"HEY Alya, did you get your invite for Kagami and Felix's engagement party?" Marinette asks Alya over the phone.
"Yeah, I did, but Nino and I are going to be out of town for it. We're celebrating our anniversary, and we're leaving tomorrow." Alya responds on the other line.
"Woww, good for you. You think he'd propose?" Marinette smugly says.
"Marinette!"
"What? You've been together for eleven years, Alya. Don't you think he'd pop the question by now?"
Alya paused on the other end, before speaking, "Well.. maybe. But I don't want to put any pressure on him, okay? If he does it, cool! If he doesn't, that's fine too." She then smirks, "But, enough about me: What's going on with you and the blondie?"
Marinette froze at the thought, "Nothing's going on. Even if I did like him, which I totally do not, by the way, there are no feelings on the other side."
"Hm, are you sure about that?" Alya mentioned, raising her eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you guys are going to that party tomorrow. And Felix and Kagami, being who they are, they probably haven't invited many guests our age.. So I'm sure you two will be spending a lot of time together."
Now it was Marinette's turn to get annoyed with her friend, "Alya!"
"Oh, come on, is it really that bad to fall in love with Adrien Agreste?"
It's bad to fall in love with Chadrien Noigreste.
"Yes, Alya. I can't fall back into the same trap my 14 year-old self did." Marinette pointed out, sighing.
"Well, you never get over your first love. I know that you still like him, Marinette, you're just in denial." Alya chuckles, "If anything happens tomorrow, just remember that I told you so."
"Alya.." Marinette groaned.
"I've got to pack now, see you later!" Alya said quickly before she could hear any of Marinette's reasoning and hung up.
•★★★•
Adrien arrived at the ballroom that Kagami and Felix had rented out for that evening. The invitations had explicitly said to wear something nice (aka something expensive) in either black or white. But, Adrien sort of felt like pissing off Felix today, so he showed up in a casual, black, button up shirt with the top two buttons undone, black pants, a black tie, and a black belt. He should've gone all out and worn an expensive tuxedo, but getting under Felix's skin was worth it.
He walked through the large, double doors and made his way to the happy couple, "Felix."
His cousin quickly looked him up and down, assessing his attire, "Adrien." He fought himself to try and not belittle the other blond due to his outfit and just bit his own tongue to stop him from doing so.
Kagami then tuned into the conversation, giving one of her oh-so iconic smiles, "Hello, Adrien, how are you?"
"I'm good, thanks, and you?" Adrien asked.
"Well, I'm engaged, so I think I'm doing great." Kagami responded. Felix was about to add something about this topic but then they heard Marinette, who rushed through the door. She stopped at the entrance to smooth down her stunning black dress, and calmly made her way over to Adrien and the others.
"Hey, guys." She said, trying to act cool. It wasn't working.
"Hello, Marinette. Late as always?" Felix asked, chuckling.
"You could say that.. I usually have Alya to prepare me for these sorts of events, since she always wants to play dress up, even though she denies it." Marinette giggles, but then realizes she's said too much and stops, "But uh, anyway, I apologize for my tardiness."
"It's okay, Marinette. You can't help being yourself." Kagami says, flashing another smile.
"Thanks, Kagami. I'm trying to work on it, though." Marinette mentioned.
"Well, if that will be all, we have to go talk to my mother now. Enjoy the party," Felix said, and he and Kagami left. As soon as they did, Marinette turned to Adrien.
"So, what'd he say about your outfit?" She asked, raising an eyebrow smugly.
"Nothing, actually, but I know exactly what he was thinking," Adrien said, facing Marinette. "He's still as rude as ever, but he actually wasn't too bad the last time I talked to him. I know he's trying, but.." He trailed off.
"I know what you mean," Marinette responded, who didn't think this conversation would get that deep. "But, hey, don't worry too much about it."
"I'll try not to," Adrien says, smirking, and just as he does, a waiter comes by and offers them some champagne. Adrien takes two glasses and hands one to Marinette.
Marinette thanks Adrien and takes a sip, "So, you think you'll be asked to be the groom's best man?" Marinette reaches up to rustle Adrien's hair, but he catches her wrist and stops her.
"Hey, Mari, I don't think the happy couple will enjoy my hair being a mess, with how much my attire is lacking already," He says, chuckling, "But your hair on the other hand.." Adrien lowers his hand and lightly rustles Marinette's hair, but not too much that it gets all ruined.
Marinette stares back up at Adrien in disgust, "Adrien, what did I say about rustling my hair?"
"Honestly, not much. I said I would stop until we were out of the cafe, and here we are; Not in that cafe," He grinned widely.
"That's.. not wrong." Marinette hesitantly admitted.
"I know," Adrien put his arm around Marinette, "But to answer your question, I will only be Felix's best man if you are the maid of honor. Deal?"
"Deal."
Once they struck their deal, the music that filled the room suddenly switched to a slow song. Couples around them started piling onto the dance floor, enjoying their time together.
"Come on, let's go dance." Adrien said, taking Marinette's hand and dragging her to the middle of the room.
"What? Adrien—" Marinette protested, but never snatched her hand away.
"It'll be fun," Adrien added, smirking. He pulled Marinette in, putting his hands on her face. She obliged reluctantly, putting her arms around his neck, "Also, have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"
Marinette's face turned red, "No.. but thank you." She giggled, trying to break the ice after that compliment, "This reminds me of when we had to dance at Chloe's party all those years ago," She tried to speak quietly, to be mindful of all the other couples around them dancing.
"Yeah.." Adrien agreed, "I liked that."
Marinette blushed even more at Adrien's comment, never thinking that he would have liked to dance with her.
"Um.. speaking of Chloe, what's been going on with her these days?" Marinette asks, trying to break some tension.
"She's uh, been good. She's working on herself now and trying to be a better person day by day in Germany." Adrien states, looking into Marinette's eyes.
"That's great," Marinette said, then chuckled, "I still remember when we were shooting that short film at school and she was throwing a fit so I sent her off to the nurse's office."
"Yeah, and we were.. about to kiss that day, too."
"Oh, yeah, I totally forgot about that.." Marinette felt uneasy, like there was this weird feeling in the room that she couldn't make out, "Luckily that didn't happen, right?"
We know that Marinette wished it would have happened, even today.
"Actually, looking back, I think I would've wanted it to." Adrien said, as his face and Marinette's were inches away. They looked at each other, both of their faces blushing, not knowing what to do. Marinette's bluebell eyes stared into the bright green ones across from hers, looking into them intently and longing for something.
But then, they tore away.
"I.. I have to go get some air real quick. I'm sorry," She said, and her arms lowered from Adrien's neck and followed her out the door to the garden.
Adrien wanted to cry out for her, so, so badly, but he didn't want to make a scene. It was the last thing she needed right now.
So instead, he followed her outside. At first, he was not able to spot her because of the beautiful assortment of roses, tulips, lilies, bluebells, and magnolias crowding the garden. He saw a blooming red rose and picked it, holding it in his hand behind his back. He then approached Marinette, who was turned away from him, looking up at the moon.
"Marinette," Adrien called, making the girl let out a small gasp and pivot around to face the blond.
"I'm.. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Or if I said something wrong. That wasn't my intention," He said, calm and collected, not wanting to approach the bluenette in fear of frightening her.
"That's not why I left," Marinette responded, leaving Adrien surprised. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but the words wouldn't come out.
"Marinette, the past couple months have been unforgettable. At first I was confused, not knowing what to think. But then a friend helped me open my eyes, and ever since then, I've stayed up all night thinking about you. I can't imagine my life without you. If you weren't in it.. I think I'd feel empty, heartbroken, and lost." Adrien paused, his thumb and index finger rubbing against the stem of the rose as deep as blood that he was holding. He then extended his arm, offering the flower.
"I love you, Mari."
The girl was stunned. What had just happened? So many years ago, Adrien was in love with her. With Ladybug. Then he had moved on from Ladybug, and Marinette thought that everything was platonic with both relationships. And now he likes her? Loves her?
She continued staring, not knowing what to say or do. And the longer that Marinette looked at Adrien, who was giving her a rose, the more and more she thought of Chat. The more and more she thought of Gabriel.
"Now, your pretty little head should know that you will not reveal your identity to Adrien at the end of this."
His deep green eyes. Those same eyes she'd been staring into for over ten years.
"Because if you don't, I will hunt for you the second I get out."
Those eyes that had offered her a rose, an umbrella, and a helping hand.
"I'll also make Adrien's life miserable."
No.
No, she couldn't accept it.
After all, no famous fashion designer would want his son to marry the baker's daughter, right?
And she knew this was true, because that was the reason as to why Hawk Moth didn't want her to reveal her identity.
Gabriel always wanted what was "best for Adrien".
Bullshit.
"Marinette?"
The girl looked up, as she had somehow ended up longingly gazing at the floor.
"Are you okay?"
Her eyes were filled with tears, none of them falling out but just sitting there. When did she start crying?
And at that moment, she just wanted to get out of there.
"I'm—I'm sorry, Adrien.." Marinette started to march away, grabbing her skirt to make sure she didn't trip. She wiped away her tears, her feelings filled with mixed emotions of sadness, for not being able to love who she wanted, hatred, for the person who was making her do this, and additionally, hatred for herself for believing that Gabriel would "hunt for her."
"Don't risk it, Marinette." She told herself, over and over again.
"Marinette, wait!" Adrien yelled, trying to get her attention. She continued to walk away, then quicken her speed.
"Please, Mari,"
She whipped around, her mascara all smudged from the crying and wiping. And then, she just exploded.
"Adrien, I have loved you ever since we were fourteen. When we graduated, I told myself, 'I'm never going to see him again! Move on, Mari!' countless times, and I swear I thought I did, but then you jumped back into my life and—and now I feel as if I'm in ninth grade again, falling in love with you once more. I've tried, so, so hard to ignore my feelings or deny them to everyone I meet, but I.." Her voice trailed off. She didn't mean to be so harsh, to scream at him, to take out all her frustrations on him. But it just came out.
"I'm sorry," She said, taking a deep breath and calming down. She was trembling, her voice quavering at her cries and she tried so hard to keep it in, "But I can't. I just can't," She quickly turned around and made her way to the ballroom once more, taking out a handkerchief to freshen herself up and look presentable. She grabbed a champagne glass from the table and took a long swig, annoyed at herself for acting the way she did.
"Marinette.." Adrien muttered under his breath, shocked about everything that just happened. But most of all, he was worried; What did she mean that she "can't?"
Adrien stayed in the garden for at least thirty minutes, just sitting on a bench and contemplating everything. He said he loved Marinette. Did he love Marinette? Come to think of it, ever since his talk with Abrielle, which had been a week or two ago, things were much different. Hangouts with Marinette at the cafe felt different. It all felt different. Every single night, Adrien just wished that he was with Marinette. He wanted to hug her, kiss her, brag about her to his friends, tell her she's perfect, beautiful, and everything in between.
Wait.
He loved Marinette.
And now he just got rejected from her. Maybe not fully rejected, because she said that she had felt the same way but couldn't.. uh, get in a relationship?
So if they couldn't date, then.. What, are they going to be friends? Fuck, are they even going to be friends after this?
Adrien's mind was circling with pros and cons, outcomes, and confusion.
Suddenly, he got up, put the rose in his shirt pocket, and headed towards the ballroom doors. What's the worst that can happen?
As he approached, the first sight he saw was Marinette, who was laughing her ass off, joined by Kagami and Felix, who stared at her with a straight face. Kagami was slightly smiling, but it was hard to tell to the untrained eye.
"Adrien, what happened to her?" Felix asked, an annoyed look on his face.
"Well, it's hard to explain, but I'll just—"
"You know what?" Felix responded, rubbing his eyes with one hand, "I don't want to know. Actually, seeing the look on your face, I probably already know. You guys are predictable. Plus, not in front of the guests? Just take her home."
What did he mean, "Not in front of the guests?"
Adrien felt mad. Frustrated. Upset. And any synonym for those three words. Why was his cousin telling him what to do? Why did he care more about how his guests, who were also his friends and family, perceived himself? Perceived Adrien?
"Okay, but let your mo-" Adrien tried to say, but Felix cut him off once again.
"Adrien, just get going." His cousin said, sternly.
Adrien sighed, just giving up. What could he do, anyway?
He took Marinette's hand, about to lead her out of the crowd. But, Felix apparently had one more thing to add.
"And maybe next time, Adrien, you can dress less like the lower class and more like an Agreste. And don't even get me started on Marinette." He paused, "I thought she would know better than to get wasted at a party because of some dumb boy."
That was it.
No one talked about Marinette like that.
Adrien charged back towards Felix, putting his pointer finger to his chest and lightly shoving him back, "What makes you think you can just act like a dick to everyone you meet?"
He was livid, his face showing his emotions and an angry expression was pasted on. Sure, Adrien and Felix have had their ups and downs before, but none of them ever did or said something that ticked them off as much as right now.
"It doesn't matter how I treat people, Adrien. I at least have class, professionalism. Maybe it's not the best approach, I admit, but at least I wouldn't be making as much of a scene as you are right now, nor have I ever. That is the difference between you and me."
"Well clearly I didn't have a good example, or role model for how I should be acting, because you have been MIA for the last seven years. As soon as you graduated and Aunt Amelie granted you the freedom you've been yearning for, you were up and out of the house like that." Adrien snapped his finger in his cousin's face, "You were hopping from London and Japan with Kagami, occasionally visiting Paris for work, and not once did you ever even think to call or text. I hadn't heard from you up until last week, and I didn't even know you were in town. I probably only got the invite to this party because of Kagami."
"So Felix, that is the true difference between you and me. I'm able to maintain my relationships, while you are not."
Adrien and Marinette fled the scene, making their way to Marinette's car. Adrien would have to come back the next day to get his.. but as long as Marinette made her way home, it was fine with him.