Class was over, and Adrien turned in his seat nervously to face Marinette. She looked at him smiled encouragingly. Adrien was rarely ever nervous around her. If he was, Marinette knew that it meant he had something to ask from her, and he was always shy when asking for favours. Marinette found that trait to be one of the most endearing things about him.
When he saw the smile on her face, Adrien relaxed and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I won't be able to make it for gym tomorrow," he said. "I have a fencing tournament."
"Oh! That's alright," Marinette said kindly. She could sense he had something else to ask from her, and she had a guess as to what it was. She decided to ask instead and put him out of his misery. "Can I come to watch and cheer for you?"
Adrien beamed, relieved that he didn't have to ask. Of course Marinette wouldn't reject him if he had asked her, he thought. Still, it was nerve-wrecking that her rejection was a possibility. "I would be so happy if you came!"
"I'll be there too," Nino said, turning in his seat to join in the conversation. "With Alya, that is, if you want to."
Alya laughed. "Sure, I'd love to watch boys try to stab each other with toothpicks."
Nino and Marinette tried suppressing their laughter. Adrien smiled at her coolly, "They're not toothpicks. They're sophisticated toothpicks."
"Oh, how silly of me."
"You ought to educate yourself before coming to watch the tournament, Alya."
"You're right. I'm sorry, I forgot that sophisticated toothpick stabbing is a prestigious sport."
"The most prestigious of all."
By then, the four friends didn't bother holding in their laughter. "Alright kids, I'm just kidding. Fencing is a real, serious sport. I wish you luck for the tournament tomorrow, Adrien," Alya said, holding out her fist for him.
He smiled at her and nodded, meeting her fist with his. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Marinette stared at his outstretched hand with a slight frown on her face. When he looked at her questioningly, she simply shook her head and smiled.
Marinette never knew that Adrien was so skilled in fencing. He breezed his way through matches, finally making his way to the finals. Each time he took a break, he would wave at Marinette, and if he had the chance, he would make his way down to her with a wide smile on his face.
"I've never had people cheering for me before," he told her once, breathlessly as he beamed at his classmates. The entire class had overheard them joking about his tournament in class yesterday, and they decided to come support him, even Chloe and Sabrina. Marinette was flattered and flustered that out of everyone, Adrien would give her the most attention.
"That's what friends are for," she had told him in reply. He smiled at her and held her hand in his, squeezing it before running off, as though doing so would bring him good luck.
Adrien finally faced his final opponent, and when he won without breaking a sweat, the entire class, who took up an entire row, stood up and cheered in celebration. They ran to him and greeted him with pats on the back, fist bumps and high-fives.
"Alright dudes, make way for the best friend," Nino said, pushing his classmates aside with a grin on his face. Adrien smiled at him and clasped his hand, pulling Nino into a hug. Over his shoulder, he looked at Marinette. When she smiled at him proudly, Adrien hoped this moment would forever be engraved in his memory, especially the look upon her face.
"That's enough love from me, man. I release you to your loved one," Nino said dramatically, with a wink for good measure as he gestured to Marinette. That earned 'ooo's from their classmates, and Adrien blushed furiously as he made his way to his favourite person in the room. He spread his arms open for her and sighed in contentment when she stepped into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Adrien took a deep breath, loving how right and familiar this feels, and how Marinette smelled of cookies.
"I'm so proud of you," she whispered, her voice muffled by his gear.
"Thank you," he said, smiling into her shoulder. "Thank you for being here."
"Just kiss already!" came a demand from one of their classmates, which was followed by endless snickering. That was definitely Alya. Marinette laughed, but tried to give the crowd a glare. They pulled away from each other, and Marinette placed a hand on Adrien's cheek. She smiled when he leaned into her hand and gave her a familiar grin.
Every inch of Marinette's body screamed at her to lean forward and give Adrien a small kiss on the cheek, so she did just that, surprising everybody, especially Adrien. She pressed her lips to his cheek, salty from sweat but sweet with something else, something that was so… Adrien. When she pulled away, beaming and blushing at the same time, she stared knowingly into his shocked green eyes and gave a tiny giggle.
Adrien turned bright red but kept his hands firmly on her waist, as though to keep himself from falling. He managed a weak grin. "Maybe you should take up a sport too. I could come to your tournaments and reward you the same way."
"Between you and me, I already have quite a lot on my plate," she winked. "Besides, what sport could I possibly play?"
"Baseball," Adrien smirked.
She blinked at him. Before she could question him why of all things, he said baseball, the coach called Adrien back. "Duty calls," he told her before slipping away, leaving her in the chatter of her excited classmates.
Ladybug placed a hand on Chat Noir's arm. He regarded it curiously before meeting her eyes, a grin on his face.
"I just realised that you haven't been making puns in a while."
"I haven't? You miss my puns, my lady?"
Ladybug laughed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but yes, just a smidge."
"Well, I cannot possibly disappuroint. My return has to be huge! But where to bigin? You have a good eye for jokes, my lady. Any eyedeas?"
"Okay, I don't miss them anymore," Ladybug said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, come on. Purrlease? I'm just getting started," Chat Noir said, leaning forward, close into Ladybug's face. She pushed him away with a hand, laughing at his pout.
"No more!"
"You mean meowre?"
"No!" Ladybug laughed and reached behind him to grab his baton. Once she had it, she ran off, forcing Chat Noir to follow her. They ran in circles around the large rooftop, until Chat Noir stopped and stomped his foot like a child.
"My lady!"
"Alright, I'll give it back if you stop with the puns."
"Okay, I purromise to stop, baton one condition."
Ladybug groaned. "What else besides giving you back your baton?"
Chat Noir sat down, then patted the space beside him with a shy smile on his face. Ladybug chuckled at him and ruffled his hair as she took a seat. Their legs dangled over the edge of the rooftop. They sat close to each other, content with being enveloped in each other's warmth. Ladybug handed Chat Noir his baton, and he took it gingerly from her hands.
"How did you get so good with it?" Ladybug asked, genuinely curious.
"With puns? I just have killer sense of humour."
"More like a catastrophic sense of humour," Ladybug said, earning a laugh of approval from Chat. "I meant, your baton."
"Oh," Chat Noir said, looking down at the baton in his hands. He studied it for a moment, then looked over at Ladybug with a sly smile on his face. "I do fencing," he said simply.
Ladybug stared at him, nodding quietly. When she didn't say anything, he asked, "What about you? Play any sports?"
"No," Ladybug said. "Although, this afternoon, a friend did suggest baseball."
At this, Chat Noir started laughing. "He sounds like a wise guy. I agree with him; you do have a strong arm."
Ladybug gave him a look that was a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "He isn't that wise. He's about as wise as you."
"Then that's wise enough," he said quietly. The change in the tone of his voice made Ladybug look up at him. She watched as he regarded her, a strange look upon his face. Without realising it, Ladybug reached out and held Chat Noir's cheek in her hand. He leaned into her hand, an almost innate response to a familiar gesture. Ladybug stared into his green eyes, almost dreamily. He put on his gentle, loving gaze, as though he knew she couldn't resist it. And she really couldn't. Which is why Ladybug leaned forward and pressed her lips to Chat Noir's warm cheek.
She grinned when he blushed, and when she waved goodbye and swung her way home, Ladybug didn't even try to control her giggling.