𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 ✔️

Chapter Fourteen

Marinette looked weak. Weaker than he'd ever seen her. It brought to his attention just how strong of a woman she was because he never noticed just how small she was until that moment. It twisted his heart painfully. And considering the way Nino and Alya approached her in pity, it must have twisted their hearts, too.

Adrien turned his attention to the two people Marinette had showed up with. Her parents, from the looks of it. Or at least his best guess. She looked a lot like her mother.

"Thanks for coming," Marinette said, giving hugs out to Alya and Nino.

"We got your back," Nino assured, rubbing her shoulder.

She gave him a slight smile before looking over to Adrien. "Thanks for being here."

He sided up next to her, arm extended with the intent of a side hug, but she twisted, wrapping her arms around his torso and squeezing him tight. Only then could he feel the true turmoil going on inside her: she was one step away from breaking.

Even when she was at he weakest, she was strong.

He admired her so much more than he thought possible.

He settled into the hug, holding her close. "This is really good," he whispered to her. "I know how hard it was to dig through my mom's things, and I waited two years to do so. I'm really proud of you."

She sniffed and squeezed him tighter.

He waited until he was certain she wasn't going to cry before pulling back. "Now, no more delays. Go open the lock."

She frowned, her stalling tactics having been caught. She fished her keyring out of her bag, the little ladybug charm hanging from her fingers as she flipped through the keys. Her father gently guided her over to the unit, ready to hoist the overhead door open for her once she removed the padlock.

"You've done so much for her."

Adrien looked down to see Marinette's mother standing at his side, a smile on her face. "She's never found so much support as she has in you. I've watched her make leaps and bounds in her healing because of it. So thank you. I like having my daughter back."

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, uncertain yet flattered. "I'm not sure how much I could have helped."

"Having you walk with her how you healed, it's helped her so much. There was no way we would be out here today if it wasn't for you. It seems like she's finally found a support, and that girl," she looked to the unit where Marinette was twisting a key in the lock. "When she finds a steady launching point, she soars."

Adrien turned his attention to Marinette, where she was standing with an open lock in her hands while her father pushed open the door.

The woman patted his arm then walked forward to the now open unit, ready to help her daughter tackle the project.

It was a small unit, but there were a lot of boxes and bins and a handful of furniture. Adrien helped Nino and her father-Tom, he learned, and Sabine was Marinette's mother-load up the furniture into the back of the van. By the logo on the side, Adrien guessed it was the store delivery van, but it did the job well.

Then to the boxes. Art supplies, Adrien quickly realized. Art supplies and fabric and finished pieces and sketchbooks galore. A few of those were squeezed into the van, but most of it was packed in Nino's SUV.

And when there was barely any room left, they still had canvases.

"Nathaniel's work," Alya whispered in Adrien's ear.

"All one hundred and sixty-eight pieces," Nino mentioned, watching as Marinette reached for the first crate of them.

"Hunny," Sabine said, approaching Marinette. "There isn't any room left in the vans."