Friday started wonderfully for Marinette. She managed to wake up before her alarm went off and fixed herself a nice and healthy breakfast. The young lady enjoyed thoroughly her fresh bowl of fruits and her milky oatmeal before treating herself to a nice hot shower. As she towel-dried her damp skin she thought about the designs she wanted to work on that day. Her mock-ups for both the picnic and the coffee date were ready to be presented to Gabriel Agreste, but she had to redo the female cinema-date outfit from scratch as she had entirely modified the design the day before. She and Adrien had finally agreed on the male ice-skating-date design, so it wouldn't hurt to get started on that as well.

Tying her black strands into a neat French braid, she slipped on a ruby red light skirt that swirled prettily around her knees when she spun. Pulling a black off-the-shoulder top over her head, she cast an appreciative glance at herself in her floor-length mirror. Black ballerinas completing her look, she grabbed her purse and headed to Agreste's offices with minutes to spare. She felt great and confident. The past week had simply been amazing, and she was buzzing with energy and inspiration.

As she had on the first day of her internship, Marinette met with Adrien at the bottom of the stairs. The young man greeted her with a warm smile, extending his arm toward her so she could grab her daily latte.
"You really don't have to, Adrien."
He grinned.
"I know."
Marinette giggled, admitting defeat:
"There's nothing I can say or do to change your mind about this, huh?"
He opened the building door and gestured for her to enter as he breathed softly, a light smirk on his lips:
"Making our partnership last as long as possible will be repayment enough, don't you think?"
Startled by his answer, Marinette looked at him curiously:
"It's really that important to you?"
As they waited for the elevator, Adrien answered quietly:
"I get to work with an amazing designer, who's in bonus a really good friend and weirdly seems to care about me, AND I don't have to model anymore. Working with you means freedom for me. A latte seems a little price to pay in exchange, don't you agree?"
Blushing, Marinette smiled shyly. The elevator doors opened and they entered the small cabin, the blackette pressing the button for their floor. If she had learned something in the past two weeks about her partner, it was that he was incredibly stubborn once he had made up his mind about something. It was useless to try to fight with him over something as petty as lattes.
"That's a good thing I plan on sticking around until you can't bear my sight anymore then."
If she hadn't known him better, Marinette would've sworn that the smile Adrien gave her at that exact second was nothing short than flirtatious:
"I can't see that happen anytime soon."

Rendered speechless by his sudden boldness, the young designer simply pushed their office door open and went straight to her cutting table resuming where she had left her work the day before. If Adrien noticed anything weird in her attitude, he didn't mention it which she was really grateful for. They worked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before she felt her phone vibrate softly in her pocket:
[Chat Noir] Can I ask you a really weird question?
[Ladybug] How much weird are we talking about? If it's about whether or not Plagg has been possessed again, I already told you he's just old and grumpy.
Tugging on the fabric laid before her, she mentally berated herself. Adrien was a friend and couldn't be anything more than that. She had to stop letting her misplaced feelings take the best of her.
[Chat Noir] I'm still waiting on tangible proof about Plagg. That cat has demonic genes.
[Chat Noir] Actually I need advice, my lady.
[Chat Noir] How do you tell someone you have feelings for them?

Marinette tried to ignore the way her stomach clenched painfully as she read his last text. First Adrien, now Chat Noir? How fickle could she get?
[Ladybug] You don't seem to have any trouble telling me. Almost daily.
[Chat Noir] True…
[Chat Noir] My lady? Do you think it's possible to love two persons at once?
[Chat Noir] You know how much I love you, always had. But I can't stop thinking about her either.
She had no right to feel like that. To feel betrayed by his wavering affections. To feel crushed by what she had known was bound to happen sooner or later all along.
[Ladybug] It certainly is possible. I know I do.
The young woman had typed the words without thinking about them, but as soon as they were out she realized it wasn't a lie. Adrien had had a strong grip on her heart ever since she had been fifteen, but Marinette couldn't deny anymore the way she was feeling about Chat Noir was the main reason she still refused to meet him after all this time. Not that she planned on ever letting him know that.
[Ladybug] What is she like? Must be a really amazing woman to steal my stray kitty's heart.
She regretted the words as soon as she pressed send. The young designer blessed the foresight of the person who had imagined the layout of their office. Her back was blissfully turned on Adrien, who couldn't see clearly what she was doing nor the expression on her face. She didn't think she would be able to do a great job at hiding how heartbroken she felt right then knowing what Alya had warned her about was happening and she couldn't do anything about it.

She had taken too long to heal, to gather her courage. To sort her feelings out, to make up her goddamn mind.

Chat Noir wasn't waiting for her anymore.

[Chat Noir] She definitely is.
[Chat Noir] She's the kindest and most caring girl I've ever met, she's funny and witty, she lights up the room when she walks in. I'm sure you would like her. Doesn't hurt either that she's stunningly beautiful.
Marinette tried to hide the whimper that threatened to escape her lips. She obviously was no match for that mysterious girl who had caught her kitty's eyes . Why hadn't she listened to Alya? Why had she foolishly waited until it was already way too late to admit that Adrien wasn't the sole recipient of her affections? She had taken him for granted, had figured she could hide behind her screen as long as she wanted and he would still be there.
[Ladybug] Why do I feel there's a "but"?
The designer willed herself to calm down. Even if she had realized her feelings sooner it wouldn't have changed anything. Chat Noir deserved someone that wasn't broken just as much as Adrien did. She couldn't properly be with either of them. It shouldn't matter that he loved someone else. If anything, she should be happy for him.
[Chat Noir] She's the friend I told you about the other day.
[Ladybug] The one that got hurt?
[Chat Noir] Yeah. (I really should get working, I'm going to piss my coworker off).

Marinette risked a curious glance over her shoulder. Her blue gaze met with Adrien kind eyes, and he offered her a broad smile before looking back at his computer screen.
[Ladybug] I'm safe for the time being, I don't think my boss noticed yet that I'm texting more than I'm working.
[Ladybug] I shouldn't push my luck, though.
Sighing softly, she began cutting the fabric she needed and managed to pin it together before she felt her phone buzz again in her pocket.
[Chat Noir] I'm scared that if I try pursuing her I'll lose her as a friend altogether.
And I'm scared to lose you as a friend if you do pursue her, Marinette thought.
[Ladybug] I don't know her nor what happened to her, but in any case, I think honesty is the best policy.
[Ladybug] Just be yourself when you tell her. If she doesn't return your feelings at least you'll know where you stand.
[Chat Noir] I'll try. I'll let you know how it goes.
Marinette suddenly felt overwhelmed. She knew she had no business feeling that way. Chat had every right to love and being loved properly. She suddenly turned around on her chair, startling Adrien who looked at her curiously :
"I need to clear my mind a little. I'm going out for a walk or something, I'm coming back, don't worry."
He smiled, that wide smile that showed his dimples, as he answered softly as he got up:
"Sure. Anything you want to talk about?"
The young woman grabbed her purse and summoned all her will to smile at him as genuinely as she could despite how she truly felt:
"I'll be fine, thanks. I just need fresh air. Actually… Wanna tag along?"
The blond simply nodded and opened the door for her:
"After you then."

They ended up walking for over an hour, quietly chatting about silly little things. Adrien was obviously trying his best to distract her from her sorrows, making her glad she had invited him to come along. The young man didn't push to know what was on her mind, simply reassuring her that if she wanted to talk about it, he'd be there.

When they headed back to their office, she laughed softly:
"So much for leaving my problems at home. I'm a huge fraud."
Adrien shook his head as he waited for her to open the door, having his hands full with the lunch they had stopped to get on their way back:
"I disagree. We agreed not to let our private life interfere with our work. You obviously couldn't focus on what you were doing so you took it upon yourself to take your lunch break earlier to clear your mind. And you let me know something was wrong instead of just snapping at me."
She giggled:
"When you put it that way I almost sound mature."
The blond smiled:
"You know, how we make this work is up to us both. I don't mind taking a break to walk, laugh or talk once in awhile if either of us needs it."
The blackette helped him lay the boxes on their desk, prompting him to frown in disbelief:
"That's an awful lot of sushis."
Blushing, Marinette chuckled:
"I always have trouble choosing, so I end up with a little bit of everything. Don't be shy, dig in!"
Laughing heartily, Adrien picked up a shrimp maki and smiled at her warmly.

The afternoon was noticeably way more productive, Marinette had unwinded enough to actually being able to tackle a lot of work. She finally left their office long after sunset despite her partner's objections, exhausted but proud of the progress she had made.

In fact, she had been so focused on her designs all afternoon that she didn't even notice Adrien not so subtly staring at her for hours.