Adrien
He paced back and forth in the bakery, swallowing the last bite of croissant. He had tried paying Sabine for it, but she insisted.
"I'm sure she'll be down in a second."
He nodded, and Sabine stepped around the corner, shouting up the stairs.
"Marinette! You're going to be late!"
He heard the trap door open, and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her running down the stairs.
"Sorry, sorry."
She stepped into the bakery, and it felt as if she had pushed the air out of the room when she walked in. She was wearing her Chat Noir themed shirt, those tight jeans and her hair was in a single braid, tied off with green ribbon. God she was beautiful.
"Ma-mor- morning Mari."
He felt his face flush at the stuttering, and she glanced at him, before giving her mom a hug.
"What are you wearing?"
"Relax mom, I never dress like this. I think I'm allowed to one time."
She grabbed a fresh Macaroon, before walking with Adrien to the door. She was even wearing boots, instead of her normal flats.
"Love you!"
She chimed, before racing out to his car. He quickly followed, climbing in and starting the car.
"You look...nice."
He finished, not wanting to overstep his bounds with what he actually wanted to say. She looked sexy. He thought of what happened the time she wore that outfit for Chat, and his thoughts veered to how spacious the back seat was.
"Thank you."
She took a bite of Macaroon, and he pulled out of the bakery, trying not to watch her.
"Damn. I forgot your hoodie."
"No worries, I can pick it up later."
He mumbled, his gaze traveling up her legs, to that small space of skin exposed between her pants and her shirt. A horn honked, and he turned back to the road, pulling the car back into their lane. Apparently, he had been drifting to the side.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah of co-"
He turned to glance at her, her eyes locked on his as she licked some of the cream from her fingers. That second alone made his lungs seize up. How did she not know how tempting that was? Lines. He couldn't cross anymore lines if he wanted Marinette to continue being his friend. God this was painful.
"What?"
"Everything's fine."
He quickly responded, keeping his gaze on the road. He was going to end up crashing if he kept looking at her. From the corner of his eye he saw her pull down the visor, looking in the mirror. She pulled something out of her purse, and began applying lip gloss. That, he just couldn't resist. He turned his head to watch her, the thought of kissing away all of it from her lips becoming overwhelming. She paused and looked at him, and he whipped his head back to the road, his cheeks burning. She put the lip gloss away, turning to stare out the window. That felt like strike one.
Marinette
"I know we were late, but I didn't think we were this late."
Marinette mumbled, glancing around the classroom. It was completely empty.
"I'll call Nino."
Adrien sighed, and she watched him pull out his phone. He was acting weird. His face was still red from the car. Why had he been looking at her like that? It made her heart race. It made those butterflies swarm, and her breathing stall. And she hated him as much as she hated herself for it.
"Hey man. Where is everyone?"
She shifted her bag on her shoulder, following him out into the hall.
"Okay. We'll be there shortly."
He hung up, and motioned for her to follow.
"They're in the library. Another one of those acuma presentations."
"Ugh. I hate those things. Stay positive, be happy. As if that's going to protect anyone from an acuma."
She muttered, and he frowned in her direction.
"I think they can be helpful. Some of their tips to calm down aren't too bad."
"Sure. But they have these things every other week. Repeating the same crap over and over. They're just going to create people who try to bottle up their emotions. It's not healthy. It's natural to get angry and upset."
He paused, turning to face her.
"You sound like you speak from experience."
"The one time I didn't try to control my emotions was that day with Lila, when she framed me. I almost got acumatized, as well as half the class."
He smiled slightly, though she didn't understand why. Nothing about that had been funny.
"I agree. It is natural to get angry and upset. But hawkmoth preys on those emotions. They're trying to help protect us."
They were failing. Miserably. People couldn't just turn off their emotions. They shouldn't. Because if you completely cut out anger and sadness, you can't be happy. Or humane.
"Bottling up emotions takes away the very thing that makes us human. Humanity would fall."
He raised an eyebrow, before stepping aside so they could resume their walk to the library.
"Well, theres only thirty minutes left. Maybe we could skip it."
Adrien Agreste? Offering to skip class? Wow.
"I never thought I'd hear that come out of your mouth."
"We're already late, and we already know everything they talk about in that presentation. What's the harm?"
She shrugged, she hadn't really skipped a class before, not by her own choice anyway. It had almost always been Ladybug related.
"Okay then, where to?"
"How about the locker rooms?"
She shrugged again, and followed him to the locker rooms. They were empty, and she didn't know how to feel about it. The room brought back flashes of their kiss, when he had pressed her up against the lockers.
"So, have you gotten your poem done? It's due on monday."
"God. No. I completely forgot."
He chuckled, sitting down on the bench. She sat next to him, smiling slightly. His laugh still made her happy.
"Me too. I'm sure we'll figure it out though."
He smiled, tilting his head to the side when he looked at her. God that was cute.
"Yeah."
She mumbled, looking down at her shoes. How would Chat feel if he knew she was in a room alone with Adrien? She pulled out her phone, turning the screen away from Adrien as she typed. He shifted away and took his phone out as well, turning it on silent. Maybe he had forgotten when he called Nino. She opened up Chat's contact, sending him a quick text.
"Hey Kitty."
"Hey princess."
She bit the inside of her lip, trying to figure out what to tell him. She was worried about upsetting him, even though he had said that Adrien wasn't a threat to him. And she hadn't decided on an answer to the question he had asked her yesterday. What did she want from him?
"I'm skipping class."
"Why?"
"Adrien and I were late, and they were doing this seminar thing we've been to a thousand times, so we decided to sit it out."
A subtle way to mention him, but it was enough. She chewed on her thumb nail, waiting for a response. Would he be angry? Would he tell her to go back to class?
"Sounds pawsome."
A pun. That had to be a good sign.
"You're okay with it?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Because she was with Adrien? The guy she used to love, who suddenly loved her back?
"Because I'm hiding out with Adrien."
"I trust you."
She closed her eyes, leaning her head back. She loved that he trusted her, she did. But wasn't it normal to be jealous in that situation? She would be jealous if he was hiding with someone that loved him. Sure, she knew Chat wouldn't do anything with anyone else, but she would still be jealous. Except for Ladybug. He kissed her so passionately before. Who did he want more? Marinette or Ladybug?
"Everything okay?"
Adrien's voice made her jump, she had almost forgotten he was actually in the room with her.
"Huh? Yeah, yeah everything's fine."
"You know you said you would talk to me if something wasn't."
That was before his confession. Before he kissed her. She sighed, looking down at her phone. She had given him advice before. Maybe it was his turn to repay the favor.
"Actually, I have a hypothetical for you."
That seemed to pique his interest, because he turned his phone off, setting it aside.
"Go on."
How to phrase it so he wouldn't know it was about him, that was the real question.
"Well... say you're dating this girl. And she loves you with most of her heart."
His cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, and she looked away, focusing on one of the lockers in front of her.
"Say there was this other girl, that was also in love with you. And once upon a time, you had feelings for her too. Say you and this new girl started spending time together, would it bother you that your girlfriend wasn't jealous?"
"Why would I want her to be jealous?"
She wanted to roll her eyes at him, it wasn't that she wanted Chat to be jealous. She just wanted to know why he wasn't.
"That's how any normal person would act I think. They would be jealous, worrying that the new person would steal away their spouse."
He smiled at that last word, and she felt her face warm.
"Well, I think that by her not being jealous it would mean that she trusted me completely. I would be happy."
"Or, it could mean that she doesn't care what you do, or who you do it with. It could mean detachment."
He groaned loudly at that, and she frowned. It made perfect sense. What If Chat just didn't care, because he still wanted Ladybug, deep down?
"This hypothetical is going no where. He loves you Mari. He's lucky to have you, and he trusts you. Why are you so worried he doesn't care?"
A slap to the face would have been easier to handle. He had seen right through that question, which meant he probably knew it was about him and Chat. How embarrassing.
"Fa-forget I said anything."
He shook his head, moving to the floor in front of her. He sat down leaning back against the lockers, looking up at her.
"No Mari. Please, let's talk about this. I know you haven't talked to Alya. So talk to me."
"He used to love someone else too. A fairytale. A person that never really existed to begin with. What if he's fine with me being around you, because he secretly wants her instead? What if I don't compare?"
He seemed confused, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
"So let me get this straight. You're worried about competing against a fairytale?"
He made it sound stupid, and she wanted to hurt him.
"He kissed her the other day. I saw it happen. And he enjoyed it. He didn't hesitate, he just went with it. Maybe it's because she's better than me. Maybe he'll always want her."
The thought was depressing, to say the least. If he still longed for Ladybug, even if they were the same person, it meant that he wanted her over Marinette. That a shiny suit made her better. That she was nothing without her miraculous.
"I can understand where you're coming from. I put on a persona for the press, for the public. But away from all of it, I'm a different person. Anyone who falls for the model Adrien, might not feel the same about the guy when all of the camera's go off."
She hadn't ever thought about that. He had always seemed to be the same, either way. Maybe he was a completely different person at home, alone in his room. What was he like then?
"That being said, you have nothing to worry about. No one, and I mean no one, could compare to you. Not even the famed Ladybug. You are amazing Marinette. I'm sure your boyfriend knows that."
She felt her face flush, and she leveled her gaze back to her shoes as he stood up. He had just told her that she was better than Ladybug. That normal, clumsy and awkward Marinette, was better than Paris's hero. She could tell he had meant it. He lifted her chin with his finger, making her look up at him.
"Trust me Marinette. No one could ever compare."