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“Wow, what a day,” Chat said, his words punctuated with a loud yawn. He stretched his arms high up in the air as he did so, the moonlight glinting off the leather sleeves of his suit.
Ladybug rubbed her eyes. “For sure. Now, I can finally sleep. It was a long day of superheroing for both of us.”
“Honestly. First, Risk, then those sentimonsters, and not to mention Félix—” Ladybug grimaced, and Chat noticed immediately, his widening and his sentence stopping dead in its tracks. “Well, then we time traveled. That was pretty cool. Hey, did you see that one timeline where Alya and Nino were sucking each other’s faces off?”
“I did. Remind me to tease Alya about that later.” Ladybug giggled. Time-traveling was definitely more fun when she got to do it alongside Chat instead of against him, even if they were chasing after Shadow Moth—Monarch? Ladybug didn’t know how she was going to keep his various names straight. It was like they were changing every other week —after he’s stolen nearly all the miraculous. However, she and Chat were finally past whatever complications they’d been developing, and she knew they could get them back because they were together .
It was always Ladybug and Chat Noir against the world, and it always would be.
“I sure will.” Chat strode closer, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. Ladybug hugged him back just as firmly, not minding that he smelled slightly of sweat from a long, hard day of fighting. “Now, go to bed, Bug. You’ve earned it.”
“You too, Chat. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He gave her his signature two-finger salute before vaulting off into the night, leaving her alone on the rooftop. Ladybug took in a deep breath and made her way home, landing on her balcony not even five minutes later.
“Tikki, spots off,” she mumbled, and without the additional support from the miraculous, she was left stumbling through the trapdoor and onto her bed. However, all the happiness she’d felt when she was with Chat dissipated like water evaporating on a hot summer day upon seeing her dark, empty room.
When she’d first become the guardian, having sixteen Kwami flying left and right around her room was a hassle on top of the countless other problems she’d had to deal with at the time, but now, the emptiness of the room that was once bubbling and bursting with life was scary and depressing. Marinette looked around as she walked toward her closet, imagining Sass and Kaalki sharing snacks; Baark, Daizzi, and Mullo playing tag; or Wayzz, Xuppu, and Ziggy helping her work on her designs. Now, she and Tikki were all alone.
And it was all her fault.
“You okay, Marinette?” Tikki asked, flying over to the empty miracle box. Marinette sighed, digging through her closet to find her pajamas and slipping them off. She removed the hair ties from her hair, running her hands through the strands to neaten them. She climbed back up the ladder to her bed, letting her eyes drift shut as she slipped under the blanket, resting her head on her pillow.
“I’m just going to go to sleep. Night, Tikki.”
“Night night.”
Marinette took a deep breath, waiting for sleep to pull her in. She was drifting further and further away from consciousness when—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Marinette groaned, jolting up again, grabbing her phone from where it was buzzing on the shelf above her bed. Whoever it was would have to wait until morning because there was no way she was awake enough to deal with the world, not when she’d just had the longest day of her life.
She cracked an eye open, and when she saw Adrien’s name and contact photo on her screen, she all but shrieked, her phone bouncing from one hand to the other as she fumbled with it. And he’d requested a video call, no less.
Pressing ‘answer’ to the call, Marinette reached behind her, turning on the lamp so Adrien would be able to see her properly. The few moments she waited for the line to connect felt like the longest of her life, enough time for anxious thoughts to creep into her mind and consume her. The thought of talking to him without messing up her words still seemed like an unachievable dream, not as long as her torch for him was still aflame, even if the flames were mere sparks of fire.
Then, Adrien’s chipper face appeared on her screen, making the anxiety melt away. His smile was nearly as wide as the screen, yet she still saw the exhaustion muddling his eyes. “Hi,” he said. “Sorry for calling this late.”
“No, it’s fine,” Marinette shook her head, smiling just a tad too wide. How was she supposed to have control over herself when Adrien was melting her into a pile of mush? “I-I am halways appy to talk to you—I mean, I’m always happy to talk to you.”
Adrien laughed. “You’re so funny, Marinette.”
Marinette looked down so he wouldn’t see her blush. “So, uh, why’d you call?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” he admitted, the hand that wasn’t holding his phone up going to rub the nape of his neck. “I thought maybe talking to you could help me pass the time. Is that okay?”
“Yeah! That’s fine. More than fine. Fantastic, even. I couldn’t sleep either!” That was an outright lie, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. “How was your day?”
“Tiring.” He chuckled. “So many Akumas to run from today, you know?”
Marinette nodded. “Yeah. It was chaos.”
“It’s all anyone’s going to be talking about at school tomorrow. Especially Alya. We both know she’s all in for any news on Ladybug.”
Marinette felt her smile strain. She hadn’t talked to Alya since all the miraculous were stolen, but she knew it was finally a great choice to tell Alya that she was Ladybug. Now more than ever, she needed a helping hand, one that could be there for her without identities in the way. It would be easier to have her there while facing all her classmates at school—she knew they’d each have more than a thing or two to say about the events of the day since it was Paris’s hot topic at the moment. “She sure is.”
“You know, we should go somewhere fun together. Maybe with Alya and Nino? I’ve been wanting to do something like that with you since you showed up at my pool photoshoot and crash-landed into the pool on top of me.”
Marinette’s cheeks burned at the memory. “ Shhh . We don’t talk about that.”
Adrien laughed. “Hey, we both had our fair share of embarrassments that day. I did bump my head on the car door.”
“Okay, but that’s nothing . It was cute. At least you didn’t try to set me up with my ex!”
Adrien pressed his lips into a thin line, his eyes sparkling in amusement. “Is that why you showed up there? Because you were trying to get Kagami and me back together?”
“Yeah, see? ” Marinette groaned, plopping back onto her pillows and holding the phone above her face. “In retrospect, it was stupid. I should’ve just respected the fact that you and Kagami called it quits, but I thought you two were made for each other. I just wanted you to be happy.”
“It’s whatever. I was unfair to Kagami, and she’s a great girl, but she’s not the one for me. She wasn’t talking to me for a bit, but now things between us are decently neutral. I appreciate the intent though, Marinette. That was sweet of you. But I’m definitely most happy with my friends. Especially when I’m with a friend like you.”
Normally, Marinette would’ve wanted to curl up and die at the thought of simply being Adrien’s friend , but tonight, it felt different. It felt strangely intimate—just him and her on this late-night call, talking without any pressure or nervousness. Come to think of it, she’d barely botched up her words, a feat she’d only pulled off a couple of times. A friend like you . It was only two extra words but enough for her heart to do backflips in her chest because it felt good knowing that she wasn’t just one of Adrien’s friends.
Maybe this was his way of telling her that she meant something special to him.
“I’m happy with you too, Adrien. All the time.”
“Oh, like that time you showed up at my photoshoot and helped me fix my angel wings? Or that time we danced in front of the moon after eating those wacky hot dogs! And that one time your dad came to our class and taught us all how to make macarons. Those were my absolute favorite , Marinette. I need to come over and have some more soon.”
Marinette giggled, never able to forget the way Adrien’s eyes lit up at the mention of croissants. He radiated warmth and a sunshiny spirit, one that filled her up with immense joy. She felt happier than she did when she first got home, and his presence had also made her much more awake. She’d probably be surviving the next day off of an unnecessarily low amount of sleep, but that didn’t matter because boy , she really, really liked Adrien Agreste.
The real Adrien Agreste—not the model that smiled for the cameras, only wore pristine clothing, and lived his life in the spotlight. She was talking about the Adrien Agreste she’d gotten to know, the one that snorted when he laughed, the one that held an umbrella over her head, the one that she was spending her night talking to. She felt herself falling deeper and deeper into his hole by the minute as conversation flowed and changed, leading them from one topic to another.
“You know,” he said, his words beginning to slow down and slur. Marinette checked the time; it was a little past two in the morning. Maybe that was why. “You look beautiful when your hair is down. Have I ever told you that?”
Marinette subconsciously reached up and twisted a lock of hair around her finger. “You have, but thank you, Adrien. That means a lot. I think you’re…” She bit her lip, not wanting the words to come out so she didn’t have a chance to embarrass herself. But why would she? Everyone liked a compliment, right? “I think you’re plenty handsome yourself, by the way.”
As soon as the words slipped her lips, she angled the camera away from her face, scrunching up her face and pressing it into the pillow. Had she said that? What was he going to say? Would he know she had a crush on him? No, friends could call other friends handsome, right? He wouldn’t think it was weird, right?
Right?!!??
“Gee, thanks, Mari. That means a lot coming from you.”
“Of course.” Marinette looked back up at the screen to find Adrien smiling bashfully, his face colored a vibrant shade of pink, making his green eyes pop out. His hair was a fluffy mess, sticking out every which way, free of the product he put in when out in public. His eyes were sparkling . It was by far the most adorable thing she’d ever seen, and she’d witnessed the Kwamis asleep in a large pile before—she wished she could take a picture, but, alas, Kwamis couldn’t be photographed.
Well, crap. Thinking about the Kwamis sent her down a spiral of Kwami-related thoughts, leaving tears brimming in her eyes. So much for feeling happy .
“Adrien?” Marinette whispered, wiping the tears away. “May I ask you a question?”
His smile fell a little. “Of course. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah just… Have you ever made a mistake before? Like, a big one?”
Adrien nodded. “It’s only human.”
“Just like…what do you do when that mistake is really hard to fix? Like you don’t know what you’re going to do, and you’re left scrambling for information—any kind of information, like a sign of what to do next or anything . Because I made…a giant slip-up, and I don’t even know how people still support me after I’ve done something so terrible .”
“Look, Marinette. All you need to do is breathe. Cliché, I know, but it does work. Sometimes, I’ve, like, tripped while walking down the runway and things, and all I have to do is take a deep breath and get back up. People still end up cheering for you because ultimately, you didn’t give up. Whatever you do, just don’t give up. Okay?”
Marinette’s reply was quiet, her voice still muddled by tears.“Okay.”
“Awesome. And Marinette, you’re such an amazing person. Like, I can’t describe in words how happy I am to have someone like you in my life. Remember when Lila framed you for stealing her necklace? No one believed you except me. That’s not going to change. I’ll always be by your side. I’ll always believe you. And if you want me to help in any way, I’ll do it. Anything for you. Especially after all the things you’ve done for me since I’ve gotten to know you.”
Marinette felt like she was going to cry, but it wasn’t because she was upset about the Kwamis. Adrien’s words struck a deep chord inside of her, tugging straight at her heartstrings, making her heart beat only with devotion for him. He was talking about being lucky for knowing her, but she knew with all her body and soul that she was the lucky one for having someone like him .
I love you , she wanted to tell him right at that moment. I know you love someone else, but I love you.
She wouldn’t dare to do something like that, though. Instead, she settled with, “Thank you. Truly. And I hope you know I’ll always be there for you if you need me to be.”
His earnest smile turned cheeky. “So when the next Marvel movie comes out this weekend, you’ll go with me?”
Marinette laughed, wiping more stray tears from her eyes. “As long as I don’t have to go in my pajamas with a towel on my head. You know, I still see things online about ‘Pajama Girl’.”
“I still get fan mail asking if ‘Pajama Girl’ is my girlfriend.”
At this point, they were laughing so hard that Marinette feared her parents would hear from the floor below.
If they came upstairs and chided her for being awake at such a late hour, that wouldn’t matter, though.
At that moment, her little bubble with Adrien, far from all their stresses and tensions was all that mattered.
In all honesty, Adrien didn’t know why he’d called Marinette.
Maybe it was her sweet smile that lingered in his thoughts. Maybe it was the way she’d started to appear in his dreams more often. Maybe it was the way he felt butterflies flutter in his stomach whenever she was around. Whatever the case, he was glad he did it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stumbled upon the longest, and funniest , FaceTime he’d ever been on.
Marinette was truly hilarious . He’d even taken the opportunity to slip some puns into their conversation, taking pride in the reaction elicited from her—the unamused expression, and groans of protest that would ring from his phone speakers as Adrien would curl up into a ball on his bed from how hard he was laughing.
Sure, there were times when things got a bit more serious, but that was okay as long as he got to shower her with compliments. Seeing the way her cheeks turned pink and her eyes widened with shock was simply precious, and when she called him handsome— Adrien was still having a hard time calming his heart rate down because of it—he was positive he’d had a similar, flustered reaction.
He was drawn to her every word, his eyes locked on hers as she talked and talked about every little thought in his mind. Marinette at three in the morning had no filter, he’d learned, but he didn’t mind listening to her inner ramblings. Not when he got to spend just a little longer talking to her.
“So what was the first thing you learned how to bake?” Adrien asked, wanting to know every little thing about her. Marinette tapped her chin in recollection, recounting a few of the things she’d made with her father when she was younger. When he felt his cheeks hurt, Adrien looked down at his face in the bottom right corner of the screen, noticing how wide his smile had gotten. He sighed, plopping back onto the pillows.
This was how friends smiled at each other, right?
Friends also felt their heart pound in their chest when they talked to other friends, right?
Friends also found their other friends overwhelmingly beautiful, right?
Right????
Adrien discreetly snuck a glance at Plagg, who was chuckling from his spot on Adrien’s desk, tossing a wedge of camembert into his mouth. Then, he returned his gaze back to Marinette, who was still talking about the first-ever galette she’d made with her parents when she was six years old.
“Yup!” she exclaimed, and despite it being so late, her voice was still animated, full of cheer. “That was the first thing I can remember baking. Now, I think the first thing I made on my own were passionfruit macarons—”
“You made passionfruit macarons? I love those!”
Marinette’s eyes widened as she bit at her bottom lip. “Interesting. Definitely interesting.”
“Interesting in a bad way?”
She shook her head. “In a good way. Those have been selling really well at the bakery lately, so Maman and Papa have been making new batches every single day. They always let me take the rejects, or they donate them to homeless shelters. Do you want me to bring you some at school tomorrow?”
Adrien’s mouth was practically watering at the sound of his favorite dessert. “Yes, please .”
“Come to think of it, if you really like them enough, you should come over this weekend, if you’re free. We can bake a batch together!”
The thought of spending the day with Marinette while baking sounded like absolute heaven . He loved it.
He loved her .
As a friend! A friend and only a friend! One-hundred percent! What, he wasn’t crushing on Marinette! That would be absolutely insane. Absolutely…insane…
Adrien looked back at her, watching her eyes droop; she looked like she was seconds away from falling asleep. His smile fell as he watched her, the wide, eccentric grin falling into something softer, calmer. He could practically envision it—watching her fall asleep beside him, her hair splattered all over the pillow, her eyes falling shut as she tried to stay awake and keep talking, but talking would essentially just become incoherent mumbling. He’d hug her tight, whisper his goodnights before shutting the light, falling asleep, safe and sound in her arms.
That felt nice. Really nice.
It felt like home .
“I’ll talk to Nathalie in the morning,” he whispered. “Go to sleep, Mari. You look tired, and we have school in four hours.”
“Nooooo,” she whined. “I want to keep talking to you.”
Adrien’s heart did a backflip in his chest. “I want to keep talking to you too, but we have to sleep. You know how mad Mendeleiev gets when we aren’t paying attention in class.”
“Mmm, you’re right. Good night, Adrien.”
“Good night, Marinette.”
Adrien ended the call, plopping back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, a lovesick smile gracing his lips. “Marinette is so special.”
Plagg flew over to him, smirking. “If you keep insisting she’s your friend with that kind of smile on your face, you’re faker than those individually-wrapped cheese slices in those yucky American grocery stores.”
“You know what, Plagg? I’m not so sure anymore. She’s my friend, and I love her with all my heart, but I felt something different today. Honestly, I’ve been feeling it for a while.” Adrien closed his eyes, letting himself recount his late-night call with Marinette. “I’m just happy she’s in my life.”
Adrien smiled as he got out of his town car, waving his bodyguard goodbye.
He’d only gotten three hours of sleep, but he was still wide awake, riding on the high from the night before. And now, he was at school, and school meant seeing Marinette, so what could be better?
For once, she was early, sitting on a bench by the front gates with a brown paper bag in her hands. Adrien rushed over to her, sitting beside her. “Hey, Marinette.”
“Adrien! Hi!” She held the bag out to him. “Here you go; fresh macarons just for you! These were the rejects, so they might be chipped or slightly burnt, but I picked out all the best ones.”
His heart swelled in appreciation. “Thank you.” He opened the bag, pulling one out. It was a lovely pink color, a shade that reminded him so much of Marinette—the color her cheeks got the night before, the color of her bedding, the color he saw when he looked at her. He blinked twice, wondering if someone had put a rose-colored filter over his eyes. With a smile, Adrien ate one of the macarons. “These are too good, Marinette.”
“I’ll tell Papa you liked them. Oh, and,” she leaned in sheepishly, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. Adrien's eyes widened when she did so, thoughts jumbling together so quickly that he thought it was seconds from short-circuiting. The macaron fell from his hand onto his lap, leaving pink crumbs all over his jeans.
“Thank you for talking to me last night,” Marinette said. “I was feeling sad before you called me, and you really helped me feel better.”
When he didn’t respond, still frozen from the kiss Marinette had planted on his cheek, Marinette glanced down at her wrist, checking the time on a watch she wasn’t even wearing. “Oh, would you look at that! Class is starting soon don’t wanna be late gotta go byeee!” She ran away like lightning, and Adrien felt his lips curve into a goofy smile.
After that, one thing was sure: Adrien really liked Marinette.
It wasn’t big and grand like how it was with Ladybug. It wasn’t on the spot either. But it was perfect.
And so was Marinette.