Not You: A Miraculous Ladybug Tale

As you said, I've changed

"Cat Noir..." Marinette muttered - half awake, half asleep. All night she had dreamed of him...their ice creamless "date"...the way he held out his hand...the sincerity brimming behind his bright green eyes. All morning, her barely conscious mind was filled with thoughts she would never admit to:

I should have kissed him. No, he should have kissed me.

"Marinette!" A high-pitched voice said.

Her eyes shot open and she panicked before realizing she was safely in her room. She pulled herself from bed, as she examined her room. It felt exactly the way she expected...

The way the light burned her sleepy eyes through the window. The smell of fresh bread in the air. She was home...mostly thanks to Cat Noir's convincing.

"You're finally up, Marinette!" Tiki exclaimed.

"Good morning...what time is it?"

"Almost time for you to be going to school."

"Tiki! Why didn't you wake me up?" 

"Well, I tried but you were sleeping so peacefully. What were you dreaming about?"

"Oh..." Marinette felt her face turning red, "Nothing really."

"You kept repeating 'Cat Noir' over and over again."

"Haha – that's right...I was thinking about fighting Hawk Moth and Cat Noir was there...being his usual lame self. I had to keep bossing him around."

Tiki frowned, "I know when you're lying, Marinette."

"Say - is the field trip today?" Marinette quickly asked.

"- And I also know when you're purposely trying to change topics. But to answer your question, yes. The Luxembourg Gardens will be so beautiful."

Marinette wondered if Lila was going. If so, it would be a miserable time. She just wanted life to go back to the way it was two years ago. Before everything and everyone had grew up and changed.

"What are you thinking about?" Tiki asked.

"I wish Alya didn't leave. I mean, don't get me wrong, Tiki – I'm happy she got the internship in America, but today would be so much better if she were coming."

"I know. If you start to feel lonely today, you can always talk to me."

Marinette smiled, "What would I do without you?"

Tiki giggled.

"No seriously. I don't know."

"You'd be just fine. You've already done so much without me. I mean, look around you room, you're already changed so much."

"Well, that was needed change. It was about time I took all those silly pictures of Adrien down."

"Speaking of Adrien, today is his first day back from New York."

"I can't believe it's been an entire year since he left. An entire year without Alya or Adrien."

Marinette felt the slightest sting as she looked at her pictureless room. No Adrien. Nothing. Of course, it wasn't exactly her choice to take the pictures down...it was more out of force...when Kagami and Adrien first started dating two years ago. Now that they had broken up and were just friends, she had the liberty to put them back up.

But enough was enough. She had spent too much time chasing a one-sided relationship...thinking of someone who wasn't thinking about her...looking for someone who wasn't even the room...someone who had spent the last year far away from her. It was time to move on. Now was the time to put a three-year disappointment to rest and move on to future relationships.

"Are you nervous to see him after all this time?" Tiki asked. 

"A little. I wonder if he has changed. I wonder if he'll think I've changed."

"You never know, Marinette, this could be your chance to finally -"

"No, Tiki. That ship has sailed. If he doesn't talk to me, I won't talk to him. When he in New York, he barely called or texted me. We're both older now and if he doesn't want me in his life any more, then I'll stay away."

"That's really mature of you. The old Marinette would have done everything in her power to be the center of his life."

"As you said, I've changed."