Thanks again for reading my story. This week is my birthday so I can't guarantee a chapter on Wednesday but I'll try my best! I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you like it!
I own nothing but the story. All Miraculous characters belong to Thomas Astruc. Credit to Eden dpahne for parts of the cover photo.
p.s. All italics are for puns or thoughts
For the rest of the weekend, Marinette was a complete mess, much to Tikki’s amusement. The goddess of creation had seen many Ladybugs and with each one, love problems with Chat Noir. She did know Chat’s identity but wanted her miraculous holder to find out for herself. “Almost every Ladybug has had to go through this, Marinette. I’m sure everything will work out fine!" Tikki reassured the flustered teen. “And besides, weren’t you prepared to give up on Adrien a few days ago?”
“That was a betrayal, Tikki! I practically cheated on him!”
Meanwhile, Chat Noir was having the exact same problem as Marinette was, except Plagg was much less sympathetic. "Plagg, I'm a horrible person! I don't deserve to love my lady, " Adrien groaned. Plagg, completely fed up with the how dense the boy could be, took no notice of his distress.
"This is why I stick to cheese. Girls are too difficult."
"PLAGG! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!"
Monday came and Marinette woke up late, as usual. Tikki watched fondly as Marinette rushed about her bedroom. When the teen was finally ready, Tikki flew into her small purse and she bounded down the stairs, 2 at a time. It was a surprise that she didn't fall like she usually did. Bidding her parents goodbye, Marinette ran to school, determined not to be late for the thousandth time. As she arrived at school, however, she slipped on nothing in particular and fell on the floor. The floor was surprisingly warm and muscular and smelled like mint and cedarwood. Oh, wait. She knew that scent. Red-faced, she turned around to find Adrien's amused face looking up at her. "Woah, there Mari. A fall like that could do some real damage," he teased.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry I'm such a klutz I've probably broken all your bones and you'll never be able to do any modelling and you'll become homeless and your beautiful face will be all sunken and withered I'VE RUINED YOUR LIFEEEE!" Marinette rambled. Adrien blinked twice and roared out laughing. Marinette, more embarrassed and red than she'd ever been, held her face in her hands.
"Oh, Marinette. My beautiful face will survive." Adrien chuckled. "If you wanted to get on top of me, all you had to do was ask." Marinette looked up, bluebell eyes wide as saucers, and began to giggle at the laughing boy.
"Ewww Adrien, you perv! I had no idea how dirty-minded you were."
"Come on, let's get off the floor before we get really dirty, " Adrien joked. He pulled Marinette up with him as he stood up and was so close that he could smell her coconut shampoo. "Uhhh…" they both blushed and the fact that they were still holding hands was not lost on either side. "W-we should probably g-go inside, " Adrien stuttered. "Where did that come from?" he asked himself.
"Y-yeah," Marinette replied nervously. She realised how cold she was - in her frenzy to not be late, she had forgotten her coat. Adrien noticed her shivering and, like the perfect gentleman, took off his hoodie and pulled it over her head. Marinette, surprised by the action, protested "Adrien, I'm fine, really!"
"I insist. You can give it back tomorrow, or keep it. I-if you really want to."
Internally, Marinette squealed at the thought of wearing Adrien's hoodie for the rest of her life. "OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!" She was brought out of her thoughts by the feeling of Adrien's hand on her lower back, guiding her to their classroom. Many heads turned at the sight, but most people we're excited that their OTP was finally starting to happen. Marinette was in heaven. She could die right now and be satisfied, no joke. Adrien, on the other hand, felt like he was doing the most natural thing he had ever done. With Kagami, everything felt forced and uncomfortable. Being here with Marinette felt so easy. He looked down at Marinette and grinned. She returned the smile and stepped closer to him.
"This is nice."
They arrived at their classroom, still looking into each other's eyes as if they were in their own little bubble. "I could stay like this forever, " Marinette thought peacefully.
"DUPAIN-CHENG! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY ADRIKINS?"
Ah well. Ladybug only had so much luck. Marinette turned to Chloe, pissed off that her moment with Adrien had come to an end. "Adrien, did she put some kind of spell on you? Come here and I'll deal with her for you, " Chloe said snottily and flipped her hair. Marinette was about to retort but Adrien beat her to it.
"Marinette didn't do anything wrong, Chloe. You need to stop giving her a hard time about things she has no control over. I gave her my hoodie because she forgot her coat and I walked with her...b-because…" at this, Adrien noticed that the entire class was listening in on their argument and his face turned rosy. He had to finish strong or Chloe would just continue to pester the poor bluenette. "Because I wanted to."
There was a loud gasp from three people. Chloe, Alya and Mlle Bustier. What? She was a grown woman and had been watching these two dance around each other for years. Finally, some excitement in her dull life. Oh wait, she had to start the lesson. "That's enough, Adrien. Please take your seat. You too, Marinette."
As the two students sat down, their respective best friends grabbed their arms. "Girl, what was that?!" Alya whispered excitedly.
"I don't know, but I know that I want it to happen again!" Marinette squealed quietly.
Meanwhile, in front of the girls, Nino was questioning Adrien.
"Dude, what was that? Since when do you walk Marinette to class and give her your hoodie? Your hoodie that has your name on it?"
"Shit."
"I don't know, it just felt natural. It's not that big of a deal, right?"
"NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL?" Nino whisper-shouted not-so-quietly. "This dude really is dense," Nino said to himself. How could he not realise after 3 years that Marinette had a super gigantic crush on him? It's not like he could tell Adrien anyway. Alya had threatened him more than enough times. Both Alya and Nino thought at the same time, "I'll investigate more after class."
As the lesson came to an end, Alya dragged Marinette, who smiled back at Adrien anxiously, to the locker room. When they arrived, Alya sat them down and threatened, "Spill the beans, Mari, or you're going to regret it." Marinette gulped and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Well, I was running to school and slipped on something, which made me crash into Adrien. He helped me get up and gave me his hoodie because I forgot my coat. Then he walked me to class and...well you know the rest of it."
Alya stared incredulously at her BFF. "You mean to say, you fell on top of Adrien and I wasn't there to witness it?"
"You were probably too busy swapping spit with Nino!"
Alya went red at this but continued her interrogation. "You do realise that the hoodie you're wearing has Adrien's name on it right?"
Marinette froze, jumped two feet in the air and screamed "WHAT?"
Alya snickered and continued, "Is there anything else I need to know about?"
"Well, he did make a dirty joke about me getting on top of him."
Alya stared, stunned. Then she got up and began to pace in front of her friend. "Wait, wait, wait. Adrien, the purest, most innocent bean out of all of us, made a dirty joke?! Marinette! This could be more serious than I thought! What else?"
"Ummm...he said I could…keep the hoodie if I wanted."
Alya stopped pacing directly in front of Marinette. She turned slowly and fell to the ground. Shocked out of her skin, Marinette knelt by her side and shouted worriedly, "Alya? Are you ok?" Alya looked up and announced, "Marinette, you officially have a 54% chance that Adrien likes you back."
Marinette squealed loudly and pulled Alya up. "Did you really have to 'faint' for that?" Alya took no notice of her comment, looped arms with her friend and together, they strolled out of the locker-room, chatting about how Adrien might just feel the same way about Marinette.
The day passed with no more excitement until it was time to go home. "Are you sure I can keep your hoodie, Adrien? I don't want to be a bother," Marinette asked timidly, internally hoping he said yes.
"Yes, I'm sure. I have loads of hoodies and I...well…I w-want you to have it." At this, Marinette turned very pink and heard someone fangirling nearby, no doubt it was Alya. Or maybe Mlle Bustier.
"Th-thank you Adrien."
"No p-problem."
Once again, they were lost in each other's eyes, not noticing anything that was going on. They could have stayed like that forever if they had their way. But alas, it was not meant to be. A pigeon flew by, startling Marinette and causing Adrien to have a sneezing fit. "Gesundheit," Marinette giggled and passed him a tissue.
"Thank you, Mari," he said wearily. He waved as he walked to his black Mercedes-Benz. "See you tomorrow Marinette. Try not to fall on anyone else!" he teased and drove off with barely a sound. Marinette blushed and smiled to herself.
When Adrien arrived at the mansion, he decided that he should investigate his feelings for Marinette. Much to Plagg's dismay, he meant as Chat Noir. At least he was getting double the camembert.
Later that evening, Marinette was out on her balcony, looking at the beautiful Paris skyline. Whether or not she was waiting for a certain black cat was debatable. Her wishes came true, however, when Chat Noir bounded across the rooftops and stopped on her balcony. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. Himself, " Marinette joked.
"Meowch Princess. You wound me" He held his heart and staggered backwards.
They bantered back and forth for a while until Chat remembered the reason he had come to see his Princess. "So, did anything interesting happen at school today, Mari?" She blushed and turned away. "Ooh, that looks like a yes to me."
"Yeah...ok you have to promise to never tell anyone what you're about to hear."
Chat put his hand to his heart and said "Cat's honour."
"The boy I've loved for 3 years gave me his hoodie today."
Chat froze. His mind caught up with what his ears we're screaming at him and...wait, how do you breathe again? He began to choke and Marinette looked at him fearfully. "Chat, are you ok?" She got up and tapped his back.
"In and out Agreste. You can do this." "Yep, I'm fine, princess. Could you tell me the name of this boy?"
"Don't tell anyone Chat. It's...Adrien Agreste."
"Holy shit…" "Isn't he that model boy? The rich, stuck-up one? What's so special about him?" Chat asked, anxious to hear Marinette's reply.
"How can you say that? He's so much more than just a pretty face. He's kind, compassionate, and such a gentleman. He's always polite to everyone, even when he's upset. I know he's been having a really rough time ever since...well he hasn't been himself lately. But even then he makes an effort to be positive and a nice person to be around. And, oh my God, he's handsome. His eyes are like emeralds and his hair is so soft and fluffy. He obviously has to work out for his modelling but still. The only person I know our age that is as ripped as he is...is you Chat. Chat? Hello? Are you choking again?"
Chat was rigid. He could not move. He started at Marinette with his mouth wide open. "Well-fucking-done Agreste. This stunning girl has been in love with you for 3 years and you didn't even notice. What a dumbass." "W-well princess, this b-boy clearly doesn't know what h-he's missing." An idea struck him. A wide smirk appeared on Chat's face and he slowly proposed, "Why don't I help you get together with this boy of your dreams?"