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Sabine stared at the police officers without really seeing them. They’d just told her that her kidnapped daughter’s body was found, but she wasn’t alive, she’d been burned. They identified the other body as the son of the formerly famous fashion designer and CEO of Gabriel, Gabriel Agreste’s son Adrien. They assumed he must’ve been her kidnapper.
Sabine was angry with the police. Marinette had been gone for three months and it was only after she died that they’d been able to find anything on what had happened. Was their case just not high on their list of priorities? Was tending to the mayor’s needs more important than a missing person’s case?
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked up at Tom, who had tears in his eyes but was trying to comfort her. Bless his heart, he always looked after his family so well. They walked home, arms around each other as best as they could while walking. Once they got back to the bakery, they decided to keep it closed for the day.
Up in Marinette’s room, surrounded by pink, sewing supplies, and drawings, they wished things had been different. Marinette was supposed to graduate only weeks from that day, then she’d go off to college. She could’ve gone to ESMOD like she always wanted and had a successful fashion career. The two parents sat on Marinette’s pink chaise and hugged each other tightly for comfort as they cried. They’d lost their daughter and they would never know what had happened to lead up to that.
Adrien looked around his big, gray room. He was going to leave it soon. His father had been charged with embezzlement, then things had gone south when they’d found his mother’s body preserved in some sort of glass coffin in the basement, surrounded by plants. It had been a good thing that he’d already been working on being emancipated. It was also a good thing that he would be graduating high school in a few months, then he could work and study. He didn’t really want to use his inheritance.
The young man sighed. “Well, at least I still have you, Plagg,” he said to seemingly no one. The air beside him responded sarcastically, saying something about cheese, his appetite, and sleep. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know you care whether you say it or not.” Adrien grinned as he looked at the empty space next to him.
Checking the time, he decided to go to school. He made sure to tell his driver he’d just walk. As he walked to school, a black hoodie over his head and dark sunglasses on to protect him from the paparazzi, he twirled a stick around between his fingers. It was pretty common for him to sneak around like that, helping random people out. It was part of his duty as a superhero, as Chat Noir.
As he approached school, he saw Marinette giggling amongst her friends. God, she was beautiful. Just as beautiful as Ladybug, who was Marinette. Ladybug was Marinette’s superhero alias; she was there whenever she stood up for people, her powers coming from the black earrings. Marinette didn’t know about him being Chat Noir, though. But they made a good team whenever people needed help. If only she didn’t love someone else, then they’d be a power couple. She never gave him a chance. He wished she would.
He glanced over at Felix, the only boy she ever stuttered and blushed around. What did he have that Adrien didn’t? Felix was good looking, oblivious, and not very nice. But he was nice to Marinette. Apparently they’d become friends similarly to the way Adrien and her had become friends. They’d known each other for only a couple years longer, and throughout that time, it seemed Felix warmed up to Marinette.
Adrien watched as the boy walked to Marinette, brandishing a red rose. Marinette looked surprised as he said something to her, and shyly took the rose. She didn’t push him away by the nose as he got closer, she didn’t roll her eyes and smile fondly, no, Marinette let him take her hand in his and place a kiss on it, the girl turning bright red at the action. Adrien glared. Marinette was his lady and his princess. That was the way it was meant to be.
Later on, in class, Adrien heard Alya and Marinette whispering. “It’s finally happening,” Alya whispered excitedly to Marinette, “I can’t believe it. We didn’t have to plan anything, he just asked you out!”
He heard Marinette laugh nervously, “Alyaaaaa, let me try and pay attention to class! It’s hard enough as it is.”
There was more whispering but Adrien ignored it. His mind was too filled with rage. Felix asked out Marinette and she accepted. They would be graduating soon and he’d lose her forever. He couldn’t have that. He had to do something.
Adrien knew it was wrong to use Chat Noir for personal reasons, but what else was he supposed to do? He couldn’t let Marinette go on a date with Felix that weekend. Maybe he would change her mind, and if not, well, he’d think of something. Plagg had taken a lot of convincing to let him go out that evening.
He climbed up the side of the bakery, landing on Marinette’s balcony. Her fairy lights were on, causing an ethereal glow to surround her, filtering through her midnight hair that was out of her pigtails for once. She jumped back when she saw him, grabbing a butter knife off a plate of pastries and holding it out toward him threateningly. He forced himself not to frown at the sight.
“Who are you and what do you want?” She asked him harshly. He winced. Well that wasn’t the type of reaction he’d hoped for.
He bowed, opting not to take her hand in a gentlemanly greeting. “Chat Noir at your service.” He looked up at her, her arms crossed and an eyebrow quirked.
“Chat Noir, you say? To me you just look like a guy wearing all black with sunglasses at night. A potential burglar or rapist,” she spit out. She clearly didn’t seem to be convinced that he wasn’t there to hurt her.
“Look, Marinette,” he said, ignoring her gasp and cutting her off before she could say anything, “I’m just here to tell you to reconsider your love life choices. Maybe there’s a guy that’s better than Felix out there.”
Her gorgeous blue eyes narrowed, “And who are you to say something like that? How do you even know my name? Get away you creep!” With that, she turned and scurried to her room.
Now, we can’t have that, Adrien thought to himself.
He grabbed her wrist, causing her to use the butter knife to scratch his exposed hand. He only tightened his grip on her. “I wish it didn’t have to come to this, Marinette.” He then hit one of her pressure points and caused her to pass out. He caught her in arms and scrambled off her balcony, running all the way back home in the cover of the night.
Once back at the mansion, he went back down to the hidden garden in the basement, placed her there then hurried back up to his room. When he changed into his pajamas, Plagg kept pestering him about kidnapping someone. Clearly, the creature didn’t understand. He couldn’t afford to lose Marinette to someone else. She was the only light in his life left. He couldn’t lose her. He just couldn’t.
Adrien went to sleep ignoring the seemingly empty space beside him that kept pestering him. Now, Marinette would stay with him. She had no choice.
The next morning, Adrien suited up as Chat Noir to give Marinette some breakfast. She glared him the entire time, glancing at the elevator. He tried to get her to eat, but she refused. He left in the elevator before Marinette could try and escape. It was a good thing you had to know the code to go up and down.
That morning, no one suspected that anything was wrong. Everyone thought that Marinette was running late. He heard Alya say something about Marinette probably being unable to sleep from excitement. The date with Felix was meant to be the next day.
It wasn’t until halfway through the school day that people actually started voicing their concerns. It didn’t help that Sabine came to school at lunch when Marinette didn’t show up at home. She’d said that she thought the girl had ran out of the shop during the busy morning hours and that she’d missed her. When everyone found out that Marinette wasn’t home or at school, they got worried.
Adrien noticed Felix running his hands through his usually tidy hair. The boy looked distraught, talking to Marinette’s friends and pacing back and forth. Adrien ignored him as soon as Nino walked up to him.
“Hey, dude,” Nino said, turning to Adrien, “have you heard anything from Marinette? Alya, the girls, and myself haven’t heard anything from her.”
Adrien shook his head. “No, I haven’t,” he lied through his teeth. He made sure to look concerned and confused like everyone else. Nino nodded, convinced. It was a good thing Adrien was a good liar.
By that afternoon, Marinette was a missing person. Adrien hurried home to the empty mansion, making sure to give Marinette dinner as Chat Noir. She hadn’t eaten the breakfast he’d left her, so he switched the plates, throwing out the uneaten food in the giant kitchen trash.
It was weird to have the mansion so empty, only himself, Marinette, and his bodyguard there. His bodyguard kept mostly to himself, however. That was a good thing. He couldn’t have the guy looking around and finding Marinette.
Plagg kept pestering Adrien, and it was getting very annoying. Adrien continued to ignore him. Plagg didn’t understand because the only things he’d ever loved was Camembert cheese. So, he didn’t know what Adrien felt, he couldn’t. And Adrien couldn’t lose Marinette, so he made sure she didn’t have the choice to leave him. It made perfect sense.
A few months later, everyone stopped searching for Marinette and people stopped being questioned by the police. The police had only asked Adrien a few questions like the last time he’d since Marinette, the status of their relationship, and if they’d fought in the days before she’d disappeared. He lied to them just as easily as he’d lied to everyone else. But then again, it wasn’t really lying. After all, Chat Noir had been the last person to see Marinette, Chat Noir had been the one to kidnap her, and Chat Noir was the one that kept her in the basement, not Adrien.
Marinette didn’t change. She wouldn’t eat the food he gave her, not right away. Sometimes she’d go a couple days without eating the food, and then she’d eat the next thing he brought her. Maybe she thought he would poison her or something. But that would be ridiculous. He didn’t want her dead, the whole point of having her there was so she could be with him. So they could be together.
She seemed to hate him, just like that night on the balcony. It was probably just because she didn’t know who he was. Maybe he should reveal himself to her. After all, Adrien would also call her his lady sometimes. Maybe after knowing who he was she’d warm up to him, learn to love him, even.
So, that night, Adrien went down to give Marinette dinner. He was still suited up, but he’d reveal himself to her that night. It had to change something if she knew that it was just Adrien, her friend. It had to change something if she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Not if he didn’t need to.
He placed a plate for Marinette on the ground beside where she sat. She glared at it just like always, her breakfast uneaten from that morning. He tried for a smile, and she pointedly turned away from him. He sighed.
“My lady, after all this time, you still don’t know who I am?” He asked. She turned to him, eyes narrowed. He crouched beside her, not missing the way she scooted away further.
“I don’t care who you are,” she replied, venom in her words.
That hurt him, but he tried not to get angry at her. He pulled down his hoodie to reveal his messy, blond hair. He pointed to it, “Does this help?” She glanced at him, then away, not responding. He took of his sunglasses, “How about now?”
She looked at him, her eyes widening. “Adrien?” She shrieked, stumbling away from him. That wasn’t the reaction he’d wanted. “Why are you doing this? What do you want? I thought we were friends.”
Adrien moved closer to her, a grin on his face, “We are friends! And that’s great, but,” he looked down with a sad sigh, “I wanted more than that. You never gave me a chance and that wasn’t fair.”
She seemed bewildered at that, scoffing. “Not fair? You know what’s not fair? You kidnapping me and forcing me into your basement. I don’t want to be here. I want to be home with my friends. And I don’t want to be anything more than friends with you. I don’t even want to be your friend anymore.” Her voice rose with each word, becoming much too loud and much too angry.
Before he realized what was happening, Marinette slapped him across the face then stood and bolted toward the elevator. He frowned, rubbing his face. That wasn’t very nice. It wasn’t nice at all. Anger bubbled in his chest; he hadn’t wanted to hurt Marinette, but she’d hurt him.
She was frantically pressing buttons as he stood up, walking toward her leisurely. “There’s a code you have to know. It’s not use pressing random buttons.”
The girl stared at him, fear in her blue, blue eyes. He dug in his pocket, finding a lighter. He turned it on, the flame dancing in his green eyes. The flame was beautiful. It was honestly a beautiful representation of Adrien’s love for Marinette. It would burn brightly forever. And soon, so would they.
“I didn’t want to hurt you, Marinette,” he told her, slowly, calmly, evenly. “But you’ve given me no choice.” He tossed the lighter to the bushes near him, which promptly caught on fire. He walked toward her slowly as tears filled her eyes. “It’s ok if you don’t love me now. You’ll have plenty of time do so when we’re together forever in death.”
She backed away from him as far as she could in the elevator as he stepped inside. She shoved him aside, running away like a cornered animal desperately trying to escape. He let her run as the flames surrounded them, it wasn’t like she could go anywhere far. He calmly caught up to her. She was sobbing now, on her knees, her body shaking and her breaths trembling. Adrien thought she was still beautiful.
He knelt beside her, taking her face in his hands. “It’s ok, Marinette,” he murmurs softly as the flames grow closer and closer still, “It won’t hurt for very long. Now, we’ll be together and you can’t ever leave me.”
He cradled her face in his hands, wiping away her tears gently. Adrien didn’t ever want to lose Marinette, and now he ensured he never would. They’d be together for all eternity, just like he’d always wanted.
With that thought being his last, the flames engulfed them and Marinette’s screams.