A/N: Gift fic for my friend Lynne! She says she likes angst so blame her for this XD

Le Parapluie

Rain.

For most people, the rain represented something depressing, sombre or even mourning. All her literature classes taught her that. A rainy day meant no picnics in the park, coming home in soggy wet socks and they even say the sky is crying when it rains.

But not for Marinette. For her, a rainy day meant a little more than water pouring from the sky and a little more than a soaked bottom after sitting on a bench.

She found solace in the rhythm of the rain pitter-pattering against her black umbrella as she deftly skipped past puddles on the pavement, rippling non-stop as the rain drops never ceased to fall.

Thunder rumbled like a grumpy old man from above and Marinette wasn't scared at all. The thought of being struck by lightning never crossed her mind as she twirled the umbrella in her hand, flicking little rain droplets all around her.

The black umbrella in her hand was the thing that undoubtedly changed her whole view of the world. No, rather, it was the one who gave her the umbrella who did.

Adrien Agreste.

She stroked the handle fondly as she thought of the boy, her crush, and his sweet smile breaking through the shells of her heart like a strike of lightning that fateful day. Adrien Agreste, kinder than any other boy she knew with the warmest soul she had ever come close to touching, whose every move and gesture sent the funniest tingles to her head.

She loved him. She loved him so much that her heart wanted to burst.

Giggling, she continued on her way to school, skipping, light-footed.

A car rushed past suddenly, running over a huge puddle and drenching poor Marinette to the bone.

She stood there with a looking silly with an umbrella covering her soaked head, too shocked to react until Tikki popped her head out her bag to spit out the water that had gotten through.

They looked at each other, communicating their dismay through their eyes, before both girl and kwami burst out in laughter.

Rainy days were beautiful.

"There's a girl I like."

And just like that, lightning struck through her rose-coloured world. She bit her lip. "Really? Who's the lucky lady?" she forced out, trying to sound curious when truthfully she really, really didn't want to know.

He stared into space, smiling a little too happily whilst thinking of… her? Another girl. The girl who stole his heart away before she did. She held herself back.

"You wouldn't know her." He was blushing lightly like a pink candy.

She took a soft breath. "Try me."

Adrien laughed the question off and it worked anyway because she couldn't take her eyes off his toothy shy smile. "She's amazing in every way, endlessly fascinating, clever, with the voice of an angel and she's always shining a light wherever she goes just from her pretty smile and, god, I just love her so much!"

The cracks webbed further.

Marinette nudged him with her elbow. "Hello? Earth to Adrien? Who knew you were such a sap?"

As he turned away, sheepish and sweet, she held her heart in her hands, in pieces.

Why me? Why does it have to be me?

She asked herself, as Adrien came to her for advice on his ladylove, but she already knew why. She said she would support him, that was what she said. And Adrien valued her opinion as one of his closest friends.

A friend. That was all she was to him.

That's okay. That's okay.

It had to be. She couldn't destroy what they had. Their friendship was only just a sprout reaching up towards the sky, and she had watered it so carefully all this time, trying her best not to kill it. She had finally managed to lose the stutter and talk to him like any other person. She finally had the courage to call herself his friend without the shame of having to admit they had nothing in their relationship.

She waited, hoped, for the day she would be able to call herself his girlfriend. That their friendship would become something more...

There wasn't any harm in hoping, surely?

But all she had to do was take one look at Adrien's happy face and all her hopes would crumble down.

Adrien thought of Marinette as his precious friend, any idiot could tell. It was even said that they got along as well as Ladybug and Chat Noir. And if there was one thing she wanted to protect, it was Adrien's happiness.

She couldn't let her boy go through another heartbreak in his life because of her selfishness. No, she would use everything she had to keep his fragile heart happy even- even if it was with another girl.

It hurt and it hurt but all she could do was keep smiling and cheering him on.

It was raining.

Marinette was outside with her umbrella. She didn't really know why. There were other things she could have been doing, like finishing up that science report or continuing with her latest sewing project but she couldn't bring herself to do them.

Instead, she had absent-mindedly wandered out the door, against Tikki's warnings, umbrella in hand.

Oddly, she felt rather drawn to the rain. It brought her some comfort, still. Listening to the rain beat against the streets and watching the little streams trickle around her feet. And having the umbrella loom above her like a silent guardian swathed in shadow-

Snap.

Marinette stared in horror as her precious umbrella slipped from her hand and flew to the other side of the street from the force of the wind. She chased after it only to pause.

The umbrella was broken. It lay there like a wet rag with its spokes reaching out like a dying spider monster. She picked it up to cradle the useless thing in her hands.

Relentless sheets of icy water pelted at her unsheltered body. It was cold. So very cold.

Rain ran down her face as she gazed up at the grey clouded sky.

Ah.

Since when did the world look so… dull?