Chapter Ten: Balloons.
Balloons can be used for any kind of gathering to express love, happiness, apology, or regret.
Monday 10th February 2020. 12.40 p.m. Marcel's Track, 21st arrondissement.
Alya sighed. "Girl, I love you, but one more forlorn sigh out of you and I'll tape your mouth shut."
"Sorry!"
Marinette blushed. She hadn't even been aware that she was sighing. Multiple times if the amused but ever so slightly irritated looks of her friends was anything to go by.
She couldn't help it though. She missed Adrien.
He'd been looking forward to watching Kim's races as much as the rest of them had. Kim was running in the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m races today and he was so certain of his victory that everyone knew it was going to be interesting to watch. Adrien would have come along even if Kim came last in every race though. He loved spending quality time like this with his friends. He'd helped out with the planning for the race and after-party wherever he could and he'd bought the balloons they were all holding. Every single one said 'good luck' and 'you can do it' and other supportive messages. He'd even helped her to sew the banner for today's race, if passing her things counted as helping (she thought it did). But thanks to his control-freak father he wasn't allowed to spend any real time with them at all during the two weeks they were off school.
Marinette almost sighed again but just managed to hold it in. She would be seeing him later on tonight, during another one of his piano lessons, she could last until then. She hoped.
Mylène gently nudged her side. "If you need a distraction, those two are pretty entertaining." She was pointing at Alix and Kim who were in yet another competitive argument.
Marinette's lips quirked up into a grin as she saw her friends screaming at each other, their faces alight with mischievous joy. Those two were hilarious together.
"I'll give you another black eye right now if you don't shut up about this!" Alix yelled, holding up a fist. Her grin might be teasing but everyone knew she was 100% serious about this. Kim was on thin ice. "I gave you the apology balloon, that's more than enough grovelling from me!"
Kim looked up at the balloon he was holding. It was different to the pastel coloured good luck balloons that everyone else held, a bright and vivid red with the word 'sorry' in loopy silver print. Alix had written underneath 'I didn't mean to knock you out' in black marker. "It's nice but it really isn't enough. If you want to apologise properly, you-"
"I will not wear a frilly princess dress on the first day back to school!"
Marinette choked on air.
Kim must have a death wish if he was trying to get Alix to do that. Her punch yesterday had given him an impressive black eye, maybe it had shaken his brains loose too. Or should that be looser? He hadn't been shy about provoking her before this. Heck, it had only been four months since Alix had wrestled him into submission and put him in a choke hold after one too many short jokes.
Kim seemed unaware that his death was close at hand and rolled his eyes at Alix. "Oh come on. It'll bring out your eyes."
"You are disgustingly sappy when you act like this."
Nino suddenly laughed and stepped between the two of them, risking life and limb and freaking Alya out where she sat next to Marinette. "You're wrong Alix," he pointed over all of their heads. "Disgustingly sappy has just entered the arena."
Marinette frowned at that, not the only one confused by Nino's words, but she only turned to look when Alya's screeched and started shaking her in her excitement. It was a little hard to focus while being rattled about but when she finally saw what everyone was looking at Marinette nearly fell off her seat.
"Adrien?"
He was walking into the arena with M. Guérin by his side, his disguise hat and scarf firmly in place, and even from this distance his wide smile was obvious. M. Guérin placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder and jerked his thumb at some nearby seats before pointing to their group. Adrien nodded, waved, and then took off at a dead sprint towards them.
Kim gaped and Alix whistled, impressed. "Holy shit, Agreste can run!"
Marinette ignored their awe as she struggled to shake off Alya's hands and scramble to her feet. Vaulting the seats, and ignoring the disbelieving shrieks behind her, she started to run towards her boyfriend but she had barely made it three steps before he was there, picking her up and swinging her around, his delighted laughter filling her ears. Marinette wound her arms tightly around his neck as his snaked around her waist as he slowed their spinning. Her feet had barely touched the ground before one of his hands was in her hair and pulling her lips to his and Marinette felt like she was floating again.
She was only dimly aware of the joyous squeals from their friends as she lost herself in Adrien's embrace, not caring how he got here only that he was, determined to enjoy every second she had with him. She could tell Adrien felt the same in the way he held her so sweetly to him.
Alix's shrill wolf-whistle ended their moment - seriously, she could cut glass with that shrill noise - and she gave a happy sigh as he rested his forehead against hers.
"Hi," he breathed.
Marinette giggled. "Hey."
The rest of their friends slowly walked over, slapping Adrien on the shoulder, congratulating him on his escape, expressing their joy at seeing him, and Marinette was content to just bask in the happiness radiating from him she he greeted their friends. Both of them refused to let go of each other though and no one suggested they separate so they could hug Adrien. Nino and Alya simply hugged them both in a group hug, far too used to their clingy behaviour.
Marinette pulled him over to the seats they had chosen for themselves and took her seat again, shamelessly pushing Adrien into Alya's seat and leaving her best friend to fend for herself. Alya just shook her head fondly and moved over to sit with Nino. Marinette pulled his arm around her shoulders and snuggled into his side with a happy sigh.
Kim immediately started back into his argument with Alix as if they hadn't been interrupted.
"It's like you don't even care you gave me this black eye," he teased. "You need to do something to make it up to me."
"I care enough to make it a matching set if you carry on."
Adrien chuckled warilly. "What on earth did I miss?"
Kim ginned at him and pointed at the vivid black eye shining on his face. "Alix gave me this wicked black eye yesterday-"
"It's your own fault for scaring everyone by pretending to be a cupid yesterday, you arse!"
Kim ignored her. "-and I don't think she's apologetic enough. This is really going to impair my concentration and focus for my races today."
"I am not wearing a princess dress! Ever!"
"Let's bet on it then!" Kim smirked. "I bet I win, you bet I lose, same as always. If I lose, I'll wear the princess dress. When I win, you'll wear it."
Alix paused, and for a moment it seemed like she was actually considering it. Marinette held her breath and prayed that Alix wouldn't do this. She could use some other bet to put Kim in a princess dress if she really wanted to, but Kim's victory was practically guaranteed.
Alix blinked, opened her mouth to reply, and everyone around her tensed in terrified anticipation.
"You are out of your mind, numbnuts!" she scoffed. "I'm not taking that bet. You would have had a better chance of me accepting if you hadn't said 'when you won' after playing up that tiny little bruise."
Kim just laughed. "True, I am very confident," he grinned and then flexed. Everyone groaned. "I am in peak physical form thanks to my new lactose free diet! There is no way I can lose today." Kim flexed again, shifting positions, then yanked his shirt up to show off his abs. "Just look at these beauties!"
Alix immediately started fake gagging prompting everyone else to giggle, and several people groaned, but Marinette couldn't see who did what as her boyfriend's hand suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, blocking her view. She twisted to look up at him and giggled at the mock scowls he was sending to Kim. She leaned up and kissed his cheek, then moved to whisper in his ear. "Don't worry, my silly, possessive kitty, I much prefer yours."
Adrien squawked and blushed beetroot and Marinette could help the peal of laughter that poured out of her. Mylène and Ivan, who were sat nearest to them, took one look and wisely decided they didn't want to know.
Kim just carried on flexing, ignoring everyone's joking protests, but Marinette couldn't help but notice he was wise enough not to get within reach of Alix's fists. Smart move. That right hook yesterday had been damned impressive.
He eventually covered up again. "Honestly, my Secret Santa is a genius. That dare to go lactose-free has changed my life. Even with a black eye and a headache there's no way I can possibly lose today! When I find out who they are, I'm gonna kiss them!"
A shrill whistle split the air. "Kim! Get over here!"
"Coming coach!"
He sprinted over straight away and as soon as he was gone, Nathanaël gave a distraught groan and sank into his seat with a whimper, burying his head in his hands. Sabrina was the closest one to him and she placed a concerned hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Nathanaël whimpered again. "Please god don't let him find out that I was his Secret Santa."
Sabrina clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her giggles, and a few other people chuckled too. Max was the one who attempted to reassure Nathanaël though. "He won't figure it out."
"He might. I'm his Secret Santa and his Secret Admirer too! He could figure it out."
"While normally something like that would increase his odds of figuring you out, trust me on this," Max promised and smiled. "He won't realise it was you."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I know Kim the best. Right now he's convinced that either Marinette, Alya, or Rose gave him his Secret Santa gift, regardless of the fact that we already know who they gave gifts to because of the personal touches they put on those gifts."
Rose had given Mylène a gift with her mother's homemade candles in it, Alya had given Nathanaël a superhero themes sketchbook, and Marinette had been unable to stop herself from adding some embroidery to embellish the hoodie she had bought for Nino. It was immediately obvious who those gifts came from as soon as they were opened.
And Kim still thought that one of them had been his Secret Santa?
Adrien scowled and wrapped his arm more tightly around Marinette. "He isn't kissing my girlfriend." Nino and Juleka echoed him emphatically.
"Definitely not." Marinette agreed wholeheartedly, fully prepared to throw Nathanaël under the bus if it came to it. Alya and Rose nodded in agreement.
"There's no need to worry!" Max tried to diffuse the tension in the room. "I doubt he'd ever attempt such a thing, not even if everyone dared him to do it." That was actually quite reassuring. Kim was notorious for accepting any dare, no matter how ridiculous. It was a mark of how much he cares for his friends that he wouldn't take such a dare. Max carried on. "As I was saying, he only thinks one of the girls gave him the lactose-free chocolates and the dietary dare because he associates the three of them with food gifts. But I can assure you that he will give up trying to figure out who his Secret Santa was once he realises it isn't the lactose-free diet that has him performing so well, but rather all the extra training time he has gained now that he is no longer, ah… indisposed so frequently."
The class gave a collective wince at Max's words. All of them had come across Kim at least once when he had been indisposed due to eating lactose. Usually deliberately. He had missed school from eating lactose almost as much as he had missed it due to akumas.
Alix was the one to point out the flaw in that logic. "How long is it going to take him to realise that though? He's the one who's been willingly eating lactose before big races and tests all of his life."
Max froze, having not considered that before, and then sighed. "...if his coach doesn't mention anything about his performance or his practice attendance by the end of the month then I'll talk to him."
On the track the two teams were gathering and preparing for their races, stretching their muscles out and teasing and laughing. They took that as their cue to get into position. Max grabbed the banner that Marinette had made and Rose and Juleka moved into position to help him hold it, Max and Juleka on each corner and Rose in the middle.
Rose still felt terribly guilty about getting him beaten up yesterday, but it had been so easy for her and Kim to get caught up in the idea - Rose because it was spreading cheer to the city, and Kim because it gave him a chance to show off his abs. Rose had shown up with three boxes of lactose-free chocolates and enough bright yellow and pink balloons that she was almost floating in apology. Kim forgave her at once, insisting there was nothing to be sorry for.
The rest of their class grabbed their balloons and moved into position on either side of the banner, ready to cheer for Kim when the racing began. There were still a few stragglers taking their seats around the racing track, what looked like a few parents and siblings arriving, but the main event would be starting soon.
Marinette leaned into Adrien a little more and decided she was perfectly able to cheer Kim on from here. He seemed to take that as an invitation to pull her into his lap and she giggled as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "How did you manage to escape?" she asked. She snuggled into him, nuzzling into his neck as she set her head on his shoulder and breathed him in. This just felt right. "I thought for sure I wasn't going to see you until tonight."
"You'll still see me tonight, my princess. And quite possible for every other piano lesson I have this holiday. But this right now is all because of you," Adrien said and pressed another kiss to her temple. "Nathalie was so impressed by my maturity regarding my scheduling arrangements, just as you predicted, that she's allowed me a few freedoms. I'm here for the race and after-party today, I can get three lunches with you this week, we can have one mid-week date, and our scheduled time on Valentine's Day is now three hours long.
"Really?" Marinette had been hoping it would work but she honestly hadn't expected it to. This was wonderful news! "Oh, Kitten, that's amazing!"
"You're amazing." He corrected with one more kiss. "This wouldn't be possible if it weren't for your plans and problem solving skills."
Monday 10th February 2020. 1.45 p.m. Marcel's Track, 21st arrondissement.
To the surprise of absolutely no one who knew him, Kim won every single race he was in by a long shot.
His lead was so great that he even had time to play to the crowd, waving and winking and throwing finger guns to their class where they stood by the finish line screaming their heads off. At one point he actually blew a kiss into the crowd and tackled as they shrieked in mock horror.
When he was given his well deserved gold medal they released most of the balloons they'd brought with them and cheered louder than anyone else there - which was saying something considering Kim's very large family had come to cheer him on too.
Adrien felt the usual pang of envy that ran through him as he watched yet another uncle scoop Kim up in a congratulatory bear hug, before passing him off to a cousin who messed up his hair. He was overjoyed for Kim and glad that he had his family around to share his victory, but it didn't stop him wishing that his own father could try to show up for a match even once. Years of competing and Adrien had never once seen Gabriel cheer him on at anything.
Marinette, ever attuned to his moods, leaned into him then and lay her head on his shoulder in silent comfort. Adrien smiled and pressed a kiss into her hair.
He was so very lucky to have this wonderful girl in his life. He knew that she would be at every single one of his matches, cheering him on even more than she had cheered for Kim today. He'd already caught a peek at the banner she was designing for his fencing competition next month.
No, he might envy Kim, but he now had something far better than Gabriel's empty promises.
Kim ran over then, grabbing Max in a giant hug of his own and letting his best friend wrap the banner around his shoulders as a cape of victory, and smirked and bowed to everyone.
Adrien joined the others in congratulating Kim, sitting around him in the stands and letting him excitedly recap the races they had all just watched. He had pulled Marinette into his lap again, not wanting to let her go so soon, and she had eagerly burrowed into his arms. He knew he didn't have much more time with everyone today and wanted to soak up all the happiness that he could.
As if that thought had summoned him, Adrien saw his bodyguard move into his peripheral vision. He was doing his best not to interrupt Adrien's time with his friends but he made a wrap-it-up gesture to let him know they were leaving soon. Adrien nodded and Marinette pressed a comforting kiss to his cheek. They would be together again later, but he was going to miss his friends.
Nino sighed, cluing the others in to Adrien's imminent departure. "You've got to go already, bro?"
"Soon enough." Adrien grabbed his phone from his pocket and checked the time. "I've got 15 minutes until I've got to be home, but Gorilla might let me stretch it out to 20. No more though."
Next to them Ivan and Mylène both sighed. "That's too bad," Mylène murmured.
Adrien shrugged. "It is what it is." He wrapped his arms around Marinette and held onto her just a little more tightly. He knew he'd be seeing her tonight, as soon as it was clear for him to leave his piano lesson he'd be transforming and slipping through her balcony door, but it still didn't make leaving her any easier.
Alya smirked. "Well, now is obviously the time to tell you two that we've had such a great idea!"
"I had the idea, Césaire." Alix frowned.
Alya just scoffed and waved her off, and Nino quickly stepped in to try and stop his girlfriend from becoming a punching bag. "Ladies, Adrien is on a time crunch right now, you can fight over ownership later."
They both backed down, and Alya gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks babe. Okay, so we were talking over lunch the day your dad returned and we realised that although we're doing this Secret Admirer thing, we're not at school right now. If we want to exchange our presents then we're going to have to meet up, right?"
"I'm having a party at mine on Valentine's Day." Alix grinned.
"Alix!"
"You were taking too long," she smirked and rolled her eyes at the annoyed Alya. Alya scowled and Alix stuck her tongue out at her before turning back to Adrien and Marinette, both of whom were looking stunned. "I'm hosting a party on Valentine's Day and you two are invited. We can all hang out as friends, you two and the other saps can have some couple time - but be warned I will kill you if you take it too far in my home - we'll have great food and I can guarantee a fan free environment."
Adrien could feel his smile growing with every word. This was exactly what he had been looking for as he thought about a way he could surprise Marinette on Valentine's Day. "Alix, that's… yes. That's awesome!"
"Of course it is, it was my idea!" Alix grinned and Alya choked on air beside her. "You can tell you dad that there will be plenty of adult supervision, and my house is the most secure other than yours and Chloé's thanks to my dad's work, so there shouldn't be any issues there."
Adrien had to ask for curiosity's sake. "And will there be adult supervision?"
Alix cackled. "Not a bit. Dad might stick his head in from time to time but he'll be working in his office all day and Jalil will be out on a date with his boyfriend."
Marinette was grinning too. "Do you really think this will work?"
"If you say it's a party then of course it won't. Not with those two killjoys at your house," Alix pointed out.
Adrien nodded. He had already decided that he wouldn't bring this up to Nathalie as a party. He hadn't been allowed a birthday party of his own, he'd had to lie and sneak away to get to his friends, and the only ones he regularly attended were things like the New Year's gala at the Hotel Grande Paris where he would be networking and representing his father's brand. Hardly a fun party.
Judging by Alix's smirk, she had the answer though. "But if you say it's part of a class anti-akuma initiative requiring a group study session at some time during the holiday when we're all free, then they might just say yes. Plus, we have our two class reps here to make it totally official so you won't even be lying."
Marinette was beaming. "It's official! It's official! Adrien?"
Adrien was already pulling his phone back out of his pocket. "I'm asking Nathalie now."
It felt like the longest text message he had ever typed out even though he kept it brief and to-the-point using Alix's story. Study group. School project. Attendance mandatory. As long as it felt to type it up it felt even longer once he had hit send and was eagerly awaiting the reply. Marinette was peering at his phone as intntly as he was as she snuggled on his lap, and everyone else was leaning in and holding their breath as they waited for the reply.
His phone dinged three minutes after he had sent the text and Adrien beamed. "She said yes!"
The cheering started again and they released the rest of the balloons but Adrien barely noticed. He was too caught up in the way Marinette had grabbed him and pulled him into a searing kiss. That was without doubt his favourite response of hers, even if it was taking every part of his brain that wasn't focussed on Marinette to push down his purr reflex.
When she finally released him, blushing pink, he pulled her close and showed her Nathalie's response. It was good news, but there was a small price for them to pay.
[Nathalie. 10-Feb. 1.56]: It would be better for your schedule if your friends could gather next week. Please double check with them to see if there is an alternate day possible. If not then I can rearrange your Friday to allow you five hours in total - that is all you are allowed for your date with Mlle. Dupain-Cheng and your class project. You will have to decide how much time to allot to each activity. The changes to your schedule now mean you may only have lunch with Mlle. Dupain-Cheng on Wednesday and Thursday. A print out of your amended schedule will be waiting for you when you return home.
Marinette read it and then kissed his cheek. "Our dates and lunches have been cut from four to two, but we get an extra long Valentine's date, and we can still see each other whenever we want. I'd call that a win, mon amour."
Alix let out a whistle to shut them all up and punched a victorious fist into the air. "Party at my place everyone. Bring food with you."
Alya laughed. "What Alix is trying to say is that, since she can't cook, we're all supposed to bring some food with us for the party - one savoury and one sweet dish. Let me know what you're going to bring and I'll list it all so no one brings doubles, okay?"
Everyone giggled, fully aware of Alix's infamously bad cooking skills, and nodded that they would bring something. Adrien wanted to join in, but he had one big problem. He looked to Marinette pleadingly. "Mon coeur?"
"Don't worry, I'll help you with the food," she promised and kissed him on the forehead. He gave a happy sigh and held her close, determined to get his cuddles in before he had to leave.
Author's notes: Marcel's Track is something I made up for this story. It's an indoor running track/gym/sports centre in the 21st arrondissement, perfect for this sporty group to use. Kim's lactose-free Secret Santa dare is in All I Want For Christmas chapter 21, as are the girls easily discovered gifts. Kim having a large family, both immediate and extended, is just a headcanon of mine.
Is anyone else not getting email alerts for PMs here? I was replying to some reviews and noticed I had a few PMs in my inbox, but I hadn't got an email alert for them. Oops. I swear I wasn't ignoring anyone.
Replies to reviews:
yellow 14 - yep, she just got so swept up in the romance, she didn't think about any of the implications of her actions. Poor thing. To be fair I think all of us would have punched Kim if he had shown up out of nowhere dressed as cupid. Glad you're safe after the storm, we had flooding and some trees down but thankfully not right on top of us.
Rose Tiger - glad you liked it :)
CrystalKaouri - yep, guaranteed happy stories here. Drama and angst have their place but I prefer to write fluff, friendship, and happily ever after stories (though with the whole Gabriel/Hawkmoth thing it is hard to ignore the drama sometimes). Rose can be a bit ditzy, as can we all really, but she was just so caught up in spreading happiness and love she just didn't stop to think. A lot like how Alya charges ahead with all things superhero without thinking much. Kim, of course, will never turn down a silly dare where he can show off. I worry for this class sometimes haha. Sorry for your dentist bill!
SirDudeman28 - no problems. If ever something isn't clear then please ask. I sometimes fall into the trap of assuming what's familiar to me is familiar to all (though I do try to do my research) so please don't be afraid to speak up if I don't make things clear enough. And yes, we're all eager to murder Gabriel. Pretty sure it's a prerequisite for membership in this fandom haha.