Adrien and Marinette sat in her room eating the food that her parents were kind enough to bring up for them.
"Thanks for inviting me over, Marinette."
"No problem. Thanks for coming."
"I'm glad I could! Your parents make wonderful food. I'm glad they let us eat up here."
He took another bite before asking, "What did you want to talk about? You seemed a little tense this morning."
"Right. Well, you see…" Marinette paused and took a breath, trying to calm herself and push down any doubts.
He put his hand on her shoulder and gave a slight squeeze before saying, "Hey, you know can trust me. Is something wrong?"
With that small reassurance, Marinette finally looked at him and said, "Adrien, I know I said I wouldn't try to expose Lila, but I can't just sit and do nothing." She quickly averted her gaze before continuing.
"I just need you to know that your friendship is everything to me, and even if I don't have it anymore I hope you don't think I'm a bad person."
"Marinette, I could never see you as a bad person, and I can't imagine not being your friend. You're our everyday Ladybug. But there's gotta be a better way than just outright exposing her. You know she's gonna make you look like the bad guy. Besides, what if she gets akumatized again?"
"She's already declared war, Adrien. She's already got a head start on making sure I lose all my friends and wind up all alone. It almost got me akumatized, and it's a miracle that I found my resolve at the last second. At this point, what else can I do?"
"Wait a minute. Declared war? Are you serious?"
Marinette realized she may have revealed more than she intended to. For a moment, she looked hesitant to say anything else.
"Marinette, you know I'm on your side. That's why I don't want there to be any secrets between us right now."
She sat silent for a few more seconds, before she said, "Right before she became Chameleon, she followed me to the bathroom and said if I wasn't gonna be her friend then I wouldn't have any. But I was confident about finding a solution and about my friendships. I promised myself that no matter how difficult and frustrating it would be, I'd make sure everything turned out okay."
She took another breath before looking at him again. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
"Which is why I have to do this. At least she won't be able to hurt anyone with her lies anymore, even if I wind up alone," said Marinette. Even though she was close to breaking down, her strength and determination could be felt.
To her shock, she suddenly found herself in Adrien's embrace before he spoke quietly into her ear. "Marinette, with me by your side, you won't be akumatized, and you'll never be alone. But that's why we need to be smart and think of a better plan. It will be more effective and there will be less collateral damage."
Getting over her shock, Marinette finally hugged him back, resisting the urge to bury her face in his shoulder. They stayed that way for a few more seconds before slowly pulling away.
"And after all our planning and effort when there's still 'collateral damage'?" she asked.
"Well… Ladybug and Cat Noir are never too far away. They always save the day, and they never fail because they're a team!" said Adrien. His face flushed slightly as he continued. "So, trust me, please? I mean, even Ladybug needs backup."
Marinette saw a soft smile on his face, and gave one of her own, before she said, "And Ladybug would love to have you by her side, Adrien."