Miraculous Short Stories

Here With Me

In the aftermath of Hawk Moth's defeat, Adrien and Marinette have shared their identities and grown closer, but neither is willing to compromise their friendship by admitting their true feelings. Will a Valentine's Day dance at school change all that? Witten for the Miraculous Fanworks Discord.

Marinette tapped her pen against her note book. She was still getting used to this new world where chasing a butterfly villain was in the past and the only thing she had to focus on was passing the Baccalaureate and graduating from Lycèe. That is if she can get her brain to focus on this assignment for ancient history.

It seemed she wasn't the only one having trouble since many of her classmates were piled into the library. Getting up, Marinette went back to the bookshelf. She could see on one of the higher shelves a book on Egyptian Mythology that looked interesting. Standing up on her toes, she strained up to reach, cursing her short stature.

"Need some help there m'lady?" A warm familiar voice said behind her. Marinette smiled to herself and leaned back against the bookcase as Adrien reached over her head and grabbed the book.

"Thanks Kitty." She smiled looking up at him. "I thought you had fencing this afternoon?"

Adrien leaned his shoulder against the bookcase next to her. "Mr D'Argentcourt has the flu and Kagami is out of town so I didn't really have anyone to spar with. Otherwise I could teach you a few moves." He said with a cheeky grin.

"The last time you tried to teach me a few moves I ended up with a twisted ankle." Adrien chuckled remembering the indignant look on her face when he insisted on carrying her home. "Besides, I really have to work on this assignment. I'm at least three resources short."

"I can help you with it." Adrien offered. "I already finished my assignment."

"Already?" Marinette said, astonished. "We only got the assignment last week."

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous tick Marinette had often noticed over the years. "Well without all the modeling and Chinese and the "other" extracurricular activities," He whispered with a wink, "I have a lot more time on my hands I guess. Besides, we have a pretty extensive library and Nathalie is really knowledgeable. Tomorrow's Friday, if you want you can come around after school and I can help you find some resources?"

"That would be amazing." Marinette smiled. "Are you sure it's alright for me to come over?"

"Oh sure." He replied. "Nathalie isn't anywhere near as strict as..." His face dropped a little as his voice trailed off. "I don't need permission anymore."

It had been almost a year since Adrien's father was unmasked as their arch nemesis. It had been a rollercoaster of anger and despair, but Adrien's saving grace had been finding out that Ladybug was none other than his amazing and supportive friend Marinette.

Despite it all, she had stood by his side all through the trial, both as himself and when he had to testify as Chat Noir, and he felt truly blessed to have her in his life. They had grown so much closer since then, and while Adrien's heart would still beat faster just at the sound of her voice, he didn't try to press his feelings onto her anymore. Ladybug was always very clear that she didn't love Chat Noir, and Marinette had never indicated she felt anything more than friendship for Adrien. He was okay with that though. Her friendship meant everything to him, and right now that was all that mattered.

Marinette placed a supportive hand on Adrien's arm. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Hey, don't you apologise." He replied. "If I can't talk to you about it, who can I talk to? I did talk to my father on the phone a few days ago. He's... adjusting I guess. He wants to redesign the prison guards uniforms but I'm not sure how well that would go down though."