Marinette's Perspective

The next day.

There was never a doubt in my mind that this whole knowing thing could get complicated. But I wasn't expecting to feel so utterly conflicted. I couldn't go back to sleep last night, instead staying up working on a new piece.

Class was normal as always, but it felt different between Adrien and I. Maybe he had gotten in big trouble for last night. He wouldn't look at me for more than a second, and I couldn't help but get nervous. It wasn't in my nature to ignore him the way he was ignoring me, and it was doubtful that he did it for any good reason.

I was climbing down the stairs in mild disappointment when my foot slipped. My backside crashed into the steps, hard metal stinging me. My spine, I was sure, would be bruised and there weren't very many things I could do about it.

A hand jutted out from behind me and caught my head, a hair's breadth away from the metal. I opened my eyes and was surprised to see that Adrien was the one who caught me. He was behind Nino, who was behind me, while Alya walked down in front.

"Thanks." I said, but it came out as a whisper. I had the wind knocked out of me, which I was not expecting in the slightest. I could fall from stories high buildings, be flung across Paris, and have nothing worse than a scratch. But, that was as Ladybug, and I couldn't handle stairs without the suit.

"You alright?" he asked, and Alya grabbed my hands to help me up. It was then that I noticed that Adrien had flown down from behind Nino and was laying across the stairs from between our friend's legs. After quite a bit of jumbling, we found ourselves on the ground floor once again.

"Marinette?" Alya asked, and I shook my head of cobwebs.

"What?"

"Are you alright?" Adrien asked, and I realized that I didn't actually answer him.

"Yeah. A few bruises for sure, but I won't have a concussion thanks to you. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Just my elbow. I'll be fine."

"It won't bruise, will it? If I return you after last night with a bruise on top of everything else, your dad really won't forgive us!" I laughed, and he joined me.

"I didn't even get to say good morning, which isn't actually that surprising."

"I'm sure Natalie told you off, though! Must have been quite the image. Do they believe it, what we told them?" I asked, and he bent at the waist with another infectious round of laughter.

"They think it was real!"

"Adults can be so stupid!" I gave him a high-five.

"Uh… what did you two do last night?" Nino asked.

"Chased nightmares, maybe?" Alya said, winking. I knew my face was pink, but when I looked over Adrien's face was as well.

"Yeah… you could say that." he looked at the floor before looking straight into my eyes. The meadows in his eyes portrayed something… intimate. I smiled softly at him, and nodded.

Adrien's Perspective

She was pretty. Like, pretty in a way that I hadn't understood before. Ladybug was always this strong woman, someone who I idolized. She could throw me across the entirety of Paris, and I would only thank her. But Marinette was different. She was a quiet kind of strong, so clever and crafty and thoughtful. You could really tell when she was talking her truths, and she would get so passionate about her opinions. I could listen to her for hours on end.

Something in Marinette pulled me in a way that was so much harsher than Ladybug. It was incredibly jarring. My attraction for Ladybug was obvious since meeting her, but with Marinette it was gentle and slow.

I could see now that she wasn't just a good friend. If I ever got the courage to confess to her how I felt, I'd do anything to keep her.

I have moved on, when that thought came to mind. Ladybug wasn't the most important thing anymore. Marinette was.

Alya's Perspective

Okay, something was definitely wrong here. The mentions of 'last night'? How they were 'chasing nightmares'? They surely weren't so hard-headed as to have not known what I meant by that. The way that they were looking at each other, with tension and possibly love?

"Alright, well, Marinette and I have to go do some homework. We'll see you guys tomorrow. C'mon girl." I threaded my arm through hers and we left in a rush. I stayed silent until we got up to her room, where I had to stop once I closed the door.

"Why is the puzzle out? I thought it was going to be a gift?" I said, stepping around the little square. It was painted with a pair of koi, one sporting near-red spots and the other having sloppy stripes of black.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I forgot to put it away." Marinette said, and she gingerly slid it onto a clip-board. Once she joined me on the lounge chair, I crossed my arms in mock anger.

"You better tell me what went on in this room last night." I said, and she turned as pink as the room.

"Nothing serious, Alya, we just slept here for a while. He wasn't supposed to, because it was midnight when we woke up. Papa told his dad that Adrien was helping me on a design and modeling, and apparently the excuse worked." she fidgeted in her seat, and I pointed to the puzzle.

"And you gave him the puzzle because… ?"

"I was going to be the one takiing the nap, but I only meant for it to be a little while. I didn't expect him to fall asleep too."

"You gave him a puzzle to occupy himself like a kid. Of course he'd fall asleep!" I facepalmed.

This girl really needed to learn how to exist in the same world as other people.

"He finished it!"

"What was he meant to do after?"

"I thought that he'd leave or wake me up or something. But apparently, Adrien was just as tired." she said, and paused. Apparently she thought of something amusing.

"Your crush was in your room and you didn't do anything except give him a puzzle. I'm not actually that surprised."

"Yeah, guess so." she looked off, and I rolled my eyes.

"You must be the dumbest person alive."

"Yeah. Guess so."

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