Note: Thank you for all of the reviews! I really enjoy them and they help me a lot! ^-^
Marinette reached for her cellphone and saw that she had a missed text message.
Adrien: Hey. I wanted to talk to you about something.
Marinette crawled out of Luka's bed and walked out onto his balcony. She closed the text message without responding to it and flipped through her contacts for Alya's number.
She hit call and waited for her best friend to pick up.
"Hey, girl. It's the middle of the night. What's so important?" Alya yawned and walked out of her bedroom.
"I had a fight with Adrien…. Luka started having a sort of thing for Adrien… Adrien went to a bar… and he is now about to go on a date with Kagami tomorrow night… Which he met her at said bar." Marinette's voice came out in a rush. "I just had to decipher who won in a fencing match between the two of them."
"Again?" Alya was taken aback.
"That's what your focusing on? The fencing tournament?!" Marinette was blown away by her friend.
"I mean, it didn't work out so well for you back in high school, Mari." Alya burst out laughing and then stopped. "In all seriousness, Adrien has been waiting for a long time, M. AND, while he did keep calling you a 'friend'... for years."
"Yeah, and he didn't even notice me." Marinette interrupted her.
Alya sighed and rubbed her temples. "Look, girl. He did notice you. You just never caught him staring at you in class. Or how he'd watch you from afar… Or the time he didn't care that much,when I made you two dance closer. Or how about when you made that hat and he looked you in the eye and touched your hand. Or how about when he leaned in for a cookie… Or how about when he checked you out in that fountain… or… how about when he made you that bracelet you always keep in your purse. Even if, it is beginning to fray. Or…"
"Okay! I get it Alya!" Marinette interrupted her best friend.
" I told you before and I will again… You need to pick. He's not going to wait forever. And seeing as how he is about to go on a date with Kagami, of all people… You're running out of time." Alya watched Nino walk out of the bedroom, stretching his arms.
"He's going to the cafe right next to the Eiffel Tower." Nino flipped through his texts.
"What did Nino say?" Marinette perked up.
"Girl… you better not be thinking what we all know you are." Alya warned her best friend and shook her finger.
Marinette bit her lip and smiled.
"If you're going to do this… you need someone with you. I volunteer my sanity for the evening." Alya raised her hand and Nino looked at her disturbed.
Nino shook his head and walked into the kitchen to get a drink.
"We're gonna need costumes…" Marinette began to pack her things and left out of Luka's apartment, after leaving a note on his kitchen table.
"Oh lord." Alya rolled her eyes. "You know, you're really… not hiding your stalker tendencies, right now."
"Me,a stalker?! Never." Marinette closed her eyes and waved the idea away with her hand.
"Why am I even friends with you?" Alya slapped her forehead with her palm.
"We're not friends. We're best friends." Marinette giggled and rushed off to her apartment.
"I'm going to go back to bed. I'll text you when I'm close to your place tomorrow night." Alya looked over at Nino.
He dropped the glass from his lips. "Six o'clock."
"At five thirty. That way we can get there a bit early." Alya spoke through a clenched teeth smile.
"Sounds perfect. I'll talk to you then." Marinette hung up her phone and ran up to her apartment.
She spent all night at her sewing machine, making disguises for her and Alya. It wasn't until her alarm went off on her phone, in the morning, that she realized she didn't get much sleep. It was going to be hard to stay awake during Gabriel Agreste's showcase.
She quickly got ready for the showcase. Marinette picked up the designs onto her pointer finger. They were covered in a protective plastic and they each hung on a hanger. She slipped her feet into red strappy heels and brushed her hands down the front of her her satin black A-line dress. The short sleeves draped loosely around her upper arms and thin straps held the dress up on her shoulders, while the bust was form fitted with a sweetheart neckline. She threw on a red bangle bracelet and the kwamitama Tikki had made her.
She grabbed her red clutch purse and car keys, before she walked out the door of her apartment.
It didn't take long for Marinette to get to the venue and she was greeted by Nathalie at the door. Sexx Dreams by Lady Gaga played over the venue.
"Mademoiselle Dupain Cheng." Nathalie put her hand on her back to lead her to where she was to set up.
Five mannequins stood with nothing on. Marinette hung her designs on the clothing rack. She set her book of design concepts down on the small foldable table. Marinette began to unpack the first outfit from the bag.
"Hello, Mademoiselle Dupain Cheng." A deep regel voice came up from behind her and she jumped.
Her hand flew to her chest and she looked at Gabriel with wide eyes. "Monsieur Agreste! I didn't see you there."
"You've chosen beautiful pieces." Gabriel took in the ensembles wrapped in plastic. "And which one is Adrien set to wear. He is your live model."
"Um…" Marinette felt her heart skip and a pain hit her at the same time. "This one, Sir."
She held out a black suit with a neon green button down shirt. "I went ahead and paired it with this tie, pocket square, and these cufflinks." She held out a black tie with silver details, a neon green and black patterned pocket square, and silver cat head cufflinks.
"Excellent choice. You always surprise me, Dupain Cheng." Gabriel walked away with his hands behind his back and Marinette let out the breath she had been holding.
Marinette finished dressing up her mannequins. She looked around at all of the other designs and searched for a familiar set of green eyes. Ones that she really didn't want to see, but she had to. This had all been set up months ago.
"Looking for me?" Adrien tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped.
"Yes. Actually." She looked from his feet to his eyes and got lost in what he was wearing and how it fit his body, perfectly.
Adrien raised an eyebrow at her with his arms crossed across his chest.
"Can you put this on please?" Marinette held the black suit out to him and the accessories.
"Couldn't help yourself?" Adrien noticed all of the black, silver, and neon green details in the ensemble.
Marinette blushed and anger filled up her chest. "I made it a while back, okay." She huffed and he chuckled at her.
Adrien proceeded to undo his jeans and drop them to his ankles.
"What are you doing?" Marinette turned away from him.
"Changing?" Adrien shrugged and slid the black slacks on.
"Out here?" Marinette looked into his eyes and felt her heart ache.
"Where else, m'Lady?" Adrien rolled his eyes. "I'm a model. I change where ever most of the time. It's not a big deal. More than half this room has seen me naked."
Marinette suddenly became hyper aware of all of the women around her staring at him undressing and getting dressed into her creation.
"Nope." Marinette yanked him by his wrist to the bathroom, while he still clenched his shirt in his hand, that he had been wearing.
"Mari… You can't be like this." Adrien sighed and rubbed his temples. "You have no right. It's my job, your industry. You have to get used to women staring at me. I'm sorry." Marinette handed him the button down shirt and he slipped the button down shirt on and tucked it into the slacks.
Marinette looked down at her feet, ashamed, and blindly handed him his tie, pocket square, and cufflinks without a word.
Adrien slid the sports coat over his arms and onto his shoulders. He walked out of the bathroom, while pushing the cufflinks through the holes in the shirt. Marinette looked into her eyes in the mirror and saw someone broken. But she also knew that she was going to make his date a living hell, tonight.
"No one can have him but me." Marinette glared into the mirror and swung around, away from the bathroom counter.
She walked out of the bathroom with her head held high.
"Did you get my text?" Adrien was busy tying the tie around his neck, when she walked up to her area.
"Yeah." Marinette sighed and set out her concept sketches.
"And.. you didn't feel like answering? You weren't curious?" Adrien stood with one hand in his pocket and a fake model smile, as people started to file in to admire her work.
"I was busy." Marinette somewhat lied to him.
"Oh." Adrien chose let her lie go. It wasn't that he wasn't bothered by her lack of interest. It was that he was more concerned about what it was she had been doing. "Do you want to know what I was going to say?" He looked at her from the corner of his eye, while a woman touched his coat to admire it's quality.
"Not really. I can guess myself." Marinette shrugged and shook hands with someone.
Adrien shrugged and put on another model smile with a new pose.
Marinette finally looked up from her sketches, the interested people, and her work to actually see Adrien. Her outfit fit him well and accentuated his muscles. She bit her lower lip and tried to not focus on him. She tried to not focus on how the black and green brought out his forest eyes or how the slim pants made his legs look longer. How his ankles peeked out from a pair of black dress shoes. She admired his silver ring on his right hand and couldn't help, but realize that Adrien wasn't just Adrien Agreste, but he was Chat Noir, her partner. Tikki's words of him being two vastly different people… never hit her harder than they did at that moment. That she was not only rejecting him as Chat Noir, again, but she was rejecting him as Adrien too. And that she was not just Marinette, but she was also Ladybug. For some reason that hurt her even more.
Lunchtime approached quickly and before she knew it, Luka was standing in front of them.
"Ready to go to lunch?" Luka smiled over at Marinette and Adrien.
Adrien scoffed, rolled his eyes, and walked away to go ask Nathalie something.
Marinette watched him walk away with her bottom lip between her teeth, with concern in her eyes. She hooked her arm around Luka's elbow and they walked out of the venue to grab lunch at a nearby cafe, after she stopped by Gabriel Agreste to tell him she was going on her lunch break.
Gabriel seemed to give Luka a stern expression, but Marinette thought it was just a natural Gabriel Agreste look.
"Gabriel Agreste… seems... " Luka tried to search for a positive adjective, as they walked towards the small cafe.
"Stern? Serious? Picky? An acquired taste?" Marinette started listing things that could define him.
"All of those things." Luka chuckled and walked into the cafe with Marinette.
They sat at a table outside and waited for their drinks.
"So, how did you get started in music?" Marinette smiled at him and set her menu down onto the small round table.
Luka smiled at her. "My father was in a well known band. He left when I was two and never came back. I had this silly dream, as a kid, that if I joined a band, or made one, and toured then I would run into him one day." Luka blushed and took in her endearing expression. "I guess that's a bit silly." He looked away and covered his mouth with his hand.
"No, no." Marinette touched his hand that was resting on the table with hers. "I think it's sweet. I hope that one day you do find him."
"Thank you, Marinette." Luka smiled warmly at her and the waiter sat their drinks down on the table, in front of them.
"No, problem. Any time. I really admire your music." Marinette took a sip of her tea.
"Me too. I mean, I admire your work." Luka cleared his throat and took a sip of his water.
Marinette giggled behind her hand and smiled warmly at him. "You're a really great guy, Luka."
He smiled at her and set his cup down. "Thank you, Doll. You're a really, beautifully, talented woman."
Marinette blushed and felt her heart pick up in her chest.
"Why do you like me?" Marinette looked at Luka, after the waiter took their order and whisked off with their menus.
Luka thought about it a moment and leaned into his arms, on the table. "I guess… it's your smile, how you always see the good in things, how creative you are, how talented you are, how you take time to care about everyone… How strong you are… You're beautiful… The list goes on, Marinette. You're very special." He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"But- I-" Marinette went to protest his positive compliments about her. She had never thought of herself as thought things. Maybe creative. Maybe.
Luka smiled at her with a soft chuckle and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Even if you don't see it yourself, doll."
"I- it's hard to see stuff like that about myself. I guess… I just don't see it." She looked down at the table and rubbed her upper arm.
"Marinette." He raised her face by her chin between his thumb and finger.
She reluctantly peered into his soft teal eyes and he smiled warmly. "You are beautiful, one of a kind, and worth the wait. I'd wait til the Earth passed it's final rotation and the moon fell away from the sky." He brought his lips close to hers and she sighed. "You're the sun. Without you? Nothing revolves. Nothing moves. The Universe… just stops." He spoke meer inches from her pink lips, before closing the distance and slowly pressing his lips to hers in a loving, soft, kiss.
Her lips moved against his and her heart soared. There was no drama with him. No stress. She only felt loved and like she was his purpose for living. Like she meant the world to him and no one else could replace her in his eyes.
Adrien sat at a table at the showcase, picking through a salad, angrily.
"I think it's already dead, Adrikins." Chloe joked and Adrien looked up at her.
"Chlo!" Adrien got up from his seat and she suddenly jumped at him and hugged him tight. "When did you get back into the city?"
She let him go and smiled up at him. "Last night. Daddy thought I'd want to come see the showcase your father was putting on. But I see you're busy stabbing a salad."
Adrien blushed. "Rough week." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"I see that." Chloe laughed her iconic trill sound and he winced with a fake smile.
Marinette walked back into the venue and saw Chloe hanging on Adrien and saw how they were laughing. She gripped her fists at her sides.
She fixed her side bangs and walked over to her booth. Adrien peered over at her and spun Chloe around to Lady Gaga's song, G.U.Y, that was playing over the speakers.
Chloe's eyes went wide and Marinette's face fell, as he dipped her back and brought his lips close to Chloe's with his signature Chat Noir smirk. Chloe peered at him through her long lashes and her hand rested on his chest.
Marinette crumpled one of her design concepts in her fist and clenched her teeth.
Adrien brought Chloe back up and ran his fingers along her neck, before he leaned into her ear, causing her knees to buckle. He caught her with a dangerous smile and peered at Marinette with dark smoldering green eyes, as his lips grazed her neck.
Marinette wanted to kill him. She wanted to scream and stomp out of the showcase, but she couldn't. This was too important for her future. She had to endure it, but she didn't have to watch. Marinette cleared her throat and excused herself to the restroom.
Nathalie took over her fashion booth and watched her walk off with a worried expression.
"I didn't know you felt that way about me." Chloe sighed and got lost in his face, but all he was focused on was an upset Marinette.
Nathalie looked at him and shook her head in disapproval.
Adrien pushed a dreamy Chloe away and walked back to Marinette's booth to continue modeling her suit.
"You're going to break that girl, Adrien." Nathalie leaned over and quietly spoke.
Adrien clenched his teeth together. She's breaking me first. Adrien gave everyone an earth shattering model smile.
Nathalie sighed and continued to talk about Marinette's inspiration.
Marinette stood in a bathroom stall and held her face in her hands.
"Marinette. You need to be strong. You can do this. Stand up tall and walk out there and sell your concepts." Tikki swirled around her and put her hands on her hips with confidence. "You really think Adrien has a thing for Chloe?"
Marinette shook her head. "No, no he doesn't." She sniffed and dropped her hands from her face.
Tikki grabbed her a kleenex from a box on the counter of the bathroom. "So, get out there and sell it like you own it, girl."
Marinette giggled and wiped the tissue under her eyes and nodded. She walked out of the bathroom and back to her booth. Adrien looked over at her and noticed how puffy her eyes were and he cringed a little.
Nathalie smiled at Marinette and gave her booth back to her.
The whole showcase felt like it lasted hours, but before long she was packing up her designs and heading to her car.
Songs playing at the showcase:
Sexx Dreams by Lady Gaga
G.U.Y by Lady Gaga
Song I wrote Luka's lunch date to:
Moonlight by Ariana Grande