A.n.- Well it's good to know at least a couple people enjoyed the last chapter. ( I'll blame the time I posted) I figured you were sick of mostly angst so I was nicer in this chapter. Thank you to my betas who fuel me to give you all the best. Without further delay, here is the next chapter.
"He's insufferable." Adrien wasn't one to complain, but if he didn't vent, he'd explode.
Nino had already heard this one too many times, so he went to the next best option: his girlfriend. He allowed his body to fall back on her cloud of a mattress and ran his fingers through his hair in attempts to calm himself.
"I'm pretty sure he cut off a piece of hair the last time I slept, although I can't prove it. He has taken this fanboying into the stalker-ish realm." He was used to fans, it came with the territory of his successful career. This was different though, he drew the line at the snipping of hair.
Amelie turned from running the brush through her locks and raised an eyebrow before joining Adrien on her bed. "Isn't there something that you can do, switch rooms or something?" She offered, her fingers tracing out shapes on his chest.
Adrien released a sigh. "It's not that easy, the housing is already overrun with students. The only way I can is if I switch with someone. The second they find out it's Henri, they conveniently come up with an excuse why they can't change rooms." It was beyond frustrating, on the third person he'd just about lost his temper.
"Is there any way your father could get involved? Just the mention of the Agreste name would get things rolling."
Thoughts of Chloe getting her father involved because she didn't like the situation came to mind. He was better than that, he was sure there was another solution right under his nose.
"I'd rather he's not involved," he replied, closing the door on that possibility. A silence fell between the two before Adrien watched his girlfriend's face light up. His hand reached out and laced with hers.
"I know that look, you have an idea." He was desperate to change venues so there were no bad suggestions.
"Well I can think of one option." She drew out her words almost playfully, giving his hand a squeeze.
"Hmm?" He leaned forward and planted a kiss tenderly on her cheek.
"You could move into here with me?" Her suggestion was timid, and Adrien immediately recoiled back. He wasn't expecting that.
"What?" He replied. It was too soon, wasn't it? They had only been dating for a couple months. Not to mention how difficult it would be with his alter ego.
"Just hear me out. You're over all the time anyway, the commute to school isn't that bad. It gets you away from your stalker and it means that we get more quality time together."
They were all valid reasons, and part of him wanted to; it meant the next step in their relationship. But something churned in the pit of his stomach giving him pause to the idea.
"Amelie, thanks for the offer but I-" he never got to finish his sentence.
"Marinette! Just the person I wanted to talk to."
Adrien jolted up in time to see Marinette in the doorway, unsure why he felt slightly embarrassed of him lying on the bed with his girlfriend. Her cheeks were slightly tinted as well, for what, he was unsure.
"Would you mind if Adrien moves in? He's having roommate issues at school. We both thought it would be a wonderful compromise, pending your approval of course."
He couldn't ignore the flinch Marinette's body did almost involuntarily. She seemed almost uncomfortable and that was the last thing he wanted. Although that didn't stop his mind from coming up with multiple scenarios where he could use this to fix his friendship with her. Her response caught him off guard.
"Sure, as long as it's something that everyone agrees with." It was almost as if she knew how he felt about the situation because her eyes never left his.
She was giving him a way out. All he needed to do was take it.
"Yeah." He blurted out before he could stop it. He knew Plagg would chew him out later for agreeing. Probably making a crude comment in the process about other body parts thinking instead of his brain.
Marinette let out a soft sigh. "Well then, you have my blessing." Amelie let out a squeal of delight.
"We should celebrate!" The redhead threw her arms around her boyfriend, catching him off guard.
"We have dinner with your parents, remember?" He prompted. As much as he didn't want to go, standing them up was not the impression he wanted to leave.
"Marinette, come with us." Amelie's suggestion caused the room to still as the remaining eyes rested on her.
"What?" Her cheeks flushed, looking for any excuse but settled on, "I shouldn't." Her roommate retreated off the bed and placed both hands on either side of her.
"Come on, Marinette. I really need you...You know how my parents can be sometimes. Besides, you can be the buffer to help Adrien out..." The whole idea sounded rather unappealing, Marinette would much rather spend the night on a date with her fabrics and designs. She didn't know whether it was Amelie's desperation, or the way Adrien was looking at her, but she couldn't leave them hanging.
"Fine," she caved, "just let me grab my things." It was going to be a long night.
Despite the couple years that she had been friends with Amelie, she had never visited her house. She assumed that Amelie was rich based on her family's influence in the fashion industry, but Marinette hadn't given much thought about it until they pulled into the driveway.
The two-story house towered towards the sky and even with the multitude of windows allowing in the light, it still felt so isolating. No wonder she didn't bring many people home. If it wasn't for Amelie guiding them towards the door, Marinette could have admired the house for another 10 minutes.
"Adrien, as much as I love your puns, keep them to yourself tonight. And let's not mention you moving in...my family can be a bit… protective," Amelie instructed. Marinette and Adrien could do nothing but nod before the door opened and the butler escorted them inside.
If Marinette thought the outside was impressive, the inside left her speechless. She couldn't imagine living in a place like this. With her luck, she would break something. But it was gorgeous for her to look at nonetheless.
They were ushered to a room where a middle-aged couple were already sitting at a table that stretched the length of the room with a plate of untouched food in front of them.
"You're late," Mrs. Marlone said without looking up from the table. "You are aware we do not eat until all of our company has arrived. It was rude to keep us," she glanced up and paused the second she saw Adrien and Marinette, "and your guests waiting."
"Well, we are here now," Amelie politely snapped back, taking a seat. Everyone at the table allowed the silence to persist as their focus was more on their food than the potential conversation.
"Adrien, why don't you tell us about yourself," Mrs. Marlone questioned, shattering the quiet.
The conversation was disrupted by a cell phone ringing through the air. Heat rushed to Marinette's face as she dug through her purse, desiring to silence the source of her embarrassment. Her thumb hovered over the screen the debate raging through her head.
"I'm so sorry, it's Nathalie. She probably wants to talk about work on Monday." Marinette excused herself heading out of the room leaving Adrien and Amelie to fend for themselves.
A couple minutes of silence descended on the four until the blonde had enough courage to break it. "Marinette is starting her internship under the Agreste company tomorrow." It seemed like the best he could do for small talk was bring up his friend. But he couldn't help but be nervous, Amelie's mother was eyeing him like a hawk.
"That's a big accomplishment." Mrs. Malone took a prolonged drink of her wine before continuing. "It's nice to see your father extending his wisdom to people of all backgrounds, as misguided as he might be."
Adrien's eyebrows furrowed, he had to fight the urge for his hands to bunch up into fists. It was something about her tone that was setting him on alert. "I'm not sure I understand." Since they were Amelie's parents he had to give them the benefit of the doubt.
"Well with the clients that he's looking to market to, they have certain tastes...and people of Marinette's caliber would never be able to keep up. It's cruel really, fueling her dreams only to allow her to fall flat on her face. It would be more humane to put her out of misery, that way she would have time to pursue other careers." A sudden sound drew the whole table's attention to a very pale Marinette standing in the doorway. It was impossible to know exactly how much she heard, but Adrien assumed she heard just enough.
"I'm-I'm sorry. I think I just need to step out and get some air." She excused herself once more and bolted towards the front door. Everyone froze for a second with baited breath then Adrien, almost as if it was a second instinct, raced after her without another thought.
"Marinette?" He didn't know what he could possibly do to turn around the situation, he just knew that he couldn't leave her like this. The soft sobs that were originating from behind the car made his stomach lurch.
"Mari?" He asked, daring to take another couple steps forward. The crying instantly ceased at his second call.
"I don't want to talk about it, Adrien." It was almost tempting to accept her wishes, after all he had little experience comforting a crying girl. But he couldn't leave her there.
"Well then, I'll just stand here." It sounded lame coming out of his mouth as he leaned against the car beside her, but she didn't send him away.
He took the silence and allowed his eyes to wander in her direction. Her puffy eyes were tired of shedding tears and her body was trying to calm itself down, but all that came out was ragged breaths. But despite her look of distress, she was still beautiful.
"They're wrong you know," he finally spoke up, snapping his gaze back to the driveway. "Some people are so bitter of other's success that the only way to make themselves feel better is to put others down." He didn't know if any of this was helping her, Marinette wore her stone face well. "You're going to go places, I've believed that since the moment we became friends. You're so talented, I wouldn't be surprised if you got offered a job after your internship."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"No, Mari." He stopped to regain control of the wavering of his voice. How could she not see how talented she was? "I'm not."
The next thing he knew, she threw her arms around his neck drawing him close for a hug. The touch alone brought a smile to his lips, he had always associated Marinette and her family to home, a family and love. In that moment a warmth spread to the tips of his fingers down to his toes that were starting to curl. He thought she would pull away but the two stayed there interlocked with each other. A small voice spoke up, stating the truth that he didn't want to acknowledge: he didn't want to let go.
"That's enough!" Amelie slammed her hands down on the table after Adrien chased after Marinette. The sudden action earned a gasp from both her parents, but she didn't care what their opinion of her was at that moment. "You don't know when to stop do you, Mother?"
"Amelie!"
"No, it's your turn to listen. Marinette is extremely talented, and she has what it takes to work in this line of business. I know you're upset that she got the internship instead of me, but she worked day and night to be awarded it. Adrien assured me that he had no say in who got picked, it was all up to his father. So let it go." Everything that was pent up over the past month came tumbling out in a matter of seconds.
"I don't know where this attitude is coming from, but I'd like to remind you exactly who you're talking to." Despite the bite in her words, it was a calm kind of terrifying. "But you need to know that as much as Marinette is your friend she is also your competition. She has her claws into that Agreste boy and you are blind if you do not see it. I'm almost positive that he was the reason that she got the internship. If I were you I would keep a close eye on Marin-"
"Enough, Mother," she snapped. "Your paranoia is growing, and for the record, I trust those two more than your wild accusations." She adjusted her jacket recoiling back regaining control on her temper. "It seems like I've lost my appetite, thanks for the dinner."
"Don't walk out on me." Amelie's mother shouted behind her, but the redhead kept walking.
The night air provided the cooldown that she needed until the sight of what looked like an intimate embrace between Marinette and Adrien stopped her cold. Her mother's words started to repeat in her head for a brief moment, but she shook it off before it could linger long enough to leave an impact. They wouldn't do that to her, she wouldn't let her parent's paranoia waver her trust. If she allowed it to, then she would let her mother win.
"Ready to go?" One of the last things she was expecting to see was Adrien, two coffees in hand with a smile that warmed her soul.
"Uh-" Marinette replied, looking down to the hot beverages then back to his familiar green eyes. "Ready to go...where?" She responded weakly. His presence still threw her off kilter. They had just agreed for him to move in the other day, it wasn't possible that he already lived there.
"Your internship, Prin-" he cleared his throat mid-sentence. "Probably wouldn't want to be late to that now would we, Marinette?" One eyebrow shot up, she could have sworn that he almost called her by the silly nickname a certain cat had grown accustomed to describing her. She must be hearing things.
"We?" She finally reached for the coffee and took a sip.
"Father asked me to come in today to talk about future shoots. I figured we could give you a ride." Although it was a nice gesture, it wasn't in her best interest to accept. Any feelings she had for the blonde were stirred up the previous night. Or maybe she had blurred the lines because he had reminded her of Chat with his actions.
"That's not really necessary." Marinette only hoped that he would accept her first answer. She wasn't that lucky.
"Come on," he said. "It's too far for you to walk, I insist. After all isn't that what friends are for? "
Once her eyes met his, the outer wall of resistance crumbled. She could do this, she just had to keep her emotions in check.
The second she stepped outside the elevator on her floor, she wished she was back in the car. People were pushing past each other with designs or fabric spilling out from their arms. Marinette didn't know where to begin or who to talk to. If only she had remembered the directions they had given downstairs. A quick but reassuring squeeze on her shoulder made her jump before she glanced at the hand's owner.
"You can do it." Adrien's voice melted away any anxiety in the moment. His hand slid to the small of her back in attempts to guide her through the zoo of people without getting separated.
"It's so...busy." She settled on the word even though it wasn't fitting enough.
"They're getting a jump start on the summer and fall designs," Adrien chuckled. "A designer's work is never done, but you would know with your amazing sketches."
It was supposed to be a friendly compliment but that didn't stop the heat from rising to her cheeks. She hadn't remembered showing him any of her recent designs, so unless Amelie had, all this support was off his blind faith in her.
"Adrien!" Nathalie's voice rang out among the sea of people. "Your father is expecting you in conference room B, ten minutes ago."
Adrien nodded at the request, assuring the middle-aged women that he was on his way. Marinette had to fight the clammy sensation among her closed hands. She hadn't meant to get Adrien in trouble, if she thought she could find her room by herself she would leave him be. But this place was a maze, so she had to be content with following him around like a lost cat until he could tell her where to go.
"This will just be a second," Adrien promised right before he opened the door. "You won't get in trouble for being late, I'll make sure of it." Even with his reassurance, Marinette wasn't sure it would send a great first impression, but what choice did she have?
He motioned for her to follow inside, which she did, only to hover close to the door. Gabriel Agreste wasn't there to see her after all.
It was strange to watch the interaction between the father and son. Adrien barely talked about his relationship with his dad. From what she did gather from his stories was that it was strained between the two at best.
"Mari." Her head snapped up when Adrien called her name before motioning for her to come closer. Marinette's chest tightened, but she managed to take the few steps between her and the table. "Which design do you think we should use for the summer fashion show?" What was he doing? Such an important question should be answered by someone who shared the Agreste name, it was their line after all.
"Adrien," His father snapped in disbelief, but Adrien's eyes never wavered from Marinette's blue ones. It wasn't until that moment that it really sunk in. He believed in her.
It only took a couple more moments before she found her voice. "The one on the right." Her fingers traced over the sketch, she couldn't help herself.
"Exactly what I thought." Adrien beamed pushing the paper towards his father.
"And who is this, Adrien?" His father asked lifting an eyebrow.
"M-Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm looking forward to learning from you over this internship."
"Modest, too." He slid the papers in the pile with the picked design sitting on top. "I'm pleased to see the kind of company you keep, Adrien; she has a good eye. She has the making to start her career here… in time of course."
Marinette couldn't find words even if she wanted too. The butterflies started flopping around in her stomach, as her mind was trying to process what was just said. He thought she had potential to work there one day? That would be a dream come true.
"Adrien see to it that Marinette finds the other interns then meet me in my office, we have a couple upcoming photo shoots to discuss. That is all." The two left together, a smile plastered to her face.
"What just happened?" She breathed out.
"You'll get used to it, I promise." Somehow despite how reassuring Adrien sounded, she had a feeling that she would never get used to this place.
She needed to tell him. Her excitement about the day had only grown with each hour, and now if she didn't tell someone, she was going to burst. Somehow calling Alya seemed less satisfying, and Adrien had done so much for her over the last couple days. She had already searched all the rooms upstairs without being intrusive, but she came up empty. The model wouldn't have left without her, would he? He was her ride after all. She retreated to her start point and picked up her sketchbook and headed downstairs.
When the elevator doors opened, she immediately scanned the lobby until they landed on the blonde.
"Adrien," she whispered, and her news bubbled back to the surface. "Adrien." She called out not caring what other attention she drew as long as she caught his. His name didn't need to be shouted again, he turned and flashed her a smile. She picked up her speed now almost at a jogging pace.
When the two finally met, he thrusted her upward as he spun her around in a circle before setting her down on the ground.
"Good first day?" He breathed out, suddenly aware of how close they were. The smell of vanilla wafted through his nostrils, making his mouth water. Maybe he could convince her to stop at her parent's bakery on the way home...the things he would do for a fresh croissant.
"It was better than I could even imagine. There are so many nice people and then your dad came and introduced himself. He had told the class that he had high expectations for this group and announced that one person would be chosen after the internship to continue on under him and receive a starting job once they graduate." Her joy had spilled over into every part of her.
"That's amazing!" He hadn't expected his father to act on his idea so soon, but just the excitement on her face made the suggestion worth it. Adrien knew after the previous night she needed something to strive and look forward to, and it seemed like the perfect solution. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be the one chosen, she was more talented than some of their staff. It wouldn't take long for his father to see what he saw.
"Then he turned and looked directly at me and nodded. He didn't say my name or anything but somehow it seemed like he was rooting for me. I think I even saw a hint of a smile." That would have been something, he hadn't seen a smile from his father in at least a month.
"I knew you could do it." All she needed was a push in the right direction, especially after the damage that Amelie's parents did. She looked up at him through her lashes causing his breath to catch.
"Thank you, Adrien." He almost missed it. His heart began to race, did she know it was his idea?
"For what?" The words came out shakier than he desired, but it didn't seem to faze her.
"For believing in me." Before he could process her answer his body was engulfed in warmth and vanilla. He couldn't help but wish that he could freeze this moment forever. Things had gotten so complicated since they had re-entered each other's orbits, but interactions like this brought him straight back to the time they had spent together in high school.
Her arms tightened, something about it that felt all too familiar, and she didn't want to let go. The tips of her fingers started to play with the hairs on the nape of his neck and his body tensed underneath the touch. She pulled back, but not all the way as if her body wouldn't will it. In that moment, she realized what kept drawing her to him, it was this overwhelming sense of peace and safety. Her eyes pulled away from his and wandered down until they landed on his lips. Only a foot separated them, it wouldn't be hard for her to close the gap.
She couldn't do this.
This was wrong, all wrong. The hug, the support, dependence, it was too much. It would be a blatant betrayal to her roommate, and she refused to be that kind of person. Here she was one selfish thought away from ruining friendships with both of them. She pulled away quickly, her skin on fire from his touch. She needed space and distance. Obviously, she wasn't as over Adrien Agreste as she thought she was. Meeting Chat to talk this out was not an option, and she couldn't breathe a word to Amelie or Alya. She couldn't do this.
"I have to go." Her chest tightened, and she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes.
"But, Mari." She ignored him and made a straight beeline for the door. If he followed her she was confident in her ability to lose him on the subway. But what would she do when they crossed paths at home? She had no idea.
His body may have been leaping from between buildings, but his mind was busy with a puzzle of its own. Everything had been going so well and then, what felt like an instant, it started to unravel around him. Maybe he was too forward, but he couldn't help himself when he was around her. He was craving spending time with her, something he was denied of for a whole week as Chat. A new determination grew inside him to repair whatever was broken between Marinette and his civilian self. Otherwise, he'd might go mad seeing her every day and not be able to hold a conversation.
A flash of orange caught his eye and for a brief second he was tempted to push himself faster and start a race.
"Here Kitty kitty," he heard a familiar voice and his lips ticked upward into a lazy grin.
"Rena, always a pleasure. Finally taking me up on superhero tips?" He teased leaning his body forward on his staff.
"I wish I could say the same," Rena replied not even entertaining his jab. "Ladybug sent me to talk to you."
A chill went down his back, and he was sure if he was unmasked, his skin would be a few shades lighter. Was Ladybug ok? Why didn't she talk to him herself? Any other questions in his mind ceased the second he saw Rena unroll the tabloid.
That paper had caused him a massive amount of trouble, first, he had to stop meeting with Marinette and now Ladybug was too angry to talk to him about it that she sent Rena?
"If she had such a problem with it why couldn't she talk to me herself?"
"We can't always get what we want, Chat. I don't enjoy chasing you down all around Paris. She's going through some personal stuff, so you got me instead." Her statement got his mind reeling. Although the excuse was vague, his mind could fill in so many words in the blanks, most of which was undesirable. They hadn't spent as much time together because of Marinette, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to hear about her problems. They were partners after all.
"You can tell Ladybug, that the situation with the girl is handled. I'm back being 100 percent focused, no distractions like she wanted." He hadn't meant for his tone to be as bitter as it was, some feelings from the past week were bleeding through.
"Chat-" she cut herself off. He hated how she looked at him like he resembled a drowned cat. If it was one thing he couldn't take, it was pity. "It's not like that. We don't want either of you to get hurt."
"Either?" It was strange to use those choice of words unless… "You know her." The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could even stop them, then it was Rena's turn to look like a deer in the headlights. Suddenly he had more questions than answers.
A.n.- I would LOVE to hear your thoughts. It actually fuels me to write the next chapter faster, but I'll leave that up to you all. I would also love to hear thoughts on Amelie's parents...It's definitely not the last time you'll see them