Adrien sat atop the roof of his old home, overlooking the mess of a courtyard and figuring out how he was going to have to neatened before his father came from London.
He'd climbed up earlier when Plagg found him crying in the observatory, but instead of saying something unwelcome the kwami had been considerate. He sat beside Adrien, curled against the nape of his neck and after a while he'd been able to pull himself together.
Crying wouldn't change the past, wouldn't fix things that he'd broken or bring back the things he'd lost. He had to deal with the consequences –one of the first lessons he'd learned from his father after his eighteenth birthday.
Glancing back over at the front gate, Adrien could clearly envision his last day at the house. He thought back to the day he'd stepped outside on the pavement and seen Marinette run towards him. He thought she'd try to stop him, but instead she'd encouraged him.
She knew it was something he needed. But maybe she'd been wrong after all.
Maybe he was just a coward, running away from his problems instead of facing them. Ladybug confided in him their last night together and he'd promised not to leave her, to stick with her no matter what the world threw at them. He thought they were unbreakable, inseparable. He'd been wrong.
He still remembered how she'd cried out after him, calling him back as he pushed himself further from her, further away from where they'd taken his father's miraculous and seen his face in the glaring daylight.
Adrien couldn't handle the reveal. So he'd done the only thing he could think of. He ran away, and abandoned her in the process.
The only one who seemed to understand –really try to understand –was Marinette. She'd always been there for everyone as a kid, the type of girl you'd run to for advice, for motivation and for security. Sure, she'd been clumsy and silly, but she was so much more than that. She was something special.
Plagg floated beside him with the same bored expression he wore whenever he'd unwind from a transformation. The kwami glanced around over the street, watching a couple cycle by and two men talk animatedly about something Adrien couldn't hear.
"Been a while since we were last up here, hey Kid?"
"Yeah, the last time was when father locked me up in my room for skipping piano. Can you imagine, you skip class to save Paris and you get grounded as reward?"
With his legs hanging over the edge of the roof, the cool air swept up his trousers and brushed against his skin. He couldn't help but think back to Ladybug, still aching to breathe in her scent and feel her body pressed against his while her nails bit into his skin.
He knew Marinette's child wasn't his, but he still couldn't get the idea of a child with Ladybug out of his mind. He'd thought about that night vividly for years, unable to forget a single second of it, but ever since Chloe brought up the possibility, he couldn't help but realize he hadn't taken precautions. Everything had just happened so quickly and unexpectedly, he'd been completely unprepared.
His only reassurance was that Ladybug had been. But the way she'd let him touch her, so shyly and insecure. No. No one had ever touched her like that before that night, but he couldn't say the same thing now.
She had someone else now and the thought of anyone else loving her the way he had dreamt of made his blood boil. But she deserved someone who loved her, treasured her and supported her, someone who wouldn't leave when things became difficult.
"Hey, Kid," muttered Plagg. "Who's the kid?"
"What kid?" Adrien lolled his head to the side and looked down at the kwami.
YOU ARE READING
Too Young For Love (On Hold) ~ A Miraculous Love Story
Fanfiction"Chat Noir," she murmured. "His father is Chat Noir." It's been six years since Hawk Moth was defeated and Ladybug hasn't seen Chat Noir since. After sharing something special with her partner, she can't help but feel haunted by his abrupt disappear...
