Hey everyone!
I just wanted to thank everyone for reading chapter one of this story. And of course a special thank you to everyone who followed and favorited:
Bhernandez, .8, HeartAngel1796, LIL'Cinnamonbun and Zoey2301, really, thank you.
It really means so much to me, and gave me a lot of motivation to write. I love getting feedback like that, and it fills me with so much joy.
I just can't thank you enough for your support. It moves me more than you know.
A little bit about me, I'm 16 almost 17 years old, I'm in high school and I'm a virgo. I have a dog and I love to listen to music and especially watch movies. I love horror and romance especially. I'm a hopeless romantic, and love basically every single romantic trope out there.
Ok, enough about me.
Enjoy the chapter!
ADRIEN:
"How could you be late to your class?" Gabriel Agreste rolled his eyes at his son. "Don't you know how much I paid for you to take those lessons? You are so ungrateful, Adrien. You have no idea what I do for you."
Adrien looked up at his father, feeling his face become red with frustration, and his stomach tightened with bitterness.
Gabriel Agreste glared down at his son, waiting for a reply.
His frown lines had deepened significantly over the past couple of years, and now they seemed permanently imprinted on his face.
This was a practiced routine, a conversation that happened every time Adrien made a mistake. Getting less than perfect on an exam, having his hair out of place when out in public, speaking out of turn.
All of it resulted in a discussion with dear old dad.
The never ending pressure that was suffocating him was normal life at this point. For Adrien Agreste, at least inside his house, with his family, there was no escape.
And that fact had been deteriorating Adrien for so long.
But now, he couldn't get into that. He could just imagine the talking to he'd get from his father if he truly spoke his mind.
So Adrien tamped down his emotions like he always did, and lowered his gaze, and tried to hide away in his mind.
"I'm sorry, Father," he said quietly.
"You've pulled me away from my work, again." Gabriel raised an eyebrow, seemingly trying to force guilt into his son. "I have to be in a meeting in fifteen minutes, and now I have to deal with this."
Adrien didn't reply.
"You will not be late again." It wasn't a request, it was a demand.
Adrien nodded, trying to ignore the hints of disdain in his father's voice, and keeping a straight face. He barely kept his face from twisting into a frown that could be translated by his father as something disrespectful.
His father gave an abrupt nod, gave Adrien a once over, and then retreated to his office.
Always retreating.
His back always to his son, his only son. The son that needed him, whether he knew it or not.
It had been like this since Emelie Agreste, Adrien's mother and the love of Gabriel's life had died.
Since then, Gabriel had closed himself off completely from any emotional bonds, and focused solely on his work.
Keeping to himself in his office, sketching and sketching, and working constantly at everything that didn't have to do with family.
And Adrien had been alone, in a cold and empty house.
White marble everywhere around the house, and the blank walls with only Gabriel and Adrien's awards, impersonal decorations and the occasional picture of Emelie.
Adrien walked up to his room, the only room in the house with some color, and flopped down onto his bed.
He stared at the red wall across from him, with a green poster of his favorite band on it. He rolled over, and turned on his purple LED lights. He relaxed a little at the sight of anything that wasn't bright white and perfectly clean.
After a long time of asking and asking, Adrien had convinced his father's assistant, Nathalie to let him buy his own room decorations.
Nathalie had agreed, probably out of pity, but Adrien didn't care. Anything to escape the overwhelming white that surrounded him constantly.
Anything to be away from that cold office.
Anything to separate him from his father.
Honestly, it was another perk of being Chat Noir.
He could be in a suit that he could get dirty while tussling with an akumatized citizen, and he could run through cobblestone streets, and jump from shining roof to roof.
He could feel like he was flying, and finally laugh and joke and be with Ladybug…
Ladybug.
She brought color into his life, whether she knew it or not. Adrien had friends, and they helped him out with his struggles when he opened up about them, which was rare.
Nino had always wanted to help, and Marinette had been there for him since what seemed like forever.
He closed his eyes, and smiled. His lady.
And slowly, he fell asleep.
Adrien awoke to his watch beeping.
He pushed back his hair and sat up yawning, checking the time.
It read 5:30 PM.
It was time for him to check on Ladybug to see how she was doing with the afternoon patrol. His heart was beating faster already.
He stood, and looked over to his kwami, Plagg, who was snoozing peacefully on a throw pillow located in a sunny part of his room.
He got up and walked over to the kwami.
"Plagg," Adrien called to the black cat. "Wake up."
Plagg responded by snoring and rolling over onto his back.
Adrien rolled his eyes fondly and walked over to his container filled with Camembert cheese. As soon as he took a piece of the pungent cheese and waved it into the air, Plagg stirred.
Suddenly, the cat floated over to Adrien, his eyes still closed.
"Camembert," Plagg murmured dreamily.
"Plagg," Adrien laughed.
"Yeah, kid?" Plagg was almost unintelligible due to his mouth being stuffed with cheese.
"Eat quick, then we have to go."
Plagg nodded. He scarfed down the cheese in record time, and grinned brightly at Adrien. "Ready."
Adrien gave him a big smile, and Plagg smiled too. It was nice for a kwami to be so appreciated by their owner, and Plagg knew that Adrien truly cherished every moment he was Chat Noir.
"Plagg, claws out!"
The bright green flash surrounded him as Adrien felt his kwami's power surround him, his suit suddenly clinging to him, and ears appearing on his head.
And just like that, Adrien was free.
He walked over to the balcony of his room, and leaped off of it, bracing for his landing thirty feet down.
He landed gracefully as always on the roof of a deli, and took off sprinting. He couldn't help but grin as he felt the wind touch his cheeks. His "tail" flew behind him, and he felt like he was weightless.
Even with burdens still weighing on him, he knew that just seeing Ladybug would make him feel better. She always did.
Even when he felt the most alone in the world, he could always count on her.
He continued running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop, each building a little different. He kept going, making his way to the Eiffel Tower.
One of his favorite places on earth.
When he saw Ladybug's silhouette sitting on one of the beams of the landmark, he ran faster.
He took a running leap, and flew through the air, smoothly landing on a lower beam of the tower.
He maneuvered his way up to Ladybug, and sat down next to her by her right.
She smiled when she saw him, and he took a moment to memorize her face, as he did every time. Anyone who didn't appreciate her beauty must have been either already totally and completely in love or blind.
Her bright blue eyes looked much more turquoise in the golden light, and her freckles had gotten darker from her time in the sun. Her dark blue hair moved a little bit with the wind, and it seemed to glitter.
This girl.
"Hey kitty," she smiled, turning to him.
"Milady," Chat dutifully replied. "How are you?"
"I'm good. Nothing crazy."
"So patrol was okay?"
"I can handle patrol, Chat," the teenager laughed. "But yes, it was fine."
He nodded. "How's Mr Ramier? Are his pigeons good?"
Ladybug smiled wider. "He's good. Hopefully he won't have another akuma attack. Another one. I don't even know how many it's been by now."
They laughed together for a moment, and then Ladybug inspected Chat's face.
She seemed to be searching for something, and when she found it, she frowned.
"How are you, chaton?"
He shrugged. God knew he wasn't doing well, not as Adrien. But Chat Noir was carefree and happy, and so he forced a smile. He wanted to be strong for her.
"I'm great."
Ladybug's frown deepened immediately. She looked into his eyes.
"Oh, kitty. How are you really?"
She had always been able to read him flawlessly. Too flawlessly. Sometimes the way she could read him was too on point.
So he looked away. She tilted her head, slightly sticking her bottom lip out.
He leaned foreward, resting his elbows on his knees, and staring out at the multicolored buildings of Paris. He sighed.
"I don't know," he finally replied.
Ladybug scooted towards him, so that their hips were touching. He couldn't help but relax immediately into her embrace.
She noticed, and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, resting her head in the nook between his shoulder and head.
He let out a quiet purr. Ladybug waited until he relaxed more to ask.
"What happened, chaton?"
Chat kept on staring foreward. "Hard to explain."
But it wasn't. Not really. It wasn't complicated in the slightest.
His father didn't love him. It was simple.
It was so simple that Adrien couldn't help but feel like there was something inside of him, something bad, something that made his father not want him anymore.
But he had only recently admitted that to himself in the past year. How could he admit that to her?
How could he explain to the girl he was in love with that even his own goddamn father didn't love him back?
How could he explain that he wasn't even surprised that she didn't return his love?
How could he tell her that he was unlovable?
Ladybug rested more of her weight on him, somehow knowing how much he needed her touch right now. He realized he hadn't spoken in a couple of minutes.
"We don't have to talk about it," Ladybug whispered to him.
He glanced over to her.
She gave him a smile. She reached up to his hair, and scratched behind his ear affectionately. He let out a soft purr, and leaned into her hand, closing his eyes.
She chuckled softly and scooched even closer, so that they were pressed together and could lean on each other.
He could feel his heart almost burst with affection for his partner.
She was one of the only people in the world that he trusted completely. He told her almost everything. Maybe.. Maybe he should ask her about this.
He shut his eyes tightly.
"Milady…" He could hear his tentative voice shaking slightly, and opened his eyes to find her staring at him intently.
"Yeah, kitty?"
"Do… Do you think I could be loved?" He didn't dare look at her.
Ladybug softened, her eyes getting big, and squeezed her partner tightly. She put her small warm hand on his cheek.
"Of course, kitty. Oh my god, of course. How could you even think that?"
He looked down at her and sighed.
"My house is so empty," he told her. "Ever since… something happened, it's been silent. And I've been alone."
Ladybug moved her hand from his cheek to his head, stroking his hair, and making him lean towards her.
"No family, and no love and no talking and no smiling. It's so empty," he repeated, his voice breaking slightly, finally opening his eyes.
He glanced over to Ladybug, who's eyes were pooling with tears.
He watched as a couple tears fell from Ladybug's bluebell eyes, and caught it on his thumb, keeping his hand on her face to stroke her cheek.
"Hey," he told her gently, giving a small watery smile. "I'm okay. Don't worry about me."
She shook her head. "No you're not. But you will be," she said, nodding firmly. "I'll make sure of it."
Chat Noir looked at her, longingly and with so much gratefulness, and she smiled, scratching his ear again. He turned away towards the sun so she would scratch him more.
"Chat?"
"Hm?" He replied absentmindedly.
"Chat," she said again, stronger this time, and he turned to look at her, surprised by the earnesty in her eyes.
"Yeah?" he asked, frowning.
"You're my best friend." She searched his eyes, seeming to look for confirmation that he understood.
He smiled. "You're mine."
She smiled back, and took a deep breath. "Well, what I mean to say is, I love you. You're so freaking important to me."
It wasn't the way he loved her, he knew that. He didn't misconstrue her words.
She wasn't in love with him, and for right now, at this moment, that was okay. Everything was okay.
The fact that someone loved him at all… that was enough for him.
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her like he was afraid she would disappear if he let go.
"I love you," Ladybug kept repeating softly into his ear, her hands running through his hair. "I love you."
Chat couldn't help but shake a little, and let a tear from his eye. He kept holding on.
He kept holding on until he stopped shaking, and still longer after that. He held on for what seemed like hours.
And Ladybug kept assuring him, and kept squeezing her arms around his waist.
"I love you."
He pulled back and she held on for a couple more seconds before letting him go.
She sniffled, and wiped a couple tears away from her cheeks with the back of her hand.
She smiled at him with determination.
"Hey," she said firmly. "You're the best person I know."
"I could say the same about you," he replied. She smiled at him with watery eyes.
"The best," she whispered again.
And he smiled.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed. I might make the chapters a little bit shorter so that I can get them out faster. What do you think about Adrien and his father?
Do you like the relationship between Chat Noir and Ladybug in this story?
If you have any questions or anything to say at all, a review would be so greatly appreciated. I look forward to constructive criticism, and really anything you guys think.
Until next time,
wdw