Chapter Text
“I’m doing it, Alya,” Marinette says, bouncing on her toes. “I’m going to tell Adrien today.”
Alya takes a long look at her, and then she nods. “Okay. Good luck, Marinette.”
Marinette blinks. “That’s it? Good luck?”
Alya laughs. “If I try to give you a speech to prepare you, you’re going to back out.” She pats Marinette’s shoulder. “I have faith in you, though. Today’s your day, right? You’ve got this, girl.”
“I’ve got this,” Marinette repeats as Madame Bustier walks into the room. “I’ve got this; I’ve got this…”
“I don’t got this,” Marinette groans as she walks back to school after lunch. She had just finished taking all of the pictures of Adrien out of her room. She wanted him to know she liked him but she didn’t want to think she was a stalker. “Tikki, what was I thinking? There’s no way I can confess to Adrien! I’m just going to guh and blee and eek! ” She throws her hair up in the air.
“You can do this, Marinette,” Tikki says. “Like you told Alya! It’ll be better to get it out of your system now.”
“But what if he says no?” Marinette insists. “Then he’ll think I’m a crazy stalker and call a psychiatrist and the psychiatrist will put me in a mental hospital at Gabriel Agreste’s insistence and I’ll be locked up forever and ever until Adrien’s married to Chloe and the only thing I can do is get a billion cats! And no hamster!” She spins in a circle.
“Marinette, calm down!” Tikki says. “Adrien wouldn’t think that of you just because of a harmless crush. He has fans even more obsessed than you and they’ve never even met them. Adrien’s a nice boy; I don’t think he’d be able to hate you if he tried. You’re an incredibly sweet person, Marinette. Don’t forget that.” She floats up to hug Marinette’s cheek and then dives back into her purse.
Alya is approaching Marinette; Marinette quickly shuts her purse and waves. Alya falls into step beside her, leaning over with a conspiratorial whisper.
“So did you do it?”
Marinette blushes. “Not yet. It’s not like we go to lunch together.”
“You should have!” Alya says. “Shoot, that would have been a good way to get him alone.”
“He was eating with Nino,” Marinette protests. “I wasn’t going to take away the only chance they had to spend some time together outside of school. That would have been rude.” She sticks her tongue out at Alya.
“Pfft.” Alya waves a hand. “They text each other like crazy; it’s not like they never see each other. Nino could have dealt and ate with his girlfriend for one day.” She rolls her eyes. “But seriously, girl, that was your chance! How are you going to do it now?”
“After school,” Marinette says decisively.
She regrets it a moment later when Alya claps her on the back and says, “It’s a deal.”
Adrien wonders why Alya is staring at him so much.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees her nudge Marinette, and the girl turns bright red. Alya seems amused by something, but he can’t tell what.
Once class is over, he hurries out. Today is one of his rare free days; February was the month his mother disappeared and his father apparently doesn’t seem to want to schedule anything for either of them. It’s both a blessing and a curse, as now his mind has too much time to wonder what February 26th will be like.
But he has Nino, and he has Chloe, and neither of them are going to let him spend too much time wallowing.
“Adrikins,” Chloe cooes, latching herself onto his arm, “want to come to the Hotel today? You can spend the weekend over, you know, like we used to.”
Adrien hesitates, torn. On the one hand, it’s been forever since he and Chloe did anything like that. But on the other hand, he’s supposed to go patrol with Ladybug tonight. The week leading up to Valentine’s Day has been very busy. A lot of akumas have been formed from spurned love. Not just that, but heartbroken lovers were roaming about the streets and doing some very stupid things.
“Not today, Chlo,” he says. “There have been a lot of akumas this week and I’d rather stay home. I don’t want to worry about Nathalie and the Gorilla.”
“And your father?” Chloe prods softly.
Adrien shrugs. “How about next week? I’ll have to go home on Sunday, but…”
Chloe squeezes his arm. “Whatever you want, Adrikins.” Then she flounces off, calling for Sabrina to take her bag.
Adrien shakes his head. That’s Chloe, all right. You never know when she’s going to be kind and when she’s going to be rude. He’s known her for years and he still doesn’t know.
“Was Chloe bothering you?” a voice says from behind him, breaking him from his musing.
He turns around. Marinette is there, twirling the strap of her purse.
“No,” Adrien says. “Chloe was fine.” He flashes her a smile. “Is there anything you need, Marinette?”
He hadn’t thought she’d liked him all that much, since she’d been avoiding him since what he liked to call the gum incident. Had he done something else wrong? He had thought they made up when he gave her his umbrella, and she’d seemed to enjoy playing video games together…
Then again, she always acts so different around him.
Marinette’s cheeks flush. “I… I was wondering if I could tell you something? Alone? I-it’s important.”
“Of course,” Adrien says immediately. “I don’t have anything on for my schedule today.” He bows, channeling Chat Noir. She’d seemed perfectly fine with him. “Lead the way, fair maiden.”
If possible, Marinette turns redder, and she lets out a high-pitched giggle. “O-of course, my good sir.” She takes his arm far gently than Chloe would. “To the bakery?”
Adrien feels himself smile even further. “Please.”
It’s probably a good thing that Marinette doesn’t say anything as they walk, because his brain is filled with images of delicious baked goods. He’s glad he brought his wallet along. If he could, he would buy one of everything, but with his diet, he’ll have to make do with a special treat.
They reach the bakery, and Adrien holds open the door as Marinette walks inside.
The delicious smells waft through the air, and Adrien feels his mouth water. If he could, he would happily stand here for the rest of his life. Marinette’s family was the best. And their food…
“Adrien!” Madame Cheng called out. “It’s good to see you, my dear. Marinette, have you…”
“Not yet, Maman,” Marinette says breathlessly, and then she drags him up the stairs and into her room. It looks exactly how he remembers it.
“Your parents are the best,” Adrien says as he sits down next to her. “I’ll make sure to tell them that when I go back down to buy something.”
Marinette laughs. “You won’t have to buy anything. They’re going to try to fatten you up like a pig for slaughter, knowing them.”
“They don’t have to do that,” Adrien says, and before Marinette can open her mouth, he adds, “sounds delightful, though.”
She giggles, which causes a flash of warmth to tingle through Adrien. Her happiness is contagious.
“What is it you wanted to tell me, Marinette?” he asks suddenly, and she stops laughing.
“Adrien,” she says seriously. She pokes her toes against the floor. “I… I’m sorry, this is hard for me to say.”
“I can wait,” Adrien assures her.
“Thanks.” She takes a deep breath. “Adrien… I like… someone.” Her face falls as soon as the words leave her mouth, but Adrien barely notices.
Adrien smiles. “Really? That’s wonderful, Marinette! Can you tell me who it is, or is it a secret?”
“I… err… it’s a secret,” Marinette says. “But I really like this person and I… want… tooooooo… um… I want to ask them to be my Valentine!”
“Good luck!” Adrien says. “I’m sure they’ll say yes. You’re a very nice girl, Marinette.” He pauses. “What do you need me to do?”
“You… to do?” Marinette repeats slowly.
Adrien nods. “You brought me here to ask me to be your wingman, right? You want me to help you ask them?” He smiles. “I’m happy to help, unless I’m interpreting this wrong.”
“Nope!” Marinette squeaks. “That’s exactly what I was asking you… heh…”
He can’t help but feel a rush of excitement. This is exactly the kind of thing his favorite anime characters would get chosen for! And not only that, but Marinette chose him, out of all her friends! Maybe she really did like him.
“Okay,” Adrien says. “How long have you liked this person?”
“Since the start of last school year,” Marinette mumbles, blushing. “I… I tried to give them a card last Valentine’s Day but I forgot to sign it.”
Adrien winces in sympathy, remembering his failed declaration of his love for Ladybug. “Maybe try a card again, since it’s Valentine’s Day?” he suggests. “And maybe some chocolate? Unless you’re talking about Nino; he’s allergic to chocolate.”
“It’s not Nino,” Marinette assures him.
Adrien sighs in relief. “Good. Because there’s no way I’d help you break DJWifi up.”
Marinette giggles. “You gave them a ship name?”
“Nino gave them a ship name,” Adrien corrects. “He’s a dork, isn’t he?”
“The dorkiest,” Marinette agrees. “Okay. So a card and chocolate. I can do that. What about flowers?”
“Do you know the flower language?” When Marinette shakes her head, Adrien shrugs. “Neither do I. Maybe hold off on those in case the person actually knows it. And I’m never quite sure what to do with flowers, anyway. They feel kind of impersonal.”
“No flowers,” Marinette repeats. “Got it.”
“Ooh!” Adrien says eagerly. “I’ve got a great idea! Your parents are bakers. You should make the chocolate yourself!”
Marinette bites her lip. “I don’t know how to make chocolate,” she says.
“Neither do I,” Adrien admits. “But your parents can help us out, right?”
She blinks. “Us?”
“Well, I’m your wingman, right?” Adrien asks. He grins. “This is going to be so much fun, Marinette! Especially with how good you are at art. I’m sure your secret Valentine will be really impressed.”
Marinette blushes. “I’m not that good,” she says.
“You are,” Adrien assures her. “I mean, even my father was impressed! That’s got to mean something, right?”
“Yeah.” Marinette chews on her lip in thought. “Thanks, Adrien.”
“No problem,” he says warmly. “This is going to be great.”
Two hours later, Adrien leaves with a bag full of sweets and a giant smile on his face. Marinette dials Alya and flops face first on her bed.
“I couldn’t do it,” she moans into the phone. “But… Valentine’s Day.”
“Oh honey,” Alya says with a sigh.
“Yeah,” Marinette mumbles. “It’s all right, though. Like I said, Valentine’s Day. I have a plan now.”
She can practically hear Alya’s eyebrow raise. “Do you now?”
“I do,” Marinette says. “Adrien helped me with it.”
“...Girl.”
“I know,” Marinette sighs. “I told him I liked someone and he thought I wanted him to wingman. He looked so happy, I couldn’t say no.”
“You’ve got your work cut out for you,” Alya says. "He's going to know exactly how you plan to confess to him."
“Yeah,” Marinette sighs. “Though I know he'll like it, at least." She chews her lip. "This is a mess, isn’t it?”
“Only you, Marinette,” Alya agrees.