#if you think marinette's smitten now just wait for later huehuehuehue

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

Fresh Start - chapter 3

@mlrarepairmarch continues and I’m still total Dupainchien trash (I wrote this chapter ages ago but forgot to post it whoops)

AO3

It certainly wasn’t the first time Kim had been to Marinette’s house. Far from it. For as long as she could remember he had been welcomed there with open arms, her family always giving him free snacks, him taking refuge there during some akuma attacks. This wasn’t like the odd time when Adrien came over, when her parents would be extra sweet towards him and spy on his and Marinette’s interactions to judge how they were getting on, much like her classmates did. No, they tended to leave Kim alone with her.

Usually it didn’t matter at all. This time, however…

“I see you’ve taken down all those pictures of Adrien,” Kim said as he sat down at the desk, getting out his homework.

He had noticed those? For some reason she had always thought him incapable of noticing things, what with how self-absorbed he was all the time. She just watched him for a few seconds, wondering what could be going on in that ridiculous brain of his. Then she quickly looked away as her cheeks heated up. No staring!

Anyway, of course the real reason her cheeks were heating up was because of this June heatwave that was hitting Europe, obviously. Daytime temperatures were soaring. Even now in the evening it still hadn’t cooled down. Considering Marinette’s room was upstairs, all the heat was trapped up here with her. It made logical sense.

She shakily ran a hand through her fringe, which was now starting to catch the sweat from her forehead. “Is it hot in here or is it just me?”

Kim turned and looked at her with a sudden grin on his face, giving her a wink. “Uh, actually it’s me.”

Oh, for god’s sake! Could he not go five minutes without flirting?! Or being a show-off? He wasn’t exactly wrong, but still…

Seeing her facepalm – more like an excuse to hide her face from him – he chuckled and said, “Nah, but you’re right, it is hot in here. Hang on a minute…”

She had only just removed her face from her hands to see him reach up and–

No. He wasn’t going to take off his hoodie, was he?

But he did. She watched him pull it off and… oh okay there was a shirt underneath, thank god. That being said, she still couldn’t tear her eyes away, indignant fury welling up inside her along with something else – it was so unfair! Why had puberty been so nice to him? Marinette, despite being Ladybug, had to deal with a spotty face and spindly limbs and dorky voice and yet this freaking goblin-looking little kid just had to turn out to be hot!

For several more seconds, though it felt longer, she let herself stare at that annoyingly tight shirt, at everything that certainly hadn’t been there a few years ago that a bit of fabric couldn’t hide, not even noticing Kim’s look of confusion when he caught her watching… which quickly turned to a smirk. He threw the hoodie right at her face.

“Admiring the view, huh Cupcake?”

Cupcake…?

Well, at least that managed to snap her out of it.

“Cupcake, seriously?”

He grinned sheepishly. “I know, it’s lame, but like… you live in a bakery, so…”

“Alright, I’ll allow it.”

“Nice.”

She felt like she ought to say something else, but her mind was blank. She just clutched the hoodie in her arms, still annoyed that someone as cocky as Kim could be the one to win the puberty bingo, still half mesmerized by the fact that he definitely had not been that shredded the last time he took off his hoodie–

“So are we gonna start doing homework or what?”

Oh yes – homework! Marinette flung the hoodie over her shoulder into the corner of her room. “Yeah, let’s just get on with it!”

Phew. Maybe homework would distract her from her… annoyance. She put her homework out in front of her, still feeling far too hot. Which was still because of the heatwave, of course! She fanned herself with one of the pieces of paper, wishing her electric fan hadn’t broken. If only she could use Lucky Charm to cool herself down!

“Mari, if you’re hot why don’t you just take off your jacket? Why do you even wear that thing literally all the time?” Kim’s grin suddenly returned. “I mean, I know you’re probably jealous that you’re not as ripped as me, but…”

She tore off her jacket and threw it at him, not even daring to look. “NEVER MIND, LET’S JUST GET ON WITH THE HOMEWORK NOW…”

Kim had never exactly been the best at homework. That being said, he did try hard when he had to, for which Marinette was grateful. What she was less grateful for, however, was how her own brain did not seem to be working at full capacity, only worsened whenever she looked aside and caught sight of this damn hunk sitting next to her.

What was the big deal anyway? Okay, so he had muscles, whatever! It wasn’t like Marinette herself didn’t. Sure, she looked scrawny on the outside, but all that exercise as Ladybug had left her stronger than she looked – a fact that even Alya had been shocked by that one time she came across Marinette in a sports bra. And Kim’s handsome face wasn’t a big deal either. She saw that smug mug of his at school every day, and she herself was no slouch in the beauty department.

No. Big. Deal.

It would have been way easier to convince herself of all this if it hadn’t been for his near-constant flirting. She was used to it, of course, since that was how they always acted with each other. Kim was full of himself, and expected everyone else to love him that much too. Usually Marinette just laughed along and took it in stride. Today, however, it was making her feel far too hot, even beyond the point that the heatwave could explain it…

It was all because he’d taken off that stupid hoodie! That was to blame. Marinette had never cared before, so why should she start now? She was distracted because he was hot, and once that fact had been fully accepted by her brain then things would go back to normal. They had to. She was sure of it.

Until then she would just have to grit her teeth and bear the sudden heart attacks every time he spoke, every time he even moved…

Kim had to leave later that evening to go back to his own place for dinner. He put the hoodie back on – oh, that was a little better – and then she went downstairs with him to let him out. Her parents called out to them on the way past.

“Kim! You’re always welcome to stay for dinner, if you’d like!”

“Sorry, Mrs Cheng, I’d love to but I have to go – but maybe next time?”

It was odd how polite he could be to her parents, considering how hot-headed and reckless he was the rest of the time. In any case, she was pretty glad he wasn’t staying for dinner, since she wasn’t sure if she could deal with more of him right now.

Well… mostly glad. He was kind of nice to look at. Not that it mattered, though!

She let him out of the back door, forcing her brain to work again. “See you at school tomorrow, Kim.”

“Yeah, you too Cupcake.”

That silly nickname again! He didn’t give nicknames to other kids in the class. Maybe it was just a side-effect of having known her for so long, or maybe–

Her train of thought was halted in its tracks as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, then walked off without another word.

Marinette stood totally still for several seconds, her face slowly flushing bright red… at least until she remembered that they were French, and it wasn’t the first time he’d done that, and the only reason she was blushing was because of everything else on her mind today, NOT because it meant anything. Because it didn’t!

Tikki floated out of her pocket. “Marinette, are you okay?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes. I’m fine.”

She was. She really, really was. And with that, she turned around and went back inside.

After dinner that night she transformed into Ladybug and met up with Chat Noir, as she often did. The temperature was still ridiculously warm, though luckily her suit caused her not to feel it so much. Of course, her suit did nothing to stop her feeling so warm on the inside, so annoyingly, uncomfortably warm, especially since she couldn’t stop thinking about… certain things…

“So what’s up, my lady?” Chat asked her, laying on the surface of the roof like an art model, so over the top as usual.

“Not much,” she said after a pause. There was no need to get into her personal life with him.

Amusingly enough, though, she couldn’t help thinking fondly of how similar Chat could be to a certain someone. Giving her a silly nickname, acting so flirty and extra, always putting on the charms, always being there for her like friends should be. Not too shabby-looking, either.

So then why didn’t Chat Noir affect her? Why did this heartthrob of a superhero in a skin-tight suit not send her mind reeling the way Kim had been doing lately? Chat Noir was hot too, and she knew it! All of Paris knew it!

“Well I’ve been having a paw-some few days, so I’ll try and make your day a little better too!”

Oh, his stupid puns. They always brought a reluctant smile to her face. “What’s got you so upbeat today, chaton?”

He got to his feet and walked over, resting his baton across his shoulders. “Nothing big. There’s this friend I have, and she was always really weird around me – but recently she’s been warming up to me! It’s nice to be able to get to know her better.”

Well, at least his life really seemed to be looking up. “That’s nice. Having friends is always good.”

Except when they were way too hot and stuck in your mind no matter what…

“Don’t worry, you’ll always be my best friend,” Chat breathed, leaning closer. Oh, this silly kitten and his ridiculous attempts at flirting. It was just as entertaining as it always had been.

“You’re always my best friend too. Anyway, come on – we’ve got a patrol to be getting on with!”

She swung off the roof, and he quickly followed.

The next day, Miss Bustier’s birthday, was a day of celebration for the class. Or at least, they had wanted it to be. The teacher herself refused to let the kids make a big deal of things. Marinette still brought in a box of cupcakes from the bakery for everyone to share, though, and Alya snapped away a bunch of class photos to send to everyone. They all appreciated their teacher, and they wanted to show it.

Later that day Marinette stood alone in the lockers, quietly opening her bag and slipping the last cupcake inside for Tikki to eat as a treat. That wonderful kwami deserved all the food she could get, really. She closed her bag again, about to go back to the courtyard to meet up with Alya, when someone suddenly covered her eyes from behind.

“Guess who?”

Judging by that voice, and the fact that she had a mini heart attack on hearing it, she didn’t even have to guess. “I know it’s you, Kim.”

“Yeah, of course it’s me.” He took his hands away and came round to stand in front of her. “Hah, Cupcake actually brought in cupcakes! I’m totally psychic.”

Boasting again? How predictable. “It’s just a coincidence.”

“That’s exactly what I want people to think,” he said with a wink. Marinette found herself having to stifle a giggle, and also having to ignore a sudden adrenaline rush – what was up with that? Anyway, this stupid kid’s ego was way too big for his own good, and she wasn’t about to let herself add to that!

“It’s very childish to pretend to have superpowers,” she said.

“How do you know I’m pretending? What if I’m secretly Chat Noir?”

“That’s ridiculous, you can’t be Chat Noir, because–”

She stopped. How to explain that she knew Chat Noir too well to be fooled by something like that? That Chat Noir didn’t give her heart attacks when speaking to her? Oh – and that Kim had literally been akumatized before, and she and Chat had saved him more times than they could count?

“See?” Kim said when she didn’t continue. “You’ve got no proof! I’m totally a superhero, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

He tapped her on the nose, then walked off. She clenched her fists, a second adrenaline rush hitting her. That – that guy! He was so annoying! And not just because he was hot, but everything else about him too…

#if you think marinette's smitten now just wait for later huehuehuehue #mlrarepair2018 #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #le chien kim #dupainchien #i guess cat child is here a bit too but he's irrelevant lol #random stuff #aish writes