Sorry for the wait but I hope you enjoy this chapter! Leave a pun in the reviews!
Adrien couldn't stop staring.
Everyone from mme Bustier's class, even Chloe the she-devil herself, had gathered in the park for their first annual class reunion. It was nice talking science with Max and digging the other boy's brain about the fascinating theories behind the makings of his robot friend.
Everyone had contributed to the party, Marinette coordinating everything perfectly, ensuring there was a wide variety of food and drinks.
Chloe had even chipped in and arranged for a tentage for the party. That way everyone was safely sheltered from the summer sun. There was even a small stage set up with a couple of microphones. A DJ booth that had been set up to the side of the stage, away from the food table, had Nino drooling.
Adrien had complimented his childhood friend because really this was way more than he had ever expected of her to contribute, who had simply smirked and flipped her hair before she walked away to join Sabrina in conversation.
Max and Nino had spent the past half hour setting up the DJ booth and fiddling with the controls. Adrien and Nathaniel had been setting up the decorations with Ivan and Mylene. The smaller girl passing the decorations from the box to her much larger boyfriend.
Alya directing the group while Rose stood on standby with a clipboard in hand. Juleka was running late, she and Kim had been tasked with getting ice from the nearby store. Kim had just returned and was already heading back out to get more, Alix keeping an eye on their cooler box.
Adrien was tired as he finally got a chance to rest his arms when he got a seat near the food table. That is until Marinette appeared, late as usual, carrying 4 stacked boxes holding what he assumed were baked goods for the little get-together.
He blamed the lack of sleep for his lack of grace. Especially when Marinette appeared, petite body hidden by her multiple boxes. Her head peeking out from the top of her pile.
Adrien could only stare at Marinette's legs. He hadn't been able to see Marinette in anything less than sleep pants ever since the Great Swim Day, as Adrien had taken to call that particular adventure.
Even imagining the black one-piece Marinette had worn got Adrien to flush an embarrassing shade of red that made Plagg cackle gleefully.
So distracted he was by the smaller girl's appearance, that he hadn't noticed himself slipping from the chair. It was only when he was on his butt in front of a wide-eyed Marinette that he had realized he had literally fallen over at the sight of Marinette's legs.
In his defense, they were smooth, toned and looked pretty great. Especially in those shorts.
"I would have worn them a lot sooner if I had known these shorts were all it took to get you to fall for me, Agreste." Marinette teased softly, blue eyes twinkling with mischief showing Adrien that there was no malice in her words. She was still holding on to the boxes but had started to make her way next to Adrien to place the boxes down.
It seemed that ever since the Great Swim Day, Marinette had lost whatever reservations that had held her from being her true fiery and sassy self in front of the blond model.
He just hadn't known what it would have done to him now that Marinette actually flirted back.
She was the Marinette that he knew as Chat Noir and it warmed his heart considerably to finally be on the same level of friendship as his alter-ego. Perhaps the lack of clothes and awkward staring had played a great part in the pair's newest dynamics.
That only made him think about how he had finally realized that he was jealous of the lack of attention Marinette had paid him that day or every other day since Felix had returned home from boarding school. It seemed like the intense stares that he had gotten used to had ceased to exist, instead of having been shifted towards Felix instead. And didn't that make his heart fall all the way down to his stomach?
He didn't know what exactly had caused the sudden change in his dark-haired friend, but the absence had him standing awkwardly more than once in front of the smaller was like he couldn't get used to the lack of intensity in her gaze.
And now that familiar intensity was finally back and it was practically swallowing him whole. It was like he had lost whatever immunity he had built up over the years. He felt like he was losing himself the more Marinette paid any sort of attention to him.
Adrien could feel his entire face heat up, working a bright blush on his cheeks. Probably all the way to the tip of his ears. He scrambled to get up, swearing he could hear Plagg's snickers from somewhere nearby.
Wherever it was that God of Destruction had deemed a worthy hiding place. Probably somewhere he could get a great view of Adrien making an absolute fool of himself.
Nino came up to him, checking to see if Adrien was alright, Marinette turned away and began unpacking her cookies once she confirmed that that the model was indeed alright. Alya had joined the trio with a knowing smile on her lips as she continued to tease the blond. The only thing the blond had bruised from the fall was his ego.
Thankfully the cause of his little accident hadn't been noticed by the rest of the class, they had simply assumed that Adrien had slipped off of his chair. From the other side of the tent, Chloe narrowed her eyes. Sabrina glanced worriedly between the four friends and Chloe.
The red-head gently rested her hand on Chloe's shoulder. A silent plea to calm down. Except Chloe wasn't angry or even irritated. Well, just a little bit annoyed, really.
It was painfully obvious who Adrien had affections for. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Chloe glanced at her only other friend.
"I know, OK?" Chloe huffed and crossed her arms crossly.
Sabrina could only widen her eyes as she dropped her hands away from Chloe's sudden rebuttal, choosing to give her blond friend some space to think.
Of course, she knew. It was like she had always known but had refused to accept it.
It was so painfully obvious that Adrien had feelings for Marinette and it irked her to no end. But even a blind man could tell the two were good for each other. In the past year, it was Marinette that had been the one who was able to bring out that cheeky side of Adrien that previously only Chloe had known about.
The really playful and mischievous side of Adrien that she hadn't seen since the disappearance of the Agreste matriarch. Chloe frowned. It wasn't like Marinette was bad for Adrien. One could even argue that Marinette was what brought Adrien out of his shell, as painfully shy and awkward as she had been when the two had first known each other.
Marinette was kind, sweet. She probably didn't have a bad bone in her body. Chloe scowled at the thought. Marinette was too nice, she accepted everybody despite their obvious flaws. It hurt to think that Marinette would be the one person who could truly make Adrien happy.
It hurts knowing that Chloe hadn't been the one.
She had thrown plenty of tantrums, yelled at Sabrina, yelled at Jean-Jacques. Thrown the cushions of her sitting room all over in fits of complete rage. Screaming her throat hoarse in heartbreak, crying tears that she hadn't allowed to fall since her mother's departure. Jean-Marque and Sabrina watching worriedly from the safety of Chloe's en-suite kitchenette.
It wasn't fair.
Why were they always leaving her? Mama left because Papa placed work as a higher priority than his family.
And Adrien… well, Adrien hadn't really left her… Yet. But he would when he realizes how amazing and wonderful Marinette really was.
That's the problem, wasn't it?
Marinette really was a genuinely good person. If Chloe had asked to borrow that hideous black jacket Marinette was so fond of wearing, Marinette would lend it to her without hesitation.
Marinette would probably give her a couple of dirty looks but Chloe would still have that ugly jacket in her hands.
Even though Marinette was so kind, she still had such a fierce loyalty. She stood up for anybody that she thought was being bullied. Marinette even stood up to Chloe. Honestly, the year Adrien had finally attended public school was the year Marinette's backbone straightened and held the miraculous strength to carry ten men.
Marinette had never been the one who stood up for the bullied and weak since Chloe had always had a knack for getting under the usually pleasant girl's skin. Instead, the girl had chosen to offer her silent support and any help that she could give to the victims of Chloe's admittedly terrible abuse.
Adrien, with the help of Alya, had been the one who had brought out that protective streak in her. It was as if Adrien had been the final push that was needed for Marinette to ascend to ultimate levels of popularity. Something Chloe would never be able to achieve unless she had reigned her rule of terror with an iron fist.
It wasn't even like everybody had been forced to like the dark-haired girl. Marinette was just… Marinette. Marinette was a lot of things. Not all of them pleasant things. Boring, prudish, stubborn and prideful were some of the words Chloe would use to describe the bane of her existence. Yet everyone seemed to love her regardless. Clumsy, tardy, childish pigtails and all.
The two were good for each other and it made Chloe's face absolutely burn in jealousy.
Adrien had also made it very clear during their bi-weekly dinners that he would no longer tolerate any more bullying from Chloe. The tradition had started at the start of their school year at Lycée when Chloe had realized that she and Adrien were no longer in the same class
"I'm serious Chlo, I hardly get to see you as it is. I don't want the only thing I hear about you to be how you're mistreating your new classmates." Adrien set down his cutlery and crossed his arms while giving her his best frown. That didn't really hold any heat and made Chloe want to scoff at her oldest friend's actions.
Despite the not-really-threatening-but-it's-cute-that-you-tried gaze, Chloe knew that Adrien was serious and he would really cut off ties with her if she didn't mend her behavior with the rest of her peers.
Chloe automatically went on the defense, she wanted to talk back, a scathing remark already forming in her head. Instead, Chloe had dropped her jaw in shock at Adrien's firm request. She wanted to protest, truly. It had even been at the very tip of her tongue, but what choice did she really have? It was either find a new outlet to release her frustrations or lose someone else in her life.
"I won't promise you anything, Adri-chou." There, that was the closest Adrien would get to a cease-fire.
Adrien dropped his arms to his lap and gave her such a sunny smile, all teeth, and pink cheeks. It made Chloe blush just looking at it, she averted her eyes and bit her lip.
Chloe could count how many people she liked in two hands and the number of people she actually trusted in only one. She couldn't possibly lose Adrien who had been with her from the very beginning when she was at her very worse.
Feeling a nudge to her side, Chloe glanced at Sabrina who gestured to the stage area. Oh, she had really been lost in thought. Everyone had arrived, people were mingling and laughing. The overall atmosphere was pleasant. Ugh, she hated when things were pleasant.
Pleasant was when Papa giving her another branded handbag when he forgot about her birthday (again). To be fair, her father gave much better presents compared to M. Agreste. She rolled her eyes at the memory of the same tacky, (not even designer) pens that Adrien had gotten for three years in a row.
Chloe remembered scrutinizing the baby blue scarf that Adrien had worn the very next day and her eyes trailed over the very familiar stitching at the very end of the scarf. Carefully done so that it looked nothing more than intricate knitting.
She knew that stitching that bested her at that stupid hat competition anywhere. Hours of ranting and raving over Marinette's deviousness could attest to that. Or the fit that Jean-Paul had born witness to. Either way, Chloe knew that stupid signature like the back of her hand.
Yet Adrien had said that it was a gift from his father, and one glance at a furiously whispering Alya and a slumped (yet strangely pleased) Marinette, Chloe knew exactly what had happened. Her respect for the baker's girl went up a notch.
Instead of confessing to Adrien about the real origin of the scarf, the dark-haired girl was willing to allow Adrien to believe that his father wasn't as terrible than he actually was. (M. Agreste really was terrible in her own opinion. He should at least have realized that Natalie was getting his son the same damn pen.)
If Chloe didn't purposely antagonize Marinette that day, nobody bothered to say anything.
Marinette and Adrien were by the food table, talking. Chloe's heart clenched painfully when she saw how Adrien's eyes never left Marinette. She observed how Adrien looked genuinely happy. She hadn't seen that smile when he had come over for dinner.
That was a smile that only Marinette could bring out and it hurt Chloe to even acknowledge the fact. Sighing, the blond walked over towards the rest of her ex-classmates, giving the pair some space lest she unleashes her frustrations on the dark-haired girl. Sabrina hesitantly trailing behind.
Adrien tried his very best to not allow his eyes to wander. Marinette was wearing a long sleeveless top, it was cute and flowy. Marinette had exchanged her regular pink jeans for the pair of shorts in an effort to remain cool in the summer heat. It stopped just above the hem of her shorts. Her shorts that covered practically nothing except for the curve of her butt.
No, Adrien was not trying to get a look please stop looking at him like that. Thank you very much.
This was the first summer holiday that he had actually been able to spend in France. Since Felix was no longer overseas and thus Father no longer had any reason to leave the country for the holidays. Adrien secretly wondered if Father had really wanted to see Felix or to get inspiration from foreign cultures.
It couldn't be that foreign if they went to the same place for two weeks every year before leaving for photoshoots elsewhere. Photoshoots that were held out of the country that Adrien normally could not attend due to his new school schedule.
Honestly, Adrien was glad that he didn't have to go gallivanting across the globe at awkward hours of the day just so that someone could take photos of him. He truly appreciated the stability that the school had given him.
Ladybug had once commented how Papillon had not sent out any Akuma's during the summer and Adrien wondered if the corrupted wielder would continue to do so this year. Music started to play and before he knew it Marinette was stolen away by Alya, the two girls started to dance to the beat. Bright smiles on both of their faces.
Adrien caught Nino staring at his girlfriend from his position at the DJ Booth, Nino noticed Adrien staring and laughed. His friend grinned and gave him a thumbs up that Adrien returned with finger guns. Adrien glanced and saw Chloe talking quietly with Sabrina, he waved at her when he managed to catch her eye.
She had blinked at him before slowly raising a hand to wave back. Then proceeded to ignore him and continue her conversation with Sabrina. Adrien raised and eyebrow but really what could he do if Chloe was in one of her moods. It wasn't something that he wanted to get involved with if he could help it.
Adrien turned his attention to Kim and Alix, who were by the portable drinks dispenser Mylene had brought, laughing about something. Kim bragging about the weights he could now lift since he had been training. Alix taunting him to prove himself. Max had come up to the two of them and now there was a rowdy crowd gathering around the trio.
"I could probably bench press a cow. Have you seen these guns?" Kim exclaimed while flexing an admittedly impressive bicep for Alix.
"Yeah right, I bet you couldn't even carry Max." the shorter girl huffed and jabbed a finger at Kim's side making the taller boy yelp. Kim narrowed his eyes at his buddy.
"I bet I could toss you in the air like a frisbee, short stack." Lowering himself so that he was eye to eye with the pink haired girl.
"I want to see you try, dumbbells!" She stood on her tiptoes in an attempt to square off against the much taller boy.
It seemed a contest of strength was being planned right there and then. Marinette rolling her eyes affectionately at Kim and Alix. Really, everyone knew it was because the two hadn't been able to spend any time together since entering Lycée. They were in different classes and Kim was always busy after school with his swim club.
Soon enough, Nino was made referee and half the class was standing out in the grass. Marinette had somehow found herself grouped with the participants while Alya cheered her on. Adrien stood next to her with a challenging smile shot in her direction.
"I'll make sure you don't look too bad in front of everybody, Mari" Adrien winked.
Never let it be said that Marinette would turn down any challenge thrown her way. She placed a hand on her hip and gave her own challenging look towards the blond model.
"I'm pretty sure it wasn't me who lost the last challenge you gave me, Adrien." Marinette smirked. Adrien averted his eyes and fought the blush that threatened to take over his face.
Marinette in a swimsuit flying through the air like it was second nature to her made his stomach do flips that he wasn't comfortable trying to figure out why.
Kim saw the exchange and hollered at the intense atmosphere the pair had created. "Looks like Agreste and DC are gonna have a face off!" Alya cheered from her position next to Nino, Chloe frowned at the over-enthused red-head when Alya nearly smacked her in the face with a flailing arm.
Soon the contestants stood in a line. Marinette was at the end of the line, standing next to Adrien, who stood next to Kim. Kim was next to Ivan, the gentle giant looking awkward amongst the others. How Marinette got roped in to join the boys was simple enough when Alya lifted her shirt up to show off the petite girl's abs.
The rest of the class had oohed and ahhed. Even Chloe had given an appreciative once-over, choosing not to say anything. Instead, giving Marinette a nod in acknowledgment.
Adrien had flushed a bright red and frowned when he noticed Nathaniel's face turn the same shade as his hair. Guess his redheaded classmate still hadn't gotten over his crush on Marinette.
In a backward attempt of protecting Marinette's virtue,(who was he kidding he just didn't like that the entire class had seen her abs before he could) Adrien had been 'begrudgingly' added into the list of contestants, by Chloe.
"He's a model! Have you seen his shirtless photos? Adrien is fit." Chloe had declared very loudly. Alya took the chance that was presented to her and pushed Adrien towards Kim and Marinette. Nino had only grinned at Adrien's happy smirk.
While waiting for the contest of strength to actually begin, Adrien took a moment to think about why that bothered him.
It shouldn't matter who liked Marinette. (The fact that his own brother had quite readily admitted his feelings for the girl made Adrien's chest hurt.) Adrien was just jealous Marinette hadn't been paying enough attention to him lately. Right? It didn't matter whose attention Marinette had managed to capture.
Adrien frowned at himself. Even his own monologuing wasn't making any sense.
Since they were in a park and had limited resources, they decided to take turns to carry their former classmates. Mylene, Alix, Rose, Juleka, Nathaniel, and Max stood to the side with eagerness in their eyes. Rose was even excitedly bouncing in her spot.
Nathaniel hadn't really wanted to join in the competition, the idea of being the center of attention while under the summer sun made his palms sweat, but the possibility of being held in Marinette's arms, no matter how awkward the situation, was a chance too good to pass up. Rose and Juleka had only exchanged knowing looks and smirked as they stood on either side of him.
Max had been pulled along by Alix who was giggling at the entire situation. Mylene had joined in an effort to support her boyfriend. GIving him an encouraging smile whenever she could.
Alix was the first to be passed around. Ivan easily lifted her with large hands. Lifting the much smaller girl by placing gentle hands on either side of her, before carefully depositing her into Kim's waiting arms.
The swimmer had simply grinned, eyes twinkling in mischief before he tossed Alix repeatedly in the air as he walked, Alix shrieking,"Put me down or so help me I'll shave you bald you giant dickhead!" Kim ignored her protests and continued to toss her as high as he could, always catching her without fail before handing her over to Adrien.
Alix looked a bit dazed from having being tossed like a toy so the blond gently passed her over to Marinette who carried Alix back to the spectators in the tent. Setting the pink haired girl down on the ground carefully. Making sure that Alix really was alright. (She was, just a little nauseous but it was fun and she was grinning. Even if Alix looked a bit dazed.)
Nino declared Kim the winner because really, only someone as crazy as Kim would have risked tossing Alix like she was nothing more than a sack of potatoes.
Mylene was next to be carried but she didn't make it past Ivan who had blushed when she had reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek. He had dropped the smaller girl, only barely catching her before lowering her to the ground.
Nino had called for disqualification since Mylene's hand had managed to touch the ground before Ivan could properly catch her. Ivan shrugged because it wasn't like he wanted to compete in the contest anyways. He was pulled away by the giggling Mylene who held his hand in hers, eyes bright.
The group of friends playfully teased the couple as they went to take shelter under the tentage. Rose bounced excitedly over, pulling Juleka along with her. Kim carried Rose first, carrying her like he would a toddler and placed the small blond girl on one hip while he picked up Juleka with his free arm.
Rose giggled as she held on to Kim for balance. Juleka looking wary because really how did she get roped into these situations. Looking into the bright eyes of the petite blond girl made everything seem worth it though. Even if she was under the summer sun and wearing all black. Rose gave her a tinkling giggle and Juleka's discomfort washed away without protest.
Turning in a circle getting excited shrieks from Rose and protesting groans from Juleka, Kim passed the two girls to Adrien. Juleka climbed onto Adrien's back while Rose hung to his front like a koala bear. Everyone laughed at the awkward picture the trio had made while Alya took actual photos in commemoration.
"This is going up on my blog." Alya had declared.
"Get me a copy, I've never seen Adrien so included before." Nino had whispered to his girlfriend. Alya nodded in agreement.
Adrien had always kept to himself, preferring to watch the crazy bets between Alix and Kim rather than participating in them himself. It was a nice change to see Adrien being more proactive, and really it was only because Marinette had been entered.
Alya hadn't missed the glare that Adrien had shot at Nathaniel's general direction. Which was silly because both of them were equally red when presented with Marinette's bare stomach. If Alya had taken a sneaky shot so she could share it with Marinette later, Nino didn't comment because really, Nino was proud that his bro was coming out of his shell but this crush on Marinette was getting more obvious by the minute.
Marinette walked over to the laughing trio (well Adrien was laughing while Rose giggled. Juleka was just holding on for dear life) and gestured for Juleka to climb down before Marinette hoisted her onto her own back, and Rose let one arm loose as she practically jumped off of Adrien to land in Marinette's waiting arms. Resuming her clinging position, Rose and Juleka both laughed when Marinette almost lost her balance, trying to adjust to the sudden weight of the smaller blonde.
"Didn't think that all it took to sweep you off your feet was for a blond to jump into your arms." Adrien had teased.
"Are you offering? Because I only have the capacity to carry one blond at a time." Marinette retorted with a roll of pretty blue eyes. That action was so painfully familiar, Adrien had almost thought that Ladybug was the one standing in front of him.
"I'll let you carry me around anytime My-uh Marinette." He stumbled over his words, hand cupping the back of his neck as he tried to play off his mistake. The very idea that Marinette and his Lady were the same people, wreaked havoc in his mind.
In a true show of strength, Marinette whispered quietly to Rose and Juleka, ignoring the curious gazes of the two other contestants. Rose then slowly shifted so that she could grab on to Marinette's right arm. Marinette stretched her arm out and flexed as she precariously dangled Rose, who was clinging onto Marinette with all her might.
Her blue eyes wide in wonder. Marinette slowly stretched her other arm out and gestured Juleka to do the same. Only Juleka was taller than Marinette and it had been difficult for her to balance off of Marinette's arm without touching the ground.
In the end looking entirely too uncomfortable, Juleka curled herself up as best as she could, looking like a black and purple sloth as she dangled from Marinette's other arm, brown eyes wide as she tried to get over the fact that Marinette was supporting her weight as if she were a bag of groceries.
"OH MY GOD MARI" Alya squealed from the audience.
The rest of the class applauded Marinette's show of strength. Even Kim had dropped his jaw in shock. Alix laughed at the speechless swimmer, hearty laughter at Kim's gobsmacked expression. Adrien joined the cheering with a bright smile, clapping politely for his opponent.
The rest of the class gaped in awe at Marinette's admittedly impressive show of strength. They even laughed as Marinette tried to waddle her way towards the tent before she allowed the two girls to get off. Giving Adrien and Kim a smug grin.
Marinette was declared the winner of that round while Kim sulked and Adrien gave her a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. Adrien was secretly pleased with himself when he saw the blush tinting the girl's cheeks.
With only the two boys left, standing to the side of the contestants, they were told to choose their partners. Nathaniel blushed and shy eyes darted towards Marinette.
"Hey Max, you're gonna join me right?" Kim called out with a confident grin. Adrien frowned in displeasure. Nathaniel had caught Marinette's eyes and gave her a shy smile.
Marinette beamed at him and gestured for him to come over. The grin that Nathaniel displayed made Adrien's stomach clench. Standing without a partner, Adrien gave a questioning look to Nino.
The last challenge was to see who could carry their classmates the longest. Kim, Alya, and Chloe got into a heated argument, they had wanted the classmates who weighed roughly the same and no Chloe would not subject herself to being carried like a common sack of potatoes thank you very much. Even if it was Adrien who would be the one to carry her.
Alya smacked Nino in the shoulder, it was meant to be an encouraging pat on the back he was sure. The bespectacled boy tumbled over to his best friend while glaring playfully at Alya who mouthed an apology to her boyfriend.
Rubbing his sore shoulder, he gave his best friend a knowing grin. "Ready to wipe the floor bro?" Adrien laughed and exchanged their signature handshake "You know it, Nino."
Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! I have a couple of plans for this class gathering and I hope you all will continue to support me! I love reading all the amazing reviews you guys leave me. Please throw more puns in!