The smell of the salt in the sea drew Marinette back in. It was a smell she committed to memory at this point, accompanied by the sight of fog and baby blue skies that lived in her head. It was an early morning in October, early enough to where she could feel the slick dew underneath the soles of her thick brown boots. Finding her common spot on the white oak bench, Marinette allowed herself to breathe it all in.
Her memory never failed her. Maybe other minds would change details or muddy memories as the years went by, but Marinette was always good at taking snapshots through her mind's eye. On days like this, she saw her brain as her favorite scrapbook. Now, she let herself flip through the pages.
Marinette met Adrien ten years ago in a whirlwind that changed her heart forever. Never had she met a boy so incredibly kind, selfless, and giving, and he made her want to be a better person even in her 14-year-old immaturity. It was only expected that she would fall in love with him, and fall she did.
She often thought back to every time she had completely embarrassed herself in front of him, but he remained gentle. She never felt judged by him, and along with Alya and Tikki, he was her biggest supporter, and though she didn't know it at the time, Adrien helped her through one of the most stressful moments of her life. He was by her side when she became Ladybug, so keen on good that she was surprised she never saw the similarities before. As her partner, they were able to save Paris again and again from their relentless adversary: Hawk Moth.
Marinette took in a sharp breath and wiped her eyes with the back of a gloved hand. It hurt to remember. She knew the pain it caused Adrien when he found out that Hawk Moth was none other than his own father. Marinette had wished she was there to bear it with him, shield him from the harm, and hold him in her arms, but she wasn't.
They were seventeen at the time and Adrien was at home sick. They didn't know each other's identities yet, so all Marinette knew was that Adrien was sick and that Chat Noir was probably fine somewhere across Paris. Painstakingly leaving for patrol, that's when Adrien heard it.
A loud crash came from Gabriel's office. After calling out to ask if he was alright and only being met by complete silence, Adrien opened the door a crack to see Hawk Moth rifling through drawers, searching for something. Assuming their arch-nemesis had found out his identity and home address, a transformed Adrien went on the offensive. Chat Noir sparred with the older man until he pinned him, ripping off the brooch to reveal a suspicion he had locked away in the darkest corners of his mind. A suspicion that broke him.
His father was Hawk Moth, and he had to get to Ladybug. Her.
Sitting on her bench, Marinette was still shocked that he still had half a mind to bring the moth brooch to her. She guessed that it was the natural good in him to not hesitate to do the right thing. To fight every instinct to protect your family in order to serve the greater good. She sobbed lightly into her glove, wind meeting her cries as her braid softly bristled.
Standing on the platform of the Eiffel Tower, Adrien was forced to tell her the truth as to why he knew Hawk Moth's identity. It was a shock for her to find out that her long-time crush was also her best friend, and maybe on better terms, the revelation would have been more romantic. But this was business. Adrien stressed to her that knowing her identity was crucial in case anything happened to them during the final battle, so Marinette let down her transformation.
It had been so hard for him after that and she had no idea how he lived through it. Adrien fought by her side as they sought to reclaim the peacock jewel to rid Paris of the more frequent amoks now that akumas were eradicated. It was hard enough for Adrien to look into the eyes of Nathalie, his caretaker, and ask her why she chose to follow his father. Even worse was her answer.
Despite Marinette's fervent protests, Adrien followed Gabriel and Nathalie down that dark tunnel. Marinette saw it in her dreams now, the pitch darkness that grew into a slight glow by the end. The echoing of water falling and the continuous flutter of wings that buzzed like locusts in her ears was like a brand in her brain. And then she had nightmares about her face. Though soft and still tinged with the last ebbings of youth, Emilie's face was like the smell of sweet rot. A flower that was shriveled, a peach with maggots so fat that they could only squirm. That was Emilie. That was Adrien's mother.
The pounding on the glass replaced the sound of the sea. His cries, his childish, pleading cries.
"Mama!"
"Mama!"
Kick
Wanting to be closer. Wanting her to love him. Wanting her to be alive.
Everything happened quickly and painfully slowly at the same time. Marinette wasn't able to react to Adrien's call of cataclysm, but the shattering of the glass coffin seemed to last for minutes. Gabriel's shocked yell. Nathalie's gasp. The even scarier silence of Adrien. Marinette's own blood pulsing in her ears like a breathing metronome.
1… 2… 3… 4…
Emilie gasped as if there was no more air in the world. Adrien, now detransformed, dropped to his knees, ignoring the shards of glass that dug into his skin. He cradled her soft body, her pale blonde hair falling in his lap as he sobbed. Everyone seemed to be taken aback by the sight. Even Gabriel could only stare.
There was no closure. Emilie dying on his lap was the same as her comatose state in the coffin, just with more finality. She couldn't do anything but stare up at him with those wide emerald eyes that they shared. It was like she was a child all over again, clinging to a warm beloved body as she was terrified.
This time, it was Marinette who thought to take the peacock miraculous.
She still marveled at how Adrien somehow managed to move past that and still love her. She supposed it was by nature that he was still patient and kind with her, making her laugh when she was about to cry. Maybe he loved her because he knew just how much she loved him back. Though he lost his family that day, he often relayed to her that she had always been his home. As they grew older and more mature in their love for one another, they made that home a reality.
Though Marinette strongly believed that nobody was perfect, life with Adrien was like a lucky strike. The couple was able to fall into easy domesticity. Though being relatively young to marry, they felt ten years older by the time they reached 21. From their point of view, committing to being a superhero was a much bigger deal than the commitment of marriage. Besides, Adrien had professed his love to Marinette so many times that it felt like they'd been married for a lifetime. After that came a small apartment that they saved for through a slew of part-time jobs. Adrien had access to his trust fund but used it modestly, and refused any extra money that Gabriel tried to offer as an olive branch. In truth, independence was what brought Adrien some semblance of normalcy. He took pride in picking up odd jobs and studying on the side, and Marinette was just as happy for him. Her fashion dreams were a bit dashed by finding out her idol was a horrible human being, so she found herself working at a small marketing firm for the time being. The future was bright with possibility though, and Marinette could only see themselves going up in the world.
That's not to say that they didn't deal with their issues; however, they dealt with their problems healthily and used each other as a crutch in their darkest moments. Night terrors had become a part of Adrien's routine, and he would often stay up late to offset them. Marinette would stay up with him and talk about nothing and everything into the night, holding him securely under the blankets until he would eventually fall asleep. She didn't mind this setup at all. Marinette loved him. She would gently stroke her hand across his soft crown in a comforting gesture that relaxed her too. Drifting off to his snores and being wrapped in his warmth was one of the many small pleasures in her life.
The bluenette started to see the parting of clouds that usually meant that it was time for the day to start. She'd have to leave this place soon. She hated leaving. It forced her to come to the end of the story. She loathed the ending.
Life was unfair.
Life was unfair when Adrien's mother was taken from him. It was unfair when they were tasked with saving the world as preteens. It was unfair when everyone around them forced them to grow up too fast.
But it was downright cruel when life took Adrien away from her.
It was a rainy day in late March. Marinette remembered that because she was standing in her rain boots, flipping the pages of their new cat calendar in the kitchen. She was counting the days until Adrien's birthday so she would have ample time to invite all of their classmates to a surprise party. It had been years since they had seen their friends from Dupont, and Marinette knew how much Adrien was missing Nino and all the guys. She selfishly also missed Alya, who along with Nino was traveling the world. This gave her an excuse to call them home, and hopefully, they would stay for a bit.
Busy with her red marker, she jumped slightly as she felt two strong arms encircle her waist. She giggled and turned around, her blue eyes meeting a forest of green. Adrien had his classic Chat smirk plastered on his face.
"What are you doing up so early?" Marinette was used to waking up early on Sundays (being a baker's daughter had its lasting effects) but Adrien was accustomed to sleeping in.
"I just wanted to see my beautiful wife before she went to work for the day." His eyes glinted.
Marinette laughed. "I always come home around noon, so you wouldn't have to wait that long. Maybe you're just getting clingy, Chaton." She teased lightly.
Adrien laughed, a sound that always put butterflies in her stomach, and leaned down to kiss her. Marinette stood on her tiptoes, pink rain boots squeaking at the movement. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him for a moment.
As she came down from her perched state, the red marker in her hand lightly breezed past Adrien's wrist.
"Oh crap. I think I may have left a mark on you." Marinette attempted to rub the ink off with her thumb.
Adrien chuckled as he too looked down at the mark. "Maybe I can return the favor when you get back."
Marinette blushed and stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed once again as she left their small apartment, locking the door behind her as a smile was still glued to her face.
That was the last time she saw him. Truly saw him.
Right as she was about to leave her office building, her phone faintly buzzed in her pocket. Standing in the elevator, she answered the unknown number.
Four floors never felt like so many.
She still had no idea how she made it to the hospital. The reception desk seemed so far as she could barely breathe, barely registering the woman's voice other than the room number that she gave her. A doctor down the hallway received Marinette and gave her the news.
Your husband is dead.
She couldn't believe him. How could this have happened? He survived hundreds of akuma attacks without a scratch, jumped off of tall buildings, and lived through the hardest time in his life.
It was a car collision, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng.
Marinette was in denial. She begged to see him. The doctor nodded to a nurse that Marinette hadn't noticed before who opened the door to a dim room.
The buzzing of locusts filled her ears again. She could have sworn that she saw those butterflies around him, his face soft but she could smell that sweet rot again.
It didn't look like him. It wasn't him. It was a cruel collage of bandages and bruises. Her eyes traveled down his lifeless body until she saw it.
The red mark of the pen from just hours prior.
The sunlight finally broke through the gray clouds and the ground was now less damp than it was when Marinette first climbed up the hill. She wouldn't be able to make it up here as much anymore. For now, she had to say goodbye.
Marinette stood up slowly and took a few steps forward so she could read his headstone.
ADRIEN DUPAIN-CHENG
2001 - 2025
The most loving husband, son, and partner.
Marinette looked down at the large swell of her stomach with a watery smile.
"And father."
Her whisper seemed to float in the wind.