Prologue

Pain, there was so much pain. Chat Noir had to focus on the little things, like forcing himself to breathe. To ignore the constricting pull in his throat that threatened to suffocate him. Slow long deep breaths. Push back the crippling pain that laced his chest. Hold back the tears that threated to fall. Allow the habit from all those years of putting on a brave face to slip into place. Don't look at his partner.

Tightening his grip on his staff. Resisting the need to clench his jaw so tight that his teeth ached. Forgetting the stinging wound on his cheek. Concealing the screaming agony on the inside and remaining stoic on the outside. Tortured green eyes lifted briefly to take in the man brought to his knees. An enemy he'd been battling for years, but only now did he realise just who he'd actually been fighting and it was ripping him apart. Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth. His own damn father.

At the edge of his vision he could see Ladybug's feet. She was saying something to Gabriel but Chat Noir wasn't listening. His eyes lifted briefly, confirming that she held Hawkmoth's miraculous in her hand. It should have been a day to celebrate, their arch nemesis had been defeated, but he felt no joy.

Everything he believed was being thrown into sharp relief. The man who was supposed to love and protect him had failed on such a dramatic scale that a hysterical laugh nearly escaped him. This was why his father was so frequently absent. He wasn't doing business, he was busy wreaking havoc, all because he wanted their miraculous for some perverted notion that he could bring back his wife.

Chat Noir swallowed back bile. He'd had no idea that his father couldn't let go. Emilie Agreste was gone and she wasn't coming back, no matter what her deranged husband wanted. Glaring at his father, he came to a realisation, both his parents were dead. The person who was his father didn't exist anymore. There was only a living husk that was so consumed with an outrageous obsession that he forgot about the one person who still loved him, his son.

A tremor settled into Chat Noir's hands as his glare became so fierce he half expected laser beams to shoot out his eyes. He had to hold himself together, even while his world shattered like cold glass on concrete. His reality had been thrown completely out of orbit and he didn't know what to do. Part of him wanted to scream at his father, unleashing years of fury and hurt, but he couldn't. Gabriel had no idea that Chat Noir was secretly his son and he wasn't about to disclose that bit of information, especially with Ladybug present.

Finally, he looked at his partner. What would she think? Would she be repulsed? Would she pity him? He swallowed as their eyes met, but he couldn't hold her gaze. She'd see his pain and he couldn't explain it without curling in on himself and rocking in a corner. How could he possibly express the emotional evisceration he was experiencing?

Chat Noir closed his eyes briefly, needing to put a lid on his distress. Yet his gaze morbidly returned to the man he'd known as his father. A man who'd treated him with indifference for the most part but threw him just enough affection to keep his son's hopes of a loving relationship alive. The same man who had wielded a sword and struck with enough force to not only slash his cheek but to gouge the edge of his mask. Chat briefly lifted his hand to touch his damaged mask and winced at the contact. His eyes shot to that same hand as he pulled it away, studying his fingertips tainted by his own blood. The trembling continued up his arms as he locked onto his staff with both hands.

How had he been so oblivious? Living a double life had become second nature to Chat Noir, little did he know that his own father was doing the same. Was that why his father had been so determined to control every facet of his life? He needed to know what his son was doing so he could slip away to his lair unnoticed. It explained the secrecy and regular absence of his only remaining parent. A parent so consumed by an unhealthy fixation on his departed spouse that he'd stop at nothing to get her back. Emilie would have been horrified to see what her husband had become. Her son certainly was.

The gentle touch of Ladybug's hand caused Chat Noir to flinch and break his stare. "The authorities are here to take him away," she said. But all he could do was nod. The flash of a camera drew his attention just before Ladybug threw her lucky charm in the air and called, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

It occurred to him that it would be the last time she would need to say those words. He lifted his right hand, clenching his fingers together as if he was holding his power of cataclysm. It had been activated only moments before. He'd staggered to his feet after being flung through multiple walls, dusting the black of his costume grey and then he'd released his fierce power for what he hoped was the final time. Now Ladybug's magic was busy restoring the physical damage to both place and person, including the gash on his cheek but the emotional wound to his heart continued to bleed.

Gabriel was handcuffed before him, the curses of Hawkmoth spilling fanatically from his poisoned lips as he was dragged away. Chat's feline ears twisted as he heard his real name mentioned by someone out of sight. "Do you think Adrien Agreste knew about this?"

A new wave of agony lacerated his heart upon hearing that, to the point that he pressed a hand to his sternum. Both sides of his personality would have to deal with this. Granting himself a final long look at Ladybug, Chat Noir memorised her smiling face, taking in every curve as she was congratulated by the police. Then he edged his way backward until he disappeared from the scene that destroyed his life.

It wasn't until Ladybug turned to praise him with their ritual fist bump that she realised he was gone.

Poor Chat Noir, but don't worry all hope is not lost. Such utter devastation will dull over time... stay tuned for Chapter 1. Thanks for reading :)