"Find her, for me."

The words rang through Marinette's head as she rushed the streets of Paris. She had been searching for hours and this was her fourth time switching back from Ladybug, to Marinette.

It seemed like the two of you were continuously moving in opposite directions, as always.

Marinette sighed as she wiped the tear that began to fall from her eye. She was approaching the bakery again—she had still yet to find you.

She couldn't figure out why Luka was convinced that talking to you would be a good idea. She understood how important family was, but she had never allowed you to comfort her when you so desperately wanted too. Why would you now that the tables have turned?

She walked inside, luckily dodging your parents, and made her way upstairs. She was about to go up to her room when she stopped at the railing, peering at your closed door.

With a gulp, she walked over and opened it slightly.

It was a mess—like always.

You had been like that for as long as she could remember, and it made her smile to see that you hadn't changed.

Marinette stepped in and closed the door behind her. She took a seat on your bed, the clearest space in the room, and waited. She was careful not to touch anything as she waited.

And waited.

**

You had been running for what felt like hours.

Your mind refused to stop racing—which left you kicking a couple of trees out of frustration. Your tears had yet to stop spilling from your eyes, and the despair in your chest only continued to grow.

You made it onto the bridge that Andre typically sets up his ice cream stand. There was a bench near the gated off edge and you sighed as you leaned on it, your arms crossed over the top.

You laid your face in between your crossed arms as you continued crying.

The cries had been quiet for hours, but now that you were alone on the pier your sobs were the only sound in the space surrounding you.

"Luka." You whispered with a broken voice.

"Luka...Luka...Luka." You hated how his name came out in an almost shriek as your whole body broke for the loss of him. The loss of what you believed the two of you were growing. The loss of what you could have had.

It was all gone now.

You sounded so desperate and pitiful—you hated that too.

You thought back to all the days you had spent falling in love with him these past few months. The two of you spent so much time together as you wrote your song.

Your song...

It was in the final stages of work as of earlier that day. You needed the last few lyrics and it would be finished. To think that all the work you put in would go to waste...only furthered your broken heart.

"He told me...it would get better." You spoke to yourself. "I would have never guessed he would be the one to break everything all over again."

There was a quiet padding of feet approaching, and you simply titled your head.

"Adrien?" You were shaking.

"Ladybug called." His whisper mimicked your own. He took a seat on the bench next to you and pulled you against his chest.

"How does she know?" You groaned as you cried into his chest as your hand clutched his torso tightly.

"She ran into—Luka." He sighed as he stroked your hair softly.

What he wasn't mentioning was he saw when the two of you first kissed in your room. You had forgotten, but you sent him a message immediately after you left the barge to let him know how frustrating the day was for you. He hurried over as soon as he could as Chat Noir, ready with a gift and hours of jokes to tell to cheer you up.

But as he held onto his staff outside of your window, he saw you pressed up against your door.

He didn't stay long after that.

He wasn't lying when he said Ladybug called him. She claimed to have been searching for you the entire night, after someone filed you were missing.

He knew he would be able to find you, he always was able.

"You're always saving me, Huh?" You looked up at him and smiled softly.

He simply caressed your cheek with his large hand and used his thumb to wipe away the stray tears falling off your cheek.

"I'll always save you Y/n." He whispered as he leaned in close and kissed your forehead.

"I know, thank you." You felt a sudden rush of comfort being in the arms of the boy you cared so deeply for. You felt almost certain that you weren't in love with him anymore, just plain love. Though to be fair, your heart was so shattered you didn't even know how to start to love someone again.

Adrien gulped hard as he looked down at your small form. You were still clutching to him, and he shivered as his heart raced in defiance.

"Aren't you cold?" His question was a whisper as he tugged at your thin sweater.

"Yeah, but I needed an escape." You responded simply as you shifted and leaned further into him to capture his warmth.

"Where did you go?"

"Everywhere." Your smile was small.

"Thats a very Y/n response."

"Well, duh." You snorted.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked with a gentle voice after a few moments of silence.

"Not really." You responded groggily.

Adrien frowned as he watched you watch the water. You were right there but you felt so out of reach. He couldn't help but wonder if he had been reading things between you and him wrong the entire time, he was always good at that.

You were always a mystery to everyone, but he felt like he understood you.

"Adrien." You whispered as you sat up straight and he released his hold on you.

"Yes?" He spoke hesitantly.

"You...are one of the relationships I cherish most." You looked up at him and flashed a broken smile after you spoke the words he said to you almost two years ago.

Adrien gulped hard as his heart pounded rapidly against his chest again. He felt as if he had this revelation a while ago, but the look in your eyes simply solidified how he was feeling.

"I love you."

Your entire body stiffened with those three words.

"You...?"

"I love you Y/n. I do." He took in a deep and shaky breath. "I'm so sorry, I know now must've been the worst time to tell you." He stood with his face clutched tightly in his hands. 'Stupid! Stupid boy!'

You watched as he stood and paced in front of you, nervousness taking over him entirely. You reached up and felt the warm tears falling from your eyes, another piece of you broken that night, because for you and Adrien—

—it was simply too late.

You stood, stumbling immediately. He tried to reach out and grab you but you held firmly to the back of the bench before he had a chance.

"I'm fine. I can get home on my own." Your smile was tight and he knew the hidden meaning behind your words immediately.

You simply couldn't be with either of them.

The two of them held only fragments of your shattered heart, but the rest of it belonged solely to you. At the point in your life you were at during that very moment, it couldn't belong to anyone else.

"I think it's time for me to get some sleep." You stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for everything, Adrien." You whispered gently before walking off, leaving the both of you with a greater amount of despair than when you reunited that night.

As he watched you walk off he leaped towards the nearest building and followed you quietly to ensure you got home safely.

Adrien cried the entire time, but he understood exactly why you reacted the way you did.

All he hoped now is that you knew that he would wait for you, as long as he had too he would wait.

He just wanted to see you smile again, and mean it.

***

The bakery was silent.

You furrowed your brows and pulled out your phone to reveal a big eleven on your screen. You groaned as you rubbed your puffy eyes and made your way to the stairs. You had a feeling you were going to get an earful from your parents the next morning, but you were relieved you wouldn't have to deal with that for now.

As you approached your door you were surprised to see it cracked open.

Confused, you pushed open the door to see a half awake Marinette sitting up on your bed. It felt as if a pang had hit your chest, seeing her was the last thing you could've hoped for that night.

You would've taken a lecture from your parents over this.

Hell you'd rather be akumatized again than deal with her right now.

When she noticed your presence she shot awake immediately. "Y/n!" She sighed in relief and stood, wanting to hug you but deciding against it last second.

"What are you doing Marinette?" You asked weakly.

You noticed her pained expression immediately and couldn't help but scoff.

"Luka asked me to check up on you after you ran out. He didn't give me any details so don't worry, but I've had plenty of time to wonder about all the possibilities of what happened. What I think doesn't matter, I'm so glad you're home and safe." She sighed in relief and stepped towards you.

Instinctively, you stepped back.

"Why are you...being so nice to me?" Your choked out demand sounded almost fearful. Your energy was so completely drained that you couldn't put up the strong and mean facade you usually tried to with her.

"Because Y/n." She clenched her hair and tears fell from her eyes. "I love you. I was so terrified that something would happen to you when you were gone for hours today. I was so scared that I would lose the chance to try and make things right with you! I'm the worst fuck up of a sister and I in no way expect you to forgive me but I will spend as long as it takes to try and make it up to you. I promise." She sobbed, now on her knees and crying in a kneeling position on the floor in front of you.

You stared down at her in horror as your body shook. "You...what?" You were certain you had screamed but your voice simply wouldn't allow it.

"I love you." She repeated.

"Don't say that."

"I love you Y/n."

"DON'T SAY THAT DAMMIT!" You screamed and sobbed, falling to your knees in front of her.

Marinette watched as you broke once more in front of her and she couldn't help but break with you.

"Don't say it! Don't say it! Don't say it! Don't say it!" You screamed, punching at her, she grabbed onto your arms and held firm.

"I love you!" She yelled, making your panic pause. "I know this isn't what you want to hear from me, I understand that Y/n. But I'm done fucking everything up, I just want to have my sister back." Her voice was so sincere and it rattled you entirely.

"You've been the shittiest fucking sister for years, you know that?" You asked and she nodded.

"I do."

"You didn't understand, the entire time that I just wanted to be with you. You were always so convinced that you had everything figured out but you didn't. During the school play, when things really changed between us, I didn't try to help with the costumes to undermine you. I only learned how to sew so I could fucking help you! Any time I spent with you was precious to me." You were sobbing and she pulled you into a tight hug which you surprisingly didn't pull away from.

"I didn't know that, I'm so sorry for assuming."

"Oh shut the fuck up with that." You spat but she simply nodded and rubbed your head.

"I'll just listen then."

"How is it the moment I decide to be mad at you, you decide you want to stop being a shit head? I honestly can't even explain how pissed I was at you that night. I have been trying so hard to be there for you in whatever way I can but you just didn't let me. So why is this happening right now? Why am I being held by you right now?"

"Because I need you." She whispered.

"Fuck! You said you would listen!" You screamed and she nodded. "When you told me to just leave and I was heartbroken. All I've ever wanted is to have fun and be with you but you never let me have that. Knowing that you wanted me gone almost ruined me. That's why I left so soon after and dammit I almost left again when you said it that night on the barge!"

You curled up closer to her and kept crying.

"Dammit!" You tried to compose yourself again, even though you were pissed at yourself for even acting like this in front of her. "I...I didn't mean to fall for either of them Marinette."

She looked down at you with a quirked eyebrow.

"Adrien was the only one who ever understood how I felt. Every time I thought I was done for and going crazy, he reminded me of everything I wanted to be. Giving him to you was one of the worst moments ever, but I would do it one thousand times over again. Luka too. I didn't mean to get so caught up with him, I knew he was your ex and I swear I didn't get involved to hurt you. He showed me a new light and a new way of thinking. He showed me how to hear the melody in every aspect of life, and I can't un hear it anymore. I loved every moment I shared with him, good and bad." You couldn't believe you admitted any of that to her.

"And you're just going to give it all up?" She asked gently as she broke her rule of silence.

You stiffened. "You don't understand."

"Help me understand you Y/n." Marinette pleaded.

"He used me as a connection to you. He was always trying to get back to you or near you. If you had asked him the first few months of us being with each other if he would go back to you, he wouldn't have even given me a second glance. He said it's changed now...that he wants me, but how do I trust him ever again?" You asked, certain you wanted her to speak this time.

"I—don't know Y/n."

"I don't either." You were exhausted.

"Luka has a good heart, I know that for sure. I think he will love you for a very long time, even if you tell him you don't want it. I think what you need right now is time to figure out what you want and need." She pointed to your forehead. "Without romance for a while. Hell I don't need any either." She smiled softly and you nodded.

"Amen."

She laughed. "To me being single or you?"

"You can never be single." You sighed as you leaned back with your hands behind your head.

Confused, "What do you mean?" She asked with a snort.

"Your a twin, which means you're a double for life." As she looked down at you she saw you smiling brightly with your pinky held out to her.

For the first time that night, her tears didn't feel dreadful as she interlocked her pinkie with your own.

"Forever."