Her Fault

Adrien tried his best to ignore the sounds coming from the seat in front of him, useless noise he'd heard a million times before. His manager insisted on repeating the same lines of nonsense every single meeting, God, how could he not be bored of it. Why did they even have meetings at this point, Adrien thought. He wasn't going to change his mind. Modeling, acting, posing for a picture he didn't want to be a part of; it was an exhausting thing he thought he'd never have to hear about again. Lo and behold, here they were in the car coming back to his home after sitting in a conference room for two hours discussing a role in an upcoming film.

"Adrien, are you listening?" Felipe waved his hand in front of him. His obnoxious demand for Adriens attention only made him want to ignore him even more.

"Don't you get sick of telling me the same shit? I don't want to be a part of the movie and that's that." Adrien leaned his head back in the car, closing his eyes as if trying to sleep. Felipe sighed deeply. He wasn't trying to coax Adrien into something he didn't want to do, he was just concerned. Adrien had holed himself up for so long not doing anything but drinking, working out and taking walks to God knows where.

"Of course I get tired of it, but I'm here to guide you to the best possible path." Felipe put down his clipboard to lean forward, getting closer into Adriens bubble. "You're so young, I don't want to let life pass you by." Adrien's eyes fluttered open to look down at Felipe.

"Let it pass by," Adrien scoffed, pulling a cigarette from his jacket and lighting it, not moving his head from the relaxed position. "Youth hasn't done anything for me besides allowing me to club till morning without dying." He took a long drag from the cigarette, blowing it out into the car. Felipe, visibly angered but at the same time, deeply understanding, rolled the window down.

"All I'm asking is that you think about it." He patted Adriens leg like a father consoling a kid who's soccer team just lost. "It might be the start of something good." The car slowed to a halt in front of Adrien's house. He clicked open the door without so much of an acknowledgement to Felipe's statement. He walked off, not looking back. Felipe shook his head, rolling the window up. The car drove away from the house as Adrien pulled open the door.

Heading inside, Adrien faced the cold and stiff atmosphere of the mansion. He slowly traversed the echoing halls, thinking about how the only times this home felt warm was when his friends were there. When there were bodies occupying the space. When he made memories with the people he loved. When his father was there, the walls were afraid to settle, but at the very least, Adrien could count on the fact that there was another living being in the vicinity. The times where his father showed his empathetic side were the happiest Adrien had ever been. It was like looking past the surface of Earth and into the stars, connecting to a father that seemed as distant as Mars. Now, even that small bit of connection was gone. Adrien found himself wishing, hoping, that he'd wake up from the absolute nightmare of being orphaned; but when he did wake from sleep, it was to an empty home.

Scrolling social media made him realize just how ignorant the public was. Those who admired him since before his fathers death commented under his posts asking for him to get back into modeling. They just wanted him to be eye candy again, be a flashy prize that people can repost and save for a momentary hit of dopamine. He was disgusted by it. We want the old Adrien back! Where'd the teen boy heartthrob we fell for go? When are you going to start starring in movies? Why doesn't he use his dads influence to become more famous? Adrien's anger began to stir after reading these statements from people. Why the fuck would he go back to a career he hated just to be 'famous' again, he thought. People didn't have common sense, for him, working as a model was like being stuck in a dead end job with nowhere to go. He would rather be stuck at home rotting away than chasing his own tail as a model to get a treat from the people that controlled him. He angrily typed back, you don't know anything. Shut up you idiots. Go get your head checked if you think that teenager you fell for hasn't grown up. No, this is just going to cause more trouble. He deleted the response.

Adrien rubbed his forehead, shutting his phone off and putting it away before he could send anything drastic into the public. He continued up the stairs to his room, shaking his head and muttering obscenities under his breath. He opened the door, looking around to yet another empty space full of useless materialistic things. He sighed heavily as he closed the door behind him. He was exhausted mentally, he had been for some time. Right now all he could do was sleep half the day just to go drink and smoke the night away at some dingy club. He was killing himself slowly.

Adrien walked over to his bed, glancing at his side table, thinking for a moment about using the Miraculous again. Last night he had used it on Luka, something he never thought he would be capable of. He reasoned with himself; at least he didn't actually kill him, though for a second, he really wanted to. Adrien wondered what Luka had told Marinette about the injury. He definitely already reported that he got hurt, but would this be the last straw to out him as 'Cat Noir', the rogue Miraculous holder? He had no idea. A headache enveloped him, forcing him to want to rest.

He laid on his side, facing the table. Atop the piece of furniture was a picture of his mother and father when they were young, posing with smiles warming their surroundings. He had never seen this picture until his father had passed. It was tucked away in his private belongings like a valuable gemstone never to be seen by dirty eyes. In it, they looked so young and happy, unmoved, unphased by the world outside of their love. Adrien had thought a lot about this kind of devoted admiration; wondering if he'd ever find it, or if he had found it, and fumbled the catch.

In that moment where he was deep in thought staring at the picture, he saw movement in the reflection of the glass. Adrien whipped his head around to the windows of his room, one of the panes slowly opened as someone sat on the edge, looking at him in timid silence. Ladybug.

"I'm so sorry i…" Marinette, in her hero form, unconsciously opened the window to get a closer look at the somber man within the room. Her cheeks flushed, embarrassed by her impulsive action. "I'll leave, i probably scared you! I'm such an idiot…" She prepared to jump off when Adrien stood up from the bed, moving his hand outward toward her.

"No, don't leave." His voice was hushed. Why was she here? Had Luka told her who he really was? Did she come to get him back for what he'd done? No… she was flustered but not mad. She looked more curious than anything. There were tears streaming down his cheeks that he'd failed to notice; he wiped it away quickly to conceal his plight. "What are you doing here? Is there a villain somewhere?"

"Oh, no, there's not." Marinette hopped down from the pane, landing sheepishly on the hardwood floor. "I just… found myself here after transforming." She laughed. "I really don't know why…" It was a lie, she knew exactly why she was there. She missed him. Adrien slowly approached her, gentle steps forward like he was trying to catch a startled deer.

"Well, I don't mind you being here."

"Really…?" Marinette thought for a moment. "Then, can I just stay here for a little bit? Just to… cool down?" Adrien furrowed his brow. Why would she come here to calm herself? She may not have known he was the one who did those things to her, but he still broke up with her as Adrien. He had always thought she'd never want to see him again in either form, so he hid in the shadows to watch her from afar.

"Stay as long as you want," Adrien began, trailing off into another thought. "But what are you trying to escape?" He came up to the open pane, sitting his arms up on the edge, looking out into the city. "This room isn't exactly a safe space to take cover."

"I don't know, life, work…" Adrien laughed, such simple problems. "What's funny about that?"

"I just never thought of 'Ladybug' having to worry about paying bills." He laughed again, smiling in a way that felt sadder than the display she'd been watching before. The tears coming down from his face before were full of nostalgic bittersweetness, his smile now felt full of loneliness.

"Yeah, well, I do have to worry about that. Among a million other tiny things." Adrien looked at her, she was so… mature. All these years had gone by and he didn't feel like he was growing, but she was a blossom at its fullest.

"You know you look… different." She turned, grabbing her arm, almost hiding herself.

"Ah, that's right. I just transformed after all this time and this is what happened." She raised her shoulders up, burying her neck. "Is it bad?" The question felt so unsure and made the almighty Ladybug seem so vulnerable. Adrien's desire filled his head, wanting to keep her in that vulnerable state. Wanting to make her feel beneath him.

"It's not bad," he began, concocting a cruel response. "It's just off putting."

"Off putting?"

"Yeah." Adrien took his arms off the glass pane to face her once more. A dark expression took over as he approached her. She shrunk into herself. "The color of your suit is darker, it makes you seem like a villain."

"R-really?" She dropped her head. She thought the change wasn't that drastic, that the darker parts were just her showing her maturity and willingness to face the harshness of her past… was it actually just a reflection of her evil desires? As the thoughts raced through her head, Adrien smirked to himself. He took his hand to her chin, lifting it to make her look him in the eyes.

"But I happen to really like it." Marinette's eyes widened, a flush coming from deep within. Adrien dropped his hand from her chin, strutting away to his couch to sit down, leaving her slightly shaken.

"That's good then…"

"Enough about that, now. Come sit." Adrien patted the couch cushion next to him. She slowly walked to the seat, now more nervous than concerned. "So, if you're out and about, does that mean Cat Noir is also running around in Paris with no direction?" Marinette's arms tensed as she sat. Adrien's dark smile returned, seeing her physically affected by his words.

"Oh, I don't know, actually."

"How could you not know? He's your partner in saving the city, right?" He was testing, teasing and prodding.

"Not… anymore." His brow raised.

"I see, why's that?" Adrien slid his hand over to Marinette, placing it firmly on her shoulder. She melted at his warmth, easing her tense muscles.

"He…" She choked on her words, it felt like someone was firmly holding their hand down on her throat. She grasped at her neck, there was nothing there, but it felt like a ten ton weight. "He stole something from me. I… don't think I can ever forgive him for that" Adrien was shocked, what did she mean? He wondered if she found out he had snuck into her apartment, taking things he thought she wouldn't miss. No, the way it was phrased was so odd.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did he steal from you?" He scooted closer to her, feigning friendliness to make her spill. She just looked down as if staring into a void.

"He stole my innocence." She whispered. Adrien's eyes, once dark, turned soft. So that's how she saw it, he thought. To her, he did not violate her, he did not take advantage or hurt her. He stole from her. He stole something that adults tell children to covet for as long as they possibly can, before the real world slowly chips it away.

"That's… I don't know what to say except; I'm sorry…" The life returned to her eyes as she weakly chuckled.

"You don't have to apologize, Adrien. You werent the one who stole it." He meekly looked away. He did steal it. He couldn't believe it, but he did. Marinette sighed, getting up from the couch. Adrien watched her begin to walk away.

"Where are you going?" She paused, facing away from him.

"I'm going to go somewhere else to cool off." A weak sniffle could be heard from her direction. Adrien got up quickly, walking over to her as she continued. "I'm so sorry for saying all that," she laughed with sadness caught in her throat. "I just uh… I feel like I can trust you." After saying that, Marinette felt a warm embrace on her back, hands wrapping around her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks.

"I don't mind hearing about your problems." He squeezed her tight. "Come back anytime, Ladybug. I'll always have somewhere for you to rest." She hickupped as tears poured down her face. She turned around and hugged Adrien back, sobbing gently into his chest. His heart began to race. After a moment, she pulled away from him and walked to the window. As she hopped onto the edge, Marinette looked back.

"Thank you, Adrien." With that, she leaped off, catching something in the distance with her yoyo and flying through the sunset sky. Adrien fell to his knees. A sinfully large smile swept across his face as he buried his head in his hands and laughed. He quietly murmured;

"This is the start of something interesting."