Miraculous One-Shots 2023

Vindicated (Spirdrien)

Written for Art_the_f_up's WTIYS 

'Can one moment really change your life? A fleeting glance; an ill timed step; a silence where you should have spoken those words, words which have been on the tip or your tongue day after day, month after month, year after year.

A moment of regret, when you said the wrong thing at the wrong time? Or maybe the right thing but to the wrong person?

Or perhaps a moment where you should have noticed something so obvious that it had been right under your nose the whole time?

Can you come back from such a moment or is it one that will live with you forever; your defining moment which will go down in history.

Is it true that one moment can make your life good... or bad?'

*****

The closing notes of day began to crash against night, the two hitting together making a wonderful pattern of reds and oranges against the skies, coating the bustling city of Paris.

Shadows began to grow to their full length in the most ominous of ways, ways that would lead to their final encore and disappearance as the day merged effortlessly into night.

Night. The perfect time for violence.

These kinds of things always happened at the darkest times of day; or at least it felt that way. It was as though the day was purposefully set up to build emotion, to uncover the truth which was usually hidden by shadows of night.

As the closing bars of the sun's ensemble played out the remaining notes of daylight, the truth would be hidden once more. And, if you couldn't see it, it wasn't real, right? Another fabrication with no proof of its existence.

Adrien sat on the highest point of the Iron Lady, his mask in his hand as he looked out over Paris, over his home. One arm rested on his knee, his knuckles turning white as his mask swung in the high breeze around the top of the Eiffel Tower; his other cupped his head, a pain shooting through his central cortex as he fought the tears threatening to spill.

What kind of hero was he? How could he allow his emotions to run wild in a city where it was dangerous to feel? But at this moment he couldn't care as the events of the day ran again and again in his head.

A comforting thwip cut through the surrounding sounds of late afternoon in Paris; his partner coming towards him; a silhouette of hope against the day's ominous closing moments. He knew he'd have to tell her, to let her know what a failure he was, but at the moment he clung to the possibility that he'd be vindicated.

The soft sound of her feet landing down on the metal was soothing for his nerves; each wound tightly and threatening to snap.

"A-A-Adrien..."

"Surprise," he said without an ounce of enthusiasm in his voice. He sat and watched as Ladybug climbed the tower and seated herself beside him.

"Adrien Agreste. What? Why aren't you wearing your mask?"

He sighed and looked out into the distance, bringing his mask up and fumbling with it between his hands.

"I know," he whispered, "I know why we have to do this, why we're getting battered from pillar to post, why we're having to fight daily for our lives and those around us..." as Adrien spoke he could feel the emotion in his voice building and building, and if he didn't control it he was certain it was going to snap. The tightening of his jaw, the flaring of his nostrils, the overpowering need to shout and scream — the perfect emotion for an akuma.