Miraculous Angst {One-Shots}

Burdened

|| 1st POV of Adrien||

"My gods, Adrien. Can't you just listen for once?" Father yelled in annoyance.

I kept staring at the ground, trying to push out the negative thoughts. I had told him that I wasn't up for the fashion shoot two weeks ago and that I wasn't feeling well, but he disregarded it and dragged me off anyways. Now, the pictures from that shoot had returned to him and he didn't like the apparent outcome. 

The photo shooters and Nathalie had thought it went quite well and the product was still workable, but 'workable' is just not accepted as an Agreste.

I sucked in my breath as I quietly messed with my ring. The Miraculous. My only source of comfort and an escape from this hell of a life.

"Just- get out of my office. Nathalie will bring you down for dinner later," Father waved off, turning to stare at the giant portrait of Mother.

She had disappeared when I was only 13. It's been three years now, nothing. But I remember when she was still here, she was the brightest light in the room. The only thing keeping me going then. I didn't have Plagg back then, so I was truly alone.

Mother always encouraged me to follow my dreams and be the best I can be. Father never agreed with her fully but since his love for her was bigger than his ideals, he went along with it. But when she disappeared, so did his love. All he is left is a broken shell of the man he once was.

There was time when he'd join us in family games and activities. I'm almost certain he would've forgotten my 16th birthday if Nathalie hadn't reminded him. I rarely see him unless I was in trouble or a rare meal with him. It didn't matter anyways, his presence is quite suffocating. His simple stare made me want to not breathe unless he were to allow it.

Nathalie clasped a hand on her shoulder and guided me out, nodding to my Father before shutting the office doors.

"To your room, Adrien," she says, her tone was void of emotion.

"Yeah, yeah," I murmured, making my way to my room.

She stood at the door, her tablet in hand, her eyes staring straight into my soul. 

"Dinner will be ready in three hours. Your bodyguard will come and get you then," she reports before shutting the door behind her and leaving. 

I slumped against the side of the couch, my hand going through and brushing swiftly through my hair. I felt an upcoming onslaught of tears but fought to hold it back. Plagg floated silently beside me, knowing well enough now that this wasn't the time to joke around like normally.

"You want to talk about it, kid?" He says softly, sitting on my knee.

I hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly.

"I don't understand Father at all. One day he would care about me like I'm actually his son and not an object for profit." I murmur under my breath, barely loud enough for Plagg to hear.

He sits silently, waiting for me to continue. I let out a dry laugh as I wipe the tears out of my eyes.

"I don't even know how he managed to meet Mother. She was the brightest light of this family and he didn't even try to preserve her memory. He doesn't ever share a single thing with me about her, ever. And expect me to be okay with it. To just obey and listen to his commands," I vent, my arms wrapped around my legs as I settle my chin on my knees.

"I try my best, to be the best for him. And it's never enough. It can never be enough for him," I whisper softly.

I feel Plagg's soft paw gently running through my hair.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Adrien." He says quietly.

I sit there in the quiet of my room. Staring at all the junk here, A whole library, cases of CD's and DVD's, a small indoor basketball court, table games, video games, literally everything a teenager could want. Yet, I feel so empty. So burdened. So...dead.

"Do you want to go out for a run. Catch a breather?" Plagg suggests, knowing my love for being out and free, even if it's just for an hour.

I thought about it for a moment before nodding, slowly pulling myself up.

"Plagg, claws out," I murmur, allowing myself to be absorbed by a bright green light.

When the lights died down, I was once again the mysterious Chat Noir. I glanced at my bedroom door once more before running towards the window, flinging it open and jumping out.

I use my baton to push myself higher onto a rooftop so I continue to run. The skies were cloudy and dark. It looked like it was going to rain, but that's fine. The gently earthy scent of the skies was- is always a calming advantage to being outside like this.

I jump from one rooftop to the next, making my way to my favorite spot in all of Paris. The Eiffel Tower. The memories there are always happy. My lady and I fighting Stoneheart, our first akuma here. Us at nights where we hang out for fun, telling goofy stories and the such. 

Last Christmas, things began changing. Ladybug opened up during our little get together for Christmas night. Well, three nights after Christmas. Families and such. But we met up and we had finally decided to go further by a bit. Nothing big like lovers, but maybe one day. One I had hope to reach.

I sat down on the edge of the Tower and swung my legs in and out, cocking my head slightly to the side as I stared out to the open misty skies.

"Whatcha doing, Chaton?" A voice peaks out from the left.

I took a quiet breath and forced my lips to turn up into my daily cheeky grin. 

"Hey, Bugaboo," I respond.

She frowns at me slightly before sitting down next to me, her hand immediately clasped into mine, it shocked me in a slight bit since she was never the first one to initiate a physical action.

"Are you alright, Chat?" She says softly, her eyes held a gentle care.

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" I responded with a laugh, staring back out into the sky.

"I'm not stupid, Chaton. You look hurt. Are you okay?" She urges again.

I hesitated for a moment, looking at her with a pained look.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she quickly covers to not seem to be prying at me. 

Gods, I love this girl.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now," I murmured, leaning on her shoulder, hiding my tears from her.

"That's alright too, Chaton," she replies softly, running a hand through my hair, generating a soft purr from my chest.

"I really like this. You and I. Just like this," I whisper, glancing up slightly.

"Yeah, it's really nice," She responds quietly, staring off at the fading sun that peered through the clouds.

We don't even need to talk, but we both get a sense of relief and a chance to lighten the burdens on our shoulders. We don't even need to know each other's problems and fears to feel freer from it all.

The faint 'pitter patter' of the rain started coming down, resulting in me flattening my ears against my head. It was only going to get heavier from here. 

"You ready to go home again?" She murmurs, still petting my hair.

I thought about it for a moment. Am I ready to go home and live my empty life?

I slowly shook my head and glanced at her. She smiled softly and nodded, leaning into me again. I fumbled with ring for a moment longer, my eyelids struggling to stay open. 

Just..

Five..

More..

Minutes....