Time

8 - Meeting

"Mari." Nathanaël said, standing from his seat.

"Hi." Marinette replied, allowing Nathanaël to press a kiss to her cheek.

They fell silent, and Marinette looked around nervously before a text arrived on her phone, granting her a distraction. "So, what did you want to meet up for?" Marinette asked, typing out a response to Alya.

"Well, you know." Nathanaël said, rubbing his neck nervously.

Marinette looked up and thought back to their fight from a few evenings ago, and then their squabble over the phone. "What?" She asked, playing dumb as she put her phone away.

"Our... arguments." Nathanaël said, voice dropping as if it was a secret.

"What do you want to say? Here, I'll go first: I'm sorry for whatever I said or did that hurt your feelings." Marinette said, studying her nails with rapt interest.

Nathanaël blinked. "Um... me, too." He said, regaining composure.

"Are we done?" Marinette asked, standing.

Nathanaël grabbed her wrist, tugging. "No. Don't leave." He said.

"Why?" Marinette asked, glaring at him as annoyance built up.

"Because... I don't know, Mari, please." Nathanaël tried.

Marinette pulled her wrist from Nathanaël's grip. She crossed her arms, waiting. "I... because spending time with the person you love is what people who love each other do. And I love you. And you love-"

"Stop."

"What?"

"You can't say that I love you." Marinette said, looking away as moisture formed in her eyes.

"Don't.... don't you love me?" Nathanaël asked, quietly, like a child.

"I... I don't know anymore." Marinette said, taking a step back.

"You can't just say that. Marinette, you don't... I don't believe you." Nathanaël said, and Marinette watched as a now-familiar transformation swept across his face.

Bright turquoise eyes turned dark indigo, swimming with anger as his hair fell from his ear to cover one of his eyes suddenly. "I..." Marinette paused. She was going to shrink back, sit in the chair and take a verbal battering. Then they'd get in Nathanaël's car and go to his house, before making out on his bed.

"I... don't know anymore. Because you hurt me so much. And you don't stop, you use your words like weapons, and you try and break me. I bend to your will, and that's not what two people in love do. Once or twice is one thing. But now, it's every other day after making up that we have a fight, attacking each other for something that we didn't mean. And lately, I've been noticing that it's you who's starting everything." Marinette said, sliding into her seat so as not to create too big a scene in the coffee shop.

Nathanaël was quiet. For a long while, he said nothing. Marinette watched his eyes, watching the confusion seep into them, turning them back to greenest of blues. "I'm sorry... Marinette... please.... please don't... don't leave me." Nathanaël said, looking up at Marinette with big, sad eyes.

"I won't. But this can't continue. You break my heart every damn time we fight. Please don't anymore." Marinette said, tears finally falling from her eyes.

"I'm so, so, so sorry, Marinette." Nathanaël said, standing. He helped Marinette to her feet and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Wanna go to my place?" He asked.