The day after Marinette's party was a groaning disaster. Marinette herself woke up as the sun rose, only an hour after she'd gone to sleep. Nathanaël was fast asleep, arm around Marinette. Kissing his hand softly, Marinette shifted out from under it, brushing his hair from his face. She smiled at his soft expression, mouth slightly open as he twitched, dreaming of something that Marinette would likely never find out. But Marinette noticed to absence of someone else; Alya was nowhere to be found. Glancing around, Marinette confirmed that the red head had managed to sneak away.

Before she could check though, Marinette glanced at Nino. His glasses were on lopsided, seeming to poke him in the side of his head. Marinette covered the small space to the love seat, pulling the dark frame off of Nino's face and putting them on the table next to his seat. Next, Marinette checked on Chloé and Adrien. Chloé was scrunched into a ball, laying on top of Adrien's sitting figure. Chloé had always been able to sleep perfectly still, so it was no wonder her makeup was still done impeccably.

Finally, Marinette looked at the monstrosity that was Adrien; head tilted back, mouth wide open, and hair all over the place. Shaking her head like a mother, Marinette pushed Adrien's chin lightly, making him close his mouth. Next, she reached up to move the hair that was plastered to his forehead. Marinette knew Adrien had nightmares. Even when he was stiff as a board, he dreamed of a violence that he had never shared with even Marinette: his best of friends.

Brow furrowing with concern, Marinette bunched up Adrien's hair at the nape of his neck; the locks had grown unruly and long over the years, and now a ponytail was in order. Pulling a spare bobby pin from her pocket, Marinette pinned back Adrien's fringe. She had nothing for the ponytail, and Adrien was probably sleeping on the band that originally held the hair in place. Sighing, Marinette quickly twisted the strands into a braid, hoping that it might help Adrien dream easier.

Finally, Marinette went off in search of Alya. She was no where outside, nor in the kitchen, so Marinette checked the only other place Alya might go; Nino's room. Pushing the door lightly, Marinette found it was dark, but a soft hiccuping noise was coming from the room, confirming Alya's presence. "Alya?' Marinette asked hesitantly.

"Alya?" She tried again, pushing the door open.

There was Alya, sprawled out across Nino's bed, hiccuping in her sleep. Marinette smiled, fighting a laugh. She reached out to pull the blanket better around her friend before removing her glasses, too, and putting them on Nino's nightstand. Feeling satisfied, Marinette left the room, making her way to Nino's incredibly small kitchen.

She sat down at the tiny table, and ran her hand over the surface. A loud bang startled her, and Marinette stood up to go and see what had caused the commotion. The newspaper had been dropped off, thrown hastily against the door as the paper boy made his way down the street. Shaking it to clear any insects, Marinette went back inside, making sure that none of her friends had woken up. 

None of them had, so Marinette returned to her seat and unfolded the paper, glancing at the news. Next, she turned on the coffee machine, glad that Nino had finally trashed his gurgling 90s' appliance for the sleek new grinder. Out came dark coffee, just the way Marinette liked it.

So she sat at the table, sipping her drink and reading the news. Once she'd finished, it was only seven, so she left Nino's apartment to walk home, smiling as the fresh air helped to clear out her tiny hangover. "Good morning!" Marinette said, stepping into her bakery.

"Good morning, dear. How was your party?" Sabine asked, coming to embrace her daughter.

"It was good. There was a lot of cake." Marinette said, smiling.

"Marinette!" Tom said, interrupting Sabine.

"Hi, papa." Marinette said, hugging her father.

"Where are the rest of your friends?" Sabine asked.

"We ended up staying over at Nino's, but they were all still asleep so I decided to come back and take a shower." Marinette said.

"Oh, I see." Sabine said, returning to her spot by the register, straightening the gift cards displayed there.

"Alright, well we'll see you later then." Tom said, clapping Marinette on the back.

Marinette nodded before making her way up to her room. She spent an hour freshening up, and left at nine. She took her car to cut down her hour walk. She jiggled the door handle, finding it locked. Reaching under the map, Marinette fished out Nino's spare key and unlocked the door. Tucking the key away, Marinette entered cautiously. "-Get up, guys!" Nino was calling, kicking Adrien and shoving Nathanaël off the couch.

"Uh, Nino?" Marinette asked, clutching the paper bags in her hands.

"'Nette, where'd you go?" Nino asked, hands on hips.

Marinette raised the bags in response. Nino's eyes lit up and grabbed the one offered to him, opening it and inhaling. "Damn, The Dupain-Cheng bakery only makes delicious." Nino said, mouthful of muffin.

"Did you say Dupain-Cheng and bakery in the same sentence?" Adrien asked, sitting up straight.

Marinette giggled, shaking a bag. Adrien stumbled over his own feet and nearly snatched a bag away. He paused, standing up straight before asking for one. "Here." Marinette said, handing him one.

Like a kitten being fed, his eyes lit up and he busied himself with finishing the contents of the bag. "O-M-G, Marinette, you're a life saver." Chloé said, holding out her hand.

Two years later and she still didn't know how to ask. "Here." Marinette said, tossing a bag at Chloé.

Chloé missed the catch, but Marinette had anticipated it and had aimed at her lap. "Nathanaël wants..." Nathanaël groaned from his spot on the floor.

"Here." Marinette giggled, throwing the bag at Nathanaël.

"Where's Alya?" Nino asked.

"In here." Marinette said, heading to Nino's room.

Nino's face melted at Alya, curled up in a ball on the bed. "I gotta go, but here." Marinette said, handing a second bag to Nino. "Don't eat anything. That's Alya's, you hear?" Marinette asked.

"Got it." Nino said.

"Thanks for everything, guys. I'll see you at school." Marinette said, cheerily waving as her friends ate and groaned.

The group called out a bye, lazily waving as Marinette left. She returned home and baked for the remainder of the day.

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AN

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Here. Happy Birthday to @stizzzy! I FORCED MYSELF TO WRITE FOR YOU <3!

Wish her a hbd, 'cause I'm sure you'd want the same ;)

And I'm kinda really looking forward to next few chapters >:D

*low key hints at angst*

*low key tells you about angst*

*low key alerts you to the future of this story*

*low key will not tell you*

*low key nyheheheheehe*

OK love dollyyyyyyy