Work Text:
There were a few things Adrien disliked doing, and photoshoots were at the top of the list.
He'd had enough of photo shoots. He was sick of doing anything his father instructed him to do, sick of obeying every single command his father gives him, sick of everything he's expected to do since he’s not allowed to choose for himself, he’s so sick of his controlling life.
Adrien desired to be the one in charge, to be able to make his own decisions, to be free. Gabriel had become quite protective of him since his mother had disappeared. It's natural that he's terrified and that he loves him, but how much longer can this go on? How much longer will he be dealing with decisions that aren't even his? Is there any chance he'll ever be self-sufficient?
“Enough! You look mad, boy. Go take a break for ten minutes and try to cheer up. You don’t want to reschedule this photoshoot now, do you? Go on, take a break!” Vincent motioned with his head to Adrien, who was giving an apologetic look.
“Sorry Mr.Vincent. Thank you for the break.” He replied with a tiny smile and turned away, his hands jammed into his jeans pockets. He walked and kept his head down, lost in thought, until he heard a soft sob. He jerked his head back and gasped at what he – or rather, who he – saw crying uncontrollably. His sweetest friend, the only one who truly understood him, was balling her eyes out on a bench.
Her sketchbook was strewn across her lap, and the page she was working on was damaged. He dashed towards her, and without a second thought he sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, his contact resulting in a jump from her.
“It’s me, Adrien. Don’t worry.” He spoke in hushed tones, but loud enough for her to hear. She leaned in close to him, her hands covering her face. Adrien's heart ached for her anguish as she continued to let it all out. He was curious as to what or who had caused her to cry so hard. He'd never seen her like this before; it was all fresh and strange to him. She was normally so upbeat, and now she's...now she’s crying uncontrollably.
He was intrigued as to what had caused her to be so sad, but he knew that asking now would only make her cries worse. So he waited, until she was ready to say anything. After a while, she eventually removed her hands from her face, and pulled away from him, allowing him to take a look at her face. Her cheeks were red from crying, her eyes were glossy and had black circles under– she looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
“Oh Marinette…”
She seemed to have forgotten who was sitting next to her, because she tensed when he spoke. “Oh no…this is so embarrassing.” She hid her face once more. He took her hands in his and shifted them away from her face, but she averted her gaze.
“Hey, hey, hey…How you feel is never embarrassing. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed. I’m just concerned. Do you want to talk about it? Is there anything I can do? “ With his brows furrowed and his palm on his chest, he inquired.
“I…I appreciate your concern, Adrien. But there’s nothing you can do…” She bit her lip, holding back a sob. “I let people down. I let the people I love down.. I – I just feel overwhelmed. Forgive me…”
What was she talking about? Adrien couldn’t tell. He wasn't familiar with the situation. Was she talking about her family? Was it really that big of a deal to make her feel like this? The truth is, this past two weeks she seemed to be a little off. Her smile never reached her ears, and she appeared exhausted.
Adrien just assumed she was stressed out about school because of all the assignments that were due shortly. He felt angry at himself for failing to notice that something else was bothering her. She's always been there for him, and now it's her turn to know that he’s there for her as well.
“Marinette…Whatever happened, I’m sure these people understand you didn’t have bad intentions. Is it something you can’t fix?”
Marinette clenched her fists and turned to look at Adrien, tears falling from her eyes again.
“I–I suppose I can fix it. But it’s not that simple, Adrien. Not simple at all! Everyone is depending on me to do everything right again but what if I fail? What if I end up messing up again? I can’t mess it up. If I do – we’re screwed, utterly screwed and I’m terrified!”
“We? Are you referring to your family – or?” He questioned as he was rubbing soothing circles on her back.
“They— they too.”
“Too? There are more people?”
“You could say that.” She sniffed. “ I’m sorry, you must be confused. I wanna tell you— I really do. But i just—“
He cut her off by pulling her towards him. “I understand. Just know that I’m here for you, and I want to help you. I hate seeing you like this. Whenever you’re ready to tell me, I’ll listen. Whatever it is, I'll try my best to help if you need me.” He pulled back and gently caressed her cheek with his thumbs, wiping away her tears. She peered into his lovely green eyes, pondering whether or not she should tell him the truth. Well, as long as he doesn’t know who Chat Noir is… Then it should be fine. Right? Adrien is trustworthy, she knew she could trust him.
“Adrien…” She whispered as she was searching his eyes. “I…I’m…”
“I’m her.” She finally confessed, her gaze falling on the poster behind him. He frowns at her and follows her gaze, gasping the moment he sees it. Behind him was a poster of Ladybug posing with his alter ego, Chat Noir. Adrien was speechless, loss of words. One of his best friends turned out to be his lady. And it was the girl he had started to develop some feelings for recently. She was right behind his back this whole time.
“H –Her?” He choked out.
And then it dawned on him. Everything suddenly clicked. It all made sense now, why she had circles under her eyes, looked fatigued, and felt hopeless. This was his lady being upset over the incident from two weeks ago, when Felix took hold of her yo-yo and Shadowmoth took all the miraculouses that were inside. Felix…he’s the reason Marinette is upset.. Next time he’s going to see him, Felix would regret stepping inside his house.
“Oh Marinette..” He embraced her again, but a bit more tightly. ”I’m so sorry on Felix’s behalf…I shouldn't have trusted him. Things would be so different now…I’m so sorry.”
“No Adrien, please don’t blame yourself.”
“How could I not? It’s my fault you thought he was me. If only I didn’t agree to that. I knew it was risky.”
“You didn’t know… You were under Risk’s influence, just like how I was and everyone else.But it doesn’t matter.. What’s done is done.” She sadly sighed. Adrien started rubbing soothing circles on her back. “It’ll be okay. You and Chat Noir will get the miraculouses back in no time, I’m sure of that.”
“Thank you Adrien. Really. You’re a really good friend.”
She gave him a small smile which he returned, even though his heart broke a little when she called him a friend. Well, that’s what he’s always been, a friend. She made that clear 100% in both forms. Nonetheless, he will always be there for his lady. Whether it's with or without the mask.
And he will prove it to her.