Marinette fidgeted in her seat, when she saw Adrien returned. She bit her lip and looked away. From a distance she saw Chloe stating at her. She gave her a sly smile. Marinette then felt Alya elbowing her. She looked back at the others.

"Huh?" she spoke and took a deep breath. She was trying hard not to sound upset. "Oh, I'm fine." She glanced at her phone and wondered if Tikki was waiting for her. It was almost 8:30. "I think I'm going to call it a night. It's been a long day and I'm tired." She got up from the table.

"Do you want me to walk back with you?" Alya asked her.

Marinette shook her head. "No. I'm good. See you guys tomorrow." She then got up from the table and left the room quickly. She walked over to the plant and found Tikki waiting for her inside. She grabbed her kwami and placed her in jacket's pocket. Marinette then returned to the room.

She got undressed and changed into her PJs. Tikki floated above her with a worried look. She hasn't said anything to her since they got into the room. Marinette crawled into bed and got under the covers. Tikki joined her and cuddle up to her (she wished Marinette was rooming with Alya).

Adrien frowned as Marinette still seemed upset. Was she really that upset about that picture? How could Nino think they were unofficially dating when she seemed so against the idea that one picture made her leave the room and then go to bed early (probably to avoid him)?

He sighed and stood, "I think I'll go up too.  Good night, guys."

Adrien quickly headed to his room.  He wasn't sure what he was going to do. He wasn't exactly tired.  Maybe he should check the news for any akuma attacks. He forgot to tell Ladybug he'd be gone for the weekend, and he was worried something might have happened while he was away.  A quick check showed nothing had happened.

Nathanael glanced at him fora moment, something very close to a glare, before looking back at his sketchbook. Right. Nathanael liked Marinette. Adrien sighed and walked past him to the other side of the room to grab his stuff and head tot he bathroom. A nice, warm shower sounded good right about now.  Plagg would have to sit in the bathroom to keep out of sight.

After he showered, Adrien laid on his bed and returned to his thoughts about Ladybug and Marinette.

Marinette poked her out of the covers and glanced at the alarm clock. It said it was midnight. She glanced over Chloe and saw she was fast asleep. She had an eye mask on and had earplugs. Marinette got out of bed and put a hoodie over her PJs. She grabbed her fleece blanket and left the room. Tikki was following right behind her.

"Where are you going?" Tikki asked in a whisper.

"To the Lobby," Marinette replied. "I can't sleep."

Marinette and Tikki took the elevator down to the Lobby. When they arrived, Marinette headed over to a couch which was in front of the fire place. Since the lodge had staff around 24/7 they could leave the fire going. She sat down and wrapped her blanket around herself.

"Marinette, what's wrong?" Tikki asked her and sat down next to her. "You haven't been yourself since dinner."

"Tikki, Chloe is going to make sure I can't hang around with Adrien if I lose," she replied trying to stay calm. "She's also going to make him believe that I hate him.."

Tikki gasped.

"I don't think I can beat her."

"Yes you can!"

"Maybe if I was Ladybug." Then an idea hit her. "Tikki! Let me be Ladybug during the race I can cover my suit up and you can change the mask into ski goggles."

"No," Tikki responded immediately and crossed her arms.

"But, Tikki!!"

"Marinette, that's cheating." She then floated up into the air. "Also liked I said you are Ladybug with and without the mask. I'm going back to bed. Goodnight." Tikki then left the room. She did not want to have this conversation with Marinette. The girl needed to learn believe in herself without being transformed.

Marinette let out a sigh and stared at the fire.

Adrien stared at the ceiling deep in thought. He had fallen asleep around 10:00 pm but couldn't keep himself asleep.  All the snow and skiing had caused memories to resurface.  His mother loved snow, after all, and it was her that taught him to ski.  She was the one that had made skiing an annual vacation in the household

He tried to get back to sleep but just ended up tossing and turning. His mind was too preoccupied to let him sleep at this point, so he sat up in bed to decide what he should do.  Plagg didn't stir.

After a few minutes, he decided a walk would do him good and exited the room.  Plagg would be fine for a while.  Nathanael was asleep and showed no sign of waking up.

He slipped out of the room and headed downstairs towards the fireplace.  Another nice memory of them sitting around a fire, laughing and joking made its way through his mind.  He missed her so much...

Adrien stopped for a moment when he saw someone already sitting near the fireplace. His heart fluttered as he realized it was Marinette. What was she doing up this late?  He walked around the side of the couch and stopped near her.  "Is this seat taken?"

Marinette felt her stomach drop, when she heard Adrien's voice. What was he doing up? She looked up at him and shook her head. He sat down next to her. It was quiet for a few minutes. Marinette gazed at the fire. She wanted to tell him about Chloe, but she wasn't sure how he would react to it. 

The silence was killing her. "What are you doing up?"

Adrien watched the flames for a moment as he thought about his answer to her question.  He didn't really talk about his mother much.  His father was so withdrawn on the topic that it wasn't worth trying, and Nino had never asked.  He hadn't even thought about talking to Marinette about her before now.

He sighed and reminded himself that he could open up to Marinette.  She had told him she would listen if he needed to vent, after all.

"I couldn't sleep.  I'm glad I was able to come on this trip, but being here brings back a lot of memories.  My mother loved the snow and all the activities that come with it.  She's the one who taught me how to ski when I was younger.  This is my first time skiing in a while.  Father stopped wanting to go after she was gone."

Marinette just stared at him. She wasn't expecting something so heavy. She slightly looked away. Now that she thought about it, he has never once mention his mother. She then started to panic. Marinette wasn't sure what to say to him. What do you say that? Sorry your mom is gone? You'll see her again someday? Assuming she was still alive. He probably would have said passed away, right? She panic even more, when she realized she was stalling. She had to say something or do something. Yes! Do something! Sometimes people don't necessarily need advice when they want to talk. Marinette then reached for his hand and squeezed it gently.

Adrien wondered if he said too much as Marinette fidgeted beside him. It was midnight, he had no idea why she was up this late, and he just decided it was a good idea to drop that on her.  What was he thinking?

His eyes widened in surprise as she reached over and squeezed his hand comfortingly. He instinctively moved inched a little closer (not enough to be too close but closer than he had been) and gave her a small, grateful smile. 

"Sorry if that came out of nowhere...  I never really talk to anyone about her. My father doesn't like talking much. I don't think he's moved on."  

Adrien stared back to the fire.  He wondered if his father would ever move on.  Maybe he'd finally act like a loving parent if that happened. Or maybe he was just too set in his ways to move on now.

She squeezed his hand again. "No, it's fine. Like I said I'm always here if you want to talk." Marientte looked back at the fire. She had to tell him about Chloe's plan. If he needed her during the bet it could harm their friendship. She then looked back at him. "But I might not be able be around if I lose against Chloe. She's planning to make me stay away from you and make you think I hate you."

Adrien stiffened, anger shooting through him. He should have known Chloe had done much more than challenge Marinette to a race. He didn't know how she got roped into Chloe's terms, but the fact Chloe thought she could make him think Marinette hated him was disgusting; not to mention how hurtful it would have been if Marinette were to lose without getting the chance to tell him.

"I can't believe it!  Well, I can, but that's still horrible. You'd think I would expect it by now..." Adrien squeezed her hand. They hadn't let go from earlier.  

"You're not going to lose, Marinette. Chloe's trying to mess with you an make you lose confidence because she knows you haven't been skiing.  But she hasn't been skiing a lot either.  I could count the number of times she's told me she's been skiing on one hand. If anything, she's worried because you've made so much progress in one day.  You can definitely beat her."

Marinette perked up to Adrien's encouraging words. Chloe hasn't ski much? That shouldn't really be shocking. She didn't seem like an active person. She just smiled. "I'll do my best. Thank you, Adrien." Marinette then got a little of closer to him. They grew quiet and enjoyed each other's company. They were still holding hands.

The warmth of the fire made her feel a bit drowsy. She found herself nodding off and eventually she fell asleep. Marinette's body lean against Adrien's and her head rested on his shoulder.

Adrien smiled and glanced back to the fire.  He was glad he could make her feel better.  He wanted her to win before she told him about Chloe's terms, but now he really wanted her to win for both their sakes. Marinette would have to do some horrible things if Chloe was trying to make him think she hated him.  Even knowing about it now, he wasn't sure how he'd hold up to whatever terrible things Chloe would make her do.

Plus, it would be very strange to go any length of time without being able to hang out with and vent to Marinette. He never had someone he talked as open to except Plagg, but Plagg was never very helpful.  The kwami tried but he didn't seem to understand humans enough to give a decent input even if he had been around for thousands of years.  Nino was another option, but there was just something different about talking to Marinette.  She seemed to understand the best thing to say or do to make him feel better.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt her head on his shoulder.  He didn't move to look, but he could guess she was asleep from the way her breathing slowed and her hand became limp in his.  He gently pulled his hand from hers and put his arm around her waist.  He didn't want to wake her.

Cuckoo Cuckoo

"Hmm..." Marinette eyes fluttered to the sound of the cuckoo clock which was on a nearby wall. It was now one am. She opened her eyes and looked up at Adrien. Her face instantly turned red. She sat up quickly. "So..Sorry!! I didn't mean to fall asleep!"

Adrien flinched and looked up as the clock cooed.  He had just about dozed off, not expecting the sudden alarm.  Marinette stirred beside him, and he wondered if he'd accidentally woke her.

He held in a laugh as she sat up as quickly as possible. "No need to apologize.  You needed the rest for the race."  He looked at the clock again.  It was late. "We should probably get back to our rooms..  Would you like me to walk you?"

"Um, sure." Adrien then walked Marinette back to her room. It was quiet during the whole walk. Mostly because they were both tired. They stopped at her door. Marinette grabbed her key card out of her hoodie's pocket. She turned to face Adrien. "Thanks again." She paused for a moment.  "If you ever want to talk about your mom I would love to hear it."