Unclean Hands 🫴🏻 (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction)

7 | Catastrophic

One Hour Before

Adrien was counting down the minutes until his father was gone. Even if it was for a few days, a little taste of freedom was better than nothing. He wanted to see Marinette—without his father's disappointment lurking about—and he didn't care if his father forbade him from seeing her.

Now that Marinette knew what had been going on—years of Gabriel's physical and verbal abuse—she checked up on him all the time. She called, texted, and this morning she sent over care packages from the bakery, filled with nothing but sweets and treats and a bouquet of red roses with a note for Adrien. He had managed to hide the note in time, but his father confiscated the flowers and pastries. Marinette had no idea food was an issue for him, and Adrien didn't want to hurt Marinette even more by telling her.

Adrien and Marinette had been texting all day and evening, and made plans for him to come over and watch a movie after his father, Nathalie, and Gorilla left for their flight. He had managed to perfect his sneaking—aside from transforming into Cat Noir—with a brown wig and heavy coat Marinette made for him. That's what he planned on wearing tonight after his father's leave.

"One more hour until freedom!" Plagg rejoiced as he flew around the room. "We can finally eat freely and watch movies and play video games!"

I'll do at least two of those things, Adrien thought to himself as he sat at his desk, on his computer. He finished chapter twenty-two of his Ladybug and Cat Noir fanfiction, The Cat's Meow, and posted it on his private blog. After a minute, it was a hit, and comments flooded his page, begging for more.

Writing fanfiction about himself and his partner was slightly concerning, and maybe a little odd, but it became a lifeline for him, a way to escape the horrors of home while he was still in it. Daydreaming about a better time, a better life, kept Adrien alive. These stories not only helped him, but they saved him. Without it, he would have lost his mind a long time ago, and besides, it's just fiction.

It's not like Ladybug would ever read it.

But she has. Marinette has. She was bored one night, scrolling through her phone, when Alya had called her and told her about this fanfiction going viral about Ladybug and Cat Noir. It had millions of hits and thousands of comments. The reporter tried to find the author for an interview, but the story was posted under an anonymous blog.

Marinette thought it was ridiculous, at first, until she gave it a read, and now she waited by her computer every week for a new update. She had notifications set up and was now reading the newest chapter at her desk, in her pajamas, as she waited for Adrien to text her he was on his way.

Adrien closed his blog and opened his photo gallery. He has new pictures of everyone in his life and dedicated albums to special people. Which special people? Only Ladybug and Marinette. He put two pictures of the girls side by side, smiling.

He had no idea how he managed to fall in love with two people at the same time, but he did, and he didn't know what to do now.

Sure, Ladybug had rejected him plenty of times before, but he noticed she was getting more flirty with Cat Noir. Maybe she was finally coming around to his charm.

And then there was Marinette, his best friend. Over the years, he slowly fell in love with her, and once he was in all the way, he wondered why it took him so long.

How could he choose between these two girls without breaking the other's heart?

There was this fear at the back of Adrien's mind. What if he chose Marinette, but she picked the other guy she claimed to be in love with? Of course she had every right to, but he was still afraid of making the wrong choice.