A/N: HEY GUYS, IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK! Sorry for the hiatus, it's just that, WORK, man. I spent the last week in an isolated island with absolutely no internet or data, so yeah. But I came back with some really good ideas and hopefully I'll be posting another chapter in the following days, so stay tuned for that! About this chapter, well, what can I say? Get ready to be broken :) ALL ABOARD THE FLUFF TRASH EXPRESS.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: We talked about this, I own nothing. (do people still even do these disclaimer things? someone tell me please! I feel like an old woman.)

The next time he woke up, a friendly, unknown face greeted him. A doctor. He was at the park's hospital, he got sent with the rest of the visitors that had been in the accident.

"You were lucky," he said. "Your friends say you got in the way of one of the trains to save a boy."

He nodded. "How long have I've been out?"

"Just a couple hours, mainly from exhaustion, I should add. Your body is slightly bruised but you should be okay after resting for a day or two. That means no rides, no walking around. Understood?"

Adrien nodded, still a bit dazed of how his first day in the park had turned out. So much for the happiest place on Earth.

Park representatives met up with him just before he was allowed to join his friends. They offered him all these free things, and VIP passes, and nights free at all their hotels and cruises, so long as he signed a privacy waiver so that he wouldn't sue.

In another circumstance, Adrien wouldn't have done it. But he knew if this made it into the news- if his father knew he had been in the accident, he'd be shipped back to France faster than you can say "lucky charm. " No one had been harmed, after all. So he signed, and when they asked him if he had seen the cat boy that saved everyone, he shrugged and said, "Sorry, I didn't see anything."

The doctor gave him some pain relievers, an unguent he was supposed to apply on his bruises, and he got sent back to the hotel.

Needless to say, the other three practically shoved him into the bus back to their suite when he tried to argue he felt good enough to keep looking around. He didn't have the nerve to confront the combined anger of Nino and Marinette.

After he got away with staying on the futon instead of switching rooms with Nino, they prepared it for him, and helped him lay down. Alya and Nino went to ask for information about take-away dinner options at the front desk.

Adrien was a bit annoyed at how careful they were being with him. If he wanted a 24/7 watch he would have stayed home.

"I'm not made of glass, you know," he said to Marinette, crossing his arms like a four-year-old throwing a tantrum.

"I'm not the one who ran headfirst into a fire, so."

"I'm sorry," he said, sheepishly. "I really am."

"I know." She sighed. "So, you really didn't see Chat Noir?"

He shook his head.

Marinette squinted at him. "Funny, he said he'd fetch you, from wherever it is you were."

Adrien felt a cold shiver break on his body. "Yeah… uh, well, I was by the lake."

She nodded, pensively, and brought her knees to her chest. "He wasn't looking so well."

"I'm sure he's fine."

"Not without the Miraculous Cure. You weren't there to see. He took a really nasty fall. I wonder if he injured himself."

She grabbed a handful of her hair and shook her head. "That stupid cat is gonna get himself killed one day," she muttered under her breath, though loud enough for Adrien to listen. He pretended he didn't.

"I know he's okay. Because I'm Chat Noir," he wanted to say. "And I've been suspecting for a while that you're Ladybug."

Instead he kept silent, feeling how the words burned his tongue.

Marinette's phone suddenly ringed with a call, disturbing the uncomfortable stillness.

"Hello?"

"Marinette?"

"Mom!" Both her and Adrien tensed up.

"Are you okay? We saw what happened in Disney World. It made it into the news. Chat Noir was there."

"Uh… yeah. We were in another part of the park at the time. We heard, though."

Sabine let out a clear sigh of relief. "So you kids made it alright? Where are you right now?"

"Yeah, uh… we're at the hotel. It's really nice in here. I'm with Adrien."

"Just him?"

Ugh, stupid move. She flushed, knowing the speakers were loud enough for Adrien to hear the conversation. He pretended to be busy with his own phone, though. "Yeah, uh… he was feeling a bit sick so we decided to head back early. Alya and Nino went to grab food for everyone."

"Oh, poor thing! Tell him to take care."

Saved. Marinette sighed in relief.

"I will maman. Hey, I have to go. Alya and Nino just got here." They hadn't.

"Okay chérie. Take care. Love you!"

"Love you, too, maman. Tell dad I send hugs."

She hanged up.

With their situation aside for a moment, Adrien watched half amused, half completely shocked at how deftly Marinette, sweet, innocent Marinette, just lied to her mother.

"You didn't even blink," he commented. "You could be a psychopath for all that I know," he teased.

"Hey, I'm already friends with a suicidal guy, so what else is new."

He chuckled. "Say what you want, but I never thought you'd be such a smooth liar."

She blushed, a bit embarrassed. "What did you want me to say? 'Oh yeah, mom. We were there and

Adrien totally helped Chat Noir. And he disappeared for the entire thing and then he fainted when we found him, you know! And he scared us to death, and-'." And suddenly she was crying. She cursed at herself, because she was really aiming at some light-hearted tease. So much for that.

Adrien couldn't help but feel half those tears were not for him, but for Chat Noir, which strangled his heart even more. He tried to put himself in Marinette's shoes for a second. Her superhero crush almost died in front of her. And then when he, Adrien, reappeared in the scene, what did he do? Faint in the poor girl's arms.

"A-and if I told her that, yo-your dad would have heard because I know her and she would've moved heaven and earth to let him know you were okay and…"

Right, his dad! So that's why she lied. She was covering for him.

Oh, Marinette.

"S-stop looking at me like that!" she demanded, not wanting to deal with his sad kitten eyes at the moment.

He pulled her into a hug, instead. To his surprise, she clung to him as soon as his arms were around her.

He rested his head on top of hers and patiently waited as she let her fear out. His shirt was damp from her tears, which only made him feel guiltier.

"I'm glad you're okay," she muttered, squeezing him tightly. "Really, I am. I'm glad."

"But?"

"I'm worried about Chat Noir."

He laughed good-naturedly. "You really do have a crush on him, don't you?"

She sniffed and shook her head. "I don't know."

A long, tense silence settled in. It was dense with implications. It meant that despite the way she acted, Marinette was not in love with him, Adrien, after all. It meant that, either way, he ended up heartbroken. But if she knew who he was, maybe things would be simpler.

Plagg's words ringed in his head, trust your instincts.

He sighed. Well, if you're gonna do it, do it all at once so it doesn't hurt that bad.

"Marinette…" he muttered. "I, uh… if, somehow…" His voice quivered, small and unsure. Mousy instead of feline. "Um, well. You know friends keep secrets for each other, right?"

She turned to him, face splotchy and confused.

"I-I mean… There's something I need to tell you. But, uh… it's kind of a secret." He saw as she paled and her eyes widened. He only hoped she wouldn't get back at him, fainting, too. "I- I've never told anyone about this and-"

He suddenly became aware of the fact they had unconsciously closed the space between them. He was so close he could feel her breath.

"A-and." He couldn't think about what he was going to say next. All he could focus on was how close he was, how easy it'd be to just kiss her and put the Chat Noir topic under the rug. But that would not be right, she just told him she wasn't sure of how she felt, regardless of whether he was what made her doubt. And yet, if she liked Chat Noir so much, why didn't she flinch away? Why was she resting her hands on his chest? Why did she move closer?

"I'm-"

"We're back!" Alya exclaimed as her and Nino stormed into the room with a grinning expression and as much junk food as money could buy.

"We brought pizza," Nino said.

Adrien and Marinette practically pushed each other away, each jumping to opposite ends of the futon.

Alya and Nino threw terrified glances at each other, immediately catching drift of what was about to happen, and the fact that they blew it.

"I-" Marinette stuttered. Bathroom. Now. NOW. Abort mission! "I'm going to take a shower."

She sprinted out of the scene, with Adrien about to chase behind her if not for the fact the sudden movement caused for him to wince in pain.

Marinette locked the door to the room, to the bathroom, too, for good measure. She turned on the shower and let Tikki out of her purse.

"What am I doing Tikki?" She kneaded her face in desperation and paced around the steam-filled bathroom.

"There's no need to panic, Marinette," Tikki said encouragingly. "You like Adrien, don't you?"

"Yeah but- oh my gosh, what was he going to say, Tikki?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

"Because I don't think I even want to know!" She bit her fingernails. "This is bad, this is really, really bad. It's…"

"Catastrophic?"

She glared at the little kwami with death in her eyes. "You're not helping."

Tikki giggled despite Marinette's obvious mortification. She wondered for a moment how Plagg was dealing with Adrien, knowing that he usually got the short end of the stick. Ladybugs were usually easier to come around when the revelation of their identities happened, but it was almost as if Marinette wanted to ignore the obvious. To be fair, it had always been that way.

Marinette plopped down on the lid of the toilet seat, arms dangling to her sides, defeated.

"What if…" her voice was small, full of dread. "Oh no… OH NO!" She had to bite a towel to prevent herself from screaming her head off. "What if Chat Noir is Adrien?" For real this time. The silly texting was a mere coincidence. The dancing? Well, it's Adrien Agreste, it didn't surprise her he knew how to dance. Today's events? Those tethered on downright divine intervention.

Her stomach turned into a convoluted knot the moment she heard herself asking that. She shivered.

"No no no no no. He can't be. He isn't. This was just a coincidence." Another coincidence, she thought.

"Why would it be so bad if he is?" Tikki reasoned.

"Because they're completely different people, Tikki! Adrien is not at all like Chat. And Chat well, Chat's Chat! He's reckless, and silly, and has a terrible sense of humor, and he…" She cut herself midsentence as she paced around the tiny bathroom again, recalling the events of the day. Reckless? Check. He almost killed himself that afternoon. Silly? Check. That thing with the printed T-shirts? He wasn't kidding, she knew. Him and Nino had pulled stunts like that before. Horrible sense of humor? The fact that he thought Chemistry puns were funny proved the entire point.

"Maybe you should sit," Tikki suggested, worried about her horrified expression.

"Be-because…" Marinette continued answering her kwami's question. "Because that would mean… he's been there all along."

And I turned him down so many times.

And he went from annoying younger sibling to high school crush in what seemed like seconds.

And… it's him.

It's been him all this time and I was so stupidly infatuated that I completely ignored the fact I was crushing ON THE SAME FUCKING PERSON.

Suddenly, realization dawned upon her, and once it hit, it was like a dam that just collapsed. Marinette felt crushed by the overwhelming details and memories that suddenly shone under a different light. And everything suddenly made sense.

Conveniently always missing from an akuma attack, but always around by the time it ended. The fact he knew so much about Chat Noir. Why sometimes, when she was able to see beneath Chat's facade, she encountered a kindness that was strangely familiar. Why she started being curious about that kindness he was so bent on hiding underneath the flirting and bantering. Why sometimes she couldn't help but feel like they had met before.

It made so much sense, now that she thought of it.

Why Chat's demeanor was all about grandeur and recklessness, and freedom. It was the same reason why Ladybug was courageous, sassy, confident. Because underneath the mask she was a simple, clumsy girl. Underneath the mask, he had never known freedom, friendship.

And then, on top of realizing how stupidly obvious everything was, her mind took her on a nerve-wrecking journey through her memories with Adrien.

The day with the umbrella. His first birthday in school. That time after akumatized Volpina. The endless akuma attacks. The first time he went to her house. How close and yet, how very far they were from each other.

And then she remembered:

I've kissed Chat Noir. I've hugged Chat Noir.

I've danced with Adrien. I've played videogames with Adrien. I CAME TO FREAKIN' DISNEY WORLD WITH ADRIEN.

"FUCK!" she exclaimed loud enough that the others heard, she was sure. "Fuck fuck fuck. Tikki!" she whined. "Tikki! I'VE KISSED CHAT NOIR. AND CHAT NOIR IS ADRIEN. AND ADRIEN IS HIM. AND CHAT IS IN THE OTHER ROOM."

"What?" Tikki asked. "Marinette, maybe we should talk about this later. You don't seem to be taking it so well."

"Not taking it well? That time I cried over my failed math test I didn't take it well. That time I missed Jagged Stone's concert I didn't take it well. This? Not taking it well is the understatement of the year! This is a whole other level of messed up and you're expecting me to act like it's a freaking walk around the park?! And you're not denying it at all! It's him, isn't it? Adrien?"

She shrugged. "You should ask him."

Marinette's nostrils flared as she groaned, feeling a strong impulse to strangle the tiny god.

She stared at the running shower, mad at everything and everyone. "I'm just gonna shower. I'm too tired for this right now."

Marinette dealt with the situation the way every responsible young adult would: By evading the subject as much as possible in the hopes that it might solve itself, or that it'd fade, or that she'd die. Whatever came first. After the bath, she resurfaced into their tiny common area, where Nino, Adrien, and Alya were stuffing their faces and watching Mulan.

She made a point of evading Adrien's gaze, whom was evidently confused at her silent treatment.

"Hey!" Alya's voice was gentle as she greeted her. "We saved you some pizza."

"Thanks," she said, still lingering by the door. "But uh… I'm not very hungry. Actually, I'm feeling kinda tired so I'm going to call it a night."

"Alright," Alya said.

Marinette gave them a short nod. "'Night."

Lies. All lies. She wasn't sure she'd even be able to sleep that night, as it had become common for her to go to bed with increasingly convincing evidence about Chat Noir's- Adrien's?- identity. However, she could fool the boys, but never Alya. And when she joined her in the bedroom after the movie, Marinette was anything but ready for her drill of questions.

"Okay, spit it out," Alya said. Marinette dug herself deeper into the covers. "What's going on girl? Are you okay?"

Marinette nodded under the covers, making her figure look like a huge marshmallow coming to life.

"What happened? Is it Adrien? What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, don't you 'nothing' me, Marinette Dupain-Cheng." Alya yanked the covers off from her, revealing a pouty Marinette. To an extent, Alya deserved to know what was going on with her, but that didn't mean she could actually go about spewing things that might lead her to discover her identity. Things were already bad as they were.

Against her own will, she lied again. "I was just…" Her eyes clouded at the memory. Surprisingly, she didn't actually have to lie to feel sad. "I was very worried."

"Oh," Alya said. "Aw, girl. Come here." She made Marinette crawl to her arms. "Yeah, I was, too." They were silent for a second. "Freaking Adrien, though. Right?"

"He… he's going to get himself killed one of these days."

Alya nodded. "He was lucky. But you have to admit that was very brave of him. If he hadn't done it, that boy probably wouldn't be alive right now."

"Yeah…" Marinette curled around one of the pillows. "I guess you're right."

"That's not to say it wasn't stupid, but it could have been worse. And we should be happy nothing bad happen, and, sort of try to put it under the rug, if it makes sense."

Marinette nodded.

"I'm getting him a leash," said Marinette, with a deadpan expression that cause Alya to cackle.

The image brought Mari a sense of satisfaction. A cat with a leash. Chat Noir with a leash. She laughed. He wouldn't like that very much.

"Speaking about leashes," Alya said. "We were thinking about going to Animal Kingdom tomorrow, sounds good?"

Marinette frowned at her.

"I know, I know. I made that face too, but he was so. stubborn. about it. He said he'd be mad if we had to waste a day because of him, and that we should go without him."

Spotting Marinette's will to argue against that, she quickly added, "Been there, done that, girl. We'll try again tomorrow." Then, she turned off the lights.

For a change, Marinette actually fell asleep without much effort. The jetlag combined with a whole day of walking in a tropical weather in summer, plus that nerve-shattering accident at the end, really drained her energy out. She didn't even dream. Which is the reason why she found herself cursing when she woke up at the sound of someone coughing their lungs out.

First she thought it was Alya, so she nudged gently. But soon enough she realized the sound came from outside. It couldn't be Nino because his room was the furthest away from them, so by rule of elimination…

She sighed, feeling the impulse to go check on him but also dreading the idea of a conversation she wasn't ready to have.

Her stomach sunk when she thought of it that way. Adrien was her crime-fighting partner. No, he wasn't. Innocent until proven guilty.

She slipped out of bed and quietly went to the common area. Where, yes, Adrien was having a coughing fit.

"Mar-" Cough! "fUck." Cough again. "What are you-." And again. "Doing he-." Yes, again. "Re?" And again.

"You should sit up," she said simply, acting very business-like about the whole ordeal. She pulled his arms and helped him out. At the touch of his skin, she pouted. "You're hot- AH I mean, hotter. NO. Warmer. Warmer than usual. You feel warmer than usual."

"I feel a bit woozy, my throat hurts," he admitted.

"Must've been the splash and the AC," she reasoned. "It was pretty warm today."

He sighed and gently knocked his head against the wall. "Great. My first real vacation and I catch a cold."

"Bad luck."

"Yeah." Cough again.

"I'm going to turn on the lamp for a while, okay? I need to find the thermostat."

"Okay. Just… wait a sec. There. Okay, go ahead."

The light revealed Adrien tucked tightly, with only his head poking out of the covers. "I, uh, I don't have a shirt on," he explained.

"Oh."

Both blushed. Marinette studiously kept her eyes glued to the screen of the thermostat as she adjusted it to a warmer 68 degrees Farenheit instead of the 62 everyone agreed on, while simultaneously fighting an annoying little voice that nagged her. Chat Noir is half naked in the same room as you. Adrien Agreste is half naked in the same room as you.

She was thankfully distracted as she heard him curse under his breath. "I forgot to take my painkillers," he said, as he reached for his satchel, which was lying on the floor next to him. That's when she spotted the bruises on his right shoulder blade, by the looks of them, they extended along his torso. For once, instead of embarrassed, nervous, or enthralled, she was scared.

"Adrien, oh my god!" she exclaimed and rushed to inspect him closer.

"What?"

"Your back! It's so bruised!" Guilt was heavy on her tone. This wouldn't have happened if Ladybug had been there to help him.

"It's nothing," he said, knowing better than to tell her he's had it way worse. Contrary to what Ladybug- Marinette?- thought, the Miraculous Cure couldn't always get rid of all the bruises and scratches. It helped insane amounts, but sometimes when the akuma was especially powerful the injury wouldn't go away. Too much bad luck, he supposed.

He peeked over his shoulder to check on the purple spots on his skin. "No wonder they gave me the unguent…" he said to himself.

Marinette sighed a bit exasperated. "You didn't use that either, did you?"

Adrien shrugged sheepishly at her. "I didn't think it was that bad."

"Where is it?"

"Wha-?"

"The unguent, Adrien."

Not daring to argue with the tone that dangerously resembled an irritated Ladybug, he pointed at the satchel.

"Lie down."

He remained still and expectant, trying to figure out in advance how Marinette's fingers would feel on his skin. At first, he tensed, just like her. But seeing how much he hurt himself really brought Marinette down to earth. Adrien remitted to enjoy the sensation, which felt so much better than he already expected, and sighed as her fingers gently spread the concoction on the aching regions of his back.

Marinette on her part was having a time to keep herself together.

"You shouldn't feel guilty, you know?" Adrien lazily commented as she managed to summon enough courage to divert her touch from his bruises onto the unharmed sections. His neck, for example.

"I chose to do that. There's nothing you could have done to prevent me."

"Except maybe tie you to a pole or something."

He laughed. "You'd need some sort of wire for that."

"I'd manage."

Adrien found it hard to hide his disappointment when Marinette finished applying the unguent, but something told him asking for a massage wouldn't be in anyone's benefit right now.

"What you did was very brave, but you should take better care of yourself," she commented as she put the vial away. "Last time I checked people don't have nine lives."

"Nope, only cats do…"

"That's a myth."

Silence. A thick, uncomfortable silence that if it were anything else, it'd be them revealing their individual truths at the top of their lungs.

"Anyway, you should put on some socks and a shirt so your cough doesn't get worse." She turned off the lamp and disposed to leave.

"Marinette, wait," he said gently. "Can I ask you for a favor?"

Her stomach dropped. "Y-yes."

"Would you come here for a second?"

Marinette found him in the darkness, as he scooted closer, to have her in his arms like earlier that day.

She let out a sigh and allowed herself to relax in his arms, daring to return the hug. They held each other like that for a while, quietly, just enjoying the other's presence. A presence that was slowly beginning to reconcile two parts that seemed to be unattached, parts that were actually comprising a whole.

Marinette realized this was not bad, not by a long shot, and found herself revisiting Tikki's initial question. Would it really be the end of the world if it turned out Chat Noir was Adrien? Wasn't that the solution to the predicament waiting for her back in Paris? If anything she should be glad. Glad that her school crush, and her partner whom she fell in love with, were actually the same person.

Given that she could overcome the initial and painful awkwardness, maybe, just maybe, it could work. But the thought of it all, how everything would change, made her tremble. So let's say that by some miracle Adrien did not end up completely disappointed about her being Ladybug. Let's say, he actually loved her back. Let's say they… became a couple? That idea wrecked her nerves. It was everything she wanted, but also everything she feared. Because you can't break something that does not exist. And yes, Chat and Lady had always been the best of friends. But this was different. What if they fought? What if they broke up? That scared her.

But let's also say it worked, let's say everything turned out the way she imagined. Let's say Chat and her were finally together, and they were happy. And stronger than ever. And let's say they spend the rest of the summer together, and the last year of lycée, and…

That idea scared her even more.

Like Tikki often said, she was more afraid of the prospect of success, than that of failure.

"Thank you for caring about me," Adrien finally muttered. "I just… I guess sometimes I forget there's actually people that do mind if something happens to me."

Marinette hugged him tightly. Of course I care about you, chaton.

"Ow." He chuckled. "My back."

"Sorry!"

"It's okay," he said, and squeezed her lightly, too. "So… I guess I'm sorry I made you worry like that. I… I wasn't really thinking. "

"It's okay," Marinette muttered. "Alya is right, you were brave to do that. Stupid, but brave."

She fell silent, but Adrien could tell she was expecting for him to say something else. He gulped.

When he didn't, she spoke. "Adrien?"

"Yes?"

"Wh-what were you going to tell me before Alya and Nino arrived?"

She felt his heart race and his frame tense up. Noticing the silence extended for far too long, she squeezed him gently one last time before letting go. But he didn't do the same. He held her in place, tense, with his head resting on top of hers. The now familiar scent of strawberry-scented shampoo flooded his nose.

"Adrien?"

She felt him shifting, readjusting to face her. Even though they were submerged in darkness, she knew exactly where he was. She could feel his breathing close to her face. The tips of his unruly bangs brushed ever so slightly against her cheeks. His hands snaked their way up to her waist. Hers found his shoulders.

It was dark and yet everything was so clear.

Adrien smelled lightly of cologne with a curious hint of something moldy… cheese? Yes. It was cheese, Camembert, to be precise. She recognized the smell from the quiches her father prepared.

Her heart raced as she realized what was going on. A voice in her head screamed to pull away, to run back to the bathroom and lock herself up until it was time to go back to Paris. But she pushed it aside, because Ladybug or not, this was what she had wanted for so long. And Chat Noir or not, Adrien was kissing Marinette, not Ladybug.

She sighed, and though she still could hear her own pulse, she relaxed. Focused on him. His hands, his smell, the little moans that escaped him. His lips.

Innocent until proven guilty. INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. HE IS NOT CHAT NOIR.

Except now she had evidence because if there was anything she was certain of, that would be she had kissed these lips before.

Guilty. Because as much as she wanted to forget how kissing Chat Noir felt like four years ago, if she was honest with herself, the memory never left her.

Adrien is Chat Noir. She finally admitted, not an ounce of doubt in her. Feeling panic, excitement, fear, relief, horror, all wash over her at once. And yet, somehow, she managed to keep kissing him. She didn't want to stop and by the looks of it, neither did Adrien. Because when she tried to pull away to breathe, Adrien gently cupped her face and brought her to his lips again.

"Stay," he mumbled.

Marinette melted.

In that moment, Adrien didn't care if Marinette was Ladybug or not, all he knew was that he didn't want the kiss to end. He ignored his confliction because it was painful to consider that the girl in his arms was not the very same girl that had stolen his heart four years ago. She had to be. If not, this kiss would ruin him. How could he go back to blindly loving Ladybug with the knowledge that Marinette made him feel like he was home?

The idea planted fear in him, so he ignored it. He would not let his obsession ruin this moment for him. After all, Marinette was the one kissing him, accepting him, not Ladybug.

Finally, they were forced to part for air. But even then they didn't let distance grow between them.

Trust your instinct. Just tell her already. It's her, I'll be damned if she's not. I know it's her.

"I thought you weren't a cat person," he muttered with a ragged breath.

That's it, that's your cue. Ask him.

Do it.

What are you waiting for?!

She faked a giggle and stated as-matter-of-factly, "But you're not a cat."

She couldn't do it. She was too scared.

"You're right," he said, wounds evident in his voice as he finally let go.

The atmosphere changed as if someone suddenly had changed the thermostat to zero degrees. Where there was warmth and safety, doubt and cold took their place.

"I should go back to bed," Marinette said, abandoning her spot. "Make sure you tuck yourself well."

He kept silent for a moment before speaking, trying to swallow the painful knot that were now his vocal chords. He repeated a phrase she was sure to have heard before, in another circumstance, as he heard her feet softly padding against the carpet. "How much longer are we going to pretend, Marinette?"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she closed the door. What a coward she was.