Ladybug ran after the blur of black across rooftops. She held her backpack close as she quickly tagged behind the broken man in front of her. She would catch him watching her over his shoulder with saddened emerald eyes. His mask covered his lips and nose as he worked to cover up his own tags and her's with fashion positive art. He hated it and it made him sick to his stomach. Ladybug tried to keep up with Adrien, but it was proving to be difficult at times. She was exhausted and was wearing thin. For every one tag he painted over, she created two. She leaped across a space between two buildings and nearly fell to the concrete below, but Adrien swiftly caught her.
"Shit. Baby, you gotta slow down." Adrien held her close as they dangled from the side of the building. He used his feet and his arm to pull them both up onto the rooftop. He tugged and she fell on top of him as they laid there and panted. "Please."
Ladybug shook her head. "I can't. I can't give up when you're working so hard. I have to keep up."
Adrien tucked her dark hair into the hood of her red hoodie and searched her eyes. "You're gonna get yourself killed if you keep this up and I need you."
"But-" Ladybug went to argue with him and he shook his head.
"No buts. Go home. I'll meet you there. I need you to relax. I'll place CN's all over as I paint over others. You need to rest." Adrien sighed as he helped her up.
She watched him take off and instead of going home, she continued to follow him. If he was going to keep this up then she would too.
Adrien shook his head and sighed as he watched her helplessly follow him through Paris. He painted more fashion forward art over his old tags and watched as Ladybug tagged more bugs and cats around it. More antifashion art as well. He watched how her hand trembled and she struggled to push down the button on the spray cans. He shook his head and finished up his art before he moved on. Ladybug was exhausted and stopped to catch her breath before she took off again. They worked until sunrise and by the time the sun had begun to rise… she was a wreck. She barely made it between two buildings as she grunted and dangled between them. She used her feet to try and pull herself up onto the roof, but she couldn't do it. Her arms were weak and her fingers were calloused and she had small cuts on her hands.
Adrien walked back and grabbed her wrists, pulling her up onto the roof. He shifted his backpack and crouched down. "Here, get on my back."
"No. I can make it." Ladybug became stubborn and Adrien shook his head.
"Just do what I say for once. Get on my back. I'll take you home." Adrien sighed and she gave in. She climbed onto his back and he stood up with ease. "Hold on tight."
Ladybug wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he took off across the rooftops with her on his back. She closed her eyes and nuzzled his back with her face as he took her across Paris.
Adrien landed on her balcony and set her down. He ran his hands along the sides of his head to push his hood down. He panted as he stared at her, removing the fabric from over his nose and mouth. He grabbed her wrist and tugged her close to himself with his hand on her waist and his other on her cheek. He slowly pushed down her hood and untied the fabric from over her mouth and nose.
Marinette peered up at him with parted lips, panting as she searched from his eyes to his lips and back up again.
"You should have stopped when I asked you to, LB." Adrien searched her gaze and licked his lips with a concerned expression.
"I couldn't let you do all of the work. You'd be tired too." Marinette panted as she felt his forehead touch hers.
"I know, but you running around exhausted and leaping from building to building is dangerous." Adrien brushed the tip of his nose against hers in a loving manner. "You need to be careful."
She gripped his hoodie and tugged on it, stealing a kiss from his soft lips. "I don't care about my own safety if you're out there in pain."
"You can't talk that way. You need to save yourself first." Adrien spoke between kisses as she tugged him to the trap door of her room.
"Come inside. Please?" Marinette begged him against his lips in a soft voice.
"I need to get home. My father is waiting to hear back about what I accomplished. He wants numbers and figures." Adrien internally cringed about it.
"He's such an ass." Marinette sniffed as tears fell down her rose hued cheeks.
"He is." Adrien caught her tears with his soft lips and kissed them away. "I'll come back later tonight. Just let me relay how many CNs and LBs I covered up. Okay?" He brushed her hair behind her ear and watched her nod with her lips pressing in a thin line. "I'll be back. Promise. Take care of Errant for me."
Marinette nodded as she laughed for a moment. "Damn cat sits in the window and just cries, waiting for you."
Adrien looked down and burst out laughing. "Well, I shouldn't disappoint him then. Be back, Bug. Promise." He kissed her and threw his hood back over his head after he situated his mask in place. He took a running leap and headed towards his house as she watched him.
She worried her bottom lip as she sighed and leaned on the filigree half wall, staring up at the stars.
000
Adrien landed in the garden and pushed his hood down, removing his mask before he jogged up the stairs to the front doors. He sighed and ruffled his hair as he looked up to see his father waiting for him.
"Bonsoir, father." Adrien took his backpack from his back and peered at him.
"Bonsoir, Adrien. How many did you tag over this evening?" Gabriel watched Adrien walk up the massive staircase and pull off his hoodie with one hand as he walked.
"Over fifty." Adrien sighed as he hung his hoodie over his arm and pulled his white shirt down.
"That's all? I thought you would do better than that." Gabriel searched his son's gaze as Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. His muscles hurt and he needed a massage.
"You asked one man." Adrien held up his index finger at him. "One man to cover thousands of tags in one night, father. It's not that easy. Art takes a while. I'm shocked I even got fifty for you in one night. If you want more done? Hire more people." He tried to walk past his father, but he stopped him with his hand on his shoulder.
"I'd rather not involve anyone else in this matter. Tomorrow night I want at least a hundred covered. Do you understand me? Get Marinette to help you, if you must." Gabriel gripped his shoulder and Adrien glared at him with a nod.
"Yes, father." Adrien felt his father's grip loosen and he walked the rest of the way up the stairs.
"Good. I'm going to call Marinette. I want to meet with her and see the sketches that she came up with during your little adventure." Gabriel put his hands behind his back as he walked to his office.
Adrien scoffed under his breath as he walked into his bedroom and threw his backpack onto his bed. He fell back on his bed with his arms over his head and a knee drawn up. Everything ached and he didn't know if he could even do double what he did tonight. He knew Ladybug certainly couldn't keep up with that. She barely survived last night. He punched his bed and growled as he flung his forearm over his eyes. He hated it. It went against everything he was fighting for.
Adrien groaned as he got up and changed into black joggers, his black leather jacket with LB sprayed on it, his mask, and threw black body paint over his eyes. He slipped on his backpack and threw the hood over his head as he opened his window to climb down and onto the ground. He ran and lept up onto the wall. He used his feet to help pull himself up and over it. He took off to Marinette's house, tagging black cats and CNs along the way. He went over some of his fashion positive ones, flipping them around to be negative. Chat was tired at this point and was over changing his own art.
He rushed to Marinette's place. It took him a little longer to get up to her balcony and pull himself over the wall. He knocked on the trap door a few times and she opened it, holding Errant up towards him.
"Kitty for your thoughts?" Marinette giggled as Chat Noir smiled and took the kitten from her. He held him against his chest as he hopped down onto her bed.
He sat with his legs crossed and snuggled the kitten to his cheek. The kitten purred and leaped out of his arms, curling around in his lap. Marinette slowly slipped her hands into his hood and slid it down to pool around his neck. She hooked her fingers into his mask and took it off, revealing a pair of soft pink lips. She smirked and he closed his eyes as she ran her thumbs along his eyes to get some of his paint off. It smeared and she giggled as she swung down from her bed to grab him a washcloth that was beside her vanity. She soaked it in warm water and wrung it out; before, she brought it back up the small staircase and sat in front of him on her knees. A drop of water landed on Errant's head and the kitten's ear flicked in irritation. Adrien laughed and wiped the water from his fur as Marinette grabbed his chin. She lifted his chin to cause him to look up before she began to clean the paint from around his eyes. Slowly, she began to uncover the love of her life. Adrien slowly opened his eyes with a warm smile as he grabbed her wrist. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. Marinette sighed as she kissed him back. Their soft lips gently brushing against one another in soft kisses. She grabbed his jacket and pulled him towards herself as she smiled against his lips. Errant mewed as he got out of Adrien's lap before he was squished.
"Damn cat." Adrien cursed under his breath as he held himself over Marinette by his palms.
Marinette searched from his leather jacket to his eyes. "Yes. Damn cat." She giggled as his expression smoldered when he put it together.
He sank into her and brushed his tongue along her bottom lip, causing her to part her lips for him. Marinette ran her tongue along his as she ran her hand up his back and along his neck. Her fingers sank into his windswept hair and she brushed her lips and tongue along his in a heated kiss. Her heart sped up as he held her. Errant moved to the thin spot between them and the wall. He curled up and began to purr as Marinette got lost in Adrien's intoxicating kisses.
Adrien groaned as he rolled off of her and laid down beside her, picking up the kitten along the way. He flopped onto her bed and put the kitten on his chest. He pet behind his ears and along the kitten's neck.
"So, what did your father say?" Marinette laid down beside Adrien and rested her head on her palm. "I know he called me to schedule a time for me to bring my Greece sketches by."
"He wants at least a hundred next time." Adrien sighed as Errant nuzzled his fingers, purring.
"A HUNDRED? How in the-" Marinette's eyes went wide and Errant flinched at her outburst.
"You scared the baby." Adrien chuckled as he calmed Errant down with gentle strokes of his hand down his back. "I know. It's gonna take a lot out of me. I don't know how I'm going to keep up. It's not very realistic."
"It's not. How can one man get that many done in one night? You're going to kill yourself." Marinette sighed as she wrapped an arm around his waist and cuddled his chest with her face. She ran her hand up his body and began to pet the kitten with him. "Why can't we just stay like this?"
Adrien warmly smiled and kissed the top of her head. "One day we'll own a small cozy home. Just you, me, and Errant."
"And three kids and a hamster?" Marinette burst out and then giggled as she felt his laugh vibrate through his chest.
"We'll see. I'd like to have a little family." Adrien warmly smiled as he ran his fingers along Errant's cheek.
"Would you?" Marinette peered up at him with a warm smile.
"Of course. Although, Errant might eat your hamster." Adrien chuckled and Marinette gasped.
"I'm sure he'd behave." Marinette smirked and flicked the tip of Adrien's nose with her finger.
"Are we talking about the same cat?" Adrien raised an eyebrow at her.
"I don't know are we?" Marinette got in his face and he burst out laughing as she warmly smiled and leaned down to capture his lips with her own. "I love you, CN."
"I love you too, LB." Adrien ran his hand along her cheek and sank his fingers into her hair as he deeply kissed her.
Song I wrote to:
Finally/Beautiful Stranger by Halsey