My Kitty

30| Alone But Never Again

The kwamis had been running all over the place, celebrating the return of their two missing companions. Surely, they'd already thrown a party when Nooroo and Duusu were first brought back. But apparently, that party was going to last forever, since it never seemed to come to an end. They'd been making a mess of her room, only to drop everything and rush back into their box when a knock had sounded from the other side of the door.

Marinette hadn't expected anyone, and Adrien's sudden appearance flustered her. For a while, nothing but silence hung limp in the atmosphere, a rope around her neck. It choked her with tension. Tension she couldn't bear, especially around him.

"I'm so ashamed, Marinette." His gaze darted to the wooden panels of her floors. "How could I have not known?"

"Adrien..." She cupped his cheek in a tender manner that brought a blush to his face. "You know it was never your fault." She slightly lifted his head to be able to lock eyes with the beauty of his. Her voice sheltered so much compassion that it had him crave every part of her. From her glossed lips to the softness of her skin. He wished he had the confidence to touch her, to hold her within his arms and never let her go. But only Chat Noir was able to do that. Adrien, however, was weak, and sometimes even, a nervous wreck. A side to him nobody knew of.

"I don't know what drove him to do that." He shook his head, "Why was he so..." His eyebrows knitted in defeat, a saddened look occupying his face, "Evil?" It seemed pretty obvious how much it pained him to say such a thing, and Marinette has never felt so devastated for someone.

"Since he'd always wanted your—" She realized the slip of her tongue and let her hand drop to her side; panicked. "Uh, Chat Noir! Yes, Chat Noir and Ladybug's miraculous, he probably needed a wish."

He frowned at this. And she didn't know whether it was because she almost gave away her knowledge of his identity, or for what she'd said about his father. "Yeah, that makes sense. But what for? What did he so badly want?"

"I guess that's something only he would know..." His expression hardened, dulling further. "I'm so sorry, Adrien."

"Marinette..."

She stared at him, expectant. His eyes held a glint of vulnerability, shimmering against the afternoon sunlight filtering through the windows.

"I..." He trailed off, a sigh escaping him. "I've been so alone." With the subtle cracking of his voice, Marinette's heart hammered against her chest, with an abnormally loud thump. Sounds faded away into the background, all drowned out by the ringing in her ears, and for a moment, she lost focus. "All my life, I've never had anyone by my side."

She mindlessly nodded, willing herself not to interrupt him, lest he stopped talking. Him confiding in her, and opening up about something that seemed to have been left unspoken for years, did her emotions no good. Her gaze softened, and so did her expression. And she found herself eager to reach out to him, to feel the beat of his heart against the tips of her fingers.

"My mother left about a year ago. It was so sudden, and I didn't get the chance to say goodbye." His breath caught at the back of his throat. "Since then, my father kept me in the dark and just... stopped being a father." The pain amassed deep within his heart felt worse than that he'd endured when it was being ripped apart. It broke him having such a realization dawn upon him. And it tore him having to say his next words. Though he'd weighed them out a million times before they left his lips, he couldn't escape the truth. "I guess he never really was a good father," he muttered, turning away from Marinette. The urge to fully let her into his life, to tell her about his true identity, to reveal who he was, it was all too powerful.

He didn't want to accidentally slip up and say something he would regret. More importantly, he didn't want her to see him so fragile, fearful of what she might think of it. But to his surprise, Marinette threw her arms around his waist. He slightly tumbled forward, her tight grip on him the only thing keeping him upright. His eyes widened, his mouth half-agape. The shock soon morphed into adoration. A small smile slowly took over the frown, and both his hands instinctively flew up to gently cup hers. She leaned her cheek against the middle of his back, sending a shiver fluttering down to the bottom of his spine.

"You're not alone anymore," she cried, drawing him further into her chest. "You'll never be."

There she was, making him fall for her all over again. "I know." He stole a side-glance her way, then his voice fell into a whisper. "Thank you, princess."