Falling Rose Petals

Chapter 06

Human Again

Months passed, and Adrien and Marinette spent most of their time together either in the library or the sewing room. In the library, they read books to each other and shared each other's favorite stories. In the sewing room, Adrien would watch Marinette sew and design new clothes. They were such small, simple moments, but the servants in the castle saw them as so much more.

After finishing their breakfast, Adrien and Marinette decided to go outside to enjoy the sunny morning. Spring was nearing, and so the piles of snow began to shorten and shrink with each passing day. Since yesterday was a rainy day, it helped melt some of the snow, but it of course made it sticky as well.

When Adrien had reverted to his five-year-old self and was in the process of making a snowman, Marinette took a handful of snow and rolled it into a snowball. When she was done, she threw her arm back, aimed, and called out, "Hey, Adrien."

When the beast turned around, she threw the snowball and laughed when it hit him square in the face. Adrien wiped the snow off his face and looked up to see Marinette still laughing. With a smirk on his face, he rolled a watermelon-sized snowball to throw at her, and threw his arm back. But before he could throw it, he was hit with another snowball, causing him to fall back and causing the snowball to fall over his head.

Seeing this, Marinette burst into laughter, and soon, Adrien joined in as well.

"Do I sense a snowball fight?" Plagg hollered, jumping into a pile of snow. Marinette rushed over to the black teacup and picked him up. Plagg shook the snow off of him, "I forgot I was a teacup for a second there."

"Yay, snow!" Tikki exclaimed jumping into a pile of snow at her turn. Marinette picked her up and watched the red teacup shake the snow off of her this time. "I wish I still had my arms so we could all have a snowball fight."

"Me too," Alya sighed as she hopped down the steps to get to Marinette's side.

"I may have arms, but fire is no match for snow," Nino said, hopping onto the snow. He put his two candlesticks on the snow to demonstrate, and they watched as his flames extinguished.

Seeing his friends this way made Adrien frown, when an idea suddenly popped into his mind. He walked over to Marinette and his friends, and picked Plagg up.

"Hey, what gives?!" Plagg shrieked, trying to shake out of the beast's grasp. "Let me go, you over-grown hairball!"

"Work with me, would you?" Adrien glared. He then took Plagg by the handle, and scooped up a cup full of snow, which he then dropped into his palm. He rolled it into a snowball, and then threw it at Marinette, who fell backwards when the snow came in contact with her face. "You guys can still play even without arms. You can prepare the snowballs beforehand!"

"Hey!" Marinette laughed, picking Tikki up. "You'll help me, won't you, Tikki?"

"Of course, Marinette!" the red teacup exclaimed. "I'll scoop up as much snow as I can!"

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Nino hollered, making his way to Adrien's side. "LADIES VERSUS GENTLEMEN!"

"Shouldn't you be on the ladies' side then?" Plagg asked Prince Adrien, who shot him a glare. Alya laughed at Plagg's words before heading over to Marinette's side.

A war broke out in the backyard, and the teacups did well to help their captains (Adrien and Marinette) make snowballs. Alya was good with strategies, forming a battle plan in just seconds, to which Marinette followed.

"I've memorized their pattern," Alya said proudly. "Nino is so predictable."

"So, where do I throw the snowball?" Marinette asked, eyeing the tree Adrien and his team were hiding behind. "Left or right?"

"Right," Alya answered. "In three, two, one—now!"

As if on cue, Adrien peaked from behind the tree just in time to get hit by Marinette's snowball. Plagg screeched (even though he wasn't the one who got hit) and Nino yelled, "HOW DID YOU KNOW?!"

When the battle was over, all participants of the snowball fight collapsed onto the snow, panting heavily.

"That's enough exercise for a year," Plagg said, breathing heavily.

"You can say that again," Tikki panted.

"Let's head inside to warm ourselves up," Adrien said, picking his exhausted friends up. Alya and Nino rested in the crook of his left arm, while Plagg and Tikki sat on both of his shoulders. "What do you say, Marinette? How about we head to the library?" He held his hand out for Marinette to take.

Marinette nodded. "Good idea."


Adrien and Marinette were in the library standing in front of the fireplace with a pile of books in both of their arms. They set them down carefully before sitting by the fire to warm themselves on that chilly winter's day. Nino, Alya, Plagg and Tikki all left once Adrien set them down, each one giving them an excuse. Adrien and Marinette merely shrugged and went on to pick out a few books to read.

"I like your dress today, Marinette," Adrien smiled, pointing down at her red dress adorned with black polka-dots. Marinette no longer wore the same red dress every day. She now agreed to wear the dresses Mylene would choose for her, much to the wardrobe's delight. She didn't always agree with the color or designs, but if it would make Mylene happy, then so be it.

"Oh," Marinette said, looking down at her attire and smiling. "Thank you, Adrien."

He nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself before the words came out of his mouth. There was a glint in his eye, and his smile stretched out across his face. He suppressed his laughter and said in the most normal voice, "It's really… purretty."

"You really think so?" Marinette asked incredulously, gripping her poufy skirt. "I think I look like a human-sized ladybug—" She paused, whipping her head around to look at him. "Did you just say what I think you said?"

Adrien hummed. "Maybe."

"Say it again," she ordered. Adrien ignored her question and began picking out titles from his pile of books. Marinette pushed, "Adrien, what did you say."

"Oh, it's nothing of…" Adrien grinned. "Impurrtance."

Silence.

"Shut the hell up."

At this, Adrien burst out laughing at her reaction. Since his servants had gotten used to his puns over the past years, seeing a new reaction to them was so much fun. His form was indeed a terrible curse, but you had to make fun of yourself every now and then to ease the pain.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," Adrien said when his laughter faded.

"You better be sorry," Marinette narrowed her eyes. "That was terrible."

"I know, I know. Please furgive me."

Marinette groaned and buried her face in her hands, making Adrien laugh once more. His laughter was loud and so full of joy and happiness; it caught the attention of a certain group of talking objects.

"He's… laughing, and he told her his horrible puns," Plagg said in awe as he, Nino, Alya and Tikki all watched from behind a pile of books. "The world must be coming to an end."

"Who'd ever thought they'd come together on their own?" Alya asked aloud, her lips curving upwards into a smile. "At this rate, they'll definitely fall in love by the time the last petal falls."

"We have to make it go faster," Plagg said. An idea suddenly same into mind, and after telling his friends his plan, they all quietly snuck out of the library.

"Where do we meet?" Tikki asked once they were out of earshot and before they all separated ways.

"The ballroom," Nino answered. "And don't be late, guys! We only have until tonight!"

With that, each of the items hopped off and headed into different directions.

Back in the library, Marinette had gotten over Prince Adrien's horrible cat puns, and the two were now flipping over one of the books they picked out from the many shelves. Sitting by a warm fire was definitely a good idea, especially since they had a snowball fight not too long ago.

"As I was saying," Marinette said, composing herself after another round of cat puns and cat jokes. "Don't you think I look like a human-sized ladybug in this dress?"

"You kind of do, but it's not a bad thing. I like what Mylene picked out for you actually," Adrien laughed. "Or maybe I just like it because you remind me of the character Ladybug in one of my favorite books."

Marinette's eyes widened at the mention of the name Ladybug. "Ladybug? As in Ladybug and Chat Noir? Miraculous Ladybug by Thomas Astruc?" she babbled. She had never met anyone who liked that book as well.

"Of course!" Adrien exclaimed, picking it out of his pile. He presented the black-covered book to her and grinned. "How can you not like this book? Mind-controlled victims, magic sprites, and heroes who unknowingly love each other? It's a world I'd love to live in—a world full of adventure."

Marinette smiled at his words because it was the same explanation she gave Nathalie months ago when she still lived in her village.

She raised an eyebrow when Adrien handed her the book. "Do you want to... maybe… read it together?" he asked with a nervous smile.

Marinette took the book out of his hands with a nod and a smile. "Of course," she said. She flipped open the book and fiddled with the pages before landing on the first page of chapter one. "Once upon a time…"

Marinette read the book with happiness in her tone and glee in her eyes. While she read the adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noir, Adrien often just found himself staring at her face. He watched her sapphire eyes scan the white pages, her lips moving to form every single word there was. He watched the way she would tuck some of her midnight hair behind her ear when the strands came loose, and the way she crinkled her nose whenever Chat Noir made another one of his famous puns. The way—

"—Adrien?"

Adrien snapped out of his thoughts. "H-huh? What?" he asked, blinking.

Marinette pointed at the black-covered book, laughing. "Do you want to read the next chapter?" she asked.

"Sure," Adrien nodded. He took the book out of her hands and cleared his throat. "Chapter three: Copycat."


"Alright, listen up, you peasants," Plagg announced, catching everyone's attention. All the castle's servants had been gathered in the dusty ballroom by word of mouth, each told not to let Adrien or Marinette know about their meeting. Luckily, the two had been spotted reading in the library, and they probably weren't going to be out for another two hours or so.

"You're probably wondering why I called all of you here," Plagg continued, hopping onto a desk and raising his voice so that those in the back could hear him. He eyed the ticking clock in the crowd and observed it for a good ten seconds, and said, "Alright, so we have exactly twelve hours, thirty six minutes and fifteen seconds to create the most magical, spontaneous, and romantic atmosphere known to man, got it?"

"…For what?" Juleka, a large-framed mirror, asked.

"For Prince Adrien and Marinette, obviously!" Plagg exclaimed. "We're going to clean the entire castle and plan the perfect dinner for both of them. Oh, and by we, I mean you guys."

"What's so special about tonight?" Rose, the flower vase, asked. "It's just like every other night, isn't it?"

"That's where you're wrong, Rose," Plagg grinned, clearing his throat before continuing. "Prince Adrien… wants to confess his love to Marinette tonight."

At this, the entire hall screamed excitedly, their cheers echoing throughout the entire ballroom. The servants each hugged each other and some even began crying tears of joy not only because their Prince had found love, but also because of the thought of being human again.

"Human again…" the servants all sighed dreamily.

"Yes, think what that means," Plagg said. "So, are we clear? Now, half of you go to the East Wing, and the other half of you to the West Wing. Get to your stations, and start cleaning!"

With the wonderful thought of returning to their human forms in mind, the servants all left to their respective area to clean up the old, dusty castle. They each found themselves singing about being human again while they worked, each one filled with hope once again.

As Plagg mentioned earlier, they were all doing their best to make sure that tonight was going to be a spontaneous, magical, romantic and unforgettable night for Prince Adrien and Marinette. The servants all went from one room to another and paid attention to every single thing, cleaning even the tightest corners. While they cleaned, they all thought about what they would be able to do once they were human again, making them work harder.

Outside, the melting snow was shoveled aside to make room for the blooming flowers and growing tress. The gargoyle statues outside were washed and water flowed out of the fountains once again after a long winter. The sprinklers were turned on to hydrate the grass and plants, and dead leaves were raked and thrown away.

After the staff cleaned the rooms and the outside, they all gathered together to clean the grand ballroom. The mops all paired up, and twisted and turned to make the floor as clean and shiny as possible. Feather dusters were hurled onto the chandelier to clear the dust, sponges and rags joined together to clean the windows, and the large doors' hinges were oiled to open up without creaks.

When they were all done, the servants each cheered at their hard work.

"So, what do you think, Plagg?" Tikki asked. She hopped over to her friend with an expectant smile on her face, swirling around to look at the now-cleaned castle. "We did a pretty good job, didn't we?"

"Meh," Plagg replied unenthusiastically, and he would shrug if he still had his shoulders. "I've seen better."

Huffing, Tikki clinked her handle against his, making the black teacup laugh. "I'm just kidding, geez," Plagg chuckled. "Everyone did a great job."

"Of course we did," Nino said as he approached the two with Alya following closely behind. "Tonight's the night. I swear if you asked everyone to clean up a second time, they'd all do it willingly."

"Then, if that's the case…" Plagg said mischievously, eyeing all the servants around him. "Let's tire them all out, shall we?"

"Don't you even dare," Alya said sternly. "Or I'll lock you in the cupboard."

"Hey, I wasn't going to," Plagg said, sticking a tongue out childishly. He turned around to look at the result of everyone's hard work, and smiled.

Tonight was going to be perfect.


A/N: And the puns have begun.

LOL next chapter is my favorite scene in the entire movie—the ballroom scene! There are only three chapters left until the end, hope you guys will stick around until then. Thank you for the faves and reviews, and thank you for reading! :)