AN: So I totally forgot to do a disclaimer at the start of Chapter 1, so that's probably the first I'll be adding to the start of this chapter, whoops. I just wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed the first chapter, and a massive thanks to my brand new beta reader leafgreenflower, who has already improved my writing beyond words. I just wanted to put a fore-warning in, I am doing VCE this year which means that most of my time will be dedicated to schoolwork because I'd love to pass Year 11 and my year 12 subject so these chapters may be irregular which I understand is annoying, but it is my own fault. And to anyone who is actually a piano player, I'd really love for you not to be too critical as I've only played for a couple of years myself and I'm not doing exams, therefore haven't really done any theory regarding it. Thanks, Cass.
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug, but I will forever be grateful to Thomas Astruc for creating it.
Marinette woke early the next morning, already smiling widely. Tikki was munching down on some cookies when she saw Marinette rise from her bed and after devouring the cookies she smiled.
"Good morning Marinette," she chirped, watching her wander around the room grabbing her clothes.
"Morning Tikki," Marinette responded happily feeling her heart soar. Finally, she'd have someone to talk to. She threw her pajamas onto her bed, pulling on a cute black skirt with small floral decorations. She wouldn't usually wear skirts such as this one for the button at the waist irritated her, but upon seeing it she fell in love with the design and picked up without a second thought. It was perfect for the horrible humidity, enough room for her legs to breathe, as it finished at her mid-thigh. She wasn't a fan of how high it finished, always consciously pulling it down, but she'd put up with it if it meant she wasn't sweating her butt off. She pulled the material through the slit at the waist and tied it together in a cute bow. She paired it with a simple black singlet and slipped on her little ballet slippers, grabbing her handbag. "Better not forget the purse, hey Tikki?"
"Can you pack me some extra cookies for the movie?" Tikki asked, watching take her purse from the dresser.
"Of course, Tikki," Marinette said, taking some from her stash and putting it in the bag. "Maybe I should grab a cardigan for the cinema; it's usually pretty cold in there."
"At least Adrien doesn't have to pull you out of bed," Tikki giggled.
Marinette gasped dramatically and put her hand over her, though her eyes shone with laughter. Secretly she agreed with Tikki, but she set to work taking down the posters of Adrien and making sure his outdated schedule was plastered to the ceiling. "That's not coming down any time soon."
She made her way downstairs and made herself breakfast, her parents already at work in the bakery down below. Perhaps she'd help out for a bit, she thought to herself. Positive they were both down in the bakery; Tikki emerged and stole some of her pancake.
"At least you're not quaking in your boots like the very first time you went to the movies without Alya and Nino," Tikki said.
"It's been a long time since that happened," Marinette reasoned. "Besides I think I can speak proficiently around him now."
"I told you you could," Tikki said mouth full. "Besides, I don't think you like him as much now like that as you did."
Marinette considered this. "Maybe, Tikki. I think it's just because I really like to value our friendship so I wouldn't want to ruin that by doing anything… stupid."
Tikki nodded as Marinette's phone buzzed.
Adrien: We're coming to get u :P
Marinette let out a laugh. Showing it to Tikki, she began typing her reply.
Marinette: Wow, not creepy at all :P
Adrien: I mean, I could always go to the movies by myself…
Marinette: you wouldn't!
Adrien: ur right, never mind, I couldn't
Marinette grinned at this.
Marinette: I know :P. Would you like something from the bakery?
Adrien: Cookies? :)
Marinette: Of course.
She grinned, going downstairs and grabbing some cookies, saying good morning to her parents. They knew she was going out of course; she'd had to clear it with them first. They being the overly excessive shippers of Adrienette, loved that Marinette was going to the movies with Adrien.
There was a ding of the bell and Adrien entered, looking rather relaxed in a pair of blue jeans, his signature orange shoes and a white singlet. Silently, Marinette prayed for herself. It wasn't as if he'd buffed up over the summer, but Marinette was sure she'd only seen shoulders like that on… Chat. And his legs. Biting her lip, she tried not to slap herself right there. Just breathe.
"Good morning, Adrien," she said, trying to contain her grin.
"Good morning, Mari," he said, reaching for the cookies. "Are these my cookies?"
"Yes," she said, exasperatedly, "You're welcome."
He grinned. "I'm just kidding," he said, stashing them in his pocket. "Good morning Tom, Sabine."
"Good morning Adrien, how are you son?" Tom replied, kneading some bread.
"Yeah good, I can't wait to try these cookies," he said, tapping his jeans.
"You might as well have them now," said Sabine, returning to the oven as the customers left with their pies. "Marinette had us make them nice and hot."
"You didn't!" he said, beginning to pull them out of his pocket.
"I can put them back if you want…" Marinette said cheekily, reaching for them.
He almost gasped. He wanted to grab her hand. Snap out of it, Adrien, you're not Chat right now. Her hands were so beautiful, they were made for piano, he decided. He was happy with his decision to teach her now. He gave her a once over, and found the skirt a little too much to handle. He knew immediately she'd picked it because of the material. It was one of those one that you had to button, then tie up, his father had made a few of them in his new line. But it was also one that situated at the waist, and didn't go quite far enough down her leg. Distracting. She didn't like being distracting. That was one of the first things he noticed about her.
"No way!" he exclaimed, making sure he had a good hold on the cookies just in case. "Besides we'd better get going. We've still gotta tell Gorilla that we're walking."
She waved goodbye to her parents, and they left the building, disappointed that the air outside wasn't nearly as nice smelling as the bakery. Marinette lingered behind a little as he explained to Gorilla, or tried to, that they'd be fine just walking to the movies. He just grunted, and watched them walk off before he finally drove away. Adrien could almost guarantee that he'd follow from a distance. He didn't tell Marinette that, though.
"The Greatest Showman?" he asked, wanting to talk about the movie.
"Yeah, I'm sorry if you're not really into musical movies, but I've had a little musical flair at the moment," she said, giggling as if thinking of last night.
"Musical flair?" he asked, looking at her curiously, positive she would bring up something about the piano.
"Yeah I… I always wanted to play an instrument when I was a kid and somebody has been kind enough to offer me some lessons," she said, smiling.
"Oh really, what instrument?" he said grinning.
"Piano," she said, then clapping a hand to her mouth. "You play piano!"
"Correct," he said, grinning, but confused as to where her train of thought was going.
"I could have asked you to teach me," she said. "I'm sorry if you're offended, it's just I only really considered it properly last night."
"It's ok, Mari," he said, smiling barely containing the laugh he had waiting. "I'm not a very good teacher."
"Funny, that's what my teacher said," she muttered. Adrien bit his lip and tried desperately not to burst.
"Who's teaching you, I might know them," he said, waiting for her answer.
"I'm not sure he'd want me to say, you know, just in case," she said, considering her answer carefully.
"Give me a hint," he said. He smiled gently at the thought she had kept it a secret. Their secret. It was to protect his identity, he thought. "Do I know them?"
"Everyone knows him," she said, looking around. "If I tell you, can you promise, and I mean seriously promise not to tell a soul? And especially not Alya, she'll kill me."
He put a hand to his chest. "Agreste's honour," he said.
"Chat Noir," she whispered in his ear. He looked around, and then did a small gasp for effect.
"You're kidding," he said, as they kept walking, watching her face light up.
"Nope," she said, clicking her tongue happily. "He plays so well, too."
"Really?" he asked, grabbing her hand to pull her to a stop at the crossing. "You know you actually have to wait for the light to go green for us to walk?"
"Shut up," she said, punching his arm. "Anyway, he played Fur Elise for me last night and, oh, Adrien! It was just so beautiful. It was stunning. Like he plays way better than I'm making it sound, I just don't really know how to put it into words."
He smiled to himself. She liked his playing. He was now all the more eager for next Wednesday's lesson with her. "I reckon I'm better," he said cockily.
Her mouth dropped open. "Of course, you do," she said, grin still on her face.
"I'm kidding, he's probably better than me," he smiled. "What did he teach you?"
"Just where the keys were, but apparently, he's going to teach me to sight read," she said, a little frown overcoming her face. "What if I can't read it?"
"It's really easy, Mari, trust me, you'll be fine," he said, reassuring her. "Besides, you're only just starting; he's not going to expect perfection."
"But I am," she pouted. They arrived at the cinemas and bought their popcorn, Adrien sneakily getting a second ticket as he lined up first. Her surprise made him laugh, and though she fought to pay him back, he refused blatantly.
"Adrien!" she whined in their seats, still not happy about the tickets. He chuckled and dove a hand into the popcorn. "Seriously, how can I pay you back?"
"I'm not letting you do that, Mari," he said. "Nice try, but it's not happening. Oh, look the movie's starting."
Silence fell over the theatre and the crowd stayed quiet, waiting for the start. The music began and Marinette relaxed into her seat next to him. He stayed quiet watching intently as Marinette gasped at whatever she found astounding throughout the film. Towards the end of the film, Adrien took her hand in his, without a second thought, to comfort her. He could hear her sobbing quietly and tried to find some tissues, but there were none to be found. He quickly wiped away a tear from her cheek, and squeezed her hand. There were movies that made him cry, but he'd learnt not to cry easily. Marinette, on the other hand, was so open with her emotions if the movie was personal, he was sure she'd be akumatised. "It's ok Mari," he whispered, leaning a little closer.
"It's just a movie," she said through sobs, "Why does this always happen to me?"
By the end of the movie, however, she was smiling once more, singing along to the song at the credits, Adrien pulling her out of her seat and dragging her out of the cinema. "It was a good movie, you were right Mari," he said laughing at she hummed 'This Is Me'. "Where are we headed now?"
"Well we can go back to the bakery for lunch, and then we can go explore the city, if you're up for it," she said, shooting a cheeky grin his way.
"Think I can't keep up?"
"I know you can't keep up," she poked out her tongue.
"Ok then," he grinned. "Race you to the bakery."
And they were off. Marinette ran ahead of Adrien quickly, though she felt free, she missed flying over the rooftops, the ease that her yoyo provided her. Following a similar thought pattern, Adrien was missing his stick, jumping with Ladybug, defeating the akumas. But being with Marinette… being with Marinette was so much fun. She skidded around the corner and through the door to the bakery, Adrien grabbing her shoulders to stop her from sliding into the customers standing in front of her.
"Watch out Mari," he exclaimed, steering her away from the lady and child she'd nearly bumped into.
"I'm so sorry," she said, turning to the little girl who was gaping. She was a beautiful little girl, looking surprisingly like Adrien. The eye colour was almost the same.
"Are you Ladybug?" she asked, her little voice echoing through the bakery. Marinette stilled beside him, and he dared to look at her face. She was a little red, and didn't seem to know whether to laugh or to cry. The girl had a point, she did look remarkably like Ladybug, but Adrien couldn't bring himself to believe it. He pushed the thought away. Finally, Marinette let out a laugh and Adrien relaxed a little. He decided to distract from Marinette's embarrassment.
"If she's Ladybug, I'm Chat Noir!" he chuckled, pointing at himself. Mari began to cackle, and shook her head when she finally recovered.
"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm certainly not Ladybug," Marinette said bending down to the little girl. "I can get you a lollipop, though."
Adrien stood and watched as she grabbed a lollipop from the counter and knelt down. "There you go," he said, the little girl smiling immediately. Beside him, he saw Marinette flash a small smile of her own. He stood up, pulling Marinette with him and going out the back of the bakery. "Shall we have lunch?"
"Oh yes," Marinette said, running up the stairs to the house. Inside they found Sabine, setting down two plates on the bench. "Thanks mum."
Sitting down at the bench Marinette took the plate to the right, Adrien sitting down next to her, picking up a fork.
"Yeah thanks mum," he laughed, shoving down a forkful of bacon and eggs.
Sabine giggled and ruffled Adrien's hair. In the back of his head, he was still reliving the event from just moments before. He'd never considered Marinette as Ladybug before. And he tried not to imagine it, feeling unfair to both her and him. Pushing his emotions on her like that was unfair, but he couldn't help but consider it for a moment, her freckles just under her mask, her glinting blue eyes and her unwavering kindness. He could make the connection. Looking over his shoulder at the family portrait he smiled softly to himself. There was just something special about this family.
"You're welcome, Adrien," Sabine said, passing them both a glass of water. "Are you both going exploring after lunch?"
"Yeah, I had somewhere in mind," Marinette said, her eyes gleaming mischievously. Adrien was intrigued, but he didn't question it. They finished lunch and Marinette ducked up to her room to 'restock' her bag while Adrien found himself looking at the family photo again. They were so happy together; it was such a stark contrast to his own family. Maybe that's why he found himself more comfortable whenever he was with Marinette; the warmth they exuded was enough to make even his cold home seem warm. A warm gentle hand on his shoulder made him jump.
"You know you can always talk to me, right?" Marinette asked gently. His eyes seemed to water at this.
"I know," he whispered, slightly taken aback, touched. She slid her hand down his shoulder and rested it on his bicep. He looked down and felt a strange pang of emotion in his chest. Without thinking, he grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a hug. Closing his eyes, he rested his cheek on her head smelling her hair. They stayed like that, for as long as he allowed himself, as long as it took to get a grip. Thank god for the piano lessons on Wednesday. Pulling away, he said, "Let's go."
Marinette didn't know what to say, so she pulled him along the footpath, trying to ignore the alarm bells going off in her head. Why did that hug drive her mad? Why did it remind her so much of Chat, the touch, the smell, everything? It killed her to admit, but she knew what was happening. It was only a matter of time before something happened and she couldn't ignore it. She had a teeny tiny crush on Chat. Stopping outside the building Chat had taken her to, she then wondered why it was she was bringing Adrien here. It was meant to be just for her and Chat, their own secret little club. But Adrien had given his word he wouldn't tell a soul, including Alya. "Chat brought me here," she said quietly.
There was a hint of a smirk on his lips that she ignored. "Did he?"
"Yeah. Do you know the building?" she asked.
"It used to be a really big performance theatre, it got shut down when the piano teacher… well piano drama happened," he said.
"Do you know anything else about it?" she asked.
"Can I ask why you want to know?" he said, smirk still showing, but barely.
"Honestly, I'm not sure, I just wanted to know if the building had a history as rich as it's architecture, you know?" she said. "And… I kinda want to know why it's so special to Chat."
"You got that impression from him?" Adrien said, masking his shock with curiosity.
"Yeah, it… he just looked, I dunno, nostalgic, like he was home or something, but I can't quite peg it. I could be completely wrong and he could hate the place, though," she shrugged.
Adrien wanted to tell her, no, she wasn't wrong, but of course that would give him away in a heartbeat. He was once again in awe of the way Marinette succeeded at analysing people's emotions so well. She truly was one of a kind. "Are you a fan of his?" he said, making sure that passers-by did not catch on that they were talking about Chat.
"I'm not really a fan, not as much as Alya, but I suppose I could call him my friend," she said cryptically. His heart soared a little when she called him her friend.
"How so?"
"Well I've always considered Chat for more than everyone else seems to think he's worth, because he… he works so tirelessly to protect people from akumas, and all they do is call him Ladybug's sidekick. And they're a team; sorry if you disagree, but to me the balance of power is there, and he's just… he's so much more important than people put him down for. They're partners. Chat puts himself on the line for Ladybug all the time and what people don't realise is that if something happens to her when the akuma attacks, they're done for, because Chat can't… um, restore the akuma or whatever it is, wow I'm rambling," she said. But by then the damage was done. His jaw was completely open and his heart was flooding. He hadn't heard anybody stand up for him like that except Ladybug and Alya. Ladybug… no! Get that thought out of your head, Adrien.
"So you do like him!" Adrien said.
"He's a great guy, and I don't want anything to take that away from him," she said. "I mean, what kind of superhero offers to teach a person like me piano?"
"One who's down to earth and clearly cares about you?" he said, watching her face for a reaction.
A blush. That was not expected. "Look, Mari, I'm not sure quite what you mean about 'person like me' but I can assure you Chat does not think like that. Especially not about you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked incredulously.
"I mean that Chat thinks you're a great person too. You may think he doesn't see you often enough, but everyone knows how kind you are, and how passionate and motivated you are, you might not see it, but I do. And Chat does."
She was speechless. Despite her vocabulary she could not find words. Staring blankly at Adrien, she couldn't find anything to say. He was her friend, yes, but she'd never heard anybody speak her praises so loudly apart from Chat Noir, and half the time he was speaking Ladybug's praises. It reminded her of when her Uncle had come to visit, the same tone he used when he assured that Uncle Cheng did, in fact, like her. "Adrien…"
"Hey, I'm just saying, you're all compliments and smiles, but you don't realise how much of a good person you are yourself," he replied, watching the blush redden. In the back of his head he wondered what she'd say if it was Chat talking. Shaking his head, he grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the building. "I think it's time to go, Mari. I'll leave this place for you and Chat."
A smile of acknowledgement and a small nod accompanied her reply. "Please don't tell anyone, Chat'll be badgered with requests."
"I promise I won't tell a soul," he said grinning to himself. She really was a genuinely good person, something Adrien realised he couldn't find much of these days. And he could think of no one else who would protect the identity of someone they didn't know like Marinette would. "Wouldn't want your secret rendezvous with Chat to be ruined."
"Hey!" she exclaimed. "They are not secret rendezvous, they're lessons."
"Tell me, are you excited for these lessons?" he grinned. This position of power was fun to abuse, he thought. It was only for asking the questions he couldn't as Chat, he reasoned to himself.
"Well yes," she huffed. "But I've never played before, so I can't say I'm not nervous."
"You'll be fine, he's a reasonable guy, Marinette," Adrien said.
"Are you friends with him?" she asked. Not a question Adrien was expecting to get. For a quick moment, he considered his answer.
"Yeah, I know him." Watching his face closely, Marinette considered his hesitation. Did he not like Chat? She wasn't sure what to make of the hesitation. For a fleeting moment, she considered the notion of similarities. Something that allowed Chat and Adrien to both appear in her head, each a comforting thought. He had been speaking his praises, something she attributed to Chat. Shaking her head, she derailed that train of thought. The most likely explanation was that they were friends. As much as she hated to admit it, after downright denying to Alya that he could be Chat, the thought lingered around like a little bug. Telling herself it wasn't possible was easier.
"Where shall we go?" she asked, needing a change of subject.
"I was thinking the Louvre," Adrien said.
"Oooh, I need some inspiration for designs," she said. It was true, she'd needed some inspiration lately, because everything she thought of had something to do with her alter ego and Chat Noir, but if she put stuff like that out it was entirely possible people would put two and two together. And the fact that a small child had already asked her that question this morning put her head in a spin. Thankfully Adrien had distracted away from that.
Her and Adrien sat at the Louvre for a fair amount of their afternoon, until he finally resigned to the fact he had to go home. "Not before I walk you home, of course," he said.
A small blush found its way to her cheek. She fought it down as Adrien guided her past the hordes of people in the street. Trying to ignore the gentle hold he had just above her wrist, she distracted herself by looking around in endless wonderment at the streets of Paris.
Arriving at the bakery Marinette looked at the silver car already parked outside. Ignoring the car, Adrien walked her inside and up to her room, grabbing the bag of stuff he hadn't needed.
"I'll see you at school on Wednesday," he said as he began to leave. Lingering for a moment, Adrien felt the need to do something but he couldn't quite figure out what it was he was supposed to do. Soft fingers touched his arm and he felt Marinette's head against his chest. His heart jumped to his throat as he hugged her back. "I had fun today."
There was a soft murmur of agreement as she pulled away. "So did I."
She waved Adrien off with a strong sense of… was it regret? She still felt bad about not asking him to teach her, but the hug had reminded her so much of Chat Noir it was impossible to stop thinking about it. Why did it remind her of Chat, she asked Tikki when she went back upstairs, the look on Chat's face when she got answered the question right on Wednesday night? It was this that kept her awake for the remainder of the holidays, sitting on her bed at night contemplating why Chat was so easy to be around. It was always easy around him, as Marinette and Ladybug. Chat was the down to earth one out of both of them and she knew it.
As Ladybug, she was strung so tight working in the 'get-the-job-done' frame of mind. In her mind, there was no time for joking when fighting an akuma, but secretly she craved the puns and jokes Chat made whenever she used her lucky charm. It was like a sign that he knew they were going to be fine. She was ten times more confident around Chat Noir; it was the self-assurance Chat wore like a shirt, the cheeky grins in the face of danger. And God knew there been some close calls. When Mr. Damocles was akumatised it was all she could do not to break down and cry. It was Chat's steadfast belief in her that they'd be fine that her plan succeeded, she was convinced of this.
She wondered if he toned it down as a civilian, knowing the tender side of him was there. She wanted to know.
