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[ Marinette is no stranger to electronics-- a few clicks here, a few clicks there and... she pretty much has the hang of it. At least the jist of what she needs in order to use the console.

On the other hand, the speaking part...? ]

Oh... eheheh. Hi, I'm Marinette.

[ She waves awkwardly at the screen. ]

I'm still trying to put everything together but... I think I understand the basics. Since this is my first time out on my own, I thought maybe I should get some help. Where do people live here? [ ... ] And how can I make some money? I'm pretty good with my hands. [ Specifics, Marinette... specifics. ] ...My baking isn't as good as my dad's, but I did learn from a pro. Oh! And I love sewing, so... there's... that...

[ This whole thing has gone pretty smoothly so far. Huh. Great. ]

I think that's... it for now. Anything you can tell me would be really great, thanks!

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[He does the best he can for her. He's got the patter down well, for such a sheltered kid. Being here, being able to live independently, has done wonders for him. He's really come into his own here.

He's quite proud of the results. They got what they needed and no one got ripped off or had a gang member sicked on them. It's a good day. ]

Don't mention it. My place now? It's in the Sky Sector, so you just keep heading in this direction.

[In a sense, it stunned her. Not that she ever had any doubts, but... even with things working against him right now, he was so well-adjusted that it dazzled her a little. Like she was seeing him in a new light. Adrien would probably never cease to amaze her, though.

Adjusting the bag of purchases on her arm, she nodded. His place... their place for the next few days... She was already trying to picture it. Although honestly it didn't really matter what it looked like-- it was going to be perfect.]

Right! Let's keep moving then.

[She's a little excited.]

Have you been living by yourself all this time?

[Thinking about it... if it weren't for him, she would have been so lonely. She can't help wondering how he must have felt. Maybe he'd liked it. After all, he seemed like he'd done really well for himself.]

[For the first time in his life, he's free to be himself to neither be regulated by the shackles of his father nor the anonymity of his mask. He's still careful, still prudent, but he's learning to live here. Learning to let go more than he would back home. Being free of Gabriel has done him more good than he'd like to admit to. ]

I was living in a place called the Midnight Hotel, up until recently. It was a magical building, and had openings in every district in the city. It was pretty amazing. I lived there with a few people.

[There's a pause, because the fall of the hotel is linked to the loss of Solomon, in a way. They happened so close together that Adrien can't help but remember one with the other. The loss of the man he'd got so close to in such a short time still weight heavy on his mind. ]

...But then about a month ago the man who owned it, Anton- he went home, and the magic of the hotel went with it. It's still there, but it's a regular building now, and in disrepair. A resident is trying to fix it up, I think, but it'll take time.

[Then, a little cheerier:]

Poe offered me a place to stay while I was looking, and I knew plenty of people in the Sky District already- plus with it being so close to work, it made sense to move here. I've only really been living in this place for about a week before the cat thing happened.

[He never thought about being by himself, not once. It was par for the course of his life- better a smaller room or an apartment than a big, empty mansion to be alone in. It made the world of difference.]

[The more they walked and talked the more it became clear just how long he'd lived here. Sure he said it, but as the space of time was slowly filled with stories of unfamiliar events, it started to feel like a much larger gap. That's why she found herself listening intently; trying to take it all in-- maybe help close that gap a little.

She remembered him mentioning the hotel before when they'd been discussing places to live. That was the place he said he would have recommended if it was still there. No wonder, if he'd lived there until recently himself.]

I really hope they can fix it up... it sounds like it was an amazing place.

[But he'd been able to stay near his new friends even afterwards, so... it sounds like he really had been happy.]

So... what's it like? The Sky District, I mean?

[Although she was quickly building her own impressions of the world around her, she was still very interested in Adrien's too.]

[He'd appreciate it. His memory dump from home helped a little, but he hadn't actually left...not really. It's been a while, and he's glad to have her here. A living, breathing piece of home. Someone important to him. ]

Me too. I'm sure Klaus will manage it. Maybe even get the protective spells on i again that made it so safe in the first place.

[And that is quite the question. Before Avery set up shop there, before he was invited to stay there by Poe, and when Bisi moved there- he hadn't thought much about it. It was a quiet area of the city, tucked away. Even when he made up Chat's living conditions, he'd picked the much more exciting Fire district for him. He'd been surprised to find how lovely the Sky sector is...and he has only until recently realised it's because he reminds him of Paris. ]

It's quiet, and pretty. Lots of museums and galleries, gardens and things like that. It's where a lot of Forgeiners set up businesses and homes. The gangs stay away from there, too. It's...a really peaceful place to live.

[Letting his words paint a picture for her - the Sky Sector sounds like the kind of place she would have chosen even if Adrien hadn't offered her a place to stay while she settled in. It sounded like the kind of place where she'd get a lot of inspiration, especially if she really did decide to put her designer skills to good use here.]

It sounds... lovely. I probably would have made the same decision myself.

[And then there's the fact that she's going to be living there with Adrien. Living with Adrien... It's a little easier to not get flustered while he was in this cuter, fluffier form but when he changed back...

Oh but he probably wouldn't want her around after that. Right? Right??? But she'd be lying if she said that she didn't want to hope otherwise. Even if getting her hopes up like that was a terrible, no good choice.]

I'm sure you would. It reminds me a lot of home, actually. I bet it would be perfect for you to get those creative juices flowing.

[Honestly, he'd want her to stick around. To live with someone who knew him better than anyone else here...it'd be nice. Sure, it'd make the Chat Noir thing a bit more tricky, but no more so than when he was living in the hotel. And it'd be easy to find a bigger place, nothing would be too difficult for her. ]

Take a right here, then a left and you'll be on my street,

[Marinette blinked. It was like he could read her mind or something. When her surprise wore off a few seconds later she laughed sheepishly.]

I... was just thinking the same thing, actually.

[Okay. Right... and then left...

Ah yes, the superhero thing. It's not like Marinette hadn't thought about how this could be tricky... although admitted maaaaybe not until after she'd already accepted for completely selfish purposes. But it would be fine. She'd managed to keep it from her parents all this time. This shouldn't be any different, right? And she had Tikki to keep her in line, so... it'd be fine.]

I know how you artistic type think. Even Père has his moments, you know.

[She's lucky her Kwami is so helpful, really. So, so lucky.

Eventually, they come to a line of Grecian-like houses, and Adrien shifts a little on her shoulder. ]

Okay, here we are. Um...give me a second, and I'll go in and get the key. I couldn't open the door when I changed like this- it's lucky I keep the window open, honestly.

Right.

[That no thumbs thing...]

Don't worry, I'll wait here.

[He carefully hops off her shoulder, turning his head to look at her. He'd smile reassuringly if he could. ]

I'll be right back.

[And then he trots off towards one of the buildings, scaling a trellis and a wall to get to a window on the third floor, which he vanishes into. The sound of rummaging about comes from it, before eventually the Kitten That Was Formerly a Human comes back out, jumping down to stop at her feet, dropping the key that was in his mouth.]

Ta daaaa.

[Marinette watches him the whole way up. What if he hurt himself? He's not very big even by kitten standards, so...

But he seems to have things under perfect control, and it's not long before he returns with the house key. She bends down and picks it up.]

Alright. Let's go inside. You can give me a proper tour of the place.

[It's almost as if he's used to climbing around rooftops and window ledges. Weird, right? ]

Sure thing. It's not very big, but it's a pretty nice place all the same.

[It's somewhere where he can come and go as he pleases. That means more to him than any actual building dimensions. Real, honest freedom. He turns and trots towards an inner door, getting her to open the thing before trotting through the hallways and up the stairs to the actual apartment door. ]

Here we are, this one.

[Really weird.

When they reached the right apartment, Marinette took the key and unlocked it for them, waiting for him to go first before following him inside.

So. This was it. She can't believe she's actually here-- she might need to pinch herself.]

Oh no, this-- It's great. I don't need a whole lot of space anyway.

[She can't help poking around a bit, eagerly. It's nothing grand, but she'd prefer it that way. Feels more like a home. Marinette drops off the stuff they bought in the kitchen the moment she gets a chance.

Marinette can't peel the dazed happy look from her face. It's good. It's too good.]

[He settles himself on various pieces of furniture as she looks around, finding himself oddly a little nervous about it. He'd always wanted friends to come to his room back home- to share with them all the things he had. But this...this is different. This isn't full of material nothings thrown at a son to try and force contentment on him. This place is all his, carefully collected and chosen.

She may notice a cane, placed on a lone shelf in the living area. It's intricately decorated, and placed with a lot of love and care. It's special. She will definitely notice a certain Miraculous book laying on the coffee table. Yep. That's here too. Adrien pays it no mind, he has no reason to believe Marinette would even recognise it for what it is, after all.]

How do you like it? I know there's not a lot here now, but I'm sure I can work on that once I get my actual body back.

[She does get the feeling that he'd put a lot of care into the place and... that thought only widens her smile further. It wasn't quite like the controlled mess she had going on back home. Everything was spacious and had it's own place--

Her eyes did pause on the cane. It was beautiful, honestly. Something that had that much meaning to him... Marinette wondered if it had been his father's.]

I like it a lot it's--

[Marinette's eyes stopped on that book and her train of thought crashed with it. It's only a few seconds before she tries to slam it back into gear, but she first had to overcome a few internal hurdles. Like words.]

Charming!

[Just gonna. Look elsewhere. There's no reason to worry about that here, right? Hopefully. No. No. She wasn't letting that dumb book get in the way of this. This was her chance to really get close to Adrien. Forget the book. Her relationship with Adrien depended on this.]

Maybe... I could help you?

[Fix it up, that is.]

[The story of the cane is a little complicated. Eventually, once his own sadness surrounding it have healed a little, he'll tell her about it. Bum her out too, like good friends should.

He at least manages to miss the temporary derailment of her train of thought. He's too happy to have an actual for real friend in a place he lives without being screamed at for it. It's the best.]

Really? That would be great! I bet you've got a much better eye for that kind of thing than I have.

[Right? Gabriel Agreste would totally approve of one of his female classmates just living here with his son for a few days. Not.

But it's too late to worry about that now.

Once she's won Adrien over then she can worry about his dad. Because that's not a whole other mountain to climb or anything.]

Well... as long as you like it, that's all that matters, right? And if I can help with that then-- you can count on me.

[If she could make it feel even a little bit more like home to him... then she'd be happy. And if it maybe had a little touch of both of them... that... that would be great. But ultimately she just-- wanted to see him happy.]

A-after all, we're friends-- you can ask me for anything.

[Just in case he somehow hadn't already realized that.]

[Gabriel would hate everything anyway. It's in his nature.

Once again, Adrien feels the loss of not being able to be his usual tactile friendly self. He can't exactly shoulder touch or give her a friendly fistbump like this. However much he wants to. ]

We are. ANd I know you'd do something amazing with this place. Give it a real Marinette flair.

[To have a living space with memories of the people that mean the most to him, rather than a clinically clean cage. That would be...really something.]

[Don't worry, nothing is clinically clean when Marinette touches it. It's more of a (mostly) controlled mess.]

I'm sure it'll be nice to have a project like that to work on once you get those thumbs back.

[And that means that even if she leaves, she'll have an excuse to be around Adrien more than she might have otherwise. There's literally no way she can lose.]

[He'd really love her organised chaos. He's already seen it in her room, and it's...pretty great. Less so the creepy photos of him everywhere, but he's only seen those as Chat so he can't really bring them up, oops.]

It really will. I'm not that great at making a place feel like a home, so I hope you're ready for your work to be cut out for you.

Oh I don't know about that. I think given the chance, you might surprise yourself.

[If he gave himself a chance, realizing that Marinette wouldn't judge him for any of his choices well... it was a great opportunity to dig in and express himself.

A fun experience like that, where he felt like he could be free and honest... that's what she wanted to give him.]

[Expressing himself. He's like that, just as soon as he works out who 'himself' actually is. That's the tricky part. ]

Maybe? If I had your help, I'm sure I could manage something that's not a complete eyesore.

Don't worry-- I won't let that happen.

[Not that she could imagine Adrien being responsible for anything that ugly. But she's a tiny bit biased.

...whoops. As much as she'd like to just talk like this forever.]

Oops-- I left all that stuff out... I guess I should start working on those cookies.

[Can't keep her new fans waiting and all that.]

OH, right! Well, I'll um-

[He looks at his tiny, handless self. ]

Supervise?

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