Make sure to vote if you're enjoying the story :)
.
[Narrator's POV]

"Bye bye, butterfly." Ladybug says as she releases the de-evilized akuma.

"Sooo," Cat Noir starts, leaning on his staff coolly.

Ladybug sighs. "Not now, Chat. I'm in a rush."

Without another word, Ladybug swings off into the distance.

"What could she possibly have to do at 9pm?" Cat Noir asks aloud.

He looks down at his ring to see his last pad fading. In a matter of seconds, Cat Noir is transformed into Adrien with a flash of green light. Plagg flies out of Adrien's ring and collapses in his hands.

"Sorry, I used my Cataclysm pretty early on in the fight." Adrien apologises. "I don't have any food so looks like we're taking the train back to the beach house."

Adrien hurries to the subway and buys a ticket for the fastest route he could find. He got a few strange looks, being a teenager headed to the beach at 9'oclock at night. Adrien sighs in exhaustion as he slumps down in a seat on the train.

Adrien mimics Plagg in a patronizing voice. "Nothing will happen. No one will get akumatized."

"What? Everything turned out okay didn't it." Plagg replies defensively.

"I'm lucky Hawk Moth only found a victim late in the evening. I don't know how I would have pulled off sneaking away during the day." Adrien says. "Still, I'm going to get back pretty late. I hope I don't have bags under my eyes at tomorrow's photoshoot."

Adrien leans against the window glass and stares mindlessly into the night. The city's silhouette slowly changes as the train gets closer and closer to the beach. Adrien slips into a daydream with only half an hour left of the train ride when suddenly, a red figure flies past his window. Adrien's eyes shoot open. He presses his face against the glass and darts his eyes around but the mysterious red figure has disappeared from sight.

"Did you see that?" Adrien leans back from the window to look at Plagg. "I think I just saw Ladybug swinging by!"

"So?" Plagg says in a bored tone. "You see Ladybug almost every day."

"So, what is Ladybug doing this far from Paris?" Adrien asks. "Maybe she is on vacation like me, or maybe she lives out here. Don't you see, I'm one step closer to finding her! What if I meet her while we're down here for holiday?"

"Could you even recognise her without her disguise? Miraculouses are magic, you know. Made purposely to hide your identity. It's not as easy as just matching two faces." Plagg debates.

"So I'll look for the amazing girl that I've fallen in love with—I know plenty about her." Adrien replies. "Her hair is like midnight but her eyes are as bright as a summer sky. She is intelligent and professional. She is mature and always gets the job done—"

"You know who you're describing right?" Plagg cuts in.

"Who?" Adrien exclaims desperately.

"A mature, professional woman with dark hair and blue eyes who always gets the job done...Sounds like Nathalie to me." Plagg sniggers.

Adrien shudders in disgust as he thinks of his father's secretary. "Y-You didn't let me finish! Ladybug is not some uptight middle-aged woman. She is beautiful and kind. Playful and—"

"I didn't know cougar was your type, Adrien." Plagg continues to mock.

"Ah! Stop ruining the image of my dream girl!" Adrien cries. "Ladybug is not Nathalie. I am not in love with Nathalie!"

"You know it makes sense now that you saw Ladybug swinging in the same direction as us outside the train," Plagg teases. "Since Nathalie is staying at the beach house with us."

"No! I-I must have been mistaken. It definitely wasn't Ladybug outside my window; I'm just delusional from sleep deprivation." Adrien denies.

Plagg laughs. "I'm just winding you up, Adrien."

Adrien looks out his window again, wondering if it really was Ladybug he saw.

.

Ladybug arrives at Adrien's beach house just as her miraculous times out. Her body sparkles with pink light as she transforms back into Marinette. Tiki falls into her hands, weak with exhaustion.

"Thank goodness we made it before I changed back. I don't have any money on me for transport; I would have had to walk." Marinette says. "You did a good job, Tiki. Let's hurry and get some food for you."

Marinette makes her way up the stairs to find the kitchen lit up by the light of the open fridge. She edges closer and looks at the shoes of whoever is standing behind the fridge door.

"Uh...Adrien?" She says.

The person rummaging through the fridge jumps in fright, causing the contents inside to clatter. Adrien steps out from behind the fridge door and slams it shut, with Plagg still inside.

"M-Marinette! What—What are you doing here?" He stammers nervously.

Marinette squeals with the realisation that she is currently clutching Tiki in her hands. She quickly puts her hands behind her back and slips her kwami into her purse.

"I...I couldn't sleep so I went for a midnight walk." Marinette answers.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep either." Adrien lies. "Late night munchies."

"Actually, I'm pretty peckish too." Marinette says, stepping closer. "Anything good in there?"

Adrien eyes the fridge nervously. He can't let Marinette look in there, his kwami is still hiding inside.

"I'll check!" He says quickly, yanking the door open.

The fridge door slams into Marinette's face. She groans in pain and clutches her nose.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." Adrien grabs Plagg and shoves him inside his jacket before rushing to help Marinette. "Are you okay?"

Marinette removes her hand to reveal blood trickling from her nose.

"Oh boy, your nose is bleeding." Adrien says.

Marinette clasps her hand back over her nose. "Ah— Don't look. I'm okay. I'm okay!"

"You are not okay, your nose is bleeding." Adrien gently takes Marinette's hand away from her face. "Please, sit down."

Marinette's breathing slows. She gets absorbed in the fact that Adrien is currently holding her hand and forgets to reply.

"...Marinette?" Adrien says slowly.

Marinette nods absentmindedly in response. Adrien leads her by the hand to the dining table and sits her down.

"I'll get you some tissues and ice." He says before heading back into the kitchen.

Marinette stares off into space dreamily, holding the hand that Adrien had touched over her heart.

Adrien returns swiftly with a handful of items. "Here are some tissues and Panadol pills. Some ice wrapped in cloth—And I got you some cookies too since you mentioned before that you were hungry."

"Oh, right." Marinette slips some cookies into her purse for Tiki to eat while Adrien is busy putting down all his collected items on the table.

He hands Marinette a tissue and sits down on a seat next to her. "I'm really sorry."

"It's fine." Marinette says, twisting some tissues up her nostrils to stop the bleeding. A few moments of silence pass before she attempts to make conversation, "This is a very nice beach house. It must be fun coming here for holidays."

"Thanks..." Adrien looks around the house, a certain sadness in his gaze. "My whole family used to stay here almost every weekend. Me, my dad...and my mom..."

"I'm so sorry about your mother, Adrien..." Marinette says softly.

"That's okay," Adrien replies. He smiles as he reminisces about his time with his mother. "You know, we used to sit on the beach and watch the sunset. She would tell me stories about merfolk and underwater palaces. Those moments were beautiful...they are so precious to me..."

"It sounds amazing." Marinette replies.

"Yeah, but I don't come here often anymore." Adrien says, his smile fading. "My father is very busy with work these days. I was surprised he let me come down here for the week. Of course, he only wanted to take the opportunity for some beach photoshoots."

"Your father is a talented man; his work must be very demanding. Mr Agreste is my inspiration and I'm sure he is for many others as well. I know it's probably lonely sometimes but you should be proud of him." Marinette puts her hand on Adrien's shoulder to comfort him and looks into his eyes with a caring gaze.

Adrien looks back at Marinette and a smile creeps upon his lips. He suddenly bursts out laughing, startling Marinette.

"Sorry, sorry—I just can't take you seriously when you have tissues stuffed up your nose." Adrien chuckles.

Marinette frowns and removes the tissues from her nostrils. "Well, at least the bleeding stopped."

Adrien stops giggling to smile sincerely at her. "Thanks for cheering me up, Marinette."

Marinette smiles back. From the corner of her eye, she notices orange light beginning to seep through a crack in the window curtain.

"Hey, I have an idea." She says.

"What?" Adrien asks.

Marinette doesn't answer. She takes Adrien by the hand and leads him downstairs and out the door.

"Let's sit on the beach and watch the sunrise," Marinette says finally as she and Adrien walk across the sand. "It's no sunset but—"

"It's beautiful." Adrien breathes.

He slowly sits down in the sand without taking his eyes off the sunrise once. Marinette takes a seat next to him. A vibrant red contrasts beautifully against the cool blue sky as the sun slowly rises—bright and dazzling like a beacon of hope for the new day. Orange sunlight shimmers off the surface of the ocean like dancing lights.

Adrien finally tears his eyes from the sight to look at Marinette. "It's beautiful, Marinette...thankyou."

Marinette looks back at him with a loving smile. The yellow sun glistens in her lustrous, sky-blue orbs; her eyes perfectly reflecting the scene before them. Looking at her in this moment, Adrien thinks about how optimistic and kind she is—bright and warm, just like the rising sun.