{+}{+}{+}

Marinette made it home after a long day of school. She entered through the bakery door to be greeted by her father at the counter. She raised an eyebrow, wondering where her mother was. She usually was the one running the counter.

   "Welcome back, sweetheart! How was your day at school?" He asked, handing her a croissant to snack on. Marinette gladly took the pastry and took a bite out of it, humming in delight. Nothing like her father's magic baking skills to cheer her up after a long day at school.

   "Thanks, papa. School wasn't bad," she answered, smiling then asked, "Where's mama?"

   "She went to get something in the apartment but she's definitely taking her time. Could you go see what she's doing in case she needs help?" Tom asked his daughter.

   "Yep!" The bluenette chirped, placing a kiss on her father's cheek. Tom patted Marinette's head before she made her way up the stairs. Halfway up, she found Tikki sitting in a corner of the floor playing with her dolls.

   "Hey, Tikki. What are you doing here?" Marinette questioned her cousin. Tikki looked up at the bluenette before saying, "Mama and Aunt Sabine are fighting again."

Marinette was taken back by the little girl's reason. Her mother and aunt? Fighting? Again?! What were they fighting about that seemed to happen more than just once? The bluenette looked up the last case of stairs to climb to the apartment. She couldn't hear any yelling or anything violent.

"Tikki probably meant they were having an argument," Marinette thought still a bit worried for her aunt and mother.

"I'll go check it out," Marinette told her cousin. Then she reached out a hand and offered, "Want to come with me?"

Tikki shook her head, "No, I'm going to stay here and play Ultimate Dolly Supermodel Wars!"

Marinette giggled at her cousin's antics before heading up the staircase. She was curious about what her Aunt Celine and mom could be talking about that drove Tikki out of the apartment. Her heartbeat picked up when hearing her mother yell.

Marinette flinched, never ever hearing her mother yell before. Sabine was always a calm and collected woman (though she had some crazy fighting skills). The young designer was beyond shocked before hesitatingly leaning her ear against the door to hear in.

{+}{+}{+}

"You know she can't know, Celine!" Sabine shouted, harshly. Celine had once again brought up the secret topic about Marinette.

"So, what? Are you going to tell her on your death bed? Is she going to find something around the house that gives it away? Is she ever going to know the truth?" Celine argued back, "You can't keep this secret away from her. She needs to know, Sabine!"

   "It's for the better that Marinette doesn't know," Sabine huffed, crossing her arms, "and that's final."

   "Don't you feel the slightest bit of guilt keeping this away from her? I understand that S-"

   "That name will not be spoken under my roof...ever," Sabine hissed, cutting off Celine. The two women stared at each other, one in disbelief while the other was glaring daggers. The air was so thick that it would take a saw to cut through.

   The staring was cut short when the two women jumped at the sound of a squeaking door opening. Both gray and green locked onto the entrance of the apartment. The women paled when seeing Marinette standing there. The teen looked at both of them in confusion and worry.

"W-What's going on?" She asked, having heard most of the conversation. Words seemed to get caught in Sabine's throat and Celine was just as speechless.

"How much did you hear?" Celine asked, knowing Marinette well enough that she probably eavesdropped.

"Enough to know that you're both hiding something from me," Marinette said, crossing her arms. Sabine shook off her shock and faked a smile.

"Don't worry about it, dear. It has nothing to do with you," the mother lied, guilt churning within her stomach. She felt so awful but it was the right thing to do. It was better left unsaid. Better for the girl to never know. Better for the past to stay in the past. If only the past would stop haunting her.

Marinette didn't seem convinced in the slightest. There was something going on. Something important about her but didn't have enough information to fully know what was going on.

So, she gave a hesitant nod and grimace.

"Papa sent me up here to see what was holding you up," the bluenette said, unsure if that was important anymore. Sabine walked over to Marinette and placed a loving kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you. I'll go down right now," she said, exiting the apartment (but not before eyeing Celine darkly one last time). The door closed leaving Celine and Marinette standing there in silence.

The redhead brushed her foot against the wooden floor before asking, "How was school today?"

   The bluenette pursed her lips before giving a half-hearted shrug. All she wanted to do was finish up her homework quickly so she could take a nap. She felt exhausted from staying up a couple of nights to work on her dress. Yet, it was all coming together beautifully. She couldn't wait to try it on once it was complete.

   Celine hummed in acknowledgment before grabbing an apple from the fridge. She took a bite from the fruit and began to chew it.

   "Alright, spill. What were you and my mom talking about," Marinette questioned. Celine almost choked on the apple and went ridged on her spot. Her eyes met questioning bluebell.

   "Sorry, Mari bear," her aunt apologized after swallowing, "But, I'm pleading the fifth. Your cool aunt is unable to share when the rest of the party wants it to be kept lock and key."

   Marinette sighed in disappointment before trudging up the stairs to her room. Celine's sorrow wavered, feeling regret clawing at her heart.

   "I would tell you if I could," she said, but Marinette already shut her trapdoor. The tired teen collapsed onto her chaise and groaned into the comforter. She didn't feel like doing homework anymore and wanted to go straight to the nap.

The argument between Aunt Celine and her mother was long forgotten once Marinette closed her eyes, falling asleep. When she awoke about two hours later, the bluenette scrambled over to her desk to do homework.

She took a break from her assignments to go downstairs and eat supper. As per-usual, Tikki was a chatter box and Celine would be talking with Marinette's parents. Yet, that wasn't the case this time.

Tikki may be pretty young, but she was smart enough to know the feeling of tension when it was there. Sabine and Celine were quietly eating while Tom was making dessert. Marinette could feel the tension between Celine and her mom. It only grew once she drew near the table to eat.

"So," The bluenette began, "Anything exciting happen to any of you today?"

Tikki perked up, smiling widely as discussion finally began. The little girl ranted on about her day as if it should be in history books. Celine and Sabine silently listened to Tikki ramble, slightly smiling.

"Alright, who wants dessert?" Tom chirped, setting a small cake in the middle of the table. Soon, the usual converting resumed at the table as Tom joined them.

Yet, Marinette could still feel an itch within her brain. As if, something wasn't right with her mom or Celine.

Something...off.

{+}{+}{+}