Author's Note: And so it begins...
Ft. artwork by me x
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Marinette was mentally prepared for whatever devastating news Adrien would share with her once she had heard the first set of knocks at the door. That was until she saw his face.
His sweet, innocent, perfectly sculpted face that nearly half of Paris was in love with.
Adrien smiled cheerfully at the sight of Marinette as soon as she opened the door, letting him in. He seemed to be too good of a mood to work up the courage of stepping out of the deal they had somehow agreed to last night.
Disbelief still flooded her mind. There must have been something she was missing. Surely, this wasn't the peppy Adrien who was going to tell her that he regretted agreeing to Alya's egregious plan. Maybe he was planning on doing it later.
"Why, good morning, fake girlfriend," he greeted as he walked in, his hands casually stuffed in his jean pockets.
That certainly answered her unspoken questions. There was barely a response on Marinette's part. The last thing she expected from him was a very blunt reminder of the deal from last night. Did it even count? She could totally blame it on the influence of alcohol. Though, that would be hard to believe, considering she only had one drink.
"Uh. Good morning?" Marinette replied, shutting the front door closed.
"Your parents let me up if that's alright."
Her eyes followed him as he continued walking deeper into the apartment that stood above her parents' bakery. "Uh, yeah, of course, that's fine," she said as she followed him toward the living room. "Someone seems to be in a good mood."
"Of course I'm in a good mood," he said, taking a seat on her couch. "I spent most of my night thinking about how we are going to pull this off. That is if you still want to?"
Marinette was shocked, to say the least. It was him asking her if she still wanted to do this while she was over here, thinking Adrien was going to walk in to tell her this was a stupid plan and it would never work. "Y-yeah! I'm still game for... whatever this is."
"Great! Come sit," he said, patting down on the cushion next to him. However, Marinette was reluctant to start whatever this conversation was going to turn into.
Nonetheless, she followed along and walked over to take a seat. Granted, it was a cushion down further from where he had patted down, but she figured this way, it would give her less of an opportunity for a distraction.
He was very distracting to look at.
"So, what was there even to think about last night? I thought most of the faking would take place at the actual gala," she said, breaking the silence.
"Well, yeah. Most of it will. But we have to build up to it, you know? It'll be hard for my father or Anais to believe it if I just show up with you and claim we're together. After all, she knows you from when she and I dated. She's going to be the hardest to convince."
Clearly, Adrien did more thinking about this than Marinette had. And she thought she was the overthinker in the friend group. "Okay... so what were you thinking we do?"
Adrien leaned slightly forward on the couch, his hand fidgeting with that silver ring he always wore. "Well, I was wondering if you were free later this afternoon after my photoshoot?"
Other than this morning and adding to her portfolio for a class, Marinette had nothing else planned to do today. So, she nodded her head. "Why?"
"This is where we start building up the ruse," he started. "Fortunately, since I've been in the spotlight all my life, I know how to effectively start rumors."
She raised a brow, almost wanting to chuckle at his confession. "Don't tell me you've started every single rumor there was about you in those magazines."
With a half smile, he shook his head. "No, no. That was probably my father or someone on my PR team. That's where I learned a lot of things, actually. Especially with how social media works."
"So, we can't just post that we're dating and then leave it alone?"
"Only if you want the media to immediately start bashing you and claim our relationship is 'superficial' or 'out of nowhere.'"
Social media was a strange area of the internet that Marinette never really understood. At least she had Adrien to explain things to her. "Then how do we start off this ruse?"
He smirked. There were only two people in her life whose smirk could send a spark down her spine. "We start hinting that there is something more going on between us. The media already knows you as one of my friends, so all we have to do is to start being spotted doing things that we don't normally do. With just us."
With just us. This was already sending her into a spiral within her mind. "The media isn't going to hate me, right?"
He quickly waved her off. "Hate you? Marinette, there is absolutely nothing but to love about you. Alya was honestly smart for putting us up to this since my fans already love us together."
She wanted to choke on air when he said that. "T-they do?"
"Do you not look at the comments every time I post a picture with you in it?"
In truth, she didn't. She always assumed it would be bombarded with girls hating the fact that he was hanging out with a single girl or people just complimenting Adrien's appearance. Both of which she didn't need more of with her unrequited crush on the model. Sure, she tended to stalk his social media a whole lot back in school, but she slowly stopped such a habit. Even then, she didn't pay much mind to the comments.
When she shook her head, Adrien dug out his phone from his jean pocket, tapped on the screen a few times, and handed it to her. "Just skim through those."
He had opened his Instagram page and extended the comment section on one of the more recent group photos he posted at his father's spring fashion show. She scrolled through the comments, surprised at the turnout and how right Adrien was. While she was correct about the many Adrien fans complimenting him and professing their superficial love to him, a lot of them were about her. More specifically, how pretty she was and when she and Adrien were ever going to get together. Some were even speculating that they were in a private relationship and trying to be together without the eyes of the media.
How she desperately wished that theory was correct.
If anything, the fact that a lot of his fanbase already liked her gave her more motivation than what she started off with when agreeing to this deal. Maybe this was just the tiny push she needed to feel more confident about faking as Adrien Agreste's girlfriend.
"Wow," she breathed out before handing him back his phone. "This will be easier than I thought, then."
"Exactly. There are already people speculating that we're bound to get together. That's just how the media is whenever a guy hangs out with someone of the opposite sex. So, we just need to add fuel to the fire."
"And how exactly are we going to do that?"
He grinned, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. "We're going to go on a date."
Marinette took in a sharp breath, feeling weary after hearing Adrien say that directly to her face with no hesitation. "A-a date?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Well, a fake date. I already talked to my photographer about taking some paparazzi-staged photos of us on a coffee date. That's why I asked if you were busy later today."
"Wait, wait. So we're doing this date today?!" Marinette exclaimed, trying to hide the slight panic in her voice. She was sure she succeeded since Adrien didn't even bat an eye.
"Is that alright with you? Sorry, I realize now that it seemed like I'm springing this all on you at once. We can reschedule if you want?"
She pressed her lips tightly together as she forcefully shook her head. "That's okay, we can totally do it today."
Of course she was alright with it! Adrien Agreste was taking her out on a date! Well, a fake date, but Marinette could care less about the circumstances. He was going to have hints of what it would be like to date her. This was going to drive her crazy. She didn't have time to be prepared for this, but she can worry about that later. It was a chance she was finally getting.
Adrien smiled brightly. "Awesome. We can meet at that coffee shop we went to with Alya and Nino last week?"
"Sounds peachy." Peachy? God. Who even says that anymore?
"I'll text you what time to meet once I get to my photoshoot. I'm not sure how long it's going to take me, but most likely won't be for more than a couple of hours."
Marinette couldn't stop her mind from picturing every possible scenario that could happen on this date with Adrien. Sure, it was staged, but wouldn't they at least need to look a little couple-y? Was he going to hold her hand? Kiss her cheek? Wait. Kiss her lips?
Oh, god. She didn't think this through. She forgot that the whole point of this was to sell their fake relationship. At least, enough so that his father and Anais wouldn't think twice about it and would finally leave him alone. What was the line? What was too little or what was too much? What was Adrien thinking when he pictured their fake relationship for the next month? How long was this even going to last? Wouldn't it be suspicious if they were to stop dating right after the gala? That would only make Anais cling more to him than she already has.
And if it ever got into the public that he was in a fake relationship, that, with no doubt, would have some sort of negative effect on his reputation. She couldn't let that happen to him just because Adrien wanted some peace. That wasn't fair.
If they were going to do this, they needed to be on the same page.
"Wait," Marinette said, causing Adrien to look at her with that same unreadable expression he gave her last night.
Though, that look quickly morphed into a teasing one. She knew that one all too well. "Backing out already?" he said with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Another reminder. She flipped her expression quickly, waving him off. "As if. I was just going to suggest we talk about, I don't know, rules. I guess."
"Rules?"
"Yeah. Like, we should have a boundary line if one of us does something the other is uncomfortable with, you know?" I'd let you do whatever you want to me, though. "And we should probably talk about how long we're going to keep this up. Oh, and what we can or can't do when we're not together but in public."
"Huh," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't think about that."
"See? Exactly why we should communicate if we're going to pull this off."
"You're right. Okay. Rules," he said, adjusting his position on the couch. "How about for the first rule, nobody but Alya and Nino can know that this is fake."
Marinette could get behind that. "Okay. Deal."
"Well, at least, if you want to tell your parents, you can. They'll probably find out about the relationship through online articles either way."
She shook her head. "No, it's fine. They don't have to know right now. My mom likes to gossip during her painting classes, I wouldn't want anything to slip out." While all of that was true, she purposefully left out the fact that her mom would most certainly give her a side eye to going along with such a ridiculous idea with the boy she knew damn well her daughter was in love with. She just didn't want to hear that right now, at least while the whole ruse was going on.
"Okay, great. Do you have a rule you want to add?"
Marinette played with the ends of her side braid, nervously wondering how she was going to bring up the affectionate side of this plan. It was the main reason she even brought up the idea of rules. "Um, how long are we going to keep this up?"
Adrien hummed to himself, probably thinking about where things would go. He most likely would want to end things as soon as he can. There was no way he wanted to be attached to her longer than he needed to. "If things go as planned, we could soft launch a fake breakup not long after the gala. We can make up something when the time comes, I'm sure we'll come up with something. We don't have to rush to that part."
She nodded. So it wouldn't be too long after the gala. Maybe that was just the amount of time she needed to get this whole Adrien crush out of her system. Hopefully. That's the second best-case scenario. The best-case scenario is if he magically falls for her too, but that's pushing her ladybug luck.
"That actually reminds me of something I wanted to talk to you about," he said.
"What is it?"
"Well..." Adrien started, his voice trailing off as did his gaze, which now faced out the window next to the television. "I just wanted to let you know I appreciate you doing this for me. Like, you really didn't have to agree, but knowing that it's you that's going along with this admittedly crazy idea really means a lot to me. I mean, Alya only really suggested this because I can't stand up to my own father or, it seems, my ex and her entire family, and I can't help but feel slightly guilty that I might cause you to feel used or regretful. So, I'd like to add another rule, and you have to promise to keep it."
Marinette swallowed hard, waiting for him to confess the rule.
He turned to her, again with that damn unrecognizable expression. "With this rule, you have to promise to tell me if you are uncomfortable with absolutely anything or if you want to bail out. If there is even a slight feeling of wanting to leave this plan or if you actually have met someone you want to be in a relationship with, you have to promise to tell me and I will absolutely end everything. You just say the word."
It was incredibly sweet how thoughtful Adrien was to be thinking of her position in this whole ordeal. She couldn't help but smile and nod her head in reassurance. "I promise," she said softly, even though there was a small chance she would ever call this dream off. "But you have to promise the same. If you want to end things or if you find someone you want to date, you let me know." The last part stung to say.
"Good. And I promise. Cross my heart," he said, placing his hand over his chest.
She sucked in a breath. Maybe now was a good time to ask how far exactly were they going to take things for the sake of affection. "Um, Adrien? I just wanted to know if there was going to be some sort of... line."
He looked over, slightly confused. "What sort of line?"
"Uh, I mean, how far are we taking things... physically?"
It seemed something had finally caught Adrien off guard. His leg started bouncing nervously, and Marinette couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up at her own damn question. "O-oh. Of course. Duh, why didn't I think of this? I feel like you were the one doing most of the thinking," he laughed it off, though, it only tensed up Marinette's shoulders more so than they were already. "Let me just ask. What are you comfortable with?"
With you? Anything.
"I-I mean, we don't have to do much, right?" Why did she word it like that? Now it made it seem she really didn't want to do anything that involved him. He already thought she could potentially be uncomfortable just being in this situation.
"No, but the media is going to dig once everything gets out, and I don't want to do too much that might compromise our friendship. I care about you too much to let something silly ruin our relationship."
This comment made Marinette genuinely smile. It always warmed her whenever he showed any sort of appreciation toward her. Real boyfriend or not, he was always truly such a great person to her.
"How about this," he started. "Nothing more than a kiss on the cheek whenever we're in public or if someone is watching us. Does that sound okay?"
Marinette wanted to tell him of course that was okay. In fact, she was willing to go way ahead of that boundary if he let her. Alas, she kept her mouth shut, because there was no way she would ever openly admit that to him. Especially under these circumstances, it was bound to get awkward at times. The last thing she wanted was to make things more unmanageable.
This was for him, she reminded herself. Not for her sake. His.
"Yeah. Sounds good," she said, quieter than she had intended.
He smiled. "Then that settles it. No one but our best friends will know, nothing more than a peck on the cheek, things will end shortly after the gala, and finally, we let each other know if something makes us uncomfortable or if we want out."
Marinette nodded her head, tugging the corners of her lips into an awkward smile and wondering how the hell she ended up in a situation where she got thrown into a pretend relationship with Adrien goddamn Agreste.
»»————- ♡ ————-««
If someone would have told Marinette twenty-four hours ago that she'd be sitting in front of Adrien on a fake date in front of a camera to post on the internet for thousands, maybe millions, of people to see, she would have laughed in their face at such a ridiculous thought.
But here she was. Dressed in a long, flowy skirt with her face beat up with makeup that took way too damn long and her legs crossed as she sipped on a latte. Adrien sat across from her, dressed in his father's designer clothes, fidgeting with his own coffee cup as his photographer, Vincent, snapped shots from weird angles out of her sight. Alya would have been laughing at her right about now.
They sat at a high table by the window that peered into the main street with pedestrians walking by, not minding them any business. The cafe itself was mostly empty with the exception of the employees and a couple of other older customers that stopped by for a drink and snack, giving the two at least some privacy. Though, with how quiet they were being, it certainly didn't feel like a date.
She felt vulnerable, as stupid as that sounded. This wasn't her line of work. She didn't like being in front of the camera. That was what her fashion projects were for. They belonged in front of camera lenses, not her. And so did Adrien. The way the sunlight naturally enhanced his cheekbones through the windows and how the glow of the cafe highlighted his sage green eyes was straight out of Vogue. Hell, Adrien already had been on the cover of Vogue. She remembered when that cover was issued. It was stunning. It was like the older Adrien got, the more his attractiveness skyrocketed above everyone's expectations. It certainly exceeded hers.
Then again, it was never really his looks that captured her attention. He was always a kind, charismatic man who could charm anyone through a smile in a photo.
And here she was, completely out of place next to him. No way people would buy into this. Anais will probably just laugh once these pictures become public. Marinette doubted she would actually look at her as competition. Anais was a model as well, after all. She knew she was beautiful and radiant and everything Marinette wasn't.
No wonder Adrien dated her. Even if it was his father that had set them up, there was no doubt in Marinette's mind that Adrien found her attractive. They were in each other's league. When their relationship first hit the tabloids, everyone thought it made sense. The media immediately accepted them.
But Marinette had to fight for the media to accept her. They didn't know her. They didn't love her. Even if Adrien told her differently, he might've only said that to make her feel better because that's just the kind of person Adrien was. Kind and thoughtful. The traits that Anais failed to obtain, it seemed.
"Is everything okay, Marinette? Vincent just texted me saying you look stiff in the pictures. N-not that you don't look great! You do, but I guess he was trying to say it looks like there's something on your mind."
Adrien's voice shook her out of her thoughts, allowing her enough time to plaster a smile. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," she replied, taking another sip of her latte.
He sighed, gripping the holder of his paper cup of coffee more firmly. "Why don't we talk about something that isn't about this fake date? Like... how are classes going?"
That was a simple question. She could answer that. "Classes are good. It's been crazy busy since my second year is almost over. But I honestly love it."
"I'm glad to hear that you love it there. How many more years do you have left again?"
"One more. And then, I'll try to look for entry-level jobs at different companies and grow my own line while working. I'm looking for an internship for the fall, so there's also that to look forward to before I graduate."
Adrien smiled. "Maybe you can find an intern spot with my dad's brand. You know I'd love to model for you."
Marinette felt a buzz of excitement fill up in her chest. Adrien modeling her clothes? That was a sight to imagine. She could already picture her sketched-out designs on his muscular body. How to fabric would wrap tightly around his arms and the neckline, revealing slivers of his collarbone–
"Y-yeah! That'd honestly be great. But we'll see if I'm even considered. Your dad is a bit intimidating..."
The blonde boy leaned more onto the table, a smirk tugging the corner of his lips. "I'll let you in on a little secret."
Marinette leaned in with him, thinking he was about to confess some dark family secret that he could no longer contain.
"My father added feathers to that fall line three years ago because of your derby hat."
She immediately slapped her hand over her mouth in response. "You're joking."
He shook his head. "I swear. I heard him talking on a conference call and how he added feathers to some of the accessories because he was inspired by the usage of it with your hat. I think he just needed the nudge of approval from Audrey Bourgeois, but he was impressed nonetheless! Trust me, Marinette. He is impressed with your work, just has a thick guard up. I bet you could find yourself as an intern for him in no time."
Marinette couldn't believe that Gabriel Agreste had been inspired by her. No matter how much she disliked the man himself, he was still an idol in her early fashion days and was a major inspiration for her passion for fashion design. "How could you not tell me this!"
"I'm sorry! I totally forgot about it when I overheard the call!"
"Traitor," she teased, throwing the paper wrapping of her straw at him.
He barked out a laugh. "Call me whatever you want, as long as it helps you feel better about your work. You're really talented, Marinette. Trust me. You definitely know your way with fashion. Just look at you."
She knew damn well she was blushing at the compliment, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. "It really did lift up my spirits. I've been in a slump after this year of classes. I thought I knew a lot when it came to fashion, but god, was there so much more that I didn't take into account until I started going to ESMOD."
His eyebrows raised slightly. "I'm surprised. You never seemed to show your struggles if that was the case."
She shrugged. "It's my own obstacles. It's like I'm competing with my own classmates. Everyone is insanely good there and I constantly compare my work to the person next to me, wondering which one of us will actually make it in the industry. It's so hard."
Adrien nodded. "I know. It's always going to seem that way, unfortunately. Even if you're as big of a brand as my father's, there will always be competition trying to one-up you. But with someone like you in the game, I have no doubt you will make it. I don't know how to explain it, but with you, it's just easy to tell that you're going to find a way to win. It's just who you are, always thinking outside the box. It reminds me of someone I know, actually. You're going to make it."
Marinette always admired how Adrien just had a way with words and always knew the right thing to say. She felt her shoulder free itself from the tension, finally being able to breathe on this pseudo date. She couldn't help but take this opportunity to poke some fun at him under these circumstances. A great way to break the ice. It was their first 'date' after all. "Thinking of other girls while on a date now, are we?"
He laughed. "Only thinking of you, girlfriend," he said with a wink.
With an amused smile, she playfully rolled her eyes. "'Girlfriend'? That's a terrible pet name. So blunt and on the nose."
He took another sip of his drink. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize the camera outside the cafe could hear us. I'll think of something better, honey."
"What are we, a middle-aged married couple?"
"Princess?"
She shook her head. "Only one guy has ever called me that, so that's off the table."
His sudden smirk was slightly alarming. "Do I have competition, darling?"
Marinette chuckled. "That's slightly better."
"Oh my god, Pooh Bear!"
"Please never say that again."
"My sushi roll," he said, forming his hands into a heart shape and a purposeful pout.
She almost spit out her latte. Adrien trying to come up with a joke pet name was seriously funnier than she would have ever thought. "Oh god, I hate sushi."
His eyes widened. "What?! You hate sushi?" he exclaimed. "How? It's so good."
"It's meh," she said, waving it off. "I tried it once at this run-down restaurant with Alya and Kagami one time and it was gross."
"Okay, which rolls did you try?"
She pursed her lips, trying to think of the name. "I don't remember, but it was basically just a small ball of rice with a fat chunk of raw fish on top of it. Wasn't very tasty."
"Well, I don't know what kind of sushi that was, but you can't just start off with the straight raw stuff."
Marinette tilted her head to the side. "Isn't all sushi raw?"
He shook his head. "Not all of them. Even some with raw fish are good, and I don't care much for seafood. Trust me, you need to go to a proper restaurant and actually try the good ones."
She shrugged. "Maybe next time. For now, I'll stick to my French and Chinese food."
Adrien was about to open his mouth to say something when the door swung open, causing the small little bell at the top of the entrance to chime. Both Marinette and he turned their attention over and saw Vincent walking up to them, his camera in hand.
"Is something wrong with the pictures?" Adrien asked as his photographer approached them.
He quickly shook his head. "Oh, no, no! Quite the opposite. Those pictures were fantastic. I was a little skeptical at first, but you, girl, are a natural after the first 15 minutes or so. I'll send these to the tabloids pronto!" he exclaimed, peering back down at his camera.
Adrien nodded. "That's great. Then... why are you here?"
Vincent looked back up. "Oh! I came to say that I must go home early. There's an akuma attack and neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir seems to be around. I suggest you kids go home too. I'll get on with the pictures later tonight!"
He didn't leave room for another word before Adrien's photographer left, pacing out of the shop and out of view.
Marinette was left absolutely panicked.
"An akuma attack? Where?" she spat out, leaning over to the window and glancing around, trying to catch some sort of glimpse of the villain.
Sure enough, people started sprinting down the street, screaming in fear of whatever they were running from. She needed to transform and get out there. Especially since Vincent said Chat Noir hadn't gotten there either. Maybe he was also caught up with something?
"Marinette, we should leave. I'll take you home," he said, but Marinette shook her head.
"No, no! That's okay. I, uh, need to head over to Alya's anyway. It's right around the corner. She needs help with, uh, some stuff so, get home safe! I'll talk to you later?"
Adrien blinked, ready to probably object, but Marinette couldn't let him. She had to leave before he had the time to even question her.
Chat needed her.
Quickly, she dashed out of the cafe, grabbing her belongings before shoving herself out the door and running toward the direction of Alya's place. Luckily, there was an alley next to the shop adjacent to the cafe. So, that's where she gunned for.
She hid in the shadows of the alley, right where the overcast of the building next door camouflaged the trash and newspaper bundles next to the dumpster. Tucked away, she leaned against the wall, making sure Adrien hadn't followed her. Hopefully, he wasn't upset about her running away, but there was no other option.
She'd just have to deal with him later.
More shouts and loud clashes were heard down the street, increasing the alarm that rang in Marinette's head. Before transforming, she took out her phone, making sure to update Alya to help cover her track of lies that she had been planting since she was sixteen.
She typed in her excuse, letting Alya know that if Adrien ever asked, she was at her place during the attack. She received a 'gotcha' for her reply.
With that, she transformed and leaped out of the alley, ready to face another new villain beside her favorite partner.