All things considered Adrien thought that his date with Kagami had been a smidge bit successful. Putting aside the obvious interruption caused by the akuma, and the not so great excuse he had to give Kagami thereafter, the evening was enjoyable to say the least. Perhaps there were too many spaces filled with awkward silence, but he couldn't expect much from their first date, it was a common occurrence or so he believed.
He now found himself in his room, staring at his computer screen mindlessly as his thoughts rampaged. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Plagg, do you feel that too?" The tiny god turned towards him as he gulped another entire piece of camembert.
"Feel what?" Plagg looked at him with curiosity, as if he really didn't know what Adrien was feeling.
"I feel a bit uneasy, I can't quite put my finger on it."
"It might be the miraculous instincts transferring a bit onto you, did you see anything today that might make you feel this way? Anything strange or not usual?" he tried recollecting what had happened previously that evening, but nothing really jumped to the forefront of his mind.
Except perhaps… no, it had to be something else, but it wouldn't hurt mentioning it to Plagg.
"When I was leaving after the akuma attack, Ladybug seemed different. I can't really explain, she had this look on her face that didn't sit right with me, but it appeared and went away so quickly that I had thought that I must have imagined it." Plagg looked at him with a knowing look.
"Well, that must be it, you guys are connected after all. If you notice that something might be wrong with her, it'll bother you, even unconsciously." Adrien didn't understand, hadn't he given up on her already?
"Plagg, but I've decided not to pursue her any-"
"It doesn't have anything to do with that, but all miraculous holders are connected, be it as friends, partners or lovers. You'll feel affected by it."
After hearing Plagg's words he felt the need to go out into the night and seek Ladybug, maybe she'd be transformed. Perhaps he could find out just what it was that had made her look the way she had.
"Plagg, transform me!" not long after, he was running and vaulting himself over the rooftops of Paris, the crescent moon not shining much light over the already darkened sky. He decided that the first place he should look for her would be their usual meeting spot. It didn't take him long, and not before long he noticed that no one was there. It had been worth a try. Not fully giving up, he decided to go around Paris, hoping he'd catch sight of the superheroine.
He passed near his school, stopping on the rooftop to catch a break. Suddenly, he heard a quiet sob, he tried to focus on where it came from. His immediate thought was that it was Ladybug crying alone on a solitary rooftop.
He was soon proven wrong when he realized that the sound came from a very familiar place. The Dupain-Cheng bakery, or more specifically, Marinette's room. At his realization, he felt a wave of protectiveness hit him.
He vaulted himself swiftly, landing silently on the familiar balcony.
… … … … … … …
She had seen it with her own eyes, as they walked along the Seine with interlocked hands. She had known that Adrien and Kagami were headed towards a relationship, that knowledge had been the biggest reason as to why she had decided to push aside her feelings for the blond, she just didn't know that it had all happened so fast. Perhaps it had been a tad masochistic of her to stare at them while on their date, maybe even a little bit stalker-y, but she had been unable to stop herself from looking at them enjoy their perfect little date.
"Maybe they were just walking as friends, Marinette." Tikki said in an attempt to lift her mood
"They definitely seemed more than chummy to me, Tikki. I know Adrien hasn't said anything about them being official but perhaps he's just waiting for the perfect moment to tell the friend group." She laid her head on her pillow as she curled up into herself. "It's over, isn't it?"
"What's over, princess?"
She jumped at the question. She hadn't heard him land on her rooftop, too busy wallowing in self-pity.
"Chat! I didn't hear you, you almost scared me to death!" She hadn't expected him to come tonight of all nights. "Why are you here, Chat?"
"Oh, I thought we were over this, you know. Considering we're good friends and all," he grinned as wide as the Cheshire cat but it quickly fell leaving way for a sudden insecurity to weave its way in.
"I mean, we are good friends, right?" The gaze of his eyes fell as if he truly believed that perhaps they weren't as good of friends as they had become. His insecurity over their friendship made her wonder just what kind of friendships he's had in the past, if any at all. "I-Sorry, I'm not here for that at all. That wasn't the purpose as to why I'm here at all."
"Chat, we are, we're great friends," she held his hands hoping to let him know that their friendship hadn't changed, "but I was actually hoping to just spend the night by myself, I really don't feel up to having company"
Chat's smile dropped. "Princess, are you okay? What's wrong?" He held up a hand to cup her face, but at the sight of her distraught face chose against it. "Want to talk about it?"
Mari pondered on whether she should tell him about what she had seen. "Can I?" She felt her voice tremble, it wasn't often that she opened up to someone else besides Tikki when she was feeling as wrecked as she did in that exact moment.
"Of course, you know I'm here for you always" Breathing deeply, she willed herself to talk about what had been hurting all evening, or at least the gist of it. He really didn't need to know the details "Today I saw the boy I liked, with another girl"
"Mari…" She felt a hand land on her shoulder. "And I'm sure they were in a date, no, I'm convinced they were, and they looked so good paired together."
"Are you sure? They might have been just as friends." She shook her head.
"I know what I saw, Chat. It was a couple, she looked at him like he was her world."
"And what about him? How did he look at her? You might have misunderstood." She hated this, she didn't want to be told this. It gave her hope, and she didn't need false hope, she didn't need something to cling to. She needed to heal and move on.
"I couldn't see him, but Chat. I don't need hope, all that will do is keep me stuck in the same place." She could see his face change momentarily, and she understood that he was thinking about Ladybug then, it didn't last long enough.
"Marinette, if he's made you so miserable, are you angry at him?" She wondered why the odd question, perhaps he was thinking about the instances when they would have a strained partnership sometimes when her partner would confess and she'd turn him down. She saw that his ears were laying down flat on his head, and she knew then that she was right. Her kitty was regretting his past actions and it warmed her chest in appreciation.
"Maybe, but I shouldn't feel upset because we're nothing, and he doesn't owe me anything just because I have feelings for him, so it's outrageous that I'm feeling so much pain, much less get angry at him because he…" she sighed deeply "I don't blame- I can't blame him"
"Princess, even though you guys are nothing as you say, your feelings are still valid, you feel hurt and it's okay to feel like that, it's a process. It's also good you're not feeling angry, I don't think I'd be able to fight against you if you were ever akumatized" Chat turned his body and laid across the bed, extending his arms in invitation.
She pondered whether she felt comfortable being in her partner's arms on her bed. She was hurt, and he was offering himself to help her, so she let herself close the distance as she felt two strong arms enclose her loosely as he pulled her into a small hug.
Letting go, she settled herself next to him on her bed, both staring beyond what laid her crystal trapdoor.
"Chat, I feel so stupid for ever thinking that he could fall for me. I don't have anything I could offer to him"
Chat shushed her. "Don't say that, Princess. You're an amazing girl and an amazing friend." She could feel his gaze on her, so she turned around to face him. "Chat…" She didn't have to say anything more as she suddenly could feel warmth enveloping her, a small smile formed on her lips as she let herself be comforted by her friend. Not long after, she felt coiling around her waist, pulling her even closer, so close she could finally feel his purr, that on any other occasion would have made her laugh, not it just lulled her into a content sleep.
…
Marinette woke up feeling groggy, but feeling better than before, all things considered she had been a mess the night before, and if it weren't thanks to her partner she'd probably been just as bad in the morning. She had her kitty to thank for that.
She looked to her side, noting that the feline had left sometime in the night after she had fallen asleep. Being between his arms had calmed her so much that she had slept undisturbed. It had been a while since she'd been able to sleep without even so much of an interruption, be it an akuma or her own incapacity of sleeping peacefully. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the small red kwami approach her.
"Tikki, I know I shouldn't have let him st…"
"This time it was okay, I understand, however you should know that it's incredibly dangerous for him to stay the night, with both of you asleep, anything could have happened. He could've-"
"De-transformed, I know," Marinette looked down, filled with guilt, she knew the little god only wanted her safety, but it still felt like it was her mother scolding her.
"Or equally as worse, he could've seen me."
"I don't think that'll happen, you hide pretty well." The tiny god crossed her arms, unease crept up onto her small features.
"He literally interrupted you while you were still talking to me. He basically barged in unannounced, he could've seen me. And he's a miraculous holder, even worse he's seen me before, he knows who I am. If he so much catches a glimpse of me, he will know your identity, Marinette. The same thing if he even so much catches a glimpse of the miracle box."
"Yeah, you're right. He's aware of a lot of things about Ladybug. I'll be careful next time" Throwing her little friend a smile before going down the stairs walking towards her closet, ready to start the day.
Marinette rushed into her classroom, not wanting to be late too much this week, considering it was only Monday after all. Glancing up at Adrien she forced a smile, to which he momentarily frowned before catching himself and returning the smile, trying to cover up the slight mess up. But Marinette was so inside her head that it fell to blind eyes.
Her talk with Chat really gave her some perspective, or more like knowing how he felt suddenly gave her the perspective. If he could work with her efficiently enough as partners, she could be friends with Adrien, maybe not now when the wound was a bit too fresh but in a few days, maybe she could start opening to the possibility of a friendship between them.
Not feeling all that there, her classes passed all in a blur, as the pages on her notebook stared back at her all blank. It wasn't until a nudge from Alya that she was able to shake herself from her reverie.
"Geez, girl. What's got you so deep into your thoughts? If you keep this up your grades may get affected" Marinette just smiled at the brunette.
"That's what I have you for. I can just take all your class notes." She could see Adrien staring at her from the corner of her eye, his face with an edge of worry. The flick of a finger on her forehead was what took her away again from her thoughts.
"I'm not going to be here forever. What if I get sick?" Marinette laughed as she stared the boy who sat in front of her friend. "That's what I have Nino for."
"Hey! Am I just some Alya replacement?"
"Oh Nino, you know you wouldn't be able to live up to my standards." The couple fell into a playful banter causing Marinette to smile widely. Man, did she love them.
She dared to glance towards the blond, quickly realizing her mistake as blue met green and her breath was taken away in a mere second. Oh, how she had forgotten what it felt like. She craved for the day where she'd only see a friend whenever she would lay her eyes on him. Jest, it was mere fantasy at this point of her life.
She knew she had to tell the girls that she would be trying to move on, and perhaps even thank them for all that they've done to help such a hopeless case as Marinette.
"Alya, I- there's something I need to talk to you. Alone." Her friend stared at her in curiosity.
"Yeah, sure. Let's go to your house? I think we have time, recess only started ten minutes ago."
Already picking up her bag, she agreed with Alya. It would be infinitely more private and she wouldn't have to worry about peeping toms"
They made their way to her house, and a few quick greetings they were in her room. Sitting down on the chaise Alya finally let out what she had been dying to ask. "So what is it that you requested my presence alone? Does it have anything to do with a certain green-eyed blond?"
Marinette struggled with how to tell her friend. After all, she had supported her all throughout the journey of her crush. "I've decided I want to get over Adrien."
"What? Girl, you know that's insane. You can't be serious. Marinette, you didn't see, but I did. You should've seen the way he's been looking at you today, his eyes have been on you all day."
"I can't keep going like this, Alya. I need to move forward." Her lips started to tremble at the memory of seeing Kagami and Adrien together. "I can't keep holding on to the hope that one day he'll see me as more than a friend."
Alya's expression softened in apprehension, "Mari..." She walked towards the bluenette, extending her arms around the petite girl in a hug. "I'm sorry for being so pushy just now."
"Thanks, Alya. That's why now, I'll truly try to be Adrien's friend." Alya looked down at her, worry etched onto her face. "Are you sure you'll be okay with that?"
"I won't be, not at first. But, I have to try." The brunette separated from her, still holding onto her arms. "it's not good to hide your feelings, you can't just suddenly proclaim that you only see him as your friend."
"And I won't, I won't push aside my feelings. But now my goal will be to truly just be friends with Adrien."
I just noticed I write "transform me" instead of Claws out or Spots off, and I'd like to blame it on the fact that I watch the series in the French dub (granted with English subtitles bcs my vocabulary isn't great yet). I hadn't even realized and it's so funny bcs I almost first wrote Claws off in this chapter, but decided to keep "transform me" for continuity's sake xD
Also, that scene in Marinette's room was literally the scene that caused this whole fanfic to exist, it was a little excerpt and now it's my first story, yay!
I was so excited to publish this chapter because I feel like it's my baby xD
Next chapter will be Marichat goodness.
Also, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate those that take the time to read my story, review and the like. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far!