Cataclysm

The best they can do

Ladybug opened the hospital window as silently as she could manage. Once she got herself into the room, she was pretty sure Chat Noir would be proud of her sneakiness. No one seemed to notice she entered, and as soon as she saw the elder man sleeping on his bed, she felt relieved at entering the right room. So the doctors didn't try to hide where the guardian was, at least. Maybe they thought he was a weird case because of his age, they could have found something weird in his physiology that spiked their concerns. This was not a relaxing thought to the heroine, but it was better than some of the alternatives.

She got closer to the bed, and tried not to feel too bad about all the tubes and monitoring devices connected to Master Fu. She failed miserably.

''I will solve this, Master, I promise'' She whispered looking at the slow rise of the older man's breathing. ''You will wake up and the box will be safe again, you wouldn't even know it was gone in the first place'' She leaned in and gave Master Fu a peck on the forehead before going back to her exit. ''Whatever it takes'' Said Ladybug before closing the window and disappearing into the night.

-*-

After another Lila-less class day, Adrien got into the car sighing. Nathalie asked him what is wrong and he just vaguely told the woman that he had to talk to Gabriel about something, carefully avoiding the topic of miraculous in front of the Gorilla. Nathalie smiles a little at that, not seeming to be phased in the slightest about the reluctance of the boy to talk to his own father.

As soon as they arrived at the mansion, Nathalie told Adrien where his father was at the moment, his office. He didn't want to deal with him yet, specially not after the rough conversation they had before which was left unsolved. The boy did not want to admit it, but he felt guilty about how he treated the man when he just wanted to help him. Yes, he had a right to be frustrated and he also didn't owe his father any sympathy after all the things he had done, but he couldn't help the shame he felt everytime he remembered that particular interaction.

''Come in'' Said Gabriel's voice from his office as soon as Adrien knocked. At least he didn't need appointments anymore, the model thought.

''Hello son, how was your day?'' Asked the man, and Adrien couldn't help but chuckle at how weird those words sounded coming from him. Not that the question wasn't honest, but even as a full caring and involved parent Gabriel had any interest in the mundane.

''It was ok, Marinette and my friends were great as always and Lila didn't show up, which we still don't know if its a good or a bad thing'' He said more than he really wanted to, but he couldn't stop himself. He also hated how much of his judgement on the quality of his day was based upon Lila's absence. Thief and criminal or not, she was a sore spot in Adrien life's the boy really could do without.

''Miss Dupain-Cheng is welcome to dinner anytime, make sure to let her know that'' The man commented. ''I... I also wanted to apologize, son. I know you don't want me to meddle with your life anymore, but the residual connection I have with Nooro is not something I can control yet, so-''

''It's ok'' Adrien interrupted his father. Not sure if he could take all this weird behavior from Gabriel any longer. It wasn't unpleasant, exactly, but he just didn't want to get used to that just yet. Also it should be him who apologized for the other day. ''I know you can't control it, I was rude and angry, so I'm the one who's sorry'' Then an idea popped on his head. ''Hey father, do you think you could detect a specific person's location with your... senses?''

Gabriel stopped working on whatever he was sketching to look at Adrien, who was still standing close to the door. The man decided to leave his project and sat down on one of the couches, and signaled Adrien to do the same in front of him. Adrien couldn't help but smile a little at this. His father really was taking his second chance. Even if the boy didn't want to get his hopes up, he was grateful for the little changes.