Jealousy and Ignorance {Marinette x Adrien/ Chat Noir}

"Now you know,"

Marinette's Pov

'Chat Noir': "Marinette, open your eyes."

I was so close to him, should I? Would Master agree? Why was he asking, he could trust me anyway, but -- should I?

Marinette: "Are you sure?"

'Chat Noir': "There isn't anyone that I could trust more with my identity."

I took a breath. Then, reluctantly, I opened my eyes. I wasn't sure who was behind the mask, they knew me in real life. I saw him, it was my friend from school, it was -- it was --.

Marinette: "Adrien?"

I asked quietly. He smiled. It was him, I -- he was by my side all this time. I never knew.

Adrien: "Hello, princess."

He said, still smiling. Something about knowing he was Chat Noir helped me keep my cool. Honestly, getting to know him better helped me act normal. I was still close to him.

Marinette: "Adrien, what happened?"

I asked, in another soothing tone. Placing my hand on his cheek once more. He closed his eyes and took a breath. He didn't want to talk about it, but I knew, I knew that he needed to.

Marinette: "Let's go inside, you can explain it to me, and you can get some rest."

I didn't think he was going to be able to stay the entire night. I thought at least, he could stay for a few hours and talk. Tell me what was going on. He needed someone to comfort him. We went inside.

Marinette: "Adrien, you have to tell me what happened."

I said in a calm voice. I let him explain everything. What he told me was crazy.

Adrien: "My cousin came into town about a week ago, and, well. Father has been catering to her every need. She can make him laugh and smile, things I've never seen him do, even before Mother went away. Father hasn't even looked at me since she came to the house. I do whatever he tells me too, but, it seems like it's never enough."

Marinette: "What's so fascinating about this cousin of yours?"

Adrien: "Her name is Grace, she can do everything I can. I feel like I could do everything she has for my father. Yet he prefers when she does it. I don't understand why. She does look a lot like my mother, but, I don't know who her parents are. As far as I know, Father never had any siblings."

Marinette: "Is it possible, that maybe your mother had a sibling. That would explain why she looks so much like her."

Adrien: "If she did, I had never heard of her before."

He seemed sad that his father wasn't paying any attention to him. I had never felt this before, not having any siblings myself.

Adrien: "Marinette, thank you,"

Marinette: "For what?"

Adrien: "Listening, Father, and even Nathalie sometimes, they don't ever listen to me. Yet you -- even though you didn't know who I was, you were so willing to listen."

Marinette: "Well, of course, why wouldn't I listen? You needed someone to lean on,"

He just smiled as thanks. That was all I needed. I felt like, knowing him better, helped me get over my blinding crush. I pulled him into a hug again, and let him rest. I saw Tikki and Plagg behind Adrien. I saw Tikki mouth when the time is right, you may tell him.

The Next Morning -- Adrien's Pov

I woke up in Marinette's room, on her chaise. I don't remember how I got there but, she did let me stay here. Which was very nice. I might have been in love with Ladybug but, Marinette was always there for me. I hadn't thought to ask her before. Know she knew, and I could talk to her about it and be myself. Without the mask, I felt like I had to live up to my father's expectations. I didn't have to tell him about this, about anything, anymore. He had Grace, and I'm sure he could do fine without me. I saw Marinette sleeping in her bed. I smiled to myself. Plagg woke up and he flew in front of my face.

Plagg: "So, you told her."

Adrien: "Yeah, and it was nice, finally being able to tell someone."

Plagg: "Yeah, well, she seems nice enough. Trustworthy if you ask me. She also has a bunch of cheese downstairs."

Adrien: "Of course, this is a bakery after all."

I hoped Father wouldn't be mad, even if I knew he would be. That was for certain. Disobeying him was one of the few things that I had never done before. It was, scary. It was hard to say that. He could do things without being judged. No one would know, or at least, most wouldn't know. 

Gabriel Agreste's Pov

I was looking through all my junk voicemails when I found one from my son. Which, I thought was odd since he was here in the house. I opened it and listened, then realized, that he wasn't in the house. I sped up the stairs and burst through the doors to his room. He wasn't there. I was so angry. He had asked me not to be mad. How could I not be mad? He directly disobeyed me. He wasn't supposed to go in and out of the house without my permission but my primary question was, why did he run? This week of all weeks? What changed?

Nathalie: "Sir, what's wrong?"

Gabriel: "Where is Adrien?"

Nathalie: "What do you mean?"

Gabriel: "My son is not in his room, and he left me a voicemail that he is spending the night someplace else,"

The anger was making my voice shake. Why would he do this? What did I do wrong? Nathalie looked shocked. None of his belongings were gone, he would come back. Like he said, after school today. He better come back tonight. After fencing. I needed to consult someone on this. Adrien hadn't acted like this before -- before Grace showed up. Maybe I had to talk to her. Which pained me. I hadn't talked to her in such a long time.

Nathalie: "What are you thinking, sir?"

Gabriel: "I think I have to talk to Grace's mother."

Nathalie: "Are you sure?"

Gabriel: "She's the only one who can tell me what I want to know. Even if she won't be here in a few weeks, I know she'll pick up the phone. Because she still cares about me."