Adrien blinked back tears of heady relief, finding the air to breathe again, though that breath was halting, shivery.

It wasn't that Adrien truly believed himself capable of it. It was that he worried that he was. Slowly, he nodded, getting his breath back as his heart hammered below their hands, slowed as he realized who it had to be.

... his father wouldn't have covered for a superhero. For Adrien, yes... but anyone beyond that, he couldn't imagine...

Unless he'd done it himself.

The second he thought it, the pieces slotted all too neatly into place. The tears welled up, and he couldn't seem to stop them. It wasn't a hot, frantic sort of crying, either. It was quiet, cold.

He whispered, his lips barely moving.

"Dad?"