Marinette
Placing her phone on charge, Marinette headed out of her bedroom and down into the main lounge; she hoped to grab Kagami before going to bed needing to vent about the day before sharing her amazing news. She'd got the job... for some unknown reason Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a new senior designer for 'A Designs' and she was ready to spontaneously combust.
The interview, and Adrien's snickering, had only been a margin of the horror she'd faced whilst continuing her process. After almost sending Adrien to the emergency room for a rather severe allergic reaction, she had to present her altereddesign to the judges - a design not made for this model and one bare and boring compared to how it originally looked. Gabriel grilled her to the nth degree. What material? What stitching? Why the distressed look around the lapel? She'd answered them all the best she could but the interview was well and truly over when she told Gabriel that his son wasn't the target audience because he didn't have 'the right look'.
She wanted the ground to open and swallow her.
Marinette had offended the lead model, the inspiration of the company and still managed to get the job. She didn't know if she was lucky or they were stupid.
Making her way down the staircase, she could hear the sound of male laughter originating from the kitchen and a tv playing some sort of fencing match in the lounge; she guessed that would be where Kagami was relaxing.
Ignoring the chortles echoing out the kitchen, Marinette made her way to the lounge, correct in her judgement that that was where Kagami would be; the business entrepreneur lounging back on the sofa with a glass of red wine in hand.
Marinette leaned one shoulder into the doorframe as she eyed her friend. Her backstabbing, betraying friend. The ex-fencer hadn't even looked up, instead she was enthralled by the tv, her focus remaining dead set in front of her.
"I got the job," Marinette announced, her voice steering clear of any emotion. She was almost one hundred percent sure Kagami would already know this; that either Adrien had told her already or she had been one of the deciding factors of why she got the job, the Tsuragi company still a major shareholder of the older Agreste.
"Cheers!" Kagami said, raising her glass as her eyes remained firmly locked on the television; not a hint of anything in her voice.
Rolling her eyes, Marinette pushed from the wall and headed over to where Kagami was and took the seat beside her, making sure she bounced her friend and gathered her attention. Unable to grab Kagami's attention from the television, Marinette went in for the kill.
"Did you not think to tell me anything about Adrien? Do you love to see me embarrass myself?"
Finally, Kagami turned towards Marinette and raised a questioning eye. Lifting the glass of wine to her lips, Kagami took a swig as her eyes remaining firmly on her friend. Marinette glared back, unwilling to show any weakness to her friend.
Kagami shrugged, then said. "It wasn't my idea to tickle the guy as he was flipping pancakes."
"I thought it was Felix," responded Marinette, her teeth gnawing together as she spoke. The sudden outburst seemed comical to Kagami, as the tycoon burst out laughing.
"Which then begs me to ask why were you tickling my husband?" A glistening shone in her friends eyes and Marinette wanted to blow in her face to remove it. Why did she always end up in these situations? How did she keep doing this to herself?
Marinette's hands shot to her face as she fell back into the sofa. "Just kill me now!"
"Where would the fun be if I did that?" Kagami laughed, reaching forwards and pouring a secondary glass of wine.
"Arrrggghhh," she said, hands still tightly over her eyes. "I never ask you for much, but please could you drive over me with your car?"
Kagami burst out laughing once again, moving to place the glass down before reaching for Marinette's hands and pulling them from her face.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you it was for Gabriel's new company. Adrien was excited when he saw you'd applied, I didn't have the heart to tell him you didn't have a clue."
"Why the hell did you do that? You know the history between me and Adrien?"
Kagami rolled her eyes and grabbed her wine glass again. After taking a rather impressive gulp she said, "Don't you think it's time to let bygones be bygones? It was 10 years ago, Marinette."
"He was a pompous twat Kagami! Why would I want to be friends with someone who called me, and I quote, 'a chaotic mess with major issues'."
Marinette crossed her arms and glared at Kagami, looking for any indication she was going to defend the blond model once again. Kagami moved forwards on her seat. Bingo! There it was!
"Listen, Marinette, you know I love you, but you can't hold a grudge for a conversation you eavesdropped on a decade ago. You need to either ask him about it or forget it! It could have been anything! It might not have even been about you!"
A snort left her nose. She knew what she had heard and it didn't matter how many times Kagami attempted to play Adrien's 'twatiness' down, there was no way this feud was ending anytime soon. His dig at her during his best man speech at Kagami and Félix's wedding should have solidified their battle to their friends and she would not be the one to cave in first.
"So are you going to fill me in on the interview?" Kagami asked, filling a second glass with wine and handing it over to Marinette.
"I don't know where to start?" Marinette groaned. "It went from bad, to worse, to dismal. But surprisingly Nathalie just called and gave me the job. I'm both thrilled and confused about how I got it."
"But?" Kagami asked, moving herself forward to match Marinette's position.
"I can't help but think I didn't get it on merit. Something doesn't feel right." Marinette's eyes remained looking down into her wine glass. A slight spiral of the liquid, keeping her in a trance.
"You don't seem happy about it," Kagami stated, only to be met by Marinette's shrug.
"I don't know if I am. It's just..."
"Hey girls."
Looking up, Marinette watched as Félix and Adrien moved into the lounge and took up residence on another sofa. "What have we missed?" Félix asked, looking between the two girls with a devilish smile on his face.
One thing about Felix Fathom was his unpredictability, you never knew what was going to come out of his mouth next.
"Oh, I was just letting Kagami know how she can divorce you easily. I've given her the websites and everything." Marinette smirked, taking a small swig of her wine, Adrien turning his laugh into a cough as he sat beside his cousin.
Félix turned his glare on his cousin, Adrien shrugging and continued swigging down his wine.
"At least it's not how to murder me. Although, you seem to have had good practise today - with my cousin here." Felix slammed a hand down on Adrien's shoulder and chuckled, Marinette feeling her face heat as she stood and said her good nights.
As if her day hadn't been mortifying enough, why oh why did Felix decide to bring it up again and this time with Adrien in earshot. She was struggling to look at him, everytime she did she either fantasised about being pressed up against his hard body, or him letting out a snot filled sneeze during the catwalk and presentation of the outfit. It seemed her feather removal wasn't as efficient as she'd originally thought.
During the final interview, Adrien had been amazing; he modelled her design perfectly, seeming to understand the look she was going for... even after plucking the majority of the feathers from the lapel. At the end of the catwalk he'd slid it from his body and slung it over one shoulder, attempting to hold it in a way the remaining feathery bits were clear from making him sneeze. What was most annoying though, was he still looked hot even when moving his nose like a bunny.
They hadn't spoken too much through the fitting, the question and answer session, or before she'd left, the accidental fall playing on her mind time and time again as she thought about the feel of his body as she was pressed up against him. God, she hated herself for being so weak to a man's body.
Making her way into the kitchen, she managed to keep her cool right up until the wine glass was placed in the sink and her head was in the depths of the fridge attempting to cool down a fraction or two.
Don't think of Adrien's body.
Don't think about the hot, solid feel and wooden, masculine scent.
"You know, no matter how deep you look, you'll never end up in Narnia." The sound of Adrien's voice had her startled, her head shooting up and colliding with the shelving units within the object.
"Ouch!"
"Shit! Sorry! I didn't mean... I didn't... are you okay?" Scrambling forwards, Adrien placed a hand on her head as she attempted to pull herself out of the fridge.
Great, just another catastrophe to end the day with!
Moving from Adrien's grasp, she stumbled to one of the bar stools, her hand resting on the bump slowly forming on her head.
"Here." The sound of the freezer being opened and closed echoed through the sparse kitchen as Adrien found an ice pack and wrapped it in a towel. He stepped towards her and placed it on her head.
"I've got it." She took it from him and held it, her expression asking him to move away and his body accepting.
Marinette watched as Adrien walked around to the other side of the counter. His wine glass was already waiting for him as he hopped on the stool opposite to her. Why couldn't he just go to bed? Or stay with Felix and Kagami in the lounge? He liked fencing, didn't he? Shouldn't he be in there with them?
"So, have you heard from Nathalie?" He looked nervous. He was probably worried about her accepting the job and him having to work with her for the rest of his life. The whole notion of pissing off Adrien made her next words feel all the more sweeter.
"Yes, and I've got the job." The smug smile she had earlier reappeared; however, it was swiftly wiped off when Adrien met her smile with his own 100 watt one.
What the hell?
"That's amazing! I knew you could do it." His smile didn't falter as he took another sip of his wine. She watched the glass touch his lips and cursed herself for staring, her own tongue moving out to lick her own. There was no doubt Adrien Agreste was magnificent eye candy, however that didn't stop him from being a pretentious ass.
"When do you start?" Adrien asked, her eyes taking on a fast blink as she tried to turn her focus elsewhere.
"Tomorrow," Marinette replied. He probably already knew this and was going to ridicule her about what she was going to wear or the fact her nails weren't painted. She looked down at her hands and cursed herself. Maybe she should have gone to a salon on the way back to the Fathom's house?
"Are you in the office or at the location?"
What the hell was this? Never, in the 10 years of knowing each other, had they sat down face-to-face for a 'civilised' conversation. The most civilised they'd been was when they were both in the wedding party for Felix and Kagami's wedding. As Matron of honour and best man, a truce had been called for the majority of the day. They were cordial to each other; even managing a dance or two without one stamping (purposefully) on the other's foot.
If he'd just edited his speech, they would have almost been perfect friends.
"Office," she said. "I need to fill some forms in with HR."
Adrien nodded like they were having the most ordinary, normal conversation. Almost as if he considered them friends.
"Shame. We could have driven together if you were at the shoot."
"Ha! Like I'd trust you to drive," she snorted, knowing full well he probably had an ejector seat and would send her flying out the sunroof, then laugh wildly as she plummeted down towards the ground.
"I'm a good driver actually. Passed my test on the first try."
"How much did you pay for that privilege?" Marinette raised an eyebrow, leaning forward on the worktop - one hand remaining with the ice pack on her head.
Downing the last of his wine, his eyes remained on her; her own eyes refusing to leave his - or even blink. A burning sensation began around her sockets but she would not lose.
"What do you drive?" she continued, knowing full well she was poking a hungry lion. "Audi? Mercedes? Beamer?"
Adrien's nose flared and jaw tightened, bingo.
"A Beamer? How typical!"
"Yep," he said, standing and making his way around her and towards the bin, stopping and lowering his head down to her level. "I can't help it that I like nice things." His husky voice almost made her melt into a puddle of mushy Marinette on the floor. As her eyes rolled back, Adrien removed himself from her side, heading for the recycling bin instead.
"Well done on getting the job." He didn't look at her as he headed towards the doorway and ultimately out of the kitchen. She trailed him with her eyes only to startle as he stopped - one hand poised on the door handle.
Time seemed to slow down as he moved a hand to his back pocket and reached inside; he pulled out a red string covered with colourful beads.
"Oh." He looked over his shoulder, and held the Lucky Charm in the air. The Lucky Charm she had given him years ago, on one of the rare occasions they hadn't wanted to kill each other. "I took along a little extra help - just in case. Afterall, we all know how clumsy you can be."
He threw the bracelet into the air, catching it on its descent and placing it back into the pocket of his jeans. Without another word, he turned and exited the room. Leaving her alone with confused thoughts and a rolling stomach.
Her nerves were already kicking in ready for the morning ahead... or at least she thought this new feeling was nerves.