The frigid cold air of December rushed inside the small two bedroom apartment as Marinette made her way inside, a bag of groceries hanging on one arm. She rushed to close the door and relaxed her muscles as the warm air engulfed her. Alya called out to her best friend from their shared kitchen.
"Did you get everything for tonight?" Marinette made her way into the small kitchen and set down the bag of groceries on the counter where Alya stood. "Yeah, surprisingly." She heaved out a big sigh and shrugged off her heavy coat. Alya smiled and rummaged through the paper bag for the ingredients she needed.
"What time did you say they would be here?" Marinette started to put away the rest of the objects left in the bag as always chopped vegetables.
"Around 7. Nino said he would try his best to drag Adrien here, so don't sulk if he can't make it." Marinette pouted as she opened the refrigerator.
"But I haven't seen him in over a month."
"But you have talked to him." Alya glanced at Marinette over her shoulder.
"Yes, but it's a different feeling when we see each other in person." Marinette sighed and placed the milk on the top shelf of the refrigerator.
"Don't worry, Mari. I'm sure he'll come." Marinette stepped away from the refrigerator and leaned her head against Alya's shoulder. Alya stopped chopping the carrots and leaned her head on Marinette's.
"Look, I know you've had a tough year, but don't show that face when Adrien and Nino get here. Adrien's really excited to see you, so don't be a downer." Marinette sighed again and wrapped her arms around Alya's waist.
"I just feel really bad about what happened. Nath didn't deserve that." She closed her eyes, feeling the guilt of the previous week bounce menacingly around her mind.
"Look, you thought you could learn to like him, but that didn't happen. Nath knew what he was getting into. He's the one who wanted to be with you despite all the warnings you gave him." Alya set down her knife and pat her friend's head gently.
"You'll be fine. He'll be fine." She assured her.
Marinette let go of Alya and headed toward her room while sputtering an excuse about needing a nap. She entered her room and looked around at the copious amounts of sketches hanging on the walls. She smiled at them, each one reminding her of a different time in her life. She let her hand graze a few as she made her way to her bed and lay down. Her purse opened and out came Tikki, the magical kwami that had been a part of her life for a few years now. Tikki hovered close by Marinette's face and frowned when she saw the crease forming between her charge's eyebrows.
"Marinette, are you okay? You haven't been yourself lately," Tikki asked.
Marinette thought back to the previous week when she told Nathanael, an old classmate that had been in love with her since their collége years that she could no longer be with him since her feelings for Adrien still held quite strong. The look of sadness that adorned his face after Marinette spoke made her realize how awful it was of her to even give Nathanael what he wanted. She knew from the beginning that it could possibly hurt him, yet she still went along with it, eager to get over her long-time crush on Adrien Agreste. She groaned into her pillow and closed her eyes, wondering if she could have prevented it, if she could have waited a little while longer; maybe she would have ended up falling for Nathanael. She sat up and looked at the concerned kwami beside her. Without answering her question, Marinette called out for her kwami to transform her, in desperate need of running around as her confident counterpart. She locked her door and opened the window, setting out on her journey across the rooftops of Paris.
The cold air slapped her in the face as she sped up, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and thinking about all of the frustrations of the past year. Her relationship with Nathanael lasted about ten months and although most of their moments together were happy, the moments where Marinette felt guilt outweighed everything. Her long-time partner, Chat Noir had been more absent than ever this year, leaving Marinette to fight off the persistent akumas by herself. While fighting with Chat Noir gave her joy, fighting by herself gave her nothing but strain. Her ability to whip up a design in a short amount of time all but disintegrated once inspiration left her. She'd felt blocked this year, unable to really be herself.
A few memorable moments stuck out to her though, moving in with Alya being the strongest. Despite all of the tensions of the year, Marinette knew that there were many more memories that would help her get through the tough times, including her blooming friendship with Adrien. Ever since they graduated, Adrien and Marinette had grown closer, her no longer a blubbering mess and him much more open. Marinette had to give credit for their friendship to Alya and Nino however, since it was their relationship that aided in Adrien and Marinette becoming closer friends.
She slowed down, her breath staggering, her feet throbbing until she came to a full stop.
Adrien, she thought. She smiled as his name took up all of the space in her mind. The gray skies and throngs of people below her gave her comfort. She sat down and took a deep breath.
She pictured Adrien's heavenly face and mentally traced every detail. His effervescent green eyes, his crooked smile, the way his eyebrows furrowed when he was deep in thought.
She didn't notice the figure sneaking up behind her until it touched her shoulder. She turned around and quickly rose to her feet, relaxing only when she found the familiar black mask of her partner.
"Chat, don't sneak up on me like that." She huffed and removed his hand from her shoulder. Chat Noir smiled and folded his hands behind his back.
"You know you missed me at least a litter." Marinette groaned at the terrible pun. Her partner gave a small laugh before he wrapped his arms around her.
"I haven't seen you in a month!" he exclaimed.
"Well, I assume you've been busy, kitty." She said.
Chat let go of her and sat down at the edge of the roof. She joined him. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Marinette spoke up.
"What's been keeping you busy? I've been-"
"Lonely?" he quipped.
"Overwhelmed," she corrected him.
The absence of her partner added extra pressures that never seemed to go away. She could feel the prickling sensation in the back of her throat and the warm wetness in her eyes. Chat looked over at her and immediately placed an arm around her shoulders.
"I'm really sorry. Things have been really hectic for my civilian side. But I promise, I'll be here more often from now on. No more unexplained absences. I mean it." Marinette took a deep breath and raised her head. Delighted to hear those words, she leaned into Chat's embrace.
Over the last few years, Ladybug and Chat Noir had grown much closer, their trust in each other increasing with every battle. Ever since Chat Noir told Ladybug that he was going to try and rid himself of all of the romantic feelings he held for her, she'd opened up to him. He had become a place where she could find comfort and solace. To him, she'd always been home and she would always remain that way.
He was no longer as madly in love with her as before and it allowed for them to become more like family. They were the only ones who knew how hard it was to keep up with their civilian lives and also save Paris from harm almost every other day. Although they didn't know the other's identity, they had an unbreakable trust.
They sat there for what felt like hours before Marinette stood up.
"I have a previous engagement. I'll see you tomorrow, Chat. And, thanks." She gave him a small smile before she ran off towards her apartment.
Adrien sat there for a few more minutes, pondering on how much he wished he could be there more often for Ladybug. He knew that leaving her alone so often put an enormous amount of pressure on her, but couldn't do anything about it. Between the constant business trips and the out of country modeling, Adrien had barely enough time to attend his classes. His father, despite promising to give him time for his studies, kept his extremely busy.
He remembered the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes and her broken voice and she talked about how she felt. He groaned internally and ran his fingers through his golden hair. He realized he'd been sitting in that spot for too long and stood up to head over to Marinette and Alya's shared apartment with his best friend Nino.
The sun had set and the streets were lit up brightly as Nino and Adrien walked toward the girls' apartment. Nino talked excitedly about how happy he was that Adrien was back and Adrien responded with elevated joy. They reached the apartment in no time.
Nino knocked on the door and a few seconds later, Alya opened it, beaming at the sight of the two boys.
"Come in here, you two. It's been so long, Adrien." Adrien returned her hug and headed inside.
The apartment was cozy, decorated with pictures and touches of Alya and Marinette. Their home felt warm and inviting, comforting, to Adrien. He took a breath the smell of beef stew excited his senses. Nino sat down on the couch and Adrien followed suit. He looked around for Marinette, but she was nowhere to be seen. He spoke up and asked Alya about the whereabouts of her friend.
"Marinette? She's in her room. Can you go get her, please? I'm a little busy."
Adrien nodded and headed over to what he assumed was Marinette's bedroom. He knocked a couple of times and heard her rummaging around her room.
"Marinette? Can I come in?" he asked.
The door to the room flew open and out popped Marinette, her hair a mess and a red mark on the side of her face. He could tell by the little bit of dried drool on the corner of her mouth that she'd just woken up from a nap. He gave a small laugh and pointed it out to her. The way she was always so effortlessly adorable had always intrigued Adrien. He smoothed down her black hair with his hand, gently tucking the loose strands behind her ears.
"A-Adrien. You're already here? I-I'm just, I-I'll be right out!" She slammed the door shut and stumbled as she attempted to find clothes to change into. Adrien, the man she had been in love with for over four years had seen her in her pajamas. She cringed at the thought and quickly put on a gray jersey dress and black stockings. She fixed her hair and touched up her make up in a rush and flew out of her room only to find that Adrien was still standing in front of it.
"Hi." She said
"Hi." He replied.
Adrien admired her for getting ready so fast. Alya called out to both of them and they made their way over to the dining table where Alya and Nino had just finished setting up. Everyone sat down, Nino and Alya on one side and Adrien and Marinette on the other.
Nino poured everyone a glass of wine and they all raised their glasses.
"To Adrien finally being able to stay home!" Nino said excitedly. The three others smiled at Nino's words and then clinked glasses.
Adrien is finally home, Marinette thought.
I'm finally home, Adrien thought.