He Can't Forget | ✓

10 | beating around the bush

Marinette had a feeling Adrien was starting to catch on.

She caught him looking at her more often than just any friend would, and every time she caught his eyes, he would never look away in embarrassment like most would when caught in the act of staring. Instead, Adrien continued to stare at her head on, as if silently challenging her with only the blazing look in his eye. She thought it to be rather confusing at first, because she had no idea what his looks meant—so she offered him a similar look, because Marinette was never one to lose a challenge.

When she did that, Adrien's expression seemed to change into one of absolute confidence to one of definite nervousness and eventually... jealously as the day went on.

She noticed the jealousy as clear as crystal. The moment Adrien discovered Luka was there, his entire demeaner changed. He had his gaze set on Luka, hard and calculated. She could also feel his eyes on her most of the time. He wasn't as friendly with Luka as most of his friends knew him to be, and the question that left Adrien's lips regarding if they were dating had Marinette choking and struggling to breathe. Thankfully, Luka was able to answer calmly on her behalf, but that didn't stop Marinette from wondering why that mattered to Adrien so much.

The rest of the day played out in similar awkwardness. Truthfully, Marinette hadn't exactly wanted Luka to stay for their movie night, but when Nino insisted and Luka happily agreed to the invite, there wasn't much she could do or say to object without hurting Luka's feelings. So, she forced herself to smile for the entire duration of the movie. She could tell Adrien wasn't too thrilled with the idea either—if his obvious pouting was anything to go by. But even despite not feeling comfortable with the notion of spending so much time beside Luka, she found a genuine smile pulling at her lips when Marinette happened to glance over at Adrien sometime during the movie... finding her daughter's head leaned against him, slowly falling asleep against his bicep.  He seemed to sense her watching him, because just as quickly, his head lifted and their eyes met. As soon as they did, he smiled softly at her.

The sight warmed Marinette's heart. And it made her realize that deep down... no matter how much she wished she could ignore it, she still had feelings for Adrien and wanted to be a family with him.

Because of this realization, Marinette decided that the first step she needed to make was letting go of all the grudges she held against Chat Noir... even if she wasn't quite ready to give up on the game she had created.

So, she met him once more on the Eiffel Tower late one night.

When Ladybug landed, Chat Noir was already there, pacing back and forth in a nervous manner with his hands clasped behind his back. Once he heard her soft landing and careful footsteps of approach, his head whipped up to find her eyes, and his own held grief in his irises.

The look in his eyes broke her in more ways than she would've liked to admit.

"Ladybug... I—"

She didn't give him a chance to finish whatever he'd been trying to say. Instead, she rushed towards him, pulling him into a tight hug that would've been clearly unexpected for him. Chat Noir let out a surprised grunt, as if the air had been monetarily knocked out of him, but then she felt his arms move to wrap around her, and when his chin came to rest atop of her head, she heard him let out a shuddered, relieved sigh.

She buried her face further into his chest. "Chat Noir, I'm so sorry."

"You're sorry?" He let out a confused chuckle that sounded more hurt than it did amused. "I'm the one who should be sorry... I'm the one who left you all alone—"

"Chat, you weren't obligated to stay by my side for the rest of my life."

He didn't answer her, but the choked sob that he couldn't keep in was a sign that he still felt guilty. And she had been the one to make him feel guilty for it.