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Adrien opened his eyes after the bright flash of his detransformation faded. A blinding pain caused him to double over and hold his gut. At least a broken rib, if not two, for sure. The sudden ringing in his ears was deafening and caused the sounds of destruction and whistling winds to fall completely silent.
The blonde male looked up, his eyes landing on a thin form standing in front of him. His first thought was his Lady… But the form was definitely male and also seemed to be wearing a jacket. He blinked a couple times, his vision starting to focus. A bright red head of hair whipping in the wind was the first thing he was able to make out of the silhouette.
“Nathan….” He croaked out, reached for the artist. Another form came into focus. It was the large akuma that he had been fighting. A minotaur akuma who had been beaten in a streetfight, if he remembered correctly.
A cough erupted from his sore throat. If he wasn’t temporarily deaf he would have heard the sickening snap of the akuma’s fist coming across Nathanaël’s sharp jaw. Adrien watch with wet, heavy, hooded eyes as his love tried to stand up from the hit, swiping his hand across his face to wipe away the blood. Before the redhead could fully stand, he was knocked down by another punch from the akuma. The blonde teen couldn’t keep a sob from wracking his throbbing chest. He couldn’t do a damn thing... Where was Mari? Where was his Ladybug?
The ringing in his ears started to fade in time for him to hear the sound of Nathan’s pained cry as he was slammed into the pavement once again. Adrien tried to force sound out of his raw throat. The first few tries, he just let out pained air.
“Nathanaël! No! Please!” His voice sounded so weak and airy. He hated it. Another round of painful coughing followed. The akuma swung its head around to face him, yellow eyes gleaming in the night air. It started to storm over to him, before a piece of rubble hit the back of its head, turning its, now furious, attention towards the bloody redhead once again. The bull-man grabbed Nathanaël by the neck, swinging him around like a ragdoll.
A flash of red and black filled the side of his vision. Ladybug swung in, throwing her body weight into the heavy-set akuma. Said akuma stumbled towards the edge, stopping itself before it fell seven stories. The girl had a smirk on her face, determination radiating off of her form. She jumped to the side as the akuma slammed down on the concrete where she had just been standing. The stone cracked beneath the akuma’s weight. The bull swung down at Ladybug again, cracking another area of the concrete.
Ladybug’s eyes widened as the cracks connected and the roof started to cave. The hero jumped to a solid edge of the roof. In the moment she watched the akuma fall beneath the large chunks of concrete, Marinette noticed Nathanaël, finally free of the akuma’s grip.
She launched herself into the hole, throwing her yoyo with every ounce of strength she had towards Nathanaël. The black wire weaved its way around the falling debris. It seemed to be just out of reach. Marinette bit her bottom lip, feeling blood gush across her tongue, watching the spotted weapon inch towards the falling teen. She lost visual on Nathan just as he was about to hit the ground. The panic flooding through her bloodstream was something that she had never experienced before. Ladybug latched onto a beam, dreadfully waiting for the yoyo to hit the ground.
A breath she didn’t know she was holding left the spotted heroine's throat as she felt the tug of her yoyo wrapping around its target. She had caught him just in time…Tears flooded down her face in relief. The Hero panted, tying the end of her yoyo to the beam. She slid down the string before dropping down to ground. Nathanaël hung only a half of a foot off of the ground. She carefully unwound the wire from around his middle. She wrapped an arm around his middle and collapsed to the ground, holding the boy to her chest.
The first thing Marinette noticed was the lack of a warm breath ghosting across her neck. She pulled the male down into her lap. Angry purple bruises were spattered across his face, along with damp blood still running from his nose. Tears of relief turned to tears of grief. His eyes... His beautiful teal eyes were glassy and lifeless. She couldn’t hold back the screaming sob that threatened to eat her from the inside, out.
“N-Nathan… Nathanaël please… stay with me.” A shaking glove covered hand cupped the side of the male’s face. Hot tears blurred her vision. He wasn’t dead. She had saved him. She had saved him and he wasn’t gone. He was just- He was just…. A sobbing howl ripped from the hero’s throat.
She doubled over, pressing her face into the dusty fabric of his grey jacket. Another scream echoed through the trashed building. She saved him. Why wasn’t he ok? She saved him. Her hands grasped fists of fabric as she pulled the bloody teen closer to her, ensnaring him in a deathgrip.
Marinette started to rock back and forth, letting out a strangled, sobbing, wail into the cloth covered chest of her lover.
This was just a really bad dream and Nathanaël would nudge her awake from his place beside her in bed at any moment. Adrien would roll over and swing an arm across her waist to comfort her. Both boys would pull her into a warm hug and she’d fall back asleep, safe and sound. She was absolutely sure of it.
Ladybug hadn’t failed to save the soft, warm, light of her life and everything was ok. She would still be able to revel in the male’s kind smile and protective aura. One side of the bed wouldn’t be oddly cold every night. It would still have someone to sleep there. She would still have a shoulder to lean on after a difficult day of work and someone to share a cup of coffee with late at night as they both stayed up to catch up on various projects. The three of them would still be able to share nights of dorky anime and pastries. She was positive that those gorgeous teal eyes were still full of life. Everything was ok.
No matter how real the weight of Nathanaël’s body on her lap felt, she knew that this was a nightmare and everything was ok . The spot clad hero kept repeating the mantra of self assurances through her mind until she heard limping footsteps from behind her.
She looked up, meeting the eyes of her other partner. Adrien clutched his ribs, offering his lady an attempt at a smile. His eyes fell on the corpse of his love and it was all he could do to prevent himself from falling to the ground, a mess. His jaw tightened as he sat next to the spotted hero. They sat there as light started to filter through the cracked walls of the abandoned building. The bluenette calmly pet the artist’s hair, her eyes just as dead as his.
“Mari… We should go.” Marinette lifted her head, stroking his pale face, before delicately closing his once bright, love-filled, teal eyes for the last time.