#until 2020 i got dms from girls who dated her warning me she was still obsessed with me which was not cool

[housesunstone]

is Brennan wanted to give Kristen even more psychic damage Nara should look like Kristen

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 31

A/N: Bubble chapters incoming.....!

July 18th, 2020

Aberdeen Bloom was getting frappucinos with Kasha.  

She was happy she and Kasha were on the same page – that they would get tacos for a late dinner and bring them back to their place to eat.  Neither were comfortable with dining in restaurants, even though it was allowed.  It just wasn’t something they wanted to do just yet.  So they’d take the tacos back to their apartment, sit on their balcony, and have a romantic date night with the frappucinos and – if Aberdeen was being honest – a bottle of rosé between them.  

Kasha had to run to an ATM, so Aberdeen was left waiting for the tacos herself.  It was a Saturday night, so the streets were somewhat busy – not as busy as they would have been during normal times, but busy enough that it made Aberdeen uncomfortable.  What was everybody doing out?  Where were they going?  Who were they meeting up with?  Why weren’t they staying at home?  It was all very weird to her.  Last summer she wouldn’t have even batted an eye; now, she was hyperaware of the people around her, hyperaware of standing six feet away from the other people ordering tacos, either in line or at the restaurant, and was clutching on to the strap of her bag so her hands didn’t fidget with her mask or touch anything else around her.  She was getting tested every day at work, and thankfully she was lucky to have them always come back negative.  She was being extra cautious.  She didn’t want to—

“Aberdeeeeeen?  Is that you?!” a voice suddenly called out from down the sidewalk.

Aberdeen looked to her right to see Saylor walking down the sidewalk with a posse of girls equally as glamourous as she was.  Aberdeen looked down at her outfit and gulped.  Leave it to Saylor to show up when she was waiting for a boatload of food and in clothes she just threw on to appear presentable in public.  “Hey Saylor,” Aberdeen half-waved.  More than anything, she was surprised to see Saylor in the city – from what she’d seen on Instagram, Saylor had gone back to Lake Forest during quarantine.  Kasperi had joined her.  

“You’re wearing a mask outside?  I thought you didn’t have to here.”

“I was just inside,” Aberdeen pointed with her thumb to the restaurant.  Not that she had to justify wearing a mask anywhere.  The world was still in the midst of a fucking pandemic.  “Just waiting for my food…and my friend.”

“These are my friends – Gina, Amanda, Jen, and Sadie,” she pointed to each girl.  Aberdeen gave them all a quick nod.  They couldn’t seem less interested in her.  “Girls, Aberdeen works for the Leafs with Kasperi.”

Suddenly, all of their eyes shot forward.  “Really?” the one identified as Jen asked.  “What do you do?”

“I—I’m Brendan Shanahan’s personal assistant,” she revealed reluctantly.  She didn’t want to tell these girls anything, let alone her job.

“Kasperi told me you’re going into the bubble next week,” Saylor said before the conversation could go any further.

“I am,” she nodded, hesitating to even confirm the news to Saylor.  After their last altercation in Los Angeles, Aberdeen was fine with never seeing her again.  She was almost positive Saylor felt the same way, but apparently not.  

“He said you’re going to be the only girl in there.”

Saylor was right.  Aberdeen would be the only woman in the bubble for the Leafs.  She was sure – well, she fucking hoped – that other women from other team staff would be at the hotel too.  It would make the experience a lot less fucking awkward, that was for sure.  “Yeah, that’s true.”

Saylor’s friend Gina snorted.  “We all know what you’ll be used for.”

Aberdeen’s heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.  Now she knew why Saylor didn’t just ignore her and walk by her on the street.  She wanted other people to do her dirty work for her.  She wanted to re-live what happened in Los Angeles, except this time, it would be five against one.  

“Not yet,” Saylor smiled wryly.  “Not until she gets her nose job.”

The other girls laughed.  Aberdeen narrowed her eyes at Saylor.  “I fucking love my big nose, alright?”

“I’m sure you do.  That’s very homely of you,” Saylor rolled her eyes.  “And I’m warning you now, you better stay away from Kasperi in that bubble.”

Aberdeen snorted out loud.  Actually snorted.  “Oh my God, is that was this is about?” she asked indignantly.  “You’re…Saylor, you’re joking right?”

Saylor didn’t look too pleased that Aberdeen was laughing at her.  “Stay away from my boyfriend.”

“I wouldn’t touch your boyfriend with a ten-foot pole.  I wouldn’t even touch him wearing a hazmat suit.”

Saylor took a step forward, trying to intimidate her.  Aberdeen was laughing too much to care.  The whole thing got so ridiculous so quickly that the only thing she could do was laugh.  Saylor was completely out to lunch.  “It’s so obvious that you’re so jealous of me,” she said.

“Saylor, I don’t even think about you at all.”

“We ready to go?  I got our tacos,” Kasha’s voice suddenly interrupted the confrontation.  Aberdeen looked behind her to see Kasha holding the bag up slightly, eyeing the situation.  Aberdeen wondered how much of the conversation she’d heard.  “Who’s this, Aberdeen?”

Aberdeen took a slight step back.  “This is Saylor.  Kasperi’s girlfriend.”

Kasha nodded once.  “Have fun,” she said to the group of girls before linking her free arm around Aberdeen’s.  As they took their first step forward, Kasha looked at Aberdeen.  “Kasperi?  Is that the one that DM’ed me?” she asked.  Loudly.

Aberdeen didn’t turn around to see Saylor’s reaction.  She didn’t need to.  She knew she would have never seen someone turn so red so quickly in her entire life.  And as they walked down the street, the wry smile on Kasha’s face grew.  “Was that okay?” Kasha asked.  

“You’re brilliant,” Aberdeen said.  Maybe it wasn’t the nicest thing to do – okay, it definitely wasn’t the nicest thing to do – but God did it feel good.  Kappy had never DM’ed Kasha before in her life.  Aberdeen wasn’t even sure Kappy knew who Kasha was even though he met her at the Halloween party.  “I might get a phone call later, but it was brilliant.”

“If you get a phone call, I’ll let them know that she said you weren’t hot enough without a nose job,” Kasha said.

“So you heard that?”

“That’s when I came in.  The guy was calling your name and so I grabbed the food and lingered.”

Aberdeen smiled.  “I love you, bitch.”

“Love you too, bitch.”

***

Message from: Kasperi Kapanen

I heard u ran into Saylor tonite?

Yes

Why did Kasha say I slid into her DMs?

Must have had to do with the fact that Saylor told me I wasn’t pretty enough for any of you to fuck in the bubble unless I got a nose job.

***

minskatt what did saylor say to u tn?

Nothing important because you love my nose and that’s all that matters

can i call u

No I’m with Kasha

minskatt please

It’s fine Willy I don’t care She’s dumb She thinks I’m jealous of her And she told me to stay away from Kappy in the bubble She thinks I want to sleep with him I mean 🤣

omg

Please don’t worry about it I’ll see you tomorrow

i love u

I love you too I want you to cum down my throat tomorrow Okay?

🥴🥴🥴

***

July 25th, 2020

Aberdeen and William promised each other they would take it slow because they wanted to make the moment last as long as possible.

They were both fully packed.  Aberdeen’s suitcase was packed back in her bedroom.  A two-month supply of food and cat litter was bought for Minerva so that Kasha wouldn’t have to go get any, just in case the Leafs went all the way (which meant, at the end of August, she’d be getting on a plane to Edmonton, too).  She had organized outfits – work and casual.  She made sure to bring entertainment.  The Louis Vuitton duffel bag they all got her for her birthday definitely came in handy.  William had packed some clothes and shoes.  Made sure to pack the basic necessities.  He’d texted guys on the team to see what they were bringing in so he didn’t forget anything.  He wasn’t the best packer.  

Now, all that was left was to spend time together before they couldn’t anymore. 

William didn’t want to go straight into sex.  There was no point.  The sex was great but what he wanted, more than anything, was intimacy – to be able to hold Aberdeen and feel her body pressed up against his; to be able to take in her scent as he always did and be calmed by it as he always was; to be able to bury his face in the crook of her neck and graze his lips along her skin there so delicately it made her shiver; to whisper ‘I love you’ over and over again to her while “Quitting You” by the Arkells played on a constantly loop quietly in the background of their time together.  This is what he would miss.  Florida was different – they were a country away from each other, and it was hard.  But to have her working with them, in the same bubble, while everyone was around, on the same floor, and not be able to get her alone, go to her hotel room, even hold her hand?  It would be torture.  

He laid his head on her chest, hearing and feeling her heart beat as she ran her fingers through his hair.  His arms were wrapped tightly around her and buried underneath her – he was sure the circulation would cut off soon but he didn’t care.  He closed his eyes, and pictured them holding hands.  Openly.  Aberdeen was smiling.  He pulled her into him and kissed her.  They were in the team locker room.

“What are you thinking about?” Aberdeen’s soft voice broke the silence.

“You,” he said simply.  “Us.”

“What about us?” she asked.

“Holding your hand,” he said.  “Kissing you in the locker room.”

When he shifted his head to look up at her, she was smiling.  “Do you hate me because we can’t?”

He shook his head.  “I could never hate you, minskatt.  You know that.”

“It’ll happen soon.  I promise,” she said.  “You won’t have to do anymore waiting.”

“Shhhh…” he cooed, moving up and nuzzling his nose against her jawline.  “I’m not waiting for anything when you’re here with me, am I?” he asked, placing the lightest of kisses on her jawline.

Aberdeen sighed happily.  “When I write my first book, I’m dedicating it to you.  It’s gonna say ‘For William, for waiting’,” she said with a slight chuckle.  

He chuckled too.  “I look forward to it.  Your second book can be dedicated to Siena or Cam or your parents.”

“Second book?  I’m writing a second book, am I?” she smiled.  

“Mhm,” he nodded her.  “You’re gonna write a bunch of books, minskatt.  And they’re all gonna be amazing, and you’ll be all literary or whatever, and everybody’s gonna buy your books.”

Her heart was growing a thousand sizes.  “You think so?”

“I know so.  You’re gonna be a famous writer, minskatt.  I’ll just be in the background.”

She curled around and shifted her body into his.  Their lips came together tenderly as they began kissing each other, Aberdeen slipping her tongue into William’s mouth easily.  His hands wandered down her body to cup her ass before he helped her hook her leg over his torso.  They lay kissing for a while until their lips were red and swollen and their breathless gasps the only sound they could hear in the room.  When William pulled away quickly to take a breath, Aberdeen shifted to lay on her back.  “Willy?” she asked, her voice breathless.

“Minskatt?”

“Make love to me, Willy.  One last time before the bubble.”

He picked her up and brought her to his bedroom, setting her down on the bed gently before crawling over her body and continuing their kissing.  With some trusty hands, William’s hoodie was off, then Aberdeen’s top, then Aberdeen’s pants, then William’s pants.  He kissed down her body, but she pulled him back up.  “Willy—”

“Minskatt—”

“I just need to feel you inside me, Willy.  Please.”

Somewhat reluctantly, he kissed his way back up her body, paying attention to her breasts for a while before he put on a condom and she wrapped her legs around him and he entered her slowly.  Everything was so slow and gentle and intimate, and he’d buried his face into the crook of her neck again to kiss the skin there.  When he came back up and looked at her, it was very clear to him that there were tears welling in her eyes.  His mind immediately went into overdrive and his body seized up.  “Aberdeen?  Aberdeen why are you crying?”

“I’m not – no – no no no, it’s not you, it’s not you,” she let out quickly, cupping his face in her hands.  His entire body had stopped moving as he hovered over here.  She felt a few tears escape down the sides of her eyes, powerless to stop them.  “It’s just me.  It’s me.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I just love you so much,” she said, her voice cracking slightly.  “You believe in me, Willy.”

“Of course I believe in you.  I’ll always believe in you.  Where is this coming from?”

“It was Florida.  Sixty-one days away from you,” she explained.  “Now in the bubble we’re going to be together but we can’t be together, and I want you to know how much I love you.  You know that, right?”

“I do,” he nodded.

“Whatever happens in the bubble, I believe in you and I’ll always believe in you like you believe in me,” she said.

William’s heart panged at her statement.  He craned his head to continue to kiss her, and she could feel tears – not her own – on her cheeks as well.  His slow and steady movements, passionate and thorough and pleasurable all at once, reminded her of that love they just spoke of.  They made love with everything they had in them.  And when they climaxed, and William collapsed on top of Aberdeen’s body, she held him close to her, unwilling to let him go.

He shifted slightly to move out of her, but she tightened her legs around him.  “No,” she pleaded.  “Stay.  I want to feel you inside me for as long as possible.”

“Are you sure?”

“Please Willy,” she almost begged, although she knew she wouldn’t have to.  “Stay.  Let’s just stay like this.”

***

July 26th, 2020

Aberdeen’s family had made it to the staff send-off before they went into the bubble.  Camden and Siena came along too.  Camden made her a card and gave her a crossword puzzles book he’d bought her at Indigo.  When Siena hugged her, she said “Make good choices!” jokingly.  Their parents would always say it to them before they got out of the car when they were driven to parties or the like.

If Siena only knew.

Once her family left, Aberdeen had the fantastic tasks of preparing the buses and organizing significant others to be far enough away from each other so everyone was still social distancing.  Everybody’s significant other was there, save for the single guys like Auston and (to everyone else) William.  As she stood off to the side, she couldn’t help but watch.

Bee McTavish was crying.  She wasn’t wailing loudly or anything like that, but Aberdeen could see her glistening cheeks from her tears as Morgan couldn’t stop kissing her and she couldn’t stop wiping her eyes.  He looked pretty torn up about leaving her, too.  She knew all the guys would be.  They were excited to play hockey again but they weren’t too sold on the concept of the bubble.  Everyone was going to hate being away from their families – Bee and Morgan were no exception.  “Call me whenever you want to,” Aberdeen overheard her tell him.  “And if a single thing starts to hurt you please don’t play.  You need to be healthy, Morgan.”  

Frederik Andersen and Aleida Casillas couldn’t stop kissing, either.  Aleida was getting emotional, although Aberdeen knew that Aleida didn’t want to show it.  Fred’s new wedding ring glistened in the light.  Aberdeen could only imagine what it was like to leave your wife on your one-month anniversary.  

Jace was giggling at his dad’s kisses.  John had spent the last five minutes holding and kissing his baby boy, with Aryne smiling and cuddling them too.  Aberdeen could see Aryne’s small bump peeking out through her t-shirt and realized John was going into the bubble while his wife was pregnant and having to take care of a one-year-old.  Her heart ached.  She saw the smile on John’s face as he cooed at his son and Jace kept repeating “Dada” over and over again and she could feel a rush of emotion flood her face.  

When she saw that Jason had his four girls in a giant bear hug, Aberdeen had to hold in a giant sob.  He was crouching down at their level, kissing them all multiple times and whispering things to them as Jen looked on, looking like she was on the verge of tears herself.  Jason wouldn’t let them go – couldn’t let them go.  Aberdeen had to look away so she didn’t start crying right then and there.  It was too much for her to think about.  

“You okay, Aberdeen?” Auston’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and she whipped her head towards him.  

“I’m fine,” she said, trying not to think about the scenes she just saw.  “Do you need me to pack your bag in the bus?” she asked.

“I’m not gonna make you pack my bag, Aberdeen,” he said like it was the most absurd thing in the world.  

Aberdeen looked at Auston, but could only see right past him.  Behind him, she could see Kappy and Saylor saying their goodbyes.  Saylor was hugging Kappy but giving Aberdeen a death stare.  Aberdeen focused her attention back on Auston.  “How much does Saylor hate me?” she asked.

Auston shrugged.  “Wouldn’t know.  I don’t talk to her anymore.  But from what I hear, a lot.”

“Good to know.  What have you heard?  Because she thinks I want to sleep with Kappy.”

Auston smiled.  “Something like that.”  Aberdeen rolled her eyes playfully, smiling back at Auston.  “For what it’s worth, she thinks everybody wants to sleep with Kappy,” Auston said.  “You know, because he’s just so good looking.”

“You ready for the bubble?” Saylor’s voice suddenly surprised them from behind Auston.  Because of their conversation, they hadn’t seen her approach.  Auston jumped slightly.  He noticed that Saylor was staring directly at Aberdeen.

“As ready as we can be, I think,” Aberdeen said.  

“Just remember what I told you!” Saylor said in a playful tone.  “Stay six feet away from my boyfriend!”

“Just for you, Saylor, I’ll make it ten,” Aberdeen winked.  “I’ll put a pole between us if that’d what you prefer.”

***

There were cameras everywhere covering their arrival.  Naturally, of course, since they were the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Aberdeen only hoped that she wasn’t caught in any of the photos.  She’d already had enough of a time with her identity and stalkers showing up outside her apartment.  She didn’t need people to be lingering outside of the bubble gates for her as well.  

They checked in.  Everything was eerie.  They could only go up the elevators two at a time with their suitcases after they got their welcome packages and key cards.  Aberdeen was situated at the first room to the right side of the elevators.  The equipment staff, trainers, doctor, and coaches were in the wing as well.  Kyle and Brendan had their rooms opposite each other at the very end of the hallway.  The social media person was across from her.  A few more of the equipment guys were on “her” side of the hallway.  To the left of the elevators were the team rooms.  William was the second room in, in the middle between Auston and Mitch.  Jason was in the middle of the hallway.  She knew these things because – as the executive assistant to perhaps the most important executive there – she got a copy of the room allocations and floorplan.  

When she walked into her room, it was set up like any normal, swanky hotel room.  There was a queen-sized bed and a big, beautiful window that looked directly out onto the CN Tower.  The bathroom was big and immaculate.  Things were practically shining.  She hauled her suitcase onto the bed before going to the window to push the curtains open.  If she was going to have a view of the city, she was going to milk it for all it was worth.  

When she walked back to her bed, something on the nightstand caught her eye, and she walked over to it.  Once she realized what they were, her breath hitched in her throat.  She didn’t know who was responsible for this.  But it made her so emotional.  There were three frames with pictures in them, each more sentimental than the last.  In the first frame, there was a mashup of two pictures: one of she and Siena when Siena attended the game in Ottawa, and one of she and Camden when Camden visited right before lockdown.  The second picture was the group shot of the outdoor practice, where she was freezing her butt off but having the time of her life.  The third, and perhaps the one that hit her the most, was a picture from the Night With the Blue and White.  In it, she was posing for a picture with Brendan, Jason, and William, with a champagne flute in her hand.  Her smile took up half her face.  

She let out a sob.  

It wasn’t that she looked so happy.  It wasn’t that she could still remember the way William smelled that night.  It wasn’t how less than ten hours after the picture was taken, she and William had sex and admitted they wanted to be in a secret relationship.  It wasn’t that they had followed through with that promise now for months.  It was that the picture depicted normalcy.  Her job.  Brendan.  Jason.  William.  It depicted life before masks, before social distancing, before hand sanitizer being more readily available than water, before lining up outside of grocery stores.  It depicted a life that seemed so far in the past.  Giant gathering.  Group photos.  Seeing someone teeth when they smiled.  Putting your arms around another person for a hug.

Now, she found herself alone in a hotel room, within an artificially created bubble, for a hockey team, with no physical contact with the outside world.  Nothing about this was normal.  Nothing.

***

William decided to call Aberdeen.  Everybody was holed up in their rooms unpacking everything they bought, and the hotel was eerily quiet for so many people staying in it.  He figured it was because the hotel was old, and its walls were solid – none of this new construction, shitty craftsmanship.  These building was built by fucking donkeys, as evidence by the photographs in the lobby.  Donkeys and stone; so these walls were thick.  Some of the boys had checked up on him to make sure his PlayStation set up had gone smoothly.  It did.  But William could care less.  

“Hello?” Aberdeen answered her phone.

He could immediately tell she’d been crying.  “What’s wrong, minskatt?”

“These damn pictures they put up in my room,” she admitted immediately – no need to beat around the bush.  “They framed the one we took with Jason and Brendan during the Night With the Blue and White.”

William understood completely how and why that would affect her.  “Yeah, I get it.  They put a bunch of pictures of my family.  Well, my parents and my sisters.”

“No Alex?”

“He’s too ugly to be in a picture,” William deadpanned.  He heard Aberdeen snort slightly on the other end.  He found solace in the fact that he was able to make her laugh.  “The pictures really got to you, huh?”

“It wasn’t just that,” she said.  “Just seeing all the families say goodbye to each other.  I watched John say goodbye to Jace and it made me emotional, but then I saw Jason saying goodbye to his girls and I absolutely lost it,” she revealed.  “I kept it together for the bus ride but the second I got in here and saw these pictures, it was, like, a tidal wave.”

“How can I make it better?” William asked.  He knew this would be hard on her – being in the bubble – and although he cautioned against it, Aberdeen made her own decision at the end of the day, and he respected that.  It didn’t mean the bubble experience would be any better for her, but at least she made the decision herself and she came into it knowing what she was getting herself into.  Aberdeen wasn’t a stupid girl.  Far from it.  

“You wanna just stay on the phone with me?  So I can hear your voice?” she asked timidly.

“Of course,” he answered, equally as softly.  She could practically see and feel his smile through the phone.  “Want to practice your Swedish with me, minskatt?”

***

July 27th, 2020

“A girl?!”

Aberdeen’s ears turned red as she heard the gasp from behind her near the conference room where the Leafs were designated to eat all their meals.  She was apparently a novelty.  Because they had to stay holed up in their hotel rooms for most of the day, unless it was a pre-planned excursion or meal, she hadn’t seen any other women.  It was awful.  And now this.

She looked behind her as discreetly as she could.  She saw two men – boys – wearing New York Islanders t-shirts staring at her.  She recognized them immediately as Mat Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier.  She glared at them.

“Is she here delivering the food?”

“She has a badge, you idiot.”

“You’re telling me she works for the team and they brought her into the bubble?”

She wanted to scream at them.  But she didn’t have to.  Kyle Dubas appeared out of nowhere right beside her, clutching a coffee and a banana.  “Miss Bloom,” he greeted her formally, and loud enough so Mat and Anthony could hear.  “Shanahan is going to need those CORSI stats for Matthews and Tavares after we eat.”  He glanced at them quickly.  “Boys,” he nodded a greeting.

They scurried away.

Aberdeen looked at Kyle.  “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Does Shanny really need those CORSI stats?” she asked.

“No,” Kyle shook his head.  “I said that so they wouldn’t fuck with you.”

***

July 28th, 2020

Aberdeen was waiting for the exhibition game to start.  Yet again, she was experiencing her second exhibition game for a hockey team she never thought she would work for, let alone for this long.  She was in their usual box with Kyle and Brendan, but it felt different.  No fans.  No other personnel.  The only other people around were the extra players sitting in the seats below them.  The media was around somewhere, but nowhere near her.  The boys were warming up on the ice.  

“You okay?” Brendan asked as he looked at her.

Aberdeen nodded.  “Are you?”

“As okay as I can be,” he shrugged.  “I don’t get nervous about exhibition games.”

“Did you think I’d be here long enough for two sets of exhibition games?” Aberdeen asked, wiggling her eyebrows slightly.  

He huffed, giving her a joking look.  She began giggling.  “To be honest…no.”

“Yeah, me neither.  Don’t worry.”

***

Thirty-three seconds into the first period, Ilya Mikheyev scored off a pass from John Tavares that Aberdeen had seen one hundred times in training camp.  She smiled wide.  

Hockey was back.

[fridayfirefly]

Picture Perfect Chapter Two: #Adrinette

Masterlist | AO3

By the time the Gabriel catalog came out, Marinette had almost entirely forgotten about the photoshoot. So much had happened in the past five months, that the summer photo shoot was the last thing on her mind. Marinette and the rest of her class started their first year of lycée. Marinette designed and created a whole new wardrobe for herself and created an online store after some of her designs started getting attention. Nathanial and Marc finally started dating. Yet despite all these changes, so much had stayed the same. Adrien and Marinette were still just friends. Lila was still manipulating the class with her lies, and Adrien and Marinette still had no plan on how to stop her from lying.

Marinette spent her winter break designing, and it kept her so busy that she completely missed the Gabriel catalog drop. It wasn't until she got a phone call from Adrien at five o'clock on New Year's Day that she realized that the photos from their summer shoot had been released.

The phone rang while Marinette was in the middle of hand-stitching her dress for the upcoming girl's choice Valentine's Day dance. It wasn't for another month and a half, but Marinette knew that once the new semester started, she would have no time to sew. Marinette answered her phone on the second ring, her caller ID telling her that it was Adrien who was calling. "Hey, Adrien," she greeted.

"Marinette!" Adrien exclaimed through the phone. "You haven't checked your twitter recently, have you?"

"No? Why?" Marinette was already logging on to twitter on her laptop, curious as to what had Adrien so frantic. Then she saw it: #Adrinette is trending in your area. "Oh. I'm going to call you back." Despite Adrien's protest, Marinette hung up the phone. She had some tweets to read.

It took twenty minutes of digging to find the original twitter thread that caused the catastrophe:

Marinette finally called Adrien back, half an hour after she hung up on him. He picked up on the first ring.

Marinette didn't hesitate in getting straight to the point. "What do we do about this?"

"Father already coordinated the PR Department to release a statement telling my fans to stop making inquiries into either of our personal lives. The next step is a little more complicated. Father would like for you and your family to come over for dinner so we can discuss it."

"What is there to discuss? Shouldn't we just tell everyone that we're not dating and be done with it."

Adrien hesitated. "It's complicated. I don't really approve but my Father insists that we at least discuss it."

"What is it?" asked Marinette, exasperated at the way he kept dodging around the point.

"My Father wants us to fake date," Adrien blurted out. "Which is a silly idea, I know, but he wouldn't listen to me."

"Why does he want us to fake date?" Marinette was absolutely blindsided by this development. Of all the things Adrien could have said, fake dating was at the bottom of her list of possibilities, right under her secretly being a princess and an alien invasion.

"He thinks that it would be good publicity. I tried to convince him to just forget about it, but he's insisting that he speaks to you and your parents about it."

"Okay. What time should we come over?"

Marinette quickly got herself ready for dinner, picking out a dress made of midnight blue velvet, one of her own creations, for a commission that canceled on her when she was half-way through making the dress. Marinette had been furious at first, but she channeled that rage into turning the dress into something that she could wear herself and be proud of. She finished getting ready by braiding back her hair and putting on a light coat of makeup. That was the easy part.

The harder part was informing her parents of the situation, a task that took Marinette almost twenty minutes to fully explain. From the photoshoot over the summer that they vaguely remembered signing a permission slip for, to the catalog that came out that morning, the rumors and speculation that blew up on twitter, and the invitation to the Agreste Mansion - they had a lot of ground to cover. Sabine and Tom were both concerned, primarily for their daughter's safety.

"You haven't been harassed, have you?" asked Sabine.

"I haven't checked my DM's yet," Marinette admitted. "I'm just going to turn my account to private and ignore them. I'm sure people are saying terrible things about me, but I don't really care. It doesn't bother me that they're jealous of a relationship I'm not even in."

"If you see anything that does bother you, or if anything threatens you, make sure you report it," urged Sabine.

Marinette nodded. "I will."

"Marinette, can you finish closing up the bakery while Sabine and I get ready for dinner?" asked Tom.

"Yep." Marinette made her way down to the bakery and started tidying up. She put ingredients away, took leftover bread out of the display case, wiped down tables, swept the floor. The menial tasks soothed her overstimulated brain, allowing her a few minutes to process everything that had happened in the last hour. Once she finished cleaning, Marinette got out her phone and started mindlessly scrolled through twitter as she waited for her parents to get ready. There were a lot of opinions about her and Adrien's 'relationship', some of them better than others.

"Marinette, are you ready to go?"

"Yep." Marinette glanced up from her phone. Her parents were both dressed up for the dinner - Sabine in a dark green dress that Marinette had made for her mother to wear to a wedding six months ago, Tom in a suit with a matching dark green tie. "You both look nice," Marinette complimented.

"Only because I'm wearing your creation. Gabriel Agreste had better take note of your talent before he loses you to another fashion company."

The Agreste Mansion was only two blocks away, so Marinette and her parents walked there, rather than taking a taxi. The sidewalks were icy, and Marinette was glad that she chose to wear flats over heels. Breaking her ankle on the way to break up with her fake boyfriend would be enough to push Marinette over the edge. She already wanted to hole up in her room and never come out again, as it was.

The Dupain-Cheng family was welcomed into the Agreste Mansion by Nathalie, who gave Marinette a sympathetic smile. "I'm very sorry for the trouble that social media has been causing for you and Adrien."

Marinette shrugged her sympathy away. "It's certainly giving me some trouble, but it's not the end of the world. Once we get the word out that Adrien and I aren't dating, I'm sure the public will stop obsessing over it.

Nathalie's smile turned into a frown. "I must warn you, Mister Agreste is going to try to change your mind on the matter."

"Let him try. I've already made my decision."

"I admire your conviction, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Follow me, I'll take you all to the dining room."

The first thing Marinette noticed when she entered the dining room was the worried expression on Adrien's face. The second thing she noticed was the absolute lack of expression on Gabriel Agreste's face, though that seemed to be normal for him.

"Welcome to my home, Mrs. Dupain, Mr. Cheng, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng."

"Thank you for inviting us over," said Sabine.

"Were this about anything else, I would allow the pleasantries to go on. However, this pertains to the safety of our children, so why don't we get down to business."

Sabine nodded. "From what I understand, speculation has been circling the Internet about a relationship between Marinette and Adrien, due to the nature of the photos released in the 2020 Gabriel Catalog."

"Oscar Perrin, the director of the photoshoot, paired Adrien and Marinette up to be featured in photos together. The Internet has mistaken the pictures to mean that there is something more between the two of them."

Nathalie approached the table and set a Gabriel catalog down in from of Marinette's parents before taking her own seat. Marinette glanced over at the catalog, and in all honesty, she understood where the speculation had come from. Though her crush on Adrien had faded to almost nothing at the time of the photoshoot, there was a genuine fondness in both of their expressions.

"This is fairly incriminating evidence," Sabine noted as she flipped through the catalog. "It won't matter though, not once their lack of relationship is officially confirmed by your company."

"That's the part I brought you here to discuss. I do not want to publicly discourage the rumors. If anything, I would like to encourage them."

"Why?" Sabine narrowed her eyes, a look of distrust that Marinette very rarely saw on her mother.

"There is already a lot of attention around Marinette and Adrien dating, especially from people their age, the demographic that the Gabriel brand has been targeting for the past year. If their relationship is confirmed, and Marinette start showing up with Adrien at Gabriel function and appearing in photoshoots, it would be incredible advertising for the new lines of clothes we are releasing for young adults."

"I understand your motivations for keeping them together, but why should Marinette agree. She's already receiving harassment online, and the speculation has only been around for less than a day."

"Marinette is interested in fashion design, is she not?"

All eyes turned to Marinette, who gave a small nod of her head. "I am."

"The Gabriel company does not currently offer a lot of opportunities for young designers, but that could change. Should you and Adrien be in a relationship - fake or real, whatever you decide between the two of you - you would have access to all of Gabriel's resources. I could set up an internship with one of my top designers. Additionally, as a designer, you would begin your career in the fashion world with name recognition as a former model."

Hesitantly, Marinette interrupted. "Former modeling? I thought that I wound just be fake dating Adrien. I understand that I would be going to some functions with Adrien and being seen out in public with him, but how does modeling fit into this?"

"I want you to replace Lila Rossi. She has not endeared herself to Adrien's fanbase and has been causing more trouble than she's worth within the ranks of the Gabriel brand models. I had considered replacing her for quite some time and recently terminated her contract after I found out that there have been quite a few complaints lodged against her from both designers and her fellow models."

"That's... a lot to consider." Marinette didn't want to give her answer yet, because quite honestly, she didn't know whether or not she wanted what Gabriel Agreste was offering.

"I'm not requiring you to make a decision yet. However, until you make a decision I will not engage with any of the fans making speculations about the relationship between you and Adrien. Until you make a decision, the rumors will only increase. The longer we wait to engage with the media about this, the more difficult it will be to discourage speculation afterward, should that be the route you wish to take."

"We'll be giving Marinette all the time she needs to make her decision," Sabine said, her narrowed eyes staring down Gabriel, daring him to disagree with her.

"Of course," Gabriel agreed. "I'm just making sure that Marinette knows all of the possible consequences of her decision. It isn't one to be made lightly, after all."

"Hmm," Sabine didn't let up with her interrogating gaze. Marinette had faced it only a few times before in her life, times when Marinette lied to Sabine about important things. The most recent time Marinette had faced her mother's interrogation was when she tried to hide Lila's bullying from her parents. It had worked for a few weeks until Tom walked in on Marinette sobbing over her own helplessness in the face of Lila's lies. Her parents had called a family meeting and urged Marinette to tell them what had caused her breakdown, but it wasn't until Sabine started putting pressure on Marinette that she finally admitted the truth to her parents. Of course, they would have found out eventually, no matter what. Lila made sure of that when she framed Marinette for assault and theft, getting her suspended until Adrien forced Lila to reverse her lies and reverse Marinette's suspension.

As they ate dinner, making small talk that Marinette wasn't invested in, she weighed the pros and cons of her decision. There were certainly a lot of pros: making connections in the world of fashion, getting to model again, and especially, spending more time with Adrien. However, there were cons: lying to her friends about the relationship, being harassed online, dealing with Lila when she was certain to spin a story about how Marinette 'stole' her spot as a Gabriel model.

In the end, it was Adrien who was the reason behind what she chose. He caught her eye mid-way through the dinner and shot her a hopeful smile. Marinette hadn't gotten to spend much time with Adrien that school year - he was busy with modeling and fencing and she was busy with schoolwork, making commissions, designing her own clothes, babysitting Manon, her duties as class president, and above all, her responsibilities as Ladybug. Without her crush on Adrien pushing her to spend time with him, they only ever saw each other outside of class in group settings. It would be nice to spend some one-on-one time with Adrien, with her friend.

"I've made my decision," Marinette announced as soon as the dessert plates were taken away. "I will agree to go through with the fake relationship."

"A wise decision, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng. I hope that we get to know each other better as your relationship with Adrien progresses," said Gabriel Agreste as he looked Marinette in the eyes.

Though his expressionless face was slightly off-putting, Marinette maintained eye contact with Gabriel and gave him a nod of acknowledgment. "I hope so too."

"One last thing before you leave. I must make sure that you are aware that you may not tell anyone about the nature of the relationship between you and Adrien. No one may know that it is fake - not even your friends."

"I understand."

"Good. Adrien will see you and your family out the door. Until next time." Gabriel exited the room swiftly, the sound of his footsteps fading away as he left the room.

"Sorry that he can be so... aloof, sometimes. I really do look forward to this. I think that it'll be fun to get to hang out with you more." Adrien's bright, hopeful smile reassured Marinette that she made the right decision. "Do you want to get together tomorrow to figure out all the details of our fake relationship?"

Marinette nodded, her own smile tentatively forming. "Sure. Meet me at the bakery?"

Adrien nodded. "It's a date." His wink revealed that it was just a joking quip. However, the tiny part of Marinette that still harbored a crush for Adrien absolutely jumped for joy at the words she never thought she'd hear him say to her. Marinette crushed that tiny part down as best she could - the beginning of a fake relationship was not the place for her crush to reemerge.

Marinette fell into bed that night utterly exhausted by the day she had experienced. As she closed her eyes to fall asleep, she remembered one last important detail - she had forgotten to tell Tikki about everything that had transpired that day. Crap.