Everyone Loves Marinette

Part 3

Here's installment three!

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Nathaniel blinked as four out of five of Paris' superheroes were in his room, glaring at him like he killed their dog.

"So Nathaniel," Chat hissed out, and Nathaniel swallowed as he saw the cat superhero flex his claws like he was preparing to scratch his face off. "What's this about having a certain Princess over for a date?"

"P-Princess?" Nathaniel stuttered. The heroes nodded.

"Yes, you see we just happened to be in the neighborhood—"

"You mean you were hogging her while we weren't around." Carapace pointed out.

"Hey! Rena was there first so don't pin that on me!" Chat responded.

"Will you two shut it! You're getting off track!" Queen B buzzed. Nathaniel was just confused.

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about." This made all the heroes glare at him.

"You! You asked Marinette out on a date!" Rena Rouge shouted, clenching her fists. Realization hit him.

"You mean... you're all here... because of Marinette?"

"YES!"

Nathaniel stared at them in confusion, trying to figure out why they would be in his room because of Marinette. Did she not want to hang with him anymore? No, she seemed happy to always come over for sketch dump night so that wasn't it. Or maybe...

"She doesn't know you're here, does she?" he voiced out in a tone that was more of a statement than a question. The four heroes' eyes widened comically, not planning for Nathaniel to find them out. Nathaniel could feel himself hold in laughter. He lost the battle though and ended up laughing hysterically.

"So, let me get this straight, you're here without Marinette knowing to get me to stop hanging out with Marinette cause you all like her?" Nathaniel said in between laughing, his shoulders shaking. The four heroes scrambled to say something.

"No! You got it all wrong!"

"Marinette is just a friend!"

"We're just looking out for her!"

"Don't turn this on us!"

"But it's true, isn't it?" Nathaniel sobered up, raising an eyebrow. "You came here, without even consulting Marinette on how she felt, and decided to threaten me to stay away from her, right?" Pity filled him as he thought about how Ladybug has to put up with all of them. Poor girl probably gets a headache. The heroes sunk their shoulders.

"When you put it like that, it doesn't sound so noble anymore..." Queen B pouted.

"That's because it isn't." Nathaniel pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a migraine coming on. Nonetheless, he gave them a tired smile "Look, I get it, you guys want Marinette all to yourselves, right? You feel threatened by me, right?" The heroes blushed, and reluctantly nodded. "I understand. I feel that way when she's around her crush."

"So that means you'll back off?" Carapace asked.

"Um no." Nathaniel said with a deadpan expression. The four heroes fell over in shock, their expressions of horror.

"What do you mean 'no'?!" Rena Rouge shouted. "You said you understood!"

"I do, and that is why I am refusing to your demands. Marinette is her own person. If she wants to hang with me, I take that as a blessing. She views me as a friend, and I intend to cherish her whether she wants me as a friend or more." Nathaniel explained, narrowing his eyes. He would not be intimidated into throwing away his feelings for Marinette just because other people like her.

"Why you—"

"Nathaniel! I'm here!" Marinette called from downstairs. The four heroes squeaked in horror. Nathaniel smirked.

"Looks like I win this round, guys. Unless you want Marinette to see exactly what you were doing in my room..."

"N-no! That's no necessary! We'll show ourselves out!" Chat fumbled out, racing towards the window. His three companions followed sweet.

"Oh, and by the way..." Nathaniel called, the four giving him their attention. He gave them a serious expression. "You might wanna step up your game because I'm not the only one you have to worry about."

'Wait what?'

They scrambled out the window as soon as Marinette appeared. They landed in the bush haphazardly, limbs hanging out at odd angles. They each groaned in pain. Slowly climbing up the tree beside Nathaniel's window, they perched to see Marinette give Nathaniel a hug while Nathaniel gave them a smug smile through the window. They growled when he came over to the window and shut the curtains, effectively blocking them out.

"I can't believe he outsmarted us..." Carapace muttered.

"Stupid Tomato head..." Chat grumbled.

"What did he mean by he's not the only one we have to worry about?" Rena wondered.

"Who cares? He's just being a jerk because he used Marinette against us!" Queen B hissed.

"Well, whatever he meant, guess we can't do anything about it now. If we show up inside, Marinette will get mad and probably ban us from the bakery." Carapace explained. Each of them winced at the thought of losing out on Marinette time.

If only they gave some thought to Nathaniel's statement...