"MARINEEEEETTE!"
It was just another day at Collège. They were on lunch break, Marinette and Nino sitting across each other, with Adrien sitting next to his best friend. The blue haired student turned in alarm, recognizing the voice that screeched out her name.
"What?" she asked, frowning.
"You have no idea who is coming to town this weekend!" Alya was ecstatic, and grabbed Marinette by her arms, shaking her violently.
"Of course not, you didn't tell me!" she recoiled when Alya let out another screech.
"Two words, girl. Older. Brother." Alya grinned.
"WHAT?!" Marinette exclaimed, jumping out of her seat "Micah is coming to town?!"
"Yes!" the brunette's eyes were sparking with pure joy, and Marinette joined.
"Holy cardigan!"
As the two went delirious with the news, Adrien was surprised and slightly scared. Scared because he had never seen Alya fangirl so hard, and surprised because he had never seen Marinette so free. He turned to Nino, who had a small smile on his lips while watching Alya.
"Nino? What is going on?"
"It's Micah." he explained "Alya's 'older brother'."
"I thought Nora was the oldest sister." Adrien scratched the back of his head.
"And she is." the DJ tried "Micah isn't blood related. He was adopted by Alya's mother when he was 9. He was living on the streets and since he had no family, Marlena took him in."
"What does he do?"
"I'm not sure... hey Alya!"
"Yes?" she turned to him, still grinning.
"What does your brother do?"
"He's a cop." she answered, frowning "Why?"
"Adrien wanted to know. He doesn't know Micah."
"Oh my God, you're right!" Alya realized "He's coming home tonight. How about we all go out tomorrow and you can meet him, Adrien. What do you think?"
"I'm free tomorrow afternoon. Would that be okay with you?" he asked, checking his phone.
"Perfect." Nino nodded, Alya smiled and Marinette shrugged.
"It's a date, then. Get ready to meet the awesome dude that is my big brother." she declared.
... Later, in Marinette's room ...
"Oh, Tikki, I can't believe Micah is coming back!" Marinette squealed, throwing herself to her bed.
"Who is this Micah anyway?" Tikki asked, flying to Marinette.
"Only the most awesome big brother ever?" she sighed "I used to have this massive crush on him..."
"Used to?"
"Yeah, we're just friends now."
"Isn't he too old for you?"
"He's eighteen... I'm fifteen, Tikki. He's not that old."
"I see..." she smiled "You guys get along well?"
"Oh, perfectly! Micah is like the brother I never had." she swooned "He's kind, sweet, caring, gentle... and really hot."
"Really?"
"Yess." she giggled "You'll see tomorrow."
... In Adrien's room ...
"Don't you think Mari's reaction was a bit weird?" Adrien asked.
"I don't know kid." Plagg replied "What's the normal reaction for a girl over her best friend's brother?"
"I'm not sure, but certainly not so... cheerful." he bit his lip.
"Aw, is little Adrien jealous...?" Plagg cooed, and the blond slapped him away.
"I'm not jealous!" he blushed "I'm just... if he is so important to Mari, she would have told me about it, right? I mean... we're friends."
"Kid, your girlfriend doesn't have a side guy if that's what you're wondering. She doesn't strike me as that type of girl." Plagg rolled his eyes and went back to his cheese "Relax... as far as you know, she was just happy for Alya."
"She's not my girlfriend!" Adrien exclaimed, hiding his reddening face in his pillow "Not yet, anyway..."
"Don't you like her that way?" Plagg frowned.
"I do. I really like Mari."
"Then tell her that!" the kwami exclaimed "I'm not having this conversation with you again, kiddo."
"Then don't." Adrien threw a pillow at him and turned to the wall.
.-ADRINETTE-.
"Hey, Mari." Adrien smiled and sat down beside her "I'm not late, am I?"
"N-no. And h-hi, Adrien. Nino just went to buy a bottle of water and Alya texted me, saying they were almost here. Ella and Etta kept them busy and they lost track of time." she explained, noticing their legs were almost touching.
"You look good." he noticed her white V-neck tee, high circle pink skirt and knee-high brown boots.
"Thank you." she blushed.
"Who did you dress up for? Him or I?" he teased, and her face turned red.
"I-I-I..." she stammered.
"Mari, Mari... it's okay!" he laughed "I know it was for me."
"Adrien, stop teasing!" she huffed, but she was fighting off a smile.
"So, tell me... what's up between you and Micah?"
"Micah and I?" she frowned "Nothing much. We're friends. We used to be close. Him, Alya and I used to get in so many shenanigans. We were the terrible trio together..."
"Friends...?" he visibly relaxed "That's cool."
"Also, I used to have this huge crush on him..." she smiled, and he paled "I mean, why wouldn't I? He was everyone's crush!"
"C-crush?" he gulped "Do you still..."
But he was interrupted by Nino's voice who shouted "Hey guys! Guess who I found?"
The two turned and Marinette jumped to her feet and ran to the unknown male that walked hand in hand with Alya – who he let go to catch Marinette in his arms. Adrien stood up as well, as a polite measure, but his heart stopped when Marinette let go of him.
He was gorgeous.
Tall and tanned, with high cheekbones, sharp jawline and full lips. Greenish blue eyes covered with hipster glasses, dark brown hair in a spiky undercut and a gentle scruff. He wore a white tee, jeans, a green flannel and black converse.
He smiled, and Adrien saw the perfect white teeth practically glowing.
"Mari." he called, and even his voice was deep. Why was he so perfect?!
"Micah!" she went for another hug, and this time, he lifted off her feet.
"Hi." Adrien stepped in, and Micah saw him, and put down Marinette.
"Hey. I'm Micah, Alya's older brother." he reached out his hand and Adrien took it.
"Adrien Agreste." he introduced himself "Pleasure."
"Indeed." Marinette took one hand and Alya took the other "So, where do you guys want to go?"
"Wanna go to the bakery? I told papa you were coming back, and he promised to make those croissants you love so much." Marinette suggested.
"The mango cream filled croissants? Oh, Queenie, I swear you're perfect."
Marinette smiled brightly and Adrien nearly growled. He felt Plagg muffling his snickers against his shirt and almost hit him. But he composed himself and, when he felt Nino's arm around his shoulders and saw his apologetic grin, he took a deep breath.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"As I'll ever be."
.
Turns out, Micah was a pretty decent guy. After Marinette and Alya pestered him about his romantic status – to which he responded he was single and ready to mingle – he told them about the life in Orléans.
But Adrien still held a small grudge against him. He was monopolizing Marinette's attention, and selfish as it might sound, Adrien wanted her attention. From under the table he took her free hand, and she didn't even spare him a glance.
It got worse, however, when Marinette declared that she could still kick Micah's ass in Ultimate Mecha Strike and he challenged her. They all went up to her room and the two players sat down in front of the TV. Nino was cheering on Marinette, Alya was cheering on her brother and Adrien just stared.
After a while, he got tired and got up to leave. Alya noticed and got up. "Adrien? Where are you going?"
"I snuck out to go out with you guys... but I have to get back. Someone might miss me." he said the last bit looking at Marinette's back.
"I thought you were clear to come." she frowned.
"I was supposed to be practicing my piano." he admitted "I suppose I just wanted to spend some time with friends..."
"Hold up, I'm going to let the two gamers know you're going."
"No, Alya, don't-" but she was already shaking the two.
"Adrien says he needs to go." she declared, and Micah turned to look at the male.
"Oh, of course! Sorry to keep you." he got up, dusted his pants and walked to him "It was a pleasure to meet you, Adrien."
"Yeah, same." he smiled softly.
"Adrien." Marinette came closer to him "I'll walk you out."
The two left her room and got to the stairs. Then, Adrien turned to Marinette and declared "You can go back inside, I know the way."
"Adrien..." Marinette frowned, taken back "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, Mari. Just fine." he spoke a bit too harsh, but at that moment, he didn't care. "Just... go."
"Adrien, please." she took his hand "Did I do something wrong? Please tell me..."
"Leave me alone, Marinette." he pulled away and left.
.-ADRINETTE-.
"Don't you think you were a bit rude?" Plagg asked the teen splayed on his bed, hands behind his head and staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Yes..." he sighed "But what can I do now? The evil is done. And I kind of meant it. I was mad at her."
"Kid, just because you were jealous does not give you the right to snap at the poor girl!" Plagg smacked his forehead "Now, why don't you call her and apologize?"
"It's late, Plagg." he looked at the moon in the sky "She's probably asleep. Dreaming about Micah and their perfect relationship."
"Listen up, kid-" but his phone began to ring. Adrien saw the ID caller – it was Alya – and answered.
"Hello?"
"Adrien Agreste, I am going to end your race!"
"What did I do?" he sat up on the bed, Plagg rolling his eyes at him.
"What did you do? You mind telling me what you told Marinette when she walked you out? She wasn't the same when she returned!"
"What are you talking about, Alya?"
"She looked sad! And when I asked her about it, she told me she didn't want to talk about it!" she shouted at his ear "What the hell did you say to my best friend, Agreste?!"
"I..." he bit his lip "It's my fault, Alya."
"Well, no shit! Now, tell me about it so I can fix it!"
"You can't fix this one, Alya." he replied "This one's on me."
"What's going on, Adrien?"
"I have to go." he declared "I need to apologize to her. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, fine... but tomorrow sharp! Micah and I already left her place, so she should be alone."
"Thanks, Alya..." and he hung up "Plagg? Claws out!"
It wasn't long before he was landing on her balcony. He undid his transformation and knocked at her window. When he saw her show up in her pajamas and mussy hair, he almost regretted coming.
Almost.
"Adrien? What are you doing here?"
"Can I come inside?" he asked, and she nodded, opening the window for him. He stepped inside and followed her to her bed, sitting down beside her.
"So." she let out.
"So." he took a deep breath "Can we talk?"
"You're here... I'm not about to kick you out, kitty." she rolled her eyes.
"It's about today." he declared, and she stiffened up.
"Oh. You mean the fight we had that I don't know what I did to deserve that?" she pouted "I remember that."
"I'm sorry, Mari." he gulped "I'm sorry I acted like an ass, I just..."
"What?" she stood up "What could I possibly have done to deserve that? I know I wasn't with you much today, but I just really missed Micah!"
"I don't want to lose you, princess."
She heard the way his voice broke and turned immediately. His hands were turned into fists on his legs, gathering the jean in them. His lower lip trapped between his lips, and his eyes firmly shut.
"What kind of thought is that, Chaton?" she frowned "You're not gonna lose me."
"Are you sure? Because after today's show, I'm not so sure anymore."
"Adrien, Jesus!" she exclaimed "We're having a fight, you don't have to immediately assume that I'm going to dump you!"
"I can't help it." he gulped harshly "I need you Mari. I need you so bad, you have no idea how much."
"Adrien, I'm not leaving." she knelt in front of him and took a hold of his wrists "But it would help if I knew what happened."
"I... It's Micah."
"What about him?"
"Come on, Mari!" he looked into her eyes "You don't think I saw the way you two were around each other?! I like you too much to see you like that with another guy and not assume things!"
"You... you like me?" she gasped.
"Like you didn't know already."
"We're friends, Adrien..." she gulped.
"And I want more." he declared, locking eyes with her "And yeah, because of that, I get jealous. I know it's not like me. But I can't help it. You bring the wild cat out in me, my Lady."
"Adrien..." she took a deep breath "Why didn't you say something?"
"Say what? That I was jealous of Alya's brother? That I'm freaking possessive of you and I can't help it? That I want more of us than what we have?"
"All of them." Marinette declared, placing one hand on his cheek "Adrien, I... you should have told me. We could have talked it out."
"I don't want to talk, Mari! I want action!" he stood up and walked to the middle of her room.
"Action?" she frowned "Why don't you put your claws away, kitty? Before you break something."
"I can't! This is what you do to me!" he ran his hands through his hair, frustrated "This is how you leave me! A pining, frustrated guy who gets jealous of every dude that even looks at you! And I can't even control myself! I am pathetic."
"Adrien, come on." she got up and walked to him "Don't say that."
"How? I've just told you how I feel about you and you just brushed it off." he looked to her window and called for Plagg "I can have many flaws, but missing the hint is not one of them."
"Adrien Agreste, don't you dare. Tikki, grab Plagg." she declared, taking his face in her hands "You want to get aggressive, fine. We'll get aggressive."
And she pulled him down and crashed her lips against his.
Adrien stumbled, having to support himself on her desk behind him. Gulping, he quickly realized Marinette was kissing him and closed his eyes, kissing her back. She pressed herself against him, his arms wrapped around her waist, and it wasn't long before Adrien was clearing her desk with his arm and sitting her on top of it, hands going up to her hair.
"Adrien..." she moaned, and he kissed her harder.
His touch was bruising, but she didn't care. He was wild, aggressive like an untamed cat. Her hands were running through his hair and holding onto his shoulders for dear life, as their tongues tasted themselves. He didn't want to break away, but he had to. As much as he needed Marinette, he needed to breathe just a bit more.
"Mari..." he whispered against her lips.
"Do you understand now?" she asked, taking a deep breath.
"I think I do..." he smirked "But I think I need one more kiss to be sure."
And she was glad to give him so.