I sleep deeply, and when I wake in the morning, I feel refreshed. At breakfast, I get a bad case of giggles because we're served Starbucks coffee, and Marinette is overjoyed. "Isn't coffee...just coffee?" I ask, knowing I might soon be hot water. For a second, I thought Marinette might spit out her coffee. "Just coffee? You have a lot to learn!"

Hesperia and The Songstress walk up, smiles on their faces. I think they can guess we're a couple. "Yes, indeed, Adrien does have a lot to learn, but this morning its not about coffee," Hesperia says. "How about you and I have a walk and chat, eh, Adrien?" I bite into the last slice of toast. "I'm not in trouble, am I?" Hesperia laughs gently. "No, no. You can even bring your toast with you, if you'd like."

Though I blush profusely when I kiss Marinette goodbye, no one teases me about it. Good. In fact, I think I get the habit from Mother who always kissed Father and I before we said goodbye.

"You seem deep in thought, Adrien," Hesperia smiles at me. "Thinking of your Marinette? She's a lovely girl." Oh, another blush reddens my cheeks like apples at a autumn harvest. "She is. But I was thinking of my mother, actually." "Oh?" A note of piqued curiosity creeps into his voice.

"Mother always used to kiss Father and I goodbye. I guess I picked up on a lot of her habits." I find myself talking about Mother, and its easier then it has been in a long time. "She passed away when I was younger," I mumble, now staring at the ground. I have spoken to soon about being easier, for tears prick my eyes and it hurts.

"Adrien, your allowed to be sad and miss her," Hesperia lays a hand on my shoulder, his voice soft and gentle. "I lost my wife not that long ago myself," he sighs. I hold out a hand to him. "I'm sorry."

He clasps my hand tightly for a moment, then smiles. "Now, about you transform and I'll teach you some new techniques you can use with your baton. Deal?" "Deal. Plagg, Daggers Out!"

About three hours of training, I flop down at the dining table, absolutely bushed. "Boy, am I famished," I sniff the air appreciatively as Marinette and The Songstress enter the room with a huge bowl of mac and cheese, while Marinette carries in a salad.

"No, no, Plagg, you get your own bowl!" The Songstress giggles as Plagg keeps diving at the steaming bowl. "Hang on, I'll go get it."

Marinette and I laugh as Plagg plops down on his bottom and waits with green glowing gremlin eyes. He even shares with Tikki, which is sweet.

"So, how was your morning, Adrien?" Marinette asks, helping herself to some salad and macaroni. "Ouch," I groan, wincing as I move around on the bench. Marinette makes a face. "That bad?" she looks concerned. "No, no, love," I backpedal. "Hesperia showed me some new training moves and I found new muscles I didn't know existed."

"Oh, poor Kitten," she reaches across the table to pat my cheek. "Songstress help me design some clothing that might serve our purpose very well in the coming weeks."

Clank! I drop my fork as my mouth falls open. "Princess, you were designing clothes?" "Yeah, I mean the mountains of Tibet can be really cold and you need a good coat to protect you and…" Marinette's voice trails off. "What's wrong?" I know I'm green with envy.

"I'll make it up to you," she winks at me, and I cheer up, just a bit.

We have a bit of free time before we need to meet our friends at the big computer, so we head back into The Dome.

"So, what's this special surprise?" I ask, as Marinette picks up her small bag. "Nails," she says simply. "Are you making fun of my claws, Cockroach?" "No, I need practice if I'm ever going to be a fashion designer," she sighs, pushing her long black hair back from her face. "I still can't believe how much our lives have changed." "I know what you mean," I tell her as we sit down on the floor, and Marinette unscrews the cap containing the black polish. "I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up."

Marinette concretes on her work, but I can see her lips twitching. "What? Spill." "You can be like Peter Pan and never grow up." "Oh, sure, and next thing your going to tell me is Hesperia is actually Captain Hook, there's a crocodile around, and your Wendy." "I'd be Tinkerbell, actually. Ladybugs can fly."

We stare at each other for a moment, then burst out giggling. "Adrien," Marinette whispers, suddenly kissing me, nail polish forgotten.

I hold her, stroking her back. "Its going to be okay, I promise," I whisper into her seashell pink ear. She sighs, resting her head against my chest, listening to my heart. We stay that way awhile, until we resume nail polish duty.

"You want to know something crazy?" I ask Marinette. "We finish each other's sandwiches?" the twinkle of humor is back. "Cute," I smirk, "But Hesperia reminds of me of my dad."

"Really?" "Yeah, at least before he started ignoring me." "Adrien, your father is surely grieving too. And everyone grieves differently." "But he had us to comfort him and all he did was push me away!"

I stand up suddenly, needing to be alone.

I head for the secret door, transforming and finding my path to the falls. Who are my friends, and who are my enemies? Not that Marinette is a enemy, but its hard to know who to trust these days.

I have my mother's looks and spirit, but I wish she was here to give me advice. I stare out across the falls, getting no answer.

I sink into my thoughts, not knowing the truth will soon be revealed.