Second Chances

embarrased-------->chp15

Embarrassed:

"It was so embarrassing," Marinette said to her childhood best friend sitting across the table. "I knew I should have just kept my mouth shut, but no! I just had to be an idiot and step into non-professional territory with my boss."

"But," Nino commented setting his glass back down, "as you pointed out, Adrien is Alya's best friend. Even I'll admit he's a pretty cool guy. And we've been trying to get you two to meet for ages."

"I know. And somehow, I felt like that was enough of a greenlight to try to make conversation with him, but I was a bumbling idiot. As usual."

Nino snorted. "You've been a lot bigger of a bumbling idiot. Trust me."

Marinette glared at him. "Gee. Thanks."

He sighed. "Mari, let's face it: the only reason you feel this way is because you cried. Had you not cried, we wouldn't be having this conversation. The reason you cried was because you are ignoring the fact you're not over him."

That caught her so off-guard her only reaction was to sit shock still while her eyes resembled dinner plates.

Nino gave her a sympathetic smile. "You aren't as far along in the healing process as you claim to be. I'll say that I'm proud of you for willingly talking about you and Nath, but you're still hurting. You still miss him. A lot."

Her gaze hit the table as her heart twisted in uncomfortable ways. Yes, she did miss Nath, but he was gone. She had to accept that fact, better sooner than later. She'd taken her ring off for that very reason.

Yet it didn't stop her from wearing it as her safety net.

"Most of the time," Nino continued, "you're really good at holding it together, just like you did after you saw Nath's work all over Adrien's house."

She could feel the burning in her eyes and grabbed the ring tighter while trying to block out her tremendous meltdown after her interview. She thought she'd been ready. But seeing that, particularly the kitchen, brought back a flood of memories that reduced her to tears.

She tried to focus on the fact it was growing easier to walk into Adrien's house every day and seeing Nathaniel's work everywhere she went.

"There's no shame in crying, you know."

"Just not in public." Marinette looked back up at him with the beginning of tears blurring her vision. "Please," she begged.

Nino sheepishly glanced over the restaurant they were sitting in. "I just want you to know it's okay to miss him. You don't have to force yourself through mourning."

Those words lodged in her mind, but she forced them into the back for now, opting to take a sip of her tea and stare at the table while focusing on keeping the tears at bay.

"There they are."

Marinette looked up just in time to see Nino wave to someone behind her. She knew Alya was coming, but what did he mean by 'they'?

"Hey!" Alya said, taking a seat next to Nino and snuggling up against him in greeting. "Sorry we're late. Had to drop off Emma at her granddad's."