15- Starry Night

Adrien's POV

Marinette's been quiet since we've gotten off the Ferris wheel, a whole hour later. The carnival had to call extra security just to get those fans away. Thanks to my title, they've closed the carnival for just the four of us. Nino and Alya are playing ring toss as Marinette and I wait for them over on the bench. I look over at her, frowning. I wonder what she wanted to say to me up there. It seemed important. What does she think I do? She swears she's not mad at me, but I can't help but feel like I did something wrong. She stares down at her hands, sighing, and I see a tear sneak down her cheek, and she quickly wipes it away. Maybe I can cheer her up.

"Alya and Nino are pretty competitive, huh?" I ask, gesturing over to the crazy couple. They're trying to beat each other on all the games. "Always outdoing the other."

A small laugh comes out of Marinette as she looks up and smiles. Well, it's a start. "Yeah, they are," She whispers, straightening her shoulders. Staring forward, her lips press into a thin line as she loses herself in thought. "I bet you miss Ladybug a lot, huh?" She asks out of nowhere.

I turn and stare at her with wide eyes. What's with all these random questions? Why does she keep asking me about Ladybug? "Umm... yeah. A lot, I guess. Why do you ask?"

Marinette shrugs. "I miss her, too. And you know who else I miss? Cat Noir."

Speechless, my cheeks burn red as I watch her, careful what to say next. Marinette misses Cat Noir? I know she was in love with him at one point, but I never knew he had that much of an impact on her. "You miss... Cat Noir?"

She nods, sighing. "Yeah, honestly." Her eyes widen and she backtracks, saying, "I-I mean, I don't know him that well, and we don't hang out like you and Ladybug did, but... I still miss him."

Maybe Cat Noir can cheer Marinette up. That's it! Later, I'll transform and go see her as my alter ego. That has to make her feel better; that has to work.

"You must think I'm weird, right?" Marinette asks, knocking her shoulder into mine as she laughs. "For missing someone I don't even know?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I don't think so. It's sweet. I'm sure Cat Noir would appreciate it."

Her smiles grows even wider. "Yeah... I'm sure he would."

Before I can say anything else, Nino and Alya come running over, arms filled with gifts and prizes. "The carnival's closing. We gotta go." Alya hands us a stick of cotton candy. "Here. It was the last one. I thought you two could share it."

"Thanks, Alya," Marinette whispers before ripping a piece off. We stand up and start leaving the park. She hugs her arms to her chest as a breeze washes over us. "Man, it's so cold out here."

"Here. Take my jacket." Before she can protest, I shake off my jacket and wrap it around Marinette's shoulders.

She smiles. "Thanks, Adrien." She pushes her arms through the sleeves and smells them. "This still smells like vanilla and flour. Did you not wash this?"

My eyes widen. "Uh, no... I must have forgotten, too. Besides, I like the way it smells." I never noticed before, but Marinette always smells nice. Like a fresh baked sugar cookie.

Marinette starts laughing. "Oh, you're so cute." After buttoning up the jacket, she shoves her hands into the pockets, taking in a deep breath. "I had fun tonight, Adrien. Even though I was a crying baby all night. I'm sure today could have gone better for you."

"Nope. I had fun, too. It went exactly like it was supposed to." I look down at her. Wow, I never realized she was so short, too. Hmm, cute. "Actually, tonight's one of the best days I've ever had. I'm able to be myself around you, Marinette, and I'm grateful for that."

Marinette gives me the biggest smile.

Alya, Nino, Marinette, and I stand on the street corner.

"Marinette, do you want me to walk you home?" Alya asks her, pointing down the street. "We could have a sleepover since tomorrow's Saturday."

Marinette's eyes widen. She still hasn't told anyone she's been living at my house.

I step in for her, saying, "Actually, Marinette and I were going to get some ice cream. So, I'll make sure she gets home safe."

Alya nods. "Alright. That's cool with me. Bye, Marinette." She gives her best friend a hug, waving, before walking off with Nino.

"Thank you," Marinette whispers as we start walking back to my house. "I know Alya's my best friend, but I don't want to get her in this complicated mess I'm stuck in. It already sucks that you're looped into this."

"Hey, I wanted to be," I remind her. "When Cat Noir asked me to help out, I said yes. My choice."

"I know, but I still feel bad." Marinette pouts. "Do you think I'm a bad person for not telling her?"

I shake my head no. "I haven't told Nino. Does that make me a bad person?"

"No, but I just know she's going to be mad when she finds out," Marinette whispers. "And she's going to be even madder when she realizes we're not really dating."

"Why would Alya be more mad about that?" I ask, confused.

Her eyes widen. "I-I... Alya just doesn't like liars."

We walk in silence, our breaths starting to sync with each other. It's a good kind of quiet. It's not weird or awkward. As we make eye contact, Marinette quickly looks away, smiling to herself. She's been wearing her hair differently. In one ponytail instead of two. I reach out and tug it, teasing, "Hey, I just noticed. You changed your signature look?"

"Oh, yeah, I just wanted something new." Marinette reaches back and twists her hair around her finger. "I woke up one day and decided I didn't want pigtails anymore. It kept reminding me of... something." She trails off.

I don't push this time and let be what is. Soon enough, we reach back to my house and I punch in the special code to open the gates. I'm surprised my father hasn't called or sent out my bodyguard to find me. He never lets me out without checking in. Maybe something's changed and he's finally coming around. Maybe he's becoming a better father. As we head through the foyer, upstairs, I remember my plan and fake a yawn. "Wow! I'm so tired. I think I'm just gonna head to my room and sleep."

"Same here," She mumbles, rubbing her eyes. "I didn't realize how late it got." I walk Marinette to her room and she waves. "Goodnight, Adrien."

"Goodnight, Marinette."

She walks inside, closing the door softly behind her.

I take off running towards my room, locking the door behind me as Plagg flies out. "Do you really think this is a good idea, Adrien?"

"Hey, if Cat Noir can make Marinette cheer up about whatever she's sad about, then I'm going to do it."

Plagg sits on my ring as I lift my hand. "Won't she think it's weird that Cat Noir shows up out of nowhere right after telling Adrien that she missed the kitty cat?"

He has a point, but I have to make Marinette feel better. "It'll just be a coincidence. Plagg, claws out!"

"Wai—" My kwami can't finish his sentence as he's transported to my ring and black leather appears on me in a flash of green.

I wait five minutes before sneaking out of my window, using my staff to guide me around the house as I find Marinette's room. She's lying on the bed, staring up the ceiling, holding a small remote in her hand. Aww, she's playing with the galaxy ceiling. I tap my claw on the window three times and her head shoots up. Her eyes widen as she jumps up, runs over, and opens the window. "Long time, no see, Princess."

"Cat Noir, what are you doing here?" Marinette asks before hugging me so tight I fall straight through the window and on top of her. We blink at each other before I stand up and grab her hand. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong." I help Marinette stand, still holding her hand. "I wanted to come and check on you."

She smiles. "Oh, that's sweet, but I'm fine. You didn't have to come all the way here."

Honestly, I was just like twenty feet down the hall. "I had to make sure in person. How are you? How's it like living with Adrien Agreste? I hear he's a really awesome guy."

Marinette rolls her eyes. "Yeah, when did you plan on telling me you were all buddy-buddy with him?" She starts pulling me towards the bed. "Come here. I wanna show you something." We lay down on the bed, getting comfortable, and she hands me the remote. "Up there, it's called a galaxy ceiling. It's, like, the coolest thing ever. It can show the stars, planets, moons, everything in space! Just click a button. Go on." She gestures to the remote. "Click something."

"Alright, alright," I whisper, laughing. It's not like I don't already know how to use this. I click on starry night and watch as Marinette's eyes light up. "Wow. That is a lot of stars."

"That one is my favorite," Marinette whispers, scooting closer to me. "I've been using that one to fall asleep."

"Is it hard to fall asleep?" I ask, turning to look at her.

Marinette faces me as she lays on her side. "A little. I've been having nightmares."

I know. I can hear them all the way from my room. Every time I go to help her, she stops screaming as soon as I reach the door. It's weird.

"About Hawkmoth. That creep from the photoshoot. And this recurring one that hasn't seemed to stop." She stares at me, like that last one is supposed to be about me. "That one might be the worst of them all."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shakes her head. "Not yet."

"That's okay." Holding my hand out, I wait for hers as she gently places it against mine. "I'll be here if you wanna talk."

"Thanks, kitty," Marinette whispers, and I feel a sense of familiarity rush over me. "So... how's it been protecting Paris without Ladybug?"

Again with the questions about Ladybug. What is Marinette's obsession with her? I know they're close friends and all, but what is she trying to figure out? "Surprisingly, there hasn't been any attacks from Hawkmoth. It's a little weird, but I'm not complaining. The only sad thing is I don't have a reason to wear this awesome leather costume and run around Paris."

"You have me," Marinette whispers, smiling. "I mean, you can come and visit me, if you want. I'll run around Paris with you. I'll probably slow you down a bit because I can't jump from building to building, but I promise I'm fun to be around."

"Yeah, you are." My eyes widen. Why didn't I think of this sooner? I can go to Master Fu and ask for the mouse miraculous and give it to Marinette! Hawkmoth never found out she was Multimouse, so there's no danger in Marinette becoming her again. Besides, if Hawkmoth does finally akumatizes someone, having a second superhero wouldn't hurt. I just don't know how I'll convince Master Fu to give me one of the miraculous.

He trusted Ladybug with that, not me.

Marinette smiles, asking, "Wouldn't that be fun?"