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“Nino’s not answering,” Adrien sighed, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
“Neither is Alya.” With a groan, Marinette sank back down onto the park bench beside him.
Adrien bit his lip and observed, “…They’re really late.”
“Yeah.” Marinette made a point of looking anywhere but at Adrien.
Adrien obligingly averted his own gaze, trying to keep from making her uncomfortable. It was a losing battle. Even though she had insisted that they were friends, it was painfully obvious that Marinette still didn’t want to be alone with him.
It hurt. The dull ache of rejection, different and yet remarkably similar to the feeling of being turned down by Ladybug. Whereas Adrien had hope that things with Ladybug would eventually turn around…
He snuck a glance at Marinette.
She jumped, head whipping in the other direction, hoping he hadn’t caught her staring.
He pursed his lips and went back to taking in the ducks on the pond, the warmth of the summer day, the laughter of the people at the nearby Café Diane, and the manicured foliage of the Tuileries.
“I don’t think they’re coming,” Marinette whispered.
Adrien turned to face her, arching an eyebrow.
“I think… This is probably a setup. I wouldn’t put it past Alya to organize something like this to…” Marinette buried her gaze in the dirt, mumbling inaudibly even to Adrien’s enhanced hearing.
“Oh,” Adrien responded, thrown off balance and sucking in the syllable in surprise.
He made a mental note to lecture Nino about colluding with Alya on plans that would result in making Marinette uncomfortable.
“You think…they’ve noticed how awkward things have been between us these past few weeks, so they’re trying to get us alone together to work it out?” Adrien deduced.
Marinette nodded, cursing Alya under her breath.
Adrien took a breath and blew it out slowly. “Okay. Well. Let’s work it out, I guess. I mean…if that’s okay?” He gave her a warm, slightly nervous smile.
Marinette looked away, her heart constricting. “There’s nothing to work out. Nothing’s wrong. We’re fine. No one’s mad at anyone. We’re friends, and that’s fine. That’s absolutely fine. There’s no problem here.”
Adrien got the feeling that this was not fine but also that there was nothing he could do about it until Marinette decided she felt like discussing the issue.
“Okay,” he answered softly, unable to keep a fraction of the disappointment and frustration he was feeling from bleeding into his voice. “But if there ever were a problem, Marinette, or if something wasn’t fine or if you were mad at me or if I did do something wrong, please know that you could tell me. I’d want you to tell me so that I could fix it.”
“There’s nothing to fix,” Marinette assured. Nothing for him to fix anyway. The problem was on her side of things. She was the one who needed to learn to be his friend. Only his friend, and there was nothing he could do about it. It wasn’t his burden.
Adrien nodded resignedly, turning to watch the ducks diving down into the pond and coming back up with a full-body shake. “Okay. I mean, yeah. Not right now, but…in the future…if there were…because I want to be friends with you for a long time, Marinette, and, the longer we know each other, the more opportunities I’m going to have to screw up. I’m sure I’ll do something wrong eventually, so…when that time comes, I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me.”
She didn’t respond. She was too busy biting her lip, agonizing over how impossibly sweet the boy on the bench beside her was…how equally impossible it would be for her to get over him.
“Because your friendship is really important to me,” he confessed in a small, bashful voice. “After wanting friends for so long and not being able to have them…becoming friends with you was literally a dream come true. I know that sounds pretty lame,” he chuckled self-deprecatingly, “but it really was. You and Nino and Alya are precious to me. I know my feelings for you are kind of one-sided; I mean, I know, for you, I’m a friend but not a close friend, but…to me, you’re special, so…”
Marinette bit down on her lip harder as she looked up at the sky, trying to hold back tears.
“Sorry,” Adrien laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’m probably just embarrassing myself. Pretend I didn’t say any of that, if I’m making you uncomfortable.”
The touch of sadness in his voice finally got to her, and Marinette swallowed down the raging storm of her own feelings. She was Ladybug. She could put her own problems on hold to be there for a friend.
“You’re not,” Marinette insisted firmly yet with a gentle warmth. “Adrien, you’re not. None of this,” She made an all-encompassing arm gesture. “is on you, okay? I’m just dealing with some stuff. It’s not your fault, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I’m really sorry that I’ve done something to make you think that you did anything wrong. You’re perfect, so…”
She slung an arm around his shoulders, giving him an awkward side-hug.
“You’re perfect,” she repeated, softer. “And you’re a good friend. …Thanks for stressing out on my account. Thanks for your friendship.” She turned and gave him her best smile. It was hard on her, but oh so worth it when he returned her weak smile with a blazing, effulgent grin.
“Thank you,” Adrien breathed, reciprocating her side-hug and topping it with a meaningful squeeze of his own.
Gradually, they drew apart, each in better spirits.
“So,” Adrien broke the silence, a smile in his voice. “Since we’re pretty sure Nino and Alya aren’t coming, why don’t we go ahead without them? I know you probably get enough sweets at home, but I was really looking forward to a hot chocolate and mont blanc from Angelina’s. Plus, you still look like you could use some cheering up. What do you say? My treat.”
Marinette’s mouth fell open. She wanted to say yes. A quiet, romantic lunch with Adrien in a gorgeous, period restaurant? Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES. Only…that would do nothing to get her over him any faster, and there was a certain complication besides: “But…what about your girlfriend? Would she be okay with you taking another girl out to lunch like that?”
Adrien’s eyes widened in surprised confusion as he rewound the last five seconds and played Marinette’s words over again. “Girlfriend” kept skipping like a DVD with a scratch in his mind.
“My what now?” He frowned, lost.
Marinette’s eyelashes fluttered as she blinked, equally unsure of her current location. “Your…girlfriend? Sorry. You had mentioned that there was a girl you were in love with. It’s Kagami, isn’t it? I don’t think Kagami would like it if you took me out to lunch, so we probably shouldn’t,” Marinette rattled off quickly as Adrien stared at her in wonder. “I wouldn’t want to make trouble between you and your girlfriend.”
Many, many thoughts swirled around inside of Adrien’s head. Among them was the realization that the shade of red now occupying Marinette’s cheeks in force was reminiscent of Ladybug’s mask and actually quite charming.
“I…don’t have a girlfriend,” Adrien finally regained the presence of mind to admit as his own face echoed the lovely vermillion of Marinette’s. “And no, the girl I love isn’t Kagami. It’s…it’s someone from work, but…” He tried to smile, to keep a carefree, optimistic grin in place. It came out as more of a grimace. “she doesn’t feel the same way about me. Like…she really doesn’t feel the same way about me. She’s nice about it to my face, but if she had heard you call her my girlfriend, she would have groaned and rolled her eyes.”
“What?” Marinette demanded. “What the hell? What the hell is wrong with her? Is she blind? Anyone would be lucky to be with someone who looks like you!”
Adrien endeavored not to wince. People objectifying and idolizing him because of his looks was kind of a sore spot. Not that Marinette could know. She probably thought she was complimenting him. It was obvious that she was sincere in her estimation of his physical attractiveness.
“Adrien, clearly this girl has rotten taste in men,” Marinette scoffed, offended on his behalf. “You are the sweetest, smartest, most compassionate, most mature, most loyal guy I have ever met. You’re patient and kind and caring. You are wonderful,” she insisted with an almost savage passion. “You are the most wonderful guy I’ve ever known, and if she can’t see all the things that I admire about you, if she can’t appreciate how precious you are, she doesn’t deserve you.”
Adrien could only stare at his friend after her outburst, absolutely stunned. His cheeks were burning, and a pleasant warmth was bubbling up in his chest. Her words had left him disoriented and breathless. His heart was beating so fast.
Marinette’s jaw dropped, and her face went white. She waved her arms violently, trying to beat her words out of the air, undo what she had just said. “Oh my gosh!” she meeped. “I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to go off on you like that. I mean, you know how wonderful you are. I don’t need to tell you.” She curled up on herself, head dropping to her knees as her arms went to cover her head like in a tornado drill. “Shoot! I probably sound like such a crazy, rabid fangirl!”
“You don’t!” Adrien insisted, his words coming out in a gasp as he was yanked back into the present. He grabbed one of her hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Marinette, I swear you don’t. …My fangirls don’t say such beautiful things like that about me,” he laughed softly in regret. “They’re more focused on how sexy I am…how good I look in swim trunks…how much they want to have my children. My fangirls are only interested in my fame, my body, and my money. They don’t know me…and they don’t care to.”
Slowly, Marinette looked up and saw the melancholy smile pasted on his lips. She tightened her grip on his hand.
Hesitantly, he turned to look at her, searching her face. “Marinette, did you mean what you said? Is that what you really think of me?”
She bit her tongue. This was her opportunity to take it all back! …but the pleading expression in his eyes, the need for it to be true that she found there wouldn’t let her save face. She nodded.
All at once, his entire countenance lit up. “R-Really?” he breathed.
She nodded again, hoping he couldn’t feel how sweaty her palm was getting.
“Because I don’t see those things in myself. I don’t think I’m very wonderful. Because of my job, my father, the company…I don’t always get to say what I think or do what I want. I don’t always get to be me in public, so I feel like such a fake sometimes. Just recently, with you guys, I’m starting to be real, and…it means a lot to me that you think of me like that. That was the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
Marinette frowned. “But…people say nice things about you all the time, don’t they?”
Adrien shrugged, looking down at their joined hands. “Mostly it’s about my appearance. If people say nice things, more often than not they don’t mean it. They’re just trying to win me or my father over. People aren’t usually sincere…not like you were just now. It means a lot to me.”
He took a deep breath, gulped, and smiled winningly, meeting her gaze. “It means a lot to me especially because I think the world of you, Marinette.”
Marinette considered pinching herself. This was clearly a dream. “Sorry. What?”
“I really admire you,” Adrien confessed sheepishly. “I mean…you’re brave and creative and fierce. You always speak your mind and stand up for others. You really do remind me of Ladybug, and that’s about the biggest compliment I can think of. You’re amazing, Marinette, and the fact that you think highly of me too… There are times I wonder if you even like me or if you’re just spending time with me because you feel bad for me or because you’re friends with Nino and Alya and I just happen to be there too, so knowing that you actually like and respect me…that makes me really happy.”
“Oh, you goofball,” Marinette sighed, reaching out and ruffling his hair. She gave his cheek a pat and smiled softly through her embarrassment. “Of course I like you, Adrien. I’m so sorry that you ever had any doubt.”
Adrien grinned so brightly he could have powered an entire city block. “You know, for the first time, I’m really glad that I don’t have a girlfriend.”
Marinette’s cheeks lit up like floodlights. “W-Wh-What?! Why? Why do you say that?”
Adrien shrugged, squeezing her hand. “Because it means no one can complain if I take you out to lunch…and maybe to an arcade afterwards?”
Tentatively, Marinette nodded, knowing she was only throwing her heart backing into the flames. “You certainly won’t be getting complaints from me,” she assured.
“Perfect! I’ve always wanted to spend more time one-on-one with you. I guess I’ll have to thank Nino and Alya for the opportunity later.” He grinned boyishly, and Marinette briefly wondered why his father had never had him do a toothpaste commercial.
She bet there would be plenty of people who would buy whatever toothpaste he was selling.
Marinette absentmindedly noted that Adrien didn’t let go of her hand as they got up, made their way out of the park, and crossed the street to Angelina’s.
All of the sudden, Marinette realized that she hadn’t really known the boy she’d been crushing on hard for months. She’d fallen for the outer layers and gotten occasional glimpses of the boy he was when no one was looking, but now, now when it was apparent that Adrien felt comfortable enough with her to let his walls down, she was seeing a whole new side to Adrien Agreste. Ironically enough, it was a lot like Chat Noir.
Adrien with his walls down was playful and flirty. He teased her and made jokes. He was still sweet and still polite when the waiter came to check on them, but he flicked whipped cream at her and kicked her foot under the table.
In response, Marinette dialed up her usual snark and sass exponentially. That only seemed to spur him on more.
“Are you always like this?” she hummed thoughtfully, kicking him back.
Adrien shrugged. “Only with people who make me feel safe.”
Marinette’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m glad I finally became one of those people.”
“Yeah,” Adrien chuckled softly. “What you said earlier put me in an exceptionally good mood. Not even an akuma could ruin today.”
Marinette winced. “Don’t jinx it, Agreste.”
After lunch, they hit up an arcade where Marinette wiped the floor with Adrien at about three quarters of the games they played. She did, however, learn not to mess with him when it came to the classic arcade games because, apparently, he had a fleet of old-school machines which he rotated in and out of his room monthly. Similarly, Adrien crushed Marinette at DDR.
Between the two of them, they ended up with enough tickets to pick a prize off of the top shelf.
“You should get something for yourself,” Marinette argued as he tried to hand her his ticket voucher. “You’re the one who bought the game tokens in the first place. I should be giving my tickets to you.”
Adrien shook his head, forcing the receipt into her hand. “I insist. The princess should get whatever she wants.”
“Princess?” Marinette laughed uncertainly, unable to contain a blush.
“Yep.” Adrien nodded resolutely. “And, in case you’re wondering, that’s you, not me. Go on, Marinette.”
With a roll of her eyes, she approached the prize counter and presented the ticket vouchers. She came back with a giant stuffed cat plushie that was about half the size of the body pillow she kept up in her loft.
Adrien couldn’t help a smug, lopsided grin at her choice. “Do you like cats?”
Marinette’s blush returned with a vengeance as she looked away, hugging the cat to her chest. “They’re my favourite animal, but, before you ask, I liked cats before they were cool.”
Adrien’s eyes widened. “…Do you think that Chat Noir is cool?”
She shrugged. “When he isn’t being a colossal dork…yeah. When he’s completely serious and he says something heroic or something painfully sweet…when he does something selfless…Chat Noir is the coolest.”
Adrien could feel himself turn to mush at her words. Apparently, it was Adrien Appreciation Day and no one had told him because Marinette was smoothing over every one of his insecurities—well…besides the mommy and daddy issues, but… It had been a long time since he had felt this good about himself.
Being with her felt good. He owed Alya and Nino a huuuuuge thank you gift for making this happen.
“Here.”
Adrien was brought back to the present when Marinette raised her hand, pushing something small into his face. He took it from her and looked down to find a phone strap with an adorable black cat plushie on the end.
“There were leftover tickets after I got my cat stuffed animal, so I got some prizes for you too,” she informed with a blush.
“Thank you.” His face glowed as he whipped out his phone and attached the strap proudly to his case.
“There’s this too.” Marinette held up a small, stretchy tube.
Adrien frowned as he inspected his prize. “What is it?”
Marinette chuckled, taking it back and inserting her finger into one end. “I’ve heard it called an ‘idiot trap’ before, but Alya calls it a ‘boyfriend catcher’.”
Adrien frowned harder.
She held it up with her finger still inside. “Put your finger in.”
He obliged her even though he fully expected a trap.
“Now try to pull your finger out,” she challenged.
Adrien did at the same time Marinette pulled from her end, causing the tube to constrict and trap them both.
Adrien couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh-ho! Marinette, if you wanted me to be yours, all you had to do was ask.”
She smacked his arm, face flushing fuchsia. “T-Th-That’s not—! I didn’t mean…!” Words utterly failed her, so she smacked his arm once more as she attempted not to spontaneously combust.
“Marinette, I know,” Adrien rushed to assure, feeling like such an idiot for wrecking the easy familiarity they had been enjoying by crossing a line. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just playing. I’m sorry. I won’t tease you like that again.”
Marinette pursed her lips, struggling to get her emotions back under control. When she could no longer hear the blood pumping in her ears, she took a deep breath and assured, “It’s okay. Sorry for flaking like that. I just…” She inhaled once more slowly. “I thought you could use it on the girl you love.”
His eyes went wide in surprise.
A thought occurred to her, causing her to recant. “Though, it now dawns on me how insensitive that is. I’m so sorry! That was unbelievably thoughtless of me. I shouldn’t have—!”
“—Marinette,” Adrien interrupted with a calming hand on her shoulder. “Shhh. It’s fine. This is hilarious.” He tugged gently on his end, finger still trapped inside the tube with her own. “I love it, so thank you.”
She hesitantly met his gaze. “We’re…okay?”
“More than okay.” He grinned softly at her, a playful, impish note to his voice. “I’m perfectly content like this.” He tugged on his end of the finger trap once more. “You’re the one that’s stuck with me for the rest of your life. Are you okay?”
She rolled her eyes, laughing as she smacked him half-heartedly on the arm. “Perfect.” She pressed her finger towards him, causing the tube to contract, thus freeing them both.
Adrien frowned, a pout clouding his features. “Shoot. You escaped.”
Marinette rolled her eyes.
Adrien moved the trap to his other hand holding it out towards her. “Hey, Marinette. Put your finger in.”
Marinette rolled her eyes harder and stuck her finger in anyway just to see him smile triumphantly. “Adrien Agreste, you are the cutest dork.”
Her cheeks burned as she said it, but she was proud of herself for finally being able to voice the thought.
“Gasp. She’s learned my secret!” Adrien feigned dismay.
“Do you have to kill me now?” Marinette snickered, slipping her finger back out of the trap.
“Hey. Stop escaping,” Adrien sighed dramatically.
Marinette tried not to laugh too hard as she put her finger back in the tube.
“Now,” Adrien announced in a grandiose manner. “I have to bribe you with ice cream so that you don’t tell others.”
Marinette quirked a suspicious eyebrow at her friend. “You had hot chocolate and a mont blanc with lunch and you still want more sweets?”
Adrien rolled his eyes, bumping Marinette’s shoulder with his own. “Parisian hot chocolate and mont blancs aren’t all that sweet.”
“Still. Isn’t your father going to be upset with you when the Gorilla tells him?” she pressed, only half joking.
“Father’s not going to find out.” Adrien smirked deviously. “When I take you home for the evening, I’ll stop by the bakery and pick up some choux à la crème to bribe the Gorilla with.”
“…You sure bribe people a lot,” Marinette observed, trying not to giggle. She didn’t altogether succeed.
Adrien winked. “Upper-class corruption at its finest, Princess.”
They stowed their respective prizes in the car with Victor the Gorilla and stopped by an ice cream parlor not far from Notre Dame that sold rolled ice cream in unusual flavors. Marinette stuck with mint chocolate chip, but Adrien got green tea with lychee and red bean paste on top.
Marinette scrunched up her nose.
“What?” Adrien snorted. “It’s good. Surely, you’ve had red bean paste before.”
Marinette nodded. “When Maman makes mooncakes mostly. It’s not very sweet.”
“Because you’re used to western sweets. For those of us that don’t get fresh-baked pastries every day, eastern sweets are plenty sweet,” Adrien teased, scooping up a bite of his ice cream, making sure to include some lychee as well as red bean paste. He held out the spoon to her. “Try a bite. It’s a good combination.”
Marinette closed her eyes and opened her mouth, trying to fight an internal squeal because the boy she had been crazy about for months was feeding her ice cream and why did this progress have to happen in their relationship just when she really needed to be falling out of love with him?
“So?” Adrien prompted.
Marinette smiled bashfully down into her own bowl. “You’re right. A subtle sweetness can be good sometimes. The lychee and green tea combo is refreshing…. I just don’t think I’m ever going to be a fan of red bean paste.”
Adrien clicked his tongue. “Your loss, Marinette. More for me.”
She rolled her eyes and spooned up a bite of her own ice cream. “Want a bite?”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Adrien trilled happily. “I’m beginning to think you’re subconsciously a big Chat Noir fan, though.”
“What?” Marinette scoffed indignantly. “Where did that come from?”
He nodded down at her ice cream. “Black and green are his colors.”
“Oh, please.” Marinette rolled her eyes, but then a thoughtful expression settled onto her face. “…I’m never going to be a crazy fangirl, but I have to admit that Chat Noir deserves more respect than he gets. He’s not a sidekick. He’s an even bigger hero than Ladybug. Everyone always complains about how he always gets brainwashed or captured, but that’s just because he’s taking the hits for her. She can only do what she does because he has her back. Without him, she’d be up crap creek without a paddle. He deserves to have fans.”
Adrien shoved a large spoonful of ice cream into his mouth so that he couldn’t do something stupid like tell Marinette he loved her or ask her to marry him.
He was really enjoying Adrien Appreciation Day…. He was just concerned that it was that easy to make him melt. A little praise, a few kind words, a small stroke to his ego, and Adrien was a goner.
He needed to work on his self-esteem.
Or maybe keep hanging around Marinette so that she could remind him how valued and appreciated he was.
After ice cream, the two took a stroll by the Seine, talking and laughing and teasing and generally reveling in their newfound comfort with one another. They walked up and down the Right Bank before crossing over at the Pont des Arts.
“It’s a shame about the locks,” Adrien sighed, looking down into the Seine.
Marinette snickered, coming to stand beside him. “Would you rather the weight of the locks make the railings collapse? They had no choice but to put up new railings that you can’t attach locks to.”
Adrien rolled his eyes. “I’m a romantic, not a pragmatist.” He pointed to a lamppost that couples had stubbornly made do with attaching their locks to. “This, I approve of. Don’t you know that someday some couple is going to make the pilgrimage here only to discover that they can’t attach a lock to the railing? Then we’re going to have another Valentine’s Day akuma, and I’m going to end up with yet another kiss I can’t remember.”
Marinette frowned. “Akuma kisses don’t count. They had a poll online…. How many akuma kisses are you up to?”
Adrien’s brow knitted together. Oblivio, Chameleon twice, Zombizou at least once, Dislocoeur… “I think there have been four total akuma kiss events. I’m a little fuzzy on the actual number of kisses, but as soon as we find out who Papillon is, I’m suing for sexual assault.”
“That’s a good idea,” Marinette mused. “I should probably do that too.”
“Oh?” The hair on the back of Adrien’s neck stood up. “Uh…how many akuma kisses are you up to?”
“Two,” Marinette sighed, grabbing hold of the railing and leaning back. “My only two kisses.”
Adrien’s grip on the railing tightened. He was so going to personally punch Papillon in the face for what he had put Ladybug and Marinette through.
“Both were with the same guy,” Marinette continued, oblivious to the quiet fury simmering within her partner. “It’s almost like the universe is trying to tell me something.”
Adrien gave a start. “Luka Couffaine?”
Marinette jumped, almost falling backwards as she lost her hold on the railing.
Adrien was quick to put out a hand to steady her.
“Th-Thanks.” She blushed, eyes wide as she tried to slow down her heartbeat.
Adrien let his hand rest on her back a little longer than necessary. “Any time.”
Marinette cleared her throat and stepped back up to the railing. “Um…no. Not Luka. I mean…Luka is…definitely a possibility, but…there’s another guy.” She sighed, resting her head against the railing as she really thought about how messed up her love life was. “There are three guys. Luka—the safe choice—and then one who loves me whom I would probably love if I didn’t love the guy I’m currently stuck on and, finally, the one I love but need to get over because he loves someone else. I keep kissing the one who’s in love with me.”
“So…Luka, Chat Noir, and…who’s the one who’s in love with you?” Adrien hesitantly inquired, beginning to feel nervous for the first time at all the other guys in Marinette’s life.
Marinette laughed earnestly. “Bold of you to assume I’m in love with Chat Noir.”
Adrien frowned. “I thought…didn’t your dad get…?” He pursed his lips.
Marinette winced. “Yeah, okay. I can see how you would think that. That was… I was feeling heartbroken one night because of the guy I had a crush on, and Chat Noir happened by my balcony. Long story short, when I told Chat Noir I loved him, it might have just been transference of my feelings for my crush because Chat Noir was really sweet and cool when I was feeling vulnerable. It wasn’t fair of me.”
Suddenly, Adrien couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “O-Oh. So…you’re not interested in Chat Noir?”
Marinette sighed. “I think he deserves someone better than me. He’s the sweetest guy, Adrien. He deserves someone who’s going to treat him right and make him feel every bit as special as he is.”
“I think you could pull it off,” Adrien responded sincerely. “You have a penchant for making other people feel good about themselves…. You make me feel special.” Cautiously, Adrien slipped his hand into hers.
Marinette stared at him in wonder. “O-Oh?”
“Yeah.” He smiled shyly. “You’re doing an especially good job of it today. It’s easy to see why so many of the guys in our class have fallen for you. Given enough time, you could probably work your magic and have any guy you wanted.”
She chewed thoughtfully on the inside of her cheek, seriously wondering whether she should ask him if she could have him.
He would probably shrug it off as a joke. He would probably answer back cheekily something like, “If you ask nicely” or “I’m already yours, Princess” or…perhaps Marinette was projecting Chat Noir onto Adrien a little too much.
“Since when is Chat Noir the sweetest guy, though?” Adrien’s pout pulled Marinette back to the Pont des Arts. “I thought you said that I was the sweetest guy you’d ever met earlier at the Tuileries.”
Marinette froze for a moment and then decided to laugh, returning the joking atmosphere that they had momentarily lost sight of. “You’ll have to fight each other for the title. I can’t choose between you.”
With an indignant snort, Adrien tugged Marinette gently by the hand away from the railing, and they continued their stroll along the Left Bank. “Remind me to challenge Chat Noir to a duel next time we run into him. I’m pretty sure I could kick his butt at fencing.”
Adrien slowed their pace considerably as the bakery came within sight, and he did three laps around the park before finally walking her to her door. Even then, he lingered in her doorway, refusing to relinquish his hold on her hand.
Not that Marinette minded in the slightest.
Eventually, the impatient stare of his driver got to him and Adrien began to wrap things up.
“I wish this never had to end,” Adrien sighed, giving her hand a squeeze. “I had so much fun with you today, Marinette.”
“I had fun too,” Marinette giggled, using her free hand to tuck a loose bang back behind her ear. “I’m really glad we got the opportunity to hang out and talk. I feel like I got to know you so much better today.”
“I know,” he chuckled, smile almost as blinding as the sunset. “I feel like I finally got to experience firsthand the Marinette that I see with other people…and I like her a lot.” He stepped in closer without breaking eye contact.
Marinette swallowed hard as she stared up at him, entranced.
“Can we do this again sometime?” he asked in a breathy whisper.
“You mean…hang out?” She gulped again. Her throat felt dry.
He nodded.
“…With Alya and Nino too or…?” she sought clarification.
He shook his head, a wicked smile gliding over his lips. “Just you and me. I want to take you out again…if that’s okay?”
Marinette’s brain short circuited, and all she could do was nod and nod and keep nodding as he leaned in even closer, his gaze dropping down to her lips.
Marinette froze. Was Adrien Agreste about to kiss her?
Adrien was asking himself the same question. He wanted to. Oh, how he wanted to. Marinette had been nothing but kind words, ego boosts, and much-overdue affirmations that day, and Adrien was understandably smitten. He loved his Lady, but it was sometimes hard to stay the course in the face of her rejections. It would be so easy to let himself fall into Marinette’s arms, let himself be loved…provided that Marinette was even interested in him.
Did she want him to kiss her? He couldn’t tell. She was staring at him in shock, almost aghast at what was happening. If she didn’t want the kiss, this could be a friendship-ruining moment. He could lose her.
Adrien angled his chin up, dusting a feather-light kiss to her forehead. He pulled back slightly, bringing his hand up and hers with it. His lips pressed reverently to the inside of her wrist.
Marinette gasped softly at the contact.
“Sorry,” he whispered, lowering their hands but not letting go. He smiled uncertainly. “Was that over-the-top?”
She shook her head. “W-What? No! No. That was fine. I was just…just a little surprised. That was…good.” Her smile beamed back at him, easing his fears.
“Good,” he echoed with a gentle smile, squeezing her hand once more before letting it go.
They got her cat plushie out of the car and said their final goodbyes before parting for the night.
“See you tomorrow, Princess,” he purred with a wink.
“Goodnight, Adrien,” she laughed, giving him a little finger wave before slowly closing the door behind herself.
Adrien sank into the backseat of the car with a dreamy sigh, picking up the finger trap and playing with it absentmindedly as dozens of thoughts vied for his attention.
He was grateful that Plagg couldn’t come out and heckle him with Victor there up front. Adrien needed the silence to sort out what exactly had just happened.
Adrien collapsed on his bed, arms outstretched. “Okay,” he sighed. “I’m ready. Tease me mercilessly. I don’t even care.”
Plagg gave a snort as he phased through the minifridge. “It’s no fun to tease you if you don’t care.”
Plagg floated back out with a whole wheel of Edam. “For the record, though, I begin to suspect that you have a thing for pigtails.”
Adrien rolled his eyes. “I begin to suspect that I have a weakness for heartfelt praise. She said those wonderful things about me this morning, Plagg, and I turned to goo.”
“Yeah. You forget that I’m close enough to feel your heartrate and hear your breathing. I could tell the moment you went all gaga for bakery-girl.” Plagg rolled his eyes, sitting down on the bedspread beside his chosen to enjoy his hard-earned reward. There had been far too many feelings that day.
“Plagg?” Adrien called hesitantly.
Plagg looked up. “Kid?”
“It’s possible to have feelings for more than one person at once, right? I mean…” He bit his lip. “Scratch that. I know it’s possible. What I mean is…is it okay to have feelings for two girls at once? That doesn’t make me a bad person, does it?”
Plagg shook his head. “You’re only a bad person if you’re kissing both of them without them knowing. Don’t stress so much, Kid. You’ve got a new crush, and this one seems more receptive than the other, so enjoy it already. Besides, it sounds like her heart’s in a couple different places too.”
Adrien frowned. “I’d almost forgotten. I have rivals…three of them.”
Plagg put forth the minimal effort required to hold in a snicker. “Yeah, but none of them almost kissed her this evening.”
“Do you think I did the right thing?” Adrien sighed, rolling over onto his stomach.
“Yeah, Kitten, I think you did,” Plagg assured, swallowing the entire wheel of Edam whole. “Do yourself a favor and take this slow. Learn from your mistakes with Ladybug. Don’t rush things so that she doubts your sincerity. Hang out a couple more times just the two of you, and then, if things are going well, drop the word ‘date’ on her. Sprinkle in some flowers and chocolate and sewing supplies, and she’s yours.”
Adrien took a deep inhale and let it out slowly. “If only things could be that easy.”
Plagg shrugged. “Who knows. They might be. Now, I think I’ve been incredibly helpful tonight, listening to your icky feelings nonsense and giving you solid advice. Don’t you think I deserve extra compensation?”
“You can have two wheels of Camembert if you listen to me gush about how spectacular Marinette is without making fun of me,” Adrien bargained.
“Without making fun of you tonight or without making fun of you later too?” Plagg inquired, eyes narrowing.
“Just tonight,” Adrien chuckled, knowing that alone was asking a lot of his kwami.
“Deal,” Plagg snickered, going to get his prize.
Meanwhile, Adrien rolled around on his bed, laughing blissfully. “Plagg, you should have heard the things she said about me today!”
“I did hear, Kid,” Plagg grumbled under his breath, marveling at how a normally exceptionally intelligent adolescent male could be made as dumb as an amoeba by hormones and his instinct to mate. “I was with you the whole time.”
“And not just Adrien me,” Adrien continued obliviously. “Chat Noir too! She likes the both of us. She likes all of me! Plagg, do you think she could fall in love with me too?”
Plagg successfully held in another laugh. “Oh? ‘Too’? Are you in love with this one already? You seem to do that pretty quickly, falling in love.”
Adrien rolled his eyes. “Oh, eat your cheese.”
Plagg snorted but happily acquiesced. “For the record, I’m sure she’s having a very similar freak out about you right now.”
Plagg only derived slight comfort in knowing that Tikki too was dealing with a love-addled chosen. After all, Tikki liked talking about feelings.
“I can’t wait to see her tomorrow, Plagg,” Adrien sighed obliviously. “She’s so wonderful! Do you think we could eat lunch together? I’m going to have to get Nino and Alya something really nice for setting this up for me.”
Adrien prattled on happily the rest of the evening, and Plagg debated whether or not he too should do something nice for Nino and Alya. They may have initiated this annoying phase of lovesickness in Plagg’s chosen, but, at the same time, they had helped Adrien to wise up about the girl behind the mask that he was so crazy about and, thus, had saved Plagg from further moping and melancholy concerning Ladybug.
Really, Plagg decided, it was a tossup.
The
End