chat noir could barely hear the reporters over his thoughts. sure, he registered their whoops and cheers and their forgetfulness of the man literally being arrested behind them (which had honestly been his goal; he couldn't stand a second more of that attention), but it all sounded like static to him.
he leapt as fast and as far away as possible from his home, landing inside an abandoned building with upholstery and furniture that was beautiful even in decay. he needed to hit something, or scream, maybe cry. maybe he needed to do all three.
"CATACLYSM!" he cried angrily, unsure of what he'd hit with his power. ladybug had probably already called out her miraculous ladybugs, so this damage would be irreparable, but that was unimportant. this building didn't seem like it was very well taken care of, anyway.
he struck at a long table, one similar to the one in his own dining room. he frowned at the ashes it turned into and lay himself next to them, feeling worse than he had a few seconds ago.
it was done. he, ladybug, and rena rouge- alya, seriously, how had he not figured out their identities sooner?!- had put his father in jail. he waited for it to feel like a victory, which it was, or for him to feel like a weight had been lifted from his back, which one had, but all he felt was disappointment.
in himself, for not realizing what his father was going through sooner. in his father, for doing all of this and thinking that any of it was okay. and just plain, inexplicable disappointment in general.
he sat there for at least an hour, ignoring the fact that he had detransformed long ago. who was going to be looking for him, his father?
contrary to adrien's beliefs, however, many people actually WERE looking for him, ladybug being one of them. she had called and texted several times, tried tracking his location on social media sites, called nino at least four times, torn through his room, his kitchen, the bathrooms, his dining room, even a safe room that had pathways to each room- up until now, she hadn't even been aware that safe rooms ACTUALLY existed- but he was nowhere to be found. and she was growing worried.
at some point in her search she had detransformed, and she was now sitting on adrien's bed, feeding tikki a macaroon. outside his window, heck, outside his very door, chaos ensued, with reporters banging on the wrought-iron gate and policemen searching the mansion for other proof of gabriel's guilt. as if they needed more. we all saw the man detransform!
she'd initially wanted to help, but she had nearly thrown up when she'd seen the corpse of adrien's mother- yeah, it had been in there for god knows how long- in the agreste's basement, so she decided she'd find adrien. the paramedics had long since taken emilie agreste's body to the hospital to see if she had any chance of survival, but she was declared dead only seconds after being put in the ambulance. the clear coffin that held her had been the only string tying her to life.
marinette was tired of having a fruitless search, and if she had to look at the portrait with gabriel agreste in it one more time she might just throw a knife at it, so she decided to call nino once again. surely now he knew where adrien was.
"i have no idea where he's at, marinette. i'm sorry. for... everything. you and chat noir had it hard," nino answered when she called, sounding choked up.
"thank you, nino. i'm more worried about adrien, though. i can't imagine what he's going through, if he's seen the news. if not, i need to find him to tell him... who hawkmoth is," marinette replied to him, and she heard nino sniffle through the line.
"don't stress yourself out, mari. i'll find adrien, and i'll let you know when i do. i can even break the news, i know you've had a tough day," he offered. marinette wanted to argue that he sounded very unqualified for it at the moment, but she was so tired... and she didn't even want to imagine adrien's reaction to the news. it was probably the most selfish thing she'd do, but she swore to herself she'd go see him as soon as she felt she was stable enough on her own to be of any help.
"i can't thank you enough nino," she said, to which nino replied,
"no sweat."
he hung up directly after that, wiping his tears off with the hem of his shirt. he had never been very fond of adrien's old man, but thinking of his best friend's adoration for him combined with the recent revelation that hawkmoth was enough to reduce him to tears. he hadn't even had the time to think about the fact that his very GIRLFRIEND had helped ladybug and chat noir defeat hawkmoth.
it was just so unfair. how could someone so awesome be stuck with someone so horrible?
nino dialed adrien's number and texted, but each time it went straight to voicemail, and the messages merely marked as delivered. he checked online to see if there was any way to track him down- a very marinette-esque thing to do, he thought, but desperate times- but adrien had his current location off.
nino paced around his room, wondering what he'd do if he were adrien. as adrien, he probably wouldn't ever be wandering the streets with so many reporters and paparazzi around, especially not at a time like this, but his best friend seemed like the type who would know how to dodge those types of things.
he pulled on his shoes and dashed to his front door, unlocking it with what he thought was record speed. instead of taking off into the street, though, the very person he was looking for stood right in front of him.
adrien's eyes slightly widened before he put his head down in what seemed like a display of shame. "look, nino, i know i should have called, and i understand if you don't want me in your house right now but-"
his speech was cut off by nino's arms being thrown around him and embracing him tightly. "i'm so glad you're okay, dude. marinette and i have been worried sick!"
adrien smiled and pulled away from the hug, confused. "you don't mind housing hawkmoth's son?" he asked, only halfway joking. nino frowned.
"you found out from the news?" adrien shook his head before his eyes widened slightly.
"i... found out on twitter," he lied. he had, however, seen the tweets. many thought he knew about hawkmoth- which was absurd, why would he stay quiet about that?- but many defended him, saying he could never have lived with that and sending well wishes. though he appreciated the people that saw the good in him, he just wished everyone would shut up about it. he didn't feel like talking about it at all at the moment.
nino ran a hand over his cap and exhaled. "i... uh, wow. that's a horrible way to find out. i'm sorry."
adrien smiled sadly. "don't be. can we just... play some video games and pretend nothing is happening? please?" he begged, and nino slung an arm around him, leading him towards the den. he swore to himself he'd do everything in his power to keep his friend as happy as possible.
————
marinette looked out her window and sighed. the swarms of reporters were back again, perhaps because they thought that since it was the first day of school, she'd finally step out the house again. boy, were they wrong. not only was it already the end of the school day, but marinette would rather do anything instead of stepping into francois dupont high at this moment.
it had been five days since gabriel agreste's arrest, therefore five days since she'd seen chat noir. or even spoken to him, for that matter. she wanted to pretend like it wasn't a big deal, but she was going insane. she didn't even know how he was doing!
another person she had no idea about was adrien. he'd answered like, two of her texts in the past week? but those responses lacked emotion, and letters, for that matter. they'd both been thumbs up. she needed to find a way to contact both of them, one way or another. just, without having to step out of her house.
as she plotted out an inconspicuous way to exit her house- she had to say that was her forte, she'd gone for a year without people finding out her identity!- her trapdoor swung open, and she jumped off her rolling chair, the momentum landing her on the ground. she was relieved to find it was only alya coming in, giggling at her fall.
"oh my god, you nearly gave me a heart attack. i thought you were one of those stupid reporters! how'd you even get in here?"
alya grinned and sheepishly showed off the fox miraculous hanging from her neck. marinette's mouth gaped open, remembering that in her haste a week ago, she hadn't taken back the miraculous.
"i used an illusion to hide me. this thing is super handy," she commented, and it was as if a lightbulb went off in marinette's brain. she ran up to alya and hugged her.
"you're a genius, als! do you think you can make an illusion so i can leave the house and go see ad- wait," she frowned, slouching as she realized the flaw in the plan. "i don't know where adrien or chat noir are."
alya smiled sympathetically at her best friend. "i can't really help you with chat noir, but adrien is staying with nino until he goes to live with his aunt. nino's parents tried convincing the authorities to let him stay, but she's the next legal guardian while his dad goes on trial."
marinette put a hand over her heart, feeling an ache. adrien was leaving?
"i- do you think you can set up an illusion so i could go see him?"
alya nodded and transformed, immediately playing the flute that would set off the illusion. to marinette and everyone outside, it seemed like absolutely nothing had changed, but rena had covered marinette in an illusion, allowing her to transform and exit her room without anyone noticing.
she headed as quickly as she could to nino's house. she trusted the magic of the miraculous, but she didn't exactly want to push the five minutes it gave her.
she landed at nino's door and paused before knocking, wondering what she was to say if adrien opened the door. after a few seconds, she took a deep breath and knocked.
"come on- uh??? dude, i think we just got ding dong ditched," nino said confusedly upon opening the door. ladybug scowled, since he was looking right at her.
"nino, are you serious? i'm right here!"
nino jumped, as if he'd heard a ghost. "marinette? where are you?"
ladybug nearly pulled out her yo-yo to smack him before realizing why he couldn't see her: she was covered by an illusion. she giggled sheepishly and shot alya a quick text. "whoops. rena still has me covered. i'm sure it'll wear off in a sec."
sure enough, as soon as she stepped inside- and thank god she had- nino jumped again, a sign that she was visible once again. "i thought you were still outside!"
"perks of invisibility," she shrugged, de-transforming as she walked toward the couch. nino took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"i can never get used to you or alya transforming and detransforming. that's always gonna be wild."
marinette smiled slightly. "i'm still not used to it myself. anyway... is adrien here with you? how's he doing?"
nino's smiled sagged. "he says he's okay, and he acts like nothing happened when i ask how he's doing, but... i don't know. it seems like whenever he thinks nobody is looking, he crumbles. i didn't even want to leave him alone for school today, but he insisted i went. i don't know what i can do anymore, marinette. i just want my dude to be happy again."
marinette frowned, feeling her heart crack for adrien, and even for nino. she patted him on the back and gave him a sad smile. "you've done a lot already, nino. do you think... do you think he'd want to see me?"
"why wouldn't he?"
"i put his dad in jail. i just... i don't know, i should have done more for him," marinette said. she had thought of it all week. though she was happy gabriel was getting what he deserved, she wondered how adrien saw her after it. she hadn't even come to see him once until now! would he hate her? she couldn't bear that.
"are you kidding? adrien wouldn't hold that against you. he loves you," nino said. the nonchalant way he said that last part made marinette go slightly red. she still couldn't believe that- from adrien or even from chat noir, who had spent a year peppering her with love as ladybug and later as marinette. maybe it'd be more believable if he hadn't disappeared after hawkmoth's arrest.
"if you say so. is he upstairs or..."
"he's in my room. want me to show you up?"
marinette shook her head and began to walk up, noting how sweaty her palms were getting. how was she even going to start the conversation? 'hey adrien, how've you been? we haven't spoken since the day i got your dad arrested, sorry for not notifying you about that one! lets play some ultimate mecha strike though?'
she reached the closed bedroom door and knocked immediately, deciding that always waiting around and stalling things like she usually did made them much more painfully hard than they should be. she heard his voice inviting her in, and she inhaled deeply before stepping inside.
"nino, you know, you don't have to knock to come in. it's your room," adrien smiled, a smile so convincing that it almost had marinette fooled. until he looked her in the eye and realized she wasn't nino. his fake smile dropped, but he still ran to her and wrapped her in a tight embrace.
"marinette. i'm so glad you're here," he breathed, not seeming like he wanted to let go. marinette melted into the hug, not wanting to let go of her friend either. his arms were just as steady as always, but she could still sense that he wasn't okay. she wanted to make him feel better.
"i am, too. how... how have you been?" she asked tentatively, and adrien sighed as he sat on nino's bed, beckoning marinette over. she sat next to adrien and leaned on the headboard.
"i want to tell you that i'm okay, and not to worry, but you probably won't believe that, will you?" marinette shook her head and smiled sympathetically before adrien continued. "i thought so. well... i don't know, marinette. my father's in jail, nathalie's in the hospital and they won't let me see her, my bodyguard's under interrogation, my mother... i hate it. i hate this. i hate... i hate my father, marinette. i can't believe he ever thought he could just get away with all that he did. how did he expect us to be a family after that? he literally," adrien's voice cracked, giving way to a solitary tear and threatening to spill more. marinette rubbed a hand across his back soothingly. "he said he had nothing to lose. as if i were nothing. as if everything our family ever was, disappeared."
adrien looked at marinette, then back down at his feet. she frowned and enveloped him in her arms, wishing she could just end all his suffering and make him happy again. she felt his body shake in her arms, and she pat his back to calm him down.
"and you... you've been so good to me, marinette. do you know how much you've helped me? and i've done nothing but hurt you," he cried, and she pulled away, looking him dead in the eyes.
"what're you talking about? you've never hurt me, adrien. if anything, i hurt you. i'm so sorry."
adrien shook his head and wiped his tears, though his face remained blotchy and tears kept streaming from his eyes. "no, i literally just ghosted you after we defeated hawkmoth. you shouldn't even be here, still taking care of me after everything. i don't... i don't deserve you."
marinette froze, perplexed by adrien's choice of words. after WE defeated hawkmoth? that could only mean...
she looked up at his teary green eyes, pieces that had long been scrambled finally clicking into place. though in the suit his whole iris turned green, there was no mistaking his eyes, which she'd spent so long looking into in both forms. or his hair, which she oh-so-loved to play with. even his lips, which were currently in a frown, were unmistakable. it was her turn to shed tears. as bad as the moment was... she finally knew the boy she loved. and she'd loved him in both forms, fully and completely.
she choked out a sob and embraced him once again, much tighter than the first. "kitty," she whimpered into his neck. "no... stop that. stop blaming yourself. you absolutely deserve everything and more, and i'd go through anything to make sure you're happy, adrien. i love you."
"doesn't it bother you? that me... chat noir... that i'm hawkmoth's son?"
marinette drew back from their embrace and cupped his face in her hands. "adrien... who your father is does not define you. if he's hawkmoth or if he's some kind of saint, that doesn't change who you are to me. who you are in general. you are so much more than him, adrien. i'll still love you. us against the world, remember?"
adrien smiled meekly at the phrase. "as always, m'lady."
he knew it was probably horrible timing for a kiss, but an uncontrollable wave of emotion hit adrien. he had her in his arms, the girl who loved him truly for who he was, and was able to hold her with no restrictions at last. here she was, with him despite the absolute worst conditions. god, he loved her.
he leaned into her and smashed his lips to hers, and marinette tightened her grip on his face. they deepened the kiss, forgetting for a sweet moment about the world around them. for now, it was just them two vs the world.
until nino barged through the door, abruptly halting their kiss. "hey, my mom made cookies and she was won- oh," he gaped as he noticed their intimate position and blushed. "i'm SO SORRY DUDES, i'll uh, there's... cookies. on the stove! i'll leave some for you just... come when you're finished!"
he shot them a thumbs up and slammed the door swiftly. marinette and adrien giggled, leaning onto the pillows that were against the wall and holding each other. marinette traced shapes on adrien's arm, and he rubbed his thimb in a circle on her shoulder. after a few seconds, adrien spoke.
"i hate him, marinette," he said, and marinette rose up from his chest, looking at him with wide eyes.
"look, i know nino interrupted our kiss, but that's no reason to hate him," she replied, and adrien chuckled.
"no, not nino. my father. i can't believe he was hawkmoth. i just... did he not expect consequences? i can't wrap my head around that. did he just think everyone was gonna be fine with the fact that he's gone on deadly plans just to get the stupid miraculous? and i know it's selfish but... i've spent forever in the spotlight, marinette. granted, i've wished multiple times that i wasn't, and there's always been people who don't like me, but have you seen the things said about me lately? people want me to die because of what my father did. and i know he hurt a lot of people, and i hate him for it, but what do i have to do with it?"
adrien's lip trembled and marinette stayed speechless, because how was she to reply to that? she wished she had the words to help him, but she didn't, so she opened her arms up and allowed adrien to fall into them. and adrien did, finally breaking down after days of pretending that everything was okay.
after a while, adrien's sobs calmed down, and marinette rubbed his back soothingly as he composed himself. though it didn't heal his heart, it still helped immensely knowing that she was there for him. god, he loved her.
for the next few weeks, marinette spent all the time she could with adrien at nino's house. adrien was moving into his aunt's house in a month's time, and marinette had been granted permission to take classes from home for a whole semester- though she was sure she could guilt them into making it easier for her, she wouldn't push it- so they were taking full advantage of their time together.
the month went by much faster than marinette and adrien had planned. marinette was seriously considering using the bunny miraculous to freeze time for the both of them so they could live happily, but perhaps that wouldn't be her brightest idea. adrien had concurred when she'd brought it up in nino's room the day before adrien was to leave.
"what if i just stuffed you in my suitcase instead?" adrien had replied, twirling a piece of marinette's hair absentmindedly. she'd giggled and sighed when suddenly, a ton of unexpected feelings hit her. not that they were really that unexpected- she knew she'd miss adrien.
but she never expected it to come so hard, so fast, and while she was literally in his arms! it was just... she would really, really miss him. so she'd dug her face into his chest before he could notice the tears forming in her eyes. adrien had simply rubbed her back, happy that, though only for a short while, he was able to act like marinette's boyfriend. not that they could date now.
they'd had a long discussion about it. as much as they both wanted to be with each other, they had reluctantly agreed that perhaps a relationship- and a long distance one especially- was not the best idea for them. they didn't want a reason to have anything but good memories and love tied to each other. but they had promised each other one thing- they'd eventually find their way back to each other.
it sounded cliché, and adrien knew it, but he couldn't bear having marinette be gone from his life forever. he knew that someday he'd return to her. maybe she'd be in a relationship by then. it didn't matter; as long as she was happy and he had her in some way.
the day adrien left was rainy- which marinette hated. not because she hated the rain, she adored it. it reminded her of the day her and adrien had met, and the precise moment when she'd fallen for him. then her dance with him in the rain, music-less but more romantic than any waltz she'd ever seen. it was the fact that now, her favorite weather would be tied with the memory of him leaving paris.
they walked together to the airport hand in hand, invisible thanks to the fox miraculous. his aunt amélie's private plane- private plane!!!- was picking him up to take him to new york, where she and felix were relocating to with adrien. she had decided it was best for him to forgo europe completely, since most of his fame- both the good and the bad- lie there. (marinette couldn't help but disagree. she'd noticed the way the new yorkers ogled him when they'd gone on the trip the previous year.)
they reached the airport, where the pair would have to say their final goodbyes. marinette could already feel herself choking up.
she couldn't yet see him, but she felt his grip tighten on her hand as they neared the entrance, saw the illusion crumble around them and reveal his scared face. he was crying already.
this sent her over the edge, and soon they were both in tears. lucky for them it was painfully early in the morning, so tomorrow the tabloids wouldn't be full of pictures depicting 'ladybug and famous model adrien agreste getting into a horrible argument already'!
as if reading her mind, adrien spoke. "i've got photographers on speed dial, just in case you want an an emotional shoot. we won't even have to pretend to be sad! we're paw-fect already," he grinned, though it looked ridiculous contrasting his tear stained cheeks and puffy red eyes. marinette giggled.
"i'm gonna miss your stupid terribly timed jokes," she smiled, but her lip trembled and her emotions betrayed her, causing her face to fall. she wanted to curse herself for all the crying that had happened lately. adrien frowned and caressed her cheek, wiping the tears off with his thumb.
"stop crying m'lady. please. here, i made something for you," he opened up his largest suitcase and pulled out a basket of goodies, handing it to marinette. she gasped as she looked at the massive array of things he'd given her.
"oh my gosh, a partner touch bracelet? i've always wanted one of these!" she grinned widely, remembering the toy she'd given him before leaving for new york that basically had the same job. she picked up a cd from the bottom of the basket and gasped upon reading it.
"a disk full of your puns? you're amazing," she gushed, ever so carefully putting down the basket then throwing her arms around him tightly. "i'm sorry. i only brought you a letter," she mumbled into his neck, reaching towards her pocket for the letter. it wasn't much, but adrien's face lit up like a christmas tree.
he began to open it, but her cheeks immediately reddened and she stopped him before he could tear the envelope.
"save it for the plane." adrien nodded and sighed, looking once toward the airport door.
"i guess maybe i should give back my miraculous, if plagg is done saying goodbye to tikki," adrien said, searching for the kwamis. they were nowhere to be found, and adrien suspected plagg had dragged poor tikki to some airport restaurant as their last hurrah.
adrien began to take off his ring, only to be stopped by marinette's hands. he looked at her face, and she looked directly into his eyes. for a moment, he was stunned into silence. her eyes were mesmerizing.
marinette must have noticed the way he was looking at her, since she began to blush once again. adrien grinned, and marinette rolled her eyes, getting his hand away from her.
"maybe this isn't the best choice as guardian, but.... i want you to keep your miraculous, adrien. it's yours, it will be until the end of our times. plus... one day..." she looked up at his face and bit her lip, and adrien caressed her cheek.
"we'll meet again. and i'll be wearing a leather cat suit when we do," he said, putting his hand up as if he were pledging it. marinette giggled and embraced him, knowing this would have to be the last time if she was going to leave. she felt adrien's strong grip tighten around her, and, despite being in an ultra exposed area, she felt safe.
"i'm really, really going to miss you," she sobbed, dreading the moment she'd have to let go of him but knowing it was going to have to come soon. adrien tucked his face into her neck, and she could feel that he was crying too. yeah, that helps a ton.
"remember? we'll see each other again one day. i swear to you. it'll always be us against the world," said adrien, pulling away to look her in the eyes. marinette nodded and removed herself, figuring it was now or never to say goodbye.
the rest of the day went by in a sad blur. even tikki didn't seem like she wanted to talk, which was honestly fine with marinette. she didn't know if she could bear tikki's overly positive attempts of encouragement to try and make her feel better.
the days went on, and slowly, marinette and adrien grew accustomed to not seeing each other daily. they constantly texted, called, sent pictures to each other. if they pretended hard enough, it was almost like they were together.
adrien knew it couldn't last. one day, their conversations would wane, and they'd eventually stop talking altogether. but he remembered the promise he'd made. he had zero intentions of ever breaking it.
————
dear adrien,
i hope when you're reading this, you aren't in front of me. of course you're not, i absolutely would never let you read this in front of my face. it's currently 3:05 am, but i can't get myself to sleep. my mind is on some weird roller coaster ride, wondering how i'm supposed to go on when you leave. so i'm writing you this, so you'll always have a piece of me with you.
i hope you know i love you. i love you so, so much, my kitty. i'll forever regret rejecting you all the times i did, if i hadn't.... imagine all the time we could have had together?
when you get to america, please please please promise me youll have fun. i want you to be as happy as possible. dont model anymore. i know you hated it. live the life you always wanted. if not for yourself, do it for me.
i could honestly make this letter long enough to last years, and make you realize just how much i love you, and ill miss you. maybe i will.
ill miss your hair, you know. its always so fluffy and soft, remember that day at the wax museum? its probably better if you dont, but maybe one day we'll laugh about it together. anyway, i still remember that, how excited i was to touch your hair for the first time. or, your statue's, i guess. i can't believe how i hadn't realized the countless times you and i had been so close before as ladybug and chat noir.
we were so blind! but i guess its okay now. ill miss our patrols, and when you showed up at my balcony like if it weren't the weirdest thing ever.
i'll definitely miss your lips. do you remember our first kiss, when i was saving you from dark cupid? i remember having the smallest butterflies, but i ignored them. i also remember our next first kiss- the one you DO remember. i was so happy we were finally kissing, but i hated knowing that we could never happen, not with everything happening at the time. i guess you know what they say about right person, wrong time.
our right time will come, though. im sure of it.
i really hope you dont find this letter stupid. maybe youll pin it on your wall, the pink glitter hearts around it would totally make it pop. maybe you'll throw it away too. either way, you should always remember i love you. you are the sunshine in the worst of days. you will always be my partner. ill see you someday, adrien.
your lady,
marinette<3
ps: theres cheese and macaroons for plagg in your carry on bag. he probably already found them, but i wanted to let you know why your stuff probably smells like cheese now ;)
(a/n: alt reality where marinette gets the peacock and butterfly miraculous and they dont have to deal w another hawkmoth as adults ;) also hmmm... i smell a time jump coming, 2 chaps before the epilogue too? gasp)
(extra a/n: fun fact rlyrly sad fact the part where adrien is stunned by her blue eyes is based off a true story. i looked into the blue eyes of someone when he spoke to me and i literally went marinette for a good ten seconds. embarrassing af. i dont think he noticed tho since we still talk, bless 🙏)
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unexpected feelings | marichat
Fanfictionin which marinette and chat noir spend all their free time together and realize they are in love. love, however, kinda sucks at times. they realize this soon enough. - sorta slowburn i suppose i should mention, tho that can probs be picked up based...
