Requested by @Ashley314121 and a few others.

Not edited, so sorry in advance for any misspellings or typos :)

Determined not to lose Marinette, Adrien is ready to do whatever it takes to mend their friendship—and perhaps spark a little something more he knows is lingering between them.
_______________________________

Moby Dick sat atop Adrien's paper-filled desk amongst the several other homework assignments that he needed to start, except he couldn't find it in himself to concentrate on schoolwork. He was too busy glaring at the worn-out hardback book that had Marinette's name scribbled on the inside of the cover. It just sat there, almost as if it were glaring back at him, as if it were capable of scrutinizing him, as if it was capable of judging him.

It'd taken Adrien a whole week to do it, but he'd done it. He'd read the entire story of Moby Dick... and he hated it.

He decided to glue the pages back onto the spine, only to convince himself he ought to read it if he wanted to understand Marinette better. But even after he was finished reading it, he still wasn't sure what Marinette liked so much about it. The entire book had been a drag—one hundred and thirty-five chapters to be exact—only for the action to finally take place at the end when Moby Dick finally sunk Ahab's ship... and that wasn't even the best part. The line of the harpoon wrapping around Ahab's neck and overall drowning him is what really granted Moby Dick his triumph.

Despite reading the story, however, there was still one question on Adrien's mind.

Why did Marinette refer to herself as Moby Dick?

Was it because she felt outcasted? Did she feel like others were constantly attacking her? If that was the case, was he Ahab? Was Ahab's harpoon piercing through Moby Dick's side an analogy to Adrien stabbing Marinette in the back?

If so, he needed to convince her that he was on her side, that he wasn't Ahab.

He tried to do so when he returned to school, and finding Marinette was much easier than he thought it'd be. Instead of eating her lunch in the empty library, he was genuinely surprised to find her actually eating in the lunchroom. She was still sitting in the back of the cafeteria, alone, but it was a surprise nonetheless. Marinette never ate in the lunchroom. Ever.

Swallowing nervously, he slowly made his way over towards her.

He slung his backpack off his shoulder as he sat down. His lunch, which his mother had packed in a brown paper bag, was placed on the table. Marinette shyly glanced up from her food, her eyes wide at the unexpected intrusion—until she realized it was him. Then, her eyes narrowed, and she stood to leave.

"Wait!" He pleaded with an outstretched hand. She shortly paused upon his urgency, and that was the only opportunity he needed. He quickly zipped open his bag and carefully reached for Moby Dick which was tucked safely amongst his other textbooks. He extended it out to her. Her eyes remained downcast on the book, refusing to meet his—but at least she was looking at the novel.

"I-I fixed it... for you..." he licked his lips nervously, "Please take it."

Marinette's shoulders sagged, revealing just how exhausted she was. "I don't need it anymore."

"Marinette, this is your favorite book. I know you don't mean that."

He seemed to be right when she glanced away from the hardcover novel as if looking at it any further made her feel guilty. As of late, he understood how that felt.

"Take it, please." He insisted softly, "You can't just abandon it."

Those last words must've been the wrong thing to say because her eyes suddenly snapped up to meet his in absolute fury. "Oh really? How ironic, considering you easily abandoned me."

This was the opening he needed. With a sigh, Adrien settled more comfortably on the bench. "I wasn't trying to abandon you, and I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. That really wasn't my intention."

The anger laced across her features faltered slightly, but she was still on edge. "Then what was your intention? Not to be friends with me anymore?"

"Marinette, I like being your friend," Adrien admitted, "But you have to admit, you were a bit... clingy. I guess I didn't know how to handle that when it started to bother me. I'm sorry I handled it wrong."

Her eyes softened a little more, and then her gaze quickly fell downward to her fidgeting hands in her lap. Now she seemed ashamed. "I guess... I guess I can be a bit clingy." She admitted with an idle shrug. "I get scared that people might leave me, and so I try to hold onto them. So... I'm sorry... for making you feel uncomfortable."

"Thanks," a smile was slowly pulling at his lips. "And I'm sorry, too, for snapping at you the way I did."

She offered him a nod, but her eyes were still glued to her lap.

Another sigh left his lips, sounding defeated. "Could you please look at me?"

Marinette did as he asked. She lifted her head, and when blue bell eyes met emerald green, Adrien found himself at a loss for words. Despite the tears that had collected on her bottom lids, Marinette's eyes sparkled like sapphire jewels.

He smiled softly at her. "I want you to know that I'll never be Ahab."

Marinette's eyes quickly widened in surprise. Her gaze snapped downwards where Moby Dick sat atop the table in front of them, but her eyes only stayed there briefly. Then, they were back on his in a matter of seconds. "You—You read Moby Dick?"

With a nod, he chuckled fondly, "Yeah."

"You actually read a book?"

He rolled his eyes playfully at that, but he understood why she had asked. He never read books. In fact, he looked to avoid doing so at all costs overall. "It just goes to show that I only did it for you." He teased.

Finally, a smile pulled at the corner of her lips. It didn't stay for long, though. Her frown quickly returned, but this time, not out of anger. She was confused.

"What made you want to read Moby Dick?"

He shrugged his shoulders, even though he had an answer. "I wanted to understand what you meant about being Moby Dick." He answered honestly, "When you said that, I was so confused, and I couldn't stop thinking about what it meant. And then I felt like the book was judging me after I fixed it, so I just decided to read it."

"And?" Marinette's eyes had lit up. "How did you like it?"

Adrien chuckled, "I'm sorry, but I hated it. It was so boring."

Marinette's pout was playful. "I bet every book would be boring to you."

They shared a quiet laugh, but the tension between them was finally gone, and it felt nice. Despite being surrounded by hundreds of students in a lunchroom who had no intention of using their inside voices, Adrien felt content. He was happy and relieved to be on good terms with her again.

But there was something else he wanted to talk with her about, something he wanted to discuss with her in private.

Standing, Adrien slung one strap of his backpack over his shoulder. Then, he extended his hand out to her. "Come with me."

Confused, Marinette stared up at him with owlish eyes, blinking. There was a faint blush that fanned across her cheeks when she finally decided to take his hand. When they touched, he swore he felt a shiver run through his veins. Her hand was soft in his calloused one, and when he purposely chose to interlock their fingers, he realized just how perfectly they fit together.

Marinette's blush intensified, but she didn't pull her hand away.

Instead, she grabbed her own backpack and slung it over her shoulder while Adrien reached for Mody Dick and tucked it underneath his arm.

Both of their lunches were left behind and forgotten.

"Where are we going?" Marinette asked him as they exited the lunchroom together hand-in-hand.

Adrien didn't answer her right away. Instead, he led her down the now empty school hallways, avoiding any teacher who might lecture them and send them back to the lunchroom until the period was over when he reached the double doors of the library.

"To the place we met." He answered and then pushed open the doors.

The library was empty, and the lights were off. Even the librarian had gone to lunch. But the room was quiet, the exact opposite of what the lunchroom was right now. Adrien sighed in relief as he stepped inside, pulling Marinette in with him. Together, they slowly walked down the aisles of bookshelves in silence until they reached the table where Adrien first saw Marinette reading Moby Dick.

Adrien set Moby Dick down in the middle of the table first. Then, he slung his backpack off of his shoulder and sat down. Confused, Marinette moved to do the same, but her usual seat was across from his, and Adrien wanted her closer. So, he stood again and moved her chair right next to his.

"What-What are you doing?" Marinette asked with a light chuckle. He could sense the confusion laced behind it, as well as the nervousness.

He didn't provide an answer. Instead, he patted the seat.

Marinette shrugged her backpack off her shoulder and slowly sat down. Adrien turned in his seat to face her fully. Now that they were facing each other side-by-side, he was starting to feel nervous about what he wanted to say next.

Marinette seemed to sense that and frowned, "If I did anything else to upset you—"

"No, no!" Adrien assured her with a quick smile. "You didn't do anything else, although we do have to make sure a misunderstanding like that doesn't happen again."

Marinette nodded in agreement, but her expression was still weary.

Adrian reached forward for her hand. When their hands touched, he could've sworn he heard a soft gasp leave her lips. So it seemed he wasn't the only one who had felt such a feeling whenever they touched.

"I actually wanted to talk about us." He said.

Marinette's eyes lifted from their conjoined hands to his face, blinking curiously up at him. "What about us?"

He let out a nervous chuckle as his other hand came up to rub the back of his neck. "I was wondering... if you would like to go out with me tomorrow?"

Perhaps he hadn't worded his words right. Marinette's confused expression quickly vanished, and then she offered him a soft smile. "Adrien, you don't need to ask me to hang out. Of course, we can. What would you want to do?"

"That's not what I meant." Adrien chuckled sheepishly, "I meant, would you like to go on a date with me?"

"A date?" Marinette squeaked, "Like a date date?"

"Are there any other kinds of dates?" He chuckled.

Marinette's cheeks were beat red. Instead of answering, she simply shook her head and then averted her gaze. Softly chuckling, he used his other hand to lift her chin. Blue-bell eyes crashed with emerald green once more. A fond smile pulled at his lips as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Her lips parted in an O shape, and he swore he saw her mesmerizing irises briefly glance down at his lips.

"Are you sure?" She breathed out in a low whisper.

Adrien hadn't even realized that they both involuntarily had leaned closer toward each other. The hand that he used to lift her chin was now warmly on her knee. His other hand was still holding her own. Their faces were incredibly close now, so close that their foreheads were almost touching, and their breaths were almost mingling.

"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure." He answered truthfully.

Marinette frowned slightly at that. Her fingers twitched underneath his. "It's just... being my friend is hard enough. I've never been... asked out before. What if it's just too hard—?"

"It's going to be hard, Marinette." He told her softly. "All relationships are, but just because they're hard, doesn't mean they're impossible. And I want to try because... because I like you."

Marinette's eyes widened upon his confession, and her lips slightly parted once more in awe. "Y-You do?"

He confirmed so without words. Gently, he leaned in further until his forehead was pressed against hers. Then, he nodded against her skin.

"You... like like me?"

With a chuckle, his eyes fluttered closed. "Yeah."

A beat of silence fell between them after that, but there was nothing uncomfortable about it. It was peaceful; it was probably needed too. Adrien simply allowed her to take her time in processing his words, and she could take as long as she needed. For now, he was perfectly content with being here with her, this close to her, with his confession out in the air.

Finally, Marinette broke it. "I-I like you too, Adrien."

His smile widened, "You like like me?"

That earned him a series of bubbly giggles from her, and the sound was practically music to his ears. Marinette nodded against his forehead, her smile just as wide as his.

His hand on her knee squeezed lightly. "Even more than Moby Dick?"

He snickered when Marinette punched him in the shoulder. It didn't hurt, but Adrien feigned pain nonetheless by letting out a dramatic mewl. They both fell silent before they burst out simultaneously in laughter.

And then, Marinette made a move he thought she wouldn't make.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

Adrien instantly leaned in, melting into her touch. His lips curled into a smile against her own. So, maybe Marinette liked Moby Dick more for right now, but the bloody novel wouldn't be number one for long. After all, the book couldn't kiss her.

But Adrien Agreste sure could.

_______________________________

The second part of Moby Dick is 5,000 words less than the first part, only because I never expected this one shot to get a second part, and therefore wanted to cover everything in the first one. But the second part is about an average length of what I usually write, so I felt good about that (cause I was honestly struggling to write the second part.) Hopefully, you guys enjoyed it, though! (even though I personally thought it was a little rushed, but that might be just me, idk.)

But anyway, see you in the next one-shot! (Be sure to check out my bio or the 'Welcome to My Profile' book underneath 'update schedule' for when the next scheduled update will be.)

Vote?
Comment?
Share?