Chapter Text
THREE MONTHS BACK TOGETHER
Luka was at the studio working with the band on their EP, and Adrien was over for lunch, as he had been for the last three Thursdays of the month.
Things were… awkward, to say the least.
He was trying, she could see, but it wasn’t enough.
No amount of banal conversation and attempts to be funny would melt her cold heart.
Adrien had just come back from his classes and was excited about a new topic he had reviewed this morning. Marinette was sure it was interesting but she couldn’t listen to him. If she did she would scream and she didn’t want to scream and create a scene.
She twisted the fork on her hands and pushed the spaghetti over her plate, focusing on the stains of red sauce on the white plate instead of her anger.
“Marinette,”
She looked up, eyes wide open with surprise.
“You’re not listening,”
“I got distracted, I’m sorry,”
“No, you did not.”
That bothered her. What did he know?
Adrien sighed and threw his head back.
“I can’t tell what you’re thinking anymore, Marinette.” He said, a sad tone on his voice, “But your eyes are red and your cheeks puffy, it’s obvious enough, even more so when the last times we’ve been meeting you have looked the same. I didn’t want to intrude, I know I don’t have the right but I’m dying here. I need to know that you’re okay.”
“I’m okay,”
“Everything good at work? Everything good with Luka?”
“Great at work, perfect with Luka. I’m fine.”
“Is me, isn’t it?” Adrien asked, “I am what bothers you.”
“Adrien,”
“I’m not saying it to make you feel guilty. I’m saying it because I need to know if I’m overstepping if I’m doing this wrong…”
Did he really not know? It was impossible that he didn’t feel the tension in the air. Was he asking so they could finally talk?
Whatever the reason was didn’t matter. It was time to be straightforward.
Things weren’t okay, she wasn’t happy with him being back. Well, she was but not in the way she thought she would be.
It wasn’t something that she started to feel recently, it started on the corridor of her workplace, right after Adrien walked on her life again. When they stopped hugging and their eyes met, Marinette realized that behind the hope and the continuous feelings of missing, she was still pretty fucking angry.
He left and avoided for years and then came back out of the blue! What could have happened if she hadn’t traveled to the future? If she didn’t know that he was going to come back, things could have ended quite differently.
It was time to say it all.
“I thought I could forgive you, that I could understand. Turns out, I can’t.”
Adrien stiffened, he dropped the fork he had been holding and dragged the stool a few centimeters away, as he stood up and went back to his seat in an odd motion.
Marinette kept speaking despite how awful he looked.
“ You left me. You told me we needed time and then you vanished without explanation. You never contacted me again. I missed you for seven years, Adrien. I had to see you on TV, on ads all over town, hear about you on radio shows. You popped up again and reinserted yourself in my life as if nothing had happened! But many things happened, Adrien! It’s been three months and you haven’t been able to give me a decent explanation. How am I supposed to forgive you if you don’t give me anything to work with?”
“Marinette,”
“I waited for you and I wanted you back, but if you think that I can pretend that nothing happened and be your friend again when you hurt me like no one else has hurt me before, then I don’t want you close to me because it means you don’t have a grain of respect or love for me,”
Adrien sighed, he leaned forward putting his head on his hands. He whispered something that Marinette could not understand.
He moaned loudly and painfully and sat straight once again.
“You lost almost ten kilograms while we were together.” He said breaking the silence faster than she imagined.
The tension broke and increased all at the same time.
Marinette quivered at the coldness of his words.
She remembered that. She could have lost even more weight after he left if her parents hadn’t intervened.
“You cried every night. You were jumpy, you didn’t design anymore. Your lips were dry, your under eyes were so prominent… you looked dead . You didn’t go out with friends, you didn’t talk or texted them, the only thing you focused on was me .
“You needed me,” She said, feeling like she needed to excuse herself. It felt like he was accusing her of something.
“I… yes I did, but not in the ways that I was taking you. I was draining you, Marinette, and you were letting me. The worst part is that I didn’t realize! I saw you every day, I spent every second of the day with you and I couldn’t see how much you were hurting!”
“You were hurting more than I was,”
“It doesn’t matter who was hurting more, it doesn’t matter at all. You weren’t supposed to get depressed, you … ugh,” Adrien kicked the table with his feet, “You were so, so unhappy, and you shouldn’t have been, and I kept it going for so long until… until that day,”
Marinette didn’t have to ask what he was talking about, after a quick and sharp inhale of air, he continued.
“Alya visited and brought things to cheer you up, she was there for hours trying to make you act like your older self. I thought it was ridiculous, that she had no idea how horrible the situation really was, so I rolled my eyes and went to lie on your bed. While I was there, your dynamic changed completely and after a few minutes, Alya said something, I didn’t hear it well, but what I did hear, loud and clear, was your laugh.” A little smile curled on his lips, “I hadn’t heard you laugh in weeks. Not once.
I tried to think about why. The answer came only a few seconds after that since it was obvious. You didn't laugh because of me . You weren’t happy because of me,”
“Adrien-”
“Don’t.” He put a hand up, “It is true, I know that deep down you know it too. You weren’t happy, we weren’t happy, because I was weighing us down. That’s why I left. I had to. You were never going to be happy with me by your side.”
“That was for me to decide,” Adrien could be right, maybe she had let herself get too attached and forgot to be rational, entering into this spiral of emptiness with him, but he didn’t have any right to decide for her.
“No, it wasn’t,” Adrien cut, “Because when you had the chance to walk away, to separate yourself from me, you didn’t do it. You drowned with me, Marinette. No, better said, you were trying to keep me afloat by taking away my heavyweight, and that was taking you into the deep. You were trying to take away the pain, you were doing your best to get me to heal even if that meant you were suffering my pain instead.”
She couldn’t argue. It was what she had done.
“I really don’t know what else to say. That’s why I left,” His eyes darkened, “You can ask me questions. I’ll respond honestly.”
Questions.
She had so many questions and he was finally giving her the chance to get her answers.
Her mind was a mess of tangled memories and painful regrets, questions that went from simple doubts to chaotic niggling.
And because of that, she should start with the easy ones, with the kind of questions she had had for so long, that she had wrapped her mind around them already.
“Well, I would like to know about your marriage.”
She did know a little, because of her trip to the future, so she wouldn’t be so lost.
“There’s not much to say about that,” He shrugged.
Marinette shot him a glance.
Adrien threw his head back and let out an annoyed sigh. He went back to his stiff position very quickly and fidgeted with the sleeve of his shirt.
“Well, let’s see. I got married, and it has the second place on the worst-fucking-decisions-of-my-life list.” Adrien rubbed his temples “It could have been easily avoided if I went to therapy earlier. Feeling loved is one hell of a drug, could have been nice if it had been real. Divorce ain’t fun either, can’t wait till it's over.”
“That’s it?”
“Uh,” Adrien furrowed his brows, “Really that’s all there is, I could tell you all about Lila and what an incredible liar she is, how she is a gold digger and one of the worst people I’ve ever met, and how ashamed I am that for a moment I let myself believe that I was in love. I could tell you about all the horrible things she did to win money, fame, and power, but I feel like we could be here all day, and I don’t feel like going through that right now.”
Marinette’s stomach twisted in knots.
She stopped herself from saying sorry.
There would be time for that at some other point, right now she needed answers and she was allowed to be selfish.
“Was that what made you come back?” Another fast question, and what had been eating her alive since she started to fear that the timeline could be different than the one she visited. She knew future-Chat’s reasons, but not present-Adrien ones.
“No.” It was a strong answer and he did not hesitate to give it, “I realized pretty early on in my marriage that something wasn’t right but I didn’t want to admit it. Kagami and I fought about it. With my only friend left walking away from me I realize that maybe I needed to do something about my life. It took me some time but I started to see the situation for what it was, that lead to me going to therapy, taking classes and get into university, and finally filing for divorce. I started working on myself because I wanted to fix things, I realized how badly I had fucked up, how I saw only myself and didn’t consider anyone else’s feelings. I started with Kagami and then Nino… I didn’t know if going back to you would be the best thing, so it took me some time and courage to go find you.”
“Well….” Marinette flicked her hair away.
“Keep asking, I don’t need feedback for my answers if you don’t want to say anything,”
“Alright,” She nodded, feeling a bit of relief, “Why did you keep being friends with Kagami? What made her different?”
“Our abusive parents. She understood more than anyone else did… until I turned it into the only reason to have a friendship and things got rough and then as I said before the marriage and… well, that’s pretty much it,”
With those two questions answered, a few others she had in mind dissipated. They didn’t seem as important anymore.
Actually, nothing that she had in mind would help her stop her anger, because it wasn’t just Adrien leaving what had hurt. It was the small things he did when the chance of meeting or intertwining their paths again what bothered her the most.
And between all those small occasions, one situation stood up to her.
“The note you sent Alya,” She whispered, pressing her hands in fists, “You didn’t want anything to do with me.”
Adrien narrowed his eyes.
He fidgeted and looked genuinely lost in thought for a moment before confusion took over his expression.
“What note? I haven’t contacted Alya, Marinette, my only interaction with her has been through Nino.”
“Well, you might have not known it was Alya at the time but you must have seen the documentary and put the pieces together, right?”
“I don’t remember sending a note, Marinette.”
“You did,” Marinette said angrily, “Alya was looking for you, for Chat Noir, for the documentary. She set a trap for you. You answered and you were very angry on the note.”
Something sparked in his eyes.
There. She got him.
“Oh… I think I know what could have happened,”
“What?” What could have happened?!
“I didn’t write the note. Kagami did.”
Marinette stopped for a second, she blinked in shock and tilted her head to him.
“ She knows?! ”
“I didn’t tell her, she figured out on her own. She doesn’t know you’re Ladybug, don’t worry about that.” Adrien reached for her hand but she flinched before he could touch her, “Did you really believe it was from me? I would never say that about you.”
“Why not? Is what you did, you left and never looked back until now.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“I saw you once at the metro and talked to you and you ignored me!”
“You did? Marinette if I was out in public and you didn’t place yourself right in front of me, I would have never seen you or hear you for the matter. I would wear sunglasses and earphones the whole time, it made it more bearable to be outside” Adrien explained, “I must have not seen you at all, Nette. Because I made sure to keep up with you, and if you had talked to me I wouldn’t have avoided you, maybe I would have tried to make it short and find an excuse to leave, but I would have never ignored you.”
“What do you mean you kept up with me?”
“You contacted Kagami a lot, she used to tell me everything about you. I gave her a thousand questions so she could ask you some and I would know of you. Sometimes you didn’t run into her by accident, sometimes I would send her to check on you.”
“Doesn’t sound like something Kagami would do,”
“She has a soft spot for me.” He shrugged, “Then when you were at university I had contacts, I would know how you were doing… I know, I know don’t put that face, I know it was stalkerish,”
“There’s no ish , that’s stalker behavior and if you wanted to know about me so badly, you should have come to me! Directly!”
“You were just being yourself again, I could not come back.” Adrien said, “I didn’t ask for your grades or anything, I just saw your drafts and works every now and then, and I went to many of your shows undercover. I bought one of your pieces once, I don’t know what I planned to do with a corset but it was so beautiful and you, I just knew it had taken you nights to finish, for the way you presented it I knew you didn’t want to sell it, so I bought it. It’s in my apartment if you want it.”
She remembered the piece he was talking about.
Silk and lace and six nights of work. It had been painful to see it go and it had been surprising learning how much they had paid for it. From all the pieces she sold for that assignment, the corset had been the one to earn her the most.
Now she knew why someone would pay three hundred and fifty euros for a corset. It was because the buyer was an idiot.
“I stopped avidly checking on you when you started to date the barista,” Adrien clicked his tongue and an annoying look crossed his face, “You were thriving in all your classes, you had an incredible internship for the summer, and Kagami said you looked really happy with this guy, so I thought that it was time to stop worrying about you. I was gone, all my damage must have been nothing but a dark memory. You are strong and driven, I knew you would be okay so, finally, like a normal person, I let you go.”
“You stopped stalking me you mean,”
“Yeah, I stopped stalking you,” He admitted.
This just gave an entirely new perspective to their years apart.
“Nette… listen, I came back to say sorry, and I know I suck at apologies, I know I need to work on them, I also know that any explanation or word I could tell you will never be the perfect apology you deserve. I wasn’t expecting you to forgive me, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t deserve an apology, no matter how you took it. I entered your office knowing you could run, knowing you could ask me to leave, knowing that you could accept to listen to me but still not accept my apology. I told myself that if you didn’t want anything to do with me I was going to walk away. That still stands. Say the words and I’ll leave.”
Would it really be that easy?
Was that what she wanted?
No. It wasn’t.
She was angry and feeling lost, but between those feelings she was happy. Having him here, as awkward and painful it had been, also felt... right.
He hadn’t changed much either, he had patched himself back together and was trying his best to fix their relationship, he was putting effort.
If he wasn’t, if he didn’t actually care, and she could see now that he cared, he cared immensely, she would ask him to leave, but that wasn’t the case.
And, she said so.
“I don’t want you to leave. I’ve been waiting for you to come back from the moment you left, Adrien. You’re my partner, my other half, my most beloved friend… we just need to find a way to be all of that without it being awkward. No matter how challenging.”
“You know I’m always in for a challenge, my lady,”
Marinette cried.
This time they were happy tears.
SEVEN MONTHS BACK TOGETHER
Marinette saw Adrien leap and land gracefully in front of the three.
Then he spun and gifted her an amused smirk as he put his hand against the tree.
She stopped running and glared at him.
Only ten seconds later she was by his side as he made a celebratory dance.
“I won! I can’t believe I won!” Adrien said as he jumped and threw his hands in the air. The bags he was carrying bounced with him.
Marinette rolled her eyes as she looked at him and reached to take the pink bag that hung from his left shoulder.
“Stop it, you’ll mess it all up,”
“Nah, you only say that because you’re angry I beat you,”
“Uh, not true,”
“Uh, yes true,” Adrien giggled and took her hands, pulling her closer, “Just admit you’ve been defeated, my lady,”
She pushed him away putting her index finger on the tip of his nose. Just like old times.
“C’mon, let’s have lunch,”
Adrien nodded and took a blanket of his backpack.
After they talked a few months ago, things had been nothing but good, and they had started a tradition to get lunch together every time they could. Marinette’s job and Adrien’s classes made it a little hard, but they always squeezed some time for the other.
Today, thanks to the nice weather, they were having a picnic under a tree in a beautiful park.
The sun was shining and there weren’t clouds in the sky, but there was a soft breeze that could make the sensation of the day a little cold. Because of that, Marinette sat really close to Adrien and pressed her head against his shoulder, to keep herself warm.
As they ate, they talked about their day.
Adrien was on his third of psychology so his schedule had been pretty much packed all semester, but he was so happy with it that he didn’t complain much about how tired he was, but in moments like this, when they were alone, Marinette could see how exhausted he really was.
She knew his heart was here with her, but his brain was probably somewhere else. She had to take him out of there.
“I finished the first drafts for the new collection we’re working on,” Marinette said.
“Yeah? Did you presented them already?”
“No, not yet,” She sat and pulled her bag close, “Do you want to see them? I need honest opinions,”
He smiled delighted and nodded at her.
She took the sketchbook out and gave it to him.
“I love seeing your work,” He commented, before even opening the notebook.
“I like it when you review it,” Marinette admitted, and leaned against the tree, closing her eyes and enjoying the chirp of the birds.
She heard the flip of pages as Adrien saw and the occasional “wows” he let out made her heart soar.
Marinette watched him as he skimmed through the designs and started sticking some post-it notes in a few ones.
Marinette knew this was going to take him a while, so because she was so tired, she lied on the blanket.
“You can use me as a pillow,” Adrien said as she accommodated herself.
“Won’t you be uncomfortable?”
“No,” He smiled tenderly.
“Okay,” She smiled back and crawled close to him, so she could put her head against his tight.
She closed her eyes again and relaxed against him.
Today was just wonderful, it was a perfect evening and she had the most perfect company. Being with him always made her feel so safe, not just because of their past, but because it meant that he was here, that things were going to turn alright.
With the divorce going on, it was only a matter of time for Adrien to meet his future wife, and then the puzzle would finally be complete. They would be both happy with their respective spouses and they would be the best friends they were always meant to be. Their kids would be friends and they would be there for each other as time passed.
Marinette sighed and smiled at the thoughts.
It was just so perfect, that she relaxed and started to slowly fall asleep.
She could feel her environment but she was deep in a dream.
She couldn’t tell how long it had been, but once she heard the ring of her phone she opened her eyes.
But she didn't’ move, because something else caught her full attention.
Adrien was humming as he wrote down something on her sketches, and with his other hand, he was brushing her hair in soft caresses.
The touch was so tender and full of love that it made her stomach twist in a strange motion.
She coughed and moved, and Adrien stopped, however, his hand stayed there.
Marinette rolled on her back and looked at him from under.
His eyes were shining in a strange way she’d never seen before.
“You have something in your hair,” He excused himself and pulled his hand back.
“It’s okay,” She said, to not make it more awkward. They were past the horrible stage but there were still times when things they used to do before, didn't sit well with her.
“My phone rang, right?” She asked and he nodded.
Adrien took the backpack from behind her and gave it to her.
She took her phone from it immediately.
She had an idea of who could be texting her.
“Luka?” Adrien asked.
Marinette nodded as she looked at the text and winced.
A tense silence wrapped around them.
“What’s wrong?” He asked.
“Nothing,” She lied.
“Marinette, you giggle like a five-year-old every time he texts you. Something is wrong if a text from Luka is making you react like this,”
“It’s just…” She sighed and threw her head back, “The audition…. the discography called him again and he says he’ll tell me all about it at home,”
She gulped and looked at the text again, making sure she was reading it right.
“Isn’t that good?” Adrien rose a brow, confused.
“It is,” She said but didn’t sound convincing, “But, ugh, there’s only one deal that… just… let’s say that if this was all good news, he could have called,”
Her phone vibrated again and she gasped.
“What?” Adrien leaned forward, his forehead almost pressing against her and his body brushing hers.
“He came to pick me up,” Marinette bit her lip, “Let’s go to the entrance.”
Five minutes later, Adrien and Marinette were walking out to the street, where Luka was waiting for them seating on a bench.
He waved from the distance and stood up, with his guitar on his back.
“Should I go?” Adrien asked.
“No, not yet,” Marinette shook her head and squeezed his hand.
“Hi, Adrien,” Luka said and fist-bumped with him, then he turned to her, “Hello, my love, I missed you,”
“I missed you too,” She smiled and stood on her tiptoes to get a kiss.
When she came back to her spot, something felt different.
Adrien was standing further away than before, and his body was turning to his right, instead than to her. His eyes were also focused on a point in the horizon but they looked a bit dead. His smile was odd too, too polished and model-ish like compared to his truthful smiles.
This happened a lot lately.
She only wished the love his life would appear soon. Marinette knew how much he wanted to be loved for real, and with the divorce happening he had not acted like the hopeless romantic she knew and adored.
Marinette brushed those thoughts away and wrapped herself around Luka, as she heard the guys talk.
“I would make a change on the keyboard arrangement, but that’s it,” Adrien said as he scrolled through the notes on his phone.
“What about Heroine?” Luka asked.
“Oh, is that my song?” Marinette fluttered her eyelashes at him and Luka ducked to give her a kiss.
“Almost every song is about you, actually,” Adrien interrupted. His voice numb.
“What can I say? She is my muse,” Luka gave a toothy grin.
Marinette felt her heart squeeze.
Oh, she loved this man so much.
“Well, I haven’t heard that one yet, I’m actually four songs in because I’ve been analyzing each one very carefully,”
“Thanks, man, that’s amazing,”
“Yeah, no problem,” Adrien smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes, “So, I have to go. I have a ton to study and I know you too want couple-time so I’ll leave,”
Marinette pouted and left Luka behind, throwing herself at him to hug him goodbye.
“Goodbye, chaton. Good luck and don’t overwork yourself,”
“I won’t, I promise. I’ll talk to you later, princess.” He ruffled her hair and then turned to Luka, “I’ll text you when I finish the last two songs,”
“Sure thing. Take care, Adrien.
“You too, lovers.”
ELEVEN MONTHS BACK TOGETHER.
Marinette looked at the document for the thousandth time.
“You’re going to a burn a hole through the paper, babe.”
Marinette glared at him and pursed her lips angrily.
“We discussed this,” Luka said
“I know,” Marinette said between clenched teeth, “I just don’t understand.”
“Neither do I,” Luka sighed and stood up to be next to her.
He put his hands on her waist and pulled her close to him, leaving one kiss on the nape of her neck.
“Yet, you signed,”
“I couldn’t not sign,” Luka nuzzled his nose on the curve of her neck, “It came as a surprise to me too, but we knew there was a chance for this to be the final deal,”
Marinette sighed and turned around to look at him. She put her hands on his neck and brought him closer to press her forehead against his.
“I know,” She sobbed and her voice and body trembled together.
“You know if there had been another choice I would have taken it, right?” Luka said, and his eyes started glimmering.
Marinette nodded as the tears began to fall.
xx
When the sun started to illuminate the east side of her room, she knew it was time to leave the bed, the problem was, she did not want to.
Luka had left only an hour before but it felt like he had been gone for an eternity.
She skimmed through the floor with her eyes and localized one of his t-shirts. She let herself fall to the floor and crawled to it to get dressed.
The t-shirt was black and had the logo she had designed for their band printed on top. Marinette looked at it and sighed defeated. She didn’t want to use it now, because it brought back all the bad feelings, but at the same time, she wanted to be dressed on Luka’s clothes.
Who knew how many chances she would get to do so now that he was signed under the label?
Marinette looked herself in the mirror and took a sharp breath, ready to start her day. Hopefully, she would see Luka later in the day, but for now, she would have to start getting used to what her life would be from now on.
But when she arrived at the kitchen, the little plan was destroyed.
A mug, freshly made pancakes and a small bouquet of purple flowers were waiting for her on the counter.
There was a note on the fridge with a few lyrics and messy drawn hearts all over it. A little sorry was written right next to Luka’s name.
Her stomach sank and the tears pricked in her eyes.
The bell rang and she stopped.
Marinette dragged herself to open the door.
She took the knob and pulled the brightest smile she could fake right now.
To her own luck, she was able to drop it quickly once she saw Adrien standing outside.
“Adrien? Don’t you have class?” She said and looked behind her, searching for the clock.
“Luka called, he said you might need me,” He explained and invited himself in.
“What?” Marinette gasped aghast, “You can’t just miss class because of me. I’ll punch Luka when I get the chance,”
“You’re more important than anything else, Marinette,” He said and cupped her cheek.
And with that, she broke.
Her lips quivered, and when she fell the tears approaching again, she hugged him and hid her face on the crook of his neck, or well, as much as she could, since he was so tall. But it didn’t matter, because, between his arms, she was safe and there she would find comfort.
“Oh, no, princess,” He said and held her tightly.
Adrien lifted her from the ground and carried her bridal style. He carried her all the way to the living room.
He sat on the sofa and put her on top of him, without breaking the hug at any moment.
In this position, she was more comfortable and was able to hold him so tight, that if they were closer they would be fused.
But it felt right. This way, she wouldn’t shatter, he would keep her together.
Adrien left a trail of kisses all over her hair, face, and hands.
He was in silence but his actions were loud enough to work as reassuring words and help her calm down.
Marinette intertwined her hand with his and rubbed her cheek against his chest as she teared up less and less.
“Luka is leaving,” Marinette said.
“He signed?”
“Yes,”
“When is he moving?”
“Soon,” Marinette said in a high pitched voice, “Way too soon,”
“Alright,” Adrien nodded, “We can find tickets and go with him, we’ll help him move and everything. I’ll make it easier,”
“Adrien, no,”
“No?” He asked, utterly confused.
“There were a few changes when he was negotiating the deal… he is not going to the UK anymore. He is moving to New York,”
She felt his whole body going stiff.
“Oh,”
“Yes, oh,” Marinette giggled sadly. How horrible was to say it out loud.
“We… we can still go,” Adrien offered, but he knew as well as she that that didn’t fix anything.
“I actually can’t. I can’t leave my job, I have to much to do. Do you know how awful that is? I can’t leave my job for a week, which means I can’t leave my job to go visit him regularly….” The tears started to stream again.
Marinette explained the deal as well as she could.
She told him about the endless nights when they discussed the subject, about the many hours of crying they had while going through their options, and she gave him all the details about yesterday night. How her world had crashed down and how bad she felt that she couldn’t celebrate with Luka. As much as it hurt, this was the best thing that could ever happen to her boyfriend and she wasn’t happy.
Adrien made her feel less guilty by understanding her position.
She was really proud of Luka, she knew how much he had worked, how much he sacrificed to have this opportunity but...
“I can’t go with him…” She said, repeating it one more time.
“You’ll find a way,” Adrien said, again also. He had been saying it for a while now.
“There’s no way,” Marinette whined.
He squeezed her shoulder, put his fingers under her chin and lifted her. “There’s always a way, you need to be positive and try to come up with something. I know you two can make it work. People do long distance all the time, Nette,”
“We talked about longs distance… we don’t want that. We’re not staying together. We both know what’s best for the other,”
“But--
“The contract won’t allow him to come to visit freely and as I said before, I can’t either. If it was the UK we would have made it work, in the USA is impossible , Adrien.”
“It is not impossible. There must be a way! ” Adrien said exasperatedly, “You… you two are meant, meant… meant to be,” Adrien said but it seemed like he was choking on his own words. “I see how much he loves you, and how much you love him. This is not the end of your relationship. I promise.”
“I really wish it could be as easy as believing it,” She said, starting to sob again.
She put a hand on top of her mouth and snorted.
Marinette tried to look for the light and looked up. She wasn’t going to cry again, she couldn’t keep doing this.
It was absurd! She had to face it! She knew this could happen! She should have been ready! She should--
Adrien took her hand and put it down, then he cupped her cheek and leaned to press his lips against her forehead.
His fingers danced through the tangles of her hair and he started humming a soft lullaby.
Marinette couldn’t help but cry.
“Cry all you want, let it all out. I won’t judge you,” Adrien whispered, “I’m here for you, if you need something, ask and I won’t leave until you want to be alone,”
“I don’t want to be alone,” Marinette said, drowning in her own tears.
“No problem, then I won’t ever leave. After all, you’re my favorite person in the whole wide world,”
Marinette smiled against his skin, but it was only for a second, then all the sad emotions came back to her.
She let herself crumble as she held tightly to her safe haven.