Should've Been Said | adrinette

01.

A/N: Takes place during Puppeteer 2.0 because this is what the fandom truly deserved. A heartfelt moment instead of us dying from embarrassment. And in my opinion, this is how it truly should've went down. No reveal, because if I had written the episode, I would've done it like this. Keep the drama but at least get Adrinette kick-started somehow.

THIRD PERSON's POV:

Marinette walked into the room chanting to herself, not realizing a certain blond, green-eyed boy's presence. Her eyes closed as she messed with her blue tinted hair, "Super cool, I'm super cool."

"Watch this Plagg." He quickly assumed position as the bluenette made her way over to him.

The Kwami gave him a suspicious look, "What exactly are you doing?" Half amused as to what plan his holder had this time for the clumsy girl.

"Shh, I can't let her think it's the real me."

"I'm super cool, I'm super cool, I'm super cool." Marinette repeated her mantra as Adrien gave her a worrying look before returning to his position. "I'm super cool, I'm super coo- aaah!" Marinette shrieked, jumping back before regaining her composure. In those few seconds, she realized she had nothing to worry about. The teen girl shrugged before talking to herself, "Oh, it's only a statue. How come I didn't see it earlier?" Her heart beating faster as she stared at 'Adrien' with her blue-bell eyes, "It looks so real! I never realized how accurate these statues are, there must be so much work put into these." She gushed over this 'masterpiece'.

The teen girl looked around nervously before setting her hand against her chest, slowing her breathing down as she recalled Tikki's advice.

"Roleplay as a fearless character, yeah, I can do that." She told herself before glancing down at the floor, loud ringing in her ears as she stayed silent for a few moments. Carefully thinking of the words she wanted to say, "There's so many things I would like to tell you, but it seems like I can never get the words out." Marinette glanced down at her purse as Tikki encouraged her to continue, "I'll admit, at first I didn't like you, I figured that being friends with Chloe automatically made you a brat. I didn't give you a chance, and I apologize for that."

Her fingers fumbled with the hem of her shirt, eyes glued to the ground as Adrien's expression went a little softer. "Remember on the first day of school you apologized to me? It was raining, I was stranded and everyone else had already left. You didn't need to stop, didn't have to give me your umbrella, and you most certainly didn't have to apologize. But you did. In that moment, I realized I was wrong about you, you weren't like Chloe at all, you were your own person, Adrien."

Marinette paused for a moment, deciding to take the chance to pace back and forth. Even spilling her feelings to the statue of Adrien was hard, she had no idea how she would actually confess to him. The air was silent as the blond watched her walk back and forth.

'Is Marinette confessing?' He asked himself. Adrien wasn't sure on how he felt about that, on one hand, he was ecstatic that Marinette doesn't hate him. But on the other, what about Ladybug?

"Adrien, you're so kind to people even when they don't deserve it. You still give Kagami, Chloe, and even Lila chances to do the right thing, although it can backfire, you still offer friendship to them. The world doesn't deserve someone like you, in fact, they need someone like you." Marinette said aloud with confidence as the words came to her with ease, "Your passion knows no bounds and your heart overflows with love for your friends and families. I know that you probably think I love you only because of your fame or your looks. Thing is, the looks are just a bonus!" As she laughed loudly at the end of her sentence, partly from anxiety. She coughed loudly as she defensively waved her hands in front of her, as if to dissipate that sentence from existence.

They both blushed as Marinette began to stammer again, "Actually wait, forget I said that, which you can, because you're a statue!" The girl tugged at the ends of her pigtails as she turned away from him, calming her racing heart and churning stomach. Her eyebrows knotted in frustration as she groaned internally, 'This is so much harder than it looks.' She thought to herself as she exhaled slowly, finally feeling brave enough to face 'Adrien' again. Her hands tugging on her purse strap for safety, "There's many reasons as to why I love you, and I'd love to tell you all of them. But no one simply has all that time on their hands, haha."

'She...she loves me? Is that why she's always so nervous around me?'

"It's no wonder I fell in love with you, but it's a shame that I'll probably never tell you this. I wish I could tell you these things to you, but I can't do that without turning into a blabbering mess." The girl told the statue, unknowing that he was listening the entire time. With one last ounce of bravery, she walks closer to look at him. Sighing before inching to his lips, "No, I shouldn't." The girl told herself with a small smile.

With a sad heart, she decided against her better judgement and pecked his cheek.

"Woah, I had no idea you felt that way about me." He jumped back as Marinette followed suite, embarrassment flooding over her. Adrien walked towards her, his hands motioning for her to calm down, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, it's just a prank that's all."

Her hands pounded against his chest as she cried, "It's not funny, not funny at all!" Her feet carrying her to a small bench as Adrien walked after her.

"Forgive me." He started, "Even after all these months with you guys, I'm still not used to being a good friend." They both sat in awkward silence until Adrien popped a question, "Were you serious when you were talking to the statue? I mean, me as a statue."

Marintte stayed quiet for a few moments until she bursted into obnoxious laughter, "Are you serious? I'm the queen of pranks! You see, I knew you were playing a prank on me so I decided to get you back!"

"Ah, I see." The boy smiled as they both fell into a somewhat comfortable silence. "Hey Marinette?"

Her heart lurched as she mentally kicked herself for her statue mistake, "Uh, y-y-yeah? Up's what? I mean, what's up?"

"Did you really dislike me at first?"

She scratched the back of her head as her pigtails moved slightly, "Yes, at first I did. When I first met you trying to move the gum from my seat, and told me you were Chloe's friend, I assumed the worst of you." She answered truthfully, avoiding eye contact with the boy.

"And that is?"

"You were a playboy billionaire model whose dad would get you out of anything and everything. That you were a spoiled brat who didn't know what the word 'no' meant."

His mood dropped as he lowered his face, "Oh, I see."

In a moment of courage, she faced him and lifted his chin, placing her hand on his shoulder. "But that was before I got to know you Adrien, now I can see how wrong I was. You're not like that at all, instead I can see how kind, gentle, patient, and loving you are."

"Really?" His cheeks deepened in color as he looked Marinette in the eye, suddenly seeing how brave she looked. Not a trace of the timid and stammering girl she was, was to be found.

"I could never hate you Adrien, and I'm sorry for giving you that idea. I just never know what to say around you because...your father is such a huge inspiration for me. And I'm afraid if I say one wrong thing, then you'll hate me."

"I could never hate you Marinette, you're a very dear friend to me." Adrien reassured her as he pulled her in for a hug, only to notice how tense she was, "Oh sorry, am I not doing it right? I don't do it a lot." He chuckled as he clenched his fists. Marinette smiled and hugged him as her answer. Content that she was finally able to confess, even though she took it back, it was still a start.

word count: 1,412 words