I have been a proud geek for over 3 decades and I now spend my time sharing my knowledge of fandom (and a bit of my ADHD hyperfixations) with my 4 younglings.
Okay so @leviaana posted her Part-Buds Comic:Â https://leviaana.tumblr.com/post/641047988220968960/reverse-love-square-drama-part-two-of-part-buds
And the angst just got to me and I had to start writing. Â This is only based on her part 1 and 2 cause I started writing before I saw parts 3 & 4. Â Anyways, after I wrote all this I realized I put almost no dialogue in but thatâs cause this is the backstory, I hope to write more soon (and I promise it will have dialogue in future parts). Â I hope you like it, I donât have much time these days to write fanfic but I felt truly inspired by @leviaanaâs art.
AO3
Part 1 (you are here), Part 2, Part 3
Part 1: (The Reversal)
In just one moment everything had changed and yet nothing really had. Â It had been necessary in Marinettâs eyes - she was the guardian now, she needed to know who held a miraculous. Â And after an akuma battle that had left her guardian Adrien Agreste by herself for nearly an hour waiting on chat, Tikki had agreed.
Marinette had been wanting to reveal for a while. Â Ever since the realization that her feelings for chat were no longer simply platonic. Â She had tried testing out the water with chat only to discover that his lack of a pet name for her lately hadnât been due to maturity but rather that he no longer loved her.
âI just...I donât like you like that anymore. Â Sorry.â
So much for ladybugs being lucky. Â Still personal feelings aside, she still needed to know who chat was for safety and since they were partners it had only felt right for a double reveal.
When that day had come, Marinette didnât know what she had expected, but the boy she had gotten over when she fell for her partner sure wasnât it. Â They stood frozen in place, staring at one another in a trance. Â Inside her head, Marinette attempted to process what this meant for their partnership and what it meant for her heart.
It was Adrien who broke the silence, first with a nervous chuckle and then a full belly laugh. Â Even though Marinette knew he was not laughing at her, she could not help the tears that had begun to pool in her eyes. Â Too many emotions swirled inside of her. Â She vaguely remembered mumbling something about needing to go before transforming and running home.
Jumping down into her room, Marinette threw herself on her bed and sobbed. Â Tikki had nuzzled close that night, whispering soft words and likely keeping an eye out for any butterflies that may have tried to make an appearance. Â She had lost both boys...no the only boy she had loved. Â But Chat was her best friend and her partner, she couldnât afford to let this change their partnership.
The next morning, Marinette woke up determined. Â She arrived at school early for once and was greeted to the sight of a very tired and anxious Adrien. Â Guilt had hit her that she had likely caused him distress in her fleeing but she pushed forward, her resolve pushing past her emotions. Â Sharing a croissant and a smile, she assured her companion that she was not disappointed and that she had simply been overwhelmed by the whole experience (of course keeping the fact that she was madly in love with him too herself).
It had been an awkward few days and they had both had to dodge questions from Nino and Alya about what was going on. Â Eventually things settled down. Â Their natural rhythm behind the masks started to bleed into their every day relationship. Â Adrien had opened up more, punning and telling horrible jokes. Â Marinette would roll her eyes and push him away.
Personal space had disappeared, so used to touching during fights both out of necessity and comfort with one another. Â Now Adrien had no problem draping himself across Marinetteâs lap or throwing his arm around her when they studied together. Â It had taken a while for Marinette to no longer turn bright crimson when it happened, and even longer not to feel the melancholy ache afterwards, but slowly it became habitual.
Alya had given up trying to understand what was happening. Â Everyone outside of their friend group, even some of their classmates, had assumed they were dating. Â A tabloid had gotten ahold of a photo of them sitting snugly in the library together and suggested they were indeed an item. Â Adrien had cleared that up though, being interviewed by Nadja Chamack and proclaiming that they were âjust friends.â (For some reason that time had hurt far worse than any of the previous times she had heard those words)
Luka had given up on any prospect of a romantic relationship. Â Marinette couldnât blame him, her heart was definitely not open for someone else. Â But the absence of Luka as a distraction made her loneliness more apparent. Â At first the closeness with Adrien on the civilian side had been unbearable, reminding her of what she would never have. Â Slowly it became as natural as breathing, and even if it werenât in a romantic way, she couldnât imagine her life without Adrien being a key part.
It stayed this way throughout their time at lycĂŠe. Â Running off at the same time to fight akumas had only continued to perpetuate the dating rumors. Â They spent their free time hanging out with Alya and Nino or just the two of them, where their kwamis could be free and there were no secrets. Â Well none except those of the heart.
Graduation approaching and Hawkmothâs reign still unended meant they would need to stay in Paris. Â Schools in London, New York, and Milan were no longer an option. Â Marinette was okay with that, ESMOD had always been up on her list of schools and she wasnât sure she was ready to leave Paris even if she werenât ladybug.
Adrien had made it clear that he wanted to get as far away from his father as possible. Â But with the limitation of remaining in or near Paris, Marinette was certain he would attend Ăcole Polytechnique or Ăcole de ponts ParisTech, both schools were on the outskirts of town and would allow him to study physics and engineering like he had talked about pursuing. Â Marinette would miss seeing him everyday but she understood.
Instead, shortly after her acceptance to ESMOD, Adrien had decided to attend Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University just on the other side of the Seine from Francois Dupont and very close to the Dupain-Cheng bakery where Marinette planned on staying to save money.
The young model had gained access to one of his trusts, this one set up by his mother, and had gotten an apartment just north of the Palais Garnier and walking distance to ESMOD. Â He claimed the location was purely coincidental even though it was in the opposite direction of his school and had convinced Marinette to move in as his roommate both for her convenience and for his necessity.
âI will starve if I live on my own Mari. Â You have to help me!â
It had been a perfect arrangement. Â They could help one another with cooking and chores based on their class schedules and could cover and rotate patrols when exams and projects came up. Â There was no need to lie to a roommate or parents about where they were sneaking off too and Mari could let the other kwamis out more often. Â They had a steady, happy routine together and Marinette was content with the way things were.
At least thatâs what she thought until she entered Alya and Ninoâs apartment this evening for girlsâ night only to discover that Alya, Rose, Juleka, Mylene and Alex were all sitting around the living room wearing faces of nervous sadness (well except Alex who looked about ready to murder someone).
âWhatâs going on?â Marinette asked, hesitantly entering the apartment. Â The girls all looked at one another expectantly before Alya finally sighed and pulled up a photo on her phone. Â There was Adrien, at the bar he had said he was going with Nino and some of his friends from class, sitting close and smiling at a model-worthy girl.
âIâm sorry to have to tell you this M, but Adrien is cheating on you.â
Yeah, yeah, Marinette being a fan of Gabriel because she wants to be a fashion designer is great and all. But I think it would be much more meaningful if Adrien and Marinette bonded over Mari being a fan of his mom.
as a kid i had one of those âthereâs a monster under my bedâ moments except real.
every night i would cry about a ghost or something trying to scare me by knocking on my bedroom windows and walls. like, really loudly, every hour or so, every night. only at night. so my dad was like âheh okay kiddo letâs check it out :) ah see? thereâs nothing here :)â and left.
until years later he admitted to me that he did in fact hear the unexplainable knocking when he slept in that room one night, and it kept him awake with fear. and suddenly felt awful for not believing little kid me.
imagine your kid being like âdaddy thereâs a demon in my closetâ and you being like ok son lemme just check that for you :). and you open the door and thereâs a demon in the closet
One of the wonderful side effects of having a partner whose special interest is Godzilla (and kaiju in general) is that I now have the context to know that this is literally the stated motivation of a huge portion of kaiju in the franchise
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