Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.

The Collector

Adrien sidled out of his room sweeping his bangs out of his eyes. I really care about Marinette. I can't exactly tell her that, as well as that I know her identity, but baby steps… Adrien's brain was whirring as he thought about how close he was to Ladybug after the fight with Volpina today. I can't tell her now…but when…? Adrien fell on his couch and stared dreamily out of the windows to his room. Plagg rolled his eyes at his chosen and went off to find some cheese. He had had enough of this boy's antics. All it did was make him hungry.

Adrien picked up his phone and played with it, tossing it in the air every so often. Nothing he could do would wipe the stupid smile off of his face. Marinette cares about Adrien. Who knew….I wonder if she cares about Chat Noir as much…..that will be something to test sometime…Adrien got lost in his wonderings, but was shook from it because of a sharp wrap on his door. Without any further warning the door burst open. Adrien quickly jumped up, searching for the intruder, only to find Natalie, and Gorilla walk into his room with his father at the front.

"Father….What are you doing in here? I thought you had…" Adrien rambled before being shut up by his father.

"Adrien…sit down." Gabriel Agreste murmured, gesturing to the chair by the computer. Adrien sat down quietly. Adrien suddenly remembered why his father would even think about coming into his room. He had forgotten all about the book that he had stolen from his father's study.

"Why did you take it Adrien?" Gabriel asked, getting right to the point.

Adrien fumbled with his hands for a second before meeting his father's gaze steadily. "I just wanted a look at it, father. I was just wondering what was behind that picture of mom. It was an interesting book, and I took it to look at it. I'm sorry. I'll pay for it so that you can get a new one." Adrien hung his head respectively. He had been through this kind of thing so many times before; it did not even affect him anymore.

"So you lost it?" Gabriel questioned angrily. Adrien looked to the side and Gabriel sighed exasperatedly. "It's one out of a kind, Adrien. I can't simply buy another one." Gabriel Agreste turned away from Adrien. "You are grounded until you get that book back. Do you understand?"

000

"Chat Noir! Did you get my messages?" Ladybug spun around and stared at Chat Noir expectantly as he climbed over the roof, skidding his way next to her. Chat Noir tossed his bangs to the side and grinned at his lady. His smile didn't quite meet his eyes as he stood in front of his partner.

"Yep; I did, and I can't wait to know more, my lady-tective." Chat grinned at Ladybug and played with the strands of her pigtails. Ladybug pulled away and looked at Chat Noir with her lips in a thin line. This must be serious. Chat let his hand fall behind his back. "So who's the suspect?"

"Gabriel Agreste," Ladybug answered calmly.

Chat paused. "I'm sorry what?" Chat asked. Ladybug repeated herself and Chat felt his body tense up. The world stopped turning as thoughts churned in his brain. Chat could not even feel his own heartbeats as he processed what Ladybug had just said. Gabriel Agreste, Gabriel Agreste….Father….Dad….mon pére.

"Gabriel Agreste,…." Chat Noir repeated in a low whisper. Chat gave Ladybug a quick glare. "Have you got proof!?" Chat watched as Ladybug's mouth opened and closed as she tried to come up with a reason. Chat let his eyes drop to his hands. He watched as his hands shook. He didn't really feel them. He didn't really feel anything in that moment. All Chat could do was think about the implications of this. My father is not Hawkmoth. He can't be. I mean he can be mean, but not at Hawkmoth's level. Right? Why would Ladybug even suggest it? She's always jumping to conclusions. Why should I trust her? From the corner of his eye, Chat watched Ladybug mouth the words: "I can't tell you…". Chat rolled his eyes. Of course she can't tell me. She doesn't ever trust me anyway. Chat's hands grazed the outline of his phone in his pocket as he gathered the strength to meet his partner's eyes.

"So I'm just supposed to accept that." Chat muttered angrily. Ladybug looked at him in alarm. Chat breathed a heavy sigh.

"You have to trust me on this. But it all makes sense." Ladybug reached out her hand, but instead pulled out her yoyo to show him something on the screen. "Gabriel Agreste is a secretive man and he never leaves his house. And just look at his brand's logo." Ladybug showed Chat picture after picture of his father's logo. Butterfly pattern after butterfly pattern appeared in every single one of the pictures. Chat closed his eyes and he almost felt like Rapunzel from Tangled as he realized how many hidden designs of butterflies were everywhere in his home. Even as he started to realize the possibility of his father being Hawkmoth, he pushed it away. My father would never do that to me. He may not always show it, but he cares about me. He would never directly try to hurt me," Chat thought irrationally. It never even occurred to him that his father did not know his identity and would not know who he was fighting if he was in fact Hawkmoth. It didn't even occur to him that his father might have a reason to become Hawkmoth. Chat refused to even entertain the thought. No one that close to him would hurt him like that again. It can only happen once in a lifetime.

Ladybug touched Chat's shoulder softly. "You ok, Chat?" Chat shook himself.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just get to the bottom of this." Chat angrily pushed himself out of Ladybug's grasp, but she pulled him back.

"We are not leaving until you tell me what's up," Ladybug demanded.

Chat rolled his eyes. "Oh really? Then why don't you tell me why you suspect Gabriel Agreste? Why can't you trust me?" Ladybug opened her mouth to rebut his claim, but he didn't let her. "This is not the only time you have done this Ladybug. Every single time that you jump to conclusions you never tell me why, and I am left to just blindly follow you, and you end up being wrong 86 percent of the time. Why do you expect me to trust you again?"

Ladybug's face fell, and Chat immediately wanted to take those words back. "I'm sorry. I don't really realize how much I do it. I understand if you don't want to trust me then. You are entitled to your feelings too." Ladybug crossed her arms and didn't meet Chat's eyes.

Chat breathed a heavy sigh, and took a step towards her. "Thank you. And you are entitled to your opinions as well; just don't jump to so many conclusions so soon." Chat touched Ladybug's cheek softly, making her look up. For once she didn't jump back from his touch, and he savored the rare moment and let his finger trace her chin before letting his hand drop. "I still trust you, just please don't ask me to just blindly follow you. At least give me some explanation…which you did." Ladybug nodded and let out a small smile. "Alright, let's get to the bottom of this," Chat declared, extending his baton. "Let's go find Gabriel Agreste."

The two soared through the air keeping a close eye out for Gabriel Agreste, but also for some type of akuma. They arrived to the Agreste household and were met with piles of stuff all over the floor. "Woah, what happened here? Looks like somebody had a little tantrum," Ladybug whispered, bending down to inspect the debris.

"Where's Gabriel Agreste?" Chat Noir wondered aloud as he peered into his father's office, noticing it was in the same amount of disarray as the rest of the house.

"There is no more Gabriel Agreste," said a voice from behind the superheroes. "There is only the COLLECTOR!" There standing dramatically behind them was Mr. Agreste in his akumatized form.

"Well, Gabriel Agreste can't possibly be Hawkmoth, now can he," Chat Noir whispered to Ladybug as they took up their battle stance. Chat's heart beat erratically as he came to the conclusion.

"Well that's not exactly good news Chat," Ladybug bickered back, wheeling in her yo-yo.

"You won't be able to escape!" cried the Collector.

"We'll just see about that," was Chat loosed his baton at the Collector. Hawkmoth or not; Collector or not, he is still my father.

Hey readers! Hope you liked this first chapter. If you are new to my stories, I would suggest reading my first story all about season one, called Something There. I added a few ideas to my story that are different from the show, which might reappear. I hope to update pretty often, but not all of the episodes are out, and I have a pretty busy life, so we'll see about getting a schedule. I have a few episodes ready, so get excited for me to update every day for like a week! Anyway, I hope you like this story so far. I am so glad that the show is back. Thank you for reading. Please leave a favorite, follow, or comment if you want. I always appreciate the feedback. Hope to see you soon! Until I write again, TTFN!