A/N: This took longer than I expected. I hope you enjoy.
Please Keep My Secret
Chapter 3
Adrien's heart pounded in his chest as his driver drove up to the school entrance the next morning. The freezing rain turned everything to solid ice overnight as the temperatures dropped, and so his driver took longer than usual to get Adrien to school. He could feel a chill in the air that morning and his spring jacket was no longer suitable for the weather. The weather fell below freezing and didn't have time to retrieve his winter jacket, making a mental reminder to take it out of storage when he got home. Adrien thought about grabbing the jacket Marinette lent him, but he remembered her plead from last night, so he didn't take it. Adrien's car drove up to the front of the school and his driver exited first, going around to Adrien's door to let him out.
He climbed out and saw Nino still at the front, sitting by the stairs, waiting for Adrien to arrive at school. Nino greeted him with their secret handshake, and it calmed Adrien down a little, but a tightness in his chest had continued to be present. Nino didn't notice how on edge Adrien was and he greeted him like he would any other morning.
"Some rain last night, huh?" Nino stated. "I actually got caught in it, I was soaked, bro!"
"Yeah, I got caught in it too," Adrien answered. "Not for long, I got home pretty quick."
"Photoshoot for your dad's spring line?" Nino asked.
Adrien nodded, used to having to keep secrets from his best friend. "We cut it short after the rain started."
Though the photo shoot part wasn't true, Adrien told the truth to some extent. He did have to cut what he was doing short. His chat with Marinette didn't go nearly as long as he would have hoped and after discovering her crush on him, he wasn't keen on staying too long in such an awkward situation.
"That sounds unpleasant," Nino stated.
"Yeah, it wasn't," Adrien replied. He cast his eyes down in shame as he took in the memory of the evening before and how they had interacted with each other. She didn't seem comfortable, and he knew for a fact he didn't. And worse still, he knew she had caught onto the fact he was uncomfortable around her. That wouldn't have gotten him any votes either.
"But, hey! Today is Thursday, it's almost the weekend. And we're still on for Saturday, right?" Nino asked.
Adrien looked up at Nino and nodded, forcing the most natural smile he could, a talent he learned from years of modelling for his dad's designs. "Yeah, Saturday is still ago, but I won't be able to do any sleepover or all nighter. My dad booked a photographer for Sunday morning."
"Well, its better than nothing," Nino explained.
Adrien and Nino made it to the door of their classroom and he looked around for Marinette. Marinette and Alya were in their usual seats and were deep in conversation with each other. Well, it was Alya talking, with Marinette speaking every few seconds, but seemed to nod her head. Nino took a seat and turned to the side to look at Alya. "Hey, what's up?"
"Not much," Alya answered. "I telling Marinette about some rumours going around about Chat Noir. It seems that he was spotted around last night, wearing a jacket after it was raining. I assume patrolling or something. I'm trying to figure out the brand. For the Ladyblog. I need ore Chat Noir content."
Marinette seemed to react, with some colour leaving her face, but she nodded along. Adrien's heart was beating against his rib cage as he listened to Alya. Marinette had been right about him not bringing the jacket to school. He noted that seemed to support Marinette not telling his secret. He just hoped Alya had no photos. If Alya was as sharp as he thought she was, she'd know it was Marinette's jacket with just a glance.
"Really?!" Nino exclaimed. "It was miserable out last night! I bet he got soaked!"
As if on cue, Marinette sneezed, and the three's attention drew to her. Her cheeks went red, and she looked down at her lap. "Excuse me."
"Geez, Marinette, did you get caught outside too?" Nino asked.
She nodded, "Just for a few minutes."
She sneezed again, turned away to avoid spreading any sickness she may be carrying. Adrien looked at her with concern, remember her soaked body on the roof the night before. She had refused to go inside until he came inside to get her jacket, and now she had caught a cold.
"Do you need to lay down?" Alya asked. "I could take you home."
Marinette waved it off, "No, really, I'm all right."
"Well, if you're still sneezing by lunch, I'm gonna insist you stay home and rest," Alya stated.
"I'll be fine, I know my limits," Marinette assured her friend.
Adrien noticed how hard she tried to not glance at him. She didn't even sneak a peek at him. The tightness in his chest worsened, and he felt awful thinking about her actively avoiding him like this. He theorized she was going to actively pretend to not notice him. Marinette was trying to act normal around Alya If Alya. He would have to respect that and limit interactions with her to the minimum.
He continued to listen to the conversation, between Alya and Nino at this point, until Miss Bustier addressed them signalling the start of class.
It wasn't until lunch time when he looked behind him to look at Marinette. She had disappeared with Alya as soon as the bell rung. Adrien had a lunch made for him so he could stay at the school and possibly sit and talk to Marinette in private, but that didn't seem possible. Nino drew his attention. "Is your driver picking you up?"
"Oh? No, actually, I had a lunch packed today," Adrien explained.
"Whoa! Really dude? So like, we can hang during lunch today?"
Again, Adrien had planned to talk to Marinette, and that was no longer possible, so he smiled at Nino. "Of course."
Nino took out his paper lunch bag and took out his lunch. Adrien did the same with his. Only his had been packed in a fancy bento style box. Stylish, by his father's insistence. Only the best for an Agreste after all. He didn't feel much like eating but he needed to keep his strength up in case an Akuma attacked. He really wanted to talk to Marinette though, and finish up their talk about his secret identity. Maybe Nino might have some insight into a girls mind. He was dating Alya after all.
"Hey man, I have a question for you?"
"About what?"
Adrien tried to find his words. "Well... girl stuff, I have a girl issue."
"Girl stuff? What kind of girl stuff?" Nino asked.
"Well, I found out someone I know has a huge crush on me," Adrien said.
Nino chuckled. "Man, most of the girls in our class have a crush on you."
Adrien sighed. "I get a lot of fan letters, that's for sure, but this is different."
Nino was eating his baguette sandwich, and talked a little with food in his mouth, his eyes on his friend. "How so?"
"Well, this girl...she knows something about me that no one else knows. Something I can't tell anyone else," Adrien explained. "I talked to her about it for a short time, and it came out that she really, really likes me."
"Knows something about you...and you can't tell anyone else...that sounds like a deep secret, bro," Nino gasped. "She is like...blackmailing you or something?"
"N-no...nothing like that," Adrien said. "She just, well, she says she will not tell anyone, but I need to know for sure, like really for sure she isn't going to tell anyone."
Nino's expression was serious as he looked at Adrien and thought to himself. "Why don't you take her out on a date. Or do something really nice for her?"
"A-A date?" Adrien gasped. "I've never been on a date...and, I want my first date to be with someone...well..."
"Someone you actually like," Nino explained.
"Exactly!" Adrien explained. "I mean, there is nothing wrong with this girl. She's very nice, and I think highly of her, but I like someone else."
"Yeah, I figured you did," Nino expressed. "Well, if a date is out of the question, just do something nice for her."
"What can I do?" Adrien questioned. "I don't want to become too pushy or make her think I'm just being her friend because of my secret."
Nino became lost in thought trying to figure something out, and he was thinking just as hard. Marinette easily had to be the sweetest girl in class, and most of the class seemed to like her. Adrien thought he knew her well enough, but she was surprising him with all this new information. After all, he thought that Marinette hated him, and it turned out to be the opposite. She could be stubborn as was evident by her actions the night before with the jacket. She had gotten soaked and was now sneezing with a cold. Guilt filled him, but the need to find the answer he needed now only grew.
He could find no answer, and the longer Nino thought to himself, the more he realized Nino had no answers either. It wasn't an everyday situation after all. And so his thoughts came back to the jacket. Her blue eyes stared at him in the rain. They were so determined and even as the freezing rain dripped down her face, those eyes didn't weaver. Remembering it brought chills to his spine. He had only seen Ladybug look so determined before in Akuma situations.
The memory only made him more determined to make sure that Marinette got her jacket back from him. She wouldn't accept it from him today at school, but she said nothing about after school, or returning it in a cat costume.
8 8 8
Marinette was completely panicking as her best friend, Alya stared her down. They were back at Marinette's house, and Marinette was climbing into bed to rest. After insisting Marinette rest that afternoon so her cold wouldn't get worse.
"You've been acting funny all day," Alya stated. "You need to either come clean or stop worrying me."
Marinette didn't dare open her mouth about what was on her mind and instead tried to brush it aside. "Alya, really, I'm all right."
Her best friend, Alya wasn't convinced, and she regretted everything instantly. Alya was sitting on the bed, even closer to Marinette than she was before and stared her down. Marinette tried to look away, but Alya had eyes locked on Marinette and continued to give her a concerned stare. "You are not all right. Something is bothering you. Did Chloe say something or post something about you again?"
Marinette's eyes went wide, and she shook her head. "N-No, not at all."
"Good, because I will not tolerate such behaviour from her," Alya stated. She turned back to look at Marinette. "So, what's bothering you then?"
Marinette had finished pulling her blanket up over her as she bundled up under her blankets, warming her cold body. "Please, Alya, I am all right. Nothing is bothering me. I am fine."
"No girl says fine and means 'I'm doing well.'" Alya stated.
"I am doing well," Marinette answered. "If something were bothering me, you'd be the first person I told."
Alya still wasn't convinced and Marinette knew it, but still Alya respected her enough to back off. She shrugged. "All right. But if you need to talk, you can always talk to me."
Alya said her good-bye's and left. Marinette was going to try and get some rest, when her mom appeared, checking on her offspring.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm not that sick. The start of a cold," Marinette answered.
"Well you rest for now, and I'll bring you some wonton soup."
Marinette nodded. "Thanks, mama."
The trap door closed and Marinette was left alone with just Tikki, who was still in her little purse. Speaking of which, Tikki opened her hiding space and zoomed about the room and took stretch her tiny limbs.
"Alya really is a good friend," Tikki stated. "She's always worried about you."
Marinette agreed, but she looked at Tikki with some concern. "She really is, but if she keeps this up, she's gonna figure out something. Either about Adrien's secret, or my secret."
"I know it's hard to lie to your best friend," Tikki explained. "But we can't risk Hawkmoth finding out. Some of my past Ladybug's were out in the open, but it was safe for them."
Marinette nodded and sighed rolled over on her side, getting cozy in her bed. Tikki floated away and curled up in a safe space Marinette made for her to hide, just in case. The exhausted Marinette dozed off. Though she didn't know for how long. She heard the creak of the trap door again, and her mother's head popped in.
"Is dinner ready?"
"In ten minutes," Sabine stated. "Giving you a heads up so you can come down."
"Thanks, mom," Marinette stated.
Sabine disappeared again and Marinette climbed out of bed. Marinette stretched and removed her sweater and placed it on her bed. Marinette glanced at the window above her bed, and she noticed the window had been blocked by something. Marinette to her feet to see what the object was and realized it was a paper bag. Marinette climbed up on her bed and pushed the window open, reaching up and bringing the bag down. The bag made crinkling sounds as she brought it down, but she took a seat down on her bed and looked inside.
Tikki's attention was drawn to the bag and zoomed over and gasped. "Marinette, that's your jacket!"
"Y-yeah," Marinette stated. Her cheeks burned when she realized Adrien had stopped by again at some unknown point to return her jacket. The bag wasn't that cold, so it had to have been delivered recently. She pulled the jacket out and noticed that there was a card inside. Her cheeks reddened, and she opened the card to look at it.
Marinette,
I want to thank you for the warm jacket the other night. It kept me warm and dry. I let it hang overnight and returned it after school today. I appreciate you letting me borrow it, and I hope to be able to repay the flavor someday. I am glad to know you don't hate me, and we can take the time to become friends, an option I didn't was available to me until yesterday. Please contact me anytime. Enclosed below is my phone number. I hope you contact me soon.
-Adrien
Marinette could hear Tikki squealing when she finished reading the card. Marinette closed the card and put it on top of the jacket and put the jacket on her bed. She blushed but had a time processing what the card had said to her. She didn't understand. Adrien never seemed that interested in really getting to know her until she had found out he was Chat Noir, and now he was taking the time to try to. It was something she always wanted to happen. Have him want to be her friend, so they could get to know each other and maybe she could tell him how she felt and then perhaps even more unlikely, he would fall for her. She pushed such a thought aside and sighed. That would never happen.
"Marinette, he wants to hang out!" Tikki cried. "That's fantastic! If you get a chance to talk to him, you can become friends, and then you can tell him the truth! It will be such a relief to him!"
"Yeah," Marinette stated, sighing. "It will be nice for him, but I don't think he'll like me much. I mean...compared to Ladybug."
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Tikki scolded. The stare the little Kwami gave Marinette reminded her of her mother when she was angry. She looked down at her lap and the familiar pain in her chest returned. Tikki floated into Marinette's eye line again and using her tiny paw, drew Marinette to meet her gaze. "Ladybug and you are the same and you are an incredibly interesting person. He really wants to get to know you. Enjoy your dinner and then you're gonna call him."
"B-But-"
"Not buts," Tikki said. "Call him, just talk. I am respectful that you aren't ready to tell him you're Ladybug right now, but if you don't do this, I will call him myself."
"T-Tikki!" Marinette cried.
The little Kwami was smiling. "I can be wicked when I want to be. And I know you can do this. And I'm sure he will like you, even as much as he likes Ladybug."
Marinette couldn't bring herself to say anymore than she had. She sighed and then stood to her feet. "Mom will be wondering where I am for dinner."
Tikki nodded and watched as Marinette climbed down the ladder and disappeared down into the trapdoor into the kitchen. Downstairs Marinette's nerves were getting the better of her and she couldn't bring herself to eat as much as she could have liked too, but the butterflies in her stomach were single-handedly destroying any appetite she may have had. Marinette ate enough that her parents didn't seem to be concerned. She excused herself to her room to finish up some homework. When she entered her room once again, she saw Tikki sitting on her bed near where she tossed her cellphone aside. Tikki gave her an encouraging smile, but she didn't feel as confident as Tikki thought she should be. She climbed up her ladder and took a seat beside Tikki. Tikki offered her the card, Marinette assumed to look at the phone number. Marinette shook her head. "I already have his number," she stated.
Tikki nodded. "I forgot about that."
Marinette took in a deep breath and lifted the phone up, and clicked through her contacts, and stopped on Adrien. She exhaled as she pressed on his name and lifted the phone up to her ear. It rang once, twice, three times, and before the fourth there was a click. "Hello?"
Marinette's entire body went stiff when she heard his voice. "H-Hello, Adrien? I-It's Mari-"
"Marinette! Hi!" his voice said, a hint of cheerfulness was present.
She almost dropped the phone hearing his voice greeting her excitement. She caught it and lifted it up to her ear once again. "H-Hey!" she greeted again.
"You got your jacket back safely I assume?" he asked.
"O-Of course," she said. "I appreciate it. Thank you."
"Thank you for lending it to me yesterday. It was super warm and did the job until I got home," he stated.
She blushed. "Y-Yeah, I'm glad it kept you w-warm. It must...get cold out sometime...in, you know, your, costume."
"Yeah, it can, but it's not as cold as it looks. Superpowers and all..." he said trailing off. He changed the subject away from his secret identity. "But that jacket! It is really, really great quality. Kept me warm, but also dry. I'm very impressed, Marinette."
Marinette's eyes went wide, and she froze. She forgot to both breath and answer him. He just complimented her design. Not only that, but it just dawned on her that he had to worn one of her designs, and he liked it, by the sounds of it, a lot too. He continued when she didn't reply. "You really do have a great eye for detail. I'm sure we'll be all hearing about your own clothing line in the future."
"You...I mean, you thank. THANK YOU," she sputtered out. "T-thank you."
"I'm sorry, I'm not embarrassing you, am I?"
"A...little," she whispered.
"Have I possibly seen any of your other designs before?" he asked. "Besides the jacket and the Bowler hat contest."
Marinette looked down at a few of her items around her bedroom and stopped at her person items, including her current outfit. "A fair bit...actually."
"Really?!" he said excitedly. "Like what?"
"The clothes I was wearing today," she replied.
"Yeah? What part? Was it the jacket?"
She felt her cheeks flush as she realized that he didn't quite understand what she meant. She opened her mouth and tried to find her words. "N-No," she said. "Its...the outfit. The...whole outfit." Her voice had gotten low as her heart rate increased.
"Everything! You made all of that. The shirt, jacket, pants?" he exclaimed.
She nodded, but then cursed herself because she knew he couldn't see her nodded and she struggled to find her voice again. "Yes..."
"You are seriously so talented," he stated.
Her cheeks only reddened more and her voice was even more lost to her. She glanced at Tikki who was listening to the call, eager for details. "Thanks." It was still low, and she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear, but she still wanted to talk to him. Marinette wanted to find her voice again. How would she ever get to ever talk to the boy of her dreams?
"Is there a way for me to see all of your designs?"
"I have an Instagram," she said. "Private one...only closest friends...can see it."
There was a pause. "Oh, all right then," he said.
Immediately she knew how he took it. She could hear the disappointment and she wanted to scream out loud for her foolishness. She jumped to her feet as if to protest in a room full of people. "Nononononononono!" she cried. "I didn't meant that!"
He was surprised. "No, its fine!"
"I want to show you," she said. "I want to be a designer...you work in the industry...any...feedback would be...appreciated."
Her words started out confidently, but as the words continued on, her self assurance of what she was saying faded away and she lifted her phone away from her ear. "One second." Marinette in a message to text to him and typed it out and sent him the link. She lifted her phone back to her ear. Marinette took in another deep breath. "A-Adrien, I texted you the address. S-Sent me an invitation and I'll accept you."
"Marinette...thank you," he replied. "That means a lot to me that you would trust me with the link. My username has just gaming screenshots and doesn't have my name on it. Just so you know."
Marinette wasn't sure if she could handle any more with him tonight. Her heart raced like it would stop at any moment so she tried to make an excuse. "I still have homework to do. So sent me an invite and accept it. See you...at school tomorrow?"
There was once again a little silence, but then he spoke, his voice seemed...happy. "Marinette, I won't keep you from homework, I have some left to do myself. Thank you, for trusting me. It means a lot to me."
She could have died at that moment. "Goodbye."
"Bye."
She hung up and when the line was disconnected, she tossed the phone away and grabbed her pillow. She took in a deep breath again, and brought the pillow up to her face, and pressed it into the pillow. Opening her mouth into the pillow she let out a scream.
8 8 8
Adrien hung up the phone and instantly there was a weight taken off his shoulders. While some worrying was still there, he knew there was a difference. He smiled as he looked at Plagg, who was eating some cheese and had seemed to pay no attention to the call. "I think that went well."
Plagg nodded and ate the last bite of his cheese. "See, nothing to worry about."
Adrien opened the link on his phone and sent the Instagram invite. It only took her thirty seconds to respond and accept him. Turning to his computer, deciding it would be better on his high end computer screens. He wanted to look at all the little details on her designs. He clicked through the designs, studying each one. While doing so, he noted that only three people followed the account. A thrilling feeling filled him as he realized that she actually meant only her closest friends followed her. Adrien knew that having the honour of seeing her designs like this had been an invite few others would get. So he looked through them with great interest.
It only got better, until he came to one from last year. His eyes stopped as he stared at the scarf on his computer screen. Light blue in colour, with beautiful tassels on the end. Adrien wasn't sure he was seeing things correctly and clicked into the next photo. Another angle of the scarf. The scarf still looked like the one he got from his father. He clicked on the next and a final one of the scarf. This picture had been taken from the strange angle. On the scarf was a clear hidden message, or rather a name, right in the scarf. The letters spelled Marinette. Just like her signature on the bowler hat. His mouth hung open. He looked down at the comment she posted about the photo.
Illusion Knitting! Such a beautiful technique! Using this trick, one can have hidden messages or images in ones knitted work. This was my first serious attempt at it and I am thrilled! I can't wait to give it to Adrien!
Adrien jumped from his seat and ran to his closet and ripped the walk in closet apart until he found the scarf and brought it to his desk. Laying the scarf down across his desk and knelt down at the same angle Marinette took the picture from. This wasn't a mistake. She couldn't have made him the scarf, his father gave him as a gift. The most thoughtful gift he ever received since his mother disappeared. Yet there the scarf was, Marinette's name hidden into the scarf. Adrien had a bag of mixed emotions running through him. While there was the hurt he felt at realizing that his father didn't get him the gift after all, there was some realization about Marinette. She had gotten him such a thoughtful gift, and he loved it. He wore it at school as often as possible, but yet she had said nothing. All this time, she had kept quiet. He proudly told everyone his father had designed it just for him.
"Plagg, Marinette made the scarf," he said.
Plagg hovered at the same angle and moved around, watching her name disappear and magically reappeared. "Whoa! That's actually pretty cool! She did a great job!"
"B-But, I thought my father made me this scarf? How could she have made it and not tell me?" Adrien cried.
"Well, the girl said she was too shy to tell you. Besides, it doesn't seem upset by it. Maybe she was just happy that you were happy," Plagg explained.
"Is that it?" Adrien asked. "Did she really not tell me because...I was happy my father finally remembered and cared it was my birthday?"
Plagg was still playing with the disappearing trick the scarf gave off. "I don't care for human emotions much, but what about Ladybug? I mean, you love her."
"More than anything!" Adrien stated.
"Well, you had many chances to find out her identity," Plagg explained. "You didn't though. Because it means a lot to her that you don't pressure her to tell you who she is."
"I want her to tell me when she's ready," Adrien explained. "I want her to be happy."
"Now, I don't care for human emotions or whatever, but I guess it's like that," Plagg explained. He got bored with the scarf and instead laid on it and began to roll around on it.
Adrien nodded as he took in the information. "No, you're right. It is the same. She didn't want me to be unhappy."
Adrien took a stead back at his computer chair and flipped to the next photo. He chuckled when he noticed how tangled up Plagg was getting in the scarf. "Starting tomorrow, I'm gonna talk to Marinette at school. I'm gonna get to know her. The real her."
A/N: Illusion knitting is really neat. I'm learning it now myself. I really suggest you google it. It's so fun! Until next time guys!