Chapter One
Beeep. Beeeep. BEEEEEEEEP.
A small, pale hand reached out from under the floral pink duvet and slapped around the empty air between the bed and the nightstand. A bright pop of red zoomed out from under the blanket, tiredly blinking her big violet eyes while flying to hit the snooze button on the phone that the hand couldn't quite reach.
Yawning, the kwami took a second to rest next to the lamp on the table. The early summer sun illuminated the room through the blinds, its golden rays resting on the now still hand of the girl underneath the blanket.
A second turned into a minute, then five. Tikki, as sleepy as she was, knew that if she didn't do something soon, Marinette was going to be late. She willed herself to fly up, lightly grabbing her Miraculous wielder's hand and giving it a tiny shake.
"Mari, it's time to get up," she cooed in her singsong voice. "Marii, Mariiiii."
No response. Tikki tried shaking her hand harder.
"Wake uuuup." A little bit louder this time. She was returned with an incoherent grumbling noise, but no movement. Tikki sighed. The phone now read 8:30, meaning classes started in fifteen minutes.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
"You have a text from Adriennn," she sung out.
Marinette sat up in a tumble, fighting against the blankets she had tangled into during the night. Her eyes were wide, frantic, and she grasped at the phone that Tikki held up just out of her reach.
"Whoops, nevermind, it was just spam. Sorry."
"You little-" Marinette started, finally getting the device back from her Kwami who was now sporting a mischievous grin. She didn't get to finish her thought as her mouth dropped, registering the time displayed on the lock screen.
Crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap, Mari mumbled under her breath as she rushed through her morning routine, all to the sound of Tikki's snorting. Getting ready in no time was one of her few talents, but still, Marinette couldn't help but feel pretty bad, considering that today was the last day of school.
Marinette had just managed to clamber into her seat before the opening bell rung, prompting a relieved sigh from both herself, her kwami, and Alya, who had just added another tick to the tally inside her noteback, "Times Marinette has Actually Shown Up On Time".
"Girl, I can't believe it." Alya whispered, voice low despite the fact that class hadn't officially started yet. "That makes one hundred."
A hundred out of a hundred-eighty. Not bad, considering how often Marinette oversleeps as a result of her night-time double duty.
She grinned back sheepishly, pulling her notebook and pencils out of her bag. "Couldn't exactly be late on the last day, could I?"
The classes were over before Marinette even realized they had started. While each and every teacher gave the same lecture about staying safe and summer readings (why even give out homework during a break?), Marinette stared dreamily at the head of her blonde, green-eyed, supermodel crush in front of her.
She could daydream for hours- no, days- about him, and what their wedding would be like, and the trip they would take to Tahiti for their twentieth anniversary, and-
"Earth to Marinette, hello!" Alya's voice snapped her back to reality. She was still staring at Adrien, but she realized with a start it was no longer his head she had been making that goofy smile at, but his face, his perfect, chiselled, kind-looking-
"Oh, oh yea," she sputtered, realizing everyone was waiting for her to make a response. "Uh, what were you saying again?"
"I said," Nino answered back, used to how out of it Marinette could be, "we were thinking of going camping Monday night, up near Rouen. You up for it?"
"We?" Marinette squeaked, growing redder every second she realized Adrien was looking right at her.
"Yes, we, as in you, me, Nino," Alya took a second to clear her throat, "and Adrien."
Marinette could feel her tomato-coloured head nodding before she could even manage to have her mouth formulate the word "yes".
"Great!" Adrien's voice caused her to look at him with a start. "I'm really looking forward to it!" He grinned at her, and she grinned- well, she hoped she grinned- back. As Nino and Adrien shuffled out of the lecture seats, exiting the classroom with a small wave to the two girls, Marinette turned to Alya and shrieked.
"Oh my god is this really happening to me is this a dream pinch me Alya- oh my God how am I going to do this we're practically spending the night toge-" Marinette's voice turned from one of pure bliss to pure terror in a matter of seconds.
"Woah, there, slow down girl" Alya grabbed a hold of her flustered BFF's shoulders, chuckling lightly. "Yes, it's happening, and don't worry, you'll be fine! It's me you're spending the night with" she reassured her friend with a wink.
Marinette's smile came back, larger than ever. "Ahh, I can't wait!" she squealed, pulling her best friend into a tight hug, as Alya broke into her own smile. It's going to be one hell of a night to get through, she thought, rubbing Marinette's back absentmindedly. And, if we're lucky, you'll be together with Adrien by the end of it!
On the desk, Alya's phone vibrated with a text from Nino.
Phase One successful!
The weekend flew by, and at last, Monday was upon them. Alya was at Marinette's, the two working briskly to get their last minute packing done in the early hours of the morning.
"Phew," Alya sighed, catching the bottle of water Marinette tossed her with the hand not holding her plaid green backpack. "Thanks."
"No problem," Marinette replied, pulling her own bright pink backpack on her shoulders. "Nino and Adrien are bringing the tents, right?" she asked.
"Yup," Alya replied after taking a swig of water. "They got the tents, we got the grub," she grinned as she pulled the large grocery bag filled with marshmallows, graham crackers, and other assorted munchies that were necessary to have around a campfire off the countertop. "Ready to go?" she asked.
"Yup!" Marinette beamed, her smile full of excitement.
The group was to meet at Gare du Nord at 10, where they were going to be taking a train up to Rouen. After that, it was going to be a few hours of walking to the actual campsite, which was in the forest beside the village.
"You sure you know how to get to it?" Alya had asked Nino, more than once. "Absolutely! I've gone there with my uncle every summer for the last three years, and besides-" he shook a wrinkled piece of paper in her face, "I've got a map!"
And it was at 1 pm when the four teens found themselves in the middle of Rouen, after a long and frankly awkward train ride in which Alya and Nino spent the hours chatting away about their favourite music groups and Marinette and Adrien played a long game of making eye contact, and then breaking away to stare in the other direction for five minutes.
Alya had cracked down on her after an hour, hushing "You've got to try talking to him at some point."
And Marinette had tried, willing up the courage to ask "what kind of music do you listen to, Adrien?"
"Oh, uh, whatever's on the radio, usually," he replied honestly- fencing, piano, and Chinese didn't leave him much time for listening to music other than when he was being driven around to the aforementioned activities.
Marinette was so happy he responded she didn't notice Alya glaring at him, nor Nino elbowing him in the ribs, nor the barely perceptible "Ow" under his breath as he rubbed the now sore spot on his abdomen.
The game continued.
When the train had finally stopped and the group made their way to the edge of the town, Alya pulled Nino aside, grateful for the distraction of the countless bakeries lining the streets that had caught the attention of Marinette's eyes and Adrien's stomach.
"This can't keep going" she complained, once the pair was out of earshot. "We've got to do something. Marinette… well she's Marinette. But Adrien ought to be able to keep a conversation going!"
"You overestimate him, ma chere amie," Nino replied. "He's as dense as a brick when it comes to romance."
Alya sighed in defeat, looking past Nino to see her two friends walk into yet another store. Adrien, being the gentleman he is, held the door open. Marinette, being a clumsy awkward teenage girl in the vicinity of her drop-dead-gorgeous crush, tripped on a dent in the cobblestones, hit her head on the open door and fell backward, landing on her tailbone with a thud.
You could see the redness of her face from a mile away.
"Is there any helping them?" The redhead asked rhetorically, shaking her head in embarrassment for her poor, poor friend as Adrien delicately helped her up to her feet.
"Ah, but there is," Nino reassured her, his voice taking on a devilish hint. "You know how the weather forecast said there would be rain tonight?"
"Yeah, and how I called you an idiot for still wanting to go camping?" Alya replied, eyebrows quirked.
He took off his backpack and zipped open the pocket to take something out. "Phase Two," he grinned slyly.
As Alya realized what he was doing, her eyes grew wide.
"Nino?" she purred, prompting him to look up. She pushed his back playfully. "You're a genius!"
Marinette and Adrien were still in the boulangerie. The embarrassment of the earlier incident wouldn't stop either of them from getting a load of the deliciously fresh-baked bread the town had to offer.
"Should we get a baguette and split it between the four of us?" Adrien asked, browsing the long golden loaves and taking in the whiff of homemade goods.
"Yeah, uh, that s-sounds good," Marinette answered. She took a seat at one of the high marbled tables and watched bashfully as Adrien went up to the lady at the counter and asked her for one of the loaves. He hesitated for a split second.
"Could I also get a croissant? Thanks"
When he returned to where Marinette was sitting, he carefully placed the baguette on the table and pulled the croissant into two pieces, handing one out to her.
"Sorry," he laughed lightly. "I get a craving for these sometimes."
"No, no, it's okay, th-thank you!" She stumbled back politely, taken aback by his thoughtfulness. "If you want, I-I could bring you some."
She swallowed, seeing him visibly brighten up. "I-I mean when we get back of course, and, uh, oh, only if you-you'd want them, that is."
"I'd love that," he said with a wide smile. "Thanks, Marinette."
As he said her name, she could have sworn her soul left her body and flew up to heaven. The two finished eating their croissants in silence, savouring the warm, buttery taste.
Is this what it would feel like, butterflies fluttered in Marinette's stomach, to go out on a date with Adrien?
Adrien was either completely unaware of Marinette's ever-reddening face, or he was completely nonchalant about it.
If Nino was there he would've guessed the former.
"Hey Marinette?" Adrien asked meekly. Her gaze, which had been cast longingly outside the window, turned to him with pointed attention.
"Mmhm?" she replied around her pastry.
"What time we were supposed to meet up with Alya and Nino again?"
"Oh, um," she answered, quickly swallowing. "Let me just, uh, find my phone and-"
Her eyes widened.
"Five minutes ago."
The pair rushed out of the bakery, racing toward the small garden where they had originally split up. Nino and Alya were lounged on the decorative boulders, talking away, having too forgotten the time. They seemed a bit surprised when their friends showed up out of breath and red in the face- though, knowing how well in shape both Marinette and Adrien were, Alya suspected it wasn't because they seem to have come flying over the town to get there.
"Here," Adrien panted, holding out the baguette to Nino. "You and Alya share, Marinette and I already ate."
"Sick," Nino replied, taking hold of the now-cooled bread and breaking it in half to give a piece to Alya. "Thanks bro."
The group picked up all of their bags and began to head out toward the forest to the west of the city. Alya munched away happily on her baguette, walking beside Marinette as they kept a few paces behind the boys. Nino already had his map out, and was telling stories of his childhood camping adventures to Adrien, coming dangerously close to hitting the poor blond in the face with his baguette as he re-enacted his first fishing experience.
"So did you and Adrien have fun on your little lunch date?" Alya whispered, causing Marinette to stop dead in her tracks and start violently blushing again.
"Ah, well, I- we, um," she was at a loss for words. "It wasn't, uh, he didn't-"
"I'm just kidding with you, girl," Alya laughed, taking Marinette by the arm and lurching her forward to keep up the guys. "Though honestly, what if he does ask you out on a date? What will you do?"
Marinette walked pensively. She could barely squeak around Adrien, much less hold an actual conversation around him.
Alya, on the other hand, had quickened her pace. "Ninoooo," she sung out, sliding in between him and Adrien and looping her arm around his that was holding the map. "I wanna talk to you for a second."
She turned to Adrien. "In private, preferably." She stuck out her tongue, prompting Adrien to sigh. He turned around, and, seeing that Marinette was lagging behind, jogged up to her.
"You're going to have to pick up the pace, I wouldn't want to lose you!" He joked cheerfully, taking her hand and pulling her forward.
Marinette was being pulled around a lot today.
But she hadn't realized it was Adrien firmly grasping her hand until she looked up from her feet and saw his grinning face.
Meanwhile, Alya took Nino's map and turned it upside down in his hands.
"Phase one and a half," she said simply.
They shared a smile, and the group kept walking.
Author's Notes
Hello! I hope you enjoy this happy-go-lucky Adrienette fic :D
Feedback is always encouraged ^^