Mylene, Ivan, Kim, Max, Alix, Rose, Juleka, Nathanael, Alya, Nino, Marinette and Adrien crowded inside what was little more than a tent on the edge of a cluttered field. The gorilla sneered at the muddy grass beneath them. If Adrien had gone to fencing like he was supposed to, he'd have a two-hour break before having to pick him up and take him to piano for another two-hour break in the clean warmth of the Agreste mansion. But no. Adrien had to come here. To a field. In the cold. Now the gorilla had to watch for three hours as the children played team games and learned how to improve themselves.
And place bets on who they thought was going to win.
Not that the winning mattered. It was the taking part that counted. But if by some freak of luck she and Nino managed to beat Kim and Alix, Alya stood to win a box of 500 sherbet straws. Which Nino didn't know about.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen were going to start nice and simple with some trust falls, everyone's done them before right? Right, so partner off. If there's an uneven number show your teamwork skills already by including more people," the instructor ordered.
Marinette hung back to everyone could get the pairs they wanted, which left her on her own for a moment. Nathanael was looking a little lost so Marinette was about to offer to partner with him, so he wouldn't feel left out, but Rose beat her to it.
"You can be with us Nath," she smiled.
"Thanks Rosie," he smiled.
"Of course, that's what friends are for," she beamed.
Marinette took a step back, her eyes focused on Rose for a moment. Rose seemed to be able to read people's minds to know how they felt and fix it. Marinette wanted to be more like her. While Nino wasn't looking, Alya ushered Adrien stepped towards Marinette. Then Nino looked up and Alya smiled innocently, trying to pretend she wasn't interfering with Marinette's love life in any way.
"Everyone's already in pairs," Marinette said, trying not to sound disappointed.
"I'm not. Wanna pair up?" He offered.
"do you wanna?" she asked, pointedly.
"that's why I asked," he smiled.
She grinned at him. "Think you can keep up with me?"
"You're a hurricane with skin, no one can keep up with you except that tornado," Adrien nodded towards Alya.
"Alya?" Marinette said in surprise.
"That's the one," Adrien nodded.
Marinette grinned. "Does that make Nino Dorothy?"
"Can't you just imagine him in sparkling scarlet heels?" Adrien grinned back.
"You know what Princess Frostine, I think you may be right," Marinette teased.
Adrien threw his head back and his hair bounced as he laughed. Marinette filled with warmth. She and Adrien were getting alone well at the moment. If she could keep this up, she was certain she could make Chat feel appreciated too.
"You fall, I'll catch you," Adrien said as everyone started choosing who was catching.
"I don't wanna brag but I'm excellent at falling," Marinette smirked.
"Butter feet as well as fingers huh?" Adrien teased.
"Why'd you think I fix that butterfly themed suit your father made so well?" She grinned.
"Is this your way of telling me you're actually Hawkmoth?" He teased.
"No, no, of course not. I'm actually Chat Noir."
"Oh really? Then I guess I'm Ladybug then!"
"I always liked your spots."
"They're my best feature."
Both of them started laughing. Plagg was having to bite his tail to stop himself from flying between them and screaming, but when they started giggling like that again, it was a step too far.
"OH. MY. GOD! THATS IT!" He leapt to his feet.
Tikki latched onto his tail to stop him. "Plagg no!"
"PLAGG YES!" Plagg hissed.
"PLAGG! SIT!" Tikki yanked him back and forced him to sit down on the fence beside her.
Plagg put on a sulky face and crossed his arms. "It's not fair. Everyone can see they're in love. Even blind people can see they're in love. Why can't they?"
"We said we were going to let them work it out themselves," Tikki reminded him.
"And look what good it's done. They can't do it alone Tikki. They're like baby birds. You've gotta kick them out of the nest to make them fly," Plagg whined.
"Plagg-"
"We tried it your way, and nothing changed. Maybe we have to give them that push!"
"Plagg, telling them who they are before they're ready to do it themselves could be more harmful than helpful."
"Oh because they're so happy right now, aren't they?" Plagg huffed sarcastically.
Tikki gave him a stern look so he bowed his head apologetically. Calmly, Tikki wrapped an arm around him and said, "If you think this is for the best, we'll do it. But there's a better time than now."
"But-"
"We're surrounded by their classmates Plagg," she pointed out.
"Fine. We'll wait. But I'm gonna be grumpy about it," he huffed.
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close to her like a spoilt toddler with a cartoon kitten. Their cheeks smudged up together and Plagg tried desperately not to purr as her breath quivered his thin whiskers.
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" She giggled.
Adrien and Marinette proved with amazing ease that he could catch her every single time she fell, just like he did every time she fell near him at school. Alya said that was cheating because they had practice. Nino told her not to be so competitive. Alya didn't want to tell him she was gambling on this, so she just grumbled to herself.
"Look how well they fit together Alya. This would never be possible without your help," Nino smirked.
"Maybe but we can still beat them. I threw myself at you and you caught me, you can catch me when I fall still!" Alya warned.
"Course I can I was just saying-"
"That we can beat them."
"Can't beat us though! Watch this trust!" Kim called.
He held his arms out behind Alix, and Alix jumped back away from him. "No way man you're gonna tickle me or something, you fall!"
Kim put one hand on his hip and gestured with the other. "No way, you'd never catch me, and I'd crush you!"
"Crush me? No I'd just step aside and let you fall," Alix sneered.
"Ooh you're right, I can feel the trust from here, we could never beat that," Alya smirked sarcastically.
"Wait until the team games start. I can trust her in a team," Kim warned.
"Team? Dude, that's my team," Alya pointed to Adrien and Marinette.
Marinette fell back, with her arms across her chest, and Adrien caught her, and lowered her so their eyes could meet. He kept threatening to drop her, but she kept laughing that she didn't believe him. Her hair was practically touching the ground before he lifted her back up. Then she turned to face him, slipped, and went crashing into his chest, where he caught her again, laughing. She looked sheepish as she dusted herself down.
"This is some stiff competition Al," Kim said.
"Don't worry dude, we got max!"
"Yeah we do!"
Max and Nathanael had teamed up but neither of them wanted to fall so they both sat on the mud beneath them, playing on Max's Nintendo together. Kim didn't let that shake his confidence.
"Watch your back Alya. That sherbet is mine," Kim sneered.
"You don't even eat sherbet!" Alya argued.
"I'm gonna dissolve it all in water just to screw with you," Kim smirked.
"That's cold," Alya shook her head.
Kim and Alix moved on, but not too far away so they could make faces over their shoulders at Alya and Nino.
"What are you two talking about, what sherbet?" Nino asked.
Alya played innocent, "I have no idea-"
"Alya I know when you're lying to me," Nino warned.
Alya dropped the charade. "I made a bet with Kim. If we beat him, we get five hundred sherbet straws."
"If we lose?"
"I have to buy him five hundred straws..."
"Wait, the sherbet straws that children eat? That is you get wet stop working? I love them!" Nino said.
"I know, it was gonna be a surprise," Alya explained.
"Aww babe," Nino smiled. "That settles it, we're beating Kim."
Alya perked up. "Yeah?!"
"Course. You and I can beat anyone we put our minds to!" Nino nodded firmly.
Alya laughed and wrapped her arms around Nino. "I love you Nino!"
Nino turned beetroot and buried his head in her neck to hide his face. Adrien smiled at them, affectionately.
"Aren't they cute?" he asked.
"And they work together really well," Marinette agreed. "I'm pretty sure Alya and Nino can read each other's minds sometimes."
Adrien smirked. "I wish someone knew me that well."
"Haven't you had anyone that close to you before?" Marinette asked.
Adrien shook his head sadly. "Have you?"
Marinette nodded and pointed, "Alya,"
"Ah," Adrien chuckled. It should have been obvious really. "No. I've only ever had me to share my thoughts with. Even Pla- plants don't listen."
Before Marinette and Chat had talked, Marinette would have been too caught up in the fact they were walking, that she wouldn't have noticed the slip up. Now though, she gave a slight chuckle.
"You talk to plants?" She said.
Adrien gulped. He didn't think she'd notice. As casually as possible he shrugged it off. "Helps them grow."
Marinette nudged him gently. "I'm listening, tell me. Pretend I'm a plant. Make me grow."
Adrien shook his head to try and stop himself digging a hole. "Maybe later. Let's just have fun for a while."
Marinette opened her mouth to protest to encourage Adrien open up to her, but she got interrupted.
"Excellent work everyone! Perfect pairs mostly," the trainer looked pointedly at Kim and Alix, who were yet to decide which was going to catch the other. "We're moving on to teams of four-"
"MARINETTE, ADRIEN, YOU'RE WITH US!" Alya called.
Nino bit her lip, mildly embarrassed as Alya stuck her hand up and waved at Adrien and Marinette pointedly. Tikki giggled as Marinette turned pink.
"Let the woman talk Ally," she called back, subtly.
"Thank you, Marinette is it?" The trainer asked.
Marinette stepped back sheepishly, and accidentally hit Adrien's arm, which let him push her back forward, and beam proudly.
"Yes this is Marinette! Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Isn't she wonderful?" He beamed.
Marinette blushed deeper and covered her face with her hands sheepishly. Adrien smiled proudly at her. Alya leaned in close to Nino.
"Suck up," she muttered.
Nino laughed and threw an arm around her warmly. When the instructor finished explaining, they split into three teams. Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Alya were one. Max, Kim, Alix, Ivan was another. The last was Nathanael, Rose, Juleka, Mylene. Each team had different colour balloons. They had to pass the balloon through their legs and then over their heads, to weave the balloons through them, and drop it in the net behind them.
"Everybody ready in your lines?" The trainer asked.
There was a general answer of, "Yeah."
"Come on guys where's your enthusiasm?!" The trainer cried.
All she wanted them to do, all she expected them to do, was cheer a little or yell louder that they were ready to start. Instead they started trash talking again.
"You're going down Alya!" Alix called.
"You think you can beat us four?! Dream on little one," Alya scoffed.
"Oh we'll bring it! Bring it hard!" Kim called.
"Do it. I wanna see you burst your own balloon," Alya sneered.
"Competition is all well and good but remember this is supposed to be about trust," The trainer warned.
"Oh we'll wipe the floor with your trust!" Kim declared.
"Open your eyes Kimmy, we're already beating you, four falls to none!" Alya sneered.
"Guys can you shut up so we can get on with this?!" Ivan called.
There was another general cry of agreement from the others waiting to start while these lot were still bickering. They fell back into line sheepishly.
"Everyone ready?" The trainer tried again, slightly wearily now.
There was a general squeaking of balloons as everyone at the front prepared themselves for the whistle. There was a tense pause…
Peep!
An uproar of encouraging yells and squeaking rubber burst across the field as each team started passing the balloons overhead and under legs, before slamming them into the nets at the back of the line. Most balloons won. You can imagine how frantic it was at the back when they struggled to keep the net open and balloons started backing up.
"Humans have some strange pass times," Plagg said from the plastic orange fence squaring off the obstacle course.
Tikki pushed his shoulder, gently, and insisted, "Go help him!"
Plagg sighed, but he didn't have to be aske twice. He floated over to stand behind Adrien at the back of the line and hold open the net so Adrien could just shove balloons in without having to fuss. It saved them move time than you'd think.
"WE'RE BEATING THEM! KEEP GOING ALLY!" Marinette cried, excitedly.
As she passed a balloon under her legs and back to Adrien, she was incredibly grateful Tikki had convinced her to wear trousers instead of that cute little skirt she'd been planning to wear.
"I thought you didn't care about competition," Adrien teased.
"Come on Adrien, everyone cares about competitions!" Nino laughed.
"How else do you win things?" Marinette grinned.
"THEY'RE CATCHING UP, GO, GO, GO!" Alya cried.
Marinette and Nino sped up as Alya did, which meant that Adrien was struggling to keep up again. Tikki had to come over and hold up the other side of the net so he could just drop them in after raising them over his head. Adrien was too busy to turn so she was well hidden for a while.
"LAST ONE COMING UP!" Alya cried.
"GOTTA GO FAST GUYS!" Nino cried.
"Sonic won't help you now Nino," Marinette warned.
"I'm more of a Ninja Turtles kinda guy anyway," Nino smirked.
Adrien slammed the last balloon in to the net and yelled, "DONE!"
Alya screamed excitedly and threw her arms around Nino, who swept her off the floor just as excitedly. From across the field Max and Alix were yelling, and Kim was scowling, balloon in hand. Marinette threw her head back, laughing with a smile as bright as the sun. Adrien couldn't resist. He wrapped his arms around her middle and lifted her up to spin her around. She yelped in alarm, and clung onto him to stabilise herself when he finally put her down again. Marinette looked straight past him as the world stopped spinning, and Tikki flashed her a grin over his shoulder. Marinette beamed back. She wasn't sure how Tikki helped, but she was in no doubt that she had. That lucky bug was going to very helpful today.
"Can you still stand?" Adrien grinned.
Marinette's gaze focused on him. She was still clinging to his arms to stabilise herself. She snatched back quickly and gave a sheepish smile.
"I'm a little dizzy! How about some warning next time?" She said.
"I couldn't resist!" He grinned.
Marinette laughed and shook her head. She caught a flash of black as Plagg dove down behind Adrien, to stay hidden, and she turned her head, hopefully. There was nothing there. Marinette stepped forward, out of the group, and looked around for signs of Chat Noir. Just because she couldn't see him didn't mean he wasn't there. Marinette had learned that Chat liked to spook her. He was a prankster. She liked that, even if it annoyed her sometimes. Adrien tilted his head as he watched her glance about.
"Mari are you ok? you keep looking around like you're trying to find something," he asked.
She blinked at him in surprise. "do I? I guess I do. don't worry about it, it doesn't matter."
"why? Who are you looking for?" he asked curiously.
She glanced uncertainly at him. It was far too easy to talk to him, and she had promised Nino she wouldn't invite Chat. This entire thing was about trust. How would it look if she betrayed his trust on a /trust building day? Then again, lying to Adrien was a betrayal of his trust too. After all they'd been through, Adrien would be a lot less forgiving than Nino...
"Um… ok, don't tell Nino, but I asked Chat to come," she explained.
Adrien tilted his head. "What's that matter to Nino?"
"Nino didn't want me to. He said if anything goes wrong with our relationship, I'll know I have friends I can trust because they're all here. Well I trust all of these lot anyway, even Kim, and I wanna prove to Chat I'm in this for the long haul," she glanced towards the road again, half hoping he'd be there. "He told me he couldn't come but… I dunno, I guess I just thought… Well I can't expect him to drop everything for me. That's not fair on him, especially when I can't do the same for him..."
Marinette fell quiet for a moment, still staring at the road like if she waited long enough he'd appear. Adrien's heart melted a little. He wanted to reach out and brush his fingers through her hair, pull her into a hug, and let her know he was never too busy for her, but he couldn't. Instead, he had to watch her look disappointed as Chat stayed away. Then the trainer yelled that they were going to move on soon so everyone should gather together. Marinette turned back to Adrien with a smile.
"Shall we?" She grinned.
"I'm sorry I'm just me. I'm sorry Chat isn't here," Adrien said.
Marinette gave a soft chuckle and shook her head, "I'm fine… No, really, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"I'm sure Chat'd be here if he could. I'm sure he wouldn't want to spend so much time away from you if he didn't have to," Adrien continued.
"well like I said, I can't ask him to drop everything to spend three hours in a field, in October, outnumbered by my friends. Especially with Alya around. She's kind of a…" Marinette trailed off like she couldn't find the words.
"Love Ninja?" Adrien offered, trying not to grin.
Marinette laughed brightly once, and nodded, "Exactly. How'd you know?"
"I'm trying to get up the courage to ask her for advice about this girl I like," Adrien shrugged, sheepishly.
Marinette gasped excitedly. "Ooh, girl? Who? Chloe?"
"What?! No! Why does everyone think I like Chloe?" Adrien frowned.
"Oh wait - that girl you met before you started school? Her? What was her name?" Marinette asked.
"It's not her. It's someone..." he glanced at her and then away, quickly, "closer."
"Oooh, interesting," Marinette grinned.
"COME ON YOU TWO! TEAM WORK REMEMBER?!" Alya yelled.
"Coming!" Adrien called.
Marinette tugged his arm to stop him from walking away from their conversation, "hey, wait, what's the problem?"
Adrien's hand hovered above her lower back for a moment, to make her walk. His hand hesitated to touch, and he pulled it away without touching at all. He pushed his hand down into his pocket. It was a struggle to remember he wasn't Chat right now. Especially when looked as cute as she did right now. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. She thought that the silence was him trying to get out of talking.
"Listen Adrien, I don't want to see you let a good thing slip away. You know I don't like watching anybody make the same mistakes I made. Tell me what's up?" She repeated, quietly.
"She's a really nice girl, and she's always there for me, but I think I let her take the lead too much... I wanna just grab her and kiss her, but we've been having problems and I don't wanna scare her away by doing something that makes her uncomfortable," he said.
"Tell her about it," she insisted.
"Your advice for everything is to talk to her!" Adrien scoffed.
"Yes, it is. I'm sure that you think you got it all under control, and you don't want somebody telling you the way to stay in someone's mind, because you're a smart boy, and you'll never let her go but that's just the kind of thing she ought to know!" She said, firmly.
"Marinette-" Nino called.
"Tell her about it! Tell her everything you feel! Give her every reason to accept that you're for real. Tell her all your crazy dreams. Let her know you need her. Let her know how much she means!" Marinette insisted.
"What if she doesn't listen?" He asked, quietly.
Marinette stopped walking. Adrien turned to meet her eye. She looked a little guilty, and sighed.
"Sorry, it's not automatically a certain guarantee, but nothing is. To insure yourself you've got to provide constant communication. When you love someone, you're always insecure. Talking is the one good way to reassure her how much you care," Marinette explained.
"Constant conversation? What if I'm away on a photo shoot or something? What do I do if she can't be with me?" Adrien asked.
"Tell her you wish you were there. Every day before you leave, pay her some attention, and give her something to believe," She advised.
"That'll work?" He asked, uncertainly.
"ADRIEN! MARINETTE!" Alya yelled.
"WE'RE COMING!" Adrien yelled back.
"Course we are. And yes it well. I mean now and then she might to worry just because you haven't spoken for so long, and that's not something you want," Marinette warned.
"Why not? I'm working, it's not like I'm doing anything wrong," Adrien frowned.
"Will that be a consolation when she leaves?" Marinette challenged.
Adrien pursed his lips and bowed his head. He'd almost lost her already and it hurt like hell. If she actually walked out because he wasn't keeping up the conversations, he couldn't imagine the pain. Marinette was going to touch his arm to reassure him, but Nino ran over to them to ease Alya's annoyance, and she pushed her hands into her pockets.
"What are you two talking about?" Nino asked.
"I'm giving him advice about the girl he likes," Marinette explained.
"Oh, listen up, this is good information from a girl who's made mistakes!" Nino laid a hand on Marinette's shoulder, with a strange sense of pride.
Marinette was puzzled about whether to be complimented or offended. "Thanks?"
"You're welcome," Nino grinned. He pushed her playfully. "Go on, tell him!"
Adrien looked a little uncomfortable now that it wasn't just him and her talking, and Marinette seemed a little less sure about the advice she was giving.
"Uh, this girl... she's a trusting soul, and she's put her trust in you. Trust is a two way street-"
"Yes it is dude, it totally is," Nino nodded firmly.
"Nino, do you wanna take over?" Marinette asked, bluntly.
Nino shook his head. "No, no, you're doing fine."
Adrien was going to protest to argue about how he wanted Marinette to help him, since it was about her, but he wasn't sure how to articulate that, since he couldn't tell her it was him. Marinette however insisted.
"Nino I'm in a hectic relationship with a masked crime fighting super hero who I've been rejecting because of past trauma. You're an intelligent and mature DJ in a happy and loving relationship even though you know you're not your partners top priority. You're more helpful than I am."
"Is it important or can it wait? It's just that Alya is going into melt down and-"
"NINO!" Alya yelled, the frustration growing since she was now the only member of her team there.
"Ok seriously, come on, she needs us," Nino insisted.
He grabbed each of them by the arm, and dragged both of them over to where Alya was waiting for them all. Once they joined the group the trainer continued.
"As I was saying, everyone hold hands and form a circle," she ordered.
As it turned out they weren't actually gathering together to play a group game, they were gathering together to receive blindfolds. One for each pair.
"You fell, shall I put the blindfold on?" Adrien asked.
"We both fell, maybe we can take turns with the blindfold too," Marinette suggested.
"Exactly right Marinette! One of you puts the blindfold on first, and guides the other through one of the two the obstacle courses here, using nothing but your voice - no touching - and once you get to the other end, swap!" The trainer clapped her hands enthusiastically.
"I'll go first if you want," Adrien offered.
"No, no, I'll do it," Marinette said, pulling the blindfold to sit on her forehead.
"But you went first on the last one, so I should do it this time," Adrien argued.
"Yeah, but I'm not the one with a bodyguard watching my every move, wont it be easier if you prove it's safe by guiding me first?" Marinette pointed out.
Adrien glanced over at the gorilla, who was reading a pamphlet he'd clearly been given by the instructor, with mild interest. He turned back to Marinette.
"Rock paper scissors for it?"
"You're on!"
Alya and Nino shared a look. Their argument was about which of them should look after the other glasses, which was settled instantly by agreeing whoever was wearing a blindfold was more likely to break them. Even they Alix and Kim hadn't resorted to rock paper scissors. Alix agreed to be blindfolded instantly. She didn't trust him to catch her, but she also didn't think he was mean enough to make her hurt herself when she didn't have vision to defend herself. She was right.
"Ha! I win!" Marinette laughed.
Adrien tried not to grin at how pretty she was when she smiled like that, but he was desperate to see it again. "Best of three?"
"Oh for God's sake!" Alya pushed her way between them, with a euro in hand. "Heads or tails?"
"Tails," Adrien called as it twirled through the air.
Alya plucked it from the air and slammed it onto the back of her hand. "Heads, Mari goes first."
Adrien grinned as Marinette flashed that victorious smile again. Nino and Alya lined up on one of the two obstacle courses, while Alix and Kim were about to start the other.
"Ready losers?" Kim sneered.
"Why are you talking to yourself dude?" Nino asked.
"Nice!" Alya laughed and held up her hand blindly. Nino moved his hand to high five her.
Marinette could hear them yell go and start hurrying through the course loudly yelling the instructions between cheers of encouragement. She smirked slightly.
"Are they racing again?" She asked Adrien.
Adrien was watching Nino and Alya go, and absentmindedly nodded. "Ally really wants to win for some reason."
"The bet is sherbet straws. Nino loves them. Their anniversary is coming up, maybe Alya was trying to surprise him," Marinette suggested.
"That's cute," he smiled.
"They're a cute pair," she agreed.
"Just like us," he said, under his breath.
"Speak up, I can barely hear you," she said.
Alya and Nino were far enough away that they could start without eventually bumping into them, so Adrien turned his back on the course to focus entirely on Marinette.
"I'm gonna walk the obstacle course with you, so all you have to do is follow my voice. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, pawsome, let's show them how it's done," she grinned.
Adrien's heart shone like it was full of moonbeams to hear her beginning to pick up Chat's idioms, and yet, strangely, he found himself mildly jealous of Chat Noir. He got to touch her, and run his hands though her hair, and smile at her, and hear her flirt effortlessly like teasing, and hold her tight... he'd be the one who got to kiss her... he was the one she couldn't think of without smiling. It might have been him too, but the fact he couldn't do something as simple as hold her hand as Adrien, made him ache.
"Alright, I'm stepping up onto this bench... it's like the ones at school, you have to raise your left leg to knee height... yeah that's it, feel it?"
There was a squeak as he stepped onto it that made Marinette oddly reassured. It couldn't be too difficult if Adrien was going to do it at the same time, walking backwards to make sure she didn't get hurt. Carefully she stepped up onto the bench too, and threw her arms out for balance. He darted forward, arms out but not touching, ready to catch her if needed. She didn't need him.
"That's it!" He praised, "alright, shuffle towards me. We're only about a step apart so you don't have far to go... just like that, that's brilliant! Alright, alright stop... I'm stepping down now... walk forward two steps - stop! You're on the edge, can you feel it?"
Marinette wriggled her toes that hung over the edge of the bench. "Yeah."
"Ok, carefully step down. Don't worry, I'm still in front of you, I can catch you if you fall."
Instinctively, being a gentleman, he held out a hand to help her down. Almost like she knew he would, her hand reached towards his. There was a clear amount of space so no one could accuse them of touching, but they were still suspiciously close.
"Keep heading my way, but pay attention to which direction I'm coming from because we're going to weave through some cones."
Adrien kept glancing over his shoulder as they weaved carefully between the cones. She looked a little like a zombie as she tried to reach out and feel anything she was about to bump into. More often than not Adrien just encouraged her and told her how well she was doing. It wasn't until they got to the next obstacle that he had to change back to instructions.
"So you've got to step across some tires, which is tricky to do backwards, but I'm gonna try," he said.
Marinette frowned. "Turn around Adrien, don't get yourself hurt for me!"
"Come on, I said I'd do anything for you, this is as good as!"
she could hear the smile in his tone but she wasn't going to let that sway her opinion.
"But I don't want you to hurt yourself!"
"I won't, lift your left leg a little more- the other left - awesome! Now step forward carefully. The rubber should guide your feet into the centre, just like that!"
Marinette was still concerned that he would fall and hurt himself if he kept walking backwards like that, but then his voice got a little quieter, and she guessed he had turned to see where he was going. Marinette smiled. Now he couldn't be hurt.
"YEAH!"
"NOOOO!"
Alya's scream sliced through Marinette like a blade and made her jump. For a moment she almost lost her balance, and all eyes were on Alya so no one saw. No one but Plagg, who instinctively shot over and pushed her back up right to balance her again. Marinette stabilised herself, her heart beating fast, and she smiled gratefully.
"Thanks Tikki."
Plagg opened his mouth but Tikki covered it with her hand to stop him from making a very stupid mistake.
"No problem!" She said.
She took her hand off Plagg's mouth and he gave her a sheepish apologetic look. She smiled and scratched his ear to forgive him. After all, he had just saved Marinette.
"I guess Kim and Alix beat them huh?" Marinette said to Adrien, "How's that even possible?"
"Nino's not the best at left and right and his hearing is a little damaged from constantly having loud music and headphones. He's not the perfect person for this," Adrien shrugged.
Marinette wrinkled her nose and said, softly, "Neither am I."
"Why's that?" Adrien asked, then he pointed down as if she could see, "There's only one more tire just step over it and you'll be on solid ground again."
"I don't listen to people enough. I get an idea in my head and I run with it, no matter who gets hurt. Put a blindfold on me and I'm sure to hurt more people," Marinette shrugged.
"You seem to be listening to me ok. Take two steps forward. Go down onto your knees and raise your arms," he instructed.
Marinette latched onto the edge of a hoop all wrapped up in fabric. She frowned in confusion.
"What is this?" She asked.
"I thought you said you had tunnel vision!" Adrien smirked.
She still looked confused. "It's a tunnel?"
"Just crawl through and I'll meet you on the other side," he promised.
She did as she was told as Adrien wandered down to the other end of the tunnel to watch her wriggle through. He grinned as she did. She looked like a cute little worm.
"You're doing great Mari, keep going," Adrien encouraged.
She came to the end of the tunnel and Adrien tried not to touch her even though he was trying to help her to her feet. Plagg perched nearby, ready to dive in and help if he was needed. Tikki chuckled. Plagg might like to pretend he didn't care, but he did. He cared a lot.
"Alright Mari, last obstacle, two lines of cones, you just gotta walk down the middle," Adrien said.
"A straight line?" Marinette asked.
"A straight line."
"Ok I can do that."
"Yes you can, you can do anything," he smiled.
He guided her down the straight line almost flawlessly, and cheered as she crossed the finish line. She pulled off the blindfold and cheered back at him. He wrapped his arms around her viciously. Marinette pulled away quickly and giggled sheepishly.
"We make a good team," he smiled.
She smiled back, "we really do."
They made it through the course three or four times before they were called to gather together in a circle. Nino and Alya held hands opposite Kim and Alix, so they could stare them down. Marinette linked her fingers through Adrien's. Adrien turned pink. Plagg nudged Tikki happily. Plagg smirked. She was so excitable. A hula hoop was put between Ivan and Rose.
"Everyone had to pass the hoop all the way back around to - what's your name sweetie?" The trainer asked.
"Rose."
"Back to Rose!"
"How?" Mylene asked.
"I don't know but I'm gonna figure out first!" Kim declared.
"Right after I do!" Nino cried.
"It's not a competition guys," Marinette said.
"Don't talk like that! It's a competition and we're gonna win!" Alya threatened.
"Not this one, it's a whole group thing," the trainer explained calmly, "we are working together to do it. Now come on. Don't break the chain."
To move the hula hoop through the chain, they had to move their head and shoulders through first, wriggle it down low, and bend low to step through. At first they couldn't figure that out. Rose was very short and Ivan was very tall so Ivan had to go on his knees and wriggle through it like a worm before it passed through to Mylene. At the moment that Mylene and Max figured out how to slip it up over the next persons head to let them step through, the others followed their example. Then it got to Adrien. Marinette giggled as it messed up Adrien's hair while passing over head. He flashed her a smile as he lifted his arm to let it slip down onto hers.
"If it was smaller, this could be a proposal," he purred.
"Well marry is in my name," She smirked.
Neither were entirely sure what they meant by that but Adrien's ears still turned pink and Plagg still rolled his eyes. Marinette slipped through so quickly that someone blinked and missed it. It moved on, getting faster and faster until it fell back between Rose and Ivan.
"Well done guys that was the fastest one yet!" The trainer beamed.
She swapped the hoop for several ropes, crossed over and tied in a knot in the middle. There were enough loose ends for each of them to hold onto, but one. Someone had to lie in the middle of the web, and let the others lift them from the ground.
"Any volunteers to go first?" The trainer asked.
"Ivan, you should do it first," Kim suggested.
"Me?" Ivan frowned.
"Yeah, if we can lift you, we can lift anyone!" Kim suggested.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ivan scowled.
Mylene rested her hand on Ivan's chest to pull him back gently. Alya gestured towards him with the hand she held the rope in.
"All he means is that muscles are heavy. You're very muscular," she lied.
"He means something else," Ivan grumbled.
"Of course we can lift you Ivan! Together we can do anything! Right?!" Marinette rallied the others into cheering.
All of them cheered to encourage Ivan as well as themselves. As far as encouraging Ivan went, it worked perfectly. He got into the middle and laid flat, ready to let them lift him. But encouraging themselves was a different matter. It took all their effort to lift him off the ground, which was then destroyed by Kim tickling Alix. She let go of her rope to launch herself at him, which made him drop his rope. Ivan slipped which dragged the rope from Rose and Nathanael's hands, and all too soon Ivan went crashing into the ground. He cried in pain.
"IVY!" Mylene gasped.
"Are you ok?!" Adrien asked.
"Fine!" Ivan snapped.
He stood up and stomped off. Mylene bit her lip nervously and ran after him to try and help him calm back down. Marinette sighed, guiltily. She felt like this was partly her fault. For a moment everything was fine. The next thing she knew, there was a roar and Stoneheart raised his arm from the bushes.
"YES! WE'RE HERE BEFORE LADYBUG AGAIN!" Alya cried.
Nino put an arm around her and said, quietly, "Alya, remember we talked about akumas not being a good thing?"
"I'm just so excited!" Alya grinned back.
Her phone was already in her hand even as he tried to steer her to safety. Plagg pushed Adrien forward to get him out of the Gorillas eyeline. He was gathering all the kids he could together in the tent behind him while keeping an eye out for the blonde his pay relied upon. Adrien spotted Marinette racing towards the shelter of the bushes. He pulled Marinette back by the shoulder as she tried to dive in for cover. He had to protect her.
"Marinette, get to safety! Now! I'm gonna find Mylene!" He urged.
Marinette didn't have time to protest before he was gone trampling in the bushes, so she had to yell after him instead.
"ADRIEN WAIT FOR LADYBUG!"
It was useless. He was already gone. Tikki landed on her shoulder. "We'd better get that boy some help."
"You're right like always Tikki. Spots on!" Marinette grinned.
Ladybug emerged moments after Chat Noir, and she looked utterly flabbergasted to see him. Her voice echoed that.
"Chat? How'd you get here so quickly?"
"I'm quick on my feet my lady, why?" He smiled.
She shrugged and tried to laugh it off hastily. "No reason!"
Chat gave her a funny look, but smirked anyway. "We've dealt with this before. Twice. Hawkmoth must be slipping up."
"But at least we know how to deal with this now," Ladybug nodded firmly. "You ready to show these guys what real trust can do?"
"Any time LB," He lifted his staff high, and held out a hand to her. "Shall we?"
Her stomach twisted but she smiled and took his hand. He linked his arm around her waist and pressed the button on the staff to raise them up high enough to see the whole scene below.
"Is the akuma still in his hand?" Chat asked uncertainly.
"Yeah, see, it's dangling from his left fist," she leaned across him to point.
"The rope?" He frowned.
She nodded, and started glancing around for anyone who might be in danger of getting too close to the path he was stomping. The trainer was already transformed, and now he was heading for Kim.
"Where's Mylene?" Ladybug asked urgently.
"Don't worry, she's safe," Chat promised.
He had put her in the tent with the others that Gorilla was guarding, but she and Alya were sneaky. Alya was still a safe enough distance away, but Mylene was running straight towards Stoneheart.
"You call that safe?" Ladybug huffed.
"What's she doing?" Chat squeaked in alarm.
"Putting herself into danger! Come on she needs us!" Ladybug declared.
The trees were too low for her to swing from so she had to rely on Chat's staff wielding skills. When they got to the right angle, he launched her off towards Stoneheart while he went back to rescue Mylene. When he tried to lift her she struggled.
"No! Put me down! Ivy needs me!" She cried.
"He's not Ivan right now, he's an akumatized villain, you're in too much danger," he warn3ed.
"He would never hurt me! I can help! Please!" she begged.
"CHAT! LITTLE HELP?!"
Chat turned to see Ladybug riding on Stoneheart's shoulders, and by the looks of it, not through her own choice. He was trying to turn her into one of his creatures, but she was keeping herself busy trying to dodge his swipes, and stay balanced on top of him. Chat grabbed his staff again. Mylene grabbed his arm.
"Please Chat Noir, I need to help him," she begged.
Chat glanced between her and Ladybug for a moment. It had worked last time…
"Stay close to me, I don't wanna see you hurt," he warned.
Mylene did exactly as she was told. Until he told her to wait in the bushes while he pole vaulted over head to snatch Ladybug up. she reached out a hand as he came closer, and the two of them somersaulted over Stoneheart, to land on their feet some distance away. Ladybug flicked the hair out of her eyes.
"I'm gonna star calling you Cow ladybug," he grinned.
"not your best," she smirked.
"I'll work on it," he promised.
By the time they got back to Stoneheart he had Mylene in one hand and the rope in the other. Chat Noir groaned loudly.
"I told her to stay out of the way!"
"no, this is perfect! She's got him trapped. He would never hurt her, so if he wants to hurt us he has to grab us with the other hand!"
Chat wished he didn't know her plan, but he did. Instantly. Ladybug ran out to make herself a target so Stoneheart would make a grab for her. Chat stayed behind Stoneheart, waiting. As soon as Ladybug stopped Stoneheart made a swipe for her, and dropped the rope. With Ladybug in one hand and Mylene in the other, Chat had no reason to worry as he skidded himself between Stoneheart's legs, and snatched up the rope.
"CATACLYSM!"
"Bye-bye little butterfly!"
"Pound it!"
Everything went so quickly, so within seconds Ivan was holding Mylene in his arms, hugging her so tightly that it filled Chat and Ladybug with warmth too. Ladybug rested her arm on Chat's shoulder, to lean against him, even though he was so much taller than she was. Chat smirked at that smile she had while they watched their friends hug. Ladybug cared so much about everyone. Even him. maybe that's why he'd fallen for her in the first place...
"Every time one of those two gets akumatized the other is always there to help us stop it," Chat smiled warmly.
"That's true teamwork," Ladybug smiled.
"No, that's love."
"Aren't they lucky?"
There was a lingering silence between them, as each one was eager to kiss the other, but couldn't till she was in the right form. Chat was already scanning the area for Marinette. She was nowhere to be seen. That made him feel uneasy.
"I have to go," Ladybug said.
"I'll see to later, I need to find my princess," Chat kept searching.
"Things worked out for you two then?" Ladybug smiled.
Chat was growing anxious as he still couldn't find her. "I'll let you know when I find her."
"I'd help but someone I really care about needs me," she apologised.
"Go, go, it'll be ok. Hey, good work today. That landing was awesome," he beamed.
Her heart was a puddle. He had the best smile. To hide her blushing face, she dashed off to the safety of the bushes to transform. Tikki instantly dove into her bag, and a tiny horrified gasp responded. Her head appeared again.
"I'm out of cookies," she said, seriously.
"How about I walk up to chat and ask if he's got some spare snacks for my kwami? That'll end well!" Marinette huffed.
"Sarcasm is a bad look on you," Tikki said, unimpressed.
Marinette closed her eyes. "Sorry Tikki. I'll find you something. Nino'll have something."
She ran a hooked finger across Tikki's cheek gently. Tikki chirped softly, but her stomach grumbled. Marinette had to get her some food. She wandered out towards the tent, set on finding Nino. Nino wandered out of the tent set on finding Alya. Alya hurried towards Chat, set on getting an interview. Chat spun in circles set on finding Marinette. By now his heart was beating fast enough to make him feel faint, and the circles made him dizzy, so he wasn't feeling fantastic.
And then he heard a familiar voice shout across the field.
"Nino! Hey Nino!"
Chat's ears perked up and his heart lifted. She was ok! All Marinette heard before she had Chat Noir wrapped around her too hard to really breath, was a relieved and delighted gasp of, "Princess!"
It took her a moment if surprise to realise that the thing now clamped firmly around her torso was Chat Noir. She wrapped her arms around as much of him as she could, top squeeze back.
"Kitty! Nice work out there! I was so proud!"
"I couldn't find you, I was so worried!" His voice trembled with fear.
She squeezed him a little tighter. "I'm ok, really, I'm fine!"
He pulled back so he could actually see her face, but kept her close enough to his chest that he could still feel her heart beat if he listened close enough.
"Where were you?" He asked.
"Adrien's bodyguard gathered a bunch of us up and put us in the tent for our own safety while he looked for Adrien and -" Marinette glanced around. Nino and Alya were waiting patiently nearby, the Gorilla was helping calm whoever was afraid, Kim and Ivan were reconciling, but Adrien was nowhere to be seen. "where is Adrien?
"Isn't he here?" Alya sounded surprised.
"We'll go find him!" Nino promised.
He linked his arm through Alya's and practically dragged her away to search for Adrien. Chat watched Marinette's face grow with concern. She cared about people too. Deeply. Especially Adrien. Another flicker of jealousy lit his chest.
"I hope they do... I hope he's safe..." she said quietly.
"I'm sure your ex crush is fine," Chat said, a little too sharply.
Marinette arched an eyebrow at him. "Don't be jealous kitty he's a nice guy and a good friend. He went back to save Mylene!" she cupped his cheek with her hand, "He's a good person. You should meet him. You'd like him."
Chat bit back a smirk. He looked down at the ground as it faded. He felt a little guilty for having lied to her. while he as Chat Noir had saved Mylene, he as Adrien had lied about doing so. It was all very complicated and he wasn't sure if he should be feeling guilty at all. things could be so much easier if he could just transform back right now.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come to your trust thing..." he muttered.
"You're here now, that's what counts," she shrugged.
His miraculous beeped warningly. "I can't stay..."
She sighed. "I understand... see you tonight?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he promised.
Chat placed a very soft, very tender kiss on her forehead before running off to transform back into Adrien. when he returned, newly smelling of cheese, Marinette was still bright pink.