I'm currently actively procrastinating chapter 29 on Both of you because I'm facing the worst case of writer's block on it, and instead I'm writing this fic way more faster than I should. This chapter is barely nothing besides fluff (okay, no, I'm totally lying. It wraps up nicely the first third of the story) but it's definitely a feel-good chapter for me. I needed it tonight. I spent the first half of the evening writing a really, really hard chapter (that you'll read later) and I got tired of weeping on my keyboard. So here it comes!

Marinette woke up the next morning to a pounding headache. Stirring painfully in her half asleep state, she tried to recall the events of the nights before. The way her heart had treacherously jumped out of her chest at the mere sight of Adrien Agreste was the first that came back to mind. The remaining of the wedding was kind of blurry, as she had very evidently exaggerated on the champagne. She cursed herself as she remembered climbing willingly into Nathanael's car despite her gut screaming at her to run as far away from him as humanly possible. Frowning, she dug into her drunken memories further. A phone call? Blurry sentences whispered in her ear as she was rambling. Definitely a phone call. She'd have to check her call history to find out whom she should apologize to for her inappropriate behavior on the night before. The young woman truly wished it was Alya. Or even Nino.

She opened her eyes slowly, waiting for the daylight to hurt the hell out of her. She really should finish the curtains she intended to hang in her living room, for every morning she woke up on her couch she regretted them. To her surprise, she found herself in a pleasant semi-darkness, the curtains of her room having been pulled closed carefully. Wait a second. She didn't recall ever making her way to her bed. In fact, she fully remembered deciding it was way too far away to attempt the journey to it. Her confused gaze fell on her bedside table, where a glass of water and two aspirin tablets were waiting for her, the former labeled "Drink me" with a scrap of paper while the pills were resting on a loose sheet with an arrow pointing to them. A neat handwriting had added "Eat me" at the other end of the arrow. She smiled to herself, quickly scanning the rest of the note:
"Hope you're feeling better Mari, see you at the office tomorrow. Don't worry about caffeine, it's my treat.
Sleep tight,
Adrien"

Oh.

Oh.

Adrien. Right. Adrien had been there last night. Carrying her to her bedroom. Soothing her as he cleaned her face. Getting her out of her dress and into her pajamas. Adrien had seen her passed out from too much alcohol and too much emotions in the same night.

So why wasn't she feeling utterly mortified by the whole encounter?

Sure, she'd make a point to apologize to him when she'd see him again, and thank him for the way he had taken good care of her, but that was it. No feeling of dread, no anxiety rising in her chest, no breath shortening…
"Odd." she thought. Marinette spotted Tikki strolling casually toward her and took a minute to cuddle the kitten a little:
"Hey there. Guess your mama's a little less scared of Adrien once the shock of seeing him standing in front of her when he was supposed to be on the other side of France has worn off, what do you think?"

The kitten mewled loudly, clearly demanding her breakfast, which made Marinette giggled as she got out of her bed.

The aspirin was quick to alleviate her headache, and the prospect of her very first day at Agreste plastered a grin on her face. Sure, she was practically assured to bump with Adrien a few times a week in the corridors, but it'd give her time to get used to his renewed proximity, and maybe even consider a friendship with him again.

Humming quietly to herself, she fed Tikki and went back to her room to get dressed for the day. Grabbing her phone on her way back, she noticed two sms from Chat Noir, one from the night before, and one from about fifteen minutes ago:
[Chat Noir] Sweet dream princess.
[Chat Noir] Good luck on your first day m'lady! Knock'em down their feet!
Chuckling, she typed back a quick answer before heading under the shower:
[Ladybug] You do realize you just suggested to your utter klutz of a friend to knock her new boss off his feet?

Twenty minutes later, she was on her way to Agreste's offices, wearing blacks skinny jeans with a cheong-sam styled tunic sewn into a deep red satin fabric with black lace fabric. She had hesitated between her faithful and professional kitten heels that never failed to make her feel confident, but in the end decided against it. After all, she had absolutely no idea of the tasks that were going to be entrusted to her that day, so she went for assured comfort in shining black leather ballerinas. Who knew if she'd have to clean up some storage, run errands for picky designers or be on coffee duty? Internships were rarely glamour, and Marinette didn't want to lure herself into thinking she would have it easy.

It's with that mindset that she reached her new place of work with a few minutes to spare, climbing the front stairs of the building at the same time Adrien did. He was wearing black suit pants along with a light green button up and a black tie. He had rolled the sleeves slightly under the elbows, and looked just as handsome as he had the night before. He waved happily to her, visibly coming from the underground parking next to the building.
"Hey Mari! Good morning!"
The young woman smiled back warmly, waiting for him to catch up with her. Gone was the overwhelming feeling from the night before, leaving place to a pleasant warmth in her chest.
"Hey Adrien."
[Chat Noir] In that case I'll make sure to watch the news tonight.
He handed her a fuming cup, grinning from ear to ear:
"Here, you still like lattes, right?"
Stunned, Marinette looked up from the hot beverage:
"You remember that?"
The young man chuckled, offering her his arm for the rest of the way:
"Well I never had many friends, and always had a thing for details, so…"

Reaching the top of the stairs, Marinette pulled out her phone from her purse, checking the email she had received for the hundredth time:
"Ok, so I'm supposed to meet with the person I'm going to shadow here. Do you know who this might be? Is it some kind of mean harpy? Do I have to brace myself for a catfight?"
[Ladybug] Your faith in me truly reaches new heights today.
His laugh was mesmerizing:
"Well I sure hope not!"
She frowned when she noticed he was clearly laughing at her expense:
"Do you know something I don't Adrien?"
"Apparently, yes. You ain't going to shadow anyone."
Dumbfounded, the blackette only managed to look at him quizzically, at loss for words. He tugged on her hand, leading her toward the elevators.
"Come on Mari, we have to meet with my father in about five minutes. You wouldn't want to be late for your very first meeting with Gabriel Agreste, would you?"
Shaking up the confusion at what was exactly unfolding before her, Marinette followed him without further questioning as she sipped on her latte.

Gabriel Agreste was a tall, lean and impressive man. His presence alone in the room granted it some sort of tranquil authority. So when, after the official presentations had been made and a little small talk on her capacities, her work experience and her goals along the company, Gabriel asked her casually:
"So, how do you feel about launching a brand new collection with Adrien?" Marinette couldn't help but choke on the gulp of latte she had just taken:
"I'm sorry, what?"
Adrien smiled even wider than he had been before, and she resisted the urge to hit him:
"I believe she hadn't gotten the memo, father."
"Well then, miss Dupain-Cheng, your internship among my company will basically consist of designing and launching a whole collection aimed toward teenagers, hand in hand with my son. This is a test for both of you."
Marinette swore there was absolutely no way either of them couldn't hear her heart thumping wildly in her rib cage.
"I expect nothing less than excellence from you, miss Dupain-Cheng. I have seen your designs, and you are more than capable from succeeding in what I'm asking from you. I want a teenage line fashionable yet suited for everyday lifestyle."
"I understand."
The man shifted his attention to his son:
"As for you, Adrien, this is the perfect occasion for you to put everything I taught you to good use, and prove to me that you're ready to take over a little more responsibilities in the family business."
"Yes father."
The older man waved them off with was she could've sworn was an attempt at smiling:
"You both are dismissed. The sooner you'll get to work, the sooner you'll get results to show me."

As soon as the door to his father's office was closed, Adrien tugged on her hand impatiently, eyes shining:
"Come on, I'll show you our office and workroom, you'll like it."
"Eager, aren't we?" she laughed softly. He instantly looked like a little boy caught red-handed in the cookie jar:
"I'm a little excited, I guess. This is truly the most interesting thing I've had to do here ever since I've been thirteen. Sorry about that."
She chuckled:
"Don't be. I could have gotten a way worst boss than you, I should be grateful if anything."
"Tut-tut-tut. I'm not your boss. We're in this together. You heard him. Hand in hand."

She stared at him, bewildered:
"Come on, Adrien. Be real, you're the son of the CEO of this company. You're by every definition my boss from now on."
The blond shook his head:
"No-can-do. Your friend? Okay. Your teammate? Sure. Your boss? Wouldn't dream about it. Anyway, I can't do this without you even if I would like. I don't know a single thing about design. My skills are more on the management side of the whole thing. Coordinating everything, budgeting, that boring things…"
"That I know nothing about."
He smiled:
"Voila! You get the idea. So will you agree I'm not your boss?"
"Adrien, there's no way we're equals in this."
"And yet, we are. Partners?"
She sighed, knowing she had lost the argument.
"Very well, partner."
[Ladybug] I'm having the strangest morning ever.
"So, will you show me that incredible office of ours?"
[Chat Noir] Mine's been really good so far. Making old friends.

Adrien gestured for her to follow him to the elevator once again and she happily obliged. How could she wallow in the events of the night before when Adrien Agreste was acting like a little boy on Christmas Eve just thinking he was going to get a little bit of independence from his father?
[Ladybug] You're weird.
[Chat Noir] You love me anyway.
This was all very, very good after all. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be offered to launch a collection as an intern, and Marinette wouldn't dream to pass on it for anything in the world. And if it had the bonus advantage of a mended friendship with Adrien, who was she to say no to that?
[Ladybug] Whatever helps you sleep at night kitty.

God dearly bless the silent mode on her phone, otherwise Adrien might quickly get offended by the amount of incoming sms she received in one day…