Adrien's POV
Did she just say we're friends?
I thought my glass heart was cured. I'm feeling emotions and warmth, after all. The glass heart needs the other person to accept my feelings for it to be cured. So why isn't she saying she loves me?
Unless, she loves me as Chat Noir.
"Come on, lets head back to class," I offer, standing back up and offering her my hand.
"We're not going to skip again?" She asks as I pull her up.
"Eager to be rebellious aren't we today, Ms Dupain-Cheng?" I snicker, leaning in close to her. "Or... do you just want to spend more time with me?"
Her face heats up bright red. She's careful to watch her words. She still loves me, she just doesn't want to admit it because she's head over heals for my alter ego, Chat Noir. The reason she started choking by the hanahaki disease was because she said she didn't love Adrien, she loved Chat Noir. But, they're the same person. She just doesn't know that.
Yet.
"Here, how about we go to that new ice cream shop? I wanna try their red-velvet ice cream," I suggest.
Marinette scrunches up her face. "That sounds nasty."
"I think you mispronounced delicious. Come on, let's go before the hall monitors start sweeping the halls!"
I grab her hand and we burst out of the bathroom. We make a break for the school exit. I smile as the wind rushes through my hair. We're almost there...
"Now, where are you two going?" The principal demands, stepping in our path.
Both Marinette and I slam to a stop and gasp. She looks up at me, out of breath, with frantic eyes. I smile, and wink. She gives me a confused look, but I squeeze her hand, and look back at our principal.
"I have a photoshoot today. I'm sure you know how strict my father, Gabriel Agreste, is," I quickly lie with a confident tone.
Our principal crosses his arms. "Is that so? Why is Ms. Dupain-Cheng coming with you?"
I smirk, hoping he would ask this question. "It's a couple photoshoot. Obviously, I would need Marinette."
Marinette squeezes my hand, and looks at me with huge eyes and a red face. I look give her a smug look and continue to taunt her.
"Isn't that right, princess?"
"U-UH YEAH!" She shouts, quickly looking back at the principal, not even registering that I just called her princess.
"Now if you'll excuse me, we'll be on our way!" I reply, lacing my fingers with Marinette and making a break again.
We run down the stairs together, completely ignoring the principal calling after us. The sun beams down on us as we sprint toward the ice cream shop. The crisp wind gives me goosebumps. Marinette's laughter fills the air as we continue to run.
"I need-" Marinette takes a deep breath after we've been running for a while, "-a break!"
I nod my head and we run to a bright alley way and lean against the wall, with our heavy pants echoing around us. Being Chat Noir gives me more energy and athleticism. Being Adrien makes me just... Adrien. Running gets tiring quickly.
"That was awesome!" Marinette giggles.
I laugh and put my hand on my forehead, shaking my head. My father would lose it if he found out I was skipping. He would pull me out of class as soon as he could.
"How did you make up a lie that fast?!" Marinette exclaims, still out of breath.
I shrug and lean to face her. "I've gotten use to it."
"You know you're risking your entire school life, just to skip with me and get ice cream," she says with a smirk.
I lean close to her face. "It's worth it."
Her cheeks heat bright pink. Her eyes grow big and she slightly smiles. I lean close to her, pushing her against a wall with our noses are only an inch apart. We stare at each other, feeling our hot breaths on each other's faces.
"Well, let's not waste anymore time!" Marinette squeaks, sliding out of her trap.
I sigh and pout. She still likes Chat Noir more than me.
"You did this to yourself, kid," I hear Plagg snicker from my jacket.
I roll my eyes and chase after Marinette.
"Oh, there it is!" I point out, looking at the teal ice cream shop a street away from us.
We walk to the cross walk and wait for the light to signal us to walk. Once the green light flashes, we walk over the stone road and pray that our parents aren't in any of the cars we're passing in front of.
I grab the white door handle and pull the door open for Marinette to walk through first. A tiny bell rings, signaling the shop owner that two customers have walked inside. The shop is tiny, with slick white paint covering the walls, and white and blue tiles covering the floors. Three tables with chairs sit by the front of the shop with windows looking out into the Paris streets. There's a glass cover, covering the many choices of ice cream, next to the cash register.
"Hello, what can I get you two today?" The shop owner asks, brushing back her dreads. "I'm Tori. If you want to try a sample, just ask!"
Marinette walks over to the glass cover and holds her hands behind her back, bending down, leaning close to the class. I follow her too, and rest my eyes on the many choices of ice cream. They've got the classics, like strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla, but they've also got wedding cake, mint oreo, and blue cotton candy. I look over at the corner, and smile.
"Could I have two scoops of the red-velvet ice cream in a waffle cone, please?" I ask.
Tori smiles and nods. "Sure thing, coming right up!"
She pulls the ice cream scoop out of the heated water and scoops two clean scoops into my ice cream cone. She hands it to me over the counter, and I gladly take it from her.
"Anything for you, sweets?" The shop owner asks Marinette.
Mari stands up and smiles sweetly. "Could I have the peach-flavored ice cream? I've never tried that flavor before."
Tori winks. "No problem! Would that be cone or cup?"
"Cone please, with the sprinkles on top!"
Tori giggles. "Alrighty!"
She scoops one scoop of the ice cream, plops it on the ice cream cone, and hands it to Marinette. Mari's eyes sparkle from excitement as she holds the cone in her hand. She licks it once, then again, but quickly pulls it away, closing one eye and sticking out her tongue.
"Ack, brain freeze!" She cries.
"Already?" I laugh.
She scrunches up her face. "Don't bully me!"
I laugh and turn back to Tori. I pull out my wallet and pull out a ten, hand it to her, and she hands me back three.
"Tips?" she asks hopefully.
"Not today, sorry," I reply. "Later!"
We wave goodbye, and Marinette and I exit together.
Marinette's POV
This ice cream seriously tastes delicious. I've never tried peach ice cream before, honestly I didn't know they made it, but I'm glad I did. I slip a piece of the waffle cone into my purse for Tikki to eat. I look up at Adrien and smile, feeling the familiar feeling of blush form in my cheeks.
No, Marinette, you can't just go around falling in love with every green-eyed blond you lay your eyes on. It's seriously unhealthy. I sigh. Why can't Chat Noir and Adrien be the same person?
"You doing good Marinette?" Adrien asks me, snapping me out of my trance.
I look up and give him a bright smile. "Yeah, don't worry about me! I just really like this ice cream!"
He slides his arm over my shoulder as we walk down the sidewalk. I hyper-focus on my ice cream, afraid to look up at Adrien. Why on earth is he suddenly being super touchy? I swear, just a week ago, we were friends, and only friends. Why is he randomly acting like we're dating?
"Could I try yours?"
I look straight ahead, then at Adrien. He tilts his head to the side and smirks.
"Uh, s-sure?" I nervously stutter.
He leans down and licks my ice cream. My cheeks heat up and I look back at the blond. He trusts me so much. He's acting like we've known each other since forever. I can't help but feel my heart race. He leans back and looks at me, confused.
"What's wrong?" He asks, tilting his head.
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" I reply, a little louder than I should have. "Let's go to the park and see the cherry blossom trees!"
Adrien tilts his head in confusion, but then chuckles and slides his arm back over my shoulders.
"You're in charge," he snickers. "Let's do it."
We change directions and start to walk towards the park. The sun sets high in the sky, pounding its hot rays against our skin. It's around noon now. Cicadas chirp as we continue to stroll with our bodies so close. I pull away from Adrien to take off my jacket. I wrap it around my waist, revealing my freckled shoulders.
"Ma'am, that's a dress code," Adrien teases.
"Oh my god, are my shoulders too distracting for you?" I sarcastically reply, throwing the back of my hand over my forehead. "Please, forgive me Lord, for I have sinned!"
"Give me a break!" Adrien laughs.
We enter the park hand in hand. We slowly stroll through the park looking at all the beautiful pink trees and walking in their shade. The wind blows through the flowers, scattering them throughout the park. The sweet scent drifts through the air, and the sun peaks through the trees and rests on our heads. Birds duet and sing melodies as we walk through the park. The warmth coming from Adrien's hand fills me with comfort.
"Let's rest for a minute and sit to finish our ice cream," Adrien suggests.
I nervously nod. This is starting to suspiciously feel like a date.
We sit on a bench in the shade. His arm is still over my shoulder, holding me close to him. I continue to lick my melting ice cream cone. The sticky goodness drips down into the cracks of my fingers, making them stick together. I finish eating my ice cream, leaving a gross mess left in my hands.
"Oh, here, I got a napkin," Adrien announces, pulling a folded napkin out of his pocket. "Here. Keep it."
I gently grab it from him and wipe my fingers. The paper napkin sticks to parts of my hand and I groan, continuing to furiously scrub at my sticky fingers.
"I'm glad we got ice cream," Adrien comments, leaning back on the bench.
I smile. "That's just 'cause you got to get your nasty red velvet ice cream!"
Adrien laughs and rolls his eyes. "It's good. Like seriously good."
"How long have you been eyeing that ice cream shop?" I ask him, leaning into his chest.
"It wasn't my first time, actually. I lied," he mutters.
I look at him. "Really? Why is it so important to you then?"
Adrien smiles a sad smile. "My mom would take me there all the time when I was younger."
My shoulders and chest rise from shock.
"I wanted my first time back to be with someone special," He looks back at me. "That someone is you."
My ears and cheeks heat up. I feel my heart pound in my chest. I feel like I can't breathe.
He looks back at my messy hands. I nervously laugh and hide them behind my back.
"You liked your ice cream, huh?" He teases.
I nervously laugh. "Yeah, kinda."
"Would you mind if I tasted it again?"
I look at him confused. "W-What do you mean?"
Adrien leans forward and kisses me. He places his hand on the back of my head. My eyes shoot wide open, but then I slowly close them and place my hand on his cheek.
No. This is wrong.
I immediately jump up and grab my purse. "This isn't fair!"
"I'm so sorry," he mutters as he places his hand on his mouth, but then looks up at me confused. "Isn't fair? How?"
"It's not fair to Chat!" I blurt out, then slam my hand over my mouth.
"Mari, I'm sorry, but don't follow."
A loud crash is heard in the distance. Both Adrien and I jump, but then quickly look over to see what the noise is.
A slender woman with crystal-blue hair floats in the middle of the city. "I am Frosta! I'm sick of my ice cream customers not tipping me for my hard work! Now, I will turn the whole city into ice!"
"It's Tori, the ice cream shop owner," I mutter to myself.
I whip my head around to look at Adrien. "I've got to go! I'm sorry but-"
"-I get it."
He jumps up from the bench and starts to walk away. "This is all my fault anyways. You won't get it now, but I did this to myself."
"Adrien, please!" I call to him.
He ignores me and continues to walk away, clearly hurt by the way I reacted when he tried to kiss me. I sigh and hold myself, looking at the ground. He seemed so sad when I jumped away from him, especially since I led him on by closing my eyes and placing my hand on his cheek.
I refuse to admit it, but I actually liked it. In fact, I loved that kiss. I've waited so long for Adrien to return my feelings, and the moment was perfect. But Chat Noir is perfect to. He's charming, sweet, and charismatic. He protects me.
I know I have to choose one, and only one, but my heart longs for both.
Fan art!!
@_broken_xmarie_ on instagram!
Adrienette won the vote from the last chapter :)
Off topic, but you know those ads that play after some chapters? I seriously have grown to hate the tik tok ones. You know that one with the dog and the "fake travel challenge" and it says pack your doggie bags? Omg idk why but that seriously annoys me. Tik tok tries to hard with their ads. Lmao I'm sorry but I had to get that off my chest.
ANYWAYS upvote the chapter!!! c:<