Never Let Go

Never the Same

Adrien couldn't wait to get off this plane! After eleven hours of not being able to sleep - being squished against the wall coupled with almost crippling anxiety, Adrien sighed heavily as he put down his phone. He shook his legs nervously as he looked out the window. In the distance, he could barely make out people standing on the viewing deck. His heart leapt in excitement - maybe some of those people were his friends.

Adrien tried to picture Nino and Alya holding hands, big smiles on their faces as they patiently waited for him. Truly, he had been extremely lucky to have found such good friends. Even after four years of living on separate continents, their friendship had only grown stronger - Adrien had modern technology to thank for that.

BZZT. BZZT.

A new message lit up the screen of his phone.

[LuckyCharm13]: Me too kitty. Would I be saying too much if I told you I was actually at the airport?

Adrien's phone nearly hit the ground, slipping from his hand and barely managing to catch it between his knees.

Ladybug is here?! He shouted in his head. What if I see her? Will I know who she is? What will I do?

Adrien dropped his head to his hands, fingers lacing themselves within his hair.

Geez. My heart can't take this.

The last time he had seen Ladybug, he had kissed her. He had kissed Ladybug! Ever since then, the memory of her soft lips pressed against his left his body with a longing he could barely stand. Adrien had gotten a taste, almost a taunting foreshadowing of the relationship they could have, but waiting for the past six months, knowing the sweetness of her scent and the feeling of her gentle skin was almost too much to bear. So many times he had been tempted to just give everything up, hop on a plane, and engulf his lady in a sweet embrace. But he reminded himself of the sweetness of their journey, knowing patience had been the key to their relationship ever since he ended up tied up next to her that very first day.

Adrien lowered his hands, leaning his head against the headrest as he remembered the evolution of their relationship, a grin forming across his lips. For a long time, the messages between them had been silly - nothing was serious and they were always filled with playful banter and witty remarks. It was these light hearted and often ridiculous texts that got him through his first year of college.

Sometime after that first Christmas, they began sharing things that were going on in their lives: big tests, interviews, a fun day spent with a best friend. In fact, Adrien pretty much always knew what Ladybug was doing, and it was refreshing to see she really lived just as normal a life as him.

It was in the third year that the two really began to lean on each other for emotional support. They came to each other first any time they experienced some sort of problem. Adrien comforted Ladybug when she video called him, her face streaming in tears. And Ladybug encouraged Adrien when he was feeling lonely, making him feel like she was really there with him.

However, it was the past six months that had sent Adrien through a whirlwind of emotions. After that first kiss and living on the hope of a promise, Ladybug had finally begun to give out small little snippets of extremely personal information. And it was with these hints, Adrien slowly began to put the pieces of who she really was together. A fashion design student with an all too eager reporter best friend, parents who would do anything for her and just so happen to run their own business, a once nervous girl who couldn't get out a sentence around the boy she had been interested in - Adrien knew this person; she sounded exactly like Marinette.