TThis was the day. The beginning of a new era. Today, Marinette would be moving into her first ever apartment, just a fifteen minute bike ride from campus.
She and Alya quickly became friends at orientation, clicking so much that they agreed to live together for their first year. Remembering her encounter with Lady Wifi the previous year, Marinette knew her soon-to-be roommate was the mastermind behind the Ladyblog. Was it a great idea to live with the person who wanted to unmask Ladybug more than anyone? Maybe not, but she was plenty used to being careful. Besides, who better to room with than someone she could get along with?
Marinette already made a handful of friends at her new university during orientation. By handing out homemade pastries from her family's bakery for free, she quickly made nearly everyone's good side (save for maybe Chloe.) Marinette also met fellow new students Kim, Alix, Nino, Mylène, Sabrina, and of course, Adrien. Sweet, kind, Adrien with golden hair and a smile of pure sunshine. While starting off on the wrong foot, Marinette learned that Adrien really was a genuinely friendly, selfless, generous person and she still had his umbrella to show for it.
But that was beside the point. She would reacquaint with everyone later. For now, moving in was the priority.
Seventh floor, make a left, and go to the end of the hall. The hallway was an indoor complex, the carpets looking at least a decade old with a unique stain for each story they held. Conversations were audible coming from each room, even behind closed doors, filling the building with sounds of laughter and excited screaming. Sabine didn't think twice before greeting every young resident she spotted on the way to finding her daughter's room, introducing herself and Marinette as they passed by with a quick exchange of "hi, this is my daughter Marinette, she's new to the building." This resulted in many quick nods and awkward getaways. She internally begged her mother to stop, holding her beat-red face down along the way, but she knew she meant well. It's not like she'd go out of her way to meet everyone on the floor, anyway.
Marinette eyed each door number, looking for the number that matched the label on her new key. Her parents followed behind her, each carrying a few boxes. Tom cringed upon seeing the hallway trash bin which was overflowing with red plastic cups and an empty vodka bottle.
"This is it," Marinette announced, struggling with the lock for only a short moment before opening the door to her new home. She hadn't noticed until now, but her heart was pounding, her rampant pulse traveling across her whole body. Why was she nervous? It was just an apartment. Her apartment, where she'd be living away from her parents for the first time in her life.
Crossing the threshold with wide eyes, her lips curved into an involuntary smile as she found herself standing in her living room. It was small and shabby but perfect; white blinds were pulled open to reveal her window view of the Parisian streets below. Her parents following her inside and placing her packed belongings on the floor, they all started scouting the area. Her mom began putting the food she packed for her in the fridge.
Marinette found the single bedroom, Alya already inside and completely unpacked. Unsurprisingly, her side of the room was covered in Ladybug posters and merchandise. Would it be weird living in a room surrounded by her own face? Maybe, but thinking of the myriad of magazine clippings of a certain blond that would soon join the posters, Marinette clearly had no room to complain.
"You're here!" Alya announced, rising from her desk chair to envelope Marinette in a tight hug.
"Alya!" Marinette smiled into the hug, pulling away only when Alya released her death grip of love. "When did you move in?"
"I got in last night," Alya said, making her way back to the living room. "I'll go introduce myself to your parents."
Her eyes scanned the room. Rustic was the first word that came to mind. Sun shined in through the window - which would probably be her main getaway route for LB purposes - brightening up the tiny room. Albeit small, Alya gave the room a cozy feel, with a variety of succulents in mason jars on the window seal, an impressive collection of comic books on display on her bookshelf, and self-decorated picture frames adorning her desk.
The floor creaked as Marinette walked to the bare bed, wheeling her suitcase behind her. She was already internally planning how she would decorate her share.
Joining her parents and new roommate in the living room, she was happy to see Alya effortlessly chatting up a storm with her dad. He wasted no time in opening the bakery takeout box and offering both girls macarons.
"Girl, we're gonna get along great if you keep bringing these."Alya said, laughing as she popped another cookie in her mouth.
"Glad to hear it," Marinette responded, taking a macaron herself. "Where's mom?" She directed at her father.
"She stepped outside just a minute ago," Tom answered, glancing to the doorway. "Said she'd be right back."
She probably left something in the car; maybe she forgot a box? Oh, if only that were the case. Within a matter of seconds, the front door was open, Sabine ushering in a couple of young men from the hallway.
"Have you met my daughter, Marinette? She's new to the building," Sabine said, a smile stretched across her innocent face.
"Mom, no!" Marinette hissed through barely parted lips.
Except she had met those young men before, and Marinette didn't know if that made it better or worse. Standing before her was none other than her friends from orientation, Adrien Agreste and Nino Lahiffe. She would thank whatever force responsible that she didn't have time to hang those magazine clippings on her wall before Adrien himself came to her apartment and witnessed the embarrassment first hand.
"Hey, Alya and Marinette! You live here?" The blond asked with a smile as pure as newly bloomed daisies in the spring. Wow, she was smitten.
"Yeah, well kinda. I mean, I, just, now I do, but not moved in yet. I …" Marinette silenced herself with a macaron upon seeing the furious yet subtle shaking of Alya's head. So she paused, took a breath, and managed to finish her sentence. "Hi," she ended with.
"Hi," Adrien answered, confused but a light chuckle laced the cadence of his speech.
"I'm just trying to help you get to know everyone, dear!" Sabine interjected, inviting the two boys further inside. "These nice boys live right across the hall. Now come in, we have goodies from our bakery!"
"Wow, thank you Mme. Dupain-Cheng!" Adrien wasted no time in taking her up on her offer, snagging a chocolate macaron from the box.
"Yeah, thanks!" Nino added, following not far behind as he took a macaron himself.
"Hold on," Alya interrupted. "You both live right across the hall from us?"
Nino nodded, wiping crumbs away from his lips. He leaned a single elbow on the kitchen counter and adjusted his hat. Alya snorted, wondering if this was an attempt at appearing suave. "Yup, so I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other."
"Great," Alya sighed, her voice sounding absolutely convincing, unmatched by the strained smile that stretched across her face. Marinette knew some sort of events unfolded between Alya and Nino during orientation, but she didn't have a chance to pry and get details just yet. "This is great. Right?" She threw the question in Marinette's direction.
Adrien would be living right across the hall? So she could see him whenever she wanted? "Yeah! So great, that we're living together. Well, not together, but so close together! Is what I meant." That is, if she could use actual words. Just stop talking, for now. That was her best bet. Thankfully everyone present was gracious enough to overlook her mess of words. Sabine shot Tom a knowing, yet devious smirk as they moved to the kitchen to continue unpacking whilst making themselves scarce.
Once the macarons were almost gone which Nino and Adrien shamelessly took the blame for, Marinette's parents decided to leave their baby. She hugged and kissed them both, but they refused to leave until they exchanged the expected "be careful", "call everyday", and "no, Tom, she doesn't need us to come back tomorrow. She'll be fine."
Her parents had left. Alya was in the bedroom with Nino and Adrien, giving them a tour of the rest of the apartment. There wasn't much to see, but judging by the traces of conversation Marinette could pick up through the walls, her new neighbors were also rather fond of Ladybug, a conversation that probably sparked from Alya's posters.
Although they were just one door apart, Marinette stood in her empty living room, save for a dingy sofa and splintered coffee table, unable to shake the feeling that, for the first time in her life, she was on her own.
Once she was unpacked and had her way with the decor of this barren apartment, she'd probably feel significantly more at home, she decided. Looking around, she had several stacked boxes that needed to be unpacked.
Knowing they were on the heavy side, Marinette braced herself as she grabbed the top box, only to have the bottom give out upon picking it up. The contents poured out onto the floor. The carpeting absorbed most of the shock of the sewing machine that crashed to the floor (God please let it live,) and she watched in distress as an assortment of spools rolled away from her.
"Great," she mumbled to herself as she knelt to the ground and started gathering the contents from the ground.
"Need a hand?" A voice joined her. Looking up, she saw Adrien had already joined her on the ground.
"Y-yeah, thanks," she replied, placing the contents into an empty, sturdier box.
"What's this?" He asked, holding out the Chat Noir doll she had made back in high school. Where did he get that? Why was that in her boxes? "You a fan of the guy?"
Was that a hint of a smile?
It's not like he had any room to judge. Just minutes before she heard him listening intently to Alya's latest Ladybug theories, and if she wasn't mistaken, volunteering his own input as well.
"I-it's a doll I made in high school. It's not just Chat Noir; I have a whole set of dolls," she said as if it would make the situation better. It didn't. It really didn't. "No, you see, a little girl I used to babysit liked to play with them! I must have accidentally packed it with my sewing stuff. I don't ... it's silly, I know."
He allowed her to take the doll from his hand and toss it into the box, flinching only slightly when it smacked against the edge with how carelessly she chucked it.
"Not at all, I think it's cool that you made sure she had a good time," he said. "Besides, I can't blame you for thinking Chat Noir is pretty cool."
"I n-never said-"
She was silenced by his laughter; fluttering, genuine, and pure.
"I'm just teasing, Mari," he said, his voice riding down the end of his laughter. Mari. Nobody called her that before, but she didn't particularly mind the nickname. He glanced around the room as he exhaled. "That's everything."
"What?"
"That's … that's everything. From the box?" He answered.
"Oh, right!" Get it together, Mari. Mari. "Uh, thank you!"
He nodded politely as he stood, brushing off his knees. "Is this going to the room?" he asked, gesturing to the box.
"Yeah," she replied. Without leaving room to protest, Adrien already had the large box in his arms as he carried it to the room. As he left her line of sight to join Alya and Nino in the room once more, Marinette decided to follow suit.
The apartment wasn't much. She was already missing her parents. She only had a small handful of friends. Everything would take some serious getting used to. But she wasn't alone. No matter how long it would take, it would be ok. Besides, if only one thing remained constant, she still had patrolling with her kitty to look forward to. forward to.
Author's Note: It's a college AU. The Intention was for each chapter to be able to stand alone as its own one-shot, but we'll see what happens. Do I have point in writing this? No. Is that gonna stop me from writing? No (✿ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ). This is my first Miraculous contribution and I hope you can sit back and enjoy! Please be nice in the comments because being nice to people makes for a happy world. Best wishes - until the next update!