A.N.- Surprise! So I know it was longer than anticipated, but my betas pushed me farther than before. Long story short, I had to rewrite this chapter 3 times. I'm happy to say I'm so glad they made me because this was the result. I'll always try and improve for you all. For those of you concerned about Spiraling Down, I'm about a third of the way through and have the entire weekend to work on it. The update should be soon!
Chapter 8
He was going to be late for his date if he didn't hurry, but he had to pick up some books at home that would aid next semester. It was also important to at least check in on his father. He loved the freedom that came with living on campus, but he often thought about how lonely his father must be with him gone, so he dropped by when he could. Today his father seemed to be too wrapped up in his study planning the fashion shows for the spring designs; some things never changed.
Adrien waited for 15 minutes at the top of the stairs after Natalie went to fetch Gabriel. Enough time passed that the model figured his father was busy so he would have to come back another time. He only managed to descend halfway down the staircase before a familiar voice filled the air.
"You know, I don't appreciate you blowing off your responsibilities to go gallivanting around the city." Adrien's teeth gritted at his father's condescending tone. He turned after another step to meet his father's gaze, determined to defend himself against the accusation.
"I've already fulfilled my obligations at the photoshoot. I arrived early so we could send the photos in time, and I'm not gallivanting around the city. Amelie and I have a lunch date today." Just the mention of his girlfriend's name softened his father's expression.
"Well it's good to see that you have finally surrounded yourself with good influences. Amelie has a good head on her shoulders, thinking about the future and what's best for her." The subtle jab didn't go unnoticed.
His father had looked down on his choice of friends most of his life. It still irked the blonde that instead of admitting that he was wrong, he would rather insult and blame them.
"She reminds me of your mother with her determination. You picked well son," he said.
Adrien's mouth dropped at the compliment; all anger he held evaporated. His father barely talked about his mother after she was presumed dead, let alone compare any girl to her.
A small swell of pride welled up in his chest as he returned the smile his father was giving him. With these moments being so few and far between, anytime he gained approval he treasured the moments. The two stood and relished in the silence a couple more moments before Adrien made his way to the door.
"There's the upcoming charity ball at the Louvre, I figured we could go together. You look dashing in a suit and I have this new black number that I was dying to wear. It would be good-"
He tuned Amelie out. It had been twenty minutes since they sat down and all she could talk about were events that they could attend as a couple and how the press would be good for both their families. She was starting to sound less like his girlfriend and more like his public relations manager.
The behavior had started after he had taken her back. It took a couple weeks to figure out where he had seen it before, then it hit him. He had lived it for the last ten years with his father. That he had to earn his love through his actions.
"Amelie," He reached out grabbing her hand as well as her attention, "Just stop. Can we talk for a second?" he paused as he watched her eyebrows knit together. "About us," he added to make his intentions clear.
"What is it?" She asked. All attention was stripped away from her phone and the calender events that she had planned. It might have been the first time since they arrived that he could tell she was a hundred percent within the conversation.
"I need you to stop. If you keep this up you're going to end up resenting everything. Don't blame yourself for the breakup, it wasn't your fault," he paused as the bitter truth sat on his tongue, "It was mine."
"What do you mean?" Amelie's voice wavered as her eyes searched his.
"I had my own issues, and I took it out on you...I'm sorry." The apology was long overdue. He mentally kicked himself for not recognizing the pattern sooner.
"I wish you would have told me, we could have talked it out." That's what most couples did when they fought, but this wasn't a normal situation.
"I didn't think I could," he confessed, tearing his eyes away. She had been so patient with him, and how did he repay her?
"Why not?" She asked.
He could do this, it was like pulling off a band-aid right?
"Because it involves a girl." It was good to get the truth off his chest, but the terrifying silence from the other side of the table was greater than any akuma attack. "I used to like her a couple years ago, and recently she came back into my life. I thought I was over her and then suddenly my feelings got stirred up and I realized that I-"
"Still like her," Amelie finished for him removing her hand from his. "Who is she?" He was glad that he did this while surrounded by people, she couldn't make a scene. The tabloids would have a field day and create even more problems with their lies. "You know what? It doesn't matter." Her voice was hard to read, but he couldn't bring himself to look directly at her.
"I get if you never want to see me again, but it doesn't change is how I feel about you. My feelings for you are very real. These 4 months have been great, I love how when you get determined nothing can stand in your way. When you laugh it lights up whatever room you're in." So many things came to mind, there was no way to express it all. His father was right, his mom would have gotten along with her, they were similar.
"You don't have to explain, Adrien." It was the first time that he forced himself to meet her gaze. Maybe he heard her wrong, she should be yelling-screaming anything to make him feel better.
"I don't?" She was being incredibly calm about this, it made no sense at all. Didn't she care that she didn't own all his heart?
"It's normal, to think about the what-ifs. You never got the closure that you needed. I'm not threatened, take all the time you need to process the feelings and they'll fade. I'm not going anywhere." He could barely process what she said till she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
"I can think of a few ways you can make it up to me." She dropped some money on the table and stood up as she grabbed her purse. She flashed him a coy smile before leaning down so she hovered right outside his ear.
"Are you coming?" Adrien couldn't get out of his seat fast enough as he followed her closely behind out the restaurant to the car.
Marinette jumped on her bed, clutching the piece of paper close to her. No matter how many times she read the invite for the Agreste internship it never failed to bring a giddy smile across her lips. It was the best Christmas gift she had received that year.
The tradition of roommate Christmas had a rocky start with Amelie inviting Adrien over without Marinette's consent. She had to find out by coming home to them making out under the mistletoe. Her roommate only had a lame excuse to give. The night had gotten more awkward when Amelie continued her pda by draping herself on Adrien's lap. It didn't irk her because she was still pinning for the boy, but more because it seemed that her friend had forgotten her existence.
Adrien must have sensed her discomfort because he made every effort to keep it to a minimum.
When Amelie had excused herself to get some hot chocolate, Marinette was surprised by Adrien holding out a small gift. She had her doubts at first, that it was possible for them to even reach the level of friendship they had before. As her feelings for the blonde diminished, she was more comfortable allowing Adrien in inch by inch. The one thing she hadn't accounted for was a gift. She accepted it because she wasn't like Chloe, she would appreciate anything he got her.
It was more than she bargained for. Inside was the very letter that she was still holding a week later. Marinette couldn't help herself and wrapped her arms around him, she had missed his warmth. When they were in high school they used to hug like that all the time, each one would bring a smile to her lips.
She had told him thank you somewhere with the mixed limbs, but looking back it still didn't seem adequate enough. He laughed against her and the way his chest vibrated among the sounds made her knees weak. It wasn't until Adrien leaned in, his face right next to her ear, and told her it was her talent that got her in did she know she was in trouble. Close, he was too close again. Thank goodness that Amelie had separated them with just a harsh cough.
The sound of tapping on the glass door snapped her back from the memory, causing her smile to tug back further. If Chat Noir was anything with his visits it was punctual. She counted down in her head. When she reached zero, the familiar face popped through her curtains.
"Did you miss me?" He flashed a silly boyish grin clearly loving some aspects of their secret friendship.
"Yeah, Amelie went out with Adrien hours ago. I'm sure they're keeping each other occupied," she replied dryly. Her eyes drifted back to the letter until she heard a thump. Chat Noir sheepishly looked up at her a light blush spread across his cheek.
"How do you keep all those women off with you being that smooth?" She teased.
"Careful, you sound jealous," he shot back, picking himself and what was left of his dignity off the floor before leaping onto the bed next to her. "I wouldn't blame you, it's the tail, claimed many admirers." Mari pushed his shoulder playfully as he settled in beside her. Chat had kept his promise and visited her almost every night after patrol. They talked and occasionally cuddled, but nothing more ever happened.
His eyes drifted to the piece of paper in her hand and his head tilted slightly.
"What's that?" He asked. Marinette tried to conceal the letter but it was too late.
"It's nothing." She didn't know why she wanted to hide the letter from him, maybe she was nervous how he would react to her spending more time with Adrien. Chat fought her eventually gaining victory grabbing the letter from her hand.
"Congratulations Ms. Dupain-Chang on being chosen for the internship-" he stopped himself from reading out further.
"It's not a big deal." She stole the letter back and hid it away in her nightstand.
"It is a huge deal- isn't this one of the most sought-after internships in Paris?"
"Maybe," her voice drew the word out. She was proud of the accomplishment, after all, she had worked to earn it.
"Then act like it!" The next thing Marinette knew a pillow hit her and it took a second to realize the source.
"Did you just-" Chat responded with a grin like a cat got the canary.
It was on.
Marinette grabbed her own weapon and the pillows went flying. Laughter filled the air as they combatted each other. Thank goodness for all the years of training as Ladybug.
In a blur of events, Marinette wound up underneath Chat with her hands pinned above her head. Both sets of eyes went wide as their heavy breathing was in sync.
She felt a new heat grow as his gaze flickered down to her lips before jumping back to meet her. They had agreed, the kiss between them was a mistake, totally unprofessional. If Chat only wanted to be friends and drop by her balcony for talks, she would have to respect that. But then there were moments like this where she questioned everything, it couldn't be just her feeling the electricity and tension cutting through them.
The second that he stepped foot on her balcony, he knew that this was a mistake. What was he even going to say to her? It had been 4 excruciating days since the kiss and it was the only thing playing over and over in his mind. They needed to address what happened, otherwise it might damage the relationship between them further. He closed his eyes as his hand hovered over the glass before he knocked. Within a minute Marinette was there opening the door to let him inside.
He didn't know how things escalated, one moment they had agreed that the kiss shouldn't happen again, and the next their lips were attached like they gave each other life itself. Her scent and taste was intoxicating, he wasn't sure it would ever enough.
"Chat." The way she breathed out his name made his suit feel 3 times tighter. The mood only damped when she detangled her limbs from his.
"Yes, princess," he purred outside her ear before his lips started to trail down her neck.
"We shouldn't do this, I haven't been completely honest with you." There were so many scenarios that ran through his head and none of them were ideal. His body tensed the mood was officially killed.
"When I first kissed you, I wasn't in the right mind, I was upset. You see there's this guy-"
"Who is he?" The bitterness dripped from his voice as he cut her off, he shouldn't be controlling, he had no claim on her in any way.
"It was silly of me to think that someone like me could have Adrien Agreste look at me in that way-"
"Wait...Adrien Agreste, as in the model?" This whole time she was harboring feelings for him? His stomach churned but he wasn't sure if it was from the excitement or the regret of some of the choices he made.
"It sounds silly, but we were friends in school and I just thought that maybe I stood a chance."
He had to stop himself from shouting, revealing his identity and tell her that she was wrong. That the night that he saw her at the club that he wanted nothing more than to finally get his chance to ask her out. To tell her how gorgeous she looked, but he fell apart when the time came.
The fact that tears started to stream down her face killed him, so he reached out his gloved hand and wiped them away allowing his hand to linger longer than it should.
"He's an idiot if he doesn't know how special you are." A couple of minutes of silence sat between them before he gathered the courage to continue. "May I ask you a question, Princess?" The second she looked up at him he felt his throat contract. This was dangerous territory, even for someone like him that toed the line.
"Anything," she responded with a warm but tired smile.
"It's about Adrien Agreste." Immediately he watched her face fall- in disappointment? His stomach churned losing all desire to ask the question, but he had already backed himself into a corner.
"Oh," Her tone was less than enthusiastic. A whole string of emotions wavered inside of him. He thought they had made some progress with winning back her friendship over the last couple weeks, but now everything was in question. The idea that Marinette wasn't honest with him stung. First with the list that caused this mess in the first place and now the possibility that she wasn't genuine with him?
"You said that Adrien Agreste didn't have feelings for you that way, but hypothetically," he added for good measure, "what if things were different? Would that change anything?" He needed to know more, and if she would only give honest answers to his alter ego, then that's how he would acquire his information.
He watched her carefully as a surge of emotions overcame her features. What he was sure was a couple seconds felt like enough to fill a lifetime.
"It can't." His body froze, it certainly wasn't the answer he was expecting.
"Can't?" He parroted back weakly. If he wasn't careful his emotions would betray him in more ways than one.
"No. He's with my roommate of all people and I'm-happy for them." The second part stuck in the air. "If he had any feelings for me then he wouldn't have accepted her offer in the beginning. Besides," her eyes fell to the floor, "she really likes him. Even if they broke up, I-I couldn't do that to her. The best thing I can do is get over him."
The list that he found was starting to click and he had a suspicion that Amelie's only involvement was lending the magazine.
"Amelie is lucky to have a friend like you," was all he could muster as a response.
"You're not mad at me, are you? For asking you to kiss me?" He glanced down at a fear-stricken face which only ripped his heart more. He leaned in and pressed his lips to the top of her head for reassurance.
"I could never be mad at you princess." The moment between them was too brief but he forced himself to push her away.
"I should probably go. Rene rouge will skin me alive if I'm late for patrol again." He took a couple steps up towards the roof.
"You can visit me anytime, Kitty." Marinette boldly followed and reached out to ring his bell playfully.
"I'll take you up on that offer," he promised.
"Uh, Chat?" She glanced up at where his hands still pinned hers and he jolted back as if the contact left a fiery trail underneath his leather bound gloves.
"S-Sorry," he stuttered. It was so easy to relive that memory, the things that were said stuck in his brain even if he wanted to scrub it clean. He was tempted to give in and kiss her senseless until she was high on him, but where would that leave them? Things were better this way, he would still get to have his friendship with Marinette back, and she wouldn't have to feel awkward around him.
Marinette sat up on the bed with a thousand words dying on her tongue before she could speak. She wasn't sure, but she thought he was going to kiss her just then. They had talked about the kiss, but failed to adjust the underlying issue; there was a connection between them. It was useless to dance around the issue, but she could tell he wasn't ready.
So why was he holding back, was he scared of what Ladybug would think? He wasn't aware that she was the girl he was chasing most of her schooling, and she was almost tempted to use the information to her advantage, but that wouldn't be fair to him.
"Mari!" The door handle jiggled, and the words brought the cold splash of reality upon them.
"Why is the door locked?" Marinette had to do something unless she wanted to explain why Chat Noir made frequent visits with her in her room, with the door locked no less.
"Hide," she hissed to the cat as she shoved him towards the closet. It would be easy enough to keep the redhead from discovering him in there. "Uh, are you sure it's not just stuck, you know how it gets sometimes," Mari yelled over her shoulder watching Chat struggle with closing the door.
"I can't get it," Amelie's voice grew more frustrated by the second. Once Marinette was sure that Chat was safely hidden away, in one swoop she unlocked the door and opened it.
"Sometimes it just needs a magic touch." Marinette gave her most confident smile, but inside her stomach still had butterflies. If she wasn't careful it wouldn't be long until her roommate discovered that Chat Noir visits on a regular basis. Amelie brushed past her in the room and sat down on the bed.
"I just had the weirdest conversation with-" She stopped mid sentence as an aroma filled her nose. "Mari, did you have a boy in here? I recognize that cologne anywhere." Marinette's face drained of color, and her feet turned to lead. Chat hadn't come to see her that often, had he? Her lack of response and the behavioral shift was all the answer that Amelie needed.
"He's still here, isn't he? That's why you had the door locked!" She jumped up from her seat and ducked to glance under the bed.
"Amelie, stop! No one is here." The words didn't deter her from looking behind the closet. It was almost as if she was a little kid on a treasure hunt.
"The closet," Marinette heard Amelie whisper to herself and knew she needed to step in or come up with the best excuse yet.
"Amelie, you need to leave now." If Marinette's tone wasn't enough to deter her, the hands grabbing shoulders were.
"Fine." Amelie's lips sunk into a disappointed pout. "But we will talk about this later. I want to hear all about him." Just for good measure, Marinette guided her to the door, so she wouldn't try anything funny. Before Amelie could protest, the door was closed and locked. She let out a relieved sigh and her back slid down the wall.
"That was too close." She breathed out, running her hands through her hair.
"You weren't the one stuck in the closet, I was sweating bullets in there!" There was an airy feature of his chuckle that lightened the room and their current situation. "Come on, I think it would be good if both of us got out of here before Amelie comes back." He didn't have to offer twice.
A.n.- So for the people that asked to torture Adrien the beginning of it has only begun. It would be too easy for Marichat to get together that early. I still have some fluff in there to hold you over.