"Beep... beep... beep..."

Marinette rolled over and hit the snooze button on her alarm clock, blinking a little and trying to focus on the glowing numbers. Seven thirty, they said. That was important, but she couldn't quite remember why. As if on some unseen cue, the trap door in Marinette's bedroom floor popped open. Accompanied by the smell of fresh baking, a familiar face appeared in the opening, and Marinette peered down from the loft while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Good morning Marinette," Sabine called, smiling cheerfully at her half-asleep daughter. "Come down and get some breakfast, you don't want to be late for your first day, do you?"

"Mmm, morning mama," the sleep addled girl replied. "I'll be right down." Marinette rolled back over as Sabine retreated, closing the trap door behind her. First day? Marinette struggled to understand as sleep washed over her again. First day of what?

"Marinette!" A shrill voice pierced the fog, and Marinette groggily forced her eyes open again to find the source. It wasn't hard, in fact it would have been difficult to miss the bright red kwami hovering not three inches from her face.

"Mmm, what is it Tikki?" Marinette moaned. "I'm still so sleepy."

"That's because you stayed up too late, again!" The kwami flitted back and forth in front of Marinette's face in exasperation. "And after you made such a big deal about not being late for your first day of university!"

University! That thought jarred Marinette completely awake, and she nearly tumbled from the loft in her hurry to extract herself from her blankets. As it was, she merely tripped on the last step coming down from the loft, and had to pull herself up short to keep from crashing into the full-length mirror at the stairs' foot.

"Marinette, be careful!" Tikki warned as she landed on Marinette's shoulder. "It's not worth being on time if you hurt yourself in the process."

"I know Tikki," Marinette said, "but I just want to get things right for once." Her shoulders sagged as hurried to her vanity to wash and apply her make-up. "It's not like I even have an excuse anymore. Since Hawk Moth disappeared, Paris hasn't needed Ladybug for over two years, and I've still managed to be late for the first day of school twice in a row." Marinette finished her make-up application quickly, she had never been one to wear much of it. She fixed her hair, and then crossed to her dresser.

"But if you had gone to bed when you were supposed to, you wouldn't even have risked oversleeping." Tikki left Marinette's shoulder and settled on top of the dresser so the girl could dress. "Instead, you stayed up late talking to Alya."

A sinking feeling overcame Marinette. Alya had been accepted at the Sorbonne University to study journalism, which was an opportunity that Marinette would never expect her friend to decline. Marinette herself, on the other hand, would be following her own passion, and had been accepted at ESMOD to study fashion design. Despite the fact that both of them would be following their dreams, Marinette was still a little depressed that she wouldn't be attending the same school as her best friend. Her disappointment must have shown on her face, because Tikki flew up and stroked her cheek in a friendly and comforting way.

"I know you'll miss Alya, Marinette," the kwami soothed. "But it's not like you'll never see her again. You'll both still be in Paris, and you'll always be friends."

"You're right Tikki," Marinette smiled.

"Besides," Tikki said a little slyly as she flew back to the dresser. "Isn't Adrien also starting at ESMOD this year?"

Marinette suddenly brightened, and she felt a blush warm her face. Adrien had overheard her telling Alya about her acceptance to ESMOD at the end of the last school year. He had congratulated her warmly, and even said he looked forward to seeing her there. "It will be nice to see at least one friendly face in a strange place," he had said, and her cheeks began to burn more fiercely as she remembered it.

Chloe had simply belittled the school, calling ESMOD "substandard", before storming off. Adrien had looked a little sad then, and explained that Chloe had applied to ESMOD herself, but had not been accepted, despite her father's influence. Marinette could hardly contain her joy. Not only would she be attending the same school as Adrien, but there would be no Chloe to get in the way.

Marinette finished dressing and turned to check herself in the mirror one last time. Satisfied with her appearance, she turned to Tikki. "Let's go Tikki, I feel like today is going to be just fine after all."

"That's the spirit Marinette!" Tikki zipped across the room and concealed herself inside Marinette's jacket, as usual. Marinette grabbed her bag and slipped down the stairs. She paused in the kitchen just long enough to grab a croissant and her lunch, and to kiss Sabine on the cheek. She dashed down into the bakery and smiled to herself when she heard her dad humming to himself as he kneaded a batch of dough.

"Morning papa," Marinette grinned.

"Ah, Marinette," Tom replied, turning from the counter with a warm smile of his own. "Off to school bright and early I see."

"Well, you know, ESMOD is a lot further from here than my other schools," Marinette said. "I really don't want to be late, so I decided to get an early start." In truth, Marinette had been practicing her route for weeks. Her middle and high schools had both been within walking distance of the Bakery, so she had never had such travel worries before. She had spent her summer vacation studying the metro maps and timetables, and knew just how to get there with plenty of time to spare.

Marinette pushed open the door of the Bakery, then stopped as she was greeted again by the new sign across the street. Caesar's Bakery, it proclaimed, with a banner beneath it that read: Grand Opening. The banner must have been added early that morning, since it hadn't been there the night before. "When do they open?" Marinette asked over her shoulder.

Tom turned to the doorway and looked out past his daughter. "Next week," he replied, a look of distress passing over his face. "Frankly, I'm a little worried. These big chain places have a habit of driving us little guys out of business."

Marinette let the door swing shut and skipped over to her father. Jumping up and throwing her arms around his thick neck, she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry papa, everything is going to be fine. You're the best baker in Paris. Those big guys don't stand a chance!"

Tom grinned at her and spun her around in his huge arms as if she was a doll, then set her back on her feet. "You're right Marinette. We can't let this get us down."

"That's my papa, the real baking hero," Marinette giggled.

"Of course!" Tom exclaimed, grabbing a baguette from the counter and brandishing it like a sword. "Super Baker will always come out on top!"

Marinette giggled again, then gasped as she saw the clock on the wall. "I've got to go papa, I can't be late today!" She dashed to the door as she waved goodbye. Down the street to the metro station at a dead run, she just made it in time to catch her train. As the doors slid shut behind her, Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. The train ride lasted about twenty minutes, with one transfer, and when she exited the metro station Marinette was less than three blocks from her new school.

As she neared the corner where she would turn to reach the school, Marinette slowed and felt her heart rate jump, a fresh blush warming her face. Pulled up at the corner was a very familiar limousine.

Adrien stared out the window as the limousine made its way through the streets of Paris. Every so often, his eyes would drop to the silver ring on his right hand, and a fresh sigh would escape his lips. It was hard for him, especially since there was no one who could possibly understand. Hawk Moth had vanished as mysteriously as he had appeared, and Cat Noir hadn't been needed. Adrien supposed he should be happier for the change, his life wasn't constantly in danger anymore, and neither were the lives of countless Parisians. But no Cat Noir meant no Ladybug, and Adrien struggled to think of anything worse than the void her absence had left in his life.

Add that to the fact that he was now on his way to yet another place he didn't really want to go, and Adrien found himself having trouble caring about anything at all lately. Again, he supposed he should be happier. At least his father had finally relented and agreed to allow Adrien to attend university at all, instead of just focusing on his modeling career. As in all such cases, of course, the compromise was skewed to favor Gabriel Agreste. If Adrien had to attend university, it would be ESMOD or nothing. Gabriel himself was an alumnus, of course, and as the most prestigious school for fashion design and fashion business in Paris, possibly the world, nothing else would do for his only child.

"Adrien, are you even listening to me?" Nathalie's strict voice snapped Adrien out of his daydream.

"I'm sorry Nathalie, I must have gotten distracted." Adrien tried to sound sincerely apologetic, but found it difficult.

Nathalie shook her head disdainfully and sighed. "I really wish you wouldn't make me repeat myself," she said. "It wastes so much time, and your schedule is full enough as it is." She tapped her tablet a few times, bringing Adrien's schedule back to the beginning. "After your classes have finished for the afternoon, we will pick you up at the corner where we're dropping you off. The street the university is on is too narrow for the limousine, so the corner will be our rendezvous from now on. Your afternoon schedule is quite full, so it is critical that you are on time after classes have ended. Now..."

Adrien began to stare out the window again, but he did pay more attention than before. At least, he paid enough attention to know that nothing had changed. Every minute of every hour of every day had been planned in advance. Despite being eighteen and starting university, Adrien still couldn't claim to have anything resembling a normal life. He continued to mostly tune Nathalie out as the trip neared its end, only starting to fully pay attention again as their destination came into sight.

"...and your father's flight has been delayed. He will be returning tomorrow, rather than this evening. He asked me to apologize for him, but this delay means that he won't have time for your supper together for at least another week, as your schedule and his own conflict for quite some time to come." Nathalie finally finished just as the limousine pulled up to the corner.

"Of course," Adrien sighed. "Tell him I understand." Not like it's news to me, he thought to himself. Gabriel's trip to Rome had already been extended more times than Adrien could remember, what was one more little delay? At first it was only supposed to be a week in Rome to launch a new Spring collection. Then a week had become two, then a month, then three. Finally, after over two years, Gabriel was coming home, so who cared about one last delay? Business as usual, Adrien mused as he opened the door of the limousine and stepped out.

A little ray of light finally managed to pierce Adrien's depression as he glanced down the street. He'd recognize those pigtails anywhere. He waited on the corner as the limousine pulled away, smiling at the approaching figure who he considered one of his best friends in the world.

"Hi Marinette," Adrien said as she walked up to him, offering her a brilliant smile. "Long time, no see."