6. Amongst the Pigeons

“I would like to propose a toast.”

“Oh god...” Adrien sighed, burying his face in his hands as Nino tapped the side of his glass with a fork lightly.

“I’ve known Adrien for most of his natural life now and a small part of me always knew he had a backbone,” Nino said as Adrien slid lower and lower in his seat. “But a man can only live on hope for so long; faith alone cannot sustain him through the wintery nights of the soul-”

“Make him stop,” Adrien whispered to Marinette as his chin disappeared beneath the edge of the table until only his hair and beet-red forehead were visible.

“-but as the ancient Japanese proverb goes ‘even Buddha will get mad if you slap him in the face three times,” Nino continued as Marinette pulled Adrien up by the collar of his shirt. “And for the metaphorical third slap I would like to thank Marcel Dubois…in the same way the townsfolk of London thanked Ebenezer Scrooge for dying in Scrooge. Because if he weren’t such an insufferable tool, Adrien might never have found the courage to leave the corporate equivalent of a breakup text on his desk when he left.”

“Normally that’s something I frown on but that’s still more than Marcy deserved,” Alya shrugged, taking a sip of her drink

“I’d also like to thank everyone for making it out here on this holiest of holy days,” Nino continued, despite Adrien’s scarlet expression. “I would like to thank Alya for her sage online counsel that kept the faith alive during the Tokyo years."

"You're welcome," Alya said clinking her glass against Nino's.

"And for looking fine as all hell in that dress," Nino added.

“Very welcome,” Alya said, winking over the rim of her glass.

“I would like to credit Marinette for being the eleventh hour ringer Team Adrien desperately needed,” Nino said, clinking his glass against hers as Adrien shook his head and scrolled through his phone. “I don't know what you did but clearly your presence alone is enough to make Adrien finally buck up and love himself enough to quit."

"I don't know how much credit I deserve," Marinette chuckled.

"As much as anyone else does," Adrien said, clinking his glass against hers with a small smile.

"Take the damn credit, girl," Alya said, glancing between the pair with barely restrained glee.

“And finally I would like to thank our star player, Mr. Agreste himself, for at long last laying the ever-loving smacketh down on his disrespectful, frog-faced, fashion-backwards…” Nino trailed off, snapping his fingers. “I’m blanking; help me out here.”

“Bastard?” Marinette suggested.

“Pudgy?” Alya said, wrinkling her nose. “No; fat jokes are beneath us…obnoxious?”

“Arrogant,” Marinette and Adrien chimed in at the same time, exchanging a fist bump under the table.

"Loud mouthed?" Adrien admitted.

“Good hustle, team,” Nino said, clearing his throat. “I would like to thank our number one player, Adrien Agreste, for opening a royal can of verbal whoop-ass on his disrespectful, frog-faced, fashion backwards, bastard, obnoxious, arrogant, loud mouth dick of a boss at long freaking last!”

“Woo!” Marinette cheered as the table erupted into cheers.

“Amen and hallelujah,” Nino said, crossing himself before downing the rest of his drink in one gulp.

“Cheers,” Alya said, toasting an extremely bashful looking Adrien. “Or, since we’re at a tapas bar, salud!”

“It was hardly a verbal can of whoop-ass,” Adrien chuckled. “In fact, I think I just ran out of the building before anyone could stop me…”

“Baby steps,” Nino said, bumping Adrien’s shoulder lightly. “You still broke up with a guy one puppy-coat away from Cruella deVil via a note on your desk; that’s pretty ballsy.”

“The important thing is you’re liberated,” Marinette said, taking a bite out of an empanada.

“Move over Bastille Day,” Alya chuckled, taking a small sip of her drink. “Adrien Liberation Day is our new national day of independence.”

“Far as we’re concerned at least,” Marinette said, shooting Adrien a playful wink that didn’t go unnoticed by the other members of the table. Alya chewed on the straw of her water, meeting the slight raise of Nino’s eyebrows with a small wink of her own while Marinette’s back was turned.

“So you haven’t said what your plans were for your first day of freedom,” Alya prompted.

“I don’t really know,” Adrien shrugged. “To be honest, I hadn’t really thought it out that much.”

“You forget the kid has been institutionalized for much of his adult life,” Nino said, shaking his head. “Routine, schedule, work; all planned out for him. God knows he probably hasn’t planned a day for himself in ten years.”

“Shame,” Alya sighed.

“They know I’m sitting right here, right?” Adrien murmured to Marinette.

“Knowing Adrien, he’s probably going to do what he usually does; hop back into his kinky leather sex scene,” Nino snickered as Adrien suddenly wished there was an eject button on his seat.

“I thought he already did that,” Alya said, foot tapping Marinette’s under the table.

“You keep this up, people are actually going to think I’m a slut,” Adrien muttered, shooting Nino a dark glare as Marinette chuckled a little too loudly, squirming in her seat as talk suddenly turned towards Adrien’s conquests.

“Deny it all you want; there’s a reason you have the reputation you do, Tomcat,” Nino shrugged, glancing at Marinette. “Did I tell you our producer in Tokyo named her tomcat after him?”

“Really?” Marinette glanced at Adrien who looked like he would rather swallow broken glass than admit it.

“…that’s true,” Adrien sighed, pouring some more wine out of his decanter into his glass. “Clearly I didn’t start drinking early enough…”

“Hey, sin all you want, boy,” Nino said, spearing a chunk of chorizo with the end of his fork. “I’m just saying it’s been a while since you got out and played the field…thinking of getting back in touch with Marquis du Sade’s home city?”

“That’s for me to know and you to hopefully never find out,” Adrien said, glancing at Marinette for a moment and trying to play it off like he was craning his neck at a group of tourists that had just wandered in. Marinette shifted in her seat, swirling her wine around in her glass as she tried not to contemplate Adrien’s future sex life any more than she needed to.

She had no right to be jealous of a hypothetical person Adrien may or may not sleep with in the future. She understood this rationally but the problem with jealousy was that it was so very rarely rational and try as she might (though to be honest she had long given up on trying) she had a harder and harder time seeing Adrien in a completely platonic sense.

The lull in conversation lasted only long enough for Alya and Nino to exchange glances. “Hey, walk to the bathroom with me,” Alya said, standing up from the table and nodding towards the back of the taperia. With a nod at Adrien and Nino, Marinette wordlessly rose form the table and followed Alya, Adrien’s eye following her for a few moments until he realized Nino was looking at him.

“So,” Nino said with a conspiratorial smirk as the girls left earshot. “How’re things with-”

“-Adrien going?” Alya asked, leaning against the wall outside the bathroom.

“Things are…good,” Marinette said, tilting her head back and forth as the glint in Alya’s eye tugged a smile out of her. “What?”

“You’re smiiiiiiiling,” Alya sing-songed, bumping her hip into Marinette’s.

“What can I say; I’m a great lover of liberty,” Marinette said, sparing a glance back at the table where Nino and Adrien seemed to be deep in discussion about something.

“Is that what you’re calling him now?” Alya snickered. “You gonna ask Liberty out then?”

“…I don’t know,” Marinette said, biting her lip as the line moved a little bit.

“What do you mean you don’t know,” Alya said. “You two have been flirting and eye-fucking since we got here.”

“We haven’t been eye-fucking,” Marinette ssaid.

“At the very least you’ve gotten to eye-second-base since round two,” Alya said, prodding Marinette’s shoulder. “Come on; what happened at lunch today?”

“Nothing really happened,” Marinette insisted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I mean…earlier…”

“Yes?” Alya said, leaning in just a little bit.

“I reached out to like squeeze his hand after he told me what happened and he…”

“Yes?”

“I mean there was this moment when we just…”

“Oh my god spit it out!” Alya spluttered, drawing a scowl from the girls in line ahead of them.

Marinette scratched the back of her neck. “We just-”

“-held hands for like a second.”

“…okay is that like some kind of…kink codeword for something?” Nino asked, brows scrunching. “Is that like where the guy has the girl and he-"

“It’s like where two people hold hands for like a second!” Adrien said, blowing bubbles in his drink as his cheeks pinked. “And that’s it!”

“Whoa, slow down there stud,” Nino snickered. “Next thing you know you’ll be sharing milkshakes at the malt shop.”

“Actually that’s where we had lunch,” Adrien chuckled. "The Quebecois one near the office."

“How 1950’s,” Nino snorted. "You gonna give her your letterman jacket after the sock-hop and ask her to go steady then?"

“I don't know,” Adrien shrugged, popping another olive in his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. “I mean…we were talking online the other week and she basically said-”

“-if he wanted to ravish me all he needed to do is ask.”

“…seriously?” Alya said, folding her arms.

"Yep!" Marinette said.

"You seriously said that?"

“Seriously!” Marinette said.

"...you seriously told him to have his way with you?" Alya said, raising an eyebrow. "In no uncertain terms?"

“I mean…" Marinette scratched her cheek idly. "I told him I was kidding right afterwards-”

“Yeah that sounds more like it,” Alya nodded.

“And he kinda backed off after that,” Marinette sighed, leaning against the wall. “I mean…I feel like I’ve given enough signals, right? I’ve been dropping hints like crazy since that arcade trip and nothing. The legendary flirt apparently isn’t picking up on my cues-”

“Or he’s just wrapped up in the fact that you told him no all those months ago and is trying to reign it in,” Alya pointed out. “Why don’t you just-”

“-tell her that you want her?” Nino said. “I mean she’s basically giving you the go ahead by the sound of it.”

“I need better than basically,” Adrien muttered, picking at the flaky spinach pie in front of him. “There’s permission and then there’s permission, you know?”

“No,” Nino sighed. “What the hell are you talking about dude?”

“It’s like…it’s like an empanada,” Adrien said, holding up one of the fried meat pastries for emphasis. “Just because it looks like a hand pie doesn’t mean it’s got fruit inside, right?”

“…right?” Nino said.

“So just because it seems like Marinette is flirting with me doesn’t mean I know she wants anything from me,” Adrien pointed out, taking a bite of the empanada with a small, approving grunt.

“Okay but what if she does want something but is like just-”

“-embarrassed to ask!”

“Okay,” Alya sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “So you have no problem talking to the boy about your weird, freaky sex lives-”

“Thanks for the support, by the way,” Marinette snipped.

“-but you're embarrassed to let him know you might want something from him?” Alya said. “Why?”

“I don't know," Marinette sighed, throwing up her hands. "What if I ask and then it's awkward and then I just-"

“-screw up our relationship?”

“Well hell, you’re going to run that risk either way,” Nino shrugged. "You could be screwing it up by not talking to her about it too."

“Thanks; that makes me want to run out and ask her out right now,” Adrien said, tossing an olive in Nino’s glass.

“All I’m saying is it couldn’t hurt to let her know that you might be available if she decides to change her mind,” Nino said, holding his hands up. “Never a bad idea to let someone know where you stand.”

“It could make things weird though,” Adrien muttered.

“I think if your friendship can survive detailed, candid discussions of extremely kinky sex, your friendship can pretty much survive anything,” Nino said, fishing the olive out of his glass and chewing it thoughtfully.

“Talking about it is one thing,” Adrien said. “It’s all just theory until we, uh…put it into practice.”

“Better than leaving a perfectly good experiment untested,” Nino said, nodding towards the bathroom. “Want to know what happened when I told Alya I still liked her?”

“What?”

“That night; her place. Twice,” Nino said, holding up two fingers for emphasis.

“That’s more than I wanted to know,” Adrien said.

“Oh blow me; you made me go to your first munch with you,” Nino said, suppressing a small shudder. “And if I had to listen to an eighty year old woman discuss the proper application of shibari, you can listen to a non-explicit reference to the fact that for once my sex life is better than yours!”

“Good for you?”

“It is good for me,” Nino said. “Know why? Because I took a freaking chance and it totally paid off."

"It's different with Marinette," Adrien said.

"Why because Alya doesn't want to hook my nipples up to a car battery?" Nino said, catching the chunk of chorizo Adrien flung at his head and popping it in his mouth.

"Because you dated already!" Adrien said. "I mean with you guys it was just picking up where you left off! Marinette and I have never been anything more than friends!"

"Well who's fault is that?" Nino said, holding a hand up to forestall another argument. "I’m not saying I know it’s all going to be peaches and cream but at some point you just need to suck it up and-”

“-go for it,” Alya said, drying her hands on her jeans as she waited for Marinette to finish washing hers. “I mean, I hate to say it but…no, you know what, I don’t hate to say it at all; you were the one who closed that door for Adrien so you have to open it again.”

“Great; any suggestions?” Marinette asked as they walked out of the bathroom. “I can’t exactly walk up to him and say hey I’ve been having wet dreams about you since February; you want to teach me how some of this stuff works in person?”

A passing group of guys stopped and turned to Marinette until a venomous scowl from Alya sent them on their way again.

“Look, I don’t know how you want to handle it,” Alya said, guiding Marinette away from the group of guys. “All I know is that I think you need to be the one to handle it.”

"Do I have to?" Marinette whined.

"No," Alya shrugged. "You could just not do anything, fail to capitalize on this sexual tension between the two of you, and watch Adrien slip away from you again. That's always an option."

Marinette sighed but Alya had a point. She couldn’t tell Adrien she wasn’t interested in jumping into a relationship and then expect him to take initiative, no matter how many hints she dropped that she was interested in jumping him at the earliest available opportunity. Marinette suppressed a small laugh as they wound their way back towards the table where Nino and Adrien were chatting; she wondered what her fourteen year old self would have thought of potentially asking Adrien Agreste to-

“And we’re back!” Nino said, nudging Adrien and stopping him mid-sentence before Marinette could hear what they were saying. “Enjoy?”

“More or less,” Alya shrugged. “You?”

“More or less,” Nino shrugged. “As enjoyable as it is talking about Adrien’s love life anyway.”

“Still right here,” Adrien said, waving his hand at Nino who spared a small glance at Marinette.

“Promise me you’ll watch out for this guy if he plans on going on any more freaky dates,” Nino said, nodding at Adrien.

“I’m not planning on anything!” Adrien said, flushing pink.

“Yeah but it’s only a matter of time before some pretty little thing snaps him up,” Alya said, glancing at Marinette who felt suddenly double teamed (and not in the fun way). “Only a matter of time…”

“Yep,” Nino nodded.

"Oh please; I'm not that much of a prize,” Adrien snorted.

“I think you’ll find a lot of people would disagree with you there,” Alya said, winking at Marinette who squirmed uncomfortably as she looked at Adrien out of the side of her eyes. As pushy as Alya was, she was right; Adrien was a hell of a prize. Powerful, attractive, trust-fund babies didn’t stay on the dating market for long and a small part of her rankled at the idea that someone would sink their claws into him who only saw him as a powerful, attractive, trust-fund baby. Still, what could she really offer him other than the hassle of babying someone who was literally years less experienced than he was? Why would he-

No.

Marinette resisted the urge to shake her head. No…she had spent the better part of her adolescence too trapped in her own self-doubt to do anything where Adrien was concerned. She was a master of coming up with excuses why Adrien couldn’t possibly be attracted to someone like her; excuses that had never born any fruit in the past. At that point, rejection and humiliation seemed to be preferable solutions to wallowing in unrequited angst while Adrien dated his way through the Paris kink scene. At the very least, a clean rejection would be a fresh start; a chance to move on from Adrien once and for all.

She had to do something...before someone else made her choice for her.

“Well, as lovely as this was, I think we should call it a night,” Alya said, standing up from the table. “Seventy-five percent of us need to get to work in the morning so we probably should pack up before we get too sloshed.”

“I’m not even halfway sloshed,” Marinette said, eyeballing Adrien’s drink. “I don’t think Adrien is either.”

“How could you get sloshed on grape juice?” Nino snickered, holding Alya’s coat out to step into as Adrien stuck his tongue out.

“Better than drinking that paint thinner you call whiskey,” Adrien sniffed, pulling his jacket around his shoulders. “At least I don’t have to mix my drinks with soda to make them bearable.”

“Hear hear,” Marinette said, tipping the last of her merlot down her throat and smothering a small burp in the sleeve of her jacket. "Besides, I'm not looking to get sloshed on a Monday night."

“Oh please; I’m not going to get hammered after two drinks,” Alya sighed, rolling her eyes as they fought their way through the bustling restaurant. “I’m not a lightweight like you are.”

“In my defense, all I drank the watery horse piss Americans call beer all through school,” Marinette snorted. “I was never trained properly.”

“Maybe Adrien can train you then,” Alya snickered, ignoring the identical gurgles of embarrassment as Adrien and Marinette stole a glance at one another out of the corner of their eyes. “Did I say something?”

“N-Nothing,” Adrien coughed as Marinette fell into step behind him. “This goodnight then?”

“Guess so,” Marinette said, rocking back and forth on the heels of her feet. “Alya is just going to walk me home so-”

“Actually,” Alya said, looking over Nino’s shoulder. “Alya is going to be a little too preoccupied to take you home.”

“She is?” Nino asked, glancing at her.

“Oh she is,” Alya replied, shooting him a small wink before turning back to Adrien. “Can you make sure she gets home okay?”

“You don’t need to walk me home,” Marinette said with a dismissive wave, suddenly dreading what she might say if she had the chance to be alone with Adrien for too much longer. “It’s just a couple of blocks away.”

“I don’t mind,” Adrien said with a small shrug. “I was just going to grab a rideshare anyway; might as well do it from your house…unless you’d rather walk alone?”

“I’m always up for some company,” Marinette said, swallowing heavily and flashing a shy smile. “As long as it isn’t too much trouble?”

“I got nowhere else I’d rather be right now,” Adrien said, scratching the back of his neck. “I’ll call you when we get there Al-”

Adrien blinked, turning to face Alya and Nino only to find that they were nowhere to be seen, vanished into the small crowd while Marinette and Adrien looked around for them blankly.

“Where’d they go?” Adrien sighed as Marinette’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She took it out, rolled her eyes at the message on the screen, and stowed it back in her coach bag.

Alya: it's only a matter of time

“I’m thinking of getting a cat,” Adrien said idly, walking slowly as Marinette balanced with one hand on his shoulder as on the curb next to him.

“Most people going through a mid life crisis usually get a sportscar,” Marinette snickered, enjoying being eye to eye with Adrien for once. It made the conversation they were going to have less intimidating if Adrien wasn’t looming a foot above her, tall, blonde, and gorgeous like he usually was.

“Don’t really like cars,” Adrien said with a small grimace before cocking his head to one side. “Might get a motorcycle though.”

“I’ll visit you in the hospital,” Marinette said, hopping off the curb as they came up on the waterfront. Across the river, the lights in Agreste’s office building were still on, people coming and going despite the fact that most of them should have been asleep or with their families by now. She caught Adrien glancing across the river for a moment, gait slowing as he looked almost wistful. “Any regrets?”

“About leaving?” Adrien laughed. “No way…just going to be a little weird not going back there in the morning is all. Worked there for my entire adult life and tomorrow I…well I guess I kinda have to start over, don’t I?”

“Is that a bad thing?” Marinette asked, glancing up at him.

“It’s uncertain…but I guess uncertainty is better than a certain misery, isn’t it?” Adrien said.

"Isn't that the truth?" Marinette laughed bitterly.

“Not everyone gets the opportunity to walk away from an awful job after all," Adrien said.

“Which means you need to make the most of it,” Marinette said, bumping her hip into his with a small smile. “For everyone who can’t.”

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Adrien chuckled, bumping her back after a moment.

“Careful; I’m in heels,” Marinette giggled. “If I go down, I’m taking you with me.”

“You’ve got a lower center of gravity; I believe you,” Adrien said.

“Is that a short-joke?” Marinette asked, narrowing her eyes.

“No; it’s a short observatio-ow!” Adrien laughed as Marinette kicked the back of his calf with the tip of her heel.

“Like you said; low center of gravity,” Marinette said. “Plus I could probably squat you, believe it or not.”

“I believe it,” Adrien said.

“Meaning?” Marinette asked.

“Meaning I’ve seen you in shorts and it’s pretty clear you’ve never skipped a leg day in your life,” Adrien said with a small smirk that quickened Marinette’s pulse by a few beats per second.

"I wasn't aware you were looking," Marinette said softly.

"Well...it's kinda hard to miss," Adrien trailed off with a small shrug, tilting his head at her. Marinette took a deep breath, glancing out over the river as she idly wondered if she was about to make a big mistake.

“So...have you given any thought as to whether or not you're going to date again?” Marinette asked after a moment, glancing at Adrien out of the corner of her eye to gauge his reaction. “Just a lot of talk during dinner and I just wondered if…you know.”

“…maybe,” Adrien admitted after a moment. “I mean I have been living like a monk in a cloister since Dad passed. Don’t really know anyone in the Paris scene though…other than you, of course.”

“I’m part of the scene now?” Marinette snorted.

“For lack of a better term,” Adrien chuckled, biting his lip as he glanced back at Marinette.

"And you didn't throw me a party?" Marinette said with a small pout. "I'm devastated."

"Any way I can make it up to you?" Adrien asked.

"Get me a cupcake and we'll call it even," Marinette said as Adrien's chuckle preluded another period of comfortable silence.

“…what about you?" Adrien asked after a moment. "Have you…given anymore thought as to whether or not you want to...get more involved?”

“I have,” Marinette said, willing her voice to remain even. “I kind of…reaching the limits of what I can learn about it online, you know?”

“I know,” Adrien said. “Still, you shouldn’t feel like you have to start playing or-”

“I don’t,” Marinette said, picking at a loose thread in her cardigan’s pocket. “I mean…I don’t feel like I have to or anything. I just…want to. Just get out there and start…meeting people, you know?”

“Mmhmm,” Adrien said, quelling feelings of anxiety and jealousy as he walked on. For some reason, the thought of Marinette being with someone else, even regaling him with details of her playdates, made Adrien’s stomach churn. “So…you want to try being with someone then?”

“I…I think I do,” Marinette said, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. “I think I want to.”

“Well that’s…good!” Adrien said, shooting her a toothy grin. “I mean, if that’s what you want-”

“It is,” Marinette said.

“Good,” Adrien nodded, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m afraid I don’t really know anyone locally who would be open to…um…you know so I can’t exactly play matchmaker for you.”

Adrien slowed his pace as he realized Marinette wasn’t keeping up with him. He turned to see her standing under a tree, fingers clutching her coachbag anxiously and biting her lip as she refused to meet his eyes for some reason.

“That’s…that’s okay,” Marinette stammered, looking out over the river as though the answer to her questions would be on the far shore. “I, uh…I kind of had someone in mind already.”

“…oh,” Adrien said, trying not to look as deflated as he suddenly felt. Of course Marinette would be courting offers from other suitors and God knew she didn’t have to include him in the vetting process (even though he had offered). “Have you uh…known this person long?”

“Yeah,” Marinette chuckled anxiously. “Quite a while; not an asshole, trust with my wallet. All that good stuff.”

“Ah, great,” Adrien smiled. “Good. That’s good.”

“The, uh...only thing is,” Marinette said after a moment, taking a step closer before faltering. “I haven’t uh…asked him yet.”

So it was a him.

“I’m a little nervous to be honest,” Marinette said, suddenly feeling like the fourteen year old who had to work up the courage to put a valentine in her crush’s desk.

“Why?” Adrien asked almost genuinely bewildered.

“Kinda don’t know how he’ll respond…if he’ll take it well or-”

"Hey," Marinette trailed off as Adrien rested a hand on her shoulder and summoned a reassuring smile. "I think he's going to take it well."

“Y-You think?” Marinette said, resisting the urge to reach up and squeeze Adrien’s hand.

“Of course,” Adrien said, forcing himself to maintain his smile. “Anyone would…be lucky to be with you.”

Anxiety seemed to melt off her like wax off a candle, replaced with warm reassurance that made her stand up a little bit straighter as Adrien turned to walk down the road.

“You don’t want to know about him?” Marinette called, following him a few steps behind.

“Huh?” Adrien asked, really dreading the answer. “Oh…sure! So you’ve uh…known him long?”

“Quite a while,” Marinette said.

Since February, Adrien mused.

“Have you…met him in person?” Adrien asked.

“Oh yeah,” Marinette said, fighting to keep a nervous smile off her face. “We had lunch together just this week.”

She never mentioned anything about that…Adrien thought

“I see,” Adrien said, lagging back so Marinette could catch up. “Have you discussed…logistics?”

“We haven’t discussed it but he’s…flexible like that,” Marinette said.

A switch then? Adrien thought. Well…at least she’ll be able to experiment…

“That’s good,” Adrien said, trailing off as Marinette struggled to keep up with his quickening pace.

“He really makes me feel safe,” Marinette chipped in.

“That’s good,” Adrien repeated.

“Th-that’s what’s most important, right?"

“Yep.”

“He’s respectful…he’s experienced…he’s one of my best friends.”

“Cool.”

“Adrien!” Adrien stopped, turning around to see Marinette blinking at him with an exasperated look of bewilderment.

“…do you really need me to say it?” Marinette said softly.

“Say what?” Adrien said, scuffing his toe against the ground. “Look, I’m happy for you Marinette-“

“Do you…do you seriously not get what I’m trying to say here?” Marinette laughed, shaking her head.

“I get that you have a new potential play partner,” Adrien shrugged. “And he seems like a great guy from what you say about him…is there something I’m missing?”

Marinette blinked up at him, breathing through her nose as she took a step forward.

“…he is a great guy,” Marinette said, biting her lip as Adrien scanned her face in confusion. “I can’t…I can’t really see myself being with anyone else right now...

Adrien opened his mouth and caught a glint in Marinette’s eye that suddenly made it very hard to say anything at all. He squinted down at her almost hopefully, wondering if he had misread her for a brief moment but her expression seemed to be confirming what he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe.

Oh.

“I…I see,” Adrien said, clearing his throat, suddenly feeling as though he had ten times the wine he actually had. “So…who is this guy?”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” Marinette said breathlessly as Adrien took a small step forward.

“Yes,” he said, voice rasping just enough to make Marinette’s toes curl. “Spell it out for me.”

“You don’t know?” Marinette said.

“...I want to hear you say it,” Adrien said, tension winding in his stomach like a piano wire ready to snap. She shifted under his gaze but did not falter, hands folded in front of her as she licked her lips anxiously. She had forced herself to the edge of a cliff and burned any routes she might have used to escape.

Now all she had to do was jump.

“I…I want to try playing with someone,” Marinette said, voice quavering just a little as she looked into his eyes. “And I want…I want that someone to be you.”