Chapter Text
Marinette groaned, collapsing into her seat as her head fell into her hands. Scrubbing her face with an annoyed sigh, she felt the exhaustion overwhelm her. A small nudge to her side caused her to look up, peeking at her best friend from between her fingers. Nino stared back at her in concern, one of his hands reaching out to rub her shoulder. “You alright, dudette?”
Shooting him a tired, model smile, Marinette slowly nodded her head, raking a hand through her hair. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, but my maman kept me up late with like a billion photoshoots last night.”
Not to mention the certain other late-night activity she got up to every night. Reaching down, she slowly twisted the ring on her finger. A small grin crept onto her face as she thought about the wind blowing through Ladynoire’s hair as she vaulted from rooftop to rooftop. She couldn’t wait for the chance to sneak away tonight. It was the one time she could finally be free from Sabine’s expectations.
A small frown creased Nino’s brow as he stared at her. “Mari, you can’t go on like this forever. You need to say something. She’s running you ragged.”
Marinette exhaled, relaxing for a brief second before she perked up again. Giving him a bright giggle, she shook her head. “It’s alright, Nino. I don’t mind. It’s not so bad. Just a little tiring sometimes.”
Besides, Sabine hadn’t always been like this. There were times from before... back when she had her full family with her. Swallowing the large lump in her throat, Marinette shoved aside some of the memories that were resurfacing.
It was hard. Thinking about how lovely and almost perfect her family was before her papa died. Before Sabine shut herself up in her office, barking orders at her through a phone screen. But she could get through it. With Plagg, Mister Bug, and all her friends by her side, Marinette knew that she could get through anything.
“If you’re sure,” Nino said, his frown deepening even more. He opened his mouth to say something but, before he could, a small, white bag was plopped onto the desk in front of her.
Blinking up in surprise, Marinette felt her heart trip over itself. Above her was a pair of beautiful, sparkling, happy green eyes. She about melted into her seat as a wide, goofy smile spread across her face.
“Good morning, Marinette,” Adrien chirped, giving her a bright beam as he nodded down at the bag. “I made you some macarons this morning. I hope you like them.”
“Uh-huh,” she nodded her head in a hazy, lovestruck daze before she snapped herself out of it. Giving herself a quick shake, she blurted out, “T-thank goo! I-I mean thank you.”
Nino snickered behind his hand and she gave him a quick kick under the desk. Ignoring the glare he shot her, Marinette instead focused on staring up into Adrien’s emerald eyes, feeling a pink flush scatter across her cheeks.
“Of course,” he said, giving her one last smile before sliding into the seat in front of her.
It took a few more seconds before her heartbeat went back to normal and she could finally reach inside the bag. Giddiness and butterflies exploded within her as she pulled out a pink macaron. Taking a small bite, the taste of raspberries filled her mouth and she sighed with delight. The only time Marinette was ever allowed to indulge in pastries was when Adrien brought them to her. Which, luckily for her, he did almost every morning.
“Thank goo,” Nino whispered almost inaudibly, snickering at her as he nudged her.
“Shut up!” Marinette said softly, shooting him a glare around a mouthful of macaron.
He simply rolled his eyes at her, pointing at the bag on the table as he whispered back, “When are you going to realize that Adrien is just as lovestruck as you.”
Darting a quick glance over at Adrien, she prayed that he hadn’t heard Nino just now. Luckily, he seemed deeply absorbed in a conversation with Alya. Breathing out in relief, she narrowed her eyes over at Nino. Gesturing her head over at the boy of her dreams, Marinette hissed, “Be quiet!”
“Mari, why would he bring you that if he didn’t like you.” He raised a brow, pointing at the macaron she had almost finished.
She turned a dark red, tucking a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. “Because he knows how busy and tired I am,” she eventually murmured, “He told me so himself.”
Nino simply rolled his eyes again over her confession. Turning away from her, he muttered quietly to himself, “I swear one of them needs to confess before I do it for them.”
Marinette’s blush turned even darker and she opened her mouth to scold him again when Mlle. Bustier started class. Pursing her lips in annoyance, she turned back to her notebook. If her grades dropped even a little bit, Sabine would certainly hear about it. Tensing up at the thought of being homeschooled again, Marinette buried herself in her notes for the rest of her school day.
After she waved goodbye to Nino at the end of the day, she was whisked away into her limo for the photoshoot in the park. It was usually pretty easy for her to come up with the sparkling eyes and adoring smile because she’d simply think about Adrien.
Today was no different. Marinette easily recalled his beautiful, green eyes staring down at her as he handed her the most delicious macaron she had ever tasted. Before she could stop herself, her eyes strayed over to the bakery longingly. If only she could be in there with him, talking and laughing as they enjoyed the warm, comfy atmosphere together.
Her photographer snapped his fingers, dragging her attention back to the camera as she shook herself back into focus. Marinette had a job to do. Plus, after this was finally done she could soar the skies as Ladynoire as she patrolled with her partner.
When the photoshoot was over, she collapsed back into the limo with a happy sigh. With one last glance over at the Agreste bakery, Marinette watched it disappear as she was driven back home to her cold, empty mansion.
Rushing inside, she barely stopped to give a parting shout over to Nathalie about finishing her homework before running up to her room. Shutting the door behind her, she collapsed onto her giant, pink bed. Plagg floated up lazily from her purse, resting on the pillow next to her as he yawned loudly. “Can’t we just skip patrol tonight? We’ve done enough of those already, haven’t we?”
Snickering quietly, Marinette lightly scratched under her kwami’s chin. “No, Plagg, we can’t skip patrol. But, I do promise to get you an extra-large batch of camembert if we go tonight.”
Plagg smacked his lips together hungrily before eagerly nodding his head. “Alright, just say the words then, kid.”
Standing up out of bed, Marinette beamed happily before shouting, “Plagg, claws out!”
Feeling the magical energy wash over her, she felt the day’s exhaustion slowly fade away. With a small whoop, she vaulted out of her bedroom window, heading over to the Eiffel Tower to meet Mister Bug.
Her partner was already there and when Ladynoire landed softly, he took her gloved hand in his, brushing a kiss over it. “Good evening, m’lady.”
Rolling her eyes with a small smile, she said, “Good evening to you, too, Bugaboy.”
He practically beamed at the nickname, his green eyes sparkling back at her from behind a red mask. Taking a step back, Mister Bug gestured to the city around them. “Our city awaits.”
Shaking her head fondly, she pulled out her baton and vaulted away, calling over her shoulder, “First one to the Louvre wins!”
“Hey! You cheated!” Ladynoire heard him shout after her. Throwing her head back with a loud laugh, she quickened her pace, enjoying the wonderful breeze brushing against her long braid. She would suffer through a million photoshoots and fencing lessons for just this. A chance to jump around and save the world with her partner.