CHAPTER 26:
The house had always been too big for him.
It had been worse once his mother disappeared. When she was home she made the cold big halls cozy and luminous.
She would sing, she would bake, she would play loud music and run around the halls chasing Adrien or playing hide and seek if he was in the mood for it.
Gabriel, being a designer and by consequence, part of the élite of Paris, hosted many parties, filling the house with guests, waitresses, cooks, and other kinds of employees, but somehow, no matter how many people were inside, the house was still too big. Lonesome.
Even now, when all the people he loved were in the living room the feeling had not changed.
He was leaning against one of the pillars, close to the long velvety blue sofa where Marinette was laying.
Alya was next to her, sitting on the floor and holding her hand.
Nino was talking with Naomi, Willem, and his father. They were standing around a tall table that used to have a vintage telephone, but now there was a book open instead. Nino was explaining what he knew, and Naomi was adding her own interpretations, since besides being the "Ladybug" of her miraculous set, she had taken the role as the guardian of the stones, after the death of their past guardian.
He didn't understand why they had to come all the way here just to talk.
He already felt bad in his apartment, now the dark feeling of the mansion was making it worse.
"Adrien," Plagg said against his ear "She is going to be fine,"
Adrien didn't reply, and he didn't look at Marinette either. Once again, he wasn't able to anything to prevent Marinette's current situation.
"You heard Naomi, it's the energy and I can assure that. She will be alright," Plagg kept talking, "And her passing out like this just gives us more evidence towards our theory. Marinette does have a miraculous stone,"
Marinette passed out, she has been doing that for days now, I don't understand how this time is different. I don't understand why you are trying to brush off the blame I carry.
Adrien didn't know if Plagg could hear him, he had always wondered because it always felt like he did.
"I know you're not feeling good, that you feel guilty. But, you're a rational person, please try to put aside all the horrible feelings you may be having right now and focus on the evidence that lies in front of us." Plagg begged, "You felt Willem, you couldn't place the feeling because you have never felt a stone from a different set, is a little different than feeling one stone of your own miraculous set. For Marinette is the same, she felt Naomi, but if Marinette has two stone powers, the way she feels the world is stronger, and she has two creation stones, two of the most powerful on our set, that would perfectly explain why she passed out. It was too much energy for her to handle. You couldn't have prevented this,"
Adrien didn't answer. He was so tired.
It wasn't fair for Marinette, or anyone in this room, that he felt like giving up but all the emotions that had passed by his mind and took over his body in the late hours had rid him of any motivation that could help him to keep going. If Marinette had too much energy to handle, then he didn't have enough to make himself keep going.
But, he had to.
He knew pain like no one else did, he had gone through so much more than a man of his age had ever gone through. All the bad things that could happen to a person, seemed to have happened to him. Sometimes he wondered what had kept him from turning into a supervillain, with the powers that Plagg gave him, he could have easily turned out like the Papillon. What kept him from turning evil? He didn't know, but whatever it was he had to use that to motivate himself and help Marinette.
She had gone through a lot too.
"Adrien," Alya called.
Adrien rose a brow and looked at her, still avoiding Marinette.
"Can you get me some water? I think Nette is about to wake up,"
Adrien rose a brow, a more judgemental expression this time. How could she know that?
"Her breathing changed," Alya answered. Maybe it wasn't Plagg who read his mind, maybe his face gave away every little thought he had. "I just know her. Bring me some water,"
Adrien nodded.
He came back a minute later with a glass half-filled and a tablet of aspirins on his other hand.
Marinette was already awake and Alya was sitting right next to her. The others were as far as they could be.
Adrien stood next to the sofa and placed the glass of water in front of Alya's face so she could take it.
"Is that aspirin?" Marinette asked she leaned forward getting a better vision of Adrien's hands. Adrien nodded.
He was still holding the glass and Alya didn't seem avid to take it from his hands any time soon.
"For me?" Marinette smiled. Adrien nodded, again.
"Thank you, kitty," Marinette stood up, took the glass of water and reached for Adrien's hand. "May I get that?"
Adrien nodded, one more time.
"Cat got your tongue?" Marinette shifted her head, an amused smile drawn on her lips.
Adrien finally laughed, it was short, but it was enough for Marinette.
"Please don't make it easy for me to throw jokes around, or we will both suffer,"
"I promise I won't," He smirked. "Your aspirin,"
"Thank you, kitty," Marinette stood on the point of her feet and kissed his cheek.
Guilt threatened to make its way inside of Adrien's heart but one look at Marinette made it stop. She was the one who should be mad, she was the one who should be calling him out, but she was not doing that, maybe she really meant it, maybe he was allowed to be around her without trying to earn forgiveness. If Marinette thought he deserved, then he did.
"How bad it's your headache?" He cupped Marinette's cheek, making her look straight into his eyes.
"I've had worse, what actually bothers me is my body. You know that ache you feel all over your body when you're about to catch a cold? That's how it feels,"
"Or like a hangover," Naomi spoke from the other side of the room.
Marinette turned around and looked at the beautiful black woman smiling at her.
"I'm so sorry I haven't even said hi," Marinette clicked her tongue. Her cheeks were turning red because of the embarrassment.
She left the glass of water on the coffee table and walked towards Naomi, but Naomi lifted her hand at her, stopping her.
"No, don't come near me, we don't want you on the floor again. Let your body adapt to my energy, it won't take long but let's be cautious," Naomi smiled. "Now, let me introduce us: My name is Naomi Koole, this is my husband Willem. We're both miraculous wielders but we have stones from of another set, we hold the position you two hold in your own circle. We're here to help you, honey" Help!
That's what Adrien had said before she blacked out. She had been so excited because she was going to meet another miraculous wielder. Adrien and Nino didn't count, she needed someone who didn't know her, someone she could see the situation as an outsider, to help her understand. She was sure Adrien and Nino left things out to not scare her, they were still treating her like a fragile damsel in distress. This behavior didn't come from a bad place, she knew they did it because they loved her, but she was done with being treated with care, she needed to be hit with facts, even if they slapped her in Ahe face.
Also, having someone else would be beneficial. Adrien would stop being on edge because someone else would be able to explain without feeling guilty about keeping secrets, or not being able to talk about it because of past trauma.
Adrien needed to breathe, to relax and just be her friend. If things went well, maybe more.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Naomi. I'm Marinette, but you probably know everything about me already. Thank you so much for coming, I hope it didn't bother you too much,"
"Oh, sweetie. No, bother at all, it's been so long since we visited Paris. Also, I haven't seen Adrien since he was seventeen years old or so, a visit was well needed,"
Adrien huffed "We face-timed for my birthday not long ago,"
"No sense, that's not the same!" Naomi put a hand on top of her heart and took a dramatic stand.
"You're always so dramatic,"
"You're one to talk," Willem chuckled.
Marinette giggled, a hand on top of her mouth to suppress the big laugh that was about to come out.
Willem lifted a finger at Adrien before he could speak "Let's not discuss that, we have more important business to attend,"
"Yes! We should discuss what we came to discuss," Naomi nodded and took a step closer to Gabriel who had been standing in silence the whole time, "Are you alright, dear friend?"
"Yes, Naomi, thanks for asking, I just don't have much to say so I rather not waste my time engaging in useless conversation" Marinette heard Adrien's sigh. Same old Gabriel, no matter if he wasn't that bad anymore, his essence remained.
Naomi frowned and rolled her eyes, but her smile did not take long to appear again.
"Let's do this, Marinette, come close but have Adrien close to you. His energy will repel mine and it will be easier for you," Naomi ordered.
Adrien clenched his teeth. Marinette nodded vigorously.
She gave two big steps and stood right next to him, shoulders brushing. She took his hand between hers and then crossed her fingers with his. Marinette looked up and gifted him a tender smile. Adrien wasn't sure what she was saying with that single smile, it could be anything, yet it freaked him out a little. Things with Marinette were moving too fast, he understood this sudden change of attitude towards him, but it was still very surprising that Marinette wanted him this close.
It also made his heart go crazy, the beautiful girl he had always been in love with was overjoyed to share the same personal space as him and she did not look nervous about it. She was smiling, like she was sharing a secret with him.
Keeping his hand intertwined with Marinette's, and taking advantage of the second of courage he got after watching that beautiful smile, he moved behind her, crossing his free arm around Marinette's shoulders, resting his head on the crook of her neck.
Marinette closed her eyes, delighted.
"Before we start sharing our information, I would like to hear what Marinette has to say of this whole experience. How are you feeling, sweetheart?"
"Confused, but that's nothing new. I'm better than I was a few days ago, it is a lot to take in but after years of trying to keep myself in the dark, it's refreshing to gather pieces of myself. I used to think that being oblivious would help me get better but knowing and understanding what has happened to me it's a thousand times better. Also, all of you're giving me all your support, I couldn't be anything but well," Marinette gave the sincerest smile she could give, and once she got all their smiles back, she left a kiss on top of Adrien's wrist, the only one whose face she couldn't see.
"I'm glad to hear that, Marinette," Naomi stood as close as she could, then she took Willem's hand guiding her to the superhero couple "You should be tracking their energies, lovebird,"
"Please don't laugh at the nickname, I've tried my best to get rid of it but it's all been useless, so I beg you, ignore it," Willem said. He seemed more amused than angry, but Marinette didn't risk it and tried her best not to laugh. "I'm also glad to hear what you said, Marinette. I don't know how hard it is to be in your place, but I know how much pain one can carry when it comes to others. I just want to tell you that none of this is your fault, okay? No matter how things turn up, please don't ever put the blame on you, this is bigger than any of us,"
Marinette nodded, it felt like the right thing to do, but she wasn't sure she would be able to carry on with the promise he was so slightly throwing tangled in his words.
"Well, let's begin with it. The sooner we start the faster we can begin with our plan," Gabriel said. His voice was so cold compared to Naomi and Willem's that Marinette trembled a little.
"We have a plan already?" Alya asked, she stood right next to Nino, and she was looking at him, judgment filling her eyes.
"After collecting all the information, we have and our strongest theories, Willem got an idea," Nino explained.
"But it's quite dangerous," Willem raised one warning finger "So I want you to hear all the little pieces of the puzzle that I consider important and I need you to be a hundred percent sure, a hundred percent on board with it, and for that, you need to hear us out. If you decide to say no, we will not judge you, alright?"
"Alright," Marinette nodded. She felt Adrien's body stiffening. In response, she held him tighter.
"Nino, you can begin," Naomi said.
"Of course," Nino nodded. "Well, you've already seen our board, M, so you must know a lot by now, is there anything you want to ask before I explain the major points?"
"I think I know everything just fine. My biggest questions are the same as yours. Why did the kwamis forget about me? If it's true that I have a kwami or a miraculous stone inside me, how did that happen? I've read the whole board a few times, Adrien answered a whole of my questions and Alya also explained a little. I think my greatest question would be why I was such a bad liar that my parents thought I was at the States and Alya thought I was in Belgium. Or why I went looking for Chloé Bourgeois, I can't stand her."
Alya and Nino chuckled. Adrien sighed.
"I just have one explanation for that, you were desperate," Alya shrugged, "Whatever was filling your mind was more important that come up with a good lie or to avoid Chloé,"
"You know more than I thought you did," Naomi said and looked at Nino. He shrugged.
"Maybe is because we know so little," Adrien's voice was a little croaky and he didn't sound happy about his own statement.
"I think is the exact opposite, we know a lot and we can't choose a path," Naomi said, "But I have a guess. I don't want to say anything until we are a hundred percent sure, I don't want to expose us to any harm if I'm not sure,"
"I'll have to disagree," Nino said, "I think we have the answers, but we can't see them, we have what we need but we can't figure it out." Wayzz nodded by his side.
"So, what do you suggest?" Gabriel asked.
"I'll start to relate the timeline we have created, and as I do I'll answer one of the other questions you did, M. Do you have any other?"
"I don't think so," Marinette bit her lip, trying to think of something else she could ask but nothing came to mind.
"Alright, so I'll begin," Nino took a deep breath, "Adrien, I… There's something I need to say and it's… it's about Papillon,"
Marinette felt the change of pace in Adrien's breathing, the beating of his heart speeding, and his body going rigid, more than before.
Marinette looked at him, his face was still very close to her, so she left a trail of small kisses from his forehead to his cheek. After what he said in their fight, she knew a few kisses were not going to fix much, but they could make it better, more bearable, and they would let him know that she was there for him.
"I'll take it," Adrien said, voice brittle. Then, he hid his face completely, Marinette's hair falling on top of it.
Marinette saw the face of everyone in the room, they were all hurting for him. Gabriel wasn't particularly easy to read, but she swore she could see his eyes glimmering.
"I'll begin then. Please all come to the table, I'll be easier" Nino said and guided everyone to the rectangular glass table in the middle of the room. He sat in the middle and waited for everyone to sit down before he started.
Marinette and Adrien sat beside each other, Adrien was still holding her by her shoulders, and his head was still on the crook of her neck, but they weren't holding hands anymore. Instead, Marinette was playing with his hair.
"So, we begin six years ago," Nino informed and placed a calendar on the middle of the table, "Mid-July: Alya notices Marinette is acting weird, she thinks is because she misses Adrien. Marinette stops writing in her diary, she looks tired and it's out a lot." Nino looked around the table, everyone was following the details. He drew a big circle around the midweek of July and then passed the page to August.
"The first weekend of August, Marinette goes after Chloé to ask for Adrien's number, they fight. Chloé says something happens while they are arguing that makes Marinette change her mind and she cries. They have a heartfelt talk and Marinette makes Chloé promise to not say a word to Adrien. The second week of August, Marinette visits the prison…" Nino made space for a meaningful silence, a warning for what it was about to come.
Nino looked at his best friend if it was his decision he would keep this a secret from Adrien, he had seen him suffer enough already.
"Go on," Adrien encouraged.
"Marinette visits as Ladybug and she asks to talk with Papillon. The guards describe the talk as peaceful but tense, but once it's over Ladybug walks out with tears threatening to fall, on the other hand, Papillon was laughing. Two weeks later he tried to escape… he didn't make it, his plan failed and cost him his life. He died in the ambulance," Nino waited for the reactions of Marinette and Adrien, the only two who didn't know this piece of information.
Marinette opened her mouth, ready to talk but no words came out. She looked confused, frustrated, maybe even sad. By her side, Adrien's emotions were easier to read. He his was porcelain white right now, but his cheeks were bright red. He was frowning and clenching his teeth, a muscle on his jaw popped.
He was about to lose his mind right there, but he kept quiet, he didn't move.
After the long silence, Nino went back to the calendar, marking what he had just said, then he drew another circle over the last weekend of August, adding two crosses over it.
"Marinette flew to Tibet a week before this happened, but we believe that whatever happened to you didn't happen that week, but the next. Alya and I believe that Papillon was able to know what had happened to you and that was the reason he tried to escape. We can't know for sure, of course, but we think it is a strong theory to have, because it also could explain the change of energy Plagg and Wayzz felt, and Plagg stopped sensing Tikki,"
"I agree, it makes sense," Naomi said. She placed one hand on the calendar and pushed it closer to Marinette. "Is there anything you can add, sweetie?"
"I'm not sure," Marinette gasped, "I've had dreams, but I can't confirm they are memories. I see lights, and I seem to be inside of a cave, I've also heard Tikki, or who I think could be Tikki. However, I can't tell you a date, as I said I'm not even sure if they are real,"
"That's okay. Anything else?"
"No. I forget my dreams quite easily, certain things only remain because they make a huge impact on me. I usually just remember the way they make me feel. That's what haunts me the most,"
"I'm so sorry, honey," Naomi put her hand on top of her chest, where her heart was. "That was a great addition, I'm sure your dreams are real we just need to find a place for them to fit"
Marinette nodded, "You can go on, Nino,"
"Okay. I forgot to add that the day before Marinette left, was the last day Marinette, as Ladybug, texted Adrien, as Chat Noir. Now—"
"What did the text say?" Marinette interrupted
"Being busy is part of life, chaton! I'll call you as soon as I can, stop worrying about me, okay?" Adrien whispered in her ear. It made her tremble, not only the words made her heart ache, but that Adrien knew them so well that he answered the question just a second after she asked.
There was no time to have a heartfelt moment, so Marinette made a sign to Nino, they had interrupted him too many times already.
"September. Alya follows clues that Marinette left for her and finds a box with instructions and the real destination she went to. Alya takes the first plane she can find and goes looking for her. It took Alya a week to find Marinette, she found her in the room of an abandoned building—
"I'm not sure how I got there, I asked everyone I encountered with for you, the only ones that knew something was a group of tourists Marinette met while camping, but they didn't know much either. I walked for hours, I left the path I was supposed to follow and walked through a desolate place. Reality stop making sense at some point and then it was was like you were calling for me. There was a tower, I can't exactly remember either, my memories are blurry, but there you were. I found you—"At the beginning, Alya had started talking like Nino had been, stating facts, but then she looked directly at Marinette and talked to her.
"I found you the second week of September, I took you to a hospital, a good one in the closest big city, your parents arrived two or three days later. We moved you to Paris, I can't remember how long it took us, but at the end of October, we were back. Then you were in a coma for a year, as you know already," Marinette nodded. Alya clicked her tongue, her emotion had disappeared from her face, now she was all business again, "Marinette woke up on the third weekend of October of the following year, she didn't remember anything. We thought Marinette remembered Adrien because she thought she studied astrophysics and the only things she could talk about, all she was interested in were subjects related to Adrien, but she never mentioned him. A few months passed, I already suspected Marinette was Ladybug, I was certain, the evidence was on her side, but I still had my doubts, I wanted to see it for myself. Fast-forward to February of the next year, when I saw Marinette turn into Ladybug for the first time."
Marinette's interest piqued. She was already intrigued by the whole conversation, there were things that she already knew but listening to it again in front of everyone was different, it helped her to understand better, to tie the story and organize her thoughts. But this is a subject she really wanted to know about.
"Marinette was mad, we were fighting because she had a date with some random guy she met on the street. He used this cliché line "you don't remember me?", you know when guys use that to get a date, well Marinette was fooled by it because she didn't remember anything, she felt bad and she accepted. So, we were screaming at each other and Marinette started breathing harshly, she was trembling and she kept quiet. The moment I knew things were about to get ugly was when her eyes turned purple. I only have seen eyes change like that when a person turned into an akuma, so I was ready to take hands on the matter, but Marinette changed into Ladybug and…" Alya bit her lip. "Ladybug was standing in front of me, but she wasn't acting like she did, her eyes were still purple, and she looked ready to kill anyone that stood in her way. Foolishly I tried to stop her, and she attacked me,"
Marinette's heart sank.
No, she couldn't have. She would never attack Alya, she was her best friend, one of the most important people in her life, she would sacrifice herself for Alya if necessary, how could she attack her?
"Don't worry, Nette, you had no idea what you were doing. When you transform you are angry and aggressive, you take it on whoever is close enough or who you consider deserves it. After you take it out of your system, or whatever force that takes over you, lets the rage go, you turn into the sweet Ladybug you always you were, and your memory, your memory is back,"
"Not completely," Adrien added. Marinette turned to him. How did he know? "We met on the rooftops, the way you talked, the way you acted, I didn't know it at that moment, but after it was revealed that you were Ladybug, I could tell you didn't remember the past six years, you didn't remember anything. Looking back, for you it was like only a few months had passed,"
"Yes, when Marinette changes into Ladybug she still thinks she is eighteen years old. One time I had to explain everything to her, she cried and screamed, begged me to look for Chat Noir to help her fix it. She changed back to Mari an hour later, for her, the conversation never happened. I waited for her to turn into Ladybug again, check if she remembered our conversation, to my disappointment every time Mari turns into Ladybug is like someone presses the reset button, she goes back to not knowing anything, to the Ladybug she was before she went missing,"
Alya pointed out the dates on the calendar, for Nino to mark.
Alya didn't have to say it but Marinette caught it from her story. She probably tried to explain the situation to Ladybug multiple times, trying to get somewhere, trying to help her, but it had been useless.
"That gives our theory more ground," Willem said, "People who were akumatized couldn't remember anything they did once they were free of the charm of the miraculous. The same happens to Marinette,"
"That doesn't explain why I lost all my memories," Marinette stopped petting Adrien, leaning on the table to be closer to Willem and the calendar.
"I don't think your memory loss is related to the butterfly miraculous. That remains an enigma,"
Marinette sighed. She pressed her face against her hand and pouted. She heard a giggle, then Adrien pressed his lips against her cheek.
"It's not funny, minou," Marinette pouted once again.
"I know, I'm sorry, you just looked cute and I couldn't resist." Adrien looked ashamed.
"It's okay," Marinette smiled at him, assuring him she wasn't hurt by it.
"Can I ask what Adrien was doing all this time?" Naomi wondered. "We have no information of you, baby boy"
"I was at school, not doing much," Adrien answered, "I tried to contact Ladybug many, many times and then I gave up. I was hurting, I thought Ladybug didn't want me anymore, so I focused on school, on partying, living my university life at its fullest. Once I finished I looked back for a job here in Paris so I could look for her. I was extremely useless during this time," Well, guilt wasn't that easy to get rid of, was it?
"Don't say that!" Alya, Nino, and Marinette said at the unison.
"I wasn't doing much either, Adrien," Nino said, "I knew Ladybug had disappeared and still took my time with my training, I could have put more of me, but I did not,"
"And I let Marinette convince me to keep everything a secret, I could have pushed harder. I could have told things to Nathanael and make him help me, I know he would have because he always wanted the best for Mari, if I could have convinced him this was it, then Marinette wouldn't have been in the dark and maybe we would already have fixed it,"
"Stop!" Marinette stood up, so fast that Adrien fell back. "None of you are useless, none of you did anything wrong! You did what you thought was best at the moment. All you're saying are big "what ifs" you think it could have worked differently but that's not true, things could have ended just the same. These two days I've been thinking I am useless too, but I've realized that I'm wrong. We are trying to fix this, we are putting our hearts on this investigation, we are trying to make things right now and that's enough. Enough!"
"Marinette…
"We are only looking at the past because we are trying to figure it out what step to take in the future, we have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and we have to focus on what's ahead of us, we will be okay, we are together now, and we will be together after this, so please, stop,"
"You really are Ladybug, aren't you?" Naomi smirked.
"I guess so," Marinette shrugged, a proud smile crossed her face. She felt happy. "Let's continue with this timeline, I don't want us to be all night here just recalling events, we need to take a step further,"
"Your word is my command," Nino winked, he looked more alive now. He was always calmed, but seeing him now, Marinette could make the difference between the times when he really was relaxed and the times he faked it.
"Nothing major, besides Marinette's sudden transformations, happened in this period of time. Marinette regained memories and got flashbacks when objects or people triggered them, Marinette studied, dated, made a new life and nothing weird happen. Now we move on two-three years ago, we don't know if it's related to Mari but we rather say it: Wayzz and I felt a flute of energy, it was odd, eerie, we couldn't resolve this mystery, but we dare to say that it was a different energy than the one in our stones, but not unrelated, it's somehow connected to us, we don't know how but it is,"
"Since Tikki is the kwami of creation she has some powers that us could dream to have. We think Tikki might have felt it first, years before, and that she and Marinette were trying to solve the mystery, and that could have guided them to the great unknown that is your trip and disappearance, Ladybug,"
"It makes sense, let's keep it in mind!" Willem said excitedly.
"We will, we remembered this just tonight, so we will look for all the investigations we did later on," Wayzz bowed to the man.
"Back at Nettte, nothing changed until April of this year, Marinette started running through the rooftops of Paris as our well-known vigilante," Marinette's cheeks burned. Adrien had already told her that they knew, somehow it was still embarrassing. "Did you remember something that made you take that decision?"
"Not really," Marinette sighed, "One night, I woke up on a rooftop, I had no idea how I made it there but instead of being terrified I felt… at home? It was the most relaxed I have felt in years, I felt like I belonged there, so I started climbing and spending time looking at the city from above. Weeks passed, and I would only sit there and listen to music or eat, but one day it was different, I was looking down and I witnessed a robbery, my blood boiled, a part of me knew I had to do something so I did. I went after the thief, I fought -muscle memory, I guess- I won, I gave the man back his bag. I felt so alive, it felt so right that I started doing it more than I was doing it on regular basis, I would climb every night and look for people in trouble. For a long time, I had been missing something, never knew what it was but the time I spent being vigilante made those thoughts quiet," Marinette shrugged.
"Well, that explains a lot, little lady," Alya nudged at her, "I wish you could have told me, I wouldn't have stopped you, I promise. You can trust me with anything, I know you do with almost everything, but those things also count, just so you know,"
"I trust you, but that was mine to have, I didn't want to share it with anyone. And you knew either way," Marinette sighed.
They exchanged a meaningful look for a few seconds. After all, this was done, after they managed to fix this situation and leave it all behind she was going to have a conversation with Alya, there were many things that they needed to tell each other, but now it wasn't the time for it.
She was so caught up in her thoughts that she missed a few words from Nino, thankfully she didn't miss much and was able to follow up with the timeline just fine.
"Then Adrien is back in town, they are neighbors, Marinette's dreams start to get stranger, she feels on edge most of the time," He points at the calendar, marks the months Adrien and Marinette have met each other "Chat Noir and Marinette start to spend more time together, which explains why things started to get even louder and stronger for her. We are not going to pinpoint all the stuff that has happened here because everything takes us to the same place." Nino swapped the pages until he got to October, the present month.
"This week," Adrien took the calendar, and pointed out at the week they were at "Marinette turns into Ladybug for the first time in front of me. Marinette and I are closer because of the party. Marinette remembers me after we drive to work in my car. Marinette freaks out at the office, almost losing control and turning into Ladybug again. Finally, Marinette decides to read her diaries and founds out that I'm Chat Noir,"
"And here we are," Marinette sighed.
There was nothing else to tell. Nothing relevant to the mission at least, the things that had happened between her and Adrien were a private matter.
"And here we are," Adrien copied.
"Yes, and with our context already laid out" Naomi stood up and walked towards Marinette, she sat by her side and took her hands, "Marinette, all of us are almost certain that you have Nooroo inside of you. You asked how this could happen, well kwamis are supposed to do anything to protect their stones but there's a limit to it, the wielder of the stone must help them too. Your stone, the ladybug stone, is a stone of creation and so is the butterfly. We don't know what you were doing with the butterfly, but it's never a good idea to use two creation stones together, it can be unbearable. We try to avoid it as much as we can, to use such similar energies. I don't know if this played a number on you, but it could be why Nooroo reacted as he did and got stuck inside of you. My other theory is that he looked for the strongest energy of creation in the place and hid. Alya told us that she found you bleeding, with bruises, as if someone attacked you, so we assume you were attacked, by someone or something. This could have made Nooroo take desperate measures. But we won't know for sure unless you remember, or we talk to Nooroo,"
Marinette was expecting a speech of sorts, but she didn't it expect it that soon.
Naomi was quite direct.
Just as she needed.
"But none of those things are happening any time soon," Marinette sighed.
"One could," Naomi said. Marinette's eyes lighted up.
Yes, Naomi was exactly what she needed, most definitely.
"You know how to take him out," Marinette couldn't hide her excitement. Her whole face was glowing, her smile went from ear to ear and her hands were on fists that she was shaking in front of her face with joy.
"We are not a hundred percent sure it is going to work, but I would put my money on it and say is our best shot,"
"Then let's do it!" Marinette clapped "How do we take it out?"
"Marinette…" Both Adrien and Alya said in a warning
"We think Adrien could take Nooroo out," Willem said.
"Me? How?" Adrien didn't sound interested, he sounded scared and that made Marinette nervous.
"We need your cataclysm, a variation of it," Willem explained, "As the raven, I have very similar powers to you, they all revolve around destruction, but I can manage to break or bend without destroying, this is what is all about, I can teach you"
"Break or bend? We are talking about something that's inside of Marinette's body, there's no option to break or bend, here,"
"He probably didn't mean that Adrien, just…"
"No, no I know my powers, maybe not all of them but I bet he meant that. Didn't you, Willem?" Adrien rose a brow.
"It's complex, but the last thing we want to do is hurt Marinette," Willem fixed his shirt's collar "It won't be easy, but we can use your claws to break the magical barrier that's protecting Nooroo, and only a stone of destruction can do that,"
"I'm not an expert but that sounds dangerous," Alya blurted, a bit angry.
"I agree," Adrien's voice broke at the middle of his words.
"You guys," Marinette sulked.
"We have a full plan for this, we are not just telling Adrien to scratch Marinette," Naomi said, "Some time ago, we had to do something similar, we had to break through a magical barrier, and Willem succeeded. We did not break a barrier inside of a human, that's new and it's a reason to worry, but we have been successful before, this is just a twist,"
"Yeah, I bet there is no difference!" Marinette said. She did not look at Alya or Adrien, she had a feeling that she wasn't going to like the look on their faces.
"We have done our research, it's as safe as it can be. I can't confirm Marinette won't feel any pain, and it's dangerous b-" Willem started but was interrupted by his wife.
"You're not giving them reasons to trust us, my lovebird," Naomi sighed, "We know this can be dangerous, but you have not been strangers to danger, not since you took the role as superheroes of Paris,"
"She is kinda right," Nino giggled. Marinette didn't have to look to know that he was smiling at Alya and that she was glaring back at him.
"We are going to take all the measures to make it easier, to make it safe. Marinette must be almost numb, but not under anesthesia, that is not natural and we don't have control over it, none of us is a doctor and even them can mess up, so, we need to fill a bathtub with ice and we will naturally numb Marinette's body, she will also be sleepy but not completely unconscious, we need to do this at the perfect moment. Nino has healing powers so he should be present too, he will keep Marinette's heart rate up and will help to ease the pain if needed,"
"Does that sound right, Marinette?" Willem asked, voice trembling a little. Adrien was younger and had less experience than him but he was looking quite intimidating at the moment.
"Yes, it is, and I know Adrien will do amazing, I trust him, he can manage cataclysm,"
"I know how to use cataclysm, but I have never done something like this before. What is the risk of it going wrong? It's dangerous I'm not happy with that but you're right, we have faced danger. Still, I need to know what is at risk"
"Well," Naomi clicked her tongue.
"Well?" Adrien repeated,
"Well," Willem clicked his tongue too, "If not done properly, we thought that the worst scenarios could be Marinette suffering psychological damage, go comatose again or…
"Or?" Adrien said between clenched teeth.
"Die," Gabriel said, voice dead.
Marinette heard Adrien's teeth chirping.
"No,"
"Adrien, those are the worst case scenarios! It's only a supposition,"
"Oh no, I'm not doing it, I'm not risking it. We can live without knowing, it's fine, we'll wait until Mari remembers," Adrien did a sad version of jazz hands.
"There's no time for that, Adrien!"
"There's time for it if that means we keep you alive!"
"I won't die. Willem will instruct you properly, you'll do a wonderful job, I'll be fine, and we'll get Nooroo,"
"And what happens if Nooroo is not there? What happens if I fuck up? I'm not risking it, I'm not risking you,"
"Nooroo is in there, there's no way he is not, and you won't fuck up. You won't fuck up because this is about me, you'll keep me safe. I trust you and your powers. We can do this, Adrien,"
"Marinette, you could die! Die! Can that clever mind of yours process that little detail? DIE!"
"I know! But if I do –but I won't- you'll bring me back," Marinette then whispered, just for him to hear "I brought you back, right?" She had deduced just as much after their fight. He could do it too, he was powerful enough to do it, of that she was sure.
"How am I supposed to do that? Are you crazy? This is not how it works, I'm not you!"
"We need to do this! I need to do this, please help me, I can't do this without you!"
"Marinette don't ask me to do this, please I beg you," He shut down his eyes, trying to avoid her, "I won't be the one to kill you,"
"You won't kill me, you think I would let you?"
"I would let you kill me," Adrien whispered, "I would let you do anything, I would put my life at risk for you… but I won't let you do the same,"
"Oh no, no, no, no, no" Marinette shook her head, "You can't say those things and then just… don't be a hypocrite!"
"I'll be whatever I want if that means to keep you save. End of discussion,"
"I'll do it anyways then," Marinette breath heavily.
"How may I ask?"
"I'll ask Willem." She stood straight, head high, long neck and a condescending smirk on her face. "You can do it, right? You have the same powers as Chat Noir, and you said you've done it before," She said this as she turned to him.
"I only would use me as your last resource, Marinette. Adrien is your safer option, but I'll do it if you really need me to,"
"No," Adrien pointed at Willem, "I won't let you. I'll knock her out and every single one of you if—
"Adrien," Marinette pushed him, "Please. You are my safest option, I want you to do it, please, pleaaaaaase. We have to do it, and if you stop me if you try to…. I don't want to obligate you, I really don't want you because I can tell you're hurting, but there's no other choice! I want you to take him out, I trust you with my life, Adrien Agreste. I want to do this with you, but if you don't, I promise you I'll do it anyway, so please do it with me,"
"You don't want to obligate me, but you give that speech. That is manipulation, princess,"
"Maybe we could talk about this tomorrow morning," Naomi interfered. "I said this was a fragile subject, so let's go to sleep, we should think about it. We should not let our intense emotions overwhelm us, it takes away the best of us.
"Nothing is going to change overnight, because we are not putting Marinette's life on the line and that's the last word." Adrien whirled on his ankles and did not look back. He left the room and with his departure, the silence became king of the room.
No one was able to speak a word, they were communicating only through looks and body movements.
Marinette could see that no one was surprised by Adrien's behavior, they seemed to be expecting it. Well, she was not. She was expecting for her partner to be a little more professional and put his emotions aside. Okay, no, that was a lie, that was how she wished things were between them at these kinds of situations, but she was aware that things with Adrien were never going to be that way. Nonetheless, she wasn't expecting to lash out like he did, she was expecting more compassion from him, she expected that he had present what a great team they were and because of that, they were always triumphant.
"I'll talk to him," Marinette said "We'll figure it out,"
"Don't try to coax him, Marinette," Gabriel said, heat all over his voice, "Be fair with him,"
There were a thousand words unsaid, Marinette could tell that Gabriel wanted to continue, why she didn't was a mystery. He was a hard man to read, she always said that but tonight he had let his walls down, it was undeniable that he was irritated and angry.
Marinette nodded in agreement. She knew she was lying when she did it, and it hurt, but she pulled the best poker face she could do and she left the room without saying anything else.
She had to coax him, there was no other way that Adrien would accept, he had lost enough already, he was protecting himself, she knew it. But he was being selfish, no matter how much she understood his position, she had to be selfish too.
xx
Marinette walked without direction for a few minutes, this house was massive and she didn't remember being here before. She opened every door that she thought could be a bedroom until she found the one where Adrien was hiding.
He was in front of big rectangular windows at the end of the room. The moonlight was striking his face. He looked celestial. The light did wonders to the color of his skin and made his eyes glimmer like emeralds. Or maybe she was too drunk in the vision of him that she was hallucinating.
Whatever it was, he was beautiful.
And now being selfish felt harder than it had been before.
But, she had to.
She didn't take her time, she went straight to the point.
"I need you to do this for me, Adrien,"
"No," His words cut like knives through the tension of the room, "Marinette I can't do it. I won't' be the one to execute you,"
"If you let Willem do it you may as well be," He turned around to her, and that look on his face, oh, Marinette's heart stopped at the sight of it. She regretted the words immediately "You're my safest option,"
"No, your safest option is to wait. You'll remember, princess,"
"No, I won't. I need something to trigger memories, we could spend the rest of our lives trying to find the right trigger. Don't you think we have waited enough?"
"For you, I would wait forever, Marinette,"
It wasn't fair, he could not come at her with those words, he could not come at her with his husky intense voice and his profound eyes, eyes that held the universe and every answer she wanted to search for. He couldn't clap back using his emotions, using the love they had, because that meant she had to use them too.
She took a big breath. The last two days her mind had scrambled all her memories, but the feelings running through her had been in order for the first time after years of clashing and hiding. It was sudden, she had only remembered him this week, she had only discovered he was her partner two days ago, but she was certain.
And this was her moment to say everything she was holding back.
She wasn't going to be fair, but he had to listen to her. She needed to remember so she could get better, she needed to remember so she could have him, she needed to be herself again, not only fix her own life but help him with his. They needed to be a team again and if that meant he had to manipulate him a little, then she was going to do it.
He could hate her later, he could take all the time to forgive her once he realized what she had done but she was going to take the risk.
Adrien didn't use his emotions as weapons on propose, it was who he was. Marinette was impulsive but when it came to battle she could be cold and calculating, letting go and permit her feelings to take over her was a cruel move, especially when she used it against Adrien.
But, there was nothing else left to do.
"I love you," Marinette blurted. The world seemed to stop at that second. She had said it before, but the passion, the desperation that wrapped the words was so new, so intense, it made them anxious.
"I love you so, soooo much, it consumes me. I've been trying to put together the pieces for so long because I had no memories of you but... " She hugged herself "I love you because of the old memories we share together, it doesn't matter that I don't have all of them, I love you thanks to them. I love you because the new memories we created fill my heart with so much joy. Because the way you make me feel it's the most pleasant feeling in the world. You change the world around me, you make it faster and then slower, and you turn the blandest experiences into a firework show, Adrien. Every detail of you makes my head spin around, I love you more and more every second that passes by, I love you more every time I see something new in you, and when I see something familiar too. But, I want to love you more. My heart is ready to give every little piece of it to you. So. let. me,"
Marinette took long steps, further, in his direction, but he was still far from her.
"Let me love you at my fullest, let me remember you and give you all the love you deserve and all the love I want to give to you. And if you love me just as much as I love you, let me love myself too, let me find who I was and who I was supposed to be, and after that, when I become one with myself again, let me love you a little more," Marinette couldn't tell if she was rambling or her words were finding a way to come across, it didn't matter, once she opened her mouth she couldn't stop. Neither could the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "And if you love me, then love yourself too. Let yourself try again, stop avoiding the obstacles that appear in your way and fight. You're the bravest person I know, you're Chat Noir for god's sake! You're the bravest person in the world! I know you think that man doesn't exist anymore, that reckless boy that put his heart out and fought with all he had, but he does. I see him." Marinette stuttered a little, "You're, you're, scared, you're traumatized but running away won't help. So, love yourself, and let me love you and let's… let's… find a way," Marinette swallowed, "Let's heal together, Adrien."
"I…" Adrien's body felt heavy. His lip hurt and was starting to bleed, he had been biting it as Marinette spoke but he hadn't realized until the moment he felt the metallic taste on his tongue.
What was he supposed to say after that?
Marinette had spilled her heart and soul for him to hear. He couldn't compete with that, no words could be enough to express all the love he felt for her.
His love for her consumed him too.
She was a bright flame in the dark and he was the lost traveler who needed to find his way back home. She was warmth, truth, and safety. She was the meaning of love. Romantically or platonically, it didn't matter, he could have her either way and that was the love he was going to take and cherish until the day he passed away.
Let's heal together, Adrien.
He wanted that. It's what he had wanted for years but had been frightened to ask, he didn't want to look weak, not after dying in front of her, not after leaving her unprotected, not after she brought him back and he felt how she was feeling. Not after he knew how hollow a person could feel after losing a loved one.
To this day, he didn't know how Ladybug had brought him back, but he had felt everything she felt when he was making his way back. He had experimented first hand every emotion, every thought, every heartache she had been feeling.
He promised he would never let her feel that way again, he was going to prioritize her happiness, and that meant acting like everything was jolly. He hid his trauma so well, but at the end, it found his way out, it racked him.
If she died, by his hands no less, he wasn't going to make it through.
He was afraid, he was traumatized, she said it herself. He couldn't heal.
But oh, how much he wanted to.
Marinette's words echoed in his mind. Words she had said only minutes before, same words she had said for years too.
She trusted him. She trusted him and his powers. She proved it multiple times, on reiterated occasions.
And he trusted her.
And he loved her.
And he wanted her to be happy, he wanted to love her properly, he wanted her to love him too.
Let's heal together, Adrien. If she said it she meant it, she trusted that he could heal, she trusted him to help her heal too.
He didn't like this situation but right now it was crystal clear.
Saying the words burned his throat like strong bourbon, no that fell short, it was like acid.
"I'll do it,"
