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The text was unexpected. Adrien squinted down at his phone, the small bright screen blinding him. It was in the middle of the night, why was Marinette texting him?
He stared at the message for a moment, then he re-read it, once, then twice. Marinette had broken up with him over text.
A profound sense of dread washed over him. That wasn't like her at all, she would never do that. Adrien quickly sat up, his thumbs flying over the keyboard. He hovered his thumb over the send button.
Okay, okay. Stay calm, this is probably just some sick unfunny prank.
He sent the text, his hands trembling slightly as he awaited for the little icon to start bobbing up and down. It never did. That's odd.
He sent another message, and then another, more desperate this time. She must have a real reason as to why she's suddenly breaking up with him out of the blue.
Marinette never replied, but she'd seen it. Why was she ignoring him? Was something wrong?
Plagg nestled beside Adrien, rubbing his eyes. "Adrien, please tell me you have a real reason for being awake at this hour. They aren't even any supervillains out right now." He groaned.
"Plagg, this is important. Marinette just broke up with me."
"What? No, no wasn't she totally in love with you or something?" Plagg asked, raising a brow.
"I don't know, but something's off." Adrien replied. He stared down at his phone once more before turning it off and shaking his head. "I'll just talk to her tomorrow."
The next morning came faster then Adrien had anticipated. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and let out a small yawn.
Normally Marinette would surprise him with crossiants or chouqettes but today there was nothing. Even Nathalie seemed surprised when Marinette wasn't knocking on the door of the Agreste Mansion at 6:30 in the morning to have their morning breakfast together.
He walked down the stairs towards the kitchen where Nathalie was already frying eggs.
"Morning Nathalie," Adrien mumbled.
Nathalie gave a small smile. "Good morning Adrien. Would you like any eggs?"
Adrien shook his head.
"No I'm fine thank you. I'll just have toast."
Nathalie frowned at Adrien's glum mood, even an oblivious person could tell that something was bothering him. She looked at him with quiet concern.
"Adrien, what's wrong? Is there something on your mind?" Nathalie prompted.
"It's just that... Marinette broke up with me over text last night. She didn't tell me why, just that it was for the best." Adrien muttered.
Nathalie's expression softened immediately.
"Oh... Adrien."
"It's fine Nathalie, don't worry. I'll talk to her today at school and maybe I can find out why she did that."
She nodded.
"I'm sure everything between you two will be fine."
"Thank you, Nathalie."
Upon arriving at school, Adrien met up with Alya and Nino in the yard.
"Hey, what's up dude?" Nino asked, beckoning Adrien to come forward.
"Nothing much. But do you know where Marinette is? I need to have a quick chat with her."
Alya and Nino exchanged a quick glance before she piped in.
"Marinette's not here today. I asked her why but she never replied, sometimes I just don't understand that girl." Alya shrugged.
Adrien sighed.
"She hasn't been replying to my texts either."
Alya murmured something more so to herself than the others, "That's odd, she would never do that. Oh Marinette, what is up with you today?"
"Maybe you can ask her parents how she's doing after school?" Nino suggested.
"Yeah, I guess I could."
Adrien smiled.
"Well, I gotta get to class now. I'll see you guys later!"
"Okay bye!"
Marinette's message was glued to the back of his mind like maple syrup the entire day. He couldn't stop thinking about it — or her.
It was starting to weigh on him a little, was he not a good enough boyfriend? Did he do something wrong that upset her? Was it something he said awhile back that he didn't remember? Now she suddenly doesn't come to school... was she avoiding him? He had other ways to talk to her anyways, civilian form or not. He gripped the hand with his ring a little tighter.
Adrien had so many questions, so many doubts that paying attention in class was the least of his worries at the moment.
"Adrien?" His teacher asked, yanking Adrien out of his train of thought.
"Yes, miss?" He asked, a little startled.
"I was just making sure that you were paying attention, now can you answer this question for me?"
Adrien squinted at the board, before answering the question with ease. He was grateful that his prior knowledge had saved him from embarrassing himself.
The bell above the door chimed as Adrien walked in. The warmth of the bakery instantly embracing him. He was greeted warmly by Marinette's parents, Tom and Sabine.
"Oh hello Adrien!" Sabine smiled, walking closer to hug the boy.
"Hello Mrs Cheng, I just came in today to check on Marinette. Is she okay?" Adrien asked.
"Oh... she told me that she was sick, and had a fever so she stayed home today. Did she worry you?" Sabine asked, furrowing her brows with concern.
"No, no. She wasn't replying to my texts so I was worried that something was upsetting her." Adrien replied sheepishly.
"Marinette has been cooped up in her room all day, but she also said that she doesn't want any visitors. I can ask her if she's feeling any better now?" Tom offered.
Adrien shook his head, politely declining. "It's okay Mr Dupain and Mrs Cheng, I can talk to Marinette another time. Thank you for offering though."
They nodded, smiling.
"Okay Adrien, you have a good day alright?" Sabine said.
"You too!"
Adrien exited the building feeling a little more hopeless. He still wasn't getting any answers. Guess it's time to bring out the alter ego.
Marinette sighed quietly in her room. Tikki was by her side, comforting Marinette. She hunched over her desk, phone tossed aside.
"I can't believe I just broke up with him like that." She groaned, "He's probably so confused."
"It's for the best Marinette, don't you care about your wellbeing too?" Tikki asked.
"Yes but—"
Marinette suddenly straightened, panic flooding her system.
"What if he hates me now?! What if he thinks I hate him now?! What do I do if he asks me why I broke up with him or confronts me??!!!" Marinette exclaimed, taking huge gulps of air as her thoughts kept spewing out.
"Worse, what if he gets akumatized because of me?! I would never be able to forgive myself!"
"Marinette, you need to calm down!" Tikki shouted over the top of Marinette's voice. She waved her arms in front of Marinette's face desperately trying to get her attention.
"No!! I can't just calm down! This is a disaster!"
Tikki rolled her eyes. "Marinette, take a deep breath in and a deep breath out. You need to stop jumping to conclusions. I'm sure he will understand why you need space."
Marinette reluctantly listened, breathing in and out slowly as she tried to ground herself. "I know! But I can't help myself, I just get so worried and then I start overthinking and—"
"It's fine Marinette, but sometimes being too paranoid isn't a good thing."
Marinette nodded silently.
"Yeah, yeah. I knoww. I'm trying! I really am—"
Her mum's voice echoed from downstairs, "Marinette? Are you feeling a little better?"
That lie had completely slipped her mind.
"Yes mum! I'm feeling a lot better now!" Marinette replied, walking down the stairs.
"That's good, Adrien was just visiting. He said he was worried about you!" Tom said.
Marinette froze as soon as she heard Adrien's name. Of course he did, despite everything a small smile slipped onto Marinette's face. Adrien was always so thoughtful.
She stepped out onto her balcony which was dimly lit by string lights. The chilly night air bit her cheeks and she pressed her arm against the cold of the railing.
Most of the city was fast asleep by now, the street lamps had flickered on and illuminated the walk ways.
Marinette sighed, her breath visible because of the cold. She leaned forward onto the railing.
"Now who do we have here?" A voice Marinette knew all too well asked.
"What are you doing here Chat?" She asked.
"What? I can't visit my favourite civillian?" He grinned, squating on the railing beside her.
"Aren't you supposed to be fighting villains or something?" Marinette raised a brow.
Chat Noir shrugged before hopping down, his arms also rested on the metal railing, standing beside her.
"Nah, no villains tonight. I was just bored."
A comfortable silence settled between them.
After a while Chat finally spoke again.
"Anything on your mind?"
Marinette hesitated. Would he even care about her problems?
"One small thing." She admitted quietly.
Chat Noir's gaze flickered for a moment, he snapped his fingers. "Let me guess, boy problems?"
It was scary to be read so quickly and acurrately.
"How did you know?"
"I have my ways. So... tell me. What issues are we dealing with on this fine night?"
"Hah, as if you'd care." Marinette rolled her eyes.
"I'm always here to lend a paw." Chat Noir replied.
His cat puns were unbelievably cheesy.
Marinette stifled a laugh.
"Hasn't anybody told you that your cat puns suck?"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Whatever! But yes, boy problems."
She paused.
Her tone suddenly took on a more serious tone which took Chat by surprise.
"I recently broke up with my boyfriend over text and I didn't go to school today becase I was too afraid to talk to him."
He nodded once, prompting Marinette to keep going.
"...Go on."
"I know that there were better ways to do it but I couldn't bring myself to tell him in person."
"What made you break up with him?" Chat inquired.
"I broke up with him because..."
Marinette went silent for a moment before continuing.
"Because there's something that I can't tell him and it's been wearing me down for a bit now. I can't bare the fact that I have to lie to him everyday. He deserves better than me and I don't think I'm in the right head space right now to be in a real relationship. He...deserves someone better."
Chat Noir listened silently. He felt a brief pang of guilt for making Marinette feel that way. He had no idea what she was dealing with. A small part of him wanted to detransform right now and pull her into his warm embrace, to comfort her and tell her that he loves her.
"And... can you tell me what you've been hiding from him?" Chat asked gently.
Marinette shook her head quickly.
"No. No I can't."
He nodded in understanding, softening his expression. Though his curiousity still lingered, what was she hiding from him?
"It's okay. If you aren't comfortable you don't have to tell me. But maybe you should talk about it to your boyfriend."
Marinette sighed.
"Yeah, I know."
"Your worried about talking to him because you're afraid of his reaction right?"
She nodded.
"Then... maybe you should text him first. Make sure that you let him know your reasons as to why you broke up with him. I'm sure he will understand the way you feel and you two can figure out a healthy solution together, once you are ready to talk in person."
"I don't know what to tell him, and I'm not sure if I can keep avoiding him at school. He'll find out eventually but still, I want to be the one to tell him what's wrong." Marinette said, just above a whisper.
Chat Noir hummed.
"Well... you told me your reasons so, why don't you put that into a paragraph and send it to him?"
She thought about the proposal, it was a good idea.
Marinette smiled, it was nice seeing this side of him now and then. Especially when she wasn't transformed.
"Yeah... I guess that works out."
Marinette was surprised by the advice given by Chat. It was actually good advice.
For a quiet moment, they both said nothing.
"Thank you." Marinette finally said. "That was actually really helpful."
"No worries, I'm glad that you feel a little better." He smiled.
"You're pretty wise... for a cat." She stifled a small laugh and flicked the bell on his suit.
It chimed once.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chat rolled his eyes.
"You're quite insightful. Maybe I'll talk to you more often." Marinette hummed.
Chat grinned.
"Speaking of which, I've actually gotta go. Until next time, Marinette. Good luck!"
"And, we talk a lot more often than you might think." He added, before slipping away into the night.
Before Marinette could reply, he had already disappeared.
She smiled, fueled with newfound determination, though Chat's last words left her puzzled.
What did he mean by that?