Chapter 1

He tore across Paris' rooftops. It was broad daylight-10 am in the morning to be exact- but Chat Noir couldn't care less. Running concentrated his energy, and Chat was angrier than he could remember ever being in his life.

Finally calmed down, at least as calm as he could possibly be in the circumstances, Chat stopped on a rooftop. It was the building adjacent to the school, where he should actually be right now, he noted absentmindedly, and paced, wearing a distinct path in the gravel on the roof. He could feel Plagg's desire to be released, but he knew what his kwami would say, and Adrien didn't trust himself not to snap at one of the little god's sarcastic remarks or demands for cheese. The thought made him smile, and he felt a bit calmer. Plagg settled a bit more, and Adrien's frantic pace became more contemplative.

He glanced over at the school, his heart still racing from adrenaline and his eyes encountered two azure gems staring worriedly in his direction. The building he was on was only a bit taller than the second floor of the college. At this angle, he had a uninterrupted view of Marinette. His heart gave an irregular beat and then calmed considerably. Focusing on her only, he gave her a small smile and wave. She didn't smile but cocked her head to the side inquisitively as if asking Are you alright? He forced himself to smile a bit bigger, and surprisingly did feel better for the action. He gave her a jaunty wink. She smirked and he felt a pang in his chest. Her smile was so reminiscent of his mother's yet somehow still so Marinette at the same time.

Looking back he noticed her leaving the classroom and sighed. Left alone again to his own thoughts, he sat with his back to the ledge of the building, remembering his encounter with his father that morning.

Adrien stood, rooted in place by an insurmountable force in front of his father's safe that Plagg had just helped him break into. Somehow he was still upright, despite the waves of shock and grief wracking through his entire being.

"What is this," he choked out, half growl, half sob.

His father stood immovable across the room from him. His body as straight and motionless as possible, but his normally impassive face ricocheted through so many emotions it gave Adrien whiplash. Shock. Grief. Sadness. Relief. Fear. Love. It finally returned to his old friend of the last year. Cold indifference.

"It's a picture of your mother," Gabriel stated the obvious with a raised eyebrow, as if daring his son to question him further. It wasn't a lie. It was a picture of his mother. The part his father wasn't addressing was the fact that it was a picture of her from last week. The date stated it was taken 6 days ago. 6 days ago. His mother had been missing for a 15 months and 13 days. 15 months of grief and despair of ever having his family reunited. A feeling he, naively, assumed he and his father shared. 15 months of indifference from his last remaining family member, only excused in Adrien's mind because he'd lost the love of his life. Adrien was a romantic after all; he could only imagine what such a loss would do to a person. If anything ever happened to Ladybug…

But no. Gabriel apparently knew exactly where his wife was, and judging from the picture, she was alive and well. The anger and indignation built like a force inside of Adrien, but it came out in a whisper. If there was one thing he learned from his father, it was that silence and indifference were much harsher weapons than showing any emotion, even rage.

"This is from last week," Adrien whispered calmly, carefully suppressing his rage.

"So it is," replied Gabriel, grief flashing like lightning in his eyes, so quick Adrien almost missed it.

His arm started to raise towards Adrien's face, towards his child's cheek. Despite Adrien's composure beyond his years, his son was still only a boy. Mature for his age, having gone through much more than any person, let alone 15 year old, should have to endure, but Gabriel could still see the betrayal in his son's eyes. He tried to keep Adrien at a distance, and conceal the truth of his mother's disappearance, but Gabriel was keenly aware of the fact that in doing so he was slowly pushing his only child away. It killed him, but Adrien's safety would always come before Gabriel's personal happiness. Regardless, the father and son had, until now, been united through their assumed grief since Adela's loss. In this moment, he could see even that shattering in Adrien's eyes.

An inch from Adrien's cheek, Gabriel redirected his hand and instead brushed an imaginary speck of dirt off his shoulder. "Natalie is waiting outside for you. Hurry or you'll be late for school."

"But, Father, " Adrien started to protest, but was cut off by a look from his father. "Fine," he relented, knowing nothing he said would change his father's response. Tucking the photo into his bag, he lifted his head and turned his back on his father, walking defiantly out of the room.

The instant the door shut, Gabriel crumbled into his seat, a dry sob retching from his throat, for Gabriel had shed a lifetime's worth of tears already and had none left.

"You used to call me Papa," he whispered in anguish. Looking at the portrait of his wife hanging across the room."Adela,"he murmured, almost in a prayer, "please let this be right. Please be safe."

He shut his eyes, letting the mask of the last year fall back in place. Facade securely reconstructed, he straightened his tie and walked towards the spiral staircase and into the attic, off to fulfill his deal to the devil.

Hi everyone! Thanks for reading chapter 1 of Not Alone!

I just wanted to do a quick disclaimer and shout out to some other fics that I reference in this story

I don't own Miraculous Ladybug or any of its characters (obviously). Also, there are some references in this fanfiction to other fanfictions. We've been in this horrible between seasons phase for so long now, I can't even remember what's canon and what has just been accepted by the fandom as truth. I'll list below some names I may have pilfered from other fics and update when people point stuff out to me (as I'm sure you all won't hesitate to do!)

Also, this story is complete, but I will be uploading chapters as I finish editing them for grammar (Basically, you don't need to worry about getting invested in this only to have me fall off the map and never finish it. All 50 chapters +epilogue are done. yay!)

References: (may contain spoilers, read with caution)

1. there's a mention of "Project Runway" which is a nod to another fantastic fanfic from Inkkerfuffle (best name ever) called Chasing the C/h/atwalk ( /works/6095266/chapters/13971763)

2. Hawkmoth's transformation phrase (chapter 29) is taken (i'm pretty sure) from a comic somewhere. If you find it, let me know and I'll link it here (it makes me chuckle every time, so I had to include it.)

3. Volpino (check out midnightstarlightwirtes and her story Smoulder to meet Louis, the character you wish Astruc would create, not that we don't all love Alya :D ) /works/6697144/chapters/15317038