Chapter Text
Walking up to the Agreste mansion was always intimidating. The metal gate and high tech security made Marinette's hands sweat every time, but this time she had one thing on her side. She was expected. Adrien had convinced his father to let him join his friends for a picnic and had even allowed Adrien to walk as opposed to being driven. Everyone had been surprised but overjoyed for their sheltered friend. When the class heard the news, Marinette had quickly been nominated to go pick him up and walk with him. And now, here she was, outside his house, ready to do just that. Marinette pressed the doorbell and the familiar camera zoomed in on her.
"Yes?" She could hear the clipped voice of Gabriel Agreste's secretary and Marinette cleared her throat, mustering all of her Ladybug courage.
"I'm here to pick up Adrien," Her voice wavered slightly; it was intimidating talking to the camera and not a person, but she pressed on. "For the picnic." She clarified. Her breath caught in her throat, and she wondered if she would wait outside or if she would be allowed inside the house. The gate began to swing open and the voice through the camera came again.
"You may wait in the entryway." The camera retracted and Marinette smiled widely. "Adrien is finishing practicing the piano. He'll be down in a moment."
"Thank you." She practically chirped. The heavy front door was opened by Adrien's bodyguard. As the door opened, Marinette could hear the piano from Adrien's room. The notes soared through the quiet entryway as Marinette waited. Adrien's bodyguard had left the entryway, leaving Marinette alone to wait for Adrien. She smiled at the melody soaring through the air. The song sounded familiar and with no one in the entryway to stop her she wandered up the stairs to the door she knew belonged to his room. She had planned to knock but from the other side of the door she could hear his voice.
He wasn't just playing. She couldn't stop herself from carefully opening the door. She didn't want to disturb him but the song seemed to call to her, and as she creaked the door open she could hear his voice more clearly. The top of the piano was open, obscuring his face, but she could hear his voice more clearly as she stepped carefully in the room.
She had never heard him sing before but if she had to try and describe it she could only think of the way cashmere felt between her fingers. Soft and gentle but solid and warm, his voice seemed to wrap around her and fill the room all at once. The passionate music was accompanied by lyrics comparing love to a melody and for a second Marinette could pretend he was singing for her. She could imagine for just a moment that the swirling melody was written just for her. Adrien's rich voice filled his room and Marinette's heart swirled with the music. Suddenly the melody stopped and as Adrien sang the last line. Marinette wondered where he had heard such a beautiful song before. She sighed softly and suddenly she saw his eyes peek up from the other side of the piano, wide with surprise.
"Marinette!" He looked surprised, and a bit embarrassed, but still pleased to see her, "How long have you been standing there?" He stood from the piano and Marinette began to feel guilty about listening without permission.
"N-not long," she explained, ready to apologize for invading his space, "I just heard you playing and it was amazing and I heard you singing and your voice is amazing- I mean the song is amazing and I just-"
"You liked it?" He looked nervous as he asked and Marinette couldn't help but smile. Adrien always seemed unsure of himself and she couldn't help but find it adorable.
"Of course!" She practically shouted. A blush spread across her checks at her own enthusiasm and she cleared her throat trying to regain her composure. "I mean it was amazing. Where did you hear it?" She tried not to think about who he was playing for and focus on the conversation but the words seemed to be etched in her mind and the soft warmth he had sang with still lingered in her bones.
"I wrote it." His voice came out like a whisper and Marinette's heart felt like it was gonna beat out of her chest. Of course he had written it. It was beautiful, a passion-filled confession that wasn't really for her to hear. "Do you want to hear the whole song?" He offered, sitting back down at the grand piano. Marinette couldn't find the words to speak but she managed to nod her head as she shifted the desk chair to be able to watch as he played.
The song started with just his voice filling the room again and Marinette allowed the song to wash over her. He began to play as he sang of love like Marinette had never heard before. The two had spoken once or twice about the girl Adrien loved and as Marinette listened to the song she could feel the longing in his voice. His fingers moved skillfully over the keys, each note mesmerizing and filled with a love and hope she herself was all too familiar with. He sang of a life filled with love and Marinette felt a pang of jealousy. Whoever he had written this for was probably the luckiest girl in the world and she didn't even know it. He seemed to pour his very soul into the words, asking nothing in return. Marinette listened intently, each note filling her with a sense of longing and love deeper than she thought possible. As the music swelled, his unfiltered adoration for this girl was evident and Marinette's heart reached out, her mind once again wondering what it would be like to be loved so wholly. He finished the song for a second time and Marinette felt a tear fall from her eye at the unfettered emotions. He turned to her with a sheepish smile and she couldn't think of anything to say worthy of such a confession.
"What do you think?" He asked, but Marinette could find no words. It had been the most divine love song she had ever heard, one that belonged in a movie or to a love story beyond her imagination. In short, it was easily the best song she had ever heard.
"You're amazing," the words slipped out and Marinette felt her cheeks flush as she tried to backtrack her words. "I meant the song. That was amazing! I-I've never heard anything as amazing." She sighed and offered him an awkward smile. "Whoever you wrote that for is very lucky." Adrien chuckled as he stood up from the piano a sad smile on his face.
"Too bad she'll never hear it." He shrugged, grabbing his phone as he headed to the door. Marinette stood quickly and began to follow him confusion swirling in her mind
"You have to play it for her." Marinette insisted, surprising even herself. What am I doing? She thought as they descended the stairs. Adrien's bodyguard was in the entryway as they left and the two teens waved their goodbyes.
"I don't know." Adrien sounded unsure but something told Marinette to press on. The song had been the most heartfelt deceleration she had ever heard and even though her heart broke a little at the idea of him with someone else, she knew what it was like to love someone with everything you were. She grabbed his hand, trying to ignore her fluttering heart that called out, wishing the song was for her.
"Promise me, the next time you get the chance you'll play that for her." Marinette looked in his eyes and the fluttering turned into wild backflips. She internally scolded her heart; after all he didn't know she loved him. He didn't know that every time their skin touched she felt electricity and he certainly didn't know that she felt like she was betraying herself as she spoke these words. "It was an amazing song, and it's obvious you put a lot of time into it. Just promise me you'll play it for her?" The fluttering in her heart was replaced with a slow sinking feeling as Adrien smiled at her.
"Okay, I will." His grin only grew wider as he headed off in the direction of the class and the picnic, leaving Marinette just a half step behind with a broken heart and no one to blame but herself this time.
Weeks passed but Marinette couldn't get that song out of her head. The lyrics seemed etched into her mind and the melody emblazoned in her soul. She had tried to drown it out with other music but she still found herself humming Adrien's soulful tune as she walked to school or helped her parents in the bakery. Patrols with Chat helped; focusing on the streets of Paris and her partner almost drove the hauntingly beautiful tune from her mind.
It was starting to get late as Chat and Marinette leaped from roof to roof one night, more just exploring the rooftops than patrolling. As they crossed the roof of an auditorium, Chat seemed to stop suddenly. His eyes were fixed on a skylight no more than 5 feet from them. Through the dark skylight Marinette could just make out a piano sitting on the stage below them. Chat seemed to be studying the window as he approached it. He bent down and gave it a gentle tug and to both their surprise it opened with no resistance. Chat grinned widely, turning to Marinette, a gleeful smile on his face.
"Follow me." He offered her his hand but Marinette's remained firmly on her hips.
"You can't just go in there." She scolded, eyeing him sharply. "It's breaking and entering." Chat laughed and stood pulling the skylight all the way open.
"What did I break?" He asked innocently. "You saw, the window was unlocked. I'm just entering." He sat down on the ledge of the window, his legs hanging down into the building. Marinette crossed her arms and pursed her lips at him gently.
"It's still trespassing." She pointed out and Chat just shrugged.
"Fine, stay up here then." He smirked at her as he dropped into the building below. Marinette stood there for just a moment before huffing a sigh and using her yoyo to lower herself into the theater, following her partner down below.
The theater was dark as Marinette wandered, her hands outstretched to avoid walls, trying to find her mischievous cat. She managed to find the wall, her hand just grazing a light switch, she smiled in triumph, switching it on. The stage lit with a gentle orange of backstage lights and while it wasn't bright, it was enough for Marinette to see to navigate around the curtains. She found Chat seated at the piano. He seemed to be in deep thought, his fingers poised above the keys hesitantly.
"Do you play?" She asked him as she came into view. He looked up at her with a familiar look she couldn't quite place. He looked almost embarrassed, like he had been caught, but the embarrassment vanished quickly and was replaced with a familiar smirk. Marinette would never admit it but that smirk had always driven her crazy. It was a look that seemed to dare her to kiss him and she wondered if that's what he was thinking. She shook the fleeting thought from her head. This was Chat after all--her partner, her best friend--and she loved Adrien. She shouldn't be wondering what it would be like to kiss that cocky smirk off his face.
"I have many talents," he said, winking at her. He placed his hands over the keys and played a single cord before his unmistakable voice filled the auditorium.
It was the same song. The top to the piano was down and she was able to see his expression as he played this time. With his eyes closed he couldn't see the shock on her face as he began to play. His skillful hands danced over the keys gracefully and Marinette almost couldn't believe it. The same cashmere voice flooded the much larger space but warmed her all the same and for a second she forgot where she was. The walls between her two lives seemed to crash down around her and all she could think about was the boy in front of her. The boy she had swooned over in class was the same boy who liked to make puns and flirt with her as they fought super villains. The boy who offered her flowers and learned flower language for her was the same one she had trouble speaking to. He sang of the way she filled his life and added beauty to his simple life.
The whole world seemed to fade away leaving her with 3 thoughts as he poured his very being into the song that had been haunting her since the first time she heard it.
Adrien is Chat Noir.
Chat Noir is in love with me.
He wrote that for me .
And like glass shattering, suddenly she saw him. Sitting at the piano, pouring his heart out with the most beautiful confession she had ever heard for the second time. Except this time she didn't have to pretend it was for her. It was. Adrien had written this song for her. She didn't have to pretend, and it made the song all the more beautiful. The melodies swirled around her all over and she felt tears fall to her cheeks. His voice seemed to reach into every corner of her soul, filling her with a loving warmth. The same longing rang out in his voice but this time it felt like more. Deeper,somehow. Maybe it was knowing what was coming, maybe it was the fact that the song seemed to be written in her soul,but either way Marinette let the song satisfy a thirst in her soul she had ignored for so long.
Marinette didn't know how to react as the music ended and Chat delivered the final lyric, just his voice filling her with the longing he must have felt for her for years. He opened his eyes but didn't make eye contact with her, still looking down at the keys where his hands rested. He looked satisfied with himself, completely unaware of her revelation. The auditorium was dead silent and Marinette wanted to break it. She wanted to tell him she felt the same. That she had been stupid to insist on the identity rule as the Guardian. She wanted to tell him, again, that it was the most beautiful song she had ever heard. That it had haunted her in the best way since he had played it for her the first time. But she didn't say any of that. She just watched frozen in shock as he stood up, his eyes drifting back up to the skylight. Chat didn't seem to know what to say next and she watched as his hand came up to scratch the back of his neck, the way he always did in uncertain situations.
That was all it took. The most Adrien movement snapped her out of her daze and Marinette didn't hear what Chat was saying because she crossed the stage in four steps, her hand reaching up of its own accord, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him down till their lips met. He froze for just a second but recovered quickly, wrapping around her, lifting her off her feet, and spinning her around. The kiss seemed to curl her toes and Marinette cursed herself for not doing this sooner. His lips were soft and gentle and he held her close as if he feared he would wake up and find it was a dream. They pulled apart gently and Chat set her down lightly, his arms around her.
"Maybe I should've played that for you sooner." He joked lightly holding her close as Marinette made no move to pull away. She couldn't help but chuckle. She looked up at him, one hand resting on his cheek. She allowed her finger to trace the spot on his cheek bone where his mask met skin.
"What made you play it tonight?" She asked, even though she knew the answer. He chuckled lightly and Marinette loved the way his laugh sounded in the desolate theater.
"My friend insisted I play it for you." He said softly. "I guess she was right." He smiled as he leaned in for another kiss. Marinette reached up to meet his lips but pulled away at the last second to smirk at him knowingly.
"I always am."