Swishing at her cereal with her spoon, Marinette kept her attention on her bowl. Beside her, Tom did the same, neither one of them having shared much eye contact since Monday. It was Wednesday as of then, and the first morning that Marinette had spent any significant time with her father since they'd argued on Monday. Which was likely what contributed to the tension between them.
Chasing a flake quietly around in her milk, she deliberated on what to say. Or, perhaps, on what to say first—because she had to say something. She realized her parents were disappointed in her and she sought some kind of resolution to that, as well as her father's feelings about Adrien.
Which was, perhaps, the more important variable to her—at least personally.
Two nights in a row Chat had come bounding across her balcony. Two nights she'd let him slink down and stay in her bed. All they'd done was sleep, but she knew her father wouldn't see it that way. Not that she had any intention of telling him. It was more important that she clear Adrien of guilt in general, not admit to any crimes.
If there were crimes at all. Honestly, she didn't see it that way. As far as she was concerned, what she and Adrien did—especially when it was, perhaps, the result of possessing a miraculous—was none of her parents' business. It was Ladybug and Chat Noir business, and that was something distanced from family. Whether she was young or not, their child or not, her duty as Ladybug was beyond their realm of control. Beyond their realm of understanding. And that meant whatever she and Adrien decided to do—decided they needed to do—was her and his business only.
She was their daughter, but she'd also become something else. Someone that existed in a world outside theirs. Would they agree? No, perhaps not, but that was hardly the point.
The point, rather, was that she liked having Adrien close and if that meant he snuck into her bedroom a few nights a week, then that was how it was going to be. She liked having him there—having his warmth beneath her comforter, his easy breathing as he slept, even the way his breath wisped across her skin when he sighed in slumber. There was nothing nefarious about it. No bad intentions. It was simply comforting, having him there. Though they had yet to really discuss the topic, she hoped he felt the same way. That such was why he'd come back a second night.
And as the protectors of Paris, and two people that had never asked for anything in return, it didn't seem a crime to indulge in such harmless activities.
Marinette felt no guilt over it, just as she felt no guilt in hiding her goings-on as Ladybug from her parents. What went on between her and Adrien was no one else's concern unless they—she and he—wanted it to be.
Yet, still, she didn't want her father to dislike him. Especially when he had no concrete reasons to do so. But the subject was one she'd never broached before and so she didn't exactly know how to approach it.
What had happened between herself and Chloe, however, was easy enough to tackle—if she just had the courage to do so.
Finally dropping her spoon, she cleared her throat. "Dad...?"
"Yes, Marinette." He didn't look up as he spoke, but at least he didn't sound angry.
Marinette sighed. "Look, about- about what happened with Chloe... I know you and mom are disappointed that I hit her. And I understand why. Maybe you're right. Maybe I shouldn't have retaliated. But it... it's not like she doesn't antagonize everyone, sometimes in the worst ways. And she did hit me first.
"Not that I'm trying to come up with excuses. I just want you both to... to understand that I wouldn't have hit her unless she really deserved it. She bullies everyone, Dad. And she tries to go after me especially. While I understand you not wanting me to fight and get in trouble, would you really have preferred I stand there and... and let her treat me that way?"
