Work Text:
Adrien only drinks black coffee now.
It’s only been four years since he started drinking it. You would think every once in a while he would let himself buy a drink that actually tasted good, but no. He couldn’t.
He was not going to relive the caffeine crash of 2015 again.
He was not going to let his lady down again because he suddenly became sluggish during a fight.
He was not going to let his father down again because after fighting his mind was so foggy he couldn’t remember how to get home, let alone that he was supposed to be at a photo shoot.
He couldn’t bear to see that look on anyone’s face again.
So he drank black coffee. It was bitter. Sometimes it was so over-brewed he choked on it. But it was how he kept moving. How he kept everything going. How he was able to make his schedule work. How he was able to keep himself afloat.
Plagg doesn’t like it. He says Adrien is too dependent on the stuff. It’s not often the kwami shows concern, but when he realized Adrien had gotten to a point where he couldn’t function without a cup every few hours? Yeah. He got vocal about it.
“Adrien. You need to stop.”
“I can’t.” Adrien replied as he sucked down his second cup that morning on the way to school. Plagg groaned in exasperation, but wouldn’t argue. He needed to talk to Tikki about this. Maybe if they ever figured out who her chosen was she could make his idiot stop drinking so much damn coffee.
She was always better with helping people better themselves. Convincing them to take up less… destructive habits. After all, she was the good luck. The yin to his yang. God he missed her. How had they not figured out who her chosen was after three fucking years?
Adrien was actually early to school that day. He even beat Alya, which never happened. He slumped down in his seat, his venti Starbucks coffee sitting on the edge of his desk. He always drank half of it in the limo and the rest during first period. He needed two every morning if he was going to make it through. He couldn’t get a third until lunch, and if there was an akuma before then… He’d be screwed without two right away in the morning.
He must’ve fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew Alya was ruffling his hair as she walked past to slide into the seat behind him. “What’s up, Adri-skinny-soy-latte-with-a-doubleshot-and-a-dash-of-cinnamon-no-whip?”
“Mmmngh.” Adrien groaned, shifting slightly.
“Oh come on.” Alya teased. “Mr. Overworked and Overscheduled can’t be bothered to give me a real greeting? Harsh.” Adrien waved her off. “Did you at least get the worksheet done, cinnamon?”
He sat bold upright. “Shit.” He had completely forgotten. He had finished half of it last night, but then he had patrol and had gotten back late. Sometimes he got caught up in being Chat, in being with Ladybug, and the freedom that came with it. Adrien was usually able to tear himself away so that he could get everything done, but last night had been quiet and he and his lady had spent their time laughing and racing across rooftops before lying together on the slanted top of the Louvre for a few hours, talking and giggling until nearly midnight. He had been in such a grand mood when he got home that he drifted right off to sleep, completely forgetting the assignment.
He was scrambling to get the worksheet out of his bag as Nino walked in. He slid past Adrien, clapping a hand on his shoulder, and plopped himself down on Alya’s desk after picking up her travel mug of tea. “Hey wifi, how’s it hanging?” He grinned and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.
“Ugh, do you have to sit on my desk? What if I actually had stuff on it?” Alya tried to sound irritated, but wasn’t quite successful in hiding her grin.
“Ah, but you did.” Nino waggled his eyebrows, holding up her tea as if he were holding an award/being asked to model with it. He leaned in close. “Although if you had anything else on here I’d just have to sweep it to the floor as if I were going to throw you on top and ravish you right here.” He murmured, making Alya squeak and blush as if she were Marinette trying to talk to Adrien back in college before she shoved him off the desk, narrowly missing Adrien as he finally triumphed in finding his worksheet.
“Guys. Get a room, seriously.” Adrien huffed. “Some of us have work to finish.”
“Not my fault you won’t ask out your mysterious lady crush~” Nino singsonged. “If you’d just go for it already you’d be doing the same exact thing,” he said.
“Whatever.” Adrien rolled his eyes and got to work on his assignment. He was on the last question, having completely tuned out Alya and Nino’s lovesick bickering, when there was the decisive clink of ceramic on his desk. He looked in the direction of the noise and froze. It was a mug. A mug with his face on it. Well, with Chat’s face on it, but still. It was a mug. One that looked oddly familiar, if only he could place it. One that had coffee being poured into it.
He continued staring at the mug until after the coffee had stopped flowing and he heard a giggle from above. His head snapped up and his jaw dropped. There stood Marinette, a large jug thermos in her hand. “Morning Adrien!” she said brightly. “I thought you might enjoy drinking out of an actual mug today.” She rummaged around in her bag for a second, producing a few small packets. “Here, I even brought you some peppermint creamer!” She beamed so brightly at his bewildered face that he hadn’t even realized he had taken the creamers from her outstretched hand until she was moving away, patting his head on her way to her desk.
He stared down at the creamer packets in his hand. He couldn’t… he couldn’t use these. He had to drink black coffee. It was the only way his life worked. It was the only way he functioned. There was no way—
“Bro.” He hadn’t noticed Nino slipping into the desk next to him, but now he was leaning over, prodding Adrien’s shoulder to get his attention. “Just use them. I know. But it’ll be okay,” he said in a low voice.
“Nino, I—“
“I know dude. I know. Just do it. Everything’ll be fine. I promise.” Nino leveled his gaze at Adrien. “Or do you want to break Marinette’s heart? She’s doing something nice. Don’t be a dick.”
Adrien sighed. “…Okay.” It was only first period, after all. It wouldn’t kill him. He would be okay. He still had his black coffee at the edge of the desk if he needed. He still had enough time between lunch and the end of the day—before his photoshoot—to get another cup. He would be okay. He could do this. For Marinette.
He tore the lid off the little cup and carefully poured one of the creamers into the mug of steaming coffee. It billowed up like a cloud as he did the same with the other two. He took the cup in both hands and stared at it for a minute, waiting for the creamer to settle. He looked at Nino out of the corner of his eye—he was staring at him expectantly. He assumed Alya and Marinette were doing the same, seeing as he didn’t hear them talking. He took a sip.
It was pure bliss.
He sighed contentedly, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair. “Oh my god. Marinette,” he said softly, “this is amazing.”
He took another sip, failing to remember why he hadn’t let himself use fucking creamer. Creamer.
It’s not like it diluted the caffeine. But no. Not once in three fucking years had he let himself use so much as fucking creamer in his coffee. All because of one incident.
Another sip. He groaned, turning to look at Marinette. She was completely flushed, but he pretended not to notice. “Seriously Marinette, thank you. This is the best coffee I’ve had in years.”
“N-no problem!” she stammered, smiling nervously.
“Really,” he said, taking a large gulp, “this is the best thing ever. Ever.” He grinned over at her, “Literally I could fucking kiss you right now. This is amazing.” He saw her eyes widen and her jaw part slightly, and his grin just widened. He loved making her flustered. Teasing her was almost as great as teasing his lady. She was his princess, after all, even if she didn’t know it half the time.
He turned to Nino, thrusting the mug toward him. “Seriously Nino, you have to try this.”
Nino made a face. “Bro. You know I don’t drink coffee.”
“But this is so gooood,” Adrien said, drawing out the last word as he leaned back in his chair. He heard Nino chuckle and ignored it to take another drink from his new mug. Should he…? Oh fuck it. He was in such a good mood. Why not? He turned back to Marinette. “And Chat Noir too! Purrrrrincess, how did you know?” He positively beamed at her. Strike that—pawsitively.
What he didn’t expect was Marinette to stand up, knocking her chair to the ground. He didn’t expect the look of pure fury on her face. He didn’t expect to be grabbed by the arm and dragged out of the classroom. He didn’t expect to be slammed into the lockers, to have Marinette’s finger shoved in his face.
“YOU.“ She glared at him, at a loss for words. She drew back, pacing back and forth in the near-empty hallway. She whirled on him again. “You weren’t supposed to—“ She drew a hand over her face in exasperation. He could’ve sworn he heard her murmur, “That fucking kitty…” He felt his heart jump. Did she figure it out?
Looking up at him with a steely glint in her eyes, she prodded his chest with a finger. “How do you know Chat Noir?” she said in such a low, even voice that he almost didn’t hear her.
His heart sank. She didn’t know. He was still… alone in this. He loved his lady, but her continued refusal to find out who he was was getting harder and harder to deal with. He just wanted someone to know he was Chat, dammit!
“How do I…” he said quietly. “How do I… know Chat?” He shrugged. “I mean, he’s saved me loads of times. Him and Ladybug.” He peered at her, “Why do you ask?”
Marinette’s eyes narrowed. “You know that’s not what I mean.”
Wait a second. He knew that look. Why did he know that look?
But he didn’t have time to think about that. Here Marinette was, glaring at him—something he had never seen from her before. He needed an answer for her. He knew she wasn’t going to figure out that he was Chat anytime soon, so he did his best to look bewildered. “Well, what do you mean then?” He peered down at her. “Wait, you know him too, right? He saved you from the Evillustrator.”
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Saved me? More like I saved him.”
Adrien was indignant. “You saved him? Excuse you, but last time I checked you weren’t a superhero.”
She snorted. He expected her to look amused, but no. She looked… sad. Why would she look sad? Being a superhero wasn’t exactly all it was cracked up to be. She shouldn’t be upset that she wasn’t one. All those late nights, missed homework assignments. Hell, he was lucky he had gotten this far in school given how many classes he’d skipped because of Chat.
“Mari, don’t be upset,” he said softly, “I’m sure being a superhero isn’t all everyone thinks it is. It’s probably a lot harder than we realize.”
She looked up at him, a determined glint in her eyes for just a moment, before she caught herself and her expression softened. But that look. Why did he recognize that look? It’s not like he had ever seen Mari…
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
That— that was—
The pieces came crashing together. The look. The reaction to his nickname for her. The mug. He had given Ladybug that mug.
Holy shit.
Marinette was Ladybug.
“Mari—you—you’re—”The room was spinning. Did she see the room spinning? The room was definitely spinning.
“Adrien?” She looked concerned. “Are you okay?”
“You—”
And he blacked out.