The Naked Truth

The taste of Failure

Adrien couldn't believe the jolt in his gut that such a simple contact would produce. He felt as if an electroshock had burned his insides and based on the way Marinette's eyes shot open the very second their lips met, he had the slight suspicion that she had felt exactly the same. But it didn't last long enough. The very moment he had come to the resolution of putting his hands on the small of her waist and trying to pull her closer to him, she broke the contact and started looking at him with a big massive blush on her face.

"It still didn't work," she whispered, as she darted her gaze around and cringed.

He looked around himself and gulped. "No, it didn't," he admitted.

"What are we going to do?" Her voice had gone up a whole octave when she said that and her eyes had widened, as she put her hands on her mouth. "This is a DISASTER! We're never going to get out of here!"

He sighed and moved his hands into his hair, trying to concentrate and think. "If I can be completely honest, I have no real experience on what 'making out' really means. I've never had a girlfriend before."

"I thought you dated Kagami for a while," she deadpanned, giving him a doubtful look.

"I told you it never went anywhere," he said, clenching his fists in frustration. "We used to hang around, eat André's ice cream from time to time, play some video games, challenge each other in fencing. That's all. She did try to kiss me a couple of times, but I always refused, telling her that I wasn't ready. After that, she limited herself to quick pecks. Then she got fed up and told me she had found someone else, so we stayed friends."

"Pretty much the same as what happened between me and Luka, then." Marinette looked down and Adrien shifted his legs because his problem with 'Little Adrien' was still worrying him. He saw her frown at his evident embarrassment, but she just gave him a funny look and continued, "He played his guitar for me, brought me around on his bike, tried to kiss me on the lips a couple of times but I refused and kissed him on the cheek instead. He really wanted me to find clarity in my heart; he didn't want to be a second choice, and I too didn't want him to be. I respected him too much for that. When I came back from New York, I had to have a good chat with him because I couldn't deny my feelings for you anymore."

He gasped. "What do you mean? In New York? I messed up so much there. I gave up my Miraculous, and had to leave early. I was hoping so much that you would try to stop me, but you never did!"

"I tried!" she snapped, as tears suddenly fell down her cheeks. "You don't know this, but I did try. I... ran after your car. I tried to phone you but my battery died before I could dial your number. I jumped on a random bike and started hiking behind your car; but the rain made the tarmac slippery and I fell. I lost track of your car; and you were gone. I—I had just lost Chat Noir. I didn't want to lose you too."

She covered her eyes with her hands and started sobbing uncontrollably. His heart broke at the sight. He had known nothing about all this. He tentatively put his hand on her shoulders and started rubbing her back, trying to soothe her and calm her down.

"T-that's when I realised that I really loved you. It wasn't just a crush. I loved you. I couldn't let you go—"

His eyes were also filling with tears and he didn't think; he hugged her. He felt her tense for a second in his hold but immediately after, she hugged him back. He squeezed her tighter. "I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"I know," she whispered in between sobs, "but after that incident, I just couldn't stay with Luka anymore. I didn't want to hurt him more than I already had. H-he told me he would wait. But I told him it wasn't fair, he deserved a girl who would love him for the wonderful person he is." She broke the hug and wiped her tears with the back of her hand, but didn't move too far and stayed in very close proximity to him, allowing his hands to still rest on her back. "I haven't seen much of him after that."