Meeting You- A Miraculous Fanfic (On Hold)

Chapter 3

~Exactly 14 years later~

Birthdays are usually days to be celebrated, days to have fun with friends and family, days to be happy, but for Emma Agreste reality was far from expectation. For Emma, her birthday was just a reminder of the sacrifice her parents made for the city. Not once had she left her new home on her birthday, for all around the city people were celebrating Paris' former heroes. The Mayor declared that on this day every year, the city was to hold a festival to thank Ladybug and Chat Noir for their sacrifice and for defeating Hawkmoth and Mayura. The two villains were given lifetime imprisonment, which Emma didn't feel was fair. Her parents had to give up their lives, shouldn't they have theirs taken too? While Emma was glad that the city didn't forget about her parents and tried to honour their memory, she couldn't help but feel angry that the city was happy while she was suffering.

"Emma? C'mon kitten come downstairs." Alya pleaded from outside her bedroom door. "Please? Grandma Sabine and Grandpa Tom are here." Alya and Nino fulfilled Marinette's dying request as they took in Emma as their own, raising her on stories about her parents and how much they loved her. Emma couldn't have been more grateful for their kindness and love, but she still felt like part of her was missing, like she didn't belong.

"I'm not in the mood." She replied trying not to sound angry towards the closest thing she has to a mother.

"At least come get some food." Suggested Nino softly. He had made a great father, but he knew that he could never live up to Adrien, and he didn't want to. Adrien, although for a short period of time, was an amazing father to Emma as Nino did his best to fill his shadow.

"Not hungry." Emma grumbled. Crawling into a ball on her bed and clutching onto the Ladybug and Chat Noir teddies she was given on her first birthday. It was only 3pm but Emma let herself succumb to the darkness once more as she cried herself to sleep.

With a sigh, the former heroes headed back down to the kitchen, where their friend's parents waited. Hearing their approach, Sabine spoke up as the two entered the room. "How's she doing? I know this day is hard on her." Sabine tried to remain strong, but all four adults still felt the same crushing grief that first came on them 14 years ago.

"Same as always." Was the former vixen's response. Both she and Nino had given up their miraculous after that horrible day 14 years ago. They returned the Miraculouses to the Miracle box and hadn't looked at it since.

After that fateful day, Alya would often have nightmares, her dreams a replay of the fight and death of her friends. Nino would have panic attacks seeing things that resembled a large amount of blood. Alya had no idea what was happening to him when she had dropped a glass of red wine onto her white carpet when he had started breathing heavily and sat in the floor, knees to his chest, panting for air. Neither of the retired heroes could get the image of the duo's cold, lifeless bodies in front of them out of their heads. It haunted them. They couldn't tell Emma that though, she already had a hard time with the loss of her parents, and they wanted to remain strong for them, but they didn't realise she already knew. She would sometimes wake up to the sound of Aly screaming in the middle of the night and had once saw her trying to soothe Nino after a black cat had caused another attack. The only time they could think of Adrien and Marinette without breaking into tears was if they were telling Emma stories about them. Such as past Akuma battles; or how, from the first day they met, Adrien was devoted to Marinette; how flustered Marinette got around Adrien when they were teenagers; or how clumsy she was - a trait Emma seemed to inherit.

After a few hours of talking with Marinette's parents, the elderly couple headed home so Alya and Nino decided to, yet again, try and convince Emma to come downstairs for some food. She hadn't eaten anything all day. They walked hand in hand up the stairs of their home and stopped at the door to the teenage girl's room was. Alya hesitated in front of the door but was reassured when Nino let go of her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist. After letting out a shaky breath, she knocked. "Hey Emma, can... can you open the door?" After a few seconds of shuffling around, the door slowly crept half-way open to reveal a red-nosed and puffy-eyed Emma Agreste.