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Adrien slid into his seat early one Monday, surprised to see Marinette sitting with Alya chatting. Normally Marinette would be late or at least later than most people usually so when she came early on those rare occasions, it was always a shock.
He waved at the girls before reaching into his bag to take his tablet out, wanting to go over his schedule for the day before Nino arrived.
"Are you going to get the same one?"
"I don't think so. I've been using the same one for ages. It might be time for a change."
Adrien, ever the curious cat, turned to the two with a raised eyebrow.
"What are you guys talking about?"
Alya looked at him and smirked, "Eavesdropping, are we Agreste?"
"What can I say? Curiosity killed the cat."
Marinette couldn't suppress the groan that rumbled out of he'd mouth and she banged her head on the table. Adrien heard her mumble "no please no."
Alya snickered at her best friend before replying, "Marinette's perfume is running out so she thinks it might be time for a change soon."
Satisfied, Adrien turned to face the front, his face in deep thought.
A few days later
Marinette was unsurprisingly late. Again.
It wasn't her fault. Really! It wasn't.
Her and Chat had to deal with an akuma attack at 3am and they didn't de-evilise the victim until 5am.
Seriously. Did Hawkmoth have insomnia? These night akuma's were becoming more frequent.
Anyways, she fell asleep and missed her alarm, as usual. And she was 20 minutes late.
Miss Bustier didn't even bat an eye when she came in late, just told Alya to show her the notes.
The first two classes ended quickly and they had a break so most people made their way out to enjoy the small time out of classes.
Marinette yawned, exhausted from her lack of sleep and trying to catch up on the work she missed. Instead of heading out, she decided she would catch up on a bit of sleep. She lay her arm down and rested her head on it, watching as Alya grabbed Nino's hand and dragged him out of the classroom.
"Adrien. Aren't you going to leave?" She turned her head to the handsome face on front of her, suddenly aware that they were the only two left.
He smiled at her and grabbed something from his bag. He made his way to Alya's seat and sat next to the girl. Marinette's head shot up in confusion when he placed a box, wrapped in light pink polka-dotted paper and a blue ribbon that matched her eyes.
"I-uh, I wanted to give you a gift-uh. Not because it's a special occasion or anything, but-uh. I just realised I've never given you one outside of your birthday or Christmas or- uh yeah. And- well. When Alya told me you were running out the other day, I thought it would be the perfect gift."
Marinette felt like a flower in the midst of its bloom as she watched the boy rub the back of his neck, a sign that indicated he was nervous.
"Adrien, you didn't have to."
"But I wanted to Marinette. You've always made me gifts, sometimes for no reason. Just for the sake of giving it to me. And I know I'm not as talented as you at making things but I've always wanted to give you something. You- you're one of my best friends. You've helped me in more ways than possible. You're an amazing person Marinette. So sometimes I just- the only way for me to express my gratitude is to give something to you."
He really believed it. That Marinette was amazing. He sometimes wondered what life would be like if he could always be around her. It would never be boring or sad or lonely. He admired her and liked her more than he would admit out loud.
Ok...
So, maybe he had a teensy tiny crush on the girl. But really? Who wouldn't.
Marinette tried to remove the wrapping paper as delicately as possible, and once done, she gasped. The bottle was beautiful. The bottom was simple, a long brown-tinted glass structure with indented lines that twisted around the bottle. It was the cap that caught her eye, however. It was the shape of a flower, a similar pink to the wrapping paper but the glass made it look diluted. The middle of the flower was made of small antennas, the colour a deeper pink and the small buds, mauve.
"This- it looks like-"
"A Chinese plum blossom?"
"Yeah. How did you know it's my favourite flower? Where did you even find this?" She opened the cap, which came off easily enough, and sprayed a bit of the scent onto her wrist. The smell was just like she remembered the flower being. Sweet, floral, with a twinge of spice. Like a cinnamon bun or gingerbread. Her favourite combination of smells.
"The symbol on your clothes. A lot of people think it's a lotus or something. But my mum used to love the smell of this flower. She said it had a unique scent that made her think of the winter."
"It smells similar to me. Like around Christmas time when I would wake up to gingerbread being made in the early hours of the morning. Maman loves the flower too. She said it was LaoLao's (grandmother on mother's side) favourite. That LaoYe (grandfather on mother's side. Im not chinese so correct me if im wrong. Im just going of what ive read. Also there's probably an accent somewhere in there. Idk.) would always give it to her on their anniversary to remind her of the day they fell in love, under the old Chinese plum blossom tree that was planted in their neighbourhood," she sighed, a content look on her face as she remembered the stories her mother told her about her grandparents, "I loved the stories so much that the flower became one of my favourites as I grew up."
"Wow, Marinette. I didn't realise just how much it meant to you."
He realised he must have made his friend truly happy with this gift, the small but true smile on her face and the glimmer in her eyes as she spoke about her past memories. She looked at him and her smile grew into a grin, her eyes were now a bit glazed, as if she was about to cry
What he didn't expect was when the petite raven-haired girl jumped at him and engulfed him into her arms. She buried her face into his neck and he gladly wrapped his own arms around her small frame. He felt some wetness seep through his shirts, and he brought his hand to pet her hair, as a sign of comfort.
"Thank you Adrien," she whispered, but he could hear her as clear as night, "This is one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever gotten. I'll use it well."
She kissed his cheek, and her lips lingered on his face for longer than a second. For a moment it felt like her lips were on fire and his cheek was burning. (Going by his red face, it probably was.)
She pulled back and wiped her tears, her face flushed red. He wanted to pinch her freckled face and kiss her cheek, the way she had done to him. He wanted to hold her cute face in his hands and stare at her beautiful blue eyes for eternity. Even just for a second, he wanted to close the gap between them and claim her lips with h-
"Sorry. That was-I, I think I'm too tired. I just I hope you don't mind- I uh. I wasn't thinking."
"Marinette. It's okay. I don't mind."
He put his hands on her shoulders, gripping them lightly, causing her to look straight back up at him.
"You... really don't- uh. Mind?"
He shook his head before pulling her closer parting her fringe to show her smooth skin. He pressed a light kiss on her forehead and smiled down at the girl, who just smiled back at him. The scent of her parents bakery along with the new perfume he had gotten her had smelt heavenly.
It was a smell that would be in his mind forever.
"Thank you, Adrien. Really."
Oh Kwami he was so fucked.
That night
There was something weird about ladybug. It wasn't necessarily bad.
Just.
Something was off about her.
He didn't say anything as she went over the areas they were each looking over today- though she knew he knew the schedule by heart- and just saluted her as they parted ways to protect their parts of Paris.
There wasn't much going on. A few muggings, none too serious. He watched from a distance as a girl probably younger than him walked across the pathways and he made sure to watch her until she got into her house. Luckily, the place wasn't too far. He did this for a few other's, as he always did. It didn't matter what age or gender they were. He was there to protect them. And they knew that.
They didn't address it, but the people of Paris knew that Chat Noir would always be there to protect them in the night. As would Ladybug.
Akuma be damned.
There wasn't much else going on so he mindlessly jumped from roof to roof, making sure to keep his eyes on the pavements and roads but his mind was on something else- no. Someone else.
He knew he had a small crush on her, there was no denying it. Marinette was the most amazing influence in his life- after ladybug of course. She was talented and energetic and adorable. She was also very righteous and, even if Lila had tried to turn the class against her, the class could never forget the Marinette that stood up for them when no one else did. He could never think of Marinette as anything other than the amazing person she always was.
He didn't know when that crush had blown out if proportion. It had confused him. He was in love with ladybug so why did he feel so attracted to his best friend? Why had he always felt jealous and slightly insecure when Luka was around her still. Last he heard, Marinette was trying to set him up with Kagami of all people. (Oh gosh imagine Luka and Kagami. It would either be very cute or very chaotic or both. Luka would probably turn Kagami into the wild child she's always wanted to be. (Update. I now ship Feligami with my life)) He knew that if he gave into his feelings for Marinette, it could be cat-astrophic. She would know he was hiding something from her and he would have to reveal to her who he is.
Ladybug would probably kill him if he ever told a civilian his identity.
And Ladybug had told him once before "no matter how much I've begun to like you Kitty. We can't. Not as the protectors of Paris." He had been ecstatic when she had admitted she had grown to have feelings for him. But she was so adamant on keeping their identities a secret. He knew that would be a problem.
So he left it.
But now he was confused at what he should do. Should he try to get Ladybug to agree to finding out each other's identities? Perhaps he should ask her if he could reveal his alter ego to someone he trusts? Maybe he should seek some advice from Ladybug. He knew, she herself was probably in a similar dilemma. She had told him about the boy she had loved. How she was conflicted with her feelings for that guy and for, well, him.
He didn't know what to do. His mind was jumbled and thoughts of Marinette kept on passing over his mind, distracting him from his task.
Ugh. You've really done it now Adrien.
After patrol
"Chat. Hey Chat," a hand waved on front of him and he turned his attention to his partner who had been standing next to him.
"Oh. Hey LB. You're here."
"I've been here for five minutes kitty. Where's your mind at?"
She sat down next to him- on the rooftop of the building they always met at before and after patrol (he had just finished his)- and he turned his head back to look at the Eiffel Tower.
"What's up Kitty? Something on your mind?"
"I- uh."
He couldn't say anything as her scent washed over him, his nose as Chat noir picking up the smells he usually associated ladybug with. But there was something new. Something he couldn't place.
Floral. Sugary. With a hint of spice.
"That scent," he murmured, but she heard him anyway.
"Do you like it?" She brought her wrist closer to his nose, "I got it as a gift today. It smells nice doesn't it."
It was a gift.
She got it as a gift.
Not only that, but she had gotten it today.
The same day he had given Marinette the perfume.
"It's a flower that means a lot to me, actually."
And all of a sudden he recognised what that scent was. He recognised her usual sweetness as the whiff of freshly baked goods he had smelt from Marinette every single day. He recognised the new addition as the very same perfume he had gifted his princess that morning.
"Marinette?"
"..."
"..."
She pointed at him, her eyes squinted into a glare and her nose squinted. He was glad that she hadn't freaked out yet but the way she glared at him, her pink lips in a cute little pout, made him feel slightly intimidated. Only someone as cute as Mari could make me feel scared and at the same time slightly arou-no. Stop thinking Adrien. This is serious.
"There's no point in denying it," She drew her hand back and sighed, wondering out loud, "Putain de merde! How the hell did you even deduce that Chaton?" (I had a very nice time looking up French swear words. If only we learnt these in French class. I would have payed attention and not gotten a 6. If I remember correctly, the phrase means Fucking shit. Anyways.)
"Ahh Buginette. You are as colloquial as always." He couldn't resist teasing her. He always found it funny when Marinette and Ladybug (who are the same person!!! Get yourself together Adrien!) cursed.
A smile cracked on his face as he heard her groan at the new nickname.
"Just tell me before I strangle you Chat."
"Meowch Maribug. If I knew you were so violent maybe I would have not pawllen for you," he tapped his finger on his chin, as if he was thinking, ignoring the second set of groans that elicited from her throat, "Naah. Even then I don't think I would be able to resist those claws. They're ever so beautiful you know?"
In typical Marinette fashion, the girl became a bumbling mess. Her face was as flushed as it was in the morning and it made him chuckle. He realised that she was flustered by him. And it was a similar reaction to how she was with him in their civilian form. Does she like me?
He wanted to treasure this forever. The time when Ladybug wasn't just the brave, selfless hero who protected Paris. But the time when Ladybug was just Marinette. The sweet, beautiful and impressively talented girl who could be shy and polite and emotional and confident all at the same time.
"I recognised your scent," he said after a while. She had calmed down and they were both looking at the Eiffel tower- which was lit up like a lamp that would guide Paris in the night. For a few seconds more, there was silence, "The Chinese plum blossom. There's no way I wouldn't be able to recognise it. I spent hours with the help of Nathalie trying to find the perfect one. I even risked not going to a photoshoot to look for it."
He finally looked at her again and he could see the dots connect in her widened eyes. A sense of recognition passed through her and she smiled.
She brought her left hand to his face and he leaned into her touch, inhaling her scent and bringing his face closer to hers. His hand- the one with the ring on it- tangled it's way through her own and he turned his head a bit to kiss her pinkie.
His green eyes were always on her. All he could see were her dazzling blue ones that shone so brightly in the middle of the night. As if they could light up any path on front of them and make it easier to walk down their path. And her lips. Oh! Her soft pink lips which were always covered in a light strawberry-scented gloss. It was the cherry, or strawberry if you will, on top to her scent. The finishing touch. The final pièce de la puzzle of her fragrance.
"Adrien," her voice was barely a whisper but the genuine euphoria she felt was hard to miss. Her eyes were trained on his as she too could only look at him, "It's you. It's really-"
He couldn't wait any longer. He closed the gap between their lips and his mouth moulded with hers. He heard the tiny gasp of delight she managed to let out as he had effectively cut her off, and he couldn't suppress his own small groan of pleasure as their lips moved in sync before their tongues began to battle against each other. The more they moved, the more they became one. No longer was it a battle, but a declaration of us. It went on for a few moments, just him and her pouring every feeling of love and passion and happiness into each other souls before, finally. They parted for breath.
Her lips were slightly swollen and more red than before. Her cheeks were heated as she recalled what had just happened. He was sure he looked similar.
He wrapped an arm around her, and her head fell on his shoulder. They both sat, content with how the night played out. They would probably have to have a long talk soon.
But now, all they wanted was to be in each other's arms before they had to go to their own beds.
Once again he took in the aroma of the girl next to him, promising himself that there would be no scent he would like better than the one of his lady.
His Marinette.