AN: Have another one because it's weekend.

This hasn't been beta read, I just finished it, so my apologies for any mistakes


Day 10. Balcony

By the end of week Marinette was a ball of nerves. She cherished the memory of Ladybug's date with Adrien at the park, but at the same time she regretted it deeply. Rejecting him was one of the most difficult things she had to do, but she kept reminding herself that she had responsibilities as a hero and miraculous holder. Even if it was easier to interact with him with her mask on, even if he seemed to harbor feelings for her spotted alter ego, pursuing a romantic relationship with a civilian would never be a wise choice. It would be too dangerous, too careless, too selfish. So she said "no", not to lead him on more that she already had.

It terrified her when she realized Adrien was her weak spot. It was so difficult to refuse him, she didn't have the heart to follow it with another "no" about the emails. And that turned out to be another mistake. She enjoyed their correspondence greatly. It was so easy to write to him, safely hidden not only behind the screen but also behind the mask. But how was she supposed to keep her cool when the boy of her dreams opened up to her, joked with her, wanted to talk to her, while she had to censor half of her messages so that he wouldn't get more about her identity than he already knew? She had no idea how she could have even resisted replying to his messages right away . If it wasn't for Alya's curious stares at the notifications from her phone, she probably would have caved in.

Things were going so well, she almost succeeded in convincing herself that it was possible to keep it on just-friends level, but then recollections of their previous meetings started to seep into his messages, small suggestions, virtual equivalents of hand brushing. All leading up to Adrien asking her out again. It was a mystery how she managed to say "no" again. Marinette was sure that if he asked her face to face, she wouldn't have been able to refuse. She still was crushed and it was clear the boy wasn't dealing with the rejection well himself. He thought he was hiding it, and he did a rather good job with his texts, but she had the front seat to Adrien's misery show every day at school.

Mistake. Mistake. Mistake.

That single thought was echoing through her head when another akuma appeared at their school and she finally had to face Adrien as Ladybug. Acting as if she wasn't texting him every night, as if she wasn't aware he liked her, and as if he didn't know she was in the same school turned out to be almost too much for her. The saddened look in his eyes, when she kept her distance, like her self preservation instincts told her to, was the proverbial cherry on top of everything else - she still saw those eyes hours after the battle.

Me 18:44: Knock knock

Guilt driven she sent the message as soon as she was sure she wouldn't be interrupted. She had to explain, she had to help him understand. She couldn't bear the thought of Adrien as miserable as she'd seen him earlier, when he returned to classes - hunched, slumped, dejected.

Why wasn't he responding though? Usually it took just a few minutes for him to notice her text and reply. Marinette started gnawing at her nails. She finished the rest of her homework and there still was no reply from Adrien.

Me 19:30: Knock knock?

Now she was really worried. It wouldn't be the first time someone got akumatized over their love life. Had he been depressed enough to call out to Hawkmoth? Damn, it would be her fault, her fault only, if he'd fallen victim to the super villain's powers. She should have kept her distance. She should stop herself before she encouraged the boy to keep in touch. Barbed wire ball of anxiety settled deep in the pit of her stomach.

Me 20:01: ?

Marinette waited and waited, pacing in circles on her balcony and casting nervous glances at Tikki. The kwami seemed to understand her inner turmoil.

'If you're so worried,' she offered, 'you can just go and check on him.'

The girl stopped and cast a suspicious look at the sprite. 'Why do you do this?' she asked. 'Why are you encouraging me?'

Tikki shrugged. 'I just want you to calm down.'

'No, I don't mean just now,' Marinette shook her head. 'I mean this whole situation. You got "lost",' she crooked her fingers marking the air quotes, 'and ended up with Adrien. You encouraged me to accept his invitation. You haven't said a word about us messaging each other, even if this was supposed to be my emergency email for Chat only.' She crossed her hands in front of her chest. 'I don't buy it.'

'But you're talking to him,' the kwami raised her brows. 'You're joking, you're punning. Even if you're clumsy, you can laugh at yourself. This is called progress,' she added proudly. 'And if you need the mask to make it, well…' she shrugged again, 'better this than nothing, I guess. I hope that with time you'll be confident enough to do everything you want without the dots.'

'I… you… what?!' the girl exclaimed. 'What about Adrien?!' she rubbed at her face. 'Geeez, Marinette doesn't stand a chance now, do you realize that? He likes Ladybug and he has a direct line to his crush!' she sank to her knees. 'And you're supposed to be the wise one out the two of us,' she moaned reproachfully reaching for her phone only to find no reply from the boy.

'I need to check on him,' she decided. 'But I'm going to end this, just so you know. It's too dangerous and it's unfair to both of us,' she waved a warning finger at Tikki before calling on her transformation and rushing to the Agreste mansion.

She looped her yoyo on the roof, cursing that Adrien's room didn't have an adjacent balcony. Those were really convenient structures, especially when you were a superhero and wanted to check on your civilian friend. Ladybug sighed in relief, when she saw him safe and sound in his room. But he still looked as awful as at school. He held something in the palm of his hand, his thumb grazing lightly over the content.

'Knock, knock,' she called, intent on cheering him up, but he didn't hear her. Instead he reached for his phone and stared at it dumbly.

'Ekhm,' she cleared her throat. 'Are you going to let me in, or should I just hang in there?' she jested.

Adrien whipped his head to the window. Before his fist closed, Ladybug glimpsed a few familiar looking beads on red string. She raised her eyes to his face. His very rosy face.

'Hi!' he squeaked, hiding the fist behind his back. 'I didn't expect to see you tonight.'


AN: I want to thank you for all your reviews, favs and follows. I really motivate me to write, guys!
Let me know what you think of Marinette's side of this story!

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