I wrote a self indulgent Adrienette fic in the middle of Garrison Academy and Thawed Hearts because I just wanted to. Sooooo here's the results of that!

The room in the hotel was dimly lit on a cold October evening. New York's lights were so bright; but that's something Adrien always had appreciated about this city. It reminded him of Paris back home – the city of lights. While the ones in New York were way more wild, it was still a comfort to be in a lit place. If there was anything Adrien hated the most, it was the dark.

Darkness didn't always scare him; he doesn't know when exactly it started. If he had to guess it was all the years of his father not letting him go out when it wasn't necessary. He was always required to do things locked up in his room, which is why being Cat Noir was so liberating. He could always do whatever he wanted. Get out of that room that tended to make him feel like a bird with clipped wings.

He was surprised that his father even let him go on this trip to NYC with Marinette Dupain-Cheng, though he supposed it was to get his name out to get more modeling opportunities. Adrien didn't really care much about getting attention, but a part of him was just glad to be there with Marinette. This gives her more opportunities to get designs out there and achieve her dream of being a real designer; Adrien couldn't be more happy for her. Marinette was his number one supporter, he was glad that now he could be the same.

What exactly did Adrien feel about Marinette? Sure she was a close friend, he never really considered her to be much more. But a part of him wished to be closer. He wasn't a greedy person whatsoever, but this was something that Adrien desired, yet he would never act upon it.

He glanced over at the girl sleeping across the room. She had some reservations about leaving Paris for the week, but her parents and Adrien's father convinced her it was okay to go and pursue her dreams. At least she looked peaceful now, in the dim hotel room.

There was a rumble of thunder in the distance. It seemed so far away Adrien wasn't worried. Thunder and lightning didn't bother him anyways, and the sound of rain was much more comforting than having no sound at all. The light rain turned into heavy drops outside the windows. Adrien started to drift off to sleep, his thoughts calm. This trip was going surprisingly well. Everything was good; until it wasn't.

The thunder grew louder. The lightning, brighter. Then everything went dark.

Normally this wouldn't bother him, but this time was not like normal. His eyes shot open to find that he was once again surrounded in darkness. Even though the room seemed familiar with a bit of light, in the dark it seemed strange. Even though Marinette was there, it just seemed lonely. It seemed as if the walls were closing in on him.

He tried his best to keep calm. Closing his eyes didn't work; neither did taking deep breaths. His panic was overwhelming, but Adrien didn't quite understand what was going on. His breathing went from stable to rapid; never could he remember a single time that this had happened before.

"Plagg?" He immediately mumbled out. If there was anyone there that he hoped would be by his side, it would be his small black cat kwami. Plagg may have a hard shell, but he had always been by Adrien's side. As much as he made Adrien a hero as Chat Noir, he was also a hero to the blonde boy; it was never lonely with his camembert loving companion by his side. But Plagg didn't answer.

"Plagg?" Adrien tried again before a loud crack of thunder. He jumped, trying to contain himself which obviously wasn't going quite as he planned. Again, there was no Plagg. Adrien figured he must be sleeping. It's been a long time since they got an actual break like this, he deserved a good rest.

Adrien curled up. He was getting more and more closed in by the second; he didn't like this feeling at all. This made him feel pathetic, he was Chat Noir, a hero. He's faced akumas and been though much more terrifying situations but yet the darkness creeping on him was unbearable. By this time he was hyperventilating, clutching his hair in his hands. Alone. He was alone. Completely alone, and that in itself made him scared.

"Adrien?" A voice came from the other side of the room. It was then he remembered he wasn't alone – Marinette was here too. God, he wished she wasn't here. He didn't want her to see him this way; he wanted to still be the fabulous Adrien Agreste, he wanted to remain confident and cool in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Next thing he knew she was by his bedside, squatting so she was able to look in his eyes. Her bright blue eyes were filled with worry. "Hey, look at me, what's wrong?"

"Are you okay?" She repeated when he didn't answer her. It was then when Adrien realized that there were tears dripping down his cheeks. Her voice was lined with concern, it would be rude of him to not answer her. He muttered out a tiny no, that being all his throat would allow him to say before it closed on him again, as he choked on more sobs.

Marinette had never seen him like this before; it was a little alarming. But she knew it was important to stay calm, for Adrien. If there was anything she figured he didn't need right now it would be her freaking out on top of his panic. It would be better for her to just be there. "Is there anything I can do?" Again, Adrien gave her no response.

Without thinking, Marinette gently placed her hands on Adrien's cheeks. It was important for her right now to let him know he was safe and that someone was here for him; he tough seemed to make him relax a bit. "It's okay, Adrien. It's okay, I'm here." she said gently, his eyes finally meeting hers and holding her gaze. She ran her fingers under his eyes, wiping away some of his tears. "I'm here. You're okay. It's okay." She repeated, in attempt to reassure him.

"M-Marinette…" Adrien muttered out, finally being able to get some words out. "Can you… Can you stay here with me? At least until this passes?"

Marinette seemed to get flustered by Adrien's words, but muttered a sure and climbed into the bed besides him. Every move she made was hesitant; but seeing him scared like that made him appear like a scared child, and her first priority was keeping him as calm as possible. It was that reasoning she told herself that it was okay to move closer and gently wrap both her arms around his body. He was shaking terribly; she wasn't sure what he was scared about but it must have been something absolutely horrible to be this bad.

In response to her warm arms around him, he immediately snuggled in. Adrien wasn't used to being in a warm embrace, but this was nice, calming even. That action seemed to make Marinette even more flustered, and her reassuring words became stumbled as she tripped over what she was saying. This relieved some of Adrien's panic, and he chuckled which seemed to be some sort of relief to Marinette as well, bringing a smile to her face.

"I'm sorry." Adrien said softly when he calmed down a bit more, still embracing the warmth from Marinette. He felt a little embarrassed of the way he was acting; but if he had the choice of anyone else to be here he wouldn't choose anyone else. At first he didn't want to be noticed like this; but now he was glad it was her besides him.

"It's okay, Adrien, really." She responded softly, shaking her head. "No reason to say sorry. I'm here for as long as you need."

They sat there in silence for a while, neither wanting to separate. Every thunderclap seemed to make Adrien jump, but it wasn't as terrifying as when he didn't have anyone by his side. "You know, it hasn't always been like this. But recently when the lights are just out I just…" He sighed. "It just feels like I'm trapped in a cell of some sorts. I get really claustrophobic it's like the walls are closing in on me. I – I just can't deal with it Marinette. It's terrifying."

"I know. It'll be over soon Adrien, I'm sure of it." Her words were steady again, as if she was more confident. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She was absolutely spectacular in Adrien's eyes. In this moment she was so strong that she was being his hero; it was almost like she was his partner in crime Ladybug. Even though Adrien didn't think this was possible, a part of him wished it was true.

Adrien was craving every single bit of affection that Marinette was giving him. It made him feel so at peace. He felt safe; which only led him to snuggle in closer, causing her to giggle. "Adrien." Her giggle was adorable. Adrien smiled for the first time since this whole thing started.

"I appreciate you being here Marinette, I really do." He stated softly, closing his eyes. "It's nice… You really are more than just a friend, you know."

Marinette's entire face turned red. What was she doing right now? Comforting Adrien right. Speaking of Adrien, did he really just say that? As flustered as Marinette was now, she was decently confused. Did he just say she was more than a friend? And how did he say it so calm and collected? She knew Adrien was generally more confident but… Wow. "Um… Are you – did you just – do you really mean that?"

"Yes? Why would I lie?"

"You're sure this isn't a fever dream."

Adrien sat up a bit, cradling Marinette's face in his hands. He was no longer full of cowardice; instead he was filled with softness and warmth. "I've been not sure for a while now, but if there's anything I'm sure of now, it's that I want to treasure you. I thought you were just a friend but these feelings are so intense I… I really like you Marinette. A lot."

It appeared that if he said more than he just did, Marinette would just burst into flames. "I recognize if this is too much for you, it just seemed right to say and…"

"N-n-no it's not too much, in fact, I'm glad you told me… I guess?"

"Ok, good."

A while after, the storm got softer. Slowly but surely, the lights came back but neither of the two wanted to move. Adrien still looked pretty concerned, so Marinette leaned in and peppered his face with tiny little kisses. For once, Adrien could feel his cheeks getting red as he chuckled. He couldn't believe he was so lucky to have her with him, and how lucky he was that she returned his feelings. Right now Adrien felt like the luckiest man in the world.

They soon ended up shifting so they could lay down, facing one another. It didn't feel cold without Marinette's embrace; Adrien was still all warm inside. He was curious on how Marinette was feeling at this time. Knowing her, her stomach was probably full of butterflies. But he was content knowing they at least would be happy butterflies, and that there was nothing for them to worry much about now. The worst of the night was done, now there's only to move forward.

"Goodnight, Marinette." Adrien said gently, nodding off to sleep a bit. He was all worn out from what happened before now, all he desired was to go to sleep with her right besides him. "Thank you again, for all that you did."

Her hand wandered underneath the blanket before it found his. "Hey, it really was no problem Adrien." She responded back, with the same gentle manner. "I'm just glad you're okay now. You deserve some rest."

He heard her whisper goodnight as he closed his eyes, and not soon after Adrien finally drifted to sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he was this relaxed or happy, sometimes there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. He was at the very end of the tunnel with Marinette, his light, and he couldn't be happier.

The light came through the curtains the next morning; but neither Marinette or Adrien woke from their slumber. The two of them were exhausted from the night before. Besides the drippings off the roof, the skies were clear. There was no rain, only a bright sun. Adrien was fast asleep, cuddled up in Marinette's arms. They had somehow ended up closer in the middle of the night, not like either of them would complain. The closeness was nice.

Though the two of the were asleep, there was soon movement around the room. Plagg who was sleeping in a pocket of Adrien's suitcase finally awoke. He stretched and flew out, murmuring something about camembert before he noticed Adrien fast asleep. He stopped and stared, blinking and rubbing his eyes. "Ooh lah lah." He mentioned, chucking. "It's about time."

"Oh cut it out, Plagg." He heard a voice come from behind him. Of course his partner kwami would be awake at this time; he turned around to see the ladybug, with her arms crossed. "They look happy. Aren't you happy for them?"

"Of course I am, Sugar Cube." Plagg replied, winking at Tikki, who rolled her eyes. "I just enjoy teasing him a reasonable amount. Gotta have some fun somehow."

Tikki scoffed, shaking her head before looking back at the two people sleeping peacefully. "Ladybug and Chat Noir, they're together anyways. Funny how that ended up, huh Stinky Sock?"

"He would freak out if he found out that he actually fell in love with Ladybug. Like a dream come true." The two kwamis shared a laugh, before there was a shift of movement in front of them. Not wanting to get seen by the wrong owner, the both of them fled to where they came from.

Adrien's eyes fluttered open. The light had finally woke him up, but it seemed to not affect Marinette at all. She was peacefully sleeping, her bangs messily hanging down her face. Adrien smiled, gently brushing them to the side, being careful not to wake her. She was sleeping so soundly, it would be a shame for her to wake up now. Marinette didn't wake; but instead leaned into his hand on her face. Even though there wasn't any before, there now seemed to be butterflies in Adrien's stomach; he was just so happy; and she was just so perfect.

Often after storms there is a sense of calm; Adrien had never felt this much calm in a while. With Marinette, he seemed to finally find some calm after the storm.