Still kind of a work in progress, but I wanted to throw the first chapter up anyway, sorry if it's short! Next chapters will be longer haha

There was a quiet, yet insistant rapping on Marinette's front door that snapped her from her nap.

Sitting up slowly, she rubbed at her face. 'What time is it?' She asked herself.

'It's just past seven,' Tikki replied sleepily. 'Watching you sleep made me sleepy. Are you expecting anyone?'

'No?' Marinette replied. Since she had moved out into her own tiny apartment a few months ago, she rarely had unexpected guests, beyond Alya occasionally. She cleared her throat to try and shift the sleep. 'Wait, did you say seven? I only closed my eyes! That was four hours ago!' She pushed herself to her feet and headed towards the door.

'You did say you were tired,' Tikki replied, diving for her breast pocket.

'Who is it?' Marinette called through the door, leaning towards the peephole.

'Um, It's Adrien,' came the reply. 'Can I come in for a second?'

She froze momentarily, before mentally pulling herself together. She was twenty, damn it!

'Sure!' She called back, pulling back the deadbolt and fighting with the locks for a brief moment, before pulling back the door.

The figure before her looked, for want of a better phrase, beat down. Adrien's normally carefully styled hair was uncharacteristically messy, and he looked pale. He looked like he'd been running.

'Are you alright?' Were the words that immediately tumbled from her lips, as she already was pulling him inside. 'What happened?'

After a moment of manhandling, he straightened slightly, and tried to straighten his shirt. 'It's, nothing, I just, could you hide me for the weekend?' He looked up at her, a mix of grim defeat on his face. 'It's been a rough, well,' he paused, 'time, but Nino's got that huge thing on and he said I should come here, instead.' His voice got smaller and smaller as he spoke, finishing by looking down at his feet.

It struck her as like a kitten that thought it was in trouble.

It wasn't a difficult decision, if she had to admit. 'Of course! Here, sit down.' She gestured over to the couch, before internally screeching.

She hurried over and pulled the hastily thrown pile of clothes off of the end, and bodily threw them into her bedroom behind before shutting the door with a snap. 'Wow, sorry, I've really only had Alya over here lately and, it's been, busy?' She laughed awkwardly. 'Let me put the kettle on for you.'

He sat down amongst the cushions like a man much older than he was. 'Are you sure? Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.' He sat as far back as he could, and mussed his hair. 'God, I love this couch.'

From the kitchenette Marinette smiled. 'You'll love it more a bit later, it's a pull out. It was a housewarming gift from my parents. Do you want coffee? Tea?'

'Anything, thank you so much.' He reiterated. 'I can reimburse you if you want,'

'Don't you dare!' She replied. 'If you need me, I'm here.' She turned back to the mugs, before flushing a deepest red. She was such a hot mess, damn it.

It was only a few short minutes before she returned to where he was, a steaming mug in each hand. 'Here.' She said simply, offering him one.

He had closed his eyes, but now peeked at her, smiling. His eyes went to the mug, before smiling a little wider. 'I never took you for a Ladybug and Chat Noir die hard.' He took the red and black spotted mug from her hands, before taking in the scent. 'Hot chocolate?'

'Only the best.' She smiled back, proffing her own Chat themed mug at him. 'And the cups were a gift from Alya, she's the die hard.'

He blew on it gently, before taking a tiny sip. 'It is the best,' he said gratefully. He looked up at her again. 'I'm really sorry to just drop in on you like this, I really should have called ahead, but I was already on the metro, and,' he took a steadying breath. 'Are you seriously sure about me being here being ok?'

She settled herself carefully on the couch next to him. 'It's fine, stay as long as you need.' She took a sip of her own mug, then looked at him. 'Do you want to talk about it?'

'Maybe-,' he sighed, unable to keep eye contact. 'Maybe later. My father's being a jerk. Nino's covering for me, he'll swear black and blue that I'm there so you're not caught up.'

She shook her head. She knew the legends of his father, mostly told by Nino through graphic pantomime. 'You don't have to worry about that. Have you eaten?'

He made to reply, but his stomach made itself known instead. He half-heartedly glared down at it. 'We're fine.'

She pulled a face. 'I haven't yet either.' I just woke up, like an idiot. 'I'll get something delivered in a little bit. Do you like chinese food? There's this place that's nearby that's pretty good, I found it when I first got here, their garlic chicken is delicious,' oh god I'm rambling, 'what do you think?'

He smiled at her tiredly. 'That sounds good.'

She smiled back, feeling the blush creeping up her cheeks, but she beat it back down.

Her phone buzzed, and she noticed him stiffen.

She picked it up off the coffee table, careful not to spill her drink. 'It's from Alya.' She watched him relax, wrapping his hands around the warm mug. 'She's checking in to make sure you got here safe.' She replied quickly, watching her return message send through.

Alya's quick, teasing response had her blushing to her roots, and she nearly threw the phone facedown onto her coffee table.

'Everything alright?' He questioned, looking up from his mug at the movement.

'Y-yes!' She very nearly squeaked, before clearing her throat. 'Yes, she's just being mean.' She shrugged awkwardly. 'You know how she is.'

He gave a small grin in return. 'That I do. If nothing else, Nino seems to be physically unable to not brag about her.'

She smiled in return, thankful for the easy topic of conversation for her heart.

When the Chinese food got there, she offered to put a movie on, which he gladly accepted.

During it, Marinette definitely noticed he was struggling to keep his eyes open, and when the credits rolled he was fast asleep.

She cleared away the leftovers, and threw a blanket over him, unwilling to jostle him further.

Clearly, he was far more exhausted than what he let on.