Chapter Twenty Four – Home

Marinette (well, Ladybug, technically, but Adrien doesn't know that yet) has attached a command strip hook to her ceiling in the middle of her main floor, from which she has attached sheets (and sheets temporarily pinned to other sheets, in order to make bigger sheets) which have then been tied or weighed down to the floor at different points around her room, to make a sort of pentagon–ish shape. After gaping at the pillow fort in the centre of her room that he somehow missed, Adrien realises that her bed has been stripped of all blankets and pillows. Even her giant cat pillow is missing. The only pillow on her bed is the one she sat Plagg on, which now that he's looking at it he's realised two things: one, that it's clearly a pillow that she's made, and two, it's depressed in the middle to make it look a bit like a nest. Weird.

"You made a pillow fort?" He asks dumbly, and she nods, beaming.

"Yep!" She squeals and grabs his hand, tugging him down the stairs after her. "Come look inside!"

At the foot of the steps, she drops down onto all fours and pushes aside one of the sheets to reveal the opening. She grins up at where he's still standing on the stairs, before crawling in, letting the sheet fall back into place behind her. He can hear her rustling around inside, followed by the sound of what sounds like a power switch being flicked.

"Are you coming?" She calls from inside. He can hear the smile in her voice, and it makes him smile.

Following her demonstration, he gingerly gets onto his hands and knees and finds the gap in the sheets, moving it inside so he can crawl through. She's laid what must be every blanket in their home on the floor of the fort to make it comfortable enough to sit on, and on top of that are what must be no less than ten pillows, and not the little square ones that adults like to decorate their couches with either. She's moved her computer onto the floor, and he can see that both her DVD player and gaming console have been set up beside it in advance. Fairy lights have been strung around the inside of the fort, creating enough light that they can see each other clearly, but dim enough that there's a more intimate feel to their own little world that she has created in the span of just a few hours.

"Holy shit," Escapes him before he can stop himself and she snorts, making his eyes stop roaming around the fort, taking it all in, to rest on where she's sitting in the middle, with her legs crossed and bowls of food spread out in front of her – although, he notes, mouth watering and excitement growing, there appears to be nothing but sweet treats for them to indulge themselves in. "This is incredible! How did you do this?"

She shrugs and looks down, cheeks flushing bashfully. "I had a little help, but I've been making forts ever since I was little." She glances back at him and smiles shyly, eyes flicking temporarily to the ceiling where the sheets come to a certain point at the hook. "They've never been this pawsome though."

Adrien gapes at her, before a grin splits his face in half and he almost pounces on her in a hug. "You punned!" He cries, squeezing her middle tightly. She laughs, patting his back gently, and then a bit harder when he doesn't release her right away. "You're amazing," He sighs, relaxing his grip on her.

Marinette smiles, returning the embrace, and leans her head down so it's resting on his shoulder. "So are you, Mr Saves Paris All the Time."

Adrien rolls his eyes. "Ladybug's the one who saves Paris, I just distract the akuma." He winces. "And her."

Marinette frowns and leans back in his arms to look him in the eye. She cups his cheeks, stroking her thumb just below where the mask sits on his cheekbones. "Ladybug may be the one who purifies the akumas, but you're the one who protects her so she can." Her frown shifts into a glare and he swallows nervously. "And if I ever hear you call yourself a sidekick again–"

"I didn't say I think I'm a sidekick."

"It was implied, was it not?" The way he glances away from her is answer enough. She lifts and turns his head so he's looking her in the eye again. "I'm serious, Cat. No one disregards my kitty, not ever you."

Adrien's cheeks flush darkly as his heart flutters in his chest at the way she says 'my kitty', and he pulls her closer and buries his face in her hair again to avoid any questions over it. "Sorry," He mutters. She opens her mouth to say he should be apologising to himself, but she decides again it. Cat doesn't need to ridiculed, even if he is wrong.

"You're fine," She says, pulling back from him. Wanting to turn the mood back to a brighter one, she crawls towards where she's set up her computer and picks up two of the five movies she's brought up from downstairs (she's not planning for them to watch them all, it's just so they have more options to choose from). "Do you want to watch The Rescuers or Shrek or something else?"

They end up putting Shrek on, but neither really watch it as they're too busy eating the macarons and chocolate eclairs and store–bought lollies and talking nonsense that, should anyone overhear them, they would immediately get sent to an asylum for, but it makes perfect sense to the two of them. Plagg joins them occasionally to collect his cheese puffs (and some macarons, to Adrien's surprise, but he doesn't know that they're actually for Tikki and Wayzz), but for the most part it's just the two of them, living in their own little world, protected from everything by a fort made of floral–patterned sheets and fairy lights. Marinette tells Adrien everything that happened at school that day, and they both theorise about what will or won't happen tomorrow. They joke about the cluelessness of Marinette's (well, their) classmates and teachers, and laugh about some of Lila's more outlandish lies, which, now that the threat is gone, are much more ridiculous rather than hurtful.

"A napkin? Seriously?" Adrien laughs so hard tears of joy stream from his eyes as he doubles over, clutching his stomach, Marinette in a similar position beside him. He rolls onto his back and puts one hand behind his head, the other still resting on his full stomach, fully aware that he'll have a nasty stomach ache and possibly a pimple or two in the morning, but not caring in the slightest. "Who would even believe that that could take someone's eye out?"

"My whole class, apparently." Marinette giggles and lays down next to him, close but not touching. As if they're opposite ends of a magnet, they find their hands gravitating towards each other until their hands are entwined between them. Marinette rocks her head towards him and grins. "Oh, your friend," She glances away from him to stare up at the roof of the fort, missing Adrien's momentarily panicked expression before he forces his face back to neutral as she looks back at him (not that she would really be able to see much with the mask in place). "He wouldn't happen to be Marc, would he?"

Adrien blinks. Who's Marc? Nathaniel's boyfriend, Reverser, you idiot, his brain reminds him. His brain who sounds remarkably similar to Plagg. "Oh, uh . . . n–"

"Wait," Marinette releases his hand and sits up. She turns to face him, crossing her legs. "Don't tell me, I shouldn't have asked." She gives him an almost knowing smile and he frowns and sits up. "It might compromise your identity."

"It's okay, I trust you." He smiles, taking her hand in his again. His grin widens as her soft skin slips over his, overjoyed that he can actually feel her without a magic suit being in the way.

"You do?" She whispers, eyes widening even as a small smile turns up the corners of her lips. Her lips that look so soft and plump and possibly taste like the chocolate éclair she just–stop.

"Of course." His eyes flick up from her lips and lock with her eyes. "You're my princess."

"And you're my kitty." Marinette murmurs. She shifts closer so she's sitting between his legs and wraps her arms around him in a hug. Her eyes soften as she gazes at him, and then before he can even comprehend what is happening, she leans forward and kisses his cheek, giggling at the blush that instantly lights up his cheeks.

"I–uh–I thought I was your superhero Godcat." He stammers, his own arms winding around her waist to return the hug (and to keep her from moving away, because Marinette hugs are the best hugs).

"Cat," She shakes her head, cupping his cheek. She purses her lips, trying to think of how to word what she's thinking without hurting his feelings. This time she doesn't miss the way he stares at her lips, but she chooses to ignore it for the sake of her ability to think clearly. "I don't want you to be my superhero Godcat."

"What? Why not?" He frowns, his grip tightening around her to stop her from pulling away (not that she was going to).

"Because you started being my superhero Godcat because you thought I needed a guardian, but I don't need a guardian." Tears prick in her eyes as she gazes at him, her other hand reaching up to cup his other cheek. "I need you, as yourself."

"And you have me. This is me, as myself. No mask."

"There is one mask." Her finger traces around the mask she made him and he giggles at the sensation of her finger running across his skin.

He shakes his head slightly, so as not to jostle her finger from where it's now tracing across his forehead. "Only in the literal sense. All the rest of me is bare, ready for your nit–picking." He grins at her scoff.

"I don't nit–pick." She flicks his ear and he giggles, dodging her next flick.

"Mmm. Not yet."

She rolls her eyes. "You're lucky I love you." She murmurs, before giving his shoulders a little shove and crawling away to get another macaron.

Her words ring in his head, freezing him to the spot, as the biggest smile of his entire life takes over his entire face. His heart floods with so much joy and gratefulness and love that it almost overwhelms him, making his vision go fuzzy for a moment. When it comes back into focus, he's greeted with the sight of Marinette laughing at something that Donkey's saying, a half–eaten macaron hovering in front of her lips. As if sensing his gaze on her, she turns her head and meets his eye, smiling a smile meant for him and only him.

A smile telling him he's home.