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He wasn’t having a great day. In fact, he’d almost chalk this up as one of the worst he could remember in recent months. He’d been late to class because Hawk Moth decided there needed to be an akuma. He’d gotten turned by said akuma, fighting against his partner, which only served to irk him more. Then, she’d barely looked at him after they bumped fists, dashing away in a greater hurry than he’d ever seen her.
Now, he was racing to class when his bag decided to split open, dumping all its contents across the courtyard. With a resigned sigh, he slowed to a stop and dropped to his knees, hoping he could quickly gather everything. He’d gotten most of it put in another compartment of his bag when a voice called out to him.
“Bad day?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” He kept his gaze focused on his fallen belongings.
When a spotted suit-covered arm entered his vision, he looked up and stared at the young woman across from him.
“Ladybug? What are you doing here?”
“Hiding out, I guess. I’m not really up to attending class right now.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” He no longer cared about class as he witnessed the sadness lurking in her eyes. He wanted to help her. He needed to help her as her friend and her partner, even if she didn’t know the second part.
“Not really.” She shrugged. “Don’t let me keep you though.”
She helped him with the last of his fallen items, picking up a familiar string of beads that’d slid further than he would’ve thought possible.
“Oh, thank you. I can’t lose that.”
“I’m surprised you still have it,” she whispered, her features awestruck as she gazed at the lucky charm she’d given him as Marinette so many years ago.
“Of course, I still have it. A really great friend gave it to me. It’s been my lucky charm since that day.” He smiled as he recalled that particular day and wished he could share a moment like that again with Marinette or even Ladybug, but they remained out of his reach for some inexplicable reason.
“She sounds like a good friend. She must really like you, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess. She’s seeing someone though, I think. We don’t really hang out anymore, you know?”
She didn’t say anything, which he didn’t expect her to. He didn’t even really know why he’d felt the need to tell her any of that. She was his partner. He trusted her and knew she wouldn’t betray that trust if she could help it.
With the last of his items put away, he stood and glanced at Ladybug, wondering if he could ever figure her out. Doubting it, he held out his hand and assisted her up with a warm smile he reserved just for her.
“You know I’ve heared I’m a pretty good listener. If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me.” He gestured at the school around him.
She smiled. “Yeah, I know where to find you. Thank you, Adrien. I’ll be in touch.”
“Anytime, Milady,” he whispered as she zipped away. “Anytime.”