It has been awhile it's true. To start with, i wasn't happy with anything I had come up with, so i kept on deleting it and starting again. And when it got too frustrating, i did take a break. Then all of this covid-19 stuff started happening, and I've been hopping all over the place bc of it! But I was trying to sleep one night, unsuccessfully, I might add, and i had the rain part pop into my head.

So, here we are! Enjoy!There will be at least one more chapter.:) LB

...

Marinette slowly walked down the barely lit long hallway, gliding a hand along the wall as she went.

She hadn't known what to do after the revelations that had happened at the Charity Event earlier. So when Chat - Adrien, had asked what she needed, she had requested to come here. To the place she didn't even know she had known!

So, despite the pouring rain, Adrien had detoured, and backtracked.

To Agreste Headquarters.

Where she had supposedly lived and breathed her job.

But something had gone wrong. She couldn't place it, it was just a feeling she had when she saw Gabriel that first time.

If only she could remember!

Her steps got a little bit smaller the closer she came to the end of the hall. Closer to where her office was. Or was supposed to be.

She had little flashes. The view. An overstuffed chair. The pink throw. The split at the end, and the urge to go left. Right was the direction that took them to Gabriel's personal conference room.

At the end of the hall, she had a hard time just looking left. If she didn't look, it wasn't really real. Right?

She could always go back to just being ladybug. To just being with Chat. They had been good then. Happy.

Admittedly, they couldn't have been together. She had still felt like she shouldn't if she didn't know!

Which led them to here. Her to here.

Scared to look around the corner at her life.

So with a quick breath, she squeezed her eyes shit, and rounded the corner. One step. Two steps.

There was no feeling. Just... nothing.

Slowly prying her eyes open showed her to be right in the doorway to the dark office. Who knew this hall was so short?

Peering inside, she could make out the shape of a huge U Shaped desk, and the armchair, just like in her memory.

The desk was still cluttered. She could make out 2 computer screens, Various coffee Mugs, and the middle counter of the U at a 45 degree angle. Like a drawing table. Or easle.

Then, lastly, she looked at the view. At the water running like rivers down the surface of the glass first. Then the view beyond. She could see part of the Seine, and the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

It really was a wonderful view!

Walking to the chair, Marinette sank into it, wondering if anything would happen. Would she suddenly remember?

But nothing happened.

Disappointing.

She was startled by the banging of a door at the other end of the hall. Leaning back in the chair, she watched Gabriel running down the hall. Odd. Security hadn't warned her anyone else was here.

She took note of his suit, which had looked amazing at the charity event. All the way from his shiny white shoes, to his perfectly tailed red jacket, to his perfectly styled hair. Although, not so Perfectly styled anymore. Tufts stuck out at odd angles, almost like he'd grabbed fistfuls and pulled at it.

Slipping silently from her seat in the dark, she quietly followed him, down the carpeted hall where he pushed violently into the stairwell. She had to rush to see which direction he took. And she really hoped she didn't panic in the stairwell again. Last time had been bizarre enough!

Opening the door, she caught a flash of his shoes as he ascended to the roof.

Odd place for anyone to want to be when it was raining so hard! So, just in case, she slipped off her heels and left them on the first step. No reason to court disaster when she didn't know what to expect! She could deal with a little water. She couldn't stand a potential broken ankle!

Out on the roof, Marinette was quickly soaked through by all the rain. Not that there was much to go through. Her gown was thin, and her hair already hung like limp noodles down the sides of her face and neck.

But no sign of Gabriel.

Ignoring the puddles of water forming all over the place, Marinette quickly walked out and circled around some of the air-conditioner units. Which yielded no signs of Gabriel. Where on earth could he have gone?!

Was it possible he passed her by and already went back inside? Was the rain pouring so hard she hadnt heard the door? Or maybe he was hunkered down against a unit or something.

But still, nothing.

Deciding to take a look downstairs, just in case, she headed for the door, and came face to face with Gabriel.

Some 20 feet in front of her, he currently had one leg flung over the side of the building, and seemed to have froze in the process of swinging his other leg over when he spotted her.

"Gabriel!" she shouted, Panicked, as she took several quick steps towards him.

Until she saw the terror in his eyes.

"What are you doing?!" she yelled over the rain. Hopefully he heard her!

Which he must have, for he glanced down at the ground.

As she took a few more steps forward, he finally yelled at her, "Stay back! Don't come any closer! You can't stop me! Nobody can!"

"But why?! Just talk to me!"

"Why on earth would i talk to you!? Of all people?! Your just a figment of my imagination anyway. Like my conscience. How ludicrous! My guilt is making me insane!" as he yelled at her, she watched him swipe his wet hair impatiently out of his face. Saw his eyes dart around behind her. Like he expected more. But more why?!

" I'm not a figment of your imagination. " she spoke a little quieter as she took a few more steps closer to him, but she was definately still yelling.

But he seemed to have forgotten he told her not to move.

Only 5 feet now.

"I'm here. Marinette." she gave a thump to her chest with the palm of her hand so he'd hear the wet sound. See the water splash around her hand.

"Just come away from there and we can talk."

"I can't talk to you!! I KILLED you!!" he screamed with a sob.

His statement froze her in place.

"No." she whispered, shocked.

"You were my boss. You said i was the best!" she shouted loudly

"I was! I did! You are! But you didn't want me!" his eyes suddenly filled with rage! Only to disappear just as quickly as it had arrived.

"I thought you wanted me. I kissed you. And you ran from me in disgust!" he suddenly glanced at the ground again, and Marinette felt panicked again!

She couldn't let him jump! That's what he seemed intent on doing.

All because he had kissed her?

That seemed wrong. Something definately wasn't adding up here.

"What are you talking about?!"

"I kissed you, and you ran away! I tried to stop you, and you fell down 2 flights of stairs, just trying to get away from me! I thought you were dead! I cried for you! And then I hid you. Away from me!" he slumped over dangerously, and covered his face with his hands.

Oh.

OH!

She could hear him sobbing uncontrollably, but wasn't sure what to do. How on earth was she supposed to help him through that?!

A bang sounded from behind her, and she turned to see Adrien standing there, wild eyed, as the door banged shut behind him.

He had probably been looking for her.

"Father!" he screamed when he saw his father straddling the ledge.

Gabriel jerked, and seemed to slip towards the side. But he quickly grasped the concrete ledge and held on, eyes darting wildly, first from Marinette, then to his son.

"Im so sorry! I don't deserve to live!"

"NO!!" Marinette shouted. It stopped him, at least momentarily.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember! I don't remember any of that! And I don't care!" she screamed. "Just come back over here. Onto the roof! I don't think you meant to, Gabriel! It was an accident! If it wasn't, why would you be this broken up about it?!"

She really hoped this was helping. She hadn't exactly talked anyone off a roof before. Or at least, not that she remembered!

Ha!

She took a couple more steps, until she could touch him if she just stretched out her hand.

"Please Gabriel. I don't care. And even if I could remember, i still wouldn't. So just trust me, ok?"

He seemed uncertain.

Good.

"Please?!"

Finally, she held out her hand to him. And prayed he'd take it.

He could get help. She'd make sure he did. So would Adrien. It was his dad, for crying out loud! And the pain in his eyes just about killed her. To have been keeping that in for months! To be reminded everytime somebody said her name. Or wondered where she went. All over an ACCIDENT!

True, he should have just called it in. But people did dumb things when they were in shock. All the time!

So she really hoped the man before her would just TAKE HER HAND!

A surprised jolt ran through her when he actually did.

Then a grin spread over her face as she pulled as hard as she could until he tumbled to the gravel roof in a heap. Sobbing, he let Marinette pull him into a hug.

Forgiveness was hers to give, after all.