10. Cooking Together
Things with Adrien had been…oddly tense.
He felt even more closed off than normal. Marinette wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that it was just because the police and detectives had been showing up more frequently lately. After all, Gabriel's death had been determined to be by trauma to the back of his head and not due to the burns or smoke inhalation, and therefore Adrien's injuries became suspicious.
Adrien had confessed that his father and he did get into a physical altercation, but it had been in self-defense. Apparently, Adrien had had to face his father that day when he was finishing dragging the last of his belongings out of the house, and it had ended with them fighting in the main hall. Considering Gabriel had been found in his office, that already eased suspicion.
Secondly, Adrien swore hadn't caused the injury to Gabriel's skull. Adrien's fist had apparently been broken when he threw a punch that landed on his father's jaw, which had knocked Gabriel down so Adrien could run from the house.
His story should have left Adrien in the clear, but of course the investigation had to continue until everyone was convinced it could be closed.
While Marinette was certain this put an enormous amount of stress on Adrien, she knew the collapsing of his father's company also had to play a part in his exhaustion. After all, Adrien was the one who had to deal with it, and she'd watched him work himself to the point of crashing out on his couch.
Maybe he had a good excuse after all for not calling Nino or Alya. He barely had time for himself.
Marinette, on the other hand, realized she'd grown too comfortable forcing herself into Adrien's life. When she started this routine of hers, she'd initially tried to coax answers out of him or convince him to rely on his friends more. But after her last meeting with Chat over a week ago now…
She stayed quiet.
It wasn't like Marinette believed that she was the only one at fault in that situation, but she also knew she couldn't change Chat. The only thing she could change was herself, and when Chat had pointed out her micro-managing habits derived from her need to fix things, she couldn't deny his words. Fixing things was what she did. It was a hard habit to break, but she would have to out of respect for the people she cared for.
So, she stopped trying to pry information out of Adrien, but she realized that not prying didn't mean she had to stop reaching out for him. Which was why she'd started cooking for him and helping him clean his apartment while he dealt with things on the phone or emails or one of the plethora of other things that was on his plate.
She tried not to force conversation too frequently, and when they did chat, she let it flow naturally while trying not to purposefully pry. She was here to help, not to fix.
As hard as that was.
"Smells good."
Marinette glanced up, only to see Adrien was now at her side. She gave him a smile. "You mentioned you liked this meal the last time you had it, so I thought I'd make it again."
Absently, he nodded, staring down at the food in the pan. After a moment, he turned back to her. "Why are you doing this?"
Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I know you have to have better things to do than come play housewife for me."
The heat that sprawled across her cheeks reminded her that her crush on this man still raged on. If her thirteen-year-old self could see her now, not turning into a complete and total bumbling spaz at the mere mention of the word 'housewife', she might die of shock. Even her current self was impressed that the most reaction he elicited from her was a blush.
But that might have to do with the fact her romantic heart had grown increasingly torn between him and another blonde man in her life.
She shrugged. "Because you're my friend, and I care about your well-being."
"Yeah, but… why? I've basically been shutting you out the last two weeks."
"You're stressed."
"I know what I'm doing," he grumbled, voice quiet as though chastising himself.
She could feel the guilt radiating off Adrien. They both knew this cold nature wasn't his true character. Marinette was already willing to let it slide due to his circumstances, but the fact even he was willing to admit—albeit in a roundabout way—that his actions were wrong made Marinette all the more willing to forgive him. "It's okay," she said. "I'll let it slide."
"You shouldn't."
"You're under stress. It's not like you don't have a reason."
"No, it's an excuse that still didn't excuse the behavior you shouldn't have to put up with."
"Are you trying to say I shouldn't bother with you?"
"Basically."
The bluntness of his words surprised her. She stopped stirring the contents of the pan, turning her attention back to Adrien. "Why? Do you want me to stop?"
He paused, hesitating. "Yeah. You should."
The words hurt, but there was something in his tone that prompted her to question, "Are you saying that because I'm bothering you? Or because you think you're bothering me?"
He didn't answer, the silence hanging in the air answering in his stead.
"You're not bothering me," she assured. "And unless you really want to be alone, please, stop pushing me away. I'm your friend, and I'm more than happy to do this."
She went back to cooking, turning down the heat on the stove before she burned anything.
"What if I'm not as great as you think I am?"
Marinette turned her attention back to him, her brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"
When she met Adrien's gaze, those green eyes of his were somewhat softer than they had been. More open and raw, allowing her to see the extent of the pain he was in. It broke her heart that her immediate thought was his pain seemed to rival Chat's. "What if I'm not the guy you thought you knew over the last few years?"
Marinette bit her lip, mulling over his words and how to respond to them. "Well… I can't get to know you again if you keep pushing me away."
The surprise in his eyes hurt, like he didn't expect her to be so willing with a second chance. "What if you won't like what you see?"
"That's for me to decide, not you to decide for me."
Again, a stretch of silence settled between them.
"Hey," Marinette began again. "I know I shouldn't pry, and if I am then tell me, but are you pushing us away for some reason? Maybe because you don't think you're worthy to be our friend?"
Adrien blinked, then turned away, seemingly unable to look at her.
Carefully, she reached out and lightly touched his shoulder, just as a reminder she was there. "We're not going to abandon you, Adrien. Good people don't just abandon their friends in the middle of trouble. And so, no matter what happened with your dad, we're not going to leave you behind."
"But why do you want to take on my shit?"
"Because that's what friends do," Marinette said. "Because humans are weird and decide that they enjoy the presence of certain people in their life enough that sticking around through the shit is worth it to keep that person around."
"Even if that person isn't the same person you once knew?"
"Yeah," she easily said. "Besides, I know you'll change and grow up, but I'll bet that at heart, you're still the same person we love."
Adrien was silent for a long while, long enough for Marinette to finish cooking dinner. When she pulled out plates, Adrien took them from her.
"I'll serve you tonight," he said. "You can go have a seat. Thank you."
With a smile, Marinette let him take the dishes. "You're welcome."
11. Take a Break
Marinette was sketching in her room when she heard a knock on her trap door.
At first, she thought she was imagining things, but when she heard the knock again, she was up like a shot. She flung open the trap door with a bang, shocked but thrilled to see Chat there, crouched before her so as to be on her level.
"Hey stranger," she said with a wide grin she couldn't tamp down.
He gave her a hint of a grin. "I'm not staying long. I'm just taking a little break from work and thought I'd come by to apologize for the last time I was here."
Marinette frowned. "I'd like to apologize, too. You were right; I was being overly nosy. I do like fixing things, but I don't have the ability to 'fix' you or force my help on you. Sorry."
Chat shook his head. "I know you meant well," he said. "I was being pretty nasty to you. A friend kinda made me rethink my behavior recently, so I'm sorry, too."
With a smile, Marinette extended her hand. "Truce?"
When Chat glanced at her hand, Marinette felt a blush come to her cheeks. "Oh, um, I won't try to drag you in or anything. But… uh… how about a fist bump?"
The smile that crossed Chat's lips was small and sad. The first thing that came to Marinette's mind was that she'd just reminded him of, well, her. Just her in spots. The "her" he was avoiding. And while it still killed her a little on the inside to not understand why, she knew she really couldn't push it out of respect for him. Maybe he'd come to her, Ladybug her, when he was ready. She could hope, at least.
After a moment's hesitation, he gently tapped her knuckles with his. Marinette had to bite back the 'pound it' that formed automatically on the tip of her tongue.
"Can I interest you in a cookie or two?" she asked instead. "I promise I won't pry or anything."
He shook his head and stood. "No, not today. I just wanted to swing by and apologize."
Disappointing as it was, Marinette couldn't complain considering that he took the time to come back again at all. "Do you think you'll come back?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not."
"I'd be happy if you did."
He turned to her, that tiny smile still on his lips. "Thought you said you weren't going to try to 'fix' me."
"I'm not 'fixing' you. I'm just offering you a happy place to hang out that serves cookies."
He huffed, smile flashing brighter for a second. He still wasn't back to the kitty she knew, but this was much better than before. "Noted. Thanks."
12. Cuddles
It wasn't that day that he swung by. Or the next. Or the day after that. But four days later, Chat did drop in on her balcony.
And Marinette was more than happy to see him. "Hey, look what the cat dragged in."
"Terrible joke," he brushed off, leaning back against her balcony railing.
She shifted in her chair so she could face him better. "I know. You're the punny one of the two of us."
He just shrugged.
"Well, since you're here," Marinette began, "want a treat?"
"Isn't the saying 'feed a cat, and it will keep coming back'?"
"Something along those lines," Marinette said with a grin, standing from her balcony chair. "Anything you want in particular?"
"Something sweet that will make the ringing in my ears go away," he said, his eyes closing and ears dropping with exhaustion. "I've been getting yelled over the phone at all day."
With a sad nod, Marinette headed down the stairs to collect a chocolate pastry and bottle of water before slipping back up to the balcony to deliver it to Chat.
When he lit up at the sight of the pastry, Marinette could feel relief bubble up within her. This was her Chat, the one who loved food unlike anyone she'd ever met. Snacks and sweets had always been met with excited grins and sparkling eyes that could rival a cartoon character. Today's reaction might not have been that extreme, but it was still there. Marinette would count it as a win.
"So, work's hard?" she asked, plopping down on her chair again.
"Hellish like you would not believe," he muttered, ripping off a bit of the pastry and popping it in his mouth.
"Sorry."
He shrugged. "Honestly, I expected this. Sucks but whatcha gonna do?"
"Well, cuddles are out of the question, so I guess just feed you sweet things?"
Chat huffed a laugh, his smile the brightest it had been since turning into Chat Blanc. Marinette couldn't help but grin wider at the sight. "I guess if you promise to feed me, I'll come around again," he said.
"I'd like that."
He nodded before popping the last bite into his mouth. "Would you mind if I hung around here a bit? I just want to escape my phone and computer at the moment."
"Stay as long as you'd like, Chat."
He slid down to sit on the ground. "Appreciate that, Princess."