Adrien was exhausted when he arrived at Marinette's house to get the Halloween costume she had sewn for him. He hadn't been able to sleep a wink the whole night. He just couldn't get himself to sleep; not after what had happened with Ladybug. Not after that kiss completely came out of the blue. Not after she ran off as if he was one of the zombies of the horror labyrinth, ready to suck her brain (if not her lips).
But even as exhausted as he was, there was no way he was going to miss the outing he had planned with Marinette, Alya and Nino tonight.
Although he might be late, because Marinette was late. Nothing surprising, really.
"Marinette isn't ready yet. She's still in the bathroom." Mrs. Cheng welcomed Adrien with a heartwarming hug. This kind of welcome was becoming a habit, whether he liked it or not—and he very much liked it.
"I'm almost done! Is that Adrien you're talking to?"
Adrien could hear Marinette's voice coming from further away in the apartment, the sound of the shower running on muffling it a bit
"Yes it is, honey."
"Tell him his suit is ready on my desk." Marinette spoke loudly, her voice carrying over the sound of the water
"Actually, I can hear you too, Marinette," Adrien shouted. "Take your time. I'll get ready while I wait for you." He turned toward Sabine Cheng and pointed at the stairs leading to Marinette's room. "Can I?"
"She told you so. Make yourself at home."
Adrien nodded before climbing the stairs and snuck into through the trapdoor. His first intention was to head straight for the desk where a dark green
suit covered in scales awaited him, but something else stopped him in his tracks. Something that caught his full attention. On Marinette's chaise longue was sitting a familiar plushie. A Chat Noir one. Nothing strange one might say. Except when that very plushie wore red horns on top of its tiny head.
This. This was something else he hadn't seen coming. Okay. Maybe he did a few years ago. But not anymore. Well, he hoped, with all his might. Though it sounded like wishful thinking—not so actually.
Marinette and Ladybug were the same person.
Marinette had kissed him last night.
Marinette had freaked out (how typical of her) after kissing him last night. Crap.
Now, for God's sake how was he going to fix this mess?
Adrien let out a helpless grunt as he grasped the crocodile costume on Marinette's desk and passed behind the folding screen to put it on. He needed to do something. He had to do something!
"Adrien? Are you dressed up? Can I come in?"
"I'm behind the screen. S-safe territory." His voice was a little more croaky than usual. The realization was slowly sinking into his mind, making him feel all worked up all of a sudden.
He heard the trapdoor creak as it opened, and then Marinette's light footstep on the floor.
"How is it? Are the measurements right?"
He stepped out from behind the screen at that very moment, showing off the final result.
"It fits perfectly. You did an impressive job, but… What about you? You don't wear a disguise?" Well, he wasn't going to deny that he enjoyed seeing her without any artifice. Especially after years of looking at his Lady hiding behind the quantum masking of her suit.
Although, what he was witnessing right now didn't make him feel completely thrilled. Marinette looked tired and her eyes were swollen as if she had been crying all night. Did she?
"I'm already wearing a disguise right now. Did you see my face? I look like a zombie."
"You still look beautiful." The words came out of his treacherous mouth straight from his heart. He couldn't help it. He meant it. "What's going on? Is something troubling you?" He wasn't afraid to put his foot in it. He knew, and enjoyed, the ease with which they could talk to each other. It hadn't been easy at the beginning, but over the years, a real bond had grown between them. Perhaps it was the years of partnership that had unwittingly contributed—it most definitely did.
"I messed up with a very good friend yesterday. It seems I can't help but hurt him again and again. I'm sure he hates me right now," Marinette sighed.
Is that what she really thought? He thought he was the one who had screwed everything up by keeping a stiff upper lip—figuratively and literally.
Marinette continued to slowly open up as though he expected her. Of course, she didn't know she was talking to said very good friend.
"I felt so bad, it prevented me from sleeping. It almost prevented me from breathing actually," she whispered in a weak voice while rubbing a hand on her chest, just below her throat. As if she could still remember the painful stuffiness she had felt during the night. "I couldn't get myself to finish my costume. Truthfully, I'm not in the mood to party. Maybe you should go without me and have fun with Alya and Nino." She dismissed the way she felt, thinking first about someone else than herself. It looked so much like her.
Though he won't let her get in the way of her own happiness this time.
"No way. Listen to me." He moved back in front of her and placed two strong hands on her shoulders. "You're going to take my clothes and put them on. Tonight, you're going to be disguised as Adrien Agreste, the enfant terrible of Paris."
"You're not reliant on your father's mistakes, Adrien," Marinette sternly stated, glaring at him.
"And you can stop feeling reliant on yours. Who knows, the party might have a few surprises in store for you." He shrugged as he moved into her room, grabbing his clothes and throwing them at her. "Maybe you'll even see your friend and you'll be able to have a talk with him. I'm sure he doesn't hate you."
"I don't think so."
"No one could hate you, Marinette," said Adrien, his voice genuine. "Now, I'll go downstairs and you'll do me the pleasure of getting dressed and joining me for the most memorable evening of your life."
Maybe the most memorable evening of her life had been a big word… At least, thus far. To make up for ruining their costume duo, Mal & Evie from Disney Descendants, Alya had dragged Marinette through the maze of horror. (For the record, Nino and Adrien formed a perfect Jagged Stone/Fang duo).
The poor girl looked as tense as a cat stalking a bird once finally out of that hell. Luckily, the cat was already stalking her and he was ready to jump to the rescue.
"Come on, there's a rifle shooting over there. Sounds like fun, right?" He didn't really give his friends a chance to protest.
After all, he was a man on a mission.
And for completely different matters, Alya and Nino were totally in for trying the shooting stand. No risk of them protesting—quite the opposite actually. They were exhilarated.
"Dude, these targets are insane!" Nino whistled as he handed a note to the landlady and armed himself with a rifle.
"I dreamed of getting Monarch's brain out through his ears so many times!" Alya enthused, mirroring her boyfriend's gestures before pausing in her tracks. She turned toward Adrien with a sheepish smile. "Sorry. This is still your father."
"Don't be!" Adrien reassured her. "Actually, I already used a lot of munitions yesterday." He shrugged.
Beside him, Marinette suddenly stiffened. He hoped it was the subtle clue he gave her which caused such a reaction; now she knew that Adrien Agreste was also here yesterday.
A few minutes later, the core four found themselves armed and enjoying their time—perhaps even way too much.
At the end of the game, Alya and Nino ended up with Rena Rouge and Carapace plushies.
Marinette, though, was undecided—and her best friend didn't choose to help her.
"Take a Chat Noir one. You know you want it." Alya nudged her side with a sly grin and Marinette blushed. "In the meantime, Nino and I are going to fetch some mulled wine." She said as she was already dragging Nino toward the bar just near the fountain.
His Lady chewed on her bottom lip, looking away as she muttered unintelligibly through gritted teeth.
From the corner of his eye, Adrien casted a glance at Marinette and smiled. She already had a Chat Noir one, he knew that; it was the whole starting point of his plan. Now he just had to put the highlight of it into practice.
His full attention turned back to the plushies as he pointed one to the old lady. "I'll take a Ladybug one, please."
The elderly woman picked it up and handed him his prize, and Adrien was sure he had a stupid smile plastered on his face at that very moment.
Turning back to Marinette, he showed her the Ladybug plush, his smile changing from smitten to sly in a split second. "I think this one will be great to go with the Chat Noir plushie you won yesterday."
"How do you know?" Marinette gasped, her eyes widening.
Adrien's grin only widened as one of his hands fumbled into the belly pocket of the crocodile suit. He pulled out of it a headband with horns and put them on the Ladybug's plush tiny head.
"Now it will even match purrfectly." He winked at her and she stared at him with her mouth wide open. He couldn't help but chuckle. Okay, maybe he was enjoying it a little too much. So much that he didn't want to stop and pushed the envelope further. Moving the plushie in front of Marinette, he pulled on his best Chat Noir signature smirk and went all for it. "Trick or kiss, Bugaboo?"
"Kitty…" she whispered in a shaking breath.
Apprehension was already creeping up his chest down his guts while he looked her straight in the eye. And then, her mesmerizing bluebell eyes looked away, only to caress his lips so intently that not a word more dared to disturb them. Silence fell around them, all traces of joking long lost. For anyone else, the silence could have felt burdensome, but for them, it spoke volumes. Years of repressed feelings and panted up tension, actually. Then her lips finally found his and Adrien knew he had made the right choice by risking it all tonight.
When they slowly broke apart, Marinette flashed him a lovesick smile before leaning in. "As I promised, I won't drink tonight Minou. Enjoy this wonderful evening. You deserve it."
This was my 'early' contribution for the spooky season!
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Miraculous kisses!
