Marinette had made her mind up. She was going to do something she wouldn't usually do, but she had realised she didn't have forever to tell Adrien she liked him. He was Adrien Agreste, a model and a generally great guy. Something would happen or he would move on. She wasn't going to let that happen.
"I'm going to do it. I'm going to tell him I like him." Marinette squared her shoulders.
"Yes, go girl!" Alya cheered for her friend, being the supportive person she was.
"There he is!" The blue haired girl walked over to Adrien. He stopped and looked at her.
"Hey, Marinette."
"Adrien, I-I-I like you..." Marinette blurted before giggling nervously. She looked at Adrien who was frowning at her.
"Marinette, I like you, but as a friend." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm really sorry, but I'm sure you'll find someone else."
Marinette was crushed. Her crush was crushed. Adrien didn't like her. She was just a friend to him. Nothing more. The future she had imagined with him crumbled before her eyes. It hurt like her heart was being torn out of her chest. Her shoulders slumped slightly, her tiny smile falling.
"Marinette, are you okay?" Adrien's voice brought her out of her thoughts. Adrien placed his hand on her shoulder like he had after Nathaniel had been akumatised into the Evillustrator.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Marinette said as she stepped back, out of Adrien's reach. She wasn't fine. Not fine at all. The last bell rang, indicating everyone could head home. "See you next week." Marinette rushed home, trying not to cry. At least it was the weekend and she could cry all for the next two days.
"Marinette, I know you aren't okay. But you have patrol tonight!" Tikki said as she flew up to hug Marinette's cheek.
"I know Tikki." Marinette opened her trap door and fell onto her bed. Tikki disappeared, only to come back with ice cream and a spoon. She dropped it on her holder's bed in front of her.
"Should you call Alya? She might be worried. She did see you talk to Adrien and then run off." The Kwami picked up Marinette's phone but dropped it to hide when the trapdoor suddenly burst open to reveal the said girl, her face a mix of anger and concern.
"What did Adrien say?!" She shouted after seeing Marinette with a spoon of ice cream in her mouth from the partially empty chocolate tub.
"He swaid he wiked me as a fwiend." Marinette said, mouth full of chocolate ice cream which muffled the sound and made her words sound weird.
"French please."
Marinette swallowed dramatically. "He said he liked me as a friend. Nothing more. A FRIEND!"
"Maybe he has a reason?" Alya suggested in an attempt to make her friend feel better.
"Like what? I have a secret twin and he likes her?" Then Marinette realised something. She didn't have a twin, but she did have an alter ego. Ladybug. Could it be possible Adrien liked her?
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Adrien watched as Marinette ran down the street away from him. Something in his heart twinged. Maybe I should visit her as Chat and see if she's okay? He thought. School was finished for the day was over, but Alya was probably with Marinette now. Adrien decided he would check on his Princess later as Chat Noir. Now, however, he had a photoshoot.
Gorilla parked outside the school and Adrien got in the car. Nathalie was waiting for him.
"Your father has cancelled the photoshoot. The photographer got into an accident where he broke his leg. We are going home straight away." Nathalie nodded at the Gorilla and they drove off.
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By the time Alya left, 3 tubs of ice cream had been eaten and a spoon had been hurled at a wall when Adrien tried to call Marinette.
An hour later, there was a knocking from the balcony. Marinette opened it and Chat Noir climbed through.
"Chat, what are you doing here?"
"I decided to visit my Purrincess." The cat themed superhero bowed. Marinette started to cry again. "What's wrong, Mari?"
"I told this guy I liked him..."
"What did he say?" Chat asked, even though he already know what the boy said.
"I... was just a friend..." Marinette mumbled, but her words were picked up by the Miraculous heightened hearing he had.
Looking at Marinette, Chat noticed her shoulders were slumped and her hair was out, falling over her face. She looked sad, and not just sad, it's been a bad day, sad, I'm hurting inside.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Chat hugged Marinette. He felt all kinds of horrible. He had been so blinded by his infatuation with Ladybug he hadn't noticed the incredible girl in front of him. She was smart and kind, funny. She would always fight for what she believed in, for the people she cared about or to protect what was right.
And he had made her feel this way.
"You are an amazing person, and if he can't see that, he doesn't deserve you." This was true. Finally, he had noticed it. Marinette is an amazing person. Chat wrapped his arms around Marinette and she sniffled.
"Thanks, Kitty. I feel a little bit better now."
"Movies and popcorn?"
"What about you transforming back?"
"I don't need to use Cataclysm, so I have time. Which movie?"
Marinette smiled at Chat Noir. He smiled back. Maybe he had hurt her as Adrien, but he could comfort her as Chat. As her knight-in-shining-leather.
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The next week at school, Marinette was laughing with Alya when Adrien arrived at school. He was glad she was better or at least felt better enough to be able to laugh.
Alya caught his eye and glared. She was scary when she was mad. Her friend had been hurt by him, so it was understandable. He would glare at himself too, but it was impossible.
In class, he heard Marinette whisper to Alya, "You'll never guess who visited me after you left."
"Who?"
"Chat Noir!"
"Ooh... do I sense romance blossoming?"
"I don't know, Alya, but I hope so."
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Over the next few weeks, Chat Noir visited Marinette every night. They grew closer and closer and Marinette stopped thinking about Adrien so much. It still hurt a little bit on the rare occasion that she did think of him, but she found herself thinking of Chat more.
Marinette was deep in thought when Chat knocked on her window.
"Thinking about me, Princess?" He asked, flopping into Marinette's desk chair. He looked around. Recently, Marinette had removed all of the pictures of Adrien and Chat had been more than happy to help her destroy them, using Cataclysm of course. Then Chat had to go because his transformation was about to wear off and Marinette would not be happy to find out that Chat was Adrien.
"A little bit. You've been with me a lot, do you really have this much free time in your normal life?"
"I will always have time to visit you, Mari. We're friends, after all."
'Hopefully, we could be more one day' Chat thought. He regretted rejecting Marinette, even more after he spent time with her as Chat and he realised she really cared about Adrien. She only stuttered and acted awkwardly around him because of her crush.
"Can I ask something about Adrien?" He asked, trying not to make Marinette sad again.
"Sure. I shouldn't care anymore, we are just friends."
"When did you start to like him?"
"It was the first day he was there. When I walked in I saw him crouched next to my seat with gum in front of him. I jumped to conclusions because I had seen him with Chloe, and thought he had put it there. He didn't, he was just trying to take it off because he didn't agree with what Chloe was doing.
"Towards the end of the day it started to rain and I didn't have an umbrella. Adrien did, and that was when he explained he was trying to take the gum off. He lent me his umbrella but when I took it, it snapped shut on me because I have bad luck."
"And I thought I was the black cat here." Chat Noir joked.
"Maybe I've been hanging out with you too much." Marinette giggled, forgetting about Adrien again.
"Don't worry Mari, I know you just can't resist hanging out with me, I'm too cool." Chat flexed his arms and Marinette swatted at him playfully.
"Such a cool cat. Maybe some hot weather would help with that? Maybe even a swim in a pool?" Chat's eyes widened at the mention of water.
"I hate water," He hissed, slouching down in the chair. "But maybe I like you..." He murmured.
Marinette heard him though and blushed. "Maybe I like you too." She mumbled back.
"Really?"
"Really,"
Almost instantly, Chat was hugging Marinette as the girl giggled in surprise.
"Marinette, do you want to be my girlfriend?"
"I would love to, Kitty," Marinette said and the two teens smiled happily at each other. Maybe he had hurt her as Adrien, but now she could be happy with a better version of him.
A/N: What ship should I write next? It doesn't just have to be in the love square.
Update: I am working on a Ladrien fic at the moment. Christmas themed, of course.