Hello again! I hope you guys have been alright. April has been a bit of a roller coaster, but I'm really glad I managed to get this out on time. It's quite different than I'd initially planned, actually, though I think I'm happy with it anyway. I hope you guys agree.

Thank you all so much for every fav, follow, review, and casual read. To PinkYellowRoses2, I'm so happy to hear that! I wasn't sure how people would feel about a chunk from Marinette's perspective, but I felt it was the best way to set certain events in motion. I'm glad you like my take on Adrien and Plagg's dynamic - I was worried it might've wound up catastrophic, but it appears the attempt wasn't as bad as I thought. :) To leafwing2, thank you again! A proper conversation is definitely a desperate necessity for the pair of them at this point.

Last time on A Mother's Love: Ladybug goes on patrol, eventually retrieves Chat's letter, and spots Adrien on her way back. She realizes something is wrong, so Marinette goes to bring him home with her for the night.

Thanks for reading. Here is chapter 5, "Solid Ground."


The first thing Adrien was aware of was cool metal pressed to his face. The second was a startling amount of pink.

It took him a minute to recognize the space as Marinette's bedroom, and another to remember why he'd been asleep there to begin with. Memories of the night before flooded his mind. Every time he tried to focus on something else, like playing piano with Plagg the day before or the soft pillow under his head, an almost magnetic force seemed to drag his thoughts back underground, to that cave, with the coffin, with his mother . . .

Slightly raised voices downstairs jerked him out of his spiraling thoughts.

"Maman!" he heard Marinette exclaim. He couldn't hear Sabine's response properly, but Marinette's next reply was just as indignant as her last.

Adrien couldn't help it. He wasn't the holder of the cat miraculous for nothing.

He crept down from Marinette's bed and eased the trapdoor open an inch, two inches, three, four, until he could just see Marinette, facing away from him and speaking to whom he couldn't quite see but assumed was Sabine.

". . . wasn't sneaking out, and I wasn't sneaking him in either! It's just like told you - I had a really bad feeling in the middle of the night, so I tried calling him, and when he didn't pick up, I went looking for him!" That was odd. He hadn't noticed his phone ringing last night - but then again, he barely even noticed her when she was right in front of him. "And then I found him, Maman, all alone out there in the cold and the rain. I couldn't just let him go home like that! He hasn't told me what happened yet, but whatever it is, it can't be good. I'm just so worried about him."

"And you did the right thing bringing him here, sweetheart. Adrien is always welcome in our home, you know that. I just worry about you, Marinette. I love you very much, but we can agree that coordination and awareness aren't exactly your strong suits, yes? What if you'd gotten hurt or into trouble, and your Papa and I would've had no idea where you were! You didn't leave an email, or a text, or even a note! And what if you hadn't found him? Paris is a big city, as you very well know. The poor boy could've been anywhere."

"I'm sorry, Maman," Marinette said, moving to hug her mother. Adrien's heart twinged, but he kept watching. "I did remember to bring my pepper spray. And I had an idea of what direction he'd gone in. I - I went . . . up to my balcony to think first, and I saw someone moving, and then when I saw a bit of bright orange, the same exact color of his sneakers, through all that rain and across the park, I knew it had to be him."

"All that, just for a feeling . . . . Honestly, Marinette," Sabine said, though her voice was muffled slightly by her daughter's shoulder.

Marinette's tone was teasing when she next spoke.

"Oh, please, Maman, like you've any room to judge me for that. I am your daughter, after all."

The two shared a quiet laugh, and Adrien shifted slightly, causing a faint creaking beneath him. Sabine's gaze shot up to meet Adrien's. He tried to close the trap door, but the damage was already done.

"It looks like your friend's awake, sweetie."

Marinette spun around so fast that one of her pigtails hit her in her wide-eyed face. He guiltily stared back at her through the cracked open trapdoor.

"Adrien! You're awake! I mean, of course you're awake, you knew that already. I -" she cut herself off with a sigh. "Would you like to have breakfast? I made crêpes."

He hesitantly began to make his way down the stairs. "Are you sure? You've already done so much for me," he said, gesturing to the pajamas she'd lent him for the night (coincidentally, a perfect fit). "I've intruded for long enough. I - I can, go, um, go h–h-home or" - a sudden, strange tightening in his chest was making it increasingly difficult to spit the words out - "or s-something."

His knees were feeling weak and a sense of lightheadedness was washing over him. He stumbled down the remaining steps as his breathing shortened to shallow pants. His heart was pounding in his ears.

"Adrien!" two voices - one concerned and the other panicked - came echoing through the fog.

He could faintly detect the scent of bread from somewhere in front of him, but white noise - the same, he remembered, from last night - continued to ring in his ears.

There came a gentle tapping, one on his left knee, then another on his right, and repeat. It continued even after someone began speaking to him again.

"Adrien," said a woman, warm but firm. "I need you to take a deep breath, okay honey? Marinette, you too. In for one - two - three - no, it's okay, even if you're not quite there yet, you can still keep following along. Alright, let's try again: in for one - two - three - four, hold for one - two - three - four, out for one - two - three - four, hold for one - two - three - four."

He did his best to focus on her words as she continued to guide him through the breathing exercise, all the while maintaining the steady tapping on his knees.

"Good," she said after another few minutes. "Now, when you're ready, Adrien, I'd like you to open your eyes. But keep breathing like we've practiced, alright?"

He waited another minute before slowly blinking his eyes open. But everything was too bright and overwhelming, so he shut them again.

"It's okay, take your time," Sabine said.

He tried again and managed to focus his eyes on her.

"Good job, honey, you're doing great. Now, what's you're favorite color?"

"Gr-" Marinette started, but Sabine interjected.

"I'd like Adrien to answer, please. So, what's you're favorite color, Adrien?"

"G-Green," he croaked.

"Wonderful. Can you name five green things that you can see for me, please?"

"The . . . paintings on the wall. These pajama pants," he said, plucking at them as he looked around. "The book on that shelf. The sticky notes on the fridge. And that plant," he finished, looking at the coffee table in front of him.

"And now four things you can hear."

"Your voice, customers downstairs, the oven opening, and water running."

"Three things you can feel."

"The couch, Marinette's pajamas, and these pillows."

"Two things you can smell."

"Strawberry crêpes and fresh bread."

"One thing you can taste?" Marinette had joined in.

"Minty toothpaste."

Adrien smiled. Sabine and Marinette smiled back.

"Feeling a little better?" Sabine asked.

"Loads. Thank you so much. I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"You have nothing to apologize for! It happens to . . . to me sometimes, too. Well, actually, a little more than sometimes," Marinette admitted. "But I know I can count on Maman, or Alya, or T- any of my friends to help me through it."

"Please don't force yourself if you aren't ready yet," Sabine said, "but would you like to talk about why you were out in the rain so late?"

"Oh, it's alright! No, we don't have to go there yet!" The look on his face must have been quite something, to put such an expression of concern on Marinette's.

"I'm sorry, just not, not yet," he said, looking away.

"It can wait until whenever you're ready, Adrien, even if it's not today or even this week. Now, are you ready to eat?"

"Yeah, I am. Thank you for cooking, Marinette, it smells amazing."

The trio rose to their feet, Sabine handing him a tissue to dab at his eyes before he followed a limping Marinette to the table.

"Marinette, are you okay?" he asked. Sabine followed his gaze, then sighed.

"Oh, dear," she said affectionately. "Another wall? Or was it a table this time?"

"No, it was not another wall, thank you, Maman!" Marinette frowned.

"A miracle," Sabine said dryly.

"It wasn't! It was" - she turned to him with a sheepish look on her face - "sorry, it's just you sort of . . . kicked me just a little, in your sleep."

"What? Why didn't you wake me? I'm so, so sorry, Marinette! And after everything you've done for me," he said in a single breath.

"Don't be! I'm sure I did the same to you. Alya always complains about it whenever she sleeps over. According to her, I leave as many bruises on her shins as tables do on mine!"

"Oh." He still felt bad, but his shoulders relaxed a touch all the same. "Well, if you're sure, then."

And with that, the three of them sat down to share breakfast together, Tom joining in after welcoming Adrien with a hug not too long after.


And that's all for today, folks! Sorry for the slightly rushed chapter - between school, travel, throwing out my back (1/10, would not recommend lol), and a lot more, it's been quite the month.

Thanks for reading. I'll hopefully see you for the next chapter, "Picking Up Pieces," on May 27th. I'm aiming to upload a proper cover, too, so we'll see how that goes. See you then!

Chapter Word Count: 1,463

Published: Friday, April 29th, 2022.