Adrien was silent for a few moments while she was putting away the cards, and Marinette felt a quick stab of worry. Was he enjoying himself? Was she being weird - maybe she should have left the room to answer the phone, or to call Luka? She had a sudden, irrational fear that he was angry she had called him.
"Sooo…" she said slowly, searching desperately for anything to break the silence. "You're a fan of Jagged Stone… what kind of other music do you listen to?"
He shrugged and said readily
"Just about anything, really. My father likes me to play classical, which isn't really surprising, but I like just about anything else."
"Do you have any particular ringtones for anyone?"
Marinette wished the words back as soon as she'd said them, but Adrien didn't seem to pick up on the accidental question she'd really asked.
"Uhh… That's a tough one. I have to keep them all pretty low-key in case they go off on set."
"Set. Right, of course. Sorry, that was weird."
Adrien gave a mischievous smirk that set her heart racing.
"There is one, though… Can you guess?"
Marinette felt her breath leave her as she squeaked out "... Nino?"
Adrien snorted and shook his head.
"Nope. Any other guesses?"
Marinette shook her head, and Adrien sniggered slightly.
"Actually, it's someone I don't call anymore. It's an old tutor of mine - he used to be my history tutor, but he introduced me to a few new things outside of school."
Marinette felt her cheeks flushing, she knew her voice was going to be unsteady, but she had to say something or risk revealing herself.
"... What kind of things?"
"A couple of shows I used to watch. It's a little stupid, but ever since then I've always associated world history with anime."
At least this was something reasonable to have a reaction to. Marinette let herself laugh, a little louder than was really necessary, to relieve her pent up emotions.
"Really? Which ones? I've never really seen any."
Adrien grinned.
"Yeah, I only saw a couple - there are probably thousands out there, but I only know the famous ones. There's Pokemon, of course, and Sailor Moon, and another one you probably don't know."
Marinette smiled and tried to think of something to say.
"I've seen pictures of Sailor Moon. The costumes are really interesting - I'd love to dissect them and see how they're made."
She realized that once again she'd stuck her foot in her mouth, but Adrien seemed to find it funny - he was laughing silently, but in a kind way. That was one of the wonderful things about Adrien - he never laughed at anyone.
"You'd probably make a great rendition of the costumes. Heck, you'd make a great Sailor Guardian. I mean, you've got the defender of justice already down, right?"
"You have no idea…" Marinette muttered under her breath.
"Huh?"
"Nothing! Sorry, talking to myself. Uhh… So you like Sailor Moon? Was that the song - thing?"
"What, the ringtone? Nah, he was the Pokemon theme song. You know, Gotta Catch 'Em All? It was an old running joke between us."
She smiled, but knew her store of confidence was running low. Slyly, she checked her phone screen for new messages.
Luka Couffaine
Juleka's up and going. Still upset, but getting better. She's not turning on her phone, though - can you tell Rose? I don't have her number.
Marinette quickly responded and glanced up at Adrien, who was looking at her curiously.
"Any news?"
"Juleka's doing better, it sounds like. Still not talking to Rose, but up and going, which is a good sign - It means her panic attack is over."
Adrien's good humor left him quickly.
"Is that what that is when she gets all quiet? Quiet for Juleka, anyway."
Marinette nodded solemnly.
"Juleka's had panic attacks for as long as I've known her. Rose was usually there to help, but I guess not today."
"I never realized. She's always so shy, I just assumed… I feel so bad now."
"It's rough, but she'll be okay - Luka's good at taking care of her."
Marinette couldn't help a slightly wistful note in her voice, remembering Luka's heroics the day Chloe had sent her bees over Paris. The day Fu had lost his memories and left her the sole guardian of the Miraculous box.
Adrien cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I guess that's good, then."
Marientte realized she'd been spacing out for a moment and mentally berated herself.
"Sorry, let me just send something to Rose really quick."
As she typed, she hoped she hadn't just given Adrien the wrong idea.
And she wished she knew what the right idea was, anyway.
Okay, in my slight defence...
Actually, I'm recovering from being sick yesterday and part of today. Kind of. So congratulations, you get two today to make up for it. I know this chapter wasn't great - definitely not my best, but about all I can do with this prompt, since I only know like three anime total. (And for anyone interested, the anime he mentioned but didn't name is Fruits Basket)