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Chapter Text

It all started with a photo

A citizen found famous model Adrien Agreste kissing Paris’ resident superhero Ladybug on an alleyway just before that day’s akuma, and published it in all their media accounts

The image quickly spread like wildfire all over the internet, with everyone in the city devouring this new source of gossip like hungry dogs. But most importantly, it reached the Agrestes

Which lead Adrien to this exact situation…

"How long have you been dating that girl?" His father demanded to know, while the younger Agreste looked at the ground unable to look at the man in the eye

Because he knew that he was glaring at him with disappointment and cold fury

"Ever since the Gorizilla incident…" Adrien muttered in response, unable to lie to his father even without the intervention of certain ring

"You’ve been with that girl for so long behind my back?!" Gabriel snapped, making his son flinch at his outburst "Don’t you see the danger she puts you in?! With all the akumas after her Miraculous, just being around her constantly puts you at risk!"

"Please Father! I know our relationship isn’t the most common one, but we love each other!" Adrien pleaded, finally looking at his father with tearful eyes

And that proved to be a mistake, as if looks could kill Adrien would already be buried ten feet under

"I will have none of that!" Gabriel said coldly, fidgeting with his ring behind his back "Adrien as your father, I order you to stay away from Ladybug. Am I understood?"

Adrien nodded, despite feeling like screaming on the inside and his eyes overflowing with tears

Moments later, after walking dejectedly to his room with a heavy heart, after shutting the door behind him he finally allowed himself to crumble. Curling himself into a ball against the door, he buried his face into his legs

Adrien make sure not to wail too loudly however, knowing it would just make his father even more angry. An Agreste is never supposed to be so sensitive about things, they must always endure things with professionalism

It was the motto that was hammered onto him ever since he could remember, even before his mom died. If his father saw him like that, he will be punished again for wailing like a baby when he was almost sixteen

Interrupting his pity party, a soft knock on his window got his attention. Lifting his tearful face up, he saw a concerned Ladybug on his window

"Adrien…" His lady said, face scrunching with worry "I saw your conversation with your father earlier. Can I come in…?"

He wanted nothing but to feel her touch right now, embrace her, tell her how much he loved her and how he never wanted to let her go. But as if a chain was wrapped tightly around his neck, he was planted on his place

"I…c-can’t" Adrien stuttered, making Ladybug look even more worried "I-It’s not you, it’s me. I just can’t seem to disobey my father, no matter how much I want to"

"Has it always been this way..? Has he always been this way?" His lady asked quietly and he nodded sadly

"Ever since I can remember…" He whispered his answer with a dejected shrug

The two stayed in a silence that neither of them enjoyed, and although Adrien still wished he could hold his lady on his arms and never let her go, just having her presence was enough to make him feel slightly more happy, or at least content, with this situation

"Adrien, when your father gave you the order to stay away from me, I saw him do something…" Ladybug said after what seemed like an uncomfortable eternity "With his ring, I mean"

"His and mom’s wedding ring?" He asked "Yeah, I saw him do it a few times. I think it’s a nervous tic of his, why do you ask?"

"Because I think it’s way more than that, Adrien…" Ladybug whispered, confusing him. Especially with that forlorn expression she had one she said that

And against everything he had ever thought or expected of her, she started to swing her yo-yo out of nowhere. Not only that, but she actually used it to break the glass of his window!

Her, Ladybug, his Lady, the most amazing girl he’s ever known, Paris’ beloved superhero actually broke his window to break into his room!!

And in all honesty, Adrien was actually glad she did

"Ladybug?" He asked once his lady crouched down to his fetal position and gave him a large hug, chaining him in place

And despite what his mind said and heart enjoying her warm embrace, his body still acted on itself and tried to pry away from her grasp, trying to fulfill the orders his father gave to him. And every time it tried to do so, his Lady would hug him even harder

"I love you, Adrien" Ladybug told him, holding him in place as she kissed his cheek "I will always love you, and no matter what you father or anyone else says I won’t let anyone take us apart"

"Thank you, M’lady" He said happily, tears of joy now falling from his forest green eyes and a big thankful smile on his face

Maybe it was a good thing that Adrien’s body wasn’t being compliant, because if it was, he’d kiss her so hard until they both turned blue to show her just how much he loved her back

Chapter Text

"I-It’s not what you think!" Ladybug screeched, once Adrien entered the room and caught he in this embarrassing moment

Adrien has been showing her his house taking advantage that neither his father or Nathalie were around since they were in an out-of-town business meeting, with the belief that she’s never seen it properly since the few times she was here was due to an akuma attack

Ladybug got a little sidetracked when she entered his father’s study, remembering what exactly was in here the last time she was around. Deciding to take a small peak at the gorgeous photostash that Gabriel Agreste kept of his son

As she indulged on her guilty pleasure, she was unaware that the boy she was fantasizing about had noticed her absence and discovered her ogling his photos. That not only weren’t his photos, but also his father’s collection of photos of him!

That was the same as her discovering someone ogling her mom’s baby pictures of her!! Ugh, she’s such an idiot!!

"I-It’s just that you look so good in this photos! A-And it shows just how much your father loves! Y-Yeah that’s it! I-I can just feel the love your dad has for you, hahaha…!" Ladybug rambled, somehow even worse than when she did whenever she was around Adrien

Oh, this was a total disaster!! It’s one thing that she messed things up as Marinette, but right now she was Ladybug!! Defender of Paris, beloved superhero, a good role model for others. Now she was messing things up on the suit!

Adrien probably thought she looked so weird! He’ll totally be so disappointed on her! He’ll no longer see her as this amazing superhero that he can trust and rely on, and she could no longer reveal herself to him on the future because then he’ll be even more disappointed once he learns that dumb Clumsynette was behind the mask—!

"It’s okay Ladybug, I don’t mind you watching my pictures" He assured her, breaking her off her rambling and her worst case scenario imagination "I’m a fashion model after all, I got used at people seeing images of my face"

"I’m actually…a little honored that you’re enjoying my pictures" Adrien admitted, rubbing his nape sheepishly with a lovely grin and a little blush on his impossibly gorgeous face

And Ladybug swore she died in that moment and ascended straight to heaven, because how could one be this cute?! Not only being able to calm her fears with nothing but his gentle smile, but was actually honored that her — her! — enjoyed his pictures

"Y-You really think so…?" She whispered with her own blush creeping on her cheeks behind the mask, and the shy nod that he gave her just intensified it even more

"T-Thank you, I’m…actually a big fan of yours too" Ladybug confessed, and his face brightened at her confession

"Really?!" Adrien asked, eyes that reminded her of the green meadows in spring lighting up with such energy that it could power up all of Paris

"Y-Yeah, I actually have my own photostash of you in my bedroom…" It took Ladybug nearly a minute to realize what she just said "I-I mean, not in a creepy way or whatever! I-I just keep them because—"

Adrien chuckle interrupted her newest rambling flunk, and it made her feel even worse. As now the boy of her dreams was laughing at her, making her want the earth to swallow her whole

”S-Sorry, it’s just that you reminded me of a friend of mine" He explained "Apparently, she also keeps a photostash of me in her room. She’s a budding fashion designer, so it makes sense for her to have those"

"Yeah, total sense…" Ladybug giggled nervously, turning back to the stash of photos in front of them "I’ve never seen these ones before, they’re not in any magazine I’d ever seen"

"That’s cause they’re part of a super exclusive collection that are really difficult to find" Adrien explained "Even Chloe, my childhood friend, had a difficult time finding it. Let alone buying it"

"Yeah, it’s such a pity though. You look so handsome—Awesome! In this" Ladybug corrected herself, smiling dreamily at one photo in particular "Especially that one. That hoodie looks so adorable on you"

"Y-You know, I still have that hoodie…" He shared with her, scratching his nape yet again "Father wanted to discard it because he deemed it not good enough, but I find it really comfy and stylish. So, I’ve been keeping it in secret"

"If you want I can give it to you since you obviously enjoy it a lot, or maybe…" Adrien smirked in a way that reminded her of the other most important blonde with green eyes in her life "I can model it for you, if you want..?"

Adrien, modeling for her!!? Her?!! This had to be a dream, because it sounded too good to be true!!!

But seeing the earnest grin in his gorgeous face, she knew this wasn’t one of her dreams or fantasies and this was real

"I-I’d really love to…" She confessed, and the blushes in both their faces went up to atomic levels in the best ways possible

Chapter Text

It was a regular day for Ladybug, jumping across the rooftops of Paris always keeping an eye out for any signs of an akuma or generally anyone who needed help

But as she went about her usual routine, she suddenly stopped at one particular rooftop. There was nothing special about it, it was actually just the rooftop to some random warehouse. But it wasn’t actually the rooftop or the building itself that halted her path, but rather something else

"Bugaboo?" Chat Noir asked, also landing alongside his partner wondering what stopped her all of a sudden

She was acting really weird, staring at something with a giddy dumb smile and a blush underneath her red mask, giggling to herself for some reason

"Hellooo~? Earth to milady?" Chat said, snapping his clawed fingers in front of Ladybug’s unfocused face to gain her attention

"I’m awake! I-I mean—!" The black-spotted red her prince cried, finally breaking off her trance

"Bugaboo, you’ve been staring off the distance for a whole minute. And you know that starting off the distance dreamily is my shtick" Chat Noir said with confusion, crossing his arms

"S-Sorry Chat, I guess I was busy staring at that…" Ladybug giggled dreamily to herself again, pointing somewhere without looking

"Um, some fat old man bathing himself?" Chat asked with even more confusion, making Ladybug hackle when she saw where exactly she was pointing "I didn’t knew you were into older guys, M’lady. Not that I’m judging"

"What?! No, ewww!! Not that!!" Ladybug cringed, now pointing at what she wanted to show him correctly "I meant that!"

It was a giant billboard of some company promoting their newest watch, but what Ladybug was pointing exactly was who was advertising the product

Non either than Adrien Agreste, painted in beautiful monochromatic filter. His alluring emerald eyes that were slightly dulled due to the camera’s filter where looking up into the sky, and a easy smile was planted on his perfect angelic face

"Oh, the new Adrien Agreste photo" Chat Noir concluded, a knowing smirk on his lips as he glanced at her "That’s what caught your attention, meow lady?"

"Yes~, I just couldn’t help myself" Ladybug giggled to herself "Grey is definitely his color"

"Hmm, I would argue that black is his color. Really makes his eyes standout, don’t you think?" Chat suggested, making adorable peace signs over his eyes which made her giggle at his antics

"Good idea, kitty cat. Black would look good on him" She hummed thoughtfully, already imagining him in said color

"Maybe when you visit him again tonight he’ll actually surprise you with his new pawtastic color?" Her partner said, making her flinch in surprise

"Y-You know about me meeting Adrien?" Ladybug asked him, and his Cheshire grin just grew even larger

"Fur course I know, m’lady. Cats have excellent hearing, y’know" Chat teased, his kitty ears flickering to further state his point "So I heard little birdie told me that you and Adrien have been meeting regularly"

"That’s impossible, considering you’re allergic to feathers" Ladybug said bluntly, making her partner chuckle

"True, but anyways. I’m honored bugaboo, I didn’t know you’d take a page out of my book" Chat Noir said, a soft smile replacing his teasing smirk "You have a favorite civilian to look after, just like me and Marinette"

"Oh yeah! You mentioned you’ve been seeing her a lot ever since Evillustrator" Ladybug recalled, playing dumb to not reveal she was actually Marinette

"Yes, my Purrincess is so amazing" Chat purred happily, his belt wagging like a tail in his joy "She reminds me of you in a lot of ways. She’s so talented, creative, brave, smart and beautiful"

"Oh, am I getting some competition?" She teased the daydreaming tomcat

"What? No! You’re both equally important in my heart, M’lady" Her partner promised her, placing a paw on his heart "You’ll never know, that my love can only grow"

"You’re so corny" Ladybug rolled her eyes fondly with an exasperated smile "But anyway, I’m happy you’re having fun with Marinette. I’m lucky things are going so well with Adrien too"

"Yeah, who knows. Maybe you like him so much because he reminds you of moi over here" Chat said, wiggling his eyebrows

"You and Adrien? You two couldn’t be further apart" She scoffed, unaware of the secretive smirk on her partner

"Whatever you say, m’lady. Better finish up this patrol so that you can see your other blonde-haired sweetheart" Chat Noir teased her

"My other blonde haired sweetheart, you say?" Ladybug raised an eyebrow

"Yup! Because we both know that I’m your number one, my ladybug" And before she could say anything else, he extended his baton and continued to ran across the rooftops

"Silly kitty, you’re both important in my heart" Ladybug said to herself, and yo-yoed after he partner

Chapter Text

Ladybug cursed to herself as she ran across the Parisian rooftops in a hurry. Why was she cursing and why was she running so fast, you may ask?

Because she was late! Utterly and completely late!!!

Today she was supposed to be meeting with Adrien for their usual hanging out in his room, watch a movie or anime, play some Ultimate Mecha Strike, and generally just speak about how life been treating them

But no! Because apparently Hawk Moth decided to be a bitch and send not one, not two, but three consecutive akumas all in the same fucking day!

She and Chat Noir have been battling them nonstop, she was tired and sore in different places, and she was pretty sure she was sweaty in some others. And when they finally stopped those pesky little insects, it was already seven pm!

In short, she was so fucking late and Adrien was probably wondering where her lazy ass was!

He might get worried that something happened to her during the three battles she had today, knowing just how much of a sweetheart he was and how he always expressed his worry whenever she had to battle an akuma

Despite him knowing that she was more than capable (his words, not hers. She still has her doubts over why she was chosen), he still expressed his concern because that’s the kind of boy Adrien was

He had to be the most emphatic and kindhearted person Ladybug has ever met, and she constantly wondered how he could be related to such a cold and cruel man like Gabriel Agreste?

Anyways, if there’s one thing that she hates more than making a total fool of herself in front of Adrien, is making him worry which is why she was trying to reach his room as fast as she could. She definitely needed to ask Chat how he always managed to get to her room on time

But speaking of making a fool of herself, even if she got there in time she would still ruin things!

Her neck was sore, meaning that she probably will have to rest it on Adrien’s lap but what if he finds it uncomfortable or creepy?! Her fingers were calloused with how hard she was clutching he yo-yo, which would enable her of using the video remote control! Unless she cracks her bone fingers, but what if he finds that spooky?!

And of course, the sweat!! She was sweating so much she could pass as a watermelon instead of a ladybug! She was so sure she reeked right now and he’ll probably notice and call her stinky! Then she’ll have to use his bath but then he’ll find it weird and she will smell like a dude alongside smelling sweat!

Then Adrien will no longer want to be with her in order to not catch her hideous odor!!

Ladybug was starting to get cold feet, but it seemed like it was too late to back down as she finally reached her crush’s home. With a heavy sigh, she decided to get inside there and confront the boy in question

Better to suffer the rejection in person rather than wonder about the what if’s

Looking at the window however, she noticed that the room was completely empty. A small sigh of relief left her chest, thinking that Adrien wasn’t home. Which meant that she could go away now and save herself from utter humiliation

But just when she grabbed her yo-yo to swing out of there, Ladybug heard something from what she thought was an empty room. Was that…water falling?

Her suspicions were confirmed when the water suddenly stopped, and a very familiar blonde walked out of the in-room bathroom

Adrien Agreste, with his glossy blonde hair sparkling with the wayward water droplets. Adrien Agreste, who was naked in his shower not too long ago. Adrien Agreste, letting out a peaceful sigh after being clean once more. Adrien Agreste…

…who was wearing ladybug-themed pajamas?!

"Ladybug?!" Adrien’s shriek snapped her out from her ogling, covering himself as if he was still naked "W-What are you doing—! I mean, you’re late"

"Y-Yeah, sorry. Triple akuma today" Ladybug apologized, although her gaze was still on her crush’s choice of sleepwear "C-Can I come in?"

"S-Sure…" The blonde murmured, opening his window and letting his masked sweetheart in

"Soooo, ladybug pajamas huh?" She said, feeling a little emboldened by this revelation "Is there a specific reason for them?"

"I-It’s the only non-Gabriel clothes that I have" Adrien confessed, a blush creeping on his sweet face "Please don’t tell my father I have these, he’ll flip!"

"Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone" Ladybug promised him, a smirk forming on her lips "I actually think that red suits you"

And his blush that intensified to atomic levels, so much so that it reached the tip of his ears confirmed her statement. Is this how Chat Noir felt whenever she flirted with her? Huh, she kinda liked it. No wonder the kitty cat enjoyed doing this with her all the time

She may actually ask him for some flirting tips later on

"T-Thanks, but I’m much more into black" Adrien said with a smirk that was half-appreciative and half-flirtatious "And I think it would suit you as well"

"Did…did you just made a pun? About suits?" Ladybug snorted, having never imagined this scenario

“What? Does it bug you, Ladybug?" The blonde asked, making her giggle even more "Oh! I seem to have touched a funny spot, didn’t I?"

"Oh no, stop! Oh, my stomach!" The super-heroine howled on Adrien’s fancy couch, making the blonde giggle alongside her

"I seem to attract blondes with awful sense of humor" Ladybug said to herself with false woe, finally stopping her giggling fest after a complete solid minute

"Aww, I thought you enjoyed my sense of humor" Adrien pouted, looking so unfairly adorable

"Not a chance, sunshine" The hero said, smirking at the blush on the model’s cute face at her nickname for him

"Aww, what’s the matter sunny? Does my nickname make you flustered?" Ladybug purred, not unlike how Chat Noir made her feel whenever he swing by her balcony "I thought a big shot model like you must’ve been used to them already~"

"I d-do, but they’re so much different when they’re from you" Adrien confessed, and now it was her turn to be all flustered "Because you say it from the bottom of your heart after meeting the real me, and I know you mean them"

No fair! That wasn’t even a flirt! So why the hell did Ladybug still blushed at his earnest confession?!!

"A-Anyways! We can still salvage some time!" She stuttered, trying to save face "D-Do you wanna watch a movie or something?"

"Actually, I just came back from a very extensive fencing class and I’m all beat" Adrien said "I’d rather just cuddle alongside you~. Would you like that, cuddle bug?"

“Gah! Nooooo~~~" She covered her blushing face with her hands, not being able to handle a nickname from her heartthrob

"Aww, why are you covering your cute face? I bet you look even more beautiful with a pretty blush on~" He purred, and it was a good thing that her hands were covering her face right now

Otherwise she would see that very familiar Cheshire smirk on him

Overall, in terms of flirting, it was a tie

Chapter Text

Just a friend, was the vein of Marinette’s life

Normally, she wouldn’t mind someone saying that about her. She likes making friends with everyone, excluding people like Chloe and especially Lila. But that phrase coming from Adrien’s mouth had started her ire in a way nothing else had done

"You’re a really nice friend, Marinette" Adrien told her, after she actually gathered up the courage to invite him out on a date that he just took as a friendly outing

"Marinette? Yeah, she’s a very good friend" Adrien said to anyone that saw them together, so close that it almost appeared like if they were cuddling

"Nah, Marinette and I are just friends" Adrien said whenever someone asked if they were a couple, even though the evidence was clearly obvious

Marinette swore that if she heard that same stupid phrase come out from his stupid kissable mouth again she will scream!

"Ladybug?” The voice from the boy in question snapped her out of her thoughts "Are you okay? You’ve been silent for a while now"

"O-Oh yeah, I’m fine" She assured him, giggling nervously "I’m just thinking about something a-a friend told me"

"Oh, do I know them?" Adrien asked her curiously, tilting his head cutely like a curious cat. And how could she say no to that face?

"Y-Yeah actually, do you know anyone named Marinette?" Ladybug asked, taking advantage of the situation to finally sort out her dilemma

"Marinette? Of course I know her! She’s a very good friend of mine" The blonde told her, and her eyebrow twitched at that stupid phrase yet again "I didn’t knew you guys were friends too, then again given how amazing she is I’m not surprised you two would know each other"

"So, you think she’s amazing huh?” Ladybug asked, a conspiratorial smirk on her face

"How could I not think she’s not? She’s so smart, brave, kind, creative…" A small blush appeared on his face "B-Beautiful…"

Internally, she squealed with happiness over her crush indirectly calling her beautiful

"And overall an amazing friend!" That stupid phrase ruined the moment yet again

"I’m glad that you think of her like that" Ladybug said with gritted teeth, forcing a smile to conceal her irritation over what he just said

"She reminds me a lot of you, actually. Especially the hair" Adrien said, pointing at his nonexistent pigtails "Since you’re friends, I’m guessing you pass fashion tips between the two of you"

"Uh, yeah totally" She played along "In fact, this is actually Marinette’s hairstyle first. Before I used to wear a super awful hair bun, it looked so bad"

"No, it wouldn’t" The model argued determinately, looking at her like if she had said the biggest offense ever "I bet you would look awesome in any hairstyle, don’t think so lowly of yourself"

"Thanks Adrien, you’re such a sweet friend" Ladybug said genuinely but also with a little bit of mischief, wanting to give the boy some of his own medicine

"Yeah haha, friend" The model said with a slightly strained smile, his eyes glancing away from her in disappointment

Nailed it, she thought victoriously, Let’s see if you continue calling me your 'just a friend' after this

Ladybug took some pity on him after a while and decided they should both watch a movie to distract themselves, but Adrien will forever had this uncomfortable feeling in the back of his after being called just a friend by his masked crush

Just what was this feeling? Maybe he should ask his good friend Marinette later

Chapter Text

There was nothing better to Ladybug than this

After a long grueling battle against a particularly tough akuma, she liked to chill alongside the boy of her dreams. Resting her head on his lap as she ran his hands across her hair while they watched a bad romcom together

"You’re especially needy today" Adrien chuckled, finishing some of the small braids he was doing on her hair "Did a tendencies of a certain cat rubbed off you?"

"I just really missed you" Was her only answer, and he chuckled at her pout which made her roll her eyes fondly

The happy atmosphere was rudely interrupted when Adrien’s phone ringed, forcing Ladybug to reluctantly remove her head from his lap in order for him to answer it. When he saw the caller’s ID, his face fell

As he answered the phone and began having a quiet conversation with the person at the other side of the line, his face just became sadder and sadder which just made her more concerned

"I’ll be there, thank you…" Adrien promised with a dejected whisper, finally finishing that call

"Who was it?" Ladybug asked, wanting to know what was so particularly bad from that call to make her otherwise happy boy look so defeated

"It’s my father, he says I have to make a last minute photo shoot…" He explained, which only made her confused

While Ladybug knew that Adrien didn’t actually enjoyed being a model, he had learned how to cope with it even if she didn’t entirely agree on how he was doing it. But to see him this disgruntled just for a simple surprise photo shoot didn’t make sense for her

Although, she would find it annoying that their special time was interrupted like that

"…With Lila" Adrien gulped, and know everything came crashing down on her

"Lila? Is she the girl that I called out for lying about being my best friend?" She asked pretending not to know her like she actually did, and he nodded grimly

"She’s being modeling for a father for a while now, and she’s always partnered up with me" He explained sadly

"…Is she the one responsible for those marks all over your arms?" Ladybug asked and he flinched, tugging on the long-sleeved shirt he was this days

"I’m not blind, Adrien! I know something is going on between you two!" She accused "The long-sleeved shirts! How uncomfortable you look during each photo shoot with her! How she just clings onto you!"

"Y-You’ve been spying on me during my photo shoots?!" Adrien asked in a slightly accusatory tone

"Yes, I did! Because I’m worried about you!" Ladybug cried "It’s bad enough that you always get hurt in order to protect me during akuma battles, I don’t want you to get hurt with that Lila!"

Adrien bristled and only them did she noticed was she just said. But seeing the look on his face, she understood that it was too late to go back now

"Y…You know I’m Chat Noir?" He asked with barely a whisper, and she nodded without saying anything  "How did you discovered it? For how long have you known?"

“For a good while now, and I once saw you with a myriad of scars when I was keeping an eye on you during your photo shoots with…her" Ladybug confessed "Scars that conveniently matched all the places where akumas hurt Chat Noir"

Adrien looked at her for a moment, as if thinking his options. After a while of consideration, he sighed with a heavy heart and removed the honestly awful shirt he was wearing that made her inner designer cringe, and revealed that her assumptions were right

The scars were mostly on his back, which were most of the akumas hit him while he was trying to protect her using his favorite method; hugging her

The faint but still visible hand print of Time Breaker was placed right bellow his left shoulder, Dark Cupid’s arrow shot on the very center of his back, there was a huge claw slash right under the arrow shot, and in general he had other scars from various other akumas

And now, he had purple valleys of bruises and angry nail marks all over his arms from someone even worse than those akumas or Shadow Moth

"Why have you never told me…?" Ladybug asked, placing her hand on his injured back and gently running her fingers across of it

"I didn’t want to worry you, besides it was worth it" Adrien said quietly "In the end, you got out unscathed. That’s more than enough for me"

"It’s not worth it! Of course is not!!" She cried, hugging him from behind as tears were welling up "Don’t ever think that! It’s not worth it for me if you keep getting hurt for my stupid sake!"

"I…I love you Adrien" Ladybug finally managed to confess to him, and his eyes widened in surprise "And I hate that you keep getting hurt like this"

"…All this time, I thought you were just jealous of Lila. That’s why you always called her out on me" Adrien said to himself, finally turning around to address her

"But turns out, you did it because you were worried about me" He finished his sentence, gently cleaning away the tears from her eyes "I’m so sorry I made you cry like this, m’lady"

"And I’m sorry I didn’t made anything about Lila until now" Adrien apologized "I just realized that keeping quiet over such a horrible person isn’t going to make them change, they’re just going to become even worse"

"I want to help you, but what can I do?" Ladybug wondered "She’s a civilian, and I can’t do anything if it’s not an akuma. Besides, she’s has the backup of your father…"

"You’ll figure something out, like you always do" He encouraged her, winking at her positively "And I’ll be with you every step of the way"

"Thanks kitty" She giggled while smiling fondly, cuddling alongside her purrecious kitten

They both knew he still have to go to that goddamn photo shoot, but just for a while longer, they wanted to bask in each other’s warmth

Chapter Text

A knock on Adrien’s window interrupted his long boring piano lesson, and light instantly returned to his face as he looked up to greet the brightest spot of light in his life

"Ladybug! You’re here!" He cheered, abandoning his instrument and immediately opening his window for her to pass

"H-Hey Adrien, sorry I—Ow!" The sudden grunt of pain she made startled him, as he looked with concern how she grabbed her torso

"Ladybug?" He asked worriedly "What’s wrong?"

"N-Nothing! Just a little strain, is all" She assured him with a wide smile, but as someone that has been practicing fake smiles his whole life he could recognize one when he saw one

"It’s obviously not nothing" Adrien said with a serious frown "You’re injured"

It wasn’t a question or an accusation, which made Ladybug sigh because she knew she couldn’t argue with his observation

"How did that happen?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder and she looked to the floor downcasted "Alright, if you don’t want to talk about it I won’t force you. But at least let me treat your wounds"

"T-That’s not necessary. My suit’s magical properties can help me heal it up" Ladybug promised him

"Still, I want to help you" Adrien insisted kindly, and how could she say no to that face?

So with a little of reluctance, she nodded slowly and he brightened a little more. He ran off looking for some medical supplies, which left her alone in his room for the time being. And in that moment, she remembered exactly how she got injured in the first place

It was all thanks to her, Lila Rossi

Ever since she made that promise of pulling all her friends against her and taking Adrien all to herself, she’s been ruthless in her approach. What at first were baseless lies and simple threats, had become physical and horrid abuse

A week ago Lila followed Marinette to the bathroom to make her newest threat yet, this time regarding Adrien

Marinette knew she lusted after him too, but not in the way she did. She saw how Lila clung so hard to him all the time, borderline molesting him. Especially in those photo shoots where she doesn’t let him any moment of rest

But when she said her threat, it wasn’t what she expected

"You know, his father worries about him constantly" Lila said, faking a look of concern "He’s so worried that his precious golden boy is attending this school filled with bad influences so away from daddy’s grasp"

"What does that have to do with me?" Marinette snapped wanting to get straight to the point

"He constantly fights off the urge to completely take him away from this place to look him up once again" She continued as if the other girl hadn’t said anything

"Just get to the point, Lila!" She demanded

"You of all people know I’m very good with words, Marinette" Lila said, her smirk venomous "Just a couple words from me and Gabriel will do whatever the fuck I want"

"So if I say, let’s see, say that Adrien was beaten up at school by those nasty kids, he’ll immediately withdraw him from here" Her smirk enlarged even more "That would certainly explain the markings in his arms"

Marinette flinched at that, knowing perfectly well what was the true reason behind those markings

"Of course, there’s a way to prevent that from ever happening!" Lila cheered, looking so happy it gave her diabetes "You just have to do one little thing for me…"

"And you’ll do it, right Marinette?" She batted her eyes innocently, with a mocking smirk "After all, you don’t want poor sweet Addy to be all alone with no one but moi as his only companion right~?"

So for the next week Marinette has suffered her lunch times in the bathroom being Lila’s punching bag, leaving her with a myriad of bruises and injuries

But yesterday’s was a particularly grueling one, as that witch hit her so hard in the ribs they might even be fractured

It was worth it though, for Adrien

For him, Ladybug was willing to suffer the hardest of punishments if it meant he could smiling like the sunshine he embodies

"I’m back!" His honey-like voice soothed her ears, snapping her out of her thoughts "Don’t move, I’ll try to be as gentle as possible"

And with that, Adrien started to patch up her torso. At some point, he started to hum a little song that she at first found soothing, but after a while he began to add lyrics which made her freeze up as she recognized that song

One she hoped she would never hear again…

"Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady~…"

A flooded city, a broken moon, an even more broken white cat with dead cold eyes—!

"Ladybug?" A voice called out to her, grabbing her shoulder which made her flinch as she turned around

For a split moment, she was staring at a white version of Cat Noir with hair like ashes, pale as a corpse and eyes as blue as ice. When she blinked however, the white nightmare with blue eyes that has been haunting her for a while now was replaced by a concerned Adrien

"Are you okay? I’m so sorry if I startled you" He said, looking and sounding like a poor kitty left alone in the rain

"I-I’m fine, is just that I thought I heard that song somewhere before" Ladybug said, technically not lying

"Oh, I doubt it really" He shrugged "It’s a song my mom used to sing for me when I was little, only she and I know about it"

But if only Adrien knew about that song that has been plaguing her dreams, then that would mean…

"Ready! I know it’s not much, but I hope it helps you out" He said hopefully with a small smile

"Thanks Adrien…" Ladybug thanked him, absentmindedly rubbing the bandage that the boy has just given her

"No problem, Ladybug! You do so much for me and everyone in Paris already, this is the least I could do" He reassured her, smiling as bright as the sunshine

And she smiled fondly in return, now more determined than ever

Determined to deal with Lila and put an end to Shadow Moth, if it meant her kitty will continue to be the bright sunshine that’s he’s always meant to be

Chapter Text

Despite what everyone else may think, Adrien Agreste hated being in the spotlight

He hated the bright flashes of cameras always pointed in his face, he hated the invasive fans with no sense of personal space, he hated not being able to go out without having a mob of people hot on his trail

But most importantly, he hated how people already had an idea of him without ever getting to know or even bothering to met the real him

But it’s not like he could say this to his father or literally anyone else, because the former was always busy or if he wasn’t he will just say that he was exaggerating and to suck it up. While the latter would just laugh in his face

After all, who wouldn’t want to be in the spotlight?

The fame, the attention, the recognition, things that others so selfishly want and things that Adrien hated to have because they didn’t knew how being in the spotlight actually was

A good example of this would be the situation he was currently in…

"It’s Adrien Agreste!" A girl’s high pitched squeal was the catalyst that started all that, while he was taking a stroll down the park on his break time during his latest photo shoot

Gorilla was sick for the day and it was a relatively short photo shoot in an area that he knew already, so Gabriel reluctantly agreed to let him go on his own. That proved to be a mistake as he was currently hiding behind some trash cans to hide from the mob of crazy fangirls

"A-Adrien?" A thankfully familiar voice asked, and Adrien let out a huge sigh of relief

"H-Hey Ladybug, sorry if I don’t look too presentable right now" Adrien chuckled, sheepishly rubbing his nape

"Let me guess, crazy fan mob?" The heroine asked, putting her hands on her hips with an amused grin

"You know it" He sighed dejectedly "Care to give me a hand?"

"You don’t have to ask" And with that, Ladybug carried him bridal style

A huge blush flared up in his face, making him putty on her arms. He always loved how she carried him with seemingly no effort despite being shorter than him, just showed how strong she was both physically and mentally

Adrien sighed softly as he rested his head on her shoulder with a relaxed expression, eyes closed and smile breezy. Unbeknownst to him, Ladybug was now blushing with a red that was even brighter than her own suit

"H-Hold on tight, okay?" She stuttered slightly, trying to keep herself together despite the literal cherub resting on her arms

"Always" Adrien answered with his angelic voice, slightly opening his eyes which gave her a peak at those beautiful greens that drove her crazy and a smile that reminded her of the afternoon sun

Ladybug mentally shook herself trying to school her expression, because it simply wasn’t fair! How could this boy be so goddamn cute??!

Trying to not freak out, he slightly crouched and jumped forwards and started to run across the roofs careful with the incredible valuable package she was carrying

In that moment, she glanced at the boy in her arms who thankfully remove his face from her shoulder before she lost her marbles. Even though she pouted over losing his warmth so quickly and noticed how her shoulder was considerably colder

Deciding that she could brood later, Ladybug looked why exactly has Adrien removed his face from her shoulder. He was feeling the mid-autumn breeze, closing his eyes yet again and taking a deep breath

The air passing through his golden hair making him look even more beautiful in her eyes

"I-I think we’re far enough from those girls" Ladybug stuttered, glancing away from the boy to try and hide her blush

"You must feel so lucky" Adrien soft whisper made her look at him again "Being able to feel the wind in your face like this anytime you want, it must be amazing. To feel so exhilarating and free…"

Of course, he couldn’t tell her that he experienced the same thing as Chat Noir but it just felt so different when he did it as his civilian self since he didn’t have the magical window shield that protected him

So he was able to feel the wind more clearly on his face, and besides being carried like this by his lady was a huge bonus

"H-Hahaha, yeah. Lucky lucky me" Ladybug giggled nervously, her heart not being able to take the softness of his voice gentle like a cloud

They finally landed on a spot that was secretive enough for him to not be swarmed by crazy fans for the time

"We can rest here until things calm down back at the park, that okay with you?" She asked and he nodded excitedly

"Okay! And Ladybug…" His smile softened with a sincere appreciation "Thank you, for always having my back. You know how much I hate being in the spotlight…"

"A-Anytime Adrien" She answered in turn with a fond smile "Anytime"

Chapter Text

It was time, tonight was the night that Adrien finally does this

Getting away from this horrible place once and for all

To be completely honest, Adrien has been toying with this idea for a while now. It has always been in the back of his mind, just barely whispering to him whenever he was alone after things got particularly tough

That little voice on his head (which funnily enough sounded like Plagg) just said one simple phrase…

"Run away"

Run away, yeah right. Like he has anywhere to run away at. He couldn’t just travel to London to live with an aunt he barely knew, and Paris was in his father’s pocket so there’s no way he could hide somewhere in here

Which is why he always discarded the idea, no matter how many times it popped back up

But this…

After discovering what exactly was under his house, that dark room filled with butterflies and his father being accompanied by a purple kwami — a kwami that would otherwise look cute but right now it only looked sad — was the final nail in the coffin

Adrien Agreste was running away, because there’s no way he will ever share a house with the supervillain of Paris

“You made the right choice, kid" Plagg encouraged him, passing him a bag filled with his cheeses "It was bound to happen sooner or later"

"I’m just sad we cannot take your friend with us…" Adrien said sadly, his heart aching for his own kwami and his father’s "He looked so sad…”

"Nooroo is the youngest of all of us, he’s just a couple cycles old…" The black kwami explained, his face scrunching up in sadness "He’s always been the most sensitive one due to that…"

"You wanna know why I like you so much, Adrien?" Plagg asked him, his cat-like eyes downcasted "Because you both have the same smile, and the same look of sadness…"

The blonde looked at his kwami with empathy, gently scooping him in his hands. The kwami didn’t try to fight back, instead purring against his thumb as he gingerly removed the single tear falling from his eyes

"We’ll save him Plagg, and we’ll stop my father. You’ll see" Adrien promised him, and a small yet genuine smile appeared on his kwami’s face

"I know you will, kid" He answered, hugging his thumb which made his holder smile and later kiss his forehead

After the promise between them, Adrien went back to packing for his inevitable escape from this house that felt more and more like a prison. He put his backpack and checked his outfit, all black and not from the Gabriel brand

He didn’t want to be anywhere close to anything related to his father anymore

After checking himself out, he nodded and pulled the hood from the black hoodie he was wearing over his head just to be more sure

"It’s time to meet up with Ladybug" Adrien told his kwami who nodded "Plagg, claws out!!"

"Adrien?" Ladybug asked as soon as she landed on the rooftop were she usually met Chat Noir for patrol "W-What are you doing here? I-I mean, how did you even got up here—?!"

"I’m not going back" The boy’s voice interrupted her from her rambling, and she looked at him to see the grim expression in his face

"I don’t want to go back to Father’s home, it’s…not safe for me anymore" He elaborated, a few tears running down his eyes "But I don’t know where else to go, and you’re the only one that I could think of going to"

Ladybug was still a little confused, but when she saw the raw unadulterated distress in Adrien’s face she knew that whatever happened in his home was way too big for him to dismiss it like before

Many times had she suggested, both as her civilian and hero selves, to finally leave that deadbeat father of his and his insane expectations for him. But every time she did, he would laugh dismissively and assure her that he was fine and she was just exaggerating

Even though his eyes reflected something else

"O-Okay…" Ladybug sighed, after a while of thinking "I’m not going to pressure you into telling me what happened, n-not until you’re ready at least"

"Until then, I’ll figure out how to help you out" She put a hand on his shoulder "I promise Adrien"

"T-Thank you…" He hugged her tightly like a little kid would do to their mother whenever they woke up from a nightmare, and who was she to not hug him back

And when she did, he hugged her back even tighter like if he was afraid that she’ll disappear if he ever let go

Ladybug had no idea what got Adrien so frightened to the point of running away like that, but whatever the reason, she’s going to make sure to help him out in the best way she can

Chapter Text

"You know this one?" Adrien asked, tuning up the music playing on his radio

"I may had heard it once or twice" Ladybug shrugged playfully, knowing exactly what that song was

It was the same song that her Marinette self and Adrien had danced together back at Chloe’s party, before the Despair Bear incident

"It’s one of my favorites" He told her "I danced it alongside a friend of mine"

“O-Oh, are they anyone I know?" Ladybug asked, playing dumb despite already knowing the answer

"M-Maybe, considering you uh, have the same pretty hairstyle" Adrien giggled, pointing at her pigtails

"Y-You really think it’s pretty?" She asked a little nervously, self-conscious about her hairstyle

Some people said that pigtails were way too childish for someone like her, who was almost fifteen. The criteria became even higher when she became a superhero

"Of course I find it pretty" Adrien assured her, like if he was answering a dumb question "Both you and my friend’s hairstyles have the be the most beautiful ones in the whole world for me"

"Because they’re from you…" He whispered, glancing away shyly with a pretty blush

"T-Tank—I mean, thank you…" Ladybug stuttered her gratitude, her own blush forming right bellow her mask

"N-No problem Ladybug, it really is nothing…" Adrien scratched his nape "After all, I could never not find you beautiful…"

Her face suddenly became even redder than her suit

All the while their little conversation, the song kept playing in the background almost forgotten. Until it reached certain point which regained her interest

"Oh! Turn it up, this is my favorite part!" Ladybug said excitedly

"Really?! This is my favorite part too!" Adrien shared, raising the volume of the radio

"O-Oh really? W-Why’s that?" She asked, curious

"This is the part where my friend and I embraced one another…" He explained with a fond expression, and her previous blush came back stronger

Because this was her favorite part of the song for the same reason too! She never expected it to be Adrien’s for the same reason as well

"I-In a friendly way o-obviously! S-She’s just a friend and she looked lonely so I-I invited her to dance and…" He sighed, seemingly deciding that trying to excuse himself was pointless

"I-It’s fine Adrien, I’m happy you and your friend had a fun time together…" Ladybug assured him, after all, she was said 'friend'

"S-So I was thinking…" He said after a while of silence "W-Would you dance this one with me?"

"S-Since we both like this song and this is our favorite part, I thought we could…" He trailed off "Y-Y’know, never mind. Let’s just do something else—"

"N-No! I mean…" A shy smile formed on her lips "I love you—would love! To d-d-dance with you I mean"

"Really?! T-Thank you" Adrien said excitedly "W-Well, with your permission Ladybug…"

He stood up and shyly offered her his ringed hand, and she chuckled in a lovesick manner because she couldn’t believe what a gentleman he was

And it was a good thing that Ladybug was too deep into her own thoughts, as she would’ve noticed the familiar design on Adrien’s ring

The boy gently let them both to a semi-open place in his room, where he graced her with his sunshine-worthy smile as he delicately wrapped his arms around her waist

Not before asking Ladybug for permission beforehand, because that’s how much of a thoughtful gentleman he was

As for her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest, which allowed her to hear his heart

It was beating at a considerable pace, which lead her to believe he was nervous but also excited. It was such a soothing sound for her

And as such, they both continued to dance slowly to the music this time with no akuma interrupting them

Before they knew it, the song had stopped. But that didn’t stopped them from still embracing one another, even as sun fall came

"I-I should probably leave, my parents must be worried about me” Ladybug said, reluctantly separating herself from his warmth

"Oh…okay" Adrien said dejectedly, but nevertheless understanding

It pained her seeing him like that, looking like a kicked kitten. She made a mental note to make it up to him the next time she visited

"H-Hey um" He gained her attention, just when she was about to swing from his window "I-If you want, we could repeat this dance later"

"I-I’d larv—love to!" Ladybug agreed after stuttering, and sunlight returned to his face

"Great! S-See you soon then" Adrien said his farewell

"S-See you too, Adrien. Bug out!" And after saying her catchphrase, she yo-yoed away

Making sure she was a considerable distance away from his house, that’s when she decided to squeal

Ladybug did it!! She had a slow dance with Adrien and this time no akuma interrupted them! They even embraced!

Not only that, but she learned that he actually enjoyed that dance just as much as her!

This was the best day ever!!!

WOHOOO!!!!!!

Chapter Text

Adrien never thought he would be in this situation

A panicked Ladybug was currently behind his bathroom door, hoping and praying that it wasn’t true and that the Miraculous were still safe in the pocket dimension inside her yo-yo

Goddamn that Felix, Adrien shouldn’t never took his offer. He should’ve found a way to stand up to his father by himself, maybe that way they wouldn’t be in this situation. The Miraculous would still be safe and Ladybug wouldn’t be so distressed

"They’re gone…" A weak voice coming from behind his door said, sounding so defeated and scared "They’re all gone…"

He felt like if a dagger pierced through his heart, not only for the disappeared Miraculous and the little kwamis that lived inside of them, but also for his Lady who never sounded so hopeless before

"They’re not all gone" Adrien promised her, placing a hand on the door "You still have your Miraculous, and Chat Noir still must have his"

"As long as Shadow Moth doesn’t have the main Miraculous he wants so much, you two will find a way to retrieve the rest" He told her "I know you will, Ladybug. You always find the solution to everything"

There was no answer from her, and Adrien feared that she left in this extremely vulnerable moment of her. He just prayed to Kwami that if that was the case that Shadow Moth would be too busy gloating his victory to target her

"C-Can you stay?" Came her voice from the other side of the door, and he sighed in relief to hear from her "I-I’m still so scared…"

"Of course, Ladybug…" He agreed immediately "You know you can always count on me for whatever you need"

Sliding down the door, Adrien rested his head beside the door and paid close attention to the girl behind it. Her breathing was still shallow and he could still hear her sobs, making the pit of guilt in his stomach deepen

"I’m sorry…" He apologized to her "This is all my fault"

"W-What? No, it’s not!" Ladybug argued "It was mine and Felix’s! How could any of this be your fault?!"

"Because I let Felix manipulate me, knowing that I couldn’t go against my father’s orders" Adrien explained sadly "He wanted me to go in some worldwide trip with someone named Lila Rossi, and I didn’t want to but I had no say in the matter"

"So I agreed in letting him take my place and pretend that he was me, given that we look identical" He elaborated further "That proved to be a mistake in the end…"

"So don’t blame yourself for what happened Ladybug, Felix has always been a master manipulator" Adrien told her, placing a hand on his bathroom door "None of this is your fault, and I know you will fix it like you always do"

"How can you have this much confidence in me?" She asked him incredulously "I lost all the Miraculous! I must be the worst Guardian ever! And Chat Noir…"

"Chat! I completely forgot about him!" Ladybug shouted, with both shame and guilt "He’s been with me since the very beginning, and I just kept him at a distance! He even renounced his Miraculous once because of me! I really thought I would never see him again!"

"I’m see that you’re still hurt by that, Ladybug…" Adrien said in a very familiar way, interrupting her freak out "When we stopped Kuro Neko and you said how you lost him…"

"Wait, how do you know about Kuro Neko?" She asked him, sounding slightly more focused "It was the middle of the night. The only ones present where me, Rhyme, technically Shadow Moth and—"

"Cat Walker" He finished for her "Did you knew that his name was a cat walk pun?"

"…Adrien, are you—?" Ladybug didn’t finish, but he knew that the revelation had already sinked in "Huh, no wonder Cat Walker was so familiar"

“Yeah, when Plagg came to me I just assumed that Chat Noir was sick or something" Adrien lied "I never assumed it was because he quit, even if it was temporarily"

"…I’m sorry Adrien, I have to go" She said, and he heard shuffling from the other side "I have to find Chat and apologize to him"

"I know that he’ll probably never forgive me, but I have to try anyways" Ladybug said with determination and sadness

"I know that he’ll forgive you, trust me" Despite the gravity of the situation, Adrien couldn’t help but to smirk a little "Us cats know each other"

"I’m sure you do" She giggled, and that was music to his ears. He felt proud and happy that he managed to cheer her up again

"And Adrien…" Ladybug said, accompanied by the sound of the bathroom’s window opening "T-Thank you, for staying I mean"

"Anytime Ladybug, and if you ever need someone to talk to again" He smiled, placing his hand on the door "You’re always welcome to stay"

"Thank you…" And with that, Adrien heard the sound of a yo-yo swinging

Nodding determinately, he called out Plagg in order to transform to meet Ladybug and hear her apology

Even though that won’t be necessary, since he had already long forgiven her

Chapter Text

Ladybug knew it was almost midnight, but she couldn’t help it

She was so worried, that akuma was particularly tough. And what’s worse, it was targeting Adrien specifically

Apparently, he was some older model that felt jealous of all the attention the blonde was having despite being much younger and not having the same experience as him under his belt

The battle was long and grueling, especially with Chat Noir only showing at last minute when she finally managed to find a safe space for Adrien to hide

In the end they managed to save the day like always, but the fear of losing her crush was still in her mind

Especially since the akuma almost managed to take a bite out of his arm, literally

And since she couldn’t sleep, she decided to use this time to give him a quick visit and calm her raging anxieties

Once Ladybug reached the Agreste manor, she saw how his window was already open. She swoon over how he kept his promise of always keeping it open in case she wanted to visit him

She entered as stealthy as she could muster, making sure to keep quiet as she approached his bed

And there he was, Adrien Agreste sleeping peacefully unlike her. Snoring lightly and even drooling a little

It was honestly very cute for Ladybug

She couldn’t resist the urge of removing one of his golden flecks of hair from his forehead, marveling at how soft it was

Feeling a little more bold with being in the suit, Ladybug leaned in and give his forehead a little kiss which made him giggle in his sleep

"Mom…" Adrien sighed softly with a small smile, his sleeping figure leaning to her touch

This made Ladybug’s heart squelch, now feeling guilty for making him think that she was his mother

She sadly removed her hand from his forehead, but it seemed like that only made things worst as he started to sob

"Don’t go…" He whispered heartbreakingly "Don’t leave me with Father, please…"

Ladybug wondered worriedly what should she do. She couldn’t stay here, but she also couldn’t just leave him like that

Looking around his room for someone to give him as a substitute, she noticed something in his nightstand that her Lucky Vision lighted up in a ladybug pattern

Taking it, she eyed the object curiously. It looked like some sort of handmade cat toy, with a sock for a body and big green buttons for eyes

It looked quite cute and Ladybug couldn’t resist the urge to flick one of its little ears

However, she blushed when she saw that the lucky charm that she gifted him as Marinette was around it’s neck like a necklace

Seems like he kept his promise of always carrying it with him, even in his dreams

It also seemed like Adrien had the same habit as her, sleeping alongside a black cat with a lucky charm around its neck

These days, it was impossible for her to sleep as Marinette without her Chat Noir plushie that she made herself that had the lucky charm that Adrien gifted her around its neck

That way, she felt like she had both her favorite blondes in her sleep

Nevertheless, after she was done cooing after the rudimentary toy and the fact that Adrien seas still clinging to her gift, she placed it on his arm being extra careful to not wake him up

It worked like a — hehe — charm, since he stopped whimpering and returned to his previous peaceful expression, cuddling the sock necklaced cat

And was she imagining things, or was he also purring?

Nevertheless, even if he was purring or not, Ladybug was happy that he returned to a peaceful sleep

He deserves that, after the events of today and how tough his life has been

Placing one last kiss on his forehead, Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo and swing from his window now that her mind was more at ease

Unaware that Adrien opened one of his eyes, a small smile on his lips as he watched her go before he went back to sleep

Chapter Text

"She should already be here…" Adrien said to himself, tapping the sole of his foot against the floor in worry

Today was his first official date with Ladybug, and they both agreed to meet up by the Seine in order to start their romantic rendezvous

Adrien was so excited, because he finally managed to achieve what his Chat Noir self could never do. He was literally vibrating the whole way here, Gorilla even looked at him worriedly

But now, at least ten minutes have happened, and no sign of Ladybug anywhere. And he was beginning to worry

What happened? Was she alright? Was she hurt? Did some akuma happen that he didn’t knew about and she needed his help? Or maybe…

Or maybe she wasn’t coming after all…

That was the most worrying thought, even though he tried to shake it off, trying to convince himself that Ladybug would never do that

But that thought persisted in the back of his mind, like a worm or bad itch he couldn’t scratch off no matter how hard he tried

And so, fifteen minutes had passed, and he was starting to lose hope

'Maybe…' The depressing thoughts were quick to show themselves 'Maybe she’s truly not coming…'

Adrien was sure he was doing what his friends called his 'sad kicked kitty' face, and he was ready to call his bodyguard to pick him up when—

"Adrien!" A familiar voice said, coming from an unfamiliar figure

"Uh…, do I know you?" He asked unsurely at the overdressed figure that called out to him

They had a black beanie with cat ears, red sunglasses, a scarf that covered their face. Thankfully, the rest of their outfit looked normal enough

Adrien was ready to make a run for it or maybe fight back, after all, he knew from experience that anyone who covered their face couldn’t be any good

"S-Sorry I had to come looking like this, i-it’s me. Ladybug” She said, pointing at herself "I had to come like this since being in the suit w-would gain too much attention, and I can’t show my secret identity to you"

"So I came up with this, w-what do you think? Not t-too weird, I hope" 'Ladybug' asked, giving a little twirl but he didn’t looked so convinced

"How do I know you’re really Ladybug?" Adrien questioned, crossing his arms "I want to believe you, but I want to at least have some proof"

"Tell me something only Ladybug would know" He interrogated, and she seemed a little disappointed and even saddened at his skepticism

"O-Okay, I-I guess growing up in an environment like yours m-made you afraid of strangers” She sighed "I gave you the Snake Miraculous a few months back, before I became Guardian"

"You accepted it, but you failed…" She said sadly, in a way that actually seemed deep and personal "You been trying for 25,913 before you finally renounced…"

"Yeah, I remember that all too well. Wish I had some way to forget it…" Adrien sighed closing his eyes momentarily as if that would be enough to will away the bad memories "Sorry I doubted you Ladybug, is just that—"

"It’s okay Adrien, I-I know that mysterious person that covers their face isn’t the most trustworthy image" She giggled nervously

Oh! Ladybug knew she should’ve gone with something like a face mask! Now he distrusted her and even seemed to be afraid of her and he thought she was creepy and—

"It’s fine, I should be the one apologizing for doubting you" Adrien assured her "How about we just forget about all this and start our date?"

"S-Sure, I-I’d grub—love too—to!" Ladybug groaned in frustration over her stupid speech problems, which seemed to only intensify when she was off-suit

"Great! Let’s get going then" He offered her his ringed hand which seemed to be his favorite one whenever he addressed her

Not that Ladybug minded, as she felt strangely attracted to that ring…

Shaking those weird feelings off, she accepted his hand with some happy nervousness even though her hand was all jittery

But thankfully, Adrien had the patience of a saint and happily waited for her to accept his hand despite being all twitchy and sweaty

"Ready to go?" He asked, once she finally managed to get a mastery over her stupid hand

"Y-Yes~…" Ladybug whispered happily, allowing herself to be guided by the boy of her dreams away from their rendezvous point

Chapter Text

"Did you remember how Ladybug managed to defeat today’s akuma with just a pencil?" Adrien gushed to Nino "It was so awesome! She’s so smart and creative, always managing to save the day in the most inventive of ways with the craziest of things"

"Um yeah dude, I saw that" Nino said blankly "Because you’ve been reminding me of it at least five different times in the same day"

"I-I did?!" He asked worriedly "S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like a broken record…"

"Dude, it’s chill. You don’t have to worry 'bout it" His best friend assured him "Remember, I have the Ladyblogger as my girlfriend. I got used to hearing Ladybug ramblings"

"But the way you ramble about her is way different" A teasing smirk appeared on Nino’s face "I didn’t knew you were such a Ladybug fanboy"

"W-Well, hehe, yeah I am. I mean, who wouldn’t?" Adrien shrugged, a small blush in his face "I guess I can consider myself to be her most adoring fan"

Unbeknownst to him, Marinette had heard all that and she was blushing like crazy with a giddy smile slowly creeping on her lips

"You heard that girl?" Alya said with a knowing smirk “He said he’s your most adoring fan~"

"N-No, h-he said that about Ladybug! And I’m not Ladybug! I’m just a normal girl with a normal life" She stuttered nervously

"Yes, a girl that lives in the most successful bakery in the whole city, has commissioned designs for worldwide known celebrities and even made friends with them, and attends school alongside filthy rich kids" Alya said sarcastically

"R-Regardless of that Alya, he loves Ladybug. Not me…" Marinette said dejectedly

"Sooo, how about Ladybug gives Adrien a little visit~?" Her best friend suggested with a wink "Trust me, I’m sure he will be stoked to know that his crush is also his most adoring fan"

"Y-You think..?" She asked, with a little more hope

"I know so, girl” Alya assured her, and that was all the confirmation she needed

"Ladybug?" Adrien cheered, entering his room after a long long day of modeling and other boring stuff that came with being him

"H-Hey Adrien, m-mind if I come i-in?" His crush asked him in a cute nervous manner "I-It’s fine if you say no too, obviously! I-I mean, who would want an annoying bug in their room? Y-You’re probably super busy doing stuff so—"

He immediately opened his window and invited her to enter, which instantly stopped her rambling

"I could never find you annoying Ladybug. Hell, you being here always lights up my day" Adrien told her “This day was so annoying and exhausting with all the photoshoots I had, the interviews and whatnot"

"So, you’re welcome to stay as long as you want" He stepped aside and allowed her to jump in

"T-Thank you, Adrien…" Ladybug thanked him sheepishly "F-For allowing me inside your life—Room! I meant your room!"

He chuckled cutely at her stuttering, which made her blush even more in embarrassment

“B-But also, for thinking of me in that way" She continued, removing a wayward piece of her hair behind her ear

"No problem" Adrien reassured her with a little playful wink “So, why did you decided to drop in? Not that I mind"

"W-Well, I heard that you’re actually my most adoring fan" Ladybug said, giggling giddily at the memory but he on the other hard bristled

"Who told you that?! Nino?! I thought he promised to keep quiet!" He freaked out, running his hands through his hair

He knew he was gonna get a scolding for that by his father later for messing up his hair, but right now, he was too embarrassed and freaked out to care

"I-I’m sorry Ladybug, I didn’t mean to be creepy or something" Adrien promised her "I know what it’s like to have fans, especially those who declare that sort of stuff for you. I-I just really admire your work and—"

"Nononono, it’s fine! I-I know you don’t mean it like that" Ladybug assured him, waving her hands in front of her in a negative gesture "B-Because truth be told…"

"I-I’m also your most adoring fan…" She shared and his face flared up in seconds

"R-Really?" Adrien asked her incredulously, his blushing face lighting up like sunshine "Y-You mean it?"

"Y-Yeah, but I was always worried to tell you about that because I know how you feel about your fans" Ladybug confessed

“I’m not bothered Ladybug, I may not always enjoy it but I got used to having lots of fans" He shrugged, and later he blushed as she scratched his nape "Besides, it’s you. I could never get mad at you…"

"I’m super honored that you’re my biggest, most adoring fan" Adrien’s face could light up the Eiffel Tower itself "So thank you…"

"N-No problem, t-thank you too" Ladybug responded in turn, and they both giggled at their most adoring fan

Chapter Text

"Ugh! Just where is that Chat Noir?!” Ladybug growled, stomping furiously in the alleyway they were currently hiding in

One again, an akuma was after Adrien’s head and she had taken upon herself to protect the blonde at all costs. But this would be so much easier if her partner was here

Ladybug had already called him like five different times, send him ten texts but zero answer from him yet

Just why did this always happened when an akuma was after Adrien?! She knew that cat could get jealous easily, but never at the cost of putting citizen in danger. Besides, he didn’t knew that he was the 'other boy' she liked

"H-He may not make it here on time…" He presumed, glancing away

"Well he better be, otherwise I’ll pull his pretty little whiskers off!" Ladybug threatened, unaware of the boy she was protecting flinched at what she just said

"M-Maybe we can create a diversion while we wait?" Adrien suggested "It’ll be best if we go separately to fool the akuma"

"W-What?! No! You’ll be in danger!" She immediately denied that idea

"So will be everyone else if we don’t stop that akuma on time!” He argued back and then his face scrunched into a empathetic look

"I’m honored and happy that you want to protect me Ladybug, but the akuma is only after me" Adrien said "By being here, we’re endangering everyone else. We have to put an end to this now"

"…You’re a really brave and understanding boy, Adrien” She whispered to herself, before she nodded determinately "Okay! I’ve decided!"

"Decided what?" He asked with confusion blinking and then his eyes widened when he saw her retrieve something from inside her yo-yo

"Adrien Agreste" Ladybug started, offering him what she just retrieved from her yo-yo "Here’s the Miraculous of the Pig, which grants you the power of Jubilation: Gift"

"Oh no! No no no no! You can’t give me a diff—a Miraculous again!” Adrien denied immediately "Don’t you remember what happened last time?! I was a total flunk! I still have nightmares about it!"

“Adrien, is alright" She assured him, putting her hands on his shoulders to comfort him "I understand now that not every Miraculous goes for some people. You may not be compatible with the Snake Miraculous, but I know you’ll do better with the Pig”

"How do you know I won’t fail? That I won’t mess it up?" He asked her worriedly

"Because I know you, Adrien. I know you’re a kind, empathetic boy who has so much love to give in his heart" Ladybug said assuredly "That’s the kind of holder the Pig requires, so I know you will do wonderfully"

"C-Can you give me a second, please?" He asked her "I…need to think about this, privately"

"A-Alright, I’ll be over there" She walked out of the alleyway standing guard, and Adrien turned around to address the little being hidden under his shirt

"I know what you’re gonna say and I know you don’t like this one bit, so I’ll try to convince Ladybug that—“

“Do it, kid"

"Huh?" He blinked, not expecting that answer from his usually possessive kwami

"The bug’s right, the Pig usually goes for the sappy types" Plagg said, crossing his little arms "I’m pretty sure that if Fu hadn’t chosen me for you, you would be Daizzi’s permanent holder already"

"And you’re okay with this, Plagg? I know there’s still some bad blood between you and Sass…" Adrien asked him

“I know, and this time I know you won’t do a complete fool of yourself" The destructive kwami nodded, and he nodded in return thankful for his tiny friend

Adrien handed Plagg over his ring in order for him to invent some excuse of why Chat Noir didn’t showed himself, all the while he bristled. He always hated having to take his Miraculous off, it felt like chopping off his own finger

But he knew it was necessary in this instance

Wishing each other good luck, he returned to Ladybug this time hoping he won’t let her down again

"I’m ready, thank you for trusting me in this" Adrien thanked her, and she lightly shook herself

"No Adrien, thank you for trusting yourself once more" She corrected him, giving him the anklet

'I promise Ladybug that I won’t let you down!’ He thought as he accepted the Miraculous 'And I also promise to make it up to you later for missing in action'

Chapter Text

"Okay Adrien, you can open your eyes now" Ladybug told the blonde, who had his eyes shut in order for her to transform

He did as told and got greeted to his masked sweetheart beautiful red black-spotted mask, making a sweet blush appear on his face

"Wow, that’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen" Adrien gushed truthfully, making the girl blush at his honest praise

"N-No time for your c-charms, I need to go after Gorizilla now" Ladybug said determinately, trying to shook her inner schoolgirl energy off

"R-Right, sorry for holding you down" He apologized and then an idea popped up in his mind, maybe coming from his inner Chat Noir

“H-Hey Ladybug, before you go, want a little luck before battling that akuma?" Adrien offered playfully, gaining her attention once more

"W-What do you—" Before she could finish that sentence, he had leaved a quick kiss on her cheek

It happened so fast that Ladybug could’ve missed it if she blinked, but it happened. She could still feel the faint tingle of his warmth lips against her cheek, which she subconsciously started to rub with her covered finger pads

"I’ll see you when the fight’s over” And with a wink, Adrien turned around and ran off to what she believed was to find a safe place to hide

"Y-Yeah…s-see yous later…" Ladybug chuckled giddily, before shaking her head to put her game face on

Right! There’s still an akuma on the loose and she couldn’t stay here much longer, she could gush and fangirl all she wanted once the day was saved

Plus, Adrien could’ve done it as a one time thing to wish her luck, there’s nothing romantic about it! There couldn’t be!!

Shaking her head again from all of this unnecessary and complicated feelings, Ladybug just decided to yo-yo after Gorizilla to hopefully have the adrenaline of the fight distract her from this

As it turned out, it wasn’t a one time thing like she initially believed

Every time a new akuma showed itself and Adrien was in the close vicinity, he would kiss her somewhere as an act to 'gift her good luck'

Which was completely unnecessary in Ladybug’s eyes, given that she’s the wielder of the 'good luck' Miraculous. And even though he seemed to know that as well, he still did it

"One can’t have way too much good fortune, right?" Adrien said winking playfully as he kissed her forehead yet again

They started out simple and quick, lightning fast really. And despite that, she enjoyed the pleasant tingle of its faint warmth for however long it lasted

But then, they grew bolder and they themselves did

Adrien would and could kiss her at any spot (pun unintended) on her face, on one or both of her cheeks, her forehead, her nose, sometimes her hand if he felt particularly brave that day, and recently, at the very edge of her lips

They became so good and addicting that Ladybug would actually swing by his room before every battle to get her kissy-kissies whenever he wasn’t present in the streets

"Aww, you’re so lucky~" Chat Noir playfully whined when she shared that to him "I wish my Purrrrincess would also kiss me good luck before going into battle~"

But despite all this and the good nature that Adrien kissed her with, well, as someone who grow up in a bakery her whole life alongside the alluring aroma of all sorts of unimaginably delicious treats, you can count on her for becoming greedy

As she starved for him to kiss the one place he’s never touched with his unfairly warm lips until now, her own lips

And she didn’t desired it like a kid desired for candy. No, she starved for it like a man stranded in the desert

”H-Hey Adrien…" Ladybug asked the blonde in question, who was about to kiss her hand

"Hmm? Something the matter, Ladybug?" He asked worriedly "A-Are you uncomfortable with me kissing your hand? Because if it’s like that, then I can stop—"

"N-No! I-I mean, it’s not that!" She quickly corrected "I-Is just that, s-since we’ve been dating for a while now, and we had t-this whole kissing thing going on, I-I’ve been wondering—"

"Yes?" Adrien asked with that gaze of his that absolutely melted her, especially with that added blush which just smoldered the look

"Y-Y-You…c-c-could…" Ladybug began to stuttered and blush madly, which in comparison to his smoldering gaze, she knew it couldn’t possibly be attractive in any sort of way

"C-C-C-Could…." Ugh! Just what the hell was wrong with her?!! She’s Ladybug right now, for fucks sake!! She’s fought babies that were five times her size! How come she couldn’t ask one single favor to the boy she loved without making a total fool of herself!

Adrien must think she’s strange or that she has some sort of speech pattern which would take away the allure of being a superhero! Or worse, he could track it down of her being Marinette due to the same speech problems and then it’ll be the end of the world!! Just like—

Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady~

Ladybug closed her eyes to try and suppress the white nightmares with blue eyes, when she felt a warm tingle in her lips

Opening her eyes, she noticed that the tingle had been removed but she still felt a familiar warmth on her lips. One that she had become accustomed as of lately

"You wanted me to kiss you in your mouth, right?" Adrien concluded on his own "Because…I’ve wanted to do that for a while too"

"I just never done it because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable" He confessed, scratching his nape

"N-No, it’s okay" Ladybug assured him, pressing her fingers on her lips and mourning the decreasing warmth on them "C-Can you do it again?"

"Sure thing" And with that, he proceeded to perform a passionate lip-lock with her which she happily reciprocated

After that, this little good luck kiss ritual they’ve been having would turn into a good luck liplocking session

Unaware of the consequences it would bring later on…

Chapter Text

“Ugh! How can I have such bad luck?!" Ladybug grumbled as she allowed Adrien to bandage up her ankle

How did she manage to sprain it, you may ask? Well, turns out that earlier this day she accidentally tripped down the stairs and sprained it just after knocking it against the kitchen’s island

Thankfully, the magic of Ladybug’s suit managed to mellow down the pain slightly, but she still had it present as she yo-yoed to Adrien’s room and accidentally knocked it against his window stool reactivating it again

"It’s okay Ladybug, no one’s perfect. Talking from experience" He chuckled to himself "Everyone can have accidents, even you"

"But I’m Ladybug, a superhero. No, more than that, I’m the holder of the ladybug Miraculous" She argued "How can I be the holder of good fortune when I’m so unfortunate?"

"You know, I don’t believe there’s things like good luck or bad luck. Just luck" Adrien said, continuing to wrap the bandage around her busted ankle

"Just image that you fell of the stairs, a common example of bad luck" He exampled "Your leg got broken and you have to use a cast and be on a wheelchair for a while”

"How could that ever be good luck?" Ladybug asked incredulously, raising her eyebrow

“It isn’t, but what comes afterwards certainly is" Adrien elaborated further "Your friends do everything possible to cheer you up"

“They decorate your cast with cute little notes, they make sure to carry you around in your wheelchair pretending it’s a race car, they help you out with your physical therapies" He explained

"And before you know it, your leg had heeled without you ever lamenting how it got broken in the first place" Adrien finished his explanation, and he also finished bandaging her "Because your loved ones made sure to be by your side every step of the way"

"That’s what’s wonderful about 'bad' luck as you like to call it Ladybug" He said, turning her bandages into a little bow "It can be an even better version of ‘good’ luck, if you see it with different eyes”

"Wow, h-how can you be so handsome—knowledgeable! about this?” She asked, looking at her newly bandaged sprain

"I’ve been around bad luck all my life, while my Miraculous mellowed it down a little, it still plagues me" Ladybug shared "You may not believe this, but I’m actually super clumsy in my civilian life"

"Heck, I should’ve gotten Chat Noir’s bad luck Miraculous because of it" She rolled her eyes, exasperated

"I really don’t mind that you’re clumsy in your regular self, a really good friend of mine also is" Adrien chuckled and Ladybug’s eyebrow twitched at that stupid phrase yet again "She’s so cute with all of her little accidents, just like you"

She’s sure that her bad luck came back again with how hard she must be blushing right now, her face must be so hot you could actually sizzle eggs in it!

"But, try to think of your 'bad’ luck as something else" He suggested, sitting besides her "Luck may work in different ways, you just have to look at it in different eyes"

Ladybug hummed and tried to remember all the hiccups she had this week, trying to view them in a more 'positive' light as Adrien had suggested

"W-Well, I did forgot to submit my homework in time…” She remember, cringing at that memory but his encouraging gaze made her think a little harder about that incident "But…my best friend then offered to help me out! She even left me cute little notes for it to be easier, she’s such a life saver"

"See? Maybe you didn’t submit it in time, but with your friend help you still made a good job" Adrien said, and she nodded feeling a little more positive

"T-Then yesterday I tripped on my own two feet and I thought I was gonna kiss the ground" He laughed a little at that imagery, and she giggled alongside of him admitting that it was a funny thing to think about

"B-But then, someone who I, u-um…" Ladybug blushed as she glanced at the direction of the boy besides her "I-I really appreciate caught me on time! Y-Yeah, that happened"

"I’m really happy for you, despite the possibility of you kissing the ground" Adrien chuckled yet again and she laughed at his joke

"A-And well…" A small smile appeared on her face "If I hadn’t busted by ankle, you wouldn’t had never bandaged it so cutely like this. I-I mean, good! You bandaged it really good!!"

"Y-You really think so?" He whispered, a pretty blush on his even prettier face "T-Thank you…"

Ladybug giggled at Adrien’s response, suddenly feeling better about her extreme clumsiness and misfortunes

Maybe having 'bad’ luck wasn’t so bad, if she get to have good moments like this…

Chapter Text

This couldn’t be happening! It…just couldn’t!!

There’s no way Ladybug could’ve lost all the Miraculous to Felix of all people, and now they’re being taken by Shadow Moth!!

She had failed!! She had failed as a Guardian!! She had failed the promise she made to Master Fu and Master Su Han! She had failed the little kwamis, who were her friends!! She had failed her human friends, knowing they were close with each of their kwamis as well!

Most importantly, Ladybug had failed Paris! She had failed on the promise she hd made them months ago, of protecting them from the threat of Hawk Moth!

What’s worse, is that she was losing it! All in front of Adrien!!

"Ladybug!" He cried, but it all seemed all so far away as she was crushed by her fear and insecurities all at once

The walls seemed to close in each other, breathing suddenly became much more difficult for her to maintain, her vision became blurred and the ringing in her ears just became more and more louder by the second

At some point Ladybug thought that she actually collapsed into the ground, but she was too numb to notice

She swore she could hear her heartbeat in her ears, suffocating her with their loudness like if they were drums. It was so loud, that she subconsciously tried to cover her ears as if that would actually be enough to get it to stop

"M-Make it stop…" Ladybug mumbled to herself in a panic "The noise! Make it stop…!"

And surprisingly, it did. Her suffocating heartbeat was silenced, or at least muffled, when a set of hands different from her own were placed on top of both her ears and her hands

"Like this, Ladybug?” The voice came from none other than Adrien, which even with her still blurry vision, she could still notice his look of concern

He must think that I’m pathetic, having a panic attack in front of him…

"T-The world is just too big!" She whined, much like a wounded animal, closing her eyes which began to sting with the tears that were beginning to form

"Then let’s try to make it smaller" He suggested kindly "Can you name five different things you can see in this room?"

"U-Um, you…" Ladybug started, looking around hastily "T-The piano, your bed, your f-foosball table, I-I think your climbing wall, a-and your window"

"Okay, now four things that you can feel" Adrien progressed

"Y-Your hands" She started, and if she wasn’t losing it, she would be blushing right now "Y-Your floor, m-my suit, my h-hair"

"You’re doing great, don’t worry" He encouraged her, her vision becoming slightly clearer but she still had difficulty breathing "Let’s take a deep breath before continuing, okay?"

"Focus on my breathing" Ladybug felt him grabbing one of her hands and placing it in what seemed to be his chest "Breathe Ladybug, like this"

Adrien took a deep breathe, she could feel his chest inflating and later deflating when he breathed out. She nodded hastily and tried to replicate what he just did, basing herself in the second breathing example he did at the same time as her

"You okay?" He asked her softly after a while of breathing together, and she nodded just a little when her lungs finally semi-remembered how to do their function "You think you’re good enough to continue?"

Ladybug nodded, still a little distorted, but much more focused than before

"Okay then, can you name three things that you can hear?" Adrien resumed their little exercise "Take your time, no one’s pressuring you"

"U-Um well, your voice, m-my voice…" Despite their current situation, she giggled a little at that which he giggled as well "A-And I think that’s rain against your window?"

"Yeah, it is" He confirmed, watching the droplets of water against the glass. As if the world were also showing her disappointment in her

"We’re almost finished, Ladybug. Can you tell me two things you can smell?" Adrien asked, shaking those negative thoughts off her head

"Y-Your cologne, I-I think it’s Adrien the Fragrance?” She guessed uncertainly, and he chuckled yet again but this time it sounded hollower

"Yeah, Father thought it would be a good idea for me to smell as me" Despite her slightly blurred vision, she could practically hear him rolling his eyes "Thought it would be a good idea for the brand, or whatever"

"W-Well, I think it’s a good idea to smell more like yourself as you always smell wonderful…" Later, when she’s in her bed, she’ll blame saying all those embarrassing stuff on her panicked state

"T-Thank you" Adrien was grateful to her blurred vision, as she couldn’t see the blush on his face

"O-Other than that, I t-think I can smell the wet dirt outside" Ladybug concluded his initial question

"Okay, now final question" He finalized "Tell me one positive aspect about yourself"

"Is there even one?” She laughed, a dry and humorless thing "I lost all the Miraculous, after I promised someone I’ll take care of them. I allowed Shadow Moth to gain them, and now, I failed Paris"

"That’s not true, Ladybug. There’s tons of positive things about you!" Adrien argued, but she did not looked convinced

"Alright then, I’ll tell them to you" He said, determinately “I think your so incredibly brave, you go against foes who are larger and sometimes more formidable than you, but you still fight them regardless"

“Not only that but you’re so incredibly compassionate and understanding. You always make sure to help the akuma victim and remind them that none of what they’ve done is their fault" Adrien continued, and they started to sink into Ladybug

"You’re smart and creative, your Lucky Charm gives you the most outlandish of stuff but you always find the way how to use them and it works every time" He continued "But most importantly, you always know how to find the solution to everything”

"I know you will fix this, because I believe in you" Adrien promised her "I’ll always believe in you Ladybug, even if the whole city, the whole world, and even if you don’t believe in yourself"

"Y-You m-mean that?" She asked him uncertainly "Y-You really think I c-can do it?"

"I don’t think so, I know so" He established with force and a gentle smile, which made a small but grateful smile creep on her own lips

"T-Thanks Adrien…" Ladybug thanked him "I f-feel a little better now. My vision is still a little blurry and the world is still a bit dizzy, but I’m much more calm now"

“Then I’m glad, because it did it’s job" He sighed with gratefulness

"I-I’m so sorry though, y-you had to see me like that" She apologized embarrassedly "I’m supposed to be a hero and yet here I am, crumbling in front of a civilian. How can I be inspiring if I do stuff like that?”

"It’s alright Ladybug, no one expects you to be perfect” Adrien assured her “And even if there’s people that do, well, I don’t want to pressure you into being perfect. I know that feeling all too well"

"To me, you’re perfect just the way you are, flaws and all” He kissed her forehead, which made her whine a little “It shows that more than a superhero, you’re just someone who wants to do good"

"T-Thanks Adrien" Ladybug sniffed, feeling a lot better

"No problem, and if you ever have one of those attacks again, or if you just want to talk to someone about anything that you feel like others won’t get, well…" He smiled lopsided "You know where to find me"

Having panic attacks are never a pleasant feeling for Ladybug, but if she has Adrien by her side, it makes them slightly more bearable

Chapter Text

How could she be so reckless, Ladybug lamented as she thought how exactly where they in this situation

One moment, she was hanging Adrien’s window for their usual Friday night meetings. The other, she tripped on her two feet again and was now on top of him, in a very compromising position

"O-Oh Ladybug, mmm~" He huffed, but she was too distracted by his beauty to notice it

Adrien’s hair was a little sweaty, probably because at this hour he just finished his fencing class and an hour of having your head covered by a helmet could apparently do that to your hair. And so, his golden flecks were stuck to his forehead

Not only that, but they seemed to glisten in the under the light of the Parisian sunset, giving him an almost angelic glow

Adrien’s was wearing his ladybug-themed pajama t-shirt which she now noticed that was actually a little too big for him, because it left his collarbone and a good chunk of his chest exposed, and they were also quite sweaty

Not only that, but due to the position they were currently on, Ladybug accidentally lifted a bit of his shirt until it exposed just above his bellybutton. Meaning that she was touching his goddamn chest—

"L-Ladybug, w-would you mind getting off me please?" Adrien’s plea finally broke her out of her ogling, and she quickly remembered what exactly where they doing

"I’m so sorry!! I’m so so so so sorry!!" She cried, finally removing — or rather jumping — herself away from him ”I-I didn’t mean to do t-t-that! Ugh!! How can I be so fucking reckless?!"

"N-Nononono! It’s not that!” He assured the red and black-spotted heroine "I-Is just that…I just got back from fencing and I’m really sweaty. S-So if we’re gonna proceed with…'stuff' I would like to take a shower first"

"O-Oh yeah, shower! Yeah shower! J-Just what I was thinking" Ladybug laughed nervously "F-For a moment I t-thought you believed I was too heavy because I was f-fat"

"W-What? No way! There’s no way that you’re heavy or fat!" Adrien assured her, glancing away shamefully "In fact, between the two of us, I’m the one who should be worried about his weight…"

"W-What?" Completely forgetting about her rambling o her freak out, she blinked in confusion and slight worry "W-What do you mean?"

"Let’s just say that there’s a reason why my shirt doesn’t fit me anymore…" Without saying another word, he lifted up his shirt

And Ladybug gasped at what she saw, as Adrien was so skinny that his ribcages were beginning to show in a sickly and concerning manner

“Y-You’re too skinny…" She whispered in horror, tempted to touch his ribcages with her trembling hand but decided against it "W-Why? H-How did this happen?"

"Upcoming summer clothing advertising, Father decided I should take on a diet to fit it the clothes" He explained sadly, and covered himself once more in shame

"B-But we’re still in the middle of spring! There’s no way he would make you take on a diet this early" Ladybug argued, both shocked and enraged about this

"I know, but it has been this way for a while…" Adrien shrugged, humorlessly "I’m actually surprised I’m taller than most kids my age when I’m like…this"

"And you just came back from fencing" She freaked out, tugging her pigtails angrily "Not to mention all the other sports that you do"

"Ladybug?" He asked with confusion and worry over what the heroine was muttering to herself, until she suddenly rectified herself with a look of determination

A look that he only saw when they battled akumas

"Adrien, I’m sorry for being reckless” She apologized out of nowhere once more "But now thanks to my recklessness, I’ve seen how you’ve been living lately"

"And I want to help you out with it" Ladybug declared, finishing her little speech

"W-What? T-Thanks Ladybug, I’m really flattered that you’re worried about me, but that’s not necessary" Adrien assured her, still in shock over her sudden revelation "I-I’ll be fine, I’ve already used to this”

"It sucks, but I’ll manage" He promised, but she didn’t looked one inch convinced

"No you won’t Adrien, if you say things like ‘I’ll be fine' it means that you’re not fine" She argued "I’ll help you out, because that’s what heroes do. But also because I want to help you"

"So please…" He stared at her honest gaze for a few moments, sobbing a little at her selflessness and offering

"T-Thank you…" Adrien thanked her profoundly, collapsing in his knees which she just noticed how flaky they were

It seems like he also had troubles to stand up sometimes

Thankfully, Ladybug managed to catch him just in time and prevented him from falling to the ground. He hold the taller boy which despite his size, was actually alarmingly light and that’s not even counting her enhanced strength that the suit provided

"It’s okay, Adrien…" She whispered to the boy she was holding like a baby "I got you"

Ladybug still hated her recklessness, but just this once, she was actually kinda grateful for it

Chapter Text

"Hey Adrien, random question" Ladybug asked, distracting the boy from his piano lesson "What are you most passionate about?"

"Most passionate?" He asked with confusion "Why do you ask?"

“O-Oh nothing! L-Like I said, random question" She giggled nervously, but in actuality is to cover her front

In truth, she asked Adrien this to confirm a theory she’s been having recently. Over how he didn’t seemed to have any special interests, personal achievements or even a free will sometimes. And she knew how overbearing his father was, but this seemed to go beyond controlling parenting

Tikki had once told her the power of the Peacock Miraculous after meeting Sentibug, when she was still in shock over how a 'sentimonster' could look and behave so…normal

“Duusu’s powers stem from emotions, Marinette" She explained "Whatever the holder may be feeling at that moment, is what the being will become"

“If they desire their senticreation to be human, then it will be human in almost every sense of the word" Tikki said "Sentihumans may be like you in almost every way, but they’re still senticreations"

"If someone gains their hands in their amok, then they can still control them like all the sentimonsters you’ve been fighting until now" The kwami of creation continued

"But how can I know one Mayura or someone else creates a sentihuman?” Marinette asked her "If it’s supposed to be human in almost every way, how will I notice them?"

"It will be a little complicated, especially if they’re created as human from the very beginning" Tikki hummed "But there are a few key points that may help you identify one—"

'They sometimes won’t know what to do with their lives'

I don’t know what to do for my future…!

'They can’t physically disobey the orders of the one with their amok, no matter how hard they try or if they feel against it’

I can’t seem to disobey my father, no matter how hard I try!

' And they don’t have particular interests most of the time'

That’s the third key point in Tikki’s concerning list, all of which Adrien had already check marked. If he checks this one, that means her fears will become true

"Hmm, I honestly don’t know" He shrugged uncertainly “I mean, I do modeling, fencing, Chinese, piano, some martial arts and Father even enrolled me on those acting classes"

"I like some more than the others, I definitely enjoy piano more than modeling" Adrien thought "I used to dislike Chinese, but now I find it a little better for…reasons"

He chuckled to himself as he rubbing his nape as he blushed, and Ladybug remembered how he took more Chinese classes to help her own with her own which started her own blush

"Fencing’s not so bad, given how crazy things had been nowadays” Adrien finished his explanation "But…I think I simply do those things because my father makes me do them"

"I truth…I don’t think there’s something I’m truly passionate about. At least, not something that’s decided by me" He shrugged with lamentation

And that makes check mark three, confirming Ladybug’s suspicions. There was no denying it anymore, Adrien was a sentihuman. Which means that his father most likely has his amok, given how all of his orders are given by him

"A-Adrien, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ask" She apologized, but a small yet genuine smile interrupted her

"It’s okay Ladybug, because I used to think that I had nothing that I’m truly passionate about without Father’s intervention" He told her "But I think that has changed now, because now I met you"

"H-Huh?“ She blinked in confusion, a small blush creeping on her cheeks "M-Me?"

“Yeah, you" Adrien repeated "I always strive my best to make you smile, because you deserve it. I’m always worried about you whenever you’re out fighting against an akuma"

"I try my absolute best to help you out in any sort of way. I’m…" He blushed cutely "I think I’m really passionate about you, Ladybug"

"And that’s something that I made by myself and for myself, no outside intervention" Adrien declared proudly "So, I hope that answers your question"

"It sure didn’t—DID!" Ladybug corrected herself at the last minute, her blush incrementing by the second

"I-I gotta go now, I-I left my letters in the w-washing machine and I-I t-think they’re calling me" She laughed nervously, walking backwards towards his window

"Oh okay…" Adrien said, a little dejectedly and doing his 'kicked kitty' face "I have fencing in a few minutes, anyways. I’ll see you later then, Ladybug?"

"Sure won’t! Sure will!" She corrected herself, grabbing her yo-yo "W-Well then, bug out!"

And with that, she finally swing across the rooftops screaming in embarrassment and over how she completely blew it in front of her crush

But at the same time, she was also happy

Because even if he was a sentihuman, Adrien did had something he was passionate about

Chapter Text

Ladybug groaned as she groggily opened her eyes when sunlight hit her face, finally waking up from what had to be the best sleep of her life

Rubbing her eyes to wake them up from the irritating light, she soon realized that she was not alone in this impossibly soft bed that felt like a cloud. And that the sunlight she woke up to greeted her with a bright smile

"Good morning, sleepyhead" He teased her lightly, winking at her with a soft smile

“Adrien…" Ladybug giggled giddily, until she realized what was happening. And when that happened, all sleepiness in her automatically disappeared

"Wait, Adrien?!" She gawked, springing out of bed and nearly falling over "W-What are you doing in my bed?!! N-No, wait…"

Ladybug looked to see that she wasn’t in her room, as its titular pink color was nowhere to be found and it was much larger than a glorified attic should be. She was on his bedroom, in his bed!! His incredibly cloud-worthy soft bed!!

"W-What am I doing on your bed?!" She rephrased herself "H-How did I even got here in the first place?!"

"You don’t remember?" Adrien asked her, helping her back up into his bed “I guess that’s understandable, considering you were so tired”

"Last night’s akuma took you longer than expected, by the time you were done it was past midnight" He explained "And you well…dropped to the ground afterwards"

"Chat Noir wanted to help you out, but he didn’t knew where you lived" Adrien elaborated further "But he did remembered how we know one another, and well, my house was the closest to where you guys were"

"So he handed you to me and I let you sleep on my bed" He finished his tale, and Ladybug’s face proceeded to become a deep scarlet

On the one hand, she was thankful for her partner’s trustful nature. But on the other, what was he thinking handing her to a civilian?! Adrien of all people?! Ugh, and she knew how much of an ugly sleephead she was!

Ladybug just hoped she didn’t drool or said something embarrassing on her sleep, especially her more 'spicy' dreams about him with the hamster

"Ugh! That Chat!" She grumbled "He can’t just leave me into the care of a civilian like that!"

"W-Well, he thought it would be a good idea" Adrien mumbled, glancing away nervously "A-After all, he once told me that he sometimes spends the night at my friend Marinette’s place"

"T-That’s different" Ladybug blushed, remembering all those nights were her partner would cuddle against her and purr into her chest like her personal alarm clock and tried not to think on how adorable he looked "Chat’s the kind of guy to do that sort of stuff, not me"

"I’m supposed to be a good role model, I can’t do that if I drool all over your pillows!" She staggered "…I-I didn’t drool over them, did I?"

"You didn’t, although I would’ve wished you did" Adrien confirmed and later sighed disappointedly "Sure would’ve made Father flip his bad ascot"

"Yeah, it sure would’ve did" Ladybug giggled at his joke, proud on how he was cracking his shell and taking more of a stand against his father

"What’s up with that ascot anyways? Isn’t he supposed to be some sort of famous designer?" She rolled her eyes "Why would a famous designer wear such horrible thing?"

"Tell me about it" Adrien chuckled "Marinette also hates that damn thing, says it makes her inner designer churn"

"She must be very cool, then" Ladybug smirked, knowing she was said girl "I-I mean, if both my favorites blonde like her, she must be"

"You mean that?" He asked her, eyes brightening like emeralds

"W-What? N-No! I-I’ve never met Marinette before!" She rambled nervously, hoping that her secret identity wasn’t blown "I-I mean, I-I’m just basing myself on what others say b-bout her and—"

"N-No no! I meant…" Adrien’s tanned face turned into a beautiful scarlet "A-About me, being one of your favorite blondes?”

"I-I said that out loud?! Oh no, this is a disaster!" Ladybug freaked out, tugging on her pigtails

"No it’s not, I’m actually really honored about it…" He calmed her down, his blush intensified "I-I didn’t knew I meant so much for you, s-so thank you"

"N-No, uh, problem Adrien" She said sheepishly, twiddling her fingers together and giggling slightly

“A-And if you don’t mind me asking, um.." He scratched his nape in his typical nervous fashion "Who’s exactly your second favorite blonde?"

"Is not Chloe Bourgeois, is it?" Adrien asked her jokingly and she almost wanted to gag at her name

"What? No! I-I mean, no way!" Ladybug denied that accusation quickly "No, my other favorite blonde was, is and shall forever be my partner Chat Noir"

"J-Just don’t tell him that, okay? I’ll never be able to hear the end of it" She rolled her eyes, unaware on how he almost teared up at what she just said

‘I’m both of her favorite blondes', Adrien thought happily

"A-Anyways! Look at the time now! M-My parents must be worried about me" Ladybug said, and technically it wasn’t an excuse as they must be really worried by now and she doubted that dummy she made out of old pillows would hold on any longer

"Y-Yeah, Nathalie could also come at any second to wake me up for my next photo shoot" Adrien agreed "I’ll see you out"

He accompanied her to his window where he chivalrously opened it for her and invited her out, making her giggle at his gentlemanly nature

"Oh, a-and I should had probably said this earlier, but…" Ladybug smiled sheepishly at him "Good morning, Adrien"

"Good morning to you too, Ladybug" He answered in turn

Chapter Text

"Pound it!"

Both heroes cheered as they did their usual celebratory fist bump, having once again successfully defeated the akuma and saved the day

"Gotta rush, I leave it to you to take the girl home Chat Noir" Ladybug said, rapidly grabbing her yo-yo

"Woah M’lady, what’s the rush?" Her partner asked, grabbing a flower from a nearby bush and taking a strong whiff out of it "Why don’t you do like ladybugs do and stop to smell the roses?"

"I-I’d love to Chat, but not right now" She said "This akuma was after Adrien, I think it’s one of his fangirls. And I left him in a hopefully safe place, so I need to check out on him"

"O-Oh yeah, I guess you really should" Chat said, scratching his head in an almost nervous way "I s-should also check out on my Purrrincess, just in case"

"I-I’m sure she’s fine" Ladybug lied, glancing at anywhere but her partner "I-I saw her taking refuge somewhere else, so maybe you shouldn’t bother her?"

"I guess…" He shrugged, a little confused but nevertheless letting it go "I need to bounce anyways, chat you later bugaboo"

And with a surprise kiss to her check that was lightning fast, that sneaky little cat batoned away from there with a small laugh. Not without gifting her the rose that he plucked not so long ago

"Silly little kitty…" Ladybug murmured and rolled her eyes, also yo-yoing away from there

"Adrien? I’m back" She said, entering the trap door to her room and gasping in surprise when the boy in question hugged her tightly

"Oh, I’m so happy you’re safe Ladybug" He said with huge relief, hugging her even tighter "When that akuma launched you into the wall, I almost lost it”

“I-I’m fine, really! The suit’s magic completely healed me up" She insisted, her cheeks beginning to flare up "G-Geez, you sound like Chat Noir. You almost sound like you experienced that first hand"

"U-Um, I technically did, after all the Ladyblogger gets Live footage by being in the actual battle" Adrien shrugged, finally letting her go and she nearly whimpered at the loss of his warmth

"Ugh, Alya~" Ladybug grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose at her best friend’s behavior "I appreciate her work, but I told her more than a thousand times how it’s not safe for her"

"W-Well I’m in her class, so I don’t think she’s gonna stop anytime soon" He shrugged, smirking secretively to himself

'Especially since she used to be Rena Rouge' Adrien thought to himself

"A-Anyways, you sure Marinette would be fine with you using her room as a safe house for me?" He asked the heroine, scratching her nape "I really wouldn’t want to bother her…"

"S-She’ll be cool with it, I-I texted her in advance" Ladybug insisted, only half-lying

"Oh right, you mentioned once how you guys were friends" Adrien recalled "Well then, if it’s okay by her, then thanks for always keeping an eye on me"

"You know how vicious my fangirls can be, especially when they get akumatized" He shivered and she laughed nervously alongside him

'So glad I took off my pictures of him before I left him here' Ladybug thought to herself, not wanting to imagine that disaster

"A-Anytime Adrien" She told him "Whether it be akumas, fangirls or other, you can count on me for keeping you safe"

"L-Likewise, Ladybug" He responded in turn, scratching his nape shyly with a cute scarlet blush "I-I know I can’t do much, not like Chat Noir at least, but I also want to do help you out and keep you safe with the best of my ability"

"Y-You’d already done more than enough, A-Adrien" Taking a page out of her partner’s book, she offered him the rose that he gave her a few minutes ago

"F-For me?" He asked her, eyes glittering in disbelief

"Y-Yeah, for you” She affirmed "T-Take it as a token over how I’ll always keep you safe. I-It would go to waste with me, anyways"

"T-Thank you, then" Adrien shyly yet happily accepted the flower, taking a small whiff out of it and placing it behind his ear "D-Do I look good?"

"When do you ever not look good?" Ladybug said to herself before realizing what she just said "I-I mean, you look real good! Really really good!"

"T-Thank you then" He giggled, like a chime of cute little bells "I’ll make sure to keep it safe"

"Y-You do that, because I promise to keep you safe as well" She agreed

Chapter Text

"What are those rings you that you said your father had?" Ladybug asked Adrien, after he had calmed down even though his body didn’t

"They’re my and my mom’s wedding rings" He answered, voice soft at the memory of his diseased mother "Although, there’s more to them than that”

"My mom told me their story, they’re supposedly some sort of family heirloom passed down in the Graham de Vanily clan" Adrien explained "My mom and my aunt Amelie are twins, but she was born first by a couple of seconds"

"Which made her the first born and by excellence, she inherited the rings” He said "But when she and my father fell in love, she used them as their wedding rings. Said they were just collecting dust, anyways"

Ladybug chuckled a bit to his joke, and he laughed a little besides her

"But like I said, they’re just normal rings" Adrien shrugged, with the best of his ability with his conflicting body "What’s so special about them"

"Because they’re not just 'normal' rings" She said, extra seriously "They hold something really important, to you"

"Me? What about me?" He asked worriedly, and she took a deep breath

"I…would’ve wanted to tell you this at some other time" Ladybug lamented "Preferably, at a much less difficult one. But I guess I have no other option now…”

And with that, she began telling him everything

Over how after she became Guardian she learned more about the Peacock Miraculous and its powers, her encounter with Sentibug, and how she had been studying him for a while and came to a conclusion

"…And now, it’s seems like my theory was right" Ladybug finished her tale, looking at Adrien who looked completely and utterly heartbroken

"So that’s what I am…" He whispered to himself, tearing up with even more force than before "A monster…"

"No, you’re not!" She argued, grabbing him from the shoulder "You may not be a typical human, but you’re not a monster!"

"No Ladybug, I am!" Adrien shouted "T-The Peacock was broken, wasn’t it? You remember what happened to Mayura?"

"If what happened to her happened to my mom, then that means that I killed her…" He sniffed, burying his face into her shoulder "I killed her…!"

"Adrien, listen to me" Ladybug said strongly, making him look at her with those tearful green eyes of him

“At their very core, sentimonsters or otherwise, are beings of emotion” She said "They stem from the feelings of their creator sure, but they can also create their own"

"Your mother made you because she loved you, and wanted you to be a regular boy" Ladybug said “I may had never met her, but you told me enough about her to know she’s the kind of person to do that"

"And even if you’re being manipulated by your amok, that doesn’t change who you are" She reaffirmed "Here you are, trying to get away from me because you father told you to, but that doesn’t stop you from loving me does it?"

"No, I don’t think I could ever stop loving you, even if I died" Adrien said, shaking his head "Or well, ‘released from existence'…"

"Yeah, I don’t like that phrase either" Ladybug grumbled alongside him "But my point here is, that none of this is you’re fault"

"You think, you feel. You have been living horribly these past few years and could’ve chosen to become cruel like Chloe Bourgeois" She explained "But instead, you choose to remain kind and loving and willing to see the best in even the worst of people"

"You’re not a monster, Adrien. You’re not fake or not real either" Ladybug told him proudly "You’re a human, maybe not the most conventional one, but human nonetheless"

"…Thank you, m’lady" He thanked her, resting his head on his shoulders too "You know, the same thing could be said about you”

“H-Huh?" Ladybug asked with confusion

"N-Not the whole sentibeing thing, but of what you often say about yourself" Adrien corrected then explained "You say that you’re clumsy, a failure, and unworthy of your Miraculous"

"But time and time again you proven to others and to yourself how that isn’t true" He elaborated "Because being Ladybug isn’t about being flawless the whole time or always saving the day"

"It’s about understanding others and their problems. You could just take akumas as Shadow Moth’s minions but no" Adrien shook his head lightly "You see them as people whose emotions were misguided and you help them become a better version of themselves"

"Sure, they changed on their own, but you gave them that one little push that they needed" He finished his explanation "That’s why I think you’re perfect for your Miraculous and for the role of Ladybug, even if you don’t believe it"

"And hey, if you’re not perfect, who cares?" Adrien shrugged "You’re still be the most miraculous girl I’ve ever met and will likely meet for the rest of my life, even if Father or someone else decides to releases me from existence"

"T-Thank you" Ladybug thanked this unbelievably selfless and kindhearted boy "I don’t know how you keep doing it"

"How you keep saying exactly what I need to hear" He chuckled sheepishly at her praise

"Well, you did say I am a being of emotion" Adrien remembered "And with you, there’s nothing more I feel but love"

"Maybe that what made you such a romantic" Ladybug joked, despite the blushing in her cheeks

"Nah, that’s just part of my self-developed charm" He insisted, making her giggle and kiss his cheek as a result

The truth was out now, and maybe things will never be the same again, but at least Adrien now knew for certain that he wasn’t a monster but rather, his own being

And Ladybug ha now a second directive besides just defeating Shadow Moth and exposing Lila’s lies, and that was retrieving the twins rings that composed Adrien in order for him to finally reach the freedom

Chapter Text

This had to be the most dangerous akuma Ladybug has ever met, because it was Adrien himself

What happened?

Today was supposed to be a day of joy, going to the movies alongside her sweetheart now that they both knew who were they behind the mask and celebrate their newfound relationship filled with love

But instead, the movie theater was completely empty, Shadow Moth, or rather, Shadow Cat had appeared now wielding the Cat Miraculous, and Adrien had been akumatized into Ephemeral with the power to speed-up time

Before Ladybug could even blink, her transformation was in its last legs, going from five minutes to five miserable seconds

“Yes, finally!!" Shadow Cat laughed maniacally in victory as her suit began to disappear, with only her willpower giving herself a few notches of time left "Do not try to resist Marinette Dupain-Cheng, for it is pointless!"

"In less than the blink of an eye, you’ll be back to being a simple young defenseless girl" As the villian continued to bask in his victory, Ladybug’s attention was somewhere else

"Adrien, why?" She whispered with a broken sob at the akumatized boy, who looked down in shame

"I’m sorry, but you know I can’t say no to my father…" Adrien whispered with his wispy-like voice, glancing at the victorious villain

"Your fa…" Ladybug choked as she saw the smirking villain, and if things weren’t already horrible enough, now they truly were

Because all this time, they had been fighting against his own father that went mad with power as if he wasn’t already cruel enough to his only son

"Adrien, listen to me…" Ladybug said determinately "You may not be able to go against your father, but you know that whatever he may wish it can’t be any good"

"The Wish comes at the cost of destroying this world, taking everyone with it!" She shouted "So please, my time may be up but not yours"

"I know you’re still there Adrien, and I know that my Chat Noir is inside there too fighting!" Ladybug said, closing her eyes "So do something before is too late!!"

Those were her last words before her transformation completely gave in, and she went back to being dull ol' powerless Marinette Dupain-Cheng like if she were Cinderella

"Yes! At last!!" Shadow Cat cackled in victory "The two Miraculous I’ve desired are mine, and I shall finally revive my Emilie!!"

Without paying much attention to what he just said, she tried to crawl away from the crazed man’s grasp even though his foot stomping on her back prevented her from moving

“I warned you that running away was pointless, little girl" The villain sneered "Let me just tell you something, you have been a thorn on my side even without the mask. Now, finally defeating both my nemeses in one is just the more sweeter"

"Adrien…" Marinette coughed, trying to glance at the conflicted boy when Shadow Cat applied more pressure into her abused back

"It’s no use, he’s completely in my control now" The magical terrorist boasted "Now, there’s no reason to delay this any longer. Your Miraculous is mine, insect!”

"I don’t think so, Father" An otherwise soft voice growled, interrupting the grim moment. Shadow Cat turned around and gasped when the akumatized version of his son held him down

"Adrien! What are you doing!!" He yelled "I’m so close to bringing your mother back! How dare you go against my orders!!"

"Mom’s gone Father, whether you like it or not" Ephemeral said calmly, despite his masked face showing anger "Even if you brought her back, she’ll only be disgusted by you. I don’t even know who you are anymore"

"You can’t attack me, I command you!!" Shadow Cat growled, trying to get himself free

"You’re right, I can’t attack you" Adrien agreed "But she can!"

"Marinette!" A very distressed but rejuvenated Tikki said, floating at her holder and friend’s face

"Tikki! But how?!“ She asked her kwami "You didn’t ate anything! And even if you did, you don’t eat that fast"

"It was thanks to Adrien’s help, he used his powers as Ephemeral to speed up the energization process!" The tiny goddess explained

"But I couldn’t have done it without your speech, m’lady" He told her, a small smirk in his face "You gifted me enough time by distracting my father"

"You know the words Marinette, now say them!" Tikki encouraged

"No!!!" Shadow Cat growled, trying to free himself from his son’s grasp as the younger Agreste used his akuma powers to speed up his girlfriend’s transformation process

"Tikki, spots on!!!”

Ladybug’s transformation which usually takes about a minute, now happened so fast you could miss it if you ever blinked

"Nooooooooooo!!!!!!" Shadow Cat howled pathetically, being denied the victory that he was so sure he will finally had reached this time

"Face it, Mr. Agreste" Ladybug said triumphantly, hands on her hips victoriously "You’ll have to try a hundred times again if you ever want to get any close to our Miraculous!"

"Now Adrien" She turned to the other boy, smiling sweetly "Can you please pass me you akumatized object?"

Ephemeral smiled kindly and gave her his cellphone, which was corrupted with the akuma’s energy. Nodding to him as a thank you and to herself determinately, she let the IPhone fall to the ground and stomped it with force

Thus, allowing the corrupted insect to fly away from it

"No more evil doing for you, little akuma" Ladybug said to herself, opening her yo-yo which lighted up with purifying energy "Time to de-evilize!"

"Gotcha!" She cheered one she trapped the offending bug with little effort, and proceeded to free the innocent white butterfly now clean from any outside interference "Bye bye, little butterfly~"

Soon enough, Ephemeral went back to being the Adrien Agreste she knew and loved as she quickly slipped away the ring from Shadow Cat’s finger, returning him to his (awful) Shadow Moth costume

"I believe this is your son’s" Ladybug said, and she made his face kiss her fist afterwards, rendering him unconscious

“Here you go, Adrien" She told her partner, returning him his Miraculous

"A-Are you sure?" He asked her uncertainly "I-I mean, I got akumatized! And Fa-Shadow Moth now knows my identity! He nearly destroyed the world in his attempt to wish Mom back to life!"

"Do you really think I deserve continuing to have this Miraculous, after everything?" The blonde asked her, and there was only one answer to her

"Adrien, you may had gotten akumatized, but you did the one thing that no other victim has done" Ladybug said "You managed to keep your sanity and help me stand up against your father"

'Unlike certain other akumatized version of you…', she thought to herself not trying to think about white and blue

"Ladybug will always need a Chat Noir, and I want that Chat Noir to continue being you" She said, once again offering him the ring "So will you, Adrien Agreste, accept this Miraculous which is rightfully yours?”

"You already know the answer, m’lady" Was his obvious response, accepting both his Miraculous and her love back

Chapter Text

"Do you have to leave so soon~?" Adrien whined cutely, like a needy cat asking for attention

Which wasn’t too far from the truth, considering that Ladybug just learned that he was actually her needy partner not too long ago

"Yes, I have to" She said with a little pride on how she was now able to form full sentences around him without stuttering now that she knew who he was "I have some friends to see"

"But aren’t I your friend?" He whined, looking like he was left out in the rain

"I meant other, civilian friends!" Ladybug rephrased, grumbling over how after he revealed himself to her, he let his neediness as a cat more lose with her "I’m sorry kitty, but you know I’m still not ready to show my identity to you"

"Until then, it still has to remain a secret" She said and he whined sadly at this news

"I know I know, and I respect your decisions Ladybug but…" Adrien’s face lighted up, and if he had his little cat ears, she was pretty sure they would be flickering with his idea "But you could still take me with you if I’m hidden"

"A…w-what?" Ladybug blinked, surprised at this strange demand

Especially more when he pulled in an unused box from the corner of his room of an old collection of clothes, completely empty and just wasting space and entered inside of it

"See?“ Adrien purred cutely, having curled himself up inside the box and looking at her with sun big doe eyes "I’m small enough to fit in"

"That way I’ll remain hidden and you can still take me with you" He suggested in between purrs and needy whines

"Uh Plagg, what’s going on?" Ladybug asked the black kwami that was currently eating one of his cheeses, completely ignorant to the situation despite the big-ass amused smirk he had

"That’s his crying place" The tiny god explained, trying his hardest to not laugh "Whenever he feels particularly sad, he curls up into the lil' box"

"B-But won’t he crack his limbs being curled up like that?" She asked with confusion, while the cat boy continued to whine seeking attention

"Nah, my Miraculous gives him extra flexibility" Plagg shrugged dismissively "At best, he’ll just be extremely sore after this"

And with that, the destruction kwami continued eating his cheese, signifying that he was done with the conversation

"Adrien c’mon, this is ridiculous" Ladybug grumbled, both at the cat kwami’s uncaring nature and at his holder’s neediness "I can’t take you with me, no matter how much you beg"

He whined and purred a little more, giving her a heartbreaking, tearful look

"Uh-uh, don’t try to use those kitty eyes" Ladybug said firmly, crossing her arms "It won’t work with me"

In reality, she was fighting her hardest to resist that unfair pouty look. Because just look at him! He looks like he needs tons of cuddles, pets, scratches and kissies especially after living in this horrible household

"Purr-lease?" Adrien begged once more, his unbelievably cute look of sadness somehow intensifying even more as he curled even further into his little box

"No kitty, and that’s final" She repeated, a bit harder this time and putting more willpower into resisting his look

"Pawokay…" He finally yielded, but his green orbs started to tear up in sadness and disappointment "I understand, m’lady…"

"You’re still not ready, and here I am selfishly demanding you stuff" Adrien murmured, covering his face into his knees "You can leave now, I’ll be fine…"

And this was definitely the droplet that completely obliterated the already weak dam, as the comment coming from him was like a dagger piercing Ladybug’s weak heart. How could she say no to this cute kitty boy?!!

"L-Listen, I still can’t take you with me" She mumbled "B-But, I can give you some attention before I got. J-Just as long as it quick, okay?!”

“Really?!" Adrien asked, immediately lighting up and springing his little head from his box but still inside of it nonetheless

"I-In that case, could you…" He blushed shyly "C-Could you give me a little kiss?"

"I-It doesn’t have to be anything big, but could you kiss me in my nose?" Adrien asked, pointing the tip of his perfectly crafted nose "Purr-lease, meow’lady~?"

How could she say fucking no to that demand? Especially with that sad lil' face, purring voice, and cute nicknaming

"J-Just a little nose goodbye kiss?" Ladybug asked, wanting to get this over with so that she doesn’t die of cuteness

His response was a rapid series of unfair adorable head nods, which her poor little heart couldn’t take any longer

"O-Okay, then here…" Wasting no time, she leaned in to give the tip of his nose a quick kiss that was so fast you could miss it if you ever where to blink

But thankfully, it seemed enough for Adrien as he started to purr in a much happier way. And Ladybug was sure that if he had his tail-belt, it would also be wagging in his happiness

How can one boy be this fucking cute!!!

"G-Gotta go now, this time for real" She said, standing up and practically running to his window. She needed to leave before her heart freakin' exploded! "Bye Adrien!"

"W-Wait, Ladybug!" He cried, gaining her attention once more as she turned around and got licked in the cheek a few times by him

Was he…giving her kitty licks?! Was this his form of a goodbye kiss?!!

"Goodbye bugaboo" Adrien said, blessing her with that sweet sunshine smile

"G-Goodbye" Ladybug said in turn, yo-yoing away from there as she squealed

Chapter Text

"It’s alright, Ladybug…" A soft voice said reassuringly "Hold my hand"

They were both against an akuma that had the ability to render blind anyone who they hit, rendering their vision to complete darkness

And unfortunately, Ladybug ha gotten hit without Chat Noir being there to protect her as he didn’t arrived on time

"C-Chat?" She groaned, flailing he arms in random directions desperately "W-Where are you?! Where are you, kitty?!!”

"I’m here, Bugaboo" A thankfully familiar voice said, filled with concern "I’m here…"

“Where were you?! The akuma managed to hit me!" She scolded her partner, proceeding to try and walk to him but missing terribly and nearly falling down

"I’m sorry about that m’lady, had something to do in my civilian life" Chat Noir apologized, grabbing her firmly before her face met the ground "Wish I could’ve done something sooner…"

"But now I’m here, and I want to help you however I can" He said determinately "I purromise I’ll be you shining light in this dark times"

"Thank you Chat…" She grumbled "Out of all akumas, I definitely hate the ones that can take our senses away…"

"Yeah, tell me about it…" Chat Noir mumbled in agreement "A-Anyways, what can we do now?”

"The akuma mentioned something about going to the Seine, so maybe that’s were it is now" Ladybug recalled "But without my ability to see, yo-yoing after her could be dangerous"

"Well, guess we’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way" Her partner mumbled "I always wanted to play Marco Polo when I was a kid, unfortunately cats don’t like water"

"Chat Noir, what do you mean?" Ladybug asked him, separating herself from he partner

"I’ll have to guide you there manually" Chat elaborated "I can’t take you with my baton since like you said, it can be dangerous"

"B-But, what if we can’t catch the akuma on time?" She freaked out "What if they do more harm while I can’t do anything while I’m rendered like this?!"

"M’lady, we’ve fought against all matter of foes. Some of which took one or more of our senses too" Chat Noir said, grabbing her from her shoulders "So what if you can’t see right now? You have all sorts of other senses now too"

"Now that you don’t have your eyesight, I’m sure that your other senses have been heightened now" He explained "And even if they didn’t, well, I’ll be here to guide you throughout it"

"Just take my hand, Ladybug…" Chat Noir offered, and even in total darkness, she could picture him offering his hand "Do you trust me?"

"…With my life!" She said without hesitation "I may not trust myself completely with other things, but I know I can trust you blindly"

"Literally in this case" Ladybug joked, and they both giggled at her pun

Unbeknownst to her, Chat Noir smiled happily at how she told him how much trust she had put on him. He wasn’t able to transform in time due to some complications in the spot where he was hiding, so he had to watched how his Lady get shot

Seeing her so distressed after getting attacked made him feel like his heart was ripped out from his chest, not only due to the guilt that plagued him over not protecting her on time, but also due to something else she confessed him once as Adrien

"I’m actually…scared of the dark" Ladybug had told him

"One day, when I was little, me and my friends were celebrating my birthday" She began her tale "I was so happy, all my friends were there, the cake was huge, I was showered in gifts”

"But then, things got nasty really quick…" Ladybug’s face turned grim "Because I also invited her…"

"Her…?" Adrien repeated, with uncertainty and worry

"My childhood and still current bully…" She elaborated, not being able to tell him that Chloe was actually said bully “I was a very selfless kid, I thought that since she didn’t had many friends because everyone feared her, she could turn nicer if I invited her to my party"

"That proved to be a mistake, because when no one else was looking, she pulled me away" Ladybug shivered at that horrid memory "Said she wanted to show me something 'fun'…"

"She pulled a blindfold in my eyes, to not ruin the 'surprise' she said, and began leading me somewhere" She sniffled "I thought it was gonna be something nice, like maybe a piñata or some sort of gift…"

"B-But she actually lead me into a very far and secluded shack" Ladybug now really started to tear up "And by the time I realized it, it was already too late…"

"S-She locked me inside of there where no one could hear me" She covered he eyes in an attempt to stop the tears and block out the nasty memories "I-I don’t know how long I spent screaming for help, banging at that door to let myself free…"

"I-It was so scary, in the dark with little to no light and not knowing what was in there with me" Ladybug shivered "I-It made all sorts of noises that I couldn’t distinguished and that my panicked mind just amplified them even further"

"E-Eventually, I don’t know how long after, but someone finally freed me…" She said after letting out a broken sob "But things were never the same, I had to go to therapy for a while and I couldn’t sleep without a nightlight for a very long time…"

“And even then, I would sometimes have nightmares about it…" Ladybug whispered the next part “…I actually still have them…"

"The worst part was that bully actually got away with it, and she continued to get away with all sorts of horrible things she did to me for many years afterwards…" She laughed, a broken, dry thing

"It’s funny right? Nearly fifteen and still afraid of the dark" Ladybug said dryly "What good is a superhero who still has such a basic fear?"

She continued to cry despite no sound coming from her afternoon, just fat hot tears watering down her cheeks silently with her gaze unfocused and blurry. Until she felt a pair of warm, strong arms wrapping her waist from behind of her

"It’s okay to cry and to fear, Ladybug…" Adrien whispered, resting his nose inside of her hair "You were just a little girl that wanted to do good, but that good was squashed in your face"

"And there’s nothing wrong of still having those fears" He reassured her "I…also have a fear I’m ashamed of"

"I actually have two, both claustrophobia and cleithrophobia…" Adrien elaborated "I hate small spaces, because they make me feel trapped. I hate being trapped, because they remind me of my imprisonment that I have to go through in my own house…"

“Why do you think my room’s so big? Besides just being filthy rich" He made a little joke that thankfully alleviated the tense situation

"I’m sorry you had to suffer from that Ladybug, I wish I could’ve done something to help you…" Adrien apologized, despite him having no reason to do so as none of that was his fault "But I know I can’t do that"

"So, let’s do a little promise" He suggested, removing some wayward tears from her masked face

“W-What kind of promise?" She babbled, her throat a little dry from all the tears

"Anytime you’re left in the dark again, or you just feel so scared you want to scream, I promise…" Adrien offered her a tissue that she gladly accepted to blow her nose with "That I’ll be there to guide you through it"

"You just need to hold my hand, Ladybug…"

And now, a few weeks later, Ladybug never hesitated to hold Adrien’s hand through the darkness

Chapter Text

"H-Hey, um, A-Adrien" Ladybug called out to the boy who lifted his face from his homework to address her

"Hmm, what’s up?” He asked, eyes sparkling and smile like sunshine

"Isn’t this Jagged Stone’s album signed?” She asked, grabbing that all too familiar album "But…this isn’t Jagged’s signature”

"Oh no, it’s my friend Marinette’s autograph" Adrien explained, taking a break from his homework to stand besides her “She made his cover, so well I…thought it was cool and asked her to sign it for me"

"W-Well, she’s really talented" Ladybug commented, playing dumb “T-The cover I mean, it’s really cool”

“Yeah, and that’s just one example of all the other amazing things that she does" He gushed much like a fanboy would do when speaking about their favorite celebrity "You know that derby hat I wore a few months back before the Style Queen fiasco?"

"The feathered one? Yeah" She recalled, blushing a little "I…always thought you looked good on it"

"Of course I looked good on it, because everything Marinette designs is always incredible" Adrien declared "She’s so talented big time celebrities like Jagged Stone or Clara Nightingale recognized her”

"Even Father thought her derby hat was awesome enough for me to model it, and he’s a very very difficult man to impress" His gaze dropped, just a little "Talking from experience…"

"Even you think she’s awesome, Ladybug" Adrien said, which made her blink in surprise

"M-Me?" She said uncertainly

“Yeah, you once mentioned you were friends right?” He recalled, and she internally sighed in relief that he still believed that lie she told him "I always thought of her as our Everyday Ladybug, who knew she’s actually friends with the equally awesome Super Ladybug"

"O-Oh no, I just purify akumas that’s all" She insisted, trying to her her civilian self in a larger picture for her crush "I think Marinette is the actual hero, if she does so many things for you and everyone else she encounters”

“Y-Yeah you’re right, she’s crazy awesome" Adrien said, sighing wishfully "I honestly am a little surprised that you haven’t given her a Miraculous yet"

"With all the incredible things she’s done already and how you put her in such a high regard, she would’ve made a wonderful hero don’t you think?" He asked, and she nearly flinched

"Ugh, you’re starting to sound like Chat Noir…" Ladybug mumbled to herself, thinking about all the times her kitty had insisted of adding Multimouse to their team

"Purrrlease, m’lady? Purrrincess deserves a second chance, she would make such a meowvelous hero" Chat would often beg her, with his best kitty eyes

"T-The thing is that I already gave her a Miraculous once…" She admitted "And she did awesome! She was the hero Multimouse, holder of the Mouse Miraculous which allowed her to shrink and use multiple Miraculous at once"

"Usually doing so would render someone to lose their mind, but thanks to Marinette’s innovative thinking, she managed to use at least three different Miraculous at the same time!" Ladybug shared and he looked like he had stars in his eyes

“Then, what happened? If she performed so well, why did you never gave her the Mouse again?" Adrien asked her and he whole demeanor faltered a bit

"Well, right at the very end, Marinette took of her Miraculous leaving her identity exposed!" She explained "I-I’m sorry, I wish I could still give her a Miraculous knowing how much of a great person she is…"

"B-But I can’t take any chances if Shadow Moth knows her identity or not…" Ladybug said with sadness, not so much for herself but on how heartbroken both Chat Noir and now Adrien seemed at this news

"Oh, okay…" The blonde mumbled dejectedly "I guess that makes sense…"

"Y-Yeah, I’m sorry about it…" She sighed, and later an idea popped up in her head on how to cheer him up “But between the two of us, Adrien"

"I think Marinette’s the one worthy of getting an autograph from” Ladybug said, winking

"Yeah, she definitely is…" Adrien agreed now a little happier, looking at his autograph from his dear friend

Chapter Text

"Adrien!!!" Ladybug shouted at the top of her lungs, watching with despair as her de-transformed partner revealed itself to be the boy she’s been dating lately

It was the final battle against Monarch, and things were going so well

The Miraculous were retrieved, the kwamis freed, the villain they been battling for a whole year was cornered and about to be defeated. Finally, they would be able to live their lives and date their significant others freely…

But she never expected how Monarch would play one last dirty trick, using the sword he hid on his cane and attempting to take a slice out of her in petty retribution

"Ladybug, no!!!" Chat Noir shouted, pushing her out of the way and instead taking the attack for himself

It wasn’t anything new, as her partner did had the tendency to do that with no concerns whatsoever about his safety. But this time…

This time, it really took the cake…

As Ladybug watched with a horrified face and an urge to vomit how Chat Noir’s arm was grotesquely sliced off his body. The arm that held his Miraculous, and without it, his transformation was quickly dissipated

Which revealed a screaming and crying Adrien Agreste, who held the empty bloody space where his chopped limb used to be, now that he didn’t have his suit’s magic to alleviate the pain. But even if he had it, the pain of losing a limb like that would still be excruciating

Everything came crashing down to Ladybug, as she now know that the boy that she’s been in love for the longest of times, the boy she just recently started to date, the boy that has been fighting by her side since the beginning and has sacrificed himself more times that she could count…

Were actually both one and the same…

And now, they were both screaming in pain all because he so selflessly yet stupidly sacrificed himself like that once again

"A…Adrien?" Monarch mumbled incredulously, letting go of his bloodied sword "This cannot…why you…?"

“What is wrong with you, Gabriel!!?" Ladybug shouted at who was really behind the mask, thanks to the information that Felix gave to her "All of this for a woman who is already gone!!? Do you really think she would’ve wanted any of this!!?"

"Isn’t it enough that you abuse the power you have over Adrien as a sentihuman?!! Now you have to do this to him too!!" She shouted with all her lung power, as Monarch stayed pathetically quiet in his shock

Paying no mind to this despicable man, Ladybug crawled to the bleeding boy who had stopped screaming in pain. But rather than comforting her, it just made her even more worried. Especially due to the unfocused gaze he had now and his breathing which was becoming shallower

"Adrien…” She whispered, cradling the boy in her arms and weakly trying to attempt to stop the bleeding "Y-You’re gonna be fine, don’t worry…"

"I-I’m sorry, m’lady…" He said horsily, blood trailing down his lips "I’m so sorry, Marinette…"

"W-What? You…know?!" Ladybug asked, her tearing eyes widening in shock

"Of course I know, I would realize that the two girls I love are actually one and the same…" Adrien grinned just a little, before coughing up blood "J-Just wished…wished that I realized sooner"

"D-Don’t speak like that, please…!" She argued, but even that sounded weak in her ears "Y-You’re going to survive this! You have to!"

"I’m sorry, Princess…" Adrien apologized, still able to do that goofy smile that she knew so much whenever he made a witty pun despite his state "But this is all that’s left of me…"

"Adrien…" Ladybug whispered, her eyes overflowing with tears as she cupped the boy’s bruised cheek "P-Please…"

"I-I need to go now m’lady, b-but please…" He glanced at his severed arm "C-Can I…can I say goodbye to P—*cough*—Plagg first…"

She nodded weakly, guessing she could grant that small request to the dying boy in her arms. She knows how close Tikki and her were, and if she were on his shoes, she would’ve asked for the same thing

Gulping down her nausea, Ladybug let out a broken sob as she carefully removed the ring from the arm and put it on Adrien’s remaining one with equal gentleness

That caused Plagg to come out of his dormant state, and he looked at his holder with eyes so big and so filled with tears that normally weren’t seen on the insensitive and closed-off destructive kwami

"H-Hey Plagg…" Adrien greeted his little friend, smile genuine despite the tiredness that it caused him

"Hey kitten…" The tiny god responded in turn, placing his paw on his holder’s cheek in an attempt of comfort

"I j-just wanted to tell you…" A violent series of bloodied coughs interrupted his sentence briefly "T-Thank you…"

"A-After you came into my life, so many good things happened to me…" Adrien started "I went to school, I became a hero, I made new friends and lived a lot of experiences I wouldn’t thought possible before…"

"I-I…even feel in love” He now stared at her, with so much love in those emerald eyes that were beginning to lose their luster

"So thank you Plagg, you…may be the kwami of misfortune but…" Adrien lifted up his trembling arm in one last attempt to pet his first ever friend, who leaned against his holder’s touch even though it was losing its characteristic warmth

"You’ll always be…my lucky charm…" He whispered as the tiny cat purred against his hand before it finally gave out “I’ll miss you, Plagg…"

"I’ll miss you too, kitten…" The kwami answered in turn, both nuzzling one another one last time while purring sadly "You’ll always be the best holder I’ve ever had…"

"T-Thank you…" Adrien said, looking up towards nothing in particular as the darkness began to cloud his vision and the tiredness was beginning to overcome him

"Goodbye…" And with those final words, his emerald eyes finally closed themselves

And that would’ve been the end for any regular human, but unfortunately, Adrien was anything but regular

Soon after he closed those eyes, his whole body was began to dissolve in blue bubbles until the only thing left of him were his Miraculous and a blue feather that quickly turned itself an innocent white color once it touched the ground

Not only that, but Monarch could feel how the ring that was connected to his son lost its warmth

"Here…” Plagg sniffed, grabbing the feather and presenting it to her "H-He would’ve wanted you to have it…"

Ladybug said nothing as she grabbed the feather and sobbed silently while he innocently tailed it on her hands. She has never hated the color white so hardly until that moment

And at that moment she knew, that Adrien Agreste was truly gone, having sacrificed himself for the love of his life…

And Ladybug screamed 

Chapter Text

Dear Adrien,

I wish I could tell you this in person, but I’m too shy and I don’t know why, but every time I ever come remotely close to you, I always make a stuttering fool out of myself

Which is why I decided to write all of this in this note

First of all, I want to tell you what I should’ve told you since the beginning: I love you

I love you Adrien, like you have no idea

Simply saying those measly three words won’t cut it for me

I love you the way the flowers love the sun, because they need it in order to grow

I love you the way the grass loves the wind, helping it fly and wave with every new blow

I love you the way candy loves being draped in honey, because it’ll just make it even more sweet

I just love you, and I wish I could tell you all of this in person, but I hope this letter will do

Because you’re all of those things Adrien, you’re the honey that sweetens my entire crazy life, you’re the eyes that reminds me of the green meadows during spring, and most importantly, you’re my sun that shines even during my darkest of moments

You’re all of those things to me, that and so much more

If you don’t feel that way, I will understand

But I can’t keep those things to myself any longer, otherwise I would feel like my chest is about to explode with all this love I wish to give you but I can never seem to do it properly

What else is there to say other than one final, I love you

From: Ladybug 🐞

Dearest Ladybug 🐞 ,

First of all, thank you for your beautiful letter and your even more beautiful words

I’ve been called all manner of compliments in my life, but none of them were more genuine than yours

Because you said them after meeting me

Not Adrien the model, Adrien the flawless or Adrien the perfect

No, just me. Just Adrien

Adrien who’s a total weeb and enjoys reading manga, Adrien who just a guy that wants to have fun with friends for the first time in his life, Adrien who is more than just a little socially awkward

Flawed, imperfect, normal Adrien who just wishes to have a normal life

And for that, you don’t know how grateful I am to you

Second of all, I want to tell you how you never bothered me with those cute stutters or jumbling nature

It shows that you, just like me, are imperfect and how there’s nothing wrong with it

You may not be this huge paragon of justice that everyone has to put in a pedestal, but that’s okay with me

I have seen you in your lowest, when the responsibilities of a hero come crashing down on you, how you doubt your position more often than not, how you still wonder why were you chosen and if you truly were the right choice

All of which, I’ve been right by your side, always willing to lend you a hand like you’ve done for me and so many others

It shows that you’re just a girl who wants to do good, despite everything else

And finally, I want to tell you the obvious, but that I want to say and I am willing to say as many times as necessary

I love you Ladybug, and nothing will ever change that

And if writing all of those feelings in a letter makes you more comfortable, then I’m more than happy to write you a hundred more just to see you smile

With love, yours always, Adrien-who-is-not-perfect-but-still-loves-you-to-bits 🐱

PS You have pawtastic handwriting ;)

Chapter Text

"You’re doing okay, Ladybug…"

The heroine whimpered as she buried her nose deeper into Adrien’s chest, while the boy soothed her by running his gentle hand across her hair 

Sometimes, when things got particularly tough and Ladybug just felt like screaming due to all the responsibilities pressuring her at once, she sought comfort on the model’s arms 

Adrien would whisper gentle words while cradling her in his lithe yet strong arms, much like her father would do to her when she was younger 

Back where things were still simple and uncomplicated 

Nowadays, even if she wanted to, she could never ask comfort from her parents. At least not fully, since she couldn’t reveal her identity to anyone 

Tikki was great of course, but sometimes, Ladybug wished for human touch 

And luckily, Adrien was more than willing to provide that to her 

"It’s alright to cry…" He whispered, removing the magical red strings that hold her pigtails together "Take all the time you need to get that off your chest…"

"You’re still a kid Ladybug, you’re even younger than me" Adrien noted "I know this kind of responsibilities must be eating you from the inside out.."

"I know that all too well…" He closed his eyes and rested his chin on her head 

"I’ve been living a lie for as long as I can remember…" Adrien mumbled "Always pasting a fake smile…" 

"The uncomfortable pictures, the forced laughter and having to deal with invasive fans…" He gulped "The eating depravation…"

"And I keep pretending that everything’s fine, that I’m happy because I’m helping Father out…" Adrien sighed "But I know deep down that isn’t the case…"

"My mom’s gone, and my dad barely pays any attention to me anymore unless it convenience him…" He trailed off for a small while "I think he’s always been this way, even before Mom died…"

"I had it rough, but you Ladybug…" Adrien lifted her wobbling chin, making her do eye contact with him "You’ve had it way worse…"

"You always have to put with a perfect front, not only because you feel like if you will fail your city if you don’t do so…" He started "But also because if you show vulnerability, you could alert Shadow Moth…"

"And therefore, reveal your identity to him and grant him access to your Miraculous…" Ladybug sniffled, gripping even tighter to Adrien so hard that’s she’s sure that it’ll bruise 

But thankfully, he didn’t seem to mind as he continued to gently pet her hair and usher gentle words to her 

"I know that you still fear about getting akumatized right now, allowing yourself to crumble like this…" Adrien guessed, accurately “I’ve known you long enough to know that…"

"So I’ll say it now and as many times as I need to or as many times as you need to hear them…" He said, hugging her tightly "It’s okay…"

"It’s okay to crumble once in a while, Ladybug" Adrien assured her "It’s okay to not put up a perfect front every time…"

"It’s okay to cry, to scream, to hug me as tightly as you’re doing right now…" He lightly joked, which actually broke out a choked but genuine giggle from her "It’s okay…"

"What we’re doing is okay…" Adrien promised her "This is…actually very therapeutic for me too"

"I don’t get a lot of comfort these days, physical, emotional or literally in any other way…" Ladybug felt him shrug through the hug "So being here like this, with you…"

"It makes me feel more at ease, knowing that I can help you out too…" Adrien kissed her forehead, resting his face in her hair again 

They spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms, relishing in their warmth and sweet nothings