Author's Note: Hi, thanks for reading. This is my second fanfiction ever, and the first of any of my writing without an OC as the main character. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to leave any constructive critcism. I need all the help I can get, haha.
Chat Noir Without His Lady:
Chapter One: The Tradeoff
They burst into the room, interupting the eerie silence.
"Nice try, Ladybug. Look all you want, but you still won't find me." Hawkmoth's voice echoed, luring them closer.
"Stay on your toes, Kitty, he could be anywhere."
Chat Noir just nodded. The gnawing suspicion that his father had something to do with this was eating away at his emotional stability.
They walked forward, noticing a large casket in the middle of the room.
The place itself was beautiful. Bountiful butterflies flew about the garden of flowers as the whole room teemed with life. All except for this empty feeling in the center of the room.
Ladybug reached the platform first, curiously looking into the casket. Her eyes widened in realization.
"That looks like Adrien's…" Ladybug began quietly.
"Mother?" Chat said at the same time, completely shocked as he stared down at the coffin.
"What?" Ladybug turned to him, a questioning look on her face.
The look quickly melted away as she saw his devastated face.
Tears falling from his mask, his usual charming smile clenched into a false grin, trying to hold it all back.
Inside, his heart was bursting, the agony becoming too much to handle. His mind clouding with rampaging thoughts.
"Adrien?" Ladybug asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Chat Noir just pulled her into a hug, crying into her shoulder.
Ladybug knew Hawkmoth could strike at any moment, but she also knew that her Kitty needed her right now.
She held him tightly, letting him cry for a moment.
"Son?" Gabriel said, appearing on the bridge.
"Father?" Chat Noir looked up, the tears evident despite the mask.
Gabriel stood on the other side of the bridge, a small smile hinting on his lips.
"Why?" Chat Noir choked out, turning away from Ladybug.
"I know what it seems like son, but you know how precious you and your mother are to me." Gabriel began, walking towards him.
Ladybug stood to the side, ready to jump into battle if necessary.
"Why is she here?" Chat Noir asked, voice still shaky.
"When the miraculous of the black cat and the ladybug are joined together, the user is granted a wish. This wish is capable of immense power. Creation, destruction, together, it can do anything imaginable. It can bring your mother back. Son, I wanted to include you in this, but I never knew the right way to tell you. I thought having her back would be enough." Gabriel explained.
"I… include me? You've been the one causing all of this? This isn't right. You're insane. My mother is gone!" Chat Noir yelled, his voice cracking.
"No, she isn't. She's just right there. All I need is that wish. Your ring, her earrings, all you have to do is hand it over." Gabriel said, reaching his hand out to Chat Noir.
"No. That's not happening. I won't let you hurt anyone else." Chat Noir knocked his hand away, glaring death into his father's eyes.
"You do know there are consequences to any wish, right? Bringing back a life? In order to keep the balance, you would take a life just as valuable." Ladybug explained.
"I know. I was going to exchange myself, so that Adrien could have his mother again." Gabriel's expression changed to show just a slight sliver of sadness.
"And I don't even have a choice? You were just going to do it?" Chat Noir asked, staring his father in the eyes.
"I was going to tell you, but I…" Gabriel said, not expecting his son to act this way.
"Have you ever, even once, asked what I wanted?" Chat Noir began.
"You chose everything for me: what I eat for dinner, when and how I did my photoshoots, the fact that I practice fencing and piano, even what friends I could have." Chat said, a low growl escaping between each of his words.
"Maybe I would've practiced violin instead of piano." He said, taking a step towards his father.
"Maybe I would've rather practiced dance over fencing?" He spun around, a hint of his Chat Noir sass showing through.
"Maybe… Just maybe there was a time when I would've chosen to keep you? I've accepted the fact that my mother is gone. Did you ever even think of what she would have done when she came back? She's been gone for so long, she wouldn't even recognize me anymore." Chat Noir stated, his sarcastic playfulness leaving as quick as it came.
"I… I'm sorry."
"You know what? I'm done with you deciding everything for me. I'm done with feeling lonely and abandoned. You won't spend any time with me, and you won't let me spend time with my friends either. Can't ever go out, nobody can come over unless they make a good enough excuse. And you still chase them out after a few minutes. You expect me to just stay here and be your perfect little doll don't you? Before I thought you were just overprotective, but now it's so crystal clear. You're just scared of everyone seeing the sick, twisted monster you've become." Chat Noir said, walking towards him.
Sensing the anger seething inside him, Gabriel began backing up.
"No, I just wanted you to be happy again. I could never be enough for you."
"Maybe that's because you were up here playing the big bad villain. Acting like the world is against you until you actually turned it against you. Taking innocent people and turning them into a monster. Talk about projecting. Maybe if you had spent just a little more time with your son, you might have realized just how much he loved you, and wanted your affection." Chat Noir spat. The sting from each word resonating in the thick air of the room.
"Maybe you're right…"
"Do you even realize how much time I've spent alone? If it weren't for being Chat Noir, I would've gone insane by now too. No kid can be strictly abandoned for that long without finding a way to rebel. But this isn't even just about ignoring me." His tail flicked about in anger, looking away for only a half a second.
"All those innocent people. Elderly, adults, teens, kids, babies! Babies! You made them monsters. You made them hurt other innocent people. All this time, we've been cleaning up your messes." The fire in his words was almost as hot as his skin.
"I… I..."
"You unleashed countless temper tantrums on this city, just to bring back one person. Did you even think of the consequences?" Chat Noir continued, every word getting him closer to his target.
"I did but.."
"Not just about you? Did you think of all the people now suffering with PTSD from all your akuma attacks? Not only the ones terrified of losing their loved ones to an attack, but the ones terrified of becoming monsters again? The ones terrified of hurting their loved ones? Did you think about all the kids constantly missing school because of them? We can't even take a field trip away from Paris without an interruption. All the events in the city you've come and crashed. All the people who work day and night just to get caught back up? Sure, all the destruction is fixed by the Miraculous Ladybug, but there's no way to make up all the time people have lost. All while you just sit here in your little pity party, dragging everyone into a mess you created." Chat said, receiving nothing but a shocked expression.
"Did you think of the injuries that aren't magically healed by the Miraculous Ladybug restoration? I, for one, know from experience. I've been beaten to the point where I could barely walk because of you. Sure, it heals, but it was still sore to the touch afterwards. Not to mention that if you had won, without her Miraculous Ladybug, I would have died from all the internal bleeding." Ladybug's eyes widened after that.
She forgot how important her Miraculous Ladybug was to her partner, since he's always at the forefront of battle. She personally never noticed anything more than a workout soreness after a battle.
"Did you even once consider that there are actual people under these masks? I mean, we're still kids! Who can be hurt! I have scars from you, father." He said, unzipping his suit down just enough to show his chest.
Sure enough, it looked like he had been through war. Ladybug was shocked, and quite guilty about having to use him to defeat the villains. She would have to look into this later.
"None of that would've happened if you'd just given me your miraculous!" Gabriel finally yelled, tired of his son's lecture.
"No, no, no, and no. None of this would've happened if you weren't so heartless, careless…" Chat continued, stepping forward.
"I just wanted your mother back!" Gabriel said, stepping backwards.
"You really are the definition of selfish." Chat Noir said, taking his final step forward and grabbing Gabriel's face.
He took one more look at his father's face. He had the man pinned against the wall. His claws dug into the side of the man's face, forcing him to look him in the eyes.
"Son?" Gabriel looked back at him hoping that he wouldn't hurt him.
"Cataclysm."
There was no transformation. No change. No extra thought. His other hand grew that black cloudiness around it, and he raised it, ready to touch his old man's heart for the first time with something. It was apparent that no emotion could.
"Chat Noir!" Ladybug yelled, grabbing his hand with her yoyo.
She moved in between them, grabbing Chat's wrist with her hand. Gabriel tried to get away, but she wrapped the yoyo around his leg so he wouldn't get anywhere.
"I know you're upset, I get it, but I can't let you do something you'll regret." Ladybug said, looking into his eyes.
She noticed their lack of emerald green glow and curiosity. Instead, those cold, now pale green eyes reminded her of an expression she recognized from Chat Blanc.
"I regret having him as a father." Chat Noir said, turning his head away from her entirely.
"Please, Chat. I know he's hurt you, and he's for sure not going to get off with a slap on the wrist, but I know you're not really like this." Ladybug said, grabbing both of his hands.
"What do you care? I was never good enough for you either." Chat Noir stated, looking her in the eyes.
"That's not true Chat. In more ways than I previously realized. And even before, just because I didn't love you romantically doesn't mean that I cared any less for your friendship." Ladybug explained, holding his gaze.
His eyes dropped down though, and he sighed in defeat.
"I just… I didn't want to hurt you. I wasn't sure of my feelings, and I didn't want to play with yours because of that." Ladybug said, trying to get him to look back up.
"It's kinda funny actually..." Ladybug began. His expression darkened and his glare cut deep into her soul.
"I've been in love with you this whole time. I just didn't know it was you. I've been in love with Adrien Agreste this whole time." Ladybug explained.
"What?" Chat said, at a loss for words.
"Yeah… It actually makes so much sense now. All this time I was scared of hurting your feelings. I kept telling myself I wasn't interested in you, but I guess my heart knew different. I fell in love with Adrien, but Chat Noir holds a very special place in my heart too." Ladybug said, smiling brightly.
"Really?" Chat Noir asked, hopeful.
"I just hope you're not disappointed by the girl I am under the mask." Ladybug said, somewhat saddened by the thought.
"I know you've already lost your secret identity to him and to me, but I don't want to risk it here since I am the guardian. But I promise that as soon as we defeat him, I'll show you." Ladybug explained, hoping not to upset him again. But in the off chance that Hawkmoth did manage to escape, she didn't want to put the miracle box at risk.
Chat Noir looked a bit defeated, but perked up a little.
"I'll hold you to your word, Milady." He said, not completely recovered from before, but his rage was mostly in check.
"A good friend always keeps their word." Ladybug said with a wink, turning to deal with Hawkmoth.
"Good friends? Where have I heard that bef... Oh no... Marinette?" Chat thought, and suddenly it clicked. "Man, did I really insist that the love of my life was just a friend this whole time?" He could almost hear Plagg howling with laughter inside his head.
He shook away his thoughts, and focused his energy on ending Hawkmoth's reign.
Ladybug held Hawkmoth back as she let Chat remove the butterfly miraculous, although he was careful not to touch him with his Cataclysm hand.
Chat Noir reached over Gabriel, easily grabbing the miraculous. Once he had the miraculous in hand, he looked down at the man who he would no longer call father.
Gabriel said nothing, barely even looking his son in the eyes. Instead, he grabbed Chat Noir's hand and pulled it to his chest, causing the reaction to start.
Gabriel turned to grey, and melted away.