Dialled Her Number

Summary: Maybe, just maybe if he had dialled her number that day, she would still be alive. Warning: Major Character Death.

I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. All rights go to Thomas Astruc and Zagtoons.

I've held back from writing for the Miraculous Ladybug fandom because I seriously have a lack of time on my hands these days but I just had to write this, mainly because I'm having a major depressive period, what with unrequited feelings and having to leave a place I cherish a lot. I guess some of my pain managed to seep into this :/

I prefer using the French versions of Cat Noir and Hawkmoth, so in this story you'll find Chat Noir and Papillon.

He couldn't believe that she was gone. Sweet, cheerful Marinette who never hesitated to stand up for her friends, who always smelled of freshly baked bread and cinnamon, was gone.

Adrien watched them lower her coffin into the cold, hard unforgiving ground, his face devoid of any expression but a dull ache in his chest. Marinette had been one of the few people who hadn't treated him any differently than anyone else she had known and he had appreciated it. Being a famous model meant that living a normal life was just impossible.

His personal life was always in the limelight and the only time he had truly felt free was as Chat Noir, when he was jumping across the roof tops of Paris and spending time with his Lady, Ladybug.

Plagg looked at his chosen with concern in his eyes as he watched tears pool in Adrien's eyes. He rubbed his head against his chest in an attempt to comfort him, like a cat comforting its kitten.

Smiling down at Plagg, he mouthed, 'I'm okay Plagg.'

'Adrien?'

His head snapped up at the mention of his name and saw Alya, her amber coloured eyes puffy and red.

'Yes?'

Alya hesitantly drew out the small blue gift wrapped package she had been concealing behind her back and held it out to him.

'I know that this is neither the place nor the time but Marinette would've wanted you to have this.'

He reluctantly took the proffered gift, muttering a quick thank you before he escaped from the funeral service, the tears he had been holding back pouring down his cheeks. He hadn't known how much Marinette had actually meant to him until he had lost her.

He concealed himself behind a tree, curling into a ball as sobs wracked his body. She was gone, actually gone. Memories of her warm comforting smile, her sparkling blue eyes, of her standing up for what was right , of the aura of determination around her threatened to overwhelm him and his sobs became louder.

Plagg flew out from his usual hiding spot in Adrien's jacket, wringing his hands together in despair. He had never been good at comforting people, that role had always been Tikki's who had simply vanished after her chosen had committed suicide.

Oh, he had always known that the rosy cheeked, bright blue eyed girl who sat behind Adrien was Ladybug. Tikki's magic had clung to every pore of her body but the pact between the Kwamis to not reveal the identity of their chosen prevented him from revealing that Marinette was Ladybug and even if he could reveal her identity now, he wasn't sure how Adrien who was completely head over heels for Buginette, as he had affectionately called her, would react.

'It would probably tear him apart', thought Plagg, wincing slightly.

'Plagg, do you think…?'

Even without his completing the sentence, Plagg knew what Adrien wanted and though he wouldn't have agreed so easily earlier, he knew that it wasn't the time to have arguments with him.

'Just say the words.'

'Plagg, transform me!'

Familiar warm and comforting magic wrapped around his body as he transformed into Chat Noir. Most people didn't even realize that he was there, as they were more concerned about consoling her parents, and he didn't even have to take worry about concealing his presence.

He carefully put Marinette's gift into one of the many pockets that his suit had before he leapt from one tree to another until he found himself in front of the Eiffel Tower. Ignoring the calls of the Parisians who called out to him, asking whether there was an Akuma on the loose, he jumped from one supporting beam to another, until he was on the topmost one.

He stared down at the city he and Ladybug had sworn to protect with their lives, grief turning into anger. If he wasn't capable of preventing his own classmate from committing suicide , how was he supposed to protect the rest of the people who depended upon and trusted him?

Sighing he sat down, curling against the beam like a cat. His eyes fluttered shut as the exhaustion of the day's events finally caught up with him.

When his eyes opened next, the sun was setting over Paris, hues of red and gold colouring the sky. He immediately panicked, his father had been expecting him to come for the photoshoot right after the funeral service, and he was sure that he was going to get an earful once he got home.

He suddenly caught a glimpse of red in his peripheral vision and as he was about to turn felt a strange sense of weight settling down on his head.

'Adrien?', a sweet voice asked.

Stiffening , he said 'Who's there?How do you know my name?'

'I'm Ladybug's Kwami, Tikki.'

He felt the weight on his head shift and reaching up,carefully scooped the Kwami into his hands.

On noticing Tikki's red eyes he asked 'Is she all right? Did something happen to her?Oh god ,did Papillon kidnap her?'

'No Adrien. She's dead. Ladybug's gone and it's all my fault.'

Adrien felt his body become numb as her words sunk in and he let out a strangled sob.

'How...Why?' First it was his Princess and now his Lady was gone too?

'She jumped from the rooftop.' That was when the pieces fell into place. The fact that Ladybug had been quiet for the past few days, the fact that she hadn't called him Mon Minou like she usually did, her red eyes and the fake smile she had plastered on her face, just like Marinette had.Marinette was Ladybug.

'Jumped from the rooftop, like Marinette did?', he asked hollowly.

Tikki nodded miserably and in a cracked voice said,'If I hadn't fought with her yesterday she would still be alive...I didn't..realize that she was so depressed because her parents had left for England to take care of her grandmother. She had been handling the bakery so well for the past week but...the stress got to her...and I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most. We all weren't there...did you know that she was waiting for your call minutes before she jumped? She couldn't reach her parents or Alya...'

Sudden realization dawned on him and he said with a shuddering sob,'She jumped to save us. She...died to save us from Papillon !NO!'

'Marinette, No!'

His pain filled cry echoed through the empty night and Tikki stared mournfully at the lights which had slowly flickered to life.

If he hadn't been forced to meet the executives of his father's company, if he had just dialled her number instead of falling asleep as soon as he had reached home, maybe just maybe she would have been alive and smiling at his puns,instead of lying in a coffin.

That was nerve wracking to write. Never again shall I write something so angsty or tragic...Never .Just to clarify, Marinette was in danger of being Akumatized because Tikki's magic was no longer protecting her completely as they weren't together and she knew that no matter what she did, the Akuma would follow her and corrupt her, so she had to make a hard decision:/ She might have saved their lives but at a very high price.

Please R &R.