Thank you Lnc2 for creating the Silly Songs With Ladybug Challenge. I got the song "Sweatshirt" by Jacob Sartorius. And I know I'm a little late, but this fic was way longer than I expected.
"Really Nino? This was the best you can do?" Adrien mused when he received a package right when he stepped onto the school's campus, although had a hunch on what it contained. Nino's expression was a dead giveaway.
"Just open the package and put it on! I had to commission this online, but it was so worth it! I'm pretty sure the designer thinks I'm one of your obsessed fanboys, but whatever. Time to pay up dude!" the DJ laughed as Adrien tore through the package and looked at the design.
"It's a stupid sweatshirt," the model shot a glare at his friend, although he was a little amused at the design himself.
The front of the sweatshirt said "I'm Under Agreste" along with a picture of his face back when he had a particularly embarrassing underwear photoshoot. The picture was his best attempt at a smoldering gaze, although it wasn't all that hard for him to pose for the camera. All he had to do was imagine that he was posing for Ladybug. Or rather Marinette.
Speaking of which, he looked up to see the designer was entering the school with Alya by her side. The ravenette was laughing, most likely at something her friend said before looking around the courtyard and spotting him. Immediately she turned a bright red and looked away super fast.
Adrien sighed as the girls continued on as they were. It's not his fault that the reveal has been particularly embarrassing. Mostly on his part. Which was why it took him so long to actually talk to her about it. However, it was his fault that there was a semi-awkward rift between them now. This was what he gets for waiting so long to confront her.
"Dude! There's more!" Nino interrupted his thoughts, "Turn to the back."
If Adrien thought the front was bad, the back definitely took the cake. In big loopy letters read "Guess things got too Agreste-ive", along with a few lipstick imprints scattered randomly on the fabric. It wasn't hard for anyone to guess what the sweatshirt was implying.
"Does it have to be a week?" Adrien squeaked out as he turned the shade of Ladybug's suit.
Nino laughed, although it sounded like a sinister crackle to his ears.
"This is what happens when you lose a bet! Time to follow through with it," the DJ grinned.
The model grumbled before slipping the sweatshirt on. He already had a feeling that this was going to be a long week. Luckily he only had to wear the sweatshirt within the school campus. His father would throw a fit if he actually saw him wear anything remotely hideous in front of the public.
They both waited for the bell to ring before heading to class. And just as they got to their homeroom, Adrien got the reaction that he was expecting. All eyes turned to him and Nino's "gift". Immediately the whole class was in an uproar. Scratch that. The attention he was getting now was a thousand times worse.
"Dang Agreste. Trying to tell us what happened last night or something?" Alya smirked with a wriggle of her eyebrows.
Nino laughed as he greeted his girlfriend.
"This is his payment for losing that bet two weeks ago."
Alya smiled in delight. "My, my Lahiffe. I see you've been picking up on some of my teachings. I can't believe that he's wearing this for a whole day!"
Ha, He wishes it was only for a day. Not that Alya needed to know. Unfortunately, Nino had no mercy. And just like he suspected, his friend told the reporter all she needed to know.
"This is quite impressive," the brunette mused, "Good luck trying to escape all your fans."
Adrien grumbled. No need to remind him when he already got a ton of reactions from them this morning.
After a while of more teasing from his friends, they decided to spare him. The rest of the class period was uneventful. However, he did hear the offhand comment coming from Chloé or a stray remark from Alix.
When lunch came around, Adrien underestimated the attention that was coming his way.
"Agreste obviously wants more attention from his lady fans. As if he didn't have it already, let the other guys have a turn!"
"Isn't Adrien's sweatshirt hot? I definitely need to buy one for myself!"
"I wonder if he wants that sweatshirt to apply to me." He heard snickers from that particular group of girls.
"Whatever. He's probably wearing it to show off to his girlfriend."
The last comment made Adrien blush as he and Nino headed towards their usual lunch spot. It's not like he never thought of it before after all Chat Noir tried showing off to Ladybug countless times before. But how would Marinette act if he tried showing off as Adrien?
In fact, the whole day the designer was rather quiet about the whole sweatshirt ordeal. Her opinions never surfaced once.
"Hey guys! Sorry we're late," Alya smiled as she and Marinette joined the group.
The ravenette shot a glance at him, before looking down at his sweatshirt and looking back up at his face. The model smirked. Just as he was about to ask her opinion on his fashion choice, Alya decided to cut in.
"Have you guys seen the new Ladynoir content on my blog?"
Marinette looked smug as she settled into the new topic. She may have never shown interest in Ladynoir content before, but it beats Adrien's to-be interrogation. Meanwhile, Adrien was sulking in his seat. And since it looks like he can't talk to her alone, it looks like the only time available would be on patrol, which is, unfortunately, two days away.
Doesn't matter though. His lady may think she could escape him, but she has never been more wrong. All he needed to do was wait a little longer.
The rest of the day, and the two days after that was nothing but hilarious torture for Adrien. Seriously, he was pretty sure he saw one of his fans have a close replica of his current sweatshirt. It was hilariously creepy, and Nino couldn't help but agree.
However, when the two friends enter the classroom for the final lesson of the day, it seems like they were interrupting a certain conversation. One involving Adrien and his sweatshirt.
"Seriously. Whatcha think Mari? Hot or not?"
"It's just a stupid sweatshirt Alya. If he and Nino want to be ridiculous then that's fine. A lot of people wear these things without others fussing over it."
"But it's the Adrien Agreste! Obviously people are going to fuss over it!"
"That doesn't mean that I have to Alya."
The redhead huffed before countering her best friend. "You never answered my question Mars. Although, if I didn't know you any better, I'm pretty sure you think sunshine model was pretty hot."
Alya smirked mischievously as the ravenette turned bright red before composing herself instantaneously.
Marinette rolled her eyes. "It's not like it's a super big deal or anything."
The group caught on to her mistake before the ravenette could do so herself.
"Not a big deal huh," the brunette smirked evilly.
Marinette rolled her eyes again as she took out her sketchbook, not interested in further conversation, "Yep. Not a big deal Als."
"I bet you wouldn't make it a day in Mr. Model's shoes. How about I offer you a deal."
Whatever the dare was going to be, Adrien already knew that his lady was going to go through with it. Ladybug was super competitive and never backed down from a challenge before. Why was this time any different?
Unfortunately for the model, he couldn't hear what the dare was, since the girls spotted them and decided to keep their deal a secret. Patrol was tonight anyways. He'll get all the answers he needed by then.
"Alya won the bet, so you're safe for the rest of the week. Your welcome."
Adrien pulled the phone away from his face as he stared at the screen, not that Nino could see his expression.
"What does that have to do with anything?" The model finally voiced. Maybe he missed something the DJ said earlier that day. Or maybe his friend just didn't mention anything at all. It wouldn't be the first time. It seems like his friend kept a lot of little things a secret.
He heard some shuffling across the screen before a new voice spoke up.
"Doesn't matter," Alya grumbled before perking up a second later. "Can I borrow your sweatshirt the rest of the week though?"
Before Adrien could reply, the reporter was already speaking again, "Thanks! Bye!"
The model didn't even bother to speak since he heard more shuffling across the phone.
"Marinette lost her side of the bet. You're off the hook for now," Nino voiced, not bothering to explain things anymore.
Well thanks Nino. As if that's going to tell me anything, the model thought.
"Meaning?"
"That means that she's going to be wearing your sweatshirt. The stupid gag gift? I thought that you'd be more excited but-"
Adrien stopped listening after that.
All he could think about now was Marinette. In his sweatshirt. Marinette was going to be in his sweatshirt! Oh god! His lady was going to wearing something he wore! God, he was so happy!
He was brought back to earth when Plagg started growling and flew across the room to his precious Camembert stack. He mumbled something about stupid love-struck teens before indulging in his snack.
"I gotta go Nino. See you tomorrow ok?"
"But dude!"
The model hung up. He looked at the clock and realized it was time for patrol. Perfect. He smirked as he called upon his transformation. Won't his lady be happy about what he'd learned...
"I think that's about it, don't you think Chat?" Ladybug smiled as they finished their rounds for the night. She walked along the beams of the Eiffel Tower before sitting down.
She looked at the view of Paris sparkling in the moonlight. Sleepless nights were worth it if she could see her city like this almost every night.
She turned her attention towards her partner, who was oddly silent for most of the patrol. However, action spoke louder than words. Earlier when they did happen to speak, his eyes would always gaze into hers. And although he never specifically expressed his emotions, his eyes would always spark a question. Kinda curious, but also a bit mischievous. Like he knew something she didn't, but he wanted her to tell him that certain something anyways.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" Ladybug asked as her partner's attention turned to face her.
He came closer to where she was. He leaned into her personal space bubble for a moment, before quickly retreating.
"What do you think LB?"
Ladybug rolled her eyes, "I'm not a mind reader chaton."
"Really now?"
Chat Noir smirked, "So you wouldn't happen to know anything about losing a certain bet then. Or having to wear a certain sweatshirt tomorrow?"
He took great pleasure in watching his lady's face match the color of her suit.
"N-nope! N-not at all!" The heroine all but squeaked out.
Curse Alya and her bait and tricks. But now Chat was acting all smug too? The next two days were going to be the death of her.
"I can't wait to see you in something I wore. Covered in my scent," she saw Chat glance at her lips before looking up.
"Y-yeah?" She shuttered. Damn it! Now was not the time to portray any of the emotions she currently felt.
His voice dropped an octave as he scooted closer, "You'll be marked in something that's mine. I hope you're ready for tomorrow m'lady. Cause I don't intend to leave you alone."
"How about you don't?" It was already going to be torturous enough just to wear that darn sweatshirt. Adrien hanging around all day? She couldn't take that.
"Nice to know that my presence affects you so much bugaboo."
Chat hasn't used these nicknames in a while. The reveal seemed to affect Adrien and Marinette the most, but for the most part, Ladybug and Chat Noir's partnership remained the same. Except for the affectionate nicknames.
She wasn't going to tell Chat that she missed them, but did he seriously have to bring them up now? It was hard enough trying to keep her cool.
"It doesn't." She pulled out her yo-yo and got ready to leave when Chat Noir caught her wrist.
"How about a purrposal?"
He watched as she turned to face him.
Hook.
"And that is?"
Line
"I could get Alya to call off the bet tomorrow. I know one of her dirty little secrets."
Sinker
She put her yo-yo away before examining his face.
"You want something out of this. Don't think that I don't know how this works kitty."
Chat didn't answer. "How about another dare, bug?"
That was about the last thing she wanted right now, but if she could get Alya's dare off her back? She'll take it.
"What do you have in mind?"
Chat stood up slowly, looking at the direction of her house.
"I'll race you to your balcony. Winner can claim anything they want from the loser."
Ladybug studied her partner for a moment as she went over the consequences in her head. What could Adrien possibly want from her? Considering where they're racing to, the odds of her winning were pretty high.
"Deal. Although, it's pretty much a lost cause in your case. Seriously Chat? My own balcony?"
He was about to reply before she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, which was enough to stun him for a good few seconds and make him forget about what he was going to say.
She gave him a wink before jumping off the Eiffel Tower, "Go!"
He heard her laugh as she got her head start. Cheater.
He got started on his own path with the thought of a dare in mind. After all, his lady didn't need to know that he found a fast route to her balcony when he was on a solo patrol one night. Nor did she need to know why he took solo patrols at all.
He pushed all thoughts out of his mind as he propelled himself through the air. Right now, he had a race to win.
"You couldn't have won! I swear you cheated!"
It was pretty amusing seeing Ladybug all worked up. She's been saying things like this for the last few minutes, trying to see how she could've possibly lost. It was pretty cute.
"You technically had a head start m'lady. If anything, you're the cheater here."
"I was winning! I saw my empty balcony Chat! You weren't even in my line of sight!" She tried thinking of all the possible routes in mind. She knew the way to her house best! She should've came here first.
"I still won bugaboo. Or did you forget about what the winner gets?"
She rolled her eyes. "Sure Chat. Let's just get this over with."
She honestly should've learned from losing a dare the first time.
Chat smirked. "If you can keep your cool throughout the next two days, then the dare tonight is off. I won't be able to claim my prize or anything."
Ladybug eyed Chat. "You can't do a dare inside a dare!"
"Well it's not like I'm asking for a double prize or anything! Besides, the odds are more in your favor right now."
His behavior was pretty suspicious right now. "That's because you're allowing the odds in my favor!" Whatever he was planning, she was onto him.
Chat Noir opened his mouth, before closing it again. This argument was going nowhere.
"Do you want to do it or not?" he finally asked.
Well, she had nothing to lose. And like she said earlier, what could he possibly want from her?
"Why not?"
Her partner grinned before planting a kiss on her cheek, similar to what she did earlier that night.
"Purrfect! See you tomorrow LB!" She watched as he disappeared from her balcony, staring after his form as he made his way home. When she finally snapped out of her stupor, she detransformed and headed inside. Stupid cat.
She came to school wearing her usual clothing of choice, not expecting much from the day. However, when she got to the front steps of her school, there her friends were, huddled in a circle with the smuggest expressions on their faces. Oh boy.
She snuck into the school, hoping that her friends wouldn't notice. She finally allowed herself to take a breath of relief, once she made it into the locker area.
"Going somewhere, m'lady?"
She jumped in surprise before turning around and glaring at the blonde model.
"A little warning would be nice," she grumbled. Honestly, this whole week has been exhausting. This shouldn't have been a surprise.
Adrien let a small chuckle before giving her a small bag.
"The sweatshirt's in there."
Still glaring at her friend, she snatched the bag out of his hands and went to the bathroom to change. Luckily, it was empty. No need to die of embarrassment just yet.
She stepped out of the stall when she was done and looked at herself in one of the mirrors. It looked slightly big on her, with the sleeves being a tad too long, but it was pretty cozy. She took a sniff of the sweatshirt and realized that Adrien was right, she was going to be marked in his scent. She turned red at that thought but forced herself to calm down. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her embarrassed and flustered. With that in mind, she got out of the bathroom only to bump into Mr. Model himself.
"Seriously? You couldn't wait until class?"
She looked up at his face only to notice his beet red expression.
Meanwhile, Adrien was trying his best not to have a mental breakdown. Welp. Too late for that. He could already tell he was blushing furiously. And judging from his lady's smirk, he knew he looked exactly like the love-struck teen he knew he was. And who could blame him? Marinette looked adorable.
"Maybe it's you who needs to learn how to keep his cool," she taunted him. That's right. Adrien knew the effect he had on her, but she nearly forgot that she could easily turn the tables around.
"Let's get to class minou."
He grumbled but followed her anyways.
Who knew that a sweatshirt could be such a big deal? Everyone but Marinette, that's who.
If she thought that Adrien's grand entrance on Monday was a big deal, it couldn't compare to how the class reacted when they saw her.
Let's just say Chloe was furious, Rose was ever the romantic, and the rest of the class was wondering what took so long for them to get together. Except that's the problem. They weren't.
"Girl, if it only took a ridiculous sweatshirt to get you guys together, I would've done that a long time ago," Alya grinned as Marinette took her seat.
The ravenette let out a sigh. She wishes they were together, but due to strict "I don't know where we stand" circumstances, they can't.
"Alya, you know I would've told you if this was actually true, but the sad reality is that it's not."
The redhead studied the designer for a moment before nodding. "He'll open up his eyes eventually, don't worry. And guess what? If he's too blind to realize what's in front of him, I'll date you myself."
Marinette giggled at her friend's tactics, "I'm not sure if Nino would appreciate that, but sure."
"Well screw Nino! Why date him when I could date my best friend?"
A laugh escaped Marinette before she glanced at her friend. A look of understanding passed between the two girls. "Thanks Alya, I needed that."
Unsurprisingly, Adrien used every excuse to hang at Mari's hip for the rest of the school day.
There were mixed reactions, but the majority of them were good. Surprisingly, a lot of the guys actually congratulated Adrien, which was a compliment in itself. And there were a couple of girls like Rose that were super sweet and wished them the best. But once his fans started realizing that she was indeed wearing Adrien's sweatshirt™, that's when shit started going down.
"Since when was Marinette dating the Adrien Agreste?"
"Apparently, rumor has it that they've been dating for a while, but they've only started going public today."
"I heard that she's just using him for better connections with his father."
"Actually, she's just blackmailing him to stay with her, otherwise he would've totally ditched her a long time ago."
And sure, some of the remarks hurt, but she was tougher than dumb rumors. A couple of times out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Adrien give some of them a glare, which shut them up immediately. But as much as Marinette would've liked to do something herself, she couldn't. She still had a dare to keep up, unlike Adrien.
"You ok m'lady?" he asked when they reached her house. He insisted that he'd walk her there, which was sweet and all, but rather unnecessary.
"It's fine. Your fans aren't as intimidating as me you know."
Adrien grinned, "Don't I know it."
The front bakery door opened, grabbing their attention as Sabine stepped out.
"Marinette, you should've told us that you were going to bring a visitor!" The mother looked between the two teens when she finally noticed the sweatshirt Marinette was wearing.
"I was just about to go, Mrs. Cheng. I was just walking Marinette home," Adrien flashed a polite smile.
Sabine nodded, "Always the gentlemen I see. It's great to see you and my daughter finally together!"
Marinette shot her a look before glancing back at Adrien, who did absolutely nothing to correct her mother.
"It's always great whenever I see her! And as much as I would like to stay and chat, I gotta go to a photoshoot right afterward."
Sabine smiled before handing him a bag, "Drop by whenever you like. And here's that special order you requested." She winked before sending Adrien on his way.
He grinned and waved goodbye as he made his way back to school, where his driver was waiting to pick him up.
The exchange between her mother and her partner seemed a little strange, but Marinette thought nothing of it. She had some homework to do anyway.
She started up the stairs when her mother called out to her, "It's so nice of your boyfriend to give you such a nice sweatshirt sweetie!"
"Maman!"
Marinette was going to freak out over her surprise, Adrien just knew it. The special order that Sabine gave him was perfect! He could see where Marinette got her creative talents from.
"Kid, you're going to give her a panic attack. You sure you want to go through with this?" Plagg asked his chosen as he got ready for the day.
"Let's see her try winning the bet with this!" he tucked the surprise into his bag. No need for his father to ruin his fun.
Plagg rolled his eyes. "Good luck pigtails."
If all went well, these two dorky idiots would be dating by the end of the day.
Marinette couldn't believe her eyes.
"Alya kill me!" The day was already starting off and the ravenette already wanted to be put out of her misery!
If Marinette thought she was going to last through the whole week, she was sadly mistaken. Because there he was, Adrien in all of his stupid, utterly ridiculous sweatshirt glory!
"If found please return me to Marinette Dupain-Cheng" was written in bold letters, along with a pretty embarrassing photo from her cousin's wedding about 5 months ago. Marinette made her mother swore to never let that photo see the light of day but guess what? She obviously had to betray her and engrave it on a sweatshirt worn by the number one model in all of Paris! Definitely getting good parenting points for that mom!
Alya followed her best friend's gaze and bit her lip before giving in and laughing hysterically, much to the ravenette's horror!
Oh she should've known that her chaton was going to be up to no good! Her mother was in so much trouble! She should've interrogated that "special order" Adrien received yesterday, but did she stick to her gut? No she didn't!
"Adrien Agreste!" she stormed to where he was at, calmly chatting with Nino as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He smirked as he took in his lady's expression. Her face was red with her signature Ladybug scowl, yet she was utterly adorable.
"Yes princess?"
She pretty much lost it.
(If you asked her later, she was going to blame everything on that stupid sweatshirt and Adrien Agreste's smug face. Not that anyone actually believed her.)
When she was done with her rant, Marinette knew she made a mistake. Stupid cat made her lose her cool on purpose!
"Ugh, come with me!" the ravenette huffed.
Adrien didn't protest as he was dragged by the arm into a secluded area.
"You're matching me!"
Obviously. That was his plan.
"Don't like the look m'lady?"
She wasn't going to admit that she did, otherwise it'll feed his ego. So instead, she decided to avoid the question altogether, "I was going to win! But you cheated!"
"All's fair in love and war. I just happened to know your greatest weakness."
"And what's that?"
He took a step closer and he took delight in watching her face blush. He let out a small chuckled. He was never going to get tired of that.
"Me."
Marinette felt her breath hitch a bit. "So... what's your prize?"
"A date."
She felt him reach for her fingers and intertwined his with hers.
"If you haven't noticed yet, I'm still very much in love with you, Marinette. And hopefully you'll do me the honors of saying yes?"
He lifted her knuckles and gave a feather-light kiss, before letting go. When he gazed at her through his eyelashes, she saw the hope and adoration that he felt for her, and wondered how she was this lucky to have such an amazing partner.
"You make it sound as if you're actually proposing instead of asking me on one measly date," she smiled.
"Well, a gorgeous charming girl deserves the best. And I was hoping this would last more than just one measly date. Wouldn't you agree?"
His grin was breathtaking, and she felt herself fall just a little deeper.
"Pick me up at eight tomorrow?"
She reached for his hand as they started walking to class.
"It's a date, m'lady."