In the haven of the blanket fort, there was nothing stopping Adrien from admitting everything to Marinette. Especially when they were tangled like this. he was leaning against the walls, cocooned in by the cushions, with his phone in his hand, and she was laying across the duvet, with a book in her hand. One of her legs were on top of his, and one of his was on top of hers. They weren't uncomfortable, but they were keenly aware of how they were tangled. Their torches were close to them, so they could see if they had to leave the fort for some reason. The trouble was, all the things he had to confess, he didn't want to admit.
That he wanted to forgive his father, that he was in love with ladybug, that he had a crush on Marinette, that he was guilty about the crush because it felt like betraying Ladybug, that he knew Chat Noir only ever called one girl Princess, everything that he had to say he could let slip out now, freely and easily, in the safety of their fort. But he loved this fort. He had no idea why, but something about it felt brilliant. Brilliant and safe. Which was impressive given how thin some of these sheets actually were. If one of her parents came in now, they would be able to see their silhouettes through the sheets. Yet inside it felt invisible.
Marinette was only pretending to read. In her mind she and Adrien were still pressed close together under that street light, swaying against one another as the rain drops kissed their skin. And then something started biting her leg and snatched her attention back.

"Ow, ow, Adrien, what are you doing?!" Marinette whined.

Adrien looked up in surprise to see her frowning at him. His mind was back on his father and the anxiety it brought with it made him bounce his leg. He had forgotten that Marinette's leg was underneath.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Her frown deepened. Something was bothering with him. Something that he couldn't stop thinking about.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing."

"Adrien."

Adrien sighed. Marinette pulled her legs up under her and sat up again, so he would have to look her in the eyes. He couldn't quite managed to meet her gaze.

"I just... I was thinking of dad."

"Oh. Anything I can help with?"

Adrien shook his head and sighed. Marinette frowned. She glanced around for something to find something to encourage him to open up. Her eye was drawn to the Ladybug doll. She reached out and grabbed it. Putting on a high-pitched Ladybug voice (her imitation was flawless) she hid behind it and spoke.

"If you can't talk to Marinette, will you talk to me?"

Adrien leaned forward and picked up the Chat Noir doll. Half-heartedly he tried to change his voice, and said, "I'm sorry my lady but a cat got my tongue."

Marinette smirked. Hurt as he was, he could still joke. That's what she admired about him. Adrien fiddled with the doll's arm. What could Marinette do that he couldn't? Then he felt her hand brush against his side as she tried to make the Ladybug doll encourage him to talk. Oh, right, that's what she could do, she could be there, with him, listening and being supportive. That's all he needed.

"I'm thinking of apologising to him," he said, without the mask of the doll.

Marinette's hands, and the doll, fell into her lap as her face fell.

"To your father? After everything he's gone?"

"I was standing by the Seine, and I was thinking about how to start again. Everything, all my mistakes and problems and failures, it all comes back to my relationship with my father. It has to be fixed."

Marinette nodded slowly but still didn't seem convinced. He waited for her response. He knew it was coming. She didn't have the ability to keep her opinions to herself for very long.

"I don't know a lot about your father, but he didn't do a lot to try and help you tonight. He grounded you, lurked outside the concert hall, chased us down the street in a car, and he didn't even try to phone you. Adrien, I don't think it's you that has to apologise," she said.

"I was talking to your father, and he said that parents always worry about their children when they aren't with them. My mother is gone. I think father is worrying for two," he explained.

"But if he is, why does he always send your bodyguard for you?"

"Because that way he knows I'm safe. I'm not alone."

"And why did he kick you out?"

"I... don't know..."

"Adrien, why do you really want to apologise?" She asked, gently. Adrien bowed his head and sniffed. She watched him stubbornly gulp back the ball growing in his throat. "Adrien, it's ok to cry."

He shook his head, "I'm not going to cry."

His father's voice echoed in his head. Don't cry in public Adrien. It didn't matter to him that they were standing at his mother's funeral. He wasn't allowed to show his emotions. Now Marinette was telling him it was ok, but he couldn't.

"He's all I have left Mari... all I wanted was a little more freedom, and now look at me. I'm homeless," Adrien sniffed.

"You're not homeless. You can live with us for as long as you like," she insisted.

"I want to go home. It's my home. When I was younger, he would threaten things that mother wouldn't let happen, and now she's gone. She stopped him kicking me out last time. Now he hasn't got anyone stopping him, but he has people who work for him to ensure what he says goes."

"That's terrible," she muttered.

Adrien snorted. "That's nothing. One time, he threatened to burn my teddy bear if I didn't leave it behind when we went to the studio, and my mother brought it with us and left it in his bag, so I could still see it, but I couldn't hold it... I miss her."

Marinette blinked, horrified. When she was younger she had to sit on the third step for a minute for every year she was alive, and that doubled if she moved. Not once had she been threatened, and she couldn't imagine her father using fire as a threat either. She stared at Adrien, imagining him as a tiny boy with a messier mop of hair, huge trusting green eyes, freckles, and a little teddy bear dangling from his arm. How could anyone do anything to hurt that boy? Especially his own father.

Adrien saw the horror in her eyes and nodded in agreement. "I know, it's terrible. He's a bully. But he's my father. He does care about me. He phoned your parents to make sure I had somewhere to stay, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but, Adrien, he's a bully!" She insisted.

"But he loves me."

"But is that worth the pain?"

Adrien didn't have an answer to that. Plagg lifted his head. He and Tikki were sitting on the third rung of the bed ladder. This was a question that drew Plagg's attention. Adrien clenched the doll tighter. If he had been Chat, he would have cataclysmed it then and there. It wouldn't have helped the dull ache in his chest though.

"I know he's manipulative and cold, but I love him. Earlier, when I was rebelling, I was so happy because I thought it would mean he'd finally pay attention to me... I guess I was wrong," he sighed.

The chat noir doll fell from his hand. Marinette dropped Ladybug by his side as she reached over to touch his arm.

"If you want to go back and fight to fix this, I'll stand by you. But you have to accept that he's abusing you. If you can't make it work, you have to walk away, before it destroys you," Marinette promised, solemnly.

Again, Adrien began, "But he loves-"

Impatiently Marinette interrupted, "He's not the only one who loves you Adrien! What about Chloe? Or Alya and Nino? If you can't do it for yourself, do it for them. For us."

Adrien gulped. Even with the anger in her tone, there was something about the way her voice shook that made him question it.

Timidly, he muttered, "Us?"

"Yes!" She huffed. It ached to finally admit this, and know he wouldn't think she meant it, because of the context it came in. For a moment, she didn't think she could, but it forced its way out with a kind of ache she had never felt before. "I - I love you Adrien... I love you..."

Adrien suddenly realised how desperate he was to hear her say that, and how desperate he was to kiss her. Somehow it hurt to know she only meant it as a friend. She couldn't look him in the eye as she continued ranting.

"So if you go back to your father and he takes you out of school, you remember that. And remember me. Because you're important to me Adrien and you need to remember that you are important!"

Adrien had to wrestle with himself to stop him kissing her, but he was full of a raw desperate need to be closer, so he threw himself across the duvet and pulled her into a hug. Marinette didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around him too. They were like snakes, clinging to one another, wrapping around each other until the other couldn't breathe. They only separated when Plagg snuck down and shoved Adrien's leg, sending both of them toppling backwards. Now they were sprawled on the duvet, with their heads on cushions, and the exhaustion kicked in. Emotionally as well as physically now.
It was difficult to keep their eyes open as they laid in comfort, staring up at the Christmas lights above them. He rolled his head to look at Marinette. She turned her head to meet his gaze. He glanced at her lips.

So close, and yet so far.

He glanced back up at her eyes. From somewhere deep within him, he peeled out something that ached as it left his lips, but couldn't go unsaid. "I wouldn't forget you princess. Not ever. I love you too much."

Marinette gave a weak smile. It was everything she had dreamed of him telling her, but knowing he only said it because she did, and he only thought of it as platonic love, man that hurt more than she could ever imagine. She wriggled closer, and laid her head near him. He wrapped his arm around her, so her head was laying on his shoulder, and his arm stretched down her back. Neither had anything left to say. Both were hurting.
Plagg and Tikki stared at their charges, and then at each other. The utter shock appalled them. How could these two be so dense?! They literally confessed their love for one another, and even now they couldn't see it wasn't platonic!

"Humans," Plagg declared under his breath, "are the dumbest creatures."

Tikki didn't like to paint with such broad strokes, but when it came to these two, she couldn't help but agree.

"Shall we turn out the light?" Tikki sighed.

Plagg immediately shook his head. The only light they had were the Christmas lights that brought the universe out in her eyes. He never wanted them to go out.
The silence grew louder, filled with the heartache of their lives. In her mind, Marinette could see them dancing still, under the street lights. If it were up to her they would dance forever under these fairy lights too. Her heart begged for it. Even if she tried to fight the clutches on her heart she wouldn't manage it. She'd tried before, but his hands were too tightly clutched on her heart. It was brutal, and every uninvited touch came dangerously close to destroying her.
Adrien felt like there was a train wreck in his troubled mind. He was full of bad luck, anguish and shame. More than that he was desperate to kiss her. He was even more desperate to cry. To ease the trouble in his mind. The trouble of how low and brutal this love was.

A single hot tear escaped his cheek as thunder rumbled outside and raindrops smacked the window above the bed. It ran a path down his cheek, and rolled down onto hers, where she was nuzzled against him. Marinette heard and felt nothing. Her dreams were too busy dancing.