#rosegami

another one for Week 1!! this focuses on Rosegami with some background FelNathMarc. So i hope you enjoy :D

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Kagami only tolerated Marinette. Her humiliation at the movie premeire and hearing the racist shit she said, or how Marinette had practically used her to get closer to Adrien. The whole thing made Kagami role her eyes, fussing over a boy, Kagami could never even think of doing something like that. So, when Marinette had called them friends, she simply nodded along as the other girl blabbed on and on about everything that they would do together.

It didn't escape Kagami's notice how Marinette's main focus was still Adrien. (Kagami found herself internally punching the wall)

Kagami watches and follows Marinette around, she didn't have much interest going on in her life, and with an odd satisfaction, Kagami would be delighted to watch Marinette fumble and trip over herself. It was only meant for good fun, Kagami thought it was a silly crush on Adrien that she could entertain. She realized too late just how far Marinette would go to get with Adrien, and Kagami was too seeped into Marinette's plans that she couldn't just turn and run.

She had threatened Felix when he kidnapped her, but his proclomations of love had felt stiff, rehersed and not real. Kagami didn't care, he was merely playing a role, one that Kagami could easily provide him. They held hands and kissed like any couple would, but it felt wrong and Kagami had found herself gagging when she was alone. It wasn't right when she kissed Felix, it made her skin crawl and her mind buzz with warning signals, as if she was in danger.

Kagami was no fool to how Felix felt, seeing how he always flinched away from her touch or how she always hesitated to kiss her. They weren't right for each other, but it made those around them happy.

Marinette squealed, hugging them both and congratulating them, saying how she could take them on double dates now that her and Adrien were together.

"Your together?" Felix asked, shock and horror written on his face.

"Yeah" Marinette smiled, ignoring how Felix grinded his teeth and Kagami scowled.

"You and Felix are dating?" Adrien looked at Kagami shocked, blinking a few times.

"Yes, is that really a shock?" Kagami asked, swallowing the bile in her throat.

Adrien chuckled, adjusting his bag strap, "yeah. I always thought Felix liked guys, but I shouldn't make such assumptions on anyone. I'm happy for you guys though!"

Kagami nodded, waving goodbye as Adrien left fencing practice.

"He said he suspected you like guys." Kagami told Felix watching the night life of Paris.

"... What if I did?" Felix asked.

Kagami shrugged, "I'd still date you so we don't have to deal with our families."

Felix hummed.

------

"You broke up!?" Marinette shouted, her voice rising in pitch at the end.

Kagami moved away, only for Marinette to continue to invade her space.

"I th-thought you two were going to stay together!"

"I don't like boys," Kagami stated it plainly.

They were adults now, Kagami had moved away from her mother and into an apartment, finding peace that she didn't have to worry about playing a role. It was Felix's idea really, Kagami had figured that they would slowly drift apart, but he had said he wanted to stay friends, and Kagami agreed. They spent years talking about themselves, how they hid in plain sight away from their friends and family, neither could afford to lose the only safety that they had at the time.

"You... Like girls..." Marinette's face twisted into several emotions at once.

(Kagami didn't miss the disgust that breifly shaped Marinette's face)

It was quick as Marinette moved away from Kagami, her body language devensive and scared, as if Marinette was repulsed to be so close to Kagami.

"Do you find me digusting." Less of a question and more of a statement.

Marinette's face controted into that of guilt and fear, she began to wave her hands around.

"No no no no! I don't mind at all, it's just shocking is all! I mean you and Felix always looked so good together and I thought you two would always be together. There's nothing wrong with you liking girls, I mean Rose, Juleka and Zoe like girls. I'm don't find you disgusting, again I'm just so..."

Kagami frowned, watching Marinette trip over herself trying to excuse her rather lakluster, it was almost laughable at how Marinette kept digging the hole she was in. But, Kagami let Marinette talk over and over, repeating herself at nausioum.

------

They had all met up at Adrien's place to catch up on lost time. The place was huge and the whole class, plus some extra significant others, had shown up. Kagami stayed to the side, watching the group mingle with each other, her eyes wandered and found Felix being gushed over by two men: one with long red hair and the other with shaggy black hair. She rolled her eyes at her ex-boyfriend being flustered and attempting to hide away from their compliments.

Swirling her cup, Kagami hummed only to see a woman with short blonde hair dressed in pink make her way over and stand next to her. She didn't say anything at first, glancing at Kagami before coughing into her fist and nervously smiling.

"Sorry to bother you, I'd figure I'd reintroduce myself—" Kagami turned to her — " I'm Rose Lavillant."

"Kagami Tsurugi."

Silence greeted the two as Kagami went back to people watching. (She noticed Alya and Nino giving Rose a quick thumbs up before returning to talking to Zoe and her girlfriend)

"What do you like to do Kagami?" Rose asked.

Kagami thought about it, there wasn't much she did now that she was out of her mother's control, naturally she found herself gravitating towards things her mother didn't like her doing. She found herself getting into pottery when drawing wasn't enough, and even gardening and cooking.

"I've been attempting at cooking," she said.

"Oh? What do you make?" Rose asked.

"I mostly stick to bento boxes for now, but I've been learning how to grill fish and even marinate pork."

Nothing she said was intersting, yet Rose looked at her and asked more questions, as if everything that Kagami said was more important than anything else. Like she was learning about it for the first time and Kagami was the one who was telling her about it.

"What do you like to do?" Kagami asked.

Rose's face lit up, she talked about getting into crochet and knitting, even saying she wants to start a little online store to sell her creations. Kagami nodded, listening, a small smile growing on her face.

------

While Kagami wasn't in Paris as often anymore, she kept in touch with Rose. Finding herself texting the other woman often and learning more about her through their conversations. She had a reoccuring illness that kept her from doing much else, how it weighed her down on bad days. Kagami was shocked at Rose's resilliance, but smiled and complimented her about it.

Everything came to quick stand-still when Rose informed Kagami that Marinette and Adrien broke up.

Kagami pretended to be shocked.

(She remembered Felix whispering to her how Adrien had cried about not being able to return Marinette's affections, that he felt broken for not loving her how she loved him. They both consoled him, telling him that he wasn't broken that it was okay to not feel this way.)

A weight from Kagami's chest had been aleviated, several years of Adrien putting Marinette first. She was relieved about the whole thing really, Adrien never had time to figure himself out, so Kagami was greatful he was taking that step.

Me: Send my condolances to Marinette

Rose: I'll let her know! She doesn't seem to be taking it well :(

Weeks past by and Kagami doesn't hear from Rose, she still informes her that she'll be coming to visit in the next few days, asking if they could plan something.

No response, not even a glance at the messages.

Kagami lands and finally hears what happened from an enranged Felix.

"She blames us for Adrien's decision!" He did circles around the couch. "I can't believe her! What made her think that this would last? Not everyone lives out their lives with their High School Sweethearts!"

Kagami hummed in agreement.

"Does she not realize that Adrien likely learned what she did?"

"That's the thing," Felix dragged a hand down his face. "Adrien still doesn't know! No ones told him about her stalking and various other crimes!"

Kagami scowled.

"Worst part? Rose was there comforting her, and Marinette snapped at her, blaming Rose that this was her fault." Felix waved his hands around. "Rose!? I don't know her personally, but that woman has done nothing but be supportive of Marinette and everthing she's done! I can't believe her!"

Kagami huffed, letting Felix rant and rave into the night.

Me: I'm in Paris.

Me: Felix told me what happened with you and Marinette.

Me: How about we meet up for lunch, my treat.

Rose: That sounds nice, what place were you thinking?

They met up the next day, Rose seemed to be in good spirits, though it was clear that mentally she was struggling just a bit. Kagami didn't want to bring it up, talking to Rose about what she's been doing in Japan. How she picked up some items for Rose of her favorite characters. This seemed to brighten Rose up considerablly, and Kagami smiled as the other woman gushed over the pins and little photo cards of her favorite characters.

"What the hell?"

Both looked up, seeing a furious and confused Marinette.

She looked awful. Her hair was down, and and sticking up all over the place, her clothes were wrinkled and looked like she splet in them, but Marinette's eyes were the worst. Bloodshot, clearly from her crying and heavy bags. Kagami stood up from her seat as Marinette marched over to the two of them.

"What are you two doing?" She demanded, trying to keep her voice low.

Patrons of the cafe were glancing over their shoulders, clearly trying not to stare but it was hard to ignore. Kagami placed herself in front of Rose, feeling a sudden urgency to keep Marinette away from her.

"We're hanging out," Kagami stated plainly.

"Hanging out," Marinette scoffed, "sure. That's one way to say your on a date."

Kagami rolled her eyes, "I'm visiting and simply wanted to catch-"

"Sure," Marinette spat. Her voice raised and more patrons were looking on at them. "You just want to make me miserable, is that it? Rub it in my face that I'm lonely and your not?"

"We're just catching up," Kagami reiterated.

She felt Rose take her hand (they were cold), Kagami held her hand back.

"Everything that's happened and you guys can only thing of yourselves!" Marinette had started to yell, staff members mutted to one another, Kagami caught sight of a waiter whispering on the phone.

"Marinette-" Rose had stood up, reaching out to her.

She looked at Rose with disgust, slapping her hand away. "DON'T TOUCH ME! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LAY A HAND ON ME AFTER YOU LEFT ME! WHAT KIND OF FRIEND LEAVES? YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME, YOU NEVER DID!"

Kagami pushed Rose behind her, glaring Marinette down. This further angered Marinette, who continued to shout and scream at the two, saying stuff that Kagami didn't care to process. She gave a comforting squeeze, her eyes landed on the police cruiser that parks outside of the cafe.

So, Kagami steps back as does Rose, the police walk in and walk over.

In just three mintues, Kagami watches as Marinette goes from screaming to crying her eyes out. Only, the cop looks annoyed and escorts her out of the cafe, despite Marinette's protests. Another cop begins to ask questions to the staff, some patrons, and finally ended with Kagami and Rose.

Despite everything, Kagami and Rose leave the cafe and head off to Roses apartment, the events were a lot and Rose had asked for them to head over. Kagami agreed, knowing that it likely caused Rose a lot of stress and put her in some amount of pain both physically, mentally and emotionally.

She grabbed a glass of water for Rose and even got a few snacks upon her request. They sat on the couch and watched a few movies, Rose huddled in a blanket and leaning against Kagami.

"Y'know Marinette did have a point," Rose mused quietly, a yawn reaching the end of her sentence.

Kagami hummed.

"Maybe it was a date... Or..."

"You wanted it to be a date? Kagami finished.

Rose nodded burrying her face into the blankets. "It's silly I know! But, I really like you and-"

Kagami wrapped her arm around Rose resting her head against her's.

"Let's take it easy," Kagami whispered.

Rose leaned further into Kagami, a soft laugh leaving her mouth.

"Yeah, that sounds nice."

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Table of Contents

            “Here we go. It’s starting!” Rose cheered.

            Rose clutched her phone in hand as she listened to the rules of Friendship Day. She bounced as the countdown began and Adrien pressed the button to release the texts. She gasped when her phone buzzed, and her message came in. She looked down at it with such eagerness.

            “‘Where animals live nearby dinosaurs.’ Oh! The zoo at the Jardin des Plantes, near the Paleontology museum! Oh, this is so much fun!”

            Rose ran to the zoo mentioned in her riddle. She bounced as she paced about as she looked for her new secret friend. Her nerves and anxiety gnawed at her when she didn’t see anyone for a short time. Her excitement died a little as she looked at her phone as she worried she’d have a no show.

            Rose gasped when the sound of a car pulling up. She looked up as Kagami Tsurugi stepped out of the fancy, hi-tech car. She beamed and ran up to Kagami.

            “Hello! I’m Rose Lavillant. You must be Kagami, right? Adrien and Marinette have told us about you. Mostly Marinette, but all good things.”

            Kagami opened her mouth when both their phones rang. They took out their phones as a message played.

            “Congratulations! You’ve just located your game partner. And, who knows, maybe even a new friend for life!”

            Kagami looked at Rose with a stoic expression while Rose offered a smile.

            “You’ve just received the second riddle!”

            “Oh! Let’s see. To get closer to your goal, you must explore further and distant. Oh! The paleontology museum. Further and distant must mean exploring the past, right? Let’s go there.”

            Kagami glanced at her phone and nodded. “Let’s hurry.”

            “What’s the rush?”

            “I’m just… on a deadline.”

            “Oh no! Then let’s get going!”

            Rose grabbed Kagami’s hand and ran off to the paleontology museum. She dragged Kagami inside as they looked around for their next clue amongst the fossils on exhibit.

            “Rose, was it? Do you prefer to be called by that, or a nickname?” Kagami asked.

            “Oh, a nickname would be fun, but what should it be? Maybe Ro? Or perhaps Rosy. Oh! Or maybe, just maybe, Ro-Ro. Isn’t that cute?” Rose said with a giggle.

            “Uh, is there any you prefer?”

            “None at all. You can choose to call me whatever you want. Even Rose if that’s easier for you.”

            “I… I think I’ll just stick with Rose, if that’s ok?”

            “Of course! And what about you?”

            “Me what?”

            “Do you prefer your full name or a nickname?”

            “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had a nickname before. I’ve… I’ve never had a friend either.”

            Rose stopped. “You haven’t had a friend? Never ever?”

            “No. There is no room for friends in my life. Unless it is Adrien Agreste. As Mother expects of me.”

            “Is that why you’re doing this? For Adrien.”

            “Not exactly. I had hoped to make a friend.”

            Rose’s eyes lit up as she took Kagami’s hands. “Then let’s make the absolute best of this day. It is a day all about making new friends and everything. Oh, I know! Let’s ditch the game.”

            “What?”

            “You heard me. Forget the game! Let’s take our own tour of Paris. No riddles, no competition, just you and I.”

            “But, what about the game? Wouldn’t this be like quitting?”

            Rose hummed. “Maybe, but there’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

            “But, no one in my family has quit anything.”

            “Well, you can be the first. Let’s quit this game and had some real fun!”

            Kagami considered before she smiled and nodded. “Can we get some orange juice?”

            “Oh, yum! Absolutely! Let’s go!”

            Rose grabbed Kagami’s hand and ran out of the museum. They grabbed a bottle of orange juice for each of them and went on a tour of Paris together. Rose prattled on about her friends, school, meeting Prince Ali, and everything. Kagami smiled as she listened to Rose ramble on.

            Kagam sighed that pulled Rose out of her rambles. “You have such an exciting life compared to me."

            "What do you mean?"

            "I just attend school and the activities that my mother has set up for me. There isn’t any time for amazing things like that.”

            “But you have Adrien, right? He’s your friend, or something like that, right?”

            “It’s not the same. He’s supposed to be… I’m supposed to… I’m sorry. I… I can’t find the words.”

            Rose touched Kagami’s hand and offered a smile. “It’s ok, Kagami. You’re not alone anymore. You have another friend that isn’t Adrien. You have me.”

            “You mean it?”

            Rose grinned as she grabbed her phone. She pulled Kagami close as she held her phone up. “Say ‘cheese and crackers!’”

            Kagami’s jaw dropped as she managed an awkward smile. Rose snapped the picture and looked at it. Kagami cringed seeing herself next to Rose’s perfect smile while Rose sighed happily.

            “We can take another picture. I’ll do better this time. I-.”

            “I think it’s perfect.”

            “What? Impossible. It is so far from perfect. At least compared to you.”

            “Nonsense, Kagami. It’s perfectly imperfect and that’s what makes it perfect.”

            Kagami shrank back as a slight blush crept up through her cheeks. She snorted and looked away as she stood tall in defiance. “Nonsense. I insist. Let us take another.”

            “Ok. Say, ‘Friendship Day!’” Rose cheered.

            Kagami mustered a passable smile when Rose snapped the photo. Kagami looked over Rose’s shoulder, satisfied with the new picture.

            “Then. That’s better. Now you can delete that other one,” Kagami stated.

            “Why would I do that?”

            “Because it was awful. The second one is better.”

            Rose hummed as she looked at both pictures. “I don’t know. I like them both. I’m going to keep both of them.”

            “What? Why?”

            “Because they make me happy, and you should always keep the things that make you happy, right?”

            The blush returned to Kagami’s cheeks as she tsked and crossed her arms. “Very well. Keep it if it makes you happy.”

            “I will! I want to always remember this moment. I always want to remember you. Oh! I need your number.”

            “My number?”

            “Of course! How else will we talk after this?”

            “You want to talk to me after this?”

            “Of course. That’s what friends do, and we’re friends now.”

            Kagami took out her phone and handed it to Rose. Rose happily took it and added her number and took down Kagami’s when Tomoe called. Rose grimaced and handed back the phone.

            “I think your mom is calling.”

            Kagami flinched as she answered the call. “Mother?”

            “Kagami! Where are you? You were supposed to wait for me at home!”

            “I… I’m sorry, Mother. I… I stepped out and ran into someone. She thought I was her partner for the Friendship Day game. She wouldn’t listen when I told her I wasn’t, and she dragged me around the city. I’ll be home immediately.”

            “You better. I expect you home before I get back. Make haste, Kagami.”

            Kagami grimaced as Tomoe hung up. She sighed and looked down at it. “I’m sorry. I must go. My deadline has expired. I’m… I’m sorry for all this. It was nice, but it can’t happen again.”

            Rose frowned and stared at her own phone. “It’s ok. I understand, but I’ll be here when it can. You can count on that. And, hey, message me. You have my number.”

            “But, Mother-!”

            “Doesn’t have to know, right? It can be our little secret. Please.”

            “I’ll think about it. Good-bye, Rose. Forever.”

            Kagami took off running towards home. She choked back the tears that stung her eyes. The departure was harder than she had thought when it shouldn’t have been. She only knew Rose for a couple of hours, but she cared more than she should have. Why did she care? What was it about Rose that felt different? She shook her head and pushed away the thoughts as she returned home. She burst into the main foyer and took her shoes off as Tomoe had returned.

            “Kagami?” Tomoe asked.

            “Here.”

            Tomoe nodded and motioned for Kagami to follow. Kagami sighed as they headed to the back and picked up on her training. She lost herself to her exercises until Rose wasn’t on her mind or heart. She carried on with her day until it was time to turn in. She prepared for bed and headed up to her room. She put her phone on the charger as its screen lit up and she saw she had a message.

            Butterflies swarmed in Kagami’s stomach as she unlocked her phone and checked the message. Her breath caught and heart pounded when she saw it was from Rose. A simple message that asked how she was doing. She pursed her lips as she clicked on it and her thumbs hovered over the keypad.

            Kagami pursed her lips as she battled with herself. She told Rose that it was done. They couldn’t continue this. Tomoe would find out for sure, and she’d be in more trouble. She shook her head and put the phone down. She tried to push Rose out of her head, but her thoughts returned to Rose. She paced around as she flitted between grabbing her phone and putting it back down.

            Kagami couldn’t do this. She had to only be there for Adrien. A deal was struck, a bargain made. She was to be married to Adrien, and he to her. It was the agreed upon arrangement. She didn’t need anyone else other than him. But she wanted more. She wanted more friends. She wanted Rose.

            Kagami sucked in a breath as she grabbed her phone. She stared at the simple text for several minutes as she wrote out and deleted each response she thought of. She rolled back onto her bed and kicked her legs in the air. Why was this so hard? She wasn’t supposed to hesitate, so why was she? Why was she so unsure of what to do? Why couldn’t she commit to such simple responses?

            Kagami sat up and pursed her lips as she puffed out her cheeks in frustration. She told Rose that she was just fine and sent it. She stared at the screen and the clock as she waited for a response. How long did it normally take for friends to respond? What if she took too long? What if Rose changed her mind about their friendship? What if she messed things up?

            Kagami straightened when her phone dinged. Her eyes widened to see Rose had responded to her. A smile tugged at her lips as Rose was glad that she was well before Rose prattled on about her day after their departure. She sighed contently as she read the flood of incoming messages, responding every so often to let Rose know she was still there. She settled into her bed as she read the paragraphs. Her eyes felt heavy, and she fell asleep before long.

            Kagami woke up to her alarms in the morning. She gasped as she looked at her phone at the string of messages from Rose. She worried she had upset Rose by her falling asleep on Rose. She read through the messages that came after she fell asleep, but there was no scolding. Rose just continued her rambling before ending it with she had to go to bed and had wished her a good night.

            Kagami stared at the final message as a warmth spread through her. She smiled softly at the final message from last night and messaged Rose. She apologized for falling asleep on her the previous night, wished her a good morning, and assuring she’d message Rose after her morning training. There was no message back, but it was early. She assumed that Rose must have been asleep. She set her phone down and got up to get ready. She glanced back at her phone, eager for her morning to fly by so she could talk with Rose once again.

@volperion and i collaborated on this