A/N: I apologize in advance for my dark and merciless heart. I think I need serious help. Please forgive me. Chapter 6: Nightmares Prompt: Ladybug and Chat Noir: Death Rating: T Suggested by: Static Archer Warning: Blood, death, potential triggers, and everything along those lines. Also, have a box of tissues ready. Oh, and for those who are worried, there is NO major character death. At least, not REAL major character death...
Adrien didn't know when the nightmares started.
It had been an eventful week for him. Four akuma attacks, a TON of photoshoots, a fencing tournament, a big charity gala, a huge school project, and regular patrols with Ladybug. Adrien was quickly becoming absolutely exhausted. He stumbled around at school, barely able to concentrate. He yawned more than he smiled at his photoshoots. And he looked more like a zombie than Gabriel Agreste's model son at the charity gala. He knew it wouldn't be too long before he broke, but he kept pushing anyway. He couldn't stop doing anything he did in his life as Adrien, so the only option was to cut back on his activities as Chat Noir. But he couldn't leave his lady alone during akuma attacks, so the only other option was to drop a few patrols. Adrien knew Ladybg would be more than happy to take over some of his patrols if he explained how run down he was feeling. He knew that she would be very concerned, and she would probably send him home to sleep with a kind, "Hope you're feeling better soon!" But he couldn't stop himself. Every time he saw Ladybug, it put the spring back into his step. Every time he heard her laugh, it made his life worth living. Without her, he wouldn't be able to handle his normal life at all. So Adrien decided the best course of action was to muddle through it, drink a LOT of coffee, get notes from Nino, and use a lot of makeup to conceal the dark circles under his eyes. It worked for another two weeks. Then the nightmares started. He had gone to bed absolutely exhausted. After his patrol, he stayed up until three in the morning to finish his huge Literature essay. Once it was completed to perfection (his father would stand for nothing less, and it was a big part of his grade) he barely managed to change into his pajamas and collapse upon his bed, a purring Plagg next to him. Sleep captured him almost immediately. It was relentless. Chat Noir glanced around. It was misty and unreal. Part of his subconscious knew that he was dreaming, but it all felt so real. He took a few steps backward, glancing around nervously. There was a smell in the air. It was dark and unsettling, but Chat couldn't put his finger on what it was. His ears twitched as he heard a noise behind him. His vision began to blur as the mist rippled until he was aware that he was standing in an alleyway somewhere in Paris. Behind him, a weak voice cried out. "Chat!" He spun around, and saw a figure lying on the ground. It was Ladybug. Excpet that it wasn't. The girl looked exactly like Ladybug, except her red suit had no black spots. Chat pulled his baton off of his back, walking over slowly in case it was an akuma. As he saw her better, he reeled back and fought the urge to throw up. It was Ladybug, alright. But her black spots were glossed over. With her blood. Her suit was torn in so many places that everything bled together, covering her in a sickening brilliant red color. Chat ran to her and fell onto his knees. "LADYBUG!" he yelled, cradling her bloody head in his arms, running his hands through her hair, which was loose from its pigtails. "Cha...ton...." Ladybug murmured. "Keep....Paris...safe....for me..." Chat's eyes widened as he realized what she meant. "No Ladybug, no! You'll get through this! You always do! I'll take you to a hospital and-" "No....use..." she croaked. "Can't....make...it.... Glad... you're....here...with...me..." Chat began to sob uselessy, the tears running down his face and onto hers. "Don't leave me," he whispered. "Please, don't leave me. I love you Ladybug. I've always loved you. You can't leave me alone." "Love....you...too..." Ladybug managed to get out. Then her head dropped and her eyelids fluttered shut. Chat frantically checked for a pulse, any sign that she was still with him. Nothing. "No!" he screamed into the chilly night air. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" "Adrien!" Plagg shouted into his ear. Adrien bolted upright, breathing heavily and soaked with sweat. His wild eyes scanned the room, taking it all in. He was safe. Ladybug was not dead in his arms. Everything was okay. His breathing slowed. "Are you okay?" He looked down to see Plagg's little face in a worried expression, which was a rare sight unless they ran out of Camembert. "I'll be fine. I just had a nightmare, that's all." Adrien lay back down, trying to let the sleep reclaim him. It wouldn't. The image of Ladybug dying in his arms was permanently ingrained in his mind. The sickening stench of her blood seemed to invade his nostrils. He tossed and turned for the rest of the night, until it was morning and he forced himself to get up. The rest of the day was a nightmare a well. Nino had a dentist appointment, and Adrien was forced to take notes for both of them during the morning classes. His father snapped at him for being lazy at his photoshoot, and the cook had made some horrible excuse for a tasty dinner. Not to mention that the amount of homework he had to do was unbearable. His patrol with Ladybug made his day a little better. He couldn't help but glance over at her every few seconds, just to make sure she really was alive and well. If she noticed his lack of puns and worried glances, she didn't let on. He returned home and dove into his bed without even changing. Plagg for once didn't complain about his cheese, but went to get it himself. And then Adrien had the next nightmare. They were falling, falling, falling. The wind slapped at his face and blew his hair out of his eyes. Tears from the wind filled his eyes, making everything blurry. He was aware of Ladybug calling to him to elongate his baton and save them. Whipping it off his back, he shoved it into a building and securely held it in one hand as the other reached for Ladybug. For a half of a second, he thought that he would make it. Her hand outstretched and their fingertips brushed slightly. But then he jerked to a halt, his baton breaking his fall. He screamed her name as he hung there. "LADYBUG!" She hit the ground with a sickening crunch and then lay there, unmoving. He released his baton and ran over to her, not caring how many horrified civilians he had to knock over. He skidded to her side. "Ladybug? Ladybug say something? SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE!" People around them started to whip out their phones and dial the emergency number. Ladybug opened her eyes and reached up slowly, cupping his face in her hands and wiping away his tears. Then her hand dropped. "Why?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "You said you'd always be there to catch me. Why didn't you?" "I tried, Ladybug! I didn't mean to let you fall!" he wailed. "I'm sorry! Just hold on! Wait for an ambulance! It's coming!" Ladybug chuckled softly. "Minou, there's nothing to hold onto. Your hand slipped my grasp. Goodbye...." Her breath hitched and then her chest stopped moving. Everything was a blur. Chat Noir was aware of Alya sobbing behind him, and civilains yelling. He heard the sound of the ambulance, coming far too late to save her. But it was all in the background. Her broken body lying before him was the only thing he was aware of. Again, Adrien woke up gasping. His bedsheets were all twisted up and he was soaked with sweat. Dragging himself to the bathroom, he turned on the cold water in the shower and stepped into it, hoping to drown every memory of the dream. No such luck. He could hear his alarm clock blaring in the background. Great. Another nearly sleepless night. That would probably equal another horrible day. It did. He failed his pop quiz and his teacher requested a conference with his father, who was less than pleased and threatened to pull him out of school. His piano instructor actually started yelling at him because he couldn't focus a bit. All in all, it was a basically a real life nightmare. Of course, there had to be an akuma attack. He was so out of it that Ladybug actually had to scold him several times for not paying attention. He profusely apologized and waved off her concerns when she asked if everything was okay. Nothing was okay. Because he still had the image of his last nightmare fresh in his mind. "I'd do anything to get it out of my head," he told an increasingly concerned Plagg before going to bed. His mind was happy to agree by replacing it with another. This time, they were battling an akuma. It went as it always did. He and Ladybug fought in perfect harmony. They were gaining the upper hand. Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm, preparing to finish it. She didn't notice the dagger being flung in her direction until it was too late. She screamed as it plunged into her heart. She staggered backwards, dropping to the ground as Chat slammed the akuma to the ground and raced over. "LADYBUG!" He would never get the haunting echo of his own scream out of his mind, The same thing every time. Her name. Ladybug glared up at him, her hands clutching her chest as she pulled the silver blade out. "WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE TO PROTECT ME?" she screamed at him. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE THE HIT?" "I couldn't get there in time," he whimpered. "It's all my fault. I'm supposed to take the hits for you." "SOME PARTNER YOU ARE!" she yelled again before she let death claim her. Chat turned and ran, because he didn't want to let another image invade his mind. But it was too late. Her words rang through his head over and over again. He ran faster, hurling himself over objects as the tears blinded him. Eventually, he tripped and landed on the ground with a hard THUD! THUD! Adrien jerked awake as his body slammed on the ground. He looked up, the tears still fresh in his mind. He was on his cold bedroom floor. Plagg hovered over him. "You're not okay, kid. We need to do something to stop this." Adrien and Plagg spent the rest of the night Google searching ways to prevent nightmares. Nothing useful ever came up. His alarm clock went off again and he rose for another day of utter hell. Plagg watched him, extremely worried. He knew Adrien would refuse to talk to Ladybug about this, but it was the best (and only) thing he could do at this point. That night, Adrien vowed to stay awake. But as he sat in his desk chair, scrolling through tumblr, his eyelids began to droop and he couldn't help but let the exhaustion claim him one last time. This time, he made a mistake. He miscalculated his blow, and it left him open to the akuma's attack. The akuma took full advantage of it, sending Chat backwards into a wall and wrapping it's arms around his throat. The akuma began to choke him. "Lady...bug.." Chat managed to get out as the hands tightened around his neck and he fought for breath. She watched from a few feet away. "You really are worthless, Chat Noir," she said calmly. "Who could possibly make a mistake that stupid? Maybe after you die I'll get a better partner." Chat went limp, his vision beginning to darken as his body made its final attempts to fight for oxygen. He could hear Ladybug laughing in the background as everything faded to black. He awoke suddenly, jumping up and throwing his hands around his neck. He sighed in relief. He could breath. Adrien glanced around his room. Daylight already. "Never again," he promised himself. "I'm never going through that again." And he didn't. He refused to sleep. He wasted his nights drowning soda can after soda can, scrolling the nights away on his computer. He refused to sicomb to the will of his nightmares. His façade slowly crumbled, and with it, his life. Nino finally got frustrated when his best friend wouldn't tell him what was wrong, and they got into a huge argument. Alya and Marinette were constantly whispering behind his back. His school performance failed miserably and here wasn't a single photo worth using from his extensive amounts of photoshoots. Finally, Adrien's father put his foot down. He informed his son that he would no longer attend public school. Adrien ran out of the office, unable to keep the tears at bay. Life was slowly killing him, and he kind of wanted to die. He didn't know what to do, so he did what he always used to do when he sought comfort. "Plagg, claws out!" he screamed. Plagg didn't even have time to argue. Chat Noir leapt into the darkness of the night, running as fast and as far away as possible. His heart was pounding and his chest heaved. His body begged him to stop. Not to mention that he couldn't see properly and his mind refused to function. It wasn't long before his body gave out. He collapsed from exhaustion, his head hitting a chimney as he went down. He was unconscious within seconds, curled up and sick on the rooftop. The dark clouds that had been brewing in the distance rumbled angrily. It began to rain, soaking him completely. But he was unaware, happily lost in the realm of unconsciousness, free from the nightmares. His black suit blended perfectly in the darkness. There was a very slim chance anyone would find him here. By the time they did, it would be far too late. His body couldn't take it anymore. His life began to slowly slip away. ############################################################################################################################################################ Ladybug had been waiting at their usual meeting place for a half hour when she began to panic. Chat had been acting extremely weird lately, and she was worried to death. His movements were sluggish, and he had zero concentration. He nearly collapsed on their last several patrols. His mask did nothing to hide his tired eyes. The bright spark that she had always loved wasn't there anymore. His green eyes were completely dull. He had waved off her concerns, so she let it slide. For awhile. Then she began insisting that he take a break from patrols. She threatened, yelled, kindly explained. Nothing helped. He showed up anyway. Tonight, she had planned on tying him up on the freaking rooftop if he didn't listen. There was no way she was going to let this continue. So when he didn't show up, she was confused at first. Maybe he had actually listened to her and stayed home after last night's argument. But a little voice in the back of her brain told her that it was something more. Something had happened. Eventually Ladybug took off across the rooftops, heading in the direction that he normally came from when they met. She kept in a straight line, knowing the chances of finding anything were slim. He could live anywhere. And he might just be at home. She was wasting her time.... She cursed as it began to rain. She didn't have night vision, and the rain lowered her visibility even more. Now the chances of her finding him were almost zero. But of course, she wasn't lady luck for no reason. She almost missed it. The bright gold flash of his bell in the corner of her eyes alerted her. She dropped down onto the rooftop and gasped. She ran to her partner's side, cradling his soaked head in her lap. He was shaking, and when she checked for a pulse she could barely find it. "Chat?" she said, shaking him a bit. He didn't wake up. "Chat Noir!" She became more forceful, but nothing helped. "Oh god, you need help!" She couldn't take him to a hospital. His transformation might wear off. Sure, his ring was still full of paw pads, but she didn't want to take any chances. Besides, if it came down to her knowing his identity or a full hospital staff and possibly all of Paris knowing his identity, it was pretty obvious what the better choice was. Ladybug gathered her partner up in her arms, both surprised and worried to find how light he actually was. Carrying the unconscious boy bridal style, she made her way to the only place she could think of: her house. When she arrived, she slipped through the trapdoor and placed him on her chaise, not caring of he got it soaking wet. She ran to the bathroom and grabbed some towels. Her parents, both very heavy sleepers, had already gone to bed. So there was no risk of them waking up again until morning. She threw some blankets on him and began toweling his hair. While she worked, Tikki used her magic to instantly dry her Ladybug suit. Apparently, Chat's kwami could do the exact same, because when she pulled the blankets off, Chat's suit was dry too. Ladybug (not daring to drop her transformation lest he wake up) cocooned him in blankets and carried him over to her bed, where she pulled up the covers. At least know he was warm, and a bit of color was beginning to return to his cheeks. She cleaned up her mess before she sat down anxiously to wait for him to wake up. The clock ticked and tocked back and forth for three hours. Finally, she heard a low groan. Flipping the lights on, she knelt by his side as he stirred. "Chat?" she asked. He blinked a few times. "M'lady," he murmured sleepily. "What happened?" "I don't know!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. He melted into her embrace and began to purr. "I found you unconscious on a rooftop in the pouring rain. Whatever has happened to you lately Chat, it needs to stop. You nearly died!" "I-What?" he asked. She hugged him a little tighter, letting a stray tear run down her cheek. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you," she whispered. "What's wrong, kitten? Please tell me. I can see that you're miserable. I want to help you." He froze, but calmed down when she started petting his head, running her fingers through his hair and scratching behind his cat ears. "I've been having nightmares," he confessed. "What about?" Ladybug asked. "You dying," Chat sighed. "Every time it was different. I couldn't do anything about it the first time, and then I couldn't keep my promise to you, and then I couldn't make it in time..." He choked up, finally letting the tears fall. Ladybug didn't say anything. She just held him as sobs wracked his body. He was shaking and crying and squeezing her like she would disappear. "Why didn't you tell me, Chat?" she asked. "I was afraid," he admitted. "Afraid you would think I was weak and silly. One of my nightmares... I was the one who died... and you.... you let it happen..." Ladybug gasped, withdrawing her hand from his head to cover her mouth. "Chat I would NEVER think that less of you, and I would NEVER, EVER let you die. I can't believe you would think that! You're my partner Chat Noir! I lo-" she stopped short. "I know, but the nightmares were so convincing," Chat whispered. "They played into my insecurities as a person, I guess. I can never be good enough. Everyone I love has ended up dying. Everyone who loved me is dead...." "I love you," Ladybug said firmly, her mind made up. "I love you, and I'm never going to die on you and leave you alone. I don't know who you are, or who makes you feel like this, but I know you. You're brave and extremely loyal. You're funny and clever. You may have insecurities, but so do I. So does everyone. We're human. We're supposed to make mistakes. You're perfect just the way you are." She was crying with him now. She couldn't believe he thought that he wasn't good enough for her, or for anyone! It made her blood boil to think that somebody had treated her kitten so horribly that he began to doubt his self worth. He didn't respond, he just kept holding her tightly. "You can go to sleep now, chaton," she told him. "I won't let the nightmares hurt you anymore." "But-" "Shhh," she said soothingly. "I'll be here when you wake up. I don't care who you are behind that mask. We've been living behind our masks too long. I love you, and I'm going to make sure nobody ever hurts you again. Because you're special to me. You're a special person. And you deserve lots of love." "Your parents...." "Will understand. They know I'm Ladybug. But they think I don't know. I've avoided the conversation so far. They'll accept you. Our home is your home. And you deserve a home." "Ladybug?" She looked down into his tear filled green eyes. "Thank you. For everything." "You don't have to thank me for anything, kitten. Just go to sleep. I'm right here." Chat nodded and curled up around her. His breathing became soft and rhythmic as he finally welcomed the sleep instead of avoiding it. He slept better than he ever had before that night, and the promise of tomorrow filled his spirit with joy. No nightmares came to assault him. In fact, he never had a nightmare again. A/N: I could never kill my babies, but I did write Ladybug dying three times and I was even evil enough to kill my kitten. *sobs* I nearly started crying while writing this.... What have I done? WHAT HAVE I DONE?
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Miraculous Prompts
Short StoryA series of oneshots based off of prompts from the readers of my other fic 'Secrets and Betrayals'. The prompts are two people, and one word. Anybody can request a prompt, but S&B readers prompts will be written first, after that it is first come, f...
