8. Birthday gifts

In which Adrien gets a part

'I… you..gah!' Marinette flailed scrambling to her feet. Out of the corner of his eyes Adrien saw a red flash inside the chest. It looked like a cute plushie, with big blue eyes and a black spot on the top of the bulbous head. Its shape reminded him a bit of Plagg, but he couldn't be sure, since Marinette closed the lid with an angry thump. Then she turned around and sank onto the chest where she released a ragged breath.

'That's just my… um… my old chest, haha,' she kicked the box with her heel. 'Phew, I almost jumped right of my skin,' she sighed. She brushed the loose strands of her hair behind her ears, casting him an anxious glance. Her skin paled, making the redness of her cheeks more pronounced. Was she… embarrassed?

Oh god, she was! He made a fool of himself by trying to kiss her out of the blue and now she'd hate him forever! Trying to stomp down on his disappointment that he hadn't get to taste those soft, enticing lips Adrien moved as far away from the girl as the invisible tether allowed. He had no idea how he would get that curing kiss now. He'd rather die than mention in after what just had transpired between them.

'Good thing you weren't near it,' he pointed out, deciding to divert her attention. 'That's an accident ready to happen. You need to replace that spring.'

'Yeah,' Marinette muttered. 'Though I was hoping on having a word with it first. Doesn't matter,' she shook her head. 'You mentioned a cure to your… um… state.'

Ah, so much for diversion. Adrien felt all his courage retreating under the sheer force of shame at what he had attempted.

'Y-yes, a cure,' he nodded, desperately trying to think of a way out. 'I just thought that… I thought… since you're the one I'm bound to, maybe you can think of a way to… um… free me?'

'To free you…' Marinette hummed. She stood up and started pacing around the room.

The chaise Adrien was seated on jolted under him and with a screech it started moving after the girl.

'Um…' he said. 'Marinette?'

She halted and turned to see him. He planted his feet firmly on the floor and wedged his hands under the sofa in an attempt not to chase after her.

'Sorry! I forgot!'

'It's okay,' he waved a hand, and the chaise budged a bit. 'But you see my most pressing problem now. I need to go home at some point. Everyone at the mansion is probably already freaking out.'

As if on cue his phone chimed angrily. Marinette backed away, startled by the sound. The chaise jerked after her. Adrien doubled his efforts to stay in place. 'I'm not gonna answer that now,' he grunted. Who needs a gym if they can have a nice work-out trying not to get too close to the love of their lives?

The girl just stood there, on the other side of the room, her gaze shifting between him and the chest. Then something flashed in her eyes, something strikingly familiar, although Adrien couldn't recall why.

'So… you think you've been enchanted…' she was thinking out loud.

'Not enchanted. Infected,' he corrected.

Marinette sent him a long, flat stare. He realized what he just said.

'Enchanted is a way of putting it, too!' he chirped.

A shadow of smirk danced on her lips. 'And you believe I can help you?'

He nodded eagerly. At that point he would believe if she told him toys could fly. Because the red plushie was now sitting innocently on the desk, when just a few moments ago it definitely was inside the chest. But maybe Marinette just made more of them?

The girl's smile turned sly at his silent confirmation. 'Then I have something that should let you get home or wherever you need to be right now. It should be enough until we figure out how to free you entirely.'

Adrien perked up. 'Really?'

She crossed the room and carefully opened the chest. When she turned to him, she was holding a small pack, about the size of a CD box, wrapped in pink polka dotted paper and tied with a dark pink ribbon. It looked very much like a gift.

'Here,' she passed him the package. 'Happy birthday,' she murmured.

'That's in, like, six months,' he remembered, tenderly brushing the ribbon with his thumbs. He had no idea why, but just holding this package made his heart swell.

'I know,' Marinette said timidly. 'I wanted to be prepared.'

Adrien untied the ribbon and reverently put it aside. Then he slowly unwrapped the paper. There was a birthday card at the top, bearing Marinette's curly handwriting and a signature next to a doodle of a cake with a little ladybug sitting on in. He smiled at that and put the card away as well. Then he finally inspected the contents.

'Oh, wow, just… wow,' he gasped.

He simply couldn't take his eyes off of her gift. His fingers ran over the soft, baby blue cotton and traced the stylish embroidery. He had seen similar items in his father's drawer many times. Old-fashioned and cherished. Nowadays deemed impractical, but still beautiful. Simple, classy and personal. The handkerchief that he was holding bore a monogram of curvy "AA". A second little ladybug accompanied the letters, seemingly flying over the material as if it was the summer sky. Her path had been marked with red stitching.

'I don't know what to say,' he finally whispered. 'This is absolutely stunning, Marinette! I love-... it! I love it!'

His voice quivered and he felt moisture gathering in the corners of his eyes. It was simply the most amazing thing anyone had given him. And it was clearly crafted by her own hand, as evidenced in the characteristic "M" skillfully hidden on the other side of the handkerchief, embroidered in blue, glossy thread.

She beamed at him from the window. A rosy hue tinted her cheeks. 'This is something I've made for you and you only,' she said. 'I'd like to believe there's a part of me in this gift.'

He couldn't help but to smile as he held the handkerchief. The most precious gift. A part of her. For him.

'When you take this with you,' Marinette continued, 'it's as if you took a part of me.'

His eyes lit up in comprehension. 'Brilliant,' he murmured, still gently brushing the material. 'Simply brilliant.'

A wave of affection washed over him, pouring warmth into his limbs. He would have pulled her into a hug if he wasn't afraid he would never let go. What had he done to deserve this girl in his life? Was there an end to her kindness?

'Why are you looking at me like that?' Marinette asked.

'Like what?' Uh-oh, was he staring? He wanted to savor the view of the love of his life as she smiled happy and bright. Was he making her uncomfortable?

She shrugged. 'Like I was some kind of hero or something.'

"Or something"? Adrien felt the sudden urge to show her how important, how dear she was to him. She should know how special, how talented, how amazing she was.

'I already told you, you are. Marinette, I… ' he hesitated, not sure where his heart was leading him. It might be the fever talking, but the real Marinette was listening.

'Yes?'

'You are an amazing person, and I really l- like…' he shook his head. He almost slipped. 'I admire you.' He cast her an anxious look. Could she hear the frantic beating of his heart?

She was keeping her distance now, fidgeting in place and nervously nibbling on her lower lip. The moment of silence suddenly seemed awkward and poignant at the same time. It was Marinette who spoke first.

'Adrien,' she breathed slowly. 'I l-... I like you too!' she stuttered. 'I'm glad you're my friend and that you came to me. Even if you didn't have a choice,' she chuckled.

'I wouldn't want to be anywhere else anyway,' he smiled ducking his head, happy and disappointed at the same time. If she told him she liked him yesterday, he'd be over the moon, but today the "friend" that followed was like a painful jab, a reminder where his place was.

A phone rang in his pocket. 'Well, that's my cue. Thanks for the wonderful talisman,' he pressed the handkerchief to his chest, resisting the urge to plant a kiss on the soft material. He was never going to put it away, and not just because he'd be pulled straight to Marinette back again.

The girl crossed her fingers. 'I hope the handkerchief works.'

'It's your idea. Of course it will work. See?' he added taking a few steps away and down the stairs.

Nothing happened. No magical pull. No heat wave. Ah, freedom. Relative, but still.

'I hope you won't get into trouble,' Marinette called after him.

'Me, too. But oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now,' he shrugged. 'At least I can go home thanks to you. Imagine how awkward it would be to explain to our parents why I need to move to your room,' he added as a way of good bye.

As the door closed behind him he heard something that sounded like, "Oh, I wouldn't mind that at all". And just like that, the sweat and blush were back.


Author's Note: Thank you for your support to this story so far. For your wonderful reviews, favs and follows. They let me know it's worth to continue. Please let me know, what you think of this update!

And many, many thanks to Remasa, my amazing beta, who helped me to shape this story into something much better.