Do you know that feeling when you almost disconnect with a fandom, but then you watch a bunch of TikToks reminding you of why you fell in love with it in the first place and then the almighty fandom-addiction has caught you again?
That's me right now. In other words, blame spring (my favourite season) and TikTok for this oneshot.
On the food-scale, I rank this a raspberry lemonade, being drunk on the first day of spring. In the evening, when its still light outside and you're enjoying the last warm sunbeams of the day.
Clear skies
.o.O.o.
Life wasn't supposed to be a muted grey. Life was supposed to be colourful and fun and cheerful! – Ladybug had taught him that lesson. Ladybug had taught him that lesson with her bright smiles and sparkling eyes and a conviction strong enough to never let his heart calm down ever again, wildly going "ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum-dum-dum" in his chest.
She filled his life with colour and showed him how to hope – how to never give up.
How to love!
But life wasn't supposed to feel like a white nothingness, with splotches of colour here and there, either! – structured and ordered with every tiny thing having a labelled box to go into. It was supposed to be a chaotic and messy adventure, refusing to ever be tamed by whatever rules society laid out for it! Adrien's friends taught him that – Nino, Chloé, Alya. Kagami. Luka.
Marinette.
Adrien's friends taught him that, with their plans and schemes and their mischievous grins and rebellious sympathy, leading him to a world filled with too many things to be neatly fitted into boxes.
His friends took his life, thoroughly shook it and messed it all up and then gave it back to him, for him to organize it however he saw fit. They showed him how to smile – how to let go of things.
How to trust.
But Life wasn't supposed to feel cold either, with nothing but colourful chaos to fill it.
That, Chat learned on top of a hidden rooftop with plants and pastries and welcoming smiles, that never seemed to cease.
Sometimes they'd watch a movie. Sometimes they'd steal leftover cookies from the bakery and talk until deep into the night. Sometimes he'd pour his heart out to her and sometimes she'd chase him around the balcony, scolding and laughing, because his tail had smashed another one of her colourful flowerpots yet again.
It didn't really matter, Chat Noir had come to realize. It didn't matter whether he was alone or whether she kept him company – he had gotten loitering privileges by both her and her parents! – it didn't matter whether it rained or the sun shone. It didn't matter whether it was silent or loud-
-Today it was silent.
Today, they didn't watch a movie, his insubordinate tail hadn't swept one of the many pots from their very own space upon the balcony.
Today they laid on their backs, watching the midnight sky and enjoying each other's company.
It was his very own version of heaven. He had come that day for no particular reason – father hadn't been home and he had hoped to escape the vast emptiness that had filled his room and him with dread – and he had found salvation right here. It had been late already, but Marinette had still been out and about, her fairy lights illuminating the paper she was drawing on.
He had landed on top of the balcony, alerting her to his presence and she had simply smiled. Not a word was spoken between them, but Chat had walked over nevertheless, settling in on the blanket spread out beneath them, savouring the warm spring night alongside her.
Chat enjoyed watching Marinette draw. He enjoyed the rhythmic strokes of her pen, luring him to sleep and the easiness with which the silence settled around them – not heavy, not awkward, not unwanted.
He could watch her for hours, getting lost in the way she moved, the way she stuck her tongue out in concentration or the smallest of frowns whenever she felt stuck. He loved watching the most beautiful of creations flowing from the tips of her fingers and the way her expression lit up whenever she saw the vision inside her head come to life in front of her.
Sometimes she'd tell him about them – what she wanted to do, what fabrics she wanted to use. Sometimes he'd suggest something and she'd nod along and write them down and then, the next time he came over, she was busy sewing a garment he had helped design.
He liked all the peace and excitement that came with it.
Eventually, Marinette stopped drawing. Carefully, she put her pen aside and closed her notebook, the pages rustling ever so silent and the only thing disrupting their piece.
They spoke little. She asked how he had been and when he replied "happy" her smile made Chat wonder just how much a single person could care about him. It made him want to catch that smile and open the box whenever he felt like the walls were closing in again. It made him want to pull her to him and hug her closer, to never let go.
And that was how they found themselves, laying here, staring at the stars with smiles on both their faces.
Paris never slept, but it might as well, because not a single sound dared to disrupt their bubble – it made Chat's eyes water and his heart beat faster and-
"You're pretty amazing, Marinette, did you know that?"
Chat turned to watch her, just in time to see the way her lips curved into a soft smile and her eyes lit up in the most sparkling shade of blue.
"You're not so bad either, kitty-cat", she responded, her eyes never leaving the evening sky.
The sparkle never left them either.
Chat turned back and gazed at the sky as well. Was she was imagining the stars, he wondered? The milky way? Would she imagine a sky filled with blinking lights, swirling and turning and without order or rule, like he did? Or did she imagine a map promising adventure and new lands like he wished he could?
He liked to think that she did. Maybe she had a map to make sense of life. One for just the two of them, to explore the world and find the place they belonged.
That was a nice thought, Chat thought to himself. He'd have to tuck that away to remember on days he couldn't visit her.
And then, Marinette grabbed hold of his hand – her movements quick and erratic and panicking, almost – and-
Chat's heart stopped.
For just a second.
Her touch made his skin tingle – not burn, like he was used to, from Ladybug or Kagami even. It didn't make his knees go weak, it didn't make his head spin – but it made butterflies flutter inside his belly, it made a warm flame spread from his head to his toes and it made his finger curl around hers, his eyes closing in contentment.
He never wanted this moment to pass, he realized.
He strengthened the hold on her hand and pulled it to his chest, then, never opening his eyes, but imagining all the pretty shades of pink she was bound to blush in that moment.
He was in love, he realized, too.
Life wasn't supposed to feel cold, Marinette taught him that. Marinette taught him that, with soft eyes and encouraging smiles. With the panicked flailing of her hands and the unsure advice given by someone as new to this world as oneself.
Marinette looked at this cold, starved stray in the rain and – without hesitation! – opened her arms to welcome him. Marinette taught him how to let go of all expectations that were weighing him down and how to just be himself – taught him how to panic and cry and feel.
Marinette taught him what it meant to be at home.
So when he heard the shot in the dark and felt his fluttering pulse, he couldn't help the wide smile adorning his face.
He was in love and he couldn't wait to see where it took him-
-(he was holding her hand, still, after all and he knew Marinette was smiling and maybe, just this once, it wouldn't end in tears and heartbreak).
This doesn't really fit anywhere canon-wise. I could probably add more information to fit it, but I don't want to do that, so just take this short, little one-shot without any context for what it is ^^ Please leave a comment if you enjoyed!