I am only trash ! I am pretty pumped for the Christmas special, so I wanted to come back and do a write thingy. I sometimes prowl OTP prompts because I never have my own ideas because I always exhaust that with my job. Lol. So here's the prompt : "Imagine person A of your OTP making dinner for themself and singing a love song that's normally a duet while a window is open. Suddenly, person B who is outside the window starts singing along with them." have a French and English song in, so whoo let's get started . If you want, play them at the asterisks noted within. They won't match up to your reading, but still.
*Song 1: watch?v=Vkw4Dqd43nA
**Song 2: watch?v=3QcEQbWtkME
Marinette hummed along as the radio tinkled out tunes in the background, drowned out ever so slightly from the incessant hum of the sewing machine as she let the familiar glide of the fabric under her fingers. She was relishing the free moments of a for once quiet night, the trap door to the roof propped open to let in the cool night breeze.
"Marinette!"
Whirring ensued.
"Marinette!"
Marinette shook her head, blinking rapidly as she registered the voice calling her. "Tikki?" She peered over to find the small pink kwami giving her puppy dog eyes. "What's wrong?"
"It's getting late – I think you should take a break to stretch. And maybe have a cookie or two? Plus it's patrol time…"
Marinette rolled her eyes, but a smile crept over her face as she slid a small tin down the desk to where Tikki was perched. "Eat up. Thanks for the break – I know I tend to get sucked in," she mused, rolling her shoulders and neck to release the tension that had built up. Pushing her chair back from the desk, she stretched her tired limbs out as far as they go as she released a yawn. It really was good to just have a night to do Marinette stuff – not that she didn't love being Ladybug, but sometimes – well, pretending to be a normal girl was nice. But business was business. "Eat up so we can head out. Familiar lyrics caught her ears as she stretched, and she grabbed the small portable radio from where it had been playing beside her. She rifled through her desk drawers for a pair of earbuds, which she plugged in hastily.
"Tikki, transform me!" A flash of light and the still peculiar sensation encased her for a split second, revealing Ladybug in its place.
Cool air rushed to meet her cheeks as she ascended the steps, rustling her hair against her cheeks. It had been a quiet day, and she expected nothing but the same as she patrolled. The skies were clear and deeply dark, and she inhaled deeply.
It took almost no time at all to do her normal patrol, finding nothing out the ordinary as she made her way across the city. The night was still young (in her opinion) as she landed securely on a rooftop. From here, she had a spectacular view of the Seine and the Effel Tower, the lights glittering off the water. She placed her music player beside her, adjusting the volume enough so that it was loud enough for her to hear without straining.
This was so nice. She closed her eyes as she braced on the cool metal of the building's railing, letting the familiar words to the song spark her to sing along.
"Rien qu'une fois
Toi et moi
Rien qu'une nuit
Je t'en prie
Rien qu'une fois
Toi et moi
Peut-être pour la vie!" She found her body start swaying along to the music, letting the rhythm loosen her body as she continued to sing.
"Rien qu'une fois
Toi et moi
Rien qu'une nuit
Je t'en prie
Rien qu'une fois
Toi et moi
Peut-être pour la vie!"
"Je n'ai jamais éprouvé ça auparavant
Laisse-moi seulement te prouver que ce n'est pas du vent – " Marinette found herself stifling a screech as a voice that was not her own, yet was still gratingly familiar met her ears. She clamped her hands over her mouth to clamp in the surprise, moving her body slowly to glare on the black clad figure balancing expertly on the railing nearby. His head was bobbing side to side, eyes closed as he practically bellowed the lyrics over France. She crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to one leg as she tapped a foot and glared.
"If you'd mind stopping that shrieking -"
"Caterwauling?" he inquired, gasping the word in between lyrics. His head continued to bob side to side, his shoulders picking up the beat.
"What are you doing here?" she interjected, trying to get her voice to cut through the noise. So much for her own quiet night.
"I heard singing. It so happens that I, too, have a meow-valous singing voice!" he said with his normal flair for dramatics, placing a hand on his chest as he cast a glance in her direction.
"Okay, that pun was awful," she sighed, shaking her head. "It's ending after this refrain, so off you go with that shrieking," she teased, making shooing motions with her hands before turning to grab her radio and head back home. In a flash, he was in front of her, a cheesy grin plastered on his face. She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to call animal control."
"You could just control me yourself," he purred, dipping his face forward only to have her duck skillfully away.
"Or you could be a good kitty and behave," she admonished, flicking his nose with a gloved finger. He wiggled it in distaste.
"My behavior is nothing but purr-fect."
"But alas, your puns are not."
"Someone is being a sour-puss tonight."
"Oh my God, Chat!" she wailed, the distress lost within his laughter as it overtook her. She shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.
"Sorry my lady, I couldn't let it slip away." He grinned, his green eyes glittering in the lights of the city. Marinette felt it happen again – like it had the last four times they'd met on casual business terms – a/k/a, when they met without the threat of akumas and could just be. But the problem with just being with Chat, well, lately it had started to make her feel things she had sworn she wouldn't feel around her partner. Exhibit number one: lately, when he smiled at her it made something catch in her throat. The first time it happened, she had promptly gone home to gargle with salt water on the off chance it was a cold. Then it had happened again, but in her throat and stomach – and then the third time in her throat, stomach, and other places she didn't want to think about. Tikki had told her she'd been expecting this to happen for some time , and Marinette had vehemently swore that that 'some time' would be when Hell froze over. And apparently hell had a flash freeze because there was a buckling in her knees as she met those glittering eyes.
"Sorry to burst this bubble, but I have to slip away, I'm afraid," she muttered, quickly dropping her glance and making her way to once again grab her music player. Only to, once again, be sidestepped by a boy in leather.
"Ladybug, wait!" she felt her breath hitch as he wrapped an arm around her waist and took her hand in his. "I like this song. Can't it finish before you go?"
Her heart was exceeding the beat of this song by miles, but she kept her composure and tried to sound calm and collected with "I guess so?" which never really sounds cool and collected. Damn.
She listened as Chat hummed along as the lyrics began, his hum a mix between a purr and melody. She found herself laughing as he dramatically swooped her to the side in a dramatic spin. "I'm going to tell you a secret no one knows," he whispered, biting his bottom lip as he peered down at her.
Dammit! "What would that be?"
"I'm a pretty smooth dancer."
"The spin was anything but smooth. I hate to break it to you, kitty," she laughed, consenting as he continued to haphazardly waltz them across the rooftop.
"I thought it was pretty paw-some," he said, face deadpan.
She pursed her lips, shaking her head to say that it was, in fact, not paw-some.
"Another secret then?" he asked, guiding them in a much smoother turn this time.
"If you keep telling me the secrets, then you won't have any secrets left," she admonished, trying to distract herself from the pressure of his hand on her lower back.
"It was never my intentions to have secrets with you."
"…Chat, you know – "
He interrupted her with a shake of his head. "I know, you don't want to tell me. And that's okay, I understand that I can't force you into doing something you aren't ready for. But I hope someday you'll trust me enough."
"You were going to tell me another secret?" she asked, steering the conversation away from the taboo subject of identities.
"Oh! That's right, I was!" he mused, his face looking pensive as he seemed to think it over. "I lied, I'm really not that good of a dancer."
Marinette found herself laughing as she dealt a playful blow to his arm, and he laughed along. "But how about something that's not a secret?"
"If it's not a secret, then I should already know it," she mused, feeling lightheaded as he took her for another spin.
"That's true. You probably already know I think you're beautiful."
Marinette felt the hitch again, this time hitting her harder than before. She scanned his face intently, but there was nothing teasing about his face as he smiled down at her. To keep the tears in, she quickly rushed forward to bury her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around his chest tightly. She felt him loosely drape his arms around her as well, but his voice was worried as he asked, "I'm sorry, did I go too far? I didn't -!"
"Shut up for just a moment you incessantly chatty cat." She could feel the reverberation of him literally clamping his mouth shut. "Could you close your eyes? And promise not to open them?"
She pulled back to peer up at him, and he searched her face a moment before clenching his eyes shut tightly, his face scrunched up around his nose. She took a deep breath, giving Tikki the okay to release her transformation. She reached up, gently touching his exposed face with her bare fingers. She watched as his face contorted in surprise, but he kept his promise and did not open his eyes. Instead, he gently laid his gloved hand over hers where it rested on his face, nuzzling his cheek against her skin. She could feel the slight hint of peach fuzz across his chin as he pressed his face against her fingers. To feel the warmth of him against her fingers was electric, and she took a step forward to place her other hand on the other cheek before gently angling his head down to rest his forehead against hers.
"I'm….I'm going to close my eyes," she choked out gently. "But the choice is yours."
She squeezed her eyes shut, and it took only a second before the gloved hand that had once been on hers was nothing more than a bare hand. She felt him hesitate a moment before moving his hands to grasp both of hers, his forehead still resting on hers. They were warm, and much softer than she imaged they would have been. "I know it's also not a secret that I'd like to kiss you," he attempted to joke, but he couldn't fully disguise the want in it.
"I think it has been a secret that I kinda may have wanted that too," she whispered, feeling his breath against her cheek. She felt a slight surge of pleasure as she felt the same breath sputter against her.
"I'm not Chat right now," he said softly. "I feel like if I kiss you like this, it'd be dishonest."
"I'm not Ladybug either," she muttered, feeling a twisting in her stomach. "I…I don't think you'd want to kiss the actual me either."
She startled as Chat – or, not Chat – laughed. "In a split second, we've gone from being partners to complete strangers. I'm not going to lie, this is a little off-putting. But it doesn't make me like you any less."
It took a sudden surge of Ladybug's trademark confidence rising in her to make her rise to her tiptoes and place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "You say that now.."
"I'll keep saying it," he seemed to growl, possessively pulling her into an embrace. She buried her nose in the soft cotton of his shirt, relishing being able to feel his fingers on her scalp as he cradled her head.
The soft sound of the music playing in the background pulled her back to reality. "Do you think we knew each other?"
"I wouldn't rule it out."
"I trust you."
"Does this mean-?"
She nodded against his chest, pushing herself back. "On the count of three?"
"Three."
The both took a deep breath, counting together. "One…two….three."
She opened her eyes.