Unclean Hands 🫴🏻 (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction)

13 | Father's Butterfly Garden

Adrien and Marinette rode a glass elevator down to the basement—a basement the model had no idea existed until now—and they both stepped forward in awe. "Woah," They whispered together, taken aback by the beautiful sight.

There was a long, wide bridge over a chasm of water and at the end, a beautiful butterfly garden. Sunlight from a big window seeped through and casted a yellow glow over the plants.

"Did you know this was down here?" Marinette asked.

Adrien shook his head. "I had no idea."

"That garden is beautiful."

"It is," He agreed with a sad smile. "My father always wanted a garden." Who will tend to the flowers now?

"You think this is your father's?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. My father loves keeping secrets from me. Uh, loved. H-he loved..."

Gabriel loved many things—his wife, his miraculous, his influence in Paris—but Adrien was not apart of that list.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. The pair shared a look before they stepped out and started walking across.

As they're crossing the bridge, Marinette stopped and looked over the side. An idea struck her and she said, "What if we hid your father's body down there?"

Adrien peeked over the railing. "That could work. The water would help mask the smell, at least."

"We should move his body now while Nathalie is gone," She suggested.

"Let's go."

Adrien placed a hand on Marinette's back and guided her back to the elevator. Back upstairs in the house, they put on gloves and began to carefully move his dead father's body out from under the bed and downstairs.

They both grunted as they struggled to carry the dead weight—pun intended—and they stopped for a second as they shared a similar thought.

If I were Ladybug, this would be so much easier.

If I were Cat Noir, I could carry him by myself.

Through the office doors again, they locked the door behind them and walked back over to the painting. Adrien pushed in the secret buttons and the floor opened again.

They bent and lifted his body over the railing and paused to share a look. They both nodded and pushed him off.

Adrien couldn't look away as he watched his body fall into the water. This is real. No going back now.

Marinette glanced towards the garden and noticed a weird looking container in the middle of the flowers. "What's that?"

"What?" Adrien looked over and saw it, too. "I don't know. Let's find out."

They walked over and stood in front of the silver container, and as they tried to open it, nothing happened. It was locked.

Unknown to them, Gabriel had locked it a day prior to his business trip, just as a precaution in case Adrien somehow found his way down here.

Adrien had no idea his mother was here with him all along.

"Whatever my father's hiding, he's good at it," He commented with a glare.

"Do you want to find out what's inside?" She asked.

"I don't know. Knowing my father, it probably isn't good."

"Probably..." Marinette whispered. A white butterfly landed on her nose and her head shot out as she noticed hundreds of the same insect flying around the garden. "Adrien, look!"