#never settle for less than adrienette | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

inner-sakura · 11 months

Text

Theoretically Forever

[Adrien POV sequel to Hypothetically Ever After, childhood friends AU, adrienette, fake/pretend relationship]

Adrien Agreste has had a crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng for as long as he can remember.

Unfortunately for him, however, she’s only ever had eyes for his older brother Félix, who’s never so much as looked her way.

But when an opportunity suddenly presents itself to turn the tables and rewrite the script on their relationship, Adrien finds himself hard-pressed to turn it down… Especially when it means getting to date the love of his life.

Even if it is only fake.

AU where PV Felix is Adrien’s older brother. inspired by the novel “the boys next door” by jennifer echols. hello and welcome back to the brothers AU fic series that no one ever asked for yet i remain obsessed with.

read it here

chapter two

Adrien Agreste was in the middle of a Very Nice Dream.

A dream so nice, in fact, that his enjoyment of it was not at all affected by the knowledge that none of it was real.

It was, and yet it wasn’t. Dreams were weird like that.

He and Marinette were laying on a blanket in the backyard, the remnants of the picnic lunch they’d just enjoyed strewn about with little care, both of their minds suitably occupied with other pursuits.

“Adrien,” Marinette breathed in his ear.

“Mm, yeah?” He murmured, chasing her lips with his own, craving the sweetness of the strawberry lip balm she wore. To his frustration, her mouth remained just out of reach, the warm puffs of her breath taunting him with their nearness.

“Adrien, wake up,�� she leaned forward, placing featherlight kisses onto each of his eyelids.

His eyes fluttered.

“Five more minutes,” he mumbled into the hollow between her collarbones, his tongue willing to promise her anything if it meant that she would stay close to him for even a moment longer.

He eyed the soft skin before him, licking his lips.

I wonder what she tastes like…

“No more minutes!” Marinette’s hands came to rest on either side of his head as the earth roiled beneath them. The feeling of warm sunlight on his skin shifted, settling more heavily across his chest, almost like a physical weight.

“Noooo,” Adrien said, his eyes slipping open. He squinted blearily against the brightness.

And there she was, exactly as she had been moments prior. Haloed by the morning light streaming through the windows, her long dark hair dangling loose between them, blue eyes bright and more beautiful than even the most vivid summer sky.

“Mari?” He breathed, hardly daring to believe that she was there in front of him. Had he willed her into being? His heart swelled, pressing against the underside of his sternum as though longing to be closer to her.

“Am I dreaming right now?”

“Nope, not a dream,” Marinette said, her voice surprisingly tender. “Your dad sent me to wake you up.”

Adrien paused, his fond feelings dissipating like smoke. “My...dad?”

Why would Dream Marinette bring up my father at a time like this? Adrien frowned. Talk about a buzz kill.

Her eyes twinkling as she stared down at him, Marinette’s lips stretched into a slow smirk. The expression was unwittingly enticing.

Well, Adrien could acknowledge, the whole situation certainly had the makings of a scene out of one of his better dreams. Except the dialogue didn’t quite match up. It continued to play back to his sleep-addled brain like a badly dubbed martial arts film, which could only mean one thing.

He most likely wasn’t asleep at all.

Adrien groaned, trying to shake off his lingering foggy-headedness.

“Mm, probably not a dream then. If it was, you definitely wouldn’t be talking to me about my father...”

As he gradually came to wakefulness, Adrien grew increasingly aware of his physical state, noting that he wasn’t on a picnic blanket but rather his bed, which was to be expected.

What was less expected, however, was the way that Marinette sat astride him, in a position that looked like it had come straight out of one of his most risqué fantasies.

Adrien blinked several times, trying to dispel the image.

Nope, she was still there, straddling his lap triple X style.

His brain promptly stopped functioning.

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

“What the hell are you doing?” He blurted, wincing as his voice almost broke.

“Waking you up, what does it look like?” Marinette tilted her head, wearing the same look of innocent confusion he had seen her don a million times before. It was clear by her expression that she genuinely had not clued in to the suggestive nature of their current position, or the effect it was having on his body.

Adrien glanced down involuntarily, tracing the pale expanse of her bare thighs with his gaze, riveted by the way her muscles flexed as she braced herself above him.

Sweet lord in heaven help me. A familiar stirring began in his lower abdomen, a telltale heat that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room creeping through him.

This sensation was helped along quite significantly by Marinette, who chose that exact moment to settle herself more snugly atop him, lining their hips up in a way that would leave very little of his current predicament to the imagination.

And so, Adrien did what any reasonable, levelheaded individual would in his position.

He panicked.

Scrambling out from underneath her, Adrien executed an improvised judo throw that had Marinette sprawled at the foot of the bed between one blink and the next, her limbs splayed out like a starfish.

She let out a surprised huff.

Immediately retreating as far as he could across the king-sized mattress, Adrien clutched the blankets to his chest protectively, shielding himself from view.

Marinette propped herself up on her elbows, hair askew and expression indignant.

“Hey! What was that for?”

“Have you ever heard,” Adrien ground out through clenched teeth, scowling just as furiously back at her. “Of this thing called personal space?”

“Have you ever heard of just asking someone to get off of you instead of attempting to launch them into outer space?” Marinette sniped back, rolling off the bed and flouncing over to his computer chair. She plonked herself down with a put-upon sigh.

Adrien examined her closely, his eyes narrowing as a new thought occurred.

“What are you doing here anyway?” He asked, cutting straight to the chase. “You definitely didn’t come all the way over here just to see me.” Because as much as I might wish that were the case, at this point I know better. He did his best to swallow down the bitterness that accompanied this thought.

“I might have,” Marinette shifted in her seat, her gaze darting off to the side. It was one of her many ‘I am up to no good’ tells.

Adrien merely stared back, unconvinced.

Gonna have to do better than that, Princess, he willed his expression to say.

Marinette, to her credit, appeared to pick up the unspoken message fairly quickly, judging by the way she abruptly switched tracks.

“Okay, so that’s not why I came over, but it’s definitely an added bonus,” she said sweetly, batting her eyelashes and levelling him with a look that Adrien knew was meant to lower his defenses, and still had him turning into putty anyway.

This girl has me wrapped around her little finger and she doesn’t even know it. He withheld a sigh. At this point, she could probably tell me to jump off a bridge and I would just say ‘Sure, which one?’.

Oblivious to his existential strife, Marinette went on.

“You and I,” she announced, with a great deal of self-importance. “Are going swimming.”

“Huh?”

Adrien could now confidently state that he was well and truly thrown, his brain scrambling to make sense of a conversation that was rapidly devolving.

“Swimming?” He glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. “At nine in the morning?”

“Never too early to start!” Marinette leapt to her feet, her smile maniacally bright even in the face of his dubiety.

One of Adrien’s brows rose.

“Did you even bring a bathing suit?”

“Oh! Thanks for the reminder.” Marinette said with a snap of her fingers. Then, to Adrien’s horror, she reached for the hem of her t-shirt.

His heart stopped beating.

“AHHHHH STOP WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” He cried, throwing his hands up to cover his eyes.

Oh my god, is she planning on stripping right in front of me?!

Although nudity was part and parcel of being involved in the fashion industry—and Adrien had seen more than his fair share of naked bodies backstage at shows and in photoshoots—this felt… completely different.

Far more personal. Intimate, even.

Probably because you actually want to see her naked, a little voice in the back of his head chimed in, causing heat to creep up the back of his neck.

“Relax, you dork, I have a tank top on.” Marinette snorted. “Your father would never forgive me if I compromised your virtue. Heaven forbid it affect your dowry.”

Finally daring to risk a glance, Adrien peeked at her through his fingers. Only for his breath to seize in his chest at the sight that met his eyes.

Marinette stood before him, one hip cocked and both corners of her lips curling upwards in a grin. The muscles of her bare abdomen flexed, drawing his attention to her smooth pale skin and surprisingly toned abs.

She looked like something straight out of his wildest dreams.

She was trying to kill him.

Adrien’s hands went slack, falling to the bed with a heavy thump.

“What are you wearing?”

And there was the voice crack he’d been staving off. Hopefully Marinette hadn’t noticed.

Based on the way her eyes lit up, however, Marinette absolutely had noticed. Thankfully, she had the grace not to mention it, casting her gaze to her outfit instead.

“A top?” Her brows furrowed slightly as she fidgeted, running her hands down the front of her shirt self-consciously.

“What’s wrong with my top?” She asked, turning the full force of her blue-eyed stare onto him. Adrien almost gulped. ”I thought it looked cute.”

That’s entirely the problem, he wanted to say. It looked amazing on her. So much so that he couldn’t seem to collect his thoughts; the threads of his composure unravelling the longer he stared at her in her adorably distracting pink crop top.

“Of course it does. You’re wearing it,” the words slipped out before he could second-guess them, surprising even him with their sincerity. Adrien averted his gaze, feeling himself flush.

From the corner of his eye, he watched Marinette’s face go slack, her own cheeks pinkening.

Great, now we’re both embarrassed, Adrien swallowed back a groan, wanting nothing more than to burrow back down into his blankets and hide there for a week.

This, unfortunately, did not appear to be an option, in light of the fact that Marinette was still standing there, blinking down at him dumbly.

At last, she cleared her throat.

“ANYWAY,” she said loudly, crossing her arms. This only served to draw Adrien’s attention back to her chest, and her sculpted muscles, and her smooth skin, and oh—

“Do you need me to help you get up?”

Heat throbbed through him, pooling in his abdomen in a way that was completely unavoidable now.

No, I think I’ve done a good enough job of ‘getting up’ on my own, thanks.

Adrien groaned miserably, whipping the covers over his head.

“Can you just...go and wait downstairs or something?” He closed his eyes, practically burning with embarrassment. “I need a minute.”

Although he couldn’t see her, Adrien felt the way that Marinette paused, clearly wanting to pry.

In the end, though, she thought better of it, much to his relief.

“Fine, have it your way,” she sniffed. “Meet me by the pool in ten, you weirdo.”

All he could do was let out a strangled grunt in reply.

-x-

After a cold shower and something to eat, Adrien was feeling in much higher spirits. Regardless of what her motivations might be, Marinette was there to hang out with him, and Adrien intended to make the most of this unforeseen opportunity.

He traipsed through the house with a newfound pep in his step, collecting all of the items he thought they might need before making his way outside.

Shoving the last bite of his tasteless, nutrient-dense breakfast into his mouth, Adrien slid the patio door open with gusto, glancing behind him to make sure none of his treasures were caught in the doorway.

“Hey,” he heard Marinette call, her voice sounding oddly thick to his ears. Adrien glanced her way, concerned that her allergies might be acting up again.

“You okay?” He tried to ask, forgetting that his mouth was full. What emerged was something more along the lines of “Mmpft!”

He attempted to clarify, only to forget that his mouth was still, in fact, full of food.

“Mruhhg?”

Real smooth, Agreste, he congratulated himself, catching the look of distaste Marinette threw him over the rim of her sunglasses. He winced apologetically, making sure to chew and swallow before he spoke again.

“Why aren’t you swimming?” He asked, throwing the things in his arms into the pool with reckless abandon. She was the one who had wanted to go swimming after all, and it was quite warm on the patio. The sun beat down mercilessly from overhead, already heating the skin of his shoulders even though he’d only been outside for a few moments. Marinette must have been cooking alive on that lounge chair.

Adrien examined her surreptitiously. Perhaps she’d been waiting for him to join her? The thought caused a little flutter in his chest.

“I changed my mind,” Marinette responded simply, sounding distracted. “I’m going to tan first.”

Although her blue eyes were hidden behind the dark lenses of her sunglasses, Adrien was willing to bet they were trained intently on the doors behind him, waiting to see if Félix might make an appearance.

Typical. Adrien withheld a scoff, ruthlessly tamping down on his disappointed feelings. Of course Marinette was hoping Félix would show up. She was always hoping Félix would show up.

Not that it would matter, Adrien thought, somewhat unkindly. The chances of Félix joining them were virtually slim to none, seeing how his brother was A) allergic to the sun and B) morally opposed to anything that could be deemed conventionally fun or enjoyable.

Opening his mouth to tell her as much, Adrien paused at the last second, thinking better of it. There was no sense in crushing her hopes. Félix would do a perfectly good job of that on his own.

Instead, Adrien turned his attention to his phone, scrolling through until he found a playlist that he thought suited the atmosphere.

Shooting Marinette one last look, he took in the way she had settled back against the cushions, pretending to be engrossed in her magazine. It was obvious that she had no intention of joining him any time soon, preferring to wait for his wayward brother to rear his grumpy, overly-pomaded head.

Her loss, he concluded with a shrug, and dove into the water.

It was the perfect temperature—cool and refreshing on his sun-warmed skin. Adrien sighed contentedly.

Schemes and subterfuge aside, this was an excellent idea.

He floated on his back for a while, enjoying the sun on his face and the way the water cradled his body gently, keeping him from overheating. The music continued steadily in the background, occasionally becoming muffled whenever his ears were submerged. It was a strange effect, like slipping in and out of different worlds; his senses sharpening and dulling in equal measure.

Eventually, he crawled up on one of the pool floaties he’d brought, his eyes slipping closed as he basked in the beautiful summer weather.

Marinette must be sweltering by this point, Adrien mused idly, his lips quirking into a smirk as he waited for her to give in to the inevitable. She was a prideful creature, but even she could only resist the siren song of the water for so long.

In fact, Adrien was just about to say as much when he heard the sound of the patio door sliding open. His head shot up, eyes widening as he took in the unlikely sight of his brother voluntarily emerging from the darkness of the house into the bright sunlight.

You have got to be kidding me… Adrien glanced between his brother and Marinette, his jaw slack with disbelief. Marinette appeared to be just as shocked, her pink lips parted as she stared unwaveringly in Félix’s direction.

Unlike the two of them, however, Félix appeared to be all business, his tone brusque as he pinned Adrien in place with his gaze.

“Adrien, Father wanted me to inform you to keep your schedule clear for tomorrow evening. We are expected at the Bourgeois’ for dinner.”

Joy of joys. Adrien tipped his head back with a groan. As if he didn’t already have enough to deal with. So much for our ‘vacation’.

“Seriously?” He sat up, the pool floaty squeaking indignantly beneath him. “Father knows how much we hate going on his ‘work dinners.’ It’s just a bunch of people schmoozing with each other even though everyone hates everyone else's guts!”

The look on Félix’s face perfectly reflected the disgruntlement Adrien himself was feeling.

“Unfortunately, it was not a request.”

A battle plan loosely forming in his head, Adrien began to ply his brother for more information, wanting to have as comprehensive an idea of what they were walking into as possible. These types of events required extensive reconnaissance—flying in blind was practically a guaranteed death sentence, after all.

Félix rattled off a list of attendees, each worse than the last.

“So, basically this is going to be hell on earth,” Adrien grimaced, running a hand roughly through his hair.

One corner of Félix’s mouth lifted ever so slightly. “In effect, yes.”

Catching movement from the corner of his eye, Adrien turned, watching as Marinette rose slowly and deliberately from her seat. She’d been suspiciously silent up until this point, a fact which Adrien had noted with no small amount of curiosity. It was obvious that she’d been biding her time, the question had just been: For what?

And as Adrien watched her hands wander to the hem of her crop top, her fingers curling around the edge of the fabric, he began to get the sinking suspicion he was about to find out, whether he wanted to or not.

His eyes widened. Is she actually—?

In one smooth motion, she pulled her shirt over her head, unveiling the red string bikini top beneath.

Adrien nearly capsized his pizza float, such was the force of his double take.

He stared, transfixed, as Marinette balled her shirt up in one hand, turning her back to them as she removed her shorts with agonizing slowness, revealing the matching red bottoms to go with her top. Her shorts fell to the ground with a soft thump, and Adrien’s heart all but seized in his chest when she bent to pick them up—unable to tear his gaze away from what was fast becoming the single greatest moment of his entire life.

Marinette straightened, silky black hair sliding over her bare shoulders as she tossed her head, turning to face them head-on once more.

Who is this woman, and what has she done with Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Adrien marvelled from some distant corner of his mind, one that wasn’t currently busy ogling his childhood best friend turned Bond girl vixen.

Her red bikini left little to the imagination, drawing his attention to the curves that had most assuredly not been there last summer. Adrien eyed the strings dancing over her hips. She hadn’t even tied them taut.

He bit his lip, his pulse picking up.

For the second time that day, Adrien wondered whether he was still asleep and caught in the most vivid lucid dream he’d ever experienced.

He quickly dismissed the idea, shooting a glance at his equally speechless brother. If this was a dream, then Félix definitely wouldn’t be here to witness it.

When it became apparent that neither he nor Félix were any closer to finding words to string together into a coherent sentence, Marinette smirked.

“Félix, so nice of you to join us,” she purred, pushing her glasses up on top of her head and revealing her crystalline blue eyes. She sauntered closer, her gaze never leaving his brother’s face. “I hope you brought your bathing suit,” she said, her voice dipping into overtly flirtatious territory.

To his dismay, Félix responded in kind, giving Marinette a slow once-over that had Adrien’s hands clenching into fists in his lap. “I appear to be overdressed for the occasion.”

She’s not your girlfriend, you can’t punch your brother in the face. She’s not your girlfriend, you can’t punch your brother in the face. She’s not your girlfriend—

Marinette giggled, lightly pushing at Félix’s shoulder, as though he’d just made some kind of hilarious joke. “No biggie... I’m sure we can figure something out.”

—YOU CAN’T PUNCH YOUR BROTHER IN THE FACE.

Adrien’s stomach roiled as the butterflies he’d been feeling earlier were systematically rounded up and murdered, execution-style.

Unable to take it any longer, he slipped into the water as noiselessly as possible, wading towards the edge of the pool.

If I’m forced to watch the two of them together for even a moment longer, Adrien thought, lining himself up for the perfect shot. I’m either going to revisit my breakfast, or become another victim of spontaneous human combustion.

Too caught up in their flirtation to notice his furtive movements, neither Marinette nor Félix paid him any mind—a fact which came back to bite them in the ass the moment he launched himself into the water, sending a massive wave crashing over them, drenching them where they stood and summarily dousing the flames of their ardour.

“AGH!”

Adrien floated to the surface to the sound of their indignant screams, opening his eyes to take in the aftermath of his (admittedly spectacular) sneak attack.

Marinette and Félix both glared down at him, looking distinctly soggy and extremely pissed off about it.

Adrien hid his smirk beneath the water’s surface, before schooling his expression into something more innocuous.

“Whoopsies,” he blinked up at them, adopting a wide-eyed and guileless look.

From their expressions, it was clear that his faux-innocent act didn’t have them fooled for a second. Marinette in particular was shooting laser beams at him, her right eye twitching so violently it was almost enough to get Adrien to break, his chest shaking with the effort it took to hold back his laughter. Félix for his part just looked annoyed as he fingered his drenched clothes with disgust. He wasn’t a fan of water on the best of days, and this incident had no doubt cemented his distaste.

Good, Adrien thought vindictively, too self-satisfied to be bothered by the rude gesture Félix lobbed at him. His shoes squelched comically as he stomped towards the house, and it was all Adrien could do to not burst out laughing at the sound.

“Are you coming to the party tonight?” Marinette called after him, her question ringing out just a little too loudly to be casual.

Profoundly uninterested in his brother’s undoubtedly vague and cryptic response, Adrien instead focused on her face, chronicling the micro-expressions as they flitted across her features swifter than a hummingbird’s wings. Anticipation and adoration melted into dejected disappointment before the entire canvas was being wiped clean; genuine emotion hidden away behind a smile that was a little too shiny and a little too wide to be believable.

Marinette’s shoulders slumped as Félix disappeared into the house, the door closing with a thunk behind him.

Adrien shifted guiltily on his floaty, the rubber squeaking at him as though in reproach.

Okay, so maybe that was a dick move…

Still, he knew just the thing to snap her out of her funk.

“Was it something I did?” He asked lightly, waiting for the explosion.

Like clockwork, Marinette whirled on him with a growl, her hair whipping around her face. Her eyes were alight with righteous fury, all traces of sadness gone from her posture now that she had a target for her rage.

“YOU ABSOLUTE NUMPTY!” She hollered, her hands curling into claws in front of her as she loomed above him. “You drenched him, that’s what you did!”

Adrien knew he was tempting fate, but he couldn’t resist one last barb. The opportunity was just too good to pass up.

“It’s not my fault he’s such a wet blanket.”

Marinette bristled, her hair practically standing on end. Sensing that it would behoove him to flee, Adrien began frantically paddling away, his pizza throne quickly becoming a prison as he floundered in the water, trapped like a sitting duck.

With a shriek of impotent rage, Marinette lunged for him.

Perhaps the pun was a bit too much, Adrien acknowledged, right before his floaty was upended, and he was plunged into the cool blue water once more.

-x-

#ml fanfic #miraculous ladybug #ml fanworks #adrienette #adrien agreste #marinette dupain-cheng #ml fic #miraculous fanfic #ml fic recs #no miraculous au #ml brothers au #adrinette #childhood friends au #ongoing fic #theoretically forever #hypothetically ever after #HEA verse #my fics

5 notes · View notes

e-milieeee · 4 years

Text

hey cutea

Summary: In which Marinette brings Adrien to a bubble tea shop only to witness him order the most unappetizing flavour on the menu.

All’s well until Chat Noir does the exact same, and Ladybug makes an unsuspecting connection.

Tikki is also very unamused. If only they’d stop dancing around each other.

Notes: a month of procrastinating, the boba reveal,,, is finally here for day 1: cafe of @auyeahaugust! also for @buggachat because kelly started this with a drawing of an adrienette boba date and i spiralled :’)

Word Count: 6.2k

AO3

The shop is called Thirstea, a pun which makes Adrien laugh for a whole thirty seconds as he stares at the storefront.

“Seriously,” Marinette is saying as he pushes the door open for her. “You’ve seriously never had boba? At all?”

Adrien shifts his backpack. He’s hit with the smell of something sweet—foreign, as well, but it’s pleasant enough—and the sight of a bustling interior. A small line has already formed, so Marinette tugs him aside and points at the large menu displayed on a colorful board behind the cashier.

“You can decide on which flavour you want,” she tells him.

Adrien peers up at the board. There’s so many to choose from—hundreds, even—from milk tea to fruit tea to mixed flavours and smoothies and…

His head is spinning when he turns back to Marinette. “Do you have any recommendations?” Because I have absolutely no clue. “What do you usually get?”

She tilts her head. “I have five go-tos. Roasted milk tea is a classic, but the honeydew milk tea is pretty good as well if I want something fruity. If I want something lighter, I’ll get a fruit tea—I like lychee black tea. Uh… there’s also the real fruit bobas, and I usually get taro. Oh! And the matcha latte is one of their best. And I usually get it with tapioca, but if you want to be healthier, grass jelly or aloe vera both taste pretty good. But I mean, it is your first time here and you should probably try getting tapioca just to see if you like it. And brown sugar milk tea, but they said they ran out today…”

The words go in one ear and out another, because Adrien is too busy staring at the way she talks: enthusiasm shining in her eyes, the way she waves her hands in the smallest, cutest gestures to make her point, and…

“Adrien?” Marinette tilts her head. “Um, have you decided? Or do you need more time? Because that’s completely alright too.”

In a panic, he nods and blurts, “I’ve decided!”

She nods sagely, and they enter the line. Adrien has not yet in fact decided.

He continues to stare at the menu from the corner of his eyes, going through all the categories until he settles on real fruit smoothie. Adrien goes through the list: watermelon, strawberry, mango, peach, blueberry, raspberry, winter melon—

“What would you like to order?”

Adrien snaps back into reality. He is not ready to order.

Oblivious to his conundrum, Marinette smiles at the cashier and fetches her wallet out of her backup. “I’m paying for us both!” she tells the girl cheerily. “I’ll have a peach green tea with half ice and thirty percent sugar. With tapioca.”

Adrien gawks at her order. She’d lost him after peach green tea—is he supposed to order like that too?

“Adrien?” Marinette prompts, now waiting for the order that he does not have.

He squints at the menu again, hoping his panic isn’t visible on his face. He scans them. Watermelon. Strawberry. Mango. Peach. Blueberry. Raspberry. Winter melon. Durian.

Durian.

“Durian,” he settles.

Marinette’s mouth quite literally drops open.

He’s not too certain what’s that surprising about his order—is it the wrong thing to order? Perhaps it doesn’t exist on the menu and he’d hallucinated it. A double-check later and the word is still clearly imprinted underneath winter melon. “Marinette?” Adrien asks carefully. “Um, I’m not too sure about the sugar and ice—which do you usually choose?”

She finally snaps her mouth shut. “Durian?” Marinette echoes at last, ignoring his question.“Ah, are you certain about that?”

Adrien nods. “I can still add the pearls—the tapioca in, right?”

“Yeah,” she agrees absentmindedly, “but—durian?”

Adrien takes another peek at the menu. “The real fruit smoothie, right?”

“Have you… tried durian?” “When I was younger, once. Have you?”

Marinette swallows, and Adrien waits for her verdict, concerned. He’s honestly baffled why she’s so confused about his choice, but a moment later, Marinette squares her shoulders and gives the cashier a smile, this time slightly shaky. “And a durian smoothie with tapioca for him. Um, sugar and ice levels?”

Adrien has no clue what to ask for, so he tries, “The standard one for both...?”

Apparently that’s an acceptable answer because the cashier nods and jots down his order on a small notepad. Marinette pays, and they wait at the side for their order.

Marinette has gone quiet. She sorts through her bag for a little while, and Adrien waits in apprehensive silence. There’s quiet jazz music playing in the background and it makes him feel like he’s in an elevator. It’s becoming unbearably awkward.

Finally, Marinette lifts her eyes to look at him. “Sorry about that,” she apologizes. “I just… didn’t know you liked durian.”

“Oh.” He sounds equally awkward. “I liked the fruit the last time I had it which was about two years ago. Do you not like it?”

Her nose wrinkles. It’s cute. Wait, what?

“My mom really likes durian,” Marinette is explaining, and she motions with her hands again. “Apparently her hometown back in China had a dessert store that sold durian pastries and she had this brilliant idea of making them for Chinese New Year a couple months ago and the whole bakery reeked of durian and I could smell it all the way up into my room—” She clamps a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. I forgot you liked it.”

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry,” he replies, flustered. Marinette has a habit of saying a lot in very little time and it doesn’t help that he gets easily distracted by her movements. “I didn’t realize durian was so… controversial. I hope it won’t make you uncomfortable or something with the smell.”

“I guess it’s not that popular here,” she replies with a shrug. “But my mom did say that people either hate or love durian. And the smell’s fine. I don’t like it, but once you spend a week with it stinking up your room, you kind of develop immunity.”

Just then, the waitress behind the counter sets down their two drinks. “For Marinette?” she calls.

Marinette takes the bag with a quick thank you, grabs two straws, and then returns to Adrien. She holds up their drinks.

Adrien takes the cup from her extended hand. The durian smoothie is a creamy white, and the black tapioca bubbles sit at the very bottom. He follows her movements as she shakes her cup then stabs a straw into it.

He can see Marinette eying him in his periphery as he raises the straw to his lips and takes a sip. The drink is cold and sweet and has a rich taste that explodes on his tongue in a plethora of flavours, and Adrien decides he likes it. He really likes it.

“So?” Marinette asks. Adrien wonders if she knows how skeptical her expression is. “Do you… like it?”

He chews on one of the pieces of tapioca. “Yes. Yeah, this is really great.”

The skepticism doesn’t disappear from her face, but she raises her boba to his. “Cheers,” Marinette says weakly.

***

On a good day, a cup of boba has two hundred fifty calories when the tapioca is replaced by grass jelly and the sugar level is brought to less than half. On a bad day, if her sweet tooth demands regular sweetness and tapioca, it can be driven up to seven hundred calories.

It’s why Marinette has begrudgingly limited herself—for the sake of her wallet and health—to only drink boba once a week.

And it’s why she and Chat Noir, decked in hoodies and track pants in an attempt to look normal, are lined up underneath the blazing sun at Thirstea.

Their disguises don’t do much, because a crowd has formed around them. First there are whispers of is that Ladybug and Chat Noir, then a girl summons up her courage to ask for a selfie, and finally, the press starts driving in. By the time that happens, they have luckily made it inside the shop, where the air-conditioning blasts out on the highest setting.

Another snap of the camera. Chat Noir is staring pensively at the menu when a thought hits Ladybug. “Have you ever had boba before?” she asks him.

He nods absentmindedly, still looking. Everyone in line is whispering or peering at them, and Ladybug sees a phone held up in the back, most likely recording.

They make it to the counter when Nadja Chamack and her team, armed with cameras and microphones, invades the shop. The girl at the register looks slightly overwhelmed and a little alarmed, but she doesn’t tell the press to leave.

“Ladybug!” Nadja calls. “You’ve been photographed once or twice coming to this shop in the past month—is this your favourite bubble tea shop?”

“Yup!” she replies.

“What’s your go-to order?”

“Depends on the day.” Ladybug turns back to the cashier, leaving Chat to deal with the press. He has the uncanny ability to drag on a brief topic for an unsolicitedly long amount of time. “I’ll have an original milk tea with tapioca,” she tells the cashier. “Regular ice and seventy percent sugar.”

The girl looks a little starstruck, but she jots down the order. With a tug on Chat’s tail, he turns around from entertaining the press to place his own order.

“One durian smoothie, please!” he chirps, chipper as always.

Ladybug chokes on air.

The girl taking their order also seems taken aback, but her recovery time is much quicker than Ladybug’s. Instead, offering him a quick, slightly strained smile, she jots his order down. “Is that all, then?”

Chat takes the chance to pay for both of their orders while she’s caught in her confusion. By the time Ladybug snaps back to her senses, it’s too late—Chat is already pulling aside to wait for their bobas to finish. Nadja and her crew take the chance to start their questions again.

“Chat Noir,” Nadja addresses when it’s clear Ladybug’s still out of commission. “If I heard you right, you chose a durian smoothie?”

He gives a nod so proud that Ladybug swears she dies a little inside.

“Could you tell us why? From what I know, durian is a well-debated fruit. Many people love it, but many also cannot stand the smell.”

Chat ponders the question thoughtfully. “The smell is rather funny,” he finally replies. “But I like the flavour! It has a very rich texture as well, and tastes pretty different from the smell, so it doesn’t actually taste bad.”

“Ladybug?” Nadja gestures for the cameras to face her. “What are your thoughts on durian?”

She’s too busy thinking about Adrien Agreste raising his cup of boba to bump against hers—a durian smoothie—and his casual enthusiasm for the fruit that Nadja’s words don’t even click in her brain. Who would’ve expected Chat Noir to have the same (terrible) taste as her crush? The coincidence leaves her feeling disjointed.

“Uh… Ladybug?” Chat waves his hand in front of her. “Are you okay?”

She finally snaps out of her reverie long enough to scramble for a response. Ladybug manages a sheepish smile in Nadja’s direction. “I’m doing fine, thank you.”

Chat frowns. “Ladybug, that wasn’t her question—”

Before either of them can say anything more, the girl making the drinks pops her head out from the counter. “Your drinks!” she says, then beams at both of them. “Here’s a buy-one-get-one free coupon! Please come by often!”

Chat’s eyes glimmer when he accepts his durian smoothie. Ladybug takes her own with much less enthusiasm. Focus is hard enough with the snap of Nadja’s cameras and the chaos all around them—the fact that an even larger crowd has gathered outside Thirstea in order to catch a glimpse of their favourite superheroes makes it worse. It’s all too much to take in, and Ladybug’s brain is still stuck on Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir and durian smoothies.

“We’re going to take off,” Chat tells Nadja, then waves at the camera. “See you guys around! Come on, LB.”

She allows him to drag her out of the store, then with a flick of his baton and a snap of her yo-yo they’re swinging off, bobas in hand and the rest of Paris watching them go.

But Ladybug isn’t thinking about them at all.

When they finally settle down somewhere secluded, Chat immediately stabs his straw through the top of his drink and takes an obnoxiously loud slurp. Ladybug can smell the scent of durian from where she’s sitting, and instinctively, she wrinkles her nose and shifts away. She pokes her straw into her own drink, still staring off at the distance.

A coincidence, yeah. Her crush and her partner both have awful taste in bubble tea flavours. It’s nothing but a coincidence.

“Are you going to drink yours?” Chat is asking, still slurping obliviously. “I wanna try your flavour.”

He makes a grab for her drink, and Ladybug ducks away. “Your breath smells like durian. You can’t drink from my straw.”

“Hey! Let me try!”

For a little while Chat wrestles for her drink, nearly spilling his own in the process. In the end he snatches out from her fingers, laughing raucously. Ladybug is giggling as well, forgetting about her predicament for the moment. This is what she’s used to; their routine of banter and playfulness that’s easy—it’s straightforward. Not confusing.

That snaps her right back to the problem. Chat sips her drink, smacking his lips in a purposefully annoying way, and makes his verdict. “Not bad. I like mine better. Wanna try?”

Ladybug shakes her head and reclaims her drink. As casually as possible, she asks, “Do you get boba often?”

“Mm, no. This is actually the second time I’ve gotten the drink.” He swirls his straw around. “Honestly, with all the percentages you give for the sugar and the ice, I’m not too sure what to say. My friend took me to get boba a little while ago, so…durian is actually the only flavour I’ve ever tried.”

A casual dump of information, information that really wouldn’t have meant anything. It’s vague enough that any other person wouldn’t have made any sort of connection; it’s the information they often share between each other.

Except for the fact that she—Ladybug, Marinette—might be the friend in question. And Chat Noir—Chat Noir is…

She stares across the building, where an ad of Adrien, the Fragrance is displayed.

No way.

“Um,” Ladybug stammers. “Your friend took you out for boba because you’ve never had it before?”

He’s painfully oblivious to her panic. “Yeah, about a week ago. You know, it’s pretty funny because she had a similar reaction to you when I ordered the durian smoothie. Apparently she hates the smell too.”

“Your friend?” Ladybug echoes.

“Yeah, my friend. Are you okay, m’lady?”

Can’t really breathe properly, so I’m not really okay, but youcan’tknowandIdon’treallyknowwhat’sgoingonrightnow—

“I, um, just realized I have something to do,” Ladybug stammers out, because it’s the only thing she can think of saying. She flails, but somehow manages to get to her feet. “Uh—uh, do you want my milk tea? I can’t swing around very well if I’m holding it because it might get on my suit and my hair—oh my God, my hair! I got ice cream once and tried to eat it while going around Paris on my yo-yo and it went so badly and honestly I feel like the bubble tea will do the same so you can drink mine too since I can just get another one by myself soon but I really gotta run—”

She all but shoves the cup into his confused hands. It’s a whole miracle Chat doesn’t drop it then and there, just like it’s a miracle Ladybug hasn’t screamed or slipped up or promptly tripped over air and simply… lay there crying.

“Ladybug–” she hears him call, but it’s interrupted by the zing of her yo-yo.

She takes off as fast as possible.

Marinette has never been so hasty in detransforming, but as she slips through the rooftop back into her room, she’s already calling Tikki out before she touches down onto her bed. She slams onto pillows and the soft mattress in her regular clothing, buries her face into the nearest cushion, and screams.

She really doesn’t deserve Tikki’s patience, but her kwami stays beside her and pats her with tiny paws until Marinette’s throat is hoarse and she has more or less yelled the remaining cinders of her panic and confusion into her pillow.

When Marinette finally raises her head to look at Tikki, her kwami has her hands on her hips. “Well?” she asks. “I didn’t want to interrupt your breakdown, but now that you’re through, can you tell me what it’s about?”

Marinette thinks about the cup of boba and the boy she’d left back on the roof. Then the one that sits in front of her in class, with the same shade of blonde hair and emerald eyes, both ordering durian boba.

“I think Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste,” she tells Tikki weakly.

Tikki has a scarily-good poker face. “Have you now,” she replies with calmness Marinette is incapable of. “And why do you think so?”

“Because—because—because they both like durian!” It comes out as a distressed wail.

Tikki ponders the question. Then replies, “I see.”

It’s such an awfully vague response that Marinette is tempted to bury her face into her pillow to scream some more. But she doesn’t, instead pulling out her notebook from the stand and a pencil. “I’m going to draw a venn diagram,” she announces with newfound determination. “I might just be jumping to a conclusion too quickly. And—and there was that one time when Chat was there but Adrien was too, right? When Gorizilla attacked?”

“Right,” Tikki agrees. “But you also did a similar trick with Multimouse and the fox Miraculous, so…”

“Chat didn’t have the fox or mouse Miraculous. Anyway… they both have blonde hair and green eyes.”

She puts that in the similar column. She thinks about it for a couple seconds more, and writes “composed” in Adrien’s column and “a mess” in Chat’s.

“Oh, come on.” Tikki flits closer. “You know very well Adrien isn’t as composed as you make him out to be. The only reason you don’t recognize it is because you’re even worse around him.”

Marinette stubbornly keeps those two where they are, even if she knows deep down that Tikki is right. For a while, she goes on making her list, with Tikki criticizing almost every decision she makes. Adrien Agreste has neat hair, a polite smile, the best grades in class and manners that would woo anyone’s parents. Chat Noir’s hair is messy and untamed, his smile is almost always accompanied with a raucous laugh and shutting up isn’t in his vocabulary. He steals food and drinks and everything he can from her whenever she brings it.

She scribbles and erases and thinks and stresses, getting a week’s worth of confusion down and then some.

“Marinette,” Tikki finally advises when Marinette has run out of ink. “Why don’t you just ask Adrien tomorrow at school subtly about it? If he didn’t mind telling Ladybug he went out for boba with Marinette, he probably wouldn't have qualms telling Marinette about getting boba with Ladybug. It’s not as if your identities need to remain a secret anymore.”

Ask Adrien.

Sure, they’re on good terms now. They’re friends. Marinette’s crush has faded into a more manageable level, and she can talk to him without her voice rising an octave higher than its usual key. She hasn’t tripped and fallen on her face in front of him for at least two weeks.

But this—with the possibility that Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir? To think she’d waxed poetic about Chat Noir to Tikki every night for months? It’s unspeakably insane to think about, and she doesn’t have the courage and probably never will but Marinette thinks she’s genuinely going to die if she doesn’t get closure—

“Okay,” she agrees at last, because it’s the only logical answer.

***

Adrien is the one who comes to find Marinette before she can go find him.

“Hey!” he calls from behind her.

In a quite frankly astonishing display of improvement, Marinette doesn’t scream or fall on her face, even if she does freeze for a good couple seconds too long.

“Uh… Marinette?” Adrien taps her shoulder. “I wanted to return the physics notes to you. You gave me your notebook from last time because I missed the class. Here.”

She takes the notes from him, movements stiff. A million words to say come piling from her throat, but they stick to the top of her mouth drily and none make it past her lips.

Adrien Agreste. Chat Noir. They’re the same person? How can they be the same person? Is it just a huge coincidence? Who is Chat Noir? Who am I, even?

Before she can work herself into more of a panic, Marinette gives him a forced smile, hugging her notebook to her chest. “Thanks!” she shrieks. “I gotta—I gotta run. See you around!”

She trips over air on her way out, face beetroot.

***

“Listen,” Tikki whispers to her, munching on her cookie as Marinette locks herself in a stall of the girls’ washroom. “You gotta do it. Just… just don’t think that he’s Adrien Agreste. I heard imagining people as potatoes helps with stage fright?”

Marinette lets out a distressed noise. “Stage fright isn’t my problem, though!”

“Adrien fright? If you ask me, it’s pretty similar. Anyway, just ask him if he’s had bubble tea recently or something! You don’t know until you try. It won’t be that bad. What’s the worst case scenario?”

“That you-know-who turns out to be you-know-who!”

“We did not decide on these codenames.”

“Yeah, but what if someone hears—”

Tikki interrupts her by giving her a little pinch. “Calm down, Marinette! It’ll be fine. Besides, is it really that big of a problem if it’s true?”

No, it isn’t. Marinette has thought long and hard about it last night, lying awake on her bed, unable to sleep because of the heat and turbulent thoughts and theories all mixing together. Would it be a bad thing, if Chat turned out to be Adrien? No—she could think of a thousand more worse people for Chat to be, and if she were to be perfectly honest, no better person than Adrien. But at the same time, it’s overwhelming in the strangest way: the sort that sends her heartbeat spiking, thoughts scattering, stomach turning in a not-quite-unpleasant way.

Marinette really doesn’t know what to think about it, and that’s the scariest part.

“Okay.” Tikki interrupts her train of thought. “We should probably get going before you’re late for class. If you hurry, you can probably ask Adrien about it before the bell goes off.”

Marinette steels her back. “Okay,” she grinds out with wavering determination. “Okay, I’m gonna do it.”

Tikki lets out a squeak of Attagirl! before diving back into her purse. Marinette marches out of the stall, down the hallway, and into the classroom.

She really hates the way her throat still closes up when she scans the room and her eyes land on Adrien. All of a sudden, she’s reverted to herself months ago, when her crush on him had reached its peak; when she’d been a jumble of frayed nerves and blabbering and hand motions violent enough to whack any bystander that wandered too close.

No, Marinette tells herself firmly. No freaking out. No stuttering. I’m past that.

“Adrien,” she calls, and he turns away from his conversation with Nino.

“Hey!” his smile is a thousand watts too bright. “We were just talking about you. Nino said he’s never tried boba as well.”

The word boba nearly has her choking on spit. “Cool,” Marinette manages out. “That’s very… cool.”

Nino’s eyebrows furrow. “You okay?”

“Fine! Th-that’s great you want to introduce Nino to boba as well! I’m glad to hear you liked the drink.”

Marinette’s well aware that she sounds like a buffering tape-recorder right now. She marches to her desk, sits down just as stiffly, and pinches herself on the arm, out of Adrien and Nino’s sight. Alya has yet to arrive—it’s now or never, Marinette knows. The longer she waits, the more nervous she’ll make herself, and the harder it’ll be. So…

“Adrien!” she blurts out again, voice too loud. Even Rose and Juleka leave their conversation briefly to glance at her.

He’s good-natured as ever when he turns to her, and Marinette is struck with another wave of trepidation. It’s all too sudden. It’s all too much. She takes a deep breath, mind turning to absolute mush, and somehow stammers out, “Have you gotten boba since that one time?”

She really can’t blame him for looking so confused at her question, but to Adrien’s credit, he regains his composure rather quickly. The bewilderment on his face quickly shifts to mild curiosity.

“Yeah,” he replies. “I actually went yesterday with a friend. Thank you for introducing me! I’ll probably go more often now if I find the time.”

Marinette’s mouth is dry. Her hands are sweaty. Her head feels like it’s going to explode. Her heart has moved to her throat and she’s positive that it’s going to stop beating any moment now.

“Oh.” It’s the only noise Marinette feels mentally capable of forming. Sentences are hard. Speaking is impossible. “Um, yesterday?”

“Yeah, it was pretty hot yesterday. I went to Thirstea, actually!” He scratches the back of his neck. “I mean, it’s the only boba shop I know at the moment so it doesn’t really mean anything, but… my friend who I went with really liked it too, so I think I’ll stick to Thirstea for now. Until I try all the flavours I want.”

Amidst her own confusion, Marinette somehow manages to think, if you wanted to try all the flavours you wanted why did you get durian again yesterday? It’s second nature: if the boy in front of her is Chat Noir—a fact that, despite the inconclusive results given by her venn diagram, is becoming more and more clear—then Marinette can’t help but want to tease him back.

Except if Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir and Chat Noir is Adrien… God. She’s just going in circles and getting nowhere closer to the final destination.

It doesn’t even hit Marinette that she hasn’t responded to Adrien and that’s why he’s staring at her so apprehensively. The shrill ringing of the bell startles all the class back into their seats, Adrien included, who shoots her a small smile before turning back around.

The rest of the period finds Marinette unable to pay the slightest bit attention. Mme. Bustier’s words travel in one ear, out the other, all muted static compared to the main problem at hand.

And a problem it is. She looks at Adrien’s golden head in front of her, imagining the flicker of black ears. If she reached down and mussed his hair up, it would look like Chat’s. They’re the same height too, to think of it. All the differences she had listed on her venn diagram seem to melt away, until Marinette is faced with one terrible, wonderful, conclusion.

***

She doesn’t confront Adrien about anything after the first period ends, nor does she at lunch, nor after. It’s too overwhelming to think of, but it hardly seems fair to keep him in the dark. When she asks Tikki to confirm at lunch, the only thing her kwami does is shrug with an indecipherable expression on her face—Marinette takes it as a verification.

But it’s a different story after school. By then, Marinette has made up her mind.

Her first stop is Thirstea. It’s not as sweltering as it were the day before, even if she has to wipe the sweat from her forehead after waiting fifteen minutes outside. The store isn’t as bustling now that Ladybug and Chat Noir aren’t there, so Marinette takes advantage of the peace to calm her thoughts. They have patrol in thirty minutes; she has thirty minutes to gather her thoughts and figure out how she’s going to come through with this. But is thirty minutes really going to help? She’s had the whole day alone to her thoughts, and, like it or not, she’s barely gotten anywhere.

When she finally gets her order—a fruit tea for herself, a durian smoothie for Chat Noir—Adrien Agreste—there’s only twenty three minutes to go.

Marinette transforms into Ladybug, hidden in an alley, and goes to wait for her partner to show up on the rooftop they agreed to. Then, once she’s reached the rooftop, she calls off her transformation.

The boba is still cold in her bag, so she wraps her hand around them to fend off the blistering heat from the sun. It’s uncomfortable, waiting like this, but physical discomfort is still better than working up a storm in her own thoughts, which Marinette is trying to distance herself from. They come in waves of stress, anxiousness, uncertainty, and fear. But she has to do this.

Her mood must’ve been evident enough for Tikki to feel, even though her kwami has slipped inside her purse to give her thoughts some space. She pokes her head out.

“Marinette,” Tikki says, a hint of concern in her tone. “You don’t have to do this now if you’re not ready, you know. Chat Noir will understand.”

Marinette, having resorted to biting her nails—she must be really nervous, because that’s a habit she’d gotten rid of years ago—shakes her head. “I can’t keep pushing it back. It’s one thing not revealing each other’s identities, but now that I know… I can’t just… not tell him. It’s not possibly fair, not when he’s waited for so long.”

“...are you happy that it’s Adrien?” This question is more tentative, quieter.

Marinette props her chin in her hands and stares at the skyline. Is she happy that it’s Adrien?

“Yeah,” she replies. “Yeah, I am.”

***

Chat Noir vaults over onto the roof, and he’s six minutes early. Marinette sees him before he sees her; she watches him look around for a couple of seconds, slightly confused.

She takes a deep breath and steps out of the shade of the door. “Chat Noir!” she calls.

He jumps around. “M’lady, you—”

His voice trails off. “M-marinette? I—uh, hi! I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I was actually going to find Ladybug but I might’ve gotten the wrong building! What—what, uh, are you doing up here?”

After a day of planning out the words to say, it’s rather funny how she can’t even form a semblance of the sentences she’s thought up.

It’s also a miracle in and of itself that she doesn’t stutter, panic, or go absolutely speechless. Even if her script lays lost and forgotten in the back of her head, Marinette says in a surprisingly steady voice, “I was actually waiting for you.”

Chat Noir doesn’t move from where he’s standing, so she heads towards him. “Did… Ladybug tell you I was going to be here?”

“Uhmh,” is the noise that makes its way out of Marinette’s mouth. She clears her throat and tries again. “I brought you boba because it’s hot today,” she explains. “I also wanted to talk to you.”

She sees it behind his eyes; questions, confusion, but most importantly, the beginning notes of a realization.

“Wait.” He doesn’t budge from his spot, eying her cautiously. “What do you want to talk about?”

“About the fact that you’re probably Adrien Agreste?”

Even the air, laden with the heat of the day, seems to still between them. Marinette looks up at him, and his reaction is the only confirmation she needs that she is indeed right.

Chat Noir’s reaction is less loud than she had expected. It’s shock, probably, the stage that Marinette has been stuck in for the good part of the day, because he still remains frozen. Then, in a shaky uncertain voice, he asks, “Ladybug?”

Her next breath escapes her in the form of a huff, a half-choked laugh. “We’re idiots.”

His lips lift into a wavering smile. “What.”

And then Marinette is laughing, because it’s so stupid. All the pent-up emotions come tumbling out uncontrollably and she’s laughing and laughing, doubling over and clutching at her stomach and nearly dropping her bag of their boba drinks.

Through her own giggles, she hears Chat mumble, “Oh my God,” and the way he says it makes everything all the more hilarious.

When Marinette finally gathers herself enough to straighten, she’s wiping tears from her eyes. Chat Noir is watching her, although his expression has softened into something that looks suspiciously close to fondness.

“Is this why you asked me about boba this morning?” he questions. “If I’d gone to get it with a friend?”

Marinette gives her eyes one last wipe. “Yeah. I just—when you ordered durian boba yesterday and all that you said—it was too suspicious for me to ignore.”

“Oh.” He tugs his hands through his hair—messy golden hair, how hadn’t she noticed how similar Chat and Adrien always were?—and lets out another groan. “Oh. I’m dumb.”

“You could’ve been any other person if I hadn’t been, well, me,” Marinette points out. “Tikki told me it’s due time, anyway. But yes, you’re dumb. So am I.”

“My identity got exposed because I ordered a durian smoothie?”

“Basically, yeah.”

“Oh my God.”

She’s beginning to see why Tikki had found it endlessly amusing watching her panic. Instead of further antagonizing Chat, Marinette reaches into her bag to take out his durian smoothie. She stuffs it into his arms, and he’s too confused to do anything but accept the drink and the straw it comes with.

“Don’t worry,” she reassures him before she can stop herself. “I won’t tell anyone that number one model Adrien Agreste runs around Paris in a leather catsuit. My lips are sealed.”

The moment the words leave Marineette’s mouth, she feels her face heat up. It’s one thing to tease him before, now it feels like she’s treading on the edge of a cliff with a long, long drop. He’s still her partner, but there’s another aspect that they will figure out—with time, undoubtedly—and now is too soon to push it so much.

To her relief, Chat Noir’s face lights up, and a much wider smile slips across his face. “I’m still in shock, you know,” he tells her. If that’s his in-shock voice, then Marinette is thoroughly impressed. “But thank you. My father might have a bone to pick with this outfit if he ever found out.”

Relief is cool against the heat. “Your father won’t be the only one with the bone to pick with you,” she replies. “The bell is quite a… bold statement.”

He laughs once more. “I happen to like the bell the best, so I don’t know what your problem is.”

He has no business to smile so brightly like that, Marinette thinks to herself. In front of her is the boy she’s turned down countless times—the same one she would wax lyrical to Tikki every night before bed. God, what a coincidence. Or really, what a stroke of luck.

She’s jolted from her thoughts when Chat stabs his straw into his durian smoothie with a loud pop.

“Do you want to talk?” Marinette offers. “Somewhere shadier, that is? You probably have a lot of questions. I know I do.”

Chat nods. “Yeah. Yeah, that would work.”

She starts towards the small door on the rooftop, then stops when she realizes that Chat hasn’t been following her. Instead, his gaze is fixed thoughtfully on his drink, like he’s contemplating something important.

“Chat?” Marinette prompts. “Hey, are you okay?”

Then his face brightens. “I’m taro-bly sorry,” he says. “I just got distracted because you’re such a cu-tea.”

Marinette’s jaw drops open. It’s not that she’s particularly surprised by the pun, given his penchant for dropping them at the most terrible (taro-ble?) of moments, but she had half the mind to believe she’d permanently shocked the humour out of Chat Noir. Moreover, the fact that it’s Adrien Agreste saying these so casually is still new to her.

The grin he gives her is absolutely shit-eating, yet somehow, it works perfectly in her mind on Chat’s face as it does on Adrien’s. It also snaps her out of her reverie.

“Now my head is going to explode,” Marinette grumbles. “C’mon, cat-boy. We have a lot to discuss.”

He catches up with her with a quick jog, still slurping out of his boba. “I’m glad it’s you,” he tells her when they fall side-by-side. “In case you didn’t know.”

Marinette hides her grin behind her own drink, but she thinks Chat catches it nonetheless. “Me too,” she tells him. “Even if you have terrible taste in boba.”

“We wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have terrible taste,” he points out, and they both share a laugh.

Notes: Here’s my fics masterlist!

#miraculous ladybug #adrienette #ladynoir #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #ladybug #chat noir #this was ridiculously long holy crap #identity reveal #boba reveal #its been a while kids #mlb fic #my writing

836 notes · View notes

gingerale2017 · 3 years

Text

On The Way Home

More mlb content yay! Anyways this is pre-reveal and features adrienette starting a routine on dropping Marinette home everyday. No angst. Enjoy!

The school bell ringed super loudly, waking Marinette up from her power nap. She flinched her head up, a pad of paper sticking to her forehead, yelping.

The whole class started to laugh, including Adrien. Her cheeks heated up. Alya snickered and leaned towards her, “You couldn’t last through Mrs, Mendeleiev’s class? Girl…”

“Marinette, please explain yourself for sleeping through my science class,” Mrs. Mendeleiev started.

“I’m sorry, I must have dozed off. I barely slept last night,” this was true. Everybody in Kitty Section started to outgrow their old clothes so she was up last night stitching them up. Mostly, she was nervous for another encounter with Luka after the last one ended spectacularly. She was being sarcastic, it was horrible and embarrassing.

Apparently, her body wanted to soak in her sleep hours during science class. The worst time to fall asleep.

“I’ll give you a warning this time, Marinette. Next time I’ll send you to the principal.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Mendeleiev,” th le science teacher nodded and continued to assign homework as the students gathered their stuff.

“Hey Alya? Can I get a ride home today? I need to be at the bakery in like five minutes, but we both know that’s not possible,” Marinette tugged on her friends orange flannel as Alya got up.

“Sorry girl, I’m going home with Nino to study today. Plus, you know I always walk home from school, ” Alya responded. Alya helped Marinette pick up her mess as Adrien came around.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you guys talking about needing a ride?” Adrian appeared out of nowhere and scared the living daylights out of Marinette. She flinched and turned around so fast that she fell on top of Adrien. Her already flushed cheeks probably turned even redder. He caught her and pushed her up towards Alya, giving her a warm smile.

“Yeah, Mari’s parents need her at the bakery right now, but she can’t make it in time, u less someone drops her off,” Alya said while grabbing Marinettes elbow.

“Y-yeah. I-I need to b-be there tonight- I mean tomorrow- I mean-”

Adrien cut her off, “I can take you!” He said it rather loudly.

Unfortunately, Lila heard and began to walk over to them, “Hey Adrien, Alya, and Marinette. What's going on?”

“None of your business Lila, ” Marinette huffed.

“Uh, Marinette needs to get home early today, and she can’t make it in time by walking so she needs a ride, ” Adrien said at the same time.

“Oh, I’m sure your parents would understand you being late, Marinette. I kind of need Adrien to help me with my schoolwork again. Will you please help a friend out?” Lila smiled and made Marinette's blood boil. She clenched her fists.

“I helped you the other day, Lila. Besides, this is a one-time thing with Marinette since she’s been such a good friend to me, I want to repay her, ” said Adrien, “can I help you another time, please? Plus this is important to Marinette.”

It was Marinette’s turn to smile as Lila’s eye twitched, “Of course Adrien! I didn’t mean to come off as rude or anything. And if it's so important to Marinette, I don’t want to be the one stopping you guys. Have fun!” The liar walked away but looked to Marinette before leaving. Oh, she hated that fox.

“Anyways, I got to split. Nino’s waiting for me, ” Alya then whispered to Marinette, “good luck.”

She whimpered. This is terrible, she’s probably going to do something stupid, like at the wax museum.

No, don’t think of that Marinette. Never again, she thought, that is the unthinkable.

“Are you ready to leave yet?” asked Adrien. She turned to him and tried to smile.

“Yes, l am. Do you know my address?” he nodded.

“Okay! Let's go!” she marched towards the exit.

“Marinette, the exit is that way, ” Adrien pointed towards the other side.

She blushed, “Yeah, I knew that. Let's go again!”

They went through the double doors and down the stairs to his car. He opened the car door for her and she gladly took a seat, received that she didn’t do anything clumsy.

“So, Marinette, what is this important thing you have to do at the bakery,” he asked after settling himself.

Marinette shrugged her backpach off and placed it at her feet, “Well, you know Nadja Chamack, the news reporter?”

“Yeah.”

“She wants to do a cover on the bakery. Apparently a survey was taken for best food places in Paris and ours was called the best bakery in Paris. My parents wanted me to keep it a secret so we can do a party later, but they wanted me for the interview. Which is now.”

Adrien nodded and smiled, “thats’s great news Marinette. I do love your dad's croissants, they’re so good. Do you mind if I could have one before I leave?”

“O-of course, Adrien! You can have as many as you want!” he looked excited when she said it.

They talked during the whole car ride. Mostly about the bakery and fashion stuff. Marinette was proud of herself that she barely stuttered during the whole thing. She even enjoyed herself and could tell Adrien was too.

“Oh, we’re here. If you need a ride ever again, please tell me. I will be more than happy too.”

Marinette nodded and opened her car door. He waved at her and she waves back.

“Good luck at your next fencing competition, ” she blurted. They did not talk about his fencing competition at all and he grew confused. She quickly closed the car door and ran inside, thinking about the ride with Adrien. Maybe she could take up on that offer sometime.

#mlb #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #ladybug #chat noir #fluff #to be continued #alya cesaire #lila rossi #mrs mendeleiev #nino lahiffe #fanfiction #mlb fanfic #adrienette

27 notes · View notes

giuliafc · 3 years

Text

Chinese horoscopes and Miraculous

Hi there!

I actually wrote this article for a Facebook group during the summer, but i had completely forgotten about it until I read the very in-depth analysis of Kagami's role in the series written by @geekgirles . There, she mentioned the bit in Ikari Gozen that had got me started on this research, so I thought why not? let's 'delight' you with this indepth analysis of the four characters of Marinette, Adrien, Luka and Kagami based on what we know of their zodiac signs in the Chinese horoscope. There are a couple of things that may surprise you.

First of all, let's put a lovely wee "keep reading" tag, so it doesn't clog your board, because it's a little long (ah, the understatement!)

Now. Here we are and if you clicked on carry on reading it means that you may be interested so... welcome welcome.

Apologies for the length

Let's first of all talk about how the Chinese horoscope can give us a clue as of the characters age and date of birth.

In Ikari Gozen we find out that Marinette is a Snake in the Chinese horoscope. This narrows the search for her date of birth to two very precise years. 2013 or 2001. Now... counting that if she was born in 2013 she would be 7 now, it's most likely that she's born in 2001. In the French edition she is revealed instead to be a Leo. Which places her birthday in late July/beginning of August 2001. Kagami instead is revealed to be a Dragon, and a Scorpio, which places her birthday around November 2000. In an official Marinette’s Instagram post her birthday has been revealed as the 20th of November, IIRC.

Now... not only this is a great deal of trivia information for us fans, which also helps us place the timeline of the story, which hasn't yet reached a full year in Canon from the start (in the Felix episode it's revealed that it's the first anniversary of Emilie’s disappearance. Hence in 3 series the story has advanced only by less than one year). It also helps up place the birthdays of some other characters.

Adrien for example. His birthday was series 1 episode 1, quite far from Marinette's birthday in Befana. So it's likely that he's a dragon like Kagami (which would also make sense thinking that Kagami is a character that mirrors Adrien's life and situation. But this isn't the place to discuss such thing, i refer to the very well developed article written by @geekgirles if you want to know more). A lot of people have theorised that he may be a Libra and be born maybe at the beginning of October, but of this I have no proof.

However, coming back to the Dragon sign it gets even more interesting, guys. If one of you have got more in-depth information and this comes up to be wrong I do apologise. I performed quite of an extensive research on the subject but of course I'm no astrologist so I can be wrong. That said... Not only the Dragon is considered the sign of the Emperor in the Chinese horoscope, and a lucky sign (ha). But 2000 is also the year of the Golden Dragon (metal). What better description than a golden dragon for our handsome sunshine?

It gets even better when you get to the Dragon man's personality. Loves to be the centre of the attention. Natural flirts (ha! Touché Chat Noir!). Hot headed. Stubborn. Competitive. Naturally attracts money and women. Full of energy. Do I need any more proof that Adrien is a Dragon?

Let's see what the horoscope says about the Snake, and let's compare it to Marinette/Ladybug, so you understand why I'm pretty sure that the production looked this up quite in detail and that Chinese astrology can be at the base of our beloved characters.

So the Snake woman is intuitive, intelligent, reserved and mysterious, has deep thinking, a mind that goes a mile per minute. Because they are smart and come quickly to solutions, they are great in crisis situations. They're able to step back and consider workable solutions. They are determined, sensual and smart and have innate wisdom. Doesn't this speak Marinette AND Ladybug from a mile?

Now... Luka. Until last week we weren’t really that sure of how old Luka was, Astruc had said that he was a couple of years older than Marinette, but Zag’s website had highlighted that Luka was Juleka’s twin brother which, counting that Juleka was in Marinette’s class, didn’t make any sense. But last weekend Astruc has actually confirmed that Juleka has repeated a year and that yes, Luka is her twin brother.

Already before knowing this I had a look at the personality of the previous signs in the horoscope, and I had strong feelings that Luka may be a Rabbit, which would make him born in 1999 and one year older than Adrien. And this has been confirmed, so now we know. He is indeed a rabbit. Do you want proof? Rabbit men are calm, extraordinarily polite, and will do everything to avoid conflict. They have control over themselves and are sometimes conservatives. They can be considered a "yes-man", but have a line that they will never cross. They like organising, decorating, helping the wife/gf. They are great friends but don't like getting too close to someone. They are shy, introverted, honest, cuddle-lovers and attention givers. They are associated with the western sign of cancer, which is associated with the moon and the arts. Tell me if this doesn't speak Luka by a mile?

Now a little bit of trivia that will make you laugh is... in the Chinese horoscope the cat doesn't exist. The legend says that Buddha invited the animals to a dinner, and the mouse tricked the cat and didn't wake him up, making him miss out on being chosen for the horoscope. However in TAIWAN things are different and the Cat takes the place of the RABBIT in the horoscope. The confusion seems to come from the old Chinese word for Rabbit, Mao, which sounds like the Taiwanese word for Cat Mau. So the sign of the Rabbit is also the sign of the Cat. Oh the irony!!

Snakes are yin energy. Rabbits are also yin energy. Dragons are yang energy.

But it gets better! Let's look at love compatibility, shall we? *rubs hands* hehe...

Dragon man x Dragon woman (Adrien and Kagami) can be steamy and can work only if both have their own realm to shine on, because both are too competitive and can get into competition with each other. They love to be the centre of their world. They're great leaders but want the spotlight and don't settle for less. They're both independent and stubborn and their personality will clash, making it difficult to maintain the relationship going. They require a lot of love and admiration. They will never give in and apparently two dragons have a good physical relationship, mostly.

They CAN work together, but only if each has their own way to shine.

Sorry, Adrigami shippers.

Dragon man x snake woman (Adrien and Marinette): they can be an excellent couple. They find each other physically attractive. The dragon is bold and full of energy, the snake is appealing in a more subtle way. Excellent romantic relationship, they both have strong personalities that attract each other. They share a degree of savoir-faire that prevents serious concerns. The male dragon will be tempted to stray, but he will know better than doing that, because he knows very well that his companion has hidden poisonous fangs (lol) and is VERY jealous... so he will look but not touch (the wise one will at least). Snake women love success and attention, but they're not as flashy as dragon men so they will be more subtle. Snake women are self-possessive, devoted and can give a good boost of confidence to a dragon man. She will be better at handling finances than him (that wouldn't surprise me in adrienette!). They both like fine things but Snake will teach Dragon to not overspend. Little trivia: the dragon was the sign of the emperor and the snake was the advisor. So they work very well in tandem. Their union will be full of passion and personal satisfaction.

Adrienette is in the stars, guys.

Now last but not least... Snake woman x Rabbit/cat man (Luka and Marinette, but in a way even Chat Noir and Ladybug): very good couple too, they enjoy great conversation and have great time together. They make great friends. Snake loves the attention Rabbit gives and Rabbit is drawn by her sensuousness. They start as friends and have enticing conversations, which draws them together. When they start dating they realise they have similar tastes. They love cuddling in a hidden corner and will feel safe in their cosy nest to explore each other's sensuality. They can make a strong couple, unless their personalities start clashing. Rabbit can get annoyed at Snake's love for novelty and her extravagance, which may cause friction. If their temper clashes, they can't overcome differences.

So... Lukanette can work too, sorry guys. But as highlighted, it also works very well as a friendship. And sadly it's the same for Ladynoir...

What I find funny in all of this is that, if this is true, Luka has the Snake miraculous, Marinette is a Snake sign, Luka is a cat sign, Adrien is a cat miraculous, Adrien and Kagami are a dragon sign, Kagami is a dragon miraculous... Jesus what a circle! Add to the mix Marinette as the RAT miraculous and we have a real laugh… (if any of you has ever watched Fruit Basket, the Japanese anime about the Chinese horoscope, you know perfectly well what I’m talking about!) and Snake/Rabbit as friends and potential couple works for both Lukanette AND Ladynoir, counting that rabbit = cat. And then you think about how Chat Noir bounces on his baton and you think "yes that's a rabbit, indeed"!

Any thoughts?

(apologies if this reflection doesn’t make sense to you!)

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous les aventures de ladybug et chat noir #miraculous lb #miraculous marinette #miraculous adrien #miraculous chat noir #miraculous luka #Kagami

39 notes · View notes

broadwaycutie16 · 4 years

Text

Earlier today, I watched a video by TheTake on YouTube, exploring and deconstructing the “Nice Guy” trope in popular media.

Basically, the trope explained the Nice Guy trope and how toxic it really is, devaluing the girl’s feelings in a relationship and promoting male entitlement. Now, I’ve heard many people in this fandom complain that Adrien Agreste is the embodiment of this trope. The underdog sweet boy, pining after a girl who has rejected his feelings multiple times, persisting in his romantic advances towards her despite her making her disinterest clear.

While I must admit that Adrien does check many of the boxes for the standard Nice Guy, I quickly remembered who else in the show, besides him, checks out many of the same boxes, and perhaps a few more than him. Someone who exhibits many of the same behaviors of the Nice Guy, but whose less-than-healthy attitude of love is often overlooked and/or pardoned by most of the fandom, while they bash Adrien for similar behaviors.

Can you guess who it is?

It’s Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

I know what you’re thinking. How dare I accuse Marinette of such a toxic mindset! She’s the hero of our story! She fights off the bitches that are bad for Adrien and yet he doesn’t even give her the love she deserves! Adrien is the one who should consider himself lucky that she adores him! Hashtag Marinette Deserves Better!

But you see that right there? That, my friends, is what makes Marinette Dupain-Cheng, in my opinion, more of a Nice Guy than Adrien Agreste.

The whole purpose of the Nice Guy trope is to make us root for the underdog. Because who doesn’t love a good story where the loser that everyone expected to fail spectacularly ends up winning it all in magnificent fashion? Almost every movie has it’s underdog. With sports movies, it’s the unathletic wimp with a skinny, small, and/or weak body. In high school movies, it’s the outcast weird kid who’s been ostracized by the popular crowd for their unusual interests and/or attitude. In romantic comedies, the underdog is the hopelessly romantic Nice Guy who adores the girl and worships her like a goddess, as opposed to the cooler, more aloof, more sociotially successful man who takes her for granted. And since the cardinal rule of feel-good films is that underdog must end up getting what he’s been wanting throughout the whole movie, the movie then directs the story narrative to favor the Nice Guy’s desires, manipulating the audience to cheer him on and, in the process, blatantly dismiss all his unhealthy behaviors and obsessive traits, like stalking the object of his affections or trying to edge out any competition he has.

Sound familiar? That’s because that’s exactly what many Marinette stans who are also Adrien haters do.

I’m not saying Marinette is a bad person, but as far as Nice Guys go, she has shown us many red flags. She often stalks Adrien, trying to sneak into parties she has not been invited to just to see him, or following him to his house when he goes to study with one of her enemies. She often tries to keep away any girls she sees as competition for Adrien. With Chloé and Lila, it’s semi-justifies, because they can be total bitches. But not Kagami.

Is Kagami kind of cold? Yes. Can she be competitive? Absolutely. But she is not evil. Many Adrienette shippers often hate on Kagami, saying she is a stone cold bitch who will stop at nothing to “steal” Adrien away from Marinette. They misinterpret what she whispered in Marinette’s ear during Frozer. Kagami said, “The reason you cannot stand on your feet is your hesitation. I never hesistate.” Adrienette shippers translate this to, “He’s mine, bitch. Back off, or I’ll kill you.” But what she’s ACTUALLY saying is, “I know you like Adrien, but I like him, too, and I’m not gonna just back off out of curtesy while you fumble the ball. So if you want Adrien, you’re going to have to win him from me fair and square. That means you have to suck up whatever insecurities you have and really work to win him over.” She knows Marinette loves Adrien, but Kagami loves him, too. And she’s not just gonna wait around for Marinette to get over her nervousness and ask Adrien out of curtesy. She’s telling Marinette that if she wants Adrien, she needs to get herself together and go after him while he’s still available.

Kagami is not a bad person. She is simply lacking in social experience to properly express her emotions and desires without coming off as an ice queen. And yet, many Adrienette shippers view her through the same toxic lens as many fans of romantic comedies view love rivals of the Nice Guy. If the rival is even the tiniest bit self-serving or emotionally detached, they are automatically dismissed as bad people and therefore, less worthy of the main love interest than the Nice Guy. Thus, viewers are quick to pardon any attempts made by the Nice Guy to sabotage or undermine his rival as a necessary evil, something that must be done so that “true love” can prevail. Like say, I dunno, setting the rival up to be humiliated at a fancy party, despite all that they did to supposedly deserve such treatment was show up to said event, which they were invited to, and act friendly towards the main love interest, because they ARE friends?

If the scenario seems familiar, that’s because that’s exactly what Marinette tried to do to Kagami in Animeastro.

One thing I’ve noticed about this fandom, is that people seem to have a double standard when it comes to Marinette’s negative behaviors vs. Adrien’s. In Glaciator, Adrien seems to accept Ladybug’s rejection, claiming that her friendship was what mattered most, then takes back everything he said in Frozer, acting salty towards Ladybug for her earlier second rejection. After that, the whole fandom was on his case, calling him a jerk and a liar.

Am I happy Adrien went back on his word like that? Of course not. But in that same episode of Frozer, Marinette accepts that she may not be more than Adrien’s friend, and even helps him on his date with Kagami, despite her heartache and despite how everyone thought she was crazy for doing so. Super sweet, right? Except when Animeastro happens, she goes back on her mature acceptance and teams up with her worst enemy, all for the purpose of embarrassing the same girl who she supposedly accepted Adrien might like instead of her. Funnily enough, no one in the fandom seemed to give her any flack for that, despite the fact that it was an exhibitation of the same possessive, hypocrital and selfish behavior that Adrien displayed earlier on, which everyone hated on him for.

Many Marinette fans are projecting the same toxic, biased mindset onto her that fans of romantic comedies project onto the Nice Guy. They excuse any negative behaviors done by the protagonist, insisting that it’s for the greater good, all while hating on the love interest for not immediately falling into their arms. They prioritize the needs and feelings of the Nice Guy/Marinette while completely disregarding those of their love interests.

Marinette stans insist that she deserves Adrien’s love more than anyone else, bashing Adrien for overlooking her in favor of other girls. After all, Marinette has done so much for Adrien, while all Ladybug does is reject him in favor of some other guy, despite how he’s put his heart and life on the line for her. That means he should just cast aside his feelings for Ladybug and settle for Marinette, right? Well, by those standards, shouldn’t Ladybug do the same? After all, Chat Noir has risked his life for her several times and made it clear he adores her, while all Adrien has done is ignore her feelings in favor of other girls, even though she’s been right there the whole time. If Adrien should ignore some of Marinette’s stalker tendacies and easily-jealous nature, shouldn’t Ladybug be able to overlook some of Chat Noir’s less-than-acceptable behaviors?

Marinette fans often share the mindset of Nice Guy stans of romance as a moral issue, harboring the idea that goodness and unwavering affection should automatically earn romantic feelings. They believe that being nice to someone automatically means they owe it to you to love you back. Sadly, life isn’t that clear cut. Love is often given to someone, whether they deserve it or not. It’s both the best and worst part of it. This close-minded, morally black-and-white mindset is given to fans by the Nice Guy, as it’s his expectation that his being kind to the girl and showering her with romance should mean that she should know he is the one for her.

Sadly, this thinking by the Nice Guy is often hypocrital in the movies, because the same Nice Guy is attracted in his crush at least in part to some sort of superficiality (ex. she’s beautiful, popular, dresses well, is the Cool Girl who drinks beer and watches sports while looking hot in a tank top and short shorts). He says she’s superficial for not wanting a dork like him, but it’s not like he’s looking around for some socially-awkward, plain-faced girl on his own level or lower and falling for HER because of HER kind treatment of him and the intensity of HER feelings. Fans get upset when Adrien the teen heartthrob doesn’t give Marinette her due attention, but it’s not like they’re clamoring for her to settle for Nathanael in “Evillistrator” or Nino in “Animan”, even though they had intense feelings for her and were kind to her.

Because of the partial superficiality of the Nice Guy’s attraction to his crush, he has this fantasy built up in his head. He puts her up on this pedestal, much like the pedestal Marinette puts Adrien on. It gets to the point that he’s in love with the IDEA of her, this image of a perfect angel that he’s made her out to be, and not the real her. He refuses to admit that she is flawed, much like how Marinette overlooks Adrien’s doormat attitude and overwillingness to forgive, seeing him instead as the perfect boy who can do no wrong. This is a set up for disappointment later on, as when the love interest does not do what the Nice Guy expects from her, like instantly return his love, the illusion that he has so carefully crafted for his pleasure is shattered, and everything goes downhill.

Many people blame the love interests for not instantly favoring the Nice Guy once he’s shown his romantic dorky side, thinking they should pick up on the feelings right away, like it’s their job to know who they should be with immediately upon meeting them, that it’s their fault they miss the signs. But this misconception shifts blame away from the Nice Guy for not properly acting on his feelings. This is where the Nice Guy becomes his own worst enemy. He automatically convinces himself that he’s below the girl’s standards and gives up before he even tries. He hesitates to act on his feelings, much like Marinette is so certain that Adrien is out of her league that she lets her insecurities get the better of her and avoids confessing to Adrien or even talking to him because she’s sure she’ll mess up before she even tries. Then when the girl doesn’t immediately realize that she is loved, despite getting no clear signs or even the words “I love you”, she is blamed for leading the Guy on, much like how Adrien is blamed for not recognizing the mixed signals from Marinette as affection.

Even after Adrien has told her that he loves another girl, Marinette still decides to keep pursuing him, much like Chat Noir kept pursuing Ladybug even after she told him she loved someone. Yet, while Adrien is bashed for not immediately accepting her choice and working to move on, Marinette is pardoned from not accepting Adrien’s feelings in the matter. Viewers excusing all her Nice Guy traits while prosecuting Adrien for displaying all the same traits is what makes Marinette, in my opinion, more of a Nice Guy than him. Because the Nice Guy is usually the one that shippers root for, despite the warning signs of their behavior and the fact that the love interest has said flat out that they are not into them that way.

Do I think that Marinette is a bad person? No. Do I condone Adrien’s behavior over hers? Absolutely not. But these are fictional characters. We can’t control their flaws or talk some sense into them anymore than we can change the past or rewrite the movies that have sold us this one-sided mindset. I don’t hold their flaws against them and act like their imperfections define their whole character. I focus on the good they do, and if the characters forgive them, I forgive them, because they’re the ones who choose who to forgive, who to love, who to be friends with. So kiss off, Adrien salters. Y’all are a bunch of hypocrites. Peace out.

#adrien agreste #adrien x marinette #adrienette #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #miraculous season 3 #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #miraculous salt #ml salt #adrien sugar #adrien deserves better #anti Adrien salt #Adrien stan #adrien protection squad #ml fandom salt #salters salt

74 notes · View notes

mikauzoran · 4 years

Text

Marichat: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: Kiss Twenty-Five

Read it on AO3: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: ...as a “yes”.

“So…why are we going on this date as Princess and Chat Noir?” Chat inquired, hanging upside-down off of Marinette’s chaise longue as he watched her put the finishing touches on her chameleon-like makeup. “Wouldn’t it be less fuss to go as Adrien and Marinette?”

“Nope,” Marinette decreed, rubbing her lips to spread her lipstick evenly and letting the word go with a pop. “Reasons. Come help me with my necklace.”

“Yes, My Ladylove,” he chuckled, flipping over the chaise and going to her side.

He grinned widely when she handed him the bell necklace she’d worn for many of their special occasions.

“I’m a fan of the bell,” he purred, carefully working the clasp and slipping it around her neck.

“I know,” she chuckled. “That’s why I’m wearing it.”

Chat pursed his lips, giving his girlfriend a scrutinizing look. “You’re up to something.”

Marinette shrugged.

A wave of dread hit him, figuratively knocking his feet out from under him. “Am I forgetting an anniversary?” He scanned his mental calendar, trying to come up with a significant past event.

“Nope.” She shook her head with a mysterious smile. “Just a regular Saturday in August.”

He frowned, sensing that there was something he was missing. “It’s the eighth day of the eighth month. I’ve heard that the Chinese consider eight a lucky number, so it’s an auspicious day, at least.”

“That’s what my mom said,” Marinette snickered. “Come on. Time for our date.”

Chat quirked an eyebrow in suspicion but obediently followed as she made her way up to her loft and out onto the balcony. “May I know where we’re going, Princess?”

“To get ice cream. André’s waiting for us on the Pont des Arts,” she informed, giving his bell a gentle tap.

People gawked and took pictures much as they had done for the past three and a half years, but, between dating Chat Noir as Princess and Adrien as Marinette, Marinette had long ago gotten used to the attention.

They got their ice cream from André and took it up to the rooftops to eat in relative peace as they watched the sun set in a rolling wave of citrus colours: tangerine, lemon, and grapefruit pink fading into soft lavender and rich indigo.

“You’re planning a surprise,” Chat accused through a wide grin.

Marinette shrugged, leaning in to give their shared ice cream cone a nonchalant lick.

Chat Noir presented his evidence: “You colluded with André so that he’d be waiting on the Pont des Arts for us.”

Marinette smiled enigmatically, refusing to play into his hand.

He pursed his lips and studied her. “So…”

She kept smiling.

He frowned. “Are you going to give me a hint?”

She shrugged again.

His frown morphed into a pout. “Are you at least going to tell me where we’re heading next?”

“Jardin du Luxembourg,” she granted, trying to play it cool, even as the ring box burned a hole through her purse.

They strolled through the garden hand in hand, the shade of the trees combining with the twilight to afford them a little more privacy.

“Do you feel like I love you?” she asked as they approached the Medici Fountain.

He gave her a puzzled look but answered immediately, “Princess, I know you love me.”

She shook her head. “Yeah, but…do you feel like I love you? Do you feel loved?”

“Oh,” he breathed, nodding as he understood what she was really worried about. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, My Love. I do.”

She blew out a sigh of relief. “Okay. Good. Because you’re always going out of your way to do things for me to make me feel loved, and I just…I worry that I don’t speak your love language. I worry that I don’t say it enough or that I don’t say it in a way you understand.”

She stopped at the thigh-high fence around the fountain basin and turned to look at him. “You’re so precious to me. I want to make sure I’m taking care of you. I want to make sure I’m doing this right.”

“Princess, you are,” he stressed, tugging her over to one of the countless green metal chairs encircling the fountain. He sat, pulling her down onto his lap. “Why so serious tonight?” he whispered, giving her hair a comforting nuzzle.

“Just…nervous. Doubting myself, I guess. I worry a lot,” she mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I’ve noticed.” He clicked his tongue and began to purr soothingly. “Don’t worry, My Ladylove. I see the effort you put in, how much you care about getting it just right for me. Most of the time you nail it, but, even when you don’t, I still see how hard you tried, and that means just as much to me as if the romantic gesture you were going for had gone off without a hitch. I feel loved, so don’t doubt yourself.”

She took several deep breaths and let them out slowly. “Okay…. Okay. Good.”

“I knew it,” he snickered when they arrived at La Méditerranée and the server escorted them to their table. “We’re recreating our first date.”

“Maaaaaybe,” she chuckled, cocking an eyebrow nervously. “Is that romantic or cliché?”

“Romantic,” he assured decidedly. “…So long as you don’t feel compelled to order oysters just because we had oysters on our first date. I know you think they taste like seawater snot.”

She covered her mouth to muffle the sound as she burst out laughing. “Your father would have a heart attack if he knew you’d said that out loud in public.”

Chat shrugged, a wide, knife-like grin spreading across his lips. “You see, that’s the perk of being Chat Noir. Father doesn’t get to control or have an opinion on what I say in public.”

She shook her head, setting her menu aside to reach across the table for his hand.

The bell around her neck glinted in the dim restaurant light, and his smirk softened.

“It’s okay,” he assured quietly. “He doesn’t matter. I don’t need him; I have you.”

She nodded, giving his hand a squeeze. “…In all seriousness, I was planning on ordering oysters.”

His eyebrow arched. “You hate oysters. They make you gag.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, obviously, you’d have to eat them, but I want a shell to take home to go with the one from our first date. It’s a memento that I treasure, so…” She smiled shyly, a cherry blossom blush leaking out from under her Princess mask.

“As my Princess wishes,” he replied with as much of a bow as the seating arrangements allowed.

Chat settled the check as they leisurely finished their crème brûlée and he prattled on about the musical about Molière’s life that he had just seen with Nino and Luka.

All of the sudden, it dawned upon Chat that Marinette had been uncommonly quiet, nodding and making little sounds in all the right places to let him know that she was listening but not making any contribution to the conversation herself.

“Is everything all right, Princess?” He peered across the table at her in concern.

“Fine!” she hurriedly assured a little too loudly and then looked around to see if she’d disturbed any of the other diners. “Fine,” she repeated, voice lower. “I was just…”

His head tipped to the side. “Just…what?”

His eyes scanned her face, searching for the answer.

She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I love you.”

The worry faded from his face as he beamed. “I love you too.”

She reached across the table, interlacing her fingers with his. ��I love you, and I can’t imagine ever feeling this way about anybody else.”

His eyes widened.

“You’re the one for me,” she stressed, gaze locked with his. “Even though I sometimes doubt whether I’m what’s best for you, I’ve never questioned how I felt about you. Even when things were messy, you’ve always felt right to me. I’ve never been uncertain about you. From day one, you being my partner felt natural. My head may not always have been in the right place, but my heart has never wavered.”

Chat nodded speechlessly, eyes tearing up as he let her words wash over him and tried to absorb them.

She squeezed his hand and then let go, moving to fish the ring box out of her purse as she stood.

Chat gasped, right hand moving to cover his mouth as he gawked at Marinette going down on one knee.

She smiled nervously. “I want us to be partners in everything for the rest of our lives…. Will you marry me?”

With a choked sob, he pulled her to her feet and swept her up into his arms, spinning her around as he pressed his lips to hers.

“Y-Yes,” he laughed as he pulled away, staring into her eyes in love and wonder and joy. “Yes, yes, yes! To be by your side is a dream come true.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” she chuckled, pressing a kiss to his nose. “Wanna head somewhere more private so I can give you your ring? I don’t want to take it out here because it’s kind of unique, and I’m afraid someone is going to get a picture of Chat Noir wearing it and expose your identity.”

“My place okay?” he suggested, and she nodded eagerly.

Later that night as they cuddled in Adrien’s bed, Adrien couldn’t stop playing with his new ring. It was stainless steel with a black band in the center. On the band was an erratic line pattern reminiscent of a heartbeat on an EKG monitor.

He pulled it off his finger and admired the engravings around the inside of the band for the dozenth time.

Home. Love. Family. Forever.

“Explain the inscription again,” he begged like a child desperate to hear their favourite bedtime story one more time.

Marinette sighed, rolling over to nip his shoulder before patiently acquiescing. “‘Home’ because home is where the heart is. My heart is with you, so I’ll always be home by your side, and you’ll always have a home in me.”

He had to hold back tears yet again because her knowing that he needed that promise, that stability meant more to him than words could say. She knew without him ever having to tell her what he needed.

“‘Love’,” she continued, “because that’s what we have in many different forms. Love for one another as friends, as romantic partners, as teammates, as people.”

“And ‘family’?” he prompted.

“‘Family’ because it only takes two people to make a family,” she recited, pressing a kiss to his jaw just above his scar. “So long as you have me, you will always have a family…and, someday, it won’t just be the two of us. Together, we can build whatever kind of family we want.”

“What about ‘forever’?” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her torso more tightly.

“‘Forever’ because that’s how long I’m making these promises for. What we have is permanent. I will never abandon you. I will never stop loving you. I will always fight by your side, no matter what the battle, if it’s dealing with work stress or taking care of sick kids. We’re in this together.”

“Thank you,” he sniffled into her neck. “This…all of this…you really hit it out of the park, Marinette. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more loved and understood than I do right now.”

“Good,” she sighed into his hair. “I really wanted to get this right for you.”

“You shouldn’t doubt yourself,” he encouraged. “You know exactly what I need, and you always take care of me.”

“I’m glad you think so,” she chuckled.

“Hey, I’m the only one whose opinion counts when it comes to deciding whether my needs are being met.” He gave her collarbone a playful nip, making her laugh harder.

“Thank goodness. I would never give me a passing grade.”

“…Hey,” Adrien interjected softly once the laughter had faded into comfortable silence.

Marinette angled her head so that she could look down at him. “Hm?”

“I know we’re already engaged because you asked me to marry you, and I said yes, but…” He chewed nervously on his bottom lip. “Would it be okay if I proposed to you too? Maybe as Adrien and Marinette?”

She took his face in her hands and crushed her mouth to his.

“I would love that,” she assured.

#Marichat #Adrinette #Adrienette #Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Kissing #Fluff #Proposal #Writing Prompts #Mikau's Writings #Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses

32 notes · View notes

mintaka14 · 4 years

Link

“Did Alya say why she wanted a girls’ meeting before the Kitty Section rehearsal?” Juleka asked, tapping her foot on the arm of the couch as she picked at the edges of her purple nail polish. Rose was sprawled on the floor, turning her history essay into a glittery work of art.

“Don’t know,” Rose said absently, then she looked up with a bright smile. “Maybe it’s another Adrienette plan.”

“Does Marinette even like Adrien anymore?” Juleka mumbled at her fingernails, and Rose frowned at her.

“Of course she does! She’s been in love with him forever-“

“A year,” Juleka said under her breath.

“-and they’d be so cute together!”

Juleka thought of her stupid brother, and didn’t say anything.

The noise of Alya’s arrival was hard to miss, and Juleka swung herself upright. The crash as Alya flung open the door made her flinch. Behind the reporter, Alix rolled her eyes and dropped her bag beside the door.

“Hey Juleka,” she said drily, and wandered off to get herself a drink.

“We haven’t got much time,” Alya announced, not waiting for greetings. “Adrien will be here soon, and we need to have our plan in place-“

“Is Marinette coming? Shouldn’t we wait for her?” Rose interrupted.

“She doesn’t know about this,” Alya said. “It’s for her own good. She gets too nervous every time we plan something, so we’re going to set it up to make it easy for her to talk to Adrien this time. Adrien thinks this is just another Kitty Section practice and I got him to promise he’d come, and then we can get them alone together, and this time for sure Marinette will confess.”

Alix rolled her eyes. “Yeah, ‘cause that never goes wrong.”

“We’ve got to do something!” Alya insisted, planting her hands on her hips. “I want Marinette to be happy. I’m going to get my girl her dream guy if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Even if she’s changed her mind?” Juleka nerved herself to ask.

Alya waved that away.

“She’s just getting distracted because she thinks that Adrien is hooking up with Kagami now, but if we can just get Marinette alone with Adrien so she can confess, then he’ll fall in love with Marinette and they can double date with me and Nino and be happy ever after, and she doesn’t have to settle.”

Behind her fringe, Juleka frowned. Settle? That was her brother that Alya was dismissing as a poor second.

Rose tucked her hands under her chin, leaning over the back of her chair to follow Alya’s pacing.

“So what’s the plan?” she asked.

“We keep it really simple,” Alya said decisively. “That way there’s less chance for things to go wrong.”

Alix snorted, and behind her fringe Juleka’s expression echoed the sound. Alya ignored them.

“I’ll keep Mari down here so she doesn’t go wandering off, and then when Adrien gets here you bring him down to the loungeroom.” Alya stabbed a finger at Rose, and Juleka frowned at that. “But don’t give it away that there’s anything going on by getting too excited and blabbing. Then all we have to do is say we need to set up something on the deck, and leave them alone for the magic to happen.”

Alix snorted again. “It’s your funeral. But it’s been a boring week, so I’ll play along.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alya asked, her hands on her hips.

Alix just shook her head and wandered out the door. The rest of the girls followed her up onto the deck to wait, and Rose bounced over to the boat-rail to keep a lookout.

“Marinette’s here,” Rose squeaked, and Alya hurried over join her. “With Adrien!”

“Yes! It’s wor-“ Alya broke off and scowled as Kagami got out of the car. “What’s she doing here?”

“At a guess, she wants to listen to Kitty Section,” Alix said deadpan. “What have you got against Kagami, anyway?”

“She has no taste in journalism,” Alya said darkly, and Juleka rolled her eyes. So Kagami had said something disparaging about the Ladyblog. That explained a few things. “And she’s snowed Marinette into thinking that they’re friends so that Marinette’ll back out of fighting for Adrien. Marinette’s just too nice for her own good, so I have to do it for her.”

Marinette hopped off the gangplank onto the deck of the Liberty, and then Adrien held out a hand to help Kagami across the narrow boards. Juleka swung back to rest of the group, and Alya’s narrowed eyes were fixed on the point where Adrien still held Kagami’s hand, even though they were safely on the deck now. Juleka was almost surprised that Alya hadn’t left scorch marks.

Rose was looking anxiously from Marinette to Alya.

“What do we do now? Adrien seems really into Kagami,” the blonde whispered.

“Leave it to me,” Alya said in a voice of iron determination. “And get me a drink – juice or something. Something that’ll make a bit of a stain.”

“What are you planning to do?” Rose asked.

“Nothing serious. I’m just going to make it so that Kagami has to spend a bit of time getting cleaned up.”

“I… don’t think Marinette would want you to do that. Isn’t that a bit mean?” Rose said hesitantly, but Alya just waved her off with a flip of her hand.

“Mari doesn’t need to know. It’s all in a good cause, and it’s just a bit of juice. Just get me a cup. I’ll do it myself.”

Juleka sighed deeply and stayed silent. This was going to go badly.

Alix, on the other hand, shrugged and wandered off. She came back with a mug in her hand.

“It’s your funeral,” she said again as she handed it to Alya.

“What are you doing?” Rose hissed, and then Kagami joined them, with Adrien and Marinette on either side.

Alya said brightly, “It’s so good you could all make it,” and her hand started to move.

That was when Juleka lurched into her.

And the juice went everywhere. Marinette gave a startled gasp as it soaked into her blouse and dripped down to puddle on the deck. That… hadn’t quite been part of Juleka’s calculations.

“Oh, no! The boat rolled,” Juleka muttered, righting herself.

The thing about fading into the background and being overlooked was that it turned out you could get away with a lot. No one even suggested that they didn’t feel a thing, or that Juleka was strangely unsteady for someone who had grown up on a boat. Juleka wasn’t sure if she should be pleased or annoyed that Alya obviously didn’t even consider that Juleka might have done it deliberately.

It made more of a mess than she’d anticipated, though. Juleka shrank a little as the juice dripped down Marinette’s top. Everyone fussed, and a perfectly dry Kagami whipped out a pristine white handkerchief, dabbing at Marinette’s stain as it spread further.

“Oh, god, I’m so sorry,” Juleka cringed, but Marinette gave her a tiny smile.

“It’s okay, it’s just juice.” She held her top away from her soaked chest. “But I’d probably better head home.”

“You can borrow a clean shirt,” Juleka offered.

While Juleka burrowed through the piles of mostly clean clothes, Marinette stripped off her soaked blouse and towelled dry.

Juleka hesitated, her hand on a faded Jagged Stone shirt that had seen better days. But it was clean, even if it was going to be huge on Marinette, and she tossed it to the other girl before she could overthink things. Marinette caught it and started to tug it over her head.

“I’m really sorry,” Juleka repeated.

“Accidents happen.” Marinette’s voice was muffled by the shirt, then she yanked it down and she was swamped by the Jagged Stone artwork on the front. “I’m just glad this one happened to me and not to Kagami. She and Adrien aren’t supposed to be here in the first place, and if she went home covered in juice or wearing someone else’s clothes it’d be weeks before her mother would let her out again.”

Juleka flinched guiltily.

“Chloe had this plan once to get Kagami to sit on some cake so that she couldn’t spend time with Adrien,” Marinette was saying, her attention on the hem of the t-shirt as she fiddled with it. “And I almost did it.”

“But you didn’t, did you?” Juleka said. She was starting to wonder if Marinette had figured out what had been behind that accidental spill.

“But I almost did. I went along with Chloe because I was so caught up in another plot to get Adrien’s attention.” Marinette lifted her head, and her blue eyes met Juleka’s with an odd resolution. “I don’t like a lot of the things I’ve done because I was crushing on Adrien. I don’t like me when I’m chasing Adrien.”

Juleka hesitated, opening her mouth to speak just as they heard someone clattering down the ladder into the galley. Luka swung around the edge of the door.

“Jules, have you seen-“ Juleka knew the moment that he spotted Marinette in his favourite Jagged Stone t-shirt that was just a bit too long for the shorts she was wearing, because that was when he broke off what he’d been saying with a noise that sounded like he’d swallowed his own tongue.

While her lame brother and Marinette were trying to recover their powers of speech, or stop blushing, Juleka mumbled something and bundled up Marinette’s wet blouse, hustling it out the door before they could stop her. If she had anything to say about it, it would be a while before Marinette’s top was dry enough to be worn home.

She leaned her back against the closed door, listening to the soft murmur of voices start up in the room behind her, and she allowed herself a small smile behind the fall of her hair.

Things were going well.

45 notes · View notes

multibug · 4 years

Text

7. reveal (adrienette/ladynoir)

AO3

Church bells ring through the foyer with an essence of nostalgia from Adrien’s younger days—his mother and him would attend fancy weddings for years and laugh at the expensive, unnecessary items people would scatter around their wedding venues.

Adrien’s favorite was the golden duck with diamonds encrusted in its eyes that shot water out if its mouth into a fountain.

Sometimes, he can’t fathom how much time has gone by since he gained his miraculous at thirteen. Six years later, lots of awkward puberty growth spurts and voice changes and here he is, watching two of his best friends get married.

It feels like forever, yet also like no time has gone by. Time is strange and fluctuates weirdly in Adrien’s opinion.

“I can’t believe I’m married,” Nino says from his left, the two of them sneaking through the foyer and out a side door to get a breath of fresh air. “I mean, I can, because I love Alya like no tomorrow, but…”

“But you never thought you’d get here?” Adrien asks, voice gentle.

Nodding his head, Nino flexes his fingers out and stares down the dark alley. “Yeah, exactly. I know a lot of people think we’re too young—”

“To hell what other people think!”

“I know, I know. I just… I’ve known since we were kids, you know? I know it sounds weird and I know you probably think I’m talking out of my ass.”

Nudging shoulders with Nino, Adrien stretches his back out and glances at his best friend. “I’ll only think you’re talking out of your ass if you say ‘I know’ one more bloody time.”

“You spend one year on and off in London for work and you come back talking like you were born and raised there!”

“I resent that,” Adrien grumbles.

“I don’t know about that, Adri—”

The metal door creaks open behind them, the chatter and excitement from the reception floating out to wrap them up like a blanket. Marinette, dolled up in her maid-of-honor dress that fit her like a glove, sticks her head out and grins over at them. “Hey boys! Alya was wondering where you’d gone off to.”

“Does she need me?” Nino goes to run inside, face dropping to a concerned expression before Marinette can edge a word in otherwise.

Marinette stops him with a gentle hand to her chest, opening the door further and fully coming into view. “Relax, loverboy. Alya just wants to dance with you. No need to panic.”

“Duty calls.” The moon is the only thing illuminating them as Nino pats Adrien on the chest with a grin, slipping past Marinette to go find Alya inside. The door snicks shut behind him, Marinette glancing at it before over at Adrien.

“Hey there, stranger.”

“Hey, Mari!” Quickly, Adrien steps forward to bring the smaller girl into his arms and hug her. He hasn’t seen her in forever, not since graduation at the very least. “Wow, it’s been a bit while, hasn’t it?”

Laughing slightly, Marinette returns the hug for a split second before they break apart, her hand wrapping around her forearm in an old, nervous tick. She avoids his eyes by smoothing out the skirt of her dress. “Yeah! As much as I’ve loved texting you, I think I prefer seeing your reaction to memes in person.”

‘Yeah, well, I don’t think anything will beat that time you made a joke in terminale and it made Kim shoot soda out of his nose and hit the girls at the table in front of us.” Adrien’s laughing, back slightly arching forward as he places a hand on his knee to steady himself. “I almost peed my pants.”

“That wasn’t my intention,” Marinette says, through her own bouts of laughs, her long hair falling over the front of her shoulders. “I tried to apologize to them and you kept pulling me back!”

His hand rests on her shoulder as he grins, speaking quickly, “Marinette, I couldn’t let you get fed to the pack wolves!”

Adrien notes her bangs have thinned out since terminale, maturing her face a little. Her dress is a simple bright red strapless, cinching at her waist and flowing outward until it hits her thigh, where a small slit shows off one of her legs.

The striking realization that she looks so much like Ladybug hits him like a tidal wave.

Suddenly, the alleyway is too small, claustrophobia settling into his bones.

“You want to go for a walk? We can make it back before they notice we’re gone,” Adrien suggests, itching to slink out of the narrow space.

‘Sure,” she says, tucking a piece of her curled hair behind her ear.

Marinette leads them out of the alleyway and around the corner, where La Seine flows in all of its glory. Glittering lights romanticize the strip, only outshone by the tour Eiffel itself. The season is shifting from the last remnants of autumn to winter, the air frigid and cold. Tree leaves a beautiful mixture of orange, red, and brown in its wake, whispering a gentle aura over Paris.

It’s Adrien’s favorite time of year.

“Do you ever feel like we’re lucky?” Marinette rests a bare elbow onto the stone railing, her body half turned towards him.

“Lucky?” Adrien asks, frowning when he notices he shiver. It’s small, and she doesn’t say anything, so he shrugs off his jacket and slides it over her shoulders.

He smiles when he watches her sink into it, and continues, “How so?”

“So many people never get to experience this,” she says, gesturing to the city around them without knocking his jacket off her shoulders. Her eyebrows raise as she talks, “Yet we do. There are people that have so much less than we do and we worry about the most miniscule inconveniences.”

Rolling his sleeves up to his elbows, Adrien copies her stance and rests both of his on the railing, chin settling on his palm as he looks at her. “While that’s very much true,” he starts, taking in the slight frown on her face, nudging her ever-so-gently with a wink. “I already know that you help much more than the average person, Mari.”

Her face freezes, grip loosening on the jacket enough to where it almost slips off. “What?”

“Was that the wrong thing to say?” His voice is gentle as he asks, genuine confusion on his face.

“Adrien,” she says, her words choked.

Turning fully to her, Adrien blinks at their height difference, even with her in heels. “I’m sorry? You just love to help people—”

“Don’t,” she whispers, eyes flittering from his face to the river in rapid succession.

He’s confused, he’s so confused.

“Don’t what? I’m just trying to give you a compliment, Marinette—”

Suddenly, Marinette turns to him, fierce look in her eyes with her hands gripping the lapels of his jacket. “Who told you? Or did you figure it out on your own?”

“Told me what?” Slightly taken aback, Adrien stands to his full height above her, his arms crossing over his chest. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about, Mari.”

Marinette’s gaze is rooting him to the spot with a calculating look, one so familiar that his brain nearly rewires itself. She seems to find what she’s looking for in his eyes and her shoulders droop, her lips curled into a frown. It reminds him eerily of his spotted partner.

It strikes him how this isn’t the first, but the second time tonight he’s compared Marinette to Ladybug, however unintentional it’s been. He can’t lie and say he’s never thought about it before, though her quick appearance as Multimouse had crossed her off his suspicious list early on.

As he’s staring at her, with all of the worry and disbelief that had been etched into her skin, he wonders if he had crossed her off too soon.

The girl behind the mask has a special place in his heart, no matter the person—sans Lila. If it’s Marinette who he runs around the city fighting crime with in a skin tight red and black spotted suit, it’ll be an added bonus.

(Because, all of the crap he spewed in collège and lycée about her being just a friend had always been a lie.

He hadn’t realized it until it was too late, accepting that he wouldn’t be the one receiving that type of love from her. He’d persuaded himself that her friendship was enough.

And it was. Until now.)

“You know,” he breaks the silence, shuffling slightly closer to Marinette as if he’s telling her the world’s most important secret. “I was in love with Ladybug for years.”

The shift on her face is priceless, even without the suspicions traveling through his brain. He know it's her, he's sure of it. He just needs some sort of confirmation before he tells her.

Her lips part and her eyes widen, like a deer caught in headlines. “You—You were?”

Adrien shrugs, idly kicking a rock with one of his boots. He’s glad his jacket doesn’t clash with her dress, as the black suit is simple enough. “Yeah. Kind of hard not to be, you know? She’s so inspiring with the amount of people she helps. I could stare into her eyes and get lost in how blue they are.’ He chuckles, shoving his hands into his pockets and peers up at her stricken expression. “More importantly, she never gives up, even when it’s hard. I love that in people.”

“You do?” Marinette squeaks out, her brain-to-mouth filter gone. Her cheeks are the rosiest shade of pink, even in the darkness of the night. Her eyes don’t leave his face, as if she’s staring up at him in awe.

Bingo. If he wasn’t sure before, he’s sure now. That’s his lady, alright.

He allows the smile threatening to break his cheeks spread over his face, dimples and all. “Yeah. Sadly, she’s her and I’m just, well, me.”

“Don’t you ever say that about yourself again, do you hear me? You are the nicest boy with the kindest heart I’ve ever met,” Marinette pushes herself into his space, gently jabbing her finger into his chest to make a point. “Anyone would be lucky for you to love them. Especially Ladybug.”

“Hm. Especially Ladybug?” He’s unable to help the smirk that forms on his face from her embarrassed expression. “You know, I think I would be the lucky one—”

There’s screams, a crash, and an explosion that interrupts Adrien all at once. The wedding venue is on fire, smoking filling the sky at an alarming rate. People from the reception run around the corner yelling as citizens of Paris begin to stick their heads out their windows to see what’s happening.

Adrien sighs, holding his hand out to Marinette who all-but shoves his jacket into his hand. He slips it on, hiding his grin as he notices her taking tiny steps back out of the corner of his eye.

Just as she’s about to jet away, Adrien purposely turns fully towards her. “Mari, where are you going?”

“Oh, I—uh. I’m going to go make sure everyone got out safely, yeah! You should stay here though and worry about the crowd.” She turns around to run off, when Adrien grabs her by the hand and pulls her into his body, ignoring the stares from their lycée friends. “Adrien?!”

“Stay safe, Marinette,” Adrien whispers, squeezing her once before letting her go, ushering her in the direction of the building. “Go, before I change my mind.”

And she does, sprinting around the corner faster than he’s ever seen anyone run in heels. That’s his Ladybug.

“Dude, did you just let her run back into a burning building by herself?!”

Rolling his eyes, Adrien waves dismissively in their direction, breaking out into a jog. “I’ll be back,” he calls over his shoulder, winking in their direction.

“Fuck Hawkmoth. I hate him,” Ladybug—Marinette says to him after she casts her healing spell, a pout on her face. “I was having such a good night and then that bald-headed asshole had to come and ruin it.”

“I’m sorry?” Adrien chokes out a laugh, the two of them fistbumping with their usual pound it afterwards. “What were you doing?”

Laughter fills the air as she steps in front of him, jutting the tip of her finger into his chest. “Down, kitty. I was just celebrating a special event with some friends. I was in the middle of a very revealing conversation when it happened.”

“That sucks,” he supplies with a small shrug of his shoulders, retracting his baton and slipping it back into its rightful place. He takes a seat on the roof, humming quietly. “Come sit with me for a minute?”

They’d decided to meet back up on the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris once reporters and police showed up as it was the closest to the akuma (and the venue). The historical site had been repaired beautifully since the fire, and Ardien hopes this is as good of a place as any to tell her.

His feelings for both Ladybug and Marinette had never fully dwinded, and knowing they’re the same person makes him fall all over again.

“Chat, I don’t really have time. They’ll notice I’m gone and—”

“It’s important, Ladybug.”

Ladybug’s lips purse together at the usage of her full name and listens to him, dropping in front of him so they’re facing one another whilst sitting criss-cross. “Should I be worried?”

“You’ll probably be mad at me,” Adrien admits with a shrug of his shoulders, able to fully see her expression with his night vision.

Worry. Confusion. Slight anger. Though the look that pierces through the most is trust.

It settles his nerves a bit.

“Okay, talk quick then, chaton. We don’t have a lot of time,” she tells him with a tap to her blinking earrings.

Ease her into it, Agreste. You don’t want to scare her away. “I know your identity,” he blurts out, hand slapping over his mouth.

Uh oh. She’s going to kill him.

Ladybug’s eyes narrow immediately as her arms cross over her chest. It’s the same, calculating look from earlier and it sends shivers down his spine. Her lips curve into a frown, his hands aching to smooth out the downward pull of her smile with his thumb.

Then, she laughs. So bright and beautiful, so unabashed that it stuns him. “You really had me going there for a minute.”

“I’m not lying to you,” Adrien says, as truthful as he can, scooting closer to her with a serious expression. “I didn’t mean to find out, honest. But I want you to know that me knowing who you are doesn’t change a single thing for me. It just makes me love and appreciate you even more,” he pauses, gauging her reaction, then adding a beat later, “Marinette.”

The mirth in her eyes starts to dissipate and she covers her mouth with her hand, unable to form words. He can tell she’s trying to think of a plan, a way to get out of the situation, yet is too stunned to do anything other than stare.

Slowly, he reaches a hand out to grab her free one as a comforting gesture, thumb rubbing small circles into it. “Hey,” Adrien whispers, smiling encouragingly over at her. “It’s okay, I promise—”

A blinding, green light fills their visions and once it disappears, Adrien appears in front of Ladybug in his suit. “I thought I had more time,” Adrien whines, face palming with the hand that isn’t holding Ladybug’s. Plagg doesn’t say a word, whizzes into the pocket where Adrien’s hiding his camembert in a tiny container and zooms off.

“You—I—What?!” Ladybug’s gripping his hand tightly, as though she’s unaware she’s doing it, her eyes wider than he’s ever seen them. “Adrien? There’s no way!”

“It’s me, Bug,” Adrien rasps out, licking his dry lips and swallowing harshly. “It’s me, Mari.”

“I’m not going to freak out,” Ladybug tells herself under her breath, gently removing her hand from his and hopping off the ground to pace around the rooftop. “Nope, I’m not going to—”

Pink lights swirl around her and Adrien stares in awe as Marinette appears in front of him, looking as goddess-like in her red dress as she had prior to transforming. Tikki phases through Marinette’s bag, then comes out with a cookie and follows Plagg.

“This is crazy,” Marinette squeaks out, hands clenching and unclenching nervously. Her heels clack over the roof as she walks, her cheeks flushing bright enough for Adrien to notice. “I mean, you sat in front of me in school for years! How did we not notice?”

“At least we know the magic conceals us?” Adrien tries with a wince, standing up and dusting himself off. He chances a step in Marinette’s direction, heart beating faster when she doesn’t back away. “My lady—”

“Did you mean it?” Her voice croaks as she closes the distance, a determined look on her face. Her hand finds his easily and tangles their matching sweaty fingers together.

“Mean what?”

“When you said that it didn’t matter who Ladybug was?” Marinette licks her lips, hope-filled eyes meeting his.

“Yes,” Adrien rasps out as he nods his head, his forehead falling forward to rest against hers. “Of course, Mari. You’re it for me.”

“Dieu merci.”

Adrien isn’t sure who kisses who. He thinks they may have met in the middle, a clash of lips and passion and holy shit I’ve waited six years for this. There’s no sparks, no fireworks that erupt in his stomach, no moment that blinds him. Instead, it feels like a slow burn that warms him from the inside out, lights him aflame and soothes out the aches in his heart.

It feels like coming home.

Marinette’s hand that isn’t holding his trails up the side of his arm, to the back of his neck and into his hair, carding through his golden locks. A purr rumbles through his body, and Marinette pulls back with a satisfied smirk.

“Did you just purr?”

Leaning in, Adrien presses kisses to her face. “I have—” He kisses her nose. “—no idea—” Her cheek. “—what you’re talking about.” The last kiss lands on her mouth, a short and sweet one, one that she tries to deepen by tugging him back in after he pulls back, but he doesn’t let her. “As much as I’d love to keep kissing you, we do have to go back to the wedding.”

“I guess,” Marinette grumbles, but he knows she doesn’t mean it. He allows her to fix his hair, relishing in the feel of her hands on him. Her eyes are fond and he knows that what she’s about to say may break him. “I’m glad it’s you.”

“I’m glad it’s you too, Mari.”

They’re finally home.

#i can't believe fluff week is over #i also can't believe i wrote for this many days straight and actually did it #who am i?#adrien agreste #chat noir #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #adrienette #ladynoir #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #mine #lovesquarefluffweek2020

84 notes · View notes

capesandshapes · 3 years

Text

The Last Resort: Chapter 7 (Adrienette)

Summary: After an akuma attack goes wrong, Adrien finally learns Ladybug’s secret identity and finds himself falling even deeper in love with his friend. He thinks he’s finally gotten lucky when she declares to him that she’s currently in the business of falling love with anyone but her previous crush… until that crush turns out to be him. Now Adrien has to somehow convince the girl of his dreams to fall back in love with him, while keeping his own identity a secret from her. Well, if there was one thing his father taught him, it was how to multitask.

Chapter Summary:

Luka struggles with Marinette's heart song, Adrien gets caught spying, Marinette and Alya fight, and Chat Noir attempts to explain the unexplainable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Da, da, CLUNK .

Adrien never considered himself to be a mean person, but if anything was a relief to his ears, then it had to be that. Sure, Luka was nice, and smart, and caring-- maybe in another life, Adrien would be okay with the idea of the blue-haired young man taking his lady’s hand. But in this life, he couldn’t help but feel relieved at every uneven beat, every shrill harmony. Luka was trying to capture Marinette’s heart song, but it wasn’t pretty.

And to be honest, so long as she was with Luka, Adrien didn’t want it to be.

Laying on his back and staring at the sky, Adrien had found himself listening to the date taking place across the park more than he cared to. Initially, he had written it off as not wanting to listen to the romantic adventures of his best friend and his girlfriend, but after the two had sunk into a loving yet quiet embrace, Adrien had kept listening. With every nervous giggle from Marinette’s lips Adrien tensed, his body only relaxing when Luka insisted on trying to form a song once more, calmed by the fact that Luka could never quite pin down the exact sound of her heart.

Sure, he got close but, Adrien was certain that not even Marinette knew what notes her heart was playing.

The downside was, neither did he.

“One step closer, and a thousand steps back,” Adrien murmured to himself.

“Cheer up, sunshine,” Alya had clearly overheard him, “it doesn’t look like things are going all that great anyway.” Noting his eyebrow raise, Alya continued, leaning over into his field of vision. “She’s been texting me for the last hour, and she has no idea what she’s doing. Luka keeps looking over at her and, while I can tell that he wants to do something, she can’t.”

Adrien grimaced.

Alya snorted in response as another ding came in, waving her phone in the air. “He chose to sit on the side of the fountain thinking it might be nice and all, it’s not and her back is getting wet. He offered her his coat, but she doesn’t know if taking it officially makes this a date or not. Now she’s getting cold and asking me what will happen if she takes his coat.”

Adrien bit back a grin, shaking his head at the girl. Only Marinette… Leave it to her to freeze to death while fretting about the possibilities.

Another ding, Adrien found himself sitting up to get a good look at the pair as Alya read off her phone, but the color left his face almost immediately as he did so. Alya’s words didn’t hit him; he focused instead on how close the two were, Marinette’s legs practically on top of Luka’s as she sat beside him, her head resting softly on his shoulder. It wasn’t too much unlike the way she was with Adrien the other night.

Adrien almost let himself fall backward, almost. Before he could, the girl’s eyes drifted downwards again, typing out another hasty text as Luka began to strum his guitar once more. Alya let off an audible gasp as her phone rang, earning her not only Adrien’s attention but the far less nosy Nino’s as well.

“She thinks he wants to kiss her?” Alya’s voice rang out as more of a question that a statement as the girl looked up to her friend, her eyes scanning the duo for visual cues.

“What?” Adrien blinked.

“She…She needs air?” Alya squinted at her phone just as Marinette finished typing again, the black-haired girl’s eyes scanning the horizon as her friend read her message not so far away. “Oh girl, no .”

“What?” Adrien repeated, tearing his eyes away from the scene. Beside him, Nino was leaning into Alya’s shoulder to read her screen, the pale looks on his friend’s face sending Adrien’s stomach into knots.

“You need to go, dude,” Nino replied before Alya could, practically crawling over his girlfriend to reach for his friend and grab his shoulders, “like now.”

“Now? What do you mean--?” Adrien looked to his friend then back to Marinette, almost immediately realizing what exactly was going on. Marinette had gotten up from the fountain, talking to Luka in exaggerated gestures as she began to walk, her eyes still searching. The look on her face reassured him of her purpose; she was looking for Alya.

Adrien didn’t know it was physically possible for a person to actually pop onto their feet, nor for his heart to beat as fast as it could. A million different excuses rang through his head, but not a single one of them seemed plausible. Telling the truth, as preferable as that seemed, didn’t seem like enough in this situation.

And so, when Marinette’s eyes finally found their way on the horizon, landing on his mop of blond hair…

He ran.

“I just don’t understand why you would do that--” Marinette’s voice cracked.

“Why would you invite me to watch your date? ” Alya’s tone was tense.

Adrien sighed, leaning against the trunk of a not so far off tree as he listened to the two, his heart beating in his ears as the feelings of guilt and disappointment rose in him. If he were a hero, a real hero, he would have come to break it up by now instead of leaving Nino. But instead, he waited, his forehead touching the rough bark of a tree trunk as he wished that he were anywhere but there, having done anything but this.

“It’s not your fault,” a soft voice rang from his pocket.

“It kind of is,” Adrien argued. “If I had any sense, I would have just gone home. If I were any faster, Marinette wouldn’t have seen me and then...”

“Yeah, you’re in the wrong. Yeah, you did something bad,” Plagg’s voice carried out of the pocket, and Adrien could feel the Kwami stretch within it as if waking up from a long nap. With his tone of voice, Adrien didn’t doubt that Plagg had been sleeping. “But Glasses did too, even if she thought it might help her friend. She probably got so tired of watching this back and forth that she just…”

“I’m the reason there’s a back and forth,” Adrien sighed, watching the two girls point fingers. “I’m the reason this is happening.”

“Friends fight . It happens, Adrien.”

But it didn’t feel like just that. Both girls were teetering near the edge of tears, Marinette unable to comprehend what was going on and Luka, too far away from it all to hear a thing, sitting alone looking anxiously for Marinette. It felt like, in a moment, Adrien had caused the whole world to implode.

And then it happened.

“Well, I’m sorry, Marinette!” Alya’s voice reached hysterics, the girl teething with rage. Adrien’s eyes flew closed, the sound of her stomping feet warning of the tidal wave to come. “I’m so sorry that I care about you! I’m so sorry that I’m tired of watching this back and forth and thought that maybe bringing him here would do something, that you two would open your eyes! But more than that…” Adrien cringed in anticipation, “I’m sorry that you can’t grow up, face the facts, and take in what’s happening right in front of you!”

“This is going too far; someone needs to stop them,” Adrien mumbled under his breath, pressing his head harder into the bark.

Ragged breaths hit the air, Adrien wasn’t sure if they were his or hers. “I’m sorry that you think it’s okay to hurt people to make a point!”

“Hurt people? Marinette, you’re the only person hurting someone, yourself,” Alya spat.

Both girls deflated at the statement, their eyes impossibly wide as wordlessness settled in around them. Another noise ripped through the air, a voiceless sob, Adrien couldn’t quite identify where it came from. Nino shifted beside Alya, his hand wrapping around her arm but receiving no response.

“Marinette…” Alya began.

“I’m going to find Adrien,” Marinette decided. “I don’t know what I’ll say to him or Luka, but you just…” Marinette shook her head to herself.

Somehow, from the squirming in his pocket, Adrien could tell she wouldn’t find him. Mentally cursing himself as his mind went through a thousand unlikely scenarios, scenes that would more likely play out with his father than Marinette, Adrien whispered the transformation words. In a second, Chat Noir stood where Adrien once did.

*****

“Adrien?” Marinette’s voice called out at half volume, stress evident on her face. He felt terrible. If he had any sense, he would have revealed himself by now, but that fear, the fear of rejection or disappointment if Adrien were to show up at that moment; that fear kept him grounded. Instead, he listened to her, calling mournfully in the air as Luka, unaware of what was going on, also began to look worryingly for her. Still, her voice called out, “Adrien,” as if that was the only thing that mattered.

What was she thinking then? He had no idea. Was he the one who was just a friend? He hoped not, but the alternative of being less than that was frightening as well. From her point of view, there were likely too many people to be mad at.

“I can’t hide…” Adrien sighed, unsure if it was the feelings of guilt or the tiredness of his legs that was compelling him to do the right thing. “I need to face the music.”

Of course, no sooner had he decided to face it then that music changed tones entirely.

“Chat?” Marinette’s voice asked before he could finish saying his transformation words, the girl having finally peaked around his tree.

He jumped back immediately, hitting the back of his head against the tree as Marinette came into view, her eyebrows knit with worry and a bit of something else…

Mortification. “You too? Should I be looking for Theo and Nathaniel too? Has Alya somehow managed to bring every guy who’s ever liked me to this?” Her eyes widened as she took in his guilty face, the girl beginning to delve into rambles. “Are you all coordinated? Did everyone come here to see this? Marinette’s first date, screening at five? Oh god, you didn’t run into Adrien, did you?” She tensed, looking to either side of her as if actually looking for Theo and Nathaniel. “Is this some plot? Some sign from the universe that I’m meant to be alone?”

“Um, no, this is--”

Marinette sighed, letting her head fall as she continued, “Luka’s going to be so mad. Well, not mad-- Luka doesn’t get mad, not really. But, ugh, I’m screwing this up, I’m screwing everything up-- And now here you are and everyone else when I only wanted Alya.”

Comfort, comforting; that was obviously what she was looking for here. Hesitantly, Adrien wrapped his arms around her, giving her a firm squeeze as he tried to find the right words to say to her. "If it’s any consolation, I don’t think anyone else wanted to be here.” Those weren’t the right words.

Marinette stiffened, pulling away from him with an odd look on her face. Said look only disappeared when his ears fell, seemingly placated by the idea that Chat knew that wasn’t the right thing to say. “Adrien,” she repeated.

“Yes?” He replied instinctually, his eyes immediately widening at having said it. At least two years of having kept a secret identity, and this was how he was going down--

“Where is Adrien?” Oh, thank god. “Have you seen him?”

“Adrien, who?” He asked, attempting a joking tone. Honestly, how he even made it a year, he wasn’t sure-- Marinette looked sufficiently unimpressed, her arms crossed and her foot-stomping as she glared at him. “Oh, the Agreste guy. Big, famous model? Stunningly handsome? Honestly? I think I saw him go home.”

Marinette’s face fell.

“-- But who knows, maybe he’ll come back!”

Her face did not rise. Noting the proximity between the two of them, the girl having lingered in front of him despite pulling away, she took a step back. “This is hard.”

“ Excuse me? ”

“Love, you idiot,” she grimaced. “Love is hard; all of it is hard. I have no idea what I’m doing anymore.” She shook her head, “I have no idea what’s happening, no idea what I’m supposed to do, and no idea why all of a sudden, Adrien Agreste wanted to go on a date with me .” Her nose wrinkled at the memory, and he wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing. “And now Luka’s waiting there with his lips puckered, Adrien’s run off and I don’t even know what he thinks of me, and Alya’s upset with me even though I feel like I have a little bit more of a right to be upset here. Not to mention you--”

“Don’t mention me,” this was going down as one of his worst ideas.

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” Marinette admitted, taking the steps forward towards him, only to let her head fall against her shoulder. “I mean, how does any of this work? Is this how love is? If so, why do people want it so badly.”

“Hey, no one knows what they’re doing,” he tried, his unsure hands reaching for her shoulders. She eased into his touch, letting his hands sit on her shoulders with no resistance. Touching her was different as Chat Noir; she seemed more within his reach this way than when he was Adrien Agreste. “I mean, love, right?” He asked with a shrug, “no one gets it.”

“Nino and Alya,” she began.

His hands tightened around her shoulders, pushing her further into his chest to stop her. “They don’t get it either.”

She sighed, allowing her hands to reach up to him, her warm skin pressing against his chest as she pulled away. Their eyes met, his breath hitched. “Chat Noir, why do people do this to themselves?”

“Because it’s worth it,” he muttered. “You’re worth it.”

“Chat, I…” She blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

Whatever she was going to say was lost to not only him, but the world as well. Eyes so wide that her lids formed perfect circles and skin turning white, Adrien didn’t have the chance to question her before Marinette’s mouth fell open, yelling that awful word, “Akuma!”

In a second, she had tackled him out of harm’s way, the masked hero gazing up disoriented as his back hit the ground. Marinette landed on top of him with a small thump, her hands pushing onto his chest to sit up as she looked over her shoulder rather than at him.

“Alya.”

#Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain Cheng #Miraculous ladybug #adrienette #my fanfics #my fanfic #ml fanfiction #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #original content

3 notes · View notes

inner-sakura · 2 years

Text

Hypothetically Ever After

[childhood friends AU, adrienette, slowburn, fake/pretend relationship]

With only two weeks of summer vacation to spare, Marinette enlists Adrien’s help with a task of utmost importance.

“I need you to help me seduce your brother.”

Quite predictably, nothing goes according to plan.

a fic loosely inspired by @starrycove’s Brothers AU from approximately 9835 years ago that has lived in my head and my heart ever since.

read it on: ff.net | AO3

chapter twenty-five

“What if we were to, say, actually enjoy ourselves here. In a more… productive manner.”

Marinette nodded along with what Adrien was saying.

“Right, right... Productively producing envy,” she rubbed her chin, liking the direction his thoughts were taking. “I see where you’re going with this.”

“No, that’s not—” Adrien cut himself off. “I mean… what if we actually enjoyed ourselves?” He repeated, with a particular kind of emphasis.

Marinette tilted her head to the side, trying and failing to understand what he was alluding to. She could hear the words, but couldn’t seem to make sense of them once they were strung together in a sentence.

Taking in the no doubt hopelessly confused look on her face, and obviously recognizing that beating around the bush would do neither of them any good, Adrien elaborated.

“What if we were to make the most of this whole ‘pretend relationship’ thing, and I dunno, maybe have fun hooking up with one another?”

Adrien still hadn’t moved from his spot reclined against the edge of the hot tub. The exact same distance remained between them, yet Marinette felt as physically aware of him as if he were pressed right up against her body. A vibration started up in her bones, jangling noisily through her like she was made of wind chimes.

Oh.

Her heart rate picked up. I guess that answers the question of whether he's repulsed by me physically...

Adrien couldn’t find her too oafish and dog-looking if he was putting forth the idea that he might actually get some satisfaction from making out with her.

Still, the realization brought with it no small amount of surprise.

From the very beginning of their arrangement, Marinette hadn’t had any intention of really getting hot and heavy with Adrien. Sure, she might have idly considered the notion of what it might be like, but she’d never thought the opportunity would present itself, or that Adrien would be the one to bring it up no less.

He was her childhood best friend, after all. Her bosom buddy and intrepid sidekick through all of their—well, maybe mostly her—wildest of juvenile misadventures.

And, perhaps most importantly of all, he didn’t think of her that way.

Or so she had thought.

But now that she was here, in a hot tub, with Adrien gazing at her darkly and looking very fine in his black swim trunks, Marinette was beginning to second-guess more than a few of her previously held notions.

“All right,” she said at last.

His eyes widened. “All right?”

Marinette nodded, moving to close the distance between them. Wading through the water, she stopped just before where she could see the reflection of his legs under the surface.

“So how should we do this—with me on top?”

She had meant the question more with regards to the logistics of making out in a glorified bathtub, only realizing after she'd spoken—as Adrien grew beet red and increasingly flummoxed—that her words could be interpreted in a variety of ways.

UHHHHHHHHHHH.

"..........I simply cannot overstate how different that statement sounded in my head."

"Right." Adrien cleared his throat.

She cleared her throat.

He slid over on the bench, making room for her to sit down.

Marinette settled beside him, turning her body so she was facing in his direction.

“So…” What now? She wanted to ask, filled with a jittery sort of energy. Adrien, on the other hand, appeared remarkably calm and at ease with the entire situation, which she supposed made sense. He did have far more experience in the realm of relationships, after all.

She wondered briefly what it had been like when he and Kagami had kissed—if they’d kissed at all. Had she also found Adrien’s lips to be as plush and kissable as Marinette did? Had Adrien enjoyed kissing his ex-girlfriend as much as Marinette enjoyed kissing him?

Had they maybe gone further than just kissing? Allowing their hands to wander as they explored each other’s bodies, his biceps straining above her as he coiled a hand in her dark hair, bringing their hips together—

WHOA NELLY.

The mental image hit her with such strength that Marinette would have recoiled, were it not for the wall of the hot tub behind her.

On second thought, she’d rather not know the details of their relationship, she decided, furiously trying to scrub the image from her head. And she most certainly didn’t need—or want—to know what Adrien and Kagami’s hypothetical sex life had been like. For some reason, even the thought of Adrien doing that with someone else was enough to leave a sour taste in her mouth and a knot in her stomach.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” Adrien said, fortunately remaining oblivious to the rabbit hole her mind had wandered down.

Marinette held out a hand between them, pressing it against his chest to stop him.

“Wait, wait. Do you mean kiss me like we have been kissing, or kiss me for real?” She asked, wanting to prepare herself mentally and physically.

Adrien looked puzzled and even a bit offended by the implication that what they'd been doing thus far didn’t really count as kissing. “What do you mean ‘for real’?” He asked, his brows furrowed in a way that Marinette couldn’t help but find hopelessly endearing.

“I just mean, like, we’ve kissed," she hastened to explain, struggling to put her thoughts into words. "But it feels like we haven’t really kissed, you know?” They were very close together now, chests nearly brushing as their shoulders rose and fell in time with their breathing.

Instead of responding verbally, Adrien merely swayed towards her and Marinette panicked; her mouth moving automatically, knowing instinctively that he couldn’t kiss her if she just never stopped talking.

“Because I think you should know that whenever I’ve imagined doing this—” with your brother, she added mentally, thankfully having the wherewithal not to say that part aloud “—my mouth is always closed. Should my mouth be closed?”

Her fantasies had not prepared her for this. There were so many logistical oversights, not to mention the fact that it was the wrong Agreste brother currently seated across from her, gazing at her with a look of fond exasperation on his face.

Although there were admittedly far worse people she could have been going through this with for the first time. Because even though she’d always imagined sharing all her firsts with Félix, the pleasant tinglies she was experiencing at the moment had nothing to do with the older Agreste brother, and everything to do with the handsome blonde boy in front of her.

“Just follow my lead,” Adrien said, the huskiness of his voice causing her pleasant tinglies to do the cha-cha down down down her spine, warmth pooling in the base of her abdomen.

“Okay.” Marinette drifted closer to him automatically, her eyes magnetically drawn to his lips, which looked deliciously plush and extremely kissable.

You know, if she were to care about things like how nice her Strictly Platonic Best Friend’s mouth looked. Or what it might feel like to have said nice-looking mouth pressed against her own.

Which she absolutely didn't. For the record.

Except now that she'd started, she couldn't seem to stop thinking about it.

Holy shit I am so turned on right now...

Mirroring her motion, Adrien leaned in slowly, his eyes heavy-lidded and nearly obscured by long, thick lashes.

Just as he was about to close the last bit of distance between them—when she could feel the quick, warm puffs of his breath on her lips—Marinette let out an involuntary giggle.

He pulled back slightly, appearing vaguely affronted at being interrupted for the nth time.

“Sorry, sorry!” Marinette giggled again, unable to tamp down on her sudden influx of nervous energy. “I’ve just, uh, never done anything like this before? So I guess I’m a little nervous...” She admitted, trailing off uncertainly.

Adrien's expression softened, his green eyes gleaming in the dim light.

“That’s okay,” he said, his voice nothing more than a whisper. “I’ll teach you.”

Then he closed his eyes and kissed her.

Marinette kept her eyes open for a beat longer, trying to capture every single detail of the moment to imprint in her memory forever.

The patio lanterns above them, swinging in the gentle breeze coming off the lake.

The sounds of music and laughter from the party below.

The soft warmth of Adrien's lips, pressed against her own.

Her eyes fluttered shut as his mouth began to move.

So this is kissing, Marinette marvelled from some distant corner of her mind palace. She wondered whether it was always supposed to feel like this—like her stomach had come alive with butterflies, tingles spreading from her lips all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes.

Yet just as she was starting to get comfortable, she felt Adrien pull back, and withheld a disappointed sigh.

Was that it? She peeked at him.

But Adrien’s eyes were still closed, and when he moved in again, hers did the same.

This time, she felt the tip of his tongue pressing at her lips, coaxing them open.

ADRIEN AGRESTE’S TONGUE IS IN MY MOUTH.

I REPEAT:

TONGUE.

IN.

MOUTH.

!!!!!!!NOBODY PANIC!!!!!!!!!!

Forcing herself to relax, Marinette tried to focus on the rhythm of what Adrien was doing, rather than the...unusual nature of their current circumstances.

Move in, move out. Tongue, no tongue.

There was an ebb and flow to it, and things would probably work much better if she didn’t just sit there with dead fish lips the whole time, stiff as a wooden plank.

So the next time Adrien pulled away, Marinette asked. “Can I try?”

He was so close that she felt more than saw the corners of his lips quirk up.

“Be my guest, Princess.”

She moved in, pressing her mouth over his smile. She tried to emulate the pressure he'd been using, keeping her lips firm yet pliant.

Then, carefully and oh-so delicately, she let her tongue poke out, tentatively slipping it into his mouth.

The effect was immediate.

Adrien inhaled sharply through his nose, hands rising from his sides to grip her body under the water, holding her tightly to him. He took control now, deepening the kiss into something much warmer and more insistent.

Marinette snaked a hand up to the back of his neck, separating from him just long enough to whisper. “I thought it was supposed to be my turn.”

His only response was an amused puff of air against her mouth.

They came to an unspoken agreement after that, both deciding to forgo any attempts at witty banter in favour of something that was proving to be infinitely more enjoyable.

Marinette gave herself over to the sensations—enjoying the feeling of his tongue teasing her lips, letting her own tongue sweep across his teeth in return. She had just worked up the courage to experiment with nibbling slightly on his lower lip when she heard snickering coming from nearby.

“Oh my god, is that Adrien Agreste—?”

“Get your phone out and film this!”

She pulled back, breathing hard, very deliberately not looking in the direction she could hear voices coming from. Clearly, people were beginning to catch on to what they were up to.

Don’t chicken out now, this is what we wanted, she reminded herself. She wondered briefly whether Bridgette and Félix were somewhere nearby, and how they might react to the news of her and Adrien's escapades once they found out.

Strangely though, the thought didn’t fill her with as much excitement or satisfaction as she’d imagined it would. In fact, Marinette was surprised to discover how little she cared at all about Félix’s hypothetical reaction as she watched Adrien’s bare chest rise and fall rapidly.

Thank god I'm not the only one having a hard time catching my breath... I was starting to think I might be horribly out of shape...

“You know, there are other things we can do as well,” Adrien whispered in her ear. “If you’re getting bored of this.”

Bored? At a time like this??? The concept was laughable. Marinette had never been less bored by an activity in the entirety of her lived existence.

Even so, she was curious to hear what he thought could possibly make what they’d just been doing seem uninteresting.

“Oh?” Her voice came out much steadier than she’d expected, though it was still a tad breathier than she would have liked. It had less of the ‘sexy temptress’ husk she’d been hoping for and more ‘small woodland creature in an animated movie’ squeakiness. But she was willing to workshop it.

Especially if it might mean more time spent making out with Adrien.

“It doesn’t have to be just mouth on mouth action,” Adrien explained, as his mouth began wandering. “You can do the same thing here for example.” He kissed the point right below her jawline, dragging his lips over the sensitive skin there so slowly it was almost agonizing. The cheeky little bugger even had the audacity to let his tongue slip out at the last moment, teasing her.

“Or here.”

Marinette's breath caught as he moved up, stopping just behind her ear. The warmth of his lips and tongue were wreaking havoc on her senses, reducing her cognitive functioning to a shadow of its former self. When he gently dragged his teeth over her earlobe, it was all she could do not to cry out.

SWEET JESUS IN THE GARDEN, WHERE DID HE LEARN HOW TO DO THIS ???

Adrien pulled back, his breath hot and loud in her ear. Even that felt so good it was almost overwhelming. Marinette reached around, desperate to find some kind of anchor point; something to hold onto to keep her from floating off and evaporating with the steam.

One of her hands found the lip of the hot tub as the other located Adrien’s under the water, clinging to the bench they were sitting on. The moment he felt the brush of her fingers, he latched onto her hand instead, as though he needed the contact just as much as she did.

Marinette inhaled through her nose.

“My turn now.”

She moved to give him the jaw treatment, tasting the mix of chlorine and sweat lingering on his skin. It was an odd combination, but one that strangely didn’t bother her. Maybe it would have, had it been anyone else. But this was Adrien.

Adrien, who was practically squirming in place as her mouth and tongue made short work of his remaining composure.

Marinette pressed a long kiss behind his ear, gently sucking the skin between her lips as she pulled away. She took a few deep, open-mouthed breaths, watching the air stir the damp hair that had begun curling around the side of his head.

Was making out normally supposed to feel as physically intensive as running a marathon up Mount Everest, she wondered, or was the heart-pounding breathlessness she was experiencing just another side-effect of kissing Adrien Agreste?

“Ah,” Adrien giggled slightly, clearing his throat to get his voice to come out more deeply. “Careful. No marks... In case I have to take pictures this weekend.”

She laved the skin with her tongue; an apology and a promise all in one.

I’ll come back for you, she vowed silently. And I’ll make sure to leave a mark that everyone can see then.

Shaking off her unexpectedly possessive urges, Marinette moved on, tracing the shell of his ear with her tongue, before drawing the lobe between her teeth and biting down lightly.

Adrien arched up toward her, letting out a sound that Marinette decided then and there she enjoyed very much and promptly set about recreating. It was a cross between a moan and a sigh, and it sent electric heat racing through her like lightning—adding to the simmering in her core that was only being amplified by the water around them.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed after that. She wasn’t even sure she’d remember her own name if someone were to ask for it. All she knew was the swirling water, and the feel of Adrien’s body sliding against her own; his hands in her hair and on her skin, leaving behind trails of heat that had nothing to do with the temperature of the hot tub.

Making out with Adrien was potent, intoxicating. Like the best high she’d ever felt—an addictive drug that left her light-headed and wanting more at the same time. She could tell that Adrien felt similarly addled, judging by the way his cloudy green eyes were having trouble focusing on her whenever they put some space between them. He looked like he couldn’t decide whether this was reality or a dream, and he half-expected to wake up at any moment.

Marinette could relate.

If making out with Adrien felt this good, she could only imagine what it would be like to make out with his brother. Because the reality of kissing Adrien vastly outperformed anything she had ever dreamed of doing with Félix Agreste.

Ever.

Marinette wasn’t quite ready to contemplate what that might mean for her future plans, but she could acknowledge that enjoying getting hot and heavy with her crush’s younger brother certainly had the potential to complicate matters.

“Maybe we should get out of the hot tub,” she proposed at last, feeling flushed and comedically out of breath. She had no idea how long they’d been in there—it could have been fifteen minutes, it could have been fifty. It felt like an entire lifetime and no time at all had passed.

Adrien nodded his agreement, throat bobbing as he swallowed heavily, his lips swollen and red from all the kissing. Marinette licked her own lips, knowing they were probably no better. If people hadn’t seen them in the act, they’d sure as hell be able to put two and two together when they saw them now.

Adrien's gaze was still heavy-lidded and zeroed in on her mouth, tracking her tongue's movements. If they both weren’t nearly delirious from the heat, Marinette would have been sorely tempted to go for round two.

Nevertheless, it was probably in their best interests to err on the side of caution and heed her better judgment this once. Even if the hungry look in Adrien’s green eyes was leaving her knees shaky in all the right ways. It wouldn’t do to have either of them overheat and wind up doing something embarrassing like falling into a dead faint in front of a crowd of nosy partygoers.

Extricating herself from Adrien's grasp, Marinette removed her legs from where they’d been thrown over his hips. At some point during their hot tub hijinks, they had obviously decided that the optimal position was in fact to have her on top, straddling his lap. Now that they were no longer making out, however, Marinette couldn’t help but feel slightly self-conscious at the way she had effectively thrown herself all over him. Pulling away fully, she brushed off the hand that had fallen to her waist, eager to put some distance between them without making it seem like she was fleeing for the hills.

Marinette stood, her lower half still submerged in water, relishing the feel of the cool night air caressing her overheated skin.

When she turned back to see if Adrien was coming, she found him staring at her instead, the strangest expression on his face.

He quickly tried to wipe it away once he realized she was looking, but he hadn't quite been fast enough.

Because, in the split second before he stood as well, she could have sworn that Adrien had been giving her a look that could only be described as wistful, if not melancholic.

And, despite how well she thought she knew him, Marinette couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it meant.

-x-

#ml fanfic #miraculous ladybug #adrienette #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste #adrinette #ml fic #miraculous fanfic #no miraculous au #childhood friends au #fake/pretend relationship #ml brothers au #ongoing fic #hypothetically ever after #my fics

11 notes · View notes

mcheang · 5 years

Text

Pre-Chat Blanc dates - School

Ok. I know I already wrote a summary of what I think their dates could have included but I fear we may never get episodes of our fav couple actually dating once they get together. Like, seeing them on an actual date, not a picture of it. So I’ve decided to start a series Pre-Chat Blanc dates. Hope you enjoy!

It was only the second day of school. Not of the school year, but since Adrien and Marinette started going out.

Marinette still couldn’t believe this was her reality, that Adrien asked her to be his girlfriend, or that she actually got up early for the second time in a row!

Yesterday, Marinette had woken up early to meet with Adrien before class started.

Ok, Adrien woke Marinette up. He called beforehand to make sure she was actually awake.

Marinette is not an early bird, so maybe she could be excused for sounding grumpy on the phone. Still, Adrien cheered her up when he laughed and said, “I’ll wait for you before I enter class. I want to introduce my new girlfriend to everyone once I step inside.”

Cue ladybugs in her stomach.

To say they made an entrance was something. Marinette had rushed over as soon as she could and had just stood there in front of Adrien nervously, worried that somehow he had changed his mind. But Adrien’s face had lit up at the sight of her. He had stepped forward and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

Marinette made a face. “The only good mornings are late mornings.” (She lost her babbling curse over the weekend exchanging phone calls)

Adrien laughed again, his voice musical and golden. He shrugged, “I’ve woken up before dawn for shoots, so I guess I can emphsazize.”

Taking her hand, Adrien asked softly, “Are you ready to face the wolves?”

Ugh. Chloe and Lila. Marinette knew she had to put up with them for Adrien’s sake but now they would be worse than ever.

She exhaled. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Squeezing her hand, Adrien led the way to class, casually slinging his arm around her shoulders as they neared the door.

The moment they stepped through, Marinette’s female friends immediately started applauding and cheering. (They had spent a long time investing in this relationship. It was about time it paid off. Also...Alya may have taken a picture of Chloe’s expression. *evil laughter* priceless!)

Alix: Finally!

The guys had stopped doing whatever they had been doing to look at the new couple and let the information sink in. And when it did, they all grinned.

Nino: Congrats Bro! Good job Dudette!

Kim: Hey, you guys could even double date with me and Undine.

Nino: Best bros first, dude!

Mylene: Ivan and I would love to double date with you two. (Ivan just looks at Mylene lovingly.)

Lila had been frozen, her mouth open in horrified disbelief. But when the congratulations had come pouring out, she reassembled her expression and put in her piece. Smiling all saccharine, she cooed, “I knew you two would make such a perfect couple. Really newsworthy, you know?”

Adrien tightened his hold on Marinette rather defensively. He ignored Marinette’s confused glance as he glared at Lila. The girl who had hurt Kagami, who had tried to sabotage his Lady (now Girlfriend). Adrien wasn’t taking any chances with Lila.

“Actually Lila,” he made his voice sound neutral (it would not look good to sound antagonistic in front of class), “we plan on keeping our relationship low-key. But I’m sure you can keep a secret, can’t you? After all, you’re Ladybug’s best friend.”

Lila’s eyes widened at the threat. If word got out about their relationship, Adrien would blame Lila and would expose her for the fraud she is. She kept her now rather stiff smile on her face and simpered, “Of course, Adrien, I understand completely.”

Lila seethed internally. She may not be able to target Marinette using Adrien’s fan club but she had another advantage neither of them were aware about. Gabriel Agreste. (Yeah, she didn’t plan on Gabriel telling her to solve the problem since that was why he agreed to trust her word)

“It’s ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” Chloe finally burst out, her face as red as a strawberry. “Adrikins with...with Dupain-Cheng! I have never heard of anything more absurd. Adrien, you must know she only likes you for your connection to fashion, right?”

Marinette moved to defend herself but Adrien got there first. He wasn’t going to let Chloe badmouth Marinette. Even if she wasn’t his Girlfriend, he wouldn’t let Chloe hurt any of his friends.

“That’s enough, Chloe!” Chloe looked stunned. “Marinette is my girlfriend and if you were my Friend, you’d be happy for me.”

Chloe didn’t want to be happy for them. She wanted to be Adrien’s Girlfriend, but she also didn’t want to lose one of her only few friends. She looked at Sabrina (who had smiled at the sight of the new couple), pleading silently to let it go.

“Fine!” huffed Chloe. “I’ll keep quiet. You’ll see I’m right in the end, Adrikins.”

That was the day before, this was today.

Marinette rushed to school, knowing every second with Adrien was to be cherished. Even if they were dating now, his schedule was still fully booked. They had to use whatever spare time they could find. And if that meant waking up early, so be it.

Marinette spotted Adrien first. Her face brightened and she started running in earnest.

Adrien heard the sound of footfalls and turned, his face lighting up once he saw Marinette. Opening his arms, Adrien caught Marinette readily as she leaped into them.

Once in each other’s embrace, the thought entered their minds. This is home.

Distantly they could hear Chloe sulk and walk away but they were too absorbed in the moment to care.

“Up early again, Princess?” Adrien murmured.

“What can I say, Sleeping Beauty had a Prince to wake her up,” Marinette replied.

Adrien laughed softly and pulled back so he could look into Marinette’s bright morning blue eyes (yeah, maybe he should keep that analogy to himself) then he kissed her softly.

Marinette’s lips were soft and tasted of sugar and vanilla, or was it chocolate? Adrien was too far gone to care and only indulged himself further.

It was Marinette who finally ended the kiss. Cheeks flaming, she saw they had witnesses (some with raised eyebrows). “So much for keeping low-key.”

Adrien shrugged. “Gossip means my life is never completely private, but we should be safe until we make it official in a really public way.”

Marinette took Adrien’s hand and started pulling up the stairs. “It’s ok. I can handle it. But let’s get to class. (Where there are less witnesses.) if I actually end up late because of you, I’ll never hear the end of it from Alya.”

“Speaking of best friends,” Adrien commented, relishing the feeling of Marinette’s hand around his own. “We should probably try one of those double dates soon. Not as our first date, of course, but soon.”

Marinette blushed prettily, cheeks rosy red. “That sounds really nice. How about a movie for our first date? Our first trip to the movie was memorable but not one I really care to remember.”

Right. The screaming fans. Gorizilla. Her pajamas! Marinette refused to count that as her first date, just like how she shut down Alya that her first date was with Evillustrator.

Adrien gave her a warm look. “I agree. We could do better. There’s the new romance movie already out now. We could go see that.”

Marinette turned her head back to wink at him. “Then it’s a date. Text me your schedule?” Ok, so she already had his schedule but he didn’t need to know that.

Adrien’s hands were already on his phone. “Done!”

They crossed the threshold into class, and settled into their seats. Well, Marinette settled into hers, but Alya was sitting in Adrien’s chair. She winked at the model. “Just before class starts, ok?”

Adrien was ecstatic. Thanking Alya, he rushed to her abandoned seat and faced Marinette, who was scanning his schedule on her phone speculatively.

“Hmm...I think the best day would be this Wednesday, so tomorrow really. You only have Chinese class after school for that. If we’re lucky, you won’t have any surprise shoots. Once the movie’s over, we can head out for dinner. Where do you suggest we eat?”

Adrien knew he had a diet to follow but he didn’t care. He burnt a lot of calories as Chat Noir, so fried and greasy food shouldn’t be a problem. But he didn’t want to overshoot yet.

“I hear from Nino that you found this really good restaurant that sells the best Fish and Chips.”

Marinette looked surprised. “Will that be ok for you. I mean-”

“It’s fine. Trust me.”

“Always,” Marinette sighed, before realising what she had just said and flushing again. Adrien smirked, his girlfriend really was very cute when she was flustered.

“So, tell me,” Marinette babbled, eager to change the subject, “what did you think about...”

“Adrien, Alya, please switch back your seats. Class is starting now.” Phew, saved by Ms Bustier.

Adrien winked at his girlfriend and gave her a parting kiss before he left. Marinette’s female friends all cooed at the sight. And even when he returned to his seat, Adrien looked back at Marinette to give her a longing glance before Ms Bustier called him to attention again.

Alya smirked triumphantly at Marinette’s red but pleased face. At last, Adrienette was a go! Truthfully it was a pleasant surprise to see how taken Adrien was with Marinette. Sure, her girl could be counted to stare longingly after Adrien and prioritize him before anything else. But Adrien’s attention seemed suddenly intense. Sure he could be counted on to give Marinette soft looks and return her longing glances. But now, when he looks at Marinette, it is as if she were the sun and he were a blind man. Like Marinette had suddenly become his whole world. That, and that Adrien always seemed to want to engage in skin contact. I bet he didn’t notice that he kept his hand on Marinette’s for their whole discussion.

Alya’s grin grew wider. She honestly was excited about a double date, too, but she could wait until Adrienette had their first date.

The next day, Marinette arrived with a box full of pink macaroons for her friends to thank them for all their help, but especially to Rose for encouraging her, hence the Color. Marinette saved Passionfruit for Adrien, who looked at it as if it were the holy grail (wow...boy must have realized how much he liked Marinette, but dang that is some deep love. Still, Marinette was no better, so they really were made for each other.) the other flavours were rose, cotton candy, raspberry, strawberry and watermelon.

So while Marinette’s friends enjoyed their dessert, Adrien actually put his head on Marinette’s lap as they excitedly talked about their upcoming first date. Something about wearing their lucky charms?

#miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #miraculous ladybug fic #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #ml fic #adrienette #chat blanc #chat blanc fic #chat blanc fanfic #chat blanc fanfiction #pre-chat blanc dates

77 notes · View notes

luckbeabugaboo · 5 years

Note

68. A Hoarse Whisper “Kiss Me”, but—just to make it more interesting—Adrien asking Marinette because reasons.

Better late than never? I’m sorry these are taking so long! Thanks so much for this request @chanceuseladynoire for sending me another adrienette request! I’m so soft for these darlings. I hope you enjoy!

October 13th(running late) entry in my “kiss a day” challenge (requests open).

68. A Hoarse Whisper “Kiss Me” (Adrienette)

“Dance with me!” Adrien grinned and pulled her into his arms. The sudden motion causing her to clutch the tablet she had been working on closer to her chest.

“Right now?” She looked up and lifted an eyebrow.

“Right now.” He confirmed as he shifted his glance between her and her work. The outline of Jagged Stone’s new album cover was looking absolutely incredible, but Adrien still found her gaze a more breathtaking sight. The way the little light from the screen reflected in her eyes made his knees feel gooey. He kept an arm around her and used his other hand to carefully slide the device from her grasp and set it on the desk beside them.

Marinette made no attempts to push him away or reach for her tablet, but she did crinkle her nose in mind confusion. “I-I mean… If you want to dance then I’m happy to dance, I just wasn’t sure if the timing was--”

He watched her lips freeze, her voice stopping shy in her throat, as he lifted a hand to brush a stray hair from the hollow of her cheek. Tucking it neatly behind her ear, he felt his smile broaden at the sight of her earring. Settling one hand on her lower back and gently clasping her hand with the other, he leaned in to press their foreheads together. “It’s never a bad time to dance with your better half.”

“I can think of a few times that aren’t exactly suited for dancing.” Marinette countered in an even tone, but he did spy the little smile growing in her eyes. “Like in the middle of an akuma battle.”

“Like that’s ever stopped us before.” Adrien began to lead her in a simple sequence of steps. “Besides, one of the best rock ballads of all time has been playing on loop for two hours while you were working on that commission. You were definitely trying to tempt me into your arms.”

Marinette laughed as he spun her gently beneath his arm and then drew her back in. “Oh yes. Listening to Jagged Stone while working on a commission for Jagged Stone was absolutely just an attempt to get you up off the sofa.”

“I knew it!” He leaned down and pressed a small kiss on her forehead. “You always were the clever one.”

The way her glossy lips curled into a bemused smile had him beguiled. There was nothing new about the feelings they shared, but she had a way of sparking a new level to his affections without having to do anything more than be the brilliant woman she was. With or without her bespeckled mask she had him entirely besotted. And given the way she leaned up to press a tender kiss to his cheek, she was fully aware of the effect she had on his heart rate.

She didn’t say a word, just settled her cheek against his shoulder and let him lead her along to the beat of soft drums and Jagged’s incredible guitar work. Adrien was a sucker for these spontaneous moments of domestic bliss. They were something he didn’t know he was lacking until he had been given the chance to claim them. Maybe it was because he’d lived such a structured youth that anything outside the plan always made him feel alive, or maybe it was because the joy in Marinette’s eyes was too rewarding to pass up.

He closed his eyes and let the moment be their guide. All wrapped up in thought about how lucky he was to hold her, he hadn’t taken into consideration just how close they were to the sofa. In fact, not a single passing thought was given to their surroundings until he backed them both into the arm of the couch and lost his balance. In a matter of seconds, they were both toppling over. Instinct brought his grasp on her to tighten, muscle memory from all the battles they’d fought together. Tripping over in the safety of her bedroom was a little less severe, but he was still determined to break her fall.

His back collided with sofa cushions and not even a second later the weight of his girlfriend nailed him down to them. He quickly opened his eyes to inspect her for damage. What he found when he glanced up was her shoulders shaking with a silent laugh that quickly grew into an outright giggle. Her hands stabilized on his shoulders and she met with searching gaze with unbridled delight coloring her expression.

“And here I thought I was the clumsy one.” Marinette managed to coo out between fits of laughter. She sat on his hips, her head tilted back as she attempted to collect herself.

“Marinette,” He whispered, afraid to speak too loudly and break the reverie. A hand lifted so he could brush the pad of his thumb across her lower lip. A shaky breath in taking the place of overjoyed laughter as she gave him the most knowing smile he’d ever seen in his life. “Kiss me.”

She leaned into the palm of his hand and closed her eyes. Her shoulders relaxing before she obliged his wishes and blessed him with the grace of her lips on his own. The music and everything that went along with it melted away as he tilted his head to deepen their kiss.

#adrienette #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #ml fanfic #miraculous fanfic #miraculous ladybug #fanfiction #ladybug #my writing #october kisses #asked and answered

40 notes · View notes

pessimisticlatte · 5 years

Text

Glass Roses - Chapter 6

Marichat ~ Adrienette ~ Platonic Marigami ~ Lukagami ~ Chlobrina ~ Nathalie x Emilie ~ DJWifi/Rougapace/Alynino

-Eventual Reveal-

Bit of a reveal in here, my wonderful readers! I love making things a bit complicated so that’s exactly what I’ve done! Enjoy my explanation as to why I described Lila as being ‘strawberry blonde’ in the last chapter! It’s going to be very important very, very soon :P

~~~~~~~~ Gabriel could feel Nathalie’s disdain toward him radiating off her. He was unsure of what he’d done to turn her against him but he didn’t have much reason to care, she was a means to an end and a way of bringing Emilie back to him. She didn’t have to like him anymore, she just had to obey his orders.

~~~~~~~

School had been active for a month. There hadn’t been a single akuma attack just yet, Marinette didn’t exactly understand the full extent of Hawkmoth’s powers but Master Fu had explained that he chose his victims by judging the strength of their emotions. Mari couldn’t grasp how that worked. Chat hadn’t come to see her since school had started and she could feel a deep, jittery worry sludging through her veins. He was on her mind near constantly, so much so that her anxiety around Adrien had almost completely diminished.

Mari stood on her balcony with a light cardigan wrapped around her slim shoulders, if Chat didn’t appear in the next twenty or so minutes, she’d decided that she was going to head out on a patrol as Ladybug. Rena Rouge, Carapace, Chat Noir and Ladybug had formed a roster for patrolling so that it wasn’t a responsibility placed solely on Ladybug and Chat’s shoulders and everyone had the chance to get a full night’s sleep. Mari had been meaning to raise the idea of adding another to their slowly growing band, she’d taken the Dragon miraculous back off Kagami before Kagami had gone away. The Bee miraculous, Snake miraculous, Horse, Monkey and the others were all still in the Guardian Box. She wouldn’t mind adding Ryuko to the roster or Viperion, maybe both, but tonight wasn’t her night to patrol. It was Chat’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lila stood in front of the dimly lit washbasin in her ensuite, looking at herself in the grimy mirror above it. All the lies she’d told the students at school about her mother always ran with an undercurrent of truth. Yes, her mother was absent, and yes, they hadn’t spent proper time together in years but it wasn’t because she was a super-spy or world-famous model, it was because of something far more sad.

Unwrapping the towel from around her head, Lila remembered the last time she’d seen her mother. The tanned skin of her mother’s face was stretched across the frame of her face, the meat of her cheeks created cliffs under her round cheekbones from the extent that it had withered away, once lively brown eyes now hollow and sunken, glassy and unseeing. The tangled, waist length strands of Lila’s hair came free from the towel and fell in damp clumps around her pyjama clad hips. Lila’s mother was a housemaid, a migrant one at that, who worked herself to the bone to keep Lila in school and clothed as best she could. The clothes on Lila’s back had been painstakingly hand-sewn by Lila herself to replicate the fashions she saw daily. Chloe Bourgeois didn’t know how lucky she was, her father was alive and her mother made time for her. She had money to throw around on stupid things like manicures she’d get redone in a different colour the very next day, while Lila didn’t even have enough spare to buy new bobby pins when she really needed them.

Brushing her hand through her limp, newly re-bleached hair, Lila sighed through her nose. Even Dupain-Cheng had it good. Her mother and father adored her, they always made time for her and never left her completely, utterly alone. A large chunk of Lila’s hair came off in her hand, the damp blonde ball tangled around her fingers caused a sob to rise in her throat. The tips of her butter yellow acrylic fingernails shone within the hairball, the manicure that she’d stolen money to get. The manicure that now held knotted bundles of her once magnificent brunette mane. Lila felt a hairy clump whisper against the skin of her back as she moved her head slightly, the weight of her drying hair was now pulling the dead, chemically destroyed roots directly out of her scalp.

She’d worked herself to the bone over the holidays to afford the hair bleach, the make up, jewellery, even her criminally paid for manicure. The family her mother worked for rarely let her go home and her wage scarcely covered their rent, not to mention school, so Lila worked when she could, as much as she could. She cleaned, she cooked, she sewed things, all so she could afford groceries, when she’d come up short of her calculations on how much she’d need to spend on her new appearance, she’d stolen cash from the till at the fast food restaurant she took the graveyard shift at. The manager had been none the wiser as Lila swiped petty change and other employee’s tips as well as bills and coins from the register.

Tears stinging her eyes as she tied what remained of her once thick, soft, glistening hair into a straggly, thin plait and repeated the mantra she told herself daily.

“When you marry Adrien Agreste, you will never go hungry again, you will be the daughter Gabriel Agreste never had, and you will make Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chloe Bourgeois, Alya Cesaire and Kagami Tsurugi pay for everything they have done to you. You will rule Paris one day with Adrien and his wealth by your side, and you will make them know how to feels to have nothing, to have no one, to be nothing. You will destroy their families and serve justice for them not helping your mother.”

Lila and her mother had lived in Paris for longer than Marinette and her family. The Dupain Bakery had been run by a cantankerous old man before Tom Dupain and his new wife, Sabine Cheng, returned from China with their young daughter and took over the business. Lila’s mother had asked the old man to take her on as a baker or even as a waitress but he’d spat slurs at her until she’d fled the bakery with her damaged pride and worry for the young mouth she had to feed. Her mother never went back to the bakery but every time Lila saw the smiling faces of Tom and Sabine at an event they were catering, she thought of a time when her mother wasn’t too exhausted to function.

Alya’s mother, Marlena, was the head chef at Le Grande Paris restaurant and had been kind to Lila’s mother for as long as she worked there. Marlena and her husband were born in France but had Creole heritage, Marlena understood some of the disdain Lila’s mother endured and tried to make her feel welcome. Lila never had the chance to meet Alya before she started at College Francoise Dupont but after Marlena had been forced to fire her mother, Lila had vowed to make the other girl pay. It wasn’t her mother’s fault that a patron had assaulted her and she’d accidentally spilled hot soup on him, the man who grabbed her ass should have been punished, not her mother who was working to feed her. Alya had two parents and wouldn’t ever have to worry about her next meal, Alya’s mother had taken a woman who was supporting a sick child with what she had and left her in the gutter to die.

Kagami had taken Adrien’s focus off her. He no longer worried about settling Lila into the school and helping keep her caught up on work. He’d barely spoken to her today when he sat next to her in class. She’d spent quite a few painstaking hours forging her mother’s signature on a letter to the school to ensure Adrien would have to spend as much time as possible with her but he hadn’t deigned to say more than a few words, instead looking around the room to avoid her gaze. He’d spent lunch with Kagami too, and Marinette, and Alya. Lila would make him love her. He had no choice.

She didn’t know where to begin when it came to the pain Chloe had caused her. Lila’s mother had applied for a job at the Bourgeois residence a year ago, after Lila had started at Francoise Dupont, and Chloe had mercilessly mocked her for it. Chloe had hired Lila’s mother for a week, and held her mother’s job over Lila like a carrot to a horse, ensuring that Lila did whatever she wanted. Lila had almost been akumatised but Ivan had been instead, his rage so much more susceptible to the butterfly than her frustration. Her mother had then been unceremoniously let go, leaving her bedridden as Lila scraped in what she could to afford doctors visits for her now raging cold. After her mother had finally gotten better, Mayor Bourgeois had hired her again, saying that she was lucky that Chloe had taken pity on her and convinced him to take her back on as a maid. Chloe had spun a false story that made it appear as if Lila’s mother had stolen a valuable necklace from her, Lila knew that Chloe had actually given that very necklace to Sabrina several weeks before; but that was where her mother worked now, doing all the jobs other servants didn’t want to do. Her mother worked longer hours than she should, did jobs damaging to her already fragile health, and her employers paid little attention. Every time something broke, which was awfully often, the cost of repair would be taken out of Lila’s mother’s paycheque.

The cost of renting in Paris was ridiculously steep, meaning that pay that had once seemed generous barely kept them alive but after the deductions from every broken object, it was even less.

Looking at her face in the mirror, Lila vowed to make each of them pay and take from them what their families had denied her. Adrien was beautiful and kind but, most importantly, he was wealthy. He was the only person who could love Lila, who could fix the terrible life she came from. But Lila knew that there was no redemption for her, even if he loved her.

In her heart, she knew that she wouldn’t stop once she got everything she wanted. She was going to kill the man who sired her and leave his body in a gutter. She was going to completely isolate Adrien so he had no one and nothing but her, then she was going to use his family’s influence to become the most powerful person the world had ever seen. No matter how horrible the life she had was, she would never be happy unless everyone else was not.

She would tear Chloe Bourgeois’ life apart and take it for herself, looking exactly like the girl who had caused her and her mother more pain than they already endured.

~~~~~~~~~

Dressed as Chat Noir, Adrien leaned against a chimney and watched Marinette standing on her balcony. She looked so serene but so tense and worried at the same time, her body like a tightly coiled wire. Her azure eyes flicked around the houses in front of her, a frown growing on her beautiful face. He knew that she was looking for him but he wanted to wait another minute before he skipped across the roof-tops to her. Adrien had let Rena Rouge and Carapace know that he had plans come up tonight, meaning that he was going to be unable to finish his patrol; the two had looked at each other, sharing a knowing glance, and agreed that Carapace would take over his patrol tonight. Rena had pulled him aside afterwards and asked him, not so subtly, if he had a date planned; he’d felt his cheeks flare red under the mask and the gleam in Rena’s eye told him that she hadn’t missed it, something about her multicoloured opal eyes reminded him of Alya and the stance she held before him echoed the reporter perfectly.

It had been a while since Chat Noir and Rena Rogue had seen each other, just the two of them, and both had grown older and wiser over the summer holidays. Adrien was more perceptive since discovering Marinette was Ladybug, spending a lot of time analysing the way she walked, the way she talked and the way she stood. Alya had never stopped being perceptive but she’d always been so preoccupied when she dressed as Rena and she’d never taken the time to pick apart every aspect of who the boy in the black catsuit could be.

“Alya?” Adrien’s voice had softened. Carapace behind him was tapping a message to Ladybug to tell her of the patrol change tonight on his shell-phone (as he jokingly called it). The way he said her name had Alya’s eyes widening to saucers and her jaw dropping.

“Is that you behind that mask, Adrien Agreste?” Alya flicked her fingers against his forehead, Adrien batted her hand away.

“Who else could it be, you tricky fox?” He gave a devious smirk and winked.

“Somehow, you had been the last person I’d ever expected to be Chat Noir but I’d never expected Nino to be Carapace eithe-,” Alya slapped her hand over her mouth and shook her head, not looking at Adrien at all.

“N-Nino is Carapace?” Adrien’s eyes widened too, the black pupils shrinking to a pinprick. “That means Marin-, Lady-.”

“Marin? Do you mean Marinette?” Alya cut Adrien off with a quizzical look. She didn’t understand why he’d correlated Nino with Marinette and she was sure that she could dissect it but she didn’t have the mental space currently after discovering that Adrien ‘I live in a tower’ Agreste liked to dress in a skintight black cat suit and skip across Parisian rooftops, putting himself in near constant danger.

“Uh….,” Adrien paused awkwardly and shuffled his feet. “No?”

Alya’s eyes widened even further, the sclera fully haloing the glimmering rainbow of her eyes. “Marinette is Ladybug,” The words felt so weird but so right on her tongue. “Oh my god, Marinette is Ladybug and Ladybug is Marinette. How did I not notice earlier!”

“Shhhh, sh, sh, sh,” Adrien covered Alya’s mouth with his hand before she could call Cara- Nino’s attention to their discussion. “She doesn’t know that I know and she can’t know that you know.”

“It makes sense why she chose me now. It wasn’t because of the Ladyblog or just because Ella and Etta became the Sapotis, it was because I’m her best friend and there’s nothing like fighting crime with your bestie,” Adrien’s hand muffled Alya’s rambling, but he nodded.

“Oh shiiiiiit, what’d you do, Al?” Nino’s casual tone broke through the awkward air surrounding the position Alya and Adrien were in. “Wait, sorry, lemme try again, what’d you do, Nine-tails?”

Adrien took his hand off Alya’s mouth and sighed. Alya and Nino knew who each other were and if their superhero relationship was anything like their civilian one then secrets wouldn’t stay secret between them for long.

“Well shit, Nino,” Adrien rubbed his fingers across his brow. “You blew her cover.”

“I’m not Nino, who is Nino?” Nino put on a fake accent, looking awkwardly around the rooftop as if that would erase the knowledge Adrien now had.

“Can I say it?” Alya looked at Adrien who gave a single nod. Placing her hand gently on Nino’s cheek, Alya turned his face so his eyes would meet hers. “Adrien is Chat Noir, Speilberg.”

“Uh, not a good time to be pulling my leg, Al,” Nino looked so confused, his eyes tearing from those of his girlfriend to assess Adrien. “Like, really not a good time. I’m about to head out on a patrol and this prank really isn’t gonna help me keep a level head if I have to spend the whole time freakin’ out about Adrien possibly lying to me.”

Something cold formed in the pit of Adrien’s stomach. “She’s not pranking you, Nino,” Adrien dropped the jovial tone he used specifically for Chat Noir and slipped into his usual restrained voice, the one Nino heard daily and would have no choice but to recognise. “It’s me.”

Alya’s hand still on his face, Nino’s head snapped between the two of them.

“You’re definitely pulling my leg, this isn’t funny, how’d you get Chat to copy Adrien’s voice so well, Nine-tails?” Nino shook his head vigorously, removing Alya’s hand from his face by her orange clad wrist. “This isn’t funny.”

“Plagg, claws in,” Adrien knew there was no other way to convince Nino that he was Chat Noir and if he didn’t show him the truth, Adrien might very well ruin his relationship with Alya. Marinette would skin him alive if he tore Nino and Alya apart, they had found each other when both of them were very lost and had found their way together, if he destroyed that she would never, ever forgive him. The Chat Noir suit melted off Adrien’s body and clotted together to form Plagg who promptly fell, groaning, to the floor of building the three were stood upon.

Nino’s eyes bugged out of his head, stretching further than should be humanly possible. He shook his head, eyes closed, before looking at Adrien again.

“Dude, you...you’re Chat Noir?” Nino looked at Alya as he confusedly questioned his best friend. Alya gave her boyfriend a reassuring half smile and nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I-Ladybug said that I couldn’t tell you that I was Chat Noir because it could put you and your families in danger,” Adrien’s brow creased as he remembered Marinette insisting that their loved ones came first. “But, now that you’re Carapace, you and Alya should know who I am.”

“Does Ladybug know?” Nino went straight to the point. With an air of sadness, Adrien shook his head. “So, you don’t know who Ladybug is?”

“He didn’t say that, Speilberg,” Alya cut in over the top, reminding the two boys that she was still there and a part of the conversation.

“So you do know who Ladybug is?” Nino cocked his head. He was well aware of Adrien’s crush on Ladybug and if his best friend knew who the girl behind the mask was then surely he’d asked her out.

“Uuuuuuuh………,” Adrien bit his lip. “Plagg, claws out.”

The Chat Noir suit folded back around Adrien’s body, the Cat Kwami groaning as his form dispersed into the costume.

“You know who Ladybug is but she doesn’t know who you are?” Nino had taken Adrien’s sudden transformation as an avoidance tactic. “Is she someone we know?”

“Uh,” Adrien didn’t want to give Mari away to Nino like he did to Alya. Being Chat had been his best kept secret but only because he’d never interacted with anyone aside from Ladybug before Rena Rouge and Carapace had joined them. Marinette had never asked who he was under the mask and had actually insisted that he didn’t tell her, he wasn’t going to disobey her wishes. Especially after his interaction with Tikki.

“Nino,” Alya pinched his arm.

“We definitely know her,” Nino rubbed his arm where Alya had pinched him. “Al knows who she is doesn’t she?”

Adrien opened and then closed his mouth, Nino bit his tongue to hold back making a joke about how good Adrien’s fish impression was.

“Imma start rifling off names cause I’m getting impatient and ya both know that I’m not a fan of puzzles. I’m a music man and filmmaker extraordinaire but puzzle maester I am not,” Alya pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes, she loved his stubbornness but she wasn’t sure if this warranted another pinch or letting him continue to press Adrien. “Ahhhh...Chloe?”

Adrien shook his head. Why would Nino immediately go for Chloe?

“Good, even if she has changed, I couldn’t imagine her keeping being Ladybug a secret, plus she did fight with us as Queen Bee, didn’t she? So I should-a ruled her out immediately,” Alya grimaced. “Sabrina?”

Another head shake, this time Alya gave one too. Neither Adrien nor Alya realised it but in deciding to ask the name of every single girl Nino, Adrien and Alya knew, Nino was attempting to hold them up as long as possible before he went on patrol. It may be selfish but he wanted to spend more time with Alya and he was still getting used to the fact that Adrien, his best friend, was Chat Noir. He knew that he’d asked why Adrien would want to lie to him but after accepting that it was Adrien in front of him, he didn’t want to bring that back up; Nino didn’t like hurting people and he especially didn’t like hurting Adrien. The look on Adrien’s face after Nino had made the statement told him that his words had injured his best friend.

“Ladybug has dark hair...dark hair...dark hair,” Nino tapped his chin and started to pace. Alya shot a look at Adrien and mouthed the words ‘I think all the thinking is hurting him’, Adrien sneezed out a chuckle. “Juleka?”

“Nope,” Alya responded this time, cocking her hip and gently folding her arms below her bust. The smile on her face was casual and loving.

“Am I getting warmer or colder?” Nino pursed his lips.

“You’re getting soup,” Adrien stuck his chin out and leaned forward, extending his baton and resting both his hands and chin on the top of it.

“I dunno what that means. It can’t be Marc, I know they could match the voice but I don’t think they’d fit the suit,” Nino paused. “The voice, Ladybug’s voice, Al, do you have a recording?”

“Of course I have a recording,” Alya whipped out the Illusion flute and flicked the cap on the end off, opening up the screen beneath. Running her glove covered finger across it, Alya started to play a recording of Ladybug’s voice through the flute. She’d hooked the computer in the flute up to her phone and now had access to all the recordings she had of her interviews with Ladybug.

“...don’t worry, I’ve got you,” The soft voice coming through the speaker cooed to whoever was on the other end. Alya had taken this recording last time she’d helped Marinette take down an Akuma, the victim had been a little toddler who had immediately started bawling as soon as the possession left her body.

“T-that sounds like Mari,” Nino pointed at the flute with a knowing grin. “That’s a recording of Mari. Mari is Ladybug.”

“Ding, ding, ding,” Adrien wiggled his hips slightly, still balancing his chin on the baton.

“Wait, I’m correct?” Nino actually looked very confused. He’d been playing to win but Mari was the last person he thought would be Ladybug. She was incredibly clumsy, not overly strong and very, very shy; Nino wasn’t sure that she could survive the stunts Ladybug did. Then he remembered that he’d seen Mari actually remained balanced during a gymnastics lesson at school, he’d seen her moving stacks of chairs heavier than she was, and she’d become more open, so much less shy. “Mari...Marinette is Ladybug.”

“Yes, she is,” Alya walked over to her boyfriend and placed her hands on his shoulders, her smaller frame melted into Nino’s as she hugged him. “I don’t think there could be anyone better to be Ladybug.”

“She’s selfless, caring, and so strong, that’s why I love her,” Adrien stood up fully and collapsed his baton, sticking it to the magnetic patch on the lower back of his suit. “When I discovered that Marinette was Ladybug, I realised that I was lucky to love someone so brave. Yeah, I was kinda mad at first that she hadn’t told me that she was Ladybug but she did it to protect me.”

“Mari is the perfect Ladybug,” Nino pressed a kiss to the top of Alya’s head, a grin breaking across his face. “You love her, eh?”

“Dammit, Speilberg, that’s what you take from this?” Alya rested her chin against his chest and looked up at him with round eyes.

“It’s alright, Alya,” Adrien chuckled awkwardly. “I told Nino that I had a crush on Mari during the holidays and he’s been trying to get me to admit to it for weeks.”

“Hell yeah, I have,” Nino rested his arms on Alya’s shoulders and rubbed his chin against her forehead, drawing an annoyed groan from the red-head in his hold. “So you know that Mari is Buggaboo but she doesn’t know that you’re Kitty boy?”

“Yeah,” Adrien chewed his bottom lip, ripping a flake of skin off.

“We know that Mari is Buggaboo and that you’re Kitty boy but she doesn’t know that we know and she also doesn’t know that we know that she doesn’t know,” Nino nodded his head, rubbing his chin against Alya’s forehead again, she struggled to pull out of his grip.

“Basically,” Adrien watched Alya wriggle around in Nino’s grip, trying to make him let go of her. With a grin and a wink toward Adrien, Nino squeezed Alya tighter.

“You’re going to go see her tonight as Chat, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Adrien’s embarrassment flush painted his cheeks again, even Alya hadn’t asked that.

“Do you do it often?” Alya stopped struggling and turned her head as much as she could to face Adrien, her half crushed smirk just as all knowing as she wanted it to be.

“I haven’t gone and seen her since school started. I haven’t really seen Ladybug either since we sorted out the patrol roster,” Nino loosened his hold on Alya, who simply spun around in his arms and leaned against him.

“Why’re you still here then? Go get her, tiger...cat….dude….Go get her, Kitty boy,” Adrien gave them a wide grin. “Nine-tails and I have got tonights patrol, we’re gonna get on the same page about all-a this.”

“Thanks, Nino, you’re the best,” Adrien walked over to Nino who fully let go of Alya and pulled Adrien into a tight hug. Adrien hugged his best friend back.

“I didn’t mean it, man. I understand that you didn’t tell me cause you wanted to keep Al and I safe. It means so much to me that you did it for us,” Nino’s voice was soft, a level that only Adrien was meant to hear but the enhanced hearing that came with Alya’s Fox miraculous meant that she’d heard them too. “I’d ask you to stay safe but that’s impossible in this line of work, so just...don’t get yourself killed. Love you, man.”

“Love you too, Speilberg,” Adrien squeezed a little tighter and lifted Nino off the ground slightly. Nino was taller than him so it wasn’t easy but it didn’t stop him. The two boys let each other go and engaged in their rather complicated handshake. Alya flung herself at Adrien and pulled him into a bone crushing hug before letting go and walking to stand beside Nino.

“Don’t hurt her, Agreste,” Alya’s voice was barbed as she gave him her warning. “I don’t care if you’re this jackasses best friend,” Alya pointed her thumb at Nino. “I will gut you, understand?”

“I understand,” Adrien swore with his hand over his heart. They walked across the roof to the edge, Nino glanced at Alya who nodded. Nino vaulted himself over the edge, leaving Alya lingering in the dimming sunlight, a halo of gold illuminating her orange and white costume.

“Please, let her tell you first,” Alya’s voice was soft and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. What she was crying about, Adrien didn’t know. “Don’t tell her that you’re Chat Noir until she asks, please don’t force her to come out as Ladybug to you either; you’ll stress the ever loving shit out of Mari if you do and it could send you both right into Hawkmoth’s clutches. She is the sweetest, strongest, most wonderful girl I have ever met but she carries her life on the head of a pin and the slightest wobble could send everything she has falling to the ground. She loves you, as Adrien and as Chat, but you need to let her tell you first.”

“Tikki said the same thing,” Alya gave him a confused look, her head tipping slightly. “The Ladybug Kwami.”

“Great minds think alike,” Alya laughed through her nose. “But give her time, Adrien, her heart is made of glass and we don’t want her to shatter. You might think that telling her that you know, that Nino and I know, would make things easier for her but rocking the boat before she has a lifejacket on will kill her. The work Mari does for Jagged Stone, her designs, her friendships, her grades, her job at her parent’s bakery, and her life as Ladybug are all on the line.”

“I promise you, Alya, I’ll take care of her and I won’t do anything to hurt her. You have my full permission to bury me in an unmarked grave if I do,” Alya slid her foot slightly over the edge of the roof, her heel planted on what was left of the roof beneath her.

“It’s laughable that you think I need your permission,” Alya leapt off the roof, leaving Adrien all alone, watching the space where she’d been until the forms of both her and Nino could be seen racing across the roofs through the glaring, setting sun.

Immediately after Alya and Nino had disappeared into Paris, Adrien had made his way to Marinette’s where he still stood, watching the now cooling wind pick up the wisps of her fringe. Exhaling his nervousness, Adrien started to move across the roofs into Marinette’s line of sight, he saw her head perk up as her eyes locked onto him. She had been waiting for him after all. Her smile set a blaze burning in his stomach, his chest, and his head, with a full and dimpled grin he catapulted onto her balcony and drew her into an embrace.

~~~~~~TAGLINE~~~~~~ @lady-charinette @katieykat513 @nifflerstorm @mochegato @aussie-lesbian @maniic-pixie-dream-girl

DM to be tagged :P

30 notes · View notes