I should really be doing schoolwork.
That day Adrien learned a few things about Marinette.
One, she was fast.
Two, if she didn't want to get caught, she wasn't going to get caught.
A near fifteen minutes were spent trying to get a grasp on the squealing girl. He easily caught up with his longer legs, only for her to duck and dart away from under his reach. Once she stopped for a minute, breathing hard as she finally snapped, "Just let me stay home alone!"
Then she realized that she yelled at him, allowed him to get in grabbing distance, and blushed as she babbled apologies, and fled away again.
No matter what he said, it fell to deaf ears. She was too excited to listen to him.
When he finally snagged her, Adrien was just about ready to plant his face to the grass and sleep.
And that was something with him being a hero.
It took a lot to exhaust him.
Damn Marinette.
He got lucky that she got tired out enough to slow down. Seizing his chance, he scooped her up, and sent them both toppling into a bench. His arms wrapped around the panting child to keep her there, he allowed himself to slump as he caught his breathe.
Just... damn Marinette.
Who knew she could move?
He started when he felt a weave tug at his sleeve.
"I can... stay home...alone," Marinette huffed out, red faced as she went limp on his chest.
"Not leaving a kid alone," he returned, sighing as he let his head drop back on the bench. He tightened his grip on her when he felt her move in his arms. He heard something between a growl and a squeal. He laughed, offering, "You know, I didn't know that you could move that fast."
She groaned aloud slumping against his chest as she smeared her hands over her face. Frowning down at her he asked, "Is staying with me really that bad?"
She jerked in his grasp, turning her big eyes to him. "What?"
He asked once again, "Is staying with me so bad?"
"No!"
"Then why do you keep running away from me?"
Why was she so adamant about her staying home alone? Did she know that it was ok to receive help? Did she realize how difficult her position would be to stay home alone?
Or was it really just him she had issue with?
Not even Chat got that reaction.
Then again, Marinette actually did like Chat...
Hearing Marinette huff brought him back. "No, it's not you..." she stammered. Pouting, she tugged at her hair as she looked away from him. She looked up, across the way to her parents' bakery. She pointed to it. "It needs to be watched!"
He raised a brow. "I think it could handle a few more hours on it's own... You sure I shouldn't just try and find someone else?"
"No," she sighed, crossing her arms as she turned to him. She stared at his hair. His hair was easier to stare at. "I'm fifteen. I shouldn't need to be watched."
"I know," he eased, "it's just, you could certainly use some help. And I agree with Chat that someone should be watching over you. At least, you can hang at my house till this is all over." And it'll be over soon when he brought Ladybug the akuma.
That is, if he found her.
Curiously he hasn't seen her zooming through the skies yet...
Marinette squeaked again, hiding her face away in her arms.
Worried that she was going to be resistant, he added, "I have a lot of games you can play."
That did catch her attention. She turned her imploring eyes up to him, looking like she was filing away that detail.
"And food," he continues, "we got a lot of food you can snack on, and I have a pretty big, soft bed you can sleep in, and..." What else did kids like? What else would Marientte like? "You can check out my closest. I got a lot of clothes from my dad you can look at and-"
He jumped when she slapped her hands on his knee. "I want to see your closet!" she exclaimed excitedly, wiggling in her seat. Only to stiffen when she realized what she blurted out. Whimpering she hid her face behind her hands again.
Adrien laughed. She was just too cute. Making a mental note that Marinette could be bribed with clothes, Adrien easily scooped her up, ignoring surprised squeak. Bouncing her a little as he gave her a reassuring smile, he proclaimed, "Let us go homewards!"
It was a stroke of luck that his father and Nathalie were away for a week.
He wasn't sure if they would turn Marinette away, but the thought of bringing her up to them was a little unnerving.
Thankfully he had only the Gorilla to watch over him, and when he told the situation to the large man, he readily agreed to allowing the little girl to stay. He surprised them both when he handed Marinette a lollipop. Adrien could see that Marinette was trying not to be too awed with the candy, but with how big her eyes got, she was very happy to receive it.
Uttering a shy thanks to the large man, she ripped off the wrapper a little too eagerly as she started to suck on it.
It was too cute.
How can kids be so damn cute?!
Clearing his throat, Adrien let her down as he opened the door to his bedroom, waving to the large room in it's empty glory.
And Marinette, trying hard not to be too awed since she did see it a few times before, felt an instinctive twitch echo through her being. Adrien's room was big, visually interesting, and there were so many things that were drawing her attention.
She wanted to slide down that ramp.
She wanted to see if she could scale up it.
And slide down in gleeful success.
He had some arcade games.
Along with a huge system and collection of other games.
And a rock wall.
Never before in her life has a wall looked so appealing.
She would not climb it. She was Ladybug. A sophisticated hero. She enjoyed so many heights that she didn't need to scale that rock wall even though it was right there and it was begging to be scaled and she-
"Ok!" Adrien chirped, easing her into the room. "Everything is pretty much open to be used, I got games, some movies, you can use my bed for a nap, don't be shy about it if you need to sleep; I can get you food, and uh-" What else Agreste? What else... "And the closest! If you want to see the closest I can show it to you!"
Her eyes blown wide as she turned to him, nodding slowly that yes she would love to see his closest.
Grinning, he bowed. "Right this way Princess!" And then stiffened at his slip up.
Thankfully Marinette didn't notice. She squealed and did her excited wiggle. Slumping in relief, Adrien lead her across the room to his closest. Feeling Plagg tap at his chest, he opened it, ushering her in as he hurried out, "I need to use the bathroom, you ah, enjoy yourself! Shout if you need anything!"
She absently nodded as she slowly walked in, taking in all the clothes his father designed. Excitedly she babbled, "I remember that line! Gasp!That's the summer line from last year! Oh my God that jacket! I remember that jacket! Eeee! Look at that embroidery on the jeans!"
Adrien quickly left her to her fun, closing the bathroom door behind him. Letting Plagg out, he agreed when the kwami bid, "Let's contact Ladybug and see if we can get this over with."
"Oooooooh," Marientte cooed in awe, flipping over one of Adrien's coats, taking in the details that Gabriel did. This was certainly something she could experiment with. Though maybe some different material instead, and she'd like it to have a little more decor on it and-
"Marinette!"
The little girl jumped, looking down as Tikki peeked out. "Chat Noir is calling!"
"Oh!" That's right! Akuma! She had an akuma to cleanse!
Just as she was about to call Tikki for a transformation, Adrien called out, "Marinette? You ok?"
Squeaking, she quickly replied, "I'm fine!" and shoved Tikki back in the purse. To the pouting kwami, Marientte reassured, "Later, when we're alone!" Or at least, not in ear shot of anyone. Adrien could hear her talking with Chat, or worse see the transformation, or just see a little Ladybug in his closest instead of Marinette.
He would flip out.
No.
She couldn't risk Adrien seeing a little Ladybug in his closest where Marinette needed to be... If anyone was going to see little Ladybug, it was probably going to be Chat.
Marinette made a face.
Knowing that damn cat, he was going to withhold the akuma and take pictures. She knows he will.
Marinette groaned, tugging at her tiny pigtails in mild frustration. There was no way around it. But first, she had to get away from Adrien. Or maybe wait till he left the room, maybe she could slip out-
"Hey!" Adrien chirped behind her, making her jump. She tilted her head back looking up while he smiled down. "Want to play some games? Or a movie? Or are you tired? Or-"
His cell went off. Jumping, he slid it out of his pocket to see Nino calling him. "One moment," he bid, walking out and heading towards his windows, staring out as he answered, "Hey man!"
Marientte couldn't believe her luck.
This was a perfect chance to sneak out, make use of this huge house and disappear, she can contact Chat, fix this, hurry back as Marientte, thank Adrien, maybe set up a movie date, and hello rock wall.
Sad to say, she only got a few feet from into his room.
"Dude I need help," Nino insisted from his side, his voice much higher than it should be. And Adrien probably shouldn't be smiling at the sound, but he couldn't help it. This really did have to be one of the funniest akuma attacks. Poor Nino. "If Wadybug doesn't fix this, can you babysit me tomorrow bro? Mama, er, mom, said she'd take me to work. I don't wanna go to work with her."
"Why?" Adrien asked, trying hard not to laugh.
"Cheeks man! Get with the program!"
Now Adrien was confused. "Cheeks?"
"You know man! Cheeks! Every time a parent takes you to work, they, well, cheeks!"
Something about cheeks... Adrien didn't know. When he was brought to work, he only posed and had pictures taken of him when he was little. "I really don't understand what you're talking about Nino," he confessed, his smile going sheepish at the groan on the other side.
"Ok bro, wet me way it out for you. For some reason, when parents bring kids to work, people can't help but pinch their cheeks numb. I don't wanna get pinched bro!"
Oh. Oooooooh. That was a thing. Adrien thought that was just a movie trope. He's never had anyone pinch his cheeks before as a kid. Maybe that was a good thing?
Clearing his throat, Adrien said, "Well, I'm currently watching Marinette. But if you need someone to watch you, I guess she wouldn't mind the company." And it should be fine, he reasoned. Both Marinette and Nino were pretty cool and chill. There shouldn't be any trouble watching them both.
Well, there was still getting a hold of Wady-Ladybug. Damnit. He was starting to call her that too!
Having Nino over could either make him getting to her easier, or harder.
They could distract each other. Play games while he slipped out, and he's sure Ladybug would be reasonable enough to meet him close to his house so he could be close and-
"You're watching Mari?" Nino asked, surprised and... excited?
"Yeah?" Adrien confirmed.
"Oh! Ok man! Never mind me! You continue to watch Mari!"
"Wha? You sure?"
"Yeah man! I'll take the cheek abuse! But I better get resuwts!"
Results? What results?
"O...k?" Adrien bid warily, turning to check on Marientte. "But, you know, we really wouldn't mind you staying. I'm sure Marinette would lovaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Adrien nearly dropped his phone.
Marinette was scaling the rock wall.
Marinette was scaling the rock wall!
AND SHE DIDN'T HAVE ANY SAFETY GEAR ON!
AND THAT WAS A HARD FLOOR BELOW HER!
"Bro?" Nino called, worried.
"I'llcallyouback!" Adrien rushed, practically throwing his cell away as he rushed over, crying, "Marinette!"
Surprised, she slipped and Adrien's heart stopped because she was falling!
And restarted as he caught her.
So overcome with relief, he fell to his rear, breathing heart as he pressing her tightly into his chest. Giving a moaning sigh, he fell back, ignoring her squeal as he laid back, Marinette laid over chest. For the moment he laid there, trying to calm his raging heart as he just took in that she was laying on top of him, the small child was safe. She was ok. Everything was ok.
"Adrien?" Marinette managed out warily.
"Don't do that," he gasped, "again."
"What?" she asked, confused.
Looking down at her, meeting this big teal eyes, he stressed, "Don't go climbing that wall ever again." She nearly gave him a heart attack!
Instead of a docile agreement, she raised a dark brow at him. "What?" she demanded.
He sat up, grimacing. "Don't climb that wall again," he stressed.
Marinette took it as a challenge.
Crossing her arms with a serious pout on her lips, she grumbled, "I was fine."
"You could have died!"
"Bruised," she corrected, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
Adrien sighed, making Marinette jump as he slumped forward, resting his head lightly on top of her own. Softly, he confessed, "You really scared me back there." His heart was still pounding heavy in his chest at the mere memory. Never has he seen something so frightening. He could relate to his dad now, recalling all the times he freaked out when Adrien climbed library shelves, or trees, or furniture...
He sat up, giving her a shaky smile, he said, "If you really want to climb the rock wall, let me know. I'll get you some safety gear and you can scale it all you want."
Gazing up at him, she surprised him by patting his wrist reassuringly. "I climbed enough today," she stated, giving him a small smile. "How about a movie?"
He was so relieved he could kiss her.
He settled with messing up her hair, grinning as it fell free of her ribbons finally. Scooping her up and cuddling her to his chest, he asked, "What movie you want to watch?"
Blushing hard, Marinette tried to hide it with her hair as she asked, "Uh, Princess Bride? You have it?"
No but he could easily get it!
"Sure Little Princess!" he promised, laughing as she tried to bury her face in her shirt.
The Gorilla easily getting them the movie, and both settled snugly on the couch, the day finally caught up to them. As their eyes grew heavy, they both knew that this would be the perfect chance to slip away, find their partner, and fix this.
But they were so tired from today's events.
A small nap wouldn't hurt...
Plagg sighed as he floated above them, not scared of being seen at all with two conked out kids below him. "Idiots," he grumbled quietly, shooting a look to Tikki as she shushed him from the floor. She flew up, giggling at the two.
Adrien was half lounging on the couch, Marinette pulled up to lay on top of him, with one arm laid over her. And her tiny chosen was curled up so cutely on top of him.
Utterly adorable.
"Let's grab his phone and take a picture!" she suggested, turning her huge blue eyes to him.
Plagg raised a big brow at her. "He's going to think I took it!"
"And he's not going to be wrong! You're going to help me because I want a picture of this saved!"
Plagg groaned loudly, allowing his red counterpart to drag him towards the tossed away cell. It was just going to get worse after they discover each other. He hoped there was at least some good cheese bread in his future when they finally got together.