AN: Hello! This is my fist ever Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction. The word count for the main portion of this chapter is 600 words. Once again a huge thanks to Jadenova7w7, Robo_Gecko, kopycat101, The Youngest(TM) (UN), Fin, Mnoeln, and others from the NathMarc Multiverse server on Discord for letting me use some of their ideas and prompts to write this or helping me proofread . Thoughts are placed in plain italics for easier reading. I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir [I wouldn't have had to ask how the full was spelt if I did]. Thanks to all who have followed and/or reviewed this story. Happy Reading! PS. Trigger warning for depression on this chapter.
Right in Front of Me
Chapter 2
He stayed on the couch for the rest of the day. Nath just couldn't bring himself to get up again. Not when he's in a house with so many tainted memories and no reason to keep going. He can't help his kids, doesn't have the inspiration to draw, and- if he is honest with himself- doesn't have the will to live. The quiet was killing him.
His phone buzzed, cutting through the silence. The gentle and quiet brr slicing through the eerie stillness. Nathaniel did nothing as it vibrated against the wooden coffee table within an arms reach. The soft glow of the phone a stark contrast to the darkness that sounds it. He had turned the lights off what seems like eons ago so as to lessen his electricity bill, one he'll be paying alone again for the first time in six years. His phone buzzed again, reminding Nathaniel of reality once more. He emptily clasped his red phone, old as it may be, checking the notifications to see the source of the device's trembling.
Marinette sent him another fashion meme and Marc texted him. Nathaniel rolled his eyes at the meme, seeing as he checked that conversation first. She's been sending a lot of those lately. He didn't respond to her beyond the eye rolling emoji Max programmed for the class in the good old days of lycée. Marc's text, on the other hand, was one asking if he was okay and included a reminder to eat as it was already late. Nathaniel sighed. He could always trust his partner to remind him that his health is just as important as his kids. Marc knows him so well. Then again, they have been comic partners and best friends for over a decade now so it shouldn't surprise him as much as it did.
Without anyone to cook for, he skipped dinner earlier. How Marc figured out that he didn't eat? He doesn't know. Nathaniel just put it down as evidence of their near two decades worth of friendship and camaraderie. All the time spent hunched over their respective notebooks and sketchbooks combined with the time spent relaxing together while vibing on the same wavelength was bound to leave a deep unyielding bond. One that is a two way street of trust between the two. Taking in this fact, Nath decided to eat a slice of cheese. Marc was bound to bring his knives out if he didn't reply that he ate something.
'I'm such a failure,' he thought as he nibbled on his cheese like a mouse while messaging his bestfriend that he ate. 'Kids are court ordered to go to their mother and not a day later I'm not even caring for myself. It's no wonder the system worked against me... I failed my family. I failed my marriage. I failed my friends. I failed my job. I failed my kids! I failed MARC! Oh Marc... I don't deserve him in my life. Not him! Not my kids! Not Alix, Marinette, Luka, Juleka, Rose, Ivan or even Mylene! I don't deserve the life I had two months ago. I guess karma is finally getting around to me. The kids deserve better than me. They deserve a parent who can actually show how much they mean to them. They deserve the world – no, not the world – the universe. I can't give them that. Heck I couldn't even protect them from being harmed under this roof. Home is supposed to be safe and I failed to make it such for my kids. I failed them... I failed at everything...'
AN2: Final word count is 766 words. Feel free to leave a review! Thanks for reading! ~lumigo