With A Pen To My Arm || Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir

Being Marinette's Friend || Chapter 40 ||

Marinette, Alya, Nino and I hung out at the park for a little while after Adrien had left. It was nice to hang out with them without the threat of an akuma hanging over our heads. Or being stuck in class.

"Hey Marinette, you wanna stay the night?" I asked, giving her a smile and she nodded her head enthusiastically while almost bouncing up and down. This caused Alya to chuckle but state that her and Nino were going back to Nino's place.

We parted ways after a quick goodbye and Marinette and I started walking towards my house. Paris was calm today. Everybody was minding their own business and happily continuing on with their life. It really shows how unaffected they are by Hawkmoth's akumas.

"You know, I'm actually glad someone knows I'm Ladybug now..." Marinette stated quietly, giving me a small smile. I grinned and threw my arm around her shoulder, pulling her into my side.

"You don't have to bottle everything up now, plus you can tell me all the dumb things Chat Noir does," I chuckled. Marinette playfully rolled her eyes, but her grin grew larger and she wrapped an arm around my waist.

We walked, skipped and even danced on the way home while laughing and singing off-key to songs we barely knew. It was nice to just enjoy the moment and watch Marinette come out of her shell.

I pushed open my front door and lead the raven-haired girl up to my room. She happily flopped onto my bed and looked up at my photo wall before rolling over to get a better look at them. I watched her eyes rake over every photo.

"You still have the photos of you and Chat Noir up?" she asked. I looked at them and smiled, being reminded over the great moments I had with him in this room.

"Of course, Chat Noir and I are still close friends and Adrien doesn't mind. Everyone on that wall is incredibly important to me," I explained, sitting next to the girl and looking up at my friends. My loved ones.

"I'm on the wall..." Marinette stated in shock. I looked at her in confusion. Did she not believe we were friends? I quickly wrapped my arms around her and tackled her into the bed, forcing her to laugh.

"Duh! You're my friend!" I stated like it was obvious. I don't think I've seen her smile bigger than right now. She wrapped her arms around me too, but the sneaky thing started tickling me. I squeaked and tried to wiggle away.

Chirps of high-pitched laughter made their way out of my mouth, leaving me a heaving mess. Thankfully she stopped, allowing me to catch my breath. Giggles escaped both of us and that's how Marie found us.

She stood in the doorway and smiled softly, watching us before catching our attention. I slowly sat up, silently inviting her in. She hesitantly took a few steps in, we'd made peace but were still slightly cautious around the other.

"Did you girls want to make snacks and have a movie night with me?" she asked. I smiled and nodded, getting off the bed and looking back at Marinette, asking if that was something she wanted to do.

She quickly agreed, stating she loved making food. We ran down the stairs with Marie yelling after us to be careful. I did have to steady Marinette at the bottom as it seemed her body wanted to continue moving forward even after her feet had stopped.

The kitchen bench was covered in ingredients to make snacks and I quickly walked over, putting a slice of cucumber in my mouth. Marie walked in after us and the three of us quickly set to work, making dips and little sweet treats.

Marinette was having a lot of fun making the sweet treats, even showing Marie a thing or two. Marie paid attention to what Marinette was showing her and the two would joke together. It made me happy to see them getting along.

It wasn't too long before we had the snacks on the coffee table and Marie was setting up the movie. We all agreed on watching a comedy, deciding to keep the playful air that filled the house.

It was halfway through the movie when my father came home and joined us on the couch, scooping some dip up on a stick of carrot. He threw his arm around Marie's shoulders and pulled her closer, she sighed, leaning into him. It was at this moment that I truly appreciated the fact that he had her. He was so broken up after my mother's death and he really had found happiness with Marie.

Marinette was caught between laughing at the movie or swooning over the display of affection in front of her. I chuckled catching her attention. She blushed slightly but shrugged turning her attention back to the movie.

After watching a few more movies and filling ourselves with all the snacks, dad and Marie went to clean up while Marinette and I went upstairs to head to bed. I quickly changed into some pajamas and lent a pair to Marinette who went to have a shower.

I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled a pen from my end table. I took off the cap and wrote a sweet little message for Adrien:
Goodnight Bright Eyes, I love you xx

I put the pen back into the drawer and turned on the lamp next to my bed, before turning off the main light in the room. I crawled into bed and snuggled into my blankets, sighing in relief at the soft feeling.

Marinette came back into the room and placed her clothes on my computer desk before crawling into bed, facing me. I grinned at her, causing her to smile.

"Tonight was nice," she said softly, letting out a small yawn and causing me to yawn as well. She giggled and apologised. I turned over ready to turn the light out when I spotted the dark words on my wrist from Adrien:
Sweet dreams Princess, I love you more

I smiled and turned the light off before turning back to Marinette and closing my eyes ready to sleep.

"Thank you for truly being my friend and not just tolerating me," Marinette said quietly. I reached out for her hand and held it until we both fell asleep.