THAT WHICH TIME CANNOT BREAK
Chapter 21
Adrien walked a special hop in his step that wasn't there beforehand. Perhaps it was that had been taken completely by the cliché happiness he, too, was experiencing.
Marinette thought little of it, her head rested up against his shoulder as they walked as she remembered the times that she had laid her head on his shoulder years ago during patrols. They now started to find people walking on the sidewalks around them, but she didn't mind being close to him in public as a civilian. The two had already come out as a couple to most of their friends and family, so why hide it?
He laughed a little. He was actually out in public with Marinette as a couple. Boy, if the paparazzi got wind of Adrien Agreste in a relationship finally, the world would blow up overnight, probably. He smirked at thought of all those fangirls bawling their eyes out at the thought of Adrien Agreste laying in the arms of another girl. It felt devilish to think that but... well, he didn't mind.
"What?" she chuckled, looking up at the cat to see what was so funny. "What's on your mind, Agreste?" she teased with a little giggled.
"Oh, nothing. Just saw the reality that a lot of fangirls are going to end up going through when they hear about how their daydream supermodel is no longer available," he told her, a bit too proud of the fact. "I mean if one guy with a reporter recognizes me, all bets are off. The world will know."
"I take that you're proud of your fiancé, hm?" she winked. "Mmmm... I honestly wouldn't mind if people knew, but maybe not that marriage thing quite yet. It might sound sketchy for those who don't know us very well."
"Yeah, we'll definitely wait on letting the general public know about that. But yes, I am proud and very grateful for my fiancé," he assured her, smirking as he brought her hand up and kissed it. "Sometimes I forget you were once a fangirl of mine."
"The only reason was that I was too shy to speak to you in person, so stalking you from afar seemed like the best option," she rolled her eyes, smirking at the thought of her past self's posters and magazine clippings. And oh, her schedule. God, that was one of the most embarrassing pieces in her old high school lifestyle.
"Yeah, sorry to have made you so shy around me... I mean, I didn't think that handing you an umbrella would have fixed things so well between us that you'd fall in love with me," he laughed in retrospect. "Boy, fate sure does have a few interesting ways of getting things done. I have a feeling though, when the world finds out about us, we'll both end up getting a lot of death threats, probably. Outrage, galore!" he finished, exploding his hands outward.
"Hm, nothing a big girl like me can't take," she laughed, loving his silly gestures. "Besides, villains threaten us almost every day. How different could it be?"
He took her hand and brought it his lips. "Hey, now that's a level of confidence I can rally behind," he giggled. "Yeah, but the game board is certainly interesting right now, with Hawkmoth having his tail between his legs and all. Do you think he'll ever tell us what's got him in such a rush?"
"I sure hope so. It would be a miracle if he decided to turn in his Miraculous because of all of this. If we get Hawkmoth, we get the third-party, too," she explained, then sighed. "It won't be that easy, though. That's for sure."
"You think he'd up and give us his Miraculous?" he wondered before shaking his head. "No, no, I can't see him consciously doing that at any point. For a guy who feeds off of commanding power or, at the very least, influence, I doubt it," he murmured. "Well, working with us- or should I say, using us and making it seem legitimate is another matter entirely."
"Well, at least we gained some knowledge tonight," she told him, shrugging a bit before she looked up to him. "So, Kitty, what would you like to do tomorrow? Knowing you, I bet you've already got a few ideas in mind," she said slyly as they crossed the street that led to where the college campus was.
"Well, to start out the day, I think it might be good if you show me where everywhere is at the university. I have my list of classes finally. And we can do some recon at the Louvre and other places. We've got to figure out what is Hawkmoth's doing and what is this third-party is doing. There's got to be some way to tell the difference. And... we need to decide if and how we're going to break the news to Alya and Nino. If this third-party has Hawkmoth spooked... we're gonna need an ace in the hole if worse comes to worse. Other than that, I think we're good to go."
"Got it," she confirmed. "Do you think Alya and Nino might have gotten bored and went back to the hotel? Both places are close together, but do you think I should call them just incase?" she asked.
"For all I know, they're both passed out on the bed in the dorm," he chuckled softly. "Go ahead and call 'em."
"Okay!" she beamed, taking his hand and dragging him over to a nice, quiet spot. Marinette leaned against the model as she slipped her phone out of her pocket and dialed up Alya. The phone rang for a minute or two until Nino's voice was heard on the other line, informing her that Alya had fallen asleep on top of him in their dorm room. Marinette just laughed and hung up, soon she was dragging Adrien onto campus. "Follow me!" she smirked.
"So... I was right! They crashed on our bed, didn't they?" he chuckled. "I know my friends, huh!"
She laughed. "Exactly!" she said, walking up to an elevator and pushing a button with an arrow pointing up. "I bet you know your bug-a-boo more, though," she winked as her hands chained together behind her back.
"Yeah, that's a subject I could study for all day and all night," he smirked a Chat Noir smirk. "I never really thought Alya to be a hardcore napper, though. She's probably gonna miss her little visit from the world's famous bug," he smirked.
"I don't doubt it a bit," she laughed, walking into the elevator once it opened and pressing the button to the third floor. "I'm sure she'd be pleased to see us, though. I am her favorite under Ladybug," she smirked, crossing her arms.
"She'll handcraft you a golden throne when she finds out that Ladybug is basically her childhood friend," he chuckled. "Have you dropped by as Ladybug for her yet to do that interview you promised her?"
"Mmhmm!" she nodded, taking his hand and pulling him into the elevator before it closed. "It should be on her blog by now."
"Ooh, I'm curious to see how many really, really personal questions she tried to get past you in that Alya, investigator extraordinaire! fashion of hers," he laughed as he wrapped a gentle arm around her as he waited for the elevator to reach the top.
"You were definitely a topic she wanted to know more about. Things like our relationship status were brought up. I told her that I'd like to keep more professional," she looked up at him with a wink.
"Yeah, professional," he said, smirking at her. "I can do professional. You know, I just keep getting more and more excited to drop the news to Alya and see her reaction."
"Awh, what an excited kitten you are," she teased as she graced her lips against his cheek in a little kiss. "I'm excited, too."
The elevator door opened and he slipped out, glancing either way before taking her hand and heading down the hallway to the dorm room with her.
She held onto his hand gently, loving the warm touch. When the two arrived at the dorm room, Marinette knocked on the door with a giggle. Seconds later, Nino answered. "Hey, you two! Where have you been? Did you travel the world and back?"
Adrien smirked. "Well, I mean, I guess you could say that," he laughed before glancing in. "Nah, Mari found me. She makes everything better. Did you know that?"
"Of course I know. You tell me almost every day, dude," he rolled his eyes as a blushing Marinette let out a nervous chuckled.
"How's your sleeping Alya in there?" Adrien wondered, trying to peer past her. "She's been out very long?"
"Not too long, fell asleep as she was telling me about all her theories from her interview she was gifted not too long ago."
"You're a real trooper, Nino, diligently listening to her."
"Hey, well, if it keeps her happy," he laughed, walking back into the dorm to sit next to his sleeping girlfriend once again. Marinette giggled as she peered into the room to catch her sleeping friend.
Adrien crossed his arms, standing just inside the door. "How many theories could she come up with to talk your ear off?"
"Wait, I have ears?" Nino asked before laughing. Marinette found her way over to Alya, sitting beside Nino and shaking her slightly. "Alya... its time to get up."
A groan came from the blogger. "Mari... Wake me up when I'm dead, 'kay?"
Adrien laughed. "Tell her something crazy that only she'd be excited for," he said to Mari softly. "I don't think I've often seen Alya asleep like this. It's certainly an experience seeing someone has energetic as her so groggy."
Marinette shrugged and leaned over to the girl, whispering something into her ear. "You're getting what?!" Alya yelled as she shot up from the bed.
Nino burst into laughter. "Geez, Mari, what crazy thing did you tell her?"
Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Well, you did really good with whatever it was. Now she's awake!"
"Wait? It was a joke?" Alya groaned. "Mari! Marriage isn't the best thing to joke about!"
Marinette went red, looking over to Adrien and offering an awkward, innocent smile.
"Oh, you told her. I guess that pretty much let the cat out of the bag, huh?" he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "It's... not April Fool's Day, so... It's not a joke..."
Alya blinked a few times before tackling Marinette with a squeal. "Congratulations, girl!"
Nino eyed the two, then asked. "Um, some context please?"
Adrien went over to the bed, crossing his arms. "Ah... Mari and I are kind of officially engaged now," he smiled, raising his hand to show off the neatly-tied, bluebell flower that was wrapped around his finger.
"Woah! Really? God, I knew you two were in love, but wow!" Nino laughed.
"Yeah, we are... and there's a lot going on... so... we didn't want what was important to get away from us, you know? But, yeah... It's a thing. We're the ultimate couple now," he smirked, trying to play off of some of his model charm.
"I can tell someone's excited," Alya smirked at the blushing girl.
"I'm guessing you'd be pleased if I requested for you to be my bridesmaid?" Marinette asked as Alya replied with another squeal.
Adrien playfully put his arm around his best bud. "And guess who gets the esteemed privilege of being my best man? Depending on how the reception goes, you might also get to play DJ, too... but we'll see."
"I'd be honored," Nino chuckled with a nod.
Adrien glanced over at Marinette, smiling at her before tilting his head and wondering. "There are so many other things we could tell you guys but you'd probably explode from it all," he chuckled in retrospect. "So I'll spare you from it now."
"Wait..." Alya paused for a moment. "Is Mari pregnant, too?" she squeaked.
Marinette's face burned. "N-No!" she protested. "I have protection for that..." she muttered under her breath.
"Oh! No, No! I haven't... no... Alya, I didn't ask her to marry me because... because of some obligation... and we've discussed things like that a lot lately. This is a pure relationship," he said before blushing. "I would never... never force Mari into something she wouldn't want."
"Good," Alya said, crossing her arms. "Model boy has done his weight today."
"Thank goodness, I've gotten the blessing from the Goddess of accountability," he sighed, wiping his forehead. "You don't know the half of how relieved I am today went the way it did. It's ended well which makes up from all the strife from earlier. I should... probably apologize to you two for... how... how rude I was earlier today."
"Awh, dude, don't worry about it!" Nino beamed, bringing his hand up to mess up Adrien's hair. "I would've been the same way if my day had been that crappy!"
Alya chuckled, nodding in agreemen., "Yeah, I totally get it. Plus, this so makes up for it!"
"Man, a guy couldn't ask for better friends, really. I give all my love to Marinette, but you guys deserve some, too," he said, swinging an arm around his buddy's shoulder. "My life back in high school would have been terrible if it hadn't been Nino's constant eagerness to get me out of the mansion as if it were some kind of jailbreak. Those late-night ice cream runs were the best."
Marinette gasped. "Seriously? You guys didn't invite me? Ice cream is my life's purpose! Under you, of course," she mused, winking at Adrien.
"Smooth, Mari," Nino laughed as Marinette's face grew red at the realization that they were still present.
"Well, I thought about it a couple of times but I decided against it when I thought about how it would go if I ever uttered the words with me in front of you," he chuckled. "So, I left you be..."
"Good choice. She would've swooned too hard," Alya smirked, nudging her friend with her elbow.
Marinette groaned. "Alya! Don't bring up my shameful past!" she whined.
"Looking back on it, it just serves to intensify how adorable you really are," Adrien giggled. "Alya has been the trooper to always be there to catch you whenever I would wave at you back then."
Marinette flushed, burying her face into Alya's shoulder. "I'm not that cute!" she said, her voice muffled from the pressure.
"Awh," Alya cooed, stroking the girl's hair. "Sure you aren't, sweetie."
"Well, I've come to learn that there's definitely more to her than Marinette first lets on," Adrien smirked softly. "That's one of the many things I love about her."
"Damn, you two! I feel like I'm watching a sappy movie! Where are the dying puppies?" Nino laughed.
"Dying puppies?" Adrien wondered. "That's heartbreaking indeed!"
"No-one can hold back tears when adorable creatures die," Alya told them before smirking, causing Marinette to groan again. "Good thing there won't be a movie about Mari dying anytime soon."
Adrien might've groaned, too, but given what he knew and all the stuff he's had to think about recently, he went ghostly pale at the thought. They had an entire conversation about what the possibility of either of them falling in combat, and even though they had both made the promise that neither of them would go anywhere, the implications of the third-party there in all of its mysterious danger (and Hawkmoth seemingly so terrified to the point he'd have to step down his aggression against Chat Noir and Ladybug). He was as white as a bed sheet, trying to slink back to hide away and regain his color for the moment. He remained quiet.
"Hey, dude, you okay?" Nino chimed in as he tilted his head a bit. "You seem paler than usual."
Marinette looked up at him, feeling guilt rush over her. She reached over to him, taking his hand as if to say everything's alright.
"Yeah, fine, just... reminded me of a really sad movie I watched once. Not the best memory," he murmured, rubbing the back of his head with his open hand before squeezing hers. He looked over at Mari and offered a thankful smile. "So, uh... it's still not too late if you guys wanna go out somewhere. you know?"
Marinette pulled herself off the bed with the hand she had been holding. "What about the Louvre?" she smiled up to Adrien.
Alya sat up. "Sure! I've missed the classics of Paris after being away for such a long time period."
"Alright, prepare to enjoy some high-quality art, you guys," he smirked, the color returned to his face. "Maybe we can stop somewhere and get dinner afterward, too!"
"Sounds like a plan, ki-A-Adrien," she stuttered out, her face heating up from almost saying his special nickname with their friends around.
Nino caught her mistake without hesitation. "There it is! See! She calls you kitty, dude!"
He giggled, smiling softly. "I don't mind, really. Really, I don't. It's something I've grown used to and I enjoy it because it's my special, little nickname," he glanced between his two friends. He was probably pushing the envelope with using his model charm to cover up the awkwardness and the sheer fact that Kitty was the nickname being used here. He wanted to try and use a nickname he had for her but the issue was that, as Chat, he used them so often that if they graced Alya's ears or even Nino's perhaps, they'd figure it out.
"He sure doesn't look like a cat to me," Alya said, crossing her arms. "He seems like a hamster kinda guy."
Marinette just laughed and laid her head on his shoulder. "Well, hamsters are pretty cute, but kittens are the best," she giggled.
"I'm not surprised, though. You did make that cat-themed dress. The one with the paw prints all over the skirt," Alya smirked.
Adrien shrugged it off. "Hey, I take the nicknames as they come. As I said, I don't mind being called Kitty if that's what Marinette wants to call me," he chuckled. "Well, we ready to go, you guys?"
"I sure am," Nino chuckled. "Ready to go, Al?" he asked, offering her a hand that she soon took.
"Of course!" she cheered as she leaped off the bed.
"Perfect! Let's go!" Marinette beamed as they all walked out of the little dorm room.