Adrien had been very happy recently. His new girlfriend was amazing, the Akuma had been few and far between, and his dad had decided to let him have some time off.
All in all, it had been great.
So, when he got a call in the middle of the night, he was very confused and a little worried. Had an Akuma happened at three A.M.?
He looked at his phone screen to see that Marinette was calling, and quickly picked up.
"Hey Mari!" He greeted, but the only reply he got was sniffles. "A-are you okay? What's wrong?" He asked, starting to panic.
"C-could you come over? P-please?" She asked, her nose sounding congested and her voice wavering.
"I'll be right over." He said, and quickly got up to put a shirt on before transforming and making his way to her balcony as fast as he could.
When he got there, he noticed that the door leading inside was open, and took it upon himself to enter.
When he did, he looked around and spotted a small lump curled up next to Marinette's cat pillow in her bed. It was shaking and he could hear the sobs.
"Princess?" He asked gently, moving towards her slowly.
The sobs became a little louder, and he quickly rushed towards her, bending at the knees with his hand hovering over her back. "What's wrong?"
Marinette lunged at him, pulling him into a bear hug so strong it could have come from her father.
"Ohmygodyou'reokayyou'reokayyou-" "Slow down, I can't understand you." Adrien warned quietly, releasing his transformation. Plagg went to find Tikki to understand what was happening.
"I-I had a d-d-dream- a nightm-mare really." Marinette sobbed into his shirt, and he hugged her closer.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, lifting her and shifting so that he was sitting on the bed with her curled up in a ball in his lap.
"Y-you stupid cat, you t-took a hit from an Akuma for me and I couldn't wake you up and lucky ch-charm wasn't working and I just kept shaking you and screaming and you wouldn't wake up,youwouldn'twakeupandIwassoscared-" Marinette trailed off into a sob, hiccuping.
Adrien's panic lessened and he smiled warmly at the top of his partners head.
"Oh, Princess. It's okay, I'm right here, I'm not going to leave you." He said, humming out comforting sounds while petting her hair.
Soon she was relaxing into him, her tense muscles releasing the stress her dream had built into her body.
"You know, I've been having these dreams. They're like when you were almost gutted by the Seamstress, but it's a bunch of different situations. Sometimes you get hurt as your civilian self, sometimes you get hurt as Ladybug, and every time I can't do anything but watch on in horror. I get it." Adrien said, and felt her eyes on his face.
He looked down to see her glaring at him.
"What?" He asked, trying to recall if he said anything that would make her angry.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, looking hurt.
"We're partners, and I'm here for you. Why didn't you tell me?" She asked again, and he smiled sadly.
"I didn't want to worry you anymore. You're always so tired, and you come over a lot, and you're busy…" Adrien said, trailing off while grabbing the back of his neck.
Adrien felt her sit up and then felt her arms around his neck. Her head was on his shoulder and she was squeezing him, though not quite as hard as the last time.
"You stupid cat." She muttered, nuzzling into his neck. "You're more important than sleep."
He scoffed. "I am not." He said, offended that she'd pick him over her health.
"Are too. Plus, when we are together all we do is cuddle, talk, and sleep anyways. It's okay. You can tell me from now on, and we will get through them. Together."
Adrien smiled at that, and nodded. "Alright, Bugaboo. Together."
The hours from then until dawn were filled with comforting touches, talks about the shared nightmares they had, and a bit of cuddling. The trust the partners had in one another increased, and the feeling of belonging made Adrien feel light as a feather. He belonged there, with his Lady.
She was his home. And he never wanted to leave.