"Marinette, I love you….."
"Where should I begin? With the amount of time you ladies wasted yesterday afternoon? Leaving the workshop door open? Interrupting the rest of the staff with all your shouting? Letting a civilian into an unguarded space with priceless artifacts? Not reporting back after the fire alarm stopped? I could go on." Alya and I stood utterly defeated in front of Dr. Grind's desk. He was leaning back in his chair with his hands folded over his chest, his thumbs rhythmically tapping together. We merely kept our heads down and our lips shut; we knew better. Dr. Grinds was NOT happy. Despite talking in that low, non-yelling voice like Miranda Priestly from "The Devil Wears Prada", you could tell he was downright pissed at us. His tapping thumbs didn't ease the situation either.
But when his fingers stilled, that's when you could tell we were in for it. Our supervisor sat up straight in his seat and made direct eye contact with us. "I don't think I have to tell you girls how mortified I am. Never have I been so disappointed in a pair of supervisees of mine, and I've had some real characters." "We're sorry, sir," my best friend and I uttered in unison. His eyes sharpened. "I should hope you are. I did not book you this space so you could use it to act out your childish drama. Whatever the issues are, keep them outside the workshop. I'm not going to tell you again." "Yes, sir….." We moaned, feeling like we'd just been punched in the gut- repeatedly. His hands laced together on his desk in the sternest way possible. "I expected better from both of you. This is a programme for mature students. If you can't handle our high standards on the field, then I'll have you moved back to the department building. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, sir," our heads fell again. I honestly felt like I was on the verge of tears. Mr. Agreste was the scariest man I knew, but man, did Dr. Grinds know how to terrify someone. And all without raising his voice!
Just say our supervisor was about to say more, a knock at the workshop door cut him off. It was open a crack, so it wasn't locked. My heart skipped a very worried beat as Adrien's head popped inside. Oh crap! I forgot he didn't leave after he dropped me off this morning. But I didn't think he'd actually come to the "staff only" wing of the palace! This is bad! Dr. Grinds is going to eat him alive.
Of course the professor did not recognize my fiancé at first sight, but Alya did. I had to give her a pleading look to keep her from fan-girling out- we were already in enough trouble. Even Adrien seemed taken aback by Dr. Grinds's intimidating demeanour; probably reminded him of his father.
"E-Excuse me? Dr. Francis Grinds?" Obviously Dr. Grinds frowned, entirely unimpressed by his unexpected arrival. "Young man, this part of the castle is off-limits to patrons. I'll have to ask you to leave," talk about a bitter tone. Adrien's face visibly cringed frightened, but he did his very best to stay polite and professional. He opened the door a little more so we could get a better look at him under the doorframe.
"O-Of course! I just came to say goodbye to my fiancée." "Fiancée? Which one?" Dr. Grinds's head shot back in our direction. Alya tried her best to stifle a laugh, biting her bottom lip. I didn't laugh; not even a grin. I was too worried what he might do to Adrien for this clearly unwelcomed intrusion. Adrien looked very startled by this question. "Uh, Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng, sir," he sputtered a little, unsure what to make of the scenario.
It didn't take long for Dr. Grinds to put the pieces together. I knew he figured it out when he suddenly flashed Adrien a vicious scowl. His eyes grew razor sharp onto his. "So you're the reason there was such a commotion here yesterday. Let me tell you something, young man. I gave Miss Dupain-Cheng permission to take July and August off for your wedding. She has more than enough work to finish for me before then." "Um, y-yes sir; I-I understand! I just…." Adrien flinched, now as scared as we were mere minutes ago. "So it is in your fiancée's best interest that she have ample time to complete her research before then, because I will not accept any less than I've assigned. As Miss Dupain-Cheng's future husband, it is in your best interest to ensure that there are no unnecessary distractions for her." "O-Of course! I'm more than happy to….." "I suggest that you make it as easy for her to work as possible. The consequences fall on her shoulders otherwise," Dr. Grinds interrupted him for the hundredth time. This wash of fear ran across Adrien's face; I was looking pretty pale myself too just then.
Dr. Grinds got out of his chair, making us all flinch in terror. Clasping his hands behind his back, he made his way toward the door where Adrien stepped aside. He shot us all one last collective warning glare. "If I hear one more complaint from my colleagues, I'll have your access to the staff wing revoked. After you make a complete inventory of the storeroom, of course." "What?!" Alya's and my jaw dropped. A full inventory of every object?! But that would take weeks! We'd be here past midnight every night. Talk about some punishment. After exchanging a horrified glance, we anxiously nodded our heads as he was expecting us to do. "Er, yes… sir," we gritted through our teeth. Adrien's stare shifted between the three of us but he wisely stayed quiet. Dr. Grinds gave us a final nod. "Miss Césaire. Miss Dupain-Cheng. Mr…. Ah, what's your name?" He asked a dumbfounded Adrien. "Uh, Adrien Agreste, sir." "Fine. Mr. Agreste," we watched speechless as our supervisor exited the space. Only once he was gone did we finally remember to breathe again. I even clutched my chest with my hand, pulling on my shirt with my fingers. "God, that was terrifying…" "You can say that again," Adrian grinned my way.
As if suddenly remembering who was in the room with us, Alya immediately perked up. I blinked surprised as she dashed over to Adrien, her hands balled into excited fists. "Oh my god, it's Adrien Agreste! In the flesh!" Adrien chuckled at this show of fan devotion, clearly charmed. Now smiling myself- finally- I approached the two. Well, now's a good a time for a formal introduction as ever; they were going to meet eventually anyway.
"Adrien, this is Alya Césaire; my friend from primary school." "She means her best friend from primary school. Hi! It's nice to meet you!" "Nice to meet you too," Adrien shook Alya's hand. "Are you two really gonna get married? Oh my god, is this really happening?!" I giggled, putting my arm around her shoulder. "Yes, this is happening…. As far as our families are concerned," I muttered the last part under my breath, glancing away. No matter what I did, Cat Noir always popped up into my head multiple times a day, and this was one of those times. If only I could marry who I really love…
Not that Alya was paying attention; she was too busy ogling Adrien with glossy eyes behind her glasses. "Wow…. You're even more beautiful in real-life than you are on the billboards." "Alya!" I gasped embarrassed. Thankfully Adrien took it on the cheek. He smiled again, shutting his eyes and rubbing the back of his head. "You know, he looks like Cat Noir," Alya next told me, pointing her forefinger at Adrien. That's when his grin vanished and I perked up in shock. "What?!" I blinked back at her widely, not noticing Adrien's frazzled reaction. "They have the same hair," Alya elucidated. "Yeah, but I have the same hair as Ladybug and we know I'm not her!" I quickly retorted; again, lying through my teeth. She considered this, bringing her folded thumb up under her lip. "Mmmmmm, that's true. Still, there's an uncanny resemblance," she said as her eyes drifted back to the stunned Adrien.
Forcing his grin back, his lifted both hands up defensively. "What? Me, Cat Noir? Ha, I wish! I'm not cool enough to be that guy," he tried to sound genuine. I looked at him, conflicted by this statement. Well he's not wrong; no one's as cool or perfect as my baby, wherever he may be right now. Alya didn't look convinced just yet. Her eyebrow raised at him. "Have you ever met Cat Noir before?" "Uh, a couple of times! But we're not friends or anything. No, I'm just a humble PhD student… and model. But that's just a side job!" My fiancé quickly tacked on. Rolling my eyes, I pulled back my arm from Alya's shoulder. "Come on, Alya; we're getting married. Don't you think I'd know if my future husband was Cat Noir?" Ha, that's rich coming from the one and only Ladybug. But this did make her think a minute before nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah, your right. I'm sure you'd notice if your fiancé disappeared each time Paris was in trouble." "Heh, yeah….." Both Adrien and I exchanged nervous glances. I'm not sure why he was looking at me, but I knew damn sure why I was looking at him.
As if to clear the air from the room, Adrien suddenly piped up in an eager voice. "Hey, I know! Why don't we go out together somewhere?" "What? As friends?" Alya blinked back his way. He nodded. "Yeah. Marinette and I are getting married; we should get to know each other's friends. I'll bring my best friend too! You'll love Nino." "Are you for real?!" And there she goes; back into fangirl territory. Adrien smiled, charmed, and nodded again. "Sure thing. It'll be fun! I think Marinette and I could use some fun right about now." "Ooooooh, boy! You are so right! How about next weekend? We could go to the Louvre, or Disneyland, or to the movies." "We'll figure something out," I patted her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. But Adrien concurred. "Next weekend sounds great. I'll run it by Nino." "Oh my god, yes! This is going to be so great! I can't wait!" Alya was practically bouncing up and down. I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm, keeping my hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, I think Adrien's right. After everything that's happened so far…..
We could definitely use a break."
