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lycorogue · 4 years

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Love Square Fluff Week: Part 1 - Concert

I’m a couple of days late, but here is my Day 1 entry for @lovesquarefluffweek 2020.

As well as below the cut, you can find this story over on AO3, on FFN, and on DA.

I somehow stumbled my way into my first ever Ladrien story. I just find it so hard to get those two together without Damselling Adrien, so I hope this accidental hurt/comfort story (there’s fluff at the end, I promise) works well.

Also, I stole a page from @edendaphne‘s book Discordant Sonata. So if you click the linked sentences in the story they will bring you to mood music.

Music to Heal

Summary: Ladybug ends up stumbling upon an intimate scene as she stalks by Adrien's home.

Word Count: 1965 Rating: General Audience Spoilers: None Love Square Side: Ladrien Romance Level: Madly Crushing

Marinette knew she shouldn't, but it was hard to resist. She had just finished up with a private interview she – as Ladybug – had promised Alya, and it was just easier to swing home still as Ladybug.

And Adrien's home was right there.

She just needed a quick peek, that was all. Just a small fix, and then she'd be on her way. As she landed on the Agreste fence she quickly scanned Adrien's room to see if he was even home.

He was, and he was at his piano. A soft melody leaked through the floor-to-ceiling windows; a sorrowful song. His eyes were closed, truly feeling the music as his fingers skated across the keys. His head swayed softly in time. He had enchanted his Ladybug in a way he didn't know.

Adrien always seemed so cheerful. It was easy for Marinette to forget how hard his life was. His father rarely had time for him, and his mother had been missing for a year. He struggled to find time to hang with his friends, and was routinely overbooked with activities and work. As Adrien played, it was like he was spilling his own hurt and loneliness onto the keys, and Marinette longed to break in and just hold him; remind him that he wasn't actually alone.

She couldn't though. She was Ladybug, and superheroes didn't do that sort of thing, and clearly Adrien didn't want Marinette to know this side of him. Not that the two of them ever really had a proper chance to talk.

Unsure what to do, but knowing leaving Adrien alone at that moment wasn't an option anymore, Marinette sat on the fence, her yo-yo's camera zoomed in on Adrien so she could better watch him play.

I'm simply making sure Hawkmoth doesn't send an akuma to Adrien while he's so sad, she told herself. I'm doing my duty as a superhero; a protector of Paris. Nothing creepy about this at all.

A couple of minutes later, Adrien's shoulders shook in a quiet sob, and a finger slipped, hitting a sour note. He sniffled as he wiped his eyes dry, and Marinette shut her yo-yo.

This was private. This was a quiet moment for him to grieve, and she was invading. She shouldn't have been watching. She needed to leave.

But he was crying. How could she leave him?

Lassoing a spot on his roof, Marinette swung over to Adrien's window, and gently knocked.

Adrien jumped, and quickly moved to open his window. "Ladybug? Is everything okay? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry to interrupt, and, uh, sorry if I'm intruding. I was swinging by, and I heard you playing your piano, and- Are you alright?"

Adrien blinked wildly at her. "Yeah. I- why?"

"It was just- it was such a lovely song, but it sounded so sad, and I thought I saw you wipe away tears-" She had no clue what she was doing anymore. She was literally hanging by a thread outside her crush's bedroom window, telling him she saw him cry. She almost yearned for an akuma so she could have an excuse to leave.

"You- you saw that?"

She nodded. "If you need time alone, I understand. I just- I wanted to make sure you're okay. Everything's fine?"

He laughed. It was a sad little chuckle. "Yeah. Sorry to have worried you. I guess I just really missed my mom all of a sudden, and, well, the piano was there."

"Oh. Did she used to play?"

He shook his head. "No, she-" His eyes widened as if he finally truly saw Ladybug. "What am I doing? Do you want to come in? I'm sure you don't want to hold a conversation while just dangling there."

"Come- come in? You want me to come in?"

"Yes. Please."

She swung herself through his window, and he held his hand up to help lower her to the floor.

"Thank you, Adrien," she softly muttered, a blush starting to bleed onto her cheeks.

"Yeah," his blush was starting to match Ladybug's. "Thank you as well, for, ya know, checking up on me."

"So, um, you were telling me about your mom? Not- not that you have to. Only if you want to. If it will make you feel better, I mean."

He motioned for her to take a seat on his sofa, and then sat beside her. "My mom didn't play the piano, but my father does, and I remember her sitting beside him on the piano bench as he played. And when I started learning, she'd sit beside me as I practiced. If I missed a note, she'd run her fingers through my hair, and tell me that I would get it; try again. So I would, and I'd remember that note, and she would just smile this huge grin as she told me she always knew I'd be able to do it." Adrien ran his fingers through his own hair, as if simulating his mom, and thumbed a stray tear away. "When she was sitting with Father, it was the happiest I would ever see him. She'd rest her head on his shoulder, and he would chuckle that he couldn't reach the lower notes with her restraining his arm like that. She'd giggle and tell him that the higher notes were prettier anyway, so he'd only play songs in the upper octaves for her."

"Like you were doing tonight?"

Adrien nodded, and pulled out his phone. Opening the photo gallery, he thumbed over to his album of him and his mom. He showed them to Ladybug. "Thank you for checking in on me. I know you probably weren't expecting to have a sit-down like this to make sure I didn't get akumatized."

She rested a hand on his knee, and gently squeezed it. "Adrien, I- I would- This is no problem at all. I'm happy to be here for you."

"Thank you. This means more to me than you probably know."

Marinette didn't think. She just threw out her arms and pulled him into a hug. She held him just like she did with Chat Noir whenever her kitty needed comforting; whenever he was hurting. It stunned Adrien at first, but he soon melted into the embrace, wrapping his arms around her too.

They sat there, silently, for a few minutes; for as long as Adrien needed. Eventually, he pulled away, and again wiped his eyes dry.

"Thank you again, Ladybug. I feel better now."

"I'm glad, Adrien. I'd never want you to feel like you're alone."

"No." Adrien smiled. "I know I'm not."

"Good." Marinette stood up, and rested a hand on Adrien's shoulder as she passed. She neared the window, then glanced back at the piano. Would Adrien only think of his mother, and that moment of loss every time he saw his instrument? She needed to leave him with a happier memory than that. "Hey, Adrien?"

"Hmm?"

"Would it be rude of me to ask you a favor right now?"

"No." He jumped up and rushed to her side. "No, I'd love to help you any way I can, especially after what you did for me tonight."

"In that case, would it be okay if you played just one more song for me while I'm here? I really enjoyed your playing, and I don't know how often I'd get to hear it."

Adrien's smile slowly grew, and he stood a bit taller as he nodded and practically bounced over to his piano. He gestured to his sofa, then sat at the bench.

Marinette settled in against the arm of the sofa, curled against the back of the seat as Adrien began playing. His right hand rotated through the same three notes hypnotically as his left danced across the rest of the keyboard, mostly staying in the higher octaves, but occasionally jumping down to the lower before skating their way back up the scale. It was still a melancholy song, but it was more upbeat than the one Adrien was originally playing. His eyes closed as he let muscle memory take hold. He swayed to the beat, leaning hard to his left whenever he reached for the lower notes, and bobbing his head to the right as his fingers monotonously rotated between the accenting upper three notes.

It was like he was dancing as he played; lost in the music. Watching him was intoxicating, but Marinette couldn't get a good enough view where she was, so she inched her way off the sofa, trying to not interrupt Adrien's playing. She then crept towards him before leaning on his piano, her head resting in her crossed arms as she dreamily watched him.

While playing his final notes, Adrien slowly opened his eyes, as if waking from a dream. When he spotted Ladybug leaning against his piano, he gave her a grateful little smile.

"Would you like one more?"

She rose her head in surprise. "Do you want to play one more?"

He slid over on the bench, and patted for her to sit beside him. "If you're willing to stick around for a few more minutes."

She scooted onto the bench, fully aware of how close the two of them were sitting.

Adrien began with yet another sad song, but one still more upbeat and hopeful than the previous two. His hands started in the center of the keyboard. Close together. A few simple notes. Solitary chords with no additional melody. Then his left hand shifted slightly, closer to Ladybug, as it continued to play a few chords. His right hand inched further away in the opposite direction, climbing up the keyboard as his fingers flew across the ivories. Then the chorus kicked in, and both hands skipped up and down the keys, each finger hitting a new note in beautiful harmony. Adrien began rocking in time with his arms; once more feeling the music.

Marinette could have cried, herself. All she wanted was to freeze that moment. She wanted it to be her life; her always: just her, and Adrien, and the beauty of that music.

As the song hit its climax and started slowing back down, Marinette rested her head on Adrien's shoulder, nuzzling close to him without thinking about how weird it would be for him. He shifted slightly, looking down at her, before resting his head on hers and finishing the song. The final note lingered in the air as they each memorized the contact they had in that moment.

"I get why this was when Father was happiest."

"Hmm?"

Adrien jumped; breaking the spell between them. "No, nothing. Nevermind."

Marinette studied him. "I hope you're truly feeling better now."

"I am. I really am. Thank you for that, Ladybug."

Reluctantly, Marinette slid off the piano bench, and tapped the baby grand. "Good. I'd hate for you to have sad memories of this and your playing. It truly is a gift, and should bring you joy."

"Trust me, Ladybug, I think I'll only have fond memories from now on."

Another lingering look before Marinette cleared her throat and backed towards the window. "I, uh, I should probably get going though. Thank you for the private concert."

"Anytime," Adrien responded dreamily, or maybe it was just Marinette hoping to hear him speak to her like that.

Bumping into the glass wall, Marinette let out a small "oof" before quickly pivoting and lassoing part of the Agrestes' fence. With a quick salute of a wave, she was out of his window. Out of his room. But their shared moment wouldn't be out of either of their minds for days.

@discoveringmiraculouswriters

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