Chapter by Maerynn

By the time Alya came home from her lunch with Marinette, she was way beyond tired.

The meeting with her friend had left her exhausted and shaken. She had walked into the dragon's den without any clue on her friend's mindset, without the slightest idea of how their conversation would end. Would they be able to mend their friendship, or had they let things go too far? Was their bond beyond repair?

Thankfully, the worst had been avoided. Marinette had been willing to listen to her apologies and even had opened up a little about her current living arrangements. True, she had been very vague, especially about that mysterious friend helping her out, but that was a start.

Marinette hadn't shut her out.

They could fix this mess.

But the entire encounter had been draining, and she had come home to an antsy Nino that had some shocking news of his own, forcing her to deal with the conflicting emotions the unexpected return of Adrien Agreste into their lives was stirring within her.

Alya plopped herself down on their couch and stared at Nino with a blank expression.

"Are you absolutely sure about what you texted me? This entire mess was really nothing but a huge and ugly misunderstanding?"

Her fiancé nodded, seating himself beside her on their couch. "I'm sure. When you really think about it, that makes much more sense than what we thought happened." He sighed deeply, running his hand through his hair. "This is so messed up. We just shut Adrien out, without giving him a chance to explain himself or his blatantly out-of-character actions."

"Nuh-uh, Nino. No way. Why now of all times? What's his angle?" she protested, shaking her head.

"Why now? Maybe because we're actually talking to him now? What else was he supposed to do, Alya? From his point of view, we kicked him out of the chat and blocked him everywhere else without a benefit of the doubt. It's basically like telling him to piss off and never talk to us again. He was only doing what we wanted," Nino argued.

"We were all hurt and didn't think clearly, and we thought that was what he wanted. But..." Alya sighed, propping her feet on the coffee table. "Yeah. Okay. I concede that point." She huffed and scrubbed her face with both hands. "In hindsight, I do kinda feel bad for him. Poor guy must have been so confused about how big this whole thing blew up. I hate to blame his father, but the way Adrien was raised probably played a huge role in this whole mess."

Nino shrugged, burying his face in his hands. "Don't I know it," he whined. "The guy was only trying to protect Marinette from his father, and we all abandoned him without even as little as an explanation. What kind of best friend am I to do that to him?"

Alya sighed, "Marinette won't be pleased about all this. She let herself judge too harshly and didn't give him a chance to explain himself. Once she realizes she threw away years of friendship based on assumptions alone, she'll be mortified and might be reluctant to admit her wrongs straight away."

"I think we still owe it to Adrien to tell her," Nino countered. "She needs to know."

"I agree. Hopefully, she'll believe us. Knowing he didn't write that message and didn't quit the chat on his own might get her to start the process of forgiving him and we'll see how it goes from there," Alya summed up.

"He'd still be on his own for stealing her application file, though, but I think if he plays his cards right, he could get her to forgive him someday," Nino added.

They sat in silence, side by side on their couch for a few moments before Alya laid her head on Nino's shoulder. He kissed her hair, brushing a few stray locks away.

"How was your day?"

"We made up, Marinette and I. Though, she found another place to live for now."

"To be honest, some distance would do you both good," Nino said, wrapping his arms around his fiancée. "I know you love each other, but sometimes living together isn't what even the bestest of friends can or should do. Apart, you'll be back to normal in no time."

"I'm worried about her, though. She wouldn't tell me where she's living. Nor who's helping her. A man, Nino. She said one of her male friends is letting her live in his place. She said she's living there alone, but still, I don't like it."

Nino quirked an eyebrow. "So what if a man is helping her? Would you be worried if I helped out one of our female friends should she need a roof over her head?"

Alya's eyebrows knit into a frown. "No, not you, but I know you. You're a saint."

"And what makes you think that this particular male friend of Marinette's isn't?"

Alya stalled, letting out a sigh a short while later. "I'm just… I'm so used to us not having any secrets, so—"

"I think," Nino interrupted, tightening his hold on her. "You should learn to trust Marinette more. She doesn't need you overseeing her every step. I love you. Marinette loves you, but she is a grown woman, Alya, and you aren't her mother. Marinette can take care of herself, so trust her. That's what's being a friend is all about."

"I know. You're right. It's just so hard for me to watch her destroy herself and do nothing about it."

"You don't have to do nothing. Support her. Unconditionally. I'm sure that's the only thing she needs from you, and something that I dare say you weren't giving her lately."

It took her a few moments to reply before she pressed closer to him and murmured, "I'll try my best. How did your lunch go? You never told me the details apart from the big news."

"It went well," Nino gave her a shy smile.

Alya quirked an eyebrow. "Oh! So you made up?"

"In a way? We decided to try and see if anything can be rebuilt between us, but that's about it. Though… after everything, after the way I treated him, I don't feel I deserve his friendship anymore."

"Do you want it?"

Nino let a sad puff of air escape his lips. "Do you even have to ask that?"

"Then everything will work out." Alya leaned in for a quick kiss to his cheek. "I know how much you've been missing him all these years. Even back then. You were angry, but still wishing everything would just fix itself and give you your friend back."

Nino lowered his eyes. "Alya—"

"That's okay, Nino. Everyone makes mistakes, but everyone also deserves a second chance. I have Marinette to know how you feel. Friendships like these don't come often, so if you want and you think you can rebuild your friendship, I say go for it."

Nino didn't answer, giving his fiancée a smile. He brushed her hair with his hand, gazing in her eyes before whispering, "Let's go to bed. We've both had a long and hard day today."

Alya smiled back. "Alright. But know that I love you and will support your decision on this."

"Thank you, babe," Nino pressed her closer. "Thank you."

Ladybug landed on the Eiffel Tower beam with a soft thud around nine p.m. on Sunday evening, her gaze instantly landing on Chat Noir. She loved that man so much, her heart warmed up at the simple sight of the cat ears peeking through his wild blond mane. "You're here early, Chaton."

He shifted toward her, lifting a hard gaze her way. "He's gone, Bug."

Ladybug paused when she saw his angered expression, scooting closer to him on the beam and gathering his face between her open palms. "Chat? Kitty? What's wrong? Talk to me."

"He's gone. That bastard is gone, and I can't even explain it to you." He had a dry, angry laugh. "How fitting. He's ruining my life even from beyond the grave."

Tears suddenly spilled over his mask with a choked sob, and he dissolved into a teary mess in her hands. Taken aback by the sudden shift in his mood, Ladybug hugged her partner to her heart, cradling him like she would've done with an upset child and softly stroking his hair.

Chat cried for what seemed like hours, sobbing violently in the crook of her neck, his fists bunched into tight balls on her back. He was hiccupping violently, broken sobs tearing out of his throat, and Ladybug felt her own heart shattering in her chest.

Her partner was hurting, there was nothing she could do to help him, and she hated it.

Ladybug rocked him through his meltdown, holding him up in the storm as he was seemingly freefalling, his emotions choking him and making it hard to breathe.

"Chaton?" she eventually asked, when his sobbing subdued to quiet sniffing. "Chaton, talk to me. What's wrong? Who's gone?"

He stiffened in her hold, but let his head rest against her collarbone limply.

"Chat? Chat? Are you okay? You're worrying me."

He let out a pitiful sob, and curled up against her chest, his hands clinging to her even tighter than before. "He's dead, Bugaboo," he whimpered. "That bastard is dead, and I just don't know what to do or how to deal with it."

Understanding that he was upset over the relative he'd recently lost, Ladybug knew that he just needed someone to listen to him, someone to lean on for a bit. "I'm here," she cooed in his ear, stifling the selfish urge to kiss him better. "I'm right here, kitty cat, and I'm not going anywhere. We'll get through this together, okay?"

She kept him like that, sobbing in the crook of her neck, until the crying eventually gave way to quiet hiccups, rubbing comforting circles on his back.

"I'm right here," she assured him again, allowing herself to press a chaste kiss on the crown of his head. "We're partners, through thick and thin. For better and for worse."

His pitiful whimper was enough of an answer for her. She held him as he clung to her for comfort, and gently drew small circles on his back through the leather of his suit.

Chat Noir shifted within her embrace, sitting a little bit straighter on the beam. "I'm sor—"

"Don't you dare start apologizing," Ladybug answered flatly. "You're obviously going through some really hard times. You'd do the same for me in a heartbeat, Kitty. You've been there for me through rough patches before. I'll do the same for you."

She smiled and nudged him with her shoulder, trying to lighten the mood. "Wanna race? We both could use some exercise."

His smile was slow to appear, and she felt that he had to force himself a little, but he eventually stretched his long legs in front of him. "The first at the Arc de Triomphe wins?"

"Nope. Catch me if you can!" With those words she was flying into the sky, the hoarse laugh of Chat Noir chasing her.

Chat Noir landed on her balcony right as the clock ticked nine on Monday evening, and Marinette happily opened the door when she heard the familiar sound of boots hitting the concrete. He seemed calmer than he had been the night prior. More collected, but somewhat exhausted.

She had woken up late that morning, having had quite a fight with her hairbrush upon coming home from their impromptu race, strands of black hair sticking in every direction and framing her flushed cheeks. But it had been worth it to hear his breathless laughs as he chased her on rooftops and to see his brilliant grin finally appear when he wrapped his arms around her, chuckling a soft "Gotcha, Bug" in her ear.

She had been so tempted to destroy the last few barriers that still stood between them at that moment. To cross the heartbeat between their lips, to let go of masks and pretences and tell him that she loved him. Heart, body, and soul. She wanted so badly to belong to him, to start a new life for both of them. Find a cute little house with a white picket fence, get married, maybe have a child or three. She'd even trade the hamster in for a cat if that made him happy.

Because that's all she wanted him to be. Happy.

Hopefully by her side.

She had resisted. The moment hadn't been right, not with him grieving for his family. She didn't want to add to his obviously full plate of problems and decided to find a better (and more romantic) time and place for that long overdue reveal.

"Evening, Princess," Chat greeted, unaware of her rambling thoughts and flashing a smile her way that looked every single bit fake. "I don't know what's on the menu, but it smells truly amazing."

Her own smile faltered in response to his, and she promptly turned her back to him to keep herself from commenting on it, marching to the kitchen with what she hoped was a determinate step. "You mentioned you weren't much of a cook. So I figured you must not eat roasts that often."

It was unfair that he had that kind of effect on her both in and outside the mask. As Ladybug, she could hug him, stroke his hair to soothe him. They were partners, best friends, and physical contact was a thing they were dealing with daily. How many times had they gotten tied up together, and how many times had they launched each other toward an akuma? How many evenings had he held her to his chest as she spoke about Alya, about her friendship bursting out at the seams? How many times had she dug her fingers in his hair to comfort him after a rough week, how many cuddles had they shared away from prying eyes in the past few years?

As Ladybug and Chat Noir, their relationship was shifting, and it was exhilarating. They weren't just friends anymore, but they had yet to slap a label on what they were. They were exploring this new side of their bond together, pushing the limits a little further every now and then and playing it by ear.

They trusted each other more than anything in the world.

Things would fall into place in due time.

As Marinette, though, she had no right to feel that way. No right to want to wrap her arms around him, to wish she could know what was going on in that handsome head of his. Wish she could soothe whatever pain he had been in the night prior, wish she could pry into his civilian life and help him out.

She focused on the vegetables cooking in a steamer basket, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, trying to get her furiously beating heart in check. He crept up beside her, leaning against the kitchen counter and studying her carefully.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" he asked, his voice soft with worry. "I really didn't want to add to your already full schedule. I'm being a bother, aren't I?"

She giggled, lifting her gaze toward him at last. "Don't you dare go anywhere, Chat Noir."

"But—"

She didn't give him time to go further with his objection, only shaking her head as she took plates out of the cupboard and retrieved oven mitts from a nearby hook. "Work has been harsh lately, as you know. My assistant quit, as did most of the good employees, so I'm kinda on my own to handle everything. I'm exhausted, but I'm gonna make it. Honestly, having a good reason to leave work and come home to cook will probably save me from the asylum. Besides, you kinda look like you need a friend right now."

Her eyes were trained on the wooden spoon in her hand as she spoke, but she felt Chat shift beside her. He tensed, looking at her intently, and she could almost feel his eyes searching her soul.

"Thanks."

The word tumbled from his lips, unbidden. A simple acknowledgement that he indeed needed a shoulder to lean on, and Marinette felt her heart constrict in her chest.

Chat Noir smiled shyly, an expression that seemed oddly out of place on her normally exuberant partner. "I'm… I'm going through a rough patch right now. I'll be fine though, don't worry."

By the time he finished speaking, he was standing right in front of her, his fingers merely an inch from hers. "I really appreciate your concern, though, Marinette. Thank you."

His carefully crafted façade tremored for a brief second, and it broke Marinette's heart. Did he have anyone to talk to, outside of the mask? Did someone care for him? Did anyone worry whenever he came home late?

Plastering the brightest, fakest smile she could muster on her face, Marinette spun around with two full plates of food. "No problem! Are you hungry? Because I'm starving. Oh, and by the way, I found a game console here, and it isn't that old. Do you happen to know anything about it?"

The smile he flashed her right then was the first genuine one she'd seen on his face in two days. "I bought a new one a few weeks ago and since my previous console wasn't that old yet I didn't want to throw it away. I thought you'd enjoy it, since, if I remember correctly, you were quite a gamer back in days."

"What do you mean were?" Marinette smirked. "I still am and to prove that I bought Ultimate Mecha Strike VI today, so you could attempt to beat me if you dare."

"Watch me," Chat gave her a matching grin, sitting down at the table. "After dinner, you're going down, Princess."