It's raining.
Pouring, actually. Torrential. It seems endless, dark clouds unceasing in their wet bombardment. The thunder rumbles in time with the flash of the lightning and people dart for cover, heads bowed, hoods and umbrellas up. The roads are slick with rain; wet rivers wind their way along the edges into the sewers, and the air is thick with the smell of rain. But Marinette is numb, watches from her seat in the black car as it trails after the hearse.
Even ignoring the weather, the city's gloom seems almost palpable. The death of one of the city's great heroes came as a shock to all. Despite the fact that he passed only three days ago, it seems like everyone has heard. Numerous memorials have sprung up around the city, as people pay tribute to their fallen guardian. The funeral home, open to visitation, was packed for the full two days his body lay there, civilians of all ages and wealth bringing flowers and stories to tell. Some have been akumatized. Some were rescued from said akumas. Many tell stories of Chat simply being helpful and kind, visiting hospitals and charities, stopping petty crimes and locating missing children.
Marinette, of course, has been thrown into the limelight over the past few days, both as herself and Ladybug. Despite the fact that she'd revealed herself (because what was the point of keeping it secret anymore?), she still found people asking for Ladybug and being surprised when she tells them it's her. She doesn't blame them. She looks nothing like the strong composed figure of Ladybug. Instead, she's almost broken down numerous times, her eyes are red, and she has permanent tear streaks on her face. She probably looked like a mess barely held together, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. And, to their credit, they didn't either. They offered their condolences, commended her on the strength she's displayed, thanked her for her service to the city. She's grateful, but she's tired, and all she want wanted is to be left alone to cry.
What she really wants is Adrien with her, but she knows that can't happen.
She only vaguely remembers the ceremony the city had put on, despite the fact that she just came from it. She remembers the Mayor speaking (though the specific words are lost), the moments of silence as the public paid their silent respects. However, the funeral itself has been restricted to friends and family, which Marinette is grateful for. She doesn't think she could hold it together in front of the public's eye.
She watches as the hearse pulls into the cemetery, and her breath catches. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she feels a comforting pressure on her hand, and she turns to give her mother a watery smile, that probably looks more like a grimace. Her father reaches across the seat to lay a large, gentle hand on her knee. Both of her parents adored Adrien, and they took Adrien's death hard, almost as hard as she did.
Almost.
She feels the car come to a stop, and she takes a shuddering breath, squaring her shoulders. Raising her black umbrella out before her, she steps out, followed closely by her parents. She hears the rest of the procession pull up behind her, but her attention's been caught by the pit that will hold her husband's body.
She's only brought out of her thoughts by Alya and Nino coming up beside her, Alya reaching up to rest her hand on Marinette's shoulder. She turns to them, silently opening her arms, and they step in, each wrapping their own around the petite young woman. She buries her face in Alya's shoulder, but she will not cry, not yet. There are too many people she still needs to be strong for.
Nino takes a step back, leaving Alya and Marinette clinging to each other under the umbrella. Eventually, Alya pulls back, clutching Marinette's arms. Marinette can tell that there's a lot that Alya wants to say.
I'm sorry
I miss him too
You'll be alright
Maybe not right now, but you will be.
But all she says is "I like your dress"
Ah, yes. Her dress.
The collar is asymmetrical, jet black with emerald green accentuations in the edges and details of the fabric. The sleeves come halfway down her upper arms, but black lace covers the rest, coming all the way down to cover the back of her hands. It's mermaid style, like her wedding dress, and a black bow sits on her lower back. The bottom of the skirt flairs out, and the ruffles allow the viewer to see the green fabric inside, as well as the silver and black heels she's wearing. There are three jagged green slashes on each side of her torso, running from the front of her ribcage and wrapping around her to intersect above the bow. On her head, not a part of the outfit, she wears a black cage veil.
It's not what traditionally would be worn at a funeral, but everyone knows that isn't why she wore it. She wore it not because it was the first dress she designed for Mr. Agreste, not because it was the first of her creations to take off, not because it's what finally made her name known to the fashion world. She could care less about any of that.
She wore it because it reminded her of him. It was inspired by him, designed with him in mind, even if he would never wear it. It's in his colour scheme, cut as daringly as he was. It was his favourite immediately, even if he only ever saw it in the rough notes of her sketchbook, and when it was completed, it she quickly fell in love with it as well.
Releasing her arms, Alya turns and walks back over to Nino. They embrace quickly, before Nino moves to the back of the hearse and Alya moves to stand by the plot. Already there is the pastor for the funeral, as well as a number of officers in dress uniform, standing at attention with rifles by their sides, even as the rain drenches their tunics.
The back door of the hearse opens, and the black coffin is lowered into the waiting arms of the eight casket-bearers. Nino and Mr. Agreste take the front two corners, Alix and Kim behind them, Jukela and Nathaniel forming the third row, and Ivan and Chloe taking the rear. There's a small amount of scuffling as everyone settles their grips, before the casket slowly rotates, and they reluctantly carry their old classmate to his final resting place, the rest trailing after them.
The casket is placed on blocks of wood lain across the mouth of the hole. The bearers take a pace back, heads bowed, and Marinette moves to stand by the pastor at the head of the coffin. Everyone excluding the officers remove their hats, and the ceremony begins.
It seems to drag on unnecessarily. The rain is unrelenting, pounding umbrellas with a steady bombardment. The pastor drones on and on, voice muffled by the downpour, but even if she could hear him, Marinette wouldn't be listening. Her gaze remains locked on the dark casket that contains her partner.
When the ceremony finally comes to a close, all present come close to lay flowers on the casket, lay a hand on it, silently pay their last respects. Marinette is last, allowing Plagg and Tikki (who have been waiting with Alya and Nino) to lay their flowers before laying her bouquet of Adonis flowers and dwarf sunflowers across the head of the casket. She lays a hand on the cool polished surface, before leaning down to press a soft, lingering kiss to the wood. Straightening, she takes a step back, allowing the bearers to lift the casket.
One of the officers barks an order, and the rest shoulder their rifles, aiming them up over the horizon. The wooden blocks are removed, and slowly, the casket is lowered into the earth, where it hits the ground with a thump that seems to resonate through everyone present. At the lead officers command, the guard fires out a volley in unison, before reloading and repeating twice more. Following the third volley, their weapons return to their side, and the lead officer spins on his heel, facing the casket and raising his sabre in salute. Returning his sword to his side, he looks at Marinette for conformation, and she nods numbly. He spins back around, and a few orders later the guard has their rifle slung over their shoulders, marching off.
The pastor closes his booklet, offers Marinette his condolences, and moves to wait under the shelter of a nearby tree. Others follow, offer Marinette their condolences, embrace her, give Tikki and Plagg a pat. Alya and Nino say nothing, just embrace her, and the same happens with her parents. Tikki and Plagg simply nuzzle her face and neck, respectively, before floating off with her parents.
She watches them go, smiling sadly, but when the rain envelops them, that smile drops.
She can still see them, under the tree, comforting each other and telling stories. She can still hear when someone manages to laugh. But it feels so isolated, here, with a sheet of rain separating them, only her and her thoughts and the sound of the pounding rain on the umbrella.
In this moment, standing 15 feet away from friends and family, Marinette has never felt more alone.
And she breaks.
For the first time since he's died, she allows herself to cry, to scream, to fall to her knees and beat the ground, cursing her luck for abandoning her when she needed it most. Because she would trade all the luck she's ever had or ever will in a heartbeat to be able to wake up tomorrow and have this all be a terrible dream, to see his smile and feel his warmth around her.
She's vaguely aware of her father picking her up, Alya dusting off her dress and her mother wiping her face, but she only cries harder. Her husband is gone, her partner is gone, lying in that casket about to be buried, and she is alone. And everyone knows she is heartbroken beyond repair.
But what they don't know is that they're wrong. That, in time, she'll find someone to love as fully and wholly as she did Adrien, someone that can make her laugh and smile the same way he did, someone she can tease and cuddle with.
Because even though his heart is stopped, and her heart is broken into tiny pieces, somewhere deep inside her, an even smaller heart beats for the first time.