Adrien
It had taken everything in him not to kiss her. He wanted to express just how much he loved her. He loved Ladybug too, of course. Because they were the same person. He knew he shouldn't have kissed her like that the day in the alley. He should have just done what she did to Adrien. He rubbed his face, staring ahead at the board. Marinette needed to know that Chat loved her. More than anyone else. More than Ladybug.
"Adrien?"
He heard Lila next to him, and he was way too distracted for her crap.
"Yeah?"
"I heard you and Marinette had a fight the other day."
"Did you now?"
He mumbled, glancing at the clock. Fencing practice then home. Though, his home was empty. His father left this morning, so he didn't have to go home. He could go by the bakery again.
"I'm sorry."
Weird. That almost sounded genuine. There was no way she was that good at lying.
"Oh don't be. We made up."
He smirked at her, and he saw a flash of anger in her eyes. Oh yeah, she was lying her ass off.
"I'm really proud of you Adrien. Forgiving her for cheating on you must have been really hard."
He turned back to the board, rolling his eyes where she couldn't see.
"Oh yeah, it was super difficult."
"I almost expected to see Luka sporting a black eye."
What the fuck did she just say? He turned to her, staring at her hard.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize that you didn't know who it was. I'm so sorry, please don't tell anyone I told you."
That was crap. Marinette wouldn't cheat on him, not with Adrien and certainly not Luka. Right? How did Lila even know about Luka? The bell rang, and he quickly got up, cramming his books into his bag.
"You aren't upset with me for telling you right? We're friends. Aren't we?"
He stopped, slowly turning to look at her. That was exactly what he said to her, years ago when he told her to tell everyone she had lied about Mari. So what was this? Payback, for all those years ago?
"Of course I'm not mad Lila. I suspected it was him, just wasn't sure. Thanks. See you around."
He forced the words out, making his way down the row. He hated her. With a passion. She had always had a problem with Marinette. He got to the locker rooms, dodging through a few of his teammates who were playfully shoving one another. Someone bumped against his shoulder, and he looked up, his gaze meeting Luka's. What was he doing here?
"Oh, hey. Sorry Adrien. It's kind of crowded in here."
"I thought you were at college."
"Took some time off. I had to be here when Juleka graduated."
That was over a week away. Would he really be here that long? Why had Lila mentioned him? Was there any truth to what she had said?
"Luka!"
He heard Rose shout from behind him, and Luka waved, looking back at Adrien.
"Well, until we meet again."
"Yeah, sure."
He mumbled as Luka walked past, and he resumed his path to his locker. Marinette was sitting down in front of it, working on their calculus homework.
"Hey Mari."
"Hey Adrien."
She shifted out of his way, and he opened his locker, setting his school stuff inside. At least he hadn't gotten strike two earlier. He thought he might have earned it from lifting her chin up to get her to look at him. She seemed tired, and he wondered how she slept last night. He slept like shit. After what he had told her, and Grant being suspicious of his father, he had a rough night. He didn't understand why he had told Marinette to figure out what she wanted. He already knew she didn't want the same things he did. What was the point in even asking? Except for this morning, when she had texted Chat about skipping, they hadn't really talked.
"You seem distracted."
She called up to him, and he glanced down at her. She had her head leaned back to look at him, her blue eyes glinting in the light.
"Just thinking."
"About?"
"Do you really do homework while you wait for my fencing practice to be over?"
He grinned, pushing his locker shut. He sat down on the bench in front of her, pulling his over shirt off. Her gaze kept straying from his face, and he loved that.
"It's either that or be bored the whole time."
"You could try participating. Fencing is fun."
She shrugged, and he rolled his eyes, holding his hand out.
"How about we skip it for today?"
"Won't your dad get mad?"
He shrugged back at her, standing back up and opening his locker. He could afford to miss one practice.
"I'll just tell him I didn't feel well. We can go get ice cream or something."
She closed her books, cramming them into her bag.
"I'm down for icecream. We can invite Alya and Nino."
Well that was disappointing. She didn't want to be alone with him.
"Sounds good."
He lied, grabbing his bag. She led the way out of the locker room, dialing Alya as she did.
"Hey Alya."
He waited patiently, digging his keys from his pocket.
"Me and Adrien are getting some icecream. Do you and Nino want to come?"
He watched her face change from hopeful, to disappointed. Yeah, he knew the feeling.
"No, it's okay. Yeah I can understand that. I'll see you tomorrow then."
He unlocked the car, setting his bag in the back seat.
"They can't make it."
She seemed uncomfortable, and he frowned. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable around him.
"Mari, if you don't want to be alone with me, it's okay. I can just take you home."
Her face turned pink, and she shook her head vigorously.
"No, no It's fine. Let's go get some ice cream."
He stared at her for a moment, before opening her door. She quickly sat down, offering him a polite smile. He wanted to return it, he really did. But he now knew that she didn't want to be around Adrien. Had he crossed another line? He walked around to his side of the car, wondering how he could fix it. He didn't want to lose her, as Chat or as Adrien.
* * * * *
She had quickly asked for two separate ice creams, to which Andre frowned. Adrien agreed. He would have loved to share an ice cream. He sat down on one of the benches with her, staring at his icecream. It was still the same. How could he not have noticed all those years? Marinette matched his ice cream flavors, just like Ladybug. Her colors were yellow and green. Like Chat.
"I have a question."
He turned to her, and she raised an eyebrow at him, a mouthful of icecream preventing her from responding.
"Is Luka your boyfriend?"
She started coughing, choking on ice cream. How could anyone choke on ice cream? She held a napkin over her mouth, her face bright red even when her coughing fit had ended.
"What?"
"Luka. It's just that Alya was trying to set you up with him at the beach, and Lila said-"
"No."
She snapped, and he flinched. Strike two? He looked at her, and her gaze was steely.
"I was just asking. She said you cheated on me with him, so I was curious to know if he was actually your boyfriend."
"I thought you knew Lila was the lying type."
Her tone was curt, and he frowned. He shouldn't have mentioned Lila.
"I do, I was just curious. I know he used to like you."
Marinette shrugged, turning her gaze back to her ice cream. He looked back down at his, sighing. So Lila had lied, big surprise there. He bought in to it like an idiot, and now Marinette knew.
"How long have you been a fan of Ladybug?"
Well, the goddess of subject changes strikes again. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she nodded at his icecream, which of course would look like Ladybug.
"Pretty much from the beginning."
"Why?"
She sounded so distant, and he wondered why that was. It felt like she was talking about someone else, instead of herself.
"She's pretty amazing. I don't think I could do what she does, even if I tried."
Sure, it was kind of a lie. But no one did the job better than her.
"I don't know. I think you could. I know Alya could."
He glanced at her, an uneasy feeling settling over him. Why did she say that?
"Sure. Alya would be okay for the job. But she wouldn't be Ladybug. No one could do the job half as well as her. She's perfect for it."
"She makes mistakes."
"So does everyone."
Was she thinking about giving up her miraculous? She couldn't. No one was a better Ladybug than her. He couldn't do it without her, he wouldn't.
"I could name at least ten people who would make less mistakes. Ladybug sucks."
He clenched his jaw, shaking his head.
"Don't talk about her like that. Chat Noir has made more mistakes than her. Does he suck too? Do you think there's someone better for the job?"
"No. Of course not. Chat was born to be Paris's hero. He fulfills his role. Ladybugs are a dime a dozen. Anyone could do her job."
He leaned back, looking up at the sky. How could Marinette talk about herself like that? As if her alter ego was worthless?
"I think you're being too hard on her. Ladybug is one of a kind. Ask anyone. No one can save paris like she can. No one could come up with plans like she does. No one could work out the lucky charm faster than her. She's amazing, and you can't convince me otherwise."
Marinette sighed, setting her ice cream aside. He had pretty much lost his appetite as well. The thought of anyone else being Ladybug made him sick to his stomach.
"Hey, I never asked. Are we still on for prom? As friends of course. I understand if you don't want to."
He could change the subject too. She shrugged, she had been doing that alot today.
"We can. My boyfriend doesn't have a problem with it, so I guess it's fine."
Her tone was odd, and he pressed his back hard against the bench. He couldn't bring himself to be jealous of Adrien. Adrien was just her friend, and she didn't seem to love him anymore. Why would he be jealous of that?
"Take a breath Mari. I'm sure it's just that he trusts you."
"I don't see why. I've given him no reason to."
He looked at her, frowning. Of course she had. He had been around her for years, she was the most trust worthy person he knew.
"You pushed me off when I kissed you. That's a good reason."
Her cheeks flushed, and she looked at him for a split second, before standing up. But that split second was all he needed. There was longing there. She hadn't wanted to push him away. That meant there was still hope. Maybe she could love Adrien again, as much as she loved Chat.
"I should head home."
He stood, nodding at her. He wouldn't push her. He would do anything to get back to where they had been. That small amount of time where she had been herself around him. When she had started the deal with Chat.
"I'm thinking about throwing a party at my place. A real one, tomorrow night. What do you think?"
"Wouldn't your dad flip?"
Oh he would, if he found out.
"He's out of town for a little while. You won't have to wear a disguise this time."
She seemed confused at first, before shaking her head. Yeah, he still remembered the time she disguised herself as a dude to get into the party his friends had thrown.
"Well, I'll see. No promises."
"I can live with that."
He opened her door again, and she blushed when she got in. That had to be a good sign. It felt weird, trying to steal her affection from his alter ego, but what else could he do? She didn't want to know who he was. If she didn't see a future with Chat, maybe she could have one with Adrien.