Miraculous!!! On Ice: Miraculous Ladybug Ice Skating AU

Chapter 12

He looked up at me with complete and utter shock.

"W-What do you mean?" He stuttered.

"You've done more than enough for me,  Adrien." I said with a bittersweet smile, "I've held you back long enough. I can't live with myself if I'm keeping you away from the... the sport y-you love...."

When I started to stutter, I looked down at the ground. I couldn't face him.

"Thank you for everything, Adrien." I said, "Thank you for being my coach."

As I looked at his feet, I saw teardrops fall to the ground, but they weren't mine.

Looking up, I saw that Adrien was crying, almost physically shaking. He clenched his hands on his knees.

"Adrien?" I asked, confused, "Adrien why aren't you saying anything?"

"I'M MAD OKAY?!" He shouted. Then he lowered his voice down, "A-And I'm sad okay. I just thought... I thought..."

"W-What? I thought you said you were just coaching me until the end of the Grand Prix Final-"

"That was before I..." He looked up, "I realized I needed you, Marinette. I still need you. I thought you needed me too."

"Adrien I-I do need you!" I shouted, starting to get mad, "I thought you wanted to leave! I thought this was all just a temporary thing- until you went back to Chloé and your father!"

"Well maybe I don't-" He tried to interrupt me, but I wouldn't let him.

"I'M NOT FINISHED." I stated firmly. Taking a deep breath, I said, "Chloé misses you. Your father misses you. And I know you miss skating, you can't deny that. I know you do. I'm trying to do this for you."

We couldn't reach a decision, and neither of us wanted to yell anymore. So we decided we would choose our own paths after the free skate.

-----

Together we watched Lila skate from backstage on the TV screens. She seemed to have gotten over her nerves, and landed most of her jumps; making some of her signature changes to the choreography to surprise the audience.

We went back to the entrance of the arena as Alix started her performance. I sat on a bench and started tying my laces to the tune of cheers from the crowd.

Once done, I looked up at Adrien. A swarm of memories flooded my head, and I tried to ignore them as we walked out into the arena.

The lights were blinding as I skated out onto the ice. I turned around and looked at Adrien, who only gave a sad smile.

"I know you can win gold, Mari," Adrien said, "Believe in yourself."

He hugged me, and I didn't want to let go. I held back tears before he grabbed my hand. We reached out to each other as I skated away.

The crowd cheered, but quickly hushed as I took my opening pose. The music began.

As I skated across the ice, going into the first jumped combination, my mind flashed back to the first time I saw Adrien skate.

All I could think of was, "Thank you."

This was my thanks.