"To Sew You Care"
After the "date" incident, while battling Glaciator, Ladybug was worried about her partner. Despite her best efforts, she just wasn't able to make him understand how valuable he was to her. Well, if she couldn't tell him, she'll have to show him.
Ladybug landed lightly of her balcony before detransforming. Quickly so as not to wake her parents, she slipped down into her room and flopped onto the bed. Almost unwillingly, her thoughts drifted back to the "date" Chat Noir had tried to set up between them.
Yes, it was unreasonable for him to be mad over her missing it – she had never said she would come after all! But…his face when she told him she liked someone else. There was no resentment, and thank goodness for that, Paris needed its crime fighting duo to stay a duo, but there was definitely disappointment.
She had tried to tell him what he meant to her, how much she valued their friendship, but words never came easy to her, on either side of the mask. Marinette groaned dramatically, rolling over in bed. Chat was her friend, and Marinette loved her friends. Ergo, she needed to make that cat see just how much she loved him – in a strictly platonic way of course.
Friendship bracelets!
If one thing was true about Marinette Dupain-Cheng, it was that she is an excellent gift giver. He frequently brought in cookies or other treats for her friends at school, and the blue scarf she made Adrien for his birthday last year was still his favorite.
She was going to make the best Ladybug and Chat Noir friendship bracelets in existence or her name wasn't Marinette Dupain-Cheng!
Dropping down into her pink swivel chair, she surveyed the yarn and fabric she kept stockpiled in the near her sewing machine, where her latest project, a new sundress, sat half way finished. Suddenly the gift seemed lacking.
Was a bracelet enough? Despite her earlier vehemence, friendship bracelets were fairly easy to make. Maybe she should do gloves instead? Lucky charms, like the one she gave to Adrien? Something useful perhaps? She could make a bag like the one Tikki rides in for Chat's kwami. Then again, Chat probably wouldn't want to carry around a purse all the time.
Sighing, she scribbled the ideas in a corner of sketchbook and slid back into bed. A quick glance at the clock told her that she'd only get a few hours of sleep before her alarm would wake her again for school.
OoOoO
The next few days passed in a frenzied rush of school work, Akuma attacks, and designing as she continued to struggle to find the prefect token for her partner.
"Whatcha doing, girl?" her best friend's voice, carefully kept quiet enough to avoid the teacher's notice, interrupted her musings
"Nothing!" she squeaked, slamming her sketchbook closed in a totally inconspicuous manner, that didn't at all draw attention to what she had been doodling the moment before.
Alya raised one eyebrow, "Riiiiiiight. Is this the same 'nothing' that you've been working on all week?" She slid one hand across the desk towards the book, "Come on Marinette, your designs are amazing! Can't I just have a peek?"
The bluenette pushed the sketchbook across the table with a resigned sigh. When Alya set her mind to something it was often easiest to just give them than try to outlast her. Besides, maybe a fresh pair of eyes could envision something she hadn't yet.
"I wanted to design some type of Ladybug and Chat Noir inspired matching friendship bracelets. Well not bracelets exactly" she giggled, gesturing to her numerous designs. "It was such a simple idea in my head, but every sketch just seems off. Ugg! Why can't I get this right!" she groaned, throwing her arms across the table.
For a moment Alya said nothing and Marinette sipped further into despair. If even Alya was at a loss for words, the situation was well and truly hopeless.
"Don't get me wrong, girl, these are all great but none of them are really…..matching" See the offended look on her best friend's face, she quickly continued,
"Just look at this one" She said, pointing to a sketch of fingerless gloves. The set intended for Chat was green with a black paw print outlined on the palms. Her own pair was bright red with classic black ladybug spots.
"Both designs are cute, but they are still two separate designs, you know? Maybe if you combined them somehow – hello? Marinette, you still listening?"
No, the designer was in fact not listening anymore. Instead her eyes stared forward slightly unfocused, while her mind moved a thousand miles a minute.
Of course the outfits should have matched! What had she been thinking?
Stealing her sketchbook back from Alya, she quickly went back through her previous designs altering them slightly to combine each pair. Not all of them worked well together, but one did.
And one was all she needed.
OoOoO
The second school let out, Marinette was out of her seat and halfway across Paris at her favorite fabric store picking up the last few odds and ends she needed the project.
Dumping all her materials on her desk, Marinette let out a little huff. Now for the real work to begin. She stayed up late into the night working dedicatedly, all the while trying to keep Tikki from peeking at her work.
Apparently celestial beings aren't use to having secrets kept from them.
At long last the gift was finished and tucked carefully away in her school bag to keep away any prying eyes. Now all Marinette needed was a refreshing two hours of sleep before she had to get up for school and an Akuma attack so she could see her partner.
No need to worry about the second one, She thought wryly, Chloe should take care of that no problem.
And sadly, she was right.
School was hardly halfway over before a garishly dressed girl burst into the room screaming that band kids were NOT lame and swearing vengeance on Chloe.
OoOoO
"Pound it!" The superheroes cried in unison. The Akuma had been surprisingly easy to defeat. Her only power was to take away people's ability to play musical instruments, and well, a yoyo didn't exactly count.
A beep sounded rom her earrings, reminding her to speak quickly, "Chat wait! I was thinking about, you know, the while date thing" she whispered the word, "But you're my partner! And I wanted to make sure you always knew that. No matter what"
She held out the gift, she had snatched from her bag just before transforming. Well gifts plural.
She held two identical black baseball caps with a green brim. On the brim were little ladybugs embroidered in black thread, outlining the shape of cat's paw.
Silently, her partner took one, turning away as he did so.
"I just wanted to make something to show that I care. As friends." She quickly added, to avoid giving any false hope .
Chat was still facing his back to her. After a moment his shoulders began to silently shake. Oh on. Why was he crying?! Had she said something wrong? This was definitely not in her job description. Nevertheless, she reached out a tentative hand to comfort(?)him.
Suddenly he turned. Instead of tears, mischief glinted in his eyes as he laughed, "Actually My Lady, I think you mean to sew you care!"