Chapter 6: Show your Colours
Author's comment: I know it's been a bit. I wanted to focus on getting my other story "The Stolen Child" finished before continuing with this story
Marinette felt like dragging her feet as she walked along the road, weighed down by the heaviness of her limbs.
Not even a week in and Marinette was regretting her choice to become a superhero, or at least a superhero trained by Gabriel.
Just like his attitude towards Marinette as a Fashion apprentice, Gabriel was strict and with high expectations, training his successor until she was one big sore spot. As a result, Marinette felt like what she expected old people to feel like as her muscles were reconstructed to fit her new activity, and she was not allowed to rest. So sore and tired, Marinette couldn't even find the energy to engage in her fashion making outside of brief moments in the Art Club.
And Marinette was just starting out, her training so far was apparently easy.
"Ooh!"
Marinette barely had any time to comprehend Duusu's exclamation of excitement before her Kwami was flying out of her purse and over to an outdoor noticeboard she was just passing by.
"Duusu!" Marinette whisper-yelled, looking around frantically to see if anyone had seen her Kwami fly out into the open.
Thankfully, no one was around, but that didn't mean that there wouldn't be soon.
"Marinette, look at this." Duusu pointed at one of the flyers.
Marinette looked at the flyer, which was covered in silhouettes of dancing people.
"The local dance studio?" Marinette said. "What about it?"
"You should join." Duusu proclaimed eagerly.
"Uh, I don't think so." Marinette denied.
"Why not?" Duusu pouted. "You'd look so beautiful and graceful on a stage."
"Me, graceful?" Marinette said disbelievingly. "No way. If I tried to dance, I'd probably end up falling on someone, then they'd break their leg, resulting in a career ending injury, then I'd get sued, end up in jail, then no one would want to hire me and I'd spend the rest of my life working out of a McDonalds or something, while everyone else gets to live successful jobs."
Duusu blinked at his wielder, wondering where Marinette had pulled that chain of events from.
"Calm down, Marinette." Duusu soothed. "That won't happen. You have a wild imagination."
"Yeah, I know." Marinette sighed.
"So…" Duusu said. "Since that unlikely event won't happen, you should-"
"No." Marinette cut him off, grabbing the Kwami and placing him back inside her purse.
Spinning on her feet, Marinette renewed her trek at double the speed so that she wouldn't be late.
Near the Agreste mansion was a rather unassuming building, with no signs or logos to advertise its purpose, and certainly no identifiers to link it to Gabriel Agreste.
Entering into the building using a special fob on the door, Marinette entered into a large gym, training equipment to one side and a large open space to the other.
The was also a door to one side, leading into a dressing room that Marinette used to change into a tank-top, sweatpants and plimsoles.
"You could have picked a nicer looking outfit." Duusu complained, pouting slightly at the varying shades of grey that Marinette was wearing.
Marinette rolled her eyes, having had this conversation a few times before. So, she didn't bother pointing out how nice clothes would get ruined by her sweat, as Duusu would just respond back about how Marinette could both sweat and be stylish.
Mr Agreste was already waiting for Marinette when she entered back into the main area of the gym, having appeared though a secret door that led to the Agreste mansion through a tunnel, if Duusu was to be believed.
Despite all the times training with him before, Marinette still found it strange to see her mentor in exercise clothes himself and not in his usual suit.
Shaking her head, Marinette quickly fell into the routine that had been given to her, starting her warm-ups while Duusu floated over to join Gabriel.
The first part of Marinette's training had become rather easy at this point, doing a circuit of the exercise machines to build up her endurance. But then came the second half, the sparring to teach Marinette how to fight.
"Good." Gabriel complimented his studently blandly as they went through the motions. "But pay better attention to where your feet are, otherwise-"
"Ah!" Marinette yelped as her teacher effortlessly sent her to the training mat they were on.
"Again." Gabriel immediately ordered.
Rubbing her sore tailbone, Marinette got to her feet, this time making sure to pay attention to the position of her feet as told.
However, this time it took even less time for her to be sent back to the ground than before.
"Again." Gabriel repeated.
Marinette bit her lip in frustration, wondering just what she was doing wrong with her feet.
Once again, it didn't take long for Marinette to end up on her back.
"Concentrate on me, not your feet!" Gabriel ordered. "Again."
That caused Marinette to frown to herself, her teacher had just told her to pay attention to her feet, and now he was saying not to do that. Was she meant to do both? Could she do both? Oh, she was meant to keep the placement of her feet in mind but still concentrate on her opponent, that made more sens-.
Marinette's thought process was interrupted by her ending up on her back for what already felt like the tenth time, having not paid attention to the spar at all.
Gabriel sighed aggressively.
"You're obviously not yet in your working mind set." He said. "Go over your katas until you've cleared your mind."
"Yes sir." Marinette said, looking away.
She began to go over the movements that Gabriel had given her at the beginning of her training as Gabriel left the mat.
Gabriel watched as Marinette went through her movements with clear still, quickly speeding up as she suddenly had no issue with the placement of her feet.
"I don't get what is wrong, Duusu." Gabriel talked quietly with his former Kwami. "Miss Dupain-Cheng has clear potential, I've seen it. But every training session she starts to fail and I don't understand what the issue is."
"The issue is you Gabriel." The Peacock Kwami answered simply.
"Me?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
"Kind of." Duusu shrugged. "You are one of Marinette's idols and you chose her for an important job, so she wants to impress you. But it seems that she has issues with over-thinking things and self-consciousness." The Kwami thought back to the freak-out Marinette had had earlier. "And training against you is bringing those issues to the forefront, causing her to slip up as a result."
"I can't exactly control how Miss Dupain-Cheng reacts to me." Gabriel said blandly.
"You could start by having some emotion." Duusu muttered under his breath.
"And I have to be here to supervise her training." Gabriel continued, having not hear his former Kwami's comment.
"Marinette simply needs an activity that can help her regulate her stress better and be more confident with her movements, one not headed by a teacher she holds in such high regard and who she'd feel safer making mistakes around." Duusu advised. "But I guess it'd also need to be an activity that could help with her training. Did I mention that there's a rather nice-looking dance school nearby?" He added with a grin.
"Yes, that sounds like a good idea." Gabriel agreed. "If Miss Dupain-Cheng is to be my successor, she will need to be confident in her movements. And dance training can help her skills as well."
Unseen by Gabriel, Duusu grinned in triumph, trilling happily.
…
"That will conclude today's session." Gabriel informed Marinette.
Marinette panted, once again lifting herself off the floor.
"You are improving." Gabriel informed Marinette. "But you are overthinking everything, and that is making your training suffer."
"Sorry, sir." Marinette instinctively apologised.
"I want you to take up dance classes to improve this. I will cut down on your training so that you have the time." Gabriel told Marinette.
"What?" Marinette startled at the news.
"This will not be a problem, will it?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
Marinette caught sight of Duusu floating near Gabriel and glared at her Kwami, knowing that he had to be behind her mentor's decision.
"No, sir." She said, not wanting to disappoint her mentor.
Going back into the changing rooms, Marinette quickly changed back into her normal clothes.
"Really?" Marinette questioned Duusu when the Kwami followed her in.
"Dance is a legitimate form of training and can help you build confidence." Duusu defended himself. "Gabriel could have easily come to the decision on his own."
"Ugh," Marinette complained. "Now I have to embarrass myself in front of a dance instructor as well as Mr Agreste."
"You won't." Duusu assured.
When they emerged from the changing room, Gabriel was already gone, so Marinette left the private gym to head towards the dance studio.
It was a thankfully short journey to the dance studio, Marinette stopping outside to gaze at the list of classes that were being offered.
"There are so many." Marinette's eye twitched, daunted by the number of classes offered and unsure which to pick.
"Ooh, how about ballet? You'll look so graceful." Marinette's eyes widened as Duusu once again discarded caution to gush over dancing.
Thankfully, just like before, there wasn't yet anyone close enough to see or hear him.
"Look, there's a Chinese dance class here. You could bond more with your culture with that. There's also tapdancing, that always produces such a lovely rhythm. But you should also so ballroom, that would be perfect for finding a mate and showing your colours-." Duusu continued on until he'd named every form of dance on the list at least once.
"Okay, stop." Marinette eventually interrupted, grabbing Duusu and pushing him back into her purse. "I'm only doing one."
She'd rather be doing none, but she didn't want to disobey a direct order from Mr Agreste.
Talking a deep breath, Marinette entered into the building.
There were many people inside and also many branching paths, leaving Marinette feeling lost as soon as she stepped inside, unsure of where to go.
"Can I help you?"
Marinette turned to see who she assumed to be the receptionist.
"I-um-I was looking to join a dance class. I mean, obviously I am since I'm here. But, I-uh don't know what type to pick or really what I should be doing." Marinette explained uncertainly.
"That's fine." The receptionist smiled. "Not everyone is going to be sure on what type of dance they want. Thankfully, many of our classes are in today, so you can take a peek in on them to see if any of them catch your interest.
"I'd like that, thank you." Marinette says in relief.
Under the guidance of the receptionist, Marinette gets to view many of the dance classes that are on offer. Marinette didn't get to view all of them, as not every class can be on at the same time, which was a shame since Marinette had been rather interested in seeing the Chinese dance class, but the classes that were in session gave her a good impression of what there were like.
The final class they came upon was what really caught Marinette's interest.
The dancers weren't moving in any way like in the other dance classes, their movements seemingly random. They also had no dance uniforms beyond regular training clothes, unlike most of the other dance classes Marinette had seen.
"And, finally, we have our Freestyle class, which is taught by Miss Zoe Cain, who also teaches many of the other classes that aren't in right now." The receptionist introduced to Marinette.
The more Marinette watched the students, the more Marinette grew to like the style, the way the dancers seemed to tumble around like they weighed less than they did and seemingly made it all fluid and graceful. And Marinette could see multiple ways that the moves could be integrated into fighting too.
"Hello there. A new recruit?" An accented voice draws attention to the dance instructor, Zoe. "Well, you are welcome to my class, it's always a joy to see people express their grace and new faces for my troupe."
"Uh, not really, actually." Marinette said. "That is to say, I'm not sure yet."
"Ah." Zoe smiled. "Scouting then. I understand, I didn't know where to start either."
The dance instructor then proceeded to give Marinette a breakdown of the freestyle dance class, from the basics to the more complicated moved she taught.
"Of course, I teach many other classes here, if you'd be more interested in those." Zoe then added.
"I think I like this class, but I'm still not sure overall." Marinette said.
"I'm glad that you're at least thinking about it. You look like you'd make a great dancer, and it'd be a shame to waste such potential." Zoe said.
"Thanks. I'm not sure I'd make a great dancer though. I'm actually really clumsy." Marinette rubbed her arm.
"With practice, even stumbles can be turned into yet another move in the dance." Zoe waved off.
Marinette hummed.
"I guess." She said. "But I think I'll wait for a bit before I decide." She decided.
"That's fine." Zoe assured. "We'll still be here when you decide."
Shaking the woman's hand, Marinette left, sighing in relief as she stepped back out into the open streets.
It wasn't like the dance studio had an oppressive atmosphere, but there had been some pressure of expectation that she was now free of.
"You didn't pick anything." Duusu pouted from inside Marinette's purse.
"I don't want to make a hasty decision." Marinette told her Kwami. "Really I should have researched everything before stepping foot in the studio."
Marinette likely would have felt a lot less lost if she'd stopped to think after being dismissed from her training, and realised she'd need to research the dance classes first.
With that in mind, Marinette decided to head home.
Adrien fought to keep his smile relaxed and natural as his photographer darted around him with his camera in hand.
He really didn't see the point in this photoshoot, other than to add yet more photographs to the ever-growing pile, ready for someone in his father's company to comb through for just that 'right' photograph for their next advertisement or fashion magazine.
Honestly, sometime Adrien felt like his father booked these photoshoots for no other reason than to keep him busy and out of the way.
As he went through the motions, Adrien spotted Marinette walking down the street and saw a chance for a temporary escape.
"Alright, I'm calling for a break." Adrien called to his photographer.
The photographer sighed but accepted, mumbling about how stiff Adrien was in his photos.
Adrien quickly jogged over to his friend as she passed by the park, thankfully catching her before she could cross the street to her home.
"Hi, Marinette."
"Oh, hey, Adrien."
The two friends greeted.
"Another photoshoot?" Marinette asked.
"Yeah." Adrien nodded. "Honestly, I have no idea what it's even for."
"I'm sure it's for something or other, or maybe just to get you to practice. I hear standing and looking pretty for the camera is actually very hard work." Marinette partially teased, knowing that a lot of effort really did go into being a good model.
"Yes, no one can stand there and look pretty like I can." Adrien joined in the joke. "So, where have you been?"
"Oh, just back from my apprenticeship training, you know." Marinette said, deciding to not mention her trip to the dance studio.
"Oh." Adrien said.
His talks with both Ladybird and Kagami came to the forefront of his mind.
'Well, now's as good as a time as any.' Adrien mentally decided.
Plus, he was pretty sure that he'd start finding excuses to put it off if he didn't speak up now.
"Marinette, can we talk a bit more privately?" Adrien asked.
"Uh, sure." Marinette said. "My house is right over there if you want."
Marinette turned and looked at Marinette's home above the bakery.
"Hang on a second." He said.
Jogging over to where his bodyguard/driver was stationed, Adrien checked to make sure he was allowed to leave the park for a bit, assuring the large man that it would be just over the road and that Marinette was a friend.
Thankfully, after a scrutinising stare, the bodyguard nodded his head.
"Thanks, you're the best." Adrien grinned, heading back over to Marinette to tell her that he could join her at her house.
Unseen by Adrien, his bodyguard smiled slightly at the compliment.
…
"So, what did you want to talk privately about?" Marinette asked as she prepared them some tea.
"Ah, well…" Adrien rubbed his neck as he began stalling.
Despite his resolution to 'get it out of the way' he really didn't want to confront what was bound to be an awkward conversation.
"Ah." Adrien then hissed as he felt something jab his side.
He glared down at where he knew Plagg to be hiding.
"You've been spending a lot of time with my father right, for your apprenticeship?" Adrien started off.
"Only a few hours each week." Marinette answered.
Well, that was only counting the apprenticeship, it was actually a few more hours than that when factoring in Marinette's training on top of that.
"Right, well. Funny thing really. Did you know that you actually spend more time with him than I do?" Adrien just ended up blurting it out.
Marinette stopped making the tea to turn around and look at Adrien.
"What?" She questioned, unable to believe what she'd just heard.
"Yeah." Adrien shifted uncomfortably on the Dupain-Cheng's sofa. "I don't get to see my father all that often since he's always so busy. So, you actually get to see him more than I do." Adrien forced a laugh, trying and failing to alleviate the tension he was feeling.
He clenched his fingers as he waited for Marinette's reaction.
"Adrien…" Marinette tried to find the right words, hand going to her purse in search of support from Duusu. "That's not right."
Adrien relaxed as he looked up at his friend.
He didn't know why since Marinette was one of the most considerate people he knew, but he'd been worried that she would side with his father as his apprentice.
"I shouldn't be seeing him more than you, you're his son. How much to you exactly see him anyway?" Marinette asked, indignant on the behalf of her friend.
"It…it varies, I guess." Adrien was hesitant to answer honestly.
"It's still not right." Marinette concluded. "I'm going to talk to him about it.
"What? No!" Adrien exclaimed. "Please, don't risk your apprenticeship for me."
"But Adrien-"
"No!"
It made him happy that Marinette would be willing to speak to his father, but he also didn't want his father getting angry at her because she decided to speak on his behalf.
"Fine." Marinette sighed as she went back to tending the tea, pouring the hot water.
Giving Adrien his tea, Marinette sat down herself.
"Thank you, Marinette." Adrien sighed, blowing on his tea and taking in the calming scent.
"Adrien, you know, if anything ever bothers you, you can come to me to talk." Marinette offered to her friend.
Adrien smiled. "I will. Thanks." He said.
Of all the things that had happened since finally being able to join public school, a support base had been one of the unexpected yet most welcome changes. Adrien now having several people, from heroic partners to classmates, who he knew he could confide in.
Drinking his tea, Adrien found himself relaxing in the homely atmosphere, the Dupain-Cheng household much different to his own.
Unfortunately, the calm was quickly interrupted by a message from his photographer, telling him to get back from his break.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Marinette." Adrien said as he finished his tea.
"You're welcome." Marinette said as she saw her friend to the door. "I'll see you at school."
Adrien repeated the sentiment as he left.
As soon as the door was closed, Duusu came out of hiding.
"Oh, Gabriel." The Kwami sighed sadly. "Why would you treat your son in such a way?"
"I'm sure Mr Agreste has his reasons." Marinette started off with defending her mentor. "But that still doesn't make it right, or that it should go unaddressed."
"You're still planning on talking to Gabriel about the issue, aren't you?" Duusu asked rhetorically.
"Adrien doesn't know that I'm more than just an apprentice." Marinette reasoned. "It's not like he'd just take you back if I say he's not spending enough time with his son. Right?"
"Considering that the Peacock Miraculous is now yours, I say it's yours, and Gabriel is not a Guardian. No, he cannot just reclaim me for you speaking the truth." Duusu said confidently.
"Good." Marinette nodded. "Now, I'm going to take a shower.
She wasn't going out again while smelling of deodorant-concealed sweat.
Freshly clean and in new clothes, Marinette set out from her home again despite how tired she was feeling.
"Marinette!" Luka called cheerfully from their usual meet-up spot, the same location as where they first met.
"Hi, Luka." Marinette nearly skipped over to the older teen.
Like usual, Luka was playing his guitar, every bit the hipster teen, which only endeared him more to Marinette.
Sitting down next to Luka, the two talked, catching up on what had happened since they last saw each other and over events.
"You know, I'm sort of thinking of joining a dance class." Marinette brought up.
Luka frowned in concern.
"Are you sure that you're not putting too much on your plate?" He asked. "You do design work, commissions, your apprenticeship, and now dancing. I'm not saying you can't do it, but…"
"I'm sure I can manage." Marinette said. "If it becomes too much, I'll quit. I just wanted to try to see what it's like."
Now that was a lie, but she couldn't exactly say that a tiny magical god had convinced her apprenticeship teacher, who was also training her to be a superhero, to tell her to take dance classes.
"Okay." Luka said. "Well, if you do stay with it, I'd love to see you dance someday."
"Nah, I'm too clumsy." Marinette remained insistent on being too clumsy for dance.
"You'll learn. You're amazing at everything." Luka said, causing Marinette to blush.
"I-yeah-really-thanks." Marinette stumbled over her words, causing Luka to laugh.
"Then, we can maybe perform a song and dance together." Luka offered.
Marinette smiled, red still gracing her cheeks.
"Yeah, I'd like that." She said.
Luka smiled back.
"Marinette, you are so extraordinary, you know that?" He said.
Marinette's blush, which had been fading, returned in full force.
"You're as clear as a musical note and as sincere as a melody. You're the music that's been playing inside my head since the first day we met." Luka continued.
"L-Luka, what…what are you…are you saying that…?" Marinette struggled to compute.
"I'm saying that I like you very much, Marinette. More than just 'like' actually. And it would make me very happy if you were to accept going on a date with me." Luka explained.
"I…you're really…you-me…" Marinette's brain completely short circuited and was struggling to reboot.
"Was I to straight-forward." Luka worried.
His mother always told him that if he was to confess to a girl, to do it clearly, because women apparently appreciated men who knew their feelings. Luka felt that approach lacking, so mixed in his own flair while still being clear.
"Are you…are you serious?" Marinette asked once her brain finally came back online.
"Yes." Luka said confidently. "I understand if you don't feel the same way, but I want to be honest with you."
"I…" Marinette trailed off.
"We could take things slow." Luka offered. "Maybe try out a date of a few before you make a decision. If you want, that is."
"I'd…I'd like that." Marinette felt a smile painfully stretch her cheeks.
"Then, how about we have our first date in a few days' time?" Luka asked.
Marinette nodded.
"I'm…I'm going to go home now. I'll see you for our…date." Marinette felt so light as she spoke the word.
"I'll message you then." Luka waved as his possible future-girlfriend left.
…
"Ooh, it was so beautiful." Duusu sang and danced around Marinette's room as Marinette herself lay on her chaise. "Not the most romantic of confessions, but it was so pure."
Marinette groaned and tried her best to block the Kwami out.
"I'm so happy for you, Marinette. You're getting a mate who's not afraid to show off their colours. What could be better for one of my peahens."
Marinette groaned louder, hiding her face in on of her chaise cushions.
"Shut up." Came her muffled complaint.
"But why? I should be allowed to celebrate my peahen gaining a mate." Duusu argued.
"It's only a date." Marinette removed the cushion from her face. "It's not anything official yet. We'll go on a date, I'll likely mess up by spilling my drink on him or by just making a fool of myself in general, then he'll realise that he doesn't actually want to date, then I'll be left all alone because everyone will see that someone as amazing as Luka dumped me and they'll know that I'm a lost cause, and-"
"Marinette, calm down." Duusu interrupted Marinette's tirade, suddenly serious in the face of her anxiety. "You will not mess things up. Luka asked you out on a date for a reason, he won't abandon you if you mess up, which will not happen as long as you're calm. Now, deep breaths."
Marinette breathed in deeply and then let it out, repeating the process several times until she had calmed.
"Thanks, Duusu." Marinette said.
It always helped to have a friend there when her mind got like that, someone to stop her train of thought before it crashed and burned.
"Now, how about you create an outfit or something." Duusu directed his wielder to something that would keep her mind away from her anxiety.
"Right." Marinette agreed, grabbing her sketchbook. "I know. I'll create a new outfit for my first date with Luka."
"That's the spirit." Duusu went back to cheering. "Spread your feathers and show Luka your own colours!"
Marinette groaned as she shoved her face into her sketchbook.
Author's Note: Please Comment
I've decided that since I've already done the Adrien/Marinette romance in my Nymph story, I'd like to try a Luka/Marinette relationship for this rewrite. I'll try to give Luka more personality and make him more interesting than in canon.
Readers of my original story will notice that I've changed the style of dance that Marinette learns to free-style instead of Chinese dance. I did it because freestyle seems to suit Marinette more, and she's already barely linked to her Chinese side as it is. So, it's probably be more of Marinette's style to take what she learns and develop her own style of dancing that she can then integrate into her fighting.
And readers of my Nymph story will recognise Zoe, who I decided to reuse for the dance instructor character rather than make a new character. Zoe is older in this story than in Nymph, where she was still a teenager. And, for obvious reasons, there will be no relationship between Zoe and Chloe in this story like in Nymph.