School was beyond bland. After two days of emotional rollercoasters and a majorly hectic battle, there was nothing amazing about sitting in class taking history notes. Every time she stared at the back of Adrien's head, her mind wandered to last night when the Paris lights had haloed it and spun it gold. She kept getting nudged by Alya whenever the teacher started calling on students for answers to make sure they were paying attention. She messed up a few times when she missed hearing her name and could only mumble excuses that she may not be fully back to health and weakly apologized for it. That stayed the teachers, but it didn't help her classmates from picking on her a bit...namely Chloe.
All she wanted to do was sit on her balcony with Adrien and look out over Paris! She wanted to dress up as Ladybug and Chat Noir and go swing to the top of the Eiffel Tower, stare down at everything, and talk about nothing. She wanted to go race him over rooftops and flirt with him excessively. It was absolute torture to be so near him and make it seem like nothing had ever occurred between them. He was right on one main point though: there was no way she wanted to go back to the way things were when she was never able to talk to him, let alone find the guts to embrace him. She was doing it now and it was killing her! She didn't know how they could fix this publicly, but that could get worked out when the Butterfly issue was done and over with.
He seemed to sense her issues and know what she was going through. A few times he pretended to run his hands through his hair and his fingers discretely wiggled to her in a secret way of saying hello. He knew she'd be watching him more than class because of how many times she was talked to for not paying attention. He knew and he sent her a message that he felt the same.
At one point, she made a subtle showing of dropping her stylus so it clacked down under his seat. She sent a quiet thanks his way when he picked it up and turned to give it to her. That instance gave them the chance to clasp hands for the briefest of touches when she took her stylus back and brush her fingers against his. He gave her 'that look' and a soft smile to go along with it and she felt she must be doing the same the way her heart flipped. She still had the ability to blush and make it look like things were normal before looking to her pad.
At some point in class, her mind switched gears to the battle later tonight. There were so many things she had to prepare for and she had no idea what was going to happen. They knew exactly who and where Butterfly was, yet he hadn't come looking for Adrien as if something was wrong. No one had been turned evil and the his household didn't even seem panicked that Ladybug had all but whisked Adrien away in the middle of the night from an evil madman.
This was too easy and she was immediately suspicious. The next bout of class had her paranoid to the point of anything the teacher paused on in a lecture, anyone that passed by the courtyard windows, or any bird that flew by the outside made her think something was going to happen. She didn't know if Gabriel suspected her, but he knew how to find her. If Ladybug was dug up, chances were Adrien may or may not follow so she could protect him.
"You're looking kind of scary...what's wrong?" Alya whispered.
She jumped and tried to keep the surprised shriek down, but it still got the attention of their physics teacher. She profusely apologized for the outburst, lamely stating she thought a bug landed on the back of her neck. The teacher seemed less annoyed at her lesson getting interrupted, although Alya didn't buy it and it got Adrien's attention again. He openly looked at her, as was most everyone else in the classroom, but he was the only she stared back at. He was the only one she silently communicated her worry and fears to via her eyes.
Just as class was ending for the lunch hour, Alya pounced. "I guess you're still not feeling well enough to be here." She thoughtfully remarked, critically eying her. A hand went to her forehead again. "I mean, some of your behavior is pretty normal for you, but you seem a tad...I dunno how to put it...off?"
She slapped the hand away and made a showing of being annoyed at the statement, though she was a little anxious her friend would see right through her. Some of those excuses were too weak to be believable, especially to Alya. "Like I said in class, maybe I'm just not feeling well enough to be here yet."
"Do you need to go home for the rest of the day? I can take notes for you, you know."
She smiled at her friend's thoughtfulness. "Thanks Alya, but I think I just need a good meal. I have to admit that during that time off, I didn't eat much."
"And I was requested by your precious mother to make sure you stuffed yourself full until you're the picture of health again. Come Marinette, she asked me before she saw me out the other day to make sure you ate well whenever I had the next opportunity."
Adrien was suddenly by her side, his smooth words not allowing for any debate to his pretty speech nor giving away anything other than basic, friendly concern. He was wrapping an arm around hers and grabbing her backpack, practically swooping her from her seat above him and almost dragging her from the room. He easily batted away any comments and questions from any classmates by explaining how delicate she had been the last few days and how she needed some help from her friends to get back on track.
She knew Alya would be happy for her, but somewhat suspicious...even after having been there with Adrien that day and seeing everything for herself. That well thought-out entrance and exit speech had everyone convinced enough for keep scrutiny off her and Alya out of her hair until she pounced for details later that day. She mentally thanked him for the relief from her own brain as they exited school.
She kept up her usual appearances of being a stuttering, blushing mess until they got to the bottom of the school's stairs...not that it was so difficult though. She stopped when he made to head to the bakery and slipped her arm from his to reach for her backpack. "I think I can get it from here..." She murmured, lips tilting slightly. "Nice work."
He took a step back and watched her get situated before giving her a light smile. "You gave me such an easy opening, it was simple my lady."
Her shoulders scrunched to her ears as she giggled at his playful tone and started for her home. He easily kept in time with her and put both hands behind his head as they walked. She looked at him when he kept walking like that, brow raising. "Why are you doing that?"
He eyed her and how she was looking to his arms and his eyes playfully narrowed. "If I leave my hands at my sides, one of them is eventually going to find yours."
She looked away as she blushed and squelched a girlish giggle. She glanced back as they waited for the light to change and found him giving her soft eyes. Teeth bit her lip and her heart started racing at how publicly they were flirting. They were barely off school grounds, not that it was more than a block or two anyway, and there were still so many people that could see them and what they were doing. It was too dangerous for her sanity and gossip to be caught doing this, but she was reveling in it. It made her want to be brash and act stupid.
Her lips pressed together before she quickly reached up and took her hair down...knowing how much he liked it before. A hand lightly ruffled it to loosen it and then she was giving him a smirk through her locks. She almost, almost questioned the ramifications of her own actions, but any other thought after seeing his expression died. The coy expression on his face was gone, the smile slipped for something more serious in his eyes. It made her heart jump up in her throat and her hands shake a little.
He harshly swallowed, fingers itching to run through her hair again. A shiver stole through him and he lost the ability to know his surroundings. His hands clasped together tighter, almost turning his knuckles white. He couldn't do as he wished when he felt that so many of their classmates were still in the area...although it made the game that much more delicious. He openly pouted at her, barely able to take his eyes off her. "No fair Marinette..."
She merely grinned at how he was giving himself away to her. She felt powerful knowing she had the upper hand right now and took a quick step away to face him as she walked backwards. "Oops...my hands slipped. I guess I'll just have to have some help getting my hair back to normal before class. After all, I'm not feeling that well yet..."
Had he looked in a mirror, he would have been smiling exactly like Chat did to Ladybug when she let him flirt with her. "Your eager kitty is at your service, my lady..."
She giggled and pulled the door open to the bakery. She greeted her parents and stated that she offered Adrien to have lunch with her because she just found out that he usually ate by himself at home and thought he needed company. Her family of course said they would add him a place with her at the table and she led him to the upper floor while her mother got ready to step away from the counter to get her something to eat.
She finally stopped in her room and put her bag on her desk for now. "Any lunch requests?" She asked, turning to him.
He gave her an odd look. "I'm just a guest; I'm not going to start ordering your parents around."
She smiled at his thoughtfulness. "It's no trouble. They did make all that food without you asking the day you were here to play video games for the contest."
Within moments, he had rattled off a few basics, not wanting to be too greedy with his first lunch ever with Marinette, and she left to let her mother know. He looked around her room, still seeing his posters above her computer, and went to her desktop to turn the screen on. He grinned at his previous photo shoots staring back at him idly before looking around.
"Okay, mama said we have to wait about ten minutes before we head downstairs and...what are you doing?!"
"What's that?"
Her eyes flew open at what he was pointing to. Her hands flailed for a second until he went to pull it down. She gave an eep and hurried to him. She pushed his hands out of the way and grasped his wrists, feeling sheer panic and slight terror at what he would do should he find his entire schedule well mapped out in her room. Her mouth gaped open to tell him it was nothing, but her actions just said otherwise. The only thing she did was look like a fish out of water.
She was acting weird and he knew it must be concerning him. She was usually like this whenever he was involved and it must be a doozy if she was trying to physically keep him from looking at it. His eyes narrowed with a smile. This would be too easy. "What's the matter Marinette? Is it perhaps something about me?" In a second, he had twisted his wrists out of her hold and grasped them both with his larger hand. He held her there as she actually struggled against him and pulled down a small chord...looking at an entire month's worth of his schedule staring back at him.
She wanted to die! She wanted nothing more than the floors to open up and swallow her through the building! She stammered sounds, unable to think of any rational explanation, face flaming to new temperatures of red she never felt possible. It was even worse when he merely stared at everything as if taking it in, no shock or disgust on his face. His eyes darted around his extraneous lessons with an even face. She was barely aware that he was still holding onto her wrists, but lightly now.
"Well...that's...pretty thorough... Although, my piano lessons have been moved back by an entire hour so you may want to change that." His amused gaze turned to her. "Just for future reference..."
She turned red to her ears and pulled her hands free to cover her face. "Oh god!" She moaned, shrinking to the floor. She buried her face in her knees and refused to look at him.
He chuckled at her reaction, shaking his head. When she didn't move, he kneeled and put a cajoling hand on her back, lightly patting her. "Should I be screaming in terror and running away right now instead? Is that what you thought I would do?"
"Maybe..." She mumbled, still refusing to look at him.
He laughed for a moment. "Well, I won't lie. It is a bit 'interesting' at how you got all that information when you never could have a normal conversation with me. It's still pretty impressive though."
"Just...just...shut up..." She mumbled, feeling more than humiliated.
He laughed again at her misery and stood, looking around her room again. He stopped at the vanity, rummaging through a few drawers before finding what he wanted and kneeled behind her. He got somewhat comfortable, grabbed a small chunk of hair, and started brushing. He watched her shoulders slacken little by little, hands eventually falling away from her face. "If you want, I can show you the Ladybug items that I have hidden in my room when this is all said and done. Care to know how many times I visited the Ladyblog last week?"
She flushed, but didn't look to him because that would mean he'd have to stop that beautiful feeling of the brush going through her hair. Her eyes fluttered closed as she listened to him talk about how he read everything Alya posted online concerning her and that he had seen every video of her at least twice. She eventually shifted her stance to sit more comfortably and pretty much leaned against him as he kept working his magic.
"Oh, and let's not forget all the times I tried to figure out who you were. I've spent many an afternoon staring at your pictures on the Ladyblog by the way. Then there was the Valentine's Day poem I attempted to write for you and threw away like a coward. There was that time I lied and told the sculptor that you and I were in a relationship. Oh and -"
"Okay, okay. You stalk me as much as I stalk you." She butt in, unable to keep the smile off her face.
He smiled and looked down. She was pretty much draped against him and he had to switch his stance to keep from getting knocked over. This was pretty fun and he hoped they had a lot of time left.
Fate however, was not kind. The pair looked over with wide eyes from their place on the floor when the hatch opened. "Lunch is re - oh my..."
She jolted away from him and gave her mother a nervous smile. "A – Adrien was just...h – helping get my hair back to normal...after I snagged it on a tree walking home!" She quickly produced the ribbons from her jacket and almost shoved them in his hands with a nervous laugh. "Is lunch about ready, mama?"
Her mother smiled and nodded. "I'll just get everything set up and let you two dig in. I have to get back downstairs and help your father."
"Thanks mama."
"Thanks Mrs. Dupain-Cheng."
"Thank you for being here Adrien."
The door closed without another word and she heaved a sigh, head going back against her knees again. "I'm going to have to explain you before too much longer..." She groused, fearing what her parents were going to bombard her with by the end of it all.
He undid the knots in the ribbons and sectioned off part of her hair. "It'll be easier than you think."
She gave her room a dry look as he worked only because she was unable to look at him in this second. "And just how are you justifying that?"
"I've met your parents multiple times as both Adrien and Chat Noir. They're cool people. Much more accepting than my dad. It's our classmates you'll have to worry about."
She snorted and moved away when he finished tying the ribbon and gave the crown of her head a tap with the brush. She took it and put it away before stopping in front of him with a smile. "Thanks."
He smiled and took her hand. "Anytime Marinette. Any excuse I get to touch you."
Her smile turned playful. "Then maybe I should give you a proper thank you..."
Before he could ask questions, she had stepped forward and was kissing him. He was just starting to respond back when she pulled away and traced her finger down his jaw to his chin. He moved to her, but she shimmied out of his hold with a coy look. "Y – you're welcome..." He stammered, longing to do that again. The fun of the situation was how hard-to-get she was suddenly being and it made his heart race.
"Let's go have food and then we can try discussing battle strategies for tonight."
01010
"I still don't think you should go home!"
"How am I going to explain an entire day's absence to Natalie?"
"I'm sure your horrible father can think of something."
He sighed and ran through his hair. His mood was brightened a little by the quiche he stuck in his mouth. He purposely ignored that comment on how horrid his father was for the heavenly flavor. Fingers thoughtfully tapped on the table as he chewed. He hadn't thought to the evening, but it was really risky after knowing who his father was. The fact alone that no police had visited the school was odd enough. "So what do you suppose I do? Stay here again tonight?"
She flushed and quickly looked to her plate when his suggestion ended with 'that look'. She toyed with some of her food for a second as last night went skipping through her mind. "I'm hoping everything will be over before that." She tried to think of any plan she had formed earlier and concentrate on the conversation at hand. She finally looked to him a little frustrated. "I don't know why we've had it so easy today, but I really don't want to question it. I want to take this strange peace for granted. Even though it's making me really uneasy..."
"I suppose we'd know if father turned someone to his side. The attacks are usually within the area and even if they weren't, Alya's phone has that app on it to inform her." He fingered his chin in thought as he chose another piece of food. "I don't want to say it's too easy but...this is too easy."
She sighed. "I say you finish out school like a normal middle schooler, we can come back here to study, and then you can stay for dinner. My parents won't care if you eat with us. I'll just tell them that your dad was busy designing something or he had a meeting during dinner and I felt bad for you eating all alone."
"It's not so bad after a while..." He gave her a half-hearted smile at the lame joke. "I'm used to it...kind of..." He shrugged. What else was he supposed to have done?
She scowled at him and pointed her fork in his face. "That does it. You're having dinner here!" She reached out and lightly poked his cheek before he could bat her away. "And there will be no more discussion on that part." She looked to her food, feeling mad at his father for making Adrien have all his meals at home without any conversation to make it livelier. She would show him how a real family interacted at the dinner table!
"Just how do you intend on getting me back here after school is done without incriminating us anyway?" He asked, brow raising.
"I've been 'sick' for two days, remember?" A smile started forming all its own. "I need some help getting back on track with the topics I missed from class. Who better than a star student who is super smart from being home-schooled for so many years?"
God, she was sneaky! It was scary how fast her brain worked and how she could spin every random detail together to work to her advantage. Despite how she couldn't find such quick wit with him before last night, the cleverness she had as Ladybug was all Marinette.
He loved every second of it, too!
"I AM pretty smart if I do say so myself..." He kidded, matching her smile.
Fingers lightly drummed on the table as her brain kept whirling. "If no one else knows where you are after school, then no one can come looking for you. If anything happens, we'll be there to protect each other in a second. I'll pretend to show you out and have you hang out on a nearby roof. I'll just state that I need to go to bed early, claiming that I still felt slightly out of it in class today and need more rest. That should allow me to safely transform, get out through the roof, and then I can meet you shortly afterward."
"Sounds like you've thought of just about everything. So what's the plan of attack when we get back to my house?"
She heaved a sigh and took a drink give her time to think of something. "That's the one thing I just can't get pinned down..." She groused, trying not to slam her cup on the table. "This whole day has me on edge. Why hasn't your father tried to come after us? We know who he is! We know where he's been hiding out! Why isn't he doing anything about that?"
He snorted, but he was far from amused. "Well...you've seen how father refused to leave when the house was attacked by his pawn. He's stubborn and hard-headed. I bet he doesn't think we're going to rat him out. He's probably doing designer work right now and not even phased in the slightest about this."
She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "I'm so glad you didn't end up like your dad..." She suddenly groused, slightly pouting at the man's egotistical behavior. Why wasn't Gabriel Agreste acting out after last night?
He propped his head up on the table and stared at her in slight amusement. "I suppose I could have, given that I was home-schooled till now and was kept away from everyone unless it was for his work." He looked to the table, seeing that empty house amidst the wood finish. "I guess I can see why he did it... If something happened to mother and he was there, he may still hold himself responsible. He was worried that something would happen to me too and then he'd be left alone. Maybe, in his own way, he's trying to do the right thing...but he's still in so much pain that he can't do the right thing in the right way."
How much more perfect could he get? She clutched at his hand and held the back of his palm against her cheek. Tears lined her eyes, but she refused to let them fall for the terrible factors of his life. "This is why...you're more amazing than I am..."
His eyes softened and he turned his hand to cup her cheek. "Why's that?" He quietly asked, thumb rubbing her skin.
Her eyes squeezed shut, a tear falling as she did so. "I can't forgive your father, but you...you still love him...even when he tried to use you against me. Even after all the times he's ignored you and treated you so horribly..."
His eyes sadly closed for only the briefest of moments. He remembered the last hug his father gave him after the hypnotist broke in. It was genuine, even though it was brief, and it had only made him want more ever since then. His eyes slitted open and stared at the ring on his finger. "I want to believe that my father still loves me. He's just hurting a lot. Maybe he blames himself for what happened to mother. No, after last night, I know he is. I'd have to get more details out of him to know what actually happened, but right now I know he won't say anything about it. I bet he just wants us to be a family again as much as I did."
The tears fell in a wave. She let go of his hand and moved to fling her arms around his shoulders with a sob. He held her in silence, though he squeezed her as much as she did him. It was in that second that her mind was made up. She was going to help him. She had the information and she had the methods. She also had the sneakiness to make this work and she already figured it out hours ago. She wanted nothing more than for his family to be reunited and she was going to do everything in her power to make it happen!