start notes—
A road trip among almost-lovers always makes for a good adventure.
(alternatively, Marinette will always be there for Adrien— even if it's not in the way either of them want it to be.)
my tellonym: milkisande
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road trip
but i can't help but drive away from all the mess you made,
you sent this hurricane now it won't go away.
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"ISN'T owning a Bug a little too on the nose for you?"
Marinette only huffs at the statement, before opening the passenger seat to her car— a Volkswagen Beetle, vibrantly painted red with minor black accents. It really says Ladybug in every sense of the word, but thankfully, most only assume that she's a major fan or that it's purely coincidental. ("Because Marinette can't be that superheroine, of course. She's too _.")
Honestly, she doesn't know whether to feel grateful or insulted by the notion.
(It's fun, though: to see how far she can go without them figuring out her identity.)
Across her, Adrien smiles softly.
He's making jokes now, to Marinette's absolute relief. But it's not as genuine; she can still see the exhaustion under his eyes, the low tilt of his mouth, and the downcast expression his face wears, no matter how desperately he tries to hide it.
Adrien opens the back of the car, throwing in a bag of random necessities— clothes, toiletries, snacks, and whatever else one would haphazardly pack for a last-minute trip for god-knows-how-long.
Marinette already has a pre-packed bag for things in case of emergencies (Hawkmoth may have stopped being active, but it always helps to be prepared), so it doesn't really take much time for her to be ready to leave. She figures they'll be gone for the weekend, maybe a few more days, but guesses that it won't be for long.
(To be sure, though, Marinette leaves her parents a long-winded message that she's going out to Alya's. They've become all but too accustomed to her sudden and unexplainable disappearances, having long since accepted that they aren't privy to their daughter's whole affairs.
They assume she's got a secret boyfriend. She can't explain how intensely she wishes that it were true.)
Whatever the case, however, Marinette only wants to see her partner happy.
As friends, of course.
They both get in the car, with Marinette taking the driver's seat. She starts the engine, then turns to face him.
"So, where to?"
He shrugs. "I don't really mind where we go," Adrien starts, before sighing softly to himself. "As long as it's anywhere but here."
Marinette only nods, then starts forward.
She doesn't know where she's going, but decides that maybe (for the first time in life), it'd be better to go forward without a plan in mind.
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The call arrived at five in the morning, through Ladybug's phone.
Her first instinct was that it was an akuma attack.
But when she picked up the phone, worried for the citizens of Paris, she steadily realized she should only be worried about one of them.
"Do you remember when we joked about running away together?"
He sounded like he'd been crying.
Marinette nodded, though fully aware that he couldn't see her through the other line.
Adrien didn't mind; he simply continued speaking.
"Maybe I wasn't kidding?"
The line was silent for a moment, before her calm and determined voice flowed through the phone.
"Let's go, then."
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Adrien breaks the silence an hour into the road trip.
"I'm sorry I had you do this for me," he starts, evidently fumbling for the next words to say. "I didn't know who else to call."
"Don't be sorry. You know I'll always be here for you."
He stares at her, maybe for a moment too long, then smiles, almost forlorn.
"I know."
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"My feelings for you haven't changed," Chat Noir began, as they watched the Paris skyline on the balcony. "Ladybug or Marinette… I still love you."
She swallowed down the sudden dryness in her mouth.
"Chat… Adrien… you know I—"
"I know," he smiled at her, then looked back up to the sky. "It's a beautiful view tonight."
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They buy sandwiches at a nearby convenience store and decide to keep driving, as the moon peeks out from the sky.
"Beautiful," Adrien says, as he drives down the winding road.
They've decided to switch seats, allowing Marinette to take a much-needed rest in the passenger seat.
She looks up at him drowsily, rubbing at her eyes.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
He smiles softly, then gestures at the vast amount of greenery before them.
"The trees," he says. "I thought they were beautiful."
She looks at him longingly, then nods.
"They are."
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Marinette still has nightmares about him.
Fighting him, while the rest of Paris— the rest of the world— sinks beneath their feet.
She remembers seeing her own body crumble at a single touch.
The look of insanity and love in his eyes… how the only thing she's ever wanted is transformed into her deepest fears in a single moment.
Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady.
She can't let it happen again.
Not to Paris, not to herself, not to him.
It's a risk.
And it's not one she's willing to take.
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They decide to stop at a motel as midnight draws closer.
She insists he sleep on the bed, but he insists that it would be too unprofessional for them to share the bed with each other.
Adrien's not wrong.
It's a few minutes into them turning off the lights when someone speaks up, their voice echoing in the night.
"Are you still having nightmares?"
"The same ones."
"You know it's just a nightmare, right? It never happened."
"But it felt so real."
"Adrien, you would never do that to me."
"It wasn't on purpose… I just… I see flashes. White claws, your body turning to ash, a flood that ends the world… I was so scared… to lose you, to be the reason you're gone… do you promise it's just my imagination?"
There's a brief pause, and her voice almost sounds unsteady.
"Of course, kitty. I know you'll never hurt me."
"I love you."
"..."
"Good night."
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They go home the next day.
(It's not really a road trip, if anything.)
She drops him off at his apartment.
"Call me if you have nightmares again," Marinette tells him. "I'll never let you be alone."
"I know," he smiles back. "You'll never leave this kitty all alone… not without his lady."
She freezes, then takes a deep breath.
"I'll see you, Chat."
The moment he disappears into the building, she slams the door to her car shut and covers her mouth; a feeble attempt in stopping the torrent of sobs and gasps that wrack her body.
I love you.
I love you so, so, much.
I'm sorry.
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end notes—
not the way i basically ignored the prompt ,, getting Extremely Busy now so i'm sorry if quality is getting worse ): the time ,,,, she's Gone ,,,,,,,
this fic was also highly inspired by oh wonder's 'drive'. but yea:
thank you for reading! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～