Marinette transformed in her pajamas and was gone before the clock struck five. Usually, people called out as she swung over the rooftops, generally along the lines of "Go, Ladybug!", though she had gotten a few marriage proposals, which sometimes made Chat jealous. This morning, however, no one called out, because most of the city was asleep. There were a few early-morning joggers, a couple of commuters, and in the buildings, what seemed to be university students, slumped over a desk, staring blearily at a computer with their room aglow. Some would look up, startled, as she zipped past, and others didn't even bat an eyelid.
Ladybug came to a halt on a random building and checked her yo-yo. The akuma was a little further downtown, and was in a 'stable condition'; hadn't caused much damage yet, but was still potentially dangerous. Ladybug had no idea why it was a 'stable condition', especially since an unknown journalist had come up with it.
The red-suited superhero dialed her partner's number and waited for him to pick up, tapping her foot impatiently. On the eighth ring, she left a voice message and continued to make her way downtown, yo-yoing quickly.
'Stable condition' might be what the news called it, but Ladybug knew that it wouldn't take much for it to turn 'critical'.
MLBMLBMLB
Plagg didn't need an alarm to wake up Adrien. A hunk of camembert was sufficient.
"Argh, Plagg! Gross!" whined Adrien, blinking and sitting up, eyes glassy.
"Get up, loser," yawned Plagg. "You have a date with Miss Ladybug."
"Huh?" Adrien looked confused. "Is this a dream, or real life?"
Plagg pinched him. "It's real life! You don't actually have a date with Ladybug, there's an akuma and you're going to see her!" he yelled.
Adrien gave his head a little shake. "Akuma?"
"Akuma!" Plagg confirmed, slightly louder than was really necessary. He did a loop-the-loop, biting into his cheese as he did so.
"Okay, okay, I'm getting up." Adrien dragged himself out of bed and glanced out the window. "Oh, come on. It's not even light yet! Who does Hawkmoth think he is?"
Plagg extended his claws meaningfully, and Adrien held up his hands, eyes frantic.
"Okay! Jeez, someone didn't get his beauty sleep," muttered the model. He ran a hand through his hair and held out his hand. "Plagg, claws out!"
A few bright green flashes later, a leather-suited superhero stood in Adrien's place. Chat Noir yawned and stretched, then extended his baton, springing through the half-open window.
Plagg, whereabouts was the akuma?
About a kilometer downtown.
Chat Noir gave a loud groan. So I'm making my way downtown?
Walking fast, Plagg confirmed.
As Chat headed towards the akuma, no faces passed, and he wished he was homebound.
MLBMLBMLB
The akuma seemed to be just as tired as the heroes fighting it. It seemed to be a university student, of the same kind Ladybug had seen. It had a name Ladybug couldn't pronounce, but was pretty sure that it came from a video game. The victim was apparently frustrated by some essay that they couldn't complete, and had gotten really upset.
However, because it was five o'clock in the morning, and because the victim was a uni student, the akuma seemed extremely sluggish- not that Ladybug minded. She didn't even have to use her Lucky Charm. All it took for the duo to defeat the akuma was Ladybug distracting the poor guy, then Chat destroying the gaming controller on the akuma's belt. One "Miraculous Ladybug" later, everything was back to normal.
Chat and Ladybug called a taxi to get the unfortunate young man home, after doing the standard 'you've-been-akumatized' monologue. Once the taxi had pulled away, Chat offered his fist to Ladybug, which she bumped. "Pound it."
Chat slung his arm around Ladybug's shoulders for support, and let out a massive yawn. Moments later, Ladybug did the same thing, except she covered her mouth first.
"Why the hell did Hawkmoth have to akumatize someone at this hour?" muttered Ladybug sleepily.
Chat shrugged. "No idea, but now I hate him even more."
The duo was silent for a moment, leaning into each other and swaying as the light slowly crept into the world. Then Ladybug spoke. "Chat," she began hesitantly, "I know you wanted us to visit Fu after this, or whatever, but can we please postpone it?" she pleaded. "I'm just s-s-so tired." She yawned again, proving her point.
Chat nodded. "No problem. I guess I'll see you later?"
"Later," agreed Ladybug, readying her yo-yo. "Bye, kitty." She hurled her yo-yo at a chimney, tugged on it gently, and was gone.
Chat was so tired that he'd forgotten to ask her for a kiss before she left. But then again, he supposed he didn't want to push his luck or take advantage of her in her exhausted state. He stood alone for a moment, then left, making his way back home.
MLBMLBMLB
Alya knew her best friend wasn't one for keeping a good sleep schedule, but this was ridiculous. With her in the emotional state that she was, Marinette should be well aware that she needed at least nine hours sleep each night.
But when the girl stumbled in on Wednesday morning with huge bruises under her eyes, hair messy, and eyes barely open, Alya knew that her BFF needed help.
The blogger took one look at Marinette when she staggered in and was immediately on her feet. "You. Me. In the hallway. Now." Ignoring the curious stares of her classmates, Alya steered the sleep-deprived fashion designer out of the classroom. Once the door was closed and they were out of earshot, Alya faced her friend.
"Marinette, tell me the truth. How many hours of sleep did you get last night?"
Marinette groaned, and began to count on her fingers. "I don't know, five?"
Alya could have slapped her. "You got five hours of sleep."
"Uh-huh."
"Five hours," repeated Alya. "Girl, you need help."
"Uh-huh."
"And you're gonna get help. Right now." Alya didn't care that they needed to be in class in seven minutes. She was not going to let Marinette walk around looking like an extra from The Walking Dead. "Come on, girl, let's freshen you up."
MLBMLBMLB
Adrien was surprised when he saw the empty desk behind his. Although Marinette wasn't the most punctual person the world, Alya was usually on time. He supposed it didn't really make a difference if they were at school or not, as both girls were giving him the cold shoulder. He knew why, of course. Marinette was obviously upset at him for rejecting her, and Alya was mad at him for hurting her best friend, which made Adrien a little nervous. He liked Alya a lot, and they had been good friends, but he found her a little scary. He'd seen her get mad before, and he'd seen the way she took revenge on people. She was the force behind the Ladyblog, and therefore pretty well-known. If she wanted to, she could probably get a horde of screaming Ladybug fans to chase him down. The model shuddered at the thought.
"Hey, bro," said Nino, as he slid in beside Adrien.
"'Sup," responded Adrien absently. He was still thinking about the two empty seats behind him. "Hey, Nino, where's Alya and Marinette?"
Nino twisted around to look behind him and shrugged. "I don't know, why?"
Adrien just shrugged. "No reason."
Nino leaned closer to Adrien. "Look, bro, Alya's pretty mad at you. What did you do?"
Adrien sighed. "Marinette asked me to the dance. I said no."
Nino's eyes widened and he let out a low whistle. "I thought she knew that you were going with Chloe."
"Yeah, she did, but I told her earlier that I didn't want to go with Chloe, and she must have thought that I actually wasn't going with Chloe. I don't know, Nino."
"Well, no wonder Alya's mad at you. Try not to stuff up again, or she'll be after you."
"Will do." Adrien pulled out his notebook and buried his head in it, hoping to squeeze in some last-minute revision for the upcoming test. Suddenly, the book was flicked out of his hands, causing it to fall to the floor.
"Hey, what was tha-" Adrien looked up into the pouting face of Chloe Bourgeois. "Oh. Why'd you do that, Chloe?" he asked, bending to retrieve his book.
She giggled. "I wanted to surprise you, Adrikins!" she cooed, twirling a strand of hair around her index finger.
Adrien scratched the back of his head. "Um...okay. Do you actually know what a surprise is?"
Chloe nodded fiercely. "Of course I know what a surprise is, Adrien! I have another one for you, actually. You'll get it on the night of Valentine's Dance, mmkay?"
Adrien winced, praying Chloe hadn't switched dresses. He was pretty sure his father would ground him for a month if Gabriel found out that Chloe had worn something too….revealing.
Chloe flipped her ponytail over her shoulder, and Adrien returned his attention to her. "Anyway, mon petit, I noticed you looking for Alya and that bakery brat."
Adrien scowled at Chloe. "Marinette is not a brat, Chloe. You are- I mean, you're wrong."
The blonde heiress huffed and smoothed her jacket. "Uh, yes, she is. Haven't you noticed the way she's always throwing herself at you? I bet she even asked you to the dance, but you rejected her, and now she's heartbroken! Actually, no, she wouldn't have the courage to ask you in the first place!" Chloe tipped back her head and laughed loudly, earning a glare from her classmates, who were trying to study. "Anyway, she walked in looking like death warmed up, so she and the Alya girl left, probably hanging their heads in shame."
Adrien could feel his temper reaching its boiling point, but he managed to keep it in check. "You take that back right now," he growled through gritted teeth.
Chloe tittered. "Oh, Adrikins, you're so funny! Pretending that you care about her? Hilarious!"
Adrien got to his feet, breathing hard. Surprise flashed across Chloe's face as Adrien towered over her. Nino tugged on his shirt.
"Dude, sit down. Chill."
Adrien glared at Chloe, then stormed towards the classroom door, knowing that if he stayed in there, looking at Chloe's smug face, he wouldn't be able to control his anger. However, he didn't make it to the door. Just as he was about to put his hand on the handle, it was shoved open by someone on the other side, knocking him over.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng strode in, quickly followed by Alya Cesaire. As Adrien looked up at the blue-eyed girl, he felt his jaw drop.
Marinette's hair was piled up in a messy-bun hairdo, that somehow managed to look effortless and super cute at the same time. Her pretty blue eyes had a dusting of something coppery above them, and her pink lips were glossier than usual. She stood tall, more confident than usual, and her pink sweater/ black jeans combination was stylish.
Alya walked in behind her, looking exactly the same way that she usually did, except she wore a look on her face that said disrespect me or my friend and you'll be sorry.
As Adrien lay sprawled on the ground, Marinette looked down at him. He quickly closed his mouth.
"Oh, sorry, Adrien," she said coldly. "I didn't see you there." Offering her hand, she helped him up, then continued to her seat.
Chloe was suddenly right in front of Marinette. "You- you little witch!" she spluttered, staring at Marinette's glamorous look. "How dare you-you- uh- how dare you touch my boyfriend!"
Marinette simply glared at her. "Chloe?"
"What?"
"Move."
As the two girls sat down behind him, leaving a red and spluttering Chloe in their wake, Adrien thought about what Chloe had said earlier. Haven't you noticed the way she's always throwing herself at you? I bet she even asked you to the dance, but you rejected her, and now she's heartbroken! Actually, no, she wouldn't have the courage to ask you in the first place!
What if he had broken her heart?
A bit of Adrien 'Oblivious' Agreste for y'all. Thank you all so much for the reviews! You guys are absolutely fantastic. I'm so excited for the new episode! See you all in the next chapter!