Well here we are. Last post of Adrinette April 2024.

This is basically during the 'Miraculous World: Shanghai' special. After the battle is over, Adrien is finally reunited with Marinette after she went missing and he was worried about her. I had this idea awhile ago and was glad I could pair it with this prompt.

Adrinette April 2024

Day #29: Safe

Adrien was glad that they were able to thwart Hawkmoth's attempt to claim the Prodigious, and that the magical gem was now in the trusting hands of their new friend and ally, Renren.

And now that Cash was on his way to prison and Ladybug was on her way back to Paris—he had to pretend to fly back too so it was a good thing they agreed to fly in opposite directions so she wouldn't see him land right back in Shanghai. It was better she didn't know that he was already there—he was back on his previous and also very important mission; finding Marinette.

When he went to visit her uncle's restaurant just to say hi to Cheng Shifu again, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that Marinette had come to Shanghai to celebrate his sixtieth birthday with him and learn more about her Chinese heritage.

His father was too busy to do anything like sight-seeing with him, but maybe he could do more of that with Marinette. It'd be nice having a friend with him so they could enjoy their visit in the city together.

Unfortunately, Marinette had gone out and hadn't come back for hours. He enjoyed helping Cheng Shifu cook while they waited for her but she was still MIA. She wasn't answering her phone either.

Worried, Cheng Shifu called the police while Adrien left to try and find her himself. As Chat Noir.

He knew Marinette was smart and could take care of herself, but this was a very different environment for her. She didn't know this city and she didn't speak Chinese. Maybe she lost her phone, or it broke, or the battery died. Without it, she couldn't navigate through the city or use her translator app. It would also explain why she wasn't picking up when her uncle tried to call.

Or someone could have stolen it.

Someone could have robbed her. Even mugged her.

Was she hurt? Bleeding in some dark alley with no one around to even see that she needed help.

Adrien had to calm himself down. There was no reason to think the worst like that.

Renren assured him that she had found her earlier and brought her to safety. He believed her, but he really needed to see her for himself to know for sure. She still needed to be guided back to her uncle's place.

When Astro Chat landed and transformed back into his civilian self, he wasn't far from Cheng Shifu's Thousand Delights restaurant. After a bit of walking, he finally reached the front of the building. And sure enough, walking toward him were two girls.

One he briefly recognized as the girl who now held the Prodigious. The other was Marinette.

She really did make sure that Marinette was okay. Even walked her home.

Marinette was surprised to see Adrien at the restaurant when she and Fei arrived. After Ladybug pretended to fly back to Paris, she landed not far from the ruins of Fei's father's old kung fu school. She walked to the front and found Fei, who had retrieved the rest of her belongings from Cash's pawn shop, including her phone. The only thing still missing among her things was her kwangatama necklace. Fei was sure that she accidently dropped it sometime after she stole it from her and apologized many times—for stealing it and then loosing it.

Marinette assured her that it was alright. It might have been a birthday gift from Tikki and meant a lot to her, but it wasn't as irreplaceable as Tikki herself, or her miraculous.

Then Fei offered to guide her back to her uncle's restaurant, during which time, Marinette talked her into staying for dinner. She was sure her uncle wouldn't mind, especially after she told him how she helped her. But decided it best to leave out the part about being the reason she got lost in the first place.

Fei agreed by the time they reached the front of the restaurant. And when they did, they were met with a familiar blonde model walking from the opposite direction.

Marinette was surprised. The main reason she went out was to look for Adrien—heck, he was the main reason she decided to come to Shanghai. And here he was, walking passed her uncle's restaurant.

"Marinette!" Adrien exclaimed when he saw her.

"Hi Adri-!" she started to say, only to be surprised again and cut off when the boy came running at her, then crashed into her to wrap his arms around her.

"I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried," he said, hugging her tight.

Still in shock from his sudden appearance and then the sudden embrace, she stuttered, "You were worried…about me?"

Adrien pulled back but kept his grip on her arms. "Of course. I came here earlier to visit your uncle Cheng, then he told me that you were visiting for his birthday, but you had gone out. We both waited for you but you were gone for so long and you weren't picking up your phone so he called the police while I went out looking for you," he explained.

Marinette was stunned. Adrien came to the restaurant? If she had stayed put, she would have gotten to see Adrien anyway. But then again, if she hadn't, she wouldn't have met Fei. And she likely wouldn't have been around when she needed to to stop Hawkmoth. Instead of focusing on that, Marinette chose to focus on the fact that Adrien had been concerned about her.

"You were…looking at me? I mean, for me?" she stuttered then smiled nervously.

"Absolutely," he replied. Then his face shifted into a concerned frown. "I was afraid something might have happened to you," he added while quickly looking her over just to make triple sure that she wasn't hurt. Once he was done, his eyes shifted to the girl standing behind her. "And uh, who's this?" he asked. Chat Noir already knew her as the guardian who now held the Prodigious but Adrien wasn't supposed to know her at all. How did Marinette end up with her anyway?

"I'm Fei," she introduced herself with a smile, giving a slight bow. "I helped Marinette find her way back."

"She's my new friend," Marinette added.

Adrien smiled. He didn't know this girl well but if Marinette liked her, that was good enough for him. "Then it's an honor to meet you. And thank you for bringing Marinette back to her family safe and sound," he said, bowing back. "I'm Adrien."

"An honor to meet you as well," Fei bowed again. Then she looked back and forth between the two quickly. "Are you Marinette's boyfriend?" She didn't mean to assume anything. They just had a unique vibe between them. They obviously meant a great deal to each other.

Both French teen's eyes widened. "Ah…" they uttered awkwardly, glanced at each other before looking back at her, then replied with, "No. We're just friends," at the same time.

After the three went inside, both the Gorilla and Cheng Shifu were happy to see them walking through the door. And after Marinette introduced Fei to her uncle, the Shifu invited her to stay for dinner along with Adrien.

Cheng Shifu's birthday dinner was wonderful. Another good surprise, the three boys who Marinette thought were chasing her earlier came by to return her missing necklace. They were also the same fans of Adrien's who stopped him for some selfies earlier that day.

All was well in Shanghai. Despite the unexpected appearance of Hawkmoth, Adrien had a better time than he had thought he would. Sure, his father was too busy to tour with him, but he had Marinette, Cheng Shifu, and Fei to enjoy the city with.

And in doing so, he could keep an eye on Marinette so she wouldn't get robbed and/or lost again. And if she did, he'd protect or find her. With or without his powers.

He'd keep her safe. No matter what city they were in together.

Well, that's it for Adrinette April. See u again in Marichat May! BYEEEEE!