Adrien stared hard at the screen in front of him, still researching for his history project. He'd already been working for two hours, and it still felt like he was getting nowhere. In all honesty, the project wasn't too difficult; he just had to look up information about a historical figure, write a five page paper on them and their contribution to their country, and then make a poster on them. It wasn't too bad, especially since it was a partner project.
Well, it was supposed to be a partner project.
Chloe continued talking, her voice like white noise that chattered incessantly in the background. She'd been telling Adrien of the latest news in Avril Butler's love life for twenty minutes now and it didn't seem like she was going to stop anytime soon. Adrien absently nodded, trying to create the proper citation for the newest source he'd found online. Nino sat by his side, somehow actually interested in Chloe's story.
"So then that's when Avril Butler finally broke up with Elizabeth!" Chloe said excitedly. She took a deep breath to continue, but Nino cut her off:
"Wait, but I thought that was a rumor?" Adrien rubbed his eyes, wishing contacts didn't dry his eyes out so much. Nino hadn't so much as looked at their paper in an hour. Adrien glanced at him, but Nino was fully fixated on Chloe and Avril Butler's story. "Didn't he write a song about her later?" Nino pulled out his phone and scrolled through his saved songs, showing her the Jagged Stone song, 'Elizabeth.'
"Ok, so actually it was a rumor that it was a rumor," Chloe perked up, more than happy to talk to Nino if it meant someone was willing to engage with her reporting. "Everyone said that it was a rumor they broke up, but that was the actual rumor. They'd totally broken up, but some die-hard Avrilizabeth fans went everywhere they possibly could and said that they hadn't broken up, and they said it with such conviction that they actually convinced, like, magazines and stuff!"
"Woah," Nino said. "That's crazy. How did you find out about this, then?"
Chloe responded, but Adrien wasn't listening. He was too tired. He'd been sitting on the floor for the past two hours, hunched over his laptop. He looked up at the bed. He should've just gone up there when Marinette had told him to. But no, he'd just had to be stubborn and sit on the floor for no good reason. Now his ass was numb and his back hurt. Adrien looked up from his computer, too tired to do much more work. He stretched, cracking his back and groaning when his spine cracked.
"Gross," Alya shuddered, "I hate when people crack their bones-the noise is disgusting." She lay between Chloe and Marinette on the bed. She'd been partnered with Marinette for this history project, so Marinette had invited her over to study, or so the story went. Alya had gone over and also called Nino. Since Nino was Adrien's partner, Adrien came along, too. Chloe didn't invite her partner, Juleka, but she insisted on spending the afternoon with everyone. It wasn't like anyone was going to tell her to leave; this was her house. And honestly, since she'd distanced herself a little from Sabrina, other people were finding it a lot easier to get along with Chloe. It was really nice to see that, especially when the other person was Marinette. Adrien couldn't explain why, but it was the best feeling when he saw Chloe and Marinette interact and not look like they were facing down death.
Chloe had been there for Adrien since before he could remember. Audrey and Gabriel had been friendly colleagues for years, so they'd introduced their kids early on. Since their first meeting, the two had been nearly inseparable. They'd had countless playdates and sleepovers, they'd gone to the same summer camps, and they knew practically everything about each other. Adrien had shown the worst parts of himself to Chloe, and he'd never once feared that she would leave him because she found him too weird or strange. Likewise, Chloe had shared her vulnerabilities with him, and she didn't think he would hold them against her. Chloe was his best friend, practically his sister.
Marinette was special in a different way. They hadn't known each other as long as he and Chloe had known each other, but sometimes it was hard to remember that. She understood him in a way even Chloe couldn't sometimes, and she was so easy to talk to, he found himself going to her or her family for the smallest things. He knew she was great, and he really liked her. In some ways, she reminded him of Chloe. Both of them stood up for what they believed in, both didn't tolerate disrespect, and both could be unnecessarily stubborn over the dumbest things. Marinette, though, wasn't as easily swayed as Chloe sometimes was-she always knew what she believed in, and she never wavered, even if what she had to say was hurtful. And, Marinette was a lot more brave than Chloe-and braver than Adrien, too. Sometimes it was hard to believe she was real. But she was, and he still had a chance with her, if only he could figure out how to get her to like him, too.
"So, basically," Chloe was saying, "They had a contract to stay together for two years, and sometimes they were supposed to cause scandals because it would generate interest for both of them. You know Elizabeth Espinoza is an internet influencer, right? Yeah, so it was mutually beneficial."
"Just get to the point," Marinette said. "You're going to bore him to death."
"Shut up, Marinette," Chloe said, no heat behind her words. "I'm establishing the background. There's more to reporting than just stating the facts."
"I can confirm," Alya spoke up. "How do you think the Ladyblog is doing so well? I always give background information for the fight, and the Akuma victim, and I get interviews when possible. The more you involve someone's emotions, the more invested they get in the story."
"Wait, there's more to the Avril Butler breakup story?" Nino asked. Adrien read the sentence in front of him for the third time, and retained just as little as the last two times. Chloe moved closer to Alya, peeking over her shoulder to see what she was doing on her computer.
"Your blog is dumb," Chloe said. Alya rolled her eyes.
"If I didn't know any better, I would think you're insulting my blog,"
"I thought she was insulting your blog?" Nino asked. Adrien switched tabs and wrote a couple of more sentences for the paper, then went back to the article he was reading. Marinette scoffed,
"No, she's just saying it's dumb that a civilian made a more reliable news source for Parisians than the official Parisian news channels are."
"Chloe, maybe you should work on not omitting about ninety percent of what you're thinking when you speak." Nino said. "'Cuz, Dude, that's just confusing."
Adrien closed his laptop and put it to the side. He'd been working on the project alone for the past two hours. He was tired of working and stressing about the project when everyone else seemed to be fine not worrying about it. "So, you guys are friends now?" Adrien rubbed his eyes and sat back, looking up between Chloe and Marinette.
"Yeah," Marinette and Chloe exchanged glances and smiled at each other. "I guess you were right for once. She's not that bad."
"Not that bad?" Chloe huffed and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "I am a gift to humanity, and a gift to you. Show some proper respect."
"So now we're all in agreement that I'm never wrong, right?" Adrien asked. Marinette looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "So, I also think you and I would make a great couple-let's go out and you can prove me right." Marinette rolled her eyes, and Chloe went back to looking through the Ladyblog with Alya.
"I feel like I'm fifth-wheeling," Nino complained. "No one will even finish telling me the Avril Butler story!"
"Basically, he broke up with Elizabeth Espinoza and then got with April Lapours and they got engaged when they'd only been dating three weeks. Now it looks like April is cheating on Avril Butler with his ex-bandmate, Terrance Meurille. So, there's talk that they're going to break up, and maybe he'll get back with Elizabeth Espinoza but who knows." Marinette deadpanned. Chloe grabbed a pillow and smacked Marinette on the back with it. Marinette didn't look like she'd noticed, let alone cared.
"You ruined the entire story!" Chloe complained. "You can't say it all at once like that-you didn't mention the dates, or the tweets, or the photos-you have to get him emotionally invested to get him to understand the severity of the situation!"
"Avril Butler is his favorite musician," Marinette said. "He's already emotionally invested, and you gave up telling Nino the story to go flirt with Alya."
Chloe's face paled, and Adrien almost felt bad for her. He probably would've felt worse if she hadn't been making fun of his feelings for Marinette a couple of hours ago. He would've been happy to bail Chloe out if she hadn't just been making fun of how pathetic and whipped Adrien got when he was around Marinette. Nope. He was fine to just watch the situation play out.
"Who can blame her? Alya's got great hair, and Chloe has a thing for curly hair." Adrien shrugged non-chalantly. Adrien smiled up at Marinette, and Chloe glared at him. 'I'll get back at you,' she mouthed. Adrien disregarded her.
Alya laughed. "Sure, sure-do you think that'll get us to forget about Adrien asking you out literally two seconds ago? Give the poor guy an answer, won't you?"
"Yeah, Dude, tell him 'yes,'" Nino added.
"Nah, he wasn't serious." Marinette said. "Were you?"
"Dead serious," Adrien answered. Marinette rolled her eyes. She totally didn't believe him. He tried not to let it hurt; she had been brushing him off for months now. What exactly did he need to do to make her understand he was serious? Or maybe she knew he was serious and was just trying to let him down easily. But that didn't make much sense; Marinette had many traits and habits, but she had never been one to diplomatically say something, or sugar-coat harsh news. She probably honestly thought he was just messing around. Adrien sighed. Marinette got off the bed and sat next to him, leaning against his side. Adrien turned to face her more, slightly turning his back on Nino. Nino grumbled behind him.
"Fine. I'll just invite Alix and Kim over. They won't ignore me, at least."
"They totally would," Alya said. Adrien nodded in silent agreement.
"Especially if I pull up a couple of computer games," Marinette added. "I downloaded some two-player games on Chloe's laptop earlier. If I tell them about it, you'd be the last thing on their minds."
"We'll see about that," Nino said, pulling out his phone.
"So while they're here ignoring Nino, we'll be out on our date?" Adrien tried. He tried not to put too much hope in his voice. If she said no, he could just play it off as a joke, like he'd been doing for the past six months. Marinette leaned up next to him and pulled out her phone. So, she was just going to ignore it, then. Adrien tried to ignore the stinging disappointment in his chest. It was such an intense feeling, he rubbed his chest to try and soothe the ache. It didn't really work, though. Alya glanced up and looked at him sympathetically. Chloe pointed to something on the screen in front of them and Alya went back to checking on her blog.
"Let's go play laser tag," Marinette said, pulling up a website. "I found this place. I've never been, but it seems fun. We should go."
"Now?" Adrien asked, heart jumping in his chest. "So, you're saying yes to the date?"
"Now, yes. Date, no," she said, looking at her phone. "I like someone, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," Adrien said. "Um, Cat Noir, right?" He bit the inside of his cheek. It was weird to be let down because the person you like says they like someone else, but that someone else is just you with longer, darker hair and a stupid costume on.
"Oh, come on," Chloe complained. "He's a superhero-he's practically not even real!"
"Yeah," Alya agreed. "What are the odds Cat Noir is going to come up to you and ask you out?"
"Think about it," Nino leaned towards her, crowding in Adrien's space and throwing an arm over his shoulders. Adrien reciprocated the gesture. He could always count on Nino to be his wingman. "Our boy's right here, and he likes you for whatever reason. Take him before he comes to his senses and you're left old, alone, and sad." Yeah, Nino was the best wingman out there. He really had a way of hyping Adrien up that no one else had.
"You've been talking to my mom," Marinette narrowed her eyes at him. Nino raised his hands in surrender.
"I'm just saying you're too intense for most people; you can't be too picky when you're...you."
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Chloe demanded from on top of the bed. "She doesn't have to settle for anyone-Cat Noir would be lucky to date her!"
"Chloe, who's side are you on?" Adrien complained.
"Marinette's." She answered immediately. She pointed at her. "Adri-cat is great, so he's not someone you 'settle' for, but if you want Cat Noir, go for it."
"We can call out for him on the Ladyblog," Alya suggested. "I'm not sure he'd agree, but maybe he would meet you."
"Cat Noir reads the Ladyblog?" Nino asked. "How do you know?"
"Reporter's intuition," Alya said. "I see all, I feel all, I report all." Chloe giggled, and Alya looked pleased with herself.
"Chloe, you don't need to laugh at her dumb jokes just because you like her," Adrien said. Chloe went red.
"I don't! It was just funny, alright?"
"So, you don't want to go laser tagging?" Marinette asked. "I thought it'd be fun to go with everyone, but if it's not something you're interested in, I can find something else."
"Can you even afford to go out and pay for something fun to do right now?" Alya asked. "I'm sorry if this comes off a little insensitive, but I thought you were...broke?"
"Adrien would pay for me," Marinette said immediately. Adrien nodded in agreement.
"Palm Face, it's rude to steal. Actually, it might also be illegal."
"Shut up, I'm not stealing! He's rich, alright? He said it was fine!"
"Yeah, I have my dad's debit card," Adrien explained. "If I spend over two hundred euros in a day, he'll come talk to me at dinner."
"What an asshole," Nino muttered under his breath. Chloe frowned down at him, and Adrien could practically feel the rant about how Gabriel needed to get his shit together. Normally, it was nice to hear someone stand up for him like that, but at the moment, Adrien really didn't want to think about his dad. He just wanted to be in the moment, and now have it ruined by anything.
"If you frown, you'll get wrinkles," Adrien told her. "Alya, poke her forehead and tell her to stop."
"Like this?" Alya poked Chloe in between the eyebrows with enough force to snap Chloe's head back.
"A little like that, but maybe less aggressive next time," Adrien suggested.
"Yeah, try to wipe her frown away, don't snap her head off," Nino got off the floor and sat next to Chloe on the bed. "Are you ok?" He reached down and felt around Chloe's neck, trying to massage it.
"Leave me alone, you idiot," Chloe said, smacking Nino's hands away. "Don't touch my neck. She didn't smack my head back, that was all me. I was just trying to keep her grubby hands from touching my face!"
"Uh huh," Marinette said, clearly not believing her. "I'll tell Mom you're lying again."
"Again?" Adrien asked. "What happened the first time?"
"I wasn't lying!" Chloe defended. Alya turned back to studying her laptop. Nino rested his chin on his crossed arms, lying on his stomach like Chloe and Alya.
"She got a cold and told my mom she was fine," Marinette summed up. "When Mom took her temperature, she wasn't happy."
"I wasn't lying!" Chloe insisted. "I didn't know I was sick!"
"So Mom made her soup and spent the night with her."
"She lectured me the whole time," Chloe moaned. Nino winced sympathetically.
"Yikes," he said. "I've never told her I was fine when I was sick, but one time I told Sabine I was full when I wasn't full. My mom had just told me I was overweight and I needed to lose some kilos, so I was trying to limit how much food I was eating. Anyway, I went over to Marinette's house the next day and when Marinette told Sabine why I'd refused seconds, she got so mad at me I always finish three servings when I eat dinner with her now."
"That sounds like Mrs. Cheng," Chloe agreed. "One time I wasn't very hungry and I told her-"
"You told her you weren't hungry?" Nino asked, aghast.
"Bad move," Marinette agreed. "She'll never make that mistake again."
"She was so mad, Mrs. Cheng gave me a long lecture and kept poking me, saying I was too skinny and I needed to eat more. So annoying."
"Say 'annoying' all you want," Alya hummed, still scrolling through her computer. "We all know you like it."
"You can call her Sabine," Adrien insisted. "She likes it."
"Yeah, right," Chloe said. "Unlike you, I actually do what people want me to. Because I'm nice."
Marinette scoffed. "Are you serious? You, nice?" She turned to Adrien. Her blue eyes lit up with happiness, and Adrien wished she was like this more often; she'd been so stressed lately. She, of all people, deserved to just have a carefree afternoon with her friends, where she could just hang out, chat, laugh, and procrastinate on homework. "She's joking, right?"
"I'm nice, Marinette," Chloe insisted. "Ask Sabrina!"
"I don't see Sabrina anywhere here," Adrien said. Everyone looked at him, shocked. Marinette started laughing.
"That's so mean!" She managed to say between giggles. Nino struggled to keep a straight face.
"Is it...alright to say that?" He asked. "I thought making jokes about victims of Akuma powers was...not good?"
"It's funny, though, right?"
"No, it's not!" Alya said. "She's invisible-maybe forever; how could you say that?"
"I'm just stating facts," Adrien said reasonably. "How am I supposed to ask Sabrina anything? I haven't even seen her around lately."
"That wasn't funny the first time, and it isn't funny now, either." Chloe said. "She was my best friend-now she's permanently invisible."
"To be fair, she was horrible," Adrien said.
"A total bitch," Marinette tacked on.
"You've gotten so much nicer since you stopped hanging out with her," Nino added.
"It's not like I tried to abandon her or anything," Chloe said. "She just disappears after class and I can't find her!"
Marinette started laughing again, so hard that she rolled on her back and leaned against Adrien.
"I did not mean it like that!"
Adrien reached down and pulled Marinette's hair out of her face, gathering it up on top of her head, and tied it in a loose bun. Nino mumbled at them to get a room, and Alya cooed. Chloe took a picture with a smirk on her face. Adrien's phone buzzed, and he knew she'd sent the picture to him.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and someone cried out in surprise. The door to the room burst open, and everyone looked at who had just entered. Kim stood in the entrance, wearing a pair of jeans and a warm red jacket. His hands were filled with plastic bags. They were both dripping wet, and quickly shed their coats.
"It's raining pretty hard outside," Alix noted. "If you go out, make sure you wear a jacket."
"Okay, Mom," Alya rolled her eyes.
"Guess who's finally arrived?!" Kim exclaimed, holding up a bag from a convenience store. "Everyone's favorite friend: the provider of snacks!" Alix walked in ahead of him, rolling her eyes. She wore black jeans, a cool astrological shirt, and a blue sweatshirt. Adrien studied her shirt. It looked so familiar, but he could've sworn he'd never seen it before.
"Do you like her shirt?" Marinette asked, still lying on her back. She shifted and rested her head against Adrien's leg, basically using him like a pillow. Adrien tried to ignore it; she was just affectionate like that. She didn't mean anything by it-she liked someone else. Kind of.
"Yeah, it's cool," Adrien answered.
"Did you bring any candy?" Alya asked Kim. "Like, the sour and gummy kinds?"
"Kim brought some, but I got some candy for Marinette," Alix said, grinning a little.
"But Marinette doesn't like candy, right?" Adrien said, looking to Marinette for confirmation.
"She means eye candy," she explained, sitting up and motioning for Alix to come show her whatever she had. Adrien's leg felt cold without her laying on it. He studied Alix's shirt again. Why did it look so familiar?
"Are there any chips or brownies in there?" Chloe asked Kim, getting up and grabbing a bag from Kim and searching through it.
"No need to worry, ladies," Kim said. "I have everything we could possibly need in these two bags.
"When's the last time you checked the Ladyblog?" Alix asked Marinette.
"Like, ten minutes ago. Why?"
"Yes! Then look at this-it was uploaded three minutes ago!" Alix stuck her phone in Marinette's face. Marinette squinted and took the phone out of Alix's hand and moved it a little further from her face. Then her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Adrien leaned over to see what she was looking at. Scratch that, he leaned over to see who she was looking at.
It was him. When he transformed into Cat Noir, his hair grew longer and turned black. In the picture, he was wielding his staff in bow and arrow form, pulling back the magic string and focusing in front of him. He had no idea how anyone had been able to take the picture, but he could understand why Marinette was so captivated by it.
Like always, he looked great. It wasn't like he was boasting; it was just a fact. He was a model, and he was handsome. Of course he looked good in pictures, that was his whole job. He worked out all the time, especially since he'd become Cat Noir. His skin-tight suit showed off all his newly developed muscles, and the magic glow of the arrow and string cast a silver light on his face. Normally, Adrien would say he was a handsome guy. In that picture, though, he looked straight-up gorgeous. No wonder Marinette was sighing over him.
"He's so pretty," she said. Alix came and sat by her. Kim glanced down at her from where he was distributing snacks on the bed.
"Are you looking at that picture of Cat Noir?"
"Yeah," Alix answered for her.
"I really like him," Marinette said. "He's so good."
"He's a superhero," Alya said again.
"Yeah," Nino said. "He's probably playing up the whole 'good superhero' persona for the media. Not that that's a bad thing or anything-don't bite my head off."
"Quit saying that, it's annoying," Marinette snapped. "I hate that expression-it makes no sense, and I haven't even said anything yet! Anyway, he's not always playing a good guy. He gets mad, and he's impulsive, and sometimes he's stupid and does his own thing when he should just shut up and listen to Ladybug."
"So, you just like him because he's pretty?" Adrien asked, a little disheartened by her criticism.
"Don't be an idiot," Marinette said. "I like him because he's nice and patient and good. Like, he's so nice. And so sweet. It's refreshing."
This was a unique kind of torture. Adrien smiled uncomfortably.
"My dude here is also nice and patient."
"Yeah," Kim jumped in. "And he's so adorable. His nickname is Adri-cat. Come on, admit it. You can't have a nickname like 'Adri-cat' and not be adorable."
"Yeah, yeah," Marinette grinned, pinching Adrien's cheek. "You're adorable." He hoped his face wasn't red, and he hoped she couldn't hear how loudly his heart was beating. When she did things like this and said stuff like that, it was really hard not to seriously tell her exactly how much he liked her.
"But he's blonde," Alix said in mock sadness.
"What's wrong with being blonde?" Chloe asked.
Marinette shrugged. "Nothing. I just prefer darker hair. Look at his-it's so long and silky. I just want to touch it."
"I want to braid it," Alix sighed. "It looks so luxurious."
"Back off, he's mine," Marinette said, no heat behind her words.
"Hey, Alix," Adrien said, desperate to change the subject. "Where did you get your shirt?"
"What, jealous?" Alix grinned. "Marinette made it for me,"
"I knew it looked familiar!" Adrien said. "It looks really nice, but it's not really my style."
"See, it has my signature in it," Marinette traced a few of the stars to spell out 'Marinette.' "I always sign my work."
"Oh! I hear there's a new movie in theaters," Nino said suddenly. "Alya, do you mind-"
"Sure. Tell me what it's called, and I'll look for bootleg versions online."
"I'll go get some drinks," Marinette said, getting up. Adrien got up and walked out with her.
Adrien had been to Chloe's house countless times before. He'd made the trip to her kitchen thousands of times before. He's walked these hallways millions of times before. It had always been boring, mundane. Walking with Marinette, though, made the moment feel special. He'd made this trip so many times before, but something about this walk was special. He hoped he would never forget any moment with her, even something as normal and regular as walking from her room to the kitchen.
"What do you feel like?" Marinette asked, opening the pantry doors.
"Like going on a date with a pretty girl."
"Fresh out of that, but we do have mountain dew or sprite."
"No ginger ale?"
"Why do you always want the drinks I like?" Marinette asked, taking out a couple cans of ginger ale, along with a few cans of different drinks for everyone else. "If you keep drinking all the ginger ale, there'll be none left for me."
"We're just soulmates, what can I say?" Adrien grabbed a few drinks from her arms. She let him help her. "Besides, if you run out I'll just get you some more."
"Yeah, you're my soulmate. In like a best friend type of way."
"I'm your best friend?" It wasn't exactly what Adrien wanted, but it was still exhilarating to hear. A year ago, Adrien only had Chloe. Chloe was great, but she was more like family, less a friend. It was different to get to know someone after you'd grown up, someone you had to work to have a relationship with. Of course, Adrien wanted more with Marinette, but this? Being her friend-her best friend-that was good, too. For now, that was enough.
"Of course. Something about you...I don't know. You're just special to me, you know?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I know."
They walked into the room. Everyone was already huddled together on the bed, Alya's laptop set up at the foot of the bed. Marinette and Adrien handed everyone their respective drink and then snuggled together on one side of the bed.
An hour and a half later, Adrien didn't remember much about the movie, but he did remember everything Marinette told him about the actors in the film, and the costume designer. He would remember how excited Nino got as he realized the music composer was George Pullman, or how offended Nino got when no one knew who that was. He would remember how Kim and Chloe started arguing about whether or not the main character was pathetic or inspirational. It wasn't the movie which makes a party fun, it's the people.
"Fabricate Reality!" Pisces's voice reverberated through the small cabin. Her voice was soothing enough, but Emelie hated it, hated Pisces herself. Emelie had never hated anyone as much as she hated Pisces. Pisces blew a bubble into the air. The bubble expanded and grew, flattening out. Inside, small magical symbols appeared and started to glow.
The temperature lowered. Emelie shivered from inside of her cell. She'd been here for so long. She'd known it had been weeks, maybe even months...but two years? The woman who'd come to her had no reason to lie. How could it have been two years? What had happened to Agreste Industries in that time? How was Gabriel managing to bring in profit? How could he survive without her? Had he managed to stay safe? She'd been stuck in this hellhole for so long she'd witnessed Pisces evolve, growing stronger and more advanced. It was terrifying.
At first, when Pisces said the words, her bubble would turn into a simple blue circle with a symbol in the middle. Then, the symbol would change and shift into a figure and zoom away through the air. The circle would stay in the air, and Pisces would watch as her Makara destroyed Paris. Over time, the magic circle had gotten bigger, and more symbols appeared in it. The circles changed colors, depending on Pisces's mood, and it would affect the Makara.
Pisces would stand in front of Emelie every time before she summoned another Makara: "Will you go back? Will you fix it?"
Emelie shivered again. Pisces noticed and reached out to the wall, turning the heat up on the thermostat. Emelie wanted to scream and shout, to spit and rage. Instead, she glared at her. So, Pisces cared whether or not Emelie froze to death, but she wouldn't return her home? Didn't Pisces care that Emelie had a life outside of this place? She had a company to run, family she missed, a husband who loved her.
A husband who she loved.
Just the thought of Gabriel made Emelie's heart squeeze in pain. At first, she hadn't liked him very much. He'd been a little boring, a little too good and nice for her taste. But then, he'd allowed her to steal designs for him; he'd allowed her to be the shadow to his light, and they'd both benefited from it. He let her be who she was, and he hadn't judged her. He'd turned a blind eye to it every time, and he's prospered as a result. He'd been happy, excited every time. He'd married her for what she could do for him, for what she had done for him. He liked to act like he didn't know, like he actually was the one who designed his top-selling clothes. She let him pretend all he wanted; if he let her be her dark self, she would allow him his own indulgence. She knew there was no way he didn't know. He knew exactly what she was, what she did, and he still loved her. She loved him for that. She could never live with herself if he left her.
The blue circle in front of Pisces glowed a little brighter and then changed to purple. Emelie felt swallowed by a wave of fear. Over the weeks, she'd learned different colors meant different things. The purple meant Pisces was scared, the green meant she was stressed, the silver meant she was sad. The pink was Emelie's least favorite; it meant Pisces was happy. It always infuriated Emelie when Pisces's power made her feel happy. Emelie was stuck in a small concrete cage, like an animal, yet Pisces was allowed to come and go as she pleased, to go do whatever, and even be happy? It was disgusting.
The symbols in the magic circle swirled together and created the image of a creature: it was round, like a wheel, and covered in thousands of small scales. It looked about a foot wide in diameter, but Emelie knew better than to trust the image. Any second now, the image would fly through the air and land somewhere in Paris, where it would grow to the size of a building or larger. Then it would start its rampage, and Pisces would stand and watch with an anxious look on her face. Pisces would ask her every few minutes for the entire duration of the attack to just give in, to just do as she asked. Emelie would never agree. People like that, who acted like they cared about people but would still hurt them to attain their own goals, disgusted Emelie the most. That's why she never allowed herself to pretend to be anything but who she was. She would hurt anyone who got in her way, and she would never pretend like she wouldn't.
But, as horrible as the Makara were, and as much as Emelie hated them, she had to admit that there was a silver lining to the attacks. As long as the Makara continued to attack Paris, Gabriel would know she was alive, and he would have faith that she could return. He would wait for her, she knew. That's just the kind of person he was. When he loved, he loved completely. It had taken her years to get him to move on from his childhood best friend, Natasha.
Emelie closed her eyes. She'd spent so much time with that girl, and yet she still couldn't figure out what Gabriel had ever seen in her. She had been naïve to a fault, so antisocial and strange that it had been embarrassing to be out in public with her. And she'd been so ugly. How could a man as beautiful as Gabriel have ever loved such an unattractive, pathetic girl?
Emelie shook her head and opened her eyes. What was the point of thinking about that now? She hadn't thought about Natasha in years, since she'd gotten married. That had been the last time she'd had to worry about Gabriel changing his mind and choosing Natasha over her. Now it was over. There was no point in thinking about the woman Gabriel had once loved; he now only had one person in his heart: Emelie Adrienne Agreste.
The words from the strange woman with red-tipped hair came back to her, echoing in her head. He hadn't let her in, he hadn't spoken with her, even after she'd told him her middle name. How was that possible? She was his entire world-he should have been over the moon for any information, let alone a hand-written note from Emelie herself. What was wrong? Was he beginning to forget her? Then why would he still be protecting Paris?
Emelie thought back to the first day Pisces had captured her, what she had wanted. It was impossible.
"Gabriel Agreste is a liar and deserves everything coming his way. The people around him don't. I know you have the Rabbit Miraculous, there's no point in denying it. You can manipulate time. Just go back thirty years and right his mistake; keep him from ruining my life. That's all. Do this one thing, and I'll let you go. You can keep thousands from danger-just go back and change my fate."
Of course Emelie had denied having a Miraculous. She wouldn't agree to something like that. Obviously, Pisces thought it had been Gabriel who had cheated in the competition which got him started on the path to where he was now. She clearly didn't know the truth. If she did, there was no telling what Pisces would do to her. Emelie couldn't chance Pisces doing something to her which would potentially convince her to go back. There was no way she would go back and change anything. If Gabriel didn't win that competition, Agreste Industries wouldn't exist, Gabriel wouldn't have married her, and she wouldn't be as well-off as she currently was.
She would bear with the confinement, with the cold, with the loneliness and fear. She would do so and wouldn't complain, as long as nothing in her life changed. She'd worked too hard to go back to a life of poverty and difficulty. She would easily watch Paris crumble to the ground if it meant she could stay married to Gabriel Agreste, millionaire and top-tier fashion designer.