hello hello!

i thought that this idea would fit marinette and adrien so i had to write it doWN AS FAST AS POSSIBLE and here it is!

i hope that you like it! and thanks again to tera who proofreaded it and also thought about the title! it's amazing! ;v;

What do you do when you're desperately trying to turn off your feelings and drown in your bitter tears? When you feel completely alone being on this planet, although it's inhabited by billions of people? If you have, despite your kindness and willingness to help each person, no one with whom you can talk about?

Perhaps the answer lies in front of you. Or next to you. Behind a wall. With fluffy socks.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a student who had just barely survived her first semester. It was hell, but a good kind of hell. During her school years in Paris she had discovered her dream, studying abroad. She wouldn't be at home anymore and for that, she had to convince her parents. It was no problem though, since after several minutes of shock, the loving parents were proud to support her daughter on this journey.

She wanted to achieve a lot in her life, that was certain - she had remarkable qualities. In addition to her passionate drawing, she knew how to sew and even looked over her parent's pastry shop from time to time to help them out, baking delicious pastries.

The reason why she was so determined to do her best was because she had a great role model, and she knew that he had to work hard too in order to achieve his dream. And now, look at him today. He is a world famous fashion designer.

Therefore, Marinette practiced repeatedly in her spare time and tried to learn from her mistakes. However, even if you work hard, you need a day off sometimes, and today was Marinette's day off. It was a perfect and relaxing evening that she, in her opinion, deserved.

Relaxed, she lay on her bed with her comfy pants and red top, upon which a ladybug was located in the center - a symbol of happiness. She also wore her fluffiest socks and put her dark hair up into a messy bun. It's not like anyone would see her today anyway.

In her right hand Marinette hold a cup filled with hot chocolate, a few small marshmallows floating on the surface. In her left hand she held a small, leathery book, one of her favorites. It was an old tale about two people who saved the world from horror and terror. What pleased her about it was the cooperation between both parties, the fact that both people valued and respected each other so much they would go a long way help each other. How wonderful must it be to trust someone like that…

As she stared going through her book dreamily, occasionally sipping from her cup, she heard a strange noise that made her stop. She looked around her room, trying to find the source of it, until finally realizing the strange sound was coming from her right.

Astonished, she glanced at the wall next to her, but by that time the noise had already stopped. For a little while, she observed her own wall, as she would no longer trust it, even though she had already lived there for almost an year. She stared at the photos she took with her best friends and family before she graduated her old school. No matter how much she tried to deny it herself, she still missed them.

The sound seemed to be gone for good and Marinette lost interest. Her eyes darted back to her book and she turned a page. However, she could not stop thinking about that sound and her concentration drifted off. Just as she bit her lip in a failed attempt to keep focus, she heard it again.

This time, Marinette set her cup and her book aside on her nightstand before pressing an ear to the wall. For a short time she stopped breathing, afraid it would disturb whatever was making the noise, and listened carefully. It sounded a lot like a soft whimper…

Surprised, she pulled her legs to her body and moved closer to the wall. She could clearly hear ragged breaths and sniffles, along with the soft noise of cloth shuffling. Then, a loud sob.

Marinette's eyes grew wide. Someone was crying in the room next to her.

Those were sounds of a person crying behind her wall. A person who probably was crouching on the bed in their room, isolated. Although Marinette did not know this person, she felt empathy towards them, most likely crying themselves to sleep. Would it be too weird to show that person you were there for them, even if you didn't exactly know who they were?…

Maybe they were stressed because of school, or maybe it was relationship problems? Perhaps they had lost a person important to them, or just got into an argument with a friend… Her heart ached for her to reach out and understand their situation, even if she had not spoken a single word to this person in her entire life.

Back in her old school Marinette was well known to have an open ear for each of her classmates, to listen to their problems. She was brave and emotionally strong, although people would tell otherwise from a first glance at her persona. So much love in one person, it was rare to see.

Marinette bit her lips. She was torn regarding what she should do now. She remembered her favourite book and how the two protagonists would trust and help eachother blindly no matter what. That thought filled her up with determination. Before she dared to step back from her decision, she breathed deeply and opened her mouth.

"Hello?" she breathed on the wall "Is.. is everything all right?"

The space suddenly grew silent. She stood close to the wall for several minutes, but the noises were definitely gone for good. She wondered if she had unsettled the stranger… Should she go for it and knock on this person's door? Then again, she didn't want to interfere into someone's life like that… She had no right to meddle into people's personal businesses, even if she felt the need to help them. Maybe she should just have stayed quiet after all.

From Marinette's perspective, the evening passed very slowly. The stars twinkled outside above her small room. She had forgotten her book a long time ago already, preferring to look dreamily at the wall instead. Her cocoa, sitting on the nightstand, was getting cold. She could only think about the person crying behind the wall.

Marinette wondered if she had chosen her words wrong. She regretted every second, sitting there idly and not helping. Perhaps she could show up in the morning with a cocoa in her hand and offer the person a beautiful smile? Nah, now it would be too late anyway.

The clock in her room ticked softly, filling the empty, soundless void. Maybe they were asleep? Most importantly, had they cried themselves to sleep? These thoughts brought her pain and sorrow, but her tired eyes had to rest, even if just for a short time.

Marinette laid down and closed her blue eyes, listening to the night sounds outside - the gentle breeze from her window, her faltering breath, a gentle knock against her wall, the awakening cries of an owl… Wait a second.

"Are you awake?"

She opened her eyelids slowly, just as the moon rose slowly higher in the sky. They sounded like a boy.

She immediately lifted her body from the bed, letting some hair strands fall into her face. Leaning back on her hand, she contemplated the wall for a minute before deciding on her answer.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

Why was this boy apologizing? Had he thought he would disturb her with his sobs? Or is he sorry that he wanted to talk to her at 3 in the morning?

"No matter what it is you're sorry for, you don't need to, trust me." Marinette said gently. She didn't know what he was sorry for, but she didn't want to question it further anyway.

There was a brief snort. "It's late" he muttered under his breath, he had probably realized for how long he had been awake a while ago.

"Yes, it is" Marinette confirmed. She didn't know what else to answer, although a few hours ago she culled so many words she could say this person. Her mind was empty. She felt useless, because she knew he was looking for help. He needed a good advice. Marinette was afraid she couldn't provided, but she also didn't want to hear this boy crying anymore, she didn't want to listen to him suffer. Unsure of what to do, she decided to just listen.

It was quiet and Marinette was afraid that he had fallen asleep. However, suddenly, he spoke again quietly.

"My father… he is no longer the same he used to be. Ever since my mother disappeared, he's different."

He hesitated for a moment before speaking further. She didn't know if it was because he found it hard to talk about this topic or even his feelings in general, but she appreciated that he had muttered enough courage to speak out about it to her, a stranger.

"He barely talks with me anymore. He shows little interest. He does not see me at all. I have hardly leisure times too, because he's afraid that something could happen to me. Even though I love what I do, it starts becoming hard to always put a smile on, you know?"

Marinette noticed that he started to sob after each sentence, bursting out into a full cry at the end. This subject brought him to tears, and she wondered whether it was a good idea to talk about it. But she knew very well that it has always done her good if to unleashes her emotions and talk about her problems in general. Couldn't hurt to give it a try, now that they were at it anyway.

"I just do not understand why he keeps me in captivity, but barely talks with me or does anything with me. Sounds kind of ironic, doesn't it?"

Marinette nodded, not that he would see, but she wanted to hear him out first before speaking.

"I miss mother too, I also suffer the same way he does. Then why does… why does he behave like that? Why do I have the feeling that he is slowly disappearing too? Why do I get the feeling everyone around me just leaves?" He took a sharp breath. "Is everyone friends with me only because I'm a famous person? Do they talk with me only because of their professional interests? Why aren't they interested in myself too?"

It was during times like this that Marinette cursed her sensitive personality. These words touched her so much that she had to hold back her tears. But she couldn't be weak now… This boy sounded like he had to go through so much, she had to be brave too!

"Are you still there?"

You could hear a slight anxiousness in his voice. Understandably, he was afraid. Going for several minutes talking about your own problems to a wall, one might naturally be offended. Marinette tried to pull herself together.

"Yes. Don't worry, I'm listening." She swallowed her tears down, saying it clearly to show him he was not alone.

"Good," you could notice a small smile in his voice. "I don't understand what I'm doing wrong… I try to follow through all his wishes. You know, I couldn't even go study abroad if i wanted to because he didn't want me to go away from home. Is it so wrong to have my own dreams? Am I doing something wrong here? Why am I alone? Is it my personality? Is it-"

"Stop it."

Marinette's voice suddenly sounded stern. Apparently, that might have frightened the boy, because he didn't dare to say anything more after that.

"You are not to blame. Stop persuading yourself that you're guilty. Stop sinking into your feelings. You can't even think clearly anymore," the words came easily from Marinette's mouth.

"I've only heard your voice, but I can already tell you are a sweet, gentle and nice boy." She blinked until she realized that her choice of words seemed slightly odd, although it sounded quite good in her head. "I hope that doesn't sound weird…" The boy let out a small snot.

She cleared her throat and proceeded, "And if I understand correctly, you have not done anything wrong. This is a very complicated relationship that you have there with your father. You're still hurt by the disappearance of your mother and the current relationship you have does not make it better and I can understand that. "

Wait a moment. Could she really understand that though? She had never been in such a situation… Despite being grounded from time to time because she had forgotten to clean her room or messes up a cake, her parents were always warm, understanding and genuinely kind people. A person with a relatively good life like hers shouldn't be saying such a thing, right?

"I… I never had to go through something like that so don't take my advice for granted… but even so, I still think you should talk to him about how you feel, or even write him a letter?"

She hesitated briefly before continuing. The photo she had of her parents blinked in the back of her mind. Despite acting somehow strange and unfair, his father was still his father.

"Maybe he feels as lonely as you, but he shows it differently. And the fact that he still wants you to be with him shows that he cares about you."

Marinette breath grew hasty and her heart beat strongly. After almost every sentence she spoke she had to swallow, as if something got stuck in her throat. She said a lot of things, maybe too much, and she was not even sure if that was the right thing to do. The silence on the other side of the wall didn't help her nervousness either.

The boy was still quiet. She didn't think he was there anymore. Slowly, Marinette leaned her palm and right cheek on the wall. Her stomach ached with self-despair. She hoped that her words had reached him. That she, as a stranger, could help this boy with his family problems, that he hadn't shared his feeling with her in vain.

Suddenly, she heard a laugh. A genuine, warm and lovely laughter on the opposite side of the wall.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled, "I had never met anyone who knows so much about myself! Even I can barely understand myself, and yet, you seem like you've known me forever."

She felt her cheeks becoming warm and a grin began to spread across her face. "What can I say, I'm used to talk to strangers behind a wall at 3 in the morning; you eventually end up getting used to it," she said with a hint of sarcasm. The boy behind the wall laughed again at her words.

And at that moment, Marinette had no idea that she just meant the world to this boy; that her words had pulled him out of a desperate hole from which he couldn't have managed to get out of alone; that he gladly wanted to know more about this fascinating girl with whom he had made an acquaintance at 3 o'clock in the morning. What was her favorite color, her favorite movie, her favourite food? He also placed his hand on the wall. His eyes sparkled when she spoke.

He wanted to find out more trivial things about her, to know her better. Bit by bit.

Marinette looked at the clock. "Actually, I should correct myself. It's 4 in the morning."

His laughter grew louder and Marinette chuckled. It was a nice feeling to know that her words had reached someone. She hadn't felt like this in a long time…

After a couple more of laughs from both parties, the rooms grew quiet again.

"It's late," Marinette whispered softly.

"Yes, it is" answered the boy with an equally gentle tone.

"Do you want to come over?" Marinette asked her interlocutor shyly when she realized that she was no longer tired and probably couldn't sleep after this exchange anyway.

After a few of seconds in silence, Marinette insisted again. She knew she had to, even if the boy didn't dare to say anything.

"I have hot chocolate here and we could see a couple of movies, put them on mute and invent dialogues instead," she added. She constantly did that with her best friend, it was guaranteed to be a fun experience. "So, what do you say, coming in or not?"

The temptation was too much, the boy couldn't help but to accept her invitation. He was curious about how the girl looked behind the wall. He wanted to look deep into her eyes, he wanted to touch her skin and feel her warmth. He desperately wanted to see her in person.

"I'd love to."

A couple of minutes later, Marinette answered the knock on her door with a beautiful smile, a cup of (now) hot coccoa and a few dark circles under her eyes, and finally saw her blonde interlocutor.