Love Language
by Rose Thorne
Disclaimer: Don't own Miraculous Ladybug or make any money writing fanfiction.
Chapter Six
Kagami had found it difficult to sleep. Marinette had fallen asleep against her on the couch shortly after she'd snapped out of her panic attack, not even stirring at Jagged's eventual grand entrance. The rock star wound up carrying her to the suite they were sharing with Adrien and Wayhem, tutting over her almost like a concerned parent.
Adrien and Wayhem had pajamas waiting for them, and she'd reluctantly woken Marinette so she could change out of her beautiful qipao and avoid damaging it in her sleep. Kagami had gently undone the buns in her hair, and brushed it until Marinette had fallen back to sleep on their bed.
Even having had the high-quality lavender chamomile tea generously provided by Chloé, Kagami's sleep was fitful, and she woke at every small movement from Marinette, hyperaware and protective.
She knew rationally none of this was her fault, but the sense of guilt was still like a stone in her gut. Kagami by virtue of her family was the public figure, and despite all of Marinette's accomplishments she'd worked to stay out of the limelight. But this… this was Lila's doing, and Kagami should have dealt with her long ago.
Thus she was already half-aware when her phone screen lit up with a text from her mother at 4:36am.
Musume, the situation is being handled by Wanizame-san. Visiting the shrine will proceed as planned. The car will arrive at the hotel at 7:30am, then continue to the Dupain-Cheng residence to pick up Tom and Sabine. They will bring Marinette's kimono and everything needed for the event.
Kagami's anxiety eased slightly. Maître Wanizame was one of the best of the Tsurugi lawyers, at least of those licensed to practice law in France. He would see that justice was done.
Thank you, Mother.
She set the alarm on her phone for 7am, which would give them enough time to rise and speak with Adrien, Wayhem, and perhaps Chloé as well. She would need to consider gifts to thank them for their kindness. Hygiene could be handled once they reached the Tsurugi manor, as they would have ample time before guests began to arrive.
Marinette sighed softly in her sleep as she settled closer, and Kagami drew her into her arms, letting the warmth and weight of her lull her toward sleep.
The alarm felt like a pick-axe between Marinette's eyes.
"Five more minutes, Tikki," she groaned softly.
The sound cut off, replaced by a soft chuckle that convinced her to open one eye slightly. Kagami was smiling down at her.
"I can give you five minutes, Mari-tō, but we should probably speak to Adrien, Wayhem, and Mlle. Bourgeois. The car will arrive in thirty minutes."
The weight of what had happened yesterday crashed into Marinette again, the words spoken by the reporters, the escape…
The memory of Wayhem grabbing her arm, of him and Adrien giving up their date night to come to their rescue… that broke her out of what could have become another panic attack. Instead she was able to focus on Kagami's hand in her own, the feel of her slender fingers, the gentle look in her russet eyes, the curve of her lips.
"I'm okay," Marinette told her, recognizing her concern. "We're at the Grand Paris, right? Chloé gave us a lovely chamomile tea. Jagged was going to be here?"
"He carried you to our suite; you fell asleep, which isn't a surprise after everything." Kagami's lips curved further in a smile. "He congratulated us, and welcomed me to the Stone family."
Marinette couldn't stop herself from giggling at that, at imagining how Jagged would have welcomed her in spite of or because of the difficult situation. The positive pushed back the remnants of the threatened panic attack, and she sat up, wrapping Kagami in a hug.
"I'm sorry I scared you. Thank you for taking care of me."
Kagami's arms around her were like finding home, and they held each other for a few minutes before they knew they had to get ready.
A quick change later, they entered the larger suite to find Wayhem and Adrien had a small spread on the table, including coffee that made Marinette's mouth water. Both boys were in Grand Paris robes. The Gorilla, immaculately dressed in his usual suit, was enjoying a pastry. Chloé poured coffee from a carafe as they approached the table, placing cups in front of the empty chairs for them.
Between their cups were a tiny china pitcher of cream and a matching sugar bowl. After settling in their seats, Marinette doctored hers with both, while Kagami took a sip of her coffee black.
The silence that stretched for about ten seconds was uncomfortable, so after taking a sip of her coffee, Marinette turned to Chloé.
"Thank you for the tea last night, Chloé. It helped quite a bit."
To her surprise, the blonde's cheeks turned pink, and she seemed to fidget for a moment.
"It's actually my favorite blend," Chloé finally said softly. "I'm glad it helped."
Marinette couldn't get over how different Chloé was, but she didn't want to make her more uncomfortable.
"We appreciate your willingness to provide a safe haven," Kagami said, taking over smoothly. She rubbed the side of her leg against Marinette's, letting her know she'd noticed her discomfort. "And Adrien, Wayhem, and M. Gorilla."
"Of course." Adrien offered a concerned smile. "I'm sorry we didn't reach you before the reporters. Are you feeling better, Mari?"
She felt her cheeks grow hot. "Y-yes, thank you. I was just, um… overwhelmed."
"That would overwhelm anyone," Wayhem offered sympathetically. "You had no way to anticipate getting mobbed on a quiet date."
"We probably would've been mobbed, too, if we'd been out by then," Adrien added. "Since some of the rumors involved me."
Marinette could barely look at them, instead staring into her coffee. Some of what she remembered the reporters saying… and she hadn't really been in any condition to read the rumors after calming down, either. But she remembered them implying she was some sort of golddigger, that she had pursued Adrien.
It was bad enough to have her relationship with Kagami reduced to money, but she didn't want to rehash her old obsessive crush on Adrien.
And she had. But she had let go her obsession with him, had made the decision to support Kagami.
Ironically, she and Kagami supported each other in a much different way now.
Regardless, she didn't want to have Adrien know, and to have to discuss it.
"Maître Wanizame is handling the press on behalf of the Tsurugi and Dupain-Cheng family." Kagami's arm snaked around her waist. "I assume the Agreste family lawyer is handling the rumors against you?"
Adrien nodded. "Absolutely, and likely working in tandem with yours. I haven't checked in with Nathalie for an update yet."
"But your girl Alya put out a pretty brutal livestream pillorying Cataldi," Wayhem added. "Like, holy shit, I'm surprised he wasn't akumatized."
"Which doesn't mean he won't be later." Adrien sighed. "I'm just glad Hawkmoth wasn't active last night. I was worried about you two."
Marinette swallowed her coffee hard, managing not to cough. She could just imagine it, her and Kagami akumatized together and leading to a Hawkmoth win, no Ladybug to help Chat Noir.
"That's… scary," she said after a minute.
Chloé snorted. "No kidding. You two as akuma would beat Ladybug and Chat Noir easily, no offense to them. You're like the ultimate power couple."
Wayhem giggled. "Chloé ships you."
The blonde's face turned interesting colors. "I do not!"
Marinette watched, vaguely nonplussed at the idea. Sitting across from a Chloé who was acting like a normal teenager felt like she'd slid into a parallel universe. She'd have said that was unrealistic, but she had magic earrings and a miniature god, so...
Chloé huffed, studiously avoiding looking in her direction. "It's just… relationship goals, is all."
Kagami's phone alerted before they could go deeper down this particular rabbit hole, letting them know the car was waiting for them.
"Apologies," Kagami said as Marinette guzzled the rest of her coffee without regard for how she looked. "Our ride has arrived. Once again, we are very grateful for the rescue and safe haven."
Once Marinette placed the cup gently back on the table, half-afraid she'd break the fine china, she added, "Absolutely appreciated. Um… maybe we can catch up more later?"
The latter question was partially directed toward Chloé, who looked torn between elated and terrified at the suggestion in the split second before she schooled her face.
"I'd like that." Her voice was almost too soft to hear.
As they hurried down to the driverless car, Marinette reflected that perhaps there was a silver lining to the disaster of the paparazzi and rumors if a small amount of healing, of positivity, came from it.
I expected, again, to get further along with this, but Chloé keeps happening. I believe next chapter will be the visit to the shrine and the New Year celebrations with the Tsurugi family, though. I'm looking forward to that chapter!
Google the lawyer's name.