Chapter Text
Adrien yawned softly, stretching his arms above his head as he approached his classroom.
It was early. Too early.
His dad had forced him up at the crack of dawn for a morning photo shoot and right now, he would kill to be back in bed. One of these days, Adrien swore, he was going to convince his father to let him give up modeling.
Hah, right. Like that would ever happen.
Adrien snickered quietly to himself as he strode down the abandoned hallway and the practically silent building as he entered his classroom.
Upon turning the doorknob, he blinked in surprise at the sight of someone already in class.
It wasn’t just anyone either. It was Marinette. The girl who had most likely been late to her birth.
She was hunched over her desk, her attention glued to her phone In fact, Adrien was certain that she hadn’t even noticed his arrival with how focused she was. Her nose was scrunched adorably and her pretty pink lips were pursed in a pout as she glared down at her phone.
Marinette huffed loudly, her brow furrowing even further as her cheeks puffed out in annoyance. Her fingers tapped loudly on her phone screen and Adrien simply could not resist leaning closer to her.
His shoulder brushed faintly against hers as a small chuckle left his lips. “What are you doing here so early, Marinette?”
“D’AH!” she screamed, jumping about ten feet in the air. Her phone jumped with her and she flailed for it, fumbling it between her fingers before finally catching it safely.
She let out a relieved sigh after doing so before whipping to face him, her blue eyes practically blazing with a flaming fury. “Hey! What on earth were you thinki-,” Marinette trailed off, her cheeks burning into a deep, rosy red as their noses almost bumped together. She squeaked, scrambling back away from him, only barely managing not to fall off her seat. Adrien bit back the quiet sigh that would have left his lips as he instantly missed the warmth of her shoulder against his.
“A-Adrien! H-hello. What doing are here? I-I mean what are you doing here?”
“I asked you first.” His eyes twinkled at her with amusement.
“O-Oh, right,” Marinette chuckled sheepishly, tucking a stray strand of hair that had fallen out of her pigtails back behind her ear. She closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath before giving him a small smile. “I actually woke up early today because I wanted to spend more time with this new game I got absolutely addicted to.”
“Ooh, what game?” Adrien moved to sit next to her, scooting closer. He intentionally bumped his shoulder against hers as he leaned in to look down at her phone screen. “Is it Ultimate Mecha Strike? I didn’t know that was on mobile now.”
Marinette’s eyes widened, her lips parting as she seemed to forget how to breathe. He caught a brief flash of her screen before she seemed to snap back into reality, quickly turning it off before Adrien could see much more than a glimpse.
He didn’t believe it possible but her cheeks had turned an even darker shade of red as he glanced up at her.
“N-Nothing!” she stuttered.
Well, that reaction certainly told Adrien that it was, undoubtedly, something. And something big if Marinette was hiding it from him.
Adrien couldn't help but be intrigued by Marinette's reaction. Her sudden flustered demeanor only added fuel to his curiosity. "Come on, Marinette," he teased, nudging her playfully with his elbow. "You can't hide it from me forever. What kind of game is it? What if I want to play it?"
Marinette squirmed in her seat, a nervous giggle escaping her lips. "It's just... a silly little game, nothing special. Trust me, it isn’t something you’d play," she insisted, but her attempt at nonchalance only made Adrien more determined to find out.
"Ah, come on, don't leave me hanging like this," he urged, flashing her a charming smile. "How do you know I won’t like it unless I know what it is first?"
Marinette seemed to freeze for a moment, blinking at him in surprise before throwing her head back in a loud laugh. Adrien’s heart thumped louder as he listened to her guffaw. A smile tugged at his lips as he leaned back to watch her slap her hand against her desk as she practically rolled with laughter.
Suddenly, he was positively delighted with the fact that his father had woke him up early to go to a photo shoot. Anything would be worth it to hear Marinette giggle like this.
Finally, after gasping in a few deep breaths and wiping a tear from her eye, she turned to him.
And wow. Had Marinette ever looked at him like that before?
Her smile was positively wicked as she reached to turn her phone back on, this time showing it to him directly.
“It’s the newest otome game from one of my favorite developers,” Marinette snickered. “Alya reminded me that it came out yesterday so I’ve been devouring it today. Still think you’re interested?”
Adrien blinked down at the handsome blonde on her screen in surprise. His cheeks reddened even as his chest seemed to tighten uncomfortably ever so slightly.
Clearing his throat, he rubbed at his stomach, wondering aloud, “O-otome game?”
“Yeah, you know like, um...” she trailed off, nibbling at her lip before snapping her fingers. “A dating sim!’
“So you’re dating this guy then?” He frowned, the uncomfortable feeling in his chest worsening.
“Not for real, silly!” Marinette giggled, shaking her head before blushing. “I-I mean i-it’s just a game. I-It’s not real, of course. I-I only play for the story anyway.”
“Oh,” Adrien said, blinking back down at her phone screen as he shook away the last vestiges of the peculiar feeling. “So what’s the story like then?”
Her eyes brightened as she tapped back into the game. “So you play as the main heroine who suddenly realizes that she has powers that you can’t understand or control, right? And, as you slowly learn more about them you um, meet the male leads.” Marinette shot a quick glance over at him before darting it straight back to her phone screen. “A-anyway they help her understand that she isn’t the only one with powers and are taking her to this school where she can learn even more.”
All of a sudden, Marinette huffed, drumming her fingers angrily at her desk. “Or, at least they would if my cards were strong enough to beat this stupid level.”
“Cards?” Adrien asked, tilting his head.
“Oh, yeah I almost forgot to mention! The cards are the main part of the game!” She tapped on the screen, taking them to an entirely different menu as she pushed the phone closer to him. “You pull here for cards with the gems you have. You want the cards with the highest stars because those do the most damage.”
“Like a gacha game!” He grinned, feeling his stomach flutter happily at the beam Marinette gave him.
“Exactly!” She snapped her fingers excitedly. “So every event that comes around makes you want to spend more money than you should ever be spending on a game.”
Adrien chuckled, brushing his fingers through his hair. “I know the feeling.”
“So,” Marinette started, her devilish smile coming back as she leaned closer to him. A mischievous twinkle sparkled in her bright blue eyes. “Still think you’re interested in playing?”
“Mmm, maybe.” He leaned in closer to her, his thigh brushing against hers. “I’ve always wanted to fulfill my dreams of being a magical girl.”
Marinette laughed, sending a shiver of satisfaction down his spine. “Alright, Sailor Moon, the game is called Fantasy Hearts: Academy of Legends. Feel free to play to your heart’s content.”
“Oh, I intend to. Might even get farther in the story than you.”
Her eyes narrowed playfully. “I’d love to see you try. I’ve already got three five stars.”
The sound of a backpack falling to the floor had the two springing away from each other, staring up in surprise as Alya smirked down at the two of them. “Am I interrupting something?”
“N-no! W-we were just talking about the new game you showed me last night.” Marinette shook her head, waving her arms in front of her. “R-right, Adrien?”
“Y-yeah,” his voice cracked and he winced internally. Clearing his throat, he moved to stand up from Marinette’s seat, ready to head back over to his own seat. “We were just um discussing Fantasy Hearts.”
Alya’s smirk grew impossibly wider. “Oh, yes, I’m certain that’s exactly what you were interested in talking to Marinette about, sunshine. I’m sure Fantasy Hearts: Academy of Legends is the perfect game for you.”
“Right, well.” Adrien gave a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. “I should probably head back to my desk now since Mlle. Bustier should be here shortly.”
Alya snickered as he practically scurried back to his desk where a beaming Nino greeted him. He wiggled his eyebrows at him but Adrien simply ignored it, pulling out his notebook as he tried to ignore his flaming cheeks.
As much as he wished to be back up still talking with Marinette about literally anything, it was time to pay attention to class. Maybe they’d be able to talk after class?
Sneaking a quick look behind him, he caught Marinette’s eye and gave her a crooked smile which she responded to with a deep blush and a small wave.
As Mlle. Bustier strode through the open door, Adrien refocused his attention on the lesson, his mind occasionally drifting back to the conversation with Marinette. A smile drifted across his lips as he began taking down notes. Yep, today was already shaping up to be a great day.