Miraculous Dragonus (Lila Rossi x Male Reader)

Arc 10: Chapter 04: Forgive Me, My Weakness

Dragonus was standing on the north corner of the Arc de Triomphe when Ladybug and Cat Noir finally caught up with him, his helmet resting at his feet, his fists clenching and unclenching, and his head down.

They approached him slowly, taking every precaution not to accidentally provoke him. Ladybug found herself glancing between Dragonus's hands, his sword still slung across his back, and Cat Noir. Once he locked eyes with her, she tilted her head in Dragonus's direction. He nodded.

"You can talk, you know." Dragonus said, his voice somewhere between an annoyed growl and an exhausted sigh. He didn't turn around. "I don't feel like biting at the moment. Ask any annoying, obvious question you want."

Ladybug felt herself subconsciously relax, but she still bristled at his comment. "Why did you do it?" She demanded. "Where did you put the Salvation ? Where did Hawk Moth and Mayura go?"

Dragonus chuckled once. "I put Hawk Moth and Mayura back where I took them from... and I took their powers back. They didn't need them anymore, anyhow. The Salvation is being broken down in one of my personal pocket spaces... never to be used again. As for why I did it ? What, exactly?"

"Why did you stop trying to become a god?" Cat Noir asked. "Why'd you let us go? Why did you send the Darks away?"

Dragonus sighed, then turned around. His golden eyes had dulled, the glints of malice gone. Ladybug thought back to Viperion's assessment of Dragonus: His orchestra started playing out of sync, and then it all stopped. He's silent.

"I don't think it's quite the same for you two, but... you know how it feels when your love for someone overrides everything in your head? Like you know what your brain tells you would be the right move, but your heart or your gut or whatever take over?"

"Absolutely." Ladybug and Cat Noir said in unison.

"Take that, and apply it to a fracturing mind and body, and then you see the one you love suffer... almost the same way your first love did..." Dragonus's voice seemed to die in his throat. "It hurt me. And the pain from the rest of you... and Lila... I let you go, so none of us would hurt. There. I couldn't exactly put it into words, but... happy now?"

"You still didn't answer the other question." Ladybug pointed out, crossing her arms.

Dragonus turned away from her glare. "The others... They aren't bad people. The guys, at least. The stuff they did was bad, yes, but they were ultimately working for me. They don't deserve the punishment for my sins."

"And what about Lila? She's still done a whole lot of stuff before you came along."

"Not really as an excuse for her previous behavior, but she's had a rough life." He replied. "Her father died - might've been murdered - and he was her anchor. Kept her compulsions under control, put her on the road to recovery, and all of it came crashing down with his death. Her mom had to work more, leaving her alone a lot, so..." He made a swirl with a finger. "She spiraled. I guess she just needed someone who would love her. And before you ask, it's true. I was able to absorb from her - before we started dating - and I learned all about her past."

Ladybug glanced at Cat Noir, who shrugged back at her. "Why are you telling us all this?" She asked. "Looking to get out of jail free?"

"Remember what I said the other day?" Dragonus replied. "' No more Dragonus if everything went according to plan? ' Ask one of the others, and they'll say my original plan was just to fix the damages humanity caused. I'd say that counts."

He threw his helmet at Ladybug, and she caught it instinctively. "Show that to the press. Tell them Dragonus is no more. I only have a few more weeks - at most - in Paris. You don't go after me or my fr- teammates during those weeks, and we won't do anything. You can be as cold and indifferent to us as you want, I don't care anymore... I just want to go home." His eyes were shut tight, and his mask was still brightly reflecting the afternoon light, but Ladybug could see a single tear slowly tracing the scales of his mask.