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Adrien walked groggily into the Dupain-Cheng bakery the next morning much earlier than he would have liked. He almost immediately walked into the line of people waiting to put their order in at the counter, as it was the busiest time of the day for one of the best bakeries in Paris. Marinette's mother was taking orders while her father was removing some fresh Pain au Chocolat from the oven. As the smell hit his nose, Adrian's mouth started to water. He sat at a small table by the window, noticing Marinette come out of the back with more pastry bags and paper cups. She helped her parents get through the line with ease, which Adrien admired. Just watching the rush gave him anxiety and he was thankful that he wasn't in the service industry.
Once the rush had died down, she kissed both of her parents goodbye and came up to him with two coffee cups and a pastry bag in her hands, her messenger bag for school slung over her shoulder. She hadn't changed much since they were kids either; noticeably a woman, but still recognizable Marinette. She was wearing capri jeans with converse sneakers and a flowy pink tank top with a small grey fitted jacket. He stood as she handed him the coffee cup that was white while hers was a dark brown with small gold designs.
"Thanks. Good morning, Marinette."
"Morning! Let's go. I don't want to be late on the first day." She lead them out to her car parked down the block, fishing the keys from her bag, the lucky charm he gave her for her birthday years ago dangling from her key ring. Suddenly a few flashes went off in their faces and she growled as she opened the passenger door, turning to the photographers as Adrien quickly took the invitation and got into the car.
"Really? Can't you leave him alone? There isn't even anything interesting that he's doing. We're just going to class." She walked around the car and got into the driver's seat visibly annoyed, then drove off.
"Thanks." Adrien glanced over gratefully, both hands around his coffee cup. Marinette was still seething looking in her rearview mirror, even though they were out of sight.
"I just cannot believe they're still following you when you couldn't possibly be working!" She started to rant. "I was going to say that maybe we don't have to do the coffee cup thing this year, but I guess not." Adrien laughed and he pulled a dark brown coffee cup from the white one.
"It's okay, I'm just used to it by now, I guess. If my father saw I was having a speciality drink and not black coffee in one of those pictures he would kill me for sure. I hate this diet that he forces me to have." He took a sip carefully to not burn his tongue. "Wow, this tastes great. What is it?"
"It's the new seasonal maple-pecan flavored syrup and I just made lattes with it. We haven't even put it on the menu yet since September is next week, but I knew you'd want to try it." She was already winding down as she concentrated on the road, taking a sip from her own cup. She rested her hand down on the pastry bag without looking away.
"Your favorite, fresh from the oven. Hurry and eat it in case we run into more of those assholes when we get there." Adrien excitedly pulled out a Pain au Chocolat and started munching away, practically groaning from the taste.
"They really are the best fresh! The chocolate isn't the same once you reheat them. I'll get us lunch since you got breakfast." She rolled her eyes fondly, glancing at him for a second before turning back to the road.
"You always do, even though I didn't spend anything. Even if I did, it would still cost much less than lunch."
"Yeah, but you've been double sleeving my coffees for two semesters now, and that counts way more than the cost of breakfast." He mumbled around the last bits of the croissant.
"Plus the pastries. I would be burned alive if he even thought one had crossed my lips." She nodded as she pulled into a spot not too far from the first building they had to go to, making sure her parking permit was hanging from her rear view mirror. They both hopped out of the car, Adrien re-sleeving his coffee into the white cup. "Which classes do we have today?" He asked after savoring another sip of the latte.
"Visual Design Concepts and Applications this morning, then Business of Fashion Styling this afternoon. We have about two hours for lunch in between," she replied as she went over the schedule in her phone, stepping into the building as he held the door open for her. She nodded in thanks and looked to find the room number.
Even though it was his third semester, he had the first day jitters. Marinette assured him in the past that she gets them every first day too, but he probably had them more intensely because he was home schooled for so long. He was grateful going through all of this with a friend who knew what she was doing. He would never be able to figure out where to go on his own. It helped that they had the same majors; they signed up for every class together. It definitely made assignments a lot easier. Adrien and Marinette spent most of their time together since Alya and Nino were out of Paris at different schools for their degrees, Photojournalism and Audio Engineering. They visited some weekends when they could, since the drive wasn't far for each of them, but they mostly didn't because they were spending time with each other, which was fair. Adrien couldn't imagine what it felt like having a long distance relationship. He tried to imagine not seeing his lady every day and it made his chest ache.
He was brought out of his thoughts when Marinette nudged him to pay attention as the professor walked into the room. She was on the short side which made her look a little thick even though she was a reasonable weight. He estimated that she was in her late fifties and she looked like she had a 'no bullshit' personality. As she settled he took in the room, not paying attention when he first walked in.
They sat on stools pulled up to long tables that were perfect for laying out full patterns and cutting long pieces of fabric. Two students sat at each table which made the room feel even bigger than it already was, since there were only twenty students total. With Marinette and himself at the second table in the first row, he peered back at the three tables behind him and didn't recognize anyone. He frowned as he looked to the other five tables on the other side of the aisle not recognizing anyone there either. There were posters of sewing methods, measurement scales, and design basics along the walls in between shelves of tools and accessories. There were dress forms throughout the room tucked in every little corner possible. In the back of the room there was a small doorway leading into another space. The wall above the door frame read 'sewing room'.
"Welcome to Visual Design Concepts and Applications. My name is Professor Chatel. As some of you may already know, your marks and achievements have been observed from last year, and you have been hand picked and ranked into sections based on ability. The students around you may not be recognizable because you twenty students are the most talented, and have been foreseen to be the most successful in the future of the fashion industry." Marinette glanced over to him, eyes wide, and he noticed the other students in the room looking just as flabbergasted. Though he was shocked he had mixed feelings about the announcement.
"Do not let this get to your heads, as this course will be the most competitive you face while you're at this university. Understand that you will be treated as if you were designers already out there on your own, making pieces for collections to be shown on the runway, and your classmates are your competition." The students looked around the room once more, apprehensive this time, sizing up the competition. When he locked eyes with Marinette, they shared a small smile.
"The first few weeks will be lectures on visual concepts as you sketch out your designs in your own time and bring them to class for critiquing. Then once your designs are finalized you will be executing them in class for the rest of the semester. You will only have one piece for the semester, so I expect the absolute best. I've decided to make this even more of a challenge since you are the best of the best. The person you're sitting next to is your partner for the semester. Your designs will be a part of a two piece 'collection'."
You could feel the tension flare up in the room, students realizing they can't have the freedom to do whatever they want with their designs. Poor coordination with a partner could jeopardize the synergy of the collection.
"There are times when designers collaborate for the sake of marketing strategies or social stunts. They are usually not friendly and have to go through a lot to produce a cohesive collection. I want to see how well you can work this way, especially if this course is going to mimic the industry. Now let's talk about some of the requirements of your piece."
Adrien took a breath to try to stop his head from spinning with all the new information. As he glanced over to Marinette, it looked like she felt the same. He could see her scrambling to keep up with the notes while the professor was writing them on the board.
A while later after basic visual concepts of current fashion styles were discussed, the professor announced for everyone to listen to the following important information. Everyone perked up in their seats, some excited and some apprehensive.
"Now for your pair of designs with your partner. You will all be designing off of the same theme, which will make the semester even more competitive. It took some time choosing, but I think that it will bring the most attention to our class from fashion designers nationwide." Marinette gazed over to him a bit scared but interested, asking the silent question about his father's involvement. Adrien gave a shrug. His father never mentioned it even though he was heavily involved with the school, so he suspected that it was unknown to Gabriel at this time.
"The theme will be after Paris' greatest superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir. I'm excited to see all of your unique interpretations of the iconic duo." Adrien instantly stiffened, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he was reminded of the time he had to dress like Chat for Laura Nightingale's music video. He prayed that they wouldn't have to model in their own designs where his secret identity could be revealed. He glanced over again to Marinette to see her reaction and she looked a bit nervous as well. He guessed that could be because she was thinking about having to dress as Ladybug for the same music video when they were much younger. The rest of class went by without much excitement. Adrien tried to take as many notes as he could, but the anxiety from the theme of the designs for the semester was pretty distressing.
They got lunch on campus because Marinette insisted that they did not need to go out anywhere crazy. She said they could definitely save it for another day.
Their next class Business of Fashion Styling was not a challenge for him. Math and business were just more things he was homeschooled heavily on. Marinette was definitely the stronger of the two of them in any of the creative and design classes. Where she would help him in those classes, he would help her in business. During the class, she looked really confused and nervous about what the professor was talking about, so he doodled a goofy face in the margins to make her giggle.
As they walked back to her car the sun was just starting to set.
"Pretty crazy assignment in our fashion class, right?" When they approached the red buggy, Marinette unclipped her keys from her belt loop, the place she always kept them when she was wearing jeans.
"Yeah, I think we really lucked out with being partners for the whole semester. How crazy is that?" As they hopped in, Adrien replied what he was thinking of the whole day.
"They probably weren't expecting anyone to know each other in the top class because of how they hand-picked everybody. We probably wouldn't have been matched together if I wasn't an Agreste, because honestly, I suck at designing." She glanced over to him sadly as she turned to look over her shoulder to back out of the space.
"Don't say things like that. You have a very creative mind. You're just not that great at sketching things out, but you're practicing and improving every time." He shrugged in acceptance.
"This semester is going to be really tough, especially with our class today. I feel like our futures really ride on us getting good grades," he muttered.
"I know, but I believe that we can definitely pull it off." Her tone was optimistic. Keeping her eyes on the road, she patted his knee. "I know we don't have class for a few more days, but I was thinking of doing some primary sketches tonight. I have a few things in mind and I want to get them down before they change into something else."
"That's fine with me. Do you want to come over to my place?" She nodded.
"Yes, we can go there straight from here. I just have to let my parents know I'll probably be late for dinner." He turned to her and smiled.
"If your mom isn't making anything crazy tonight you can totally eat over again. It's nice having company during meals." He felt Plagg rustle in his jacket, signaling that he wasn't happy that he had to still hide once they got home. She nodded sadly. He knew what she was thinking about, and he really didn't want her pity. He made a few jokes as they drove to the Agreste mansion, lightening the mood.
A bit later, they walked into his room. It didn't really look much different from when he was a kid. Most of his free time was taken up from being Chat, so there was no reason to update it much. Dust would be coating every physical activity he had in his room if there wasn't a maid that came by to clean weakly. Marinette walked over to the couch and sat down, looking a little tired from the long day they had, but there was a spark of creativity in her eyes. Adrien plopped down face first on the end of his bed and groaned.
"We did so much today. I want to sleep for a week." She giggled pulling out her sketchbook and pencils from her bag.
"Well you'll have to get used to it, we have a whole semester ahead of us." He groaned again and she responded with another laugh. "Who knew Adrien Agreste was so lazy?" He turned his head towards her and gave her a playful glare.
"You would be exhausted too if you had my schedule. I now have back to back shoots on Wednesdays because of when our classes are. I could very easily die this semester and no one would miss me." He flipped onto his back and held his hand dramatically against his chest. Marinette moved and started to settle herself on the floor, making sure she had open space.
"You know I would. Comeon, we should start before it gets late." He got up from the bed, hopping a little as he got to his feet to wake himself up a little.
"I'm going to let the kitchen know what we want first so we don't forget like last time. I think chef Chris is there tonight, do you want me to ask him to make the mac n cheese you like?" He smirked as her eyes lit up.
"Ohmygod yes. Please." He laughed as he closed the door. He came back a few minutes later with two cold water bottles. He found her looking very intently into her purse, and he wondered what could possibly be inside that was so captivating. When she looked up to him, he handed her a bottle as he took a sip out of his own. She looked so excited that she was going to explode if she didn't start drawing soon, so he grabbed his sketchbook and settled down on the floor with his back leaned against hers.
"Ready? Are you planning to design for Ladybug?" He asked as he rolled his shoulders, getting comfortable.
"No actually, I had more designs in mind for Chat Noir." He felt his cheeks heat up a little and was glad she couldn't see him at the moment.
"I think that's a good choice. Most of the girls in class will probably pick Ladybug, so you'll already stand out."
"They're really both a challenge because I don't want to design something that the others are going to do. Okay I'm ready." He felt her straighten her back so it was fully pressed against his.
And then she was sketching. Not only could he hear the soft sounds of graphite against paper, he could feel it by being pressed against her back. He felt her shoulder blade move and the action ripple across both of their backs. It was soothing and they found it was easier to sketch pieces together that came out more cohesive this way. It was somehow magical, they couldn't see what the other was doing but they didn't have to.
Adrien sketched many simple designs, from ball gowns, to short tight skirts. Nothing felt like it was the thing he wants to create for the rest of the semester, even though they were all pretty. He exasperatingly laid his head back, resting on her shoulder and stared up to his ceiling and she continued to sketch.
"What's the matter?" She murmured as she continued with her sketch. His position didn't phase her anymore, and she was used to sketching with him leaning on her like this. He turned his head towards hers, his lips matching up close to her ear.
"I just, I sketched some stuff but it just doesn't feel right. I feel like I'm making the most generic designs like some of the others in our class because I'm not great at designing. I don't deserve to be in this class and I'm going to ruin your chances of really getting out there Marinette." As he breathed into her ear he felt her stiffen slightly and stop sketching.
"Adrien Agreste you are an amazing person and you deserve everything in this world, including the things you don't have so don't ever think differently. I know you can do this, and that the standards you have to live up to are taxing, but I'll be here for you the whole way. Now let me see what you've done." They traded sketchbooks, still back to back. Marinette's designs varied. Some had leather jackets, some suit jackets. There was even a casual look of jeans, a black sweater and white sneakers, but he knew that she had just sketched for fun at that point because he saw a lot of sketches of Chat's face filing the rest of the paper. The biggest and most detailed headshot on the paper looked so accurate that he started to get scared that she actually knew he was Chat and just never told him.
"These...these look crazy accurate, Marinette." She turned and sat next to him looking over the sketches. He could see a light blush on her cheeks.
"Ah...Alya has all of those pictures and videos of Ladybug and Chat that she's shown me countless times. I'm not sure that it looks exactly like him though, I started to use your face for reference at some point because I see that more often." She smiled softly at him. And motioned to his sketchbook in her hands.
"Now, this is so fucking amazing. Don't you ever dare say they're not ever again." Her words made him smile but it looked a bit sad.
"Yeah they're okay, but not...not Ladybug." Marinette looked away for a second and coughed.
"W-well...you've been rescued by her a few times right? How do you picture her?" She still had a light blush across her cheeks and nose.
"Well...I don't picture her in a dress. Yeah, she would look beautiful in one, but it doesn't give off the vibe of being a superhero." Marinette busied herself looking at his sketches as her blush intensified.
"If not a skirt, the the opposite is pants. Does that make you think of anything?" He looked at her as if she was the smartest woman on earth.
"Yes! A pantsuit! I think it goes well for a representation of her superhero outfit with it being one piece." He started sketching in front of her, his mind almost working too fast for his hands. "And if the pockets had a finish that stuck up like this, it looks almost like when she has her yoyo string wrapped around her hips!" He grinned at her and she returned it.
"See look at that, it's amazing Adrien. You just needed some direction is all." He continued to sketch for a bit and they got into specific critiques about their works. They planned to take all of the sketches to class as per the professor's requirement, but they already picked out their favorite ones.
Food came soon after and they took a break, enjoying a video posted online of an Ultimate Mecha Strike III tournament. Marinette enjoyed her mac n cheese while Adrien was forced to eat something more healthy. He stole a few bites of her food though. Once they were full, they chatted about little things they experienced in class today, and what they think their upcoming classes would be like. Responding to a text message, Marinette glanced at her phone and shot up instantly.
"Oh my gosh is that really the time!? I'm going to be late!" She started to pack up her stuff. Adrien went to help her and clean his own stuff off the floor.
"What is it? You didn't say you had anything." She paused for a minute staring at him, as if her mind was trying to catch up with her.
"Ah...you know how I talk on the phone with Alya every night? S-she wants to start an hour earlier, something about having an early class this semester." He nodded and helped her out, watching her car drive away from his bedroom window. Plagg shot out of his jacket pocket as soon as the coast was clear.
"Phew I thought she would never leave!" He flew over to his cheese that Adrien ordered with dinner and started munching away. "It's a good thing she left though because we're going to be late for patrol." Adrien looked over to him confused.
"What do you mean? We still have like...an hour and a half." He said checking his phone for the time.
"You asked to start an hour earlier because of school remember? You're literally giving me only half an hour to eat my cheese."
"...Shit."
