Fake It ('Til you make it)

Identity Reveal (Marinette)

Marinette recalled the day Adrien moved to London, often and painfully. She'd had the chance to stop him, but as they'd stood face to face in the airport, she'd instead embraced him, telling him he'd be amazing and she was incredibly proud of him. She'd encouraged him to follow his dream and give it a chance.

Their goodbye had been emotional, so much so that within a day of him living in London, she had already abused her powers and flown over the channel to see him, spending three days at his apartment as he went to his first rounds of auditions. She was there to eat Chinese food through the fails and celebrate his first successful call back, which led to him getting the role — as a certain famous Avenger's butt!

As they both grew busier, the visits died down and they had to make do with messages and FaceTime. She always believed he would be back one day, that he would get fed up with the Hollywood lifestyle and want to be home in Paris with his friends. But he just got more and more sought after, landing roles of a lifetime, and with each role the hope of him returning reluctantly faded away. She'd plaster on a smile when he FaceTimed, telling him he was doing so amazing and encouraging him to keep going. Then her heart would break as the call ended. He wouldn't come back – there was nothing to come back for.

She supposed she could have told him the truth, but that would have been selfish. Adrien was making something of himself and he was working damned hard for it. After he'd been manipulated for so much of his life, who was she to stop him from flying free now?

Which, inevitably, brought them to this current situation. Adrien was engaged...and not to her.

The news hit her like a weight in her chest. She caught her breath in surprise, her hands trembled with disbelief. Thoughts raced through her head, each one more painful than the last. She swallowed hard against the lump lodged in her throat, and a wave of nausea washed over her. It was as if her world had suddenly shattered, leaving her feeling lost and alone in a vast sea of uncertainty.

She thought about the last pictures she'd seen of Adrien with Elise...how close they were to each other and how happy they looked. They were a beautiful couple and she was sure she'd get over this at some point. She just needed time to process the information.

Beside her on the sofa, Adrien stretched out and grabbed her hands in his, her stomach growing more turbulent as she watched his thumb draw slow circles on her knuckles. A sudden flip and plummet and her stomach landed somewhere near Italy in a sickening crash.

Forcing a smile, she looked into those wide, glorious green eyes she dreamed about night after night, and at those perfectly peach lips she wanted to taste again — but this time remember. Only to know it would now only remain as her dream.

His lips were moving – quickly – far too quickly to be casually asking her things, which was when she realised she'd just missed the entirety of what Adrien had said, too caught up with the fact he was engaged!

"... and then she looked at my phone and saw my face and I wasn't exactly listening and I agreed that we were."

Oh wow! Even this was a new one! Had he been that much of an idiot that he'd gotten engaged by mistake?

"...so when Elise mentioned it to Lana, I just agreed again and went along with it. I'm so sorry, Marinette."

Sorry? Why was he sorry? She didn't own him. He could marry whoever he wanted without asking her. They were only partners in crime. Two peas in a pod. Two people who were truly made for each other and couldn't get out of the fricking friend zone.

She stood up, Adrien's head lifting to meet her eyes. He began to stand up with her, and he looked terrified. What did he think she was going to do? Take his Miraculous from him? Or tell him he wasn't allowed to get married?