"Good morning~"

  Adrien heard her voice vividly. He remembered how warm it always sounded in the morning, he remembered the smell of sweet bread she always baked whenever he had to be up for work. He missed her smile, he missed her large blue eyes, he missed the way she scrunched her freckled nose whenever he tossed the blankets on her during a warm evening.

He missed the sound of her voice, he missed the softness of her skin and he missed the smell of her strawberry shampoo. 

It had been a solid three months since he had last heard from Marinette and his tight schedule made it even more difficult to try and find her. She never answered any of his calls, or her texts. He was desperate to leave a voicemail but her inbox was full. 
Adrien felt entirely too helpless. 

  As the weeks went on, he found himself unable to sleep, he felt too anxious to eat and Adrien often found himself clinging to his phone for any sort of answer from his wife.

Despite still being legally married, Adrien wanted to end things on good terms if she didn’t want to be with him again. 

   She deserved to know the truth about what had happened that night, and Adrien deserved to at least clear his name.

He still had some contact with Kagami, and much to her dismay, all Adrien ever did was put off going over to her place to help her move, hence her continuing to live in Paris where she continued to coincidentally bump into him whenever he was at the studio. 

   Adrien sat up, the moonlight casting an eerie glow to his skin. His heart ached inside of his chest and even then he still could almost feel her laying beside him. He wanted to hold her desperately, and the fact that she wasn't here with him drove him crazy. 

   He reached for his phone, unlocking the screen to see that he had no new text messages and no returned calls.

   He sighed, a frown tugging on his lips as he even missed Tikki. The house was a lot more lonely without his wife and cat. It certainly didn't help that Marinette had left some of her belongings behind, and Adrien held onto hope that she would at least come back for them.

  He needed any chance to talk to her, even if she wanted to scream at him.

Adrien climbed off the bed, his heart sinking into the pits of his stomach and he was beginning to grow desperate. He wandered towards the window, tossing his phone to the side with a loud thud. 

He leaned forward, placing his hands onto the window sill. Adrien closed his eyes, his hands gripping tightly onto the window sill. Adrien clenched his jaw, exhaling with a quivered sigh. He screwed his eyes shut, his muscles aching as he was only two seconds away from putting his head right through the window.

It almost felt like there was no point in living.

________________________________________
 
Marinette whimpered, her heart squeezing in her chest as she could feel his arms around her. 

   She felt his body warmth, drawing her in and Marinette could have sworn she felt happiness for a brief moment. 

  Marinette opened her eyes to the warm rays of the sunlight and she exhaled, feeling her soul drop as she rememberd the last time she had ever seen Adrien.

  Marinette grimaced, knowing that she had no where to go when she left him. With her schedule crammed regarding school and her late night shifts at the bar, there wasn't enough time and money to stay in a hotel or search for an apartment that accepted animals on the spot. Marinette had no intentions of abandoning or giving up Tikki, so she returned to the only place she knew had room and would accept her.

Her parents.

When she didn’t have class, Marinette would make it a priority to help out down at the bakery, just as a thank you for allowing her to stay with them. She felt bad that her schedule often kept her parents up at night and the guilt of that matter compelled her to move out in the first place, but after her marriage to Adrien, she somehow allowed him to talk her into giving up her old apartment on grounds that she'd be happy in her new home with her new husband.

She felt so confused and stupid. 
Had he been planning on abandoning her this whole time?

  Marinette sat up, her blue eyes dancing around her old room that once seemed a lot more lively when she inhibited it as a teen. The bed was a lot smaller than the large bed she was getting used to sleeping in at her old home, and Marinette scowled at herself for appearing so spoiled. 

  She frowned, knowing that she had to get up and shower for class in a couple of hours, but she felt so sad. Her soul felt completely defeated. Marinette was incredibly tempted to skip out on her work, but she knew that wouldn't be the responsible thing to do. Her parents wouldn't let her mope around all day and instead would suggest she do something more productive to keep her mind off of everything.

But damn, Marinette had never been so close to breaking before.
She didn't think she could avoid Adrien for three months, but she somehow managed to.

It wasn't easy, and Marinette couldn't recall the last time she had even been attached to Felix in the same way she had been with Adrien. 

Her body ached, her chest ached and Marinette felt completely weak. She knew she couldn't face the day, so she knew she'd do it the only way she knew how.

And that was to sing. 

  Marinette reached up, placing a hand over her eyes as her heart continued to ache painfully within the confines of her chest.

"You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine,
You make me happy when skies are grey,
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away,"

Marinette paused as she could briefly hear Tikki mew from the lower leverage of her room. The black feline climbed the ladders to her bed and gently moved towards the young woman who lay on her back. 

  The kitty purred, closing her eyes as she began to nudge her head onto Marinette's side. 

Marinette slowly reached over, scratching behind the little kitty's head as she purred with delight.

"The other night, dear,
As I lay sleeping,
I dreamt I held you in my arms,"

Marinette pressed her lips together, her voice quivering as she sang. Her heart picked up the pace and she could feel the tears burning into her eyes.

She remembered the scent of his cologne, she remembered the way he smiled at her. She remembered how safe she felt in his arms and she remembered the countless times he had stepped in at the right times to take her out of what would have been compromising situations. 

  Marinette moved her hand, scratching beneath Tikki's chin and watching as the feline lifted her head so that Marinette could get a better scratch.

"When I awoke, dear,
I was mistaken, 

So I hung my head and- and-"

Marinette breathed in, her voice trembling as she could feel her sobs rushing to the base of her throat. No matter how much she tried to fight it, it was too strong. All her efforts were inevitably left in vain. 

"And cried..." Marinette immediately dropped her hand against the bed. She turned over, grabbing her pillow and burying her face into it. 

   Her chest heaved, and Marinette let out such an agonizing cry, that it scared Tikki away and she was sure it was loud enough to startle her parents down below.

Had it not been for them knowing about the troubles in her marriage, they would have thought that Marinette was being slaughtered every night.

  Marinette felt her eyes burn, and despite her feeling Tikki clawing away at her legs, she couldn't find it in her to move.
  At some point, Marinette's father had made his way up to her room, but Marinette wasn't able to hear him through her gross sobbing.

"Sweetheart?" Tom asked, closing the trap door behind him and making his way over towards the chaise that sat right by her old desktop computer. "Are you alright? You've been crying everyday for a good three months. I think it's time we actually talk about this."

  Marinette clutched onto her kitty pillow, her chest heaving as she could only assume that her terrible sobbing was driving her parents crazy. 

  It almost seemed as though Tikki could vouch for that as well. The poor cat ran for the hills each time Marinette expelled any sort of cry from her lungs. 

  "I-I'm sorry..." Marinette breathed, slowly sitting up and quickly trying to wipe her eyes. Her chest felt heavy, and she couldn't help but to feel incredibly embarrassed at how much of a mess she was.

  It was like she had gone through a breakup all over again. "I don't mean to keep you guys up, or make you and mom listen to me wail like a loser."

  Tom simply shook his head, a frown tugging on his lips as he watched his daughter peer down at him from the top of her bed. 

"Come sit by me," he suggested, patting the space beside him. "I know I can't say anything to you that will make the pain stop, but I can offer some advice and some guidance to help you ease through it."

  Marinette sniffled, simply wanting to curl back into her blankets and hide, but she knew there wouldn't be any use to that. She reluctantly moved towards the ladder of her bed, and with tingling toes, she carefully trudged her way down.

   "I know you hate it when I cry," Marinette whimpered, feeling like a little child, pouting to her father. She clutched her chest, rubbing the skin feverishly before she sat down beside her father. "I really try not to cry, Papa...but it hurts."

  Tom carefully placed his arm around her, tugging his daughter closer to him so that he could completely envelop her in the warmest parental hug he could muster to her. 

  There were times where Marinette would fall over as a toddler and scraped her knee. Being unfortunate enough to inherit her clumsiness from her father, Marinette not only fell while running often, but she'd fall riding her bike, she'd fall off her bed every other night and even while she was sitting, she'd fall off her chair and bust her lip.

  Every time Marinette got hurt, she'd always cry for her papa to give her one of his comforting hugs, and even in this moment where he was providing that very thing to her, Marinette struggled to find comfort in it. There was this hole in her heart and there was so much pain, Marinette simply didn't know how to not notice the ache that had only seemed to grow with each passing day. 

  "I know that it may seem like the world has ended," Tom murmured, pressing soft kisses to the top of Marinette's head as she slowly wrapped her arms around her father. "But trust me...it’s only the beginning. I know that life can teach you lessons, and sometimes those lessons can be hard to get through, but I can assure you that in the end you'll come out to be stronger than any person I know. Although you may not get everything you want in life,  what's important is that you remember that life is a gift itself. You will get through this, no one is rushing you through your grief. Take as much time as you need, and don't feel bad for doing it. Your mother and I will always be here for you, up until you ask us to go away..."

  Marinette screwed her eyes shut tautly as she buried her face into her father's chest. Her eyes still burned with tears, and Marinette briefly worried about leaving stains on his apron before he had to return down to the bakery below.

  She relished in his words, feeling relieved that her parents didn't regret allowing her and Tikki to stay with them for months until she figured out what she wanted to do with her life. 

"Thank you, Papa..." she whispered, clutching onto his shirt as she tried with everything in her not to sob again. 

_________________________________________

  "It's so weird seeing you here again. It's like old times," Alya spoke, standing by the bus stop bench with her hands on her hips.

  Marinette glanced up at her friend, her blue eyes widening as Alya's belly was massively large. She wondered how bad her back was doing having to carry such a load.

  "Y-Yeah," Marinette replied bashfully. "That was my own fault. I relished in the lifestyle of a rich husband, I totally got myself into the habit of having drivers and security guards."

  Alya chortled, moving over to sit beside her friend with a pained grunt.
"How are you feeling? I really hope you aren't being too hard on yourself."

"I'd like to say I'm impressed with myself for making it out for this long," Marinette conceded, reaching up to tuck some hair behind her ear awkwardly. "But I feel like an idiot."

Alya rested her purse in her lap, glancing over towards Marinette with a grimace. 

  "Why do you feel like an idiot?" She asked, leaning closer to lightly wrap her arm around Marinette who reached up to dig her palms into her eyes.

"Because I was the one who left, yet... I miss him so much," Marinette confessed, pressing her lips together as her eyes burned with tears at the mere thought of him. 

"It has to be some sort of misunderstanding. I mean, he made that notion to Nino everytime they get the chance to talk, but Adrien won't go into details about what really happened that night," Alya quickly glanced away, her eyes narrowing in suspicion as her mind did away with what could have happened between him and Kagami. "If you want I can talk to him for you?"

  Marinette chortled, lightly shaking her head as she leaned into her friend. 

  "They always say it's a misunderstanding..." Marinette muttered, her voice quivering as she immediately reverted back to how Felix used to gaslight the living hell out of her when he was out having affairs with his mystery woman. "But I don't need you to visit Adrien and talk to him. I know you have a tendency to talk with your hands when you're suspicious of someone."

  Alya snorted, lightly relaxing into the bus stop bench as Marinette placed her hand onto her belly. The growing baby inside moved beneath Marinette's hand, its foot lightly settling against her palm. 

  "I'll try to keep my cool. But you know I have no issue knocking anyone on their ass if they hurt any of my girls," Alya whispered, squeezing Marinette gently before letting her go. "Try to focus in class today. Don't think about all this unnecessary stuff."

  Marinette pulled back, eyeing her friend with scrutiny as she pursed her lips. 

"I think I'm more worried about you," The young woman retorted. "You look like you're about to pop any day now. I know your due date is approaching, but don’t you think you should take some time off to prepare for labour? Your feet and back must be killing you about now."

  Alya rolled her eyes playfully as she reached into her purse to fish for her phone. 
  "Oh, please, unless I start getting sponsors for the blog I'm building, I plan to work up until the very day I go into labour."

"Chloe gave you that penthouse; everything is covered. If you only have a few things left to move in, I suggest you enjoy it while you have it. Take advantage of it and take your maternity leave early. You don’t have to worry about money just yet," Marinette assured, gently placing her hand back onto Alya's belly. "Allow some time for you and your munchkin to rest and prepare. I'm sure Nino will understand."

  Alya shrugged, slouching slightly into the bench with an awkward expression.
  "I know, but just imagine working for so many years and then suddenly taking a huge chunk of time off. I've been accustomed to being independent and doing things on my own. I mean, I love running the blog, but I'm so used to a norm of simply waking up in the morning and then just working constantly. It's strange to think about getting up in the morning and staying at home with a baby until the baby is old enough to not be nursed all the time. I feel like I'd be antsy."
  Marinette smiled and she gently rubbed Alya's belly. 

"Well, if you get too bored, have Nino entertain you. If you eventually get tired of him, I'd be more than happy to stop by and see what you're up to. After you give birth to the baby, you know I'd be at your side all the time. That little baby would be like my own baby. You'll have to literally pry her out of my hands."

  Alya chuckled, locking her phone and placing it back into her bag with a warm smile.

"Yeah, yeah. All the baby has to do is cry and she'll be back into my arms at once," she replied, moving her eyes back to Marinette who drew back to laugh. "Nice try though..."

  "Are you worried I'll love the baby more than you? I mean, you should be," Marinette replied, joking with her friend. She exhaled, the weight within her chest slowly lifting as Alya always had the ability to make her feel better.

  "Your breasts don't have milk, say something like that again and I'll squeeze your tit in public. I don't even care who sees..." Alya threatened, jabbing her elbow into Marinette's side.

It was a nice change of pace, and it was certainly the first time Marinette smiled in awhile. Perhaps she'd be able to do this after all.
_________________________________________

Marinette was bored. She rested her elbow against her desk, leaning her chin into her palm as her other hand lazily dragged across her sketchpad. 
  The classroom was silent, and Marinette hadn't had proper sleep in so long, she was so close to passing out in the silence.

  She was working on an assignment for a new hat design, and though she remembered having to do something similar for last semester, she couldn't help but to be inspired by her heartbreak.

  Marinette didn't want to go her common feather route, but instead decided on a beanie hat that resembled that of a cat. She imagined a beanie with cat like ears with a matching hoodie with paw drawstrings. She'd be sure to at least do Tikki proud, but Adrien was the cat she had fallen in love with.

The young woman ran a hand through her hair, a frown tugging onto her lips as her fingers got caught into a knot. She slowly removed her fingers from her strands, inwardly groaning at the length it had grown. 

  Marinette couldn't remember the last time she properly brushed her hair or had a decent meal. Alongside of insomnia, her appetite had decreased and the sex drive she used to succumb to whenever Adrien touched her went away with her pride. 

  It wasn't often that Marinette scowled at her stolen contraceptives that sat stagnant inside her purse with disdain, in fact Marinette tried everything to forget that they even existed. 

  She hadn't planned on sleeping with anyone, anytime soon. 

Marinette sighed, dragging her pencil across her paper while curving the line so that she could draw the cat ears on the beanie hat. On the sides, Marinette made sure to add notes of what fabric she planned on using, what stitching style she wanted at the seems, and what colors she planned to use as well as how to sneak her signature somewhere on the product.

  She bit her lip, mindlessly pressing her eraser into a sketch pad with a small hum as she wondered if it was too much to design a matching ladybug set with it. 

Ladybugs were seen as good luck. 
Black cats were seen as bad luck.
Two completely different wavelengths.
Completely opposite from each other.
Yet, still able to balance each other out somehow.

  Marinette exhaled quietly, dropping her pencil against her sketchpad with a grimace as she pressed her lips together.

She couldn't help but visualize her relationship with Adrien. They were both from two different worlds, different trajectories. Yet, by the universe they were fated to meet. They were fated to love each other. 

  Marinette wondered if it was because of their differences that caused her to remain to attracted to him. It was like they were magnets. They were different and gravitated towards each other, they weren't one of the same to repel. 

  She closed her eyes, resting her head into her hands with an inward cry.

  Marinette missed him terribly, it was like her soul had somehow left her body. Part of her wanted to go back to him and sort things out, but she worried she'd be fooled.

   She knew without a doubt that if she went back, she'd end up in his arms and not even second guess it. Marinette knew she'd give anything to hear his voice again, but she knew that would mean to wear her heart on her sleeve. She wasn't sure if she would be able to do something like that again. 

Another part of her wanted to stand her ground. She wanted to continue ignoring his calls, ignoring his text messages and when he finally gives up trying to contact her, it would be easier to finally move on too.

  Marinette contemplated changing her  number and when she had the courage and money for it, she'd file for divorce too, but Marinette couldn't help but to wonder if she was simply overreacting. 
  She couldn't help herself. 

The infidelity that came from Felix who completely took advantage of her and painfully neglected her before completely abandoning her contributed to her distrust. 

  The encounter she had with Nick who also took advantage of her while intoxicated that night during her bachelorette party only exacerbated that.

As far as she was concerned, the world was a dark place. It chewed her up and spat her out like waste.

If Marinette didn't push away and escape now, she knew she'd only be safe with a large amount of hurt.
As much as it conflicted her, Marinette had to leave. She needed to protect herself. She couldn't allow people to hurt her the way she used to.

  Marinette inhaled, reaching up to rub her aching chest. Her heart beat painfully and Marinette simply wanted to scream. She had left to prevent her hurting, yet she was still hurt. 

  The young woman paused, her thighs shifting the moment she felt her phone buzzing within her purse that sat perfectly on her lap. Marinette reached down, grabbing the phone from her purse and sliding her digit against the glass to unlock the screen.

  Her blue eyes moved over towards a text message sent from Alya and she pressed her thumb onto the notifications to open it. 

"My water broke!! The baby will be here soon. Call Nino for details. Please come as soon as you can! I need you here."

Marinette widened her eyes, immediately jumping out of her seat.
"What?!" She screeched, drawing the attention of both her instructor and the entirety of the classroom. 

  Marinette blushed deeply, glancing around nervously at her classmates before she began to stuff her things into her bag in a hasty motion.

"Is there a problem, Mrs. Agreste?" Her instructor asked, her green eyes trained on Marinette who had thrown her bag over her shoulder and clumsily knocked the chair over as she tried to move away from the table.

  "N-No! I mean, sort of?" Marinette shook her head as she awkwardly leaned down to pick up the chair. "I have to go early, I'm sorry." 

   Marinette moved the chair closer to the table before she reached back into her purse to grab her phone. Her hand trembled as she struggled to find Nino's contact.

"I-I have a family emergency!" Marinette exclaimed, knowing she needed to find out which hospital Alya was in so she wouldn't miss the birth. "I have to go!"

  Marinette ignored the scoffs and glares from her classmates. All she cared about was getting out on time. Alya needed her and that was more important than anything.

  She stumbled out the classroom, her eyes trained onto the doors as she pressed her digit into Nino's contact to start a call.

"I'm coming Alya. I promise..."

She was finally going to be an auntie.