Marinette was tired of lying. She was tired of hiding her feelings. And she was determined to do something about it!
She pulled out her phone, being careful not to get caught. She was in class, after all.
Marinette : Hey can you meet me after school at Alya’s favorite coffee place after school?
Adrien looked back at her then turned back around. Her phone buzzed a few moments later.
Marinette : I want to tell you something I should have told you a long time ago.
Content, she put her phone away and focused on the lesson.
Marinette packed her things and walked out of class. Butterflies swirled around her stomach as she made her way down the street to the coffee shop. The bells jingled as she walked in and made her way to the counter.
“Hi, what can we get for you today?” The waitress asked politely.
“Um, hi. Can I get a small hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, a large mocha half the espresso, and two chocolate croissants, please?”
“Of course. Will that be all?”
“That’ll be 13.57 euros.”
She fumbled around in her puse for a moment before pulling out the money and handing it to the waitress who put it in the cash register.
“We’ll bring it to you when it’s ready.”
“Perfect. Have a nice day.”she smiled.
She made her way to a vacant table in the back corner and got out her sketchbook. She was designing Alya’s prom dress when the waitress brought over her order.
“Yes. I don’t mean to be rude, but. . . do I know you?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Sweet Pea. I’m your biggest fan!” she squealed. “I used to like Gabriel Agreste’s designs, but then I saw yours and they’re so creative. And he doesn't have any emotion in his designs but yours are filled with so much emotion and it’s so chic.”
“Um, thank you, but I couldn’t compare to Gabriel Agreste.”
“I beg to differ,” a voice from behind Sweet Pea said.
Sweet Pea turned around and squealed, “You’re Adrien Agreste!”
“Yes.” he grimaced. “Can you try to keep it down? I’m trying not to attract attention.”
“Of course,” she squeaked, “I’m talking to Marinette Dupain-Cheng, baker’s daughter and aspiring designer, and Adrien Agreste, supermodel and Paris’s most eligible bachelor! Oh, this is a dream.”
Marinette felt her cheeks warm and saw Adrien scratching the back of his neck.
“Are you two dating?” Sweet Pea asked suddenly, “That would be so romantic!”
Marinette felt her face get even more uncomfortably hot and she was sure that her face was bright red. “U-um. . . I- We. . .” she looked to Adrien for help.
It seemed like he took the hint because he said. “We are not currently dating, no.”
Sweet Pea was about to say something when someone called her back to the counter. “I”ve gotta go now,” she frowned but then she perked up as though she’d just thought of something, “Maybe I’ll see you later. Enjoy your pastries.”
“Thank you we will.” Marinette called after her. “Please sit, Adrien. Would you like hot chocolate or a mocha?”
“Um. . . Hot chocolate?” she slid the mug across the table. He looked at it quizzically then back at her. “Are you sure this is hot chocolate? It’s white and fluffy.”
She laughed, “It has extra whipped cream on it.”
“Whipped cream? I thought you put marshmallows in hot chocolate, not whipped cream.”
“People drink it both ways.” she replied, “Try it. You’ll like it, I promise. If you don’t, I’ll get you something else.”
He took a tentative sip then his eyes lit up and he took another sip, bigger this time. “Mmm! This is so good!”
She laughed at the look of pure joy on his face. “If all it takes to make you happy, I’ll bring you hot chocolate every day.” she took a bite of her croissant. It wasn’t as good as the ones her parents made but it had good lamination.
“You really don’t need to. You are enough. What was it you wanted to tell me?”
“Um. . . actually. . . I’m in love with you.” she mumbled.
“What? I didn’t quite catch that.” He said kindly.
“I said I’m in love with you! Okay! I’ve tried to tell you so many times before. I’m actually surprised I told you this time. You don’t have to reply, I know you don’t feel the same. I’d like us to keep being friends. I just had to get that off my chest.” She picked up her sketchbook and pulled on her backpack. “I’ll see you later.” She held back tears as she rushed toward the doors, determined to get out before Adrien shook himself out of his trance.
“Marinette, wait!” he called after her.
She started running. The bakery wasn’t far away so she made it there before Adrien even got out the door of the cafe. She ran past her parents and told them not to let anyone up. They called after her but she knew they wouldn’t follow her, the bakery was open and they had to work.
When she made it to her room, she let her stuff fall to the floor and launched herself onto her bed and under the covers. Before she knew it, she was sobbing into her pillow. Tikki was trying to comfort her but she was inconsolable.
She was startled out of her daze by a loud tap on her window. She turned her head and saw Chat Noir’s worried face peering in. He tapped again and she sat up, suddenly irritated. Couldn’t a girl cry in peace?!
She jumped off her bed and yanked open the window. “What, Chat?!” she snapped.
“I saw you run home and thought I would check on you.”
“Oh, so now you’re stalking me?” Marinette said snarkily. Sure, she considered Chat as her friend, but stalking was extreme.
“You’re changing the subject Princess. Are you okay?”
He tilted her face up, “Please talk to me Princess.”
Her lip wobbled and tears spilled from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. He held his arms out and she leaped into his arms sobbing once again. He held her tenderly until her sobs died down, rubbing circles on her back and whispering words of comfort.
After a while, she pulled away and wiped her tears. She sat on her chaise and patted the spot next to her.
“Feeling better, Princess?” he asked as he sat down cautiously.
She sighed, “Yes.” She said quietly. “There’s this boy I’ve liked for a while now and I knew he didn’t like me that way. But we’ve been great friends and I didn’t feel honest keeping it a secret any longer. I just had to tell him. But now I think I’ve ruined everything and he’ll hate me and he’ll never want to talk to me again. I wasn’t expecting him to answer, I’d never put him in a situation like that, but I fear I’ve ruined my only chance to be friends with him.” She’d started sobbing again and pressed her face against Chat’s suit. “What do I do, Kitty?”
“I don’t hate you, Princess.” He said softly.
She jolted upright, “What?”
“I could never hate you, princess.”
“Surprise?” He smiled sheepishly.
She stood up putting her finger in his face. “First. That was not okay. You can’t use your identity like that. It’s not fair to me or anyone else. Second. Why would you reveal your identity like that? For all you know I could be Hawkmoth. Or Mayura. That’s dangerous for you and me. You know we can’t know each other's identities. That could put us in danger. We can’t risk that, Chaton, we have a city to protect.”
“Wait. . . we? Chaton?” his eyes widened, “M’lady?”
“Um . . . W-who’s M’lady? I don’t know anyone named M’lady.” She laughed nervously.
“So it is you.” He hugged her tightly.
“N-no. . .” he pulled back and eyed her, “Okay, fine. It’s me.” She sighed. “As long as Bunnyx doesn’t come get me, everything will be fine.”
“I’m so glad it’s you, Marinette,” he said. “Can I kiss you?” he asked softly.
“Yes.” she whispered back.
He leaned in slowly at first then their lips connected and she felt something spark inside her chest..
She turned her head, her hands sliding up his chest and burying themselves in his hair, deepening the kiss.
His hands made their way to her waist and he pulled her closer pressing their bodies together.
Their lips moved furiously against each other.
It was just them, no school, no Hawkmoth, no misunderstandings. Just them.
It was as though she was flying.
They pulled back, gasping. Both of them were smiling broadly. “Tell me you felt that too, Princess.” Chat whispered.
He gave her one of his tender-like smiles and leaned forward so their foreheads were touching. “I love you, M’lady,” he whispered.
Marinette felt her eyes widen and her cheeks grow warm again. “I-I l-love y-y-you too, Kitty.”
His smile widened, “I’m glad I found you, M’lady.”
“Me too, Kitty.” She pressed her lips against his once more, shorter this time and he protested as she pulled away. “We have to find a cover story. My parents still think I’m upset.”
His face fell, “I’m sorry about that, by the way, Princess. You didn’t wait for me to finish though. I was going to say we could go on a few dates and see how we felt then. And if it didn’t work out we could go on being friends. I got a little discouraged about you and me, M’lady.”
“I’m sorry about that, Kitty, I was just so hung up over Adrien that I couldn’t even consider dating someone else.”
“But I’m not someone else.” He wiggled his brows.
“Yes, but I didn’t know that.”
“Told you you’d fall for me one day, M’lady.” He grinned.
“Let’s just work on my cover story, Kitty.” she rolled her eyes. Trying, and failing, to conceal a smile.
“Okay, what if you said someone complimented your designs and you were so happy you started crying and ran home to savor it? That way, it won’t be a complete lie.”
They settled back, talking and cuddling. Their earlier drama was all but forgotten.
This is my first work and I'm very happy about it. Thank you to my Amazing beta cherrybomb_marichat.