[[ A/N at bottom ]]

Day 3 Prompt:

"When your OTP is in an intense argument and their faces get closer together but then they stop talking…

…and they look at the others' lips."

Plagg was, in essence, naughty.

He was a naughty Kwami with low moral standards and a high interest in wreaking havoc. It was a dangerous combination in the best of creatures. Which Plagg was definitely not.

It took him about two minutes to decide that he was bored with Adrien and start wandering around the room, looking for sweets of some sort. This chick was small and cute, and, historically speaking, small and cute girls had an affinity for keeping yummy things close by. Plagg didn't know why. It just was.

When he spotted the cookies, he knew he was in luck.

Adrien continued to prattle away, but Plagg was enjoying a sound noseful of the delicious scent of warm chocolate. It wasn't cheese, true – not even remotely close on the scale of acceptable entrées for the picky Kwami – but the baked goods were fresh, the chocolate chips still gooey to the touch. But moments away from losing himself completely and sinking his tiny teeth into one of the delectable treats, he saw something that made his belly flip in all the best ways.

Because, of course, she would be here.

Of course his Ward would have a crush on the girl he also claimed was the bane of his existence.

The books exploded off the shelf in Plagg's sudden takeoff to chase the creature who had dashed behind them. Like he hadn't seen her. Like he couldn't smell her now that he knew she was there. Plagg wasn't deterred by a little game of chase – he was a cat. This was playtime for him. He completely ignored Adrien's shout to knock it off, instead zooming into the knitting basket with a fwoomf! Amongst the soft yarns the bounced and cool steel of the knitting needles, Plagg only had eyes for his prey: a little red Kwami, buzzing angrily beneath him.

Plagg threw his head back and laughed.

qpqpqpqpqpqp

"String cheese," Adrien muttered through gritted teeth, "for a week if you don't knock it off!"

"Isn't that what I just did?" Plagg retorted smugly, gesturing to the books on the floor and in Adrien's hand.

Adrien scowled. Something in the last minute had caused Plagg have some sort of sudden, gleeful vendetta against Marinette's entire room. After knocking the books off the little shelf and then divebombing into a basket full of yarn, the kitten Kwami had set out to destroy everything, laughing like a maniac the entire time.

Was the little pest trying to get him in trouble with this girl!?

Adrien continued to mutter to himself while going about, attempting to right all the things Plagg had set out to destroy (Marinette hadn't organized her books that specifically that she would notice if one was out of place, right!?) When muttering angrily hadn't worked, threatening did; within a moment after saying the words, Plagg had conceded to Adrien's threat in lieu of low-grade cheese substitution, and was now "helping" (mostly by not destroying things. But Adrien wasn't going to complain).

A wood-on-wood rubbing sound drew Adrien's attention to were Plagg seemed to be having a tug-of-war match with one of Marinette's desk drawers, pulling on the handle with all his might. Adrien rolled his eyes before going over to help. A sudden squeak from under the drawer made Adrien jump; the drawer suddenly popped open, sending Plagg and a large assortment of papers flying through the room. Adrien groaned before scrambling hurriedly to snatch them up.

Now, could he really be blamed for looking at what was in his hands?

And could he really be in any sort of trouble when he looked in the rest of the drawer to see several of the same sorts of well, literal photographic evidence of something that made him incredibly happy? Giddy, even?

"Ugh!" Plagg said suddenly, breaking Adrien out of his reverie. "Take that lovesick look off your face! It's disgusting!"

Though Adrien couldn't very well remove his smile, fixed as it now was, he did rush to finish cleaning the rest of the room.

(Plagg, unbeknownst to Adrien, watched the added kick in the boy's step with a smug smile.)

Though Marinette and Adrien had never set anything in place "officially", the two had always sort of had an…understanding between each other. From the time his umbrella passed into her hands, the two had been somewhat inseparable. Now, there was no talk of "feelings", no DTR between them; the shy pair was too afraid to lose something that they ended up never starting anything. However, they were very exclusive in the sense that they wouldn't go out with anyone else. When someone else asked them out on dates, they would politely refuse. And when there was a school dance or other function, no one was ever surprised to see them go together, though they seemed to toe the line of "platonic" and "something more" every time. Moving past polite pleasantries was not in their repertoire.

For his part, Adrien was…well, Adrien was terrified.

What if she realized how socially inept he was?

What if she ended up not liking his sweet-sauce sense of humor?

What if she thought he was a complete dorkasaurus!?

So, no…Adrien made no move forward. Even though he desperately wanted to.

This, though? This tangible piece of evidence he had just stumbled upon? This gave him some hope in that department. And maybe a sweet stroke to his ego. Because, Adrien mused while he shoved the lot of them back into the drawer, why else would a girl have tons of pictures of a boy hidden in her room?

Without meaning to, Adrien giggled. Then turned on his Kwami, trying to look cross, as the situation demanded of him.

"You shouldn't have shown this to me," Adrien scolded, trying as hard as he could to actually mean the words. "I know you did that on purpose."

His Kwami only scoffed. The little cat had given up altogether in his pretend helpfulness at righting the room, settling instead on the plate of cookies, munching away happily (yes, taking a bite out of each one, just to annoy Tikki). With a loud swallow, Plagg finally answered nonchalantly,

"The drawer was stuck, you were helping me, end of story."

This time, Adrien scoffed in quick reply.

"That is not what happened. How did you even know these were there?"

The next few minutes were spent in an escalating argument, Adrien starting to really lay into Plagg about the mess he had made, and Plagg just rolling his eyes in response, or sassing his Ward with some well-placed words.

BANG.

Adrien let out a very manly yelp when the trap door suddenly smashed open.

Before Adrien could even get a good look at her – and before the lovesick smile could slide back onto his face, she was on him like butter on toast.

…She was smooth like butter, and he was definitely toast.

She had pounced on him hard enough that they went rolling across her bedroom, Adrien having no clue as to what was going on. All he saw were limbs and a hard floor until they stopped. Panting slightly, he looked at the girl now straddling him with arms on either side of his head, and felt his face blanch at the sight of her murderous look.

"This is going to be a really short fight, Chaton, if you don't decide to defend yourself." Marinette purred in a low voice before blowing stray hairs out of her face. "That's the only warning you get."

Haha…cute. She gave me a nickname.

Wait.

NO.

NONONONONONONONONO.

Adrien tried to deny it. He tried to convince every cognitive force in his brain to stop connecting the dots, to stop painting the complete picture in his head. But there it was anyway, a masterpiece framed in blue-eyed fury and midnight hair.

And now…what?

Now…

And now…

Chat had to win this.

Or…escape. Maybe both somehow.

In a practiced move, Adrien deftly flipped Marinette off of him. She landed onto her chaise lounge in temporary shock, and Adrien immediately headed for the trap door.

"Nope!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Not dealing with this right now! I'm out!"

"You are not!"

Ah, apparently escape was not in his cards today.

In a surprising stroke of good luck, Adrien was able to look around before Marinette was on him again. This time, he was ready. This time, it was so. ON.

Adrien casually moved out of the way of her aggressive attack, but instead of her running into her desk as he had planned, the small girl jumped up and scaled the vaulted wall before flipping back onto him. Adrien readied himself, allowing her momentum to take them both down before sliding out from under her and landing a swift kick on her back. With a small "oof!", Marinette skidded across the floor and twirled until she was on her feet. But Adrien was already on her, grabbing her hands behind her back and slamming her face-first into the window.

"I thought gentlemen weren't supposed to attack ladies," she growled out through heavy breathing.

"I'm glad you see me as a gentleman," Adrien retorted, equally winded, "but you are no lady."

Marinette barked out a laugh, dropping so suddenly to the ground that Adrien smacked his face into the window. Not wanting to lose the upper hand, Adrien spun around and dropped into a defensive stance, only to see Marinette a few feet away, ripping some sort of hanging projector screen from the ceiling under her loft bed. Her heated stare made him pause for a moment; the hesitation cost him, though, and in the next second, Marinette leaped up to easily gain the high – though unsteady – ground on the chaise lounge. Marinette swung at him when Adrien started to circle the little sofa like the predator he was.

"I can't believe you tricked me into liking you!" she yelled at him.

Adrien laughed humorlessly. "I can't believe you think I would do something like that." Another swing in his direction, and Adrien slowly made his way back to the disheveled desk. "Gall! I thought you were sane, Marinette, but you really are one crazy chick!"

"Takes one to know one!" she mimicked back at him in a mockingly sweet tone, using his own words from the night before.

Adrien grabbed a handful of books and started chucking them at Marinette. She started swinging her screen thing in her hands like a baseball bat. The books were flying in both directions across the room, creating a messy topping to the overall ruffled appearance of the pink space their tousle had caused. They continued tossing insults and books at each other, only pausing momentarily when Marinette urged Adrien in a suddenly normal voice, "Oh, not that one, that one's my design sketchbook."

Adrien put it down gently, then, in a sudden change of demeanor, dove for Marinette's ankles, succeeding in knocking her off balance. She toppled on top of him, her makeshift weapon, as Adrien had hoped, skittering onto the floor. With a sound shove, Adrien knocked Marinette completely off the lounge on the other side, leaving him free to pick up her discarded…schedule?

Adrien paused for a moment, scanning the detailed agenda curiously. Since when did Marinette have photoshoots? Or take fencing? Or have Chinese lessons…on the same days and times…as…him…wut.

Despite finding out that the constant thorn in his side was also this amazing friend in disguise, Adrien could not help feeling all the creeped-out flattery that came with this most recent discovery.

When he turned to Marinette and saw her horrified face, he grinned cheekily.

"Geez, Princess," he purred, laying his head on crossed arms on her lounge, staring at her. (If he was Chat Noir, his tail would be flicking excitedly.) "I didn't know you were so obsessed with me."

He expected to knock her off guard. He did not expect her to invade his space, leaning on her arms across the lounge until she was almost touching his nose.

"Totally obsessed, Adrien," she hummed in return, her voice low and quiet. "So much so, I'm just begging you to let me kiss your other cheek."

This time, Adrien took the first pounce. In one fluid movement, he had her pinned to the ground, body sitting on her legs, hands holding hers up by her head.

"I think that's enough playing around for you, M'Lady."

She struggled, grunting with the effort, and Adrien would've laughed at the scene if he hadn't had to concentrate every effort to maintaining his – probably brief – dominance.

"I hate that you're so nice to me!" Marinette suddenly shouted out at him furiously.

Adrien scowled, the words somehow making sense to him unlike how they wouldn't to any normal person.

"I hate that you always make me smile!" Adrien shouted back, leaning closer for emphasis.

"I hate your sunshine hair!" Marinette writhed under his hold, trying to wriggle free.

"I hate your pretty eyes!" Adrien spat out through gritted teeth.

Marinette suddenly paused, chest heaving from the roughhousing and probably from the physical pressure he was putting her. She stared up at him, and her face flushed red, though he didn't think it was from strain or effort. Her features relaxed slightly, and Adrien felt his own mouth clamp shut in subconscious response.

"You…think my eyes are pretty?" she whispered.

And yet Adrien could still hear her…because, somehow, they had gotten…so close.

He gulped.

"Yes," he whispered back

The only sound in the room was labored breathing between two teens.

She smelled faintly like sweat, and Adrien realized how hot she was under him.

Okay, not like that, but…okay, exactly like that.

Ladybug in civilian clothes…Marinette…Marinette dressed as Ladybug…covered in tight red spandex and saving Paris. Saving Paris with that dark hair and that fluttered playfully in the wind, the girl tough as nails yet cared so deeply for others. With those big blue eyes…and…a-and those pink…lips…

Without thinking much more about it, his eyes darted down to her lips and back again, in time to see that she had just done the same.

This time, Marinette gulped.

A little red blur suddenly started flitting around their heads, darting in between their faces. Adrien yelped in surprise – and, of course, again, in a very, very manly way.

"Wha – eh hem – what is it, Tikki?" Marinette said in a small voice. Adrien studied her face, noticing that for the first time she looked truly bothered.

"Oh, Marinette," said the tiny Kwami in a sugary voice, laced with…disappointment? "There's a lot I want to say, but right now, you're going to be late for school!"

Marinette looked passed her Kwami into Adrien's face. Adrien stared back for only a second before doing what was second nature for him to do around her, and grinned widely. Marinette frowned before shoving him off of her.

Adrien scrambled to his feet just in time to tug Marinette back by the arm before she descended downstairs. Clearing his throat, he shoved her into her closet.

"Hey!" she shouted and looked like she was going to lay into him again, but Adrien only held up a hand in abrupt dismissal.

"You, uh, you look like crap," he admitted harshly, remembering that she really at just attacked him…after biting his cheek the day before. But…he still cared enough about her to make sure she didn't go to school like…that. "You should change. I'll, uh, I'll cover for you."

Marinette only gave him a hard stare, seeming to be caught in conflicting emotions.

Adrien could relate.

Before Adrien made it down the stairs, though, Marinette called down from her room.

"Adrien!"

He looked back to see her head floating in the opening of her trapdoor.

"Fix your hair."

Five minutes before school started, and Adrien was standing in the guys' bathroom, trying to set his whoosh style back in place and staring at the mark on his cheek again. His Lady's mark.

He grinned to himself.

Marinette's mark.

Somehow…everything bitter suddenly tasted very, very sweet.

[[ *watches the 1000 word goal per chapter come and go*

*watches Valentine's Day approach*

Erm…we're gonna be a little longer than expected guys. BUT THANKS FOR READING! :DDDD ]]

[[ So, this was supposed to have a countdown to Valentine's Day, but…I couldn't bring myself to post anything over the weekend. It was…hard? I don't know how to say it. It didn't seem right to go on as if nothing happened. Because something DID happen. And although my world is still turning, it seemed unfair to post something when so many other people's had sudden stopped.

Over the weekend, Maerynn, a pretty well-known Miraculous fanfic writer ("Under Lock and Key", "Bring Me Home", etc.), passed away in a car accident, leaving behind her loved-ones, including her children.

Although I didn't know her personally, something about her sweetness and the way that she seemed to bleed into everyone's lives in one way or another touched my heart deeply. She will be missed. A lot. Not just for her amazing works in writing, but for all the things she did to brighten others' lives. And so I want to dedicate this work to her, and to those who, like this miraculous lady, were unable to finish here on Earth what they started, whether works of art, raising your family, finishing a college degree, or finally saving up enough to travel the world.

This is for you.

And I hope, wherever you are, you know we're thinking of you.

And I hope, wherever you are, it puts a smile on your face.

xoxoxo ]]