That Night

Chapter 14

The next day Adrien was walking to school with a spring in his step. He was climbing up the steps to the front door when he heard chaos ensue. He looked behind him to see all his classmates running around, fleeing from a newly akumatized victim.

Adrien sighed. He was so ready to talk to Marinette, but duty called, and he had to save the day. He quickly ran to an alley and called out to Plagg, "claws out." Green lights flew around him and his black leather suit flew to cover most of his skin.

He gave his iconic smirk before running to face the akuma. He arrived at the scene of the crime at the same time as the partner that he adored. He grinned flirtatiously at her then grabbed her hand as they stood to talk to the villain.

Most of the school ran into the school and began their classes despite the battle outside the school building. But Marinette and Adrien spent their first period fighting off that day's akuma in their hero forms.

They destroyed the object holding the akuma and purified the butterfly. But Adrien's mind was elsewhere. He was thinking of his Bugaboo. She was in her element today; she was shining as she swung around the city to defeat the akumatized villain. Several time Chat Noir stumbled because he was so distracted by looking at the love of his life and daydreaming about their future together.

But these thoughts brought about doubts in his mind. What about Marinette? He truly liked Marinette and wanted to spend time with her, but he absolutely loved His Lady and he loved the baby growing within her. He felt he had a responsibility for Ladybug, and even more than that, he wanted to take care of her, but he couldn't deny that he had feeling for Marinette.

He sighed as he came to a decision. He would have to keep his relationship with Marinette strictly in the friendzone. He had to take care of Ladybug and would do so willingly, but he would be disappointed that he had to let Marinette go.

After they got the victim set away and comforted, they ran around to a corner to talk for a moment before they de-transformed and went back on with their day.

"I love you, My Lady." He leaned toward her and kissed her cheek gently.

"I love you too." She grinned at him and squeezed his hand.

"You be safe, and I'll see you tonight for patrol." He put his hand on her stomach and leaned down to hug it. He gave her another quick peck on before he used his staff to propel himself away and toward a safe place for him to transform.

After the two transformed back to students they headed to class, both rushing into their respective rooms at the same time, unbeknownst to the other.

Adrien spent the rest of his day scowling and frowning. He had spent so much time thinking about how he would spend time with Marinette and what he would say, but now he knew that he couldn't spend time with her alone without being tempting to become the only man to take care her baby. He would have to avoid alone time with her, so that he could remain devoted to his Lady.

Marinette noticed Adrien's odd state. She wanted to comfort him but she, like Adrien, was trying to maintain her devotion to her crush's alter-ego. She was worried that if she got too close to Adrien she would forget about Chat Noir, and even though it took her a while to realize it, she knew now that she loved him. She truly did want to be with him and raise Louis with him.

She started breathing quickly as she thought about talking to Chat and telling him all these things and about giving up on her longtime crush. She was desperate, she needed the comfort of her best friend. She grabbed Alya's arm and pulled her up. "I need to talk to you," she whispered into her ear.

Alya saw the desperate look on her best friend's face. "Ok." She was quick to rush to Marinette's aid. Together they ran to an empty classroom so that Marinette could tell Alya what was going on and Alya could help her friend.

"What it is, girl?"

"I've been thinking..." she looked off to the side, with a faraway look on her face and her hand resting gently on her stomach, "and I've come to a decision."

She looked at her friend expectantly, "what is it?"

"I'm going to give up on Adrien." Her lips thinned and she sighed. She saw Marinette's eyes begin to tear up.

"Oh, Marinette." Alya reached out to hug Marinette, knowing how hard this would be for her friend. "It's ok, you have Chat Noir now. I know that he will take care of you."

Marinette nodded, "I know, that's why I'm giving up on Adrien – because I've realized that... that I," her voice faded away.

Alya squeezed her hand in encouragement. Marinette took a deep breath. "I have to stop my obsession with Adrien, because I have realized that I love Chat Noir. I love Chat and I have a child with him, I want to be with him, but I'm just so confused because I have always loved Adrien, but now..."

Alya squealed, interrupting her friend. "Oh my gosh! Yes, girl! You and Chat belong together." She took a deep breath and began speaking more calmly. "I know that you don't know what to do about all your feeling and your decision, but I think that you just need to talk to him. If you talk to Chat about how you feel, then you guys can figure how things will go. I know that he is a good guy and he won't push you to do anything you don't want. He will take care of you and you guys will figure things out - together."

Marinette's mouth quirked up slightly. "You're right. Chat Noir is a gentleman and I know that he will take care of me and treat me well."

The two best friends hugged tightly before they ran back to their classroom as quick as they could. They slid into the classroom and plopped into their seat right as the teacher was beginning their lesson.

Marinette continued the school day with an air of hope. She knew that there were things that could go wrong, but she was hopeful for all the good things that would happen. She looked forward to whatever kind of future that she had with Chat. She wasn't sure what would happen, but she knew that it would be joyful, and she knew that she loved Chat. She was eager to talk to him tonight and get things settled; she was eager to tell him how she felt.