<ADRIENS POV>

~我爱瓢虫~

I suck in my cheeks and repeat what the app says, Plagg staring at the table from where he perches on my shoulder. This session seems to be taking forever, and Marinette still hasn't returned. I huff out a sigh as the app says another sentence.

~我爱瓢虫~

I repeat it again and look at my watch. Only ten more minutes.

~大灾变~

I open my mouth to say it and freeze. I click the repeat button on the screen, and repeats the phrase.

"Cataclysm," I breathe.

"Adrien," Nathalie says, opening the door to the empty room I'm sitting in. "Class is over."

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

"Of course," I say. "Is Marinette home yet?"

Nathalie's breath catches. It takes me a moment to realize what I've said, and why it made her react like that.

"I mean, is she back," I mumble, looking away from the tablet and shutting it off.

"She called me a little bit ago to tell me she's heading this direction. It shouldn't be more than a half hour."

I nod. "I'll go finish that book from this morning."

<MARINETTES POV>

I'm hurrying down the street, trying not to get drenched by the rain that suddenly started falling halfway through my visit. Why didn't the news say anything?

I wish I'd brought an umbrella, I think to myself.

"Marinette?"

I look up  through the sheets of rain and notice a familiar blue haircut. My breath catches in my throat and I hurry across the street, anxious to get away from Luka.

"Marinette, wait!"

I hurry down the street, hoping he'll give up.

"M—"

"DON'T!" I scream as a hand clasps around my shoulder and the rain stops pouring around my head. "I can't be trusted around you!"

I rip my shoulder forward out of his grasp and sprint forward again. I hear his steps slow in the puddles behind me, and I swear I hear him say something like 'sorry', but the rain and distance make it so I can't hear him well.

<ADRIENS POV>

"Adrien," Nathalie says, coming into my room, startling Plagg into hiding under the chair. "Marinette arrived home. She's changing into drier clothes and will be directed here."

I nod, barely looking up from my book. "Thank you, Nathalie."

She leaves, and Marinette seems to arrive only a few moments later. I throw the book down onto the chair and climb down the ladder. She's already sitting on the bench when I reach the bottom.

"How'd it go, Marinette?"

She bites her lip. "Mama and Papa were okay."

"That's what I asked."

Marinette bites her lip. "Luka caught me on the way back."

"Did anything happen?" I slide next to her on the bench.

She leans against me, her position forcing me to put my arm around her waist. Her back racks with silent sobs and her tears start to wet my shirt.

"Why... why did this... have to... happen?" she stutters between sobs.

"Something good will come out of this," I whisper. "Trust me. It feels awful now, but something will happen and make you happy. Happier than before."

"How do you know?" Marinette sniffs.

"Because something good came out of my father's coldness after my mother's death," I say simply. "I met someone really important to me. And though she may be gone now, she made an impact on my life."

"Who was she?" she says after a moment of silence. I bite my lip. "I'm sorry, I—"

"I hope to tell you one day," I interrupt. "But for now... that must remain a secret.

<MARINETTES POV>

My toes stay ice cold all evening. Tikki hides behind the curtain, glancing up at me every few moments. I sketch on a tablet lent to me by Nathalie. My designs look a little sloppy because of my exhaustion, but I can look over them in the morning.

I slide the tablet into a shelf in the side table and curl into a ball. Tikki shuts off the lights and flies into a bubble of my warmth. 

"Good night, Tikki," I mumble.

"Are you going to be okay?" my kwami whispers.

I freeze. "I..."

"I'm sorry to ask."

"I don't know yet," I say after a second.

She nods and I curl tighter into my ball, trying to warm my feet.

"Good night, Marinette," Tikki murmurs.

"Good night," I repeat.

Hey, sorry for the multiple POVs, and short chapter... I just really wanted to add that thing with Mari and Luka and I'm watching anime at the same time. I'm getting on the next chapter right now.