You Will Never be a God

The Sky is Falling

"It's been four months since that night. I keep a count of all the things in my life, just to keep track of time. It's what prevents it all from blurring together I suppose. I like numbers."

"You like numbers?"

"Yes. And to be more exact, it's been 124 days since... Ladybug lost for the first time."

"Oh how-"

"784 days since Ladybug and Chat Noir first appeared."

"You remem-"

"1472 days since my mother disappeared."

"I'm sor-"

"And we started meeting four weeks ago."

"Yes, that is correct, Adrien."

"I'm sorry... that was all weird to say..."

"No no! It's perfectly alright, I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to listen."

"Right..."

Adrien was in therapy. He sat in a small quiet room with four walls, three chairs, a sofa with two pillows, six cabinets, and one window. Adrien wasn't lying when he said he liked numbers. Numbers were always reliable, and counting things he could see had sort of become a coping mechanism he'd developed not long after his mother's disappearance as a way to keep a handle on anxiety.

But it wasn't just counting he seemed to now do subconsciously. On his first week of therapy, his therapist suggested he make observations and study what was around him to find little details. If he was feeling anxious, she told him to try looking around for something specific such as anything he could find that was red, without having to move. Supposedly, it would keep his mind grounded and help to prevent falling into an anxiety attack.

So he studied this room every day. Aside from the numbers of things he'd counted, he took note of the medical posters (one of which was a diagram of the human throat and tongue), the box of fidget toys on the floor, and the jar of free condoms sitting directly behind the therapist.

"Adrien, are you paranoid?" His therapist asked.

"Er- what-?" Adrien was slightly caught off guard.

"You know, I won't be telling anything you say to me in this room unless I have to." She stated with a kind and welcoming voice.

"... and why would you have to?" Adrien asked.

"If you told me you had a plan to kill yourself or someone else, or if you're thinking about suicide..." she explained, "or if you reveal something to me about something that's putting you or someone else in danger. But even then, I'd tell you before contacting your father- or well... his assistant. Natalie, correct?"

"Yes, Natalie." Adrien but his lip.

"But trust me Adrien, I won't be telling your father, or anyone for that matter, about what you say in here. I'm sworn to secrecy." She said, leaning forward slightly.

"I know..."

"Tell me Adrien, what is this night you keep bringing up? You talk about it a lot but you don't actually tell me anything about what happened that night."

"Sorry."

"It's alright," she smiled slightly to reassure him. "This night was the same night Hawkmoth took over Paris in a way, correct?"

"Yes..."

"Does it have anything to do with that?"

"Yes..." Adrien admitted. "It's hard to explain though."