It's a good thing I have these parts already written up so by time I'm done with my exams I can write more and possibly even post twice a week. 

Anyways, where have we left off? Oh right. Marinette's friends came to inform her that she had passed the practical of the exam.

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

It was a few hours after her friends had left when he came back. She was once again asleep on her bed, her arms and legs curled into a comfortable position and her breathing at a steady pace, showing no outward signs of distress.

He took his time to really look at her. How her pale face contrasted so strongly to her blood red lips- stained with a semi-permanent lip tint that was the rage even in Luneith. How, if she was looked at closely, the tiny spots and freckles dotted around her face were more apparent. How her eyelashes were as curled as her sleeping posture and when she opened her eyes (not that they were open right now) they would reveal the most expressive sea of emotions he had ever seen.

The more he looked at her, the more he recalled the one who made his hell of a life less daunting before she, herself imprisoned him. Maybe the reason he hadn't recognised her earlier was because she made it that way. Only after her powers started coming back, could he truly recognise her mark. And all of a sudden, with her right on front of him, he didn't know what to feel. 

It was ironic. 

His father had always told him to keep his emotions in check. That the only emotion worth letting control him was his anger. But here, looking at her, he didn't want to feel angry. He didn't want to feel happy either. 

She had betrayed him when she had sacrificed herself. She had broken her promise that she would always be there for him- but had she really? Still, he could not understand why she had done it. And why then? Why not before they had gotten to know each other as more than just the enemy? When he could just be angry at her without the hidden layers of feelings that he shouldn't have even been able to feel, seeping through and tainting his rage and resentment towards her. 

He still remembered when the animosity between them had first dissolved.

It had been before the war and before his parents had been slaughtered by Soleria. It was before he had fully grasped onto his duty as Destruction and reigned fury onto Solerian soldiers and officials for what they had done. It was in a time where Soleria and Luneith had been in the talks of signing a treaty, as suggested by the Goddess herself. And for once, both realms had almost successfully worked in harmony, even if only for a short period of time.

Adrien had gone to the ridiculously elegant party that had been hosted by Soleria to celebrate the tying of the two realms, but it was during a time where his parents were wary of who he was interacting with, so he had kept a low profile. They didn't want his training to be interfered with so Felix, instead, had been the one to walk around with them and communicate with others. Which Adrien did not mind at all. He thought the people at the party were mostly snobs who looked down on them even though they knew that Adrien and his family had more power than they could ever have.

He had decided to go to the garden and that's where he had seen her.

She was sitting on the overgrown grass, playing with her powers and letting the breeze flow around her. Unlike the usual attire he would see her in, the bright red armour worn during the many battles between the two realms over the years, or her matching formal robes which indicated that she was only there to do what was asked of her, never less, never more. This time, however, she was wearing a dress. Not like the tightly wrapped ones that made the other women look stiff and uncomfortable when they moved, but a light and airy dress which was in her signature colour red and matched her tinted lips of the same vivid colour. But it didn't look like her normal clothes, which made her look like the no-nonsense type of person he attributed to his father or sometimes even his mother. The fabric looked soft and loose even tough it clutched onto her shape effortlessly. On her back, there was a sky blue cape which glittered when the sun rays hit them, making them look almost like the type of fairy wings mortals liked to make up in their little tales and stories of what was typically not common in the sun realm. 

"I was inspired by a little ladybug who flew onto my finger when I was struggling with what I should create for this ball," her voice was gentle yet it carried an ear of elegance that the party behind them really needed to have, "Do you like it?"

Her smile took his breath away and, so he stumbled over his next words, "I-uh. It looks- um."

She giggled, "You don't have to say anything. I can tell you do just from the way your eyes are enamoured with my appearance. And that's exactly what I was hoping for."

"What?" He stared at her in disbelief.

She giggled again, obviously happy to have teased him, and raised her hand in order for him to help her up, "Isn't it nice? The peace between our people?"

Despite his confusion, he still nodded, coming closer to her and grasping her hand, trying to ignore the sparks that flew through his fingertips as his hand touched hers.

And from that moment, they had gotten closer and closer, only keeping up an act in the eyes of everyone around them. She had a fiancé and if he was caught with her, his father would do worse than murder him. Not even Kagami or Felix had known. They had found many ways to meet even when the treaty had fallen to pieces. The celestial planes were the most common place for them to meet, though a lot of the time they would risk it by entering each other's realms. 

There were no borders between them. There never would be.

He had even begun to call her Ladybug, in honour of the first neutral conversation they had in the garden. She didn't object to it. In fact, she had been rather pleased with it. 

"Sometimes having the title of the Goddess of Creation can become quite overbearing. But there is nothing else anyone can call me, for they do not even know my truest name. And if they once did, no one has made effort to remember it. Which is honestly dismal considering how sweet the name my parents gave me is. Not even my uncle calls me by that name anymore."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?" he had asked impatiently. He had already told her his own sacred name.

"All in due time, love. In the meantime, I do not actually mind being called Ladybug by you and only you. It will be our little secret."

"You say that like we aren't a secret ourselves," he knew he deserved the little shove that came his way but it was worth it to hear her melodic laughter ring through his ears. She had then proceeded to give him his own nickname and he had pouted as she compared him to that of a cat.

Those were the moments when he felt as if didn't have to be what his father wanted for him. Where he didn't have to be the polished and proper prince of a realm and where she didn't have to be the perfect little angel of a princess in her own. It could just be the two of them, talking for hours on end and spending time in each other's company. It could just be two beings who, despite their differences, did not have to be hostile to one another. Who did not have to follow what their realms had taught them when they were alone. That they were meant to be separate. They were meant to be part of two worlds, never to be brought together.

They believed everyone was wrong.

But after his parents had suffered at the hands of her people, it was then when their relationship had taken a turn for the worse. He had been preparing for war whilst she had been trying to vehemently convince both him and her uncle to stop fighting. But because he refused to, it had caused the both of them to become sour. All they would do when they met was argue about what was happening and eventually, they ended any sort of relationship between themselves.

Once the ties were cut, it was then that his powers became more ruthless than ever, as he unconsciously channelled the pain that she had caused into a never-ending ferocity towards everything that had caused it in the first place. 

He still remembered the look of regret when he had seen her last, the sorrow that ran deep in her blood as she looked at him, knowing that the only way to end this was to give her life up. He remembered the devastation he felt as he realised what was happening when it was too late and how he had dropped to the ground, reaching out for her, accepting his fate.

He remembered as she had made his way next to him with her last burst of strength, her life force erupting into a huge explosion surrounding them, that she had told him, "I'm sorry."

He was forced out of his thoughts when the sound of whimpering and he had to push down any thoughts of Marinette being his Ladybug towards the back of his mind to focus on the little fairy making the noise.

Before he could move to shake her awake, she had suddenly shot up and her eyes opened. But instead of seeing the bluebell he had expected, her eyes were as dark as the sky his home realm was shrouded in and she was looking directly at him before moving her hands below her pillow to grab onto the small bead he had left there earlier.

Once the bead had settled in between her thumb and index finger, being brought up to her line of vision, the black in her eyes diluted before finally, he could see the vivid blue that reminded him so much of the celestial river, the natural border between both realms.

"This... bead," her voice was slightly hoarse from only just waking up, "Did you- did you put this there."

"Yes," his reply was simple.

"Why?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions?"

"You must have done so a couple of times."

He rolled his eyes whilst also gesturing for her to move her feet, "It's a form of protection. You cannot always rely on your power especially when you cannot control it well."

"Hey!" she pouted at the same time as she lifted her legs in order for him to sit, "I can defend myself pretty well now. I don't need protection."

"Think of it as a precaution," her legs flopped onto his lap just as she had done earlier that day (and it was just so easy for her to be so casual with him, almost like her body remembered what her mind didn't), "If something happens to you and you find yourself unable to defend yourself, it will alert me and I will come to your aid," he didn't mention that he would be alerted by any wounds she received anyways, not wanting to reveal this precise bit of information to her just yet. He himself was still unsure about why exactly it was happening in the first place.

"What do you mean alert? How can you know by a bead that I am in danger?"

"It's not just some normal bead," he reached into a pocket that Marinette didn't even realise was there, and pulled out a bead identical to the one in her hand, "It is a special jade infused with my own power. It can sense if something is happening to the person it is for and it will show me through my own bead what is happening with you or anyone else I give it to."

"Okay," she looked at him with a sceptical tone, "So what happens if I'm in danger but you are off to who knows where, which is too far for you to get to me?"

He smirked at her, "Then I can order it to bide time until I get there, by self destructing. The explosions these things cause are a rather pretty sight to behold. Do not worry, though. I can make sure no harm comes to you if it does destruct. I promise you though, that I will get to you if any harm befalls you. Just make sure you keep it out of sight from others. You don't want it to end up in the wrong hands."

"This is insane," she muttered, placing her head on top of her still straight knees and stretching her arms out on front of her.

"Now answer my questions."

"Has anyone ever told you you ask too many questions?" she lifted her face a bit to mock him.

"You never actually told me what that akuma was. Tell me everything you know about them."

It was her turn to roll her eyes, "You're so commanding," still she answered, sitting up and shuffling closer so she could look at him clearly (her legs were practically draped over his lap now), "No one knows where they originated from, just that the first recorded instance of someone being affected was soon after Hawkmoth and his wife were unjustly slaughtered by the court. People think that-"

"Hold on- wait. You think that they were unjustly killed by your own people?"

She looked confused for a second but her face softened when she realised that to him, Hawkmoth and his fairy wife were what the Great Emperor was to Soleria, "I've read enough books and scriptures about everything that happened to know that the Emperor and the officials did not make the right decision in doing so. At least, in my opinion anyways. It seems that back then, they were driven by hatred and prejudice and I think that is what caused the God of Destruction to do the same. They had no right to do what they did and, of course I do not condone what the God did either, but I do believe his reasoning for attacking was more legitimate than my own people. Though I also believe a war should have never happened in the first place. My Master did too."

She still remembered all the stories her Master had told her of the war. How he believed things should have been different. How both sides made mistakes. How those mistakes wouldn't have happened without the provocation towards each other. He had even told her of how the Goddess seemed to think the same way. So if the Goddess of Creation thought that everything about the war had just been wrong, why couldn't she?

"You really think this way?" If any doubt of Marinette being his Ladybug was still there, it all dissolved in  that moment. He looked at her, amazed, that even if she didn't remember anything, she was still the same as she always had been- he still wanted to test it, "But shouldn't you hate Destruction?"

"Why should I? I was not there when it all went down so there is no reason to personally hate him. But I also do not hate him for what he has done because that would also mean hating my own people who were equally to blame for everything that went down," she sighed, "Wars. They're... complicated. Each side believes they are right but no one knows the truth about it in reality."

"You are wiser than you look, you know," and maybe she would be able to remember why.

She gave him a small smile, "Thank you. Though, that being said. Destruction is on thin ice right now."

He scoffed, "And why is that? You don't even know him."

She made a few huffing motions and, in a little act of fury, she brought her fist down, straight into his thigh. She realised only a second later what she had done, "Sorry, sorry. It's just I heard he escaped and he hurt Luka."

"Of course that's what it is about," he murmured, trying to avoid her eyes, "What is it that you like about him anyways?"

"What?" 

"You know what. I don't want to know. Just tell me more about the butterflies."

 She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering why all of a sudden he was acting suspiciously reserved, "Okay then. Anyways," she went back to the subject they had been talking about as he had asked, "As I was saying, people think that Hawkmoth's death has something to do with the akumas appearing though no one can be sure."

Adrien had a feeling that there was some merit to that suggestion, but he would have to investigate later. Maybe he could find something amongst his father's old notes, "What do they do?"

She paused to think, her finger tapping on her chin, "It's hard to say. It's different for everyone. My guess is that it depends on what the affected most wants."

"Can they fight it off like you had?"

She shook her head, "Not like me. What I had done was," her hands flailed as she tried to come up with an explanation for what she had done, "I don't even know what it was. But no one has been able to do it before. In fact, the only way people could fight them off is if they had gotten what they had desired. That way, the purpose of the akuma was no longer needed and it would fly out of the person's soul to go inhibit another poor unsuspecting one."

"What would happen if the akuma doesn't go away?"

"The truth?" he nodded at her solemn look, "The court. They uh- they-"

"They kill them don't they?" 

She nodded, a wave of pity for those who had been tortured and killed for being possessed by an akuma washed over her, "I'm afraid so. But as sad as it is, sometimes it's the only way because they become too dangerous to deal with. But I am guessing the reason I passed was because I found a way. I just need to figure out exactly how it was done."

He pondered for a moment when he realised what she had just implied, before saying, "They're using you, little bug."

For some reason, she liked this new nickname but that wasn't the point, "Does it matter?"

"Yes," the dangerous edge in his voice was back but Marinette could hear something new in it, something almost possessive, "It does. No one should be allowed to use your powers for their own gain. It is a principle which I live by. And if you want to survive in this world, immortal or not, you need to stop caring about others."

"But I want to do it. I want to be able to help others."

"And you're going to exhaust yourself doing it. And one day, the damage will become so bad that you will not be able to even care for yourself." 

"Why do you care so much?" She asked, suddenly angry at him, "It is not your choice if I choose to do this or not. It is me who will have to endure the pain that comes with using so much power at the end of the day. Not you. And I will gladly do so if it means others will benefit from it."

He pushed her legs off from where they still lay on his lap and stood up, annoyed that she would willingly help others even if it meant she was at a disadvantage. It reminded him too much of when she had sacrificed himself and he admitted to himself a long time ago that he never wanted to see it happen again. He looked at her, who was determined and slightly puzzled as she looked back at him, and felt his temper rising enough to match the heat of the Solerian sun. 

It wasn't that his anger was directed towards her. It was more towards how it reminded him of how he couldn't save her before it was too late. Of how he had let her go despite the fact that she was the only one who he wanted to hold onto for the rest of his life. So he wanted to do whatever it took for to prevent it from happening again. He didn't want to see her sacrifice herself again.

But she was too stubborn- he knew this. 

He also knew that if he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to hold back from his fury. He was just as, if not more stubborn than her. And so, he turned away, about to leave before he did something he truly did regret.

He would have left if she hadn't hastily grabbed his hand with both of her own, "Where are you going?"

He turned to her, trying to pry her fingers off of his hand. But she resisted, grasping onto his hand more tightly. Her grip was strong, like her powers knew that he wanted to go and were trying to break through in order to clamp him down and stay besides her, like he should have done all those years ago. But this time, he really couldn't stay. Not if it created the possibility that he would hurt her. 

He growled at her, trying his best to keep his cool, "Let go."

"No. Why are you leaving?"

"Because if I don't," he raised his voice as he looked harshly at her, trying to make a point, "I don't know what I will do to you."

"Stay. Please. Adrien," It was the first time (since the prison) he had heard her say his name. And she was pleading for him to stay. It was so tempting when she spoke to him like that, but he knew he had to leave before his power became uncontrollable.

"You have the bead. I'll be back."

And he managed to separate their hands, quickly moving back from her. Before she could get another word out, he disappeared. Again.

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

How did you like this chapter?

We are coming to the end of part 1. Only 3 more chapters before we move to part 2. These next three chapters are very important to the plot so I hope you guys stick with me. And tell me what you have thought so far of the story.

See you next week lovelies <3