Dearly Despised, (I love you)

Happy Birthday

The second Adrien stepped into the real world, he realised perfection meant nothing.

Not that he was ever perfect; not that his father was ever right, because frankly the "epitome of perfection" label that had been slapped on him since a child—not to be confused with "major disappointment" which his father was also fond of using—held no balm against the absolute ray of sweetness that was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Some other dot points he took about the real world: Innocence didn't hold up in court. Genuity was a scam. And as long as the wealthy heaviness of the names "Agreste" and "Chloé Bourgeois" were associated with him, he'd be treated different.

"Eugh."

Very different.

"Hey," Nino hissed, noticing the crude shift of Marinette's eyes on her way past, "what happened yesterday?"

Adrien rolled a pen between his index finger and thumb. "Ha, where do I even start?"

Nino leaned over more, headphones on his neck swinging. "Hang on—Dude, did you even explain to Marinette what happened with the gum?"

"Oh, I explained!" he started, shuffling up in his chair. "I'm never trying to get a word through that girl again. It's almost as if she's as thick-skulled as Chloé."

Bafflement hit him. "What? Marinette?"

"Why is that so surprising?"

"Better question is: Why didn't she hear you out?"

Well, there were a few reasons, actually.

Being caught beside the gum on Marinette's seat wasn't the best first introduction. Then Chloé and Ivan grating his defence to shreds with intrusions really didn't help him either. And it certainly wasn't the best look when the next time Marinette saw him he was shewing a hoard of fangirls asking for his autograph; an hour or two before he went to explain himself, again, and the umbrella closed on her head to conveniently set him up for another prank he didn't do.

But still. She didn't try to listen.

Adrien didn't have time to discuss all that with his new friend. He was at school, the place of his wildest fantasies. His bodyguard was nowhere in sight, he was a superhero now, and he was in love with Ladybug, to sum it simply.

So what if he had a little enemy or two? He had a city to protect.

"It doesn't matter, Nino. I've given up trying to be her friend."

Subdued by the class bell chiming, Nino shrivelled in his chair.

The pleasantness of his and Marinette's relationship did not fare well much after. Dirty looks were exchanged across cafeteria tables, through library shelves, at their side-by-side lockers (check out his luck) and every time her face unstuck to the floor after she'd tumbled into class late. (Except maybe he was smiling whenever the last one happened.)

Then there was that brief period, on the cusp of his birthday, where Marinette tried talking to him – with a very apparent Alya behind a not-so-apparent bush. Key word being tried talking, because her scrunched up, sour-mouthed face took a while to get anything out.

"Uh... hey?" He waved, trying his best not to mock her inability to form words. After all he was like that once – when he was two– 'okay Adrien stop be nice'.

"H-Hi, uh, I'm– I'd just like to—... Ugh! Nope! No, Alya! I can't do this now!" Her ponytail almost struck his nose with the aggression she whipped around, stringing together some noisy excuses about who knows what. Maybe it was an apology or means to start afresh. Either way, he only really caught the words, "stupid", "a note", and "easier that way". Oh, and "stupid" again.