Chapter Text
Marinette slid gently into her seat at school. English class. Yay. Marinette sighed. Between saving the world and all her consuming homework, it had felt like she had no time to herself.
More people flooded in the class, including Adrien. Heh heh... Adrien. Marinette perked up when she saw the blond's face, but then shrunk back down. Huh? His usual glowing aura was dull and tired. There were huge bags under his eyes, and he didn't happily greet everyone like he usually did.
Adrien saw Marinette staring, and forced a smile and waved. Marinette grinned and waved back, but his mood and state was unsettling. Something was wrong.
Out of instinct, her finger gently poked the back of Adrien to get his attention once he sat down. She was a caretaker, and always wanted her friends to be okay. She had to know what was up.
Adrien turned around. "Yeah?"
Marinette gulped, realizing she had no idea what to say. She mentally slapped herself for being so flustered. A second of silence passed, but she quickly filled it. "Hey, um... I was just wondering... Are you okay?" She whispered.
Adrien's eyes went wide and Marinette swore she saw some water in the corners of them. "Huh? Oh yeah. I'm okay."
She furrowed her brow. He was obviously not okay. "Are you getting enough sleep?" She pressed.
He nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry about me," He flashed a smile, a tad more believable this time.
Marinette reluctantly sat back down in her seat and Adrien turned back around. Whether she knew something was wrong or not, he had to be the one to tell her. She couldn’t force anything out of him. That wouldn’t be right. Still though, Marinette couldn’t help but worry. She knew his family situations weren’t exactly the best, but that wouldn’t really explain the looks of fatigue, would it?
Miss Bustier started the lesson for the day, and Marinette’s mind wandered off.
°•°•°•°•°
Marinette gathered her things quickly, anxious to talk with Alya about Adrien. “Hey, Alya? Did you notice something… off about Adrien?”
Alya eyed him and Nino leave class together, watching for any possible suspicions. She picked up her History book. “Not in particular… Why? Was something up?”
“He… he looked really tired. And almost… weak. Like he’s really sick,” the bluenette tried to describe the way he had looked earlier in school. “He was falling asleep, and he never does that. He loves school!”
Alya raised an eyebrow. “Hm… looks like someone’s very observant,” she teased. “Did you pay any attention to Miss Bustier, or were you just staring at him the whole time?”
Marinette groaned, embarrassed. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. But, I’m serious, Alya! Something is wrong with him. I can feel it.”
“I did notice that he hasn’t been as talkative during lunch, but that’s about it, girl. I can talk to Nino if you want though. Maybe he knows something,” Alya offered, leaving the classroom. Marinette followed and walked by her side.
“Would you really?” Marinette asked hopefully.
"Sure, Marinette! If what you say is true, then we should try and help him if we can. Especially if he's sick." Alya said.
Marinette nodded. "I really hope he's okay..."
Her best friend smirked at her face. "I'm sure he is. Or he will be at least. And if you're so worried... why don't you ask him yourself?"
A squeak escaped Marinette and she dropped her backpack. "W-Wha?! Absolutely not! I already asked him and I don't want to be a nuisance,"
“You’d just be talking to him cause you're worried. It’s not like you’re gonna ask him out,” Alya rolled her eyes.
“Still! You know I can’t carry a conversation around him! I only got lucky this morning!"
“Okay. How about this,” Alya bargained. “You. I mean, you make sure he’s okay. If he denies that he’s sick or anything again, then I’ll talk to Nino.”
Marinette groaned. “But, Alya! You said you would find out for me! I can’t talk to him! Especially again! I physically, can NOT!”
“Yes you can! How are you ever going to ask him out if you can’t even ask if he’s okay?” Alya said, exasperated.
“I… Ugh. Fine. I’ll ask him later today.” Marinette mumbled.
“Good. When?”
Marinette shot Alya a look. “I don’t know! I haven’t planned that far ahead yet!”
Alya sighed. “Girl, your problem is that you don’t think ahead. Pick a time and stick with it! You can’t back out.”
“I.. guess. I’ll talk to him after school today.” Marinette gulped.
“Cool. See you after class!” her best friend waved.
"I... um... See you..." She said reluctantly. Good going, Marinette. Another opportunity to make a fool of yourself in front of Adrien! Look what you just did! She groaned.
°•°•°•°•°
Marinette’s heart raced like crazy. She could barely wave to him, so what are the chances of having an actual conversation with him? She took a deep breath and zipped her backpack shut. School was over. She could do this.
Marinette walked out of school, frantically searching for Adrien. A thought struck her. Right. Her math book. She needed to finish an assignment still, and the book was in her locker. Great. Now she would miss Adrien. Marinette spun on her heel and sprinted into the locker room. She quickly grabbed her book, shoved it in her bag and then sped out the doors. It swung behind her.
Only thoughts of Adrien were running through her mind as she came out. Normally, Marinette would dread having to talk to him because of embarrassment. Today though, she wanted to know what was wrong with him. Out of the corner of her eye, a flash of blond ran over her eyes. Marinette skidded to a stop.
Adrien was sitting on one of the green benches, his elbows propped on his knees and his head in his hands. Marinette frowned. Yes… Something was definitely wrong.
“Adrien?” she said softly, crouching in front of him. One of her knees rested on the ground for support.
He glanced up weakly. Marinette barely saw his mood change from tired and sickly to happy and bright. “Oh. Hey, Marinette. Sorry. I was just resting,”
Resting? His face painfully stated otherwise. "Uh… I know you said your were fine this morning but...Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. Just a little tired.” He replied.
“Are you overworking yourself?” she asked.
Adrien swallowed thickly. “I… Actually… No… My father is out of town so Nathalie has been letting me have more breaks and less things to do. He's coming back today though," his words suddenly turned into little dry rasps.
Marinette’s eyes fluttered down to the ground and back up to his face. “Oh! Do you need some water?” she took note of his voice. “I have a plastic one in my bag,”
He smiled wistfully. “That would be great actually. I’m really thirsty,”
She nodded and stood up, pulling it out of her backpack. “It’s kind of cold.”
Adrien took the bottle gratefully. “Thanks…” He sat up more and tried to unscrew the cap.
“Oh, um. Here,” Marinette said, taking the water back. Her hand brisked over his slightly, and she sat down next to him, taking the cap off.
“Thank you, Marinette.”
“I… of course! What are friends for!” She said a little too quickly. Adrien took a small sip while Marinette mentally slapped herself for being too enthusiastic. “Did that help?” she wondered.
He shook his head, bouncing his right knee violently. “Not really. I still feel thirsty.”
Marinette frowned. “Oh. Sorry.”
“It’s alright. Nothing we can do about it,” he shrugged.
“Yeah...”
Adrien glanced over at Marinette. “Oh, um here, you can have it back now.”
Marinette smiled. “No, it’s fine. You can just keep it.”
“Oh. Okay,” he said, surprised.
“Hey um… is there anything else… like... not normal that has been happening to you?” she said.
“I… what do you mean?” he asked, confused. He took a gulp of water.
Marinette explained, starting to ramble. “Just… there has to be a reason for you to be really tired right? Some things happening to you might be connected,”
“Oh… Um… not that I can think of right now. And I think the tiredness from doing so many extracurricular activities is just catching up to me. It had to eventually, right?” Adrien laughed lightly.
She leaned back, not saying anything about his tenseness in his tone. “Have you been feeling sick? Or maybe… just sad a lot? With no motivation?” Marinette tried to recall the different symptoms of depression she learned today in her health class. Could his father doing something?
Adrien popped his neck. “I don’t think so. Not really.”
“Huh...” She racked her brain with more questions.
“I’ve been feeling really hot all the time. And tired. Even with like eight hours of sleep, but i think you already knew that...” He admitted, his head bobbing forward and then back up. It was only then when Marinette suddenly realized how hard he was trying not to fall asleep.
“How much water have you been drinking?” She asked.
Adrien sat up sleepily and took another swig of water. “A lot. I feel thirsty even after drinking water...”
Marinette eyed him carefully. “Just… don’t over do it, okay? Im worried about your health."
He nodded sleepily in reply. "You should get some sleep. I can tell you’re trying hard not to doze off,” she giggled.
Adrien’s face flushed. “Sorry. I didn’t want to be rude. I just... you don't talk to me often, and it's... it's nice.”
Her face flushed. “I-uh. Sorry. I just get nervous. Is your bodyguard coming?” She changed the subject quickly.
He shook his head in the negative, crossing his legs nonchalantly. “No. I have to stay because I have fencing in fifteen minutes. I can’t go home for a while,”
“Oh. Anything I can do to help you? You could take a little cat nap right now, couldn’t you?” she said.
“Um yeah… it would be kind of uncomfortable though…” Adrien uncrossed his legs and squeezed his thighs together, now starting to feel a dull ache down there...
Marinette countered, bringing her legs up and sitting criss cross applesauce, ignoring his constant shifting. “I think it would be good for you to get a little more sleep. Even if it’s only for a few minutes.”
He nodded. “I guess you’re right…” Adrien sighed deeply and leaned back, closing his eyes. "Is it okay if I just..."
Before Marinette could reply, a soft snore rose from his chest. Marinette watched his body rise and fall slowly. She smiled with the hope that he would feel a little better after.
Adrien shifted, resting his head on Marinette’s shoulder and tucking his legs underneath him. She gasped, and almost shot off the bench. If she moved though, then he would wake up. Marinette contemplated with herself. It was obvious he needed the sleep, but was it worth feeling so self conscious?
She sat rigid, not moving, and decided to push through and be a good pillow. Marinette slowly relaxed, gently stroking his fluffy hair, feeling a sudden burst of confidence.
Marinette yawned. She was suddenly feeling pretty tired too. Hopefully her mother wouldn't need her in the bakery. She wanted to savor this moment as long as she could.
Her head fell down gently onto Adrien's and they unknowingly cuddled against each other.