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It was well past time, if he were to be honest with himself. Adrien was supposed to have chosen a long time ago. He was twenty, apparently too old for frivolities, too old to flirt with the young ladies around him. After all, the women were all running out of time for themselves -- he expected that they may all die sometime within the next couple of decades.
But it was far easier to refuse polite society. He was no spinster, though he bore no objections to being deemed such.
Ladybug entranced him. It was difficult to pretend otherwise. She made a splash wherever she went, being a woman old enough to be married yet without a partner -- fighting out in the various conflicts despite her status as a woman. And she wore red despite being French -- she could easily infiltrate the redcoats when she needed to.
She was spellbinding, and Adrien just needed to know more. So he tracked her down one day, and found that she was simply a girl named Marinette.
Simply a girl, the daughter of a local baker and a more exotic woman. Their breads and pastries were of the highest quality, but she was not quite the kind of person that his father would ever approve of.
Not that the approval mattered quite so much to Adrien anymore, but he would be exiled from every social circle and robbed of his wealth if he married someone too far outside what was expected of him.
There were a few options, he knew, but none of them quite appealed to him. Both Chloe and Kagami, who he could be married to, were taken by each other -- even if they would lie under the illusion of being unpartnered, he couldn’t bear to rip them apart for the sake of his own needs. They would have a hard fight to be together, and he knew he could offer some kind of cover, but he wanted to enter the most sacred of unions with truth, for he had enough of lying to all those around him.
And there was a new debutante as well -- Lila Rossi, a foreigner from Italy. Chloe had confided in him that she believed that Lady Rossi had faked her identity to make it to the ball.
Not that he had behaved well this season. This season was marked by Adrien flirting with all the wrong people -- namely, the beaus of the ball instead of the belles. He wasn’t fully attracted to men, he still had inclinations towards women alongside men, but it was certainly one method of inspiring vitriol in his father. He hadn't connected with many of the young ladies he may be forced to marry.
Oh, it would be easy to find someone who wished to marry Adrien Agreste.
But he wanted Marinette -- as long as she wanted him in return.
"Milady," he said as he ducked into the simple stall Marinette and her family worked at, "how do you do?"
He knew it was imbalanced for him to keep disguising himself while he knew what laid underneath her own disguises, but he had no other choice. If he were to be found out, he would likely be greatly reprimanded -- and forbidden from leaving the mansion's grounds again under the premise of being still within a time of war.
"Oh, I am certainly no lady. How do you do today, kitty?"
"I happen to be doing excellently," he responded, "because I am able to join you." She always denied being a lady. While it was indeed true that Marinette was certainly no royalty, she was more brilliant than most of them.
She flushed at that. "Would you like anything?"
"I would love nothing more than the pleasure of your company." He glanced to check there were no others queuing up, but as it turned out, bread was rather necessary for most. "However, I will settle for one of your excellent croissants."
He overpaid, as he always did. She would later count the bills and attempt to find him -- but her attempts would all be fruitless. He was likely not much more than a spectre to her, gone as soon as he appeared.
Yet he hoped that she was still fond of him -- and that she would remain fond of him after she discovered the truth.
Adrien returned back to his more stifling outfit after eating the croissant. His procured disguise was much more comfortable than what he wore on a more regular basis.
"I hope your trip served you well?" Wayhem, the operator of his coach for the day, opened the door to allow Adrien to enter. Not that he needed to ask permission, of course.
He always requested Wayhem as horseman for these outings, as he was the least likely of the horsemen to gossip about Adrien's outings. And, of course, his usual guard was mute and thus was always discreet.
"It was excellent," Adrien responded. "I almost wish I did not have to return home."
The words were, to some extent, a lie.
"You better snatch that boy up before someone else does," the next customer in the line told Marinette. "He seems like he'll treat you right."
"I do not know his true identity," Marinette professed, "or else I would have attempted something. As it stands I do have other options, though I do not quite know yet what I will do."
The old woman frowned. "You aren't thinking about marrying that colored man, are you? Nothing good will come out of marrying colored men, young lady."
"I am still not a lady, and I have no chance of becoming one," Marinette answered. "What would you like today, madam?"
"I have everything I would like." The old woman squints at her. "However, I am uncertain if you do."
"I have the best life I could ask for."
"Then ask for more, Marinette."
Marinette stood stunned as the stranger walked away, but snapped back into place as the next customer walked up.
She wasn't thinking about Nino when she mentioned her options. Nino was a local slave, and he was in love with another -- they were all acquainted with each other, though sometimes Marinette thought they resented that she was free while they were in bondage, the threat of separation constantly dangled over their heads.
Nino and Alya made a good couple, at any rate. (And Marinette resented the idea that Nino would be a worse match because he was a colored man -- he would treat her well, it would be a satisfying marriage, and it would probably free him of his bondage.)
Marinette couldn't ask for much more than the life she had now. The Lord of this region, Lord Agreste, was not exactly the most benevolent, but he also did not attempt to crush them under his metaphorical feet, so Marinette supposed it was for the best.
And, as much as she disliked admitting it, his son was rather attractive. There was no reason for him to have remained unmarried this long. Oh, she'd heard rumors aplenty, but none she believed.
After all, why would he come flirt with her if he were solely into men? Oh, she’d known that he was the rogue in black that approached her stall as often as he could be away for a while -- it was the only logical conclusion to draw since she knew he discovered her identity as Ladybug.
She wasn’t a lady like he enjoyed calling her. She knew it was derived from “Ladybug”, but it still didn’t fit quite right. Because she was certainly no nobility, and she didn’t want to marry Adrien just to become a lady.
Though perhaps she could provide another alternative.
The next time she saw him it wasn’t at her family’s stall, but in the city. She didn’t go to the city often, but she was here to purchase from the merchants -- sugar, and salt, and a couple other spices for the sake of meat preservation.
It was just the briefest of brushes. But she whispered in his ear a single phrase.
“I know who you are, kitty.”
And she could feel the force of his eyes on her as she walked away. She knew the gravity of her words. But she also knew that Adrien liked her, or else he wouldn’t keep coming over and over.
She wanted to follow wherever he chose to go after this.
She had a plan -- but the plan was a mere backup.
Two tickets to the New World.
Marinette was busy when she heard footsteps coming up the path.
“I…Marinette.”
She recognized that voice.
Adrien was here.
“What do you want?” she asked. It was a deeper question than just the here and now of it all.
“I…” Adrien glanced around, left, right. “It is a cardinal sin to love you in the eyes of the others. I have already chosen, but they do not know it.”
“What of the others?” Marinette asked. “What should matter is you, and your right to choose.”
“Alas, I’ve never had one,” Adrien responded, but he stepped closer instead of backing away.
“You lie when you say that, and you don’t even know it,” she whispered. “I am uncertain if you want this. Feel free to leave me behind if you do not, and I will give the opportunity to others equally deserving. But I have two tickets to the New World. You could run away with me, if you would like.”
Adrien averted his eyes. “I don’t know if I can leave behind all of them.”
“It’s not run there forever. It could be, but my plan was to elope there.” Marinette still didn’t want to force him, though.
“You’d do that for me?” he asked.
“I love you,” she answered, “so I would.”
He nodded. “I’ll go with you.” His posture straightened slightly, as though his energy had been somehow renewed.
Marinette took out the tickets.
“Pack your bags. The ship sets out tomorrow.”
Adrien smiled. “I will.”
“May I kiss you?” she blurted.
He seemed frozen in place, but eventually she felt the soft brush of his lips against hers.
A promise of much more to come.