A/N: Hellooooooo. I've recently gotten into this fandom (Ik, I'm a little late, but hey. Better late than never! And besides, I hear season 3 is coming out soon...) So I was bored one night and decided "hey, let's write a MLB fanfiction." And so I did, typical me. I don't exactly know where this story will go, but I do promise you angst and drama and fluff ^-^
So...I guess enjoy!
Prolouge: A New Chapter
Ladybug let out a sigh as she leaned up against the chimney up on the rooftop. She and Chat were on their night patrol when they finally landed on the familiar rooftop. This roof was where they always met up for patrols and where they always parted afterwards. It gave a great view of the city. It was pleasing to look at and easy to catch anything suspicious going on.
"I can't believe it." Ladybug broke the peaceful night silence.
"And what's that, M'lady?" Chat Noir purred, shooting a flirtatious smile Ladybug's way.
"It's just that..." Ladybug looked up at the sky with the millions of starts twinkling in the night sky. Then she directed her sight down towards the beautiful glittering city.
"This. Right here, in front of us. This beautiful city that we live in."
"Yup, I see it too. I'm not blind, you know. I, in fact, have night vision and-"
"No, Chat," Ladybug giggled. "I'm trying to say...I can't believe that its been almost four years. Four years since we've been protecting Paris. Four years since I've been fighting by your side."
"And almost two months since we've defeated Hawkmoth," Chat added in.
It was true. They had defeated Hawkmoth nearly two months ago. It was a hard day; a hard battle. And the moment Chat found out that Hawkmoth was his father all along instantly made the day even harder. How many times had he put his own son in danger? How many times had he had one of his akumas injure him or his lady? Countless times. But when he stood right there over his father, his cataclysm ready to kill the man who was behind Hawkmoth this whole time, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't kill his own father, even when Ladybug was depending on him.
"Chat! Do it, now!" Ladybug shouted. The cat looked up at his lady, and she could see it in his eyes that he couldn't do it.
But why? This was was the villain they'd been hunting down for years. Why was he stopping now when he had his chance?
Ladybug looked closer at the villain. Gabriel Agreste. Her idol. The person she looked up to as a career inspiration. And now she had to kill him? She knew she couldn't just let him go, because if he found a miraculous again, he'd be back stronger and more determined than ever.
Ladybug knew it had to be done, despite all that that Marinette side of her begged not to. He is your idol, she heard her Marinette persona whisper in her head. He can be spared, and you can continue looking up to his work!
No, Ladybug thought back. This has to be done. With or without his powers, after this, he'll be a wreck. He could put himself and the ones around him in danger. This has to be done.
"Lucky Charm!" she shouted, throwing her yoyo up into the air. It transformed and fell down into her hands as a syringe. A syringe? Then Ladybug understood and knew what had to be done.
Chat saw the lucky charm in her hand. He couldn't let this happen.
"Ladybug, stop! You don't have to kill him!" Chat shouted. The fear and desperateness in his eyes caused Ladybug to take a step back. Maybe he was right. They didn't have to kill him. He could just continue to live his life on the low, or he could be put in prison. But wouldn't the media blow up then?
"Don't listen to him," Gabriel spoke, his voice scratchy and full of regret. "Kill me. Kill me please."
"Don't do it, Ladybug," Chat pleaded. But Gabriel's eyes also pleaded "please do it." Ladybug looked between the two. She shook her head as so many thoughts whirled around in her head. No. She couldn't do it. She couldn't. She couldn't kill anyone. It just wasn't in her blood.
"I can't," Ladybug spoke, looking into Gabriel's eyes. "Chat is right. We don't have to kill you. Your life is still precious, you can still do so much more with it."
"No. No I can't." His eyes casted downwards as they burned with hot tears. "I've made so many mistakes, too many mistakes. I've put my son and those he's loved in danger so many times. I don't deserve to live."
He looked up at her. A couple tears had fallen out of his eyes. The sight hurt Chat. He had never seen his father like this before.
"Kill me, Ladybug, please. It's such a quick and painless death. I can't do this anymore. It's my time to go. You've already defeated me. Nothing matters anymore. I don't matter anymore."
"That's not true." Chat's voice grew soft. "You still have so much left to live for. Things don't have to end this way. Give yourself another chance. You can start over."
"No." Gabriel shook his head violently. He held his head in both of his hands. The tears were flowing harder now. "Kill me. Kill me. Now."
Ladybug felt her body tremble. She couldn't do this. Chat was right. He could start over after his jail sentence. He could become a new man and a caring father to his son.
"I'm sorry. I can't." Ladybug took a couple steps back. She dropped the syringe on the ground. "I can't kill you. I'm sorry."
Gabriel looked up from his crippled position. He first looked at Ladybug. This young woman was so pure and full of good intent. She valued and contained great virtues. Gabriel understood why she herself couldn't kill him. She was too kindhearted and innocent to do something so brutal. He admired these qualities she had.
Then he looked at Chat. This young man. He was so brave and witty, yet he was so kind and he only wanted the best for everyone. It reminded him of his own son. Adrien, I'm sorry, his words rung in his own head. I'm so sorry.
Gabriel eyed the syringe on the ground. It was just a couple of inches away from Ladybug's feet.
I could end this all right now...
He found his chance and reached for it. He snatched the syringe in his hand. Ladybug tried to leap towards him to take the syringe back from him, but her reflexes were too slow. Gabriel struck the syringe into the vein inside his neck. He released the fluid in the tube before pulling it out of his own neck.
"NO!" Chat exclaimed, reaching out to Gabriel. But the man fell to his side in a choppy motion. Chat watched in horror as his father let out his last breath and slowly blinked his eyes closed until he was no more but dead. Chat felt so much anger rise inside of him. He turned to Ladybug and saw her breathe out a sigh of relief.
"At least it's over," she said. That comment she made triggered him. Chat clenched his fists and gritted his teeth at her. Now he felt livid.
"Why did you do that? Why did you just let him kill himself like that?" Chat hissed.
"Chat! I-"
"We could of just arrested him! Had him locked up in the highest, strongest prison in all of Paris!"
"Chat, I didn't mean for this to happen! I didn't want him dead. But I'm not angry about it either. This was Gabriel Agreste! The media would totally blow up, and that wouldn't be pretty. Bad things could happen then. Things could get out of order and out of control."
Ladybug took in a deep breath to continue her rant. And then she thought about Adrien, and how bad this would be for him. He had to be protected.
"People would never leave his son, Adrien Agreste, alone and lots of people would probably try to kill him since he's the son of a villain. It's better if we just say Gabriel Agreste died from a heart attack or some other natural cause."
Chat squeezed his eyes shut and massaged the bridge of his nose. "You do realize that you're responsible for the suicide of Adrien Agreste's father. How do you think he'll react? Seeing his father's dead body lying limp, not having the slightest clue on how he died? Do you realize how he'll feel?!"
Ladybug let out a gasp. How dare he blame her for Gabriel's suicide. She felt rage fill her, but then she recalled all that happened. Chat...he was right. She could have prevented his death. But the moment she saw Gabriel reach for the syringe, something held her back. Her mind told her to let him be; let him make his own choice. She could have saved him, but she didn't.
Ladybug was quiet for a minute. The realization hit her. Her biggest crush or all time, Adrien...his father had just committed suicide. And it was her fault. She was responsible for this. She was responsible for the hurt and sadness Adrien would feel. She would be responsible for his depression. He already had lost one parent, and now the only parent he had left was gone too.
Ladybug felt her heart sink to her stomach. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she held them back and slowly blinked them away.
The heroine looked down at the dead body of Gabriel.
"Oh, gosh. This is all my fault." Ladybug knelt down by Gabriel's side. She checked his pulse in case, by some chance, he was still alive. But she found no pulse, and his breathing had come to a stop. Ladybug knew she would have to live with this guilt of knowing she let her crush's father die for the rest of her life. She would have to carry this burden, this lingering thought, with her forever.
Ladybug looked up at the black cat, her bluebell eyes wide and heavy with regret.
"You were right, Chat Noir, I should've been quicker. I could've saved him."
She looked back at Gabriel's dead pale face, whispering, "I'm so sorry."
It was then that Ladybug's earrings beeped.
"Ladybug, you should go," Chat spoke with a scratchy voice. Ladybug looked concerned for her kitty, wondering what could be going on in his head.
"But-" she started.
Chat held up a paw and shook his head. "I'll take care of him. You go."
"But Chat..."
The black cat finally snapped.
"GO!"
Ladybug was taken aback by Chat's yell. He'd never raised his voice at her before, but she knew she deserved it after what she had done.
"Time to bug out."
And then she was gone, and she left Chat to cry over his father's dead body in peace...
No, that day was not a day Chat liked to remember. Not one that Ladybug liked to remember either. The next day after that, when she saw Adrien's heavy face as he walked into class, she couldn't stand the sight of him and she ran off into the bathroom, crying for the rest of the period in there. After that, Marinette had trouble speaking to him (even more trouble than before.) She tried avoiding speaking to him altogether. Every time she saw him was just another reminder that she let his father die. And she felt extreme guilt for it. She could never forgive herself for the biggest mistake she had ever made.
"Yes," Ladybug sighed. "And two months since Hawkmoth."
She again was quiet for a minute. The only sound heard was the comforting night breeze wrapping around their bodies to keep them cool and content.
"I graduate from high school tomorrow," she finally said. "And I'm scared, Chat."
Chat looked over at her crippled position (her knees pulled up to her face where she rested her chin) with his piercing green eyes all full of concern. His natural instinct made him scoot closer to Ladybug. Their shoulders were almost touching, but he gave themselves a respectable distance.
"Scared, M'lady?" he said. "Why are you scared? You happen to be the bravest person I know. No akuma has ever scared you. So why does graduating scare you?"
"Because...I don't know what's going to happen. They say graduating from high school becomes a new chapter of your life. But I have no idea where the future will take me. Will I go to school? If so, which one? I've been accepted to so many, but which one do I chose?"
Ladybug looked at the Eiffel Tower as it radiated its light upon the buildings around it.
"And will I ever get a boyfriend? Will I ever get married? And what about children? Am I going to have children? Do I even want children? How many children? Oh gosh..."
"Hey, calm down-" Chat jumped in.
"And us."
Ladybug looked up at Chat's beautiful green eyes. He found her bluebell eyes quite striking and he couldn't look away from his love.
"What about us, Chat?" Ladybug lowered her voice to an almost-whisper. "What's going to happen to us? I mean, we've already defeated Hawkmoth, and I can't stay Ladybug forever."
Chat felt his heart drop. She was right. Their job was pretty much done. The only crime left was minor compared to akumas and the police could take care of it.
Chat didn't want to stop seeing his lady. He loved her too much to let her go. He couldn't bear not seeing her. She was the only thing keeping him sane sometimes. And even if she didn't need him, he needed her.
"I don't want to lose you, Chat."
Chat instantly looked back into Ladybug's eyes, trying to read her emotions. He picked up her hand and raised it to his lips, where he pressed a gentle kiss.
"You won't," he said. "Not if I can help it. I'll always be here by your side."
"Promise?" She whispered. Ladybug's eyes were so beautiful, and it took Chat everything he had to resist the urge to kiss her. He placed a paw on her cheek and brushed her hair behind her ear. He gave her a small smirk—which she smiled back at.
"I purr-omise," he winked.
##############################################
"I can't believe today is the day!"
Alya exclaimed. She nearly exploded with excitement, which was the exact opposite way Marinette felt right now. She felt as though she was going to puke out her guts. She was nervous for the ceremony and her future.
"We start in 20 minutes, can you believe it, Nino?" Alya asked, clinging on to him and shaking him.
"Woah, someone's had a little too much coffee to drink this morning," Nino commented. Adrien chuckled, but then glanced over at Marinette. She looked pale as a sheet of paper.
"Hey, Marinette, are you doing okay?" he asked.
Marinette's heart skipped a beat. Adrien was talking to her. She managed to avoid him for almost two months now, but he had approached her. She could run off and pretend to throw up, but she knew that wasn't the honest thing to do. So she took in a deep and shaky breath and prepared herself to engage in conversation with him.
"I'm just really nervous..." she explained.
"Oh, I understand. This is a big point in our lives. Our futures can go anywhere from here."
"Well, yours is already pretty much decided for you," Marinette mumbled.
Adrien cocked his head. "What was that?"
Marinette was about to explain herself, when she heard, "Places everyone! Get in line, we're getting ready to start!"
Adrien waved goodbye to Marinette and they both went to find their place in line.
The graduation went by fairly quickly. The moment Marinette walked across the stage, she felt a sense of pride. Sure, she was still nervous for what was in store, but she was proud of all she had accomplished.
After the ceremony, everyone went up to each other and congratulated the other. It didn't take long for Alya to find Marinette, and when she did, she crashed into her with a big bear hug.
"Can you believe it? We're graduates! No more high school. We're free and Independent!" Alya shouted.
"I know, it's crazy!" Marinette pulled away from the hug. The two continued to chat for a while, until Marinette was interrupted by a nudge on her shoulder. She turned around to face none other than Adrien.
"Hey, Marinette. Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Marinette looked over at her best friend for reassurance. Alya nodded. So she went with Adrien.
"Look, I know you've been avoiding me for a while," he started. "I'm not going to interrogate you and ask why. But, our lives are about to change, and Marinette. I don't want to cut off ties with you. You're a really good friend to me. I still want you in my life."
Did he really just say that? Marinette internally squealed.
"As you might know, now that I'm 18, I'll be taking over my father's business. But..."
Adrien scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously.
"Let's just say I'm not the best with clothing lines...but you."
Marinette instantly stood up straighter and listened intently.
"You are a fantastic graphic designer. You created one of Jagged Stone's album covers. And remember when you won the contest for the best hat? You have great talent, Marinette."
Marinette just stood there with a wide expression. She tried to process his words. Her, talented? That meant the world to her to hear him say that about her. To her.
"What I'm trying to say is...would you like to work for the Agreste company?"
"Work? For you?" Marinette gasped. Gabriel Agreste used to be her biggest inspiration! Used to...
"Well, yeah. You'd be the perfect person to help design the clothes."
"Y-yes! I'll do it!" Marinette rushed in without giving it a second thought.
"Great," Adrien smiled. "You know my number. Give me a call later so we can continue talking about this."
And with that, he walked off back to his friends.
As Marinette walked back towards Alya, her mind was racing with a billion thoughts. She? Work for Adrien? And his million dollar company? For a hot minute there, Marinette forgot all of her guilt and felt the excitement bubble up inside of her. She wanted to scream with joy. She was going to have a future with the love of her life, Adrien Agreste.
A/N: Welp...what did you think? I know this chapter may seem a little vague, but I promise it'll get to the good stuff soon and the plot will start coming together within the next few chapters.
Please don't forget to leave me a review to help me with inspitation!
Thank youuu ^-^
