After the gathering, Marinette found her way home. It was getting late, and she was worn out. "I need to work on my designs for Kitty Section," she thinks as she opens her front door and is greeted by complete darkness in the bakery. Her parents were in the living room watching the nightly news. As she headed upstairs to her bedroom, the only thing she could make out from the TV was the lack of appearances of Paris's superheroes and the debate of whether or not they were finally safe despite losing a miraculous. Marinette throws her bag containing her semi-wet swimsuit, a towel, and Tikki onto her floor, slumping down in her desk chair. Tikki comes floating out of her bag with a concerned look on her face, knowing her dear friend is thinking about something that is bringing her down. "What's wrong, Marinette? Did you not have a good time?" Marinette looks at Tikki with a puzzled expression, her eyebrow arching, "No, why would you think that Tikki?" She asks, genuinely confused as to why she would think that. Tikki sighed, "What's on your mind if it isn't the party? You look just as bad as before you left," Tikki observed, being reasonably decent at reading the body language Marinette displays. Marinette looks at herself in a mirror, "I'm feeling a little guilty for not telling Chat Noir who Monarch was, but first, I need to know if he's okay before I even think of telling him." Marinette continues lowering the mirror and grabbing her phone, immediately beginning a message to someone. "Who are you messaging, Marinette?" Tikki asks, curious about what is going through her holder's head. "She isn't thinking straight; I hope this all blows over soon." Tikki thought, watching over Marinette's shoulder as she finished her text to Alya.
Alya arrives at Marinettes, her hair now dry after taking a presumed shower once she returned to her house. "Hey, is everything okay? Seriously, you can tell me anything, Marinette." She says, looking up at Marinette, who has moved to her bed. "Yeah... everything's GREAT!!!!..." She hesitates, watching Alya sit at her desk chair as Trixx leaves her fanny, joining the conversation. "Actually, no, everything's messed up. I don't know where Chat Noir is; I don't know if he's okay or what could've happened to him, Alya!" She snapped, leaning towards the edge of her bed. "I'm sure if there were something wrong, Plagg would've returned with his miraculous the same day you sent him home," Alya replies, looking out the window as the rain began to trickle down the glass. Marinette takes a vast gasp caused by immediate anxiety, "WHAT IF PLAGG WAS CAPTURED BY THE POTENTIAL NEW HOLDER OF THE BUTTERFLY MIRACULOUS???" Marinette shrieks, covering her mouth with one of her pillows to muffle the panic in her voice so her parents would hopefully continue to be painfully unaware of this conversation. Alya rolls her eyes, looking over at Tikki, "Marinette, we don't know for sure if someone found the butterfly miraculous." Tikki adds, extending her arms horizontally. Marinette sighed and climbed off her bed, "You're probably right, Tikki; no one would think to look in the... location... for a silly brooch." She chuckles it off and crosses her arms, hoping Alya doesn't decide to piggyback off her slip-up. "That's not the only thing I have on my mind, though," She admits, hugging herself and thinking of the small lie she had fabricated that slowly became a significant one. Alya leans over and touches her shoulder, "You can tell me anything, Marinette." Alya says, smiling, attempting to comfort her friend. Marinette takes a deep breath before continuing with her thoughts, "I just feel awful not being able to tell Chat Noir as well as you and everyone who Monarch was; it doesn't help that Paris doesn't have a reason for us to appear together since there's a lack of a currently a lack of threat." She exhales, looking down at Alya. "I'm sure you two will see each other again, and then you can tell him then, and hopefully, you'll tell me too in the meantime." She winks as they both laugh. "It's getting pretty bad out there," Alya adds, referring to the pouring rain. Marinette looks over at the window and smiles at Alya, "You know you can stay over if you want, Alya." She recommends straightening her posture. Alya smiles and nods at the gesture.
Adrien comes out of his bathroom after a shower, immediate his nose burns from the stench of cheese in his bedroom. "Plagg, are you serious, now?" He complains of pinching his nose to avoid the putrid odor. Plagg looks up at him from a shoe box on his bed, "Yeah, sorry, Kid, being locked away relying upon cheese that I was aging for weeks in your desk drawer can only hold me over so so long." Plagg states while Adrien sits at his desk, turning to his computer in support. He starts researching career paths that may interest him. "What do you think I should do for my career, Plagg? I've never thought about it." He frowns while going through many different types of possibilities. Chemist, Translator, Animator, Author.... He continues scrolling until he slams his head into his desk. "Kid, you're in control of your life; what do you like doing?" Plagg questions, hoping it would help him in some way. Adrien ponders for a moment, hand on cheek, staring at his computer, glancing at his parents' wedding bands. "I guess, helping people and making them happy?" He says, mesmerized by his parents' jewelry on his left ring finger. "Maybe look up careers that have you assist people; it seems very fulfilling, Adrien!" Plagg responds, right before he decides to devour another slice of cheese.