II
On the other side of town, Marinette is running. To where, she doesn’t know. Why she was running, she also did not know. To tell the truth she knew that this wouldn’t last. After they had gotten together, and after a couple nights of euphoria, it always felt off.
Nothing had changed, Marinette was still chasing after him, and after they had defeated his father, Adrien was heartbroken, not wanting to do much, so it wasn’t until recently that she started seeing him again. He was broken and not all there but he tried, as a friend.
Marinette stops running, tears drying as she pants, hands on her knees. “He never thought of Marinette as a romantic partner, Marinette is still just a friend, he loves Ladybug.” she says aloud. This was something new, her talking out loud.
Another thing that changed, there was no more need for superheroes, regular everyday stuff was left to the police and government. Tiki was put back in the guardian box as well as Plagg. So Marinette often found her talking as if Tiki was still there.
Being a superhero was fun but there was also the bitter part of bittersweet. Once the fighting is done. You're just- you.
Marinette looked around and she found herself staring at the Louvre.
“How far did I go?”
A moment later and she realizes not far enough. Someone was calling her name.
“Marinette!”
‘Kagami! What is she doing here?’ She opts not to say this out ;oud.
After Marinette and Kagami became what could be called friends, the two grew to enjoy each other's company, and Marinette found that when she couldn’t find or go to Alya about something, there was Kagami.
Right now though she couldn’t do it. Her thoughts were too mixed up and she was still trying to process what Adrien had said.
So like any rational person would do, she hid. In an alley, behind a dumpster with her head between her knees hoping to make herself as scarce as possible.
But as always, Kagami found her, on the verge of crying again no less.
“Marinette!” Kagami cries out in joy at having found her friend.
Marinette lifts her head, tear tracks and mascara staining her face. “Ah… K-kagami- I didn’t know you were… here?”
Kagami huffs out a laugh, “Yeah, I’m here now.” She comes to crouch in front of the other. “Want to tell me what happened?” she says as she moves a strand of hair out of Marinette’s face and behind her ear.
Marinette had let it down her pigtails when she was 16, finally realizing how childish she looked, now more often than not it was down or in a bun.
Marinette sniffles and gives a weak laugh, “I think I overreacted…”
“Whatever that bastard did to you to make you cry like this was not overreacting! I think everyone who knows you by now knows that you don’t show what you're really feeling enough.” Kagami says sternly, but clearly worried.
“Thank you-”
Kagami nods and waits for whatever else the other wanted to say.
“-but I don’t think I want to talk about it right now. Its to- to fresh.”
Kagami accepts this but scowls at the thought of Adrien hurting the kind girl in front of her.
Marinette startles and waves her hands, trying to calm Kagami down. “B-but Adrien didn’t do anything wrong! Yeah it hurt but it's not like he did something that he wasn’t allowed to!”
Kagami scoffs but stops scowling, instead choosing to stand up and hold out her hand to Marinette. “Come on. Let's go get something to eat, it's on me.”
Marinette gives a smile, small, but there none the less and she takes Kagami’s hand.
“Where to?”
--
Luka watches the other male that sat across from him, legs crossed on his bed as the two sit in silence.
Adrien's sound is like an orchestra, the music melancholy and staccato.
Adrien's head is down and his shoulders are shaking. No signs show that he would be talking anytime soon so Luka speaks first, hoping to urge the other into talking.
“What happened?”
Adrien shakes his head but doesn’t look up, “I messed up! I-” More sobs rack his body.
Instead of yelling like Kagami would have, Luka wraps his arms around Adrien's shoulders, aiming for comfort, because clearly what happened wasn’t as simple as Adrien hurting Marinette.
“Shh. You can take your time, I don’t blame you. All I want to know is why you’re crying.”
Adrien takes a deep breath.
‘That's a good sign,’ he thinks.
“I- I broke up with Marinette.”
Luka tenses momentarily before relaxing again. “Broke up? Why?”
“God I don’t know. I mean I do know but I hurt her so bad! I just shouldn’t have said anything! We could have been happy!”
Luka just shakes his head, “No. It takes both sides for a relationship to be happy, you shouldn’t force yourself to love someone. It would only hurt her more in the end.”
“You think so?”
Luka hums, “Yeah. I do. I remember back in high school when Marinette and I were dating. I wanted to be in that relationship but her heart wasn’t fully in it. We loved each other but I’m sure it was more so as friends.”
“Is that why you broke up?”
“Yeah.”
“O-oh.”
“So, do you want to talk now? I promise I wont judge, it seems like you need a friend.”
Adrien sighs and melts into Lukas hug, all tension seeping out of his body.
Luka smiles a little, grateful that Adrien couldn’t see him.
After a moment Adrien speaks still wrapped in Lukas arms, “You know the whole Ladybug and Chat noir thing. Well, I was always in love with Ladybug and when- when our identities were revealed, it was only natural that the two of us date! I mean, Marinette was head over heels for me in civilian form and I had sworn that I would love whoever was behind the mask.”
Luka makes a noise of understanding, “So you feel your guy's relationship was more out of obligation?”
“I mean yeah but- that wasn’t the only thing.”
“Oh?”
“I think that I may have fallen for someone else.” Adrien audibly cringes at the last part of his sentence and pulls away from the hug.
Luka tries not to whine at the loss of warmth and continues to listen to what Adrien was saying. Also quite surprised at this new revelation.
“Does that mean that I’m un-loyal? I mean it happened /while/ I was dating someone Luka!”
Luka lifts a hand to tap his lips thoughtfully “I don’t think that makes you un-loyal. Like you were saying, you never were truly in this relationship and you got out of it before you could cause the other party more pain.”
“But there's more!” Adrien cries.
Lukas eyes widened, ‘More?’
Adrien finally looks up, pupils contracted and scared, still brimmed with unshed tears.
“Luka the person I like is a guy.”
Luka stares.
“What.”