Prompt: Heart to Heart

Marinette walked in first, heading straight towards the fireplace to try and get some warmth back into her fingers and toes. Just as she walked into the main communal area a little red blur jumped out and zoomed towards her face.

"Marinette!"

"Tikki? Oh my goodness, Tikki. You're okay?" Reaching forwards, Marinette plucked the small kwami out of the air and hugged her closely against her cheek, relishing in the joy of having her little friend back with her and by the looks of her, feeling well. She'd never needed her kwami more than in this moment.

She heard the door slam shut in the hallway, the breeze from the wind obviously taking the door out from Adrien's hands and enthusiastically shutting itself.

Marinette tensed knowing any moment now he was going to enter the room and demand some sort of explanation about what that was just about and she couldn't blame him really, it had flown in out of the blue. Why did she have to open her big mouth?

'When did you stop loving me?'

Why did she have to say that? Why, after having that conversation with Granny, did she have to do something like that!Didn't it go against everything they'd discussed.

Worst of all, she never even gave Adrien a chance to answer. She just stood from where they were seated and moved towards the cabin as quickly as she could. Actually, that wasn't the worst because really the worst was saying it in the first place. What the hell had been going through her mind?

She'd gone to kiss him and he'd moved, that is all that happened, and instead of taking it on the chin she'd — once again — blown it out of proportion. For once, couldn't she just act normal in front of Adrien.

Looking to the doorway, Marinette couldn't help but feel relief that he hadn't followed in after her, though it also hurt that he hadn't. She placed one hand, complete with wet glove — to her head. Did he not care?

Suddenly two voices were heard in the hallway, both only slightly above a whisper. Adrien and Plagg. It seemed both kwami's were back. The gruff, nasally voice lecturing Adrien on something and barely giving the blond hero a chance to respond.

"Marinette," Adrien's voice finally sounded from in the hallway. "I'm going to use the bathroom for a shower, you can use the ensuite."

With a click of a door, it seemed Adrien and, by relation, Plagg had entered the bathroom leaving her alone in the rest of the cabin with Tikki.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Marinette exclaimed, marching the length of the room biting hard on the thumb of her glove as she placed it in her mouth.

"You or Adrien?" Tikki asked, flying and perching herself in the Christmas Tree.

"Who do you think?" Marinette dropped down onto the sofa, only to spring back up as her wet jeans clung to her legs. "Now I've destroyed the sofa too. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with me? With us? How can it keep getting it so wrong?"

With a small giggle, Tikki flew over to her holder. "Oh, Marinette, it's not that bad."

"Not that bad? It's as though we're both 13 again. We're meant to be hitting adulthood, this should be easier."

Marinette walked over to the fireplace and turned around, warming her rear in front of the fire. She really needed to get out of these clothes before she made herself ill. Finally prising the gloves off her hands, Marinette moved towards the kitchenette and threw them in the tumble dryer, followed swiftly by her hat — a hat which had taken the brunt of the storm by falling off mere minutes into the snowball fight.

What had she been thinking? Actually no, that was a rhetorical question. She knew exactly what she was thinking and that was to show her desirable Ladybug personality through firing snowballs at him, then she took the chance. The chance to do something a little flirty with him, and when she went to kiss him he thought she was trying to stand up... stand up! Unbelievable!

"Do you trust me?" Tikki asked, her smile widening and eyes glittering. She was so happy to see her little friend feeling better once more.

Wait a second...

"How are you feeling so much better all of a sudden? Only twenty-fours ago you were pink and sneezing."

A sheepish expression took over her small kwami, Marinette frowning as she studied Tikki's face.

"Oh, it was Plagg actually. He found me special..." Tikki's eyes flickered around the room before landing back on Marinette's. "Berries. Plagg found me some special healing berries. Very rare, there were only four so unfortunately I can't lead you to them because I ate them all. Yup, every single one."

The nervous smile of her kwami had only appeared once before and that was when she was discussing a new Chat Noir... or the old Chat Noir with a new and improved sense of fashion. Maybe she could get him to combine the two at some point...

Stop it, Marinette, you're procrastinating.

Anyway, the smile had only been seen once before... when her small red kwami was lying.

"Oh!" Marinette shrugged her shoulders slightly, she wasn't going to let Tikki know she was on to her, she was too curious to find out what was happening here. "That's a shame, especially as it may have helped other kwami's too."

"Yep." Tikki replied, nodding her head, once more averting her eye contact from Marinette's and looking around the room. "So back to my question. Do you trust me?"

After the revelation of the kwami lying Marinette wasn't so sure she did anymore. Curiosity got the better of her and Marinette decided to go with the flow.

"Of course, I have no reason not to."

No, I have ten! She thought.

"Okay, the first thing you need to do is get out of your wet clothes and have a shower. I'll give you the next instruction after that."

Contemplating what other options she had — zero — Marinette made her way to the bedroom, only to stop at the main bathroom and have a quick listen in.

Two voices, singing out of harmony, assaulted her ears and she had to cover her mouth to stop laughing.

'I really can't stay'

'Baby, it's cold outside.'

'I've got to go away.'

'Baby, it's cold outside.'

As Adrien and Plagg continued to serenade each other, Marinette headed to the bedroom, set on stripping out of her cold, wet clothing and having a warm shower... she just prayed Adrien hadn't used up all the hot water.

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

The shower beat against her body causing a stinging sensation where the warm water combated against her icy body, the after effect of the snowball fight. Guessing the hot water was almost up, Marinette switched off the shower and reached out for her towel, one gracefully handed to her by Tikki.

"Thank you," Marinette said through chattering teeth, moving swiftly in the direction of the bedroom and looking for something to put on.

"Here." Tikki flew over with a robe, dropping it on Marinette's shoulders and allowing her to remove the towel from underneath.

Using the towel to rub over her hair, Marinette headed over to the vanity, sitting herself down on the stool and picking up a hairbrush. She began to drag the bristles through her lengthening hair, humming to herself as she studied her expression.

Her face looked the clearest it had in years, the break from reality giving her skin a chance to relax and heal, just as her battle scars had. They'd needed this... the both of them. Where being with the others would have been fun and entertaining, the pressure would have still been there. The constant questioning about what was happening with Adrien and why wasn't she making a move on him. Being here allowed the two of them to just be. Her bag less eyes a nod to how good she'd slept the other night — in Adrien's arms.

A sigh left her lips, deflating her body, as she reached for the hairdryer and began to blow dry her hair, straightening it as much as possible without the added help of her straightening irons.

"Tikki," she asked, "do you think I should change my hair?"

Switching off the hairdryer she brushed through the strands once more messing with the length and twisting it around her fingers.

"I think you should do what you feel most comfortable with Marinette. Do you want to change your hair?"

She shook her head. "No, not really but maybe change would be good... fresh even. Maybe, I don't know, I'd get more attention?"

"Off who?" Tikki asked curiously, moving to Marinette's hair and beginning to plait the lower strands into an intricate fishtail.

"Oh, I don't know... boys? Maybe?"

Tikki froze in her movements. "You get lots of attention, Marinette. Is someone making you feel like you need to change because just let me know and I'll go and kick their—"

"Woah, Tikki, no. No one's made me feel anything, it's just that a change might refresh our relationship you know?" She shrugged.

"Is this about Adrien?"

"No! Just males in general."

Tikki gazed at her holder before continuing with Marinette's hair. The hero handed hair grips and bobbles as Tikki worked her magic.

"I think, you go out there tonight and you wow Adrien. Get him to see you, and finally you tell him how you feel. It's been years now Marinette! The guy adores you."

Marinette picked up her makeup and began to accentuate her features using what she had in front of her. Bronzer, blusher, mascara and lip gloss.

"He admires me, Tikki, there's a difference."

"Oh my kwamis, you're so delirious. You just won't believe he loves you. Why? Why Marinette?" The small red kwami flew to the bed, Marinette standing from the vanity and following behind.

"Because okay..." Marinette said, her arms frailing to the sides as she stomped her foot.

"You can't even give me a reason! Seriously, why?"

"It's just the way it is, okay? I don't know exactly why!" Catching her hair in the full length mirror on the wardrobe door, Marinette stalled. She looked striking tonight. "And don't you think my hair is a little extravagant for a night stuck in a snowy cabin. I'm literally putting on a pair of leggings and an oversized jumper and I think the only thing left to eat is a selection of cheese and crackers, that is unless Plagg's already gotten to them. I didn't need to do all this." She indicated her face and hair.

"Why would you wear leggings and a jumper?"

"Because that's all I've got Tikki." Moving to the dresser, she opened the drawer which now housed her minuscule underwear and clothing, she found matching undies and slipped them on, again praying the confidence of matching underwear would do her good.

"I don't understand?" The red kwami said. "Why would you wear those when you have this?"

Marinette's head turned curiously to the bed where Tikki sat on top of a white box, one she vaguely remembered Adrien carrying back from his meet up with Granny.

"What's in there?"

She made her way over and looked into the box, placing a hand to her mouth as she studied the contents. Looking to Tikki for reassurance, her kwami nodded a wide smile on her face.

This day was certainly not going as planned.