Forbidden Love That Wasn't

Adrien (part 4)

There were times when Adrien wondered if Plagg really did know best. Today was one of those days. Lying on his bed, exhausted after a week of fashion photo shoots and catwalks, Adrien stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours. Tomorrow will be the end of the Paris' Fashion Week. Tomorrow will be the only afterparty he planned to attend with both, his friends and his girlfriend, but something- everything felt wrong.

It started on the first day of the Fashion Week, the week that has been officially marked as the days when Adrien wasn't able to stop thinking of anything and anyone but Marinette no matter what he did. Marinette who, by the way, was supposed to be his assistant for the whole week but whom his father replaced with his regular helper without notice and at the last minute. When Adrien had called and asked her about it, Marinette explained that her boss had demanded that she shadowed him throughout the whole event, obviously for the sake of her education. She had also whispered right before hanging up that she'd suspected that Nathalie had been bluntly charged with watching her and making sure she was to remain by his father's side at all times. Apparently, by stepping away, Marinette could miss something important, and Gabriel couldn't afford that. The usage of her cell phone was limited to absolute emergencies. Even her trips to the lady's room were meticulously timed.

"I'll text you in the evening," Marinette said. "But don't worry, you'll do great."

And that was about the extent of how much Adrien heard her voice for the whole week. He had to admit that sudden development was a bit upsetting but Adrien looked at the bright side – without Marinette around him as a reminder that he still hadn't confessed to knowing certain things about her feelings, he could give his undivided attention to Kagami and make everything perfect, just as she wanted.

And so, the Fashion Week had started. Adrien did everything required of him. He modelled his father's clothes, walked runways, posed for pictures, gave interviews, attended a few shows with Kagami by his side, dined with her and a few other of his colleagues almost every other day and smiled. Smiled even though something seemed off. Something was missing. Something wasn't right. The less he tried to think about it the more it insisted and intruded. The more he pushed it away, the more violently it came back until he finally collapsed on his bed on the eve of the Fashion Week's last day. The clock showed one in the morning, but he still couldn't sleep, helplessly staring at the ceiling because he finally had to admit to himself what was missing.

Marinette.

Marinette was missing. Sure, they texted a few times, but it wasn't the same. He was lucky enough to have caught a few glimpses of her, but that wasn't the same. There was no smile just for him on her face, no boxes with his sweets in her hands, no words meant solely for his ears on her lips, no gentle, soothing hugs. Adrien groaned. He needed Marinette. He needed her presence. He didn't even realize how much he did until she was ripped out of his life and he was left alone. The Marinette-less world was not something he liked very much. Even those few times he met with Ladybug did nothing to ease the ache. By now he was used already to seeing his partner only every so often. Hawkmoth's activity ceased a few years back and gradually their daily patrols diminished as well. Now they went out probably only once or twice a week, sometimes even once in two weeks, depending on how busy they both were. Adrien slowly got used to that, but he wasn't accustomed to having no Marinette around. She was always there, especially since she started to work for his father.

"Maybe you should take another shower?" Plagg snickered from his place beside him. "You seem to be quite fond of them lately."

"Shut up, Plagg," Adrien grumbled and tossed around. Dang. The need for showers didn't subdue that much, despite the time passing and Marinette being away. Almost every time he thought of her- Adrien groaned, buried his head under his pillow and started to count backwards from a hundred. Forgetting that photo shoot would take a little longer than he thought. It was getting better actually, but then his father just had to take Marinette away. Adrien figured it would be for the best. He really hoped that focusing on Kagami-