#like i do some embroidery play a little guitar know english pretty well

[thewritewolf]

Eating Habits Chapter 5: The Storm

The gang goes to a Jagged Stone concert and everybody gets a little more concerned about Marinette.

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The roar of the crowd helped to drown out the sound of Marinette’s heart pounding in her chest. It had been ages since she had gotten to go to a concert. There had always been something going on to stop her, whether it was akuma attacks, studying, or helping at the bakery. And while she was sure there was probably something she should have been working on, what was she going to do? Tell Jagged Stone, ‘Sorry, can’t go. I’ve got some embroidery to finish a week ahead of time. I’m sure you understand.’

And Jagged probably would have too, but he’d also have been sad, and that was the last thing Marinette wanted. It would have been a poor way to repay him after he had helped Nino get his internship with his production company.

As she flashed her VIP pass to the security guards standing at the backstage, Marinette smiled. At least this wouldn’t be like attending just any old concert. Jagged Stone had made sure to give them only the best seats in the house and backstage passes besides. He always liked when she visited before the show started. Something about her being his lucky charm. If only Jagged knew the half of it…

Marinette lead the four of them through the ordered chaos that was the dimly lit backstage, straight for the source of the ordered part of the chaos.

“Hi, Penny! How are you doing?”

“Marinette, honey!” Penny wrapped her in a hug. “Now I know tonight is going to go smoothly, with you around.”

Marinette giggled. “Jagged finally get to you? Trust me, I’m not as lucky as he thinks I am.”

“Don’t confuse lucky and clumsy, sweetie,” Adrien said beside her. “You’ve got plenty of both to go around.” He kissed the back of her hand that he was holding while she huffed at him. Alya and Nino snickered behind them.

Penny smirked. An assistant rushed up and whispered something urgently in her ear. She cursed in English. “It was great to see you, but I’ve got to get back to it.” She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder. “My hubby is over there if you wanted to say hello before we get started.”

“Thanks, Penny!” Marinette said to her retreating back. She guided them over in the direction Penny pointed them in, descending into the basement of the building. Once the roar of the crowd was dulled by the walls, it was easy to follow the sounds of idle strumming. It was never hard to find Jagged Stone once you were in ear range of him.

Marinette knocked on the door that had his name on it before gently pushing it open. On the other side, Jagged was checking himself out in the mirror while Fang slept on a nearby chaise. He noticed her arrival in his reflection and quickly turned around, a big grin on his face.

“Hey, love! You made it after all. And I see you brought me my tune master,” he said while fist bumping Nino. “Enjoying your day off, my dude?”

“You know it, boss man!” Nino finger gunned at him. “Decided to listen to some quality music tonight, ya know?”

Jagged chuckled. “And I bet the free seats from the little lady helped too, huh?” He looked past him to Adrien and Alya, who he quickly wrapped up in one armed hugs. “You must be the better halves, yeah?”

“Well,” Adrien said with a light blush, “I wouldn’t say that, but-”

“Hell yeah I am,” Alya grinned.

Still smiling, Jagged turned his attention to Marinette. His smile vanished, replaced by naked concern. “Woah, love. You’re looking less rock ‘n roll than usual. Are you sleeping? Maybe had a bite to eat in the last week?”

Marinette grimaced. Maybe it was to be expected - her friends had certainly been babying her recently, even if they were trying to be subtle about it. Jagged had always acted like a caring uncle to her, something that had only gotten more pronounced after Penny gave birth.

Plastering a smile on her face, she said, “Oh, you know. Uni has been pretty rough, but I’m hanging on. But I’m here to forget all that by rocking out!” She threw up metal horns and Jagged’s grin came back as he returned the gesture.

“Rockin’! But remember to take care of yourself, love. I’d like to keep my best concept artist in one piece.” He winked at her. “It’s been way groovy to see you all, but you’d better get out there if you want to be ready. I’ll make sure this performance is nothing to miss.” He strummed a power chord on his guitar.

“See ya later, boss man!”

Jagged grinned and nodded his chin at Nino as they walked away. The sound of his solo still audible through the door.

Marinette pouted as they made their way back to the concert area. It was irritating that he’d singled her out like that, but before long they were back in the crowd near its front. Being back in among the excited energy of the throng made sure that her irritation didn’t last long. They were playing some tunes to get people distracted, turning the crowd floor into a dance floor. Naturally, Adrien pulled her close as they rocked out to the music together and soon the only thing going through her head was the beat of the music.

It was pretty jarring when the placeholder music pumped out through the speakers stopped, but only for a moment as the real concert started. The experience of dead silence as Jagged Stone appeared on the stage in full Rock and Roll glory, only for the moment to suddenly break as hundreds of voices began screaming all at once… it was something that Marinette never got used to. The only problem?

Marinette was very short.

Even up in the front, it was starting to hurt her neck to stare up at the stage and peer between the few people in her way. She silently stamped her foot in frustration, plotting to find a better vantage point.

At least until Adrien caught her wrist. He motioned her towards him as he turned his back toward her and crouched down. Even without words, Marinette picked up on what he was trying to say and climbed on. While she’d certainly been in more dangerous situations before, rising up on her boyfriend’s shoulders and breaking above the crowd made her uneasy and she gripped his head to keep her balance.

She only hesitantly let go when she felt his strong hands gripping her bare thighs, an electric tingle rushing up her body at the touch. She was suddenly very glad that she’d chosen to wear shorts for this concert. Hoping to repay him a little, she ran her fingers through her wonderful boyfriend’s hair before turning her attention back to the show and her new vantage point.

The music pounding in her ears, the roar of the crowd that she could now see over, the feel of Adrien below her… it was all intoxicating. For just a few hours, she let herself not have a care in the world.

-------------------

Naturally, the cares really snuck up on her the following morning. She jolted awake a few minutes before her alarm went off, which was the least ideal time for her to wake up. In her panic she threw herself out of bed and rushed to get ready for university. If she wanted to catch up on everything she needed to do, she’d have to skip breakfast… and get greasy fast food. Even in her frantic state, she scrunched up her nose at that. The sacrifices that had to be made for art.

She burst into her living room and smelled something cooking in the kitchen. There was no wall between the two rooms, so she could easily see the source. Her thoughts came to a grinding halt when she saw Adrien laboring shirtless over the stove. As she froze, the floorboards creaked underneath her and he turned around, spatula still in hand.

“Oh!” His smile was dazzling, especially given how early it was. “Good morning, bugaboo.” His eyes swept over her hungrily. “You’re looking pawsitively stunning. Care to join me for breakfast?”

“Morning, handsome.” She crossed the space between them and snared his lips with her own, her fingers dancing across his bare chest. “And I can’t stay, I’ve got to go into class.”

His eyes were dragged downward just as his eyebrows rose. “...That so?”

Confused, she glanced down, only to let out a mortified squeak when she realized she had forgotten to put on pants. She struggled to pull her shirt down to cover herself, managing a glare when Adrien chuckled.

“You know I saw way more of you last night, right?” He waggled his eyebrows and gave her that cheshire cat grin that she had so thoroughly associated with her partner. It was hard to believe their identities had been a secret at some point. “Butt hey! If this is the latest fashion trend, then who am I to argue?”

She huffed and turned around to storm back into her room, which conveniently hid the smile she had cracked at his pun.

“Breakfast is waiting for you, sweetie!” He called after she shut her door.

After digging through her clean clothes pile, she fished out a serviceable pair of leggings and stepped back out into the kitchen. He looked her over and gave her a thumbs up. Deciding she didn’t want to waste the food Adrien had made for her, she took a seat across the table from him. His chin propped up on his hand, he watched her with an amused smile.

“Can you lock up behind you when you leave, Adrien?”

“I’m heading out at the same time you are. I’ve got a shift at the bakery today. I might be a little late today with all this excitement but…” he winked theatrically. “I’m in good with the bosses, so I think they’ll let it slide.”

She snorted. “You and your nepotism.”

“Aw, come on. I got in on talent alone! Who else would smile and bat their eyes at the customers like I do? And get them to buy a lot more pastries than they might have otherwise?”

“You’re a dork,” she said with a smile as he walked around to stand behind her.

“Your dork, maybe.” He kissed her cheek and kept walking to the refrigerator and pulled out a little lunch box like she might have had in lycee. “Anyway, I know you’re busy so I packed a lunch for you while I was at it.”

She blinked at the box. “...How long have you been awake?”

“You know I wake up early,” he said nonchalantly. “I like to see the sun rise.”

“Well… anyway, thank you. This is super helpful.”

He bowed. “I’m glad to be of service, m’lady. Are you ready to start the day?”

To her surprise, she was. It was the first time in weeks that she hadn’t felt desperate or like she was running out of time. They walked out of the apartment, hand in hand, sharing a kiss after they had to part ways outside the building. Marinette went to class with a spring in her step, excited to face the challenges that the day would bring.

-------------

“Tikki!” Marinette whined as she failed to get the stitching right again. “I hate design!”

From her vantage on the couch behind her, Tikki giggled. “No you don’t, you’re just tired and frustrated.” She floated forward and landed on Marinette’s shoulder. “I know you want to get this done, but I’m sure the person who commissioned this won’t mind if it isn’t finished by tonight. That deadline you gave was soft for a reason.”

“I know, but I can finish this tonight. If I just try a little harder...”

“It’s alright to take a break, Marinette. Maybe grab something to eat…?”

Marinette threw her hands up in frustration. “Now you’re starting to sound like Alya and Adrien!” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Tikki and pointed a ruler her. “You aren’t in league with them, are you?”

Tikki watched her and raised an eyebrow. “Well, if being on their side means talking sense…”

“Hey, I’m not a child! I’ve been taking care of myself!”

“You forgot to eat that nice lunch Adrien made you and then accidentally threw it in the garbage.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Marinette buried her face in the dress in progress. “It smelled so good… so briefly…” She sniffled and her stomach growled at the memory of the destroyed pasta.

“See? Your stomach agrees with me. Go get something to eat, Marinette.”

Irritation flared up. She was doing just fine on her own, not matter the hints they were giving her. Stupid overbearing boyfriend. Stupid overbearing best friend. Stupid overbearing kwami.

Grumbling all the while, Marinette dragged herself away from where she was working and opened her refrigerator. She was nearly brought to tears when she saw that there was an even bigger container of Arrabbiata pasta, her favorite, in the front. On it was a handwritten note by Adrien, which she read through grateful tears.

‘Missing you lots, wish I could be there to make this for you in person! I hope this is good enough! [badly drawn heart]’

She giggled at the poor sketch of a heart while hers was warmed by the gesture. While she heated up her pasta, she silently forgave Adrien. His heart was in the right place, at least. And if that meant she got more of his constantly-improving cooking… then so be it.

--------------------

A few days later, it was time for patrol.

At this point in their superhero careers, it probably wasn’t necessary. There weren’t any miraculous unaccounted for anymore and they hadn’t fought an akuma in over two years now. But somehow, it felt right. If they could keep the streets a little safer at night for the average citizen, then so be it. Even if most nights all they did was run across the rooftops, wind in their hair, the city open beneath them, and their worries left far behind them.

...Okay, so maybe the patrols were helpful, if only for their mental health. Marinette had tried to get out of a few of them to get extra sleep, but Adrien quickly realized she was just going home to work more.

Maybe it was because her thoughts were already being pulled in a dozen different directions at once. Or maybe it was because it had never gotten this bad before. But it didn’t occur to her that maybe such physical activity wasn’t best performed on an empty stomach.

Either way, she suddenly felt faint and would have collapsed to the street below if Chat Noir didn’t catch her just in time. The panicked worry in his emerald eyes was enough to pull her back fully into consciousness.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.” He took an extra moment to set her down somewhere relatively comfortable and out of sight. After a few minutes, he returned with a bag full of croissants.

“How’d pay for this?” She asked groggily.

He shrugged. “I threw a fistful of euros at them and hoped it was enough.” He shook his head and put a croissant into her hand. He patiently waited while she worked her way through a couple pastries. “When did you last have a proper meal?”

She was feeling better now that she had food in her, which meant that she was fully aware of the vaguely disappointed tone that had slipped into his voice.

Bashedly, she replied, “...When did you leave that pasta for me?”

He took a deep breath and sighed. “We’ll call patrol off for tonight.” He got to his feet and helped her up. “Looks like I should make you dinner more often,” he said dryly.

“...Fine, fine.” Not that she wasn’t looking forward to more of his cooking, but she didn’t like to admit she needed the help. Especially over something like feeding herself. There was no way she’d be able to talk him down after tonight.

“And remember our date for next week.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

He kissed her forehead. “I’m glad to hear it. Goodnight, lovebug. I love you.”

“I love you too, kitty.”

#Miraculous Ladybug #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Adrienette #Alya Cesaire #Nino lahiffe #DJ Wifi #Penny Rolling #Jagged Stone #Tikki #ml fanfiction #my writing #Eating Habits #The Lucky One series