Work Text
Marinette dropped onto her bed, gently closing the trapdoor above her and looking at her alarm clock, wincing when she realized it read 5:30. Either she indulged in her sleepiness and slept until past noon, which would no doubt worry her parents, or she took a quick catnap and woke up just a bit later than her normal 8:00 weekend wake up time. She detransformed as she sunk into her mattress, setting an alarm on her phone for 10:30 before letting her eyes drift shut, her thoughts slowing almost immediately. Mere minutes later she was nearly asleep, only to be jolted awake by a thud and muffled groans from her balcony. She scrambled to her feet and swing open the door, her eyes coming to a halt on a disgruntled and yawning Chat Noir. She realized at that moment, that as tired as she was he would be that, tenfold, as he had been dealing with the akuma for almost two hours before Ladybug arrived at the scene. Marinette went to bed early, and Tikki was unable to wake her, which resulted in a slow reaction time and a very tired and beat up kitty cat. She climbed wearily up to her rooftop terrace, wrapping her arm around his waist and helping him down the ladder into her room. Her plan was to let him rest on her chaise for a few hours, until she woke up the next day, and then send him back home shortly after. It was a good plan, no one would get hurt or suspect anything.That was, if everything had gone to plan.Marinette woke to the pleasant, muted sounds of the bakery two floors below her, sunshine peeping through her windows and lighting up patches of her floor. She stretched languidly in the Sunday morning sun, glancing around her room for her kwami. Her eyes flitted over Chat on her chaise, then over to her desk, briefly glancing at her alarm clock before the spotted her kwami, snuggled into the little pillow Marinette had crafted for her. Tikki was still out cold, the night before taking an even bigger toll on the tiny god than her wielder. Marinette sighed contentedly before snuggling back into her pillow to go back to sleep. She was almost there, when her eyes once again shot open, flying to her alarm clock. It read 15:48. Shortly after this realization, she realized that Chat Noir was STILL asleep on her chaise. Well into the afternoon. She leaped from her bed, rushing over to the sleeping teen and gently shaking his shoulder, progressively getting more aggressive the longer he didn't respond. Eventually she gave up, her arms beginning to get tired and her breathing ragged from the exertion. This cat was not going to wake up. She let her eyes flicker back to Tikki, heading over and waking her kwami, who actually seemed to be alive as it only took a few minutes of Marinette's encouragement to get her up and flying around again.
"Tikki, I need you to wake him up," she gestured helplessly at the still-slumbering boy stretched across her furniture.
"If you couldn't get him up, how am I supposed to?"
"Aren't you an all powerful god or something? Voodoo him awake!" Marinette made what she thought were voodoo like motions with her arms before letting them fall back to her side with a disappointed sigh.
"I'm sorry, Marinette. Just looks like you're gonna have to keep your parents out of your room until he wakes up." the kwami shrugged before flitting back over to her cushion and pulling a cookie out of a box to munch on.
"Thank god it's Sunday. Okay. Make sure he doesn't die while I go downstairs, okay?" Marinette pointed at Tikki, not waiting for a response before rushing downstairs to alert her parents of her consciousness.
Tikki flew over to the boy, holding up a strip of cloth in front of his mouth and shrugging when it fluttered with his breath. "He's not dead. Job complete." She went back to her previous munching.During the next 10 hours, Chat Noir managed to sleep through a variety of things: Marinette bursting into tears about her physics homework, Marinette lighting said physics homework on fire, Marinette screaming about accidentally catching other things on fire with the burning sheets of paper, Marinette loudly stomping out flames, Marinette opening all her windows and turning on four different fans to clear the smoke from her room, Marinette watching Adrien's new perfume ad on repeat for almost an hour while she waited for her room to desmoke, Marinette dousing her room in previously mentioned perfume to hide the smell of the smoke, Marinette nearly dying due to inhaling ridiculous amounts of perfume, Marinette panicking about how her burning of the physics homework will affect her grade, and finally, her sitting on her office chair in the middle of her room mindlessly spinning around before she came to a halt, her eyes resting on the still sleeping boy."Hey Tikki," Marinette slowly began, a small grin spreading across her face, "can you pass me that sharpie?" she gestured across her now dim room, the natural daylight having left her with the little light her reading lamp cast.
"Uhm.. sure?" Tikki fluttered over, dropping the pink sharpie in her hand. Marinette rolled her chair across the room until she was seated right next to Chat.
Grinning, she popped the lid off the marker. "You know I love Chat with all my heart..." she once again began.
"But..." Tikki prompted, knowing full well there was a 'but' on the way.
"But... I think I'm gonna draw a mustache on him," she grinned, leaning forward towards the sleeping boy. She swirled up the ends handlebar style, the pink permanent marker clashing badly with the green in his suit. She sat back with a smile as she admired her work, rolling back across the room to set her marker on her desk. She spun back around, her mouth dropping open when she met Chat's bleary eyes.
"Sorry to impose, princess," he murmured, standing to leave, "and I thank you for your hostpitality but I must be going. I have school and I still feel like I could sleep for a week." he stumbled up through her trapdoor and she saw him leap away, her mouth still open.
"He's gonna go home with a permanent pink mustache on his face," she muttered, the small surprised smile quickly growing into a devilish grin as she threw her head back laughing. She ended up laying awake until 3:30, softly giggling about her kitty with his bright pink mustache.oOoMarinette trudged into school that Monday morning exhausted due to her inability to fall asleep the night before. She set her bag down on the floor next to her desk, making brief eye contact with Alya before slamming her face down into her folded arms.
"Rough night, huh gir-" Alya cut herself off as she burst into laughter.
"Dude what happened?" Nino's chuckles entered, his sounding slightly more exasperated.
"I honestly have no idea, but it won't come off and it bleeds through makeup so," Adrien spoke, annoyance clear in his voice.
This caused Marinette to raise her head, as Adrien rarely got annoyed, "What's so funny?" she groaned, her eyes resting on the blond mess of hair in front of her. It was drifting in and out of focus as her eyes fluttered, her brain screaming at her to stay awake. Adrien turned around to look at her and her eyes snapped wide open, her head shooting up from her desk as her eyes rested on his face.On his upper lip was an, admittedly much fainter (it was clear he tried to hide it), bright pink mustache.Needless to say, Marinette was no longer tired.
And based on the shocked looks from her classmates as an ungodly screech erupted from her throat, no one else in her class was, either.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Marinette grunted, folding in half over the top of the wall surrounding the edge of the rink. Why had she thought that going skating was a good idea. She stood, turning and leaning against the wall just as Alya slid up next to her, stopping in a much more graceful manner as she laughed at her best friend's clumsiness."Alya stop laughing at me, the only reason I'm here is cause you dragged me along," she folded her arms across her chest, glaring stubbornly around the rink where almost everyone else in her class was skating better than her. "Why did I agree to make THIS our class outing," she continued in a frustrated murmur."One, you know full well that is NOT the only reason you came," Alya held one finger up in front of the bluenette's face, waggling her eyebrows suggestively, "and two," she continued, putting up a second finger, "because you love me." She then proceeded to leave the struggling girl by herself against the wall, the redhead gliding confidently away from the wall.Marinette frowned once more staring glumly down at her skates for a moment before another pair joined her, sliding to a stop and turning to lean against the wall next to her. She looked up at the person attached to the skates, and almost fell over when she saw Adrien standing mere inches from her, his arm resting calmly on the wall behind her. Her eyes widened and she went to take a step back, only to realize too late that she was still wearing skates and still on ice, which lead her into a graceless tumble. She reached her hands out behind her searching with them for the ice before her rear found it, only to feel a warm arm wrap around her waist as Adrien pulled her back to a standing position, much closer to him than she had been before. Her arms were curled in front of her, pinned against his chest with her body as she stared up at him, her lips slightly parted and her face heavily flushed.Adrien stared back, his face a rosy pink and a small grin on his face as he watched her reaction to his nearness. Up until recently, he had thought that she didn't like him still because of the gum incident on his first day a few years back, but since Nino and Alya had set him straight a week or so ago he let his flirtatious side go nuts around her just to illicit responses like this. Sure, he felt bad for torturing the poor girl, but to get to look at her sparkling blue eyes and freckle spattered face up close like this was worth his moral compass yelling at him, and this view almost made him forget about Ladybug. He let his eyes flicker quickly down to her lips, before returning them to her blank stare. "Do you want me to teach you how to skate?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.Marinette had thought she grew out of her stuttering phase this past year, but she knew at that moment if she opened her mouth an unintelligible jumble of syllables would fall out so she settled for a quick nodding of her head, her eyes never leaving his green ones. (She did, in fact notice his eyes glance down for a moment which left her even more of a blushing mess,) She followed his movement away from the wall, his grace paralleling that of a professional skater. He reached out a hand for her to take, and she nervously grasped it with her shaking fingers, her other hand clutching tightly to the wall still.Adrien could feel her shaking, the shy girl obviously nervous, as he held out his other hand and gestured for her to take it, "Give me your other hand, okay?" She glanced back at the wall uncertainly, "I won't let you fall, Mari."She wobbled a bit as she removed her hand from the wall and quickly grabbed his other hand, his strong fingers wrapping around her wrists as he slowly pulled her away farther into the center of the rink. She took a deep breath and steadied herself before she attempted to speak, "I s-swear to god h-himself if you let me fall I w-will end you, Agreste," the small girl threatened, her voice deeper and her tone entirely serious.Adrien's eyebrows shot into his hairline with her words, not only the threat but also his last name and the strong tone of her voice catching him by surprise. "I purromise I would never," he grinned mischievously gently pulling her closer to him as he skated backwards, "The trick is not to move like you're walking. You have to push out behind you with your front foot sideways so you can get traction from the side of the blade."Marinette did what she was told, wobbling precariously but moving forwards nonetheless. She took a few strides before she got the hang of it, the pressure she was applying on Adrien's hands greatly reduced from when she started, "Okay, I kind of get it," she nodded, moving forward at a slow but steady pace around the rink, "It's kind of like walking, but cursive."Adrien stared at her blankly, "What?""It's like walking in cursive," she repeated."I heard you the first time, but what the actually fuck does that even mean?" he picked his gaze of from her feet to look her in the eye.She let out a scoff at his response, "Wow you've got quite the mouth there, Agreste," she started, a small smile across her face and one eyebrow raised under her bangs, "and it means that skating is the cursive equivalent to walking what else would it mean?"He stared at her some more before letting go of her hands and putting his up, only bringing them back down long enough to steady her before turning to skate away and leaving the helpless girl in the middle of the rink by herself. Her jaw dropped and her hands came to rest on her hips as she inhaled to shout at him, only stopping when he began doing what seemed to be a complicated series of what looked to be some sort of switch and a few swirly turns."Adrien Agreste get your butt back over here and help me!" she called, her annoyance only growing when he met her eyes, his twinkling with laughter."You should've thought about that before you brought up that pawful statement," he laughed before performing a small jump and skating another loop around her."How are you so good at ice skating?" she asked when he came closer to her once again, her frustrated face leaving to become a much more relaxed one of curiosity."My dad wants me to be well rounded. That's why I also fence, play piano, and speak several languages fluently." he responded with a shrug, coming just out of reach of the girl before sharply turning to leave her once again by herself."Adrien! Don't abandon me out here!" she shouted across the rink once more, shocked when he actually came back to come get her.Adrien skated back towards the girl, slowing slightly as he took her hands in his and began to spin her around in a circle, laughing at her shocked reactions and tightening his grip on her arms when he felt her wobble.Marinette was shaking when Adrien had finally decided that was enough spinning for now, and right as she open her mouth to speak again he reached out once more, "Ah don't you dare spin me," she started, pointing a finger at him as he laughed at her once more, "Just help me skate, Adrien!" she continued to whine, reaching out for his hands and pouting when he pulled them behind his back."Ah come on Mari, admit it," he paused, taking in her confused expression and singular raised brow, "admit you just want to hold my hand again."Marinette felt her face heat up profusely but she couldn't deny it, so after a brief moment of internal deliberation, she met his eyes again, "You're right," she reached out and grabbed his hand, intertwining his fingers with hers as she clumsily skated forward. She wobbled, and her heart skipped a beat when she felt his other hand steady her shoulders, eventually wrapping his inside arm over her shoulders and taking her hand with his outside one, positioning himself slightly behind her. By the end of the rink rental period Marinette was not only able to skate forward without falling on her face, but she had also planned a date for later than week at the same rink with Adrien Agreste. She sighed contentedly as they walked out, her feet sore and her hand warmed by Adrien's. ~BONUS NON-LOVE SQUARE SCENE~"We're going to make a purro out of you yet," he whispered in her ear as they walked down the steps.She burst into laughter, "Adrien I can hardly walk down stai-" she demonstrated her point by tripping on the last step and falling, only to be saved once more by Adrien's strong arms wrapping around her and pulling her close to him once more.Kagami and Luka glared at the new couple from a distance, Luka glancing over shocked when he heard a soft grumbling next to him."I don't like that," the short bluenette grumbled once more, her brown eyes flickering to Luka and hesitating in his gaze before she grudgingly turned her eyes back to the model and his baker. She found her eyes drifting back up to the tall black haired boy more frequently though, and once she even caught him glancing back, a soft blush warming his cheeks when he quickly looked away after being caught.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Adrien found himself back in his room, most of the day a mystery to him due to the akuma. The last thing he remembered before the roof after defeating Oblivio was being tossed into an elevator by Ladybug. Then everything went black, a huge chunk of memories missing, including a kiss with Ladybug, which he was very disappointed about. Regardless though, here he was, standing in his room, wearing what seemed to be a cardboard box version of his Chat Noir costume."What the actual fuck happened," he murmured quietly to himself, taking in the getup as Plagg chortled, unceremoniously flopped on his bed. He lifted the 'helmet' off his head and shed the rest of the cardboard, folding the boxes up and shoving them under the couch before beginning to change into his pajamas. He stopped when he heard a soft crinkling, somewhat similar to paper. He felt around in his pockets until he found it in his breast pocket, unfolding the sheet until he could read, in his handwriting, what it said:Marinette is LadybugHis eyes continued to stare at where the note used to be as it fluttered to the floor, his jaw slightly agape in awe. It all made sense, actually.-Five Hours Earlier-Adrien watched Ladybug exit the building and thought back to the conversation they had had with the master. They would forget all that had happened during this time, and he wanted desperately to remember each and every time from now on when her lips touched him. They obviously didn't know each other before, given the reaction of the master when they told him they knew each others identities, and he didn't want to forget her. He could hear the muffled sounds of a fight from a few floors above him through the broken windows, searching the room for a pad of paper and a pen, as well as some boxes. He quickly scribbled a note, tucking it into his pocket for later and joining the fight in his makeshift armor.-Present-Marinette stood in her room, staring at her phone. She had made a call to Adrien of all people, right smack dab in the middle of her memory gap."Tikki do you by any chance remember anything?" she queried, turning towards her kwami only to see her tail disappear beneath the chaise cushions. Confused, Marinette glanced around looking for a threat. Her eyes skimmed over her skylight, almost missing the black shadow as Chat Noir softly tapped on her window. She hurried over, putting on her fake fangirl smile and swinging open the door. "Chat Noir! What are you doing here?"His face was entirely unamused by her act. "Hey Marinette, wanna talk about anything?""Uh, no? Not really, why? Do YOU want to talk about anything?""Actually, yes," he responded, shocking her when he dropped into her room like he owned the place, his normal personality taking over this new one rather quickly."Oh. Yeah okay, what do you wanna talk about?""Just the normal. Ya know, fighting akumas, homework, how horrible Chloe is and how ironic it is that she idols Ladybug and despises her civilian self, how tough life as a model is, how absolutely blind Adrien is. Wouldn't you agree, milady?" he turned towards her, a grin growing across his face and his green eyes glowing.Marinette felt her eyes widen and her jaws drop as she realized what he had just told her. "H-how did you figure it out?" she asked meekly.He held up the crumpled note, "I made a reminder."Her jaw open and closed silently for a moment, not entirely unlike a fish out of water, before she seemed to come up with something to say. "I'm sorry, Chat."He looked at her, his eyebrows raised in shock, "Sorry? Why are you sorry?""Aren't you disappointed? That Ladybug, the strong badass graceful superhero you actually like is just boring old me? Marinette Dupain-Cheng the bakers daughter and hopeles-""Marinette!" he cut her off, gently flicking her arm, "Stop that right now! I couldn't be any happier that you're the girl under the mask!""Mon dieu- Wha- I mean-" she tripped over her words as she struggled to wrap her head around this, "Huh?""I see you every day in class standing up for what's right and fighting against unjust things, things such as Chloe's bullying of others and Lila being well, Lila, and on top of that you are always nice to everyone and considerate of how what you do will affect them. Plus, you're a super talented designer, baker, gamer, and seamstress. You're amazing, Marinette. I don't know how I didn't make the connection before." His eyes were filled with absolute adoration as his hand came up to rest on her shoulder, his thumb rubbing small circles on her skin."You see me everyday? In class? You're in my class?""Ah yes about that. Do you trust me, milady?""Well, of course I do Chat we're partn-" she was cut off by the pad of his thumb gently resting on her lips, his hand resting on her cheek."May I?" he whispered, his eyes flickering down to her lips and back up to meet her bluebell eyes.Marinette noticed the flicker, her face heating up as her tongue darted out to wet her lips, "Yes," she whispered, his lips on hers before she could even finish the short word. She kissed back, her eyes fluttering closed. She felt him pull away for a moment, and felt his breath on her lips when he whispered once more:"Claws in."She could see the green flash through her closed eyelids, smiling into the kiss when his lips once more met hers. Leaning back to take a breath, she put her hand between the two of them, giggling when he groaned at the loss of contact. She turned her head down towards her other hand and opened her eyes, following his arm up to his shoulder and finally landing on his face. Her heart stopped beating for a moment, her face heating up more than it had been before. A soft series of confused, whispered half words spilled from her mouth as her eyebrows furrowed. "Adrien?" she softly whispered, more to herself than for him, when she could finally get that single word out. She held his stare, noticing when his gaze flickered down a bit."Oh no, Mari don't cry," he whispered, brushing the tears from her cheeks before pulling himself away, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have sprung it on you, I know you might need some time to process this given how you feel towards me I uh. Yeah, I'll go now," Adrien stood opening his mouth to call Plagg back to his ring when he felt her hand gently grab his wrist, turning him back towards her."How do you think I feel towards you, Adrien?" Marinette asked cautiously."I uh, you don't really like me that much cause the gum incident? And you're just nice to me because you're a nice person?""Mon dieu you really are dumb, chaton," she giggled, more tears falling down her face as she pulled him closer to her, pressing her lips once more against his and sighing when he relaxed into the kiss.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Since you got to pick the last three miraculous holders, I think I should get to pick this one," Chat pouted, his bottom lip sticking out and his eyebrows furrowed.
"Is now really the time to complain about even roles?"
"Yes! I even know the perfect person!"
"Oh you do now?" Ladybug turned to look at him, her eyebrow raised and one hand resting on her hips.
"Yep! I'm gonna give it to Marinette! I figured it's only fair, she is my biggest fan."
Ladybug's mouth dropped open and her eyebrows skyrocketed as the tried to stutter out a response, "I uh. Um. I d-don't think that's such a good choice, chaton,"
"Why? You got to give a miraculous to your biggest fan," his arms crossed once more across his chest.
"H-huh? I don't think M-marinette is you bigge-"
"Ah! I know! You're just jealous!"
She squinted at him, her mouth opened and her nose wrinkled, "I genuinely have no idea what you're on about, minou."
He grinned, poking her nose. "You're jealous that you got stuck with Chloe for your biggest fan and I got Marinette."
She snorted.
"What, why are you laughing at me?" Chat looked confused, hurt flashing across his face for a moment before he pursed his lips and furrowed his brows more.
"Oh sweet baby kitten, now that right there is a lot to unpack," she rested her hand on his shoulder, "but okay. If you really think Marinette is a good choice, I support your decision. However, you and her will have to hold the akuma alone as long as you can, I have another emergency that I need to attend to." She turned to leap off the building, looking over her shoulder as she began her arc down to street level, "I won't be long, chaton."oOoMarinette stumbled to the floor of her bedroom, rolling into her chaise and detransforming just in the knick of time, as Chat Noir came tapping less than a minute after the glare from her transformation faded. She stood from her floor, rushing over to the trapdoor to let him in.
"Oh Chat Noir! What a wonderful surprise. What can I help you with?" she chirped, trying to control her panting and heart rate so she wouldn't be suspiciously out of breath.
"Salut, princess. I was just wondering if you could help me out with a little akuma? Ladybug had some other urgent business to attend to, and I know I can trust you."
"I would love to help you, but how in the world could I possibly help the great Chat Noir fight an akuma?" she continued to play stupid, knowing that stroking Chat's ego would prevent him from noticing most unusual things with her civilian identity, dismissing them as her fangirling over him.
"That's where this comes in." he held out a miraculous box, gently lifting the lid to reveal a teal bangle in the shape of an ouroboros. "This is the snake miraculous. It hasn't been used since before recorded history, and it's the only one that hasn't been used in so long. No one but the kwami inside can tell you it's powers." He gently took her hand, sliding the bangle into place.
Marinette feigned shock when the kwami flew out.
"Hello Marinette, my name is Sass," the snake-like creature held out a rounded limb, a forked tongue flicking out as he spoke, "In order to suit up, you must say 'Sass, coil up'. When suited, you can use the power of hypnotism by saying 'snake eyes'. Once you activate the power, you will have control over the person at infinite range until you either detransform or you run out of time, usually about five minutes after the power is used." he crossed his little arms across his front, a small smile reveal baby fangs in his mouth. Sass was an adorable kwami.
"Sass, coil up!" Marinette felt the miraculous cover her body, and instead of the strong warm feeling she got when she suited up with Tikki, she felt chilled and uncertain. She looked down at the suit once she had transformed; on her hands were bright teal gloves with delicate scale like designs that ran up to her elbows. There they cut off, leaving her upper arms exposed until the deep blue cap sleeves resumed at her shoulder, and faded into a seafoam green around her collar. The sweetheart neckline was dark teal, contrasting with the light colors beneath it and slowly meshing into her neck with gradually lightening scales, the seam between suit and body imperceptible. The green around her chest and neck deepened into a richer teal around her waist, which was accented by a seafoam belt where her harp hung, before brightening once more to the bright teal of her gloves around her hips. The scaled texture continued, a short skirt fanning away from her hips and swishing around her thighs, the scales clanking together like chain mail. A pair of boots went up to just above her knees, the bright teal at the bottom fading into a darker color and eventually melding with her thighs just beneath the bottom of the skirt. She glanced in the mirror at her mask; it was very similar to her mask as Ladybug, although it was the color of her gloves and boots, and had two fang-like protrusions on either cheekbone. Her hair changed as well; it was much longer and pulled into a high ponytail, the ends fading into a seafoam green. She shivered once more, the shadows of her room sapping the warmth from her body.
She looked over to Chat, blushing when she saw his eyes running over the suit. This was the most skin she'd shown him ever before.
Chat's eyes were wide open, his lips slightly parted as he openly gaped at Marinette, "Uh, I um. This isn't what I thought the suit would look like," he ran his fingers through the hair and the nape of his neck.
"Yes of course not, Chat. Why would you, a known flirt, give me the most revealing miraculous suit to date. The world may never know," she deadpanned, her hands on her hips and an eyebrow raised. She pulled out the harp from her belt and looked at it, gently plucking the strings, "So does this make me super persuasive or something?"
Chat shrugged, "I don't know, wanna test it?"
Mari plucked a few notes, thinking strongly about a specific kitty cat that was in her bedroom. "Feel anything, chat?"
He furrowed his brows, pursing his lips. "I mean, not really, but that might be because I'm focusing on it. Try it again when I'm not paying attention."
She frowned, "How am I supposed to get around?"
"I'm not sure, maybe that's what the harp does?" Chat shrugged.
Marinette looked from the small harp in her hands back up to him, her face contorted in confusion when she suddenly jumped, as a small voice popped into her head.
You can fly, Marinette. Just focus on what you want to happen and your body will do it,
"Uh Sass just told me I can fly..." Marinette whispered, dumbfounded by both the knowledge she could FLY, and the fact that Sass had talked to her while she was transformed.
Chat shifted his weight forwards, "I didn't know kwamis could communicate while transformed," he murmured, his knuckles gently pressing into his lips.
"Yeah me neither," Marinette mumbled before she could stop herself, her eyes snapping to Chat when she saw his ears twitch in her direction and his body freeze.
He slowly looked up at her, "What was that, Mari?"
She laughed nervously, "Oh ha, nothing I was just thinking if you, the person who's had a kwami for three years now, didn't know about it it must be uh. Odd," she shrugged, quickly walking past the boy and climbing out onto her balcony, "there's still an akuma on the loose though, so we better test out this whole flying thing, yeah?"
Chat shook his head clear and looked at her, the girl crouched on the nerve wrackingly thin railing, seemingly comfortable with the possible fall. He watched her inhale deeply before pushing herself to her feet, and his stomach lurched when she flew from the railing, seeming to bounce off thin air before shooting back up into the sky towards the akuma. He didn't pause to wonder how she already knew the location, he simply leapt off her balcony after her. The duo flung themselves across the city, Marinette hovering just above the ground as Chat touched softly down beside her.
"Why Chat Noir, it seems your partner has left you to do something better. Who is your new friend?" crowed the oddly cheery akuma, an almost genuine looking smile on their face.
Marinette floated forward, rising a bit so she could be eye level with the monster. "The name's Viperia, and Ladybug is on her way so don't get too comfy," she responded to the taunt before floating herself closer to the akuma, "snake eyes!"
The akuma froze, her eyes meeting the now glowing blue of Viperia's as she slowly reached up to her hair and pulled out an almost imperceptible pin. She reached out and gently placed it in the waiting palm of Viperia before sitting herself on the floor and folding her hands behind her back as she followed instructions.
Chat looked awestruck, "That seems a little OP, Viperia," he muttered, his brows furrowed.
"It gets the job done, plus the amount of control it takes to just force them is making my miraculous wear out a LOT faster than if I was just suggesting," she replied, pointing to her seemingly almost empty bangle before slingshotting herself into an alley and quickly detransforming.
"Oh man I feel so bad for manipulating him like that," she muttered, rubbing her forehead as she recalled the persuasion she had used on the cat to make him believe she was about to transform back, "Whatever though, time to go fix an akuma, Tikki, spots on!" she called, beginning to move around the scene so she could drop in from the other direction. She landed silently, taking in Chat blankly staring at the now standing akuma, his gaze flickering between where she had disappeared moments ago and the 'fight'.
"Hey, chaton, cat got your tongue?" she jested, giggling when his head snapped around to look at her.
He looked sheepish about starting so easily, running his hand on the back of his neck and glancing uncomfortably around before meeting her eyes again, "How long have you been just standing there watching me stare into space?"
"Oh, I saw the snake girl leave just as I dropped in. Seems like you didn't choose her just cause she's a fan, huh? That look on your face said a lot, minou." she elbowed him in the ribs before reaching out a grabbing the akumatised item from his pocket where he had put it earlier. She snapped the hair piece in half and captured the butterfly, releasing the purified bug before turning back to look at him. She was met with an intense stare, his acidic green eyes searching hers for something, a blush obvious on his cheeks and neck. She gave a curious look, but didn't fight when he took her wrist and pulled her along to a quiet rooftop far enough away from other tall buildings that they wouldn't be seen from above.
"Why didn't you just make up a lie or something?" he asked, his hand not having left her wrist yet.
Marinette froze, her wide eyes meeting his once more, "I have no idea what you're talking about kitty,"
"You could've said you already asked Marinette about taking a miraculous but she said she preferred to just watch or something. You didn't have to accept,"
"Chat you need to clarify what we're talking about here I don't unders-"
"Save it, milady. Mari. Viperia. I know, and I'm not mad. I'm actually super relieved, because I was beginning to feel bad for liking two girls at once, but I just need to know. Why would you risk your identity so you could help me?" he asked, his brows raised and his hands travelling from where the rested on her shoulders up to her face.
She sighed, pressing her cheek gently into his palm as she closed her eyes. She inhaled softly and without opening her eyes she gave him his answer:
"Because I think I might be in love with you, Chat," she whispered, a tear leaking out from beneath her lids, "But I also might be in love with someone else and it's not fair to either of you if I can't give you my all,"
Chat looked at her curiously, "Who else are you in love with, milady?"
"Adrien Agreste" she opened her eyes when he flinched away. She thought he was hurt, until she looked at his face and saw pure glee. "I just told you I love someone else why do you look so happy? Not that I want you to be upset or anything but like you look like Santa jus-"
Chat leaned forward, gently kissing her to shut her up. "Plagg, claws in," he whispered, pulling away and grinning at the squeaks of shock that came from the red-clad superhero. "By the way, Mari, you looked hot as Viperia."
"Oh, and I'm not hot normally?"
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"What happens if you call Lucky Charm when there's no danger?" Chat queried as his legs swung back and forth, his heels bouncing off the brick wall beneath him."Huh. I don't know, I've never tried it." Ladybug shrugged, leaning back on her palms and stretching her legs out from where they had been folded beneath her."Are you going to try it?" he pressed the topic."Why would I want to? When I run out of time I'll have to go back and study for a test, which I really don't want to do.""I wanna see what happens!" "Mon dieu, d'accord d'accord," she groaned, pushing herself to her feet and calling the Lucky Charm.A tube of red spotted lip balm appeared."Hmm. Any ideas, milady?" Chat smiled innocently."I have no ide-" she trailed off as her eyes fell to the lip balm, trailing up to his lips, and then finally landing on the reflection of her own in his bell. Her jaw dropped open and a small squeak escaped."What have you come up with, bugaboo?" Chat continued to grin; he noticed her eyes flicker from the lip balm to his lips and he clocked the pink blush spreading across her face."Uh- I um- the lip balm- it's for uh-" she continued to get half words and cut off sentences out for a few more seconds before she paused and covered her face with her hands."What has you so paw-sitively riled up?" the grin only grew larger as he noticed the blush spreading down her neck and into the tips of her ears.With that comment she glared at him with steely resolve in her eyes.Chat took in every motion, she popped the lid off the lip balm and slid some on her lips before tossing it in the air with a casual 'Miraculous Ladybug'. Chat was slightly distracted by the beetles fluttering around him, and his attention was snapped back to his lady when her hands rested on either side of his face. He looked down at her blue eyes, his green ones flickering down to her lips as she rubbed them together to spread out the chapstick. Suddenly, her lips were on his and nothing else mattered. He tasted the mint of the chapstick, not like gum though, like the plant. He felt the silky smooth caress of her tongue as it flicked out and ran along his bottom lip. He heard his heart pounding in his ears and felt hers pounding in her chest where she was pressed against him. He vaguely heard the beeping of a miraculous signaling that someone's time was almost up, but he couldn't process it and Ladybug didn't react. There was a flash of pink light, and Chat's eye flew open as he realized what had happened."Marinette?""Oh no," her face went white and she began to breathe more heavily, "no no no no no,""Oh no Marinette! It's okay you're okay!" he wrapped his hands around her wrists before forcing her to look at him, "I'll make it even okay?"In a flash of green light, Adrien stood in front of her. A million thoughts raced through her mind, and a smile spread across her face as she started crying."What's wrong Mari it's alri-" he was cut off by her lips once more.They no longer tasted like mint, the lucky charm disappearing with her transformation. Now they tasted of powdered sugar and cinnamon, a hint of salt from her tears."Milady I don't mean to spoil the moment," he began when she pulled away, his hands still wrapped around her waist and her bright bluebell eyes looking back up at him, "but I am slightly confused.""Oh you silly kitty," she giggled, her face still bright red, "isn't it obvious? I love you!"His breath hitched in his throat as she kissed the tip of his nose.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Today was the first day Alya had missed school ALL YEAR. The first day THE ENTIRE YEAR, that the seat next to Marinette was open.So naturally, a new kid showed up, and was placed in Alya's spot. Marinette, being the kind hearted soul she is, was nothing but welcoming; her soft smile and quiet introduction sweet enough to make most boys and even some girls swoon, at least a little.Adrien did not like Marinette like that.Noah, he learned, was his name. He had curly black hair and pale freckled skin. His accent was clearly not French, but Adrien couldn't quite pin point where it was from. Not that he was trying to or anything. He heard a soft giggle from behind him as Marinette laughed softly at a joke he had mad. Adrien clenched his teeth together and tried to ignore the new guy behind him.He turned around to ask Marinette a question about the problem he was stuck on, not to check out his competition. He totally didn't noticed how shifty and untrustworthy this guy seemed. Not that NOAH was competition.Adrien did not like Marinette like that.Besides, Noah wasn't Mari's type. He knew that because he knew her type; guys like Luka and him (well, Chat Noir, but still) were her type. This creep wasn't going to get anywhere. His dark clothing and mysterious personality weren't going to get him anywhere. Only Chat Noir can get places with that, so good luck, Noah. Chat Noir, now there was an idea, maybe he'd visit her as Chat Noir tonight. Maybe even excuse himself and come to her rescue right now to get her away from the creep. He could see beneath the fake "genuine" giggle that came from behind him. He could tell the difference between it and her real giggle. They were almost identical, but he couldn't let himself wonder why she laughed at Noah's jokes and not his. He didn't really care that much about the boy, though.Adrien did not like Marinette like that.He looked down at his still blank paper, his patience getting tested as he heard the boy behind begin to shamelessly flirt with her. He heard her laughter get less and less convincing as the hour passed, until he noticed he no longer heard any form of laughter. Just relentless flirting."Come on Princess, just give me your number. We're friends now, right?" he heard. His anger flared. No one called her princess but him. He slightly turned his head, just enough to gauge her reaction to the flirtations. Not that he cared if she liked another boy, he just didn't want her to be uncomfortable because she was his friend. That's all.Adrien did not like Marinette like that.He saw her face pale, the blush across her cheeks ever more present because of the lack of all other color. He turned around completely, only to see Noah slide his arm over her shoulders as she struggled to remain as far away from him as possible while staying one the bench."I don't bite" the boy joked, leaning far too close to the already trapped and uncomfortable girl than Adrien was ready to allow. He snapped, standing up and slamming his palms down on the table in front of Noah, causing the boy to jump and slide to the other side of the bench.Adrien's brows furrowed, his eyes narrowed and he could feel a snarl forming on his lips as he growled in response:"Yeah, but I do."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chat took Ladybug's hand and pulled her into his chest, wrapping his other arm around her waist. They're noses brushed together and he could feel his face heating up as he took a deep breath."Milady, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" he whispered, just loud enough that she could hear it.Ladybug grinned, eagerly nodding her head as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. She decided she wanted to stay in the moment, and so they did, kissing slowly atop a roof, lit faintly by the glow of the moon and the Eiffel Tower.oOo One year of stolen kisses and hidden dates later oOoMarinette wanted more. She loved Chat Noir with all her heart, but as she matured she couldn't deal with the lack of progress in their relationship due to the need to secrecy. She was losing her mind. She was slowly spiraling as she tried to find a solution to her problem until she heard a backpack thud on the floor in front of her. Her eyes slipped up from her desk to the owner, and an idea popped into her mind.-Adrien stared blankly at his desk, he had spent the entire night pondering over this dilemma. He had spent so many years chasing after Ladybug. Now here he was, considering cheating on her with someone simply because she wasn't willing to risk their identities to go further. And he understood her concern, with Hawkmoth still on the loose, it was far too dangerous for anyone to know who they really were. But that didn't lessen his need for more. He furrowed his brows and let his head thunk on the desk before him. He couldn't think about this anymore, he had far too little sleep to make decisions like this one.-Guilt clouded Marinette's conscience as she quickly pried her eyes from Adrien's back and shook her head. She would not cheat on Chat Noir.It's not cheating, Ladybug and Marinette are two different people, as far as he's concerned, a voice whispered in the back of her skull.She shook her head, trying to focus on the people walking into the classroom. She wouldn't cheat.He wouldn't even be able to find out, it would be so easy!She. Would. Not. Cheat. On. Chat. Noir.oOoMarinette quickly followed Adrien outside after school got out, catching up with him quickly due to his sluggish pace. She tapped on his shoulder to get his attention, wincing slightly when he jumped."Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she quickly pulled her hand away, "I just wanted to ask you something really quick,"Adrien smiled, turning to look at her, "Yeah?"Marinette took a deep breath:"Would you maybe like to go out with me sometime?"-He didn't realize Marinette had liked him like that. But since she was asking, and this was exactly what he needed, he didn't even hesistate."Sure, I'd love to, text me the details?" he responded with a smile as he took a step backwards towards his waiting car."Yeah, yeah I'll text you!" she called, waving goodbye.He turned away from her, and his smile dropped. He got a horrible feeling in his stomach as he thought about how this would go moving forwards. It's not that he didn't like Marinette, he did, and had he not met Ladybug he probably would have asked her out sooner, but despite the two different identities, he couldn't help feeling like something bad was going to happen.oOoA few days later, Marinette slid into the backseat of Adrien's limo, and they chatted amicably on their way to the private premier of the new spider-man movie. She had long since stopped stuttering with Adrien, the conversational change coinciding with her relationship status change. When they arrived, they slipped out of the car and Adrien took her hand as he lead her into the theater. The couple got a large popcorn and sat in the back row.About a quarter of the way through the movie, Marinette felt Adrien's hand rest on her knee. She left it there.A few minutes later, he pulled it from her leg and wrapped it around her shoulders, and she threaded her fingers through his.About halfway through the movie, she found herself snuggled into his chest, one of her hands resting on his thigh and the other still entwined in his hand over her shoulder. It felt so right she almost forgot that what she was doing was wrong.At some point, she stopped paying attention to the movie and started paying attention to Adrien, who was still watching. That was, until he noticed her and stared back. His free hand slowly came up to her chin, tilting her head towards his. It was dark in the theater, but when the movie flashed in an explosion, his green eyes (she knew they were green but had they always been this green? They look almost acidic!) were glued on her lips. They leaned towards each other, until she could feel his breath on her lips, salty and tinged with butter. They kissed, another explosions crashing throughout the room as a battle was waged on screen. They didn't pull away at the loud noise, they pulled each other closer, until Marinette was practically on his lap."Hey Mari, wanna go?" he whispered into her mouth breathlessly, rejoining lips before she could answer. She simply nodded into the kiss, pulling away and quickly exiting the theater. They jogged around into the theater into an empty walkway, a few dim streetlamps and the light from the setting sun lighting the way. Marinette only just made it around the corner when Adrien grabber her wrist and pulled her back against him. He walked her backwards towards the wall, pressing her against it as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Their lips had just connected once more when an alarm rang out through the city, signaling an akuma attack.Marinette jolted away from Adrien, "God why," she mumbled, "Okay, you get somewhere safe, Adrien" she bounded away, disappearing around a corner."Are you going to transform or what," came a nasally voice from his pocket."Plagg, I was just making out with my not-girlfriend and now I have to go face my girlfriend""Yeah, and?""She's gonna figure it out.""Adrien how on Earth would she do that? Just transform already."oOoHe watched her release the purified butterfly, guilt gnawing away at his stomach. He wrung his hands together, and his suspicions were confirmed when he looked up at her and saw her face full of pain and conflict. She had found out somehow."Ladybug, i need to tell you somethi-" he began, only to be cut off by her voice."I need to tell you something first," her voice was quiet and shaky."Maybe we do it at the same time?" he suggested, just as softly.She simply nodded, holding up her hand as she counted down from trois,deux,un"I cheated on you!" they both shouted at each other in unison, "What?" "With who!" "Thank god!"Ladybug inhaled quickly before continuing, "I'm so sorry. I just wanted more from this relationship than I could get with us needing to keep out identities secret, and I know I shouldn't have and I still love you so much, which is why I didn't break things off before. But I had to tell you, cause it's eating me up inside. I feel horrible."Chat Noir nodded, she had put his thoughts into words perfectly, "May I ask who you were with, Milady?" She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, her eyes shiny with tears, "Adrien Agreste," she whispered softly.Chat Noir froze, bursting into laughter when he realized what exactly had happened.Ladybug glared at Chat, who was folded over in laughter at this point, "You can at least pretend to be sad god,""No, no milady, you don't understand. We didn't really cheat on each other at all,""The hell do you mean we didn't cheat on each other I had some other guys tongue in my mouth not even an hour ago!""Nope," he said, popping the 'p', "You didn't,"She was unamused."Marinette, stop stressing yourself out," he gently rested his hands on her shoulders when she froze, "Claws in,"She hardly let him take a breath as Adrien before she had her hands around his shoulders, pulling him towards her and pressing her lips firmly against his, a giggle slipping through her lips and warming his heart."We're really fucking stupid," she whispered, causing Adrien to shoot back with wide eyes."Milady! Watch your language!" he jokingly scolded, his grin falling when she pulled him back in, her eyes darker with something more... sinful.