A/N- Okay I'm sorry this took way longer than usual, I have about three reasons why I didn't update earlier, including 1) I was at an extremely bad writers block, 2) I just moved houses and 3) School started up and now the homework demands have begun. Anyway hope it was worth it, thank you guys, enjoy!
"I'm very disappointed in you son," the harsh and stone cold tone of his father's voice echoed throughout their unnecessarily large and empty home, making him feel a deep sense of loneliness. Although he wasn't looking, he could feel the prying eyes watching his every move as he avoided the direct form of contact. Not only was Adrien feeling sorry for himself, but newfound anger began to surge through his body.
"I'm sorry I was out so late, Father, I was studying for school with my friends."
A volt of fear ran through his spine, sending out cold shivers as he awaited his father's reply.
"You should be using your spare time to practice your piano or Chinese, not muck around with other kids your age! You're wasting time! Not only that, but they're obviously a bad influence on you." Gabriel began to raise his voice.
As if he was a boiling kettle, the whistle on his top was about to blow. He felt himself unable to stop the oncoming wave of frustration. His fists clenched at his sides. How dare he say that about his friends?
"Father, you're wrong!" he blurted out, listening as his voice echoed against the walls surrounding him. He watched as the stern facial expression on his father melted into a taken aback one.
"Excuse me?"
"I said, you're WRONG!" Adrien finished, feeling himself getting more emotional than necessary. He took a deep breath to calm himself. His father stood in a solemn silence. "You're wrong, Father! My friends are the most fantastic people in this world. They've supported me through more than you ever have! As soon as Mum left us, I became just a trophy to you! I'm done. Done with being your puppet. I can't keep living a life like this. I do absolutely everything you ask of me, and it's never good enough for you! Do you think I like having my entire life planned out for me? Everything being dictated to me? Of course I don't, I'm not a slave or a something to mess around with when you're bored. I'm a person too, Father, and I wish you'd start treating me like one. Stop blaming my want for freedom on the people I hang around, because they aren't the problem, you are!"
His father looked at him with sadness visible in his eyes. This was something Adrien never saw in him. However, the blonde should have known better than to expect his father to open up to him.
"How dare you speak to me like that, I am your parental guardian, you ungrateful boy!" His father's voiced boomed across the house, and maybe if the model hadn't heard him talking to his agents like that all the time, he might feel afraid. But all he felt was utter resentment.
"Well then maybe you should start acting LIKE ONE!"
The loud sound of his footsteps was carried all throughout the mansion. He felt his legs carrying him away from his dad and towards his room. Maybe he could simmer down there without the heavy pressure being put on his shoulders.
He opened his door and slammed it loudly behind him. He looked around. His huge collection of movies and books. His giant skateboard rink. The gaming arcade machines. His giant TV. Even his own private bathroom. It all meant absolutely nothing to him. A single wet droplet rolled down his cheek and splashed into the floor. He had what every person would dream of owning. But he would willingly trade everything he had for a happy family once more. He would gladly give him fame and riches to see his mother once more. The vague memory of her sunshine blonde hair shimmering like gold in the sunlight, the way her eyes glittered like emeralds. It made his heart ache. He longed for her touch. For her to kiss him goodnight. For one of her compassionate hugs. But if all of that was too much to ask for, more than anything, he wished he had the chance to say goodbye.
If Marinette had ever freaked out about anything in her life, she had never been as freaked out as she was at this moment. Tikki had tried to calm her down, but nothing seemed to work. The blue haired girl was too worked up. She kept pacing backward and forwards in the same spot, the small kwami swore she was going to wear a hole into it.
What was she thinking? She was such a mess around Adrien that afternoon, it was shameful! Not only had she tried to ignore his very fair question, but then she proceeded to fall asleep on him!
He probably thought she was a total weirdo. She could forget about him ever noticing her. Marinette frowned and then looked over to her wall. She had covered it up with posters of other fashion designers to conceal her embarassing collection of posters of Adrien, in an attempt to prevent him from thinking she was any weirder than he already did. She felt extremely ashamed in herself. Although, if she was proud of one thing, it was the fact that the two had shared an actual conversation where there was no stuttering or awkwardness at all.
A tiny amount of weight pressed against her shoulder, and she could feel tiny hands patting her neck gently.
"Mari, you've been at this for the past three hours, I'm sure it's completely fine. Seriously, you're overreacting!" the tiny voice called. It felt sympathetic and allowed the girl to relax, but only slightly.
"He thinks I'm weird. Don't deny it! I'm never going to get him to notice me at this point!" the raven haired girl wailed, slumping down on her chaise in defeat.
"Why would anyone think you're weird? You're not, you're unique, there's a significant difference" Tikki sighed, Marinette often freaked out over stupid little things like this. Despite there being a huge hassle each time, she usually got over it and figured out a solution. The small creature had faith in the girl, she was certainly capable of solving this, even if she disagreed.
"I know you're probably right, but I certainly screwed up. I had a perfect opportunity to tell him how I feel about him and all I did was make it awkward for the both of us. Urrrrrrrgh! Why does he have to be so perfect that I can't think straight!?" Marinette sighed and then rested her head on the back of her chaise.
Tikki was at a loss on what to say. She could only hope that her holder would soon figure out and resolve this conflict on her own.
"What if you did tell him then? Maybe he has feelings for you too?" the kwami suggested, shrugging her teeny little shoulders.
"Don't be ridiculous! I can't even talk to him properly, why would he like me? And besides, if I can't even talk to him, why would I confess my undying love for him?"
This girl was definitely overreacting. Tikki had tried to tell her this many times before, because she was notorious for it, but the blue haired superheroine would never listen no matter how much sense she attempted to talk into her.
Marinette sat there for a long while and just stared into the distance. If she could have counted all the different things that were running through her mind right at that moment, she would have been stuck in that position for all of eternity. Her thoughts wandered off to school. How would she ever go to school again? He would be there, awaiting her in the seat just in front of her as he always was. How could she face him after being such a weirdo around him the day previously? Granted she knew she was probably overreacting, he was too nice to think poorly of anybody, that was probably why he put up with Chloe and her shenanigans. However, this didn't stop her from overthinking, not one bit.
She groaned. How was she ever going to marry the love of her life if she couldn't get through one afternoon without freaking out. After all she had fallen asleep on Adrien Agreste. She was pretty sure that outdid every other girl in Paris in terms of how close anybody had gotten to the model. Heck, Chloe would glow green with raging envy. That thought made her grin to herself. A
She wondered about how she would explain this entire situation to Alya, the blogger would internally combust when she broke the news to her. Marinette had lost count of the many times she had made statements about how she "ships" them together. It was nice of her, but it certainly got annoying after a while.
The blue haired girl pulled out her phone and shot her best friend a text.
Marinette: Hey Alya!
She didn't have to wait long though, she figured that would be the case as the red haired girl always had her phone on hand. Tikki decided to retreat to the pillow that resided beside the bed and get some rest.
Alya: Hey girl, how was the "study session"?
Marinette didn't know if she liked the implications her friend was making.
Marinette: Mortifying! I fell asleep on him!
Alya: Dayuuuum Mari! I was only joking! I didn't expect u to take it that far! I hope u 2 wore protection ;)
Marinette: Get ur mind outta the gutter, we just watched a movie together and I got comfortable
Alya: Woulda been so adorable too! Damnit me and Nino shouldn't've left.
Marinette: I'm freaking out about it. What if he thinks I'm weird? WHAT IF HE HATES ME NOW?
Alya: I doubt that Mari, did he wake u up?
Marinette: No he didn't, he laughed at me when I did though
Alya: Girl, he's totally into u. No guy lets a enjoys a girl sleeping on him unless he likes her.
Marinette: Don't kid urself, I'm invisible to him. He wouldn't notice me, I'm too ordinary.
Alya: Bullsh*t! U have that attitude and ur gonna die alone
Marinette: The love advice he wanted was about another girl, Alya, I know it was.
Alya: Whatever u say, I know love when I see it, so if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go out and pick my bridesmaid dress
Marinette: Even if I did marry him, what makes you think you'd be my bridesmaid?
Alya: Mari, please. Now you're just embarrassing urself. Gtg, babysitting awaits.
With that the blue haired girl turned off her phone tossed it aside. She figured a good nights sleep was a start in regards to how she was going to tackle school the next day. Slipping into her pajamas, she hastily jumped into bed and pulled the covers up over her body, which immediately engulfed her in a comfortable warmth. Slowly but surely, she drifted off into a nice deep sleep.
Ladybug drifted in and out of Adrien's mind, plaguing him, and preventing him from his much needed sleep. That and the conversation he had with his father earlier. He had already given up trying, so he decided it would be more beneficial to, instead of attempt to sleep, patrol around Paris for a while to get things off his mind. Plagg had insisted on plenty of cheese as payment for being woken up in the middle of the night, which the blonde model had been happy to oblige.
Running across rooftops, leaping from ledge to ledge, Adrien continued on his way, letting his instinct carry him forth. With every extension of his baton, every leap off his feet, he felt the ginormous pressure of being the son of Gabriel Agreste lifting off of his shoulders and freeing him of the burden he never wanted to carry.
He sat ontop of the Eiffel Tower, pondering deeply about the events to come. What was he going to do about his Ladybug situation? Should he confess to her? He tried to picture his lady in his mind, attempting to focus on one thing at once. However, he found it really strange that the only thing that came to mind was his shy classmate, Marinette. He was still in disbelief that she had managed to speak coherent words around him, it gave him solace to know that his efforts were finally somewhat paying off. Hopefully with a little more time and convincing, she would trust him a little more, after all she did fall asleep on him. That was a step in the right direction in his mind.
He shook his head quickly, he wasn't out to think about Marinette, or even Ladybug for that matter, he was out to clear his mind, and hopefully get over the fact that he had literally called his father a terrible parent.
He froze. The thought had crossed his mind before, but he never contemplated the consequences of his actions. He had insulted his father. What did that mean for him in terms of repercussions? Would he be pulled from school? Would his friends be blamed again for being bad influences? Would he be once again condemned to the solitude of the giant empty house he lived in? A painful shot of panic swept through his body, making him shiver in fear. His father was not a man to annoy or toy with, and he knew from firsthand experience that you wouldn't want top get on his bad side. In another way his terror faded to a deep sorrow that engulfed him. He figured that it wasn't normal to be low-key scared of your own Dad, and he only wished that they could share a standard parental/son relationship. When he had lost his kind and compassionate mother, he had also lost his father.
He was entranced in thought, trapped in his own mind for what seemed like forever, until the soft glow of the city beneath him caught his attention. Yellow lights illuminated the streets and orange ones the buildings that covered every inch of his vision. It wasn't perfectly arranged as such, but it still seemed aesthetically pleasing to his eyes. He watched as the few cars that still remained outside moved slowly to their destinations. He glanced upwards towards the glowing sky. The crescent moon resided in view along with the countless amounts of twinkling lights that sparkled beautifully.
It seemed peaceful almost, something that he, as a superhero, was fairly unfamiliar with. Even though he enjoyed his commitment as Chat Noir, he had to admit it's a pretty tiring job to handle. His shoulders lowered as he took a deep breath in and then exhaled. This was the first time in his life he had ever felt relaxed.
After a bit more wondering about current events, Adrien decided to go home and sleep it off, or at least try to anyway. He was now content with the fact that he would have to face his father in the morning, because he was going to stand his ground again. The blonde model did not regret telling his father how he felt, and sincerely hoped that the punishment wouldn't be too severe.
As soon as he jumped into the window, he detransformed and handed his hungry kwami some more cheese to shut him up until morning, before he himself hopped into the covers and closed his eyes without a second to lose.
