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Marinette flinched, snapping her eyes open. She was met by her Kwami, Tikki, floating in front of her with an expression full of worry.
"Marinette!" The red Kwami cried. "You're awake!"
"W-what?" Marinette gasped, sitting up in bed. Her heart was racing and she felt clammy. "You were crying in your sleep! I think you had a bad dream."
Marinette touched a hand to her cheek, noticing the wet tracks left behind by her tears. A fresh spill of liquid trails down from her eyelids and dripped off her chin.
"Marinette..." Tikki sounded very concerned, it shown in her big blue eyes. The Kwami floated over and hugged the girl's forehead in an attempt to comfort her. "It's okay, it was only a bad dream. Everything is okay."
Tikki was right, it was a bad dream. A horrible dream. Marinette could still hear her pulse rushing in her ears. Her head hurt, she felt sick. Marinette sat there, trying to regulate her breathing and slowly fell into a rhythmic pace as Tikki hummed quietly to her. Moonlight shown overhead through the window above her bed, outlining Marinette with a pale light. Everything was quiet, save for the soft hum of her Kwami.
Marinette tried not to think about the dream. She wanted to focus on Tikki's song, but with such a vision fresh in her mind, Marinette found herself recalling it. The wind rushing in her ears, Volpina's wicked laughter, Adrien's terrified expression...it felt so real. She was so willing to give up her Miraculous for him. She hated seeing how afraid he looked. And she hated how she sat there, frozen, as she watched Adrien slip from Volpina's grasp. Bile rose in the girl's throat. My fault. It was my fault. He could have died and it would have been my fault.
Marinette found herself reaching for her phone, not entirely sure of what she was doing. She clicked it on, which illuminated her anxious features, found her contact list and began scrolling. Tikki watched the screen, a phone number reflected in her big eyes as Marinette found the contact she was searching for.
-
Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.
His phone woke him. Adrien groaned and rolled on his side, slinging an arm over his head. "Plagg, 'm tryn to sleep..." he mumbled.
A pair of small, green eyes glared at the boy as the cat Kwami poked his head out from under the sheets. "Oh, YOU'RE trying to sleep? Try sleeping when there is a phone ringing and a 15 year old boy nagging at you for it, then come talk to me about sleeping." A small smile tugged at the corner of Adrien's mouth upon hearing his annoyed Kwami's sassy remark. Plagg grumbled to himself and burrowed back under the covers as Adrien's eyes blinked open.
That was odd, his phone usually didn't go off during the night because he had it on silent. He must have forgotten to switch it over from vibrate before going to bed. Reluctantly, Adrien sat up and reached for his phone, which was sitting on the small table next to his bed. He was about to swipe the red bar on his phone to end the call, when the caller ID caught his attention. "Marinette...?"
This wasn't just odd, this was bizarre. Why on earth would Marinette, a girl whom can hardly hold a conversation with Adrien for more than 30 seconds, be calling him? Adrien noted the time on the phone. 1:47 AM. Why was she calling him at this time of night? Plagg poked his head out from under the covers again, a quizzical expression on his face. Adrien shrugged at the black Kwami before answering the phone, hesitantly holding it up to his ear.
"Hello?" Adrien asked, masking the confusion in his voice easily. A muffled noise came through the speaker. A few moments later, came an answer.
"A-Adrien?" He noted Marinette's voice sounded shakier than usual. Maybe it was because she was calling him now, of all times she could have called him.
"Hey Marinette!" He replied with a calm tone.
He exchanged another look with Plagg.
"D-d-did I wake you?" She mumbled, guilt tight in her voice. Adrien could tell something was wrong, she was upset about something. So he lied. "Ah- no! No, actually, I just got done with my geography homework, and uh, I was going to uh, take a shower and head to bed" Plagg shot a questioning glare at Adrien and he shrugged, looking back at the floor.
"O-oh...okay..." came the response. There was a pause before she continued.
"Uhm...are you okay?" She asked, voice shaking a little. Adrien blinked. "Uh...well yeah! I'm okay. Why do you ask?" He looked down at his ring, rubbing it a little with his thumb. There came another muffled sound through the speaker, almost like a sigh? When Marinette didn't respond to his question, Adrien spoke again.
"Are...you okay?" He asked, letting his concern show in his voice. There was another pause before she answered. "I...I had a bad dream."
Adrien swung his legs over the side of the bed so he could sit up properly. He rested his other hand on the phone, almost hugging it closer to his ear. If anything, Adrien knew what it was like to have a bad dream, especially one that caused you to wake up in tears. He was no stranger to that. And Marinette, from what he's seen, always seems so cheerful and full of joy. So kind and compassionate... he would hate for her to have to suffer this alone like he always did.
"I'm sorry, Marinette. Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, letting his concern show in his voice. There was another muffled sound that came through the speaker, it sounded like a sob. Adrien frowned, wishing he could be there with her, so he could offer her a shoulder to cry on, whisper gentle things into her ear. That's what his mom would do whenever he was upset. He decided not to think about his mom, right now, Marinette was in need.
"Ah... you don't have to talk about if you don't want to, I understand completely." He smiled gently, hoping that by the tone of his voice, Marinette would feel his smile. She sniffled through the phone. "T-thank you, Adrien." Her voice seemed a little more relaxed. He smiled again, looking up at his bedroom ceiling. "No worries, Marinette. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'd be more than happy to offer support. That's what friends are for, right?"
Marinette smiled through the phone, letting out a faint giggle. "Yeah...I should probably go now so you can sleep, thank you again, Adrien." She replied. Adrien felt relieved to hear her tone of voice change back to it's normal, cheerful bounce. He didn't want to admit it, but the tone of her voice made his tummy twinge a bit, almost in the same way it did when he was around Ladybug. "Alright, see you tomorrow then!" He responded, leaning back a little.
"See you." And she hung up. Adrien leaned back till he was laying against his bed. He stared his phone wallpaper, which was a picture if him and Nino. He thought about Marinette, the way she sounded when he first answered his phone. Whatever her dream was about, it must have really scared her. She wasn't even stuttering and tripping over her words like she usually did when he talked to her. She just sounded really upset...but he was glad he could comfort her.
He almost considered transforming into Chat Noir and swinging by her house, but he knew better than that. Getting his superhero life mixed up with his personal life was not a good idea, as Ladybug enforced whenever he'd ask her about her personal life.
Adrien stared at his phone for a moment longer before tapping his thumb on the text app. He pulled up Marinette's number and sent her a quick text before clicking his phone off and setting it back down on the night stand, this time making sure it was on silent. He then climbed back into bed, snuggling himself under his comforter and sighing softly, letting his eyes close as he drifted asleep.