A Little Fall of Rain

Date Night

Marinette was beautiful when she slept. She was beautiful when she was awake, too; that much was obvious. There was something about her calm, relaxed face that captivated Adrien. He could watch her sleep for hours.

But they were out of time.

Adrien pressed his lips to Marinette's forehead, and she began to stir in his arms. He hated to wake her, but he didn't have any other choice.

"Time to wake up, Marinette," he told her reluctantly.

"Noooo..." she whined. Without opening her eyes, Marinette scrunched up her face in protest. Then, she rolled closer toward Adrien and buried her face in his neck. Adrien chuckled as he continued to hold the sleepy girl, gently rubbing her back.

After another minute of snuggling, Adrien began to feel tiny, soft kisses on his neck. Well, at least she is starting to wake up, he thought with a smile. Soon, her kisses began to wander up to his jawline, then to his cheek.

He felt Marinette shift her body until she was practically on top of him, her messy hair spiling in his face, tickling his skin. Adrien watched her curiously as she leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Then, she slumped down on his chest, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you today," he whispered.

"Then skip school." Marinette's voice was bright with amusement. "Come play with me, instead. We can introduce Paris to DragonBoy."

"If I'm not at school, Father or Nathalie will check on me constantly," Adrien sighed. "Night is the only time I get any privacy."

Marinette's face dropped into an adorable little pout.

"Besides, I can bring you all the homework we've missed. We can start catching up together. I'd hate for you to fall behind."

Marinette's pout faded, and she suddenly looked very distant. She slowly climbed off Adrien, then sat on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest.

"What's wrong?"

"What is going to happen if Hawkmoth really has disappeared?" Marinette rested her head on her knees. "This is the longest he has ever been dormant. How am I supposed to defeat him if I can't find him?"

Adrien pushed himself up to sit beside her. "We'll think of a way. And we can bring in help, too. Alya is starting to warm up to Ladybug again. She has more information on Akumas than anyone. Maybe we can track down where they were coming from."

"And if that fails?" Marinette's voice was barely above a whisper. "Will I just be Ladybug for the rest of my life? Watching from the rooftops as my family and friends live their lives. Unable to have a life of my own."

Adrien gazed back at her sadly. He wished he had an answer for her.

"What if he never comes back?" she continued. "Is there a point I can come home? Ten years? Twenty? Would my family even want to see me again? How would they react to finding out I've been alive the whole time?"

"You can't let yourself think like that."

"I can't help it." Marinette's brows furrowed, and for a moment, she looked like she was going to cry again. Then she took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist.

"No. I can't go back, not until Hawkmoth is defeated," Marinette said decisively. "Not if there's any chance they could be in danger. I won't do that to them. Not after everything else."

Adrien reached out and gently took Marinette's hand. This was so unfair! This sweet girl had never done anything to deserve such hardship.

"You will have a life, I promise," Adrien whispered. "Even if we have to leave Paris or even Europe. We can find a corner of the earth where no one will ever find us."