knowlee – I know I really need to work on Flames of Change more so, but this little idea has been running around in my brain for about a week now and I need to get it out otherwise I'll feel bad if I don't. (Plus it'll drive me nuts!)

Btw, spoiler alert for those who are watching the show 'Charmed' and haven't gotten to this episode yet! Better yet, you probably don't want to read this since the plot basically follows it! Just giving you guys some warning!

Anyway for those who are wondering about the show and episode that I briefly mention in the summary for this story, I will explain briefly where I'm going with this. The show 'Charmed' is about three (later four, yes this is relevant to the story) sisters who discover their magical heritage and their destiny to protect the innocent and defeat evil. Anyway, sometime during the show one of the sisters dies unexpectedly and tragically, leaving the other two sisters distraught. Her death then ushers in the fourth sister who takes her place in the destiny they share.

With that short summary out of the way, I will now explain the episode that I'm referring to. The episode "Hell Hath No Fury" takes place shortly after the one sister's death and deals with one of the sisters getting 'smoked' by a mythical creature called a Fury who goes after wrong doers and if a person has pent up rage or anger towards something or someone they are susceptible to getting changed into a Fury if they are 'smoked'.

Now one of the sisters gets smoked and this sister has been feeling unexpressed anger and rage towards her late sister and her death and because of it she gets changed into one. This leaves the other sisters to try and revert her back by forcing her to confront what it is that she is angry at. Eventually the new sister pinpoints what she is mad at and by taking the possessed sister to their late sister's grave, she is able to convince her (by channeling her emotions she felt towards her adoptive parents' deaths) to let go of her emotions and tell her late sister how she felt towards her dying. This in turn allows the possessed sister to change back.

**end spoilers**

Now, I know some of you guys might be wondering how this relates to this fanfic. Well, I thought that this whole episode's plot of dealing with untapped emotions resonated with Adrien and how he feels towards his mother's disappearance and subsequently his father's neglect towards him about it. The poor boy hasn't really talked or shown any emotion regarding it and as evidenced by the "Jack Says" episode, he certainly feels some deep emotions towards the whole situation.

So by replacing certain things/characters in the Charmed episode with things/characters in the Miraculous universe, I found that this episode's plot would work well with it and would focus on Adrien and his unshown emotions. Also this fanfic takes into account the small possibility (approximately 10% in my opinion) that his father is NOT Hawk Moth. Now granted 90% of me thinks he is, but just for the purpose of this fic and for the fact that it has not been yet completely confirmed in the canon universe, we'll go with him not being Hawk Moth. Also this fanfiction takes place after everyone knows who each other is (ie: Marinette and Adrien know that each other is Ladybug and Chat Noir respectively, and each other's parents know about their secret identities).

I think that covers about everything, so I hope you guys enjoy this! I can't pinpoint when the other chapters will be out, but all I can say is be patient. :)

Thank you!

*Also on a random note here, I have not yet proofread this thing (I'll do it here soon, just wanted to get this up as soon as possible), so if you guys see an error, please let me know! Thanks again!*

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. It belongs to Thomas Astruc.

A Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir Fanfiction

Letting Go

Chapter 1: The Anniversary

By: knowlee

Gold.

That was the color that Adrien saw on the painting that hung in the room adjacent to the foyer of the mansion he and his father lived in. He stood there, looking at it, his eyes roving over the picture as he was desperate to remember every feature that the subject of the artwork possessed. He sighed when his eyes came in contact with those that belonged to the subject.

They were green. Just like his. The two pairs of eyes were so similar that even he accidentally mistook them for hers sometimes when he looked into the mirror. It made sense though. Especially since the subject in the painting was none other than his mother.

The same mother who disappeared a few years back without any explanation and left behind a husband, a son and an empty house that was devoid of laughter or life. After that fateful day when she didn't return home from one outing, everything changed. His father became more focused on his work and less on his own son and by extension forced Adrien to follow strict rules that limited his contact with the outside world.

He figured the reason behind this was that his dad was so desperate to make sure that he didn't disappear on him too just like she did, so he went along with it. He didn't want to lose his father either nor did he want to put him through anymore pain.

But, in a way, he knew that he probably already did lose him. He felt that deep down he lost his father on the same day his mother left. The man who he used to be was no where near like he was now. He was too engrossed in work to even pay attention to his only child and didn't really know him at all.

He supposed he couldn't blame him really. He knew deep down that if he were to lose Marinette like his father did his mother, he'd probably change too. But... He looked away from the painting and towards the door that led to his father's office. That still didn't mean that he would on purposely ignore someone else that he knew was feeling the same as he was.

If such a situation like that were to occur, which he prayed to God above that it never would, nor would he let it if he was able, he knew that the first people he would go to would be her parents. She was their daughter just as much as she was his girlfriend and knew that they would have lost her just like he did.

He frowned. His father didn't realize this of him though.

His father never really talked to him about his mother. Anytime the conversation came up, he would on purposely dodge the subject and instead turn it to something else. Sure, he knew that it probably hurt him to discuss it, and he didn't push the subject often, but as of late Adrien found that he didn't want to ignore it any longer. He wanted to talk about her. He wanted to know that his father was as just as torn up about her as he was too. Instead due to this constant ignorance of it, he was forced to bottle it up and pretend that it didn't hurt him. Even though in reality it was killing him not to admit it.

Adrien sighed. He had been spending the past few minutes debating whether or not he wanted to have this conversation with his father. Hence why he was now standing outside of his father's office mentally preparing himself for what he was sure the man was going to say, but at the same time he had some hope that perhaps he would open up to his son and let him see his pain. Perhaps even have a heartfelt talk that the two were way long overdue on having.

Especially since today was the anniversary of her disappearance. Even if his father didn't want to talk, he still wanted him to know that he missed her too.

Taking one more hard look at the double doors before him, he took a deep breath to help steel his nerves and stood in front of them for a few more moments until he brought his left hand up to knock on the door to announce his presence. He waited anxiously. He wanted to hurry up and get this over with. He wasn't sure of how much his nerves could take.

"Come in."

Adrien jumped slightly at the sound of his father's voice. He took another deep breath. 'Well, here goes…'

He pushed against the door and heard it creak open. He quickly slid through the gap that the door left for him and once he was inside of the room, he closed the door behind him as softly as he could. Straight before him, he found his father sitting at his desk, his face looking down at what he presumed to be a sketchpad laying open on his desk. Adrien grimaced. He was really hoping that he didn't pick a bad time to talk to him. He knew how much his father didn't appreciate being interrupted from his work. He thought he had picked a suitable time to do this, but apparently not.

He mentally sighed. Oh well, might as well finish what he came here to do. It wasn't like his father would do much to him in terms of punishment for simply wanting to talk to him. At least he hoped anyway. "Hello, father."

Adrien frowned as he saw his father didn't even look up from his work or acknowledge that he was standing before him. Like he wasn't even worthy of looking at him. He pushed that thought aside. He would have time to dwell on that later. Right now he had bigger issues to deal with. He spoke again, trying desperately to hide his nervousness that threatened to leak into his voice. "It's that day again."

"And what day is that exactly?"

Adrien fought back the sigh. Did he really forget? Or did he just not want to talk about it? "I think we both know what day it is, father."

He waited with bated breath to hear what his father had to say regarding it. The only sound that came to his ears was that of his father's pen stopping the scratching noise it had been making against the paper it had been briefly connecting to. He knew then that his father remembered what day it was. Nothing else would've distracted him from his work otherwise. He heard a deep sigh come from the man's mouth. "I know what day it is. But how does that make it different from any other now?"

Adrien clenched his right hand into a fist and tried to keep a hold of his emotions. Although he could give his father the benefit of the doubt in that he probably didn't want to talk about it, but how dare he just make this day to be just like all the other ones! This was the day that his mother and his father's wife, completely disappeared from the face of the earth without any sort of explanation and instead of acknowledging that it happened and letting his son know that he hated it too, he just pushed it aside like it was nothing!

"How is it not any different?"

He heard his father sigh and watched as he finally brought his line of sight from his desk to look up at him. It was then for the first time that Adrien saw what he thought to be a fleeting glimpse of sadness in his father's eyes but it was so quick that he wasn't for sure if he actually saw it to begin with. The tone he had etched in his voice though told him that he probably wasn't just seeing things. "I know the significance of the date, Adrien. I just don't see what difference it will make to focus on it when nothing has changed since it happened."

He knew deep down that his father did carry a good point, but the fact still remained that he knew that they both missed her and that he wanted to talk about her with him. The pain, sadness and anger he felt towards the whole situation still festered inside of him and it begged for a release. He had been holding it in for far too long.

Sure, he could probably talk to Marinette about it and he had been contemplating that for a while, but he didn't feel as if he was ready for that step yet. He wanted to yes, but he was still hesitant. He supposed part of the reason why was because he first wanted to show the only other person who could actually empathize with what he was feeling, what was going on inside of him. Then, he felt that he would be ready for that step.

...But it looked like that step wasn't going to happen anytime soon. "I understand that talking about it won't bring her back, but-" Adrien tried to prevent his voice from cracking from the emotions that he could feel trying to come out. "I still want to talk about her. I can't keep bottling these emotions up like this. I- I want to talk to you about it." There, he said it. Now it was out in the open. He hated having to show his father the vulnerable side of him, especially after all this time of carefully laying the bricks that made up those walls. But he needed to get this off of his chest.

Once again he saw the brief look of pain come over his father's face before vanishing. "Adrien… it's not good to stay hooked onto the past. It was-" he saw another look of pain, "...unfortunate that your mother vanished without a trace, but it's time to move on from it. Talking about it and dragging it out isn't going to help you do that."

Adrien's eyes widened at the words. He knew there was some slight truth to his words, but he couldn't keep going on like this. His hand clenched even tighter from the pressure he was feeling until he was sure that his fingernails would start to break his skin. Luckily for him though, he felt Plagg give him a reassuring nudge from the pocket inside his jacket that let him know he was there for him and it caused him to unclench his fist slightly. He took in a deep breath to help calm himself down since he knew he was getting close to breaking. "...I understand."

He had to get out of here.

Without waiting for his father to dismiss him, Adrien turned on his heel and quickly exited the office, making sure to close the door behind him.

Gabriel brought his left hand up to the bridge of his nose and pinched it an attempt to bring his emotions back into check after the conversation he had with his son. He sighed. It wasn't that he wanted to deny his wife's disappearance. Because he knew that he couldn't truly do that simply because he felt her absence every day no matter where or when it was. But at the same time, he forced himself not to dwell on the subject simply because he didn't want to fall into a deep depression that would cause him to want to give up everything. And that's not what she would have wanted nor not what Adrien needed.

So to help compensate for her loss, he threw himself completely into his work. Nearly every waking moment he had during the day was spent doing things that would keep his mind and attention on things that didn't revolve around his wife. Unfortunately though those things did drag him away from his son and he hated that it did so, but it was for his own good. He didn't need to lose his father too.

To help with the distance that would inevitably grow between the two, he started making up a schedule for Adrien to follow everyday. He filled it up with things that he hoped would keep his son's attention away from such depressing things and would allow him to develop into a well-rounded happy young man. Just like himself, he didn't want Adrien to fall into a depression over the loss of his mother, so he was trying to help him by pushing him towards what he was doing for himself.

What worked for him, would certainly work for his son, right? From what he could tell from his end it appeared as if it was. And that was all he could ever hope for.

He turned his attention back towards his work lying on his desk.

Adrien found himself walking around the city. As soon as he left his father's office, he didn't want to stay inside his house any longer. He especially couldn't stay there after his father basically refused to talk about their mother. His shy, soft-spoken part of himself was trying desperately to give his father the benefit of the doubt, but the side that he had grown more accustomed to during the past few years due to his many years of crime-fighting, was fuming.

At the time though, he knew deep down that he wasn't really angry with his father. There was actually someone else he was more angry at than he was at his own dad. He didn't wan to voice that anger though. He felt as if he didn't have a right to do so. Regardless of what happened, that someone was his mother and he couldn't-wouldn't disrespect her memory. But, he also knew that if she hadn't disappeared like she had, then things would be a lot different than how they were currently. A lot better.

He blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes as he continued his trek down the side walk. He had no idea where he was going, maybe Marinette's was what he had in mind, as he had a tendency to go there when he was feeling upset and wanted to be cheered up. But he didn't want her to see him like this. He didn't want her to pity him. A nagging voice in the back of his mind kept telling him that she would never do that, but it was still a fear he had.

Plagg could sense the intense feelings of anger and sadness waft off of his chosen. He hated for the boy to feel the way he did and although he thought human emotions where fickle things and got in the way a lot of times, he also knew that Adrien shouldn't have to hold this all in anymore. It wasn't healthy for him.

He really wished his father would have at least talked about it with the boy. If it was one person Adrien needed right now to help with these emotions he was carrying, it was his father. Sure, Marinette as a nice person to have to help with this and Adrien could talk to her about it, but at the same time, just as Adrien had told him before they took that trip into his father's office: Marinette wouldn't be able to truly empathize with him. She could be there for him and hold him as he let it all out, but what he really needed was someone who had been there before and had dealt with the same turmoil he was experiencing.

Marinette certainly loved his chosen and would do everything within her power to help him, but he knew it wouldn't be enough.

Plagg sighed. But, although he disliked how Adrien's father easily dismissed him, he had to agree with one thing he said. Adrien did need to let go of his emotions he felt towards this, but how he needed to let them go wasn't how his father had worded it. Adrien needed to properly mourn his mother and unleash all the emotions he felt towards her. Bottling it up wasn't letting go of the emotions. It only made it worse.

The cat-like kwami felt Adrien stop in his steps and he took this chance to move out of his pocket that was located on the inside of his jacket to take a peak at what Adrien was doing. During his glance he could see that Adrien's were shimmering with unshed tears and that he was looking down at something. He move his head to see that he was holding a picture of his mother in his hand. He recognized it easily as it was one that Adrien always carried on him as a way to remind him of how she used to look and as an item of comfort. He did have pictures of her on his phone which he looked at too, but Adrien had told him that he liked to have a physical copy as well on him for the instances where he wasn't allowed to have his phone on him. The picture acted as a way for him to have his mother with him at all times. Even if she wasn't there in person.

Plagg looked away from Adrien in an attempt to give the boy some privacy, but his attention was soon drawn back when he hear the familiar flapping of wings.

'Oh, God, no…!'

Plagg quickly flew out from Adrien's jacket, not caring if anyone saw him and began searching for what he feared was an akuma. He could hear it, but where was it? He looked around for a few more moments until he finally saw it. He gasped as he watched it near the picture Adrien had of his mom. He had only seconds to act. "Adrien! Drop the picture and run!"

His heart dropped as he realized he was too late. The akuma had already started to affect the boy and he saw the familiar purple butterly-esque outline around his eyes. He could tell by the look in Adrien's eyes that he was attempting to fend off the akumatization, but apparently he lost the battle for Plagg saw his body become engulfed in dark fog.

As much as Plagg wanted to stick around and help his Adrien fend off Papillion, he also knew that if he saw him around, he would put two and two together and realize exactly who it was he had possessed. So with a heavy heart he flew away as fast as he could, only stopping once to look back at Adrien who now looked nowhere near his original self. He took a quickly glance at Adrien's right hand to see if he saw his Miraculous, to which he felt slightly relieved that he didn't. Maybe that meant that Papillion didn't know the ring was special and would give them time.

Plagg sent a silent apology to Adrien and quickly flew off as discreetly as he could to find Marinette and get her help. Hopefully they could get him released as quickly as possible. He hated to know that Adrien would be made to suffer more than he already had been in his short life.