Chapter Text
After the evening of the roller derby jam Adrien found himself constantly in the company of Marinette. She had ensconced herself amongst his circle of friends. Adrien did his best to avoid her if only to save them both from any feelings of awkwardness and discomfort of being in each other’s company. But no matter how hard he tried, it never quite worked out.
One such meeting developed as such: via text Luka invited Marinette to hear his band play at their next gig to which she responded that the entire group should go. Luka proclaimed it a brilliant idea, sending out a group text as an invitation. Adrien declined with the excuse that he would be working that night.
To his surprise, when Adrien walked out of the hospital after his shift had ended the morning after the gig, he saw Luka’s van parked out in front. For a brief moment the concerned nurse wondered if something awful had befallen his best friend or his sister, but his worries were soon allayed by a peppy beep-beep of the van’s horn. The side door opened as the passenger side window rolled down, revealing all of his friends inside along with Nathaniel and Marinette. Waving him over with laughing, smiling faces they informed him that they intended to “kidnap” him to join them for a greasy breakfast to stave off the drinking of the night before. Adrien tried to resist the invite, saying that whatever was on the menu would surely not be included on Kagami’s strict diet plan, to which the athlete in the dark shadows of the van’s far back seat hollered that she had him covered. She held up in one hand a tall thermus filled with their protein shake. Again, Adrien declined, saying that the last time he’d rode in the van he’d gotten car sick.
“I’m in your seat then,” Marinette stated as she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the front passenger door, vacating the seat. “You’ll be less likely to be sick up front.” Surprised by her gesture, Adrien fumbled to form a coherent thought. None came. He watched in silent awe as she gently, but firmly pulled his bicycle from his grasp and wheeled it to the back door of the van. Before he could blink she had it stowed in the back and had climbed in herself, taking the empty seat beside Nathaniel in the van’s first row of bench seating. He blinked, uncertain as to what had just happened. His friends startled him with their renewed encouragement to join them and without further protest Adrien climbed into the front seat.
Adrien spent the better part of that breakfast telling himself that Marinette’s gesture had only been made out of thoughtfulness for everyone’s sake and not just his. Afterall, no one would have enjoyed their breakfast if they had just seen him spill his guts, much less have smelled it. If anyone benefited from her sacrifice, then it was Luka, whose van would have been much worse for it if she had not done so.
Indeed, it must have been on behalf of Luka and not Adrien that she acted. The musician seemed to be held very high in her esteem, although it was a subject of controversy amongst their circle as to whom Marinette liked best, either Luka or Nathaniel. Chole and Aurore banned together to root for Nathaniel, while Kagami and Juleka strongly backed Luka.
It may seem strange given the events of the night of the roller derby jam to think that Chloe and Aurore would agree on anything or for Kagami and Juelka to still be friends. However, their fight had blown over by the next morning. Chloe, due to the number of drinks she had imbibed, had a poor recollection of what had happened. She had a vague idea of being angry at someone about something, but as that was usually the case on a daily basis she felt no great urge to obtain further details and sloughed it off as being one of the many inconveniences she had to endure being around inept and insensitive people. Kagami was far too proud and Juleka far too shy to bring up the incident. Aurore for her part had considered the matter closed with her triumphant absconding of Juleka via the Uber. Considering herself the victor, she had moved on to stir up trouble in other matters and Marinette’s next prospective lover had the potential to fit the bill.
It certainly became a hot topic of conversation. The four ladies could not resist gossiping and bickering amongst themselves about their friends’ love lives. They never did so in front of the members of the love triangle, but unfortunately for Adrien he always managed to be present. Juleka naturally took the side of her brother, feeling Luka had the most to offer Marinette with his easy going nature and talent for music. Aurore argued much more loudly and tenaciously to her girlfriend that if Marinette was smart she would pursue Nathaniel, who would no doubt soon have steady income from the sales of his newly launched comic book. Kagami was quick to point out that the comic book wasn’t just Nathaniel’s and that he’d be very foolish to jeopardize its success by breaking with his more than “just a business partner”. As such, she was of the opinion that the only option open to Marinette was Luka, since Nathaniel was no longer on the market. Chloe objected, saying that Nathaniel and Marcia’s relationship had not been confirmed as being either serious or monogamous. They spent a lot of time together, certainly, but only because of their work. If some extra curricular activities occurred, then that was probably out of expediency rather than out of sentiment.
“I have it on very good authority that they are dating,” Kagami stressed. When pressed for the source, she clarified that Marcia had told her so.
“Well, that may be,” Chloe sniffed, “but that doesn’t mean Nathaniel is in love with them.”
“Ya certainly wouldn’t think so from the way he acts. He practically drools over Marinette,” Aurore put in.
“I think you’re reading too much into his feelings for both Marcia and Marinette,” Chloe argued.
“You’re just jealous,” Kagami noted to which her girlfriend denied, perhaps too quickly. “Nathaniel used to like you,” Kagami continued, “and now he’s moved on to Marcia.”
“To Marinette,” Aurore corrected, earning a frown from Kagami.
“Nonsense,” Chloe chided. “Nathaniel’s still in love with me! It’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous to think that he could go from this,” she indicated her face and body, “to...to... that !” She waved a dismissive hand in the air, indicating a phantom Marcia.
“A transgender woman?” Juleka questioned.
“Of course!” Chloe snapped. “I mean, we’re nothing alike! Maybe, maybe I could see the attraction to Marinette…”
“Especially since you wanted to do her…” Kagami mumbled.
“But Marcia? Ha! It’s laughable!” Chloe continued, ignoring her girlfriend.
“But do you even like Nat that way?” Juleka asked Chloe in confusion.
“That’s not the point,” Kagami clarified before her girlfriend could answer. “Chloe feels everyone should be in love with her.”
“Well, they should! Am I not the most beautiful, talented, awe-inspiring woman that has ever lived?” Chloe asked rhetorically, but when Aurore opened her mouth to answer, she cut her off quickly with “Shut it!”
Kagami laughed at her girlfriend, “She’s even jealous of me and all the attention the roller derby jam players were giving me.”
“That’s not true!” Chloe insisted. “I don’t mind them giving you attention, so long as they give me the same and in at least equal measure.”
Adrien laughed and shook his head at his self-centered friend. He shouldn’t be surprised by Chloe’s attitude, afterall that’s what made her Chloe, but to hear her admit it unashamedly like that struck him with a mix of shock, awe, and bemusement.
“You can’t claim everyone as an admirer,” Aurore pointed out to her, but Chloe only made a face in return, remaining unconvinced. “Well, what do you think, Adrien?” Aurore asked, realizing his opinion had not yet been heard.
“I think Chloe deserves all the attention,” he replied, flattering his oldest friend. “No one can bear it as well as she can,” he laughed.
“No! I mean about Nathaniel. Who do you think he likes better? Marcia or Marinette?” Aurore pressed.
“Or me?” Chloe added.
“I really couldn’t say,” Adrien answered. “Nathaniel and I...we don’t really talk, so I’ve no idea who he likes.”
“Alright then,” Aurore sat back crossing her arms. “What about Marinette? Who do you think she likes better? Nathaniel or Luka?” Adrien replied diplomatically that it wasn’t any of his business. “Oh come on!” Aurore insisted. “I thought you and Marinette were close, no? Known each other since college, right? Plus, we need you to cast the deciding vote. It’s two against two,” she reminded him.
“Is it?” Adrien asked. “I thought Chloe wanted Nathaniel for herself.”
“If given the choice between Marinette or Marcia, then of course I would choose Marinette for Nathaniel,” Chloe clarified.
“Why is it ‘of course’?” Kagami asked, narrowing her eyes at her girlfriend, but Chloe just ignored the comment.
“Maybe,” Aurore hummed, “you’d prefer Marinette with a third option?” Adrien feigned ignorance, but Aurore was not to be fooled. “You, for example? Maybe you’d like Marinette for yourself?”
Adrien tried to speak, but accidently almost swallowed his tongue. The choking and coughing sounds that erupted from his mouth were so violent that Kagami stepped forward to give him a few quick, sharp slaps on the back. He nodded weakly that he was fine as he repeatedly swallowed, trying to repair the damage done to his hoarse throat. Perhaps realizing that he was now unable to speak, Kagami answered for him.
“We all know Adrien’s already spoken for,” Kagami said, referring to his supposed relationship with Rose, “even though it’s a secret. Whatever is going on between Nathaniel and Marcia, I think we can all agree that there’s something there. And if Luka can win over Marinette, then all of our friends will be in a relationship and I don’t see how any of us can be more satisfied than that. Agreed?”
Adrien nodded, seeing no reason to protest about his supposed relationship with Rose, since no one believed him anyway, and hoping that by simply agreeing the conversation might willingly end. Juleka easily gave her support seeing as it supported her views. Chloe simply sniffed the air in that superior way of hers, not conceding her position, but seemingly not willing to further argue for it either, perhaps only in deference to her girlfriend.
“Well,” Aurore shrugged, “if Marinette is dumb enough to fall for Luka then at the very least he’ll have someone else to support him and won’t be a burden to us,” she smiled at Juleka as she lovingly patted her hand. “Then, we can enjoy the flat in peace!”
If somehow they thought that their discussion had settled the matter, then they were sorely mistaken. Luka, Marinette, and Nathaniel continued to dance around one another at every opportunity, a display that was observed with much interest not just by their gossiping friends. Marcia, now returned from visiting their family, had the unfortunate luck to witness Nathaniel flirt with Marinette whenever she was near and sigh longingly whenever she was not.
The artist’s mercurial mood was on full display during one of the group’s meet ups for happy hour. Adrien walked into the bar behind Kagami and Chloe just as Nathaniel jumped to his feet declaring, “There you are!” only to sit back down dejectedly, mumbling “Oh, it’s just you!”
“That’s nice,” Kagami noted testily. “I was about to apologize for our tardiness, thanks to Madame here,” she indicated Chloe, who waved her off. “But now I see we weren’t missed. Who were you expecting?”
“Marinette,” Marcia supplied with a sulk.
“I hope nothing’s happened to her,” Nathaniel fretted as he twisted a cocktail napkin in his hands.
“Marinette texted she’d be late,” Luka reminded him.
“Still, she is very late,” Nathaniel noted, looking at the time on his phone.
“Marinette’s fully grown,” Marcia snarked, “I’m sure she can take care of herself.”
Nathaniel continued to fidget. “Did she say why she’d be late?” The Couffaine siblings shook their heads.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Rose soothed.
“Maybe we should text her. Find out how much longer?” Nathaniel suggested. Rather crossly Marcia told him to relax and drink his beer. Nathaniel merely picked up his glass and then returned it to the table without imbibing it. He slowly spun the glass in his hand, watching the pale brown liquid within swirl.
“Aren’t you sitting, Adrikins?” Chloe asked, noting how he was still standing.
Adrien’s mouth puckered as he puffed air through it. He scrubbed his face with one hand as he considered. He didn’t know Marinette was coming, but he should have guessed. Nathaniel’s presence also should have been obvious, but he hadn’t realized it. He had no desire to spend any time with his former friend, and the thought of listening to him flirt with his former wife and competing over her with his best friend left Adrien cold. Thanks to Kagami’s diet plan he wouldn’t even be able to drink any alcohol to take the sting off of the evening. He shook his head. “I’ll be at the bar. Lemme know when you’re ready to leave,” he told his ride.
As he walked away he could hear Chloe groan in disapproval. Someone asked “What’s with him?”, but he didn’t wait to hear their reply. Someone, maybe Rose or Kagami, would make an excuse for him; tell everyone that he’s just tired or moody or something. Adrien couldn’t care less about what anyone thought of him just then.
Adrien figured that he wouldn’t be at the bar alone for long. At some point one of his friends was bound to come over to check on him. He imagined it would most likely be Rose, who would want to cheer him up. Or, maybe Chloe would try to coax him back to the table. At the very least, he could expect Kagami to inspect his drink to make sure there was no alcohol in his seltzer water with a splash of cranberry juice. He even toyed with the idea of Luka joining him if Marinette, who had now arrived, didn’t reciprocate the guitarist's attentions. But in actuality, the person who came to sit next to him at the bar was someone he never would have expected.
“Hey,” Marcia grunted as they slumped onto the stool next to him and slinging their purse atop the bar with a thump.
“Hey,” Adrien replied. “Want another?” he asked, indicating their drink. He signaled the bartender.
“I couldn’t take it anymore,” Marcia groused. Adrien quirked an eyebrow, silently asking for more information. “Nathaniel,” Marcia responded, swallowing the last of the drink they held in their hand. Adrien nodded, understanding despite their short reply. He turned slightly to look over his shoulder and found Nathaniel head to head with Marinette in what appeared to be a deep and thoughtful discussion.
“Yep,” Adrien said, popping his “p” as he turned back around to face the bar and gulp down his drink. He silently watched the bartender pour the next round.
“I was gone...what?...a week?” Marcia asked, “And, he’s completely forgotten me! All he talks about is her!” They murmured a thanks to the bartender for delivering the drinks before continuing. “I mean, what’s so great about Marinette?”
Adrien could write a long list of Marinette's strengths, imaging that such a list could never be completed. To his credit, he held his tongue, realizing that Marcia was in no mood to hear it.
“You know the worst part?” Marcia asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. “I can’t even be mad at her! She’s not even flirting back or giving him encouragement, not really. She’s just being… nice!”
“Really?” Adrien asked, hopefully, his spirits suddenly lifting at the thought that Marinette didn’t return Nat’s feelings. Marcia gave him a look of contempt.
“Oh, God!” they sighed. “Not you, too!”
“What?” Adrien croaked, trying to cover his mistake of momentarily showing his feelings. “I just meant…” He had to think quickly. “Well, if it’s only one sided, then you still have a chance.” Marcia looked at him doubtfully, but Adrien continued undeterred. “Nat will realize his mistake or Marinette will make him realize it and then, he’ll come back to you.”
“Hpmh, second best.” Marcia grunted. “And what about the next time?” Adrien looked puzzled, so Marcia explained. “How do I know this won’t happen again? That when something better comes along, he won’t just drop me?”
“Yeah...you’re right. Sorry,” Adrien replied weakly, not knowing what to say to bring them any comfort. All he could do was apologize for his insensitive advice.
“I really thought we had something,” Marcia said in reference to their relationship with Nathaniel, but they said it more to themself than to Adrien.
“So you two are together? Officially?”
“I thought so, but…” Marcia shook their head, “I dunno now! I mean, okay, we never officially went out on a date, but you know we’ve known each other for awhile now...we’re working constantly on the comic together. We work together, we eat together...that’s sorta a date. One late night working session, we hooked up and then we kept hooking up and I thought...” They sighed, allowing their head to fall into their hands. “God! I’m an idiot!”
“No you’re not,” Adrien assured them.
“Thanks,” Marica replied, trying to force a smile. “It’s not like I have a lot of experience at this. I musta read the signs wrong.” They shook their head wearily. “It’s not easy, you know, knowing who to trust and if they’d be okay with…” Marcia didn’t finish her sentence, but Adrien could fill in the blanks. It must be much harder he imagined for trans people to date than for cis people or even for gay people. The closest thing Adrien imagined to what trans people must feel around everyone else was how he felt around his own with his father. When he was a kid he had to pretend around him to be happy all the time even though most of the time he swung back and forth between grief over the loss of his mother to anxiety about pleasing his father and maintaining a spotless public image. He tried his hardest to be perfect, something that he most assuredly was not and never could be. Living with the knowledge of his father’s disapproval of his lifestyle, specifically his chosen line of employment, was hard even now as an adult. He still hid secrets from his father, even wearing a literal mask anytime he performed his music, knowing that if he was found out, his father would likely ridicule and reject him. There were only a handful of friends that he entrusted with the knowledge of his YouTube persona, those that he knew would never tell anyone else about it. Adrien could relate on some level to what it must be like even though the scale for him was much smaller and the circumstances very different.
“It just felt so right,” Marcia sighed, still thinking of Nathaniel.
Adrien merely nodded in response. He remembered that feeling, knowing that the other person understood you and accepted you for who you are, warts and all. And, that you loved the other person for all of their faults and idiosyncrasies because without them they wouldn’t be that person. Without meaning to, Adrien turned around again to look at Marinette, finding her still in deep conversation with Nathaniel.
“And, I thought he was okay with me being me, but obviously I was wrong.”
Adrien frowned, turning back around to face them. “Did Nathaniel say that?”
“No, but...well, his actions speak for themselves. He’s trying to upgrade from the faux version to the real thing.”
“You’re not a faux version,” Adrien asserted. “And Nathniel knows that.”
“Well, that’s how he’s making me feel,” Marcia explained, “like I’m not good enough.”
“You should tell him,” Adrien advised. Marcia shook their head, but Adrien continued. “No, really, you should tell him. He should know. Nat may not even be aware of what he’s doing and how badly he’s hurt you. You should tell him.”
“Big talk coming from you,” Marica scoffed before taking a sip of their drink. Adrien’s eyebrows jumped up in surprise. “You should be taking your own advice,” Marcia countered. “Isn’t that why you’re sitting here at the bar? Because you’re avoiding someone?”
“Well...uh...no, I mean not exactly...you see..”
“Don’t bother,” Marcia waved him off with one hand. “I know all about it…”
“You...you do?” Adrien squeaked. His heart thumped loudly in his chest. He swallowed hard and rubbed his sweaty palms against his jeans. How on earth did Marcia find out about Marinette and him? Did Rose tell them? No, Rose had always kept his secrets. Marcia didn’t seem altogether fond of Marinette, so it’s unlikely that they got the story from her. So who could have told them? And, who else had they told? Adrien’s head began to swim. What if his father got wind that his marriage to Marinette was no longer a secret? What would he do to her? He could practically hear his father barking orders to his lawyer over the phone.
“I’ll take her for everything she’s worth,” Gabrielle Agreste would threaten darkly. “I’ll teach her to break a non-disclosure agreement with me. She’ll never work in this town again...or anywhere if they want to do business with Gabrielle Designs !”
“Adrien?” Marcia asked, touching his shoulder. He jumped in surprise. “You okay?”
“How...how did you find out?” he asked. Maybe there was still enough time to do some damage control. Maybe he could contain the secret before it got back to his father or posted on social media.
“From Nathaniel, of course!” Marcia supplied.
Oh, God. Adrien’s heart sank. Marinette must have told him. Why on earth would she do that? To gain his sympathy? To drive a wedge between them, not that she should’ve bothered. Nathaniel and he weren’t getting along anyway. Adrien jumped off his stool. She had to be stopped for her own sake. Marinette was playing with fire. He had to find out how many people she had told, but first…
“Marcia, this is very important,” he stressed as he suddenly turned around to face them. “Please promise me that you won’t tell anyone about this.”
“I promise!” Marcia swore with wide eyes. “But, I don’t think you have anything to be embarrassed about. I mean, I get it. I worried about it, too, but Nathaniel said that you were okay with it, that you had talked and that you were fine with it.”
Adrien blinked. He had no idea what Marcia was talking about, but he was getting the sense that it wasn’t what he thought it was.
Catching on to Adrien’s confusion, Marcia continued, “You know about the comic, how he used your likeness for one of the characters.”
Oh, that!
“It’s probably one thing to agree to it when it’s an abstract idea and something very different once you see the finished product. Although, I think you look very handsome as a superhero,” Marcia flattered. “But, Nathaniel said that you hated it and when he refused to change his drawings you got mad. I told Nat he should just change the character design, so that he looks less like you. ‘Make him brunette with dark eyes.’ I said. I mean, really shouldn’t Black Cat have dark hair? But, no...he wouldn’t listen…”
“It wasn’t my design I had a problem with, I mean Black Cat’s,” Adrien explained about the superhero character Nathaniel had based on him. “It’s that he used the likenesses of my family ...without telling me or getting their consent.”
Marcia blinked.
“Hawk Moth is based on my father and Mayura is Nathalie…”
“Oh,” Marcia gasped.
“You didn’t know?” Adrien asked, surprised.
Marcia shook their head. “I mean, Queen Wasp looks a bit like Chloe, but…”
“ Every character is based on someone that Nathaniel knows. He claims it makes the art more authentic, or something like that,” Arien said, trying to remember how Nathaniel had explained it to him. “Kagam is definitely Ryuko and I’m pretty sure Princess Fragrance is supposed to be Rose. Luka is Viperion,” Adrien listed as he counted off on his fingers. “It may be a stretch that Reflecta is Juleka, but...well, you get the idea.”
“Oh wow…” Marcia breathed. She started to fan her face with her hand, which had suddenly become flushed.
“I mean, it’s fine if Nat has their permission, I guess,” Adrien said. “But, it’s not like he even asked my permission to base Black Cat on me. It’s only when he showed me his drawings that I realized...” Adrien recalled that day vividly. Nat had excitedly shown them to him, animatedly explaining the concept and plot. It hadn’t taken Adrien long to recognize the many faces drawn in the panels.
“Not that I care about me, of course, or how I’m portrayed…” Adrien faltered as that was not exactly the truth. He didn’t care about the drawings so much as the name, thinking that Black Cat was a touch too close to the name of his YouTube persona, Chat Noir. But, it was the drawings of his family that really upset him.
“But I can guarantee you that he doesn’t have my father’s permission,” Adrien continued, “because Father would never agree to such a thing. He’s not like most people, you know? He wouldn’t be flattered by it. He’d take it personally. Like an attack,” Adrien struggled to explain. “I mean, it’s one thing to be cast as a hero and quite a different thing to be portrayed as a villain.” He had tried to explain to Nat that it was a bad idea to base a character, especially the main villain, on his father. Gabrielle Agreste spent decades crafting a careful, refined image of himself. He wouldn’t take this kind of thing lightly if he got wind of it. But Adrien’s warnings that his father would likely sue sounded to Nathaniel more like threats and the conversation devolved into a shouting match followed by weeks of no contact.
“Sure Chloe doesn’t object,” Adrien conceded, remembering Nat’s arguments from that day, “but I doubt she actually knows Queen Wasp is a villain. She probably just cares that she’s drawn thin and has a stylish costume!”
“That must mean…” Marcia whispered softly to herself without Adrien’s noticing.
“Nat said the others are cool with it,” Adrien said, glancing at the table of his friends. His conversations with them had confirmed as much. No one else seemed to care. “I guess, Marinette must be, too,” he sighed. He had seen Nathaniel show her pictures of the art from the comic book on his phone during the roller derby jam. She had responded enthusiastically, offering Nat much praise.“And she’s Ladybug!”
“...I’m Ladybug!” Marcia sighed softly, but then having heard Adrien’s last sentence, their face scrunched up. “Wait, what?”
“Marinette…” Adrien repeated a bit louder, figuring Marcia hadn’t heard him over the noise of the bar, “She’s Ladybug. And she doesn’t seem to mind having a whole comic book built around her. I mean, her image is in practically every panel!”
“Marinette?” Marcia asked, their voice cracking. “She’s... she’s Ladybug?”
Adrien nodded and then continued on with voicing his thoughts. “Given how much support Nat’s received for his drawings for the comic book from her, well, from everyone really, I can’t blame him for not realizing…”
“Well, I can!” Marcia slammed their drink on the bar so hard that Adrien jolted in surprise. He was about to say “for not realizing how badly some people, specifically his father, would react,” when Marcia unexpectedly cut him off. He felt surprised to hear them take his side and not Nat’s after all the comic was half theirs, since Marcia wrote the stories that Nat then illustrated. But perhaps now understanding Adrien’s side of things, Marcia could be the emissary and make Nathaniel see reason. To change the features of a few characters to avoid a lawsuit that might jeopardize the comic’s publication would certainly be worth it if only Nat could be persuaded to do so. Artistic integrity was one thing, survival was quite another.
“So you agree?” Adrien asked. “Would you be willing to talk to Nathaniel about it? Make him see this is in his.. .your best interests?”
“Oh, I’ll talk to him alright,” Marcia agreed with determination. “I’ll do it right now!”
“There’s no need,” came a voice from behind them.
Adrien and Marcia turned to find the man himself standing before them. They both stiffened at his presence and opened their mouths to speak, but Nat held up his hands.
“You don’t need to say anything,” he began. “I understand everything now.”
“I doubt that,” Marcia deadpanned.
Nathaniel continued unperturbed by their comment. “I’ve thought more about it, Adrien, and I certainly don’t want any legal trouble if it can be avoided. I’d be happy to change the look of Hawk Moth and Mayura.”
“Thank you, Nat,” Adrien responded, feeling the tension between them dissolving away. “I think it…”
“What? You can’t do that!” Marcia cut in. “We’ve already sent the first issue to be published and the next one is due in a week.”
“I’m sure we can make a few changes quite easily,” Nathaniel reassured.
“That will cost money...and time! We don’t have that to waste,” Marcia argued.
“They aren’t on that many pages. Recoloring their hair and eyes should be relatively cheap,” Nathaniel suggested. “We could go in a different direction for Mayura’s ethnicity. She could be African or Brazilian…”
Marcia shook her head, “And, who’s this ‘we’ making these changes?”
“You and me, or course,” Nat responded. He tilted his head, silently questioning their tone.
“Oh! You’ve remembered me now? I thought you had forgotten,” Marcia hissed.
Nat looked taken , “Why are you so upset? A few changes to the drawings won’t impact your story any.”
Marcis rolled her eyes, “If you think changing Mayura from French to African or Brazilian won’t impact the story, then you know nothing about creating characters. That must be why you have to draw people you know in order to make your characters look life-like.” Nat was about to protest the dig at his artistry, but Marcia continued. “ I find it very odd that you should base characters on not only your friends but also their families, but you haven’t based a character on me!”
“Marcia…”
“I’m not good enough to make it into the comic!” Marcia ranted. “Not pretty enough! Not normal enough!”
“That’s not true!” Adrien exclaimed, but it was a knee jerk reaction. He fumbled to say more, searching his brain for what character was based on Marcia. There must be one…
“Marcia,” Nat repeated, drawing closer to them to speak. He cast a glance at Adrien, seeming embarrassed and uncomfortable, before continuing to try to soothe his partner. “What’s all this about? Why are you so upset?”
“You don’t get it do you? You have no idea!” Marcia moved to go, but Nat blocked their route. “I told you to talk to Adrien weeks ago about this! And, you wouldn’t, but now...now this sudden change of heart? When it’s going to cause delays and make us look bad, look like a bunch of amateurs to the publishers? WHY? Why are you doing this?”
“Well...because…” Nathaniel hesitated. As if seeking out help, he looked over his shoulder. Adrien’s eyes followed where Nat was looking and he found Marinette, who smiled brightly at the comic book artist, even giving him two thumb’s up. “I agree with Adrien,” Nat admitted, returning his attention back to the bar. “Having his father’s image in the comic is too great a risk.”
“No,” Marcia shook her head. She had also seen the exchange between Nathaniel and Marinette, too. “That’s not it.”
“If you’re worried about the cost, I can chip in,” Adrien offered. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to cause a problem.” But they were all talking at once and Adrien wasn’t sure either of them heard what he had said.
“No, I know what’s happened here. She’s the reason you’re doing this!” Marcia accused. Nat claimed ignorance as to what they were talking about. “Marinette!” Marcia declared. “You’re doing it for Marinette!.”
Marcia’s voice had gotten louder and louder. People at the bar were staring at them. Adrien’s eyes tracked to his friends’ table. They were watching, too. Marinette, he noticed, wasn’t smiling anymore.
Nathaniel tried to calm Marcia down, “Yes, Marinette helped me to better understand the situation,” he admitted, trying to remain calm, “She’s a very experienced business woman, after all, and understands these things.”
“And I don’t?” Marcia asked incredulously. “I gave you the same advice and you didn’t take it, but you take it from her!” Marcia pointed at Marinette. “Because you want her approval! Because you love her!”
“I’m not doing it to gain her approval! And, I’m not in love with her!” Nathaniel snapped back, quickly pushing Marcia’s accusing finger down. The nervous way he looked over and smiled at Marinette made Adrien think that Nat was more concerned about not offending Marinette than in reassuring Marcia.
“Don’t try to deny it. I’ve seen you with your heads together, whispering, laughing,” Marica accused. Adrien unknowingly nodded in agreement. They had all seen it and his friends had commented on it constantly, although behind Nathaniel’s back. Someone probably should have said something to him about it sooner, Adrien realized. “You based the main character of our comic on her, someone you haven’t seen in almost a decade, and what about me? Your best friend, your partner, your lover...who am I?”
Nathaniel stood there dumbly silent.
Marcia looked at him through teary eyes. “Not even a background character.” Their voice cracked on the next to last word and before the flood could stream down their cheeks, they pushed past Nathaniel and escaped out the front door.
For a few moments the bar fell deathly silent as the crowd processed the scene that had just played out. It occurred to Adrien that although his friends had wondered before this about whether or not Nathaniel and Marcia were “a thing”, there would be no disagreement about it now. They were decidedly not .