Uptown, Downtown (Chat Noir x Reader) - Book 1

36 | Happier

The first thing you noticed was that the Varsouviana had stopped.

Adrien's arms were still wrapped tightly around you, which caused you to squirm in embarrassment, as you glanced around to see where you were.

You were back, still looking up at the purple sky. You blinked in shock, then sat up, and stared; the portal was gone, Marinette still lay out cold on the floor, and that unsettling silent air was still hovering uncertainly around the city.

Your senses slowly returned to you, and you began to collect the scattered pieces of your mind, recovering from the intense mental breakdown you'd just endured.

Then, Adrien opened his eyes, and looked at you, with a relieved smile, and also unsteadily forced his body upwards into a sitting position, his blindfold strewn half across his face.

Despite the situation, his expression of joy made you grin back, and let out a broken laugh of disbelief, as if to ask, "Why did you go after me?"

His answer was just to cradle you carefully, bringing you into a soft hug. You responded by letting him, leaning into his touch like an exhausted, wounded animal.

Adrien wouldn't be happy if you died.

He'd care if you left.

That revelation was something you didn’t know you needed. "Thank you," you whispered, squeezing him tightly, "thank you, thank you, thank you."

Adrien shook his head, though he'd started crying again; "Don't say that," he laughed through tears, "don't thank me for caring, because I'll always care about you."

"I don't deserve you," you cried, hiccuping slightly. "Fuck — fuck, I don’t deserve you!"

"You do, I promise you do," Adrien assured you, rubbing the back of your head. "I would never lie to you."

"You never lie to anyone, Adrien," you scoffed, hitting him half-heartedly.

"I… wouldn’t say that," he disagreed, catching your wrist gently so you stopped pummelling him. "I lied to Marinette, didn't I?"

So. He knew now.

Well, she was lying a distance away. It would've been strange if he hadn't noticed.

Did this mean you'd failed?

You laid motionless in his embrace for a moment more, before moving away to check on your parents.

And what a sight they were.

They were slumped over, still akumatized, but visibly defeated, both deathly quiet. The Miraculous your mother had once worn lay in her hand; she had her head in her hands, her dress crumpled. All of a sudden, Adrien's ring clattered across the ground, in front of him, having been sent to him presumably by one of your parents.

"(Y/n)," your father spoke, surprising you. "Please… please come here. Don't bring the boy, this is our business."

You offered Adrien an apologetic look, but he just tilted his head and gave you a cheeky smile, that reminded you very much of Chat Noir. So, you playfully tugged the blindfold back over his eyes, and then stood up, and made your way over to your parents.

(You vaguely heard him shout something about claws coming out, soon after.)

Once you arrived, you stood over them, still cautious, and were surprised when you spotted a card on your dad's hat, in front of you; a joker, to be precise. However, the joker card was inverted in colour, purple and black instead of the typical red and white.

You were stunned into silence; that was where the akuma was. Of course. Slowly, you grasped the card, and looked it over, frowning as you decided on your next move.

"Give that back," your dad whispered. "We still need our powers. We can find another way to bring your brother back, but not if you're the sacrifice."

“I want Julian back,” your mother confessed, as she used her powers to place the earrings back on Marinette, and move her out of sight into a lone alleyway. "But not if you don't make it out alive."

“If you break it, everything will go back to normal,” your father continued, “and we won’t remember a thing. All of our acts will be undone. All the things we've done to get your brother back.”

There was a brief pause, in which you surveyed them, trying to digest whatever the hell was going on. These people were your parents; they were just versions of them they’d been too scared to show, this was them at their very, very worst, so desperate to have what they wanted that they were willing to go to untold lengths to get it.

You breathed in and out carefully, and swallowed quietly, holding the card, before stepping away from them. Your mum looked up, and her eyes widened, when she realised what you were about to do; "(Y/n), give it back," she reaffirmed, starting to come to her feet.

"No," you replied without missing a beat, walking away further, and holding the card at arm's length, "I'm going to stop this, right now."

"I said give it here!" your dad roared, leaping upwards, and dashing towards you.

Terrified at your own father charging at you, you went even further back, tripping over your feet in fear; when he saw your horrified expression, he stopped, and sighed deeply.

"(Y/n), give it here," he hissed, gesturing with his hand. "You want Julian back, don’t you?"

You stopped short, and tears filled your eyes again. "I never knew Julian like you did," you admitted quietly, "but you loved him. And you miss him, I know. But this isn't the way to do it. I'm tired — I'm tired of trying to make you understand that he's never coming back!" you became hysterical, losing your patience.

Your father and mother looked like you'd slapped them both across the face.

"But, maybe I'm wrong, maybe you're right," you laughed breathlessly. "Maybe… maybe Julian is alive. I've learned during my time living here that things aren't always realistic, and that's something I need to get used to. I've learned that magic and monsters really do exist; I've learned heroes sometimes aren't just phony, superficial people who prance around in costumes. I've learned that the reality that I'm used to — we're used to, isn't always the thing others experience.

"But in any case, I refuse to let you do this. Not when you're like this. Not when you hurt other people, not when you fucking paralyse the entire city of Paris to get what you want. I know jackshit about Julian, but I know he wouldn’t want you to do this just to get him back."

"(Y/n), you're not even a hero," your mother spluttered through sobs, pathetically reaching out to you. "Give it back!"

"I'm sorry," you mumbled, "but no. As you said once, Mum, not every hero has a skintight leotard."

With that, you held the card between your index finger and thumb, and snapped it clean in half; a bright light sprung out, and the citizens immediately floated back down, the purple sky dribbling away to reveal the familiar blue, and your parents' alter egos vaporising into thin air, leaving behind only the people you'd known all your life.

You were finally out of Wonderland.