°•☆"He laughed,
My darling
You will never be unloved by me
You are too well tangled in my soul"
-Atticus°•☆

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She was right.

Which was the last thing she was hoping for.

Marinette didn't get much sleep just as she thought, but the news articles that came out the next day only proved her theory. Chat Noir didn't mention anything to her when she had asked him the night prior, but his silence on the matter was the answer she needed.

She frowned, looking at the dark haired, blue eyed freckled face woman that appeared on the article.

She reached up, rubbing her neck with a nervous grimace. This was too much of a close call. The realization that this could have been her only made her more and more sick.

Perhaps Chat Noir was right, she should've explained to Adrien that she couldn't come in. The thought of walking home to her bus stop in the dark only made her more and more nervous.

"Another murder, huh?"

Marinette pressed her lips together, her hand squeezing her coffee cup at the sound of Chloe's voice.

"I mean I'm lucky, I have bright blonde hair and tan skin..." she sighed, pouring herself a cup of coffee beside the other woman nonchalantly. "I don't think I can say the same for you."

Marinette rolled her eyes, locking her phone screen and shoving the device into her purse.

"As if I didn't already realize that." Marinette muttered, suddenly unable to take a sip of her coffee due to the uneasy feeling in her stomach. "I'll be sure to watch my back more often."

Chloe hummed, setting her coffee down on the counter and adding some milk to it.

"I mean, maybe the killer is after you." She mused, placing the small containers of milk down before she reached for the sugar. "Seriously, maybe you're the one he's after."

Marinette scoffed, a disgusted expression plastering it's way on to her face. "Don't be ridiculous. I haven't done anything to anyone that would make them want to murder me." She deadpanned, her eyes narrowing with anguish. "He'd have to be obsessed."

Chloe picked up her coffee and turned to glance at Marinette with a small chuckle. She took a very light sip of her scolding coffee before she shrugged.

"I guess your furry friend isn't doing anything." She sighed. "I mean this murder was in the neighborhood, you'd figure he caught them at this rate."

Marinette took a daring sip of her coffee with a grimace. She ignored Chloe's furry comment. No one knew that Chat Noir often came to her room at night and she planned to take that secret to her grave.

"It's not easy you know. This murderer works quick. I honestly think the victims knew him somehow. I mean- I'm sure they're still selected randomly while having the same appearances as one another. I feel like... he's getting his victims to trust him in some way." She murmured, completely going off of Chat's idea. He was definitely on to something.

"How do you know this? Talk to the big cat of Paris often?" Chloe asked before she blew into her coffee and took another sip. "I didn't know you'd be so quick to defend him."

Marinette gulped, a deep blush coating her cheeks as her heart quickened. The last thing she wanted Chloe to know was that she saw him on a near nightly basis.

"I-it's just a hunch." She stammered. "And I'm not defending him, I'm just saying if I tried to help police and theres a sneaky murderer that not even the authorities can get-- I wouldn't think it's an easy job."

Chloe rolled her bright blue eyes and leaned against the coffee counter while clearing her throat.

"If you say so." She murmured, taking another sip of her coffee. "Anyway, in case you didn't know-- my mother is coming today."

Marinette nearly choked on her coffee, her eyes widening. She glanced up at Chloe with a slight coffee.

"Audrey Bourgeois? Why on earth is she coming here?" Marinette asked, immediately moving her purse strap to her shoulder. "Is there something special going on today?"

Marinette was completely star struck. Sure, she admired Gabriel and his work but Audrey was just as elusive and talented as Gabriel. This was just another fashion icon Marinette wanted to be like when she was a teenager.

Chloe chuckled, shaking her head.
"Nope, nothing special. She's come to design a collab with Adrien. He apparently showed her some photos from the photoshoot yesterday and she was impressed."

Marinette gasped, her eyes nearly popping out of her head. Adrien did what?!

Audrey was seriously considering a collab just by looking at Marinette's work? She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Marinette immediately spun around. She knew she was early and she probably shouldn't bother Adrien, but she needed to see him right away.

"Where are you going?" Chloe called out to her, her blue eyes widening as she watched Marinette haul ass out of the employee cafeteria. "It's still early!"

Marinette tucked some hair behind her ear, grateful that she had decided to wear flats instead of heels by the way she was running.

"I have to go!" Marinette replied, her voice fading out the moment she rounded the exit. "I'll see you later!"

Chloe chuckled, shaking her head as she was left alone in the cafeteria.
"Be careful out there..." she muttered, bringing her coffee cup to her lips with a soft hum.

Audrey Bourgeois was impressed by her work.

Audrey Bourgeois was impressed by her work.

Audrey Bourgeois was impressed by her work.

It didn't matter how many times Marinette repeated it to herself she simply couldn't believe it. It didn't seem real. It was as if opportunity after opportunity kept coming up for her.

Perhaps it was a good idea that she came into work today. Chat Noir would be pissed to hear her say that, but today was going to be a good day. She didn't care what anyone had to say about it.

The doors to Adrien's office couldn't get any closer. She needed to talk to him right away.

In fact, she wasn't even sure if he was in yet but she had every intention to wait for him until he got in. She also had every intention to meet Audrey Bourgeois. It was a dream come true.

Marinette paused just outside the doors, catching her breath. She placed her hand on the doorknob and with her other hand she knocked gently before opening the door.

Her blue eyes danced around the room, her heart racing as Adrien sat at his father's old desk. She blinked, it was early and she hadn't expected Adrien to already be in, as if it were Gabriel, he wouldn't show until ten in the morning.

Marinette parted her lips, ready to bombard him with questions in regards to Audrey's appearance but paused the moment she got a good look at his face.

He looked so stressed and so tired. It looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks.

His hair was slightly disheveled, and his clothes looked good but it was almost as if he threw them on in a hurry. It almost made Marinette wish that he had come in late just like his father usually would.

He leaned into the palm of his hand, barely moving a muscle even as Marinette let herself in.

Marinette frowned, her heart sinking into her stomach as she stepped in and closed the door behind her. She glanced up at him, slowly moving to his side.

"Adrien..." she murmured, immediately taking a seat beside him. "Are you okay?"

Adrien slowly pulled his hand away from his face, the lines beneath his eyes deepening as he glanced at her.
He subtly nodded, a weary smile plastering it's way on to his face. He reached up to run a hand through his hair before he then reached down to rub his eyes.

"I'm alright, just didn't get much sleep last night that's all." He replied, leaning back into his chair with a deep sigh.

Marinette frowned, her blue eyes trained on his tired face. She pressed her lips together, her heart racing as she debated on reaching out to him.

"Is it the job? I mean, I know it's a lot of work to fill in Gabriel's shoes, but I promise we'll all survive if you decide to let Gabriel take over again..." her voice trailed off. Marinette knew that he had no prior experience running a business and she could only imagine the stress it would put on him.

Adrien chuckled, shaking his head as he slowly crossed his arms. The blonde slowly turned his head to look at Marinette with a small smile.

"It's not the job, Marinette." He breathed, his eyes moving away from her face in thought. "I just have a lot going on at home, that's all."

Marinette pouted. She had heard rumors that Adrien and his father had some issues but she couldn't imagine the extent that it had gone to. It had to be bad if Adrien was losing sleep over it.

She went against her better judgment and she reached out to him, placing a hand on his shoulder much to his surprise.

"You know, if you ever need someone to talk to or hear you out, I'm here. I'm more than just your assistant, I can be your friend too." She murmured, offering him a warm smile despite the surprised expression on his face. "You can talk to me."

Adrien blinked, his expression softening as he took comfort in her touch and kind words. He offered her another soft smile, his arms remaining taut against his chest.

"I'm sure I could...eventually." he explained, a brief look of confliction on his face before he glanced away. "But I can't."

Marinette felt her heart sink. She was a little disappointed that he couldn't open up to her, but she understood. She wouldn't make him do anything he wasn't ready to do.

"You know you could've called out. I would have understood." Adrien murmured, turning his head to look at her. "I know you said I was weird, but I'm still human. I would have wanted you to stay home."

Marinette blushed, her heart squeezing in her chest as her hand slowly dropped on to the desk in front of her. She reached up to rub her cheek with a deep blush.

"I-I'm not sure what you mean." She stammered, her eyes lowering down to the desk.

"I heard about the murder closeby. It's all over the news." Adrien elucidated. "Chloe told me it was in the neighborhood. I mean, if you're safer at home...maybe it would have been better if you stayed home. Missing one day of work isn't going to kill you. This job isnt worth being murdered for."

Marinette glanced up at him, her blush deepening against her freckles. She inwardly cursed Chloe for saying anything to Adrien about the murder being in their neighborhood.

"I couldn't pass up the chance to meet Audrey Bourgeois. I mean I know Chloe just told me this morning, but I feel like today might be my lucky day." She replied, biting her lip as Adrien slowly stood up and walked towards the door with a yawn.

"Still not a good reason to risk your life." Adrien slurred, not in the least bit surprised that Chloe had spilled the beans to Marinette that Audrey Bourgeois was coming.

Marinette smiled, gently placing her purse on to the desk as she stood up. She tucked her hands behind her back, the blush slowly moving down towards her neck.

"Tired?" She asked, cocking her head to the side with a small chuckle. "Would you like me to grab you a coffee? Any cream? Sugar? Milk?"

She knew she wasn't that kind of assistant, but she didn't mind playing that role, especially after what he was able to do for her.

Adrien slid his hands into his pockets, glancing back at her with a small smile.
"I have two legs, I can grab it if I needed one."

Marinette giggled, reaching up to rub her cheek. She kept her eyes away from him, hoping that her hiccups wouldn't come back.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Marinette murmured, biting her lip.

Adrien perked a brow, quickly glancing up into her eyes with an inquisitive expression. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

Marinette reached up, rubbing her cheek nervously.

"S-So you showed Audrey my designs for the photoshoot?"

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It never occurred to Marinette how awkward it was considering the fact that her boss was only a year older than her.
It would be hard to fathom that anyone her age ran a successful company and run it well the way that he did.

Granted, Adrien admitted that he didn't have much experience doing any of this, which is why he had asked for her help in the first place.

Marinette stood awkwardly beside Adrien, her heart vastly beating within the tight confines of her chest, especially knowing that Audrey Bourgeois would be walking through those doors at any moment.

Adrien stood beside Marinette casually, his hands in his pockets as if he was completely unphased about Audrey's arrival, simply because he was much too tired and had a lot on his mind.

Marinette wanted to link her arm around his, just so that she had someone to hold onto. She had never been so nervous in her life. Audrey was intimidating.

But she knew linking arms with him would be inappropriate, especially with Audrey.

She glanced up, her eyes widening as the doors open, and Marinette was sure she was about to hiccup herself into throwing up. She gulped, her blue eyes following at the very elegant, and very tall Audrey stepped inside the room with her assistant.

Marinette could feel the excitement bubble in her toes. She wanted to be in on every detail that she and Adrien were collaborating on. She wanted to be involved with everything.

She was so excited about finally meeting and collabing based off of her designs it took awhile for Marinette to finally get a good look at Audrey's assistant.

She knew him.

In fact, she dated him back at university.

Marinette blinked, her lips pressing together briefly before the two finally locked eyes.

"...Theo?"