Stitches • Marichat

Chapter Eighteen

So just a heads up, I changed Nightmare's name to Sandman throughout the series.

Also, I've been thinking about rewriting Red String, because looking back on it, I'm not too happy with how it turned out. There were a lot of plot holes, and the writing itself wasn't that good either. But if you guys don't want to go back to reread the new writings, then there is no point. I don't want you guys to be confused with references to a book that has been changed. Please let me know!

Marinette knew that it rained a lot in Paris. Almost half the year it rains, to be exact. But after dealing with Aquafiend, she would have been glad to not see another drop of water for a while. But luck was not in her favor because not even three minutes after Aquafiend's defeat, the dark, rolling clouds had decided to cry for the villain it seemed. She knew that she was pushing it with the time left on her transformation, but she couldn't leave her partner hanging for the second time. Honestly, she was surprised that he hadn't asked her about it. But then again, he never did. They were alike in several ways, except for one. Where she would face a problem with someone head on, Chat- Adrien, would dabble around, almost as if he were afraid to create a problem with the person. And that wasn't something she liked to see with her flamboyant partner.

Marinette couldn't help but think these thoughts as she walked home in the rain, soaked to the bone. Her transformation had run out not even halfway home, and she had to wait in the alley just in case someone saw Ladybug dive behind the trash can. So by the time she finally reached the bakery, she was ready to take a long, warm nap. As she opened the glass door, the light tinkling of the bell greeted her.

"Hi maman." Marinette said as she walked into the heated bakery. It smelled like the buttery croissants her dad made often, but now there was also a whiff of chocolate in the air. Instantly, she felt at home. Her maman was bent behind the glass case, positioning the freshly made chocolate scones. Hearing her daughter's voice, the short woman stood up with a smile as she wiped her hands off with a towel that was set off to the side.

"Hi dear. I see you forgot to bring your umbrella to school again?" Marinette flushed as she remembered that her mother had clearly told her about today's forecast, but being in a hurry, she had completely forgotten it. Sabine grinned at her knowingly before tossing her daughter one of the dry hand towels they had on the back counters. Marinette flashed her a grateful look as she went to work with drying herself off. "Even after that nice young man gave you his umbrella, you still can't remember to bring it."

If it were possible, Marinette's blush darkened even more. Her mother either didn't notice, or didn't care as she went on. "How has Adrien been? Has he been eating more? Silly boy is as thin as a toothpick. You should tell him to stop by here sometimes, we'll always have something for him to eat."

"Maybe some time, Maman." Marinette answered, patting the towel against her hair that was beginning to frizz. She kissed her mother on the cheek before heading upstairs.

Sabine watched her daughter with a knowing smile before Tom called her for help in the back.

Reaching her room, Marinette immediately changed from her cold, wet clothes into a pair of comfy sweats and an old t-shirt she's had for the longest time. Not her most fashionable outfit, but she was warming up so she didn't really care. Plus, she had promised Tikki that they could watch The Wizard of Oz tonight, and that didn't mean that she had to dress up. She had a bag of cookies set on her desk for Tikki, and the disc was already in the laptop ready to run.

Tikki whirred out of her purse and onto Marinette's shoulder. She wore a wide grin and her lilac eyes were sparkling in excitement. "Oh Marinette, I can't wait to watch this with you! This is one of my favorites, and I'm surprised that you haven't seen it yet!" The kwami said as she buzzed around her chosen.

"Yeah," Marinette nodded her head in agreement. Then, she remembered that she had wanted to talk to the kwami about something that Tikki had said before, about Chat Noir and Sandman. "Hey Tikki?" The ladybug-themed kwami hummed in response as she opened the bag of cookies, ready to munch on the chocolate chip delights. "I've been thinking about what you had said, about Chat Noir- I mean Adrien- and having a nightmare in a second. I think that you're right. Most dreams feel like they last hours, but in reality are only a few minutes long. And,well, he's been acting strange ever since the fight with Sandman," Tikki nodded as Marinette continued.

"I was talking to Nino the other day because he said he was concerned about Adrien. That day the four of us went to the movies? He said that Adrien had been acting completely different before they got to us. He even said that he had never felt so scared after seeing the look in Adrien's eyes, and that his fists were all balled up and-"

"Marinette." Tikki interrupted, cutting the girl off before she could get herself even more worked up. When the teen got worked up, it was hard to hold a conversation with her, let alone talk to her rationally. Marinette looked at Tikki, who was one of her closest friends, and quieted down as Tikki went on. "Do you think that Adrien still believes that he is inside of a nightmare?"

She thought about it before answering the question. "No. I-" She took a deep breath as she collected her thougts, piecing together the pieces in her mind and trying solve the missing ones. "I think that he knows he is no longer in the nightmare, if he even was in a nightmare. And, I think that's why he's acting differently."

"How so?" Tikki asked, keeping the young girl's mind churning. Marinette knew Adrien and Chat Noir better than she did. Everything from here on is going to be coming from Marinette's experience and knowledge of him. The only thing Tikki could do now was sit and listen, and help her spell out her thoughts.

"He saw some things, or he experienced them, and I think he's scared of them? I mean, it makes sense, it's a nightmare, his nightmare. But what is he so scared of? Or maybe it's not even the nightmare that he is scared of, Tikki. Maybe he's scared of himself? What if he did something in the nightmare, something he wouldn't do in reality? What if he's scared because he didn't know it was a nightmare and yet he still did that thing that made him terrified of himself? I don't know," Marinette sighed as she ran out of ideas, rubbing her forehead as she leaned back onto her pink chaise. For all she knew, she could be overthinking this. And that worried her. She didn't want to make something out of nothing, and she most definetly did not want to come off as accusatory. Tikki floated over onto her stomach.

"If you are this perturbed about it, why don't you just ask him?"

"That's just the thing, Tikki. Even if I do, he wouldn't tell me."

"And why not?"

"Because Adrien doesn't like conflict. He doesn't like telling other people his problems. He won't even ask his dad or Nathalie if he could have more food to eat, even though he's burning it all off almost instantly since he's Chat Noir. And you told me once that our Miraculouses affect our body to be similar to the insect or animal it is right? So including that, his metabolism is even faster."

"What does this have to do with him not telling you?"

"Because Adrien refuses to face problems head on. And I think that it's because of that, that this nightmare, if he had one, is going to destroy him."

Posting early since I won't be able to update tomorrow! Anyways, I wanted you guys to know that Stitches has only a few chapters left before it's over! Will you be sad to see it end? Let me know!

Until next time, peace!