Season 5 ep 26 (I think) Recreation The final day part 2 aftermath- a reveal. 

Before we do start though, I would like to say that there a few things in this one-shot which don't make sense with the canon. That's just because I thought that there could be so many possibilities of what the ending of the episode meant and I just went with one rather than the others. And it is the possibility I found most plausible looking at the events that happened. Hence this is based on the assumption that Emilie is alive- I don't see why Amelie would have removed the statue of her sister or anyone else would for that matter. There are a few other explanations but I think for now this is the best one.

Trigger warning: Suicidal thoughts. I don't want anyone who is not in the mindset to read something like this to read it. 

As usual they are 17-18

"M'lady."

She hated it. Hated it so much how she had to lie to him. How she couldn't tell him who she was. How she couldn't tell him anything which had happened to his father. How she couldn't tell him that it was her who had been there in the end. How she had been the last one his father spoke to. How his last wish, apart from the big one to bring his wife and Nathalie back to life, was that he wished his son only remembered the good things about him.

"M'lady?"

She hated it so much but all she wanted was for him to be happy. So she couldn't tell him.

About who his father was. About what she had done. About who she really was. Adrien couldn't know.

Because he was happy right now.

Was she? 

She had already found it hard to live life as a hero, keeping it away from her loved ones like her Maman and Papa, she couldn't even keep it from Alya. Getting closer to Adrien, she could barely keep it from him. And now with all the information she had, including the fact that Adrien was born from magical means- and God did that particular piece of information just make her stomach swirl with remorse for the one she was in love with- she just knew that she couldn't tell him no matter how much she wanted to get the words out.

"Ladybug!" A hand came up to her shoulder and shook her lightly, causing her to quickly grab onto it and pull on it. She flipped him over.

It was only when he groaned and sat up that she realised who it was, "Shit. Sorry Chat. I'm so sorry. I was just-" 

"Spaced out again. You've been doing that a lot lately," he sat up and shuffled next to where she was sitting, on top of the roof of the Agreste Mansion, where she had stopped by to think about all of the events which had happen a few weeks ago.

It was all too much for her.

She ignored his concern and shifted her eyes to him questioningly, "Why are you here Chat Noir? It's not your turn to patrol tonight."

He hummed in agreement, "It's Rena's and Carapace's turn. And they should be done by now and at home," not only did he know the patrol schedule by heart, but Nino had texted him about how 'rad' the moon looked from his window, so he knew they were back from patrol duty. He let his eyes turn to the sight that Nino had admired and shared with him, silently agreeing with his friend.  He looked back to Ladybug, noticing the tenseness in her shoulders even if she tried to play it off, "That begs the question. Since patrol hours are over, what are you doing out so late? I thought we agreed that now with the whole team, you can take days off."

"And, what about you?"

"I saw you from my window. Thought I should follow you and wait to see how long it would take for you to notice me."

She gave him an annoyed look, "How long have you been watching me Chat Noir?"

He put his hands up and chuckled awkwardly, "About half an hour? In my defence though, I did try to get your attention a few times. You were just so out of it that you didn't realise."

Truthfully, he had seen her make her way to his roof more than an hour ago. He had Plagg go to quietly check and see if she had actually stopped on their roof and in a few seconds (after a whole set of grumbling and a promise of an extra wheel of cheese- feeling extra generous, Adrien gave him two) he had whizzed up to the roof and come back down, affirming to him that Ladybug had actually stopped there. He kept his eye out to see if she would leave and waited for quite a while before he decided to go up himself and check on her.

He watched her for a while, as she sat there quietly in her own thoughts, occasionally speaking them out loud though to him none of the words made sense. It was when she had started to ball her hands into fists and had screamed in frustration that he had decided to approach her. 

"Oh," she quietly said, finally realising why she had been hearing her nickname from him since a few minutes ago, "Sorry."

He shuffled closer and nudged her shoulder with his own, "Can't sleep?"

She looked at him, "You too?"

He shrugged and stretched his arms out in front of him, "I- It's getting better. Thanks to someone," he couldn't help but smile when he thought of her.

She smiled at him, this time nudging him with her shoulder, "Your girlfriend?"

He nodded before hesitantly speaking, "I- I lost someone very recently. It brought me questions with no answers to it. It made me feel a lot more of the past and what could have been. It gave me dreams I didn't want and fears I didn't want to come back. But Ma-" he almost slipped but corrected himself, hoping she wouldn't notice, "My girlfriend. She helped me a lot to understand that some things, we must move past and let go. Even though I still have a lot of questions that she most likely wouldn't be able to answer, I was able to stop thinking about them so much, I was able to live every day just a bit happier, and it calmed my mind enough to help me sleep better."

"And what about when it didn't? There must be some days when it all gets too much."

His smile was soft as he looked over the world he was helping to protect, "Then I would call her and we would talk until I was asleep or she would race over to my home on her bike and we would cuddle and sleep besides each other."

She let herself smile too, reminded of the days when she would race over to Adrien when he was particularly distressed. She would immediately be allowed in by the mansion's system and she would run up the steps, straight to Adrien's room hoping to comfort him when not having his father seemed harder than most days.

It was another reason she couldn't tell him. He had been so upset over Gabriel's death, so upset at not being there in his father's final moments, but he was healing and accepting that he would have to live without his father. Telling him would just hurt him more than ever. And so she didn't know if he could ever heal from that if it happened.

Everyone who knew, both that she was ladybug and that Gabriel was hawkmoth, Alya, Luka, Felix, Kagami, Emilie, even Su Han had agreed it would be best not to tell him.

Even then she feared the truth would find a way to come out anyways. It always did.

She placed her hands over her face as she looked down, "It's the opposite for me Kitty. There's answers I have that I can't tell him, because doing so would hurt him infinitely more. But deep down I feel like I'm falling apart by knowing."

"It's about being Ladybug isn't it?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, "You want to tell him so badly but apart from the whole secret identity thing, there is something holding you back, isn't there?"

She peered through her fingers to look at him, "How do you do it Chat Noir? How are you so good at keeping your secret?"

"I almost told her," he admitted, "I almost did, but I backed down because I knew that doing so would change everything for the both of us. I would have to bring her into this world where being a hero is more than just saving the people. It's much harsher than people realise. I wouldn't want her to be brought into that. Not anymore," he whispered the last part, remembering how she had been Multimouse and although he did sometimes fantasise of his girlfriend in that grey and pink mouse outfit, he knew it would be better if she wasn't involved in this world more than she had been. Even if at the end of the day the Miraculous Ladybugs fixed everything, it didn't fix the destruction and the damage he had to see day to day when Monarch was still around. it didn't fix that his father had died. It didn't fix the possibility of someone else, her, getting severely injured or having to meet her end because he brought her back to this world.

(And with the butterfly miraculous still missing, who knew what else would arise?)

"It's not just my identity though Chat. Once he knows, he will start to ask questions about what actually happened that day," she was talking about Monarch's defeat, because even when she struggled to talk about it with Alya or Luka or anyone who was in the know, it was still always easier to talk to Chat about it. The words just flowed readily out of her mouth, "And what happened with his father. His mother won't tell him anything because she knows that him knowing will just cause him pain. She doesn't want that. But if I tell him that I am Ladybug, I won't be able to stop myself from telling him exactly what he wants to know. Because he will ask me directly, and I will have to answer. It will crush him."

He didn't respond, for a few moments. Truthfully, he didn't know what to say. But there was one thing that was on his mind that he had to ask, "Speaking of, you never did tell me what exactly happened that day. Are you not going to tell me who Monarch was?"

She dropped her hands and looked shocked, "Did- did Plagg not tell you?"

"You know how he is. He can be very vague. But also I think he just wanted to evade all my questions. The only thing I know is that him and Tikki revealed their true forms and unified," he made a noise of displeasure and muttered to himself, "Damn I wish I was there. I bet they looked so cool."

"Ehh, they were kind of scary to be honest with you. Imagine all of our powerups combined into one bug-like creature, make that a hundred times larger, then combine them together and it's like you're a mere ant to them. They could probably step on us to death."

On second thoughts, "Maybe not then."

For a moment things were silent and calm, just the way it always was with Chat Noir when neither of them were in immediate danger or running off of adrenaline on Parisian rooftops. She silently debated whether or not she should just tell him or tell Plagg to later- after questioning him on why he would evade Chat's questions- but she shook her head slightly. 

He was her partner. He deserved to know.

"Gabriel Agreste," she finally said, gulping down the anxiety and bitterness she tasted when saying his name. Chat looked at her, as if asking her why she randomly said the name of the man who just passed and was being hailed by citizens for his bravery was mentioned. She bit her lip, looking at a bright moon which his statue in the park was probably illuminated by,  "Gabriel Agreste was hawkmoth- Monarch- whatever his name- Chat what-"

He had grabbed her by her shoulders and twisted her to face him, his grip on her shoulders tight, as if he was scared she would run. His face was somewhere between anger and absolute sorrow.

"Say that again," he demanded, "Tell me clearly what you said. And please don't lie to me," his eyes furrowed almost painfully as his voice went up an octave, as if knowing hurt.

Because it did.

It was like Master Fu had once said, "Knowledge is the greatest power in the world, but it is also the very key to anguish."

But there was no going back.

Once again she said out loud, "Gabriel Agreste was Monarch."

His breathing became more erratic and he shut his eyes tightly, trying to calm his feelings down, and he squeezed her shoulders more, though she understood that he didn't realise his own actions right now. Even with his eyes shut closed, he knew that she wasn't lying to him.

One single, heart-breaking, "Why?" came out of his mouth.

"His motive was to bring his wife back. Because without her, his world would mean nothing. And without her, his son couldn't be happy either."

His hands shook as their grip on her loosened. His body was trembling but his eyes were still shut.

He only opened them, revealing his tear filled eyes as he asked her, "Why didn't you tell him?"

"Who, Adrien?" She reached out and wiped the tear that fell out of his eye, curious to why he was reacting so emotionally, but wanting to comfort him all the same. He didn't nod but he didn't need to, "I said before didn't I? Him knowing will only hurt him."

His grip became tight again and he shook her angrily, "Of course it would hurt. But how would he trust you if you don't tell him the truth?"

She grabbed onto his shoulders too and glared up at him, "What is your problem Chat Noir? What does it matter to you if I tell him or not?"

He shoved her arms away and stood up, laughing bitterly, "You have no idea."

Before she knew it, she was following him, practically chasing him down the rooftops, trying to figure out where he was heading to. But he kept on turning, jumping, hiding in the shadows, running as fast as he could, making it harder to keep up. They were running for minutes until she caught up to him, who had stopped.

He stopped at her balcony.

'Why is he here?'

"Tell me again. Why did you keep it from him? Why did you let everyone think he was some sort of hero?" He spat the last part out, moving his head to the side to look not quite at her, but over his shoulder. Of course he had noticed that she followed- or he knew anyways that she would.

She walked towards him and strangely, she felt that she wanted to answer him, "Because Gabriel made me promise that his son only remembered him in a good light."

"And you agreed?" He turned his whole body to face her and she realised from the shine on his mask and his skin, visible in the moonlight, that he had been crying no- he still was.

"Chat-" she reached a hand out but he took a step back, "Yes. I agreed. Of course I did. I'd rather he remains oblivious to this information than have to deal with the fact that his father was the villain that has been terrorising Paris for years! I can barely deal with the fact myself so if he knew..." She saw him wince, "Oh God if he knew, it would kill him Chat! "

He sighed, doing his best to choke down the sobs that were trying to crawl up his throat at the way she was obviously distraught, "Is it him?" He asked, so quietly that she almost didn't hear him, "Who you were talking about. All this time. When you first told me you liked someone else. When you told me that you couldn't give me your heart. When you told me that he had accepted your feelings. And now when you are telling me how hard it has been to keep your secret, not just because you are ladybug, but because him knowing will mean he will have to know everything else. Everything including the fact that his father was the one who we were fighting against all of these years. Was it all about him? "

"I-uh," she didn't know how to answer, but looking at him she knew he only wanted the truth. So she simply told him straight, "Yes."

He sucked in a breath as the last bomb dropped and revealed what was on front of him all that time. He dragged a hand over his face, "Oh my God."

"Okay look. Chat. I don't know what has caused you to be like this right now," she waved her hand to gesture to him, referring to his out of character behaviour which was seriously starting to weird her out, "But you have to go home and detransform and calm down before you do something you regret."

"And what if I want to do it? What if I want to go to that park and use my power on that statue and make sure everyone knows just who Gabriel Agreste is? What if I want to go and have a go at that statue? I can't do it to the real thing anymore, so why can't I go and tell Gabriel Agreste in his damned metallic face that-" a thought stopped his words, but it wasn't long before he had tried to make it known, "In fact, I should just go now and-" he had started to move but she quickly caught his arm, dragging him back towards him, "Let go of me," he said, practically seething at her.

"No."

"I said-"

"I said no. We made a vow to not use our powers for selfish reasons."

He gritted his teeth, taking a few breaths before saying once again, "Let go of me," and then he added, "Marinette."

Her eyes widened and she almost lost her grip on him, but even as her breath hitched and she took a faltering step back, she made sure she kept her hold on him. He stumbled slightly with her, his instinct to protect her from falling quickly overtaking him. But she stood upright before he could.

"H-how?"

"And how could you hide this all from me? You are supposed to be my girlfriend Marinette! Did you not think I deserved to know?"

She laughed sadly, everything they had said before all falling into place, "Of course. No matter how much I tried, eventually you would find out."

"Marinette-"

She took a deep breath, "Okay."

She decided then that she would tug him off of her balcony and together, they made their way to where he had so vehemently wanted to go, where she had all but wanted him to go just moments before. 

She was right, that under the bright moon his statue was illuminated like some sort of blessed mortal touched by the Gods. Her free hand not holding onto Chat balled into a fist, but she still kept calm as she continued to hold onto her partner, her hero, her boyfriend, her love. And just like she expected she would, she felt the need to tell him everything.

Master Fu had told her, had always reminded her that knowledge was the key to anguish. But he had also told her, "Sometimes knowing is necessary to overcome anguish. For how can you overcome it if you do not know it in the first place?"

"I failed," she started, looking at the statue, "I failed to keep the promise I made you."

"Mari-"

She turned to him and lifted her finger to her lips, before dragging them so they were right on front of the statue, "Let me speak. Please Adrien. I need to right now."

He pondered quietly before nodding and giving her a small response, "Okay," he breathed, "Okay."

"I failed to keep the promise. But you know what?" She laughed up at his figure which was towering above her, but she wasn't afraid, "Strangely, I can't find it in myself to regret it, even if it was on accident. I bet you're rolling in your grave right now to learn that your son was the one who stood by my side all that time, who helped me time and time again to defeat you."

Adrien had calmed a bit and looked up too, agreeing with her deduction, "He probably is."

She let go of his hand and her calm energy had dissipated. This time it was her who was trembling as she spoke more to the statue, "Do you know just how much I hate you right now?" She took a deep shuddering breath, "All that you have done... Fuck I hate you so much. I hate how you were my enemy. I hate how skewed your view of anyone below your wealth was. I hate how self-centred and pretentious you were. I hate how you couldn't just grieve like a normal person would and you turned your need for your wife into something so big. You dragged me in, you dragged your son in. We were only 15 then. It's been almost 3 years since this has all started. So I hate that only when you knew you were going to die, that was when you realised you wanted him to see you in a better light. I hate how you made me promise that he always would. I hate-"

Adrien stopped her rant by turning her on her feet, "Stop."

But she shook her head and looked straight into the eyes of the love of her life, the sad glint in her eyes which wondered if he would still love her after this was on full display, "I hate myself more right now. Because you're right. You deserved to know. But I took your choice to know away. And there is so much more you deserved to know that I kept from you. I shouldn't have- I shouldn't have let everyone convince me that you shouldn't know. I am the one who you were supposed to trust the most and I let you down- I- you should hate mphh-"

He cut her off in the most efficient way he knew, by kissing her straight on the lips for a few seconds. Her eyes stayed open in shock, even when he moved his lips away and spoke, "You're right. I should hate you. I should but- fuck Mari- you make it so hard to. How could I possibly hate you when I've already fallen so in love with you?"

Marinette's eyes had already welled up, but hearing him saying he loved her so earnestly, after all that was revealed, "Why? How can you still-" 

"I'm angry Marinette. I am. I feel betrayed and I feel frustrated and I feel like almost everything in my life is lie- like any second now it will all just... disappear. That I might go back to being the boy stuck in a huge mansion with a father who couldn't for the life of him show that he even wanted to be there for me. That he even loved me. But even though I am angry, I see you here on front of me and I remember it was you who changed that all for me. It was always you who did your best to make me happy," for the first time since he found out about his father, he let out a real, sincere smile.

"But now-" she still wasn't convinced but he shook his head at her, "Adrien..."

He moved his hands which had been on her shoulders, both to hold onto one hand. Gently, he took placed her right hand in his left and turned to face his father once more. It was time to address him, "I... Father I can't forgive you for what you have done. Not only for everything you did to Paris, but for making her lie to me. I blame you the most for putting her in such a position," Marinette squeezed his hand, "The truth will eventually come out to those who need to know. Do you remember? You told me that. So why did you expect that I wouldn't find out either? You... you should have let me know. You should have made me understand. But in the end you threw that burden to her. To mother, to Nathalie. To everyone else. Do you know that right now, my anger is mostly towards you?"

A shocked gasp came from besides him and the mutter of, "Adrien," was heard. It was true that he wasn't as angry as Marinette thought he would be towards her. In the end, it wasn't just her who was at fault for not telling him. He suspected that there were a few others, including his mother and Nathalie. But truthfully, it was his father who would always and forever be the one who should have taken responsibility.

It shouldn't have been with his death.

He stepped forward and continued to look in the eye of his Father's statue, "I never thought for one second you would turn out to be a coward. I always believed that one day you would come back to me and once again be the loving father I wanted. I needed. That we would grieve for Mother together and come out of it better for each other. That was all I wanted. And I am so thankful you brought her back," his body shook almost uncontrollably but with a reassuring squeeze from Marinette, he felt calmer, "But I can't forgive the fact that you were unable to face her absence and felt the only way forward was a path of evil. I don't think I could ever forgive you for that," he whispered, not even realising that tears had been streaming down his face as he spoke to his father.

Marinette reached out to his face and wiped some of his tears, "You don't have to. Just as you don't need to forgive me if you don't want to. Just know I will be here for you no matter what."

Perhaps it was something about her voice or her gentle touch or maybe even her calming presence. Maybe it was because she had always reassured him through any means that she would always be there for him, but it made him smile through the tears, "I know you are. Which is why it makes it so easy to forgive you- Though," he quickly added, "That doesn't mean I have completely. It will probably take me a few days to do so."

Seemingly relieved, Marinette finally let herself smile back at him, "I understand. There are a few more things we have to talk about but I think it's best if we talk to both your Mother and Nathalie."

"Huh?"

"It's best if you hear it from them."

............

Marinette rushed up the stares of the Agreste manor, straight to the entrance of Adrien's room only to find Emilie standing outside looking equally as worried as Marinette had been since Adrien had texted her.

When he found out the truth of his birth, as expected, Adrien had been in despair. He had locked himself in his room with only Plagg by his side (though only she knew that) and wouldn't talk to anyone for the first few days. The only reason she knew he was okay was because she had made sure to come to his room as Ladybug, and with the help of Plagg, would leave him some food whilst he was asleep. She would then entrust Plagg to make sure he ate and drank enough whilst he stayed locked up in his room.

From the day he locked himself in, she made sure to text him and attempt to call him when she could and some of the others tried as well, but he wouldn't read any of the texts apart from Marinette's. He still didn't respond. 

At least, for the first three days of the week. 

On the fourth day he sent her a text saying: 

I don't think I'm okay

On the fifth day he started to respond to various of her other texts with simple answers:

Are you okay?

No

How do you feel? 

I'm not sure

No matter what I will be here ready to hear you

I know

Would you like me to speak about something else to keep your mind off of everything for a bit?

...

Yes

On the sixth night, he sent her some more texts, these ones even longer. From them, Marinette could really grasp how he was feeling:

Thank you for yesterday. Plagg said it was the first time I've smiled all week.

That's great! Do you want some more stories today?

Can we...

Can I tell you how I've been feeling instead?

Of course you can!

I'm here to listen Adrien. Always.

I know.

So... I understand why you told me to talk to Maman and Nathalie first. You were right. I did need to hear it from them. No matter how much it hurts coming from them, I don't blame you for making them tell me instead of you doing it yourself. 

I also understand that you all lied to me to protect me.

Adrien

That doesn't excuse any of us from lying to you

I know it doesn't. But I also understand why you all did so. 

I'm not going to lie though

I still can't believe it all. 

The fact that I'm 

Well

I know.

And then he sent her a few more texts. Ones which set alarms in her head and had her praying for his safety.

Why did it have to be me? 

Why did he have to do this to me?

Why did I have to be alive?

If I wasn't created, would everything have been better?

Adrien. Don't say that. Nothing would be better without you. At least for me.

But what right do I have to be alive? I shouldn't have even existed in the first place.

Immediately Marinette tried to call him whilst simultaneously running down her stairs to inform her parents she needed to go see Adrien right now. Seeing how distraught their daughter was, they nodded, their own faces filled with worry.

"Pick up, pick up," she muttered as she ran past them and down the stairs of the bakery.

He wasn't picking up.

She called his mother instead.

"Marinette? Is everything okay."

"No," her voice already sounded broken, "You need to go to Adrien right now. Try to get into his room please."

On the other end of the phone she heard Emilie reply to Nathalie who had also asked if anything was the matter, "It's Adrien. I think something is wrong."

"Let's go. Quickly."

"I'll be there in ten- no- five minutes. Can you try to get into his room?"

The rushing of footsteps could be heard as the two women ran to get to Adrien, "Shit-He got a hold of the control system somehow and locked himself in. Nathalie do we have a crowbar? We're going to have to force our way in."

Running out of the house, she went to the nearest alley, a spot she had used multiple times, and transformed. With no time to waste, she released her yoyo and quickly made her way to the Agreste mansion. 

She detransformed right outside the house and pushed the huge doors open. 

Once she got upstairs she met a worried Emilie right outside of his door.

"Nathalie is getting the getting Placide so he can break the door."

Marinette nodded as she dug her fingers into her own palms. It didn't take too long for them to come up but Marinette couldn't help but feel anxious as she waited for Placide to force the door open. As soon as it burst open, she ran past everyone and made her way inside, and her heart dropped at the sight of him.

He was in the middle of the room, not on his bed but on the cold, hard floor. He was curled up, barely even moving. Only because of Marinette's trained eye could she see the small rises and falls of his figure. He was still breathing. His phone was discarded near him, almost like he had attempted to throw it but he was too weak to throw it far. She knelt down to where he was, feeling her own tears fall as she looked at the pain in his face, even whilst he was asleep. 

She hated to see him suffer.

All she wanted was for him to live happily, live like he deserved to. 

His fist was closed, as if he was holding something. Marinette did her best to pry his fingers open without waking him. When she did, she realised he was holding both of his rings instead of wearing them. Gently, she placed one of them on his finger. She held onto the miraculous, not wanting to reveal his identity to the others who were watching. 

She gently picked his head up and placed him in her lap before turning to face the adults who were watching, "Help me move him to his bed," she whispered, afraid that if she spoke any louder, her voice would completely break.

............

Adrien opened his eyes slowly as he felt the morning light filter into his bedroom, a heavy feeling on his chest. Looking down, he realised it wasn't figurative. It was Marinette who had pressed herself firmly to him. His arm was wrapped around her and her own arm trapped him, as if afraid of what he would do if she let go.

A small groan escaped his throat as the events of yesterday flooded back into his memory and all of his feelings from the night before hit him right in the face. He looked down to where she lay, trying his best not to stir her as he thought about the past day.

'How could I say that to her? How could I do this to her?' He remembered the texts he had sent her through his own tears, how he had felt like not wanting to live. He remembered ignoring her calls and throwing his phone away, so caught up in his own misery. In his own wish to have never been brought to life. In his own belief that he was to blame for everything that happened.

How could he be so selfish?

How could he forget that the one reason worth living was right there in his arms?

It was in that moment that Marinette woke up but he hadn't even realised, too caught up in his own feelings of guilt. It was only when there was a harsh thud on his chest, causing him to cry out in pain, that he realised.

"You idiot. You complete and utter idiot!" She had moved so she was on top of him, her face contorted angrily but her eyes already wet and dripping onto him.

"I'm sorry," was all he could say. He had hurt her, he had made her worried. He had made her angry and upset beyond relief. There was nothing more he could do than apologise.

Her eyes softened slightly and she shook her head, "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Stop it! Stop apologising. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything," Adrien looked shocked that she had seen through him so easily. She sighed and moved off of him, sitting up straight and urging him to do so as well. Once they were both upright, Marinette brought her hands to his face, "No matter what you say, it wasn't your fault. It never was. You cannot blame yourself for something you had no choice in."

"But-"

"No," she cut him off, "Listen to me okay."

"I- okay."

"No one chooses to be born. But we all have the choice of living. You and I and everyone else, we all have the right to choose where we want life to take us. How we want it to define us as. But your father- he took that choice away from you."

"I feel like a monster," he closed his eyes, tormented by the way he no longer felt human, as if he was just a puppet in the play his father had conducted.

"Open your eyes my love," at her prompting, he did, looking straight into her beautiful, determined eyes, "You're not a monster."

"But-"

She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. When she parted from him, she stayed close and gave him a reassuring look, "You are more than you realise and it hurts me that you can't see it."

"I'm nothing compared to you," he responded feeling insecure all of a sudden.

Marinette kissed his nose and made a noise of disagreement, "You don't get it do you?"

"Get what?"

She leaned back and moved her hands down. They found their way to where his own hands rested, and she held onto them dearly, "Ladybug is nothing without Chat Noir. Marinette is nothing without Adrien. We were always supposed to be equal, supposed to balance each other out. You are not a monster, Adrien. And you don't deserve to die. In fact, I won't let it happen."

"What am I then? I don't- I just down know anymore," he looked down to his lap, met with the view of their intertwined fingers, a feeling of warmth spread from where the tips of her rosy fingers brushed against his, "What can I be if not..."

"You're Adrien. Chat Noir. The best partner and the best boyfriend I could ask for. You are the one person I will never cease to love no matter what. And you know? There are so many other people who love you. Who would be hurt if you- if you were not in their lives," her throat suddenly felt constricted as she said it, so she took a deep breath, trying to calm her own emotions from whirling into chaos, "But I- I don't know what I would do if you were no longer with me. I- I wouldn't be able to live in a world that didn't have you in it."

It was those words which got him to finally break down the last barriers which he had held up and soon he became a mess of tears soaking into her shoulder as she calmly held onto him, providing the comfort he had needed but had refused for the whole week. Adrien finally let out through shuddering breaths and uncontrollable sobs, everything he had been feeling since the beginning. Marinette listened, occasionally offering words to ease his distress, but just her presence, her touch. Just the warm feeling of knowing she was there, something he had never had from his father. It was enough.

It wasn't going to get immediately better, they both knew. But Adrien was certain that no matter how life went on, he could always lean onto Marinette for support. He could always rely on her to be there for him when he needed it. He promised to always be there for her. They both knew that there would still be days like this, which would be difficult. But together, they would get through it. Because loving someone meant that they didn't need to face themselves alone.

Adrien wasn't okay and maybe he wouldn't be for a long time. But having Marinette made facing everything easier. 

Having her made him realise just how much he wanted to live.

Did you guys now that Adrien's bodyguard's name is Placide? Because I didn't until I checked the miraculous wiki.

This one-shot was really serious. But it was something I wanted to write after that episode. It just took me a while to write because I was getting really sad from writing it. 

If you were wondering, Marinette put the ring back on after the adults left and her and Plagg as well as Tikki had a talk about the state of Adrien's mental health. When he woke up, Plagg and Tikki were in their own little area watching the two and only after Adrien stopped crying did they come.

After this, Marinette called Luka and asked him to send the therapist who is part of the Guardians of the miraculous and convinced Adrien to speak to the therapist. He refused at first but at her insistence, he agreed only if she also got therapy along with him. When the time came that a new Hawkmoth arrived, both of them were ready once more to be Ladybug and Chat Noir, the heroes of Paris who, along with their team would always protect the people.

Sometimes, there would be the hard days for Adrien. But Marinette would always be there for him to lean on. Just as when sometimes it gets hard for her, she can lean on him.

It takes a while but they defeat the new Hawkmoth and this time they retrieve the butterfly miraculous for good. Emilie and Nathalie are the ones who take care of Nooroo.

Marinette and Adrien are the third out of their friends to get married, the first being Ivan and Mylene. The second being Kagami and Felix. Marinette and Adrien get married as soon as she finishes her fashion degree.

The miraculous team still help around the city, even if it is just to help an old lady to cross the street. They also help the other heroes around the world, and become more well known worldwide.

Wow this one-shot is probably the most serious one of written. I even had this one beta read by my friend because I was unsure of how it turned out. This was a tough one to write but nonetheless I wanted to write it.

Let me know what you thought about this one.

See you soon Lovelies <3