Marinette toweled herself off and put on a plush white robe that was hanging on a hook outside the shower. I could get used to this, she thought to herself. That was the most relaxing shower I've ever had in my life! Her face fell a bit as she remembered why she was there. Can't seem to shake this mood… it must be the rain. I should get that tea going and see if that cheers me up.
She walked over to her flip phone to see if Adrien responded, only to find zero waiting messages. Huh, nothing. He must still be asleep. I'll give him a bit before I text him again. She picked up her regular phone and jumped when she saw the message waiting for her.
[Adrien] I slept like a log, thanks for asking. How are you doing?
She swiped to see the rest of the conversation and was horrified to see that she had accidentally messaged Adrien from her regular phone instead of her flip phone. Crap-crap-crap! This is a disaster! Let's see… I saw him last at band practice, but we didn't say much. The wake? No, too sad of an occasion. The fashion show? Her mind flashed back to Adrien's silhouette behind the privacy screen, and she shook her head to clear it. Her thumbs started and re-started a message until she finally sent:
[Marinette] Doing pretty good. Wrapping up some big projects right now. What are you working on?
Adrien tapped his foot on the ground, listening to the rain beat upon the windows. It's picked up a bit. I've never been much of a fan of the rain, but listening to it hit the windows is soothing. I wonder what Ladybug is up to? Probably unpacking… his phone buzzed again and he smiled as he read the message from Marinette. She's not who I was expecting to hear from this morning, but it is nice to hear from her. If it weren't for Luka… and Ladybug… who knows what might happen?
[Adrien] Just hanging around. Modeling is done for a couple of weeks until we get the Fall lines finalized. I'm glad to have the break. Finishing up the band outfits?
[Marinette] Yeah, getting the final adjustments on them. I think Kitty Section is gonna rock it! You guys sound great!
[Adrien] how much free time do you have these days?
[Marinette] not much to be honest. family stuff keeps me busy most of the time.
She paused and tapped herself on the mouth. Should I tell him about family being out of town? No… that's too much of a connection to Ladybug since he's the only one who knows that her family's left town. And speaking of Ladybug… she grabbed her flip phone.
[Ladybug] good morning — you up yet?
[Adrien (to Marinette)] Shame. I still owe you something for being such a good friend.
"Marinette," Tikki floated over, "haven't you learned anything about texting two boys at the same time?"
"Relax, Tikki, I've got this! I'm only texting one boy right now, and I'm not going to text Chat until later on today."
"You accidentally texted Adrien from the wrong phone," Tikki pointed out smugly.
"Give me some credit, Tikki… at least I didn't sign it from Ladybug or anything. We're still safe."
"Uh-huh," Tikki said, then floated away. "I'm going to lay down again… just let me know when you're ready to transform." She looked out the window. "I hope the rain lets up sometime today, otherwise we're not going to get a lot done."
"I'll let you know," confirmed Marinette, as she composed a reply to Adrien's message.
[Adrien (to Ladybug)] I'm up! Thinking of getting some breakfast. What do you usually have? I can have it sent up.
"I said it before and I'll say it again, you're gonna get what you deserve, kid." Plagg hovered over his shoulder, reading Adrien's phone screen.
"Whatever, Plagg. She texted me first this time." He ignored his kwami and continued to fiddle with his phone.
[Marinette] That's sweet, but you owe me nothing. I'm your friend whether or not you do anything for me back.
[Ladybug] I usually just have a croissant and hot chocolate. Coffee makes me jittery. Maybe some fruit juice.
[Marinette] I've gotta run - busy day today. Text me if you need anything, k?
[Adrien (to Marinette)] Will do, thanks. Have a good day and stay dry
[Ladybug] Actually… I have a bit of a strange request. Do you have any chamomile handy?
"Ooooh, look… she wants you to give her flowers… good job, Romeo!" Plagg cackled. Adrien swatted at him without looking and typed his reply.
[Adrien (to Ladybug)] We probably do. Father has a garden and Chef takes all sorts of things from there. It wouldn't surprise me if there were flowers among that. What do you need them for?
[Ladybug] You decent? Easier to explain in person.
Adrien looked down at his black t-shirt and red shorts. Could be worse, I suppose.
[Adrien (to Ladybug)] Come on over! I'll open the bathroom window and leave a towel for you so you don't track water everywhere.
"You see, Tikki? I did just fine." She got dressed, hung up the robe, and said "Spots on!"
[Ladybug] omw
Ladybug closed the flip phone and put it in her yo-yo, along with her regular phone. She flipped open her yo-yo and took a picture of the tea recipe before climbing out the bathroom window. She closed it as much as she could without shutting it completely, and quickly swung to the opposite side of the mansion, where she found Adrien's bathroom window open as promised. She entered the bathroom and closed the window behind her. She picked up a towel and quickly dried off. Lavender, the towel smells like lavender, her brain absently registered before she hung the towel up and went into Adrien's room.
"Hey," he called out. "Chef's going to send up breakfast for us. If she has chamomile, it'll be on the tray."
"You're a lifesaver, Adrien. Thanks." She sat down on the couch and frowned at the windows.
Adrien studied her face. "You don't like rain much either, huh?" He stood behind her and watched out the window.
"Rain is useful. It makes flowers grow. The air smells cleaner after a rainstorm. But Ladybug does not like going out in the rain. It made my kwami sick once, and I've been extra-cautious ever since."
"Yeah, I don't like being out in the rain much, either. But listening to it is relaxing."
Silence fell between them as the raindrops continued to tap and splatter on the large windows. There was a tiny knock at the door, and Adrien answered it while Ladybug laid down on the couch to stay out of sight. There was a muffled conversation, before Ladybug heard the door close.
"Coast is clear, Ladybug. Chef brought all sorts of stuff… I explained that I had some summer homework to do and I'd be snacking most of the morning. Let's see… pastries, hot milk, chocolate powder, cheese, some mugs, some teabags, a pot of hot water… and a bowl of dried flowers." He set the tray down on the table in front of the couch.
Ladybug sat up and regarded the tray with awe. "Wow, this is amazing! Thanks. I'm… not used to having stuff like this. Sorry if I gush about it too much."
"No, you're fine, honest. To be frank, sometimes I think it's a bit too much. I've never known anything different, though. So… tell me," he said, "what did you need the chamo… uh, flowers for?"
"The Guardian of the Miraculous used to make a special blend of tea to help calm me down when I was feeling stressed. This morning, even though I slept amazing… let's just say it's one of those days. I think these flowers might have been his secret ingredient. I'll make enough for you to have some too, if you want?"
"Stressed, huh? Do you want to talk about it? And yes, I would absolutely love some tea. Thank you. What else do you need?"
Ladybug consulted her yo-yo for ingredients. "Let's see… just some green tea… hot water… and… huh. The flowers aren't the secret ingredient after all. It's a 'tear of joy'. Oh, boy," she said, blushing a bit.
"A tear of joy? Is that code for something? How do you get that?"
"No, it's literally a tear of joy. The last time I needed one, I had to tell corny jokes until Master Fu started crying from laughter. How's your sense of humor?"
"Do puns count?"
"So... bad, then." She giggled as Adrien pouted. "I'm kidding! Let's take turns telling jokes. First one to make the other person cry wins."
"I'll start, then…" Adrien paused and tapped his finger on his chin. "Why did the picture go to jail? It was framed!"
Ladybug rolled her eyes. What have I gotten myself into? If I had known Adrien was this much of a dork when I was crushing on him… "Not bad! My turn: What did the stamp say to the envelope? Stick with me, we'll go places!"
Adrien chuckled. "Why did the bicycle fall over? Because it was two tired!"
A fit of giggles escaped Ladybug. "Why do dragons sleep during the day? So they can fight knights!"
"I thought you didn't like puns, Ladybug," Adrien winked at her.
"I just figured you'd appreciate them, that's all," she countered. "Your turn!"
"What did Cinderella say when her photos didn't show up?" He struck a ridiculous pose and sang, "Some-day, my prints will come!"
That was enough for Ladybug. Seeing Adrien Agreste, fashion model and son of the stoic Gabriel Agreste, posing and singing Disney Princess songs sent her over the edge. Shocked, she doubled over in a fit of laughter. The feeling of his finger on her face below the mask brought her quickly back to reality with a gasp. She froze underneath his touch.
"I've got it," he whispered. "What should I do with it?"
"Huh?" Ladybug asked.
"The tear of joy… what should I do with it?"
"Oh, that… put it in the pot of hot water. I'll add the other ingredients." She watched as Adrien carefully opened the pot of hot water and angled his finger so the tear would drip into the pot.
"All yours… are you OK, Ladybug? You seem out of it all of a sudden."
"Yeah… sorry. Not really sure what happened there." She got up and walked over to the tray. She placed a handful of chamomile in the pot and two of the green tea bags. "This has to steep for about five minutes," she said awkwardly, and fidgeted with her hands while she waited. For crying out loud, Ladybug… why on earth are you getting so flustered around Adrien like that? That's the second time in the past few days you've let him get to you! She traced an invisible line on the floor with her foot.
Adrien reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ummm… sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"That one's all me, I'm afraid," she replied, looking at the floor. "It's been a rough week."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Adrien asked again.
Ladybug poured two mugs of tea and gestured to the couch. Adrien sat down and faced her. She sat down, took a sip of tea, and smiled. "I think I can feel it working already," she sighed. "So. My week. Ladybug has had a week of fighting villains, losing the Guardian, choosing new heroes, healing kwamis… it's been busy. Just when I thought we got the drop on Serket, someone new comes along! It never ends… and with Master Fu gone, it's just that much more work."
"I can't imagine that… you probably depended on the Guardian a lot, didn't you?"
"I did… at least, in the end. I'm starting to understand the way he taught me. Since my kwami is always with me, he let her guide me for a bit and strengthen our relationship. He wasn't introduced to me as the Guardian until after your father was akumatized… well… akumatized himself, I guess. Sorry."
"It's OK…" Adrien laughed to lighten the mood. "...Heh… usually I'm the one who gets flak for apologizing too much. So you worked with your kwami at first, and then the Guardian? That's amazing that you were able to figure out so much about being a hero on your own! You must be just as much of a hero underneath the mask, as well."
Ladybug blushed deep. "I don't feel like one right now, but thank you." Especially with what happened last night with Luka.
"So… after you met the Guardian, then he started tutoring you more closely?"
"A little bit, yeah. Mostly when I asked for it. It was only in the past couple of weeks that we really got into the heavy stuff. He knew his time was coming, and he asked me to take over as Guardian for him. I had already been doing some of the stuff unofficially… but it was a tremendous weight on my shoulders. My kwami, and some of the other ones, have been great… but now that we are in hiding, I'm separated from them for a while. Even though the accommodations here are pretty sweet," she smiled to emphasize the pun, "I'm still… alone. Does that make sense?"
"You pretty much described my life after Mother disappeared," Adrien replied. "Here I am in basically a house-within-a-house, everything I could ever want or need either here already or obtainable at a snap of my fingers… except companionship. Father is… distant. My bodyguard is silent. Nathalie is what you would get if Siri were a person, but also if Siri made your own schedule and menu. There's living here, but there's no life." With one notable exception, he finished to himself.
"I never realized… Adrien, I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault, Ladybug. My friend Kagami - you remember her, she was akumatized into Riposte - is trying to break me out of my shell and help me figure out who I really am underneath all of the Gabriel clothes. Gabriel clothes, Gabriel shadow, Gabriel life!" he chuckled bitterly. "He's been more open to letting me get out since he stopped being Hawk Moth, thankfully. I don't think it will ever be like how it was before Mother disappeared, though." He frowned.
Ladybug reached out tentatively and put her hand on his upper arm. "Maybe it won't… but maybe it will be better, too. We just have to live our lives the best we can and leave the world a better place than when we found it." Maybe I should take my own advice this time, too.
"Saying things like that make me more positive that you're Ladybug, with or without the mask. Thanks." He drained his mug. "You're right, this was very calming. Can I pour you another mug?"
"No thanks, Adrien. I feel a lot better after just the one. If I had two, I think I'd probably just melt right here from being so relaxed." She grinned. "Thanks for talking with me. It means more than I can possibly express right now." She looked up at the rain beating on the windows and smiled softly. "I'll take you up on that movie now, if that's OK. I just need to text Chat first and figure out a time to meet up with him later today. Maybe the rain will have let up by then," she said, extracting her flip phone from her yo-yo.
Adrien briefly froze, then discreetly slipped his hand into his shorts pocket to turn off his flip phone's ringer. He felt the vibration of an incoming message, then smiled at Ladybug and asked, "What would you like to watch?"