Switched

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Marinette swung the lucky charm in the air, which thankfully returned everything the way it had been. Unfortunately, without the yo-to purifying the akuma, Chloe was still largely at risk of being akumatized again.

Marinette had just returned to her seat—Adrien's seat when Ms. Bustier called Adrien's name.

"Adrien, you are excused for the rest of the day. Nathalie and Gorilla are here to pick you up."

Oh right, Adrien had a photo shoot today. Marinette gathered her things and headed for the door. She looked back at her empty seat.

Because Adrien had decided to be a drama Queen, it seemed like Marinette was ditching the last half of the day. She was going to be in so much trouble. Then Marinette remembered she wouldn't be going home that night. Since their miraculous hadn't switched back, she would be returning to the Agreste mansion.

At least Adrien would have to deal with her parents' anger and not her. The thought consoled her as she got into the car.

"How was your morning?" Nathalie asked. She didn't look up from her iPad.

"It was fine," Marinette answered despondently. She leaned against the window and stared out.

"Don't slouch." Nathalie poked her shoulder. "We're headed to the Eiffel Tower for your photoshoot and then there's a brief press conference after."

Public speaking was not one of Marinette's strong points. She sank lower in her seat.

By the time the day was finished and she was trudging up the stairs to the mansion, Marinette just wanted to throw herself into bed. Once inside, she started up to Adrien's room when Nathalie called her back.

"Don't forget you have your Chinese lesson. And then practice the piano before bed."

Apparently Adrien didn't have dinner with his father often. She discovered a Chinese tutor waiting for her in Adrien's room.

The lesson went horribly.

"How have you forgotten even the most basic Chinese?" the tutor chided. "Tell me your name."

"Mari— Adrien Agreste."

"No." The tutor facepalmed. "In Chinese."

Piano was even worse. Marinette didn't have the first idea how to play.

"Stream piano music through your phone," Plagg suggested. "It's what Adrien does when he sneaks out as Cat Noir."

"Does he do that often?" Marinette could understand why.

This house felt like a prison.

***

Adrien couldn't believe he'd just a abandoned Marinette, but he was exhausted of not being taken seriously. After he detransformed, Adrien fed Tikki a cookie and took off to clear his head, ending up at a park near the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

He was familiar with the place because of his photoshoots but he'd never had a chance to explore it on its own.

Some children played on the carousel as couples lounged at the fountain. Adrien took a nice deep breath, enjoying his freedom. He almost pulled out his phone to text Nino, but then remembered that might be strange coming from Marinette.

So instead he texted Alya: Meet me at the park?

Alya: be there in ten.

She was there in five. "Girl, what happened to you? You disappeared after the akuma attack."

"Oh uh," Adrien scrambled for an excuse. "I was scared."

"Scared?" Alya laughed. "That doesn't sound like you, Marinette. You might overthink practically everything, but you don't typically get scared."

"I guess you're right."

"Is everything okay?" Alya persisted. "You don't seem like yourself."

"Yeah I'm good. It's just... girl issues." He blushed.

"Ohhhhhh I'm sorry." Alya touched his arm comfortingly.

Suddenly, Adrien needed a hug. With Alya being close by, he pulled the girl into a hug. She hugged him back.

Then Adrien checked his phone. "I should probably get home," he said.

He wondered how Marinette's parents would react to her skipping class as he walked through the door. Adrien tried to slip up to Marinette's room, but Sabine heard him.

"Marinette, could you come into the living room please?"

Tom and Sabine waited for him on the sofa. Adrien took a seat in a chair. "What's up?"

"Principal Damocles called us today," Tom said. "He said you skipped half of class."

"You see there was this akuma attack."

"But why didn't you go back to school after?" Sabine asked. "You haven't been yourself lately, Marinette. Can you tell us what's wrong?"

Adrien wasn't used to people asking his feelings. Usually his father ordered him around.

"Well." He scratched the back of his head. "I just feel stressed about the akumas and kind of scared and alone."

"Marinette, sweetie. You're not alone," Tom said. He put his hand on Adrien's knee. "You can talk to us whenever you feel that way."

"And I'm sure Alya would be happy to talk to you about this too," Sabine added. "I know it's really scary with Hawkmoth, but you can't take off again like that because then we're scared and don't know you're safe."

Kind of how he'd left Marinette without purifying the akuma. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Let's have some dinner," Tom said. "Your mom made pizza."

"That's it?" Adrien asked.

"No, you're definitely grounded for the next week," Sabine said.