Marinette stretched her legs out while sitting on her comfy chair on the balcony. She gazed thoughtfully at the glowing Paris rooftops, the end of her pencil lightly touching her lips while her design notebook lay open in her lap, displaying the sketch of a half-completed dress. It was eight o'clock, but night had already fallen. She intended to go to bed at a normal hour for once, but doubted that would happen as soon as she was once again absorbed into her new design.
"Hello, Princess."
Marinette snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of the familiar voice, but smiled to herself soon after. Chat Noir leaned against the railing of her balcony, a smug smile on his lips.
"Patrol ended an hour ago, you know," Marinette said, setting aside her pencil and notebook.
"I know, I know," he said with a light sigh. "Father's actually home tonight and I didn't want to hear his usual 'Adrien, I've scheduled fifty new photoshoots' or 'Adrien, you're getting fat' or just his usual disappointed looks and blatant disregard of my existence."
"Mm, so you're avoiding him?"
"Basically."
Marinette and Chat were now both leaning against the railing, taking in the beautiful view and simply enjoying each other's presence. Marinette instinctively rested her head against his shoulder, his closeness being something she longed for more than ever. Even during school, it was hard for the two to stay apart. Alya and Nino would always mock them with disgusted faces, accusing them of being "sickeningly cute" and saying that they regretted ever setting them up in the first place. But If it weren't for Nino and Alya, perhaps Marinette and Adrien would have never grown as close as they did before their accidental identity reveal.
In fact, just a month ago on Valentine's Day, Alya had set up a poll on her blog for the students at Collège Françoise Dupont. Marinette and Adrien were at the top of the poll for "relationship goals." On the other hand, Marinette would also sometimes get death glares from random girls at her school, and it took Alya's insight for Marinette to figure out why.
"They're jealous of you, Mari. You weren't the only girl with your eyes on Mr. Teen Heartthrob Model Boy." Marinette had blushed furiously, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious whenever she was with Adrien on the school grounds.
But all in all, it was surreal. As Ladybug, she trusted Chat Noir with her life. She had always put off his relentless flirting, dismissing it like it was no big deal. Marinette's heart belonged to Adrien Agreste only, even more so when they began spending more time together as civilians. To find out that Chat was actually Adrien...it had intensified her love for the same boy even more. It had been hard at first, trying to remember the fact that the two main boys in her life were actually the same person. Marinette had been scared that Adrien wouldn't like her as much once he found out that his perfect, amazing Ladybug was actually just human disaster Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She remembered the moment in vivid detail...
They were in an alleyway that was halfway between school and Marinette's house. "Are you kidding?" he had said, laughing with glee as they held hands together in the rain after Marinette had expressed her concerns. Their clothes were getting drenched, but they couldn't care less. "The fact that you're Marinette and Ladybug just makes you even more amazing, if that was even possible! I loved you both, bugaboo, don't you realize?"
Marinette had stared at him in disbelief, watching her idiot (boyfriend? At the time, she wasn't sure) getting soaked in the rain. Adrien's hair now covered half his face, wet and slick with water. "I was losing my mind, Mari! I couldn't stop thinking of you—both of you—and it just felt so wrong. I thought I was betraying you, one way or the other. But don't you see…?" he said, pulling her closer. "I didn't think I could love you any more. And I'm so happy I finally found you."
That had been their first true kiss. Passionate, gentle, and carefree all at the same time. Marinette had never known bliss until that moment. She didn't believe in soulmates until the day she found out that Adrien was her partner, one of her best friends.
Marinette brought herself back into the present, smiling to herself at the memory.
"What's up, bugaboo?" Chat asked, noticing her smile.
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just remembering that day in the rain."
Chat smiled with her, the fondness of that particular memory giving him a tingling sensation all throughout his body. "Did it go something like...this?"
Chat pulled her close, and Marinette blinked for a moment in confusion until she figured out what was happening. She moved into the kiss instinctively, their lips pressing together, feeling as if they were always meant to be this way. The glowing, luminous lights of Paris outlined the two superheroes, the black figures of their bodies pressed together in the kiss. They might have stayed that way forever—Chat's arms wrapped around her waist, Marinette's hand resting on top of his shoulder—had it not been for the trap door to the balcony opening with a loud thud.
"Marinette, hey I—woah." Alya stared at the two superheroes, her eyes widening at the sight of them kissing passionately in the moonlight. The two had broken apart the moment they heard the trap door open, but it was too late. Alya had seen all that she needed to see.
"Alya…!" Marinette said, her face turning red. There was no reasonable explanation for what her best friend had just seen. At least, none that she could tell Alya.
Alya glared at Marinette, and then at Chat. Only her upper body was visible above the trapdoor, but without another word, she sunk back into Marinette's room and closed the lid above with an angry thud. Chat and Marinette exchanged worried expressions.
"Well...this is your problem for the time-being," Chat said nervously.
"What am I going to tell her?" Marinette said with a groan. All she had wanted was a stress-free relationship, but that was all going down the drain.
"That you're cheating on your perfect, amazing, and most lovable boyfriend who loves you more than anything else in the world with Paris' most attractive superhero?" Chat suggested unhelpfully.
"Thanks, that's exactly what I'll tell her," Marinette said sarcastically.
"Honestly, Mari, I have no idea. You're welcome to just blame it all on me if you want," Chat shrugged.
Chat gave her one last reassuring hug before leaping off of her balcony and disappearing off into the adjacent rooftops of Paris. Marinette gathered up all her courage, opened the trapdoor that led into her bedroom, and prayed that Alya would just be a little understanding.
Alya was crouched down on the floor, apparently looking for something. Marinette landed on the floor of her room, not knowing what to say.
"Your mom was kind enough to let me in," Alya said coldly, as if answering Marinette's unspoken question. "I thought I left my math textbook here because we were studying together the other day."
Marinette stood there, still not speaking. She knew her friend very well. Alya was not one to just let things slide by, she always spoke her mind. Marinette had never been on the receiving end of a full-out Alya lecture, but she had a feeling that today was the day.
Alya finally stood up, having found her textbook underneath Marinette's desk. She looked at Marinette with the most disappointed, semi-angry look that Marinette had ever seen on her best friend's face.
"How could you?" Alya asked simply.
Silence hung in the air. Marinette wanted more than ever to scream 'I didn't cheat on Adrien! Chat Noir is Adrien!' But of course she couldn't betray her boyfriend's secret identity. Marinette trusted Alya with so many things, so many secrets. Except for the whole 'Me an my boyfriend are the two superheroes you blog about and obsess over' situation. It was just too risky. With Alya running the Ladybug blog, it didn't make things any easier.
"Alya, it wasn't like that at all," Marinette tried to explain. "I would never do anything to hurt Adrien, you know that."
Alya gave a humorless laugh. "I saw you, Mari. That wasn't just a quick peck on the cheek. That was something else altogether, and you know it. You say you wouldn't do anything to hurt Adrien but you did. I never expected something like that from you of all people."
Marinette turned red, her throat suddenly feeling very dry. "No, I swear it wasn't like that! Chat visits me sometimes at night, we've always been friends. He just...he just wanted to know what it's like to kiss a girl...because he's never kissed anyone before!"
Marinette knew it was one of the dumbest lies she had ever come up with. Still, she needed an explanation.
Alya raised an eyebrow. "Look, I know Chat Noir is really flirtatious and suave and whatever. And I know that there are many guys who would give anything to be with you because let's face it, you're hot as hell, whether you admit it or not. But you are dating Adrien Agreste, the boy you've been obsessing over for so long. And now that you're finally together, you're just throwing it all away?"
Alya, continued, shaking her head disappointedly. "Adrien is my friend. And finding out that you've been cheating on him for god knows how long, it hurts. That boy is crazy for you! It's actually kind of scary how in love with you he is. Before the four of us started hanging out together, he would barely acknowledge you. Just a few friendly smiles and 'good mornings,' and you would still freak out over just that. Now? He'll constantly ask where you are when you're not there. He can't take his eyes off of you when you're around. He practically blew up when Chloe insulted you last week, don't you remember? He's like a lost puppy without you, and he only truly started opening up when he got to know you."
"I know…" Marinette said softly. "I love him a lot. More than I think he realizes. He means so much to me, I wouldn't...I wouldn't ever hurt him. I couldn't."
"Then why did you?" Alya asked exasperatedly. "Look, you do what you want with your life. I obviously can't stop you. The only thing I can do is tell you when you're being an idiot, and I've done that. As for Adrien, I won't tell him. I'll leave that up to you if you ever choose to get yourself together."
Marinette opened her mouth to speak again, but Alya was already heading out the door. Marinette just stood there, feeling so ashamed of herself over something she hadn't even done. She hadn't cheated on Adrien in the slightest, but Alya made her feel like she had.
Tikki finally peaked her head out of Marinette's pocket and flew out. Marinette collapsed onto her bed, staring at the ceiling in the dim light of her bedroom.
"It's okay, Marinette," Tikki chirped reassuringly. "You didn't actually cheat on Adrien."
"I know, Tikki," Marinette sighed. "It's not Adrien I'm worried about, it's Alya. She thinks I'm a cheating, ungrateful girlfriend. Her image of me is ruined."
"But she's also your friend. In her eyes, she'll realize that you made a mistake and move on. Best friends are always there for each other, even if one of them completely messes up."
"I hope you're right," Marinette said, dreading tomorrow's school day. She didn't know how Alya would act around her after this whole mess.
Marinette grumbled, half-asleep as she felt someone trying to nudge her awake. "Mom, five more minutes…" she groaned, her voice muffled by her pillow.
"But you gotta go to school, bugaboo. Rise and shine!"
"Ah!" Marinette shrieked, sitting up quickly and throwing a pillow at Adrien, who for some reason was sitting on her bed.
"What are you doing in my room?" she demanded, taking the cup that he had brought for her and putting it on her bedside table.
"Your dad let me in. He was absolutely delighted that I brought you coffee and your mom told me to wake you up while I was at it. She was going to come upstairs anyway and she thought I should do the honors instead." Adrien was grinning widely, seemingly amused at her reaction.
Marinette, although never complaining about Adrien's presence, just felt like he was too much to handle this early in the morning. God, forget the sun—this boy and his golden locks practically were the sun. Not to mention, Marinette was annoyed over the fact that her parents so willingly let people into her home without even bothering to tell her or give her a moment's notice. But, out of all the people she would choose to wake up to in her bed, Adrien was definitely at the top of her list. Although she was suddenly very self-conscious about Adrien seeing her bedhead, and she hadn't even washed her face yet.
"I appreciate the gesture…" Marinette said, "But doesn't the gorilla guy drop you off at the school's doorstep every morning? How did you get away?"
Adrien chuckled nervously, in a way that Marinette recognized as being the 'oh shit I gotta deal with that later' laugh. "I sneaked out. I left Nathalie a sticky note though. I said the weather was nice and that I wanted to walk to school."
She smiled. "Thanks for the coffee by the way, you're a true gentleman," Marinette said.
"No paw-blem," Adrien said with a wink. He moved closer to Marinette, snuggling up beside her on her bed.
"I hope Alya didn't give you too much trouble last night," he said, closing his eyes and practically talking into her shoulder. Marinette blushed a little at how close together they were, but she was getting used to it. She had quickly found out that Adrien was a really touchy-feely guy and didn't quite understand how close was too close. He was literally like a cat, and was currently snuggled right up to her just like an actual cat would be.
"It was bad, but it could have been worse," Marinette admitted. "She thinks I'm a horrible person who heartlessly cheated on you."
"Aww, Mari, how could you do that to me?" Adrien said in a falsely hurt tone.
"What can I say, I've got a thing for furries," Marinette teased.
"I'm not a furry. I do not sexually identify as a cat—"
"Whatever you say," Marinette chuckled, lightly pushing Adrien away and getting up from her bed. "I'm going to change now, so you better get going downstairs. Help yourself to whatever you want from the bakery, I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind."
"Of course they won't. They adore me," Adrien said with a large grin. "Your dad nearly squished me to death when I walked into the bakery. His hugs are brutal."
"Mhm. And I'm assuming my mom gave you a giant bag of macaroons and cookies already?" Marinette knew that her mom gave free bakery goods only to the people she really, really liked.
"Yep. My dietician would have a heart attack if she saw me accepting it."
"You're already so thin. You need to eat more," Marinette said, actually slightly concerned over Adrien's skinny frame. She saw what he ate everyday for lunch—a measly salad with a water bottle—and Marinette knew it was not okay. She couldn't believe that despite eating so little, he would still have plenty of energy for all his extracurriculars and his action-packed adventures as Chat Noir. Marinette made sure to tempt him with as many things from the bakery as possible.
Adrien hopped out of her bed, gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and headed downstairs. Marinette had no doubt that in a few moment's time, Adrien would be trying to help her parents out at the bakery. The easy stuff—greeting customers, putting the goods on the shelves—he really enjoyed it. This would of course intensify her parents' liking for him, if that were even possible.
Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng didn't just approve of Adrien, they loved him. It was as if they had adopted Adrien as the son they never had. Marinette had once overheard a very interesting conversation between her parents one night. "He's going to be our son-in-law one day anyway, I hope. Might as well get used to having him around," her mother had chuckled. Her father responded with something about "beautiful grandchildren" with black hair and green eyes.
I'm going to die was all Marinette could think as she stood discreetly on the stairwell, overhearing her parents discussing her future with Adrien Agreste. The thought became even weirder when she replaced "Adrien Agreste" with "Chat Noir."
Oh my god, Marinette thought, imagining a life of relentless, never-ending puns. Adrien would probably adopt an entire litter of kittens. He would refer to the children as kittens instead of kids, there was no doubt about that. He would buy the children ladybug and cat-themed clothes. He would watch anime in the middle of the night and then strut around the house, constantly looking like he was posing without realizing it and driving her insane with not only his awful jokes, but overall gorgeousness.
Marinette blushed to herself as she changed her clothes, realizing that she was getting way, way ahead of herself. She was only 16. She didn't need to think about marriage and kids, that was all too far away. And yet...when she thought of her future, she couldn't help but just know for a fact that Adrien would be in it. She wasn't sure of a lot of things, but she was certain that Adrien had to be a part of her life. Marinette had a strong feeling that Adrien felt that way too.
All she knew was that Adrien—Chat Noir, whichever—made her happier than she could have ever dreamed to be.
Marinette and Adrien walked to the school grounds from her house, arriving with ten minutes or so left to spare until it was time to go inside. Many students were hanging around the school grounds, talking with friends or trying to cram last minute for any first-period tests. Adrien, Marinette, Nino, and Alya met up customarily in the mornings at a shaded area near the picnic tables. Alya and Nino were already there, and Nino perked up when saw the two approaching.
"Adrien, bro, I saw your sick new billboard on the way to school," Nino teased, lightly punching his best friend on the shoulder.
Adrien blushed, cringing slightly. He knew exactly what billboard Nino was referring to. Not too long ago, his father had insisted that with summer approaching quickly, he should get into swimsuit modeling. Adrien couldn't believe that his father had considered this at all—he was too skinny to be a swimsuit model. He wasn't muscular or buff like most male swimsuit models were. Sure, he had a six-pack from fencing and his intense acrobatic skills as Chat Noir. But apart from that, he just didn't fit the type.
Regardless, of course he had to do what his father wanted, and Adrien experienced one of the most awkward photoshoots he had ever done. It had been new territory for him, being shirtless and knowing that all of Paris would get to see him with nothing but boys' swim trunks on. He very much preferred to be fully-clothed during photoshoots, and started to wonder what other uncomfortable modeling experiences he would have to deal with as he got older. After all, getting older in the modeling industry meant stranger, much different territory than what he was used to. It also meant a much stricter diet, much to Adrien's disdain.
"Oh, it's up already?" Adrien said, trying to avoid a nervous edge to his voice. It was the last thing he wanted to see during his almost nightly patrols.
At the same time, Adrien noticed that Alya was determinedly on her phone, seemingly ignoring the conversation around her. Marinette stood there awkwardly, probably thinking of what to say to her friend.
"Are you updating your blog?" she asked innocently.
"No, just looking at the comments on my newest post." Alya answered simply.
"What was it about?" Marinette pressed on.
Alya paused, then dismissively said "I don't think you would appreciate what I wrote very much."
Adrien didn't understand. Usually, Alya would practically force Marinette to keep up with blog, always asking her friend for feedback and personal opinions. It was highly unusual for Alya to just tell her that she shouldn't read her blog. Had Marinette downplayed whatever happened between the two last night?
"Oh," was all Marinette could say, most likely just as shocked.
The first bell rang, and students began filing into the school. Curious, Adrien opened up the Ladyblog on his phone. Nino and Alya were a short distance ahead of Adrien and Marinette, who were lagging behind as Adrien's phone loaded the page. Marinette also seemed to be curious about what Alya had posted.
"Oh my god," Adrien groaned when the page finally loaded. The couple stopped, both reading the headline of the newest post that had already been read by over ten thousand people.
"Chat Noir, a Player: Doesn't Ladybug Deserve Better?"
The post went on to describe how problematic Chat Noir was. Of course Alya didn't include the actual, specific event that made her feel this way towards Chat. But she did give many examples of how Chat Noir's flirtatious, over-confident nature actually made him come off as a real jerk who just used his super power status to get whatever he wanted. She then stated that Chat was more of a sidekick, and that Ladybug was the real superhero who saved Paris from Akuma attacks.
Adrien was at least hopeful to see that most of the comments on this particular post were actually defending Chat. (He had a lot of fangirls.) There were "ladynoir" shippers who didn't agree with the post either, talking about how the two superheroes belonged together and that the post seemed biased. Of course, there were also a handful who responded with things like "yaaas, down with Chat."
"I can't believe she would do this," Marinette said.
"Relax, Mari. At least she's blaming Chat instead of you."
"Aren't you even a little offended?" Marinette questioned.
"I'm a little hurt. But Alya is my friend. Technically, she made this post because she felt bad for me! In her eyes, I'm the victim of an affair that Chat started. Isn't it ironic?" Adrien smiled weakly.
"You're amazing," was all Marinette could say.
The two walked onwards towards the school, hoping that all this drama would simply dissipate on its own and that it would not escalate any further.
How wrong they were.