Note: short chapter!

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ADRIEN

"Boy, am I glad to see a familiar face again," Nino utters upon seeing me enter the room I was just brought to by Gorilla. Nino stands from his chair and wraps his arms around me and I do the same back at him - clearly they took off our handcuffs on our way to the room.

"Same here, dude," I say.

We both pull away from our short hug and Nino lets out a soft laugh. "I can't believe I'm saying this but with these past weeks of staying here, this place is starting to grow on me."

We both sit on our respective seats across from each other separated by a table. The room we are in is just like any interrogation room setting - gray walls, bright lights, security cameras watching our every move.

"I did not expect them to treat us like this," Nino continues as I stay quiet. "We're not getting tortured here, Adrien. This is not like how we would imagine their prisons back in the garrison."

"Well," I start off slowly, "Marinette loosened up the strings for us..."

Nino falls silent and looks away. Clearly the name caused the palpable aura between us and them - our believed-to-be enemies.

"I gave her something to eat the other day..." I continue in a soft voice.

I won't deny it. My stay here is way different from what I imagined life here would be like. I thought I would be losing what ever I have left as a human, but they seem to be more humane than most people I know. But...but I feel that everything they are doing for Nino and I is a trap.

"You get to see her?" Nino asks incredulously, his voice hushed, "The last time I saw her was when..." And he trails off, not wanting to continue. If he did, I know that he would say "I found out that she betrayed us". His expression speaks for himself.

"Fate loves to play with me, I guess," I utter. "She visited my room that time."

Nino rest his arms on the table as he leans closer, his left index finger starts to tap in different patterns. One long tap then four short taps - Morse code. I eye his taps discreetly, knowing that they are communicating to me.

"Do you know why she visits you?" He asks, continuing his tapping of his finger.

They can hear...

I form the words through Nino's tapping and I stay alert as he does not stop yet.

"Honestly, I don't know why," I answer him as I make out new words from Nino's tapping.

They can hear what we're saying?

I subtly nod my head once and I could hear Nino let out a soft frustrated sigh.

"Is it worth talking about her right now?" I ask impatiently.

"What did she say?" Nino asks again. "I'm just curious here. Why would she continue to see and talk to you?"

"Well I know that it's not because of what we had, Nino. She made it clear that it was all part of the act. But...deep down, there is this gut feeling that makes me want to think that maybe-"

"You shouldn't get too comfortable again, Adrien...it could lead to a never-ending abyss."

I look away as I get cut off. I don't want to admit the fact that he is right. We both stay silent, contemplating with everything that's been going on for the past weeks. It hurts the both of us and what makes it worse is that we can't do anything about it.

"I miss Alya," Nino whispers. I look back at him and notice how his eyes have gone downcast. Truthfully, I start to feel terrible.

"I know you do...I'm sorry that you have to feel that way."

"And I'm sorry too, Adrien. I know you're feeling much worse than I am."

"Don't say that." I shake my head. "Don't be sorry for what I feel. I'd rather not be feeling anything at all. If only all of this could just...stop."

Gorilla suddenly enters the room and the both of us look at him and silently sigh. Time's up. How long would we have to wait again to talk to each other or to even see each other?

Nino and I both stand and give each other a firm handshake.

"See you, Nino," I simply utter.

"Can't wait to talk again, Adrien," he says back even letting out a light laugh before turning all serious again. "Before you leave, I want you to hear this...I think she is the one who needs to stop."

I sullenly nod, knowing what and who he means.

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I've grown used to the room I've been placed in since the beginning.

It irks me to think that my being here has actually been more physically comforting than I thought. Although my emotions and feelings are all over the place, at least there is still a part of me that is kept sane.

The gray walls with a single bed a simple table across from it have been what I considered my 'home' for the past weeks. It's through this isolation that I find time for myself...maybe this is what I needed to truly relax. But I can't shake off the feeling of a prisoner...

Even if my nightmares are still there but have lessened.

Gorilla has also been company that I enjoy being with after he started to uncuff me every time I would reach my room. Although he does not talk that much, or does not talk at all, his presence is enough to comfort me throughout this troubling time.

Her presence in my room, though, is a whole different story.

Marinette is here in my room tonight, just as I was about to rest. I heard the turning of the lock as a key was placed in it. The door suddenly opened and in came Marinette without my permission, like as if I still have the power to give permission.

"Why are you here?" I immediately ask when she enters the room.

"Why? I can't be here?" She retaliates while closing the door behind her.

"Maybe you're just really interested in me," I utter, trying my best to stay smug yet calm with her being here. I walk to stand by the table in my room and cross my arms in front of my chest.

And what if I am interested in you?" She fights back. "Got any problem with that?"

"Then you're just using me," I seethe, "like how you used me for those past months-"

"It was for the greater good-"

"Bullshit," I immediately cut her off and bang my fist on the table.

"Adrien-"

"Don't get too comfortable with me." I point a finger in accusation at her, she stops in her place as she was about to go to where I was standing. "I may have given you something to eat but I still can't stand you."

She waringly stares at me, immediately fixing herself in a stance that looked like she was ready to defend herself in any way. I let out a sigh in defeat and close my eyes. I turn my body away from her and lean on the table. "Look, I'd rather you just leave," I say in a small voice. Very different from the tone I used a while ago.

"I won't," She simply utters, finding her voice. "You've been stuck here for weeks doing nothing. The people around me are expecting something."

"What..." I open my eyes and face her again, "what are they expecting?" I notice that she has taken a few steps closer to me.

"Isn't it already clear? They're waiting for you to give up."

"Give up?" I repeat her words as my eyebrows furrow in confusion. She does not know a thing about my stand. I will never do such a thing. "Listen here, I won't give up anything even if you set me free. Even if you choose to leave me here to die, then so be it."

"I did not bring you here for nothing, Adrien," She says in a stern manner.

I freeze in place. "I told you not to get too comfortable with me. You think I'm now comfortable here? Of course not! I will never be! And seeing you here, hearing you say my name brings the worst kind of pain to me," I clench the clothed part right above my chest. "You just don't understand, do you? You could have confronted me back at the garrison."

"You know I couldn't do that," she utters while shaking her head.

"Then why?! Why make me so frustrated?!"

"Because I needed you to confide in me to gain more information," she answers in a haste then throws her hand in the air and turns away, "But look how it turned out to be. How it affected what we had...if ever you felt its presence." She looks back at me and continues in a very soft voice, "Because I did."

The air around us turns palpable and we're stuck in this thick silence, waiting for one of us to say something. We both want to say something, it's itching in our throats yet at the same time not say anything at all.

"I'm sorry if this leaves you bothered or completely frustrated," she is the first to speak. "It was a mistake of mine to choose to ask you." She brings her head down. "I never meant for anything like this to happen."

I let out a shaky breath and condition myself to know that the next words I'm going to say won't leave me with any regrets.

"And it was a mistake of mine to fall so carelessly in love with you," I say back in a whisper.

"W-What?" She stammers in shock as her head flies up to look at me. Immediately, she shakes her head in denial, "Adrien...no." I see that tears are starting to form in her eyes.

"Call me pathetic, gullible, stupid - anything that you want to say," I continue despite her quiet protests, "None of those will stop me from saying that I love you."

"No," she cries and shakes her head again, "I was just your nurse. You...you don't love me. You just loved the fact that I was there to comfort you."

I immediately pull her close and wrap my arms around her waist. She looks up at me in protest but does not fight it. "I think the one that needs comforting is you."

"Adrien," she sobs out as her glassy eyes peer into mine.

I cup my hand around her cheek and for a while she leans into it and closes her eyes. I'm relishing in the moment, just holding her close like how I held her after we first kissed back in the garrison.

And for a moment I forget everything that has been going on. I forget that there is this brewing war and that this person I'm holding so close to me is what I consider my enemy.

I just want to love her now and until I even forget my own name.

She presses her lips onto the palm of my hand, leaving a very light kiss on it then slowly pushes herself away. She looks back at me again and struggles to find what to say.

"Marinette," I whisper, pleading for something from her...anything.

"Don't waste your love over someone like me," she says in a voice just above a whisper. She looks down as she fights back another sob.

And I'm now back in this cruel reality. My heart clenches in pain and I bitterly close my eyes as I feel the tears start to well up. "It hurts so much to know that the person I love chooses not to love me back."

"It is not a choice-"

"If it wasn't then you would have freely loved me as well."

She takes a step back, hurt with my words, and lets out a deep breath. "My main reason as to why I came here was to give this back." She takes something out from her pocket and places it on the table.

My breath hitches in my throat. It's the crucifix I gave her that dreaded night. "That's not mine," I utter. I take the crucifix and hold it out to her. "It's yours. Keep it."

She hesitates before taking it from me and purses her lips as she holds tight onto the crucifix.

"Keep a piece of my heart whether it is as small as that crucifix," I continue. She shakes her head then immediately heads to the door.

"If you really keep your word that you're not going to give up, then I'm going to handle things in a different way," She says, her back turned toward me. "Instead of asking you to give up, I'd rather know what's stopping you from doing so." She lets out a heavy sigh then continues, "Tomorrow with Nino, tell me the events from your point of view. Then I'll tell you from ours."

The door opens and she takes one last glance at me, "Get some rest, Adrien," her voice cracks as she utters those words before closing the door behind her.

This is when I allow myself to collapse on my bed and let out the sobs I've been keeping the whole time she was here. I clasp my hand on my mouth, trying to quiet down the sobs. I hug my knees as I lie down on the bed and continue to cry.

I thought these weeks would allow me to finally end my feelings for her. But just like how I am crying tonight over how much I love her...

It's hard to stop.

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You all deserve my sincerest apologies for leaving you all hanging for 11 months. So Sorry huhu

Thank you for reading this chapter!

Btw, song above is the PERFECT song for this chapter. Pls pls listen to it (and for my readers that can't understand the language, there are English lyrics in the vid). This song has been a personal fave of mine for 2 years and I have never written a chapter that embodies this song until I wrote this.

This song ultimately became my inspiration for this chapter and I hope that you would appreciate it as much as I did.

Merry Christmas!! Love you all! 💖

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