Vanished (Lukadrien) • Miraculous Ladybug

Chapter 31 | explaining

Lying asleep in a soft slumber, Adrien was off in dream land, Plagg on the pillow next to him.

It was about midnight, and he was tired from working all day on his new online classes. He was exited for the weekend because Luka was coming over. He was in a good mood when he went to bed, but he was immediately put in a bad one when he was rudely awoken by knocking at his apartment door.

Who the fuck was here this late? After a moment of waking up, he groaned in annoyance and got out of bed, turning on the lamp and grabbing his crutches. Seriously who knocks at midnight?

Sleepily making his way over to the front door, he turned the lights on practically blinding himself. When he unlocked the door, he was expecting maybe Luka or Delilah and Lilith. When he opened the door, he almost had a heart attack.

"Adrien"

"Nat-"

He could hardly believe it, and due to his sleepy state he felt like he was dreaming. How did Nathalie find him?

She looked a mess, her hair that was usually a neat bun was messily tied into a ponytail. She usually wore a smart work suit but she stood before Adrien in a plain hoodie and jeans. She was pale, she was weak. She was still sick.

"Don't panic. I'm not here to turn you in... I'm here to say sorry..." she began.

Adrien was confused, he didn't quite trust the situation. Why would she be here to say sorry? That sounded fake, she must be here to trick him into coming back.

"How did you find me?" Adrien asked.

"You hid yourself well, I didn't recognise you at first. But I went through solved missing persons cases and looked for someone that looked like you knowing you'd be using a fake name" she explained.

"How do I know you're not going to call the police on me? How do I know you won't tell my father?"

"Because, I came here to explain everything to you. And to give you this..."

She held out her hand, opening it to reveal none other than one of the Graham de Vanily twin rings.

"Fathers ring... you... stole it from him?" Adrien asked, picking it up.

"It's a very long story. Please Adrien you have to trust me. You have every right to be suspicious, but I swear I'm not here to turn you in. I have something to tell you that... might be hard for you but you deserve to know" Nathalie replied.

Adrien was still suspicious but was willing to listen. Her messy appearance, the fact it was midnight and the fact she handed over the ring after stealing it from his father was telling him there was something serious.

"Ok... but if you try anything, I have connections that will get me somewhere safe" Adrien threatened.

Letting Nathalie in, they say opposite each other at the small dining table. Adrien was fully awake and alert now, he was prepared to escape as cat noir if he had to.

"Ok... Adrien I'm so sorry that I never stepped in. I was so brainwashed by your father I didn't realise I was compliant in the abuse until you went missing. You have every right to want to stay as far away from him as possible, if he can't accept you for who you are, if he wants to treat you as nothing but a puppet then you're the victim in all this. You... did the right thing for your safety. I'm truly sorry... I'm telling the police everything I witnessed that night as soon as I can" Nathalie began.

"Do you mean that? Or is this some kind of manipulation tactic?" Adrien questioned suspiciously.

"I mean it. I know I can't take back what I've done but I'm hoping that if I explain everything then you can at least make sense of things. I promised your mother I'd take care of you, and I failed. I failed horribly, I'll never forgive myself for that. You're right about your father... he's a monster"