start notes—

When Nino suggests that he send emojis to Marinette's pen pal account as a way of flirting, Adrien really has no other choice but to step in and help him out.

(And if that means making the messages himself, then so be it.)

my tellonym: milkisande

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pen pal

signed, sealed, delivered,
i'm yours!

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.

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"DUDE, can't I just send some fire emojis and be done with it?"

Adrien's look of horror tells Nino everything he needs to know.

"No way," he starts, shaking his head. "This is Marinette; send her that and you might as well just have flushed all your chances down the drain."

"But shouldn't I be myself?"

His best friend's stare is deadpan. "Nino, you're the coolest guy I know and you know I absolutely support you, but…," Adrien puts a hand on his shoulder. "You have no idea how to deal with women."

Nino rolls his eyes. "Oh, right. And you do?"

"Hey! A lot of girls like me!"

"Yeah, and you don't even talk to any of them. I even started feeling bad for Chloé, with how bad you were friendzoning her before."

Adrien huffs, but can't quite rebut his statement, either. "It's not my fault! All the girls who have a crush on me don't even know me, and I can't fall for that kind of person."

"Ah yes, Adrien Agreste, the hopeless romantic."

"Shut up," he argues, punching his friend in the arm. "It's rare to find girls that I can just be friends with because they want to date me." (Nino coughs 'cocky' into his hand, but Adrien pointedly decides to ignore it.) "Which is why Marinette is so special— and why just texting her a bunch of random emojis just isn't going to cut it."

Nino pauses briefly. "You really care about her, huh?"

"Of course I do!" Adrien says, as if it's the most natural thing in the world. (And maybe it is to him, to so easily care about his closest girl friend— emphasis on the space, as if they've known each other their entire lives.) "And I'm glad that out of everyone she could end up with, it's with my best bro of all time."

"Yeah…"

"Come on, don't feel so down!" He starts to say, patting him on the back. "I've seen the way Marinette looks at you, there's definitely something going on there."

Adrien remembers how often he'd see Marinette side-eyeing the two of them, or throwing not-so-secret glances whenever she thinks they don't notice. Besides being a novice at romance, he knows that look.

A longing look, a fond expression…

All the shoujo mangas and romcoms he's seen point to the exact same thing:

That Marinette Dupain-Cheng is very clearly in love with whoever she's looking at.

And clearly, she's staring at his best friend, Nino Lahiffe.

Clearly.

(Because who else could he be staring at?)

"Do you really think so, dude?"

He nods solemnly. "Swear on it." It's nice to see Nino brighten up at his statement. "Now give me your phone."

"What? Why?"

"Because if you're going to start doing this virtual penpal thing with her, you have to make sure your first message isn't one she's just going to ignore. So nothing you'd… usually send." He looks through Marinette's penpal email curiously. "How'd you hear about this anyway?"

"Alya told me. Pretty neat, huh?" Nino says, smiling. "I honestly didn't think she'd tell me anything, but I said someone wanted to connect with Marinette because he, uh, likes her, and we shared a glance. You know? I think she knows what's up."

"Of course she knows. You're not that subtle, either." A punch in the arm. "Hey!" (He deserves it.)

"But yeah, she told me Marinette's account and said 'Tell him that I said good luck. And that I know Mari's going to love this.' I'm not sure why she didn't just tell me directly, but it's nice of her."

"That's great! Then we have her on our side, perfect." Adrien says, eyes bright. "Alya is Marinette's best friend, and it'll help us out in the long run. Keep talking to her, okay?"

"Yes, sir," Nino says, jokingly saluting to him. "I don't mind anyway, she's actually a pretty cool girl! We spent the whole night talking yesterday."

"About Marinette?"

"Uh… no. We were just talking about life and stuff. And she thinks my emoji game is absolutely spectacular."

Adrien sighs. "Well, I know for a fact that Marinette won't. So let me type up the message, yeah?"

"Fine." A pause. "Oh right, forgot to tell you that you need anonymous names to use the app."

"What… like a secret identity or something?" That's pretty cool.

"Yeah? I mean, it doesn't have to be something you think that hard about. Marinette's alias is Ladybug. Don't know why, though."

(Adrien does. It's because Marinette loves ladybugs and how they're usually seen as a symbol for good luck. If anything, it suits her; with her happy-go-lucky personality and all.)

"Do you have a name already?"

"Nope. So you can make one up if you want." Nino notices Adrien's expression, as if deep in thought. "Got an idea?"

"Maybe I do."

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LADYBUG,

That's a fitting name for you. It was by sheer luck that we met, and I've been the luckiest to have known you for the time that followed. My streak of bad luck and bad days ended the day you first smiled at me, and I'm happy to say that since then you've taken over not only my mind, but my heart, too.

("That's corny." "Shut up, Nino.")

As the symbol of good luck, maybe you'll grant me the good fortune of becoming my penpal? I'll truly be unlucky if you don't accept.

From your secret admirer,

Chat Noir.

("Oh, I get it. Because black cats are unlucky, and ladybugs are the opposite so… that's pretty deep of you, bro." "Thanks, bro."

"Now let's just hope she'll respond to it.")

.

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"Alya Alya ALYA— someone just sent me a penpal letter are you confidentit's him?!"

"Absolutely! Nino was trying to be vague about it, but I just know who he was talking about. I'm a hundred percent confident that it is. I'll bet the Ladyblog on it!"

"But he's in love with me?! He never showed any signs that he felt this way and ohmygod I'm spiralling how is this happening it's probably just a huge misunderstanding and I'm completely reading it wrong why wouldn't he tell me directly and just penpal me instead, like am I not obvious enough with my feelings…"

"Calm down!"

"... sorry."

"He's probably just as nervous as you are. So the guise of anonymity is helping him become more upfront and honest about his feelings."

"Do you really think he likes me?"

"That boy is your soulmate so answer the message or God help me I will."

"Fine… but you're absolutely sure it's him?"

"How many times do I have to say yes! I'm absolutely sure!"

"... can you say it just so we're clear?"

"Okay, I promise with complete certainty that 1.) your penpal Chat Noiris Adrien Agreste, and 2.) he is completely, and head over heels in love with you."

end notes—

i rlly said ,, Cliffhanger hskdjs . this is inspired very loosely by the netflix film, 'the half of it'! (though a lot more chaotic and prone to shenanigans for the sole reason that it's the Love Square). i dont think i'll continue this but i'm sure you guys can imagine how it'll go misunderstandings, reveals, dumb thoughts, minor drama, endgame adrinette & djwifi - almost the same as canon ! :^)

also it's just in this fic that i realized why theyre superhero personas r ladybug and chat noir…. coz ladybugs are symbols of good luck and black cats are for bad luck….. maybe i have a single brain cell & maybe i don't use it that often but ANYWAY HOPE YOU LIKED IT AND !

thank you for reading! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～