SUMMARY: "You're Le Papillon's son!" Ladybug's blue eyes widened in awe. "He's like, my favorite villain!" At that very moment, the Adrien Agreste realized the poisonous Ladybug was someone he could hold a decent conversation with. Except he was Chat Noir, the hero destroying her fearful creations.
For The Love of Adrien Agreste
00 - For Dreams of Freedom
[AU WARNING]
— You could still be, what you want to be, what you said you were when I met you.
d.
The darkness had been their mistress for the longest of times- her darkness, to be precise. The power of creation had finally fallen into the wrong hands, and chaos was all those rose from her red-covered hands. She created monsters from legends scattered through time. She created storms and hurricanes and she laughed through it all, red ribbons floating adrift in the air. She created nightmares and terrors, all enough to inflict the despair she so dearly sought after.
Her hands were fabled to be covered in blood. Whose blood was a mystery, but they were all sure it was all of Paris'.
Ladybugs were symbols of luck, weren't they? Wasn't this being clad in red meant to be their guardian angel? Their salvation? Their hero?
It was a bitter joke; Ladybug had no good bones in her body. She was wicked and despicable, her blue eyes set on triumph. Maybe in another world Ladybug was a hero, creating good and helping those in need.
This was another world and oh, so help them, for each and every day that Ladybug ran through the streets of Paris, things happened. And there was no hero, like all the good stories had, running and chasing after the villainous lady.
The darkness had a grasp on them and Paris was choking, succumbing to its fall. Then a cat claiming to have the power of destruction rose from his slumber in the midnight glory, and for once, Paris slept soundly.
All except Adrien Agreste's tortured soul.
Green eyes fluttered open, chest rising. He inhaled the morning air, tension forming in his chest. Slowly rising from his king-sized bed, the young teenager let out a groan. Running a hand through his blonde strands, he helplessly stood up to greet the world.
The sun blinded him instantly. Its rays kissed his fair skins with such delicateness, he was glowing. The boy only smiled, tilting his head and silently thanking the sun for its existence.
"Good morning, world."
The world did not respond. It never did. Albeit, he appreciated it. Sometimes, no talk was all that was needed to soothe the soul, even if others begged to differ. Silence was something he had always been used to, what difference was it now?
He preferred silence over the sound of crashing bricks upon the pavement. Silence at that time seemed less deadly than the noise of falling bricks and screams from the crowd. Silence was all he received when he called for his father, who had protected and shielded him from the outside terrors.
"For what?" Bitterness laced his thoughts. "So I could throw a building over him?"
His father was gone; Le Papillon was gone. Now he lived in a mansion his father had long settled in his testament in case anything happened and it did. The court documents appointed his late father's assistant Nathalie as his guardian until he reached the legal age. Somehow, she was fine with it all. The discovery of Le Papillon's civilian form hadn't changed her mind or even disgusted her in the slight- she was rather the same after his fall.
"Your father left you money. He wants you to be happy and have a good career- to keep moving forward. That is all."
No more photo shoots, no brand deals, no company sponsorships. The brand of Gabriel ceased to exist in the next months, and only hardcore fanatics who claimed Gabriel and Le Papillon were different people sharing one body still fought to keep the name alive. It was nice seeing some support, even if all of Paris seemed to toss him under the bus half (okay, most) of the time.
He ditched Chinese class. The characters and symbols were all a blur and he lacked focus on any of it. He kept fencing, till his fencing mates poured salt into his wounds. School was alright, all of his classmates were nice and understanding. It was surprising, considering 98% of his classmates had been akumatized at some point. He was surprised to see even Chloé behave like a normal, decent human being, though it was not hard to believe after witnessing her character progression as Queen Bee.
"Guilt makes her stay." He recalled thinking when she showed up with a lunch tray for him. "She helped toss that building, didn't she?"
The world, his busy world, had suddenly dimmed. The Fashion world didn't mourn the loss of Gabriel, it celebrated the defeat of a villain. For reasons he could not fathom, people could not tell the difference between Adrien and his father. He had been bugged constantly, even questioned by police until Chloé popped in with her father's legal defense team. The public was outraged, others were with him every step of the way.
Ironically, the others in Paris who chose to spit at him with mean words were the same ones cheering on Chat Noir. If they had known he was Chat Noir, then they'd be bewildered.
The celebration of Chat Noir (and Queen Bee, though it was mostly him. Throwing building over people sure got him some nice medals!) rang throughout Paris for bliss-induced weeks. Then Ladybug awakened and hell broke loose.
"Adrien, I thought you'd never awaken!" The little black Kwami known as Plagg came into view, wearing his signature grin. "You should let me eat cheese!"
He was grateful for Plagg's existence. Plagg was really the only connection he bore to Chat Noir and his father. Although the small Kwami was arrogant and a little selfish, the creature genuinely cared for his wellbeing. In the last six months since the shocking discovery, Plagg had been the one helping him keep it together.
"I never knew why he did it, Plagg."
"Sometimes, people do bad things for the reasons they feel are right."
It was a selfish request, but they both needed a break. A very long break from all the mayhem in the world.
Sighing, Adrien nodded and grabbed the leftover Brie cheese from last night's dinner. The cheese wasn't Chambert- Adrien had only snuck in Brie into his room by accident.
The Kwami groaned, taking it in and chewing in annoyance. "Chambert is better."
"I'll get some for breakfast." He grumbled. The morning routine he had long established before that happened was not broken that morning. He brushed his hair and changed into a fresh set of clothes, though he ditched his white jacket for a sweatshirt. He wasn't sure he could ever, ever wash the bloodstained clothes. Then he ate breakfast after fixing his bag for the day.
Nathalie was waiting for him down the stairs. He remembered when she would list the day's activities without missing a beat, and for reasons he could not say, he missed that chaotic life. Now, Nathalie stood at the bottom of the stairs to lead him to the dining room. She would sit next to him and ask about his wellbeing and how safe he felt at school and going out in public.
"Have you considered a new career choice?" The woman asked as he chewed crunchy bacon. "Your father was insistent on that."
To be fair, modeling was what he always did. He wasn't artistic like his dad was- designing a brand named Adrien wouldn't be a possibility. In truth, he was not sure what he wanted to be. He always figured he'd just model, even if he never wanted it as a job. He figured he had time to explore his options; wasn't youth on his side? Or was it, too, running from his fingertips? He wouldn't be mad if it was, he understood it after all. Who would even stay by his side after everything?
"I don't know. I'd like time, Nathalie."
"Understood." She wrote something down on her tablet and forced a small smile on her face. "Please be ready for school in ten minutes. Once again, anything that happens should be reported specifically to me."
Adrien only nodded, avoiding her piercing gaze. "Thank you."
Nathalie walked away from his view. He let out another sigh, wondering how on Earth he'd even figure out what he wanted to grow up and study. Out of all things he was worried about, he really had not taken time to investigate careers. Seriously, was he supposed to still be grieving or moving on?!
Breakfast was finished in the familiar silence that had settled into he Agreste household. He made his way outside, where the Gorilla waited to drive him to school. The ride was eerily quiet, so Adrien plugged in his earbuds and began listening to playlist Nino had sent him earlier. In less than twenty minutes, he had jumped out the car and waved goodbye to his bodyguard.
School had always been his favorite place. He could actually talk to people his age and learn and interact with them! He loved school simply because he could be himself and be free from his father's watch. Nowadays, school was still a safe haven. In the walls of Collège Françoise Dupont, he was sheltered from the cruel world that was hungry for Agreste blood. In his grand school, he was away from the horrors of his life. He was loved and supported by all his friends and teachers.
Ladybug was also, somehow, nonexistent during school hours. Adrien was glad he didn't have to make the dumbest excuses to turn into Chat Noir.
"Adrien!" Nino was waiting for him by the entrance, grinning widely. "Hey, dude!"
"Hey, Nino." It was refreshing to see his best friend- the boy he was eternally appreciative of. Nino was kind and loving, maybe a little relaxed and playful, but he was great overall. He was there for Adrien, helping him in every way he could. Nino was the definition of a true friend and Adrien was blessed to have him in his life. "I was listening to the playlist you made."
"Isn't it great?" The boy exclaimed. "I'm DJing at a cousin's party, you should come!"
He had never really had a party (minus the incident with the Bubbler, of course). He rarely attended parties anyway. Right now, he was sure even uttering the word "Party" to Nathalie would give her a heart attack.
Clicking his tongue, Adrien gave a small shrug. "Sorry, I'm not sure Nathalie would allow it."
"Well, Marinette and Alya were babbling about a dance they're organizing for the school. At least show up to that!"
A school dance was somewhat better than a party for a family member he didn't know. While he couldn't say he was showing up, he offered Nino a "Maybe". That was enough for the boy to keep beaming during the entire walk to their class. Once entering their room, his green eyes laid on the girls who sat behind him and Nino. Alya had her arms crossed over her chest as Marinette ranted about something, expressively using her hands. The moment Alya looked up, Marinette came to a halt, her blue eyes widened in surprise.
"Look, just the person I wanted to see." Alya gave a small grin and her friend let out a low whimper.
Adrien chuckled and offered a small greeting. He settled down and turned to face her. "Yeah?"
"Mari and I are having a get together at her place next week- You know, just gonna hang out and watch movies and eat baked goods. Wanna come?"
The ex-model glanced at Marinette, who awkwardly bobbed her head to what Alya had said. Gosh, she was always so weird around him. Was he intimidating? Sure, she was actually giving him more than two sentences lately and she was a good friend of his.
"Y-Yeah! That's...That's what we're doing!"
Nino patted his back. "Let's go! It'll be a blast!"
"I have to ask Nathalie, but maybe." He smiled warmly at Marinette, ignoring the way her face turned a bright shade of red. "Thank you for the invite."
Hanging out with his three friends would be fun, as long as Ladybug didn't ruin anything. He needed a break, any break, from his other duties as a superhero.
"I honestly need to take a pause from all this Ladybug mess," Alya voiced his thoughts aloud. "The Ladyblog is insanely gaining more traffic than my ChatChats blog! My whole site is crashing every hour and it's making me have to code different settings and-"
"The Ladyblog?" Adrien questioned, raising a brow. Oh, and how was the blog dedicated to him, the hero of Paris, suddenly staggering behind a villain's? Wait, why did Alya even make one in the first place?
"Yeah." Her stutter was gone and Marinette scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Alya was the first person to tape Ladybug and she decided to make a whole blog worshiping h-"
"I am not worshipping Ladybug!" Her friend defended, huffing. "I'm simply trying to create a tracker for all the monsters she makes! This site is used a lot to locate danger sites and help the general public! That and you gotta admit the Ladyblog is such a good name!"
"Paris can never catch a break." The blue-haired girl frowned. "Alya, just be careful."
Ladybug was different from Hawkmoth. Whereas his dad akumatized and corrupted people from negative emotions, Ladybug created monsters and horrors unspeakable to mankind. Just last week she created a literal swarm of nightmares and Chat Noir had to snap Queen Bee out of it. He was slowly realizing that his father was tame compared to the deadly villain in red.
The Girl in Red was unstoppable. She was smart and cunning, lethal and too fast for him to catch. Ladybug was two steps ahead every time he felt like he was catching up to her. There was just something about her that made her so damn unreachable. She was a literal nightmare and he had to destroy her, somehow and someday.
For now, though, he was Adrien Agreste and he had to discuss Geometry with a partner. Oh, and plans for the weekend. Yeah, Nathalie was definitely having a headache tonight.
.
.
.
.
.
Humans weren't special. They weren't special, it dawned on her. They were mere flesh and bones struggling to live in peace. The world was demented and it had always been before her existence- before she flourished to life. Regret and guilt could hurt her aching heart every night after the clock hit twelve, but she couldn't change. She was a villain and that was it, no questions asked.
She didn't choose this life, it was forced upon her. Her life was no longer her life when she wandered through the rooftop of Paris, dragging all its citizens' good luck with her. She was a charm of bad luck in the end. Maybe in another life, she was soaring through the night with love and courage keeping her afloat. Maybe in another life, she was free.
Dreams of freedom lulled her to sleep. Nightmares kept her awake, kept her running and pumping more and more creations. It was tiring, yet her dreams relaxed her.
In her dreams, she was special. She wasn't feared, she was loved. She wasn't hated, she was cheered on. Ah, that was an odd dream.
Taking a deep breath, her hand scrolled through the Ladyblog. She read through the posts and watched the videos, holding her breath for as long as she could. Her Kwami, her little friend that kept her sane, floated alongside her.
"Are you sure this is the right path?" Tikki insisted. "You can wake up now."
She didn't respond. She looked at the Kwami and laughed, shaking her head. "I can't risk it. I'm sorry."
Turning off the monitor, she decided today would be a free day. The Ladyblog was already crashing and she didn't want to be reminded of her activity in the last few weeks. Instead, she slept soundly.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng crashed in her bed and tasted liberty.
A/N: Actual chapters will be over 3k words, maybe even 5k. This is honestly not a prologue, but a snippet. Below are some important points to keep in mind:
- Ladybug is Marinette. Adrien is Chat Noir.
- Our charming hero is a villain in this story.
- This tale takes place six months after Chat Noir kills Hawkmoth.
- Because he was the only superhero chasing after Hawkmoth, CN really only brings Queen Bee to help.
- Some episodes never happen, but it will be clarified within the next chapters.
- Ladybug creates mayhem, whereas Chat Noir destroys the chaos. It's a strange concept, I know.
Everything will be explained, I promise! This is a massive AU, and I'm new to this fandom! Thank you for reading!