Chapter 7 - Modeling
"There, there, now turn your head towards me, like your mama is serving the spaghetti!"
Adrien took a deep breath and tried to look happy and eager, instead of sighing like he really wanted to. He knew Vincent meant well. The man was trying to conjure up happy memories, to help Adrien do his job as a model. The problem was…
His "mama" was missing. The very thought of her was a sharp blow to the gut, even now.
And he was a model. How many times had he been denied carbs, especially pasta, before a show?
Well, at least that's how it used to be, he reminded himself, chancing a glance at his new personal assistant.
Marinette smiled brightly back and, looking around to make sure no one saw, surreptitiously waved a croissant at him. Adrien couldn't help it. He laughed.
"There you go!" Vincent cheered in approval. "Once more for the camera!"
A few days ago, just after Adrien had come home, his father had hired Marinette to be Adrien's shadow during the day. He'd claimed it was so Nathalie could have more free time to help him run the company, but Adrien knew the truth. Ladybug had demanded that Adrien keep in touch with her somehow, and Marinette happened to be the only way they knew how to contact the superheroine reliably. Whatever had happened between his father and Ladybug, he was certainly trying to keep her happy right now.
And in the meantime, Adrien certainly wasn't going to complain about the change. Not only was Marinette as organized as Nathalie was (though he suspected she'd had some help. How else could she know his schedule so well?), but she made this fun! She never hesitated to sneak him snacks and water, and she kept making jokes and funny comments whenever she could.
He also couldn't deny it was a very nice feeling to have somebody cheering for him at all his fencing matches. Her "completely lost" looks during his Chinese lessons were hilarious (especially when his tutor had tried to engage her the first day, assuming she knew the language from her heritage) and he'd been able to wiggle out of piano lessons with her there. (Having someone to actually play foosball with was awesome, and Marinette had a killer competitive streak.)
And her undeniable enthusiasm for fashion shone through every time they did something like this. She'd even cheerfully assured him that missing classes wasn't going to be a problem if she could put this on her resume as intern work.
Besides, Adrien didn't consider himself vain, but seeing Marinette blush at some of his poses made him want to preen and strut in front of her, just to see how red she could get.
Maybe it was his Chat Noir coming through? That part of him had definitely been repressed lately. Ever since he'd been caught and sent home, he'd been watched so carefully it was hard to feed Plagg, much less transform. Nathalie had ordered the Gorilla to stand watch inside his room for now, instead of just outside the door, and when he tried to open the bathroom window, the whole place went into lockdown mode.
Thus, he hadn't been able to make it to meet his lady at their appointed time, and the messages they'd left each other since then left a bad taste in his mouth.
Ladybug had never mentioned Hawkmoth, nor told him what they'd discussed; she'd simply insisted Chat needed to meet with her immediately. Wouldn't tell him why. It made him uneasy. What if his father had managed to akumatize her or something? She could attack Chat and take his ring!
So, for now, Chat Noir had been hiding from everyone, praying everyday that an akuma wouldn't show up and prove him right.
He didn't know what he'd do if he had to fight Ladybug.
Marinette grinned from ear to ear as Vincent proudly showed her the previews of Adrien's photos, both of them cooing over each one. The model himself was taking a break, shaking his head at them amusedly as he sipped at the bottle of water she'd brought him. He always seemed surprised when she did little things like that. It made her wonder how he'd managed before she came along.
Did he just live without basic things like water and food until after the shoot? Part of her wanted to ask his bodyguard, but another part of her was afraid to. (Especially since she'd never actually caught the man's name, and now felt slightly awkward around him.) Besides, she couldn't really blame him if he forgot a couple things; he had enough trouble trying to keep Adrien's ardent fans at bay.
She looked up to see another cellphone take a picture before the Gorilla could chase them off. She and Vincent both sighed, and the photographer finally called an end to the shoot (though not before promising her copies of some of the poses with a knowing wink). Then she busied herself with gathering up some of the equipment.
Yes, she was supposed to stay close to Adrien, but Mr. Agreste had requested they keep the "viral couple" pictures to a minimum.
"Can't have everyone keep thinking I'm his girlfriend, right, Tikki?" she laughed. The kwami in her bag remained silent, even though no one could hear them. Marinette sighed.
"Are you still sulking?" she asked, opening the bag.
"I am not sulking, I am protesting!" Tikki retorted, turning away from her holder with a sniff.
Marinette rolled her eyes. She'd heard all of this the first night; Tikki had read her the riot act.
"This is serious business, Marinette!" Tikki exclaimed.
"And I am taking it seriously," the girl replied. "The easiest way to defeat Hawkmoth is to give him what he wants. Nobody has to even get hurt if that cat would just get off his lazy bum and show up already!"
"You can't take Chat Noir's Miraculous for Hawkmoth, Marinette!" Tikki pleaded. "Just listen to how that sounds! He's tricked you! Do you really think he's going to keep his word in the end?"
"Of course not. But he's not the only one who can double-cross a person," Marinette said with a wink.
Tikki stared at her, aghast. "I can't believe you're even considering this, much less doing anything about it!"
"Well, believe it," Marinette said firmly. "I'm going to keep Paris safe and give Adrien his family back, all in one!"
"I refuse to be a part of this!"
"Keep sulking, Tikki," Marinette snapped, closing the bag again. "You'll agree I was right in the end! Hey, Adrien!" she called, running to catch up with the boy, "model behavior today!"
Adrien threw his head back and laughed. "And you said your mom's jokes were bad!"
End Chapter 7.
