The love dare

i can't (chapter-3-)

I CAN'T

Adrien shut the door to his empty house after a long, tiring day at work. It reminded him of the day Marinette swore she worked harder than him. What a lie. She may work more hours, something she imposed upon herself, but Adrien was the one giving physical lessons while she sat at her desk taking phone calls.

He took a shower, grumbling about it before finally letting the hot water take the stress away. He doubted Marinette was coming home tonight; she'd been spending so much time at the office, which was perfectly fine by him. As long as he didn't have to deal with her, life was fine.

Not good, but fine.

Once completed with the shower, Adrien pulled on a pair of sweatpants before collapsing on the couch in front of the tv. He reached behind him for the clicker, only to find it wasn't where he left it.

Marinette must have moved it.

"Fine," he growled. Instead of looking for it, he settled down on the couch, letting his eyes close. Maybe he'd get a nap in before having to clean house and make dinner.

Heck, dinner was him and him alone tonight. Maybe he'd order food in, spoil himself.

He felt a weight settle on his head. It made him smile. Plagg. One of the very very few people in the whole world who actually cared about him and the only one who cared unconditionally. He reached up to scratch the little kwami between the ears.

"Thanks, Plagg."

"For what?"

"Being here."

Adrien felt the kwami sigh and settle deeper in his hair. "Adrien," he began in a tone that got him worrying.

"Can I talk very honestly?"

He felt his gut grow tight. "Yeah," he said. "Anything, Plagg. What is it?"

There was a small pause. "I'm worried for you."

Adrien's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"You're not yourself."

Adrien shrugged dismissively. "It's just a phase, Plagg."

"It's been 'just a phase' for a year." Plagg flew out of his hair and onto his chest. "Adrien, this is more than just about your father, and you know it."

The last thing Adrien wanted to admit to his kwami was that he was right. He and Marinette... how they got this far apart, he didn't know. People change, but had you asked an eighteen-year-old lovesick Adrien, he would have said that there was no way they'd change that much.

How wrong he'd been. "Well, what am I supposed to do about it?"

With that, Plagg zipped off somewhere, but he was back almost as quickly. This time, holding a ring.

His wedding ring.

"Adrien," Plagg began. "I know this is difficult, but marriage has it's rough patches. You two have to come together to work this out."

Adrien stared at the ring, remembering the night he took it off and slammed it on the counter. He'd been mad then. Furious. But he'd seen his wife, he knew that look in her eye. That was a look he'd admired so much. The same one she had when she swore she was going to take down Hawkmoth. And now, it was being used against him.

"Well, there's no point if she doesn't want to," Adrien said, snatching the ring from Plagg if only to get it out of his sight. "This is over."

"Adrien!"

"No, Plagg," Adrien said, standing from the couch and knocking Plagg off his chest in the process. "It's not working now, and it won't work if she doesn't care."

"Maybe not right now, but with a little time-"

"We've had time," Adrien snapped as he marched into the bedroom. "We've had, what did you say, a year? She's had time, I've had time, and while I want this to change, it's perfectly clear she doesn't want to and I'm not going to waste any more of my life trying to change myself to please people that won't let me into their lives because you know who ends up getting the short end of the stick? Me."

He opened up one of the drawers to his dresser, throwing the wedding ring inside of it before slamming it shut. "I have nothing else to give, Plagg. Nothing." Tears were beginning to well in his eyes. "I can't do that anymore.
I can't. She's not going to change, Plagg, and I'm not going to stand around waiting and hoping that she notices me if I change. Because it's always me that has to change. Always. I'm sick and tired of never being good enough for anyone, and if I'm not good enough for her, then tough shit. I'm done, Plagg. It's over. I can't. I can't."

Before Adrien could fully dissolve to tears, Plagg settled in his hair and started purring.

"It's okay, Adrien," Plagg assured. "It's okay. I understand."

From there, the anger slowly dissolved, letting the hurt and the fear flood in, and Adrien couldn't help but sink to the floor and sob.