[ONESHOT] Love letters and paper planes

Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Ladybug and Love Nikki (cover image).

* Patisserie: pastry shop.

"Alya, help me!"

"What happened now?"

"Didn't you see?! He touched my shoulder!"

Alya rolls her eyes and stares at her friend with a tired expression. She doesn't know whether to congratulate her friend for the slight contact she had with her crush or make her realize that she could just confess.

"Mari, you know that I love you and adore you but, are you serious?" The brunette tells her shaking her head slightly. "Today he touched your shoulder just like yesterday, and the day before yesterday, and before yesterday's yesterday... just like every other day he greets you."

Marinette inflates her cheeks as a pout to her friend's response. Without changing her expression, the blue-haired takes the hands of her best friend and begins to recite the every-day-monologue.

"But Alya! I can't help it… Every time he is in my field of view everything stops and I see him as bright as a diamond; every time we go to his house I can't help but get excited by being under the same roof and sitting on the same sofa- wait, forget that. Oh! Also when he greets me and our eyes connect I feel that my legs become jelly… and when he touches my shoulder to let me know something I feel that he completes my day… Alya?"

The mentioned one is no longer at her side; in fact, there is no one around her and she realizes that everyone has already entered their respective classrooms.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng."

Upon hearing the attention call with a familiar tone, Marinette closes her eyes and slowly turns to face that person.

Without any surprise, Marinette lifts her head and meets Miss Mendeleev looking at her as if it were not the first time they caught her out of the class.

After the small but short weekly talk about the importance of punctuality, Marinette manages to enter her classroom and continue with her day.

"Mari... I already apologized..." Alya apologizes again although she doesn't seem very regretful and seems to have fun with her friend's grunts.

Unable to endure being annoyed, Marinette lets the brunette hug her and they walk together to the next class. Before entering, the girl in love stops and looks seriously at Alya.

"I'm going to do it."

"Huh?" Alya sees her puzzled. "What are you going to do?"

Marinette puts her hands on her waist. "Today I'm going to confess."

Alya remains motionless, but a few seconds later she starts laughing as if she had been told the joke of the year.

"Why are you laughing? I'm serious."

"Haha- just like- hahaha- all the other times you ended up running away?"

Marinette's face turns a soft pink color as a result of the mixture of shame and frustration. Her pride doesn't allow her to remain silent and crosses her arms while she staggers in place.

"Well, this time I do!"

"Oh?" Alya doesn't know whether to believe her or not but decides not to bother her anymore. "But wouldn't it be better to do it tomorrow?"

"NOPE! I said today." Marinette tells her with confidence. "Today after school I, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will tell Luka Couffaine my feelings."

"Marinette I... I'm sorry." The turquoise-haired boy tells Marinette with the softest possible voice.

Alya really didn't believe that her friend would go to the front door of the school, wait for Luka to leave his classroom and declare herself right there. They were lucky that Luka was one of the last to leave due to a message from the professor, so there were not many people in the audience. Alya watched the awkward scene from behind a beam and next to her, Nino, who had been dragged by the brunette.

Indecisive in not knowing whether to wait a bit or go to steal her friend, Alya stares at poor Marinette, who has not moved from her place. Apparently, she still couldn't process the older boy's response.

He also notices, puts his hand on her shoulder like every day but this time Marinette feels his hand more tense than normal.

"It's not that I don't like you, it's just that I can't see you any other way than a younger sister, especially if you're the same age as Juleka." Luka tries to make her feel better. "I'm really sorry, Marinette."

After that, Marinette nodded slightly with her head down without being able to see him directly. Although Luka kept trying to cheer her up, Marinette says goodbye quickly and rushes back home without looking back, ignoring her friends' calls.

That night Alya stays to sleep in her friend's house, the two of them huddled up in the small sofa in her room wrapped in blankets.

The next day, both girls go down to the patisserie and Marinette loses the few spirits she had recovered at night when she saw the inside of the store. No wonder Alya had told her that it would have been better to confess the next day: today was February 14. The day of love and friendship.

The store had been promoting new and limited by Valentine's Day, but today the store was completely decorated with hearts and paper flowers in all possible red tones, most of the desserts had chocolate and corny phrases in every corner of the place. The worst part was that it was still weekday and they had to go to class. She would see all the people in love confessing, showing affection or giving gifts.

And she had to go.

Hours passed and at midday, Marinette felt exhausted. No matter where she looked, there was always a couple or a flushed face (she even saw a couple kissing behind one of the trees in the courtyard) and everything reminded her of the confession of the previous day.

At lunchtime, Alya takes her to a small cafeteria (also decorated with hearts) and orders something for both of them while letting Marinette get lost in her thoughts looking out the window.

"Mari." Alya takes her out of her thoughts and turns to see her. "Do you want me to stay with you today too?"

Marinette is surprised by her friend's proposal but quickly denies it. "Shouldn't you be spending the day with Nino? I don't want to ruin your day."

"But I don't want to leave you all depressed, Nino understands. Today he said he was going to have lunch with a friend, someone he met at a party where he was the DJ."

Marinette analyzes her friend and knows that she is telling the truth, but she can't help feeling guilty.

"I'll be fine. How about this? Join me for the rest of the lunch and spend the rest of the day with Nino. After school, I will go help at the patisserie."

Alya looks sideways at the blue-haired and, as she asks, with her abandoned puppy eyes.

She ends up accepting.

"So, what if we do something before we return?" Alya tells her by showing her a small pamphlet.

"Ninooooo. I can't stand it anymore."

Nino stares from the desk chair at his friend lying face down on his huge bed. Isn't it supposed to be Valentine's day?

"What do you not stand? The situation or those wolves?"

"Everything. My whole life. My existence."

Nino rolls his eyes with that dramatic response. "Me too, bro. Me too."

Adrien Agreste. Teen model, one of the best-known faces in the country and son of designer Gabriel Agreste. If that wasn't enough, also one of the wealthiest people on the continent. Why would someone like him be tired of this dream life?

Nino met Adrien by coincidence at a party months ago. Adrien was on one of his escapades after spending an entire day shopping with Chloè, in a black wig and clothes of the same color. Being socially awkward, Adrien stares at his cell phone in a corner near the bathrooms. The brunette who was in his break collides with him when leaving the toilet, which caused Adrien to lose his balance but not fall. What did remain on the floor was his wig and his blond hair was in full view. The two of them faced each other with their eyes open in surprise, but in less than five seconds they both reacted. Adrien quickly put on the wig while Nino instinctively stood in front of him so no one could see him.

After the danger and realizing that no one had seen them, they began to laugh and introduced themselves. After that, they continued talking animatedly and exchanged numbers before the brunette returned to work and he entered the bathroom to accommodate better the wig.

Now, months later, the brunette wondered why so many girls chased a physics-lover boy, addicted to video games and with a strange fondness for cat puns. Well, he was his friend so he should know, right?

Nino keeps listening to the blond how all week he had been chased by, specifically, two people: Chloè and Lila. The first one seemed to know her entire agenda and accompany him every day everywhere after she finished her classes, while Lila kept insisting him to go on a date with her on 14. On impulse, Adrien told them he would spend the day with a friend who would spend the night at his house. That didn't stop the girls from giving up, but Adrien said he wouldn't leave the house, which they couldn't enter, so they finally gave up that day.

"That happens to you because of having such strange friends."

"Hey! You know it was more because of my work obligation and my father's orders." Adrien hides his face on one of the pillows and begins to roll from side to side of the bed. "They don't stop praising how good I look and how kind I am, but don't they know how to say something else? Every time I try to speak they are the ones who end up leading the whole conversation and wondering when is my next job or if I want to accompany them to those sponsor parties where, honestly, there is nothing to do but smile and take pictures."

"Well, that's why you have your alter ego, don't you, Noir?" Nino says sympathetically.

Noir, was the name by which he went every time he escaped with the black wig. Nino, being the only one who knew about his double life, accompanied him several times when he escaped, so he didn't need to get rid of some followers like today.

"Yes but Noir only comes out once in a while. Less when they are always on top of me."

"That's because they feel rivalry. Maybe if you accept one, things would calm down a bit?"

Adrien shakes his head. "It's not just that, I don't like them that way." The blond finally sits calmly in bed. "And I can't help to keep comparing them..."

Nino throws his back in the chair and asks: "Comparing between them or with that person?"

With 'that person' he refers to a girl he met the same day as Nino. Adrien left the bathroom after adjusting the wig and collides again with another person leaving the opposite bathroom. His first reaction was to check with one hand if the wig had fallen back, but it didn't happen. What did happen was that the other hand was on the other person's back.

And that person was a girl.

But to top it off, the girl's blouse seemed to have an open-back design, giving his hand a direct contact with her skin. When they both saw each other and noticed that position, Adrien felt his face rise in temperature as the girl's big eyes looked at him.

Two seconds later they both quickly separated. He apologized immediately, but the girl said it was also her fault for being distracted. Seeing that the girl wasn't really worried, she sighed in relief.

It turned out that both admitted not to be party lovers, but because of life issues, they were there. He told her a little about the amount of work he had and sometimes escaped, of course without saying much specific information, while she told him that she had come with her friends and a special person for her.

He was amazed to hear the reasons she was so in love. At first, he said many physical and superficial things, but then she began to talk about small details and defects that she noticed but made her like him more. He had never seen anyone talk about another person with such a genuine smile, he could even notice a slight blush on the girl's cheeks. After that, he doesn't know how, but he also started talking about him and the desire to also want to find someone special. That's when he realized that it was the first time he talked so openly with someone about these issues.

The girl seems not to have cared to listen to him, and she even gives him words of encouragement.

After that, they kept talking about trivial things like pets and favorite foods, although not for a long time since the girl received a phone call apparently from her boyfriend due to her huge smile when she saw who was calling her.

She apologized once the call was over and told him they were waiting for her at the entrance. They said goodbye and when she turned to leave, she turned again and asked his name. With Adrien's name on the tip of his tongue, he remembers his alter ego and responds with "Noir".

She smiles and says goodbye again. "I hope you find a special person too."

Moving his hand, he says goodbye and realizes that she didn't tell him her name, but by then the girl is no longer in sight.

Days later, when he reunites with Nino, he tells him what happened and the slight envy he felt when he met someone with a special person. Now, Adrien keeps thinking about when it will be the day he meets that person that the girl mentioned.

To cheer up his friend, Nino challenges the blonde to some video games and then suggests to go out as Noir. What did he have planned?

Marinette followed her friend to one of the parks in the neighborhood and noticed how many people there were. She supposed it was for Valentine's Day, but saw that people were gathered around a large fountain. But the strange thing was what they did: instead of throwing coins... were they throwing paper?

Confused, Marinette heard Alya's explanation. It seemed to be a project by a company that promoted recycling. They were offering letter-size papers made from recycled products and showed that they were resistant to weight and pencil erasure, but by having contact with water, they dissolved completely. They had taken advantage of the date and created an event called "Letters and planes". This consisted of choosing a paper and deciding between two options: writing a letter or making a paper plane. Those who decided to write a letter could write a confession to someone, whether reciprocated or not. The person could then decide whether or not to deliver the letter, and if they were not encouraged or had been rejected they could throw them to the fountain. On the other hand, paper planes were promoted as another way to make wishes. You just had to write your wish inside the plane and throw it at the fountain.

Alya encouraged her to take a paper and take it back to school and think of what to write. Seeing that her friend also took a paper, she decided to give it a try and, who knows? Maybe it would help her to calm down a little.

Returning to classes, Marinette kept thinking about what to write. A letter or a plane? The most logical thing was to write a letter since she had already been rejected and it would help her to let go of her feelings and try to start over, to leave that behind. But on the other hand, she wanted to wish that Luka could give her a chance. Although that idea was quickly dropped when she realized that that was very selfish of her.

In the end, she decided to write a letter. Although she erased its content more than a couple of times, undecided on what to put. At the sound of the last bell, Marinette finishes writing the letter, folds it and says goodbye to Alya, who repeats that if she needs anything, call her immediately. She says yes and begins to push the couple to leave and stop worrying about her.

Now that she was alone, she had to finish what she started.

Marinette returned to the park and saw how the place was still crowded. She wanted to finish fast so she could return to the patisserie. When she was about to throw the card, she didn't notice the approach of an object and was attacked by a paper plane. Puzzled by the sudden surprise, Marinette put her hands on her head and unconsciously dropped the letter.

"Sorry! I launched the plane very badly and I…"

Marinette pulled back her hands from her head and looked at the person who apologized. She didn't expect to meet two green eyes surprised to see her.

"…Noir?"

Marinette saw in more detail the boy standing in front of her. Before they both said anything, a strong wind came and the letter that was on the ground was blown away. The two ended up running a little far from the park when Noir finally caught the letter.

"Thank you so-"Marinette began to thank him when she saw that Noir's hair was not completely black, but now he had blond strands?

The boy realized, took his hands to the apparent wig and tried to accommodate quickly, but by that, the girl had already realized his true identity.

With her index finger, Adrien asked her not to shout because they were in a public place and she covered him while trying to get ready. Minutes later, the model apologized again.

"Don't worry, I was just surprised. I won't reveal who you are." The blue-haired reassures him. "Although now I understand more about the problems you had."

Her smile calms the blond completely and he blushes without knowing why. He looks down at the girl's letter and remembers the conversation of the past.

"Is it for your boyfriend?"

"What?"

"The letter. For that special person?"

Marinette at first doesn't understand when she told him she had a boyfriend until she remembers how her words sounded at that time at the party. "No, no. I liked that person… but I was rejected."

"Oh... sorry I misunderstood."

She shakes her head, observes the "blond" again and looks at his face in more detail. She still doesn't know how she didn't recognize Adrien Agreste before, the son of her favorite designer. She was glad to know that he had had confidence with her to speak openly.

"My name is Marinette. I think I forgot to introduce myself that day."

He smiles back. "My name is Adrien. I think I forgot to introduce myself correctly."

Just like that day, the two begin a comfortable conversation, mentioning friends, jobs, and hobbies.

"Are you Nino's friend?"

"I met him an hour before I met you that same day."

The sun began to hide and the talk continued. It reached the point of the mention of today's event.

"This letter is a confession, but it is not a love confession." She explains. "It's a confession about love."

Adrien stares at her.

"I confessed that I want someone to notice me. I don't mean the person I confessed but in general. I have many friends, but nobody ever looks beyond. Not many intend to want to know me more, they just see me as someone kind. "

Adrien stares at her, thinking about what to say. When he looks down at his hands holding the paper plane, he starts talking.

"I made a wish." Marinette turns to see him. "I wanted to find a special person like you. That she would like to talk about herself, but at the same time, she worries about asking me about my day, how I felt and those things..."

Marinette's lips curl slightly up and he keeps talking.

"You know? Until recently I thought I was jealous of you because you had someone special. I just realized that you were not the person who envied, rather, I always wanted to meet someone who cared like you. You left quickly with a smile on your face without leaving your name and I gave you a fake one."

Both remain lost in each other's eyes and Adrien asks her as last.

"I really want to know you better. I want to know more about your tastes, what you don't like or discomfort, your dreams and know more about your love for design. I want to know more about you. Would you let me?"

Marinette blinks rapidly while her mouth opens slightly at the proposal. Adrien thinks that he has crossed the line, that it has sounded too intrusive and lowers his gaze. The blond starts to apologize.

"Sorry I-"

"I live in a bakery." Adrien is interrupted by her. "You said you like sweets and bread? We can go there if you want... I think it's more comfortable and when there are no people you can take off your wig-oh! But if you don't want it, there's no problem, I can't force you… what am I saying?"

The latter seems to tell herself. Marinette looks him straight and breathes deeply.

"What I mean is that… I would like to keep talking to you, and I wouldn't mind if you went with me. What do you say?"

Adrien smiles from ear to ear and hands the girl the paper plane.

"I would love to."

Author Notes:

Thank you for reading this far! I hope you had a nice day. Two days ago was Valentine's, but I break the rules (hahaha what rules?) And I bring you this one-shot today. Thanks for reading!

Twitter: Little_Rain0048

-LR