AN/Warnings: [Dark Grimm AU, gender bender, gender dysphoria, implications of underage Non-Con, suicidal thoughts, graphic death] Of course I take fairy tales and turn them into something grim. ;P But seriously, this story is much more on the mature side of my spectrum. Also, Gender Dysphoria plays a huge part in this. I still encourage you to learn about it, but you don't have to read this if it makes you uncomfortable. In order words, don't flame me for no good reason. It does not make me a happy writer. (Just a warning, when I go dark. I can go pretty dark.)

~o~

"Father, please! Just let me out! You can't keep me here forever!"

The frustrated screams echoed throughout the tall stone tower, isolated in the forest where no one could hear them. A masked sorcerer, cloaked in purple and black, stood impassively in front of his charge: a young beautiful blond girl with enchanting green eyes and more notably waves and waves of long blonde hair that raveled all along the floor. She glared up at him, her face scrunched up with anger, fists clenched at her sides.

"Nonsense, child," the masked sorcerer replied, his tone dripping in condescension. "The world isn't safe out there. It's the world that kept your mother from us." His gloved hand cupped the girl's face, tilting her chin upwards. "I won't have her daughter taken as well. Now, I have several more dresses for you and-"

The blonde girl batted his hand away. "I don't want more dresses! I don't want to wear dresses, father! I hate them! And I hate this stupid hair!" she cried, grabbing whole fistfuls of the tresses. Her eyes brimmed with tears, feeling as though she were arguing with a wall. "Father, please, why are you doing this?"

"It's for your own good," the sorcerer replied, unmoved by the show. They had gone through this many times before. "Clearly, you are insensible right now and in no condition for company. I shall take my leave."

As frustrated as she was, the thought of being left alone again was a far more frightening thought. "No, wait, father-!" the girl cried, grabbing his arm. "You've only just come! Can't you stay for-"

"Cannot, and not when you're like this," the sorcerer answered, wrenching his limb from her grasp. "Perhaps another month in solitude will teach you to better your manners."

"NO!" the girl screamed in horror, but the masked sorcerer was already phasing through the wall. She ran to him, but was only met with cold stone. Her hands dragged down the stone as she sank down to her knees, ruining her green-gold dress in the process. As ever, her hair bundled around her, threatening to drown her in its weaves.

Her face twisted in anger, cutting into her hair. With a frustrated cry, she stormed over to her bureau to grab a pair of scissors. She looked to the three new dresses that were laid out on top of a trunk. She attacked those first, shredding them until they were mere scraps of fabric. Next the blade went to her hair, cutting it right below her ears. For one blessed minute, the overwhelming heaviness fell from her shoulders. Then, inevitably, the locks began to grow again, tickling the back of her neck and growing heavier by the second. Her green eyes cast to the dresses and saw that they were also untouched.

A sob choked her throat, the overwhelming hopelessness threatening to make her do something far more drastic. At the tender age of fifteen, her body was a wreck of hormones, changing in ways that made her feel sick and alien. She knew in her heart that something wasn't right, besides the fact that her father was keeping her captive in this tower all alone. Trying to raise her into the very image of her mother. It was enough sometimes that she thought about taking the scissors to her own wrists, but she always lost her nerve. Part of her was terrified of finding out if she was just like those dresses and her hair.

With a month of solitude to look forward to, she forced herself to dry her eyes and head up the winding stairs to her bedroom at the very top of the tower. Her father would prefer that she not sleep so close to the tower's arched observation windows, but he couldn't control everything. The tower touched the very height of the clouds, while the forest valley spread out before her like a green carpet from her dizzying height. The cool air gusted into her room as she collapsed into bed, sick and fatigued.

That was when she noticed something on her bedstand. A small black box. Her brow knit into a frown. Did her father leave that? No, he would have surely said something. He liked to throw his generosity in her face. Sliding out of bed, the blonde cautiously went to her windowsill. The box fit into the palm of her hand. Worrying her lower lip, she popped open the lid. Inside, a black ring gleamed with a green cat's paw.

Well, it definitely wasn't from her father. It wasn't nearly feminine enough. Perhaps it was a gift from one of those fairies that she read about. Maybe it was cursed. Honestly, at this point she didn't care. This was something different, something new. Something that was not her cold and lonely life. Throwing caution to the wind, she slipped the ring over her finger.

That was when everything changed.

~o~

An owl hooted in the silent night. A young teenaged girl with bluebell eyes and raven-blue hair eyed the dark woods around her warily. The tree limbs wrapped around the lonely path in an impenetrable canvas that blotted out the sky. She wrapped her bright red cloak more tightly about her shoulders, clutching her basket of pastries against her. Against her hip, an innocuous red and black spotted ball hung, comforting her with its weight. She reminded herself to look as vulnerable as possible and what was more vulnerable than a hapless girl carrying pastries through the forest? All the better to draw out a certain black-clad bandit.

Today Chat Noir was going to meet his match. Marinette aka Ladybug, huntress extraordinaire, was on his trail. She'd been offered a dizzying amount of money to track down and capture the bandit by a mysterious benefactor by the name of Hawkmoth. Hunting down humans wasn't normally her style, but she supposed that she could downgrade from dire wolves to cats just this once. She'd heard reports from the local inn that the bandit was making himself known on the outskirts of town. All she needed to do was catch him when his guard was down and take him alive.

Even so, it didn't make her stop wishing she'd had more than her magical yo-yo on her. Like a dagger or an axe.

Something clopped from behind her. Marinette whirled around, her hand palming her yo-yo. It was a stupid move, as a root coiled up in front of her toes and caught her. With an undignified yelp, she fell forward onto her face, twisting her ankle brutally. The pastries scattered everywhere all over the road.

"Woah! You okay?" someone called from the source of the clops. Marinette looked up to see a boy about her age sitting astride a white horse. Her cheeks blossomed into a bright blush as she took in his handsome features, gorgeous green eyes, and angelic blond hair tied back into a short ponytail. Her own reaction confused her. She wasn't the type to gush over boys. She was a huntress. She didn't have time for such frivolousness!

That didn't stop her cheeks from growing hotter as the boy dropped down from his horse to check on her. He hissed as he looked to her purpling ankle. "Ooh, that looks bad," he said, his mouth twisting with sympathy.

"N-no, it's okay," Marinette said quickly, trying to push herself up to her feet. "I-I guess I'm just clumsy that's a-OW!" Her ankle failed her, forcing the boy to catch her in his arms. If she was blushing before, now her entire head threatened to overheat.

"Gotcha, gotcha," the blond boy grinned, holding her steady. "Yeah, I'm thinking you're not going to be able to walk on that. Luckily~ I have a horse." His green eyes were bright and amiable as he spoke, a naive and unjaded air about him. It was as refreshing as a spring breeze. Marinette let out a small meep as she was picked up into his arms in bridal fashion. The boy was much stronger than his slight figure suggested. He gently helped her up onto his horse, then gathered up her pastries and placed the basket onto her lap. Smiling broadly up at her, he asked, "Alright princess, where were you heading?"

Princess?

"I'm not-" Marinette blushed, "m-my grandmother, but-" Well, there was the problem that the grandmother didn't actually exist. She was usually quicker on her feet than this. If she was on her own, she'd just heal herself and continue on her mission, but now this boy had her flustered in all kinds of ways. "Really you don't have to do this for me. I'll be fine."

"Nonsense, I always wanted to rescue a princess," the boy replied. "Maybe I can take you back to town. That's where you came from, right? You really shouldn't be wandering around in the dark. There's wolves around here."

Marinette sighed. She really wasn't very good at this damsel in distress thing. It was a good thing he was cute. "Well, it's too dark to be traveling anywhere anyway. We should make camp." Perhaps there was still a chance that Chat Noir would attack two helpless travelers instead of one.

"Camp?" the blond echoed in innocent confusion. Then he broke into a smile. "Oh! I've never done that before either! That sounds fun!"

Fun? How was sleeping on the cold hard ground out in the middle of the woods where you had to sleep with one eye open remotely fun? Marinette looked the boy over and noted his distinct lack of... preparedness. Just a rapier, a small sack and a rather heavy looking money pouch. Along with the white horse and fine clothes. Rich, over privileged boy, she had him pegged. Normally, they annoyed the hell out of her, but this boy was entirely too sweet and not at all obnoxious. Also, this boded well for her. This kind of boy would be Chat Noir's favorite type of target.

"Well, I make it a point not to sleep with complete strangers," Marinette said, giving him a smile. "I'm Marinette, and you are...?"

The boy blinked. "Oh, me? I'm... Adrien," he replied hesitantly. "It's very nice to meet you, Marinette!"

Despite herself, she blushed again. "It's nice to meet you too," she replied, surprised by her own sincerity. Guh, he was just too cute. A little clueless, but cute. It was just unnerving how he could make her all flustered with just a look. "I think I saw a stream a little ways off the path. We can camp there."

Adrien (if that was his name) nodded eagerly, leading the horse towards the spot she'd already designated as her camp previously. Marinette walked him through the basics of making camp, checking the perimeter to make sure there weren't signs of predators, gathering wood, and building a fire. Adrien to his credit was a good student, happy to do the heavy lifting and quick to learn. They shared the pastries, which were a little dirty but still edible. "These are so good!" he declared, which brought an embarrassed smile to Marinette's face.

Then there came the matter of sleeping. "I'll take first watch," Marinette said. Once the boy was out, she'd finally be able to heal herself without an audience. She didn't care at all for being immobile. Plus her ankle was really beginning to swell painfully.

"Oh no, don't be silly! You need to rest," Adrien declared, being a pain in the sweetest way imaginable. "I don't need that much sleep. You go on ahead."

"No, I insist."

"No, I insist."

"You've been traveling all day."

"I've been on a horse. You were on foot."

"Yeah, well, I'm a girl."

At that, Adrien spluttered, losing focus. "The- that- what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, because you're a strange boy. I'd be much more comfortable if I was the one awake first," Marinette insisted. The obvious flaw was that she would be asleep on his watch, if she planned on sleeping.

Adrien only gave her an incredulous look. However, he finally gave it up, unable to find a way to argue past it. "Alright, you win," he sighed as he sat by the fire. "You promise you'll wake me if you get tired?"

"Promise," the huntress replied.

Still looking particularly dissatisfied, Adrien curled up in his heavy traveling cloak and allowed himself to close his eyes. In almost no time, his breathing evened as he fell asleep. Clearly, he was far more tired than he let on. If he really was wandering through the woods without camping, then it was no wonder.

Just to be safe, Marinette waited a little longer. Then she summoned the magic from her two earrings that her fairy godmother gifted her when she was just a child. Putting her hands on either side of her ankle, the warm healing light spread from her fingertips to wrap around her injury. At once, the pain began to ease and the swelling went down. Fully healed, she stretched her leg out in front of her and gave her ankle an experimental roll. Good as new.

Checking Adrien again, it seemed that he was still fast asleep. Good. As quietly as she could, she flung her yo-yo up to one of the tallest trees and pulled herself up onto a sturdy branch. From here she had a good view of her charge and anyone who dared to approach him, able to literally get the drop on them. She did feel a little guilty using this boy as bait but...

Marinette quickly shook the thought away. No, she wouldn't let anything happen to him. She was a huntress. Chat Noir would be already bound and captured before he could lay a finger on Adrien's head. All she had to do was wait...

~o~

By the time morning came, all Marinette had to show for her efforts was a bad case of wood burn. At once the doubt began to settle in. She thought for sure that all signs of the bandit pointed to this particular stretch of wood. Had her sources been wrong? Then again, some of them had been quite drunk while she was interrogating them. She let out a sigh as she watched dawn peek and send shafts of light down into the underbrush.

Below, Adrien began to stir into awakening. He yawned and stretched, before he suddenly jolted awake. Probably because he realized that it was already morning. Whirling around, he looked for her, never thinking to look up. Adrien probably thought that she took off on him in the middle of the night. If he wasn't completely naive, he'd check his pockets to make sure nothing was stolen. He didn't. Instead, he pulled off one of his gloves to check that his jewelry was still there. Not that she could see it that well from above. Not a complete fool then.

Don't worry, Adrien. I'm not interested in your stuff, Marinette thought in amusement. She wasn't a thief, unlike a certain someone she was tracking down. Still, if he didn't notice her this was a good opportunity to ditch him and she could continue on with her hunt. However, her gut twisted with guilt when he stood and began to call her name. He just sounded so concerned and... hurt. She couldn't just leave him. Plus he was so naive, he was probably going to get jumped before he got to wherever he was headed.

Groaning, Marinette rappelled down the tree, trying to tell herself she wasn't just doing this because he was cute. "Morning," she called to the blond, catching his attention.

Adrien whirled around. At the sight of her, his whole expression lit up in a way that made Marinette's heart pitter-patter treacherously. "Marinette! There you are!" he cried, coming up to wrap the huntress up in a hug that made her whole face explode in a blush. "I was worried! I thought something may have taken you because of your- Hey! You're walking!"

"Y-yup! It got better," Marinette replied, trying to fight down her blush.

"Oh... t-that's great!" Adrien said, his smile strained as it fought between delight and disappointment. "I guess you really didn't need me after all. So... I guess you're going to head off to your grandmother, huh?"

"Er... about that," the huntress said awkwardly. "I wasn't actually going to my grandmother. I'm sorry I lied about that. I was actually trying to track someone down."

The blond blinked. "...And give them delicious pastries?"

"Ummm, more like surprise and capture them," Marinette replied, giving Adrien a smile. "He's a bad guy though, I promise. You might've heard of him. Chat Noir? He's that highwayman that's been robbing travelers recently."

Adrien's eyebrows rose. "Oh! U-uh, yes! I have heard of him! He's totally looong gone though. I heard he was in uh- what was that place? The one with the spindly towers?" Marinette couldn't even begin to guess what he was talking about, when he suddenly brightened. "Wait a minute, does that mean you're some kind of bounty hunter?"

"More like normal huntress..." Marinette frowned, "Although I'm pretty good at it. They call me Ladybug-"

At this Adrien's whole demeanor changed. "YOU!" he squealed, looking like he was about to faint from excitement. "You're Ladybug?! The Red Lady? Lady du Chase, Lady de Chance? You're her?! You're my hero! I've read all the stories about you!"

For her part, Marinette could not have been more embarrassed. His admiration was almost overwhelming. "Wh-whaaat- Pssh, those things?" she said, remembering the silly penny-novels that had spread around the kingdom starting when she was thirteen. "They exaggerate waaay too much."

However, Adrien wasn't listening as he was, for lack of a better word, fangirling. "I can't believe I met Ladybug! Talked to Ladybug! Touched Ladybug! Gasp, I carried her!" That last fact seemed to stick with him the most as his entire face overheated with a bright blush, as he finally looked back to Marinette. "Odsbodkin, I'm so sorry about that. You probably thought I was so impertinent."

"N-no, no, no!" Marinette assured him quickly, her own face bright red. "It's okay. It was actually kind of sweet." This brought a pleased grin to Adrien's face, that similarly seemed to inspire one on hers. After a moment of shared smiles and warm flutterings in her stomach, the huntress coughed awkwardly, "S-so, you're looking for someone too, I take it?"

"Oh! Right!" Adrien said, suddenly recalling what had incited the conversation. "Yes, I was trying to figure out what happened to my mother. My father never told me what happened to her, so I wanted to find her for myself."

"And asking your dad isn't an option...?" Marinette asked uncertainly.

At once, Adrien's warm expression shut down, replaced by a wall of ice. "Absolutely not."

Ooookay then. Daddy issues. Note to self, don't mention his father, the huntress thought. Deciding to stay away from that topic, she addressed the issue at hand, "Well, I'm sorry to hear about that, but I'm already kind of on a job and I don't really usually hunt people besides..."

"I can pay you," the blond replied, taking his whole coin purse and holding it out. It looked ridiculously, temptingly heavy. "A gold piece a day, until I run out. I don't even need a guarantee that we'll find her. I just need help. I-I'm not really all that worldly, to be honest," he admitted, his cheeks effusing with a blush.

Marinette couldn't disagree with that, even from their very brief interaction. Her eyes flicked to the weighty coin purse. A gold a day? Just for helping him out? She worried her lower lip, the temptation strong. Not to mention, he really did seem like he needed lessons in just surviving in the outside world. It would be a crime to leave him on his own now. Besides, who said she couldn't conduct two hunts at once?

"I... alright," she agreed with a resigned sigh. "You got yourself a deal." She tried to tell herself she wasn't doing this because Adrien was cute, even as she blushed at the way his handsome face beamed with joy.

~o~

With their deal made, Marinette unburied her weapons and equipment, and the pair of them took to the road in search of Adrien's mother. She had been gone for as long as Adrien could remember, her current status unknown. All they really had to go on was that she was stunningly beautiful, blonde, had green eyes, and her name was Eglantine. If she were alive, logic said she should be in her late 30s. It wasn't a lot to go on, Marinette had warned, but she didn't let him be discouraged. Instead, they made a plan to head to the nearest city to begin gathering information.

Adrien could not believe his luck. Here he was, on the road to find his mother, and his guide was none other than Ladybug herself. He still couldn't believe that he'd not recognized Marinette as Ladybug on sight. The red hood was a dead giveaway for one. She also fit the description perfectly, from her blue eyes (described as steel blue, but they were more like bluebell), to her raven-blue hair, and her fierce and stunning beauty.

Now that Marinette was decked in her hunting gear, bow, sword, dagger, and travelers' pack, she hardly resembled the meek, clumsy girl he'd bumped into in the forest. Instead, she looked more like an efficient killing machine in a petite package, which was... confusing. In a good way. Not to mention, Marinette was so much younger than he expected. In fact, he hazarded that she must be his age, which inspired other confusing feelings in him. As best as he could guess, he'd admired Ladybug for so long that knowing that they had anything in common was flustering.

Age was pretty much where the similarities ended. Marinette constantly displayed her legendary prowess, on the hunt and off. She had a keen sense of observation, to the point it was a little intimidating, noticing things that Adrien simply glazed over. (One reason why he now wore gloves ceaselessly.)

While she couldn't teach that, she did gift him with the vast well of her experience. Adrien soaked every tidbit up like a sponge, from how to fish, how to set a trap, what plants were safe to eat, how to find your way out of a forest, how to barter hides. She also regaled him with tales and gossip from around the kingdom, telling him of seedy stories that would never be found in any book. (And he read many.) That alone was worth the hefty fee of a gold piece a day.

However, Marinette began to earn her keep in other ways when they reached their first city. Adrien was slightly overwhelmed just by the amount of people that filled the streets. The smell wasn't exactly pleasant either. He was spared some as Marinette led his horse through the crowd and towards the closest inn. There he watched as she went through the process of bartering for a room and stable, forking over some coins only when she worked the innkeeper down. Apparently, his rich clothes made him something of a target for the greedy mercantile. He might have done things slightly differently if he'd known at the time.

"Okay, the best place to look for records is in the Church. You can do that," Marinette said when they were safely stowed away in their room for the night. "I'll check with the wisewomen to see if they recall any Eglantine in town. We can reconverge here when the late crowd gets in and see if they heard anything about your mother."

And Chat Noir, no doubt. Adrien was fairly sure that she was still on the hunt for him, which was a rather hair-raising thought. Nonetheless, he nodded, steeling himself for his simple task. He knew what Churches looked like at least. The steeply weird buildings with the bells.

"Oh, give me your purse," Marinette added, holding out a hand.

That took Adrien aback. "What?"

"There's pickpockets everywhere," the huntress replied sternly. Then she gave him a sly smile that sent a tremble down his spine. "You want to keep me around longer, don't you?"

A graceless blush heated Adrien's cheeks, the confusing feelings given rise again. Swallowing, he quickly handed the heavy coin purse over. Which was when Marinette smacked him on the forehead. "Don't just give your purse to anyone who asks!" she tsked as she put the purse away in the satchel hidden beneath her crimson cloak. "Honestly, you're lucky you bumped into me first. You'd be destitute and helpless within a day."

While that wasn't strictly true, Adrien did agree on one point. "Yes, Milady. I'm really lucky," he smiled, watching as Marinette heated up in a bright blush at the nickname.

"D-don't call me that~!" she huffed, her ears burning with embarrassment. "Just get going, will you?"

"Yes, Milady~" Adrien teased, hurrying out of the room while Ladybug spluttered. The dining hall was quiet as he headed out, although the innkeeper did give him a rather dark look as he passed by. Probably thinking that she could have fished more money out of him.

Outside, the blond was once again bombarded with the sheer amount of people and had to take a moment just to get adjusted. Once he did though, it was difficult not to become horribly tempted. The Cat likes shiny things and he could almost smell the gold, copper, and silver that exchanged hands as frequently as breathing. That had been his very first brutal lesson in the real world. One simply couldn't survive without gold. Opportunities abounded and he could more than make up for the coins that Marinette was holding onto for him. Odsbodkin, he could probably find enough gold to keep her around forever.

However, Ladybug was looking for Chat Noir. He wasn't about to risk being caught when he still had plenty of money left. Assuming he could trust Marinette with it. Ignoring temptation, Adrien made his way through the streets, eyeing the purses and moneyboxes left so carelessly exposed. And Marinette thought he was the one who would get pickpocketed. He couldn't help but smile at the irony of it as he neared the Church.

The stone building was nearly empty as he entered, making his steps echo ominously as he walked underneath the vaulted ceiling. It reminded him eerily of his tower, unnerving him to say the least. He hurried to find the black and white clad priest, gaining access to the birth, death, and baptism records of the entire parish with a handy donation to the Church's coffers. (Okay, it was one purse. He couldn't help himself. He had to eat, didn't he?)

Unfortunately, hours of fruitless search turned up nothing. It was frustrating to say the least, but he remembered Marinette's advice not to get discouraged. He just hoped that she had more luck than he did.

...Well, she better. People didn't call her Lady Luck for nothing.

Thanking the priest for his time, Adrien headed back out into the city. Palming an apple from a fruit stand, he took his time simply becoming oriented to his surroundings. He reveled in the sheer freedom of being able to go where he wanted, talking to whomever he wanted, learning and growing as he never had. It felt right to him. For once in his life, everything felt right.

A flap of red flashed in the corner of his eye. He turned and found Ladybug talking to a couple their age. Though it was much earlier than they were meant to meet, he went to her immediately. "Marinette!" he called, waving as he came over, catching the attention of all three.

"Speak of the devil," the fiery haired girl said, while Marinette blinked in surprise.

"I thought you were going through the Church records," she frowned.

"Yeah, I'm done," Adrien replied simply.

Marinette gaped at him. "Already?!"

The blond only shrugged. "I read fast." His attention turned to her new companions. Both were bespectacled teens of darker skin, the girl had quite the attitude to match her hair, while the dark haired boy carried a lute and a surly expression. "Who are they?"

"Oh, sorry. These are my friends," Marinette said, gesturing to the two. "They travel around like I do. We bumped into each just by chance." How lucky, Adrien thought wryly. "Alya is a writer and Nino is a bard. Alya, Nino, this is Adrien."

"Very nice to meet you," Alya said, giving him a sly smile that made him think he was missing something. "Marinette didn't mention that you were a hottie. I wonder why~?"

"Alya!" Ladybug hissed at him, while Nino's eyes only darkened.

"Alya...? Alya Cesaire!" Adrien cried, recognizing the name. "You're the one that wrote all the Ladybug novels! I love those! I've read every single one I could get my hands on!"

"Aw shucks, you're sweet," the writer smiled. "Of course, the actual credit goes to Marinette for telling me about her adventures. I just write it all down." She turned to the red-hooded girl. "Speaking of, you owe me several more stories now for that tidbit about Chat Noir." Adrien went still, though no one seemed to notice.

"I know, I know," Marinette replied, putting her hands together in appeasement. "Actually, I, well we need some more information out of you. About a woman named Eglantine...?"

"Nuh-uh, payment first, Mari," Alya insisted, taking the huntress by the arm. "Let's talk up in my room. I have all my ink and paper there."

"Can I come?" Adrien asked, eager to hear some more stories himself.

"Are you in the habit of casually inviting yourself into girls' rooms?" Nino asked curtly, speaking up for the first time.

"Umm..." the blond murmured, beginning to sweat.

"Nino, don't be rude," Alya huffed. "But sorry, Adrien, this is girl talk only," she added, giving the blond a wink. "Why don't you and Nino go off and hang out. Have your own boy talk or something." With that, she dragged the huntress off to interrogate her.

Adrien only began to sweat more. Boy talk? He eyed Nino, his tongue caught in his throat. What on earth did boy talk entail? Dread trickled down his spine, a very real fear of getting caught causing a wave of awkward discomfort that set him on high alert.

"You're not doing anything funny to Marinette are you?" Nino asked, his eyes narrowing as he regarded the blond.

"F-funny?" Adrien echoed, wide eyed. "Um, well, I tease her? Sometimes she laughs."

"Don't act dumb. I know you know what I'm talking about."

No. No, he really, really didn't know what Nino was talking about. The discomfort only grew. It was as if Nino could sense he was hiding something, sniffing it out like hound. "You didn't make a pass at her, did you?"

A what now?

Adrien surmised that this was probably a bad thing, so he quickly shook his head. "N-no! I wouldn't do... that." Whatever it was. "I promise, I have nothing but boundless respect and admiration for her. Her stories really helped me get through a... a tough part of my life."

The bard frowned still, but the darkness seemed to ease at the utter sincerity in Adrien's voice. "Well... alright then. As long as it stays that way. Marinette is a very dear friend and she's not experienced with boys at all." Well, that made two of them, Adrien thought. Even so, he could feel a little bit of the pressure ease up on. "So you really don't like her at all, huh?"

"Like? Of course, I like her," Adrien insisted. "She's Ladybug and she's amazing."

"Yeeeah, but not like, like-like, right?"

Once again, the blond was lost. How was repeating the same word three times supposed to make sense? "Errr..."

"Wow, Mari said you were probably sheltered, but I don't think she knew the half of it," Nino said, raising an eyebrow. Adrien supposed that was a nice way of putting it. "You never had a girlfriend before?"

"G-girlfriend?!" the blond spluttered. Was that what they were talking about?! The very thought sent his heart racing, a blush bleeding up to his cheeks in sheer embarrassment. "N-n-no! I never-! How could I-!"

Nino blinked as the blond very nearly had a meltdown. Then his lips twisted into a smile, before he let out a boisterous laugh. "Odsbodkin, your face!" he cackled, pointing a finger toward Adrien's nose. "Wow, you're just as naive as she said!" Heartily slapping Adrien on the back, he grinned, "Okay, you're alright then. Although, I have quite a few things to teach you." That was when the smile turned almost devious. "Which is why, you and I and the friends I'm meeting are going to take you out and give you a crash course in everything you need to know. Stuff Marinette can't teach you. You got me?"

Adrien was highly dubious about all of this, but he couldn't very well say no. "Um... sure...?" he said uncertainly.

"You say that like you have a choice, dude," Nino grinned wickedly, wrapping an arm around the blond's shoulders. A sharp shock of panic went through Adrien as his hand brushed over his ponytail with the motion, but it was otherwise left alone. He scarcely noticed that Nino was leading them down the street to a much seedier part of town. "C'mon, the girls will be distracted for hours. Let's go meet Theo and Kim now."

~o~

When Adrien returned to his inn that night, his face was haggard with the trauma inflicted upon him in the past few hours. There were just so many things that he never, ever wanted to know that were unceremoniously crammed into him in such a short span of time. Triumphant from her own task, Marinette turned a smile up to him from one of the inn tables, before she blinked in startlement at his expression. "Adrien, are you okay?"

"My brain really hurts," the blond groaned, sitting down beside her and letting his head thump on top of the wooden table.

"What happened?" Marinette frowned, patting him gently on the shoulder.

"Kim and Theo happened."

"Ah," the huntress said simply, as if that explained everything. It probably did. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Had I known, I would've let you just come with Alya and I," she murmured sympathetically.

Making some effort at looking less pathetic, Adrien pushed himself up to look at her. "N-no, I'm fine it was just..." he gestured vaguely with a hand, "...educational." The first lesson being that he was never going to hang out with Theo again, if he could ever help it. Being the oldest, he just riled the other two boys up to no end, talking with a lot more bluster and bravado than Adrien actually believed.

The second lesson was that if he was going to hang out with a gang of boys, his own preference for girls was going to come up. He'd been grilled nonstop on what female body parts he liked the best, to the extent that he almost thought he was hanging out with serial killers. Apparently, he wasn't wired correctly, because the first thing that came to mind were eyes and that just made them laugh at his naivety even more.

Third, Nino was a hypocrite if he was worried about Marinette's virtue one minute and then demeaning women as a whole in the next. It was enough to set his teeth on edge, his expression darkening as he thought about it.

"That's not a nice look on your face," Marinette said in bemusement as she waved the innkeep over to get Adrien some dinner.

Glancing at the huntress, the blond suddenly asked, "Marinette, you've never had a boyfriend, have you?"

A bright blush bloomed over Marinette's face at the question. "Wha- m-me?! N-no, I never- Why do you ask?" she stammered, somehow looking uncomfortable and interested all at once.

"Good," Adrien replied curtly, his nose wrinkling in distaste. "Boys are pigs."

Marinette blinked, before she let out a burst of laughter. She patted the blond on the shoulder. "Well, lucky you then! You're not going to have that problem!"

That stopped Adrien short. Not his problem? Well... that was correct actually, now that he thought about it. Of course, he never gave much thought to romance before. At least in terms of himself. (Odsbodkin, he was desperate just to have anyone for company.) In between the history, music, and language tomes, his father also gave him an obscene amount of books with female protagonists, probably hoping to awaken his feminine sensibilities. Which was how all the Ladybug books managed to slip under his radar. They were fun reads, but he could never relate to the girls at all, save for Ladybug. So he didn't think much of having a boyfriend. But he didn't think about not having a boyfriend either... which was apparently now an option.

Which meant...

His gaze flicked involuntarily to Ladybug. To those enchanting bluebell eyes. His cheeks heated up in a bright blush, only causing Marinette to laugh again. "Adrien, you really do make the funniest expressions," she teased as the stew and cider was set in front of him. "Anyway, eat up. I have some good news. I think I know where your mother might be."

That ceased all frivolous thoughts of romance instantly. "Really, where?!" Adrien demanded, rising an inch from his seat. "Is she alive?!"

"I'm not sure," Marinette admitted, pushing the blond back down onto his stool. "Now eat and listen. Alya heard this story about a beautiful girl who was blessed with six fairy godmothers at birth. However, she was cursed by a jealous seventh fairy at sixteen to sleep until she receives true love's kiss. She was placed in the deepest, darkest, most dangerous wood by her father to keep her safe as she slept."

Adrien only frowned at this. "So... why do you think she's my mother?"

"Her name is Eglantine and she is reputed to have blonde hair and green eyes."

The blond's eyes widened, his food absolutely forgotten. Her. It was her. She would have all the answers he'd been looking for. He would finally know the truth. "S-so, where is now?" he demanded.

At this, Marinette looked uncomfortable. "By all accounts, she's still cursed. She still hasn't received true love's kiss."

Adrien stared, a cold feeling of horror creeping down his shoulders. "...Then how would I have been born?" he asked quietly, even though every part of him knew he didn't want to know the answer.

"I..." the huntress worried her lower lip, barely able to look him in the eye. "...I think... she was still asleep when you were conceived."