By the end of the afternoon, she had not done nearly as much as she wanted, with a resigned sigh, she stood up, grabbed her coat and purse and made her way out of the office.
As she came back home, Alya was already there typing away on her laptop.
"Hey" Marinette said as she entered and pushed her keys into the door to close it behind her. "You were right. I feel better having been at the office kept me distracted." Alya continued to stare at her laptop for a few seconds before slamming it shut and putting it on the nearby table. She stood up and took her friend in a hug. Marinette hugged her back, the tension leaving her shoulders. She let her head rest on her friends shoulder as she rubbed her back.
"I know I was right." Alya said before she murmured "How are you?"
"Mmmh… soso. Didn't throw up so that's good I guess." Marinette answered inconclusively, before she started to blush as she started to think about her encounter with Adrien this morning. Alya seemed to notice the change in Marinettes mind and looked at her best friend, breaking their hug.
"Spill! Something happened?" Marinette groaned and hid her face in her hands.
Alya walked to the fridge and took out a salad she seemed to have prepared beforehand and dressed the table as Marinette walked to her room to change her clothes in the hopes of being more comfortable.
They both sat down and Alya inquired once more, why she had just been blushing.
"It's nothing really. Just my crush flaring up again. Might be the hormones…" Alya laughed.
"What happened with Mr. Bouton D'Or?" She asked impatiently wiggling in her seat. Marinette took a sip of water, before telling Alya about her encounter with her bossson.
"It was… He was very sweet..." She explained, a slight blush rising on her cheeks once more. "And then he asked me to call him by his first name."
Alya jaw opened in surprise. "That's great! Finally, a step forward!" She exclaimed. Marinette shook her head.
"No, Alya. It's not a step forward. It's not a step at all. I'm pregnant. From a man I don't even know. Remember? All my chances with my crush on the boss will get me nowhere. Pregnant or not anyway." Marinette sighed dejectedly. Alyas' lips scrunched up, not pleased by hearing Marinettes words but for once she had no comeback.
Marinette picked at her salad only getting a few forkfuls down.
"I picked up some pregnancy vitamins for you on my way." Alya said, effectively breaking the silence. Marinette stopped her movements. How could she have forgotten something as trivial as this. Even if she didn't know if she wanted this baby, the least she could do was take care of its health and hers.
"Thank you." She whispered before getting up and putting her plate and cutlery in the dish washer.
"Salut Nino, how are you? Sorry for calling back so late… I was stuck in meetings like always…" Adrien rambled on the phone as he was walking back home.
"Salut Adrien, I'm great. No worries. I knew there would be more chances of landing on your voicemail. How are you? Do you have time to meet up tonight?"
"I'm good, bit tired though… it's a long story. Come to my place, I'm currently on my way back."
"Well, this doesn't sound good by the sound of your voice. I was already hoping on coming over tonight, but now I definitely am. I haven't seen my best bud in too long."
"Welllll, it's not my fault you were away touring in NYCs clubs for a couple of weeks without inviting me as your plus one." Adrien joked. Nino chuckled.
"I'll buy some Thai food on my way over. See ya!" He said not waiting for an answer before hanging up.
Adrien chuckled after they hung up. He walked slowly to his appartement. He thankfully he been able to find an apartment near the Agrestes headquarters.
Soon enough he arrived home and was greeted by a small tuxedo cat, who was sitting right behind the door and observed him coming in.
"Hey Lucky, good to see you!" Adrien said as he removed his shoes and put them neatly away in the shoe cabinet at their rightful place. He had learned the hard way that this particular cat really liked sharpening his claws on his fine leather shoes. He scratched behind his ears before picking him up in his arms and walk towards his bedroom, he put Lucky on his bed before opening his dresser to look for more comfortable clothes for the evening.
Soon enough, the doorbell rang and Adrien buzzed Nino in.
"My maaaan!" Nino exclaimed as he pulled his best friend into a hug. Adrien wanted to melt in his friends arms but restrained himself from doing so. He had really needed that hug after the last couple of days.
"Come in, so we can eat and you can tell me all about Big Apple!" Adrien pushed Nino on the couch, before going to the kitchen to put the takeout onto different plates and picking up cutlery. After displaying everything Nino had brought on the sofa table, Adrien let himself fall into the couch next to his best friend.
"So, are you still jetlagged?" Adrien asked.
"No, you know that I'm used to working odd hours anyway."
"And …" Adrien started.
"NYC was great. I had a great time; the city is unbelievable." Nino interrupted him. "Now, spill. You didn't even complain once about your father, when I had you on the phone. I knew something fishy was going on, when I didn't get any pictures of Lucky in the last couple of days." Adrien chuckled at the last bit of information and Lucky opened one eye at the mention of his name, as he rested on one the dining chairs. For sure, he usually bombarded Nino with pictures, since Nino was the only person, he felt comfortable sending those to.
Adrien sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, before picking up a spring roll and taking a hearty bite. Nino took one of the plates on his lap and started eating his teriyaki chicken and noodles.
"It's been quite a week and there is no telling what is going to happen next. So it's basically good for you that you haven't been here, because I've just been a nervous anxious wreck the last couple of days…"
"I gathered that when I saw your eyes and your million-dollar smile is missing bro." Nino noted. Adrien closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Do you… do you remember… em… a couple of years ago… the incident…" Adrien trailed on, while biting his lip and fidgeting with the fork in his hand. Nino frowned not understanding his friend.
"You know… the incident we told ourselves we would never ever mention again until we both die?" Adrien chocked out.
Suddenly Nino eyes bugged out of his head, his eyebrows lifting dramatically.
"The One Incident that shall not be named?" He exclaimed rapidly. Adrien simply nodded, swallowing with difficulty. Nino seemed to be deep in thought. "But I don't understand… what could have happened for this incident to creep its way back up into your life? Your father got what he wanted, right? Case closed."
Adrien gathered his courage once again.
"Well… yes, my father did get what he wanted then. But now something…" He continued to fidget with his fork. "My… my sample got used…" He murmured in embarrassment.
"What?! How did a hardcore fan of yours get it? Did she pay the clinic billions?" Nino screamed in indignation, as he saw his visibly distressed friend.
"Emm no, it was a mistake. Actually, multiple mistakes were made on many levels… Nino… someone in Paris is now pregnant… with my child." He murmured and finally looked in the eyes of his best friend. Nino sat shell-shocked facing him, looking for any signs that this had all been just a bad joke from his friend. But no. Not a sign of lying in sight.
"And the worst part is, the woman didn't come in for an IVF or whatever. She was doing a random check-up when they inseminated her." Adrien slumped in the couch and started to stuff his face with food in frustration. Nino was still speechless. He knew that despite appearances, his friend really was lacking in the luck department, but now this had reached a whole other level of bad luck.
"You…" Was the only word he could utter before getting up to get himself a glass of water. He splashed his face with some too, before going back to the living room and sitting back down again.
"So… someone's pregnant with your child… who's the chick?" He asked.
"Great question, when I'll know myself I'll let you know." Adrien answered darkly.
"I'm sorry, what?" Nino exclaimed once more
"Patient confidentiality!" Adrien chuckled. "So, I am not even allowed to know, who is pregnant with my child." Adrien grinned with irony, while looking at his shocked friend.
"Adrien… I knew you had a streek of bad luck sometimes… but this… this is borderline harassment from the universe." Nino trailed on with sympathy, without any idea how he could give a pep-talk in this unimaginable situation.
"Yeah… tell me about it." Adrien dug in his plate, hoping the umami taste of the dish would override his brain and give him a much-needed boost of serotonin.
"Safe to say, that your chances with a certain coworker have taken a hit…" Nino trailed on.
"Way to cheer me up, bro." Adrien gave him a flat look, but Nino seemed to perk up.
"Wait, wait, wait! On the other hand, this means that your situation couldn't be worse, so if she were to reject you, it would be the least of your problems. And you will finally know for sure if she is interested or not." Nino stated clearly, a glint of mischief in his eyes.
Adrien stopped moving, his fork hanging in the air, above his plate.
"Come On, Model Boy. You know I'm not totally wrong with this."
"I don't know Nino, I'm at my wits ends with this whole thing. My brain can't even think clearly. I haven't slept in a week… I've got other problems now. At least today I managed to get on first name basis with Marinette." Nino jumped in his seat.
"Whaaat? Bro! That's… that's amazing! This is a good start."
"Just managed it, because she was about to pass out, but yeah…"
"But it happened! You still asked her!" Adrien nodded. "And she accepted your offer." Adrien nodded once more, repassing the scene in his head.
"A start is a start! At least something positive happened this week!" Adrien chuckled with irony.
"Do you still want to talk about it?" Nino asked with sincerity. Adrien shook his head. He had been thinking about everything so much these days that he needed a break, even if his friend was now sitting beside him, ready to help. So, Nino began to show him pictures of NYC and to tell him about his different gigs and the people he met.
After a couple of hours, Nino left to head back to his apartment and Adrien tidied up after having given his cat some food. He took a very long and warm shower, before letting himself fall unto his bed.
The moonlight shined through the windows and curtains onto the second pillow next to him. He started replaying Ninos words in his mind.
"On the other hand, this means that your situation couldnt be worse, so if she were to reject you, it would be the least of your problems. And you will finally know for sure if she is interested or not."
And you will finally know for sure if she is interested or not.
And you will finally know for sure if she is interested or not.
And you will finally know for sure if she is interested or not.
And you will finally know for sure if she is interested or not.
He groaned, before massaging his face with his hands, trying to relieve the tension headache that was starting. His friend wasn't wrong… probably wasn't right either. But his sentence left a mark in his mind. What did he really have to lose? He had been crushing on her for nearly two years now and been talking to Nino about her for just as long.
His endless trail of thoughts halted, as a small ball of fur nudged his shoulder and settled next to it. Soon, sleep overtook him.
Adrien also was in need of a friend :)
Thank you for reading !
Eat Chocolate!