This one's a little bit angsty, given the subject, but I hope you enjoy regardless!

Insecurities

"Hey, did you guys want to hang out? We could get something to eat." Alya asked the two boys in front of her. Class had just finished, and Alya posed the question after discussing it a little with Marinette. The four had become close friends and were hardly ever seen apart at school, and would hang out after school when everyone was free. Marinette was even able to speak to Adrien without stuttering, but she still hadn't been able to tell him about her crush on him, and he hadn't noticed anything.

"I'm down! I'd never pass up an opportunity to hang out, especially with my awesome girlfriend!" Nino answered right away, and while Alya was teasing Nino, Marinette was looking at Adrien to see what he would say. She deflated when a frown crossed his face and his eyes looked to the side, head drooping slightly.

"Sorry, guys, but I can't hang out today." Adrien said, and they looked at him sadly.

"You busy with something?" Alya asked, and Adrien looked at her, and Marinette felt her heart pang at the sad look in his green eyes.

"Yeah, I missed a Chinese lesson because of the latest akuma attack, so it was rescheduled to today," Adrien answered, looking down again. "I'm really sorry. I want to, but I can't ignore what my father wants for me."

"It's okay, Adrien. There's always next time." Marinette offered a smile, and Adrien looked to her, but didn't return the smile, sighing instead and grabbing his bag.

"Yeah, I know. But who knows when that will be? I'm always messing up your plans, and you must get annoyed with me," Adrien replied sharply, and Marinette was taken aback. A quick glance revealed that Alya and Nino were feeling the same. "I have to go now, or I'll be late. Have fun, you guys." Adrien slung his bag over his shoulder and trudged out of the classroom, and the three watched him go before looking at each other, sharing looks of concern.

"Well, that was strange. Adrien doesn't usually get that upset about missing out on hanging out." Alya commented, eyebrow raised in thought.

"Yeah, I know. Dude looked real bummed. His dad must be on his case more than usual." Nino agreed, a frown on his face.

"If only we could help him…" Marinette added to the conversation, but her mind was on Adrien, wondering if there was anything she could do.

"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do right now, since he's busy and all. Hopefully he'll be feeling better tomorrow," Alya said, and Marinette and Nino nodded. "Now let's go eat!"

The friends walked out of the classroom, heading to one of their favourite places to eat. However, Marinette wasn't as into it as Alya and Nino were, so while they talked, she was lost in thought, thinking about Adrien's situation. Both of them knowing about her crush on Adrien, and knowing that she was really worried about him, they let her be, only interrupting her thinking occasionally.

When Marinette got home, she still wasn't sure how she could help Adrien feel better. In her room, she opened up her purse and Tikki flew out, looking at her charge worriedly.

"Tikki, I don't know what to do… Adrien looked so sad, and he sounded so upset that he keeps missing out." Marinette vented, flopping down in the chair at her desk, looking at the montage of Adrien that she'd created. He was so kind and good, but he had so many expectations placed upon him by his father that she wasn't sure how he hadn't snapped before now.

"Oh, Marinette. Maybe Adrien needs someone to talk to about it?" Tikki suggested, and Marinette sighed.

"I thought about that, but I don't think he'd go for it," Marinette replied. "He already feels bad enough as it is, so I think that he'd feel like he was placing his problems on us, which isn't true, of course. We all understand that he has all these responsibilities and that he has no room to argue about it."

"What if someone other than his friends paid him a visit and offered an ear?" Tikki suggested with a wink, and Marinette's eyes lit up.

"You'd really let me be Ladybug for this?" Marinette asked, and Tikki nodded, and Marinette hugged her kwami to her face. "Oh, thank you, Tikki! I'm sure he'd talk to Ladybug about it."

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!" Tikki exclaimed, and Marinette nodded, letting go of her kwami with a giggle.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said, and once she was Ladybug, she zipped off her balcony and headed for the Agreste mansion. She landed on the roof adjacent to the mansion, and looked inside to see Adrien sitting at his computer. The windows were all shut, so Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around an ornament on the roof and dropped down to the window level and knocked. Adrien turned around, and his eyes widened when he saw Ladybug there, who waved at him with a smile. He rushed over and opened the window, and Ladybug jumped into the room.

"Ladybug! What are you doing here?" Adrien asked, confused.

"I'm here because, uh…" Ladybug trailed off because she hadn't thought of an appropriate excuse to come visit him as Ladybug. She sighed and decided to tell the truth. "I heard that you were feeling down and wanted to come cheer you up." Well, mostly the truth.

"Really? Where did you hear that?" Adrien asked, crossing his arms and looking at her with an expression that she couldn't read well. It looked like a mixture of sad and happy.

"I happened to be in the same place where your friends were, and I heard them talk about your situation," Ladybug told him, since she obviously couldn't say that she was Marinette and she was really worried about him. "Do you want to talk about it? It can't be healthy to keep it all bottled up."

"I don't know how to…" Adrien sighed, flopping onto his couch, and Ladybug took a seat next to him, putting a supporting hand on his shoulder to show that she was listening. "It's just, I want to spend time with my friends like a normal teenager, but my father pretty much plans my life out for me, which means that I don't get much of a chance to be with them outside of school, and it makes me feel really bad."

"I'm sure they understand that you're busy, Adrien. They know that you'd hang out with them if you were available." Ladybug said, and Adrien sighed in frustration.

"I know that! But I almost never have time for them, even when they try to work around my schedule!" Adrien raised his voice, standing up and facing Ladybug. "Maybe they'd be better off if they just forgot about me…" Ladybug was stunned, not knowing what to say. After a minute of complete silence, except for Adrien's slightly heavy breathing, he spoke again. "I'm sorry, Ladybug. I'm trying so hard to live up to my father's expectations and it means that I can't be a good friend, but I can't let them know that it makes me feel like this. I don't want them to worry about me."

"Oh, Adrien…" Ladybug stood up and embraced Adrien, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding the back of his head, pulling him close. He stiffened at first, but she could feel him relax and wrap his arms around her waist, burying his face into her shoulder. He shook, and soon he was sobbing, and she started to ruffle his hair soothingly, encouraging him to let it out wordlessly.

When he finally pulled away from her, she looked at him and her heart almost broke when she saw the pain in his watery eyes, making his green eyes sparkle like emeralds. He sniffed and wiped at his eyes to remove the lingering moisture.

"I'm sorry you had to see all that…" Adrien said, and Ladybug shook her head, offering him a smile.

"It's fine, Adrien. It's a lot better to let it out than to keep it all bottled up. I won't tell you to tell your friends right away, but when you're ready, I'm sure they'll understand," Ladybug told him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "You don't have to suffer through this alone, as much as your father seems to believe you need to. Friends look out for each other, and they won't judge you for it."

"Thanks, Ladybug. I feel a bit better after all that," Adrien managed a smile, putting a hand on top of one of hers. "I don't know how you do it, though. I'm sure you're busy with your civilian life and everything, and yet you seem to handle yourself so well as Ladybug." Ladybug let her hands drop to her sides, and so did Adrien's hand.

"I guess I'm used to balancing both sides of me, now, but it's not as easy as you make it sound." Ladybug chuckled without humour, thinking about the akuma attacks that she'd dealt with, and all the close calls that had happened.

"Really? When you're in battle, you look so confident and determined to protect Paris that I can't help but feel safe. Sometimes it looks like you don't even need Cat Noir." Adrien said, frowning a little as if thinking about something else.

"Don't even say that! Cat Noir's just as important as me, and I wouldn't do it without him," Ladybug hesitated before adding, "I… don't think I could do it without him."

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked with a confused expression.

"What I mean is I wouldn't have been able to handle most of the akumas without Cat Noir fighting alongside me. We have our own individual strengths, and we complement each other well," Ladybug explained, and she looked down as another thought occurred. "And you wouldn't think it, but being Ladybug can be lonely at times. No one can know who I am under the mask, because I don't want to put anyone in danger, so I can't talk to anyone about everything happening around me. Except for him."

"You can talk to Cat Noir about it, huh?" Adrien asked, and he had a smile on his face that Ladybug didn't understand.

"Yeah, because he's in the same situation as me. We're tasked with protecting Paris together, and we can talk about anything on our minds, as long as it doesn't reveal our identities. He's not just my crime-fighting partner, but my best friend that I trust with my life." Ladybug answered, smiling. She was grateful to have Cat Noir as a partner and friend. Maybe one day she could even tell him who she is.

"That sounds really nice, to have someone that you can trust with anything." Adrien commented, his smile genuine and Ladybug was glad to see how happy he was.

"It is, and I'm sure that if you let your friends know about your issues, they'll make sure you feel loved." Ladybug told him, and Adrien nodded.

"I'll try to tell them, I promise." Adrien said, and Ladybug smiled.

"That's all I ask," Ladybug replied, patting him on the shoulder supportively. "I think it's time for me to go, but I can visit again soon?"

"I'd like that, Ladybug." Adrien said. Ladybug smiled at him one last time before she left, waving at him as his house got further away. Ladybug landed on her balcony and detransformed, and Marinette smiled at Tikki as they went inside.

"I think I really helped, Tikki! He seemed really happy when we were leaving," Marinette grinned, but it faded as she recalled how upset he had been initially. "Now I need to show him that I'm here for him as Marinette, too." Marinette looked inside her purse and gave Tikki a cookie as thanks, which she took graciously.

The next day at school, Marinette and Alya were waiting at the front entrance, waiting for Adrien and Nino to show up so that they could walk to class together. Nino showed up soon enough, and with about five minutes to spare, Adrien's car pulled up and he stepped out. When he saw everyone waving at him, he hesitated, but soon walked over, a serious expression on his face.

"Hey guys! I have something that I should tell you." Adrien said, and Marinette's heart started racing. He was taking Ladybug's advice and was going to tell them! She felt warm inside, and smiled.

"What is it, bro? How are you feeling after yesterday?" Nino asked, concerned. Adrien smiled and put a hand on Nino's shoulder.

"I'm feeling better, Nino. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you guys that…"

Poor Adrien just wants to be a normal teenager :(

If you want some more angsty chapters, leave a review and let me know!

-Green