A/N: For the people wondering, yes, Mari's ring is supposed to look like a Pokeball. Please remember Adrien is a anime nerd in canon (you can look it up on his wiki page. It's there). He doesn't think Marinette will get the joke, (surprise she will). Okay? Okay. Again, it's on my ml Tumblr page if you want details.
Now that's out the way, I'm still sick, so that's my excuse for not getting this story out sooner. This chapter was beta'd by Toxic Girlfriend ( & Tumblr)
Summary: Still not intentionally meaning to harm Adrien, I really need to stop doing that. Whoops. Visions explained. Hopefully. Not Really. (#SorryNotSorry). Christmas is a thing (Not related to the actual episode). Someone give Adrien a hug.
I knock the ice from my bones, try not to feel cold. Caught up in the thought of that time when everything was fine, everything was mine: everything was fine, everything was fine. All the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put me back together again. Run with my hands on my eyes. Blind, but I'm still alive. Free to go back on my own: But is it still a home, when you're all alone? Is it still a home when you're all alone? There is a reason I'm standing, I never knew if I'd be landing. And I will run fast, outlast everyone that said no.
-Karmina
Part XII
Adrien wasn't sure what woke him, but in some part of his brain he was getting annoyed with how bland hospital walls were. He had noticed that with his time there, he had developed a trait of circling his promise ring around his finger, it knocked into his miraculous every now and then, not that he minded, (Plagg did, though).
But it wasn't as if he wanted to be anywhere else, in half, anyway. He'd rather Marinette be with him.
But she understood, which he was internally grateful for. The last time he broke down and apologised that he forgot to charge his phone the other day, and she came running in alarmed, thinking his new number had been terminated, like his previous one.
And he was glad that Chloé had chucked a hissy fit over winter being too cold, so school was finished early.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been there, at least a few weeks.
And nothing had changed.
"Well, hello there, young man." He heard a familiar voice say.
Adrien's head whipped up so fast, it cracked as he looked up to see his mother smiling at him, like nothing was wrong.
He stared. "Ma—?" He started.
"You haven't seen my son around, have you? His name is Adrien." She questioned him.
Adrien blinked, then blinked away tears.
Nope.
He ran.
As with most times, his feet, even as Chat Noir, ended up bringing him to Marinette's roof.
He hadn't even noticed the time, until he was fleeing past a clock which told him it was past midnight.
She would be asleep.
But, then again, he noted guiltily, as her head popped out of her skylight window, she wasn't.
But, she would listen.
And listen she did.
"Minou, are you alright?" Marinette started, then paused as if looking him over for some reason. "Are you hurt?" She continued.
He was about to answer, when she steam-rolled into answering for him.
"How's your mother?"
He flinched: How the hell she knew, he didn't know. He kinda didn't want to know, either.
Marinette hoisted herself up onto her balcony, shutting her window behind her, and sat opposite to him on her railing, her back to his front. Marinette gave him a glance over.
She lifted her hand to scratch his nearest cat-ear in comfort.
"What happened?" She asked.
"She said my name today." He muttered.
"…And…?" She prompted, stroking his hair at the base of his cat-ear.
"She asked me if I knew where I was." He muttered.
Marinette blinked painfully.
"I wasn't allowed to tell her who I actually was." He continued painfully.
She gathered him up in a hug as she heard him cry out. "Why can't I?!" He screamed painfully.
Neither of them knew the reason he wasn't allowed to tell her, why the doctors had told him he wasn't allowed to introduce himself as her son, but they held onto each other, Chat changing back into Adrien as he cried into her shoulder, making Marinette tear up when she felt him clinging.
"I don't know, Minou, I just don't know. But, I promise it will get better." She hushed him, gently.
It would not be the last time that Aubrianne would unintentionally send her own son running from her room. Whilst seeking out her son, she was sending him away when he couldn't cope.
Being older in this situation would have helped, as adults can argue back. Children, even teenagers, not so much, nor would they get much direct information.
Adrien tried, he so tried to stay, but Christmas came, as Aubrianne's confusion and non-compliance over the actual year sent him packing. She never questioned why Adrien was always there, nor did she question where her husband was (or why he hadn't visited). Or even why when she asked about her young son, no one ever brought him in to see her.
Marinette found it extremely frustrating for Adrien, who couldn't get past feeling sad and angry.
But that wasn't to say it was her fault or that she was trying.
Adrien was torn between staying with his mother, or going to Marinette's for the Christmas days.
It had been a rude awakening, but it happened when Sabine was the one to take him aside.
"There's only so much you can do, dear, for someone who doesn't remember being your mother." She had told him gently, the night previous.
It had made him cry, but he understood.
Marinette ended up dragging him back home, by the arm no less, for him to celebrate Christmas with her family.
And because of that, he was able to forget at least for a little while why he was sad beforehand.
Adrien stared as Tom came into the room, dressed as Santa, so much that he burst out laughing, alongside Marinette, even if she had seen her father dress up before.
Adrien had his stocking filled with boulangerie treats that would go up to his eyeballs in length should he stack them, he wasn't expecting anything from them, and he really should have known better. Atop his head was Marinette's present to him, a handmade black with white specks woollen cat-eared featured beanie (not outwardly showing that one ear was fitted for Plagg to hide in), while he was wearing the shirt, a present Tom and Sabine had given him which in good sport read out you're freaking meow't just as happily.
"I…um… I didn't get you guys anything…" Adrien stuttered.
Sabine smiled. "You being here is enough, my dear." She said gently, with her family agreeing whole heartedly.
Adrien wasn't sure where to put himself but in their debt for all eternity.
The Christmas tree was barren after a few hours of opened presents and shared hugs.
"Maman…!" Marinette called, having wiggled under the tree's leaves, just to make sure, and wiggled back out with a present. "You forgot this one!" She said.
Sabine frowned. "I thought that was another one from you, dear, we didn't wrap that one. It was in the cupboard where the other presents were kept." Sabine told her.
Marinette blinked, shrugged, and checked the name.
It was for Adrien.
"Here, Minou, it's for you." Marinette told him.
Adrien blinked, but nodded as he took the box from her, just as confused as the family he was surrounded by.
Ripping the paper, and opening the box he found himself stunned silent that when he looked among the tissue paper, he saw a small hand written instruction booklet, accompanied by a fair decent amount of hard wearing, familiar white fluffy crochet wool.
For you, and you only.
It made Adrien smile widely and softly, it was a smile that lasted the entire day, alongside his refusal to take off Marinette's gift.
(Plagg himself made sure that Adrien refused. It was his home now).
/
/
It wasn't like Adrien hated staying at the Dupain-Cheng place, he did, but he feared wearing out his time there, especially with Marinette's parents, so he divided his time between being with Marinette and her family, his friends and with his mother as Adrien, and picking nights when his mother asked him of himself that he had enough time to run to Marinette as Chat Noir, as well as halving that time as Chat Noir with the time he spent with Ladybug forcing their presence on the police force (Roger, especially).
He had gone from having no spare time to having all the spare time, that he had no idea what to do with it. With the holidays being a thing, Nino and Alya only had so much time to spend with him and Marinette.
He knew he was welcomed, it just felt he was forcing himself on them too much to be a transition from No Adrien, to Too Much Adrien.
It wasn't as if he could walk around Paris safely yet either, he still got the nervous or angry glare, with the odd negative comment here and there. Though, he was grateful that the press had left him alone, as well as much of the civilian populace.
He would like to think that Ladybug's threat about caging them had done that.
His gift from Elder-Adrien had been brought back to his room at the Agreste Mansion, without Marinette seeing what it was. If all went well, and history repeated, he knew what he would use the wool for in time.
Because he could damn well use another shining light to help guide him in his life.
It was the week after Christmas when Aubrianne finally got frustrated with everyone.
She had been deemed well enough to leave the hospital and return home away from hospital care, being put directly under Nathalie's watchful eye instead, but wasn't allowed to walk until she finished her physical therapy.
"I don't understand where my son is!" She burst out, in a rare state of anger, before looking to Adrien, "Why can't you find him?!"
Adrien blinked at her, moving to answer his mother before a doctor, who was watching him, took hold of him and dragged him away.
Adrien glared. "Why can't I tell her?!" He seethed.
"Her mental state is not yet prepared to make the change, she is not searching for you as a teenager, but a young boy. She does not remember you being any older." The doctor told him.
Adrien hissed at him, before bolting, taking his beanie on the way out.
He had enough sense that it would be cold, that it was late, but he didn't want to talk to anyone. He would just yell. And he didn't want to yell at Marinette.
Chat wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he began to wake when he heard a familiar skylight pop open.
"Minou!" Spoke a voice, shrill in alarm with a touch of anger, yet it sounded familiar.
Whoops. Fell asleep outside. She had developed a habit of checking.
He jumped up off her lazy chair, before freezing, knowing he was in trouble now with her too.
"Hey there, Princess!" He stuttered out sleepily, smiling at her.
She looked murderous, so much so that he cowed slightly, feeling his tail curl in slight fear.
But in the end, she just sighed. "What happened this time?" She asked, as per her custom.
He just sighed in return, and flopped down to sit cross legged back onto her lazy chair. "Have I changed a lot in two years?" He questioned her.
Marinette blinked. "In what way?" She asked, confused.
He notched his head, but shrugged. "In any way." She just gave him a blank look, so he sighed. "Two years ago, people told me I was still a child, that I needed more instruction, to act older, to be an Agreste. But…" Chat trailed off, looking as confused as Marinette did.
"But…?" She tried.
He looked back to her. "I don't think I've changed that much." He started.
"I don't get why we're discussing this?" She asked.
He sighed and lent back against the wall, exhausted. "It's just that my mother is searching for a little boy…"
Marinette blinked. "She's walking around?" She asked.
Chat shook his head. "No, she's at her home now. She wanted me to go find her little boy. Again." He grit out.
"You're still not allowed to tell her?" Marinette asked.
Chat, again, shook his head widely; tail thumping to his side angrily.
"They just glare at me every time I try. Literally drag me away." He looked close to crying.
He guessed they tried to explain, but it didn't make sense to him. At all. Nothing the doctors said about her condition made sense.
Marinette reached out to pull him into her lap.
He reacted by huddling himself into her, as if he wanting to make himself as small as he felt.
"I don't understand, Mari!" He cried.
"Have they said anything to you?" Marinette asked, having asked Tikki to fetch her a tissue box.
Adrien nodded, with Plagg zipping up to his beanie ear. "I don't understand what they're saying. They keep saying she's not ready. I think…" He voiced.
For some reason, Marinette smiled at him. "Then there'll come a day that she will be ready." Marinette told him brightly.
That was the only thing that had made sense to him that day.
/
/
Aubrianne had had enough. If no one would find her son, then she would damn well do it, herself!
She looked around her, well, frankly too big of a room, that was too white, that didn't feel homely at all. But they had said she was home. The room looked a little familiar, but it looked like someone had taken down all the artwork, and family photos she remembered, and didn't replace them.
She grunted as she saw she was finally not being monitored, and swung her legs out of bed.
Physical therapy, my ass. It was like they weren't aware she could deal with walking.
She could walk.
And she proved it too.
She reached her door, and she wasn't even tired, or panting. She opened the door and walked some more.
She didn't remember the house being that big.
Well, she did, but she hated it. She hated the colours too. It looked like someone had dulled the colours even further as well.
Well, maybe it was night, and that was why? Because the lights were on.
She grasped the bannister and made her way down to the foyer. She could always find her way from there. She knew where her son's room was from there as well.
By the time, she got down to the foyer, she was a little out of breath, but not enough to make the medi-bracelet she was wearing alarm and for a horde of doctors to swarm her. (That had happened the previous day, when she decided that they could go screw themselves, and tried walking around her room by herself.) She knew how to regulate her breathing, and heartrate, thank you very much.
From the foyer, she needed to turn up around to the outward staircase and go up one and a half floors to find her son's room.
So, she turned, and she felt the world come up to meet her when she saw the portrait looming above her.
A/N: It only took me 12 chapters to spew out a cliffy for an ending.
Spoilers, if anyone couldn't guess this already: Aubrianne will be a force to be reckoned with. Do not get on her bad side. (She had Gabriel for a husband, what else do you think she's going to be?!)
Also, if everyone is wondering, Adrien's cat gift's actually exist, (you can look it up on this chapter on Ao3)
