Adrien would often look back on that night and reflect at how drastically different his life would have been if that meeting hadn't occurred. He had thought his life was over, all due to his father's callousness. Now at the age of 15, there were times he seriously considered sending his father a Thank You note for changing him for the better. Each time he thought this, he chuckled and shook his head. Definitely not a Thank You card. His father would be furious to know that he set events into motion that changed Adrien permanently. Moreover, he would be furious to know that he caused the very unique marking that now adorned the upper left side of Adrien's back.
Adrien grabbed his overshirt and bag, slinging them both over his shoulder as he ran to the car that was waiting to drive him the few blocks to his high school. After he hopped in, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened his texting convo with Mari. He knew she probably wouldn't see any message he sent, but it never did deter him from sending them.
CN: Morning Princess, headed up to the school now. Don't forget the chemistry homework we finished during patrol last night. Would hate to think you worked so hard on it only to fail it…
He sighed and set his phone down next to him on the seat. Mari was many things: amazing, selfless, courageous, a genius with a sewing needle, and a true Princess in his eyes. But, she also wasn't perfect. She was clumsy, scatterbrained at times, and perpetually late when it came to being at school on time. He learned this long ago and had taken countermeasures to keep her out of trouble, such as morning texts to ensure she woke up at a decent time and reminders for any other important things. While she had been understandably offended when he first started doing this, eventually she grew to be grateful to have someone to count on so consistently. And that was why he stared at his phone like it was a foreign object when it dinged back a moment later.
LB: Chaton, why must you treat me like a child?! I'm perfectly capable of remembering my homework….. Don't look at me like that! I can see that look! If you must know, I had to turn around and run back upstairs to grab it. Ya happy now? ARE YOU? ;) See you in a few!
Adrien laughed out loud after getting to the end of her response. His Princess was a fiery one, that was for sure. He loved her for it more and more every single time.
As his car pulled up to the school and he jumped out, he felt the familiar sense of release that came with the presence of his friends. He might spend every waking moment possible with Mari, but he couldn't imagine how much duller his life would be without Nino and Alya in it. Especially since they had recently broken down and started dating. This had led to much merriment on Adrien and Mari's part, who had dubbed them DJWiFi long before they themselves had thought about dating. This was mostly due to Nino's propensity for constantly listening to music (even during school hours) and the fact that Alya was never seen without her phone opened to at least ten different tabs of journaling websites. The day the wifi went down citywide was a day that still caused Marinette nightmares occasionally. An Alya with no internet capabilities is a very scary Alya.
Nino and Adrien still had 'bro dates' at least once a week, usually on Sundays because Adrien's father had a hard time finding people working that day to keep his son busy. Since Marinette had normal parents, she had no such scheduling conflicts to restrict her time with Alya. Adrien knew that today after school she and Alya had plans to hang out at Mari's house, as long as Mari had all of her homework for the week completed and turned in since it was Friday. This had been what prompted him to send her that text in the first place, so that those plans wouldn't be disrupted unnecessarily. What could he say, he loved looking out for his Lady!
Marinette ran up to her three close friends just as they finished exchanging pleasantries. Alya slipped her hand into Nino's as they turned to start walking towards their first period classroom, with a raised eyebrow and subtle head jerk towards Marinette for her and Adrien to do the same. Mari shook her head minutely. She didn't understand why Alya couldn't get it through her head that Adrien and her were just friends. No matter how much Marinette wanted to be more than that. Adrien had never given her any indication that he felt that way towards her, and he had plenty of opportunities to pick up on the not-so-subtle innuendos Alya was constantly dropping. So Marinette had learned to content herself with just being his closest and best friend by day, "superhero" partner by night, and secret admirer every moment in between. Regardless of the teasing nature of her answering text this morning, she really was grateful that he had reminded her of her homework. Marinette needed her girl time with Alya, even if it was mostly spent with Alya watching Marinette work on whatever sewing project she was currently immersed in while ragging her mercilessly about her non-relationship with Adrien. Marinette both loved and dreaded those moments with her bestie. She often wondered if Adrien had to put up with that kind of teasing from Nino. Somehow she seriously doubted it.
After a long day in which all homework was turned in on time and the four teens were properly crammed with more knowledge and homework than they could handle, they were finally released to their own devices. Adrien had to go straight to fencing practice so he reluctantly said goodbye to Alya and Nino before lingering next to Mari. Alya pulled Nino further along the sidewalk to say her own goodbye to her boyfriend before she spent the rest of the day with Marinette. Marinette wasn't sure why, but something felt…. different between her and Adrien today. She shook her head, it was probably just her overthinking again.
"I guess I'll see you tonight for patrol, right? Same time, same place?" She asked as she nervously shuffled her feet before looking up into Adrien's face. She was surprised by the determination she saw there, more than what she thought her question warranted.
"Of course, Princess. I wouldn't miss it for the world." Adrien's eyes flicked down to her lips for the briefest of seconds as he leaned in close to her with the same intense gaze in his green eyes before remarking with a small smirk, "I wouldn't dare pass up a secret rendezvous with a gorgeous Lady such as yourself. I look forward to it each and every time. Until then, m'Lady, I bid you farewell." He grabbed her and and glanced around before quickly placing a small kiss to the back of her knuckles.
Marinette's mouth dropped open as he yelled "Bye, DJWiFi!" in Alya and Nino's general direction before closing his car door. Her face burned as she continued to stand and stare into nothing long after his car had left her line of sight. It wasn't that he had kissed her hand, no, he had started that ridiculous gesture on their very first patrol together. It was that he had actually done it publicly. That was definitely new, and it was causing Marinette's brain to overload. Why would he do that?! That was only something he did when he was Chat Noir, when he was able to let go and just be the goofy nerd she knew and loved. Alya came wandering back over at that point and closed Marinette's mouth since it seemed like her best friend was currently incapable of doing so herself. She wasn't sure what happened that had caused to suddenly crash, but she needed to reboot her fast and get her to her house for a proper interrogation.
"What do you mean he kissed your hand? Like he's some kind of knight in shining armor? I mean, I guess to you he sort of is, but I thought he didn't have a clue? What changed?" Alya didn't understand what was going on. She had firmly believed that Adrien gave zero fucks that Marinette harbored a deep seated crush on him, which always confused her as he seemed to care for her greatly at the same time. Maybe he wasn't nearly as oblivious as she thought him to be.
"I have no idea why he did it, Alya!" While this wasn't expressly true, it was in the sense that he had never done it any other time than at the end of patrol. Alya didn't know that they 'patrolled' Paris most nights a week as partners: Ladybug and Chat Noir had been dreamt into existence during their very first actual patrol when they had created the reason for Adrien to escape his father's grasp for a few hours each night. Since Marinette was always on the lookout for inspiration for her fashion projects, new materials, and was always behind on her homework, they added those to the excuses that made patrolling a needed thing. Adrien was just grateful she had chosen to amend her very strict by-the-rules-only philosophy to sneak out and help save his sanity on that fateful night and every night they were able to afterwards. That night was when she was cemented as the reason Adrien continued to live, continued to put up with his absentee father and increasingly depressed mother. He loved her even more the next night she showed up with their 'superhero costumes' - hers being a one piece pajama outfit in ladybug colors and his, a one piece black ensemble with neon green stitching. Both had hoods that covered their heads and she had even made little masks to protect their identities. She brought themed flashlights that they used to scour the park. After he had praised her for coming up with all of that on such short notice, she had turned beet red and mumbled about how if they were going to be out getting in trouble after dark, they were going to be doing so in style. He had decided right then and there that seeing that blush was going to be his end-of-patrol goal each time. That's where the goodnight kiss to the hand originated.
Ladybug ran up to Chat Noir with excitement in her eyes, the light of her flashlight dancing along the ground as she ran. Chat was sitting on a park bench, fiddling with the dark fabric on his thigh. He held his cheek in his palm. He sighed and swung his feet.
"Kitty!" Ladybug jumped at him with her flashlight in front of her. "Are you ready for patrol?" She tried to brighten his night, after yet another day of being let down by his father. Chat gave her a short smirk, before his expression dropped back to one of disappointment.
Ladybug pouted her lips and put her hands on her hips. "Let's go! It's our first patrol, Chaton! Aren't you excited?"
"It's hard to be excited when your father controls who you see and when you see them." Chat sighed and kicked the dirt with his foot.
"Well, tonight's your lucky night! " Ladybug held a bright green flashlight that matched her pink one out to him. Chat Noir looked up at her with curious eyes and parted lips. She shook the green flashlight at him and he took it from her, before he stood up.
"Alright, let's go." His expression became determined and she took off around the park.
"Hey, wait up, LB!" Chat ran after her, as she giggled and turned around sticking her tongue out at him. She ran along the fountain and he giggled and leapt up onto the stone, to copy her. She jumped down and took off, before she skidded to a stop. She gasped, as she saw a tall shadow appear in front of her.
"What is it, Bugaboo?" Chat looked in front of them. His expression became determined and he suddenly pulled her behind him. "I'll protect you!" He leapt in front of her and she blushed. He looked over his shoulder and winked at her, causing her cheeks to flush more.
Chat stood in front of Ladybug like a shield and Ladybug aimed her pink flashlight at the shadow, causing it to disperse from the beam of light.
"Bye, bye, little shadow." Ladybug giggled and raised her light to the night sky. Chat held out his fist and she bumped hers against his, as they called out in tandem, "Pound it!"
Chat smiled at her and suddenly bowed. He gripped her hand and brought her knuckles close to his lips. "Until next time, m'lady." He smirked at her, before he brushed his soft lips onto the back of her hand, causing her cheeks to flush.
He loved making her blush. Something about it made him feel accomplished and happy. It made him forget about his father and everything that was strict and wrong in his life. Something about patrolling made him feel free and a huge part of it was due to her existence. He didn't know how he could survive without her light in his life.
Her eyes grew wider, as she got lost in his neon green ones. He smirked at her and kept her hand in his, before she suddenly pulled it away from him.
He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, nervously. "Sorry, that was an accident. I meant to… shake... your... hand…. Yeah. Shake your hand." He pointed his index fingers at her with a slight blush and a soft laugh.
She giggled with closed eyes and her cheeks flushed a deeper peach tone. "It's okay, Chaton."
"MARINETTE!" Alya yelled in her ear, causing her to violently jump and nearly knock their heads together.
"Why are you yelling in my ear?!" Marinette complained, as she waited for her racing heart to stop trying to jump out of her chest and sprint away.
"Girl don't even try to act salty with me! I said your name for a good two minutes and you didn't even blink. Drastic times call for drastic measures and all that. What are you going to do about Lover Boy's sudden interest in having his lips on your skin?" Alya didn't even attempt to hide her smirk as Marinette's face turned redder and redder.
"Alllyyaaaaa…." Marinette whined while trying to cover up her burning cheeks. This couldn't be reality. They really weren't standing here having a conversation about Adrien kissing her. At least, part of her. She must've been clumsy at some point at school and knocked her head. That was the only logical explanation.
"I see what's going on in that brain of yours, Marinette. This is really happening. What is your game plan? How are you going to respond the next time it happens?" It was kind of scary how well she could read Marinette's mind sometimes.
"Do you think it'll happen again?! What if it was an accident? He could've... I dunno… Not meant to kiss my hand?" Marinette knew this sounded weak, but she honestly had no idea on how to proceed from here.
"What, like he actually meant to kiss you somewhere else?" This wasn't something Alya had considered, as it was unlikely it was an accident that he had grabbed her hand and placed his lips on it but she humored Mari anyway. Knowing these two dorks, anything was possible and nothing was off the table.
"Well when you put it like that, it sounds dumb. I just meant… I don't know what I meant. He had a weird look in his eyes, like he was super focused on something. Even though there wasn't anything that merited that level of intensity….. What?" Marinette looked at Alya as her best friend's smirk grew wider and wider.
"He totally meant to kiss you somewhere else!" Alya fist pumped the air and jumped up and down excitedly. Marinette was at a loss for words, convinced her friend had officially fallen off of the deep end. "Why do you say that?"
"He sounds like he was concentrating. Or, like he was getting up the nerve to do something he's never done before; i.e. kiss this amazing girl who just so happens to be his closest friend. It sounds like he lost his nerve at the last moment but decided to go for some sort of action anyway." Marinette took a moment to let Alya's words sink in.
She recalled the way Adrien's eyes had jumped to her lips. Could that be true? Had he really been going to kiss her on the lips? While this made every dream she had come true, she was cautious to not get her hopes up too much, just in case her mind had fabricated that little tidbit.
"So what should I do? Pursue him? Try to initiate the same situation? I don't see how I can do any of that without becoming a stuttering mess." She sighed as reality set in. She had zero romantic experience, it wasn't like she could just walk over to him all smooth-like and expect him to swoon over her. Talk about unrealistic.
"Girl, lets not give up hope just yet. We've just got to wait for your moment to pounce! After all, your main wing woman is here to help you earn your Cool Cat Under Pressure wings!" Alya said, with such a ridiculous look on her face that Marinette couldn't do anything else but dissolve into giggles. The rest of their time together was spent fangirling over their perfect life together and how they and DJWiFi were going to do a double wedding so that they could have a giant party afterwards. Exactly what every fifteen year old girl dreams her wedding day would be like.
"Pound it!" Ladybug held her fist out to him at the end of patrol, as usual. Chat Noir smirked and suddenly grabbed her hand in his before bowing down to kiss the back of her knuckles.
Ladybug blushed and panicked. She couldn't think straight whenever he would do that to her. Words bubbled up and fell from her mouth, before she could even think to stop them. "You don't have to JUST kiss my knuckles on accident everytime!" She suddenly covered her mouth with her free hand and he smirked with a dark expression.
He stood up straight and pulled her close. "Oh, really, Purrincess? And where is it that I should be 'accidently' kissing you instead?" He made air quotes with his gloved fingers and smirked at her with a daring expression.
"I- I just meant that you…." Ladybug's cheeks grew more red with each of his words.
He smirked at her and searched her eyes. She sighed and looked into his glowing emerald eyes, as he brought his lips meer inches from her soft pink ones. "Yes?"
Ladybug swallowed hard and lowered her lashes, as she got closer to him. He parted his lips, while she closed hers, as their eyes slowly shut.
Chat's tongue swiped her pursed lips and she jumped back with embarrassment and held her hands to her lips in shock. "I- I'm sorry."
"No, I- I'm sorry. I- I thought that…"Chat rubbed the back of his neck and twisted his boot against the cement. "In movies I always saw it done that way. I- try again?" He sheepishly smiled at her and she relaxed, bringing her hands down to her hips.
Ladybug smiled at him with a blush and looked away. Chat Noir sighed and smirked at her again. He walked towards her and she backed up against the wall. He slid his hand behind her lower back. She looked into his neon green eyes with wonder, as he peered into her blue bell ones. Chat touched her chin with his thumb and forefinger, as he brought his lips down to her soft pink ones. She panted, anticipating his soft lips on hers. Anticipating what it would feel like to finally kiss a boy. To kiss Chat. She licked her lips and he brushed her lips against hers. Ladybug parted her lips and ran her tongue along his top lip, thinking that he was going to kiss her like before. He jumped back in surprise and she covered her mouth with her hands and clenched her eyes shut while her face flamed, so brightly, she was sure he'd be blinded.
"I'm so sorry. I-I got confuzz- confused. I didn't know how you were going to kiss me. I thou-thought you were going to- um…" Ladybug stumbled over her words, as her heart raced.
"Bugaboo…." Chat sighed and shook his head with a chuckle.
"What? What did I do?" Ladybug began to panic that she had done something wrong and ruined everything.
Chat suddenly slammed his hand beside her head and she shrunk against the wall with wide eyes, as he peered at her through heavily lidded forest green eyes. He smirked and tipped her chin up, as he brought his lips close to hers. He gently pressed his lips against hers and she sighed, as he slowly swiped his tongue along her bottom lip. She gasped and parted her lips, as he took the opportunity to run his tongue along hers. She sighed and kissed him back, before he gave her one last chaste kiss. They slowly opened their eyes and he gently removed his fingers from her chin. "Was that okay, m'lady?"
Ladybug blushed and covered her lips with a silent nod of her head. Chat softly chuckled at her and took her hand. "C'mon. Let's go finish up our patrol before my father ruins our moment, like always."
And with that she followed him through the city, as they laughed and weaved through the trees and leaped down from half walls.
Since he always insisted on seeing her back to her balcony at the end of each patrol, she wasn't surprised when he followed up the makeshift ladder she had created years ago to help her sneak in and out each time. She waited until he was up and safe before leaning in to give him a hug, just as she did every other night. What she wasn't expecting was for him to pull away from her. The sting of rejection was brief but real. Maybe she had messed things up after all. Adrien must've seen the hurt on her face because he quickly threw his hands up in a placating gesture with a nervous chuckle. This made her relax slightly, but she was still curious as to where he was going with all this weird behavior. She really thought they had had enough weirdness for one night.
"Bugaboo… Marinette… I was hoping that you would be my good luck charm out of my cat suit as well as in it. Wouldyougooutwithme?" He mumbled the last part in a rush as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bracelet that had alternating black and neon green beads, with a ladybug bead every third bead. He studiously avoided looking into her eyes, choosing instead to gently grab her wrist and fasten the bracelet around it. When he couldn't stand her silence any longer, he finally looked up at her.
Marinette was looking at him with the softest expression on her face he had ever seen. A stray tear leaked out from the corner of her mask as she gently pulled his face to her and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
"Of course I will, silly Kitty. I thought you'd never ask."
Adrien left with a dazed expression and another blinding smile, glad he was finally able to find the courage to follow his heart.