Eh. First story posted. Not really a crossover of Pitch Perfect and Miraculous Ladybug, more like a fusion with 1/3 Pitch Perfect (Plot, finale), 1/3 MLB (Characters, plot) and 1/3 stuff from Oberlin College (Setting, song choice. Gotten from someone I know who's a real-life Obie). Crossposted to AO3.
This fic was inspired by a dope cover of Manhattan Transfer – Boy From New York City, by a real-life Oberlin a cappella group. I've based the arrangement and what I think Marinette's voice sounds like off of a couple of covers the group has done – here is one!: watch/?v=874949909206668
*Warning: A cappella portrayed in this fic is not based on equal amounts of real-life experience. Readers of this fic may be assured that it attempts to show realistic a cappella, but it is not certified as ultimately succeeding and should not be assumed that it does. Dangers from basing one's expectations of a cappella on this fic include unrealistic expectations of microphones, arrangements, vocal ability, and frequency of public romantic confessions.
Ooh-Wah Ooh-Wah Cool Cool Kitty (The Boy From New York City)
Marinette Dupain-Cheng was an enigma to Adrien. They'd seen each other first on Move-In Day, him singing along to Kansas as the Gorilla dropped him off, her fixing him with a look he couldn't quite place. He'd seen her regularly since then in chemistry class, at his job at the radio station, and once at a cappella tryouts. She'd placed in the Bellas, and given Chloe's dictator-like tendencies, he guessed it was a miracle that she was even able to give him the time of day. After all, he was a Treblemaker, and Chloe restricted the Bella's relations with his group very harshly. If one person gave the Treblemakers any way in, they would slip through the armor of the group and penetrate them.
Notttttttt a good enough reason to use the word penetrate, in his opinion.
But in spite of that, he saw Marinette around. She was very nice at first, if a little confusing. He always liked to see her because he could always count on her smile to light up the room. She blushed and stuttered a bit, but she was always up for a conversation while they were at the campus radio station (He put it down to first-year nerves). Sometimes, he stole glances at her while she worked. She occasionally brought in pastries and offered him some. He never said no; they smelled so delicious that she could say they were filled with poison and he'd still eat them up. One time at the end of their shift, she even invited him out for coffee. But he had a really big test tomorrow that he HAD to get an A on (or his dad would start asking questions about whether Harvard would be better) and he couldn't afford to be off-track right now, so he said he had a test.
Adrien studied all through the night. When his timer went off for a break at 11:30 PM, he ran to the all-night coffee shop to get something to make him study till 1. He meant to take 5 minutes, but a classmate named Lila ended up talking with him for before he could excuse himself (though he thanked her for the conversation). He saw Marinette coming in as well, but then he looked at his clock. He was 5 minutes late. 5 minutes was too long for his dad. He ran out to get back to studying.
And after that night, Marinette got more confusing. It seemed like the more he opened up to her, the less she opened up to him. He would try to start the conversations like he usually did, and they'd be reciprocated with a tone a little less bubbly then before. He tried to bake something for her, but that burned up horribly in his face. So he asked if she wanted to head down and get a bite at the Blue Rooster Bakehouse off campus, but she politely declined. She was overall less social, and more cool instead. Her stutters and silly smiles disappeared as a new personality seemed to erode the old one away. Like picking up a cup of hot cocoa and expecting it to taste like steamy warm goodness – only to find it was lukewarm.
Adrien wasn't sure what happened, but he figured that Marinette just wanted to be friends. And that was okay. It hurt a little – he realized that he'd been getting a crush on her, but he figured that he couldn't control her feelings, and just because he was interested in her did not mean that she therefore was required to be interested in him.
So he tried to move on. He re-buried his nose in schoolwork, kept his radio station conversation to respectful topics, and was dragged out with his friends from his all-male a cappella group to go to the on-campus venue, the Dionysus Disco.
"Nobody calls it that Adrien! Just call it the 'Sco." Kim shouted from the other room.
"C'mon dude, lay off. It's his first time!" Marc said, fussing with Nathanael's shirt collar.
"The real crime is that you were never in there while I was DJing. We're friends man! That's what friends doooo!" Nino was not DJing tonight, as Adrien guessed from the way he buzzingly put his arm around Adrien's shoulders. (Or was he?)
As much as he liked Marinette, the Treblemakers had been Adrien's real saviors at Oberlin. His roommate Nino had heard Adrien singing in the shower one time, and would not let it rest until Adrien at least came to tryouts. Once he'd placed, he'd had something besides the radio that wasn't work, and he'd worried about whether his father would approve of him having two musical distractions. For the first month, he wouldn't go hang out after practice with them, staying inside and studying. He wasn't kidding when he told Marinette that he couldn't get off-track. But that night before the test, he freaked out. Then he didn't reach out to anybody because he didn't want to bother anyone, and so he didn't get any sleep, and the less said about what happened after that, the better.
When his father's emails through Nathalie suggested he find a group of friends to motivate and support him, he enthusiastically replied that he already that the a cappella group was more than willing to step up. Once Adrien let himself stay after practice, he found that Max and Kim often had study sessions pre-practice. As he studied with them, he found that Ivan, Marc, Nino, and Nathanael would often drop in. Post-practice, Nathanael and Marc were usually the ones dragging the group out for "bonding time".
"They call it bonding time, but those two really didn't get out much in high school, so their accumulated FOMO means that they're trying to get in all the partying they think they missed at high school done here at college." Kim never went with the group to the 'Sco, except the Friday night of a weekend where he didn't have a game. Bring a college athlete meant Kim understood Adrien's struggle of having to stay focused and committed while also loving a cappella.
It also meant that since he couldn't go, he would tell Adrien to go for him. "Dance! Go crazy! Pick up people! Get drunk! Only in that order, no getting drunk and then picking up people. Be safe!" Kim waved them off as Marc and Nino dragged the group to Nino's performance with the Oberlin Brazilian Ensemble.
Splitchers on Wednesday nights, beers with professors, artists whose name Adrien had never heard before, 90s hip-hop nights, Queer Beers, Super Smash Bros Night (Max and Adrien would have DOMINATED had it not been for Marinette crushing them), K-pop, Celia Cruz Night…2 or 3 nights a week, when Adrien's brain couldn't take any more studying, he was socializing.
So when a biweekly Masquerade Night was first held, Adrien was ready to go. Luka had provided a set of cat ears and a domino mask from a theater friend of his, and he put on his coolest black outfit to the oohs and aahs and OKAAAAYS of his friends. Adrien just laughed and prepared himself for the night.
And then he met her.
She was a woman in a red-and-black polka-dotted dress, complete with matching domino mask. She attracted him on a surface level at first – he liked her dress (And how she wore it). But after dancing a few songs with her, he found he also liked her wit, her sass, her self-confidence and assuredness. They got away from the music, and got to talking. She insisted on no personal details – no major, no names, nothing.
"I can do no names. A rose called by any other name would still smell as sweet, after all."
She pushed him away with one finger. "That is the most basic, overused Shakespearean pickup line in history. If you're trying to charm me, you'll have to do better then that."
A smirk was trying to fight its way off her face the entire time.
When she turned back, her face contained a cool smile, the epitome of unflappable grace. "Call me Ladybug. It matches my dress after all."
"Ladybug…I can do that. An extremely fitting name for an amazing person, with an extremely well-fitting dress."
She raised one eyebrow, and for a moment he feared for his life.
"Be careful, alley cat. These legs have kicked men across a room for saying less than that."
Oh. Oh. Ohhhh…he liked that.
"That somehow does not scare me off."
Was that croaky sound his voice? He couldn't go down like that.
*cough*
"If anything, I feel more reeled in."
She gave a quick snort and laughed, then found his eyes again when she finished. "I like ladybugs. They're good luck in France. So let's hope I get some of their luck tonight."
Keep it together, Adrian. Wait to melt into a puddle until she's decided to put her arms around you. "I'll certainly do everything I can to help you with that. But if you're going to pick a name, I think I'll do the same."
"Oh? Do tell, kittycat."
PLEASE call me that aga-NO! KEEP IT TOGETHER, BRAIN!
"Hmm…..let's say, Chat Noir. In keeping with the French theme."
"Chat Noir. I like it. It could refer to both a suave creature of the night, and an impudent creature that comments on how well ladies' dresses fit…"
She gave him a playfully strong elbow for that.
"…when his OWN outfit is fitting him far too well in far too many nice places."
"Then perhaps another dance to distract you, my lady?"
She gave him her hand and they went back out, oblivious to Nino's calls of "This is a college club! Stop trying to waltz and just grind already!" as they began some kind of partner dance across the floor.
This became the habit. There were no numbers exchanged, no social media given, no names – every two weeks, Adrian knew all he had to do was show up and she would be there. They danced, they talked, they danced, they talked. Eventually they'd stop dancing for the night permanently and find somewhere small and private to talk about anything. To the stars and back.
She confessed her anxiety problem, her insecurities about her singing voice, her men problems, her frustrations with men as a whole and how much change was needed on national and international scales, how the Oberlin community seriously needed to change how it treated minority students, and the level of and how hard it was to sometimes make herself measure up to the systematic changes she asked for. He asked her whether she wanted him to listen, console, or give advice, and he did his best as soon as she answered. He then talked in return about his problems with his dad and his confusion about whether or not they had a loving relationship, how he too wanted to be a new normal for a system that worked better for all people but sometimes it was just so hard, his girl problems and so on. And in turn, she would ask whether he wanted her to listen, console, or give advice.
And no matter what he said or what he talked about, she met him on his level. He always did her best to do the same.
Talking with her felt like the most intimate thing he'd ever done with a person.
Adrien realized he wanted to be that for her…wherever she was. A finished exam that would soon be an emotional bomb site. A Thursday morning with nothing finished and ten minutes left before class. A winter day when her nose was dripping and sickness loomed over the horizon on her breath. He wanted to give her that same support and intimacy that she gave him whenever they were at the 'Sco.
So one night, he trusted his gut, and took a step. He revealed himself.
(In his defense, he would have gone with asking her if it was okay to reveal himself. But he'd been anxious about this all day and his slight alcohol buzz had exacerbated that feeling. 'Twas the very witching hour, and the witching hour, as it turns out, is not a time a for not thinking straight.)
He heard her start to say something as he untied his mask. It took a second, but he undid the latch-thingy and made that thing do the other thing, and then – voila!
He beamed as he looked up to her face, ready for anythi-
…She wasn't happy.
Sad, despairing, crestfallen – he wasn't sure how to describe it. But it was not was he expecting.
She looked to the side and down and clasped her hands together, struggling to communicate. "Thank you…for…for trusting me this much…but I can't….I'm sorry…but I can't…..I can't do this right now."
She wrung her hands, trying to get each word out of her throat. "I…I'll contact you if I want to be contacted. I just…I just need to go. Now. Sorry. Bye."
And Adrien never saw her again.
He could have tried to contact her, or find out who she is. But she'd kept every clue about her identity carefully hidden or unmentioned. Maybe it was the college atmosphere, maybe it was his own fearfulness of how many ways his attempts to find her could go wrong. Either way, he didn't try to search. And he never found her.
It hurt. First he'd lost Marinette, then he'd lost Ladybug. He didn't really get into the romance scene after that. Nino, Luka, Kim, and everyone else in the group understood and did what they could to cheer him up, but he politely declined any requests to go out and just accepted their support.
Somehow the days came and went, and the Bellas announced their end-of-the-semester concert on the last day of classes. Nino made him go. They were a cappella, the Bellas were a cappella, yes Chloe goes overboard but let's go anyway also I think Alya and I have a thing going – Adrian caved. Marinette was still overly cool to him, but she and her group were a quality act, and he could enjoy that.
•••
The Bellas re-entered the stage amidst the cries of ENCORE ENCORE. Adrien was on his feet with the rest of the audience
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Marinette took the mic off the stand as various polite responses echoed from the audience.
"This next song is a bit more…selective. There's a story behind it, and it's a bit long, but you all asked for an encore, so…too bad!"
Giggles popped among the audience as they all settled back into their chairs.
"I'm sure many of you out there are familiar with these problems: You have feelings for someone, and you don't know if they have those same feelings for you. OR you have feelings – but you have feelings for more then one person, and monogamy is the only thing the Man will accept. "
Marinette's hand leaned on the mic as shouted agreements came from corners of the audience. She chuckled before speaking once again.
"My problem's a bit more complicated then that. I knew this one guy who seemed like a divine gift to people attracted to men. Kind, respectful, handsome, a total goofball. However, it didn't seem like he was a gift to me, cause he couldn't see that I had feelings for him no matter what I did. And when I finally just wised up and asked him out, he seemed to brush me off. The interest didn't appear to be there."
"Then I thought I saw him getting coffee with somebody who I loathed, so my behavior turned…less then nice."
Marinette led the audience along with every motion and every change of tone. She reminded Adrien of the songbirds who he assumed were at every piano and bar in the speakeasies of the 1920s, telling every attendee about the fellas that done them wrong in between every jazzy tune. Adrien felt pangs of sympathy for her – whichever guy wasn't noticing Marinette's feelings was obviously too dense for his own good.
"Yeah – key word there being thought. But anyway, I had to move on. I looked around my classes, got on to Bumble, went out to the 'Sco, see if I could find anybody.
Luckily for me, I did. There was this guy – sweet talker, sweet dancer, and such a charmer. He seemed like a guy who'd talk and leave, but he said he could never leave a girl whose eyes reminded him of constellations on a summer's night."
Adrien could hear half the audience sigh along with Marinette, including every guy sitting next to him. Inner Adrien noticed that and filed it away under "Things he might need to investigate later."
"Unfortunately…"
Marinette snapped the audience back into the story. Adrien knew things were about to get rocky.
"…I only ever saw him on Masquerade Nights. The first time we met, I insisted on no personal details. No names, no majors, nothing. I'd intended to just pick up any somebody that night, but we got to talking. One masquerade led to the next, and before I knew it, someone I'd never known the name of was my closest confidante."
That….sounded oddly familiar. A little TOO familiar.
"But the real catch came on the last masquerade night before winter break. My sweet sweet talker apparently trusted me so much that he took off his mask without warning. When the mask came off, I realized I already knew who he was. That sweet talker who swept me off my feet was the same oblivious friend who I'd tried to romance for weeks, and written off cause of the coffee.""
WAIT. YEP. WAY TOO FAMILIAR.
Adrien's brain numbly registered the sound of pained sympathy breaking out in a low murmur across the audience, and Marinette nodding once to agree before continuing.
"I didn't take it well. It just happened so fast, and Cinderella's response to the prince was to turn around and vanish, without a slipper or a cell number to leave. I'd been crushing on him, assumed he'd turned me down, now he'd been flirting and pouring his heart out to me but he didn't KNOW it was me – I didn't know how to deal with all that."
Adrien was a f***ing idiot. His head fell into his hands, and he felt Nino's hand pat him on the shoulder. "I know dude…this is hard to listen to."
"That encounter ran through my head all break. Eventually, I told my friends about him, and we talked it out. And I realized that…"
Adrien's head left his hands and looked to the stage. Marinette…was blushing, and looking down at the ground. Then she looked back up to the audience, and Adrien swore for a second that she looked at him.
"…I did still like what I'd seen, both with and without the mask. And I feel SO dumb for whatever part I played in this whole mix-up. So I'm dedicating this next song to him. Hopefully this'll make my feelings clear. Enjoy."
As Marinette put the mic back and the Bellas composed themselves, Adrien stared ahead. And blinked. Several times. Marinette and the girl from the 'Sco were…one person.
One person who LIKED him.
ALL of him.
He normally would be full of poetic and splendid words to say about the occasion, but saying words would require his brain to be at some normal level of functioning. The only functioning going on now was him being so so SO excited that Marinette liked him back AND that there was gonna be a song about it. He felt like a golden retriever who has JUST seen it's owner AND whose owner said that there was a TREAT coming.
And Adrien LOVED treats.
Sabrina blew the pitch pipe. Alya counted them off.
Snap, snap, snap, snap…
"Ooh-wah ooh-wah cool cool kitty"
"Tell us about the boy from New York City"
"Ooh-wah ooh-wah come onnn kitty"
"Tell us about the boy from New York City"
The Bellas set it off with a beautifully constructed harmony for Marinette to grace.
He's kinda tall
He's really fine
Someday I hope to make him mine, all mi-i-i-ine
Adrien had forgotten the power of Marinette's solo voice. It cut through the air like a flute played by a concert musician – clear and high and pleasant to everyone within hearing range. The audience's occasional whoops indicated he was not the only person who thought this.
And he's neat
And oh so swee-eet
And just the way he looked at me
He swept me off my fee-e-e-eet
Adrien sighed as Marinette's voice crested over those notes and brought them back down to earth. He liked her. She liked him. She was singing this amazing song. To him. If I ever wanted to live in one moment, it would be this one….
Oo-oo-oo-oo wee-ee
You ought to come and see
How he walks
And how he talks
Ooh-wah ooh-wah cool cool kitty
Tell us about the boy from New York City
Ooh-wah ooh-wah come onnn kitty
Tell us about the boy from New York City
But his attention on Marinette's solo was suddenly compromised when Nino's face grew thoughtful. He turned, a look of calculation on his face.
"Hey Adrien…you're from New York. You're tall. And I recall you always dancing with a certain masked someone when we went to the masquerade balls." Nino counted on his hand, unraveling his fingers like an attorney spelling reasons for the court to find Adrien guilty.
Adrien realized that while he was the only one who had been a character in Marinette' story, he hadn't been the only one to hear it. Everyone in the audience had heard the same story and knew how dense he'd been. Including every.
Single.
Treblemaker.
Adrien started praying Nino wouldn't clue the rest of them in.
He's really down
And he's no clown
He has the finest penthouse I've ever seen in town
"Your family does have a nice place." Nino mentioned as he unrolled another finger. His face was less suspicious and more impressed with himself, as if he was acing the final on Embarrassing Your Best Friend 101. Adrien clenched his fingers into the armrests and used all the model training he had to freeze his head in the direction of Marinette.
And he's cute
In his mohair suit
And he keeps his pockets full of spending loot
"What's a mohair suit?" Nathanael whispered.
"What Adrien wore that one time at practice." Nino whispered back, focusing more on the six fingers he had out so far then on Nathanael.
"Oh, okay."
Thank you, whoever's up there…Adrien let himself take a small breath of relaxation. Nathanael seemed oblivious. If Nino would be the only one who noticed (And kept cool about it plz plz PLZ NINO), he could sit back and enjoy listening to Marinette without worrying too much.
Then Nathanael made a face. As a ginger head of hair turned over to smirk at him, Adrien inwardly screamed about how he always knew he was an atheist.
Oo-oo-oo-oo wee-ee,
You ought to come and see
His dueling scar (Yeah, yeah)
And brand new car (Yeah, yeah)
"Dude." Kim whispered to Max. "You know what? Adrien's got a scar from fencing."
"And that brand new car he drove onto campus after fall break." Max chuckled. "This is an interesting coincidence."
…they both stopped. Then they joined Nathanael in staring at Adrien, Kim with an extra-wide smirk and Max with a cocked eyebrow.
Adrien found it significantly easier to ignore them, since the Bellas had taken their background and transformed it to create a harmonic female barbershop quartet. Only a few bits of percussion pierced the air as Marinette's voice shone through the break.
(Ooh-wah-ooooooooh)
Every time he says he loves me
(Ooh-wah-ooooooooh)
Chills run down my spine
(Ooh-wah-ooooooooh)
Every time he wants to kiss me
(Ooh-wah-ooh!)
He makes me feel so fi-i-i-ine
And that fi-i-i-ine brought the Treblemakers and the rest of the audience back down from the high to marvel at what had just happened. Wolf whoops and cheers bounced out towards the stage as the Bellas swung back into their first background.
Adrian, however, was focusing more on the way Marinette's voice slighted on the word kiss. He suddenly felt very hot and kinda sweaty. And his slacks felt a bit tighter then they were before.
Ooh-wah ooh-wah cool cool kitty
Tell us about the boy from New York City
"Good dancer, has money, has looks, from NYC..." Ivan listed, a hand stroking his chin.
"Even in this college, that could be quite a few people." Marc said, eyebrow quirked as he rested his elbows behind Ivan's seat and used whatever brainpower wasn't listening to the song to figure out the target of the song.
Well he can dance (He can dance, take a chance with a little ro-)
And make romance (mance baby, cause he's a looker)
"Don't forget oblivious as hell." Luka said. "Whoever's ignoring that woman's desires has got to be denser then Max's chemistry papers."
Julecka, Rose, and Alex were backing Marinette up with a call-and-response harmony as Adrien felt his dignity crumbling around them. And it didn't help that Alex in particular was sending saucy and knowing winks.
That's when I fell in love
With just one glance (He's sweet talking and cool)
"They also have a car and a dueling scar." Kim mentioned, leaning over nonchalantly. "But nobody's dumb enough to miss EVERY SINGLE cue Marinette Dupain-Cheng was sending."
And he turned back to face the music, calm as could be.
Ivan, Luka, and Marc all blinked. Then they turned to their left.
He was shy
And so was I
And now I know I'll never, ever say goodbye
"Of course." Ivan said with a blissfully straight face.
"Can't be anyone we know." Marc smirked.
Adrien would show them all. One day, they'd be sorry.
"It's Marinette Dupain-Cheng. No one would be THAT oblivious." Luka stared.
Agreste Enterprises DEFINITELY had enough lawyers to cover up a mass burial of a college a cappella group.
"He was shy." Nino tried to add to the list, but found out he had run out of fingers at this point.
"Very true." Nathanael, ever the true friend, had noticed what was going on and lifted up two of his own fingers to back up his buddy Nino in his endeavor.
Because HELPING OUT is what a GOOD friend DOES. UNLIKE THESE BLACKHEARTED ROGUES. TREACHEROUS SCUM. FATE WOULD SEE THEY HAD A GRUESOME END AT ADRIAN'S HANDS.
Oo-oo-oo-oo wee-ee,
Say you ought to come and see-ee
He's the most (Yeah, yeah)
From coast to coast (Yeah, yeah)
Luka had snuck behind Adrien as Nino had been counting. "See, when a girl really likes a boy-"
Adrien almost got Luka in the nose with his hand.
"~I KNOW WHAT SHE MEANS NOW!" Adrien yelled in his fiercest whisper. It was over anyway; people were starting to notice their little group's lack of reverence for the situation. Besides, audience members noticing their antics could be helpful later.
As WITNESSES.
For the JUSTIFIABLE HOMICIDE trial. "~WHY ARE YOU TELLING-"
"Maybe because she's getting up?" Nino suggested, the picture of innocence.
Adrien froze.
Marinette had taken the mike off of the stand, grabbed the end of her dress, and began walking down the stairs into the audience.
Ooh-wah ooh-wah cool cool kitty
Tell us about the boy from New York City
Adrien blocked out the smirks of every Treblemaker as Marinette, conducted by the Bellas' final refrain, walked into the audience and…up the aisle….
toward…..
HIM….
Ooh-wah ooh-wah cool cool kitty"
Adrien didn't even register the Bellas cutting out the sound for Marinette to solo. His eyes were locked and his senses ensnared as she slid onto the armrest of his seat, all classy and liquid and sensual. Then she looked straight at him, and her piercing yet welcoming deep blue eyes delivered the final blow.
"You oughta ask me out sometime, you cute little kitty."
The dam broke. Adrien didn't need to look to know that the entire audience – from the row of professors in the front right, to the people standing in the back, to the deplorable heathens he had once called his friends – had been looking directly at them as soon as Marinette slid into his seat. He could tell from the rush of applause that the dam had broken and that every romantic, gossip, and drunken college student was screaming to high heaven. Marinette just held his drunkenly shy gaze for a few more seconds before giving him a single promising wink and a tantalizing two-fingered kiss, and sashaying back up onto the stage.
He didn't come out of it until he felt a slap on his back. "C'mon, loverboy. Stand up and clap."
Nino was staring ahead, his smile betraying how much he wanted to laugh. Adrien got up with the rest of the audience to give a second standing ovation, but gave Nino a sideways glare. It was all his former best friend now deserved for his horrible betrayal.
The audience finished clapping, and groups of people started to pack up. Adrien realized that Marinette had just made the declaration of love. Now the ball was in his court.
"…Hey Nino…"
"Adrien," Nino clapped him on the shoulder. "You're a good egg. You are, like, the best person, the best egg."
"…Thaaanks?"
"Of course. You've even got the eyesight of an egg."
"…Nino, eggs can't see."
Nino gave Adrien an eyeful. "EXACTLY. Marinette just sang a song about how much she adores you and practically sat in your lap. Get your ass to the back and ask her out!"
Adrien fought down his blush and ignored the catcalls of his fellow group members. Giving Nino a slight nod, he excused himself and walked to the front of the stage, twisting around students gathered in twos and threes and slowly making his way into the left side door leading to backstage.
The Bellas were too hopped up on post-concert-YESwegoddamndidit-euphoria to hear the creak of the door as he slowly stepped in. Bubbling about their songs and how well they'd done and the guts of that last number, they were gathered around Marinette, who was dividing her time between breathing like she'd just jumped out of a rocket ship and grinning ecstatically in time with her friends' showers of praise.
"He MUST know, I made eye contact with him on that backup harmony and the boy was SHOOK." Alex mimed with her hands.
"It was the sweetest thing!" Rose emoted. "Very cool." Julecka calmly offered.
"After that performance, if anyone had to get Adrikins, it has to be you. Utterly ridiculous if anyone else does. As a matter of fact, where is that dumb boy…" Chloe walked to look through the curtains.
Sabrina went to look with her. "I think I saw him walking off-"
"He's over there." Kagami said. Adrien blanched inside. They'd noticed him.
Noooooo…..He, he wasn't readyyy….
…welp, too late now.
The Bellas were all giggles and stares. Seemingly they weren't ready either. Marinette had locked eyes with him and was turning the color of the curtains as Alya grabbed her hand and walked over to him.
"Marinette, I just remembered I need to pass a message off to Nino to meet me in the lobby instead of backstage. How about you go tell him, and we'll just take care of cleaning up the mics? Adrien, you can escort her please thank you BYE!"
She pushed them out the door and closed it while both of them stared at the door.
The party atmosphere of post-concert had moved into the lobby, leaving only the ocean of silence weighing down on them in the empty concert hall.
Chairs.
Barristers.
Stage.
Silence.
"She's…kinda…ham-fisted some times at dealing with stuff like this." Marinette began to speak.
"Oh no no no, it's totally fine, I totally get it, I totally understand…"
Adrien trailed off as Marinette cast a shy look at him. Their eyes locked again.
"…"
"…totally babbling right now…"
They busted up. They'd been tensing up ever since Marinette started her monologue, and that energy had to go somewhere. Adrien fell against the wall and tried not to slide down. Marinette just collapsed into a seat, limbs akimbo.
"Was-*cough*-was I-*wheeze*-was that clear enough for you, kittycat?"
Adrien just managed to formulate a response in between tears. "I think-*breath*-I think you got your message across."
When they finally managed to calm themselves down. Adrien took one final stabilizing breath. "There's still one thing I'm confused by."
"Yes?"
"How did you go from being shy and awkward around me to having the guts to proposition me in front of an entire audience while wearing a sexy black cocktail dress?"
"Okay, one) Thank you for telling me my dress looks sexy and two)…"
Adrien watched Marinette take a breath to compose herself. Then she looked at him with those blue eyes.
….what was he talking about again?
"…I'm riding this same rush of adrenaline and fake courage ever since I woke up at 11 AM this morning, and I'm hoping that it will last long enough for me to invite you back to my room and-"
"-And give you something else to ride?"
Adrien's brain went into DEFCON 5 alarm mode as soon as he realized he had said that awful, awful, awful(SO HOPEFUL!) sentence.
He would've missed the look on Marinette's face if she hadn't cleared her throat and swung his attention back onto her.
"I was thinking that might come a little further down the road, but…yes. Precisely."
Adrien gulped.
"Delightful."
So yep. Jeca/Adrienette/Ladynoir turns into official Adrienette via the Jeca reveal. I liked this. Hope you did too. I have a couple of sequels. I'll post them when they've marinated long enough to be good.