Chapter Text
Marinette’s idea of what a normal day at home looked like was relatively peaceful. She’d spend her time hunched over her sketchbook or her sewing machine as she hummed along to her favorite songs. After the kwamis came into her life…
Well, she had to get used to mischief.
Ever since she moved in with Adrien, however, it seemed the kwamis were even more chaotic than usual. They were hell bent on getting Adrien and Marinette to admit their feelings for one another, and stopped at nothing.
“You guys, Adrien bought you that tablet so you could watch movies and play games. Not so you could take pictures of us when we’re busy! Now put that away before Adrien comes back home!”
Marinette crossed her arms petulantly and frowned at the kwamis that held up the tablet as Daizzi tapped her way through the tablet’s seemingly endless photo gallery. Adrien smiling at Marinette, Marinette asleep on the couch and drooling on his pajamas, Adrien mid-trip as Marinette modeled a new dress. They were all embarrassing photos that should not see the light of day! But she couldn’t help the soft smile that tugged at her lips when Daizzi played the video of Lady Noire and Mister Bug.
They were just messing around together one evening, bored out of their minds. Marinette suggested they trade miraculous for a few minutes. For research purposes, she had said. Not at all because Adrien was a vision in red that was wonderful to look at.
Marinette drank in every detail of the video. Adrien’s delighted smile as he playfully swatted at Marinette’s long braid and let her hair loose. The way his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on creating several small braids that started at the crown of her head and fell to her hips. She was mesmerized by his gentle, almost adoring gaze when Marinette’s soft purrs filled the comfortable silence on screen.
She knew there was still something between them, but they were caught up in the excitement of their current relationship. She never thought they’d be as close as they were today, and she treasured their late nights and sleepy mornings together with all her heart.
She was about to ask the kwamis if they really thought it was time for them to discuss their romantic feelings for each other, when the next video blared an electronic beat that immediately put a deadpan expression on her face.
She pursed her lips and watched as Tikki shook her head with disappointment and the other kwamis began to point at each other and start a yelling match as they tried to keep the tablet in their grasp.
Plagg wasn’t even here and he had found the perfect way to wreak havoc: by rick rolling them all. Typical.
Marinette snatched the tablet and before anyone glanced at her, she transferred the last video of her and Adrien to her phone.
And if any of the kwamis claimed to have heard her squealing into her pillow for the rest of the day, she would deny it.
ooOoo
“Come on Marinette, please?” Mullo pleaded.
“Yes my queen, you will look beautiful!” Pollen squealed.
Marinette squinted at the handful of kwamis that blinked up at her from her bed, the perfect picture of innocence.
Too innocent, she mused.
“Why do you guys want me to wear this so badly? You’ve seen me in it before!”
She watched with amusement as the kwamis gave each other panicked looks, and Xuppu quickly slapped Wayzz’s shell, who then cleared his throat obnoxiously.
“I haven’t yet,” he answered flatly.
Marinette huffed and snatched the bright red fabric from her bed before she could further question the kwamis. It wouldn’t hurt to be glammed up for a few minutes before dinner, right?
Four pairs of eyes blinked up at her, waiting. She turned around and hastily opened her bedroom door. She strutted towards the bathroom, wondering if it would be overkill to practice a makeup look that would work with her newly made jumpsuit when she realized the bathroom light was on. Soft humming wafted through the air with the steam curling out of the door.
Adrien has a beautiful voice .
Marinette turned back around to face their hallway and debated where she could quickly change. She knew Adrien wouldn’t mind her being in his room, but the prospect of a freshly showered Adrien in close quarters with her would surely end in scarlet cheeks and incoherent stuttering. Hmm, maybe some other night.
She shuffled towards the vacant room in the apartment. They both knew they wanted three bedrooms, but they never got around to assigning it a purpose. But as she reached out to turn the knob, the cool metal refused to budge. She didn’t remember locking it. Come to think of it, she didn’t remember even going inside the room after she and Adrien had settled in. Did he lock it?
She jiggled the doorknob a couple times and jumped at the sound of the bathroom door open. Her cheeks warmed as the humid heat of the bathroom reached her and out came a shirtless Adrien. Shirtless . So much for trying to avoid him.
“Marinette? What are you doing?”
Marinette…suddenly forgot what she was doing. She stared at the beads of water that fell from the wisps of hair on his forehead onto his eyelashes. The way he casually leaned against the door frame was doing things to her heart, things she was powerless to control.
“Bug?” he questioned.
“Wow.”
Adrien blinked at her, and she watched with fascination as goosebumps crept up his arms and a slight pink flush settled in his cheeks. What had she said again?
“What? No! Not wow. I mean you– wow, that’s a lot of steam. Ha…” she trailed off, grimacing in mortification. Adrien smiled sheepishly, and she got the feeling that he didn’t believe her. To be fair, she wouldn’t believe herself either.
Before she could spew more embarrassing words, she swiftly turned on her heel and walked back towards her room.
“Hey,” Adrien called softly.
She turned her head to the side and eyed him from the corner of her eye.
“I already ordered dinner, so it should be here soon. We can finish off that bottle of wine Alya gave us.”
“Can’t wait,” she said with a wink as she slipped inside her room and shut the door.
The first thing she noticed was the lack of kwamis. Huh. They probably got bored waiting for her to change.
She quickly changed from her sweats into the shimmering red fabric, and grinned in the mirror. It was a halter neckline, the soft satin she found for sale at her favorite fabric shop held up by two black buttons behind her neck. The v neck plunged down to her sternum, but was still modest enough to only show a small sliver of skin. She spent hours on her bedroom floor adding small black stones to the waist, where it flowed down into flowy pants, resembling a skirt.
Marinette was very proud of this piece. She knew it would be for a special occasion, maybe on a fancy date? Who knows who she’d go out with though.
You know who, her mind whispered.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell, so she quickly grabbed her wallet from her nightstand and walked out to the front door. She was met with the delicious aroma of melted cheese and basil, thanking the delivery person and shutting the door. She turned around to set the box on the coffee table when she heard a pained yelp.
She looked up and saw Adrien doubled over the corner of their kitchen island. She rushed to his side and placed her hands on his shoulders, rubbing circles on the soft material of his Ladybug hoodie.
“Oh my god, Adrien! Are you okay? Did you walk into the counter?”
“Yeah,” he groaned before straightening himself. “I’m okay, just got distracted,” he replied as his voice cracked. He turned to face her and she watched with bated breath as his eyes took in her outfit. He smiled appreciatively and reached out to cup her cheek when a shrill voice interrupted them.
“Oh it’s so cute! He got distracted by her!”
They whipped their heads up at the lamp that hung over their dining table and saw all the kwamis giggling and smirking. Kaalki had a hoof over Daizzi’s mouth as she continued to babble, the only words audible were adorable and love . When she realized no one could make out what she was saying, she pointed down towards the dining table. Marinette heard Adrien’s soft gasp before she saw it.
It seemed the kwamis decided to crank their romantic plans up a notch. The table was set with plates and a clean white tablecloth, and was adorned with lit candles and rose petals everywhere.
“Where did you get the rose petals from?” Marinette questioned.
“Why would you do this when I’m underdressed?” Adrien whined at the same time.
They looked at each other with wide eyes before Adrien blinked and pointed at Marinette.
“No, answer her question.”
They watched with amusement as all the kwamis eyed each other and zipped down to sit on the dining table, leaving a smirking Plagg behind.
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied with a wave of his paw.
“Yes Marinette, everything is fine. Just enjoy what we set up for you!” Tikki cheered excitedly. She threw her arms out in a triumphant gesture and knocked over a candle. Uh oh.
In the blink of an eye, the flame spread towards the table cloth. The kwamis frantically blew on the orange blur, but it seemed they only succeeded in fanning the small sparks and starting more tiny fires.
Cackling laughter broke through the frenzy, and Marinette watched in disbelief as Plagg zipped down from the lamp and floated above the candles. The disturbing little fur ball looked every bit the God of Chaos.
Everything after that was a blur; Marinette ran towards the sink to dump water on the table, Adrien ran to bunch the cloth into a ball. Next thing she knew, ashes decorated the kitchen floor like confetti and the white cloth was now a wet, charred mess in their trash can. They now had 18 wet, shivering kwamis on their hands as Plagg snored away in the hood of Adrien’s sweater.
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and leaned into the touch. She looked up at Adrien and leaned into his side with a sigh.
“I got this m’lady. Why don’t you go change into some comfortable clothes? We can watch a movie and clean this up tomorrow,” he offered. Marinette hummed in agreement and dragged her feet towards her room.
Before walking in, she silently watched as Adrien walked to the bathroom. He walked out with a big, fluffy towel and headed towards the kitchen table. He scooped up the kwamis into the towel, and she couldn’t help her fond smile as Adrien cooed at the kwamis and nuzzled his cheek against their little heads. The last thing she saw before quietly shutting her door was Tikki giving Adrien’s cheek a kiss before joining the kwamis in the warmth of the towel.
Marinette later emerged with a messy bun and her favorite Chat Noir sweats, and slumped onto the couch next to Adrien. She squealed in surprise when he reached down and grabbed her knees to place them on his lap.
“Is this okay?” he whispered.
She bit her lip to suppress a smile, fiddling with the hem of her comfort cardigan. Instead of replying, she shuffled closer to him and placed her head in the crook of his neck, nuzzling his jaw. She felt his throat bob and smiled excitedly as his arms wrapped around her.
Adrien scrolled through their movie selection and eventually chose her favorite animated film. He reached forward to grab the pizza box from the coffee table and placed it on her lap and chuckled at her excited wiggle.
She loved these moments with him. She loved the way they could be physically affectionate one second and shove each other away laughing when they stole bites of each other’s food. She especially loved how easy it was to make each other laugh and smile with blushes on their cheeks. She never thought someone with pizza sauce smeared on their lips would be adorable. But here she was, gushing over Adrien’s annoyingly attractive face as she wiped at it with a napkin.
She was so wrapped up in their movie night that Marinette realized she failed to notice how unusually perfect the moment was.
“Kitty, where are the kwamis? What did you bribe them with so they wouldn’t cause more issues?”
Adrien choked on his sip of juice and avoided her eyes. “Kwamis? They’re uhh– they’re in the room!”
She frowned in confusion at his awkward answer. The room? Why didn’t he just say they were in his room? Unless–
“Are they in the spare room?” she asked with a curious head tilt.
His eyes widened in what seemed to be panic, before his features relaxed into a confident smirk. Hmm… suspicious.
“Of course bugaboo! They’ve deemed it the purr- fect place for them outside the miracle box, and they never let anyone in. I tried going inside the other day and found the door locked. Plagg said I was never allowed inside because it held top-secret kwami affairs.”
Marinette eyed him skeptically, but shrugged it off.
“Plagg really is… something else,” she muttered. “Did you see the way he just basked in the glow of the fire?”
Adrien chuckled at her and placed his hand on the top of her head, his thumb gently rubbing at the furrow in her brow.
“Nightmare material. Have I ever told you about how he tried to eat everything in my room when I first met him?” he asked with a laugh.
After he went to fetch the wine bottle that waited for them in the fridge, Marinette felt herself grow more and more sleepy. She repositioned herself in his lap once he sat down again, and they drank straight from the bottle as they relived the first interactions with the kwamis. He told her about Plagg running around TP-ing his room, and Marinette told Adrien about the kwamis bursting from the Miracle Box the first time she opened it.
Soon their conversation lulled to comfortable silence as they turned their attention back to the screen, and she nuzzled even closer to Adrien. Maybe it was the wine, or Marinette was just plain brilliant, but she was suddenly struck with inspiration. She reached for the hem of Adrien’s hoodie and tugged it halfway up his chest.
Adrien squawked in surprise, and Marinette giggled as she saw his eyes nearly bug out of his head. Haha, bug.
“I-I wha– Mari?” he spluttered in shock.
She ignored him and before pulling the sweater off of him completely, she pressed herself to his chest, grabbed at the inside of the sweater, and pulled down. One hoodie, two people. Truly inspired.
She giggled when her head got stuck under his chin, and pulled at the fabric until both their heads fit through the gap. She resettled in Adrien’s lap and resumed her previous position with her head nuzzling his jaw. She sighed happily at the warmth that soothed her, and felt herself grow drowsy within minutes.
“You know,” Adrien whispered while pulling her hair out of the stretched hoodie. “I didn’t get to tell you how beautiful you looked earlier.”
She hummed in acknowledgement and nodded against his chest.
“Glad you liked it. Made it for our first date,” she mumbled. She couldn’t even relish the hitch in his breath, she was so far gone. She was in that wonderful state between being awake and asleep, and the smell of Adrien’s cologne made her feel even more cozy and safe.
Soon, she felt hands at the back of her thighs as she was lifted up and carried away. She snuggled closer at the sudden movement, and vaguely recognized the sound of a door creaking open. She wrapped an arm around his waist and kept the other pressed against his chest, needing the physical reminder that he was there with her.
They were both too lazy to maneuver Marinette out of the hoodie, so she felt Adrien’s arms gently lower them both onto his bed and pull his cool comforter over them both.
“Night sleepy bug,” he whispered into her hair.
“Night my silly kitty.”
ooOoo
“You stupid cat,” Marinette sighed. “Why did you suggest we hold off on cleaning?”
Marinette toed the ashes in the kitchen with her fluffy socks, groaning at the idea of everything they had to do today.
Adrien chuckled as he walked behind her and slipped his arm over her shoulders. “Don’t blame me when you agreed to it! It’s okay, grumpy bug, we’ll do it together.”
Marinette let herself lean back into his chest and threw her head back in frustration. Just the thought of cleaning up that mess made her want to run back into bed and procrastinate.
A loud, clattering noise broke through their comfortable silence, and they both turned to find a floating tablet making its way into their spare room.
Marinette groaned in embarrassment; the kwamis were probably taking more pictures of them.
What if they showed Adrien? Would he also be secretly grateful for all the photographs of them together? Or would he tell the kwamis to cut it out and respect their privacy? What if he decided to move out because the kwamis were making him uncomfortable?
Desperate for a distraction from her spiraling thoughts, she whipped out her phone from her pocket and opened her music app. She searched for the shared playlist she created with Adrien, and soon enough Jagged Stone’s music filled the apartment as they got to work cleaning.
Everything was fun when they did it together, she realized. It felt like mere minutes of work as she watched Adrien dance with the broom and Marinette swayed her hips in sync with the music as she dusted off their counters. They laughed as Adrien figured out how to make bubbles with the web space between his index finger and thumb, and he lightly kissed Marinette’s elbow when she hit a cabinet. It was the epitome of domestic bliss, the kind she grew to yearn for as she aged.
Once they finished, Marinette longed for a bubble bath. She gathered her favorite hoodie (that she totally didn’t steal from Adrien’s closet), leggings, and some scented candles. She played her favorite acoustic songs as she soaked in the warmth of the water. There was something about citrus scents that made everything feel fresh and clean, and helped her further relax. Nothing could possibly go wrong now.
Until she heard a loud crash .
Marinette whipped her head towards the door, and rushed to dress herself before going to see if Adrien was okay. She grimaced as her leggings stuck to her wet legs, and nearly fell over in her haste to put them on. She opened the door as she tugged on the hoodie with one hand, and hurried to Adrien’s door. Just as she was about to knock, she heard movement in their spare room. The room where Adrien said the kwamis locked themselves in.
What were the kwamis up to?
She walked towards the door and turned the door knob, surprised to find it unlocked.
She blinked at the rays of golden sunlight that shone through the window and reflected off the white walls, a thin white curtain held to the sides with pink tassels. Cardboard boxes lined one of the walls with large drawings of tables and storage cubbies. Furniture?
She gasped when she peered inside and saw the wall furthest from the door. It was painted a soft baby blue, and small streaks of pink added a beautiful contrast that made the wall look almost like a watercolor painting.
After getting over the initial shock of seeing the room, she finally noticed Adrien on the floor and a ladder knocked over next to him.
She threw the door open and rushed to help him up. “Adrien! Are you okay??”
He flushed a bright red as Marinette crouched next to him and frantically ran her hands over his body, looking for injuries. She cupped his face gently and searched for any bumps or bruises. She giggled softly when the only thing she found was traces of pink paint on his forehead and jaw.
“I’m okay! Just… embarrassed,” he mumbled.
She brushed the hair away from his face and sighed in relief. “What happened?”
“I… kind of forgot kwamis can phase through things. Plagg was chasing Mullo around and I thought they were going to knock over the ladder. Turns out I did it myself,” he mumbled.
“Oh minou ,” she teasingly scolded. “What are you doing in here anyways? I thought you said the kwamis had forbidden mere mortals from entering?” she smirked.
She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the sheepish smile he shot her, and sat back on her heels to give him space to sit up properly. He lightly knocked the toes of his shoes together, avoiding eye contact.
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” he whispered. “I’ve never done anything like this, but I really wanted you to have your own craft room. So I looked up videos and Pinterest images to have an idea of how to decorate for you.”
She gasped in delight, looking around the room in awe. So that’s why he locked the door.
“You did all this… by yourself?”
“Well, not really? Once the kwamis figured out what I was doing, they offered to help whenever I had to keep you distracted,” he replied. “That’s actually why there’s pink on the wall. Longg’s tail was dipped in pink and they flew too close to the wall and smeared it. So I had to improvise,” he chuckled.
He rubbed his face with his hand and poked his cheek nervously. “I was hoping we’d have it painted and furnished before you figured out what I was doing. But it looks good so far, right?”
And oh, if his smile didn’t make her heart soar.
“It’s wonderful, Adrien. I can’t believe you did all this for me,” she breathed out, feeling her throat close up with emotion. “I love it, I love you .”
She launched herself into his arms and knocked them both backwards onto the floor. She laughed, giddy with the lightness she felt now that she had finally told him how she felt. This room was proof enough of how much he cared about her, and how much he valued her dreams and passions. A soft purr rumbled in his chest as she nuzzled his neck and pressed a soft kiss onto his pulse point.
“I love you too Marinette.”
Despite the paint in Adrien’s hair and the droplets of water that fell from her hair onto his shirt, they had never been more comfortable than on the floor, in each other’s arms.
“As much as I love seeing you in my sweaters –” Marinette let out an embarrassed groan. “Does this mean you’ll finally get to use the outfit you made for our first date?”
ooOoo
Marinette did get to wear red for their first date, but not the outfit Adrien had mentioned. Instead, she donned the red suit with black spots that let her soar through the air, her kitty close behind. After sharing a sweet heart’s ice cream under the shade of some beautiful willow trees at a park Adrien found, they transformed and watched the sunset together on their favorite rooftop. The dazzling display of the reds and oranges of the sky with the Eiffel Tower glittering before them was the perfect backdrop to their giggling, lips stretched into wide smiles that made kissing almost impossible.
Once they were home, Adrien pulled Marinette into his arms, twirling her around their kitchen and waltzing into the now finished craft room. She laughed as he almost tripped at the door, and gripped his arms shyly as he dipped her in the center of the room.
He pressed a soft kiss to her content smile, and twirled her again so he could wrap his arms around her waist and she could lean back into his chest.
“Are you real?” he whispered into her hair.
She chuckled as she moved her head back to press her cheek against his.
“I know, it feels like everything is a dream, doesn’t it?”
“It’s everything we’ve ever wanted,” he replied softly.
“Almost,” she smirked.
“I know. It’ll be everything we’ve wanted once I finally let you see the ring I’ve had for years .”
She sputtered out a startled (delighted) laugh. “I was actually going to say it’s perfect once you’ve kissed me again.”
So he did.
And this moment was everything . One they wanted to last forever.
The moment creation and destruction made room for dreams.