Adrien gripped the bars as he licked his lips and took a deep breath. His thoughts raced a mile a minute as he contemplated what he was doing. How he had even gotten there. Where had the courage come from? His grip tightened as his lips quivered in a scowl as he tried to let himself fall. He shook his head and slowly opened his eyes as he peered up at the sky.

"You've jumped off this damn thing more than once, Agreste. You've dreamed of this day. Just let go." Adrien spoke to himself like an ill-acquainted friend. He climbed over the bars and held on. "Just let the damn thing GO!" He raised his hands and held them out at his sides, falling backwards. Hoping to plunge into the depths and breathe it all in like the fresh air that he desperately needed.

He was suddenly falling and for some reason time felt like it was still. He felt like he was frozen in midair. Like the world had stopped. He had seen it millions of times in shows and movies, but he never knew that it was true. That time really did feel like it stopped. There were no memories that flashed in front of your eyes. No weird slideshow of your life.

The cold water hit his back as he let himself sink, air bubbles spilling from his lips as he floated down. It was just darkness. Nothing but empty darkness and burning lungs. He opened his mouth to take a deep breath in, welcoming the water, when suddenly something wrapped around him and yanked him up to the surface.

He coughed as he felt someone's body against his. Anger, frustration, fear, and sadness exploded out of him and he began to shove and fight against them. He was angry that someone had once again taken a choice away from him. That someone had decided his fate for him once again. Didn't he deserve a choice? Didn't he deserve to choose if he lived or died? Wasn't that his right?

Adrien opened his eyes as the water pricked at his eyes and made them turn red. "WHY DID YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME?" He was suddenly set down on the side of the Seine and he stared in the eyes of his partner. "HOW CAN YOU JUST TAKE THAT AWAY?" Adrien's throat was sore from the little water that he had breathed in and his voice was slightly broken as he shouted. "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO LET ME LIVE?"

"I- I'm sorry." Ladybug's voice wavered as tears threatened her eyes. "I'm so sorry, but-"

"BUT WHAT? BUT YOU WANTED TO BE SELFISH AND MAKE ME LIVE LONGER IN THIS HELL?" Adrien crossed his arms over his chest and shivered as his wet golden hair fell in front of his eyes, causing water to run down his face. He poked her in the chest. "You don't have the right to do that. To tell me if I live or die." His voice was laced with malice and hatred. It coated his fear and concealed it.

"I know you're just scared." Ladybug whispered as she rubbed her upper arm. "I know that beneath that anger… there is fear."

"HELL YEAH, there is fear! LB-" Adrien pointed at his chest. "My father is borderline evil! He took- he stole something from me. Something very precious. And-" Adrien suddenly walked closer to her, showcasing how broken he truly was as the words ripped out of him. "-HE HAS MY MOTHER LOCKED IN THE BASEMENT IN SOME SICK and TWISTED glass case."

Ladybug's mouth fell open for a moment as she took in his words. "He what?"

"He has my dead mother in a casket, Ladybug. Hidden away. He wants your miraculous and I can't have that. He wants to bring her back. He already has mine. I don't want you to have the same fate and as long as I'm here… he'll find you." Adrien shoved her away by her upper arms. "So- so you need to go! Hide! RUN! Far away…" Adrien burst out the words and weakly shoved her as he let his body slump in defeat. "He'll- he'll only break you too. And it'll be all my fault." Adrien grabbed his upper arm and turned away from her, shrugging his shoulders up to his ears as he trembled out the repeated phrase in a soft voice. "All my fault."

Ladybug stepped closer and touched his shoulder as she walked around him. She gently touched his face to try and get him to peer into her eyes, but he ripped himself away from her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered as he sniffed and kept his gaze off to the side and down at the ground. "I'm sorry that you feel that way, but- but it's not your responsibility to save me. I know you think it is, but… it's really not. Just like it's not my responsibility to save you. I can try, but in the end?" She touched his face again and this time he let her bring his swollen eyed gaze to her own. She warmly smiled as she rubbed her thumb against his cheek. "In the end, only you can save yourself. I had to learn that and it's a hard lesson. But- but no one can save you. You have to save yourself and right now? You need that more than ever. People can lead you in the right direction by saying nice things about you or by giving you the right tools and resources. By saying how amazing you are… but YOU have to believe those words. You have to take those tools and resources and build with them. Create something. Otherwise… they really don't mean anything. Do they?"

He nuzzled her hand and she stepped closer, slowly embracing him into a warm hug. "I'm sorry that I went off on you." He sniffed and shivered in her arms.

"It's okay. We all have our moments and need to vent. We all need to break down sometimes. But… you're freezing right now and all I want to do is warm you up. I'll take you to the boulangerie." Ladybug smiled and pulled her yo-yo from her hip, pulling him closer.

"But my father and Nathalie… and-" Adrien weakly spoke and Ladybug shook her head.

"My parents can call and make some lamasaurous excuse." Ladybug smirked and Adrien burst out into a weak laugh.

"You guys aren't lamasaurouses." He shook his head and Ladybug giggled. "Hold on tight."

Adrien wrapped his arms around her neck and she took them across the city, landing on her balcony. She de-transformed and opened the hatch for him. "Come on. I should have something for you to change into."

"Thank you, Marinette." Adrien weakly smiled as he jumped down onto her bed. "Sorry about the sheets."

"A little water never hurt anyone. They'll dry." Marinette jumped down after him and fell onto him, causing him to grunt. She blushed and covered her mouth after she scrambled off of him. "I'm so sorry."

Adrien laughed and threw a pillow at her. "You fell on me!"

"I'm so sorry!" Marinette waved her hands in the air as she panicked and he suddenly burst out laughing.

"I was picking on you." Adrien grabbed one of her flailing hands to make it stop. "You're amazing, you know that?"

Marinette raked her teeth along her bottom lip and shook her head. "I don't see it."

"That's what makes you great. You don't see just how amazing you are." Adrien softly smiled and she parted her lips in shock before she shook herself out of it.

"So, clothes." Marinette cleared her throat and scooted off her bed to walk down the staircase.

Adrien followed her, letting his hand graze the banister.

"I hope these fit. They're prototypes, but…" Marinette pulled out a pair of red pajama pants that had black polk-a-dots on them. She then took out a black deep V-neck tee with the word, 'Lucky Charm', elegantly scrawled across it in red.

"I love them." Adrien took the items from her as he ran his thumb along the word.

Adrien threw the clothing on the back of her chaise lounge and grabbed the hem of his shirt to pull it up and over his head. She got lost in his muscles as he worked the new outfit onto his body. He smirked as he adjusted the clothing and did a spin for her. It wasn't a model one by any means, but one of someone that wasn't trained in the art of walking. She loved it and he blushed as he bit his bottom lip, knowing full well what he had done.

"I love it." Marinette softly spoke and he nodded.

"Like when I'm normal?" Adrien ran his hand through his hair.

"No. Love when you're yourself. When you're clumsy and silly. Love when you're flirty and tell bad jokes." Marinette giggled as she blushed and he laughed.

"I tell bad jokes?" Adrien's voice went up at the end of his sentence as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Marinette walked up to him and messed with the collar on his shirt as she slowly peered up to meet his gaze, holding onto his shirt. "Really bad jokes, statue." She softly kissed him and he softly groaned against her kiss and blushed at the memory of a joke gone wrong. Marinette giggled at his reaction before she became serious. She pulled away to rest her forehead against his. "And if you were gone? I'd miss those bad dad jokes."

"Is that all you'd miss?" Adrien softly spoke as he closed his eyes and held her hips.

"No." Marinette drew shapes on his chest. "I'd miss tons about you. Like your lips, your smile, your hope, your laugh, your gigantic heart, your… perseverance… your stubbornness… your silly games… beating you at Ultimate Mecha Strike." The last one made him snort out a laugh and she giggled. "Because we all know I rule at that game."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. Sappy. The cat gets it."

Marinette laughed and shoved him in the chest with a playful movement. "Time to tell my parents what a big cat is doing in my room."

"I'm not excited." Adrien sighed and Marinette took his hand.

"One step at a time. Plus… they love you." Marinette warmly smiled, tugging him down the stairs that led to the rest of the apartment.

Adrien stopped her for a moment. "About the big cat… I lost Plagg. My father took him."

Marinette froze for a moment as the weight of his words fully kicked in and mingled with his ones from earlier beside the Seine. "He what?"

"He has my miraculous, Marinette. I told you that earlier-" Adrien was interrupted by the sounds of her parents walking through the front door.

"We'll talk about it later. First let's talk to my parents." Marinette's heart raced in her chest and she began to worry that his father knew more than she had thought he did.

"I'm saying my father is Hawk-" Adrien whispered and she placed her finger over his soft lips.

"I know. Just-" Marinette took a deep breath in and let it out slow. "One step at a time."

Adrien nodded and swallowed hard.

"Mari...nette… Ready for dinner?" Her parents called out and Marinette grabbed Adrien's hand to take him the rest of the way down the staircase with a pained smile plastered on her face.

Song I wrote to:

No One Like You by Magnolia Memoir