I hope y'all enjoy!
An Unexpected Gift
Requested by Elizabeth from Friendsmany
Marinette's POV
Oh. My. Gosh.
Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh!
Adrien wants me to teach him how to sew. Me.
He could have asked anyone that works for his father, world-renowned fashion designer Gabriel Agreste, but he chose me instead.
"Eee!" I squealed, not caring about the kwami whose ears I was assaulting. I flung out my arms and legs and my chair spun in circles.
I was just so excited!
"Marinette!" Tikki cheerfully scolded. "Why must you be so loud? I know you're excited, but I don't think anyone wants to lose their hearing because you were happy."
I giggled and put a hand over my mouth to muffle the sounds.
"Sorry, Tikki. I just can't believe this is happening! Adrien will be coming over any minute now for me to teach him how to sew!"
I did a little happy dance, but froze as realization flooded through me.
"Wait. I'm going to teach Adrien how to sew. I always become tongue-tied and fumble when I'm around him. What am I going to do? Help me, Tikki!" I fell to the floor and proceeded to beg her while she just laughed.
"Marinette, what am I ever going to do with you?"
I gave her a hopeful smile. "Help me?"
She giggled. "Only if you say the magic word…"
"Please?"
"No, the other one, silly."
"Abracadabra?"
She shook her tiny head.
"Nope. Miraculous."
"Ohhh...Miraculous."
"Okay. All you have to do is pretend he's just another friend. If he's just another friend, you won't be as nervous!"
"But Tikki," I complained. "He's not 'just another friend'. He's-"
A knock sounded at my door before my mom told me Adrien was here.
"Here! Oh no."
Tikki flew away just as the trap door leading to my room opened.
Adrien poked his head through the hole and smiled when he saw me.
"Hey, Marinette!" he greeted with a wave.
I nervously waved back.
"H-hi, Adrien. Nice to see you."
"You too! I can't wait to learn to sew. It's always amazed me how people managed to do so many amazing things with a little string and a needle."
I took a deep breath and imagined that this was someone else. Not Adrien. Maybe Rose. Or Nino, he's a guy, so he fits better.
"Well, it's a little more complicated than that," I responded with a chuckle.
I gestured to my desk, where I'd already pulled up an extra chair and grabbed supplies.
Once we were comfortably seated, I turned to him.
"So what would you like to learn? How to fix holes in clothes, how to embroider…?"
One of his hands came up to rub the back of his neck, almost nervously.
"Actually, I'd like to make a plushie, or little stuffed animal. Do you think I could do that?"
"Absolutely!" I replied. "What do you want to make?"
"How about a ladybug?"
I smiled on the inside, but tried not to show it. If I started freaking out now, around needles, it wouldn't end well.
"Insect ladybug or hero of Paris Ladybug?"
"Insect. I think that would go over better."
"That's definitely doable. So, we're going to start by coming up with a design…"
I showed him how to make his own ladybug plushie, from the design to drawing the shapes we needed on the fabric to actually sewing them together. I tried to help him the least and most amount possible at the same time. I made a cat plushie and stopped at each step so he could do it himself but also have my experience help guide him.
When it got to the point that we were sewing the pieces together, and Adrien could thread the needle on his own, we made small talk. And I wasn't like my normal awkward self.
"So why did you want to learn to make plushies all of a sudden?"
I noticed that his cheeks reddened, but I tried not to read too much into it. He was probably just embarrassed, which he should never be.
"Well, I wanted to come up with a great gift and I thought a plushie would be perfect."
"They definitely are. Whenever I get one, I always get so excited. Especially when it's my friends who made them."
He smiled at me, effectively stopping my heart.
"That's what I'm going for."
I felt my cheeks burning and looked down. We continued working in a comfortable silence, with occasional comments thrown in.
I had started out at a slow pace so I didn't finish that much earlier than him, but he adjusted quickly and was obviously a natural.
When we were almost done, I grabbed stuffing and we put some in or took some out until they were perfect. Then, we sewed the last bit shut.
"And...voila!" I grabbed his ladybug and held it up. "An awesome stuffed animal."
He grinned and gently took it back, marveling at his creation.
"Thanks, Marinette. This is awesome. She'll love it!"
I felt a little tug at my heart.
"Who's 'she'?"
He froze for a second, but tried to play it off.
"Oh, it's no one you know. She doesn't live in Paris."
I nodded and smiled, but that didn't mean I wasn't aware of what he was implying in his unsaid words. In what his emotions said.
It was a girl he liked.
And I was livid. How dare this girl take away my Adrien? I liked him first.
Breathe in...breathe out…
Breathe in...breathe out…
I put the smile back on and pretended I didn't want to find this girl and give her a piece of my mind.
Adrien's phone pinged and he had to go, but he proceeded to thank me and tell me he'd see me tomorrow…
Despite today being Friday.
I still waved goodbye and kept the smile on my face until he was gone, when it vanished immediately.
I would have vented to my poor kwami, but it was time to go on patrol.
That didn't mean I was any more calm, though.
Adrien's POV
I couldn't stop looking at my adorable ladybug plushie as I leapt over Paris's rooftops to meet Ladybug.
And I couldn't believe that Marinette was kind enough as to teach me how to sew. I respect her because I know I wouldn't have had the patience.
My eyes saw Ladybug already there and I felt my heart speed up. I didn't want her to think I was crazy, but at the same time I wanted to give her something.
"Hello, My Lady." I announced once I landed right behind her. "How are you feline this-"
"I'm not in the mood, Chat."
Ladybug had a grimace on her face and was exuding anger. Had I been anyone else, I probably would've run away.
But I wasn't.
I gave her a few seconds to simmer silently before I went to stand beside her.
"Look, Chat, I-"
"I got you a present," I interrupted.
She looked at me in shock. "What? Why?"
I shrugged.
"You are amazing. You protect this city every day and I thought that if I made you something, it would show that you really are invaluable."
"Chat...you didn't need to do that."
I smiled. "I know. I wanted to. I hope you like it."
I pulled the ladybug plushie out and showed it to her. Her eyes widened when she saw it, but I wasn't sure what the emotion I saw in them was.
"One of my friends taught me how to make it and I thought it would be perfect for you. It doesn't have a bunch of extra things added in, but it is still perfect."
When she still hadn't moved, I began to worry.
"Ladybug? Are you okay? If you don't like it, that's fine. Please, just stop scaring me."
Her eyes finally met mine and I could identify the look in them. Shock. Like she learned something and couldn't handle it.
Her mouth opened and closed, like she really wanted to say something but didn't know how to.
"My Lady, whatever you need to say, I promise that it'll be oka-"
"Adrien?"
And my heart stopped.
Well, I hope you liked this! I did, but I have a bit of a biased opinion on it. Please let me know what you think.