"What do you mean, 'You don't know where he is'!?" Gabriel raised his voice as he spoke to Adrien's bodyguard, dubbed 'Gorilla'. The large man seemed disappointed in himself and a layer of worry was plastered on his face. He didn't speak however, simply enduring Gabriel's upset rage.

Though, the Agreste's own worry and nerves were reaching an all new high. His son was missing and he, or rather Hawkmoth, was possibly to blame for this. His newest akuma, the one he assured himself would be the one to finally bring Ladybug and Chat Noir to their knees, likely managed to do more than he intended.

He had dismissed his transformation while the akuma was still out to continue setting up some steps towards another plan he had in mind, as Gabriel. He had left his akuma to run amuck through Paris, trusting that this one would find Ladybug and Chat Noir and then bring him their miraculous. Everything had backfired. Ladybug and Chat Noir were sent to some other universe and to make everything much, much, worse...

His son was missing.

That feeling in the pit of his stomach, eating away at him?

It was guilt.

It was his fault.

He couldn't just call off the akuma now, the damage was already done. His son, if his assumption was correct, was likely sent off to some strange new world. By himself.

Gabriel couldn't bare the thought of his son being lost on his own. He had their home built as a fortress to protect him, a bodyguard to chauffeur him around and an assistant who would make sure his needs were met as Gabriel lived a busy double life.

This was the last thing he would ever want to happen. First his wife, now his son.

He needed to make things right.

Nathalie watched Gabriel from the door of his office as he angrily dismissed Gorilla, who silently left to continue his search. She stepped in, carefully closing the door behind herself before approaching Gabriel who was pacing with great unease.

"Sir, please." Nathalie spoke up, causing Gabriel to look towards her. His expression unwavering, "There's a chance Adrien is just hiding here somewhere. He's a smart and strong kid. I'm sure wherever he is, he's safe."

"A chance isn't good enough, Nathalie." Gabriel quickly replied, furrowing his brows at her. "My son is missing and if that akuma is what caused him to go missing, there's no way of return. Ladybug and Chat Noir aren't around to revert my akuma's damage."

"Yes, but, wherever he was sent, Ladybug and Chat Noir exist there as well. Which,"

"Which is why I need to go after them." He cut her off before she could finish her sentence, not even saying what she was planning on saying. Rather, taking it in a whole new direction entirely.

"Mr. Agreste," She began, shaking her head.

"No, Nathalie. I'm not going to stand for this. I'm going to find my son and I'm going to bring him home." He raised his voice, the tall walls he built cracking around him as his emotions snuck through. "No more of… Of this. I'm going there and bringing my son home. I can't bring her back… But I'm not about to lose him too."

Nathalie opened her mouth to speak again but Gabriel simply continued, "After this, there will be no more Hawkmoth. My own son… I've put him in danger how many times now? All to bring her back. But what's the point in bringing her back if I'm going to lose him in the process, Nathalie?"

If he hasn't already lost him.

Not only had he been a terrible father, but.

Who knows what kind of danger that parallel world held.

"I understand, sir." She spoke calmly, giving him a firm nod. "But I can't let you go alone."

He paused in his step again to stare at her, "You are not coming along Nathalie. This is my mess to fix."

She only furrowed her brows, keeping her voice stern, "I told you once already sir, I'll always be there for you. No matter what you choose."

-Meanwhile, in a parallel world-

Adrien and Marinette both followed the officer silently as he led them, continuing to happily tell stories of his child to the two. The two parisians felt rather comfortable in his presence, which was quite nice to have in this strange new place. He was far too kind to them already and the fact that he was giving them a place to stay was amazing. They'd have to find a way to thank him later.

Hughes, as he had introduced himself earlier, carefully lead them up to the apartment and opened the door. A little girl answered it with the help of her mother before quickly jumping onto her father with a big hug. "Daddy! Your home!" She happily giggled.

Hughes didn't even hesitate to scoop his little girl into a big hug, chuckling happily as he snuggled his precious daughter.

Gracia giggled softly watching him and paused as she noticed the two children behind him. She didn't need a huge explanation as she new Maes would explain within time. Instead of questioning the children or making them feel uneasy she simply steps aside and gestures for all of them to come inside.

"Dinner's already on the table. I'll scoop up another two plates for our guests." She smiled at Marinette and Adrien softly, only making them feel even more at home.

Hughes carried his daughter over to the table before setting her down, "You and your Mommy sure worked hard didn't you? I bet this tastes delicious." He hummed happily before taking a seat as well, the others all following suit.

Gracia carefully placed a plate in front of Marinette and Adrien, both giving her a polite 'thank you' before accepting it. She smiled softly before looking at Hughes, who then turned to the two. He waited until they had a few bites and relaxed more before beginning conversation once again.

"So, what were you two really doing out there?" He asked, not in an assuming way but with a soft and careful voice. He assumed they weren't out there by their own intent, given the fact they hadn't had a place to stay. Either kicked out or running away. Those were his two guesses.

What followed was absolute gibberish as the two began trying to create an excuse, neither one matching up until the last few words.

Hughes simply shook his head and leaned back slightly in his chair, adjusting his glasses. "You don't need to be so nervous with us. No matter your answer we aren't going to just toss you back out there. You're our guests for now. I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't trust you. Now I just need the two of you to trust us."

Marinette nervously lowered her head for a moment, chewing on the inner part of her cheek before looking up at Hughes once again. "We… Well, we're lost. We aren't really from here."

Adrien nodded, deciding to chime in to help his friend explain their situation. Well, as much as they could without actually sounding insane. "We can't go back home either. Not yet and likely not for a little while."

The young blue haired girl nodded as she glanced at Adrien before looking at Hughes again and then Gracia. "We really appreciate you letting us stay here for the night. I promise we'll figure something out so we don't overstay."

Gracia frowned, putting down her cup. "Nonsense. You both can stay here as long as you need. We have a guest room, might as well put it to some good use."

Hughes nodded in agreement, "Affirmative. That is, as long as the two of you can help Gracia with some chores around the house as well?"

Marinette quickly nodded, smiling sheepishly. "We'd love to help out but... Are you sure this is okay?"

Gracia watched Marinette for a moment before allowing her expression to soften, "Of course it's alright, dear. I don't mind a little company. Besides, I could also use the extra help around here."

"So, it's settled!" Hughes announced, clapping his hands together, "Welcome to your home away from home."

Marinette looked to Adrien. The two of them felt surprisingly relaxed given all the circumstances of this situation. They felt right at home here.

"Thank you both so much." Adrien spoke up again, smiling rather shyly as he did. They were similar to Marinette's parents, he noted. Very warm and welcoming.

Gracia just smiled, "Now. Let's all eat before it gets cold. Then we'll get the two of you set up for the night. I just washed everything earlier today, since we had a pair of guests the past few days as well, so it'll be nice and comfortable for you two."

Marinette gave a smile and nod before finishing her dinner. Immediately after everyone was finished she stands up and begins to collect plates. Adrien stands up to help her as well but Gracia takes the plates away from the two and shakes her head.

"Rest first. You two must have had a long day. I can use some help around here tomorrow." She watched the two before looking at Hughes, who nodded and stood up.

"Follow me and I'll show you both to the room."

Hughes led them into a medium sized room. There were two decently sized beds with a simple nightstand in between them. Marinette carefully headed in and sat down on the bed closest to the door.

"Thank you again, Mr. Hughes. You didn't have to do any of this."

Adrien nodded in agreement as he took the further bed. "We really appreciate all of this."

The man simply smiled, "Don't mention it. It's nice to have company. The two of you rest well. If you ever need to talk, don't be afraid to see Gracia or myself. Now, have a goodnight."

"Goodnight Mr. Hughes." The two chimed together.

"Hughes is fine." He chuckled before turning the light off for them and gently closing the door.

Adrien plopped back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment, just taking everything in. He couldn't believe their luck. To run into someone so kind and someone that was literally willing to house them in exchange for help around the house? They were crazy sweet.

Marinette had rolled onto her stomach to put her face in her pillow as she was more or less falling back into her panicky self.

Everything was surprisingly nice about this disaster of a situation but now she was stuck more or less sleeping over with her crush.

What if she said something weird in her sleep?

What if she confessed to him?

What if she told him about their future hamster?

She could practically hear Tikki in her head, telling her not to worry about all this now.

Imaginary Tikki was right. There was far more important things at hand.

"Marinette?"

"Yes, Adrien?" She paused, turning her head to look over at him.

"I'm glad we bumped into each other."

There was something off about his voice. Something she hadn't quite heard before.

"I'm glad too, Adrien." She paused before deciding to reassure him, "We'll be home before we know it… But, in the meantime. Let's do our best to help Gracia and Hughes." It was the least they could do. Plus, it would be a nice distraction for them both.

"Yeah, you're right. We'll do our best. Goodnight, Mari."

There it was. She could hear his smile in his voice again.

"Goodnight."

((A/N: I know not a lot happened here but things shall start accelerating from here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless uwu The story won't be following FMAB super tightly but I'm trying to keep the timeline somewhat in order but sorry if there's any inconsistencies. ))