#runaway

I had a dream I was seven

Climbing my way in a tree

I saw a piece of heaven

Waiting impatient for me.

aurora, runaway

This is actually one of the first sections I wrote (and might have an inconsistency or two with the other parts as a result, this is why I don’t post to AO3 until the end)

did you know the idea for this fic started with my friend and I joking about Adrien’s hair

—

“Good work tonight, Viperion!” Ladybug said cheerfully. 

Viperion blinked out of his distant stare. He could still see the little black dot that was Chat Noir leaping across buildings. Not for the first time, he wondered where he was going.

“Thank you, Ladybug. You as well.”

Ladybug was standing with her hand palm up, waiting. He put his hand on his bracelet and paused.

“Actually, Ladybug…”

She blinked in surprise. Her eyes looked sort of red, even under the mask, and he wondered how much sleep she was getting. One thing at a time.

“May I hold on to the Miraculous for a moment longer? I have something I need to do.”

Ladybug frowned. “Luka,” she said, “The Miraculous shouldn’t be used for personal matters. It’s dangerous.”

“I know,” he said. “But… it isn’t just a personal errand. I just… I can’t share the details, even to you, but I need to try and help someone. And if I don’t take the chance now, I don’t know that I’ll get another one.”

She bit her lip. Her earrings beeped once, and she lifted her hand to her ear.

“…Fifteen minutes,” she said, after a pause. “Then meet me back here. If you’re late…”

“I won’t be,” he assured her. His back tingled a little, relieved that she trusted him enough to let him use the Miraculous unsupervised, even if it was for such a short amount of time. Never mind the fact that he could use its powers to give himself a few extra five minute loops before returning it. That wasn’t what he needed it for.

He dashed off, using the Miraculous’ superhuman strength and speed to dart across the city, keeping his eyes up high. Chat liked to travel by air, using his staff to vault across wide spaces. Viperion only had his last sighting of him to go by, but if he kept going in a straight line, stopping to detransform, they would hopefully intersect.

He finally spotted a shadow flitting across a high up light on the side of a building, moving faster than any local animals Viperion knew and straight up onto the roof. He followed, having to jump between walls and up a fire escape to gain the same altitude.

“Chat Noir!”

Chat froze, apparently surprised by his approach, but quickly regained his usual cocky demeanor. 

“Viperion! What a surprise. I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of time-”

“I need to talk to you, Chat. Just for a minute.”

Chat frowned, crossing his arms. “I don’t really have a minute, I need to-” his ring beeped “-detransform in two.”

“I’ll look away,” Viperion promised. “I won’t see you detransform. I just need to ask you something.”

Chat was still frowning, his eyes flitting around to find a way out.

“I promise, Chat Noir. Your identity is safe.” He gestured with the Snake Miraculous’ weapon of choice, plucking a few choice strings to let out a simple chord. “Or do you think that I’m a lyre?”

Chat’s mouth quirked up at the pun in spite of himself. He laughed, twirling his staff as he retracted it and walking to the other side of the large air conditioning unit on the roof.

“You stay there,” he said, gesturing. “And turn around.”

Viperion obeyed, turning to face the street.

“Alright. Shoot.”

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he spoke, despite the Snake’s powers active around his wrist, he did so as Luka.

“Are you alright, Chat Noir?”

There was a pause.

“What do you mean?” Chat said. His voice sounded the same as always. “Sure I got a little roughed up during the fight, but no big deal. Ladybug cleared it all up afterwards anyway.”

“Not about the fight,” Luka said. “Are you safe? When you’re a civilian. Do you have somewhere to go?”

Chat didn’t answer.

“I don’t know where you’ve been going after patrols and akuma attacks, but it isn’t home. I…" 

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. The display on his lyre told him he had about 7 minutes before he had to rush back to Ladybug. 

"My mom,” he said, “kind of has a history of running with a rough crowd. People who don’t really stay in one place, who don’t have a place to go back to. Sometimes by choice, sometimes because it’s necessary. My sister and I grew up knowing sometimes there would be someone at home who needed help for a little bit, who would stay for a night or a week or a month. She taught us not to ask questions about it, unless they volunteered, because it could be painful or dangerous for them. She never asked for reasons herself.”

Chat Noir was still silent. He could have easily left while Luka was talking, but Luka pressed on.

“It’s not… it’s not a big place. Tiny really. And certainly not a luxury hotel or anything. But there’s a spare cot, and home cooked meals most nights. Just… if you know anyone who needs it.”

Luka looked up to a slight movement next to him, and jerked back in shock as a tiny floating cat squinted at him, its eyes glowing as it munched on a piece of cheese. 

“The ones with time powers are always the ones finding out things they shouldn’t,” the kwami said. It sounded slightly impressed. “Comes with the whole rewinding territory. How long you been sittin’ on this?”

Luka blinked. “A while,” he said. “I haven’t told anybody. It made more sense to keep everything secret, with what Ladybug’s told us.”

“Hmm.” The cat threw the rest of the cheese into its mouth. “Yeah, she wouldn’t choose anyone for the Snake Miraculous who wasn’t trustworthy with that kind of thing. And doubly so for Sass.”

The kwami did a somersault in the air as it flew behind Luka, who had to resist the urge to follow it with his eyes. He had promised not to look.

“Of course, we know who you are too,” it said carelessly. “I dunno, sounds pretty good to me, not having to pay for a place to stay. Saves our funds for more important things, like cheese. Whaddya think, kid?”

Chat Noir remained silent, and his Kwami followed suit.

Luka looked at his timer.

“I have to go return my Miraculous to Ladybug,” he said. “She only gave me fifteen minutes. If… if you want to talk, I’ll be walking home.”

He hopped down from the roof, sprinting back to where he’d left Ladybug, and didn’t hear any footsteps behind him. 

Ladybug was waiting for him, sitting on the roof with her legs crossed. She looked up as Viperion landed.

“Were you able to help?" 

"I hope so. Scales rest." 

Luka walked home slowly. The city was dark and mostly quiet, with just the sounds of infrequent cars, the wind, and the hum of insects. It was late enough that his mother might be upset he hadn’t called. He sighed, putting his hands in his pockets, and thought for the thousandth time how all this explained how stressed Marinette and Adrien had always seemed.  There were so many things out of his control, that the Miraculous couldn’t fix.

He descended a small set of stone stairs to walk along the riverbank, the quiet whoosh of the water washing over him. He kicked a stone into the water, pleased by the deep, satisfying ’sploonk’ it made. 

A second ‘sploonk’ came from behind him. Luka stopped, not turning around. The lights of a passing airplane reflected on the water, and he watched that instead.

"Are you sure it’s alright?”

“Like I said, my family has some experience with this kind of thing. Superheroes aside, I mean.”

Footsteps approached from behind him, and Luka was struck by how much louder they were than Chat Noir’s, but still how quiet and carefully unobtrusive they were compared to most people’s.

“…Thank you, Luka,” Adrien said quietly. He stopped next to Luka, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

“Of course,” said Luka. He turned with a smile, then froze, taken aback. 

He took a second to find his voice.

“…My family also has some experience with hair dyeing,” he said, reaching up to flip a lock of his own.

Adrien immediately flushed red and pulled the hood of his jacket up, pulling the drawstrings so Luka could barely see his face. A guffaw came from his shirt pocket, startling Luka again.

“Is it that bad?” Adrien asked, his voice muffled.

“It’s… a little splotchy,” said Luka, trying to be kind. “It certainly is a new look for you.”

“I needed to look different enough that I wouldn’t be immediately noticed on security cameras or anything. I know the police can check for that.”

“It’s nothing that can’t be fixed,” Luka assured him.

“Do you think Juleka will recognize me?”

“She might,” Luka admitted, “But she was raised the same as I was. She won’t tell anyone without your permission.”

Adrien didn’t answer, staring at the ground as he walked. 

“She’d be glad to know you’re alright, though,” Luka continued. “I heard you left a note for Nino that said you were, but… we’ve all been worried.”

“I know,” said Adrien, quietly. “But I had to.”

They were silent the rest of the short walk to where the houseboat was docked. As he suspected, the lights were still on even this late, though coming home with someone might head off too much of a scolding.

Adrien grabbed Luka’s arm, stopping him. 

“Don’t you want to know why?”

Luka put his hand over Adrien’s, feeling the ring rubbing on his fingers.

“Of course I do. All of us, all of your friends want to know. Desperately. So if you ever feel like telling us, we’ll be more than happy to listen.”

Adrien managed a wry smile. He stepped back, letting Luka open the door ahead of him, slipping a pair of designer glasses from his pocket and settling them on his nose. 

They both flinched as the light from inside hit their faces with the opening door, accompanied by the loud voice of Luka’s mother scolding, “And WHERE do you think you’ve been?”

She froze in the doorway at the sight of them. Adrien shrunk back, his hands clutching the straps of his duffel bag, face still hidden by his hood. Juleka, her hands around a steaming mug, leaned out behind her mother to get a better look.

“Sorry, Mom,” Luka said casually. “Is it okay if my friend stays over a couple of days?”

Ankara huffed, shooting her son a look that clearly read this isn’t over, but pushed past him to put an arm around Adrien’s shoulders (he noticeably stiffened) and take his bag, pulling him through the door into the warm light. “Of course. You kids must be freezing, come on, do you want something to drink? Luka, go grab the spare bedding and set something up in your room.”

Adrien looked at Luka as he passed, his eyes wide in alarm. Luka just smiled.

ok enough silly comics, back to angsty fics :)

—

The police were less than useless. Insincere platitudes, worthless sympathies, information he already knew a week ago. Their investigation had pulled up CCTV footage of Adrien buying a train ticket to London, something he and Nathalie had figured out on the first day of his absence from his credit card records. Amelie had been the first person outside the household he contacted, the only other family Adrien had, the obvious choice. Both she and Felix claimed they’d had no contact from Adrien since their last visit, and he was inclined to believe them. 

The footage had shown Adrien boarding the train on Friday, when he was supposed to be at basketball practice, carrying his duffel bag that was meant for his extracurricular activities. Calm, polite, his usual smile in place. A conductor remembered him cheerfully saying he was going to visit his cousin in London.

None of the other stations showed him exiting. His cell phone was found beneath a seat, bearing unread texts from friends and missed calls from Nathalie, nothing outgoing to Felix since Amelie’s husband’s passing, no information on where he was going or what he had planned, not even any unknown numbers in the history.

The police had relayed all this as though it were helpful. 

“We’re still looking, Mr Agreste. The London police are in contact with us in case he turns up there. We’ll find him.”

Gabriel twisted the ring around his finger, staring darkly at the wall. 

The latest call with the police had left him seething at their uselessness. He had half a mind to send out another akuma, another sentimonster. There were plenty of emotions in line with his own; desperate, pathetic fans who were practically volunteering to be akumatized and sent out to search. 

You would think, for their so-called ‘heroism’, Ladybug and Chat Noir would at least be smart enough to use his creations to find Adrien’s location instead of cutting them down straight away. You would think they would have the decency to prioritize a potentially kidnapped child over a magic transformation they knew did no lasting harm.

There was a gentle knock at the door. 

Gabriel winced, pinching the bridge of his nose to hide his face as the door opened without waiting for an answer. The door shut quietly. Careful, measured footsteps approached across the carpet. The couch cushion sank slightly as Nathalie sat beside him. She placed a small kitchen tray on the coffee table, taking one of the mugs of steaming tea for herself and leaving the other for him. 

She said nothing, sipping her tea silently, staring straight ahead. The gentle scent of chamomile and peppermint wafted through the air.

“You found me,” Gabriel said.

“You weren’t in your office,” Nathalie said simply. 

“No,” he agreed. 

He dropped his hands into his lap and stared at the mug and the lazy swirls of chamomile-scented steam in front of him. The cup was plain white, but with a gold rim he knew was echoed at the bottom, along with his own logo. Clean, elegant lines, like nearly all of his collections. Like all the clothes Adrien had left behind in his closet, like his bags and accessories and furniture.

“I haven’t come in here in a while,” he said. “Maybe even years.”

He gazed up at the climbing wall. Some parts of it looked scuffed, even though it was perfectly clean. He remembered approving the installation, but couldn’t remember if he ever actually saw it in action. He wondered how often Adrien even used it.

“I thought I was giving him space. I don’t even recognize half the things in here.”

“I’m sure he appreciates you respecting his privacy,” Nathalie said. She took another sip of her tea, calm and collected, like any of their usual conversations. “But I know he would also like to see you more often, in his room or otherwise.”

Gabriel rubbed his temples. “Do you think that would have prevented this from happening?”

Nathalie didn’t answer. Her eyes were skimming the room, at the decorations Adrien had chosen to put up. Very little fine art, unlike what Gabriel had done with the rest of the house. Photos of himself and his friends from school, blurry and unfocused; none of his professional shoots, even the ones he had reportedly enjoyed. An old photograph of himself, Emilie, and Gabriel together was the only decorating choice they had in common, framed in a place of honor between his desk and his bed.

“I always wondered about the street signs,” Nathalie said. “Why a bear crossing?”

“It was in vogue, for a brief time,” Gabriel recalled. “I think he thought it was funny. I never quite understood it either.”

They fell silent again, watching the shadows from the window play on the wall.

“You should eat,” said Nathalie.

“I shall.”

“Soon,” she insisted. She used the tone of voice that was usually reserved for when Adrien was dragging his feet getting to his scheduled activities. Gabriel didn’t think it had ever been directed at him before. “I know you haven’t had anything all day.”

“Soon,” he agreed. As a mollifying gesture, he reached out and took the remaining cup of tea. It was no longer steaming, but was still warm enough to soothe him as he sipped it.

“Are you going downstairs today?”

Gabriel’s fingers clenched around his mug. His fingers were nearly as white as the porcelain, the dark metal of his ring in stark contrast. 

“How can I face her, Nathalie?” he murmured. “How can I face her when I’ve lost our son.”

Nathalie stood, slowly. Her legs quivered slightly as she did, her breath strained, and she took a moment to steady herself, a hand delicately at her temple, the other braced on the back of the sofa in case she fell.

“You keep looking, sir,” she said. 

He knew what she was implying. She had said it outright, after the first akumas had failed. 

“Let me look. I know to avoid Ladybug, I can get it done more efficiently. If you akumatize me, I will find Adrien and bring him home.”

But his answer was the same. He couldn’t risk any side effects of the magic. Even though the butterflies had never had a lasting physical effect on their subjects, even though the peacock was repaired and creating an amok did nothing to harm the source of the emotion.

He couldn’t risk losing her, too. 

“I can’t feel him, Nathalie,” he said, staring at his hands. “Every day, when searching for my next akuma, I could feel him. At school or work, in his bedroom, stressed or upset about a friend or just…lonely, like me. And I would pass him over, because I’m only doing this for us to be happy again.” His knuckles were turning white again. “But now, in the sea of people, when his emotions should be crying out for me to find them… he’s not there.”

Nathalie didn’t answer. She simply waited, in silence.

“I’ll be down in a bit,” Gabriel said. 

Nathalie nodded. She collected the tray, leaving Gabriel alone with his cup of lukewarm tea. 

The shadows on the wall grew longer, the light more golden and orange as the sun sank somewhere behind him. 

When the golden light started to give way to purples and greys, there was another knock. A soft, open tone, completely unlike Nathalie’s sharp business rapping, on glass instead of wood.

Gabriel stood and turned to see his greatest enemy, the source of so many frustrations, perched on his son’s windowsill with an awkward smile and wave.

He took a deep breath and set his tea on the table before striding over to the window to open it.

“Good evening, Ladybug.”

She slipped into the room at his invitation. He stepped aside, allowing her space, but she lingered by the window, standing with a shy, awkward demeanor that was unusual for the superhero. Though, he supposed, she had nothing to fight this time.

“Good evening, Mr Agreste. I’m sorry for intruding like this.”

He shook his head. “Not at all. I don’t suppose you are here with news of Adrien?”

She rubbed her arm. “I’m afraid not, Mr Agreste. Nothing aside from what the police have found.”

Gabriel sighed, pushing his glasses up into place. “In that case, for what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I was finishing a patrol, and saw you through the window. I’m actually worried about how you have been doing,” said Ladybug.

He frowned. “How I’m doing?”

She looked down at the ground, shuffling her feet on the carpet. “There isn’t a lot I can do in this case, Mr Agreste,” she said. “My powers aren’t much help in searching for missing people. But there have been a lot of akumas and sentimonsters since Adrien’s disappearance, taking advantage of the emotions attached to such a public figure.” She looked up at him, her eyes wide and earnest behind her mask. “Most of them don’t even know him personally. I can’t imagine…”

Gabriel chuckled slightly. “I still have your charm, Ladybug,” he said. He pulled it from his pocket to show her. “It seems to be doing its job, for now. There have been no voices in my head aside from my own.”

“I’m relieved to hear that.” She sounded sincere, the relief in her voice coupled with a sort of low tiredness. He wondered if she was finally being worn down by the akuma attacks somewhat.

“You’ve met Adrien before, haven’t you?”

“Yes, a few times,” she said, and he was amused to see her face flush slightly under the mask. “He’s a good kid.”

He nearly scoffed aloud. If the age difference between Ladybug and his son was more than two years, in either direction, he’d eat his shirt. “He is. He always has been. It seems he’s something of a fan of yours as well.”

“I-is that so?”

“The police searched his room for any evidence of motivation for his disappearance,” he said. “They didn’t find any. They did find a number of photographs and merchandise of yourself and Chat Noir, tucked away in a box in his closet.”

“Ha, is that so?” she laughed nervously. “I didn’t know we had such high profile fans. I’ll have to tell Chat, he’ll get a kick out of it.”

“Where is your partner, then?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m not sure.” She glanced out the window, a slight furrow in her brow. “I think he just went home after patrol. He didn’t stick around today.”

Gabriel considered her, standing casually in her son’s bedroom, the setting sun sending shadows across her face. They were alone, with no witnesses. He had his Miraculous on him. He could easily transform and overpower her. He could even invite her downstairs, get her in a more enclosed area, have Nathalie as backup. It might be his best opportunity to take her Miraculous himself.

But there wasn’t much point if he didn’t have Chat Noir’s as well. And, unlike the heroes themselves, Gabriel was experienced enough to know that it was sometimes more prudent to use your opponents to your advantage when the opportunity arose.

“To be honest, Ladybug, I respect you very much as well.”

Ladybug blinked in surprise, staring up at him. 

“You’ve proven your competence time and time again, your ability to adapt to obstacles and overcome them. I certainly have more confidence in you than in the police.” 

“Thank you, sir,” Ladybug said. “That means a lot.”

The respect was born through being enemies, but that didn’t make it untrue. 

“Thank you for checking in, Ladybug. I wish you luck in your investigations.”

“Of course, Mr Agreste.” She turned to climb out the window, and he watched the light catch on her earring. He twisted his wedding ring around his finger, behind his back.

“Please, Ladybug,” he said. She was crouched on the windowsill, halfway outside, and stopped to look up at him. “Bring my son home. He’s the only family I have left.”

He watched her disappear over the trees, into the distance. The sun was down, the world dark and grey, lit by flickering streetlights.

He shut the window. Picking up his now cold cup of tea, he strode to the bedroom door, pulling it shut behind him. He would go downstairs, eat dinner as Nathalie had ordered. Check on her to make sure she was properly resting in bed. 

And then, back to work.