Chapter Text
“Good morning, sweetheart!”
Marinette managed a smile as she stepped into the bakery kitchen. The familiar scent of fresh bread and pastries usually made her feel at home, but this morning it only reminded her that she'd gotten barely four hours of sleep.
“Morning, Ma.”
Sabine glanced up from arranging a tray of croissants. “You're up later than usual.”
“Mm.” Marinette grabbed a chocolate croissant and took a bite. “I was studying.”
Another lie.
Not entirely a lie. She had studied. Between patrols, akumatizations, and trying to finish a ten-page paper before midnight.
Her mother's expression softened.
“What's wrong, dear? You look exhausted.”
Marinette looked away. The truth sat heavy in her chest.
I'm tired of saving everyone.
The thought startled her. It felt selfish.
“Just worn out,” she said instead. “Lots of schoolwork.”
Sabine reached over and squeezed her hand.
“You don't have to do everything perfectly, you know.”
If only that were true.
Ladybug had to be perfect. People depended on her.
Marinette forced another smile. “I'll survive.”
“Be careful on your way to school.”
“I will, Ma. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
As Marinette headed toward the door, she heard Tikki's tiny voice from inside her purse.
“You should tell someone when you're struggling.”
Marinette paused.
“I know.”
The problem was that she couldn't.
.
.
.
The moment Marinette stepped onto campus, her tired expression melted away.
Years of practice had made it automatic.
Smile.
Stand up straight.
Pretend everything is fine.
Students crossed the courtyard in groups, laughing and talking as they hurried toward class. Marinette waved at a few familiar faces and slipped into the classroom.
Alya was already there.
Of course she was.
The moment she spotted Marinette, she practically launched herself out of her seat.
“Girl! You have got to see this.”
Marinette laughed despite herself.
“Good morning to you too.”
“No, seriously, look!”
Alya shoved her phone into Marinette's hands.
On the screen, Ladybug was swinging through the streets of Paris before diving to rescue a city bus that had nearly collided with a semi truck.
Marinette winced internally.
“Oh wow,” she said. “Ladybug looks... cool.”
“You say that every time!”
“Because she is cool!”
Alya narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“Why do I feel like you're always so weirdly defensive whenever I talk about Ladybug?”
Because I am Ladybug.
Marinette smiled innocently.
“No reason.”
.
.
.
Marinette's attention drifted as Alya replayed the video.
The words in her textbook blurred together.
Maybe if I survive today, I'll take a nap.
A real nap.
The classroom door opened.
And every coherent thought immediately left her brain.
Adrien Agreste walked in.
His blond hair was slightly messy, as though he'd run his hand through it on the way to class. Sunlight streamed through the windows behind him, making him look unfairly radiant.
Marinette stared.
She knew she was staring.
She couldn't stop.
Adrien smiled at someone across the room.
Marinette's heart promptly forgot how to function.
Maybe Alya was right.
Maybe she needed sunglasses.
“Aren't you watching the video?”
“Hm?”
Alya followed her gaze and immediately groaned.
“Oh, for the love of—”
“What?”
“Sparkles just walked in.”
Marinette's eyes widened.
“I wasn't staring!”
“You absolutely were.”
“I was not.”
“Girl.”
“Oh no.”
“Girl.”
Marinette buried her face in her textbook.
Alya's laughter echoed through the classroom.
“Twenty-one years old and still utterly hopeless.”
“Hey! I am not hopeless!”
Marinette elbowed Alya playfully, attempting to draw attention away from herself.
“You totally are!”
.
.
.
Luckily for Marinette, Adrien hadn't noticed her staring.
He was distracted by thoughts of someone else entirely.
Ladybug.
The name alone was enough to pull his attention away from the classroom around him.
Years had passed since they first became partners, yet somehow she still occupied far more space in his thoughts than she probably should.
She was brave when everyone else was afraid.
Confident when situations seemed impossible.
Kind even when she was exhausted.
Especially when she was exhausted.
Adrien frowned slightly.
Now that he thought about it, she'd seemed tired lately.
There had been moments during recent battles when he'd caught glimpses of it—the slight delay in her reactions, the way she'd linger for a second after a victory as if gathering enough energy to stand upright.
Most people probably wouldn't notice.
He did.
His chest tightened.
I should ask if she's okay.
The thought immediately ran into a familiar wall.
Ladybug had never been particularly eager to discuss her personal life.
And maybe that was fair.
He wasn't exactly open about his own feelings either.
"Yo! Adrien!"
The sudden shout nearly made him jump.
Nino dropped into the seat beside him with a grin.
"There you are. I've been trying to get your attention for like two minutes."
Adrien blinked.
"Sorry."
"Dude, where do you keep disappearing to?"
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck.
"I was thinking."
Nino immediately pointed an accusing finger at him.
"Aha."
"Aha what?"
"You've got that look."
Adrien sighed.
"I don't have a look."
"You absolutely have a look."
Nino leaned closer.
"The 'I'm thinking about a girl' look."
Heat crept into Adrien's face.
"What? No."
"Oh my God, there is a girl."
"There isn't."
"There is."
"There isn't."
"There definitely is."
Adrien laughed despite himself.
"You're impossible."
"And you're terrible at hiding things."
Before Adrien could come up with a response, Alya's voice carried across the room.
"Hey! Dork!"
Nino immediately winced.
Adrien turned toward Alya's side of the classroom.
"You forgot we're going out tonight, remember?" Alya called. "You can play matchmaker another day."
Nino raised both hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay!"
Adrien chuckled.
The familiar banter settled something warm inside him.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
College.
Friends.
Classes.
A future that seemed almost within reach.
Then his eyes drifted across the room.
Marinette sat a few rows away with her face hidden behind a textbook.
Only a few strands of blue-black hair were visible.
Adrien smiled faintly.
Some things never changed.
She still got flustered over the smallest things.
It was... kind of adorable.
Before he could think much further, the classroom door opened.
Miss Bustier entered carrying a stack of papers.
Conversations died down almost instantly.
"Good morning, everyone."
A chorus of greetings answered her.
As Adrien reached for his notebook, he caught himself glancing once more toward Marinette.
For some reason, she looked tired too.
The observation lingered in the back of his mind as class began.
.
.
.
"Ugh, finally. Classes are over."
Marinette stretched her arms over her head as she stepped out of the lecture hall. Her shoulders ached from hunching over notes all day, and she was fairly certain she'd stopped absorbing information somewhere around noon.
Alya laughed beside her.
"You say that every single day."
"Because every single day feels like it's lasting forty-eight hours."
"Fair."
The two of them joined the stream of students making their way across campus. The afternoon sun was warm against Marinette's skin, and for a brief moment she imagined going home, collapsing into bed, and sleeping until next week.
It sounded heavenly.
Alya was quiet for a moment.
"Hey."
"Hm?"
"Nino and I were going to go out tonight, but..." She shrugged. "Maybe we should do something together instead. Movie night? Like old times."
Marinette's heart squeezed.
The offer was genuinely tempting.
No responsibilities.
No school.
No superhero duties.
Just popcorn, terrible movies, and Alya making fun of plot holes.
Then reality intruded.
There was still a chapter she hadn't read.
An essay outline she hadn't started.
And knowing her luck, the moment she actually tried to relax, Hawk Moth would decide Paris needed another crisis.
"No, no." Marinette waved her hand dismissively. "That's okay. I wouldn't want to interrupt your date."
Alya narrowed her eyes.
"Marinette."
"What?"
"You're allowed to have fun."
"I know."
"You don't sound convincing."
Marinette forced a smile.
"I'll be fine. Seriously."
Alya looked unconvinced but eventually sighed.
"Alright. If you're sure."
"I am."
"Okay. But if you spend the entire night studying, I'm going to be so mad at you."
"No promises.”
Alya gasped dramatically.
"See? That's exactly the problem!”
Marinette laughed.
"Go. Have fun."
"Love you, girl."
"Love you too."
Alya hurried off toward the opposite side of campus, leaving Marinette standing alone among the crowd.
The smile slipped from her face almost immediately.
She was tired.
So unbelievably tired.
The walk home felt longer than usual.
By the time she climbed the ladder to her room, dropped her bag beside her desk, and kicked off her shoes, she was running purely on stubbornness.
With a dramatic groan, she threw herself face-first onto her bed.
The mattress welcomed her like an old friend.
"This is nice," she mumbled into her pillow.
A tiny red blur emerged from her purse.
"You said that yesterday too."
Marinette rolled onto her side.
"Tikki, I have made a terrible mistake."
"What mistake?"
"I enrolled in college."
Tikki giggled.
"I don't think that's the problem."
"You're right."
Marinette reached for her textbook.
"The problem is existing."
Opening the book felt like lifting a boulder.
She stared at the page.
The page stared back.
Words blurred together.
She read the same sentence three times.
Then four.
Then five.
Her eyelids felt heavier with every passing second.
She wished, not for the first time, that Hawk Moth would simply take a vacation.
Just one week.
One peaceful, disaster-free week.
Was that really too much to ask?
Her head dipped forward.
Then jerked back up.
"No sleeping," she muttered.
A moment later, she yawned.
Maybe a short nap wouldn't hurt.
Just twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes and then she'd finish her reading.
That sounded reasonable.
Very reasonable.
The textbook slowly slipped from her fingers as her eyes drifted shut.
Within moments, she was asleep.
.
.
.
Superheros don’t get nights off, don’t I know that by now?