Adrien
He spent the rest of the day lost in his thoughts, barely retaining any of the information talked about in his classes. Why couldn't Marinette just talk to him? They had been friends longer than she and Chat Noir had. Why could she open up to him and not Adrien?
"Hey Adrien!"
He turned to his left, seeing Nino with his hand up. He was standing next to Alya and Marinette at the bottom of the stairs. He made his way over, smiling politely at the girls.
"We're heading over to Mari's for a movie. Can you make it?"
He pulled out his phone, checking the time. He still had a little while before he had to head home. And he still wanted time to get Marinette to open up to him.
"Sure, I'd love to."
Alya grinned, and they all headed for the parking lot. When Adrien had turned sixteen, he convinced his father that he needed his vehicle, and that he no longer required a body guard. The only way he agreed, was that the car had to have a GPS tracker that Natalie could monitor. They all climbed into the SUV, and Adrien shot off a text to Natalie letting her know where he'd be. Alya and Nino were in the back, leaving Marinette in the front. He glanced over at her from time to time, but her gaze never left the window.
"Oh! Did anyone check my blog this morning?"
Alya sat up, putting her face between the driver and passenger seat.
"Which one?"
Nino remarked, causing the two up front to snicker.
"The lady blog. There's a rumor going around that lady bug is romantically involved with someone."
The sound in the car died pretty quickly after that, and Adrien laid his head back against the headrest. He didn't want to hear about her relationship status. Not when she had been turning him down for literal years.
"Where'd that rumor come from?"
Adrien turned, that was the most he had heard Marinette say since this morning.
"I heard it from a friend, whose cousin said that her pizza delivery driver told her that he had seen her out on a date with someone."
Marinette rolled her eyes, turning back to the window.
"When would she even find the time to go on a date? Saving Paris seems like a full time job."
Her tone was bitter, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Alya frown.
"If you love someone, you make time."
Adrien said gently, as if speaking to a child because he didn't want to start an argument. Marinette turned to him, disbelief written on her face.
"Ladybug's duty is to paris. Not romance."
"Ladybug is allowed to be human Marinette. She's allowed to have a life outside of being a hero. Yeah, she has a duty to Paris. But that doesn't mean she isn't allowed to date."
Adrien forced himself to keep his voice steady, but the car still grew silent. It stayed that way until they got to the bakery, and when they all climbed out, he saw Alya giving her a confused look. If Marinette saw it she ignored it, heading inside. The smell of baked goods drifted out the door behind her, and his stomach urged him to hurry up.
"Alya, Nino, and is that? Adrien! It's been so long, how have you been?"
Marinette's mother Sabine made her way over to him, giving him a hug. He grinned, hugging her back. He had always loved Marinette's parents, they were always so warm and welcoming.
"I've been good Mrs. Sabine."
"Oh please. Just Sabine is fine. Just look at the young man you've become."
She held him at arms length, looking him over.
"Oh dear... it seems you've wasted away without us. Come, eat."
He laughed loudly, and she started filling a plate with sweets.
"Maman, we're going to watch a movie, leave him be."
Sabine pouted, still loading more sweets onto the plate. Adrien leaned forward, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"Don't listen to her, I'm starving."
She beamed, giving him a huge smile as she passed him the now overflowing plate.
"Thank you."
They followed Marinette to the couch, Alya and Nino sitting at the end of it. Alya had a mischievous look on her face, but when didn't she? He ignored it, sitting at the other end of the couch. Marinette stood to the side, picking up the remote.
"You can sit down Mari. I don't bite."
Alya grinned at her, and Marinette's gaze drifted to the small space left on the couch.
"Neither do I."
Adrien mumbled through a mouthful of macaroon. She sighed, sitting down next to him. She was squished between Alya and Adrien, and he could tell how uncomfortable she seemed. She passed the remote to Alya, who started talking to Nino about what to watch.
"Do you have enough room?"
She nodded, squirming a bit. What kind of friends were they if she couldn't even stand sitting next to him? He frowned, turning his gaze back to his plate.
"You two are always so busy. How will you find time to do the project?"
Alya turned to the both of them, while Nino scrolled through options on the tv.
"We'll find a way, won't we Mari?"
"Of course."
She whispered, and Nino pointed at the screen.
"Haven't you been wanting to watch that?"
They all turned, and Adrien's heart sank. It was a new movie, one that had just come out. It detailed Ladybug and Chat Noir's adventures, and the "hot and steamy" relationship between the two.
'Oh god please. Anything but that.'
He begged silently, and Alya grabbed the remote back from Nino.
"Any who oppose?"
Marinette looked at Adrien, and he did his best to telepathically tell her to veto it, but his prayers went unanswered.
"I'll take your silence as acceptance."
She turned on the movie, and Adrien sank lower into his seat. He didn't want to watch this crap. It was so far from the truth. They depicted Chat Noir as a carefree surfer in his off time, and Ladybug as a tyrant boss at her job. Chat Noir slowly warms her heart and the two fall in love. He hated it. All of it. He wasn't some damn surfer, and his lady wasn't a tyrant. He tried to focus on eating, instead of listening to the absolute garbage on screen. Marinette stood, quickly stepping around the couch.
"I'll be right back."
Alya barely glanced away from the screen, nodding.
"Okay girl hurry, it's going to get good soon."
Adrien felt something pinch him, and he got up, taking his plate to the kitchen. His kwami flew out from his shirt, and Adrien glared at him.
"What did I say about pinching?"
"I was bored. And hungry."
Adrien rolled his eyes, pulling a tin of cheese from his pocket, handing Plagg a piece.
"How should I get Marinette to talk to me?"
"How should I know? I'm going to find sug- something entertaining to do."
Without waiting for a response, he disappeared through the ceiling, and Adrien cursed under his breath. The last thing he needed was for anyone to see that kwami flying around. He headed back for the couch, stopping short of the doorway. Marinette still wasn't back yet. He headed upstairs to check on her, climbing into her room. It was empty, but her skylight was open. He climbed the ladder to her loft and peeked out of the window. She was standing against the rail again, but at least she wasn't crying.
"Hey Mari."
She jumped, glancing back at him. He finished climbing through the window, and she smiled softly.
"Hey Adrien. I'll be back down in a minute."
"Mind if I join you? I'm not really interested in the movie."
She nodded, and he sat down in the chair she had on her roof.
"Can I ask you something?"
He looked up at her, a soft smile touching his lips. Maybe she was going to open up to him.
"Of course."
"Do you think it's okay to be selfish?"
He cocked his head at that, that wasn't what he had expected her to say, but it was a start.
"Let me ask you a question first. Hypothetically, say that you and a complete stranger are lost in the woods together."
"I'd find a way out."
He chuckled, standing up and moving to stand beside her.
"I know you would. But hypothetically, you can't. You're trapped. You only have one more food ration, that the stranger does not know about. You don't owe them anything. You're weak, and that last meal will give you one more day to reach help. What do you do?"
She was quiet for a moment, before turning to look at him.
"I'd share half with the stranger."
"Respectable. So you give half to the stranger. You both survive twelve more hours, before you both collapse and die. If you had eaten the entire ration, you could have made it that last mile to a cabin, with shelter food and a radio. You could have called for help."
She made a face, before turning back to the view.
"That wasn't fair."
"My point is, there are times that it is necessary to be a bit selfish. If you had given him your entire meal, he would have lived, and you would have died."
"It would have been a sacrifice for the greater good."
His stomach churned at her words, he didn't like hearing her talk like that.
"He was a serial killer Mari."
She dramatically gasped, turning towards him.
"No!"
"Oh yes. Killed at least thirty people in his lifetime. And, since you decided to be a little selfish and keep half of the food for yourself, his evil deeds were stopped."
She shook her head, but he could see her smiling. He loved her smile, and hoped it never disappeared.
"His deeds were destroyed, but so were yours Mari. All the good you put into the world? Gone. It's okay to be selfish sometimes. And it's okay to need help. No one would think less of you for it."
She looked down, and he leaned forward so he could see her face.
"I'm right here Marinette. I promise. If you need me, call. I'll come running."
She laughed, and he grinned knowing it was because of him. His phone rang, and her laughter died down. He dug his phone out, frowning. It was a text from Natalie, telling him to come home. He looked up, and her mouth still held that sweet smile.
"It's understand. I okay."
She seemed to freeze, but he knew what she had meant. He pulled her into a hug, sighing into her hair.
"Thanks Mari. I'll call you later to talk about the project."
He pulled away and hurried back in through the skylight, with Marinette close behind.
"I'll see if they need a ride home."
She nodded in agreement, following him into the hall. He noticed a certain kwami peeking from one of the doorways, and he stopped pointing to a picture on the wall.
"Where was that taken?"
He asked, opening his shirt. Plagg flew straight in, while Marinette was focused on the photograph.
"Uh, paris canal. I remember getting the worst sunburn."
He grinned, taking a moment to actually look at the picture. Marinette must have only been six or so, wearing a purple and pink tube floatie.
"You look adorable."
He glanced at her as he said it, watching her already pink cheeks turn a shade darker. She had always been so easy to embarrass. Not that he ever did it on purpose. They got back to Alya and Nino, who seemed more interested in each other than the movie. Adrien cleared his throat, and the pair looked back at him.
"I have to head home. You guys need a ride?"
"Yeah, thanks man."
Nino said as he stood up, and they both grabbed their bags.
"I'll see you later Mari, don't forget to text me with updates!"
Marinette seemed to blush harder at Alya's words, and he wondered what she was talking about. He gave Sabine a quick hug, and waved at Tom who had his hands full with a tray. He nodded his head at them, his voice booming through the bakery.
"You kids be careful!"
"We will!"
Alya chimed as they left the bakery, he almost felt bad for leaving when he and Marinette were finally starting to talk. But Chat Noir did promise her a visit.