Under The Surface

Push and You Shall Receive

The next day, Adrien took Marinette to her house, per his father's request, to pick up some things she would need. Marinette also wanted to clean up a little and Adrien offered to help her.

"Great! You start down here in the living room, and I'll start in my bedroom."

Adrien nodded and the two got to work. It was weird cleaning up though. It kind of felt like he was trespassing or something. All of these pictures and personal effects that he was handling when under normal circumstances he wouldn't even be touching them. Nothing was private. It might have been better if Marinette were there, but he didn't feel like bothering her too much. After about a half hour, things were starting to come back together again. The couch was put back together, pictures were hanging on the walls. An overturned bookshelf was the only thing he had left to right, and the living room was done. He decided to head upstairs to see how Marinette was doing but stopped when he reached the top of the stairs. Marinette was sitting on the floor looking through a small, unmarked photo album. He had seen it before, only once as Chat Noir when she left it out during his last visit but had never seen what was inside. Suddenly he noticed a few torn out pages on the ground beside him. He picked then up with the intention of giving them to Mari but was soon distracted by what he saw. The first picture on the page was of a girl about fourteen years old. Judging by her appearance and similar features, he assumed she was a relative, but the second picture was a different story.

"Mom?!"

Marinette, finally realizing he was there, stood up and walked over to join him, smiling sadly.

"How did you know my mother?"

Adrien breathed, still holding the picture. Marinette sighed.

"I can't tell you. She said she didn't want anyone to know."

Adrien was so confused.

"Who made you promise not to tell? Tell me what?"

"Well, I guess she would have wanted you to learn eventually."

Marinette mumbled.

"She was our protector, Adrien. See that there?"

She pointed to a little peacock feather broach that rested on his mother's chest.

"That's called a miraculous. It's what Ladybug and Chat Noir use to be superheroes and have powers. The peacock miraculous gives the power to create sentimonsters, and your mother was the one who kept our village safe with those creatures."

A part of Adrien was internally freaking out. His mother had had a miraculous and secret life! Did his father know about this?! He had so many questions. If he hadn't been so shocked, he might have even chuckled as Marinette explained this to him. As if he didn't know what a miraculous was. Instead, however, he continued to stare at the picture.

"I'm sorry."

Mari murmured, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"She was always so kind to me when I was younger. I miss the way she used to call me 'little bug' and tell me stories about her life in Paris and...her family."

Adrien didn't know which one he was more shocked about, his mother having g a secret life that he never even knew about, or the fact that Marinette did! Suddenly he remembered all the trips his mother would take to Japan and how she would come back with stories of a little girl she adored. He had always thought she was the daughter of some co-worker, which she kind of was, but still. Marinette had known a side of his mother that he never even knew existed. But on another note, Marinette knew what miraculous were. No one knew about kwamis except for the few who had worn them, and if his mother had been the last holder of the peacock miraculous, then how did Mayura get a hold of it? He was about to ask Marinette if she knew anything, when Natalie came in to tell them they would be late for school if they didn't leave soon.