Marinette screamed, reaching out with her hand as her parents were washed away by a flood of akumas. "No, no! Mom, Dad!" she yelled frantically, tears falling out of her eyes. She pushed her wild bangs out of her eyes once more and ran after her parents, screaming again. Her earrings and Chat Noir's ring were on the floor, both broken. Marinette was nothing without her kwami. There was no way she could save her parents. But she could try.

"No, Hawk Moth! Leave- leave them alone! You- leave them al-"

Marinette gasped as she flew up into a sitting position on her bed. Beads of sweat trickled down the back of her neck. She gulped heavily and wiped the tears from her eyes, even though that action didn't do anything, as the tears were still flowing freely. Marinette rested her head in her hands and drew in a shaky breath. It's just a nightmare, Marinette. It wasn't real. Your earrings are indestructible. Just to be sure, she touched her ears with her hands. Marinette closed her eyes when the cool material of the earrings came in contact with her fingertips.

Suddenly, a small, high pitched snore rang throughout Marinette's room. Marinette turned her head to the side of her room.

"Oh," she whispered when she realized that Tikki was the one who had produced the snore. Marinette smiled softly before resting back on her bed. She tried to close her eyes and fall back asleep, but every time she tried, the image of her parents, Alya, and Adrien, all bloody and disheveled, came back. Tears welled in her eyes again as she sniffed. She absentmindedly grabbed her phone. All she needed right now was someone to talk to.

With blurry eyes, a heaving chest, and shaky fingers, Marinette found Alya's contact and clicked call, already knowing how to tell Alya of her dream without giving away that she was Ladybug.

Adrien sighed, sitting on his bed with his phone in hand. It wasn't on, but the weight of it felt good. He looked off to the side, where Plagg was snoring softly. Plagg's stink was part of the reason Adrien could never fall asleep, but there was more.

Ladybug. Who she really was. How she was so amazingly beautiful, smart, selfless, and so much more.

His mother. Where she really was.

His father. Why he was so bad at, well, being a father.

The Miraculous. Where did they come from? How? Why had they been formed?

Adrien looked down at his hand, forming a fist and staring at his ring. Well, he knew that Master Fu had something to do with it. Master Fu had given him the potion to defeat Syren. Fu must have been who Ladybug was going off and talking to all the time. Maybe he could go once and get some answers. Maybe Fu knew something about his mother.

Adrien scoffed. No, of course not. His mother's disappearance couldn't have anything to do with a Miraculous. Adrien was the only one in his family with one. Well, that might not be true. Adrien was hiding it and nobody in his family suspected him. It could also be the other way around. But the only people in Paris with Miraculouses were Ladybug, Hawk Moth, and Chat Noir, er, himself. And Rena Rouge, though she only showed up when Ladybug and Chat Noir really needed help. Rena Rouge couldn't be anyone in him house, as she had darker skin than anyone else. Ladybug had darker hair and was shorter than Nathalie, who was the only girl in his house. And Hawk-

Adrien's phone rang suddenly, breaking his train of thought and causing him to jump. Who could be calling at his hour? It was two thiry AM. He looked down, a small frown on his face. Marinette? Why was she awake? Nevertheless, he answered.

"Hel-"

"Oh, Alya, I'm so, so glad you picked up!" Marinette said immediately. Without giving Adrien a chance to respond she kept going. Adrien's frown deepened. Alya? Did Marinette mean to call Alya instead of him? He kept quiet anyways. He had a feeling she needed to get something out.

He listened closely as Marinette rambled on about a nightmare she had where she had become Ladybug. Just the thought of Marinette being Ladybug in real life made his face redden.

Anyways, she had become Ladybug, Hawk Moth took the Miraculouses, broke them, and stole away her parents, "you," which he presumed to, again, be Alya, and... Adrien? Why would he be in her nightmare? And as a victim no less?

Adrien's frown softened into a concerned smile, but as he heard a soft sob, the frown came back. Was she... crying? Adrien suddenly realized exactly how much this nightmare had shaken his sweet classmate.

"Marinette..." he said softly, his voice husky. He coughed to clear his throat, and tried to get a word in. He couldn't let her believe she was talking to Alya when she wasn't.

"Alya, I'm so sorry, I know I probably woke you up, and this isn't really even a big deal, and I- I just-" Marinette broke off again, a sob escaping her mouth. "I just needed to-"

"Talk to someone?" Adrien interrupted. "Yeah, I get it. But, Marinette, it's not-"

"What happened to your voice?" Marinette asked sweetly. Marinette's sweet, innocent voice made Adrien feel slightly guilty. "Morning voice?"

"Um, well, yes, but no, Marinette, I'm not Alya," he muttered. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, a bad habit he had when he was nervous or embarrassed. "I'm Adrien."

"You-" Marinette broke off, her face heating up. "Oh my God. You're- oh my God. I'm so sorry. I, ugh, I thought it was Alya, oh my god, I- I just- I'm so- I'm so so sorry, Adrien, and you were probably sleeping and my dumb nightmare and I probably w-woke you up and oh my goodness I'm so sorry Adrien it's three AM and you're you, so you probably have a busy day tomorrow with like photo shoots and then we have school and-"

"Marinette!" Adrien cut her off sternly. "I wasn't asleep," he said, his voice now softer, but still husky. Marinette blushed, but shook her head to steer away from the thoughts in her head.

"I- I wasn't asleep, I couldn't sleep. I have insomnia, you see, well kind of. My mind is just always racing with thoughts and I was just thinking about..." Adrien paused here. "...some stuff when you called. I was awake. Don't worry."

"Well, okay," Marinette said cautiously. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Adrien blinked, staying quiet. "I- uh- Do I want to- Well I mean, I can't really, you know how it is, right, but I mean, we can talk for a while if it would help you?" he suggested, his voice unnaturally high because of how surprised he was.

Did she want to help him? Then again, he shouldn't be surprised, as Marinette was generally a very nice, helpful person. She was kind, sweet, generous, smart, and pretty cute. If only she was normal around him. He couldn't help but feel she was intimidated by him by the way she stuttered around him. She was completely normal with everyone else, even Chloe. Maybe she wasn't over the gum incident. That couldn't be it, though, because Marinette's motto was probably to forgive and forget.

"Um, sure," Marinette muttered. Adrien nodded before realizing that she couldn't see him. "So, are you comfortable talking about your fears? Maybe I could help you," he suggested again, rubbing his neck once more.

"Sure," Marinette said. "Well, I mean, my biggest fear is probably losing my loved ones, like my parents and Alya and-" she stopped there.

"And?" he asked, urging her to go on. "It's okay, Marinette. You know, that thing, like what's said here stays here? It's like that."

"Um- uh- Chat Noir?" Mariette blurted. Adrien's mouth clamped shut. His eyes widened and his face and neck heated up. He pulled at his shirt with one hand, holding his phone up with the other. "Chat Noir?" he breathed. "Really?"

Marinette, in her own room, was also burning with embarrassment. Chat Noir! What was she thinking? She had been about to say Adrien, but she stopped herself just in time. She couldn't have dealt with the embarrassment if Adrien found out. But Chat Noir! How was this any better?

"I- I- well yeah, I mean, he's sweet, funny, smart, and a good listener. He's kind of like you. I mean, well, you're way better than him, and you're cuter too, I mean, well, he's, I just... you know..." Marinette bit her lip. She tried to explain herself, but had only ended up embarrassing herself further. God, now Adrien was going to think she was a total weirdo.

"Well, okay." Adrien breathed. He had finally calmed down. "Does that mean you love Chat Noir?" he asked, cautious to not say "me" instead of "Chat Noir."

"W- Well, I just, I don't lo- I don't love him, I love someone else, I mean, not him, not anyone, well, I love some people, of course, but I just... ugh, I'm sorry, I'm so weird." Marinette mentally facepalmed.

Adrien just chuckled. "You're really cute," he sighed. His eyes widened when he realized what he had said. "I mean, you are, but I mean not like that, I mean..." he kept rambling, but Marinette was in a daze.

"You think I'm cute?" she said quietly, screaming internally.

"Well, I mean, yeah, when you stutter and blush, and then you're really creative and smart too, you know?" he said. Marinette stayed quiet, and Adrien started to get more nervous. What if he had scared her away? "Marinette?"

"You're cute too," Marinette admitted after a moment, her face and neck burning. "You're smart and handsome, and funny, and your puns are honest to goodness the worst, but sometimes when I don't see you for a long time, like last winter break, I start to miss them. But then, Chat Noir comes up and saves the day," Marinette giggled at the thought of her kitty. Maybe she did mean it, at least a little, when she had said is name in place of Adrien's. "His puns are honestly the worst. He started to visit me and flirt with me, too," she added.

Adrien chuckled. "Good to know," he said honestly.

And so the two went on, laughing and talking and sharing secrets until the sun started to rise.

"Oh my goodness, look outside, we've been talking for hours," Marinette gasped.

"It feels like only five minutes," Adrien frowned, looking out his own window. "Huh. Cool. Well, I'll see you tomorrow? Or, I mean, today, at school?"

"Yeah." Marinette nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "You know, the weird thing is, I'm not even tired. At all."

"Me neither," Adrien said. "Well, I'm going to hang up now."

"Okay," Marinette said, biting her lip. Out of habit, since she usually only spoke with Alya or her family members over the phone, she said the last few words without meaning to. "Bye, I love you."

"Love you too," Adrien said, as a reflex, and then he hung up.

Both took a moment to realize what their last exchange had been, and both stared at their phones, thinking only one thing.

Did we just say that we love each other?