This chapter is 20% episode 80% self indulgence, I hated the episode so much.
But I tried.
Enjoy!
Adrien looked down at the paper he had been working on for a while, smiling at the bullet points and notes. He had worked out a plan and was now ready to put it into action.
There were some ground rules, of course there were. Nothing flashy or expensive, nothing that would make the entire city know (especially because of his father and his assorted fan base), and no middle of the day impromptus with their alter egos (night time was still on the table).
He thought about telling Alya or Nino, for an extra opinion but held back on it. He wanted to make this special, she deserved it to be something between them only.
And so that's how he ended up with his courtship plan. Which, in reality, was more of a formality to ask Marinette out to be formally his girlfriend. Which he already knew she'd say yes, she had said it, but Adrien was a little hopeless in the entire thing and Marinette had to admit she was curious to what he had in mind.
The first step was the easiest in theory, most difficult in practice. Speak with Marinette's parents.
Now, don't get him wrong. He wasn't exactly asking for their permission because they weren't in the 1800's anymore, more like letting them know his intentions beforehand. Marinette did say she'd talk with them before Adrien, just because she knew her dad was just a little old fashioned in romantic gestures and, in Marinette's words 'will try to get involved unless you say something'.
So, go to the Dupain Cheng bakery, ask politely for a few minutes of their time and lay out his plan. He had intentions to date Marinette, he loved her, he cared about her, she was the light in his days and the joy in his life…
Ok maybe he should tone it down there. But, once they were in the loop, the rest was fairly easier.
It was a nice Saturday morning and he was more than ready. Sneaking out of his house proved to be a little easier, what with his father on an impromptu travel to Spain and giving him a little more flexibility (and what a coincidence there were far less akumas around but he was not going to say that out loud). Not to mention his bodyguard had a soft spot for pastries and hey, win-win situation.
"Ok," he fixed his shirt for the umpteenth time "I can do this."
"It's the same store you've visited for almost two years" Plagg groaned "just get inside!"
Adrien rolled his eyes. Leave it to Plagg to break the enchantment.
With one last glance around to make sure no one he knew would see him, Adrien pushed the door open.
It was divine to enter the bakery on a morning. There was rush yes, but it also meant the fresh bread on trays and decorated pastries his stomach was already grumbling.
"Oh, hi Adrien!" he heard Sabine Cheng calling him from the counter "Marinette is still asleep,"
"Oh, it's ok," he smiled, making sure not to interrupt the flow of customers "I was actually here to talk with you and T- "he shook his head "Mr. Dupain."
Sabine raised an eyebrow at him. There was no doubt Marinette inherited her intelligence, with how Sabine was now observing him. Adrien didn't relent. He was here on a mission. Two years of knowing them had allowed Adrien to 'please call me Tom' and 'Sabine is fine dear' so to change back to formal had to make her see something was different.
"Oh? Is something the matter?"
"Yes," Adrien blinked "I mean no! Not something bad, but I…" he took a deep breath "I have come here to let you know, that I am- "
"Oh, hey Adrien," Tom Dupain waved at him "the usual for your driver?"
"Ah, yes" he could feel his nerves starting to act. Why was he nervous now?
"Hang on Tom" Sabine had a smile on her face "Adrien here has something to tell us,"
"Oh? What is that? Everything ok?"
Adrien's hands were sweaty, why were they sweaty? He did not think he would get so damn nervous.
"I wanted to let you know I am going to ask Marinette out," he blurted out "to date. I'm going to ask her to date m-me."
Years from now, when Adrien recalled that day, he would admit he had terrible timing, that he had looked far more terrified than he should have. But present Adrien was not thinking on that, as he clammed shut at the last word.
It was as if the entire bakery had gone silent just to hear Adrien speak. There were at least three customers in the bakery at the moment, all morning regulars, who had heard Adrien declare his intentions.
What he did not expect was the cooing.
"Aww, what a sweet young man" one old lady, Madam Carel, said, with another customer agreeing "and very proper too."
"Isn't he sweet?"
"Indeed,"
Adrien wanted the floor to open up and eat him.
"Pay up" he heard Sabine say, looking up to see her smiling and holding out her hand to her husband who just laughed and put a few bills on her hand.
"Ah…"
"Honey, we had been wondering when you two would decide to go out" she smiled at Madam Carel and took her tray to ring her up "mind you, we know our daughter, and you have your emotions all written on your face, we were hoping it would be before the end of the year,"
"So, the mon-money?"
"Parents can still have fun" Tom said "but Adrien, thank you for letting us know,"
Adrien felt the relief on his shoulders. Only for Tom to put a hand on his shoulder and give a reassuring squeeze.
"But we are so going to have a conversation between the four afterwards."
Adrien nodded, just as he was handed a bag with pastries.
"Are you two doing something today?"
Might as well confide his plans to them, would make it easier in a few hours.
"I'm going to take Marinette out for lunch, at the bistro a few blocks from here, then if possible, take a walk around the park before I bring her back."
Tom nodded, a clear approval of Adrien's idea of almost date.
"Excellent plan, so off you go, I'm sure Marinette will wake up in two or three hours."
Adrien kept nodding and made his exit and towards his car. Well, now he was going to be the sweet gossip of some people (thankfully no one that really knew him) but it could have gone way, way worse.
Well, at least that was phase one. Phase two would have to wait at least until Marinette was awake and presentable to the world. Which gave him enough time to grab a paper bag he had hidden under the car that morning to retrieve a bright green wig. He smiled at the Gorilla's stare from the rear-view mirror but focused on making sure the wig stayed on place, followed by a pair of brown eye contacts.
Maybe it was a little too much but for phase two of his plan he had no intention on leading people on to weird gossip. So, after shrugging off his usual white shirt to retrieve his team Instinct hoodie, he went out of the car and headed right into the flower shop and browse the flower arrangements.
He bypassed the roses. They were nice, good love meanings but come on, he could do better than that. Adrien decided for something not so portentous but detailed enough to show how serious he was in this. It must have been at least an hour (or two) in the shop browsing the many types of flowers and asking the owner until he finally exited the place with a small bouquet of yellow tulips, honeysuckle and a white carnation in the middle. He'd have plenty of time for the roses later.
Adrien pulled out his phone, almost midday so he could risk texting Marinette to see if she was up and about.
Catdrien: Morning~
Buginette: Good morning, this is Marinettes phone. She is unavailble to answer it summer vacation and she is under instruction of not waking up ntil after noon
Adrien snickered. Leave it to Marinette and her many sleepy typos.
Catdrien: That has to be either a pre-set message or the most eloquent I've ever heard you while asleep
Buginette: It's too earlyyyyyyyyy
Catdrien: It's almost time for lunch :P
Buginette: What?
Catdrien: And I'll be picking you up ;D
Adrien waited patiently for the next message. He had told her beforehand a little of what he had planned, just a tad, first so as not to have Marinette getting anxious and second because he did have to tell her parents. And third to make sure Marinette wouldn't end up sleeping three-quarters of the day.
Buginette: I'll be ready in ten
'So, fifteen' he thought as he made sure to get rid of his costume and keep the flowers secure on the other seat as the Gorilla took him back to the bakery, with the promise that he was not going to wander off since he was supposed to be at home practicing the piano.
"I promise, and thanks for keeping this a secret" Adrien smiled and took a quick glance around before sneaking out of the car with the bouquet safely tucked in his hands. He checked his phone and went against texting her of his arrival, instead of ringing the doorbell of her home.
He took a few deep breaths, the bouquet firm in his hands. This was nothing like facing an Akuma, where their lives were in danger or dealing with academics. But this was also a major thing in his life, a way to see if his bond with Marinette was meant to be romantic.
And oh, did he want that.
The door in front of him opened, a flushed Marinette on the other side and Adrien almost dropped his bouquet out of surprise. He had seen Marinette in lots of costumes in the past two years, between his cosplay indulgence and her working on a style of her own, but to see her so…radiant right now was leaving his throat dry.
She was wearing a light blue sundress with white ribbon straps that adorned her shoulders. The neckline and hem of the skirt part were also done with ribbon straps, in a style that Adrien knew would have her name signed somewhere. Her hair was in her usual pigtails but the ribbons were white to match the dress, along with white sandals and her toenails painted light blue. Her nails were in a mix of baby blue and white, with her usual purse changed to a white one, where no doubt Tikki was already in.
"W…Adrien are those for me?"
Adrien cleared his throat and extended the flowers to her.
"A fresh bouquet for a beautiful lady," he said, a slight crack in his voice "I'm sure you'll find the meaning behind endearing."
Marinette blushed as she took it, their hands touching for a moment but enough to send his nerves fried up. She was smiling at it as she carefully touched some of the petals.
"Wow, Adrien this looks beautiful"
"Not as beautiful as you,"
Marinette, to his surprise, giggled. That actually helped his nerves. This was Marinette, the girl he had seen cry her heart out at the end of Your Name and jumped in joy when she defeated him in videogames. The girl who saved Paris at first chance and fell asleep during the first hour of class.
"I see the flirting is strong,"
"Oh," he smiled and took her hand to leave a kiss on her knuckles "I can definitely up my flirting game for you."
That made her face turn a bright red.
"T-tha, ahm, w-water! Yes, water, I should put this in water first,"
"I'll take care of that," he heard Sabine appear from the doorway, taking the bouquet from Marinette's hand "you two go enjoy your lunch,"
She smiled at them and nudged Marinette out of the door, leaving both teens bursting out in giggles.
The day went easier than Adrien thought. The lunch was great, between them just talking, just being themselves, it was like any other day. Except, this time Adrien would throw a flirt and Marinette would flirt back. He'd compliment her outfit she'd compliment his rebellious hairstyle. Their walk around the park had become a frenzy to chase pokemon around and Marinette even got him some cotton candy.
"Just because you're the one courting doesn't mean I cannot indulge," she said while taking a bite out of hers.
Overall, it had been an amazing date. By the time he dropped Marinette back at her door, his smile was so wide he was practically shining.
"Here you go, safe and sound,"
"My hero" Marinette giggled "but, I had fun today"
"I had fun too" he smiled "so, may I ask?"
"Ask away" she said, a blush on her cheeks when Adrien held her hands in his.
"Marinette," he relished in her name "will you be my girlfrie-"
"Yes,"
Adrien had to laugh at Marinette interrupting him, followed by a slight slap on his shoulder.
"Sorry! I got impatient,"
"It's ok," he kept laughing "I adore your enthusiasm,"
She kissed him on the cheek and opened the door of her home.
"Text me when you get home," she winked at him and closed the door.
Adrien would take the bickering from Plagg the rest of the evening, he floated back to his car, full of energy he had to transform as soon as he was alone again to jump around the entirety of Paris, almost whooping out of joy.
They still kept it under wraps though. Between Adrien's father and job plus their superhero lives, they weren't in a rush to let people know they had changed their status from close friends to romantic partners.
Except of course Alya and Nino, who were currently in different parts of the country on vacation, with Alya spending an entire night in gossip with Marinette on video chat while Nino just texted some great job words to Adrien.
So overall, things were doing great. Even the talk with Marinette's parents had gone great (yes, it was downright embarrassing but he got why they were doing it, also ended a little overwhelmed with the amount of trust they put in him).
However, the moment they started classes, there was a sinking feeling in his chest. Like if he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed, or if his bad luck had increased. He looked outside but the day seemed nice enough, his father was in town but nothing out of the ordinary. The first week had gone great, aside of trying really hard to keep their relationship subtle because the least people knew for now the better, but they still bantered, still had their inside jokes, that wasn't a problem.
But that day Adrien kept that feeling inside him as he reached the school. He greeted some classmates and made his way to what was going to be his classroom but was surprised when he saw everyone was seated differently.
"Hey man!" Nino waved at him from where it used to be Alya's place "good morning."
"Uh, hi" he walked towards his seat and turned to look at him and Alya, who was now in Marinette's seat "so, are you guys switching up for today?"
"Oh, oh yes, well with the new additions" Alya said with a smile "we thought it would be great to make some accommodations in the class."
New additions? Did she mean his relationship with Marinette? Come to think of it, now there was an empty space next to him, which meant Marinette would sit next to him in class. He couldn't help but to smile, daydreaming already about passing love notes in between lectures, or arriving together hand in hand. Their subtlety would be way more difficult but nothing they couldn't manage.
Then again, bit odd that everyone had to move if it was only Nino going a place up.
"Morning," he heard Marinette from the door "sorry I'm almost late."
"Just in time" Adrien smiled at her, about to move his bag for her to seat when Alya stopped her.
"Woah girl sorry, that's not your seat," Alya pointed behind her, at the very back "Your seat's over there."
The hell?
"Well, since she's got a hearing issue there's no way she could sit at the back" Nino cut in, throwing the explanation behind everyone moving seats for the new year.
"Who is this 'she'?" Marinette blinked at them, with Adrien's gut feeling twice as bad as that morning. Oh, oh that feeling had to be because of-
"Good morning everyone," Miss Bustier arrived "I'm sure you've all heard by now but Lila's home from her trip in Achu and she's back in school with us again!"
Yes, there it was.
Oh, they hadn't forgotten about Lila. Between her "sudden" disappearances with trips and whatnot, it was too good to be true not to deal with her that year. Adrien felt as if he had drunk lemon juice, trying to keep his poster face while the teacher talked.
"Oh! A seat in the front row! You all remembered my hearing issue!"
She didn't have that.
"You have a hearing problem Lila?"
Ah, Marinette spoke the words right out of his mouth.
"Yes, I have tinnitus, a constant ringing on my left ear," Lila went on to say how she had gotten it, making up a cat and an airport runway (was that even allowed?) and how Jagged Stone was allergic to cats (which, lies, since they had seen him weeks ago just fine).
"The best part is," Lila turned from her to Adrien, sliding so close he could practically smell her mouth wash "since you're such an excellent student Adrien, you'll be able to help me catch up on all the schoolwork I missed."
Adrien was not going to squirm; he was so not going to squirm.
"Would you do that for me?"
"It was only a week Lila, I'm sure you can catch up in no time," he tried to say.
"Miss Bustier do I have to sit in the back?"
"Do you have any problem with hearing or seeing Marinette?"
Adrien stood up.
"My eyes and hearing are good, does that mean I have to go sit at the back?"
Ok, he acted on impulse, that much he was aware of, but he didn't expect Lila to throw a self-pity party. He also didn't expect the entire class to downright glare at Marinette!
He was about to open up his mouth but Marinette gently shook her head no.
"I don't have any problem with seeing or hearing-"
"Good, then there's no problem there" Miss Bustier turned to Adrien "you can stay in your seat Adrien."
Adrien did not want to stay on that seat, especially when Lila decided her space wasn't enough, and practically jumped to his side.
He glanced back, just as a purple butterfly sneaked into the room. Oh no, there was no way he was letting Hawkmoth akumatize Marinette.
"Ok everyone, open your books" Miss Bustier called out and Adrien saw Marinette taking a deep breath and smiling at him. He sighed in relief. That was a very close call. Meditation had helped them a lot, especially with the akumas targeting the slightest discomfort. But still, he was not going to shake off the fact that there was one akuma on the loose now.
The following hours were, for lack of a better word, a nightmare. He hated every single minute of them and couldn't wait to sneak out to have lunch with Marinette…until he got a call from Nathalie that took him away from his friends and Marinette because he had to go home.
The bad feeling was just getting worse. Even when he returned to school and noticed tension in the air.
"What's wrong?" he turned to Nino who was waiting for him by the main door.
Nino sighed and told him about the incident at the cafeteria, about Marinette assaulting Lila, and how she kept insisting she was lying.
"Uh…" Adrien couldn't believe this "because she is?"
"What? Dude, why would Lila lie?"
"Geez Nino I don't know, to call attention? To impress? I've seen that before in the fashion industry,"
He winced a little, realizing he had sounded a little too harsh. He should have stayed with Marinette and insist on why they knew Lila was a full liar.
"Besides, if she has a sprained wrist why isn't she wearing a brace?"
Nino didn't know how to respond to that. At that moment he saw Lila leaving the girl's bathroom with a smug smile on her face that made his nerves rattled. He was about to pull out his phone to call Marinette, when Lila practically jumped to his side.
"Oh, Adrien! There you are," she poked his chest "I was wondering when you would be able to help me with my schoolwork, I also heard you play the piano? My uncle is a great pianist-"
Adrien glanced at Nino, as if wanting to say 'see what I mean?' with his eyes only.
"Lila, if you need help with schoolwork, I can help you" he cut her off "but I'd really appreciate it if you stopped lying."
He knew Lila didn't appreciate that, especially with Nino there listening, only turning around in annoyance out of the locker room.
"So… she really is lying?"
"The pianist she mentioned?" Adrien pulled out his phone "died over thirty years ago, unless Lila is some sort of thirty five year old in disguise-"
"Ok, I get it bro, man, must be pretty sad to lie just to get people to talk with you,"
"Hm," Adrien looked at his phone and frowned "I'm going to go get Marinette, catch you later?"
Nino nodded and left Adrien alone, his frown deepening at the messages from Marinette.
Princess: Akuma on the loose
Princess: Long story, but need to talk to you about it
Princess: Wtch out for Lila, LB into the scene
He turned, about to exit the locker room, only to be again stopped by Lila, who practically jumped to kiss his cheek, and then the world turned black.
Ladybug meanwhile managed to jump out of the bathroom to try and find that akuma, only to see Adrien walking towards Nino and Alya, except his walking seemed off, his tone wasn't the usual and he was…berating Nino? Something was off here.
She pulled out her yo-yo just as Chat appeared right behind her.
"Let me guess, Lila" she looked as the fake Adrien jumped out of the way and the school, both heroes taking a follow from the rooftops.
"Yeah, must have disliked me calling her off in front of Nino" Chat grumbled, wiping his face "also don't let her kiss you, that's how she transformed into me."
"Kiss you?!"
"It was on the cheek" Chat tried to calm her down "but still, knocked me out a few minutes."
"This is going to be tough," Ladybug grumbled just as they found an asleep person on a bench, followed by the same person glaring at them from the sidewalk.
And though it was, the fought had taken them a while, between Chameleon switching people and the constant running and dodging and once again almost demolishing the Eiffel Tower. Except for this time, they ended up with a clam version of Lila on Ladybug's hand.
"Maybe we should keep her like that a while longer," he said while Ladybug broke the pearl.
"Too bad we can't do that" she sighed as the ladybugs around transformed Lila back to normal. She tried, she really did, to give Lila a final chance, but something about the way she smiled set her nerves up, especially once they were far away from the location.
"Did you feel it too?" she turned to Chat as soon as they were near the school.
"That she lied to your face? Yes," he replied, transforming back as Ladybug did the same "also, that akuma you said, couldn't have been at the same time…"
"Ah, about that" Marinette sighed and pointed at a nearby bench "let me tell you what happened."
Adrien nodded and followed her, where Marinette told him everything Lila had said in the bathroom, including the akuma that almost got her. If it hadn't been because they had just cleansed one of those butterflies, Adrien was pretty sure a new one would show up with how angry he was at the moment.
"That lying-"
"Hey," she held his hand "I don't trust her at all, especially with this akuma, we have to keep our minds sharp."
"Yeah" he stood up and pulled her close "but there is no way I'm letting you alone with her."
"Me? She's the one trying to jump you,"
"Ah yes, the seating arrangement" Adrien winced, both walking back to school "I could make up something to sneak back with you, I was so looking forward to sharing love notes in class."
"Your idea of love notes are silly cat drawings," Marinette smiled, but her face fell at the sight of all of their classmates surrounding Lila "well, she's back to lying."
"I know… but" he frowned "will exposing her right now work? If we humiliate her, she'll just become an akuma again and she's, as much as I hate to admit it, smart."
"You're right," she sighed "so… we just…let her lie?"
"Hmm," Adrien hummed, just as the bell rang "we can plot something up later during p-a-t-r-o-l."
Marinette looked at him, sporting an almost chesire like grin, and held back a giggle.
"Fair enough, now come on, before someone asks what's wrong with you,"
Adrien followed her to the class but stopped at the middle, sparing a look at Lila before making up his mind to follow Marinette to the back seat.
"Hey, it's pretty cool back here" he grinned at her.
"Rebel," Marinette rolled her eyes with a smile. Unfortunately, they didn't get to hear Miss Bustier calling out for them, which lead to everyone switching to how they originally were, with Lila alone in the back seat.
"Hey," Alya whispered after a while "about what happened at the cafeteria,"
Marinette turned to look at her friend.
"I thought about what you said, and what happened the first time Lila was here" Alya kept saying "and… what Adrien told Nino… so, I'm sorry for pushing you like that."
Marinette couldn't help the small smile on her face.
"It's alright Alya,"
"No, I said you needed proof and I'm the aspiring journalist of the two," she held her hand "and I swear I will get it to see the truth behind all of this,"
"Thanks, Alya,"
"Besides," she pulled out her notebook "I saw her trying to get chummy with Adrien and I wasn't going to let that happen to my almost brother-in-law- am I right?"
Marinette's face turned pink.
But the day wasn't out of surprises, when right at the school gates she stumbled right into Lila, just like she said she would in the bathroom.
"I see you've made your decision Marinette," Lila grinned at her "from now on, you and I are at war."
Marinette held the straps of her bag tight as Lila got closer.
"You will lose your friends and wind up all alone and Adrien will soon be mine."
She kept her cool, throwing Lila a pitiful smile.
"We'll see about that, Lila. We'll see."
And she walked away, but only enough to reach the side of the stairs where Adrien was waiting for her. Only when she made sure Lila had disappeared from the area that she let out the exhale and took Adrien's hand in relief.
"Sorry, you had to go through that,"
"But," Marinette held out her phone, a recording saved in her files "we have some evidence in our favor now."
"And stored in a cloud just in case," Adrien kissed her hand "just to be clear, there is no way I would be with her."
"I never doubted you Chaton" Marinette smiled "so, how about we tackle some homework before patrol?"
I also watched Sk8 the Infinity and it's so good I want to write something of it too.
Thanks for reading!