"Are you ready to go back to school?" Tikki asked as Marinette got ready.
"Mhmm!" She hummed and brushed her hair out and looked at the hair ties she usually wore.
"I think I'll wear my hair down today." Marinette said adjusting her bangs in her full length mirror.
"You should! You look so pretty!" Tikki gushed, Marinette giggled.
"Thanks Tikki!"
"Wait! I know something that'll make it perfect!"
Tikki buzzed to the box that held all of Marinette's accessories and after shuffling around, she pulled out a bow.
"The Chat Noir bow I made?" Marinette asked blushing lightly at the bow she made.
"Mhmm! It'll go with the green shirt and black leggings you're wearing!" Tikki said, Marinette looked at herself and smiled when Tikki perfectly placed the bow in her hair.
"When did you become such a fashionista?" Marinette asked, Tikki giggled.
"I've learned a thing or two from the best!" Tikki said smiling, Marinette smiled too.
"You're so sweet." Marinette said.
"Just honest." Tikki replied, Marinette rubbed Tikki's little head.
"Hurry Marinette! You don't want to be late!"
"I'm going now Maman!"
Marinette almost nervously walked up to the school, she clung to the cast that covered her entire arm and people started to gasp and gape at her, she hung her head.
"Marinette!" Alya exclaimed, Marinette smiled and rushed to her friend and hugged her.
"Alya!" She called happily.
"Girl, you look so cute today! Who's the lucky guy you're getting all dolled up for?" Alya asked with a smirk as she poked Marinette's hip, she shooed her hand away.
"N-No one. I just wanted to wear my hair down…"
"And also for the fact that I can't put my hair in pigtails with one arm…"
"And the Chat Noir bow?" Alya asked, Marinette blushed and turned her head away, the bell charm clinking as she did so.
"Tikki said it matched my outfit…" Marinette whispered.
"It totally does!" Alya said looping her arm with Marinette's good one as she pulled the girl into the building.
"How was yours and Nino's date?" Marinette asked.
"It was great! We had a picnic then we watched movies at my place, he even helped me come up with some topics for the Ladyblog." Alya said.
"That's awesome! I can't wait to hear about them!" Marinette said smiling as they entered the classroom.
"Hello beautiful." Nino said as Alya entered.
"Hello." Adrien spoke.
"Hardy har har." Nino said with a roll of his eyes and kissed Alya's cheek and they were warped into their own conversation.
"Hey M-Marinette, how you feeling?" Adrien asked with a slight blush to his cheeks.
"G-Good, thank you for asking…" Marinette spoke.
"You're wearing your hair down for once." Adrien noted, she quietly chuckled and played with the strands.
"Y-Yeah! I didn't feel like putting them up…it's weird isn't it?" Marinette asked looking down.
"Actually Princ- cough M-Marinette, I think it looks good on you! You look pretty…" Adrien spoke and tucked a strand of her behind her ear.
Marinette gaped at him.
"Did I really just say that!?"
"Did he really just say that!?"
"T-Thank you!" She said blushing red and looking down at the floor with a huge smile.
"I j-just noticed your bow!" Adrien exclaimed.
"Y-Yeah...I made it…" She said quietly.
"Wow, you made that!?" Adrien asked.
"Yes!" She quipped and looked up and was surprised to see his bright smile.
"It's amazing! Is it…Chat Noir inspired?" Adrien asked.
"Y-Yes! I have a few accessories that're Ladybug and Chat Noir themed…" Marinette said with a light blush.
"You're so talented Marinette!" Adrien smiled leaning closer to look at the bow, she blushed deeper.
"N-No way…"
"Yes way! You're so talented! You make these bows and create so many things! You make it look so easy when it's a rather hard thing to do and it's amazing!" Adrien said with a smile, Marinette gaped at him.
"Someone call an ambulance, Marinette's gonna need one." Alya said smirking as placed her hands on the girls shoulders.
"Alright everyone, in your seats. Pull out your textbooks and turn to Chapter 18."
Marinette was startled to find Nino plomp himself in her seat, she blinked at him and looked at Alya who nudged her head towards the seat next to Adrien, Marinette desperately shook her head at her friend but Alya wasn't budging.
"Marinette?" The teacher asked with a hand on her hip, Marinette sighed and sat in the seat next to Adrien, she placed her bag on the desk and looked for her textbook but noticed she didn't pack it.
"I forgot the dang thing again!"
"Y-You can share with me?" Adrien suggested gently, Marinette knew she had no choice and slid closer to the blonde as he opened the book to the chapter.
"Read the chapter and fill out all the questions at the end and continue this till you reach chapter 21."
"Twenty-one." Kim said with a weird voice and chuckled to himself.
"Something humorous Kim?" The teacher asked.
"No Madame."
"Then focus on your work."
"Yes Madame."
Marinette rolled her eyes and started to work, good thing Chat Noir helped me yesterday otherwise this wouldn't have made any sense.
"Wow, you're really good at Physics Marinette." Adrien mentioned quietly to her.
"Not at all, it's my worst subject." Marinette replied.
"You seem to have it in the bag." Adrien said watching her hand glide across the paper.
"Well I had some excellent help yesterday." Marinette said.
"Oh really?" Adrien asked raising an eyebrow.
"Uh, I mean…y-yeah, a…friend! Yeah a friend helped me…" Marinette said biting her tongue after her sentence.
"What kind of friend?" Adrien asked.
"The friendly kind?" Marinette said and internally kicked herself. The friendly kind? Seriously!?
Unbeknownst of Marinette's internal kicking of herself, Adrien laughed lightly.
"Well that's good!" He quipped, Marinette smiled lightly.
"Y-Yeah…"
"I'm glad your friend helped you out! Looks like they really know their stuff!" Adrien said.
"Definitely, he almost explained it better than the teacher," they glanced at said teacher "just don't tell her I said that…"
Adrien quietly chuckled behind his hand and Marinette giggled alongside him.
"My lips are sealed My-Marinette!" Adrien spoke, damn, he can't hold back the pet names with her around! Hopefully she didn't catch that…
Marinette hummed to herself and continued to work, Adrien sighed and did his own work.
And unbeknownst to them, Nino and Alya shared a knowing look and fistbumped.
"I'm so hungry!" Nino exclaimed as he bit into his Burger and sighed happily, Alya laughed.
"You're always hungry Nino." Adrien said as he poked around his salad.
"I need to eat dude." Nino said with a roll of his eyes and took another bite of his burger.
"Adrien's is the one who needs to eat, Mr. Rabbit food over here." Alya said poking Adrien's shoulder, the blonde laughed.
"It's what my father says I eat. I have to keep my "model" figure." Adrien said with a roll of his eyes.
"A salad can't be enough for you though can it?" Marinette asked before taking a bite of her crêpe.
"Not really but I can't defy my father, I was lucky Natalie and I managed to convince him to let me eat lunch here at the school." Adrien said biting into his cherry tomato.
"Have some cookies, I always bring extra." Marinette offered, Adrien gladly accepted one. He learned to never turn down anything from Marinette's bakery.
"Thank you!" He said smiling and bit into it and sighed happily.
"You never get to eat sweets?" Alya asked, Adrien shook his head.
"No, my father won't let me have anything like that but I sneak a few when he isn't around, like right now." Adrien said with a sly smile and ate the rest of the cookie. Course I burn off anything I eat when I'm Chat Noir and saving the city.
"Lucky Marinette can eat all the sweets she wants and not gain a pound! I think I might gain a few pounds just from looking at that crêpe." Alya spoke.
"I just burn it all off anyway." Marinette mumbled.
"It all goes to my thighs." Alya said poking her thighs.
"Your amazing thighs." Nino said with a smirk.
"Shut up Nino." Alya said rolling her eyes, Marinette laughed.
"It must be nice to eat them all the time though, I'm jealous!" Adrien said.
"I usually don't! Being around them so often, you get use to them! I like to bake them and bring them to you guys though." Marinette said.
"You baked these?" Adrien asked.
"Mhmm!"
"Marinette can bake a lot of things!" Alya gushed.
"Only cookies and brownies! My macarons need a lot of work…" Marinette spoke.
"I'd love to try them!" Adrien said with a smile.
"R-Really? But your diet…"
"My fathers strict diet be damned, I'd never turn down something sweet from your Marinette." Adrien said.
Marinette .exe has stopped working.
"Marinette?"
Error, error.
"I gotta use the restroom! Come on Marinette!"
"But Alya!"
"Girl, he's totally crushing on you!"
"Dude, you're totally crushing on her!"
"N-No way! He's totally out of my league!"
"S-She's just a friend!"
"Dude."
Adrien looked up at him with a small pout.
"You are totally flirting with her, you have been all day. Don't think I haven't noticed."
"He's totally been flirting with you all day! Have you not noticed! Girl, he told you you looked pretty with your hair down and he complimented you!" Alya gushed as she and Marinette walked to the Ladies room.
"H-He's just being sweet…"
"You called her pretty and flat out told her that fuck your father strict diet and that you'd eat anything sweet she'd give you."
"I was being honest! That wasn't flirting!" Adrien said, Nino shook his head.
"Help this boy." Nino said to the heavens, Adrien looked at him with a raised brow.
"Dude, that's flirting. You flirted with Marinette!"
"Sweet? Girl, if he was any sweeter to you today, I would've caught a cavity. He was totally flirting with you!" Alya said.
"You really think so!" Marinette said blushing.
"Yes! He totally likes you!"
"Dude, you totally like her don't you?" Nino asked.
"L-Like Marinette!? But she's just a friend Nino!" Adrien exclaimed.
"Alright, so am I along with Alya right? Even Chloe."
"Okay?"
"Would you have complimented us if we did something different with our usual look? Or gushed to us about how amazing we are at something? All the while smiling like a kid on Christmas morning and blushing like a school girl?"
"Well I-"
"No, you wouldn't have. I know you dude, you like her!" Nino said.
"She's a friend Nino! I d-don't have a crush on her! She just an amazing friend of mine! It's not like I want to kiss her freckled cheeks or run my fingers through her hair…"
Adrien was trialing off before he realized what he said out loud and looked at Nino who was smirking, Adrien sighed defeatedly and Nino patted her shoulder.
"Young love."
"I-It's not love…"
"But you do have feelings for her?"
"Well, she makes me smile and the happiest I've ever felt since my mom left. She's warm and I like being around her, I like seeing her smile and hearing her laugh, it warms my heart and makes me feel good." Adrien began.
"Is that love? Is this what love feels like?" Adrien asked looking up at Nino, the boy gave him a gentle smile and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I think you do have feelings for her…you just haven't recognized it as love…" Nino spoke gently.
"I've never had friends, I've never been in a relationship so I'm not exactly sure what love is and what it is to love someone." Adrien said.
"I'm no expert but what you feel for Marinette is what I feel for Alya…and we've been dating for a long while now…and…I think I do love her." Nino said, Adrien raised his head at him.
"You do?" Adrien asked.
"Yeah…I think I do. I love being with her and everyday we spend together just makes me fall for her more, I adore everything about her and who she is and she inspires me. She's helped me become a better person and reach for my goals when no one really has…my parents do but they haven't supported me like Alya has and I love her for that. She makes me so happy and…yeah, I love her." Nino said with a smile, Adrien's heart clenched. Damn Nino…
"Wow, you truly do love her…" Adrien spoke, Nino nodded.
"I do and I can see that she loves me too, I can see it in her eyes." Nino said.
"Her eyes?" Adrien asked, Nino nodded.
"They eyes is the best way to read a person. Look into their eyes and you can see all their emotions." Nino explained.
"Do you think Marinette see's me that way?" Adrien asked. Duh dude!
"Well, you're just going to have to find out for yourself." Nino said.
"Find out what for himself?" Alya asked with a raised brow.
Adrien nearly jumped out of his skin when the girls popped out out of nowhere, how much did they hear!?
"He was wondering if he passed or failed the test we had in science." Nino said smoothly.
"I aced it." Alya said smiling.
"You should've! We studied for this one." Nino said to her as she sat down next to him, Adrien looked at them carefully. He noticed their interactions and how they talked and how happy they looked together, he noticed the almost longing look in Alya's eyes when Nino laughed.
"Adrien? You okay?"
Adrien turned to Marinette as she sat next to him, he looked into her bluebell eyes and smiled.
"Perfect Marinette." Just like you my Princess…
It was late in the evening when Chat Noir ran and jumped across roof over roof until he landed on a roof to rest, he sat on the edge of the building and looked over the Parisian buildings.
"Quiet tonight." He mentioned to himself.
Chat Noir took the nightly patrols himself, letting Marinette stay home and recover. He missed her company however, it just wasn't the same without his Lady.
"Come on Daniel!"
Chat Noir looked down at the street below and was surprised to see the man who was Rabbiteer being pulled along by a small girl.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He said laughing.
"Well hurry up! I don't want to be late to Mommy's birthday dinner!" The girl said and tugged him further along.
"How about this!" The man said crouching and tapped his shoulder, the girl smiled and jumped onto his back.
"Off we go!" The man mused and carried his sister down the sidewalk, Chat Noir smiled to himself.
"Guess he isn't such a bad guy, leave it to Hawkmoth to choose the most innocent people." Chat Noir spoke, his tail swished in the cool air and he smiled as he stood to his feet and twirled his baton between his fingers before extending it.
He rushed to his new favorite place.
He gracefully landed on her roof and peeked his head down and frowned lightly when he saw her lights were off.
"Asleep." He mumbled as he sat on the edge of her roof and kicked his feet.
He looked to her lounge chair and was surprised to find a plate of cookies sitting there, he smiled hugely and jumped down and took the plate into his claws as he sat down and bit into one of the cookies, they were still warm and gooey and they practically melted in his mouth, he hummed in satisfaction.
He noticed the note next to him and picked it up, he smiled at the note.
"A late patrolling snack, enjoy my freshly baked cookies.
Stay safe Chaton."
-LB 🐞
"Ah my Lady, you spoil me." Chat said smiling at the trap door.
Chat continued to chow on the cookies and laid back on the pink lounge chair and looked up at the stars, he closed his eyes and inhaled lightly with a smile, he could smell chocolate and croissants wafting from the home and could almost feel the warmth.
He opened his eyes.
"I wish I could stay here with you my Lady, it's warmer than my big, cold and empty house…"
He whispered into the night air, unheard by any ears and he basked in the warmth of Marinette's home before rising to his feet and placed the plate on the lounge chair, he looked about and found a few colored pencils and pens laying on her table, he picked up the pen and wrote a returning message.
"Thank you for the sweets My Lady, they were the chats meow! You're quite the Baker, I look forward to the treats that await next time we meet.
Until next time.
Yours truly, Chat Noir 🐱 "
Chat smiled and returned the pen and placed the note on the empty plate, he walked to the edge as he pulled out his baton and rose to the railing, he looked back at the trap door and looked away and catapulted into the night.
"Rest easy my Lady, I love you."