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That day Adrien had decided, despite Plagg’s reluctance, that the best way to strengthen his friendship with Marinette was to pull a little prank on her. After all, he had seen it in movies several times.
But what he found out was a total disaster. For Adrien, primarily, Plagg reminded him.
Marinette had been a little distant with him in the museum, having to look after Manon and Alya and Nino leaving them to have a museum date on their own. She was distracted and refused to look him in the eye.
Of course his first thought was that she disliked him. She had left him alone in the sculpting room to pick up Manon so she wouldn’t get in trouble or get hurt.
When the encasing machine beeped, announcing that the process was done, he left, his mind resolved in fixing whatever mistake he had made and win Marinette’s good graces again.
He left the elevator and saw her wandering around the hall, looking for the little girl, too deep in her thoughts to notice him, and the last thing he wanted was to scare her. So he came with a plan.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The little cat kwami warned him.
“It will be fine, Plagg, friends do this kind of stuff all the time!”
Plagg puffed and hid in Adrien’s pocket. The boy walked silently to the spot where his unfinished statue had been earlier that day.
To his luck, Marinette walked right in front of him and stopped in her tracks, turning her head to admire the “statue.”
Before Adrien could gather the courage to jump and say “surprise,” she cocked her head a little and produced the shiniest smile he had ever seen her make.
“At first I thought the artist was good, but look at him.” She said in a low voice. Adrien wondered if it was a regular thing for Marinette to speak to herself when she was alone. “They did capture his essence, don’t you think?”
Adrien at first thought she had caught him and was about to move and correct her, when a little red creature came out of her purse.
Oh wait, a little red kwami, he amended himself.
“Whoever the sculptor is, they are very talented.” The kwami agreed.
“But there is something off, Tikki.” She continued. Adrien raked his memory trying to remember where he had heard that name before. Then it clicked for him. Tikki. Tikki? Tikki! That was... Ladybug’s... kwami.
While Adrien had an inner turmoil that he was sure would mess with his stomach that night, he knew now that he could just not move.
“Off?” The kwami, Tikki, asked.
“Yes, I mean sure the sculptor did a marvelous job, but still I think it’s a little… cartoonish? The real one is even more handsome.” She tried to gesture with her hands to show her point, looking at him from different angles. “But then again, it’s just a representation, of course no artist could ever copy Adrien’s beauty in its totality.”
“Or perhaps you’re wearing those red rose glasses again.” Tikki laughed. Red rose glasses? What did that mean?
“Oh hush.” She giggled as well, then she got on her tiptoes and came real close to his face. It took all of Adrien’s self control not to move. “But look, they got the eye shade right!” She smiled even broader and then kissed his nose.
Adrien’s mind was screaming to him. He needed to leave and sort his thoughts. But Marinette walked in circles around him as if admiring the sculpting. If she touched him and noticed his clothes were not made of wax at all, there would be a problem.
His salvation came in the form of Manon’s voice from the hero and villains’ exhibit.
“Let’s go, Tikki!” The red kwami hid again in her purse and she left, scolding the girl a little for shouting in a museum.
He waited a bit, only to be sure she was away before letting go and falling to his knees. Plagg came out of his pocket and said something, but Adrien didn’t hear him. He ran back to the elevator and went straight to the sculpting room and fell on the same chair he had been sitting on before.
He tried again to make order in his mind and sorted his thoughts.
First of all: Marinette has a kwami.
Then: Marinette’s kwami is Ladybug’s kwami.
Therefore… Marinette is... Ladybug.
And the cherry on top: Marinette thought he was handsome.
Even more: Marinette used the word “beauty” to refer to him.
Was it possible to be that lucky? That his very, very good friend, Marinette, the first girl he befriended in school, and Ladybug, the only girl he could love, were the same person? And even more, said girl thought of him as handsome and beautiful?
His cheeks went a deep red and he hid his face in his hands. It took him several minutes to gather courage, after revisiting every interaction he had had with Marinette in and out of Chat Noir’s mask, to leave the room once again to look for Marinette and Manon.
He came just in time to see an akumatized Manon give life to a Hawkmoth statue and send it after Marinette, who he was sure needed time to hide and transform.
Manon had already left to give life to more statues when he jumped into action, not even thinking of calling Plagg’s transformation. Taking an umbrella from another statue he fenced the Fakemoth off, giving Marinette time to leave.
“Go!” He said, shoving the Fakemoth off. “I’ll go after you in a bit!”
She left, but only for a second, for she was back right away but wearing her black spots.
Ladybug trapped the Fakemoth with her yo-yo and sliced it to pieces. “You need to hide now!” She told him and he obeyed.
He came back with his black leather 5 seconds later.
Manon gave them a good fight; with so many statues to control, they had to deceit her into giving them her item.
After the battle, the kids went through the same hall where Adrien tried to prank Marinette. She, of course, noticed that Adrien’s statue was missing again.
“Oh? I thought they had it placed here? I swear I saw it.” She said to Adrien, and he had to bite back the truth.
“Someone probably took advantage of the chaos to steal it whole.” He tried to shrug it off, as if it was nothing to worry about; that someone might have stolen a whole wax statue of him for unknown purposes.
“But that’s so sad,” she continued. “The statue was really good!”
“You think?”
“Yeah! One could swear it followed you with its gaze!” She giggled then. Perhaps Adrien’s stare was heavier than he thought.
They left the museum and delivered Nino and Alya to their houses, who couldn’t stop apologizing for letting themselves get frozen by the Statue Lady Wifi.
Manon apologized too, for letting her emotions get the best of her once again. Marinette assured her that it was not her fault to have emotions to begin with, it was Hawkmoth’s fault for being so evil he wouldn’t hesitate in targeting a little child in the first place.
After they left Manon in her house, Adrien took the chance and asked Marinette if she was mad at him.
“Why would I?” She said, confusion clear in her features.
“Well, I just felt like I must have made a grave mistake if you were avoiding me.” He whispered and scratched the back of his neck. He looked at her and could swear he saw her blushing.
“I was distracted today, but none of that is your fault, be sure.” She shrugged, and then changed the topic. “But your statue! What will happen now?”
Nothing would happen, actually, for they still had it whole, but of course he couldn’t tell her that.
“I’m sure they have spare parts and will assemble another in no time!”
They spent the remainder of the way in uncomfortable silence, for Adrien that was, for now he knew her secret. When they parked next to the bakery, Marinette stopped in her tracks and smiled at him the same way he saw her smile at his “statue.”
“You’d never make me angry Adrien, you’re too honest and kind for that.” Her words stung him a little, knowing he had been dishonest while he pretended to be made of wax, but knew what she meant and still appreciated them with his whole being.
On the way home, Adrien looked at Plagg in his inside pocket. The little cat displayed no emotion whatsoever. “I did tell you that trying to prank her was a bad idea.” He said.
At first Adrien only had wanted to prank his friend like he had seen friends do in movies.
But then again, it didn’t end well in the movies either.