Chapter Text
Lately, it seemed like she’d been sleepwalking through school. Chemistry, Literature, English, Algebra, Human Biology, Earth Science, History, Topography, P.E- all of it continued in a loop like a merry-go-round. Her pineal gland sure loved making melatonin during the school day. Her short, chubby fingers lightly tapped the keyboard of her tablet in a rhythm she thought she’d heard before, trying to look like she was doing something. Something bony and sharp nudged the girl’s side, and she flinched. Marinette’s head turned so fast her neck might’ve snapped in half. Alya’s face greeted her with knitted eyebrows and that distinguishable analytic squint of hers.
“What?” she drawled out, barely having the energy to answer.
“Yo, how much sleep did you get last night?”
“Four.”
“Four hours? Okay, you need to take a nap when you get home.”
She shook her head, “Four minutes.”
Alya’s entire expression dropped, as if she was so surprised that she became incapable of producing emotions.
“Mari, I’m only saying this because I love you, but what the hell is wrong with you?”
Before Marinette could answer her with “everything”, Ms. Mendeleiev started to call out to the class. The previous muttering in the room that the girl had acknowledged as background noise started to die down as the teacher asked for people to read out their answers to the booklet.
Marinette rubbed her eyes until she saw stars behind her eyelids, hoping the pain of it would sustain herself enough until lunchtime. Hmmmm, lunch- she really wanted to eat something sweet to fight off the exhaustion. As if reminded by the thought of food, her stomach decided to make itself known by screaming in agony. The girl planted her face into the desk and shielded herself with her arms with a sigh. Her right ear pricked up at the sound of someone giggling. Great- can you just imagine ? The great Ladybug, reduced to shame in class by a stomach grumble.
“Marinette? Can you give us the answer to the first question?”
Ahahaha… haha… ha.
“Uhhhh,” she sat up, back as straight as a ruler, and started fumbling around her desk in a panic. Pencils rolled away from her as miscellaneous papers shuffled against each other. “Sureee.”
She furiously tapped on the tablet’s darkened screen, and just as she was going to give some half-baked excuse as to why she didn’t have an answer to Ms. Mendeleiev, a notice popped up on the side of the screen. Huh. Marinette didn’t remember having her airdrop on. From “adri’s mac”? She took a nervous glance at the blond boy in front of her, eyes shifting back to her screen when he turned around and gave her a dazzling smile. She didn’t have to think twice. The girl accepted and opened the document, relief flooding her when she realised that all of the Biology questions had been answered in great detail. She looked up at Adrien, red ears and eye bags included, and mouthed a thank you.
“Yeah, the answer is…”
“Gee, Marinette, you need to get a freaking hold of yourself! You’re very lucky Adrien sent you the answers in Biology today.”
The girl had to hold in a laugh and purse her lips together as she pretended to sketch in her notebook. Tikki’s high pitched voice was hard to take seriously sometimes. Sure, she was thousands of years old with tremendous power and unlimited knowledge- but the kwami also loved chocolate chip cookies and her spiciest swear word was “jinkies”.
“I’m sorry Tikki- I need to get better at managing my sleep schedule. But, who decides to have a tantrum at three in the morning because the local Seven-Eleven didn’t have Lays chips in stock- and then become an akuma victim in the process?”
The red kwami looked ready to jump out of the purse she was tucked in and strangle Marinette. “Marinette, you can’t invalidate people’s emotions- that’s very insensitive. People’s experiences are individual and shouldn’t be judged. And you can only blame Hawkmoth for preying on these poor people.”
The teenager only nodded guiltily and absentmindedly scribbled on her paper. There was still thirty more minutes of lunch left, and since Marinette needed less than a minute to get to the bakery and back, it left her with a lot of time on her hands after eating a delicious, warm meal at home. She could have spent the rest of it napping in her bed, but who knows what time of day she’d get up? There weren’t that many people staying behind for lunch at school anyway, so the girl decided to sit on a bench in the courtyard and brainstorm some gown designs. It was peaceful, and the only thing Marinette had to worry about was if people decided she was crazy for whispering to herself. Tikki retreated into the purse, the dark haired girl realised.
She once again rubbed her eyes, dragging her hands down her face in misery, when a cup filled with ice and a caramel liquid was thrust in front of her face. Marinette’s blue eyes went wide, blinking rapidly, as she leaned her body away from the large cup. Oh, but a hand was attached to the cup. And… An arm was attached to the hand. A person was attached to the arm. And that person was glowing and tanned from the afternoon sun, wearing crisp and ironed clothing, light shining and creating the illusion of a halo in his hair, with eyelashes that reached the clouds overhead…
“Here, for you.”
She let out a sound that resembled a surprised cat when their owner pets them unexpectedly.
“Oh, thanks Adrien… What is it?” warranted a smile from the boy that rivaled the warmth of her Papa’s freshly cooked croissants and brewed hot chocolate.
“Coffee. Iced, of course. It’s a bit too hot today for anything else, really.”
“ You’re hot…” she murmured(talking to herself out loud had become a common occurrence, and as much as she wished it didn’t happen, the blond boy had heard her muttering- and all the creepy, breathy thirst comments before and after that), “Oh my god, thank you so much! You’re back really early… Wait! How much was it!? I’ll pay you back…”
As Marinette dug into the pockets of her backpack, the boy simply waved his hands. “I was coming back from home and we happened to go by a café. Nathalie wanted to get an apple pie, so I asked her for an iced coffee. It wasn’t a problem at all- don’t pay me back, please !”
She paused rummaging through her bag in confusion, “But-… what’s the occasion?”
“I heard you and Alya talking in Biology,” he looked away guiltily, almost ashamed of himself for eavesdropping, “and I remembered you at lunch. I didn’t want you to be tired for the rest of the day, so…”
The girl took a longing look at the whipped cream and chocolate shavings squashed under the cap of the cup as Adrien laughed bashfully. Her heart ached. The teenager pushed the cup closer to her face, and she had no choice but to take it. A grin looked unnatural on her weary, freckled face- but whatever. Marinette scooted to the left, putting her leg under herself as she tapped the spot next to her.
“Well, we have thirty minutes left, so sit next to me!” she offered, taking a long sip from the iced coffee.
Adrien almost glided into his spot- smooth, like silk. Like every move was planned since the beginning. He made the mistake of noticing and asking about her designs in her sketchbook. Oh boy. Here we go.
As the dark haired teenager started rambling about the fabric of a mermaid tail dress(silk), her mind couldn’t help but go into overdrive. Why did Adrien remember her? He could have easily pretended that he didn’t hear her and Alya’s conversation. Maybe he was reminded by Nathalie mentioning the café? But, what if he was just using that as an excuse!? Maybe he went out of his way to go there and order an iced coffee- just for her! She couldn’t help the smile that edged its way onto her face. He was really thoughtful… Ooooohhhhhh my go- and he didn’t want her to be tired for the rest of the day!? It sounded cheesy, but Marinette’s heartstrings tugged from the warmth she felt. People say that their hearts and minds were always at war- but for her, it was like her heart did all the work while her brain hyped it up.
While Adrien started giving second-hand advice from his dad about her dress, she couldn’t help but admire how mature and sensitive the blond was. Suddenly, Marinette was thinking about adopting a hamster and being married to this boy. You might think she was childish- just like her crush on Angelo Bañaga when she was eight. But this was different - Adrien was way more caring, sweet, and attentive than Angelo Bañaga was at the premature age of eight.
She was oh so hopelessly, impetuously, head over heels in love with Adrien Agreste.
MarinetteLadybugTikki stared up at the stars of Paris- or the lack of. She frowned, realising that the stars would be brighter and more abundant in the countryside. The hero leaned on her right leg, wondering what it would be like to live in an area like Gordes or Cluny- or maybe the Phoenix Islands in the South Pacific. Ladybug flipped her yoyo open- it was quarter past eleven. The hero decided to sit on the ledge of the roof, gaze watching the bustle of people still continued at this hour of the night. She was in the busier neighbourhoods. Marinette felt like a cat- sitting on a ledge and observing the world go by. A group of people in the distance roared with laughter, a couple were holding onto each other as they stumbled home together, and a man was lying on the grass of a park. She squinted at the lying man- she’d have to make sure he wasn’t dead. If he didn’t move in the next twenty minutes then she’ll call the ambulance.
There was crunching on gravel, and a distant “Heeeeyyyyyyyy!”
Ladybug leaned out and twisted to the left, noticing Chat Noir on the cement path below. The hero used his staff to elevate himself onto the roof. She smiled as a greeting.
“Hey, Ladybae! Let’s play tag.” he was almost breathless- flushed and with wind kissed hair.
“Oh my-… never call me that again.” Marinette laughed, holding her stomach with laughter as Chat Noir curtsied. He held his pinched fingers out from his sides like he was holding the skirt of a dress, and turned to sprint away from her. Apparently she was it. Ladybug chuckled and ran to catch up with the cat, leaping from roof to roof. She couldn’t help but think about how he could look good in a dress. He certainly had the body for it. But what type of dress? She threw her yoyo at a street light, and as it wrapped tightly around the bent pole, her legs threw herself off of the roof and to the pavement. The man lying on the grass erased himself from her memory.
“Come back here, Chaton! I’ll get you!” she laughed through ragged breaths. Her feet slapped against the ground, whilst Chat Noir’s made no sound at all- like a cat. Very befitting.
They raced through the narrow streets of the neighbourhood, nearing a short brick bridge that went over La Seine. She was catching up just as the other hero jumped on the balustrade, arms going up to balance himself. There was just the tiniest curve in his waist, and his thighs looked more muscular compared to his upper body. Wait…
“You know, I think you’d look good in a body con dress!”
The blond’s head whipped around, struck with... shock? Embarrassment?
“What!?” he asked just as his foot slipped, and he was almost sent careening into the river. Marinette grimaced, immediately sending her yoyo out to wrap around Chat Noir and pull him backwards.
“I said,” the teenager grabbed him under the armpits before he fell onto the ground, “I think you’d suit a body con dress.”
“Wha- do, ah, um, bffpffpba uuuhhhhh…” he stumbled over his words as Ladybug watched in amusement. He jumped out of her arms and fidgeted awkwardly- buzzing with energy. The dark haired hero shrugged and smiled innocently, as if she hadn’t said anything strange and random. Sometimes it was cute to see Chat Noir go from confident and charming to a red faced mess.
“W-well, uh, maybe next time we… meet- um, I should wear one? How’s that f-for you?” He tried to recover himself. Ladybug just reached out and scratched him under the chin. The blond couldn’t help but purr. She wondered how he did that.
“I was going to give you this when you caught me… But I think it’s a bit flat.”
Marinette was presented with a red rose- just the slightest bit squashed. The thorns had been plucked off, so she tucked it behind her ear. Chat Noir’s eyes were still closed from when she scratched his chin. She smiled and shook her head.
“Come on, let’s go check on a guy that I think might be dead.”
Apparently, the guy wasn’t dead, but had an epileptic fit and had been unconscious for eight minutes.
Chat Noir and Ladybug called an ambulance.
Now? They were lying down on the grass, watching the few stars in the sky. Marinette tried staring as far as she could into space, but gave up when all she could see was dark blue. She sighed.
“I’m starting to feel pretty crappy now.”
“Why?” the blond asked, the tiniest bit of concern creeping into his voice.
“Before we started tag, I saw that guy on the grass. I was going to call an ambulance, or check on him- but I just. Completely forgot about him. Should’ve called first before starting the game, honestly… What if he hit his head and got a concussion? I could have helped him, if I was empathetic enough… I guess that’s what I need to work on if I’m going to keep being a hero.”
“Yeah.” was all he said, but she didn’t mind. It was all she needed.
Silence passed- a comfortable one. Marinette turned her head to look at Chat Noir. He was still looking up, lips pursed- until his mouth opened.
“Hey… do you ever wonder what it’d be like to fly into space? We’d have to have the proper gear, obviously, or we’ll die. But what would it be like to just explore the Milky Way? No one could stop us, because we’d be the only ones in space.” the blond cushioned his head with a hand. “I don’t want to feel tied down like this- I want to see and experience everything.”
She hummed in thought. What did he mean by “tied down”? Ladybug shook her head. No, she couldn’t pry into his life. She couldn’t know who he was, or they’d put each other in danger. The teenager opted to ignore the itching thought and try looking into space again.
It was a quiet night. No signs of an akuma attack- just her and Chat Noir. She felt calm and detached from reality. All that existed right now was the grass, the sky, him, and her.
She couldn’t help but remember having a sleepover with Apollina Michelakos two years ago. They were snug in their sleeping bags on her balcony, counting as many stars as they could. Ladybug remembered her heart beating like crazy for the outgoing, free-spirited girl next to her. Oh, but Apollina Michelakos from when she was twelve could never compare to Chat Noir now. She had never made Marinette feel so strong and wild and free like Chat Noir did.
She was oh so unfortunately, intensely, heart eyes kind of moonstruck with Cha-
Wait.
Haven’t we been through this already?
Oh fuck.