This Kid Isn't All Right
100th Story Special (happy heckin tragedy)
WARNING: IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO ANYTHING DEALING WITH SELF-HARM, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND ALL THINGS RELATED TO THOSE SUBJECTS
THIS IS NOT THE FANFICTION FOR YOU
if you are one of those people, please turn back now and stay safe, my flowers. my pm box is always open, if anyone needs anything, and all my social medias are on my bio
Drip.
Black ears twitched as yellow eyes blinked open, glancing around, first at the clock—eight in the evening, thank god—and then to the young blond sitting on his bed, head down, staring dejectedly at his thighs.
Dripdripdripdrip.
Oh no, Plagg thought as he left the comfort of his camembert smelling pillow, slowly flying toward the boy.
Drip. Drip.
A small paw rested on the blond's cheek, gently, so not to startle him. "Kitten? It's time for patrol, come on."
Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.
As the boy stood up on shaking legs, Plagg did his best to not look down.
Drip. Drip. Splat. Dripdripdrip.
"Plagg, transforme-moi."
The next morning, Plagg kept a close eye on Adrien as the boy got ready for school from his cushion on the coffee table. He hadn't even touched his cheese, in fear the in the midst of his delicious snack, his boy would turn on himself again. The red from last night was still there, present on his skin as a reminder of his suffering, but Plagg knew better than to comment on it when Adrien was still in his zone. Anything could set him off these days, and the kwami didn't want to be the one to do it. "Plagg," he heard his charge call. "Ready to go?"
"Whenever you are, kitten," the black cat replied, flying into the open shirt and nuzzling Adrien's chest gently before settling down. He'd have to talk to Tikki about this. This behavior couldn't continue. He couldn't lose another Chat Noir.
The ride to school was tense, enough so that the air in the back of the limo was thick and disgusting. Plagg could feel the spastic beating of Adrien's heart through his shirt, and he lightly pressed himself close, purring in an attempt to calm him down. It worked, and until the limo parked outside the school, Adrien's breathing had evened out. The second his door opened, though, his heart sped back up and he started scratching at his thighs. Plagg zoomed into his sleeve and repeatedly hit the blond's arm to get him to stop.
He ceased the assault when a flash of pink caught his eye. He flew back up Adrien's sleeve and peeked out of the collar, looking at that shy, clumsy classmate who bounced up the stairs to meet her redheaded friend. Briefly, she turned to glance at Adrien and Plagg ducked down—Adrien still hadn't seemed to notice any of his surrounding and that Nino kid wasn't around yet—seeing the worried look etched onto her face before that best friend of hers dragged her inside, phone already in hand. Plagg recognized her as the owner of the LadyBlog, so it was probably something about the patrol from the night before.
Now, what was clumsy's name…?
Ah, yes. Marinette.
Ladybug.
Plagg's tiny paws latched onto Adrien's shirt as the boy began walking towards the steps. He entered the school silently, hands clenched to the strap of his messenger bag, nails still reaching the skin of his palms and creating half moons on his hand.
Something clicked in the back of Plagg's mind. He'd noticed that Marinette had gone without her signature flower design purse, where he knew Tikki always hid. Meaning the ladybug kwami was most likely in the girl's backpack.
That made things a lot easier. A backpack sitting on the ground was much easier to get into than a purse resting against a hip. And he needed to talk to Tikki about this.
Plagg waited a few minutes so that he'd know he could leave Adrien without the boy having some sort of attack. Once the blond had zoned out and started paying attention to the lesson (or, at least pretended to pay attention), Plagg snuck out of Adrien's clothes and made sure the coast was clear from leering eyes before sneaking into Marinette's bag.
He found Tikki nestled in the inside pocket of the backpack, resting peacefully next to a chocolate chip cookie, but he didn't care about the beauty sleep she needed (even if she really needed it, there were more pressing matters at hand).
He slipped into the pocket and rummaged around, startling the ladybug kwami awake. She glared at him for a moment. "Plagg! What are you doing? Why aren't you with your cat?"
"Technically, I am," he growled back. Sitting down, he shook his head. "I need help. My kitten—he's hurting."
Tikki narrowed her eyes a bit. "I mean, he looked a little down this morning but I'm sure it can't be that bad. He's had his off days, right?"
That black cat shook his head again. "No, Tikki, he's hurting himself. Physically and mentally. He needs help."
"Hurting himself? Like…purposefully?"
Plagg simply nodded, words failing him.
"Why?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Tikki. He won't tell me anything anymore. Hasn't for at least a few weeks now."
Tikki paused thoughtfully. "I'll tell Ladybug." When Plagg opened his mouth to counter, the red bug quickly continued. "I won't out Adrien as Chat, if that's what you're worried about. I'll keep his identity a secret, and I know Marinette will keep this one. You and I both know she can help us—him."
Plagg let out a relieved sigh as he relaxed against Tikki. "Thank you, Bugaboo. You're the absolute best."
Tikki rested against him. "I know."
Despite what he usually told Adrien, Plagg very much knew about his surroundings whenever the boy was transformed and had a very good grasp about reality. Even if they couldn't communicate, the kwami could see what Adrien saw. Hear what Adrien heard.
Not quite feel what Adrien felt, but Plagg wasn't a very…emotional kwami to begin with. He cared about his cats, obviously, but he knew better than to really get attached and to let his emotions get the best of him. Chat Noirs were oftentimes the ones that lost their lives in battle protecting the Ladybugs, but he's never resented any of them for it, because it's part of the responsibility that comes with being the wielder of bad luck. As a lot of his chosens say, shit happens.
And so when Chat Noir went to Ladybug that night at patrol, Plagg was very pleased when Ladybug canceled it and pulled out a warm, fleece blanket to wrap around them. She sat him down, not close to the edge of the roof because reasons, and didn't start talking until he'd really calmed down. His heart rate slowed to a reasonable pace, and she began, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," he swallowed nervously. "I am."
Ladybug watched his face carefully. "Your kwami came to mine today."
The speed at which Chat Noir turned his head to face left him dizzy enough to make him sway a little, only settling when he felt Ladybug's hands keep him straight up. "What?" he whispered, heart starting back up again.
"I don't know details." She paused. "I won't ask for any. Tikki only told me as much as she heard from Plagg. But I'm worried."
Chat Noir's breathing quickened. "I—I'm sorry—"
"No, don't be sorry," she said, moving to sit in front of him and cradle his face in her hands. She forced him to meet her eyes, the frantic green shaking and scared. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm not upset with you."
"I'm upset with me," he whispered.
Ladybug gently caressed his cheek with her thumb, shushing him softly. "I know getting help with probably be difficult," she starts, voice low. "So I'm going to do everything in my power to help you. You're not okay, and I know you know that, and I want to help you get okay."
Chat Noir leaned forward and rested his head against her chest, tears falling from his eyes through his mask. "It's okay to cry, Chat. It's okay to go to someone you trust for help. It's okay. You're going to be okay."
He nodded shakily.
"It's going to take a long time, but I'm going to help you. I love you so much Chat. Never forget that."
author's notes:
guys literally just over a year ago i was only at 50 fics what the heck
in other news i'm driving down to see my chat/adrien the day after this is posted
and i've been stressing more about the drive than the actual stay
but hey 100 fics. also, i'm planning a bunch of melanie martinez based fics revolving around how shitty adrien's life is
so yeah this is gonna be a theme
reminder: my pms and all social media inboxes are always open. i don't want anyone to be hurt.
