#and it would be a great testament to his development without giving adrien up as narrator | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

notoriously-blonde · 4 years

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Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

This is my gift to @gryffindorcls for @mlsecretsanta! Took me a long time and a lot of brain smacking to get this to be good enough! Sorry it took so long and I hope you enjoy it! Read on AO3 here. Beta-d by @xthreeravensx

Summary: After a talk with Ladybug, Chat's actions and the consequences are brought to light, Adrien vows to never be the type of person he was before. Hist first step: move on from Ladybug. In his journey to greatness, Marinette sneaks into his heart completely under the radar.

Sitting in class, Adrien has his head resting on his fist. It has been a few weeks since his talk with Ladybug. Since his actions were brought to light. Since how his actions were affecting Ladybug was brought to light. It was the day that Adrien decided to move on from Ladybug. He can’t be acting like that, especially with his partner, they are supposed to be in sync, and the way he was acting was hindering their synchronization.

And now...well, with Ladybug no longer controlling most of his thoughts, he’s found himself to be...bored. There just isn’t much to do anymore. Piano is plain and simple now, he doesn’t even have to think about how his fingers should move. Fencing is easy, too easy. Kagami isn’t even proving to be a challenge anymore.

The abilities his miraculous bestow upon him while transformed have been bleeding into his civilian life for a while now. He’s processing visual, auditory, smell, and physical stimulus much faster. His reaction time is faster. He’s stronger, not sure exactly how much stronger, but he knows he is. Plus, he already has so many trophies, a whole shelving unit of them.

So, with the reasoning that fencing is too easy and that he has proved himself many times over that he is more than proficient in that field, he decided to go to Father and tell him how he believes that studying another form of martial arts would be beneficial, more specifically, the bo staff. He spent a few hours analyzing how he fights as Chat Noir and came to conclude that he often times uses the baton like a sword/Sabre and not as a baton/bo staff. If he wants to maximize his fighting as Chat Noir, it might be beneficial to learn the bo staff.

It took a few days, but eventually he got Father to agree. Now he’s working with a trained professional to better use a bo staff. And, if Adrien’s being honest, it feels really, really good.

His training with the bo staff has proved useful in his superhero training and in fights. And he’s found it a bit easier to provide an easier defense using bo staff training rather than fencing. Maybe he should pick up karate, or judo? He’ll have to look into it.

And, with better training and a better defense, he’s found that he isn’t getting incapacitated in battles nearly as much. Not worrying about impressing Ladybug is a pretty big weight off his shoulders.

He remembers that fateful night vividly. Her words still ring through his head. Her tone. Her eyes, the hurt in them, the tears. He remembers the stabbing pain in his chest when she told him that she had almost been akumatized twice. Not particularly because of him, but his actions hadn’t helped much. From that moment, he vowed to stop at all costs. Vowed to help her in any way. And, with how his actions have been affecting her, the only solution he saw was to give up the ring. Let someone else, someone better, be the partner she needs. Someone who wouldn’t make it harder not to be akumatized.

He remembers the tears he tried to hide, trying to suppress Plagg’s faint voice in the back of his mind.

He remembers how her hands felt on his hand, cupping the ring.

He remembers how it felt when she used her hands to close his hand into a fist, moving her hands to cup his fist, enclose the ring in both their hands. ‘Chaton...’ her voice was wavering slightly, but there was pride in her tone. Determination burning in her eyes, from deep in her core. ‘I’ve already found the perfect match for Plagg. And that person is you.’ The way she had looked at him right then, the way she looked at the butterfly image of Hawkmoth that second day, the way she looks at him after she casts the restoring ladybugs, the love, admiration, gratitude; it baffled him.

He is unashamed to admit that he had broken down a second later, that they stayed in a tight embrace for quite a while longer; that all through this time, he was sniffling and sobbing.

Ladybug brought the errors of his ways to light, and then, when he was ready to give up being her partner because of how he had acted, she decided that he didn’t need to. That her perfect partner is just beneath the surface of a boy who needed help to understand.

And now...now he’s more of the partner she needs than ever before. In the few weeks since The Talk, Akuma battles have gone easier, they’ve been more in sync than ever. Ladybug discovered a way to cast the restoration swarm without using a Lucky Charm, which then reduced the need for Cataclysm and Lucky Charm. Which allowed them more time to comfort the victim, reassure the public that they are doing what they need to to take down Hawkmoth. It allows them more time to grow together, grow stronger. They haven’t called in any temporary heroes since The Talk, either.

Adrien turns the tablet to the side, and starts scribbling down ideas. Ladybug has... three powers, possibly four now? He understands why she needs them. The universe is on a constant fast track toward destruction and death, so it makes sense that Creation needs to be a little bit more powerful, no? It’s just...having a single power makes him feel more like a sidekick than her partner. Like...like he’s just a permanent type temp.

And, before The Talk, before his improvements, he was perfectly content to be that. But... now that he has become better, it feels...slightly out of balance. The Black Cat is one of the two most powerful miraculous to exist. It seems a bit weird to have Ladybug have three powers and he only has one? He’s still fine with it, mostly, he can just admit to himself now that maybe having another power wouldn’t be that bad, would it?

He starts drawing a black ball. A black hole. The product of such a destructive death that the gravity makes it impossible for even light to escape. Black holes are such beautiful things, forces of nature that instill fear among every living thing. Except Plagg. He says he accidentally created one with a yawn. Or maybe that black holes are extensions of his mouth and stomach. It might be the latter option. He’s a complete pig.

Black holes are often viewed as portals to a different dimension. So...what if there could be a way his powers could develop to create such portals? That would be awesome!

Suddenly, a yawn interrupts his thoughts. A yawn from directly behind him. A smile creeps onto his face.

Marinette. Such an amazing person, capable of amazing feats. Capable of so much kindness, selflessness, compassion, bravery, desire, determination. It’s amazing how such a tiny frame can hold such big attributes. But, it isn’t all that surprising. That’s just who Marinette is. An amazing, determined, kind, smart, and creative person.

Plus, her yawns are adorable!

For the past few weeks, Adrien has begun to notice how stressed she’s become. She has so much on her plate that he’s surprised she isn’t spontaneously combusting under pressure. Then again, diamonds are formed under intense heat and pressure, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng? She is one heck of a diamond.

He’s been trying to think of ways he can help her destress, somehow. But he hasn’t had much progress. Talking to her doesn’t seem to destress her, he’s tried many times, but the bruises she still has are a testament to how much he stresses her out. Those walls didn’t look comforting. Or the light poles. Or benches.

Maybe he should start walking with her to make sure she doesn’t concuss herself, if she isn’t already living in one continuous concussion. Maybe Ladybug can lend Marinette some luck, only the stars know how much she needs it.

Another yawn comes from behind, and the smile creeps onto Adrien’s face again. Looks like someone didn’t quite get enough sleep. Maybe the akuma attack early this morning was a bit too loud?

Suddenly, an idea strikes him, and he looks to his cup of untouched coffee. A shot of espresso in it. Father would get an aneurysm if he saw the espresso in the coffee. He’d probably get the aneurysm from the knowledge that he even drinks coffee.

His smile turns sly at that. Oh, how he wishes he could tell Father about the coffee, but he won’t because coffee just so happens to keep him alive some days.

He picks it up and swivels around to look at Marinette. Her eyes are droopy, and there are slight bags under her eyes. Not noticeable unless you were looking for them. He smiles a warm smile and sets the cup down in front of her, and his smile turns a little bit more genuine when Marinette squeaks a little bit, her cheeks dusting pink. She’s so adorable!

“For you. I couldn’t help but notice that you seemed tired. It’s untouched, but that also means that it’s colder than it should be. Hope it helps.” Then he turns back around, the elbow to Marinette from Alya as well as the suggestive look, and the look of confusion from Nino going unnoticed. Adrien did, however, notice the faint growl emanating from the back of the classroom.

Lila, he growls inwardly. Ever since he told her to get Marinette back in school, she’s had an eerily quiet growl in the back of her throat at all times. It’s like she can’t contain her rage in any capacity anymore.

He’s not sure why she’s so enraged at the prospect of him and Marinette being friends, or why she’s so set on lying, but Adrien knows this for sure: Lila will do whatever she can to stress Marinette out further.

So all Adrien needs to do to thank Marinette for everything she does for everyone is to help get her out of stressful situations.

He’ll do all that he can to do that.

So far, all Adrien’s been able to do without stressing her out much is to bring coffee every morning. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like she needs it, but there are a few days where it seems to help out a lot. This in turn has helped Marinette to loosen up around him a little bit. While she still squeaks and flails, she has stopped running into walls.

He still thinks she needs to go check for a concussion. If she doesn’t end up having one, well, it’ll be more surprising than Hawkmoth surrendering his miraculous.

And, if Marinette is starting to loosen up around him now... maybe he can deploy a few tricks to help.

Hopefully she likes inspiration!

Judging by the slight wheezing he’s been hearing all day, Adrien’s assuming that she doesn’t quite like what he wrote on the cup. ‘Remember, the strongest, brightest gems are formed in intense heat and pressure. So far, you outshine the rest.’ Maybe he should tone down the Chat Noir?

Adrien slides into his seat, turns around and places his—Marinette’s—cup of coffee on her desk, right where she would see it and, hopefully, not knock it over, like the first time. With a smile, he turns back around and catches sight of Nino looking at him with that look again.

“What’s that for?” he asks, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back against the front of the desk behind him. Closer to Marinette. Maybe.

“Dude, what’s up with you?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” he says, furrowing his brows a bit. He only brought a cup of coffee for Marinette.

Nino cocks an eyebrow. “You’ve been bringing Mari a cup of coffee every day for the past week. Why?”

Adrien furrows his eyebrows in further confusion. “Is...it not acceptable to bring friends coffee?”

Nino looks confused and frustrated, then his eyes widen in understanding and he rests a hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “Dude, my man, that’s, uh, yeah it’s acceptable—”

“Then what’s the problem?” Adrien cuts in. “Why is it such a big deal?”

“Adrien, sure it’s acceptable, but normally, people buy coffee for the people they like.”

“I do like Marinette!” She is such an amazing person, his second friend, (Plagg is his actual first friend, but Plagg is an immortal god that represents all of destruction in the universe, he does not count toward his human friend count), she does so much for everyone. She’s kind and brave, and clumsy, and adorable, of course he likes her, they’re friends!

He regrets saying that so loud, he can hear how Alya’s heart rate is through the roof, it happens whenever she spots something she can get the scoop on. It’s been happening a lot this past week when he’s dropped off the coffee for Marinette.

...He doesn’t know why. It confuses him greatly. And, honestly, why hasn’t anyone else been bringing her coffee, she’s clearly in dire need of it!

Plus, Nino’s eyes widen even further. “Oh, do you now?” For a brief second, Nino’s eyes dart to the right. Right to Alya. He’s been doing that a lot too. What is going on?!

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I? She’s an amazing person. One of the best friends I could have! What’s so wrong about bringing my friend coffee?”

At this, Nino is confused again, then an exasperated look crosses his face and only gets more exasperated when he looks to Alya again. Seriously, why’s he doing that? Are they planning something for Marinette? Her birthday isn’t for another few months.

When Nino looks back, there is something in his gaze that Adrien can’t quite read. It’s... like he pities him? No, Nino isn’t like that. He’s... disappointed? It’s like when parents look at they’re naive children in those movies when they say something that is completely and utterly untrue. Like an all seeing eye, but he can’t say anything.

It confuses Adrien even more. What’s Nino looking at him like that for?

Then, Marinette comes running in, a minute before the bell, as usual, but she’s a bit early today. Maybe she got some good sleep! He jerks his head to her, jumping out of his conversation with Nino, and focusing solely on Marinette. He hopes she’s doing better.

But... no, one look at her eyes, her posture, it’s normal, maybe even worse? Her hair is not quite as shiny as usual, her skin is lacking a little bit of that natural shine, the joy, the happiness. The area under her eyes is slightly darker than it should be, she might have used concealer to cover up bags? One pant leg is rolled up a bit too high, and she’s wearing different length socks.

Her heartbeat is pretty high, and it isn’t going down. In fact, when he looks back to her eyes and they lock gazes for a moment, her heart skips a few beats, then kicks into overdrive and she hurriedly breaks eye contact and gets to her seat.

Hmm...she still isn’t comfortable around him. Maybe this will cheer her up a bit. ‘Marinate’, deserves it.

And, judging by how her heart rate slows down a bit, he thinks it’s working. And, as she inhales the coffee, her heart rate slows even more.

Maybe he might just get some progress with her?

At the end of the day, Nino hands him a note scrawled in neat, loopy, beautiful letters. He’ll recognize that writing anywhere, it’s on his signed Jagged Stone album. It’s Marinette’s.

‘Thank you for the coffee, but if you’re going to keep doing this, is it okay if you add in a bit more caffeine?

(And by that, I mean three more shots.)’

Adrien’s concern skyrockets, he already adds an absurd amount of espresso to the coffee, how bad it it really if she needs that?

Well, a friend’s gotta do what a friend’s gotta do.

The next morning, there is a warm cup of coffee with three shots of espresso in there, waiting for Marinette on her desk. ‘Hope this doesn’t kill you! You are crazy Manatee!’ written on the side.

The next morning, Marinette comes in, but as she passes Adrien and Nino’s desk, she slides him a slip of paper. ‘The coffee helps, but would it be okay if you just got 16fl oz of espresso? I get...really, really tired and anxious.)’

He can’t hide his surprise even if he wanted to, as he whips around to look at Marinette, already downing her coffee.

This girl, she’s going to transform her blood into pure caffeine if he keeps doing this. Maybe, once they’re closer, he can start to wean her off of it?

Another week later, and Marinette is at 16fl oz of caffeine with two shots of extra espresso. Everyone at the coffee shop is giving him extremely concerned looks.

But, it’s helping her, and so are his little messages.

Her heart rate hasn’t broken 180 in the classroom in a few days.

Two days later, the ‘Days without Marinette Stress’ counter is reset to zero.

They are in Mme. Bustier’s class, waiting for the term project.

Everyone was anticipating that it would be a solo project, so when M. Bustier announces that it will be a partner project, everyone’s excitement skyrockets. She’s even letting them choose their partners!

Nino goes to Alya, Ivan to Mylene, Rose to Juleka, Chloe goes to get to Adrien, but Sabrina gets to Chloé first, bullet dodged . Kim goes to Max, Alix goes to Nathaniel. This leaves Lila, Marinette and Adrien.

For some reason, a dark, deep hiss builds in his chest as the prospect of Marinette partnering with Lila. Might have something to do with the fact that Lila is actively trying to hurt Marinette in any way possible.

So, without thinking, he jumps in in an instant (he hadn’t planned on using his enhanced speed, but it was Lila ). He’d much rather be seen as weirdly agile than have Marinette withstand any more stress and threats from Lila.

Once the partners are chosen, Mme. Bustier excuses Lila from the project, since she already missed so much of the assignments that she has yet to get caught up on, she doesn’t want Lila’s grades to drop any further.

Once that’s taken care of, Mme. Bustier announces what they’re doing for the project. They are to write a short story about anything they want, it just has to include a bad relationship turned good.

And...after a few minutes of trying to brainstorm, Marinette starts to wheeze a bit and rushes off to the bathroom.

It doesn’t make Adrien feel very good. He thought they were making progress, but... well, jokes and silly things tend to help her anxiety, he should brainstorm a few silly ideas.

Like...a baby is born incredibly smart, and is competing with the father for the mother’s attention and keeps taunting the father.

An old man loses his friend due to an argument about gum, and the other guy has been holding this grudge for 25 years.

A cat is having some extreme trouble opening a jam jar, so he brings it around to his human slaves for assistance, the humans aren’t much help.

...this is why Ladybug is the brains of the operation. She’s much more creative.

Adrien glares down at the paper, his hands in fists.

Maybe...maybe if he glares hard enough an idea will pop into his head.

When Marinette comes back, he still hasn’t gotten any other ideas.

She slides into the seat next to him, a bit close, but far enough away to still allow him some personal space. She’s so considerate!

A small giggle breaks him from his angry glare and he looks to its source. Marinette has her hand over her mouth, clamped hard, her cheeks pink, looking at his list of ideas.

...is there a way for the ground to open up and swallow him whole (hole)? Plagg, he’d do that.

...maybe, depends on the amount of cheese he’d get. How much cheese does he have in storage? 5kg? 10? He has no clue, but maybe if he promises the little glutton all of it he’d do the deed.

“They’re not bad, a bit silly though.” Her words, soft but amused, break him from his thoughts.

“Huh?” he asks dumbly, shaking his head.

“I mean,” she says, darting her eyes to his, then back down at the paper, her checks tinting an adorable shade of pink, “I-I mean they aren’t bad ideas. They’re fun and silly! Definitely a good way to relieve some stress.” She looks up into his confused gaze. “N-not that I think you’re stressed! You could be stressed, but I have no way to know if you are or not, you’re so calm and kind and perfect—” She cuts herself off, her breath hitching, her eyes going wide and cheeks going even pinker.

She swallows. Opens her mouth, closes it again. Swallows one more time before squeaking out: “perfectly well mannered.” She hangs her head a bit, her eyes downcast.

Adrien tilts his head a bit. What was she going to say before? Was she going to reveal just how “perfect” she thinks he is? Does she still not trust him after the Gum Incident?

“Marinette…” He reaches out, longing to rest his hand on her shoulder, provide some level of comfort beyond words. But...if she’s uncomfortable around him, he’ll give her the space she needs. So, he drops his hand to the table. “Thank you, but I’m not all the well mannered all the time. Heh, you should see me at home when Father isn’t home.”

This makes Marinette look up at him with curiosity burning in her eyes. He leans in, expression guarded in mock reluctance and secrecy, but in reality, he’s hiding a huge grin. “When no one is home, I turn on Jagged Stone and belt out all the lyrics.” He looks to her face, and fights against that ever growing grin threatening to show. “Thing is, I cannot sing.”

This makes her smile a bit. Her eyes gaining a small glitter of amusement.

“ That , is you not having perfect manners?” Marinette scoffs, raising an eyebrow. “Bet you’ve never chugged an entire jug of milk.”

This shocks Adrien. Why would anyone drink milk straight from the jug?! Cups exist for a reason—

Oh, he gets it.

And, by the victorious look on her face, Marinette knows she’s got him on that.

He narrows his eyes.

“I sneak out of my room on a daily basis.”

“I do too, you aren’t special.��

Adrien huffs. “I escape the Gorilla as much as possible.”

“And how often is that?” Marinette asks, her eyebrows raised in challenge.

“Plenty of times!”

“Name one time that wasn’t that one time I was mistaken as your girlfriend.”

Yesterday, for the akuma , is his immediate thought, and he almost says it, but clamps his mouth shut and thinks about how often he escapes from his bodyguard.

“When I tried to go to school on the first day of school.”

“That eager, huh?”

“Well, when you’re homeschool you’re whole life, you tend to be excited for things that others aren’t as excited for.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re having fun! You did name one other time, so I’ll let it slide.”

They fall into a companionable silence, both with smiles on their faces. One could argue that Adrien’s was bigger, Marinette showed him a side of herself that’s he’s been wanting to get to know, longing to get to know. The timid side was the only one she showed around him, yet she was like this, bantering, arguing, having fun with everyone else. It feels like he’s getting to know the full her.

And it couldn’t be better.

After a second, Marinette looks to him, opens her mouth, then closes it as her eyes widen. This concerns Adrien a bit, what did he do? They were having fun!

Then, a glint lights up her eyes, and it calms Adrien. He knows that look. He’s seen it in her eyes many times. It’s a sign that she has a plan.

If he’s being honest, it reminds him of Ladybug. Marinette and Ladybug both get a similar glint in their eyes when a plan forms.

But Marinette isn’t Ladybug, he knows that for a fact. Marinette—Multimouse—and Ladybug were in the same place at the same time. There’s no way she could be Ladybug.

Marinette turns to her paper and starts writing.

Adrien leans back, out of her space (when had he invaded her personal space? They were just talking!), he knows better than to get in the way of a girl with a plan.

But he wants to know what this plan is.

But he shouldn’t interrupt her.

But he wants to know.

But she is writing furiously.

But he wants to know .

In the end, his curiosity wins out. He blames Plagg and the bleeding skill sets and abilities for the insatiable curiosity.

“What are you writing?” he asks, leaning over a little bit.

Marinette startles, and whips around to look at him, her eyes wide in that deer-in-headlights way, a way he knows all too well. Back to square one.

“O-oh, I was just...” Marinette trails off a bit as she looks back at the paper, her cheeks pinking. Then she takes a deep breath and looks back into his eyes, the fear is still there, but determination is burning behind it. “I was just thinking, maybe it could be a story about how a kid misunderstands something and almost jeopardizes a friendship, but because of the other’s kindness and determination, they cleared things up?”

Adrien raises his eyebrows, a smile slowly spreading across his lips. “Like how we became friends!”

“Yeah.” Marinette replies timidly, tone soft and admiring, averting her gaze.

Friends really are the best, aren’t they?

Yes, yes they are.

“Let’s do it!”

Marinette looks up to his eyes again, and the fear has mostly gone away, a happy sparkle replacing it. “Okay, let's do it.”

“Marinette~!” An overly sweet voice rings out, and Adrien immediately perks to attention. Lila , he almost growls. He whips around, just in time to see Lila coming toward Marinette. Oh no, oh, no she does not . He can see it in her eyes, the malice, the hate, the anger. She’s a manipulative liar, and she’s good at it, but Adrien has been in the modeling industry for a very long time, he knows how to see people’s true intentions, he knows how to see through a mask.

And Lila does not want to play nice.

So, he shoots from his chair, and leans on Marinette’s, capturing her attention immediately. “Hey, do you want to go work on our project? I should have time to get it fleshed out a bit more.”

By the look in her eyes, the slump of her shoulders, he’s guessing that she very much appreciates the distraction. “Yeah, I should be able to.”

“Awesome!”

As Marinette starts packing her things, Adrien slides his gaze over to Lila, half way to Marinette, her eyes narrowed slightly. He narrows his right back at her, channeling as much of his father as he can.

Judging by the shock in Lila’s eyes, he’s assuming he did it just right. So he smirks, and turns back around to pick up his bag, then turns back to look at Lila, sending her another icy glare. She will not touch Marinette. Not when he’s here. She’s hurt the people he cares about too much already.

He and Marinette walk out, and as they walk through the door frame, Adrien sends another warning glare at Lila.

“Bro, what’s up with you?”

The voice startles Adrien out of his glare at the back of Lila’s head, across the school yard, making him jump a few centimeters, and whips around to find the his best friend, looking at him with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

“What?” Adrien replies, calming a bit, and returning his gaze to the back of Lila’s head, surrounded by most of his classmates.

“Dude, you’ve been glaring at Lila all day.” Nino says.

“And?” Adrien prompts, not turning away from Lila.

“And you’ve been glaring at her for a week now.”

This makes Adrien furrows his brows, looking to Nino. A week? Surely it hasn’t been that long. “A week?”

“Yes, a week. It’s bugging the crap out of me.” Nino looks positively done with him.

“I... didn’t realize it was so long.” Adrien turns away from him, going right back to glaring at Lila.

“Dude, it’s freakin’ me out. It’s freakin’ everyone out. People are kinda scared of you.”

“Why are they scared of me?”

“You hissed at Lila two days ago.”

Adrien opens his mouth to reply, but no words are coming out. When he was with Marinette, working on the project, Lila had come by, and Marinette had tensed up considerably. So, he got Lila to leave and got back to the project. But Marinette was pale, her heart rate was moderately high, and she was starting to have some slight problems breathing.

So, he had set the project aside, and turned to her, tilting his head, and reached out to her.

She had flinched, and he hastily retracted his hand.

He learned many things that day. Like when she’s freaking out, people touching her doesn’t help out all that much, it actually makes it a bit worse. He also learned more about Lila.

“Okay, I admit, that was a bit freaky.” He’d hoped that the cat tendencies wouldn’t bleed through too, but he’s found that he hisses when mad, and purrs when content, happy, or in pain. When he hissed at Lila, he was incredibly freaked out, but he couldn’t let it show, not around Lila.

“’A bit freaky’? A bit freaky?! Dude, everyone is too scared to be around you when Lila’s in the same room!” Nino’s voice wavers a bit.

Adrien looks at Nino. He’s looking at Adrien with fear in his eyes, clutching his arms, and his legs are shaking ever so slightly.

Dang it Plagg, he scared his best friend due to the freaky cat tendencies bleeding through the miraculous!

Adrien breaths out a huff and stands up from his crouch, turning to fully face his friend. “Nino,” he starts, softening his tone. “I’m sorry. I learned something about Lila recently, and I just... I’m trying to look out for the people I care about. I’m sorry I scared you.”

The fear subsides a bit, but confusion takes its place. “What did you learn?”

Adrien sighs. “She’s a compulsive, manipulative liar.”

“Adrien...” Nino says, something in his tone that Adrien can’t discern. “She—”

“No, she is, I can’t tell you what she did to Marinette, but I know what she does.” Adrien cuts him off, ice creeping into his tone.

“How do you know?” Nino asks—no, challenges .

Adrien takes a deep breath. “When Lila first came to school, I found a book and was looking through it, it seemed like it had something to do with the miraculous. When Lila found me and saw the book, she immediately started telling me how she’s great friends with Ladybug and how she’s a miraculous wielder. When Ladybug called her out on it, Lila got pissed, and eventually got akumatized into Volpina.”

“She lied to Nathalie about my grades just so she could get into my house. She took the picture of her kissing my cheek against my will, then, without telling me, sent it to everyone but me.” Adrien looks into Nino’s eyes, his urge to protect Marinette manifesting into anger toward Lila, which was directed at his friend, making Nino duck his head to avoid the burning glare. “She lied about Marinette taking the test answers, then lied about Marinette stealing from her and planted the ‘stolen’ necklace in her locker, getting Marinette expelled . So forgive me, Nino, if I’m a bit pissed at Lila.”

Nino backs away from Adrien, his eyes wide, his arms half extended to Adrien, his body turned sideways. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, trying to get words out, but his breath keeps getting hitched.

It hits Adrien right then that Nino is scared of him, borderline terrified, and Adrien forces calming breaths. Nino isn’t Lila. He didn’t know she was lying. Nino isn’t Lila, He repeats the mantra until his anger ebbs. “Sorry Nino, that was uncalled for, I’m sorry I scared you. It’s just that...I’ve sat back and done nothing about what Lila was doing, and she ended up hurting Marinette a great deal. I shouldn’t have taken my anger at her and myself out on you, or the other classmates.” He offers his best friend a reassuring smile, hoping that Nino trusts him still.

“Okay...” Nino takes a shaky breath. “Okay, t-thanks for letting me know about Lila. I-I’ll keep what you said about her in mind.” Nino turns to leave, but Adrien reaches out to brush his hand against his shoulder. He doesn’t want him to leave with the fear.

“Nino, I’m sorry. I’m mad at Lila and myself. And while, yes, everyone could have done something to realize sooner, I don’t blame anyone but...but Lila and myself. I didn’t mean to snap.” Nino looks into his eyes, and the fear fades away slightly, replaced by compassion.

“Bro, you shouldn’t blame yourself.” Nino places his hands on Adrien’s shoulders, squeezing. “Yeah, maybe you advised her to do something that didn’t work out in the end, but you gave her that advice because of who you are. You are trusting, maybe a bit too trusting, and you always look for the best in people you meet. For you to be this angry at Lila... dude, I can’t believe for a single second that you’re lying about any of this. I believe what you said Lila did. I’ll stay with you ‘til the end. I just... gotta go process things. And... maybe think about how I can help Alya believe you too.” Nino’s eyes still hold some fear in them, but there is nothing that indicates that he was lying.

“Thank you, Nino, so much.”

Nino takes back his hands, and point finger guns at Adrien. “You know it!”

The final bell rings, and kids all around scramble to pack up their things, or are running to or through the door, the instructor giving those students the stink eye. Adrien turns to Nino, but he’s already walking with Alya, deep in conversation. Dang it, when Nino’s with Alya, nothing can distract him from her. Guess that leaves just one other person to ask to hang out with. He turns to Marinette, but pauses.

Marinette is staring at him, her eyes slightly glazed, cheeks pinked, and mouth open ever so slightly, the sun rays from the window reflect off her hair making it shine a deep, raven blue. The same rays come into contact with her skin, making it glow. Her lips look plump and soft, and yet, he can see that they’ve seen war with her teeth, and many a healing balm.

Adrien swallows the sudden lump in his throat. “Hey, Marinette?”

The girl in question squeaks and startles, her arms flailing and face flushing before she locks onto his face. Almost immediately, her seemingly soft lips curl into a bright smile, her eyes conveying warmth and affection, the redness receding. “Adrien! Did you ask for me?”

This makes him smile. “Yeah, I did.”

“...Well, what did you want?” She quirks an eyebrow at him, putting her chin in her hand, leaning against the table.

“Oh, I was just wondering if you’d like to hang out? My schedule is free, and Father approved already.”

Marinette’s eyes brighten, and her smile turns seductive. “Oh, I want to do more than ‘hang out’ with you Adrien.” She slides forward, her eyebrows raising.

His brain malfunctions. “H-Huh?”

Marinette huffs and leans back. “Fine, I’ll just show you~” Her smile turns into something more than seductive, and it does something to Adrien’s insides. She crosses her arms across her abdomen, hands resting on the hem of her shirt, her biceps framing her-

“Ewwwwwwwwww!” A voice suddenly cuts through and everything suddenly goes black.

“Ewwwwwwwwww! Cover up, man!” A tiny paw slaps his cheek. Five tiny pinpricks of pain accompany it, snapping Adrien from his dream.

“What the hel—” Adrien gets slapped again, by another tiny paw, in the same place—what are the odds of that happening?— sans the claws.

“I’m a benevolent, ancient, immortal representation of Destruction and Death, I do not want to see your teenage ‘urges’!”

With confusion written across his face, Adrien stares at Plagg. A second later, it clicks and Adrien groans, flopping back down onto his pillow. He takes some small measure of joy in Plagg’s indignant Squawk and “That makes it worse! ”

Adriens dealt with this plenty of times, but it’s always been Ladybug before.

...now that he thinks about it, Marinette has been replacing Ladybug in his dreams as of late. But it never got to this level.

...crap, he’s screwed.

“Plagg...” he whispers to the ceiling.

The only response is an annoyed huff.

“Plagg, I’m so screwed...” he admits.

Plagg snorts.

“You remember Marinette, right?”

Another snort. “What’s pigtails gotta do with your...oh.”

“Yeah.” Adrien sighs.

“ Oh . Oh! ”

Then Plagg burst out laughing.

Adrien groans.

Plagg only laughs harder.

Plagg cackles for hours, the only things disrupting the maniacal laughter is: “‘She’s just a friend!’” in a mocking, overly macho tone.

Adrien doesn’t get anymore sleep that night. Nor can he get that last image of Marinette out of his head.

A week after his revelation, Adrien finds himself staring at the board in complete incomprehension. “Free period?” What the living god of cats is that?!

Nino side eyes him, quirking an eyebrow. “Dude, you don’t know what free period is?”

Sheepish, Adrien rubs the back of his neck, ducking his head. “Not really...”

Nino rolls his eyes a bit, but it doesn’t convey anger, just exasperation. “Well, free period gives the class time to do whatever they like. Homework, projects, goof off, anything.”

“I doubt they’d let you do anything , but okay, I think I get it. I do need to catch up on what I missed yesterday.” Because of course Father scheduled a photo shoot during his history class, on the day they did a review. One he needed, because Mothman—awk Moth—doesn’t want him to sleep .

Nino raises his eyebrows in question. “You, Adrien Agreste, perfect boy of Gabriel Agreste, straight-A student, needs to catch up? Dude, I thought you were ahead of us!”

“I was, but Nathalie has me focus on things that the school curriculum didn’t think was important, so I ended up wasting three weeks memorizing Ancient Greece, only to find that we had the most basic of quizzes on Ancient Greece and moved right on to Ancient Rome. I’ve been scrambling.”

Nino purses his lips, and looks behind him, to Alya, and then briefly to Marinette before he looks to Adrien again; a smile forming. “I think I know just who can help you.”

Adrien furrows his brows in confusion for a second before things click and Adrien flushes, trying to stop Nino from standing, but he’s already up and slipping around the desk behind them and talking to Marinette, who’s face morphs into shock, amusement, concern, confusion, and embarrassment. She looks from Nino to Adrien, her eyes wide, cheeks tinting pink slightly. Adrien haunches his shoulders and gives a small wave. Marinette tilts her head, a small smile playing on her lips. She waves back.

Oh holy cheese lord, he’s going to die.

He can’t help but watch as she packs up her stuff, her limbs moving with purpose and grace, her lips, those gosh darn lips, moving in a hushed conversation with Alya and Nino, then she’s slipping around the desk and right next to him.

“Okay, so, I heard you needed help?” Marinette says, her eyebrows quirking in amusement. Lips curling into a hidden smile that just makes them look even more appealing and kiss-

“Y-yeah, spent a bit too much time on Ancient Cheese—Greece, Greece, I meant Greece, and need a bit of help getting caught up on Rome.” He stumbles out, cheeks and ears flushed red in embarrassment.

Marinette’s smile only grows, making her face, no, her being glow. “Okay, let's start by marking the important bits, I’ll show you where they are.”

She turns around to take out her things, and Adrien breathe’s a silent sigh of relief, turning to grab a highlighter. ‘Mark the important bits.’ For some reason, those words won’t leave his head.

When he turns back around, he has to grip his knee so hard he hears a “creak”, because Marinette is hunched over her paper, and a stand of hair has fallen from her braid, of which he is only now realizing she doesn’t have her hair in the usual pigtail ensamble. It hangs just by her temple, looking so soft and smooth and it looks like it would be annoying, hanging just out of eyesight, teasing your attention until you snap. Surely it isn’t good for studying.

Without giving it a second thought, he reaches out and stifles a gasp at how soft and smooth her hair is. If Adrien’s hair is soft, her hair is made of the freaking clouds . He slowly, gently, tucks the strand of hair behind her ear, his heart thumping against his ribs so hard he’s certain everyone can hear it, nervous system spiking at every brush of his fingers against her check, her temple, her ear.

His hand lingers longer than it should, and suddenly, reality snaps back into motion and he realizes that the classroom is silent. He snaps his hand back, ignoring Marinette’s red cheeks and wide eyes and frozen posture.

“S-Sorry,” he stammers our, resolutely looking at his own paper. “I-I just thought that it- the hair- w-would be distracting a-and—” his breath hitches as she rests a hand on his hands, his cheeks aflame.

“Thank you.” She says, her voice wavering slightly, but it’s genuine.

“Okay...the important bits, right?” Smooth Agreste, smooth. He doesn’t look at her.

“Yeah, the important bits. Let’s start at—” The rest of her words are drowned out by his mind latching onto ‘the important bits’.

He looks to his highlighter. ‘Let's start by marking the important bits.’

Yes, let's do that.

He picks up the highlighter, uncaps it and turns to Marinette. Whatever she was saying trails off as she looks into his eyes.

He raises the highlighter, and marks her nose. In doing so, her eyes go, much to his joy, adorably cross-eyed. Even after he’s recapped the highlighter, she’s still staring at her nose.

“What? You said to highlight the important things.”

#ml secret santa #miraculous ladybug

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