Marinette woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring. She smacked it, then sat up with a yawn, rubbing her eyes.
Adrien's arms were still locked around her, and his eyes fluttered open. "Already dawn?"
She mumbled something in the way of an affirmation, still half asleep.
"We have a date today."
"Oh... Oh!" Her eyes flew open. "I'd forgotten! Let me have breakfast with Mama and Papa."
"No," he hugged her closer. "We don't have school after yesterday's attack. So today, it's you and me all day."
She cast a nervous glance at him, her uneasiness from yesterday coming back full force. "O-Okay. I need to use the bathroom and brush my hair..."
He sighed. "If you must, you must..."
"Well, people would look at us funny if they saw you running around with a ratty-haired girl, right?" She laughed, hopping out of bed.
"Your hair is perfect," he smiled sweetly. "You are perfect."
"Yeah, I know," she muttered, grabbing her phone quickly without him noticing and running into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and dialed Alya. "C'mon pick up..." she whispered.
Alya picked up the line. "Girl, it's six in the morning..."
"Alya, I need to tell you something," she said, sitting down in front of the door. "You might've been right about Adrien."
He knocked at the door suddenly. "Princess, emergency, now! The diary changed."
"In a second!" she called, before turning back to hiss into the phone. "Listen, I don't have time to talk. I'll try to talk to you in person. I have to go."
"Marinette, we need to get going!"
"Okay, I'm coming!" She closed her phone and opened the door, running a brush through her pigtails.
He smiled, kissing her quickly. "Change in plans. We're going to the theme park."
"That's what the diary said?" she looked up at him, smiling like nothing had happened.
"What were you talking to Alya about?" he asked softly, running a hand through her hair.
"Oh! She wanted me to call her when I got up this morning," she said casually, walking over to her closet. "We should swing by your house, so you can get a change of clothes."
"I'm fine," he crossed his arms. "Now, why does the diary say that she's coming to intercept us and thinks I'm threatening you?"
"What? Why would it say that?" she asked, looking at the floor. She knew she was in a dangerous situation. Adrien... there was something about him that unsettled her more and more...
He stroked her cheek. "Don't worry. I won't let her tear us apart. She might be another diary holder."
"Adrien, no!" she snapped, suddenly pushing him away. "No way Alya would hurt me! She's just scared for me!"
He frowned. "The diary has her trying to separate us. You know that's dangerous."
"She's scared, Adrien! She said... She said that you had been stalking me and acting really weird. That's enough to make anyone freak out!"
He froze. Ah. So she had seen. "If I didn't do that, you wouldn't be breathing." He pressed a hand to her chest. "There would be no pulse here."
"I know," she murmured, resting a hand over his. "But if you keep her away, she's going to be even more anxious. All you have to do is let me tell her everything's okay."
He shook his head, and took her hands. "I don't think you should go near her anymore."
"No! Adrien, I care about you, and I know you're just being wary, but Alya's my best friend." She took her hands back and turned away from him.
His eyes went blank. "Let's get going then."
"Adrien, are you okay?" she said, noticing his expression and taking a step back.
He smiled. "Shall we get ready?"
Marinette walked over to her drawers and started rummaging around for something to wear, the whole time aware of Adrien's eyes on her as Adrien pulled out a spare outfit from his bag, changing calmly. She finally decided on a pair of shorts and a pink lacy shirt. She noticed him changing, flushed red, and ran into the bathroom.
He finished changing, and stretched out. "You ready?"
"In a second," she called, changing and giving her hair a real brushing. She opened the door after shoving her phone in her pocket.
He smiled. "Take the diary. You might need it."
"Okay," she grabbed the book and slid it into her satchel.
He took her hand, smiling brightly. "Hey, do you love me?"
She looked at him. She wasn't completely sure of her emotions, but he looked so happy, she responded with, "Yes."
He kissed her hand, and pulled her out the door, sneaking past her parents easily. "As long as you say that, I belong to you. Even if you decide you don't mean it."
She felt guilty for not telling him her feelings, but she shook it away. "Where are we going?"
"The amusement park, I told you," he laughed. "It's gonna be fun... and in public, so we can draw out Ninth, the girl who attacked yesterday, and kill her."
"I thought maybe something more low-key?" she asked, looking off to the side. "I don't want other people getting hurt because of us."
"Mari," he pouted. "C'mon, you don't even have to see it, but I need to kill her. Let me kill her for you."
"Please, Adrien," she begged, squeezing his hand. "I just want one day without worrying that people will die because of me."
He sighed softly. "I won't attack unless she does first, ok?"
She stayed quiet for a bit, then nodded her head. "Okay, you better not."
He kissed her cheek. "I'm just trying to keep us alive. Is that ok?"
"It's fine," she rubbed her arm, then looked over her shoulder and paled. "Oh no..." It was Alya...
Adrien glanced in the direction of her gaze, and pulled Marinette into an alley, pressing her against the wall and kissing her. She tried to call out her friend's name, but was quickly muffled. He didn't pull his lips away until Alya had passed. The diaries changed. "She won't come for us again today."
She gasped for breath and looked after Alya. "Adrien, you can't keep me away from my friends!" she shouted, shoving him back.
He froze, startled. "You're upset with me?"
"Yes, I am!" she yanked his collar down, glaring at him. "You can't keep herding me away from the people I care about out of fear!"
He stepped back, hurt in his eyes. "I don't want you to die. You're being attacked on all sides by people who want to be gods, and I'm terrified one of them could hurt you. So yes, I'm scared when the diaries say you're leaving. When I see you in danger, I try to get you out. Is that so horrible?"
"I know you're just trying to protect me," she said, putting a hand on his cheek. "But I trust Alya with my life. She'd never do anything to hurt me, and I would never hurt her."
"People go crazy when they're chosen for this game," he muttered, and then laughed slightly. "Or Miraculous just chose the most interesting. There's nothing interesting about a death game with no deaths. So they're all going to be fighting."
"I'm not going to kill anyone, Adrien." She took a step back. "I never wanted power, or any of that. I just want to be Marinette. Don't you just want to be Adrien?"
He nodded. "That's all I want. But we're in the game now. And you need to stay alive. I won't accept anything else."
"Then we don't have to play by the rules," she told him, with a hard look.
He hesitated. "I'll kill anyone who tries to kill you. I won't budge on that. But I'll... try not to hurt any more civilians than necessary."
"Thank you," she sighed resting her forehead on his. It was a start, at the very least.
He held her close. "We're still on a date, right?"
"Yeah, we are." She put a smile on her face. "Let's go play some cheesy games and win a bear or something..."
He laughed, and pulled her towards the booths. "I'll win you anything you like, Princess!"
She started to relax a bit, and pointed at a large stuffed black cat at the bottle game. "That's kind of cute..."
He took one of the balls, and the throw shattered the bottles. He passed her the cat. "Here you go, Mari!"
"Wow!" She took the huge stuffed animal. "That was quite a throw!"
"I'm purr-etty strong," he boasted, flexing.
She let out a laugh, the first unforced one in a while.
His eyes widened, watching her in awe. "Wow."
She looked over at him, having a little difficulty with the cat. "Hmm?"
He blushed. "You're amazing."
Her smile fell and she hid behind the cat. Before, if Adrien told her that she'd be over the moon. But now, it just seemed... different than she expected.
He hesitated, sensing her disquiet. "What is it?"
"N-Nothing!" She snapped herself out of it. "Any rides you want to get on?"
He nodded. "Can we please go on the rollercoaster? The huge green one?"
"Okay!" she agreed without hesitation. She had second thoughts when they were actually on the ride...
He gripped her hand tightly, excited. "You're going to love it, I promise!"
"I hope you're right!" she hollered, then screamed as they went down the top. He held her hand, and screamed right along with her, enjoying the ride.
After the fast past ride, she stumbled off, looking very pale and clinging to Adrien for balance. He hugged her close, grinning. "Wasn't that amazing?"
"That was... really fast," she gasped, nearly dropping the cat. "Let's choose a slower ride next?"
He nodded, glancing around. "Wanna try the haunted house?"
"Sure!" she said, feeling a little better. Alya loved to drag her to haunted houses, then later they'd laugh at the cheesiness of it all.
He brought her in, grinning. "This is gonna be epic!"
"If you say so," she glanced around at all the cobwebs and fake body parts
He shrugged. "I mean, it's..."
She didn't respond as they walked through it. It wasn't that bad, but it just didn't spook her. He, on the other hand, ended up clinging to her arm, deeply regretting his earlier bravado. Marinette couldn't help laughing at him. "What happened to being a brave tom-cat?" she teased.
He cringed. "I'm plenty brave. I'm not scared at a-" his denial turned to a sudden scream as a zombie dropped from the ceiling, and his face went bright red. "I-I'm fine."
She couldn't help but burst out laughing at his face as they exited the attraction.
He flushed. "That was... more scary than I thought."
"Really? I thought it was kind of cheesy," she half-taunted, leading the way to an ice cream stand.
He shrugged. "Still."
"You were pretty scared though," she said, looking up at the menu and ordering a strawberry cone.
He laughed softly, paying for her ice cream. "I guess I was a little..."
"You were a little scaredy cat!" she laughed, taking a lick of ice cream.
He kissed her, tasting the ice cream on her lips. "Maybe."
She flushed red and pinched his nose. "Buy your own ice cream, don't steal mine!"
He laughed. "I paid for it, so..."
"But I'm the one who found the place. Consider it a finder's fee." She stuck her tongue out at him.
He shrugged. "Anything that makes you happy."
She licked her treat contently as they walked around the amusement park, but she soon started drifting back into her thoughts.
He took her free hand in his. "Want to go on the ferris wheel?"
"Sure! It'll be better than the roller coaster," she said, finishing her cone.
He took her on board, brushing off the seat for her to sit in. She sat down as the ride started moving. She looked out over Paris, feeling content again as she saw her home not far from the park.
"Marinette?" he looked to her. "Your parents are going to be out of town tonight, aren't they?"
"Yeah, to visit some family," she said slowly, trying to figure out what he was thinking.
"Spend the night at my house, okay?"
"O-Oh!" She was surprised that he had mentioned his house, after being so insistent on staying with her. "Will it be alright?"
"It will. And they won't look for you there."
"Okay," she said, turning her attention back to the view. She could just make out the Agreste mansion from here...
He kissed her cheek. "Do you still think I'm good?"
"Yeah," she replied easily. She knew he was just trying to protect her, but she wished he'd do it in a different way... he was trying to protect her though... right?
"Do you love me?"
"Yes, I do." It wasn't a lie; she did still love Adrien.
He leaned over, and kissed her softly. "I love you too."
She smiled at him and hugged the cat tighter, feeling a little chilly.
He sat back down, across from her. "Don't tell me when you stop, okay?"
"Okay..." she said, dragging her knees up to her chest.
"Tell me what's wrong."
"It's nothing, really. It's just a bit chilly up here" she lied, praying for the ride to end soon.
He pulled off his jacket, wrapping it around her. She nodded her head gratefully and jumped slightly as the ride stopped suddenly. They were caught at the top. "Don't worry," he smiled. "It does that."
"I know, it just... surprised me," she flushed peering over the side and watching people get off the ride.
He took her hands again. "Have you checked your diary?"
"No, not yet." She reached into her satchel and pulled it out, flipping through the pages.
He watched her carefully. "We safe?"
She flicked it opened and breathed a sigh of relief. "Yep, we're safe."
He relaxed. "Thank god... or you, I guess."
She stiffened. "Don't say that. I keep telling you, I don't want to be a god."
"It's that or dying."
"Or either. None of us have to die. I don't want to kill innocent people to prove myself to some stupid god!"
"You don't have to kill anyone."
She turned her back on him and went quiet as the ride started moving again.
They got off the ride after a bit.
She shifted the big cat in her arms, watching the crowd walk past.
"Want to go back to my place?" Adrien asked.
"Sure. It's getting really crowded," she said, feeling a bit pressed.
He walked with her, taking her to the manor. She looked up at the familiar Agreste mansion, still in awe at how big it was as he closed the door behind them. "The power's shut off, I hope you don't mind."
"Why's the power off?" She looked around the foyer.
He shrugged. "Just an outage. Don't worry."
She didn't say anything, but started to feel extremely uneasy. "So? Where is everyone?"
"It's just me here," he smiled.
"Really? What about your father?" she asked.
His smile faltered. "Oh, he's... not here."
"Oh. That's a shame," she sighed, feeling a little disappointed. "He's off working, right? On a new fashion line?"
He shrugged. "Oh, and... don't go to the room behind the portrait door please."
"Oh?" she looked at the portrait of his mother. "There's a room back there?"
"Yeah. But it's off limits, okay Princess?"
"Okay" She said, smiling at the picture of his mother and whispering. "Thank you."
He grinned. "I'll make you something for dinner if you like?"
"Sure!" she laughed, pulling out her phone. "Let me text Mama and Papa to tell them I'm staying at a friends."
He frowned, but nodded. "As you wish."
She sent a text to her parents, then sent one to Alya; "Call me tonight, okay?"
The diary on Adrien's phone changed, and he looked at it. "Why is Alya going to call you in an hour?"
"She's been blowing up my phone with text messages and I don't want to worry her anymore," she gave the excuse quickly, sliding her phone into her satchel.
He shrugged. "Alright. Don't tell her where you are."
"I didn't," she reassured him, walking over. "Where's your bathroom?"
He waved down the hall, the same way as the portrait. "Go right ahead."
"Thanks" She said, starting down the hall. After she used the restroom, she stopped in front of the portrait. She wondered why Adrien didn't want her to see what was behind it, but she didn't want to make him mad, so she left it alone.
Meanwhile, he worked on the food, desperate to impress her. Her first night staying over was important, right? He hummed softly, chopping an apple.
She tapped at her phone, waiting for Alya to call. She fiddled with the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Something felt very off...
He called from the kitchen. "You can come in if you like!"
"N-No, I'm alright" she called back, snuggling up to the stuffed cat. The phone buzzed and she snatched it up and whispered, "Alya, it's so good to talk to you right now."
"Where are you? Your parents said they assumed you were with me. Are you with the stalker?"
"Yes, I'm with Adrien," she whispered, glancing over at the kitchen. "Alya listen to me. Adrien is not hurting me; he's protecting me."
"Does he have a weapon? Marinette, I've been looking into this, and-"
Adrien entered the room, and swiftly ended the call. "How rude," he frowned. "I've been waiting after making a nice meal, and you're gossiping about me on the phone?"
Marinette jumped in surprise. "N-No! Adrien, she just called! And it's very rude to interrupt someone while they're talking!"
He blushed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry... I guess I overreacted."
"I understand you're on edge," she sighed. "I am too. I'll call her again after dinner."
He frowned. "Please don't...?"
"Adrien, please. She's just worried," she said, resting a reassuring hand on him. "Let's eat."
He nodded after a beat. "Right, of course."
She walked with him into the spacious dining room. "I'll help you bring the food out," she offered, laying the cat on the floor next to her chair.
He shook his head. "No need, I'm on it!" He beamed. "Consider it payback for the cookies!"
"Oh, okay," she glanced around, sitting down awkwardly. She fiddled with the fabric if her pants, considering calling Alya back... until he brought the food in, a salad, a chicken, and what seemed to be a pair of apple turnovers.
"Yum! Did you make this by yourself?" she exclaimed, plastering on a smile.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, yes? Sorry if it's no good."
"I'll be the judge of that," she took a taste. It wasn't that bad, and after not having breakfast and only eating ice cream, it tasted really good.
He looked to her hopefully. "Do you like it?"
"Mhm," she licked her lips, swallowing to reply. "It's really good! Sit down and eat."
He beamed, sitting across from her and taking a bite of his portion. "I'm so glad you like it! The turnovers were frozen two days ago, so I was a little worried..."
"It's really not that bad," she said, taking a bite of the turnover. "You can tell they've been frozen, but the apples are still good and I like the texture!"
He relaxed. "I'm glad you think so! I added a little blood to keep them from going bad!"
Marinette choked for a second, nearly spitting out her food. "P-Pardon?" she squeaked, taking a drink of water.
He blushed. "You're not a vegetarian, right? I mean... it's just another part of the animal, and it worked okay I think..."
"U-Umm, using blood with apples isn't really the best way to keep them fresh" she stammered, pushing the turnover away from the rest of her food. "I-I thought maybe you washed them off first before freezing them..."
"Of course I did that too," he smiled. "What, I wouldn't feed you something dirty."
She quietly picked at her salad, suddenly losing her appetite. "I-I'm feeling a little ill."
"Oh no!" he looked worried. "Want me to make you some tea?"
She stood up abruptly, covering her mouth with a napkin. "N-No, I need to get to the bathroom!" she jumped up, running for it. Blood? Blood?! Why?
He watched as she ran and sighed softly. "What did I do wrong...?"
She retched into the toilet for a few minutes, then rested her head against the tub as she tried to calm down. The portrait door beckoned. She stumbled out of the bathroom, staring it down. She couldn't take any more secrets...
Behind the portrait were three corpses. Two in a cage, one on the floor with a sword through the chest. All rotting.
She covered her mouth quickly, but she couldn't stop the scream from tearing from her throat. She noticed the familiar clothing of Gabriel Agreste, and started backing away.
He placed his hands on her shoulders as she backed into him. "I wish you never saw that..."
She whipped around and pushed him away from her, tears falling from her face. "What the hell did you do?!"
He sighed softly. "Don't think about it," he told her, closing the door. "It's nothing to worry about. Okay?"
"Stay away from me!" she screamed, tearing off deeper into the mansion. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she ran into a bedroom and slammed the door behind her, locking it.
He peered through the crack of the door. "Tired already? Very well. Goodnight, Mari."
She didn't respond, but immediately ran into the bathroom and dial Alya. "Pick up, please pick up!" she sobbed.
The line cut out. "There's no cell service upstairs," Adrien's voice called.
"Oh god, oh god!" she sobbed, pulling her knees up to her chest. She had to calm down, she had to clear her head and find a way out...
The lock clicked into place on the bedroom. "Sweet dreams, love."
She stayed in the bathroom, sobbing even more and throwing up when she remember the corpses. She finally managed to calm down enough to come out of the bathroom, looking around for Adrien.
He came out of his room, looking tired, and smiled to see her. "Hey... you okay?"
She jumped in surprise and threw her satchel, the only thing that she had on her, at him. It was about as effective as if she threw that giant stuffed cat.
He caught it, and frowned, passing it back to her. "You should be more careful with the diaries. They're our futures after all. If they break..."
"Then what?!" she shouted, backing away from him. "I want this nightmare to be over! I want to go back to the way things were!"
He stepped back. "Well, I'm sorry. I can see the future, but not change the past. If it helps, there's only 27 days left."
"27 seven days?! 27 days of murder, and death, and having to live with the fact that the boy I loved murdered his own father!" she wrapped her arms around herself, shaking.
He hugged her instantly. "You still love me..."
She struggled to get out of his hug. "No! Get off of me!"
He released her quickly. "I... I'm sorry, when you said that I thought..." he looked down. "Mari... this changes nothing. I'm the same person. I'm still going to protect you."
"If you really cared about me, you'd let me leave!" she said, walking over to the door.
He sighed. "You're free to go, of course. I see no reason to kidnap you." Yet.
She didn't hesitate running out the door and into the streets. She dialed Alya as she ran, and when the line picked up, she sobbed, "Alya! Alya you were right!"
There was no answer.
"Alya?" She said, slowing to a stop near the bridge.
Suddenly, there was a blade to her throat. She froze and dropped her at her feet.
"Hello, first," the man's voice was very dramatic, almost funny if he hadn't had the knife. "I am Twelfth! And I am here to defeat you!"
She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice, "Let go right now."
"No! For I am here to create a beautiful world, where all birds will roam free!"
"I said... LET GO!" she screamed, kicking her leg back and hitting him square in the privates.
He cried out and released her. "Hey! Get back here!"
She didn't look back, but tore off into the direction of the police station. An idea flared in her mind, and she shouted back at him, "Catch me!"
The man ran after her, cawing like a maniac.
As she ran, she felt in her pocket and pulled out the yo-yo Adrien had given her. She rounded a corner and crouched behind it, twirling the yo-yo. She was done running, but she wasn't going to stoop to their level.
He pulled out the knife, going to stab her, and... suddenly choked on blood, inches away.
She was ready to hit him between the eyes and knock him out, but her eyes flew open and she shouted, "No!"
The blade was pulled back. "So that's two down," Adrien muttered, wiping the blood off on his jeans. "Eight to go."
She ran to the crazy bird man's side, trying to stop the bleeding.
He bit his lip. "Princess... you said I could kill them if they tried to kill you."
"But I had it handled!" she snapped, her hands quickly becoming soaked with blood in her attempt to save the man. "I was going to turn him into police!"
"And then the continuem would have failed." In a flash, they were standing in the circle of holders. "Two dead. Ten left. If a new god is not chosen, the whole world will die."
She stared around at the other people. "How can any of you be okay with this?!" she shouted, stepping towards Tikki. "Isn't there any other way to choose who wins?!"
The god smiled softly. "This is the best way. The god that can survive this game is a god that can make the decisions necessary."
"What god would be okay with this!" she screamed back. "You think this is just a game to you?! These are all real people, with lives, families, futures! You call taking that away from them a game?!"
"These are, in general, people with little to lose. Or people fated to lose it all before the month is out regardless."
"I can't believe you..." she said, shaking with anger. "If that's the case, why would they waste what little time they have left doing this?!"
"They get a chance to save everything. Become gods. Would you prefer to be erased from existence right now?"
Adrien gripped her hand and met her eyes. "If you go, I'm going with you."
"It'd be better than having to take a innocent life," she said, pulling her hand away from Adrien and turning away from him.
He fell to one knee, bowing to her. "Please," he begged softly. "Please. You don't have to do a thing. I'll do it all. Mari, please, please stay alive."
"No, Adrien," she said, refusing to meet his gaze. "If you survive, and become a god, it wouldn't matter if I died. You'll just be able to bring me back, right? Just like you said."
"Not if you've been erased," he shook his head. "It's not death. It's just... like you never existed. Please, Princess."
"I can't. I just can't handle the thought of all the deaths" she said, then lifted her head. "How about a wager, since you seem to like games?"
Tikki nodded. "I'm intrigued."
"If I can survive the next 27 days, and peacefully take care of everyone here, without resorting to killing them," she said, her eyes trailing to the shadowed faces. "You can make me a god. And if I lose- What will you do?"
"You've already lost," Tikki laughed. "You will never control Second if you're in danger. I will not be erasing anyone today. Meeting adjourned." They fell back to the alley, where 12th lay dead on the ground.
She sat there for a second, then sighed and stood up. "We have to get out of here before the cops get here."
Adrien nodded. "I'm sorry. Do you want me to walk you home?"
"No, I just want to be alone" She said, putting the yo-yo in her pocket.
He hesitated. "What if you're attacked again?"
"Then I'll take care of myself," she looked up at him.
"Do you love me?"
She remained quiet, then shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't now. Before I did, and maybe I will again, but there's too much damage."
He nodded. "You will again." He pulled out his diary. "One the last day of our month, it says so. You will love me, and we will be as one before I die. That is the future that I will fight for. Okay?"
"Okay." She replied, then turned and started towards her home, trying not to cry.
He texted her as soon as she turned around, before she'd gone more than ten steps. "You okay?"
She didn't respond, to that or the four dozen other messages he left. She got home and immediately dialed Alya. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the bottom of the phone, unaware of the eyes watching through the window.
Finally, it was picked up. "Girl. Be honest here. Did Adrien Agreste kill a man tonight? Because a camera I set up caught footage of the two of you."
"He did," Marinette said. "Alya, a lot has been happening. You were right about Adrien. I was so happy at first, but now everything has gone to hell."
"Do you want me to go to the police?" Alya asked. "If you say not to I won't. But honestly, I'm thinking I should."
"You can't," Marinette sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Not yet, anyway. Can you please come over? There's some things I need to say that I can't over the phone."
"I can't. I need to get you out of the videos. As it lies, it looks as if you were helping him." There was a pause. "You weren't. At least, as far as anyone is concerned, including me, you weren't. Understand?"
"I wasn't," she groaned, banging her fist on the table. "Alya, I was trying to save him. Just please come over as soon as you can."
"I'll try..." the phone disconnected as Marinette's closet door clicked shut.
She didn't bother turning around, though she immediately went for her yo-yo. "Adrien, that better not be you."
The door did not move.
She turned around and stomped over, throwing it open.
He cringed, face bright red. "Okay, I know this looks bad, but I was just worried about you. You're like, the prime target right now, c'mon!"
"I told you I wanted to be alone!" she grabbed him by the collar, yanking him out.
He looked into her eyes. "You told me a lot of things."
"I know. You never said some things, either," she said, turning away from him.
"I love you," he told her softly. "I will protect you."
She stayed quiet, then said "We can protect each other. I may not kill anyone, but I'm not going down without fighting." She turned to look at him, eyes blazing. "But you have to promise me two things."
"I will not promise not to kill if it it to protect you. But anything else."
"Fine," she folded her arms. "First, you're not allowed to coddle me and risk your life to keep me out of the way."
He nodded. "I'm still going to keep you safe. But fighting is your choice."
"And secondly, you have to tell me everything about what... happened to your father, after all this is over," she told him, paling slightly at the memory of that corpse.
He seemed to hesitate, but nodded. "After it is just you and me left. Then I will tell you."
"You have to promise," she said, intending on forcing him to keep his word.
He fell to one knee bowing his head and placing a hand over his heart. "I promise."
"Okay," she sighed, grabbing the back of his shirt. "Now get out."
He blinked up at her, not understanding. "You... what?"
"Part of the no coddling promise, is not being here unless it's an absolute emergency, or the diary says I'm in danger."
He looked at her, and shook his head. "But..." he hesitated. "Mari, am I still a good person?" Lie, his eyes begged.
She hesitated, then said, "I'm sure you are."
He kissed her hand gently. "Thank you."
She nodded to him and took her hand away. "You need to get going."
He nodded slowly. "I... I may have an alliance in the early stages," he murmured. "With another holder. A temp thing. Would that suit you?"
"Of course," she said, walking upstairs to her room. "I won't hurt them."
He nodded. "I love you."
She didn't respond, though she paused. "I'll see you around," she said quietly, shutting her bedroom door.
He clenched a fist, and then... released. He smiled, and left. Time to finish the alliance with the chief of police...