Fake It ('Til you make it)

Safe (Marinette)

When she'd first fallen for Adrien, it had been his genuine kindness and willingness to forgive that made her heart beat a little differently. Then she'd begun to see her partner in a different light, not knowing she had once again fallen in love with the same guy for the same reasons.

Her spirit changed the day she started to let him in. The understanding that she could be the worst person in the world, yet he'd still want to be with her and guide her back into the light, was something that just lifted her. With her partner by her side, she could take on the world (literally).

But the final moment came the day Adrien left Paris and she suddenly realised, after eight years of being with each other day in and day out, part of her soul had been ripped out. She'd tried to be brave - to be supportive - and to be honest, she thought she was doing a fine job of it. Too fine, in fact.

She moved about his room, so different to the days when he'd been isolated in it. Nathalie had done a great job with the mansion, redecorating and dispensing of any remains of Gabriel and his unnatural ruling over the household. But for some reason it still was missing the heart to keep it alive, it was nothing more than a skeleton.

Instead of a climbing wall, the whole side of the room had been refitted into a library, one which she'd helped find the books for, because Adrien Agreste didn't read 'just normal' billboard hits. He enjoyed some finer literature and some unique stories. He had everything from Collins to King, Oswald to Child, and also some Dickens and Shakespeare. Just looking at this wall made her feel stupid. He'd read everything there - and there were hundreds. She'd ventured as far as his copies of The Hunger Games and the Jack Reacher series, but her attention span for reading just didn't exist.

"Hey, wife."

Marinette spun around from the bookcase to the door of Adrien's ensuite, and there he was. Her husband-to-be, wearing the hell out of his daily loungewear – black basketball shorts paired with a white vest top, arms bare and showing off his deliciously tanned skin, which made her want to scream at him to sit down so could climb on top of him and lick him. Which was honestly pretty indicative of her current state of mind. i.e. a tad unhinged.

"Hey."

They stood smiling at each other, and she could tell from the twitch in her cheeks that she really was faking it.

"Wanna watch a film?" Adrien moved his arm. Where to? She had no idea because his arm was on show with those glorious muscles flexing, causing her eyes to remain glued. It wasn't that Adrien was big, he was just very well toned – think Chris Evan in the Winter Soldier. Oh, what she wouldn't give to see Adrien manhandle a helicopter back onto a rooftop...then manhandle her back onto his – okay, now was not the time to be thinking about that, and whilst she was thinking about it, why had she started staring at his bed.

"Sure!" The word came out high-pitched and squeakier than an excited Mullo.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked. He was already sitting on the sofa and she was just standing there, looking like a freaking idiot, staring at his bed.

Way to try and win his heart, Marinette! Now all he would think was that she wanted to sleep with him – or worse, that she wanted to take a nap.

"Yes. I'm fine. Just thinking about all the..." She looked around the room for some sort of help to get her out of this, when her eyes fell on the cuddly black cat she'd won for him at the carnival seven years ago. "About the cats!" she announced. "I just hope all the cats out there are safe tonight. You know, because cats don't like water."

Credit due to Adrien as he just laughed and continued searching for something on the tv. "I'm quite sure all the cats will be fine, Nettie. They'll find a safe place, just like this cat."