This has not been proof read, so please let me know if you spot any errors so that I can fix them!
The bell above the door jangled sharply, immediately followed by the rough slamming of the door. "Can I-" Marinette started to call out to whoever had just come in, but she was interrupted.
"MARINETTE!"
The woman in question squeaked out with surprise and she was grateful that she'd stopped working on the wedding dress in front of her when she'd heard the shop bell jingle, or else she probably would have ruined it.
Ayla stomped into the back room, her eyes wide with eager anticipation. "MARINETTE!" she barked out again.
"Jeez, Alya! I'm sitting right here! You don't have to yell!"
"But this is important! I went to my favorite bakery ever in order to stock up for a movie marathon date night with Nino," Alya said in a rush. Marinette nodded simply; this was usual behavior for the two of them. "AND YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE WHO WAS WORKING THE REGISTER AT YOUR PARENT'S BAKERY! ADR-"
"Calm down, Alya!" Marinette said with a laugh as she turned back to the wedding dress.
"Calm… Girl, how exactly do you expect me to calm down when Adrien motherfucking Agreste is currently working at your parent's bakery?" Alya said as she glared down at her friend.
"Because I'm the one who got him the apprenticeship with my parents," Marinette said simply.
"YOU WHAT?!" Alya screamed. She plopped herself down at the empty work station next to Marinette's and stared, slack-jawed at her friend. "Deets, girl! Give me the deets!"
Marinette heaved a heavy sigh as she got up and went into the front of the shop. There, she flipped the open sign over to closed, and made sure that the door was locked.
"It happened the night that I told you that I was going out with that guy I meet online," Marinette started as she sat back down again.
"Huh? I thought that you told me that your night had been amazing," Alya said with confusion.
"It was, but probably not for the reasons you think," Marinette said with a growing grin. "That guy stood me up, but, like a complete fool, I waited for him for over two hours."
"What. An. Asshole. I'm glad that he stood you up, so that I won't have to shove a-"
"Alya!" Marinette said with a giggle.
"Right, sorry. You were talking about Adrien." She gave a wave of her hand to indicate that Marinette should continue.
"Well, as I was leaving, I thought that I saw Adrien sitting at the bar. I thought 'no, it can't be him, can it?' so I approached the guy, and it turned out to be Adrien. We laughed and talked and had some wine… and…" Marinette trailed off awkwardly and bit her lip.
"Girl," Alya said. She drew the word out for a beat longer than it needed to be.
"We slept together," Marinette admitted sheepishly.
"YOU WHAT?!" Alya said in a scream so loud, Marinette wondered how none of the windows in her shop were still in one piece. "Girl, how in the world could you possibly keep this from me? Why would you keep this from me? HOW COULD YOU KEEP THIS A SECRET FROM ME?! That was over two months ago, Mari! Adrien is like your super ultimate mega crush— the one that you always promise that you've gotten over, but as soon as a new Gabriel line comes out, suddenly it's back in full force."
Marinette gave an absent shrug and nervously tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear. "It's really complicated," she said quietly. "Adrien got into such a huge fight with his dad over leaving the fashion industry, and he doesn't really want anybody to know where he is."
"Marinette, you wound me. I'm your best friend in the whole world. Hell, the four of us used to hang out together all of the time when we were in school," Alya said with a hurt look on her face. "I know that I'm a proper journalist now, but I'm your friend first and foremost. I'd never sell Adrien out for some scoop or something!"
"Well, nobody else knows, so don't feel too bad, okay?" Marinette said with a small, sad smile. "Not even Nino."
"Ugh, trust me when I say that if Nino had known, then I would have known, too!" Alya snapped. She paused and stared at her friend. "Okay, so the two of you slept together. And then you got him an apprenticeship at the bakery?" Her voice was more even and in control.
"Yeah," Marinette agreed with a slight nod of her head.
"And then what? The two of you just went your separate ways?"
"Um, no, not exactly…" she said with some hesitation. She nervously fiddled with a spool of thread.
"Out with it."
"Ah, well, we went out a couple more times. Like, to dinner and stuff. Just talking and catching up, but at the same time, they all felt like dates rather than…" She gave an absent shrug. "Two old friends catching up. And then I realized that he was living out of that hotel room, so I told him that if he was going to be working in Paris, he should find a place. And one thing led to another, and he's now living with me." She said the last part in a rush.
"YOU WHAT?!" Alya screamed so loud, that Marinette swore that the astronauts on the space station would have been able to hear her. The other woman winced from the volume. "You having a one-night stand with the guy of your dreams? That I can maybe understand! You getting him a job with your parents? Pushing the envelope, but it's none of my business. BUT YOU'RE FUCKING LIVING WITH ADREIN MOTHERFUCKING AGRESTE, AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN BE BOTHERED TO TELL ME?!"
Marinette heaved a heavy sigh and hung her head in shame. "I'm really sorry, Alya. Things have been weird and awkward enough with Adrien and me moving in together and my parents seem to think that there's a lot more going on between us than there actually is. I didn't want to bring outsiders into our relationship just yet; it's too new and fragile."
Alya let out a sigh of her own as she regarded Marinette. "I'm guessing that there's a hell of a lot more that you're not telling me about why Adrien's back here," she finally said.
"Yeah," Marinette agreed heavily. "Like I said, it's super complicated. And it's not my story to tell."
"I get that," she said with a nod of her head. "Adrien's home life has always been very complex. When we were still in school, he was always so skinny. And hungry. And he'd frequently come in to class looking like he hadn't slept in two days. I honestly felt a little sorry for him, cause you know that they were keeping him on a strict model diet, which, for a growing teenage boy, means practically starving him. And with the lack of sleep? I wish that I'd called… I don't know? Child protective services?"
"Yeah, but Adrien was doing that of his own free will, though," Marinette admitted quietly as she wrapped her arms around herself. "He told me about a lot of it. And maybe part of it was coerced, but most of it wasn't. He wanted to do all of that stuff so that his dad would pay attention to him. And it was the only way that Adrien knew how."
Alya gave her a depressed look. "That's the fucking saddest thing that I've ever heard," she whispered with some horror.
"I know. Basically, Adrien just woke up one morning and realized that no matter what he did, he'd never be good enough. So he left, and here we are."
Alya's nostril's flared out as she breathed heavily for a moment. "I won't forgive you for not telling me about this, though," she finally said sourly.
"I know, and I'm sorry."
"But you can make it up to me by coming to movie night tonight. Bring Adrien. We can have a double date!" Alya offered Marinette a huge grin.
"I'll call him and ask him, but don't be surprised if he says no, because my dad works him to the ground," Marinette said as she reached for her phone.
"I will literally never forgive you if you don't do this, Marinette," Alya warned. "Never. I'll never talk to you again."
"Pft, like that's such a horrible thing!"
Alya growled out and lunged for her friend. "Hey, watch the wedding dress! This thing is worth my rent for the next month!"
"Why am I suddenly the last to know about these things!" Alya groaned out as she stood up to leave. "Text me later about what Adrien says."
If you enjoyed this, please let me know by leaving a review!
I'm also taking requests for ideas in this series, if anybody has anything. I can't promise that I'll do them, but it wouldn't hurt to suggest something.