CHAPTER 11: Healing

"Ahh!" Plagg yawned, stretching as he woke up from his catnap. He lazily floated out of his trash bin, curious to know what time it was and what Adrien was doing. He spied his chosen asleep in his bed, his back turned towards the kwami.

Plagg saw it was only a few hours after they had gotten home that day and zoomed over to the boy, thinking about waking him up to whine for cheese, since the mini fridge was empty. But when Plagg saw Adrien's face, he stilled.

"Oh no…" A deep frown grew on the kwami's face as he took in the sleeping teen's appearance. Fresh tear tracts lined his face, and his eyes were still red as if he had only rubbed them a minute ago. His breathing was slightly uneven, and as Plagg scanned his chosen, he saw that the teenager was still wearing the clothes he went to school in, a blanket twisted around his lower half. It was obvious that Adrien had cried himself to sleep, the mental stress and recent lack of rest hitting him hard.

Instantly, Plagg felt guilty. Yes, he had been annoyed at his lovesick chosen and all the soulmate stuff going on over the last few days, but he should have paid closer attention to Adrien's mood! The kwami knew that humans often had a fixation on finding their soulmates; Adrien wasn't any different, especially as a hormonal teenager. But Plagg didn't realize just how much this soulmate business with Marinette had affected his chosen. He was supposed to take care of his kittens!

The teen stirred, whimpering in his fitful sleep, and Plagg immediately cuddled against his chest. Purring with all his might, the kwami sought to do the opposite of his nature: heal his chosen's broken heart. First his mom, and now this…

Plagg hadn't been there when Adrien's mother had disappeared but was well aware the effect it had on Adrien's life. Part of the reason Adrien had been chosen as the wielder of the cat miraculous, other than having a black cat for a soul animal and the potential to be a hero, was that Adrien had already experienced some destruction in his life- namely, the recent void left by his mother. Some of the damage caused from her disappearance had been healed with love from other places, especially since Adrien now had his friends and Ladybug in his life. But now his chosen's heart was hurting even more, and Plagg hated that it was partly his fault.

The teen stirred again at his kwami's purring, eyes opening at the foreign sensation. "Plagg?" his murmured, his voice sleepy and confused.

Not knowing how to respond, Plagg simply kept purring into his chosen's chest as Adrien wrapped a lethargic hand around the kwami's small body. A few seconds passed as the teen recalled his most recent memories, and Plagg only purred louder when the boy tensed up to hold in a sob. However, the dam inside Adrien broke once again within seconds. But this time he had a shoulder to lean on- er, a kwami to hug- and with the comfort Plagg offered he was able to calm down after a few minutes.

"Plagg?" Adrien's voice was small.

"Yeah, Adrien?" the god responded hesitantly, just as quiet.

"Thanks. Uh, for being here."

"Don't mention it." Plagg gently floated out from Adrien's grasp to view his chosen's face. The kwami patted the teen's cheek, promising without words that everything would be okay. Adrien nodded at the hovering cat and started wiping away his tears.

Plagg sat down on the pillow next to Adrien, contemplating his chosen's plight. It was very strange that Adrien didn't transform into his soul animal after touching Marinette as both Adrien and Chat Noir. The only explanation that made sense to Plagg was that she wasn't his soulmate, and that whatever Adrien experienced when touching the girl wasn't soulmate magic. Maybe he just imagined it? Plagg wondered, desperately hoping his chosen wasn't that starved for affection.

The cat god rubbed his forehead with his paw, tired from all this thinking, and decided to just stick with his judgment of the situation. Adrien could move on, maybe fall in love with someone else- even if that idea made Plagg cringe for his own sake. The kwami knew that humans could be happy with someone who wasn't their soulmate; he had lived with many past holders who had never found theirs. Why should Adrien be any different?

"Plagg," Adrien inquired, his voice cracking a bit as he finished rubbing his eyes dry. "Can we go out for a bit?"

"Of course, kid," Plagg answered seriously, before turning a bit snarky. "Just don't forget to stock the fridge when we get back."

"Sure," Adrien replied, a small smile lighting on his face when Plagg agreed. He sat up to undo the blankets tangled around his legs, stretching when he stood up. He went to the bathroom to quickly wash his face and emerged feeling refreshed, even though he was still sad.

"Plagg, claws out." The kwami entered the ring without protest, and Adrien relished in the magic as it washed over him. It promised freedom, not just from this house his father liked to keep him in, but also from his tumultuous emotions.

Like a cat, he slinked off into the night.

"Y'know, there's always Ladybug, kid."

The comment was said casually, like an afterthought, causing Adrien to look questionably at a hovering Plagg with an eyebrow raised. "Who are you, and what have you done with the real kwami of destruction?"

"Hey, I'm just saying," Plagg argued, holding his little paws up in the air in surrender. "If you love Ladybug at least half as much as I love cheese, then I say go for it! And that's all I'm going to say on the subject."

The teasing comment about him loving Ladybug felt a little like a punch in the gut with everything that had happened, but Adrien masked it with his own teasing tone. "Aww Plagg, I didn't know you were a secret romantic at heart!"

The kwami scoffed. "I'll have you know that I would absolutely love it if you could keep your romantic thoughts to yourself, lover-boy. It's gross! Ack!" Plagg pretended to gag, amusing Adrien. He knew that Plagg really cared, but just didn't like to show it often.

Adrien was currently in his bathroom, getting ready for the day. It had been a little over two weeks since his emotional breakdown, and the teen thought he was doing pretty well, all things considered.

The first few days after his crying fit, people could tell that something was wrong. The pictures from one of his photoshoots had to be thrown out, due to the fact that a touch of melancholy had permeated every single smile he had given the camera that day. Adrien hated that he had disappointed his father but reasoned that he could only mask his internal feelings so much. It was even worse that neither Nathalie nor his father had asked about his emotional wellbeing, only mentioning indifferently that he needed to do better.

After the weekend passed, Adrien had to go back to school. He had been dreading seeing Marinette again, simply because he wasn't sure how to even act around her anymore. Logically, he knew that nothing about their friendship had really changed, just his perspective. For all he knew, she hadn't even experienced the spark, and there was no reason to shake their already rocky friendship by telling her about it.

He avoided her for about a week, even though he felt bad for doing so. Alya and Nino both noticed his depression and aversion to Marinette. When they called him out on the latter in particular, he told them he was avoiding everyone, which was actually partly true. After all, no one was able understand what he was going through. The only person that could even remotely relate was Ladybug because she likely knew about how the miraculous interfered with the soulmate magic. Since Adrien couldn't explain anything about the situation to his friends, the only thing he could offer them was lame excuses.

Weirdly enough, his support over the last two weeks came from the last place he had expected: Plagg. The kwami had been so snarky in their first few months together, always whining for cheese and questioning Adrien's decisions. But recently, the magical cat had been a silent source of comfort, only being sarcastic when he was trying to make Adrien smile. It made Adrien reconsider what he knew about Plagg; underneath all the cat quirks and demands for cheese was a being that actually truly cared about him. Adrien felt touched by the effort his kwami made to cheer him up and tone down his cynical nature.

Plagg had also immensely helped by letting Adrien continue his outings as Chat Noir, even when no akumas were about. Exerting himself on the rooftops of Paris gave Adrien time to sort through his thoughts, far away from any distractions and people he needed to put up a mask around. It had been before one of these outings that Plagg reminded him- through some sarcastic comment or another- that Marinette had been "just a friend" at one point in time. This had sparked a revelation in Adrien: she was just a friend. The only reason he had been so focused on her was because she had the potential to be his soulmate. But now that he knew better, he was no longer under the pressure to be anything more than just a friend to her. The realization had put his mind at ease, though he still felt a bit awkward when he saw her at school.

A few days had gone by since then, and Adrien felt more like himself. He fixed one more strand of hair before leaving the bathroom and going down the stairs for breakfast. Today he was determined to treat Marinette no differently than he had before all this soulmate stuff had come up.

But then Nino decided to drop a bombshell on him before class started.

"Dude, I think I have a crush on Marinette."

"What?" Adrien stared at his best friend in shock as his heart dropped out of his chest.

"I think I have a crush on Marinette! What do I do?!" Nino grasped his hands together in a pleading gesture, and Adrien could see that his friend really meant it. Marinette's just a friend, he reminded himself. It's totally fine if Nino has a crush on her.

"Dude, that's great!" Adrien cried, trying to be happy for his best friend. Nino smiled shakily back at him.

"Uh yeah," Nino agreed, but then turned pleading again. "But dude, what do I do?"

"C'mon Nino, it can't be that hard," Adrien encouraged, leaning an elbow on his desk. "Just go up and talk to her, maybe invite her on a date?"

Nino deflated a little. "I don't know if I can do that, dude. Do you remember what happened last time I asked a girl out?"

He was referencing the time about a month ago when he had tried to ask out a girl he barely knew. He invited her to the movies, stuttering a little, but she had turned him down, claiming to already have a boyfriend. Nino was too nice of a guy to intrude on that, so he sulked for a few days before getting over her. Adrien had supported Nino throughout the whole thing, being the best friend he was.

"Yes, I remember," Adrien answered. "But that doesn't mean the same thing will happen with Marinette."

"I know, but-" Nino cut himself off when he saw the object of his affections walk through the classroom door with her best friend. The girls waved at them as they walked past, Marinette a little more flustered when her eyes landed on Adrien.

As the girls moved to sit in their seats behind the boys, Adrien eyed Nino knowingly with a small smirk on his face. Nino's blush intensified as he glared back at Adrien and hastily whispered, "We'll talk about this later!"

It was then that the teacher walked into the classroom and brought their attention to the front. Hours passed as they went from subject to subject, and Adrien almost forgot about his conversation with his friend that morning. When the bell for lunch rang, he saw Nino glance back at Marinette longingly, and frowned as an inkling of jealousy coursed through him.

"Hey Nino, I need to run to the restroom real quick before we go to lunch, okay?"

Nino gave him a sheepish thumbs-up, knowing Adrien had caught him looking at Marinette. "Yeah dude, I'll wait for you."

Adrien nodded, and took off for the bathroom. He quickly did his business and moved towards the sink to wash his hands. Seeing as no one else was in the bathroom, Plagg decided to come out of hiding.

"Ooooh, Nino having crush on Marinette. I wonder why that sounds familiar?"

Adrien scowled at his kwami, not appreciating his taunting. "Plagg, she's just a friend. Now hide before someone sees you." He shut off the water and glared at the cat god. Plagg just gave him a serious look, reading his chosen's mood like a book. "I'm fine," Adrien assured, and Plagg relented with an eye-roll and a sigh before hiding back in the teen's shirt.

As Adrien walked out of the bathroom, he spotted Nino near the front of the school. He watched as his friend peeked around a bunch of boards leaning against the wall to stare at the girls- specifically Marinette- who were sitting across the courtyard. I can do this, he thought, knowing that he would be roped into being Nino's wingman on this one. She's just a friend. Nino deserves to be happy, and Marinette's an amazing person. I can do this.

"FYI, Marinette's never going to fall in love with a statue," he teased his friend as he walked up. Nino swiftly took him by the shoulders to hide behind the boards again.

"Shhh! You know I'm no good with the ladies, especially this one all of a sudden." Nino sulked a little, his hands dropping to the sides. "I mean, dude, do I go up to her and crack a joke? Shoot her a compliment? Invite her to the zoo? Play it serious?" He brought his hands up to his head, panicking a little.

Adrien could only shake his head in slight amusement, even as his heart ached a little. "Nino, you're way over-thinking this. Invite her to the zoo? Are you serious?"

Nino sighed. "Well, they have this really cool new exhibit there," he explained.

"Listen," Adrien said, slinging his arm around his friend to play up his bravado, "just be yourself, man!"

"Easy for you to say, Mister front-of-the-cover Teen Model Weekly," Nino said, shrugging off Adrien with a bit of anger. "I'm not that cool!"

"You're cool too, dude!" Adrien counterclaimed, seeking to immediately encourage his friend. "Trust me, or you wouldn't be my best bud! Invite her to the zoo; she'll say yes!" Adrien put a fisted hand over his heart with a sincerity that surprised himself. "I promise."

Nino nodded in determination and fixed his hat. Adrien watched as his best friend stalked over to the girls, only to run back in panic when he got close to them.

"Ahhh, what if I act like a moronosaurus?" Nino crouched down towards the ground, dismayed by his lack of courage. "Or she disses me, or thinks I'm lame, or-"

"It's okay," Adrien reassured, and Nino dejectedly stood back up. "I got your back." He offered a fist-bump to his best friend, and Nino bumped it back with a growing smile on his face.

"Thanks, dude."

"Come on! Let's wait for them outside!" Adrien dragged Nino out the front doors and down the steps before he could let his hidden emotions decide differently for him. They didn't stop until they were hidden near the side of the stairs.

"Now, we'll just wait until we hear them come out and then go talk to them," Adrien explained, the simple plan forming in his mind. Nino merely nodded, nervous at their pending interaction with the girls.

They hadn't waited even two minutes before they heard Alya's loud voice and Marinette's responding giggle to her friend. Adrien smirked at Nino and motioned with a thumb for them to meet the girls.

"All of the above," was all that Adrien heard from Marinette before she plowed into Nino. The magazine she was holding dropped onto the ground.

Adrien popped out from behind Nino, noticing that his best friend was stiff as a board. "Oh! So sorry," he apologized, bring a hand to his mouth in fake shock. "Right, Nino?" He bumped his friend's shoulder, signaling him to act.

"S-Sorry!" Nino stuttered, eyes wide.

Marinette squeaked, her eyes going down to the magazine she dropped. Adrien noticed her gaze- Wait, is that me on the cover?- and leaned down to pick it up. Unfortunately, Marinette had the same idea; they banged heads and touched hands briefly as they both reached for the magazine. Adrien felt the familiar soulmate warmth pass through him at touching her again and pushed down the sudden wave of despair that threatened to overtake him. Hold it together! She's not your soulmate! You're helping Nino, remember?

"Sorry about that!" he exclaimed, a fake cheery smile on his face. "How could we make it up to you?" Adrien pretended to think. "Any ideas, Nino?"

Nino merely whimpered, and Adrien forced himself to continue. "How 'bout we all check out the, uh, zoo today! Word is they've got a new…" He snapped his fingers in front of the other boy's face, trying to get Nino to participate in the conversation.

"Uh! They've got a, they've got a new panther!" Nino blurted, his voice sounding strained. He grinned awkwardly.

"Awesome idea!" Alya proclaimed. "Right, Marinette? You love animals!"

"Um, yeah! I, uh, I'm really into zoonimals. I mean, ah- anizools! I mean- zoonimoos! I- uhhh-" Marinette groaned in embarrassment at herself.

"Cool! Say, after school? 4 o'clock?" Adrien held up 4 fingers to indicate the time, trying to focus the logistics they were discussing instead of Marinette's cute blush. "Nino? Sound good?" Nino nodded rapidly, his teeth gritted into a smile. "Cool! 4 o'clock then." Adrien confirmed.

"Four! 4 o'clock!" Marinette approved, nodding. Adrien then dragged Nino away, heading off toward the restaurant that they were planning to visit for the lunch period. As they walked, Nino hung his head, annoyed at himself. When they got to the restaurant, they ordered and took their food outside, scarfing it down in order to satisfy their teenage metabolisms.

"How did you do that, dude?" Nino asked incredulously as they were finishing their food.

"Like I said, just be yourself," Adrien said matter-of-factly, though cringing on the inside as he briefly acknowledged to himself just how fake he actually acted. He leaned back on the bench to drink his remaining soda.

"Right, sure. If I could be yourself," Nino concluded, pointing at the model. "Myself don't work that way."

"You're being ridiculous," Adrien informed his friend, as he took the last sip of his drink and threw the can towards the trash. "Of course you can! And when you're alone with Marinette at the zoo later on-"

"Woah! What do you mean alone with Marinette? Oh no, dude! You're coming with me! You can't leave me alone by myself, nuh-uh." Nino waved a chiding finger at his friend.

Adrien sighed, bringing up a hand to cradle his forehead. The model had hoped to get out of being Nino's wingman as soon as possible. It wasn't that he didn't want to help Nino, but his conflicting emotions about Marinette were making this hard. She's just a friend, he reminded himself, for the umpteenth time that day. "No prob, Nino. What are friends for?" He smiled at his best friend, and they bumped fists again.

As they walked back to the school for afternoon classes, a plan started to form in his mind to help Nino talk "alone" with Marinette. I can do this, he thought, trying to be confident in his ability to aid Nino. She's just a friend.

The thought echoed through his mind for the rest of the day.

She's just a friend.

A/N: Adrien's just all over place, isn't he? Well I guess that's what happens when you're a teenager!

On another note, I need to let you guys know that after this chapter I am planning on taking a hopefully brief hiatus. I know, I know, *sigh* but I've been having huge writer's block for Chapter 14, and I'm not completely happy with Chapter 12, and I really need to build up a few more chapters before posting more. Sorry in advance.

But luckily, I left you guys with this chapter before the hiatus happens. And it's sort of a gift chapter- I meant to post this yesterday in celebration of my birthday, but didn't get around to it. This chapter is larger than normal too; it's almost 3.5k words, when normally my chapters are 1.5-2.5k. So I hope you enjoyed the length of the chapter. Maybe it will tide you over until I can get another one up?

*crickets chirp in the background*

Oh, who am I kidding? Bring on the complaints!

Starlin's Ghost

*Edited 11/25/19*