It's a goal of mine to have at least one 10k+ words one shot a month this year, and to update any stories I publish about every two weeks. Unfortunately, for the month of January I didn't have a definitive plan of what my one shot was going to be. This resulted in me writing several different things, getting about 1000-3000 words in and realizing, this idea needs to be in chapters, not in one whole go. So I accidentally spent most of the month laying the foundations for about three new stories. Which is not what I wanted to do, but it is what it is. So, I had four days of January left and I was back at square one. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get 10k done in 4 days when I have a 9-5 job. That's why this month's short story is shorter than my usual goal. I've forgiven myself, however, because I did do loads of writing and was productive overall. I am a little disappointed because I didn't finish a chapter for YCTtS in time, but that's because I kept having to start over on the one shot.
Without further rambling, please enjoy this random ghost AU. At least it felt random to me because I spent the entire month writing royalty AUs. It's fairly dialogue heavy, but I think that dialogue is usually more fun to read than endless flowery description. This is not heavily edited so if you see a grammatical error please message me. I'm not one hundred percent pleased with this, and I will probably revisit it in a few months and turn it into something longer, but I've made a commitment to get something published.
When she moved into the apartment, she had been pleasantly surprised by the low rent. It seemed almost too good to be true, but when she got to the place it looked just like it did on the listing. The landlady was kind, she didn't have to have a roommate, and her neighbors weren't very noisy. And in Paris? It was incredible. She even had a little balcony outside. But like everything else, there was a catch.
And that catch was currently floating rather sheepishly in her kitchenette. He looked mostly normal, except there was this very faint sheen to him if she squinted the right way. He was wearing a simple button up and jeans, but he wore no shoes. He looked her age, maybe a year or two older. He was blonde, and pretty cute.
"I'd go if I could— I really would. I feel awful about this." The ghost said. It had taken a moment for Marinette to calm down after having quite the fright when he suddenly appeared, but he was pretty talkative now that she was giving him a chance to speak.
"It's fine," Marinette said, holding a hand over her heart. It was a nervous habit.
"I mean, don't get me wrong. It's great that you can see me! The last person I've spoken to was before—" Ghost boy cut off, face hardening. After a pause, he spoke again. "Well, I've been lonely."
"It really is okay," Marinette said, resuming her walk over to the stovetop. "You're not the first ghost I've seen." And it was true. He was far from the first ghost she'd seen. They weren't very common, but they were there. She just hadn't expected one to be in her new apartment. She was just glad that she was dressed right now otherwise this would've been so much more embarrassing.
"Really?" Ghost boy seemed to be of a cheerful disposition, but in a bit of a shock. She didn't blame him. When the rest of the world couldn't see you, it might take a minute to adjust when someone finally did.
"Well, yes." Marinette turned the stove on and put a kettle on. "It's fairly normal for vampires to be able to do things humans can't."
Ghost boy went silent, and she turned. She couldn't help grinning.
"Vampire?" Ghost boy's eyes were wide. She laughed then and, just for fun, transformed into a bat. His ungodly shriek of surprise made her laugh harder, and she shifted back.
"I wasn't planning on a roommate," Marinette said. "But I'm sure we can find a way to make this work. This apartment is too good to pass up, and it'll be nice to know someone I can't accidentally kill."
Ghost boy shook his head and sank down to the floor, hovering in a crumpled sitting position just above it. "Vampire," He mumbled. Marinette just laughed some more.
"I'm Marinette," She smiled at him, walking over and holding out her hand.
His face fell. "Ghost, remember?"
"Just try." She prompted, her smile kind.
Hesitantly, ghost boy reached forward and when his fingers were an inch away he paused. He took a deep breath, which was redundant since he was dead, and moved his hand the last bit forward.
The tingling sensation that always came when she touched a ghost erupted across her skin as his hand met hers. Ghost boy gasped, meeting her gaze. She had a feeling that if he could, he'd have tears in his eyes. She pulled him up to stand. He was a lot taller than her, especially when he hovered above the floor an extra inch or so.
"I'm Adrien," Ghost boy said breathlessly, clutching her hand tightly. Marinette didn't mind the grip, ever since becoming a vampire nothing seemed to be able to hurt her.
"Nice to meet you, Adrien."
"So you can eat normal food." Adrien said, sitting/hovering in the chair across from her, utterly fascinated.
"Yeah, lucky for me. My parents are bakers and it's hard enough hiding that I'm not aging, but if I couldn't eat their pastries it'd be impossible to hide the whole vampire thing."
"How long have you been a vampire?" Adrien asked, watching her like a hawk. He was almost always studying her like that, but Marinette didn't mind. She was the only person he got to interact with, and she wasn't a human. If she were him she would be just as curious when something interesting finally came his way.
"Two years." Marinette didn't like to think about how it happened, but she had a perfect memory of every single day since then. Tallying them up in her head was easy. But she figured he didn't need to know that it had been exactly eight hundred and twenty three days.
"But you do need to drink blood." He guessed.
"Yeah, but for some reason animal blood doesn't cut it. I tried that— it just made me sick."
"How does a vampire get sick?" Adrien wrinkled his nose and she snorted, choking on her tea. She coughed only once to dislodge the tea, her body was really fast at taking care of things like liquid down the wrong pipe now.
"You don't want to know." Marinette shuddered. Just remembering it made her want to be sick all over again.
Adrien had a weird look on his face, almost embarrassed.
"What is it? You can ask me anything, Adrien. I won't get mad at you."
He hesitated, then spoke. "Do you have to… you know, use the bathroom?"
She laughed now that she understood. "No, it's kind've weird. It's like my body is just really good at using everything I put into it… Magic I guess."
"What about… y'know," Adrien made another face and gestured vaguely. She just stared at him. How was she supposed to know?
He finally let out a deep sigh. "Do vampires have sex?"
Marinette paused. It wasn't an unreasonable question, especially since they were stuck as roommates and Adrien couldn't really go anywhere if she wanted to bring someone home. "I don't actually know. I haven't met a lot of vampires and I— when I was changed… well, I couldn't even be in the same room with the people I loved for a while and it's just seemed too dangerous to even consider. It's not too hard to control myself now but if I were that close to someone... Well. I don't know."
"How do you drink blood anyways?" Adrien asked, frowning. Again, she didn't blame him. No one would want to find out that their new roomie was actually a serial killer.
"Blood banks." Marinette said quickly, not wanting to get into it. It was an annoying process and she didn't want to think about it when she didn't have to. "It's that or drink from live people and I don't really want to do that." Adrien seemed satisfied with that answer.
"Do you have a heartbeat?" He asked, fingers twitching as if he wanted to check. "You don't look super pale."
"It's faster than a human's." She stirred her tea absently, focusing until she could hear it. It was much, much faster than a human's.
"So you have to breathe?" Adrien asked. Marinette wondered if he'd been into science when he was alive.
"No, it just feels weird not to, and I can't talk without air." She eyed him, wondering how long he would go on questioning her. Neither of them needed sleep, so it didn't really matter, but she did have work in the morning.
He pouted a little, his theories apparently ruined. He was cute. Marinette wondered, if they'd met in a past life, could they have clicked?
Suddenly, Adrien grinned. "Do you sparkle in the sunlight?" He teased.
She started to laugh, and he joined in. After a moment she sighed deeply and took a tentative sip of her tea. It was getting cold now, so she quickly downed what was left of it.
She set the mug down and stared at her new roommate for a moment. He fidgeted, but waited for her to speak. She didn't want to push him, but it would be helpful to know how long he had been alone without any company. She knew from experience that ghosts usually remembered a lot about their past, but talking about their deaths made them upset. And that made them dangerous to any humans around them. Good thing she wasn't one.
"What about you," she started, "What's your story?" There. He could choose what to say and hopefully wouldn't get too worked up.
His face fell a little, but he shrugged. "Not much. I can mope around, and apparently I can touch vampires, but that's about it." Marinette knew these things already, but it was good that Adrien didn't seem too upset about his nature.
"I think it's been a few months." He added, quieter, looking away. "Since I… died."
Well that was all she needed to know. She didn't want him to dwell on anything potentially upsetting. Marinette reached out and rested a hand on his, smiling. "Well you aren't alone anymore." Her skin buzzed pleasantly and she wondered how it felt to him.
His soft, answering smile made her feel a bit less alone, too.
It had been three weeks since Marinette moved into the apartment. They'd developed a good system. She'd work most of the day and they'd talk all night, or maybe she'd rent a movie and they'd watch together. She left the tv on some days, and others she left a book playing on her laptop. The more time they spent together, the more cheerful and lively Adrien became. It seemed that having someone to talk to made all the difference. When he ran out of questions about being a vampire he moved on to more normal questions. What did she do for work? What was her family like? Did she enjoy video games?
He liked to talk about her. Maybe he'd mention that his favorite movie was this, or that he used to be really good at mario kart, but for the most part Adrien didn't seem inclined to talk about his life. But that was okay, they found plenty to talk about or do anyhow. He was a jokester and a total nerd, maybe even a bit of a mess. Marinette didn't hold it against him considering she was pretty much just as bad.
When he mentioned that he missed playing video games Marinette started to make playlists on youtube that would cycle through playthroughs of popular games.
He found excuses to touch her a lot. That was understandable, and she didn't mind. The poor boy was touch starved and well… Maybe she was too.
She found time to herself, too, but she didn't need much. The bathroom was off limits— she still liked to shower— and so was her bedroom, but she rarely used it. Marinette felt bad that she couldn't take him out to go do something, she felt bad that his whole world was the apartment, but there wasn't anything she could do. If he were possessing an object then maybe she could take it with her somewhere, but what if she lost him? And it didn't seem to be an object but the entire apartment that he was haunting. And she didn't want to ask how he died, which might help her narrow it down, because she didn't want to upset him.
And not just because it was dangerous to any humans nearby, but because she cared about him. He was her friend— her best friend. And if they were both human… both alive, she might've wanted to be more. If she were being honest, she wanted more even though they were both undead. And that scared her.
Marinette kept in touch with her parents because she didn't want to hurt them. She couldn't think of a way to disappear, so every once in a while she risked visiting them. Her old friends though she'd had to cut them out of her life out of fear of hurting them. They wouldn't take it as hard as her parents. She had wanted to protect who she could.
She had acquaintances at work, where she designed clothing, but she was afraid to get too close to anyone. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she hurt anyone. After Luka… She couldn't bring herself to risk it.
Marinette was Adrien's only real interaction. And he was her only real friend. She didn't have to be afraid of hurting him. They could touch, but he had no blood and he was already dead. Somehow, it all seemed to be working out.
"Mari!" Adrien was excited tonight. Resident Evil 2's remake was being released and he was ecstatic. She'd promised to buy the game and play it when she got home that night. Marinette wasn't the biggest fan of horror games, she was a vampire already, she didn't need any more of the supernatural in her life. But this would make Adrien happy and that was becoming more and more of a priority for her. It kinda scared her.
"Are you ready for this?" He was pumped, maybe even the most energetic she had ever seen him. Marinette smiled. He was just so alive. And it made her feel alive too.
"I was born ready." She said, setting down her bag.
"Hey, Marinette." Adrien had been abnormally quiet that night. It was somewhere in the early hours of the morning. She's had to bring some work home and normally he'd take the opportunity to try and come up with some questions about clothing design but not tonight.
"Hmm?" Marinette was pinning something together and she was holding some pins between her lips.
"Can I ask you something?" He was sitting at the table with her, resting his head on his folded arms on top of the wood surface. He couldn't really touch anything but he could put his weight against it, it was like he was touching an invisible barrier half an inch off something's surface.
She paused and carefully took the pins from her mouth. She set them down and looked at him. She was struck all over again by just how handsome he was. It had taken her a few days to actually notice it, but notice she had. He was hot. He'd probably worked out a lot. He could've even been a model.
Marinette did her best to ignore that. She tried to ignore that the buzzing feeling when they touched had started sending butterflies through her. She did everything she could to ignore the fact that she wanted him. Dead or alive.
Silently, apparently working up the courage to ask a difficult question, Adrien interlaced his fingers and set them down on the table, or at least as close as was possible. He hesitated, and she reached out to lay a hand on his for support. He gave her a weak smile.
"Do you miss being human?" He asked, his voice uncharacteristically somber.
A pang of sadness washed through Marinette as her mind automatically supplied her with memories. She forced them away. "Yes." She said, looking down at their hands.
"What do you miss most?" He moved his fingers to interlace with hers, looking down, too.
"This." Marinette said quietly, squeezing his hand. "It's the most human thing, to be intimate. Going beyond casual touch— being one with someone else. Trusting and feeling trusted. Holding and feeling held." Her eyes glazed over with memories and after realizing that she was getting lost in thought she blinked to dispel them.
Adrien squeezed her hand back, and the look in his eyes told her that he understood exactly how she felt. They were quiet for a moment, she could see the gears turning in his head.
"There's something I want to try," He finally said, speaking carefully. "Something I've been wanting to do for a while."
Marinette's heart didn't quicken. That wasn't possible. It stayed it's normal hyperspeed, but she felt something there anyways. A flutter, maybe. "Okay," she said, her voice coming out almost as a whisper.
Adrien stood, hands leaving Marinette's as he walked closer to her. He stopped, reaching out tentatively to touch her face. His fingers were light as a feather but she felt the familiar buzzing that happened every time they touched. He met her gaze and seemed to find something there because in the next moment he had leaned forward and he was kissing her.
It was like nothing she had ever experienced before— the electricity coursed across her skin in rivers of pure energy, but it didn't hurt. It felt like coming to life. And she felt it more than she ever had as a human. It was like the same feeling but a thousand times more intense. Her eyes snapped shut and she kissed him back, quickly deepening the kiss. The pressure of his lips moving against hers sent butterflies cartwheeling through her stomach and she let out a little sigh when he pulled away. Their eyes met.
Adrien's smile was dazzling and infectious. He let out a short, delighted laugh. She couldn't help but smile too. Marinette reached up to place her hand atop his on her cheek. He always seemed about the same temperature as she was, except where their skin met he was always buzzing with energy. Her cheeks felt warmer than usual, however, which surprised her.
"Can we do that again?" He asked eagerly, face almost looking flushed. This time it was Marinette who laughed and leaned forward to kiss him.
Maybe it was strange, maybe they were the most unorthodox pair in the history of the world so far, but she didn't care. Her life had stopped making sense when she became a vampire and to be honest, falling in love with a ghost didn't seem too weird after that.
Overhead, the lights flickered and Marinette pulled back abruptly, eyes wide. Adrien hadn't seemed to notice yet. She rested a hand on his cheek and sure enough, he felt warmer than usual. And touching him didn't just send a buzzing through her, he felt like a livewire. She had thought she'd imagined it but the current radiating off of him was stronger than normal.
"I think you're short circuiting the lights," Marinette tried not to laugh, but she couldn't help it. The concept was just so absurd. Adrien looked up at the still flickering lights and frowned, obviously annoyed. She laughed harder, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his. "Baby steps," She mused. "We just need to go slowly, that's all."
He grumbled but acquiesced. She smiled.
They really did try to go slowly, but when they were both so starved for affection it was hard to keep their hands off each other. And once they figured out that Adrien could shed his clothes and that they'd lie floating a bit off the floor until he picked them up, it was even harder to control themselves. It sure seemed like both vampires and ghosts were sexual creatures.
That conclusion was officially confirmed a few days later when they finally broke and spent the night conducting a few… Experiments. For science. They were ultimately a great success.
Until Adrien and Marinette discovered the next day that the power for the entire building had short circuited sometime in the middle of the night due to a mysterious power surge. Poor Adrien was so embarrassed that he spent the next few days with his head buried in his hands. Marinette thought it was hilarious.
"Maybe next time we can bring down the whole block," Marinette whispered sultrily into his ear, softly running a finger down his chest, pulling back so he could see her carefully practiced little smirk.
The lights flickered and his martyred expression sent her into another round of laughter. She laced her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, grinning ear to ear.
She was no longer worried about him getting upset and hurting someone. She'd realized after about a month that Adrien was different from the few other ghosts she had met. He was so much more comprehending and capable. Many ghosts were only shells of their former selves, but somehow he wasn't.
Adrien loosely wrapped his arms around her waist, expression warming. He looked down at her, his eyes soft.
"I still can't believe it."
"Can't believe what?" There were a lot of rather ridiculous elements of their life together— if it could be called that— and all of them were pretty unbelievable.
"Any of it, really. But what I meant was you." Adrien rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. "I can't believe you exist— that I exist— that somehow fate lined up and brought us together."
Marinette hummed her agreement but her mind began to turn. Something bothered her about that statement. The idea that he had had to die to be with her made her feel sick. She cared for him, very much, and if it meant that he could live she would give him up.
"Adrien?" She said, arms tightening around him a little.
"Yeah?" He sounded like he was deep in thought.
"How did you die?" She regretted asking almost immediately, afraid to mess things up between them, but she had to know.
Adrien was quiet for a moment, but his body didn't tense. "I don't know." He said. There was sorrow in his voice. "I remember going to sleep but when I woke up everything was gone. The apartment was empty and when I tried to figure out what was happening— tried to leave— I realized I couldn't." He took a deep breath, sighing. "Why do you ask?"
"You're different than the other ghosts I've met. You're just so… alive." Marinette knew it sounded stupid, but she didn't know how else to say it.
Adrien didn't say anything. What was there to say? He'd never met another ghost. How would he know?
"You don't get riled up and you don't lash out, you never teleport or phase through objects. You don't even remember how you died. It's less like you're a spirit and more like you're just—" Marinette cut off abruptly, her eyes widening.
"Adrien!" She gasped. "You don't do any of those things because you aren't a ghost."
"What?" Adrien just looked confused. "What else could I be?"
Marinette cupped his face in her hands, trying to contain her elation so that she could explain. "You can't remember how you died because you never did." If she could cry, she knew that she would be right now.
"What makes you think that?" Adrien's voice was cautious, like he was afraid to let himself hope.
"I've heard of something like this before." She felt like an idiot for not thinking of it earlier. "Something happened to you, yes. I've heard of witchcraft seperating a soul from the body. Somewhere your body must still be alive because you haven't become a true ghost."
"Then why can't I leave? And how am I supposed to get back into my body?"
"I don't know." Marinette said. "My friend— she told me a story once about an aunt of hers that had to undo a spell like this."
"Do you think that maybe…" He looked like he was finally starting to at least consider the possibility.
"That maybe she can help us."
"Thanks for coming, Alya." Marinette ushered her friend in. Friend was a loose word, acquaintance was probably better. Alya was another frequent at a local bar that had a club exclusive to the supernatural. Marinette hadn't been there in a long time, but she used to go a lot when she was first adjusting to her new life. "I know it's short notice."
"It's okay, I understand." Alya said, looking around the room. She was probably looking for the ghost who was supposed to be there.
"Adrien?" Marinette called. He stepped around the short hallway, coming into Alya's view.
She straightened a little, eyeing him. After a moment she smiled. "The good news is that you were right, Mari."
"How can you tell?" Adrien asked, walking over to Marinette's side. He took her hand, squeezing it. She squeezed back.
"Lost spirits have a very similar aura to that of a ghost, but with a practiced eye you can tell the difference." She hesitated. "The bad news is that this means someone you knew did this to you on purpose."
Adrien's mouth tightened but he said nothing.
Alya set her hands on her hips and cast her gaze over the apartment again. "Now we just need to find the talisman."
"Talisman?" Adrien asked before Marinette could.
"Yeah, when a witch casts this type of spell she has to use a talisman— it's kind've like a linchpin for the spell. If I can find the talisman and burn it then the spell is broken. It's what's keeping you tethered here. Once the spell is broken your soul will be pulled back to it's rightful anchor place, your body." She began to walk around. "Was this furniture here when you moved in?" She looked back at Marinette.
"No, the apartment was pretty bare." Marinette racked her brain. Had she seen anything when she moved in that could be the talisman?
"What can the talisman be?" Adrien's expression was unreadable.
"Pretty much anything." Alya walked into the little kitchenette, opening the cupboards and peering inside. "It can't be too big, though, or it wouldn't be practical to use. I thought maybe they'd hidden it in the furniture by stuffing it in a cushion or something but if none of this was here then that can't be it."
"What about a photo?" Adrien asked, his voice quiet. He had closed his eyes and his face was tilted down.
Alya's eyes snapped to his face and she stepped closer. "Yes." She said gravely. Her expression saddened.
Adrien seemed to teter a little. "I don't— it can't be—" His eyes opened but they were unfocused.
"Adrien." Marinette stepped in front of him and but her hands on his cheeks. "Where is it?"
"I thought that maybe whoever cleaned things up just missed it. I thought it was strange but I was just relieved that I had something to remind me of who I was." Adrien's eyes shifted as he came back to himself a little, pupils locking onto hers.
"Where's the picture, Adrien?" Marinette asked gently, her heart breaking. Whoever had done this to him hadn't just known him but they had been close to him.
"It's on the balcony." He closed his eyes again, face crumpling. He let out a dry sob and she put her arms around him, holding him tight. He kept shaking his head, unable to truly cry, but the choked noises he made were so much worse. Marinette heard the little sliding door open. A moment later she heard the door shut.
She turned her head to the side to see Alya holding a small photo frame, gazing down at whatever image it held. Their eyes met and Alya's expression was grim. She didn't say anything but set the picture down and sat at the little kitchen table.
They both waited for what seemed like forever but was probably only a few minutes as Adrien calmed down. Eventually he just tightened his arms around Marinette and sucked in a deep breath.
"I'm okay." He said. His voice wasn't hoarse like it should've been.
He let go of her, but she interlaced one of her hands with his and squeezed. He gave her the tiniest of smiles. Marinette led him over to the table and they sat down. Well, she sat down and Adrien sat hovered in the air just above his chair. The picture was facing their direction.
There was Adrien— bright smile and all— standing next to a young woman with blue eyes and blonde hair. She wore a slight grimace, but her eyes betrayed her. They were open and soft, staring at the camera with no guile to be seen. Marinette didn't ask who she was. That wasn't important right now. She and Adrien could talk about that later.
"What do we do now?" Marinette felt emotionally exhausted. So much had happened in the last day. From realizing that Adrien wasn't dead to realizing that he had been betrayed by someone he thought was a friend.
"We burn it." Alya said, her voice sounded dull. "Then we try to find Adrien after his spirit has been reunited with his body. Some hospital nearby is about to have one of their comatose patients wake up. We just need to figure out which one."
"My last name is Agreste." Adrien said, still looking at the picture. "And I'll probably be at the American Hospital of Paris."
"That's one of the most prestigious hospitals in the world." Alya said, looking surprised.
"My Father has a lot of money." Adrien's face hardened and he looked away from the picture. "He'd put me in the best care available."
Marinette squeezed his hand again. "I'll find you." She promised. And she meant it. She would find him no matter what.
"I know you will." He said, giving her a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Alya stood, fishing a lighter out of her pocket. "This lighter has a spell on it. Only enchanted objects can be burnt by the fire this creates." She held her hand over the photo frame. "When you're ready."
Adrien met Marinette's eyes. He hesitated. "Marinette— If this goes wrong I want you to know—"
Marinette shook her head. "Nothing's going to go wrong." She said, adamant. She didn't want to even think it. He pursed his lips but nodded.
"Still," Adrien touched her face, cupping her cheek tenderly. "I want you to know that I love you."
Marinette's heart pounded and she leaned forward to kiss him. It was soft and quick. She pulled back and rested her forehead against his. "I love you, too." She whispered.
"I'm ready." His voice was steady. Marinette felt anything but steady.
She heard Alya flick the lighter, sparking a fire. A moment later the smell of something starting to burn hit her nose. Adrien sucked in a deep breath. Marinette opened her eyes.
It happened gradually. He didn't poof out of existence. Adrien just… faded. He kept calm, kept his eyes shut as he slowly became transparent. She felt him— solid against her until the moment he was no longer visible and she fell forwards.
Marinette stood in front of the hospital room, her legs shaking. When she had showed up at the lobby and given them her name and asked to see Adrien Agreste the receptionist told her that he had let his nurse know that she was coming.
She had gotten pretty good at ignoring the scent of fresh blood but it was all around her in this place. She generally avoided hospitals at all costs. But Adrien was here, on the other side of the door, waiting for her. She took a deep breath and pushed it open.
As she stepped inside her eyes quickly found the hospital bed and it's occupant.
It was him. He looked a little pale and a little thin, but it was him.
"Marinette." His voice was dry from months of disuse. His eyes were bleary and he looked exhausted, but he smiled.
"Adrien," She walked over to his bed and sat on the edge. His hand reached for hers and she met him halfway.
It was strange to be able hear his heartbeat. She was breathing through her mouth so that his scent couldn't bother her. She'd have to be careful about that. It was strange that when their skin touched she felt no buzzing energy. But he felt warm and the shape of his hand was familiar. She looked into his bright green eyes, taking comfort in them.
"You're a little cold." Adrien said, blinking rapidly to try and wake up. "That's going to take some getting used to."
Marinette hummed, reaching out with her free hand to tuck a few strands of unruly blond hair behind his ear. It was longer than it had looked before, but it made sense that his hair would've grown. She kinda liked it. "You're warm." She countered, resting her hand against the side of his face. He smiled at her.
"They say I can leave in a few days, after they're sure I'm not going to slip into another freak coma." Adrien squeezed her hand.
"I won't let that happen." Marinette promised. "I'll be your personal bodyguard." She was worried about her potential to cause him harm, but she was a lot more worried about the more immediate risk to his safety: whoever had already tried to effectively kill him.
"I was hoping you'd be my girlfriend." Adrien grinned, shifting a little in his bed. "But as long as you stick around I'll be content."
"Even if I'm dangerous, too?" Marinette asked. She really didn't want to risk accidentally hurting him, but she wasn't sure if she could live without him.
Adrien smirked. "Dangerous to a human maybe."
"You aren't a ghost anymore, dumbass." Marinette rolled her eyes.
"What makes you think I'm a human?" He said, grinning when she froze. "I never said that I was a human before I 'died'."
"You never said that you weren't." Marinette's jaw dropped. "Adrien!"
"It never came up!"
"Adrien— that's— that's the stupidest excuse in the history of excuses! What else was I supposed to think?!"
He shrugged again, his smile and eyes softening. "It didn't matter back then."
"Well it matters now." Marinette drooped forwards, resting her head on his chest. He laughed happily, loosely wrapping his free arm around her.
"Yeah, I guess it does." He sighed, long and dramatic.
"So?" She asked, impatient. "What are you?"
She swore that she could feel him grinning.
"Nothing special." He said nonchalantly. "I'm just your run of the mill half werewolf."
Marinette started, straightening and gaping at him. She breathed deeply through her nose and sure enough she could smell both human and dog. "Half?"
"My mom." Adrien said, "Had a bit of a wild side."
Marinette groaned, dropping her head back onto his chest. "You're ridiculous."
"You love me." He said, still smiling.
"Yeah." She said, smiling despite herself. "Yeah, I do."