Chapter Four: Secret Admirer.
A present from a secret admirer is practically a Valentine's Day tradition, but presents and little notes from non-secret admirers are just as nice.
Tuesday 4th February 2020. 08.10 a.m. Dupain-Cheng home.
"You know, mon amour," Adrien grumbled as he fought with the cardboard box in front of him. "When you invited me over to breakfast, I didn't think it was going to be a working-breakfast."
Marinette sighed next to him, pushing another fully assembled box to the other side of the coffee table and reaching for another flat one. She wanted nothing more than to curl up next to him on the sofa but there was just too much work to do.
"I'm sorry, kitten."
She felt so horrifically guilty that what was supposed to be a sweet breakfast for the two of them (plus kwami, of course) had ended up being a breakfast where they shoved bites of food into their mouths between assembling the boxes. There was barely time to talk, let alone kiss or cuddle.
She wouldn't have invited him around if she'd known he was going to end up helping her with this job, but she didn't even know she needed this many boxes until the school council meeting yesterday afternoon. They'd debated ways in which they could implement the school's anti-akuma Valentine's Day policy and part of the plan they had settled on required 300 boxes. Marinette just so happened to live in a bakery that had plenty of boxes on hand and her parents had been willing to donate them to the school…
… but only after their delivery of supplies on Tuesday morning. They usually arrived at 6 a.m. but the driver had got caught up with a flat tyre and hadn't even got to the bakery until 7.30 a.m. By the time they had unloaded everything and found the flat, cardboard boxes, they would be lucky if they managed to get all 300 boxes assembled before school began.
Adrien's presence at the bakery for breakfast solved part of that problem, and Alya volunteered herself and Nino to ferry the boxes to the school in batches which solved their delivery problem. They would just about get all 300 made and delivered before school started at 8.30 a.m.
Marinette just wished the cost of finishing this task wasn't a nice breakfast with her boyfriend. He was far too used to having meals with someone who ignored him for work, she didn't want to add to that.
She sighed again, and added yet another assembled box to the pile. "I really am sorry."
"Hey." He must have realised what she was thinking as he grabbed her hands before she could reach for another box. "Don't fret, my love. It was sort of fun."
Marinette snorted, remembering the way Adrien had tried to turn it into a race once he had learned how to assemble the boxes. Plagg had been cheering him on but Marinette had years of experience to back it up and could do two boxes for every one of his.
"And this really couldn't be helped. It has to be done before school."
"I know." Marinette grumbled. She hadn't even been able to tell him why they needed all of these boxes. It had to be a surprise for it to work. She leaned over to kiss his cheek but he turned his head to capture her lips in a sweet kiss. She pulled back with a laugh. "I'll make it up to you later."
Adrien used their still joined hands to pull her back for one more kiss, then two, then three, then more. When they broke for air Marinette was tempted to say to hell with the boxes. She could see that Adrien felt the same too. "You can make it up to me now if you keep doing that," he murmured. She could hear the beginnings of a purr in his voice and she was leaning in again before she realised it.
"Ahem."
Until Tikki cleared her throat that is.
Marinette giggled and flicked him in the nose. "Focus, my silly kitty! Work now, play later."
"I will certainly be holding you to that later, my Lady." Adrien pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed them sweetly. Marinette cursed the delivery driver's van for having a flat tyre this morning. "Especially at a time when there is no Nino or Alya to disturb us."
Right on cue there was the pounding of footsteps on the stairs outside.
Marinette chuckled and slipped her hands out of Adrien's, opening her bag for their kwami to hide in again. They'd been in and out of hiding all morning thanks to Alya and Nino's comings and goings. "Speak of the devil."
The door slammed open then, revealing a laughing Alya dragging Nino behind her. He had a sly grin on his face, one hand covering his eyes and the other holding an empty bin bag.
Alya stopped in front of the coffee table and smirked. "It's safe to look now Nino," she pulled his hand from his eyes. "See, they can't always be locking lips. They need to breathe."
Marinette rolled her eyes, then shot Adrien a look that said 'can you believe we're friends with these two'... Only to freeze when she saw his smirk. That was one look that never boded well.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "I-"
"Nope!"
Alya and Nino had also recognised that look and were both now scowling at him. Adrien pouted and Marinette did her best to hide her giggle.
"Dude, save that mushy crap for when we're gone," Nino moaned. He held open the bin bag and Alya started shovelling boxes into it by the armful. "This is our last trip, right?"
"It had better be!" Alya grumbled. "I knew we were going to need a lot but actually seeing them is something else."
Marinette picked up the still flat boxes and began to count them while Adrien shoved the last of the assembled boxes over to Alya. "And why is it we need 300 bakery boxes in school? 300 empty boxes?
Alya dropped the last box in the bin bag with a flourish. "You can wait to find out with Nino and everyone else, Sunshine." She winked at Adrien and then blew a kiss to her disgruntled boyfriend and Marinette had to laugh. Since Nino's freak-outs they'd both been just a little more demonstrative in their relationship and it was adorable to watch. "How many boxes left girl?"
"As luck would have it we have just enough for our class."
"Perfect! We'll deliver these to the rest of the school, and you bring those for our class. See you there!"
Nino grumbled and swung the bin bag over his shoulder. "If you won't tell me what they're for, then at least tell me the school doesn't expect us to fill them with things we've baked ourselves. I love you guys too much to give you food poisoning."
Marinette could still hear them bickering as they headed back downstairs, Alya claiming that Nino was just fishing for information while Nino was claiming that he was looking out for his girlfriend and their friends.
Adrien turned to her and winked. "So, do I get my reward for being good now?"
Marinette darted forward and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose, then burst out laughing at his grumpy cat face. "That will have to tide you over until later."
Tuesday 4th February 2020. 08.30 a.m. Mlle. Bustier's classroom.
Adrien breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Mlle. Bustier approach their classroom through the windows. If one more person pestered Marinette about the boxes and why they were empty she was going to explode.
He kissed his visibly stressed girlfriend and slipped off of the bench next to her and into his own seat just as Mlle. Bustier walked through the door.
Carrying a box of art supplies?
Adrien could feel the attention of everyone in the class zero in on the box. This was unusual.
Mlle. Bustier smiled at them all, completely unperturbed by their scrutiny, and set the box down on her desk. "Good morning everyone! We're going to do something a little different this morning. I hope you're all looking forward to it."
Kim's hand shot into the air. "Is this about the boxes?"
"The empty boxes?" Alix added, scowling.
Adrien fought down the urge to hiss. Damn cat miraculous. Kim had been one of the people stressing Marinette out the most. He never knew when to quit. It came in handy for his training, but it wasn't the best trait in other areas of life. And Alix had assumed she'd been given a box of shortbread when she saw the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie-Pâtisserie box on her desk and had been very annoyed to find it empty.
Mlle. Bustier smiled patiently. "Yes, Kim, and they're only empty until we fill them, Alix. Now, do you remember why I gave you the love hearts on Saturday?" Everyone nodded. "Excellent. The school has decided that the best way to avoid another Valentine's akuma this year is to spread happiness and love around and put everyone in a good mood."
It was very obvious by the strain on her face and the tension in her smile that she didn't fully believe this was going to work but she still had to do it as part of her job.
She carried on. "Now these boxes, generously donated by Marinette's parents, are one part of the plan the school council came up with yesterday. The first part is this!"
With a flourish, Mlle. Bustier picked up a very familiar red bag decorated with snowmen.
Nino gaped. "Secret Santa? In February?"
Mlle. Bustier laughed and shook her head. "No, no. Not this time. For Valentine's we're going to do a Secret Admirer. Everyone chooses a name from the hat and they have to give that person a gift based on something they admire about them."
Kim frowned. "So this isn't some sappy romantic Secret Admirer then?"
"No Kim. This is about spreading positivity and happiness among your friends." Mlle. Bustier set the snowman bag back down on her desk. "Now, there are many things we admire about our friends and classmates. Their tenacity, their kindness, their intelligence, their happy attitudes. Even things like their fashion sense or how they accessorise or how they can always find a bargain when they go shopping."
The class giggled at that but they were starting to get the idea. Adrien was quite looking forward to this gift giving actually. He admired his friends and this would be a good way to show them.
Mlle. Bustier smiled at them. "Kim. To use you as an example, I know you in particular admire Max's gaming skills and Alix's tenacity with sports. You could get Max a game or a new controller or you could get Alix some skating equipment if you draw either of their names."
Alix snorted. "Agreste already set the gift-giving bar way higher than Kim could afford."
Adrien tried not to let the giggling bother him. He had done his best to buy and make a gift for Alix within the rules of the Secret Santa, but everything he had tried had failed. Spectacularly. In the end he'd given up and bought her the fancy and expensive skates she'd wanted.
Mlle. Bustier chuckled too. "Please bear in mind the €20 limit on gifts is still in place and you should try not to break it."
"No way!" Alix smirked. "If he's got my name again he can definitely break the limit!"
Adrien blushed as a few people agreed with Alix. Marinette chuckled and reached over her desk to tease his hair the way she did when she called him a silly kitten.
Mlle. Bustier obviously gave it up as a lost cause and moved on. "I don't think we need to go through everyone's likes and dislikes and allergies again so soon after our Secret Santa, do we?" Everyone shook their heads. It was still fresh in their minds. "Excellent. We'll draw our Secret Admirer names after we've seen to our boxes. They're going to be post boxes."
"They're a little small for most letters," Rose complained. She was holding her box up and examining it from all angles. The boxes were all 20cm by 20cm but only about 5cm deep. They could hold one or two regular letters at most, but certainly not one of Rose's special letters. She believed in the art of letter writing and calligraphy and loved to write to her friends.
"But they're not for regular letters, Rose. They're for small notes from your Non-Secret Admirer."
"My what?"
"That's the second part of this plan." Mlle. Bustier held up the bakery box from her desk to demonstrate. "This box will act as a post box for you to receive little notes from your friends and classmates, handwritten notes so no anonymity here, with something they admire about you. When we break for our holiday at the end of the week you can take this box home with you and read all the wonderful things everyone has to say about you."
"Really?" Rose beamed and the rest if the class were nodding along and murmuring their agreements.
Adrien was impressed. This might actually be the best anti-akuma idea the school had come up with. The promise of a special gift, spreading positivity among friends, compliments going around the school… this could actually work.
"Yes, Rose. You can write messages of admiration to anyone you want. As many times as you want! But I saved the best news for last?"
Everyone leaned forward, hanging on Mlle. Bustier's words with bated breath.
"We won't be having our lesson on Chrétien de Troyes this morning. Instead, we'll be decorating our boxes!"
The cheering was deafening.
Tuesday 4th February 2020. 4.40 p.m. Collège Françoise-Dupont locker room.
Marinette was grabbing her things from her locker, having already seen Adrien off to his fencing class with a kiss, ready to head home after one of the most enjoyable days in school she'd had in a long time.
Everyone was eager to get involved in this Secret and Non-Secret Admirer initiative and the mood of the school was joyous. She really hoped it would carry on. There was no way Hawkmoth wouldn't try to akumatise someone on Valentine's Day but if this plan worked then it wouldn't come from Collège Françoise-Dupont again.
Her class had thrown themselves into it with gusto once they'd decorated the boxes and drawn their Secret Admirer name. Rose had been stuffing handfuls of pink notes into everyone's boxes all day, Juleka had written her fair share, and Marinette had seen Nathanaël doodle sweet caricatures of his friends and slip them into the post boxes.
Alix had rather predictably turned it into a competition with what seemed like a criticism but was actually a compliment.
"I really admire this in you, Kim." Alix had said while writing it down. "You're such a good loser."
"Hey!"
"I mean it. You get a little disheartened but you learn from it and pick yourself back up and try again and you always do better."
"Oh, that… that's actually pretty nice, short-stack."
"Pfft, I'd like to see you do better."
That had been exactly the wrong thing to say. Kim had spent the entire day trying to come up with the best compliment and note of admiration - with mixed results. It had been hilarious though. And it had got everyone involved in the challenge.
Unluckily for Marinette she'd had a ringside seat to Alya and Nino's private one upmanship.
Nino had started it. "I admire your tenacity, Alya."
"And I admire your enthusiasm."
Nino was also the first one to push it past a simple compliment. "Oh, I know you do. I admire that in you too."
"Well, I admire that sexy laugh of yours."
"I admire your hot body."
"Thanks, I admire it too!"
"Babe!"
"Seriously?" Adrien had laughed at them. "And you call us bad?"
Nino flicked a paper ball at him. "Shut up dude, you know you are. Don't think I don't see all those love notes you're writing to Marinette!"
It really had been one of the most funny and enjoyable days in school in a long time. Even if there was a Valentine's akuma in school she would count this idea as a success just because of how happy everyone was.
"Great idea, girl!" Alya pounced from behind and caught her up in a hug. "I can't believe how happy everyone is." Marinette turned around and hugged Alya properly, waving at Mylène, Rose, and Juleka who had wandered over too. Alya beckoned them closer with a grin. "Do you know what else I can't believe? How good the boys are at this romantic stuff."
Rose giggled. "They have been pretty sweet these past few days."
"And we know who to blame for that, don't we Marinette?" Mylène teased.
Marinette huffed out a sigh and closed her locker. "I didn't give him this idea, or tell him to tell Ivan and Nino," she groaned. Rose and Juleka gave her intrigued looks and she gave in. "Adrien is going to spoil me until Valentine's Day. He got the idea from the love hearts on Saturday, then told Nino and Ivan on Sunday."
Rose squealed and placed her hands on her heart. "That is just so romantic!"
Alya rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, it's sweet, but you're missing the point! They're outdoing us!"
"Sure Alix," Marinette teased.
"Mock me if you will, but I… I don't want Nino to feel like that again. I want to spoil him a bit too."
"Me too," Mylène admitted. "Ivan has been so sweet. I was thinking of treating him to lunch tomorrow."
"Yes, great, that's where we'll start!" Alya beamed. "Hey, M, can I come back with you and get some baking done?"
Marinette had a feeling she knew what Alya was getting at… and she liked that idea. "Yes! If we hurry then we can get everything sorted before Adrien finishes fencing and comes over for dinner."
"Then let the love war commence!" Alya shrieked and earned herself a few strange looks from the locker room.
"Only you could call love a war Alya."
"You mean you're not feeling at all competitive about this Mlle. UMS III champion?"
Marinette blushed as the other girls giggled. She might be feeling a tiny little, ever so slight pang of competitiveness over this. "Okay, okay, fine, we'll call it the love war."
"Great. Let's go!"
Marinette just about managed to squeak out a goodbye to the other girls as Alya pounced and dragged her out of the school. Mylène and Rose were laughing but she couldn't help but notice the thoughtful look on Juleka's face as she stared down at her girlfriend. She had a feeling Juleka was going to join in with the love war this week.
"Wait a minute Alya!" Marinette pulled her arm free and grabbed for her phone. "I just need to send a text to M. Guerin."
"Who?"
"Gorilla."
"Oh yeah. I keep forgetting he has a name. Why do you need to text him?"
"I've got a few plans for tomorrow, but I don't want to interfere with any security measures he has in place." Marinette finished the text and hit send. She got a positive reply within a minute and squealed. "Perfect! Okay, now we can go!"
Author's note: I have no idea if this chapter will upload properly. I'm praying that it does but it appears my wifi is down. I'll get on the phone to sort it out tomorrow but until it's fixed future chapters might be delayed. Yay.
I don't know how many students are actually at Collège Françoise-Dupont since they're never really shown on the show but I took a good guess. Maximum of 16 to a class and at least 18 classes then round it up and you get 300. Done.
Adrien's gift giving attempts are in multiple All I Want For Christmas chapters. Secret Santa assigned in chapter 2, he chooses a gift for Alix in chapter 11, it falls through in chapter 15, he gets another idea that also fails in chapter 18, and they exchange Secret Santa presents in chapter 21.
Christophe Guerin is my headcanon name for Gorilla. I have no idea if he actually had one in the show because I'm still catching up. I've not seen all of season 2 and none of season 3 so consider this an AU if things aren't canon-complicit.
Thank you everyone who asked about the sproglet. He's doing better, it only really hit him Sunday night/Monday morning, but he's looking forward to going back to school tomorrow. And so am I.
Replies to reviews:
Rose Tiger - thank you, I'm glad you liked it.
calerose - oh dear, I hope you're all doing okay now.
yellow 14 - the sweetness continues. I doubt it will ever be too sweet for Tikki.