Hello, everyone!
So, I don't really have any ideas about where I want to go with this story, but I do have motivation to write this, so we'll see where this goes. If you have any ideas, leave a review or PM me!
Hope you'll enjoy it!
Paris has never been more save. The two heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir, are always ready to fight an akumatized villain. They also go on patrol every once in a while, keeping the big city even more save. Normally nothing happens during patrol, it's mostly just the two of them hanging out, having fun and getting to know each other. Most of the time it ends with Chat Noir flirting with Ladybug and Ladybug rolling her eyes and ignoring him, but that doesn't mean they aren't a great team. Even though he respects her decision of keeping their identities a secret, he is very eager to know who is underneath the mask, and will ty to pry it out her from time to time. Which is the case tonight…
''So, busy night. Right, M'Lady?''
''What do you mean, it's been calm all night. We have been sitting on this rooftop for almost an hour, just eating this bag of chips.'' Ladybug pointed towards the bag in between them.
''I'm surprised that you couldn't hear the sarcasm. Most of the time you're able hear it.'' Chat Noir smirked teasingly.
Ladybug rolled her eyes and grabbed another chip. ''Where did you get this anyway? The store that sells these chips is quite far from here, and you were back in just a few minutes.''
''Well, my house is in this neighborhood. I just got it from home. Next time you're allowed to come with me, you know?''
''Chat...''
''I know, I know. You don't want to know...''
There was a tense silence, the only sound being the crunching of the chips in their mouths.
''But… why not? Maybe we already know each other in real life and we could discuss everything when we see each other. We could maybe help each other with excuses to leave some places and save the day. It'll be easier, don't you think?''
Ladybug looked at Chat Noir and saw the tiny sparkles in his eyes combined with a wide smile. This wasn't the first time he tried this on her, and she knew that he desperately wanted to share their identities, but she was sure that wouldn't be a good idea. Like she said to him before: no one can know who they are, not even themselves. It was kind of heartbreaking though to say no to someone who was basically begging her to reveal her identity. The pleading just wasn't enough.
Ladybug put her hand on top of Chat Noir's, came a little closer and looked him in the eyes. She chuckled at the surprised look on his face, which was also showing that he was blushing a tiny bit.
''Look, I understand that it might be easier in some ways, but I can predict that there will also be a lot of trouble. Do you think the trouble is really worth it? And besides, having a little secret makes it all more exciting, doesn't it?'' She winked at him while getting up, stealing one last chip from the bag.
''A little secret, you say?''
''You know what I mean,'' she laughed.
''You're leaving already?'' he said, getting up as well and grabbing the bag.
''Yup, it's getting late. And I suppose nothing will happen tonight.''
''And yet again Paris is save because of Ladybug and Chat Noir,'' he said while flexing his arms.
''You do realize that we didn't do anything tonight, right?''
''Doesn't mean they can't give us credit for keeping the city save. People are just too scared to do anything, knowing that we'll be there in a sec, ready to kick their butts. And we almost finished this bag of chips as well! I call that an accomplishment.''
Ladybug shook her head and smiled. ''Goodbye, Chat Noir.''
She grabbed her yoyo and swung it on a lantern. She waved at him one last time before disappearing behind the buildings. Chat Noir sighed and saluted her as well before going the other way.
Even though he was kind of disappointed that he still didn't know who the love of his life really was behind the mask, he felt kind of happy too. She was right, a little secrecy could be exciting and interesting. And he noticed that she was warming up to him lately, laughing a lot more at his jokes, not being weirded out when they got close to each other, and they even had some deep conversations. They mostly happened when they were on patrol and had nothing to do. It was nice to just sit and talk and to get to know each other.
All these things gave him hope. He might not be able to know who she really was, but that doesn't mean that he can't confess his love to her. He had tried to do it past Valentine's Day, but that didn't turn out as expected. Ladybug did mention something about a kiss, but sadly he couldn't remember because he was under influence of Dark Cupid's arrow. He asked her multiple times what really happened that day, afraid that he might had done something bad, but she said that everything was all right, and he trusted and believed her.
He might not remember anything about the kiss they had apparently shared, but that only gave him more motivation to try and make a new memory. One that he would actually remember and hopefully she would too.
Marinette was walking towards class. Well, jogging towards class. Okay, she was running towards class, because she was incredibly late! She, together with Chat Noir, had stopped an akumatized villain this morning. It didn't take long, because both heroes realized very quickly that the akuma was hidden in the man's glasses. They broke the glasses, got the akuma and the town turned back to its original state, thanks to Ladybug's Lucky Charm. Even though it didn't take long, it still took enough of her time for Marinette to be late to class again.
''Got to run faster. If I'm just a tiny bit late, Miss Bustier might let me of hook this time,'' she said while panting.
The door to the classroom was already in her sight. She was so fixated on the wooden object that she didn't notice someone else in the hallway. Well, she didn't notice him until she bumped into him and ended up on top of him on the floor.
She looked at the stranger underneath her and realized that the stranger was no stranger, but Adrien. She immediately blushed, both from embarrassment and his presence. She just looked him in the eyes and gaped, turning redder every second.
''Well, that's also a way of saying good morning. I'm mostly tired in the morning too, but isn't falling asleep on someone else a little extreme?'' Adrien joked, smiling at the girl still on top of him.
For just a few seconds, Adrien's joke reminded her of someone else's joking attitude, but that disappeared when she became aware of the fact that she was still on top of him, not saying anything and just staring.
''I, eh, yeah sorry, I just, eh, wasn't paying attention, eh, yeah, I'm so sorry, hehe.'' Marinette finally blurted out, moving slightly so Adrien could crawl from under her and get up.
''It's okay,'' he said while getting up. He stretched out his arm so he could pick up Marinette, who was still sitting on the floor gathering her stuff. Eventually she took his hand and got up.
''Thanks,'' she said, still extremely red. She was sure that her blush would stay for at least half an hour. Great.
They eventually walked towards the door, Marinette forgetting why she was running in the first place. Before Adrien could open the door, it hit Marinette again.
''O my gosh, we're late for class!''
Adrien smirked. ''I know,'' he stated while rolling his eyes. It wasn't that he thought Marinette's outburst was overdramatic, he just thought she already realized she was late since she was running to class before bumping into him.
''But, what are we going to say? I can't be late again! And I don't even have an excuse… And you're late because of me, I ran into you. You shouldn't be punished.''
''I was late anyway, not because of you. And besides, if we get detention at least we're together.''
Adrien gave one of his signature smiles that could leave every fangirl of him squealing, before opening the door. Marinette just stood still, registering that Adrien just said that he wouldn't mind having detention if it was with her. She eventually felt a hand pulling her inside the classroom.
''So, Mister Agreste and Miss Dupain-Cheng. You are both 25 minutes late. Care to explain?'' Miss Bustier said, looking at both teens. She didn't sound angry or demanding, she actually sounded curious and maybe a bit concerned as to why they were late. Probably because this was definitely not the first time they were late, both of them.
Marinette remembered Adrien being late multiple times as well, but that was never a problem since he always explained that he had to do something for his father. Even though some of the excuses were quite unbelievable at times, they always took it since nobody wants to mess with the Agreste family.
''We're sorry, Miss Bustier. You see, I had to model for my father this afternoon, but I found out I didn't have time. I figured I had time in the morning, but then we realized that the model I would be posing with wasn't available in the morning. We spend a lot of time looking for someone but eventually we found Marinette on the street, walking towards school. She was just too nice and agreed to take the model's place if it wouldn't take too much time. And well, it took just a little more time than we thought. We're sorry.''
''Yeah, right. Marinette as a model. I would love to see that,'' Chloé's voice boomed through the classroom. Sabrina immediately backed her up by starting to laugh at her friend's rude comment.
Marinette lowered her head to the ground in shame, but looked back up at Adrien again when she heard him growl at Chloé's insult. She also felt his hand squeeze hers, which he was still holding ever since he dragged her inside. She didn't know though whether he squeezed her hand out of anger or because he felt the need to comfort her, either one would do.
''That's enough, Chloé.'' Miss Bustier sighed. ''It's all right, Adrien. Just don't let it happen again. Actually both of you should get detention, you have been late several times now.''
''I know, Miss. But this wasn't Marinette's fault. I asked her if she wanted to take the model's place. I take the full blame.''
In the meantime Marinette didn't say a word. She just looked at the two people having the conversation like she was watching a tennis match. Eventually she looked at Alya, who raising one eyebrow and motioning with her head towards Marinette's hand. Marinette's gaze landed on her hand as well and saw that Adrien was still holding it while having the conversation with their teacher. She immediately turned red, even more than she already was, and smiled awkwardly towards Alya. She smirked and gave her look that told Marinette that she should tell her all the details later. Not that there were many details to tell, but that didn't matter for now.
Marinette was pulled from her thoughts when their teacher sighed again, indicating that the conversation was over.
''Very well then. Just take your seat, both of you, so I can continue, all right?''
''Thanks Miss,'' the boy said. He smiled at Marinette, let go of her hand and walked towards his seat.
Marinette walked towards her seat as well, while looking at the hand Adrien had held. She sighed with disappointment because he had let go of her, but she already knew that would happen eventually, so she wasn't completely disappointed.
Before she sat down she realized that, since both she and Adrien were late, Nino had taken her spot next to Alya. She looked down at the spot next to Adrien that was empty. Adrien figured out what was happening, so he scooched over to his left and tapped on the seat on his right for Marinette to sit.
She happily took the offer and sat down. She smiled at him, said a quick thank you and put down her bag. She turned her head around and looked at Alya who was smirking and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Marinette smiled while blushing and turned her attention back towards Miss Bustier, trying to understand what she was explaining, but her mind wouldn't let her do that. Her mind was only saying one thing: You. Are. Sitting. Next. To. Adrien.
She put the thought away, only for it to come back again. And again. Aaaaand again. Darn it. The thought had made its way to the part of her brain where she would actually process what she was thinking. And then she processed it. She was sitting next to Adrien. She of all people was sitting next to Adrien.
She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, seeing that he wasn't paying attention and just looking at his hand tapping on the table. She kept looking at his hand, finding the tapping sound very calming. It actually made her stop blushing and cleared her head from all her thoughts.
He noticed she was staring at his hand. She had a calm and content smile, so he assumed she enjoyed the tapping. He changed the rhythm of the tapping to see if she would notice, which she did.
She got out of her trance and looked up at him. He smiled at her and chuckled softly. Crud. He caught her staring. She felt really embarrassed and thought that any second now she would turn red again, like she always does around Adrien. To her surprise that didn't happen. She chuckled as well and smiled back at him. What surprised her even more was that she actually started talking to him.
''So, what was that whole story about me being your modelling partner? You know that didn't happen.''
''Yeah, I obviously just made that up. You said that you didn't have an excuse so I gave you one. Friends got each other's backs, right?'' He whispered back.
''Yeah, that's right. Thanks again.''
He nodded at her before turning his attention back to the front of the classroom. There was a silence between them that wasn't actually awkward. It gave Marinette time to think about the fact that she just talked to Adrien without stumbling over her words. It was a big achievement certainly, but she was really confused. Normally she can't even say hello to him, and now she was so calm and at ease around him. Just a few minutes ago she was as red as a tomato by just standing next to him and now she was actually able to speak to him. She didn't know how long this would be, so she took the chance she had and started to initiate another conversation.
''Why were you late today?''
He turned his head towards her, while still glancing at Miss Bustier to see when she was looking at them. They were already late today, so they probably shouldn't make her mad at them for not paying attention.
''I'm sorry, what did you say?''
''I asked why you were late,'' she repeated. Marinette was completely surprised when Adrien's eyes widened and filled with panic after repeating her question. Did she just ruin it? Did she finally have a chance at a normal conversation with Adrien, but just ruined it because she had to ask her stupid question?
''I, eh, well, you see….''
Wow. She had never seen Adrien so at a loss for words before. It was pretty astounding to see him without his confidence and his charming smile.
''You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm not trying to pry,'' she said quickly, hoping to save the situation. She could already feel her cheeks heating up though.
''No, it's fine. I just, eh, don't really have a good reason. That's all. I just slept through my alarm. That's actually mostly the case when I'm late,'' he smiled back innocently.
Marinette internally sighed with relief at the normal answer she got. Obviously she couldn't not believe him when he was smiling with such innocence, but she knew that he was lying. She didn't know why, but for some reason she knew he wasn't speaking the truth. If he already lied to the teachers about his father, then it wouldn't be surprising if he lied to her about his alarm. It wasn't any of her business though. If he lied to her, he lied to her for a reason and she respected that.
''Yeah, me too,'' she replied nonchalantly. She had to lie as well, of course. She couldn't just say that she was late because she was saving Paris with her feline companion, like she does on almost a daily basis. Nope, couldn't say that to him, even if he was Adrien.
He laughed softly at her response. ''Well, I guess we got ourselves two sleepyheads in our class then.''
Marinette laughed too. The conversation was still going and was actually going well. The thing was though, she didn't know what to say anymore. She desperately wanted to keep talking to him, but she just couldn't find the words she wanted to say to him. Eventually she said the first thing that came to mind, and gosh did she regret it.
''So, do you want to go out after school?''
Her eyes became as big as dinner plates. Did she just really ask him out? Couldn't she just have said 'hang out'? Or even better, just keep her mouth shut.
''Like a date?'' He asked curiously.
She didn't know what to say. She just sat there gaping like a fish, no words coming out of her mouth. What had she done? She was so stupid. She finally had the chance to get to know him better and become better friends. But she had to ruin it. She just had to-
''I'd love that.''
Wait. Did he just really answer that? She wasn't surprised he assumed she meant a date, because she didn't respond. She actually didn't mean a date. Well, eventually she would want to ask him on a date and then they would get together, get married and get children, but that didn't matter now, because she wasn't at that step yet. Though if Adrien apparently was at that step, why couldn't she be?
''Yeah. So, eh, we just meet each other after school?'' She internally winced at the awkwardness coming back in her voice. Dang it, she also felt her cheeks becoming really pink now.
''Sure, that'll be great. I'm actually not allowed to make plans after school if my dad doesn't agree, but you can come with me. He can't send you away if you're already there, right?''
Marinette chuckled. ''Sure.''
Then the conversation ended and they both turned their attention back to Miss Bustier. Not that they were listening to her.
Marinette was internally screaming with joy. She finally asked her crush out! She obviously had to tell Alya right after class, no doubt about it. She was thinking about what they could do at Adrien's place, remembering how big his house was and all the stuff that was inside his room. It didn't matter actually, because at least they were hanging out together.
Adrien was slightly blushing and looking at Marinette from the corners of his eyes. He actually didn't really comprehend what just happened. He really liked Marinette. She was a good friend, very kind, not afraid to stand up against Chloé and, he had to admit, cute and pretty. He didn't mind going out with Marinette and was actually excited to see where this would lead, but he was afraid that the only reason he agreed to go out with her, was because he couldn't get someone else off his mind.
And that's the first chapter. It's not incredibly long and it doesn't really have a lot of action, but I like it and it has a lot of lovey-dovey goodness.
So, like I said at the beginning, I don't really know what I want to write. I do have a more clear idea now that I actually started writing the story, but your ideas are always appreciated.
O bee-tee-dubs, I just call Marinette Ladybug or Marinette depending on if she's wearing her costume or not, same goes for Adrien. I thought it would be clearer for you guys to understand who's talking. And also, I called Adrien Cat Noir instead of Chat Noir, since that is what they call him in the English version. If you like Chat better just tell me, and I'll change it. I personally like Chat better, but I wrote Cat because this is an English story.
Edit: I changed everything to Chat Noir. I will use this for the rest of story.
Hope you enjoyed it and until next time!
Bug out!