Disclaimer: None of the dares are mine and come straight out of "The Love Dare" from the movie Fireproof.

Day one did not start right away, much to Tikki's dismay. But at the same point, Marinette rushed out of the house first thing in the morning and never talked to Adrien, who was out of the house even before she was.

"Because of that, I'm forcing you to go shopping," Tikki said, plan hatching in her mind.

Marinette frowned. "What for?"

"A cute notebook you'll want to write in."

Marinette cocked her head in confusion.

Grinning, Tikki nodded. "I'm going to make you write all this down and journal it."

"Oh, Tikki!" Marinette whined. "I'm so busy—"

"Nope," Tikki interrupted. "No, no, and no. You only think you're busy, but you're not. Not if you want to fix the box."

It was like watching a petulant child as Marinette crossed her arms and grunted under her breath. "You've been taking sass lessons from Alya, I swear."

"Trixx, but that's not the point."

So, after work, Marinette spent forty-five minutes shopping around to find a cute notebook that she liked. She ate dinner out while she was at it, mumbling about how there wasn't food at home and Adrien probably wouldn't make anything.

Tikki could only frown. She knew Marinette was hurt, and from that hurt spawned everything else. But that would change tomorrow. Tikki would make sure of it.

Day 1

Marinette sat on the bed with the notebook Tikki had her buy in hand. She'd already written "Day 1" on the page and was waiting for Tikki to give out further instructions.

"Alright, Marinette," Tikki began, floating in front of her. "Day one. Love is patient."

Considering the pause, Marinette assumed Tikki meant for her to write that down. So she did.

Tikki grinned. "Love is communicated in a number of ways…"

Again, she paused, so Marinette wrote that down.

"But our words often reflect the condition of our hearts. So, for the entire day, demonstrate patience with your partner. Do not say anything negative to Adrien, and if you feel the urge to, don't say anything at all."

Marinette paused as she hesitantly looked up at Tikki.

But the kwami just smiled. "Marinette, trust me. You and Adrien have been fighting a lot. Be patient, even if you don't want to be. Better to hold your tongue than say something you regret."

Marinette looked down at the page nervously. But she could do this. One day of it, right?

After getting dressed, she headed into the kitchen. Adrien was already in there, finishing up his breakfast. There was cereal on the table, and she picked up the box.

"It's empty," Adrien said.

Sighing, Marinette tossed the box in the trash and looked in the fridge for something.

"We're out of milk, too."

Biting her tongue against a sharp comeback, Marinette shut the fridge door. "Could you go to the store today?"

"I don't have time. Just like you, I'm busy all day."

This is hard. Marinette sighed. "K," she said, tossing her keys in her purse and marching out the door.

Dear Diary,

Tikki is making me do this. It wasn't my idea to journal at the end of the day and "reflect on my actions." But I don't want to argue with Tikki. She's scary when she's angry.

It's the beginning of this forty-day challenge to "fix the box" so to speak. Do I want to save this marriage? Maybe. I don't even know. Adrien hates me. It's irritating dealing with him. I don't need his sass. I didn't even know "we're out of milk" could be as sassy and have as much attitude as he put in it. It's like dealing with Gabriel, but almost more irritating because Gabriel was cold and Adrien

Marinette sighed, her pen drifting and making a line on the paper.

Adrien's Adrien.

I don't want to do this with him. I don't. It's frustrating because it's ridiculous and I don't know what I did wrong for him to act like I'm the bad guy.

My tongue hurts from biting it all day, but I guess we didn't fight, so that's good?

I'm tired and done with the day. Only 39 more days to go.

Day 2

"Love is kind," Tikki said. "So, in addition to saying nothing negative today—"

"Wait." Marinette looked up, confused. "I thought the dare was over."

"Oh, Marinette," Tikki said. "The dares build on each other. They aren't dare dares. They're building blocks. You can't just do forty things for forty days then go back to where you were and expect there to be a change."

Marinette sighed, supposing Tikki had a point.

"So, as I was saying," Tikki continued. "In addition to not saying anything negative today, do one act of kindness for Adrien without expecting anything in return."

Marinette sighed, finishing the line then shutting the book. What was she supposed to do?

If Adrien had to pick a word to describe the day, it would be weird.

It started out weird enough when Marinette took his empty cereal bowl from the table that morning, put it in the dishwasher along with her dishes, and told him to "have a good day" right as she left the house.

Then, he got surprised by the principal of the neighboring school who told him that he knew Adrien was in line to be on the National Fencing team and wanted a sure replacement for him should he get accepted. Apparently, he had taken the liberty of setting about finding a replacement and now had interviews lined up.

There were three people he had to waste the day interviewing, ending each interview with a spar to see if their skills were truly up to par. Three weren't.

And then number four came in.

Firstly, she was the only female of the group, which Adrien noted with some curiosity. But her skills were paralleled by him. He was reluctant to admit she may even be better.

Her demeanor was a little harsh, but it was clear she knew her way around the sabre. And her references were those he could not ignore. The Tsurugi family were known for being incredibly talented fencers.

"When can you start?"

She gave him a slight proud smile. "Tomorrow. I will come first thing in the morning."

Day 3

"Love is not selfish. Whatever you invest time, money, and effort into will become what is important to you. So along with not saying anything negative, invest into your relationship by getting Adrien something that says, 'I was thinking of you.'"

"Hi Maman."

"Marinette!" Her maman was quick to wrap Marinette in a hug. "How is everything?"

"Rough," Marinette admitted. "As usual."

Her mother gave her a pitying look. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. All marriages have rough patches, and it's up to the two of you to work it out. And I'm sure Gabriel's passing hasn't been easy on Adrien."

"It's like he's a whole new man," Marinette admitted. "And I don't know what to do."

"Keep working," her maman assured. "No marriage survives if it's not worked on."

I got it. And I'm trying. "I actually stopped by to grab some pastries to take home."

"Adrien will appreciate it, I'm sure," Maman said as she immediately put a box together. "We couldn't keep him out of these when you two first got married."

Marinette smiled. "I know. I was hoping to surprise him when he got home."

"He'll appreciate it," her maman assured, placing a full box in her hands. "And keep working. You and Adrien are a good match."

As much as it hurt her heart, Marinette forced a smile and nodded. "I know. I'll keep it in mind."

Adrien was tired, to say the least. The day had been extraordinarily long and draining because on top of all his work, he had to train Ms. Tsurugi in, well, everything. She was a quick learner, which made the process easier. Clearly, he'd made a good choice.

"We've met before, actually," Ms. Tsurugi told him when they were heading out for the day. "I applied for this job because I remember fighting you in the youth nationals. You happened to win that time."

Adrien frowned. "When? I'm trying to remember."

"I'd say seven years ago."

Adrien fought to remember. "The girl in the red uniform."

Ms. Tsuguri smiled. "Yes. I remember admiring how talented you were back then. And you still are. You haven't lost your touch."

"And you certainly haven't lost yours," Adrien returned. "You're incredibly skilled."

"Thank you. I work hard to be."

"It shows."

Ms. Tsurugi smiled. "I would enjoy talking more if you have the time."

Adrien paused, debating if he really wanted to go back home at all. In the end, it was his fatigue that won out. "Maybe another time. I'm exhausted from the day. Maybe lunch sometime soon?"

She gave a nod. "Tomorrow, maybe."

"Tomorrow."

And with that, they went their separate ways.

When he got home, Adrien dropped his duffle bag of equipment and headed immediately for the shower, after which he crashed out on the couch and reached for the remote.

The door opened before he could turn on the TV. Meaning Marinette was home.

He sighed, but looked at the clock and startled at the time. "You're home early."

And that's when she set a box down on the coffee table in front of him. "I ran by the bakery today," she said. "I thought I'd bring you home some of your favorites."

Adrien looked at the box and frowned. "I can't eat that."

Her brow furrowed. "Why not?"

He looked at his wife and couldn't suppress his smirk. It hurt, bitterly, that she didn't remember. Even the sudden sweetness of whatever she was doing didn't hide the fact she still didn't know anything about him and didn't care. "I'm on a diet."

"What for? You're fine."

Fine. Not good looking or handsome or anything else she used to say to him. No, he was "fine." "I'm being considered for the National Fencing team, don't you remember?"

Her eyes widening was all he needed to confirm that no, she didn't remember. "You never told me."

He scoffed. "Of course, I did. You just weren't listening."

Marinette's mouth opened but snapped shut just as quickly. Her eyes closed and head turned away, she took a breath before leaning down to scoop the pastries off the table. "I'm sorry," was all she said as she walked off.

"He's really hurting, Tikki."

"I know," Tikki said, leaning against Plagg's side. "Marinette is, too. After today, I think she's reluctant to keep on trying."

"She's doing it, though."

"I'm kinda forcing her."

"Sometimes, it takes a shove."

"As much as I don't like it," Tikki admitted.

"You're doing it out of love."

"I'm doing it for them. They didn't deserve to suffer like they did learning Gabriel was Hawkmoth."

Plagg grunted. "If he wasn't already dead, I'd kill him. He damaged my kitten."

Tikki reached out to place her paws over Plagg's. "I know. I don't like what he did to Marinette, either, even if it was only half as much as what he did to Adrien."

"It worries me just what this boy will do now that he feels he can't trust anyone," Plagg said. "I don't want my kitten to ruin his life like this."

"I know," Tikki assured. "We just have to keep hoping they hold on."

Dear Diary,

Adrien hates me. All he wants to do is pick fights and it hurts because I didn't do anything wrong. I try to do one thing nice for him and suddenly I'm the bad guy for trying to ruin the diet I didn't even know he had because he won't tell me anything.

Marinette took a moment to shove the pain au chocolate she was having for dinner in her mouth.

How was I supposed to know he was in line for the National Fencing team? He never told me. He can't get mad at me. And then he was all adamant that he told me and was looking for a fight and what am I supposed to do? Just stand there and take it. I hate it. I hate all this. It's not going to work. Watch. I'm just so done and I'm not even home with him more than a few hours. And forget working from home. That's not an option anymore. I miss the days that I could work from home and not have to deal with any of this stress. It hurts and I hate it. I'm done. He's done.

Let me out.