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The stupid jingle blasted yet again from Adrien’s phone.
“Are you ever going to answer that?” Plagg asked him, floating above the device with a half-eaten piece of camembert in his tiny paw.
Adrien regarded his cellphone, the look on his face a mix of different things, primarily fatigue and sadness.
He had little reason to be tired. He had gotten more sleep than he was used to in the past week, after all. However, Adrien had plenty reasons to be sad. While he often tried to avoid giving in to the melancholy, today was a lost battle.
It was a shame, especially because he now had overly attentive friends with whom he’d made plans. They were the reason his phone had been buzzing once every few minutes for over a half hour now.
Adrien grunted in a delayed response to his Kwami’s question, looking away from the phone. It stopped buzzing a second later.
Unfortunately, there was no peace to be had. There was a knock at his door, then it was opened. “Adrien?” Nathalie’s voice called to him. “Why aren’t any of your lights on? It’s the afternoon,” she chastised, flicking the switch to illuminate the teenager’s massive bedroom. Adrien groaned and shielded his eyes, wincing from the light.
“You didn’t come down for breakfast, and now it’s past lunch,” she called, walking in with a small tray with a fruit cup and croissants, as well as a tall glass of juice.
Adrien just made a noise at her. He was sitting in his bed, fully dressed with the sheets at his waist. A mass of pillows were propped up behind him. Nathalie fixed him with a steady gaze, holding out the tray to him once she reached him. Adrien took it.
“Your friends have called the house twice. They informed me you were supposed to meet them at the park.”
“Yeah,” Adrien answered, “I was supposed to.”
“I believe they are worried about you,” Nathalie went on.
“I’ll call them back later,” Adrien told her, looking down at the food now in his lap. He took the orange juice off and put it down, so it wouldn’t spill.
“Very well,” Nathalie put her hands behind her back, squeezing them. “Is there anything I can get you?”
“This is fine, Nathalie,” Adrien said softly, his eyes still downcast. Nathalie sighed quietly, and lifted a hand to squeeze Adrien’s shoulder once.
“Thank you,” he muttered, still not meeting her eyes.
“If you need anything, I’ll be in the office.”
Adrien made a noise of confirmation that he understood. With that, Nathalie turned and left Adrien’s room, heels tapping on the floor.
Adrien heaved a loud sigh and Plagg came out of hiding to perch on his shoulder. Adrien hadn’t even noticed Plagg had ducked under his sheets, truth be told. He picked up the tiny fork with his platter and stuck it into a piece of fruit at the top of the cup, bringing it to his mouth and chewing slowly.
Plagg mimicked Adrien’s sigh when the boy’s phone started to ring yet again. Adrien continued to ignore it and tried to manage another piece of fruit before putting his fork down and leaning back, chin tilted to the ceiling.
Meanwhile, three other teenagers sat in the park on the pleasant spring day. There were quite a few people around. Many of them were women with flowers and children toting along behind them. The aforementioned teens sat by the fountain, each holding their phones out in front of them.
“I dunno, guys, but I have to go soon,” Alya sat, eyebrows knit and lips in a tight frown. There was an accompanying worry in her eyes.
“Yeah, my father wants me a couple hours earlier than planned,” Nino put his cheek on his fist, leaning over, “if I can’t give him a viable excuse I might have to leave.”
“I’m free for the rest of the day,” Marinette chirped. “Papa and I made maman a tradition breakfast this morning, then they were on their way. They’re going for an overnight stay at her favourite inn,” she explained. “But Adrien won’t answer his phone.”
“Yeah, that’s the weird thing,” Alya said. “You think he’d at least shoot us a text.”
“What if something’s wrong?” Marinette chewed on her lip, “what if something happened to him?”
“He’s probably okay,” Nino reasoned. “But, I’m tired of sitting around here. Let’s go to his place and see if we can’t drag him out. If needs be, Marinette can hang out with him even if we have to leave, Alya.”
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” Alya grinned and shot Marinette a wink. The other girl rolled her eyes and waved her hand at Alya.
“Well, um, we did say we would hang out with him today! And, it’s not like I’ve never spent time with him before,” Marinette said. True, she’d hung out with Adrien. They’d done so an increasing amount as the months went by, becoming fairly good friends. Marinette still stumbled in front of him once in a while, but she was able to hold a conversation and occasionally even ask him to do things (casually, as friends). Still, the prospect of being alone with him continued to make her heart beat quicker. She figured it’d be a while yet until that habit went away.
“Alright then!” Nino grinned as well, standing up. “To the Agreste Estate!”
The other two stood up as well, following Nino as he marched forward. It didn’t take them too long to reach the mansion; it wasn’t far from the park they frequently hung around in. They hit the buzzer and were met with Nathalie’s voice asking them to state who they were and what their purpose was. Nino spoke.
“Uh, hey, Mademoiselle! We’re Adrien’s friends, we tried calling earlier? He was supposed to meet up with us, we’re still wondering if he’s okay. Could you let us in, or, uh, send him out, or just tell us what’s up, I guess?”
Nino smiled for the camera, trying to be convincing.
Nathalie hummed, looking at the monitor. Two girls stood behind the boy in front, the DJ M. Agreste didn’t really like. He was seemingly okay with the girls, the few times they’d been over to see Adrien. Gabriel had a fondness, if it could be called that, for the one with the dark hair. He seemed to like her, if only because she’d created a design for his contest and won. He had mentioned could see creativity, determination, and passion in her, once, though one might question whether he meant it entirely as a compliment.
Nathalie knew Adrien was feeling down, and he was ignoring his friends’ calls. If he was ignoring them digitally, he probably wouldn’t want to see them in person, right? Still, Nathalie tapped her fingers on the desk; perhaps Adrien needed his friends right now. He was a sensitive boy, and while she couldn’t exactly relate to the needs of overly sensitive teenagers, she thought having his friends around might help a bit. His father surely wasn’t present.
“Very well,” Nathalie said, after the long pause. She opened the gates, allowing the teenagers in. She watched them walk up to the house, then went out to the hall to show them the way to Adrien’s room, despite the fact she knew they were aware of where their friend’s room was.
Nathalie knocked once again, pausing before opening her doors. “Adrien, your friends are here to see you.” The lights were off again. Nathalie turned them on. She led Adrien’s friends into his room, seeing that Adrien looked like hadn’t moved since she was last there. “Adrien, you’ve barely touched your food,” she clicked her tongue.
Adrien blinked and rubbed his face. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Hey,” he said a moment later, looking at his friends. “You guys didn’t have to come,” he told them, giving a small smile.
“We were worried, dude,” Nino said, sitting gently on his bed.
“You wouldn’t answer any of our calls or texts,” Alya pointed out. “After bailing on us, that is,” she spoke with no malice, a soft smile on her face.
“Sorry if we’re intruding,” Marinette clasped her hands in front of her chest, “we just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Thanks,” Adrien said. Nathalie left without another word, trusting the teens to take care of things. “It’s alright. I’m fine, I just...” Adrien looked down. “I didn’t really feel like going out today. I don’t feel well,” he said. Any semblance of a smile was gone from his features.
Alya took a couple steps forward and put her hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. We don’t mean to bother you. You don’t have to pretend to be happy, either. We may not be able to relate or fully understand, but we’re here for you, y’know?”
Adrien looked up at her, swallowing thickly. He nodded dumbly.
“We got you,” Nino added with a grin. He let his grin falter a bit, “though, Ayla and I can’t dedicate ourselves to the cause all day. Unfortunately, we’ll have to go in a bit.. But! Marinette is totally free. If you’re alright, she’s gonna stay here, or take you out someplace, yeah?”
Marinette gave him a big smile and a thumbs up, afraid she’d mess up if she spoke to him now. Obviously, she’d have to get over it soon enough, but for now she remained quiet.
“Ah, it’s okay. You don’t have to stay with me, really,” Adrien told her with a small smile of his own.
“No, it’s no problem, really!” Marinette said in a rush. She took a deep breath and added, “I mean, if you don’t mind, I’d like to stay with you. My parents are out of town, anyway.”
“Oh, yeah?” Adrien blinked. “Well.. it’s up to you. I can’t lie, though, I’m probably gonna be a bit of a downer.”
“That’s okay,” Alya said, squeezing his shoulder.
“Yeah,” Marinette agreed. “I wouldn’t expect you to be cheerful on a day like today. And, if you would rather be alone, we don’t mean to impose. I don’t have to stay if you really don’t want me to.”
“No, you can stay,” Adrien said slowly. “It’s nice having someone around.”
“Great!” Nino said. Alya’s phone beeped and she sighed a little.
“I gotta go.” Alya rubbed Adrien’s shoulder and leaned to peck him on the forehead. “I hope you feel better, Adrien.”
“Thanks, Ayla,” Adrien gave her another little smile.
“I probably got another twenty minutes,” Nino said. “Hey, how ‘bout I show you that video I was talking about yesterday?” Nino moved to sit next to Adrien, and waved Marinette forward so she could stand beside him and peer over his shoulder. Adrien moved the tray of food to his other side.
The video was bloopers from a film Nino and Adrien had watched together. It was funny enough to get a little chuckle out of Adrien, even in his sad state. That video lead to a ‘behind the scenes’ interview, then to a different set of bloopers. Before they knew it, over twenty minutes had passed, and soon Nino’s phone was ringing.
“’Allo Papa? Ah, yeah, I’ll be there soon,” Nino grimaced. “I gotta leave, too. Sorry.”
“It’s fine, I understand. You should be with your family today,” Adrien said with a slightly pained smile.
“Yeah, s’pose so,” Nino breathed. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school, alright?” Nino gave him a half hug and Adrien patted him lightly on the back.
“Bye Nino,” Marinette said as he made to leave. Nino shot her a grin and was on his way.
Adrien looked at the food next to him and picked up a croissant. He offered it to Marinette and she shook her head. “No thank you, Adrien. You should probably eat it,” Marinette rubbed the back of her neck.
“I’m not all that hungry right now,” he confessed with another sigh, tossing it back on the platter. “You can sit, you know,” he tried to smile at her. Marinette just nodded and perched on his bed where Nino had been, though she didn’t sit as close.
“I don’t bite,” Adrien added, with small noise of amusement.
“O-of course not,” Marinette said, shifting a little closer. She thought for a moment, then leaned down to slip off her flats. She lifted her legs on his bed and crossed her ankles. “Um, have any other videos you wanna watch, or, uh, something?” she asked after a moment.
Adrien looked over at her and shrugged a little. On a good day, he wasn’t great at voicing his opinion in a firm matter. Today, he didn’t want for much, and he definitely didn’t want to ask for anything. The only things he did want, he couldn’t possibly have.
“Um, how about a game? I have some on my phone,” Marinette took her phone from her pocket and looked at the apps, finding something they could play together. Adrien agreed to whatever she suggested, and the two played for a little while.
As they did that, Tikki and Plagg floated from their respective hiding spots to duck away together. They knew it would spell disaster if either of their Chosens noticed them, but they couldn’t resist taking this opportunity to speak to one another.
Though, “speak” wasn’t exactly what they were doing, as they could communicate in other ways only Kwami could. Still, Tikki asked Plagg what wrong with his usually sunny and enthusiastic Chosen. Plagg explained that mother’s day was not a fun event for the boy, whose mother had disappeared some years back and whose father was neglectful, nowhere to be seen on the arguably important day.
Tikki felt bad for him, and wanted to encourage Marinette to give him a hug. Plagg told her to give it time, Adrien was bound to say or do something hug-inducing eventually. He was getting much better at letting his guard down around his friends, though he always felt bad for being sad around them, and worried they wouldn’t like him unless he was fun. That saddened Tikki, but she was glad he was making progress.
The two Kwami eventually floated away from each other and went back into hiding so their respective Chosen would not notice their absence and fret over it.
As well, Marinette and Adrien eventually tired of the game on her cell phone. They picked another to play for a bit, until Adrien looked away for a few moments and Marinette went quiet.
“Is everything okay? Er, as okay as it can be, given the circumstances?” Marinette winced, knowing she sounded stupid. Oh, she hoped she didn’t do or say anything to make Adrien feel worse. She’d simply die if she hurt him today.
“Yeah,” Adrien said, looking over at her with another sad smile. “I just wanted to say thank you. You really don’t have to take time out of your day to spend with me.”
“Adrien.”
“I mean it,” he pressed. “You’re basically wasting your day, sitting here with me. There are a million funner things to be doing.”
Marinette shook her head. “Adrien, please. I’m your friend, I want to spend time with you.”
“How can you want to spend time with me when I’m basically just a blob, sitting here staring at the wall?”
“I know you’re sad today,” Marinette put her hand on his shoulder, just like Alya, and he looked at her again. “You have every right to be. But, your friends aren’t just going to abandon you because you’re sad. True, the others are busy, but if they could be I’m sure they’d still be here too. I have the free time to be able to be here, I definitely don’t consider it a waste. Promise.”
Adrien breathed in through his nose and nodded his head. He didn’t even notice his eyes were wet until a tear rolled down his cheek. He used the back of his hand to rub the droplet away.
“Adrien,” Marinette murmured. She almost hadn’t noticed his eyes welling, either, until he started rubbing at them. She went to hug him, then paused. There was distress on her face as she worried he wouldn’t want to be touched. Some people were bothered by unrequested hugs, when they were sad. “Um, is it okay if I hug you?” she asked quickly, arms floating awkwardly near his shoulders.
Adrien sniffed again, holding the breath as he nodded. Marinette closed her arms around him and he leaned into her, placing on hand on her side. He willed his eyes to stop watering, but it didn’t work. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, a few more quiet tears escaping him.
“Hey, no, it’s okay,” Marinette rubbed his back. “Just as we’ve been saying, it’s okay to be upset, Adrien.” He nodded against her shoulder, sniffing again. He made a strained noises, but allowed himself cry on her shoulder, literally. Marinette made soothing noises, rubbing circles on his back. “It’s okay,” she murmured once more.
It may sound strange, but Marinette honestly felt privileged. It usually took a lot of trust to be vulnerable around someone and let them comfort you. One didn’t let just anybody hold them whilst crying. She would let Alya, and yes, she would let Adrien (as embarrassing as it would potentially be to cry in front of him), and she would let Chat Noir comfort her if she ever needed it, but they were close friends. Marinette had come to realize Adrien had walls up a lot of the time, so for him to let them down even enough to cry in front of her was big. Not to mention, they were hugging on his bed right now.
Adrien eventually eased away from her, his hand still on her waist as he looked at her with red eyes. “Thanks,” he said again. “I can’t say how much this means to me, really,” Adrien let out a watery chuckle and rubbed at his eyes again. “I totally ruined your shirt, I’ll get you another.”
“You don’t have to get me a shirt,” Marinette laughed faintly. “And it’s really no problem. I’m, well, I’m glad you let me stay here with you. You deserve a friend by you today.”
Adrien bit his tongue and nodded at her words. “I don’t know what I did, to deserve someone like you. Or Nino, or Alya.”
“Adrien, you’re amazing!” Marinette’s eyes went wide and she paused for a moment, toning it down. “You’re very sweet, and kind, funny, and smart. You have a huge heart. Of course you deserve good friends.”
“Thank you, Marinette. You’re wonderful too, you know? And, if you ever need anything, anything at all, tell me, okay? I’d happily spend time with you if you were sad.”
Marinette smiled at him and nodded her head, “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind, Adrien.”
Adrien felt some relief, after letting his guard down and allowing himself to cry. There was still a sad haze floating around him. It would, undoubtedly, be there for the rest of the day, but it had eased up just a little bit.
Adrien glanced down, then shifted. He moved to pick up the tray of food and move it further as he crawled out of the bed on the other side. “Wanna watch a movie? I’ll grab my laptop for the bigger screen.”
“Sure, if you’d like,” Marinette said, staying put.
“Yeah, just give me a minute,” Adrien gave her a smile that still didn’t reach his eyes, but wasn’t as sad as before. He put the tray down elsewhere and picked up a croissant, biting into it. Before getting the laptop, he ducked into the bathroom for a minute to look at his face. Plagg had hidden himself under Adrien’s shirt when he went to move, and poked out as Adrien prodded at his face and his puffy eyes.
“I’m an ugly crier,” Adrien whined a little. He had a pretty girl in his room and he had cried on her. Him, the teen model, the heartthrob. Of course, he believed Marinette when she said she wasn’t bothered by it. Still, he felt a little foolish. He was a boy of 16, should he really be crying like that? Even if it was Mother’s Day, and it’d been years since he’d seen his. Even if it was Mother’s Day, and his was likely dead.
Adrien rubbed his eyes and splashed water on his face.
“You’re holding up okay?” Plagg asked him quietly, floating with a towel hanging from his paws. Adrien took the towel and dabbed at his face.
“Yeah,” he took a deep breath. “Marinette is a saint.”
“She’s nice. Her father makes good cheese croissants, though they’re no camembert,” Plagg commented. He was glad the girl was there, though. He wasn’t the most comforting Kwami, that was much more Tikki’s style. And, it would figure Tikki’s chosen would be the one to ease Adrien out of his gloom, even if he had no idea his little friend was also Ladybug, the one Adrien claimed he was in love with.
While Adrien was in the bathroom, Marinette held a quiet conversation with her own Kwami, bending over her bag to speak in a hushed voice.
“We were hugging for longer than ten seconds!” Marinette grinned. Then, she grimaced, “You don’t think it’ll get awkward or anything, when we sees me again?”
“You’re a great friend, Marinette! I’m sure he appreciates your presence, and he’ll be thankful when he looks back on this. Don’t worry!”
Marinette nodded. “You’re probably right, Tikki.” Marinette then glanced up, noticing the door was being opened. She shut her purse quickly and resumed a more casual position as Adrien went to grab his laptop and brought it over to the bed with him.
Marinette flashed Adrien a smile. He smiled back, and sat back down with his shoulder pressed to hers. He turned on the computer and opened up his video folder, where he had a ton of digital downloads his father bought, plus links to streaming accounts. “You like superhero movies? There’s a few new ones on here I haven’t seen here.”
“Yeah, I’m fine with superhero movies. Though, the real ones we have here are cooler,” Marinette grinned.
“Agreed,” Adrien smiled, then sighed. “Oh, Ladybug.”
Marinette looked slightly surprised to hear Adrien say the name of her alter ego like that. She realized she was blushing and pressed her hands to her cheeks quickly to cover it. Not a wise move. Adrien looked over at her with a raised brow.
Marinette laughed a little, then sighed similar to him, “You mean, Chat Noir, right?”
Adrien raised both his eyebrows at that, “You like Chat Noir?” he asked, as much teasing in his voice as he could muster.
“Ah, well, yeah,” Marinette let her hands drop from her cheeks, able to tell her blushing had cooled some. “I’ve met him a few times, he’s actually very nice, and charming. I mean, not as nice as you,” Marinette struggled. She was trying to strike a balance between implying Adrien was the first on her mind, but feigning some interest in Chat Noir as well. And, really, it wasn’t exactly feigning interest. As Ladybug, the two were very close, they who had to trust each other with their lives. Marinette knew Chat Noir liked her, a lot, and she may even consider her feelings for him if it wasn’t for Adrien Agreste. But, as fate would have it, she was still far too smitten with the boy beside her to explore her feelings for her partner.
“Well, I dunno about nice, but I don’t think I’m as cool as Chat Noir,” Adrien said. “I mean, I’ve met him a few times as well. He does seem nice. We’re probably on the same level, or something.”
“Hm,” Marinette said. “I think you’re pretty cool, Adrien. I suppose you don’t fight crime as one half of an ass-kicking magical duo, though,” Marinette paused, thinking, “at least as far as I’m aware.” She grinned at him.
“Haha, definitely not,” Adrien replied. Oh, if only she knew the truth. He laughed a little more.. He didn’t let his mind wander to thoughts of the possibility of Marinette having a crush on Chat Noir. He was, in fact, under the impression she had a crush on Adrien himself. It would be impressive, if she managed to crush on both him and his superhero alter ego. It wasn’t as if Adrien had never considered Marinette as an option. She was a wonderful girl, someone he could see himself falling for. Alas, he was too enamoured with Ladybug. Adrien scrolled through the movie options, assuming they were ready to watch.
Marinette thought for another moment or so, before turning back to him. “You, ah, like Ladybug, though?”
“Hmn?” Adrien lifted his eyes to her, then gave her an easy smile. Much better than how he’d been smiling earlier. “Yeah, I definitely like Ladybug. She’s amazing, don’t you think?”
“She’s pretty awesome, yeah.”
“She’s really nice, too. I’ve met her. She really cares, you know? Not that Chat Noir doesn’t, he definitely does too, but there’s something so special about Ladybug,” Adrien’s eyes were warm and glanced away, thinking of his Lady. He cleared his throat a moment later, realizing he was making an utter fool of himself. He glanced over at Marinette, sheepish. She just gave him a polite smile and looked at the computer.
Marinette idly wondered how it was possible she was jealous of herself, mind suddenly swimming with the idea that Adrien fancied her alter ego. Should she, perhaps, approach him as Ladybug? But, to Marinette, Ladybug was only a facet of her personality. She was stronger and more competent than Marinette herself, even if she was (still) fairly impulsive at times. Adrien didn’t know Ladybug, not really, the only one who came close to knowing Ladybug was Chat Noir.
However, she couldn’t fault him for falling for someone he didn’t know. She hardly knew Adrien, when she first met him. She could barely speak to him for a good length of time. Sure, she was getting to know the real Adrien now, and she still loved him as much as she did when he first offered her the umbrella on that fateful day.
“Marinette?” Adrien said, and she snapped out of her thoughts, blinking at him. “Is this one okay?”
“Sure, of course,” Marinette said, then peered at the screen. Adrien’s mouse was hovering over a superhero movie, the sample image being of a girl in spandex with wings and two others standing behind her in similar costumes without the wings. She nodded approvingly. Adrien dimmed the lights in his room with a setting on his computer. Then, he clicked the video get is started, and scooted even closer to Marinette before putting the laptop out in front of them.
For how careful Marinette was to avoid getting too close to Adrien in case he was uncomfortable, Adrien was practically the opposite. He didn’t really consider the possibility Marinette might not want to be that close, so he was leaning on her shoulder within the first five minutes of the movie. Of course, if she tried to move or made it known she was uncomfortable, he would have backed off. As it would be, Marinette definitely did not mind the close contact.
Marinette eventually did have to move a little, a third of the way through the film. She was stiff, from trying to avoid moving Adrien, and she really needed to change somehow. When she began to nudge him, he took the hint and moved away from her. Marinette immediately regretted the decision, but chewed on her lip. She shifted, finding a comfortable place, then opened her arms a little and motioned for Adrien to come back, hope on her face. Adrien slid in close to her again, this time with Marinette’s arm around him so it was free, rather than squished up against her side with his weight on it. He leaned his head against her shoulder and shut his eyes for a moment, his body shifting to face hers just a little. She smelled very nice.
Positioned like this, Marinette could press her face to the top of Adrien’s head, which she did for a while until her neck started to hurt. She had one arm lying across her stomach, and the other around his shoulder, absently stroking her thumb over his t-shirt once in a while.
Adrien’s eyes felt heavy, even with the flashing lights and noises coming from the computer in front of him. He was finding it increasingly hard to pay attention to the film. Despite having done absolutely nothing all day, he still felt tired, particularly emotionally. As well, he was currently cuddling with a cute girl from his class who he might, kind of, have some feelings for, even if he didn’t let himself acknowledge them. The movie was taking the backseat.
Marinette also wasn’t paying a ton of attention to the movie. She hadn’t been, from the moment Adrien had rested his head on her shoulder. How could she possibly pay attention to the film with Adrien Agreste’s head on her shoulder? First, it was bliss, until she realized how stiff her arm was getting. Then she debated with herself for twenty minutes how long she could last, becoming more still as time went on because she was worrying over whether or not she should move. After she moved, her mind went back to the blissful, state. She and Adrien were even closer. Marinette glanced down at him every once in a while, the bluish light of the computer shining on the features she could sorta see from her position.
Adrien had his eyes closed for the last five minutes or so of the movie. He dreaded having to move and losing Marinette as his pillow, so he tried to pretend it wasn’t going to happen. Once the credits began to roll, he shifted. Not away, though. Instead, Adrien moved to bury his face in Marinette’s neck, curling on his side. He pressed his hands to his chest so as not to touch her in a weird way. Adrien wanted to wrap an arm around her, but he didn’t want to push it too far. He had assumed he could lean on his friend who comforted him as he’d cried, not that he could basically snuggle the hell out of her.
Marinette brought a hand to his hair and he smiled as she played with it. “Sleepy?”
“Yeah,” he said, muffled. He breathed in, then sighed a little. “You smell so nice.”
“Huh?” Marinette said, her hand stopping on his head.
“Um, nothing,” Adrien said.
“No, what did you say,” Marinette moved slightly.
Adrien tilted his head back, “Uh, you smell nice. I’m sorry, is that too weird?” he looked at her, thankful for the dim light because he was blushing a bit.
“Oh, um, no, it’s okay. Thank you,” Marinette blushed and he pushed his face back into her neck. All of a sudden, thoughts of kissing her there entered his mind. He quickly willed them away, they were totally inappropriate for platonic cuddling. Especially today, when he was emotionally compromised, if he tried something she may feel obligated to comply and Adrien didn’t want her to do anything she might not want to just to make him feel better.
Marinette resumed playing with Adrien’s hair, her heart pounding in her chest with the sheer intimacy of their position for the past hour or so. She’d arrived expecting to play some games and try to keep Adrien’s mind off his mother for a little while, just to keep him company. Now, she was lying in his bed in dim lighting with her arms around him. And he thought she smelled nice! All of this was after he fawned over her alter ego, too. Marinette wasn’t sure if her heart could take it, but here she was. After a few more moments, she felt Adrien’s hand lightly touch her side. She pressed her face to his hair and he slid her arm around her.
“You’re the best,” she thought she heard. At least, it would make sense that he would say that and not something else.
“Nah,” Marinette murmured. “I’m alright. I’m just being a friend.”
Adrien spoke a little louder and more clearly, so she would understand, “Marinette, you’ve been amazing to me. Right now, you’re letting me hang off of you. And it’s not just today, you’re always a great friend and a great person.”
Marinette let out a little chuckle, continuing to stroke his hair. “Adrien,” she started, “I definitely don’t mind you ‘hanging off me’.” She felt her cheeks grow hot once more.
Adrien nodded his head a bit, then moved to look up at her for a moment. “Yeah, fair enough,” he smiled a little. Then, a small frown tugged at his lips. “Am I being a jerk right now?” he asked, quizzical. The two of them, plus Nino and Alya, had been dancing around Marinette’s apparent crush on Adrien more recently. Nobody had said anything direct, but Marinette had basically stopped denying it when people implied she liked him.
“What? How?” Marinette looked utterly confused. Adrien shook his head.
“I’m not.. taking advantage of your niceness, am I?” Adrien said. “Please, seriously, if this is too much or too close for you, tell me.”
Marinette went from lightly running her fingers through his hair to rubbing her fist against his head, “Foolish boy, no, this isn’t too much for me. Adrien, I like you a lot, but I’m not really a pushover, you know? I do a lot for the people I care about because I like to make the effort, but if I couldn’t handle something someone wanted me to do, I wouldn’t do it. Promise.”
“O-okay. Just making sure.” Adrien nodded slowly, then bumped his head against her chin and nuzzled her slightly. “Thank you,” he whispered again.
Marinette laughed a little bit. “It’s nothing, Adrien.” He nuzzled his forehead against her chin and her neck, and Marinette laughed again. “You’re like a cat!” Adrien froze for a moment, then laughed along with her.
“Purrhaps,” he said, a grin appearing on his face. He looked up at her, and Marinette was suddenly scrutinizing him. He blinked, and she was smiling again. Maybe he’d just imagined that strange look on her face. A moment later, he settled back down with his head on her shoulder, his arm around her gripping a little firmer. The two of them snuggled there for a little while, before Adrien lazily suggested another movie. They moved positions a little bit, and Adrien ended up dozing off halfway through the second movie, waking up only when the end credits rolled.
The two of them unwrapped themselves from their tangled position, Adrien stretching his arms above his head after he sat up. Marinette watched him, taking note of the cat-like form again. He looked down at her and she turned her head, having been staring at him.
“I still can’t thank you enough, Marinette. I feel a lot better than I had earlier today,” Adrien told her as she sat up again.
“You’re welcome, Adrien. Anytime you need, let me know and I’ll do my best to be here for you, I promise.”
Adrien nodded at her and sighed. He clicked out of the movie application, looking at his computer background. It was picture of himself as a toddler with his mother, both of them smiling for the camera.
“She’s so beautiful,” Marinette murmured.
“She was, yeah,” Adrien said, not bothering to mask the sadness seeping into his voice. “She was great,” he told Marinette, glancing at her.
“Yeah?” Marinette gave him a soft smile.
“Apparently I’m a lot like her,” Adrien said. “Sensitive, kind, a good sense of humour.”
“She must have been wonderful, if you turned out like her.” Adrien just nodded his head.
“I’m sorry she can’t be here today,” Marinette whispered.
“Me too,” Adrien said, staring at his mother’s smiling face on the computer monitor. “But, there’s nothing that can be done. I’m really glad I have you and my other friends to be here for me.”
“Of course,” Marinette squeezed his shoulder and he turned to hug her again. There was a knock at the door, which Adrien ignored in favor of clutching Marinette close to him. He assumed it was just Nathalie again, probably trying to push more food on him or something.
The lights weren’t turned on, this time, and it wasn’t Nathalie’s heels that Adrien heard approaching. He pulled away from Marinette just as his father spoke.
“Oh, hello, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng,” he cleared his throat. Marinette went rigid, snatching her arms back from Adrien’s shoulders. “I didn’t realize Adrien had a friend over today.”
“Ah, um, we sort of showed up unannounced. We, as in: myself, Alya, and Nino. But, they had to leave a while ago so, it’s just me now,” Marinette rushed speaking again. Usually, she was better around Adrien’s father, very polite and as professional as she could be to make a good impression. It was hard to act that way when she’d just been caught in his son’s bed with the lights turned off, even if they were just hugging. She thanked any Gods she could think of that he didn’t walk in earlier when they were truly entwined.
“I was supposed to go out with them today,” Adrien said slowly. “I didn’t, they were worried.”
“I see,” Gabriel said. “Well, I was thinking we would go out for supper, Adrien. If your friend wasn’t planning on staying an extended period of time,” he glanced at Marinette, who looked positively spooked.
“Oh, no, of course not,” Marinette said, beginning to slide toward the edge of the bed. “In fact, we just finished the movie we were watching! I can take my leave.”
Adrien sighed quietly, rolling his eyes to the ceiling for a moment. Gabriel didn’t comment, though any other day he would chastise Adrien for such a display. Adrien also made to get out of the bed, running his hands through his hair.
“Can I have a few minutes to get ready?” Adrien asked his father.
“Of course,” Gabriel replied simply.
“Thanks,” Adrien said. Gabriel made no move to leave as Marinette slipped her feet into her flats. Adrien leaned over to grab his laptop and shut it. “Marinette, I know I’ve already said this a ton, but thank you again for coming over.”
Marinette laughed just a bit, sending him a genuine smile. “You know it’s no problem, Adrien. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, yeah?”
“Of course,” Adrien gave her smile back, small but real. With that, Marinette quickly walked past Gabriel and out of Adrien’s room, showing herself the way out of the mansion.
“She’s nice, your friend,” Gabriel commented.
“Yeah. I really like her,” Adrien said, putting his laptop away and going to grab a better shirt and a light jacket.
“Hm. She’s cute, as well,” Gabriel remarked.
“We’re, uh, just friends,” Adrien insisted.
“Mhmm.” Gabriel didn’t sound convinced. Adrien’s cheeks burned, and he avoided looking back at his father until he felt the redness desist at least a bit. When Adrien finally walked towards his father, Gabriel put his hand on his shoulder to guide him out of the room.
Dinner with his father was largely uneventful for Adrien. They didn’t acknowledge the date on the calendar, instead just talking about Adrien’s progress in a number of the things he did, as well as some plans Gabriel had for the up and coming fashion season. Adrien was glad to spend some time with his father, even if they kept things on the surface.
Overall, what had the potential to be a lifeless day wasn’t completely wasted. Adrien felt a lot better than he would have hoped for, which was more than enough for him. He was, of course, immensely thankful to have his friends, and he couldn’t even fault his father completely for wanting to shut himself away that particular day. After all, it was what Adrien tried to do himself. Idly, he wondered if Gabriel ever had friends to force their presence on him. Adrien’s friends had tried to get in touch with him, and, upon failing, showed up at his place to make sure he was okay. Perhaps Adrien should seek out his father more often, force some time to be spent together. That would be a consideration for another day, as Adrien was not about to follow his father around after supper.
When Adrien arrived home, he simply went to his room and chatted with Plagg, toying around with the idea of going on an unscheduled patrol as Chat Noir later that evening. He had some homework to catch up on, first, but it wasn’t much. He got to it, his thoughts having dissipated enough to actually focus on it after all had been said and done that day. For a motherless mother’s day, it really wasn’t as bad as it could have been, and that was all Adrien could ask.