Without his Lady

Chapter One - Hawkmoth

Hawkmoth was defeated. But at what cost?

Even Adrien, Paris's superhero himself, wasn't sure if it was worth it.

Laying in his new bed, in his new house, with new smells and new furniture and missing key aspects of his old house.

One key aspect.

As much as Adrien had despised his father, he was still Adrien's family, and living in this house, less than half the size of his old one and far less sparse, Adrien felt more alone than ever.

Of course, he could still visit his father though. There were some people he'd never be able to see again.

His mother for instance.

And Marinette.

Marinette whom he hadn't known until the very end was also Ladybug, his first love.

Marinette had been his last.

Funny that they ended up being the same person.

"Adrien?" Came a concerned voice, "will you be coming down to dinner tonight?"

Adrien sighed. He hadn't been to dinner in two weeks.

"Not tonight Natalie," he said to his new guardian, feeling the weight of disappointment through the wooded doors.

"Alright then, I'll bring a plate up to your room,"

Both of them knew that the chances of him eating anything were slim, yet still, she tried, in memory of his father or genuine affection for Adrien he didn't know.

When he heard her footsteps fading away, Adrien could have cried. Yes, he felt more alone than ever but in reality, he'd never been more surrounded.

Natalie and Gorilla both stayed in the house with him, acting as his guardians until he turned eighteen. Alya, Nino, and the rest of his classmates had all showed up at Adrien's house after the funeral to comfort him, some continuing to show up for days even after he showed no signs of communication. The press had surrounded him right from the moment he'd left the hospital, firing questions about Ladybug and Hawkmoth that only increased once his identity became public and only served to irritate to no end.

But even though he was surrounded by friends and guardians and people, none of them could make up for the one person whom he wanted so desperately to talk to, to see one more time.

Marinette.

Even though her parents had stopped by, offering to help in any way they could through their own grief, even though he had countless other supporters and friends, all he wanted was to feel Marinette, solid and whole, in his arms, where she was safe and nothing could hurt her.

Sometimes Adrien really wished Hawkmoth was still active, if only so she would be too. 

~♡~Flashback~♡~

Flopping into bed after a long day, Adrien hardly had enough energy to toss Plagg a wheel of Camembert before he shut his eyes to the world and fell asleep. 

Being a superhero was hard. He not only had to manage the life of a not-so-normal teenage boy, but also being Paris' superhero on the daily, without anyone knowing about his heroic adventures. Keeping his identity secret, keeping up with school work, and having a life - or as much of a life as his father allowed him to - it was draining. And if it was this bad for him, he couldn't imagine how it felt for Ladybug, who was now the guardian of the miraculous and had that little extra bit of responsibility entrusted to her. 

But, to both his relief and despair, there hadn't yet been an akumitisation today. This meant he could focus fully on his modelling fencing, and piano and hopefully get a proper night's sleep for once. But it also meant he had to go a whole day without seeing his lady, his one true love.