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Marinette groaned slightly, leaning back in her seat to stretch her arm as she tried to focus on her teacher’s voice.
Her mood only worsened as she glanced over to see Adrien taking notes dutifully, enrapt with the discussion about velocity and speed. Marinette knew he’d have to bail her out by practically doing her homework for her later, but she just couldn’t be bothered.
Physics was never her strong point. But at least she could tutor Adrien in...in…
Her nose wrinkled. Of course he excels in every subject.
What did a girl have to do to impress her crush/best friend/superhero partner around here?
Giving up and slumping over her desk, Marinette picked up her pencil. Instead of writing what was on the whiteboard, she started doodling simple hat designs in the margins of her paper. It didn’t help that she’d been up late taking care of an annoying water-based akuma, and hadn’t slept until nearly two in the morning.
Her mind wandered. Adrien had arrived just a bit after her, which she couldn’t help but to tease him about since he was usually early to any sign of danger. She couldn’t decide if he took it too seriously or if he just enjoyed superhero-ing that much.
As fun as it was to work by his side, it was a bit odd not being able to call him Adrien. His demeanor was different, too--he was so serious and professional with her. They’d eventually gotten to the point where he was her friend, and he didn’t go stiff every time she rescued him, but it was still whiplash for her.
Which I should have expected, she thought to herself, amused. You don’t treat everyone like you treat your best friend.
Risking a glance at aforementioned friend, she was surprised to see him frowning at his notes like they’d offended him. That could only mean he was thinking about something besides physics. Marinette hoped he hadn’t been up all night tinkering on his suit in his lab.
Leaning a bit closer, she nudged his arm imperceptibly. Raising an eyebrow, she sent him a pointed stare.
Adrien blinked at her, then grinned and shrugged. Marinette rolled her eyes, slowly pulling away from his personal space, hyperaware of his presence. He was up all night, that dork.
She stared back down at her notes, her cheeks flushing as she realized she’d shifted from doodling design ideas to Spiderman. A rough sketch of his mask, then him swinging over the nearly-empty page…
“Miss Dupain-Cheng!”
Startled, Marinette released a small yelp and instinctively slammed her notebook closed. Bright red, she meekly met the stern gaze of her physics teacher.
“I understand you might not be as excited about this as the rest of the class, but this will still appear on your next test.” The teacher’s tone was clipped, and Marinette shrank in her seat, abashed.
“I-I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Satisfied, the teacher returned to the board, and Marinette resisted the urge to burst into flames. She slowly reopened her notebook to a clean page, avoiding raising her eyes. She was just about to start writing when a folded piece of paper slid into view.
Blinking, Marinette picked it up and unfolded it.
You okay? You can copy my notes after.
Glancing over, Marinette felt her heart flutter as Adrien’s concerned eyes met her own, and he bit the side of his lip.
Smiling, she gave him a gentle nod, slipping the note into her bag.
He’s sweet.
The rest of the class was uneventful, and once the bell rang, Marinette was the first out the door.
“Mari! Wait up!”
Slowing her pace, she allowed Adrien to catch up with her.
“Geez, you’re fast for someone with shorter legs than me.”
She stuck out her tongue at him. “Maybe you’re just slow. Guess you need to up the intensity of your special workouts. Can’t have someone like you not able to rescue damsels in distress, hm?”
Adrien’s cheeks went pink, but he stuck his own tongue out in retaliation. “I’ll have you know I beat my partner in a race last Sunday.”
Marinette wanted to retort that wasn’t true, as she distinctly remembered Ladybug being the victor, thank you very much, but she had to bite her tongue. “Ha ha. Maybe she was going easy on you.”
They pulled up to their lockers, and Marinette sighed. “Anyway, I’ll take you up on your offer. I could really use those notes.”
“Yeah, I noticed you seemed kind of out of it. Are you tired? Everything okay?”
“I’m fine, I just didn’t get to sleep until late. I just need a nap.”
Adrien studied her. “Were you designing again? You completely tune the world out when you do that.”
No, I was fishing you out of the Seine when an akuma tossed us around. “Yeah, I was. You know me! Easily scatterbrained.”
“That’s not true, Mari.” Adrien’s tone was fond, and Marinette had to hide her face in her locker. “You’re just dedicated to what you do. It’s admirable, actually.”
“Uh--thanks,” Marinette squeaked, cursing her own inability to accept a compliment.
“Well, we’d better get to class.” Adrien was looking at the clock on the wall. “Think you can stay awake through this one?”
She swatted his arm. “Very funny. Can I have your notebook to copy those notes?”
Adrien nodded, pulling out the book. Marinette was reaching for it when he suddenly snatched it back, clutching it to his chest like it was made of gold.
“Uh...Adrien?”
His face was bright red, but for the life of her she couldn’t think why. “Um, I’ll--type them out for you and send them later, because--my handwriting is messy! So messy. You won’t be able to read it.”
Marinette rolled her eyes. “Adrien, you have beautiful handwriting. I don’t mind deciphering anything, so just hand it over.”
Stubbornly, he only held it tighter. “I insist.”
Well, she was thoroughly confused, but acquiesced. “Alright, but you don’t have to. I know how busy you are anyway.”
Adrien laughed, sounding a bit strained, but the warning bell went off, preventing her from dwelling on it any longer.
“C’mon, let’s get going. I don’t want to get scolded again.”
~
Of course there was yet another akuma. Like they hadn’t just fought one late last night into the morning.
Stifling a yawn, Adrien landed atop a roof, his suit scanning for any information about the new enemy.
It appears to be an akuma able to control another person’s body, Plagg informed him. Data suggests only one person at a time, since she uses a pen to direct their movements.
“Peachy,” Adrien grumbled.
“Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed today, Spidey?”
To Adrien’s credit, he didn’t jump at the sudden appearance of his partner. However, that was more likely due to exhaustion rather than nerves of steel. “Hey, LB. It’s one of yours.”
“Of course it is. When does Hawkmoth sleep?” Sounding just as tired as he felt, Ladybug scanned the area. Sure enough, the akuma was zapping people, causing them to carry out different tasks to her satisfaction. Nothing particularly destructive, but annoying nonetheless.
“Controls people?”
“Looks like it.”
Ladybug made a face, and Adrien stifled a laugh. “Do we know her name?”
“I AM CONTROL FREAK! I WON’T REST UNTIL EVERYTHING IS DONE THE WAY I SAY IT SHOULD!”
“...Guess that answered my question,” Ladybug remarked, pulling out her yo-yo. “Ready for action?”
Adrien rolled his shoulders, shooting a web out to catch on another building. “Let’s do this.”
They swung down into the fray, and Control Freak shrieked when she noticed them arrive. “You two! I want those earrings!”
“Everyone always does. But they’re not for sale.” Ladybug avoided a blast from the pen, skirting her way around the park.
“I’ve heard of the pen being mightier than the sword, but this is just ridiculous.” Adrien stepped in to help Ladybug parry a few stronger blasts. “Control Freak, was it?”
The akuma didn’t deign him with a response, her attention solely focused on Ladybug. This was pretty common, since Adrien didn’t have anything they wanted, but this particular akuma wasn’t giving either of them a break.
Growling in frustration as Adrien shot a few webs, causing her to be stuck to the ground, Control Freak zapped herself and suddenly lifted off the ground, barreling towards him. Adrien managed to swing away before they collided, but he groaned. “Come on! Since when could she do that?”
“Since now, apparently,” Ladybug grunted, having to rely on her own quick movements to stay out of the way. Her yo-yo took a bit more time than his webs. “Can you distract her?”
Grinning, Adrien shot a web right at her back, quickly scaling the building next to him as Control Freak shrieked and turned her attention on him. Safe to say, he was officially bait.
Which was just what Ladybug needed.
“Lucky Charm!” she shouted, extending her hand. A small spotted ball, about the size of a grape, landed in her hand. She looked at it with confusion.
Adrien guessed she probably called Lucky Charm early since she didn’t want the fight to drag out--and in all honesty, this didn’t seem like a very dangerous akuma--but for once, his partner seemed baffled on what to do with it. Maybe it was the exhaustion?
Control Freak quickly regained his attention as she side-swiped him off the building. He grunted, shooting a web in a tree to catch himself, and dropped beside Ladybug.
“Any ideas? She’s coming back.”
“None.” Ladybug sounded frustrated. “I guess we should just focus on snatching that pen. It’s obviously where the akuma is, and frankly, I just want to get back to school and catch up. I’m behind enough as it is.”
Adrien sympathized. Hero work didn’t exactly lend itself to be helpful when maintaining your grades. It was only after years of getting used to running on little sleep did he learn how to pretend to be fine. He even took notes...most of the time.
He wondered if Ladybug was a good student, or if she was practically sleeping in class, like Marinette was today.
His face flushed as he thought of the notes he still had to get to her later. It was definitely a lot of extra effort. But at least he remembered the countless “A+M” and heart doodles he’d made before handing her his notebook.
Adrien wasn’t sure if he’d ever recover from that mortification.
The akuma appears to be making herself throw objects, Plagg stated, bringing him back to the present. Apparently the control extends some level of embellishment, since she is throwing objects humans normally wouldn’t be able to.
Adrien glanced up, and sure enough, there was a park bench flying at them. He and Ladybug threw themselves in opposite directions, and he rolled for just a moment before crouching, assessing the situation.
“Plagg, see any weaknesses?”
When she is controlling herself, she seems unable to control others, which gives you an advantage. However, she is much more powerful in her controlled state, so landing physical attacks is unlikely.
Adrien groaned.
Control Freak, meanwhile, had diverted all her attention back to Ladybug, who was dodging everything that came flying at her--cars, parking meters, even trees. She was quick, but Adrien could hear a familiar beeping noise and knew she didn’t have long left before she lost her abilities.
He stood, running on a wall towards her. “LB! You need to retreat!”
“I can’t!” a tree swiped her shoulder, and she winced. “I have to do the purification!”
“We don’t have the time! You’ll have to come back later!” Adrien ran up the building until he was at the top, then shot a web down to land squarely on Ladybug’s back.
Before she could protest, he yanked her upwards, and she squeaked as she was propelled up towards him. He caught her, setting her on her feet beside him. She looked a bit dazed, then glared at him.
“Don’t do that.”
He saluted her. “Aye aye, bug.”
Ladybug was about to retort when they heard Control Freak’s shriek of outrage. Apparently she was on her way up.
Sobering instantly, he turned and pushed her towards the building’s stairwell. “Go. Charge up. I’ll stall her as long as I can.” Turning, he took off, running over the rooftops before she could get a word in edgewise.
They both knew he was right, anyway.
~
Marinette flew down the stairs, digging through her purse with her heart sinking. “I’m so sorry, Tikki. I forgot to restock after last night.”
“It’s alright, Marinette.” Tikki’s voice was gentle, but serious. “We need to find something as fast as we can. Spiderman needs our help.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.” Marinette ran out a side door, glancing upwards. The sun had sunk in the sky, and school was long over. But that wasn’t her main concern.
Racing along the shops, Marinette cursed her sudden bout of bad luck. No sweet shops. The closest might be her family’s. But did she have time to make it? She couldn’t even see Adrien and Control Freak anymore.
Swallowing thickly, Marinette squared her shoulders and ran towards her street.
Please don’t get hurt please don’t get hurt please don’t get hurt played over and over in her head as she threw open the door to her parents’ bakery. Grabbing a few cookies off the display and running past her parents, who were in the kitchen and didn’t even see her, she sprinted up to her balcony.
“Here, Tikki.” she thrust a cookie at her kwami, leaning over her railing to keep an eye out anxiously. There were several loud noises happening nearby. Marinette hoped as soon as Tikki ate, she could rejoin Adrien in the fight.
“I’ve got you now, bug boy!”
“Actually, spiders are arachnids--”
Swinging around, Marinette watched in horror as Spiderman swung between two buildings nearby. He was obviously exhausted, not moving as quickly, and he wouldn’t last much longer.
Spiderman landed on the road below, and Control Freak set herself on a ledge, glaring at him. “Where’s the other bug?!”
“She’s on her break,” Spiderman replied easily, and Marinette was impressed with his ability to act so nonchalant despite his exhaustion.
Control Freak narrowed her eyes at him, shooting several more bolts, and Spiderman dodged each of them, but one hit a lamppost nearby.
It began to fall.
“A--Spiderman!” Marinette shouted as loud as she could. “Watch out!”
Whipping his head around, Spiderman just barely avoided the crash, and Marinette’s heart nearly stopped. She looked down at Tikki, but the kwami wasn’t ready yet.
“Marinette?!”
Adrien’s panicked voice made her raise her chin again, and Spiderman was openly looking at her in shock and fear. Control Freak cackled.
“You two know each other? Well then…”
Reaching in her pocket, Control Freak pulled out an identical pen. Marinette’s blood ran cold.
Shooting out a beam, one caught a stopped bus, filled with tourists. Screaming emanated from the bus as it was lifted off the ground, level with the high roof of the buildings. Marinette froze.
“And now…” Control Freak was looking directly at her.
“Marinette, run!”
But she didn’t get the chance.
Another beam was sent her way, and before she could even process what was happening, her arms snapped to her sides and she went stiff.
“Release her!” Spiderman growled at Control Freak, moving to attack, but she released the bus. The tourists screamed.
He froze as Control Freak caught it again.
“Tell me where Ladybug is!” The akuma demanded. Spiderman’s fists clenched, and Marinette struggled to move, to do anything-- why am I so useless?!
“I don’t know where she is,” Spiderman bit out.
“A pity.” Control Freak turned to Marinette again, and Marinette felt her legs moving on their own. Stiffly, she marched towards her balcony’s railing.
“Stop!” Spiderman pleaded, but when he took a step towards her, the bus was raised higher.
Marinette climbed onto the railing, standing atop it. Her heart was in her throat. She couldn’t even turn her head to look at Tikki.
What am I going to do?!
“Either tell me where she is, or you’ll have to make a choice,” Control Freak threatened. “The girl, or the bus full of people.”
Marinette’s eyes lifted towards the bus. A small boy was sitting in his mother’s lap, clinging to her as he shook in fear. He met her gaze, and she swallowed a lump in her throat. She was supposed to be a superhero.
“Spiderman,” she forced out, “don’t worry about me. Get them!”
Her leg lifted, dangling over the edge.
“Mari…” she’d never heard him sound like that before. He turned towards the akuma.
“Fine, I’ll tell you. Get her down!”
“First you tell me where the Miraculous Ladybug is,” Control Freak argued. “Then I let her go.”
“She’s hiding at the Eiffel Tower,” Spiderman said reluctantly. Despite knowing it was a lie, Marinette was impressed with his acting.
“Thank you. Now I’ll let them go.”
Time slowed down as Marinette was made to throw herself off the side.
She twisted her body around, barely registering Adrien’s scream, and caught the railing with one hand. Dangling, she grit her teeth. It hurt. A lot.
“Don’t!” Marinette shouted at the hero bolting at her. “Get them!”
Although it obviously went against every cell in his body, she watched as Spiderman turned and set to shooting webs to catch the falling bus. He wove them together between the nearby buildings, catching it before he made a ramp to gently roll it to the ground.
Marinette tried to lift herself to grab with the other hand, but she had unfortunately caught it with her bad shoulder--the one the akuma had swiped with a tree earlier. It was screaming in agony, and despite her efforts the pain was beginning to overwhelm her.
Just a little longer...hold on a little longer!
But she couldn’t.
And down she went.
~
Adrien thought he knew fear.
He’d been scared before. He remembered hiding in his mother’s arms during thunderstorms because he hated the loud noises. He felt fear every time he messed up a shoot, when he’d first jumped off a building as a hero, and more. He was afraid of disappointing his father. He was afraid of his mother never coming back. He was afraid of failing Ladybug.
However, nothing, nothing, had ever made him feel fear like seeing Marinette plummet to the ground.
Exhaustion be damned, Adrien shot forward as fast as he physically could. His eyes widened, his breath sharpened, and he couldn’t even form her name in his mouth as he collided with her right before she hit the ground.
His arms wrapped around her protectively, and they rolled once, twice, before stopping. He allowed his heart to start beating again, before looking down at her.
Marinette was pressing into him, her hands clutching his suit, and he realized she was trembling.
Slowly, she raised her face from his chest to look up at him with big eyes. “Adrien?” she whispered, her voice cracking.
He buried his face into her shoulder, yanking her as close as he could. He didn’t care that they were out in the open. He needed reassurance. Reassurance that she was here, she was alive, she was safe. He’d gotten there in time.
“Mari.” His own voice was wrecked, and if he’d been thinking properly, he’d be embarrassed. “Mari. Thank God. Thank God!”
Her hands were caressing the back of his shoulders, gently. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m fine. You saved me.”
Though it hurt more than anything, Adrien slowly pulled back and looked at her. She looked a bit beat up, but none the worse for wear. She smiled at him.
“You should go. That akuma will be back.”
He nodded, once, allowing her to step away, but pointed a finger at her. “Go inside. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Marinette’s eyes were soft. “I know.”
Adrien stepped backwards a couple times, watching her, and finally turned to sprint off, catching a web and swinging towards the Eiffel Tower.
He felt like he’d left part of himself standing there with Marinette.
~
The rest of the fight had been quick.
Although Control Freak had been angry at being tricked, Adrien was well beyond pissed, and Ladybug swung in right as he shoved her back against a service elevator.
She knew he was mad when he didn’t even acknowledge her return, instead letting her drop down beside him silently.
Eventually, she’d used the Lucky Charm to throw against an elevator button, trapping Control Freak inside. With Spiderman’s webs, the rest had been an easy capture and she crushed the pen, purifying the akuma.
“Miraculous Ladybug!”
As a young woman sat there, looking dazed, Spiderman turned to look at her. “Mind if I head out first?” His voice was weary. “There’s someone I need to see.”
Ladybug nodded, offering her fist. “Pound it?”
Although it took him a moment, he nodded and pressed their knuckles together. “Good job today, LB. I’ll see you.”
And with that, he took off. She watched him go, sighing and turning to the confused akuma victim. “Hey. Come on, I’ll get you down.”
It was only after she’d seen them off that she remembered she was the person Adrien was visiting.
“Shit!” Eyes widening, she took off in the direction of the bakery.
Luckily, he seemed to be taking a moment to recuperate on her balcony, as she spotted him as she crouched in an alley to detransform. Sneaking in through the side door, she bounded upstairs into her room just as she heard a knock.
Taking just a moment to check her hair, she opened the hatch to her roof.
Spiderman stared back at her.
Marinette chewed her lip for just a moment before offering a small smile. “Hey. Come in.”
He didn’t answer, instead climbing in after her. As soon as he touched down on the floor, he took his mask off. Marinette had never seen him so pale and tired.
Gently, she touched his shoulder. “Adr--”
“I almost didn’t make it.” His voice sounded rough. “You almost…”
The unfinished sentence hung in the air between them, taunting them with the reality of what had happened. Marinette was no fool. She was perfectly aware of what had almost happened to her today. But her own shock and fear had been shoved aside in favor of reassuring the distraught hero.
“Adrien.” She put her hands on his shoulders. “Look at me.”
He raised his head, and Marinette swallowed at how scared and confused his eyes were. Tears were pricking the sides, and he looked so genuinely lost that it hurt.
She offered a comforting smile. “I’m right here. You weren’t too late. I’m fine. Besides, even if something had happened, Ladybug’s Cure would have--”
“But we can’t know that!” Adrien burst out, and Marinette snapped her mouth shut. “I can’t rely on Ladybug to fix things, Marinette! What if it didn’t work? I...I’m a superhero! I should be able to save the people I l--care about!”
With this, the tears finally began to fall, and she gathered him in her arms as they sank to the floor. Marinette’s heart broke at his quiet sobs, petting his hair.
“Shh. It’s okay. You did it. You are a hero, you saved me, and all those people. I’m safe. You’re safe. Everything’s okay.”
Her mindless comforting seemed to help, as his cries softened into hiccups. Marinette knew it was a combination of the shock, extreme terror, and exhaustion that caused him to break down like this. Adrien hated crying in front of others, but she was glad she could be here to hold him.
He smells nice, she thought absently. Then: Get ahold of yourself! Now is no time for fawning!
Gently, she pressed a kiss to the crown of his head. “Thank you, Adrien.”
He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes still shiny but the tears abated. There was something else there now, a strong determination mixed with something Marinette couldn’t quite identify.
“I will always be here to save you, Mari,” he swore, and her traitorous heart skipped a beat. “You’re--you’re…”
Redness tinged his cheeks, and he looked away shyly. “My best friend…”
Before she could reply, Adrien’s face twisted in a grimace, and she guessed Plagg had said something to Adrien. She stifled a giggle, reaching out to grab a tissue box. “Here.”
Adrien accepted it, wiping his face as she sat back on her heels. There was still some sort of feeling hanging in the air between them, but despite all her bravery as Ladybug she couldn’t bring herself to call attention to it.
“Marinette! Are you up there? It’s time for dinner!”
And just like that, the feeling was gone, dissipated like it was never there, and Marinette coughed. “Ah--that’s Maman. I’d better get down there…”
Adrien nodded, standing. “I better go, anyway. I still need to send you those physics notes…”
“Wait.” She caught his arm. “That’s a lot of extra hassle, so, you know, you could always…” she trailed off, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Come over later and work on the homework with me?”
Adrien seemed a bit surprised, but then gave her a warm smile. “I’d like that. Just keep your hatch unlocked.”
“You’re making a regular villain of me, Spiderman,” Marinette teased as he put his mask back on. “What would Ladybug say if she knew you were sneaking into young girls’ rooms in the middle of the night?”
Adrien sputtered, and Marinette laughed. She just knew he was bright red under the mask. He climbed up the ladder, pausing at her trapdoor.
“I think she’d tell me I have good taste.”
He was gone before she could even process that, leaving her stammering and flushed as she stared out into the night after him.
Sighing, Marinette pressed her hands to her chest, willing her heart to slow down as a lovesick smile spread over her face.
“I love you, Spiderman,” she whispered.
Unbeknownst to her, a certain hero was whispering a similar sentiment just outside on her roof before he swung away.