Making Choices

8

He said he could tell her anything, which meant she could tell him about what she had done to survive. Adrien had seen how cruel the world could be now, which meant he wouldn't judge her too harshly. Right?

A shadow of doubt flitted across her mind, but Ladybug pushed it away. She didn't have anything to doubt, they were safe and had food, only a few things had gone wrong so far, she wasn't really doing that badly. The only thing that Adrien could hold against her was who her next target was supposed to be, but nothing had actually been carried out. The government that gave her the next target had been overthrown anyway, and she was following different orders now.

"I kill people for a living. I do it for money so my parents can eat and don't have to worry about their safety." Without the first sentence, what she had just said could almost be considered normal. Just those words, without the context, they could be interpreted as many things. But both Adrien and Ladybug knew the context they were in.

"Who hires you?" If Adrien was asking questions, it meant he wasn't judging her yet. Though she had only revealed shallow details, the most surface-level information she could offer. Nothing about her family, or why she had made the choice to become a contract killer.

Ladybug paused for a moment. The simple answer would be whichever government was in power at the moment, but she was never really sure who she was speaking to. There was always something between her and the person who was giving her orders, whether to stop her finding out who they were or because of another reason she couldn't fathom. "I never knew who they were, just that they were the people I listened to and they worked for whatever government was in power. Or anyone rich enough to pay my fee."

"What happens to your orders when the governments shift?"

"They get replaced, no matter how complete they are. If another government replaces your father, I could leave you to fend for yourself out here and return to Paris for more work." She wouldn't, though. Despite everything that had happened, and all the things that had gone wrong, this was easier than killing people.

Adrien paused for a moment, thinking. "Did you have orders that were replaced when my father hired you?"

She couldn't answer that. A single word could lead to more questions that would only push them apart. But silence gave as much away as words did.

"Who was your next target?"

"You won't want to hear it."

"Was it me?"

"No." It wasn't, but he wasn't far off being correct.

"I won't hold it against you, I know you were just following orders. Just like you are now." Adrien seemed genuine, and there didn't seem to be anything hiding beneath his words.

"Chloe Bourgeois."

The silence between them suddenly turned knife sharp and Adrien couldn't meet her eyes. "Were you going to do it?"

There was no way out of this that wouldn't push them apart further than they already were. Ladybug knew that if she stayed silent, Adrien would know the answer. If she lied and said no, she would feel guilty. If she told the truth, she could destroy everything they had built together, from their conversation the first time they saw each other to now.

"I don't think I need an answer." Adrien stood up and walked away, taking the kitten with him.

Ladybug sat in silence for a while before snapping back to reality. There were still things that needed to be done and sitting around wouldn't accomplish any of them. Time was slipping past them and they needed to keep moving, regardless of how they felt about each other right now.