The Elites: A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic

Seeing You

Marinette was so deep into a residential area that she had no idea where the thrift store was, or how to navigate back to school.

"Marinette, are you lost?"

She looked up. A limousine had stopped on the street. Adrien stared at her from a rolled down window, and Marinette saw the outline of Kagami's hair on the other side of him.

"Yes," she admitted reluctantly. "My phone died."

"Get in."

Marinette stepped into the limousine, sitting across from her classmates.

"We're going to have to start sending a personal escort with you," Adrien joked as the car started moving.

Marinette fiddled with her mittens, too upset by how the day had transpired to tease him back.

"Marinette, is something wrong?" Kagami asked. She and Adrien exchanged a look. "You seem flustered."

"I saw Luka today."

Adrien's eyes widened. "I'm sorry. That must have been upsetting."

"Yes? No? I don't know. It's just a lot to process." Marinette could feel a headache coming on. "Hey, how was your tournament?"

The car went completely silent.

"It was fine." Adrien made no other comment, but Kagami raised her eyebrow at him.

"He won first."

"Congrats! That's awesome."

Adrien looked out the window and shrugged. "I guess."

"What about you?" Marinette turned to Kagami.

Kagami licked her lips. "Fourth."

"Wow, that's still really impressive."

"Not impressive enough."

"I would have thrown my match if you wanted," Adrien said.

Kagami shook her head. "Pointless. Anything less than first is failure in my family. Besides, your father will pull you out of school if you do anything like that."

Marinette couldn't believe they were openly talking about this in front of her. Adrien's dad pulling him out of school? Kagami's family putting so much pressure on her?

What was wrong with their families?

"Let's do something fun!" she said brightly. "It's the weekend. There must be some place we can visit."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "I mean, we have makeup work from yesterday."

"That's really the last thing I want to do." Kagami crossed her arms. "I'm with Marinette. Drop us at the London Eye if you still want to head back."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Absolutely not. I'm coming with."

"What's the London Eye?" Marinette asked.

Adrien and Kagami dropped their staring match and looked upon her in shock.

"You've never heard of it?" Kagami asked. "It's a gigantic Ferris wheel."

"It has one of the best views in London," Adrien added.

"I was thinking more like coffee," Marinette said softly.

The London Eye sounded expensive, and she needed her allowance for fabric this month.

Adrien and Kagami hurriedly talked over her. Adrien signaled to the driver to head another direction.

***

"Seriously, it looks like it going to rain," Marinette said. "I mean I heard there was a chance. We don't want to get caught in it."

Adrien looked up. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. In fact, it was a beautiful, albeit chilly day.

"The Ferris wheel is enclosed," Kagami said, clearly not amused.

"Well, I also have this huge fear of heights," Marinette continued. She bounced nervously on the balls of her feet.

She was clearly lying. Ever since Kagami had brought up the London Eye, Marinette had been trying to come up with an excuse to get out of going.

They inched through the line to the ticket box. The closer they got, the more Marinette squirmed. Adrien hated secrets. He wished Marinette would admit the truth—that she couldn't afford it—, but he wasn't going to embarrass her by sharing a secret that was none of his business.

He stepped up to the cashier. "Three tickets, please." Adrien looked back at his friends. "My treat."

Marinette looked visibly relieved, but a flutter of irritation crossed Kagami's face.

"No." She shook her head.

Adrien shrugged, handing over his money. "It's already done."

Kagami sighed. "Well, thanks then." She brushed past him.

"Thank you," Marinette murmured as she followed behind her.

Adrien smiled. He leaned toward her. "You're welcome," he whispered in her ear.

He followed the girls inside the pod. There were several other people already gathered inside. Some sat on the grey leather bench at the center, but most gathered along the railing of the fully enclosed capsules.

Adrien walked over to Marinette, who was leaning against the railing. "Wait until you see the view," he said.

She looked up at him. Her bright blue eyes had a way of staring into his soul. Adrien's heart pounded.

"What's your favorite thing to do in Paris?" The Ferris wheel slowly started to move.

"Hmmm." Marinette pursed her lips as she concentrated. "I used to love going to Trocadéro to sketch. I like sitting on the steps and looking at the Eiffel Tower across the river."

"That sounds beautiful. And very inspirational," he teased.

"You mean you haven't been?" Her voice grew high-pitched with surprise.

Adrien shrugged, his smile fading a little. "My dad is hyper obsessive about my safety. I'm honestly surprised he's letting me stay at Clifton after my mom died." He rested his forearms on the rail, looking out over the Thames River. "We were so shaken after it happened, and we have such different ways of coping."

"How?" she asked. Then Marinette bit her lip. "If you don't mind me asking?"

"No." He shook his head. Adrien stood and leaned backward against the rail, looking out the other side of the pod. "I don't mind talking about. I want to talk about my mom. It's my dad who doesn't."

"You don't mind? I mean, doesn't it make you sad?"

"I can't pretend that she never existed. I love my mom. I can't just forget about her."

Marinette stood up straight. Her knuckles grew white as she clenched them into fists. "Just because your dad doesn't talk about her, doesn't mean he's forgotten her."

"I know," he said quickly. "I know it takes people time to deal with things in their own way. I just wish he didn't make me feel like it was wrong to talk about her."

Marinette frowned. "I'm sorry." She met his gaze again and leaned in closer.

"Enough bonding!" Kagami stood in front of them. "We're almost at the top. You won't want to miss this!" She stepped between them.

"There's Buckingham Palace," Adrien pointed out.

"And Westminster Abbey," Kagami said.

On the other side of her, Marinette said nothing and looked contently out the window at the landmarks below them. Adrien couldn't help but feel a pang of regret at Kagami's interruption.

Just want you guys to know this is my last update until school is out in a couple weeks. I have another chapter partially drafted but I won't have time to finish it until after my papers are due.