Chapter Text
Adrien stood in front of his father’s desk, watching silently as Gabriel scanned the document he held.
His Mission: Successfully woo, court and ensnare the student known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
His Reward: High school.
He shifted from one foot to the other.
“Physics and Chemistry?” Gabriel asked, narrowed eyes sliding away from the paper to land upon his son.
Having already known what his father would say, Adrien jumped to defend himself.
“I know it’s more of a time commitment than the other classes, but I share every other class with either Marinette or one of her close friends. It’d be a little suspicious to be around them the entire day, especially in the beginning. And the study hall I share with Marinette is immediately after one of our classes together. I might be able to talk her into studying with me.”
“And the homework?”
“I’ll get it done during study hall. Plenty of time for modeling after school or on the weekends.”
His father contemplated the idea for a long moment before he nodded his approval.
“Very well. Nathalie,” His father’s assistant stepped forward at her name, taking his schedule request from his father’s outstretched hand. “Send this to the school. If there is any pushback remind them of who he belongs to.”
“Yes sir.” Nathalie ducked out of the office and Gabriel picked up a Manila folder, clicking his tongue and tapping the desk with it twice before handing it over.
“What’s this?” Adrien asked, thumbing it open.
“I assumed you’d like to see what the girl looks like. An intern was able to get a few photos.”
Adrien snapped the folder closed, then awkwardly tucked it under his arm.
“Uh, y-yeah. Thanks.” At his father’s raised brow, Adrien winced. “Thank you, I mean. Thank you, father.”
“You’re dismissed.”
Adrien nodded, backing out of his father’s office and taking the stairs up to his room two at a time. Shutting the door behind him and turning the lock, Adrien tossed the folder onto the lid of his grand piano, sighing as it came to a stop right at the edge.
It was one thing to know he was going to school solely to trick some girl into liking him. One thing to study her schedule and the profile Nathalie had made about her and plan how he was going to do it.
Another thing entirely to actually look at her, to know she wasn’t just a theoretical pawn in the plan his father had come up with.
That she was real. And if she found out what he was doing it would hurt her.
Unable to deny the curiosity despite his hesitation, Adrien’s fingers twitched toward the file, itching to pick it up and study her.
Her work had won her multiple awards in the last three years. A derby hat for one of his father’s junior competitions, a pair of sunglasses for a rock star and costumes for an indie horror film had quickly brought her name to his father’s attention.
She was seventeen, just a handful of months younger than him. She was an only child and she lived with her father, Tom Dupain, and her mother, Sabine Cheng, in an apartment above the bakery her parents owned. She was her class’s representative, nearly top of her class (only beaten out by some kid named Max), and she seemed to be very involved in…well, everything.
Though he’d tried, he couldn’t pin down her niche. She was a designer, obviously, but she seemed to be everywhere else all at once too.
Winning a video game tournament, in studio with an indie band, VIP seats at sporting events, credited on an up and coming comic book series…
His father’s employees were almost constantly updating them with mentions of her name.
Sure, being in the same class as the mayor’s daughter probably explained some of those things. The private school catered to the wealthy, the notable, but Marinette?
She was above and beyond all of that.
Unless she’d just magically charmed her way into it there had to be something about her that made people like her and what she did.
There had to be.
His fingers caught the edge of the folder and gripped it, merely a second away from pulling it open, when a loud meow rang through the air.
Looking down at the furball winding its way around his ankle, Adrien left the folder and focused instead on picking up his cat, pulling the grumpy looking gremlin into his arms like an infant.
“Plaggie! Did you miss me, handsome boy? Oh look at that face. You’re so grumpy.” He chided, gently bopping the cat’s nose with his finger. “Come on, say you missed me.”
“I despise you.” Adrien spoke in a lower tone, smiling as Plagg’s ears perked up at the sound.
“You love me.” Adrien replied, gently rubbing behind Plagg’s ears. “I know you do. I feed you, play with you, clean up after you-“
“I don’t love anything but cheese!” Adrien grumbled, taking Plagg’s paw and miming a furious wave in the air. “I demand my sustenance, peasant!”
“Okay, okay.” Adrien pretended to concede, gently placing Plagg on the end of his bed. “Cheese it is, your highness!”
Plagg jumped down onto the hardwood with a soft thud, eagerly padding after Adrien as he retrieved one of Plagg’s treats from the mini fridge under his desk.
“Cheese flavor.” Adrien announced as he held it out for Plagg to sniff. “As you requested, sir.”
Plagg sniffed once then snatched the biscuit out of Adrien’s hand, carrying it off to devour it elsewhere as Adrien chuckled at his antics, laughter only dying down as he caught sight of the folder again.
He could do it. It wouldn’t be so bad.
He wasn’t interested in anyone else. He didn’t know anyone else. And from what Gabriel’s employees could tell, she wasn’t committed to anyone either. He wouldn’t be taking her from someone she loved, he’d just…become that someone.
And if Gabriel’s plan worked in its entirety Adrien knew he could be a good husband. He’d provide for her, take care of her- he wouldn’t hurt her. Not more than he had to.
And being connected to him would bolster her career! More than Gabriel already intended to. He could- he could do something to make up for the way they were deceiving her.
He would.
He’d make sure of it.
And knowing what she looked like ahead of time would only help him, wouldn’t it? He could be sure to give her a good first impression if he was looking out for her. Then maybe she’d fall in love with him and pursue him instead and he’d just go along with it. He could be agreeable. He was used to being bossed around! Good at it, even!
And besides, if Gabriel liked her then how great could she really be?
She was probably the snobby type. All primped and perfect and full of fake smiles and meaningless words and gestures meant to make the public fall in love with her.
She was probably just like Chloe.
Adrien shivered at the thought of the mayor’s daughter, a girl he’d known since they were in diapers. The thought of her hanging off of his arm for the rest of their lives, screeching complaints in his ear with her disgusting designer perfume and filled to the brim shopping bags in tow, made him almost thankful his father had chosen an aspiring designer for him to pursue instead.
Nothing could be as bad as that.
Sure, he’d probably be forced to model her every design for the rest of his life! But he already did that for Gabriel. He was-
He was used to it.
Slowly, Adrien peeled the folder open.
••••••
Marinette sat on her balcony, tapping her foot to the rhythm in her ears as she hummed, needle held between her teeth, to the newest Jagged Stone song.
Leaning back, she examined the jacket she’d made, plucking the needle from between her lips to fix a slight imperfection before she sat it aside, holding the jacket up against the Parisian skyline. The stones along the neckline glittered in the setting sun and she smiled, nodding to herself, before carrying it downstairs into her room, placing the piece on her desk to ship out in the morning.
Jagged would love it, she knew, but still she couldn’t find the courage to box it up just yet. She’d need a good night’s sleep and a final review before she felt assured enough in her design to send it off to the rockstar that’d commissioned it from her. If she disappointed one of her best customers…
Excited squeaking caught her attention and she turned to the habitat in the corner, grinning as she spotted her little companion.
“Hi, Mullo.” She cooed, reaching for the mouse’s food on a nearby shelf. “Dinner time?”
Mullo kept squeaking, excitedly bouncing along the front wall of the cage to follow Marinette’s movements. Marinette reached in and gently scratched the side of Mullo’s head before measuring out a portion of food and scattering it around the cage. After a quick check of her water, Marinette left her pet to eat, scooping her book bag off the floor and going through it.
Two weeks until the new school year started. Her last year in high school.
“I should be excited.” She told Mullo from across the room.
The mouse never responded, but it made her feel better to talk about it.
“I got into both specialties I wanted…”
Biology. And Social Sciences.
“I have classes with my friends…”
Alya and Nino. There were others too, of course, but they were arguably the best.
She’d known Nino since preschool, but they hadn’t really become all that close until Alya had moved into the city and transferred into their class. The girls had gotten along almost instantly and, after seeing the way Nino looked at her best friend, Marinette had introduced them. After a few months they’d been dating and speaking of..
“And,” She finished, turning back to Mullo to find her sound asleep in one of her hides.
Smaller, quieter, Marinette added-
“I have a boyfriend.”
Her eyes roamed over the photo pinned to the board behind her desk.
She, Alya, Nino, Kim and a few of their other friends posed by the Seine, her on one end, wrapped in a side hug from Alya, Kim on the other, his elbow rested playfully on Alix’s head.
“Not that anybody knows that. Because he’s obviously totally ashamed of me. But that doesn’t bother me. At all. I get it. Totally get it. It’s just-“
“Marinette! Come help with dinner, please!”
Marinette jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of such a well-timed distraction.
“Coming, Maman!”
Turning back at the last second, Marinette called,
”Night, Mullo!”
Lazily, Mullo opened a single eye to watch her holder leave.
Alone, she closed her eyes, settling back into her comfy bedding.
”Goodnight, Marinette.”