The Ace-ing on the Cake : A Mlb Fanfic

Chapter 4 : Secret Admirer

Adrien spent most of a bright, beautiful, sunny Saturday working indoors at a modeling job. His father's newest line was being released shortly and that meant Adrien's time was in high demand. It was something that he had slowly grown used to, but that made it no less exhausting. He was pleased when the photographer motioned him off-set, giving him a chance to sit down and rest his aching body. Holding poses for long periods of time was a lot harder than people realized, and it was even more difficult when you were working with other models.

"They're finished with you for today, Adrien," Nathalie said from behind him.

"Really? I thought they want to get shots of the last outfit?" Adrien said, hardly daring to hope that he might be permitted to leave a bit early. He wanted to go home, shower, eat and feed Plagg before he went to Marinette's.

Nathalie shook her head. "Your father has decided that the last outfit needs modifications," she said mysteriously. Even if Adrien asked for details, he knew she wouldn't give them to him. Gabriel Agreste trusted next to no one when it came to the creative process, not even his own son.

"And they don't need me for any last-minute retakes?" Adrien pressed.

"Your shots came out fine. Some of the other models will need to retake a few, but none that you're in," Nathalie said, consulting her tablet. "If you want to stick around, you can. Otherwise, I can call your bodyguard and have him take you home -"

"I'll go home!" Adrien said quickly, jumping up. It was amazing how energized he felt now that he knew he didn't have another two hours of work ahead of him.

"Then go change," Nathalie said, her lips quirked in what might have been a faint smile.

Adrien obeyed, hurrying towards the changing room before anyone changed their minds. He allowed the wardrobe people to carefully remove his outfit, then got dressed and headed for the door. The Gorilla was waiting outside with the car; Adrien climbed in and gave a quiet sigh of relief as the car pulled away from the curb, leaving the stuffy building, tense models, yelling photographers, and hovering assistants behind. At least working for several hours had given his brain a break from dwelling on the problem at hand.

He didn't know why he'd never acknowledged this before, and he wasn't even sure why it was bothering him so much now. Maybe it was because Nino and Alya had never been quite this hot and heavy sexually before - or at least, if they had been previously, Adrien had never had to hear about it with any great detail. Or maybe it was because he was a little older now and the reality of how Ladybug might slip through his fingers was staring him in the face. Or maybe it was just because Adrien was tired of being alone, tired of pining after someone he couldn't have, tired of life conspiring against him to make everything he wanted impossible...

"Oh my god, stop with the maudlin thoughts," Plagg said as soon as the door to Adrien's bedroom was safely shut.

"If I give you Camembert, will you let me sulk in peace?" Adrien said, chucking his bag in the general direction of the desk.

Plagg contemplated that for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, but I still don't see what you're moping for."

"Of course you don't. The only thing you want in life is cheese," Adrien said. Plagg was lucky that way, he reflected as he walked over to the mini fridge. Cheese was a lot simpler than people were.

He took out half a wheel of Camembert, more than enough to keep Plagg satisfied while they were at Marinette's, and left it on the desk. The sound of Plagg's gleeful cheering behind him did make him smile a little as he headed into the shower. At least he could make Plagg happy, even if he would never be able to make Ladybug happy. Well, scratch that. Maybe it was time to give up on any thought of the two of them ever being more than friends. That would make Ladybug happy, though the mere thought made Adrien's heart ache in protest.

A long, hot shower didn't do much to soothe his brain, but it sure helped his sore muscles. Adrien felt like a human again as he emerged and dried off, then got dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He ran a hand through his hair, fluffing up the dampened ends, and then wandered back out into the bedroom. As expected, the Camembert was completely gone. Plagg was snoring away on the desk, little tummy now rounded with cheese. Adrien shook his head fondly and grabbed his cell phone, sticking it in his pocket.

"Plagg, wake up. I want to go," he said. The sun was just setting, but by the time he got to Marinette's it would be dark. He poked Plagg gently.

Plagg snorted awake, blinked, and then moaned. "I was having the most beautiful dream. I had a secret admirer that kept leaving me Camembert."

"As opposed to real life, where you get it all the time?" Adrien said. "Claws out!"

Chat leapt out the window and headed right for the bakery. As he grew near, he was surprised to see that Marinette was out on her balcony. She was reclining on her chair, laptop balanced on her knees. There was a pink blanket, likely handmade, wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the chill that came up this time of year when the sun set. An empty mug of hot chocolate rested beside her right foot.

She looked up just as his boots touched the balcony floor, and Chat froze. Even though he had been invited, no, ordered to come back, he was suddenly struck with the feeling that he had done something wrong by returning. He and Ladybug usually made it a point to not spend too much time with civilians just in case Hawkmoth got the wrong idea, and this would be the second night in a row he'd seen Marinette...

But before he could flee, Marinette set her laptop aside and stood up. "You came."

"You, uh, told me to?" Chat said.

Marinette wrapped her arms around herself, looking slightly guilty. "Ah, I didn't mean to be bossy. Sorry."

"It's okay. I just... I don't know why." He looked at her expectantly.

"I think... I think I need someone to talk to too," Marinette said, staring at the floor as though it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

That was not what Chat had expected, and he spoke without thinking. "What? Really? You?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marinette said defensively, her shoulders hunching up.

Chat winced. "I just – you've got loads of people to talk to. Your parents, your friends, Alya."

"I'm not sure they would understand when I can barely understand it myself," Marinette said slowly. She paused and scuffed her bare foot against the floor. Then suddenly, a torrent of words spilled out. "I mean, it's all so new to me. I can't believe I never realized it before. I felt so dumb! Like, so dumb you don't even know. I literally stayed up all night last night thinking about it and trying to figure it out and I did talk to Alya a little, but she's so wound up with Nino and I know she's not like this and –"

"Whoa," Chat said, holding his claws up to stem the flow. "Marinette, I'm sorry. I have no idea what you're talking about."

Still, Marinette wouldn't look at him. But now she said nothing.

"Marinette?" Chat said as gently as he knew how. "I didn't mean it like that. You listened to me. Anything you want to tell me, I'll hear it."

"I know," Marinette whispered. "You're good at that. I –" She sighed, clutching the blanket tightly, and finally looked at him with eyes brightened by tears. "I think I'm like you, Chat. About the sex thing, I mean. I... I might be broken too."