Seriously, Ladybug was going to kill him. Two photoshoots in a row had only given him ample time to think of the unfortunate, drug-induced reveal last night. Of all the ways… there weren't any flowers, any heartfelt confessions, any romantic moment before or after. It was Marinette completely and totally dazed on drugs and him not thinking it through when he tried to even the odds.
Plagg had a blast mocking him all day long. The only benefit of the little kwami was that Plagg helped him to see that Ladybug-Marinette-Princess couldn't possibly be mad at him for her own slip.
The little demon allowed that to last for all of twenty minutes before proceeding to be his aggravating self when he said that she could be mad that he bolted with his tail tucked between his legs.
And then Plagg turned into a complete traitor when he pointed out that she was on her cycle and so the first point might actually be moot.
The only amusement Adrien got throughout the day was when he threatened to take away Plagg's free access to camembert. He got the satisfaction of watching Plagg grovel in apology.
As Adrien trudged up the stairs to his room after the obnoxiously long day, he was trying to convince himself that he could make it through patrol. That he could be professional around LadyPrincessMariBug and hopefully come home alive.
Was that too much to ask for? Because he kind felt like it was.
Maybe a ten-minute cat nap before patrol would put a positive spin on that. He'd keep his fingers crossed on that.
He swung the door to his room open, marching inside before sending the door shut with a flick of his wrist.
"Ahem."
Adrien froze, his wide-eyed stare landing on a vision in red perched on the end of his bed. The very-much-not-happy vision in red.
"Um…hey Ladybug. W-what brings you here?"
Wearing a fake smile, she put on a show of thinking. "Well, you see," she said in a sarcastic voice, "this black cat showed up in my room last night and was being so sweet that I could have kissed him right on the spot."
Thinking back to Plagg's earlier comment, Adrien wondered how much of that was Ladybug talking, and how much of it was because she was still on her cycle. He also wondered if she had taken Midol recently because this was Ladybug talking about how she wanted to kiss him.
Not that he wasn't thrilled about it, but really, that didn't just happen in anything other than his dreams. He'd already relegated himself to that fact.
"And when he left," she continued, still wearing that sarcastic smile, "I realized that my brave-and-swoon-worthy-knight-in-shining-leather was actually a scaredy cat."
Adrien held no more doubt that she was definitely on Midol.
"So apparently, I had to be the one to go out and find him before dragging my cuddle cat back home."
Adrien swallowed. He tried to remind himself that she was on drugs. But darn if being called her cuddle cat didn't do things to him.
Then her irritation broke and she offered him a teasing smile. "So, kitty crush, do you have a girlfriend yet? Because the great Adrien Agreste is not allowed to carry around Midol and not have one."
He tried to pull himself together. He really did. But his mind was completely and utterly exhausted from the day and overwhelmed by the fact Ladybug was in his room and flirting with him. Ladybug. Flirting. With him.
His heart skipped a beat or two.
Or, like, five.
Her smile grew as she stood from her perch and sauntered over to him. "Did I finally break you, kitty?"
A shaky smile grew across his face as his cheeks turned from pink to bright red. "Y-yeah."
She chuckled, then proceeded to wreck Adrien even further when she took his discolored cheeks in her hands. "Get some sleep, kitty. I know you've had a long day. Thanks for taking my patrol yesterday, so let me return the favor. Besides," she said, rubbing little circles on his cheeks that just made him want to pass out, "you've earned it."
She then pulled his head down just enough to plant a kiss on his forehead. "Good night, mon chaton. See you tomorrow."
He seriously had to fight to keep standing (and breathing) when she gave his cheeks one last affectionate pat before making her way to the window. She opened it and stood perched on the sill, ready to throw her yo-yo when she turned around. "By the way," she said with a cheeky grin. "I love that you were daring enough to carry Midol around for me. It was so sweet of you, but it only intensifies my sleep deprivation. Ever since I became Ladybug, I found out that ibuprofen works nearly as well but without the drowsy side-affect. Just so you know." She shot him a wink before throwing her yo-yo and flying off.
Way later would he process that sentence and kick himself for not thinking of that before he raided Natalie's things. Way later would he realize that Ladybug maybe probably possibly just asked to be his girlfriend. Way, way later would he learn that, in fact, she hadn't been on Midol at all. And way, way, way later would he adamantly and firmly deny melting into a purring pile of goo when she clarified that yes, she wanted to be his girlfriend. But as for now, it was all Adrien could do to make it to his bed before he collapsed into a literal heap of sunshine and happiness.
A/N: Ok, this is done. Finished. The end. Yay! Hope everyone liked it! BTW, I'm so proud of myself because I've been wanting to do this for a while, and while it wasn't intentional (until the last chapter when I planned to make it work) with this fanfiction, I managed to touch every corner of the love square. *pats self on back* (LOL. I think I need a life.) ;D
