Chapter Text
The early afternoon sun hung high above the Liberty, casting golden light over the Seine as Marinette hurried toward the boat. She had spent the last hour in battle with a particularly stubborn akuma, it had only been her and Chat Noir that afternoon. Every step she took was a reminder of how late she was—but when she saw the flag fluttering from the boat’s mast, she slowed, adjusting her backpack with sweaty hands from the heat. Her heart pounded, but she forced herself to breathe.
Adrien was already there, but also slightly out of breath. He looked up as she approached, and his face lit up with that familiar, warm smile that never failed to make her stomach flip. Without a word, he pulled her into a hug, squeezing her gently.
“Took you long enough,” he teased, his voice muffled against her hair.
Marinette laughed, swatting his arm. “Sorry, I had to help my parents at the bakery! Hum... yeah there was a last minute order and-” She cut herself off, realizing she was rambling. Adrien just shows her a sympathetic smile and holds her hand.
They joined their friends, who had claimed a corner full of pillows and bean bags on the boat’s cluttered deck. The stifling heat had a strong scent of sunscreen mixed with strawberry ice cream.
"Look who decided to show up after all" said Nino, lifting up his arm from Alya’s shoulder to fist bump Adrien and wave at Marinette.
"What's going on?" asks Marinette sitting in a pile of pillows beside Alya and Nino. Adrien dropped down next to her, close enough that their shoulders brushed
"Truth or Dare" Rose announced with her usual excitement filled tone.
"It's great that you two showed up, we need new victims" Zoé says with a playful tone as she hands them two cold bottles of sparkling water from the fridge. It was already September, but the heat waves had been relentless that year, and the cold drinks were a welcome relief.
“Yeah, it was starting to get boring,” Alya said, taking a sip from her own bottle. “So… Agreste, truth or dare?”
Adrien hesitated, his fingers tightening slightly around his bottle. The reporter in Alya had a reputation for no mercy in this game. “Hum… dare?” he finally said, his voice laced with a mix of caution and amusement.
That seemed to do the trick, Alya tapped her chin. “Welp, I’ve got nothing… Nino, any ideas?”
Nino grinned. “Do your best impression of Chat Noir.”
Marinette’s ears perked up at the mention of her partner. She glanced at Adrien, who looked surprised for a moment before taking a deep breath and flashing a grin.
"I’ve heard that my impression is purr-fect… but then again, everything I do is claw-some."
The group burst into amused laughter and murmurs of amazement.
“Wow, Adrien, I had no idea you had that in you,” Zoé said.
“Well, he did voice Chat Noir in the movie,” Nino pointed out.
“Still, that was weirdly spot-on,” Marinette managed, though her mind was racing. Something felt off, but she couldn’t really conect what it was.
“Yeah, Marinette, cause you would know...” Alya teased.
Marinette froze. She shot Alya a panicked look, thinking her best friend was hinting at her secret. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, nothing,” Alya said quickly, not giving anyone a chance to press further. “Anyway, Marinette, truth or dare?”
Marinette answered before she could stop herself. “Truth.”
She immediately regretted it.
"Who was your first kiss?"
Marinette’s cheeks flushed instantly, and she glanced at Adrien, who was watching her with a curious expression. Her mind flashed back to that night—the one that, sometimes, still crept into her thoughts late at night. Well, technically, her first kiss had been on Valentine’s Day as Ladybug, but the answer to this question was the same for both Marinette and Ladybug. And now that she was thinking about it, she’d kissed Chat Noir far too many times.
“Wasn’t it Adrien?” Mylene asked, and Juleka and Rose nodded in agreement. They’d known Marinette long enough and they knew no relationship had happened in the previous years, and Juleka knew Marinette and Luka had never gotten to that stage.
Marinette let out a squeak, pressing her lips together as she avoided Adrien’s gaze and shot Alya a pleading look.
“You can’t get out of this, Marinette,” Alya said, her eyes sparkling with mischief but there was a flicker of something else, maybe concern? “I know the truth.”
Marinette swallowed hard and finally answered, her voice barely above a whisper. “It was Chat Noir.”
The group erupted into gasps and exaggerated reactions making her want to jump into the Seine and swim away to never be seen again.
“It was just a kiss. Nothing serious.” Marinette shrugged, trying to play it cool, but her hands fidgeting with the hem of the pillow she was sitting on gave her away.
Adrien, however, looked genuinely surprised. “Wait, Chat Noir was your first kiss?”
Marinette nodded, biting her lip.
Questions were fired at her from all sides: “And how was it?” “Were you dating?” “How the heck did that even happen?”
Marinette hesitated, her mind drifting back to that night. The way Chat Noir had looked at her... then she shook her head "That wasn't part of the question!"
Adrien’s expression shifted subtly, but he didn’t say anything. After Marinette refusing to answer to some more questions from her friends, the game continued, which allowed her to let out a shaky breath and her grip on the pillow to soften.
For the rest of the game, Marinette didn't choose truth again, ignoring all the complaints from her friends. She really didn't want to talk about it, it was still a very confusing night, and most importantly, she could feel Adrien’s gaze on her every now and then, they were probably going to talk about it at some point and she was not excited for that.