Chapter Text
The first thing that Adrien noticed that day was that Marinette wasn’t at school. Frowning, he turned to Marinette’s best friend and asked, “Alya, have you heard from Marinette? She’s not sick, is she?”
Alya’s brow raised with interest as she turned toward Adrien, “Why so interested?”
Adrien’s chest warmed. He hadn’t told anyone, not even Nino, about the soft spot in his heart for Marinette. He hadn’t even admitted it to himself. Ok, maybe he’d admitted it to himself, just not out loud. Adrien knew (thanks to being Chat Noir) that Marinette was in love with some clueless and very lucky guy, and he was certain that Alya knew that boy’s identity. She wouldn’t be thrilled if Adrien started showing interest in Marinette, and Adrien had no desire to get on Alya’s bad side, or to make Marinette uncomfortable at all. So, he was determined to be the best friend he could be. He idly rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged and responded to Alya’s question, “She’s not usually absent from school. A few minutes late, perhaps, but not absent. If she’s sick, I’d like to send her a note or something.”
Alya smiled genuinely, but Adrien detected strain in her voice, “That’s cool. She’s actually getting her wisdom teeth removed today. So, not sick. Loopy, maybe, but not sick.”
The knot of concern in Adrien’s gut softened. “Oh, good. Well, in that case, maybe she’d like a visitor later?”
Alya rubbed her earlobe as her eyebrows raised again, “I’m sure she’d appreciate that.”
As Alya released her earlobe, though, Adrien noticed something. “Hey, have you always had pierced ears?”
Alya blushed wildly, her eyes darting from side to side as she touched her earrings again, “Oh, uh, these?”
“Yeah,” Adrien smiled, “they look just like Marinette’s earrings. I didn’t think you usually wore jewelry. Maybe the occasional necklace, but…yeah.”
She blushed even darker, which Adrien found odd. Alya didn’t blush very often. Marinette did. (And Adrien found it very cute.) But Alya didn’t. “Oh, yeah, Marinette loaned these to me for a… thing. You know how girls do. Sharing jewelry. Sharing clothes. Even sharing bathroom breaks. Heh.”
Adrien chuckled and nodded, “That’s true. Well, any idea when Marinette will be home from the surgery?”
Alya seemed to be grateful for the turn of the conversation, and released her earrings as she replied, “Probably right after school.”
“Perfect,” Adrien grinned, “I have a little break then; I can swing by, if Mme. Cheng says it’s ok.”
“I think Marinette would like that,” Alya said gently, and Adrien’s chest bloomed with warmth. It wasn’t quite the best-friend stamp of approval he was really hoping for, but it was a good start.
It was with an excited bounce in his step, and a fresh bouquet of daisies in his hand, that Adrien marched up the stairs to the residence above the bakery and rapped on the door. Mme. Cheng opened it quickly, and smiled at Adrien. Adrien really liked Marinette’s parents. They were so warm and inviting. “Adrien!” Mme. Cheng said, “Thanks for coming! I was touched to get your text earlier. Marinette’s still a bit… quirky—” she winked conspiratorially, “—from the anesthesia, but I know she’ll be thrilled to see you. Come on in.”
“Thank you, Mme. Cheng,” Adrien bowed slightly as he stepped inside.
“Marinette, sweetie, your friend Adrien came to visit you!”
“Adrien? Aaadrien?” The sound of her slurred speech made Adrien’s cheeks split with an enormous smile. He stepped further into the residence and saw his cute classmate, cocooned in a blanket, her stocking feet poking out over the edge of the couch adorably. “You came to see me? With flowers?”
“That’s right,” he said softly, padding toward her with the daisies held out. “Alya told me you were having surgery. How are you feeling now?”
“So pretty,” she said, her chipmunk cheeks looking beyond adorable in their swollen state. Adrien grinned at her odd turn of phrase. “I love daislies. They’re so pretty. You brought me flowers, you pretty person. Pretty flowers from a pretty person.”
“I’ll go get a vase for your flowers,” Adrien heard Mme. Cheng giggle behind him.
Adrien tentatively sat beside Marinette and said, “Your mother said you were still coming out of the anesthesia. Are you uncomfortable?”
“I’m in a blanket fort,” she replied, tightening the thick comforter around her so her face got scrunched. “I’m so cozy. Do you ever do blanket forts? It’s the coziest thing ever.”
“I can’t say that I have,” Adrien mourned.
“That’s sad. I love blanket forts. Your dad should let you do blanket forts. They’re so cozy. Your dad is so mean. Stupid meanie head.” Adrien blushed lightly, but couldn’t stop smiling at Marinette’s take-down of his Father. Then, Marinette sighed slowly. “We should do blanket forts all the time. You and me. Me and you. We could do blanket forts and watch movies. And have popcorn. And lollipops.”
If she weren’t so loopy, Adrien might have thought she was suggesting they go on a date. He smiled tenderly at her. “That would be really fun,” he acknowledged, “but I think you need to rest.”
“And we could make macarons. You love macarons, don’t you. Passionfruit. So much passionfruit. Maybe you should have a hamster named passionfruit.”
Adrien raised an eyebrow at this odd detail, “You’re right, passionfruit macarons are my favorite. How did you—”
She sighed again, “Oh Aaadrien, you’re just the nicest person ever. So lovely. Sooo lovely. You’re pretty much the loveliest person I’ve ever met. And so pretty! Pretty lovely and lovely pretty!”
Adrien chuckled under his breath, though his heart squeezed a bit. Even though he knew she was doped up on medication, she was so cute. He guiltily wished she were lucid enough to be telling the truth. “Thanks, Marinette, I think you’re really nice too, and very lovey as well.”
“Adrien,” she said, her voice raising in pitch slightly as she became more earnest in what she was saying, “I looove you… so pretty! So pretty.”
“Oh,” he said, stomach swooping, “um… the flowers?” That was the only thing she could be talking about, right?
She frowned a bit, a little v of consternation popping out between her eyebrows, “No, you are! So pretty! And so nice! But,” she tacked on, her eyes focusing on something only she could imagine, “not as pretty as Chat Noir. Chat Noir’s the prettiest,” she hummed with delight and Adrien found himself blushing, “with his pretty leather butt…hmmm.”
Adrien gulped back a guffaw, “Leather butt, eh?”
“And fluffy hair. Hey! You have fluffy hair! I love fluffy hair,” she rambled.
“I like your hair too, Marinette.”
Suddenly, Marinette’s eyes welled up with tears, “You like my hair?”
He nodded fervently, “Very much. It’s very cute.” And though Adrien knew she probably wouldn’t remember a word of this conversation, he meant it. I do like your hair, Marinette. And I like you.
“Adrien likes my hair!” she wailed, and for a moment, Adrien was concerned that she was upset, until she added, “I like you too! I lo-lo-love you! You’re just the nicest thing ever! You’re just so nice! Like a nice bowl of cherries!”
As Marinette became increasingly hysterical, Adrien looked around as Mme. Cheng returned with the vase of water. He didn’t mean to upset Marinette, if that’s what she was? It was confusing.
“Ok,” Marinette’s mother stepped forward, setting the vase on the coffee table, “I think that it’s time for some rest, honey. Adrien, dear, thank you for coming over.”
“Of course,” he said, understanding that it probably was time for Marinette to rest, but mourning the end of their visit nonetheless. Even when she wasn’t really herself, and even when she was saying things she certainly didn’t mean, Marinette was one of Adrien’s favorite people to be around. She made the world a brighter place.
Mme. Cheng helped Marinette to her feet, and Adrien handed her the daisies. She stuck them to her swollen face and grinned sloppily, “I just love you so much, Adrien. You’re the nicest and so pretty!” she repeated. Adrien’s face flushed as she used the L-word so openly and easily. “L-love you, so much. Like, this much much,” she spread her arms, dropping one corner of the blanket, “so much! Lots of much!” she continued as Mme. Cheng helped Marinette to the stairs that would lead to her bedroom.
“Thanks again for coming, Adrien,” Mme. Cheng smiled kindly, before quickening her pace up the stairs. Adrien saw himself out, even though he would gladly stay with Marinette for as long as they’d let him.
He felt warm and soft all over as he headed to the street outside the bakery, filled to the brim with joy. While he knew the gushing praise she’d poured on him was exclusively thanks to the surgery medication, it still felt amazing. Marinette was such a cute person. Hearing her say that she loved him had turned him into a puddle of happy feelings. Of course, he sincerely hoped that she would heal quickly and be back at school soon—and not just because he wanted to take her up on her offer to make blanket forts. He chuckled to himself, remembering her loopy smile and the way she still managed to make him ridiculously content, even when she wasn’t super mentally present.
Adrien pulled out his phone to text his driver that he was ready for a pick-up, when he suddenly heard something crashing in the distance. Years as Chat Noir had made him particularly attuned to crashing sounds, so he whipped around to see what was going on. Way down the street, he could see a plume of dust forming. The odd aroma of soapy… what was that… corndogs? reached his nostrils. He heard a voice that sounded magically amplified, calling, “And I will make you pay for what you’ve done!” That was enough evidence for him. Akuma attack.
Sighing, Adrien ducked behind the bakery and quickly called on his transformation. His first concern was Marinette. If he was close enough to hear (and smell) the akuma, it was possible for the attack to come here, where Marinette’s home could easily be caught in the crossfire. He jumped to the rooftop and began surveying the skyline for the best route of attack. As he made his decision and had just taken a few steps toward the edge of the roof he was on, he heard something that brought him up short.
“Tikki, spots on!” He whipped around to see his sweet, adorable, and painfully drugged-up classmate, in her pajamas, on her balcony, trying to hoist herself over her railing. “Hang on, Chat Noir, I’m cooommmmiiiing!”
“Marinette!” Chat cried, racing toward her, landing a fraction of a second later, and pulling her away from the railing. “This isn’t safe, there’s an akuma attack, and you need to stay inside!”
“Chat? Chat Noir! There’s a nakuma! I’m going to help you!”
“Oh, no you don’t,” he smiled, trying to be gentle despite the urgency of the situation.
She pouted (super cute but he needed to stay focused), “Ladybug and Chat Noir always save the day! Come on, it’s time to go!”
“Yes, we do,” he said, an edge to his voice, “but you need to be resting!”
She looked down at herself and then yelped and frantically began trying to cover her pajamas with her hands, “Oh, no, Tikki’s broken! Spots on! Spots on!” When Marinette’s pajamas remained pajamas, she got even more panicked. “No! Tikki, why won’t you listen? Tikkiii! Chat, I think I broke Tikki! Don’t look, you’ll see my idembely!”
Chat’s brain was whirling. He knew that Marinette had held a Miraculous back when they’d fought Kwamibuster, and she’d interacted with several kwami on that day—including Tikki and Plagg. So, that’s probably how she knew Tikki’s name. However, and Chat’s stomach lurched at the realization, it seemed like Marinette was currently convinced that she was Ladybug… and immediately all Chat could think was Yeah but what if she is? And suddenly all he wanted was for that to be true…
“Tikki!” Marinette cried, her wailing voice thick with emotion and medication, “Come back! I’ll make you passionfruit macarons like Adrien loves! And we can be a happy family, just you, me, Adrien, and our hamster named—”
“Marinette,” Chat insisted, trying to keep his spiraling thoughts and emotions in check so he could focus on the matter at hand. Marinette needed his help. Ladybug needed his help. Ladybug, who was likely already fighting the akuma. Not this—albeit incredible—loopy girl in his arms. “It’s time to go lie down. Ladybug and I will take care of the akuma and then I will come back and check on you, ok?”
She looked up at him with her wide sapphire gaze that threatened to swallow him whole, and suddenly seemed to realize that he was there, “Chat? My Kitten? Oh, you’re so beautiful. You can be in our family too, ok? You always wanted a family. We’ll be the best family there ever was.”
He giggled, “You want a family of me and Adrien and a hamster named—”
“Uh-huh,” she nodded, and wow, that sounded amazing— “You and me and Adrien… and blanket forts… and passionfruit… And Tikki, but she’s broken!” She dissolved into sobs again, flinging herself into Chat’s arms. He patted her back carefully, as warmth blossomed in his chest. He didn’t know how he (as Chat) possibly deserved this much trust from Marinette.
Chat gulped down his feelings once more, and walked Marinette back to her skylight. “I’m sure Tikki’s fine,” he said tenderly. “She’s probably out with Ladybug saving the day right now. Here,” he said as they climbed through the skylight to Marinette’s room (Chat being careful to land on the floor instead of touching her bed), and Chat picked up her phone from her nightstand, “you can watch the akuma attack on the news.” He fiddled with the phone for a moment until he got the news app open, and sure enough, Nadja Chamack was giving a blow-by-blow commentary. The camera angle was poor, but clearly visible was a blurred red-and-black figure, swinging from building to building. Chat’s heart sunk a bit as he realized that Ladybug was, indeed, already fighting the akuma, and not hopped up on medication from wisdom teeth removal… He shook his head rapidly and handed Marinette the phone. “Stay here, get some rest, and you can watch the akuma fight so you will know that Ladybug and Chat Noir always save the day.”
“But… without me…”
“It’s going to be ok, Marinette,” Chat reiterated, brushing a sticky strand of hair out of her eyes. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”
She nodded forlornly, wiped her nose, and then, without warning, crashed her face into her pillow and made a soft snoring sound. For the second time in the last few minutes, Chat found himself leaving Marinette’s house, feeling warm and fuzzy and—dare he say it—just a little bit in love with that sweet girl whose wildest medication-induced fantasy was simply to be a hero and help other people in need. Seriously, could Marinette be any more adorable?
Chat scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, and launched himself off her balcony and toward the battle front. He knew he needed to be focused on the attack, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Marinette.
I love you so much, she’d said.
Tikki, spots on, she’d said.
Was it possible…?
No. It couldn’t be. It was just the surgery. That was it. She wasn’t in her right mind. She couldn’t really mean that she liked him as more than just a friend. Hadn’t she said in the past that she was in love with Buttercup? Hadn’t she made it very clear that she didn’t like him in a romantic sense?
Of course, Adrien reasoned within, he’d never had a clear conversation with Marinette or asked her point-blank if she could reciprocate the increasingly-undeniable feelings he was developing for that beautiful girl. He’d always just assumed that she was interested in someone else.
Someone who went to their school. Someone who probably wasn’t Luka, considering she’d broken up with Luka last year, before she’d told Chat about Buttercup. And the other boys at the school were equally unlikely. Adrien’s brain was right back to the haunting questions that had been pestering him for weeks, with the one question that made him swell with hope and tremble with fear simultaneously at the front of the pack: Could that someone be me?
Was it possible that Buttercup was Adrien?
No. That was impossible, surely.
Adrien had had enough disappointments in his life that he wouldn’t let himself believe that Marinette could be in love with him. Not when he knew how bad it would hurt if it turned out not to be true. He took a sharp inhale and determined not to read into the “I love you” comments that Marinette had made. It was too dangerous.
But what about “Tikki, Spots on?” Yes, she’d met Tikki and Plagg briefly, but was that enough time for her to learn the transformation phrase, or the fact that Tikki liked cookies?
No, Adrien growled at himself under his breath. This was a line of thought far more dangerous than hoping Marinette liked him. Besides—he could see Ladybug up ahead, darting around the akuma. The akuma he needed to focus on!
He couldn’t dwell on these dangerous lines of thought any longer. It wasn’t fair to Marinette, it wasn’t fair to Ladybug, and it certainly wasn’t fair to himself. He swallowed hard and barreled into action, ready to be the superhero Paris needed.
“Chat Noir, it’s about time! This akuma’s got a weakness on his… Chat? Chat?” The red-clad superheroine landed beside him on the rooftop where he’d frozen his approach. She raised a very familiar eyebrow. “Chat Noir? Are you ok?”
“S-S-Scarabella?” he choked.
She rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip, “Oh come on, it’s not like we haven’t fought together before.”
“Wh-where’s Ladybug?” he asked.
“That’s her business. All you need to know is that she’s fine, she’s just indisposed so she asked for a little help, and we’ve got an akuma we need to bust. So, like I was saying, I’ve found there’s a weakness on the…”
Scarabella rambled on, but Adrien’s thoughts dove right back into dangerous territory without hesitation.
Scarabella! Not Ladybug! Ladybug’s not here! Where’s Ladybug then? Could she possibly, perhaps, maybe be at home wrapped in her blanket fort watching the akuma attack on her phone, blinking in and out of consciousness?
“So,” Scarabella wrapped up, “do you think you can handle the bubbles while I work out the corndogs?”
“Of course,” Chat said at once, throwing on a brilliant smile to set her at ease, the hope in his chest almost too much to bear. He launched into action, racing toward the akuma, darting between debris and landing several incredible blows. He got a hold of the bubble wand that Scarabella had mentioned, and while the attack was slow and arduous, he felt like they were making steady progress.
Several minutes had gone by, when Scarabella finally rounded up the last corn dog, and victory seemed imminent. Without warning, Scarabella squeaked, then dropped the corndogs she was juggling and groaned loudly, “For the love of… you’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Huh?” Chat queried, following Scarabella’s line of vision, to see…
He nearly bust a gut laughing. Marinette was feebly tottering into the court they’d been battling the akuma in, dragging a toy yo-yo, and wearing a red sock with ripped eyeholes as a mask. “I’m here! I made it!” she cried, then paused to clutch a stitch in her side. “I couldn’t get my yo-yo to work, but it’s all good! We can save the day!”
Chat Noir couldn’t stop laughing, not even for a second.
“It’s not safe for civilians! It’s time to go home!” Scarabella insisted, clearly aware that there were cameras around. The akuma took advantage of this distraction, and got the bubble wand back from Chat.
Shoot, gotta focus! He raced forward toward the akuma, swiping at its legs with his claws as Marinette started flinging her yo-yo at the akuma. “You’ll never win, not against Badylug and Chad Nowhere!”
“Chad Nowhere?” Chat teased, “Who you calling Chad Nowhere?”
“Ch-Chad? No, that’s not right,” Marinette frowned, as her yo-yo failed to retract and she had to sit down on the ground to re-wind it. “Ch-chalk? No, Champ? Champ! Champ Noear!” That made Chat laugh even harder, and made Marinette pout even more, “Oh no, I can’t remember your name. Please don’t be mad ok?”
“I could never be mad at you,” he smiled, and deflected a few hits the akuma had sent toward them.
Scarabella groaned loudly again, and apparently decided that ignoring Marinette was her safest bet. She conjured her lucky charm and zipped to a higher vantage point, corndogs in tow.
“No, don’t do that!” Marinette cried, getting up and stumbling toward the akuma, “You only do lucky charm when it’s time! It’s not time!” Marinette made it to the side of the building and tried scaling the bricks. She jumped a few times, her feet barely leaving the pavement, and her little “Oof!” of effort was unbelievably sweet. Chat smiled gently at his friend, but as Marinette grew frustrated with not having super powers and started scrambling for a fingerhold on the bricks, he began to grow concerned that she’d get hurt. He hurtled over the akuma and landed next to Marinette.
“Marinette,” he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder, “Scarabella’s got this akuma well in hand. It’s ok, you can rest.”
“But Chat,” she wailed, (Chat sadly noted that she was able to pronounce his name correctly this time), “I have to get up there! Because… Ladybug and Chat Noir always save the day!”
“I know,” he consoled, quickly glancing at Scarabella and the akuma, and feeling fiercely protective of his sweet, loopy friend, “and you’re an amazing hero. This time, though, I need you to stay here and be safe, ok?”
She gave him the most heartbreaking kitten eyes he’d ever seen, her swollen lower lip trembling a bit, and she whispered to him, “But Chat, I’m Ladybug. I have to save the day.”
And just like that, he knew. It wasn’t the medication any more, it was his incredible partner and her indomitable spirit, her complete and total devotion to him and to Paris, that nothing—not even wisdom teeth removal surgery—could overcome. And while Chat could have completely lost it right there out of sheer excitement at discovering that his best friend and crush and his sweetest, most incredible classmate was also his fierce and amazing partner, he didn’t, because she needed him. She needed him to be her partner, to stand up for her even when she couldn’t stand up for herself.
He took a deep breath, gently touched her puffy cheek, and nodded, “Ok, ok, Ladybug.” He turned around, and as if the plan was popping out at him in flashes of color on a greyscale background, he knew exactly what to do. “See that corndog that just fell over there? Scarabella’s going to need it in just a few seconds. I’m going to—”
“Cataclysm that pole?” she pointed quickly. A lump formed in Chat’s throat as Marinette, her brain still foggy and her face still puffy, was able to instantly understand the whole plan. She truly was Ladybug, and not because of the earrings she (usually) wore, but because of her heart.
“That’s right,” he swallowed, “sounds like you know what to do.”
She tried to smile around her puffy cheeks, and Chat Noir melted. But there was no time for swooning. It was time for action. He leapt forward, calling to Scarabella just before bringing down the light pole. Marinette’s timing was impeccable and her help indispensable, and the plan came together perfectly. A few moments later, Scarabella was purifying the butterfly while Chat raced to give Marinette a huge hug.
“We did it! You did it!” he congratulated.
She squealed happily in his arms, “You’re so fluffy, Chat!” Reaching up, she ruffled his hair. “With your fluffy hair and your squishy cheeks. Squishy squish! How did you get such squishy squish cheeks?”
Chat grinned at Marinette’s wildly swollen face and replied, “No, My Lady, it’s you who has squishy squish cheeks. And I love them so much.”
Scarabella landed beside them, giving Chat a knowing look. “Did she… say anything… that maybe she…um…?”
Chat understood what Scarabella was trying to ask without asking. Chat nodded quietly, “But I would have figured it out without her help. She’s just… her.” He gave Scarabella a meaningful look, and the way she nervously nibbled her lip told Chat that Scarabella knew he’d just discovered Ladybug’s identity. “Look, it’s going to be ok. You did a great job today. None of this is your fault,” he consoled. Scarabella nodded at that, and gave a hesitant smile to Chat.
“I… I’ll take Marinette home now, ok?”
“That’s a good idea. But I did promise her I’d stop by later, when she’s feeling better. Right, Marinette?”
Marinette wasn’t paying attention to their conversation. She was currently untangling her yo-yo from a nearby tree branch. “Stupid yo-yo… it normally works so much better! When she decides to come back, Tikki and I are having words! Wait… Tikki… do you think she left because she’s mad at me? No! Tikki! I didn’t mean it! Whatever I said, I didn’t mean it! We can make blanket forts and have parties and I’ll invite Chat and Plaggie--”
“Ok, Marinette, come with me,” Scarabella insisted. “See you around, Chat.”
“Yeah, bye,” he smiled, but his super hearing tuned him into Marinette’s mutterings, even as Scarabella escorted her away.
“Did you hear that Chat’s coming to see me? Did you hear that?”
“Yes, I did. That will be nice. Oops, watch your head there, Marin—”
“Chat’s coming to visit me. Because he’s so nice. Almost as nice as Adrien. But you know what? I think Chat’s cuter. He’s got that fluffy hair. Have you ever seen Chat’s fluffy hair? I just want to take it and fluff it and squish his squishy squish cheeks…”
Adrien didn’t stop grinning the rest of that day.