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Adrien quietly crawled away from Mordred, slinking in a way he never could before.
He was aware Mordred knew he was leaving again. He was even more aware of the subtle shift of Plagg’s ears, but they let him pretend. Let him have this at the very least.
The night sky was always something he loved, even back in the mansion. There was something deceptively lonely about it, when he learned how far all the stars really were. How far they all were from each other. How no matter how bright they shined, they were light years apart, destined to never interact or meet.
It was a childish notion. But he was a child when he though of it, and all he wanted was to return to that simplicity, return to when everything was easier, so he thinks he's excused.
(A part of him knew now that that was simply a crutch for his own loneliness. That no matter how difficult things were now, he never wanted to go back to that sole crushing feeling of being alone. But if he’s going to pretend, he’ll pretend Plagg and Mordred and all his friends were part of his childhood, and that when things were easier, he was happier.
Pretend.)
Adrien quickly scaled a tree, his claws digging into the bark, his tail lashing out behind him. With a few leaps he reached the top and crouched down, his ears carefully picking apart the sounds as he mindlessly let his tail sway, the faint sound of animals moving in every way, a comfort.
Life.
Even with all this death, even so close to Plagg’s domain, life still managed to spring back and continue. Adrien inhaled deeply as he angled his ears to pick up the sounds more, the odd feeling of something moving the hair on his scalp rapidly becoming a familiar sensation.
He’d have to go back soon. He’d have to go back before she realized he left, before she tried to do whatever it is she wanted from him, before she tried to make him forget Marinette. Forget all of them.
(It was easier to crawl. It was easier to be a cat than it was to pretend he was still human, to pretend that in a better time he might’ve actually preferred this.)
He slowly dug his claws into the tree, forcing himself to stand up, spite and anger and something else fueling him in a way he knew Felix would be proud of.
(He couldn’t feel Felix, and he wished that his thoughts didn’t immediately go there whenever he wanted to.)
He stumbled, a yelp escaping his throat as he clawed at the tree for a balance, trying to stay upright when he felt eyes watching him, boring into his being.
Adrien sighed as he jumped off the tree, easily landing into Plagg’s outstretched hand.
“Kit,” Plagg hissed, his eyes narrow with barely hidden worry, his voice echoey and so different but still the same as it was before. After a moment Plagg turned around, any other words he might've wanted to say seemingly vanishing. Adrien huffed, leaning further into Plagg’s palm before-
“I miss them.”
Plagg hummed but didn’t say anything else.
“I wish I could see them again,” he said, his ears pressed flat against his head. Them was such a broad term, them being everyone and everything.
(He wanted to hug Marinette tight and kiss her, he wanted to hold Charlotte and be a better father than Gabriel ever was to him, he wanted to hug Felix and tell him he loves him, wanting to feel Felix’s awkward hug back.)
“I’m sorry for trapping you,” Plagg whispered, his eyes downcast, his voice mixed with something that absolutely should not be there. “I’m sorry that you’re stuck here.”
What?
“None of this is your fault. If anything, I should thank you for having this ready in the first place,” Plagg shouldn’t feel guilty, not when he’s just as trapped as Adrien was. Not when it’s clear Plagg was forced to be in his natural form, not when Plagg was just trying to protect him from someone that wants to reset the world for reasons he doesn’t even want to know, not when Adrien kept Plagg in the mansion for that many years when he knows now Plagg would've ran away with him a long time before. “You’re just protecting me Plagg.”
Plagg stared down at him, guilt swimming in his large green eyes. “People have been protecting you your whole life Adrien,” Plagg admitted, the words slow and careful. “I didn’t want to have to keep you somewhere to keep you safe.”
Whatever words he might’ve had became lost on his tongue, his fingers reaching to scratch his chest.
“We… we don’t have a choice,” Adrien muttered and felt a shiver as Plagg hissed.
“It’s always…” Plagg’s words died away and he began moving back towards where Mordred was, his movements slow and giving off a false sense of laziness.
“If…” Adrien swallowed and nuzzled the inside of Plagg’s palm. “If anyone is going to keep me safe, I’m happy it’s you.”
Plagg let out a startled laugh, the sound so familiar and so normal, Adrien could’nt resist the smile twitching it’s way up his face.
(It was true. Because Plagg was stuck here with him and maybe, he can pretend it was like before when it was the two of them in the mansion, happy despite everything.
Even if he wanted everyone else. Even if he wished Mari and Felix and the Kwamis were all here too.)
“We were trapped together before,” back when things were simpler, back when he knew less people, back to a time he would never want to go back to but still thinks about, back when he shared his loneliness with Plagg. “We have Mordred now. Let’s be trapped together.”
Plagg snorted and smiled at him in a way that was so Plagg it made his smile grow. “Yeah,” Plagg whispered, bringing Adrien closer to his face so he could give his Kwami a hug, a parallel of how Plagg used to hug him. “Me too kid. Me too.”
(He wanted to be home. He wanted things to go back to normal.)
Plagg gently lowered him to the ground, before he carefully curled around him and Mordred, his form letting out rumbling purrs that shook him to his soul, but comforted him, like thunder he could feel. Mordred reached over and tugged him closer and Adrien sank into his hold, letting out his own purrs as he nuzzled deeper into Mordred’s hold, and closed his eyes.
(In his dreams, they were all together. All happy, all safe, and together.
But tomorrow would be a new day.
And maybe, tomorrow will be better.)
Marinette hummed, pacing the small nursery she spent most of the past week in, Charlotte asleep in her arms. Her wings buzzed nervously in a way Tikki’s tails did, and that thought made her swallow any sorrow that might’ve tried to escape her again.
It was calm. They were in the eye of storm, and she hated it. Marinette was selfish, she was tired, and all she wanted was the quiet to end so the adrenaline could replace the fatigue that plagued her.
She was tired. She was so so tired, but there was an energy under her skin, urging her to stay awake and keep going, to do something.
(She could figure out a way to wake up Tikki. She could figure out a way to create a barrier that isn’t at the expense of Nino and Wayzz. She could help Felix with everything he was going through. She could stop that girl from trying to end the world. She could, she could, she could.)
Moving was weird. Feeling the roots and plants trapped beneath the surface, thrumming under her feet was odd. The wings felt like arms growing out of her back, but with a lighter rhythm. She knows how she looks. She knows there are sparkles in her eyes, she knows the others are nervous around her, she know, she knows, she knows.
(She wishes she could tell Adrien about their second child. About the new blossom of life trying to grow, a light at the end of the tunnel.)
Charlotte shifted and moved, her lips wobbling as her fists balled up. Marinette quickly shushed her, placing a kiss on her temple and singing a song her Maman used to sing when she was little.
(Marinette couldn’t leave. She was stuck in the house, stuck in this room most of the day if she wanted her identity to stay a secret. If she didn’t want more people to look at her with a mixture of fear and awe, awaiting the next steps of a plan she didn’t even have.)
Marinette slowly walked over to the bed that was moved in here and plopped onto it, laying Charlotte down before lying next to her, adjusting her wings so they wouldn’t end up sore and asleep again, the song whispers on her lips before ending with a sigh and a final kiss.
Marinette needed to do so many things, wanted to do more but couldn’t do a thing. So she closed her eyes, lay a hand on her stomach and breathed, the lone earring pulsing as she tried to drift to sleep.
(She wanted Adrien, Tikki and Plagg. It was them against the world, but it was harder when none of them were even here to fight by her side. She didn’t want the powers, she wanted them . And she would get them. Soon.
Now, she just needed to wait.)
Marinette inhaled, the air pulsing around her, the heartbeats of her friends all in synch with hers and exhaled, the city, the plants, the world all exhaling with her.
(She wanted Felix to stop worrying, to take a break, but couldn't find it in her to make him, when she wanted to do the same.)
And she closed her eyes, because what else was she supposed to do.
Felix allowed his fingers to dance across the surface of the Peacock brooch, temptation mixing with absolute desire for his cousin, his twin.
(Felix has always been selfish. It would be so easy to make Adrien come, to make him be by his side, to make him be safe and with him.)
Kagami called whatever he had with Adrien somewhat unhealthy.
He valued her words, treasured every word she told him, so he painfully ignored her for the time being, for forever.
He felt her grip on him tighten and he froze, her soft hair tickling his neck as she moved in her sleep, even now trying to protect him from things that weren’t even here.
Felix felt his heart clench as he smiled at her, resisting the urge to kiss her, knowing that it’ll wake her up.
(He felt his heart clench because Kagami has been trying to make him rest for the past week but he can’t.
He doesn’t know what that means. He doesn’t want to even think about it, so he doesn’t.)
He feels Duusu shift and he closes his eyes, easily feeling Nooroo and Lonng as they snuggled on Kagami’s head, his fingers tracing the edge of the Peacock again.
It would be so easy.
(This whole thing started because he wanted to be safe, even if his means were selfish. What’s to say he wouldn’t do it again when he very much could.)
It would be so easy.
(He’s forgotten how hollow it is, knocking a door that he locked. He’s forgotten how much he’s missed Adrien, back when he wasn’t allowed to talk to him and now.)
It would be so easy.
He feels Duusu’s eyes on him and feigns sleep, his chest rising and falling in practiced, slow breaths. Duusu just nuzzled and kissed his cheek, curling up against his cheek, periodically wiping his tears as they fall, one by one.
“Good night Adrien. Nino,” he whispers between choked sobs, the sounds barely a whisper in the wind. He hopes they hear it. He hopes they’re as okay as they can be.
(He hopes they know how much he misses them, even if he knows he’s never been the best at saying it.
He hopes they know how much he loves them, and how much he needs Adrien.)
He’ll help Marinette tomorrow. Felix will help with the children and help Chloe.
He’ll help. He’ll help.
(Otherwise, he’ll be trapped in his own head, worried out of his own mind for his other half, unable to do anything useful, just like he always is.)