Requested by cari_the_queen

I'm so sorry for the super long wait! I feel so bad about taking so long to do this. Thank you for being so patient with me. I hope you enjoy this!!

_______________________________

When engaged couple, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste, get into an argument that severely jeopardizes their relationship, Marinette decides she's not ready to marry the man she thought she knew. Adrien doesn't believe he's ready to marry her either and decides to let her go, until a certain someone reminds him why he fell in love with her in the first place.
_______________________________

The atmosphere inside their home left a bitter taste in Adrien's mouth. He took a look around the living room that was once filled with laughter and happiness, and dreaded the way it looked now. With pictures frames that had fallen off of the walls, the glass was shattered into tiny pieces that were unable to be picked out of the carpet by hand. There was even a hole in their bedroom door, precisely where Adrien had slammed his fist. It was hard to believe that only a few hours ago, Marinette had been on the other side of that same door, threatening to leave him.

Which is what she'd actually done. She walked out that door without looking back, and he let her go.

What bothered him the most was how much he regretted everything he did the moment he had a chance to calm down. When he realized the damage he'd caused—not just to his home, but to the woman he loved—he couldn't find a way to escape the guilt that tugged at his heart and clouded his mind.

I did this, he thought to himself as he picked up one of the broken picture frames, and slid out the photo of him and Marinette on their first date.

This is my fault, he reminded himself as he reached for another photo, where he and the love of his life had been smiling widely at the camera, and a small, black kitten had been nestled in their arms.

They picked a name for that kitten together. They rescued him from the shelter together. He was meant to be theirs.

And now, he was hers.

Adrien reached for another photo on the floor, his eyes brimming with tears the moment he realized it was a picture Nino had taken... of Adrien's proposal to Marinette.

He was supposed to marry this woman.

He still wanted to marry her.

And now, she was gone.

Plagg poked his head out from their bedroom, watching as his holder dwelled over every memory each picture held.

The kwami sighed to himself and floated out into the living room, where Adrien had taken a seat on the couch with all of the pictures he'd collected settled in his lap. Plagg hummed idly as he landed on Adrien's shoulder and watched with saddened eyes as his holder traced the photo sadly with his finger.

"I can't believe she's gone, Plagg." The blonde mumbled numbly.

The kwami made a 'hmph' sound, and raised a disbelieved brow. "Really? Cause I can believe it. As much as I care about you, I have to be honest with you, kid. You completely lost control of yourself... and it was kind of terrifying."

Adrien sighed regrettably, "You don't need to remind me how badly I screwed us up."

Plagg shook his head. "Adrien, there's still a chance to fix this."

"How?" Adrien shook his head and stood to his feet abruptly, leaving his kwami to float in mid air. Plagg watched with an unamused look in his eye as his holder paced back and forth. "There's nothing to fix, Plagg. Marinette left me. She's probably on a plane right now to New York to take that deal she was planning to decline... for me. And... you know what? Maybe we were just never meant for each other to begin with—"

"Put a cork in it, kid."

Adrien turned sharply on his heel to face his kwami, his eyes widened and mouth agape, ready to defend himself, but Plagg held up a tiny paw as an instruction to shut up.

The kwami then placed his paws on his hips. "You and I both know that you and Marinette have always been right for each other." He said sternly. "Master Fu even said so when he gave you both a miraculous."

The blonde scoffed, "Oh yeah? Then... if we're so made for each other... why did she leave me?"

Plagg huffed at that. "Why did you let her leave?"

Adrien frowned deeply at that, and averted his eyes away from the kwami. That was a question he still didn't have an answer for. He let her leave because it was what she wanted; because for a while, she and him were in a constant battle with each other. Because all they seemed to do was fight. Because there was no longer that spark he'd once felt with her.

Heck, in a month, they were supposed to be husband and wife. He was supposed to spend the rest of his life with her.

Had he made a mistake of asking her to marry him?

Was she not the right one?

"You have to understand something, kid." Plagg said after a moment of silence. "Couples will have fights. Sometimes, it's over stupid stuff, and other times, it's over a valid stuff. But you're not supposed to just give up the moment things get too hard."

Adrien rolled his eyes to that. "Didn't she give up when she walked out that door?"

"She was scared, Adrien. Can you really blame her?"

Adrien wasn't sure how to answer that. Did he really blame Marinette for running away the moment he lost control—lost himself?

No, he didn't. He couldn't.

"Look kid, you still love her right?"

The blonde nodded slowly. Oh god, of course he still loved her! Adrien didn't think he could ever stop loving her, no matter how many hardships they endured together.

Plagg sighed, "People don't let go of the things they love, Adrien."

But Marinette had been the one to let go of him, hadn't she? The moment she walked out that door—sealing and confirming with her words that she had absolutely no valid reason to stay with him—she'd given up on them. She was the one to let go first.

And after she'd let him go, he realized that there was no point in hanging onto something, or rather someone, who didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

Adrien grimaced, "Then maybe Marinette never loved me to begin with. Because she let go. She gave up. I wanted to fix what we had between us, but she was the one who decided to leave me! And maybe..."

He didn't want to finish that thought.

He really didn't.

But it lingered in his mind, no matter how hard he tried to push it away. "... and maybe I never really loved her to begin with either."

Plagg's eyes almost bulged out from their sockets. "Wait what?!"

"You heard me," Adrien said through gritted teeth, his eyebrows furrowed together deeply in anger. "Maybe I never really loved her. Maybe all the feelings I ever had for her were just... were just lust."

"You can't be serious?!" Plagg exclaimed, suddenly looking extremely furious. He dashed forward, hovering dangerously close at Adrien's level, and jabbed his holder harshly in the chest. "How dare you say that after everything you two have been through together!"

Adrien swatted the little being away. "Remember who left who, Plagg. She was the one who gave up! She was the one who gave up on everything we've ever built together!"

"And you were foolish enough not to fight for her," Plagg growled, his eyes glowing.

"Fight for what exactly? She was done with me."

"Fight for her! Fight for what you had!"

"Had... as in past tense," Adrien grumbled stubbornly.

Plagg shook his head angrily, "She left because she was terrified, Adrien, not because she doesn't love you."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Then believe this," Plagg said, jabbing a tiny paw into his holder's chest. Adrien didn't even flinch. "You and Marinette have always been soulmates. That is never going to change."

Adrien shook his head. "I...I don't even know why would should be... when all we've been doing recently is fighting."

"I'll tell you why!" Plagg said as he plopped down on Adrien's knee, his frown prominent. "Because there are so many things you love about her that you don't love about anyone else."

"Oh yeah?" Adrien laughed bitterly, "Name one thing I love about Marinette."

"Her smile."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Sure, her smile is amazing, but do I love it?"

Plagg folded his arms, his little tail twitching against Adrien's knee. "Of course you do. You once told Marinette when you guys first starting dating that her smile was the first thing you noticed about her when you first saw her in your homeroom classroom in freshmen year. And I know because Tikki and I were both eavesdropping."

Adrien furrowed a brow as he tried to recall that memory. Plagg was right... the first thing Adrien had ever noticed about Marinette was her smile. It was the first thing that caught his eye. She always smiled, and her smile could light up any room. He'd fallen in love with very that smile.

"Fine," Adrien grumbled, "So I love her smile. Big deal. It's not as if that matters anymore."

"You love her laugh too," The kwami uncrossed his arms to lean back against them, supporting his weight as he looked up at his holder. "You used to always say that Marinette's laugh was music to your ears. And, contrary to popular belief, you used to purposely make her laugh just so that you could hear it."

Adrien rolled his head back and groaned. Gosh dang it... Plagg was right again. He did love Marinette's laugh. No one could laugh as beautifully as she could. In fact, he hadn't heard her her beautiful laugh in so long that he missed it.

"So what if I love her laugh," Adrien said annoyingly, "Anyone would. It's angelic."

"Only someone who's in love would say that about someone else."

"Shut up, Plagg."

"You love her personality," Plagg listed again as he wiggled his feet. "You used always to talk about how Marinette was such a kind-hearted person and how she always put others peoples needs before her own. You even used to admire her confidence, even though she was usually incredibly shy."

Adrien pursed his lips, recalling the many times he used to stare from across the classroom and watch Marinette with a fond smile on his lips as she helped someone with their project, or allowed someone to cheat off of her paper if they hadn't been able to study for a test. He remembered the many times Marinette would bring some sort of pastry to class, sharing it with everyone, even with the people she disliked the most.

Marinette was incredibly kind.

Stubbornly, Adrien huffed, "She's not the only kind person in the world, y'know."

"You love her eyes," Plagg wiggled his eyebrow knowingly. "You used to always say there was no one on earth who had eyes like Marinette's."

"That's because they're blue-bell! So unique, and... deep, and beautiful... I mean—so what?!"

"You love her hair," Plagg snickered, "Whenever she kept it up in pigtails, you used to whine at her and beg her to let it loose, just so that you could run your fingers through it."

"That's... blackmailing information, Plagg."

"You love her freckles," Plagg listed. "You used to spend hours counting them while she slept. Not that that's creepy at all, but only someone who's in love would jeopardize their sleep for that."

Adrien squeezed his eyes shut. He could still picture all the beautiful freckles that kissed Marinette's skin, from the bridge of her nose to the juncture of her collarbone.

"You love her heart," This time, Plagg's voice was more stern and less playful. "You always admired Marinette for her pure like-gold heart. That's why she's such a good Ladybug. You admire her bravery and dedication. You love how she sticks out her tongue when she's really concentrated on her schoolwork or on her work. You love the way her touch makes you feel cherished. My list of things that you love and adore about her could go on and on forever, Adrien, but the truth is—"

"I love her." Adrien whispered. His eyes had blown wide at the realization, his mind completely blank from anything else as he tried to process what'd he'd just admitted. He loved her. God, he loved her so much. There was no denying that he loved her.

But... Marinette wasn't here.

She was leaving.

She was leaving!

"Oh no!" Adrien jumped to his feet in a matter of seconds, his kwami falling off and hitting somewhere on the floor with the unexpected movement. "Plagg, you were right, I do love her! I love her so much! But she's leaving! She's probably about to board her flight... or worse... she's already boarded her flight! What do I do? I can't just let her leave now... I got to—"

"Woah there Casanova," Plagg snickered as he floated back up into Adrien's line of sight, his holder's phone grasped tightly against his small body. "Let's just say... Tikki and I have been communicating. Don't worry about her flight right now. All you have to do is call her."

In a matter of seconds, the phone was snatched out of Plagg's grasp. The little kwami snickered and folded his arms knowingly, watching amusingly as his holder scrambled to type in Marinette's number into his phone.

Plagg shook his head with a grin on his lips as he watched Adrien press the phone to his ear.

All in a days work.

"Plagg, you charming love master," he whispered to himself underneath his breath. "What would these kids do without you."

He felt a pinching sensation tug at his heart, reminding him that his other half was fully capable of hearing everything he was talking about along their bond.

"Oh right. And Tikki too. What would they do without us, sugar cube."

_______________________________

Again, I'm so so so so so sorry for the incredibly long wait! I hope this helps make up for it in a way ,:)

Vote?
Comment?
Share?