Adrien returned to Marinette's apartment feeling incredibly down.

He wasn't sure what he had been expecting when he ventured out to find Ladybug, but the interaction they shared hadn't been a pleasant one. Ladybug made it very clear that she was not thrilled at all to be reunited with him, and that in fact, she was still hurt by the events that had been entirely his fault five years ago. He wasn't one to think that Ladybug was prone to hold a grudge, but apparently, he'd been wrong. Ladybug was definitely still mad at him, and he had a pretty good feelings she wasn't planning on forgiving him anytime soon.

The apartment was empty when he returned, which instantly dampened his already horrible mood considering he'd been looking forward to spending time with daughter without Marinette watching his every move. He supposed Nino decided to take Emma out rather than stay cooped up inside. Prior to giving him blankets for the night, Marinette had also given him a spare key so that he could come and go as he pleased. He honestly really appreciated the gesture because it meant that she trusted him enough to have complete access to her home, and that really made him feel good about himself. With that thought in mind, it was easy to focus more on the fact that he was getting a new start with his friends, even if Ladybug possibly hated him.

But even though Marinette seemed to be overall comfortable around him, a part of him was also worried that her mutuality with him wouldn't last long, especially if she were to find out that he was Chat Noir, and therefore Emma's father. He could only imagine the fury that would ignite, and the possibility of her telling him that he could never see their daughter again.

With that thought in mind, he entered the living space feeling even lower than he had with his encounter with Ladybug. Adrien kicked his shoes off by the door to join a few other pairs that he assumed belonged to Marinette and their daughter. Adrien sighed heavily in what could only be interpreted as defeat, pulling out his phone from his back pocket as he ambled over towards the couch. He was bombarded by a ton of notifications as soon as his screen lit up, the majority of those notifications being missed calls and text messages from Natalie, which he knew were in regards from his father. Because the fashion designer himself couldn't possibly call his own son—that was just too much trouble for the famous Gabriel Agreste. Adrien let out another heavy sigh as he scrolled through Natalie's list of messages. From what she had sent him, it seemed his father was determined to see him, and wasn't planning on taking no for an answer.

Adrien turned off his phone and tossed it to the other side of the couch.

He didn't feel like going to see his father.

He knew what his father wanted—and it wasn't to greet his son after not seeing him for five years. No. Gabriel Agreste only had one intension, and that was to lecture his son for being an idiot and coming back to Paris, leaving all of his 'accomplished success' behind. Except... Adrien didn't see any of that success as an accomplishment like his father did. Sure, he had fulfilled all his dreams. But in the process, he'd lost something much more valuable.

Marinette.

And his father wouldn't understand that, because his father considered success to be more important than love.

Adrien outstretched his body along the couch, his body taking up the entire furniture. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to take a deep breath. Otherwise focusing on all the emotions regarding his father, his daughter, and Marinette combined would make him explode... and the last thing he wanted was for someone to come home and catch him crying.

So, he kept his eyes closed, simply enjoying the silence.

He smiled to himself as he began to picture a hopeful future that involved Marinette and his daughter. He dreamed of the three of them, the perfect little family—something he had always dreamed of having. Something his parents failed to give him. He tried to drown out the thought that loomed in his mind, the one that tried to convince him that he was just like his own parents, because he had failed to be there for Emma. Instead, Adrien continued to paint a picture in his mind. A picture of how their future could look.

He opened his eyes a moment later, feeling better already.

Only to find Marinette looming over him.

"GAHHH!" Adrien shot up in an instant, his forehead almost hitting Marinette's had she not moved out of the way in time. It took him a second to realize that he hadn't fallen asleep and that he wasn't dreaming. When had she even gotten home? He hadn't even heard the door open. "Marinette? What are you doing?"

She looked at him with a single brow raised, almost as if she were judging him for openly freaking out. "I just got back a few minutes ago. I made some tea, and I was going to wake you up to offer you some... but I didn't expect you to freak out on me like that before I even got the chance to tap your shoulder."

"Oh..." And now he felt embarrassed. Grinning sheepishly, he moved to sit up properly. "I'd actually really like some tea, if you don't mind."

Her lips twitched slightly, as if she was going to smile. But then she must've decided against it, because her lips remained pressed into a thin line—and that in itself was disappointing to him. Adrien really loved her smile. But instead of blessing him with such a beauty, Marinette simply nodded, "I don't mind at all. I offered, didn't I?"

"Yeah... you did." He chuckled, once again feeling embarrassed.

He really wanted to slap himself for sounding so stupid.

Marinette didn't point out how awkward he was being, and he was extremely grateful for that. Instead, she left the living space and headed into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with two mugs. As she handed one to him, he was surprised when she decided to take a seat beside him on the couch. Out of instinct, he scooted over to allow her more room, and to keep an appropriate distance between them.

She didn't say anything for a while as she sat there. She focused her attention entirely on her tea, taking long, agonizing sips that purposely stretched out the silence between them because, well, she must've known that he was too much of a coward to get the first word out. She kept her eyes focused on the liquid inside her mug, and she said nothing about his fidgeting leg, even though he was sure she noticed it.

He decided to take a sip of his tea, hoping that it would calm his anxieties.

But why did he feel so nervous?

Maybe it was because he felt like Marinette was judging him.

Judging him for what?

He had absolutely no idea.

"You were smiling in your sleep." Marinette said suddenly, which seemed to be the introduction she chose in order to break the silence that resided between them. It was a strange conversation starter; he'd give her that. He looked over at her quizzically, unsure as to why she was pointing that out.

Adrien wasn't sure how to answer. "Oh?"

She nodded, still not looking over at him. "A good dream, I presume?"

"Something like that." A good dream was debatable. "More like a bittersweet dream, actually."

"Bittersweet?"

Adrien sighed into his mug as he took another sip. "Yeah. I guess... I guess you could say it was good because it was about the people I care about, but sad because I already lost those people. So yeah, definitely bittersweet."

He could feel Marinette's eyes on him now, and he was sure her gaze was filled with nothing but sympathy for him. He decided not to look over at her, instead taking another sip of his tea. As he did so, Marinette asked, "Did these people pass away?"

He shook his head. "No... but they don't exactly... like me anymore."

He was mostly referring to Ladybug, but a part of him was also talking about Marinette whenever it concerned his alter ego, because he was sure that if he showed up here in his leathers, Marinette would send him away. I mean, why wouldn't she? After leaving her like he had, unwilling to save their relationship, why on earth would she ever want to see him again? He was certain that she hated him.

"How do you know they don't like you?" She asked him.

Adrien turned to look at her then, the exhaustion he was feeling probably pretty evident in his features. "One of them made it pretty obvious, so it wasn't that hard to figure out. But the other one..." Adrien ran a hand down his face, sighing heavily. "The other one I really screwed over. In fact, I'm sure this person would hate me if I ever decided to show my face again."

Marinette hummed into her cup. "You sound so sure."

"After everything I've done to this person, why wouldn't they hate me?"

He watched as she shrugged. "I guess you have a point. Or... perhaps you're wrong. Maybe they don't actually hate you and you're just making assumptions."

Adrien tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"How do you know if they genuinely hate you if you haven't asked?" She asked, and he was somewhat surprised when her stern gaze turned to meet his. He found himself unable to look away from her blazing eyes—irises that were aflame and roaring. "When people get upset, they react in many different ways. But the most common reaction is anger. Sometimes people don't know how to handle their anger, or their anger never goes away because they never had closure. So, it makes them seem bitter, but that's not the case at all. It doesn't necessarily mean that they hate you, Adrien. It could just mean that they're heartbroken."

"Heartbroken?" Now that thought hadn't crossed his mind—at least it hadn't when it concerned Ladybug. He knew Marinette was probably heartbroken, but why would Ladybug be? Sure, there were plenty of reasons for her to be hurt for his sudden and abrupt leave (considering they were once close friends, after all, and Ladybug didn't have anyone else to confide to in her superhero persona, or a partner to help her in battle), but heartbroken?

How could he have broken Ladybug's heart?

Marinette shrugged idly. "It's just a thought you might want to consider."

Adrien looked at her unsurely. "You can break someone's heart if they're just your friend?"

He wasn't sure what it was, but something pained flashed across Marinette's face. But she was good at hiding it, he realized, when it quickly vanished to be once again replaced with absolute passiveness. The sight of her sudden stoic expression had Adrien frowning slightly, because he didn't understand what he could've possibly said to cause Marinette pain. He opened his mouth to quickly address it, but Marinette was quicker. "Of course, you can. If Nino, for example, got into some kind of accident... you'd be heartbroken by his passing, wouldn't you?"

Adrien nodded because, yes, he would be. He would be devastated.

"Then maybe you should reconsider how your friends view you." She took another sip of her tea, deciding that she rather look into her mug than at him. "And try to make things right."

"How do I make things right when all I've been doing is screwing up?"

"By apologizing and proving you've changed."

Adrien didn't feel very confident with her response. In fact, he wasn't even sure if it was that simple. And Marinette must've sensed it too, because she turned to look at him after a moment of silence had passed between them.

"Unless you haven't changed." She said.

He found himself frowning at her implication. "I have." He insisted, suddenly feeling the urge to defend himself. He wasn't sure why... but he felt incredibly judged by Marinette in that moment, even despite her kind gestures of making him tea and actually talking to him, taking time out of her day to give him advice that would hopefully salvage his rocky friendships. But something about Marinette that had once been so familiar was missing, and perhaps it was her bubbly personality he'd grown to love when they were younger.

The Marinette that sat beside him now was somewhat scary.

Marinette nodded curtly and then stood, her now empty mug clasped in her fingertips. "Good."

She moved to step away, but Adrien wasn't exactly ready to stop talking with her. Despite how much she had changed since the last time he saw her, he missed her, and still loved her deeply. He wanted to know everything about her that he'd missed from his time away. So... he made a daring move and reached out to grab ahold of her forearm. "Wait."

Marinette froze, and the arm that he was holding onto fell limp to her side. But she did as he asked and didn't move away any further. But she didn't turn around to face him either. Adrien's grip tightened ever-so-slightly, as if she would slip away the moment she was given a chance. "I- how are you? I mean, how have you been?"

He was surprised when Marinette actually chuckled. "You want to know how I've been?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Adrien frowned in confusion. "We used to be really good friends."

That seemed to be the right thing to say—which was a nice change on Adrien part. Marinette slowly turned around to face him, her smile small but definitely genuine. He let go of her arm once he knew for sure she wasn't planning on slipping away, and her smile alone must've been contagious because as soon as she sat down beside him again, he was grinning so wide he figured his cheeks would start to hurt any second.

"I've been... okay." Marinette answered his question with a slight shrug. She was still smiling, so he figured that was a good sign. "Mostly just busy with working... and being a mom."

"I bet..." He chuckled softly, even despite the slight clench his heart made in the process. "I honestly had no idea that you were a mom... or that Alya and Nino lived with you. When did that happen?"

"They moved in shortly after I discovered I was pregnant, actually." Marinette said with a wistful smile. From the way she looked, it seemed she was recollecting a fond memory, and that made his smile widen. "They wanted to be there for me... and I really needed the company. After they got married, Emma was already two and they needed a place to stay. And after all they had done for me, I wanted to return the favor. So, I opened up my home to them. The place isn't very roomy with all of us packed in here, but its cozy."

"That's... good." Adrien forced himself to keep on smiling. Cozy. Marinette's home was incredibly cozy... and he wished that he could be a part of it. "I'm glad they were there for you... and I guess I'm sorry that I wasn't."

Marinette's smile fell slightly. "You don't need to apologize—"

"But don't I? I was your friend, Marinette. Friends are supposed to be there for each other."

Marinette shook her head, her gaze stern and unwavering. "Adrien, you had no idea what was going on. You can't apologize for something you were never aware of."

She made a good point... and even though Marinette was right, because, well, he truly hadn't known about Emma's existence, he was still at fault in a way because he was still Chat Noir—the same man who had once abandoned the love of his life to fulfil his ridiculous dreams. And what exactly had those pointless dreams won him? Nothing of value in his eyes. He only gained one thing from it all: money—the one thing he cared hardly about because he had been rich his whole life and had never been happy even though he had everything.

His father on the other hand would've considered the monetary gain to be the accomplishment of a lifetime. But then again, what did his father. That was all the man ever seemed to deem important—even more important than his own son.

He startled slightly when Marinette placed a hand on his shoulder. "What about you? Why did you decide to come back to Paris?"

Adrien grimaced slightly. "Honestly? I was lonely."

That seemed to surprise Marinette, apparently. Her eyes widened, as if she hadn't expected that to be his answer. "Really? But didn't you become even more famous than before? No American friends to keep you company?"

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. Truthfully, fame had given him everything except friends. Sure, he met a lot of new people on a regular basis, celebrities, in fact, whom people would die to meet in person. But everyone he met were merely either acquaintances, people his father conducted business with, or his guests.

None of them were ever his friends.

School had given him that freedom of friendship. He liked it because the people there didn't just see him as a celebrity, they saw him as a person. They wanted to be his friend because they liked his personality, not because they wanted to benefit from his popularity.

After all, fame never attracted friends. It attracted leeches.

He wanted to tell Marinette that, no, he hadn't. In fact, the only people he considered to be his friends were Nino, Alya, and Marinette—and even then, he wasn't even sure if Alya or Marinette even wanted to be his friends anymore. So that really only left him with Nino for sure... and that sure did sound like he was incredibly lonely. But he figured having a large variety of friends was nothing compared to the one true friendship he had with Nino, and had once had with Alya and Marinette as well before he left—

And WAIT. Adrien's mind instantly froze.

How did Marinette know Adrien had left to go to America?

She asked him if he had made any new American friends... insinuating that he had been in America this whole time—which was true, but Adrien never told Marinette that he was leaving to the states. He never specified where he was going to her, only to Nino and Alya. And the only other person who told Marinette that he would be leaving for the states was Chat Noir...

So how did Marinette know that Adrien had been in America too?

_______________________________

How dumb can Adrien be, am I right? Tune in for chapter 8 (hopefully soon because I have no consistent updating schedule) where Marinette will confront Plagg about her situation with Adrien, and have the kwami of destruction meet Emma for the first time.

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