Delicate

by DFC_afterdark

WARNINGS: Non-explicit sexual content, aged-up characters (19-20-ish), mature themes.

Chapter 1

Marinette Dupain-Cheng walked slowly down a side street late on a Saturday evening, taking the long way around to her apartment.

She'd spent a quiet evening with a handful of friends; a light supper, a little wine, some pleasant conversation. Not at all uncommon weekend entertainment for her… though at times she felt like a fifth wheel, as usual. Jacques and Amy appeared to be counting the minutes until they could slip away and ravish each other again; I swear, they're like rabbits, she giggled to herself. Where do they find all that energy?

Peter and Gail were even harder for her to watch, though. She had to admit that much to herself. While the two of them weren't as openly frisky as Jacques and Amy, the way that the two of them looked at each other… those adoring eyes… all the time! It wasn't a big secret that their friends kept a betting pool open as to when he would propose, or if she would beat him to it.

Someday, someone's going to look at me every day with eyes like that, she smiled, sadly. Someday.

She ambled home, in no hurry; between her self-defense training and the secret ace-in-the-hole adorning her ears, how was anyone unsavory going to pose a threat to her if they caught her alone? So she let her mind wander a bit as she walked… thinking of the errand she had to run for her father tomorrow, picturing a warm snuggle with her kitten when she got home, hearing a distant scream for help, wondering if it was going to rain on Tuesday when she…

Wait.

A scream for help?

She turned and scanned the vicinity. As best as she could tell, it was coming from an old and dilapidated house across the street, one that might've been a decent university to-let at one point but had fallen into deep disrepair. It looked abandoned more than anything else, frankly… but its front door was wide open.

A hero's life is never dull, she thought. At least not the heroic part of it.

A young woman ducked into an alley, getting out of sight… and a red blur dashed out.

The house was dirty and cluttered, obviously having gone unused for a while, and it had a musty smell to it. Half-shredded cardboard boxes were piled up in one corner; miscellaneous trash and bottles and cans were strewn around a dirty carpet. It looked as if someone had been living at the house for a while as a cheap place to sleep, but had abandoned it some time ago.

There weren't a lot of personal belongings visible; it was mostly just filthy food wrappers and remnants of booze-ups, as if it had been taken over as a makeshift party house on a semi-regular basis.

Probably university students, she reasoned. With rather low standards, or just wanting a place that they can tear up on weekends and not have to maintain. There are a couple of trash bags around, so someone made at least a token effort to clean up once in a while... but it's still pretty nasty, though.

After finding the first floor empty except for long-disused kitchen appliances and the aforementioned party detritus, Ladybug tiptoed up the stairs. She found a hallway with two closed doors and one open one; the sound seemed to be coming from the open one, likely an old bedroom.

"Is someone there?" someone called. "I could use some help!"

Well, I did want a little bit more excitement in my evening tonight, she told herself, with a small smile.

Ladybug entered the room as stealthily as she could. Get serious, girl. There could be anyone in there, she thought. It's not like the days when I had my partner backing me up... I have to be prepared for anything.

As it happened… she was not prepared.

It's hard to say how she could have been less prepared.

Ladybug scanned the room warily; this room appeared a bit cleaner than the others she'd seen, if not by all that much. Her mental calculations stopped abruptly as she looked to her left. A twin bed stretched out along the far wall, and on it were some plain cotton sheets, (thankfully) appearing reasonably unstained… and a young man.

The young man was thin and fit, with an athlete's build. He had some well-toned muscles in the right places, but not enough to place him as a serious bodybuilder; more of someone with a balanced workout regimen, perhaps a runner. His blonde hair was mussed up from exertion; whether it was from pleasant exertion or from a struggle to get him where he was now, she couldn't tell.

What he was wearing was quite notable: a crude black blindfold, a pair of handcuffs binding his wrists to the headboard, and a petrified expression on his face once he realized that had company.

And nothing else.

AAAAAGH!

Ladybug let out an "Eeep!" sound and headed for the door, purely out of instinct.

The boy's reaction was instant and fearful; he let out a yelp of his own, then called out to her, "Who's there? Help, please! Please don't hurt me."

In mid-stride, hearing him clearly for the first time, Ladybug stopped.

That VOICE!

It was a voice that had made her heart sing every time that she had heard it, and one that had filled many of her dreams at night, innocent and otherwise.

It belonged to a person by whose side she'd once hoped that she'd grow old.

The two of them had fallen out of touch after graduation from lycee; she'd assumed that he would take on a larger role in his father's business empire, and would quietly forget the experiences that he'd had in public school and most of the people he'd met there.

Like her.

Or at least he would forget the yearning for him that had been embedded in her voice for years… not that she was sure that he'd ever actually heard it.

Ladybug pitched her voice low, just above a whisper, so as not to be recognized. "Adrien? Adrien Agreste?" she called to him, desperately forcing herself to not turn her head in his direction.

He responded by pulling hard on both wrists, trying desperately to wrench himself free but failing. "I… yes, that's me! Do I know you? Please help me, whoever you are! Get me out of here!"

Ladybug ran to his side, trying to keep her eyes laser-focused on Adrien's restrained wrists. She left his blindfold on for now, for the sake of what little dignity each of them had left.

He felt her hands examining the cuffs and begged, "Can you get them loose?"

"They're on tightly, I'm afraid. I think that they're real handcuffs, not play ones with a release button. Those would need a key, and I don't see one here," she noted, sadly. "I have to think about how to handle this."

Maybe I could Lucky Charm up a handcuff key? she considered. But what if that's not what the magic gives me? Then I'd have only a few minutes before changing back, and I don't want to leave him here alone… and I don't want to face down a bunch of rowdies as just plain Marinette!

She stepped away, turning her back to the unfortunate young man, and dashed over to close and lock the room's door.

"Wait!" Adrien yelled, in panic. "Don't leave!"

"I'm not leaving you, Adrien. I promise you that," Ladybug said in a low voice, as she returned to his side. "I'm just locking us in, keeping this between the two of us."

"...Thank you," he mumbled. "At least something has gone right tonight. ...Sort of."

"How on EARTH did you get here like this, Adrien?" Ladybug hissed, after a long silence. "Are you okay? Did someone kidnap you? Or try to hurt you?"

"I'm fine, at least physically. It's a long story," he mumbled.

"Well, you're not going anywhere right now," she quipped. "Want to tell me about it, while I figure out what to do?"

Ladybug tested the headboard; it, too, was sturdy. Breaking it might be a last-resort option, but doing so without causing harm to Adrien could be tricky, she figured. He's pretty vulnerable like this, and his hands are right in the middle of it. I wouldn't want him getting cut up by flying bits and pieces.

"It's really embarrassing," Adrien blurted out.

"I… kind of figured that?" Ladybug consoled him. "But I won't tell another soul what happened, if you'll tell me. I just want to know what I'm dealing with here, and you, um, have to admit that it's a very unusual situation."

Adrien felt the mattress shift as she sat on the bed, down by his legs.

"I'm facing away, I promise," she giggled. "Tell me a story?"

He sat there, weighing his options… or lack of options… and sighed loudly.

"It was a university party. Some people that I didn't know very well invited me. Trying to be friendly, they said." he began. "I don't have a lot of friends around campus; I kind of have a reputation as 'one of the rich kids,' though I'm not sure why any more... I guess they haven't seen my last ATM receipt. Anyway, I hung out there for a while; there was a cute redheaded girl who kept flirting with me. Most people there were pretty loaded. I wasn't; I don't drink. She also wasn't drunk, I don't think, or I wouldn't have pursued her."

"You're fully sober? That's good," replied Ladybug. "I might need you to have as clear a head as possible. Go on…"

"So they told me about an afterparty, the redhead asked me to come along, and when we got there she started kissing me and told me, 'Come upstairs with me,'" Adrien continued. "She started stripping me, then she cuffed me like this, and I wasn't sure what was going on… I just thought she was a little, like, kinky?"

"More than a little, maybe," Ladybug chuckled. "But that's not the worst thing I've ever run into. I walked in on two of my friends one time in the middle of something complicated, and I thought that I'd have to bleach my eyes out."

"Heh. Okay..." Adrien managed. "And then once the blindfold was on, I heard all these people come running in! The room filled up with people pointing and laughing at me. I didn't hear any camera sounds, but at least my face was covered if there were any... And then they left me like this! I've been here for maybe an hour and a half by myself. Maybe longer? I can't exactly look at my phone to check."

"Huh. Some friends," snarled Ladybug.

"Like I said… they weren't friends. I was just stupid, and a little bit desperate," Adrien grumbled. "I let the wrong part of me do all the thinking."

Despite her better judgment, Ladybug stole a peek. I'd let that do some thinking, she grinned to herself, then chastised herself for going there.

Ladybug looked around the room, quickly. "Do you know where your clothes went? So that I can at least, like, cover you up some?" she asked.

"Not a clue. They might've taken them with them," Adrien sighed. "I guess they thought that leaving me here naked and helpless was pretty funny."

"Was someone going to come back for you, at least?" Ladybug asked, horrified. "You could spend days here without being found, if they didn't!"

"I don't know. I'd hope so, but... Whoever you are, I'm really lucky that you found me, then," gulped Adrien. "I figured that they'd at least want their handcuffs back!"

"If they come back for you while I'm here," growled Ladybug, "they will regret it more than they could possibly imagine."

"Um... don't do anything rash, okay?" pleaded Adrien. "I'm very thankful that you're watching over me like this, but there's one of you. There were a lot of them."

"They could bring an army," Ladybug insisted.

"...Okay, then," Adrien said, a bit surprised by her ferocity. "My clothes really are gone, by the way?"

"I don't see them anywhere. There's not much in this room that I'd dare touch you with; most of the trash in this house is pretty nasty and gross," said Ladybug. "The bedsheets don't look too terrible, at least; that's something. I guess they put fresh sheets on there once in a while for... whoever wants to use this room when they're here partying. They probably just buy cheap sheets from somewhere, and ball the old ones up and throw them out when they get too slimy."

"Yeah. I didn't see anything icky on them when we came in... and haven't felt anything gross underneath me," sighed Adrien. "Though at some point, I will have to pee."

"I could, um, cover something up with an old Chinese food takeout box…" she noted, wryly.

"I'd rather that you didn't, if it's all the same," said Adrien, quietly. "I don't know how long that box has been there, or whose it was, or what's been nibbling at what was in it... and besides, General Tso's that isn't on tonight's menu."

Ladybug laughed loudly at that… and she watched Adrien's head tilt slightly, as if he thought that he'd recognized something. "Hey," he asked, fumbling for the right questions. "What's your name?"

"I'd rather not say, Adrien," murmured Ladybug. "Trust me."

"Oh…" She heard the nervousness increase in his voice. "You, um… knew who I am. Can you tell me if I know you?"

Silence filled the room, momentarily.

A quiet voice replied, "You do."

"Do I know you well?" he asked.

"You used to," she offered, just as quietly.

"Oh."

"This is awkward," mumbled Adrien, after another long pause.

"You think?" Ladybug chuckled. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh at you, Adrien! This is just… so surreal. I've never seen anything like this, except in movies."

"What kind of movies were you watching?" asked Adrien.

"Never you mind," she chastised him. "I'm old enough."

Even he had to laugh a little at that.

"Okay. Thinking…" noted Ladybug. "We're alone here. You're naked, so you'll need clothes or something to cover yourself once I get you free. You don't have a car or anything nearby, do you?"

"I don't. The girl who did this drove me over here, so I guess that I'm walking. It's at least a couple of miles to my place, but I'll cross that bridge once I get to it," Adrien replied.

Ladybug sighed, "I don't know how I'm going to get you free, though; I don't have a key and I don't know where to get one. I don't want to call the cops or the fire department to come and find you... that's all you'd need, right? Splashed all over the papers with a black box over your parts, but not over your name. And I don't want to leave you alone like this. I'd be so worried about who else might find you."

She sat down on the edge of the bed. "What am I going to do with you, Adrien?" she pondered.

Ladybug wasn't ready when he answered in a suggestive voice, "Well, I'm not going anywhere right now, so if you're not busy..."

A sensation like liquid flame ran through Ladybug's entire body, as she processed his suggestion.

"That is... um... true," was all she could muster right away. "We're certainly alone enough..."

"Oh, I didn't mean… that… necessarily!" he blushed. "I'm so sorry! I was trying to make a joke out of this, not to assume anything from you. I..."

His fatal mistake was that he got Ladybug thinking.

"Adrien, you're crimson right now," she smiled. "My goodness!"

"Can you blame me? Look at me! Um, I mean… on second thought…" he stammered. "Perhaps not."

"No... actually, I think that I will," Ladybug half-whispered. "Let me tell you what I'm thinking right now, Adrien…"

He fell silent, not sure quite what he was anticipating from her now.

"Adrien... you do know me. What you don't know is that I had a crush on you for a very, very long time," she told him. "I don't know if I ever imagined you quite like this... but I've been wondering what you would look like naked for years. And I must say that I really like what I see."

The way that his body twitched registered that he appreciated her appreciation... and had a slight inkling of what she might be about to suggest. She laid her hand on the top of his thigh, very lightly, and his physical reactions... one in particular... were quite entertaining for her to watch.

"I'm going to guess," she continued, lightly, "that it's been a while for you. Long enough to take a chance on some random party girl that you didn't know. I know that you've been lonely in some parts of your life, and I'm guessing that your love life's one of those right now. Adrien, am I right?"

Grudgingly, he nodded his head in the affirmative.

"Enough to take a chance on some random, meaningless sex when you thought it was headed your way. I can't say that I've never felt that desperate, so don't feel too bad about that," she smiled. "In fact... I'm in a pretty long dry spell, myself."

Adrien caught his breath.

"So… what I could do," she whispered in a husky voice, walking closer to the head of the bed, "is to make the best of a bad situation. No strings attached... just handcuffs."

Her hand brushed his shoulder. Glancing back, she could tell that she had his complete attention and then some.

"I realize how crazy this sounds... I can't believe I'm doing this," she giggled. "But you were ready for this with someone random... so with someone who cares for you instead, that should be a real upgrade, hmmm? I promise that it'll be worth the risk for you, and that I would never, ever hurt you."

"Would you like that?" Ladybug breathed into Adrien's ear, leaning in very close.

She looked down the bed once more, and added, "Your body's screaming yes… but that's not enough. I have to hear you say it, Adrien. You can say no at any time, if you're uncomf—"

"I really do know you?" asked Adrien, desperately. "And I can trust you that this will be, you know, safe?"

"Yes, and absolutely yes," Ladybug replied. "You may be tied down… but you're in control, if that makes sense. You can stop me with a word."

"Then… yes. Please," he replied.

That was all Ladybug needed to hear to sink down into a deep and searching kiss.

The kisses flowed like water, one after another, her hands caressing his face... then she leaned back slightly, running a finger down his neck. She grinned as Adrien moaned loudly, now recognizing the full implications of his predicament and what his request had just bought him.

"Are you okay down there?" Ladybug asked.

"Beyond okay," Adrien replied. "Please, don't stop!"

"Oh, it won't stop," she giggled, feeling exceptionally playful; she had every intention of being gentle and kind with him, but the possibilities were exploding within her mind.

"Or, it might for a moment..." Ladybug leaned back, seeing him strain and try to lean in her direction; then she ran a finger down the middle of his chest, stopping just short of his hips, making him shiver.

She added, "But then it'll start again somewhere else." She rained down little kisses over his collarbone, from one side to the other, then whispered, "Then somewhere else. Then I wonder where else I might pick, hmmm?"

A finger gliding across his midsection quickly made him jump and squeal loudly.

"This would be a very bad time for you to tell me that you're ticklish," Ladybug grinned.

"I'm not… normally…" Adrien gasped. "But this is... like nothing... I've... ever felt before."

"Good," she giggled. "You like?"

"I love," he breathed. "But... there is one thing I'm wondering."

Ladybug paused her affectionate assault for a moment. "What's that?"

"Are you... wearing gloves?"

Uh-oh.

"I... am," Ladybug replied, slowly.

"That explains why it felt a little funny," Adrien replied, deliberately. He paused before adding, "Is there a reason for that?"

"It's hard to explain, Adrien," she sighed. "Because I can't take them off very easily... but I really should before we go any farther."

Adrien felt her weight leave the bed for a moment. "If I do this… I am making a giant leap of faith here. I need to trust you as much as you trust me right now," Ladybug declared.

"I don't think there's a lot that I could do to break that trust, all things consid—"

"I'm serious, Adrien," she snapped. "I want to do this for you... with you. But to do it right, it would be... well... as vulnerable for me as you are right now. Maybe more. You'll understand, if I do it."

"I hope so," Adrien said. "I can't imagine anything more vulnerable than I am right now."

"Do I have your word?" she asked. "That you will do as I ask you, and you won't ask too many questions afterwards?"

"I swear! Cross my heart and hope to die," replied Adrien. "But what could be so..."

"Spots off."

The words and the whooshing sound that followed made Adrien freeze in place, not daring to credit his own senses with what he was sure that he'd heard.

"You can't be serious! This can't be happening!" gasped Adrien, frantically.

"Um... surprise?" Marinette whispered, nervously. I can't speak very loudly, or he might figure out who I am, she thought.

"Ladybug?" he whispered. "Is it really you? I heard the transformation flash…"

"It's me. It's the real me," replied Marinette. "Thank goodness for that blindfold."

"I have to be dreaming. I have to be dreaming," Adrien panted, drawing a nervous smile from Marinette.

"Why is that?" she asked him. "I'm just a girl, you know."

"Ladybug… I have had the biggest crush on you since the day that we met! I, uh… didn't picture something quite like this…"

"Shhh," Marinette said, fumbling with her attire. "Then I want you to picture something else."

"What's that?" he asked, barely breathing. He heard a couple of thumps, like shoes being kicked off, then rustling fabric.

"A Ladybug who had a massive crush on you back in the day. Who always has. Who needs to show you just how much."

"Are you serious?"

"I want you to imagine your Ladybug wearing her mask... and nothing else."

He felt her weight on the mattress next to him. Her leg touched his leg... and when she moved, the sensation made him feel like he was about to pass out.

"Ready to do wonderful things with you. Things you've only dreamed about. Things that she's dreamed about."

Her skin gliding against his was warm, soft, and impossibly sensual. She pressed against him in ways that proved that she was a girl of her word; she was as bare and as ready as he was. Her kisses were electric.

"Would you like that, Adrien?"

Before he surrendered completely to sensation, he heard a voice whisper intensely into his ear:

"Feels like you would."