Chapter 14: Contemplating

"Few people even scratch the surface, much less exhaust the contemplation of their own experience."

-Randolph Bourne

After literally becoming a magical superhero, Marinette thought there was nothing that could surprise her anymore.

An akumatized person being a fish that does nothing but sing Take Me To The River? Not surprising.

Her mom and dad kissing on the couch in full view of her room? Not surprising.

Chat Noir flirting with just about anyone on their team? Not surprising.

Mr. Ramier being akumatized for the 69th time? Not surprising.

Chloe being a half decent person from time to time? Not... okay, sometimes surprising.

But Marinette had been wrong.

The night she told Luka that she was Ladybug- which he already knew, which was a shock itself- had two more shocks planned for her that shook her to her core, the second one most of all.

The first was Adrien's coming out. To be honest, even though she hadn't expected it, she wasn't too shocked by it. One of her and Luka's very first conversations was about how he was pansexual, what that meant, and then him educating her about the whole spectrum of sexuality and what it all meant. It had left her contemplating her own attractions and marveling at how complex it was. But, again, that wasn't what shocked her the most.

No, what shocked her was that not only did Adrien kiss Luka- which having two of the hottest guys she knew kiss in front of her was something to experience and think about later - but he also kissed her.

Adrien had kissed her .

She assumed this meant he had a crush on both of them but this confused Marinette. Luka, she got. He was sweet, kind, caring, talented, and hotter than the sun.

But... her? Why did he like her? It's not that she wasn't thrilled that he did. Knowing the guy she'd been crushing on for so long was also crushing on her felt out of this world. It was something she had wanted for over a year, even in the face of her guilt, but it didn't make too much sense. Why when she'd always only been his clumsy good friend?

She contemplated reasons as Adrien had slipped into his sleep, only to be knocked out of her thoughts by a conversation with Luka and his admission that he liked Adrien too.

Again, how could he not? Adrien was hot, talented, smart, incredibly good at everything he did, kind, and amazing. It was a no-brainer that anyone attracted to males would be attracted to him.

Marinette absorbed all the new information about everything and thought about what to do. In her thinking, she realized something.

Adrien had come over to Luka's for Luka, to talk to him, not her. She'd just so happened to be there when he couldn't hold his feelings back any longer. Did he really mean for her to know? She didn't want to make him uncomfortable in his place of peace. Maybe it would be best if she left before he woke up so that he could be able to have the conversations with Luka he had originally wanted. Even if she wanted to talk about everything that had just happened, Adrien's needs and mental health had to come first.

Stroking his hair one last time, Marinette sat up. Her movement disturbed the quiet that had settled over their bodies and Luka blinked up at her. "Hey, what's up?"

Frowning, Marinette looked to the door. "I think I'm gonna go. He was pretty out of it and he came for you so me being here might make him uncomfortable." She went to slide out the bed but he grabbed her hand before she could move off the bed.

"Don't go. He was out of it but he said you could stay. He wants you here." As if to affirm Luka's words, Adrien rolled over in his sleep and laid his arm over her waist, hugging himself to her side. Luka gave her a 'see?' look and Marinette had no choice but to settle back down next to him. As soon as she was horizontal, Adrien's grip tightened and he buried his head into her neck. Marinette felt as if she stopped breathing for a few minutes.

Adrien was cuddling her! And Luka was behind him spooning him! They were like a snuggle train!

This made her brain buzz. What was happening? What would they do? Luka and her loved each other and- as far as she knew- had no plans of parting ways. But Adrien liked them and both had admitted they returned his feelings. Now what?

As she laid there contemplating everything, Adrien's arms tightened even more at the same time Luka spoke. "We'll talk about it in the morning. We don't have to figure it all out right now." Marinette felt her heart slow at his words. It was always reassuring when he spoke to how she felt.

Figuring she wouldn't make it home, she texted her parents that she'd be at Alya's and soon relaxed into sleep.