I don't own anything.
He twitches in his sleep, his eyes fluttering and shutting quickly. His shirt is damp with a cold sweat, and he whimpers quietly. His hair is plastered to his forehead, and a few tears run down his cheeks. It's the third time this week that he's had a nightmare, and it's the worst one yet. They're spooning on the couch and he clings to her tightly as he sleeps, not hurting her, but protectively. He draws up his knees, tucking her into him more. Her eyes flutter open at the movement, turning to face him. She sees the few tears that have started to roll over his cheeks. she brings her hand up to his face and uses a finger to wipe them away.
He wakes up as she does so, his eyes opening quickly to meet hers. He's never cried in front of her before, but yet tears continue to roll down his cheeks, making his eyes seem greener than they were. He breathes quickly, like he's been running from something, but it's mostly just of the fear he had. The nightmare had seemed very real.
A look of worry crosses her face. " Are you okay?" She studies his face looking for some clue that would tell her what was troubling him. She had never seen him cry before, so she knew something must be not be right if it brought him to tears. She placed one hand on his cheek and the other on his chest feeling how fast his heart was pumping.
He moves away from her slightly, his back hitting the back of the couch. He hadn't ever been comforted by someone before, he was used to working out things on his own. "I'm fine, Mari. Just give me a moment." He wipes his face with his hands, climbing off of the couch, and walking to his bathroom. He leaves the door open, but stands at the sink for a minute, seeming to stare off into space.
She stared at the boy as he walked away from her. She didn't understand why he had left when she had only been trying to help him. She sat up to watch him through the open bathroom door, noticing he was staring off into space over the sink. Letting out a small sigh she laid back down, staring up at the ceiling
He didn't realize he might have hurt her feelings. He gripped the edges of the sink, his arms shaking slightly, after a moment, he shut his eyes tightly. He stood for another minute before getting a drink, splashing water on his face, taking some sort of pill. Adrien then walked out of the bathroom, changed his shirt and flopped down next to her, looking normal, like none of that had just happened, although his heart was still pounding. "Sorry, Mari, I didn't mean to wake you."
"No it's fineā¦" She said turning to face him. "What was your dream about?" Her curiosity got the better of her. She would understand if he didn't want to talk about it, but he had seemed quite upset. That wasn't something she wanted. She wanted him to be happy.
He was silent for a minute, not rolling to meet her eye contact but instead looking up at the ceiling, thinking. He sighed quietly after a moment, running a hand through his hair.
"My mom... the day she left." His eyes flicked over to her, but he didn't look like he was going to cry.
She looked down, "I'm sorry. I know that's a hard subject for you to talk about. But you don't have to hide it from me." She stared at her hands as the words came out of her mouth. She wanted to be there for him no matter what. "I know I could never understand what that feels like but I want to be there for you. I want to help you get through these nightmares."
"I-I know Mari, and it's nothing against you at all, it's just really, really hard for me to talk about. I couldn't even talk to a confidential therapist about it. And you are there for me, every day, in ways you don't even know." He looked over at her, a very small, sad smile on his face, it only lasted for a second. "I just know if I started talking I'd burst into tears and wouldn't stop crying for awhile."
She nodded looking back up at him. She wasn't going to push him to talk about it. That wouldn't get them anywhere. She smiled at him hoping that she could bring a smile to his face. She really didn't like seeing him upset.
He couldn't meet eye contact with her, but decided to tell her just a little bit. "Before she left, she taught me piano. We used to play for hours together, we'd even sing. We fake argued about who was the better singer, and I can't even sing anymore without crying. You've never even heard me so much as hum while I do something, or listen to a song and go along with it." He realized about halfway through talking he had started to cry again, he stopped talking, sighing once more.
"I'm so sorry...you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I won't push." Mari felt her own eyes dampen as she listen to Adrien tell the story. She grabbed his hand and gave it a small squeeze before scooting closer to him and nuzzling her head on his shoulder. "It's okay, I promise."
"I'm talking at my own will. It's alright, I needed to say something." He almost pulled his hand away as she held it, but let her hold it, honestly not used to this type of comfort and support. He looked at her, almost a confused look.
She glanced up noticing his look of confusion. "What?" A similar look spread across her face. She didn't understand why the boy looked so confused. Had she said something wrong or maybe even weird. She searched his eyes for an answer, but couldn't find one.
His eyebrows furrowed, his gaze meeting hers. "I've never had someone so concerned over all of this before, really." He didn't seem upset by the fact, just really confused. He hadn't truly understood the word sympathy until now.
She smiled up at him, "Well of course I care." She was quite surprised with his answer, due to the fact she had grown up with people who cared about everything.
"I guess that's kind of why I didn't share anything with you before, I just didn't really know how you'd react." His look was less confused but more awe struck at this point. He hadn't grown up with anyone to tell him that it was okay to be upset, it was mostly keep yourself so busy you moved on.
She smiled up at him, "What did you think I was going to do? I'm not the kind of person who get's mad over emotions. They happen and you have to get them out or they'll boil up until they consume you."
His eyebrows raised in surprise, "I don't know, but you know how it is, it just feels weird to cry in front of people, or maybe that's just me. I dunno."
"No it's weird to cry in front of people but that's one way you can show them that you trust them. You know they say once you've cried in front of someone you can do anything in front of them."
He thought for a moment, multiple expressions flashing across his face as he did so. "I suppose if you look at it like that, it's comforting. I've just been told to keep my feelings to myself, don't let anyone know. Take your medicine, it will help. Blah, blah, blah. I just assumed everyone else was like that too."
She narrowed her eyes, "No most people let their feelings out. It's natural. It's actually quite sad that you've had no one to talk to." She squeezed his hand again, pushing herself closer to him.
He frowned, rolling slightly so he was facing more toward her, softly squeezing her hand in response, something he normally did with her. "The sad life of Adrien Agreste, what a bummer, huh? He joked, rolling his eyes, trying to lighten the tone slightly
She let a small smile play at her lips. "That it is, but I'm here to make it better. Isn't that right?" She was hoping these jokes would help lighten the mood and bring a smile back to his face. She loved his smile and at this moment she would give anything to see it.
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, he pressed a kiss to her cheek, "Yes, milady, that is indeed what you're here for." He slid down next to her, so they could be eye to eye, the grey in her eyes and the gold in his catching in the moonlight of the window
She blushed slightly at the contact of his lips to her cheek. "I knew it. It's the only reason you keep me around chatton." She said with a small laugh, staring into his eyes. She loved the way his eyes seemed to sparkle as the light of the moon caught them.
"I'm just using you for that reason only. Not for your outstanding personality, beauty, and not to mention the most fantastic croissants in Paris." He nudged her nose with his playfully, a small smile creeping across his lips.
She laughed, "Outstanding, really? I'd give it a B+. Tops. And as for the croissants well I can't argue with you there. They are pretty amazing if I do say so myself, and I do." She smiled at the boy happy to finally see what looked like the beginning of a smile dance across his lips.
"You're Ladybug, if it's a B+ then I'm not sure who'd you consider an A, other than your mother because I've never met a sweeter woman." He nodded thoughtfully, seeming satisfied with his argument.
She thought for a moment, "You have a fair point. I'll let you win this one, but only because you complimented my mother." She brought a finger up to his face and pointed it at him. "Understand kitty?"
He crossed his eyes at her finger, a fake terrified expression on his face. He nodded sternly, "Got it. You do realize your home is basically my home, this is basically my apartment room if you know what I'm getting at."
She raised her eyebrows at him with a look of fake confusion. "No I don't think I do. Would you mind explaining?" She bit back her smile trying hard to sell her fake confusion.
