In which Marinette has an idea and Adrien is a little desperate.
…
Chat didn't know what to think. She had never done anything like that before. She'd never been so affectionate, she'd never looked at him like that. She'd flirted with him before, but she did so playfully, innocently. One would have to be an idiot to think that all that was just a friendly gesture. He landed on the sidewalk just around the corner from his home, detransformed, and made his way toward the building.
He kept replaying the event in his mind, wondering if maybe he'd imagined it all. It had just happened, yet it was so clearly something out of one of his dreams that he was already doubting his own memory.
"Plagg..."
The kwami peeked out of his spot in Adrien's breast pocket, grumbling and complaining of hunger. "What?"
"That..." He needed to confirm with someone that he hadn't dreamt it all. "That all really just happened, right?"
Plagg seemed uninterested but responded. "You mean your masked Lady-Love giving you bedroom eyes as she ravished your face with her hands and mouth?" His voice was as uninterested as his expression. "Yes, that happened."
It was a rare day indeed when he had no lessons or photo shoots or anything at all scheduled for after school. He was especially grateful this day, as it allowed him to enter his home, offer a greeting to Natalie who returned it dryly, head up to his room, throw his bag down and not care where it landed, retrieve cheese for his kwami, bury his face in a pillow and then scream at the top of his lungs.
When he felt his frustration had been justly expressed, he flopped down on his back and stare at the ceiling as raindrops began to patter against the window for the second time that day.
"Feel better?"
He didn't answer the kwami. He just closed his eyes and brought a hand up to his own face. He tried to recreate the feeling of Ladybug's fingers on his skin using his own hand. He retraced all the places she had touched, imagining it was her hand at work.
In hindsight, he should've kissed her. There was a moment there, he could still feel it, where a real kiss could've happened. It was right after she pulled away after she kissed his jaw. He really thought, and hoped, that she was going to kiss his mouth once her lips started trailing down his cheek. The air had been thick with something. Anticipation, anxiety, excitement. If he were to kiss her, that would've been the moment to do it.
He reached back and ran his fingers through his hair, as she had down, and brushed his two fingers of the other hand against his jaw where her lips were, trying to imitate the feeling. He let out a dreamy sigh.
"If you're going to touch yourself, just give me a heads up and I'll see myself out."
Marinette returned home to realize she had 2 missed calls and a text message from Alya, telling her that she couldn't come over tonight and she should check her LadyBlog as soon as she could.
Kissing both her parents, she entered her room and sat herself in front of the computer, pulling up said blog.
The first thing that popped up was a still image of a video of Chat Noir with his arm around Alya's shoulders, holding and pointing the camera towards himself, with an excited expression on his face. She rolled her eyes and groaned, already annoyed by what he'd done, even though she hadn't seen it yet. She clicked play.
The video started with Alya filming herself, Nino in the background, talking about how they'd just seen Ladybug roof jumping when suddenly, there was a shout from above them. The camera panned up to a streetlight that Chat Noir was perfectly perched on top of. "You're the chick who writes for the the LadyBlog, right?"
Camera still on him, Alya could be heard making an excited squeal. "Yes! That's my blog!"
He pointed towards the camera. "Are you filming now?"
"I am!"
He leapt down from the lamppost with ease and approached her with a wide grin on his face. He offered a "May I?" as he reached out and took the phone from Alya, then turning it towards himself as he put an arm around her shoulders in a friendly fashion, so they were both in the shot. "The LadyBlog is awesome! I check it out all the time. And I'm pretty sure My Lady does too." He smiled warmly at her as he spoke and Alya looked like she was going to burst from happiness. He turned his attention towards the camera. "You heard it here first, folks! I just asked Ladybug to be my date to the Mayor's Christmas Ball, and she said yes!" Alya squeaked again. "So buy your tickets and we'll see you there! And you can consider this our RSVP, Mr. Mayor." He winked and handed the phone back to Alya before dashing off. He was gone in an instant.
Marinette didn't watch the rest of the video. It was probably just Alya fangirling anyway. She wanted to be annoyed, but she wasn't really. She didn't care too much. He was obviously excited and having made an announcement like that to Alya would no doubt be good for her blog, which she was happy for. And to top it all off, Alya was too excited to come to her house tonight, which meant that she had more time to think about what she would tell her. If she was lucky, maybe she'd forget all about it in favor of obsessing over all the attention her blog would receive.
"Wow!" Tikki said from her perch on Marinette's shoulder. "Chat Noir must really be excited that you said yes! That was nice of him to be in that video for Alya."
"Yeah..." Marinette hadn't even really notice Tikki on her shoulder until she spoke. She texted Alya back, saying 'That's so cool! That's going to be great for your blog!'
The reason she had touched Chat's face was because she wanted to know what it felt like. She wanted to see if, after doing so, if she wanted to keep doing it. She did. So much so that she wanted to know what his skin felt like. His lower face was the one part of him that was exposed, and she couldn't really feel him through her gloves. She wanted to really feel him. So she used the one part of her that was also exposed.
With her lips, she could actually feel how soft and warm his skin was. Her eyes slipped shut as she recalled feeling his uneven breath on her cheek. He was clearly affected by her actions, which she took some small pride in. To see the usually cocky cat, all nervous and tense by something as innocent as a kiss on the cheek...
She could've kissed him for real... if she had wanted.
There was a moment there, she knew he had felt it too. The air was thick with anticipation. She remembered the small noise he made when she pressed her mouth against his jaw. It made her blush. When she pulled away and they looked at each other, that was the perfect moment for a kiss to happen...
But she was getting ahead of herself. And she didn't want their first real kiss to happen just because of the heat of the moment. And what's more, she still wasn't sure if Chat Noir was really the one she wanted. At that exact moment in time, he was the one on her mind, yes. But again, one could argue that was just because of the heated moment they had shared. At the end of the day, if she could look at Adrien and still have Chat on her mind, and then look at Chat and just want him, then she'd be sure.
The Christmas Ball. She had agreed to be Chat's date. She told him that there was no one else she'd rather go with. Was that true? What if Adrien had asked her? Would she have rather gone with him? If he asked her now, would she feel she was missing out when she told him she already agreed to go with someone else? As Ladybug, she thought that it did only make sense for her and Chat to go together, but what did Marinette want?
Marinette was Ladybug and Ladybug was Marinette. That's what she was trying to make clear. She just didn't know how. She could probably start with, stop thinking of the two as separate entities. They were the same. She was the same. She was one person.
It wasn't so much how she felt about it, but more about how she knew other people saw her. She knew the neither Adrien or Chat Noir knew she was the same person, so they both viewed her as two people. Chat didn't think that he had asked Marinette to the ball. But she had already decided to tell him the truth, hadn't she?
The Christmas Ball... maybe she could tell him then. But that felt so far away. Well... that was okay actually. Until she thought of something else, maybe something better, the Christmas Ball would be her deadline. If she hadn't come up with anything before then, that would be her backup plan. And until she came up with something that she could do sooner, she'd plan for that.
She supposed she could just simply tell him, 'Hey, I'm tired of this whole double life thing, let me reintroduce myself, my name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng and my stage name is Ladybug.' But for some reason, that approach made her feel nervous. She already knew she didn't want to do some big dramatic reveal, she wanted it to be as simple and painless as possible. If she had it her way, she'd just stop acting like two people and he'd just know without her having to tell him.
She sat up straighter in her chair. That's exactly what she wanted to do. Just stop acting like two people. That was her main concern anyway. But how?
If she was going to do that, she had to do it all the time. And the more she thought about it, the less she cared about other people. Chat Noir was the only one who would really notice anyway, as he had spent real time with both sides of her.
She wondered briefly if he was planning on visiting her tonight, but she really hoped he didn't. Not only because of her own inner turmoil, but also because he still wasn't aware that she was Ladybug, and for him to run and visit 'another woman' right after what had happened between them... The thought didn't sit well with her. Even if she was both women in that situation, he didn't know that, so to his knowledge, if he did visit her, he'd be visiting another woman.
The frustration of it all started to catch up to her, her chest clenching up as all the thoughts rushed through her head. She knew what she wanted to do, she just didn't know how to put all the thoughts and feelings into words. And she didn't know how good of an idea it was.
"Marinette..." She had already forgotten Tikki again. The kwami had moved from her shoulder to sit on top of the computer monitor and was watching her charge carefully. "What are you thinking about?"
Maybe saying it out loud would help her get her thoughts straight. "I know I want Chat Noir to know who I am..."
"Yes?"
"... And I'm tired of pretending like I'm two people..."
"Go on...?"
"... And the only thing I can think of that I just want to stop the double life."
The kwami's eyes widened and a sad and panicked look flashed on her tiny face. Marinette quickly shook her head and waved her hands defensively.
"No, no, not like... I want to stop being Ladybug, that's not what I meant.." Tikki visibly relaxed. "I just mean that... I wish I could..." She realized she didn't even know what she was trying to say.
"Talk it out, Marinette." Tikki encouraged.
"Well, for the record, I plan to keep being Ladybug until the day I die."
The kwami giggled. "That's good to hear."
"Anyway," she brought her hands together and rested them against her chin. "I just mean that... if I could have it my way, I'd just stop pretending like Ladybug and Marinette were two people and Chat Noir would just know. And I'd do that at school too. Like, in every situation, I'd just... stop. Stop acting like I'm not Ladybug. Like if Alya asked me if I had a date to the Christmas Ball, I'd say 'Yes, you've met him, you'll see us there'. I'm not lying. When Chat asks me where I got my dress, I'll tell him 'Oh, this? I made this.' Or like... he'd come over here and see me working on a dress, and he'll ask about it and then I'll tell him that I'm making my own Christmas Ball dress, and then at the ball, when he see Ladybug in it and he recognizes it, he'll ask me again where I got it, and I'll say 'I already told you, I made this'. I just want to lay it out there without actually acknowledging it and just let him figure it out himself. I don't want to have to say it, I just want him to know! I almost kissed him today and he doesn't even know my first name!"
"Marinette?"
"Yes?" She met eyes with her kwami for the first time since her rant start. She was smiling at her.
"I think you just found the answer."
The next day, Marinette entered the school building and was greeted with utter chaos.
It seemed that Chat Noir's little stunt had gotten just as much attention as he probably wanted. People were chattering with each other about the Christmas Ball and what there plans for the night would be, like it was prom or something. She heard more than one group of friends talking about Ladybug and Chat, like would they stay the whole night, would they be annoyed if people asked for pictures, and were they together.
Based on what she was over hearing, the general consensus was, yes, Ladybug and Chat Noir were so obviously dating.
Jesus.
"Marinette, wait up!" She turned toward the the voice that called her name and a familiar warm feeling swelled in her chest as Adrien approached her. "Wow. What's all the excitement about?" He had a smile on his face that suggested that he partially knew.
"Oh, didn't you hear?" She couldn't help the bland, disinterested tone of her voice. "Apparently, Ladybug and Chat Noir are a thing now."
Adrien's eyes widened. He stared at her in what looked like disbelief, but a cheeky grin slowly creeped onto his face. "Do people really think that?"
"Didn't you see the video Alya took?" They began to climb the stairs toward their class. "It blew up, went viral over night from the looks of it. I think it was even on the news."
"Really?" Adrien sounded way too excited but she ignored it.
"Yeah," she then lowered her voice. "Because apparently no one has anything better to talk about."
"What was that?"
She whipped her head around to look at him, and smiled. "Nothing."
The truth was, the idea that people thought they were already together was a little worrisome. It felt like added pressure that she certainly didn't need. Almost like there was an expectation now. Why couldn't people just mind their own business?
Well, she supposed that's what happens when you were a famous superhero...
Adrien held the door for her as they both entered the classroom, and she offered a quiet thank you. She didn't know why she was surprised to see Chloe sitting on her desk and going on about the super duo.
"... Of course they would come to Daddy's Christmas Ball, I knew they would, no question. Ladybug and I are super close, you know!" She flipped her hair and giggled.
Alya, already in her seat, snickered at Chloe as Marinette sat beside her. "Careful, Chloe. Remember what happened to the last girl who bragged and said she and Ladybug were BFFs."
Chloe scoffed at her. "That's different! That Lila girl was a total liar, and Ladybug was so right to call her out for it! But me and Ladybug are actually friends. Tell her, Sabrina!"
The redhead beside her nodded vigorously. "It's true! Ladybug and Chat Noir always save Chloe! Ladybug always comes to protect her, too!"
Alya huffed and rolled her eyes. "That's because she's always a target."
Chloe flipped her hair again and stuck her nose in the air. "Whatever, you're obviously just jealous."
"Suuure, Chloe..." Despite the back and forth, Alya was glowing with a sense of pride that all the commotion had started because of her blog.
Alya forgotten, Chloe resumed talking. "Anyway, how could they not attend after being personally invited? Oh, it's going to be so much fun! I wonder what Ladybug is going to wear. She'll probably ask to borrow one of my dresses, since we are so close. I could probably arrange something for Chat Noir too..."
Both Adrien and Marinette groaned simultaneously.
Chloe was annoying, but she brought up a point that Marinette hadn't thought of before. What was she going to wear?
"Hey, Chloe," Kim said suddenly. "Are these Balls even any fun?"
Ivan chuckled. "Heh... balls..."
"What do you mean, even any fun?" Chloe looked offended. "Of course they're fun! They're the epitome of elegance! No other Christmas party could even compare!"
"Last year, Marinette's Christmas Party was super fun." Kim continued. "Speaking of which, Marinette, are you gonna have another one this year?"
Marinette turned to face him, realizing she was being stared at expectantly by their other classmates as well. "You know, I was going to ask my parents, but I completely forgot." She shrugged. "But I can tell you that if we do have one, it won't be on the same night like it was last year."
She decided that just now. Last year, it happened to be coincidence that both parties were on the same night. She didn't know if her parents would want to throw another party, but she could make it so they didn't line up.
Kim, along with the others, seemed pleased with this answer. "Oh, rad! Let us know if you do!"
She smiled and gave a thumbs up, but Chloe scoffed again. "Like her lame party could even be half as fun as mine!" She crossed her arms tightly across her chest and pivoted to face the blonde in the desk next to her's. "Isn't that right, Adrikins? You know how fun my Daddy's party is."
Normally, Adrien tried to keep to himself when it came to Chloe and her exaggerations. He absolutely hated all the Mayor's previous Christmas parties and at first, he had dreaded the thought of going again, but knowing that his Lady would be on his arm this year made him feel differently about it. But he couldn't say that. And Chloe had asked about previous parties, so...
"Sorry, Chlo, they really aren't that fun..." He shrugged and tried to look apologetic. "I'm mean... I anxious to see what your dad is doing different this year. It's never been a masquerade before, so... that might be cool."
Chloe brought a hand to her chest, clearly surprised by his answer. "Adrien! Our Christmas parties are the best! How can you think that?"
Annoyance was starting to grow on his face despite his best efforts to hold it back. "Chloe, it's a bunch of rich people who get together every year to rub elbows and talk about how they're better than everyone else, what's fun about that?"
Unexpectedly, a smug smirk creeped onto her face. "You always go though, don't you?"
"Because of my father."
"And are you going this year?"
Adrien paused. He was going, yes, but as Chat Noir. He didn't know if he was willing to pull one of those 'constantly excusing himself to transform and be two people at the same time' gags. Besides being exhausting, that would take him away from his Lady which was the last thing he wanted. She'd never give him a chance if on their first official date, he only spent half the night with her and was constantly running off and not telling her why.
He ran that thought through his head again: Their first official date. No way he was going to fuck this up.
But on the other hand, if his Father expected him to be there, he'd have to at least make an appearance as Adrien. He couldn't say whether his father would still want to go, now that the guest list wasn't as exclusive.
He realized Chloe was still waiting for an answer. "I... I don't know yet."
"Well..." She leaned forward on her hands, almost looking like she was trying to crawl towards him. He was glad that more of there classmates elected that their conversation was no longer interesting and started to talk amongst themselves. "I'm going to assume that you will. And you're going to need a date..."
"Don't even think about it." He couldn't restrain the stern tone of his voice.
Before Chloe could respond, the teacher entered the classroom and signaled for everyone to quiet down because class was starting.
Alya watched the whole conversation and suppressed a chuckle at the rejected look on Chloe's face. She peered over at Marinette, who had stayed silent during the exchange. What she saw was Marinette furiously sketching out shapes in her sketchbook. She hadn't even noticed her retrieve the sketchbook...
Adrien had to stop himself from scoffing out loud. It's not like it was really that big a deal, but he didn't understand why Chloe couldn't just take a hint. She'd been that way since they were little. She acted like they were actually a couple or something. At first, he didn't know how he was supposed to react to it, so he just stayed quiet. But in recent years, he'd become a bit more transparent with his annoyance. He didn't hate Chloe, not at all. He still considered her his friend, but he also got the idea that she didn't have friendship on her mind. And just because they were friends, didn't mean he had to approve of the way she treated others, because he certainly did not. Her mean spirit made her ten times less likable as a potential romantic interest. Not that he was keeping score or anything, because he already had someone. Like he would really entertain the idea of being Chloe's date when his Lady had finally started to show signs of returning his affections.
Ladybug was finally starting to return his affections.
Ladybug returned his affections.
As many times as he ran the thought through his head, it still sounded like just a wish. And it probably was. He'd never had a girlfriend, he'd never felt anything like this before Ladybug. He didn't know how he was supposed to interpret her actions, he knew nothing about the ways of a woman's heart. Other than Chloe, the only girls he'd had spent time with before attending public school were high profile fashion models. And Lord knows, they were a breed of their own, one which he wanted no part of. He'd never even kissed a girl...
He'd kissed Ladybug once. Under the influence of an akuma. She'd kissed him to snap him out of whatever trance he was in, and he didn't remember a thing. He only knew because Plagg told him. Rather tauntingly so, he thought. The kwami teased him for days about how 'He literally had to threaten her life with a cataclysm for her to finally kiss him'.
He shook the bitter memory away. He may not have even experience when it came to women, but he knew his Lady. And he knew his own feelings. And he knew that one would have to be a complete moron to say that there was nothing there between them yesterday. Even if it was just a heated moment, 'just friends' didn't have heated moments. And boy, was it a heated moment.
Plagg had been right. While thinking the events over again, Adrien's hands had drifted from his face to other places.
The moment he shared with Ladybug was pure. Pure electricity and raw emotion. It was innocent and good and he couldn't ask for anything more, but if he had, all he had wanted in that moment was a kiss. But that didn't change the fact that what he felt was both in his heart and in his body. And alone in his room in the dark, he had no shame. He was allowed to express himself and explore himself.
However, in the present moment, he was not in his room and he was certainly not alone.
Suddenly hyperaware of his surroundings, he begged his thoughts to venture to a safer topic and he realized that Chloe had actually brought up one good point.
What was Chat Noir going to wear?
Marinette was sure she had found the answer. An idea came to her and as soon as her pencil hit the page of her sketchbook, she couldn't stop. And she wouldn't. She knew exactly what she was going to do.
She was going to make a dress. A simple enough idea. But this dress was going to be prefect. This dress was going to be the answer.
She didn't know if it was luck that kept people from recognizing her when she was transformed, or if her mask really disguised her that well. Her and Chat were more often than not easily able to identify akuma victims, and most of them were disguised far better than her. And as for Chat, she was pretty confident that his eyes didn't really look like that in his normal life. There had to be something that kept people from recognizing her. Her own mother couldn't recognize her. Her Ladybug mask must have something magic about it. There had to be something.
The dance was a masquerade. She was going to go, and wear a mask, yes. But she wouldn't actually transform. She was going to make a dress, make a mask, and show up. She was going to present herself as Ladybug without actually transforming into Ladybug. That was the answer.
She would pour everything she had into this dress. This would be her masterpiece. This one garment would be the thing that finally blurred the line between Marinette and Ladybug. She wouldn't waste anymore time. It had to be perfect. She wanted it to be beautiful and make her feel beautiful. Make Chat Noir think she was beautiful.
Her hand stopped sketching. The thought hit her like a ton of bricks. She didn't usually seek out Chat's affections or praises. She didn't crave them. She didn't desire for him to be attracted to her. So why now, all of the sudden? Why was she suddenly picturing herself in a dress, her face partially concealed, seeing Chat Noir at this masquerade party? Why was she imagining the look on his face as he saw her at last and took in her form? And he would smile, his eyes filled with adoration, as he took her hand and kissed it, whispering, "You are so beautiful, Milady." Then he would bow, as he often did, and ask "May I have this dance?" as slow music would start to play, and he'd lead her to the dance floor, his eyes never leaving her, he'd encircle his arms around her waist as she delicately lay her hands on his shoulders, and they would start dancing.
Just imagining it made her heart clench and her breath flutter. She was staring at the back of Adrien's head, but her thoughts were no where near the blonde in front of her. She couldn't get over the burning look in Chat's eyes, even if she was just imagining it.
It was a date, after all. Not a "go with me as my friend" thing, or even a "let's go together but not call it a date" thing. He'd asked her to be his date, and she had accepting. It was a date.
Their first date.
It had been a week or so since Ladybug had agreed to be his date, and Adrien hadn't seen her since then. He'd kept his eyes out for her, prowled around the rooftops as Chat Noir, watched the Ladyblog, hoping for a sighting somewhere, he even found himself almost wishing for an akuma attack.
He'd never before been bothered by the fact that he couldn't get in touch with her unless they were both in uniform, but he was growing desperate. He could barely stand it, he wanted to see her again. The fact that their last encounter had been so heated left him anxious and bothered. He couldn't get it out of his head, and he wouldn't until he saw her again.
He was currently leaning against the railing of the stairs in the courtyard of his school on this chilly Friday. His classmates were gathered, having a group discussion about the Christmas dance. Nino stood beside him, Alya and Marinette were seating on the bench against the wall. Marinette had her sketchbook in her lap, he wasn't sure if she had looked up from it since she began whatever project it was she was working on.
"So basically," Mylene was speaking. "It's not like they will be playing the kind of music we could actually dance to, huh?"
"Oh, there will be dancing." Adrien replied. "Slow, calm, fancy dancing." A couple people grumbled at this. "I actually talked to Chloe's dad about it, and he said he wants guests to have a good time, but the Christmas Ball "is a high class event and I don't want a bunch of teenagers grinding about and acting crazy"!" He put on his best mock-mayor voice.
It was true. He, as Chat Noir, had approached the Mayor and asked for the details about what he was planing on changing this year to make the event more enjoyable. And apparently, his idea of enjoyable meant "themed party". He hadn't really made any changes at all, save for making it a masquerade and allowing normal people to buy tickets. But he supposed that having real people there, other than just snobby rich people, would certainly make a difference.
And having Ladybug with him, he doubted if he would even notice anything else.
"So in other words, no fun dancing." Juleka said dryly.
"So lame." Nino added. "What fun is a party without real dancing?"
Alya chuckled. "To some people, slow dancing is real dancing." She winked at him and Adrien saw his cheeks darken slightly. Alya continued. "I'm still going, I want to see Ladybug and Chat Noir together. I want to know if they're actually a thing. It'll be fun, even if it is fancy."
"I bet we could throw a more fun party, with actual dancing and a better atmosphere than a bunch of old rich people." Nino straightened his glasses on his face. "I mean, what are you going to do, Alya, just go by yourself and follow them around all night? That's not fun."
Alya looked him over before a slight smirk made it's way onto her face. "Who said I was going by myself?"
Adrien saw a strange look flash in Nino's eyes, but before he could speak, Alya continued. "Marinette, you're going too, right?"
Marinette still hadn't looked up from her sketchbook, and even after being addressed by her friend, her pencil continued to dance upon the page. "Um...Yes."
"You are?"
Marinette finally looked up from her page at Alya's surprised tone. "Yes?"
Alya smiled brightly and looked back to Nino. "See, I won't be by myself."
Marinette felt that she should tell Alya that she probably wouldn't be able to hang out with her all night at the dance, but she didn't want to get into that in front of all their friends. So she returned to her sketchbook, keeping her eyes down but her ears open.
Adrien could help the chuckle that escaped him at Nino's frustrated expression. Nino shook it off, though, and spoke. "Even still, I bet we could throw a way better Christmas party."
"Yes!" Marinette held her sketchbook out at arms length to look at it victoriously. She was obviously louder than she intended to be, because she tensed up slightly when she realized everyone was staring at her. She hugged the sketchbook against her chest and cleared her throat. "I mean, yes we could, so why don't we?"
A curious buzz arose from their classmates and it was Kim that spoke up. "What do you mean? Like we throw our own party instead of going to the Mayor's party?"
"No, I mean like an after-party!" The buzz grew in excitement so she continued. "The Mayor's party will be fancy and formal, but it's also supposed to end at... I think 11? Is that right?" Adrien nodded in confirmation. "Okay, so that's still early for us. We could go home and change and-"
"And then the real party begins!" Nino finished her sentence. "Yes, I love it!"
"Good idea, Marinette!" Alya grabbed her knee excitedly. "That's perfect!"
"Where are we going to have it?"
"We could have it at my place."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Adrien started to panic. He wasn't sure if they would be able to, and he'd just volunteered his home without thinking twice about it. His father would throw a fit if he found out, but that was the thing.
If he found out.
He'd asked his father about the Christmas Ball, curious as to whether he was going to have to make an appearance without his mask, and the answer was yes. However, his father expressed that he didn't want to spend all night in the presence of 'common folk', and he would be leaving the event early. From there, he would be heading straight to the airport, where he was going to board his private jet, and fly out of the country for an important business trip. Adrien panicked, worrying the he, too, would be expected to go, but his father informed him that he would be staying behind. He mentioned something about Adrien being old enough now to have some independence, and that this was a good opportunity to see if he could handle being by himself without Daddy Dearest there to "protect and guide him".
Adrien had to keep himself from rolling his eyes at the statement. So basically, this was a test. But whatever. His father would be gone, and so would Natalie and the Gorilla. He knew there were surveillance cameras in his home that would no doubt be on, but he also knew how to turn them off. The switch was behind a locked safe door, which his father didn't think he could get into. But Plagg could unlock anything. He had realized that meant his father would be gone for Christmas, leaving him alone, and a few years ago, that would've deeply saddened him. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he could easily get an invitation to spend Christmas with any of his friends, and it would probably be a better Christmas than he could hope for with his own father.
"Dude, are you sure?" Nino knew first hand the perils of trying to throw a party at Adrien's house. He seemed uneasy at the suggestion. "Won't your dad blow his top?"
"Oh, he won't be home." Adrien responded cooly. "He's going directly to the airport when he leaves the Mayor's party. Big important business trip."
"During Christmas?" Marinette sounded shocked and a little saddened. The Mayor's party wasn't on Christmas Day or Eve exactly, it actually took place a few days before hand. But it was true, his father would still be gone on Christmas.
Adrien shrugged and tried to brush it off. "It's no big deal, my dad's not really the type to really care about holidays anyway."
"But he will be gone, is what you're saying?" Nino pressed. He could see the excitement bubble up by the way Nino was starting to bounce on the balls of his feet.
"Yeah, he'll be gone."
Immediately, a loud chatter broke out as everyone began to discuss what they would do to contribute, how everything would be set up, and any other details that Adrien didn't really understand. He wasn't the most experienced party person, after all.
He knew that perhaps he should've thought about it alittle more before just agreeing to something like that right away, but in that moment, he wasn't concerned about the details, or even afraid of the potential consequences.
All he was thinking about was Ladybug.
If there was an after party at the Agreste mansion, obviously Adrien Agreste would have to be there. Which posed a small problem, seeing as how Chat Noir had a date with Ladybug that same night. It was a date to the Christmas Ball, so he supposed he should assume that after the Christmas Ball was over, so was the date. But the idea of parting ways with her so early, when the night would only really be half over, didn't really appeal to him. Perhaps he was being selfish, but he wanted to be by her side all night, and if she left after the Mayor's party, he already knew he probably wouldn't enjoy the after party.
But that posed another problem. Not a problem, really, more of a question.
Could he convince her to come to the after party with him? And if she did, would he run the risk of revealing his identity to her? He had no problem with that, he wanted her to know who he was as much as he wanted to know who she was. But he also knew that she had strong reservations to them revealing their identities.
Or she did, anyway. They hadn't really talked about it in awhile. He wondered if she had changed her mind.
He wanted to bring it up, but he didn't want to come across as needy or pushy or anything like that. He worried that perhaps she would think he was moving too fast, or taking her accepting his date request a little too seriously. But dammit all if it wasn't something he thought about all the time.
He was hopelessly in love and he didn't even know her first name.
Slowly, people were starting to disperse, some speaking about making plans for the Mayor's party, others talking about what they would contribute to the after party. Many of them offered Adrien promises of working out all the details later, he nodded and said they'd talk about it more once the date grew closer. He saw Marinette whisper something to Alya, who then got that mischievous look in her eye before smiling and beckoning Nino to follow her. Nino waved him a goodbye as they disappeared down the hallway.
"Adrien?"
He looked up at the source of the sweet voice and saw Marinette, still seated on the bench with her sketchbook in her lap, and he realized that they were suddenly alone. He smiled and approached, taking the seat next to her that Alya had previously been occupying.
"What's up?"
"Does your..." She hesitated, looking as if she were worried about something. "Is your dad... usually away during Christmas?"
He paused. He'd never really thought about it before. "I mean... He..." I wanted to deny it, say that he never spent the holidays alone, this was just a case of bad timing. But he realized he couldn't. True, his father often traveled during the holiday season, and true, Adrien was usually with him when he traveled. But as far as really spending the holidays together, in the sense of what that was supposed to mean... His father was always working. He showered him in gifts, but he didn't really give him any attention. And that wasn't just a seasonal thing, he realized. He also realized he hadn't answered Marinette. "...yes."
"And... are you usually alone?"
"I..." His mouth agape, he scrambled for an answer that wasn't so pitiful. "I mean, yeah but... I'm used to it, it's not that big a deal." He tried to put on a warm smile, but if it looked half as forced as it felt, she'd see right through him.
The way her eyes glossed over with sadness told him that, yes, she saw right through him. "Oh, Adrien..."
He shook his head and commanded his smile to become brighter. "No, really, it's okay! My dad's never around so it's not like him being gone for the holidays will be that different." As soon as he said, he realized that made it sound so much worse.
Marinette turned to stare in front of her. The fact that, that was normal for him damn near broke her heart. She didn't want to seem like she was pitying him because that just felt like a mean thing to do, but at that point, she felt she had to do something. Extend some kind of comfort...
"So... what have you been working on?"
"Huh?" She looked back at him. He had scooted ever so slightly closer to her on the bench. His eyes darted down to her sketchbook, which was closed, and she subconsciously moved her hand to rest on top of it, protectively.
What she had been working on was the dress that Ladybug would be wearing.
Adrien noticed her do this, of course, and he chuckled. He was all too familiar with the walls Marinette built up between them. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
She made a small noise, without looking him in the eyes, and held the book in her hands. "I.. I've been working on a dress."
She'd told herself that she was going to stop pretending like she was two people. If she was serious, and she was, she needed to commit to it. Right now.
"Oh?" Adrien pressed. He noticed immediately that she was attempting to open up to him. He knew her well enough to recognize the lines in the sand. If something was personal to her, she wouldn't budge, just like if something wasn't that personal, she'd share it without hesitation. Yet here she was, trying to allow herself to step over her own boundaries.
"It's... a dress... I wanted... to make. For the Christmas Ball..."
"Yeah?"
"...Yeah." Her fingers twitched nervously on the spine of her sketchbook. She traced an index finger down the side of the front cover, as if she were standing outside a door and wanted to open it but also was hoping that whoever was inside would open it for her.
"I... I haven't... picked a design that... I like yet."
"Can I see?" He wouldn't normally ask, out of respect for her boundaries, but decided to chance it. Worst case scenario, she said no.
She still didn't look at him, but her fingers slowly, very slowly, lifted the front cover open, and then shuffled through the pages until she reached the one she had previously been on. She let it lay open in her lap for a few moments, and then quickly held it out to him, like she would lose her nerve any second.
He carefully took the book from her, his fingers brushing against her's as he did so. He immediately took notice of how cold they were. It was a chilly day, to be certain, and it seemed the form fitting white sweater she had on didn't offer much protection to her ungloved fingers. He set the book down in his own lap and then reached out to grab her hands in his, causing her eyes to widen and cheeks to flush.
"Your hands are freezing!" He said with concern in his voice. She stuttered back a reply, but he couldn't understand it. And he was more focused on something else.
Her hands felt awfully familiar in his.
The way they fit in his hand, the size, the shape... the way she extended her index finger while the rest of them curled slightly against his palm. They were small and delicate, but they were clearly the hands of an artist. They were calloused and unmanicured, he even noticed that her knuckles were unusually pronounced. He noted the slight scaring. She had one particular scar running up the length of her index finger. He noted the uneven length of her nails. He rubbed his thumbs against the back of her hands and he knew he'd seen hands like her's somewhere before.
He'd seen plenty of women's hands that were perfect. Even skin tone, shaped nails, and not a scratch on them. All the models he knew had perfect, unscathed hands. But he was now realizing how boring that was. The state of one's hands weren't really something that he thought about, so the notion never occurred to him before, but as he stared down at Marinette's rough and beautiful hands, he wanted to know their story. These were the hands of a real person.
He had the sudden intense feeling that he should kiss them. He felt like he had kissed them before. He was sure he probably had, as Chat Noir, during one of his visits to Marinette's home, but this was different. The hands he held now were so familiar, and he knew there was somewhere else he'd known them from. They made him think of someone else...
He looked up from her hands and caught her eyes. She was staring at him, intensely. She was no longer nervous, no longer blushing and stuttering. She was focused and collected and curious and staring him right in the eye. He felt small under her gaze. It was like she could see right into his soul. She said nothing. Her eyes burned into him, he felt the heat rise in his face and neck.
Her irises were like bright blue fireworks against a dark blue night sky. The longer he looked into them, the more he could swear he saw them dancing. His chest felt tight and his breath caught in his throat. Those eyes...
Why was he nervous? Marinette had never made him nervous before. Or if she did, it was because he didn't know how he was supposed to react, like when they'd first met and he'd never had a friend before and she was judging him because of a misunderstanding.
She slowly and gently pulled her hands from his, but then lightly brushed the stray hairs away from his eyes with the back of her knuckles, the tips of her fingers lightly trailing down the side of his face. His eyes widened and he said nothing. He was embarrassed when his breath noticeably hitched and her top lip twitched in amusement.
He had an insanely intense case of deja vu.
She rested her hand on his cheek and dragged the tip of her index finger lightly along his skin, just under his eye, starting next to his nose and going all the way back to his hairline. The feeling of her bare fingers on his skin sent a spark of electricity through him, the energy converging in his chest, where his heart pounded against his ribcage the longer he stared into her ever observant gaze.
He was nervous. He was anxious. He wasn't sure why she was doing what she was doing, but he couldn't deny that the feeling was so goddamn familiar.
He realized that his own hands were just hovering dumbly between them, but he didn't know what else to do with them. His face felt hot. He found himself anxiously wanting to know what she planned to do next.
She brushed her fingers down his cheek once more before placing her thumb just above his top lip. His lips were parted slightly and she gently dragged her thumb down over them, pulling his bottom lip slightly.
She hummed quietly, a look in her eyes that he couldn't interpret, and she pulled away from him, letting her hands flutter down to her lap and her eyes gaze out in front of her, focusing on nothing. He was dumbfounded, completely taken aback by her actions. Normally, he would've blushed from the sudden display of what he thought was affection, and he probably was still blushing, but he was more concerned with how sure he was that he had felt that exact feeling before.
Ladybug had traced his face with her fingers in that exact way, down to the very pattern.
"You know," She spoke at last. "... no one should have to be alone on Christmas." She met his eyes again and shrugged, a small smile dancing on her lips. "If you wanted, you could... spend Christmas with us..."
"...Us?"
"Me and my parents. And last year, Alya's family came over, too, towards dinner time."
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Marinette reminded him so much of Ladybug. He had completely forgotten what they had been talking about before, and now as he stared at her, he was having a hard time forming words. Unfortunately, Marinette took his silence as hesitation.
"You don't have to, it's just... you know, it's an open invitation." Her cheeks darkened as the old nervousness started to reemerge. "I mean, if you like spending Christmas alone... or I'm sure you have other friends who you'd rather..."
"No!" He'd shouted it and he hadn't meant to. He scrambled to collect himself. "I mean, no, I don't like being by myself. I mean! I don't like spending the holidays by myself. I mean, I'm used to it, but... ughhh..."
Why was he so fluttered?
He squeezed his eyes shut and inhaled deeply.
Breath, Agreste.
He opened his eyes and smiled at Marinette. "I... I would love that, actually. Thank you."
She stared at him for a moment before a warm smile spread across her face. "Your welcome."
A strange silence fell between them, one where she seemed to be contemplating something, and he was having a devil of a time ignoring the rising heat on his face and neck. He felt more uncomfortable but the fact that she was so calm, as though she honestly didn't feel the tension in the air. He looked for a distraction and realized he still had her sketchbook in his lap.
"So, um, these are for the Mayor's party, huh? They're really..." He hadn't actually looked at them before he spoke, but when he did, his next words caught in his throat.
He was hoping her sketches would distract him from the strange, Ladybug-esque feeling that Marinette was giving him, but the drawings on the page just made it ten times worse.
There were a couple completed sketched designs on the pages, along with a dozen or so little doodles. Two complete drawings, a few bust drawings, most of them with color. All of them were red, with black details. One of them was a scoop-neck, one was an off-the-shoulder, she even had drawings of hairstyles. But the thing that jumped out at him were the drawings of masks.
A mask with spots on it.
A mask with spots under it.
A mask with cut-outs under the eyes which were made to appear like spots.
He was sensing a pattern here.
Marinette was talented, clearly, but he already knew that. The sketches were amazingly detailed and well drawn out. The designs themselves were gorgeous. And he knew she had the craftsmanship to be able to bring the designs on the paper to life, he'd seen her do it before. But there was one thing he felt himself wanting to know.
Were these dresses supposed to be meant for Marinette, or Ladybug?
He couldn't work up the nerve to ask.
"These are awesome." He said instead, with a warm smile as he finally looked up and met eyes with her again. "You're amazing, Marinette."
He watched her face darken in color as she bit her lower lip in an attempt to stop her grin from growing too wide. "Thank you." She looked away, clearly shy. "I still don't know which one I'm going to..."
"I like this one." He said and traced his fingers over one of the drawings. It was of a floor length red dress, mermaid style fit, sleeveless with sweetheart neckline. It was a simple design, but the curves of the figure in the drawing were quite appealing, and he found himself imagining Ladybug in that dress.
She wore a skintight bodysuit which was very unforgiving in the way it fit. Not that it mattered, because Ladybug had an amazing body. As she should with all the physically activity she did. Point being, he knew every curve of her body, and he knew she would look amazing in the dress Marinette had designed.
Come to think of it, he still had to figure out what he was going to wear to the Christmas Ball.
Deviating from that thought completely, another thought came into his mind. And before he had a chance to think about too much and chicken out, he spoke. "Marinette?"
"Yes?"
"Do you... know Ladybug?"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he was glad he'd asked them. Mainly because now that they were out, he couldn't take them back if he wanted to. It was an innocent question, but for some reason, he felt like it wasn't something he should ask. And the way Marinette's face paled and her eyes widened, told him that this probably wouldn't be a simple yes or no answer.
"Um..." She didn't look at him, instead choosing to focus on a spot on the ground. "Yes, I do."
"How well do you know her?" He was beginning to realize that she would answer his questions, but she wouldn't just volunteer information, so he had to be specific in what he asked.
She was quiet for a long moment and it might have been the most painful few seconds of silence ever. He could practically see the gears in her head turning as she was choosing her words carefully. If she did know Ladybug, she must also know to keep most things secret. She still hadn't looked at him. She spoke very slowly, almost like reading a script she'd just been handed. "I... know her... about as well as... I know... myself."
So he had been right the whole time. She did know more than she let on. That made another thought pop into his head.
Perhaps Marinette could help him decipher Ladybug's recent actions. Perhaps even help him win her heart.
Not Adrien, of course, but Chat Noir. He visited her often, as Chat, it wouldn't really be anything out of the ordinary. Having the mask on made Adrien much more confident, acting much bolder than he ever would without it. Chat Noir could ask Marinette more about Ladybug, but Adrien just couldn't.
Marinette's response to his question had been vague, but at least she had given him a response. That was more than he usually got from her and he didn't want to push it too far. She was clearly uncomfortable, and if he pressed his luck, she might retreat and then never open up to him again.
But coming to her as Chat Noir was different. He was Ladybug's partner, so him asking questions was alot less suspicious than Adrien's seemingly sudden interest in the superhero. She's already noticed that he was a "fanboy" of Ladybug's, if he started nagging her about the spotted hero after learning she knew her, he'd just look crazy. And also, Chat Noir had a much less restrained filter, so he could get away with alot more without seeming out of character.
A part of him felt like he should feel guilty, thinking such things. It might have been alittle wrong to decide on his own that Marinette would be his unknowing wing-lady. But all he would do was ask questions, right? Was that really so bad? It's not like he would just be using her for her Ladybug knowledge, right?
Ah shit, that's exactly what it was, wasn't it?
"Do you want to know something or...?"
Marinette seemed to have not only composed herself, but also steeled herself, as he was consumed by his thoughts and he realized that he'd just been staring at her with wide eyes and a 1000 yard gaze. When he refocused on her, she was no longer pale and seemed relaxed. An amused smile even started to twitch at her lip.
"Oh.. I..."
Well, she did ask, so...
He chose the first, safe question that popped into his head.
"Are she and Chat Noir really a thing?"
He wanted to know what Ladybug told her friends about the rumor. But as soon as he said it, he realized how it made him look.
Marinette giggled. "Fanboy." She teased. He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed, trying to shrug it off. When her giggling subsided, she let out a comfortable sigh and leaned back on her hands.
"Just a rumor." She said.
His heart dropped ever so slightly. He didn't know why, he should've expected that answer, because that was the truth. But what Marinette said next made his heart jump right back up and into his throat.
"But I think... Maybe... he has a chance."
He had to will himself to stay calm and he decided, guilt be damned, he had to know more from Marinette. He was relieved when his voice came out smooth and unshaken. "What makes you think that?"
She smiled warmly and gentle pulled her sketchbook out of his lap before standing. She hugged the book to her chest again and winked at him. "Straight from the Bug's mouth."
She turned slowly and began to walk away, leaving Adrien almost as flustered as he had been that day with Ladybug, but she didn't get far before the sound of an explosion cut through the air.
Marinette doubled over and dropped her sketchbook as her hands shot over her ears. Adrien shot up from the bench and ran over to her, immediately in hero mode.
"Get down!" He tackled her to the ground and out of the way as the window she'd been standing by shattered and glass flew through the air. She let out a grunt as her back hit the floor.
Adrien hadn't meant for her to fall as hard as she did, but his main focus was that she didn't get hit by whatever was blasting through the wall. Through the loud crashes, the sounds of people screaming, and the random debris that was falling around them, he hadn't a single idea what was happening as he braced himself over Marinette and just tried to shield her and himself.
It was sick, but a strong part of him was suddenly very excited.
This was the first akuma attack in weeks, which meant he would finally see his Lady again. But first, he had to make sure Marinette was safe.
"Are you okay? We have to-!" He sat up when he felt a break in the sudden chaos and looked down to inspect her. He saw an expression on her face that he hadn't expected.
It was quick. As soon as she realized he was looking, she morphed her face into a look of surprise, but he was sure she had been smiling.
"I'm fine, we gotta go!"
She wasn't scared. She wasn't panicking or even shocked. She was collected and calm and confident. She nudged at his shoulders to coax him off of her, pulled herself up, and then grabbed the collar of his jacket to pull him up as well. Her strength caught him off guard and suddenly, he went from the protecter to the one being rescued. She was pulling him along by his wrist and he simply allowed himself to be guided.
They reached an abandoned hallway on the other side of the school and she pushed him into an empty classroom with instructions to hide before she disappeared.
What was he doing? He was the superhero, he should've found her a hiding spot and then ran off to transform. Why had he suddenly gone blank?
Ladybug.
If there was an akuma attack, Ladybug would be there. He had to help. He had to see her. Marinette would be fine. She had an odd talent for avoiding danger.
"So are we going to do something, or just stand here?"
Plagg was suddenly in front of his face, and Adrien hadn't even realized how long he'd been zoned out for.
"Oh... Oh! Claws out!"
The fact that she had basically just asserted herself and Ladybug as two people was the opposite of what she had intended. But to be fair, that was her first attempt at... whatever this was. Pretending that she wasn't two people. And this was also her first attempt at opening up to Adrien about anything, and she still wasn't sure if he should know the truth, so perhaps it was for the best. Chat Noir was the one she wanted to be honest with, so Adrien was perhaps a warm up.
Such timing, this akuma had.
If it even was an akuma. It might very well have been a terrorist or perhaps gang violence, it wouldn't be the first time Ladybug had taken on normal, non-magical criminals. They were actually alot easier to defeat.
She didn't know when she had transformed. She'd been practicing the art of a super-quick transformation for years. A super quick transformation was actually pretty easy to do. So easy, that she hadn't even consciously noticed it. It must of been somewhere in the empty hall on the way, but Ladybug leapt over the glass and out the hole that was once a window, landing on the outside sidewalk. As her eyes caught sight of a colorful character she didn't recognize, she nodded to herself that, yes, it was an akuma.
The sound of a cat-call whistle drew her attention towards a nearby streetlight, where upon it, perched as easily as if he were feather light, was a grinning Chat Noir.
She smiled up at him. Her outer expression did no justice, however, to the fire that was suddenly lit in her stomach upon seeing her partner at long last. Their most recent encounter had been a heated one, and despite the surrounding chaos, as they held eye contact, his eyes hungry and her eyes excited, she felt it again. That feeling that there was something in the air that neither of them could deny.
She didn't even care to muse about how fast he had gotten there.
Another explosion, followed by the sound of screams and shouts, broke their concentrations off of each other. They determined which direction the noise was coming from and looked back at each other to confirm that it was time to get to work.
He winked at her. "Sounds like someone is having a blast out here!"
Her smiled dropped to a deadpan.
...
New Chapters Soon!