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It starts like this.
It starts with an unlocked door. It starts with a mark. It starts when she opens the bathroom and sees him, the sleeve of his shirt pulled up to reveal a sickening bruise. She stares.
“Adrien,” she calls and he jumps, quick to hide the discolouration. “Who did that to you?”
His eyes widen a fraction before he plasters on a smile so fake it looks plastic. He rubs the back of his neck.
“Ah, it was an accident,” he says. “Just tripped yesterday and hit my arm on my rock climbing wall.”
Her eyes trace the individual lines of the bruise, visible through the cracks in his fingers. She meets his eye.
“That’s a handprint.”
“I…” He falters, eyes dipping down to his toes. “It doesn’t matter, Marinette. It’s fine.”
The thing is, she thinks he really believes that and she can’t let that stand. It does matter. It matters to her and it would surely matter to their friends. It should matter to him.
Soft footsteps keep him from flinching when she approaches his side and reaches for his arm. He hesitates, looking her in the eye and biting his lip, but shows no further resistance. It makes her stomach squeeze because he’s so clearly uncomfortable but he’s not stopping her. She gently peels his hand away from the bruise. It’s small, smaller than an adult’s hand and curled around his bicep like a snake. She runs a thumb over it, barely skimming the skin lest it hurt him.
“Who did this?” She repeats, letting him see the desperation in her eyes, the pain in her lips, the worry in her heart. He cracks under the unfamiliar softness.
“Lila,” he admits like it’s a sin, like it’s his fault. She cups his cheek in her hand.
“I’ll take care of it.”
He pulls away, but she can feel how his shoulders slump in relief. He shakes his head.
“No, Marinette, you don’t need to do that, it’s fine. Really, I--“
She cuts him off, “I’ll take care of it.”
“You don’t have to,” he protests weakly, but he allows her to draw him close again. She smiles.
“I want to. Don’t worry. I’ll never let her hurt you again,” she says.
And it’s a promise.
She fulfills it like this.
She fulfills it with a folder. She fulfills it with a bit of miraculous luck. She fulfills it when she reaches out to ring the doorbell at Gabriel Agreste’s mansion. The camera pops out, one she’s familiar with from an incident with an unsigned present that seems like it was years ago.
“Who are you? One of Adrien’s classmates? He’s not here right now,” Nathalie says over the intercom and Marinette smiles.
“Trust me, that’s on purpose. I need to speak with Monsieur Agreste. It’s about Adrien.”
There’s a pause. “Monsieur Agreste is very busy. He doesn’t have time to talk to fans. I will have to request you leave.”
Her tone is sickly sweet as she says, “Then I’m afraid he’ll have to make time. After all, Monsieur Agreste obviously didn’t educate his son about what constitutes as sexual harassment so I can only assume he doesn’t know much about it either. I’m here to educate him.”
There’s no reply but a few seconds later, the gate buzzes open. She drops her smile like a hot coal. When she reaches the front door, it swings open and Monsieur Agreste stares her down. She meets his gaze unflinchingly.
“Miss Dupain-Cheng, correct?” He asks as if he doesn’t know exactly who she is. She looks him up and down disdainfully before posturing a innocent act. His eyes sharpen but otherwise he doesn’t react outwardly.
“Yes, that’s me. So nice to meet you, Monsieur Agreste,” she simpers. He steps aside to motion her in and she doesn’t hesitate to stroll past him. The door closes with a loud thud and she turns on her heel. With the prying eyes and chances of eavesdroppers gone, she allows herself to shed any masks. All that is left is her calculating stare. A gamble for sure, but one she thinks Monsieur Agreste will respect.
“What can I do for you, Miss Dupain-Cheng? This is obviously not a social visit and I don’t fancy playing the fool.”
She tuts, reaching into her bag to grab a manila folder. “The only people who play the fool are fools, Monsieur Agreste.”
He grits his teeth, but she shoves the folder at him before he can open his mouth. He looks at her and then at the folder before cautiously reaching for it. She rolls her eyes and pushes it into his hand before turning back to zip up her bag. He eyes her with pursed lips but opens the folder. It’s slammed shut just as fast.
“Where did you get this?” He hisses, looking for all the world like he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. She picks at her chipped nail.
“Does it really matter? All you need to know is that there’s more,” she says blandly like she isn’t blackmailing one of the richest men in France and one of the best in her future profession. He scowls.
“What do you want?”
She looks up at him with hooded eyes and smirks. “Nothing much. Teach Adrien about sexual harassment. Teach him what it means to be sexually harassed and what counts as sexual harassment. While you’re at it, teach him about the types of bullying as well. Teach him about the dangers of people. Do your job as a parent and keeping doing it because quite frankly, Hawkmoth, I couldn’t care less about your little sob story. Your wife’s basically dead and your lover’s by your side but you terrorize Paris to bring her back anyway? Cut her life support or don’t, it’s none of my business, but stop sending out akumas. I’ll even let you keep the miraculous. I can turn a blind eye to illegal activities but not when they’re quite so public.”
Monsieur Agreste’s eyes narrow but Marinette no longer cares. She’s said her piece and she’s done with this interaction. She heads for the door, ignoring the way Nathalie stares at her. Just before she leaves, she tips her head back.
“Oh, and Monsieur Agreste? I wouldn’t get too invested in Lila Rossi’s career or abilities. Something tells me she won’t be around much longer. The pictures after the blue divider might be of interest to you. If, that is, you care about Adrien in the slightest.” She slides her cutesy facade back on and smiles. “The only people who play the fool are fools, Monsieur Agreste, because the geniuses never get caught.”
She lets the door close behind her.
It ends like this.
It ends with a concerned friend. It ends with a stressed mother. It ends when Marinette knocks on Mrs Rossi’s door and starts sobbing. Mrs Rossi ushers her in and listens to her as she explains that she’s looking for Lila.
“She’s out right now, I’m sorry. Are you her friend from school?” Mrs Rossi asks and Marinette sniffles.
“Yes. I’m sorry, I forgot. She told me she was going to be in Achu this weekend but I was so upset I didn’t think before coming here. I’m sorry again,” she says. She watches Mrs Rossi’s brows furrow.
“Achu?”
Marinette nods weakly. “Yeah. She has one of those charity projects with Prince Ali that’s she’s attending, right? I made the dress for her. I hope she likes it. It took a week because of all her special requests so I just hope it’s good enough.”
Mrs Rossi stares at her in a sick horror that quickly freezes to anger. “Marinette, I’m sorry to tell you this but Lila isn’t in Achu. She doesn’t know Prince Ali or work on any charity projects.”
“What?” Marinette whispers, feigning surprise. “But… she said that she goes to Achu all the time. She missed a few months of school for it. And she said that Jagged Stone helps fund her charity projects for homeless kids. She got everyone in class to donate.”
Mrs Rossi meets her eyes. “Marinette, I need you to tell me everything that Lila’s done since she joined your school. I thought she was over her lying habits but what I’m hearing… I obviously don’t know her as well as I thought I did. Can you help me?”
Marinette lets a tear slide down her face and feels victorious.
It starts with a bruise. It continues with blackmail. It ends with a hypocrite.
It starts with Marinette securing Adrien’s loyalty and admiration. It continues with her morally grey way of gaining Gabriel Agreste’s respect and cooperation. It ends with her defeating a liar with a lie and sending Lila to a mental hospital.
It starts with Marinette playing the fool. It ends with Marinette playing everyone else for fools.