Marinette looked down at her phone and the numerous messages still sitting there from family, friends, acquaintances and random people who'd managed to gather her number from others. She was a hot topic, and shouldn't have been surprised by the sudden insane amount of interest. She had a new number coming very soon.
Engaged to Adrien Agreste, her longtime crush and the subject of countless daydreams – it should have felt like she was floating on Cloud Nine. Instead, the whirlwind of emotions churned within her and left her feeling unmoored and uncertain.
Being engaged had always been a distant dream, a fantasy she had woven in her mind during countless hours spent doodling hearts in her notebook. Yet, now it was her reality – her fake reality – she was at a loss as to how to navigate it. Her lecturers had been amazing, telling her she could jump in on a video conference for the classes instead of coming in, but that's not what she wanted. She didn't want to change anything.
The night of their engagement party had been wonderful. Adrien once again showed how perfect he was, and how much he cared for her. And the conversation with her father, knowing Adrien had gone out of his way to ask for her hand in marriage – even though it was fake – gah! How could she not continually fall head over heels for the man?
She looked down at her phone again, checking to see if Adrien had messaged her. Instead, it was another round of messages from random friends of friends. She was so tempted to turn the damn thing off or throw it in the Seine – though, it wouldn't be fair on the fish to deal with the constant interruption.
"Ugh!" she muttered, Anthony turning to look at her before he quickly turned away to look out the window. He hadn't talked to her since he'd found out about her little gathering the night before. She pleaded innocent – which she was. She had no idea any of this was going to happen.
"Are you ever going to talk to me again?" she hissed.
Anthony turned to look at her, before dramatically rolling his eyes and turning his head away, a metaphorical hair flick if she'd ever seen one.
"Fine." Marinette sighed, taking a small envelope from her pocket and placing it on her desk. Adrien had decided for their 'real' engagement party; he wanted to do it properly, so he'd fast-tracked the most beautiful gold and black party invitations (from Amazon). "If we're not friends anymore, you're not going to want this."
Her whispered words definitely didn't fall on deaf ears, as Anthony twisted slightly so he could look down on the table. She placed her fingers on top of the white envelope and pushed it slightly in his direction, letting out a long exhale.
Before whispering loud enough so only he could hear. "It's such a shame! I suppose I'll just admire Chris Hemsworth's butt myself then."
Now that did it! Grabbing the envelope and almost drooling on the table, Anthony ripped it open and pulled out the card. A golden rose embellished on the black card with the most gorgeous writing displaying hers and Adrien's names.
"Plus one?" he asked.
"I wouldn't expect anything else."
Luckily, the bell rang signalling the end of the lecture and allowing Anthony to pin her in the chair with a hug that almost suffocated her. "You know I was only kidding, right? I know you have this whole other group of friends. I wasn't trying to keep you all to myself."
Marinette smiled, pleased that Anthony had taken the invitation as an olive branch and accepted willingly – like he wouldn't when there was a possibility of seeing Thor in black tie.
"So, who else will be there?" he suddenly asked, well and truly ready to party with movie royalty.
"Pretty much everyone, I think. I haven't really questioned Adrien about it. Though, I'm quite sure it's Lana who's taking care of his guests." She packed her things away before checking her phone once more. The SSSHH group was active, which meant the invitations must have been reaching their destinations.
A group chat called: SSSHH with: LB, CN, RR, C...
Received Message from:Nino
BugBossLady Meow-sterMind I'm really sorry but I don't think I can make it. You see, I'm already dining with the King of England on that day!
Received Message from:Alya
TheMightyMullosk I'm going without you then, honey! I've heard Jharrel Jerome is going to be there!
Received Message from:Nino
Seriously! You'd ditch me...a real hero...for someone who plays a fake one! A cartoon as well! It's not like he's a 3D computer generated image!
Received Message from:Alya
Awww, you're jealous! That's so cute!
Received Message from:Nino
Me? Jealous? No chance.
Meow-sterMind please can you set me up with a decent tailor. This turtle needs to shine his shell.
Received Message from:Kim
Is it a plus one invite?
Received Message from:Adrien
Depends who the plus one is...
Received Message from:Kim
Well, believe it or not Chloé messaged me this morning. She wants to meet up this weekend
Received Message from:Adrien
Not a chance!
Received Message from:Kim
Come on, Agreste! Chloé could be my true love! I would have let you bring Marinette to my engagement party
Received Message from:Adrien
First, you've never been engaged! Second, Marinette is 1000% my true love! Thirdly, if Chloé comes anywhere near my house, you won't be coming to the wedding either!
Received Message from:Kim
Guys, help me out here!
Received Message from:Zoé
Sorry, Kim. I know she's my sister, but I'm with Adrien on this one!
Received Message from:Luka
It's Adrien and Marinette's evening. If they don't want her there, who are we to try and change their minds
Sent Message: Sorry, Kim! But there's no way I'm having Chloé at my engagement party! It's meant to be fun!
Received Message from:Kim
fine! But what if I find someone better before the wedding?
Sent Message: We'll discuss it then
Received Message from:Luka
BTW, thanks for the invite guys! I'm looking forward to celebrating with you both, again.
Received Message from:Zoé
Me too. Luka? Perhaps we could go together?
Received Message from:Luka
Yeah, that would be awesome!
Received Message from:Max
We will 99.9% be there.
Received Message from:Rose
Count me and Juleka in!
Received Message from:Mylène
Me and Ivan too!
Received Message from:Félix
I suppose I could fit it into my busy schedule ?
Received Message from:Kagami
I'm his busy schedule and yes, we will be there.
Received Message from:Adrien
That sounded so wrong, Kagami!
Closing the group, Marinette pocketed her phone and snorted. Chloé Bourgeois at her engagement party to Adrien? As much as she would have loved to rub it in the blonde's face that she had got the guy, she wanted to enjoy the night, not worry about someone ruining the cake, or flashing Finn Wolfhard.
"Doesn't it annoy you?" Anthony asked, walking alongside Marinette down the corridors in search for freedom.
"What?" she queried.
"The people staring and pointing. Have you heard some of the things people have been saying about you? I'm surprised you haven't wanted to rip their cheap-ass hair extensions out."
Marinette laughed again, shaking her head. "Not at all. I've been friends with Adrien for years. This is a normal occurrence. I don't know if you ever saw the picture in the fountain when Adrien was 'hiding with his girlfriend'? But...Hey! That girl was me."
Anthony gasped, and grabbed hold of her arm, stopping her from moving any further forward. "You were the famous pyjama girl?"
"Think about it...Did you really expect anyone else?"
"Now you've said it, no! I just never pieced it together."
They continued to walk, Marinette suddenly understanding why Anthony had questioned her. Every head turned to look at her as she exited into the courtyard. Pointing. Giggling. Gasps. It didn't bother her all that much. She was used to it, and thanks to her many years in the spotlight as a superhero, she was just as equipped to deal with the media as Adrien was, something that made this whole charade easier.
"So, I'll see you this weekend? At the party?" They stopped by the fountain, Anthony sitting down to wait for Richard as Marinette hovered, ready to fight for her life in the head-to-head conversation she was about to have with Alya at a local cafe.
"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world." She bent down and hugged him, before kissing his cheek in farewell and heading towards the cafe.
One of the things Marinette loved about Paris was the tiny nooks where you could sneak off to grab a coffee in peace. Each time she went to London to see Adrien, they were either spotted in a matter of minutes, or he had to dress up as an over-enthusiastic tourist to stop the crowds from noticing him. It could be the fact they didn't know the place well, but Paris was perfect.
She walked up a small, cobbled path and noticed Alya before the cafe. She was sitting outside, wrapped in her leather jacket and thick woolly scarf, typing frantically on her laptop.
"Is this seat taken?" Marinette smiled down at her friend, Alya slamming the laptop lid closed before springing to her feet and wrapping Marinette in a hug. This time sans the suffocation by boobage.
"Hey, girl! Come, sit down! We have a lot to talk about."
Marinette removed her bag and slid onto the seat opposite, pulling out her sunglasses and placing them on. It wasn't sunny, but it was Adrien's orders. If she was sitting outside, she kept herself as hidden as possible. She looked around, up at the rooftops. Knowing her fake fiancé, he would go into protective cat mode and spy on her with his leathered pepper butt in costume.
"Don't tell me you have your own personal bodyguard?"
Laughing, Marinette brought her eyeline down to a normal level. "You can never be too careful these days."
Ayla glared at her inquisitively, Marinette shaking her head in response. "No, I don't have a bodyguard. Not that I know of anyway. You know how Adrien is, though, when he gets into serve and protect mode he follows through on his duties."
"True."
"So, why did you want to see me?" Marinette asked, taking the menu from the middle of the table and using it as a block for the lower end of her face.
"I want to know what the hell is going on, and why you never told me you were dating Adrien!" She whispered the words harshly at her, and Marinette couldn't help the unsettled feeling in her stomach. Where she thought they had amazingly tricked everyone into believing this, it seemed some of them needed a little more persuasion.
"We didn't want it to affect his career. But with everything coming out about Gabriel, we needed to reveal Adrien is sweet, kind and humble, not the 'love them and leave them' type he's been made out to be."
"You're such a rubbish liar, Marinette! I can't believe I never saw through you before."
They sat in silence, Marinette wondering what she should do now. She couldn't exactly outright admit it was a lie. If anyone was around, it would just open this whole other can of worms. But this was Alya, her best friend. The first person she'd told her biggest secret to.
"You know, don't you?"
Alya tilted her head in that way which meant she had an insight on something. "Well, when you weren't replying to any of my messages on the day the news came out, Tikki dropped by. It seems she didn't know about it either."
She wasn't the only one!
Taking her sunglasses off, Marinette rubbed aggressively at her eyes, wondering how she continually got herself in these tricky situations when she was meant to possess the power of good fortune.
"It's a mess, Alya! I'm stuck in this situation and I don't know how to get out."
"I'm quite sure if you're uncomfortable, Adrien will find a way of retracting it. You know he would do anything for you. He already does."
While that was completely true, he wasn't the issue here. She was the one who'd played the romance up to Violet, and her parents and friends were so happy. She couldn't just rip the carpet from under them now. It would hurt them too much. It would hurt her too.
"I may have used this relationship with Adrien to my advantage. I can't just call it quits now. It'll make me look like a liar."
Alya snorted. "You kinda already are. So, what's your plan with this? How long are you going to stay together? Until you end up married with three kids and a hamster?"
"Adrien just needs to get this role, and come with me to Violet's party, then we'll call it off. It'll prove he's sweet and innocent, nothing like his father, and he'll move to the States, win an Oscar and marry someone he truly loves."
Alya sat with her eyes almost popping out of her head. "You're kidding, right?"
"No. Adrien deserves a wife, who he adores, and many beautiful children. Who am I to stand in his way?"
Her friend didn't blink...at all...for a very long time. "Stand in his way?" she finally choked out, only to follow it up with a loud chortle. "Listen, Marinette, I love you like my own flesh and blood, but sometimes I don't understand you."
"We're just acting, Alya!"
"I disagree! I don't think either of you are!"
Marinette tried to ignore the grinding of her back teeth as she considered what Alya meant, her mind orbiting everything except the answer. "Can we just change the subject now, please? This is hard enough to think about, let alone talk about."
Alya sighed. "Fine! But Marinette, use the opportunity and tell Adrien how you feel. I don't think his response would be too different from yours."
Shutting off from the conversation, Marinette continued looking at the menu and thinking about food options instead of Adrien, although she was quite sure he was just as appetising to her taste buds. Scolding herself for such a vulgar thought, the conversation turned to Alya and Nino, keeping firmly away from her relationship with Adrien. Though part of her couldn't help but wish the words coming from Alya's mouth held some truth, and that maybe Adrien could — eventually — feel something more. She wouldn't do that to him, though. She wouldn't pressure him like his father did. This was his choice, not hers.
After an hour of awkward avoidance conversation, Marinette headed away from the cafe and back in the direction of the boulangerie. The sky had suddenly turned overcast, sending out a rather large threat of impending rain. Not wanting to be caught out, Marinette ducked into an alleyway and transformed, sending herself up and onto the rooftops.
If she could get moving at a good speed, she should be able to make it back to her home before it started tipping it down. She just needed to...
Something caught her eye. Sitting on their old patrol rooftop was a black kitty, one who seemed deep in thought as he swung his legs backwards and forwards over the side of the building. She watched him for a while, suddenly realising: A — how much she missed him wearing said suit, and B — they'd made a pact to not transform in case it scared the crowds into thinking there was another villain.
Changing her direction, she landed behind him with a soft thud, before inclining her yo-yo and swinging it in a circle at her side. He hadn't moved, yet from the twitch of his ears she was certain he'd heard her. She closed her eyes, and thought back to her last attempt on her dating sim, an idea springing forward like a newly born spring lamb.
"What's a stud like you doing in a place like this?"
She continued towards him, her hips swinging side to side as she walked. Her confidence had zoomed into the stratosphere, the added bonus of being hidden behind a sexy suit and a mask.
"Looking for a — woah!" Chat Noir stood and turned around to face her, his head moving in an up and down motion as though trying to take her all in.
"What's wrong, Minou, cat got your tongue?" Sending the yo-yo out towards him, it wrapped around his body and allowed her to pull him in.
"That's some costume, M'Lady. Are you trying to give this old cat a heart attack?"
She shrugged. "Maybe I want to show him what he would be missing out on by marrying a mere mortal."
Chat Noir barked out a strangled laugh. "What are you saying? That my Goddess of a fiancée isn't enough?"
With a quick yank, she pulled the yo-yo and sent him spinning away from her. Thanks to Cupid's Cove and its wild designs for Ladybug, Marinette had managed to come up with a new and improved style. Risqué and definitely not for a kid's party costume. Maybe something you could buy from Ann Summers, or Victoria's Secret.
And the effect it was having on her partner was delicious.
"I thought we agreed not to transform anymore, Chaton? How about you drop the cat ears?"
The look he gave her was both daring and devilish. Almost as much as the words that escaped his lips. "Make me!"
Challenge accepted!
Leaping forward, Ladybug wrapped herself around him, only to be thrown in the opposite direction. Her hand came down as she slid backwards, using the rough tips of the glove to try and slow down the skid.
"It's been a while since we sparred, M'Lady! I hope you haven't lost your skill."
He took the baton from behind his back as she grasped tighter onto her yo-yo. "You're not the only one who's been keeping fit, Kitty Cat!"
Striking a pose and buffing out his biceps, he almost sent her over the rooftop. It really was unfair how much he'd been working out, and how tight and taut he looked in his super suit.
"Well then, come and have a go...if you think you're hard enough," Chat Noir teased, his eyes flickering with amusement.
She started to spin her yo-yo, her eyes reflecting his as they glistened with excitement. Now this was her Adrien in his true domain — all manly and coated in black. She was quite sure all this time spent with him in the super spandex may have given her some kind of kink. Most likely for leather...and for purring.
"Big words, Pussy Cat!" Giggling, she sent the yo-yo straight in his direction, aiming it like a whipping dish cloth.
"Quite a snap there, M'Lady."
"That's nothing." She flicked it again, this time catching his thigh.
He yelped and jumped backwards. "Hey, watch it!"
She did it again, Chat Noir jumping to the side and landing with his baton ready to deflect. "Oh, okay! If this is how you want to play, be prepared. This means war!"
With a flick of her wrist, and a jump within her heart, she went to snap at him again. However, this time he was prepared. Splitting his baton into two, he sent one part flying towards her. It collided with her yo-yo, stopping it from moving any further forward.
She gasped and looked between him and the yo-yo. "You're going to pay for that."
"Not until I've changed my costume too." Presenting himself like some unworldly god (which sometimes she believed he was) his costume coated in green light before unveiling the new style Chat Noir, and oh, god! She really was now incoherent and distracted because the mix was the perfect combination of Chat Noir, Catwalker and (her second favourite superhero) Superman.
He had a cape! A goddamn cape which she wanted to hide them both under while she kissed him senseless. He was edged in gold and chains, and dear Lord...how was she ever going to look at him in the same light again?
"What's wrong M'Lady? Cat got your tongue?" He teased, mirroring her previous words.
"If only," she whispered to herself, moving forwards and retracting her yo-yo. "How are we doing this tonight? Weapons or hand to hand combat?"
"Hand to hand. I wouldn't want to deny you the chance to grab the tush!"
She laughed as her cheeks were infiltrated by a rather spicy red. "Don't tempt me!"
Chat Noir moved forward and they ended up face to face. His well formed, beautiful body towered over her with power and dominance — but nothing could beat the look in his eyes at the moment. A tiny slither of green rimmed around his wide, dark pupils, making him look murderous in the most delicious of ways. He looked like he was going to ravage her — and she would be an extremely willing victim.
"How about if I want to?" he whispered, a hand reaching out and grabbing the stray strand which had fallen from her ponytail.
This was certainly further than she'd ever gotten in Cupid's Cove.
His gloved hand came into contact with the apple of her cheek, a vibration of lust caressing down her spine and calling out to him to keep touching her, finding every piece of her bare skin and marking it so no other man would ever be enough. Because they wouldn't. No one would ever be able to contend with Adrien.
His eyes continued to burn into hers, an unspoken tease about what to do next, his own eyes seeming to question it as much as hers. Chat Noir always loved Ladybug. Could Adrien maybe - just maybe - fall for Marinette too?
"I like this style," he said, moving the stray strand of hair to the side and wrapping it around her ear, his fingertips moving down her neck in a painfully slow advancement. Oh, heck, he was going to kill her.
"S-style?" Goodbye Legendary Ladybug, hello Mishap Marinette.
"The hair. The costume. You."
Oh, frick! He was saying all the right words and she desperately needed to stop this before she did something insane, like jump him and assault him, because right now all she could think about was laying him on the rooftop and climbing on top.
Placing her hands to his chest, she pushed him backwards and started spinning her yo-yo again. "Good one!" she laughed out, suddenly sounding like a strangled swan.
Not reading into his anxious neck rub, she reverted them back to sparring mode, her body trying hard to control the tingling remaining there from his touch.
"What — what are you-?" Ladybug's question was cut off as both of their attentions were turned abruptly to the sky as the sun disappeared behind thick clouds.
"We better go," Ladybug said, her yo-yo retracting back into her hand.
Right on cue, the rooftop began to glisten with the start of what looked to be quite a storm. The last time this had happened, they'd completely misread the situation — heading in different directions and thinking the other was behind. That time also started with goosebumps, close bodies and a fiery stare in her partner's eyes.
"Yes, we should," he agreed. "Only this time, I'm making sure we both go the same way."
Scooping her up into his arms, Chat Noir raced in the direction of the Agreste mansion and the solitude of his room...this time making sure she was there with him.