Unravel- Miraculous Ladybug AU [discontinued]

19~ Water Damage

Fun fact- I wrote this chapter while having to deal with my legs being big up by mosquitos, which I am allergic to.

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The next morning Adrien didn't have the will to get out of bed.

When he wasn't downstairs in time for breakfast, Nathalie came to check on him, surprised to see that he hadn't even gone through the trouble to turn off his alarm.

"Adrien, school starts in thirty minutes," Nathalie pointed out, entering the room and standing by his bed, "are you alright?"

Adrien simply mumbled in response.

In all seriousness, he was pretty sure he'd caught a cold from yesterday. Even after returning home he was too tired to change, so he'd just slipped off his shoes and went to bed in his wet clothes.

Nathalie sat down on the side of his bed, gently reaching over and placing the back of her hand against his forehead, surprised to see that he was, in fact, sick.

"I'll call the school to let them know if your absence," Nathalie decided, "I'm cancelling your afternoon piano lesson. You should shower and get changed into more suitable clothes."

It wasn't surprising that he was sick, considering the damp shoes at the foot of his bed and how it appeared that his clothes had been soaked the night before.

"I'll let your father know if your condition, and be back in a bit with some breakfast."

Adrien didn't even bother protesting.

It took what seemed like hours for him to finally drag himself out of bed. He'd refused to leave Manon's side last night, only returning home well past midnight and after the child had finally fallen into a restless sleep.

He slowly made his way to the shower, sluggishly changing into soft, warm clothes before exiting the bathroom only to see that someone had come to change his sheets while he was in the bathroom.

He picked up his phone only to find concerned texts from both Marinette and Nino. He replied to Nino with a simple text saying he was fine, but he couldn't bring himself to even read Marinette's. He simply dialed her number, it rang for a few seconds before she picked up.

"Are you okay Adrien? I saw you weren't in class and started panicking," she rambled, and despite the situation, he found himself rambling.

"I guess I forgot you were still at school, sorry if I interrupted class," Adrien said, grabbing a blanket from his bed and moving to sit on the couch, lazily turning on the tv and flipping through channels.

"It's fine, really, I don't mind," Marinette protested, "Besides, I know how hard it is after someone dies. The first time is always the worst."

Adrien felt like crying, "You mean this happens multiple times?"

"Unfortunately, yes," she admitted, "I understand if you want to stop working at the café, we'll still give you food, it's no trouble-"

"No, I'm going to keep working," he said, "this happening only makes me want to help more."

"Really, I understand how hard this is, you don't have to."

"But I want to," Adrien decided.

If someone else was going to get killed because of something they couldn't control, he was going to do anything in his own damn power to stop it.

•  •  •

Marinette had brought Manon food well over an hour ago, but the plate sat untouched on the coffee table. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and a water-damaged book was clutched in her arms, despite the small red stains that decorated the cover.

She wasn't hungry, she had decided. She wasn't going to eat again, not if she could help it. If she stopped eating and just forced herself to be human, she could prove to the "CG" people that she was normal, that her Maman was normal, and that they were just mean.

It was called the "CG", right? She couldn't remember.

But her Maman wasn't there to correct her anymore. They had killed her, and all the evidence of her existence was gone, along with the rain.

Manon sniffled, but refused to cry. She'd done enough crying.

She was supposed to be a big girl, and big girls didn't cry.

Suddenly her body froze, and sniffed the air again. She stood from her position on the couch, walking over to the open window, and leaning her head out.

"Maman?" she whispered, confusion twisting her features. Surely it wasn't her. After all, she'd seen... she'd seen...

Manon, li-

Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she forced them back. She inhaled the night air again, sure that her mind was tricking her.

It was definitely Maman.

"Maman?" she called, timidly looking back to Marinette's room.

Manon carefully walked to the apartment's door, opening it and stepping into the dark stairwell. She quietly crept down the stairs and stepped out into the street. The scent was much stronger out here.

Her breath caught in her throat, it couldn't be..?

Without another thought, Manon rushed down the darkened alleyway, leaving the apartment's door ajar as one thought filled her head.

Maman was alive.

Manon was breathless as she ran, her eyes gleaming with hope as she navigated the back streets of Paris. She paid no mind to where she was going, only slowing to a stop at the entrance to an abandoned subway.

This was very near where it had happened.

Manon took in a deep breath, walking down the stairs and into the enclosed space.

She looked around, confused. There was nothing there, just a single duffel bag emitting the distinct smell of her mother.

"Maman?" she whispered, her voice cracking as she approached the bag.

She knelt down, timidly unzipping the bag, pulling it open and peering inside.

The little girl froze, her eyes wide as tears began to leak out. She cried, despite her best efforts not to. Her ivy hands latched onto a severed arm as if it were her lifeline, mumbling "Maman" over and over again as if it would make her mother magically appear in front of her.

She didn't notice the figure of a man approach from behind her, she didn't notice the quinque of her mother unraveling behind her.

At that moment, she didn't care.