#unstained

“You are a failure as an Agreste.”

These words were still fresh within Adrien’s mind. His day was already as agonising as it is, given that it is his final year in lycée, he had a ton of workload to deal with on top of his private lessons and whatnot he had agreed to as conditions set by his father.

That was fine. Those were fine.

After all, he would do anything to avoid getting locked up in that mansion again.

Yet, during his lunch ‘talk’ with his father, he had to go the extra mile to make Adrien feel like shit.

“Think pragmatically, that degree you have chosen is useless and brings no benefits to the family business.”

How dare he deemed the degree Adrien had in mind useless. How dare he assume that Adrien would even want to continue working under him. How dare he imply that he is not capable of making his own decisions.

His father did not even address his name throughout the whole ‘discussion’.

“Your mother would have hated how you turned out to be.”

He stopped running. No! His mother would have supported his decisions. His mother would have— his mother would have…

What would his mother have done?

Had he really left his memories of her behind to the point where he can’t remember much anymore? Had he really moved that much forward that his mother meant nothing anymore?

That admission had Adrien taking a step back and tears welling up in his eyes.

Would his mother have really hated him?

His surroundings were silent, so silent that he could footsteps running towards him.

“Adrien!”

He turned his head to see Marinette running towards him. But before he could wipe his tears away from his face, he heard a voice speaking in his mind.

.

As soon as she saw the cursed butterfly fluttering towards Adrien, Marinette bolted towards him and shouted his name.

But it was too late. A purple mask was already visible on his face. Marinette ran harder and made sure to ram into him to sway his focus from his mind. Her hands were on his shoulders, shaking him violently, with tears flowing down her face.

“No, no, no, no, please, please, please! Adrien, fight it! Nothing good comes out of this, please!” Marinette cried.

She will do anything to prevent a repeat of that timeline.

She will do anything to protect her kitty.

Marinette grabbed his face and slammed her lips onto his, hoping that shock was able to jerk him out of his trance.

She pulled back and looked him in the eye; his eyes had widened but he was not looking at her.

This is not good. This is definitely not good.

Adrien was not responding, which meant that the brainwashing was going well. Marinette sobbed. She needed to transform as soon as possible to restrain Chat Blanc. She knew where the Akuma had gone. She would make sure the fight ended as soon as it started.

No, she had to.

“Save me,” Chat Blanc pleaded all those years ago.

Marinette hugged Adrien and whispered, “wait for me, I’ll definitely save you this time.”

And with great reluctance, she left his side.

.

“What do you… ?”

Adrien was barely listening to Hawkmoth. His astonishment that Marinette had just kissed him roughly was enough to ignore and reject Hawkmoth’s offer. The purple butterfly materialised on his ring and fluttered away.

And save me? What did she mean by that?

At the same time, Ladybug dropped right in front of him, disbelief written on her face.

Adrien was surprised to see her. What was she doing here? Did he miss patrol? Was there an Akuma attack? Akuma?

Adrien clutched his head as his memories from moments before came rushing back to him, reminding him that he was the one who was in the process of transforming into an Akuma. The last thing Adrien remembered was Marinette calling for his name.

Adrien quickly checked his phone and surroundings, there were no Akuma alerts, and they were in a secluded area. There was no way anyone else knew about the Akuma appearing. Adrien also recalled that they had a patrol planned, but that was supposed to happen at night. Adrien became aware of his own heartbeat. For Ladybug to appear on the scene so quickly—

Marinette is Ladybug.

Ladybug’s shoulders visibly sagged and she let loose a sigh of relief. She was about to turn around and leave when Adrien grabbed her forearm.

Marinette?

That was what he would have like to say, but he respected his lady’s insistence on secret identities, so instead, he went with:

“Ladybug? Is something wrong? Where’s the Akuma?” Adrien asked with concern as he took notice of Ladybug’s red eyes.

“No no, just patrolling the area, have to keep Paris safe and all!” Ladybug reassured.

Adrien unwillingly let go of her hand but nodded nonetheless. At this, Ladybug faced him and placed her hands on his shoulders firmly.

“Adrien, if something is bothering you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a friend. It’s a lot better than keeping it all bottled up inside.”

Marinette was the only one who saw his tears. He now had real confirmation that Marinette is Ladybug, and replied with a smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes.

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Thank you for the advice.”

.

Looking at the illuminated lights from the ground to the sky, Ladybug was sitting at the edge of a random building, waiting on Chat before they began their patrol. The scenery in front of her might not have existed if she failed to—

Ladybug heaved a sigh. That was all over now, she would not think about it any longer. Ladybug was so impressed that Adrien was able to break free from Hawkmoth’s connection. An affectionate smile fell on her lips, and she made a mental note to bring his favourite passion fruit flavoured pastries the next time they meet up for patrol. It was too late to go back to the bakery now that he was arriving at their meetup spot.

She stood as Chat Noir landed behind her.

“Ladybug… I know who you are.”

She froze, before turning her head towards him. “Huh?”

“I know who you are behind the mask,” he clarified while looking nervous.

“How?”

“If I tell you, I’ll… I’ll risk giving out my identity,” unease laced in his voice.

“Fair. Then, who am I?” She was fully facing him now.

“You’re… you’re Marinette.”

Ladybug stared. She stared at him for so long that he legitimately thought he had gotten it wrong.

Until she seemed more relaxed than she had ever been the whole day.

“Guess the cat’s out of the bag, huh?” She quipped with a quick bark of laughter.

She sat back down and petted the area next to her.

Chat was not expecting her to react like this. Shocked and disbelief at his discovery? Yes. But laughter? Never. His heart broke at the sight of Ladybug so near her breaking point, and furious at himself for not reaching out to her more. He knew that living the double life was tough, it was something he hoped no one experienced. But now that he knew Marinette is Ladybug, he felt even more anguished. The burden she carried must be equivalent, if not more than what he had.

He cautiously approached her side and took a seat. Ladybug was now looking at the sky with her palms placed behind her on the roof tile beneath them, seemingly regarding the vast canvas before them. He figured he followed suit, to enjoy whatever this was before the inevitable “talk” happened.

“Ladybug, are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, just exhausted is all,” she breathed.

Time passed, and noises can be heard all throughout the bustling city. But between the two of them, silence reigned. Feeling anxious with the quietness of the situation, coupled with his curiosity, Chat Noir broke the ice with that one question he has had ever since he discovered Ladybug’s identity.

So he asked, and she answered.

“So, are you going to take my Miraculous away?”