unexpected feelings | marichat

chapter seven

marinette's pov
"yeah, there's this really nice juice place across the street from there, i bet my bodyguard could drop us off then we could hang out at the zoo together for a little bit ," adrien answered, and i nodded slightly.
"uh, okay! that sounds fun," i answered, my voice slightly trembling. why would i say yes? trying not to be in love with him would be much harder if we went to the zoo together, ALONE especially.
then again, maybe this could help train me to be just his friend? my brain was a mess the whole car ride to the juice place, but then, as we got off, adrien spoke up again.
"so, i saw the pictures of you and chat noir from yesterday. how'd you like spending time with him?" he inquired, and i mentally groaned. of course the pictures were all over the internet, now everyone thinks i'm canoodling with a superhero.
"ohh haha, i didn't think very many people had seen them. it was actually really fun, though. he may sometimes dish out the worst puns, but chat is actually really nice. i think ladybug is extremely lucky to have him as a partner," i giggled a bit before continuing. his puns really WERE awful, but something about that made them funny. "i doubt he'll show up again, but i wouldn't mind it at all if he did."
adrien looked off to the side before turning to me and smiling.
"it sounds like you had a ton of fun, marinette. i'm sure he'll show back up to pester you some more, he probably had just as much fun as you," adrien laughs, and i giggle yet again. hey! look at me being just friends with him and not messing up on all my words like usual. this is so much nicer than i thought it would be.
we ordered our juices and walked towards the zoo, keeping steady conversation and shocking me with the fact that i was able to go so long without going all fly brained around him. i glanced down at tikki and she gave me a grin, which i returned quickly before turning back to adrien, who was reminiscing on when his mother brought him to the zoo.
"my father and her were never big fans of letting me go out. they said it was too dangerous, but we went out much more than my father and i do now. a favorite of my mother was this zoo, she would always walk around the cages with me while my father sat on a bench, working on different designs. then, when we got tired, we would all go home and eat dinner as a family. it wasn't anything too special, but every now and then i still think about how much i miss it," adrien finished, giving me a small smile. his eyes glossed over a bit, and he suddenly became exceedingly interested in the monkey cage.
"your mother seemed to be a really awesome person, adrien. i wish i could have met her," i smiled softly at him.
"me, too. she would have loved you," he said, looking into my eyes again. i blushed furiously and looked down. just a friend! just a friend! luckily, adrien continued to talk.
   "okay, we have about thirty minutes left before i have to go home. so, since we've been talking a bit about mine, i want to know more about your childhood. what do you remember?" he asked, and i closed my eyes, thinking of what i remembered. smiling, i answered.
   "well, besides a whole lot of video games and baking, i remember coming here with my grandma. she would pick me up early in the morning, then we'd grab these horrible candies that i used to loveeee as a kid and just walk around looking at the animals. after a while, we'd get bored and head to the park, where i would ride the carousel for hours. then, we'd go home, where my mom and dad would have a yummy meal waiting for us," i finished, looking up at adrien. he smiled, but his eyes showed a twinge of something else. sadness, maybe?
   "seems like this zoo was a favorite of everyone, huh?" he laughed lightly, and i nodded, grinning at him like an idiot. we stayed silent for a minute, until i noticed a flash of blue-green hair walking near us. luka.
    "hey, look, it's luka. do you think he sees us?" i asked adrien, and he looked behind him.
   "probably not. should we say hi?"
   "i mean, it'd be rude not to, right?" i giggled, and we walked towards him. i hadn't talked to luka in person since before i left for new york, and honestly, i didn't know what to say. what clarity did i even gain from this trip? that i still loved adrien but decided to just be his friend because that was the only way i could talk to him without foaming at the mouth? lucky for me, i wouldn't have to face him alone on our 'grand reunion.'
   "hey, luka!" i called out, and he looked up from his guitar, his face brightening at the sight of us.
   "marinette, adrien! how are you?" he asked, hugging me and patting adrien's back.
   "good! we were just walking around the zoo since we had a free period."
   "yeah, it's been perfect," i gushed, before straightening up. "anyways haha, how are you?"
   "i'm good, we were let out of school early since it's friday and i decided to do something out of the ordinary to finish a tune i've been working on. you guys wanna hear it?" (a/n: this is so awkward im just trying to incorporate both luka and kagami into this since well theyre awesome AND also pretty big parts of miraculous atm LMAO , ILL DO THEM MORE JUSTICE I SWEAR)
adrien and i exchanged a quick look before nodding at luka. he began to strum, going slow at first, but then getting more and more into the music, as if it was part of him. it was beautiful. he finished and kept his eyes closed for a few more seconds before looking back up at us.
"wow, luka. you've got a lot of talent! i'm gonna need you to teach me how to play the guitar," adrien remarked, and i nodded.
"that was really beautiful, luka. i'm glad we have you as a guitarist for kitty section."
"i'm glad you both liked it. hey, speaking of kitty section, we were planning on performing tomorrow at the fair, would you two like to come? it's always great to have more guests," luka smiled warmly. i didn't even realize there was going to be a fair tomorrow. still, i felt excited.
"of course i'll go, luka! that sounds fun. adrien, do you think your father will let you go?"
adrien smiled sadly and shrugged.
"one can never know with him. i'll keep my fingers crossed and ask him when i get home," he replied, and i patted his shoulder lightly.
"hopefully he says yes," i say, and he and luka both nod.
"well, i'll text you both the time, just in case. it was nice seeing you both," luka waves, walking towards the bench again. i smile and bid him goodbye before turning back to adrien.
"do you think we have more time, or should we head home to avoid being late?" i asked, and adrien looked at his phone. he showed it to me, and the time read 3:10. my eyes widen, and he laughs.
"don't worry, if we hurry i'm sure i'll be home by 3:30, which isn't completely unreasonably late for a school day," he said, and we hurried to the exit, where his bodyguard was waiting for us in the car.
"your bodyguard has more patience than i'll EVER have," i giggled, and adrien laughed.
"i've no clue how he puts up with me," he chuckles, and holds the door for me. i thank him and duck into the backseat, him following shortly after.
"to marinette's, please."
the car ride was short, seeing as though my house was only a block away from the zoo.
"i had fun today, marinette. it really isn't everyday that i get to hang out with a friend freely," adrien said as i opened the door to leave.
"i had fun too. thank you for inviting me. let me know if you're going tomorrow," i said, and he smiled, nodding as i shut the door. i waited until his car was a safe distance away to shriek with joy.
"tikki! can you believe it? i hung out for a whole hour with adrien, ALONE, and didn't stutter or nearly faint once!" i spun, and tikki fluttered around me.
"now we just have to make sure you don't explode of joy each time he leaves!"
"that should be simple, now that we're strictly just friends," i said, patting her head lightly. i walked into the bakery and sighed with joy yet again when i heard my phone ding. i dug it out of my purse to find a text from luka. (a/n : yeah i used social maker bc its fun okay ignore how plain this text is)

   i smiled to myself. getting over adrien meant i could finally open my heart more to luka. still, i couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more holding me back. i shrugged. i'm probably just hungry.