Work Text:
At the moment, Adrien wanted nothing more than to be sitting behind Marinette.
Usually, his preferred position would be next to her in place of Alya, but he was too loyal to Nino to abandon him.....
And maybe a little scared to sit next to Marinette too.
But now he wished he sat behind her so he could read exactly what Marinette was so focused on writing on a paper that did not come from her notebook.
He caught all that information by pretending to turn around to see the clock every now and then.
"Adrien!" Mlle. Bustier called. "Are you listening to what I'm saying?"
"Yes, the prince's kiss can break the spell out on the princess because of true love and true love conquers all." He rattled off.
"Good job!" His teacher smiled, impressed.
Once her back was turned, Nino punched him playfully. "Nerd."
He could hear Alya giggling. But not Marinette. She was still a world away. Something like this would have usually made her laugh.
"Oh, this is so romantic!" Everyone turned to a moony-eyed Rose whom Juleka was patting on the back.
"Yes, it is, Rose." Mlle. Bustier gave her an engaging smile. "Remember to do your 2 page assignment on Romantic Literature, everyone! And Happy Valentine's day!"
The bell rang.
"This assignment should be easy for you, dude!" Nino groaned. "I don't know anything about this weird language that Shawnspear made up."
"It is Shakespeare, Nino. And what can I say? I had a very cultured education." He said, his eyes following Marinette as she threw the paper into the bin and left with a dejected look on her face.
He was glad he taught himself to daydream and listen to Natalie's lectures at the same time. It sure came in handy now.
His best friend however, saw right through him. "Just ask her out already dude! It's the V-Day! Literally everyone knows you have a thing for her!"
He panicked. "Wait, does Marinette know?!"
"Nope, that chick's oblivious. You coming?"
"Uh, in a second, I have to check my schedule. I'll see you soon."
------
Maybe Valentine's day was getting to him, but Adrien felt strangely sure that Marinette was writing a love letter.
To whom, though?
What if was....he couldn't even imagine it.
His heart pounding, he reached in to take out the balled up piece of paper.
"Did someone throw away Camembert?!" He heard his kwami Plagg shoot out of his bag excitedly.
"Sure, Plagg. This person must have horrible judgement." He muttered absent mindedly as he opened the paper up.
"I'm not giving up hope!" Plagg said, determined as he dived into the bin.
Green and gold melded true,
Heart of love and you don't have a clue,
I'll hope and love and cherish and care
For you're my life, my breath of air,
And as we move forward, light and dark
Together and farther, yet closer and apart
I speak my heart and soul when I say,
Will you be my Valentine today?
"I was right, Plagg!" Adrien gasped. "It IS a poem!"
"I was wrong, Adrien!" Plagg wailed. "There is no cheese in here!"
"Will you stop thinking about your stomach and look at this?" He said, annoyed.
Plagg gagged when he read the first line. "Ick! I hate romance! Except if it's with cheese..." He added thoughtfully.
"You are gross. Who do you think this is about?"
"Hmm....gold..." He landed on Adrien's hair.
"And green...." He flew down to stare at him creepily.
"Gee kid, I'm stumped." He said, drily.
"Wait, you don't think....this is about me, do you?"
"Thank the lords of Camembert, he has realised it!" Plagg rolled his eyes.
It had to be about him! Lately Alya, Nino, Marinette and him had begun spending time together as a group. He thought back to all the times he had secretly fist pumped every time she laughed at his puns.
"Yes, Plagg! She feels the same way!" He jumped for joy.
"I don't know kid, it could be about someone else with blonde hair and green eyes-" Plagg cut himself off and ran into Adrien's pocket just as Chloe and Sabrina came running into the classroom.
"Adrikins! I have been looking for you everywhere!" Chloe said, happily.
"What is it, Chloe?" Adrien thanked his lightning fast reflexes honed from being Chat Noir. The poem was in a ball in his jeans pocket.
"I want you to sign this!" Chloe said as Sabrina half-unrolled a chart.
"Chloe..." He sighed. "You know I hate signing autographs."
"Oh no, this is not that! It's a petition against cruelty towards hamsters! Have you seen those ugly fur coats they're forced to wear?"
Knowing she would not shut up until he did it, he went ahead and signed it.
"Yay! Love you, Adrikins!" Chloe smacked a kiss on his cheek and ran away with Sabrina, all in the speed of light.
---------
Adrien lay on his pillow, holding up the letter and rereading Marinette's words.
He was so happy three hours ago, but now things just felt puzzling.
He wasn't even sure if this letter was about him.
Even if it was, what would he tell Marinette? She would know that he had read what she threw away.
Which would make things even more painfully embarrassing if she didn't return his feelings.
He carefully thought over Marinette's behaviour the past few weeks.
He had grown closer to her, and loved having conversations with her. For someone who didn't learn any social cues from being locked up in a house for half his life, talking to her made it look so easy.
She was respected by everyone in the class, (except for one glaring exception) and she treated them all the same. Friendly, kind and helpful.
It was the same with him and while he felt more than grateful for their friendship, was there something more on her side that he didn't see?
"Get off your butt and share some cheese with me! Come on.... I'll even share it with you! It's a special occasion!" Plagg flew in between him and the paper waving a piece of stinky cheese in front of him.
"Plagg!! Get that away from me!" Adrien yelled, sitting up and holding his nose.
"Geez, just trying to help. You're absolutely lazy today." Plagg said, rolling his eyes and gulping down the cheese anyway.
"You, who sits in my pocket or bag and eats cheese all day, are telling me, who has school, fencing, Chinese, photoshoots and basketball class every day, lazy." Adrien glared. "I don't know why people don't call you smart."
"I know right?! I'm very underappreciated." Plagg grinned, going into his store cupboard to get more cheese.
There was a tinkling crash as Adrien's window shattered.
"What's going on?!" He yelled, tumbling behind his bed.
It was a half red, half black eagle- no man. He had huge wings and was pointing an arrow right at him.
"Kim?!" Adrien gasped.
"I'm not Kim anymore. It's Dark Cupid now! Get ready to hate your loved ones!" Kim geared up his bow.
Adrien grabbed an empty lunch tray and held it to his face, hoping with all his might that Plagg would not come out. If Hawkmoth saw him, it would mean the end of everything.
To his surprise, the blow never came. Adrien lowered his lunch tray to look at the villain. There was a purple outline of a butterfly. Hawkmoth was talking to him.
A moment later, Dark Cupid gave him a death glare and swooped away.
"What the heck was that?!" Adrien said out loud. "Why didn't he attack me?"
"Boo, his costume sucks." Plagg said, flying to him from inside the cupboard.
"No time for any of this, Plagg, claws out!"
A flash of green light later, Chat Noir jumped through the broken window pane and landed on a roof.
It wasn't until two houses later that he realised that his baton was beeping.
Pausing for a second, he opened up his screen, seeing a message from Ladybug.
"Chat Noir, meet me at the 3rd Arrondissement. I need to talk to you. It's too important to be told over text."
She didn't know about the villain at all?
"There is an Akuma, LB. His name is Dark Cupid, I'm not sure exactly what he does, but we'll find out. I'm on my way."
He briefly thought about asking what she wanted to talk about, but changed his mind and pressed send. She would tell him once he was there anyway.
There was the sound of a buzz of electricity as Chat looked up to see an arrow whizz right into a cell tower wire.
He grunted when he saw that he had zero bars and his message wasn't sent.
--------
"Chat Noir, over here!" Ladybug waved from one of the taller buildings.
"Ladybug! There's-" he paused at her expression. She was fidgeting with the string of her yo-yo and shuffling her feet.
That wasn't like Ladybug. She was usually the epitome of calm poise.
"Is everything okay?" He asked.
"You got my message?" She asked. She couldn't even look at him in the eye.
"Yeah?" Chat said, feeling uneasy all of a sudden. "What is it about?"
"This isn't going to be easy...." Ladybug mumbled.
What was going on? Did she encounter something? Did someone say something to her?
He put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's me. You can tell me anything."
"I...."
"If it's this big secret I have to keep, I'm totally on board with it. Cat's honor." He said, holding up a hand.
Suddenly, her fists balled up and she looked at him directly.
"Chat Noir, I-" her eyes widened and she kicked his leg, tripping him over to the ground.
Chat groaned with pain. "M'lady, what was that all about- LADYBUG!"
His mouth dropped in horror as he saw his partner crumble to the ground after a red arrow vaporised from the place it hit - her heart.
"Ladybug, wake up, wake up," he scrambled over to her, shaking her rapidly and taking her head in his lap.
Did he actually-
"What have you done to her?!" Chat yelled at Dark Cupid as rage courses through his veins.
This wasn't what was supposed to happen. He was the fall guy. He could afford to die or get brainwashed. Ladybug couldn't.
I should have paid more attention! Chat scolded himself as he patted Ladybug's cheek.
"Relax, cat. She's going to wake up in 5, 4, 3, 2..."
As he watched, his partner's lips grew darker until they were as black as night.
Ladybug's eyes flew open and before Chat could register what was happening, she had punched him in the face and he had gone flying down from the building.
Shocked but undeterred, Chat extended his staff and stopped his fall by hanging in between two buildings.
"How dare you touch me with those claws of yours?!"
That voice sounded so foreign and familiar at the same time.
"Ladybug, what's gotten into you?!" Chat called back desperately.
"I hate you, Chat Noir! I hate you with every single fibre of my being!"
He would be lying if he said he didn't feel hurt.
"No, snap out of it!" Chat yelled. He wouldn't even land on his feet if he dropped from this height.
"We're partners, Ladybug, we're best friends!"
"I have no friends! And I would never ever be stupid enough to befriend you!" She yelled as she yo-yoed her way down to him.
"I've got a blonde brat to take care of. You'll take care of him, won't you, LB?" Dark Cupid said.
"Hey! Only I call her that!" Chat said indignatly.
Ladybug was standing on his baton now. "Of course you can."
Dark Cupid nodded and flew away.
"Let's dance, Chat." Ladybug said, maliciously as she tried to prise one of his hands off of the baton.
"Not a chance." Chat swung himself onto his weapon. "Ladybug, it's me. Chat Noir! Don't you recognise me?"
Her response came from her yo-yo, shooting towards him.
He back flipped off of his stick, shortening it as he did.
He could hear Ladybug scream as she fell too.
"Hold on, I'm coming!" He yelled as he extended his stick towards the ground.
But she had already wrapped her yo yo around a lamp post and landed with ease.
Chat slid down his baton, shortened it and held it in a defensive stance.
"I don't want to fight you, Ladybug."
"Too bad, cause I do!" She smirked evilly and shot her yo yo at him.
Chat hit the weapon out of his reach, but his partner wasn't giving up on him. She repeatedly pelted him with it.
Thank goodness Adrien was a champion fencer. Ladybug may have been skilled with her yo yo, but she couldn't touch Chat, not while he easily parried all her attacks.
How was he going to get her back to normal??
As Chat fenced with Ladybug's yoyo, a voice in his head that sounded very much like his own spoke.
The prince's kiss can break the spell out on the princess because of true love and true love conquers all.
That was it!
That was it?
He had to kiss Ladybug?
Would that even work?! He wasn't in love with her!
Even in the midst of a battle, Chat felt hesitant.
He knew his heart belonged to Marinette. Kissing Ladybug felt completely wrong-
What was he thinking?! His best friend was in danger! And if he had to kiss her to save her, so be it.
He spun his hand in a circle, thus coiling the string around his baton and flung her yo yo away from her hands.
"Hey!" Ladybug yelled angrily, but before she could respond, she was tied up in her own strings by Chat.
Admittedly, he had done a slightly sloppy job, no one could master the use of Ladybug's yo yo but her, but she was trapped.
"I'm sorry, I really wish I didn't have to tie you up." Chat apologised as he ran to her.
"Let me go!" Ladybug struggled.
"You're just going to have to trust me." Chat said. He was a few steps away from her.
"Why would I trust you?" Ladybug scoffed.
Chat gritted his teeth. This isn't Ladybug, she's just brainwashed. He told himself.
"I'm sorry Ladybug. This is the only way I can do this."
He leaned in, closing his eyes and puckering his lips when a hard kick in his stomach sent him flying.
He landed hard on the asphalt. "Why can't I catch a break?!" He whimpered out loud.
He wearily looked up to see Ladybug untangling herself. "Did you really think you could trap me in my own yo yo and do.... whatever you did just now?!"
"I'm just trying to save you!!" Chat bounced back up and charged at her.
Ladybug's eyes widened in terror. "GAH! GET YOUR CAT GERMS AWAY FROM ME!"
She took off.
Chat wasn't far behind. If she was going to run, he was going to chase.
Ladybug jumped off the last block in the street. When he jumped after her, he collided with something mid-jump.
"Seriously?! What is with you two and making me crack my skull?!"
"That's kind of the point, you stray." Dark Cupid smirked as he landed next to Ladybug.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug yelled and a candy heart landed in her hands.
"Uh oh." Chat gulped. He had no way of finding out what exactly the Lucky Charm object could be used for. Only Ladybug had that power.
To make matters worse, her earrings weren't beeping. The Akuma was somehow protecting her.
"A candy heart?! Ugh! I hate this stupid charm!"
But right now, it seemed like blind hate was quite literally blinding her from thinking rationally.
She threw it to her side. To Chat's pleasant surprise, the sticky heart landed in Dark Cupid's free hand when he tried to shield himself from it.
"No!" Dark Cupid wailed, trying to shake it off and somehow getting his hand stuck to his forehead.
Great, she had done her job for him.
He was too busy smirking at his struggles that he didn't see Ladybug pouncing on him for the third time.
"I don't need that stupid charm to destroy you." She growled as she pinned him to the ground.
"Ha, but you can't destroy things." Chat snarled as he tried to reach up and kiss her. She was very adept at dodging him though. "I'm the superhero of destruction."
He hooked his legs around her ankles and pinned her to the ground instead.
"Again, I'm sorry I have to do this without your permission." Chat whispered as he held her hands above her head firmly and finally kissed her.
After a brief second of struggle, Chat felt Ladybug kiss him back.
For some reason, he completely forgot about his mental precautions.
His impulsive lips went softer on hers and one of his hands slid away from holding her down to her cheek, caressing it tenderly.
He pulled away and saw her lips turn pink again and her eyes flutter open.
"Chat?!" Ladybug positively freaked out. "W-w-why are you on t-t-top of me and why are your cheeks red?!"
They were?!
Chat rolled off of her to hide his face. Why was he blushing?!
"What's going on?" Ladybug sat up.
She didn't remember the kiss.
Trying to ignore that stupid, strange twang of disappointment, Chat got right into business.
"You used your lucky charm, you're running out of time!" He said, pointing to her earrings which were beeping like they normally did.
"You two are not getting out of here without giving me your miraculouses!" Dark Cupid was still flying around in circles trying to get his hand out of his forehand.
"Where's the Akuma?" Ladybug asked, sounding much more like her normal self as she got to her feet.
"Uh.... I was too busy-" he turned even redder. "Fighting yo-him!"
"Never mind." Ladybug said. "I got him."
She shot out her yo yo, trapping him like a rogue kite in mid-air, and he fell down, his wings entangled.
"I think it's the brooch!" Chat said, eyeing it as both of them ran to him.
Ladybug gasped. "I recognise that!"
"You do?"
"Uh-uh- I saw it in a store the other day." She stammered.
"Cataclysm!" Chat yelled and touched the brooch, breaking it into pieces.
Sure enough, the Akuma came flying out, which Ladybug wasted no time in purifying.
Dark Cupid turned back into a very confused Kim still holding his head.
"May I help?" Chat offered a hand and pulled out the sticky candy.
He threw it to Ladybug who threw it in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
-----
After Kim left, Ladybug turned to Chat.
"What happened when I was out?"
"I...um," He hesitated. Explaining things would have led to him saying that he kissed her, and he didn't want a fourth punch to the gut.
"Nothing important. We've taken care of the problem anyway." Chat said, hoping she wouldn't push the matter.
"What did you want to tell me before all this?" He asked.
"Oh, I uh," her earrings beeped. "I....forgot."
"Oh." Why did his voice sound so small?
"I have to go. And you should too." She said after a beat. "Our identities must remain secret after all."
"Right." He sighed. "Pound it?"
But she had already left.
---------
Adrien pulled out the letter that was still under his bed and reread it.
Did Marinette really write this about him? This morning, he was so sure. Now....he honestly didn't know.
It was done in an impulse. He had been telling himself to pretend that Ladybug was Marinette so he wouldn't feel guilty about kissing her.
He should have been trying to fool his mind to thinking he actually kissed Marinette.
Not that there was anything wrong with Ladybug whatsoever. She was smart, brave, kind, responsible (sometimes more than him) and was the level headed one amongst the two of them.
He just couldn't see himself being in love with her.
But why did kissing Ladybug feel like......kissing Ladybug?
Adrien shook his head, straightening his thoughts.
"It was just a kiss. To save her from a spell." He told himself.
"Which only true love could break...." Plagg said with a mouth full of cheese.
"Plagg..... I'm already confused enough without your unnecessary commentary." Adrien said, exasperated.
"Watcha gonna do, kid?" He asked, swallowing it.
"Forget it ever happened." Adrien said, firmly.
"You two locking lips or that cheesy letter?"
Adrien folded it and put it safely inside his desk drawer after looking at it one last time.
"Both."