I'm sorry for the lack of update this week end. I was very busy and wasn't able to publish the awaited chapter.
But here it is, enjoy!
For almost a minute, Plagg watched quietly as Adrien unzipped his pants, pulled out his male attribute and peed, before rearranging himself back inside his clothes.
Then the kwami lost it. "You're doing a great job being reckless! Bravo!" Plagg scolded Adrien with a stern glare. "Not only are you putting your identity at risk with your puns, but if Ladybug needs you, in such a drunken state, you could be a danger to her safety!" He hissed through barred fangs.
"Monarch's gone. Ladybug doesn't need me anymore. I'm just good to help her get some if she eventually wants to," Adrien blurted out before he thought twice about what he had just said. This sounded a bit OOC even for him being drunk. "It would be cheating on Marinette, huh, right?"
"You'd have to date Pigtails first for that," Plagg snorted. "Then yes, it would be cheating on her."
Adrien rubbed the sides of his head with the tip of his fingers and sighed. "All of this got complicated." His hands slid from his face, gripping the edge of the sink and clenching it while looking at his disheveled reflection in the mirror. "My head hurts like hell."
"Serves you right!"
Adrien frowned; it didn't sound like his kwami's voice. He looked behind him but there was no sign of Plagg. He shrugged, turning back to the sink. He washed his hands and took in his poor reflection once more when the voice made itself heard again, followed by a loud knock on the door this time.
"Get out of there, we're leaving."
Uh-oh. This sounded like upcoming troubles.
Slowly opening the door, Adrien found himself confronting a downhearted Marinette. A sheepish smile popped on his mouth as he looked down at his feet and fidgeted with a hand towel.
"Did I mess the evening up?" he inquired, his features increasingly turning apprehensive and worried as he put the towel back in place next to the sink.
Marinette sighed before her hand suddenly found his, and squeezed it gently.
"It's okay," she reassured him, her voice growing softer. "The reason I told you what happened between Chat Noir and my father was to prevent it from happening again with someone else. But Papa is so drunk right now that he's already forgotten what you were both talking about in the first place. So it's all good. You won't walk through that door as cat food."
"Then, if I didn't screw anything, I guess we can say we succeeded in fooling your parents with our fake dating plan?"
"I guess it didn't turn out too bad," Marinette mused aloud.
Adrien sighed in deep relief.
"Now, we just need to find an excuse to break up and be much more careful after that," Marinette added with renewed determination.
The air which was leaving Adrien's lungs and making him feel lighter suddenly caught in his throat. He now felt as if a stone had just slipped down his throat and fallen straight into his stomach, making it feel heavier than it already was with the strong intake of wine (and pumpkin pie).
"You… don't you think…" Adrien paused, cleared his throat and coughed before continuing, "...we should wait a few more days… so it wouldn't be too suspicious?"
"It goes without saying. That's why I'm going back to your place with you tonight," Marinette stated. "And you're going to give me your key. There's no way I let you ride your moto in such a state. I'm driving."
Adrien easily resigned himself to give her his keys and follow her; he couldn't protest against such mindfulness. She was right after all... All the way...
"Marinette?"
The humming sound coming from his friend echoed in the interior of his helmet, giving him the cue she was listening.
"You told me you had a date with Chat Noir… Were you in love with him?"
Marinette braked abruptly, Adrien's helmet almost knocking hers in the process. A driver following behind furiously honked at them before passing them, and Adrien realized that maybe he should have kept his mouth shut instead of putting his foot in.
Picking up speed and continuing on her way, Marinette ignored his question for a while. Or maybe she was just trying to figure out how to answer it, because after a few minutes of silence, the sound of her voice echoed again in his helmet.
"As I told you this morning, it was a fake date. I didn't have romantic feelings for him back then."
"Back then?" Adrien gasped.
"He caught me… following him... He took me by surprise and I… pretended to follow him because I liked him. "
"But you didn't?"
"I didn't. I thought he believed I was Ladybug and even though I am not, I've completely freaked out. And you know how I can act crazy sometimes when something's out of my control. I guess we can say that this situation filled the bill," she explained in a subdued tone.
"I got it but… why did you say; back then?"
"Because that was the case at the time. It was all a lie."
"Would it still be a lie as of today?" Adrien dared to ask. He wasn't sure what he was getting into but curiosity killed the cat.
A beat of silence.
Marinette parked in front of his building and turned off the engine.
He guessed that he probably wouldn't get an answer. Perhaps he had pushed his curiosity too far. He knew things that he wasn't supposed to know. Things that were supposed only to be Chat Noir and Marinette's knowledge. Things that Marinette obviously didn't want to talk about. Like actually that real date when they had exchanged a kiss on l'île aux Cygnes before Marinette ended up almost akumatized—by his fault.
He had quickly realized that things couldn't work that way; it was selfishly putting her in danger and that was the last thing he wanted. Yet, he had never really given up on her, and although she must have thought so because of the lack of interactions between Chat Noir and her after that day (or only friendly one), it wasn't what had happened—not in his heart.
As he was about to get rid of his helmet, not expecting her to give him any more answers, Adrien suddenly heard her speak again in a low voice.
"I'm only lying to myself." She got rid of her own helmet and stowed it under the opening seat. She cast him a dithering glance, and he realized she was worried he might have heard her.
He decided to feign ignorance. Especially since he didn't really know what to make of her answer. Was she still in love with Chat Noir as of today? Him? Him!
"Thank you for bringing me back home safely," said Adrien, surreptitiously changing the topic. He had to keep it together and keep himself in check.
"Nothing to thank me for. Do you think you can manage to make it up there on your own? I… forgot to bring back clothes for tomorrow. I need to go back to the bakery."
"I'll be wine." He grinned. "You can take the moto, it'll be faster." With that, he leaned in and placed a featherlight kiss on her lips.
When she hastily pulled back, grabbed her helmet and climbed onto the moto before driving away faster than Valentino Rossi, he knew he had overdone it and messed up again.
He had broken another rule.
Adrien paced the ground of his balcony, cradling both sides of his head and resisting the urge to pull on his hair.
He had broken a rule again. Marinette had just told him she was lying to herself about Chat Noir—in other words, that she liked him, and he'd lost all inhibition. He kissed her right after her admission as if it was the most normal thing in the world. She didn't tell him she liked Adrien, but Chat Noir. And yet, he had overdone it. He had overdone it when he should've stayed utterly impassive. After all, he was the one who didn't want to fall in love ever again. He didn't want to fall in love with her. But it looked like Marinette wasn't the only one lying to herself. Adrien was also good in that matter.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose and exhaled lankily. The wine he had drunk didn't help him to think straight. He needed to let off steam, to go running through Paris's rooftops… But if Marinette came back and didn't find him, she would be worried sick. If she ever came back…
However, his train of thoughts and doubts soon found itself interrupted when he caught the shape of a familiar figure in the distance.
His partner, usually so calm and collected since they had defeated Monarch, seemed jittery and all worked up. Adrien frowned in an attempt to adjust his sight to the darkness; in vain. Though, it didn't prevent him from seeing her strut pulling her from one end of the rooftop to the opposite, again and again. She repeated the pattern several times, her prance only growing faster.
Not resisting any longer, he transformed in order to join her.
As the increased cat vision took place, the night suddenly seemed brighter. He paused, leaning against the railing of his balcony, watching carefully his partner in the distance. In the clarity (and efficient sobering up) provided by the Black Cat Miraculous, he now saw more accurately the way his Lady acted; she chewed on her gloved nails, and when she wasn't, she seemed to have a heated debate with herself.
Jumping on a nearby roof, and slowly getting closer, he decided to put an end to her mithered state. He landed just behind her, realizing that the place was familiar; it was the one where he had confessed his feelings for her for the first time. His heart tightened at the memory, the thought still a little painful even after so many years. But he was over her now. They were friends. Best friends.
"M'Lady?"
She hadn't heard him arrive and jumped at his sudden call. It sent her stumbling backward, almost falling over the railing of the rooftop.
Almost; he had caught her in the safety lock of his arms just in time before she risked falling off the rooftop.
"Falling for me are we, M'Lady?" he joked as he steadied her back on her feet.
"You scared me!" she shouted as she pushed the flat of her hands against his chest.
"Sorry for the fright. I thought you heard me coming. You always do."
"Well, I didn't. I was lost in the din of my thoughts."
"I saw that. You looked kind of crazy. Such a disconcerting sight to behold if you ask me," Chat Noir stated. He sat on the edge of the rooftop and patted the spot next to him for her to sit by his side. "Care to share what's bugging you?"
She looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights of a car before eventually sitting next to him. Threading her fingers together, she peered at him from the corner of her eyes before looking at the sidewalk below then back at him. Her mouth fell open, only to snap shut immediately after. Her gaze finally landed and locked on a random spot in the sky, silence settling around them.
When they finally decided to talk, they did so together. Both their voices rising up in the twilight.
"You know… There's a woman—."
"It's about a man—."
"Go first, Chaton."
"No, you go first."
"You."
"I insist." Chat Noir sent the ball back into her court. "Ladies first."
