Maybe Not So Bad After All.... {FINISHED}

Chapter 3- Tears

"C'mon dudes!" Nino yelped as he ran from the cliff above and jumped off, landing in the water below with a splash.

"Ugh! Nino!" Alya seethed, guarding herself from the splashed water. The water was cold, almost numbing them from the waist down, but only Nino was crazy enough to go head first into the chilly water, though it did feel nice compared to the hot weather.

"Aha! Nice one Nino!" Marinette laughed, slapping her wet hand against Nino's. It wasn't entirely true that Nino was the only one crazy enough to jump in head first. Marinette's hair slopped over her shoulders as the water trickled down her face.

"Marinette! Don't encourage him!" Alya scolded again.

"What's wrong Alya? Afraid to get a little wet?" Adrien called in a mocking way. Alya laughed as she splashed Adrien with water, ruining his dry hair.

"Ohh! Chicken fight!" Nino yelled as he motioned for Marinette to get on his shoulders. Alya hopped on Adrien's shoulders and the two girls began going face to face, trying their hardest to push the other into the water. Marinette laughed, not knowing that Adrien had his eyes locked on her smile, the way she laughed and the way her hair trickled with water.

Marinette got distracted once she caught on to someone's lingering eyes, leaving an opening chance for Alya to knock her into the water. The pair laughed in victory, Nino and Marinette emerging from the water with laughter. Nino wrapped his arms around Marinette in a hug, both laughing.

As the four dried off and slipped into their pajamas, Adrien set the table for dinner, steaks on the barbecue that sat on the porch.

"Excuse me Adrien," Marinette said as she reached above him, grabbing the ketchup from a higher shelf. Adrien hoped that Marinette couldn't hear his heart beating so quickly from their close proximity, but Marinette was hoping the same thing too.

"Adrien, who knew you were so good at cooking!" Alya smiled, stuffing more of the meat into her mouth. Adrien had taken cooking classes from his mother when he was little, and making steaks was as simple as combining his already learnt skills.

"My father used to make the best, but we don't get them much anymore," Adrien shrugged, setting down his own plate to eat beside them. He noticed that Marinette had finished her meal already, leaving no trace of that fact anywhere. No sauce on her hands or face and no fat meats left on the plate.

"Who knew Mr. Agreste was quite the cook?" Alya cocked an eyebrow, swallowing her meat with a heavy gulp.

"He didn't cook much, it was always my mother that cooked," Adrien smiled again, the weight of his words tugging at the corners of his mouth. Marinette could sense the sadness that he tried so hard to cover up. She couldn't imagine going through what he went through. Losing a parent while the other becomes cold and distant?

"Adrien, I saw how you looked early, and I was wondering if you wanted to talk about it," Marinette looked at Adrien with sorrowful eyes as she circled the cloth on the wet plate, cleaning away the mess Nino had made on his plate.

"Marinette, I'm fine, really," He smiled half-heartedly.

"Being 'fine' and being 'okay' are too different things, 'fine' is never good, you only use it when you don't want to -- or can't -- explain your emotions," Marinette rambled without her knowledge. Marinette had used 'fine' so many times in her life when she couldn't explain the weight of carrying Paris's safety on her back, or the struggle of always being the 'go-to friend', the one who always had a plan but when she didn't have a plan, she felt everyone's disappointment on her, whether it was real or just in her head.

"Marinette I-" Adrien started, not knowing where to start. "My mother was the glue who kept my family together, and I only really noticed that once she was gone. She always lit up a room with her smile, and she could make me laugh, no matter what mood i was in," He chuckled, remembering his mother's ways of getting him to cheer up. "And sometimes, I just want to see her, like after a hard day or when i just want to see her,"

"Adrien, I can't imagine what that's like," Marinette set the plate next to her on the counter. Adrien felt his eyes well up, knowing that bringing back such memories would make him tear up a small bit, but the fact that talking to Marinette about it, made him cry more.

"Marinette, sometimes you remind me of her, the way you always see the silver lining, you stand up for what's right, and sometimes just the way you look at me, I-" Adrien paused, chuckling as he wiped his eyes. Marinette felt her heart drop at his words. "S-sorry, I guess I can't control my emotions very much," He turned to see Marinette with her lips quivering, her eyes like a childs when they wanted something.

Marinette didn't hesitate to throw herself onto Adrien, pulling him in for a hug. "Adrien, I'm so sorry about your mom, but if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here," Marinette put her feelings for him aside and talked from the heart, burying herself deeper into his soft pajama shirt. Adrien still had his hands up from the surprise of the hug, but gently placed his arms around her.

"Thank you Mari, really...."

Marinette pulled away, knowing that hugging for longer would lead to her emotions catching back up to her. "Um, Adrien, I want to tell you something...."

"What is it?"

"I'm-" Before Marinette could finish her sentence, Nino exclaimed from outside that the fire was ready to be sat around. Nino's interruption was a lifesaver. Marinette didn't know where her mind was going at that point, was it going to confess her love or reveal her identity as Paris' heroine.

"Y-yeah, yeah! Coming!" Adrien looked out the window then back to Marinette. "What were you going to tell me?"

"O-oh, nothing, it's not important," She smiled. Marinette's brain had almost gone on auto-pilot. Did this mean that Marinette had actually worked up the confidence to tell him how she felt? Or was this a way of her subconsciousness telling her to take some of the weight off of her mind by telling him that she was Ladybug?