13. Family
"Yes, Maman, Adrien and I arrived safely. Now please go to bed."
"I just wanted to check up on you," her maman said from the other side of the phone. "It's your first time out of the country, so you'll have to excuse me if I worry about you."
"We'll be fine," Marinette assured, glancing over at Adrien as he snatched one of their luggage bags off the carousel. "And tell that to Papa, too. I know he's more worried than you are."
"Why do you think I'm the one making the call and not him."
Marinette laughed. "I'll keep you updated."
"All right. Thank you, sweetie. Enjoy your trip."
"Thank you, Maman. Love you. Tell Papa I love him."
"Will do. Love you, too."
With that, Marinette ended the call.
"Got our bags," Adrien said, pulling the two suitcases behind him. "How'd the call go?"
"Fine," Marinette said, putting her phone in her purse. "My parents are just worried about me, so it was me doing what I could to settle them."
"You have a close family, so I understand that."
Marinette took her suitcase from him. "So where to, now?"
"Taxi to the hotel, drop of our suitcases, find a place for dinner, maybe walk around the city a bit if we're up for it, and then crash out for the night."
"Doesn't sound like too bad a plan."
"Then let's go, milady."
Once they'd secured a taxi, Marinette looked out the window to take in the sights.
"Have you been here before, Adrien?" she eventually asked.
"Couple times for modeling jobs and once for fashion week," he confirmed.
"Do you like New York City?"
Adrien shrugged. "It's novel. It's kinda like Paris, being a bustling city, but it's just so modern and feels like people just don't appreciate the history behind their city, you know? And the natives here are like a whole different breed of human. But they feel the same about us, so feeling's mutual."
Marinette nodded, turning back to the window to marvel at the sights.
When they got to the hotel, Adrien checked them in. Marinette only knew basic, school-grade level English, but Adrien seemed comfortable with the language. He did promise to be her translator for everything.
"Here's your room key," he said, handing her a room key once he'd finished at the front desk. "I got two rooms right next to each other."
"I still can't believe you paid for all this," she said, taking the keycard. "This is so much, Adrien."
Adrien shrugged. "I wanted to," he brushed off. "And it's not like I'm going to go broke from this trip or anything. It's fine."
Marinette still wasn't fully comfortable with all of it, and she still knew that one day, she'd have to pay him back somehow. But for now, she'd smile and thank him for the millionth time.
Once they dumped their suitcases, they started to wander around town until they happened across a food shop that smelled amazing. They wondered inside the bustling shop and found the line was conveniently long enough for Adrien to read off most of the menu for her. Once Marinette told him what she wanted, he was kind enough to order for her. But before Adrien could pay, Marinette quickly held out her own card.
"I can get it, really," she said with a grin.
"You don't have to."
"Please," she said with a pout.
The cashier laughed and made some comment about her that got Adrien to smile and put away his card.
"He said that you sure know how to guilt trip a guy," Adrien translated as they walked back to their hotel, bag of take-out food in hand. "And I couldn't help but agree."
Marinette grinned at that. "I've had good practice manipulating you. It's almost like you just let me do it at this point."
Adrien snorted a laugh. "Yeah, you'd think I'd have learned by now that you're a little minx."
"But you love me," she said, batting her eyelashes at him.
She meant it as an offhand comment. One that could easily be brushed off, but that wasn't its intent. She was probing, like the 'little minx' she was.
And she liked the hesitant response she got, his pause followed by a soft smile and gentle shake of the head. "Yeah, I do."
14. New York
He forgot just how much he hated New York Fashion Week.
I'm doing this for Marinette.
That was what kept him going. That, and her smiles. She was happy and enjoying herself, which made this whole trip worthwhile.
The last thing that made this easier to bear was the fact he was strictly a spectator. While he'd debated using what contacts he had to see if they could have special access, he ultimately decided not to. When his father kicked him out, it wasn't something that was just kept quiet. Back when he still was in contact with Chloe, she told him he was the buzz of the fashion world. Even recently back in Paris, he had been spotted by cameras and had come across an article written about him. Whatever contacts Adrien had would likely be unwilling to work with him, and he wasn't willing to take those chances to find out for certain. Not even for Marinette. If she decided no after this, Adrien would still feel confident that he did everything her could to help her make her decision.
"You look tired. No, more like completely drained."
Adrien looked down at the lovely lady standing beside him and forced a smile. "I'm fine. Are you enjoying yourself?"
Marinette paused. "I am," she answered.
"That's all that matters, then."
"Adrien?!"
Both he and Marinette turned their attention towards the voice.
And Adrien's heart dropped. "Chloe."
The woman rushed over to him, heels clacking on the pavement. The fiery look in her eye was one he was all too familiar with: she was on a mission. "Adrien, I have so many questions for you, but let's start with what the hell you're doing here with her."
Adrien gave Chloe a flat look. "I thought I told you I no longer want to be in contact."
"Yeah! What's that about?" Chloe screeched. "You text me out of the blue and tell me we're done?"
Adrien nodded. "Yup. Because if all our interactions after my dad kicked me out weren't enough to convince me, Marinette here told me everything. I was already fed up with your lies and how cruelly you treated people, but telling people we slept together when we never did takes the cake."
Chloe froze, her eyes wide with horror, and Adrien knew why. Was he being an ass on purpose? Absolutely. He knew full well what he was doing talking in his best English loudly enough for anyone and everyone around to hear.
In the blink of an eye, camera flashes started up, and Adrien knew that meant paparazzi were here, ready to cash in on this drama. He pulled Marinette close, knowing it was likely too late but still trying to hide her face against his shoulder.
"Adrien," Chloe began, voice dripping with fake honey. "What are you talking about?"
"Our friendship is over, Chloe. Don't try to lie your way out by saying I just used you for sexual favors, either. Because that never happened. We never happened. Just leave me alone, and don't bother contacting me ever again." He hoped he didn't butcher the English in that, but even if he did, he didn't particularly care. His point got across, Chloe was redder than a tomato, and security was doing their best to shoo the paparazzi away.
Now, it was time for him to leave, if for no other reason than getting Marinette out of here. "Head down, cover your face," he whispered to her.
She already had her hand over her face, but she still nodded in understanding.
"You think this is over, Adrien? Just like that?" Chloe yelled in French.
"Completely," Adrien asserted.
How Chloe's face turned redder, he didn't know, but it did. "And you never answered my question of what you were doing with her!"
Adrien was going to leave it, but Marinette turned around and snapped. "I'm treating him with more respect than you ever did, entitled bitch!"
His heart went thud in his chest, and he quickly slapped his hand over the grin that couldn't be suppressed. As he ushered Marinette away as quickly as he could, he snuck a glance behind him at an absolutely enraged Chloe, her security coming to her aid and trying to get her in the car. He hated to say it, but served her right.
15. Dreams
"I'm not doing this."
"Hmm?"
Marinette looked over at Adrien. Currently, they were resting in Adrien's room while eating pizza from a little place close to the hotel. "I'm not going into this industry. At least, not this section of it."
Adrien's expression fell. "Was it because of Chloe?"
Half of Marinette's lips pulled up in a twisted, bitter way. "Yes and no," she said. "Chloe wasn't the only reason I came to this decision, but she's a good reminder that people like that will always be a part of it. People who would gladly manipulate you to advance themselves exist here, and you will always have to be careful about who you can and can't trust in this industry. Who can you trust to give your designs to, who do you have to hide from, when do you let go of your designs even though they won't be under your name, and when do you cling to them in the hopes that one day you'll be able to use it? I just…"
She shrugged, giving Adrien a pitiful smile. "I don't have the energy to gamble on this trust game," she finally managed. "And I don't trust easily in the first place. Which, in a profession that requires you to be social and stretch yourself out into, that would take so much out of me. And in the end, I just don't want to. Maybe things would have been different had I not been walked over by Chloe. Had things not gone in such a way where teachers and students automatically began to assume the worst out of me just because of my reputation that I didn't even get to shape myself. I don't want to go in an industry that demands those parts of me that I've learned not to give out. I can't."
The pain on Adrien's face physically hurt her. He'd given so much to encourage her, and here she was, practically throwing it back in his face.
Yet, despite that, he smiled sympathetically. "If that's your decision and your reason, I won't challenge you on it anymore."
At the sight of his forced smile, her heart hurt, and the guilt soon became so much to bear. She wouldn't cry, though, not even as she felt the pinprick of tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."
His brow furrowed. "What for?"
"I feel bad for making this decision, because you brought me here to New York Fashion week. You spent time and money planning this trip just to encourage me, and here I am throwing it back in your face. I'm really appreciative of what you've done for me. Really, I mean it. So, I'm so sorry that I can't… I can't move forward and prove your efforts weren't in vain."
She hadn't been expecting the shock on his face at her words, like they'd caught him off guard. But soon, that faded away into a soft, sympathetic smile. A real one that she liked so much, that could ease her worries and calm her down.
He stood from the bed and started walking over to her, his arms open. At this point, she gladly took the invitation, standing from the chair she'd been curled up in and meeting him half-way. When he wrapped her up tightly, she clung back, relishing in the warm comfort that being cocooned in his arms, protected from the world, provided.
"I'm not disappointed," he spoke softly. "Not at all. It's clear you thought long and hard about your decision, and so, if you decided you didn't want to go into this field, then that's perfectly fine. I just didn't want you to give up on your dreams just because you saw only the negative. And I know I was part of that, telling you my own horror stories. That's why we came, as one last encouragement to feed your dreams before you decided on your future."
By now, Marinette could feel the tears well up in her eyes. She sniffed, hoping to bite them back.
At that sound, Adrien squeezed her tighter with one arm and rubbed her back with the other. "Oh, Marinette," he whispered soothingly.
That was all it took to break her. The tears spilled over down her cheeks, and there was no stopping them. She buried her face against his chest, clenching his shirt tighter as she hiccupped out choked sobs. "Thank you," she managed to squeak out in the midst of her tears. "Thank you so much."
"You're so welcome, Marinette," he whispered.
Still, he never let go, continuing to hold her as he gently swayed back and forth. And Marinette gladly stayed in that warm embrace, unwilling to leave the comfort he so willingly provided, even after her tears had stopped falling.