Chapter Text
Bruised Hearts
Maerynn
Bruises AU
A wide, blueish bruise suddenly spread on Adrien’s shoulder, tearing a frustrated groan from Claude’s throat. He stepped from behind his camera, assessing the damages on the young man’s skin. Shaking his head in resignation, the photographer sighed loudly, “Mr. Agreste, could you please ask your soulmate to be more careful? That’s the fourth time this happens this week.”
Adrien nodded with an absent smiled and watched, mesmerized, as the bruise marred his skin and took darker shades. That one must have hurt a lot. Whoever his soulmate was, they certainly had a tendency to hurt themselves rather often. It was never huge injuries, majorly scratches and bruises, sometimes small burns, but the frequency at which they happened was becoming worrisome. “As soon as I find them, Claude. I’m gonna wrap them in bubble wrap.”
“Make sure you do, that poor thing gets more bumps and scratches than an American footballer. Angela!” Claude suddenly called loudly, only to be answered by awkward silence. “Angela! Where is that mindless girl? ANGELA we need touch ups over here!”
Ignoring the commotion around him as assistants were trying to locate the missing makeup artist and resume the interrupted photoshoot, Adrien contemplated his new bruise, wondering yet again about his soulmate. What were they like? Did they have any siblings? Did they live in Paris, too? Were they happy, even without him by their side? What would their relationship be like once they’d find each other? Would they be platonic soulmates? Romantic? Would they get along right away, or would they have to grow comfortable with each other? Would it be love at first sight? Would his soulmate turn out to be someone he already know?
Adrien snorted at that last thought. There was no way someone close to him could hurt themselves that often without him noticing. Sure, he was aware that there were soulmates that unfortunately never met each other, but he refused to entertain the thought that he could be among them. Whoever his soulmate was, wherever they were, their paths would cross someday.
And they would fill the big, sore empty spot in his heart.
The inhuman shriek that left Chloe Bourgeois’ lips had been loud enough to alert the entire team working on the women’s line, prompting a curious crowd to rush into the studio like vultures to a dying animal. Agreste’ s lead female model was infamous for her ridiculous tantrums, and for getting away with anything she set her mind on, no matter how crazy her demands could be. She was Adrien Agreste’s childhood friend, and wasn’t afraid to play that card to get her way. The more lives she wrecked in her selfish path, the happier she was.
That’s why, that morning, nobody was shocked to witness Chloe slapping her makeup artist across the shoulder with her purse, hard, making the poor girl yelp loudly in pain.
“Those were designer clothes! Unique designs!” Chloe shrieked, her blouse dripping with iced coffee. “Those were worth ten times your monthly salary! Who do you think you are, ruining such fine clothes? Where is Uncle Gabriel? I demand justice!”
“What is the matter here?”
Everything went still at once in the room. Standing on the threshold, his arms linked in his back in his usual manner, Gabriel Agreste landed a stern scowl on his team. Chloe regained her bearings first, scrambling to the fashion mogul with a one-sided familiarity. “Uncle Gabriel! This stupid girl ruined your clothes! It’s unfair for someone as talented as I am to be stuck with such a useless twit. Can I get a real makeup artist? Someone who will recognize my magnificent beauty, at last?”
Gabriel scoffed, and looked directly at Marinette. Her blood curdled in her veins and her breath went ragged. Gabriel Agreste’s outbursts were infamous, and the last thing she wanted was to be on the receiving end of one. No one ever walked away from a fight with that man with their jobs, and that frightened her to no end.
“Mlle Bourgeois is quite right, Mlle Dupain-Cheng. It is indeed unfair for someone so talented to be stalled working with someone so uncooperative as Mlle Bourgeois currently is.”
Marinette gaped at her boss for a second, trying to assert the words that had been just said to her and make sense out of them. At a complete loss, she finally uttered, “but, M. Agreste, w-what…?”
Gabriel smirked knowingly, ignoring the mute scream coming from the mayor’s daughter. “Hence why, effective immediately, you’ll be assigned as my son’s exclusive makeup artist.”
“But, Mr. Agreste, I’m not sure I can-” Marinette could almost see daggers in Chloe’s eyes, and not-so-subtle startled whispers were running through the witnessing crowd.
“Nonsense,” Gabriel cut short. “It has been brought to my attention that you’re by far the most qualified makeup artist on my staff. My son tends to get a lot of soulmate’s bruises, and I need them to be hidden thoroughly for the photoshoots. Can you do that?”
“I-I… I mean, yes, but-”
“That settles it then. Adrien has a photo shoot scheduled here tomorrow at eight. My assistant will send you the details along with what your new position entails. Have a nice day, Mlle Dupain-Cheng.”
Without another glance, Gabriel left the room, leaving a fuming Chloe and a stunned Marinette behind him.
“ Another bruise?” were the first words out of Nino’s mouth upon seeing his best friend coming into the restaurant where they had agreed to meet.
Adrien laughed, looking at the rather large bruise spread on his forearm, “Yeah, that one just happened. Got another on the shoulder this morning, Claude was furious and my makeup artist was M.I.A. again. It was a huge mess.”
“Have you ever thought that, maybe, your soulmate… erm…” Nino trailed off, clearly uncomfortable. Adrien picked up on what he was trying to word, and sighed heavily.
“If they come from a violent background?” he said, Nino visibly relaxing in front of him, “Yes, I have. Everyday. But strangely enough, every scratch and bump makes me feel like I’m closer to them, you know?”
As soon as the words left his lips, a paper cut appeared on his left index finger. Nino followed his gaze to the brand new wound and sighed loudly, “You know, I never thought I’d find someone more prone to light wounds than Alya’s best friend, but your soulmate definitely takes the cake.”
“Hey, we all can’t be as lucky as you, Mr. I-Met-My-Soulmate-When-I-Was-Four.”
Nino merely scoffed, picking up the menu. “You’re only jealous Alya and I turned out to be romantic soulmates while yours is still a mystery.”
“Maybe,” Adrien smiled, “but I’m pretty damn sure they’re worth the wait.”
While Adrien and Nino were casually chatting, Nino’s girlfriend, Alya, was having an interesting conversation of her own with her best friend.
“I don’t know how I’m gonna pull this off, Al. I mean, he’s the boss’ son. It’s gonna be Chloe Bitchy Bourgeois all over again, but with the added pressure of losing my job at the first mistake.”
“But he’s a sex-symbol,” Alya teased, sparkles in her eyes. “Who knows, maybe he could free you from your two-year-long dry spell?”
Marinette’s fork halted halfway to her mouth, and she stared at her best friend with incredulous eyes. “You’re the one who taught me sleeping with your boss is a huge no-no, and my boss’ son is just as bad a mistake. Nothing’s gonna happen between us. If anything, he’s gonna be even worse than Chloe.”
“Oh, come on now, you can’t really be thinking that way,” Alya sighed as she pushed her plate of pastas toward her friend so she could pick out a shrimp. “Even if you're dating history is catastrophic, it doesn’t mean that all men are the same.”
Marinette shrugged, leaning back on her chair. “I tried, Alya, you know I did. What happened with Nate…”
“You’re being unfair, Mari. Nate tried to make amends when Aurore and he turned out to be platonic soulmates. He really loves you, you know? He would do anything for a second chance.”
A grimace graced Marinette’s lips upon hearing those words. “I don’t want to be anyone’s second choice. Nate wanting me back because it didn’t work out with Aurore stung, Alya. Badly.”
“It still took some gut to admit he had made a mistake and missed you, you know.”
A familiar frustration fired up into Marinette’s veins. She was tired of that discourse, tired of people telling her that it didn’t matter, that her ex-boyfriend had only made a mistake. That she should forgive him. They didn’t understand. How could they? Alya had met her own soulmate when she was four, and she and Nino had been happily dating for a few years already.
And dating anyone else was off the table, not until she’d found her soulmate. Once she’d find them, if they turned out to be platonic, maybe she’d try dating again. But not before then. She didn’t want to risk inflicting the kind of pain Nathanael had put her through on someone else. The hurt was still too fresh, the wound too great.
“It doesn’t change anything,” she sighed stubbornly. “He still chose his soulmate over me.”
The next morning found Marinette grumpy and running low on caffeine. She had overslept, had dropped her car keys in a puddle, and she realized way too late to fix it that she was still sporting the messy bun she had slept in.
The dressing room’s door opened, and a cheerful voice called, “Good morning!”
Marinette slowly turned around, barely able to repress a long, heavy sigh.
And knew instantly that she was totally, and utterly screwed.
Because Adrien Agreste was nothing short from worryingly handsome.
He had beautiful, kind green eyes that grazed upon her figure without lingering on any inappropriate locations. His blond mane was unkempt, sticking in every direction like someone who had likely just fallen out of bed.
He smiled at her warmly, holding out his hand with an eager expression. “Hi! I’m Adrien! So you’re my new makeup artist?”
Suddenly, Marinette felt like she was on autopilot. Her hand grasped his on its own accord, and she was adamant that he could hear her heart thumping furiously in her chest.
How was it fair that a single human being held that much beauty?
“Hey, Marinette, right? Do you think you could hurry with the makeup, I have to fix Sunshine’s legendary bedhead,” a tall girl with purple streaks in her hair suddenly asked, scaring the life out of Marinette.
With a loud shriek, she spun around, blushing up to the roots of her hair. “Right. Makeup,” she almost whispered to herself, her mind still slightly foggy from encounter with Adrien.
Unbeknownst to her, as she turned around, her complexion brush came in contact with her model’s forehead, hard. The wrong end poked just beside Adrien’s left eye, making Marinette’s heart jump uncomfortably in her chest. “I’m so sorry!”
His laugh came as music to her ears. A laugh genuine and free, that made her breath hitch in her throat.
She was done for.
Trying to shake her thoughts clear, she laughed awkwardly and scrambled away, organizing her brushes uselessly. “Gosh, I’m so clumsy, I’m really sorry. Your soulmate will definitely have a mark after this one, poor them.”
The noncommittal sound that answered her, and the way Adrien kept staring at her face after this went unnoticed by Marinette, and by the time she got home and walked in front of a mirror, the angry red spot right beside her left eye was long gone.
Marinette eventually regained her bearings and got used to work in close-quarters with the man that had found himself a cozy spot in her fantasies. She had become an expert at hiding the slight tremor of her fingers every time he called her “princess”, or the way her heart skipped a beat whenever his skin brushed hers.
They grew into a comfortable relationship with each other, always chatting casually whenever they were within hearing range. Adrien always seemed to be a step ahead of her when they were in the same building, opening doors for her, breaking her numerous falls, catching the stuff she dropped. With him beside her, she felt safe, like he held the power of stopping her long string of bad luck.
She began to notice small things as weeks went by. How all the other models were glued to their phones all through the makeup and hair process while Adrien was always giving her his undivided attention, talking with her of everything and nothing. How he always seemingly noticed when she wore her hair differently, how he brought her a coffee on every early morning shoots.
Their steadily solidifying friendship took a drastic turn the morning Adrien came in late to a photoshoot with red puffy eyes and tear streaks on his cheeks. Without asking any questions, Marinette worked her magic, the remains of his sadness vanishing under her expert fingers. She later came to learn that it was his mother’s death anniversary, and that he had arrived late to the photoshoot because he had visited the cemetery.
They became exponentially closer after that day, to the point where Marinette couldn’t imagine a life without Adrien in it.
To the point where she dreaded the day he’d leave her for his soulmate, too.The shill ringtone of her phone teared Marinette away from the pleasant dream she was having. Reluctantly leaving dream-Adrien’s arms, she reached out for the offending object and answered sleepily, “Hello?”
“Marinette? It’s Juleka. There’s been a mishap, the photographer lost all the shots from yesterday, we have to do it all over. How soon can you come in?”
She glanced at the hour on her alarm clock and stammered, “Erm… I-I’ll be there in twenty, give or take?”
“Perfect! See you!”
Considering the urgency in Juleka’s tone, Marinette decided to forego putting on pants and makeup, instead simply tying her hair into a braid and throwing a hoodie over her tank top. This wouldn’t be the first time she’d come into work wearing pajama pants, and certainly not the last either.
Out of breath, she burst through the dressing room’s doors a few minutes later, announcing cheerily, “Ok, I’m here, where’s my mo-”
The rest of her sentence died in her throat upon discovering the scene laid out before her eyes.
For, standing in front of her, was none other than Adrien Agreste, clad in pajamas of his own, smiling nervously next to a small table. Two plates with fresh croissants and fruits were waiting under the dim light of a candle, and the unmistakable aroma of coffee filled the air. “Adrien? Wh-where is everyone? What about the shoot?”
“Just a bait,” he answered meekly, “to bring the princess to the ball. Are you mad?”
Marinette watched, speechless, as he walked toward her slowly, like a predator on his prey. Her heart skipped a few beats, and she looked at him with big, questioning eyes. “I don’t understand.”
“Marinette, would you go on a date with me?”
Memories of another encounter, another relationship that went down in flames, came back to her full fledge, and she sighed dejectedly. “I’m sorry Adrien, I can’t… I don’t want to start something knowing either of us can meet our soulmate any day, and destroy everything we’ve built. It would be unfair to both of us.”
With a soft, comforting smile, Adrien took a needle on the table and pricked his fingers lightly. Marinette gasped, stunned by his odd behaviour, “What are you doing?”
“Just look at your finger.”
Sure enough, a small drop of blood was pearling on the tip of her finger. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she whispered, “Do you really mean that…”
Without answering, Adrien pulled her close to him and pressed his lips on hers, wrapping his arms around her waist. He tasted coffee and smelled of vanilla, and Marinette melted in his embrace. She felt safe, felt at home within his warmth.
Once they broke apart for air, Adrien gently caressed her cheek, gazing into her eyes with something akin to adoration. “I love you, Marinette. My soulmate. My everything.”