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It started within the boys.
The day was going on as usual. Marinette was late to class, the teachers were droning on and on about their lessons, lunch came and went like the wind, and before she knew it, the school bell had rang, dismissing everyone. Mme Bustier smiled softly before bidding goodbye to all her students.
Marinette packed her stuff up, preparing to leave when she noticed that all of her classmates were still here, including Adrien. She turned over to Alya, who had moved to the front with her phone out, a devious grin on her face.
"What's going on?" She asked, popping up beside the auburn-haired girl.
"JESUS- girl! Make some noise when you walk up," Alya chastises, her eyebrows furrowing at the noirette. "When did you get here?"
Marinette shrugged. "Just walked around the crowd. What are you guys up to?"
"We're finishing what we couldn't finish from lunch!" Kim grinned. "Obviously, I'll stand on top of all of you. Look at my guns!" He said, making a show of pulling up his sleeves and boasting off his biceps. Marinette raised an eyebrow, she didn't really pay much attention to school today so she didn't know the details. She shot another look at her best friend.
Said best friend sighed, "The boys were having a tournament to see who has the strongest arm strength. To be for real? Kim just wants to arm wrestle the boys to prove that he's the strongest in the class." She gestures over to when Kim and Ivan were duking it out over the table.
Marinette lets out a little 'ah' of understanding at that. Things were starting to make sense. She turned her attention back to the boys.
Ivan was seen having the upper hand at first, before Kim smirked and slowly pushed back. Everyone gaped at the sight. They knew Kim was naturally athletic but to think he was able to push back Ivan? That was not what they expected(but to be fair, they also didn't know he had been Roi Singe once and that made him work out even more). With one final push, they watched as Kim slammed the larger hand down into the wooden table.
He detached himself and threw his arms in the air. "Boo-yah! I knew it!" Kim cheered for himself as Myléne placed a soft hand on her boyfriend's arm, congratulating him for doing his best against Kim. In return, Ivan placed a small kiss on her head. "I'm the strongest!"
"Actually Kim," Nino spoke up with a smirk apparent on his face. "My dude still hasn't gone yet." He said, pushing Adrien to the center of the room.
"Nino!" Adrien turned around, hissing at the boy. "I was having fun spectating!" Nino just grins and shrugs.
"Come on! Kim said that he could defeat all the boys in the class. You still haven't gone against him!"
Kim nodded before taking his seat. "Come here, Agreste! Let me take you down and show everyone who's the best." Collectively, the entire class rolled their eyes at his words. Adrien only smiles awkwardly.
"I really shouldn't-"
"Yeah!" Lila pipes up. "I mean... he's a model so it wouldn't be right for him to fight against someone like Kim." She says shyly when everyone's attention went on her. Marinette watched as Adrien's green eyes narrowed in discontent.
"Actually, I'd like to try my strength against you, Kim." He flashed a model smile, shooting Lila a look. The brunette, obviously displeased at the situation, just lets out a huff and steps down. Marinette hummed lightly. Good job, and luck, Adrien. Her eyes shone momentarily, watching with anticipation as the two boys sat in seats across each other.
Adrien settled in his seat, propped his elbow up, and wriggled his fingers. He raised a mocking eyebrow with a similar mocking smirk. Kim replied in kind. His sleeves rolled to the top of his shoulders as he placed his elbow upright. At the count of three, the both of them began their battle.
At first, it seemed like Kim had the upper hand as most have expected but Marinette noticed the small smirk on Adrien's face. Right when Kim was about to push Adrien's hand down, Adrien pushed back up as Kim spluttered unflatteringly. Kim gritted his teeth again as he focused his power into his arm, trying to take Adrien down. It was no good. Sporting the most 'Chat-like' grin on his face, Adrien claimed his victory when he slammed the previous victor's hand against the wooden desk.
"Oops, looks like I'm the strongest." Adrien said, a shit-eating smile on his face.
The class stood in mere silence, wondering how a model like Adrien had won against Kim.
"H-How?!" Kim stuttered out, breaking the silence.
"Dude!" Nino grinned. "That was awesome! I knew you could do it!"
"Looks like Adrien's the strongest in the class, eh, Kim?" Alya teased, her phone recording the entire interaction. Marinette's thoughts paused at that.
"But what about the girls? I know Alix could stand a chance against Kim." Marinette argued, eyes glowering. "Heck, I bet I can stand a chance against all of you." She said, without much thought. She was Ladybug, after all. She had beaten Chat Noir plenty of times in the past when the two had arm wrestled. If she, a superhero, won against another superhero but couldn't win against some normal teens, can she really be called a superhero?
Alix perked up at the mention of her name. "Hell yeah!" She cheered. "You guys were fighting for the strongest within the boys, not the class. I could totally win against Kim."
"No way!" Kim crosses his arms. "You're girls."
"Excuse me?!" The many girls in the room exclaimed.
"Kim, you idiot!" Max hissed out.
"What? What'd I say?" The former tilting his head to the side.
Chloé scoffed. "You seem to forget that I was a hero, Lê Chiến." She flips her hair with a sass only she possesses. "Queen Bee, to be exact." The rest of the class groans.
"Yes, Chloé, we know," Alya said, rolling her eyes at the blonde. "But did you mean that, girl?" The brunette turned to Marinette, a smirk apparent on her face. "Did you mean what you said?"
Marinette took a step back. "Uh- haha! What'd I say again?" She smiles awkwardly, staring into Alya's bright eyes. "I don't quite remember!" She sweats frantically. Idiot! Clumsy idiot! Why do you speak without thinking? She mentally groaned.
"You said that you could beat all the boys." Alya pointed out, her eyebrows waggling at her.
"Nuh-uh! Never said that! Got no idea what you meant!" Marinette quickly refuted. She knew what her best friend was going to do and she was not going to fall for it.
"Oh really?" Alix grinned mischievously. Rose smiled in the back, encouraging her to do something she did not want to! Juleka flashes her a thumbs-up and Myléne just nods fervently.
"Mhm!" She hums, taking another step back. Oh god, how far is the door? Is it still possible to escape right now? Will she be able to outrun both Alya and Alix? "No clue." She said again, trying to make her point clear. At this point, the entire class was just watching her tiptoe away from the scene.
"Oh don't you dare run!" Alya jumped, pouncing on the girl and blocking her way.
"Alya!" Marinette yelled, scandalized at her best friend's actions.
"You're going to prove to everyone what you can do!" The auburn girl beamed. "I've seen your muscles before. I've seen the kind of work you do around the bakery. Hell, I've seen you carry a few people away from akuma attacks before."
"That doesn't mean anything!" She protested, trying to wiggle out of her grasp.
"Uh- Alya," her savior spoke up. "You know you don't have to force Marinette to do what she doesn't want to do, right?" Adrien asked, flashing a worried look over to her. Marinette responded with quick successions of nods and turned to Alya, eyes pleading wide and large.
Alya scoffed. She was completely immune to whatever eyes Marinette was playing on her.
"Yeah!" Lila agreed. "I mean, it's not fair for Marinette to go against someone like Adrien, who beat Kim and indirectly beat all the other boys in the class. It'll be unfair for her and it could embarrass her when she loses after all she said!" Marinette stopped and glared at the brunette discreetly. So what if she was technically helping her, Marinette didn't want the liar's help.
The other classmates were starting to understand. Only Alix scoffed at her wording.
Marinette wanted to stop. She wanted out.
But at the same time, she was not going to prove Lila right about anything.
Marinette stopped struggling under Alya's hold, the latter turning her attention back with worry. Her hands immediately left the noirette's shoulders when she watched her eyes darkened.
"Adrien, get over here." She growls out.
Silence answers her. The class's eyes widened at the sight. Did she just say a full sentence without stuttering to Adrien?
"Um, Marinette?" Adrien started, a little worried. "You don't have to-" A loud slam was heard when Marinette propped her arm on the table, already in position. She cocked an eyebrow at him.
"What? Afraid to lose, pretty boy?" Her voice was a lot deeper than she expected. Adrien flushes at that. Her own cheeks flushed immediately afterwards but she still held her glare.
"No, it's just that the only one person has beaten me before and she was-"
"'She'?" Alix interrupted. "It was a woman that beat you before?" She asked for clarification. Adrien nodded, not sure what the problem was. Alix brightened up. "Glad to know that it was a girl." She said pointedly, staring at Kim. The latter just shrugs.
"What Kim meant to say is," Max started, sighing as he pushed up his glasses. "Girls are indeed powerful and can certainly beat guys. But according to my calculations, there's only a 15.5% chance that Marinette could defeat Adrien, given their vastly different lifestyles and schedules."
None of them was expecting the growl that ripped through the noirette's throat.
"Shut it." Her eyes darkened. "I'm getting impatient, Agreste. Get over here so I can prove his statistics wrong." Adrien gulped, the entire class gulped with him, and swiftly took a seat again.
"Are you sure-"
"Get moving." Marinette stared at him coldly. Adrien shot a helpless plea to Nino and Alya. The bespectacled duo just shook their heads and shrugged. It was also their first time encountering this kind of Marinette.
Resigned, Adrien raised and propped up his arm on the table. Taking a hold of her hand, he watches with worry when his practically engulfs hers.
"One of you, come meditate." Marinette ordered, her eyes laying upon their intertwined hands. Adrien hoped his hands weren't sweaty.
Max walked up, albeit a bit scared of what was going to happen. "On the count of three. One, two, three-" He stepped back immediately when he heard a loud crack.
Adrien curses under his breath when he feels the power pushing against him. Marinette had caught him off guard but luckily, his hand didn't hit the table. His thumb might be broken though.
Pushing back, Adrien bit down on his bottom lip. How was his classmate so strong?
The two of them fought for dominance. When one seemed to get the upper hand, the other would end up stopping them. They've been at a stalemate for a while but with every second that passes, everybody only feels themselves getting more engrossed at the sight in front of them.
"If working in the bakery built these muscles, clearly I'm doing something wrong with my extracurricular activities," he managed to choke out when he felt Marinette's hand pushing him back down. He struggled to reclaim what he lost.
"No way, dude." Nino gaped. "I think it's just Marinette."
Marinette bites back a response. It wasn't just Marinette. It was also Ladybug.
How is he keeping up? Marinette thought as she tried pushing him. Adrien pushed back.
It didn't make sense for Adrien to be able to stand against her for this long. He was just a normal school boy, a model, and a one-time hero. It didn't make sense. Unless.
Marinette sharply inhales a breath. She looked up from their hands, a new kind of understanding shining in her eyes. When Adrien looked up and caught her eyes, she whispered quietly, just for him to hear, "Kitty?" It made sense. She has never seen the two of them in one setting before.
She watched as fear entered Adrien's eyes, a sense of guilt filling her before she saw the way Adrien's face morph into one of comprehension. Marinette smirked. How cute, but she wasn't going to lose. She focused her attention back to their hands.
Knowing that he could take it, Marinette channeled in her inner Ladybug strength and pushed. She heard Adrien squeak and struggle against her but to his dismay, she ended him with a soft slam against the table.
Silence spread across the classroom. No one knew what to say.
"What a shame, Kitty," Marinette flicked a finger under Adrien's chin, a coy smile plastered on her face. "Looks like I won again."
The sound that erupted from Adrien's mouth was less of a sentence and more of a muffled shriek. She grinned at his reaction, at everyone's confused expression.
"M'lady?" He whispers, practically breathless. The way he spoke her nickname had Marinette flushing but her grin turned mischievous. "It's you." He said, albeit louder than before and in turn, confusing their classmates even more. A smile broke through every other emotion he felt. He couldn't help it. "It's you!" Adrien said giddily, standing up and making his way over to pick Marinette up into a twirl.
Marinette laughed, stabilizing herself with her hands pressed against Adrien's shoulders. What a way to celebrate them finding each other in the most unexpected way ever.
She leaned her forehead against his, looking deep into his eyes. "And it's you, my other boy." Once more channeling her inner Ladybug persona, she stole a kiss, ignoring the excited screams coming from her classmates in the back. When Adrien kisses back, she finds herself melting.
They broke apart, still staring into each other's eyes.
Marinette smiles cheekily, patting Adrien's cheek, before muttering softly, "Don't you know? Ladybug doesn't skip arm day."
And when Adrien barks out another laughter, then what was going to stop her from joining in?