As I mentioned in the last chapter, there will be a time skip but it won't really affect the story so much. It'll be a few weeks and there'll be an update of what happened in those past few weeks which relate to the show and its events. It helps me go on with the story better because it smoothes out some ends and covers up things that I didn't like were missing. There are spoilers for season 4 though so read at your own risk!! Anyways, hope you like it! <33
~
The next few weeks were a blur for Marinette and Adrien, Ladybug and Cat Noir, so many things had happened in a short amount of time, it was hard to believe that they actually happened. For anyone else, time would seem normal as nothing had really happened to them, except the two superheroes.
Marinette had thought over her possible feelings for Chat. She had grown to like him a bit over the time they'd known each other, but she kept her feelings buried because of Adrien who she was in love with. Half of her thought she could give him a chance, maybe her and Adrien weren't meant to be together, after all, Chat loved Ladybug, which meant he loved her because he said he'd love whoever was underneath Ladybug's mask. But the other half of her was persistent, her mind kept telling her to back away from the idea because it was impossible, the fear of Chat being akumatized by knowing her identity didn't sit right with her. She was a true superhero after all, the one who didn't follow her heart or emotions, but thought with her head to keep herself together.
After a lot of debating she decided to dismiss the possibility of her and Chat ever being something more than friends, than partners, and decided to step back from Adrien who she had loved with all her heart. Sure he'd still be apart of her heart, he was the first person she had loved romantically, but if he couldn't acknowledge her feelings and kept referring to her as his friend, she thought it would be best to move on to someone who was clear about their feelings, and that someone was Luka Couffaine.
Luka Couffaine was a friendly student who loved music and was Juleka's twin brother. He had been nothing but sweet to Marinette since they met and was incredibly good at playing the guitar. He had told her he was in love with her when he was akumatized and right after it too, sending Marinette's heart into awe. She had talked with him a couple of times and had grown to like him, so they had ended up dating. Meanwhile, a certain kitty was slightly heartbroken at the news but wished nothing but the best for Marinette.
He didn't show that he was upset because of his growing feelings towards his classmate, he was happy for her, she deserved someone who didn't have to hide their identity. Besides, he had been rejected numerous times before by Ladybug, it wasn't like Marinette had told him she liked him or anything, he couldn't be mad at her. He was used to the constant rejection and lack of love from people, so when a certain girl from Adrien's fencing class seemed to show an interest in him, he couldn't help but feel a bit happy at the news.
Kagami was apart of Adrien's fencing class, she was an amazing fencer, the perfect opponent for Adrien. She had dark blue hair and light brown eyes, she was shorter than him, but was fierce, confident, and wouldn't back down. This drew Adrien towards her and she had declared that she was in love with him, so Adrien decided to step back from Ladybug even if she would still be in his heart, and his beautiful classmate Marinette, and give Kagami a chance. The two had begun dating for a short while, spending time together that was interrupted by akuma fights, and hadn't kissed yet, the opportunity being taken away from them each time.
When Marinette had seen Adrien's interest in Kagami, she felt heartbroken, she wanted the best for him though and for him to be happy, so she swallowed her pain and wished the best for him, moving on with Luka. But the two relationships didn't seem to last very long in the end.
Kagami had been akumatized due to Adrien's dishonesty towards her, and after being de-akumatized she had broken up with him. Marinette had broken up with Luka because she couldn't tell him the truth, the truth about her secret identity. Luka was a sweet guy, he was super understanding, he told her he'd always be there for her, and he didn't mind if she was still in love with Adrien. The two ended up on good terms but were miserable after the breakup, with Marinette breaking down about never being able to have a boyfriend due to her role as guardian.
This breakdown led to her friends concerns, but after pushing her group of friends away, they had gotten akumatized and were determined to figure out her secret. After de-akumatizing them, Marinette broke down in front of Alya and spilled the secret about her secret identity. Alya was understanding and told Marinette she'd be there for her and she wasn't alone anymore.
Chat had still visited Marinette over those eventful few weeks, but their interactions remained friendly. Chat had a girlfriend in his civilian form and Marinette was dating Luka, so he didn't try to flirt with her. Chat's visits were shorter though as he'd tell Marinette he was busy, but overall their hangouts were pretty friendly and nothing more.
Which leads to here, the present.
~
Marinette had been staring at her phone slightly confused at the message her best friend Alya had sent her. It was lunch time so she had around an hour off, but Alya's text confused her and she wasn't sure whether to be excited or afraid.
Alya: Girl, you need to head to the art room once lunch starts, there's something important there for you and you don't want to miss it! -Alya
Marinette: Should I be scared?
Alya: Nope! I think you'll like it, well hopefully, now go! ;)
Marinette sighed to herself and only hoped that what Alya was telling her about wasn't going to be anything crazy. But knowing Alya, if something she was planning wasn't crazy, then it wasn't a plan Alya had made. This caused Marinette to internally groan as she nervously made her way towards the art room. The halls were quiet with the majority of the students being in the cafeteria and she inched her way closer to the painted door. The art room looked empty and sounded quiet, it was opened half way so she grabbed the door knob and gently opened it up more before walking inside.
She took a few steps in, the door shutting behind her until she saw a blonde teenage boy standing at the other end of the room, his back turned, and his head seemed to be looking down.
"Uh, excuse me?" Marinette asked hesitantly, silently praying that it wasn't who she thought it was.
The boy turned around wearing a nervous smile as he looked at Marinette, his cheeks slightly turned pink, and confusion written on his face. "Oh hey Marinette, what are you doing here?" Adrien asked, his green eyes curiously looking back at her blue ones.
"Oh I-I'm not sure actually," Marinette said looking down at her phone, "Alya told me to come here and I'm not sure why, maybe it was just a prank," she muttered looking around the room for any possible 'surprise' Alya claimed was there.
"Really? Nino texted me to come here too, maybe we're being pranked," Adrien said, a slight frown on his face but a glint of amusement in his eyes.
Marinette laughed, "I better go and check on Alya then," she said and turned around. She reached for the door knob and turned it, but nothing happened. She turned it again and nothing happened, the door didn't seem to budge. She let out a deep breath, telling herself not to freak out and tried the knob again but it wouldn't open.
"Marinette, is everything alright?" Adrien asked, his footsteps coming closer towards her.
"I-I d-don't think so, I mean I hope so, the door won't open," she squeaked.
Adrien frowned and Marinette moved out of the way, he tried to turn it and nothing worked, he used his other hand and nothing worked, he turned the door knob the other way and it still didn't work, he even went to calmly shake the door but it wouldn't budge. Adrien let out a frustrated sigh running a hand through his blonde locks as he turned around and gave Marinette a small, nervous smile.
"I think we've been locked in," Adrien said with a sigh.
"I don't think we tried hard enough," Marinette said and ran into the door, hitting it with her side.
She let out a groan and Adrien winced, worry flashing through his green eyes, "Are you okay?" He asked hesitantly.
"Peachy," she said with a deep breath, wearing a stupid smile. Adrien chuckled at her and sat down on a desk to pull out his phone. Marinette pulled hers out as well and sent an SOS text to Alya and prayed she would see it. After a few minutes of no luck, the two teenagers sighed and put their phones down in frustration.
"No answer from Nino?" Marinette asked him.
"Nope," he sighed. "No answer from Alya?" Adrien asked her.
"Nope," she muttered, resting her head in her hands.
"It's weird that we always seem to end up in these type of situations," Adrien said with a light laugh.
Marinette's cheeks flushed pink, "Y-Yeah, it's pretty strange don't you think?" She asked.
"I don't mind if it's you," Adrien said with a friendly smile.
Marinette giggled and looked around the room for an opening to get out, she saw a window and a lightbulb flashed in her head as she ran towards it. Adrien looked at her cautiously, afraid at what Marinette would do now. Marinette opened the window and peaked her head outside, nearly gulping as she eyed the drop.
"Maybe if we try hard enough we could jump from the window and land on our feet," she said to Adrien encouragingly.
He gulped, "I think I'll be fine, and you shouldn't do that either," he said. If only he could transform into Cat Noir without Marinette knowing and get them both out of here.
"Right," Marinette sighed and sat back down on her desk. If only she could transform into Ladybug and be alone she could've gone through the window.
"Guess we wait then," Adrien said, an encouraging smile on his face. She nodded at him before looking down and twiddling her fingers. Adrien felt the atmosphere change and it reminded him of their more intense moments when he was Cat Noir.
"I-I heard you and Luka broke up," Adrien said randomly, causing Marinette's head to shoot up.
"From who?" She asked, her eyebrow raised.
"Nino and Alya told me," he shrugged.
"Oh," Marinette said softly. Adrien could see the hurt flash through her eyes at his statement and he regretted it.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, "I didn't mean to bring it up."
She gave him a small smile, "It's alright Adrien, you're one of my friends after all I don't mind," she said.
He nodded at her, "If you don't mind me asking....why'd you guys break up?" Adrien asked. Adrien knew she hadn't told Chat about it yet, seeing he was more busier than usual, but a part of his heart flickered his curiosity.
"I...we...there were some things that weren't working between us, some things I couldn't talk to him about, so I had to break up with him," she said softly.
Adrien noticed her heartbroken expression and knew there was so much more than just that, but he couldn't pry, if she wanted to tell him than she would.
"I'm so sorry Marinette, you two were pretty cute," he said, swallowing thickly. "You're an amazing girl and he's...a really cool guy, but I guess some things just don't work out sometimes."
Marinette looked at him intently before shaking her head and nodding slightly, "Yeah, it sucks but I'll get over it. What about you and Kagami? Why'd you break up?" She asked him. Kagami had already told her why they had but she wanted to hear it from Adrien's side, besides, he had already asked her about her breakup.
"I...uh...we, you could say things weren't going smoothly, I'm busy all the time thanks to my father, it was getting hard for us to meet and hang out, and I couldn't always be truthful to her about some things," Adrien said with a sigh.
Marinette looked at him curiously, "Were they bad things?" She asked.
Adrien shook his head, "If you're thinking cheating then no, it didn't involve her either, just some personal matters that I have," he said quietly.
"I'm sorry about that Adrien, you deserve someone amazing, someone perfect for you and who loves you for you. I'm not saying you and Kagami were anything but! I just mean in the future, she's a sweet girl and I guess things don't work out sometimes," Marinette's voice cracked a bit at the end.
Adrien noticed however, the way her mood had shifted instantly to sadness, and her voice crack at the end. In a matter of seconds a tear slipped out of Marinette's eye and she hastily wiped it away and let out a cough.
He scooted closer to her and placed a hand onto her shoulder, "Were you crying?" He asked, feeling heartbroken.
"No, I'm just really good at acting," Marinette said with a weak smile but tears still stumbled out.
Adrien's whole expression turned to one of sadness and he wrapped his arms around her gently as a few more tears slipped out. He held her close and rubbed her shoulder gently. She pulled away a few seconds later and wiped her face quickly, clearing her throat. Adrien pulled a small pack of tissues from his shirt pocket and handed her one. She smiled and took it, wiping her face away from the few tears that managed to escape. Guess after breaking down in front of Alya her tears still refused to stop.
"Sorry, these past few weeks have been a bit...hectic," she said, a small laugh escaping her mouth.
"You've been under a lot of stress lately haven't you Marinette?" Adrien asked frowning as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You could say that," she said. "But who hasn't?"
Adrien continued to frown, "It doesn't matter who has or who hasn't, it's you that matters right now, and you're clearly not okay," he said. "Promise me you'll look after yourself."
She looked up at him and into his eyes before turning her head, "I'll try too," she said.
He didn't argue, he knew how stubborn she was and he didn't want to make things even worse.
"I'm sorry this is my fault, I shouldn't have brought it up," Adrien said.
"No! It's not, it's fine Adrien, I promise," Marinette assured him. He let out a nod but didn't say anything and looked forward.
Marinette got up and dusted herself off before looking around the room, her eyes landed on a couple of art supplies and she smiled walking over to them. She grabbed a thick piece of paper, some paint, a glass of water, paintbrushes, and set them down on a large table. The windows were shining daylight through the art room perfect for them to see everything clearly. She looked at a confused Adrien and motioned him over towards her. He got up, curious as to what unique thing Marinette could've come up with now.
"So I was thinking since we're both in the art room with a bunch of art supplies, we could paint something! And not just anything, we've both been feeling pretty down these past few weeks, dealing with things on our own, and what better way to let out those emotions than through different colors, shapes, and lines on paper. Long story short, we're painting how we feel and it can look as crazy as we want it to!" Marinette said, a small giggle towards the end.
Adrien's smile brightened at her idea and his eyes glinted, "Wow, you sure are creative, count me in," he said ruffling her hair. She let out a small laugh before walking over and getting small but comfortable sized aprons they used for painting so they didn't get their clothes covered in paint. She slipped on a black one pushing her ponytails back while Adrien slipped on a red one, posing dramatically. Marinette giggled at that causing Adrien to laugh as well and they both grabbed paintbrushes of their liking.
They painted, talked from time to time, hummed, and were just comfortable in one another's presence. Adrien dipped his brush in blue and slashed a line across his paper, the blue represented the sadness and gloom he was dealing with at home and dealt with more these past few weeks. Marinette slashed red paint across the piece of paper representing the anger and love she felt the past few weeks, love from her parents, friends, and Luka of course, and anger when life betrayed her and tripped her course throughout life that she was getting the hang of.
The pair kept painting with a variety of colors, whichever one they had felt the most or even the least. Each slash of paint was like letting emotion from a memory come out and be displayed instead of locked in. They found themselves smiling and laughing throughout it though, as they were able to just be free for once and not care about anything else.
A bit of red paint flicked onto Adrien's cheek from Marinette's brush and her eyes widened apologetically. "Oh my god, I am so, so, sorry Adrien!" She squeaked grabbing a cloth to remove the paint from his face. Her fingers touched his skin as she wiped off the red paint on his cheek in concentration. Adrien felt his cheeks flush at her touch and suddenly had an idea as he lifted his paintbrush.
"That's alright Marinette, it happens, it's only fair if you get it back in return though," Adrien said with a sly smirk. He dipped his paintbrush in black and smeared the brush across her cheek, taking her by surprise. He held his laughter in from her shocked expression and backed away.
"Oh you asked for it," she said, smiling evilly as she dipped her paintbrush into more red paint. Adrien gulped but shook off his fear by grabbing his own paintbrush that was freshly dipped in black paint.
The two stupid teenagers continued to splash and try to smear one another with paint from their paintbrush, ducking down and running away constantly. Marinette was clearly winning as she was way faster than him and kept taking him by surprise.
Get a grip Adrien, he thought to himself and shook his head. He wore a sly smile as he waited for her to attack him. Marinette saw a clear opening and went to charge at him just when he painted a black strip of paint onto her nose.
She stood there in shock and annoyance as he had finally gotten back at her, "I win," he said booping her nose, the similar way Chat did to her. He got black paint on his finger and stepped away from their close proximity to go wipe it off. Marinette sighed and did the same, once they were finished with their paint war and washed up, they walked over to admire their art piece.
"Wow I like yours Marinette," he said, staring at it intently. There were many colors on Marinette's page representing many emotions that she was feeling, and that surprised him and worried him but he didn't try to show it.
"Thanks," she said smiling, "I like yours too," she gestured towards his piece. His piece was full of a lot of the same colors, there was a lot of black and blue there, some green, and some red. Marinette was worried because of the lack of colors but the amount of each that were displayed on his page.
"Thanks," he said smiling. "I'm glad we did this, it actually helped a lot."
"Me too," she smiled, "Art really is a great form of expression."
He continued to smile at her and she looked up at his blonde locks and thought for a second. "The only thing you're missing is a beret to go with your apron," she said.
Adrien looked down at his apron then shook his head, "You think so?" He asked.
She nodded, "Yeah I...think it'd look cute!" She said smiling.
Adrien blushed at the compliment, "If I need a beret, I might as well count on one of the soon to be best fashion designers in Paris," he said with a wink.
Marinette blushed at that but her grin didn't falter, "Don't flatter me," she said chuckling.
"You deserve to be flattered," Adrien said with a grin. Before Marinette could respond she heard the door knob jingle and turn, revealing Alya and Nino behind it.
"Are you dudes okay?" Nino asked.
"Yeah! You've been gone for an hour!" Alya said throwing her hands up in the air.
"And you happened to know nothing about that?" Marinette asked blankly, crossing her arms.
"Yeah," Adrien said, resting his elbow onto her shoulder, "You knew nothing about both of us casually being locked in the art room?" He raised a brow.
"Dudes I don't know what you're talking about," Nino said, crossing his arms and turning his head.
"Exactly! Cute painter outfits by the way!" Alya said, pulling out her phone and snapping a picture. They were caught off guard and squirmed and flinched at the flash of Alya's phone light. Marinette groaned muttering curses to herself while Adrien sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Speaking of an hour, you two have 5 minutes to get out and get to class," Nino said.
"Yup, or you're going to be late!" Alya said with a smug smile. "Unless you two want to be stuck here...?"
"No!" They both said in unison and nervously chuckled. It's not like they didn't like hanging out with one another, but who knew how long Marinette could stay sane after spending so long with Adrien. For Adrien, he needed to keep his emotions in check before he did something he'd regret later.
Alya and Nino shared a look and stepped out the door, leaving the both of them there alone and waiting outside.
Adrien smiled at her nervously, "Even though we were locked in an art room for an hour, I still had fun," he said.
"Me too," she said brightly.
"Who wouldn't want to be stuck with you? You always find some way to make everything fun," he said and patted her shoulder. She smiled at him and he returned it before both of them walked out of the art room together.
They met Nino and Alya outside and all four of them walked towards their next class, chattering amongst themselves. Adrien couldn't help but sneak glances at Marinette while talking to Nino while Marinette couldn't help but do the same thing. There was one person on her mind though, pushing himself there and clinging to her thoughts, and that person was Chat.
~
Marinette was in her room hanging up the painting she had created in the art room today. Sure it wasn't some sort of master piece or anything, but to her it meant a lot because it captures the emotions she was feeling in probably one of the most important events of her life. Either way, she felt a sense of comfort of having it in her room.
There was an hour until dusk and she had nothing to do so she climbed up her ladder and climbed out of her trapdoor towards her balcony. It wasn't too chilly out and the sun was shining very brightly in her direction. She smiled at the warmth encasing her before letting out a sigh and twiddling her fingers. Today was such an emotion filled day for absolutely no reason, it was like the events of the past few weeks were coming back to hit her. She felt better after that painting session with Adrien today, but when she was left alone in her thoughts once again, she couldn't help but want to break down.
She sat down curling her knees to her chest and holding her head in her hands as a few tears she'd been holding fell out of her eyes. Tikki didn't say anything but silently watched and kept her eyes peeled in case of an akuma. Tikki knew Marinette needed a break after everything, she did have a bit of the weight off her shoulders but with the constant responsibilities, saving Paris, hiding her identity from everyone else except Alya, and denying her feelings for the safety of her partner, it was getting too much. She wished life could return back to normal, before she had this huge burden to carry at such a young age. She knew she should be grateful because other people had it so much worse, but that didn't mean that her problems didn't matter.
But she knew becoming Ladybug had taught her a whole lot of things and welcomed new experiences and people into her life that she had grown to love and care about deeply. She could be grateful for that and look at things in a positive light. She got up and turned back around to look at the view of Paris, a soft thud was heard from behind her and she frantically wiped her face from any tears leftover.
"Hi princess," Chat's voice said softly from behind her.
"Hi Chat," she said not turning around just yet.
Chat was confused, Marinette was usually pretty welcoming and friendly, so there had to be something wrong. He remembered the earlier events of the day and how she had cried to Adrien about stuff that's been bothering her and immediately frowned. Had she been crying again? Oh Mari...
"Hey," he said softly placing a hand onto her shoulder. "Are...you okay?" He asked hesitantly.
"Me? Yeah I'm fine Chat," she said, her voice an octave higher.
"Mari, look at me," he said softly.
"I said I'm fine just...leave me alone," she said.
Chat frowned but ignored her and gently turned her around, both his clawed hands on her shoulders. She didn't fight back but just looked down, twiddling her fingers nervously. "Were you crying?" He asked.
"I was just in the moment that's all," Marinette said with a nervous laugh, still not looking up.
He placed his thumb onto her cheek, gently brushing it and she looked up. Her bluebell eyes looked slightly watery and her cheeks looked stained from previous tears that had fallen from her eyes.
"Mari..." he said trailing off, now both hands cupping her face gently.
She sniffled but didn't respond causing Chat to worry more, "What's wrong?" He asked, his ears drooping.
"Everything," she breathed out. "It's just all coming at me," she pulled away from him.
"What's coming at you?" He asked.
"It's these responsibilities, the constant stress, dealing with my feelings towards people, it's all just come crashing down these last few weeks and I tell myself I'll be fine and get over it, but everybody has a breaking point," her voice cracked causing Chat's heart to break. "But I know this is nothing compared to being a superhero or what others might be going through but it's a lot," she said, letting out a shaky breath.
Chat wrapped his arms around her gently as she relaxed into him, wrapping her own around him. She buried her face into his chest as Chat gently stroked her dark hair, "Marinette, it doesn't matter whether you're a superhero or not, or that the things you're facing are way smaller compared to others, it's bothering you and that's what's important, because you're not smiling right now, you're hurting," Chat said.
Marinette didn't say anything except nod, Chat pulled away slightly and looked into her eyes, "I know a lot of things hurt us, people hurt us, and bring us down, but I know for a fact that you're a strong girl. It doesn't mean that you won't have bad days because you're strong, or that you won't cry, it's the fact that you came out through all of it strong, you made it through all of that, and you're still doing it. So don't blame yourself for crying, it's okay too, things can get to us sometimes and we can't help it, it affects us deeply, but please don't forget that you're important. I know you have a lot of people who love and care about you, who are here for you, and if they're not, I'm here I promise, and I'll always be here to make you feel better Marinette," Chat said.
Marinette felt a tear slip down her cheek and she nodded, Chat wiped it away and placed a soft kiss onto her forehead, "I know it's a lot to take in right, and I know my words might not be the best, but I promise it'll be okay in the end, so please don't cry princess, seeing you sad and upset is making me lose my love for puns," he said, a small smile towards the end.
Marinette giggled at that, a smile resting onto her features as she hugged him tightly. He smiled and hugged her back, not wanting to let go, he had missed her the last couple of weeks, with the lack of time they had spent together, and it felt good being near her again and making her happy, that's all he ever wanted.
"Thanks kitty," she said pulling away from him, a smile on her face as she dabbed at her face.
"Anytime princess," he said, ruffling her hair gently.
She smiled at him and let out a sigh, turning her head towards the city. The sun hadn't set yet and was shining very brightly onto her face causing her to shield her eyes.
"Are you busy tonight?" Chat asked causing her to turn around, there was a hopeful smile on his face.
"Nope, I don't think I have anything to do tonight," Marinette said.
"Do you mind if I take you on a mini voyage?" He asked, eyes glinting.
"Depends where we're going," she said with a small laugh.
"Nowhere dangerous, just a friendly spot that I think you'll like," Chat said extending his hand towards her.
"I'm guessing you're not telling me where exactly," she said with an amused smile.
"Nope," he said with a small smirk. "But trust me, I'll keep you safe."
Marinette nodded, she knew Chat wouldn't take her anywhere dangerous, and that he was probably trying to lighten her mood, so she agreed.
"Alright," she said with a sigh as she took his hand, but the smile was evident on her face. He put an arm around her waist holding her securely as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. He extended his baton and they hopped from her balcony on to another building as Chat jumped by super fast. The trip was fun but scary because at times she felt like she'd fall off because of Chat's rebellious nature but she didn't, he would keep his promise.
They landed on a bridge and Marinette looked around confused until she spotted a friendly guy with a cart. It wasn't just any guy, it was André the ice cream vendor, who was known for his Sweetheart's Ice Cream! Marinette grinned as she looked over at Chat who had a grin on his features as well.
"If I recall correctly, didn't we properly meet when André was akumatized?" Marinette asked with a smile.
Chat thought for a moment before looking back at her, "Oh yeah! I remember! I thought he was another supervillain that was in love with you!" Chat said.
Marinette giggled at that as Chat sighed, "If he was though, I wouldn't exactly be surprised," Chat said and winked at her.
Marinette blushed slightly throwing him a playful glare while he just smirked at her and they walked towards André. André had just opened up his ice cream stand and was waiting for customers with a smile.
He noticed Marinette and Cat Noir walking towards him and smiled brightly, "My name is André! André! Glacé! The sweetheart matchmaker! With one scoop or two, I'll find up for you with magical ice-cream flavors!" André said in a sing song voice.
(Yes I know I'm extra, but I wanted this to be accurate for this scene)
"Hello André," Marinette said with a smile.
"Hello," Chat said nervously.
"Marinette and Cat Noir! What a wonderfully unique pair you two are!" André said in a sing song voice smiling brightly.
Both teenagers blushed and avoided eye contact from one another, "So are you here to buy ice cream?" André asked getting his scoop ready. Marinette nodded and watched as André built a special cone for each of them.
"Peach pink like his lips and mint like his eyes. But wait, there's something different this time!" André said thoughtfully. He scooped up a dark chocolate chip flavored scoop and placed it onto Marinette's ice cream. "Dark like his form, but not like his heart, he has loved you from the very start!" André finished and handed Marinette her ice cream.
"Peach pink like his lips, mint like his eyes, dark like his form, but not like his heart?" Chat asked Marinette raising an eyebrow. "Loved you from the start?"
Marinette blushed deeply as André grinned at her in satisfaction, "I don't know, I might've not found this person yet," she said with a nervous laugh.
Chat frowned, "I know it's right there but I can't put my paw on it," he said. André winked at Marinette and Chat noticed, it sent him into a deeper thought.
"Don't you worry Cat Noir, I've got the purrrfect flavors for you as well!" André said happily as Chat grinned, snapping away from his thoughts.
"Strawberry with black chocolate chip! Blackberries for her hair, and blueberry ice-cream just like her sky blue stare! But there's more this time to your secret person out there! Bubblegum pink for her soft candy lips!" André sang as he handed Cat Noir his ice cream.
Cat Noir looked puzzled but smiled as he began to eat his ice cream. "Strawberry with black chocolate chip, blackberries for the hair, blueberry ice-cream for her eyes, and bubblegum pink candy lips?" Marinette asked, a sly smirk on her face.
Chat's cheeks flushed pink as he awkwardly looked away, "I don't know, I probably haven't found this person yet," he said with a small smile.
"She could be clawfully close kitty," Marinette said with a giggle. Chat blushed deeper, he had a clue on who she could be.
"Enjoy your ice cream my sweet lovebirds!" André said as they walked away, waving to him. They both blushed at that but didn't say anything and sat down at a bench.
Marinette ate her ice cream happily, smiling at the thought of who this mystery person could be. Chat noticed this and smirked gathering her attention, "What?" She asked innocently.
"What're you smiling about?" He teased her.
"About how good this ice cream is," Marinette said with an innocent smile.
"Really?" Chat asked, the smirk not leaving his face.
"Yup! Here try it!" She said and shoved a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth, catching him by surprise. She removed the spoon a couple seconds after, he looked stunned blinking at her in surprise.
"Mfsi! Wfht dfd yhu du dhath foe?" Chat mumbled out and ate the ice cream. Marinette burst out laughing at his expression as he simply frowned, his ears drooping.
"That was to shut your little mouth up," she said with a satisfied smirk as she twirled her spoon.
"Really?" He asked innocently.
"Mhm," she said smugly.
"Well in that case...here's some to shut your pretty little one up!" He said and shoved his spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. Marinette looked shocked then glared daggers at the cat, he tried his best to not look scared. She ate the ice cream and when she was finished she cracked her knuckles as Chat gulped.
"Marinette look...we can settle this, here!" Chat said and grabbed her spoon shoving her ice cream into his mouth. He held his hands up in surrender as Marinette continued to glare at him, then her face broke out into a smile and she started laughing.
Chat didn't know whether to be scared or worried.
"Good kitty," she said booping his nose with her finger and sat down, as if nothing happened.
Chat gave her a friendly smile, his guard up as he swirled the remainder of his ice cream, "Your flavor was really good by the way," he said with a small smile.
"Yours wasn't bad either, guess we have good taste in soulmates," she said with a light laugh.
"Yeah we do," he said softly, smiling at her in adoration.
Marinette caught his staring and looked at him, her breath caught in her throat at the way he was looking at her. Chat's eyes seemed to be filled with happy emotions, he looked happy, loving, and mesmerized, as he stared at the pretty girl in front of him. Marinette's eyes were filled with wonder, curiosity, excitement, and a little bit of love. They didn't say anything, just stared at each other intently, Marinette felt Chat lean towards her and she felt herself do the same. They didn't control their actions, they were acting on their emotions, and their emotions seemed right this time. Chat placed his hand onto her cheek searching her eyes as she did the same, they were so lost in the moment, so lost in each other, forgetting their surroundings. André was silently cheering from his ice cream stand, watching two love birds eat his magical ice cream. Chat brushed his thumb across her cheek, their lips were a couple inches apart, and Marinette could feel his warm breath on her cheek. Just when she was about to flutter her eyes shut and let Chat possibly kiss her, he wiped his thumb against her face blinking and pulled away from her abruptly.
She was a little confused and felt slightly embarrassed at her thoughts and emotions. Since when did she let them control her? Chat looked down and ran a hand through his golden locks, messing them up a little as he thought deeply.
"Chat?" She asked, clearing her throat.
He looked up and gave her a nervous smile, "You had a bit of dark chocolate chip ice cream near your lower lip," he said quietly.
"O-Oh, thanks," she said wiping a thumb against the spot on her face he had touched.
"No problem," he said weakly. The two ate the remainder of their ice creams in silence which was only for a bit and Marinette got up to throw her empty cup out. Chat did the same and she waited for him patiently, the sun had already set so the sky was covered in dark blue with bright sparkling stars.
Marinette smiled when she saw a heart shaped constellation and Chat noticed as he looked up. "What're you looking at?" He asked. She turned her head and looked at him before looking up and frowned once she couldn't see the heart.
"I saw a heart shaped constellation but it's gone now," she said with a sigh.
"You mean that one?" He asked pointing upwards.
She looked up and found Chat holding his gloved hand in a half heart shape and smiled, she made her own half heart and connected it with his, now she could see the constellation in the sky again. Chat looked at their connected hands and smiled to himself, he was falling for this girl, and he sure was falling hard.
(A.N. I'm not great with constellations and I'm not 100% sure if there's a heart one, I think there's a heart shaped cluster but if not just roll with it for the story please)
Marinette sighed to herself as she removed her hand and rubbed both her hands together, it was starting to get cold now. Chat also removed his hand and gently smiled at her, "I think I should take you home now," he said extending his hand.
She smiled and nodded, Chat picked her up in his arms because she was cold and she wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling into his chest softly and safely.
He extended his baton and took off, leaping from building to building until he finally reached her balcony. He hesitated before putting her back down on the floor, she seemed so peaceful and happy in his arms, his heart ached to not let her go but his mind knew he had to. He gently placed her down, his arm still wrapped around her waist as she stifled a yawn.
"Thank you Chat, for everything, you made my day better," she said smiling at him brightly.
"Anytime princess, I promise I'll always be here," he said looking into her eyes. Marinette stared back at him and a few seconds later he placed a slightly longer kiss on her forehead before letting her go.
Marinette blushed slightly and smiled walking towards her trapdoor, she looked back at Chat who was staring at her, "Goodnight kitty," she said.
"Goodnight princess," he said softly, and leaped off her balcony.
Marinette sighed slipping into her room, already missing his presence. What was wrong with her? She had recently broken up with Luka and told herself that she would keep her feelings for Chat away. She couldn't mess things up anymore, she was going to kiss him for cheese's sake! But he seemed to want to do that too, didn't he?
Marinette sighed as Tikki flew up to her holder frowning slightly at her frustrated sigh.
"I can't hide it anymore Tikki," Marinette said, her hands covering her face.
"Can't hide what?" Tikki asked her, floating closer.
"I can't deny my feelings for Chat anymore," she breathed out and looked at Tikki.
Tikki looked shocked but smiled, "It'll be alright Marinette, things end up working out in the end, I promise," her kwami assured her.
Marinette nodded, too tired and exhausted to argue, she turned to her side and pulled her covers up, burying herself under them. Tikki rested on the top of her blanket softly, "Goodnight Marinette, everything will be fine," Tikki said.
"I hope so, goodnight Tikki," Marinette said and sleep overtook her.
Hope you guys liked this chapter! I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written for a book, my English teachers would be jealous because this feels like an essay lol. Anyways, I wanted to include an Adrienette moment where they talk about things together and bond because I wanted to see that happen after the whole reveal with Alya, and I also wanted Chat to comfort her and make her feel better to strengthen their bond more and realize their feelings between one another. Anyways, I hope you're all doing well, much love! <33