Adrien wasn't sure what was holding out for as he continued to pace outside Marinette's apartment. If he buzzed her, would she even let him in? From what Plagg told him of the day Mari took second place hard, and the fact that he wasn't there only made it worse. He tried to call and got sent to voicemail. Adrien couldn't stand by as the need to comfort her grew. He waved goodbye to Plagg and raced off towards his car.

Which lead him here, a couple of staircases and a door away from being able to comfort her. He gripped the flowers he had stopped for tighter as if they drift away if he let go.

The door opened as someone was leaving giving Adrien an opportunity to snag the door. He quickly explained that he was there to surprise his girlfriend. The woman took one look at the flowers, wished him luck, and went on her way.

The knowledge of making it inside the apartment complex didn't ease his nerves any. It was torture, the first time that Marinette was angry at him with the 'Adam' incident, he could only imagine what awaited him.

Despite the knots, his stomach had worked into he found himself knocking on her door.

"Who is it?"

He could barely hear her through the door, and his mouth opened eager to reply

"It's"-

The guy who screwed up by not showing up?

The one who didn't trust you and he's sorry?

"Me," he finished lamely.

The door swung open abruptly catching him off guard. His girlfriend stood in front of him. The sight of her bloodshot eyes, a redden nose from tissues—she had been crying. And it was all his fault.

He expected her to start shouting at the sight of him; to tear into him with her words because that's what he deserved. Instead, seconds passed with no words uttered; her eyes voiced everything.

"It was nice of you to finally show up."

There it was, the pointed statement that stabbed and gutted him in one blow. He couldn't blame Marinette, especially when she blocked the door denying him entrance inside.

"Mari, I'm sorry—I" His voice gave out not sure what to say. "Chloe made me think that"-

Her scoff and subtle head shake stopped him mid-sentence.

"As much as I dislike Chloe, you can't pin it on her. I didn't need her to be at my competition; I needed you. Can you offer any explanation why you weren't there?"

Adrien glanced over his shoulder to a neighbor who had taken notice of this argument.

"Could we maybe continue to talk inside?" He gently started to push the door open only to find that it stopped short.

Marinette hands slid down the door, and her eyes fell to the floor. "I don't think that's the best idea. I don't want anything else to go missing."

Adrien swallowed hard as the second knife plunged within him.

She knew what he took her sketchbook.

"Tell me I'm wrong."

"I just thought-"

"You thought you could go against my wishes and steal my sketchbook for a dream that I had given up on several years ago. I had the bakery and my mother to of, I couldn't let her down. You had no right to make that decision."

"You're right, and that's why I wanted to apologize. I didn't show it to anyone; can you forgive me?" He dug through his bag and pulled out the book.

Marinette snatched it and placed it on the table just inside the door. "Yes," she struggled to get the word out. "But-" Her eyes jumped to his as a tear rolled down her cheek. "But I don't think I can do this. I don't trust you right now."

"Mari"-

"I'm sorry," she choked out and closed the door.

"Mar."

Marinette closed her eyes and rested her head against the door, tears fully stream down her face. "I can't."

Adrien rested against the door elbow fronting most of his weight. The shock of what happened was wearing off leaving his new reality to crash over him. Marinette wanted to break up? All of this was a big misunderstanding. The flowers in his hands dropped to the floor. His gut ripped out and his heart cold.

"Please, can we talk about this?" He begged through the door; his answer returned void. "I don't know how, but I'll earn back your trust." It felt silly promising such a thing to a piece of wood, Marinette might not have even heard him for all he knew. If she needed space, he would give it to her, no matter how painful it would be.

"Plagg? Is there supposed to be smoke coming out oven?" Tikki called out earning a string of curses from his mouth attending the kitchen before the smoke alarm started. The firefighters and his coworkers visiting were not how he wanted the evening to end. Thankfully, he managed to salvage the dinner he had started and created laughter along the way.

"I'm sorry, I should have been paying more attention," he smirked in her direction. "Guess I was distracted by something beautiful."

"You know what they say about flattery,"

"That it gets you everything," Plagg teased lacing his fingers with hers backing her into the counter.

"And who said that?" Tikki responded leaning in and captured his lips with her own.

"Doesn't matter." He smiled into another kiss. Much to his disappointment, Tikki gently pushed him away.

"Do you think Marinette will be ok? She seemed really upset this afternoon." Plagg places a tender kiss on her forehead as if the simple action would remove any doubt.

"Marinette is strong, and a little birdie told that Adrien went over there to apologize."

"You saw him?" Tikki's eyes were blown wide.

"He arrived just as Marinette pulled off. We sat down, and he explained everything. Then he said he needed to see her and raced off. You know typical boyfriend behavior for him."

"Boyfriend," Tikki trailed off squeezing his hand. "I like the sound of that."

"Really?" Plagg's expression brightened. Their joint hands hugged Plagg's waist as he closed most of the gap between them. "I'd like that a lot."

"Then it's settled," Tikki giggled allowing the butterflies in her stomach to flit and flutter around. "I have the best boyfriend in the world."Tikki leaned in and stole a kiss. "Thank you." She was so lucky that he wandered into the bakery when he did. He created this whole night to cheer her up

"For what, Cookie?"

Tikki's hand cupped the side of his face tenderly. Her fingers were playing with the strands of hair. "For never letting me crumble." Smiles emerged from the pair as she repeated part of his speech. They grabbed their food and made their way over to the couch. Tikki snuggled up to Plagg resting her head on his shoulder as he turned on Princess Bride. The moment was interrupted when Tikki's phone buzzed. She was going to ignore it, but a gut feeling prevented her. Her eyes reread over the message hoping that the words would somehow change.

"Plagg?"

"Yes, my love?"

"I think your little birdie got it wrong. Marinette just texted me. She and Adrien just broke up."

"Marinette!" Alya pounded on the door with her one free hand and cradling her care package in the other. "Come on open up; I got your text. We both know that you wouldn't have sent it if you didn't want me here." The quietness oozing from underneath the door worried her more than she would care to admit. Marinette was the one that assured her that things with Adrien would work out, but now that everything fell apart, she didn't know what else she could do besides be there for her. The last thing she needed was an 'I told you so,' even if she was right. "Let me in Marinette; I have tacos, movies, Andres's ice cream and I know a guy that can hide a body." She heard the faintest of shuffles and her body relaxed for the briefest moment; at least she knew Marinette was alive.

The door open and Marinette's petite figure filled the crack. "Did you really bring Andre's?"

Alya smiled softly and nodded while she held out a bag which Marinette graciously accepted. Ice cream may be a cliché thing related to break-ups, but it worked in the past. Andres was the first thing she ate with her break up with Nathaniel and Luka.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alya tilted her head as she watched her friend sink onto the couch with a spoon. Marinette's hair was disheveled, and bags hung under her eyes from the sleepless nights. Her clothes had wrinkles from the last several days folded into the creases.

"There's nothing to talk about," Marinette replied right before taking a bite of ice cream. "I couldn't trust him anymore, so I have to let him go. I showed him my sketchbook, Alya. He took it with every intention of showing his father, the man who absolutely hates me. You know how I feel about my sketches; I barely show them to you."

"But you did say that he found out about dropping out of school to help with the bakery. He could have thought"-

"It doesn't matter what he thought; he took it without asking." The ice cream placed to the side Marinette wrapped her arms around her legs as she tucked them in. "How can I trust him again?"

"Only time can tell," Alya gently replied.

"He said that he was sorry, that he didn't show anyone." Her voice gave out from her passionate rant. "That he loved me." Those words stung far worse than she could ever imagine. He loved her, but did she love him. Is that why this hurt so much? "Am I making a mistake, Alya?" Marinette's voice barely filled the room. Instead, she just lay there allowing Alya's fingers to rake through her dark hair enjoying the soothing feeling. She couldn't expect her to tell her what to do, because it had to be a decision that only she could make. Images of Adrien's hurt face flashed in her mind. It had only been a couple of days, but she missed him, his laugh, smile, or goofing off. The way he could say the precisely the right thing when she needed it, and now she found herself questioning every interaction that they had.

"I don't know," Alya confessed.

Somehow that answer didn't appease her. For once in her life, she needed to be told that it would be alright, that she would get past that. But Marinette had a feeling that even if Alya told her everything that she wanted to hear, it wouldn't be enough. Adrien probably hated her by now; she had ignored every one of his texts and calls until they dwindled to a complete stop. There was nothing to do now, except get over him.

Adrien didn't take his eyes off his phone on the table. It had been several days, and he was waiting for her to call, to say it was okay... but she didn't. The nightmare of his new reality started to sink in. He had lost her.

And as if in Adrien willed it, his phone started to buzz. His heart leaped inside his chest as he scrambled to answer; until he saw the screen.

Sophie.

What could she possibly want? It was bad enough that she stood him up at the altar, but she stood him up that morning that Marinette crashed his table. He still hadn't gotten an answer to why. Before he knew it, his finger answered the call.

"Hello?" His body started to drain of much-needed oxygen as he could do nothing until she answered. "Sophie?"

"Hi, Adrien."

The warmth that spread through him by the sound of her voice caused him to melt. It was the first time he had seen or heard from her since the wedding. If this is how he reacted by hearing her voice, he would think that if she had shown up, he would have forgiven her on the spot.

"Why now?" The words that circled his mind tumbled out with hostility as the anger started to boil inside him.

"Adrien, please—I tried to call so many times— I even went to the restaurant the morning we were supposed to meet. Stood across the street, but I couldn't go in. I couldn't face you after what I did."

Adrien found his mouth dried up at her explanation his heart in war within himself.

"I miss you," Sophie's voice cracked. "I was hoping that maybe we could try one more time."

He could hear the nervousness laced with her words, but he didn't know what to say.

"I know it won't be just like old times right away, but we will get there, with time. I want you to trust me again."

His first instinct was to say yes. It was even more tempting with the sorry state that Marinette had left him; the idea of his ex-fiancé wanted to do dote on him made his heart leap in his chest. Maybe it was his sign that he needed to go back. He used to attend the restaurant with her every Sunday morning. But when he closed his eyes all he could see was Marinette and her brilliant eyes and dazzling smile. Adrien could hear her laugh echo amongst his thoughts.

"Adrien?"

"It can't be like old times." The words scratched his throat with the delivery, but he knew they had to be said.

"What?"

Through the phone, he could hear her smile falter. Maybe if Marinette never interrupted his breakfast, then he would have a harder time resisting. Adrien knew that if he agreed to her offer, he would be giving up all hope that he could repair things with Marinette.

"I don't know why you abandoned me at the altar, and I don't care anyone. You can't just waltz right back in like nothing ever happened. I've moved on—I met someone else."

"It's the girl, the one you left with that day, isn't it." She paused waiting for an answer, but his silence was more than enough of one. "Does she make you happy?"

The question prompted another image of Marinette to run through his mind when she leaned in and kissed him on their date; it brought an instant smile to his lips. Sophie didn't have to know that they weren't together at that moment; it was irrelevant; he was going to win her back.

Adrien remained wrapped tightly in his burrito blanket. A week had shifted before his eyes, but it felt like a year. He was supposed to be ok, supposed to get over her within his withdrawal. He has called out for the second time this week. It may have reflected his state because they didn't ask any questions this time.
Not that Adrien minded, he merely rolled over clutching the blanket tighter wishing the cold, smooth surface would act as an embrace he desperately craved. This was all his fault, Marinette hated him, and he couldn't place the blame on anyone but himself. No one forced him to take her sketchbook; he did that on his own accord. Chloe may have pointed him in the wrong direction, but like the idiot he was, he galivanted after the trail she left. Marinette wanted him there, and he didn't show.
His mind had been ruthless with running through alternate scenarios, how he could do things differently. Not that it mattered, he couldn't go back in time, and she wouldn't even talk to him or answer a text.
There had to a way to make up it up to her, but nothing that he came up with sounded good enough—except the one thing that she wanted. The one thing she had talked about countless times in their times together; the building for her second bakery.

Adrien leaped to his feet and raced down to his car as the thought kept turning. He may not have any control over it, but his father did. If he bought the building as he said he did then, it could be a bargaining chip.

Before he lost courage, he hopped into his car and didn't stop until he reached his father's manor. He stormed through the front door and into the office.

Gabriel glanced up wide-eyed and mouth dropped in shock, "Adrien?"

"You win." If younger Adrien could see him now, no doubt he would be cringing at what he was about to do. He tried to find another way, but he knew his father, and everything came with a price. This seemed like the only way he could make it up to her, even if they weren't together anymore. Marinette deserves happiness, and if he could help in any little way, it would be enough.

"I beg your pardon?" Showing up at his office was an irregular thing for his son, but to show up an declare him victorious? Over what?

"I will come and work under you in all my spare time, learn the ropes of the business." Adrien saw Gabriel's eyes narrow, the bait drawing temping. If it was one thing that Adrien knew, his father had a deeply seeded dream that he would take over one day. "On two conditions," he added.

"And they are?"

Adrien knew his father was a top negotiator, but even now he could feel his heart simulating a jackhammer inside his chest. "Number one, I stay working at the station. I love the job and the crew." He paused knowing full well most of his father's reservations would be with his second request. "And number two, you give Marinette the building on 7th from your original deal."

"And what spurred this decision on?"
Gabriel asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"It doesn't matter; do you have a deal or not?"

"And how do I know that you won't pull this stunt to get the building and then never step foot in my office again?"

"I'll sign a contract if needed," He gritted his teeth. "Besides," the hostility in his tone dropped. "There's no need to be concerned over Marinette; we're over."

"I see," Gabriel shifted his weight, "then why"-

"I have my reasons," Adrien snapped defensively.

"You love her."

It wasn't a question, but Adrien would fight before he would let his father be aware of that fact. It was torture enough that he would have to work for him.
"What does it matter, you're getting what you want!" he snapped.

Gabriel's eyes soften at his son's frustration. It was evident that whatever happened between his son and Mlle. Dupain-Chang had left at least one if not both parties wounded. Adrien, however, hadn't shared much regarding his life since his mother passed away. That event drove a wedge between them. Gabriel had never had absolute proof, but he suspected that Adrien blamed himself for Emilie's death. But here in this moment, his son was releasing a cry for help, so who was him to turn away. If giving Mlle. Dupain Chang the bakery would ease some of what was eating at him, he would.
"You start on Monday."

Adrien nodded and exited the office without another word.

Gabriel released a sigh and pulled out the top drawer with the picture of Emilie; his fingers tentatively danced across the glass. "You were always better with affairs of the heart," he murmured. "He needs you—I still need you." And for the first time since the funeral, Gabriel openly wept for the state of his family.