Nino was still eyeing his distraught friend as he reclined in his seat. "Are you okay? If you want to barf or something, just tell me. I have lots of paper bags here. I think I have dizzy meds packed by Maman, in case I got motion sickness. Or we can ask for a nurse's assista - "
"I'm okay, Nino. Relax." Adrien huffed for the umpteenth time, forcing himself to enjoy the view outside the bus windows. Not only he got a worrywart seatmate, his mind was drifting towards the girl who was sitting - this was new - on their front row.
Too bad the backrest of their chairs were too high to take a peek.
"You're as white as a toilet paper a while ago. If you want to poop or - "
"Lahiffe."
"Okay, okay. Chill." the DJ raised his palms up when the model glowered viciously. "I'm concerned, man. Especially when Mari - "
An adorable squeak sounded, followed by a peering bluebell eyes as the person in question checked her back seat.
His jaw slacked at her ethereal beauty.
"A - Adri - Adrien?"
"Ye-yeah? Yes?" he immediately sat bolt upright.
"I - I have ma - macarons told Alya. I mean, Alya told me you're not fine, even though you're fine, and I have macarons, even though they're not as fine as you, but Alya told me to share it with you, which is cool, despite you're cool enough, and I'm rambling so I'm going to shut up now. "
Her words failed to register on his mind. All he did was gawking at her with a crimson-red face, unaware that his friends were waiting for his response. If Nino didn't snap his fingers in front of his face, the blond will not break from his reverie.
"Cute."
And there was silence.
Oh shit.
Abort mission. I repeat, abort mission!
"I mean the macarons!" he corrected himself. "Cute, I mean - the macarons! Not that you're cute, I mean you're cute, but the macarons also are cute, like you, and I like you, like the macarons I like, and I'm rambling so I'm going to shut up now."
Whoa, wait -
Did he just tell her that he liked her?
He did.
Where is that damn shovel when you need it to dig your grave and die?
Nino and Alya ogled at their respective best friends who were commencing their very own Blushing Fest™ with bafflement. What happened between these two ridiculously cute cinnamon buns why they couldn't string a sentence like retards?
"So..." Adrien continued timorously. "CanIhavesomemacarons?"
"YES!" she shrieked that jolted her three friends, but not enough to frazzle the other passengers.
He beamed before the angel who was offering him a box of treats when suddenly, the bus driver stepped on the brakes. All of the entire contents slammed directly on the poor blond's face.
"Urk - "
His angel gasped with mortification.
"PFFFFFFFFFFFT - "
Their best friends guffawed at the sight of a disheveled and stupefied Adrien and became louder when Marinette lurched from her seat and bowed profusely on the mess. Some of the macarons got split and stuck on the model's hair, while the crumbs and buttercreams dripped down on his face.
"I'm so - so - so - sorry! I didn't mean to dump it on you -"
"Hey, it's fine Mari - "
" - and now I became a nuisance instead of being helpful!"
"How sweet of you." he mused, brushing the tacky meringues from his skin. "For giving me this sugar rush."
She froze on his pun.
"What the fuck did you do to my Adrikins, you Maritrash - "
"We're having a stopover, students." their tour guide interrupted the furious blonde. "So please be mindful of your belongings before leaving the vehicle."
Using the distraction as an advantage, Adrien immediately rushed outside to look for a nearby toilet.
The place was so oddly familiar he even located the men's comfort room in less than a minute.
"Your Chat Noir is showing, Loverboy." Plagg snickered much on his charger's embarrassment.
"Don't remind me. I'm about to kill myself and - "
He almost slammed the toilet's door on someone who was wearing a death metal suit, heavy white makeup with a Kanji written on his forehead he swore it meant 'Destroy'.
Much to his surprise, a woman with a similarly themed outfit was clinging to the man's arms and moaned, "Oh, darling, that was a goddamn ride."
Was he on a wrong toilet?
"You're such a devil, babe. So wicked." was her companion's reply, then glared at the stumped boy. "What the fuck are you staring at?"
Adrien raised his arms and stepped aside, giving the two a way to pass. The couple was walking like drunkards, wobbling, and cursing as they stumbled with other bypassers.
"Horny teenagers," Plagg muttered under his breath as he flew out from his charger's shirt pocket then rested himself near the sink.
Adrien didn't answer. He simply eyed the cubicle that the couple just vacated, then shrugged his shoulders.
As if those two used it to do some illicit things.
Brushing off another familiar sensation, the boy eyed his macaron-covered reflection. He pulled a wad of tissues to wet it then began wiping the sugar residues.
Once he felt less tacky, an idea struck him again.
"Plagg?"
The kwami perked his head from the faucet. "Hmm?"
"If I told you that Marinette is Ladybug." he breathed deeply. "Will you believe me?"
"On what basis?" Plagg tilted his head. "Your illicit dreams?"
"It wasn't illicit." he defended with crimson cheeks then balled the wet tissues. His aim almost missed the trash bin.
"Why don't you approach her?"
"What?"
"Ask your Princess if she's your Lady," he suggested nonchalantly. "Problem solved."
"What if she's not?"
"Then she's not. Simple as that."
Somehow, the blond felt betrayed. "You don't believe me, do you?"
"I neither confirmed nor denied that," he answered between cheese bites. "We kwamis vowed not to disclose the identities of our Miraculous wielder for certain reasons, and just let you humans do it by yourself."
He raked his blond locks out of frustrations, then sighed with defeat.
This can't be. Everything feels so off. So wrong.
"Let's say the things that you confessed to me this morning were real - that dream." the kwami continued. "Then there must be an explanation why you're the only one who remembers it."
The last thing Adrien wanted to do was to examine his sanity.
Looking in the mirror for the last time, he pocketed the grumpy god of destruction then walked outside.
He immediately recalled the fiasco in the bus and the poor sweet macarons that he crushed. Believing that a bag of junk foods and a can of soda were sufficient enough to evade his friends' wrath, he decided to check the convenient store for a purchase.
Only to remember what would happen next.
He was about to go back when he collided with a certain body. Several bags of chips fell on the ground, and that moment he knew his fate was sealed for damnation.
"I - I'm sorry. I didn't notice you..." he apologized without staring at the person.
The blond was too focused on gathering the foods. He mentally prepared himself for a possible outpouring of curses, nasty remarks, or shouts about his celebrity status, but none came.
"It's okay, Adrien." a familiar voice said.
He straightened his back with a lightning speed. He was surprised that of all people, he bumped Marinette and ruined her snacks again.
The shock made him drop the chips.
"Oh shi - "
The budding designer giggled when he scrambled to pick it up.
"I apologize, I didn't mean to drop them." he clutched the chips on his arms again with shame. "I'm so sorry."
If he was currently transformed, his faux ears would flatten on his head and his leather tail would swing sadly between his legs.
"It's fine. Actually, I was looking for you." she chuckled as she held the chip bags by her lithe arms. "I thought you might need some help to deck your fans agai - "
Chips fell down again when Marinette accidentally dropped them.
"Merde, I'm sorry I slipped - my hands slipped, I mean!" she stammered with a flustered face.
"You shouldn't be." he answered, picking up the bags for the third time. "About my fans. Really, I need that kind of protection."
He winked.
She dropped the chips again.
Both crouched down to collect the items when their foreheads bumped together. They blushed when they unknowingly reached a similar bag of chips. Static jolted the two when their hands brushed each other, so they scrambled away and sputtered with several apologies.
"I'm sorry, Pri - "
"I'm sorry, Cha - "
"What are you two doing out there?!" Miss Bustier hollered.
Their homeroom teacher was tapping her foot vehemently while eyeing her students near the driver's window panel. If they happened to look around, they might've noticed that they were the only ones remained outside and that the entire student body - not only their class - were observing the mess from their respective seat windows.
"M. Agreste and Mme. Dupain-Cheng, do you want us to left you two behind?"
Trying not to give an answer, the teenagers made a beeline towards their bus while averting their gaze from their classmate's inquisitive stares. Once they settled on their own seats, the two were immediately interrogated by their best friends.
"Really, dude?" Nino adjusted his glasses. "If you just tell me you wanted to hog a certain girl's attention all by yourself, I'd be more than happy to swap seats."
"It's not what it seems like!" he revolted, and the way the front seats were creating their own inaudible hushing sounds, he knew that Marinette was facing the same predicament.
"Uh - huh, and the Nile ain't the only river in Egypt."
"It's not like that!" he hissed, but his bespectacled friend was not convinced.
"I know you love me, and our feelings are mutual, and I do understand if you'll going to choose her - " Nino jerked his thumb towards their front seats much to his friend's chagrin. " - over me. But you have to control yourself, dude. I've been there before, and I know how badly one would get if they were bulls-eyed by her charms. Yours was the worse."
"Bu - bu - but I have - "
"If you're telling me that crap about Ladybug, then let go of Marinette."
His words were like a lance that stabbed his heart.
"I can't," he muttered as he held back his frustrations. "But I don't know what to do."
The DJ's expression softened "Aww, my poor baby boy. So confused. Let Daddy Nino give you a hug."
"Ew."
Adrien punched his shoulder lightly, which erupted a small laugh.
"Go away, you gross creature. Do whatever you want to do."
"If you say so."
The blond caught him texting someone, probably Alya based on his shit-eating grin, but he couldn't make out the content since his arm blocked his peripheral view.
Their bus left the stopover and about to enter Normandy's borders.
The scenery outside failed to distract Adrien's thoughts.
Deep inside he knew he loved Ladybug, but he also loved Marinette. And his dream about Marinette being Ladybug had him confused more. Was it a prophetic dream, a vision of a future, or a delusion of his desire that these two girls were one at the same?
What if Marinette is not Ladybug?
He must be a fickle-minded boy.
What if Marinette is Ladybug?
He closed his eyes and reminisced his dreams again.
It was so vivid, so real to be considered as a product of imagination, and the details about the rogue Akuma was quite conclusive.
Whether it was his subconsciousness talking, or a result of an Akuma attack, his dreams held the proof of his connection between his Lady and his Princess.
But first, he must gather some relevant clues.
Adrien opened his eyes and glanced at the scenery outside again. It was almost noon, and the blazing rays of the summer sun cast a shadow that served as a window shade. The shade gave him his own facial reflection, as well as his seatmate's bored face.
His classmate that was sitting in front of him.
He saw the melancholy on Marinette's expression. Every blink of her eyelids and movement of her lips were a sight to him in a not-so-subtle stalkerish way.
"Enjoying the view?" Nino asked, referring the nature.
"Very much." Adrien sighed with a smug, referring to a certain pig-tailed girl's reflection. "Best view ever."