adrienette stan

“Be careful, Marienette! You’re not used to your legs yet!” Her father chided. “Mind a little occupied this morning, huh?” her father said with a sly look in his eyes.

“It’s the first day of school!” Marienette said keeping the topic to school. She felt a little defensive at what her father implied, but wouldn’t even dignify acknowledging his teasing. The past couple of years, Marienette’s parents had begun to suggest there was something more than friendship between her and Adrien. Marienette always ignored this connotation- he was her lifelong friend. Nothing had to change because they went through puberty, despite what her parents might wink at.

She began eating her breakfast quickly. She wanted to get there before school, so Adrien wouldn’t have to hang out alone. She knew his body guard would probably drop him off with plenty of time to spare, and wanted to get a jump on the introductions.

Across town, Adrien had been up for an hour already. Unable to sleep, he had been preparing and re-preparing for school all morning.

Adrien dumped out the contents of his backpack. He was sure he had packed it, but he checked again. He rummaged through the outer pockets, not satisfied with the heap of notebooks that had fallen. His hands found purchase on the worn edges of a folded piece of paper- Marienette’s hand-drawn schedule. He sighed in relief, pulling out and unfolding the creased paper.

He had been looking over Marienette’s description of their classmates, sometimes with an air of study, sometimes anxiety, but mostly with longing. Marienette had written such nice things about all of them, surely she must be so close with her classmates. He longed for that kind of community. He longed to enter a space where everyone saw him as a friend.

Anxiety swirled around him now. Would he be able to integrate into the already established friend groups of his new classroom? He had been swallowing this thought every once in awhile the past few days. He felt a little ridiculous for worrying about that, surely Marienette would bring him into her friend group. But he hadn’t asked her to, he thought that would be weird.

What if she mostly hung out with girls anyway, would the boys at school want to be his friend if he was constantly hanging out with a bunch of girls? He’s never particularly worried about being manly, but he’s never known that many men- especially not boys his age. He knew that boys his age were probably very different from the various suited men his father had introduced him to throughout the years.

In this way, he had worried away the last two weeks of summer. It was an almost nice reprieve to worry about school and friends for once. It made him feel more normal than worrying about work. And it was certainly less troublesome than worrying about… well he hadn’t been thinking about that.

Adrien brushed his teeth again and re-combed his hair the way his stylists do for photoshoots. He looked himself up and down in the mirror. He had changed 3 times this morning, ultimately deciding on an outfit he wore a lot anyway. It’s not like anyone saw him in his casual clothes, so he didn’t feel pressure to buy anything new and unseen the day Mariennette had dragged him to the local mall.

Buttoning his shirt, he remembered how she had held his hand that day. Although he wore sunglasses and a hat, he had to walk from store to store quickly to avoid being mobbed. They had been moving in this way when he was distracted by a poster for a used record sale.

“Look, Mari. ‘Paris Record Festival…hundreds of booths of used and new records.’ It’s not for another month. Maybe we could go?”

“Oh, Adrien. We should go,” she reached for his hand, giving him a comforting look. She clasped his hand with wet eyes.

Adrien’s face grew warm, both at the contact and at the vulnerability of her gaze. It felt like she reached straight through him and held his still-beating heart, rather than his hands.

“You’re right! We should go!” Adrien broke the tension, tightening his grip and pulling her away from the poster. “We shouldn’t risk standing there for too long,” he said, letting go of her hand.

This memory played in his head as he re-tied his laces. Mari was doing that now- getting into his head and making him feel vulnerable and awkward. He always felt like he could open up to her anything, but the intensity of her gaze and touch left him feeling embarrassed. Maybe if he had a guy friend he would feel more comfortable talking to them about this kind of stuff, he wasn’t really sure.

He checked his hair once more in the mirror before sending a text to Marienette.

Have you left yet?

BuzzBuzz

No, still eating bfast. Walk 2gether? Mariennette’s text read.

Sure. Meet you in 10. Adriene typed back.

True to his word, Adrien was dropped off at Marinette's by Gorilla in 8 minutes.

“Good morning, Sabine!” Marinette heard Adrien’s joyful voice from the front room of the bakery.

“Good morning, Adrien. I made you some croissants with chocolate filling. Don’t even say anything, just eat them,” Sabine has been combating Adrien’s strict diet for years. “It’s not right for a child to be kept from chocolate.”

“Not a child anymore, Sabine!” Adrien grinned with mischief. “Check this out,” he started striking poses for Sabine. Showing off in a way only teenage boys do, he began flexing his almost non-existent muscles into David or The Thinker.

It’s a joke he would’ve made with his own mother. She always encouraged him to exercise to feel good and never put any pressure on him to look a certain way. His father had been trying to build his muscle in preparation for modeling for years, but the boy had remained lean in his youth. Both his mother and his father would joke about his muscles swelling up overnight when he hit puberty.

“I see! Now where did this mini-adonis in my kitchen come from? Just yesterday, there was a little boy here!” Sabine laughs, continuing the joke. She knows Emilie would’ve found this hilarious and feels a pang of longing for her friend.

They both laugh, but it falls a bit flat. Both too caught up in their own memories of Emilie to continue their playful mood.

“Ready to go?” Marienette enters the kitchen, taking a final bite of pastry.

“Sure. Bye Sabine! Say hello to Tom for me!” Adrien calls, grabbing two croissants with each hand.

“Sheesh. You really are going to blow up over night,” Marinette jokes walking through the door.

“I’m a growing boy,” Adrien defends. “Anything I need to know last minute before starting today?”

“Not really. Just be yourself.”

“Sure.” Adrien rolls his eyes. “Easy for you to say, you’ve met all these people a hundred times and been going to school forever. You have to tell me the unwritten rules so I don’t accidentally offend the entire class.”

“This isn’t an anime. Just be nice to people and smile.”

“Roger!” Adrien soluted.

Thankfully for Adrien, Marinette’s friends were incredibly nice. As soon as they approached the area for their class’ lockers, a large group swarmed both of them. Smiling faces began greeting Marinette, asking about her summer, and introducing themselves to Adrien. Adrien surely would not have remembered any of their names had he not memorized the list Mari gave him.

He immediately struck up a conversation with Nino, having met him once previously.

“How are you doing, man? Still ass at MegaStrike?” Nino asked, lazily.

“Not as ass as you probably,” Adrien smiled, quickly assimilating to Nino’s laidback attitude.

“Nah, dude. I’m just messing around. You were awesome back in the day. We oughtta do a rematch,” Nino said.

“Yeah, man. I’ll take you on anytime.”

“You like music, man? I got this sweet DJ table from my older sister I been dyin to try out.”

“Sure. I mostly listen to records, but I bet DJ music is cool.”

“Nah, man, DJ music IS records!” Nino laughed. “You just stick with me, man. I’ll show you some real music.”

“In that case, I’ll play you some piano- if you wanna learn to really make music,” Adrien quipped back in Nino’s relaxed manner.

“Dude, you gotta sit next to me in class. I heard Ms Bustiere is really boring. Gonna need someone to shoot the shit with,” Nino said, holding out a fist for a bump.

“Sure, dude. If Mari doesn’t mind.” But now that he looked, he noticed Mari in conversation with the girl who had introduced herself as Alya. He knew they hung out a lot last year after school and had grown close. She was the smartest girl in class according to Marinette and was always more than willing to help with homework. He wondered if she would rather sit with Alya and decided to let her.

“Wicked. I’ll meet you there.” Nino said, leaving Adrien to figure out his locker combo.

After the hubbub of the hallway had died down, Marinette remained outside the classroom with Adrien.

“You ready?” Marinette questioned.

“I’ll be fine,” Adrien was sure he could figure this out.

“ADRIEN!” A female voice called as he entered the classroom. It was Chloe Burgious, a daughter of his father’s friend. She ran up to greet him, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

“It’s so good to see you! Come sit next to me, you wouldn’t want to tarnish your reputation as a model with any of these people,” she said haughtily.

“Actually, Adrien’s already sitting with me,” Marinette said.

Chloe laughed, “That’s rich. A model sitting with Dupain-Cheng. Get real, Marinette. Go sit with Alya like you always do.”

To Marinette’s surprise Adrien chimed in, “Thank you, Chloe, but I am going to be sitting over here with Nino.”

Marinette’s eyes widened in shock at the change of plans, and she went to sit with Alya.

“What was that Dupain Cheng? He’s sitting with who?”

Her pride stung a bit, but she said nothing to defend herself from Chloe’s taunts. Maybe Adrien had already decided to find his own friends at school. Maybe he wouldn’t want to be friends with her anymore now that he had a choice. She sighed.

At lunch, Marinette went to get some air. She had been sitting at her usual table, however since Adrien had joined her, so had her entire grade and half of the one above. She had been basically unable to talk to him since they had arrived this morning. After all of the girls asked her if they were dating and she confirmed that they were not, she had been completely pushed from the lunch table. She now sat in the courtyard contemplating her salad.

“Hello,” she heard a man’s voice say. Looking up, she saw who she thought to be Adrien’s Chinese tutor approaching her.

“Hello, sir. Are you looking for Adrien?” she returned.

“No, my dear. I am looking for you.”

“What can I help you with?”

“No. I have come to help you, child.”

“Okay… how can… you help me?” Marinette felt more confused with each passing second.

“I have a gift for you. I will show you, but you must swear you will tell no one.”

Marinette paused. She knew to be wary of adults she didn’t know too well.

“What kind of gift?”

“A gift that comes with responsibility and burden. Please. No more questions. Just accept this. All will come in time.” He handed her a small box, which contained a small pair of nondescript earrings.

“Oh, earrings! Thank you!” she said, examining them. She was unsure why earrings would warrant such a cryptic message. She was just about to ask, when she noticed the old man was gone. She put the small box into her backpack, and decided he was just a crazy old man.

At lunch, Adrien was looking for Marienette.

“Adrien, what do you do for fun- besides being a model?” one of the older girls giggled. He couldn’t remember her name. This was the first question about him that was almost not about modeling or being an heir to a fashion brand.

“I like to play piano. I’m pretty good at art. I’m pretty decent at fencing.”

“He’s so modest! He’s been practicing fencing for years. Isn’t that right, Adriekins?”

Chloe had taken up residence as Dupont’s #1 expert on all things Adrien. Since their parents' business was often intertwined, Chloe had no problems fielding questions about Adrien’s modeling, his career prospects, as well as his interests, apparently.

Adrien didn’t really mind. He wasn’t sure what these people wanted to hear anyway. He could understand that modeling and a high-profile lifestyle might be intriguing from the outside, but to him it all felt very normal and honestly boring. He found photoshoots tedious for the most part- posing, taking pictures, stopping, posing again. He couldn’t think of any salacious tales that might entertain these upperclassmen, that’s for certain.

He was used to groupies. Fans and reporters asked him questions about his life all the time. His father had taught him to be honest, but reveal little- an unnecessary strategy as Adrien had so little to tell anyway.

“Yeah. I plan to join the fencing team here. If I can fit it in my schedule, of course.”

He could feel himself boring them, but they all kept staring at him anyway. He didn’t even see any of the faces Marinette had introduced him to this morning among the crowd. Maybe he had already bored Marinette and all her friends away. That thought stung. How could he make real, lasting friendships with new people if he couldn’t even hang on to Marinette?

Chloe fielded another question about how busy model-life was while Adrien scanned the room. He saw Marinette coming in from the courtyard and waved at her.

“What are you doing? Surely you’re not waving over Marinette,” Chloe said.

“Of course I am?” questioned Adrien. He wasn’t sure why Chloe didn’t seem to like Marinette, but he hadn’t really had a chance to ask. Between classes and mobs of people coming to leer, Adrien had been basically sequestered from her all day.

“Trust me, Adriekins. You don’t want to be her friend.”

“I already am. I have known Marinette since we were in diapers,” Adrien finally had the opportunity to clarify.

“Clearly a lapse of judgment. Now that you are able to meet more people, hopefully that can be rectified soon.”

Adrien felt trapped. He didn’t want to lose Marinette’s friendship, but he knew saying that would only anger the crowd around him. He didn’t want to turn away these possible friendships, but he didn’t want to lose the one he had. He’d never felt this sort of pressure before, so he simply stayed silent.

Chloe looked at her friend Sabrina, “We have to help him! He needs us to save him from hanging out with a social pariah!”

“Oh yes! Of course, you should only hang out with the most popular crowd. You wouldn’t want to ruin your reputation as a model by hanging out with losers,” Sabrina agreed, as Marinette approached.

Hearing this, Marinette began to turn and walk away. She couldn’t fathom what Adrien must’ve said about her to get Sabrina to agree like that. No doubt Chloe has been asking him about embarrassing memories from when they were kids. Tears stinging her eyes, she walked back to the courtyard.

Adrien stood up and began calling after her, “Wait Marinette! It’s not like that!” But she was already gone. He raced out to the courtyard, attempting to follow her.

Surveying the unfamiliar landscape he saw two paths. One led to a small seating area where a few students sat finishing lunch. The other wound around the perimeter, presumably to some other location on the grounds. Not seeing Marinette, he took the winding path around the corner of the building.

“Hello,” he heard a strangely familiar voice say. Looking around, he saw his Chinese tutor, Mr. Fu, sitting on a bench.

“Oh, hello, sir. Are you here to tutor at the school?”

“No, just making a delivery for a friend, actually,” Mr. Fu said.

“It’s great to see you, but I’m in a hurry. I’ll catch up with you at our next Chinese lesson.”

As Adrien turned, Mr. Fu stood to his feet elbowing Adrien in the process, knocking them both off balance. Adrien managed to reach out just in time as Mr. Fu began to topple forward. In the scuffle, Adrien did not feel a small box being slipped into his pocket.

BeepBeep. His phone chimed on the vanity in front of him. It was Natalie.

Adrien, your father has requested your presence at home at 5 for dinner. You may have free time until then.

Thank you, Natalie.

Adrien stifled a smile so as not to ruin the work that was occurring on his face. Some father-approved free time was always a good thing. He leaned back and relaxed, determined to make the rest of the shoot go by quickly. He was excited to see Marinette. Recently their hangouts had become a bittersweet comfort. He so badly wanted to pretend everything was okay and enjoy his time with her, but it had become so hard. He was insanely grateful for the space she had been giving him. But not today. Today, he would have fun thinking about his new school.

He wondered if Marinette would want to sit next to him in class. He blushed a bit. Maybe… she is my best friend. He felt a familiar warm feeling in his heart at that thought. She was such a great friend. He always felt happy when he thought about her. She’s so kind helping me get ready for school. Marinette had always been kind and it showed in her sweet smile. Beautiful on the outside and the inside. He had always thought she was pretty, even when she wore a backwards hat for almost a whole year when they were eight. Her hair had been getting caught in the tree branches at the park. It made him laugh and he helped her untangle herself every time. She settled in on a no nonsense look eventually with her hat and low ponytail. These days she usually wore her hair down and he had to admit it looked significantly better. 

Adrien snapped into the real world while the photographer barked orders at him. He moved his hand onto his hip and smiled. In his mind he continued to map Marinette’s hairstyles over the years.

-

Walking over now. See you in 2, Adrien’s text read.

Marinette waited under the large tree that had always been their meeting spot in the park outside her parent’s house. She read the timestamp. 12:10. It was now 12:11. She looked up and saw a blonde walking towards her across the clearing. She took a deep breath, he always looked so handsome after photoshoots. They had combed his hair more than his usual free flowing style.

“I like your hair that way,” Marinette started, while Adrien sat down next to her.

“Thanks. Maybe I’ll keep it up for school. Did you get yours cut?” Adrien noticed Marinette’s loose black hair now stopped just above her shoulders instead of the usual 3 inches down.

“Yeah, just a trim. I’m thinking it’ll be easy to do for school, also.”

Adrien reached out and brushed his fingers through the ends. He couldn’t help himself after his day of hair musings. It felt so soft.

“What else do I need to know then?” Adrien asked, a bit too abruptly, pulling his hand into himself.

Marinette pulled out a notebook. She opened it to the first page, where she ripped out a hand-drawn schedule.

“This is what your class schedule will look like with the timings of everything.”

“Classes are about an hour then?”

“Yes.”

Adrien looked back at her notebook. She had a list of names and a few other notes written out.

“This is a list of everyone in our class. Everyone is really friendly, except Chloe, so I would just avoid her.”

“Oh, I already met her.”

“How?”

“Her dad is a friend of my dad’s. We’ve met at a few events, but I wouldn't say I know her. She’s always nice to me.”

“Of course,she’s nice to you,” Marinette looked a bit miffed. “Well then, everyone is nice.”

Adrien laughed at the way Marinette sounded slightly sarcastic.

“You’ll always be my best girl.”

“Thanks,” Marinette smiled with a laugh. It was something her mother had always said. Here comes your best girl! Her mother would exclaim as Mari came down the stairs in baseball hats and t-shirts. It always made her feel like he was escorting her to the ball.

Adrien read the notes on the page. Nino played video games with us and is a much better player than me. Alya is the smartest girl in class. Rose is the sweetest person on the planet. There was a compliment for everyone on the page, even Chloe. Beautiful, but every rose has its thorns! She had written.

“You can keep that to remember,” she said. “The only other thing to know is your locker combo which you’ll get on the first day.”

“I get a locker? Like in an anime?”

“Yes,” Marinette let out a laugh. His excitement was as plain as the teeth in his grin.

“I thought this would be more like the Princess Diaries. Like you would make me walk with a book on my head.”

Marinette doubled over then. She pictured Adrien with his already perfect posture strutting around with books on his head.

“Why?” Marinette asked. Practically gasping for air from laughter.

“I might need some help!” Adrien joked.

“With walking?” Marinette continued with another laugh.

“No, but with fitting in,” Adrien said more seriously.

“Everyone is going to like you. Plus you’re famous,” Marinette chided him.

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means they’ll be nice enough to you at first because of that and then they’ll realize you’re actually really cool,” Marinette pointed out.

“Can we do the book thing anyway?”

“Sure.”

Marinette stood up, pulling Adrien to his feet. She placed her notebook on top of his head, pulling his arm into hers so they walked arm in arm, side by side. Adrien dutifully stood as straight as a rail. He slowly followed her leading in a small circle.

“Thanks. This is really helping,” he smiled at her softly, his eyes filled with the joke.

“Any time,” she smiled back and hoped her cheeks didn’t heat up at his teasing sincerity.

Adrien took his free hand, removing the book from his own head and placing it on Marinette’s. Marinette stiffened and the book fell almost instantaneously. They both laughed. Adrien bent down to get it, letting go of Marinette’s arm in the process. He knelt on one knee, reaching up and presenting the notebook for his girl.

“My dear, you seemed to have dropped this.”

“Why thank you!” She exclaimed, taking the notebook back. “How about we end our lesson for now and sit back under the tree?”

They sat together for about 4 hours, the lazy summer afternoon passing them both by. There were still moments- those quiet moments- when Marinette felt Adrien’s sadness loom in the distance. Like a dark cloud on an otherwise clear day, it threatened to obscure the sun, but remained at bay.

Adrien had been feeling rather free in the last month. His father’s court case had been finalized. Although he loved his father, he was able to recognize the evil inside the man that had almost killed Ladybug and himself on many occasions. He was glad Hawkmoth was no longer a threat, to be fully truthful. In his waking life, he felt relaxed. Assured that his city was safe, he was able to breathe deeply for the first time since he was 14. For five years, he had lived in constant anxiety not only as Chat Noir, but in his personal relationship with his father. It was almost cliche that his father locked him inside a high tower while terrorizing his city.

Adrien had been taking full use of his time, now a retired model living off the profits of his fathers former business. He had begun working at Marinette’s bakery. He felt useful, learning to use his hands and express his creativity. Marinette had become a close friend in the last three years. She had become so open to him seemingly out of nowhere. It was like he turned a corner and she was waiting for him. She was confident and sweet. He felt so grateful that she had changed her mind about him. For the first few years he knew her she had always seemed to avoid him, stuttering, blushing in presumed anger and rushing off. He had only hoped one day she would warm up to him.

Marinette had been feeling relaxed too. She worried for Adrien, that his new easy going lifestyle was only a cover for the pain of his father’s crimes. But, she had to admit that not worrying about Hawkmoth had taken a huge weight off her shoulders. She still patrolled with Chat Noir on the weekends to watch out for the drunkards, but that was more like a fun hobby. She got to bed early every night and had time for school and her design work. Her design work had really begun to pick up so she was grateful that Adrien had time to help out in the bakery now that he had retired from modelling.

Ladybug and him had decided not to reveal their identities. After everything, Adrien didn’t want her to know he was associated with Hawkmoth. He liked where they stood now. He still loved her but he was able to be her friend first. He cared for her wellbeing so deeply that he didn’t want to hurt her with the truth. They hung out on the weekends and mostly walked people home from the bars. She was fun now that they weren’t in danger. She still kept things private but she laughed at his jokes. It only made him fall harder, although he put that deep into his heart to protect their friendship.

On Thursday, Adrien called up to Marinette from the bakery.

“Marinette! Nino got us a tent.”

“A tent for what?”

“Camping this weekend,” he said with a wide grin. “I’m in.”

It felt so unbelievably good to know her city was safe enough to leave this weekend. She would have to apologize to Chat Noir, but she knew it wouldn’t be a big deal. After helping her parents in the bakery most of the day and working on a dress for Rose, she pinged Chat Nior on his receptor.

“Meet me in an hour?” her message read.

“See you then.” he pinged back.

Marinette grabbed a snack from downstairs before leaving 15 minutes early to jump across the city. She didn’t set a meeting spot, but she knew she’d find him around somewhere. She found him near Île Saint-Louis. She stepped softly up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder to surprise him.

He took a sharp breath in and relaxed as he realized it was her.

“I can’t patrol this weekend. I’m going away.”

“What a coincidence, My Lady. Me as well.”

“Oh you silly cat. Do you think the city will be okay?” she said playfully. Her new relaxed persona bubbling to the surface.

“I think things will be just fine,” he replied.

“Do you want to get an early one in tonight?”

“Maybe for a bit. I’ve got work tomorrow.”

“Chat with a job now?”

“I’m a baker.”

“Shhh. Don’t tell me too much. Do you like it?”

“Yes. I like to be around the people and the smells.”

“Sounds about right.”

“It’s nice. I work with good people.”

Marinette smiled to herself thinking of her own bakery. She worked with good people too. She wondered if Chat’s bakery was anything like that.

“Are the hours too early?”

“Sometimes.”

“I won’t keep you then. We can regroup midweek or next weekend.”

“See you then.” Chat stood and extended a hand to her, helping her out of her criss-crossed seated position. She stood next to him, still clasping his hand for a moment.

“See you then, Chat.” She said quietly. The moment made his heart stumble. He turned then and jumped to a nearby roof with all the agility of his namesake.

-

Marinette sat next to Adrien in the backseat of Nino’s car, while Alya skipped through 90s rap on the aux. Marinette’s knee brushed Adrien’s around every turn in the small sedan. As they cruised in the countryside, the trees got more dense and the roady got more windy. She ignored the tingle in her nerves to focus on her conversation with her friend. That’s all they would ever be she had accepted in the last few years. She ignored the romance in every moment of closeness to focus instead on the intimacy of their friendship. She would never survive working with him most days otherwise. She enjoyed their casual touches and friendly conversations.

After about 6 hours they reached the national park. It was Friday afternoon at about 4 pm. The sun shone through the trees as they parked their car in a clearing and began to unpack. Alya and Nino set up a two person tent for themselves. Marinette and Adrien had decided to share as well, bringing an old tent of Marinette’s parents. In the middle Nino began to light a fire, while Alya set up chairs. Marinette and Adrien struggled with their tent for a bit longer then went to gather sticks.

“Do you think they’d smoke with us, babe?”

“Als…”

“Really! Marinette said she wanted to try it.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Okay, we can ask them. They’re coming back now.” “Hey, Marinette! Do you want to smoke with us?”

“Yes,” she replied. Marinette’s confidence was a shock to herself. She had been wanting to try it now that she was no longer an on-call super hero.

“Cool. Adrien, do you want to, too?”

Adrien looked back and forth between his friends. Marinette seemed into it and he’d thought he could do about anything she could.

“Sure.”

“Dude, this is so sick,” Nino said.

Alya left to get her things from the car, bringing a small jar in her tent. In a moment she returned with a small bowl of items. It contained a packed bowl, a couple lighters and a few other trinkets. They pulled their chairs closer, giggling and chattering excitedly. Alya went first to show them how to do it. Then Marinette, then Adrien. On Marinette's turn, she let Alya light it for her and coughed after.

“Breathe deeply, babe.”

Marinette took a struggled breath. She took another and found her lungs relaxing. She took another inhale of the pipe she held in her hand and gently blew it out.

“You’re a natural.”

“Do you remember that night in school we smoked all the cigarettes?” Marinette asked.

“I thought we weren’t going to tell anyone!”

Nino looked at his girlfriend in shock.

“You two smoked cigarettes?” Adrien asked.

“We had a Parisian night when we turned 18.”

Marinette passed the pipe to Adrien. Nino lit it for him while Adrien inhaled. Adrien remembered the technique Alya had shown Marinette and breathed out slowly. Marinette began to feel a light feeling take over her body. She felt herself floating above her chair. They passed the bowl around again. Adrien felt himself lift off as well. He smiled at Marinette. She looks lovely in the firelight. She looked sort of like his lady.

Pause. Adrien blinked.

She looked like his lady. Exactly like his lady. Her relaxed smile turned back on him and he flashed back to her masked face last night. He took the bowl. Adrien took another hit. It was fine. He was so relaxed. He would tell her tonight and it would be okay. She’s his best friend.

“This is so fun,” Alya said dreamily.

“I love you, guys,” Nino replied.

Marinette and Adrien busted out laughing.

“You guys are so gone,” Adrien said.

“What about you, man?” Nino laughed back.

“Yeah. I’m pretty gone.”

“Me too,” Marinette agreed.

Nino put on some calm music. Quiet folk floated over their heads and swirled in a beautiful dance. Marinette stood, reaching a hand out to Adrien. He took it and she pulled him into a swaying rhythm. He began to lead her, twirling her and pulling her close. He felt his heart rate increase at their proximity. He couldn’t believe his lady was dancing in his arms. And she was the beautiful Marinette. This fun, free woman was dancing with him.

They danced without a care in the world. After a few songs Adrien sat down and pulled her into his lap. He practically purred when she ran a hand through his hair. No, he did purr. Just like Chat, she grinned. Their friends carried on and they laughed well into the night, smoking and chatting.

When it grew late the group began to stretch and head to their tents. Marinette got into hers and Adrien’s and turned away from him. She kneeled in the small space and began changing into her pajamas. Adrien lit a small lamp and looked at her in the dim light. Adrien paused, sitting straight up on his knees a mere 2 feet away. Adrien turned away and changed as well, deciding it seemed fine. He ignored the beating of his heart.

“Mari,” he said when he was sure they were both fully clothed.

“Yes, Adrien?”

“I know you’re Ladybug.”

Marinette felt a panic wash over her. She turned and widened her eyes in surprise. “You can’t tell anyone. How do you know? It’s not true-” She rushed out.

“It’s okay. I’m Chat Noir,” he said calmly.

“Holy shit.”

“Okay?” he asked.

“Okay,” she replied quietly, still in amazement. Her mind was blown as she stared at him. This man who was a baker, with beautiful blonde hair and green eyes and who purred. It only made sense that it was him. She loved him. He was her best friend. Holy shit, he was her best friend and she loved him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked. He wasn’t exactly sure what she was feeling.

“Yes. This is so great. You’re my best friend!” and I’m in love with you, she said excitedly.

“Marinette. My lady,” he took her by her shoulders. “I-I love you. You know that. And that hasn’t changed.”

“I love you, too.”

“Me? What? Even though I’m Chat Noir?”

“Especially because you are Chat Noir. And I’m Ladybug.”

It was so good to hear her say it. He smiled at her.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes. Your father has approved your enrollment at Françoise Dupont High School. However, no changes will be made to your schedule. You must take care to keep to your existing nutrition and exercise regimens. Your modeling will continue as scheduled.”

Adrien knew the hidden threat in her words. He would obey, or else. He nodded his acceptance, stifling a smile, the first good thing to happen to him all summer came with conditions, as expected.

Natalie exited the room, satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. She would not admit to caring about Adrien more than she should. Not now.

Adrien ate his dinner quickly then, his appetite making a sudden appearance. He almost ran back to his room, taking the hallway in long strides.

IM from goldenguy7: You’ll never guess who I got as tutor for the fall.

Ping, Marrienette’s laptop chimed from where it was plugged in at her desk. That type of chime meant Adrien was IMing her. Pausing her doodling, she got up to check.

IM from catgirl2001: For chinese?

IM from goldenguy: No, for homework.

IM from catgirl2001: You get homework?

IM from goldenguy: I will when I go to your school and you help me with it. Marienette stared at the screen feeling elated. On her bed, her phone began to ring with Adrien’s ringtone.

“Mari! Did you see my IM? I’m going to Françoise Dupont with you!”

“Holy shit. How?”

“My dad said I could if I kept up with my schedule!”

“Adrien, that is so exciting. You’re going to get to meet all my friends! They’re going to love you!”

Friends. Holy shit. I’ll get to meet her friends. Maybe, they’ll be my friends too.

“I hadn’t even thought about that! Mari, we’ll be in class together all day. We can hang out all the time and study together.”

“Oh my god.”

Marinette blushed at the thought of him thinking about spending so much time together. Of course he would want to study together- he’s my best friend!

“We only have two weeks to get ready. I need you to tell me everything about normal school so i don’t stick out.”

“Okay. Can you come over tomorrow? We can get started right away.”

“Yeah. I’ll just ask for a ride from Gorilla and tell my dad the shoot went over.”

Gorilla had long decided that he would cover for Adrien. Lord knows that boy needed someone to have his back. Besides, he likes Marienette.

“Lunch then? Mom will be excited.”

Adrien had only come over once all summer. Mari had been taking it easy on him, coming to his house once a week with a movie and letting him have some space. Thank you, Marienette. It’s nice to have someone around sometimes, he’d told her last time, quietly. She blushed, remembering the way he’d hugged her. They’d been practically attached at the hip since they met, but they didn’t hug much anymore, both still working through their awkward stages of puberty.

“I’ll see you, then.” It was a relief to hear the smile in his voice. Marienette set her phone down as the line went dead. Smiling to herself, she thought of Adrien and her in school together. Would he sit with her or one of the guys? He’d probably sit with her until he made his own friends. She pushed away a weird feeling. She would still be Adrien’s best friend after he makes his own friends- she was sure. He sounded so happy. He’s wanted to go to school with her since kindergarten.

Gathering her pajamas, she opened the hatch to go take shower.

“Maman! Adrien’s coming for lunch tomorrow!” She called.

“Oh good!” Her mom peaked out from the apartment below. “He can try our new recipe for fudge dipped macarons.”

“Maman. He might not want to. Don’t push.”

“When have I ever?”

Marienette laughed at her mom’s joke. Her mother had been pushing sweets onto Adrien since she could remember.

Marienette climbed down, heading for the shower. She locked the door, recently becoming self conscious.

“Don’t forget you have a hair appointment in the morning!” Her mom called in after her.

“Okay, Maman!”

-

Marienette took in the glossy white tables with their big, lighted mirrors, the smell of expensive shampoo and perfume swirling around her.

“Just a trim?” enquired her stylist, Louise. Louise was a frequent customer of the bakery. Her father had given her some free pastries for a discount.

“Oh my god. Not Dupain-Chang. Has this place gotten cheap?” a voice said from behind her.

“Chloe. Hi.” Marienette said, spinning to look at her.

“Why are you here?”

“Louise is an old friend if you must know.”

“Friends and family discount? Really, Marinette?”

“Do you need something?” Louise interrupted.

“Just saying hi to my classmate.”

Marienette tried to calm down while Chloe walked away. She took a deep breath and sat down in the stylists chair. There was no sense in getting angry over a mean girl from school. She relaxed her shoulders.

The warmth of the ring set his heart on fire. It was the only thing keeping him from losing his mind. The threads had begun to come loose slowly. Day by day, he felt himself slipping. But, she was his rock. Her eyes closed, her breathing almost unnoticeable.

He felt a single tear roll down his chin, ignored. He pushed his grief deep within himself. She’s still here. No need for crying.

“Sir. Adrien is waiting for you at the dinner table,” Natalie said in a hushed tone. Gabriel hadn’t perceived her entrance. He wiped any trace of emotion from his face and turned to look at his assistant. 

“Tell him to go ahead.”

“Sir, he’s been eating alone every night for the past six weeks.”

“Soon, he won’t have to.”

“The miraculous-”

“Are closer than ever. Sir,” he corrected, “I have narrowed the activity to one section of the city. Barring any transfers of ownership, we should locate them within the month.”

“What about Adrien, sir?”

“What about Adrien? I’m doing this for him. For her…” he trailed off, turning to glance at the glass coffin lying open next to him. 

“I’d do anything to make it better.”

“Sir, Adrien has made a request. He’d like to go to school with Marienette in 2 weeks.” 

“No.”

“Sir, without his mother-”

“She will be back.”

“But, sir, not in 2 weeks. He is too old for me to homeschool him.”

“Then we will get him a new tutor.”

“He refused that even when…” 

Even when Emily had asked, he finished in his head. Emily had known she could no longer handle his schooling as her health failed. 

“Fine. Send the boy until she is back. It’ll be good for him to stay busy. Please ensure the school is mindful of his nutrition, exercise, and schedule. Inform Adrien that these are conditions for his schooling. I don’t want any changes made to his career opportunities because of some whim in education.”

“Of course.”

Natalie exited the room as quietly as she had entered. The silence returned as it always does. He held his breath, leaning in close to hear hers.

His father’s words echoed in his head. That was all he’d said. She was gone. He didn’t tell him where she’d gone. He watched the sun set and set from his window again. The cars on the street rumbled past. The street lights came on to drown out their headlights. The people looked far away. The emptiness spread. The days turned into night and into day again.

Everyday meals were placed at his door. Fresh clothes were set out for him while he pretended to sleep. His tutors came and left. They spoke to him, words he barely heard. Guests came- Marinette, her parents, his father, Chloe, acquaintances of his father. Some hugged, some whispered. No one pushed. No one pressed their noses against the glass of his mind, the chill of the fog keeping them at a distance.

On Tuesday, the knock at his door brought a couple boxes. His mom’s record player and all of her records. They were going through her stuff so soon? Was today the end of a month already? He waited for anything to happen, but the hall was empty. He carried the boxes to his desk, treading carefully, every step as mountainous effort.

Dance music, showtunes, soundtracks to her films, jazz, old and modern rock. His mom’s taste seemed to span the universe, plucking out a star here and there for her collection. Piano music. She used to play this record in the foyer. She’d pick any song and start playing along, pressing Adrien’s finger into the keys until he played too. They never read sheet music,- the notes swirled in his brain without it. Life dripping from her fingers in front of his eyes. He tried to catch up.

He turned on the player, rubbing fresh dust off its buttons. He mulled his options. They all felt too fresh, his heart twisted as his finger slipped from cover to cover. In the very back there was an acoustic record that had never been opened- something his mother had yet to play. He carefully tore into the cling wrap, pressing play. He watched the record spin. It was gentle, happy and sad. Was it completionist to listen to her new record for her? Or was he stealing it from her? Maybe if he listened to it loud enough, she would come and chide him for starting it without her. A smirk would play in her eyes at his eagerness, but a frown for his impatience.

Like a strike to the stomach, he reminded himself she wasn’t coming back. That’s what his father had said last week- or was it two weeks ago? He entered silently, placing a hand on Adrien’s shoulder, following his gaze to the street. “She won’t be there,” he’s said. “She won’t come back.” And now Adrien’s mind had a new record to spin.  Over and over. Days turned into nights and nights turned into a week of darkness. His father’s assistant had come to check on him a few times. Doubtlessly telling father he’d grown gaunt, the bags under his eyes cancelled his plans. By the end of the sixth week, photoshoots were officially put on hold for two more weeks.The mourning period morphed from ellipses to punctation. He held the time in his hands like slipping sand, sleeping in the day and lying for hours at night. The glass of the window began to distort his features, a window now a mirror. He stopped looking at the street.

Mothers were supposed to stay. The warmth of your first embrace was meant to carry you into adulthood. He felt her in the air. She gave him the breath in his lungs and stole it just as easily. Did she watch him? Her eyes seemed to stare back at him in his reflection. But, he’d never seen her eyes look like this, hollow, empty. He imagined they looked like that in the end. No one had to tell him she was dead. He read it in the paper after a week. It stuck to his teeth after 8 days. It scraped his palms after 13 days. It bruised his knees, and dried his throat.

He snuck down for ice cream after 36 days. There was only one spoonful left in the strawberry.

“You take it,” she’d whispered.

“No, it’s yours!” he giggled.

“Shhh! Okay we’ll save it and it’ll be the first scoop next time.”