A/N: All content related to Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir belong to Thomas Astruc and his crew. I don't think I own anything.
Cotton Candy
Adrien couldn't help stealing glances at his Lady. They were sitting in a library working on their physics homework, well, at least Marinette was. She was staring intently at the problem about rotational motion, and Adrien couldn't shake the sight of how her brow furrowed with confusion and determination or how she started doodling minute designs when she lost interest. He especially loved seeing that blush that spread across her face when their eyes met, knowing that he could fluster his Lady very easily.
Adrien remembers how he discovered Ladybug's identity as if it were yesterday. It was, in fact, the day before yesterday that one slip up led to discovery.
It wasn't his fault that his best friend Nino's supply of paper also ran out and it certainly wasn't his fault that Marinette had the most gorgeous eyes that he had ever seen.
She had him good. Adrien was caught out like deer in headlights when he glimpsed at her bluebell eyes. It was almost unfair how easily entranced he was by her gaze. Similar to the powers of Medusa, but instead of turning to stone, he was frozen in place, eyes wide and enthralled.
They were impossibly blue. Adrien stared at the myriad hues that dazzled like sapphires in her eyes. He was already waist deep into the cerulean pools before he even realized. It was too late. He was caught in a stormy, turbulent ocean being dragged deeper and deeper in by the whirlpool of her gaze sinking finally into the blackness of her pupils.
He had to come up for air at one point, and rejoin the classroom but his eyes refused to take the hint. Even in this unwarranted assault, he was met with an air of calm. The serenity of a summer breeze blew around him. Those bluebell eyes… not the overbearing blueness of the seven seas, but a reflection of the infinite domain that lie above. A sanctuary that Adrien would gladly get lost in. Even more so, her raven hair was dark and mysterious. A nighttime equivalent to her eyes that both clashed and complemented the lighter shade.
But what of this shade of pink invading his azure fantasy? Why is Marinette blushing? If her hair was dark blue as the night sky that faded into the palette of her sky blue eyes, then this pink that crept up her face was the onset of sunrise. A beautiful sunrise it was, and with that it dawned on him that he probably stared at Marinette for a solid five minutes.
"A-A-Adrien?" was all that Marinette could say after making direct eye contact with the object of her affection. Still feeling the effects of his unwarranted distraction, Adrien was still speechless. He longed to dive back into the realm that were the colors of Marinette. "I-I was j-just going to ask if I cou-could borrow a sheet of paper," he meekly replied.
"Oh, umm, of course!" Marinette said a bit too eagerly.
Adrien saw Marinette fumble in her bag, her noticeable blush rapidly rising to meet her other features. He almost got lost in thought again, but was stopped by a cascade of white. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Marinette kept repeating as papers billowed around Adrien.
She had done it. Now Adrien is going to hate her and never speak to her ever again. In fact, he was going to make sure she stays halfway across the world from him and she is never going to marry the crush of her life, let alone have three children or multiple hamsters. She was going to have to move into the woods, live in a cave and build a sacred Adrien shrine and stare creepily at Adrien pictures and...
"It's okay!" Marinette was still in the middle of berating herself when Adrien's voice caught her attention. She was expecting a look of contempt that screamed you are a horrible human being. What she was not expecting was that Adrien was already stooping down, collecting leaflets with a kind smile that signaled that he didn't hate her guts.
Wordlessly, Marinette nodded and started to gather the sheets closer to her. Soon enough, their hands grazed each other in attempt to pick up the same piece of paper. It sent a shock up Adrien's hand, but for Marinette, she drew it back with inhuman speed. To Adrien's surprise, she was turning red.
Only one thought permeated her brain: Oh my god, I just touched Adrien freaking Agreste! I am never washing my hand ever again!
Another one was going through Adrien's: Why is she red? Is she still mad at me? I thought we made up after the gum incident...
The aftermath of the contact left Marinette's brain overloaded.
Mayday! Mayday! Marinette down! Marinette down! What response are we going with?
"Sta-static shock?" she sputtered.
Of all the excuses, she had to think of that one. Adrien, for one, was convincing himself that what he felt was totally static shock and that he wasn't falling for Marinette. After the whole ordeal, he returned to his seat. He tried to take notes, but his attention kept deviating back to one person. Marinette. Why is he thinking about Marinette? She is just a shy, quiet friend. Besides, she hated him. Everytime he tried to approach her, she squealed, turned red, threw her arms out in exaggerated motions, and ran away. He also devoted his love to Ladybug, he can't think of Marinette as more than a friend.
Still…
He wanted to get to know Marinette more. For some strange reason, Marinette was a stuttering mess around him. Adrien saw how snappy she was around Chloe, or how she was bursting with confidence around others. Even as Chat, his superhero persona, Marinette was sassy and playful. He then remembered that there was a carnival in the park tomorrow. There would be food, games and live performances.
After school, Adrien approached Marinette. "Hey Marinette!"
She turned around only to be met with electric green eyes. "A-Ad-Adrien?" After getting over the initial shock of talking to Adrien, she collected herself. "What do you need?"
"I was just wondering if you would like to go the the event with me in the park tomorrow after school?"
Marinette stood there with an expressionless facade. She actually stood there for a full minute. Adrien was beginning to worry that he had said something wrong. No way. Nuh uh. Did Adrien just ask me out on a date?
"Marinette? Is there something wrong? I mean if you are busy, you don't ha-"
"No way." Realizing what she had just said, Marinette quickly spat out, "Yes! You go with I will! With me I go! No! I mean, yes! I will go with you." Marinette slapped a palm to her forehead. She just had to embarrass herself in front of Adrien. Now Adrien was going to think that she was weird and retract his offer.
"So can you come with me tomorrow?" Adrien questioned, unsure of her answer.
"Yes," Marinette meekly replied.
"I guess it is a date then," Adrien said with a blush. The word bounced around in her head. Date.
Later that day, Marinette was sitting in her room on her swivel chair.
"Tikki! Can you believe it? Adrien just asked me out on a date! He even said it himself! What am I going to wear? What am I going to do? Even worse, what if I do something completely embarrassing and he hates me forever and ever?"
"Marinette calm down! Just be yourself. If Adrien wanted you to go somewhere with him, then he likes you for you!" Tikki reassured her charge.
"What am I going to do without you, Tikki?" Marinette sighed.
"Just remember that you are Ladybug, fighter of crime, purifier of akumas and Paris' beloved hero. You are filled to the brim with confidence. Good thing Hawkmoth does not know that Adrien is your kryptonite."
"Fortunately," Marinette replied with an eyeroll. "Ready for patrol?"
"Just say the words," Tikki said monotonously.
"Tikki, spots on!"
After an uneventful night of patrol, a soft thud was heard on the rooftops of a building overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Ladybug landed gracefully on feet and retracted her yo-yo. She loved looking at the Eiffel Tower at night. "If only Adrien was here to see it with me…"
"What was that Milady?"
"Chat! What did I say about sneaking up on me, you mangy alley cat!" Ladybug shot, surprised by Chat's arrival.
"Sorry Bugaboo, but I couldn't help but look at the Eiffel Tower in all of its purrfectness. I'd say it has nothing on you though. Who is this Adrien you speak of?"
"Nevermind that Chat, but I maybekindofsortofhaveadatetomorrow," responded Ladybug, slurring her words at the end.
"Oh? Milady, has a date with someone tomorrow? Who is the lucky guy?" pried Chat.
"Adrien Agre-, wait why am I telling you. It's not any of your business."
Chat Noir thought he had heard the name of his civilian identity. He wore a puzzled look as different thoughts swam around in his head. I didn't ask anyone on a date except Marinette. Could Marinette be Ladybug? What are the chances? She is so shy, quiet, and clumsy. There is no way she can be Ladybug. What of those times that she is bubbling with confidence? She also showed amazing leadership prowess when she was class president.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by Ladybug. "Chat, are you even listening to me? I said that tomorrow we should cancel patrol. I have to attend an event and I won't be free."
"Okay," Chat said half distracted. What event is she going to? Is it the one I asked Marinette to go to? Is Ladybug Marinette? They both have the same pigtails, the same color hair, and the same blue eyes.
Those blue eyes. The ones that stole a bit of Adrien every time he saw them. The ones that only Marinette's and Ladybug's eyes could do. Chat's eyes widened with realization as he connected the dots. There could only be one explanation. Marinette is Ladybug. Ladybug sailed into the night swinging on her yo-yo. Chat's eyes followed her as he watched Ladybug swing toward the direction of Marinette's bakery. That confirms it.
Adrien jumped into his room through the window and released his transformation. "Plagg! Marinette is Ladybug! How could I have not seen it before? I mean, Marinette is never around when Ladybug is around and she isn't there when an akuma attacks. Speaking of which, she always disappears when there is one. What about that time during the Evillustrator? Did she actually have a 'secret' mission to do?"
"Kid slow down! Get me some camembert first and then I can answer!" said the kwami of destruction. "Girls are so complicated. Why worry about girls when you have cheese?"
"You only think with your stomach," snapped Adrien. Meanwhile, Plagg was still going on about camembert and how it solves all his problems. In an attempt to get Plagg to shut up, Adrien tossed him a slice.
"Thafs bever," said Plagg with a full mouth. He swallowed and spoke, "You still have the event to go to tomorrow with her. Maybe you can confirm your suspicions there."
"But Plaaaaagg!" Adrien whined, "Doesn't she hate my guts? What if she gets mad that I figured out her identity? What if she doesn't like my civilian side and she shuns me and runs away like she always does?"
"What if, what if, what if! Stop worrying. You will never understand her feelings unless you confront her about them. Humans are so complicated," Plagg said.
Adrien just had to wait until tomorrow after school, to see if Marinette was actually Ladybug. From there, he can take her on a date to the event, ask for her hand in marriage and have four little kittens. Marriage and kittens can come later, he just needed to get her to be his girlfriend.
Tomorrow was another uneventful day for Marinette filled with snide comments from Chloe, homework from Madame Bustier and Madame Mendeleiev, and constant pestering from Alya about Ladybug and Adrien. The highlight of her day was the upcoming carnival that she gets to spend with Adrien. She decided not to tell Alya, because if she did, Alya would not let her hear the end of it.
Adrien was acting different all day today. Marinette noticed that he kept glancing at her as if he noticed something new about her. All Marinette could do was return shy smiles. I guess he is looking forward to the event as well.
When the bell rang, Adrien walked towards Marinette. "Ready to go?"
"Yup! Go ready me!" Adrien looked at her with a confused expression. "Ughh! Why is this so difficult! I meant I am ready to go."
"If you say so," Adrien responded happily. At that moment Alya interjected, "Girl, what is this? You going on a date with Adrien and not telling me anything?"
"Sorry Al, I didn't want you having a heart attack," Marinette replied sarcastically.
Adrien stood there sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as Nino slapped a hand on his back. "Dude! Adrien, my boy. You finally asked out Marinette, huh?"
Adrien and Marinette turned different shades of pink and red. "It's not what it looks like!" they both spat out, "We are just going as friends." Adrien hoped that they were going as more than friends, but he didn't want to sound too eager. Marinette on the other hand was staring daggers at Alya. "We are heading to the event in the park. The one with the booth games, live performances and food! Do you want to come along?" asked Marinette. After all, she couldn't hope to survive the night. Most likely, she was going to be a stuttering, blubbering, sputtering mess if she was going to be with Adrien alone.
"No! Don't invite them. I just want to spend the day with you," thought Adrien. Nino gave him an assuring look. Unspoken words only Adrien could understand signaled that Alya was definitely going to ditch the two of them the moment she got. Adrien wasn't oblivious as to why Alya and Nino were playing matchmaker, but now that he thought that Marinette was Ladybug, he wanted to give her a chance. "That sounds great! The two of you should join us," Adrien said to Alya and Nino.
The four of them walked toward the park. There wasn't much conversation save the bantering between Marinette and Alya. Halfway there, Alya took Nino's hand and increased her pace leaving Marinette alone with Adrien.
Oh no! I am alone with Adrien! I swear I am going to kill that girl one day. She will be the death of me. Marinette's head was in ruins. She felt dizzying waves of emotions that screamed her adoration for Adrien and for Alya's mutiny. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Adrien asked, "So, what do you want to do at the event?"
"I-I-I, uhh uh, want to do you! Nonono! I don't want to do you, I mean I would but, wait what?! Agh, nevermind. Just ignore me please!" Marinette was tripping over her words worse than she had ever before. She can't believe she had let slip her intention to get with Adrien. Marinette blushed furiously.
"Uhh okay," Adrien said with a perplexed look on his face. They got to the park where music and laughter was emanating from. The park was filled with booths that contained classic carnival games, street foods and vendors. There were ring tosses, balloon darts, bean bag tosses and other games. The air was filled with the scent of popcorn, grilled meat and baked goods. At the center of it all was the statue of Paris' famous heroes in commemoration of all the work that Ladybug and Chat Noir had done for the city.
"I hope Chat is having a good time," Marinette thought. Little did she know, that her partner was standing right next to her. She was taken by surprise when Adrien suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her to the carnival hammer. Adrien was hoping to impress her with his strength. He easily made the bell at the top ring with the sound of his success. What he wasn't expecting was for Marinette to easily reach the top as well. He didn't notice before, but Marinette was muscular. This only confirmed his suspicions more that Marinette was Ladybug.
Marinette saw a crepe stand and pointed excitedly at it. Adrien smirked at her and dragged her to it. When they got to the front of the line, Marinette ordered a strawberry crepe and Adrien ordered a chocolate one. They found a nearby bench and started eating. "Oh my gosh, this crepe is delicious!" exclaimed Adrien between mouthfuls, "I bet your parents make even better ones."
Marinette blushed at the complement. She then started to laugh hysterically. Adrien knew something was up. "What's wrong? Do your parents make bad crepes?" Marinette was shaking her head, while pointing at his face. "You have whip cream on your nose," she said gasping for air.
Adrien put on a Chat-like grin and smirked at her. "I don't give a crepe." Marinette gave him a look that she gave Chat whenever he punned. Adrien recognized that look. It basically said you think you are punny but you are not. That was when she reached out, swabbed the whip cream off and put the finger in her mouth. Adrien was left speechless by her audacity. Unbeknownst to Adrien, even the smallest display of his alter ego clued Marinette in. She went through a moment of realization, but decided not to question it further. She just wanted to spend time with Adrien.
After finishing their crepes they found Alya with Nino who was holding a bunch of stuffed animals.
"Girl! Look at what I won!" said Alya, showing off her loot. Nino looked as though he was struggling under the weight of the numerous toys. What caught his eye was a black cat with a ladybug on its back.
The four of them continued to go around playing carnival games and taking silly pictures. Nearing the end of the day, Alya had once again snuck away with Nino leaving Adrien by himself with Marinette. She looked worn out and was sitting on a nearby park bench just staring at the lights and the crowd. That was when he saw a cotton candy vendor. He quickly bought a pink one and a blue one. As he approached Marinette, he saw that she was looking off into the distance not aware of his arrival.
"Marinette, I have something to tell you," started Adrien, "I know that you are Ladybug."
Adrien feared the worst. He already played it in his head. This is the part where Marinette gets angry at him and he never got to ate his cotton candy. Instead, he was met with soft, loving eyes.
"You know Minou, I know it is you."
What?
"I've known ever since you made a crepe pun. Your smile is the same," deadpanned Marinette. She looked him in the eye and said, "And don't think that I am disappointed. I am actually very happy that the two of you are the one and the same." Marinette pulled Adrien into a hug. He took in the scent of sugar and vanilla.
"But are you disappointed that I am just clumsy, shy Marinette?" she said.
Adrien looked at her as though she were crazy. "How could I be sad? You are the purrfect girl to fit underneath the mask. I was starting to think that I couldn't accept my feelings for you because I devoted my heart to the girl underneath Ladybug's mask," confessed Adrien, "Now that you two are the same, I don't have to feel guilty or conflicted."
Marinette almost cried at the heartfelt words that Adrien put forth. "I guess the Adrien Agreste that I had a massive crush on is just a silly, pun loving dork that wears cat ears."
"I am your silly, pun loving dork that wears cat ears." Adrien held out the pink cotton candy to her, "Marinette, will you be my girlfriend?"
"Of course Minou," said Marinette, "You know pink is my favorite color, right?"
Adrien responded with, "...and blue is mine."
The blue of her eyes that stared out into some faraway land. The blue that told you that everything will be okay. The blue that you saw when you were rescued by Ladybug. The blue that saw through your outermost facade and deeply into your soul. The blue that caught Adrien's breath and refused to give it back until he was gasping for more.
The pink that spread from Marinette's cheek. The pink that made her lips soft and alluring. The pink that made Adrien feel warm on the inside. The pink that covered her every time she looked at him. The pink that made him mushy on the inside.
As Adrien ate his blue cotton candy and Marinette ate her pink one, they both looked at each other. "You remind me of cotton candy," remarked Adrien. There was no way she was this incredibly sweet.
A/N: This is my first fanfiction. I have read many MLB fanfictions and was inspired to create my own. I got this inspirations from a bus ride as a saw all the colors that passed through the window. Originally, this fanfiction was going to be a fic regarding the colors that defined Marinette and Adrien, but somehow turned into a reveal fic with cotton candy. So tell me what you think. I may also have grammatical issues and I am not the best writer. :)