Adrien Agreste
Adrien was well enough to go to school. His dad was hesitant. But Adrien didn't feel like being stuck in the house at day and free in the night. He looked in the mirror. He still had the uncomfortable patch on his stitches. Which he had to change once in a while.
Adrien wore a flannel, unbuttoned shirt over a black T-Shirt and ripped jeans. Finishing with some black flat sneakers. He had some extra accessories he kept close all the time. His specials lucky charm and her ribbon, around his wrist.
Apart from Chloe's flirts that went in one of his ears and out the other. Chloe had told him how bad It was going to be when he came back. So, he was prepared. Lila had been suspended for the akumatization of a student and bullying. Only a broken arm remained. Miraculous ladybug healed people as much as it could, huh.
He breathed in and out. It was going to be okay. It wasn't like this wasn't going to happen regardless. He had to face them eventually. He looked at his bedroom door.
"Okay...let's do this..."
---
Adrien felt as if the power of all akuma magic smacked him in the face. Because of the aura of the classroom was no longer sunny and joyful. But dead and dreadful. His hands clutched his bag tighter. When he entered he felt eyes on him. He swore he was going to melt. Chloe tapped her desk to get his attention. His grass green eyes darting up, and he sped walked his way and sat down. He observed the classroom around him.
It was mostly the same. Except Alya and Nino sat together, Sabrina sat with Nathaniel, and it seemed his seat was to never be sat in, same with Marinette's. Except there was one big difference.
While his seat remained untouched. Marinette's seemed to be showered with gifts. Flowers, bouquets, letters. They must have missed her. And he felt guilty that he was in the only one in the room seeing her. Knowing what was happening, how she felt, how she felt about them. They also must have heard that she's never coming back. As she's getting homeschooled.
The guilt must be agonizing. He felt bad for them. He frowned, looking at the desk. Remaining silent.
"It's been pretty gloomy in here. Everything crumbled to pieces. It honestly feels like the aftermath of losing a loved one." Chloe spoke. "I honestly kind of feel bad for them. But Marinette made the right choice."
Adrien perked at that. "Change of heart?" Adrien smiled. Chloe looked at him, her blue eyes straying off to her desk. And a frown forming on her lips. She remained silent, which was unusual. Normally she would be quick to recover with some mean retort about her classmates. But she looked sad. Adrien put his hand on her shoulder. "What happened?"
Chloe hugged her arms with a sigh. "I and Sabrina are no longer friends."
Adrien looked down. "Oh..." There was an awkward silence between them. Before Chloe broke it. "I guess you want to know what happened?"
She began to explain, whether he wanted to hear or not. She gave him a summary of what happened.
Alya was desperate to get in contact with Marinette again, to the point she tried to call her through the rest of the class's phones. Not like they didn't want to talk to Marinette too. Chloe made sure to give Sabrina space.
Lila never showed up after the incident. But she was expelled for bullying and causing an akuma. Including lying to Mr. Damocles. Anyway, if she did show up, Alya would've chewed her out or murdered her. So, getting expelled was probably best.
Everyone got the message Marinette wasn't answering anytime soon. And that's when things got silent and dead. Sabrina was drifting away from her, Alya and Nino broke up, and nothing was the same anymore. Sabrina eventually cut ties with her. Leaving her alone. Alya and Nino did end up reconnecting, and few people are still friends. But the atmosphere is unbearable. The class is trying to reconnect with each other, slowly, but trying.
Adrien gulped. Staring at his desk, it sounded terrible. Nino and Alya broke up? Sabrina and Chloe aren't friends. He felt bad for them.
Chloe looked at Adrien and then sighed. "Marinette was our crutches. We relied on her for support, for advice, to be there for us, to be our friend." She looked mournfully at the girl's desk. "While I have no say in any of this. I do regret bullying her, not saying anything to stop Lila. I picked on her because I thought she was a weak link and because I was jealous. Jealous she could make so many friends, be so kind and loved." Adrien blinked at her. The Chloe he knew, or, used to know, wouldn't be so sentimental about this. She would be snarky and telling them to suck it up. She's changed a lot.
Chloe looked at Adrien. "And I think we can both agree that she's hot."
Adrien's eyes blown up. "W-what?!" He sputtered, choking on air. Causing Chloe to start laughing, Adrien let out a quiet giggle. It was relieving to be with a friend again, to have things not be gloomy. It was soothing.
...
Adrien and Chloe were playfully bickering in the cafeteria. Chloe tugged on Adrien's arm and leaned in to see his phone, it wasn't like before when she forcefully hooked his arm flirtatiously. More of a 'Let me see' and comfortable. "So Agreste, Did Dupain Cheng block you?" She questioned.
Adrien paused. He didn't know. Marinette had told Chat about how she blocked them. How she hadn't talked to any of them since she'd been de-evilized. But had she blocked Adrien? She was in love with him after all. Would she block her crush? He looked at her contact in thought.
"Call her. Have you been calling her? You two were hanging out, right?" Chloe asked. Her sky-blue eyes looking at Adrien, then at the phone. His finger hovered with hesitation. But then he just clicked out of contacts. He heard Chloe's huff of disappointment.
"Since when has Adrien "She's Just A Friend" Agreste been afraid to call Sweet ol' Marinette Dupain Cheng?" Chloe smirked. A hand rested on her cheek as her fingers tapped on the table they were sitting at. Adrien stayed silent. Looking at his phone. He wasn't nervous to call her. He was just afraid of what would happen if he did. He didn't want her to have an episode, and not have him be there to comfort her, so he changed the subject. "When have you heard me call her just a friend?" Chloe scoffed. Crossing her arms with an eye roll. "Oh please." She began clearing her throat.
"Oh Nino, Marinette is just a good friend, nothing more than that." Chloe mocked. Her eyes fluttering to make her look innocent. And then it returned to a normal sassy Chloe. "And then in the background, you can see Marinette's sheer disappointment." Her arms once again crossed. "Tons of times Adrien, tons."
Adrien's cheeks puffed. And then he paused. Chloe quirked a brow. "Disappointment?" That caught Chloe off guard. Her whole figure jumping. "She wanted to be closer to you, get to know you better, but not romantically." Chloe eased. Making Adrien smirk, Chloe had a frightened look. Her eyes darting from him to the side.
There was a slight slam on the table to get their attention.
It was Alya. Narrowed eyes, and looking a little angry. It was silent. Chloe looked at her. "What is it that you need Cesaire?" Alya frowned at Chloe, shooting her a glare. "Adrien." She said. It sounded like she was trying to keep her cool. Holding something back. "We need to talk to you. Privately." She looked at Chloe. Who only scoffed and watched.
Adrien just nodded. Standing up from the seat he was in. "I'll be back." He followed Alya. She looked tense. But he didn't question anything, he didn't want to poke the bear and get bitten.
It was an empty classroom. With all his classmates waiting there. Except...Marinette, of course.
He gulped sitting down, were they going to murder him? This was ominous. Well, they do have good motives. Alya took a seat next to Nino. "Why?" She asked. His head jolted up to look at her. He stayed silent, not knowing what to say.
"Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell us Lila was lying?" Alya added. Her legs crossed as if she was in an interview, slightly leaned in. Her hands folded as she impatiently waited for an answer.
Adrien's mouth opened then closed. He looked at the ground. His reasoning was stupid, so very stupid. And he knew, either way, he was going to get them mad. It pained him to even think of the dumb choice he made. Adrien sighed. "I thought if we exposed her. She would be akumatized and-" He was cute off by Alya. "And what about Marinette? It didn't matter if she was akumatized? If she was suffering?"
Adrien winced. Oh, how stupid he was. He didn't even think of Mari. "No, I just...I never thought she would.......go that far....." His words trailed off into a weak strain. He never had such a deep regret. And it only drained him more that his classmates could see the pure shame on his face.
"How can a manipulator, a liar, not go that far, she used us. Played us. And you...you...Watched!" Her fists balled with anger, shaking slightly. "Not only that. You stopped Marinette from exposing her. You are a part of her akumatization Adrien!" She moved to get out of her seat but was pulled down by Nino.
Adrien's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't have believed her." Alya grumbled. "You were there to back her up, weren't you?" She retorted. Adrien looked at the ground. Once again, the blogger started up. "You were the one helping her right? Trying to help her get better, you were seeing how bad it had gotten and you still decided not to do anything?"
Adrien couldn't say anything. Now that was a part where he had no excuse. And it only added up as he felt a pang of guilt. Chat Noir knew about the bullying, he knew about the situation. And he watched her crumble.
"I-"
"How could you? After all she's done for you. After all she's done to be with you. And you treat her like this!" Her voice got higher with each word. The girl before him was fuming. Adrien looked up at her with a confused look. She laughed. "Because you're clueless. She's in love with you, Adrien. And probably still is!" Her teeth ground as she crossed her arms. "She let you go to be with Kagami, she faced her idol, your father, so you could go back to school." She began listing. Some left him in shock. "And then you watch as her world falls apart, why? So some bitch doesn't get akumatized!"
Alya gave him a moment to try and speak. Whether he was going to or not didn't matter. "I don't know what was going through your dense head of yours. But take my advice. Grow a backbone, because you've got someone I cared about deeply hurt." She hissed. "You have the weakest excuse for your actions Adrien." And those were her final words to him.
Nino looked at Adrien. "Have you talked to her?"
Adrien swallowed. Nino's voice was calmer than Alya's, so he felt at ease just a little. "No..." His eyes looked at Alya when she scoffed. But didn't say anything. She looked at the ground. "She blocked all of us. And we're basically banned from the bakery. We have no way to contact her." Alya's voice was quieter. It sounded like she was upset. And she probably was, he would be.
Adrien stood. He looked at all of them. They were either glaring at him or looking to the side. He let out a shaky sigh. "Sorry." There was only a string of silence. He turned around and left shakily. It was going to be a long day today.
---
Adrien had convinced Nathalie he wasn't going on a teenage rebellion or wasn't...meeting...girls....He had gotten a second phone without a tracker on it. He was pretty sure his father was unaware he had a second phone now. Which was good, because how was he gonna explain he was Chat Noir? He'd freak out for sure.
The reason he got a second phone was so he could call, text, whatever, Marinette. He didn't want to transform every time to talk. And he wasn't sure he should reveal his identity just yet, besides, he didn't ask her for permission. They didn't text yet. But ninety percent of the time he'd stare at the contact and wonder if he should or not. Why was he suddenly nervous to text Marinette? It's not like he's texting her with his Adrien phone.
He groaned to himself. Thinking of his first day back at school. He could understand where their anger was coming from. Alya must have had a lot of it pent up. Not only that, they lost one of their closest friends.
He felt bad. He lied to them. Past and present. One of them was him being stupid and the other for the sake of his identity. He could admit that he was at fault for some things. But not everything. He sighed, digging his hands into his golden locks. He needed something to distract him from feelings. Good and Bad.
Plagg came by chomping on some camembert. He looked at Adrien. "What's wrong kid?"
Adrien reached over grabbing his bag and getting out his homework. "Feelings are weird, and stressful, and lovely." He complained while searching for a pencil. Adrien waited for Plagg's sarcastic or joking reply. Or encourage him to do some crazy stunt that Marinette would kill him for.
That wasn't a good sentence at all.
"You can't decide whether to fantasize about your three kids with Marinette or to regret your life choices?" The kwami guessed.
Adrien nodded. "Yeah pretty much."
"What."
"Wait, What."
Adrien's face went from nonchalant to surprise with a mix of embarrassment. His cheeks flushed. Actually, it was his whole face. His eyes widened as he realized what he just said, lips pulling into a straight line. Plagg was laughing his ass off. He angrily looked at the kwami who was holding his stomach. "Plagg you tricked me!"
Plagg looked at Adrien wheezing. "I didn't to crap to you. That was all you, and it was hilarious."
Adrien grumbled. "I hope you choke on that cheese."
Plagg had obviously ignored him. Adrien rolled his eyes and did his homework, doing his best to ignore the kwami.
---
Chat was crouched on a roof. His pupils shrinking and dilating as he looked around in certain areas. It had been four days since he'd been with Mari again. And he felt as if they were inseparable, for good reasons too.
But it made him anxious every time he left. He knew what the nightmares look like. What they were about. Certain things that would bring up painful memories. How sometimes she couldn't address things by their name. It made his nauseous. It was probably one of the reasons he wanted to get her number as Chat.
It was upsetting. He thought all the troubles would be gone when he came back. He really didn't think there was any trouble. But he could only imagine what she'd seen.
"There are some things that can't magically be cured Chat. And this is one of those things."
His leather ears flattened on his head as he remembered. While he had to accept that. She said his company helped a lot. And therapy was also helping a lot. And in the future, she reassured she'd be better than ever.
Her words helped. But he told her she shouldn't coop herself up, as he knew Marinette. She was a very social and easygoing person. Pretty much a total extrovert. But she should probably do it on her own pace, since putting stress and weight on her wouldn't do good. Which she agreed, but wasn't too sure of.
But Chat didn't come all the time. Sometimes when his side was a bit too much or he had late interviews he couldn't come. He made sure to tell her beforehand so she wouldn't think he abandoned her or something. Which would be the last thing he'd ever do, something he'd never do. It reminded him, he got a reply to his declaration. She appreciated it, she was pretty speechless. But did not want to hurt him, and would much rather have him care for himself than putting her needs over his. Yes, it was sweet. But it didn't make her feel good on her part.
Marinette deserved the world.
He smiled to himself. Feeling the breeze, he began hopping across the rooftops, at this point. He remembered the way to the address by memory.
12 Rue Gotlib, 21st arrondissement.
Once he arrived on the roof. He noticed she seemed to be wrapping things up and preparing to head into her room, but before that. She went to the opposite side and looked out. Probably to look for him. A mischievous look on his face appeared, quietly, he carefully got onto the railing, still crouched. And then onto the floor of the balcony. He crept behind Marinette...and then...
"Hewwo Princess."
She had jumped, along with a squawk of surprise. And then she must have lost balance because she was falling soon after.
He'd caught her.
Chat pulled her back up by her waist. Satisfied with the reaction combined with a smug smirk on his face, Marinette crossed her arms angrily. But there was a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Falling for me already?" He grinned. Marinette didn't say anything. And then there was an awkward silence. Chat's grin turned into an awkward smile. Bad joke. "I-"And then he was cut off because Marinette had cupped his cheeks, and was pulling his face towards hers.
And then he started internally panicking. What was happening?! Was she going to kiss him?!-
But then it had stopped.
Marinette looked him straight in his eyes. "Don't scare me again. Or I will buy a spray bottle."
And it seemed the tables had turned. She let his face go, looking smug she released herself from his grasp. Grabbing her blanket and pillow, opening the trap door and heading down. But before she closed it. She looked at Chat who was still processing. "Bonne nuit minou!" She grinned. Before closing it.
Chat looked after her. What...Just happened?...Then his eyes furrowed. Wasn't he supposed to be the teasing one? What kind of sorcery is this?! This was unacceptable. He opened the skylight. Looking around, he saw Marinette sitting on her chaise lounge with her legs crossed. She looked at him expectantly not surprised.
Chat climbed down, closing it on his way down. He crossed his arms. "Excuse moi, I would like you to know that you're not allowed to surpass my tease levels." Marinette made a confused look. Her face leaning into her hand. "But I have done nothing." She replied with a smirk stretching across her face.
Chat scoffed. "You literally just did." Marinette raised a brow. "All I did was make sure you heard me clearly, is there something wrong with that?" She asked. Her expression not changing. His eyes narrowed further. And Marinette stuck her tongue out at him.
And then he thought of something. "Okayyy." He said walking over to her. He had bowed so his face was on her level. And then leaned in really close. Marinette backed up just a little bit as she was startled. Chat raised a brow with a Cheshire grin and half-lidded eyes. "So, should I talk to you like this all the time?" He daringly moved a few inches closer.
Marinette stared at him, her cheeks increasing in color. Chat's grin only grew. Before she shoved a pillow in his face. Looking to the side as she cupped one cheek. "You're so mean." Despite the sentence, she was smiling.
"But I have done nothing." He mocked in a "girly" voice. Making Marinette laugh, she put her hands over her mouth to keep it quiet. He smiled softly. "ALl I DiD wAs MaKe SuRe YoU hEaRd Me ClEaRlY, iS tHeRe SoMeThInG wRoNg WiTh ThAt?" He put his balled hands on his hips. Marinette was trying her best to not be loud. Laughing a little harder into her hands. Her face reddening from laughing.
She coughed, getting a few giggles out. "You're a big dork, you know that?" Chat shook his head. "I was unaware, but I do know I am fabulous." He used his hand to slick his hair back. "You're ridiculous." She added.
Chat blew a raspberry at her. And she did it back.
They smiled. Then Marinette had gotten out her tablet and a pen. Chat excitedly sat next to her. Watching Marinette draw was fun. She was so talented.
"So um...do you still have a crush on Adrien?..." He asked.
Marinette paused. He heard a little grumble coming from her. "If you don't want to answer you don't have to. We can change the subject." He said. She frowned. "No, I don't." She confirmed. And began to rough sketch something. Chat's eyes dilated in curiosity. "Are you currently crushing on someone?" Marinette looked at Chat, he faltered. "Why are you suddenly interested in my love life?" Chat looked to the side. "Curiosity I guess." He recovered with a shrug.
"You know curiosity killed the cat?"
"But satisfaction brought it back."
Marinette smiled. "Well, the cat needs to mind his own business." She looked back at her tablet to continue drawing. Chat's brows furrowed. "Well, cats are very nosy purrincess." She hummed, probably thinking of a response. "You're a prime example."
Chat did a gasp of offense making Marinette laugh just a little bit. Though he was truly curious. Was she crushing on someone else? He did feel a little jealous. Who was it then? He frowned. Well, there was Luka. Maybe she met someone on her way to therapy. That sounded like something that comes out of a romance drama novel. Where someone meets their soulmate or something. His leather ears flattened.
Okay so maybe little was an understatement.
"Hey look Chat! It's you!"
Chat looked. His attention quickly darting away from the thoughts storming in his head. It was a video of a black cat's head stuck in a box. Chat narrowed his eyes, his lips pulling into a thin line. Leaving Marinette to start cracking up. "I'm going to let you know I don't appreciate this at all. And you suck"
"It's the truth." She said.
"No, it's not."
"Yes, it is."
They bickered until it drifted off onto another topic.
...
Marinette looked at the time. "It's really late. And I should be heading off to bed soon." She said. Chat nodded. Standing up from the chaise lounge and stretching. "Goodnight Chat." She said with a smile. Hugging him before he left. Chat took her hand and placed a kiss upon her knuckles. "Goodnight ma Princess." He bid her goodbye before leaving.
Marinette smiled tenderly. Yeah, she was definitely screwed.
I just saw Miracle Queen Battle of the Miraculous part 2
Here's a link if you didn't see it
It's not English just so you know.
Anyways....
Bye!