Disclaimer: Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir belong to, uh, Thomas Astruc (?)
AN: I'm trying to post something at least once a month, and this is it; no, I'm close to the latest at the Peak of the Edge latest chapter and it's just missing a bit for it to be up to my publishing standards. Expect it next month.
Strange Happenings
Fixing It
Moving to Paris should have been a game changer. Should have made things better. Instead, she was being held by her brother, as always, protected. Where had the debris come from?! Just as a gust of something red washed over everything, undid the damage to the building, it didn't give her her brother back.
Right then, her heart broke, and with it did any and all expectations of ever finding true happiness.
Moving to Paris should have been a game changer. Instead, she was scarred and thus, changed in a way that, perhaps, was irreversible. Now she wasn't the cheerful child who followed her brother along, now she held a deep sorrow, an overflowing sadness. Without parents in a completely new country, she mourned him, alone.
She felt people approaching and she did what she did best — she fled.
Ladybug couldn't stay for greetings or to even fist pound with Cat Noir, not after she witnessed the fish casualty of their work. She went to the child and saw her fleeing. Going after her, it was clear they had experience scurrying around. Behind a chimney, she fed Tikki a cookie, before swinging off again.
Subsequent patrols with Noir turned into a chase, a witch hunt, only she felt like the one who ought to burn, was her. Noir could tell she was distraught, and no matter what he said, nothing would be comforting. She would usually arrive to tired and way past bed time, just to fall on her bed, dead to the world. Two weeks later, she finally arrived back home at a decent hour.
"Tikki," she cried, as usual crying her heart out, "I couldn't save him."
"I apologize Marinette," the kwami replied, tears in her huge eyes, "we can return things to how they were, but we can't return the dead."
Ladybug mourned her lack of powers to return that child her precious someone.
At school, people noticed her depression and everyone went to her, bringing her food that she lacked in appetite for. With their aid, she returned to her cheery self.
Adrien had noticed, he and Noir were key for her to getting better, as Ladybug and Marinette. Sooner or later, the girl would be found and she would have a chance to make things right by her. Every subsequent akuma attacks were followed by relief and sadness at finding that it wasn't the girl.
It was the middle of the semester when Marinette saw the child again. She vividly remembered the incident, unable to forget it; it wasn't strange when things crumbled and broke due to her and Cat Noir's akuma fights, what was a first was that neither of the heroes managed to save the little girl. In time, that is; another boy got in the way, but instead of pushing both of them out of the way, he protected her. Now, with the girl in front of her, she felt those feeling resurfacing and finally, she could do something about it.
She hurriedly went over to inquire on the child's well being. She had to be Chris or Manon's age, maybe a bit older.
"Hey there," she called softly, and the girl immediately turned around; Marinette winced at the motion, feeling her neck aching from just seeing it. "Sorry, I was wondering if you needed help."
What surprised Marinette the most, was the eye color; crimson red, like blood. Her soft hair was purple, brilliant and shiny. After being stared at for quite some time, the girl finally nodded and Marinette sighed in relief.
"I'm Marinette," she added as way of introduction, and after a few moments, she nervously cleared her throat; the thought that perhaps she was recognized as Ladybug and thus, blamed, briefly crossed her mind. Shaking her head and thoughts, she continued speaking. "So, how can I help you?"
Instead of answering, the girl timidly extended her arms and offered a piece of paper, for the first time looking at the floor. Confused and interested, she took it and read it. It said something about her, the girl, being a new student, so Marinette assumed she would take the child over to Principal Damocles.
Smiling, she extended her hand to the girl, "okay, I think I understand where you want to go," she said softly.
Immediately the girl raised her eyes and noticed the extended hand. Tentatively, the girl placed her hand and as soon as contact was made, she gasped and began crying, and before long she was holding onto Marinette's hand for dear life.
"Do you want a hug, by any chance?" Marinette asked, and at the nod, she knelt down and hugged her tightly.
The girl began sobbing, holding on to Marinette as if she were a lifesaver and they were in the middle of a storm on open sea. Marinette was crying as well, silently but shedding tears nonetheless. When Adrien arrived, he found them like that, Marinette comforting a child that neither of them knew, and being stared at by the other students. Who knew how long the girls had been comforting each other? When the girl finally stopped, she had fallen asleep on Marinette. Taking pity on them, Adrien went forward and took the girl. Holding her tenderly in bridal style, he turned to Marinette, and smiled when he found her crying, too.
"Should I take her to the nurse?" He asked softly, and Marinette dried her eyes and nodded.
"Yes, I'll talk to Mr. Damocles about it," she whispered back.
They both nodded at the same time, but not at each other. Adrien looked at the child, finally standing and being surprised at how light she was. Marinette, focused on the note she had been given, turned to the school and stood. Side by side, they entered the school grounds, just as the first bell rang. Neither of them heard it.
After leaving the girl with the nurse, Adrien went to the principal's office. With a light knock, he opened the door.
"Mr. Damocles?"
"Ah, Adrien," the man stood and motioned for him to enter. "Come on in, come on in.
"As I was telling Marinette," he motioned to the girl, who gave Adrien her weirdest smile and a wave of hand, just as he sat down on the chair besides hers; the principal sat down just as he did, "she found Emilie. She was meant to start studying here at the start of the year but never appeared.
"Thank you both, for helping her." He smiled at them, ignoring the frozen response Adrien gave at the name. "It isn't often that we get such a great student — she should be in university by now! We actually thought she had, since William's incident."
"William?"
"The boy who protected her from the falling debris?" Adrien inquired.
"You mean, the one Ladybug couldn't save in time?" Marinette supplied with sadness.
"Hey, no shaming Ladybug," he grumbled with a frown; his crush was beating herself enough as it was, even though no one blamed her.
"Could you give me their last name? Address perhaps?" Marinette asked from the principal, who was staring at the two of them. "I, I want to speak with them, perhaps help them in any way —"
"Actually, that's a good idea," the boy murmured to himself; he could pass Ladybug the information, it would help her ease her guilt.
"Children," Damocles spoke softly yet firmly, raising a hand to stop them from speaking further. "Emilie and William, they were orphans without last names.
"From what I gathered, William was tracking down Emilie's parents." He gave them penetrating glances, driving the point home. "She doesn't know this yet. William had trouble with the language barrier, Emilie already knows seven languages.
"When he explained their situation to me, I agreed to help them get settled here. Having someone like Emilie here can only boost our standings." The man gave them a curious look. "Things were set when they arrived, just in time for the incident."
"Wouldn't another school have been better?" Adrien asked.
"A private school wouldn't risk it if Emilie and William were a package deal," Marinette replied as she analyzed the situation, before looking at the door to the rest of the school. "From the looks of it, she refused unless he could attend as well."
The principal nodded at her words while Adrien's impressed look went unnoticed. Marinette was too worried to look at her surroundings, her guilt pushing Adrien from her mind.
"Mr. Damocles, do you know where she's staying?" Marinette asked with worry. "Perhaps she could stay with me and my family — I don't think they'd object."
"I don't think she's been taking good care of herself," Adrien said. "According to the nurse, she's severely dehydrated."
"We'll talk to her about it, don't worry Marinette," the principal said with a smile. "Now then, you can both get back to class. I've signed passes to both of you, excusing your tardiness."
It was clear that Marinette wanted to protest, so Adrien places a hand on her shoulder. Their eyes met and she blushed, looking away. Smiling at her, he turned back to the man.
"Mr. Damocles," he began, expression and voice serious, "could you let us know when she wakes up?"
His request surprised both, and Marinette turned to the man with hope shining from her eyes.
"Can we also see her during free periods?" She asked with pure hope, and the man sighed and wrote another note.
"Give that to the nurse," he said. "She'll allowed you to stay as along as you both remain silent."
Heaving a sigh of relief, the two students expressed their gratitude and left the office. Once outside, she looked so lost he took pity on her and took her hand. Guiding her, he went to their lockers, not seeing how some people from their seats, could see them, and how much like a couple they looked.
Once they arrived, he sat her down and began changing his books and stuff. When he turned back, she had yet to realize where they were.
"Marinette . . . ?" He whispered, waving a hand on front of her. "We should at least head to Miss Bustier's to explain."
"Huh? Oh! Adrien! So sorry — wait, how did I get here?"
He chuckled. "I noticed that you seem to be quite tired lately," he remarked.
She sighed. "Well, I haven't been able to sleep well. I've been having some troubles, but I suspect things will get better." This last was said as she looked beyond the door. "Or at least, I hope so."
He looked at the floor, thinking how Ladybug had said something along those lines, and how she would be very relieved to find the girl, Emilie.
Emilie, his mother's name. There had to be some meaning, he was certain he could also get his father to consider the idea of adopting the girl. Then he would have a chance of seeing Ladybug as Adrien. But, looking at Marinette, he couldn't do that to the girl. She had her heart set.
"Can I help take care of her?" He asked genuinely, before taking her hand again and motioning to the locker. The girl lost herself again. "Marinette, we need to get to class."
"Right!" She cried, taking her hand back and using her own locker. "So sorry Adrien, I don't have anything to say in my defense."
With that, she closed the locker's door and went to the hallway. Unbeknownst to her, she was now the one dragging Adrien. They both slowed down when they went close by the nurse's office, and Adrien was the one who had to lead them back on track again.
As soon as they entered their classroom, still holding their hands, they gave their respective notes before going towards their seats. Before Chloe could make a scene, Miss Bustier asked Marinette about the note she had given. Not surprisingly, she confused those two, earning a laugh from everyone and blushing to no end.
As soon as class ended, Marinette had a free period, and she went to see Emilie. When Adrien dropped by for his free period, he found the two girls sleeping. Finding himself unable to wake the blue-haired one up, he decided to place Marinette on the bed with Emilie. The two girls cuddled, somehow careful of the IV on the shortest. That done and feeling both, smug and satisfied, Adrien took Marinette's seat. He had been unable to sleep well either, since he knew that Ladybug was probably unable to sleep herself.
When the nurse came to check on Emilie, she smiled and took the IV off, then placed a blanket on Marinette and Emilie, and another over Adrien.
"So that bell signifies that the school is over?" Emilie asked.
"M hmm," Marinette replied, yawning. "Some students, like me, like to use this time to do activities at the school."
"What do you do, Marinette?" The girl's voice was soft and curious; smiling, Adrien opened his eyes to look at the scene before him. "What does Adrien do? Does he stay after school as well?"
"I, like to design," she answered honestly before sighing dreamily, "Adrien does fencing, and he is wonderful at it."
"He reminds me of my brother," Emilie remarked, and feeling that the girls would turn to look at him, he closed his eyes in a panic. "Same eye color, same hair color, only he was taller, but equally slim built . . . he would have liked both of you, perhaps even joined Adrien during fencing. He was good at contact sports. . . ." It was a heavy silence afterwards.
"He must have loved you dearly," Marinette whispered, and soft sobs were heard. "Where have you been staying Em?"
"I, I don't really remember, all I do is that I had to help during my brother's service and memorial, and afterwards it was just an empty blackness, endless grief."
"As if your compass was taken from you," Adrien murmured, "your sunny days were now cloudy and the forecast, rainy."
"As if my light had been snuffed out, now my beacon of hope has lost it all and there isn't even room for despair." Em added.
"Because sadness is everything that remains, and it's all that will ever stay." Adrien nodded. "That can only happen for your loved ones."
"And he was my only one," she girl whispered, "my only family."
"I want to help you Emi," Marinette finally spoke, hugging the girl. "Please, let me try and help."
Placing a hand over Marinette's, Em spoke in a hoarse whisper. "Please help me, I don't like to be alone. Ever since he found me, I haven't been, and just the prospect of going back there is terrifying. I don't want to be alone."
"You won't be," Marinette promised. "If I'm not by your side, then Adrien will be there."
"And if I'm not, Marinette's parents will," he replied. "They are amazing."
"What about your parents, Adrien?" At his wince, Emilie added, "ah, so you lost one of them."
"And the other haven't stopped looking," he replied sadly; the girl took his hand and he felt strength.
"Then I'll take your word in regards to Marie's parents," Emilie said with a smile.
"Marie?!"
"Oh, I like it. Can I call you Marie as well?" Adrien asked with his charming grin, disarming Marinette and making her make a fool out of herself.