A/N: Hello! I am so sorry for the previously terrible formatting! I haven't been on in some years and I am still getting used to the new-to-me document uploader. When I uploaded all of these chapters last night I was in a bit of a hurry because I was trying to beat my dwindling computer battery and wasn't checking to make sure everything looked okay. Hopefully, everything looks better now, and I'll be going through all the subsequent chapters to reformat everything like how they're supposed to look! Thank you to Victoria Night-Wood and Flare Dart for bringing this blunder to my attention!

She didn't want to be at school today.

Not because she had any particular reason, mind you, but because she didn't really feel like she could handle it all. Tikki had left last night after she had thought Marinette had gone to sleep, and for a moment, Marinette had been terrified that she wasn't coming back. But she had in the early hours of dawn and curled up against Marinette's cheek as if she'd always been there. Marinette didn't ask where she'd gone, and Tikki didn't volunteer the information.

It was the first real secret between them.

It had been an effort to get out of bed, and although she put on a brave face for her parents, she could tell that they knew something was wrong. Alya too, when she met up with Marinette at the front steps of the Lycee.

"Girl, what's wrong? You look like you didn't sleep at all last night." Alya looked her over worriedly and glanced around, then spoke more softly, "is it about Adrien?"

Marinette felt something catch in her throat and it must have shown on her face because Alya swore and pulled her into a fierce hug that nearly made Marinette unravel. She wished that she could talk to her about it, and for the briefest moment risked the idea of just telling Alya that she was Ladybug. It wasn't as though she didn't already know that Alya was Rena Rouge, and at the very least she'd have somebody who knew everything, then.

The only thing that kept her from saying it then was Nino approaching them, concern etched onto his face.

"Yo, Marinette, what's wrong?" He asked, and she shook her head, mustering a smile.

"I'm… I'm fine, really! I just didn't sleep well last night, and had some really awful dreams." She swiped the heel of her palm against her eyes quickly and fought the tremor out of her voice. Alya didn't look convinced but didn't seem to want to push it for once, and for that Marinette was grateful.

It was still strange, going to Lycee. Most of their College class had dissipated into the new school, to the point that it was only Nino, Alya, herself and… Marinette shied away from even thinking his name. They still saw their other friends, but because of schedules, it was far less frequently than it'd been before.

So, here she was, sitting in the familiar spot next to Alya in a still unfamiliar school, trying her best to focus on the lecture and not on the ache in her chest that threatened to swallow her whole. She could feel Tikki in her purse trying to reach out to her and console her, but there was only so much the kwami could do through so many layers of thick fabric.

Then he walked in.

Adrien looked, for once, just about as bad as Marinette felt, and she wondered for a sickening moment if there were any negative side-effects to her time-hopping with Bunnyx that nobody had bothered to tell her. He seemed unusually dishevelled and tired, and when he slid into his spot beside Nino, he didn't answer his friend's concerned inquiry. Instead, he turned right around and looked at Marinette, and oh, how that boy could still make her heart leap into her mouth without even trying.

No, Marinette, she told herself sternly, you are going to give him up, for his sake.

"Marinette," Adrien said, and Marinette had to force herself not to preen over the way his voice caressed the syllables of her name. It'd been four years since he'd first joined her class in College, and while she had calmed considerably in her worship of him, he still could send her swooning when she was unprepared for his attention.

"Good morning, Adrien," She replied, almost glad for the near-automatic response. They'd grown closer as friends, and speaking had become easier, much to Alya's relief.

"Can I speak with you, after class?" He asked her, his voice barely audible. Beside her, Marinette heard Alya gasp, and as if through a tunnel she could hear Nino's faint 'bro,' but all that she could manage was to focus on Adrien. "It's important," he added quickly, not letting his eyes stray from hers even for a moment.

Marinette wrestled with herself, and her fingers clenched around one another on her lap, thankfully out of sight from everyone. Oh, Chaton… Why do you have to make this so hard? Adrien looked at her with something like understanding in his verdant eyes, and it made Marinette pause for a moment.

"I don't-"

"Please, Pr… Marinette," Adrien took a deep breath as if to regain himself and offered her a small, sad smile that very nearly broke her heart right there all over again. "I… I promise it won't be long if you don't want it to be." She swallowed and nodded, and he turned back around, leg bouncing in a curiously nervous gesture that she'd never seen on neither him nor Chat Noir before.

The rest of the lecture dragged, and Marinette found herself focusing on the tense lines of Adrien's shoulders rather than anything that the teacher was saying. Finally, the school bell signalled the end of class, but neither Marinette nor Adrien made the move to get up along with their fellow classmates.

Alya and Nino shot the two of them both furtive, worried looks but decided it was best to simply let them talk whatever it was out.

"I'll be around when you need me," Alya told Marinette before she left, and not for the first time, Marinette thanked her lucky stars that she was friends with her.

Soon, the classroom was empty but for the two of them. Marinette watched Adrien stand wordlessly and cross the room to shut the door, locking it from the inside so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Adrien, what..?"

The boy held up a hand and moved to the other door, closing and locking it in turn, before returning to her. Instead of sitting back in his assigned seat, he sat beside her, looking at the whorling patterns on the desk.

"What really happened the other day?" He asked, directing his question to the desk. Marinette felt her heart leap into her throat and her stomach turn to ice.

"What d-do you mean?" She asked, not needing to pretend at the waver in her voice. Within her purse, Tikki buzzed urgently, trying to get out, but why-

"I know it's you, Princess," Adrien said, with a certainty that was all too familiar as he looked at her with a pained expression. "I know you're Ladybug."