Charmer
"No, we need to go again. Boom mic was in shot."
"Sorry," Kim called out, lifting the large pole that supported the mic. "Now?"
"Bring it closer a bit if you'd prefer, just don't go any lower than… Yep, there. Keep it there."
The tall man nodded. Marinette, as Ladybug, looked to her side where the man stood, eyes drawn to how high his arms were being held up to steady the boom pole, yet his face was completely relaxed despite the obvious strain of its weight. For a brief moment, the man made eye contact with her and shot her a quick smile. She smiled back and turned quickly to resume her place.
Behind the camera, Marinette saw the assistants chatting among themselves while angling the shot correctly. The Kubdels, director and producer respectively, were speaking in hushed voices, pointing subtly to different people and parts of the set. All of the crew seemed to have somebody to talk to except her when her co-star was not on set.
Marinette looked past the set towards the large shutter doors leading outside where she often saw Chat Noir come from- the direction of his trailer. She shifted her weight on the spot.
"Ready to go?" Alex called out. "Everyone in position!"
The young actress straightened her stance, falling into the Ladybug persona once more.
"Scene fifteen, shot twelve, take five. Action!"
The clapperboard snapped through the air on her left. Marinette took a breath and changed her expression, becoming firm as she started opening drawers to the desk in front of her. She frantically flipped the pages of paper inside, slamming the doors shut in her search.
"Where is it," Ladybug muttered, biting her lip. She glanced up at the clock on the wall, her actions gaining further speed. She finally laid her hands on the item of interest, lifting up a small black ring and delicately holding it between her fingers. "Ah hah."
"Ladybug!" a male off camera yelled.
She turned to the doorway, face falling as she tightened her fist around the jewel in her hand.
"Cut!" Kubdel called out. "Much better. Let's finish off this scene and we'll be all done for today, I really appreciate everyone's effort but we need to keep it up."
Max hopped over to Marinette with a false smile. "Take five, Ladybug. Won't take us long to get this shot set up, but enough time for you to grab a drink and pick up your energy."
Marinette nodded with a smile and headed for the refreshment table. She rubbed her eyes, shutting them for a few seconds and sighing. When she opened them, Marinette found herself staring in the face of a familiar black cat.
"Chat!" she jumped. "I didn't hear you approaching."
The man furrowed his brows, holding his clawed hands up defensively. "I'm sorry, Princess, I didn't mean to sneak up on you."
Marinette smiled at her co-star. "Don't apologize. I'm just tired and it's making me jumpy."
"I couldn't tell you were tired, your eyes are as radiant as ever, my lady," Chat Noir winked.
Marinette pushed his arm lightly. "You charmer. Is it the suit giving you that confidence or are you always flirty with the people you work with?"
He faked hurt. "This charm comes natural to me. But now I've told you a clue to what I'm like behind the mask, you've got to tell me something about yourself."
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Nice try."
"C'mon, Ladybug," he drew out, "just one thing about yourself. I see you almost everyday and barely know anything about you."
"I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk once filming is over. We've got a contract to stick to, Chat."
He huffed and crossed his arms.
"So, how was your dinner this weekend?" Chat Noir inquired, smiling innocently at her.
"Lovely," Marinette commented. "I had one of the best nights ever. How was yours?"
"It was fun," he responded, brushing a hand through his hair. "And it made for a nice change of scenery. I don't normally get to go out like that."
Marinette wanted to warn him not to say much more about his personal life, but he looked glad to be talking about it and she didn't want to stop him.
"Don't normally go to dinner?" she asked.
"Not with friends, no."
Marinette wondered why this man, who seemed so friendly and charming, wouldn't be in a position where he could go out with his friends. She felt the smile falter on her face.
"I'm sorry," she said.
He frowned. "It's not your fault. But hey, look here's me telling you details of my life again!" He forced a smile.
The young woman laughed. "Okay, okay. I'll give you one bit of detail then to make it fair, and since I've already been at the dinner now I doubt you're going to go checking CCTV... Right? I went to that new place on the Seine, I forget the name but it only opened this weekend. If you're ever looking for somewhere to go again, I'd recommend it!"
Chat Noir opened his mouth to speak-
"Cast, we're ready for you on set!" Alex called from a megaphone nearby.
Marinette smiled at Chat Noir and started walking away. "Come on then, Chat, let's get this scene done."
Chat Noir's words fell quietly out of Marinette's earshot. "What are the chances?"
Hours later, Marinette crawled out of her trailer after checking there was nobody around to see her leave.
Phone in hand, she headed across the lot towards the front gate where she would wait for her cab to pick her up. She saw some people lingering by the security hut and hoped that it was nobody from her film that might recognise her. The young girl's eyes dropped to her phone where she diverted her attention to seem occupied, and right on cue a text message came through.
To: Marinette
From: Adrien
Hey, I just had a text from Aurore asking if you want to do that call tomorrow? – Adrien x
Marinette's mouth dropped. She fumbled a response with her cold hands.
To: Adrien
From: Marinette
Hey Adrien! I wsould lopve that1 thankypou! X
The minute she pressed send, Marinette frowned at her response.
To: Adrien
From: Marinette
Sorry for typos! X
She stared at the thread of texts as a bubble popped up to show Adrien was typing.
"Marinette?"
The young girl drew her eyes up from the cracked phone screen to the direction of the speaker, finding herself looking at a young man with a familiar face.
"Nathaniel!" She smiled widely, approaching the red-haired man. "It's so good to see you."
His eyes quickly flicked up and down at her. "You too, Marinette. It's been so long since we last saw one another."
"I know," Marinette frowned sadly, "a couple of months at least, right?"
"Three months, I'd say," he shrugged, then raised his eyebrows. "Not that I'm counting or anything. Um. Meet my friends!"
The young man stepped to the side slightly and gestured at the two other people stood beside him. Marinette's mouth fell as she made eye contact with one individual.
"This is Juleka," Nathaniel introduced. "And this is Rose. We're all working on the same film together."
"N-nice to meet you both!" The young woman stuttered, closing her eyes in a bright smile and waving.
"Nice to meet you too. Marinette was it?" Juleka asked nonchalantly, as if she didn't already know Marinette.
"Yep, that's me. Just Marinette."
The corner of Nathaniel's mouth turned up into a small smile. "So what brings you around here?"
"Oh, um. Just acting for a small film, you know, nothing important like what you're working- I mean, what I assume you're working on? Are you still doing set design?"
Nathaniel didn't acknowledge Marinette's babbling, he was used to it. "Yeah, I've been quite lucky with it to be honest with you. I owe it to you though, I was close to giving up on it a couple of times."
"I'm glad you didn't," Marinette smiled. "We should never have to give up on our dreams! I'm happy it's worked out for you, Nath."
He blushed.
A car stopped outside the gate and beeped the horn.
"That's my cab," Marinette apologised. "Sorry to dash. Hey, text me sometime soon Nath so we can catch up. Nice to meet you Rose and Juleka!"
They waved as the young girl clambered into the vehicle, glad to be free of the situation. After telling the driver the destination address, Marinette unlocked her phone to see one more text message.
To: Marinette
From: Adrien
Great! I'll see you tomorrow then at the café at about midday? :) P.S. I will pay for you to get your screen replaced btw. Talk tomorrow – Adrien x
She smiled at her phone and set a quick confirmation text back to him, then settled to stare out of the window to the passing streets of Paris. She was living a dream.
I know, this is a short update and I've been gone for a while- I'm sorry! The next update won't be too far off this time. I'm amazed to see that the views for this story have still been going up despite me not updating and I'm so grateful to you all for reading this and especially to those who follow, favorite, and review. Thank you!
Replies to reviews:
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Gypsy: Thank you so much for your lovely words! This encouragement means so much to me. As for the reveal, I have everything planned out but you're just going to have to stick with the story to find out in case I change anything along the way!
FlameDragonHime: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it!