Marinette
She stood in the bathroom, wiping away her tears. She was probably going to have to walk home, since practically everyone had been drinking. At least she wouldn't have to explain why she was crying to anyone. She just needed to get a grip long enough to get back out on the street, then she could lose it.
"Marinette?"
Tiki asked, and she forced a smile at her kwami.
"Don't worry Tiki. I'm fine."
"I'm sorry."
She whispered, and Marinette nodded, wiping away the tears that were forming.
"I'm fine. Really."
Her voice broke when she said it, and she sighed. There was no way she could make it to the street without crying. Maybe she could just avoid everyone. She knew there was no other choice, not anymore. She had to break it off with Chat. Before it got any further. She never should have made the agreement to begin with. All she had succeeded in doing, was placing them back in the same boat they had been in before. She had fucked him over, twice. As both Ladybug, and Marinette. She wiped her face one last time, before exiting the bathroom. Adrien was sitting on his bed, his head in his hands. Was he crying?
"Adrien?"
He jumped, and looked up at her, wiping his eyes.
"I thought you left."
He mumbled, and she stepped closer, looking at him.
"Why are you crying?"
"Why are you?"
He responded, and she looked away, trying not to think about how awful she looked.
"Fair enough. Do you want to talk about it?"
He shook his head, biting his lip, presumably to keep from crying anymore.
"I've run out of words."
She could understand that. No matter what she said to Chat, it felt like he wasn't listening anymore. He pulled something from the blankets next to him, taking a sip. Yeah, he definitely didn't need anymore. She walked over, grabbing the bottle from him.
"I can assure you. Drinking your problems away won't work."
He didn't respond, and she sat down next to him, placing the bottle at her feet.
"What's wrong?"
"What isn't wrong?"
He responded with a humorless chuckle, and she frowned. That sounded familiar too.
"I'm sorry."
What else was she supposed to say? He shrugged, laying his head on her shoulder.
"Everything seems to fall apart around me. I think I'm cursed with bad luck."
She wouldn't compare their situations out loud, but she understood. She felt the same. Everything she touched, she destroyed. Or that's how it felt. Chat is just as heartbroken, if not more than he had been with Ladybug. He shifted off of her shoulder, rubbing his face.
"I wish I could say something to make you feel better."
She sighed, and he nodded.
"Yeah, me too."
Seeing him like this was hard, she hadn't seen him so upset before. He moved, leaning back against the wall, pulling a pillow to his chest.
"I wish I could go back and do things differently."
"Me too."
The room grew silent, and Adrien closed his eyes, his chest heaving with silent, but deep breaths. Maybe a subject change could take his mind off of it.
"What are you wearing to prom?"
He shrugged, and she looked away from him, clearing her throat.
"My dress is Chat Noir themed, so since we're going together I figured we could match. Maybe you could wear a tie with the green paw print or something?"
Adrien looked over at her, squinting.
"What does he have that I don't Mari? You seem to care about him, alot more than you care about me. So what's so appealing about him? Is it the way he acts? Or dresses?"
Her stomach churned, this wasn't a great topic, not with how drunk he was.
"Why don't we not talk about that? I don't think right now is the best time to discuss it."
He shook his head, sliding forward to run his hand through her hair.
"I'm not upset. I'm curious. What does he do that I don't?"
What was with the boys in her life suddenly asking her all of these stupid questions?
"Adrien-"
"Please Mari. I want to know what I did wrong."
She thought back to what Chat had said, and her heart ached. Did she really blame Adrien for all those years ago? It wasn't his fault she fell for him, it was hers. She wore her heart on her sleeve.
"He noticed me."
"What?"
"When I started withdrawing from everyone... he noticed. He always knew when something was wrong, and he tried to fix it. Even if it was something that couldn't be fixed. He saw through my bullshit."
Adrien sighed, removing his hand from her hair. For some odd reason, that action pained her.
"I'm sorry. I should have been there. I should have noticed you were in pain. I won't make excuses."
"You don't have to. It wasn't your job. You should... You should get some sleep. We can talk about it another time."
She started to stand, and he grabbed her arm. His gaze was on hers, and it almost felt as if he was pleading with her. Pleading for her to understand something.
"Please stay."
Why did that sound familiar?
"I can't."
"Please don't leave. I don't want to be alone."
He almost sounded scared, and she found herself sitting back down on the bed.
"Just until you fall asleep."
He nodded, sliding over and making room for her. She moved next to him, her back against the wall as he laid down next to her.
"Does this make us even?"
She looked down at him, and he smiled lazily.
"I took care of you when you were drunk and now you're taking care of me?"
"Oh, no. This definitely doesn't make us even, unless you start vomiting everywhere."
He chuckled, shaking his head.
"Oh, don't tempt me."
She smiled, and he took her hand, holding it as he closed his eyes. Sure, this was just her helping a friend. But wasn't she on thin ice with Chat anyway? Why did she keep doing things like this? Was he right? Was she trying to punish herself, by sabotaging her own relationship?
* * * * *
She woke up with shooting pains in her leg, and she held her head up, reaching down to try to rub the pain out. Her hand touched hair, and she quickly recoiled, opening her eyes. Adrien was draped over her legs, snoring softly. God he was heavy. There was no way she'd be able to move him without waking him up, and she didn't even want to try. Her leg hurt too much, and he needed to get off of it.
"Adrien."
She snapped, and he jumped at the sudden sound.
"Fuck. What?"
She giggled, it was hilarious that his first instinct to someone waking him up like that was to say fuck.
"Sorry. My leg hurts."
He moved off of her, draping his arm back over her legs.
"I have to go."
"Do you really?"
He mumbled into his pillow and she nodded, even though he couldn't see her.
"Yes."
"Have breakfast with me. Then go."
He offered, and as nice as it was, she needed to get home.
"I can't."
He looked up at her, pouting. His puppy dog eyes were very effective, or she was just weak.
"Okay. But quick."
He got up, his hair a mess. He got out of bed, and when she stood the needles in her leg multiplied.
"Ugh."
She groaned, and he glanced at her.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, my leg just fell asleep."
He nodded, and she followed him out into the hallway.
"I'm sorry about last night. I was a real party pooper."
"I'm sure my disappearance last time was worse, so don't worry about it."
He didn't respond, leading her into the kitchen.
"What do you want for breakfast?"
"Something simple. I can make eggs."
He grinned, opening the fridge.
"Nay, nay. It's my turn to cook."
That sounded sweet, in theory, but had he ever cooked anything before?
"How about we both do it? You prepare the eggs, and I cook them?"
"You sound like you think I can't do it."
He turned and looked at her, and her face got red.
"It's not that... have you ever cooked eggs before?"
"I'm offended. Of course I've cooked eggs before."
He pulled out the eggs, setting them on the counter.
"Of course, it was only once and they almost caught on fire..."
She snickered, and he grinned.
"Alright. I'll prepare, and you cook. Someday you can teach me."
He focused on getting out a pan, and she stared at his back. He turned, and she quickly averted her gaze. She couldn't be caught staring at him. Not when she had a boyfriend, and not when she rejected him.
"Why were you crying last night?"
She opened the egg carton, counting the eggs. She didn't want to think about last night.
"It's nothing, really."
"I thought we were talking to each other, or was that a one way deal?"
She flinched, and looked up at him. He seemed genuinely concerned, and she took a deep breath.
"Chat and I had a fight."
"What about?"
She sighed, leaning against the counter.
"He uh... he wants to tell me who he is."
"And you don't want that?"
He asked, already cracking a few eggs into a bowl.
"It's not that. It's just too dangerous. It's safer not to know."
"For you, or for him?"
She frowned at that question, turning her attention to the bowl of eggs.
"Him obviously. If he told me who he was, and I got acumatized, hawkmoth would find out. It's safer this way."
"Wait a second. Is hawkmoth the only reason you don't want to know?"
He turned to her, and she shrugged. Hawkmoth had been around since they became Ladybug and Chat Noir.
"I don't know. Maybe."
"So, if he somehow caught Hawkmoth, you would be okay with finding out who he was?"
She hadn't really thought of that. If they didn't have to constantly worry about being acumatized, maybe she could know. Maybe it wouldn't matter then.
"I guess. I never really thought about after hawkmoth. He's been around for so long."
Adrien passed her the bowl, and she worked on the spices to add.
"So there is hope for your relationship. If hawkmoth is captured, you and Chat can have a normal life. Right?"
"Maybe."
She mumbled, staring down at the bowl. Maybe it wasn't forever. If she broke up with him now, and persued him after hawkmoth was defeated, they could start over. With no lies. It would be a clean slate.
"I'm happy for you Marinette."
"Really?"
He nodded, smiling softly. She smiled back, taking the eggs over to the pan.
"Yeah. Alley cat's a lucky guy. And I just want you to be happy."
She smiled, pouring the eggs in the pan.
"Thank you Adri-"
She turned, and he was directly in front of her. She tilted her head back to look at him, warmth racing through her at the look in his eyes. Lust.
"Even if I am a little jealous."
He whispered, his gaze traveling down to her lips. Her voice caught in her throat, and her face burned.
"I know. Boundaries."
He took an incredibly small step back, and she swallowed, stepping around him. Thank god, she thought for a moment that he was going to kiss her again. She grabbed a spatula he had gotten, and went back to the eggs before they burned.
"You don't mind scrambled eggs?"
Her voice came out breathy, and she cursed herself, trying to discreetly clear her throat. She heard him chuckle behind her, and she wanted to pop him with the spatula.
"I'd eat anything if you asked me like that."
Her jaw dropped, and she stared down at the eggs. Did he really just say that? Why was he being so flirty? She finished the eggs, and turned around to look at him. His face was as red as hers, but he wore a grin.
"Plates?"