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angelofthequeers · 4 years

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Minty Fresh, Strawberry Sweet, Cinnamon Spice: chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

Hey, @zenniaphoenix - I’m your backup @mlsecretsanta gifter and when I saw Adrigaminette, I had to snap it up! This first chapter can technically stand alone, since the rest of this fic was inspired by writing this chapter, so you don’t have to read the later chapters once I post them. But this one’s all for you!

Chapter 2 | AO3 link

“Which flavours for these two?” André sings. He gestures to Kagami and Adrien. “Orange and peppermint, a perfect pairing that’s always a success; nothing can turn it into a mess! And for you two –” He waves his hand at Adrien and Marinette, “– blackberry and peppermint, an explosive mix! That’s a fact, but oftentimes it’s the opposites that attract!” Then he looks at Marinette and Kagami and finishes, “Orange and blackberry, quite unusual, it’s true! Not the most obvious but it works for you two! So, what will it be?”

“You pick,” Kagami says to Marinette. “I don’t really get what he’s saying, anyway.”

“Yeah, you pick, Marinette!” Adrien says with a smile that scorches Marinette’s insides. “We trust you!”

Orange and peppermint? Blackberry and peppermint? Orange and blackberry? Which one should Marinette choose? Which two out of the three of them would work best together?

Two out of three flavours? Or people? whispers a nasty little voice. Marinette shakes her head to clear it.

“Can’t you find a blend for the three of us?” she says desperately. André sighs and shakes his head, while Adrien furrows his brow and looks between Marinette and Kagami.

“I can, but too many flavours mixed together may throw off the delicate balance,” André says.

“Neapolitan ice cream exists,” Kagami says before Marinette can tear her hair out trying to decide which pairing would work best. “And from what I gather, the flavours you listed refer to us. Does that mean that we’re solely one flavour, or are there others that could work for us?”

“Besides, orange and peppermint?” Adrien wrinkles his nose. “Have you ever brushed your teeth and then had orange juice? I’m guessing I’m the mint and Kagami’s the orange.”

“Implying that we wouldn’t work well together,” Kagami says, raising her eyebrow at André. “Even though you said that that pairing is always a success.”

“Maybe we just need a good flavour to balance out the orange and peppermint?” Adrien says. Marinette follows their conversation like one might follow a tennis volley, with her head whipping from Adrien to Kagami and then back to Adrien. “Or maybe our triple blend is made up of entirely different flavours?”

“Well, I think Adrien’s definitely peppermint,” Marinette says. “Delicious with a hidden kick!” Then she squeaks and covers her face and babbles, “Why did I say that, why did I say that –”

“Because you’re totally right,” Kagami says. “Adrien is peppermint. And I feel like you would be more strawberry than blackberry, since you’re fresh and sweet but also have a hint of acid to you. I’m just unsure as to how orange refers to me.”

“Are you even a fruit at all?” Adrien says, while heat floods Marinette’s face at Kagami’s description of her.

“Y-Yeah,” Marinette forces out. “You’re unconventional. You can intimidate people at first but once they get to know you, they realise just how much they love you.”

Kagami’s cheeks flush pink at that, although Marinette’s not in any hurry to pause and examine the implications of what she’d just said in wake of Kagami’s words about her first. Not if she wants to keep what few brain cells that she has left around these two, especially after the morning she’d just shared with them.

“So, a flavour that’s unconventional and a little intimidating but also amazing,” Adrien says. He and Marinette exchange looks.

“Cinnamon!” they burst out together. Kagami’s eyebrows rise.

“Cinnamon?” she says.

“Yeah!” Marinette says. “I mean, you’ve got cinnamon eyes! And just like Adrien’s peppermint, you’ve got a kick to you! Oh, and you’re not as widely-picked as him but the people who pick you know exactly what they’re doing!”

“Plus, cinnamon can intimidate some people,” Adrien says. “Remember the cinnamon challenge floating around on the internet?”

“Do I?” Marinette snorts. “People are ridiculous. But hey, I bet we can handle cinnamon!”

“Really?” Kagami says with twitching lips.

“Yeah!” Marinette nods and turns to face André, beaming widely now that she doesn’t have to make a choice that’ll impact the love lives of her and her friends. “Each flavour balances the others out! Peppermint, strawberry, and cinnamon, please, André!”

“Hmm.” André strokes his chins as he regards the three of them. “André hadn’t thought of those flavours, that much is true. Perhaps this really is the blend that represents you!” He scoops out a ball of pink strawberry ice cream, followed by one of green peppermint, then pale brown cinnamon to top it off. After sticking three spoons into it, he hands it to Adrien and beams at them.

“So,” Adrien says as the three of them walk off with their ice cream. “You think they’ve figured out where we’ve gone?”

“I don’t see why they would assume that we’d gone to get soulmate ice cream,” Kagami says. Her eyes light up when Adrien offers her a spoonful of peppermint ice cream, and she hums and closes her lips around the spoon. “Mmm. You taste good, Adrien.”

“O-Oh. Thanks,” says a red-faced Adrien. Marinette forces out a laugh, though she can’t deny that the little sweet romantic interaction between Adrien and Kagami has left a sour pit in her gut. Even if her ice cream flavour is in there as well.

“You have to try it, Marinette!” Kagami takes the spoon from Adrien and scoops up a little of the peppermint for Marinette to try. Okay, so Kagami’s feeding her Adrien ice cream, and – no, Marinette, don’t think about it, not unless you want to freak out –

“Tastes just as good as the last time I had it!” Marinette blurts out after swallowing her mouthful of ice cream. Then the blood drains from her face at the realisation of what she’d just said.

“Wait…I was your ice cream?” Adrien looks like he’s been hit over the head by an akuma, although hopefully that’s due to bewilderment and not revulsion. Hopefully. But he’d agreed to a three-way ice cream…right?

“It makes sense,” Kagami says. “Marinette, tell him.”

“But – I – I can’t –”

“Don’t hesitate!” Kagami throws out an arm to stop Adrien and Marinette in their tracks, then whirls around until she’s nose-to-nose with Marinette. “Remember what I told you at the ice rink? I never hesitate. How do you expect him to consider you as an option if you haven’t made yourself one?”

“Marinette…has a crush on me?” says a slowly-blinking Adrien.

“Hush.” Kagami jabs a finger at him. “Be courageous, Marinette. No more torturing yourself with what-ifs. If you want something, go for it!”

“Why are you even encouraging me?” Marinette decides that it’s finally time to address the elephant in the room. “I thought you wanted Adrien? Doesn’t encouraging me to tell him that I love him defeat that purpose?”

To Marinette’s astonishment, Kagami just throws back her head and laughs.

“Of course I want Adrien,” Kagami says. “As do you. And I know Adrien wants both of us.”

“Wait, what?” Adrien says. “I don’t – but my – Ladybug!”

Marinette and Kagami turn to stare at Adrien, although Marinette’s reacting out of sheer shock, so she’s not sure what Kagami’s motivating emotion is. Adrien’s in love with her? Well, Ladybug, but her?

“Ladybug’s been your target this whole time?” Kagami says. “Adrien, how in the world could you have a lasting relationship with her? She’s a superhero. You’re a civilian, and a famous one at that.”

“She’d never want to put you in danger like that, no matter how much she might like you,” Marinette rasps around her swollen tongue. “You couldn’t go on real dates with her. You’d have to be stealthy to avoid Hawkmoth finding out. If she won’t even date Chat Noir…maybe she’s too careful to put anyone in Hawkmoth’s sights like that. Maybe she’s too scared to endanger someone else.”

“Focus on what’s in front of you,” Kagami says. “I like you. Marinette just confessed that she likes you.”

Marinette lets out a high-pitched squeak at the realisation that Kagami’s right, she’d just admitted in front of Adrien that she loves him –

“But I can’t choose between you two!” Adrien grabs at his golden hair with his free hand. “You both mean so much to me! I don’t want to hurt either of you!”

“I think the solution here is obvious.” Kagami points at the ice cream. “Those are our flavours, are they not? We worked together and found a blend that encompassed all three of us. You and I work well together. You and Marinette work well together. And Marinette and I could possibly work well together too. There’s nothing stopping you from dating us both.”

Both Adrien and Marinette let out choked gasps at Kagami’s words and try to recover at least one brain cell between them.

“Is that even a thing?” Marinette finally blurts out, recovering just seconds before Adrien.

“As far as I’m aware,” Kagami says. “And even if others don’t accept it, I refuse to allow them to dictate my life. I’m very much interested in Adrien. It’s very likely that I might also develop feelings for you. You’ve been in love with Adrien for a while now. And I know for a fact that Adrien likes not only me but also you, no matter how much he claims that his heart belongs to Ladybug.”

“H-How can you be sure?” Adrien stammers, while Marinette has no doubt that her face would be as red as Ladybug’s suit if she could look in a mirror.

“Marinette was your concern at the ice rink. You always manage to find a way to talk about her when we’re together.” Kagami ticks off her list on her fingers. “The way you’ve been looking at her all morning and even back during the movie premiere. Even the way you’re conflicted between me and her. If you truly didn’t have feelings for her, you wouldn’t be agonising over choosing between us. Your concern would be to avoid hurting her while choosing me, not trying to figure out which one of us you want.”

“But…I like you, Kagami,” Adrien says in a little lost voice. Marinette resists the urge to grab the ice cream out of his hand and suffocate herself with it, although she’s not sure whether that’s out of jealousy or sheer why can’t he get it?

“I know you do,” Kagami says. “And you like Marinette. That’s why I’m not telling you to choose. I know you can’t choose.”

“Kagami –”

“Adrien. Stop. Look me in the eye and tell me that this isn’t the perfect solution to your problem.”

“I-I’d be happy with it,” Marinette croaks. “I mean – well – if it comes down to it, I’ll step aside if it makes Adrien happy. But I don’t mind, well…sharing you with Kagami. And maybe I could like Kagami in that way at some point? I think the seeds are there. I’m just trying not to think about it right now, so my head doesn’t explode…”

Kagami smiles at Marinette, causing brilliant warmth to erupt in her stomach and trickle through her like a hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day. Oops. Can she not start to catch feelings for Kagami when she’s currently wrestling with her feelings for Adrien?

“You’d give up a chance to be with me just to make me happy?” Adrien says, staring at Marinette with wide eyes. The heat in her body surges to her face.

“Y-Yeah,” she says. “You deserve to be happy, Adrien. I’ll always do whatever I need to do to make sure of that, even if I have to let you go. Just like I helped you with Kagami at the ice rink.” She ducks her head and whispers, “I l-l-love you too much to keep you to myself if it’d make you miserable.”

“I truly do believe that you would’ve chosen the orange and peppermint combination if you’d been forced to do so,” Kagami says dryly. “Why do you think I spoke up? You’re my only friend aside from Adrien, and I refuse to hurt you for a boy. If we can both have him, I’m happy to share.”

“I thought you weren’t about second place,” Marinette teases weakly. When she looks up, Kagami’s lips are twitching.

“It’s hardly second place if I’m not missing out,” Kagami says. “Not only would I have Adrien, but I’d also have the knowledge that his other partner is the only other person I can think of who’s worthy of him, and vice versa. I like to think of it as equal first place.”

Marinette shoots a look at Adrien, who’s practically got visible cogs turning in his head as he processes what had just happened over the past few minutes. She refuses to let the hope break free from where it’s straining in her heart, though. It’s Adrien’s choice and she’s not going to try and influence him in any way, no matter her feelings on the matter.

“I think…” Adrien takes a deep breath. Both Marinette and Kagami lean in closer. “I really like that idea. But…I think I need a bit longer to wrap my head around it. And to push my feelings for Ladybug aside. Like, I know we won’t ever be together, but my heart doesn’t really know that yet, and I don’t want to hurt either of you by jumping in when I’m not ready. Especially because I do like both of you. I’ve liked Kagami for a while now and Marinette…” Adrien scratches the back of his neck with a nervous grin. “You’ve always been more than a friend to me. I guess I just didn’t realise it until now, when you became a possibility. I always felt like there was something…well, off between us. That you’ve never liked me but just acted like you did to keep the peace.”

“Of course,” Kagami says immediately, while Marinette lets out the breath that she’d been keeping locked in her lungs. “This isn’t a decision to rush into. But don’t take too long to decide, Adrien. Your indecision could hurt us.”

“And that’s not true at all!” Marinette says. “You’ve always been a friend to me, Adrien. I’ve just…um…I’ve…”

“Go on,” Kagami says, grabbing Marinette’s hand and squeezing it. “I’ve made my feelings for Adrien clear, so now is your chance to clear the air and be completely honest.”

Marinette takes a deep breath, drawing courage from the warmth radiating from where Kagami’s bare skin is touching hers. She’s already told Adrien that she loves him. He likes her back. She can do this!

“I’ve loved you ever since you gave me your umbrella,” Marinette whispers. “When you showed me that you weren’t just another rich jerk like Chloé. When I got a glimpse at the sweet, kind, lonely boy that was nothing like her. And ever since then, all I’ve seen is that you’re loyal and loving and brave and you just…you care so deeply, even when other people don’t deserve it. How could I not love you?”

Adrien just stares at her, his mouth hanging open and his cheeks dusted with rosy pink. Oh. Oh. Had Marinette really just said all that to him? She squeaks and covers her flaming face, but Adrien’s quick to grab her wrists and squeeze without trying to force her hands away.

“No! No!” he says. “Don’t get embarrassed! Please! Now I get why you’ve been so weird around me.”

“You should probably apologise for being so cute,” Kagami deadpans. Marinette uncovers her face just in time to see Adrien roll his eyes at Kagami in response.

“Sorry. Anxiety issues,” Marinette says in a high voice. “Not that you made me anxious! No, uh, it was just…you know, me working myself up to ask you out all these times and then freaking out because what if you rejected me or thought I was a weirdo and never wanted to talk to me again or even thought I was one of your crazy fangirls –”

“Marinette.” Kagami rests her hands on Marinette’s shoulders and squeezes. “Breathe. It’s okay. Adrien hasn’t rejected you.”

“Actually, I think I just realised what an amazing girl you are,” Adrien says softly as he looks down at the ground. “When you said all that stuff about me…wow, Marinette. I had no clue that was how you saw me. And I’ve never had anyone say that sort of thing to me. It’s usually always just about how cute or hot I am, or how they want to have my babies, or just fake compliments to get something from me.”

“I mean, you are cute!” Marinette blurts out. “But that’s not all you are! I hate that that’s all people see in you…”

“When you’ve been forced to navigate a bunch of rich people all your life, you tend to develop a sixth sense for sniffing out false compliments and fakeness in general, even if you can’t usually read people well,” Adrien says. “I didn’t even know you liked me until now, but what you said about me…it’s the truth. I can feel it.”

“I could never lie to you about something like that,” Marinette says to the ground.

“Well, you don’t need to get anxious around me from now on.” Adrien reaches out slowly, giving Marinette time to back away as she looks up, but when she nods, he pulls her into a loose hug, making sure to hold the ice cream out to avoid damaging it. “Thanks for being honest, Marinette. And thanks for telling me all that stuff. I think I needed to hear it. I’ll become your slave for life if you keep saying nice things about me.”

“We’re two socially awkward rich teenagers who thrive on attention,” Kagami says with twitching lips. “You’re the perfect balance for us, Marinette. That’s why I’m willing to share Adrien with you but not with anyone else. You bring out the best in us.”

Marinette nods into Adrien’s shoulder, then pulls back so she can grab the spoon from Kagami, scoop up a little bit of each flavour of ice cream, and hold it out for Adrien to taste, trying her hardest not to turn into a beetroot when his lips close around the spoon. His gorgeous green eyes light up.

“That’s so good!” he says once he’s swallowed the ice cream mix. “The strawberry’s nice and sweet with, like, this hint of something more, but you’d have to try more of it to get there. The cinnamon’s got a nice spicy kick but it’s also got a hint of sweetness! And the peppermint’s minty with this little bit of a peppery aftertaste. They really do balance each other out!”

“Just like we balance each other out,” Kagami says with a smirk. She winks at Marinette, who giggles and ducks her head with warm cheeks. But before Marinette can take a scoop of ice cream for herself, there’s the sound of screaming from the next street over, followed by gleeful cackling.

“The love of this city is so delectable!” says a male voice. Adrien immediately jumps in front of Marinette and Kagami and starts to shepherd them away from the voice.

“And these lovebirds! What a treat!” a female voice adds.

“You think it’s another double akuma like Oblivio?” Marinette says in a hushed voice.

“Oblivio?” Kagami says.

“Our two best friends. Alya and Nino.” Adrien drops the ice cream, letting it splatter on the ground so that he can grab Marinette and Kagami by the hands and take off running. They round the corner just in time to avoid being spotted by the…uh, head that floats around the corner?

“I cannot wait to devour the love of Ladybug and Chat Noir!” The male voice comes from the hideously stretched face on the pink floating head. But then the head flips a hundred and eighty degrees to reveal a woman’s face that’s equally as grotesque.

“What a lovely meal they’ll make, André!” the woman says. Marinette sucks in a breath as she, Kagami, and Adrien watch from around the corner of the building behind which they’re taking shelter.

“Mr and Mrs Bourgeois?” she hisses. She jumps when Adrien drops her hand and takes off running down the street.

“I’m gonna go find Ladybug and Chat Noir!” he calls. “Hide, both of you! I don’t want anything to happen to you!”

“Go after him, Kagami!” Marinette cries. “Trust me, hiding’s one of my best skills!”

Kagami grabs Marinette’s hands. “Don’t get caught! And don’t you dare do anything stupid!” Then she drops Marinette’s hands and sprints after Adrien. Marinette ducks behind a nearby car and opens her purse to let Tikki dart out.

“Time to transform!” Marinette says. “Tikki, spots on!”

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #heart hunter #loveater #adrigaminette #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste #kagami tsurugi #soulmate ice cream #ml polyamory #love confessions #adrien needs all the love #so does kagami #and marinette #THEY ALL DO OKAY #ml secret santa

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