That night, Marinette didn’t sleep until a few hours past after Chat’s short visit.

In the morning, she greeted her parents half-heartedly and rubbed at her eyes which were heavy with tiredness. After all, she had stayed up until the sun started to rise (and only realized it when Tikki reminded her), which still meant that she pulled an all-nighter.

It didn’t matter (not really), since she had used the time to create some impressive designs with the help of the adrenaline pumping through her veins. But now, all she could manage was a weak “Good morning” and the strength to lift her spoon as she stuffed her mouth with cereal, hoping that it would revive some of her energy.

She could feel the concerned eyes of her parents stare at her mercilessly, but she tried to ignore them and slung her backpack over one shoulder, saying her usual goodbyes before heading out.

When she stepped out, however, she felt the raindrops fall onto her head and yelped in surprise. It was still raining, and by the looks of the overcast weather, it didn’t look like it would end any time soon. Before Marinette went back inside her house, she realized that she lent her only umbrella to Chat last night. With a series of groans, she held her backpack above her head and sprinted to school.

School wasn’t much better either. Marinette kept falling asleep during class, and all it led to was scolding from the teachers and a few snickers from Chloe and Sabrina.

After the last period ended and the bell rung, Marinette picked up her stuff sluggishly while yawning. Thankfully, today was an early release so she could avoid more embarrassment. Unfortunately, that meant that they went home without having lunch.

Marinette’s stomach was growling without a rest while she and Alya walked down the hall, exchanging a few words together.

“Ugh,” she moaned. “I feel terrible and I barely got an hour of sleep last night.”

Alya clapped her on the back, nodding to say that she understood.

“What for?” Her friend asked.

“I mean, I was up designing some new stuff and then-”

“And then?”

Marinette wondered if she should tell Alya about Chat dropping by in the middle of the night, but she went against it. It could be bad for both her and the superhero, especially since Alya was the owner of the biggest Ladybug fansite and she’d never stop asking Marinette questions.

Instead of answering, she just shook her head and picked up her pace, leaving her best friend behind her.

Once they reached the entrance to the school, Alya opened her umbrella and motioned for Marinette to come closer.

“We’ll just have to share this,” She sighed, and Marinette couldn’t help but feel sorry. “That’s why I told you to buy a spare umbrella, not just use the one you designed. By the way, how did you even lose your umbrella in the first place?”

Before she could even think of a believable excuse, she saw Adrien and Nino walk in their direction. Nino spotted them and waved, followed by Adrien, who smiled at Marinette. She could feel her knees buckle, and barely managed to stay upright.

“Hi,” He said (with that fucking half grin that made Marinette want to curl up into a ball and cry). He was holding an umbrella that looked similar to the one she gave to Chat, but she didn’t think much of it. Maybe he was also a Ladybug fan. A fan of her. She let out a squeal of joy, but quickly covered her mouth hoping that no one heard her.

“H-Hi Adrien,” She stumbled with her words. Alya elbowed her ribs, clearly unimpressed. They said their goodbyes a moment later, and she watched as Adrien and Nino made their way down the stairs of the school in a dreamy way.

Adrien opened his umbrella, and Marinette let out a whisper of a gasp. She kept pointing at it, even when it mixed in with the many other umbrellas on the sidewalk, and disappeared at one point.

“That’s my umbrella,” She said, as Alya gave her a puzzled expression.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that it’s the one that I lent- I mean, lost.”

Her friend raised her eyebrows.

“How do you know that it’s the one you lost?”

“I saw my signature on the umbrella strap.”

Her friend looked at her with doubtful eyes.

“Are you sure, though? I’m not sure Adrien would pick up a random umbrella lying in the middle of who knows where.”

He also wouldn’t be able to do such things since I gave Chat the umbrella, She thought to herself.

“Maybe-maybe you’re right. I think I’m still only half-awake, to think something as absurd as that.”

The two shared a small (tense) laugh and headed for Marinette’s place without another word about the topic. She was thankful for that.

Alya was right; there’s no way that anyone would pick up a random umbrella, and besides, Chat told her that he’d give the umbrella back later. He wasn’t someone who would lie and throw it away. And it was true that she was still not fully awake; her eyelids were only halfway open when she wasn’t sleeping. For all she knew, Adrien’s umbrella could’ve been striped instead of in the pattern of a ladybug.

Once they reached the bakery, Marinette said her thanks and went inside only after seeing Alya off. She kissed her mom on the cheek and the same with her dad, and dragged herself upstairs. After closing her bedroom door, she flung herself onto her bed. It still smelled like rain, and she felt herself slowly loosening her grip of reality.

She woke up when she heard a familiar ring. It was Marinette’s phone, and she knew she should’ve gotten up and answered it. But the bed was like quicksand, making it nearly impossible for her to get out without help.

The ringing stopped after a minute, and a moment later it started to ring again. It repeated for about two more times before she decided to get it. It was getting more annoying by each passing moment.

Marinette grumbled about “goddamn phones” under her breath as she sat up slowly and yawned. The ringing stopped for a few moments (of cherished silence) before ringing again.

“Why?!” She shouted, glaring angrily at her phone. The anger quickly subsided as she realized that it was Alya who was calling her.

Fumbling to get her phone, she pressed the answer button and braced herself for a earful of shouting.

“WHY WEREN’T YOU ANSWERING YOUR PHONE, MARINETTE CHENG?” Marinette was worried that her parents could hear Alya even from the bakery. “I CALLED LIKE TEN TIMES-”

“Four,” She corrected, holding the phone a foot away from her ear.

“...I WAS SCARED THAT SOMETHING MIGHT’VE HAPPENED, AND THEN I THOUGHT YOU WERE PROBABLY ASLEEP, BUT YOU’RE NOT THAT TYPE OF PERSON TO ACTUALLY IGNORE SOMEONE’S CALLS, AND WAIT WHY AM I EVEN SHOUTING THEN-”

She couldn’t help it. Marinette laughed, and heard Alya laughing with her on the other line a few moments later.

“So,” She finally said, stifling a yawn. “What’s the real reason you called?”

“Right, right. You remember the conversation we had during break?”

“Which break?”

“The one between Physics and Science.”

“Ah right. The one about you asking Chat Noir to an interview?”

“Yep, that one. I managed to stumble upon him on my way home, and with much persuasion he agreed to do it on Friday night eight o’clock.”

“That’s great!”

“I know right? I mean, it would be better if Ladybug could join, but I already marked it as an ‘Exclusive Chat Noir Special’, so I can’t.” Marinette heard a sigh. “Anyways, I was wondering since I’d be doing the interview, I can’t hold my phone at the same time. So can you maybe tag along with me to film the interview?”

Marinette took this as a chance to receive the umbrella Chat borrowed, and heartily agreed to be the cameraman. They soon hung up after talking for a few more minutes, and she checked the time on her phone.

2:45 PM

Outside, it looked as if it were already six because of the gloomy atmosphere the fog and rain was creating. Marinette could hear the cars honking out on her street continuously, enough to drive her crazy. But the cars were no match for the growling of her stomach as it grew louder each time it rumbled with hunger.

“Looks like you’ll need to feed yourself,” Tikki noticed out loud, pointing at her stomach. Marinette giggled and threw her phone onto the bed, sprinting down the stairs and into the bakery. Both her parents were helping customers, so she silently took a few freshly made croissants and a sandwich and ran up the stairs again.

“Here Tikki,” She said with her mouth stuffed, pushing half of the remaining croissant towards the kwami. Tikki took it with a quick “Thanks,” and nibbled on the flaky bread.

Feeding herself was the least of Marinette’s problems now, since she managed to fill her once empty stomach. But there was still homework; a lot of it. Algebra, Chemistry and Social Studies. It was nearly three already, and to finish all of her homework it would probably take at least three hours.

Glancing at her textbooks hopefully as if they were to grow legs and run away, she extended her hand towards it lazily.

“Tikki,” She moaned, “which subject should I do first? Answer me quickly before I lose motivation.”

Marinette recieved a look of sympathy, and it was a moment before Tikki replied.

“Maybe the one you’re most familiar with?” She suggested. Marinette grunted and shook her head.

“These three are the ones I’m not familiar with,” She complained, sitting on her desk chair and spinning around. “I suck at science and math, and I barely remember even the most important events from France’s history. How am I supposed to write a full three paged essay on the French Revolution?”

“How about reading the textbook and just summarizing it? I took a little look, and it fills up eleven pages.”

“You think I can do this?”

“I believe in you, Marinette. You just need to build up your self confidence as well.”

In the end, it took her five hours to complete her homework. Marinette heaved a long sigh and stretched, relieving her tense muscles. Tikki was fast asleep on her Chemistry textbook and she didn’t want to bother her, so she tip-toed out of the room as quietly as possible.

“Marinette,” her mom called from downstairs. “Dinner’s ready!”

“I’m coming-” Marinette yelled back, skipping two steps each as she climbed down the stairs. She helped her dad carry the last batch of baguettes into their kitchen, and flipped the open sign to closed, officially closing the bakery down for tonight.

Dinner was delicious (no surprise there), and Marinette stuffed herself with spaghetti until she couldn’t eat one more string of noodle. She said no to dessert and immediately went up to her bedroom, where her kwami was still snoozing soundly. She smiled at the relaxed expression Tikki was making, and opened the drawer to her fashion designs.

Her sketchbook was under a few sheets of paper filled with rough sketches, and she pulled it out carelessly. A few pieces of paper flew onto the floor, but Marinette didn’t bother to pick them up. She’ll do it later.

Leaving the drawer open, she held her sketchbook against her chest and sat down on her bed. She flipped through the pages of some designs, and silently praised herself as she stopped to look at the dress she designed during the middle of the night.

She grabbed a pencil that was strewn on the floor randomly, and started sketching out some more ideas to compliment her design. Before she knew it, an hour had passed and she created a coat to match with the dress.

Satisfied with the outcome, she compared the two sketches. It seemed that Tikki had woken up while she was caught up in drawing, because she flew beside Marinette and nodded in approvement.

“Ah, sorry, did I wake you?” She asked, as the kwami shook her head.

“Not in the slightest.” Tikki assured her, and stared at the sketches with interest. “These designs are great, by the way.”

Marinette could feel her cheeks burning and her ears reddening, but she pretended that she didn’t blush and quickly thanked her.

Looking at the time, she hurriedly stuffed the sketchbook in her drawer and changed into her pjs. She was determined to sleep early today, and brushed her teeth viciously.

“Tikki,” Marinette started to say, putting the lights out and climbing into bed. “Please tell me tomorrow will be a better day than this.”

“It’s a Tuesday tomorrow,” she responded drowsily. “What could possible go wrong?”

When Marinette woke up, she was so sure that something was wrong. She blinked once, then twice, trying to focus on the ceiling of her room. It was still dark, but a sliver of sunlight creeped through the crack the curtain hadn’t covered.

She had never woken up so early, and never felt this rested in years. Stifling a yawn, she slipped out of bed. Her whole body was shaking slightly because it was cold and she forgot to turn on the heater before going to sleep (so that was the source of the uneasy feeling she had.)

Trying to conserve some body heat, Marinette put on her fuzzy slippers and wrapped herself in a blanket. It did her some good, but not enough to completely get rid of her shivering.

She went downstairs to greet her parents, who were a little surprised at how early she woke up but still kissed her forehead with the same amount of love as usual.

She had breakfast, brushed her teeth, tied her hair, and got dressed all before the time when she usually woke up. Marinette wanted to pat herself on the back, but felt that it would seem too narcissistic of her and didn’t.

Tikki woke up around the time when the sun came fully out, and she was also shocked to see Marinette fully dressed and conscious.

“Am I dreaming?” She asked, flying around Marinette as if she could suddenly disappear if the kwami didn’t keep an eye on her. She merely rolled her eyes jokingly and beckoned for Tikki to slip inside her purse; she was going to school early today.

Fortunately, it wasn’t raining when she stepped outside. But it was still cloudy, and it ruined her mood just a little bit. Ignoring the weather, she nearly skipped all the way to the front steps of her school, and greeted a dumbfounded Alya happily.

“Wow Marinette,” She said. “I never thought you’d come to school so early,”

Their last subject for the day was Math, the one Marinette despised so much. But today was a fairly easy day, since all they had to do was name their blood type and create a pie chart with the data.

“So,” Nino stood in front of the class, holding a whiteboard with one hand and a marker with another. “Raise your hands if your blood type is A”

Several hands were raised, and he counted them one by one.

“Ok. Now for blood type B!”

More show of hands than before shot up.

“AB?”

He wrote 5 on the whiteboard.

“And last but not least, blood type O,” Nino counted the amount of hands in the air and frowned. “That’s weird. We’re missing two guys. Who didn’t raise their hands?”

Before Marinette could answer, someone beat her to it.

“I didn’t,” Adrien said, and Nino raised an eyebrow. “I’m not any of those blood types.”

“Ah, right right. You’re type AB positive, right?”

“W-wait,” Marinette stuttered. “I’m also AB positive,”

“Woah,” Nino said, a grin forming on his face. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves two people with one of the rarest blood types in the world, everyone!” He hit the whiteboard with the back of the marker. “But since we’ve got twenty four kids, and dividing it into five would be a pain in the ass, let’s just put you guys in the AB section, ok?”

She nodded, and felt Alya’s eyes on her.

“What?” She whispered to her friend, who was grinning from ear to ear.

“Nothing,” She replied. “It’s just that you finally found something in common with Adrien.”

He could hear the rain before he saw it. The rhythm of the droplets falling onto the roof, Adrien heard it while he was still swimming in the wonderful thing called subconsciousness.

And then he was falling, hands waving frantically in search of something to grab. He woke up so suddenly, propping himself on his elbows, eyes growing larger by each passing moment.

Panting, Adrien touched his forehead. Beads of sweat were falling onto his back, like the rain dripping on the window beside him. He checked the clock, but it was too dim to see where the hands were pointing to.

Adrien didn’t bother to try concentrating on the hands until he could see the outline of them, and slid off the bed quickly as possible. It was too wet with the sweat, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep anyways.

He grabbed the small flashlight sitting on the nightstand, and tip-toed out to the hall. The walls were covered with thick velvet curtains, and the whole hall was draped with darkness. The boy flipped the light switch on the flashlight, and kept walking as the old thing flickered a few times before emitting a dull light.

To be truthful, Adrien didn’t know where he was headed to. Just...not in his room, that was. Or his house, really.

Please, he thought urgently. Anywhere but this wretched manor.

Adrien just needed some freedom. Freedom from his everlasting schedules, modeling for his father’s latest designs, magazine interviews, even school. He wished for some peace, where he could be Chat Noir anytime anywhere. Of course that was incredibly selfish of him, but he really, really thought that he deserved it.

Being unloved for years really did some damage to him. Adrien grew up with a busy, distant father and only had Plagg and Nathalie for company (and that was saying something.)

He was used to it by now, but it was dull. Every day was the same as all the others, excluding his adventures as Chat. Adrien was afraid that he might become some sort of unthinking robot, doing the same things over and over again endlessly. Or maybe, he’d go insane and his father would be forced to send him to a mental hospital. What a disappointment he’d be, spending the last of his days talking about counting sheep and declaring that he’s Chat Noir.

Mildly concerned with himself, Adrien slipped into the entrance hall, climbing down the marble stairs as quietly as he could without making his footsteps echo. Was it even possible that a house could be this silent? He kept that question to himself, and instead grabbed an umbrella. What was he planning to do was beyond himself, but he probably needed Plagg to accompany him.

The kitchen was a few rooms away, but it could be confusing for guests, being that his house was basically one large labyrinth. Unless you knew your way through the twisting hallways and many rooms, anyone could get lost. But Adrien lived here. As much as he hated it, he knew the house like the back of his hand.

Once he found the kitchen door, he pushed it open and headed towards the pantry. Where could the cheese be? Adrien dug around for a few moments before laying his eyes on a wheel of cheese, and hurriedly picked it up. He didn’t really care if it was camembert or not, and held the whole thing up.

It was merely a few seconds before his kwami flew into the kitchen and came to a slow stop at the sight of the cheese.

“Kid, I smelled this wonderful things from the second floor,” Plagg said irritably. “Unless you’re really giving me some of that, I’m leaving.”

Before the kwami could go back into his deep slumber, Adrien grabbed his tail and pulled him back. He held broke off a large portion of the cheese, and raised an eyebrow.

“Ready for a midnight walk?”

Being Chat Noir was easily his favorite time of the day. Rescuing civilians and fighting off villains that Hawkmoth sent with Ladybug; it was a no brainer. Just thinking about Ladybug made Chat feel better about his life. She was like a ball of light in a sea of blackness. It was a shame that she didn’t realize his feelings for her.

After transforming into Chat Noir, Chat quietly opened the large doors of the manor and slipped out, careful not to make noise. Outside, it was still raining, though not as much as when he first woke up.

Chat opened the umbrella and started walking aimlessly in the empty and dark streets of Paris. It was peaceful, in a kind of creepy, silent way. The street lamps were dim and the sound of the rain splashing onto the pavement was sort of aesthetic as well. Not knowing where he was heading, Chat, rather than avoiding large puddles, jumped into them and felt the cold water splash onto his legs.

This is what truly being alone feels like, He thought enviously.

A few minutes after walking, he found himself on the street where Marinette lived. More like next to her bakery. Weird. Really weird. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Or maybe he was unconsciously drawn towards the place. Before he could come up with an answer, he heard a slight creak from above. The roof terrace.

Chat looked up, and he saw a silhouette.

“Marinette,” he whispered to nobody as he grinned.

She looked as tired as ever. Her hair, without it being tied into pigtails rested on her shoulders lazily. She was wearing pink laced pajamas and held an umbrella with one hand and covered her mouth as she yawned with the other. Chat didn’t know what she was doing outside at this time, but nevertheless decided to meet her. It wouldn’t hurt to have a chat, would it?

He dropped the umbrella, and let the rain soak him from head to toe as he started climbing up the terrace. He made sure not to be seen, but it was too dark anyways.

Once he reached the railing, Chat silently jumped over it and started to sneak up on Marinette, who was still gazing into the distance. Suppressing a smile, he leisurely walked up next to the girl, who nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise.

“Lovely day, m’lady,” said Chat, his voice casual. As if he always sneaked up on people in the middle of the night in their homes. Totally not creepy in any way.

“Ch-chat!” Marinette gasped, and then hastily added “Noir.”

She looked somewhat less surprised than Chat was hoping for, but it didn’t really matter, since she was trying not to smile. Prodding a finger at his chest, she clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“What might the black cat be doing here at this time?” She asked teasingly, but Chat only grinned wider.

“Just going on a midnight stroll,” He replied, winking at the girl. “Nothing unusual.”

“Uh-huh,” Marinette said, clearly unconvinced. She looked over the railing, and spotted the abandoned umbrella. Her eyes moved suspiciously from the umbrella to Chat back and forth, and heaved a long sigh. “Come in, before you catch a cold.”

Chat was giddy with excitement as he entered Marinette’s room. There wasn’t anything special about it (it was really just any other girl’s bedroom), but he could see the fashion designer details here and there. A sewing machine sat on the corner of her desk; a design mannequin by the window; sketches of designs strewn on the desk and on the floor. It was absolute chaos, but nevertheless cozy and welcoming.

Marinette folded the umbrella, hurriedly grabbed the drawings and opened up a drawer and stuffed them all inside before throwing Chat a towel. He caught it, and started drying his hair first. Marinette sat on the edge of her bed and beckoned for him to do so too. Chat obliged, and held the wet towel in his hands, playing around.

“So,” Chat said, feeling the awkward aura slam into him. “Uh...nice room.”

It came out more like a question, and Marinette laughed. He smiled at the sound of her laugh, and wished he could have a normal conversation like this with her as Adrien. But it seemed like she didn’t enjoy his company, because whenever he greeted her she’d find an excuse to be somewhere else. He accidentally let out a sigh of exasperation before he realized what he was doing.

“Hey, what’s that sigh for?”

“Ah,” Chat gave her a nervous laugh. “I was just thinking of some personal stuff, nothing to worry about.”

Personal, my ass He thought bitterly.

Chat stood up abruptly, and handed the towel back to Marinette, who stood up as well in confusion.

“Going already?” She asked, not bothering to hide her puzzled expression. He nodded, giving her a smile of apology (though he didn’t know why), and started climbing the stairs to the roof of the house.

“The sooner I leave, the better,” Chat replied, bracing himself to get wet again. “Besides, I’m already dry.” (That was a lie.)

Before he could open the attic door, Marinette called him.

“Chat!” She half-shouted, climbing the stairs as fast as she could with her umbrella in hand. “Hey, use this while you go home.” She handed the umbrella to him, and he raised an eyebrow. Hiding the red seeping into her cheeks, she quickly added “It’s so you won’t catch a cold. If you do, it means this was all for nothing.”

The umbrella was in the pattern of a ladybug, red with black spots. He gave her a smirk in return.

“Thanks, Marinette.” He said, raising the umbrella over his head. “I’ll remember to return it later, when I have the time.”

Chat slipped outside quickly and opened the umbrella. The rain was reduced to a light drizzle, but it was still better if he avoided getting wet all over again. Besides, he was still a little damp, and it wasn’t a great feeling to be slightly dry and slightly wet at the same time.

It was half an hour later when he reached home, and his transformation weared off in the middle of his walk back. It didn’t matter that he was back to being Adrien.