Adrien was at his wit's end, and by that, it meant he hadn't been able to meet Kagami for the past three days. Three days that felt like both the sweetest torture and the worst best time of his life. The prospect of having to talk with Kagami about the recent discovery of his feelings was enough to make him want to dig a hole. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but even someone as socially inept as him knew it was inevitable.
He bit into his lip as he stared at the tall ceilings in his room, he didn't know how to move forward with his realization. He knew he had to break up with Kagami, but what should he do afterward? He couldn't exactly make a move on Marinette. She was dating Luka! Luka, who was his friend, and a great amazing person who had helped Marinette get over her heartache. Rolling on his stomach he stared at the tiny deity that currently was eating an entire wheel of cheese.
Scrunching up his nose in disgust as some remains fell on his pillow, glaring when Plagg only smirked at his face before letting out the most disgusting burp Adrien had ever heard. "Can you not?"
Moving his bright green eyes to look at the blond, he grinned amused by something Adrien would prefer not to think about it. "That's what I would like to tell you about Pigtails. Just tell her you like her! No need to overcomplicate yourself." Adrien huffed at the kwami's words, of course, a deity wouldn't understand such subtleties that were the source of many human problems.
"If you had paid attention when I explained to you these past three days the reasons as to why I can't do that, you wouldn't be repeating that for the umpteenth time."
His alarm sounded off, the loud noise bouncing around the big space. Glaring at the offending noise, he finally stood up, ignoring the fact that he had already been awake for at least an hour, dragging Plagg to stay awake along with him, cue the deity eating on his bed like someone that hasn't seen food in a decade.
Getting up from his bed, he trod to the bathroom, not feeling about having to start the day yet. He followed his usual routine, feeling dread fill his bones as he dressed before walking out of his room, catching his bodyguard's attention as he was ready now to leave for school.
"Are you going to eat before heading to school? You have plenty of time." Perhaps taking his sweet ass time would mean less time at school, and he never thought he'd say this, but he could really use that right now. However, it seemed odd for Nathalie to even offer to push back his schedule just a bit, even if it meant eating, after all, he had taken his sweet ass time getting ready despite having been awake for far longer.
His head throbbed as he squinted to make his sight focus on the intimidating woman, nodding as he felt his stomach growl, a reminder that he had skipped dinner last night as well. Perhaps he had been letting himself go a tad too much as he worried about what to do. Sitting down on the long dining table left the same bitter taste on his mouth it always did, but even that couldn't make him focus on the empty feeling in his stomach.
He ate slowly, glancing to Nathalie who stayed next to him through the whole ordeal. To a normal person, perhaps this would be perceived as odd but to him, it was just another thing he was used to. He was already used to the micro-management his life had been submitted to ever since he was but an infant. He could practically feel the tension as Nathalie stared at him, before glancing at the watch on her wrist, hurrying him without even having to hurry him explicitly. Glancing at his phone, he smiled when he noticed he'd been able to take around half an hour eating breakfast, meaning class would start in less than ten minutes.
All throughout the ride to the school, his stomach kept doing summersaults, his lip sore from all the biting he had subjected it to these past three days. Standing in front of the stairs that lead to the building's entrance, he breathed in deeply. He knew he was overreacting, but how else should he react? He's in love with one of his best friends, who is dating someone he encouraged her to date. He had no one else to blame but himself, plus he still felt the pressure of breaking up with Kagami, and it all just filled him with dread and guilt.
He took each step heavily, making his way into the building, not rushing despite hearing the bell resonate across the building. A part of him hoped he'd bump into her outside as she rushed like usual to class, but the part of him that knew better told him it was best to keep his distance, besides he wasn't sure he'd be able to be as confident and suave as he would be as Chat. But even as Chat he couldn't bring himself to go visit her, not when he was still in a relationship, and every time he was her he wanted to just hold unto her.
If he was honest everything was so much easier when he was oblivious to his feelings. As he stepped into the classroom, his gaze locked unto the girl who sat just behind him, her gaze glued to her notebook, pencil moving rapidly as she stuck her tongue out in concentration. He felt heat rush to his cheeks as he found himself staring at her, before breaking away the contact, not wanting to seem like a creep.
Keeping his eyes glued to the floor, he made his way to his seat, ignoring Nino's gaze which he was sure was glued on him as it had been these past days. It made him feel awkward how his best friend had been utterly correct. His denial now felt like an embarrassing brand on the back of his mind.
Class passed as mindlessly as it had the past three days, the only thing he could focus on was the girl behind him. He wanted to turn around in his seat every time she heard him groan in annoyance or when she laughed low enough so that the teacher wouldn't hear it.
Lunch came a tad too quickly, and before he could even grab his bag to leave for the hour, he was stopped by an amused Nino. "Care to explain what's up with you lately?" Nino had been nice enough to not ask the previous days, but apparently, his grace period only lasted two days.
"Not really." A groan escaped him as Adrien fidgeted under his scrutinizing gaze. "I don't know what's going on, and I won't pressure you to tell me. But know this, with the way you're acting Alya will catch unto you soon, and you know what will happen after she does, right?" His eyes bulged out as he imagined what Alya would do to get him to confess to Marinette, but surely, she would respect the bluenette's relationship with Luka, right? A sick part of him wished she didn't.
Would talking about it with Nino hurt? He was sure that he wouldn't judge him in any way. Looking to the sides, Adrien took him by the elbow, dragging him along. Catching sight of the car in front of the school he faltered, but he was resolved to doing this, screw it.
Opening the door, he pushed his friend into the car, following closely behind. He ignored the questioning gaze that his bodyguard threw at him, "Could you take us to a restaurant or a pizzeria?" The man faltered as he looked between the two boys, "Don't worry about it. I'll deal with Nathalie, okay?" At his nod, Adrien pulled out his phone and sent the secretary a quick text, letting her know he would be eating outside, to which she replied with a list of the foods that he wasn't allowed to eat, as if he didn't have them memorized already.
During the whole car ride he felt the unwavering stare of his best friend, but the look Adrien threw him let him know that he'd have to wait just a tad longer. After a ride that felt like it took longer than it truly had, the two boys entered a restaurant that had private rooms.
The place was mildly packed, and Adrien felt like people were staring at him despite having put on sunglasses and his scarf covered half of his face. Ignoring the stares, he walked to the receptionist, "I'd like a private room, please." Looking up behind him with a quirked brow before shifting her gaze back on him, "They're not for that kind of thing."
Frowning as he looked beyond the receptionist, he tried to observe the area, "Do you have rooms available or not?" The woman sighed, looking him up and down before nodding and gesturing at him to follow her.
Once inside the separated room, he sat down, inviting Nino to do the same opposite him. "Where do you even know this place from?" He didn't answer as the door was opened to let in a waitress, to whom they quickly announced their orders.
"Kagami's mother likes this place, thus Kagami herself took me here once or twice, she liked the privacy." Nodding, Nino moved the utensils that laid in front of each of them.
"It's fancy, all right. So, are you going to tell me now?" Shaking his head, he looked at his hands.
"Going to wait until our food gets here, I don't like getting interrupted mid-conversation." The brunet stared at him before sighing, his shoulders slumping before shrugging. It didn't take long for the woman to come back with a cart filled with everything the two had ordered, and as soon as the door was shut Nino jumped into his questioning.
"Okay, so what's going on? You've been acting strange and although I have my theories about what it could be, I don't like bringing my hopes up whenever you're concerned."
"Gee, thanks for the support, dude." A small smile stretched along the brunet's lips, before gesturing at the blond to keep talking. "Okay, so I'm not going to beat around the bush here."
Bringing up his gaze to meet with Nino's, "I'm in love with Marinette."
"I fucking knew it." The response startled him as he kept his gaze on the other male. "About time you realized, also are you going to eat that?" he pointed to a plate filled with sashimi, to which Adrien only pushed the plate in his direction.
"How long have you known?" He wasn't sure what kind of response he'd been expecting but it sure as hell wasn't this.
"I mean, I've thought you've been into her pretty much since you met her, although I didn't realize it until after I started dating Alya." He furrowed his brows as he analyzed his friend's words, sure he had thought Marinette was a great girl, but at first, he had genuinely only thought of her as a friend, that he was sure.
"No, I don't think that's the case, but I always did think she was a great friend and an amazing person." Nino shrugged as he kept serving himself portion after portion of the expensive food, not that it bothered Adrien honestly.
"Doesn't matter, best relationships often come from good friendships. Look at Alya and I, we never would've thought we'd be together." Adrien had heard this story about a thousand times, and every time it came up he still reveled in the complete lovestruck look that crossed his friend's face.
"But you," he pointed at his face with the chopsticks on his hand, "you're in deep trouble. You're in a relationship, which you should end as soon as possible, and she's in a relationship with one of your friends. Although thankfully, it's not one of your close friends, although that doesn't really make it much better."
"Way to make me feel better, Nino. I already knew I have to break up with Kagami, it's only fair. After that, I've completely blank on what I should do." Nino scrunched up his nose as he thought over the options.
"No matter what you do, you'll probably look like the asshole of the story, however the degree of how much could change depending on your actions. I don't really know what to suggest but sit it out and wait until Marinette and Luka break up." Adrien groaned in annoyance, that was the exact thing he had thought, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth and left him with no real answer.
"What if they never break up? What if they get married?" Nino stared at him as though he'd grown a second head, before shaking his head with a small chuckle.
"Calm down, we're way too young to even be thinking about marriage, besides.." Nino stayed quiet as he shoved another sushi inside his mouth, leaving Adrien in suspense, "besides?"
"Besides, Luka isn't the guy Marinette was in love with." Adrien felt like his eyes almost bulged out as he stared at his friend. Nino knew who Marinette had been so in love with? Had he been the only one out of the loop? He couldn't help the pang that came with feeling like an outsider.
"You know who she was in love with?" Maybe it was the hoarse sound to his voice or perhaps the slight breathlessness but the look of pity from Nino just made his stomach turn anxiously.
"I do, but you know I can't tell you. It's best if you forget about it, she's over him now remember?' Something told Adrien that didn't sound just quite right, but he preferred to give his friend the benefit of the doubt.
Nodding, Adrien dived into his food, finally feeling the grumble of his stomach.
… … … … … …
It had been five days already without Chat's presence in her room. By the third day Marinette had gotten so anxious she had thrown herself into designing infinities of dress designs that'd most likely never see the light of day under normal circumstances, but the free time left behind the empty space on her bed by a distracting and annoying cat hero left her thinking she'd do just that. Make her designs.
As she scribbled on her notebook she worried at her lip, had she been a bit too forward with the whole lock thing. In hindsight, it seemed a bit too much considering they were both in relationships. But they were just friends, the only reason for the lock was so that people wouldn't find out about their friendship and make her out as a target.
She knew she was overthinking it, but no matter how much she told herself that she was her brain convinced her that anything could go wrong at any given moment. Frowning at the design staring back at her, she tore the paper off, turning it into a ball before tossing it into the wastebasket to her side.
Tired, she turned her seat so she'd start spinning, stopping when she started feeling a tad queasy. Rolling to land in front of her computer she decided to put music to help her design. The song that started playing was one of Chat's favorites and consequently, she had started liking it as well, a smile graced her lips as she imagined Chat in her room, possibly in her bed as he read one of her books.
With that in mind, her eyes ventured to observe the two beanies that laid finished on her desk. She had finished them in record time thanks to not having the added distraction that was her partner, but it also felt excruciatingly boring to knit without the cat hero to bother her.
Her lips pursed as the song came to an end, that mangy cat was going to get it for not visiting her again without a warning. Sighing, she let her head rest on the desk, her arms dangling to her sides. She knew he didn't owe her anything, but it would be nice to be given a heads up. Like, 'Hey, I don't want to be your friend anymore, you're a tad too clingy' or whatever the hell he thought she was.
"Tikki, come here." The tiny deity came to her with a slight frown on her face, worry etched into her features. "What do you think?" She held up Luka's beanie so that the kwami would see it, a questioning gaze directed towards her.
"It looks good Marinette, but I get the feeling that wasn't what you wanted to ask." Marinette huffed under the knowing gaze Tikki was giving her.
"Okay, why do you think hasn't visited me lately?" Tikki shrugged before landing on her wielder's shoulder. "Perhaps he's busy, Marinette, remember he usually spends a lot of time here. Maybe it's an amount of time he doesn't have at the moment."
"You're right, I don't even know why I'm worrying so much." She laughed lowly, worrying her lip for the hundredth time this week. "It's not like he's not done this before, you know what? I'm going to get that cat to somehow message me. Oh, emails! We can communicate through emails, right?"
Big, confused, blue eyes stared back at her, unblinking. "I guess it would be a way of communicating, but is it really necessary?" She grumbled under her breath at her kwami's words.
"Fine," taking Luka's beanie in her hands, she stood up from her seat, "let's go, we're taking this to Luka." She knew visiting Luka would make her feel better and stop thinking so much of her best friend.
It had taken her a few minutes to walk towards Liberty, but the moment she saw the decked boat a smile graced her lips. She wanted to see Luka's reaction to her present so badly, she wondered if he would like it.
She walked onto the deck with a spring to her step, her hands going behind her back to hide the present. After greeting Anarka, she headed to Luka's shared room with Juleka, tapping on the side before entering into their room. "Come in."
Entering, she was graced with the sight of Luka laying down on his bed, his guitar laid across his belly as he calmly strummed. Pushing his legs to the side, she sat down on the far side of the bed, staring as he continued playing a calming tune. Once finished, he shifted his gaze towards her, a small smile on his lips as he sat up, leaving his guitar to the side.
"Marinette, I wasn't expecting you today." She flushed as she realized she probably should've called.
"Sorry, I should've called, I just wanted to bring you something."
"It's okay, don't worry, you're always welcome here." His gaze shifted to her arm that still hid the present behind her, "What did you want to bring me?"
Taking the present from behind her, she placed it on her lap, gaze never quite leaving his. "It's a belated anniversary gift." He took the gift from his lap, carefully undoing the wrap.
"A beanie, it looks amazing, Marinette, thank you." He leaned closer, her breath hitching in her lungs, eyes closing as she waited for him to kiss her for the first time. His lips pressed firmly against the corner of her lips, before pulling away. Her eyes fluttered open, and she felt heat rush as she wondered whether she had looked desperate by closing her eyes.
"You want to go out? I'm sure we could both use some fresh air." Nodding, she stood up as he offered her a hand. The two teens left the boat hand in hand, walking quietly along the Seine.
… … … … … …
Adrien thrummed his fingers on the table as he waited for Kagami to show up, he had finally managed to convince her to meet him despite her busy schedule. He stood in the same room he had confessed to Nino he loved Marinette, and it did nothing to calm his nerves, it did pretty much the opposite effect and it left him with his stomach churning despite him not having taken a single bite of all the food he had ordered while waiting for Kagami.
At the grumble of his stomach, he shoved a piece of sushi trying to calm the raging nerves. Who knew breaking up with one of your friends could be so nerve-wracking?
The sound of the sliding door opening caught his attention, Kagami promply crossing the room and sitting down in front of him. "You've never before wanted to meet me so badly, what's going on?" He cringed at her words, Kagami was ever the same straight-forward person she'd always been.
"Kagami, I-I think we should break up." Her brown eyes stayed glued to his, unwavering as she tried to read his intentions.
With a sigh, she nodded leaving her chopsticks aside as she laid her hands clasped on her lap. "I understand, I knew you loved Marinette. It doesn't make sense that you'd be able to forget her so easily just because I come into the scene. I truly believed we were meant for each other. Now I see how wrong I was, I'm sorry Adrien."
"Wait, Marinette? What does this have to do with Marinette?" Surely Kagami couldn't have found out he loved Marinette, not when it wasn't Adrien the one that was closest to her. He hadn't wanted to tell her to soften the blow and not damage the girls' friendship, but how had she known? Had everyone known except him? Did Marinette know? His gut twisted as his brain wondered whether she had avoided him back in the past because of her knowledge of his feelings, regardless he had noticed them or not.
"Isn't she the one you've always loved? The mark that was wrong for you?" Was she talking about when he had been talking about Ladybug? Had she thought that he meant Marinette instead?
"No, she wasn't." She faltered as she looked up at him.
"It wasn't Marinette, who was it then? Actually, don't answer that, I'm sure it barely matters." She stood up, stunning Adrien with the sudden motion. "I thought I was saving you from a heartbreak, turns out I was signing up for one instead."
"Wait, Kagami. Let me explain, it wasn't Marinette, but-"
"You know, if it had been Marinette I would've been okay with it, because she's my friend and I care for her," she bit her lip as she avoided his gaze, "But knowing that it was someone else all this time leaves me with a bitter taste."
"Kagami, let me explain." She shook her head, as she retreated from him. "I just wish I could forget everything, before I ever liked you. Back when we were mere friends and I enjoyed defeating you the most. Maybe then I wouldn't have felt so guilty whenever I thought of Marinette sad because of me." He frowned at her words, it sounded as though Kagami had been dealing with her own guilt during their relationship, but he couldn't quite put his finger as to how it would relate to Marinette.
"Kagami, what do you mean?"
"It's not me you should ask, but just know I hurt someone dear to me because I was genuinely convinced we were meant to be. Like I said, I'm sorry for you, that girl you love and Marinette." His head hurt as he tried to understand her words, was he sure she was speaking in French? Perhaps his thought process had been damaged with his lack of sleep lately.
"Let's forget we ever happened, okay?" Adrien could only nod as she left the room, he stared at the food that laid in front of him, as he processed everything he had heard from Kagami. He wasn't sure if it had gone better or worse than what he had imagined.
Ten minutes passed and he still sat in front of the food when he heard a loud noise coming from outside the building. Standing up quickly, he yanked the door open as he stared into the streets, the people inside the restaurant cowering underneath the neat row of tables. An akuma. And he had an inkling on who had been akumatized.
Running outside, he came face to face to a figure dressed in yellow robes, her eyes blackened as she stared at the blond. "Kagami."
"Kagami is no more, I'm Lethe."
… … … … … …
Marinette and Luka were walking through an empty sidewalk when the screams of civilians caught her attention. She exchanged looks with Luka before pushing behind a dumpster in an alley. "It's better if we hide separately, that way the akuma won't get both of us at the same time."
As she was turning away he caught her arm, "If we separate, I won't be able to protect you." She smiled as she took his hand off her forearm, "I don't need protection, I just need for both of us to be safe, it's best if we hide in different places." Reluctantly, he nodded as she turned around, looking for a hiding place to transform.
She quickly found an alley that was empty, and had a perfect hiding place, calling her transformation to find the akuma as quickly as possible. Using her yoyo to sling herself unto the rooftops she tried to get a vantage point on the akuma, finding no luck until a scream on the street just behind her caught her attention.
She tried observing the akuma's powers before heading into the fight, but she couldn't find anything particularly wrong with those that had apparently been affected by the akuma's powers, besides perhaps not screaming at the akuma's presence and just seeming a tad confused.
She frowned, this was going to be an akuma that would be difficult to deal with if she didn't know its powers. Trying to figure out just where the akumatized object could be. She caught sight of the blackened ring, it seemed familiar and she had to squint her eyes to be able to see it more clearly. A gasp involuntarily escaped her as she recognized Kagami's family ring, catching the akuma's attention from the street. "Ladybug, just the person I was looking for."
Not waiting for the akuma to chase after her, she ran towards the akuma, landing a kick on their arm. It seemed that this time, Kagami's akuma wasn't as fight oriented. It made her wonder just what had upset the girl.
However, despite her being not as strong as she had been in previous times, her fierce fighting style carried through, making her an equally fearsome akuma as previous times. Ladybug skidded along the street as her second kick was blocked by the akuma. "Kagami, what happened?"
"My name's no longer Kagami, my name is Lethe!" A yellow beam shot out from her hand as Ladybug tried to dodge it. Clearly, talking with this akuma wasn't going to help with anything and she wasn't all that excited about getting hit by her powers, which she hadn't figured out what they did.
Glancing to her vicinity, she wondered whether her partner would make his presence known any time soon. She an inkling she'd need him for this particular akuma, but she had absolutely no tell on just what she should do, so she ran as fast as she could, trying to put as much distance between the akuma and her. Landing on an alleyway, she called out her Lucky Charm, a red and black dotted lamp. Glaring at the object she neared the corner, trying to locate the akuma. She'd yet to see her partner, and she was starting to believe he'd left her on her own devices this time. Staring back at the lamp, she tried to figure out what it meant. It looked familiar, yet she couldn't quite place where she had seen a lamp like this.
A gasp left her lips as she realized what the lucky charm was trying to tell her. The lamp was from her room, it could only mean she needed help from another miraculous wielder. She bit her lip as she looked around the alley, she knew she should've made that damned list to assign the new miraculous wielders, now she felt stupid for having procrastinated her responsibility as the guardian.
She took to the rooftops again, running in the direction of her house, making sure she wasn't being followed by anyone. Dropping down unto an alley to de-transform, she glanced the vicinity making sure there was no one besides her. Her parents had seen her leave, and didn't want to have to explain as Ladybug why she was invading and rummaging through their daughters quarters. She planned on getting inside, tell her parents she forgot something and head back out. It was a solid plan that would be over in less than five minutes.
Realizing it was safe, she called out her de-transformation, however halfway she heard a thud to her side. It was too late to hide, or even call the transformation back unto her, and she was faced with a fully transformed Chat Noir.
About Lethe, I had no idea what to name this akuma, so like I just went with this. Talk about lack of creativity hahah. Hawkmoth and I share two braincells, except my braincell genuinely loves Adrien.
Chat finding out Ladybug is Marinette? Oh no!
Also, thanks for all of your reviews, and to all of those that are following this story, it always fills me with joy seeing that people enjoy this story!