The beginning of the end

by retaWind

Summary:

Adrien turns down Marinette for defending herself against Lila. That was the start of his and his father’s downfall. Now Marinette’s powerful old friends are after him.

Notes:

Marinette and Cater meet when they were children, and instantly clicked. Cater keep in touch with Marinette as she was the one constant in his life. Marinette also keep in touch because Cater is the one friend who is also interested in fashion and has magic too. She loves hearing about the different places Cater moved to. Cater’s friendship protect Marinette from Chloe, until Marinette left Paris to travel to Pyroxene to attend its Noble Academy, when she was 10. The Diamond Family organized her admission.
Marinette and Cater meet Aspen, who was an orphan and attend the Noble Academy on scholarship. (The Noble Academy is only for Pyroxene magic users. It gives full scholarships to all orphans and low-income students.) Marinette and Cater instantly become friends with Aspen. Even so, Marinette and Cater are still closer to each other, as they considered themselves platonic partners. Aspen had no problem with that, since he meets them later on in life, and his job make their friendship very inconsistent. He also has his own platonic partner, who is his manager.
All three of them were first in their courses, Marinette attendant, Cater scholar, and Aspen knight.
The three of them have one of these friendships that go dormant but can easily be rekindled. This is help by the fact the three of them have skills that the others need. Marinette makes clothes for Aspen and Cater. Aspen’s job in the entrainment circle gives him access to a lot of information, which he passes on to Cater and Marinette. Cater keeps Aspen and Marinette updated on trends.
After graduation, Marinette was supposed to go to Imperial Jewels Academy, which is located near Pyroxene, the sister school of Royal Sword Academy. However, due to the unstable political situation in Pyroxene, her parents transfer her to Dupont. Aspen was accepted into Night Raven College but choose to attend another school that was more flexible for his career. The TV drama he is currently filming cause him to move to a faraway country,
Marinette hates attending Dupont and being stuck in Paris. She feels it boring compared to Pyroxene. She knows all of her classmates from childhood, but is not close to them. She fake being in love with Adrien, because both she wanted to get information on the Agreste family for the Diamond Family, and to relive her boredom. She did it so well, she actually falls in love with Adrien, which is why it hurt so much when he turns her down.

At the Unbirthday party, Cater’s phone suddenly rings as he is about to pour tea for Riddle.
Riddle glares, “Cater, I told you to turn off your phone!”
Cater didn’t reply as he took out his phone to check the caller’s ID, even though he already knew who he was. That ringtone was only used for Marinette. “I need to take this.”
“The party is starting! You need to get off your phone!”
Cater said with steel in his tone. “Marinette knows not to call me during school hours. If she is calling me now, something must have happened. If she is injured or in danger,” Cater’s voice trails off, a warning clear in his voice.
Trey steps in. “Cater, go take your call. I will take over for you.” Cater walks off with a nod of thanks. Just as Trey was about to pour tea for Riddle, he was startled by a shout of “HE SAID WHAT!?”
Everyone in Heartslabyul turns to look at Cater, whose face was now as red as Riddle’s when he was angry. Cater takes a deep breath, visibly calming himself.
“Marinette, not that I am doubting you, but maybe you misunderstand?”
Feminine sobbing and choked words come from Cater’s phone. Whatever the answer was, it made Cater wince and say, “Oh, can’t misunderstand that.” Cater comforts Marinette. “It is okay. If he doesn’t like that part of you, he doesn’t deserve you. People who don’t fight for their loved ones aren’t worth it.” Cater noticed everyone was looking at him. “I have to go. I have dorm duties to attend to. Love you.” Cater hangs up his phone and walks back to his spot. His face bore a smile, but it did little to hide the anger and turmoil in his eyes.
“Cater, is everything alright?” Trey asks, worried. He had never seen Cater like this. No one in Heartslabyul had.
“Don’t worry. They would be. I will make sure of it.” The dark tone in Cater’s voice makes it clear that it wasn’t a threat. It was a promise. The Unbirthday party ran smoothly, but Cater’s mood put a damper on everything. As soon as it was over, Cater went straight back to his room, not even leaving a clone to do his portion of clean up. No one tried to stop him, not even Riddle.
In the privacy of his room, Cater punches one of his pillows, letting out his anger. After several more punches, Cater exhales. “So that blonde fool thinks he can break Marinette’s heart because she won’t bend to his will. Let’s see how he likes it when I break him.” Cater grabs his phone and sends a group message to his family chat, explaining what happened, and he is going to get revenge on Adrien Agreste. Within minutes, his mother called.
“Cater, if you are going to do this, you are going to be doing it on your own. The family will only help you as a last resort.”
“I know, Mom.” The Diamond Family doesn’t believe in letting anyone ride on the coattails of their ancestors’ achievements and wealth. The Diamond Family gives everyone the tools they need to survive and thrive. In their childhood, they are trained. In adulthood, everyone is expected to stand on their own two feet and fight their own battles. The Diamond Family, like now, would only help as a last resort. “Don’t worry. I already have a plan.”
“You always do. Good luck.” His mother said indulgently.
Cater moved to his computer. Before he could pull up the information on the Agreste family, he received a request for a video call. Accepting the request, he saw a look of worry and anger on Aspen’s usually cold face.
“Did Marinette tell you how she got rejected by that Agreste boy?” were the first words out of Aspen’s lips.
“Yes. How do you know?” While Marinette and Aspen were close friends, Marinette wasn’t one to go sobbing to all her friends with her problems, especially since Aspen was busy with filming an award-winning TV drama series.
Aspen winces, “A competitor’s fan destroyed my wardrobe. I had to contact Marinette to replace it. It turns out my call comes directly after she was rejected.”
Cater also wince, both at the destruction of Aspen’s wardrobe and his timing. In addition to being an actor, Aspen was also a ballet dancer with a strong interest in martial arts. He likes clothes that let him dance and fight anywhere. His taste also leans more towards androgynous. He always goes to Marinette for those clothes because he has a hard time finding any that he likes. He finds it easier to have Marinette design and make his clothes, especially since he has no interest in fashion.
“That fool is going to paid,” a smirk bloom on Aspen’s face. “You are also going after him, I presume?”
“Yep,” Cater said cheerfully. “Let’s divide and conquer. You deal with him in the entertainment industry. I will deal with him in his home city.”
“Sounds like a plan. I must go. We are filming a scene at sunrise tomorrow. I must go to bed now. Email me with what you know about the Agreste Family. Good night. “
“It is still the afternoon where I am but good night.”
Aspen give Cater one of his rare true smiles, before signing off on his end. Cater sighs, feeling better, knowing that Aspen will helping him. Marinette will recover and Adrien Agreste will pay.

Notes:

Cater paid Idia with rare merchandise to give him a facial recognition program, which he then uses to comb though Paris public security cameras. That is how he discovered that Adrien is Chat Noir. He told Marinette, which destroy any positive feelings she had for Adrien.
Aspen and Cater both know Marinette is Ladybug. They know about the problems she had with Chat Noir. Marinette has complained to them both numerous times about Chat Noir harnessing her, making her do all the work, or worse actively hindering her when she turned down his advances. Aspen was the one who give her the idea of just using the akuma to get rid of him early on. That was what has been happening in all akuma battles since.
While Cater was doing surveillance on the Agreste Mansion, he notices magical energy coming from it, a suspiciously similar energy to Marinette’s Miraculous. He alerts Marinette to it. Marinette keep a close eye on the Agreste Mansion and eventually saw an akuma butterfly leaving.
Aspen and Cater come to Paris to help Marinette fight Hawkmoth. They received Miraculous. The entire battle was livestreamed on Aspen’s and Cater’s Magicam. This boost both their popularity. After Hawkmoth was arrested, the three Miraculous Holders revealed their identity.
At an interview with Nadja, Chat Noir crashes in and start throwing a fit about being replaced and Marinette favoring Aspen and Cater. Aspen’s patience ran out and he swiftly grab Chat Noir’s hand, removing the ring, revealing Adrien to everyone. He coldly told everyone that Chat Noir wasn’t invited to the final battle, because of his incompetence in the pervious fights and the fact he was Hawkmoth’s son. He hinted that Adrien may have been working for his father.
Aspen help, not just because for friendship, but because he wants a new role in a movie and needed something to beat both Neige and Vil. (He is currently the 3rd most popular actor in the world. He starts acting at 10.) Thanks to his actions in taking down Hawkmoth, he got the role and is able to claim the number one spot. He is able to move back home.
Marinette, thanks to her time as Ladybug, is able to transfer to Mystic dawn College, the sister school of Night Raven College.
Cater is happy that his two closest and oldest friends are now so close. The three of them hang out a lot.