"Okay, Adrien, what's up with you?" The director sighed, dropping his script onto the table. Adrien and Marinette stepped back from their mics, both letting out soft sighs. Marinette noticed that Adrien seemed agitated, kicking at the ground with one shoe and tapping his arm. "You're usually really good at reading emotions into your script, but right now you're not even trying. You're wasting all of our time. What's happening?"
Adrien muttered something unintelligible, not looking anyone in the eye. Marinette wished she could reach through her plexiglass booth and comfort him somehow. She settled for words. "Are you okay, Adrien?"
He snapped to attention. "Yes. I'm fine. Let's just… restart? Please? I'm… really sorry." Marinette didn't miss the bitterness in his voice, like he'd had to force the words out between clenched teeth. What's going on?
Does this have something to do with his mom?
"Fine." The director flipped his script back a few pages and motioned to the tech team. "Page 238, line four."
Denise, the line reader, set the scene. "Ladybug lands on the rooftop of the Grand Paris Hotel, worried. Chat Noir stands and runs toward her, hugging her. She notices he is crying."
"What's wrong, kitty?" Marinette spoke her line dutifully– the warm, tender voice she always used when something was up with Chat Noir.
"My mother just died." Adrien's voice, on the other hand, was the definition of wooden. Marinette couldn't help but wince. The amount of times he's had to read that line must be torture. "It's just horrible, LB– okay, Chat Noir has literally never called Ladybug that. Who wrote this script?!"
"I did." Mr. Jeremy was just coming down the steps into the sound pit, and Marinette and Adrien whipped around in sync. "You didn't have a problem with it at the read-through."
"This scene wasn't in the movie at the table read, sir." Adrien seethed, barely managing to keep some level of decorum. "You could have seen fit to warn me."
"That's my fault." Jeremy admitted, sitting in an empy chair against the wall, as out of the way as he could be in the crowded pit. "We thought the story needed a little more emotional weight. Plus, this sets up better for the reunion at the end."
"We?" Marinette questioned, torn. Adrien's anger was unprecedented and honestly a little scary, but he was right. "We weren't a part of this discussion."
"Yeah, who's we?" Adrien ground out, hands clenched into fists beneath the stand his copy of the script was on.
"Me and him." The director finally spoke up, raising a meaty hand. "The screenwriter and the director, the two most important people here."
Now everyone was offended. Two of the interns holding boom mics raised their voices, and so did Marinette, and even Mr. Jeremy had a horrified expression on his face. Amidst the chaos, Adrien threw down his script, muttering something, and stalked out of the pit. Marinette followed him, leaving the chorus of agitated voices behind, and snuck into the darkened hallway, ignoring Astruc calling after her. It took her a few minutes, but eventually she found Adrien leaning against one of the nondescript gray walls in the equipment room. His deep, measured breathing matched her quiet footsteps.
She knocked on the trim. "Adrien?"
"Beetle." Adrien shifted a little, leaving her an open spot on the wall. She leaned next to him, minding the cords at her feet. "Sorry, I didn't mean to–"
"Don't apologize." Marinette retorted. "Astruc is a jerk. I'm pretty sure half of the people in that room will quit before the movie's over."
The silence stretched. Marinette wanted to say something, anything, to make Adrien feel a little more comfortable, but she knew this wasn't a battle she could help him fight. Whatever he was feeling, he would have to trust her with when he was ready.
Adrien sucked in a shaky breath and blew it out, fiddling with the charm on his wrist. "You know– it's not even the extra scene! I don't mind that so much, people dying happens all the time. It's a superhero, for heaven's sake, they couldn't escape family trauma for long and we all knew it. And I do think that people should know how it feels to lose someone, so they can empathize with people who are hurting. I want to help with that. I don't mind talking about it, I just want it to be– real!`"
Marinette thought for a moment. He's the expert, not me. Another reminder of how blessed she was to have a family that wasn't fractured and painful.
"What do you think would make it real?"
Adrien didn't even hesitate. Instead, he pushed off the wall, grabbing a fidget cube off the shelf (it was next to a six thousand dollar camera, go figure). "Well, for starters, there's no way Chat Noir would ever be that loose with information. The– the more hurt you are by something, the harder it is to talk about it, especially if it's fresh." Now that Marinette understood. His voice rose in intensity and volume as he continued, "Chat Noir's entire character is the jokester, the big, strong goofball. He would try to pretend everything was fine. He would try to keep going, because he doesn't think he's worth holding anyone up for, and he doesn't think his feelings are important–"
"Are you still talking about Chat Noir?" Marinette ventured, tone and eyes soft.
Adrien froze.
Maybe that was too much. Marinette backtracked. "Then what do you think Chat Noir would do?"
Adrien blinked, then shook himself, clearing his head. He sat, and patted the spot next to him. "Pretend you're Ladybug, and you just found me sulking."
Marinette bit her lip, refusing to comment on his choice of words. Instead, she took a moment to slip into her Ladybug persona and strutted forward, plopping down next to Chadrien. "Hey, kitty– are… are you okay?"
Chadrien wouldn't meet her eyes. Instead, he looked anywhere else, the shelves, the street below, the buildings around them. "Yeah." He managed, voice rough. "Just had a tough day. I'm… I'm glad you're here."
Ladybug hummed, kicking her legs over the roof and staring out over the city. They were silent for a long time. "The city is so peaceful at sunset, isn't it?" Ladybug said. "It's almost as if the buildings themselves know they're supposed to be headed to sleep."
"Yeah." Chat muttered. "Peaceful."
More silence.
Chat Noir scooted forward a little bit, and Ladybug welcomed him, shifting so she was half-facing him. His tail tucked under him, and he curled his hands around his middle. "Ladybug?"
She hummed again.
"What's your family like? You… I know you can't say much, but…"
Something's going on. Ladybug realized. She shifted closer. "They're… nice." She admitted. "Our relationship has been strained the past couple months, because of this," she gestured down at her shirt and pants, "but they care about me. Why?"
"Nothing." Chat Noir looked away, and the moment of vulnerability was broken. Ladybug nudged him with her knee and resumed her lookout.
He spoke again. "Ladybug… what's your mom like?"
"Kitty–"
"I'm fine." He cut her off, harsh and broking no argument. Then he softened, giving her a hollow smile, something else shining in his green eyes. "Sorry. I'm fine, really."
She wasn't buying it, but she answered the question anyway. "My mom is… sweet. Kind. Thoughtful. She's always there. She…" Marinette wracked her brain for things she could say without giving Chat Noir any clues to her identity. "She loves art. She's not the best at it, but it makes her so happy when she can make something. She loves giving gifts, too. She's one of the most generous people I know. And she's calm, and strong, and powerful, and she always gives the best advice."
"That… that sounds nice." Chat Noir's voice was rough, tinged with something, and when she turned to look he was looking away from her again, whole body turned so she couldn't see him.
"Kitty…"
"Don't look…" He gasped, and the heartbreak in his voice tore her apart. Gently, she shifted closer and touched his shoulder. His whole body stiffened, and she reached up with her free hand, cupping his chin and turning him ever so carefully to look at her.
Tears were streaming down his cheeks. Marinette gasped softly, pulled from the idyllic scene in her head into sharp, visceral reality. He's a really good actor.
Or is he acting?
Marinette chose her next words carefully. The weight of reality tugged her down, dragging each word from her lips. "Chat Noir…" Adrien… "Who told you that you had to hide?"
"What?" Adrien gasped, trying in desperation to calm the sobs wracking his whole body. Marinette ran both hands down his arms, looking deep into his watery eyes.
"You are allowed. To feel."
"I'm fine." He insisted, dragging a hand across his face and standing. "I'm…"
Chat Noir swayed and Ladybug leapt up to catch him, clutching his shaking form tight to her chest. "Enough of that." She demanded, feeling the little sob that escaped his thin form. "How long has it been since you slept."
His gaze was clouded. "...two?" He mumbled. "Three?"
Three. Days. Ladybug felt her heart drop. "Kitty, why haven't you slept?"
"Can't." He made a feeble attempt to shove away again, but she didn't let him, and somewhere in the middle their knees buckled and they ended up on the floor again. "Won't. Dunno."
"Why?" Ladybug's gaze, concerned and demanding, bored into the side of his head. "Chat, what is so wrong that you kept yourself up for three days straight?"
He didn't answer right away. If anything, he got even more desperate, squirming away from her embrace. "It'll be fine, m'lady. Pawmise."
"You're using puns as a defense again, kitty." Ladybug warned. "Whatever it is, it's obviously important."
"It might reveal my identity."
Ladybug was floored. She hadn't even thought of that.
What are the chances that was another deflection?
Her kitty was broken. There was nothing more dangerous or horrible than seeing him hurting.
"Screw it." She snapped, and his watery gaze snapped up in turn to meet hers. "You're more important than the rules. I need my partner back. Tell me, whatever you have to say. I want to know."
Chat Noir blinked. Swallowed. He tried to look away but she grabbed his chin again, forcing him to look into her eyes. "Chat Noir."
"It…" He wet his lips, letting out a little shaky breath. "My mom."
"What?"
"My… my mom. She hasn't been doing the best, lately. She, uh, she got sick a couple years ago, but a few months ago it got, like, really bad." Chat Noir's eyes spilled over with fresh tears, and he coughed. "It's not–"
"If you say it's not important, I will throw you off the Eiffel Tower." Ladybug said, trying desperately to inject a little bit of light into the conversation. He let out a little hollow snort, corners of his lips quirking up in the most pathetic attempt at a smile, and she knew instantly it had been the wrong thing to say. "Sorry." She whispered.
"It's okay. Uh… so… maybe a week ago, I finally got my dad to let my mom go to the hospital." He whispered. "It was too late. She…"
He couldn't finish. Ladybug could see the weight of the knowledge dragging him down, forcing the air out of his lungs and tugging at his shoulders and head. She could see the weight in his eyes, the way the light didn't quite reflect the same. The way his tail pressed into the ground like a limp, dead carcass. The way he curled into himself. The horrible, unimaginable weight of finality. Reality.
"She died?" Ladybug breathed, trying to take some of the weight on her own shoulders.
His face crumpled and he nodded.
She dove into him. It wasn't even a conscious thought. She just… dove, crashing her body into him, trying to squeeze all the love and warmth and light she could into his broken body. "Oh, chaton…" She whispered, and he broke, sobbing into her like a child. She held him, letting him cry, not minding the tears that soaked through her jacket.
"I'm… I'm just so tired…" He whispered.
Ladybug rubbed her hand through his hair, heart heavy and swelling with emotion. "Then sleep."
"I– I can't." He sniffed. "Every time I close my eyes…"
A pause.
"I feel so weak." He admitted, curling into her even more if that were at all possible. "I– I have to be strong. For us. For Paris. I can't feel this. If I get akumatized–"
Marinette's insides froze. "I know." She breathed.
Warmth bloomed inside her, melting out the ice. She could be strong, for him.
"Sleep now, then." She said. "I won't let anything happen to you."
"Really?" He whispered, hiccuping.
"Really." She began absentmindedly braiding the longer tufts of his hair, meeting his red-rimmed eyes for a moment. "You're always the one sticking your neck out for me. Let me be the one protecting you for once."
He hesitated, and thanks to Adrien she knew exactly why. "It's alright." She assured him. "I want to do this. For you."
"Are you… are you sure?" He breathed.
"Yes." Ladybug looked down again, and in that moment, she'd never been so sure of anything in her life.
She pressed a kiss to his sweaty forehead.
Applause sounded and Marinette jumped back, sending Adrien flying. Astruc and a team of 'boomers' with boom mics stood in the doorway to the tech room. Zag, too, poked his head into the room. "I told them not to eavesdrop." The screenwriter prefaced, "But our beloved director here said it was in the contract that everything you do inside this building can be recorded, and… I have to admit, that was brilliant! Much better than what I wrote!"
"Watch your tone." The director snapped, waddling towards the two. "You've been dilly-dallying long enough, and now thanks to you Zag is gonna force us to completely re-animate that scene."
Marinette was ready to swing, but to her surprise Adrien's tone was icy calm as he pulled her to her feet. "Watch your own tone, sir. We just improvised the best scene in your damn movie."
"Go take your break." Zag whispered, and Marinette managed a shaky nod, still reeling. "I'll deal with this guy."
Adrien ushered her away. They emerged blinking out into the sunlight, and Marinette turned to see that one of the interns had followed them. "Hey, guys, you might not recognize me, but–"
"Samantha, right?" Adrien reached forward, shaking her hand. "I know you."
"Oh!" The intern looked pleasantly surprised. (It was insane what a little human decency could get you in the entertainment business, as Marinette was quickly learning.) "Yes! I just wanted to say that was amazing. I don't know what Mr. Astruc was thinking, but you guys should've written this movie, honestly. You just know the characters so well!"
Marinette blinked.
"Well, I have to go back inside, but you guys please take as long as you need." She finished. "For real, if you don't come back the rest of us might get to go home early!"
"Ass-truck." Marinette sneered as soon as the girl had gone back inside.
Adrien shook his head, a ghost of a smile decorating his lips. Marinette felt her heart sink. "Are you okay?" She whispered, reaching out to brush his arm before she remembered that he wasn't really her partner.
He flashed her a flirty smile, and Marinette was instantly floored. "Of course, princess. I met you." Then his expression seemed to change (Marinette barely noticed over the heat that was flushing her cheeks) and he blinked fast. "I mean– uh–" He coughed, scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry, I'm still in character."
"It's okay!" Marinette squeaked. "Uh… what– whaddya wanna do now?"
Adrien wouldn't meet her eyes anymore. "We could– get some ice cream?"
Too late. She'd seen the exhaustion that had slipped through his gaze for just a moment, and the tenseness lining his shoulders and voice was the last straw. "Nope." She decided, channeling her inner Ladybug. (It always seemed to be closer to the surface around Adrien.) "We are sitting down, and you are getting a hug."
"Really?" Adrien positively lit up, and if Marinette was still imagining, it would've been far too easy to imagine his ears and tail perking up. Chat's ears and tail, she meant.
"Mhm." Marinette flashed him a coy smile, internally screaming. What was going on with her? Why did she keep confusing him and Chat? Why did she keep switching between Ladybug's personality and her own?
Why was it so easy around him?
"Come on." Adrien said. "There's a bench over there."
She sat first, holding a (slightly trembling) hand out to let him sit next to her. How would I feel more comfortable? Marinette thought… the answer scared her, but she turned to the side anyways. "Get over here." She demanded, and he sat down, leaning his head back on her knees. She began to braid his hair, a habit she'd picked up from being around Alya's hair in class all the time. "Is this good?"
"Mhm." Adrien sighed. "This is nice. Thanks."
Can't stop a good thing, Marinette decided. "You want a massage?"
Adrien glanced up at her through already-hazy green eyes. Emotions really do drain people. "Are you serious?"
Marinette shrugged, heat rushing to her cheeks. "I mean, my mom does it for me when I've had a rough day, but I know that sounds super weird and you probably aren't comfortable with it–"
"No, that sounds amazing!" Adrien rolled off the bench, hopping a little as he waited for Marinette to stand. He is such a dork, Marinette laughed. "If you're okay with it, that is."
Marinette nodded, hoping her sky-wide eyes weren't giving her away. Thankfully, Adrien didn't seem to notice how much she was regretting that particular nicety. He just… stretched himself out. On the bench. Like a cat. Just… sunbathing.
"What, am I supposed to take my shirt off?"Adrien teased, grinning, and Marinette realized with a jolt that he was enjoying this. " 'cause I don't mind–"
"I DO!" Marinette squeaked, and Adrien laughed. "Just sit still, you–"
What was I about to say?
Dumb kitty?
It's just the method acting messing with my mind, Marinette told herself. How much she believed that could be decided later.
Now… the massage.
"This feels illegal." Marinette muttered. And of course Adrien's ears were sharp enough to pick that up.
"Oooohhh–"
"Shut up." She muttered, cracking her knuckles. Before she could let herself rethink her really dumb decision, she pressed them into his back.
"Oh, shoot, he has muscles."
The words slipped out before she could stop them, and her face felt like it was on fire. She felt his lungs heave as a surprised laugh burst out of him, just like the one when she'd closed his umbrella around her. "Oh, is that so? I hadn't realized!"
She pushed a pressure point in the middle of his back and he yelped. "I'm the one in charge here. Shush." she commanded… and then went to work.
He was tense.
The stress was built deep into his muscles, and as she dug her knuckles into the tight areas around his shoulders and upper back, he gritted his teeth. "Relax, you." Marinette said. "I can't fix you if you keep messing yourself up."
"You are literally stabbing my back!" Adrien hissed, but his tone was light. "How am I supposed to relax?!"
"Just–" Marinette sighed, switching to her thumbs. Soon enough, his protests died down. "That… actually feels nice?"
"Told you." Marinette retorted.
"No, you didn't."
"I have pressure points."
"Is this blackmail?"
"No. I'm threatening you. Blackmail is too messy. And cowardly."
"Good to know you'll just kill me if I ever get on your bad side."
"Oh, no, I would never kill you. You have too many muscles."
"...thank you?"
Marinette screwed up her face. "Pretend I didn't say that." Bad Ladybug. Bad. Save the weird borderline flirting for your actual partner, not your somewhat best guy friend from school who you have a crush on.
"Sure." Adrien shifted around a little bit, and Marinette realized he was pulling out his phone.
"Seriously?" She complained. "I can't do this if you keep tensing up your neck muscles. Work with me here."
"Sure… mhm." Adrien clicked a button, and the phone started ringing.
"Adrien… who are you calling?"
"No one. Just Nino."
Marinette could hear the grin in his voice, and it was annoying. She reached for the phone. He dodged. Marinette could feel them slipping, and raucous laughter filled her ears as they both went flying off the bench, Adrien hitting the concrete as she fell on top of him. Instinct took over and she moved, hooking her legs under his to pin him and grappling for the phone. Adrien merely laughed harder, squirming with all his might against her grip as he fought to keep his phone clear of her reaching arms. "Curse you and your long arms!" Marinette gasped, vaguely aware of the unwanted attention they were getting from all the normal people out for a stroll on this fine sunny day.
Adrien half-sat up and she tackled him again, hitching all of her weight into his diaphragm. He spluttered. "It's not– my fault– you're short!" He managed, face turning hilariously red from the laughter and lack of oxygen. Marinette half-growled, digging her knee into his chest and reaching–
Nino's face appeared onscreen.
Marinette cursed.
"Oh, hey, Nino!" Adrien called, still a little out of breath, and Marinette shoved him down, trying to climb over him and get up. Somehow now her legs were the ones being pinned! Smooth little…
Not kitty not kitty–
"Look! I'm just having a great break with my good friend Marinette who totally didn't just say she thinks my muscles are hot–"
"Adrien Athanese–"
"Oh no." Adrien's face turned to mock terror. "Not the middle names!"
"I know all of them and I will use them!" Marinette warned, sitting up and breathing hard. "Don't make me do it."
"What did I ever do to you?" Adrien whined. Nino watched on.
"Adrien Athanese Gabriel Emile Donatien–"
"FINE! Fine, woman, take the phone and get off me!" Marinette's face turned bright freaking red as soon as the words left his mouth, but she obeyed.
Just don't think about the fact that he called you woman and that made your heart skip a couple beats–
"Thank you." She sighed, somehow keeping her cool on the outside. She snatched the phone and stood, sitting primly on the edge of the bench. Fortunately (no, unfortunately, bad brain) Adrien came and sat right next to her, looping an arm over the bench and therefore behind her back.
She refused to sit back. Or get any closer. This teasing was not proper actor behavior.
"I'm sorry about Adrien, Nino." Marinette said. "He's weird today. Too much time as Chat Noir, I guess."
"Whaaaaaat?" Adrien laughed. "I'm the cat's meow!"
"Shush." Marinette turned back to the camera, decidedly ignoring Nino's wide eyed stare. "Anyways–"
"Since when can you talk to him without freaking out?!" Nino asked. Marinette opened her mouth to deliver a sharp retort, but he beat her to it. "HEY ALYA!" He yelled, leaning away from the phone. Some poor pigeon behind them took off in a flutter. "GET OVER HERE! YOUR SHIP IS SAILING!"
Marinette hung up. Almost immediately, the phone rang again, but she shoved it back into Adrien's hands. "What was that about?" Adrien asked, a leftover smile still stretching across his face.
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Nino was bad. Don't answer him. He's on time out."
"Yes ma'am." Adrien gave a goofy salute before leaning in again, just a little too close for comfort. Chat Noir who? "Just one more question."
"What?"
"What's a ship?"
Marinette's heart just about burst out of her chest. The entirety of Paris got to see Adrien Agreste chasing pajama girl around a building, yelling "HEY! WAIT, NO I'M SORRY! I KNOW WHAT A SHIP IS! COME BAAAAAAAA–"
The door slammed shut.
(Rumor has it that the same pajama girl started a strike that day, including all of the interns and most of the voice actors– and one screenwriter. The release of the movie was delayed by several months, despite Gabriel Agreste's constant attempts to hurry it along.)
A/N: This is a fever dream. Literally. I'm sick right now and I didn't know what else to do with my life, so have a fic :)
Also it's not edited. Sorry. Kind of. God Bless!
oh have a tumblr: tout d'un coup on Tumblr