"Adrien, Nino, slow down already," Alya called as the boys vanished around a bend in the trail in front of them. "The trees and lake aren't going to vanish if we arrive a few minutes later."

Adrien came to a halt immediately, expression sheepish as the girls caught up. Nino was beside him instantly, breathing heavy as he tried to catch his breath. He sent Adrien a playful glare. "Hey, mister always-in-shape, not all of us play three sports and go running up mountains in our free time. Alya's right."

"That's exaggerating just a bit." Adrien grinned, though, knowing that Nino really wasn't that far off, considering how much exercise he got as Chat Noir running around Paris. "It's two sports and I don't go running up mountains, like, ever."

Alya was completely out of breath when she and Marinette joined the boys. Much to Adrien's surprise, Marinette was not. She looked like she had only been out on a short walk instead of a fast hike.

"Water break time," Alya panted, stopping Adrien from taking off again. She slung her backpack off and pulled out a water bottle. "Even if you don't sweat, the rest of us do." She glanced over at Marinette, who looked about as fresh as Adrien. "Well, most of us do. Dang girl, do you go running in your spare time?"

"Only if you count running whenever I'm running late to something!" Marinette laughed, smiling as she pulled out her own water bottle. "And I certainly do that often enough!"

"Are you done drinking your water?" Adrien asked, grinning when Alya made a big show out of drinking in slow motion. "Oh come on, we won't get back until tomorrow at that rate!"

"I'm starting to think we should make you and Marinette race ahead, just so you're worn out as Alya and I are," Nino joked. Marinette shook her head, pulling out a guidebook and pointing to the marked page.

"The next section of trail is supposed to be rocky. Going too fast would be dangerous."

"Good. Then we won't have to run to keep up with Adrien." Alya shot him a playful glare. "Not all of us have ridiculously long legs, you know."

"I can't help it if you're short, Alya," Adrien shot back, grinning.

They set off hiking again, Adrien going marginally slower than before. They were almost through the most treacherous part of the trail when it all went downhill very quickly.

A clattering of rocks broke Adrien and Nino from their conversation and they turned in time to see Marinette go down with a yelp and a thump as the rocks she had stepped on rolled down the trail. Within seconds, Marinette was clutching her left ankle and grimacing. Alya looked worried.

"Are you all right, Marinette?" Adrien asked in concern, carefully picking his way back down the trail to crouch down by the girl's side as Nino followed right behind him. He pried her fingers off her ankle gently, sliding his own fingers in to replace hers. Her skin was unusually warm, but not alarmingly so. A twisted ankle, maybe, but not a full-out sprain. Still, they were several kilometers up the trail.

"My ankle hurts," Marinette groaned, leaning back on her hands and watching Adrien prod her ankle gently. "I mean, I could probably walk a little on it, but not too much."

"It sounds like a minor sprain," Adrien decided. "It didn't pop when you went down, did it?"

Marinette shook her head. "No, definitely not." She offered a weak smile. "The rocks clattered a bit, though."

Adrien grinned back. She still had her sense of humor. That was a good sign.

"We're so close to the top," Nino groaned. "It's too bad this couldn't have happened on the way down instead."

Adrien could almost hear the frown in Alya's voice as she responded. "Priorities, Nino. Marinette is hurt."

"You guys can keep going. I'll wait here and you can pick me up on the way back. I might even be able to walk back down the trail a bit if I'm careful." Marinette smiled up at them, trying to hide the disappointment in her eyes. "I heal quickly, you know. I'm sure I'll be back up in no time."

"We're not leaving you here by yourself," Alya said immediately, and Adrien nodded his agreement. Nino looked torn. Marinette looked stubborn.

"Let's get your ankle wrapped up first, then we'll discuss what we'll do," Adrien decided, taking charge. He turned to Alya. "You have the first aid kit, right? Let's see what it has in it."

Alya nodded and set her bag down, pulling out the first aid kit that Nino's parents had insisted they pack. She opened it and Adrien immediately pounced on the stretchy bandages. He unlaced her shoe and tugged it off, followed by her sock. Unnoticed by him, Marinette's cheeks flamed pink.

"Have you wrapped sprains before, Adrien?" Alya asked curiously as he started twisting the bandage around Marinette's foot and ankle quickly. "You seem to know what you're doing."

Adrien nodded, preoccupied with getting the wrap right. He tugged on the bandage, adjusting it by a few millimeters so it was in the perfect spot. "Yeah, I've had sprains before and my instructors in basketball and fencing always insisted on us knowing how to do this right. Thankfully I haven't gotten injured in a year or two, but I've done the wrapping for some of my teammates." He wriggled Marinette's foot. "How does that feel?"

"Better already," Marinette admitted. "I probably still shouldn't walk much on it, though."

"Right," Adrien confirmed. He dug through the first aid kit some more and grinned as he came up with a chemical cold pack. Perfect. He activated it and found another bandage so he could secure it to Marinette's ankle. "Tell me if this gets too cold. The bandages should give it some insulation, but I don't want to risk giving you frostbite."

Marinette nodded in understanding, silently hoping that her feet didn't smell bad. Adrien had had his hands all over them..

"So what now, Nurse Adrien?" Alya asked teasingly. "Head back down, or...?"

Adrien glanced down at Marinette. The black-haired girl was tiny and appeared even smaller as she sat on the ground. She couldn't possibly be that heavy. "I can carry Marinette on my back. We're not even a kilometer from the lake we planned on hiking to for lunch. It's not far, and then I can rest up there before carrying her back."

Marinette blanched. Alya looked strangely thrilled, considering that she hadn't been too enthusiastic about the hike in the first place.

"You sure you can do that, bro?" Nino asked, looking skeptical. One of his eyebrows looked like it was in danger of vanishing beneath his cap. "We are hiking on a mountain and going uphill."

"It's not that much farther uphill. Besides, it will slow me down once we get out of this stretch of trail. Isn't that something you wanted?" Adrien grinned at them.

"You don't need to do that, Adrien, I can wait here while all of you go to the lake," Marinette insisted. "You might hurt your back."

"It'll be fine, Marinette. I'm pretty strong." He smiled at her. She didn't look convinced. He sighed. "I promise I'll say something if I need to take a break or if me carrying you isn't working."

"It sounds like a good idea. Marinette, do you need help getting up?" Alya was grinning at her friend. Adrien couldn't quite figure out her expression. Marinette rolled her eyes at Alya and shook her head, attempting to get up on her own as Adrien packed the first aid kit back up and tucked it in Alya's backpack. She wobbled and Adrien's hand shot out to steady her.

"I can take your backpack, Adrien," Nino offered. "I'm guessing you'll be carrying Marinette on your back?"

Adrien nodded, still concentrating on getting Marinette upright. She was wobbling a bit, clutching his hand as she tried to steady herself on one foot on the uneven surface. Alya helped to steady her friend as Adrien turned and crouched down so Marinette could clamber on. He waited until she was settled before straightening back up, his hands under Marinette's knees to keep her steady. She definitely wasn't that heavy.

"I'll carry Marinette's backpack," Alya offered, coming up next to them. She stooped down and picked up Marinette's bag, slinging it on over her own. "I'm guessing the packs will be even lighter coming down, since we'll have eaten everything." She grinned up at Marinette. "Of course, that means that your load will be heavier, Adrien."

"Not by much," Adrien said cheerfully, hoping that Alya's words wouldn't spark another round of protests from Marinette. While they had gotten more and more comfortable around each other following the video game tournament and her uncle's visit, Adrien didn't want to do anything that might scare Marinette away from him again. He was already worried that carrying his friend on his back might already be toeing that line a little too closely. "And Mari is light as a feather, honestly." Not waiting for a response, Adrien set up the trail again, stepping carefully so he wouldn't fall. If he tripped and went down, he'd run a very high risk of getting injured with the added weight on his back.

He wouldn't trip. Although he often found himself on the ground when fighting as Chat Noir, his balance was pretty good. Besides, he had gotten hiking boots for the trip. They came up over his ankles, giving them extra support.

Ten minutes later, the first glimpses of the lake started appearing through the trees. Nino let out a cheer and sped up, followed closely by Alya. In stark contrast to earlier, Adrien lagged behind. Marinette peered over his shoulder as he hiked, watching the scenery go by.

"Geez, Adrien, hurry up!" Nino called jokingly over his shoulder. He turned around to grin at Adrien, walking backwards for a few steps. "You're such a slowpoke."

"Ha ha, very funny." Adrien didn't speed up at all. "You know, the trees and lake aren't going to vanish, right?"

Adrien spent a full five minutes fussing over getting Marinette's foot properly elevated once they sat down for lunch. He took off the cold pack, giving her ankle a bit of a rest, then shuffled backpacks back and forth until he was satisfied with how high her ankle rested. Marinette's cheeks flushed pink again at the attention, especially as his fingers probed at her bare ankle, running back and forth over the skin as he gauged how warm her ankle was.

"Adrien, stop fussing over Marinette like a mother hen and come eat," Nino finally spoke up in exasperation. He rolled his eyes. "Marinette is tough, she'll be fine. At this rate, we'll all be done eating before you've even started."

"I'm mostly concerned because technically, we should have had her ankle propped up right away and keep it up for a while. We can't do that while we're hiking." Adrien frowned at Marinette's ankle. She gently pushed him away with her other foot.

"Go eat lunch. My ankle isn't going to fall off." Marinette grinned as Adrien finally sat down next to her, pulling his sandwiches out of his backpack. It was truly impressive how much the model ate without ever gaining weight, but it made sense considering all of his activities.

Alya swallowed a bite of sandwich and turned to Nino, suddenly struck with an idea. "Nino, do you think your phone has any service up here? If we could text your parents and let them know that Marinette got hurt..."

"No coverage this far up," Nino said, shutting down Alya's idea quickly. "We can check once we get closer to the end of the trail, though. We can let them know that we'll probably be late and they can bring the car up closer to the trailhead."

They all ate in silence for a while, enjoying the view. They all took a couple pictures of the jaw-droppingly gorgeous scenery with their phones, Marinette straining to get photos from different angles without disturbing her foot.

"We should probably head back down now," Nino finally spoke up, checking the time on his phone. "I'm guessing we'll be going slower than the flat-out sprint Adrien had us doing on the way up, so we need time."

"It was not a sprint," Adrien grumbled good-naturedly, not really upset. He jogged back to Marinette, who was still sitting on the ground. "Just let me get the cold pack back on her foot, then we'll be ready to go."

Marinette had to keep from squirming as Adrien fussed over her foot again, long fingers brushing against her skin as he worked. Once he was satisfied, she found herself on his back once again, her arms looped loosely around his neck and his hands holding her thighs to keep them around his waist.

If someone had told her a year ago that she would be riding on Adrien Agreste's back while he carried her down a trail, she probably would have fainted. Not only was her body pressed up against his back, her cheek was against the side of his head, his soft blond hair tickling the side of her face. But she was older and wiser and more mature now, thank you very much, and she only occasionally got flustered around Adrien now.

"You doing okay there, bro?" Nino asked ten minutes down the trail. They were almost back to the most dangerous section again and Adrien was slowing down, choosing his path carefully. "I'm sure I could carry Marinette for a couple minutes if you need a break."

Adrien shook his head, his hair brushing against Marinette's face. She repressed an internal squeal of joy. "I'm fine. I'm just being careful not to step on any loose rocks."

"Yeah, we can't have you falling as well. I'm not carrying you if you do." Nino grinned at his friend before surging ahead on the trail, eyes flashing between the trail and the scenery around them. They continued down the trail in relative silence, both Nino and Alya occasionally stopping to take pictures. Marinette wrestled her phone out of her pocket and took pictures from her spot on Adrien's shoulders, trying her best to not accidentally choke him as she held her phone.

"I can stop for you to take pictures if you want," Adrien suggested as Marinette took a fairly lopsided picture of the trail in front of them.

"It's fine, really. It gives the pictures personality." Marinette nearly dropped her phone as she twisted slightly for another picture. "Besides, I'm sure Alya and Nino have good pictures they can share."

"Yeah, I'm planning on asking them to send me their photos. Their phone cameras are eons better than mine." Adrien rolled his shoulders for a second, stopping when Marinette let out a surprised eep at the unexpected movement and tightened her hold on him. "Sorry about that."

"Do you need a break?" Marinette asked, concerned. "There's a rock there you could set me down on right up there."

Adrien shook his head. "I'm fine. Really, I'll be good for a while still."

Marinette let out a quiet huff of "Boys" before settling back down on Adrien's back. The boy under her let out an amused snort as he continued on his way down the trail.

"How's your ankle feeling?" Adrien asked as they passed a trail sign. They still had a ways to go to get back to the trailhead. "Any better?"

"If I don't move it," Marinette said, giving her ankle an experimental roll. "Ouch!"

"Then don't move it!"

They stopped for a break by a field of flowers. Adrien took the opportunity to stretch and roll his shoulders while Marinette sat on a rock, weaving a flower crown. Once she finished one, she started on another.

"For Alya?" Adrien asked, watching as Marinette's fingers flew, weaving together stems and leaving stems and flowers free and facing outward. "I think I saw her making one earlier."

Marinette shook her head. "For you. We can match. Come here for a minute and let me see how big your head is."

Adrien snorted as he knelt at Marinette's side. "It's not that big."

"It's mostly your hair, I think. It's so fluffy." Marinette held the chain of flowers and leaves up against Adrien's head, poking and tugging until she was certain that the crown would fit properly.

"Fluffy?"

Marinette spluttered as she realized what she had said. "I- I mean, it's just, uh-"

"It's fluffy," Nino repeated for Marinette as he and Alya joined them. "Don't fight the fluff, Agreste."

"That makes me sound like a kitten," Adrien said, amused.

"Or a hamster," Marinette chimed in again, finishing the crown and plopping it on Adrien's head.

"We got in contact with Nino's parents," Alya said, waving her phone at them. "Or, rather, I did. Nino's phone company has zero coverage out here. They're going to come at our agreed time and his father is going to hike up to meet us and take over carrying Marinette."

"I'm doing fine," Adrien protested. "Really, he doesn't have to do that."

"You'll be singing a different tune by the time we get to the bottom of the trail," Nino said, laughing. "Or at the very least, by this time tomorrow. You're gonna be sore, sore, sore!"

"I doubt it. I'm the one who plays three sports and runs up mountains in my free time, after all." Adrien grinned at Nino. "You ready to go?"

An akuma popped up exactly two days after Adrien got back from the hiking trip. He groaned, peeling himself off his bed and removing Plagg from his spot in the trash can. It was hot, hot, hot in Paris, and his muscles had only just stopped aching from the hiking (and from squatting Marinette once their group had gotten to the end of the hike, just to prove that he could). At least no akumas had popped up the previous day, or right after the group got back to Paris. He had been beat.

Chat Noir bounced across the rooftops minutes later, heading over to the Louvre. The akuma was turning people into robots of all shapes and sizes. He dove right in, herding civilians away, flipping robots so they would be stuck harmlessly on their backs, and pushing the akuma to an open, empty area where it could do the least damage. He stalled for time, dodging blows and glancing up at the surrounding rooftops periodically to try to catch a glimpse of polka-dotted red.

She didn't show up.

Surely Ladybug wasn't on vacation? What would he do if she was? It wasn't like he could purify the akuma. He could hold it off, sure, but only for an hour or two at most. Not for a day, or a week, or however long Ladybug might be gone.

"Would you let me past!" Robotix snapped, stomping his foot. "Either fight properly or let me go turn all those worthless spectators into my robots! I just want to make them pay for laughing at my robot ideas!"

Chat Noir gritted his teeth and deflected another attack, biting down the urge to snap back. He didn't know where Ladybug was, he didn't know if she'd be coming, and he definitely didn't want Hawkmoth to know that his partner might not be joining him.

I've been delayed before, Chat Noir reminded himself as he backflipped out of the way of another blow. She's been delayed before, too. She took forever to show up with Princess Fragrance, according to the reports. She took a while with Dark Blade, too.

And then finally, miraculously, Ladybug appeared over the rooftops. She was moving slower than usual, Chat noticed absently with the part of his mind that wasn't focused on not getting killed- or, rather, not getting turned into a robot. Normally she didn't have any sort of hesitation about diving off buildings and racing over rooftops. She could be ridiculously fast at time.

Now? Not so much. There were arthritic grandpas that could probably move faster than Ladybug was moving now.

Ladybug's appearance distracted Chat Noir just enough for the akuma to slip past. Apparently oblivious to Ladybug's appearance, he raced away instead of trying to stay and fight. Getting his revenge seemed to be more important than getting the Miraculous for Hawkmoth.

Chat Noir swore, then lunged for the akuma. It slipped under his guard and out of his grasp faster than a greased banana before vanishing around the corner. He debated going after the akuma for a moment before deciding to debrief with Ladybug first. She still hadn't jumped down to join him on the ground, which was... strange.

"Hi, Chat Noir," Ladybug called as he landed on top of the roofs. She grinned over at him. "Sorry I'm a bit slow today."

"I noticed." As Chat Noir got closer, he noticed that she wasn't putting any weight on one of her feet. He frowned. "Are you injured?"

Ladybug winced. "I hurt my ankle over the weekend and it's still not quite back to normal yet." A guilty look. "It probably didn't help when I stepped on it wrong yesterday."

Okay, this was bad. Their speed was essential while fighting akuma. They needed to be able to dodge attacks and run, especially when an akuma's powers could affect them. When Ladybug had been injured during Pixilator's attack, they had very nearly been beaten because she couldn't move well and he had been taken out of commission. On top of it all, Ladybug's speed and grace made up her whole fighting style. She'd be a sitting duck with her ankle in its current condition.

...unless she wasn't moving under her own power. Chat Noir glanced at her in consideration, eyes trailing up and down his partner. She was smaller than him, especially with his recent growth spurt, and she had a positively tiny frame. She couldn't possibly be that heavy, and with the extra strength that the Miraculous gave him...

"Get on," Chat Noir said suddenly, crouching down in front of Ladybug. "I'll carry you."

Ladybug froze, blue eyes going impossibly, adorably wide. "B-but I'll just slow you down!"

Chat Noir glanced back at her. "I need you so we can defeat the akuma. If I'm worrying about you not being able to dodge the akuma's attacks, that would slow me down even more."

Still Ladybug hesitated.

"Come on, bugaboo," Chat Noir urged. "I'll even promise to lay off on the puns for the entire fight!"

That got a snort from his partner. "Fine. Fine. I'll ride on your back. Happy?"

"Very." Chat Noir waited patiently as Ladybug hopped on. She didn't waste any time in getting settled. "So this guy is turning people into robots," he explained as he started to run in the direction the akuma had vanished. "I think there's some science and technology symposium nearby, and his ideas must have been mocked or something."

"You would think that people would learn to be kinder to each other," Ladybug sighed dispassionately. "Maybe we should make some sort of summer campaign or something. An announcement, to remind people to be kind?"

"Maybe!" It wasn't a bad idea. Still, then Hawkmoth would just target people that were perhaps being treated kindly and fairly, but who perhaps had lost a contest, or gotten fair criticism that they didn't like. And then there were the people who were maybe rejected when they invited someone on a date, or they didn't get a promotion they wanted...

Even if the people of Paris could remember to be kind, Chat Noir was sure that Hawkmoth could still find a victim.

It didn't take long to find Robotix. All they had to do was to follow the frankly ridiculous robots that littered the street, whirring around aimlessly. Once the akuma spotted the superheroes, he scowled, the expression twisting his metallic features, and took off up the road. Chat Noir adjusted his grip on Ladybug's legs and took off, speeding up to a flat-out sprint to catch up and get the drop on Robotix.

Even though Chat Noir had never carried Ladybug on his back before, he couldn't help but think that the feel of Ladybug on his back was strangely familiar. Her body curved around his to let him run and twist as he tore over the rooftops like she had done it before, adjusting automatically so he wouldn't lose his balance even as he sent them vaulting over a street and landing on the opposite side. Maybe it was just due to how comfortable they were in their partnership- some of the things they did meant that they had to be able to instinctively know what the other was doing- but normally there was at least a little bit of a learning curve.

As Chat Noir dropped down from the rooftops towards Robotix, Ladybug adjusted her hold so she could fling her yo-yo out without getting in his way or throwing him off-balance. Robotix stumbled as he was struck, but pulled his controller out of the yo-yo's way, dodging to the side.

The fight that followed was probably one of the stranger ones that Chat Noir had been in. With her ankle out of commission, Ladybug had to cling to his back for the entire time. Robotix had started out trying to hit them, but stopped after Hawkmoth's purple mask flickered up on his face. He had let out a growl of frustration, then started flinging his robots at them in an attempt to trip them up. It was easy enough for Chat Noir to hit the robots aside, smirking a little as he did.

"It's not nice to throw people!" he called, pressing in closer. It was clear that Hawkmoth had instructed Robotix not to turn the two superheroes into robots, because their Miraculous would vanish if they were turned. That hampered Robotix, and meant that they could really press forward.

Robotix scowled. "It wasn't nice of them to make fun of me! Robots are the future, and I will make them realize!" He made a break for it again, and Chat Noir moved to block him. "Cut that out!"

Ladybug muffled a laugh in Chat Noir's ear and shifted slightly, grabbing her yo-yo. As soon as Robotix tried to make another break for it, he heard her fling up her hand and hiss, "Lucky Charm!"

Chat Noir craned his neck, trying to see what she had gotten. "What is it?"

"A robot controller of some sort, but.." Ladybug's arms appeared around his shoulders again, clutching the controls. She wriggled the joystick, and a short robot nearby lit up and lurched forward.

Chat Noir could feel Ladybug's devious grin against the back of his head.

"I'll trip him up," she said. "Be ready to grab him as soon as he stumbles!"

Robotix had not been expecting his robot to turn on him. The akuma tripped over the short, brush-wielding robot and his controller fell out of his hands, letting out a nasty crack as it hit the ground. The akuma peeled loose and Ladybug snagged it with a cheerful whoop.

"Nice going, Bug," Chat Noir said as her Miraculous Cure swirled around the street. He let her down carefully. He eyed her wince with a wince of his own. "Do you need a ride somewhere so you don't have so far to go to get home?"

"I'll take the bus or something," Ladybug assured him. "But thanks for the offer, kitty. You're sweet."

Chat Noir caught her elbow to steady her. "If you're sure. And remember to wrap your ankle, and elevate it when you get home, and if you can get crutches in case you need to move around-"

"I'll take care of it, I promise. I want to get up and about again soon, too." Ladybug pressed a light kiss to his cheek. "I promise I'll take care of it. Tikki said she might be able to Lucky Charm me an ankle brace for me to wear around the house, so I might try that."

"All right. Hopefully Hawkmoth won't attack again before you heal." Chat Noir patted her shoulder, hoping he wasn't too pink from the kiss. "See you, Bug."

"See you, Kitty-Cat."

"Oh, there she is!"

Adrien grinned, turning around at the picnic table that he, Nino, and Alya had staked out at the park and waving when he spotted Marinette coming. A moment later, he paused and frowned. Marinette wasn't walking quite normally- in fact, she was favoring her injured foot quite noticeably. It was strange, because with as minor of an injury as it had been, she should have been back to normal by now.

Hopping up, Adrien rushed over to Marinette so that she could wrap an arm around his shoulders and he could take on some of her weight. "Your foot is still bothering you?"

"Hello to you too, Adrien," Marinette teased before glancing down at her feet. "Yeah, it was doing better and then I stepped on it funny. It's better today."

"You should be staying off of it!" Adrien deposited Marinette on the picnic bench and fluttered around her, unsure if she would be okay with him touching her ankle again. "And oh god, your house has so many steps- isn't it dangerous for you to be going up and down them yourself? You could fall, Marinette-"

"Dude, stop mother-henning her," Nino finally cut in, grabbing Adrien's arm and pulling him down to sit. "She's not going to break. Like, if you want to help her get around if we decide to go somewhere else, fine, but, like, she's fine right now."

Adrien paused, slightly embarrassed, and then somewhat sheepishly sunk back onto the bench next to Marinette. Almost automatically, he glanced down at Marinette's foot, craning his neck to make sure that she had wrapped it properly. The bandage criss-crossed in all of the right places, which was good, but he would have wrapped it a little tighter, and actually, now that he thought about it, the wrap over the top of her foot wasn't in quite the right place to give her the most support. His fingers twitched once, twice...

...and then he slid off the bench, pulling Marinette's shoe off and starting to adjust the bandage before he could fully stop himself. Marinette's foot twitched, like she had nearly yanked it back in surprise but had managed to stop herself. She managed to stay quite still, though, as Adrien adjusted and tightened and then re-fastened the end and carefully slid her shoe back on, making sure not to dislodge the bandages he had just fixed.

When he popped back up, Nino and Alya were staring at him as though he had sprouted a second head. Adrien just shrugged sheepishly.

"It wasn't giving her ankle enough support!"

"Dude."

"And technically it should be propped up," Adrien mused, shifting towards the edge of his seat. "...hey, Nino, if you move over a bit, could Marinette get her foot up on that bench?"

"Dude."

"What? It's what you're supposed to do until a strain is better!"

"Nino, just scoot over," Alya said with a sigh, tugging her boyfriend to the side. "Marinette, put your foot up so Mother Hen over there can stop fussing so much. And Adrien, she's not made of glass."

Adrien did his best not to pout. He just wanted Marinette to not injure herself again, was that such a bad thing? But he supposed that he was maybe projecting his need to help Ladybug onto Marinette, since they both had ankle injuries. And then there was his natural desire to help his friend, and combined, that meant a lot of hovering and fretting over Marinette. He probably could back off a bit and Marinette would still be fine.

And speaking of Ladybug's and Marinette's injuries being similar- it was an odd coincidence that both of Adrien's favorite girls had sprained their ankles and reinjured them at around the same time. He wasn't certain which ankle it was that Ladybug had injured, but it might have been the left foot, just like Marinette.

Except now that he thought about it...really, it wasn't that strange. Considering how slim and athletic Ladybug was, it was hardly a reach to believe that she probably partook in some sort of sport or went out hiking, like he had. With an already-injured ankle, it was easy enough to reinjure it. Ladybug had probably gotten impatient and pushed herself more than she should have and stumbled, and Marinette...

Well, Marinette probably just tripped. She did that fairly frequently, it seemed. Adrien was going to have his driver bring her home after their get-together was over, just so she could stay off of the injury and not trip again.

Besides, ankle injuries actually weren't that uncommon this time of the year, were they? People were out and about more now that the weather was nice, doing activities that were a bit more active than normal and on surfaces that weren't quite as even and safe as an indoor court-

"Earth to Adrien, are you there?"

Adrien blinked as he was pulled out of his musings. "Huh?"

"We're talking about what movie we're going to go see," Nino explained. "So if you could pull your thoughts away from Marinette's ankle and actually contribute your opinion..."

"Right, of course!" Shaking off the last lingering comparisons between Ladybug's and Marinette's injuries, Adrien leaned forward to look at the phone Alya was offering him, scrolling through the different movies that were playing. In no time at all, Adrien was thoroughly distracted, concern for his partner momentarily forgotten.

After all, summer was meant for enjoying time together with friends, not worrying needlessly over things he couldn't change.

A/N:...well this has only been sitting in my abandoned one-shots bin for probably close to two years, and all because I don't like writing akuma fights #whoops

As with most of my stories, this is a one-shot and is therefore complete. And as usual, reviews always make my day! :)