Project Lovebug

Chapter Five

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Cat Noir crouched low on the bakery's rooftop, crawling forward in careful silence as he creeped down onto Marinette's balcony, heart hammering in his chest as he got closer to the small glass panel hatch set in the floor. What was he doing? Was this way too forward?

His thoughts scattered when he carefully peeked through the glass, his heart wrenching painfully when he spotted Marinette in her bed, heavily bandaged but still smiling.

He tilted his head to listen, catching the muffled sound of voices just on the other side of the glass.

"Are you feeling alright, Marinette? Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

The voice was unmistakably her mother's, her tone betraying her understandably intense concern.

"Oh no I'm fine, it's no big deal."

Cat couldn't really help the scoff at Marinette's reply. He knew she was tough but... but come on! He could see her, bandages that had freshly been changed from blood soaked ones... and she played it like it was nothing.

"Akuma attacks are a pretty big deal," Sabine disagreed, and Cat cheered her on silently. Exactly Mrs. Cheng, yes, it's a huge deal. Just some people are a little ridiculously stubborn when it comes to personal safety. Not naming names of course.

"That's true but... don't worry about it."

Ugh Marinette. Cat took a steadying breath, trying to counter his anger he knew only came from worry. He couldn't help it, the bandages just reminded him... she had been so hurt. For his sake.

He shook it off.

"Well, make sure you get a lot of rest for now, okay?"

"Okay," Marinette replied, and from his vantage point he could see her give a small wave, head moving slightly as she tracked movement through her room, most likely her parents leaving her be so she could sleep. He watched for a moment more, wondering exactly what his next move was when she spoke again.

"I know you're there, kitty."

She looked up, catching him peeping through the glass and making him jump in surprise, a hot wash of embarrassment overtaking him as she smiled. Had she seriously known he was there the whole time? Awesome... step one of the plan that wasn't a plan executed flawlessly.

He reached out to open the hatch, looking at her unobstructed but unable to maintain eye contact, looking away as he said, "H-hi."

Her smile never left her face, and when he found the courage to look back at it he was grateful it was there. It was soft and shining and it made the cuts and bruises fade from her skin. It made things alright.

"Would you like to come in?" she finally spoke, and he jolted, remembering part two of his plan not-plan, desperately trying to steel his determination before it left him completely.

"H-hold on, just a second!!" he stammered, vanishing from Marinette's limited view through the hatch and revealing blue sky, before it was blacked out again by him climbing down, very carefully settling his weight on the bed as he jumped but still spooking her slightly. He wasn't able to quite focus though, his confidence going up in flames when she spotted the bouquet in his hands. She reddened instantly, eyes glued to the flowers as he tried to say something but failed, so instead he sighed. He took a moment to strengthen his resolve, before releasing the transformation.

The green flashing lights made shadows dance across her room, whipping around him until he stood before her as a classmate and blushing nervous fool... holding his heart out ahead of him, buried somewhere in a bouquet of roses.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my lady," he spoke, watching as she carefully took the flowers from him, her soft smile returning and growing into something stronger. The sight of her happiness made his heart skip, a nervous laugh slipping past his guard and earning an adorable giggle from her as she turned the flowers over.

"Thank you..." she breathed, holding them close to her chest and laying one cheek softly against the petals. "Thank you so much... kitten," she laughed, her blush deepening when she used the nickname when he was exposed as her crush.

"Adorable," a new voice cut in, making Adrien sigh and Marinette jump in fright as Cat Noir's black kwami making a very sullen appearance.

"O-oh! Uh, is this...?" Mari trailed off, leaning back a little when Plagg floated into her face, examining her. She pouted a little when he snickered at something.

"This is Plagg," Adrien supplied, his irritation clear in his voice and it almost made her laugh again. "As you can see he is the best with interruptions."

"You de-transformed!" the kwami Plagg protested. "Where did you expect me to go!?"

"I don't know!" Adrien hissed, Marinette's entertained giggle making him a little flustered again. He was trying to be smooth.

"Oh, stop giving him a hard time cheddar head," an adorably squeaky voice chimed in, something small, cute, and red floating into view. She (he was assuming) crossed her arms and playfully smiled at the cat, who smirked in response. "Can't you cut him a break?"

"Can't make things easy for him Tikki, he'd go soft! Even softer than all this mush," Plagg whined, still snickering at Adrien's exasperated face. Mari was still hiding behind a hand to contain more of her giggles.

"Please find something to do," Adrien almost begged, speaking in a hushed voice to the kwamis even if he knew Marinette would still hear him. To his relief the kwami named Tikki put her hands on her hips and smiled at him.

"I'll keep him out of trouble," she promised, shoving Plagg hard so he floated into the open space of Marinette's room, pin-wheeling his arms as he tried to gain control again. Tikki gave a final giggle before zipping off in pursuit.

Adrien laughed again once the kwamis had left, a little less nervously, but he still fidgeted in place. He reached up, rubbing at the back of his neck and examining her bed spread closely since looking at her became almost impossible.

"H-hey, I know you can't go out..." he tried to start, seeing her smile again out of the corner of his eye, "but uh... if you want I can go out and get us some food. Maybe a movie? Or... uh, we c-can just hang out. If you wanted company, I mean."

She didn't reply right away so he forged on, saying, "I-I know it's not much of a Valentine's Day but-"

"Adrien," she cut him off, the sound of his name bringing his gaze up to see her softly blushing face. "It's perfect."

He stopped, overwhelmed by how amazing she was in that moment. Because she was brave... she was strong, and kind and beautiful, and she had punned for him, she said purr-fect. At least he liked to think she had at any rate, because it made everything so much better.

"G-good one!" he exclaimed, grinning at her like the absolutely love-stricken doofus he knew he was... and a little ways away from them, suspended in space, Tikki and Plagg watched their charges helplessly stutter through their interaction.

"Aw..." Tikki cooed as Marinette braved reaching out for Adrien's hand, "Isn't this sweet?"

Plagg looked on as Adrien took the offered hand, looking like he was going to pass out from doing so and sighed. With a mix between exasperation and disbelief, Plagg said, "That's one way to say it." 

Comic Version