Hello all! I'm backkkkk! I'm so sorry for not informing that I was even leaving, I didn't know myself. As with everyone, life always gets in the way, and is so hectic with the holiday season (getting gifts and I also took a seasonal job). But as well, I definitely had a slump of depression and non motivation. Which honestly is crazy, because I know where the story is going, so it's not like I don't know what I need to write (I know the pain plot points but the details aren't ironed out until I actually write) but just actually getting my self to just start writing was really hard. I also think my schedule was a main contributor, because I just didn't have a few hour time block where I could write and get into a good state of flow. So when I had a few minutes here and there I'd chip away at it, but it's such a slow grind.
So because of that, I must say a huge thank you to who noticed my absence and reached out to check if everything is okay, or reviewed saying they love the story. That really helped. I love the community we're a part of, where we can support each other.
Oh, and if you tried to review chapter 13 and the site wouldn't let you, I found out that since I deleted the chapter where I announced a short hiatus (chapter 8) all the chapters got pushed up in number, so if you had already left a review on the previous chapter 13(which was chapter 12 before I deleted and posted the real chapter13) you woudn't be allowed to leave a new review for the new chapter 13. If you want to share your thoughts on that chapter, I'd love to hear them! Shoot me a PM!
Please enjoy the chapter, let me know what you think, and be on the look out for a surprise soon:)
It's been awkward, to say the least.
He sighed as his cheek rested on his hand, his elbow against the armrest of the train seat, holding him up. Grassy lands sped by quickly through the window, the midday sun bright.
He smirked as he heard Marinette make a sound between a deep breath and a snore just to his left, but he didn't bother to turn. She had finally fallen asleep though the tension between them, and he felt like he could relax.
The time spent with her as Chat was great. He loved her so much, and he felt so free to be himself with her in those moments. But it definitely stung how distant Marinette was trying to be with him while he was Adrien. He understood. She felt like she had something to prove to Chat, possibly to herself, that they weren't as close as everyone perceives them to be.
It's been really hard not to hold her hand.
Just then, her head softly landed against his shoulder, her arm bumping against his. A smile ghosted his lips as he readjusted to support her weight, and leaned his cheek against the top of her head. The backs of their hands were touching on top of his thigh, and he couldn't help but thread his fingers through hers. She didn't wake, being the heavy sleeper she is, but he could feel her hand grip his back lightly. He snuggled his cheek against her.
The first time he saw her after the concert was when Ladybug and Chat Noir met up with Luka, who took a patrol run with them as Viperion the following night. Much to Luka's confusion, Ladybug regarded him tensely; and even though Chat wasn't too happy with the musician himself, he tried to lessen the tension by being friendly.
The following day was a movie adventure with the whole group before the band left France. Marinette did her best to stay away from both boys as much as possible, choosing to stick around Alya and the girls. She wore her baseball tee with the Chat Noir green stripes proudly, and Adrien noticed her check around occasionally, surely to see if Chat was around. Little did she know, he never took his eyes off her.
Luka had tried to bring up his mistake and apologize for it with Adrien a few times, but Adrien would distract the conversation before Luka could ever finish. It was better Luka did not know that he wasn't actually dating Marinette, because more questions would be asked.
He felt his eyelids grow heavy. It was just a bit over four hours for them to get to Vanoise National Park for their fashion class trip. They were about halfway, but their fight with an akuma into the early hours of the morning was starting to get to him. It had already claimed Marinette into dreamland. It was just so easy to not open his eyes again once he closed them.
The first thing that disturbed him was the noise of everyone shuffling around the train, gathering their stuff to get off. Still nearing consciousness, he refused to open his tired eyes until he absolutely had to, feeling warm and comfortable. He then felt Marinette shift underneath him, her hand tensing within his own when she realized where it was. He heard a soft gasp leave her lips.
She very carefully detangled herself from him, and he allowed himself to wake when her head finally moved from under his cheek. He yawned and looked over to her, pretending to be oblivious to the last few minutes.
"Are we here?" He asked groggily as he stretched. A deep red dusted her cheeks.
"Um, yeah. We're here." She awkwardly replied as she grabbed her backpack from under her seat. He did the same and they shuffled off the train with the rest of their classmates. Professor Chatel ushered them into cabs in their pairs for their forty minute trip to the park. He could feel the tension start to creep back up around them. He wished it didn't have to be like this, but he allowed it to happen and sat in silence. They were about to spend the whole day together.
"Alright class, we've finally made it to Vanoise National Park. Your assignment for the contest is to design a cohesive, two piece collection inspired by the natural beauty of the park. You're free to go anywhere in the park for inspiration, but please be aware of the following. The park is actually part of a larger project that extends into Italy, as Grand Paradiso National Park. I doubt you'll make it that far across the park but please still be aware. There's also a good amount of wildlife, such as resident wolves, lynx and birds so please be careful. We'll meet back here around six to get dinner as a class and then head back home. I expect great things from all of you. And remember, this is your chance to give me a preview of how cohesive your final collection will be. Good luck."
The class dispersed in all different directions in their pairs. Adrien and Marinette walked in silence for a while. He wanted to say something, anything, but he wasn't sure what the right thing would be.
"Is there anything that has inspired you?" She asked quietly after a few minutes. He looked around. There were beautiful colors everywhere from the autumnal trees, to the lush grass to the overcast grey sky, but nothing in particular caught his eye. He was far too concentrated on her, and how they could get back to a place of normalcy.
"Not really, no." He replied, their shoulders bumping as they walked. She moved a bit, creating more distance between them so it wouldn't happen again. He frowned.
"We should go as far as possible before we start sketching." She commented, looking around for their other classmates. "That way we definitely have something different from the rest of the class." She looked over to him for his opinion, and he could see the small spark of inspiration starting to grow in her eyes. He gave her a small smile.
"That's a great idea, Marinette. Which direction do you want to go?" She lead them for a while, turning here and there whenever something inspired her, and it created a steady pace between the two of them. It reminded him of patrol, their footsteps in sync as they ran across rooftops; a calm, understanding silence between them.
After a long while, they came upon a small river through a clearing of trees. They stopped before it and looked to each other for approval. They both smiled, nodding together, and sat down beside the river. The two of them started sketching back to back. No words were needed.
He allowed all of his senses to be open as he sketched. The calm, cool breeze on his face, brushing over his light jacket. The overcast sky giving just the right amount of light to everything around him, the most minimal of shadows being cast. The trickling sound of the river as it passed by them and over rocks, the fresh smell of the water mixing with the cool air. The feeling of her sketching at his back, muffled by their jackets, but still there nonetheless.
He lazily moved his other hand as he sketched and gently dipped his fingers into the river, feeling the ribbons of cold water move through his fingers, pushing his hand down the river. He allowed it to, letting the flowing feeling translate into his sketch. His hand bumped into another, warm in the cool river, and he held it, without thinking.
Both himself and Marinette tensed, letting go quickly and pulling their hands out of the river. He rubbed his hand against his jeans to dry it off, and cleared his throat.
"How's your sketch going?" He asked. She leaned back against him, stretching her back like she always did.
"Well. How's yours?" She asked quietly. He gazed down at the straight silk gown, the intricate design of different sized rhinestones and beads trickling down in a diagonal direction across the dress, small pieces of fabric flowing through them, reminding him of the river flowing over the rocks.
"I like it." He proudly stated. "Just not sure if it will go well with yours." She hummed.
"We'll compare in a few minutes. There's just something I want to fix first." She went back to sketching and he cleaned up his lines of his sketch. He finished before her and calmly waited. He comfortably laid his head back against her shoulder and she let him, just like they used to while they sketched. It was nice to pretend they weren't in such a mess, like how it used to be before he knew she was Ladybug. He wouldn't trade the knowledge for the world, but it did get taxing.
"Okay. Let's compare." She said turning. They traded sketchbooks as they sat side to side, facing the river.
He was surprised. They both had a similar idea with representing the river, but her design trickled down into a pair of flowy pants. He still wasn't sure about the synergy though.
"Do you think they're cohesive enough?" He asked uneasily. She hummed looking over both sketches.
"I really like how both of our inspirations of the river came through. I think if you made your skirt a little more flowing, then the movement would show well as both pieces walked down the runway. If you pick the right fabric you'll be able to keep the silhouette you were going for as well." He smiled at her softly.
"You really are amazing, Marinette." She blushed and waved him off, embarrassed.
"It's really nothi-EEP!" She squeaked as a crack of thunder rang loudly through the open sky. They both gazed up into the clouds and were suddenly assaulted with droplets of water coming down at an alarming pace.
They both scrambled to put away their sketchbooks and materials, the water already dripping across the sketches. Adrien pulled out his umbrella from the bottom of his bag and they huddled close together as they started running through the droplets.
"Which way did we even come from?!" She shouted over another crack of thunder, the sky lighting up for just a second. He held her closer to him under the umbrella, the water still pouring down their backs when they moved the wrong way. He looked around, nothing seeming familiar.
"I don't know anymore! Let's just keep going!" He shouted back. The rain was coming down so hard it was ricocheting off of everything and creating a mist that was getting more and more difficult to see through. The tips of his fingers were already numb from the ice cold water, and he could feel his shoes starting to get soaked.
"Over there!" She pointed to something in the distance. It was hard to make out, but as they got closer it looked like a small cabin. They made their way to it, the rain unrelenting. With just a little left to go, a big gust of wind flipped the umbrella inside out, and it was ripped from Adrien's grip. Whatever parts of their clothes managed to stay dry by that point were drenched as they bolted the last of the distance to the cabin. With a little bit of force the door opened, and they dashed inside. Adrien shut the door against the gusting wind as they tried to catch their breath.
"That...was crazy." Marinette said in between breaths as she dropped her backpack off of her shoulders. Adrien fished his phone out of his now skintight jeans and groaned.
"Of course no service. Why would there be?" She peered into her purse for a little longer than necessary and then grabbed hers. He bet Tikki was inside. "Anything?" He asked.
"No, mine's dead." She said defeatedly.
"Do you think it's from the water?" He asked coming over to her to look over the phone himself, his hands grazing hers as he took it. They were ice cold.
"N-no. I didn't have much battery to begin with, I forgot to charge it last night." She started wringing out her hair. He smirked. Typical Marinette. He glanced around the room.
It was more of a shed than a cabin, and he noticed some landscaping tools. It definitely looked like it'd been around for quite a few years. He peered out the dusty window. The rain was still coming down hard, the wind noticeably blowing the water on the ground in waves.
"Well, looks like we're going to have to stay here until it lets up." He said, taking off his jacket and hanging it on a shovel handle. His grey shirt was plastered to his chest. He felt water drip off his bangs and pushed them back, but they fell right back into his face. He looked over to her when she didn't respond. She was looking out of the other window, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. He felt it start to come up again, the tension.
"Marinette?" He gently asked. He wanted to scoop her into his arms, but he knew he couldn't. He shivered. He felt goosebumps all over. He could tell she was cold too, the arms she tightly wound around herself doing little to stop her shivering. She looked over to him. She had been lost in thought.
"What? Sorry. What'd you say?" He sat down against the wall, the window above him.
"I said, we're going to have to be here a while until the rain lets up." She nodded, her mind noticeably elsewhere. She slid down her wall opposite him. They awkwardly stared at each other for a minute. A sudden gust of wind blew against the shed and they both jumped at the noise.
"I wonder how the others are." She said softly. He nodded.
"I hope they got somewhere safe. As soon as we get reception we have to contact Professor Chatel." He responded as he looked over to his useless phone, sadly. It was quiet again for a few minutes. He shifted his legs to a new position, trying to fight of the numbness trying to overtake them. His feet bumped against hers, only a little space between them in the small shed.
"...How did you like the concert?" He asked hesitantly. She perked up a bit and smiled.
"It was a lot of fun. You...you did great too, at the end." She added on shyly, fighting a shiver across her body.
"Thanks. Performing that song...was really important to me." He replied honestly, looking down at his shoes as he recalled that night.
"It was beautiful, Adrien. I'm thankful that I was there to hear it." She said earnestly. He looked up to her, a bit surprised from her warm statement. Her smile was soft and loving, and he felt like he finally saw the real her for the first time today, unguarded. Their eyes stayed locked, happy and comfortable. He was entranced by her beautiful bluebell eyes. The ones that were so compassionate and creative as Marinette; but also strong, calculating and protective as Ladybug.
Without thinking he shifted to his hands and knees, slowly crawling into her space, his eyes never leaving hers. She was noticeably nervous as he came closer to her, but she was unable to look away. His lips were just about to be touching hers, and he could feel her warm breath against his cool face as she whispered.
"Adrien...what...are you doing?" She asked softly, distracted from him being in her personal space, sounding unsure about what she should do. He shifted and plopped down next to her instead, leaving no space in between them as his side pressed against hers.
"It's- it's too cold to not stay close." He cleared his throat commenting as he tried to brush off what just happened. She looked hesitant to accept at first, but pressed closer against him as a large shiver wracked her body. She laid her head on his shoulder and he pressed his cheek against her icy, cold locks.
They were quiet as they tried to warm back up, cuddling close. He was starting to get sleepy, the coldness combined with his lack of energy today. He concentrated on the bit of warmth in the places where they were touching, and couldn't fight the heaviness of his eyelids…
He was semi conscious the whole time, unable to open his eyes but aware of the constant rain and wind against the shed. It happened a few times before he realized Plagg was nipping at his nose and cheeks, whispering repeatedly for him to wake up. His eyes cracked open in the now dark space, and he was barely able to make out his Kwami's silhouette with the limited moonlight cracking through the rainclouds and spilling into the small space through the window.
"Oh good, Tikki he's awake!" Plagg whispered in front of his face. "You should get going kid. Rain's letting up some." Another Kwami's silhouette flew into his vision.
"I can't wake her up! Adrien please!" Tikki's panicked voice wasn't bothering to stay quiet anymore.
"Wha-? What do you mean?" Adrien asked confused as he tried to become more conscious. He shifted to get a better look at Marinette, holding on to her shoulders. She was asleep, but it was hard to see much of her now that it was dark outside. He brushed his hand across her cheek as he spoke to her and his heart dropped when he felt it was ice cold.
"Marinette?... Come on, wake up." He started to feel down her neck, and pressed his fingers just under her jaw. He felt the panic start to bubble within his stomach as Tikki's voice rang in his ears.
"What's happening? Is she okay? Is she breathing?" He heard Plagg shush her from behind him.
"Tikki, breathe. I'm sure she's okay." The usually snippy Kwami said empathically. Adrien released the breath he didn't know he was holding when he felt a pulse and watched her exhale against him.
"Tikki. She's breathing. But she's very cold. I'm very cold too. Can you transform her?" He turned to the Kwamies who were huddled together.
"No." Tikki said dejectedly. "We can't transform without the verbal command from our holders." A memory flashed in Adrien's mind when Silencer took away Ladybug's voice and she couldn't call out her Lucky Charm or her Miraculous Ladybug.
"Alright. Then we have to start moving." Adrien felt pins and needles spread down his legs as he strode across the room grabbing his phone and his jacket. He slug both backpacks over his shoulder.
"Plagg, claws out!" He instantly felt better once he transformed, the suit drying him for the time being. He wished it could be so simple to warm her up as well. He scooped her up into his arms, and stepped out into the cool night, Tikki floating by his side. Her worried expression was now visible with the help of his night vision.
"Hold on m'Lady."