Chapter 8: Rose

After the Akuma incident the students agreed their day had been long enough and they could work on the video another time. They shuffled up the stairs to grab their things and head home but Alya, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette stayed behind and talked quietly among themselves.

"Sorry about snapping at you two, I just sort of panicked after seeing Alya dragged away like that," Nino said pulling an arm around Alya, his voice much softer now.

"No, it's alright, I just…" Adrien looked to the side, unsure of how to explain his childishness.

He wanted to justify himself, that he wasn't ready, because he wasn't, but that still didn't give reason as to why he was being so rash. He was just so angry when the akuma appeared, interrupting their class, interrupting his time to mend.

"You weren't ready to start talking again we know," Alya answered for him, they seemed almost too understanding, but he felt better not having to fully explain himself, "Thank you for saving me you two," Alya pulled both he and Marinette, as well as Nino whose arm was still around her, into a tight hug.

It was warm and he felt happy from the contact from his soulmates, though it was still tense as he and Marinette brushed up close to each other. She tried her best to not push against him too much, and Adrien realized he was eternally grateful for the space she had been giving him, she had been giving all of them over the past few days.

He couldn't help but catch the pained expression on Marinette as they were released from the hug and she looked down again, timid and quiet, very unlike her typical self. Though it could have just been that she acted different as a superhero, he knew he did, braver and more willing to jump towards danger. But seeing how she normally acted with other students, particularly her hot-headedness with Chloé, he knew that this simply wasn't true, that she was containing herself around her soulmates.

She was afraid, he recalled. The fears she shared with the class were very real, and Adrien couldn't help the pain that bloomed across his heart from hearing them. She was allowing herself to be disengaged with them as they were with her, because she was afraid of overstepping her boundaries and losing them. A mix of thankfulness, worry, and some sick sort of satisfaction washed over him at the thought of how she took her "exile" so to say. It occurred to him now that she may have been suffering just as much as he was over this.

The only ones who really talked to Marinette at the moment were Tikki and Plagg, when they weren't busy talking to Adrien, Nino, and Alya and answering their questions. Alya had asked and probed the kwamis with as many questions as she could, all while promising not to reveal this information on her Ladyblog or to any other soul she knew. She found the concept of the kwamis fascinating in themselves, and the personalities of the kwamis interesting, though it was obvious that Alya preferred Tikki over Plagg.

Adrien was dragged out of his distraction when all three of his soulmates made their way up the stairs to get their things; he quickly followed after, watching Marinette just ahead of him. The more forgiving side of him suddenly wanted to reach out and relieve her of her isolation, thank her for being so understanding, but a hasher piece of him kept him silent, reminding him if his anger, of the whole reason he was being silent with her. They battled quietly within his head.

In two or so days, he decided, he would talk to her again. Slow and quiet, only the simplest exchanges, not quite ready to give her full relief all at once, and so as to lead him up to feeling completely okay with actually talking with her again. When they eventually got there, they would be on completely equal terms, no hiding anything from each other, no barriers of mystery.

The four of them gathered their bags and decided to head to Marinette's home, as it was the closest to the school. Adrien pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to Nathalie, informing her of where he would be. Adrien had yet to introduce any of his soulmates to his father, he knew they existed, as no one suddenly spent that much time with others they barely knew without a reason. He was nervous of course, how his father would act towards them, how he would probably probe them with questions and concerns over whether or not they were really Adrien's soulmates or even "worthy" of him. Not to mention with their current rocky status a meeting with father could not go well.

He had met his soulmate's parents though. Alya and Nino's with proper introductions, their parents were very welcoming though they probed him with many questions, which was both exciting and nerve wracking. And Marinette's while the three of them were leaving to talk alone, it had been awkward, trying to explain the yelling and the reason they were leaving so soon, and without Marinette. Eventually they constructed a complete lie, which made Adrien sick to his stomach, but he played along with it; there was nothing else they could come up with, which only gave more justification to what Marinette did. Adrien tried to convince himself that it was different, because it was, the secrets they kept, they kept together, but the dichotomy of lying made everything more difficult and aggravating than is should have been.

Once in Marinette's room they curled onto the ground in a blanket they had stolen off her bed, Tikki and Plagg floating from their hiding places and resting where they preferred. Tikki enjoyed sitting between Alya and Adrien, as they talked with her the most, Nino was still cautious around the peculiar creatures. Plagg preferred settling in Marinette's hair over everyone elses', Adrien was sure it was to do whatever the he could to spite him. Plagg made his way to Marinette where she sat just a bit off from everyone, not actually making any contact with them.

Alya grabbed Marinette's hand and pulled her into her side, wrapping the edge of the blanket around Marinette's shoulder. Alya acted as a barrier between her and Adrien so he let himself relax with Nino on his other side. Barely, Adrien noticed how Marinette lit up at the contact, she really was beautiful, he thought to himself.

With a sigh he turned towards Nino and rested his forehead in Nino's neck, suddenly feeling very tired. Everything was a mix of right and wrong. The way Nino squeezed his hand and Alya leaned on him with both her and Marinette's weight was good, it was good and it was right because he was with his soulmates, the people who he was destined to spend his life with, who had a deep connection with him even before he knew them. Something in that fact though, that Adrien had pulled himself through a lot of emotional turmoil today, was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong because he needed more time to heal and what had happened today caused a strange array of steps, neither forwards nor backwards, in their mending relationship. The thought made him even more tired, so he let himself sleep.

In the next couple of days Adrien did allow himself to talk with Marinette. She was shocked initially, taking a moment to let him think over his decision and feel alright over it, and she spoke back, something short and simple. Alya and Nino were always there, so he felt better with every step he took with her. He had noticed how over the past couple of days they had been interacting with her more, taking their own small steps, but with it he saw a light flash through her every time they did interact with her. In a matter of speaking Marinette was becoming her whole self again, Adrien knew he was happy about this, about his soulmates all becoming whole and together once again, and he was ready to become whole with them.

The days passed, Adrien interacted more and more with Marinette, all three of his soulmates for the matter, and he felt better. The few akumas they fought in that time went more smoothly, as they gave very professional exchanges to each other and became a team again, with Alya and Nino watching their backs carefully. With an almost sudden realization, Adrien came to the conclusion that he was more happy that they were all together now than he was angry about what had happened. It seemed so strange to him, that he would be so okay with an issue he thought he would never get over when it first occurred, but he was. Being with Alya, Nino, and Marinette no doubt made him immensely happy.

They were nearing Adrien's house, about to meet his father, when he finally decided to voice this to her.

"Marinette," Adrien said quietly. He stopped where he was in the middle of the surprisingly empty street, pulling Alya, Nino, and eventually Marinette to a stop.

"Yes?" She asked, her voice soft and full of concern.

Before starting he took a step towards her and used his free hand that wasn't holding Alya's to grab hers, she looked down at their hands shyly. He took a quiet breath to collect his thoughts and find a way to properly articulate himself to her.

"As we've started to talk more, I've been happier, you've been happier," He started, choosing his words slow and carefully, Marinette looked him straight in the eyes and listened intently to his every word, "We, now that we're all together, we're stronger, I can feel it. Whenever I'm with all three of you," He looked between Alya and Nino, who were listening to him just as intently, "I feel happier. And I've become so much happier, being with all of you."

He took another breath, trying to calm himself down from all the emotions welling through him.

"I love all of you so much. A-and I'm so glad that I have, that I have all of you here with me now. And I don't actually want to lose you, not now, not ever, and not to anything," He looked between all three of them again from where he had suddenly been staring at the ground. Alya and Nino gave him warm and sympathetic smiles, and Marinette looked like she wanted to cry.

Alya let him release her hand to pull Marinette into a hug. She finally broke down and began crying into his shirt, holding him tightly with her whole body shaking. He held her just as tightly as Alya and Nino wrapped around Marinette and Adrien in a full hug, letting out quiet "Shhhhses" to calm Marinette down. Adrien was barely able to catch the barrage of "I'm sorry's" she mumbled into his shirt. He let out a breath and smiled, bowing his head and tapping it against Alya and Nino's to form a small encasing around her.

"Shhs, It's alright, we're here, all of us. Together. It's alright," He mumbled.

And it was. Wrapped in the warmth and love from all three of his soul mates, Adrien really did feel like it was going to be alright, he was no longer alone.

A/N: And with that, I end this short fic.

Thank you for sticking with this little story, and for dealing with that gap towards the end. I feel so happy to have finished my second fic, and in such a short amount of time, while AMPY took me four years to actually complete, I managed to write and complete this story in 4 months.

Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of this story. And please go to my profile to find out what I'll probably write next.

Thank you all for reading. *bow*