Hey guys! Happy 4th of July! I know, I know, France's Independence Day is different than ours (they celebrate Bastille Day on July 14th), but they, too, celebrate with food and fireworks (and a red-white-and-blue flag!). Let me know what you think in the comments, and happy reading!
Marinette sat cross-legged on the chair, leaning back and looking up at the dark sky above her. Any moment now, they would start the fireworks display from the base of the Eiffel Tower, and she didn't want to miss a moment of it. Tikki sat on her shoulder, both excited and afraid in anticipation of the exploding colors (she had never seen fireworks before). The kwami dropped her gaze toward the skyline – and found a dark shape moving quickly toward them. She squeaked and dove into Marinette's bag.
"Tikki, wha-?"
"Hello, m'lady," he purred, landing on the railing beside her. Marinette jumped, then realized who she was talking to and rolled her eyes.
"Really, Chat? Do you have to scare me every time you show up?"
The hero grinned. "What fun would it be if I told you ahead of time!"
He jumped down beside her, mirroring her pose from the ground. "What are you doing up here all by yourself? Shouldn't you be out celebrating with your family?"
Marinette kicked off her shoes and curled her blue-socked feet back underneath her. "I should be asking you the same thing. My parents aren't big fans of fireworks, so we went out to lunch today instead. What are you doing here?"
Chat Noir sighed, trying to hide the droop in his ears. "My family doesn't celebrate much. My dad is still at work, and probably won't be home for a while. They won't even notice that I'm gone."
Marinette, looking up at the still-dark sky, jumped out of her chair. "In that case, I'll be right back!" She pulled open the trapdoor and dropped down onto her bed. With the help of her kwami, she put together a picnic, complete with a blanket and juice. As they finished and went back to Marinette's room, the fireworks started. Tikki, terrified of the sudden loud noises, opted to stay inside. Marinette moved her shoebox bed to the window sill, so that the kwami could still see what was happening outside.
Marinette climbed carefully back out onto the roof, carrying the basket on her arm. She couldn't help but to laugh at the confused look on Chat Noir's face.
"Have you never had a picnic?" She asked, moving her chair to the side and spreading the blanket out on the ground. Noir shook his head and watched her unpack the basket, completely ignoring the exploding sky above them. Marinette handed him the container of potato salad and a fork, keeping the macaroni salad for herself. She leaned back against the railing behind her, and looked up at the fireworks as she ate. Chat Noir, still a little unsure, moved to sit beside her.
"So…do you have picnics often?" He asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Sometimes," Marinette started, shifting on the hard ground. "We go to the park a lot in the summer, so we usually take food with us and have lunch on the grass. Don't you?"
"We don't go out much," he replied, quickly moving his eyes back to the flying colors as she turned to look at him. "I mostly eat alone, or with my dad's assistant."
"Sounds lonely," said Marinette softly, watching his profile. His face seemed…sad, though it was hard to tell through his mask. He shook himself slightly, and looked down to accept the juice box she was offering him.
"Fruit punch? My favorite!" Chat excitedly stabbed the box with the straw and drank half of it in one go. Marinette laughed and opened her own, Noir's smile matching hers. They sat back and watched the fireworks for several minutes (at least, Marinette did). Several minutes later, there was a slight break in the explosions, as the second half of the show would take place from a barge on the river. Marinette moved the picnic basket back toward her and pulled out a bag of chocolate chip cookies. Noticing her partner's empty juice container, she crawled back to the trapdoor and dropped down to get more. She snuck through the kitchen, and heard snoring coming from her parent's room. She climbed the stairs into her room, and stopped to check on her kwami.
"How are you? Do you like the fireworks?"
Tikki nodded, then yawned widely. "Say goodnight to Chat Noir for me, would you?" She mumbled sleepily. Marinette quietly laughed, then tucked her small red partner under her specially-made black and green blanket, and clicked off the lamp.
Once back on the roof, she found Noir exactly where she had left him. He happily drank his juice, and almost choked when the bright explosions started up again, further to the side than before. Marinette slid her back down the wall behind her, trying to find a comfortable position against the hard brick that surrounded her. Chat slowly shifted sideways, so that Marinette ended up leaning partly against his shoulder. As the fireworks continued, they sat and watched, sometimes talking and sometimes just enjoying the silence (minus the booms and pops from above them, of course).
The colorful display lasted for about half an hour, and by the time it was over Marinette was leaning completely up against Noir, with his arm around her shoulders to keep her from slipping. Chat sighed happily. His legs had fallen asleep a while ago, but he wouldn't move for the world (or even an akuma). Marinette mumbled something incoherently, and moved closer to her human pillow – the tired hero had fallen asleep. Adrien chuckled to himself as he looked down at his sleeping classmate. If only she knew who she snuggling up against, he thought, trying to imagine her reaction to his civilian self (he was sure it would involve a lot of embarrassed mumbling on her part).
He reached slowly with his free hand to undo her pigtails and tuck her hair behind her ears. She reached up (probably trying to find what was touching her head), and grabbed his hand, pulling it up against her in her sleep. Chat Noir laughed silently through his nose. Did it get any better than this?
All too soon, it felt to Chat, his ring let out a beep; Plagg, letting him know that it was time to go home. He sighed, and promised himself that he would come back, and soon. Collecting the sleeping designer in his arms, his kissed the top of her head and smiled. I'll be back, Mari…
The next morning, Marinette woke up in her room. Propping up on her elbows, she realized that there was a quilted blanket over her that hadn't been there when she had gone to bed. Wait…when did I go to bed? I was on the roof – Chat!
She reached up and opened the trapdoor above her, climbing groggily onto the roof. Sitting next to the door was her picnic basket, perfectly packed, with a sticky note from her desk on top.
Thank you for my first-ever picnic, Marinette. Happy Independence Day!