Half Way

An Insincere Apology and Purple Bubbles

Ladybug left Adrien's around four in the morning, before anyone else in the house would be awake.

When she got back home she detransformed and lay down in her bed. Now that the Black Cat Miraculous and the Miracle Box were out of her room, Marinette felt so much more at ease.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep, not waking up until her alarm sounded.

Three hours was definitely not enough time, but at least she got some rest. She groggily silenced the alarm and got up to get dressed and use the bathroom. The very last thing that she did before leaving was something she was dreading.

After putting the tracking device back into its hidden compartment, she snapped the pendant closed and put the necklace around her neck.

Tikki watched her. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

Marinette nodded. "He needs to think that things are normal. He can't suspect that we figured anything out."

"And you're not going to tell Adrien?"

"Not yet," she replied, avoiding eye contact. She grabbed her backpack off of the floor. "We should go."

The kwami flew into her purse and Marinette went downstairs.

************************************

A few blocks away, Adrien got ready for school with a smile on his face. Having Marinette in his bed that morning was a dream come true, and he enjoyed every second of it.

He was disappointed when she insisted on leaving, but he understood. They couldn't risk anyone catching her there. There would be no way to explain how she got in his room. Nevermind the fact that his father would murder him if he found Marinette in his bed.

Once dressed and ready, he went to the bedroom door and opened it up. His father was waiting for him outside.

Adrien stopped and glared up at him.

"Adrien," Gabriel started, "I wanted to apologize for my outburst yesterday. What I said was inexcusable, and I want you to know that I'm truly sorry about what I said. Marinette is a lovely young lady and she's welcome here anytime."

Adrien kept staring at his father. He didn't believe one word that came out of his mouth. "Your apology is accepted," he lied.

Gabriel nodded. "Very well. Why don't you invite her over for dinner again tonight?"

"I will."

He nodded again. "Now that that's taken care of, let's go eat breakfast." He turned and walked downstairs, Adrien following behind.

They both sat in their places and started eating. Adrien looked up at his father every once in a while. He just didn't understand him. Why was he lying about liking Marinette? And why did he want her to come over all the time?

Maybe his father had finally gone off the deep end. Ever since his mother's disappearance, Gabriel seemed to be moving further and further away from being a sane human being.

Maybe that had something to do with the situation now. Maybe his father saw his happy relationship with Marinette and it reminded him of his wife. Maybe he was jealous of them on some level.

Adrien tried to clear his mind. He didn't really care what the reason behind it was. Marinette was his whole world now. As long as the two of them were together, nothing else mattered.

He didn't need his father's approval to continue dating Marinette. And he wouldn't need his father's permission to marry her. After he turned eighteen he would be free to do whatever he pleased. They would just have to hang in there for the next three years.