So here is chapter 11! I really didnt expect the number of responses you gave me for chapter 10 and im so grateful! Also i'd just like to apologize for my phrasing on certain things and the descriptions and for the chapter taking so long, im still ill and Christmas depressed me because I lost two grandparents last year, so I wasn't up to writing at all.
Past that, thank you for all your reviews! Keep them coming, I love reading what you thought about these two dorks interactions and I look for inspiration sometimes from them as well! Happy reading~ Midnight
She had no idea how she had gotten into this situation. No idea at all. Marinette sighed, sitting back down on the chaise lounge and putting her face in her hands and shaking it disbelievingly completely unable to comprehend the last few hours... hell the last few days of her life. First she mistakes Adrien for her kitty cat, then they both end up becoming friends and then the deal she made last night... Why had she agreed to that deal god what if she really did know him in real life and it wasn't Adrien? She would end up breaking his heart as ladybug, and then on top of that he might end up crushing on her in civilian form and have his heart broken then too. And now. Now Adrien had shown up at her house hours before any normal human would be awake for school and wanted to try on her designs. Did he normally just do as he pleased? She thought that he was driven to school most days so why was he here right now. In her bathroom. Her bathroom. Stripping.
It was all a ridiculous mess, and she could feel that it was only going to get much more confusing as it developed.
She lifted her head away from her hands, absently wondering what he would look like in the design she had given him, he was probably the closest to Chat that she would be able to find physically to try it on and the design actually used a few features from his suit as well, so it was going to be interesting to see the similarities between the two of them. Not that she really needed to have any more to compare between them, she already had plenty as it was. And now this Handsome Boy thing. Handsome boy. Really. What if she accidentally called him that. She would absolutely die of embarrassment. It would be worse than calling him Chat again.
Marinette glanced over to the door to her room, hearing nothing from beyond it. He was really taking his sweet time changing, had he found something interesting in the bathroom or something? Or maybe he didnt actually fit into the clothes and he was trying to sort it out without bothering her, she had made it from scratch without taking any sort of measurement other than the ones published in a magazine she had bought after all. There had been an article in it about the various designs Gabriel Agreste made for him to wear on the catwalk -Catwalk, really, just another cat reference for her to deal with- and typically what measurement he used for them. Of course she had taken the liberty of shortening or lengthening a few measurements based on what she had seen of Adrien himself, it seemed like he had grown even just slightly since the article came out. Thinking over all the designs she had seen him in on covers of magazines and posters all over Paris she had a small panic. What if he didnt actually like the design? What if he was being polite? What if he thought the craftsmanship was terrible?
Her inner panic attack was cut off by the sound of the bathroom door shutting from below and slow footsteps approaching the steps, a second later a soft blonde halo attached to a stupidly handsome face popped back up through the hole with a dopey grin that she would normally associate with a certain cat plastered across his face.
"Are you ready to see the fruits of your labor My Lady?" She gathered her wits again, rolling her eyes at him and screaming on the inside. This god damned dork was going to be the death of her even if just because she was overthinking absolutely everything, her eyes darted up to the bed where Tikki had dived when they had heard her dad shouting up to her, just to double check that she wouldn't be seen even if she knew that she wouldn't. She turned her eyes onto the expectant model partially in her bedroom and nodded, moving her arm out in a wide sweep to include the whole room and leaning back on the chaise lounge.
"Give it your best shot Mr. Model extraordinaire" She giggled a little bit when that caused him to blush ever so slightly and his body started moving upwards slowly to reveal her design and she almost squealed with delight and wonder. It fit. It fit perfectly. Both in size and shape, and also in style. The material hugged his form almost giving the appearance of Chats skin tight bodysuit, but looking much more obviously clothed. The belt, which she had made much shorter than Chats ridiculous length one so it stopped about mid thigh, dangling behind him making a swishing motion as he climbed the last of the steps and started to walk towards her, throwing a few poses in as he went. She laughed, smiling as he did so and snorting inelegantly when a pose that he used definitely wasn't model material, the usain bolt pose for example. He continued this way until he was right in front of her, where he did a very dramatic bow, grinning as he went, before standing up straight again. He looked like Chat though. There was absolutely no denying it when he was stood before her in such clothing with his devilish smirk and that perfect body of his. All that was missing really was a domino mask and those stupidly cute ears that always appeared on his head. That and the hair, which wasn't quite parted right at the moment to 100% resemble him.
He smiled down at her, bending slightly at the waist so that he was more at her eye level than towering above, his eyes seemed to twinkle with mirth and she knew that she must look absolutely starstruck in this moment, she hadn't really talked since he came in after all just laughed, and her eyes had been completely glued to his tall and slightly muscly figure as it shifted in the fabrics she had spent most of the night combining. If only he could do this for her all the time.
"Earth to Marinette?" She jumped, snapping quickly out of her poorly disguised idol worship that she had unintentionally been putting on display yet again, blushing deeply and averting her eyes from his deep green ones still crinkled around the edges with an almost undetected laughter. She tried to cover it a little bit by leaning back on both arms onto the seat and looking him up and down as if giving the outfit an appraisal whilst actually admiring the way the curve of his body filled it. Giving him an approving nod once she was finished.
"You'll do" He actually laughed this time, straightening up again before turning and sitting on the chaise lounge next to her, completely relaxed and looking very much at home. He had looked this way earlier too when he had stretched himself across the same piece of furniture like a pampered cat and she had been sure he was about to actually fall asleep. Its something that she wanted to see all the time, she wanted to come downstairs and see him stretched out on the sofa watching the TV snuggled in a blanket she had made, She wanted to come home and find him wandering around the kitchen as if it was his just looking for a snack. She wanted to wake up and find him snuggled beside her where he fell asleep the night before after a full afternoon of fencing or something. The lazy smile that spread over his face right now as he flopped down spreading himself once again over the chaise lounge as he did earlier that would be imprinted on her brain until she died. He was talking now, so she need to be paying attention though, not imagining such an impossible future with a husband that's always sleeping somewhere and making stupid -yet admittedly funny- puns.
"I think im in love" Wait- WHAT. The look on his face changed dramatically from sleepily content to sheepish shock as if he had just realized what he said, sitting up quickly and flailing his arms a little averting his eyes from her blushing and spluttering mess of a face. "Not what I meant! The design! With the design!" They both took a second to relax a little, although he was still avoiding her gaze a bit and a small blush had covered his own cheeks. He pushed on regardless gesturing down to the outfit and obviously focusing his attention on it, she followed his sweeping gesture with her eyes.
"I've never worn something so comfortable yet stylish at the same time, its really like a second skin" He paused briefly long enough to glance back up towards her as if he was terrified he had said something he shouldn't have done, but visibly relaxed after a second, obviously finding nothing to be concerned about. Exhaling he continued, looking to be a bit more confident in himself now whilst Marinette silently wished that he would have been saying that about her instead of her designs, even if it was a ridiculous notion for someone who had only been talking to her for less than a day now "Out of all of the designers that have gotten me to model their designs, yours if by far the best" He seemed to have a sort of internal debate going on that was oh so obvious on his face, the way a small crease appeared between his eyebrows that she juuuuust wanted to run her thumb over gently to smooth it out again so that it wasn't marring his perfect face. Instead she pressed the matter a bit, now relaxed enough to retain her earlier comfort in conversation with him.
"You seem to be doubting that a little bit Adrien, I can see it" He looked away a bit more, the crease diving further into his forehead and the temptation to smooth it out intensified, to make all of his problems go away in one fell swoop of a motion.
"Its not that im doubting it...Its just that I feel like this is so much more- how do I say it..." He closed his eyes, leaning back on his hands so that his face was towards the ceiling and she left him to silent contemplation, only a few minutes passing before he opened his eyes again, turning to face her with a sincere yet sad smile, the kind that would make angels cry.
"You remember what I said to you yesterday about how a design is a piece of your soul?" She nodded, that conversation had given her both a heart attack and a massive confidence boost when it happened, and she wasn't going to forget it any time soon. His smile widened fractionally and he continued. "Well the same goes for the person that you design the clothes for"
Marinette was confused, and it must have shown on her face because he let out a small chuckle before elaborating further for her.
"When you design something for somebody, you take an aspect of that person to help your design along correct? Make it fit the... 'model' i'll call it for the time being" She nodded again, of course? didnt every designer? He chuckled again "I thought so, what my meaning was originally is that this-" He gestured once again to the clothes. "-Is as much a part of me as it is a part of you. It fits beautifully and makes certain aspects on me stand out and define them, and far from the cold clinical feeling I get when modelling for anybody else, a stock model for a stock outfit, these are warm and personal"
She could have cried with joy but also with unending despair, he really felt that way about this? Did he even enjoy modelling at all if this was the way he viewed what they made him wear? She game him a searching look, as f trying to find some sort of a falsehood in what he had said and found absolutely none, his face shone with honesty and it was heartbreaking. She offered him a smile that was both full of gratitude for the compliment and with sympathy at the same time.
"Well... If you want to..." He seemed to perk up at her voice, like a cat who hears lunch being served. Face transforming at once from sadly amused to curious as to what she was going to say. It made her giggle a bit and gave her the final push that she needed to say the rest. "You only need to ask and i'll make you something, but would you mind being a model for any other designs I might make in the future...? You could even keep that one if you like" He seemed to be blinking, processing what she had said slowly, but soon the grin that split his face could have outshone the sun and he was suddenly hugging her again and she was flat out on the chaise lounge in a light state of surprise. This was very reminiscent of yesterday when he had scooped her up in the scarf, only this time she wasn't panicking, this time she just wrapped her arms around him in return and waited for a response, she felt that he possibly needed this a little bit more than he let on.
"Of Course I I will, any time, any place, you call me and i'll be there, and I will enjoy every second of it" He paused, grin turning more towards the smirk that was now growing to be a familiarity on his face."You know what will be my favorite part though?" She raised an eyebrow in question, waiting to find out and he chuckled again "Whatever you make me or get me to try on, its always going to smell like cinnamon and vanilla"
She rolled her eyes and shook her head, exasperated, well at least he wasn't making any puns, that would have completely ruined the moment. She took the chance to throw her eyes over to the clock on her desk noting the time to be saying 8:29 and looked back down at him where he appeared to have settled quite comfortably into the hug. Jesus he really was like an over-sized cat, she half expected him to start purring any second and had no idea why she wasn't freaking the fuck out about all of this, but by this point she was possibly starting to become a little bit numb to it. There is only so much surprise a girl can take after all. They both needed to head into school, and if they were to leave with any sort of time to spare he had to go and get changed again any minute now. She sighed internally, desperately not wanting to move at any point. Forever. But sitting up anyway she nudged him off, a giggle escaping her lips when he actually pouted at the loss of contact.
"Come on you big kitten, if we are going to get into school on time you are going to have to change back into your normal clothes now" She frowned when the smirk resettled itself onto his face and he began shaking his head, crossing his legs.
"Why, I'm 100% ready to leave for school, whatever are you talking about Mari?" She blushed at the shortening of her name, but frowned all the same, surely he couldn't be thinking...? He seemed to read her thoughts and nodded, running a hand through his perfectly gelled yet extremely soft hair.
"I think my current attire is perfect for today actually, it gives me a little bit on an understated flair that I would love to show off" All she could do was stare at him for a minute, just trying to gauge if he was serious or not as he picked an imaginary piece of dirt off of his shoulder, the picture of innocence, but by the way he was talking it looked like that was the case. Adrien Agreste wanted to wear her design to school. Adrien Agreste wanted to wear her design where there were real people. In public. She really ought to be hyperventilating and stuttering and making ridiculous arm gestures in an attempt to talk about dissuading him, but something about the idea made her smirk as much as he was, and she was sure he might be thinking the same thing.
"But what if dear old Chloe happened to find out I made it, she would practically be seething" He raised a falsely thoughtful hand to his chin, looking off into the distance pretending to think about it and she couldn't help but let a giggle escape at the obvious drama to it.
"Ah could we really do that to her poor, delicate, kind and hardworking soul" Marinette snorted, knowing perfectly well that he knew none of those things were true and her eyes followed him as he stood up and picked up his bag, coming to stand next to her and offering his arm for her to take. "What do you think buginette? Do you think she can handle it?" She picked her own bag up, blushing at the new bug related nickname and trying not to think about the reaction of the rest of the class, just the hilarity that would be Chloe's face.
"I think we will just have to wait and see, wont we kitten?" He chuckled, running his other hand through his hair again and smiling in what looked like a semi nervous fashion. Perhaps he was actually worried about her reaction a little after all, she nudged him on though.
"Come on then, lets go before you lose your nerve, if I have to face Alya then you have to follow through your own plan" He spluttered and did look vaguely offended, but she just decided to un-loop her arm and race down the stairs, egging him on as she went. "If I get to school before you then you'll have to deal with Alya instead!"
That got him moving, and she could see a grin spreading across his face like wildfire at the last second before she rounded the corner, already on the second set of stairs and hearing his feet pounding on the landing above as she whipped past the kitchen almost knocking her maman on the way, shouting a quick apology over her shoulder to a surprised giggle and continuing along the way. Seconds later hearing the same thing happen in a distinctly male voice, with what seemed to be a fair few more apologies.
Cutting across the bakery floor instead of going out of the main door to save time, it wasn't long before Marinette was out the door, whipping off to the left with the school in her sights almost immediately already swarming with students ready for their school day. It really was sometimes a blessing that she lived so close to it, and the distance only served as a means to increase her speed through motivation. It was literally across the street she could do this. She heard Adrien behind her slamming the door open followed by her dads deep laughter and knew he would be gaining on her, putting on a burst of speed that she would be proud of even as ladybug and not giving herself the temptation to glance back she made a final mad dash for the main steps. I'm going to make it. Only a few meters left-
Then her mind went blank as Marinette looked forward towards her destination. Alya was standing right there. Her arms were crossed and her hip cocked. Right in her path and about to be plowed into at high velocity. Marinette stopped as quickly as she could, stumbling forward dramatically and watching Alya's face distort from the look of an unimpressed friend to one of concern, and gradually fear as they got closer together. When they were barely a mere meter apart she felt her saving grace wrap his fingers around her wrist, effectively stopping the out of control wreck that was about to happen and spinning her back into his arms once again.
"You really are very clumsy did you know that?" His voice was laced with humor and she could tell that he would look very smug if she looked up so decided vehemently against it. Instead crossing her arms and pouting as he let go of her, happy enough that she was steady again. Looking back at Alya she smiled though, seeing exactly where she had started her flailing to stop and knowing what it meant, this did prompt her to look up at the gloating face of her crush.
"I still won the race you know Kitty" His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to object, but a quick glance around and he must have discovered she was correct. He shook his head scowling and swore under his breath, causing her to giggle. She watched him swallow nervously, glancing between her and off to one side where Alya was still standing with her hands on her hips and a look that could kill. His eyes pleaded with her in non-verbal communication. Micro-expressions crossing his face as he obviously worked his way through the conversation he was about to have preemptively in his head.
Please don't make me do this, im begging you! She giggled again, shaking her head towards his plea.
Maybe if you had run a bit faster eh kitten~? He frowned, pouting now.
You are cruel, so mean Marinette. He moved his head now, turning it to take in her best friend, who's face was becoming more dumbfounded by the second, before painstakingly slowly turning to face her properly, gulping down an air of terror that he had developed about him and rubbing the back of his head in a gesture of awkwardness that Marinette was slowly becoming much more accustomed to. All dressed up in the new clothes that Marinette just knew Alya would recognize from her sketches, there was absolutely no hiding that. The thought made her blush a bit. This was a bad idea.
"Um..." The glare on him sharpened as he spoke, Alya has targeted her victim. Engaging. He offered the same sort of forced wave he had given her the morning Alya pushed her out in front of him to give him the scarf "Hi Alya I uh... Guess we have some... explaining to do, huh?"
And that was it, her bestie was battering her crush with questions faster than he could blink and with more journalistic professionalism than she thought he expected. She half expected to see some sort of health bar over his head dropping lower and lower, until the invisible bar hit empty and he began to sag under the weight of it all.
He had been slain. And, she supposed, it must be time for a healer to come along and save him from himself
So she braced herself, steeled herself mentally, erased anything that could have revealed her identity from slipping off of her tongue and stepped between the two, effectively stopping them in their tracks and ready to take on the world.
And she would have taken on the world if not for the very next question, the joy and vindictiveness of the question reflected in her friends eyes along with (what she hoped) was a proud smile. Marinette was shaking her head before the question left her lips, but it was too late.
"So when did you two start going out then huh? I want the details!"
And the world went still.
Sorry this chapter isnt as long as the other new ones, I hope it is still up to scratch, im still having trouble writing at the moment but I couldnt let the chapter sit on my computer and rot.
See you all soon ~Midnight