Angst and more angst ;) my favorite

24 Hours

by thepeacockandthebutterfly

24 hours.

24 hours left on this earth.

24 hours of breathing, living, experiencing all that life had to offer her.

24 hours with the people who mattered most to her; her friends and family.

24 short hours left...because time was running out for her.

Glassy-eyed, Marinette stared out of the window of the car, watching the street and stores pass by. As much as she didn't want to remember, her mind drifted back to the doctor's office that they had just left, replaying it over and over again in her mind.

"I am sorry, Marinette," the doctor said in a low voice. The timbre of her regular doctor's voice had once been comforting to her, as she was often sitting on a hospital bed, waiting for tests to be performed and returned, but now it was just a painful reminder.

Marinette sank to her knees, waiting for the tears to come. "Why? Why me?" Had her struggles in life not been enough already? Everyday since she was born she had been sheltered, hidden away from the world in fear that one day she would just die. Her friends had to be careful with her, forcing them to encounter inconveniences. She hated to see sympathy in their eyes, but she knew that, in the end, they loved her.

The doctor cleared his throat awkwardly, "As you know, you have a weaker immune system. Normally that would not be an issue as it is not so weak as to be dangerous, although you have had to be careful about germs and injuries. The issue is that you have contracted a much worse illness. Usually we would be able to treat the illness and even cure the patient of it, but your immune system has already begun to fail."

"What does that mean for me?" Marinette whispered, feeling cold inside. She almost wanted to take back her question, but it was too late.

The doctor sighed, bringing one hand up to adjust his glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose. When he looked back at her, his kind brown eyes were sad and sympathetic. She immediately hated that look. "You have only about 24 hours left to live, Marinette. I'm so sorry."

And with that she felt something crack in her heart.

Just 24 hours left. An internal clock that was slowly ticking away at her life.

A loud voice jolted Marinette out of her sleep, shocking her awake. She ran out to her balcony, not really sure what was going on. It was late at night, after all, she didn't understand why anyone would be here-

"Marinette?" Alya called up to her, standing below the balcony.

Marinette peeked over the edge, giggling at the sight of her friend down below. "What're you doing, Al?"

"Come on down!" Alya said, gesturing for Marinette to meet her down below.

Marinette hesitated for a moment, old cautious habits pressing in on her.

"Oh...sorry, I forgot," Alya's voice was more subdued now. Apologetic. Marinette instantly hated it. This wasn't how she wanted to spend her last day.

"NO! I'm coming!" Marinette called, staring determinedly down. She ran through the house as quietly as she could, wearing only a white t-shirt and blue jeans. She tried to tie her black-blue hair into pigtails, but decided that it wasn't worth it. Today was all about living her life to the fullest, making every second count.

She met up with Alya, giggling breathlessly. Marinette knew the other girl was probably staring at her incredulously, but she didn't care anymore. She didn't want to care about the little things, they weren't important anymore.

"Well...let's go, then!" Alya laughed, pulling Marinette along with her. Alya's hand was warm as it grasped Marinette's wrist, her smile full of youth and energy. She didn't know what it was like to be touched by the hand of death, to race against the clock of life.

But Marinette pushed those thoughts away, focusing on laughing with her friend. Feeling free and weightless for the first time in a long time.

Is this what life is about?

12 hours down, 12 left. A timer that counted down her seconds of life, even the wasted hours spent lying in the warmth of her bed.

They met up with Adrien and Nino, the entire group laughing together as they walked along Paris's streets. Marinette noticed Adrien's curious glance at her, but she chose to not respond to his curiosity, instead moving forward. Her hand found Adrien's, the appendages slipping together naturally as if it had been this way forever.

Marinette tried to push down her racing heartbeat, to harden her heart. It was too late for her to have anything with Adrien, no matter how long she had wanted it. Wanted this. The ability to run with her friends, to hang out with them.

To live.

"Are you okay, Mari?" Adrien's soft voice reached her ears.

Marinette blushed hard, immediately becoming disgusted with herself afterward. It's too late. So she smiled up at him, ignoring her heartache. "I'm fine, Adri."

She missed the longing look directed at her from Adrien's grassy green eyes as she turned away. He had wanted to hold her hand like this for so long, to be close with her like this for so long. And he planned to savor this now that he had the chance. I love you, Marinette. Or whatever this sickening feeling was, as if he had been flipped inside out. The feeling that he would do anything for her, even die. Is this love?

They ran to a convenience store, grabbing an obscene amount of junk food and soda, piling it on the check-out counter and ignoring the glare of the worker standing behind it. Instead they laughed, lost in each other and their freedom.

When they went to lie down on a grassy hill, looking up at the starry sky, Marinette felt a sudden pang in her heart. Have I wasted all my years on Earth? Wasted them hiding from a failure of my body that I could not control. But she pushed away those thoughts, turning to smile at Adrien instead. Her eyes swept along the curve of his smile, staring at the obvious expression of happiness. Marinette longed to reach out, to trace the edges of his soft lips with her fingers and then maybe with her own lips, but she held down those urges. It's too late, she reminded herself again, much too late.

2 more fleeting hours, her remaining time slipping through her fingers just like her regrets. Only 10 hours remained. It's too late.

Marinette led them to a party next, pushing for all the things she had missed. Her friends were only too happy to oblige, wanting her to experience everything. Her heart hurt at the thought of the next day, of them realizing that the night had been a beautiful dream. The end of something so pure and beautiful.

Alcohol burned her throat as she tossed her head back, swallowing the shot was a smooth motion. Everything was blurring now, waving together in beautiful ideas of her mind's creation. A grin broke out on her face as she danced wildly, letting her inhibitions fly away. Even hours before death, she felt freer than ever before.

"Mari!" a lower voice laughed throatily. The sound was masculine, but Marinette did not recognize it. She felt a warm hand press against her lower back, pulling her aside. Marinette stared up into emerald eyes...Adrien's eyes, she realized through her drunken haze.

"You're so beautiful," she whispered, managing to not slur her words. She watched, entranced, as Adrien's golden cheeks flushed pink at her words, a single word running through her mind: perfection.

He smiled sheepishly at her. "You're really drunk, aren't you?"

"If I told you I was dying, what would you say?" Marinette asked, this time slurring her words ever so slightly. Her sluggish mind began to panic too late, but her heart stilled when Adrien began to speak again.

"I wouldn't say anything," he whispered, a shadow crossing his normally bright eyes, "I would probably just cry." He pulled her into a tight hug, almost instinctively, and pressed his nose into her soft hair. He inhaled gently, absorbing her heavenly scent as he fought the suddenly overwhelming urge to just kiss her right there.

Marinette smiled up at him, feeling more clear-headed. The fuzziness abated, replaced with a sharp pain at the base of her neck. "Who's...drunk...now?" she managed to force out before she was falling, the darkness of unconsciousness swallowing her.

6 hours were all she had left. She spent her time without care, throwing it all away for one perfect day. One last chance to experience love, freedom, youth, and life.

"Marinette?" a chorus of concerned voices asked.

She opened her bright blue eyes, looking up at her friends that were crowding around her. They stood outside of the party's seedy location, having lain her down in a small patch of scraggly grass. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Adrien said, concern bleeding through his stoic façade. His face was cold, but his eyes were wet with tears. A pang went through her chest at the sight, wanting nothing more than to comfort him. "What the hell just happened, Mari?"

"I'm dying," she stated simply, wanting to relieve herself of the pressure on her chest. She smiled softly at the shock on her friends's faces, knowing that they could not understand why she was so complacent with the idea of her impending death. "I think I have about six hours left, actually."

Alya's face was pale, the pain of loss causing her to shy away. She sank to the ground, weeping bitterly. "I wondered why you were so okay with coming with us tonight," she choked out.

"You couldn't have done anything, Al," Marinette soothed, moving forward to hug Alya.

But Alya still shook her head. "We wasted all our time with you, Mari. Ever since the day we all met it has always been us, just the three of us." Regret filled Alya's throat to the point where she felt like she was choking on their lost opportunities.

Reality was pressing in on them, forcing them to open their eyes to the truth. They had 5 hours left together.

The little sit-in movie theater they went to next was trashy, run-down and cheap. But Marinette didn't care. Going to a movie theater was new to her, seeing the vivid images so close and so large right before her eyes.

Her fingers laced through Adrien's again, tightening on them slightly. Warmth ran up her arm when he squeezed back gently, carrying a rosy blush to her cheeks. Thank god, he can't see my face.

An odd ache settled in her legs, making them feel as if they had fallen asleep. They didn't want to move, to respond to her mental commands. Marinette sucked in a breath, refusing to show her fear. She sighed, hoping that her body wouldn't give out before her time ran out.

Another squeeze from Adrien's slim fingers brought her back to the movie, bright blue eyes refocusing on the screen before them. Marinette attempted to listen to the plot, but the sickening sensation of aches blooming all over her body weighed her down.

Another 2 hours spent in the dark, clutching onto a lifeline to the light even as she fell.

Adrien smiled at Marinette, leading her to a small shop. "Pick something out," he said, smiling as he gestured to the interior of the little store.

Watches sat in large glass cases all over the store, all different shapes and colors. Analog and digital. Round and square. "Thank you," she breathed in awe. Marinette felt a fuzzy warmth build in her heart that was comforting. A sweet sensation that comforted her aching body. And she began to walk around the store, knowing all too well that the warmth was due to Adrien's thoughtful consideration.

As they left the shop, Alya and Nino talking and walking in front of them, Adrien turned to face Marinette. His pianist fingers gently touched Marinette's soft cheek, rubbing the velvety skin as he smiled cheekily at her. He leaned over, mouth barely touching the shell of Marinette's ear. His warm breath fanned against her ear, causing the baby hairs around Marinette's ears to flutter around lightly. "It's so beautiful..." he whispered in a teasing voice, "The watch, I mean."

Marinette stifled a giggle with her hand, eyes twinkling upwards at Adrien. The blond sucked a breath overtly, feeling himself falling into the sky blue orbs that were Marinette's eyes. I love you, Marinette.

She looked at her wrist, the deep navy of the band contrasting heavily against her pale skin. The flashing numbers on the screen caused her to suck in a breath. 1 hour left, Marinette realized, feeling an ache form in her heart. She hadn't thought much about the fact that she was dying besides the sharp pain at the base of her skull and regretting missing all that life had to offer for her. Yet now it was spelled out for her in those flashing red letters. 1 hour left. She took a deep breath, fighting off the heavy fog that settled over her limbs and made her dizzy. Everything ached, now that she thought about it, even her body was pleading to fall to the ground and slip into an eternal sleep. Marinette, gritting her teeth, wasn't about to let that happen.

There was still an hour, the final minutes of her waning life falling away.

She ran, shoes slapping the pavement as she chased Alya and Nino down, clutching Adrien's wrist tightly. Her cheeks were spread in a forced grin, not wanting her friends to worry.

"Guys, wait up!" she called, laughing as they finally stopped and spun around to face them.

"Oh, sorry!" Nino said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while the other was firmly in Alya's grasp.

Alya's free hand snaked into Marinette's free hand until the four of them were connected in a human chain. They began to run again, sprinting at odd intervals that always left someone tripping behind while being pulled forward by the others.

Laughs bubbled freely forth from Marinette's lips as they ran, the air caressing her cheeks and sending her hair flying back. Free to follow the wind currents. This is what living truly is, Marinette realized.

They reached the bank of the Seine River, still laughing together as they hurtled towards the water. They surged into the river with a loud splashing sound that caused a miniature tidal wave to engulf them.

Marinette ran out, Alya close behind her. They shrieked as they ran, jokingly sprinting away from Adrien and Nino. Water dripped down off of their clothes, the garments plastered to their bodies by the liquid.

She had never felt so at peace.

Adrien caught up to Marinette easily, his long legs covering the distance between them. He swept Marinette up in his arms, spinning her around. Their eyes met, a beautifully heart stopping moment where the world stood still around them.

60...

59...

58...

57...

56...

55...

54...

53...

52...

51...

Lips crashing together, they molded together, sharing their warmth together. Marinette felt like she was on fire as Adrien kissed her, tongues dancing in an almost practiced motion. Adrien, similarly, almost felt like the whole thing was a dream. But their love was fire, burning away the fears that had separated them.

25...

24...

23...

22...

21...

20...

They broke apart, Marinette staring at Adrien with a dazed expression on her face. Pure bliss glowing on her porcelain feature as she smiled at him. They were in their own bubble for tantalizing moments, but then Marinette crumpled to the ground.

15...

Marinette looked up at her friends weakly, Alya and Nino having rushed over to over assistance. "Thank you for living, for showing me today," she whispered, voice low as to keep down the tide of pain that was rushing over her.

10...

9...

8...

"We were too late, Adrien," she whispered in a choked voice, smiling at him sadly, "But know that I have always loved you."

5...

4...

Adrien grinned through his suddenly tear-filled eyes at Marinette, kneeling to kiss her once more. "I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Their lips connected again chastely, a mere brush of skin against skin. Beautiful and simple, just like them.

And then time ran out.

All beautiful things must come to an end, for that is how life is. And this time it was a solitary life, a bright spark of energy and youth that faded into darkness. Yet it was not sad about its departure. There was only regret for having not lived before it died.

And love was there to cradle the dying ember, leading the soul out of one life and into the next.

Adrien looked down at Marinette's wrist, teary eyes locking on the brand-new watch he had purchased for her. Through his tear-blurred eyes, he noticed that the watch had stopped telling time. As if it had only been there to count down the seconds before the ember turned to ash.

Huh...I enjoyed writing this WAY too much. It was just a beautiful idea that came to me while reading some Got7 fanfiction and decided that it just had to be written down.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this one-shot and please check out my other fanfictions (all with a healthy dose of angst)!