Chapter Text
Marinette’s eyes squinted against the early morning light that penetrated through the window. Having gone through another night of restless sleep, the light hitting her face felt like nothing but insult to injury. Her arm perched itself over her eyes, shielding them against the intruder. From underneath she glanced off to the side to see her kwami sleeping peacefully adjacent to her head on the pillow. The image was soothing, but the moment quickly passed when she felt the need to sit up out of bed. Tossing and turning all night left Marinette with a sore head that was only getting worse the longer she laid there. Her left hand cupped the side of her face as she rose, both to cradle her aching head and continue to shield against the unwelcome beam.
She carefully lifted her weight from the bed so not as to disturb a peacefully sleeping Tikki. Marinette’s half-squint gaze lingered on the sight for a moment before she let out a sigh and slid down the loft stairs to her dresser below. She kept her dreary eyes on her feet as she moved across the floor and only raised them when she reached her destination. Sleepily, she looked up and was taken aback by the deep bags under her eyes. A soft groan released itself as she pulled at drawers looking for a change of clothes.
Her arms felt heavy and weak as she sifted through her options, each seeming more tedious than the last. As she stood there the light began to trickle in at every angle with more ferocity. It reflected in her mirror against her face, much to her dismay. Marinette scrunched up her nose and pulled out a pair of navy blue, form-fitting jeans. It was a pair that always felt more like yoga pants than jeans because of how stretchy and comfortable they were. In another drawer she grabbed a soft pink, loose, short sleeved t-shirt. She was going for comfort today, wherever she could find it.
The t-shirt fell over her torso, the end of it settling around her hips. She stood in front of the mirror just staring. Her hair was completely disheveled from the restless night and the bags were not doing much to help the situation. She stared and she spoke to herself in a soft whisper, “If I keep this up I won’t be able to function… as Marinette or Ladybug.” A deep breath later she scooped up her hair into a loose bun atop her head and applied just a small amount of concealer to the dark circles under her eyes.
Just as she was stepping away from the dresser, her kwami came flitting down from the loft.
“Good morning, Marinette!” She rubbed the slumber from her eyes and gave her master a soft smile.
Marinette warmed at the sight of Tikki and she returned the smile. Before Marinette could reply, Tikki had started up again.
“Were you finally able to sleep last night, Marinette? You’ve been so tired lately…” She studied her master and her soft smile faded into a dissatisfied frown. “Maybe you should take a break today and get some rest. I’m sure one of your friends from school would bring over anything you missed!”
Marinette let out a light chuckle at her kwami’s concern. It was nice being able to take comfort in the fact that there was always someone in her life that knew about everything she was going through. She reached her finger up to scratch Tikki’s cheek and did her best to relieve her little protector’s concerns.
“I’m all right Tikki, I promise. I just need to get back in the swing of things! I can’t do that if I hide myself away in my room and sleep the day away.” She bore her most convincing smile for the unconvinced kwami. “I swear! Just give it a few days and I’ll be good as new.”
Tikki sighed, “If you say so, Marinette.”
Marinette lifted her hand up and let Tikki settle into her palm. She planted a soft kiss on her forehead before speaking. “Thank you for always trying to take care of me. I know I’ll be fine, but it makes me feel so much better knowing you’re there for me.” The kwami’s spirit lightened and her smile returned. She knew better than to be convinced that Marinette was actually fine, but for now she settled for supporting her master in her choice to persevere.
“I’ll always be by your side, Marinette.” She floated off her hand and twirled in a tight circle in the air. The motion made Marinette’s heart spark with just a little more joy than she had woken up with.
“Thanks, Tikki.” She glanced from the floating kwami back over to her reflection in the mirror. Tikki quickly noticed and shared, “Your hair looks really nice pulled up like that! It makes it look extra soft!”
Marinette giggled and said, “you think so?” I just felt like it was time for a change or two. She gestured to her wardrobe and mentioned, “although I mostly chose it for some extra comfort.”
“Well I think you look wonderful, and very comfy,” Tikki assured. Her master responded with a loving smile.
“If that’s settled then, how about we head downstairs. I could really use a cup of coffee.” The smell of the morning’s first batch was wafting up from the bakery downstairs and Marinette found even more comfort in the smell.
Tikki watched as her master moved to collect her school supplies into her bag before going downstairs. She could see how tired Marinette was just from her sluggish movements. Although she had allowed herself to be persuaded into going to school, she silently hoped there would be no Hawkmoth interference today. Marinette needed a normal day. One where she could just be with her friends and only have to worry about homework and trying to form full, coherent sentences if Adrien spoke to her. As much as the little magical creature hoped, a heavy doubt came over her as she glanced over to Marinette’s desk. Underneath, guarded by a loose section of fabric, Tikki caught sight of the miracle box that was hidden beneath. Marinette had more responsibilities than ever…
“You coming, Tikki?”
The floating kwami snapped from her reverie and swam through the air over to her master who was waiting for her.
“Of course!”
Marinette lifted her purse and opened it for the little kwami. Once Tikki was snug and secure in her hiding place, she opened the trap door that led downstairs and said, “I’ll be sure to grab you a fresh croissant for breakfast before we leave.”
“Oh boy, I can’t wait!” The kwami snuggled in place and gave one more warm smile to the teenager before Marinette closed up the purse and headed down the steps.
Tikki could hear the chatter between Marinette and her parents while they sipped coffee and had their breakfast. At some point during the meal, Marinette quietly snapped open her purse to drop some baked goods down to Tikki. She settled into place with a warm piece of croissant and listened to the conversation Marinette was having with her parents.
“You seem awfully tired this morning, dear.” Tikki heard her mother chime from across the counter.
“Oh, just a little! The coffee is helping, though.” She placed her mouth to her cup and smiled to assure her mother.
She was unconvinced and stated, “I feel like you’ve been running yourself ragged lately. Maybe you should take a break from school today and rest.”
If Tikki could have she would have floated up into the middle of the conversation to agree with Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. She kept quiet though, taking relief in the fact that others noticed when Marinette was pushing herself.
“Don’t be silly, Sabine! A little sleepiness never stopped our girl!” Marinette’s jovial father piped up and distracted her mother long enough for Marinette to stand up from her seat at the counter and make a move for the door.
She snapped her purse closed and grabbed one more croissant before flashing a reassuring smile at her mom. “I don’t need a break, maman! Just need to let the caffeine settle in.” She wrapped one arm around her mother then leaned up to kiss her father on the cheek before heading out the door.
“See you guys later, have a good day!”
Her mother watched her as she scurried out of the kitchen, her face covered in obvious concern. Tom glanced over noticing his wife’s disposition and offered a comfort, “She works really hard but she’s smart, I’m she’ll take a rest when she needs one.” He gently laid his hands on her shoulders and he spoke.
Sabine continued to eyeball the now empty doorway and sighed. “Oh, I hope so, Tom.” She placed a hand on her face and continued to worry. Internally she thought about how her daughter had seemed both exhausted and just… off recently. Her normal, outgoing, cheerful daughter was replaced by a girl who seemed to be struggling with something, if not everything. She knew Marinette always had a lot on her plate but she always seemed to handle it rather well. Maybe she had stretched herself too thin this time? Her mind continued to rumble with possibilities as Tom, realizing she was lost in thought, patted her shoulder.
“We should have faith in her, but just in case… how about we make her favorite dish tonight for dinner! I’m sure that’ll cheer her up, and we can even make her favorite dessert!”
Sabine, lifted from her circling thought, smiled up at her husband. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”
Tom beamed back at her and they separated to go back to preparing the bakery for the day. Sabine worked her way over to the oven that housed a fresh batch of lemon and poppyseed muffins. She carefully pulled them out while making mental notes on the groceries she would need to find time to retrieve today for Marinette’s dinner. Her mind found peace in this and soon she was completely distracted from her worries.