Chapter Text
“I can’t believe you hid this from me, Mari!” Adrien cried, clutching the letter in his hands. He held it tightly, as if someone was about to steal it from him.
“I didn’t want to hurt you more, Adrien! You were just starting to get over your father’s death, and I didn’t want to set you back.” Marinette explained, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
“So, what changed? What made you finally give this to me now?” He asked angrily.
“Well, I had been thinking about it for a while, but then more and more time kept passing, and there was never a right moment to give it to you, so I talked to Nathalie and-”
“Wait. Nathalie knew about this?”
“Well…yes, she did.” Marinette said slowly. “But, Adrien-”
“Did you read it?”
A beat passed. Marinette moved her mouth as if to speak, but just couldn’t find the words.
“Tell me, Mari, did you read it?” Adrien said firmly, his gaze cold.
“...Yes.” She whispered, the tears finally starting to fall. “I just…wanted to do what was best for you.”
“You don’t get to decide what’s best for me, Marinette,” he spat. She winced at the use of her full name. “Just…just go. I think we need some time.” He said distantly, turning to walk away.
“Adrien, please, I never meant to hurt you!” She pleaded, trying to grab at his wrist.
“Relationships are all about trust, Marinette,” He motioned to the letter. “This is the last thing I have left of my father and you hid it from me! Tell me how I’m supposed to trust you after all that?”
Another beat. “I…I don’t know.” Her gaze darted to the floor. She knew she lost.
There was silence as the weight of the situation settled on them both.
“Please…don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Adrien finally said, voice breaking.
Marinette, finally getting the message, turned around and started walking out. “I really am sorry, Adrien.” She said from the doorway. She glanced back at him looking for something, anything to tell her that it wasn’t truly over.
“Goodbye, Marinette.”
｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
A flash of red.
Black spots.
A smile that was all too familiar.
Ladybug.
｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
Adrien awoke suddenly. He’d had dreams about Ladybug before- in fact, at one point, she was all he dreamt about- But it had been a while since they felt like this one did.
He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, the final remnants of the dream fading from his memory as he fully awoke. He looked over at the clock that rested on his bedside table.
2:16 a.m it blinked at him. Shoot.
He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to will himself back to sleep. It was no use. Every time he felt himself almost doze off, he would see another flash of Ladybug behind his eyes.
With a resigned sigh, he begrudgingly got himself out of bed, not even bothering to put on his slippers. “Plagg…?” he said into the darkness, voice still rough from sleep. He heard a grumbling in the darkness. Plagg was definitely here.
“Plagg?” he repeated. His kwami could be quite…stubborn…especially about his sleep and cheese. Kwami didn't even need either, at least not as much as Plagg claimed he needed them. “Plagg, wake up!”
“Whaaaaaat? I’m trying to sleep hereee!” Plagg finally responded groggily.
“I need to clear my head. Plagg…”
“Noooooo let me sleeeeep!” Plagg whined.
“CLAWS OUT!”
｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
One magical girl transformation later, Cat Noir leapt out of his bedroom window into the cool Paris night. He quickly jumped from building to building, allowing his cat-like reflexes and agility to kick in and do all the thinking for him. As he got further and further away from his house, he felt as though a weight was slowly being lifted off his shoulders. Everything with Marinette and the letter was behind him now. All he knew was the feeling of the cool night air on his face and the soft thud he heard every time he landed on a new roof.
That’s what he loves about being Cat Noir. If being Adrien Agreste ever becomes too much, the simplicity of the Cat will always be there for him. Cat Noir didn’t worry about his girlfriend betraying his trust in the worst way imaginable. Cat Noir’s face wasn’t plastered all over billboards. Cat Noir didn’t just lose anyone and everyone that was important to him. All Cat Noir had to worry about was fighting bad guys and making really bad cat puns. (although he always thought his puns were purr -fect) (low-hanging fruit, I know)
He didn’t remember heading this way, but somehow he ended up on his and Ladybug’s favorite rooftop. He should’ve expected it, though. No matter what happens, he always ends up crawling back to this very same rooftop. Maybe it’s all the memories here, or maybe it’s the gorgeous view of the Eiffel Tower. Whatever it was, it was like there was some magnet that kept drawing him to this exact spot.
He waltzed over to the ledge, plopping down so he could dangle his feet over the edge. It feels like just yesterday, they were standing here in shock as they found out Monarch had stolen all the Miraculous. He chuckled as he remembered the confusion as he saw a dripped out Monarch jumping from time portal to time portal, with future him and Ladybug following close behind.
It definitely didn’t feel like it at the time, but things were simpler when Monarch was around. Back then, it felt like every day followed the same sort of schedule, and there was nothing else complicating his plot. Back then, it was just him and Ladybug, against the world.
Now, everything was different. Not bad, per se, just…different. What he wouldn’t give for just one day where everything was simple again.
“Hey,” a voice suddenly came from behind him, snapping him back to reality. He jolted upwards, despite instantly knowing who the voice belonged to. He’d recognize Ladybug’s voice anywhere.
“Mind if I join you?”