#vampire adrien

Marinette flew on her broom as quickly as she could. She had to get home before her parents went to her room. If they checked on her and she wasn’t there then her ass would be doomed. They’d keep her under close surveillance and that was the last thing she wanted.

To her relief, when she opened her trap door, it was clear her parents hadn’t been there yet. She climbed down the ladder, throwing on her pajamas. Maybe, she could get a little more sleep before they came to wake her. Marinette rested in her bed, snuggling into the covers.

Tikki hovered over her, making the witch glance up at the familiar. The creature looked extremely guilty.

She gave her a smile. “Tikki, it’s okay. Don’t feel bad.”

“I shouldn’t have let you sleep out there. I just… I fell asleep. I didn’t mean to. When Plagg woke me up, I was furious with myself.”

Marinette shook her head. “It’s okay. I promise.”

Her familiar eyed her. Her paws went together. “This isn’t about ‘research’ anymore, is it? You’re falling for him.”

Feeling the warm on her cheeks, she glanced away shyly. “I… I didn’t mean to.”

Tikki gave a sympathetic smile. “It’s okay.”

“R-Really? You aren’t mad at me?”

“It’s… dangerous.”

“I know. I know I’m so stupid for having feelings for him. I’m supposed to be responsible and protect my coven. And now I’m dumb enough to fall in love with a vampire,” she whined, covering her face in her hands.

Tikki shook her head. “Stop it. No need to beat yourself up over this.”

Marinette peaked up at her familiar between her fingers. “W-What? How could you be okay with this? You should be furious with me. I’ve let my guard down and put us all in danger.”

“Marinette, as much as I want you to fulfill your destiny… I love you so much more. You should follow your heart. If you care about him, then I support you. But there’s something you should know—”

“Marinette!”

She popped straight up when her best friend, Alya, shot open the trap door to her room. Marinette pretended to be groggy, forcing a fake yawn.

“A-Alya…? What are you doing here?” she asked quickly.

The red head crossed her arms, smirking. “Don’t give me that bullshit. I came over last night and you weren’t here. You’re lucky I covered for you.”

Marinette gaped. “I-I…”

“Where did you go?”

She shifted uncomfortably in the covers. Tikki gave her a warning glance. Marinette knew she had to keep this a secret from Alya. Nothing good would come of telling Alya that she was sneaking out to meet with a vampire that she just so happened to be falling in love with. Yeah. That sounded reasonable, she mused to herself.

Alya cocked a brow. “Uh oh, what’s that smile?”

“Nothing. I just went out flying. I needed time to think and clear my head.”

Alya didn’t seem to be buying her excuse. But instead of pressing her, she sighed. “C’mon, M. You’d tell me if you were sneaking out to meet up with a guy, right?”

No, she thought. Alya was nosey. She wouldn’t keep her mouth shut. If Alya knew she liked a guy, she’d demand to know everything about him. Even if Marinette left out the tiny detail of him being a vampire, her best friend would still find out somehow. The feelings she possessed right now were best left unsaid.

Marinette knew Alya just wanted what was best for her. Alya had Nino. And they were cute together. Madly in love, even. She knew that Alya wanted that for her too. To have that love with someone like she did. And Marinette was finding it on her own. Without help. Sure, maybe he wasn’t a warlock, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t love him. Adrien wasn’t vicious or vindictive. Hell, when he had tried to act cocky and dickish when they first met, he was hardly convincing. He broke that character as soon as she met his gaze.

Adrien was warm… and loving. He just had so much affection to give. She didn’t know if vampires grew up in a loving household, or if it was just Adrien’s homelife that was rough and different. He had mentioned his father keeping him coped up at home. That must have not been normal.

Marinette jerked herself from her thoughts when she noticed Alya gazing expectantly at her.

“Of course, I would,” she lied smoothly.

Alya cocked a brow at her. “Are you sure?” Her eyes lit up suddenly. “Omigod! Was it Luka?”

“No!” Marinette said immediately, making Alya’s jaw snap shut.

Luka was a warlock in their coven. He was the elder brother of one of the girls in their training group, Juleka. Marinette admitted to having a small crush on him a few months ago. He was a sweet guy. They’d gone out to some of the festivals together a few times, but Marinette never felt that connection she wanted.

Hell, she even had trouble being around the guy now. Ever since she’d rejected him after he tried to kiss her, she had a hard time facing him. Marinette just had a feeling that Luka wasn’t supposed to be her first kiss. An instinct, maybe? She wasn’t sure. But she didn’t regret it now.

Marinette was confident her first kiss would be with Adrien at that point.

Alya cocked to the side, her hands going to her hips. “What’s so wrong with him? Didn’t you like him?”

“We just weren’t compatible, okay?”

“But he liked you!”

“Yes. He did.”

“He tried to kiss you!”

“Yes. I know, Alya. And I slapped my hand over his mouth and pushed him away. I’m sure that made him feel great!”

“You should give him another chance.”

“Alya, stop!”

Her mouth snapped shut. Alya’s eyes were wide as the two sat in a harsh silence. Marinette glowered at her from her bed. Again, she knew Alya meant well, but her methods were flawed. Marinette hated the pressure. They were eighteen. It was the prime time for witches to find their soulmates. Each witch had one. That one person they were destined to find and be with. It was hard dating within the coven. Everyone knew everyone’s business. It was rare that witches went through multiple relationships.

The fact that she and Luka dated a little and didn’t end up together was odd for their kind. But it didn’t feel right. Plus, Marinette’s destiny was always slapping her in the face. She didn’t really want to drag another into her fate.

With Adrien, it was different. He was a vampire. He wasn’t involved in the coven’s woes and prophecies. She knew she’d have to tell him eventually. But she wanted to wait a bit longer. She wanted them to get closer and act on her feelings before telling him the truth.

Before he had a chance to reject her…

Alya sighed. “Fine. But if you end up an old hag, then don’t blame me.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

When she told Adrien about the dating traditions of witches, she may have left out a minor detail. While vampires may be given off to an arranged marriage, witches begin to rapidly age when they turn thirty if they haven’t met their soulmate. And… they’d also live the lifespan of an average human rather than the normal life expectancy of witches. Every magical being had their catch. Nothing could have the chance to be almost immortal without having a consequence.

Alya climbed up the ladder, sitting at Marinette’s feet. “I’m sorry. I know you have plenty of time to find your soulmate. I just can’t help but feel guilty.”

“Guilty?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I feel like I’m practically shoving it in your face all of the time that I found my soulmate at fourteen. It’s why I haven’t been hanging out with Nino as much with you around.”

Marinette gave Alya a small smile. “Al, don’t feel bad for that. I’m happy for you, truly.”

“You mean it?”

Reaching over, she took Alya’s hand. “Yes. Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind seeing you happy, Alya. And I’ll find someone. It’s okay.”

Her best friend beamed. “Yes! Yes, you will, Marinette!”

“But,” Marinette cut in. “Remember, I have other things to worry about right now? So, I’ll have time to date when all of that’s over.”

Alya waved a hand. “Fulfilling prophecies, blah blah. Whatever. You’ll do it.”

“Thanks for your confidence in me,” Marinette said with a snort.

“You will, Marinette,” Tikki piped in. Her familiar fluttered to her shoulder. “You can defeat Gabriel Agreste just like the prophecy says.”

“I hope so, Tikki.”

________________________________________________________________

When Marinette finally got Alya off her tail, she headed downstairs to find her parents making breakfast for her. She didn’t know how she’d function with so little sleep. She had slept next to Adrien for what? Maybe four hours? The rest of the day of definitely going to suck.

Sabine smiled when she noticed the two girls ascending down the steps. She placed a plate of pancakes on the island smiling at them as they approached. “Morning, girls!” she chimed.

Marinette took a seat as her mother brought over two plates. “Morning…” she muttered. She was far too tired to continue making conversation. Alya literally exhausted her with the hounding of questions when she first arrived.

She placed three pancakes on her plate at a turtle pace. Marinette didn't want to admit she was exhausted. Maybe, she was coming down from an adrenaline rush after the panicked events of the morning. The witch drizzled her syrup, watching it drip down the stack. Alya watched her, seemingly amused.

When Alya grabbed a few pancakes of her own, Sabine returned with glasses of milk and a plate of toast. "Eat up girls! You always need to be at full strength. You never know when all of your training will come in handy," her mother said with a waggle of her fingers.

Alya nodded. "No kidding… I heard another coven was attacked last night. The vampires were forced to retreat because of the sunrise, but I heard it was pretty brutal."

Sabine hummed sadly in response as she made her own plate of pancakes.

Marinette's fork paused in front of her mouth. Her ears perked at the conversation. That was probably Adrien's clan… She assumed he was a member of the Agreste clan somehow. Or at least associated.

"Those wretched vampires are so disgustingly evil that it makes me sick…" Alya grumbled, stabbing her fork into her stack.

"Are you sure that all vampires are evil?" Marinette asked. She immediately regretted opening her mouth. Her mother and Alya both shared astonished and confused stares while Tikki glowered at her. Frantically backtracking, Marinette dropped her fork to wave her hands. "I-I just mean that… Has anyone truly researched into vampires? Learned more about them?"

Alya scoffed. "As if! If any of us were to come in contact with a vampire, our blood would be drained from our bodies in an instant! I don't think they tend to do q&as or make friendly conversation."

One does, she thought curtly to herself. There was no way she could ever reveal Adrien to them. They'd attack him on the spot.

Sabine nodded. "Yes, Marinette. Vampires are evil and unsafe. I hope you weren't thinking about doing something crazy."

Marinette shrugged. "I was just curious. My destiny is to defeat them, right? The more info the better."

Alya cocked a brow at her. "I think you're still half asleep."

A good excuse… She nodded in response, letting out an over exaggerated yawn. Marinette stretched, popping her bones as she did so. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I'm probably not thinking clearly."

Marinette evaded the rest of the conversation by stuffing her face with pancakes. She gave Tikki a nervous smile, who simply squinted at her in response. Her little arms were crossed stubbornly. Marinette knew she was in for a tongue lashing later.

_______________________________________________________________

“Do you believe in prophecies?” Marinette asked Adrien the following evening as they laid together on her blanket.

Adrien turned his head to furrow his brows at her. “I’ve never really heard of any. Why? Is that something you guys do?”

“We have an oracle who made predictions. Every witch in the coven has their own prophecy and destiny that they’re supposed to fulfill.”

He seemed surprised by that. His eyes widened and brows rocketed beneath his bangs. “Wow, really?” Adrien turned his head, searching the sky as he hummed in thought. “No, I’ve never really believed in destiny.”

Marinette took his hand in hers. “I do. Definitely. It gives me hope that someday you and I could be friends like this every day. Without the fear of being shamed or killed.”

A silence passed between them. Adrien seemed to soak in her words as the stars twinkled above them. His fingers tightened their grip around hers.

Turning to face her once more, he smiled. “Is there a prophecy like that? Is that why you’re asking?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Someone is supposed to single handedly end this war between witches and vampires.”

Adrien gaped. “Wow. That witch must be really powerful.”

Swallowing, she agreed. “Y-Yeah. She is.”

“Oh! It’s a girl? Do you know her?”

Marinette was at a loss. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him that she was the one who was going to end this war. But for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She couldn’t bring herself to say “I’m supposed to kill Gabriel Agreste.” It was on the tip of her tongue. But the words wouldn’t come out.

What was holding her back? Why couldn’t she just say it? Why couldn’t she get it out in the open between them?

Sighing, she finally answered. “Y-Yeah. I know her,” her words were meek and timid. She worried he may catch on. Adrien was a little naive, she had to admit. But he wasn’t stupid. He could notice her acting strangely.

“Wow. Honestly… I can’t wait for that day.”

Her eyes widened, she turned her head quickly to look at him. “Really?”

“Yeah. I want to be with you any time of the day. Whenever I want. Without having to hide in the forest,” his hand squeezed hers. “That’ll be amazing.”

“W-Well, I hope she can pull it off.”

“Adrien…” She said softly, it pained her to have made him so afraid. He looked up at her as she said his name, so she continued, “I came to apologize… when I caught you in the alley… too many things went through my mind… and there was blood on your face… I panicked.” She admitted.

“I mean… That’s reasonable… as far as I know you’re only human.” The sentence was meant to be teasing, but his voice came out in a monotone as he looked away again; this time it was shame she read across his face.

“Adrien… no, that’s no what… I’m…. I came to apologize, for treating you like a monster…” She whispered. He turned his face back toward her.

“I understand you taking it that way…” He looked away again, his eyes filled with involuntary tears. “That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.” He took a deep breath and blinked the tears away. “Apology accepted.” He said as he turned back to his bed, and his abandoned laptop, refusing to look at her.

“Adrien…” Ladybug took a step forward. Adrien looked up at her and gave her a small forced smile.

“Ladybug, I appreciate your self realization, and I know this must be hard for you, it’s world shattering news. You don’t know how much it means to me that you came here, tonight, even after what you saw earlier this evening, to come apologize.” His smile was genuine for a small moment, but then he swallowed again. “But Ladybug, right now, I would very much like to be alone. Thank you, again, for your apology, and I do accept it, not only that, but I cherish it. Its just… like you probably can’t get the image of me drinking that girl’s blood out of your head… I can’t get the image of you looking at me with horrified disgust out of mine.” He swallowed and looked away. “I really don’t mean to be rude… but… I guess that look hurt me more than I thought… and now that you’re here, I keep waiting for you to look at me like that again.” He ended, now staring at his hands. Ladybug nodded slowly.

“I… that’s fair.” She agreed. “I’ll… I’ll come back...” She bowed out, fleeing into the night and going home. She landed on her bed as she came in through the skylight; detransforming as she flopped onto her pillows. She let out a long sigh and buried her face into her pillow.

“Tikki… what am I going to do? I think I really hurt him.” She mumbled. Tikki sighed and turned to look at Marinette.

“I think giving him some space is the best thing you can do for him right now; but I also think you will need to talk to him about this later, for both of your sakes.” She advised. Marinette turned over and looked at the ceiling.

“I know that you’re right… now the other big question is… do I let Adrien know that I know… that me, as Marinette knows?” She wondered. Tikki was quiet for a while before shaking her head.

“For now, the best course of action is to keep it a secret that the Marinette side of you knows as well… he might put it together that you’re Ladybug if he realizes that you and Ladybug found out at the same time. It’s best to be safe for now.” Tikki nodded to her self. Marinette sighed again; heavier this time.

“What am I going to do about school tomorrow, I’ll have to see him then.” She groaned. “I don’t want to lie to him! Even if I don’t tell him that I know… what if he senses that something is up?”

“Marinette, you don’t talk to him much as it is, he’ll probably think that it’s your usual antics.” Tikki pointed out. Marinette had to admit she was right; she never thought her ineptitude to talk to Adrien would ever work in her favor. Maybe Alya would notice something different, but she could probably play it off as nervousness. That wasn’t a complete lie; she was nervous, very nervous.

Now that she was alone and didn’t have Chat’s reassurances and goofy grins; her thoughts began to wander to dark places. All of the terrible things she had ever heard about vampires began to haunt her, and while, logically, she could never imagine Adrien doing any of them; she still feared that he would. She knew it was her imagination getting carried away, but she continued to come up with more and more unpleasant scenarios until drifting into an uneasy sleep filled with nightmares.

Marinette had arrived at school the next morning, hesitantly looking around for Adrien. He stood at the top of the stairs with Nino, talking with him and laughing at a story Nino was telling. He noticed her and waved, she froze up, but Adrien didn’t seem to notice, he just gave her a small smile and went back to his conversation.

Marinette snuck past him and sighed in relief, as she made it to the classroom without drawing his attention.

As he entered she watched him closely, but secretively, trying to determine if he did anything that would give him away as a vampire. He continued to chat with Nino, smiling and going to his seat, turning so that they faced each other to talk.

Marinette scrutinized his face, looking for signs of fangs in his perfect smile; there was nothing, he was the same Adrien as always. Alya came in and raised an eyebrow as she noticed Marinette staring.

“Mari, you might want to dial back the death stare, you’re making Adrien uncomfortable.” She teased, Marinette jumped, sure enough Adrien was glancing up at her nervously, concern on his face, and something like embarrassment.  She quickly looked away, focusing on her hands instead and blushing. Alya and Nino laughed. Adrien cast a sympathetic look at Marinette before finishing his story with Nino.

Marinette didn’t look at Adrien for the rest of the class period, always feeling awkward when she accidentally caught his eye, quickly looking away from him.

At the end of the day Adrien smiled and waved politely to them before getting into the car and leaving.

Marinette looked down at the sidewalk, refusing to wave back and blushing furiously, ashamed at her reaction. Alya rolled her eyes.

“Girl, you need to be more outgoing around Adrien… unless he did something wrong and that why you were glaring daggers at him this morning?” Alya frowned, ready to defend Marinette’s honor.

“No… its just… I’m conflicted about my feelings lately… I just need time.” She insisted, not lying but not being entirely truthful. She sighed and shook her head. “I just need to get some fresh air and a new perspective on the whole thing.” She insisted before heading home; she couldn’t wait for night fall, there was someone she needed to talk to.

Chat was as predictable as ever, lounging on the Eiffel Tower and waiting for her to show up to patrol. He smiled as she approached and Ladybug took a long look at the fangs in his mouth. His smile slowly faded and his brow furrowed.

“Hey… what’s wrong?” he sat up as she looked at him.

“Are you a vampire?” She asked again. Chat sighed and stood up.

“Ladybug? Something tells me that’s a question you really don’t want me to answer.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “The fangs I have now are a by product of being Chat Noir, they aren’t as long or as sharp as a vampire’s fangs… I’m sorry if they make you uncomfortable now, I could speak with my Kwami about removing them… but they also serve as a last line of defense, even if they aren’t as impressive as a vampire’s they’d still hurt if I bit you.”

Ladybug drew in a shuddering breath and covered her face.

“Yes… no… I… I shouldn’t have asked that.” She mumbled.

“If you really wanted to know, I wouldn’t mind telling you, but you’re the one who wanted to keep our identities a secret.” He pointed out gently. She nodded again, then looked up at him.

“You’d really tell me?” she asked softly.

“My Lady, I have wanted to tell you who I am since day one.” He smiled kindly at her. “But I can tell you’re not ready, especially when you’re having this crisis with your vampiric friend.”

“You know me too well Chaton.” She smiled at him. “I can’t get Ad- my friend out of my head… I don’t know what to do… my imagination keep getting out of hand… I have more questions.”

“I am happy to answer them… but I will ask you this… are you afraid of your asking your friend these questions? Surely he could assist you more than I, as much as I am enjoying your attention.” He teased, leaning closer to her. She gently pushed him away by the nose.

“I… probably, but I’m still too… scared maybe? To ask him… I’m afraid of offending him.” She admitted.

“It might be good for you… but I can see where some questions you might have would come off as insensitive.” He nodded, “I’ll make you a deal, we can go on patrol, and you can ask me as many questions as you’d like, but I reserve the right not to answer; and those are the questions you have to go ask your friend.”

Ladybug hesitated, that seemed like a good deal actually, Chat could answer all the questions she felt would be too offensive to ask Adrien, and she could go to Adrien for more general answer, plus it might be a good way to get used to him; to normalize him being a vampire.

“Okay… you have a deal.” Ladybug nodded. Chat smiled.

“Then lets begin.” He agreed and began running across the Paris rooftops, Ladybug followed quickly. She asked a barrage of questions. How do vampires hide their fangs? Do they have magic powers? How do vampires make babies? How close are they to humans? How were they created? How many vampires were out there in the world?

Chat answered most of the questions, their fangs grew by magic, yes they did have some magic, the older they were the more power they had, a young vampire like Adrien wouldn’t be as powerful, if she wanted to know more about their powers, she’d have to as Adrien. Vampires made babies by having sex, that was it, the same as humans were made. Vampires that had sex with humans didn’t make half-vampire babies, they were just vampire babies, and they weren’t of a ‘diluted bloodline’ as Chat had put it, they would be 100% vampire.

Vampires were about 80% similar to humans, most of the differences were in the magic and the drinking blood. He told her that the vampire ‘creation story’ was something she’d have to ask Adrien for. Chat also didn’t know how many vampires were out in the world. The only people who knew that for sure was some sort of council, she would have to ask Adrien about this council too.

They came to rest at the top of the Eiffel Tower again as their patrol ended, Chat kissed her knuckled and bowed deeply to her.

“I hope that our night didn’t suck, too me it was bloody puurrrfection.” He teased. Ladybug laughed, then waved him off.

“Go home you silly cat.” She smiled. “And no more vampire puns!”

“Of course, I hope I was able to ease some of your worries. Besides, my puns are pawsome.” He bowed his head to her before turning. “Till the next time, My Lady.” He winked before he disappeared over the horizon. Ladybug giggled and sighed, she debated on whether or not to visit Adrien again, perhaps he wouldn’t want to see her again. He’d said he needed time to process her betrayal, he hadn’t said it like that but he might as well have. She sighed and glanced in the direction of Adrien’s house, hesitating to go see him.

She found herself watching him from across the street, he was pacing in his room as he was practicing his Chinese, reading from a paper, slowly and muttering to himself.

After a while he moved to the window, opening it and then going back to his Chinese lesson. Ladybug froze wondering if he’d spotted her, if he could hear her or if he just wanted to open a window. Would he transform into a bat and fly out? That was a question she should have asked Chat when she had a chance. She stared at him, and he finally put his papers down, seemingly finished. He then looked right at her and she nearly stumbled back. He chuckled and waved at her, then gestured to the open window. Ladybug slowly nodded before she swung across the street and into his room, landing quietly inside.

“How… how did you know I was out there?” She whispered.

“Ladybug, you’re wearing a bright red suit, and it’s not completely dark yet.” He pointed out with a small smile. “Though… I admit I have better vision that a human, you’re also not very subtle.” He teased. Ladybug, laughed, his smile had a way of putting her at ease.

“Are you… do you feel better?” she asked quietly. Adrien nodded and sat on the couch, he gestured for her to sit next to him.

“Mostly… I mean…” He sighed and looked over her, “I can never seem to stay upset for long… I’m just a little shaken up, but I still realize that you must be too.” He smiled. “How are you doing about all of this… about me being a vampire?”

“Vampire… right… yes… I don’t know.” She sighed. “It’s all so confusing… how come the sun doesn’t burn you?” she blurted out, also something she realized she could have asked Chat earlier in the night.

“I… I’m well fed.” He admitted with a blush. “Its more of a slight nuisance than anything else as long as I eat regularly.” He sighed and looked outside. “Plus… I don’t know… I like the sun, as long as I’m not out in it too long, and I’m talking more than 10 hours straight, Its nice… it’s warm and comforting.” He smiled, then turned to look at her. “And before you ask, the blood I receive is donated, no one is hurt, or there are volunteers; like the girl from the other night.” He replied.

“Volunteers?” she frowned.

“Sometimes… people who know about me, or at least about my kind, they will volunteer their blood to us, there are some of them who want to be bitten, I’ve been told it’s not unpleasant.” He nodded. Ladybug made a face and Adrien looked away ashamed.

“No! Not you, it’s just… I mean it sounds painful.” She explained.

“The initial bite is more like a small sting, or so I’ve heard… it’s the effects of the bite that some of them are after. It makes them feel euphoric, or high. It can also cause a bit of amnesia, most of the time they don’t actually remember being fed on, they just remember the high.” He explained.

“So that’s what you meant by the girl not remembering anything.” Ladybug nodded.

“Yes, she still knows I’m a vampire, and she still knows that I fed on her, but she doesn’t remember it, the actual feeding.” He looked away, shame crossing his face again. Ladybug nodded quietly, she surveyed him, she wanted to comfort him, but at the same time, she could still feel a bit of disgust at the thought of drinking human blood to survive. Adrien stared at the window until Ladybug spoke again.

“I… I have some questions if you don’t mind me asking?” she asked softly. Adrien turned to look at her.

“I will try and answer to the best of my ability.” He agreed.

“What… what kind of powers do you have?” She whispered. Adrien took a breath and sighed.

“I… well not many actually… I guess I see well at night, but I would call that part of my biology, not really a power… I’m faster than most humans, but I wouldn’t call it supernaturally fast, stronger that most humans, but probably still weaker than the Gorilla… he’s my body guard, I call him that because he sort of looks like a Gorilla.” He chuckled before he became serious again. “I guess that I’m also a bit sturdier and I heal faster than a human, and sometimes I can kind of hypnotize people… It’s not perfect; it’s more like charming them I suppose. I ask them to do something and they do it. I never really use it, unless it’s necessary… but it’s usually not.”

Ladybug froze, he could ask people to do something and they would just do it? He could ask someone to jump off a bridge and they’d do it, or ask her to let him bite her and she’d do it?

“Ladybug?” He asked, his brow furrowed with worry. He reached out to touch her, she flinched and he drew back. “It’s not absolute you know… I couldn’t talk someone into doing something they absolutely wouldn’t do… and I wouldn’t want to, even if I could. If I could do that, I’d probably talk Chloe into being nicer, but I actually probably wouldn’t, even if I could. It’s not like I can tell people to do something and they do it without question, it just… it’s hard to explain… it’s like making them more open to my suggestion, but if they don’t want to do it, they wont.” He elaborated. Ladybug nodded slowly.

“So… you couldn’t tell me to take off my mask, and I’d just do it?” she whispered.

“No, you wouldn’t, you might think about it more than just saying no, but you wouldn’t, unless you really wanted to take of your mask and show me who you are.” He reassured. She let out a breath and stared at him for a while, looking over his face with something like nostalgia. Adrien was quiet, staring back at her as well, waiting for her to speak. They sat like that for a while before Ladybug spoke again.

“You can be hurt.” She stated.

“All living things can be hurt.” He nodded. “I’m not undead, I was born, and I will die, it might be after a longer period than most humans, but I will still die.” He nodded.

“Your parents are vampires?” she whispered.

“My mother was.” He looked away sadly. “She was a vampire… but my father… he’s human. I realize that he probably doesn’t know what to do with me, since he doesn’t really know what I am… he can’t relate to it. My mother had this way of helping him understand, helping him realize and accept our differences. She had a way of explaining things to him that made him understand everything… She had a way of making me feel less like a freak. She made me feel normal… and I wasn’t ever ashamed of being like this.” He drew away from her, pulling his knees to his chest. “Then she disappeared and left me alone in this world of humans.” He looked away from Ladybug realizing that she probably was human, and that she probably couldn’t relate to what he was saying.

“Anyway…” he coughed and tried to pretend that he hadn’t said that. “I don’t have any other family on my mother’s side in the area, and I don’t want to leave my father alone… So I guess I’ll stay here…” he shrugged. Ladybug nodded, she wanted to comfort him, but wasn’t sure how.

“Did you have any more questions?” He asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yes… a few… but I can stop now if you’d like.” She assured. Adrien shrugged, giving her a small smile. “I’m used to people prying into my life, even if I’m a vampire, I’m still a famous model.” He reminded. “I don’t mind, especially if it puts your mind more at ease.” He smiled kindly at her. Ladybug nodded and shook her head looking out of the window and away from him.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, even if it does satisfy my curiosity.” She explained. Adrien watched her for a while before looking out of the window too.

“I’m not a killer.” He whispered. “I try not to hurt people, I try to help them when I can. I’m not a bad person, vampire or human, my mom always told me it was a persons actions that defined them, not their origin.” He sighed and looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry if I scare you, I truly don’t mean to, it breaks my heart to know that I do.” He sighed. Ladybug looked over at him, and gave him a small smile.

“It’s… it’s okay. I reacted rashly too, I can jump to conclusions easily and I get easily riled up sometimes.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.” Adrien looked up at her, smiling softly.

“Thank you… I appreciate your kind words.” He smiled at her. “If you ever have any questions about me, and my kind, feel free to stop by.” He smiled. Ladybug chuckled, a feeling of normalcy settling in at last.

“Of course, as long as you don't start making vampire puns.” She chuckled.

“Vampire puns?” Adrien raised an eyebrow. “That’s a bloody good idea.” He laughed. Ladybug rolled her eyes.

“I’ve had enough vampire puns from Chat, thank you very much.” She huffed.

“I take it Chat Noir was the one to convince you that I wasn’t an evil blood sucking monster then.” He cocked his head to the side. Ladybug sighed and nodded.

“Yes… I mean… I kind of already knew that… but… you’re a vampire… and you and vampire just didn’t seem to go in the same sentence… when I think vampire I think…”

“Brooding ancient men with widow’s peaks and capes?” he offered, “Or perhaps sparkling American vampires with constipated expressions?”

Ladybug laughed and nodded.

“Something like that… And you… you’re nothing like either of those.” She looked out the window again. “It’s been… difficult… trying to wrestle with everything I thought I knew about vampires, and also try to see how you fit into that… but Chat helped me realize that vampires aren’t like the ones on TV or in the books or lore… at least as far as cape wearing monsters go.” She nodded. Adrien smiled at her and then shook his head.

“Some of it is misinformation spread to make humans feel safer, at least that's how it started… but there are still vampires, especially hundreds of years ago, that would actively hunt humans… there are still some out there… most of us don’t hunt humans, and never have. It’s very unusual to hear of these days… for some humans we’re just the hottest new drug, a new way to get high and leave their troubles behind. We’ve passed into myth and legend and most humans don’t even believe we exist anymore.” He glanced over at Ladybug. “As evidenced by your shock upon discovering me.” Ladybug nodded as she looked at him, searching his face for a while as they fell into silence. Adrien grew quiet to watching Ladybug as she searched him. After some time she spoke again.

“Can… can I see them?” she asked hesitantly, avoiding eye contact as she did so.

“See what?” Adrien frowned, unsure of what she was asking.

“Your fangs.” She explained. Adrien hesitated then shook his head.

“I… I’d rather not… it’s… I don’t want to scare you away again.” He whispered.

“You won’t, I promise you won’t… I just… I need to see them… so I can make sure it was real and I’m not going crazy.” She explained.

“Are you sure?” he looked down at his hands then back up to her for her answer. She nodded slowly.

“I can assure you you’re not crazy, and that I really am a vampire… I… I don’t know if you really want to see them.” He mumbled as he looked away.

“Adrien… I won’t run away this time… please…” Ladybug put a hand on his knee. Adrien nodded then slowly opened his mouth, showing her his teeth, at first they looked normal, then his canines began to grow long and sharp. Ladybug watched, transfixed, she wanted to touch them, to make sure they were real. Adrien closed his mouth again and swallowed hesitantly.

“I… do they get in the way?” she asked quietly. Adrien gave her a small fanged smile.

“No… not really… I usually only use them to eat… I don’t walk around with them out.” He explained. Ladybug nodded, then touched her own mouth hesitantly.

“What is it like? When you feed?” her voice was low still, a hushed tone as if she were whispering a secret. Adrien was quiet, he ran his tongue over his fangs then shook his head slowly.

“I don’t know… I guess… I don’t know how to explain it to a human.” He let his fangs shrink back into normal teeth. “It’s… it’s a bit like thirst I suppose, you’re thirsty, and to me feeding is like drinking a nice cool glass of ice water, and also like having a fine steak.” He shook his head. “It’s not like that at all… but that’s the best human equivalent I can think of right now.” He gave her a weak smile, hoping he hadn’t scared her off again. Ladybug nodded slowly and took a deep breath.

“You’re still just Adrien though… even if you have to drink blood… I suppose you need that as much as I need food… and I’m having a hard time condemning you for it.” She gave him a small smile.

“Do you want to condemn me for it?” he asked, his voice quiet and broken.

“I don’t know… not really.” She sighed. “But I guess a part of me is a bit hung up on the drinking blood part… it’s icky to me.” She admitted. Adrien laughed softly.

“Of course it’s icky to you, you’re human, it’s not something you’d likely dream of doing. It’s… I guess it’s a bit like how some humans drink those nasty protein shakes, vile things… but I suppose, it also means more from your perspective… since it is your blood and the blood of your people that keeps me alive.” He sighed again. “I… I really want to trust you… and I do but… I also can’t help but feel defensive, even though I can see how, from your perspective, this is confusing and frightening.” He ran a hand through his hair and down the back of his neck.

“I suppose… It’s not confusing and frightening to me, it’s just my life… and I can’t help but feel defensive of that. Of you calling my way of life, way of survival ‘icky’ you know…” he explained.

“I didn’t mean it that way.” Ladybug quickly refuted. Adrien shook his head.

“Maybe you don’t, but that's the way it comes out… I’m icky, because I drink blood.” He shrugged. “I don’t really expect you to accept it, I just kind of hope you’ll understand.” He stood up. “But, I do have school in the morning, and I suspect you do to, unless you really are 5000 years old like Alya’s blog says… but given that you haven’t encountered a creature like me before, I suspect not.” He smiled kindly at her. Ladybug stood up and nodded.

“You’re not a creature Adrien, you’re a person, vampire or no.” She smiled back. “Thank you… for letting me talk to you, for putting my mind at ease.” She climbed onto the window ledge. “Goodnight, Adrien.”