20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Posture sharper than a straight pin and with hands clasped behind his back, Gabriel stood facing the large painting of his wife. He knew Adrien was in the room—Natalie had announced his arrival—but he chose to ignore his son's presence.

Adrien held back a sigh.

Sunlight filtered in through the sunroof, lightening the dark walls and black curtains. He'd always wondered why his father chose such a somber and dispassionate decor. Now that he knew Gabriel was Hawk Moth, it made sense.

"We were supposed to leave for the fashion show in a couple days," his father said.

"I know."

"Then why do you have a black eye?"

"I thought it would be a cool new edgy look." He refrained from laughing out loud.

His father's hands tightened into fists. "My son cannot look like some two-bit hooligan."

"The press already knows what happened. Everything is okay."

"The other designers think you'll be a distraction from their clothes."

This time he allowed himself to sigh. "I told you I'm sorry. It was an accident."

"You're staying here. I've already found your replacement."

Adrien crossed his arms. "Fine."

Gabriel finally faced him. "I don't think you understand. You're taking my place."

"What?" Was he saying what Adrien thought he was?

"Pick a person, akumatize them, and stay out of the way for once."

"But I already have Plagg."

He walked to him. "He'll be fine in the box for a day."

Plagg never came out in front of Gabriel, but he could hear him grumbling in his pocket. "Why are you trusting me with your kwami?"

"Are you saying you'd keep it? Turn your back on your mother?"

Adrien stayed quiet. The thought had crossed his mind.

"Don't worry." He turned to his desk. "I know you wouldn't do that to your family." Tapping on the computer's keyboard, he added, "Besides, my spies have been instructed on how to take you down should that happen."

His father had already made plans against him should he turn. For some reason, that didn't sting like it should have. "Sounds like fun."

Gabriel stopped typing and looked up at him over his glasses. "You'll find that controlling others isn't so easy."

"I'll do my best." Adrien turned to leave.

"One more thing."

Stopping, he faced his father.

"Ladybug was out last night."

"There was a fire."

"And you were there?" he asked, testing him. What else could it be? With his spies, he knew exactly where Chat and Ladybug were the moment they appeared.

"Yes."

"Yet you didn't attack her."

Lifting a brow, he said, "She was saving lives."

A long moment passed where Adrien hoped his father would see reason and leave it at that. "I thought you learned your lesson," Gabriel said.

Both of Adrien's brows lifted. "I did. Ladybug is my prey."

His father slowly straightened. "Does the lion not attack because the prey is young or old, or doing something innocent or unassuming?"

"Actually, lionesses do the hunting."

His eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you attack her?"

"Because she was saving lives," he answered, exasperated.

Gabriel scoffed. "Sentiment."

"I told you from the beginning that no one dies. That includes people she's actively rescuing."

"What about afterward?"

Adrien didn't have an answer for that.

His father turned his back to him. "Go."

The silence filling the room screamed bitter disappointment. It cut him worse than any admonishment ever could. Taking a step forward, he said, "We will get mom back."

A wall of ice and all of Antarctica might as well have been separating them. His father made no move, let alone a sound, to signify he'd heard him.

Adrien shivered, and left the room with heavy feet. The only prick of light offering solace was meeting up with Marinette...and Nathaniel for lunch.

oOoOo

Wine bottle in hand, Adrien rushed down the green expanse of the park toward the pond. He dodged people playing frisbee as well as the blankets of lounging couples. Nathaniel had chosen another odd place for them to meet to look at his comic.

He slowed to a walk and made sure his breathing and appearance were calm, not harried in the least. A couple young girls giggled his name after recognizing his face, but his gaze found Marinette and he found himself transfixed. She was simply radiant.

Marinette opened a blanket to lay over the grass somewhat close to the water. The slight breeze made both the cloth and her skirt billow out. Sunlight bathed her in a warm glow and made the pond sparkle. It was the perfect image of a picnic.

The wind picked up, sending her hair and blanket to whip wildly about. Brows furrowed, she lowered the cloth to the grass and stepped barefoot on the edge in a wide legged stance to keep most of it down. The other half, though, refused to cooperate.

The sight made him smile, and he stopped to watch her.

Bending forward, she planted her hands on the blanket and spread it out as she lowered to her knees. Not yet reaching the other end, she kept stretching and stretching, until she went too far and fell flat on her stomach, face buried in the cloth.

A laugh burst out from between Adrien's pressed lips. He darted to her, grabbed the picnic basket, and placed it on the curled edge her fingers were desperately reaching for.

To her prostrate form, he said, "You looked like you needed a little help."

"Did you just see all of that?" she asked, the blanket muffling her words.

He bit back another laugh. "No. I didn't see you just tackle this blanket."

She groaned and continued lying there in the shape of an X.

"Are you going to stay like that the entire time?"

"Maybe."

"You know, if another breeze comes, you're going to give everyone over there quite a show," he said referring to her skirt facing the direction of the wind.

"I have shorts on."

Smothering another chuckle, he bent forward and whispered, "You don't have to be embarrassed."

"I'm not embarrassed. I'm just making sure this blanket smells okay."

"Does it?"

"Like a summer breeze."

He straightened and finally allowed himself to laugh. "Marinette, you are quite possibly the most adorable person I know."

Her head snapped up and she looked at him through her bangs. Her cheeks were indeed flushed. "I am?"

"Absolutely." He held out a hand for her to take.

She pushed herself up to her knees, grabbed his hand, and stood nearly eye to eye with him.

Enjoying the feel of her touch, he didn't let go of her.

"Thank you," she said, the words coming out breathy.

Her blue eyes transfixed him, luring him in closer. He thought of how her lips had been on his recently as Chat Noir, so soft and tantalizing, and he wished he could kiss her like that again. But he was not the daring villain and he had no alcohol in his system to blame.

Just as he let go of her, a gust of wind knocked her forward. She collided into him, chest to chest, legs tangled around his, and hands latched onto his arms. The blanket encircled their ankles as if to shackle them together.

He blinked.

She did too, her eyelashes brushing across his neck like two feathers.

Should he move? He didn't want to.

And apparently neither did she.

"Marinette?" he asked.

She jerked back, trying to step away, but ended up tripping over the bundled blanket. Falling backwards, her eyes widened, lips parting. Then, snapping out of his stupor, he caught her, yanking her back to him with enough force to have her smooshed against him once more. This time, though, her arms were wrapped around him as if in an embrace.

He definitely didn't want to move now.

What if he wrapped his arms around her too? No. He had to find out who she liked first. No point in making a fool of himself if it wasn't him.

The young girls off to the side giggled and then ran away when he looked at them.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm such a klutz."

Still holding onto him, she looked down at herself and lifted a leg, shaking it to free her foot from the blanket.

He watched as she worked, thinking only of kissing her senseless. His entire being demanded it of him. His fingers yearned to tighten around her, not letting her escape.

Good lord, he had a problem.

When she separated herself from him, every cell in his body booed.

Spreading out the blanket again, she said, "Let's pretend that didn't happen." She pointed at where he'd come from. "Go back and let's start over."

He glanced at the people throwing the frisbees, then looked back at her with a raised brow.

"Go on," she demanded.

Shrugging, he walked a few steps away before turning around.

"Further."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I wanted everything to look nice before you got here. And Nathaniel too," she added almost as an afterthought.

"But—"

"No."

He marched over to her, kicking up the blanket on purpose.

She gasped in horror.

"I don't care if it's perfect," he said, looking her in the eyes. "You're here and that's all I need."

A light blush dusted her cheeks. "Need?"

"Want," he tried to correct himself, and failed.

Pink turned to red. "Want?"

Heat rose to his own cheeks. "All I'm saying is that you being here makes it perfect. Nothing else matters."

He was making it worse, wasn't he? Someone slap him before he confessed his love for her.

Those same girls ran by, screeching 'kiss.' He wanted to chunk something at them.

She inhaled. "Then help me with the blanket."

He put the bottle of wine next to the basket and did as she said, grateful for the distraction. Once the cloth was spread out, they settled on it and looked everywhere but at each other.

He'd said too much and she didn't like him. That was the reason for the awkwardness. It had to be.

"Your eye looks better."

He shrugged. "It's the makeup. My dad didn't want me out in public without it on." He glanced around them. "Where's Nathaniel?"

She flinched, as if she'd forgotten he was supposed to be there too, and grabbed her phone out of the pocket hidden in her skirt. "I don't know." Her thumbs flew over the screen as she texted him a message.

A reply came back right away.

"He says his project is taking longer than expected and that he should be here in about fifteen minutes, but to not wait for him to eat."

"Have you seen this project?"

She shook her head. "The last time I was at his place was right after the party."

"Oh. Has he said what it was?"

"No."

"Is it commissioned?"

"I don't know anything about it."

He threw his hands up in the air. "Do you even talk to him?"

She laughed. "Not really."

"I'm starting to doubt there even is a comic."

"There is." She reached for the basket to pull out a couple containers of salad, some bread, and spoons.

Watching her carefully, he took the proffered food. "You seem okay."

"It's a beautiful day. No major crises in the city or my personal life. Of course, I'm okay."

"No. About the breakup."

She chewed her food slowly, making him wait forever for a reply. "I am okay. He was sweet, but I never planned on marrying him."

"Who do you plan on marrying?"

Suddenly tense, she stared at her container.

He leaned forward. "Is there someone you've thought about?"

She swallowed. Hard.

"Ah ha. You do like someone else." It took everything in him to play it cool. "Come on, tell me who it is."

She shook her head.

"I'll keep it a secret."

She shoved a heaping spoonful of salad into her mouth, then shrugged as if talking would forever be impossible.

He eyed her. "Fine. Don't tell me. I'll figure it out though."

Her face paled.

"Is it Jeremy from your self defense class?"

Her brows furrowed and she shook her head.

"Good. Because he's married." He considered the other men in her life. "Daniel? The Rock looking guy?"

She nearly spit out her food trying not to laugh and shook her head again.

He took a bite of the tuna salad and hummed in delight. "This is really good. Did you make it?"

She nodded.

"You should cook more." Back to the topic at hand, who else could it be? He wanted to ask if it was him, but he couldn't bear it if she laughed.

One of the young girls who'd teased them earlier about kissing, yelled for help.

They jerked their heads toward her.

The girl stood near the water, waving for someone's attention. "Help! My friends aren't coming back up!"

Except for the choppiness of the wind, the water was pretty much still. But there wasn't usually a lot of splashing with drownings.

Others started running toward the pond, but Adrien and Marinette were already diving in.

Marinette's head popped above the water a moment after him. She pointed off to the side. "There's one right there. Get her and I'll look for the other."

Adrien nodded, dipped under, swam in the direction she'd pointed, and felt around for a limb, clothing, hair, anything. He found only water. Diving lower, he caught a flailing arm and hauled her to the surface.

He searched for Marinette, but didn't see her. Panic made his nerves light up. The girl in his arms started wailing, hitting the water, and kicking him, so he swam to the edge and carried her to the grass. A desperate woman took her from his arms.

"Thank you," she said and immediately went to calming the frightened girl.

The moment he was free, he turned to the water and found the surface empty. "Did the woman I jump in with come up?"

"No," the girl answered, eyes fixed on the pond, chewing her lip. "I told them not to go in. I told them."

Marinette had been under too long. He doubted if even he could hold his breath for that long.

Someone shouted, "There!"

Marinette swam to the bank, legs kicking furiously. He breathed out in relief, but then he realized the girl she'd rescued wasn't moving. His heart clenched. Silence rushed over the people watching.

After dragging her out just enough to be clear of the water, Marinette positioned her hands on the girl's chest and pumped. Everyone darted to her, but stayed clear to let her work. A woman sobbed. Another was talking to the police on the phone. But nothing distracted Marinette. She continued the CPR as if her own life depended on it.

The girl coughed, water spilling from her mouth. She blinked and dragged in a breath that sounded ragged and raw. The girl's parents rushed to her, picking her up and squeezing her between them.

Marinette sat back, chest heaving, and pushed away the wet hair plastered to her face.

Adrien's jaw went slack. She was the most amazing person ever. Here she was, absolutely normal, yet she hadn't hesitated in rescuing the girls.

Her gaze found his and she got to her feet, smiling. "Good job, partner."

"Partner?"

"Yeah. We made a pretty good team."

They really had. She'd known what to do, directed him, and he'd followed through. It reminded Adrien of him and Ladybug.

Concern flashed across her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He schooled his features. "I was just thinking the picnic is ruined now."

She laughed. "So a little water is enough to take Adrien Agreste down, huh? I'll have to remember that the next time you leave your shoes out for me to trip over."

"I never leave my shoes in the middle of the room. Besides, this isn't a little water. We're soaked."

He tried not to glance at the way her dress clung to her curves, but then that made him think of her in a towel, sans bruises, which made him think of the box of her underwear he'd spilled after she'd moved in. And to top it all off, he thought of how she'd kissed him—Chat, and what that might be like if she was in her underwear, wrapped in a towel, and soaking wet. His nerves sparked from head to toe by the time his mind was done spiraling out of control.

When he glanced at her, he realized her gaze was on his own wet clothes. He shifted, suddenly uneasy. Did she find him attractive? She hadn't answered Nathaniel at the reception, but she did say he was gorgeous at the restaurant. Granted that was after he'd called her that. She could've just returned the compliment to be polite.

Their eyes met, and a blush colored her cheeks. He felt his own warm.

"Ugh, just kiss already," the girl who'd called for help said. The one he'd saved stood beside her with a dopey grin on her face, as if she was watching her favorite romcom.

"We're just friends," he snapped, and ushered Marinette back to the blanket, which he planned on wrapping around her, partly to keep her warm, but mostly for his own sanity.

One of the little brats yelled, "Yeah, right, mister," at their backs.

AN - Nathaniel is at it again. Lol! From the beginning of the story, I've been waiting to work in a scene where Adrien and marinette rescue someone and have them work together as a team once again, only they don't know it. I hope it turned out well.

Thank you for being patient with me. This week has been crazy, valentines and taxes. Which I'm still not done with. Hopefully I'll have more time to write next week. Though the little one is out of school for Memorial Day. Life, argh. Lol

My sister is awesome. You all are awesome. And I'm a lucky gal. :D

Update: editeD