Chapter Text
Movies, movies, I want a love like the movies.
“Oh and now he’s going to say ‘You’re the only one for me.’ Typical!”
“Marinette,” Adrien laughed, his hand coming up to lightly smooth out the wrinkles on her scrunched-up forehead. “It’s just a movie, my lady. Let them get together and be happy!”
“It’s just so cheesy ,” Marinette mumbled as she stuffed her face with the greasy pizza they had ordered.
Adrien grinned at her unintentional pun and took a swig out of the bottle of wine they were sharing. He loved nights like these when he could sleep over at Marinette’s new apartment. She moved in only a month ago, and yet somehow, she managed to make the small, slightly cramped space seem spacious and full of life. If only fourteen-year-old Adrien could see him now. He’s probably faint at the idea of having a sleepover with Ladybug.
“Says the one who chose the movie.”
I look at you like you're perfect for me
If you are the diamond, then I am the ring
All of our friends think of us jealously
We’re so sweet, so sweet
Adrien smirked and Marinette responded by halfheartedly swatting at his shoulder. She slumped back against the couch and cuddled into his side, her head fitting perfectly in the crook of his neck. They could be doing anything together—reading, walking, cuddling—and he’d still be convinced they were made for each other. It was in the way her body fit perfectly against his or they somehow always matched each other’s pace without thought.
He instantly relaxed into her and craned his neck as subtly as he could to breathe in more deeply the sweet smell of her shampoo. Watermelon. An unconventional scent, but one that made him think of summertime and late-night walks along the Seine all the same.
“You know, our friends say the same thing about us.”
He felt Marinette pull away slightly from him and his arm quickly wiggled its way around her waist, pulling her closer than she was before. “Must be all your cheesy pickup lines and puns, Chaton. ”
She booped his nose gently and laughed when his eyes crossed to follow her finger.
“And yet they always make you smile. Can’t leave that part out, you know.”
Built us a world and I gave you the key
Still can't believe that this isn't a dream
If it were up to him, he’d come up with a million more ways to make her smile. Dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower? Easy! He just had to make a few phone calls and it would be arranged. Or, he could borrow her miraculous and transform her into Mister Bug to equip the magical yoyo with all the essentials for a picnic anywhere they wanted.
Everything he was was for her. She only had to say the word and he would make all their romantic dreams a reality, no matter what it took.
Adrien half expected her to roll her eyes and shush him for interrupting the movie. It wouldn’t be the first time. All he heard was her quiet hum of agreement before she reached behind her to grab his arm and move it up to rest on her shoulders.
It was a simple gesture, one she’d done before, but it never failed to make him close his eyes and take a calming breath before he could do something embarrassing, like tackle her into a hug and kiss her senseless.
It had been almost a year since the reveal, but they still never talked about what exactly they were. As much as he wanted to profess his undying love and propose right then and there, he knew they were still trying to find a new sense of normalcy since the fall of Shadow Moth.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and shifted on the couch. It was pointless and stupid to think about all of that when he was perfectly content. It was fine. He was fine. He squeezed Marinette just a little bit tighter before turning off the TV when the ending credits rolled around. He hadn’t even noticed he missed the ending of the film.
“Alright, time for bed!” Marinette cheered, jumping off the couch
They quickly threw everything into trash bags and headed for the bathroom to start their nightly routine. They giggled in the bathroom mirror as they brushed their teeth and danced along to the music from Adrien’s phone in their pajamas. He gently lathered her face in his favorite cleanser and she made silly faces at him to make him smile while she lazily braided her hair.
When they were done, Adrien padded back towards the couch and rubbed his eyes tiredly as he bid Marinette goodnight, only for her to call him back.
“A-Adrien? Why don’t you—”
He turned around and eyed her curiously.
She took a deep breath before blurting all at once “Youcansleeponmybed.”
You can sleep on my bed .
Adrien took in her pink cheeks ( god he wanted to kiss them) and felt his own cheeks darken at the thought of them sleeping together. Innocently, of course. He had no intention of—well he did want to one day, but—
He pursed his lips in embarrassment. He knew she couldn’t hear his mental rambling, but he didn’t want to give anything away to risk Marinette changing her mind.
Would he be able to wrap his arms around her waist from behind as she drifted off to sleep? Would he accidentally steal the blanket and wake up to her cuddling into his side to keep warm?
Oh, Marinette was going to be the death of him.
Falling in love with a damn fantasy
That’s so me, so me
But I’ve been livin’ life in fiction
“It’s not weird, right? I mean we are just friends. Heh.”
All of Adrien’s previous thoughts came to a screeching halt and his mouth fell open in shock. He didn’t actually think this was her way of approaching the possibility of a relationship, but it still stung to hear her chalk up their relationship to a mere friendship.
You also called her a friend when you were younger, his mind chided.
Karma’s a bitch.
“Ye-es, of course.” He grimaced at the way his voice faltered.
“That’s what friends do at sleepovers, right?”
“Right!”
Marinette’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly as if to add something else before she spun on her heel and marched towards her bedroom.
He felt frozen to the spot, unable to follow after her. Everything they did was so close to what couples did; it was easy to pretend they were in love and together. But it seemed that no matter how much he tried to convince himself that they were possible, he wasn’t quite good enough to be the one for her.
So he did what he always has when he felt lost.
He followed her.
In my head, we're dancing in the dark
In my head, we kiss under the stars
But we know that's not what we're doing
'Causе, baby, this ain't like the movies
In the end, the only ones that cuddled together were Plagg and Tikki. They both shared the little bed Marinette made Tikki, and he could hear Plagg’s snores from his side of Marinette’s bed, perfectly oblivious to the tension in the room. Lucky bastard.
Adrien turned his head slowly and squinted to make out Marinette’s figure in the darkness. She was curled up in a ball and had her back to him. It looked to him as if she was about to fall off her side of the bed, so he gently tugged on their shared blanket and watched with bated breath as she mumbled in her sleep and rolled onto her other side to face him.
He couldn’t help the breathless laugh that escaped him. He was such a goner for her. Absolutely everything she did, even unconscious, was enough to squeeze his heart to bits and put it back together again.
Her dark hair shone in the smallest beams of moonlight that filtered through her window curtains, and he ached to trace her features with his fingers. His hand trembled as he reached for her, but a sudden light flashed from Marinette’s nightstand and he withdrew just as he felt the soft peach fuzz of her cheeks.
He didn’t know who was calling her so late at night, but he was grateful for the interruption.
Friends didn’t caress each other lovingly.
He rolled onto his opposite side and stared at the darkness of Marinette’s room, desperately trying to tune out the sound of her breathing and praying he wouldn’t dream of her.
We go to parties with people you know
We’re holding hands, but it’s all just for show
'Cause Monday through Friday, we both barely spoke
Adrien scrolled mindlessly on his phone as he waited in his car outside Marinette’s apartment. She hasn’t spoken to him much since their sleepover, so he tried to ask her if she had time to hang out after work. She said she was busy every day, and he preferred not to push further in case she was uncomfortable with him now.
He checked his text messages and saw his last message, letting her know he was downstairs and waiting for her. He scrolled through the conversation and found nothing beyond the occasional cat meme or questions about what Marinette should wear for today.
Slowly but surely, their brand began to grow as Marinette’s astounding creations generated buzz in the fashion world. Adrien had managed to snag an invitation to a fancy brunch for up-and-coming designers, and he immediately reserved seats for both him and Marinette. It was the kind of event he always hated going to when he was younger, but the knowledge that Marinette would be there too made him almost excited to promote their small business and connect with big names in the fashion industry for all kinds of future possibilities.
He let Marinette know ahead of time that he would wear navy blue trousers and a vest atop his white button-up in the hopes that she would dress to match him, and he was not disappointed. He quickly opened his door when he saw her and jogged around the car to open the passenger door. His eyes roamed her figure in the navy blue maxi dress adorned with blush pink floral print. He could see the freckles that adorned her shoulders and the cute pink kitten heels she wore and blushed when he realized he was checking her out.
“Hey, beautiful.” Adrien bowed and extended his arm with a flourish when he froze in realization. “I-I didn’t mean that! I mean you do look beautiful, but I didn’t mean to call you that and—”
He stopped when he felt her lips hastily press against his cheek. He gaped at her as she quickly settled in the car seat and closed the car door by herself. She lowered the window and giggled at him.
“Well come on then! We’re running late, Monsieur Agreste!”
Adrien blinked at that before hastily making his way back towards his side of the car and revving the engine. “That’s not my fault,” he mumbled sheepishly.
“Oh wait let me just—”
Marinette placed her phone on her lap before twisting in her seat to place a pair of backup shoes in the back of the car. Her phone screen flashed, and Adrien’s eyes flitted towards the screen and read the notification on impulse.
“Ready?” Marinette asked after her seatbelt clicked into place.
Adrien didn’t bother responding before he stepped on the gas.
They don’t know, they can't know
Adrien stood with his back against a tree trunk, swirling the sparkling apple cider he grabbed from the refreshment table as he eyed the guests. He knew he looked pathetic, standing in the corner and brooding.
But he had already walked around with Marinette, hand in hand as they introduced themselves to everyone. He sat down and indulged the older ladies with their need to comment on how cute Adrien and Marinette looked together, as much as those particular comments rubbed salt in the wound. He had the model smile plastered on all morning, and all he wanted was to go home. Maybe curl up in his bed with the drapes shut in his favorite hoodie. His depression hoodie, as he jokingly called it. Even though Nino liked the skull design, he still frowned at the nickname. The thought made Adrien chuckle.
“There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”
He shut his eyes tight at the sound of Marinette’s voice and forced himself to not do something stupid like yell or cry when he looked at her. “I’ve been here the whole time.”
She flinched at his irritated tone and blinked repeatedly at him. The rational part of his mind knew it was ridiculous to feel satisfaction at her reaction, but the louder, pettier part of him wanted to draw out a similar reaction again.
“Ohhhkay,” she drawled hesitantly. “We can leave if you want. I’ve already said goodbye to everyone so we’re good to go if you want to hang out at my place. Or we can go out; my treat!”
He glanced at Marinette out of the corner of his eye, guilt and excitement and irritation swirling together in his heart when he caught her bright smile. Before he could further confuse himself, he grabbed ahold of her hand and led her back to the car. He opened her car door and shut it as soon as she sat down, ignoring her confused stares.
The drive back to her apartment was painfully awkward, the air thick with tension. He probably could have avoided that by playing music or having some sort of background noise, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He just wanted the day to be over with.
But it seemed Marinette had other plans when she refused to get out of the car when he dropped her off.
“A-Adrien? Is something wrong?”
It scared him to realize he didn’t find her stutter adorable. On the contrary, it made him feel even more helpless.
“You seem distant, kitty. Please talk to me. Did something happen?”
Where did he even begin?
That just on the drive here, I was looking through your texts
I was screaming my damn head off how you still love your ex
“Okay look,” he started. He took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists in an attempt to calm himself enough to have a calm conversation. “I didn’t mean to look, okay? But I glanced at your phone and I saw your text.” He gestured at her phone and rubbed a hand over his face. Just thinking about it made his fingers feel numb and his stomach lurched anxiously over her reaction.
She dug her phone out of her purse, her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she tapped at the screen to read her text.
[Kagami <3] Marinette, could you please bring me my clothes when you have the chance? Despite being at your apartment every day this past week, I keep forgetting to bring them back home with me. Thank you in advance. <3
Marinette hadn’t read Kagami’s text and inhaled sharply when she realized what had been bothering him.
And you say that it's over, but why does she call you
At 3 AM and 4 AM?
That's a funny way of staying friends
“Oh, Kitty, I— I’m sorry. I know you kept asking me to hang out after work but I already had plans with Kagami.”
When it came to Kagami, Adrien didn’t quite know where he stood. Whatever thing she had with Marinette ended months ago, but it was clear the girls were still incredibly close. They never explicitly said they were dating, but it was clear to anyone with eyes that their relationship changed and deepened. Occasional meet-ups became almost daily, and no one even knew Kagami was even capable of being flirty until they saw Marinette tuck her hair behind her ear with flushed cheeks.
Whatever their relationship was, Adrien envied it. He wanted to make Marinette blush when he flirted, not just make her groan and roll her eyes at him. He wanted to be the one she spent nearly every day with. Yes, they did see each other at the office every day, but it didn’t compare to the comfortable rhythm they had when they weren’t stressed over the seasonal line or shipments of fabric. They could just be Marinette and Adrien, not co-founders of a small business.
“I get that Marinette but… why didn’t you just tell me? I would have understood, but instead, it felt like you were blowing me off for her.”
“Aww kitty, don’t tell me you’re jealous of Kagami?”
His head snapped up to meet her gaze. Her head was tilted down as she looked up at him through her lashes with a smirk.
Was she seriously teasing him? Now , when he was genuinely upset? He spent the whole week afraid she was mad at him and avoiding him, only to find out she was perfectly happy with someone else. Hell, for all he knew, Kagami was the one who called her late at night during their sleepover as he built up the courage to reach out to her and trace the constellation of freckles that he ached to memorize up close.
Marinette had no reason to hide her, so why didn’t she come clean with him? Did she not trust him?
Baby, we lost all the love that we had
And I can't pretend it'll ever come back
And I think you're seeing right through me
Maybe Adrien just wasn’t important enough to know if Marinette and Kagami were together again. He could respect their privacy, of course; both of their friendships were too important to him to risk losing. Especially Marinette, his favorite person.
Maybe he was just overreacting. He and Marinette didn’t have to hang out all the time. Maybe it was enough to see her at work every day, and he was selfish to hope she would fall in love with him if they spent quality time together. After all, Ladybug never fell in love with Chat Noir, so why would Marinette be any different with Adrien?
That, baby, this ain't like the movies
Coming to terms with that thought would be hard, but maybe it was for the best. No one liked being stuck in a love triangle with no clue as to who will make it out happy and who will barely make it out with scars.
So he pulled himself together just long enough to force his lips to quirk into a smirk and leaned back against his car window.
“Should I be jealous? Has someone already stolen my lady’s heart?”
Please say no, please say no, please say no.
“Silly Kitty.”
She leaned in and rubbed her nose against his in a featherlight touch before climbing out of the car and grabbing all her things.
“Catch you later, Adrien!”
He sighed, watching her wave at him and walk into her apartment building with blank eyes. Just like that, everything around him got a little bit dimmer now that she wasn’t with him.
And I want a love like the movies.
“ You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you .”
Adrien whimpered and burrowed deeper into his favorite blanket. He threw his empty box of cookies at the television in front of his bed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, staining his depression hoodie with snot and tears. He grimaced at the mess he made before shrugging. He had to do laundry anyway.
“See Plagg? That’s love right there. I hate it,” Adrien sniffled.
“That? Pfffft. Those are just pretty words.”
Adrien turned to his Kwami next to him and blinked through his tears to see Plagg lying on his stomach, eyes glued to the TV.
“You’re right Plagg, that’s all it is. Beautiful words that mean nothing .”
He patted the blankets until he found the remote control and smashed the off button repeatedly until the screen faded to black, leaving him in the darkness of his room. He leaned back and fell onto his bed, the tears he shed while he watched Pride and Prejudice now drying and feeling sticky on his face. He replayed his favorite scenes in his mind, his heart clenching painfully at the reminder of what he didn’t have. What he might never have.
“You know what though,” Adrien croaked.
“It would be nice to have someone say pretty words to me one day.”