a/n: meant to change the cover a long time ago; a beautiful fanart by JinxGirl165 (@SORA165) that i utterly love with all my heart. thank you again, and i hope that you are still with and enjoying this story.

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"𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚜𝚜
𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚘𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚢"

-𝚛.𝚑. 𝚂𝚒𝚗, 𝚙𝚘𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚢.

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Tikki watched with a grumbling stomach and hearts in her eyes as Marinette came up to her room with a plate of delicacies that she had helped her dad make early in the morning before the bakery opened its doors.

Marinette set the plate down at her desk as she sat at her computer, sliding the plate to the left and glancing at her, "Let's eat together, Tikki." The Kwami let out a sound of delight and immediately dived for the chocolate chip cookies which had Marinette huffing out a small chuckle, "you have no idea how hard it is to sneak anything with chocolate in it, Tikki. I had to make sure my parents weren't looking when I nabbed those for you."

"But why?" Tikki asked curiously, crumbs all around her mouth before she let out a hurt sound, "You aren't forbidden from eating chocolate, are you? That would be absolutely terrible! A travesty!"

Tikki watched her eyes crease in a certain way that translated that she was smiling despite her lips not following said expression.

(Marinette's most expressive feature are her eyes, most of the time. Tikki is learning day by day what twinkle, dim crease means, it was far more difficult than she expected but she was getting there!)

"Well, technically speaking, yes." At Tikki's affronted expression, Marinette's lips split into a pretty grin and eyes curving into crescents as she laughed softly. Her expression slipped back to it's usual apathy, but it was softer, "I'm deathly allergic, unfortunately. Even just a hint could have my throat closing up."

Tikki gasped, dropping the cookie in order to cover her mouth, "That's terrible, Marinette! You- you should have told me, what if there's- cross contamination is a thing, right? Like residue left over from coming into contact with it? Oh, look at all these pastries, they're touching the cookies! What if I-"

"Tikki," Marinette stops her softly, "I'll be okay, I always inspect what I eat when I have a plate like this. I can watch out for myself, but having an extra set of eyes watching out always helps."

Tikki's heart soars and she smiles at her holder.

Marinette's phone goes off suddenly, a soft ringtone of a guitar playing and Tikki watches in interest as Marinette checks the caller ID and lets out a small oh. It's the tone in which the syllable was let out that piqued Kwami's interest.

"Hey, stranger," she answers, leaning back in her chair.

"Marinette," the sound of a male voice has Tikki floating closer to catch more of the conversation. "Good...morning? It's morning for you, right?"

"Yeah," she reaches back to release her hair from the messy high bun she had put it in to keep it out while helping in the bakery, letting it tumble down her back, "just finished in the bakery."

"Just in time then," the voice chuckles, soft and melodious, "just wanted to let you know we've set course to return."

"Oh?" Marinette blinked, "ETA?"

"Definitely a few weeks, maybe a bit longer if we take the scenic route."

Marinette's lips twitch, "I'm torn between telling you to hurry back, the scenic route is always worth it."

He hums, "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Neither of them said anything after, but as Marinette lets her eyes flutter close, Tikki realizes that it's not in complete silence. Floating just a tad closer, she finally hears the soft strumming coming from the other end, and she also lets her eyes close as she enjoys the ambience.

The strumming stops, "How are things going with Adrien?"

Tikki opens her eyes as she hears Marinette take a deep breath. She takes a bite of her cookie because, whoa, plot twist.

"He's fighting."

A snort, "Nothing having to do with your encouragement?"

"He just needed a little push, everything that follows is on his own volition."

"Oh, I'm sure."

"Stuff it, Luka."

Finally, a name!

Luka chuckles, the soft strumming continuing, the tune different than the last.

"Feeling melancholy, are we?" Marinette murmurs.

"I miss him, too, you know? It wasn't just you that lost a friend."

And that- that seems to set something off in Marinette as her eyes began to glisten with unshed tears.

"I know," she whispers.

"We both lost a little of ourselves when we lost him."

"I know."

"He'll find his way back. He won't be the same, sure. But we're already here waiting for him."

Martinette tilts her head back, gulping down whatever emotion she refused to let out as she closes her eyes again, a lone tear escaping the dam.

"I know."

For once, Tikki thinks, Marinette looks her age.

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"Your birthday's coming up?" Nino asks, surprise coloring his face. Almost immediately after, he grins and claps Adrien on the shoulder. "We definitely have to celebrate!"

"Ah," Adrien rubs the back of his neck, "I'd really like to, but I'm not sure if my father would allow it." They were standing outside the school, it was still early.

(Not because he knew Marinette always arrived half an hour before classes began.

Definitely not.)

"What do you mean he wouldn't? Dude! It's your birthday!" Nino's disbelief is understandable, but he also doesn't know his father like he does. He always hopes, every year, that it'll be different.

Spoiler alert: it isn't.

"I just-"

"You should just sick Marinette on him," Nino scoffs, "she was this way with getting adults to agree to whatever she thinks is right. Just look at the mayor! Everyone knows that Chloe always gets her way, but one comment from Marinette has him taking her point. It drives Chloe insane."

Adrien blinked at the information. He wasn't even aware that Chloe and Marinette- let alone Marinette and Chloe's father- knew each other that well. He was aware of some history, but he had assumed it was only to do with their time at school, not- not personally.

"I...still don't think my father would be swayed by what a teenager has to say. He's...sometimes I think he's unshakable."

"Well, you're here, aren't you?" Nino nudges him with his elbow, giving him a small smile. "So, I don't think it's impossible."

Adrien remembers when he had fought so hard so that he could go to school.

(Her blue eyes so bright despite the tinted glass, her stare seemed to pierce right through him. The look she was giving him was blank but there was a gleam in them this time as her lips parted to mouth-

The car began to pull away, he craned his neck to keep eye contact. But she turned away, leaving Adrien to his thoughts as he rolled the window back up and stared at the fabric of the leather seats.

"Fight.")

"I guess I could try," Adrien murmurs, ducking his head shyly. Nino grins, squeezing his shoulder in support. Nino glanced up as he saw a familiar figure making her way towards the school.

"Whoa."

"What?" Adrien looked up to his friend, but Nino was blankly staring at something past him. He followed his line of sight and-

His brain short circuits for a moment.

Reboot.

"Whoa," he mimics his friend, though his breathier.

Of course, it was Marinette they were looking at. It wasn't that she was wearing anything different, though her hair was braided this time, coming around her shoulder to rest near her stomach. He knew how long her hair was, having seen it in a ponytail while she jogs at the park. It wasn't that, it was just- just that-

Marinette was smiling.

It wasn't a big one, just a small curve of her lips. She was looking down at the sidewalk, phone held up to her ear and speaking to whoever was on the other end.

And Adrien?

Adrien was jealous of whoever was on the other end. Who was it that was able to make Marinette (whose lips twitched and brows furrowed and hesitated before allowing them to see her react in any way) smile so easily and so carefree. It was gently, and soft-

He wishes it was directed at him.

Marinette is closer now, and Nino pulls his arm and they both look at each other, pretending to not be obviously staring at her and totally not trying to listen to her conversation ohmygodstheywereterriblecompletelyandutterly-

"I'll let Juleka know," Marinette affirmed to the receiver, "I'm guessing you haven't told her yet because you called me first, right? Yeah, I thought so. She'll be excited, regardless."

"O-oh! Good morning, Marinette!" Nino greeted, trying to seem like they only just noticed her arrival. Adrien looks just as Marinette glances over at them. Whatever mood she must be in must be better than usual since she doesn't lose the smile like they expected, and she nods, smiling seemingly just a bit wider.

"Good morning, Nino," her eyes flicker to Adrien and her eyes crease just a tad more, "Adrien."

"Mornin'," he blurted.

She kept walking, eyes forward this time rather than down at the ground, "Yeah, I'm at school now. You should probably go help your mo- what? Don't give me that, we've been on the phone for hours. You should..."

She was too far now, her voice fading as she made her way up the stairs into the school.

"Do you...know who she was talking to?" Adrien whispers, eyes still trained on where he saw her last. Hoping for another glimpse of the smile that she gave him that was just a bit happier than the one she gave Nino.

"No clue," he whispered right back.

They stood there for another moment, both just staring at where Marinette had entered the school.

"We should..."

"Yeah."

"Go to class and totally pretend not to listen in, right?

"Yeah."

"Good talk, glad we had it."

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