Hi everyone, SylveonKwami here.

Welcome back to another chapter of Strength.  IT'S ON TIME!!!  For once (>u<;;)

Sorry about the two-parter.  I ran out of time, and I wanted to get some of it out for today.

But yeah, I hope you're all excited for this chapter.  This might seem like another filler chapter, but from the next part, chapter and onward I promise that it gets more interesting.  I swear!!

Well, you've heard enough of me talking- so I guess we'll start.

Enjoy ∩﹏∩

Adrien

Adrien watched from his balloon as his lady did what she did best- designing clothes.  Or was it saving Paris?  Being exceptionally nice and kind and the best girl in the world?  Adrien was unsure.  But designing was definitely in her top 5, and it was interesting to watch her do it.  He loved watching her pick the colours of the fabrics, and how she put time and care into every stitch she made- so different than his father, who just matched colours on that tablet of his and didn't even get to see the finished product until weeks later.

Adrien liked this way of designing much better.

As of now, she was just sketching.  All she had done before was make this cuff-thing for her water bottle; to keep her hands warm when she touched the freezing steel.  But watching her, he wanted to laugh.  So badly.  Her face was a scrunched up, and she looked like she was from a comedy routine.

A minute later, she caught him staring at her.  "What's up?" she asked, her face returning to normal for the time being.

"O-Oh.. nothing, Princess.  Just watching you design, that's all," Adrien replied, trying to remain innocent.

She sighed, then her face lit up with an idea.  "Hey Adrien, do you wanna help me?" she asked, and he nodded instantly.  Of course he'd do anything to help her!

"Cool!  I have some prototypes that I want to design, but I don't want to use up all my fabric.  So... I was thinking I could design mini clothes and have you try them on?  You are a model after all," she reminded him, a giddy smile on her face.  Well, he couldn't say no to that.

"O-Of course, M'lady!  I'd be happy to help you," he said, giving her a thumbs-up.  She thanked him, and quickly got to work.  She cut small strips of fabric, sewing them together with a needle and thread.  One time the thread fell out of the needle, so he took it in his hands and handed it up to her.  It was strange, feeling the thread in his hands- it felt almost like a sturdy, strong rope- but in reality it was just a limp piece of thread.

After about half an hour, she finished her first creation.  She sews incredibly fast, he thought with awe as she handed it to him.  He took it in his hands, looking at it for a moment, then looking back at Marinette's face.

"Uh, Marinette..."

"Yes?"

"Umm...... this is a dress, you do know that, right?"

She giggled.  "Of course it is!  I just thought... ah, it's okay.  I understand if you're not comfortable with it.  I can get started on some other-"

"No no, it's fine.  It'll only be for a minute or two anyway," he reasoned, looking into the kind eyes of his partner.  It's not like he was burning cookies or anything.  It's just a dress.

At the same time, he was glad that no one would ever, ever, see him in a dress.

Marinette untied the balloon from him, then turned away so he could change into the outfit.  He was a little bit unsure at first, but when the A-Line dress fit around him, he discovered the fabric to be exceptionally soft.  He told Marinette that she could turn around again, and when she did, she squealed, hopping out of her chair.  "I have to take a picture of this," she explained, grabbing her phone.  Adrien shrugged- he didn't mind, it's not like anyone was going to see this anyway.

He did a couple model poses, to which Marinette eagerly snapped some photos, then felt the need to compliment Marinette on the design.  "It looks really nice, Mari.  It'll look even better when you design it in full size!" he added, giving her a reassuring smile.  When his father used to talk to him, he told him about his early days as a designer; how he had to look so hard for support and a way to make himself known to the public.  Adrien wanted to be that support for Mari.

She smiled.  "Thanks, Adrien.  I'll start designing some, ahem, manlier clothes for you to try on," she said, laughing a little.  He laughed with her.  After Marinette turned away, Adrien took the dress right off.  As much as it was comfortable, he preferred his own clothes more.

For the next couple hours, Marinette designed different outfits for him to try on (he only had to try on one more dress, thank goodness).  She took pictures of him for every one, even a few videos of him doing the catwalk down the edge of her white desk.  He felt very silly, and he could tell Mari did too, but neither of them cared.  They were just focused on having lots and lots of fun together.  

At one point, Marinette made a note in her sketchbook.  He asked to see what it was, but she didn't let him, holding it from out of his reach.  He didn't know what was up with that, but he found it rather sketchy, heh.

They settled for a late dinner around 8:00.  By that point, the sky had blackened, both by the night and by clouds.  Halfway into their dinner, it started pouring.  Hard.  The lights even flickered on and off multiple times.

"I better check the weather," Marinette said, looking at her phone.  She looked it up, and showed me her screen so I could see too.  It read Severe Thunderstorm Warning.  "Oh shoot, I better send some texts to Alya and Nino.  I hope Alya will talk to me... she might still be icy from Friday..." she trailed off, talking to herself, but Adrien didn't really hear her.  All he thought was

Thunderstorm thunderstorm thunderstorm.

He hated thunderstorms, and he was secretly always afraid of them.  When it rained in the day, he got dropped home early because he claimed "his father wanted him home dry".  But in reality, he was just scared it would start to thunder in class and he would be a big bawling mess in front of all his classmates.  

And he certainly didn't want Marinette to see that.

You see, when his mom left, it was pouring rain.  It started to thunder later that night, when Adrien lay awake under his sheets because he thought he was in a nightmare and couldn't wake up.  He did actually wake up eventually, but the first thing he remembered was the thunder.  The thunder that took his mother away from him.

"Hey kid," Plagg said, flying in with Tikki.  Adrien realized that they'd been gone all day.

"Where were you two?" Marinette asked sternly.

"Oh, around," Tikki answered, which really wasn't an answer at all.

Adrien was about to question Plagg, but suddenly a burst of thunder sounded from outside, the BOOM! sound filling his ears, threatening to make them explode.  He couldn't help it- he sat up so hard that he almost fell backwards.

"Woah, Kitty, are you okay?" Marinette asked, sounding genuinely concerned. 

"N-No, I'm fine," he said, trying to quiet his stutter.  He listened to Marinette talk with Tikki and Plagg, but he didn't really.

All he heard was the repeated sound of thunder.  BOOM!  BOOM!  BOOM!

The same thunder that took control of his heart, so long ago.

Someone else

"Wh-Where are you going?" I questioned, but Shadow ignored me, barking at me to shut up.  That's what I was calling him, Other me.  He was a Shadow, after all.

I didn't know what we were following, because the deep voice only said to follow something that was a "kwami".  I didn't know what the heck kwamis were, and neither did Shadow, for one in his short existence.  We didn't see much, but what we did see confirmed what we saw the day before.

I can't say much.

But what we did see...

Poor girl.

"Oh, Ladybug~" Shadow called, sneering Ladybug's name.  "We've got you.  We're coming for you."

"Time to make your life hell."

Woah, I didn't expect this part to be this long, even though it's not that long, lol.  But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!  MessilyMiraculous, I hope you enjoyed your requests- I tried to do them the best I could.

Anyway, I hope to see you all at the next chapter.. have an awesome day!!

Stay tuned ;)

P.S.- notice something new?? ;3