Sweet Dreams, Long Nights

End

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Note before we start, this is not the last chapter, there WILL be an Epilouge.

Thank you!
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After leaving Adrien and finishing patrol, Marinette finally made it home with enough time to finish her dress before Alya arrived. When Alya did arrive, the girls spent the next two hours getting ready. It was filled with laughter, crying (don't ask why), and lots and lots of stress. For a fashion designer, Marinette hadn't realized how much work went into simply putting on the clothes. There was makeup, nails, hair, shoes, etc, etc. She almost felt jealous considering the guys probably just had to shower and throw on a tux. Hell, most of them were probably going to show up in sneakers.

Why Marinette ended up going to the dance was still a mystery to her. She didn't have a date, she would be stuck in heels for the rest of the night (she couldn't complain about an "uncomfortable dress" considering she kept comfort in mind while designing it), and she'd see Adrien there. There wasn't even free food! What could've possibly happened to make her go? One word. Alya. Sure, that should've been on the list of reasons not to go. If she was going to spend time with Alya, she would've spent the entire night third-wheeling. In fact, when she'd seen Adrien at the park, and he said he'd see her there, she spent the entire time screaming in her mind that, THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL I'M GOING TO THAT DANCE. (She was actually surprised how well she kept her cool during that entire exchange). She had only planned on helping Alya get ready, send her off, and then spend the next 5 hours watching depressing movies while eating ice cream. But when Alya showed up and saw the dress hanging on her mannequin, the feisty teen blew up. She went full mama tiger on her saying things like, "You can't stay here and drown in your sorrows, you have to show up looking like a total babe and make Adrien realize what he's missing!" and, "C'mon girl! You're gonna look like a total goddess and make all the guys jaws drop! How do you expect to get over Adrien if you don't have a new statue for your compass! Or a new compass for your statue!"

In the end, and with much pleading from Alya and Tikki, Marinette gave in and agreed to go to the dance on two conditions, Alya wouldn't try to set her up with anyone and wouldn't neglect Nino. Alya agreed to the terms and after a very stressful preparation, the two headed out, leaving Trixx and Tikki with a plate of cookies and the password to Marinette's Netflix account. The two girls caught a ride with Nino and finally, they were off.

When they finally got there, Marinette split up with the two and walked into the dance alone. It was dark except for the flashing lights above the dance floor. Some pop song was playing in the background as girls in too short dresses bounced along to the beat, "casually" glancing at the boys as they laughed with their friends. The occasional couple were laughing together as they sang along to the lyrics. There was one or two couples making out in one of the dark corners of the room. Marinette walked over to the tables, looking for an empty seat. Then, her eyes met a very familiar pair of green eyes in one of the empty back tables. The two froze as their eyes met each others, the background music and joyful chatter dimmed as they stared. Marinette took a deep breath and walked towards him, a gently smile tugging the corner of her lips. He was angelic. His hair was left messy in a sort of...Chat Noir style. He was wearing the black suit he had worn when wearing her hat during the Style Queen incident. The flashing lights made his eyes burst with a vibrant green. His tie was black, with what looked like gold glitter trailing lightly up from the bottom, just barely noticeable. He was leaning casually in his seat. God, his entire aura read Chat Noir. She finally reached his side and gestured to the empty chair next to him.

"Is this seat taken?"

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After reading his father's letter, Adrien took a long, cold shower. He spent most of it sitting on the cold tile as water splashed on his back, staring off into space. When he finally got out, he dried off and pulled out some clothes from his closet. He tugged them on, leaving his hair as it was, tossing some Camembert to Plagg.