Chapter Text
It was a beautiful day.
The birds were singing; the sun was shining. Things seemed a bit more peaceful and bright, and nothing could shake Adrien’s good mood. Even Gorilla seemed to have a slight smile on his otherwise stoic face.
He waved at passing friends as he made his way to his seat in class. He then gave Nino their morning fist bump before pulling out his tablet and school book for the class.
Everything was normal, and it filled him with a warmth that his empty house could never give.
All that was missing was his two other friends, and then things would be perfect-
“What do you mean you’re not going to tell him??” He heard a voice come from the hallway before the muffled voice of Marinette hurriedly hushed her best friend,
“Shh, Alya! Not so loud!”
“It’s just you told me you worked hard on your speech….”
“I know..but it just doesn’t feel right to say it to him now...”
Those words piqued his interest as he lifted his head to watch as the door opened to reveal Alya and Marinette.
“You do you, girl.” Alya said quietly, patting her shoulder as she passed her, “But he still deserves to know.”
Who needs to know what?
He frowned as his eyes followed his raven-haired friend.
Could it be that she lost the courage to confess to her ‘Buttercup?’ How could that be? She was so confident when she practiced with him a few days ago; what could have changed?
When confused bluebell eyes met his green ones, he suddenly realized he was staring at her. Quickly he cleared his throat and smiled at her, “Good Morning, Marinette.”
“A-Adrien, hi!” She stuttered, “Morning good!” she said before flushing hard, “I mean, good morning!”
He chuckled and just smiled brighter at her greeting. He was about to say more when the teacher came in and asked for their attention. He gave the girl one more smile before turning his back to her.
As he lifted his stylus to his tablet, he realized he had failed to greet Alya. He felt a little guilty for it, but surely she would understand? Even not, he will make sure to say ‘hi’ to her at lunch.
He nodded to himself in satisfaction. After all, to have a good friend is to be a good friend. If he ever slips up, he will do whatever he can to fix it.
At that thought, it turned to the conversation he overheard when Alya and Marinette came into the classroom.
Why is she giving up on confessing to “Buttercup?” Surely training with Chat helped? But what if it didn’t? What if all the slip-ups and interruptions cause her to lose confidence?
But wait, no.
She was fine when he left her. She was content and even thanked him for helping her. So why?
He knew it wasn’t his business...but she did kind of make it his business when she asked for his help. If he was the cause of her sudden decision not to confess, he had to fix it.
First of all, he had to think, what could he have done to cause this? He tapped his stylus to his chin as he thought, staring blankly at the chalkboard behind the teacher. All he could think of was them having a good time together.
Sure, they had blunders when she first called him over, but then they went to the cinema together. They had a nice time as friends. They even opened up to one another about their failed love lives.
That seemed to be a recurring theme. He realized as he thought back to the first time they talked about love on her balcony. He felt a small smile form on his lips.
He was so upset because Ladybug didn’t come to meet him at the time, but he realized now that it was silly. He was selfish and only thought about his feelings and not his Lady’s. Though it was like a punch to the gut when Ladybug revealed her love for another guy, he still looked back on that night fondly. Marinette just had that effect of making a sad situation a bit brighter.
Even just a few days ago, when he was heartbroken over giving up Ladybug, she came to him to cheer him up. Though her behavior was confusing and her tossing the nice pottery wheel in the trash seemed a bit...odd, she still tried to be there for him. She was such a good friend.
He remembered the way her eyes lit up at the sight of the candlelit and flower-covered roof that night and the gentle smile she flashed at him when she realized he did all that. He remembered how his heart jumped with joy with the idea that he made her happy despite her also being sad.
She was disappointed about a boy….could it have been the mysterious “Buttercup?”
He frowned. Could it be that she liked this guy for so long and he didn’t notice? What kind of friend was he to miss that?? He saw Nino’s crush from a mile away, but he was so blind to Marinette’s?
“...Well, he missed Ladybug’s too.” He thought bitterly before letting out a sigh. He needed to work harder to be a better friend. Not just to Ladybug but all of his friends, starting with Ladybug and Marinette.
He felt himself fill with determination and straightened his back in his seat.
He will help her with “Buttercup” or die trying.
...well...not die. But he will do all he can do to help.
Her happiness was all that mattered, and if this boy made her happy, he would be the best wingman ever!
He dropped his stylus and snuck a glance at the girl behind him. She was biting her lip as she concentrated on the notes she was taking for the class he should be paying attention to. Her brows knitted together as she thought before her eyes brightened, and she started to write again.
He blinked when he realized he was bent down for too long and quickly sat up in his seat and started to write notes of his own. Though after missing half of the lecture, it seemed kind of useless. Maybe he could ask Marinette to share her notes with him after class?
Maybe he could get some information about “Buttercup” from her then as well? If he was going to be her own personal cupid, he needed something to work on.
Yes, he bit back a grin. Things were falling into place.
His thoughts were snapped to reality when the bell signaled that class was over. Quickly, he threw his stuff in his bag before turning to his friends with a grin.
“Hey, Alya.” he waved at his blogger friend and mentally let out a sigh of relief when she said “hi” back.
“Do you and Marinette want to have lunch with Nino and me today?” He asked, looking between the two.
It was brilliant. Alya obviously knew who this “Buttercup” was; who better to get information from?
He watched as Marinette’s face grew red as she tried to stutter out a response before Alya’ wrapped her arm around the girl’s shoulders and agreed for both of them.
He smiled at them, but a part of him felt sad that Marinette still felt so uncomfortable around him.
She was so different when she practiced with Chat. She was different around everyone else..what did he do to make her so nervous?
He knew she didn’t hate him, she told him, and he’s seen how she was around people she didn’t like. She was fierier when she was around Chloe and Lila, so hate was not it...but what?
Was it because he was famous? Surely she knew that fame meant nothing to him…
He couldn’t figure it out...but maybe that’s why he wanted to be her friend so badly. He couldn’t resist a mystery.
He gave her a reassuring smile in hopes of putting her at ease before waving at the girls as he and Nino walked to their next class.
Maybe in helping her confess to “Buttercup,” he could help make her more comfortable around him too. He looked forward to seeing the side of her. He’s only seen glimpses of his everyday Ladybug.
Just as he and Nino settled at their desk, a scream was heard, and the school shook.
An Akuma!
It looks like “Operation: Buttercup” would have to be put on hold.