I have also been sucked into nerdy prudes must die
I LOVED Ruth and Richie and I’m so sad about them being doomed by the narrative and hurt and given false hope. Deserved better honestly. I’ve annoyed my friends via talking about it and here we are!!!! I am not a loser.
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your patience with this chapter. I know I had warned you that updates might not be as often, but I didn't think it would take me this long. If I'm being honest, this (and the next two chapters) were 90% written when the last one went up, but between life stuff and the first scene in this just not cooperating with me... things took longer than anticipated.
I still need to rewrite a few scenes for the next chapter, and I'm still in the middle of job hunting so I can't guarantee when the next chapter will go up, but I'll try not to make you wait a month! 💖💖💖
Also, please do yourselves a favour and check out this AMAZING piece of art created by the extremely talented @sayuri12moonlight
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“Alright, now close your eyes.” Marinette’s eyes fluttered shut. “Ok, I’m going to do the eyeshadow now.”
Carefully, and with the gentlest amount of pressure she could, she began brushing the pigment across Marinette’s eyelid. The way she had learned to in the most recent session of the makeup masterclass. The masterclass had been the perfect excuse to move up the photoshoot, but it was also serving as the perfect excuse to spend more time with Marinette.
Because she needed models to practice the techniques on. And it was easier to do it with one person at a time. That way, there was no bored Alix bouncing around the room, or squealing Rose and Alya, or nervous Mylène to distract her.
And if it meant a greater opportunity to figure out what was going with Marinette—besides her frankly ridiculous belief that Luka didn’t like her— and why she wasn’t pursuing Luka when she so obviously wanted to… Well, she was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The question was, how was she going to get back onto that topic. The night they had been working on math homework, Marinette had brought the subject up. Or rather, given her a way to bring it up.
Dipping her brush into another eyeshadow, she thoughtfully tapped it against the palette to dislodge any excess as she tried to figure out a way to start the conversation. But before she could think of a casual opener, Alya beat her to it.
Alya 🦊?!: ADRIEN IS @ THE PARK
Of course, he was.
Alya 🦊?!: HES DOING A PHOTOSHOOT
Seriously? How many photoshoots had he had at the park in the past year? Even after all the research she did.
Alya 🦊?!: THIS IS OUR CHANCE
Not likely.
Alya 🦊?!: EVERYONE GET HERE ASAP
Not a chance.
Marinette had opened her eyes, her brows furrowing as she read the texts. She could almost see the anxiety brewing in her friend.
Mylène 🌼 : I can be there in ten. But I have a date at 3 so I can’t stay long.
Alix 🛼 : Kim and I are racing
Alix 🛼 : Should I bring him too?
Alya 🦊?!: ABSOLUTELY NOT
Rose 🌹💗: I’m about to take my brother to the movies
Rose 🌹💗: But good luck!!! 💗💗💗🥰🥰🥰
Alya 🦊?!: Mari? Juleka?
Alya 🦊?!: COME ON
Alya 🦊?!: HE WONT BE HERE MUCH LONGER
Alya 🦊?!: WE HAVE TO HURRY
So much for finding a way to get the topic onto Luka.
A look of total defeat washed over Marinette’s face as she began to pull herself up off the floor.“I guess we should get going-“
“Why?”
Marinette gaped at her, her mouth opening and closing. “B-because… Alya said so-“
“Do you want to go?”
“I-I…” When was the last time someone had asked what Marinette wanted? Because looking at her friend’s face, she couldn’t help but think it hadn’t been for a long time. Guilt washed over her; she had been part of the problem. If she hadn’t discovered Marinette’s secret, would she still be? She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking of herself.
“We can go,” she mumbled, “but only if you want to.”
Marinette’s eyes darted over to the pictures on her wall, swallowing loudly. “I’m supposed to go…” she bit back the urge to tell Marinette that she wasn’t supposed to do anything she didn’t want to. “I’m supposed to like Adrien…” Marinette mumbled, not sounding very convinced or convincing. But before she could say anything to even begin to unpack what Marinette had just said, her friend continued, her eyes glued to the floor. “I’m supposed to be with him. That’s what Alya keeps telling me…”
Her stomach sank. She did not like where this was going.
“And Alya is always right about these things.” Alya? Always right? Maybe in Alya’s head- but why would Marinette- “She says he and I are meant to be.” She was really starting to hate that phrase.
“Alya isn’t always right,” she said gently. Especially about this. “You don’t have to-“
“The rest of the girls too. And my parents adore him. And Tik- my other friend. They all say Adrien and I were made for each other. Sometimes,” Marinette mumbled, “it feels like the universe is telling me I’m supposed to be with him.”
What?
“And if the universe is telling me something…”
“But what about what you want?”
Marinette looked away, biting her lip. “I- it doesn’t matter. He- he doesn’t… We should probably get going before Alya-“
Alya 🦊?!: HES LEAVING
Alya 🦊?!: you guys missed him
Alya 🦊?!: WHERE WERE YOU
Alya 🦊?!: WHY DIDNT YOU ANSWER???!!!
She didn’t miss the way the tension almost melted out of Marinette’s shoulders. “We should- we should get back to the makeup then. You need to build up your portfolio, right?” she asked with a wavering smile.
“Uh, yeah… what you said, about the-”
Marinette sighed. “I know it’s silly, but… sometimes… it doesn’t matter.” she shook her head and plastered a horribly fake smile on her face. “I’m just going to… I’m just going to go to the washroom real quick. I’ll be right back!”
She laid a hand on Marinette’s knee before she could get up. “You don’t have to listen to Alya. Or the others. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to… but… do you need to… do you need to talk? You know I’m always here for you, right?”
“I’m fine,” Marinette’s voice was bright and cheery. Her words were an obvious lie. “I’ll be right back.”
It was clear to the topic was closed. But as she watched Marinette disappear into the washroom, no doubt to try and collect herself, she couldn’t help but think about what she had said.
And the more she thought about it, the more her stomach began to churn. Alya wasn’t shy about saying Marinette and Adrien were meant for each other. She knew the whole class was guilty of it in one way or another. She knew freaking Andre was guilty of it.
But Marinette had said…
Who else was saying it?
***
Her head was still reeling from her talk with Marinette as she trudged across the gangplank. A melancholy melody floated up from below deck; the question was, was Luka picking up on her mood from all the way up here? Or was he playing it for himself?
She made her way below deck, nudging open the door to their bedroom.
Luka was sitting on his bed, his guitar in hand —as always—and he was glaring at his phone. That was new.
“Hey, what’s up?’ she mumbled as she plopped herself on her bed.
He jumped. That was new too. He was usually pretty aware of his surroundings.
“Nothing,” he sighed before trying to smile. “How was the makeover session?”
The thing about Luka and Marinette was that they were both terrible liars.
“A. Not a makeover, just me practicing makeup. B. You suck at lying.”
“I’m not-“
“You say you’re fine. Your music says you’re close to dead inside.” She got up and settled herself beside him on his bed. “You wanna talk about it…?” Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of his phone screen.
Alya had sent him a barrage of texts demanding to know where Marinette was and why she wasn’t answering her phone. More than half of the texts mentioned Adrien and how this was Marinette’s chance to get with him and have her happily ever after.
He hadn’t answered any of them. But from the open text conversation and the look on his face, it was clear he had read them.
“Sometimes,” he sighed, his eyes glued to the phone screen, “it feels like the universe is trying to tell me something.” His eyes flickered to some of the pictures they had on their communal photo wall. His eyes seemed to land on the picture from a group outing from the previous summer. One where they had all gotten ice cream from Andre’s. His eyes seemed to fixate on Marinette’s peach and mint… Oh no. “And if the universe is trying to tell me something, shouldn’t I listen?”
“No.”
***
She cringed as she watched Marinette flail desperately before toppling over into the bushes. Adrien was chuckling, even as he held out his hand to help Marinette up. But that just made things worse. From where she was standing, it looked like Marinette had tried to scramble back—or maybe get up on her own— but it looked like her hair had gotten caught in the branches.
“Those two really are made for each other.”
She groaned. “Are you kidding me?”
“Excuse me?” She blanched. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. She turned in the direction of the voice. Sitting on the bench next to the one she had been sitting on was an old man in the brightest Hawaiian shirt she had ever seen. He was looking at her quizzically. “Why would you say they aren’t made for each other?”
Did this guy know Marinette and Adrien?
“Ummm…” he was still staring at her, waiting expectantly for an answer. Well, if he wanted an answer, she may as well give him a good one. “Because they’re terrible for each other.”
The man’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Why would you say that?”
“Because she can’t get a single sentence out straight around him-“
“Ah,” he sighed wistfully, “young love-“
“Because,” she barrelled on, cutting him off, “he sends her anxiety into overdrive. And he never shows any real interest in her except when it’s convenient or they’re in a group setting. And she’s so convinced of his supposed perfection that she can’t see that their friendship is almost completely one-sided. Not to mention, she can’t admit to his faults. And he barely acknowledges her existence most of the time.”
“Oh… I see…” the man mumbled. “Well, I must be off. Thank you for sharing your… thoughts with me.” The man hurried away before she could say anything else.
***
She was beginning to understand where Marinette got the idea that she was supposed to be with Adrien. It seemed like the people of Paris had decided the two were made for each other.
“I just think they’re so perfect for each other. How can you not see it, Lise? Adrien and Marinette are made for each other.”
Oh gross. Even Bustier was shilling that nonsense? And why did everyone keep saying that?
“I don’t have time for any of this nonsense, Caline. And neither should you. We are educators, not matchmakers.”
“There’s no reason we can’t do both. I’m going to pair them up for the group project they’ll be starting today. They can study together and see what a lovely pair they would make.”
Oh no.
“Whatever you say, Caline. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to go prepare the lab for my next class.”
She ducked out of sight of the door that led to the teacher’s lounge. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. But she was glad she had. Because if Mme. Bustier was going to try and set up Adrien and Marinette... she was just going to have to stop her.
But the question was how?
She watched as Mme. Mendeleiev walked out of the teacher’s lounge and turned to head towards the science lab. Mme. Bustier came out a minute later, carrying a piece of paper. She peered a little further out from where she was hidden behind a recycling bin.
There were names on the paper Mme. Bustier was carrying. It looked like… a list! A list of the pairings for the group project!
Silently, she tailed Mme. Bustier to the classroom. She watched as the teacher placed the list on her desk before ducking out of sight as Mme. Bustier made her way out of the room, not bothering to lock the door behind her.
She knew where the list was. She knew who Marinette was supposed to be partnered with. But how was she supposed to fix this?
If she went in and switched the names, Mme. Bustier would notice and just change them back. And that also ran the risk of the teacher recognizing her writing. But she couldn’t just leave the groups as they were…
A flash of blond hair in the corner of her eyes sent the gears in her mind turning.
***
She had never thought it would be Chloe coming to her rescue. And she had never thought Chloe would fight so valiantly. But she didn’t mind being wrong.
Especially when the sight—well, sound really, given she was hovering out of sight just outside of the classroom— was so glorious.
“This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” Chloe screeched to Mme. Bustier, who she was sure was close to cowering.
She chanced a peek through the classroom windows. Mme. Bustier was holding her hands out in front of her, but whether she was trying to placate Chloe or protect herself from potential projectiles was unclear. “Now Chloe…” Mme. Bustier said in that voice that she always used when she tried to reason with students, regardless of how reasonable her expectations of her students were. “I don’t know how you found out about the project, but I’ve already assigned partners. I put you with Sabrina; I thought you liked working with-“
“It doesn’t matter how I found out!” It was probably better that Chloe didn’t mention she had overheard her ‘talking’ on the phone about the project. The harder it was to trace this back to her, the better.“I’m going to work with Adrikins!” She almost felt sorry for Adrien.
“But Chloe-“
Chloe had already whipped out her phone and was waving it tauntingly in the air. This was it, the critical hit. “I’m sure my daddy would love to hear all about how you won’t let me work with someone who could help me achieve my best.”
Mme. Bustier blanched. “W-well, I suppose I can change the groups, Chloe.”
She ducked out of sight, smiling as she strolled down the hall to find Rose before the lunch period ended. That had been easy. Almost too easy.
And while Sabrina wasn’t a great partner, Marinette had been stuck with far worse.
***
She had to remind herself not to glower at the camera. Or Alya. Or Nino.
She was sure Alya had put him up to it, but as far as she was concerned, he was still guilty. She should have known to be suspicious when Nino suggested the class—sans Chloe and Sabrine, who had gone shopping— have a picnic in the park. Nino was not the kind to organize group outings unless it was to shoot one of his short films. She was just glad Luka had come to walk her home from class and had ended up tagging along.
Although… she cast a surreptitious glance at him as the photographer arranged Kim and Ivan into the frame. The look on Luka’s face when the photographer had directed Marinette to stand right beside Adrien had been a look of pure resignation and defeat. One that matched Marinette’s.
She should have known better!
Adrien had had to leave class early because there had been a problem with some of the pictures from his most recent photoshoot. Enough so that they had to be retaken. Unfortunately, she had only found out the reason why Adrien had to leave early after they had arrived at the park.
And once the shoot had wrapped, Alya had suggested they all take a bunch of pictures so Adrien could start his own photo wall. And the photographer had agreed to take some of the pictures as the photoshoot had wrapped early.
Which was how they had ended up here. With yet another person—another adult—directing Marinette and Adrien together because ‘they look so perfect together’ as the photographer had said.
Hadn’t anyone heard of the phrase ‘looks could be deceiving?’
She needed to do something. Or else those poor idiots would take this as another sign from the universe that they weren’t supposed to have a chance with each other.
The flash of the camera’s bulb nearly blinded her. But the photographer’s disgruntled grumbling brought her clarity.
“The balance is off…” the photographer was grumbling as he looked at the image on the viewfinder. “It looks all wrong… the heights are all over the place!”
This was her chance. “Excuse me,” she mumbled, squeezing herself out of the back row where the photographer had placed her. She could feel her classmate’s eyes on her, no doubt surprised she was speaking up. But she didn’t pay them any attention. “I have an idea.”
The photographer’s head snapped up so quickly, she was worried he was going to give himself whiplash. But he just beckoned her over, still grumbling under his breath, complaining about the vast height differences and how everything he tried just looked like a school picture.
Quickly, she explained her idea. And as she did, the photographer’s smile grew. The last words were barely out of her mouth before the photographer was barking new orders, directing them on how to rearrange themselves.
Originally the photographer had had the tallest in a row at the back, with everyone else standing in a row in front of them. Very much like a school picture. Which had been weird given they were supposed to be fun pictures. But on the other hand… she couldn’t blame him for being exasperated given how all the height differences had thrown off the other arrangements he had tried.
But thankfully, her idea was working.
Adrien was still front and center—as it seemed he always was—but instead of having the tallest people stand in the back, they were all sitting with Adrien on a bench. And the shorter people were standing around them, which made them all easier to frame.
Kim was sitting on one end of the bench, with a very smug-looking Alix standing next to him with her elbow propped up on his head. Max was standing behind the bench, smiling over Kim’s shoulder. Nino was sitting next to Kim, with Alya standing behind him, resting her chin on top of his head. Then there was Adrien, sitting in the middle of the bench, with Nathaniel placed behind him. She had placed herself beside Adrien, with Rose’s arms around her, hugging her from behind. Ivan and Mylène were sitting on the ground right in front of the bench. And Luka and Marinette…
Luka was sitting beside her. On the end of the bench. With Marinette beside him.
“That looks much better!” The photographer cried. And she couldn’t help but agree.
***
“I’m afraid I’m all out of pistachio today!”
Marinette’s face fell. “Oh… well, could I have two scoops of blueberry then?”
“I’m all out of blueberry too.” She narrowed her eyes at Andre. It wasn’t even noon yet. How could he already be out of two flavours? How could he already be out of those two flavours? “But I have plenty of peach and mint!”
There it was.
“Actually…” Marinette said in a small voice, but Andre was already pulling out his scooper.
“Peach for his lips, and mint for his eyes! Eat this and your true love will-“
“I’m not really feeling ice cream anyways. What if we grabbed a smoothie instead.”
Alya narrowed her eyes at her. “But we’re getting ice cream.”
She shrugged. “You guys already have yours. But I don’t really feel like it, and if he doesn’t have what Marinette wants, she doesn't have to get it.”
“But, the peach and mint! It’s the perfect combination for you, pretty Marinette. It was made for you!”
What was with people and saying that? Was all of Paris in on Alya’s schemes?
She didn’t know. All she knew, was that she was sick of people saying Adrien and Marinette were made for each other.
“You sell other people mint and peach ice cream. Right?”
Andre’s eyes widened to the size of saucers before his brow furrowed in confusion. “Yes…?”
“So Marinette isn’t the only one you give mint ice cream to?”
Andre stared at her. She imagined that if his hands weren’t occupied with his ice cream scoop and a cone, he would be scratching his head. “No…?”
“Same with the peach?” Andre nodded, and she raised a brow. “So the mint and peach weren’t really made for Marinette.”
Andre’s face began to turn the colour of his cherry ice cream. “But they are. Peach for his lips and mint for his eyes-“
“You could say that none of your ice cream is made for someone.”
“But he and Marinette are made for-“
“In fact, you could say that ice cream is for people to choose.”
“But-“
Alya was outright glaring at her now, suspicion flashing in her eyes. “Girl, seriously? Just let him give her the peach and-“
“Actually,” Marinette’s voice was quiet but still had the strength to cut through Alya’s words, “I think I’m going to get a smoothie too.”
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Yes, I know a good photographer can take pictures of diverse groups. But since most of the adults in this show have been shown to be incompetent, I figured adding one more would be excusable.
Also, since I couldn't find a canon first name for her, I named Mme. Mendeleiev after the physicist Lise Meitner.
In soulmate AUs, everyone always makes Ygraine and Uther soulmates and while that does make perfect sense, please consider: Uther as Gaius’s (platonic) soulmate. It could be part of the reason Gaius stood by Uther even during the Great Purge, and why Uther continues to keep him around as an advisor afterwards and even trusts him enough to perform magic on his family when necessary.
