°I don't own Miraculous Ladybug°
I don't know where I got this idea and I don't know why I wrote this. English is not my first language so there is going to be some spelling mistakes, just warning you.
[One-shot]
He wish he'd noticed earlier
It took a while for him to notice
It stared small, small clues that alone didn't mean anything. But once you gathered them all and lined them up in front of you they turned into a flashing red neon sign.
It took a while for him to notice, but he eventually did
He noticed how her eyes would turn sad and distant when she thought no one payed attention. He noticed how her laughter became quieter and less frequent, how it became hollow He noticed how she rarely smiled, and how once she did it didn't light up the room - like it used to. He noticed how she would come to class early instead of late.
He noticed all this, but he didn't realise what it meant
He thought that she was having a bad day when her eyes turned sad. He didn't ask because he didn't want to cross the invisible boundaries they had, they were less than friends but more than acquaintances. He didn't have any right to pry into her personal life. When her laughter became quieter and more rare he didn't think about it. Maybe she was having a bad day again? He didn't have any right to pry into her life, but Alya did. So he sent her to ask Marinette and she came back with a story about a recently deceased family friend, Marinette just didn't feel like laughing. She'd be fine in a few days.
He believed her and he wished he hadn't.
He justified her lack of smiles with his knowledge of the recently deceased family friend of hers.
He wish he hadn't.
He only thought it was good when she came to class on time, instead of late like she usually was. Education is important for a good life, right?
He wish he hadn't
He didn't think about the now permanent dark circles under her eyes. After all, it was expected. She obviously had to wake up earlier now so that she'd make it on time to school, as a result she probably slept less.
He wish he'd thought about it more
He did notice how his Lady seemed more tired every time they saw each other.
He did notice how rare his Lady's smiles had become
So he tried to get her too sleep more - she said she did but he didn't believe her
He tried to cheer her up - it didn't work
He started focusing on making his Lady smile, he focused on making her laugh, he wanted his Lady back. After all, his Lady was his life.
As a result, he didn't notice how his silent and shy classmate changed. But he noticed how his Lady changed.
His classmate rarely talked now, she rarely laughed - but she smiled, although it wasn't happy.
He didn't notice, no one did
No one noticed how she always wore long sleeved shirts. No one noticed how she rarely ate. No one noticed noticed.
Her crush didn't notice because he was too focused on her alterego.
Her best friend didn't notice because she was too busy trying to be the perfect girlfriend.
Her parents didn't notice because they were too busy screaming at each other.
They only noticed once her cold body was fished out of the river.
He broke once he got the news about his silent classmate, and he shattered once he realised what his Lady's disappearance meant.
Adrian will forever wish that he'd noticed earlier.
They all will.
They all do.