A/N: Quick author's note! Please don't advertise your stories on the reviews/ comment section of my stories. Please feel free to DM me and ask for a shout out, I'd be more than happy to help, but all ads on my reviews/ comments will be deleted. Just be honest and ask for a shoutout, dont pretend to read my story and then advertise. The comment/ review section is there for feedback, not ads. Thank you!! Also if you have a guest account I cannot respond to your questions. Please don't ask any, or expect an answer. I'm sorry.
Have a great weekend!!
_________________________________________
Adrien held his umbrella.
He stared blankly out into the wet road ahead of him. His heart had sunken so low into the acid of his stomach, that he was sure to have tasted something sour.
It was incredibly late, and Adrien had his back faced towards the doors of the Dupain- Cheng bakery.
The lights were off and the doors were locked. Adrien knew that it was rude to have waken her parents up in the middle of the night to find out where their daughter was, and Adrien was more than just dismayed to learn that Marinette wasn't home.
He had been here over a dozen times in the course of four months since Marinette had picked up and left.
Adrien had eyes the mini staircase that led to her teenaged bedroom. He suspected Tikki was up there, and his heart ached at the memory of the night he had spent together with Marinette where they talked in the rain. He missed his little furry friend as well.
Adrien could only think of one other place Marinette could be at this time of night.
He pressed his lips together, his digit sliding to close the call the moment he had reached Marinette's voicemail once again. His heart only sank even lower as it informed him her mailbox was full and could not receive anymore messages.
Adrien glanced at the time on his phone screen. She shifted his weight, his bottom lip catching between his upper and lower teeth the moment that he realised it was nearing midnight. He knew he was tired, both physically and mentally but if he could just put it off for a few more hours, there was a huge possibility that he could finally get a chance to talk to Marinette.
Without the help from his unusual entourage when it came to rides and protection, Adrien had to make haste and not waste another minute.
He wasn't going to let her slip through his fingers this time.
_________________________________________
Marinette sighed, the loud music of the club booming in her ears.
She had heard about nightclubs that opened seasonally, but she had to be the lucky one to be hired at one that opened year round and had a one season dress code.
Marinette was grateful for the opportunity. She had a stable job with a steady income, and despite the cold weather that was outside, she pretty much stayed warm and toasty inside. Whenever summer came about, it always got too stuffy on the dance floor, and despite the short-sleeved shirt and the fishnet stockings, Marinette often found herself returning to the bar drenched in sweat.
The young woman carefully placed the jello shots onto the tray with a grimace. She often didn't mind going out on to the floor to sell, but with Alya being on maternity leave, Rose didn't have a choice but to send Marinette to cover.
On any other night, Marinette would have been fine with that, but she couldn't be bothered to socialize. Marinette was on a downward spiral of hopelessness from the stress regarding her schoolwork and her broken relationship with her currently estranged husband.
Her school schedule had been crammed, and lately Marinette found herself oversleeping, and when she'd rush out the front door of her parents apartment, she'd often leave her things behind.
Marinette had to leave her work uniform in the locker room in the back, simply because with her train schedule, she didn't have time to commute back home to change and take her forgotten things with her.
She had forgotten her phone yet again, and Marinette was lucky enough to grab a shower before rushing to catch the train. She didn't have Adrien's drivers to take her anywhere anymore, and Marinette had mentally cursed herself for getting so used to it while she lived with him.
On the bright side, Marinette did feel as though she was able to gain a bit of her independence back, but she did have to admit that his entourage usually kept her organized.
Marinette really needed to get her head back onto her shoulders before she ended up doing something stupid again.
And she had to face it, she did a lot of stupid things. She had so much homework left to be done, and Marinette only had about three hours scheduled for sleep. She was close to falling over and with having to put school first, Marinette was struggling to work normal hours to pay for her tuition and to save up for a downpayment on a flat so that she could move out of her parents house and not keep them up at weird hours when she returns home from her busy schedule.
Marinette placed the last shot glass onto the tray and she carefully moved it towards the edge of the bar with a deep sigh.
Her palm lightly pressed onto the bottom of the tray, balancing it meticulously so that she didn't drop the tray and waste the product.
"Don't forget to smile. You're a beautiful flower blooming in May. It's the first time you've seen the sun. Don't forget that, okay?" Rose murmured from behind the counter.
Marinette offered the woman a weary smile. She was grateful that Rose was understanding and was willing to give her more hours as well as work around Marinette's busy school schedule so she could make some money.
It was obvious of the torture Marinette was going through with her scattered life, and Marinette was grateful for the little pep talks that she gave before going out on the floor, but this wasn't really doing it for her. Marinette was tired, and though she didn't have class the next day she was behind on so much work - she was worried she'd fail the class for the semester.
Marinette took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling with each inhale and exhale. She straightened herself up, forcing a smile on her pink lips before she carefully bobbed her way to the dance-floor, making sure to keep into the rhythm of the music that blasted around them.
She kept a dry smile on her face, attempting to make her facade convincing as she was simply trying not to fall flat on her face from the ego deflation and the lack of food and sleep.
It wasn't much of a busy night, but Marinette made sure to keep tabs on the flow of cash and the credit card swiper that was attached to her belt.
The music was loud, and Marinette tried to drown out the loud thumping that vibrated throughout her chest and into her ear drums.
It was a strange lullaby. She wanted to drown herself into the beat of the movement and somehow fall asleep through it. She had stifled a yawn here and there and by the time she had moved from the first crowd of partying clients, she was lucky enough to bring her tray down to five shots but if she could somehow sell the remaining shots, she could rack up one more tray and be done with it.
Marinette enjoyed the conversations with their customers, but she would much rather spend time tending the bar instead of having to approach people straightforward and striking casual conversation so that she could sell drinks.
The area was much too crowded and Marinette often found herself in a heap of bumps and rubs that were unkind to her liking.
Marinette scrunched her nose, her eyes squinting in the dark as she had sold to almost everyone on the dance-floor save for maybe one or two who vehemently denied the offer. She exhaled, hoping that perhaps she could coerce her returning customers for another round.
She pressed her lips together, her blue eyes landing on a potential target. She straightened herself, adjusted her fishnet stockings with her free hand, and she bit her lip, trying to get into the rhythm of the song before making her way over to them.
"I told you I'd come find you..."
Marinette paused, her scalp growing cold the moment she heard his voice murmuring into her ear. She clenched her jaw, her heart squeezing in her chest with wide eyes.
She slowly turned, a lump forming in her throat at the sight of her husband, who seemed just as exhausted as she was.
"A-Adrien!" Marinette gulped, nearly stumbling back and tripping on her boots. "W-What are you doing here?!" Her chest grew tight, and Marinette grew stiff at the fact she had two left feet. The last thing she wanted to do was trip and break the shot glasses. She'd have to spend the rest of her night awkwardly cleaning the mess in front of everyone with an embarrassed gawk.
Adrien casually slipped his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans. The lines beneath his eyes deepened, making his exhausted appearance much more evident.
"You never responded to me. You promised you would. I promised that if you wouldn't, I'd come find you. I came here to talk."
Marinette narrowed her eyes, and shifted her weight awkwardly. She had been so preoccupied with school, work, helping out at her parent's bakery, the cat and checking in on Alya's newborn that she had completely neglected her phone. She had totally forgot that Adrien promised to go after her if she failed to fulfill her end of the deal.
"I-I don't have my phone on me," Marinette replied truthfully, ignoring Adrien as his irritation settled through the moment he started lightly tugging at the thick hair on the back of his head.
"We can arrange another time to talk. I'm at work, I'm very busy and I have to finish up for the night."
"No..." Adrien replied, his voice dry and cold as he kept his gaze on Marinette with an impassive expression, despite breaking on the inside. "We can go outside now to talk. I can't trust that you'll actually follow through with it if I decide to come back at another time."
Marinette chuckled sarcastically, a knife plummeting straight into her heart the moment he spoke to her.
"So you're saying you don't trust me?"
Adrien clenched his teeth, dropping his hands to his sides with an exasperated sigh.
"Yeah well, it's not like you've been putting me on the pedestal when it comes to trust, otherwise we wouldn't be here."
Marinette fell silent, her blue eyes locking onto his. Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach, and even though his words hurt, he was right.
Her shoulders slumped forward and Marinette turned her face away from him briefly before she glanced down at the tray.
"I have to sell these shots, Adrien. I'm in the middle of work, it will have to wait. We really don't have a choice. After I sell these I have to tend back to the bar until my shift ends. If you want you can come by this weekend and talk after I've done my homework," Marinette explained, her voice wavering low until it was almost unheard of by the music that began to envelop them both.
Adrien nodded, sliding his hands into his pockets.
"Alright, so then we can just talk at the bar," Adrien explained, fishing for his wallet.
Marinette stood in front of him awkwardly, watching as he grabbed a chunk of cash from his wallet and placed it onto the shot tray. Marinette barely had time to mutter out two words before Adrien stubbornly grabbed the last five shots and downed them with a visible shiver.
Her eyes widened as she simply gawked at her husband who placed the empty shot glasses onto the tray with pinkened cheeks. Marinette exhaled, briefly forgetting for a moment that Kagami was once his drinking partner before she had gotten serious with Adrien instead.
Adrien pressed his lips together, his brow furrowing as he shifted his weight. He placed his wallet back into his pocket, clearing his throat before glancing back up at her once more.
Marinette knew she shouldn't be surprised at the great lengths he went through to talk to her, but for some reason it only made her want to run away even more so.
She remained silent, quickly turning her back and clambering back to the bar with the money flopping on the surface of her tray. The music seemed to grow louder, and Marinette could feel the base of it, vibrating within her chest.
Adrien frowned, his heart squeezing in his chest as he knew that whenever it came to confrontation, she always ran away. The moment she turned her back towards him, Adrien knew that she was running away and he simply couldn't let that happen again.
"Marinette, I didn't kiss Kagami!" Adrien called out to her, immediately thinking in the moment that if he didn't say something now, he may never get a chance to say it again.
Marinette paused, her chest feeling tight. Despite the music blaring loudly around them, Marinette could have sworn the room had gone quiet.
She shook her head, her free hand clenching into a tight fist as she tried to control her emotions. Marinette was still on the clock, and despite the overwhelming urge to cry and completely breakdown on the spot, she knew she couldn't.
"Yes, you did kiss her," Marinette replied, glancing back at him with a firm expression. "I saw you both in the garden."
Adrien sighed, his shoulders rolling as he knew that she'd take that one misunderstanding and hold on to it. Even after knowing that Kagami was only using him and especially after knowing that she was Felix's mistress, the fact that he didn't send her away that night she kissed him would probably be his biggest regret of it all.
"Did you see me push her away? Or did you run away again? I didn't kiss her back, I asked her to leave right after. I tried like hell to find you - you left me in that home by myself without a means to contact you. You made me feel like everything we did together didn't mean anything to you," Adrien retorted, his chest growing even more tight.
He watched as Marinette turned her back again, her legs visibly trembling as she began to push her way through the crowds of people that had started to dance around them.
But Adrien couldn't let her go.
"Marinette, please hear me out!" He called out to her, immediately pushing through the crowds to catch up to her. His heart sank the moment Marinette simply placed the tray on to the bar top and walked around behind the and walked into the back which was completely restricted to employees only.
Adrien paused, exhaling as he was so unsure about himself and the situation. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel bad to the point where she'd never want to see him again. He already felt like they had breached that point when she avoided him for three months.
He just wanted her to come home.
He just wanted to hold her again. He had missed her and Tikki so much, it was incredibly lonely at home. It wasn't home without her, and Adrien had mentioned it to her before.
The hole she left in him, felt just as painful as the hole his mother left when she disappeared.
Adrien couldn't go back to his mother.
It was incredibly too late for that. He was hopeless at the thought of being reunited with his mother, but Marinette was an entirely different story.
Adrien had all the hope he could to repair the relationship he had with Marinette. She was right in front of him, he had a chance and despite the walls she had placed between them, he wasn't going to allow it to stop him from finally rekindling something they both shared.
He couldn't let it end. He didn't care how stubborn she was, he was going to make her listen to him.
****
Marinette exhaled, reaching up to rub her eyes as the music on the dance-floor became muffled by the walls of the locker room. She wished Alya was there with her, she needed someone to talk some sense into her.
Of course she believed Adrien.
Somewhere deep down, part of her knew that he wouldn't do something like that.
But the more she heard the truth the more she wanted to rip her hair out for being so stupid. She had felt so incredibly guilty about the entire situation, and Marinette couldn't rid the feeling of the unbearable shame that she was indeed looking for the worst in him just so she could give herself the excuse that she wasn't good enough for someone like him.
Simply because it didn't make sense for Adrien to love her.
Marinette was worried that she wasn't doing any good to him, and the fact that he went out of his way to find her at work proved that theory.
Marinette reached up to run her hands through her hair. She nervously paced back and forth around the benches outside the locker. She knew Rose would be in it scold her for leaving the floor before restocking, but Marinette felt like she was suffocating.
"Marinette..."
Marinette widened her eyes, her heart aching in her chest the moment she heard the sound of his broken voice.
The young woman whipped her head back, her blue eyes widening as Adrien stood awkwardly in the locker room that was exclusive to employees only.
"A-Adrien!" She screeched, her eyes flickering helplessly between his. "W-What are you doing?! You can't be back here!" Marinette hissed, immediately glancing around anxiously before making her way over to Adrien who seemed like he was about to collapse with exhaustion.
"Marinette, please come home," Adrien whispered, his hands awkwardly clenching at his sides. "I don't know what I'll do without you. I told you-" He paused, his chest growing tight as tears pooled at the edges of his green eyes. "I haven't felt this sort of pain since I lost my mom."
Marinette froze, her body growing cold as she witnessed the tears that had started to make their way down his delicate cheeks. She exhaled, her heart sinking into the deep bitter acid of her stomach. She was sure that she was ready to melt into the floor alongside his tears.
☆•~•☆
"Some people aren't worth crying over..."
☆•~•☆
Marinette dropped her hands to her side, her heart aching as she witnessed him reach up to wipe his tears.
It was only then that she realised this was the first time she had seen him cry.
Did this mean that she was worth crying for?
How could something like that be fair?
Marinette knew that she still loved him, but she wanted to kick herself for being so stupid and selfish.
Of course, Adrien had a tendency to be a doormat, and Marinette had a horrible tendency to jump the gun. This was something they habitually grew into and needed to change, but she knew that Adrien had changed her life in the same way she had changed his.
Marinette didn't want to make him cry anymore. She couldn't do this to him, and she couldn't do this to herself.
The young woman reached out, her hands slowly reaching for his.
Adrien glanced down at her, his lips parting as she cupped his hands in between both of hers with a trembling motion.
His teary green eyes met with her teary blue eyes, and Adrien waited in anticipation of what he had finally been waiting to hear since she walked out that door nearly four months ago. He held his breath, his lips pressing together soon after as Marinette opened her mouth.
"Okay..." she breathed softly. "I'll come home with you tonight." She leaned closer to him, her blue eyes lowering. "But I'll give you a chance now to explain everything tonight, you only have a few minutes before Rose realises I'm gone and that you're back here..."
She slowly reached up, catching his tears with her fingertips with a soft expression. "Don't cry anymore, Minou," she whispered. "I'm not going to hurt you anymore."
Adrien couldn't help himself.
He was so grateful. He slowly took her into his arms, finally taking out a breath he had felt like he was holding for so long.
A breath he had been holding since the day he lost his mother.