#[[ Cat Noir kind of took it personally x3 ]]

[countlessrealities]

Green slit-pupiled eyes scanned the same landscape Hesperia was so longingly looking at, unsure of whether or not he agreed with the man's claims. There was definitely something peaceful in the Parisian night, when no threat was endangering it. The traffic died down and everything was quiet. Most of the lights were turned off, almost enough to allow you to see the stars.

But was it the amazing world the older hero saw? Cat Noir couldn't agree with it, especially when he looked at the same billboard the other gaze seemed to be focused on. All he saw there was a lie, the perfectly fake facade that he had wore for so long, just to please his absent father and earn a crumble of attention. In vain.

He would have been content with staying quiet, not wanting to ruin the idyllic mental picture their new ally had built in his head, if it hadn't been for Hesperia mentioning his son and their tragic family history. A tale that hit Adrien far too close to home.

"You're wrong. You can show him that and you have to. He needs to see it, to know that you miss her too," he spoke up, before he could even think his words through. He hadn't meant for his tone to come out so sharp, to hold a too familiar ache, but he couldn't help it. "If you don't, he'll keep resenting you. He'll feel like he has lost two parents instead of one. Trust me, I know exactly how your son must be feeling..."

His voice trailed off and he looked away once again, ears lowering slightly as his expression turned sad. He didn't like discussing his mother and how drastically things had changed after she had gotten ill, but he felt like he owed it to Hesperia, after the way he had reacted to his words.

"I lost my mother too, just a little longer than a year ago. I...grieved and I still miss her, but I moved on. It's what she would have wanted me to do. What she would have wanted us all to do. But my father...He hasn't. He can't. It's like he's stuck in the past, in his own sorrow, and can't accept that she's gone. He buries himself in his work and I hardly get to see or talk to him."

Recently it had gotten a little better, but Adrien was also starting to realise that, even if he was more present, Gabriel was just as controlling. If not even more.

"It was hard to work through the grief without him. All I've ever wished was for us to do it together, but he denied me and that hurt. I think that your son must be feeling the same way too. He just...wants his Dad to share his despair. Because that would make it more bearable."

He paused briefly, playing with his stick. He had always wondered how things would have gone if his father had allowed them to help each other through their mourning. It was hard to imagine with how his reality was, but he wanted to believe that everything would have been better.

By now he had resigned himself to the fact that it would have never been a possibility for him and Gabriel. But perhaps Hesperia and his son could still have it.

"You should talk to him. Explain why you've been so distant. I don't mean revealing yourself, but...how you were trying to protect him. And apologise. I'm sure he'll forgive you. Balancing superhero responsibility with our civilian life can be tricky, but...it makes no sense to save the world for your son, if you're going to lose him anyway, don't you think?"

{ @kamikotized }

@countlessrealities called for a HERO

"Your world is filled with such hope." Hesperia found himself staring at a billboard-- one bearing another Agreste advertisement. His son looked so-- happy here. Carefree. Untouched by the loss of his mother that consumed him back home.

"I wish mine were as wonderful. My son-- my only family-- he resents me. Thinks I don't mourn the death of his mother properly. But I feel her absence in every breath I take-- every heartbeat. She was my everything, and she gave me the world." He looked to his hands, remembering when Adrien had been barely big enough to fit in his arms.

His little miracle.

"I can't let him see that. He's already so lost in despair. I thought if I saved the world he might find something to believe in." The hero settled himself down on the rooftop, drawing his knees to his chest. It was-- strange to have allies. But the benevolent editions of his youthful foes seemed trustworthy.

Maybe one day their counterparts could see the light, too.

"I wish I could just be a father. But someone has to take a stand against the Supreme's tyranny."