Work Text:
When Adrien was six years old, he asked his mother a question. “How do you tell someone that you love them?”
“My sweet boy,” she said, pulling him close, “It isn't easy, but it's important to be honest about your feelings.”
Her response confused him. “But father doesn't always say ’I love you’. Does that mean he’s lying?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Your father has trouble with his words sometimes, but he shows his love through the things that he does for me. When your words fail, let your actions talk for you instead.”
He never forgot his mother’s advice, and they became his personal mantra after he met the love of his life. However, when Adrien accidentally saw Ladybug detransform in an alleyway behind the school three weeks ago, everything changed. Emilie’s words suddenly began to take on a new meaning.
At the time, shock consumed him to the point where he almost forgot how to breathe. Marinette had collapsed into a heap on the ground as his own transformation dropped. Three years of anonymity were stripped away in a matter of seconds.
Things were tense between them during the first week, but then Ladybug showed up at his house one night with a box full of pastries. They spent the evening talking, laughing, and getting to know each other. It was then that Adrien was finally able to fuse the two incredible girls together in his mind; however, it was also the night that he fell even more in love with her...and he didn’t know what to do about it.
Nino noticed the change immediately, and strongly encouraged him to ask her out. As Chat Noir, he’d never had a problem telling Ladybug how much he loved her, but now that he knew that the heroine was Marinette...it was a different story. He’d been turned down so many times as Chat that it became second nature to feel disappointed, but the thought of being rejected by Marinette terrified him. As a result, every time he attempted to ask her out on a date, he would freeze, but today was going to be different. This time, he had a plan. After a pep-talk from Nino last night, he was ready to finally tell Marinette that he was in love with her.
Adrien walked into the classroom with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He was early, but he was too excited to care. Today, he would be getting on a bus and going on an overnight trip to Normandy with his class. He knew that this would be the perfect opportunity to talk to Marinette.
The plan was simple. He’d already convinced Nino and Alya to sit together on the bus. All Adrien needed to do now was make sure that Marinette sat next to him so he could have three uninterrupted hours to confess his feelings. He had even written down what he wanted to say on a notecard. He stashed this in the pocket of his sweatshirt for safekeeping. Nothing was going to stop him this time.
As the clock ticked closer to the beginning of the school day, the rest of the students began to file into the classroom. Five minutes before the bell, Marinette stumbled into the room with a pink duffle bag and a large travel mug. He watched as she crashed into the teacher’s desk and cursed silently under her breath. She then stomped over to her seat and huffed.
Alya laughed. “Well, aren’t you just a little ball of sunshine ready to take on the day!”
Marinette put her head on the desk and groaned. “Who me? Not at all. I wouldn’t dream of taking that title away from Adrien.”
“Seriously, girl. You look like something the cat dragged in.”
“No. It wasn’t a cat this time.”
Alya knitted her brows in confusion. “Wait...what?”
Marinette shot up in her seat and looked at the Ladyblogger with panicked eyes. “I mean...I was up late designing something. Inspiration struck late last night, and I didn’t want it to disappear.”
“Hopefully you can catch some shut-eye on the bus ride...and speaking of bus rides, I told Nino I would sit with him. Please don’t be mad.”
“I could never be mad at you for wanting to spend time with your boyfriend. Besides, we’ll have plenty of time to talk in the hotel room later tonight.”
Alya gave her best friend a quick hug. “I knew you would understand! Also, Adrien is pretty excited to sit next to you...right Adrien?”
He looked up at Marinette. “Looks like we’re going to be seat buddies today!”
She gave him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. “Sounds fun, but don’t be surprised if I fall asleep on you. I can barely keep my eyes open right now.”
He felt his cheeks grow warm. “That’s okay. I don’t mind! You’re welcome to fall asleep on me anytime.”
Alya raised her brows upon hearing his statement, but before she could respond, the final bell sounded and their teacher walked into the room. Miss Bustier gave the class several last-minute directions before having the students exit the classroom. Fifteen minutes later the class was on the bus, Marinette was staring out the window, and he was doing his best not to pass out.
Once the bus started moving, Marinette turned to look at him with glassy eyes. “Can I tell you the real reason I couldn’t sleep last night?”
He placed a hand on her arm. “Of course, my lady. You can tell me anything.”
“I had a dream last night that we fought Hawkmoth and failed. It’s not the first time I’ve had a dream like that. Do you ever wonder if we’ll actually defeat him? I can’t imagine fighting Akumas for the rest of my life.”
“I’ve had lots of bad dreams, but they’re never about Hawkmoth. My nightmares usually consist of losing someone I love or being trapped.”
“Oh, kitty…”
“It’s fine. I haven’t had one in a while. But I do think about defeating Hawkmoth while I’m awake. I’m confident that as long as we’re together we’ll be able to take him down one day.”
“Well, if you want us to work as a team, you’ll have to be less reckless during fights. No sacrificing yourself for me, Chaton .”
He sighed. “We’ve talked about this, Bugaboo. You’re the only one who can cleanse the Akumas and fix everything. It’s my job to protect you and make sure that you don’t fail. If it’s between saving me or you, it’s always going to be you.”
She leaned back against the window. “Yeah, I know. I just care about you. The thought of something happening to you makes me feel sick.”
Adrien swallowed his nervousness and shot her his best “Chat Noir” grin. “It’s going to take more than an Akuma to take me away from you, my lady.”
Marinette gently pressed her finger on his nose. “I’ll hold you to that, kitty.”
“So, there’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Alright. I’m all ears. What’s up?”
“Well, I was wondering if maybe you...umm...you see.” Adrien reached for the notecard in his pocket and stopped as an explosion of frantic butterflies coursed through his body. “You know what...never mind. It’s stupid.”
Marinette cocked her head to the side. “Are you sure? You know you can talk to me about anything. That’s what partners for, right?”
“Yeah...partners. Ummm...it’s fine. I’m okay. You’re probably too tired to talk anyway. Didn’t you say that you wanted to take a nap?”
She cast him a sympathetic look. “I guess I did.”
A silence fell between them as Marinette returned to looking out the window. He did his best to stay calm, but his nervousness made him feel unusually warm. He surreptitiously wiped his hands on his pants. The last thing he needed was for Marinette to think that something was seriously wrong with him.
“ You can do this, Agreste ,” he thought to himself, “ She’s right there. All you have to do is say something. ”
As he opened his mouth to speak, he saw Marinette shiver and wrap her arms around her body. Seeing her discomfort caused his mother’s words to crash into the front of his brain.
He could hear her voice echoing in his mind. “When your words fail, let your actions talk for you instead. ”
He knew what to do. Adrien took off his sweatshirt and tapped Marinette on the shoulder.
“Are you feeling cold? If you are, you’re welcome to use my hoodie.” He held out the garment for her to take.
She reached out and took the sweatshirt from his hands. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. ”Yup!”
“Thank you, kitty! I forgot to take my jacket out of my duffel bag before it got stowed under the bus. You’re a lifesaver!” She pulled the sweatshirt on and put up the hood. “How do I look?”
He leaned in. “Wonderful as always, Bugaboo.”
In one swift movement, Marinette flipped up the armrest between them, pulled his arm around her, and snuggled into his side. While this was not the first time she’d done something like this in the past two weeks, it still surprised him every time it happened.
After the initial shock wore off, he chuckled. “Comfy?”
She scootched even closer. “I am now.”
It amazed him how moments like this had become commonplace between them, yet he still couldn’t tell her how he felt. He vividly remembered how Marinette used to freak out around him. As they grew closer as friends in their civilian lives, her stammer around him subsided, but she would still become flustered regularly. Adrien could never figure out the cause of Marinette’s apprehension, but none of that mattered anymore. The reveal changed the dynamic of their relationship, and he was now constantly in the presence of a confident and playful Marinette. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Adrien. He’d spent the past three weeks vacillating between heart-melting bliss and sheer panic.
Adrien’s heart swelled with affection as she placed a hand on his chest and released a happy hum. He spent a few minutes enjoying her closeness before gathering the courage to try confessing his feelings one last time.
“Hey, Bug,” he whispered in her ear.
Marinette didn’t respond. When he looked down, he saw that she had fallen asleep.
“ She must have been really tired, ” he thought, “ It would be rude to wake her up now. ”
He spent the next two hours holding Marinette in his arms while she slept. Adrien could feel her slow, steady breaths against his chest. He pulled her closer and rested his chin on the top of her head. As much as he wanted to wake her up and declare his love, there was a part of him that never wanted this moment to end. He was holding his entire world in his arms, and she trusted him enough to keep her safe while she slept.
When the bus pulled up to the hotel, Adrien gently shook Marinette until her eyes flicked open. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. It’s time to get off the bus.”
“Ugh, no!” she protested, “I don’t want to move. You’re warm and you smell good.”
He laughed and gave her a gentle squeeze. “As much as I would love to stay here all day, we will get in trouble if we don’t follow the class. I’ll let you keep wearing my hoodie if you let go.”
She crossed her arms and pouted. “Fine!”
Marinette latched onto his arm as they exited the bus. He grabbed their duffel bags, and they walked into the hotel together.
“You two look cozy,” Alya teased while running towards them, “Did something happen on the bus that I should know about?”
Marinette rolled her eyes. “Come on, Alya. Let’s go put our stuff in the room. We only have a few minutes before we’re expected to meet back here in the lobby.”
Adrien handed the pink duffel bag to Marinette and slumped as she walked away with her best friend. Because this was a class trip, there were non-stop activities on the itinerary. He knew that there wouldn’t be another opportunity to talk to Marinette for the rest of the day.
Nino clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I’m guessing things didn’t go according to plan?”
“No,” Adrien grumbled, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Every single time I try to tell her how I feel, nothing comes out of my mouth. It’s like someone hit the mute button on my vocal cords.”
“Bro, I have no idea what happened between you two, but you and Marinette have been acting so weird these past few weeks. It’s like you switched personalities or something.”
“I’m hopeless, Nino! Help me.”
“I don’t know if I can, my dude. I think you just need to stop overthinking it and go with the flow. Stop looking for the perfect moment to talk to her. It’ll come when you least expect it. Take Alya and I...we got locked in a cage together. I definitely didn’t plan that, but it gave us time to talk.”
“Too bad there won’t be any time to talk to Marinette in the near future.”
“You never know. Like I said...just go with the flow.”
Adrien trudged up to the hotel room and dumped his belongings onto his bed. Nino ignored his dramatics and calmly led his distraught best friend back to the lobby to join the rest of the class.
During the day, Adrien managed to perk up around Marinette, but he was still lamenting over his lost opportunity. By the time the group returned to the hotel that evening, Adrien was mentally and physically drained. All he could do was flop onto his bed and sigh.
“Bro, you do not look like someone who’s going with the flow,” Nino laughed.
“How am I supposed to follow your advice when I know that Marinette is two rooms down from me right now?” Adrien rolled onto his face and groaned into his pillow.
“You know that we don’t have to stay in our rooms until our eleven o’clock curfew, right? It’s only eight. Most of the class is hanging out in the lounge right now.”
“Marinette isn’t. I watched her go straight to her room when we got back. She was so tired this morning, and I want her to get enough rest tonight. She really needs it.”
Nino shrugged. “Well, Alya just texted me, and she wants me to join her down in the lounge. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”
Adrien shook his head. “No, I’m pretty wiped out, too. I think I’m just going to turn in early.”
“Sounds good, dude. I’ll do my best to not wake you up when I come back in later.”
“Thanks. Have fun!”
Once he was alone, Adrien grabbed his toiletries out of his duffel bag and began to get ready for bed. Plagg zipped into the bathroom and plopped down on the counter.
“What happened?” the tiny being said, crossing his arms.
Adrien frowned. “My words stopped working again. I don’t know what happened, Plagg. I used to be able to tell Ladybug how I felt without a problem, and now I can barely hold myself together during a normal conversation with her.”
“Kid, you just need to do it. Rip it off like a bandaid. Watching you pine over her is absolute torture. Things are supposed to get better after the reveal, not worse.”
“I thought I could do it, Plagg, but even when I have it all planned, I still can’t ask her out.”
“I hate to break it to you, but you didn’t think all of this through. You missed something big today.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Plagg flew away chuckling. “Oh, trust me...you’ll find out soon!”
Adrien huffed and started to aggressively brush his teeth. He was not in the mood for a cryptic Kwami tonight. He seriously doubted that Marinette had to deal with the same kind of nonsense from Tikki.
Once he finished his nightly routine, Adrien changed into his pajamas and turned on the television. He flipped through the channels in an attempt to find something that would take his mind off of his misery. After a few minutes, he settled on a movie and got comfortable under the covers on his bed.
Just as his brain began to settle, a series of rapid-fire texts came through on his phone. With tired eyes, he tapped the screen and scrolled through the messages. His heart thumped in his chest when he saw who sent them.
Marinette: Are you still awake?
Marinette: I need to talk to you.
Marinette: It’s really important.
Adrien’s mind jumped to a thousand different conclusions at the same time. As he racked his brain for the reasoning behind her frantic text messages, he recalled their conversation from earlier in the day.
“ She probably had another bad dream ,” he thought.
He took a deep breath before responding.
Adrien: I’m awake. Are you okay?
Marinette: I don’t know. Can I come over?
Adrien: Sure.
Two minutes later, Adrien jumped out of bed as he heard three quick knocks at his door. Even though he knew Marinette was on the other side, he was not prepared for what he saw. Standing before him was timid looking Marinette with tears shimmering in her eyes. Still wearing his hoodie, she played with the fabric at the lining of the front pocket.
She looked at him and bit her lip. “I...I...there...I...can I some din? I MEAN...can I come in and sit down?”
Adrien’s brows knitted together upon hearing her stammer come back. His nervousness was quickly being replaced with concern. He placed a gentle hand on her back, and guided her towards his bed.
“Bug, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?” he asked with worry lacing his voice.
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Marinette then shook her head, reached into the hoodie’s front pocket, and pulled out the notecard that contained his declaration of love.
His mouth went dry as everything inside of his body froze. “I can explain.”
Marinette held up a hand and shook her head. She then proceeded to read the notecard out loud.
“ My dearest, Marinette...I fell in love with you the day I met you. I truly believed that my heart only had room for Ladybug. Then, I became friends with my sweet, caring classmate who sat behind me, and slowly I found myself loving her, as well. Falling for Ladybug was like being swept away by a crashing wave. However, falling for Marinette was like following a stream in the woods, only to find out that it leads to a mighty river. Both sensations are different, but they are equally as powerful. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the two girls who took up all the space in my heart turned out to be the same person. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you this sooner, but my words have failed me over the past few weeks. I love every part of you, Marinette. You have my whole heart, and you always will. ”
When she finished reading, the room grew quiet. Adrien became very aware of how loud his breathing had become.
“D-did you mean it?” she asked, breaking the silence.
He nodded. “Every word.”
“Is this what you were trying to tell me on the bus?”
“Yes.”
Marinette lunged towards him and pulled him into a tight hug. She squeezed him and buried her face in his shirt. Adrien soon found himself returning her embrace with equal vigor.
“I love you, too, kitty. I’ve loved you since the day you gave me your umbrella,” she whispered into his chest.
He pulled back. “But...that’s the same day I fell in love with you.”
“I could barely function around you for years. Didn’t you ever wonder why?”
“You always denied liking me. I thought you just wanted to be my friend.”
“No. I’m just a spaz who couldn’t tell the boy she liked how she felt.”
“Well, I can’t really judge. Over the past few weeks, I’ve barely been able to talk to you. Every time I try to ask you out, my brain stops working.”
She covered her mouth with her hands. “You want to ask me out?”
Realizing what he had just admitted, a fiery blush made its way up Adrien’s neck and onto his face. “Umm...yes?”
“Oh, kitty…” she said breathlessly.
“Well, I guess there’s no going back now...Marinette, would you go on a date with me?”
She leaned in. ”Only if you’ll kiss me.”
Adrien felt his lips curl into a smirk. ”That can definitely be arranged, my lady.”
He closed the space between them and softly placed his lips on hers. Their gentleness was soon washed away by desire. Marinette eagerly deepened the kiss as her hands made their way to the back of Adrien’s head. He could feel himself smiling under her lips, and this caused her to giggle and pull away.
”Do you think we could do that again?” she asked playfully.
Adrien rested his forehead on hers. ”Will you go out with me?”
”Yes, Chaton .”
”Then yes, we can do it again. It's nice to know that I'll actually remember the kiss this time.”
”Shut up and kiss me.”
Eventually, the two found themselves curled up in each other’s arms. No words were spoken as they reveled in each other's closeness.
It was at this moment that Adrien finally understood the deeper meaning behind his mother’s advice. Words were unnecessary when two hearts beat as one because all they truly needed was each other.
BONUS SCENE:
Alya worried about her best friend...constantly. However, a few weeks ago when she watched Marinette ruffle Adrien’s hair, tap him on the nose, and talk to him in full sentences, Alya nearly combusted.
For nearly fourteen days, she grilled Marinette for answers and demanded to know if she was secretly dating Adrien. In her mind, it was the only possibility that made logical sense...because no one could be Akumatized for two straight weeks...right?
Every single time Alya asked for details, Marinette would simply say, “Right now I’m just focusing on being a better friend to Adrien.”
It was like the girl had a total personality shift overnight. It was incredibly frustrating to watch.
“Are you still thinking about Marinette?” Nino whispered into her ear as they sat alone on a couch in the hotel lounge.
“Yes,” she admitted, “I can’t help it.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Adrien has been acting like a total weirdo, as well. He’s in love with her, and he won’t tell her. Nothing I say to him helps him get any closer to confessing his feelings.”
“Woah...wait...hold on. Adrien has a crush on Marinette? Why didn’t you say anything before?”
“I thought it was obvious?”
“No, Nino...it was not obvious. Are you telling me that our best friends are now in love with each other, and both of them are doing nothing about it? I’ve come to expect this from Marinette, but Adrien...wow.”
Nino shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, babe. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
Alya grabbed his arm. “Yes, there is. We still have a whole hour before curfew. We are going to shove them in the same room together and make them talk. It worked for us, and it will work for them!”
Before Nino could respond, Alya dragged him out of the lounge and up the stairs. She huffed when she opened the door and was greeted by an empty room.
“ Where is that girl ?” She was starting to get annoyed.
“Babe,” Nino called from down the hall, “you might want to come and check this out.”
Alya rushed down the hall and nearly screamed at the sight of their best friends fast asleep in each other's arms.
“I guess they didn’t need our help after all,” Nino chuckled.
“Finally,” Alya sighed, feeling the relief wash over her.
“You’re totally going to wake them up aren’t you?”
“Yup, and I’m going to film it too.”
Nino laughed. “I’ll help as long as you send me the video when we’re done.”
Alya looked up at him and grinned mischievously. “Deal.”