Nothing, Nowhere, Never

by AzuriteArtist

Summary:

Adrien flashes through different universes trying to find the answer to one question.

Notes:

This might not make sense if you haven't seen 'Everything, Everywhere, All at Once', so like: Adrien is now split between all timelines of himself, for no specific reason.
Hope this makes sense!

“Adrien…please…help me…”

Adrien opened his eyes, chaos flashing through his vision. 

Life as a baker, cooking beside Tom and Marinette, his father's death minimised, surrounded by far more supporting people. He smelt the croissants, hearing Marinette's laughter and feeling Tom's gentle fatherly presence. 

He looked over at Tom, “How do you keep doing this?”

Tom paused, “I thought you had this recipe down pat, you want me to show you again, son?”

Adrien's hand tremors as the world threatens to shift once again. “No, I-I mean, you woke up and did the same thing for 40 years.” Adrien backed away from the table, startling when the wall touches his back. “What was your secret? How does one live a life in 4 walls and 24 hours?! How does one keep going, even when it’ll all end”

Tom, concerned, turned to Adrien. “Well, time is precious, yes, but so are the people I choose to focus on. The good memories outweigh-”

 

 

He woke up in a hospital seat, and looked to see Master Fu lying on a bed. 

“Fu…” he said, reaching over. 

“Adrien, please, don’t strain yourself,” he whispers, and Adrien looks to see himself covered in bandages and casts. 

“Can I ask you a question?”

Fu smiles, “I think I might have an idea, but go ahead, please.”

“You lost everything!” Adrien says, harshly and uncalculated, “Over and over again. Why did you keep going?” 

Fu keeps smiling, “I found people. Marianne, Marinette, you.”

“But, what about-”

Shifting, he fell onto a catwalk, cold marble and bright lights further disorientating him. Looking up at Paris’ fashion week crowds and his father, old and frail, disappointment apparent on his aging face. 

“No! Not this! Not here!” He shook his head, and reality changed once again. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face Lila in their limo. He bent over in pain as he saw flashes of different timelines.

“Adrien?”

He paused and looked over at Lila, his garish wedding ring feeling heavy on his hand. 

“How do you continue, when this is all so fake?,” he says angrily.

Lila sighs, “Not this again.” She pulls out her compact while checking her makeup. “It’s simple, see. We’re all in control of our emotions. So we just need to choose which ones to present to others. I don’t care who you fuck in your own time, just make sure this red carpet goes well.”

Adrien stays silent, his hand shaking. Lila eyes him, and frowns. 

“This isn’t about your dead father, is it?” she says without sympathy.

“I want a divorce,” he says as this reality disconnects.

“Wait, what?” Lila says, peering at him, as he falls backward. 

Adrien gasped, stumbling on the rooftops of Paris. 

“You okay there, Dragonyx?” Scarabella said, laughing. 

Adrien looked down at his sword, before looking up at Scarabella. 

“Yeah,” he said, stumbling through his words, unsure of the new timeline, “You know me, fired up and roaring to go…” Dragonyx weakly punned as his head pulsed. 

Scarabella laughed, before laying her head on his shoulders. “Your puns really drag on and on, huh? I married such a sap…” she says contentedly. 

Adrien weakly chuckled, flashes of universes intercutting his vision. The smell of chlorine, charcoal smudged on his fingers, hugging his little Emma.

“Do you ever worry about…what’s going to happen?” he says, meekly.

Scarabella turns, and cradles his face, looking into his eyes. 

“Well, I mean, as long as we’re still breathing, we’re better for surviving it, right? And even if we aren’t, we have these wonderful moments” she says, concerned. 

“But, I feel so much weaker,” he says, collapsing onto his knees. “My father, d…d…gone. Even if he was you-know-who…”

Scarabella looks down at him, concerned. 

“Well I'm-” 

Adrien flashes back to the bakery, as Tom and Marinette hug him.

“-always going to-” 

 

 

Adrien flashes to find himself on the ground beside Kagami, her sketchpad discarded as she holds his hand. 

“-be here for you.” 

“But how can you be so sure?” he says, multitudes of lifetimes flashing before him. 

Thousands of voices answer him back. “Trust us, like we’ve trusted you.”

He feels a pat on the back from a Nino. “You’re my bro, I’ve got your back, no matter what.” 

A tie appears around his neck, and feels a Caline hugging him. “Focus on your breathing, feel the wind in your hair and the earth beneath your feet. Ground yourself in it.” 

He looks down to see an evershifting rainbow of nail polish on his fingers, and he hears Luka’s strumming. “Discord and chaos suit you, but there still needs to be a rhythm to it, right?” 

“We’ll be here for you, it’s what you’ve been doing all this time.” 

Adrien collapses onto the white clinical floor, and his father, dying, stands before him. 

“Please Adrien, son, help me.”

Adrien feels all his versions centre on him. The fake emotions, the real ones. The failures and successes. Everything that led him everywhere. The lives he’s lived in peace, and the ones he’s lived in chaos. All split apart and fracturing over this one choice.

Adrien looked up to Gabriel. “I-”

Notes:

This was my first time trying images to indicate breaks, hope you liked them!