Chapter Text
The movie Les Parapluies de Cherbourg always made Marinette melancholy. It was a beautiful, moving story, a bittersweet tale of lost love and missed opportunities. It made her want to turn to the boy on the couch beside her and finally confess how she felt before any more time could slip away from them. She had already spent four years of her life loving Adrien Agreste fruitlessly. How much longer could she go on?
“I can’t do this anymore,” Adrien breathed in surprise as the realization struck him.
Marinette gave a start and nearly ended up on the floor. “Wh-What?”
He reached out and paused the movie before turning to Marinette and grabbing one of her hands. “I can’t do this anymore,” he repeated, desperation and fear in his eyes. “What have I been doing all these years?”
“Adrien, start at the beginning,” Marinette coaxed, managing to keep the panic out of her voice by some small miracle. “What can’t you do anymore?”
“I can’t keep loving someone who will never return my feelings,” Adrien clarified. “I can’t keep wasting my life like this on slavish devotion to a woman who keeps telling me it’s never going to happen.”
“…Yes, that’s generally a bad idea,” Marinette mumbled. “You’re just now realizing this?”
He nodded glumly, dropping his gaze. “I may be a little slow.”
“Hey,” She reached out with her free hand and cupped his cheek, tilting his head so that his eyes met hers. “that’s okay. Don’t worry about it…. I didn’t know you were in love with someone.”
He shrugged.
“I mean…I suspected that there might be someone you were interested in, since you always turned the girls who asked down, but…” A part of her had secretly hoped that his answer would be different if Marinette were the one doing the asking, that he was waiting for her.
He shrugged again.
“How long has this been going on?” she inquired, even though she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“Coming up on four years,” he whispered, mortified to admit it. “Am I pathetic? That kind of sounds pathetic.”
Marinette gave Adrien’s cheek a reassuring pat. “You’re not pathetic. You’re loyal…maybe a little naïve in your optimism and perseverance, but…it’s admirable, Adrien…but I think it’s a good idea to move on if you’ve really spent four years on the same girl who keeps telling you no.”
He nodded. “Thanks for helping me process this. You’re always so kind and patient.” A curious look came into his eyes. “Marinette?”
“Yeah?” She squirmed under his intense gaze.
“We’re friends, right?” he sought to confirm.
She had to hold in a wince. “Y-Yeah.” She worried that the grin she had hastily pasted on was too obviously fake. “Yeah. We’re…friends. Of course we’re friends.”
The word was like ash in her mouth, and she pushed it out with some difficulty.
Adrien didn’t seem to notice. “Then…can I ask your advice?”
“Always,” she stressed. Regardless of her personal feelings… “I will always be there for you, Adrien.”
“How do you go about falling out of love with someone?” He pursed his lips and waited expectantly for her response.
“That’s…oddly ironic,” she sighed, breaking eye contact.
“Ironic how?” he asked, completely clueless.
She steamrolled right over the question. “I don’t know, Adrien. If you were really that serious about this girl, it’s probably not a good idea to jump right into a different relationship. Maybe you should date around for a while. Not seriously. Just casually, and make sure the girls know it’s just casual. Then, maybe when you feel like you’re ready, you can see if you can find someone to be serious about.”
In her mind, she added, “Like me.”
“Okay,” he breathed, beginning to nod slowly. “Okay. That sounds reasonable.”
Adrien leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Marinette’s forehead. “Thank you, Marinette. You’re the best.”
A wistful smile slowly bloomed on her lips. “Anytime,” she mumbled.
“Sorry for the mini freak out,” Adrien chuckled weakly as he pulled away, resituating himself on the couch beside her. “The movie just made me realize…I don’t want to be miserable anymore. I don’t want to miss out on any more of my life and end up with regrets because of her…. She wouldn’t want that for me either. But sorry for being such a spazz out of nowhere like that.”
Marinette gave Adrien a playful nudge. “Do you really think I, of all people, have any room to judge you?”
He pretended to think about it but couldn’t keep a straight face. “It’s cuter on you,” he chuckled, leaning over to place his head on her shoulder. He was still laughing as he teased, “I think I like you because you’re such a spazz all the time.”
“Be nice,” she pouted, internally screaming at the weight of his head on her shoulder, the warmth of his cheek, the vibrations of his laugh, the tickle of his hair against her neck.
“Thanks for being you, Marinette,” he whispered in all seriousness, causing her heart to soar. “I don’t deserve you, but am I so, so grateful to have you as a friend.”
Her heart fell out of the sky like Icarus, drowning in despair in the Friend-Zone Sea.
“Anytime, Adrien,” she repeated without feeling, resting her head against his and letting herself pretend that it was more than what it was.