Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic- Adrien Agreste: Marinette's Bully

first step

(ADRIAN POV)

One thing I had completely failed to consider this time though was that I wasn't Chat- I was just Adrien. There was no Miraculous making me faster and letting me jump onto nearby buildings, I only had my own two, very tired, legs. I barely had time to hide in an empty classroom before Alya was standing two feet away from me with her arms crossed.

I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off. "Let me talk first. Adrien you...I should have had this conversation with you months ago. I should have slapped you the second this started. But I didn't. Because Marinette begged me to not do anything, and I didn't know how bad it was. Look, I get that you're having your little guilt crisis right now because you've finally realized what an asshole you are, but this isn't about you. This is about fixing your mistakes. And I love Mari to death, but she is terrible at holding people accountable. She'll forgive you immediately."

"She already has actually," I spoke up, voice still a bit wrecked after all of that yelling. "Right after she told me the truth, I broke down. She forgave me right after. I didn't deserve that."

"No. No, you didn't." Alya's words were scathing, but I knew I had to hear them. "So, what are you going to do about it now? Confronting Chloe was the first step. It wasn't done the best way possible, but it sure was fun as hell to see her get what she deserved. But, you need to do more than just that."

"I'm not sure. Honestly, the only plan I had was apologizing again. I...I have no idea how to fix this." I looked up at Ayla before finishing, "Please help me."

Alya stared at me for what felt like hours before sighing and giving me a nod. "Fine. But this is just for Marinette. That's it."

I perked up instantly, words gushing out of me, "Thank you. Thank you so much. We're gonna make this right." It was easier knowing that I wasn't alone in this. I could fix this. I could fix this, and I could get it right. Hope swelled in me, and for the first time since I discovered Ladybug's identity, I truly felt that things might get better.

-----

As it always is with these things, though, that feeling was proven wrong only hours later.

We spent the rest of the day in that empty classroom talking. And after, we decided to head over to the nearby park. Trying to fix something as big as this, especially with Marinette's current self-esteem, was so much more complicated than I could have expected. I would essentially have to balance keeping my distance to let her heal while still reassuring her that I didn't hate her and was doing it to help her.

Then, while discussing if heading to her house or waiting for her to come back after being 'sick' (as Ayla believed) was better, my phone rang. It was Nathalie. I groaned, realizing I would probably have to explain my disappearance for the past two days and missing school.

But when I answered the call, I heard...sniffling? "Adrien..." Nathalie's voice cracked as she spoke as if she had been crying. "I hate to be the one to inform you of this but your father...He's dead. He was killed. I know he wasn't the best father to you, Adrien, but believe me when I say he loved you so much. I...Text your location to me, I'll send your driver to pick you up." Then, she abruptly hung up, not even waiting for a response.

Instantly, any sense of stability I had crashed. I had been trying so hard to not think about him this entire time. Because I couldn't fix this problem. I couldn't apologize and try to make it better. I couldn't bring him back.

"Adrien. Adrien, what happened?" Alya. Right. She was still here.

"My dad. My dad's gone."

Alya just looked more confused. "Like he went on a trip or?"

"No, he's...He's-" I couldn't get the word out. It stuck in my throat. A truth I wasn't ready to admit even if I was the cause of it. Thankfully, Alya seemed to have gotten the message. Her face dropped, and before I knew it, I was pulled into a hug.

I melted into the touch, not even realizing how much I had needed comfort until now. "Look, I still hate you for what you did to Marinette, but I can't even imagine how hard it is losing both parents. Go home and rest or something. This isn't over-not even close- but you get a pause."

"Thank you," I said, trying to keep my voice from wavering. "But, I...I think I need to be alone for a bit now. My driver should be here in a bit anyway." Ayla slowly pulled away, nodding in understanding, and grabbed her bag to leave.

After she was gone, I pulled out my phone to text Nathalie the name of the park I was at, and the Gorilla arrived in minutes.

I spent the rest of the day in almost a daze. Mostly just existing in the void of guilt I had myself comfortable in. All I could think about were my father and Marinette. By the time nighttime had come, I was ready to just knock out and have a couple of hours of blissful ignorance before I had to deal with reality again.

The issue is that I had forgotten to account for the nightmares.

This was far from my first rodeo with nightmares, but I had never experienced them like that. There was blood everywhere, Marinette was screaming, and I was holding a staff. Hawkmoth was fighting me, but my father was dead on the floor. There was chaos everywhere, and suddenly, I was shooting up in my bed, trying to breathe.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Adrien. Calm down, breathe." Someone was talking to me, but I couldn't place the voice. "In...and out. In...and out." The voice repeated the instructions until my breathing slowed to a regular pace.

"You back in the human realm now, Adrien?" Plagg said, flying around in front of me. Ah, so it was him.

"Yeah, yeah, I am. Thanks for that, by the way."

Plagg shrugged. "Look, like that Alya girl said earlier. Still angry about what you did but I'm not gonna leave you like that." I winced. I still needed to give a proper apology to Plagg. I was amounting quite the list at this rate.

"First off, I am so sorry. I'll give you a better apology when I'm not a complete mess, but I am so incredibly sorry. And secondly, I think I need some fresh air after that. Mind if we go for a stroll?" Plagg smiled at me and nodded. "Plagg claws out."

After I transformed, I opened a window and creeped out, breathing a sigh of relief at the cool air.

At first, I made my way through the city with no real destination, just trying to get my mind clear. But before long, I had found myself in front of a familiar bakery.

Marinette.

I couldn't help the curiosity and crept closer to peer in through the window to see how she was doing.

The scene that greeted me was incredibly soft. Marinette, now looking a bit stronger than last night, was sitting on the floor with Al. She was painting his nails, and they both seemed to be laughing at something. I moved away immediately after the look, and a pang shot through my heart at the realization that I would never have that. I would never get to sit across from her and see her smile at me like that. My chance was gone it had been given to someone that deserved it infinite times more than I ever would.

But a feeling even stronger than that was pure relief. Relief that Marinette was okay. Happy, even. Despite everything, she looked happier sitting with Al than she had in months. And somehow, that was better news than anything else I could have hoped for.

The next time I fell asleep, her smile on my mind, it was devoid of any nightmares.