Two Can Play That Game

Chapter 1: Truth

Adrien woke up pleased with himself, as he turned to his side only to find the bed empty immediately taking the smile off his face. He sighed as he got up and looked at his ring, one was his miraculous and the other was his engagement ring. He made his way to the kitchen to find his fiancée running back and forth from the living room to the kitchen. He stood at the door and simply admired her from afar.

It's been two years since they moved into his mansion, and four months since they were engaged. As Chat, he still couldn't believe that he was actually close to marrying his lady. A strong, stubborn, confident leader who cares about everyone and is just to her enemies. As Adrien, he couldn't help but smile at the thought of marrying his best friend. The thoughtful, clumsy, talented young lady, who goes out of her way to help her friends and family.

However, despite this all he could feel was the twist of regret in his gut. He loves her too much to not let anything hurt her. He knew what he had to do.

He was isolated as a child and only had two relationships in his life. He never dated anyone else after the reveal, thinking that she was the one who would complete him. He had zero experience in relationships, both romantic and familial. He fears that he could go wrong any moment. But now that he thinks of it, he knows that he already did.

"Morning sweetie," Marinette greeted when she noticed him standing there. "How long have you been there? You should have breakfast already," she told him. Adrien smiled and approached her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I know, but I rarely see you in the morning. You're always leaving when I see you," he pouted. Marinette smiled as she lovingly caressed his cheek as he kissed her hand.

"I know, I want us to have breakfast together too, but I have to go or else I'll be late for my interview," Marinette explained. Adrien sighed as he held onto her hand, not wanting to let her go. "Can't you just work for me?" he pleaded.

Marinette looked him in the eye, dead serious. "I already interned at your father's company, and you told me that I can hold my own, and I want to do that myself. I don't want to work under another person's name. You believe in me, right?" she said. Adrien nodded in response, still wanting her to be with him. "Hey, if it fails, I'll be working in your father's business. But if it succeeds we can still be partners and competitors, it'll be a win-win situation for us both," she added, trying to console him.

Adrien nodded as he lets her go to her interviews. "Good luck, my lady," he said to her as she left. "Thanks, see you at lunch later, baby," she replied as she walked out of the front door.

Adrien looked at her leave from the window, sighing as he watched her go. He turned to find an awfully angry Plagg, who continued to greedily eat his cheese. "You can't hide forever kid, you know that," Plagg said to him. Adrien walked pass him and began eating breakfast. "I'm not a kid anymore. I can handle my own problems," he told the tiny god. Plagg gave a dissatisfied hum and turned to the window looking at the closed gate of the mansion.

...

"We like your designs Ms. Dupain-Cheng, and you're clearly a talented young lady," the man gave a generic response. Marinette smiled and nodded while saying, "Thank you, sir." The man looked at her with an uninterested look as he flipped through her portfolio and back to her résumé.

"You have a good résumé and it seems like you have a good amount of experience even at a young age. However, I'm not going to support a kid just to give the Agreste another business to their name," the man said. Marinette scrunched her eyebrows together as she said, offended by the notion, "Excuse me?"

"You're already engaged to the Gabriel heir, why not work for them?" the man stated. "I'm sorry, sir, but I'm here because I want my work to be shared with, not to have my talent work for another person," she explained. This made the man laugh at her as he said,