Always, Marinette • adrienette au

27 || guilty

He knocked on Alya's door. Adrien was actually surprised when she answered it. He'd assume she would be too busy packing to come to the door. The blond male could hear her siblings in the background and music filled the house. It was a stark contrast to the Dupain-Cheng's. This felt like a real home. She smiled when she saw him, ushering him in without him even saying a word. Adrien always liked that about her.

Alya closed the door to her bedroom, giving them some quiet and privacy. Her smile faded as she finally took in his appearance. "God you look like shit." There was no teasing tone in her voice like in their other conversations.

"I feel like shit." Adrien gripped the letter in his hands. He wondered if he should just crush it, make it unreadable so he wouldn't have to see that devastated look take over his friend's features. Adrien felt himself sigh and loosened his hold on the paper. He'd never do that to Alya. She deserved the letter and he'd never take that away from her.

"Are you alright?" She asked slowly like she wasn't sure if that was the right question to ask. It wasn't. They both knew that.

"Never been better," he lied but she saw through it almost instantly. A scowl took over her features and he fixed his statement. "I didn't sleep last night. I forgot to shower. I skipped breakfast too. The list goes on and on and I'm sure you know that."

"You're not taking care of yourself," she stated angrily. As she said it Adrien could see the dark circles under eyes peeking out beneath her concealer. He bit his tongue so he wouldn't spit the words back. Marinette wanted them to help each other not cause more grief.

"You're right," he sighed and Alya stiffened for a second like she couldn't believe he actually agreed with her. "I need to start taking care of myself, that's what she would want right? She wanted all of us to take care of each other." He could tell his words made her feel guilty. Alya suddenly averted her eyes.

"Is there a particular reason you decided to visit me or did you just miss me that much?" He hesitated. Alya raised an eyebrow at him and he gently put the letter in her hands. Adrien watched her carefully as she looked at the envelope and then him.

"What's this." It wasn't a question.

"Marinette left me her diary," Adrien breathed out. "She asked me to deliver these when she was..." He didn't finish as he watched her face fall.

"She shouldn't have done that. It wasn't your job to." She opened the letter anyway and silence became the biggest presence in the room.

He closed his eyes when he heard her take a shaky breath. Adrien didn't want to watch her cry. He opened her eyes when he heard her settle on the floor. Alya had closed her eyes and stifled her sobs in her hand. Adrien practically fell to the floor beside her and shakily hugged her. He wasn't sure if he should but she gripped onto his arm and cried into his shoulder. Maybe he should be hugging more. She seemed to appreciate it and he felt better as well.

"I'm sorry," she took a few breaths collecting herself. "About everything. I'm sorry about everything Adrien. About what happened to us. About what we went through. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he replied.

"It's not," she said sadly.