Chapter Text
“Cataclysm!”
A booming crash resounded between the buildings where Ladybug had just landed and tumbled to her feet. She hopped up, resting her weight on the balls of her feet, one hand holding her as she looked toward the sky, seeing the debris of the villain’s makeshift barricade fly across the air. Chat Noir busted through the flying rocks and dust, landing on top of the building Ladybug was currently at the base of. The early morning sun shined through the path Chat Noir had left behind in the debris, and Ladybug covered her eyes with her free hand so the sunbeams would stay out of her still drowsy eyes as she flung herself up to Chat Noir’s side.
She groaned as she landed, wiping a mixture of debris and sleep dust from her eyes.
“Someone’s not a morning person,” Chat Noir chuckled under his breath as he stood up straight, looking in the direction of the Akumatized super villain. The villain was more of a primitive monster than the refined super-villains that Ladybug and Chat Noir had fought in the past, with jagged edges and a roaring cry that must have woken up half of Paris, Ladybug included.
She groaned again. “Couldn't Hawk Moth have waited until I had at least eaten breakfast before he decided to terrorize us?”
“Speak for yourself, Bugaboo, I ate an hour ago.”
Ladybug shot him a confused look as she readied her yo-yo for use. “An hour ago? It's six in the morning!”
Chuckling again, Chat Noir said, “And what about it? Bright and early, that's what I always say.”
“Well,” Ladybug huffed as she readied herself to pounce from the building. “Maybe if you said that fewer times we wouldn't be here now.”
As much as she hated early mornings, Ladybug had to admit that swinging through the fresh Parisian air this early was refreshing; she may have even called it relaxing if she weren't fighting what could only be called a dinosaur before she had time to even brush her hair. She hoped she could defeat the Akuma sooner rather than later so she would be able to get an extra twenty minutes of sleep before she had to get ready for school.
Chat Noir was close behind her as she landed on the spindle of a building, staring out at the wreckage of the city.
“So,” He said, barely winded as he gripped the base of the spindle behind Ladybug’s head. “I guess that means I’ll have to plan to make you breakfast in bed in the near future, right?”
Huffing, Ladybug tried to focus on examining the monster stomping its way through Paris. “Can this wait? I still haven't decided what I'm wearing to school today, let alone what I want for breakfast in your fantasy world.”
“No need to be catty,” Chat Noir retorted with a snicker. “Alright, serious mode. Where are you thinking the Akuma is?”
“I haven't figured that out yet,” Ladybug said with a sigh, swinging herself to a building closer to the Akumatized monster. “What do you think?” She asked as her feet slid across the roof. “You got a closer look.”
Furrowing his brows, Chat Noir held a hand over his eyes to keep the sun out of them as he looked in the direction of the now screeching monster. “When it opened its mouth, I noticed a golden tooth it it's mouth. It's gotten be in there.”
Groaning for a third time, Ladybug let her posture slump. “So this is literally going to be like pulling teeth? God, it's too early for this.”
“No need to fret, m’lady,” Chat Noir said as he rested a hand on Ladybug’s back. “I'll distract it with my wicked charms while you just swing your way up there and pry that evil tooth out of there.”
“Easier said than done,” Ladybug huffed.
A smirk lined Chat Noir’s face. “Well, we do have a secret weapon.”
Looking down at her yo-up, Ladybug felt herself smiling, as well. “You're right about that. Lucky charm!”
An oversized crow bar fell into Ladybug’s hands with a glittering trail behind it, and she didn't even need to look around before knowing what to do with it.
“Alright,” she said, making eye contact with Chat Noir. “Let's go.”
Capturing the akuma consisted of what seemed like and endless chase trying to get the monster spun up in wire of Ladybug’s yo-yo, Chat Noir trying and failing to get the monster to open its mouth wide enough for him to wedge his staff between the monster’s upper and lower jaw (while almost getting eaten in the process), and Ladybug having to stand in the gums of the monster’s hot, steaming mouth as she pried it’s golden tooth from its socket. The black butterfly fluttered out of the cracked tooth after it had been struck many times with the crow bar before Ladybug threw it up in the air to fix all of the damage done to the city.
“That's for waking me up,” she growled as she released the now white butterfly from her yo-yo.
Chat Noir held out his fist to her. “Pound it?” He asked, sounding apprehensive.
She touched her fist to his, exhausted not only from a lack of sleep but from the grewling fight the now harmless person sitting dazed in front of them had put up.
“Now,” Chat Noir said, holding an open palm out to her. “Shall we get you some breakfast, m’lady?”
As if on cue, a beeping softly sounded in Ladybug ears. “Sorry, a hot shower is calling my name instead. I’d say next time, but I hope I’m never up this early again unless I’m going to Disney Land.”
“What, not even gonna stick around to see what caused all this commotion?”
“Too tired to care!” Ladybug said as she anchored the wire of her yo-yo on the chimney of a nearby building. “See ya later, kitty!”
***
To Marinette’s dismay, she wasn't even able to get five minutes of extra sleep. Scrubbing her skin a thousand times wouldn’t get the feeling of the monster's hot, slimy breath off of her, and three cups of coffee were hardly enough to wake her up enough to put her hair into it’s pigtails.
“I wish we could find Hawkmoth’s lair only so I can smash all of his alarm clocks,” Marinette muttered as she trudged her way to school after begrudgingly leaving her house, her parents left wondering why she was in such a bad mood. How had they been able to sleep through all that noise? Marinette wondered to herself.
“Tell me about it,” Tikki said from her snug position between Marinette's chest and her jacket. “I had to get out of there as soon as we were finished; I didn't have time for my morning macaroon!”
Marinette’s lack of sleep did not go unnoticed as she had hoped as she slumped down next to Alya just before the morning bell rang.
“Whoa,” Alya laughed when she looked up at her best friend. “Someone didn't sleep well last night.”
“How could anyone have?” Marinette grumbled as she rested her cheek on her fist. “That thing sounded like a million out of tune guitars all playing a different song.”
Alya shrugged. “Nora listens to heavy metal, so I guess I learned to tune that noise out years ago.” She nudged Marinette’s arm, who jolted up hoping not to fall asleep in class. “I would've thought that baker’s daughter would be more equipped to deal with waking up early.”
“Alright class,” Miss Bustier called before Marinette had time to make a comeback. “I know we’ve all had an early morning, but let's try to keep a positive attitude today!”
Out of the corner of Marinette’s eye she saw the door to the classroom open and Adrien slip in and slide into the desk in front of her. Immediately, she straightened up and tried to shake any remaining sleepiness from her eyes. She was surprised that she hadn't noticed that he wasn't in class earlier.
“Today we will be starting a new unit, and at the due end of the unit will be a ten page exploratory essay on a topic of your choice.”
The class collectively groaned.
“Now, now,” quelled Miss Bustier. “Let me finish. The topic is pretty open, however there is one limitation -- your essays must be centered around a current topic or event that is prevalent is Paris. This can be anything you’d like, so use your imagination!”
A ten page essay? Marinette had never written a paper so long in her life, and now she was being assigned one after she had only gotten five hours of sleep the night before? She could already feel the tears forming in her eyes.
“This essay must include at least two interviews of people relevant to your topic as well as one eye-witness event. Again, this topic must be current and prevalent. It is not due for six weeks, so there is plenty of time to plan and write a thorough paper before the end of the unit.”
Leaning over to Alya, Marinette whispered, “Six weeks? What can I spend that long writing about?”
“Now, I know this is a long assignment,” Miss Bustier continued. “Probably much longer than any of you have had to write before. That is why I decided to make this a partner assignment.”
Alya’s head whipped in Marinette's direction. “More like what can we spend that long writing about.”
Marinette’s growing smile was halted by Miss Bustier saying, “You can stop looking around for partners. I’ve pre-assigned them for you!” The class groaned again. “I will be calling out partners now! When I call you and your partner's name, please find a new desk together. This will be your new seating arrangement until the end of the unit!”
Please not Chloe, please not Chloe, please not Chloe, Marinette thought to herself as she crossed her fingers and squeezed her eyes shut tight as Miss Bustier proceeded to call out names.
“Alya and-” She said, and Marinette felt Alya grab her hand. “-Rose.”
“Whew,” Alya said with a relieved sigh. “Thank god it wasn't Chloe.”
“Hey!” Chloe said, turning her head so sharply Marinette was surprised her neck didn't snap. “I heard that!”
“Settle down,” Miss Bustier cooed as she continued calling out names.
Juleka and Max, Ivan and Nino, Sabrina and Mylene, Marinette and- wait, Marinette?!
“Marinette and,” Miss Bustier lingered, looking around at the partnerless students. Marinette looked around as well, still praying she wouldn't get Chloe who was still left (pouting) without a partner. “Adrien.”
Adrien. After his name flowed so smoothly on her ears, Marinette blocked everything else out. She felt a sigh leave her lungs, and when she inhaled again it was like she was flying through the early morning air all over again. Her fingertips tingled. The blond mess of hair in front of her shifted, Marinette vaguely felt Alya excitedly kicking her foot from beneath the desk, Adrien’s bright eyes met hers. He smiled at her, and she felt herself giggling and smiling back but she couldn't remember exactly what to do next and her head was fuzzy and she couldn't see anything else but the soft smile on Adrien’s face and someone was saying something in the background of the buzz in her brain but she couldn't care less about what they were saying because she was going to be partners with Adrien for the next six weeks and this was going to be so great and she was finally going to -
“Marinette, did you hear me?” Miss Bustiers soft voice interrupted.
“Uh- I- huh?” She said, pushing herself upright in her chair and bringing her hand up to play with her left pigtail. “I mean, yeah, totally! Copy that, teach.”
Chuckling, Miss Bustier motioned to the desk in front of her. Adrien was now alone at his desk in the front row, and suddenly Marinette remembered that she wasn't only going to be working with him, she was going to sit by him for the rest of the unit. Gathering her things together, she felt herself nearly shaking with excitement.
“Looks like we’re going to be working pretty closely for a while, huh?” Adrien said as Marinette sat in the seat beside him. The sunlight that she was cursing a couple hours previous was now shining through the window of the classroom and illuminating Adrien’s hair so beautifully that Marinette swore it was a halo around his head.
“Heh, yeah,” was all she could manage to say in response.
“Uhm, Miss Bustier?” Chloe’s voice pierced through the classroom like a siren. “ I don't have a partner! Where am I supposed to sit?” She crossed her arms in her seat, huffing as her stuck her nose in the air.
“We’ll discuss that after class, Chloe. Stay where you are.”
“But that’s not-”
“I’m going to pass out the written directions for your assignment now. As you get them, take note that you will have to record your meeting minutes with your partner. To be successful in this assignment, you must meet with your partner at least twice a week outside of class time to work on your paper.” She slid one packet of directions across Adrien and Marinette's desk, and Adrien centered it in table and leaned in to peer over the instructions. Doing the same, Marinette bumped her forehead into Adrien’s, who pulled back to rub his head.
“Oh- sorry!” Marinette apologized, butterflies swarming in her stomach.
“Don't work about it,” Adrien whispered with a light laugh. Smiling quickly at her, he turned his attention back to the directions.
All of the fatigue and irritation that had worn Marinette down that morning disappeared in an instant as she and Adrien sat so close and read the instructions to the assignment that they would be doing together for six whole weeks. She prayed Adrien couldn't feel her buzzing with excitement next to him.
After Miss Bustier returned to the front of the classroom, she continued with giving instructions for the assignment. “During class time, we will be looking at examples of exploratory essays, learning how to conduct interviews, and learning how to write effectively about a topic you don't know much about. Please turn to page six of your packet where the example essay is located.”
The rest of class was a bit of a blur. Marinette found it hard to focus with Adrien sitting so close to her, accidentally tapping her foot with his own from time to time, furrowing his brows at the essay she was supposed to be paying attention to but instead she could hardly take her eyes off of the boy sitting in the seat beside her. She couldn't believe her luck. In that moment, she vowed that in the next six weeks, Adrien would see a side of her that he hadn't seen before. He would finally see her for her, not just some girl in his class. Not just as a friend.
She was going to make this project count, and not just towards her grade.
***
“Wow, this is quite the assignment,” Marinette said nervously once class ended. That's all you could think of? Adrien had started packing his things already, so she had to say something now or forever hold her peace.
Standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulder, Adrien looked down at her. “Yeah, but between the two of us I’m sure we can bust out something great.”
Jumping up out of her seat to walk out of the classroom with him, Marinette nodded her head in agreement.
“So, you want to get together-” Yes, duh, of course ! “-soon to figure out what we want to write the paper on? We should probably figure it out soon if we don't want to fall behind.”
“No! I mean yes!” She laughed nervously. “We definitely don't want to fall and be mine- behind!”
Stepping to one side of the entrance to the classroom, Adrien chuckled nonchalantly. “Does today work for you?” He rested his shoulder on the wall, titling his head to look down at Marinette. He had undergone a growth spurt recently, Marinette noticed. He once was only an inch or two taller than her, but in the last few months he had grown to nearly tower over her. Her heart fluttered in her chest.
“Totally! I’m wiiiide open. But- I mean- what about you? You’re the one with all the fencing and Mandarin lessons and- well, I just know you have a busy schedule.” Stop talking so much, you're giving yourself away! As if Marinette had any dignity left to save in the first place when it came to Adrien. She mentally kicked herself.
“Today I just have to go to my fencing lesson after school, I should be free around 4:30, though, if you wanna meet then!”
Today? At 4:30? Oh god, everything was happening so quickly, Marinette barely had time to think before saying, “Yeah, that sounds great!”
Adrien smiled. “Awesome! I know this great little cafe downtown we could work at. I'll text you the address.”
“Ok rule! I mean cool!” Jesus Christ .
Pushing himself from the wall, Adrien gave her a wave as he walked past her, brushing his shoulder with hers. “See ya then.”
“Bye!” Marinette’s gaze followed him as he walked down the hallway, bumping fists with Nino before disappearing behind the corner. Letting out a frustrated groan, she slumped against the wall and dug her hands into her hair.
“Hey, it wasn't that bad!” Tikki said from her place in Marinette’s bag. “I mean, you've definitely had worse conversations with him.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Giggling, Tikki said, “Kinda! At least this time you got a date out of it.”
“It’s not a date!” Marinette snapped, looking around to see if anyone noticed her raising her voice at her backpack. She lowered her tone. “We’re just meeting for our project. The project we’ll be doing for the next six week together!” Previous embarrassment of her interaction with Adrien disappeared, and in its place was pure excitement for the weeks to come.
“Girl, I knew you'd be freaking out about this.” Alya’s voice carried from inside the classroom from which she emerged, a smug smile on her face.
“This is going to be great, Alya!” Marinette said, resisting the urge to throw her arms around her best friends shoulders. “Think about it: me, Adrien, six weeks of hanging out just the two of us!” She spun in place, a laugh escaping her lips. “No way we’re ‘just friends’ after this!”
“You better not be, girl, and you better pick a sexy ass topic to write about, too. I'm telling ya, once boys see the authentic side of you, they fall head over heels.” She rolled her eyes fondly before flinging an arm around Marinette's shoulders and turning her to look into the window of the classroom. “Let's talk about that later, though, because Miss Bustier just told Chloe she was going to have to do the entire project by herself.” Alya let out a cackle. “It's that great! Finally, she can't make someone else do all the work for her and take all the credit.”
“That’s not the last of the karma coming her way,” Marinette replied, turning them to walk down the hallway.
“Oh my god,” Alya said, stifling a laugh. “How mad do you think she is that you're Adrien’s partner?” The two of them giggled to themselves. “I bet right now she's all like, ‘Daddy!’” Alya’s Chloe impression never failed to send Marinette into hysterics. “‘You must call the school and demand I be placed with Adrien! I'm jealous of this super hot bitch Marinette Dupen-Cheng for stealing my man! Also I can't write more than two coherent sentences in a row, but that's beside the point! This is re-diculous! Utterly ridiculous!”
Between laughs, Marinette gasped, “Stop! Stop it,” she wiped a tear from her eyes before bursting into laughter again. “Seriously, find some wood to knock on right now. She’s so predictable she would probably get that to happen.”
“It won’t, don't worry,” Alya said dismissively as she knocked on the wooden railing of the stairs as they descended to the first floor. “Besides, Miss Bustier obviously put her foot down this time, not even Ladybug and Chat Noir could change her mind about putting Chloe by herself.” She scoffed. “Girl got what she deserved.”
The spring air was clean and fresh on Marinette’s skin; walking outside after being cooped up in school all day was always her favorite part of the day, even if she had been sitting next to Adrien the whole time. Speak of the devil, and the devil will appear. Pausing momentarily, Marinette watched as Adrien effortlessly ducked into the backseat of his car. She sighed helplessly in awe before her eyes shot open.
“Alya!” She gripped onto her friends right arm. “I just realized I’m actually meeting Adrien at 4:30 today! What am I gonna wear? What am I gonna say? Oh god, I have to come up with a bunch of good ideas for our paper too and-”
“Calm down, girl!” Alya said between laughs. “You don’t have to freak out. Just wear what you're wearing now! You look great, as always.” They began walking down the steps of the school. “Besides, if he doesn't like you how you are, he's not worth it.”
Marinette sighed. “Yeah, but-”
“Don't second guess yourself! And as far as topics go,” Alya continued. She blew a strand of hair out of her face. “I don't know, he's super into Ladybug I think? She's a current topic in Paris, just suggest something having to do with her!”
Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. “Ladybug? Since when has Adrien-”
“Marinette! Alya!” Rose called as she ran up to the two of them.
“Hey Rose, ready to work on our project?” Alya said, putting her hands on her hips.
“Yeah, yeah, in a minute,” Rose replied, turning her attention to Marinette. “After we have a chance to freak out about you and Adrien being assigned as partners!” Squealing, Rose and Marinette began jumping up and down in excitement as Alya fondly rolled her eyes. “This is going to be so great for you!”
Marinette stopped jumping, taking a second to catch her breath before saying, “I think it just hit me that I’m going to be hanging out with Adrien alone twice a week for six weeks.” Her eyes widened with shock as she stared into the distance. “I’m going to embarrass myself so much. Oh god.”
Rose giggled. “It's going to be great! You guys will become more comfortable around each other, you’ll open up, he’ll be vulnerable with you and BAM1” She smacked her hands together, startling Marinette out of her daze. “He falls in love with you!” She squealed, bringing her hand close to her chest. “Love is in the air, Marinette!”
“Speaking of air,” Alya said. “Let’s give Marinette a chance to catch her breath before she meets with Adrien later.”
“You’re meeting him today? ” Rose asked frantically, grabbing onto Marinette’s arms. “It’s already starting!” She released Marinette, reaching up to throw an arm around Alya’s shoulders. “Take a long look at her, Alya.” Alya did, shooting Marinette a look that Marinette instantly recognized as ‘ for the love of god help me .’ Marinette stifled a laugh. “This is the last time we’re seeing you pining hopelessly for a boy.”
Marinette made a face. “Um-”
“Because now it’s not hopeless!” Rose giggled as pulled her arm from Alya’s shoulders.
“With that,” Alya started as she stretched her back out. “We should get started on our paper.” They began walking away, but before they were out of hearing range Alya called out, “Text me updates! Remember, sexy topics, sexy thoughts!” Several students turned their head to look at Marinette, who buried her head in her hands at Alya’s comments.
Her phone buzzed in her hand, and her heart skipped a beat as she read Adrien’s name attached to the notification.
Adrien the love of my life <3: Here’s the address to the cafe. Right downtown! See you at 4:30 :)
Adrien the love of my life <3: 1 Attachment
She sighed, holding her phone close to her chest as she looked up at the sun she was cursing the existence of just hours previous. Oh, how the day had turned around since the morning. Beginning her walk home, she hoped it was all downhill from there.
***
“I suppose that’s alright, if it’s for school.” Gabriel Agreste did not look pleased with Adrien’s request to stay away from home two hours longer after his fencing lesson. “Who is this girl, again?”
Adrien tried to swallow the lump growing in his throat. He failed. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s the one who one the competition for the hat I modelled in that show, remember?”
Looking away at something out of the scope of the screen, Gabriel dismissively said, “Right. Bright young girl. A little ditzy.” He let out an exhausted sigh. “You’ve already made plans with this girl? Today?”
Adrien’s heart picked up pace deep in his chest as he nodded. “I mean, I told her that I would have to ask you first, but yeah we made loose plans.” As much as Adrien hated lying, sometimes he let a small fib slip out. That wasn’t really lying, though, was it? Marinette knew that Adrien was busy and that his dad was strict; she probably already assumed that plans might have been cancelled if Gabriel didn’t approve of them, anyway. Besides, Marinette had to ask her own parents if she could study with Adrien after school, too, right? So he wasn’t lying, he was just stating the obvious.
“Fine. Be home by six o’clock. We’ll discuss the future of this project at dinner.” Before Adrien could say goodbye, his father hung up, leaving a black screen in his place.
Adrien let his head fall back on the head rest of his seat in the car. He sighed, feeling the car change directions from the way back to his house towards downtown. A ball of anxiety that had been slowly tangling itself up over the last hour began to unravel with the confirmation that Adrien could in fact meet with Marinette. He had cancelled plans with her more times than he could count on two hands; he would’ve felt terrible if he was forced to bail on plans to simply work on a school project.
The sun was lowering in the sky as the car pulled up beside Leonetti’s Cafe, casting golden beams into the floor length windows at the front of the building. Adrien was a bit early, it was only four fifteen, but he noticed an empty table near the windows, so he decided to go in and grab it before anyone else was able to.
“I'll be back before six!” Adrien called to the front seat as he slid out of the car, slinging his bag over his shoulder. His bodyguard simply nodded.
***
There was a skip in Marinette's step as she walked through the afternoon air to Leonetti’s Cafe. A pit of excitement was ever growing in her chest, bubbling up at every thought of sitting in a cafe with Adrien for who knows how long. As she grew closer to downtown, she imagined the conversations her and Adrien would have.
“I love Leonetti’s! I'm so glad you picked this cafe.”
“No way! This is one of my favorite spots, I’m so happy I could share it with you.”
“If you hadn't suggested it, I definitely would have! It’s like we were meant to be partners for this project.”
“No kidding. I was so happy you’re my partner and not Chloe .”
“You and me both.”
She sighed at the thought of it. They would spend the afternoon bonding over their shared interests, laughing, maybe he would pull the old pretend-to-stretch-and-put-his-arm-around-her-shoulder trick--
“Marinette,” Tikki whined from the inside pocket of her jacket, snapping her out of her daydream. “You just passed the cafe!” She giggled. “Nervous?”
“Duh!” Spinning on her heel, Marinette backtracked in the direction of Leonetti’s. “I'm going to trip over my words, I know it.” She groaned. “How am I supposed to work with him for six weeks if I can barely hold a conversation with him? This is a disaster.”
“Don't say that,” Tikki comforted. “It might come true!”
“Yeah, yeah.” She said as she stood at the crosswalk waiting for the light to turn green. “You know it’s true, Tikki. No matter how many times I plan out what to say, something always goes wrong-”
As if on cue, an ear-piercing scream erupted from somewhere in the city. A chorus of yells and indistinct shouting followed. Marinette whipped her head to her right (opposite of the cafe, which was just a block in front of her to the left), and watched as a masked figure sprung up and landed on the roof of a nearby building. The figure ran along the building before jumping off, and another flock of panicked voices erupted. A flutter of paper arouse from a distant street.
“Another akuma?” Marinnette wondered, looking down at Tikki, who did little else than shrug back at her.
“Akuma or not, you better go check it out.” She sounded nervous, urgent even, but Marinette couldn't help but look down at the time on her phone. Four twenty. She looked back up at the cafe, her hopes of arriving a few minutes before Adrien to prepare melting away. “He’ll understand, Marinette,” Tikki said, drawing Marinette’s attention back to the matter at hand.
Her hand tightened around her phone. “You’re right.”
With that she took a sharp left into the alleyway beside the building.
***
“Two in one day,” Chat Noir commented after landing next to Ladybug, who was nearly panting from chasing the villain around the rooftops of the city. “They’re curious as I am, don't you think?” He smirked up at her. “Get it? Cause I'm a cat.”
“Good one,” Ladybug said flatly. Her eyes scanned the city-scape, searching for where the akumatized villain was hiding. Chat Noir couldn't help but be confused by him; he was on a tirade, jumping from one street to the next turning anyone who crossed his path into piles of paper money of varying sizes. That wasn't the confusing part though, who wouldn't want to collect loads of money? What was weird, though, was that he never took any of it. Literally throwing money away. Letting it blow away in the wind, more like it. “He’s got me bugging, that's for sure.” Ladybug sent a smug smile Chat Noir’s way. “I can do it too.”
Clutching his chest, Chat Noir stood up next to her. “Wow, m’lady, your wit never fails to amaze me. Maybe one of these days you'll be on my level, but that day is far in the future. I think I’m rubbing off on you.” He winked.
She rolled her eyes endearingly. “The pun competitions will have to wait, looks like we have to make a stop by the bank.” In the next moment, she was gone, Chat Noir right on her tail.
She clutched her lucky charm -- a leaf blower -- in her hand as she swung from one building to the next, slinging it around her shoulder somewhere along the way. Landing on the spindle of the BNP Paribas building, the largest bank in Paris, Ladybug said, “He’s obviously after a great deal of money. I think he's turning people into whatever amount they have in their bank account with that credit card he's holding. Who has more money, or controls more money, than the executive bankers who work here?”
“Interesting theory,” Chat Noir mused, watching the masked villain round a corner and run in the direction of the bank. “Looks like you may be right.”
Ladybug’s eyes quickly shifted, identifying the pieces of the puzzle that fit with the leaf blower lucky charm. Watching her carefully, Chat Noir sighed lightly; he loved the serious expression on her face that always appeared when they reached this point in the mission. Though he had only experienced that level of observation and awareness of his surroundings once, he knew that it was a rush, a burst of adrenaline that coursed through his fingertips and the tips of his toes. Momentarily, he wondered how Ladybug could physically handle experiencing that sensation nearly everyday. Despite the immense feeling of reward that Chat Noir felt afterward, he had to admit that he was particularly exhausted following that fight in particular.
With a grin like a crescent moon, Ladybug turned to him. “Here's the plan.”
***
Chat Noir hid behind the ATM he had drug to the elevator and down the hallway of the top floor of the bank, trying to be as quiet as he could as he listened to the door slam open.
“Where is he?” The villain yelled, likely in Ladybug’s direction, who was standing on the desk of the bank's president. “You told him to run, didn't you? Told him to hide behind his title and reputation, right? Well, that’s not going to work, you know.”
“I didn't tell him to do anything,” Ladybug said, sounding nonchalant, almost relaxed. “He is hiding though. You could check there.”
“That’s not very poetic, is it?” The villain said, his voice nearing where Chat Noir was crouched, obscured from sight. “Literally hiding behind your money? Well, you won't be able to do that for long-”
“Cataclysm,” Chat Noir whispered, hoping the villain wouldn't hear him. Not that it mattered, since he immediately turned on the red and black spotted leaf blower, causing all of the now houseless cash to spiral in a flurry in the air.
The villain laughed, and Chat Noir was able to catch a glimpse of him up close for the first time. His suit was nearly electronic, with numbers and arrows glowing along its seams, shifting and changing every second, going from green to red and back to green. Hedgemaster , he had called himself. The pieces started fitting together.
His laughter faded after he noticed Chat Noir, however, and in that split second of realization, Ladybug was able to capture Hedgemaster’s wrist in the cable of her yo-yo, yanking him from across the room to the desk where she still stood. She plucked the credit card from his fingers and snapped it in two. The dark-winged akuma fluttered from its prison, and Chat Noir watched in awe as Ladybug captured it, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. Hedgemaster’s suit flickered and went dark, disappearing completely after Ladybug called out, “Miraculous ladybug!” The ATM disappeared as well, making a clear path for Chat Noir to spring across the room and stand with Ladybug on the president’s desk.
“Pound it!” His fist met hers, and he and Ladybug shared a smile before she bent down to pick up the now in tact credit card.
Placing a hand on the now very plain looking man's shoulder, she offered him the credit card. Looking up at her, slightly dazed, he gently pulled it from her fingertips.
“So,” Chat Noir said, jumping down from the desk and leaning forward on his staff. “What happened to cause all that ruckus? Surely you can’t be a hedge trimmer, not with that getup you were wearing.”
“No, no,” the man said softly, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand. “I manage hedge funds, and there was --” He sighed. “--there was a dip in the market. I lost a lot of money.”
“Oh yes,” Ladybug said. “Hedge funds. I heard those are, uh, risky.” She shot Chat Noir a slightly panicked look. He held in a chuckle.
“I guess I was so upset that I let an akuma, well, I let it--”
“Akumatize you?” Chat Noir offered. The man nodded. “Well hey, the stock market fluctuates everyday, right?” Sending a wink Ladybug’s way, he stood up straight and rested his staff along his shoulders and slung his arms over it. “You'll make that money back, I’m sure of it.”
“I guess. Sorry for causing so much trouble.” He smiled meekly up at the two of them. “Thanks, Ladybug and Chat Noir.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Ladybug responded. She turned to Chat Noir. “We better get going.” Before he knew it, she had swung her yo-yo out the window of the office and had begun to soar through the air.
Chat Noir saluted the man. “Catch ya on the flip side!”
It took a second, but eventually Chat Noir caught up with Ladybug. “You seem to be in a better mood than you were this morning,” Chat Noir called to her as they flew through the city.
She smiled. “I guess I had some good luck.”
“You call two akuma’s good luck? Man, I wonder what a bad day is like for you.”
“If I don’t get out of here soon, today might be that day.”
Chat Noir pouted. “What, you despise my company that much? I thought we were past that, bug-a-boo.”
“Don’t be such a pussy-cat,” Ladybug said with a laugh. “I have to be somewhere. I actually had to be there twenty minutes ago.”
Fuck! He was supposed to be meeting Marinette right about now. She had likely been waiting for him, or worrying about him getting stuck in a tornado of cash. He hoped she hadn’t been caught in the crossfire.
“Should I expect to see you tonight at eleven for Akuma: Act III?”
Ladybug huffed. “If you do, I’m yelling Macbeth and waiting for the theater to fall apart.”
He laughed. “See ya when the lights start flickering, m’lady!” Changing directions, he took one last look behind him in time to see Ladybug waving ‘goodbye’ in his direction.
God, he loved that girl.
***
By the time Marinette was able to make her way back to Leonetti’s and transform, the sun was casting golden rays through every window lining the streets of downtown Paris. It was nearly five o’clock. Marinette gasped as she checked the time on her phone, then an immediate feeling of dejection overtook her when she noticed that Adrien had not texted her to ask where she was. Did he not care about her? She was thirty minutes late, afterall. Actually, maybe he thought that she didn’t care about him. Oh god, maybe she should have texted him before she transformed to let him know she would be late. What if he had already left because he was tired of waiting for her?
“Stop worrying so much,” Tikki said through a yawn. “He’ll understand why you’re late.” She curled up on the top of one of her books in her bag. “Do you have anything to eat?”
“What do you mean, he’ll understand?” Marinette asked, panicked. “Am I just supposed to tell him, ‘Oh, sorry, I was fighting a supervillain who was turning everyone into huge piles of cash!’”
“Noooo,” Tikki whined. “Just tell him you got held up because of the akuma. He probably did, too.”
Duh. He was afraid for his life, that’s why he hadn’t texted her. Feeling stupid, Marinnette began walking in the direction of the cafe.
A small groan erupted from her bag. “Marinetteeeeee.”
“Oh, right!” Shuffling through her bag, Marinette pulled out a small macaron and handed it to Tikki, who almost swallowed it whole.
As she stepped into Leonetti’s, Marinette’s eyes immediately scanned the cafe for Adrien. Hoping he wasn’t there yet, but hoping he was at the same time. She didn’t see him. Not knowing whether to heave a sigh of relief or hold her breath in anticipation, Marinette searched for a good table in the mostly-empty cafe. Assumedly, a lot of people had run out of the cafe in a panic, but they were slowly trickling back in now that the akuma had been defeated and the city had returned to normalcy. There was a table open in the corner of the cafe near one of the large windows by the entrance, one that Marinette found to be charming and romantic as the golden hour sunbeams were shining straight onto the round mint-green table.
As she set her bag down, something fluid and shimmering caught the corner of her eye. Adrien walked into the cafe, his bag slung around his shoulder. He fluffed his hair with one hand as he paused in the doorway, looking around the cafe. Looking around for her. Marinette’s heart skipped a beat. Turning his head her way, Adiren did a double take, smiling brighter than the sun when he saw her. He raised a hand to wave; all Marinette could do was smile shyly and let out a short giggle.
“Sorry I’m so late,” Adrien said once he was in speaking distance. He dropped his bag in the seat next to hers. “My bodyguard made me stay in the car once that Hedgemaker guy got akumatized.” He looked at her, concern displayed on his face. “Did you get caught up in that? I feel bad that I picked a spot to study so close to the akuma attack.”
Marinette waved her arms in front of her frantically. “No no no no no,” she said, a little too quickly. “Uh- my mom didn’t even let me leave the house until the news said it was okay.” She smiled at him nervously, clasping her neck with her left hand. A wave of relief crossed over her; so he was afraid for his life and he was worried about her.
“Good, I’m glad you’re safe.” Marinette’s heart fluttered in her chest. Adrien glanced at the register. “Do you want anything? We should probably buy something so we don’t get asked to leave for loitering.” He chuckled, so she did too.
“Yeah, hang on,” she reached into her bag, searching for her wallet. She carefully moved a sleeping Tikki into the pocket of her bookbag.
“Hey, don’t worry about it.”
Her eyes shot up to meet Adrien’s. “What? No, I can pay-”
“Come on,” he interrupted, a soft smile lining his lips. “I got it. What do you want?” The blush that washed over Marinette’s cheeks was definitely visible, and she shyly stuttered out her coffee order. “Got it,” Adrien responded, flashing her a bright smile before walking up to the register.
She watched him as she sat down, pulling out the exploratory essay assignment packet out of her bag. He made talking to people look so easy and seamless, which was never something that Marinette had particularly had a problem with (other than with conversations with Adrien), but it was always something that made her slightly nervous. Every conversation she had was planned out in her head hours, minutes, seconds before it happened. Amidst her jealousy of Adrien’s ease with social interactions, she vaguely wondered if he felt the same way that she did.
The TV mounted on the way across the cafe derailed her train of thought. Her gaze shifted from Adrien to the television, where coverage of the two akuma attacks that day were being broadcast.
“Here we are with the victim of this morning’s akuma attack,” Nadia said, motioning to a shaggy haired man who stood next to her. “Dr. Babin was awakened this morning by his noisy neighbors, who have had a history of loud, late nights. After a long day and a night with little sleep, he was immediately irritated and resentful towards the racket coming from the other side of his bedroom wall. If he couldn’t sleep, no one would.” She turned to Dr. Babim. “So Professor, tell us a little bit about the object that was akumatized.
The man held up an abnormally large tooth attached to a black chord, obviously meant to be a necklace. “This is a tooth of an extinct Megalodon shark, one of the biggest creatures to roam the Earth. A colleague gave it to me many years ago.” The camera zooming in on the tooth. “As you can see, there have been holes carved into its surface to create a sort of whistle.” He chuckled. “It doesn’t work extremely well. All of the notes sound the same, and the sound that comes out of it isn’t pleasant to the ears, to say the least.”
Oh, Marinette thought, a realization rushing through her. That’s what happened.
The camera panned back to Nadia. “I think we all heard a taste of it this morning, Doctor.” He laughed. “After this morning’s attack,” Nadia said, looking out towards her audience, “the citizens of Paris assumed that there would not be another akuma plaguing the city for at least twenty-four hours. Unfortunately, we were wrong.”
“Alright,” Adrien’s voice interrupted. “One vanilla latte.” He set down a mug in front of her, snapping her attention from the news back to the matter at hand. “I just realized it might be a little late to be drinking coffee, but,” he shrugged. “You only live once, right?”
“Did you just YOLO me?” Marinette said before she had a chance to think about what she was saying, immediately feeling embarrassed. To her surprise, Adrien laughed as he sat down, sipping his coffee as he did so.
“So.” He crossed his arms in front of himself, slighting leaning over the table and meeting her eyes with a soft grin.
“So….?” She couldn’t break eye contact. Was he scooting closer to her?
Laughing slightly, he picked up his mug. “So do you have any ideas for our project?”
“Oh!” Duh. What else would he be asking about? They’re supposed to be working on their project, that's why they were here in the first place. Stupid . “I don't know, there’s a lot of exciting things we could write about.” Her eyes shifted back to the TV on the wall.
“Yeah…” When she glanced back at him, Adrien had a downtrodden look on his face as he, too, watched the events on the news.
He’s super in the Ladybug, Alya’s voice echoed in her head.
She cleared her throat. “Just to put it out there,” she started, determined to not mess up her words. “I know Ladybug and Chat Noir are probably the most obvious choice…” The look on Adrien’s face -- panicked and uncomfortable -- told her what her gut already had. She straightened, her confidence high. “But I feel like a lot of other people will choose them for their paper, so maybe we should think of something else.”
Slouching in his chair, Adrien heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank god you said that,” he told her with a slight chuckle. “I feel like I’m always hearing about them, it might be nice to talk about something else for a change, you know?”
“Totally!” Marinette sounded a little too excited, so she forced herself to relax. “Totally, I hear about Ladybug enough from Alya as it is.”
Adrien laughed. “You know Nino says the same thing? I think he secretly likes it, though.”
He better, Marinette thought, thinking of Carapace and Rena Rouge. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Adrien continued. “He’s always talking about all the things she’s found out about Ladybug and how the Miraculous work.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Personally, I kind of want it to stay a secret.”
“Me too!” Marinette said, resting her elbow on the table as she used her hand to motion. “I feel like it’s so exciting not knowing who they are. It would ruin the fun if we did!”
“Right?” He sat up straight in his seat. “It's pretty cool having actual superheros around, I’d hate for them to have to disappear because their identities are revealed.” He shrugged. “Plus, it’s fun believing in magic, even if that's not what the Miraculous are.”
Are the Miraculous actually magic? Marinette hadn’t really thought of it before. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure where the Miraculous came from, or if Tikki was even from this Earth at all.
“It is pretty cool,” Marinette resigned. “Maybe we should do our project on them, after all.”
Laughing, Adrien said, “Good one.” After taking a sip of his coffee, he pulled out his computer from his bag. “Alright, we should brainstorm.” He glanced at her. “I have to be home at six, or else I’d say we should chat a little more.”
Hearing that made Marinette deflate a little, but then she remembered that she was lucky to be sitting here with him at all, and she perked back up.
“Well,” she forced out, nervousness setting in again. She had to show Adrien that she was smart and had other interests besides him, besides hanging out with her friends, besides being a nervous school girl who could barely get three words out before she started clamming up- oh god she’s been quiet for way too long. “We could talk about the homelessness problem in Paris, or the exhibit on Japanese art being displayed at the Louvre this month…” These are all so boring . Even though he was typing all of her ideas into a Google Doc, Adrien didn’t seem particularly excited about any of them. Alya’s voice rang through Marinette’s head once again.
Sexy topics, sexy thoughts!
Trying to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, Marinette said, “Or, you know, uh-” Get it together . “-Paris’s fashion industry has a lot of influence on the rest of the world. Maybe there's something there we could research?”
Perking up at this, Adrien wrote it down and highlighted it. “That’s actually a really good idea!” He said, looking at her from across the table. “It’s a good thing we’re both into fashion, right?” The smile he gave her shot a hole through her chest, and she could almost picture her collapsed body from a bird’s eye view.
“Heh- y-yeah!” She looked down at her hands. “So…”
He leaned in closer, and she couldn't help but feel like he was reading her. She looked up at him. “So…”
“So are we going with that idea?”
Smiling even wider, Adrien said, “Yeah, if you’re good with that?”
“For sure.”
“I think this will be a lot of fun, plus I have some connections in the fashion world. Maybe I can secure an interview.” His face brightened. “That reminds me,” he said, turning to face Marinette, excitement obvious in his body language. “Paris Fashion Week is coming up. That would be a pretty good eye-witness event, right? I’ll have to ask around, but I’m sure I could get you an invitation.”
Paris Fashion Week? Was Adrien actually inviting her to go to Paris Fashion Week? With him? Marinette felt like she could faint from excitement. “Are you serious? You think I could go?”
“Probably!” Adrien said, going back to his computer. “Don't get your hopes up too high-” Too late. “-but I’ll definitely make sure to ask around.”
“That would be-” Amazing. Perfect. A dream come true. An actual fantasy come to life. “-great. For our project, aaand for personal reasons.”
The corner of Adrien’s lip quirked up. “It would be nice to have a friend there with me. Usually I have to go by myself. It’s kind of boring when you don't have anyone to talk to or walk around with.”
Before Marinette could say another word, an alarm rang on his phone. His shoulders dropped. “Oh. I have to get going.” Looking over at her, sorrow in his face, he continued, “Sorry we didn’t get a lot of time to work today. I can’t believe it’s already 5:30.”
“Time flies when you're having fun, right?” Marinette nervously replied, though she had to admit, she was pretty sad they didn’t get a full hour to spend time together. “Or when a super villain is destroying the city. Actually, time moves pretty slowly for that.”
Adrien laughed as he slipped his laptop back into his bag. “That’s for damn sure.” Had Marinette ever heard Adrien swear? She didn’t think so. Hearing it made her heart beat faster than the wings of the butterflies in her stomach.
“Do you- uh- maybe want to meet on Friday after school? If you’re free, of course, I mean, I know you’re busy, but I’m free to be with you- I mean! To meet up with you!” Oh my god what did I just say? Jesus Christ I knew this would be a disaster-
“I’ll have to check in with my dad. You know he's kind of weird about some things, but I’m sure he’ll be lenient if it’s for school.” He stood up, holding his hand out to her. She stared at it for a moment before she realized that he was offering to help her stand up. Taking his hand, she pulled herself upright, slinging her bag around her shoulder. “But I’ll let you know! I’ll try to talk to him either today or tomorrow.”
They walked towards the entrance of the cafe, where Adrien held the door open for her. He mock-bowed as she walked through the doorway. “M’lady,” he said, a joking tone in his voice.
An itch of familiarity materialized somewhere deep in her brain, too vague to identify or relieve. “Thank you, sir,” She responded, matching his humorous tone.
The streets of Paris had appeared to have returned to normal; the people who had been scared off by Hedgemaster had now returned, going about their business as if nothing had happened in the first place. It was strange to Marinette how casual the citizens of Paris were about having an actual supervillain terrorizing the city everyday. Did they live in fear of being akumatized? Were they not afraid of the uncertainty that laid in every passing day? She supposed that Paris now knew a new normal. As she did nearly everyday, Marinette wondered if Hawkmoth would ever be defeated and life could go back to the way it was before. Guiltily, she wondered if she even wanted that to happen in the first place.
Her internal monologue was halted when Adrien stopped in front of his car where his body guard stood, opening the door for him. “I’ll text you tonight and let you know what my dad says if I have a chance to ask him.” He smiled at her. “If not, I’ll see you tomorrow at school?”
You can text me even if you don’t talk to your dad tonight, Marinette contemplated saying before she chickened out. She had never been that bold. “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Do you want a ride home?” His hand rested on the roof of the car, and Marinette’s eyes lingered on his exposed bicep before she processed the fact that he had asked her a question.
“Oh! No, I’m okay!” Scratching the back on her head, she smiled nervously at him. “I don't live too far from here, I can just walk!”
His mouth twitched, and his face shifted to an unreadable expression momentarily before he smiled at her. His face was shrouded by the shadow of the interior in the car as he sat down. “Cool, I’ll see ya later.”
Waving, Marinette waited until the car had pulled away from the curb and rounded the corner before she let herself collapse in on herself. Why hadn’t she just accepted the ride? Ride home = more time with Adrien. God, she was so stupid .
“Hey, don't say that!” Tikki said, poking her head out of the top of Marinette’s purse. “I think you’re very smart, Marinette!”
“Even when it comes to Adrien?” Marinette said doubtfully as she turned in the direction of the bakery.
Tikki paused. “Well…maybe not, but you did really well today!”
***
The dining room was silent as Adrien picked at his dinner, glancing up at Gabriel every once in a while, who had been staring at Adrien throughout the entire meal. Adrien’s father wasn’t one to get irrationally angry, but his unpredictability always caused a knot to form in Adrien’s stomach. Should he speak first or wait until he was spoken to? One wrong move could be the start of a passive-aggressive avalanche that Adriens didn’t want to deal with tonight. In hopes of not ruining dinner with his father, Adrien said nothing.
“How was your study-date?” Gabriel finally asked after what felt like a century of silence. “Were you productive?”
The tone in his father’s voice was impossible for Adrien to decipher. “Yeah,” he said, trying to be as neutral as possible. “We weren't able to meet until almost five because of the akuma, but we decided what we’re going to research for our paper, at least.”
Gabriel nodded, bringing his fork up to his mouth. When he swallowed the minuscule amount of food on his fork, he asked, “What is this project? Show me the assignment.”
Knowing he would ask that, Adrien pulled out the assignment packet from his bag and handed it to Natalie, who walked to the opposite side of the table to place it in Gabriel’s hand. “It’s an exploratory essay about a current event happening in Paris. It has to be ten pages long, which is why I have a partner.”
Gabriel flipped through the pages of the assignment, not actually reading all of the directions. Something simmered in Adrien’s gut, resenting his father for having to fact-check everything in Adrien’s life and not trusting what Adrien had told him. He wondered if any of his other friends went through this with their parents.
“And what topic did you and Maryanne choose to study?”
“Marinette,” Adrien corrected. “And we thought it would be cool to research the ways that Paris fashion influenced international fashion. We’re both interested in the industry, so I thought it would be an adequate topic.”
Gabriel nodded, skimming the page that Adrien knew the meeting minutes sheets were. “You’ll need to meet with this girl two times a week, correct?”
Can you read? Adrien wanted to say, but he bit his tongue. “Yes, that’s correct.”
Letting out a “hmm,” Gabriel handed the packet back to Natalie. “This seems like a valuable learning experience for you.” Adrien’s eyebrows shot up at that statement. His father didn’t have a problem with it? He wasn’t going to call the school and demand that Adrien complete the project on his own? “You may meet with Marinette on Tuesdays and Thursdays directly after school before your Mandarin lesson. You will meet here. The two of you will go directly to your room, and Natalie will check on you every twenty minutes to make sure you’re working. Marinette will go to your room, and only your room. Everywhere else in the house is off limits. If you two are here at 3:15, that will give you an hour and forty-five minutes to work before you must go to your lesson, which is plenty of time if you stay focused. Is that understood?”
Adrien didn’t know what to say. Gabriel had never allowed Adrien to have anyone over to the house, even Chloe. He could feel his mouth hanging open in shock, but he hardly cared. Despite the strict rules, Adrien couldn’t help but feel a growing excitement in his stomach as he thought about having a friend over with his father’s permission. No sneaking around, no lying, no deception.
“Thank you father,” was all he was able to say.
Nodding, Gabriel said, “Is there anything else you will need for this assignment?”
Adrien almost said no before remembering what he had told Marinette earlier that day. “Actually, I thought it might be a good addition to the paper to write about Paris Fashion Week as the required eye-witness event, and I was hoping Marinette could come with me.”
Gabriel was silent. “I will think about it,” was all he said after an agonizing moment of indecision.
After dinner, Adrien dropped on his bed, feeling as light as a feather. It was rare that he had a positive interaction with his father, or any interaction at all if he’s being honest, but when he did his whole body felt like it was floating afterward. It was probably unhealthy to be that excited after a positive interaction with a parent, but Adrien always felt like he had accomplished something. After his mother died, he felt like a dog digging a hole; hoping to find something -- or bury something -- just so he could feel whole again. Every time his father gave him a taste of understanding, he felt himself be put back together.
***
Adrien (7:46 PM): Good news: my dad said we could meet on Thursday! Does that work for you?
Marinette (7:46 PM): totally! how’d you convince him haha
Adrien (7:50 PM): I have a few tricks up my sleeve ;)
Adrien (7:50 PM): He has a few rules, but I’ll tell you about them tomorrow.
Marinette (7:51 PM): sounds good adrien :)
Marinette (7:54 PM): see you tomorrow
Adrien (7:56 PM): See you tomorrow!