Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or any of the songs. They all belong to their respective owners.
We Are the Champions
It was a quiet morning. Marinette sat on her couch sipping her black coffee in her Hello Kitty mug. She watched, bleary eyed, out her windows to her balcony as the sun crested the rooftops of Paris. Marinette was huddled under a fuzzy Ladybug blanket with her night sewing beside her.
She inhaled deeply, the scent of her very strong coffee. The whiff managed to wake Marinette up a tiny amount. This is why I chose a job that does not start at dawn, Marinette thought. The thoughts seeped through her mind like mud. Marinette was startled from her coffee trance by a loud knocking coming from her bathroom. She shook her head as the knocking stopped. I'm probably imagining it. She sipped from her coffee again, dismissing the knocking. Only when the knocking reoccurred did Marinette grudgingly get up to check what the hell was going on. Keeping the coffee close to her chest, Marinette shuffled to her bathroom, where the knocking was coming from. "What." Marinette asked irritably.
"Oh! Hi! I was wondering if you had some coffee? I ran out of mine, and I thought: hey, I have a neighbor! She seems like a person who would have coffee! So here I thought I'd ask! Do you have some coffee?" Adrien exclaimed excitedly.
Marinette just blinked at her shower wall, not quite believing his cheery mood this early in the morning.
"Kikster?" Adrien asked, a little worried. "You still there? Marinette?"
"Yeah," she mumbled. "Coffee…me have. Can come over…you…" Marinette mumbled, shuffling out of the room.
By the time Marinette got to opening up her front door, Adrien was already there with his bright, blue pajamas and cheery smile. He looked like he'd been up for at least three hours. That should not be normal, Marinette thought to herself.
In normal circumstances Marinette would not be able to comprehend anything with Adrien's bedhead in her line of vision, but thankfully she noticed none of it in her sleep deprived state. Wordlessly she waved Adrien in with a hand wave and a nod.
Adrien grinned merrily down at Marinette and attempted to start a conversation with her, but she growled at him and led him to her kitchen. The dark aroma coming from her coffee maker filled her kitchen completely. Adrien stood there politely as Marinette set down her cup and reached into one of her cupboards to pull out another cup for him. Marinette poured the coffee carefully into each cup like she was pouring precious, molten gold. "Suga..? Marinette asked as she handed Adrien the large cup of coffee.
"Yes Princess?" Adrien replied, grabbing the cup carefully.
Marinette cocked her head sleepily and raised an eyebrow at Adrien. "Sugar…Do you want sugar?" Marinette asked, annunciating each word carefully.
"Oh!" Adrien's face burned a bright red as he finally understood what Marinette wanted to say. "Yeah,…Uh yeah I would like some sugar, please." Adrien watched as Marinette handed him the pot that contained the sugar. Adrien set down his coffee and carefully poured two spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee and stirred.
With each sip of coffee, Marinette started to wake up a little more. As she became more aware, Marinette's brain started to take hold of the situation.
She was standing in her kitchen with her neighbor, Adrien. He was drinking coffee out of one of her cups because he didn't have coffee in his own flat. Now they were just standing there in silence. I should probably invite him to sit down, Marinette mused. You are such a dim-whit.
Marinette coughed a little, startling Adrien. "Umm…Would you like to come sit down?" Marinette pointed to her living room.
Adrien nodded sunnily. "Yeah, thanks." Silently the two walked out and sat on the small couch, enjoying the view while simultaneously trying not to sit too close to each other. "You have a beautiful view," Adrien murmured. Marinette hummed in response and drank her coffee. Adrien chuckled. "You're not a morning person, are you?"
Marinette threw her hands up in mock defeat. "Oh no! You've got me!" She laughed sleepily. "I am not a morning person at all. I am much more of a night owl. I can stay up all night to finish a project and only sleep when I'm at work, which I probably shouldn't do come think of it." Adrien laughed at her description. Marinette shifted her hand position on her coffee cup. "What? You don't believe me? Well you better believe that I'm like a zombie trudging through molasses if I don't have my coffee."
Adrien only laughed harder. When he got control, he was able to choke out: "No I've seen you…and that is a perfect description. I've seen it with my dad too. He is so hilarious! It must be a fashion thing."
"No!…Really?" Marinette asked in disbelief.
Adrien shook his head. "I kinda wish I was, but I have to admit that it is hilarious." Adrien took another sip of his coffee. "I am the complete opposite. I love mornings…"
"I can tell," Marinette added, pushing him away slightly, pushing away the warm feeling it created.
Adrien gave her a dirty look, but continued. "Anyway, I love to wake up early to see the sunrise and hear the birds just waking up. I love seeing the beginnings of the day. At night, I swear I'm definitely a different person. I am usually so tired I literally have no filter. It's a problem," Adrien stressed.
Marinette shook her head, laughing. "It's not a problem at all. But it's a nice device to use on you. Thank you for mentioning it." Marinette grinned cheekily at him. It now was Adrien's turn to push Marinette away.
"God I thought we were friends," Adrien scoffed, turning away from Marinette to smile, which she caught easily from the corner of her eye.
"I see you smiling." Marinette laughed. "You know you want me to use that nugget of knowledge against you. Hmm?" She raised one of her eyebrows; eyes sparkling.
Adrien was quiet for a second as he met her stare steadily. "Yeah…" he whispered, his voice catching. Marinette's cheeks bloomed a bright red and she reeled herself back in. Adrien took a step back as well.
It was quiet for only a moment as Adrien sniffed deeply, and then coughed. "You need to shower, missy," Adrien said jokingly and the weird mood dropped as Marinette set down her coffee and put her hands on her hips.
"Well you don't smell too good yourself, mister, so don't even start." Marinette reprimanded. She pulled her blanket from earlier and laid it across her lap. She then promptly turned away from Adrien, pointedly staring out the window.
Adrien turned as red as the blanket at the sight of it. He just stared at it for several minutes before getting a hold of himself. He smirked a little as he asked: "Is that my blanket?"
Marinette fiddled with her hands and hid her face. "No, of course not," she muttered.
Adrien curled his lips inward in an attempt to hide his smile. "Umm. I think it is…..You stole it."
Marinette turned coldly towards him. "No….I did not steal it…You just happened to accidently give it to me." Marinette's head wobbled from side to side as she tried to phrase her words in the right way.
Adrien let out a genuine laugh. "I really don't care, Mari. If you want to keep it, it's fine by me." He petted the corner of the blanket as a sign of farewell to his blanket.
Adrien drained the last dregs of the coffee into his mouth, licking his lips in satisfaction. Adrien moved himself to the edge of the couch and made to get up. "Well, it looks like I'd better get showered. Thank you for the coffee. It was much appreciated." Adrien got up and dropped his cup off at the kitchen after he offered to take Marinette's cup. She handed it to him gratefully.
She followed him to the kitchen and pointed to the sink, where he could drop off the cups.
Adrien reached the front door easily but lingered. "Shower time, right? Care to join me?" Adrien smiled at Marinette and noticed she went bright red. He may have made a small mistake in his phrasing. "Oh, NO! That's not what I meant! I don't want you to actually…um, no. I was just wondering if you would like to do the normal…singing…thing…...?"
Marinette coughed. "Yeah, sorry. I knew what you meant, but I just…..Sure. That sounds great." Marinette closed the door behind Adrien and let out a large, pent up breath. "That was unexpected," Marinette whispered to no one in particular, and then hauled herself to her bathroom.
Adrien had already found his way to his own bathroom and had beaten Marinette in getting out he music. Therefore Marinette figured that they were going to be listening to some interesting songs.
"How are you, partner?" Adrien called over his rather loud and poppy bass of "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon.
"Little salty I didn't get music choice today," Marinette called back, shedding off her clothes.
"Oh, so spoiled," Adrien joked back. "You got it last time." Adrien turned the music up a little bit, drowning out the beat of water against the shower basin.
"We were victims of the night. The chemical. Physical! Kryptonite! Helpless to the bass and the fading light. Oh we were bound to get together! BOUND TO GET TOGETHER!" They both sang. Marinette stepped into her shower, letting the water pour away everything as the music did the same.
"She took my arm. I don't know how it happened! We took the floor and she said: Oh don't you dare look back. Just keep your eyes on me. I said you're holding back. She said: SHUT UP AND DANCE WITH ME! This woman is my destiny. She said ooh ooh! Shut up and dance with me!" Marinette hummed the instrumental interlude as she bunched shampoo between her hair follicles. She was slowly and steadily waking up more and more. The words to the song reminded her of her assertiveness that she normally has with Chat Noir. She smiled at the memories that flooded her mind, although she cleared away the memories of some of the weak points. Chat sometimes just had a different effect on her.
"A backless dress, and some beat up sneaks. My discotheque Juliet. Teenage Dream! I felt it in my chest as she looked at me. I knew we were BOUND TO BE TOGETHER! BOUND TO BE TOGETHER!" Then Marinette was reminded of Adrien. His soft looks. His unruly hair. Those bright, bright eyes. His caring personality. His chivalrousness. His beautiful, true smile. All things he had shown to her. All things that made her feel like she was fifteen again. Marinette quickly shook herself so she wouldn't accidently get soap in her eye for her carelessness.
"SHUT UP AND DANCE WITH ME!" The two of them sang for the last time. The song ended with just one, small guitar riff, but was soon followed up by the beginning of "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars.
"AH YEAH!" Adrien cried excitedly as he started to imitate the voices in the beginning of the song.
Marinette just shook her head. "Where do I meet people like you?" she exclaimed, exasperated.
"Apparently in the shower," Adrien replied with a laugh. Marinette stuck her tongue out at him even though she could not see him. "Hey I know you're sticking your tongue out at me. Now stop. You know better, Miss Kiki" Adrien called out, making Marinette pout.
"This hit. That ice cold. Michelle Pheiffer. That white gold. This one for them hood girls. Them good girls, straight masterpieces! Stylin'. Whilin, livin' it up in the city. Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent. Got kiss myself, I'm so pretty. OW!" Adrien sang by himself. Marinette could just imagine him prancing around his shower, bobbing his head to the rhythm.
"I'm too hot!" Adrien called, silently asking for Marinette to answer him. She didn't.
He tried again. "Called a police and a fireman. I'm TOO HOT!" He hit the wall gently when Marinette, once again, didn't respond. "C'mon, please!"
Marinette huffed but silently agreed to do it.
"I'm too hot!" Adrien called.
"Hot damn," Marinette said in her most monotone voice. She could almost hear Adrien's disappointment as he continued.
"Say my name you know who I am !" Adrien sang. In a very low voice, Marinette called out Adrien's name, making him stop.
"Ok, now you just need to stop," Adrien complained. Marinette just giggled.
"Girls hit your hallelujah OOOOH! Girls hit your hallelujah OOOOH! Cause Uptown Funk gonna give it to ya!" Both Adrien and Marinette sang, finishing up with their showers.
As the two of them got out of the shower, the song changed for the last time to "We Are the Champions" by Queen.
"Now this, is music," Marinette commented, turning off her shower head. She reached outside her shower curtain and grasped her towel. Carefully she stepped out and wrapped the soft towel around her body. The soft and melodic vocals played in the background as Marinette got dry and started pulling on her work clothes.
"I've paid my dues…Time after time…I've done my sentence, but committed no crime…And bad mistakes…I've made a few…I've had my share of sand kicked in my face, but I've come through!"
"AndIneedjustgo on, and on, and on!" Mari cried as she buttoned up her shirt. The drum beat dropped, and the two of them took a stance and stared up at the ceiling as they sang along. "We!...Are the Champions, my friends….And we'll keep on fighting! Til' the end…We are the champions….WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! NO time FOR losers! 'Cause we are the champions…of the world!"
Marinette's fingers skated over her hair follicles along with the time of the piano as she pulled her hair into a bun. "I've taken my bows…And my curtain calls…You brought me fame and fortune, and everything that goes with it…I thank you all…But it's been no bed of roses…No pleasure cruise…I consider it a challenge before the whole human race….And I ain't gonna lose," Marinette sang dramatically.
"AndIneedjustgo on, and on, and one, and ON!" Adrien continued in the loudest volume he could muster.
Marinette popped open her bathroom door to let out some of the steam from her shower. She rested against the frame of the door as she sang to the rest of the song with vigor. She almost laughed at Tikki when she saw her plugging her ears. "We are the champions! My friends…And we'll! Keep on fighting! 'Til the end…We are the champions! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! NO time FOR losers! 'Cause we are the champions! OF THE WORLD!"
With a click, Adrien turned off his music, but kept on humming the Queen song as he collected his stuff from his bathroom.
Marinette smiled at the sounds form the other bathroom, and stayed against the frame of the wall. "Did you know my father and I used to sing that as we baked" Marinette mentioned.
"Really?" Adrien asked in surprise.
Marinette nodded. "Yeah, we would be working on the most delicate pastries, but we would be belting out the words to this song. And sometimes instead of singing the word 'Champions' we would say 'Chwampions', making my mother laugh really hard." Marinette laughed a little, and got a nostalgic look to her eyes. "Those were the days."
Adrien got a sad smile on his face. "Yeah, my father and my mum both used to sing this song with me when I was younger, dancing around my parent's room."
"Well…now the two of us have a memory of belting out the words in the shower, annoying all of the neighbors." The two of them shared a laugh.
"Hey, do you want to walk to work together?" Adrien asked tentatively.
Marinette finally gathered up her stuff. "Yeah; sounds like a plan! Meet you in front of our doors in two?"
"Sounds perfect," was Adrien's reply.
Marinette left the bathroom, flicking off the light switch. She gathered her purse and projects for work, and then called to Tikki.
"Ready to go, Tikki?" Marinette called. Tikki flew up and into Marinette's waiting purse. "Alright…got the dress, got Tikki, got coffee…" Marinette started to tick off her imaginary checklist. "And got Mr. Agreste's form… Ok I think I've got everything…" Marinette grabbed her keys and went out of apartment to meet Adrien.
After she locked her door, she turned around and was met with Adrien offering her something." Muffin?" he asked.
Marinette graciously took on of the two in his hands. "Thank you." They started to walk downstairs, side by side, conversing easily. It had been a few months since their first 'outing' (It was a date, who's kidding who?) and the two were getting along better than ever.
"How did you learn to bake like this?" Marinette asked cautiously as she bit into the muffin.
Adrien faked shock. "You didn't know the rich, little, blonde boy could bake!" He gasped. "Neither did I," He laughed and Marinette shook her head, hiding her smile. "I only learned to bake from your parents, honestly. The offered to teach me one day and I accepted. NOW I AM A FULL FUNCTIONING ADULT!" Adrien cried to the streets. Marinette just giggled.
"You are ridiculous."
"But I'm your ridiculous," Adrien replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Marinette pushed him away.
"That was terrible."
Adrien shrugged. "Did you know that your name, Kiki, has literally no puns for it? Isn't that terrible!?" Adrien exclaimed.
"I wouldn't know." Marinette rolled her eyes, and gave Adrien a questioning look when he stared at her, dumbfounded. "What?" she asked.
"Oh, it's nothing…" Adrien replied mysteriously.
"What? Do I have muffin on my face or something?" Marinette questioned.
"Maybe…" Adrien said absentmindedly. Marinette started to scrub her face. "No! No, it's gone now; don't worry," Adrien exclaimed.
The two came upon an intersection and the two stopped. "Well…this is my turn…" Marinette pointed to her right.
Adrien pointed to his left. "That's mine." The two stood there just staring at each other, rocking back and forth on the balls of their feet.
"Well, I'll see you." Marinette said then in a moment of courage, Marinette leaned close to Adrien and gave him the traditional, French farewell. She kissed him lightly on both cheeks then turned away. "Au Revoir!" She called, walking away. She did not even notice how Adrien froze.
God I feel so stupid for doing that! I mean it's normal, but he could not believe in that sort of thing or… Marinette stopped herself. Ok…forget it. Work mode. Death. Cruella Agreste. Fabric. Butterflies. Coffee. No Adrien. Marinette may have been able to get Adrien out of her brain for a few hours, but Adrien could not for the life of him get Marinette out of his as he walked the rest of the way to the Lycée.
Hey readers! I was planning to update on Tuesday, but I seriously lost track of time! Hope you guys liked this chapter. I just kind of felt like writing a lot of fluff, so here it is. Thank you so much for continuing to read this story, it means a lot to me. I hopefully will update next Tuesday, but don't count on it. I am terrible at deadlines. Anyway, please comment, favorite, or follow if you wish. Hope you are having a great summer, or winter if you are in the southern half of the globe. And until I write again, TTFN!