Where did you go?

23~ So glad to see you, M'lady

(Marinette's POV)

I'm heading towards the Eiffel Tower until I hear my name being called out from not too far away.

"Ladybug! Wait!", the voice yells.

Huh? I stop and turn around to see a silhouette jumping towards me with a stick.

Ah, Cat Noir.

He finally catches up to me and stops.

"Hey, M'lady! Saw you jumping across those buildings so I decided to join you", he says. 

"Such a gentleman, thank you", I say jokingly. 

He takes a breath of relief and extends his arms out for a hug.

"I've missed you so much."

I smile and go in to hug him. We hold each other in a warm embrace for a couple of seconds. 

"Me too. I've had such a hard week."

"That makes two of us", he laughs.

We pull out of the hug and decide to just stay where we were. We sit down on the edge of the building and catch up with each other while also appreciating the company. 

"So, why has your week been hard? Wanna talk about it?", he asks me. 

I sigh and shake my head. I play around with my fingers and stay silent. He puts his hand on top of mine and looks me in the eye. 

"You know you can tell me anything, or nothing if that's what you want", he reassures me. 

I hesitate and freeze for a couple of seconds. Luka would say those exact same words to me. All of the guilt that I had temporarily forgotten about has all of a sudden come back. 

"I just... ruined so many relationships in just a matter of hours. I don't know what to do", I say.

(Adrien's POV)

"I just... ruined so many relationships in just a matter of hours. I don't know what to do", she says to me.

Poor girl. We're going through the exact same thing. 

"I'm sorry Bugaboo. You don't deserve anything bad to happen to you", I reply.

"I'm not so sure about that", she hesitates. "It's mostly my fault. I just need a break from everything. That's why I like being Ladybug. Why I like being with you. It's an escape from the reality that constantly makes me feel like shit."

I laugh quietly and her eyebrows knit in confusion. 

"Are you laughing at me right now?", she asks.

"No, of course not. I'm just realizing how similar we are. Being Cat Noir and hanging out with you is my only escape from my actual life. Who knew how much some small pieces of jewelry would impact us so much?"

"Right. I don't know what I would do. But hey, at least I have you, kitty. You hardly ever let me down."

"Wow", I say dramatically. "Hardly?"

She giggles and it makes my heart happy.

"Yeah, hardly."

We continue to hang out until it gets way too late to be out.

"I have to get going, Cat Noir. Want to hang out again tomorrow?", she asks me.

"For a patrol? Where do we meet-"

"No, just to hang out. We don't have to patrol all the time. Hawkmoth hasn't even been that active, so it's not really necessary", she says.

Ladybug wants to hang out with me.

With me.

Is she finally warming up to me after forever? I hope so. 

"You know I always want to spend time with you, M'lady. I'll see you soon, then", I reply.

She nods and gives me a small smile before jumping away in the opposite direction. 

The night is calming so I stay there on the building for a little while longer before going home. I jump into my window and de-transform. Plagg comes flying out of my miraculous, desperate for cheese. 

"Here", I say while handing him a piece of his favorite food. 

He takes it with a big smile on his face. 

"So? You aren't going to tell me about the encounter you just had with your sweetheart? She didn't push you away like she usually does", Plagg mentions.

"Yeah, she didn't. We're even going to hang out tomorrow. I'm definitely getting somewhere with Ladybug, but I'm still worried about Marinette", I reply. 

"Just chill out about that, Adrien. You guys will just become friends again like you always do. Just give her time. While you're waiting for that to fix itself, why not just enjoy the time you're spending with Ladybug?", he suggests. 

I walk to and plop on my bed. 

"You're right, Plagg. I'm just gonna go with the flow", I say before jumping straight up as I hear footsteps near my door. 

Plagg disappears into my sheets to not be seen and my father comes through the door. He walks up to the foot of my bed and hovers tall over me.

"Hi, father. Is everything okay?", I ask. 

"Nathalie mentioned the cuts on your face and she was right", he says, ignoring my question. "Who did that to you?"

"It was just a stupid fight, no need to make a big deal out of it-"

"No!", he says in a loud, scolding matter. "You know that you have to stay out of trouble for this exact reason. I did not raise a son that gets into fights like this. What will your photographer say about this?"

I sigh and look at my bedsheets.

"I'm sorry, father. It was my fault."

"I'm glad you recognize it", he says before leaving and slamming the door behind him.

Plagg flies back up next to me and looks at me with a worried face. 

I can't wait 'til I'm out of this house for good.

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