Unclean Hands 🫴🏻 (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction)

3 | Stuck With You

Two Weeks Before

Marinette stood by the front steps of Collège Françoise Dupont and waited for Adrien. She held two ham and swiss croissant sandwiches from the bakery, still warm.

His car pulled up and she was already waving as Adrien climbed out of the backseat. He waved back with a smile.

Being friends for years now had really helped Marinette and Adrien get more comfortable with each other.

The young girl never stuttered, stammered, or went off track whenever she spoke to Adrien. She started treating him like a friend—and not an obsessed-crazed fan like before—and really got to know him. She learned his favorite movies, books, and music. She learned how many languages he spoke and the hair products he used. Marinette learned those things by Adrien sharing those things with her, and not her finding out on her own. Whenever she thought of her old ways, she cringed—rightfully so—and vowed to never treat Adrien, or another crush, that way again. Thankfully for her, she was already friends and partners with Cat Noir when she started crushing on him.

As for Adrien, he began to see Marinette in a new light. He knew she was special, and not just a simple friend anymore. No, she was someone he trusted with his secrets—well, most of them, at least—and he could always count on her. He saw past her shyness, her clumsiness, and knocked down her guarded walls. He got to know the young girl for who she truly was and what he admired most about her: bravery, dedication, creativity, loyalty, determination, and selflessness. Adrien slowly fell in love with Marinette over the years and she became someone he respected and loved most.

"Good morning, Adrien," She said with a big smile.

"Good mor—" He paused as he noticed the good-smelling sandwiches in her hands. His stomach growled immensely. He hadn't eaten anything in almost a day. "Those smell amazing."

"Thank you. One's for you."

As she handed him the extra sandwich, Adrien hesitated to take it. If I eat this now, I don't have to eat later. He had convinced and trained his brain into believing at least eating once a day was better than eating nothing at all. Some days, though, he didn't follow this rule. But today, he was hungry and a very pretty girl was offering it to him, so he couldn't say no.

"I woke up extra early to make these," She added.

"I love you," He blurted out before he could give his brain permission to speak.

Marinette giggled and unconsciously tucked loose hair behind her ear. Adrien had gotten more comfortable being affectionate with her—after all, they were very close now—so she never took his sweet words too close to heart. Though, sometimes she couldn't tell if Adrien was flirting or simply being nice.

Adrien was flirting with her.

Now for the real reason I was waiting for Adrien... All night she tossed and turned, wondering what to do about her two crushes, and she had decided on confessing to Adrien. How could she know for sure if she was never honest about her feelings? She pushed down her fear and cleared her throat. "I-I also wanted to talk to you about something... before class starts."

He paused mid-bite. "What's up?"

"Actually, somewhere more private."

Adrien understood and nodded. He followed her to the school's boiler room. Whenever they needed privacy—for who knows what—or a break from Lila and Chloe, they'd come here and spend their time together.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Adrien asked as they faced each other.

You can do this, Marinette. "Something that's been on my mind a long, long time." She emphasized that word with a raised eyebrow.