8- Living With The Agrestes

Marinette's POV

It's dark when I open my eyes. Oh, right. I'm still wearing the eye mask. "Cat Noir?" I call out, making sure he's transformed before I take it off. "Cat Noir?" Slowly, I peek out, dropping the eye mask, and look around. He's not here. "Oh." Yawning, I stretch before climbing out of bed, and find a note taped to my computer.

Dear Marinette,

Last night was the best sleepover I ever had. Sadly, I had to leave this morning to go home, but don't worry. I informed my 'friend' of your situation and he's going to be at your house at nine-thirty. Don't be late :)

-Your favorite kitty cat ^.^

Another mention of this 'friend' and I have no clue who it is. Nine-thirty. What time is it now? I check my phone. Nine-twenty-one. "Oh no!" I shout, dropping my phone. "I need to get ready!" Racing around my room, I quickly change, tying my hair into pigtails before slipping my shoes on. The doorbell goes off downstairs.

"Marinette!" Mom shouts from downstairs. "You have a visitor!"

"Coming, Mom!" I yell back. Okay, Marinette. You can do this. If Cat Noir trusts them, then so can you. Taking in a deep breath, I open the trap door and walk downstairs. My eyes widen. "Adrien? What are you doing here?"

"Marinette, don't tell me you forgot already?" Adrien says, laughing. "You won the contest! For my father's internship. Remember?" He widens his eyes and I catch on.

"Right!" I say, nodding. "Yes, that totally slipped my mind."

Mom and Dad look over. "What contest? You never mentioned anything about a contest."

Oh, I'm so not good under pressure. "Uh, about a month ago I... applied for a contest... to intern for Gabriel Agreste... for his fashion brand!" Not my worst lie, I'll admit. "I didn't mention anything sooner because I was worried I wasn't going to win and I didn't want to make a big deal of it."

"Oh, that's amazing, Marinette!" Mom says, tearing up. "Tom, did you hear? Our baby is talented!"

Dad walks over and hugs me, squeezing too tight. "I knew my little muffin can do it!"

"Dad, I... can't... breathe..." He puts me down and I start coughing.

"Marinette's the absolute best," Adrien says, walking over and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. My eyes widen and my heart pounds against my ribcage. "There's just a tiny little condition to the internship."

"What?" My parents ask.

"Marinette has to come live with me," Adrien says, before correcting, "Us! At the mansion. For a more hands-on learning. It'd just be frustrating going back and forth from home, carrying her supplies and designs."

"Well, how long would she be gone?"

Adrien and I look at each other.

"A month at most," Adrien starts. "But maybe longer. It depends."

My dad looks at him. "On what?"

"Uh..." Adrien's eyes widen and he struggles to find the right words. "Well, if she does well for the internship, my father wants to bring her to America." I turn and give Adrien a look. Stop talking! "Where she'd be able to design and sell her own... clothes."

As my parents start freaking out and celebrating, I pull Adrien aside and punch his arm. "Why would you tell them that?"

"It was the best I could come up with!" Adrien whispers. "What else was I supposed to say?"

"Anything! Not that I'd be moving to America!"

My parents finally calm down. Dad grabs a camera from the kitchen. "We have to remember this moment forever. Smile!"

Adrien wraps his arm back around my shoulder and poses, smiling for my dad. "We should probably leave soon," He whispers, making sure my parents can't hear. "I don't even know what we're going to tell my father."

"I should really get going now," I tell Mom and Dad as I grab Adrien's hand and lead him up to my room.

"Why don't we drop you off?" Mom asks, and I look to Adrien.

"My bodyguard's going to take us there," He says. "My father doesn't let me go anywhere without him."

Dad nods. "You're right. No need in wasting gas. Go on and pack, Marinette, and your mother and I will put together some snacks for you two."

Adrien's mouth practically waters.

"Thanks, Dad," I whisper before grabbing the collar of Adrien's jacket and leading him upstairs. I close the door behind me. "An internship? Really?"

"Well, why else would you stay at my house, Marinette?" Adrien counters. "Besides, it makes sense. You're a fashion designer and my father owns his own fashion brand. Made sense to me."

"You're right." I nod. "That does make sense. Smart idea."

Adrien smirks. "Thank you."

"So..." I finally realize Cat Noir's 'friend' is Adrien. "You know Cat Noir, huh?"

His eyes widen. "Y-Yeah! We're close. Kind of." He grabs my already packed suitcase from under my desk, like he already knew it was there. "We hang out sometimes when he's not saving Paris."

"And he told you about..." I move my arms around and gesture to myself. "This?"

Adrien nods. "Yes, Cat Noir told me about Hawkmoth and how you're best friends with Ladybug."

I roll my eyes. "I am not best friends with Ladybug."

"Well, close enough that Hawkmoth thinks you have her earrings," Adrien points out. "I mean, Ladybug trusted you enough with the mouse miraculous."

"That's true..." My eyes widen. "Wait, how do you know I was Multimouse? Only Cat Noir knew."

Adrien bites his lip, quickly saying, "Cat Noir told me! I-I didn't believe him at first when he said you were close with Ladybug, so he told me to gain my trust. I promise, I won't tell anyone. Your secret's safe with me."

Crossing my arms, I mutter, "That damn cat can't keep a secret for nothing."

I think I see Adrien's frown, but that might just be his natural state.

"You should probably bring some of your stuff," Adrien says, gesturing to my sewing machine, fabrics, and mannequin. "To make it believable."

"True. True." Grabbing my duffel bag, I start grabbing my fabrics, sketchpads, and my sewing kit and stuff them inside. I unhook the mannequin from the floor and pick it up, careful to keep the new dress I'm working on off the floor. "Okay. I guess I'm ready."

We had downstairs and Dad hands Adrien a box of treats. "Don't eat these too fast or you'll get a stomachache."

"Thanks, Mr. Dupain," Adrien says, grinning.

Mom walks over and kisses me on the cheek. "I'm so proud of you, Marinette. Soon enough you'll be a famous fashion designer and all your dreams will come true."

Well, now I totally feel guilty for lying. "T-Thanks, Mom." Adrien and I leave. "Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!"

"Bye, honey!"

Adrien takes the duffel bag from me as we climb down the stairs. "Your parents make the best cookies," He tells me, after already stuffing three in his mouth.

"Thanks," I say, laughing as we reach outside the bakery. His bodyguard stands still like a statue. "Hi..."

He grunts at me before opening the trunk and setting my things inside. Without saying anything, he climbs into the driver's seat, waiting for us to get in.

Adrien opens the door. "Ladies first."

I slide in next to the window and hold my hands together. My legs start shaking. "So, what are we going to tell your father?" I whisper, leaning in as his bodyguard starts driving.

"I have no idea," Adrien admits, leaning towards me as well. "I'll just say the first thing that comes to mind."

"Oh no..." I shake my head. "We're doomed."

Adrien nudges my shoulder, laughing. "Hey. I come up with some awesome ideas."

"Just don't tell your father I have a stalker or something," I joke, staring out the window. "Just something not as crazy as that. Okay?"

Adrien nods. "Okay."

***

"Father, Marinette needs to stay with us for a while," Adrien starts as we wait in the foyer. Mr. Agreste stands tall at the top of the staircase, glaring down at us.

"And why is that Adrien?" Mr. Agreste asks, raising an eyebrow at his son.

"Because..." Adrien looks at me, sighing. "Because Marinette has a stalker!"

My eyes widen. What?! I'm screaming internally, but I can't stop Adrien. He's already said it. Loud and clear.

"A stalker?" Mr. Agreste questions, and I fear he's caught on to our lie. "I had no idea. You should have come to me with this sooner, Adrien."

"I should have?" Adrien questions, and I elbow his side. "Oh! Right. Yes, I should have, but we were scared."

Mr. Agreste starts walking down the stairs towards us. "Have you been getting threats, Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

"I, uh..." I look over at Adrien, freaking out, and he nods. "A few, yes. Just some creepy texts."

As Mr. Agreste stands in front of me, I can't help but feel disturbed and terrified. "Under these circumstances, I guess I must let you stay here."

"Wait, really?" Adrien questions, bugged eye. "Marinette can stay?"

"Your friend Marinette has been very loyal to the Agreste brand," Mr. Agreste starts as he calls for Nathalie. "And to my son. I will let you stay, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

I smile. "Thank you, Mr. Agreste."

He nods. "Yes, yes. Then it's settled." He opens the door to his office. "Show your guest to her room, Adrien, and be back down in fifteen minutes for dinner." 

"You're having dinner with us, father?" Adrien questions, hopeful.

Mr. Agreste shakes his head. "No. I'm far too busy at the moment, Adrien, but now you have company. Please don't disturb me the rest of the night, as I'm not feeling well. If you have any concerns, please call Nathalie." He shuts the door.

Adrien frowns. "I guess some things never change.

"I'm sorry, Adrien," I whisper, rubbing his arm. "Hey, at least you have company now."

He looks up and smiles. "Yeah. At least I have you." Is he blushing? He clears his throat. "Uh, I'll show you to the guest room. My bodyguard will bring your stuff."

"Okay..." I whisper, following him up the staircase. This place is so much bigger than I'd thought it'd be. As we pass a window, I see a peek of a garden, and notice a statue. It looks like his mom. "Wow." I stare out the window at all the beautiful flowers and trees. "This garden is so beautiful."

Adrien stands beside me. "My father had it done when my mother..." He doesn't finish his sentence. "I've never told anyone this before, but when I'm having a really bad day, I always go and sit out there for hours. Just talk to my mom about stuff, about everything, like she was still here."

"That's sweet, Adrien. I'm sure your mom would love that."

"I wish you could have met her," Adrien whispers, smiling. "She would have absolutely loved you." 

I notice him starting to cry and quickly change the subject. "So, is my room as big as yours?"

"Not quite," Adrien admits, laughing. "My father gave me the biggest room in the house. He always wants the best for me. Sometimes." He sighs. "It's just down this hallway."

We turn down a second hallway and I look around. "Your house is like a maze. I'd definitely get lost."

"Trust me, I got lost all the time when I was a kid," Adrien tells me, pointing to a family portrait on the wall from when he was three or four. Wow. His mom is beautiful, and Adrien looks, well, happy. "My mother and I used to play hide and seek. It would last for hours sometimes because I always found the best hiding spots." He smiles at the picture. "When she went missing last year, things changed around here, and..."

"And what...?" I question, careful not to cross any boundaries.

"Sometimes I wish it was my father who disappeared," Adrien whispers, and my heart sinks. "And not my mother. She didn't deserve that."

I don't know what to say, so I don't say anything.

"Here's the room." Adrien opens the door and pushes it open, stepping into the room.

My jaw drops as I look around the room, spinning in awe. There's two large windows facing the garden, and I swear the gold-specked walls go on a mile high. They sparkle against the sunlight. There's a TV hanging on the wall, above a seating area with purple leather couches, a glass coffee table, and a coffee bar and mini fridge. If I weren't being hunted by Hawkmoth, I could definitely enjoy being here. "This is the greatest room I have ever seen."

"This was my mom's favorite room," Adrien tells me. "She used to sit in here, drink coffee, watch TV, and sometimes paint. Oh, and check this out." He grabs a remote off the coffee table and aims it towards the ceiling. "You're gonna love this."

I already know what he's going to show me. The galaxy ceiling. Despite that, I stare up in awe, anyway. "Woah..."

"I have one of these in my room," Adrien says, but again, I already know. Well, Ladybug does. Did. "I think it's so cool. It's like the entire galaxy on the ceiling, at your fingertips. There's different settings on here. Like... come here." He grabs my hand and leads me over to the bed, and we both lay back and look up. "If you want a starry night." He clicks a button and a million stars appear. "Or a meteor shower. Or shooting stars. You can even go through all the planets, zoom in and get a good look at them." Adrien didn't show me this part last time.

"This is beautiful," I whisper, taking the remote from him and putting starry night back on. "This one is my favorite."

"Trust me. It'll look better when you're going to sleep." Adrien glances over and smiles. "I wanted you to at least enjoy staying here while we're hiding from Hawkmoth."

"Speaking of that creep..." I sit up, handing Adrien the remote. "Are you sure I'll be safe here?"

"Yes, Marinette." He sits up and grabs my hand. "I promise. Nothing will get past my father's security system. It's locked up tight. No one can get in... or out."

"Okay. Maybe I can relax now." I look down at my hands and realize they're not shaking anymore.

His bodyguard walks in with my stuff, grunting.

"Uh, you can put them wherever," I tell him, gesturing around the empty room.

He nods at me before setting my stuff down, adjusting it before leaving.

"Does he ever talk?" I ask Adrien.

Adrien shrugs. "Not really. I've asked my father about it, but he doesn't tell me anything. I think my bodyguard got in an accident a few years ago." He sighs. "But it doesn't bother me. I'm just glad he listens. Sometimes... he feels more like a father than my real one does."

"Adrien..."

Before I can say anything else, Adrien stands up and reaches for my hand. "Dinner's ready. You coming?"

I nod. "Yeah." Instead of grabbing his hand, I punch his arm again. "I told you not to tell your dad I had a stalker!"

"Hey, you put the idea in my head," Adrien defends as we had downstairs. "Besides, it worked."

"For now. But what if this blows up in our face?" I ask as we walk into the dining room. Woah. This table's as big as my room. "We can't just make a fake stalker."

"But what if we did?"

I shake my head. "No, Adrien. Whatever you're thinking is not a good idea."

"Hear me out!" I take in a deep breath, waiting for him to continue. "Do... do you remember that creep? Who took pictures of you?"

Fear runs through my body. My hands start shaking. "Y-Yes. What about him?"

"What if we tell my father he's the stalker." At first I think Adrien's joking, but he doesn't laugh. "That's believable, right?"

"Adrien!" I shout, stepping closer so no one hears us. "We can't lie about something like that!"

"Why not?" He asks. "He fits the part."

I stare at Adrien as my heart sinks to my stomach. "I can't believe you'd be so insensitive." Tears well in my eyes. "What happened really traumatized me, Adrien, and you saying something like that hurts, like it's just some story we can edit or add chapters to. It was real. It happened to me."

Adrien frowns. "Marinette, I'm sorry." He grabs my hand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'm just worried about-"

"You know, I'm actually not that hungry," I whisper, turning around before Adrien can see me cry. "Have a nice dinner, Adrien. Goodnight."

"Marinette..."

I quickly leave the dining room and run upstairs, shoulders shaking as I start sobbing. Where is my room? I make a wrong turn and end up walking outside to the garden. It's quiet and peaceful out here. Adrien didn't mean anything by that comment, probably, but it still hurt. It feels like he doesn't take what happened seriously and that my experience is something that's disposable.

Taking a deep breath, I find myself sitting in front of Adrien's mother's statue. I stare at her stone eyes, feeling hypnotized. I don't know how long I'm sitting here for, but when I doze out of the trance it's already dark out. I turn around and find Adrien watching me from the window. He slowly waves, and smiles when I wave back.

I wait for him as I hear the door open and I glance over as he sits beside me. "I wanted to give you space," He starts, staring at his mother's statue. "That's why I didn't come and bother you."

"Thank you," I admit, realizing that I was glad for some time alone.

"I'm sorry-" We both start, laughing.

"Marinette, I am so sorry," Adrien says, turning to face me. "I shouldn't have said any of that. It's just..." He takes in a deep breath. "I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to worry you."

Facing him, I grab his hand and shake his arm, getting him to look at me. "Adrien, what's wrong? Tell me!"

"That creep? Who took pictures of you?" Adrien continues after I nod. "Someone anonymously paid his bail and he gets released from custody tomorrow morning."

"WHAT?!" I shout, jumping up. "Someone paid his bail?"

"I don't know who," Adrien says, standing up. "But it was someone with a lot of money. His bail was a million euros."

My eyes widen. Woah. I didn't realize what he did to me would cause his bail to be high. "So, he's getting released tomorrow morning?"

Adrien nods. "Yes, and I don't think it's fair. Which is why I said that stupid comment about him being your fake stalker. For a second, I just thought that if we could find a way to "prove" it was him, he'd get arrested again and we wouldn't have to worry about him. That you'd be safe."

"Great," I mumble, shaking my head as I turn away from Adrien. "Now I have Hawkmoth and Peeping Tom to worry about."

"Hey, don't worry," Adrien says, grabbing my shoulders and turning me around. "As long as I'm here, nothing will happen to you. I promise."

I smile. "Thanks, Adrien. I'm sorry for overreacting. It just... it felt like you were joking about what happened to me and that it wasn't anything serious. Just another day for Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"I would never joke about something like that." Adrien keeps eye contact with me. "Never."

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I check the time, noticing three missed texts from Alya. She wants to know if I want to come to the movies with her, Juleka, Rose, and Mylene. Seeing how it's been two hours since her last message, it's safe to assume the movie is already over. "Alya wanted me to go see a movie with her. I don't even know if I'll be able to do normal things anymore."

"We'll still go to school," Adrien tells me as we walk back inside. "We'll still see our friends."

It won't be the same, though.