained his powers, and something deep within his chest abruptly snapped. The next thing he knew, his transformation had been forcibly disengaged, ejecting Plagg from his ring and leaving Adrien wheezing for breath on the floor.

"It can't be…"

Adrien stiffened in shock. The metallic gray mask in his hand fell from his limp grasp as he craned his head up to see none other than – "Father?" He gasped, his eyes impossibly wide in disbelief.

Sure enough, in Hawk Moth's place stood Gabriel Agreste himself, looking so prim and proper in his pressed suit as though he had just stepped out of his office. It was hard to imagine that he had been attacking two defenseless teens just seconds ago. The surprise on his face was foreign, the words that followed even more so.

"So this is what you've been up to in your spare time," Gabriel mused, a hint of awe in his normally stoic demeanor. The purple butterfly-shaped brooch on his chest gleamed in the moonlight.

Scrambling to pick himself up, Adrien quickly scooped his dazed kwami into his arms and backed away cautiously. A part of him still refused to believe it, but there was no denying the live evidence right in front of him. Surely there had to be another explanation! His father had been possessed by an akuma perhaps, or maybe Hawk Moth was a shapeshifter and had assumed Gabriel's form to mess with his mind.

"I have to say, I'm impressed you managed to hide it from me for as long as you did." His voice flowed like honey, sweet and silky. Gabriel smiled wider at the sight of Adrien's hesitation, the teen's face betraying his internal conflict.

It was obvious what he was playing at. Adrien fought not to let himself be swayed, but this was the most emotion he'd ever heard from his father in his whole adolescent life. His inner child reveled in it and he found himself thirsting for more. He could feel his resolve weakening even as he tried to remember all the terrible things Hawk Moth had done to the citizens of Paris, even as Ladybug cried out for him not to listen.

"Now, be a good boy and bring me Ladybug's Miraculous. You've done very well on your own, having made it this far." Gabriel's tone was cajoling, laced with – dare he imagine it? – affection. "I'm so proud of you, son."

And Adrien choked.

Because how long had he yearned to hear those words from his father? To be on the receiving end of his praise and approval? He couldn't remember the last time he had been given this much attention, the last time his father had even looked at him like he was something special. His heart ached even as it soaked up Gabriel's words like a sponge, eager to do anything to please –

But one glimpse at the devastated horror on Ladybug's face was enough for him to remember the price of his father's love. It was all he had ever wanted, but not like this.

Never like this.

"Plagg," he called numbly. "Claws out."

Gabriel looked positively gleeful as the black-clad superhero went to stand by his side. For the briefest of moments they moved as one synchronized unit, as father and son, advancing towards Ladybug's shaking figure on the ground. Adrien took a second to mourn their short-lived solidarity before breaking out of step to walk past his father and turn around, effectively positioning himself between the last of his family and his beloved partner.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gabriel – no, Hawk Moth – hissed. And there, there was the cold anger he was more familiar with, the hardened words cutting into his skin like knives, but it was a pain he had long gotten used to. "Adrien!"

"No," he whispered, brandishing his staff threateningly. There was a determined glint in his eyes, and even as tears began to gather at the corners, they did not fall. "I'm Chat Noir, and I won't let you hurt my Lady."

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think :)