Chapter Text
Marinette glanced up as a small brown bag was unexpectedly shoved underneath her nose. “Alya?” Confusion marred her expression for only a moment before understanding dawned. There was only one single purpose that Alya would be giving Marinette a present today. Her eyes widened, excitement bubbling up within her as she leaned forward and grasped Alya’s arm as her joy overflowed. “You picked it up already?”
“Consider it a gift for my very best friend,” Alya responded, her hazel eyes sparkling with excitement as Marinette ripped the bag from her hands. “I just really wanted to see your face when you read the article.”
Marinette impatiently peeked into the bag to look at the cover of the magazine she’d been anxiously awaiting since the day it was announced. Inside, the beautiful face of none other than Adrien Agreste stared back at her. She slammed the bag shut, squealing excitedly as she hugged the package tightly against herself. “Alya, you are the bestest best friend ever. Have I told you that?”
“Not today,” Alya laughed, sitting down next to Marinette on the bench. “You’re supposed to take it out and read it, Marinette.”
Paris Teen had gotten an interview with their classmate and professional model, Adrien Agreste; and Marinette had been counting down the days in anticipation of the issue. She wanted to read it right now; in fact it was taking every ounce of her self-control to leave it in the bag and not devour every picture and word over and over for the rest of the day –but…
She glanced around the courtyard of the school; kids were slowly making their way into the school grounds to get ready for first period. The last thing she wanted was to be caught obsessing over her handsome classmate by any of her friends—or worse, Adrien himself. “I…I can’t, Alya. Not yet.”
“You’re so predictable,” her friend sighs as she tucks a stray strand of her unruly red hair behind her ear. Reaching down into her book bag, Alya pulls out a large textbook and shoves it into Marinette’s hands as she takes the bag with the magazine from her.
“No…” Marinette whines, reaching for the bag as Alya leans across her to flip open the textbook on her lap as she holds the bag out of her reach. “He’s so pretty. Give him back!”
“Everyone will just think you are finishing up last night’s Biology homework,” Alya replied confidently, removing the magazine from its bag and placing it on top of the opened textbook.
Marinette’s attention was instantly drawn to the devastatingly beautiful face that graced the cover, anxiety tying knots in her stomach until her friend’s idea registered in her brain. “That might actually work. Alya! You’re a genius!” Marinette leaned over to wrap her arms around her friend, but the textbook quickly started to slide off her lap. She frantically tried to save it before it hit the ground and damaged the magazine before she even had a chance to read it.
Once everything was safe and back where it belonged, Marinette exhaled gently to ease the beating of her heart from the anxiety she’d experienced. The devastatingly beautiful eyes of Adrien drew her complete attention to the cover; she couldn’t help trailing a finger down the side of his face in a smitten daze. “I could stare at this face all day.”
“The back of his head will have to do for now,” Alya teased, reaching over to find where the interview started and rapidly flipping the pages of the magazine to get to it. “Just read it!”
“Careful! Don’t bend the pages,” Marinette shrieked, pulling the textbook and magazine out of her friend’s reach until she noticed the brand new picture of Adrien with his hand posed in his hair and leaning against a giant rock in a park. Instantly she perked up. “Oh! This is a really good picture too!”
“The article, girl. Focus.” Alya leaned up against her shoulder to point out the first paragraph on the opposite side of the page. Naturally Alya would be more interested in the actual writing then of the angelic pictures of Adrien, which was Marinette’s focus. “Look, the reporter asked him if he had someone special in his life.”
“She did?” Immediately Marinette’s attention is drawn to the area of the article that Alya indicated and slowly reads aloud from the magazine. “It’s obvious from his expression that the model has someone in mind, but he gives a denial instead. ‘Ah. No. There isn’t anyone in my life right now.’ His answer comes with a sprinkle of a blush across his cheeks as he looks away.
“’But there is someone you are interested in, isn’t there?’ Adrien’s cheeks turn a few shades brighter as he obviously weighs his words to give his answer. ‘I guess? There’s someone I really respect. No matter how much I try, she’s unattainable. I can’t seem to catch her attention.’ It’s impossible to not notice the way his eyes seem to light up when he talks about his Mystery Girl.”
Marinette groans, dramatically dropping her head to the textbook as she cries out. “Ugh. Alya. He likes someone. My life is over!”
“What kind of answer is that? Who would possibly be unattainable for Adrien?” Alya shoves Marinette’s head off the magazine to continue to read the article in Marinette’s place. “Adrien’s modesty is surprising and I can’t help but seek the same answer that many of our readers are sure to ask. What sort of person would catch his attention? ‘She has to be strong, both in heart and spirit. She stands for what she believes in and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. She’s charismatic and kind, caring for others before herself.’”
“See? No chance! I can’t even speak to him; how can I possibly speak my mind?” Marinette grabs Alya’s shoulders and shakes them as she panics.
“Actually, I think that sounds a lot like you, Marinette.” Alya grins, letting Marinette shake her until she wears herself out and flops against her shoulder in exhaustion.
“Thanks, but—“
"Hey guys! The bell is about to ring." Marinette jumps at the unexpected arrival of Nino's voice, slamming the textbook shut as quickly as she can and holding it tightly against her chest, as Nino and Adrien approach the bench. "Woah. Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you, Marinette. You okay?"
"Fine! We're Fine!" she managed to get out, attempting to shove Alya’s textbook in her own book bag without crushing her kwami, Tikki.
"We were just reading Adrien's interview in Paris Teen," Alya replied, gently extracting her textbook from Marinette's hands before she shoved it in someplace it wouldn't fit. Taking the magazine out of the textbook, she held it up for the two to see, much to Marinette's horror. Heat rushed up the back of her neck and her face felt as bright as a tomato. Alya just had to show him! Things couldn't get worse.
"Look! You're going to be the biggest heartthrob in years, Adrien!" Nino said, slapping Adrien on the back as he looked at the cover.
"Ugh. No," Adrien sighs, shaking his head slightly as he looks at the cover as well. "That was the most uncomfortable interview I've ever had to give. So many unnecessary questions. Did it turn out okay? I haven't seen it yet."
"We haven't had a chance to read it yet," Alya admitted, turning to Marinette. "Right, Marinette?"
Grasping every ounce of determination she could in that moment, she forced herself to say something. To actually get involved in the conversation, even a little. "The pictures were...um. They were nice."
She did it. She actually spoke to him and he was smiling at her. There wasn't anything awkward about it and maybe after her heart started working again she could attempt it again. If she survived.
"Good. I'm glad you enjoyed them," Adrien said, glancing at the picture on the cover. "It was much colder than it looks that day. I thought my feet were frozen solid after being outside for that long."
She found that she couldn't do it. His smile and attention in her direction had caused every single one of her brain cells to combust in a spectacular fashion. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing came out. Alya grabbed her by the arm, giving both boys a cheerful wave as she pulled Marinette off the bench. "We'll see you two in class. Don't be late!"
Marinette managed to give them a wave over her shoulder as Alya pulled her to the school. "I talked to him," she sighed dreamily.
Her red-headed friend just giggled at her plight. "Yes. Yes, you did. Good job, Marinette. Here’s your reward for all your hard work." Alya shoved the magazine into her hands, which Marinette gladly accepted.
Within moments, both girls were taking their place in their seats in the classroom and Marinette was contentedly staring at the back of Adrien’s head as Miss Bustier took roll and set things up for the morning lessons. “Marinette? Can you run this paperwork down to Mr. Damocles for me?”
“Sure!” she responded, grabbing her bag from the floor as she headed up to the front of the classroom.
“You don’t need to bring your bag with you,” Miss Bustier said, handing her a stack of papers.
Marinette gladly took them from her but gave a little shrug, trying to think of an excuse besides not wanting anyone to find out she had a kwami in her bag that transformed her into half of Paris’ famous superhero duo. “I just feel more comfortable taking my belongings with me instead of leaving them here. Just in case something happens to them while I’m gone.”
“Okay, just hurry back,” her teacher responded; turning back to the classroom as Marinette headed out of the room.
Tikki flew out of the bag the moment she’d taken just a few steps from the classroom, hovering near her head as she spoke to Marinette. “I agree with Alya. He described you.”
Marinette was grateful to the tiny ladybug for the encouragement, but it wasn’t doing much good right now. “Adrien barely knows I exist and he certainly doesn’t ever get to see that side of me. No one knows I’m Ladybug, not even Alya.” Taking the stairs down to the bottom floor, Marinette crossed the courtyard to the Principal’s office. “I still don’t know see why Alya thinks Adrien was describing me though.”
“I think Alya knows you better than you think she does. Even if she doesn’t know you as Ladybug.”
“Thanks Tikki,” she replied, grateful for the friendship. “We’re almost at the office; you’ll want to hide again.”
Tikki quickly flew back into her bag so Marinette could enter the office. Handing off the paperwork to the secretary, she quickly turned around to head back to the classroom. Just as she stepped outside, a gust of wind whipped through the courtyard. The sound of bending metal pierced the air around her. Ducking her head, Marinette clamped her hands over her ears and could only watch as the backboard of basketball court snapped and fell to the ground from the force of the wind.
Marinette stared at the mess of destruction, bracing herself as the wind whipped around her with a hurricane force. The air stilled just as quickly as it had started, leaving the courtyard motionless and quiet until the sound of footsteps echoed within the empty space.
She looked to be similar in age to Marinette, half of her blonde hair pinned back in a barrette, she was decked out in a green and yellow cheerleading uniform with the word "Adrien" scrawled across the front. In her hands, she held two large Chinese fans at her side. She moved assertively across the courtyard. Marinette stood frozen in place, hoping to go undetected until the girl was out of sight so she can transform and go after her. She isn't that lucky.
"Where is Adrien Agreste?" Green eyes lock on Marinette, a flash of pink reflecting off the green of the mask on the girl. There wasn’t any question that this girl had been possessed by an acuma.
"You’re wearing the wrong colors. I don't think this is your school," Marinette snidely answered, ignoring the girl's question as she tried to casually glance around for someplace to transform.
"I am 'The Fan'. Adrian's number one fan! I won't give him to you!" Lifting one of her fans into the air, the girl glared at Marinette, gracefully slid her fan through the air, sending a blast of air against Marinette that picked her up off her feet before smashing against the wall of the administration building. Marinette struggled to breathe, the impact knocking the breath out of her. The Fan just walked away, ignoring Marinette.
Using the air in her fans, she lifted herself level to the second floor. With a second flick of her wrists, the stairwell leading to the second floor exploded in a mangled mess of steel and concrete under the onslaught of wind effectively isolating the first from the second floor.
"She's going after Adrien," Tikki warned.
"I'm not going to let that happen,” Marinette's eyes narrowed in anger, pulling the earrings from her backpack. She put the earrings on as quickly as she was able before calling her kwami into her miraculous. “Spots on, Tikki!"
The Fan continued to blast away at tables and blew down walls, making a racket as she searched for her idol in the classrooms. Within moments the entire school is aware of her presence and she continually demanded everyone turn over Adrien Agreste to her.
The moment Marinette returns as Ladybug, some of the classrooms are attempting to block against her entry into their rooms to prevent the same destruction she wreaked everywhere she went. Ladybug has a leg up on the girl, having first-hand knowledge of the location of the coveted model. Knowing the classroom was likely blocking the door, Marinette decides she's going to have to go in through the window to extract the model and lure The Fan away from the school.
Marinette unhooks her grappling yo-yo from her waist and sends it sailing through the air. She connects with the edge of the building and yanks herself to the roof of the school, sliding across the shingles until she reaches the portion of the roof that is directly above the window to her classroom. Bending over backwards, she grips the edge of the roof and flips herself down onto the window ledge below her. Everyone in the classroom is distracted, attention directed on the door as they are preparing to protect everyone within it.
Marinette grins, sliding the window open with a dramatic flair as she announces her arrival. "Good Morning! Just your friendly neighborhood Ladybug here to pay you a visit today. I heard there is an over-zel--" Her words trail off as her gaze connects with none other than the person she's here to ensure the safety of.
The earth shifted beneath her feet. An entirely clichéd way to think about it, but Marinette honestly can't explain it any other way. If she hadn't already been completely and utterly head over heels in love with him in the first place, she'd swear this is exactly what "Love at First Sight" would feel like. The world could fall apart around her and even if she tried, taking her eyes off of Adrien Agreste in that moment would be impossible.
Adrien, with his back pressed to the door as hard as he possibly could in an effort to keep the possessed girl out of the classroom, was directing his classmates to drag tables and chairs to barricade the doorway. As his gaze locked with hers, his determination softened immediately, as if entering a trance. He mouths a single word, her name. Ladybug.
Not Marinette.
Marinette has never seen that expression on his face before and it sends flutters alight in her stomach. She barely has a moment to analyze it when the wind howls against the door, busting it open with a hurricane force before the first table could replace Adrien's body. The impact pitches Adrien forward in her direction. Instinctively, Marinette reacts and wraps her arm around the boy's waist, catching him in mid-flight, as the wind dies down.
"Hi. Um. Hel--er...ah." Marinette fumbles over her words, heat rushing up the back of her neck as Adrien Agreste's body presses up against her. She's starting to feel a little faint from the warmth radiating off of him. ‘This has to be a dream,’ she thinks dizzily. She was saving Adrien Agreste and he was staring at her as if he believed she could rope the moon.
"Ladybug," he sighed, as if the very name was a prayer. Marinette felt the world around her begin to fade even more as she fell into his gorgeous green eyes.
"Cute--you. I mean. I think. Green. So much green. I--I--I--so good." Stuttering, she can't put her thoughts into words because they are jumping around so much. It's just. Adrien Agreste. She can't even talk to him as Marinette. Right here, at this moment, he was in her arms. Struggling to maintain her composure, she took advantage of an opportunity she couldn't pass up. "I'm fan. Huge fan. Not like...I mean. I'm a huge fan."
And He blushed. He actually blushed.
A massive gust of wind, accompanied by a high pitched, yet powerful, voice roared, "I am Adrien Agreste's number one fan!" Still clinging to Adrien, Marinette tightened her grip, preventing either of them from get blown away from the force of the attack. Both of them pushing against the wind and holding on to each other with everything they had.
"Apparently you have competition, Ladybug."
The air around them halted, Marinette too shocked by the words Adrien muttered under his breath to react to the sudden loss of wind. Losing her balance completely, she fell to the ground and Adrien fell on top of her because she hadn't quite let him go yet. "Sorry," she mumbled as he grinned at her.
"I'm not," he replied, grabbing her hand and helping them both to their feet with a smirk. Again, Marinette blinked in shock, staring at the smile on his face. There was a familiarity there that she couldn't quite place, nor was she given time to think about it because the possessed girl was lifting one of her fans to attack the classroom again. "We need to get her out of here."
Marinette nodded, agreeing with his assessment, but having trouble putting her thoughts together. She just knew she needed to get Adrien out of there and get The Fan away from their school. "She's after you. I think we can get her into a safer place if we use you to lure her away."
The force of the wind that whipped through the classroom was directed at the two of them. Adrien slipped through her fingers as the air pushed him away. "I said he belonged to me! Don't touch him!" The girl's voice was shrill and angry as she attacked. Marinette fell to the floor again, watching as Adrien slid across the room to hit the wall with a bone crushing groan. The Fan advanced on him the moment the air stilled. But Ladybug was faster, diving across the room to slip her arms around his chest and leaping to the window with him in her arms.
"He said he wanted to be with me," Ladybug announced proudly, holding the model princess style in her arms as she spoke to The Fan. It was a lie, but it worked. The Fan let out an inhuman scream as she charged across the room after them.
“I have to let you go to get us out of here. If you don’t want to fall, you need to hold onto me with your life.” As soon as she said she had to let him go, Adrien wrapped his arms around her neck to hold on. Ladybug didn’t waste any time sending her yoyo sailing and leapt from the window, with the man of her dreams clinging to her and a gust of wind at her back.