As Adrien sat on the bus going to the cabin, he was lost in his thoughts. One week had passed without any Akumas. Hawkmoth seemed to have taken some vacations. Adrien begged for a little easy Akuma but he had no such luck. He continued to curse the man who was always on his tail and now the only time Adrien could take that as his advantage, the man disappeared!
This cat was so desperate that the idea of faking an Akuma spread his mind. So long without his lady was torture. When would he see her again?
Marinette shifted her head slightly causing Adrien to return his thoughts back to the bus and to her. She looked so cute sleeping with her head on his shoulder. Her cute smile reflecting on his.
This was her birthday getaway. He hoped she liked the present he had for her. He got it especially for her! She was always so thoughtful and sweet that he wanted to repay it.
She even forgave him! Sometimes he felt he didn't deserve such a friend so he promised himself that he would make it up to her. He had been doing small things to make it up to her but now this was his chance to truly make it up to her. So, these days he would solely focus on her. When he got back, he was going back to focus on his lady and the proposal. He already had a plan made and everything.
Slowly and carefully he began to stroke Marinette's hair. She mumbled his name in her sleep. Adrien's smile widened before he fell asleep too, dropping his now heavy head onto Marinette's.
He didn't know how long he slept, all he remembered was waking up to two gorgeous blue eyes staring at him.
"Hey," Adrien greeted her with a genuine smile as he blinked away the last remaining sleep from his eyes.
"Hey," Marinette answered back with a smile and a flustered "We're here!"
The place they picked was perfectly filled with nature and almost completely isolated. The nearest town was 50 minutes away on foot. They were all by themselves, a fact everyone enjoyed. Of course, that meant they still had to carry their bags into the wild to get to the cabin. While Alya and Nino complained about the walk, Marinette was too focused on admiring the beauty of nature. Adrien couldn't complain either as he enjoyed seeing Marinette look and point out every butterfly and bird she saw.
As they continued to carry their luggage into the forest, Adrien's eyes were impressed by some beautiful rose bushes. Taking one of his least favorite shirts out of his bag and wrapping it around his hand, he carefully grabbed the prettiest rose there. Smiling, he sneaked behind Marinette before hugging her from behind and putting the rose close to her nose, giving her the chance to smell it.
"Hey! Marinette, this rose is just for you," he whispered into her ear.
"Foooor mmmeeee?" She mumbled nervously, unable to control her blush.
"Adrien where's my rose? We are friends too!" Alya teased.
"You don't need Adrien to give you a rose." Nino answered back trying to save his bro.
"It's not like my boyfriend gives me roses," Alya shot back at Nino.
"Here, Alya you can have it." Marinette tried to save the situation by giving the rose to Alya.
"Thanks, girl!" Alya smiled to Marinette while giving Nino the death stare.
"No problem. Can you and Nino go ahead I need to talk to Adrien?" Marinette begged as she suppressed a deep sigh.
Nino gave Adrien a look and whispered to him, "Nice, Dude! Cuz of you. We will be both be sleeping in the dog house."
Adrien was going to mumble something but Nino and Alya went ahead. She was clearly arguing with him. Adrien looked at Marinette. He could already tell by her expression a similar fate to Nino's awaited him.
With an irritated sigh, Marinette began, "Adrien this needs to stop! The rose, the notes on my balcony, the gifts? When will it end?"
With a pitiful look, he admitted, "I was just trying to make it up to you. You didn't like it?"
"It's too much!" Marinette sighed, taking pity on his face. With a smile on her face, she admitted, "The CD with my favorite songs was nice. I still play it every day. It's my favorite!"
"The rest was me but the CD wasn't!" He repeated, "The CD wasn't me!" He didn't know if it hurt because the thing Marinette most liked wasn't given by him or the fact that someone else was giving her gifts.
They both stayed quiet. Waiting for the other to continue. Eventually, Marinette extended her hand to him and asked, "Always?"
"Always" had become their unspoken promise that whatever happened between them, they would ALWAYS stay friends. It started after their talk a week ago and now it was becoming a symbol that their friendship could survive anything. He smiled and assured her, "Always!"
With them now holding hands, they continued their walk. It didn't take long for them to start talking normally again. They shared so many interests after all. By the end of the walk, they were so embedded in which character of Ultra Mega Strike 4 was better that the whole awkward incident was forgotten.
Quicker than they imagined, Marinette and Adrien arrived and stared at the cabin. It was small and made of wood, having a rustic warm vibe to it.
Alya and Nino were already in their room making peace. Marinette and Adrien avoiding disrupting the couple and went straight for their room.
As soon as they entered their room, Adrien dropped his bags and jumped excitedly onto his bed. The sound of crick of the springs of the mattress along with the sound of the iron frame of the bed hitting the wall didn't seem to bother Adrien as he happily continued.
"Well you seem excited," Marinette commented, seeing how he went from formal Adrien to pure Chat Noir in seconds.
With a big jump, he did a black flip before stopping and sitting on his bed. Still emitting a joyful glow he told her, "Of course I'm excited. Being far from home and with my friends, it's the best!
His blissful expression suddenly changed to serious as he admitted, "I never had this growing up. Being here makes me feel free, just like when I turn into Chat Noir."
The ending sigh of Adrien's words almost broke Marinette's heart. How could a mere sigh show so much emotion? How could someone like Adrien, who spent so much time traveling to places and meeting interesting people, feel trapped?
"Free? I don't understand," she asked curious of what he meant.
"Of course you don't," Adrien sighed letting his body fall into bed. "Your parents are awesome and let you hang out with your friends, have sleepovers, and do the normal stuff you want. But my father doesn't! I had to beg for these days. I work hard to be the perfect son, but it's never enough. Nothing is ever enough," he coldly admitted. "Most of the time what I get is being alone, even during meals. I spend all of my life around people, but simultaneously alone."
Marinette looked at him, feeling sorry for him. Adrien didn't notice as his eyes looked at the ceiling. "So, that's why you love being Chat Noir so much?"
"Of course! It's just not because of being around Ladybug all the time. When I transform I'm not Adrien Agreste, the boy who, despite eating most meals alone, still uses properly the 3 types of forks, the three types of knives, and the 2 spoons. No! I'm not the perfect son, the kid role model. When I transform I'm just a dorky normal guy who happens to be in a super suit. People see me as more real with a cat suit then as me."
"Wow! I had no idea. You always smile and seem so put together. I never knew you felt that way." Marinette controlled her will to hug him, instead giving a sweet touch on his shoulders.
"I don't want you to feel sorry for me. Because, being with you guys is the best thing in my life, including being Chat Noir."
"Thank you for sharing it with me."
"I never told this to anyone before. I guess now you know all my secrets," he laughed nervously. "I still have to learn yours."
"Mine?" She froze. "I don't have secrets! Me? Please! Why would you say that?"
"Ha ha! Everyone has some. Come on! Tell me you never snuck away? Did something you weren't supposed to? Lied?"
"Hum Hum"
"Calm down! I'm just teasing you!"
Adrien got up and began unpacking. Marinette sighed, finally being able to breathe.
Marinette started to examine their small bedroom more carefully. Despite the annoying loud spring mattress and the iron-framed beds, the room was nice. It had two beds, each leaning against a wall. Adrien was in the bed to the left while Marinette's was on the right. Each had an old fashion side bed table. They had no TV or entertainment. The curtains were very old and heavy. The closet was white. Beyond that, there was only a small red lamp.
After everything was organized, everyone left to explore the woods. They were walking across a dangerous looking part of the woods. Already having enough danger in her life as Ladybug, she opted out and decided to return home.
Without much to do Marinette decided to try on her sparkling pink dress which was meant for her to wear tomorrow at her birthday dinner. Looking at her belly and examining it closely, she felt nervous. What if Adrien could tell she was pregnant? The dress was tight leaving little to the imagination. Why did Alya have her wear something so skin tight?
Tikki, almost like she read Marinette's mind, assured, "Marinette you are only 7 weeks pregnant. No one can tell. At this point, the baby is even smaller than me! Adrien won't be able to tell anything. Relax and maybe... just maybe talk to him."
Marinette slid off her dress throwing it onto Adrien's bed. Tears making their way down her cheeks. She immediately dressed in her pajamas, feeling way more comfortable in them.
Tikki flew to Marinette, trying to hug her as best she could with her small body. Still, it was a nice gesture and even earned a smile from Marinette.
"Thank you, Tikki but I can't tell him. My biggest fear is that he finds out. It's so hard having to keep my secret as Ladybug as well as his secret as Chat Noir, plus the secret of my pregnancy. It's too many secrets. If Adrien finds out about our child or my identity or both. I'm screwed."
Before Tikki could even answer back, a voice coming from the doorway shouted, "WHATTTT?!"
Marinette and Tikki looked at each other, both paralyzed in fear.