Work Text:
Marinette sat on her bed, computer screen propped in front of her and a large tub of chocolate mint ice cream seated in her lap. A blanket draped across her curled in shoulders and one was drawn around her waist. The screen played old Disney movies such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Bambi and 101 Dalmatians while the occasional tear rolled down Marinette's cheeks and the only sounds she made were tiny sniffs. In all, it was like a scene out of a teenage movie.
It was the middle of Spring Break for her school and she had been ecstatic when Adrien has asked to meet her at a café two days previous. It had been nearly a year since Adrien had joined public school and once Marinette could mostly control her stuttering, the two had become decent friends. Bonding over video games and fashion, the two slipped into a friendship that, while not as deep as their bond with their respective best friend (nor a deep as the one they unknowingly had when transformed), was becoming as important to them as their other best friends.
Alya had been busy with an internship at a local news station (who had picked up on her Ladyblog) and Nino was out of the city, visiting relatives so the café trip was just between the two of them. At first, the conversation flowed between them easily but Marinette noticed the way Adrien would run his hand through his hair, the way his eyes darted to and from her. It was enough for Marinette to ask if something was wrong.
It was enough for Adrien to spill three words that broke her heart.
"There's this girl..."
From there, it was like a fire had been set inside Adrien. His eyes lit up as he described the mystery girl's courage, compassion and cleverness. He laughed freely as he spoke of her wittiness and her ingenuity. She sounded perfect. The perfect girl for the perfect guy. Finally, Adrien looked at Marinette with wide begging green eyes.
"I think I'm in love with her."
All through Adrien's speech, Marinette kept a friendly smile plastered onto her face. She laughed and patted his hand sweetly.
"Adrien, I have no doubt about it. Just tell her everything you just told me."
"But..."
Marinette gave Adrien a gentle smile. "Tell her. Tell her before someone else comes along and sweeps her off her feet and you're too late. Trust me."
As the two left the cafe, Marinette kept the same smile on her lips.
As he hugged her goodbye, Marinette squeezed his hand in support.
As she walked home alone, her feet were steady.
It was only when she was in the privacy of her room, facing the many posters of Adrien Agreste and Tikki hovering worriedly in front of her that Marinette allowed the tears to fall.
Her heartbroken sobs and screams didn't stop for hours.
Over the course of the past 56 hours, Marinette had taken down and destroyed every one of her pictures of Adrien, changed her computer background from the photo of herself and the group of friends (which had previously been of Adrien before Marinette had change it when Adrien had started coming over regularly) to the default blue and attempted to rip out every mention of her crush from her diary. (The old schedule had been long gone, an understanding of how creepy that was had been reached mid-way through the previous year). It had only been Tikki's desperate intervention that her diary remained untouched.
Sabine and Tom had heard Marinette's cries and, after an explanation, had allowed Marinette to wallow in her heartbreak for a few days under the condition that she would at least leave the house on the third day to catch up with Alya for lunch and still maintain basic hygiene levels. This meant Marinette had watched more sad movies than ever before, listened to uncountable heartbreak songs and consumed more junk food than was probably healthy.
Which brought her to Eleven o'clock at night two days later, watching Disney movies and picking at her last tub of ice cream when she was startled out of her mindless staring of Cinderella's credits by a tapping on the glass above her.
Chat Noir grinned as Marinette made eye contact, only for him to take in her puffy red eyes, her messy hair and the slight shake of her hands. He almost ripped the trapdoor off the hinges in his worry and desperation to get to Marinette.
"Princess! What wrong? Are you alright?" The words spilt from his lips.
Marinette could only raise her spoon in welcome and patted the spot next to her. "'lo Chat."
'I'd rather that nobody could see me now but I suppose it's ok if it's Chat.'
The black-clad hero dropped onto the bed, taking stock of the box of tissues and the few empty sweet wrappers scattered around her. He pressed a hand to Marinette's shoulder, the other grasped at her chin and made her look him in the eye.
"Marinette, what's wrong?"
She smiled weakly. "Nothing much. Just a broken heart." The confusion on his face strengthened the smile but it dropped when Chat shifted into a seat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She absently licked the spoon clean and handed it over to the boy next to her, picking up another one which had been used for a pudding. "Here. You can either join me and eat ice cream while I continue with my heartbroken wallowing or you can leave. I don't really mind which."
A clawed glove took the spoon from her and took a small helping of the frozen dessert. " So who do I have to go have words with for making my princess cry?"
Marinette let out a small snort as she fiddled with the keyboard next to her bringing up the next movie. She shuffled backwards, tucking herself into Chat's side and taking comfort in the warm solid presence next to her. "It wasn't his fault. He has no idea that I love him." She wedged the tub between the two. A few minutes passed in silence as the opening scenes for The Aristocats started up. She choked out the next set of words she could no longer hold in. "I just wish it didn't hurt so much." She pressed her face into Chat's shoulder as she stifled the few sobs that wanted to pass her lips.
Chat's arm curled around her more as if he could take all her pain if he just held her long enough. It was enough to break her fragile walls. The warmth and solidarity were too reminiscent of all the times Chat had been there for her alter-ego, ready to catch her if she fell and ready to strike at any threats to her back. The words came in a tumbling mess of tears and heartbreak.
"I wish I hadn't fallen for him. I wish it didn't hurt. I wish I could think whenever I saw him. I wish I had known sooner I didn't have a chance when he was already in love with someone else." Marinette felt Chat move the ice cream out of the way. She let herself be pulled into Chat's embrace; one arm wrapped around her shoulders, the other rubbing her back as she clutched at his chest. Finally, she burst out with a sentence that made Chat freeze, though she took no notice.
"I wish Adrien Agreste had never given me his stupid black umbrella!"
The declaration hung in the air for a moment as Marinette sniffed. She pressed her forehead into Chat's torso and whispered all the words she had never dared to utter.
"I wish I had never fallen for how strong he is all the time. He smiles so freely when he thinks nobody can see. He loves physics and genuinely likes tutoring the rest of us when we struggle. He's so kind despite everything that should say spoilt rich kid. He's brave. He's loyal. I just wish he was just a friend, just a classmate to me. Why did I have to fall for the one guy who I never had a chance with?"
The hands around her back started to move once more in soothing circles. Her voice grew stronger as she continued to speak.
"He asked me to meet him a café a few days ago and I was so excited. I was just happy to hang out with him. I like hanging out with him. And he was acting so nervous! I've never seen him like that." Marinette let out a watery laugh. "When I asked what was up, Adrien started talking about this girl. The way he just lit up while talking about her... I've never seen him like that. He looked so happy. It was all I could do to keep smiling. And when he finally asks for my advice, you know what I told him?"
"What?" Chat's voice was subdued and soft.
"I told him to tell her. I told him to go and find this wonderful girl and tell her how he felt." Marinette sniffed a few times. "I bet she's amazing. I hope she knows just how lucky she is."
The two teens remained in their embrace for several more moments, ignoring the screen as Thomas O'Malley flirted with Duchess.
Finally, Chat broke the silence between them. "Why didn't you tell him how you felt? Why did you just ... give up on him?"
'Why didn't you tell me? How could I have been so blind? Oh, Marinette. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry for doing this to you.'
Marinette shrugged and peeked up at her friend. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were filled with sadness and confusion.
"I want him to be happy. If that isn't me, then ok. I just... I just want him to be happy."
Chat stared down at the girl in his arms, wondering how anyone could be so selfless. "What about when you see him again?"
'I really don't deserve you.' The thought ran rampant through his mind and he subconsciously hugged Marinette closer, wishing that he had never been so blind to the feelings of the wonderful girl he held.
Marinette smiled, pain so obvious that it almost made Chat flinch. "I'll ask him how it went. I'll pretend that I'm not in love with him and I know it will hurt so much but for him? For him, I would take on the whole world." Marinette tucked her head back into the chest of her friend. "But he has his own world now so I'll pretend nothing is wrong. I have to."
Marinette remained curled in Chat's embrace for the remainder of the night, ignorant of the masked boy above her cursing himself for his blindness and pleading to every deity there was that Marinette would one day forgive him for it.