Auction 2, Day 1 - Never giving someone up
Edit: Uhhh, wrong collection, this is not Harry Potter XD. I'll post this separately another time, so just...if you're here for the HP, skip this one.
"So, Marinette, who's the boy?"
Marinette splutters, thankfully managing to swallow her mouthful of water without choking. Heat crawls up her neck and onto her face, where her traitorous skin proudly displays her blush. "Alya!"
"Who is he?" Alya doesn't let up, pressing harder. "Is it —"
At that very moment, the subject of her question walks by. Adrien gives them a small wave as he passes but he's on the phone. His eyes lock with Marinette and light up.
"No!" Marinette wrenches her gaze away, interrupting before Alya can incriminate her. "No, it's not him, or anyone."
"Then what's that hickey doing there?"
"What hickey?" Her hand flies up to her neck — dammit, she'd thought her shirt had covered it! It must have ridden down when she'd bent over to drink from the water fountain. She's going to kill that mangy cat the next time she sees him.
"Who were you with, Marinette?" Alya's voice is intense and Marinette curses in her head. There is no way Alya is going to drop the subject.
"No one!" she squeaks. "I wasn't with anyone — I fell and must've bruised myself —"
Alya snorts. "I didn't realize that you took me as an idiot. I've seen and had enough hickeys to know one when I see it."
Marinette desperately wishes for the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Or, for that matter, have another round with all of the villains in Paris. She'd never been this uncomfortable — or tongue-tied — in all of her life.
"I —"
"Hey, guys!"
Marinette almost starts weeping when Adrien turns the corner, having apparently finished his phone call. He catches Marinette's eyes and smiles, and she almost reciprocates until she remembers.
This is all his fault. She tugs up her shirt, resentment bubbling up in her.
But Alya would ask even more questions so she just fixes a smile on her face and says cheerfully, "Hey, Adrien! What's up?"
"My fencing practice got cancelled," he says, wincing. "The instructor is sick and they couldn't find a qualified one to replace him at such short notice. So I've got a couple of hours to kill. Do you guys want to do something?"
Alya opens her mouth, presumably to suggest something but Marinette interjects. "Sorry," she says unapologetically, "but I'm behind on homework, so I was thinking of heading home and doing it." She stares pointedly at Adrien.
Alya coughs. "Actually, so do I, this reporting gig is eating up my homework time."
"What if we studied together?" Adrien suggests. "The library's still open."
"No, too many distractions," Marinette says blithely, ignoring Alya's noise of incredulity. "I'd rather go home and study. On my balcony." She says the last part more to Adrien, who visibly swallows.
"Yeah, she's right," he says, choosing wisely, and Marinette's ire cools a little. "It's too distracting. "Actually, I —"
He's saved from inventing an inevitably flimsy excuse when his phone rings again. Wow. Her Ladybug luck is really kicking in today.
Adrien's expression immediately sours when he sees the name flashing on the screen. "Shoot, it's Father," he grumbles. "I'd better take this. See you guys later."
Marinette maintains her smile for another ten seconds as he walks away and promptly drops it. "I'd better go," she says briskly, not allowing Alya a chance to interrogate her further. "I have a lot of homework to do."
"Is homework my new name now?" Chat teases, steel boots landing with a thud on her balcony. Marinette fixes him with a glare that stops him short. For a moment, fear crosses his face.
"Do you have any idea what I went through with Alya today?" she hisses. "She probably thinks I'm lying to her about something big and she's not going to stop questioning me until I fess up!"
"Hey, I came and backed you up!" Chat raises his hands defensively.
"Yeah, this was your fault in the first place."
"Mine?"
"Yeah, you couldn't have kept your mouth on a leash?"
"Oh, am I supposed to stop kissing you now?"
Marinette massages her temple." Just...be careful from now on," she manages to mutter. "You can still kiss me, but —"
And then Chat's hands are cupping her face. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he murmurs, and bends to kiss her.
And Marinette is lost.
The next day, Marinette wears concealer.
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