About Time

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ALL MARINETTE COULD feel was ice. It was like she was encapsulated by the cold, held as a frozen hostage and not going anywhere soon. The shivers forcibly sent down her spine ached. On the outside, she had been like this for three whole hours.

It felt like a lifetime.

When her eyes finally awoke, her head was fuzzy, and distorted. She squinted over to see Alya's worried face. "Hey, Sweetie. How are you feeling?"

"Pain. Lots of pain," she was able to utter through a dry throat. Alya draped a warm washcloth over the hurting friend's forehead. "I know. You'll be okay though."

Marinette was gently wracking her brain for remnants of what had previously occurred, but she kept coming up short. "What happened?"

There seemed to be a bit of a wordless battle between her three friends, one of warning looks and light gesturing. In the end, they all only wanted what was best.

Sighing, she looked up at Nino for word guidance. "You and Adrien went back into his time to try and stop his death. We're not too sure what exactly went down, but we were able to hear everything you guys were saying and doing through the radio. Everything was fine, until it wasn't. Regardless, when we heard your screaming, I adjusted the buttons to bring you back. I know you're hurting right now, but when you're ready to tell us, we'll be here for you," Nino throughly explained.

Luka knelt down near Marinette, holding her hand for support.

The plethora of disheartening information made the weak girl woozy. Maybe she just misunderstood him. There's no way she was transported back without Adrien. He had to be around here somewhere. She sat up, hoping to face a different reality when she was in a differing altitude.

"Hey, just take it easy, okay? You've just been through a lot."

Marinette sighed in frustration. Reaching up, she covered her eyes with her hands, wishing desperately to wake up from this nightmare.

She stopped herself before her fingers reached their destination. Blood.

Her hands were thickly coated with blood. Sickly, her eyes ran over the rest of her figure. The once pink dress was now throughly ruined with deep rouge.

All comprehended words died on her mouth. Her worried eyes snapped fo Alya's reading her expressions for an answer. "This is why we wanted an explanation. Only when you're up for it okay? Don't push yourself."

Nodding, Marinette licked her lips. "I-I remember running around the town with him," she voice hoarsely spoke. Her friends leaned in closer, trying to be prepared for the worst outcome. "His hair was rowdy, his eyes glimmering with excitement. I was too focused on how he was making me feel to even try to notice. He led me to sprint across a pedestrian crosswalk... a-and-"

She swallowed, Alya rubbing her back gently, urging her to continue, "A c-car. It hit him. R-Right before me," she choked out. The group seemed to be putting pieces together. Clearly, that was Adrien's blood on her clothing, and obviously the experience was stunning and traumatic.

Marinette had every right.

"I think we should have you checked out by a doctor, we can never be too careful," Luka suggested, softly bringing her into a gentle embrace. Marinette nodded, actually in agreement. Typically, she was stubborn and wouldn't seek treatment at all.

This was a special case.

With the silent permission from Alya, Luka scooped up the sad pile of a girl, keeping her close. She started to emit more tears hushedly as the truth was finally starting to sink in. Was it ever going to be possible to feel whole again?