Chapter Text
Today was the day. Marinette was finally going to tell him. She was, really. She had her speech memorized and approved by her frequent midnight visitor, Chat noir, She was wearing her lucky socks and her hair was washed. Today would officially be the day Marinette Dupain-Cheng would tell her long-time and childhood best friend Adrien Agreste that she was in love with him.
She let her hair down remembering the times that Adrien would compliment her hair when it wasn’t in her usual pigtails. A pink chiffon wrap dress that she had been working on, trying out a new style to potentially add to her online boutique collection, lay on her chaise couch. Adrien had invited her to dinner and told her he wanted to share something important with her, in person.
Normally Adrien couldn’t wait to tell her anything new and exciting in his life. When they were kids, Adrien would ask his mom to call Marinette's parents to talk to Marinette about a new toy or some new skill he had just learned. Any important event in each other’s life had been shared the moment it happened. That was until they were 13.
Marinette had been gifted the miraculous of the ladybug and a partner whom she trusted equally, if not more than her beloved Adrien. At the age of 13, the weight of the world on her shoulders didn’t allow her to tell her best friend about her duties as a superhero. However, as far as she knew, with the exception of the time, she gave the snake miraculous to Adrien and swore him to secrecy as ladybug; Or that time he was allowed to start school. However, that was due to miscommunication. Point is, Adrien hadn't kept a secret from her, nor her from him.
So you could see how it was a little nerve-wracking how the boy who told her everything was now setting a date to tell her something important. Marinette couldn’t handle her thoughts alone.
“Hey girl, I’m with Nino and you’re on speaker,” Warned the girl on the phone. “What’s up?”
“Hey Nino,” Marinette greeted her friend's boyfriend. She heard a ‘sup’ on the other side and said “This whole dinner thing is giving me anxiety.”
“You will be fine just be your normal beautiful, charming self and he’ll want to die because he wouldn’t know what to do with himself.”
A bit dramatic, Marinette rolled her eyes but smiled at her best friend. Alya was the second person she told that she was going to confess her feelings to Adrien. Always the supportive best friend, Alya encouraged Marinette, she’s been rooting for them since she started going to Francios-DuPont.
“He said he wanted to tell me something important, Als!” Marinette paced around her room, her way of trying to walk away from her thoughts but they followed her. “What if- what if he says he can’t be friends with me anymore, this wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened.”
“You’re overthinking it, and you worked around that last time, it only lasted for, like, a day.” Alya reassured her, “Besides, he wouldn’t ask you out on a date if he was just going to tell you his dad banned him from you.”
There was a point in their friendship where Adrien's father had attempted to separate Adrien from Marinette. Adrien was 10, and Marinette was 9. Emilie Agreste was a force to be reckoned with when it came to her son, once she heard of Gabriel’s meddling with her son’s friendship, she threatened to divorce him. This was months before she got sick and tragedy had yet to strike. It was an empty threat of course but Gabriel’s love for Emilie was stronger than his desire to end Adrien and Marinette’s friendship due to social status.
Gabriel was already a high-up designer with more money than a lot of people knew what to do with, a little baker girl being friends with his son wouldn’t interfere with any of his plans for Adrien.
“This isn’t a date!”
“Girl,” Alya deadpanned. “He is taking you to a fancy, expensive restaurant. On a Saturday night, at 8 pm. Just the two of you?”
“So?”
“So, it’s a date!” Alya exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Truth was, Adrien was a sweet boy who always thought of special ways they could spend time together especially if it had been a while since they hung out. Which happened more often than not nowadays. His dad has been keeping him busy this summer, it was the last summer they had before their last year in college. They kept up with each other through text but it wasn’t the same.
“Doubt it.”
“Doubt all you want girl, but this boy wants you and I am 99.9% sure this is a date by the sound of it.”
Marinette let out a sigh, she wasn’t going to get her hopes up. She ran through the script she memorized after Adrien had told her the important news, while she finished her makeup. It was a simple look to not make it seem as if she was trying too hard, she kept in mind that it was a casual dinner between friends. Her pink dress fit to the exact measurement as it was supposed to.
Once she got the text that he was in front of la boulangerie patisserie, she strapped on her wedged heels, told Tikki to hide in the clutch, and prayed that all would go well.
There he was. Adrien was standing in front of the passenger door of his car with his phone in hand, weird, his dad usually insisted that Adrien be driven around by his personal bodyguard. What if this is a date? What if Alya was right? The butterflies in her stomach fluttered up to her heart, her hands were close to shaking. She gripped her clutch with her left hand and opened the front door of the bakery. Her parents were out at a bakery convention in Bordeaux, so she had to lock up behind her. The shaking in her hands, was now obvious as she tried to slide the key into the hole. Successfully, locking the door, she walked up to him.
She was hyperaware of the clicking of her heels with each step she took. He smiled brightly at her, opening his arms for the usual bear hug they shared in greeting.
“You look beautiful, Mari.” His arms engulfed her, his frame much taller than hers. He grew up to be a man, no longer the lean, lanky boy she would poke fun of knowing she loved him no less. He had a strong build, one she wasn’t sure how he managed that considering his profession and diet. Adrien had never stepped foot in a gym as far as she was concerned and he was close to looking like a superhero.
“Thank you,” She blushed. “You look very nice tonight as well, Adrien.”
His brows furrowed and he chuckled, shaking his head and giving her a quick ‘thanks’ opening the door for her. She sat in the passenger, silently thanking whatever God was out there, that she didn’t already make a fool of herself.
“Where’s Gorilla?” Marinette asked. The name Gorilla was one they had both picked out when Gabriel had assigned him as Adrien’s bodyguard when they were 10. They asked him his name but his voice came out more in a grunt and they missed it, they both felt bad asking again when it came to the fourth time around so they kept the name Gorilla.
“I gave him the night off,” Adrien drove out of his parking space. Tapping his thumb on the steering wheel to the classical music he had put on low volume.
“I’m surprised your dad let that happen,” She meant that as a joke. Now noticing that his jaw ticked a bit when she mentioned it, she felt like she killed the mood.
“I wasn’t going to let this be up for discussion with my Father,” His voice was tight but she could tell that he was trying to make it sound casual. “Not tonight.”
“Speaking of tonight,” Marinette turned her body in her seat to look at him. He had an impeccable side profile. “What is it that you have planned Monsier Agreste, that you couldn’t have told me with a phone call?”
The tension in his jaw loosened, his lips slid to a smirk, and Marinette couldn’t help but compare him to her leather-clad partner who had the same mischievous feature. “I can’t invite my best girl to a night out?”
“With the getups, we have going on right now?” She referred to his white long-sleeve button-up, the top three buttons were undone, a silver watch on his wrist no doubt costing more than two years' worth of the clothing she sells. Black slacks and matching black shoes.
“It’s a-” He hesitated, “It’s a surprise.”
“Exciting,” Marinette smiled softly to herself hoping with everything she has that Alya was right. And if she was, she’d owe her a hundred interviews as Ladybug. The rest of the car ride was in comfortable silence despite the obvious tension that Adrien was carrying and the anxious, nervous energy Marinette tried with all her might to ease.
Adrien opened the door for Marinette and motioned for her to follow him, stopping to pay the valet and continuing on inside the restaurant. Marinette instantly felt out of place. No matter how many events, dinners, red carpets, and fashion shows she had gone to with Adrien she would never feel welcome in the environment of the upper class. She had grown up in it almost as much as Adrien, mostly as his plus one but one would think she had a better grasp of it than she really did.
Adrien placed his arm on her waist to guide and maneuver their way inside, Marinette glanced at Adrien’s face as he held onto her. The dress was slightly opened, and she felt his thumb go back and forth as a comforting gesture. He felt her stare and wanted to ease her mind. “Adrien, This place is-”
“I know,” He looked down at her. “But I’m with you, Okay?”
She nodded, confusion now coming to mind, why was he just taking her to a table? Didn’t they have to wait for a hostess to seat them? Adrien just weaved through the crowd of people waiting to be seated, like he already knew where they would be dining.
“Mari, I have to tell you something,” Adrien turned her around so her back was to the tables and his grip gentle but strict, forcing her to look only at him. “Kagami’s going to be at the table with us and whatever is said at the table- It doesn’t change anything between us.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean?