a/n:
at this point i'm literally just counting down the amount of chapters i have left for this book- ONLY THREE LEFT AHHHH! i can't believe this book is coming to an end so very soon and since it's probably going to be in less than 3 or 4 weeks, i just want to make you all aware of my small 'schedule' for when i do and when i don't write.

now that i've gotten into the swing of writing fanfictions with lengthy chapters, i'm going to start formulating a timetable so i can even out my day.

updates will be done as usual on fridays and saturdays/sundays and if there are no updates on any of those days, i will let you all know in advance.

as you probably know, there are two more books in this series and since i haven't really gotten around to the start of planning them yet, i will be working on a remix of a fanfic that i saw and thought damn… there should be a HUGE twist to that, details of the release and first publishing of that book will be shared on my tumblr.

if y'all have any questions about posting times and future books, or just want to make a suggestion for a oneshot chapter then feel free to drop a message on my social profiles (yes oneshot requests will be resumed soon… when i actually finish sorting my life out lmao)

anyways, with no further ado… lets bring on the next chapter.

Marinette's POV:

We drank our coffee in dead silence. I'm pretty sure Adrien didn't fully recover from the anaesthetic they put on him when they did an operation on his head as his reaction time was SO slow. I would shoot a remark at him and then5 minutes later he'd be like uhh… did you just fucking say that.

I looked over at him and I definitely knew something was on his mind- he was twiddling his fingers nervously and stared at the table- ever since we revealed our identities to each other we both thought there wouldn't be any secrets between us… turns out we're wrong.

"Adrien, I think there's something you need to tell me."

He looked up at the sound of my voice and the color drained from his face.

"I-W-What do you m-mean ? I need t-to tell you something, there's somet- I MEAN nothing I need to tell you" He stuttered.

I placed my coffee cup on the glass table in front of us and glared at him suspiciously, there was definitely something he was hiding. I just KNEW it, there was only one way to make him tell me.

I reached over to him, pushed him back onto the leather sofa- I was now on top of him, completely dominating him, he had no escape now- grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head.

I stared straight in his eyes.

Getting lost in his never ending emerald green gaze.

I immediately snapped out of my inner thoughts and questioned him.

"Tell me… what is it hm?"

"N-nothing"

"Don't lie to me Adrien" I tightened my hold on his wrists with each word. "We trust each other for a reason; so there will be no secrets between us"

"Fine, I'll tell you- only because I trust you- but you can't tell ANYONE else" He finally relented. I released his wrists and he sat up, me still sitting on his lap.

"Look, don't get scared or anything b-but.." he trailed off and took off his shirt, revealing small, long scars here and there- I hadn't realised they were there a couple of days ago when we were busy in my bedroom.

I gasped and let the thought sink in. Adrien had cuts over him that could only be made by a small blade… the blade of a penknife.

Adrien.

was.

harming.

himself.

I had been so stupid to not realise that. How come I never realised, with everything that had happened to him- the loss of his mom, his father ignoring him all the time and him being locked up for who knows how long.

I threw myself onto him, hugging him with every ounce of strength I had, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably while crying.

I never understood the feeling of losing a parent permanently, I mean my parents are halfway across the world in Shanghai but that doesn't compare to Adrien's situation.

Then a deadly thought hit me. Adrien could've died. He could've fucking died. If Luka had hurt him more, he would've lost so much blood that he'd probably die. I felt like I had just been slapped in the face with a metal pole at that realisation.

I pulled him closer and let him cry on my shoulder. I didn't care about anything else at that moment, didn't care that we were missing a whole school day without a good reason. My focus was on him. He pulled away and wiped his puffy eyes, now red from crying for so long.

"L-look Marinette, I only did this because of how worthless my father made me feel, the reason I didn't listen to him when he said to go back to my house and stay there- the main reason I always come to you is just because, well you're technically the pill to ease my pain- you're like a drug I'm addicted to…" I tried so hard to not interrupt his kind of seductive little speech about how addictive I was to him, I mean seriously- WHO LET HIM BE THIS GODDAMN HOT.

I, for the millionth time, smashed my lips against his, not caring that he was still crying a little. His salty tears flowed down his face and interrupted our kiss, us both pulling away and drinking the rest of our coffee to wash away the acidic taste.

Adrien took a deep breath before continuing "I mean I kinda see where he's coming from to be hones-'' I slammed my hand on the table in front of us in sheer anger, not giving a shit that I probably cracked the glass.

"Adrien what the fuck are you on about. You are NOT worthless, you mean so much to not just me, not just Alya and not just Nino but the WHOLE of Paris! Have you forgotten that we're the bug and cat team? We have saved Paris countless times and if it weren't for us putting ourselves forward and trying out everything, we probably would've been taken over by Hawkmoth." I fumed, honestly I don't understand why Adrien was doubting himself, just because his father regards him as 'useless' or 'worthless' doesn't give him the right to think that.

Thank god Adrien had the intelligent thought to stay with me, I wouldn't want him staying with his father in that treacherous place where he was locked up in for over half his life- the home he called prison. He was much safer here with me, nothing would ever harm him when he is with me, nobody and nothing would dare harm him at all…

*few hours later*

Adrien had dozed off on the sofa with his head resting comfortably on my leg while I scrolled through my Instagram page, after a while I had gotten extremely bored and decided to wake Adrien up so we could just go for a little walk.

I didn't want to specify why I decided to actually go out, the fact I was bored was half a lie and half the truth, the main reason being that the constant thought of how Adrien had gone through HELL for years and years without letting anyone know, PLUS the fact he was harming himself as well made me worry so much.

*time skip to when they finally got that lazy blonde to get up and left the house (this is a joke pls don't come at me in the comments lmfao) brought to you by Ocado (HELP i'm running out of delivery brands to use for the time skips….)

We had been walking for a fair 30 minutes when we came across Alya and Nino, walking ahead of us, now was not the time to be running into my friends especially considering the fact that I still was thinking about why Adrien hadn't bothered to tell me about his self harm sooner, I mean he probably feels the same way, when Luka left me I had felt the same way as him- worthless- and resorted to self harm.

We had both gone down the same wrong path, neither of us should've done that and we both should've realised sooner- the only reason Adrien found out was entirely because he was visiting me as Chat and I forgot to close my door… to be honest it's a long story I hate remembering. I slipped my hand into Adrien's and held it tight, I would never want to lose him, EVER.

I just can't imagine life without…

him…

He was the ray of sunshine in my darkest times, the tiny bit of comforting warmth in the bitter cold. He brought life to everything, made me feel at home in my own house- I always thought life would never be the same when my parents left but I was wrong, he was family to me and although I still miss my parents a lot, and wish they were here with me, I still feel happier than ever; no one can ever replace him.

Adrien's POV:

I honestly don't know why I was so naive and didn't listen to my own heart, there were so many signs that were telling me to leave my fathers house since the day mother died, but I didn't listen. Even Plagg, who I rarely take advice from but I really should've trusted him this time, was telling me I should've just left everything behind and started from fresh with a trustworthy person.

I had been so stupid to be friendzoning Marinette as I realised she was the person who I needed all my life, she was the trustworthy person Plagg was talking about, obviously thats why Master Fu chose her to be the new ladybug miraculous holder. She had all the key characteristics that a true holder required- loyal, trustworthy, hardworking and kind hearted.

I heard a distant voice yelling Marinette's name and we both turned around to see Luka running towards us, Mari instantly stood in front of me and blocked Luka from coming towards us.

Marinette's POV:

I instantly stood in front of Adrien, I wouldn't want him to get hurt again. I saw a figure behind him, slightly taller than him and recognised it as Lila. I didn't want to see either of those bitches ever again so this time I knew that I wouldn;t fuck up again. I knew that this time would be the time I showed them who the fucking boss was. I took a few steps towards Luka, the heels of my ankle boots clicking with each step.

"What the fuck do you want, both of you?" I said, feigning confidence and trying to cover my shaky voice.

(this part is based off good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo so for the best effect listen to the song while reading this part 3)

"Look I'm sorry about what happened, I never meant to hurt either you or Adrien it's just that… well I liked Lila quite a lot and honestly I was just so confused at the time when we broke up and everything, especially with me beginning with my career in music an-"

"Well, good for you, I guess you're gettin' everything you want, you bought a new car and your career's really taking off, It's like we never even happened, didn't bother to apologise for breaking my heart like that and leaving me at my darkest points, what the fuck is up with that?" I shouted, a little louder than anticipated, I felt Adrien squeeze my hand as if to calm me down, but I would never let Luka go away without him hearing what I had to say.

"And good for you, it's like you never even met me, remember when you swore to God I was the only person who ever got you? Well, screw that and screw you, you will never have to hurt the way you know that I do. Well, good for you, you look happy and healthy, not me if you ever cared to ask, good for you, you're doing great out there with that bitch Lila" I glared at her and she gave a a dark stare.

"Like a damn sociopath, I've lost my mind, I've spent the night crying on the floor of my bathroom. But you're so unaffected- presumably you have no emotions you cold hearted son of a bitch, I really don't get it, I guess good for you" I exhaled sharply, tears forming in my eyes, and turned around to see Adrien, Alya and Nino behind me, their mouths wide open in amazement. I'd never been this brave in my life and decided to stand up for everything and just… let everything out.

Luka definitely seemed a little shook by my little um… speech and turned to look at the road beside us.
"So? Cat got your tongue Couffaine? What've you got to say now hm." I shot at him and he remained silent. I guessed that he'd never be able to formulate a reply so I turned on my heel and walked away, the rest of my group walking behind me. I felt so proud of myself for being confident for once in my life, this was definitely the best Friday of my life. My thoughts drifted to my parents and I pictured the smile on their faces as they watched me become the confident young woman they knew I am inside.

a/n:
honestly i LOVED writing this chapter, especially when i had good 4 u blasting in the background which was a HUGE vibe.
updates on chapter publishing will all be moved to tumblr since my account reaches further on there but i will continue to use instagram and the announcement feature on wattpad too.

also my zepeto account has finally been launched! as a new author i would love to get to know some of you lil beans and become friends with you all (no don't worry i'm not a 50-year-old pedophile who is planning to stalk little children, kill them and sell your organs on the dark web, i'm just a normal teenager who's writing a fanfiction- not specifying my age for privacy reasons), i've dropped my code on my tumblr already so go visit my page to find the code!

have a lovely rest of your day (or night depending on where you are in the world lol) and as always, stay miraculous 3

(word count: 2499)