Chapter Text
“And this morning, he bought coffee for the whole department floor! Ugh, who even does that?”
“Yes, how very dastardly,” Alya’s voice was obviously amused. “Clearly part of his nefarious plan to poison all his dad’s employees.”
“Alyaaaaaaaa,” Marinette whined into her cell phone. She pouted as Alya’s snickers filled the phone line, kicking her feet over the side of the railing. Gabriel headquarters was tall and sleek, standing out from most of the old Parisian architecture. It was a little too...modern for Marinette’s tastes, all black and white and with miles of glass, but she loved the rooftop patio. It reminded her of her childhood balcony. Tikki sat on her knee, munching quietly on a cookie.
“Girl, I think you’re just looking for reasons to hate him.” Alya said, bringing Marinette back to the issue at hand. “This Adrien guy seems pretty nice from what I hear. Just because you think his dad might be Hawkmoth...”
“There is a very high possibility!” Marinette hissed.
“Might be Hawkmoth, though you have no proof, it doesn’t mean that Adrien’s even in on it on the off-chance his dad is a supervillian.”
“But what if he is?” Marinette twisted around and jumped down from the railing so she could pace. “We know he’s got at least one...partner,” Marinette’s eyes darted around, but she didn’t see anyone else up there. She heaved a sigh. “It would just make sense for it to be his son.”
Alya hummed over the line. “That may be true, but don’t jump to conclusions. A good reporter,”
“Always checks her sources, I know.”
“Actually, I was going to say ‘keeps an open mind’.” Alya laughed. Marinette groaned. “Just...keep your eyes and ears open, and try not to cling to prejudices, okay? I’ll keep digging to see if I can find anything outside.”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks Alya.”
“Anytime,” Alya said. “Anyway, isn’t your lunch break almost over?”
Marinette looked at the time on her phone and shrieked. “Crap!” Alya’s laughter was abruptly cut off as Marinette ended the call and shoved the phone in her purse. “Hide, Tikki!” she whisper-shouted and after Tikki dove into her purse, Marinette booked it inside.
Marinette slid into her desk in record time, red-faced and chest heaving. She quickly tried to fix her fly-away hair, smoothing it down behind her ears. Of all days to leave it down--!
“Hey Marinette, are you doing okay? You look a bit...”
Marinette glanced up with dread. Adrien Agreste himself, looking stupidly perfect with his stupid blond hair and stupid green eyes and stupid matching tie that set his eyes off perfectly, was leaning over her desk, looking stupidly concerned. “I’m fine, Mr. Agreste.” Marinette said shortly. “...thank you for concern.”
Her gave her an (obviously fake) kind smile. “Hey, I’ve told you, you can call me Adrien. Mr. Agreste is my father.”
Marinette restrained the urge to scoff. Could he be any more phony? No one is really that nice, especially not to a random nobody who works for his father. “Is there something you needed, Mr. Agreste?”
Adrien huffed a small sigh, smiling and reaching back to rub his neck. Cute, Marinette’s heart thought. Calculating, her brain retorted.
“Um, yeah. Marketing wants you to process these papers, please.” Adrien said, proffering a thin folder of documents.
Marinette reached out to grab them, eyebrows raised. “And you couldn’t get someone to deliver them? I thought Marketing had an intern too.”
Two spots of color appeared high on Adrien’s cheeks. “Oh, um, I offered. I, uh, wanted to stretch my legs a bit.”
“Right,” Marinette said. She gave him a bright, professional smile. There was no way she was going to lose this internship by being outright rude to the boss’s son. “Well, thank you for delivering this, Mr. Agreste,” she said, placing the file in her ‘to-do’ pile. “I’ll be sure to get right on it.”
Adrien perked up, his eyes shining. (Cute! her heart insisted.) “Great! Uh...I was gonna go down to the cafeteria. Did you want to maybe grab a coffee with me?”
“Thank you, but I just took my break,” Marinette said, her professional smile tight. “I really should get started on this. Gabriel doesn’t really tolerate inefficiency, after all.”
Adrien noticeably drooped. “Oh, right, of course. Sorry. I’ll, um, leave you to it.”
He gave her awkward wave and nearly ran out the door.
“Wow, Marinette,” Melina, one of Marinette’s co-workers said, leaning over her own desk. “Break his heart, why don’t you?”
Marinette rolled her eyes. “For the last time, Mel, he doesn’t have a thing for me.”
“He invited you to coffee.”
“He’s just over-eager with his whole...” Marinette paused to wave her hands, “getting-to-know you....thing.”
“Uh huh,” Melina pushed her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “His thing. Where he just happens to be in here every day, generally with a coffee for you.”
“He bought coffee for the whole floor!” Marinette insisted, her face flushed as she determinedly grabbed the folder off the pile and opened it up.
“Yeah, ‘cause you told him yesterday when he brought just you coffee that it was ‘weird’ that the boss’s son brought it for you and no one else,” Melina retorted. “Look, I’m just saying...if you want to get hired after this internship, getting tight with the Agrestes’ isn’t a bad idea.”
“If I get a job after this internship, it’ll be because I earned it,” Marinette said as she started to type. “Also, I really don’t have time for guys.” She thought wistfully of a black mask and a wide grin, then shook her head to banish the thought.
“You’re going to work your life away,” Melina said sympathetically. “Do you really want to be lonely forever?”
“I’m fine,” Marinette said firmly. “Now, can you help me with this report? I’m not really sure about...”
She was fine. She wasn’t lonely. She had Chat, didn’t she? Even if it wasn’t what she wanted, it was enough.
“Do you think I’m annoying, bugaboo?”
They were both sat on the highest point of the Eiffel Tower, their city spread out before them. Lights were flickering on in the twilight, lighting up the city like a jewel box, with the Seine a rippling ribbon of gold running between them.
“Well, your puns can get pretty annoying,” Ladybug laughed. When she took in Chat’s hangdog expression, she backtracked. “I mean, only sometimes. Most of the time you’re fine! I mean, the puns are fine! I mean...” she paused in her awkward rambling at the half-hearted chuckling from her partner. “Kitten, what’s wrong?”
“It’s just....there’s this girl at my f-- at my work,” he said, looking down. Ladybug felt her heart clench.
“A...girl?”
“Yeah. She just started a little while ago. She’s just...so amazing! She really gets the industry, and she’s so passionate, and she’s always going out of her way to help people...”
“She sounds pretty incredible,” Ladybug said quietly. Chat heaved out a sigh and Ladybug felt her heart start to crumble at the edges. She was fine.
“She kind of reminds me of you,” Chat said with a sad smile. “I want to get to know her, but she doesn’t seem to like me much.”
“She what?” Ladybug’s eyes flashed, outraged. “How can she not like you? You’re funny, and handsome, and....”
Chat laughed, leaning against her shoulder. “Thanks, Bug,” he said, reaching out to twist her fingers in his. “I’m really glad it’s you that’s my partner. You’re a great friend.”
“Right,” Ladybug said. She gave his hand a squeeze, as her heart crumbled just a bit more. She was fine. Even if she had missed her chance with him. “You and me against the world, right?”
“Always,” Chat told her, squeezing her hand back.
“And if you need me to give this girl a talking to...”
Chat started to snicker, before breaking out into full-out laughter. “That’s my lady,” he said fondly. “You always know how to cheer me up.”
But I’m not, really , Ladybug thought, behind a bright, fake smile. You’re looking for a new lady. You don’t want me like that anymore. God, she was such a moron.
“Anyways,” Chat said, straightening up, “how’s the search for Hawkmoth? You got a new lead, didn’t you?”
Ladybug briefly mourned the loss of the warm presence pressing into her side, and tightened her grip on his fingers. “Yeah, I got a job at his workplace not long ago,” she said. “Nothing yet, but I haven’t had much of a chance to dig.”
“I wish I knew who you were considering,” Chat said. “I hate to think of you there by yourself without backup.”
“Thanks kitty,” Ladybug said. “But I can handle it. I’ll let you know if I learn anything, okay?” She looked out across the Parisian skyline as the sun sunk beneath the horizon. “But for now, it’s best I stay quiet, so we don’t have an identity slip. Can you trust me for now?”
“Always,” Chat said, and his smile warmed her heart.