As promised, a little late due to my crazy schedule. Since I'll be (somehow) even busier come January, I think I may have to do a hiatus until February so I can whip up some more chapters. In that time, if I'm not posting actual chapters, I'll be posting the updated versions of the first eight chapters so the whole thing is a bit more cohesive. Hang in there guys, I promise we'll get to the end of this hot mess someday.
Hope you all have very happy holidays! 3
Adrien's stomach surged in relief as the final bell rang, officially releasing him from his first day back. Although he was much more in control of his power now, he had been anxious all day that the stimulus of being around so many of people might make him lose focus. He felt a bit better now that he had survived the day with no mishaps.
Of course, there was still the after-school study session, which he had been eagerly awaiting all day but had some residual nerves about. What was his father going to say about his choice to bring the "riff-raff" around the house, even if it was for educational purposes?
Maybe it was the emotional turmoil he'd been through recently, but he found that, though he was still slightly nervous, he cared about his father's reaction far less than normal. Plagg would be proud.
He turned quickly at a tap on his back to find Marinette grinning behind him as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "Ready to go, Adrien?"
"Yup." He gracelessly swept the rest of his belongings off of his desk and into his bag, putting it on and stepping into the aisle. "My driver should be outside already."
"Ooh, a driver, I feel so fancy," Alya chirped as she pulled Nino towards the front of the school. Affecting a posh accent, she asked, "More champagne, darling?"
"Of course dearest, make it the most expensive that money can buy."
The pair in unison lifted the back of one hand to obscure their mouths as they laughed in strange, high-pitched voices, reminding Adrien of a stereotypical anime rich girl.
Marinette giggled next to him as they followed their friends down the stairs. "You guys are so weird."
"That's absolutely what all rich people sound like, right bro?" Nino looked to Adrien for confirmation.
After but a brief pause, the blonde flicked his hair and added a lilt to his voice to reply, "But of course, kitten, that is our way."
The group laughed, and Adrien felt happy and full in a way he had missed painfully for the past week as he led his friends into the car awaiting them. He wasn't positive, but he thought he might've glimpsed a smile on his stoic bodyguard's face as he shut the door behind them.
When they arrived at the house, Adrien felt his heart skip a beat, and he crossed his fingers and wished upon his nine lives that they would not run into his father. For once, his luck was decent, and they were able to make it to his room without being spotted by anyone but one maid, who gave him a smile and a wink as they crept by. With the door closed behind them, they all sighed in relief, then laughed as the adrenaline faded away. Adrien led them to the couch in the middle of the room, settling in on the floor by the coffee table as his friends seated themselves comfortably around him. Alya and Marinette claimed the couch, and Nino lounged stretched out on the floor beside him.
"I brought snacks, as requested!" Marinette chimed, pulling a large box of pastries from nowhere - How did she always do that? - and opening the lid to display them to the group. "Today's special was passion fruit tarts, so there's some of those in there too."
Adrien reached for one excitedly. "I love passion fruit!"
Marinette avoided Alya's eyes as her girlfriend extracted a pastry from the box as well, both intimately aware that the special of the day was, in fact, blueberry scones. Adrien didn't need to know that Marinette had specifically requested her parents bake the tarts as soon as the plan to meet up had been made that morning.
When they had all finished munching on their treats, the books were pulled out, and each member of the gang took turns explaining what Adrien missed in their best subjects. Within a few hours, they had covered most of the material and decided to take a well-deserved break.
Nino hopped up off the floor and stretched, popping his back as he glanced around the room. "Hey dude, where's your DDR game? I wanted to challenge Alya to a rematch."
Adrien's ears burned as his brain scrambled for an answer that wasn't "I accidentally used my freaky superpowers to burn it to dust during a temper tantrum."
"Uh, I spilled chocolate milk on it?"
Three pairs of eyes stared at him and he tried not to gulp audibly. Did that sound sincere at all?
Alya and Marinette burst into giggles as Nino's eyes blew wide. "Aw man! Now I can't reclaim my title as king of the dance floor."
Adrien sighed quietly. "Sorry, Nino. Maybe I'll ask my father to get me a new one."
"Doesn't matter, he never had a chance to begin with."
"Cold, babe. Cold."
Adrien laughed, flopping backwards onto the carpet and tucking one hand behind his head. He closed his eyes, listening as Alya challenged Nino to a race up the rock wall, attempting to goad the boy into competition despite his dislike of heights. The sound of their spat was familiar and relaxing, and Adrien felt some of his remaining tension fade away.
There was a rustling sound beside him, and he cracked one eye open to see Marinette settling in on the floor beside him. She laid back as well, turning her head towards him with a shy smile when she saw he was watching. He grinned back and closed his eyes once more.
They listened to their friends silently for a few moments before Adrien felt another hand brush against his. His eyes popped open, and he glanced over at the girl beside him who was gently grasping his hand and wearing a light flush.
"I-I'm glad you came back to school, Adrien. We really missed you."
Was his heart beating faster? He wasn't sure. He couldn't feel it. Did he even have a heart? "Me too, Marinette. I'm sorry I just…went missing like that."
She turned her gaze to the ceiling as she squeezed his hand. "It's okay. Well, it's not really, but we know you were going through something." She frowned, her bright eyes locking in on him again. "I do hope that you feel like you can trust us with things next time, though."
"It's not that I don't trust you all," Adrien winced. "It's just- it was sort of sensitive, and I didn't even know how to explain. But," he hurried to add, "I promise that I will never shut you guys out again."
She smiled brightly at him. "Good."
There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "So, did you guys prepare for that serenade every day?"
Marinette giggled. "Nino came up with it during lunch on day two, I think? And every day after that we were ready."
"Wow."
"Yeah, it was pretty awkward at times, everyone would just stare at us until class started, wondering what was going on. It didn't help that Nino kept pulling me to act as his practice buddy while Alya watched for your car."
They laughed together before falling back into a comfortable silence, watching as Alya attempted to push Nino up the rock wall from below. It was a comedic sight, as the boy was frozen in fear on the lowest pegs and his girlfriend was trying to force him farther up by shoving on his butt.
"He's totally gonna fall on her."
"Oh, absolutely."
They watched with interest as the couple's antics proceeded, Nino shouting, "Let me go, woman!" as Alya insisted he "Be a man and climb higher!"
Watching the couple interact made Adrien wonder how many restaurants they'd gotten kicked out of on dates, which reminded him-
"I am so, so sorry I missed our date!"
Marinette looked at him with something like curious relief. She laughed softly, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "Adrien, you were going through something incredibly stressful, please don't feel bad about it." She bit her lip, and added unsurely, "I-I'm glad you didn't just change your mind, though."
"Are you kidding? I was really looking forward to it- am really looking forward to it," he corrected, a twinge pulling at his heart as he wondered if it was right to be so excited for a date when he was still technically in love with Ladybug. He decided to ignore it. Again. "That is, if you still want to go?"
"Of course!" Marinette felt like a bobblehead, unable to stop her head from wobbling up and down erratically. "I'd love to."
"Great, how about this weekend?"
"It's a date." The girl smiled shyly and he grinned back, suddenly highly aware of her hand still on his.
A loud thump distracted them, and they peered around the couch to see Nino and Alya in a graceless pile on the floor.
"We totally called it."
After another hour or so of studying, the gang decided to call it a night. Alya ushered herself and Nino out first, in an obvious attempt to give her friends a moment alone together that made them both feel a bit self-conscious.
"Well," Marinette stammered, shuffling nervously. "Thank you for having us over."
"Of course, thank you for helping me catch up on all the stuff I missed."
The girl shook her head. "Anytime."
They stood in awkward silence for a minute, both unsure of what to say next. Then, with a bright red blush, Marinette leaned forward on her tip toes and gave him a lingering peck on the cheek.
Adrien felt like the interaction happened in slow motion, the heat of her lips lighting a fire on the spot they touched for what seemed like hours before she settled back down on her heels.
With an awkward wave, Marinette headed for the door of his room. "Bye, Adrien." She hoped her movements weren't as stiff and robotic as they seemed as she pulled open the door.
Nathalie's cold blue eyes pierced her, the woman's hand hanging in the air where it had been poised to knock, and Marinette was sure her heart had stopped. Behind her, Adrien's stomach fell through the floor, and into the grandiose wine cellar, probably.
"Adrien." Nathalie's voice was unbearably cool, and he braced for the worst—telling his father, the loss of his freedom, extra modeling gigs—and was shocked when her next words were, "I do hope you thanked Miss. Dupain-Cheng and your other two companions properly for all of their assistance with catching you up on the last week's assignments."
"O-of course! Yes, they were a tremendous help, I would be lost without them," he replied, Marinette nodding nervously in agreement in front of him.
"Very good. I would hate to have to inform your father that you behaved impolitely towards such…valuable friends."
The way she finished the thought was almost unsettling for some reason Adrien couldn't quite describe, but if this was Nathalie letting him get away with having friends over and not telling his father, he would take it.
"Yes, of course, Nathalie, thank you. I'll escort Marinette out now."
The woman stepped back to allow them out of the room. "Please come to the dining room after you do, Adrien, your dinner is ready."
He nodded, anxious to get Marinette out of the house before his father's secretary changed her mind. They hurried down the stairs and said another quick goodbye, Adrien shutting the door behind his friend with a sigh of relief and heading to the dining room for another lonely dinner.
Ladybug ducked out of her trapdoor for patrol, feeling lighter than usual as she leapt across the city. It felt like the world had been lifted off her shoulders now that Adrien had returned to school, and she was relieved and excited that he hadn't changed his mind about their date. It was more than she had hoped for on his return, and then she had even held his hand and kissed him. Kissed him!
She was also strangely excited to finally see Chat Noir after a couple of days apart. Maybe it was due to talking more than usual and working together to develop their mind link, but she'd found herself missing him more than normal. The thought made her heart pinch slightly with guilt, but she brushed it off with another flick of her yoyo.
As if she'd ever like Chat Noir.
She slowed her pace as she reached the warehouses, making her way quietly to their secret hideout and deciding to attempt to sneak up on her partner. More likely than not he'd hear her coming, but it was always fun to test her skills.
Slipping silently toward the entrance, she could hear him humming inside, some mindless pop song that had taken over the radio recently. She hoped he wasn't looking as she dropped her body through the hole and into the dimly lit room, holding onto the edge tightly before swinging over to an adjacent beam. A beam which happened to run right over where Chat was perched on a crate, drawing shapes in the dust on the floor with his toes. She grinned. Perfect.
Stealthily, she inched along the beam until she was roughly over his head. She positioned herself just so and took a deep breath before releasing her grip and letting herself fall towards him.
Before she could tackle him with a screech, as had been her plan, two strong arms caught her and clutched her against a hard chest. She gulped, slowly peering up at the boy who held her in a princess carry.
"Uh, surprise?"
He chuckled, shaking his head. "You should know by now that you can't sneak up on me, Bugaboo."
She crossed her arms, indignant. "I totally could. I wasn't even really trying."
"Uh huh. Sure."
Ladybug huffed, shoving at his chest. "Just put me down already, stupid cat."
He tsked. "Now now, princess." She tensed slightly at the familiar nickname, and he squinted at her curiously. "Bad little bugs get punished when they mis-bee-have."
"I sincerely hope we never get a bee-miraculous partner. You'd have a field day."
"That I would. Now stop trying to distract me." He turned abruptly, resuming his seat on the crate with her now resting in his lap. "It's time for your punishment."
"What are you going to do, spank me?" she teased, hoping that even with his night vision he wouldn't notice the red of her cheeks in the dark, both from her comment and their intimate position.
"Hmm, what a fascinating suggestion," he drawled. "Are you trying to tell me something, my lady?"
Curse him for maintaining his composure so well. "Not at all, Chat Noir. Just knowing you and your...interests, I thought that's where you might've been headed." Did her voice really sound as breathy as she was imagining? Gosh, she hoped not.
What on earth was she doing?
His grip on her tightened, his claws digging into the soft flesh of her arm and thigh. Innocently, he asked, "Whatever do you mean by that?"
"I think you know exactly what I mean." She flashed him the scene he'd sent her by accident the last time they sat together on that crate.
"If you're implying that I look like the type to be into spanking others, wouldn't it look more like this?" He sent her back an image of his lithe form looming over her, with one knee between her legs as he pinned her arms to the ground with one hand, the other caressing her waist.
She shivered at the sight, biting her lower lip as her partner watched her with interest. There was a sly look in his eyes as he leaned towards her to make another potentially embarrassing comment, and she sought a subject change quickly.
"So if not...that...then what were you planning for my punishment?"
Filing the abashed look on her face and the heat in her eyes away for later, Chat Noir adjusted his grip on her carefully, sliding his hands slowly towards her midsection. "Well, before you mentioned that, I only knew of one appropriate punishment for such bad behavior." With no warning, he shoved his fingers into her sides and started tickling her like a madman.
Ladybug burst into laughter. "Chat, no!"
"Chat, yes!"
"Stop!" she roared with laughter as he moved his hands up and down her ribcage, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "Chat N-Noir, stop right n-now!"
Though he'd never heard his lady laugh so hard before, something about the light lilt of her laughter was beautifully familiar, and he loved it. He redoubled his efforts, needing to coax more of the intoxicating sound from her.
"Please!" she begged, breathless. "I'll do any-anything!"
"Anything?" he asked, interest piqued, and he allowed his hands to slow somewhat.
"Yes, just- please!"
Deciding she'd learned her lesson, he gave in and stopped tickling her. She collapsed in his arms, and he held her close to his chest with a chuckle as she curled into him.
"You-" she fought to catch her breath, poking him in the chest with a firm finger. "You are evil."
"They say the ladies like bad boys, and I'm the baddest of them all."
She stuck her tongue out in disgust at the cheesy line and he loved it.
"So, anything, huh?" he pondered aloud, waggling his eyebrows. "I wonder what I should ask of you, my lady."
She shrugged. "It's up to you. A ladybug always keeps her word."
"Can I think about it? This is an opportunity that must not be wasted."
She chuckled, nervous at his serious expression. "I guess so."
"Excellent."