"No! I don't want to hear it!"

Adrien flinched at the sound of his own voice. He turned over in bed, his heart aching at how cruel he was.

"I took your word for it, Marinette! I freaking trusted you! I TRUSTED YOU!"

"No, A-A-Adrien i-i-i-it wasn't-"

Adrien breathed out, seeing Marinette reach out to him as she attempted to reconcile.
    "LET GO OF ME!" DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Adrien furrowed his brow. He turned to his side, burying his face into the pillows beside him.

  "Listen to me, Marinette. Listen to me real good."

His own voice echoed in his head as it was cold and firm.
He could still remember the way Marinette looked up at him, her eyes glossened over with tears and her cheeks grew pink as she cried.

"I hate you... I freaking hate you..."

He hissed, looking her straight in her beautiful pained blue eyes.
 
    "Do you hear me? I. HATE. YOU."

Adrien felt like the air was knocked out of him.
Why?

Why did he say that?

     "Tell Louis mommy loves him.
            Tell Adrien I love him..."
Adrien looked into her tear filled eyes, seeing her breathe one last time before she leapt.

"NOOO!!" Adrien wailed, his heart aching painfully as he opened his eyes in the dark.
   
   He could see Marinette laying beside him in bed. She was looking up at him, her eyes still filled with sleep. A weak smile spread across her face as she glanced up at him shyly.

   "My love..."
She breathed. Her voice echoing in his head.

   "Marinette." He sobbed painfully. "I don't hate you. I didn't hate you." He reached over to her, his hands gripping into the sheets as they came up empty.
  She wasn't really there.

"No, no, no, no, no...." He cried, reaching for her pillow. He buried his face into it, still smelling her on the cotton. He hugged the pillow to his chest painfully, gripping on to it tightly as he was almost sure he couldn't bear this pain any longer.

"I don't hate you..." He whispered, tears falling down his face rapidly. "No....I don't hate you. I don't hate you, I don't hate you. I don't hate you. I hate myself..."

_________________________________________

    "I wouldn't do that..." Plagg reprimanded, looking at Louis who stood on a chair to grab a reading book.

The toddler smiled, grabbing his favorite bed time story book. When he couldn't sleep, Marinette and Tikki would make him warm milk, tuck him in and read him stories until he was able to fall asleep.

   Louis kept a hopeful smile, grabbing his book and holding it to his chest. He climbed off the chair carefully, looking over to Plagg excitedly.

The toddler couldn't sleep, and he really  wanted to ask Adrien to read him a bedtime story like his mother used to.

Plagg shook his head, he hurt for the little one. All he wanted was to spend time with his father but Plagg knew it was only a pipe dream. Adrien was in no way shape or form ready to bond with Louis, despite how much Louis craved his attention.
   Telling by the way Adrien was screaming in the next room, Plagg could tell he was having nightmares again.
He worried that Louis was setting himself up for a huge dissapointment.

The toddler remained hopeful, giving Plagg a reprimanding glare. He knew his father was having night terrors, and what better way to cheer him up than  with a cuddle and bedtime story.

   "I wouldn't count on it..." Plagg sighed, sitting on the toddlers bed. 
"How about we eat cheese instead. Stuffing myself completely on cheese is how I fall asleep." The kwami rasped, nuzzling into Louis' pillow. "If you want, I can share some of my cheese. So take the offer and sleep. Because when you're older, you won't be able to do it anymore."

  Louis looked at the book and then back at Plagg. The toddler made a face at the thought and smell of Plaggs favorite cheese.
As tempting as it didn't sound, Louis had to pass on that offer.

The toddler wandered back over to his bed and climbed into it. He sat down, looking down at the book in his hands before he looked back up at Plagg with a hopeful smile.

"Read?" Louis asked, offering the book to Plagg. He opened the book and pointed to the words, showing him his favorite pictures that Marinette used to show him quite often.

"Me? Read bedtime stories?" Plagg asked, his green eyes widening. "No, no. I don't read bedtime stories to children. I'd rather do the sleeping." Plagg yawned, floating back to his designated pillow where he and Tikki used to sleep where they kept watch over Louis.

  Louis watched the kwami lay back down. He looked down at the book, attempting one more time to get Plagg to look at the pictures with him.

  "Hm?" The toddler mused, his smile dropping as Plagg remained obdurate and turned over against the pillow.

Louis sighed, looking at the book bedore eventually deciding.

He was going to ask his father to read it to him.
    The toddler slowly climbed out of bed, keeping the book at his side as he opened the bedroom door. He poked his head out in the dark hallway before he slowly walked out.
  Plagg turned over, his eyes watching as Louis left the room.

Perhaps he should have attempted to read the book.

_________________________________________

    Adrien couldn't unsee it.
It was already past midnight and he felt like he was a lost cause. He was going completely insane
All he could do is lay in the dark, fighting the agonizing pain of life. Everytime he closed his eyes he kept seeing Marinette.
   She was falling.
She was reaching out to him, her eyes wide and full of tears.

And each time, Adrien jumped after her.

And every single time, he failed.

He kept hearing the sound of her body smack the ground over and over again.
His fingertips were on hers, and in a brief moment he was back at square one.

    Marinette had leapt once again, and Adrien ran in after her.
His heart raced as he saw her face, and Adrien was prepared to witness her die. He reached for her, and she reached back.

   His eyes widened as he caught her. He was going to save her life and take her home, but something grabbed him.

Lila had grabbed him, and Marinette had just slipped through his fingers yet again.

"No!" Adrien called, throwing his arm against the person stopping him from getting to Marinette.

Adrien heard a small whimper in the dark.
   He opened his eyes, watching as Louis fell to the ground, dropping his bedtime story.

Louis gulped, not entirely prepared for his father to push him away with such an angry force.

Adrien sighed, relieved yet angry to see Louis at the same time.
   The blonde ran a hand through his hair as he tried to calm down from what he was seeing in his head.

   "Louis, I said not to come in here so late..." Adrien breathed, his body and mind still shaken from the constant nightmare.
  Adrien reached over for Louis, ready to help the toddler back to bed, but Louis immediately grabbed his book, his eyes blinking with fear before he scrambled back to his feet and rushed out of the room.

Adrien sat up, watching his son leave the room, emptiness suddenly enveloping him once more.
  Perhaps his words were a bit harsher than he had intended.

Plagg floated up towards Adrien's bed, shaking his head as the kwami himself who was selfish, perhaps more selfish than any being in this world, felt that Adrien was being selfish.
    "Nice job..." Plagg muttered, leaving his chosen behind in the bedroom.

Adrien sighed, laying back down into bed. He ran his hands through his hair, staring up at the ceiling.

Louis climbed back into bed, holding the book to his chest as tears filled his eyes.
   He sniffled, clutching on to the story book. He closed his eyes, nuzzling into his pillows as Plagg returned to him.

Plagg looked down at him, almost worried that Louis would become subjectable to becoming akumatized. That was something Plagg wouldn't have been able to handle.

He had a soft spot for the child, and there was no doubt about that.

   Plagg moved down, prying the book from Louis' hands before he opened it to have a look at the pictures.
   "What about this one?" Plagg asked, pointing to a photo of a mother rabbit holding her baby rabbit.
   Louis sniffled opening his eyes to Plagg pointing at his favorite photos.

The toddler smiled, his cheeks still wet with tears.
   "Y-Yeah." The toddler replied, his voice quivering with sadness. "Mommy..." He murmured, pointing to the mother rabbit. "I like a mommy babbit..."
   Plagg smiled, looking at the photo of the mother rabbit.

  "Me too buddy, I like the mommy rabbit too..."