42. Chapter 42
Tomorrow will be the last day of their school trip yet nobody knows, even their respective best friends, what's the real score between Adrien and Marinette.
Their flirty banter and touchy feels were nonexistent before they left Rouen, only to become a norm the next day after they visited Le Havre and few towns in Orne. Not to mention how they shut Chloe Bourgeois up with just a hand kiss and a nose poke scenario - like how Ladybug brushed off Chat Noir's advances - leaving the mayor's daughter stupefied and floored with animosity.
If one would exclude a certain model's shopping spree in Camembert town, Adrien and Marinette's newfound relationship was ranked as the most controversial thing that happened throughout the trip. As if their casual friendship for years was nothing but a cover-up of their actual romance.
"Spill." Alya declared as she slammed the cubicle's door that jolted some of the female occupants. "I've been holding myself back for days, observing your dilly dances with your love of your life, and I'm on my wits end now so tell me what the hell happened between you and Adrien or else - "
"As what I've told you, we talked. That's it." Marinette replied nonchalantly as she ribboned her top suit. "You can ask Adrien about it."
"Ask him what, if he told you how he adored you and if he knew that you've been in love with him all along?!" the brunette's voice hitched. "Young lady, we're talking Adrien fucking Agreste here! Sunshine boy, remember? Your first love? C'mon Mari, you got to have a better reaction than - than this!"
The raven-haired paused for a moment then glanced at her best friend with an exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry Alya if I'm not going crazy right now, jumping around and screaming 'Oh my God Adrien finally noticed me' or something like that. Or doing something that would meet your expectations. I...I just told him, okay? And he happened to, well, reciprocate my feelings, but that's it. We decided to talk about this after the school trip."
"Am I speaking to a Diplomat Marinette? As much as I love that side of yours, you're making this situation quite frustrating for both parties."
"Are we talking about our parties or your parties?" she grinned much to her friend's disgruntlement. "I may have or may not have heard about your ongoing bets, Alya. Tell me - whose hands got the pot?"
"Max." the bespectacled girl pouted with crossed arms. "Just to let you know, my money's on Adrien."
Marinette rolled her eyes then applied some sunblock. "I can't believe you placed a bet on him instead of me, despite the fact that you know my feelings well."
"Not only your feelings but your entire personality, my beloved child Marinette. You're belittling yourself too much because you're a terrible perfectionist. You're underestimating your charms. No wonder you never realized how Adrien sees you."
"Huh." was all she could say.
She knew Chat Noir was enamored with Ladybug, but with Marinette? He boasted, flirted a little, and rescued her like any other civilians as always. Even as Adrien too, he was a gentleman as usual. There wasn't any special treatment involved - or was there something she wasn't aware of?
"Anyways." Alya twirled her around after she capped her lotion then inspected their swimsuits reflected on the wall mirror. "Why don't we get out of here and kill our boys?"
The class decided to indulge their summer getaway by visiting one of Normandy's famous beaches. It was on those shores wherein one of the bloodiest battles of human history took place, an encounter wherein the Allied forces pitted their lives against the Nazis to take over France that finally resulted to the liberation of Europe.
It was called Operation D-Day.
Such historical event was yet to be unfolded again for Adrien and Nino's case, not until they turned around and saw their ladies in their swimwear. It was like World War II all over again.
Because, bombs.
In front of them stood Alya wearing an orange and white stringed bikini suit and Marinette in her designed two-piece pink polka dots with a halter neck top.
"Salut, boys." the brunette's greetings that made her boyfriend sputtered incoherently.
"H - H -Hi."
Adrien, on the other hand, marched towards his Lady then pulled his buttoned white shirt to cover her upper body, much to her surprise.
"Adri - "
"Hot." he interrupted while looking away. "Sun, you know. Hot. Summer. You, hot sunny summer. Yeah, hot. Protect, you know. Hot. Protect. You. So, yeah. Hot."
Marinette stared at him with incredulity, only to notice the blush that crept down to his chest. His hand was rubbing his nape like a tick, with averted gaze to likely hide his embarrassment. She couldn't help but chuckled when she saw his blazing red ears.
Always a gentleman.
"Chat got your tongue?" she teased cheekily as she clung to his free arm. He squeaked.
Guilty as charged.
Despite the heat of the sun, Adrien finds her warmth quite soothing and very welcoming. He had to control his illicit thoughts and not to think about the seductress beside him with a cute pink bikini frills in white polka dots that highlighted her porcelain skin with toned muscles and curves that -
Stop it, Adrien! Bad Adrien, Bad!
"Hey, can you bow down a little bit?" she asked him.
He was taken aback yet complied without any questions asked. She leaned forward - he blushed madly when his face dipped squarely into her chest - to bunch his hair towards his nape then snapped it with a rubber band.
"Your hair needs to be trimmed now, Kitty." she mused as she straightened her back. "It's long enough to cover your neck. Did you maintain it for an upcoming shoot?"
When he raised his head and met her bewitching eyes, he knew he got it bad. He got it so bad he might lose his self-control.
"I'll be lending you my hair tie in exchange for your shirt." the girl bounced giddily. "Isn't it amazing we're both in ponytails?"
The world seemed to stop for him, as well as his ability to breathe. All he could see was Marinette being an adorable beauty in her new hairstyle, wearing his over-sized shirt that only doubled her cuteness. Her gorgeous bluebell eyes and pretty freckles that dusted her flawless skin, and her pink pouty lips that tantalized his sense -
"DON'T YOU DARE EAT OUR PRECIOUS MARINETTE ALIVE THERE, AGRESTE!" Kim hollered as he spurted a water gun on his bare back.
The blond lashed his head angrily towards him and yelled. "I'M NOT!"
"You do!" Alix inserted while spurting water at Kim's face. "Hah! Take that!"
The athlete gurgled then began to pursue his petite classmate with a spite.
"HO - HOW DARE YOU!"
While the entire class laughed at their ridiculous chase, the raven-haired girl used the distraction to check out the person beside her.
Chat Noir's dark leather suit might've left some imaginations, but seeing the actual flesh and his defined muscles didn't do any justice. Adrien was lean, but not bulgy. He was more of a hunk, with a height and face blessed by Heavens, and the way he wore his Gabriel's trunks and his sandy blond hair that was swept towards the back, he was like redoing his last year's summer shoot.
Don't drool, Marinette.
"Like what you see?" he wiggled his brows when he caught her ogling.
She groaned at his cheekiness then slapped his arm. "Shu - shut up, you mangy cat."
Adrien chuckled heartily, and while holding her hand he led her to a refreshment booth.
There were few open restaurants on the seaside with vacant seats shaded by large umbrellas. Since it was summertime, the entire place was quite busy, especially those diners that sells ice shave.
Spotting their best friends, the two decided to join their table.
"Urgh, they're here." Nino groaned as he covered his face. "They're here to torture us with their sickeningly sweet fluffy PDA. Again."
"Aww, you poor cupcake. Just bear with them for a while until we cracked their shells. They haven't confessed anything." Alya cooed while maintaining her staid glares at their feigned innocence looks.
The bastards.
"You know, I did not sign up for this." the DJ went on. "I joined your heroic mission because I pitied this extinct sunball creature I foolishly claimed as my best friend, as well as your unicorn best friend. But look what happened - these guys are burning my eyes! They're making me barfed multiple rainbows per minute!"
"Excuse me, we're here to eat." Marinette defended. "And there's nothing to be confessed here, Alya. We already told you everything."
"Uh - huh. Like I'm going to accept that explanation 'I confessed, he confessed, but we haven't had our first date yet'. My gut tells me something's missing. It's like you're keeping a scoop away from me, and I know this occurred sometime before or during the trip. But if we're talking about the Sunny Boy who didn't know the difference between East and West until yesterday - "
"Hey!"
"Ehem." the service crew coughed. "Shall I take your orders now, Monsieur? Mademoiselle?"
"Oh. Yeah, I'll be having your Mango Pudding sundae and a bowl of potato fries," said Nino.
"Potatoes again?" his girlfriend snorted indignantly then began reading the menu. "Uhm...mine's Chocolate Banana Split."
"Noted. How about you, Mademoiselle?"
Adrien didn't like how the man zeroed out Marinette, and when he winked at her he couldn't control the rumble on his throat anymore. So he lifted the girl from her seat and deposited her on his lap.
Said girl shrieked. "Adrien!"
"We're taking your Strawberry Vanilla sundae, the biggest one that's good for two people. A pack of chocolate chip cookies, a cheese sandwich and a glass of water. What do you think, Princess?" the blond flashed a toothy smile much to the crew's mortification.
Marinette was confused and left with no choice but to nod.
"Uh, yes. Ri - right away, Monsieur!"
Once the man scrambled and entered inside, Adrien caught their friends' baffled faces as they controlled their snickers. He blushed with mortification and buried his face in Marinette's shirt's collar - technically his shirt's collar - out of embarrassment.
Then their bespectacled best friends burst out laughing.
"Uhm, Adrien?" Marinette whispered, still confused. "What's the problem, Kitty?"
He hummed as he nuzzled her neck.
"Hey, Adrien? Hey."
He began to grumble about his idiocy.
"Tha - that was a big aim to his ego!" Alya guffawed while slamming the table repetitively. "Poor cinnamon kid, he can't contain his jealousy back there!"
"Je - jealousy?!"
"Aww, my baby Adrien. He finally got some rude awakening and made one shed some manly skin." Nino wiped some faked tears that earned a beady stare.
"Shu - shut up, guys." the blond growled, still clutching a confused raven-haired girl.
Marinette remained on Adrien's lap even after their food was served. He didn't move or nudge her back to her seat, and he was constantly rubbing his head on her neck like a cat marking his territory, much to their friends' gratification.
"Hey, Alya! We need your help!" Alix stormed towards their table. "Marinette too - hey, Adrien! Stop hogging our class president!"
Instead of stopping, it only prompted him to continue.
"Adrien. Let me go." Marinette scolded him when he didn't release her, and the way he adamantly shook his head tickled her more.
She squealed.
"Adrien!"
"Okay, let those lovebirds do their own business." Alya huffed with utmost annoyance. "What's the situation, Kubdel?"
Their classmate simply jerked her thumb. "Well, the girls in Lila's class challenged us for a volleyball game."
Alya stood upright then slammed their table with her hands "Holy shit - RELEASE MY BEST FRIEND AT ONCE, AGRESTE!"
The brunette tried to yank her best friend but the boy refused to give in.
"Nooo~" he whined.
"Don't make me pour this ice cold water and splash it all over your head!" Alya threatened.
"Rude!"
"Let me go, mon minou." Marinette made a serious tone while prodding his arms away. "We have a match to settle."
"Yeah!" Alix added. "And we need the Dupain-Cheng's prowess to knock 'em all!"
Adrien flashed his Kitty Eyes that almost faltered her resolution. "Bu-but...we haven't finished our ice cream."
"I'll be back, okay?"
Resigned, Adrien unwrapped his arms with a childish pout. She giggled and was about to unbutton the shirt when an idea struck her.
"Hmm. might as well wear this." she spared him a conspiratorial wink. "So that everyone would know that, well, I'm yours?"
Boy did he know she could turn his tan to a bloody red in just a matter of seconds.
The three girls laughed at his reaction, while his best friend ridiculed him further after he recovered his bearings.
"You got it bad, my friend." Nino patted his shoulder when the girls headed to the volley area. "You got it bad."
He was proven correct when Adrien saw how Marinette clumsily fell flatly on the water when she saved the ball that wetted his white shirt. Said shirt became transparent as it clings to her toned curvatures, revealing her pink polka dot bikini again.
He was so jealous of his white shirt.
.
.
.
.
If your enemies ended up with Ten points and your team got Fifteen points, it wasn't just a good game. It was a great game.
"Congrats, Mari! Nice serves." Nino cheered as he gave her two high fives then another to Alya. "Same with you, babe."
"Are we talking at my volleyed balls babe, or on my different balls?" the brunette bounced her chest, making the DJ choked his spit.
"Stop with those innuendos, you two!" the raven-haired scowled then kicked some sand on their feet. "And get a room!"
She rolled her eyes. "Look who's talking."
Both Adrien and Marinette blushed profusely.
"Why don't we leave these innocent cinnamon buns and make some other plans instead?" her suggestion earned an inward groan.
"As if I have any choices."
Once the couple left, Marinette asked her companion "Want to go for a swim, Chaton?"
"I'd rather not burn my skin more, Princess. Father's orders." Adrien shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides, I've been babysitting a bug and a cat God knows where the two went. I know Plagg is somewhere in those trash bins, but I don't know about Tikki."
"Probably with Plagg. She might be complaining about his whinny cat - itude." she chuckled at her lame pun. "But they're inseparable."
"Just like their Masters." his flirty wink earned an eye roll.
"So, are you not going to swim?" she asked him again. "Is it really because you're afraid of sunburns, or afraid of water?"
Once he heard her taunting tone, she knew it was something he couldn't help but bite. She wasn't the only one who has a competitive streak.
"Is that a challenge, My Lady?"
She placed a finger under her chin. "Hmm, maybe? Or maybe an inkling thought that cats didn't like water. Why, are you a scaredy cat, mon minou?"
He immediately chased her when she ran away.
It wasn't a similar chase like what they did on the Parisian rooftops while wearing a spandex suit, or on pavements and alleyways for their civilian and masked selves. Running and chasing each other on the sand requires more effort, but it wasn't much of a problem for two people that have stronger limbs and good cardio.
Marinette finally surrendered, and let herself be tackled and slumped on the shore by Adrien.
"Got you!" the blond declared triumphantly, but his grasp wasn't strong enough to stop her from slipping away.
"Oh no, you don't!" she giggled as she met the waves and swam further. "Cat-ch me if you can!"
There were two things that he finds irresistible in life. First is his Lady. Next is puns.
He flashed his devilish grin. "Oh yeah, I will!"
He finally got her.
But before he could claim his prize, something caught their attention.
"What's this?" Marinette muttered as she plucked a shiny object that she stepped from the bottom. "A ring?"
"Looks like an expensive ring. Gold band, small diamonds lined in the center." Adrien inspected when she passed the object. "A wedding ring."
"What gives?"
He showed her the engraved words behind the band, letting her finger traced the scriptings.
"Jusqu'à ce que la mort nous sépare. Till death do us part. Oh, and there is something inscribed here."
Gwendolyn and Rodney. M. and Mme. Nguyen.
Why do those names sound familiar?
They looked around for some possible clues of the owner. As they walked back to the shore to approach the lifeguard, a loud distress call captured their attention.
A few meters away from them was a bawling female and a frightened male who was trying to console her and at the same, trying to move her away from the sea.
The couple was too preoccupied to notice their approach.
"Let's apply something to that wound first before we can go back and look for it, Gwen." the man pleaded.
"I have to find it, Rodney! I have to find my wedding ring!" the woman sobbed on his shoulder. "I only wore it for days, just three days and now it was gone!"
"It's just a ring, merde! You're bleeding and -"
"It's not 'just a ring', it's our wedding ring! It's a symbol of our union - that you're my husband and I'm your wife!"
He groaned. "I don't want to debate with you, okay? We'll look for that later, and I promise you we'll find it. But first, we need to apply something on your foot to avoid infections."
Gwen nodded with a sniffle. "I should've left it in our room instead of wearing it during our swim."
"No one's blaming you, mon Coeur."
"Uhm, excuse me, Monsieur. Madame." Marinette finally nabbed a timing to speak yet felt embarrassed by her sudden interruption. "I'm sorry if we heard your private discussions about your missing ring. My companion and I might be able to help you find it. If you don't mind asking, what does it look like?"
The couple eyed each other briefly before they gave a description - from the ring's color to the band's ebbed words which perfectly matched the jewelry that they found.
Adrien showed it to them. "Perhaps, this is the ring that you're looking for?"
Seconds later, Gwen immediately leaped and gave the blond a bone-crushing hug.
"Mon dieu, you found my ring! My wedding ring! Thank you for finding my ring!" the woman wept much to the boy's surprise.
"I - I - I'm sorry! I - I - I'm not the one who originally found it!" he sputtered then pointed his companion. "It's her!"
Marinette squeaked when the woman leaped at her to give her a similar gesture.
"You have no idea how much I owe you for retrieving something that's so precious to me." Gwen sobbed then hugged the mortified girl with abandon.
"Ah - I - uh, I didn't do anything, Madame." the girl squeaked. "I - I only returned an item that I simply found by accident."
"But it's not just an item. You found something that symbolizes my happiness." she released her as she wiped her tears. "And there's no such thing as an accident. Everything happens for a reason."
Then it clicked.
"What's your name, young lady?" Rodney asked after assisting his wife. "And yours, young man?"
After the teens introducing themselves, he added. "Well then, Marinette and Adrien, why don't you both accompany me to our suite, and after I fix my hard-headed woman here I'll treat you to dinner?"
Both shook their heads.
"We're sorry, but we have a curfew on our hotel." the girl explained sadly. "We're on a school field trip actually, with a designated faculty that monitors our attendance."
"And she's our class president." the blond inserted, which earned him an elbow jab.
"Right now we have like, an hour remaining for our assembly time then we'll return to our hotel."
The husband frowned. "How about tomorrow?"
"We'll be traveling back to Paris tomorrow," she answered despondently.
"How about this." Gwen adjusted her stance, abandoning the pain that shoots on her foot. "Why don't you get our contact numbers, and once you visited Normandy again, you can call us so that we'll arrange for your transport immediately?"
"Uhh..."
"Normandy is a small region. The communes are accessible either by a bus or a train." the woman explained. "We're located in Argentan, and Chateau d'Eu is my ancestral home. My brother Sean is the caretaker there, but once you introduced yourselves to him, he'll be more than happy to accommodate you."
After they received their numbers and bid farewell, the teenagers decided to head back to their class venue.
"We might've missed their wedding," Adrien stated. "But someone must've made it possible."
"And we got a connection with them again."
"Exactly."
"Everything was predetermined. An occurrence that was destined to happen." Marinette muttered as she looked on the horizon. "Yet someone was able to fill in the gaps to replace us."
She felt how his fingers interlaced with hers. "It just so happened that someone was on the right place at the right time. They're not replacing us, Princess. They just did it on our behalf."
Realization dawned on them that it was all about temporal paradox again.
"It left me wondering: what if I didn't open that small box years ago? What if I didn't discover Tikki, or even learn about the Miraculous? What if I actually gave up my Miraculous? What if Alya found the earrings and became Ladybug instead?"
He halted their tracks. "Marinette..."
"What if..." she stared at his green hues. "What if you didn't become Chat Noir and we didn't meet at all?"
"Hey." Adrien cupped her face lovingly as he tried to wash all of her worries away. "We both conquered Fate and we've won the battle. We got lost yet we found each other again. We've traveled multiple dimensions but we're still here, still trying to get back together."
"We're not talking about being a Miraculous wielder, or you being the Lady Luck and me being the Black Cat." he continued. "Yin and Yang. Two souls merged into one. This is about you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and me, Adrien Agreste. Whatever life may bring us, at the end of the road we stayed together."
She chuckled as she squeezed his hand. "You really know the way with words, mon Minou."
"Destroying your doubts and fears are just some of my expertise, Bugaboo." he kissed her forehead. "you know, this got me thinking - we might have recognized each other unconsciously since the beginning."
She tilted her head. "Hmm. Maybe...?"
"I'm searching for you, you know, wondering about you and your identity. Imagine my surprise when I realized that you're just a meter away sitting behind me!" he chortled indignantly. "Maybe it's because of our Miraculous glamour, or because my logical mind said that there's one over a thousand chances for you to be someone nearby."
"Or probably," she drawled then pecked his lips. "You being someone I already know is too good to be true."
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.
They found Plagg inside the trash bin near the restaurant while Tikki was snuggling a coconut hull.
"Wakey wakey, sleepy heads." Marinette cooed as Adrien extended his arms to reach them. "We have to go now."
"Adrien? Marinette?" a voice alerted them, and when they looked back warily, they realized that it was from their adviser.
"Yes, Miss Bustier?"
"Thank goodness you haven't left yet." the teacher sighed with relief. "We're looking ten volunteers for a clean-up drive here but we lacked two people. Mind if you two can fill the slot?"
They saw eight students from a different class, and based on their crestfallen faces they seemed to be like forced tributes.
"Uhm, where are the others?" the blond looked around for any familiar faces but found none.
"Oh, haven't you heard the announcement? Your classmates already left and went back to the hotel."