I'm Sorry Chaton

Chapter 10

A/N: Finals are done! I don't get my grades back until after Christmas break... so fingers crossed. Hope everyone who's reading this and had finals did well! Anyways... I don't really like long A/Ns so I'm gonna stop bc there isn't anything important to say. Also, thx for the reads! 180!!!

Gabriel Agreste had finalized his plan at last. His schedule was clear. He was free to take care of Ladybug once and for all. Gabriel left the house as Hawkmoth for the second time that week, a rare thing for him to do, and approached the spot where he and Ladybug had previously met. He glanced at his watch- 6 o'clock. Ladybug should be here any minute. As he waited, he took in his surroundings. As Gabriel, he was always rushing around from one meeting to the next and never had the time to take a minute and look around him. Hawkmoth was an escape for him. An escape from the pressures and societal expectations of his upper-class life. So, whenever he got the chance to be out in the world, Hawkmoth took the time to look around. He looked at the sunset and the way the orange-red light glowed from its blood-red center. He looked at the architecture surrounding him; the roof, the window-glass, the archway around the door, Ladybug. Ladybug?! He quickly composed himself and focused on the task at hand. He locked eyes with the spotted teen and she gave a quick wave of her hand motioning him to come. Slowly, Hawkmoth made his way to the alley Ladybug was cowering in.

"So nice to see you again Ladybug. May I ask why you are hiding in this dark alley?" Hawkmoth looked around at the smelly, damp alleyway.

Ladybug gave a soft smile. "Maybe I'm just looking for a certain alley cat," she whispered with a longing to see her partner. She quickly recovered from her comment. "Actually, I'm just hiding here so people don't spot me. I'm not exactly the most popular person in Paris right now." She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck with her hand (Adrien Agreste style).

Ladybug realized that she needed to enact her plan. Fast. "No time for pleasantries. It's time to move, Hawkmoth. Tomorrow, we're going to find Chat and we're going to take his Miraculous."

Hawkmoth needed to enact a plan of his own. "Of course Ladybug! What a splendid idea! I can't wait to defeat Chat Noir." He swung his cane and hit Ladybug's shin with a large crack. He looked down to see his weapon broken in two. "I'm so sorry Ladybug!" He feigned innocence. "I just got a little... enthusiastic."

Ladybug rubbed her leg with a grimace. It really hurt. Typically, she felt no pain as Ladybug, but a weapon from a Miraculous holder was able to penetrate her suit and injure her. "It's fine." She said through clenched teeth. "Just meet me at the Eiffel Tower, say 3 o'clock tomorrow, okay? We need to put my-- I mean, our plan in motion."

"Yes, Ladybug. 3 o'clock tomorrow. I'll be there." Hawkmoth turned around. "And by the way, I am sorry about your leg." He wasn't sorry. He wasn't sorry at all. He fled the scene and returned home immensely proud of himself. He had always prided himself on his acting abilities and they often came in handy on a day-to-day basis, but this was his best performance- in his opinion. He de-transformed and sat on his chair with a glass of water while letting the cushions envelope his sore body. He sighed and closed his eyes, settling down for a nice, well-deserved nap.

Meanwhile, Adrien Agreste was lying down by a dumpster in the middle of Paris. He had made up his mind. Again. "I'm gonna do it this time Plagg. I'm gonna defeat him."

Plagg threw another piece of cheese into his mouth and swallowed it whole. "Sure you are kid," he said sarcastically.

"Don't get all sarcastic with me. I'm really gonna do it!"

Plagg just sighed and looked up from his plate of cheese. "Kid," he said, "that's exactly what you said last time. No offense, but I don't think you have it in you to hurt your own father."

Adrien grunted and crossed his arms in defiance. "He's not my father anymore." Adrien paused for a moment. "Besides, this is for the greater good. My father or not, Hawkmoth needs to be destroyed. People can't live in a world where they are taken advantage of for having emotions. It's awful. We need to find a way to get rid of him."

"Whatever you say..." Plagg had lost interest by this point.

Plagg added, "I'm hungry. Got any cheese?"

"Plagg! We're supposed to be thinking of ways to defeat Hawkmoth. Remember?"

"Nope! Can I have cheese now?"

Adrien gave him a piercing glare.

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll help you defeat Moth Man. But, it's not complicated. You just have to Cataclysm your father before he turns into Hawkmoth. That's when he's weakest. You had a great chance yesterday, but you were too chicken."

Adrien hated the criticism, but he had to admit that Plagg was right. He did chicken out yesterday. But that wasn't going to happen again. It couldn't happen again. "I'll do it tomorrow. I'll go over to my house and sneak up on him and then... and then I'll do it. I'll kill him."

Plagg looked over at his friend with sympathy. "I know this is hard, but you're doing the right thing."

Adrien softly smiled. It was rare for Plagg to be so sincere. "I know it's the right thing to do, but it doesn't make it hurt any less." Nothing could ever make this pain go away. It was a picture of betrayal, hurt, and loss all compiled into one masterpiece permanently etched into his heart. He never thought he would be able to get rid of the pain. He could only cover it up and pray it didn't show.

A/N: Last thing. I just wanted to let y'all know that I'm planning on wrapping this up in like 2-4 chapters... so I promise this plot is actually going somewhere. It's kinda boring right now but I needed to set some things up so i can write something interesting in the next few chapters! I promise it gets interesting!