Chapter Text
Adrien’s hands wrapped around his now-cold cup of coffee, eyes remaining firmly fixed on the table rather than the detective sitting across from him. He didn’t even drink coffee, but he hadn’t had the option to say no.
“You understand why we’re in a difficult position, don’t you, Mr Agreste?” the detective asked, and Adrien flinched. Mr Agreste was his father. Not him. “Both your parents are deceased, and we have been unable to contact your closest relatives. Are there any other adults you trust to be here for this?”
Adrien didn’t respond. His grip tightened around the paper coffee cup, trying to silence the noise in his head, the voice repeating, over and over, I killed him I killed him I killed him-
“Adrien?” The detective’s tone was gentle, gentler than Adrien expected. Or deserved. “Who do you trust?”
When he didn’t respond, he distantly heard the detective talking to another officer, the words a hushed blur that he couldn’t understand. He folded his hands together in his lap, twisting them, running a finger over the bare spot where his miraculous had been.
He didn’t know how long he sat in that room, eyes down, as people moved in and out of the room around him. Someone placed a croissant on the table in front of him, and replaced his coffee with a glass of water. He didn’t touch either.
Eventually, the door opened again and two people entered the room. He recognised the footsteps of the detective from earlier and the second… he finally looked up, to see Ms Bustier approaching, her turquoise eyes wide with concern.
“Adrien! We’ve all been so worried about you,” she said, her brow creasing. “Detective Laurent contacted me and asked me to be here for your interview, since you’re still a minor. Adrien, is that okay with you?”
He nodded woodenly and Detective Laurent breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled out the chair opposite. Ms Bustier took a seat next to Adrien.
“Adrien. First of all, I’m sorry for your loss,” the detective said, and he had the decency to sound genuinely sorry. “I can’t even imagine how difficult this must be for you.”
He had no idea. He thought Adrien was simply a victim in all of this. He didn’t know that he was responsible for his own father’s death.
“But I have to ask you some questions,” he continued. “Due to the… unique case we’re dealing with.”
“What, the fact that my dad was a supervillain for almost a year and I had no idea?” Adrien said flatly. “That he’s a terrorist unlike any France has ever seen?”
“Yes. That.” Detective Laurent frowned. “You had no idea what was going on? Neither your father nor Ms Sancoeur ever gave any indication of what was going on?”
“Are you saying Nathalie was involved as well?” Adrien sank further into his seat. “I didn’t know about that, either.”
“Detective, is this really necessary?” Ms Bustier asked, brow creasing. “Adrien is only fourteen and clearly knew nothing about what was going on. It’s cruel to subject him to an interrogation like this.”
Detective Laurent leaned back in his seat, considering her words. “You have a point,” he admitted. “Besides, Ms Sancoeur has denied his involvement. Adrien, do you have any family you could stay with?”
Adrien finally looked up and spoke, his voice hoarse. “My… my aunt.”
“What’s her name?”
“Amélie Graham de Vanily.” Adrien twisted his hands together. “She lives in London.”
“London?” Detective Laurent blinked. “Er… Do you have any other family? Ones who live in Paris, perhaps?”
Adrien shook his head. The detective grimaced and stood from his seat. “I’ll be right back,” he said, before disappearing out the door.
In the hallway, Adrien could hear the low murmur of voices. Trying to figure out what they were supposed to do with him, probably.
“Adrien.” Ms Bustier placed her hand on his shoulder, and he flinched. “I’m sorry.” She pulled her hand away, but he could feel her gaze still on him. “Is… is there anything we can do?”
He shook his head. “No,” he said, his voice hoarse. They sat in silence until the detective returned, brows set firmly in a frown.
“Well. Adrien. We’ve contacted your Aunt Amélie, and she’s coming to Paris to discuss legal guardianship. Of course, that will take a few hours, so…” he grimaced. “Can I get you anything to eat? And Caline, can I have a word with you?”
Detective Laurent and Ms Bustier left once more and so Adrien remained, staring at the wall and doing his best to not let himself think about anything.
He didn’t know how long passed, but at one point, an officer brought him some water and lunch, consisting of a small salad and sandwich. He forced himself to eat a few bites before pushing the plate away.
The next time someone entered the room, it was his aunt Amélie, Felix by her side. “Adrien!” she cried, throwing her arms open and pulling him into a hug. “Have you been here by yourself this whole time?” She started berating the officers in the room.
Everything that happened next passed in a blur. Amélie agreeing to take temporary custody until everything could be finalised in court, a social worker whose name Adrien couldn’t remember asking if he was okay with that. He nodded woodenly, barely aware of what was going on.
He stayed overnight in Le Grand Paris with Amélie and Felix, but found sleeping impossible. He sat by the window, staring out into the darkness, his mind looping over and over what happened, searching for what he could’ve done differently.
He could’ve saved his father, if he had tried. He could’ve avoided cataclysming him, could’ve fixed things. But he didn’t, and now his entire world was in shambles.
Nothing would ever be the same again, and the only person to blame was himself.
A week passed, and Marinette still didn’t get a chance to see Adrien, nor did Nino or Alya. Whenever they tried to visit, he was always either involved in court custody proceedings, or ‘wasn’t seeing visitors’.
Calls went straight to voicemail. Texts were left unread, unanswered. The three of them were going crazy with worry, so much so that Marinette and Alya sat outside the hotel for several hours, until Felix emerged.
The leapt up immediately. “Is Adrien okay?” Marinette asked, brow creasing. “We’re really worried about him.”
Felix gave her a flat look. “His father was just exposed as a supervillain, and now he’s an orphan. Of course he’s not okay.”
“Why won’t he let us see him?” Alya pressed. “Why isn’t he answering any texts?”
“His phone is broken.” Felix sighed, stopping and turning to face them. “Look. Adrien just needs space to figure things out. I suggest you leave him be for now.” He walked away, leaving Marinette and Alya spluttering in outrage.
“Who does he think he is?” Alya grumbled as they walked back to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. “What right does he have to stop us from seeing Adrien?”
Marinette nodded along absentmindedly, her mind working overtime on a solution. If Felix wouldn’t let them see Adrien, then they would have to find another way. Adrien needed them, even if he himself didn’t realise it. And Chat Noir… she still had to find him. All her messages had gone unanswered. She’d sat on the rooftop at their usual meeting place for hours, waiting for him to show up.
Nothing.
She’d already lost Chat Noir; she wasn’t going to lose Adrien as well. And Adrien needed them. He needed Nino, his first real friend, someone who would stand by him through all the shit that he was going through.
And Nino would, Marinette knew. Nino was like that. A bit unpredictable at times, but he would do anything for his friends.
The next morning, Marinette was sitting in homeroom, staring at Adrien’s empty seat in front of her, when Ms Bustier entered, her usually warm disposition muted. She went through her morning announcements, reminding the students of upcoming events and assignment dates.
At the end, Marinette raised her hand. “Ms Bustier, do you know if Adrien is coming back?”
Ms Bustier stared at her. “I… No. He’s going to live in London with his aunt and cousin.”
Marinette stared at her, stunned silent, while Alya jumped to her feet. “What?”
“I thought you knew,” Ms Bustier said, brow creasing. “The train leaves this morning.”
Marinette stood, along with Nino, and the three of them stepped towards the door. “I just realised I forgot to… feed my cat!” Marinette called.
“And I need to go look after my sisters!” Alya added.
The train station wasn’t far. The three of them ran the entire way there, arriving puffing and panting. They navigated their way through the crowds of travellers, finding the platform of the next train to London.
Marinette scanned the crowd, searching desperately for a glimpse of blond. Alya grabbed her sleeve and pointed. “He’s there!”
They pushed their way towards him through the crowd. “Adrien!” Marinette yelled. “Wait!”
He paused next to the train, eyes searching the platform until they met hers. His face was unreadable from the distance that they were at, but he paused at the train door, ticket in hand.
Marinette stumbled towards him, their gazes still locked. She was only a few steps away when he turned away from her and handed his ticket to the conductor, stepping onto the train without a backward glance.
Alya and Nino caught up to her as she reached the door. The conductor blocked her way as she tried to follow Adrien onto the train. “Do you have a ticket, miss?”
“No, I… my friend just got on and I have to go talk to him and I-” she gasped, trying to catch her breath. “Please let us on. I promise we’ll get off before the train leaves.”
“I’m sorry. No ticket, no entry.”
Marinette turned to Alya and Nino. “What do we do?” she whispered.
“We go buy tickets.” Alya spun around, marching towards the ticket desk. One heated exchange with the salesclerk later, the three of them sat on the platform, dejected. Unfortunately, none of them had a spare € 200 with them.
The three of them watched in silence as the boarding closed, and finally, the train pulled out of the station.
“He’ll come back,” Marinette said uneasily. “Right?” But even as she said it, she wondered if they would ever see him again.