Marinette
She put on underwear and a tshirt, waiting patiently in her bed. She had sent Plagg back a few minutes ago, and Tiki was pissed. She couldn't believe Marinette had allowed him to remove the suit. She had just brushed her off, and told her to hide. Why couldn't Tiki understand that all of this was necessary? If she could get over Adrien, she would be a better Ladybug. It would be one less thing for her to think about. If Chat moved on from Ladybug, both of them would be better for it. He wouldn't have any reason to care about who her civilian identity was. It was better this way.
"Princess?"
"Up here Chat."
He climbed up to the loft, leaning against the wall.
"So, ground rules?"
Well, he wasn't very patient, was he? She had almost expected him to stall. Or maybe she had just hoped he would.
"Right. I was thinking we could go with the standard rules."
"Mhm, which are...?"
He wasn't going to help her at all with these, was he? She sighed, looking down at her hands.
"Number one. Either of us can stop the arrangement, for any reason. Number two. The best secrets are the ones you never tell. So this stays between us."
"I can agree to that."
She nodded, picking at the blanket. For some reason, this last one made her uneasy.
"Rule number three. No feelings. The arrangement is meant to help us fall out of love, not back in it."
She didn't look up at him, and he was quiet. She felt so guilty saying it, but it needed to be said. Right? Chat and Marinette didn't have a future. He would be forced to constantly lie. That wouldn't be fair for either of them.
"Scared of falling in love with me princess?"
She looked up at him, her heart hammering away. Of course she was. Adrien still gave her butterflies, but Chat could conjure an entire swarm of them with just one look.
"Aren't you scared of falling in love with me?"
She retorted, and he seemed confused, before a smirk spread across his face. He leaned closer to her, until he was inches from her face.
"How could I be, when it's so easy?"
Her jaw went slack, and those butterflies were back. What did he just say?
"I'm teasing princess, no need to look so horrified."
She felt her face get hot, and the butterflies died from the scorching anger she felt. Why would anyone joke about that?
"It's been a long day. I'm going to head home."
He kissed her cheek, before standing and opening her skylight. It felt off, him leaving like this. Almost like she had screwed up.
"Goodnight kitty."
"Goodnight Marinette."
She flinched, he hadn't used either of her nicknames. That felt like a jab. And it hurt alot more than it should have. He climbed out and closed the window, leaving her alone and confused. He didnt seem angry. He was teasing and acting normal. So why did it feel like they just had a fight?
"Time, time, time. Why are thou so cruel, and unjust? Couldn't you just spare me a moment? A minute?"
She pondered aloud, throwing on her clothes. She brushed her hair and her teeth, fixing her pigtails as she headed down the stairs. She grabbed her shoes, and her school bag, almost trying to put her shoes over her shoulder. She switched to putting the bag on, then sliding into one of her shoes. She hopped into the bakery, struggling to get the second one on. Her mom handed her a brown bag with breakfast, and she waved over her shoulder, throwing the door open. It stopped short, and a loud smack was heard. She whipped her head around, her gaze falling on Adrien. Oh God. She had just hit one of Paris's most famous models, and he was holding his head. Oh God. What if he got a concussion? Or worse? A bruise? Gabriel would have her in jail by the hour, goodbye world, goodbye parents, goodbye career.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry."
He groaned, pulling his hand away from his head. Thankfully, no blood and no bruise. That had to be a good sign.
"Good morning to you too. Come on, I'll give you a ride to school."
He turned and walked back to his car, and she followed, a little dumbfounded. She had just smacked the crap out of him with a door, and he was offering her a ride? He didn't seem pissed at her anymore, which was also a good sign. She got in the car, because riding was better than running anyway, and she would have been late even if she had ran.
"Are you okay? I really didn't mean to hit you."
"I just got a headache, but I'm fine. I wanted to apologize. About last night. I shouldn't have snapped like I did."
He pulled out of the parking lot, and she sank lower into her seat. Did they really have to talk about this?
"I was just stressed, and scared. I hate feeling like that, so I got angry and blamed you. It was hard, seeing you like that."
"I'm sorry. You were right. I was being really reckless, I could have died and I put you in that situation too. I'm so sorry."
She meant every word, because he could have died with her. She should have thought it through.
"I know you were trying to save that kid's life, but you shouldn't have to trade your own to do it."
She nodded, leaning back against the headrest. As much as she wanted to be invested in this conversation she wasn't. Talking about yesterday made her think back to Chat, and she felt like she had done something wrong. She just couldn't place what. Chat had acted weird when he left. Was it because of the rules?
"Mari?"
"Huh? Yeah?"
He sighed, pulling up to a stop sign and looking over at her.
"I care about you, alot. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. Please, don't risk your life like that again."
She forced a smile, taking everything he said at face value, for once. He cared about her as a friend. And that didn't bother her as much as it used to. He smiled back, and she could tell he was faking it too. Is that where they were at the moment? Deadlocked in a friendship full of secrets? His, she could never even hope to uncover. She looked away as they pulled into the school parking lot. She hated his recent adaptation to fake smiles. She would never be able to forget the difference. His smiles had been committed to her memory the moment she saw them. He had always been so easy to read, because he was always truthful. But now, it was like he was changing the game.
"Thank you for the ride."
"I figured you wouldn't want to be late today."
She was confused at first, until she remembered the threat of detention she had gotten Friday. Something was definitely wrong with Adrien. But what? They walked up the steps together, but he seemed so lost in thought it felt like she was walking alone. She took the time to pull out her phone, getting ready to send a text to Chat. What to say?
"Hey, did I fuck up your feelings last night?"
She quickly deleted it, shaking her head. That just sounded harsh. If he was upset about the rules, why hadn't he just said so?
"Ooooh who you texting?"
She squeaked, hiding her phone.
"W-what? No one."
Her face grew hot, and his smirk made it worse.
"Mhm. Is he cute at least?"
She exhaled sharply, her eyes getting wide. Was he trying to embarrass her?
"Oh come on Mari. It's just us. You can tell me. He's cute ain't he?"
He was definitely trying to embarrass her. She wasn't going to go willingly though.
"Oh no. He's not cute. He's sexy."
She said it with confidence, hoping to fluster him enough to get out of the conversation. He blushed, and looked at her.
"Oh really? Even sexier than me?"
Now it was her turn to blush. She should have known he would pull that card. Fake it till you make it. She wasn't going to falter. Not now. She stopped, and turned to him, lowering her voice to a whisper.
"Oh yeah. You should see him in leather."
He raised an eyebrow, and opened his mouth to say something, but she wasn't done.
"It gets even better. When I don't behave, he takes his belt off."
She made her voice sound seductive, and it worked like a charm. His face turned scarlet. She had never seen him blush so much. He opened his mouth again, but nothing came out. She had actually won. She had managed to fluster Adrien Agreste. She grinned, and turned, bouncing up the steps. Things felt so much better now. Now that she could actually talk to him, it was her turn. And she wasn't going to go easy. If he tried to get her flustered again, she was going to go so hard he stuttered.
"You're in a chipper mood. And you're not late. You feeling okay?"
Alya asked, and Marinette rolled her eyes. She was still riding the high that making Adrien speechless had given her. After years of stuttering and blushing, and mixing up her words, how could she not be happy? Her school work was caught up, there hadn't been an acuma in a few days, and she had just flipped the tables on pretty boy. Life was swell.
"I'm fine Alya. Don't worry. And I wasn't late because Adrien gave me a ride."
Alya made a face, and wiggled her eyebrows.
"Remember your promise. Not a word. He just wanted to apologize."
Alya grinned, and bumped her shoulder against Marinette.
"Hey Marinette. Heard you tried to kill yourself over the weekend."
No wonder her day was going so well. It was trying to make up for an ugly encounter, with the stuck up brat. She turned to Chloe, giving her a polite smile.
"Chloe! How lovely to hear your completely normal voice, how are you darling?"
"I heard you jumped off of a cliff. There are easier ways to die."
Marinette sighed, she probably found out from Rose. That girl couldn't keep a secret to save her life.
"If I was going to kill myself, you'd be the first to know Chloe. Because I'd drag you down to hell with me."
"Can't stand the thought of being without me?"
"Can't stand the thought of leaving me alone?"
Marinette took on the same teasing tone Chloe had used, and it seemed to annoy her to no end.
"What is wrong with you?"
"What is wrong with you?"
Marinette snapped back, her patience wearing thin. Why couldn't Chloe just back off? Chloe leaned down, lowering her voice.
"I bet you jumped in, in a desperate attempt to get Adrien to do mouth to mouth."
That was the last straw. She was going to kill the bitch. She stood, and Alya grabbed her arm, as if Marinette was going to attack her. She wouldn't of course. Not here, not where there were too many witnesses.
"Damn, if I had known that, last night could have been alot more fun."
Chloe's face turned bright red, and Marinette imagined it matched her own. What the hell was he doing? She turned, glaring at Adrien. He just grinned at her, and leaned close, lowering his voice.
"Let's call it even. Yeah?"
"Hell no. We are not even."
She hissed, and he chuckled, shooting her a wink.
"Next time you want mouth to mouth Mari, just ask."
Yep. This was it, this would be the day she finally died from embarrassment. He smirked, and headed back to his seat. The ass. Couldn't he have let her win, for just one day? She turned back around, her entire body felt like it was on fire. She was going to kill him first, then Chloe. She had already stomped back to her seat, probably pissed that Adrien had jumped in. Marinette plopped down, trying to ignore all of the eyes on her. That was so unfair. She had made him flustered in private. No one was around to see him speechless, of course he had to up the stakes and do it in the middle of class. She stole a glance at Alya, who was mouthing something to Nino. Great. She turned back to Marinette, her voice an excited squeal.
"What the hell was that?"
Marinette groaned, looking down at her desk. This meant war. She was going to destroy him. She turned around in her chair, and ran her finger across her throat, mimicking him being beheaded. He licked his lips and leaned forward, mouthing the words.
"Bring it on."