Adrien discovers how much Marinette can be stubborn. She just doesn't know yet how much he can be too.

Angsssst on its way. It swear it's necessary for them to move on to the next step. We'll be soon back to crack, smut and fluff, I promise. Until then, let the angst run the world! (I mean, girls. Girls run the world! Of course.) *Your author is rambling, sorry*

Have a nice reading!

CHAPTER 8: Blanc

"Marinette?"

Marinette's chest lifted up as one of her legs shot up, pulling the sheets up, causing a cold gust of air to make Adrien feel as if they were sitting in a bathtub full of ice.

"Love?!"

Her eyes snapped open, her breathing hard and laborious. He could feel that she seemed lost as if she didn't know where she was and who'd spoken.

She sat up abruptly, her eyes scanning the surroundings. Adrien realized there was a white blur all around. A cold and scary white blur though. Her heart raced erratically, almost threatening to burst out of her chest, until the fog slowly vanished, her heartbeat quietening.

"I think you had a nightmare." He guided her hand on her shoulder. He squeezed it tightly, his thumb drawing soothing circles over her skin. "I'm here with you. It's gonna be okay. We'll make everything go back to the way it was."

«Give me your Miraculous so I can make everything go back to the way it was!»

For some unknown reason, she stiffened following his words.

"M'Lady…" He hugged her body. "Don't overthink this. You know we'll fix everything at some point. It happens... We've just gotten into some mischief…"

«Chat Blanc has... gotten into some mischief...»

She hiccuped, holding back a sob, and he could feel tears threatening to roll out of her eyes. He gently wiped them with the back of her hand, wondering what he might have said wrong for her to go from angst to sorrow in the blink of an eye.

He could feel the pain aching inside of her. It was as if a vice tightened around her lungs, a feeling of construction weighing in her chest. Or as if a dagger had been stabbed in her heart, stirring in some kind of wound he probably didn't know existed.

"This isn't about our current situation…" he stated. "What is it? Do you wanna talk about it, Love?" He suggested, voice soft.

Marinette eventually moved, folded her knees against her chest and hugged her body tighter, slightly rocking back and forth.

"Please, Princess, talk to me."

She lied on her side, curled in the fetal position, and closed her eyes. "I-I don't want to t-talk about it. Let's sleep."

"Huh… Mari, I don't think—"

"Adrien, please. I can't," she cut him, voice stern. "I want to sleep now. I have to wake up early and help my parents at the Boulangerie. "

He didn't move, and gave up the fight.

"Okay… Night, M'Lady."

She hummed, sinking a little more into her pillow.

Adrien remained quiet, unfortunately falling asleep to the rhythm of Marinette's silent sobs and body's tremors. He 'd sworn not to rush her, and he wanted to keep his promise as much as he could.

When Marinette's alarm rang at 5.30 a.m., it had again been a real pain in the ass to get her out of the bed.

Well, it was understandable. She hadn't slept much—Adrien could say so. She was yawning, then he was yawning and vice versa. They both were exhausted, and this made some concern creeping up inside Adrien' s mind. A distracted Marinette was never a bright spot—no pun intended. Undoubtedly, he was right to worry about her. They had only been in the kitchen for a few seconds, and she had already tied her apron inside out.

It was going to be a long— very long—morning.

"I need coffee," Marinette stated as she untied the apron to put it back on the right way.

Indeed, a coffee sounded like an excellent idea. A strong one.

"Do you want a cup, sweetie? I was going to make some." Her mother burst in the kitchen, a soft smile stretching her lips.

"I'd like one. Black, please," Adrien beat her to it.

He felt Marinette frowning and pursing her lips, but she quickly changed her expression when Sabine gave her a puzzled look.

"Black? Are you sure?" she raised a brow.

"S-sure… I'm… I'm in the mood to try something new," she eventually shrugged. A slight grunt rambled in her chest, and Adrien realized she was a little pissed off. He better shut the fuck up from now on.

"Do you wanna bake croissants or macarons this morning?" Sabine asked as she handed Marinette's her cup of coffee.

"I love croissants!" Adrien blurted out. Oh, crap. Let's hope it was going to be Marinette's answer, or he would be in such trouble that he would never eat croissants again.

Marinette quickly turned to her mother, a cringe-worthy smile showing on her face. "I mean, croissants would do! I love baking them," she said, correcting her glutton partner's words.

She took her cup of coffee and went out of the kitchen. She headed straight into the back shop where everything was set up for baking in large quantities. She locked the door behind her and sighed lankily.

"Adrien…" she scolded him, "Behave!"

"I'm sorry! I promise I'll be more careful."

"Please," she pleaded.

She walked to the sink in order to wash her hands before they started. She then went to the cold room and took out a very large dish, filled with a generous, golden dough.

"Is that your papa's dough?"

"Yes. Papa prepared it in advance. Everything is homemade with a pinch of love," she explained while she removed the cling film from the dish and started to hum softly. "Les petits pains pétris avec amour sont bien meilleurs lorsqu'ils sortent du four *¹…"

"That's what makes everything so good here," he cheered, "even you." He didn't hold back the flirt.

She squeaked and let drop the flour's bag she was using to get the work surface ready, spreading flour all over her apron and clothes.

"Are you satisfied, you silly, smitten kitten, ugh!" she mumbled.

"Well, you're not Marinette anymore, you're Blanchinette !" He giggled as he looked down at her body. "I must admit that blanc suits you very well."

«I'm not Chat Noir anymore. I'm Chat Blanc!»

#RoseMinou allowed me to use and share her art which worked perfectly with this chapter.

He felt Marinette straining, her hands clenching and balling into fists.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?!" She pounded her fists on the work surface.

She startled him. "I know you didn't get enough sleep, but that's no reason to react like that to a little joke."

"Oh, yes, you think so?! Do you really think it was just a little joke?!" She snapped back as she threw the dough on the floured surface and began to knead it more firmly than necessary. "You're right. Seeing you dressed all in blanc and destroying the whole world was just a little joke. Not my worst nightmare. It's maybe true that I'm the one without a sense of humor then," She scoffed, getting angry.

He felt tears of anger burning her eyes as she clearly took her wrath out on the innocent dough, cutting some triangles abruptly and rolling them roughly.

"What are you talking about?" Adrien inquired, trying to keep her trembling voice as gentle as possible.

She cut the few last triangles, her hands shaking, and wounded herself in her haste.

"Ouch!"

She lifted her finger to her mouth, pressing it against her lips, while her right hand kept rolling the last croissants.

"Okay, M'Lady, that's enough!" Adrien commanded, stopping her in her task.

"Just 10 more!" she objected.

"Are you always so stubborn?!"

The taste of copper spread over her mouth, and Adrien winced. He couldn't believe she was so obstinate.

"Yes I am! Consider yourself lucky! It's my stubbornness that always brings you back when you're stupidly reckless!"

"You're—"

"Stop it!" She cut him off.

"You're not even listening! I just want to understand and help you, Marinette!"

«You're not even listening. You don't understand!»

Her knees felt like rubber when they gave way, and she collapsed on the floor. Tears pooled in her eyes as much as blood drained off her flesh. Adrien didn't know what to say or do . He felt completely useless and unwanted.

Luckily, Sabine entered the room and saved him—saved them.

"Marinette! Oh, no, you cut yourself again!" Her mother took her hand in hers, closely watching at the wound.

She quickly helped her daughter to stand up and leave the Boulangerie 's kitchen.

"Are you okay, honey?" Sabine asked, her voice filled with concern. "You should be more careful."

"I-I'm fine. J-just tired."

Sabine narrowed her eyes, and Adrien quickly understood that she was not fooled. However, she respected her daughter's silence and did not rush her to explain what really bothered her.

"I'll make the last of the croissants. Go take care of that cut and get some rest, please," she said, her tone one of command but her smile and the soft gleam in her eyes made it sound much more gentle.

Marinette simply nodded and went upstairs, and then straight to the bathroom.

He quietly watched as she opened a drawer and took out a first aid kit. She grabbed a bottle of antiseptic, cleaned the wound, and placed a bandage over it.

Adrien didn't say a word, thinking that he could leave her some space. At least, until they got back to her room.

*¹ This is the song Roland taught to Tom when he learned to bake. The song is a remake of " L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" (from the opera Carmen). However, it doesn't quite work in the English version, as the lyrics are replaced with a typical humming/lala'ing, which makes Roland's outrage a bit strange because it's just the tune of a famous opera. So, I decided to put the French version there. The translation gives something like that: " The bread rolls kneaded with love are much better when they come out of the oven."

"Can we talk about what just happened?" Adrien gently asked Marinette as she closed the hatch leading to her room.

She shrugged—there was nothing to say. "You heard Maman . I'm clumsy. This is happening all the time."

"Marinette…" She heard the warning in her voice and didn't like it. Not at all. "That's not what I meant and you know it," Adrien objected sternly.

True to herself—read there, stubborn. Marinette collapsed on her chaise longue, trying to ignore Adrien and deny that all this was actually happening.

"I can't believe you're this childish! If you don't put some effort into it, we won't make it!" He raised her tone. "This is getting urgent! My father and bodyguard are getting back home tomorrow night, Marinette!"

But she couldn't ignore him, nor deny that he was right. She wasn't alone in that situation and he needed her. She couldn't think or act selfishly. Besides, it was useless to keep putting off the talk for later, especially when they could have it right now and maybe resolve their issues once and for all. Yet, no words were coming out of her mouth because she didn't know how to talk about it. Where to start? Where to stop?

"I'm scared," she whispered as she grabbed a cushion and hugged it tight against her chest. She lowered her head and hid her mouth in the fabric, mumbling again. "So scared."

Indeed, this was probably a good starting point—or kind of.

"You're scared," he repeated as he made her voice sound completely perplexed. Well, she couldn't blame him for being puzzled by the sudden statement.

She nodded slightly and closed her eyes. Her arms tightened around the cushion, holding onto it for dear life.

"You're scared to tell me the truth, aren't you? I know you're hiding something from me, and I know it has something to do with last night's nightmare. Besides, I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time you've had nightmares," Adrien pondered.

He was insightful—as always.

"I'm terrified," she said offhand, her voice trembling.

"Would it help you if I'm opening up to you first?" He questioned her. "I also have fears and nightmares, you know… You're not dealing alone with this. I'm here. I'll always be."

Of course, she knew that he would always be there for her as well as she would always be there for him. Though, she felt bad because she should've known he also had the nightmares. At least, she should have guessed it. She wasn't the only hero here. He was a hero too. Both of their lives were kinda surreal, hectic, and stressful. They' d both been through things that no teenager should ever face—both been through hell more than once…

She pursed her mouth in a thin line, her bottom lip trembling slightly. She hummed, giving him the cue that he could go ahead, she was listening even if she already felt tears creeping up in her eyes, the sting forcing her to blink quickly to chase them away.

"You know, I've never been in love until I met you." He let that notion hang in the air.

Oh well, he was cutting straight to the chase. How was she supposed to brush her tears away if he started with that?

"Back when we were fourteen, when we took our first steps as superheroes, I was scared that you might never reciprocate my feelings," he admitted, biting her lip and holding back a chuckle. "This was completely silly. I mean, no one can tell you who you should be in love with. Actually, I never held it against you, but my lovesick heart couldn't help but ache sometimes. So, I was scared and I had nightmares where you kept rejecting me… Until I was forced to face another kind of fear. Something less selfish and much more frightening. The fear of losing you," he confessed, voice trembling.

This time she knew the sting she felt in her eyes was not coming from her.

"You remember that day when you asked Adrien to wear the Miraculous of the Snake?"

Oh… Oh! She knew the path he was taking with that. Her heart swelled with guilt at the mere thought. She had never considered that Adrien might have been affected by that battle. It was something else she should've guessed… He'd seen her vanishing 25,913 times, and told her that he had tried to save her life for months! Yes, she had thanked him for having done it but…even a kiss on the cheek wasn't worth his perseverance and courage, nor his many losses. She should've known better. She had seen him die so many times, and there was nothing more terrifying than losing someone you love all over again (even though you're completely denying your feelings for that very person). It was an unbearable fear and pain.

Eventually, she weakly nodded, motioning him to continue, while more tears pooled in her eyes—hers this time.

"I had to bring you back 25,913 times, and all those times I helplessly watched you die… I couldn't protect you… 25,913 times…"

There. He thought he had failed her, whereas, on the contrary, he had indeed saved her by giving up the Miraculous she had entrusted him to, admitting it wasn't made for him.

"I had nightmares of that very fight for months! I didn't realize it to start with, but that one fight created an unprecedented sense of fear inside of me, and without me even noticing. It didn't pause to ask my opinion or permission. It just sneaked deep inside of me with no intention of going away anytime soon. From that day on, the fear settled and I was scared of losing you all the time," Adrien confessed. "You see? Everyone has a weakness. Everyone has nightmares haunting them, M'Lady. There's nothing to be ashamed or afraid of, but you shouldn't let your fears pin you down," he encouraged her.

"What if they've already pinned me down?" She heard herself ask all of a sudden, her voice filled with deep concern.

She started to open up to him, yet her body showed how difficult it was for her. She curled herself on her side, folding her knees against her cushion, squeezing it tighter against her chest.

"Well, you remember when I let my nightmare finally take the lead? I spiraled into anger and resentment, thinking that you were purposely keeping me out of the loop. Thinking that you didn't need me anymore because you had a whole team of great superheroes at your disposition. What happened next, well…you know it." He waved it off. "Fear made me do stupid things, like making me renounce my Miraculous... But, eventually, you managed to save me, and I'll do the same for you."

"I...I saved you? I-I thought I was the one that brought you down, back that time?" she questioned him sheepishly.

"It wasn't you. It was my fear," he corrected her. "As for you, you did more than you think for me, Buguinette . You showed me that you cared and worried about me: you even questioned yourself about the way you acted with me. You proved that I had nothing to be afraid of because I'd always be your partner, even though I'm goofy, reckless, and impulsive," he smirked at that. "And most of all, y ou chose me rather than the other guy Plagg had given the Black Cat Miraculous to. The one who was too purrfect , although proving himself to be a great match for you"

She could hear the pride he put in her voice following this last statement.

"Perfect," she repeated in disbelief. "He was too perfect… How do you know all that? No one met Cat Walker except me…" she whispered, completely bemused until the penny dropped. "Oh my God! It was YOU !"

"Good insight, Ladybug," Adrien seriously stated, echoing Cat Walker's seriousness. "I wanted you to know it. No more secrets."

Marinette buried her face in her cushion and let out a muffled scream.

"I can't believe I fell for you thrice…" she muttered under her breath.

"Third time's the charm," he purred. "Anyway, let's get back to my point, m'Lady. The fears we don't face become our limits. It's okay to be scared, but you don't have to be scared alone, you don't have to face that alone… Don't bottle up everything. You can talk to me," he encouraged her, and she felt her body relaxing, her hold on the cushion she squeezed slowly loosening because he forced her to do so.

Her fingers nervously fidgeted with the hem of her cushion. She took a deep breath and rolled on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"You had been a-akumatized…" she murmured, already feeling a lump in her throat.

"Indeed, that's quite a scary nightmare," Adrien whistled through clenched teeth.

She licked her lips, trying to get a word out of her suddenly dry mouth. She swallowed her hesitation and took the plunge. "N-no, you don't get it. It's not a n-nightmare. I-It's a m-memory," she whispered, her bottom lips trembling as she held back a sob.

The confession hung between them, a heavy silence settling in the room. She felt her heart sinking in expectation of his reaction.

"When? How?" She could tell by the stunned tone of her voice that this was quite a big blow for him .

"Another timeline…" And with that, she went ahead, confessing to him her encounter with Chat Blanc in the destroyed shell of what remained of Paris.

It was like a giant leap into the void, except that she wasn't scared anymore. She knew he would be there to catch her. No matter what.

Adrien managed to stay incredibly calm and understanding after the bomb that Marinette had dropped without any prior warning. He listened to her without any judgment, asked the right questions in due course, and most of all, he had reassured her about what he said, or done, back that very day.

Of course, she should have known better than to listen and believe what an Akuma's victim said.

«It was our love that did this to the world, m'Lady.»

But she couldn't help it. Over the years Chat Blanc's words had become like a poison that had spread inside of her mind and heart.

First, she had been forced to admit that his words meant much more than she wanted to. It wasn't his love. But theirs . Which meant they were both sharing feelings for each other. Which meant that she loved him . Back then, she didn't want to believe it. She had pushed that thought far away until it became complete denial. But somehow, this had been completely useless. Once it settled, she couldn't get rid of it anymore. So instead of pushing her feelings away, she had pushed her partner away until she couldn't bear it anymore, and gave in to her feelings. From that day on, since they were a couple, Chat Blanc had made a shattering return in her sleep, haunting her every night.

However, for once Adrien managed to be the rational one among the two of them and keep his cool. He understood why she was so upset now, but they had to look at it from a more rational and logical perspective. After all, Bunnyx never came to prevent another Chat Blanc disaster, and what they knew from their encounter two days earlier with Chat Noir from the future, confirmed that nothing bad had happened. Well, except for the current situation they found themselves in, everything seemed to work for them as a couple, and Bunnyx didn't contradict this indication.

"Listen, our love wasn't the problem. Our timing was. Don't overthink it, M'Lady, okay?" Adrien stated insightly.

He forced her to stop in her tracks as she was currently pacing the floor of her room for half an hour. "You're right," she whispered. "There's a time for everything, that's what Bunnyx once told me."

"And Bunnyx was right. Now, the time has come." The voice coming from nowhere startled them . They looked to their left and saw a portal and a silhouette standing under Marinette's mezzanine.

The rabbit's ears made Marinette doubt for a second before her eyes widened. It wasn't Bunnyx.

"A-Adrien?" Marinette asked, stuttering over his name.

" Time Hopper , actually," he corrected her as he bowed in front of them with a sly grin. "At your service, Mademoiselle ."

To be continued...

Of course, his name with the Rabbit's Miraculous is a pun! :D

See you on Wednesday for more.