Marinette wasn't sure who was the most awkward one; Nathanael, Adrien or her. There was something in the air that just made the three of them to be in a bubble of uncomfortable feelings.
Nathanael wasn't a jealous guy, he was sweet, kind and trustworthy. He always called Marinette in the morning and goodnight, he was supportive of her work and he always showed to be crazy in love with her. But it was all very subtle, he wasn't clingy and he wasn't overprotective. Well, till now.
While Nino and Alya were completely oblivious to the world around them, talking, flirting and touching each other every time they could, Adrien was trying to pick up conversations with Marinette, only including Nathanael when Marinette was too shy to say something in return. And at the same time Nathanael had spent the whole lunch with his arm around Marinette's shoulders and kissing her cheek or lips when he could.
Marinette was trying to understand the whole situation but she couldn't, not completely at least. One thing was sure: there was something between her and Adrien Agreste. She didn't know what was that something, but Adrien and she surely had history that Nath knew about. And for the matter, also did Alya who always acted strange when Marinette mentioned Gabriel's son, and that right now, when she wasn't ignoring her thanks to Nino, her best friend was giving suspicious looks to her and to Adrien.
Had they been best friends? Was Adrien an old boyfriend? Did Adrien and she shared a special bond? Who knew? Not Marinette, that's for sure.
Adrien was weird feelings and bold sensations, that's what he was, but the closer to him and leaving prejudices behind he was… nice. He was handsome and kind, he paid attention to her the whole time, he had helped her when he didn't have to. Adrien Agreste was a nice person, she totally could see him being her friend in high school, but then why was so strange to be around him? What was the secret behind all these unwanted feelings?
Marinette couldn't find the answer to it, only that being around Adrien felt like a catastrophe about to happen… he made her nervous.
And he obviously made Nath nervous too, which made Marinette lose her mind.
Adrien started a new conversation with a question for Marinette, when Nathanael let a sound of frustration out of his mouth, a sound that made Marinette's brain spin. It all went dark around her and little candle lighted up a tiny door in her mind, the door opened and a flash of light and color sparked around her eyes.
A shadow of purple and white moved along the window, she was talking… with whom was she talking? It was a sweet innocent voice, but who was the owner of it was a mystery, it almost seemed like her conscience, a red spot flying around her telling her what to do. She was sitting in her old room, then there was this guy in front of her, dressed in a suit and with a pen on hand. Marinette could feel how a million ideas passed around her mind, in that moment in the past as well as this moment in the present.
Then again flashes, missing pieces of memories, all in front of her eyes like a movie.
A lovely smile, red hair and a promise, a call, a friend and a cat, a boat, moonlight, a glass box, again the red spot and the voice... a fight, butterflies, a fist bump, a beeping sound, and school, blonde hair, green eyes, pictures on the wall…
"Marinette!" Alya's worried voice brought Marinette back to the moment. She wasn't gone more than ten seconds, even if it felt like longer, she knew it wasn't a big amount of time, but it was enough for Alya to realize that something was wrong.
Alya was squeezing her best friend's hands, and directly looking at her through her glasses, waiting for an answer.
"I'm okay… it was a little memory… I can't place it thought" Marinette gasped. She felt Nathanael's hand caressing her cheek, calming her down; she saw Nino's worried eyes focusing on her and then she saw Adrien.
His green eyes were shining as he looked at her, the way he was looking at her was out of this world, he was worried but there was something that told Marinette that he wasn't expecting to save her, not as Alya who's eyes always showed the need to help, Adrien's eyes showed how much he was worrying and at the same time how he trusted she could put herself together alone. Marinette didn't know how to explain why she knew that only by looking at his eyes… it was like a connection, there was something about that sight that was extremely familiar. Adrien was familiar… strangely familiar, the kind of familiarity you get when you know someone new and remember another person, that was what Adrien was, a whole person who was another. Was that weird? Marinette was sure that was the weirdest thing ever.
"Do you need help, Mari?" Nath asked, his lips close to her forehead and brushing her hair
"You were akumatized… I knew that" Marinette said to her boyfriend "But when was that?"
"Mm…years ago?" Nathanael answered confused "You remembered it?"
"Yeah… but it's not about that, there are other pieces that I don't understand" Marinette shook her head "Doesn't matter, I'll check Alya's old blog later"
"The Ladyblog?" Adrien and Nino asked at the same time
"Yeah, I sometimes get these weird akuma memories and I watch Alya's old videos…" Marinette explained she still was trying to put two and two together; she was very tempted to check the blog from her phone.
"Why? You weren't in all those attacks; Alya shouldn't have been in all those attacks, she always had me sick worried, one of my biggest fears living in LA was that the crazy Papillion dude made an appearance again, this girl right here would have gotten herself killed" Nino huffed
Marinette smiled so hard at Nino's words, not only because the subject of her memory had been erased by them, but because Alya was with her mouth open, her eyes big as plates and a lovestruck expression all over hr, because all her fears and doubts were gone with those lovely words; just as Alya cared about Nino, Nino had never stopped caring about her.
"I wouldn't have, I was a pro, wasn't I Ma—Adrien? Tell him, I was freaking fantastic!"
"She was" Adrien laughed "But you still put yourself in danger all the time, it made us nuts, but at the same time I love the fact that we have those awesome videos"
"Right, I forgot how much of a fan you were of my blog" Alya smiled "He was totally in love with Ladybug and Chat Noir"
"Only Ladybug, Chat Noir was just awesome but not half as wonderful as Ladybug" Adrien answered and leaned across the table at the same time Marinette did
"What are you talking about? Chat Noir is just as wonderful as Ladybug was" She said in confidence "They completed each other, two parts of a whole"
"Yeah, still I have a soft spot for Ladybug" Adrien answered to Marinette, he was surprised that she had spoke to him but really happy with the words she had said
"I think I have a soft spot for Chat" Marinette said nodding "Also he is back, where is Ladybug, uh?"
"That's a really good question" Adrien sighed
"I'm doing my research on it" Alya joined the conversation "I think something happened to her, Chat seems to be looking for her, he was never good with cameras and journalists, except me, which was awesome, but now if he gets a chance to say something, he does"
"Like he was expecting Ladybug to see it" Nino added
"Yeah, I'm trying to follow Chat's moves. He left the city before Ladybug did, my guess is that he did to focus on his studies or moved outside of the country of them"
"Why do you have that theory?" Adrien asked Alya
"Alya is the only person who has enough evidence to know Ladybug and Chat Noir's age. Amazingly enough, they must be our age"
"Yeah, after years of Ladyblog and a few years on my own, I figured it out their ages, it wasn't that hard once you looked back. The change on their bodies helped, they were taller, Chat Noirs jaw changed, Ladybug looked less like a girl and more like a woman if you know what I mean…" Alya laughed, Marinette felt how her cheeks turned red, without having a reasonable reasons and then Adrien coughed as he was really uncomfortable about something "Well, seems like Adrien knows what I mean"
"He had a crazy crush on our beloved superheroine, of course he noticed" Nino laughed and crossed his arm around Alya's shoulders. Alya reacted without thinking, leaning closer and resting her head on his shoulder. "His room was full of pictures of her, then they changed for a few of— ouch!
Alya laughed at Nino and extended her hand to high five Adrien, who was staring at Nino as he was able to throw x-rays from his eyes.
"I apparently had pictures of my crush all over my room, too, is not that uncommon" Marinette said before realizing she was sweet talking to Adrien. Why did she felt the need to make Adrien feel right? It was such a weird sensation, and so fast, one moment she is feeling all weird about her old friend and the other she needs to make him feel alright.
"Really?" Adrien asked and blinked fast to the surprise.
"Yeah, or so Alya said once… I don't know who was my mysterious crush but apparently I was really tiring about it" Marinette smiled
"Probably me, right?" Marinette jumped at the words of her boyfriend. She completely forgot Nathanael was there. Why was Adrien Agreste so distracting?
"Probably" Marinette answered and stole a kiss from his lips, only to later look at Alya and known only by her sight that the pictures totally were of another guy. "Anyway, is so damn normal, especially if it's a famous crush, Ladybug was very famous years ago, right?"
"Yeah, she was, she stillis" Alya answered "The director of the magazine asked me to start writing about Ladybug and Chat Noir, she knows about my blog, I mean who doesn't, and she wants me to figure it out what is going on"
"Like why is Chat back?" Nathanael asked
"Yeah, and about this new guy" Alya added
"Which new guy?" Adrien and Marinette asked at the unison
"You didn't hear about it?!" Alya placed both of her hands in the white wood table making it shake, her mouth opened in excitement and Nino looking at her like she was the sun "Last night, while Chat Noir was too busy flirting with Paris' nameless vigilante—
I wasn't flirtingAdrien thought I was trying to comfort her
He wasn't flirting, he was helping!The thought ran through Marinette's mind.
"There's a vigilante?" Nino asked
"She appeared a few months ago, she is not a superhero so she only does minor stuff
"She still helps!" Adrien shouted "Personally I believe she is pretty awesome"
Marinette wanted to hug him, but that would be weird not only because she had been a bitch to him but because it would threw away her identity.
"Yeah, she is pretty cool, and Chat Noir seems to like her which makes me like her even more, I trust Chat's judgment… so as I was saying, while Chat Noir flirted with Vigilante last night, at the other side of town another mysterious shadow appeared, there are blurry pictures of him, amateurs as I once was got the best ones and they sent them to the Ladyblog, it's amazing how active it has been since Chat Noir came back! They don't care if I haven't posted in years; they still want to know my opinion!"
"That's great, Als" Nino leaned and kissed Alya's forehead, which made everyone stop for a minute. Marinette expected for Alya to freak out or shout mad but she only shifted her position for a more comfortable one. Also she noticed how Alya looked at Nino with a characteristic look, the "we will talk about this later" look that she always gave to Marinette; and Nino seemed to know it well because he nodded at it. "So how cool is this new guy?"
"He looks pretty cool, even in the blurry pictures, and my readers are as sure as I am that it is another miraculous holder"
"Another miraculous holder?!" Adrien and Marinette jumped from their seats in excitement and confusion
"After all these years, you still do everything in sync" Nino laughed "Incredible"
"Yeah" Adrien nodded looking at his lap, eyes focused on his ring
"I don't quite remember that, Marinette barely spoke with Adrien" Nathanael said
"But we were friends?" Marinette asked trying to place the little information she was given by Adrien and Alya
"We were" Adrien nodded "We just had a rough start, that's all" Adrien stated looking at Nathanael. Jealousy was eating alive both of the guys.
Marinette didn't wanted to make things more awkward than they already were so she leaned against Nathanael to calm him down, and focused all her concentration on Alya and she decided to ignore Adrien.
"What are your theories for the new guy?"
"I have so many!" Alya shouted which made Adrien and Nino laugh. Same old Alya "But I believe they are both looking for Ladybug"
"I bet Chat Noir is, not so sure about the new guy" Adrien whispered with a shadow on his voice (A.N: I don't know if that is a real expression on English but in Spanish is so you'll have to deal)
"I believe he is too, why would he be here if not that? There's no magical villain around for him to appear, right?" Nino asked
"Yeah, but Chat Noir has reasons to look for her, what are this guy's reasons?" Adrien attacked back.
"Maybe he knows something, Chat Noir doesn't seem to have a clue to what happened to her" Marinette added "Maybe he is here to help Chat, but they haven't met yet"
"I so agree with Mari" Nino pointed at Marinette "I feel that he needs an objective partner if he wants to find her"
"What do you mean?" Adrien frowned at Nino
"It's no secret that Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug, I think he still is in love with Ladybug, he is not trying to find his partner, he is trying to find the love of his life"
"Whoa, didn't know you knew Chat Noir personally. They haven't been spotted together in years, how do you know he is still in love with her, uh?" Adrien leaned to Nino with an accusative look on his face
"When love is real, it doesn't go away, no matter how hard you try" Thought Nino was talking to Adrien, his sight was on Alya's
"That's true" Alya nodded and sighed
"I don't think he is in love with her" Adrien said "He loves her, that's for sure but they were never in a relationship"
"C'mon Agreste, they both were in love with each other" Marinette forgot completely of her decision and spoke directly to the guy "It's obvious, in Chat Noir more than Ladybug but she was too, the last years they were spotted together, she was madly in love with him"
"I think you went mad" Adrien said in the middle of a laugh "Ladybug was never interested in Chat Noir in a romantic way" It still hurt to say that, but Adrien had to affront the truth.
"Believe me, I have seen every single video and read every single article you can find on Ladybug and Chat Noir: she was in love with him"
"I feel like she loved him a lot, but I'm with Adrien, she never had romantic feelings towards Chat" Alya said to her friend "I have seen the videos and wanted to believe that Ladynoirwas real, but it never was, Mari"
"But—
"Mari could be right" Nath said and when was about to give an argument his phone ringed "Pardon me"
Nathanael stood up from the table and went to the back of the tiny coffee shop where the big black and white letters made his red hair stand up like a red traffic light. Marinette smiled at it and her attention came back to her friends on the table
"I think it would be really sad if they were in love and never told each other" Adrien sighed
"I think it wouldn't matter to them, if they get the chance to be with each other when they meet again they will not cry about the time lost but try to make the most of the time they have now" Marinette assured with a smile on her face
Adrien couldn't answer to that. If Marinette was right and Ladybug had really been in love with him or worse, still was in love with him, he didn't know how he could react. He had dated guys and girls, some of them were fun but others were serious, he had had a really long relationship and he had loved other people, it's true that his love for Ladybug had never faded away, but romantic feelings like the ones he had when he was younger, yeah he wasn't so sure.
Also his crush on Marinette was re-blooming, if it hadn't completely bloomed already, and he was focusing his feelings on her, to make her like him again and hopefully make her remember him.
"I don't know" Adrien finally said in a low tone "I don't want a heartbroken Ladybug"
"You think he doesn't love her?" Alya jumped into the conversation again
"You said it yourself, Chat Noir was flirting with Vigilante" Not really, but it was the best way Adrien found to say what he was about to say "Chat Noir never really flirted with anyone but Ladybug and he always focused completely on her, and now he looks pretty interested in this nameless girl"
"They are only friends" Marinette said and Adrien smiled, he wanted to hear what she was going to say next, because she had called him friend."I think they are just helping out each other, they get along, I mean you have seen the pictures Chat is always laughing and joking around her
"Yeah, but what about her? Is so hard to get a good picture of her, you think it would be easier since she is just a normal person but damn the girl knows how to hide from the cameras" Alya gasped "I wish I could have a little bit of information of her, why is she doing it? What is her motivation? She appeared out of nowhere
"So did Chat Noir and Ladybug" Marinette remind her
"Yeah but there was a villain, she just decided she wanted to fight crime one day and there she was. You have no idea how hard I have been trying to get information of her, got distracted now that Chat is around but with him is easier, now this girl is total mystery"
"Ask Chat Noir then, I bet he remembers you"
"How could he forget her" Adrien laughed and winked at Alya who showed a proud expression with a big confident smile
The three friends kept talking and laughing, joking around like old times. Marinette who had been afraid of messing up things for Alya and Nino felt relieved, her thoughts had been wrong, this was like old times, I mean she didn't had any memories to prove it but it felt like old times and that was enough. Also it made Adrien bearable. Alright, bearable was a bad word, he was nice, really, reallynice, nothing like Gabriel Agreste as she had expected. She had a good relationship with her boss but she still knew he wasn't the most adorable person on earth and on the contrary Adrien was adorable to the bone. His smile was charming and his laugh melodic, Adrien was beautiful. Marinette thought she could fall in that moment for him, yeah she completely would, if that aching on her heart and the bold sensations on her body around him didn't exist, she would completely fall. If only.
"Mari" Marinette looked out for the voice above her and found her boyfriend looking at her
Oh no, she had completely forgotten about him and there she was thinking in how she could fall for Adrien Agreste. What she was doing? Yesterday it was Chat Noir and today Adrien, what was wrong with her?
Nathanael was the sweetest guy to ever exist, he loved her so much, he had been for her in the darkest times and had supported her in everything she wanted to do no matter what, and that's how she was repaying it to him? Thinking about other guys? It wasn't fair.
Still Marinette wasn't surprised, three months ago things had changed between her and Nathanael… as well as everything else, that consuming feeling wasn't only taking over her but also the others around her.
"Something wrong?" Marinette asked, reaching for his hand
"They need me in the office right now, there's something wrong with one of the newest editions and I have to check it out" He frowned "Rain check?"
"Sure, mon chou" Marinette placed her hands on the table to impulse her body to Nathanael's and find his lips on a kiss, she had to make up for her thoughts.
"Goodbye guys, it was nice" He waved and turned again to Marinette "See you later, ma belle" Nathanael was happy and kissed her again, only to finish the kiss with a sight to Adrien, who's blood was boiling.
"Really we should leave too" Alya said looking at the watch on her wrist "I gotta go back to the editorial but before I gotta drop out Marinette at the fabric market"
"I almost forgot" Marinette whispered
"Is okay, Adrien and I gotta buy some groceries since I'm staying with him for a while—
"You staying at my house?" Adrien asked confused
"Did I forget to tell you?"
"Probably" Alya giggled "So typical of you"
"Yeah, I'm lucky Adrien loves me?" Nino said looking at his friend, begging for a positive answer
"Yeah, lucky you" Adrien rolled his eyes
"I love you, dude!" Nino shouted and hugged Adrien "So since I'll stay with Adrien and Adrien is Mari's neighbor and Mari and Alya are best friends, I guess we will see each other very soon"
"I guess" Alya replied with a smile
"Amazing!" Nino stood up from the table "So girls, I'll follow you to the door, the food as I said is on me"
Alya, Marinette and Adrien followed Nino, makings small chat that turned to be awkward between Mari and Adrien, while Adrien was frustrated about it, Marinette felt comfortable with it because while it was weird and embarrassing it felt way too familiar and that always made Marinette feel good, familiarity was a good thing.
When the girls went in a different direction and Nino and Adrien were already on the car. Nino sighed
"It's gonna be hard to get you out of the clouds, am I right?" Adrien smirked at his best friend
"It was like nothing had ever happened, I know we will have to talk about it at some point but it was perfect, better than I expected it to be"
"Why do I have a feeling that she is the reason you came back?"
"It's part of the many reasons why coming back was such a good idea but it's not THE reason"
"And which is that powerful reason?" Adrien turned on the car and started driving, waiting for an answer
"You know, same as you, I gotta find Ladybug"
Adrien almost crashed the car against a lamppost.
OKAY I'M SO HYPED WITH THE NEWS WE GOT AT COMIC CON THAT I WOKE UP AND WROTE LIKE 5 FICS... yet I still can't figure out this site out, I feel like a grandma :|
anyways hope you like and thanks for the support! :D
find me on tumblr buginettte
