Chapter Text
The sun beat down on his head and he listened to the water gently slapping against the building beneath him. Close my eyes and it’s almost like I’m at the beach, he thought wryly. He toed the tiles beneath his feet and thought about the situation. Ladybug had gone off on another Secret Errand, leaving him to kick his heels here until she returned with whatever magic weapon they would need to defeat Syren. Maybe she’d come back with Rena Rouge again. Maybe she’d forget to come back at all.
Chat sighed. Honestly, if Ladybug had access to other miraculous, did she really even need him? Maybe if she needs something demolished, he thought despondently. When he’d first taken up the ring, it had given Adrien a sense of freedom and purpose he’d never felt before. Save the citizen, protect his lady, conquer evil, it was all there, in addition to the perk of escaping the stifling rigidity of his life as Gabriel’s model son. He granted himself a small smile at the play on words before the corners of his mouth dropped back down.
Sometimes it seemed that Ladybug wanted to keep as tight control over Chat as his father did over Adrien. Go here, do that, don’t ask questions, just follow my direction. Oh, and don’t expect any extra affection for a job well done. Or even, I don’t know, a little affection because you’re a person who deserved to be told that they’re cared about once in a while? His bitter thoughts were spiraling now, he knew, but the sun kept beating and the water kept slapping and there was no one to refute him or halt the destructive thought spiral, because she just left me here.
“This is so dumb.” He stood up. “Claws in,” he muttered softly, feeling the mantle of Chat Noir lift and spiral into the tiny embodiment of destruction shooting out of his ring. That damned ring. What did it even mean anymore? Freedom and friendship? He had public school and his friends there, who included him and trusted him far more than Ladybug did. A sense of responsibility? Ladybug had Rena Rouge, a companion she’d hand chosen, to watch her back and protect Paris. His love for Ladybug? Well, that was a ship forever stuck at the dock.
Plagg let out an impatient sigh. “What’s taking her so long?”
What, indeed? If she wanted to leave him on the sidelines, what was the point anymore? His left hand gently grasped the ring, working it over the knuckle.
“Whoa! Easy! What are you doing?” Plagg’s voice was laced with panic, his eyes widening.
Adrien’s patience was wearing thin. Obviously, taunting Plagg with obscenely expensive cheeses wouldn’t break him, but the panic as his eyes fixated on that ring sliding down Adrien’s finger proved that he had one more bargaining chip. “If you don’t tell me what Ladybug is hiding from me, I’m done.” Adrien put as much steely resolve into his threat as he could.
“You can’t do that!” Plagg pleaded.
“Why not? No one will know if I quit.” For once, Ladybug’s damned vow of anonymity would work in his favor. He could just walk away. “No one will care,” he added quietly.
“I will.” Plagg’s voice was as soft as Adrien had ever heard it. Almost sincere. But Adrien wasn’t having any of his manipulations today.
“Why? Because you won’t have anyone to give you camembert?” He threw a bitter smile over at the little inky glutton.
“Oh, I’m sure there will be another Chat Noir to give me cheese,” Plagg replied carelessly, then turned with a sober expression. “But he won’t be you.” Emerald green eyes met acid green and Adrien felt the sincerity of Plagg’s words.
“Claws out,” the adrenaline rush of power washed over him, his skin encased in black leather, the mask of anonymity spreading over his brow. His ring, once silver and innocuous, now coal black with an acid green paw print. He gazed down at that ring. That damned ring. It weighed down his hand, tethering him to that rooftop. Waiting on Ladybug’s direction. Waiting to team up with Rena and who knows how many other future “team mates?” Replacements, more like. Plagg’s words echoed in his head. Plagg, the little devil on his shoulder, his constant snarky companion. He won’t be you. Plagg might have meant it to be encouraging, but the longer Chat thought on it, maybe it shouldn’t be him. Maybe Ladybug could find a new wielder to take on the Black Cat miraculous. Someone who didn’t constantly annoy her with silly puns and make her uncomfortable with his flirting. Someone she chose herself. Someone she truly wanted by her side.
Fuck this noise. Chat was done. Scratch that, Adrien was done with Chat. He walked over to the edge of the building. Cats hate water. Fortunately, Adrien wasn’t a cat. Yanking the ring off of his gloved claws, he muttered the words “Plagg, I renounce you” before the tiny god had even finished spiraling out of the ring enough to object, the suit once again washing from his skin. When he de-transformed, he often felt smaller, a sense of being lesser than when powered up. This time, however, he just felt tired. Done.
He looked down at the ring, again inky black with the bright green paw print, encasing the tiny god in dormancy. He briefly thought about dropping it into the water, but a lingering sense of responsibility knew that Ladybug would need to return the ring to … wherever she kept going. Without him.
He placed the ring gently onto the rooftop, the black stark against the silver flashing. He hoped Ladybug’s luck would lead her to it before anyone else. His hand felt strangely light and exposed as he made his way to the edge of the water. With one last lingering glance to the horizon for a flash of red and black, he sighed as he only saw blue skies and dark waters. Taking a deep breath that had nothing to do with finding his resolve, he dove into the water below and began to swim.