Uptown, Downtown (Chat Noir x Reader) - Book 1

35 | Wonderland

It was hard seeing your parents always sad. Not once after Julian's death did they ever seem to be truly ok, they were fooling themselves into thinking they'd moved on, living in a beautiful dream.

Almost every day, it felt like something was missing, something was hollow.

Julian had made them happy. You could see that, from the rare videos they'd shot with him, wherever they went on holiday. In two of them, you had been there, usually in a pram, blurred away into the background.

If you could really bring Julian back, would it fix them? Would it make everything stop feeling like there was a huge aching tension in the air?

Yes, you thought it would. It would make your parents happy, and that's all you'd ever want.

That was why your hands shakily slipped Ladybug’s earrings off, and her outfit faded away, to reveal a still unconscious Marinette. A delighted cry escaped your mother, and she held her hand out, beckoning you to give them to her; you did so without much resistance.

“Oh, I knew you’d come around!” your father exclaimed, “That’s my (Y/n)!”

Adrien became silent, realising what those words meant — “(Y/n)?” he whispered weakly, “Don’t tell me… you…”

The polka picked up, its notes unsettlingly picked, switching from major to minor. Was it in your head, or outside? You couldn’t tell.

You couldn’t find the strength to respond, sitting there blankly, and silently wondering what the fuck you’d just done. Gleefully, your mother skipped off towards your father, and he gave her the ring; she put on both of the miraculouses, and then gasped, when a series of black and red sparks came off her, swirling around your mum, and speeding off into the sky like tiny fireworks.

Light burst into the sky, crackling upwards like inverted streaks of lightning, and a large hole appeared in the ground, revealing a dark black pit across from you, leading to God knew where.

Your dad laughed at the display, and your mother jumped around excitedly like a child — you just sat there, lost in thought, stuck in the ruined landscape of your mind.

You’d done this for them.

Right?

They’d be happy now, right? — right?

You gazed up at the fuzzy sky, the purple was mellow and calm, allowing you to sort through the beehive of muses stuck in your head. Returning your view to your parents, you could see your mother listening intensely, before she turned to your father. “It’s telling me I can make a wish!” she exclaimed.

“Great, great! Wish for Julian to come back, then!” your dad demanded, practically shaking in anticipation.

They looked so happy.

“Wait!” your mum paused, and glanced at your father; “It’s telling me that… we need to pay a price. Another person, in place of Julian.”

Oh. That was the catch.

Your parents exchanged a look, and for one singular moment, you thought that they might tell you to be their sacrifice; but what they said was far more terrifying; “(Y/n), bring that boy here,” your father instructed, pointing his cane at you menacingly.