38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

After Wayzz spent most of the night and morning teaching Marinette about the other Miraculouses, she decided to introduce herself to the kwamis the next time Adrien was out of the apartment. They all seemed so unique and interesting. And she'd decided it was finally time to utilize them. Master Fu hadn't wanted to risk the other kwamis. He'd thought she could handle it, but he was wrong. She needed help.

She hid his box, grabbed her purse to leave for her internship, and rushed downstairs to say goodbye to Adrien. But she caught sight of Gabriel looking at the gramophone and missed a step. Then another. And another before finally catching the railing. With her heart in her throat, she breathed out. She was still alive. Nothing was broken.

"You really should watch where you step," Gabriel said, his gaze now fixed on her.

"Mr. Agreste." Doing her best to ignore the warmth in her cheeks, she straightened and composed herself. "I thought we were meeting at the studio."

Adrien walked in from the kitchen carrying a mug. "I told him you were sick yesterday and he wanted to come check on you." He shrugged as if to say he'd tried to convince him otherwise. Or maybe he shrugged because he was as surprised as her.

"I must confess that wasn't my only intention." Gabriel turned to the gramophone. "Is this a family heirloom as well?"

"Yes," she answered and made her way to him. "My mother's."

He hummed in acknowledgement. "I wanted to visit her today to inquire about your earrings, but now I'd also like to know more about this piece. It's exquisite." He turned to her. "I'm fascinated by Tibetan antiques."

"Um." She glanced at Adrien, but he just shrugged again. Normally asking her mom about their heritage wouldn't be a problem, but there was one tiny problem of not actually having any family heirlooms. "She might be busy at the bakery. I don't really know her schedule anymore."

"I don't mind waiting. We can enjoy some of your father's macaroons in the meantime."

"Maybe I should call..." Her words fell on deaf ears as Gabriel was already halfway to the door, clearly not taking no for an answer. "Okay then."

Adrien mouthed 'sorry,' then followed his father out of the apartment, mug still in his hands.

How in the world was she going to get out of this pickle? Forcing her legs to move, she locked the door and rushed to catch up to them.

"I don't recall the gramophone the last time I was here," Gabriel said as they got into the car.

"I brought it over a couple days ago." Maybe she should act like she was going to throw up and blame it on the sickness.

"She wanted to keep it in the box in her closet." Adrien shook his head like he thought she was crazy.

Gabriel's eyes took her in. "Oh?"

"Well, it is old." Come on, Marinette. Think of something. They were nearing the bakery. "You know, I'm not certain she's even home. It might be errand day, and my dad won't be able to answer any questions about them."

"Do you have a lot of heirlooms, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?"

"Not that I know of?"

His brow lifted.

"No," she answered definitively as the car rolled to a stop. Her stomach clenched. Not that it was her mom's fault, but she was about to ruin everything, and Gabriel was going to think Marinette was a liar and so would Adrien, and everyone would hate her and she really just wanted to run away and hide.

Gabriel slid out of the car and Adrien leaned toward her. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Of curse. Why wouldn't I be?" She smiled as softly and realistically as possible. And she kept that Oscar-worthy smile plastered on her face as they walked inside the bakery. She was completely at ease, supremely confident, and—

Her mom wasn't downstairs.

"Oh, thank god," she breathed out.

Gabriel looked at her.

"Oh, thank god, this place is still functioning without me." She forced out a laugh. "I half expected the bakery to be in shambles."

"Is that why your eye has been twitching?" Adrien asked.

"Wha?" She moved to touch them, but stopped herself when Adrien covered his chuckle with a hand. "You," she admonished him.

"I'll be right with you," her dad called from the back.

"It's just me, Papa. And Adrien and his father."

He poked his flour-covered head around the partition. "Oh, good. I had a little mishap with the mixer."

"And a bag of flour, I assume," she said, doing her best not to giggle. Adrien bit his lower lip to keep from smiling.

Maybe if she asked her mom to tell a little white lie, she would do it for her. Then, Marinette would have to think of another lie to explain why her mom needed to fib in the first place. But she'd figure that out when she got there.

She looked at Gabriel and Adrien. "I better go help him. Feel free to—"

"Mr. Agreste," her dad said, walking to them while wiping a towel over his face. She suppressed a sigh. Just when she thought she'd caught a break. "It's a pleasure to see you again. How can I help you?"

Gabriel opened his mouth to speak, but Marinette jumped in first. "Is mom here? Gabriel had a couple questions about Tibetan antiques."

Her dad furrowed his brows and tried to work out the seemingly random statement. "Antiques?"

"Well, not just any antiques," Gabriel said. "The ones connected to your family."

"Mine?" He placed a hand to his chest in question.

Her poor dad. "So she's upstairs then?" Marinette asked.

"Yeah, but—"

"Great. I'll go get her." Adrien made to follow her, but she stopped him and whispered, "It's probably better if you stay down here. Surprise guests and all, you know?"

"I didn't even realize we had antiques," her dad was saying to Gabriel.

Marinette flew out of the bakery and upstairs before her dad dug her into a deeper hole. She barged through the door, calling for her mom.

"Marinette, honey?" Her mom looked up from the laptop she was working on at the table. "What's wrong?"

"Gabriel and Adrien are here."

"That's lovely."

Marinette shook her head and tried to think of what to say.

"It's not lovely?" her mom asked, head tilted to the side.

"It's just that they—Gabriel has some questions. And I can't answer them. And neither can you, but I told him you could. And now I need you to lie for me."

Her mom blinked. "I don't think I understand. Why do you need to lie in the first place?"

"He thinks we have some family heirlooms. Tibetan antiques, which he's fascinated by, and he wants to ask you about them."

"But—"

Marinette breathed out hard. "I know we don't, which is why I need you to lie."

"But—"

"Because I'm Ladybug!"

Her mom watched her for a long moment, then slowly closed the laptop. "Marinette, I'm not certain what's going on, but—"

"Tikki, spots on."

The kwami zipped out of her purse with an admonishing expression firmly in place, then was sucked into her earrings, spurring the transformation.

Her mom fell off the barstool, transfixed and mouth ajar.

Ladybug rushed to her side and pulled her to her feet. "I need your help to keep my identity a secret."

"You're…"

"Yes. The earrings are my Miraculous, and Gabriel is going to ask you about them. Along with a gramophone the Guardian gave to me."

"But you're…"

"Mom!"

Her mother lifted a shaky hand and gently touched her mask. "All this time you've been the one protecting us?"

Ladybug nodded.

Wrapping her arms around her daughter's neck, she pulled her down into a fierce hug. "And those bruises?" She sucked in a ragged breath and squeezed her even tighter.

The relief of someone knowing the truth, but especially someone who cared about her more than anyone, felt like a thousand-pound weight had just vanished from her chest. She hugged her mom back. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, no no, honey." She leaned back, tears lining her eyes. "I'm sorry you've been going through this all alone."

Marinette, Tikki said, you've been gone for too long.

"We can talk more about this later." Ladybug wiped the moisture from her mom's cheek. "First, we have to keep my cover intact."

Her mom inhaled deeply. "Of course. I'll just make some stuff up and everything will be okay."

Ladybug relaxed. Hearing those words from her was a balm to the pain of losing Master Fu and even Chat. "Thank you." She hugged her again and commanded the de-transformation in her mom's arms. "Mama, let me introduce you to Tikki."

Her mom released her and bowed deeply to the kwami hovering nearby. "It is an honor."

Tikki giggled. "The honor is all mine. And thank you for helping us."

"What about Tom?" her mom asked, as if just remembering her husband. "I don't think we should keep this from him."

"Oh, well…" She glanced at Tikki, who just shrugged in acceptance. "We'll tell him afterwards."

oOoOo

"So that's it," her mom finished the surprisingly believable tale of where the earrings and gramophone had come from. "Nothing exciting, I'm afraid."

Gabriel's lips curved upwards. "Oh, I wouldn't say that, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. Your grandmother was lucky to find such a beautiful gramophone at a market."

"I can't believe you never told me about it," her dad said, scratching his mustache.

"Well, it is old."

Adrien barked a laugh. "That's exactly what Marinette said."

Her mom wrapped an arm around her. "I might've influenced her opinion on it."

"I kinda made her put it on display in the living room," Adrien said sheepishly while fiddling with a macaroon, then looked at Marinette. "I just didn't want you to be ashamed of your heritage, because it's beautiful, like you."

She nearly swooned.

Gabriel cleared his throat. "Thank you for allowing us to take up your time, but we need to be on our way."

"Mr. Agreste?" Marinette asked. "Would it be okay if I get to the studio a little late? To be honest, I'm still not quite feeling well and, now that I'm here, I'd like to stay a little longer with my parents."

"That actually works out for the best. I have some personal matters to attend to."

"Thank you." She wished she could breathe out in relief, but she had to keep playing it cool.

He nodded and gestured for Adrien to leave with him. Before he did, though, Adrien leaned in to kiss her on the lips, only to suddenly change course and land on her cheek.

After they left, her dad rounded on them. "How come no one told me about these antiques?"

Tikki made a sound in her purse, and Marinette dropped a macaroon in with her. She needed the energy after transforming for her mom.

Her dad's gaze followed the action. "Do you have a pet in there?"

"Tom," her mom said, "let's close the shop for a while and go upstairs."

"But we just opened."

Her mom walked to the door and locked it.

"What's going on?"

Marinette gestured for him to follow her out of the bakery, and her mom prodded him forward. He did, but not without asking a hundred questions.

When they finally made it upstairs, Marinette stood facing her dad, uncertain of how to tell him. Without the pressure of being trapped, she couldn't find her tongue.

"Marinette has something to tell you," her mom started for her.

"Yes. You see..." She licked her lips, and her mom nodded for her to continue. "About four years ago, I found a box. And then something crazy happened. And I sometimes go out. But sometimes I don't have to. Because it depends on the situation—"

Tikki flew out of her purse and stared into her father's eyes. "She's Ladybug."

He screamed. At first, though, nothing came out. His mouth opened, seconds passed, then the sound came, and Marinette winced. He flailed about trying to swat at Tikki, but she deftly avoided his wild swings.

"Tom." Her mom caught one of his big arms and ended up nearly flying around with it. "Thomas Dupain, you calm down right this instant."

Tikki hid behind Marinette's head, and her dad finally relaxed. "What kind of bug is that?"

"I'm a kwami," Tikki said with a touch of heat, then grumbled about always being called a bug.

"It can talk." He rubbed a hand over his face and stared at all of them. "I thought I'd gone crazy."

"She can talk, dad. And you're not crazy. She's a magical creature who gives superpowers to people through her Miraculous."

"But she said you're Ladybug."

"Because I am."

He mouthed unintelligible words, gaze flicking from Tikki to her. "How?"

She told them both how Master Fu had tested her, how she'd met Tikki, and about her first akuma attack. As her dad processed the information, still recovering from the shock of finding out the truth, her mom asked plenty of questions, which Marinette and Tikki happily answered. They'd ended up sitting on the couch with her kwami resting on her knee, connecting in a way she'd never thought they could and realizing how much she'd needed it.

"Is that why you've been taking self-defense classes?" he asked. "To help with fighting Chat Noir?"

She nodded. "But not at first. I needed a cover for all of my bruises when Adrien saw them."

Her mom shifted forward. "Does he know too?"

"No. No one else can know. It's too risky."

"My little girl is a superhero," her dad mumbled in awe.

Tikki giggled, and he blinked in surprise. "I love your cookies and macaroons," she said. "They're the best in Paris."

He beamed at her. "Do you have a favorite? I'll make sure Marinette is properly stocked at all times." Jumping to his feet, he seemed ready to bring up the whole bakery if she asked it of him.

"I do love chocolate chip and—"

The akuma alert went off.

They looked at Marinette, and her mom sighed. "Be careful."

"I could tail you," her dad offered. "Act as backup." He flexed his arm muscles to show her what a great sidekick he would be.

She smiled. "I'll be fine."

"So how do you do this?" her dad asked. "What's the standard operation?"

"Well, I guess I just find somewhere safe to transform and jump to the rooftops and go wherever the akuma is."

Her dad looked out the windows. "No front doors, I assume?"

She shook her head, but, with him focused on something outside, he didn't see it. "I usually go to the roof or out the back door."

"I think you should go out the back door today and be extra careful," he said, still looking out the windows.

"Why?"

"There's a car out front and they keep looking over here."

Both she and her mom made to stand and look for themselves, but he waved a hand for them to stop. Could it be the person Chat was worried about?

"I'll go outside and drop a cake to distract him while you make a break for it."

Maybe her dad was a little too into this. But it was great to have a team now.

AN - this chapter was important to me as a parent. I hope my daughter will know it's okay to come to me, to know that we can work through anything. I feel like in too many YA novels the parents are nonexistent, imbeciles, or pushed away to protect them. I know some parents are bad, like Gabriel, and I have a something later on in the story that addresses that aspect. Anyway, that's my two cents. Lol

This chapter was lighter than the previous one, which is important to her moving forward and to the reader's sanity. XD Oh, and this chapter was part of my last AN when I mentioned the reveal will, in a way, happen sooner than 40. One more thing...chapter 40 is SO CLOSE!

My sister isn't just the bomb. She's the bomb diggity. (Did I go too far?) And I'll be leaving her super early Saturday morning. I'm so sad