For #25daysofml2k18 on Tumblr

Ah, I told myself I wouldn't do this again after the fiasco of last year, but when I saw this I just couldn't help myself. I'm a sucker for winter and Christmas and just can't stand the thought of not having done something for the holiday season.

Anywho, even though I should be finishing chapter 10 of POV, I'm doing this now. My computer was sort of crashing on me all time as well this week, so I even start late already, but that doesn't matter for now, Let's just see if I can manage to keep up and finish everything before the 25th...

Saturday, December 1

She was frozen. Absolutely, utterly, entirely frozen.

She should be elated, really. It had been so long. Days, weeks, months, years full of heartbreak and right now it could finally be redeemed, it could end.

Her voice had been cheery when she had greeted the next incoming customer. She had been taking customers for a few hours now, her parents busy in the back and in need of extra pairs of hands during the holidays. Alya had come by to help as well and had left not even too long ago.

Oh, how she needed her best friend's support right now.

The customer who she had happily greeted not even a second ago had not said anything, which made her look up from her fixation on the cash register. That was the moment her eyes had widened.

"Hey," he had greeted awkwardly.

Blond hair, green eyes, quite tall and slim yet not slender. He had aged, yes; was properly filling out his shirt with muscle mass now, his eyes less boyish but still kind and his smile just as dazzling as it had always been.

"Adrien?"

He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. It made her feel melancholic, despite that she has only seen him for not even one minute. "Bonjour, My Lady. It has been quite some time, hasn't it?"

And it has. It has been just over two years now since they had to reveal to each other, two years since she confessed all of her feelings for him, for both himself and his alter ego (despite what she had been telling herself back then, she couldn't deny that she had grown fond of her cat-eared partner), two years since she had kissed him…

And two years since he had left her all on her own and heartbroken. No phone call or text, no quick visit on her balcony. One day he was there and told her he needed some time to think everything through after she had kissed him. She respected that, understanding that it was a lot to take in considering everything had happened so quickly, no time to properly process it for either of them. The next day, just as summer holiday had started, he was gone without a trace. No one knew where he had gone or for how long he would be away, but he had just left her without warning. It had probably not been his fault, she tried to reassure herself later on (after she had cried in the shower and angrily ripped off her posters of him from her walls); Gabriel Agreste was spotted in the USA the next day, on his way to New York, and she wouldn't be surprised if Adrien was forced to follow along. It didn't make it hurt less though that he hadn't told her anything before he left, even if it was sprung on him last minute. If he could sneak away to be Chat Noir from time to time, couldn't he at least have spared a minute to tell her something – anything?

On top of that, his phone number had changed, so she couldn't contact him whatsoever. But that was probably Gabriel's doing too.

However, the worst thing was that her partner would be leaving her, along with him. How would she be able to handle the Akumas without the aid of her trusted feline friend?

Well, apparently it didn't take much. And that had nothing to do with a sudden upgrade of her abilities or that she automatically fought twice as hard with the knowledge she would be without her partner. No, it were the Akumas: they were… tame. Not powerful at all. People were akumatized for the most random and nonsensical reasons, and it showed in their powers and their unwillingness to cooperate with Hawk Moth. They argued more with Hawk Moth and went rogue all the time. So no, she hadn't necessarily needed her partner with these easy fights. But that hadn't meant she didn't want him around at all!

And that for two years.

Marinette realized it had already been some time since he had last spoken, and that she should probably say something in return. "Uhm… yeah… it has…" The silence that fell upon them was tense. "D-do you- do you want to come upstairs? I can tell my parents I'm taking a break."

He had looked awkward and nervous when she hadn't said anything for longer than a minute, but now the bright smile returned. "I would love that."

"I'll be right back." She cursed her cheeks for turning a dainty shade of pink as she went on her way to her parents. She couldn't deny that he was still very attractive, nor could she deny that she was still attracted to him – those feelings that had carved so deeply couldn't just disappear, no matter how hard she had tried over the years – but she didn't want to let herself get hurt again. Even if she would never really be over Adrien, she was at peace with the whole situation. She was content with the fact that they would never be together. And now he just had to come back and make her whole world turn upside down once again.

No matter what would happen now that he had returned from his two years absence, she was not going to fall for him again. She would make sure of that.