From Ashes to a New Beginning

Chapter 47

The next morning sunrise started to peer in through the window, slowly rising until it hit their eyelids. Adrien slowly opened his eyes to see Marinette still asleep within his arms and let out a soft happy exhale. Adrien closed his eyes and tightened his grip around Marinette, feeling the warmth between them as he tried to go back to sleep. Though the minute he closed his eyes, he heard his alarm start to go off and felt Marinette shift.

Great. It was time to get up.

Adrien let go of Marinette and turned toward his phone, turning off his alarm. He turned back toward Marinette but saw that she was sitting up already. The tank top she wore showed the scar on her shoulder once again and he sighed.

"What's the matter?" She asked, turning her head toward him.

"That scar.. The story you told me. It was a lie... Wasn't it?" He said.

Marinette was quiet and nodded, reaching for it and running her hand over it before standing up.

"We told many lies to each other to keep our identity a secret," Marinette said.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"For letting this happen. For getting mad at you for not being there... the night of the fire. I never... apologized for that." Adrien said.

"It's alright, Adrien. Really. We should get ready for work." Marinette smiled.

Adrien laid there for a few minutes, hearing Marinette go into the bathroom. He assumed she was brushing her hair, brushing her teeth, and changing into her work clothes for the day. He looked out the window at the sunny day and laid there.

Why did it feel like he made things awkward with her? He just wanted to apologize. Did he say something to upset her? She seemed a little down.

On the drive to work, they were both quiet. Adrien kept looking over at Marinette and saw that she was simply looking out of the window. He pulled up to the company and put the car into park. As Marinette tried to open her door to get out, Adrien locked the doors, not letting Marinette out of the car. She turned toward him confused, wondering why he locked the doors on her.

"Why are you so quiet? Did I say something to upset you?" Adrien asked with a frown.

"No... you didn't do anything, Adrien." Marinette said with a sigh.

"Then what's wrong? You aren't acting like yourself." Adrien said.

"What do you want me to act like Adrien? Do you want me to be happy? Happy that... Yes, I recovered all of my memories. Yes I'm super happy I got them back but... that happiness faded. The reality is that my parents are no longer in Paris... I'm no longer Ladybug...which means I'm not a miraculous holder anymore... I'm not the Guardian anymore so when you pass it on you'll forget me..." Marinette said, finally being able to release all of her stress and thoughts.

Adrien sat there looking at Marinette. She was right... he would lose his memories when he passed on the miracle box. What could he say to make her feel better? She was still hurting, he knew that regardless if she let him see it or not.

"Princess... you will always be milady." Adrien smiled, placing his hand on top of hers, causing her to look at him.

"But Adrien-"

"I need you with me. You know everything about being the guardian, I need you to guide me. For the miraculous...whether they ship us or not... behind closed doors... we can be multi noir. You can be my multi-mouse—the primary holder of the Mouse miraculous. You aren't... useless... I need you... always..." Adrien started.