Adrien
Adrien's phone continued to buzz in his pocket as he waited in line at the little café on the edge of Central Park. Could she not just leave it for at least a couple of days? It was quite obvious Mr Unknown was ghosting her considering he hadn't replied to any of the hundred messages she'd sent the day before. Most women by now would have given up and moved on. But nope! Not Miss Dial, Miss Mighty Dupain-Cheng.
The line began to move and he stepped forward, closer to the front of the counter; his phone continued to buzz against his thigh. What could she possibly have to say now? Was it just a text to let him know she'd seen a squirrel and basically state that 'no, not all squirrels land like superheroes'.
Another minute passed and at least two more buzzes.
Fine, he thought, you win.
Pulling the phone from his pocket, Adrien raised an eyebrow at the amount he'd received. She was either missing him that much, or writing more to his 'girlfriend' as she sat by his side — day in and day out — during his unfortunate coma. He snorted as he remembered the screw you message from the previous day.
"Can I help you?"
Before he could tap the first of the messages, he was called up to the kiosk. His phone forgotten as he looked up at the menu.
Placing it back in his jacket pocket, Adrien stepped up to the counter and placed their order. Two coffees to go — six sugars included. His main aim for the next hour or so was to speak to Marinette and sort out whatever this was between them. To try and get to the bottom of why her view of him was so different to everyone else's.
The conversation with Félix the previous day had been eye opening to say the least. Apparently the relationship he thought he had with Marinette was not the same as she thought she had with him. Félix laughed and said he was glad he'd made the mistake with the numbers that maybe this mess could finally put to rest and the two could 'get along'.
Though Adrien wasn't entirely convinced the texting came from a mix up of numbers. Afterall the woman who was interested in taking the cockerel out of his hands wasn't called Marina as Félix tried to sell to him, her name was actually Sophie. Suspicious? He thought so. His cousin really was a dipshit!
But Félix was something he'd need to deal with when he was back in London, right now, his priority was to sort out whatever animosity Marinette held towards him; along with making sure he doesn't get her fired in the meantime. The only way to be clear about that would be to ignore the messages — no messages equaled no evidence. Simple. If only she'd get the hint and stop sending more through.
"You're Adrien Agreste," the woman behind the counter stated. Adrien welcomed the comment with his usual model (fake) smile. She moved, around the unit, polystyrene cups in hands as she completed his order; every now and then looking back at him over her shoulder and doing that freaky eye fluttering some girls threw at him.
"Yes, I am." He smiled, tapped his card to the machine to pay for the drinks and prayed the conversation would end there. As much as he was friendly to fans or people who'd recognised him, his head was far too scrambled at the moment to be involved in polite conversation.
Instead, he pulled his phone out and took the opportunity to look 'busy'... and check the messages from Miss Dial.
Miss Dial (6:12am): There's this guy looking at me.
Miss Dial (6:13am): Question: If it looks like someone is making their way towards you should you run straight away or wait to see if they are just going to ask you for directions?
Miss Dial (6:15am): Okay, so he didn't ask for directions and is instead questioning me about my clothes? Kind of wishing I had my pepper spray.
Miss Dial (6:18am): I've left the area where I was sitting and now he's following me.
A chill ran down Adrien's spine. He knew he shouldn't have left her there alone, he'd been an idiot to do it. Who brings someone into a dark park and then abandons them? What kind of gentleman was he? He went to put the phone away only and turn all 'superhero' when his phone buzzed again. Feet ready to turn and run.
Miss Dial (6:22am): Once again I have information I would like you to deliver for me on my untimely death. Can you please tell Chloé Bourgeois yellow has never been her colour. She should wear more turquoise, it would bring out her eyes.
"Shit!" Putting his phone away, he looked towards the woman currently distributing the coffee into the cups. "Are they almost done?" he asked, bouncing from one foot to the other. He tried to keep the panic out of his voice; however the harsh bite that came out didn't exactly suit the angelic, carefree attitude associated with him.
"Here you go."
Looking taken aback as Adrien snatched the cups from her hands and began to march back in the direction he'd just come from. The crowds parting like the Red Sea as they caught a man on a mission storming out. There were multiple directions she could have moved in, and not a lot of time to find her.
"Plagg?" he whispered. "Plagg!" He tried again, the small black gremlin poking his head out of Adrien's shirt pocket, eyes partially closed and a yawn parting his lips.
"I need you to find Marinette," Adrien stated, his feet continuing to take him on his way.
"And I need you to stop shouting at me, I'm trying to sleep." Plagg yawned again, unwilling to move from his restful place in Adrien's suit pocket.
"Because the 17 hours you're having daily at the moment isn't enough? Marinette just texted me and said she's being followed by a stranger. We need to go and save her." Adrien began to speed up, hoping that he'd catch her at some point. Maybe he could send some telepathic signals to her telling her to go right and head to the café?
"I'm sure she's quite capable at looking after herself," Plagg yawned, reversing back into the pocket he'd just came from and snuggling down.
Checking the coast was clear, Adrien reached into his pocket and grabbed Plagg by the tail, pulling him out. Holding the kwami in front of his face, he narrowed his eyes onto him.
"It's still quite dark and we're foreigners in a new place. Just go and tell me where she is. I'm not going to transform or anything. This is a job for Adrien Agreste."
Plagg rolled his eyes before slapping Adrien's hand away from him and hovering in front of him, his little fin flapping in annoyance.
"God, sometimes you are so full of yourself."
Without another word, Plagg flew away ahead of Adrien, hiding himself deep in the trees and bushes around them. Thank goodness the kwami had the sense to at least hide as he moved.
Continuing his quick pace, Adrien kept on the path back to the fountain, hoping that maybe he'd come face to face with her as he headed back to their spot. Scanning the path ahead, Adrien spotted someone hurriedly walking towards him, their head down and hands gripping tightly to their crossbody bag — every now and then an ankle would twist as she continued heading straight towards him.
The sun rebounded from her hair causing the black strands to turn an anime shade of blue and in that moment he knew exactly who was barrelling at him at the speed of light.
Catching him off guard, her head shot up, eyes blazing into his as she stood still, wobbling a little and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
As her hand remained trailing against her smooth cheek, she looked over her shoulder and turned back to him. Her bottom lip found comfort under her top teeth and with only one look he could see she was completely in planning mode. As though a light bulb lit above her head, she walked towards him with sheer purpose and determination glistening in her eyes.
A quick glance behind her and he noticed a guy in jeans and a hoodie stopping not too far away; that must have been who she was messaging Mr Unknown about. He looked back to catch her eyes, hopefully to let her know he was here and nothing was going to happen to her. Instead, hers rendered him still, a need and determination spreading over her face as she stepped closer and closer breaking into a wide Cheshire Cat smile; until they were finally face to face.
"Hey honey," she announced loudly.
Without warning, she wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him down towards her, their lips meeting as his eyes blew wide open. She was kissing him. She was kissing him .
Suddenly realising he was standing there like a rather large buffoon, his brain kicked into gear and everything began to work in tandem. She wasn't kissing him because she wanted to, but because she had to. A quick look to the side, validated his theory, as the guy that had been following her was glaring straight at them — his eyes locking on Adrien's.
You don't have eyes open in a kiss... what was that song ... oh, yes! Grenade... Oh! Come on, Adrien! Now is most certainly not the time to be thinking about Bruno Mars.
Suddenly, his protective urges came into play and he closed his eyes, pulling her closer and enjoying every breathtaking second of kissing Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He could feel the breath leaving his lungs as fireworks exploded behind his eyelids; every ounce of him wanting to walk Marinette backwards and pushing her tightly up against a tree — until he remembered he had drinks in his hands.
"What—" he said, breaking away from her — breathless and slightly dazed. "— are we doing?"
"I don't know!" Her voice was husky, as she grabbed his tie and pulled him in again.
His hands were useless, her own taking the opportunity to slip under his jacket and around his waist. He must be dreaming, because this being real would just be cruel and unfair. A taste of a delicious forbidden fruit — that was until a prick poked him in the side. The rose.
"Shit!" he huffed, the curse breaking the moment and causing her to move away. Keeping the cups steady, he attempted to rotate himself to look at his side in search of blood.
"I'm so sorry," she said, looking over her shoulder and taking his attention with it. The guy had disappeared. He looked around the area, trying to track where he'd gone to, trying to make a mental note to pass onto Gorilla.
"Oh no!" Marinette suddenly cried out, a hand placed over her lips as she began to pant through laboured breaths, the white rose clutching tightly to her chest.
"Are you okay?" he asked, worry lacing his words as he spoke. Adrien looped an arm around her waist and moved her backwards towards a bench. He sat them down before placing the cups as a makeshift barrier between them.
The tingle in his lips was making him lightheaded with a craving for more. Poking out his tongue, he licked his lower lip pulling in the taste of her strawberry lip gloss. Delicious. Sensual. Marinette. Fuck.
"I kissed you," her words were whispered through her hand. "I'm going to get fired! The one thing I am not allowed to do is kiss you."
"Hold up," Adrien said, grabbing her wrist and lowering her hand from her lips. She'd gone pale. Really pale. "Why would you get fired?"
"HR they said... they said..."
A switch suddenly went off in his brain. The no interoffice relationship clause... and more specifically the no relationship with Adrien Agreste clause . Even at 23 his father still had issues with him dating — they had to be prepped and vetted before being allowed near him.
"Hey, calm down Marinette. It's okay, I promise." He softened his voice as he took her hand, gently running a thumb over her knuckles focusing on calming her down and ignoring the bolts of lightning shooting up his arm.
"What if someone had seen us? I've literally just thrown my career away." The whimpered words from her mouth tugged at his heart. He couldn't let her believe that.
"If it makes you feel any better, I kissed you too. I'm as much to blame. And I promise, there is no one else here Marinette." Adrien looked around as if to prove his point. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone. It's not like you did it because you wanted to kiss me."
Something in her eyes caught him off guard. They flickered in the brightening sunshine, a glistening taking over with each blink until she made the decision to close them and exhale.
"Exactly. Phew , okay. Everything will be fine. We can just forget it happened and carry on with the day." When her eyes opened again they were steely and decisive. This was the way it was going to be. Ignored. Forgotten.
"Exactly." Except as the words left his mouth he knew it was a complete lie, how could he forget that kiss. A kiss which made his toes curl and heart beat wildly.
He needed to distance himself now more than ever. He needed something to take his mind off Marinette for both of their sakes. She worked with him and more importantly she hated him. If only he knew why? He could fix it! But what would be the point? If she hated him she kept her job, anything else could jeopardise everything she'd worked so hard for. He wouldn't do that to her. He couldn't.
That was it. Decision made. Once today was over he'd give her some space, maybe ring one of the models and invite them to drinks tomorrow and distract himself from Marinette and that kiss. Maybe it was time to increase his kiss quota? After all, Marinette didn't want him.
Simple.
Easy.
Except once again, as he looked into the eyes bluer than the sky he felt his insides melt. This was just getting too complicated, a statement proved as for the rest of the day his eyes searched her out at every opportunity.
Adrien was well and truly screwed.