Marinette was handing a beer to a customer when Adrien leaned on the counter beside her, disgust painted clear as day on his face, nearly gagging.

"Woah, what happened to you? Did someone lose a finger again? Vomit in the bathroom?" she teased, flagging another customer down and swiftly moving on to prepare their customary drink.

He shrugged with a grimace. "Worse. Found two rabbits going at it madly in the men's bathroom. Dude didn't even have the decency to put his junk back in his pants while Cupid dragged them outside."

Marinette made a funny face under her polka-dotted mask. "I really don't want Cupid or Stoneheart job. I'll keep making drinks with my kitty."

Tikvah and Platon-Gontran, the bar owners who both understandably completely hated their names and instead went by Tikki and Plagg, were both very strict about their employees safety, and had insisted they all get nicknames while working the floor, and wear masks to protect their identities from the drunk creeps that were bound to fixate on any of the employees sooner or later.

Marinette had chosen Ladybug as her alter-ego, while Adrien was going by Chat Noir. Marinette had declared his mask to be the cutest thing ever upon seeing the black half-mask with pointy cat ears and silver seams. Himself was quite fond of her scarlet Venetian mask, adorned with black spots. It suited her well and made the blue of her eyes pop quite nicely.

"By the way," Adrien said with a smirk as he reached forward to refill a beer pitcher. "I spotted Wifi and Bubbler making out in the DJ booth. Again. Either that or they were trying to taste each other's tonsils."

Marinette chuckled, rolling her eyes. "And they still think they're being subtle about it."

"Hey LB! Are you Cinderella?" a patron called out loudly, making Adrien stiffens beside her. This tone never boded well. "Cause' I see that dress coming off at midnight!"

Marinette rolled her eyes again, cocking her hip aside and staring the customer down. "Really? Did you just google the cheesiest pickup line and decided to roll with it?"

On most nights, things would've stayed there.

On most nights, Adrien would've moved on to the next customer, feeling sorry for all the guys that honestly thought that was a good way to flirt.

But on most nights, Marinette wouldn't have been wearing an almost scandalously short dress. On most nights, she wouldn't have to come out from behind the bar to cater to a table. And on most nights, the lewd and disgusting customer wouldn't've have grabbed a handful of her ass as she walked by.

Everything went fast.

Marinette gasped indignantly.

The customer smirked .

One second Adrien was standing behind the bar, the next he was swiftly hopping over it, grabbing the offender's collar with both hands. "Nu-uh," he said, his tone even. "See, this lady is off-market. So you might as well consider yourself cut off and drag your sorry ass home."

The other man looked like he was ready to fight, but Kim and Ivan's silhouettes came behind Adrien, and he quickly changed his mind. He picked up whatever was left of his dignity and scrambled out of the bar, leaving a startled Marinette behind.

"Are you okay?" Adrien inquired. "I know you hate any kind of physical contact from strangers."

She smiled at him softly. "Thanks for the save, minou. I'll be okay. Now, I believe table four is waiting for their cocktails."

"On it, my lady!" he exclaimed, smiling at her widely.

When you work in a bar, those things were to be expected. It played a huge part in the safety rules Tikki and Plagg had enforced for all of their staff. It didn't mean you had to roll with unwanted physical contact and even less be comfortable with it.

Some bartenders pretended, played the game in hopes of gettings higher tips. Volpina was one of them. She hated it as much as Marinette did, but said the tips made up for it. Some others dreaded inappropriate touches and found whatever escape they could to avoid it. Chat Noir and Ladybug had been pretending to be dating for a few years now, and it almost always deterred insistent patrons.

Wifi and Bubbler had chosen the same approach after a crazed fan had thrown her bra in Bubbler's face and asked him to sign her bare boob. In their case, though, Adrien wasn't sure where the lie was ending and the truth beginning, as he kept spotting them playing tonsils hockey but denying any relationship.

Marinette went back behind the bar, and Adrien watched her move flawlessly under the blacklight. She was wearing a shorter dress than usual that night, scarlet red and tied behind her neck with a black bow. She had let her hair down, and her bright red lipstick matched her mask, making her skin look even whiter than it was.

She was breathtaking.

He could understand why guys would want to hit on her. Marinette was beautiful, funny, smart. She had a fire in her veins, a confidence most girls lacked. She looked like she could take over the world and make it beg for mercy, all in a lithe, gorgeous little package. Everything your average guy wants into a woman.

And she was his best friend. His favourite person in the world.

Three a.m. came at long last, bringing with it the last call, and patrons were escorted out of the bar by two very eager bouncers missing their beds. Marinette and Adrien quickly counted the cashout, trying to ignore the moans coming from the DJ booth, and they left the bar, trusting Alya and Nino to activate the alarm system once they were done with… whatever they were doing.

On the sidewalk, Adrien smiled at Marinette, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "Need a ride home?"

She replied almost too quickly. "I'm okay, thanks. See you tomorrow?"

And with that, she was gone, walking down the street, her hands tucked in the pockets of her trench coat.

Adrien had just slipped into his pajamas after his really long night and was about to get into bed when his phone quietly chimed on his bedside table. Grabbing the device, his eyes widened in surprise when he noticed the message sender, seeing as he had left her perfectly fine on a sidewalk moments prior.

[Mari ] I can't do this, A. Call me, please. I'm losing my mind.

Adrien smiled fondly reading those words. He was pretty sure that was meant for the other A in his best friend contact book. They hardly ever texted each other, except to share lame cat memes.

True, they had knitted an odd but close friendship over the years. There were so much sloppy makeouts in dark theatre rooms or DJ booths you can pretend to ignore with someone before eventually bonding over it.

They had been working together at the Miraculous Bar for a few years now, and she was one of his favourite people in the world. She was witty, funny, and bubbly. She had so much kindness inside of her, but also a fire that was raging in her soul.

But, four a.m. texts weren't usually aimed at him.

Her freakouts were generally meant for Alya, Marinette's female best friend.

[Adrien] Wrong A I think, Mari. It's Adrien. Are you ok?

His phone chimed rather quickly after this, her name displayed in bold letters on the small screen.

[Mari ] Sorry

[Mari ] It was for Al.

Adrien waited for a few minutes for a follow-up, but when it became clear that she had absolutely no intention of writing back, he braced himself for an inevitable rejection and pressed " call ".

Marinette picked up after a few rings, and he heard what he thought to be a sniffle as she answered meekly, " H-Hello? "

His heart sank a little in his chest upon hearing the blatant hesitation in her voice. Who had dared to hurt his friend? Pushing those depressing thoughts aside, he asked softly, "Hey Mari, I'm sorry for imposing, but you worried me. Is everything alright?"

" No, it isn't, Adrien. I… I feel really lonely tonight. "

"Why haven't you said anything at the bar? You could have come over," he asked, dumbfounded.

Marinette and her longtime boyfriend, Nathanael, had broken up a few weeks prior, and she was taking it hard. She had come home to an empty apartment at the end of a long night at the bar, without any form of warning or foreshadowing.

He was tired of her late nights. Tired of her absences. Knew she wouldn't quit a job she loved so much.

So he had just left.

" I just didn't want to burden you. Forget that, adrien, I'll text Alya as I intended in the first place and let you sleep ."

Resolve poured in his veins. "Keep the door unlocked, I'm coming over."

" Adrien, tonight had been wild. We're both exhausted. Go to sleep, we'll see each other tomorrow night. "

Adrien shook his head as he gathered his clothes for the next day. What kind of friend would he be if he'd let her deal with those negative emotions on her own? "No can do, Princess. I'll be there in ten. Want me to bring a Disney and that fluffy blanket you love?"

There was a short silence on the other side of the line, a silence that got Adrien grinning. She was hesitating to give in, he could sense it.

" Yes, please ," she eventually said, and Adrien locked the door behind him, both items already tucked under his arm.

"I'm stopping at Freddo's to get you some strawberry gelato, and then we'll talk."

" Adrien !" she squealed into the phone. " It's four a.m. I don't WANT gelato ."

He chuckled. This was a blatant lie. Whenever Marinette Dupain-Cheng was upset, she downed an entire container of gelato, and he knew it pretty well. "Sorry, the line's gone bad, I can't hear you. I'll be there soon, Princess."

And he was. He stopped on his way at Freddo's, thankfully open 24/7 and grabbed the promised gelato and hurried to her place. When she opened her door, it was clear she had been crying. He grabbed her into a hug, trying to ignore the tear streaks on her cheeks and her red, puffy eyes.

"Oh, Marinette," he sighed.

She sniffed, turning her head away from him. "I'm okay, kitty."

"No, you're not." He pressed a kiss to her forehead to enhance his words. "You are hurt and upset, and you need a friend. I brought Beauty and the Beast and the blanket you like so much."

Marinette smiled and let him in. "Thanks, Adrien, it means a lot to me."

She took the container of gelato he was handing her and retreated back to her apartment to put it away in the freezer, Adrien on her heels. The amount of discarded tissues beside the couch was heartbreaking. He knew she was still hurting, but didn't know it was to this extent.

When she walked back into the living room, she saw the way he was looking at the tissues and she took a step back, hugging herself self-consciously. "It's… it's hard tonight."

"I can see that. No offence, Mari, but you look like crap. Come here," he said softly, extending his arms for her.

She didn't move, staring at him with wide, blue eyes. "Can… can we put the movie in my room? I… I'd like to cuddle like last time. It really helped."

Adrien chuckled. Marinette was asking this like she was asking the biggest favour from him, while she was perfectly aware that he enjoyed their cuddling sessions just as much as she was. "Sure thing, princess. Hop, in your bedroom Mari."

Minutes later, she was curled up in his arms under the blanket he had brought, her head nuzzled in the crook of his neck. The movie played in the background, but as far as Adrien was concerned, neither of them was paying attention to Gaston's boastings.

His focus was entirely on the broken woman drifting away to sleep half splayed over his chest. Her breathing was quickly deepening, and he knew she was seconds away from slumber.

He was worried about her.

It had been weeks.

Weeks in which he had been at a loss to figure out how he could help her.

The answer still escaping him, Adrien settled on wrapping his arms tighter around her and pressing a kiss on the crown of her head.

Whatever tomorrow would bring, he'd be there for her.