Akumatised
I know it's been a while since the last chapter but finally finally, here is the next one. And this was also one of the first moments thought of when I'd had this idea for this fic. Now let's get into it.
Disclaimer: Miraculous doesn't belong to me.
Chapter 9: Conflicted
Recap:
"Were you ever going to tell me?" Adrien finally asked.
A long pause followed by a deep sigh.
"Yes… I wanted to tell you for so long."
"But you never did, you just kept lying to me, trying to hurt me." he balled his hands in fists.
"I never wanted to hurt you." He turned away from his son. "It's complicated."
"You Akumatise people to try and get my and Ladybug's Miraculous, seems pretty simple to me." He turned to face his father. "Claws In." and his transformation dropped and he was standing in front of his father as Adrien. "As Cat Noir, I've jumped into danger plenty of times to protect people from you. As Adrien, I've been in danger plenty of times because of you, because of the Akuma's you create."
"Adrien I—
"You let me get turned into a gold statue when Chloe's mother was Akumatised and you let me fall from the top of a building when you sent my Akumatised bodyguard after me! Remember those times! You never meant to hurt me, huh?"
"Adrien, listen to me, I'm trying to make our family whole again. I'm trying to bring your mother back."
Both teens stopped at his words.
He's trying to what?
Dammit, I was right.
"I'm doing this for us, son. With your mother things can go back to how they used to be."
Adrien wanted to believe his father, he really did but part of him knew things could never go back to that time.
"Do you think having her back here will replace the time she hasn't been here?" Adrien could feel his heart breaking all over again. "When we lost mom you became completely frigid to everyone around you, including me. I tried to understand that, that you were in pain just as much as I was and it was your way of handling the situation so I did everything you wanted. I tried to be the perfect son for you hoping you'd change but nothing has ever been enough!" Adrien could feel the tears leaving his eyes but he didn't care anymore, he'd held back his feelings for long enough.
"When you forbade me from leaving the house, I didn't fight you, when you insisted that I be homeschooled I took that as well. Trapped in this lonely house all day. Do you know how suffocating that is? It's bad enough you locked yourself away but you had to do it to me too, turning me into you."
Gabriel was at a complete loss for words, hearing all this from his son when he'd been doing all this specifically for him. He saw the tears leaving his sons eyes, when was the last time he'd even seen Adrien cry in front of him? How long since he'd passionately expressed himself to him, his own father? Too long in any event, he'd molded his son to be perfect, to master his emotions, never show them to anyone, much like himself. He'd held Adrien to the same high standard he'd held himself, held his son, his child to an adult standard. If he could keep his emotions in check then his son should be able to as well. That's what he often told himself but in reality he was using that mindset to hide away his own fears. What would he do if Adrien came to him in tears in the middle of the night, crying for his mother? What would he say when his son asked why she was gone? What could he say?
Once again he'd been selfish, protecting himself before his son, forcing them both to put their grief away and leave it unacknowledged. And now he was seeing the result of that, Adrien, with tears running down his face and him breathing heavily, was letting it all out and he wasn't even finished.
"Why couldn't you see that you weren't the only one that lost her that day?" Adrien was trembling. "I was right in front of you, I've always been right in front of you but I guess you just chose not to see me. I had to deal with losing my mom and somehow recover by myself. I don't know if we can ever go back to what we were." he took a deep breath, "But what I do know is that I'm tired of fighting you, I'm tired of everything." he turned to Ladybug, whose own tears had long since left her eyes, and began sliding his ring off his finger.
"Adrien, what are you—
"If you think everything will change if I give this to you..." The ring was almost completely off. Both Ladybug and Gabriel stood watching in disbelief.
She ran over to him and put her hand over his, stopping him.
"Let me go, Ladybug."
"I can't let you do this." she looked into his eyes.
His next move shocked her, he put the ring back on and transformed. He'd freed himself from her grip and drew his staff.
"You can't be serious, I'm not going to fight you Cat Noir."
"I can't let you take this away from me."
"I'm not trying to. I'm on your side, I've always been on your side." But before she could say anything more he left and she chased after him.
This couldn't be happening.
Ladybug travelled at top speed trying to catch up to Cat Noir but he was moving too fast. She could hear the blood rushing through her ears as her mind was still grappling that she and Cat were fighting and this time there was no Akuma involved. Her heart broke at the thought of them being anything other than a team. This was reminding her way too much of her moment with Cat Blanc. She never wanted to go through anything remotely similar to that ever again.
The song she'd heard him sing 'Little Kitty on a roof, all alone without his Lady.' All alone, that's probably how he'd been feeling for the longest time. She didn't want that for him, he didn't deserve that. She wiped away the last of her tears and landed on a rooftop.
Shad no choice now but to catch him with her yo-yo. She threw it forward and it caught his ankle. She immediately pulled as soon as it was secure. Cat Noir landed on his feet and looked up at Ladybug, the hurt so evident in his eyes. He turned ready with his staff raised.
"Cat wait! Please just listen to me for a minute. You can't let your father make that wish. We can't give him our Miraculous." She was on guard. It felt so unreal that was defending herself from her own partner.
"He's trying to bring my mother back, you can't expect me to not at last think about it." He gripped his staff tighter.
"That's not what I'm saying." She walked closer to him. "It's just, do you remember Markov? Max's robot he built that got Akumatised?"
"Yeah I do. What about him?"
"He knew that combining our Miraculous could grant him any wish and his wish was to become a real boy so he could always spend time with Max. Doesn't seem like such a bad wish, right? And compared to what your father will wish for, it seems completely good. But there are consequences for everything." she held his hand.
"What do you mean?" he looked into her eyes.
"After we saved the day, I asked Master Fu what would be so wrong with wishing if the person wanted something good. I asked what would've happened if Markov got his wish, and do you know what he said? He told me that Markov wishing for humanity would rob someone else of theirs. That would be the price of his wish. What if Max or some other innocent person lost their humanity to Markov? Now imagine what wishing someone who was gone back to life would do. Who would have to pay that price? Someone innocent, or your father or maybe even you."
"Marinette," the way he said her name so full of pain cut her deep "I just want her back,"
"I know." she was fighting her own tears. A heavy long silence fell over them.
"I'm sorry I almost turned this into a fight between us." he held her in his arms.
"This whole situation is tough, I know this isn't easy for you." she put her arms around his neck after kissing him on the cheek.
He pulled away slightly to look her in the eyes; her beautiful, welcoming, understanding blue eyes. She returned his gaze as he caressed her cheek and they both leaned in. Their lips met in a light peck before Cat leaned in once more and kissed Ladybug deeply. She leaned into the kiss, never separating their lips as they kissed each other with everything they had, passionately, desperately. They kissed and kissed.
Their kiss had ended but they remained in each other's arms, the quiet of night embracing them, the stars filled the sky. Cat Noir's arms remained around her as he gathered his thoughts.
"Back then when my mom was still around, she got sick the least out of the three of us. Whether it was a fever or a cold, she was always taking care of me or my father." he half smiled at the memory. "But then she started having these chest pains, and then a serious cough and her energy was less and less each day."
"Adrien, you don't have to—
"There were days when she was even too weak to get out of bed. My father tried to convince me that she'd be alright, that she needed more rest and then one day she was just gone. Do you have any idea what that feels like, losing a parent so suddenly?" she looked away, she knew he'd been through so much, endured so much. "I miss her every day and now there may be a chance to save her but..."
"I know it's not fair," She wiped away her tears. "Come with me." She led the way and he wordlessly followed.
After a few minutes of travelling they made it to their destination. If it were daytime, coming here together would be impossible but, thankfully it was night time where no one would see them. Ladybug knocked on the door.
"Marinette, come in." Master Fu stood aside and was surprised to see Adrien with her. After settling them in and offering them tea, he sat down.
"I never thought Ladybug and Cat Noir would come see me simultaneously. Is there a problem?"
"A very big problem." She asked if they could speak privately and they went to another room. Marinette told him everything.
"And that's our situation right now. How do I tell him that wishing back his own mother might be a bad thing? What's the point of a wish if a steep price could make any wish not worth it. He's already been through too much and I don't know what to do, Master." she lowered her head.
"Granting a wish was never the true purpose of your two Miraculous being created. Only once they were put together and the special invocation said did we know that a single wish could be granted. No single person was ever meant to wield the earrings and ring at them same time, that's too much power for one person, and power corrupts.
Any wish, no matter how pure or noble would throw off the balance. That is why there are two of you working as a team, you need each other. Endless creation continuing on unchecked forever would also have terrible consequences. Whenever a new Ladybug was decided, a new Cat Noir was chosen as well and vice versa. As I'm sure you've seen, defeating an Akuma on your own is very much possible but more difficult. Adrien is a selfless, kind and smart young man—
"Who's had to endure the pain of losing his mother and then learn that he might be able to be united with her again, to make his family whole again. Part of me wants to give my Miraculous to him, I don't want him to hurt anymore."
"You can't protect him from everything."
"I know but…" her voice was trembling.
"You trust him don't you?"
"With everything I have."
"Then give him your earrings." Marinette was surprised by his words.
"But you just said—
"Making the decision for him will fill him with regret and dread. He'll be left wondering "what if" for the rest of his life and may never move on. He could even become resentful towards you but if you let him try, let him decide for himself if he wants to play it out or not."
"But how can I do that? It's not like the wish can be reversed, right?"
"That is true, when the Ladybug Earrings and Cat Ring are united for a wish, the power from them is drained and they remain dormant for six months. But that isn't the point, give him the earrings and a friend ahead of you both may show you the answers you need."
"A friend ahead of us? I don't understand."
"You will at the right moment. Now go to him."
Marinette wiped away her tears and stood up and walked back to the room she'd left Adrien in. He stood up as she walked in. They looked in each other's eyes for the longest time in silence until Marinette broke eye contact first and unclipped her earrings. Adrien watched her with a confused expression. She took his hand and placed her earrings in them.
"Marinette, what are you…?"
"I can't choose for you and I don't know what I'd do if were in your situation but it's up to you to find out. I don't want to risk losing you or have you spending so much time wondering what could've been. I trust you and I always will."
"But you said making a wish will have consequences."
"It will and even I don't know what they'll be but you're doing it for a loved one. You deserve a chance to at least try."
All he could do was look at her incredulously before he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly and whispered thank you in her ear. The two of them left together and went back to Marinette's house. Marinette came up with a story to tell her parents without revealing too much. They were sitting in her room talking, Adrien held on to her earrings she'd given him.
"I wish I could come with you." Marinette started.
"I want you there too but we can't risk my father finding out about you as well. He now knows I'm Cat Noir but he can't know who Ladybug is. If you came with now he'd assume you know everything that's happened and that could only happen if you're Ladybug or if I told you everything and he knows the danger of people knowing the truth. It seems he knows a lot about this than we do." he stood up and headed to the door.
"Adrien, if anything happens—
She stood up after him.
"You'll be the first to know." he gave her a genuine smile. "I love you."
"I love you too." she immediately replied and watched him leave, taking a part of her heart with him. Adrien had called his bodyguard to come pick them up. The limo pulled up in front of the bakery not to long after. Marinette stood at the entrance and watched them drive away, her hand on her chest.
Things may not ever be the same again after tonight, a feeling she couldn't let go of.
Well that was impactful to say the least, Adrien let out what he's been holding on to for too long and now he has a journey he must face on his own. First time around Cat Noir had Ladybug but now I want to focus on how this all affects Adrien moving forward. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, reviews appreciated.
Well that's it from me:
Until the next chapter-
Ketsui Tasogare :-)
