"the moth's apprentice" chat noir x y/n

Missing

My phone rings. 

"Marinette?" I hear panicked breathing -- a female's panicked breathing -- but I'm not sure if it's Marinette. It doesn't sound right. 

"Hello? Y/N? Is that you?" 

"Sabine?" 

Adrien perks up, frowning in my direction. "Why is Sabine calling you?" 

I shush him. "What's wrong?" 

"I can't find Marinette anywhere. I've checked everywhere I can think of -- Alya hasn't heard from her in two days, and she won't pick up her phone." 

Marinette's missing? My mind immediately races to the worst possibilities. 

Adrien jumps from his seat, clearly overhearing Sabine's less than dulcet tones. 

"Okay, okay --" I pause, thinking quickly. "You tried Luka Couffaine?" 

"Yes, no one's heard from her," Sabine says, increasing in volume. "I'm on my way to file a missing person's report, but I was hoping you know something. You two are so close -- did she tell you anything about where she might have gone?" 

"No," I say, quietly. "No, I haven't talked to her in a while." 

"Did you two get into a fight?" There comes the sound of horns in the background and Sabine swears under her breath. 

I don't speak. "We--" 

"It doesn't matter," Sabine says hurriedly. "But if you hear from her, call me immediately." 

There's a click, and Sabine hangs up. 

I turn to Adrien, expecting him to turn on me. Instead, his face is purely terrified, which might be worse. 

"You know what's happening, right, Y/N?" 

Dread sinks into the pit of my stomach. "Yes." 

Outside, it's still raining. Buckets are pouring from the sky. The clouds rumble their answer. It's judgement day. 

"The wish --" Adrien says, swallowing. "It's finally made a trade." 

His eyes grow stormy, mirror the turmoil out the window. 

A lump grows in my chest. "The trade is Marinette," I say, clenching my fists in the hospital sheets. "Emelie Agreste for Marinette Dupain Cheng." 

Adrien laughs, dry and cold. "Ironic, isn't it?" 

"What is?" 

"That you made the wish, but Marinette is the one to pay for it." He's not glowering. He doesn't even look mad. But the scorn in his voice is absent. Lost. "It shouldn't have been either of you. It's my father who should've been the trade." 

"Look, we don't know for certain," I say. "Marinette does disappear from time to time." 

"Yeah, when she becomes fucking Ladybug," Adrien says, frustration edging into his voice. "Without Hawkmoth, there isn't a need for Ladybug or Chat Noir, so why the fuck would she be Ladybug right now?" 

"Okay, you need to calm down," I say, "please. You're not helping the situation." 

"I'm sorry," Adrien says, his cheeks turning red, "how would you have me react? Oh, isn't this a marvellous turn out, huh? This is exactly what we wanted!" 

"Don't be cruel," I say, blinking evenly. "You're not your father." 

That quiets him fast, giving my brain the silence to think. 

I slide out of bed, finding my slightly water-logged shoes underneath the window. Pulling them on, I scan the room for other clothes. They took my clothes. Evidence, I guess. Or so that I wouldn't be a flight risk. 

I take Adrien's jacket. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Getting dressed so we can go find Marinette." 

Adrien scoffs. "You know where she's gone, right? She's not coming back." 

"I don't care," I tell him. "We're doing something about it." 

"Like what?" 

I shrug. "I don't know yet. Are you going to help me figure it out? Or are you going to turn into a lump in this hospital chair?" 

_ 

In order to leave the hospital, I have to pretend not to be a high risk suicide patient. Thankfully, there is a fair amount of turmoil in the hallways from car accidents and half-drowned people. 

Adrien and I manage to sneak through the ranks of people on stretchers to the elevator doors. 

"What's your plan once we get out of here?" he asks, slamming his fists into the buttons. 

"Maybe not breaking this elevator?" I say, pushing the bottom floor button. "You don't want to be trapped in here with me, do you?" 

Adrien doesn't respond. 

"Exactly." 

The elevator dings. 

"I have an idea," I tell him. "But you're probably going to veto it immediately." 

"What is it?" 

"We're going to talk to your father."