À l’infini
In the land beyond the sun,
Lies only Par’dise
Where the Phoenix doth reside
For it is their realm.
And in such realm
Its inhabitants know not of the dark
But only of light
For there one cannot miss the sun.
When he was eight, Adrien and his mother had gone to the English countryside for a weekend to visit a ranch he later learned she’d grown up in. He’d gotten to ride a horse, a skill easier in theory than in practice, and he’d fallen off and cut his elbow open. It had bled all over the place and his mom had had to patch him up herself, all while humming a song he’d never been able to place. It was only now that he realized it was La vie en rose as he came to, realization only brought to light by the sound of someone humming it somewhere beside him.
The corners of his vision fuzzed with resistance as he awoke gradually, eyes twinging as they took in the sudden light. He was back at the ranch, this time spread out on the grass beneath a tall tree. The grass was soft beneath his fingertips, damp with dew although he himself was dry. The sun hadn’t fully risen yet; it was an early morning and everything was still covered in fog as he blinked, taking in his surroundings. And beside him sat his mother, humming as she drew something on a pad of paper.
“Maman?” He whispered, slowly sitting up.
“Isn’t it peaceful?” She said, eyes meeting his and giving him that smile, the sort that lit up his whole world and was so full of love. How many nights had he dreamt of seeing that smile again?
“Maman!” Adrien threw himself into her arms, burying his face into her shirt, tears flowing freely. “I missed you so bad.”
“I missed you too.” She hugged him back, a sensation that Adrien hadn’t known how badly he’d been missing until he could feel it again. She was there and she was real and it was like he was a kid all over again. “You’ve gotten so big!”
“You haven’t aged a day,” Adrien said through the tears, taking in her appearance. Not a hair was out of place in her usual spiral that tumbled down her shoulder. She was dressed in a soft white dress that ruffled slightly in the tiniest of breezes.
“That’s one of the perks of being here,” she said, waving an arm out at the countryside. “Plus, I can finally keep watch on you.”
“Are we dead?” Adrien said slowly. “Did Père…?”
His mother looked away, eyes full of pain as she turned them towards the horizon. “This is all my fault.”
“No,” Adrien said firmly. “We have to stop blaming ourselves for his mistakes. He did this to us.” He grabbed the sides of her face, wanting to see every inch of his mother’s face after being denied the pleasure for so long. He wanted her to be happy. She should have felt free, but now the guilt was weighing her down.
“I promised your dad we would be together forever, and that was my first mistake, mon chou.” She cupped his face in turn. “There is no forever when you live like we do. Even tomorrow is not guaranteed when you’re a hero. Don’t make forever promises, Adrien. You won’t be able to keep them.”
He hugged her again, content for a moment just to sit there and look out at the slowly rising sun. “What happens now?”
“Nothing,” she said, stroking his hair. “That’s the beauty of it.”
“I killed you,” he blurted. “I pulled the plug that was keeping you sleeping in that coffin.”
“Thank you.”
“Did I make the right choice?”
“You freed me, Adrien. I’d rather not live at all than live like that. At least here I can feel again.”
“Are you proud of me?” He knew the answer. He needed to hear her say it, as though hearing her speak those words one more time would make up for all the times he’d missed them.
“Always. Even when I couldn’t see you, I was proud of you. You’ve never disappointed me.”
“I always disappointed Père.” Adrien shifted to lie beside her once more, propping his back up against the tree. “I really tried to make him proud but it never worked. I just wanted you back.” His green eyes met hers and she gave him a sad smile.
“I’m so sorry. I never intended to leave you.”
“Well, we’ll just make sure you never leave me again. This is forever, isn’t it? You’ll never have to leave ever again.” He stared out at the cows in the distance. “I didn’t want to leave Marinette and Peter behind, but I guess this is how it was meant to be.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” his mother said, brow creasing slightly, looking at the sun.
“What do you mean?” He propped himself up on one elbow, squinting. It seemed like the sun was getting closer to them at an impossibly fast rate.
“Someone’s not ready to give up on you just yet.” Adrien glanced back at her. She was smiling.
“What is it?”
“A phoenix, one of the guardians of this realm.”
The light reached them, so blinding Adrien couldn’t even see and had to shut his eyes tightly until it gently faded.
“Suluu?” He said incredulously, squinting at the phoenix who had come to retrieve him. She was in human form, only massive wings spread out from her back, easily the span of several buildings. Her eyes were milky white, her lips blood red. If he’d thought she looked powerful on earth, that was nothing compared to now. Without the usual mischievous sparkle in her eye, Suluu looked downright dangerous in the most ethereal sense.
“It feels good to be back.” She looked around, a smile playing at her lips. “Hello Madame Agreste.”
“Hello, Your Majesty,” his mother responded.
“Your Majesty?” Adrien raised an eyebrow at Suluu.
“I’m the phoenix god, what did you expect? This is my territory that I’ve been separated from for so long. There’s lots of phoenixes, and this is where they’re born and where they live. All that is beautiful and pure stays here.”
“Where is ‘here’?” Adrien asked, running a hand over the grass. It was so real, so vivid, there was no way it could be his imagination.
“It’s Paradise.” She flashed her pearly white teeth at him.
“It’s perfect.” He breathed out, eyes falling on the ranch house in the far distance. Something told him he could make this world look however he pleased, make reality bend to his will. This was his mother’s happy place, hence why she had crafted it as such. All the perfection of the world and none of the evil. “Why are you so determined to be human?”
“As a kwami, I can’t stay here. Plus, I made this place as perfect as it is. Who’s to say I can’t make Earth a tiny bit more beautiful too.”
“Why are you here?” Adrien could barely dare to hope.
“Peter and Marinette are extremely determined not to let you die. He used the healing tears after giving your dad a bit of a verbal smackdown, and they’re currently crying over your dead body. I’ve got to be honest, you’ve kind of grown on me. So, if you so choose, it’s time to go home.”
Adrien looked at his mother. “But I’d be leaving you.”
“I’m not going to go anywhere,” his mother said, gently running a hand up the side of his cheek.
“I just got you back. I don’t know if I can lose you again.”
“You’re not losing me, Adrien. You know exactly where I am. When you time comes for real, I’ll be waiting for you.”
Suluu held out her hand and Adrien rose slowly, gently taking it.
“Émilie?” Suluu said, quickly, glancing down. “A word of advice. Eternity is a long time. I suggest you learn to forgive what you can’t forget.”
“I understand.” His mother gave Suluu a brief nod, eyes dropping to the ground.
“Bye bye, Maman,” Adrien said, looking at her for one last time. “I’ll see you again.”
“I’m so proud of you, Adrien. And I love you, forever and always, no matter where we are.” She slipped the drawing she’d been working on into his pocket, resuming her humming as she did so.
“Forever and always,” he repeated, and then Suluu was leading him towards the sun.
“Ready to go back?” Suluu asked, pausing at the very edge of whatever world they were within, her long eyelashes fluttering.
His mother was watching him, just a speck in the distance, but he could see her nod, just once. Her song still seemed to travel somehow, or maybe it was playing all around him as Suluu lead him into the sun.
Des ennuis, des chagrins s’effacent. Heureux, heureux à en mourir.
Adrien felt himself return to his body once the bright light had subsided. He didn’t dare open his eyes just yet, and everything felt so heavy. Wherever he’d just been had been so unimaginably light, so far beyond the pain that plagued his body now. In fact, he couldn’t pinpoint whether that weighted feeling was from injuries he’d sustained or just the general feeling of being alive.
Slowly, ever so carefully, he opened his eyes, entirely unprepared for what he saw. Peter was kneeling beside him along with Marinette, and as much as Adrien wanted to look at Marinette, he couldn’t help but stare at his friend. White light surrounded the three of them, like they were the only ones in their own little world. And Peter.
Giant wings, not unlike the ones Suluu had sported, only in white, stretched out behind him, his eyes the same glowing white. He was bathed in so much light, and he seemed to be the source, to the point where there was no other word to describe the sight other than beautiful. In that moment, Peter was just like Suluu whenever she paraded around as a human. Beauty in the divine. Otherworldly and entirely unattainable.
“Adrien!” Marinette cried out, having noticed his eyes opening, and she was tackling him in a hug, gripping his shoulders as she landed on top of him.
“I’m alive?” Adrien held up his hands, inspecting them before confirming that he wasn’t, in fact, hallucinating, and using them to wrap his arms around his girlfriend.
Peter’s transformation dropped beside them, light fading with it as Suluu spiralled out from his anklet, catching the cinnamon candy Peter threw her. Suluu shot Adrien a wink before transforming Peter once again.
“You’re alive,” Peter assured him. “I mean, you were very much dead, but it’s a good thing that I’m determined.”
Adrien’s eyes came into focus and he honed in on his father, who was confined by Peter’s webbing that had his hands trapped against the rail. Their eyes met, and Adrien waited for something, anything. Some sign of remorse, some sort of regret, but he was only faced with hardened displeasure.
“Nooroo, detransform me.” The Papillon disappeared, replacing the silver mask with Gabriel Agreste’s stern face. Free from the webbing, he approached their group slowly, and they all paused, waiting for what he had to say. Hoping for a change of heart.
“You’ve seen her, haven’t you?” Gabriel said impassively, tone betraying nothing. Adrien simply glared at him. “So you understand now, that you, me, and your mother could live together. Forever. No one would ever have to leave again.”
Marinette’s hand landed on Adrien’s shoulder, gently massaging it, giving him the strength he needed to speak. “Don’t make forever promises, Père. I could never want that.”
He stood on slightly shaky feet, facing his dad for possibly one of the first times ever, meeting his gaze without hesitation. “All I want is to end this, to be able to tell my girlfriend I love her tomorrow. To be able to go watch a movie with Peter and eat another cake. Because they’re my family now. They were my family when you never could be. They’ve never forgotten my birthday, never made me feel inferior, never made me wonder if they cared at all. And I love them! I love them because every day with them could be my last, and to restrict your love is a foolish thing! I love them because I know love will continue when I cannot. And it’s because forever isn’t guaranteed that I love them so freely and I wouldn’t have it any other way. In a world where nothing lasts forever, maybe mortal is the best thing someone can be.”
“You don’t understand, Adrien. I’ve never expected you to. But this is what’s best for us.”
“What about for everyone else?” Adrien refused to back down. “This isn’t best for them. And I saw Maman. She’s happy. At peace. She doesn’t want to come back here. She’s just content to sit and watch the sun rise on the countryside.”
“You didn’t actually see her, Adrien. You were hallucinating, imagining things. Side effect of death, I’m afraid.”
“And whose fault is that?”
His father’s brow creased and he spun away, body tensing up as he transformed back into Adrien’s enemy. And without a second thought, Adrien was Chat Noir once more, baton at the ready to block his father’s first strike.
Ladybug and Spiderman joined him on either side as they attacked. Nathalie scrambled to her feet, attempting to join the fray, but Peter quickly tied her back up.
The three of them worked like a well-oiled machine, easily combatting the Papillon’s attempts at fighting back. They backed him up against the railing, Adrien pushing his baton against his father’s shoulders, levelling a glare.
Then a tiny, white, harmless butterfly landed in his father’s hand.
“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug yelled, catching the bowl that fell from her yoyo and slapping it over the akumatized butterfly the second Gabriel released it.
“How dare you,” Adrien growled, shoving his father harder. “How dare you try and hurt us?”
“Adrien?” Peter said, sounding slightly concerned. “Be careful.”
Adrien wasn’t listening, instead glowering at his father, hoping his hate showed in his eyes. Predictably, the Papillon did his best to regain the upper hand, hands gripping the bar that pressed against him, pushing it back towards Adrien, who dropped to the floor, aiming a kick at his father’s legs. His father backed up to avoid it. He lost his balance.
And that was all it took, Peter’s warning was lost on Adrien’s deaf ears as his father toppled over the edge of the railing. Adrien scrambled to his feet, rushing to the edge, frantically looking at the chasm below, at the water that poured into the bottom. Nathalie was crying somewhere behind him, screaming out for the disappearing speck.
“I’ll go after him,” Peter said, without hesitation, fixing a web to the railing.
“Wait!” Adrien held out a hand. “It’s a long way down.”
“Don’t worry,” Spiderman cocked his head. “I’m not afraid of the fall.” And with that, Peter was gracefully diving over the edge, arms open like a swan. And maybe that was what Adrien was afraid of, perhaps worried that Spiderman’s courage could make him blind.
Part of Adrien felt like he should’ve been the one to go after his father, but he knew that was insane. There was no way he could’ve done that. Plus, his father had killed him, then tried to kill him again.
But now Adrien might’ve killed his father.
It was taking Peter too long to return. Adrien turned to Ladybug, panicking, when the telltale sounds of a web zipping drew his attention back to the railing as the web pulled taunt, then Peter was leaping through the air, holding an unconscious, water-drenched man in his arms, Papillon transformation long gone.
“Père!” Adrien yelled, trying to get close, but Peter didn’t let him as he deposited his father on the ground, placing his hands square on Gabriel’s chest before beginning harsh compressions.
Adrien was frozen on the spot as he watched, wanting to help but uncertain how. The CPR unit in his gym class had never covered how utterly horrific it was, and all the tv shows that had depicted it as romantic had lied. The sound of popping cartilage was all Adrien could hear above the roar of water as Peter continued his attempts at reviving his father. A battle against death was harsh, bruising, and unforgiving. There was nothing idealistic about the way Peter’s interwoven hands slammed down on his father’s chest.
“Ladybug!” Peter yelled and Marinette, her own transformation now gone, kneeled next to the body on the floor. “Continue compressions and ventilations, I’m going to try something.”
He held his hands up, and as Adrien watched in horror, the palms begun to glow with a blue light.
“Back up,” Peter said to Marinette after a moment, shooing her away before pressing his palm’s to the body, one on each side of his father’s chest. Like a marionette with its strings cut, Gabriel’s body lurched on the ground, but Peter’s impromptu paddles seemed to have no effect.
“That didn’t work!” Marinette yelled, tears streaming down her face. Adrien wasn’t sure when she’d started crying again, and maybe she’d never stopped.
“The charge was my last resort,” Peter replied breathlessly. “If there’s no heartbeat, it can’t do anything. I don’t have any epinephrine on me, that’s what would restart the heart entirely.”
Adrien barely understood what Peter was saying, and only one part registered with him. No heartbeat.
The phoenix song filled the room, followed by the same white light as before as Peter released his face from Spiderman’s masking, kneeling over Gabriel Agreste’s broken body. All malice was gone from his father’s face as Peter dripped golden tears onto his chest, but somehow Adrien knew it wasn’t going to be enough.
Five minutes passed and Peter’s transformation faded around him and still the dead man didn’t move. Ladybug stood and backed away, stepping backwards to stand beside Adrien.
“He’s….” Peter’s eyes didn’t meet Adrien’s. “He’s gone, I’m sorry.”
“I killed him,” Adrien said quietly. “I caused him to lose his balance.”
“It was either that or he’d kill you,” Marinette immediately leapt to his defence. “Again. You can’t blame yourself.”
Adrien nodded stupidly, but his eyes were fixed on Peter, who had bared his hand and rested it against his father’s forehead. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t know.” Peter had his eyes closed and only his mouth moved as he replied. “I can see something.”
Adrien exchanged a look with Marinette. “Where’s Suluu?”
“She’s not here,” Peter breathed out slowly. “She’s with him and she’s telling me he’s okay. He’s calm. Happy. Reunited. You did the right thing, Adrien. It couldn’t have ended any other way.”
Adrien stepped through the puddle of water that surrounded his father’s body, sinking to the ground beside Peter, doing his best to imagine what his father was seeing. The ranch. The fog. The sunrise?
“It’s sunset,” Peter said quietly. “The night sky is going to be remarkable tonight. He’s apologized, and there will be eternity to make up for his mistakes, and one day she’ll forgive him. Sometimes you have to forgive what you can’t forget.”
That line, that little line he’d heard Suluu utter to his mother was all the confirmation Adrien needed. Everything was okay. It was going to turn out okay.
He was crying, maybe he had been for awhile, Adrien didn’t know. Marinette retransformed behind him and purified the last akuma that would ever terrorize them, before launching the last lucky charm into the sky that would undo the Papillon’s damage.
Trembling fingers removed his father’s broach, as Adrien looked down at the tiny little thing that had caused that much trouble. The tiny thing that had taken everything from him. He had the overwhelming desire to cataclysm it, but before he could, Ladybug plucked it from his hands and placed in in a miraculous box.
“My suit’s scanners are telling me that the police are outside and in the house,” Peter said, having severed his connection with the afterlife and masked back up. “Apparently the city saw a beam of bright white light extending into the sky earlier when I brought you back to life. People are panicking a little bit.”
“This is the end?” Adrien said, rising slowly and taking Marinette’s hand in his. “It all seems so simple now.”
“It’s not over yet,” Marinette said. “We have to hand Nathalie off to the police and let the city know what happened but…the hard part is over.”
Adrien’s eyes drifted to his mother in her casket. The day had taken two casualties, two he’d never get back, but there would be time to mourn later. There’d also be time to celebrate. Now was neither of those times. Now he just had to put one foot in front of the other and make it out of there.
Peter fashioned a pair of handcuffs to slap around Nathalie’s wrists and pulled her to her feet, leading their party towards the elevator. Adrien stepped in, looking out at the scene as they ascended. Two bodies, both so small and peaceful in death, laid amongst a scene that had once held so much fear for Adrien, was almost sort of poetic. A small patch of light fell upon the area where the casket had been stored, making the dead look younger, almost like they were glowing. Like it was sunset on their features.
Everything was a haze of cameras and reporters and police as the three ragged heroes stepped out into the street. Spiderman handed Nathalie off to someone, before motioning for Adrien to leave.
“Ladybug and I will handle the reporters while they bring out the bodies. Get away from here, somewhere you can breathe.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. Adrien zipped off into the twilight sky as his friends turned to address the sea of journalists below. Just for once, he was truly alone. And he was okay with that. He wasn’t lonely like he had been, he had people who loved him both on earth and above. This night, for the first time ever, he was content with his thoughts and the big wide world around him.
Fumbling fingers reached into his suit’s pocket and pulled out a tiny piece of paper, smoothing out the wrinkles as he unfolded his mother’s drawing. It was the silhouette of the two of them in the position he’d awoken to, looking out at the countryside. The drawing was done in pencil, but Adrien’s brain filled in the colours. It had been real after all.
He found an abandoned plaza with a public piano standing in the middle and he detransformed before approaching it and sitting at the bench, tucking the drawing back into his pocket. His fingers moved of their own accord, and he couldn’t tell you what tune he played, but there would be plenty time tomorrow to figure out his place in the world. Tonight it was just him and his requiem and the stars above. Tonight it was just peace.
It was three days before they were allowed back into the Agreste mansion. Peter and Adrien had wound up staying at Marinette’s house as they made arrangements for the funeral, a real one this time. The public had worked itself up into a frenzy over the identity of Mayura and the Papillon, requests for interviews flooding Spiderman’s inbox. But Peter paid no mind to any of them. It was too soon to talk about those kinds of things, and they’d have the rest of their lives to talk about it. For now, he had to stand by Adrien.
“It feels weird,” Adrien admitted as they crossed the police tape, heading into the house. Everything had been picked apart by the police, examined as they pieced together everything that had happened.
“It does,” Peter said as they stepped into his bedroom. It was like a veil separated them from the room, from all the joy and scheming that had occurred there. Adrien and Marinette were still holding hands, another veil that Peter had expected. The fact that they were a couple meant things would be different between Peter and Adrien, but not necessarily in a bad way. In a way, he’d fulfilled his end of the deal he’d had with Alya all that time ago, about pairing together Adrien and Marinette. He’d have to gloat later. “I’ve got something I need to do.”
He grabbed the will he’d left on his desk, looking at it carefully before ripping it up into tiny little shreds. It wasn’t necessary anymore. For once, there was no threat.
“What was even in there?” Marinette asked as they watched the pieces fall to the floor.
“The next holder of the phoenix miraculous,” Peter said truthfully. “Even if I died, I still wanted Suluu to be…human. And when you are the phoenix holder, you can tell who could wield it. But that’s unimportant now.”
Marinette looked like she wanted to argue, like she very much wanted to know who a potential wielder could be, but she seemed to decide against it, simply shrugging as she looked at the tiny little pieces of paper on the floor.
“Speaking of which,” Peter said. “Would you two be able to give me a moment alone? I have to make good on my promise.”
His friends respectively went to go check out Adrien’s room, and Peter nudged Suluu out of his coat pocket.
“You’re not going to tell them that Felix could’ve been Helios?” Suluu asked, fluttering her tiny wings. “They would’ve loved to know that.”
“That’s an issue for another time, if it ever arises. But I don’t think it will.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you’re your own person now, Suluu.” He drew a black debit card out of his pocket and handed it to her. “As my personal therapist, you’re paid quite a hefty sum by Stark Industries. It’s all on this card, and now you’re free to go wherever you want, do whatever you want to do. You’re a free person, Suluu. And as long as I shall live, you will never be held down again. The world is now yours.”
“I appreciate the sentiment,” Suluu said, plucking the card from his hand and placing it in the back pocket of her jeans, “but you’ll have to put up with me awhile longer. I got accepted by a law school here so I won’t be going anywhere for at least the next eight years.” She gave him a sly grin and Peter had to bite down on his bottom lip to avoid smiling too hard. Secretly he hadn’t wanted Suluu to leave but it had seemed selfish to ask her to stay. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“Gosh darn, just when I thought you’d finally be out of my hair,” he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
“Not a chance. May offered me a spot in your family and I intend to accept.”
“So, law school, huh?” Peter shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked on his feet. “That’s a big commitment.”
“I’m smarter than I look.”
“I never said you looked stupid, I’m just surprised you wanted to settle into routine so fast.”
“I just want to help people,” Suluu said honestly. “This seems like the best way for me to do it. Besides the whole being a god thing, but I can reach more people this way. I’m not cut out to be a doctor, but I do love arguing with people.”
“Who knows, maybe I’ll join you in a few years,” Peter mused, before frowning. “That doesn’t even sound right. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with the rest of my life.”
“Good thing you have the rest of your life to figure it out,” Suluu said. “There’s always tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Peter said, a small smile spreading across his features. “There’s always tomorrow.”
The funeral service for Gabriel Agreste was a small affair. May had flown in from New York to support Adrien, handing Peter a thick envelope right off the bat. He knew what it was, but didn’t open it. That was a matter for another time, after the funeral.
Agreste mansion had been cleared as a crime scene, minus the underground rooms, but neither Peter nor Adrien had any desire to venture down there. They’d both been sleeping in Adrien’s room since the fateful night; Peter crashing on Adrien’s couch. He’d sensed that Adrien was scared of what was to come, despite how well he hid it. Plus, Suluu had currently taken over Peter’s room and it felt weird to sleep in the same bed as her now that she was a grown woman instead of a tiny bird.
The morning of the funeral, Peter woke early and headed up to the roof to watch the sunrise. Paris was still silent and dormant beyond the gates of the house, its inhabitants sleeping, none the wiser of how much Peter’s life had changed in the past few days. Once upon a time he’d feared that change, and now he welcomed it. Like he’d told Ladybug, he couldn’t resist change and he’d stopped trying a long time ago. But now he could look at everything that was different and find the positives in it. Now Adrien was free. Sure, he’d lost both his parents but no longer would he be subject to dangerous diets, on the receiving end of cold detachment, nor be subject emotional abandonment. He’d gotten closure, and that was all Peter could focus on. The creeping light of sunrise in an otherwise dark world.
“Spiderman,” an unexpected voice called from behind him and Peter turned, surprised to see Master Fu standing on the edge of the roof.
“I didn’t think I’d see you up here, of all places,” Peter said as the little man hobbled forwards to join him seated on the edge facing the sunrise.
“You’re not the only one who likes to see the dawn of a new day. Plus, I had something to discuss with you.”
“What’s that?” Peter peered at him, but the old man’s gaze was fixed on the horizon.
“I’m going to make Marinette the new guardian of the miraculous,” he said slowly.
“When?” He’d expected it. Marinette was the only person Master Fu could have considered. Adrien would have too much responsibility of his own, now, and Marinette’s life goals were flexible enough she’d be able to keep a close eye on the magic jewellery. It was only fitting.
“Soon.” A smile tugged at the edges of lined lips. “I’ve been on this earth for a long time, Spiderman. At some point I have to retire, as I think you very well know.”
“I’m in no position to disagree.”
“There comes a time when one accomplishes all their goals and has nothing left to live for,” Master Fu said. “What do you do then?”
It took Peter a moment to realize Master Fu was asking him as a proper question and not just as a rhetorical and he let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair as the first golden rays of a rosy dawn struck them.
“I suppose you find something else to live for. I mean look at it,” he waved a hand out at the city below. “It’s beautiful. You spent your whole life trying to bring it peace and now you’ve succeeded. Enjoy it. I don’t live to bring balance to the universe or whatever, despite what all the Avengers might say. I live to see the smiling faces of people when they wake up and they’re safe. We live to see the golden light of day because we know there were times the world almost went without it.”
Carefully, Peter stood up, glancing down at Master Fu only to see the man smiling up at him, tears shining in his eyes.
“You’re something remarkable, Peter Parker. I hope you always remember that.”
“No one seems to let me forget.” He dusted off his pants, glancing down at the roof below them. “I should go be with Adrien, it’s going to be a hard day for him.”
“Will you say anything? A eulogy or anything of the sort?”
Peter’s brow creased ever so slightly. “I don’t have anything good to say, really. Once he died, I could feel all that malice slip away and he wasn’t evil anymore, but that doesn’t mean he never was. I think for Adrien’s sake, it’s best we all just remain silent. His parents are already gone, that’s a pain I’ve become well acquainted with, and I’ve learned there’s really nothing anyone can say to take that pain away. Sorry always feels so hollow, but any attempts at digging deeper feel impersonal.”
He turned away, squinting against the sun. “When my parents died, my uncle was there for me in every way I needed him. As a distraction, a shoulder to cry on, a support system. But never did he say empty words. I just want to be like that for Adrien.”
“And so you shall be. Already you bring the sunrise on his darkest days, Helios.”
Adrien was awake by the time Peter returned to the room, staring at the black suit that was laid out on his bed.
“I’m not sure I’m ready to face everyone,” Adrien admitted quietly at the sound of Peter’s feet gently touching the floor. He didn’t look up.
“It’ll just be you, me, Felix and your aunt, Marinette, and my aunt. You got this.” Suluu wouldn’t be there, she was leaving that evening for school and had decided it was within her best interests to avoid the funeral. Instead she’d be out shopping for things to fill her dorm with. Peter was going to miss her, and he had a feeling Adrien would too.
“Nathalie wanted to be there.” Adrien met Peter’s eyes in a teary stare. “It was up to me to make the final call about whether or not she could attend. I said no.”
The admission didn’t shock Peter. He could tell Adrien had been slowly coming to terms with the fact that Nathalie had been festering the abuse Adrien suffered at his father’s hand, and as much as his friend wanted Nathalie to be innocent she simply wasn’t. There was no way to look at the situation and ignore her part in it.
It hadn’t helped matters that the Gorilla was nowhere to be found. He’d taken off at some point during the battle and hadn’t returned. Gone were the days of Adrien’s childhood and relying on others. He’d been thrust out into the world alone.
The funeral was quiet as the caskets were buried behind the mansion, simple headstones with a hand engraved on each, reaching for each other. It bore the names of Gabriel and Émilie Agreste, the years of their life, and little inscriptions. Gabriel’s read ‘always in life’ and Émilie’s as ‘forever in death’. Felix quietly explained to Peter that it was taken from their wedding vows.
Adrien’s hand never left Marinette’s as the funeral proceeded, so Peter hung back with May and Felix. Felix’s mother was inconsolable, sobbing and dressed in a black veil that hid her face from view.
After the funeral they all sat in the house but no one spoke. It was like a heavy curtain of silence had been draped over them, preventing them from saying anything of any effect. Felix and his mother didn’t stay long, citing an appointment they couldn’t miss. Peter had seen them off while Adrien sat still in a chair, brow drawn and body rigid.
“There’s the question,” May braved cautiously, “of what to do next.”
“I don’t know,” Adrien said instantly. “I never thought of what would come next.”
“I did,” Peter said, drawing the envelope out from where he’d tucked it into his waistband, against his back, placing it in Adrien’s hands.
Marinette gave Peter a glance. She knew exactly what it was, he could tell. He’d never talked about it to her, he hadn’t even talked about it to May, but somehow it was the only right choice they could’ve made.
Adrien slid the contents of the envelope out, reading and rereading the thick sheets of paper before him. “What is this?”
“Adrien, ever since Peter introduced me to you, you’ve felt like a part of this family,” May said, placing a supportive hand on Adrien’s knee. “I can’t image how hard this must be for you, but Peter and I want you to know you still have a family. You’re not alone in this world and we want to be there for you. If this is too soon or not what you want, we can throw this envelope out.”
“Adoption papers?” Adrien’s eyes filled with tears for the first time since that morning. “You mean I-I’d be a part of your family?”
“I adopted Peter after his parents died, and I want to do the same for you. We may not understand everything you’re going through, but we’ll do our best to try.”
Adrien was crying in earnest now and he stood up, pulling May into a tight hug, burying his face into her blouse. May didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around him and rub his back soothingly, a move Peter remembered her doing many times to him.
“We’ll work everything out properly later, but I just wanted you to know right now, we’re here for you,” Peter said. “Every single step of the way, whether that step be a leap or a tiny shuffle. I just don’t want you to go through it alone.”
“Thank you,” Adrien said. “For everything. I love all three of you.”
“We love you too,” Peter said. “And we always will, irregardless.”
He and Marinette joined the hug and all together there they stood, all crying and all completely happy. More problems would arise later, and their current happiness wouldn’t necessarily be permanent, but for now, it was enough. It was enough just to stand in giant mansion, the one that had always felt so big, and realize that filling it with love was the only way to make it smaller. He’d work with Adrien to make it home from here on out, just like he’d work with Adrien and May to make them family.
It was in that moment he thought of Ned, and how much he owed to his friend back in New York who had randomly signed him up for the Paris trip, just because he thought Peter deserved that opportunity. A few months and nearly six thousand kilometres later, Peter’s life had completely changed for the better. He’d really have to thank Ned when he got the chance.
But in the end, it wasn’t about Peter. It never had been. It was about the people who’s lives he could save and improve and Adrien had just been another person he could help, and someone he’d continue to help as long as he lived. Because they were brothers now.
They’d earned that moment of blissful happiness, free from responsibility before they went back to saving the city. There would always be another bad guy to fight, eventually. And when they showed up, Ladybug and Chat Noir would fight, and Spiderman would undoubtedly be by their side. Because they were heroes, and that was their duty. And as hard as it was to be a hero, looking around at all that he’d gained, Peter couldn’t imagine any other destiny he would prefer.
Because with great power came great responsibility and great loss, but also great happiness and love too. And so Peter could live with that. They all could. They’d had to. But today there was no more loss to be had, no more responsibility to bear the weight of. Today they had time to love.
Today they were happy.
Fin.