#also known as adrien's thirteenth birthday. in my head | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

soulmate-game · 4 years

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I might make this a tumblr only mini-series of connected oneshots, and I might or might not put them up on AO3 when they are all done. We’ll see how I feel.

I know I submitted this AU to Multifandomscribette, but this is my take on the prompts I gave them. This is not the same AU, and I am not using their headcanons. Just the same basic premise of Marinette being Stephen Strange’s biological daughter.

You know Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, but this story is about

Lady Strange, the Grand Guardian.

What is with this family and alliteration?!

—*—*—*—*—*

Stephen Strange was a narcissistic, emotionally constipated bastard. But he was rich, well known, and handsome, which counted for a lot when he decided he needed some time to relax, unwind, maybe with another human.

And when Sabine Cheng realized what had happened, that night she had catered for a high society medical conference gala in the States, she vowed to never drink again.

She also vowed to never tell Strange about the child growing in her womb. The only person she ever told about her child’s true origin was Tom Dupain, the man she started dating a month after her chance encounter with Doctor Stephen Strange. Nine months after that, when Marinette was almost a month old, she would propose to Tom in blatant disregard of tradition. She would be waiting for years if she wanted Tom to get up the courage to ask her, and even though it hadn’t been a full year yet Sabine knew what she wanted. Seeing the gentle way Tom held her daughter, their daughter, seeing the way he looked at the little baby as if she hung the stars for him, well that only solidified the little Chinese woman’s love for the french man.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng would not know about her true father’s origin until she was twelve, when a science lecture at school had her asking Sabine who had blue eyes in each of their blood lines.

When Sabine hesitated, Marinette knew instantly that something was wrong. Sabine never hesitated. She was a whirlwind of decisiveness, always knowing what to say and how to act. Hesitation wasn’t a part of her.

Sabine told her everything. How her biological father was someone she only met once, how he was a successful surgeon who had won many medical awards. How he didn’t know she existed.

Of course, Marinette was immediately obsessed. Hurt by her mother’s secrecy, she turned her feelings of betrayal into curiosity and researched everything that there was to research about Stephen Strange. Apparently blue eyes ran on his side of the family. His own were more icy than hers, closer to a blue-gray, but familiar all the same. Both his parents were already dead though, so there went her hope of having another set of grandparents.

Marinette even went so far as to read the research papers he had written, and did follow-up research until she understood as much of it as she could. It helped that Professor Mendeleiev was more than willing to sit down and go over the medical papers with her so they could try to understand it all together.

One day, while Marinette was sewing a new dress, she paused with her needle in the air and stared at her fingers. After that day, she took much more pride than before in how steady her hands were. Her father was a surgeon, it must have been a biological trait. She clung onto anything that connected her to the oh-so mysterious Stephen Strange.

And then came Marinette’s thirteenth birthday. The same day that Stephen Strange was in a car accident and deemed in critical condition.

If Marinette kept an app for American news sources on her phone and set them to alert her if the name of her biological father was mentioned in any reports? Well, her parents didn’t need to know.

She didn’t tell her parents about the reason she was so morose for the rest of the day. She didn’t tell anyone.

She cried herself to sleep when Doctor Stephen Strange was declared to have irreversible nerve damage in his hands, and again when he went missing on a mysterious “vacation” that no media sites seemed to have any information on. She didn’t know why she felt so much connection and pain for someone she had never met, but she couldn’t help it. She would keep researching, keeping her eyes out for any mention of the man online without any luck.

That is, until Master Fu and the Miraculous entered her life. Slowly, she began to neglect her obsession with her biological father. Her passing crush on Adrien Agreste even faded away, never having much traction to begin with because of her overlying concern for the father that didn’t even know he had a daughter.

When Marinette was fourteen, the city of Paris was flooded and she had to swim through the quickly bloating bodies of the dead in order to defeat an Akuma. She reversed the damage and everyone who died was resurrected with no memory of their demise, but Marinette would never forget. All it took was a glimpse of the wrong face on the streets and she would be overcome with a panic attack, with the sight of glassy eyes and blue faces.

That was when Hawkmoth’s attacks picked up in intensity. When people began to die during Akuma attacks more frequently. When Marinette stopped sleeping in quite so much.

Her obsession over her father was a mere footnote by then, something she would idly look into on her ever increasingly rare free time with no success.

When Marinette was fifteen years, six months, two weeks, and two days old, Master Fu died. Marinette assumed the alias of Lady Strange, alongside her identity of Ladybug, so that the Miraculous wielders could contact her and know she was the new Guardian without knowing that she was also their leader in the field.

On the one year anniversary of Lady Strange being the Grand Guardian of the Miraculous, there was a worldwide magical disturbance.

Unlike Fu, Marinette did not limit herself to reacting to Miraculous problems.

—*—*—*—*—*

When Stephen glided back down from the equivalent of thousands of years bargaining and dying with Dormammu, he expected Hong Kong to be in a mess. It had been, from what he remembered of the scene before he created the time loop.

But it wasn’t. Instead, the streets looked as if no damage at all had been created. Kaecilius and his remaining zealots were tied up, quite literally, in what looked like string and hung upside down from a lamp post. Sitting down on the curb of the sidewalk and giving him a dangerously sharp glare was a young woman in a spotted costume, a mask over her face. When Strange realized he could not get any of her features to stick in his memory, he realized what she was.

Another magic user, but different from a Sorcerer. Her Neptune blue eyes bore into him with an intensity he was wholly unprepared for, but had no problem baring. After dying almost a million times, a guy tends to grow a backbone of vibranium.

Wong and Mordo stood on either side of the girl, both at a respectful distance. Wong had this wide-eyed look on his face, so much more expressive than usual that it caught the new Sorcerer Supreme off guard. Wong looked… awed?

Mordo, on the other hand, was regarding the girl with a look of barely disguised disdain and distrust. That was in character though, so Stephen didn’t pay it much mind. Instead, he walked over even as his bargain with Dormammu kicked in and Kaecilius’s cult was banished to the Dark Dimension.

“You reversed the damage, then?” He asked without beating around the bush, glancing down briefly to assure that the Eye was, indeed, still on him. It was. The girl stood up, her eyes continuing to blaze with an unknown soup of emotion.

“I did,” she confirmed easily. It wasn’t until he stopped only a few feet away from her that the sorcerer noticed how small she was. The only detail his mind allowed to stick with him besides that fact was that she also looked young. Too young to have to deal with a mess like this. “You might not know of me. The Temple Of Guardians made a deal centuries ago that all records of their existence and our own magic be removed from any Sorcerer sanctums.”

“The temple that appeared in Tibet out of nowhere more than a year ago?” Strange asked, eyebrow raised. “I remember the Ancient One briefly mentioning how much of a hassle it was to hide their reappearance and teleport the temple’s location somewhere new. I was under the impression that all the members of that temple have been in a pocket dimension separate from this reality for almost two hundred years.”

“They have,” the girl confirmed with a nod. “But before that, one of the Guardians escaped that fate. He became the Grand Guardian, and was my teacher until he passed last year. He named me the new Grand Guardian to take his place,” she turned, looking at something that Stephen couldn’t see. “I have illusions keeping us from being seen by the crowd, but it would be better if we took this inside the sanctum,” she said, nodding her head to the Hong Kong Sanctum’s door behind them. Strange simply nodded, more than willing to distract himself from his immeasurably long torture by indulging his curiosity. If this girl showed up and went out of her way to repair the damage the sorcerers and Kaecilius caused, then he wanted to know why.

“Wait,” Mordo barked, walking up to have a heated discussion with Strange that ended in the former storming off. Stephen knew he should be concerned about his former friend’s desertion, but he couldn’t muster up the energy for it yet. Focusing on the mysterious girl in a ladybug suit was an easier topic for his exhausted mind to latch onto.

When they got inside, the Sorcerer Supreme saw that she had even reversed the damage in the building. He saw a few scattered disciples rubbing their heads and looking around in confusion from their spots crouched on the floor. Stephen was almost certain he had seen those same people as corpses before.

The ladybug-spotted girl had scarcely removed her gaze from him for even a second, and easily picked up on the older man’s train of thought.

“My powers reversed all the damage I could handle, including physical wounds and death,” she told him. Strange blinked.

“That explains why I thought you all looked odd. Your clothes are spotless and you don’t look like you’ve fought at all,” he directed that comment to Wong, who merely nodded. “But that doesn’t explain how you can do such a thing. I’ve been intensely studying magic and magic theory for the past almost three and a half years, and I haven’t come across any healing spell that can be this effective without the subject of the healing themselves helping to work the power through their body. I know you are not a sorcerer like we are, but what exactly is your magic? Who are the Guardians? And who exactly are you?”

The girl pursed her lips, waiting until the two older men led her to the still-wrecked tea room. Her power hadn’t been able to reach that far when she had to focus on reviving so many people without the regular Cure. That only worked on victims of Miraculous magic, what she used on the Hong Kong streets and the Sorcerers was a more advanced usage of Tikki’s powers that she learned from both Fu and her periodic visits to the Tibet temple.

“The Guardians are a group of monks dedicated to the protection and distribution of Miraculous, which is essentially magic jewelry. I would normally go on to say how this might sound unbelievable, but you have a very similar pendant around your neck right now,” she pointed out once they all sat and Wong conjured some tea for them all. Stephen tensed at her mention of the Eye of Agamotto, his eyes narrowing. Did she..?

“I know what is inside the Eye,” she confirmed his silent thought, her voice soft but firm. “And I don’t care about it in the slightest. It is probably a good reference point for my explanation though. At the birth of the universe—“

“The Stones came into existence, each one representing and controlling a core aspect of reality,” Strange interrupted impatiently. “I am the Sorcerer Supreme, girl, I already know that.”

The young female rolled her eyes, huffing. “If you listened patiently, you would know that the story you were told is only partially true,” she snapped back with false patience. “The Stones were not the only things of great power to be created during the birth of the universe. Kwami, the first living beings to be born, were also created. They are each living representations of abstract concepts, some of which overlap with the powers of the Stones. The first to be born is the Kwami of Creation. She is essentially the goddess of creation itself, the living embodiment of that very term in every way. She is the source of my abilities, she lends me her power as I am her chosen Wielder. It is that same power of creation that allowed me to essentially counteract the destruction that was caused today, by having a condensed form of her power combat the direct source of the destruction and nullify it. The second Kwami to come into existence is her counterpart and the only one equal to her in power, the Kwami of destruction. There are a lot more, including the Kwami of illusion that used her power to keep us from being seen outside. And the Kwami Of time, which allowed me to experience the time loop you created,” the girl’s eyes sharpened again, boring into his own. “I left it after the equivalent of a few weeks, when I realized I couldn’t join you and do anything to help. The Kwami Of Time is about two-thirds as powerful as the Stone by itself, and there are more than double the amount of Kwamis as there are Infinity Stones,” she took a deep breath. “My job as Grand Guardian is protecting all of them, and distributing the jewelry they are bound to as necessary to combat world or reality threatening events.”

Strange remained quiet after that, drinking in the information and doing his best to wrap his head around it. Perhaps this young woman wouldn’t mind telling him more at a later date, especially seeing as they held equivalent ranking in two separate secret magical organizations. His eyes trailed down to a necklace she was wearing.

“How many of these pieces of jewelry—“

“Miraculous,” She corrected. “That is what they are called.”

“... Miraculous, then. How many are you capable of wielding at once, if they are so similar in strength to a Stone?” Wond asked, crossing his arms. The pigtailed girl leaned back from her spot sitting on the ground with them, humming in thought for a second as she decided what to tell them. A glance at Stephen seemed to make up her mind.

“Creation and Destruction hold equal power to a Stone. The Miraculous one stage lower than that hold four-fifths the power of a Stone. The last tier, where the Time Miraculous sits, is two-thirds,” she told them from memory. “I can wield Illusion, which is on the second tier, along with two third-their, and both Creation and Destruction at the same time,” she admitted. “But it saps a lot of my energy and I rather not ever do that again, if you don’t mind. I can wield all of the Miraculous though, since all of the Kwamis like me and are loyal. I can wear any three at a time, and I can switch between them as quickly as I need to.”

Strange really needed some sleep. Five thousand year’s worth of sleep would be nice. He ran a hand over his forehead, wondering who in the world gave this much responsibility and power to a child.

“One last question, and then you can spend the night if you wish, we’ll begin reconstruction of all the Sanctums in the morning,” Stephen spoke, forcing his back to straighten and his eyes to meet the girl’s. “You never answered it, actually. Who are you?”

The girl's mouth twitched in the first semblance of a smile he had seen on her yet.

“When I am in this transformation, I am Ladybug the hero of Paris,” she said with a grin. “Spots off.”

A soft pink glow ran down her body, very similar to the ring of power that sling rings produced to make portals. It left behind an adorable teenage girl with blue-black hair pulled back into pigtails, and striking blue eyes. She was clearly of Asian descent, but there was something else very familiar about the sharpness of her jaw or the stubbornness in her lip.

“My real name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. However, I go by an alias whenever I act as Grand Guardian, so that there is an extra layer of secrecy to protect me and my loved ones. I created that alias based on my biological father, who was never told that I was even conceived,” she said meaningfully, never losing eye contact with Stephen. His eyebrows furrowed.

“That’s pitiful, but what does—“

“My alias is Lady Strange.”

Wong barked out a short laugh before he forcibly covered his mouth, his eyes filled with sadistic amusement as he watched Strange’s reaction. The elder Strange, that is.

The new leader of the Sorcerers opened and closed his mouth like a fish, completely caught off guard. He looked over to Wong.

“Is there a spell to test paternity?” He asked warily. Marinette’s smile fell a bit, but Wong nodded.

A few flashes of orange light and two green ‘99% Match’ results later, Strange let his head fall into his hands.

“Alright, Marinette,” he finally managed to mumble through the slightly trembling appendages still covering his face. “I just spent thousands of years in a time loop with the Lord of Chaos, my back aches, my head aches, I will deal with this in the morning. Or whenever I wake up. Figures my own blood relation would end up in a position of extreme magical power, must be genetic. I still have questions, but sleep comes first. Don’t expect me to be a good parent. I really need sleep.”

Marinette just giggled, standing up and helping her father to his feet with surprising ease. “Just tell me where to go and I can drop you off in your room. No more magic for the rest of the day, you’re clearly spent. And as long as you make an effort, I’ll be fine. But don’t expect to ignore me and I’ll just go away, I have ways to track you to the ends of the universe and across the multiverse and time itself, and I will not hesitate.”

“Yep, she’s your daughter alright.”

“Sleep, Wong. It’s good for the brain.”

#mlb x marvel #doctor stephen strange #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #doctor strange #no romantic pairing yet #Only familial pairing right now

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powerdragonmoon · 7 years

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Drool, Rain, and Mud

Ahhhhh the perfect ingredients for a first date... wait, what?

A birthday oneshot fic for the great @smiling-grouch !!! Sorry this is like 3 days too late... hey! Happy Valentine’s Day!! I just made it!!

(ao3 link)

So in honour of the great artists this adrienette month, I’m trying to do my part by contributing too, so consider this a late bday present, a Valentine’s day gift, and a late Adrinette Month prompt for day 10 - the balcony!

Mostly this work is loosely inspired by two pieces of Emily’s awesome Adrienette this month see them linked here and here

Also another bonus art at the end of this - from another awesome artist! It’s a bit spoilery so i’ll link I included it at the end! Enjoy!

Things weren’t going as smoothly as planned…

Adrien sat in his seat, his right leg vibrating with nervousness, his hands gripping the bucket of popcorn in his hands. He tried his best to discretely look over to the girl sitting next to him. Turning slightly, he looked out of the corner of eye to sneak a peak.

Maybe it wasn’t the best idea…

The light of the movie playing on the large screen in front of them danced across her features. Her dark hair, shone blue in the dark theatre, her face illuminated by the flashing glares. Her deep blue eyes were locked onto the screen watching in awe as a scene played out – one that Adrien had long since stopped paying attention to. He was much too distracted to keep up with the movie’s plot. He simply watched as her eyes flickered, fanning her lovely eyelashes against her face as she blinked. Her small, pouting mouth was slightly opened. Lips that shined, reflecting the theatre lights off of her pretty pink lip-gloss.

She was beautiful.

He noticed her straighten, and just before she turned to look at him, looking at her, Adrien whipped forward, looking back up to the movie screen with a distinct blush on his face.

He was so screwed.

Why had he thought a date at the movies was a good idea? It seemed like a common date activity, but now sitting here next to her, all Adrien could do was scream internally.

Again, stealing a glance, out of the corner of his eye he could she her hand on the armrest. All he wanted was to reach out and hold it… but his hands were full, holding the bucket of popcorn that he was way too nervous to eat anyways.

Huffing a small breath, he tried his best to pay attention to the movie, but every slight move she made next to him had him on alert… he couldn’t focus.

Why did he suggest the movies as a first date? It was torture. She was sitting so close, but he couldn’t say anything, at least not without interrupting the movie. And even then, what would he say? It was complete torture.

That was until a pressure on his shoulder became more and more apparent. Turning towards her, Adrien almost jumped out of his seat when he saw her leaning against him, her head perched gently against his shoulder.

Thankfully, he hadn’t startled her. Carefully, Adrien stretched his neck out to peer down at her face…

She was sleeping.

His eyes widened, taking in her heavy breaths. What was he supposed to do!?! Was this movie – or even worse this date – so boring, that it made her fall asleep!?!

Her arm still lay on the armrest. Hand perched, palms up, her delicate fingers curled loosely.

Adrien fidgeted nervously, trying his best not to disturb her. He contemplated reaching for his phone in his bag to send an emergency text to Nino, begging for some guidance… but he feared the movement would wake her. So he remained frozen, staring down at her sleeping, peaceful form.

Her eyes were close, her mouth slightly opened. The fringe of her hair cast a shadow across her features, but even in the dark Adrien could just make out the freckles spread out on her face.

He smiled.

She was cute.

And so for the rest of the movie he spent his time ensuring he stayed as still as possible for her comfort. He chuckled softly when she gave a few soft snores; luckily no one else was seated near enough to hear. But most of the time, Adrien fretted over that hand on the armrest.

As the minutes past by, he debated with himself whether of not he should reach out, to hold her hand as he so desperately wanted to do. But it just didn’t seem right, and his hands flexed around the bucket of popcorn as he tried to busy himself with the movie playing on the screen.

Huffing a breath, Adrien wondered if this date could get any worse.

He probably should have known better by now than to jinx it with such a thought.

By the end of the movie, he had still not gotten the courage up to hold her hand. And when she awoke halfway through the end credits, she seemed completely mortified that she had fallen asleep. Even worse, she seemed to be overcome with embarrassment at having drooled a little on his shoulder, not that Adrien minded in the slightest. He tried his best to assure her that it was totally fine. But between the two of them, flustered as they were, it seemed to be difficult for either one of them to form a proper sentence.

As they left the theatre, with the faint atmosphere of awkwardness that Adrien wasn’t able to quell, they walked outside to face a torrential downpour of rain. They stayed hidden in the shelter of the theatre’s awning, Adrien contemplating whether of not to call his driver to pick them up… when from beside him she spoke up.

“There’s a café just down the street,” she pointed in the general direction, chewing on her bottom lip for a moment before continuing, “We could make a run for it?”

Tilting his head, Adrien stared down at her with a question on his face, one that he was about to voice, but he was suddenly cut off by the challenge in her expression…

“What? Don’t like the rain?” she remarked a sly smile on her face as she held her hands out from under the awning’s cover. The rain quickly soaked her small hands and she giggled, turning to him and raising a daring brow.

“I’ll race ya,” she continued, as a pattering of pink played out across her cheeks – most likely from the cold. It made Adrien want to protest the idea. He didn’t want her to get sick because of a silly dare on a lame date. But he couldn’t even voice his objection, he was too stunned by her sly little smirk and before he knew it, she had taken off into the rain, getting a healthy head start over him.

Blinking in surprise, he watched her retreating form before he was brought back to reality, a shock of thunder bringing him out of his daze. He heard the echo of her laughter against the pounding of the rain against the pavement and the pounding of his heart in his chest.

Like a bolt of lightning he gave chase, running after her, his own laughter spilling out of him.

He caught up to her easily and he briefly wondered if she had purposely slowed herself down for his own benefit. He knew she was just as fast as him. Within minutes, they were absolutely soaked by the rain, as they sprinted down the street side by side, smiles breaking across both their faces.

And then as they rounded a corner, the café just coming into their sights, she surprised him by being able to easily make the decision that had plagued him throughout the entire movie. Their hands brushed past each other as they continued their run. And as if it were the most natural thing to do, she reached for his hand, grabbing a hold of it. Her eyes closed for a moment against the raindrops falling across her face and her soft laugh filled the space between them. She gave his hand a light squeeze as she opened her eyes to face him, a smile on her face that he easily returned.

They found shelter in the café, walking in and receiving the most questioning glances from the patrons and staff. There they were, silly kids, completely soaked to the bone, fully flushed from their speedy race, and giggling like idiots. They quickly stepped back outside to trying to wring out their clothing as much as possible and collect themselves.

On their second entry into the café, they attracted slightly less attention and they quickly settled into seats at a small table in the corner of the room, smiles still on their faces.

From inside the warm atmosphere of the café, they enjoyed warm cups of hot chocolate, gazing out into the passing storm outside the window. The café itself was lined with potted plants and flowers. Large and beautiful green vines lined the walls, bordering around the windows. Adrien could instantly see the appeal, he was happy she had suggested it. He felt like he was in a rainforest, but when he looked into her glittering blue eyes he saw the sea.

As nervous as he had been, it seemed that their rainstorm excursion had lightened the mood and allowed them to let their awkwardness melt away.

Her wet hair was just adorable, her bangs slightly glued to her forehead and pigtails starting to curl as they dried. Adrien worried slightly that he wasn’t quite able to pull of the messy hair look. He kept self-consciously reaching up to his hair to make sure it wasn’t too messy and dishevelled. She seemed to enjoy the action, even reaching forward after he ran his hand through his hair for what must have been the thirteenth time to ruffle it. He jumped in surprise, blushing as she giggled.

And so they stayed in the café, chatting about their week, making silly jokes, and telling long nonsensical stories until the rain had past and their clothes had become slightly more dry.

They left the café and Adrien couldn’t remember a day he had smiled so much. He still felt a little unsure if she had enjoyed the date as much as he had. Perhaps she was just smiling for his benefit… she had fallen asleep in the theatre… and maybe the sudden downpour of rain had ruined their day together… he couldn’t be sure, and even worse he couldn’t just come out and ask her.

The thoughts attacked him as he walked with her back to her home, the awkward silence springing back up between them and effectively stifling him of any conversation starters. He raked his brain for any sort of subject to bring up… a funny anecdote? a question about their homework? asking her about her latest design project? He couldn’t think of anything that they hadn’t already covered over hot chocolate.

His concern went unnoticed by her, and he was pleasantly shocked when he felt her again reaching for his hand with a bright smile on her face.

Perhaps he could be okay with a silence like this.

They slowly made their way back to her home, though not without incident. Along the way, Adrien, still slightly dazed in her presence, and still walking with her, hand and hand, had splashed into a puddle left by the earlier rainfall, splashing them both in muddy water. He was completely flustered, worrying over her and concerned for her outfit – which he was sure she had handmade her self.

She was completely charming though about the whole disaster, trying to assuage his concerns. It all made Adrien wish for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. But even when he tried to let go of her hand, she tightened her grip, making him change his mind about the idea, cause he wouldn’t want to drag her down with him.

Once they had made it back to her familiar street, she paused just by the park outside her home, turning to him, hand still holding his. He gulped staring down at her pretty face, the blush rushing back to his cheeks.

She shyly kicked at the dirt under her feet, looking down at the ground. For a moment he worried that she was going to voice her displeasure about their date, and with that gentle voice of hers let him know that it just wasn’t working and they should just never speak to each other ever again. He froze, internally screaming.

And then she looked back up at him with her bluebell eyes and he melted.

“So, um,” she started, eyes flickering back down to ground for a second before meeting his gaze once more, “My parents can be a bit nosy… So I thought we – well, that we could say goodbye here?” Her voice rose at the end, as if asking a question.

Blushing probably just as much as himself as this point she continued, “Not that I don’t want you to come drop me off!!” She waved her free arm out in front of her, “I just thought… ummm… if we wanted, we could get our goodbyes out of the way now…”

She went on with her rambling, but Adrien no idea what she was going on about. Sure he, guessed he could say goodbye to her now… but he could also say goodbye to her at the bakery, no? He stood there, eyes softening at how adorable she was. He reached out grabbing her other hand. The action caused her to pause, staring up at him with wide eyes.

“Marinette,” he spoke, “I had a wonderful time.”

“Oh,” she replied, her mouth slightly pouted, “S-so did I!”

He smiled. And she blushed even deeper.

Then to his complete surprise, she leaned towards him.

Adrien blinked in surprise, watching as she slowly moved closer and closer… THAT’S WHAT SHE MEANT BY SAYING GOODBYE YOU IDIOT, his inner voice screamed at him. He watched, unmoving as her eyes slowly closing and lips pouting ever so slightly…

But before he even could properly comprehend what happening, before he even realized that she might have been leaning in for a kiss, she had already moved away.

Adrien tilted his head at her odd expression, she blinked her eyes slowly as few times, letting go of one of his hands – and he immediately missed the feel of both her hands in his.

“Ah-choo!”

He jumped at her loud sneeze, wanting to laugh that such a loud noise could come out from such a small person, but he quickly passed his first instinct to tease her, and was instead overcome with worry.

Perhaps she was getting sick from their day in the rain. Immediately he berated himself, what a good job. He had gotten her sick on their first date!

Amidst her quick apologies, Adrien cut in with apologies of his own, until they were both completely flustered and on the verge of rambling to no end.

Eventually Adrien decided it was probably best to end the date in order for her to get rest. He fretted that she was getting sick and they made their way to her home as he continued to voice, “I’m so sorry”, while she was quick to reject his worries, insisting she was fine.

Once they stepped into the bakery doors, her parents quickly joined them and they rapidly fired off question after question in regards to their date. But before he could even answer, Marinette was pushing Adrien out the door.

“Quick!” She whispered, as her parents craned their necks, as if it would help them hear their secret conversation, “Save yourself!”

Surprised, Adrien barely had time to reply, just catching her speedy and stammering, words, “Ireallyhadagoodtime!Thankyou!Kbye!”

And the door was shut, leaving Adrien completing perplexed on the sidewalk before a sharp poking from his bag snapped him out of it. He headed home, simultaneously on cloud nine and wishing to find a dark, dark cave to hide in.

“IT WAS A DISASTER!” He lamented, head buried under his pillow as he lay face down on his bed… it wasn’t a dark cave, but it would do for now. It was now well into the evening and Adrien was still plagued with worry over their date.

From somewhere in his room he could hear the distinct sound of his kwami shuffling among his belongings, most likely on the search for Camembert.

“Well, how about this for advice, kid,” Plagg spoke, his voice still able to cut across the room and through the pillow over Adrien’s head, “On your next date, trying not running through a monsoon!”

Sighing dejectedly, Adrien softly replied, “Sorry. And you don’t have to worry; there’ll never be another date… She hates me.”

He heard the whooshing sound of air above him as Plagg flew up towards him.

“Oh come on, I’m sure she doesn’t hate you,” his kwami said resting a top the pillow on his head. Adrien could hear the slight sarcasm dripping in his tone, “She’s probably too sick to think about you, really…”

“UGH!” Adrien buried himself deeper under his pillow, adding another one on top of his head, and almost smacking Plagg in the process.

“Hey!” Plagg shouted, slightly alarmed as he dodged out of the pillow attack. “What? What did I say?” he went on, raising his tiny hands into the air as he continued to zoom around the room, “Do you have any Camembert?”

Which is how after about another hour of dramatic lamenting, Adrien found himself transformed into Chat Noir, vaulting the short distance between their homes.

He landed on the roof of a building right across from the bakery, peering at the twinkling fairy lights she had strung across her balcony.

And there leaning against the rails, staring up into the night sky, she stood.

Marinette.

He sighed.

She was so beautiful.

His cat ears twitched, catching the soft sound of her humming from where he crouched. The gentle song travelled directly into his heart.

Before he could stop himself he leapt forward, landing directly on the rails, right beside her. She jumped, almost tripping over her own feet as she stepped backwards. She flailed for a moment, and he reached out to help her, but she quickly recovered, not needing to accept his outstretched arm. She stared at him with wide eyes, before she shifted, crossing her arms and glaring up at him.

This didn’t deter him… He was seemingly freed from his self-consciousness, now that he was hidden behind his mask. His inhibitions had vanished into thin air.

“Good evening, Princess,” he purred, stepping down from the railing.

She scoffed at him, moving past him as he advanced forward, going back to leaning against the railing.

She turned looking back at him with a slightly sceptical expression, “Hello Chat Noir, can I help you with something?”

“Oh, no, just stopping by. You know hero business and all that. Gotta ensure the safety of all of Paris’ dear citizens,” he replied, turning to join her side, leaning with his back against the rails, “And as I conducted my patrol, I just so happened to hear a lovely songbird and…” he turned to flash her his signature smirk, to maybe slip a pun or send a half-hearted tease her way, however as his eyes feel upon her, he ended up leaving the sentence hanging in the air.

She didn’t seem to be listening to him, she was back to staring up at the sky, head propped against her hand that was resting against the rail. With a small smile on her face, her cheeks flushed pink in the evening light.

Chat Noir stared as her, slightly confused… What was she doing? He leaned in closer. Did she have a fever? Was she sick? Was she singing away the sorrows of a terrible first date!?!

Suddenly very nervous, he stepped away, distracting himself by looking down at her flower box and the lovely red roses that bloomed forth from it. Maybe he should have brought flowers for their date?

Slightly curious – you know how the saying goes – Chat glanced shyly up at Marinette at the sound of her soft sigh. His cat ears feel flat against his blonde hair. He suddenly didn’t feel quite as confident as he usually did when transformed into his superhero persona.

“Have a good day, Princess?” he asked, hoping to test the waters.

“Mhmm,” she hummed, the blush on her face darkening. Maybe she shouldn’t be outside… if she was sick it probably wasn’t the best idea.

He was about to voice his concern, when she continued on.

“It was perfect”

WHAT?!

Chat straightened up in surprise, it was perfect?! Did something else happen before or after their date? Because as he went over their date in his mind – as he had done all evening – with her falling asleep, them running cold in the rain, him splashing her with muddy water, he started to wonder if she was talking about a different part of her day…

“Oh...” he coughed nervously under his breath, “Really?”

She sighed, turning to glance at him, “Yeah…”

He reached up with a hand to nervously fuss with his hair, “Um, w-well that’s good to hear.”

Still staring at him, she tilted her head, as if to ask a question. Instead, however, she smirked at him, eyes slightly narrowing, making him blush under her close examination.

“Hmmmm,” she continued playfully, “Actually, Mr. Noir, I just so happened to go on a date today.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Really?” he asked, with a squeak in his voice, he flinched, clearing his throat, before repeating himself once more with a more deeper tone, “Is that right?”

If she had noticed his voice crack, she didn’t let it show. Instead she turned back to look at the lit up city.

She smiled, staring out towards the Notre Dame in the distance, its stain glass windows glittering in the starlight.

“Yes,” she replied, whispering softly, “It was just about perfect…”

JUST ABOUT!?!

He knew it… it was awful. Hanging his head, he stared down at the floor of her balcony, wishing once more for a dark cave to hide in, for the ground to open up and swallow him. It was awful, she had had a terrible time, she was just being nice, sugar coating her words for his benefit.

“Chat?”

He looked up to see her standing right in front of him. Jumping slightly, he straightened up looking down at her concerned face.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

Coughing into his hand he waved her off, “Of course, Princess! I’m doing great. Fantastic! Just fine, thank you… How are you?”

Furrowing her brow, she pouted, confused by his sudden rambling.

“I’m ooooookay,” she answered drawing out the word before continuing on, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes! Yes!” he answered back, quickly stepping backwards as she stepped forwards, towards him, “I’m doing just swell.” He flinched, both in reaction to his obvious lie and because he had bumped into the rail of her balcony. The roses in the flowerbed rustled, leaves shaking against the action.

Clearing his throat again he mustered up the courage to go on.

“I-I… was just wondering…” he coughed under his breath.

She looked up at him, hands innocently behind her back, waiting for him to continue.

“Yes?” she asked, stepping closer.

He fidgeted on the spot, looking anywhere but into her blue eyes.

“You said…” he cleared his throat again, “You said your date was ‘almost perfect’?”

She giggled, and the sound was an arrow flying straight through his heart.

Smiling, she said, “Yes… there was just one thing missing from making it absolutely perfect…”

He made the mistake of looking at her… was she even closer now? He wasn't sure, but then again he wasn’t quite sure of anything at this point. He especially wasn’t sure of what to make of the mischievous look on her face.

“Y-yeah?” he stuttered, flinching at himself. Where had his smooth Chat Noir attitude gone?? Puffing a breath, he looked upwards. It must have evaporated away the minute she smiled at him…

And then just when he thought she couldn’t get any closer, she reached out, wrapping her arms around his waist. And he was suddenly very, very aware of the heat building up in his cheeks… perhaps he was sick too?

He looked down at her hands against the black of his suit, then back up into her starry eyes. Unable to form a sentence, he simply stared at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

She smiled shyly, glancing down at the ground before connecting back to his green eyes that glowed in the dark. She bit down on her lower lip, leaning in even further.

With a small whisper – and since they were so close at this point, it was more than enough volume for him to hear her – she said, “You forgot to kiss me goodnight.”

And with that she leaned forward, crossing off the one final thing missing from their perfect, imperfect first date.

Welp, there you have it!! hope you enjoyed!

Here’s that bonus art I spoke of! (Seriously check out @yunyin although I’m sure you already have! She is doing amazing art this month!) The balcony kiss was inspired by her art, linked here

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