Unclean Hands 🫴🏻 (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction)

16 | Ghost Of You

Adrien spun around fast. There was nothing behind him. His heart raced fast, daring to rip out of his chest, and he faced the mirror again. He stared at himself, deeply lost in his eyes, and struggled to catch his breath.

"That wasn't real," He whispered to himself, panting hard. He grabbed the counter for support and leaned forward. "It wasn't real... it was... it was just my imagination."

He glanced up in the mirror and looked behind him again. Nothing.

"I'm losing it," He concludes, tossing the dirty towel aside. "I'm just under a lot of stress right now and losing my mind. That has to be it."

Adrien opened the bathroom door and walked out, finding his kwami snoring peacefully on his pillow.

"So, it's true, you really are Cat Noir." His father's voice rang and echoed in his head, louder and louder.

Adrien turned around and saw him sitting at his desk. He wanted to scream, to run, to do anything, but he was frozen, stuck. "F-Father...?"

He blinked, and he was gone.

"What is wrong with me?" Adrien asked himself and he smacked his face a few times. "This is insane!"

"No, what's insane is that you can't let me sleep!" His kwami mumbled as he drooled all over his holder's pillow. "Us magical creatures need our beauty sleep, too, you know."

"Plagg..." Adrien sat on the bed and contemplated on telling him what he saw. "Do you ever feel like you're... losing your mind, sometimes?"

The black cat snickered. "Of course, all the time. Like now, for instance, while I'm trying to sleep!"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, pardon me."

"Wake me up if there's an akuma," Plagg muttered, and his eyes snapped open. "Wait, there won't be any more... which means I can sleep for as long as I want! There's no reason for you to be Cat Noir anymore."

"Thanks for your sympathy," Adrien snapped, tempted by the thought to suffocate his kwami with the pillow, though it'd be useless, since he could phase his tiny body through almost anything.

A text came in from Nathalie, letting him know that breakfast was ready.

Adrien hesitated to go, but as his stomach growled and knotted, he realized he hadn't eaten anything in almost two days. He left his kwami to sleep and walked back downstairs to the kitchen.

"There's pancakes, eggs, and bacon," Nathalie told him as she grabbed orange juice from the fridge. "Why don't you invite Marinette over?"

The mention of her name made him smile. "Yeah, I will." He pulled out his phone and sent her an invitation, which she happily accepted, and started to head over.

Adrien and Marinette hadn't yet discussed their dating situation. Given everything that happened with his father and finding out each other secret identities, they decided to take things slow.

Though, Adrien already referred to Marinette as his girlfriend, in his mind and only to Plagg, at least.

He grabbed a plate and stared at the food waiting on the stove. Just a little, Adrien. Something to satisfy Nathalie. He grabbed a fork and put a pancake on his plate.

"Adrien, what are you doing?! You know better!"

Startled, Adrien jumped back at hearing that familiar, spine-chilling voice and turned to see his father standing a few feet away from him.

"You have a photoshoot tomorrow. You need to look absolutely perfect!"

The plate slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.