Work Text:
Adrien had the biggest crush on the girl at the bakery, but never had an excuse to ask her out. He felt a bit creepy watching her from his car every day after his shoots while his driver bought croissants. It wasn’t stalking per se—just a bit of people-watching. But now, finding out that she was Shadybug made the dynamic a lot easier. So the moment they stepped through the portal into their universe, with her eagerly holding his hand, he asked her out. At first, she recoiled, which he expected. So, Claw Noir decided that he’d have better luck asking her with flowers.
With Rose de Rêscht, to be precise.
A few hours later, he stood on her balcony with the bouquet of pink roses in hand, his heart racing. He would have taken the more conventional route through the front door if he had any self-confidence to face her parents, but he didn’t. Learning about Shadybug’s troubled relationship with her mother in the other universe, he figured it was best to avoid that confrontation altogether. So he opted for the more stealthy approach of knocking on her trapdoor instead.
At first, there was no answer, which he understood—it wasn’t a typical way to enter someone’s house. To reassure her that he wasn’t a serial killer or a rat, he lowered himself with his baton to the windowsill and knocked again.
He heard commotion inside just before she opened the window, “Fleabag?" She squinted in the dim light, looking confused. But that confusion didn’t register in Adrien’s mind at all.
Her hair was down, falling just below her shoulders, framing her face perfectly.
Adrien had never seen anyone so gorgeous.
“Was that you knocking?” She asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.
“Um, yeah?” He stammered, suddenly feeling even more flustered under her gaze.
“That’s a bit weird, you know? Knocking on a girl’s trapdoor like that,” She tilted her head, crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as if waiting for an explanation.
Taking a shaky breath, Claw Noir lifted the bouquet a little, trying to play it cool. His fingers tightened on the stems, his nerves kicking in.
“Well, would it be weird to give a girl these?” He held out the bouquet, his voice softening as he extended the flowers toward her. Only now did he realise just how perfectly the roses matched the pink streak in her hair. Cute .
She didn’t respond right away, still studying him with an unreadable expression. He felt his heart skip, wondering if she’d let him explain or send him back the way he came.
Her eyes flicked down to the bouquet and reached out hesitantly, her fingers brushing against the petals as she eyed him, almost as if trying to figure out his intentions.
“Roses? Why?” She kept her gaze on him as he took charge, gently taking her hands and guiding them to the base of the flowers until her fingers curled around the stems. “Is this… about that date?”
“Well, you didn’t say no, but you also didn’t say yes, so…I thought I’d ask again. This time, with flowers.”
She blinked as she took a moment to process his words before she sighed, looking down at the roses, then back up at him. “You know, this is a bold move, Agreste.”
Claw fidgeted at the mention of his name, rubbing the back of his neck. Yeah, Shadybug didn’t like Adrien Agreste at all. He knew that fact all too well from the rants she’d go on. While it didn’t bother him at the time—after all, back then he hated Shadybug just as much as she did Adrien—now he felt a ping of guilt.
“I figured it was time to take a chance?”
She studied him for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly as she weighed her options while he held his breath, hoping she wouldn’t shut him down.
Finally, a small smile tugged at her lips. “Alright, fine. I’ll go on a date with you—under one condition.”
His eyes lit up with surprise, and he nearly lost his balance on his baton, swaying slightly as he caught himself. “Oh? What’s that?”
“You buy me a turnip.”
“A turnip?” He faltered, looking confused. “Uh… sure, but… why?”
She leaned back slightly, “We’re making a Jack O’Lantern. It’s Halloween, you know.”
“Wait… aren’t you supposed to use pumpkins?”
“I’ll explain after you take me out,” she said, turning away from the window with a toss of her hair. She set the bouquet down on her desk, where half-sewn garments lay scattered with sharp cuts and bold patterns mixed with leather scraps and metallic studs. He caught sight of a particularly wild sketch featuring an outfit with what would be hundreds of spikes that made him wonder how she could even wear it without feeling like a walking hazard.
Then again, with the studs on his jacket, he was one to talk.
She picked up a pink scarf from the floor and tied it around her neck. “I’ll meet you in the alleyway?”
“Sure”
Once Claw Noir detransformed, his heart raced as he ran his hands through his hair to try make sense of it before he rounded the corner.
And there she was, waiting for him in the dim light of the alley, dressed in a pink knife-pleated skirt that swayed with her movements. Was that eyeliner? And red lipstick?
Oh how he might as well faint!
She looked way too cute but kind of intimidating at the same time.
“So, where are we going?” she asked, her gaze searching his. He could only smile dumbly in response, his mind racing as he tried to think of something cool to say.
He took her hands gently, his thumb brushing over her knuckles as he grinned. “Hold on, you’re missing something.”
“What?”
“I don’t know your name,”
She let out a laugh, a melodic sound that filled the alleyway, her head tilting back slightly as she did.
“What? You didn’t pick it up before? We investigated the other me’s room for hours!”
Adrien shrugged, a sheepish grin creeping onto his face. “I was a little distracted by, well, everything. You know, being in an alternate universe.”
She sighed, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation, though a smile lingered on her face. “It’s Marinette.”
“Marinette?” he repeated, the name tasting fresh and exciting on his tongue as he took a moment to absorb the sound. “I like it. It suits you.”
He noticed her cheeks flushing a soft pink, “Nice to meet you, Adrien Agreste. Now we’re officially introduced, I heard from a cat that you were taking me on a date?”
His brain momentarily short-circuited, scrambling to catch up. “Yes! That’s me! Um, how about the supermarket?”
“The supermarket?”
“You wanted to carve a turnip, right? So, let’s buy that and some snacks, and we can carve it at the park, maybe?”
“Like a picnic?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. “I mean, I would, but using sharp knives so openly might land us in trouble.”
“What, the infamous Shadybug is scared of getting in trouble?” he teased, smirking playfully as he leaned slightly closer.
“First of all, it’s Ladybug now,” she shot back, her eyes narrowing playfully. “And second of all, I don’t trust you to use a knife without parental supervision. So, we’ll set up camp at yours.”
“Did you just invite yourself over to my house?” He asked, feigning shock.
Her smile faded slightly as she looked down, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.
“Well, you seem to have a much better relationship with your father than I do with my parents.”
Adrien frowned, “Will you be able to fix it?”
She sighed, glancing away as if searching for an answer in the shadows of the alley.
“I—I don’t know. This universe is different. I can’t imagine Maman being so concerned about me over the sound of a broken mirror like over there.” Her voice trembled slightly, revealing a vulnerability he hadn’t seen before.
Without thinking, he lifted her chin gently, his thumb brushing against her cheek, trying to offer comfort.
“Hey, we’ll go to mine. Come on.”
As she met his gaze, he saw tears threaten her eyes, and it made his heart swell. He lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles and with a gentle tug, he encouraged her to walk alongside him
Two turnips, five scented candles, and four metres of orange fairy lights later, they arrived at the Agreste mansion. Adrien led the way, glancing back at Marinette to see her wide-eyed wonder as she took in the grandiose entrance.
Once in his room, they started to set up their station, laying out their supplies on the coffee table. It wasn’t long before Adrien’s dad walked in, his eyebrows raising with curiosity.
“You kids want to do turnip carving?” He asked, settling down next to Adrien on the couch, an amused expression on his face. “That’s peculiar.”
“Yeah,” Marinette said, her cheeks flushing slightly as she spoke, glancing sideways at his Dad. “For Oíche Shamhna, which was Halloween. Originally, jack o'lanterns were carved from turnips. It changed to pumpkins when Irish people immigrated to America.”
Adrien chuckled, smiling at her as if his dad wasn’t sitting right next to them. “And here I thought Halloween was American.”
“You’re quite knowledgeable, Marinette,” His dad commented as his keen eye for fashion assessed her outfit. “And that’s a nice skirt. Where is it from?”
“Oh this?” She trailed the hem of her skirt. “I made it, actually. Along with everything else.”
His dad looked surprised, “The flowers on the leather are hand-painted then?”
Marinette nodded. Looking away. Adrien's father leaned closer, genuinely intrigued. “That’s impressive for a girl your age. I like your eye.”
Adrien grinned, his heart swelling with pride for Marinette. “She’s incredibly talented, Dad. You should see some of her sketches—they’re amazing!”
“You’ve seen my sketches?” Marinette asked, her eyes widening with surprise.
“On your desk. And your Instagram.”
“How’d you find that?” She replied, a hint of embarrassment creeping in.
Adrien looked at her sheepishly, a small smile playing on his lips.
“I might have Googled your name while we were at the store.”
Marinette’s cheeks flushed, and she crossed her arms.
“You creep!” She tried to sound stern but was unable to hide the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Adrien chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender.
“I promise, it was purely for research!”
She shook her head, a grin breaking through her feigned annoyance.
“Don’t go Googling anything else about me, alright?”
“What, scared of your digital footprint?” he grinned, teasing her. “Because I might have found your Jagged Stone Tumblr blog…”
“Sh-Shut up!” Marinette exclaimed, trying to cover his mouth with her hand. “I’m allowed to be a fangirl! That’s innocent!”
Adrien laughed as she coiled away from him, before he was tapped on the shoulder by his dad, who stood behind him with an amused expression.
“You two are quite the pair,” He said with raised eyebrows as he locked eyes with him. “Adrien, why don’t you help me carry the knife block and chopping board up here?”
“Okay,” Adrien said, getting up to follow his dad into the doorway.
“I can help!” Marinette called after them, also standing up.
“We’ve got this covered!” Adrien replied, “You just light the candles!”
As they stepped into the hallway, his father smirked knowingly.
“You like this girl, is that right?”
Adrien felt a flush creep up his cheeks, caught off guard by the question. He hadn’t had a civil conversation like this with his father since… well, since his mother died. If only she could meet Marinette.
“Yeah,” He admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “She only agreed to go on a date with me if we carved turnips.”
“She’s lovely.” Gabriel smiled down at him.
“She is. And apparently good at carving root vegetables,” They turned to the kitchen. “She’s the daughter of the owners of the bakery across the street.”
“Ah, Tom and Sabine?” his father replied, nodding. “Your driver did mention you visit there a lot.”
Adrien squeaked. His driver said that? What happened to privacy?
"Don't worry, son," Gabriel said with a wave of his hand. "It's just a casual observation. After all, they do make excellent pastries. No harm in appreciating the sweeter things in life, right?"
Adrien relaxed slightly, though the thought of his father being so interested in his life still gnawed at him, especially after discovering Marinette’s homelife. Had he been taking his dad for granted? Like he did his mother? "Yeah... the croissants are great," he muttered, forcing a smile.
"Indeed," Gabriel continued. "And it's good to know you're spending time with good people."
Adrien nodded, unsure of how to respond to this whole ‘having a good father-son relationship’ situation. It felt strange, almost foreign, to share these moments with his dad again. He glanced at his father, whose expression was full with genuine interest, and realised how much he had missed this.
For so long, their conversations had been overshadowed by grief and distance, but now, in this moment, he felt a flicker of hope that things might be different for him now that he’s letting mother go.
Her portrait hung before the staircase “Guess it’s nice to love again.”
If you’d told Marinette yesterday that she’d willingly be on a date with Adrien Agreste, she would’ve laughed—and probably hit you over the head. Under no circumstances did she ever want to share the same air as that stuck-up model.
Yet now, here she was. In his room. On his couch. Carving turnips, of all things, while cinnamon candles filled the air and orange fairy lights shimmered around them. Their fingers brushed accidentally, and she felt heat rise to her cheeks as she looked away, trying to focus on anything but the boy next to her.
Yesterday, her least favourite person in the world was Adrien Agreste. Her second least favourite? Claw Noir.
But today, they were the same person. And her heart? It was falling for him.
What was this?
Marinette stole a glance at Adrien, who was focused on his own carving, his brow furrowed in concentration. She felt her chest tighten.
How could she stop this foreign warmth inside her?
(She didn’t want to)
(She’s never cared so much about someone in years)
(Or been cared about by someone)
"Hey, you okay?" Adrien's voice pulled her back to reality, his green eyes looking at her with concern. "You seem... distracted."
"I’m fine," Marinette lied, her heart pounding as their gazes met. She quickly looked away, fumbling with the turnip in her lap. "Just... thinking."
He smiled softly, “About?”
You. But she couldn’t say that. She needed to change the subject, so she grabbed the turnip in her lap, running her fingers over its uneven surface.
“You know why these are called Jack O’Lanterns?” she asked, a little too quickly, hoping to steer the conversation somewhere easier.
Adrien glanced up from his carving, a small smile forming on his lips.
“No, actually. Why?”
Ghost stories had always been Marinette’s thing, ever since she was a kid. It was nice, believing in something bigger than herself, something unseen. Even now, she was still a bit superstitious,
Well, she literally wields ancient superpowers. It would be weird not to be.
“Well,” she began, eyes glancing down at the turnip in her hands, “Centuries ago in Ireland, there was a guy named Stingy Jack. He was infamous for being... well, a trickster.”
Adrien’s eyebrows raised, intrigued, “Stingy Jack? Sounds like a character.”
Marinette smiled, “Yeah. One night, Satan overheard stories about Jack’s bad deeds and decided to see if they were true. Jack was wandering the countryside, completely drunk, when the devil found him and realised Satan had come to take his soul.”
Marinette looked up, searching Adrien’s eyes for permission to continue. Was she oversharing? Was this too nerdy?
“Go on, I’m listening,”
Marinette chuckled softly before she continued, “Jack was clever, even when drunk. Instead of panicking, he asked Satan if he could have one last drink before he headed off to hell. Satan agreed and took him to a pub.”
Adrien smirked, “Hmm, yes, priorities. Being drunk, meeting the devil—all in a day's work.”
“Of course,” Marinette said, her tone lighter now as she noticed his engagement. “But Jack didn’t have any money, and neither did Satan. So, Jack convinced Satan to turn himself into a silver coin to pay the bartender. The devil, impressed by Jack’s thinking, did it. Then Jack stuck the coin in his pocket, where he had a cross, which trapped Satan in his coin form. Jack wouldn’t let him out until he made a deal.”
Adrien laughed softly. “Wow, so Jack is a smart drunk I see.”
“Yeah. Jack made Satan promise not to take his soul for ten years. Then, ten years later, Satan came back. But Jack tricked him again by asking for an apple to cure his hunger and while Satan climbed an apple tree to get it, Jack surrounded the tree with crosses, trapping him again and making Satan promise to never take him to hell.”
“This guy...amazing character.” Adrien let out a small laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Right?” Marinette grinned. “Jack was clever, but it didn’t end well for him. When he finally died, God didn’t allow him into heaven because of all the terrible things he’d done. So, he went down to hell, hoping Satan would let him in.”
Adrien leaned in, now completely engrossed. “But Satan promised…”
“Yep, Satan refused, keeping the deal. But he gave Jack an ember from the gate of hell to light his way. Jack carved out a turnip, put the ember inside, and is now left to wander the middle world forever.”
The room fell quiet for a moment, the flickering candles casting soft shadows around them. Adrien sat back. “So... that’s why people carve pumpkins? To keep Jack’s spirit away?”
Marinette nodded, holding up the turnip she’d been carving, ready to put a candle inside.
Adrien glanced at the turnip in his own hands, then back at her, his expression thoughtful. “That’s... kind of spooky, but also fascinating. I never knew there was so much behind it.”
Marinette smiled softly, her fingers tracing the turnip’s ridges. “I used to be obsessed with ghost stories when I was younger. Still am, a little.”
“That’s pretty cool. I can see why you’d be into that. There’s something kind of comforting about old stories like that. Even when they’re supposed to be scary”
Marinette ducked her head. “It’s kind of like us. Jack made a deal with the devil…We made a deal with the supreme, and it was breaking us.”
“I guess we’re both a little like Jack, huh? Always trying to outsmart something we can’t fully control.” Adrien looked down before his expression changed and set down the turnip between them. “But maybe... maybe we don’t have to be like Jack. Maybe we can find a way to... escape the traps we’ve set for ourselves.”
Marinette leaned back into the couch, the warmth of the candles and Adrien’s presence wrapping around her like a blanket. They had a big fight ahead of them. They were planning to betray the Supreme and join their enemy, reclaiming their agency and fighting for their freedom. It was a bold move, but one that promised a chance to live their lives happier, like in the other universe, where good choices had led to brighter futures.
And being here, with Adrien, felt like the best choice she could make right now.
Adrien’s eyes softened, and he reached out, brushing his fingers lightly against hers. The contact sent a jolt through her, igniting a warmth that spread from her fingertips to her heart.
Marinette held her breath, her pulse quickening as she noticed the way Adrien’s gaze flickered to her lips, then back to her eyes. The air between them thickened, charged with unspoken words and longing. She could see it in his eyes—the hesitance, the hope.
“Marinette...” Adrien said softly, almost hesitantly. “I...”
Before he could finish, she felt a rush of courage. “Adrien, I—” But the words caught in her throat, so instead, she leaned closer, her heart pounding in her chest.
Adrien mirrored her movement, their faces drawing nearer, the unfair world outside that had treated the two so badly faded away.
The kiss was tentative at first, before Marinette melted into him, a soft sigh escaped her lips, deepening the kiss as her heart raced, surrendering to the moment. Adrien’s lips were soft against hers as he pulled her closer, their bodies fitting perfectly against each other. Marinette felt as if the stars had aligned just for this moment, that this was how they were supposed to be. Together in every universe.
When they finally pulled away, breathless and wide-eyed, the realisation of what they had shared hung in the air. Marinette’s cheeks blushed, her forehead resting against his. She searched his eyes, and Adrien looked at her in awe. “Wow,” she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper.
Adrien chuckled softly, his cheeks flushed. “Yeah... wow.”
Together, they could face whatever their cruel world had in store, no longer wandering alone like Jack but walking side by side into whatever lay ahead.
Now, they both had someone worth fighting for.
