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“don’t you ever do that to me again, Marinette!”
He’s holding her in his arms, breath erratic as he slowly lowers her down on their deserted classroom’s floor. She directs a defiant look at his face; her cheeks are red as her superhero suit because of their close proximity and the adrenaline of almost being wiped out of existence by an akumatized store clerk, and she’s so Ladybug that he can almost see the spotted mask surrounding her eyes and covering the bridge of her nose.
“I will if you keep getting yourself almost killed!” she yells back in annoyance. When Chat Noir blinks, he can see her: a small collège girl taunting a supervillain to give him a chance to escape, mocking and daring and so unlike the Marinette he knows outside the mask but so much like his Lady he feels idiotic whenever he thinks of how long it took him to (accidentally) figure her out.
He takes her in once more, feels her pulse alive and frantic under his hands as they hold her by the neck and warm, flushed cheek. He’s suddenly grateful for his mask, because he doesn’t think he’d dare do this if she could see the boy behind the superhero. He’s long since accepted that he’s not Chat Noir when he’s with her, not really. He’s Adrien on high volume (he’s himself).
“Marinette, please.” He begs, her name rolling off his tongue like a prayer in the dark; thankful for the small height difference as he lowers his forehead enough to touch hers. Marinette closes her bluebell eyes at the contact, lips parting slightly enough to make him forget that there’s an akuma out there wreaking havoc on the streets of Paris. His brain runs the image of her jumping into the mouth of a dinosaur and the crippling anxiety it elicits makes his tight bodysuit feel stifling. Adrien focuses on his breathing, choosing his next words carefully. “I-” (love you need you can’t deal with you putting yourself in danger because of me you’re the only thing keeping me alive don’t want to even imagine you getting hurt just please don’t do that again) “know that you can take care of yourself. But I would feel so much better if my princess promised me she won’t put herself in unnecessary danger?” he offers her a sheepish smile, and for a second he can see a stunned expression on her face that’s usually only brought out by his other self.
It takes her a moment to respond, but when she does, the smile she graces him with is blinding.
“I’ll try, Chat Noir.” Then she puts her hand on his above her cheek, thumb rubbing circles on it, and Adrien swears the whole city can hear his furious heartbeat. Closing his eyes for a moment, he opens them to offer sweet, beautiful Marinette a confident smile.
“Well then, I’ll be off, little lady. Gotta take care of that dragon!” he winks, regretfully tearing his forehead from hers. He knows he’ll see her in a few minutes, having taken her here purposefully so she could transform once he left, but Ladybug is as closed off as Marinette is open hearted, and he misses her candor when she’s wearing her spots.
He just hopes she’ll miss Adrien like that one day.