Throw Me Around Like One Of Your French Girls, Chapter 10

As class ended, Marinette gathered her belongings and rose from her seat. The first to reach her was a nervous-looking Kim, with a mortified Adrien right behind him.

"I totally didn't mean what I said like that..." stammered Kim.

"I didn't say anything that would've have implied..." Adrien blurted out.

"He really didn't..."

"It was just a stupid locker-room conversation..."

"Not that kind of locker-room conversation... not that we even have those..."

"I'm not even sure what those kinds are..."

Marinette interrupted their back-and-forth apology with a grin and a gesture. "All right, already. I'm not angry with either one of you," she smiled. "Kim, I know that you didn't mean what you said that way... it just sounded close enough to it that I had to comment on it."

"You're sure? We're good?" asked Kim. "I did not want to hurt your feelings."

"We're fine," replied Marinette. "The look on your face when I asked you my question was more than worth it. We're definitely even."

"O-okay. Good," Kim breathed with a smile, heading for the door.

She turned to Adrien, who looked a little more relaxed but still somewhat agitated. "Walk with me for a minute, okay?" she asked, to which he nodded.

Out in the hallway, Adrien faced Marinette. "I just want to repeat, I have never told the guys that I was going to... you know... make a pass at you, or anything like that," he began, haltingly. "That just isn't something that I would ever try to brag about."

"Adrien Agreste! You don't think that I know you much better than that?" Marinette chided him. "C'mere."

She picked a quiet spot in the hallway and sat down, with Adrien joining her there. "Come on, now. You are the sweetest boy I know, and certainly the most gentlemanly," she told him in a soothing voice. "Talking big behind my back like that would be way out of character for you. I didn't think that for a second."

"I'm glad that you think so... because you're right, I think it would be," he agreed.

"So what did you guys talk about, then?" wondered Marinette.

As Adrien's face reddened, she reached out and took his hand. "Look, it's fine if you did talk about me. I won't hide that I've been pouring my heart out to my girlfriends all year long as to what to do about you," she admitted. "I'm just curious what they wanted to know."

"Oh, it's nothing major," said Adrien. "The other day, at lunchtime, I think it was Nathaniel who started it. He was wondering if you and I were dating now... and then everybody else kind of piled on and asked 'Why not?'"

"Oh!" replied Marinette. "Wow. Where were they a couple of months ago, when they could've been asking that for me?"

"So, what Kim was referring to..." Adrien continued, "was that he had asked me what would happen if I asked you to... be mine... out loud. And I said that you'd said, 'What about your girlfriend?' Because that's what you did ask right away."

"Well, of course," Marinette answered. "That's more than a little bit important."

"And he said, 'Ohhhh! You did ask? And she said No?'"

Marinette went quiet, with a funny look on her face.

"Are you all right?" asked Adrien.

"Yeah," she answered. "But when he puts it like that... it sounds so crazy that I had to remind myself that it almost really did happen."

He's certainly hinted that he's interested in me that way, Marinette thought. More than just hinted, even. Which is why we agreed to hold back and stop short of that.

But when he asked me to kiss him on the lips yesterday, she shuddered, WAS that... asking me out loud?

Were we really just a heartbeat away?

The atmosphere in the Agreste mansion at that moment was somewhat tense.

"Really, Vincent," Gabriel snapped. "I cannot understand how we are even having this conversation."

"I put in ze request for ze time off quite some time ago," the photographer insisted. "You cannot be serious about zis."

"And you are a professional. You should understand the nature of this business, how plans can and do change with circumstances," frowned Gabriel. "The boy's eye will be swelled and discolored for days, and there is nothing more that we can do about it! Next weekend is the one and only time that makes sense for rescheduling this shoot."

"Zat is my son's birthday weekend. I have planned a trip with him for months," argued Vincent. "He will be heartbroken if I cannot spend zat day with him."

"So, what, then? We should just scrap this new line, perhaps? Or simply choose not to advertise it and hope that our customers will happen to stumble upon it?" sighed Gabriel, closing his eyes. "We should reshuffle dozens of workers' schedules, endanger the reception of this line and hurt the bottom line to accommodate... a child's temporary disappointment?"

"And I had been counting on the payment for zis shoot to help pay for our trip," insisted Vincent. "Zere is no possibility of an advance, at least?"

"We have been over this many times, Vincent," Gabriel grumbled. "You are on retainer as our primary photographer, and receive additional stipends per completed shoot, plus bonuses as warranted. Your regular retainer fee will be paid, as always... but I am not about to compensate you for services that you have not yet rendered. This is a business, Vincent, not a charity."

"So zere is nothing to be done," Vincent griped. "Am I the only photographer zat you have, all of a sudden?"

Gabriel's manner grew quite cold. "No, as a matter of fact... you are not," he intoned with authority. "You are my primary photographer because you possess a genuine talent for it... and because you have always taken your role seriously, as a professional, not allowing petty concerns to intrude upon it. If the latter is no longer the case... perhaps I should give some consideration as to the hierarchy in that department, going forward."

"You would not dare," Vincent challenged him. "You know what I bring to the table, and zat my assistants are not ready for zat responsibility."

"There is nothing on this Earth that I would not dare," replied Gabriel, icily. As he turned and strode away, he added in a dismissive tone, "Something to which you would do well to give further thought."

Vincent remained where he stood, burning inside, but not daring to say any more.

"You're right. I haven't asked that... out loud," Adrien replied, choosing his words carefully. The Yet at the end of the sentence went unspoken for now.

"Because you know that I won't let you," Marinette answered. Not yet, if I can help myself, she thought. "Not unless you are sure that your conscience is clear. And you told me that you and Kagami are still talking things through."

"We... are," said Adrien, slowly. "We have started talking about... certain things... but we're meeting in person tomorrow, over lunch. There are some things that shouldn't happen over the phone."

His implication was clear to Marinette. "You'd better be very sure," she cautioned him. "It would break my heart for you to lose her as a friend... or for me to lose her, either. And I know that you two need to remain close."

"If there's one thing that I do understand... it's what it's like to be lonely," Adrien replied. "And I will never want to leave her feeling that way."

"Good."

"Are you all right with that?" asked Adrien, softly. "If things were to... change for me in that area, and my conscience really was clear?"

"I'm... I'm working out how I feel about a lot of things," smiled Marinette, "but I'm taking that one step at a time. Ask me again then, and we'll see."

"That sounds like the right approach."

Marinette took a moment to look around her at the empty hallway. "We are so late for our next class right now," she noted.

"Uh... yeah," agreed Adrien. "But we needed this."

The two of them stood up and hugged briefly. Before they dashed down hallways separately, Adrien grinned, "Worst case scenario... at least we'd get to spend detention together."

Luckily for both of them, most French schoolteachers are sufficiently accustomed to tardiness-due-to-matters-of-the-heart to simply route around it.

At the end of the day, students scattered out of the school's front door as usual, and couples paired up as they were wont to do.

Adrien approached the family sedan with Marinette close behind him. The Gorilla remained behind the wheel; Nathalie stood beside the open rear door, her gaze fixated on them.

"Hurry along, Adrien," she directed him. "Good day, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

"Good... day to you too, Ma'am?" replied Marinette, hesitantly.

Adrien turned and looked at Nathalie, wondering what the rush was, then turned back to Marinette. "I will keep you in the loop on everything," he told her, "and I'm sure that Kagami will, too. She really values your friendship; I don't want you to ever doubt that."

"I do believe you," Marinette said. "But I'll feel better when it's after this weekend and she still says that."

"Now, please."

Adrien looked again at Nathalie, with an expression of Really? on his face... then squeezed Marinette's hand gently. "I'll talk to you soon," he said as he climbed into the car.

Marinette watched Nathalie walk to the front passenger seat, wondering if she should say anything, wondering if Nathalie would say anything more... but silence remained in place. Nathalie's face remained impassive; there was a hint of a curt nod as the door closed, but nothing more.

As the car pulled away, Marinette felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay? Is everything all right?" asked Alya.

"Yeah, I think so..." mumbled Marinette. "Close enough, anyway."

"I was wondering," Alya continued. "We haven't really hung out this week, and you look like someone who's got a story to tell and could use a friendly ear to bend. Want some company?"

Marinette's smile returned to her face. "I would love that," she replied. "You know me so well. C'mon!"

Up around the bend, Nathalie turned and began reciting Adrien's afternoon schedule to him, but paused quickly when she saw the perturbed look on his face.

"Hmmm?" she inquired.

"What was that all about?" grumbled Adrien. "Hustling me into the car like that, so that I couldn't talk to Marinette. What was the rush?"

Nathalie replayed Gabriel's instructions in her mind. Do not be too familiar with the girl as of yet, he'd said to her. Remain cool, but not cold. Just enough to make her wonder. I wish to test something sometime soon.

"Nothing of importance," Nathalie replied. "With schedules shifting as they are, because of this," she said, gesturing to her eye that mirrored Adrien's injured one, "we need to keep every other thing moving as smoothly as possible right now. Which includes your whereabouts and your piano lessons."

"I am well aware of that," Adrien frowned. "That didn't mean that you had to be rude to her."

"Was I?" ventured Nathalie. "I do not believe so. I greeted her by name, didn't I? And I did not say a word about your injury or who had caused it. But your father does not pay me to hold extended sidewalk conversations."

"I suppose not."

Adrien let that simmer for a kilometer or so, then asked, "All right, then. What are the revised plans for today?"

"Today? Nothing has changed that I am aware of," Nathalie rattled off. "The weekend's photoshoot has been bumped out to next Saturday, so do not make any plans for then."

"The only plans I have right now are with Kagami tomorrow afternoon," said Adrien. "Which must happen, to be at all fair to her."

Nathalie studied his face for a moment. "So... you've made your decisions there, have you?" she asked.

"I think I have," he replied.

Interesting, Nathalie thought as she faced forward once more, listening to Adrien's explanation of how he intended to keep Marinette, Kagami and himself all at peace with each other. I am sure that Gabriel will want to know all of this. He has hinted to me that Marinette has piqued his interest somewhat; this may alter the role he has in mind for her to play.

The girls dashed upstairs, greeting Marinette's parents individually as they passed them. As they entered Marinette's bedroom, she dropped her books on her desk, twirled towards her small mini-couch and performed a theatrical faceplant onto it, with a THWUMP!

"I'm sensing a little stress," Alya quipped.

The prone Marinette lifted up her hand, with her fingers narrowly apart. "That close," she moaned. "Adrien and I are that close to being together. I can taste it! He gives me those soft eyes and I'm... just... oooooohhh!"

"Finally," grinned Alya.

"But this isn't how I wanted it to happen," Marinette continued. "I'm excited, I'm tingly, sure! But I'm on the edge of what I've wanted all year and a big part of me feels terrible about it."

"I really don't think that you should feel like that," Alya consoled her, pulling the computer desk chair closer and sitting in it. "He's the one reaching out to you now."

"I know," said Marinette, flipping onto her back. "And that's what my Mama and Papa say. And that's what the Gorilla said... well, explained in his own way. Adrien's bodyguard... you've seen him, right?"

"Yeah. His driver," agreed Alya. "The guy that's built like a bison. So what is Adrien saying to you?"

"That he's meeting with Kagami tomorrow... to 'talk about things,'" Marinette replied, making air quotes with her fingers. "Implying very strongly that the two of them are breaking up... because he's fallen for me. And she knows it, and I know it. And I can't not feel guilty about that."

"Marinette..." Alya ventured. "You have been in love with Adrien almost the whole time that I've known you. Everyone but Adrien knew that. Kagami must know that."

"She does."

Marinette sat up as she continued, facing Alya, slumped down slightly. "And she gets it. She told me that she saw Adrien... falling for me... a long time ago. That she thought that I was stringing him along at first, him and Luka, but that she knows much better now. That she held off making her move on Adrien so that I could make mine, or so he could make his, until neither one happened and she just couldn't wait any more."

"But now it's out in the open, right?" said Alya.

"It is... but that doesn't mean that Kagami wants to just let go and let me have him," countered Marinette. "How did she put it... she was 'relieved that it was finally a fair competition, but it remained one that she planned to win.'"

"Of course," smirked Alya.

"And it is not as if he's going to pick one of us and break everything off cleanly with the other," Marinette pointed out. "She and I are friends, and intend to remain friends. Kagami's mother has business dealings with the Agrestes, and Adrien's father has been nudging them together. If he starts seeing me, he and Kagami will keep spending time close together... and I want them to. I want the three of us to do things together. For her to spend more time with all of us, too; I think that you and our other friends will really like her, once you get to know her better."

She looked over at Alya with sad eyes. "But this is still going to hurt her. And I still hate that."

Alya leaned forward. "So... what, then? Are you two going to share custody of Adrien's lips?"

Marinette looked startled by that. "W-what do you mean by that?" she gasped. "Kagami... kind of... hinted at that once? Then she pulled it back."

"Oh, I'm not saying that's the answer," cautioned Alya. "Like, I can't picture sharing Nino with anyone else, right? But if you have to share Adrien's time with her like that, and they're already close, and his father will keep shoving them together, and they've already been kissy like you've told me... maybe that could lighten his burden a bit, if he didn't have to be exclusive with either of you?"

Alya took Marinette's silence and facial expression as something in between thoughtful consideration and abject terror. "But only if you were all okay with that," she added.

Marinette stared at Alya with wide eyes. "I think... I think... I don't know what I think," she stammered. "The friendship, the closeness, the time spent together? I want Kagami to share in all of that, just like I was ready to be all of that for Adrien if he kept dating Kagami. But the kissing?"

"I... just don't know about that," admitted Marinette. "It's not something that I'd ever pictured. Kissing... means so many things. And I don't know if Adrien can share himself that way, either."

"Okay, then; pull back. Don't think about that for now. Try it as a real couple first," counseled Alya. "Because unless I'm very wrong about this... you and Adrien are about to be one."

"Uh-huh," Marinette agreed. "We're this far away from that."

She clasped her head in her hands. "And all I can do is WAIT AND SEE what happens next!" she wailed.

Leaning back, Marinette waved her hands melodramatically... then lost her balance and somersaulted over the back of the mini-couch. Once Alya ascertained that Marinette wasn't hurt, both girls broke out in laughter.

"I see."

Gabriel sat at his desk, his hands folded. "So... no surprises, then. Adrien has made his decision for now, and he intends to break it to Kagami in a gentle manner."

"That was how he described it to me in the car," Nathalie confirmed. "Neither one of them wishes to hurt Kagami's feelings, but... things are as they are."

She paused, then added, "And as far as Marinette goes... I followed your instructions to the letter. Letting the situation simmer without hinting one way or the other. If I may ask... what is it that you have in mind there?"

A smile slowly formed.

"A subtle plan... tugging on some threads, here and there, and seeing what unravels," Gabriel replied. "I will be taking trips... downstairs at regular intervals for the near future, as I suspect that opportunity may be knocking very soon. Few feel romantic yearnings as strongly as the young... and few feel quite so despondent when setbacks occur. Tell me, Nathalie... how often do teenage love triangles resolve cleanly?"

"I cannot say that I've been in any... but I wouldn't imagine that many do," Nathalie replied.

"Precisely. So we have Miss Tsurugi, whose first romance appears to be coming to an abrupt end. I have counseled Adrien to be gentle with her, naturally... but I strongly suspect that breaking up is not her desire. We have Miss Dupain-Cheng, whose concern for her friend is admirable... and may lead to emotions more useful to me. Anxiety over whom Adrien may choose, for instance... or fear that she does not have our favor, or that we are indeed holding a grudge over Adrien's injury... or guilt over playing the interloper. She seems the type to lean the latter way."

"She seems a sweet girl, yes. One who puts others above herself," noted Nathalie. "You have aimed in her direction before, as I recall."

"Yes, I have," agreed Gabriel. "And she has proven to be an elusive target... the only classmate of Adrien's that I have never enthralled fully. It may prove interesting to see what doubts and demons lurk beneath her surface."

"If you're not careful, you might hit Adrien with your Akuma, instead," mused Nathalie. "If Kagami reacts poorly, that will weigh quite heavily upon him. He is quite a sensitive young man."

"Oh, I have no wish to ensnare him, of course," Gabriel assured her. "But he has entered into my calculations as well. If he is visibly upset, that will surely resonate with either young lady - or with both, causing them to become distraught as well... and even more opportune targets than before. And so I am content to let this play out however it will, all on its own..."

"...Because no matter who emerges with Adrien's heart, you will win once the smoke clears," Nathalie smiled. "With at least one tempting target, and perhaps two. You are not worried that striking one of them now could cause problems, given their delicate romantic entanglement?"

"Pshaw," scoffed Gabriel. "Adrien's compassion will serve him well. He will be ready to comfort either young lady as needed, I expect. A white knight riding in to soothe whomever is more thoroughly bruised by the experience."

"Hmmm. You certainly seem to have the angles thought out, Sir."

"Isn't young love grand?" smirked Gabriel.

At supper, Sabine watched her daughter push food around her plate with a fork, her mind quite some distance away.

"You're not going to feel better by starving yourself, dear," she told Marinette in a light tone.

"Oh!" Her mother's voice snapped Marinette out of her thoughts, and she raised a bite to her mouth, dutifully. "Everything does taste very good," she apologized.

"That's good to know, but that's the least of my worries right now," Sabine soothed her. "How are you holding up?"

"My stomach's in a knot," Marinette admitted. "For good and bad reasons."

"Marinette," Tom interjected, "we know how much that you want to avoid hurting Kagami, or causing problems for anyone. But what's happening here... it's not your doing. You're not telling Adrien what he should or shouldn't do; he's making his own decisions on this. Please remember that."

"I know, Papa. Thank you for that," replied Marinette. "It's just that... like... I can see a car crash about to happen. And when it does, Kagami will be hurt and I'll walk away with her boyfriend. It doesn't seem fair. I may not be the one driving that car... but I should at least be yelling 'Stop!'"

"I don't know that you could stop it now, Marinette," Sabine argued. "Because what happens next is between Adrien and Kagami. From what you have been telling us, he certainly seems to have his own mind made up about his feelings."

"And what happens after that is a separate matter," Tom added. "You could have told him 'You are dating Kagami; you need to keep dating her and forget about being with me, and that's that.' But if his heart is no longer in it with Kagami... how do you think that she would feel about that?"

"It would be one thing for Kagami to feel like she's won Adrien's heart," Sabine agreed. "But if she feels like it's only because you said 'no' to him... well, no one wants to be a consolation prize."

"That's... true," mused Marinette, her face brightening slightly. "And Kagami and I did talk about that. She knows that I've been respecting boundaries, and making sure that Adrien does, too. I want all three of us to remain close. I'm just not sure if that's going to stay that way."

"Perhaps Kagami will continue to be understanding. Perhaps she won't," Tom shrugged. "Much of that depends on how Adrien handles this, and it sounds like he's as intent on not wanting to hurt her as you are. She may not know how she truly feels until it happens, or until she sees Adrien kissing you."

"Which is the other set of butterflies in my stomach," Marinette admitted, trying not to blush.

"And for that part, you should just enjoy it and let the two of us do the worrying," grinned Sabine. "But if anyone will find a way to keep you and Kagami and Adrien all close... it will be you. That's who you are, Marinette."

"Thank you," smiled Marinette. "Both of you. That does make me feel a little better about this."

"Something else that will make me feel better," advised Sabine, "is watching you eating your supper."

Later in the evening...

The coverings on the observation window in Hawkmoth's lair opened wide, allowing a beam of moonlight to illuminate the tall figure at the room's center. Apart from the gentle whirring of the motors by the window, all was silent therein.

A mind reached out, scanning in a particular direction, then casting its net slightly wider, then wider still.

"Hmmph," mused Hawkmoth. "Darkwings... fall."

As his transformation reversed itself, Gabriel noted to Nooroo, "The time is not yet right... but that does not surprise me very much. The stage is almost ready, but it is still being set."

"There are certainly negative emotions somewhere in Paris, Master," Nooroo replied. "Not... that I am encouraging you to chase after them."

"Certainly not," smiled Gabriel. "That would be quite a change in direction for you, Nooroo. Though if you would decide to be a less reluctant partner in my work, I would not complain."

Nooroo closed his eyes and said nothing.

"I sense anxiety in both Marinette and Kagami, unless I am misreading their auras from afar," Gabriel continued. "But well within normal parameters, given the circumstances. Anticipation is the appetizer; the main course may well be served tomorrow."

"This doesn't bother you, Master?" wondered Nooroo. "Toying with your son's love life and emotions this way?"

Gabriel gave Nooroo a look that was difficult for the Kwami to fully read. "I... do not intend on wounding my son, or his lady friends in ways that will linger. In point of fact, I am pleased that Adrien is working hard to keep both of them in his good graces," he stated. "An impasse between Kagami and Adrien could harm my business with Madam Tsurugi, which would not serve me well at all. Miss Dupain-Cheng has significant potential; one does not discard a potential future asset lightly."

"And," he added, seeing Nooroo's frown deepen, "I assure you that I do not want my son to suffer or struggle. If he finds happiness with either of them right now, I welcome that. Either one of them seems like an excellent match for him, at this age."

"...At this age?" asked Nooroo.

"He is fifteen, Nooroo," Gabriel replied. "He is choosing a first romance, not a future wife. He appears to have good instincts as to which types of young ladies to pursue. If they restrict themselves to admiring his face instead of breaking it, either one of them will be a suitable companion for the near future. And I will worry about the long-term when we are closer to that."

"He may have formed his own opinions on that, by that time," Nooroo smiled.

"He can try, at least," said Gabriel, dryly.

Nooroo flinched somewhat at the potential implication there. "So, you are fine with either of them dating Adrien... but you're still planning on Akumatizing one or the other very soon?" he asked.

"Why not?" Gabriel shrugged. "Kagami has been through the experience twice before, with no harm done to her. And Marinette... may prove interesting in that respect. She has driven an Akuma away from herself, which is no small feat, and the one time that I did make contact with her, the result seemed quite promising before I was forced to disengage. Your capturing her might produce a villain of exceptional potency."

"Which is what we always return to," sighed Nooroo.

"It is. Because we must," snapped Gabriel, leaning close to Nooroo. "You know what my primary concern is and always will be. If you are so concerned about my son's love life... help me ensure that whichever girl he chooses will meet his mother in person."

Gabriel gestured to Nooroo to return to his usual hiding place, as he stepped towards the elevator platform and closed the observation window once more. "Tomorrow is another day," he noted.

And despite Gabriel's frequent lapses of judgment in other areas... he was not wrong about that.

"Good morning, Marinette."

A tiny voice by Marinette's ear encouraged her eyes to face the morning light. "H-hi, Tikki. Good morning," Marinette managed. "What time is it?"

"Nine-ish. I thought that you might want to get your day started before anyone comes up looking for you," suggested Tikki.

"Yeah, I know the 'teenagers, sleeping their lives away' lecture by now," smiled Marinette. "I'll get up."

"Did you get much sleep?" wondered Tikki. "I know that you were restless for a while there."

"It took a while," Marinette admitted. "Maybe three or four o'clock."

"Are you feeling okay?"

Marinette paused before answering. "I am and I'm not," she ventured. "I've got the jitters. I'll be staring at my phone all day."

Tikki floated down and landed on Marinette's lap. "Just remember," she said, "that you have as much say in what happens next as anyone else. Just because Adrien comes running to you and says, 'We broke up' doesn't mean that you have to dash straight into his arms. I mean, I know you. You probably will," Tikki giggled.

"I won't deny that it's an option," Marinette giggled back.

"But you have every right to say, 'Let's go slow, let's see how we feel tomorrow, or next week, or whenever,'" Tikki pointed out. "Or he may want to let things breathe for a little while. This isn't Adrien regaining his freedom from something bad; what happens will be emotional for both of them."

"Uh-huh," agreed Marinette.

"Or you can go straight to the kissing with him. That might not be wrong, either," shrugged Tikki. "But I don't want you to feel like Adrien can stroll in and declare, 'I choose you!' and you should just swoon in happiness at his feet."

"Though that does remain an option," Marinette noted. "Yes, I know exactly what you mean, Tikki. If we're going to do this, we're going to do this right. That's what this whole back-and-forth has been about, ever since I confessed my feelings to him."

"But one way or another," she added, "I have a feeling that my life is going to change today."

Adrien Agreste stood in front of his mirror for the fourth time that morning, adjusting his hair and clothing in small ways. It wasn't that large adjustments were necessary, but the ritual was comforting in and of itself; it gave his hands and mind something else on which to concentrate.

"You're not going there to impress her today," Plagg snarked from nearby. "You don't have to have everything just perfect."

"I know, I know. I'm just... nervous. I do need to get this right," Adrien answered. "How this goes this afternoon, I mean."

"Run it by me one more time, then," offered Plagg. "Third time today's the charm."

Adrien raised an eyebrow at his Kwami's remark, then sighed. "I have to make sure that Kagami knows that this is not her fault," he declared. "That this is not because of anything that she did or didn't do. That I had a wonderful time as her sort-of boyfriend... and I don't regret giving it a try. That I am very happy that she reached out to me like she did, that she wanted to be mine... and that I absolutely still need her in my life."

"It's not you, it's me," Plagg summarized. "That old chestnut."

"A little bit, yes?" Adrien replied, glancing away from the mirror in Plagg's direction. "That I didn't know some very vital information before I said 'yes' to Kagami. Information that Kagami had tried to tell me, that Marinette had tried so hard to tell me, and I hadn't been listening, or believing it when I had been. And that is completely on me."

"Well, between that and what Marinette told you that they had talked about... it sounds like you're on the right track."

"And..." Adrien continued, "that I had one other complication even before Marinette confessed."

That made Plagg halt. "Are you... talking about what I think you are?"

"That I hesitated not because of Marinette... but because of Ladybug?" said Adrien. "I am."

"You're... just going to drop that on Kagami now?" marveled Plagg.

"Why not? It's the truth, and she deserves the whole truth," Adrien parried. "But I think it's important for her to know for sure that Marinette wasn't her rival, so to speak, when Kagami and I got together. That I really didn't know that Marinette was interested... but that someone else was filling my mind and making me pause."

Seeing Plagg's skeptical impression, Adrien continued, "I'm not going to tell her that I'm Chat Noir, of course! But I have a history with Ladybug as Adrien, too. Half of Paris watched me jump off a building for her. On the day that Kagami became Riposte, she had a front-row seat for Ladybug and I; it shouldn't be a shocking surprise."

"Hmmph. Good luck with that, then," Plagg remarked. "What are you, um... going to tell Marinette about Ladybug?"

"I'm... debating how to bring that up with her," said Adrien, after some brief thought. "She probably ought to know that if it hadn't been for my crush on Ladybug, I don't think that I would've been so blind to her for so long. But this situation is a little bit different."

"How so?"

"I still care for Ladybug very much," Adrien replied, his face solemn. "But I've heard 'no' from her enough times to realize that it's simply not going to happen. I needed to move on from chasing a hopeless dream... and Kagami helped me do that. She made me realize that I could... change targets, slowly, and I did. I will always be grateful to her for that."

"But when it comes to Marinette," he smiled, "she shouldn't have to worry that I'm holding back for someone else. Because, with her... I don't feel like I want to hesitate any more."

Adrien's phone buzzed; he checked it, and saw a message from Nathalie telling him that his car for his lunch meeting was ready.

"It's time," he said.