#adrinath fanfiction

[breeeliss]

[Miraculous Ladybug]: Sweet Deliveries

day 1 and already im like an hour late but fuck it what else is new?

first up is all of the week 1 prompts for @thinkoutsidethelovesquare ! im trying to warm up to nathanael as a character and i’ve also been meaning to push out more mlm in this fandom, so consider this me killing two birds with one stone. hope you enjoy~

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Link to Archive of Our Own: [AO3]

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Prompt: Day 1 - “Wrong Number” Pairing: Adrinath (Adrien x Nathanael) Title: Sweet Deliveries Summary: Wrong Number AU in which a sick Nathanael tries to ask Rose for things to help his cold and calls Adrien instead. Adrien, of course, exceeds all expectations.

Sweet Deliveries

“Are you sure you’re going to be fine taking the bus home?”

Rose was standing on her tippy toes, pressing the backs of her hands to Nathanael’s cheeks and forehead, frowning at the heat that was burning her skin. He smiled weakly — wincing against his sore throat — and zipped his sweatshirt all the way up to his chin. “It’s only a fifteen minute ride. I don’t want maman to have to take time off work just to come get me.”

“You’re running a fever you silly!”

“It’s just a tiny one,” Nathanael assured her, even as he began to feel lightheaded the longer he stayed on his feet. “I’ll rest up for the rest of the day and be back at school tomorrow.”

Rose frowned and gently smacked his elbow. “I better not see you in school tomorrow, Nathanael. I’ll march you right home!”

“It’s already so hard to concentrate in class, I don’t want to miss even more by being absent.”

“Maybe if you put that sketchbook of yours down for more than two minutes at a time….”

Nathanael jutted out his bottom lip and stared at her pitifully while Rose rolled her eyes half-heartedly. “Come on, give me your hand.”

“What for?”

She pulled out a pink pen and scribbled some numbers on the back of his hand. “When is your mother going to be home?”

“Late probably,” Nathanael admitted. “Late shift tonight.”

“Alright. I want you to call me when school finishes and let me know if you need anything,” she explained. “I have soup, medicine, tea, and snacks at my house and I can run them over quick. You only live a few blocks from me so it’s no trouble.”

Nathanael smiled softly. “You don’t have to do that, Rose.”

“Oh, let me fret over you a little,” she grinned, tapping him on the nose with the end of her pen. “You were looking so faint in class just now, it puts my mind at ease to lend a hand.”

They walked to the entrance of the school and Rose reached up to pull Nathanael’s hood up so that his ears wouldn’t get cold. He checked his pockets to make sure he had enough for the bus and waved over his shoulder. “Thanks for walking me to the nurse. I appreciate it.”

“Just make sure you come back healthy, okay? Juleka and I will take notes for you!”

Nathanael tucked his hands into the pockets of his sweater and shivered against his fever as he made his way across the street to wait for the bus back home. Luckily his timing was good because he only had to wait a couple of minutes before the mostly empty bus rolled up to the stop and left him with a double seater that he could use to prop his legs up. Usually he liked to use the bus ride home to get some sketching done, but his nose was so stuffed and his body was so hot that he merely rested his bag on his lap and used it as a pillow as he rested the entire ride home.

Mme. Mendeleiev had already sent notes home to his mother about the fact that he was slipping behind in physics because of his lack of attention in class. Nathanael tried to explain that it was more than that — the lessons went by so quickly and it was hard for him to keep his attention on all of the equations and demonstrations without switching to his pencils and sketching across his notes. His mother understood, but he had promised her to bring his grades up and prove himself to his teachers soon. He couldn’t very well do that by missing school, but he supposed that sitting in class with a fever wasn’t going to do anyone good.

When the bus finally reached his stop, Nathanael had gotten up from his seat and felt the dizziness hit him all at once, finally convincing him that maybe he was more sick than he’d thought. It felt like ages before he got to his building, thankful that his apartment was on the first floor of the walk-up.

His mother was on a double shift at the café until dinner, which meant he was on his own as far as taking care of himself, but he hoped that sleeping off the fever would be enough. He walked straight to his room, replaced his jeans with sweatpants, and crawled into his bed, falling asleep the minute his head hit the pillow.

About four hours later, he woke up and felt like complete death. A headache, a worsened sore throat, a persistent fever, and violent chills made him think that maybe Rose was onto something when she mentioned him staying home tomorrow. He checked his cellphone and saw that school had let out about five minutes ago and figured that it might be a good idea to take Rose up on her offer. He didn’t think there was any medicine left in the kitchen and he wasn’t sure if he was up to making himself some warm soup anyway.

Bundling the blankets around him into a warm cocoon, Nathanael copied Rose’s number from his hand into his phone. Her writing was really loopy and hard to make out at spots — was that a 5 or a 6? A 4 or a 9? — but he did his best and got sent to her voicemail.

“Hey Rose,” Nathanael croaked, his voice coming out scratchy and pained. “It’s Nathanael. I think I might need some things after all. Not much! But, uh….if you could pick up some medicine for a fever, some tea, and maybe some soup, I’d really appreciate it. I’ll pay you back for all of it, but I really don’t feel up to getting out of bed at the moment. Take your time! No rush! Uh….thanks.”

Normally he wouldn’t dream of putting anyone out of their way like this, but Nathanael was desperate and alone in his house with a sickness he was convinced was going to keep him bed bound for at least the next twenty four hours, so he tried to reign in the guilty feeling as best he could.

Nathanael turned the television on in his room and watched through some old re-runs of a few cartoons and sitcoms that he liked watching until he heard the doorbell ring. Perfect. That must be Rose. Medicine and soup sounded absolutely heavenly right about now. He wrapped all his blankets around him until he was covered up to his nose, forced himself out of bed, and padded across the apartment to the front door.

Of course the very last person he expected to be standing on his welcome mat was Adrien Agreste.

Nathanael suddenly felt silly showing up to the door with all his blankets tied around him like this.

“A-Adrien?!” Nathanael asked in surprise. “Um….hi? What are you doing here?”

Adrien was standing there as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be visiting Nathanael as his home. He lowered the scarf away from his mouth and frowned at the sight of Nathanael. “Aw, buddy, you look awful! Do you have the flu or something?”

Nathanael blinked and looked down at his feet self-consciously. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “Might just be a nasty cold, or strep throat. Sorry, uh….what are you doing here exactly?”

“Oh, right!” Adrien grinned. He picked up the two shopping bags that were sitting at his feet and thrust them forward. “You mentioned that you needed some things to help with your cold, so I went and picked them up for you!”

“Things?” Nathanael frowned. “Wait, I thought….Rose was going to get that stuff for me. I left her a message. Could she not make it?”

Adrien chuckled. “I think you might’ve typed in her number wrong. You called me.”

Nathanael’s eyes widened. He’d called the wrong number? “Are you sure?”

“I mean, I can play the voicemail for you if you want, but yeah I’m sure,” Adrien laughed.

“Oh, no,” Nathanael groaned, hiding his face in his blankets. “I’m such an idiot, I’m so sorry about that.”

“Don’t even worry about it,” Adrien waved off. “That sort of thing happens all the time. Mind if I come in, by the way? It’s a little chilly out here and I forgot my gloves at home.”

“Y-yeah sure!” Nathanael stumbled, moving aside the umbrella stand to give Adrien room to come inside. “Sorry about that. Maman isn’t home yet so make yourself comfortable I guess.”

Adrien respectfully toed off his shoes to leave by the door and made his way to the kitchen while Nathanael locked the door behind him. He sneezed into his blankets and climbed up on top of one of the chairs in the kitchen while Adrien busily unpacked his shopping bags and organized all of the contents on the table. He stared incredulously at all of the purchases and swallowed to soothe his throat. “What is all this?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure what was wrong with you, so I got a little bit of everything? I hope you don’t mind.” Adrien folded up the bags and left them on the countertop while he pointed at each thing left on the table. “So here’s some ibuprofen for your fever. I also grabbed some cold medicine — drowsy and non-drowsy because I wasn’t sure which one you liked best. I got you some ginger tea and honey too in case your throat is feeling a little bad. I went to the café near my house and picked up some chicken soup for you too. There’s two servings here so that you’ll have some leftover to heat up later.”

Nathanael felt himself gaping. “Wait just a min—”

“I grabbed some bananas and apples since maman always gave those to me when I was sick to snack on. But I know that’s boring so I also had Marinette pack me some chocolate croissants for you to eat when you get better. I also grabbed all of the books from your locker that you’d need for our homework — sorry I hope that wasn’t weird or anything — oh, and I also made copies of my notes in the library real quick so that you wouldn’t miss anything.” He stepped back from the table with a proud grin stretching the apples of his cheeks as high as they would go and clasped his hands behind his back. “Yeah! So, uh….hope that’s everything you needed.”

Nathanael twisted around the tins of tea that Adrien had bought him and gaped at the expensive brand written across the side. “You didn’t have to go and get all this!”

“I mean, I couldn’t find Rose after school, and you sounded so miserable over the phone when you left that message, I couldn’t just ignore it,” Adrien replied. “It was the least I could do, honest.”

“I don’t know how to pay you back for all of this though.”

“Is that what you’re worried about?” Adrien frowned. “Don’t even worry about that, paying for all of this stuff was nothing.” He blinked at the wording. “Er, sorry. That sounded a little elitist, didn’t it? I just meant that I was happy to help you out and get this stuff for you. You honestly don’t have to worry about paying me back.”

“But you went through all the trouble.”

“It wasn’t trouble in the least,” Adrien said. “I’m always eager to help a friend.”

Nathanael couldn’t tell if he coughed in surprise or whether he had to add cough to his list of symptoms. “Friend?”

“Of course. How could I just leave you suffering here like this?”

To be fair, when Adrien put it like that, it seemed like the only option was for him to come over with probably one of the biggest care packages Nathanael had ever received in his life. But he was sure that anyone else would’ve just called back and told him he had the wrong number so that he could figure out where he went wrong dialing Rose. To actually go out to stores, cafés, and bakeries for him — especially when Adrien and Nathanael didn’t really talk all that much — seemed so baffling and so touching that Nathanael didn’t quite know what he was supposed to do or say.

“I….thank you,” he finally said. “This is way more than I ever expected anyone to do for me. I really appreciate it.”

Adrien took off his scarf and jacket and hung it over the backs of one of the kitchen chairs. “Want me to make some tea and heat up the soup for you? My Chinese lessons don’t start for another half hour so I can hang around for a short bit.”

“Oh, you don’t have to….” Nathanael trailed off, because it seemed like Adrien didn’t mean for what he said to be posed as an actual question. He was already looking through the dishwasher for a clean kettle and filling it with water from the sink.

Figuring that there was no sense in arguing with Adrien at this point — he was already in his house and it was hard to stare at that sunny smile of his and dare to tell him no — Nathanael pulled his knees up to his chest and pointed out where the pots and mugs were.

It was almost endearing to see Adrien move around the kitchen. It didn’t seem like he spent much time in the kitchen himself — he struggled turning on the stovetop burners and he burned his finger on the handle of the pot when he went to stir the soup — but he was whistling while he moved around and kept asking Nathanael questions about the history project they had to turn in next week and what he got on their last visual arts assignment. They never really spent time talking much during class, but Adrien was a very simple, honest person. It didn’t take much effort to share a space with him. He brought up easy topics, and when Nathanael didn’t feel like talking he took the silence with ease. Nathanael had a smile on his face right up until Adrien brought his tea, soup, and medicine over on a tray.

“Do you like any sugar or milk in your tea?” Adrien asked.

“No just honey’s fine.”

Adrien carefully stirred in a spoonful of honey, slid the tray in front of Nathanael, and sat in the chair across from him. “Take the medicine first, you look like you’re about to pass out.”

Nathanael sighed and made a show of picking up the bottle of ibuprofen and shaking out two pills. “It’s probably one of those twenty four hour things. I’ll be fine for tomorrow.”

Adrien leaned his cheek against his hand. “Are you sure? I think you should stay home tomorrow. I’ll bring all your notes and homework again if you want.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, but thanks for the thought,” Nathanael smiled, and gosh he realized he’d been smiling ever since Adrien started boiling water for his tea. “I just hate missing school, you know?”

“Yeah, I understand,” Adrien laughed. “I came into school one day with a chest cold because I didn’t want to miss school and Nino all but pulled me by my ear to the nurse’s office halfway through our first class.”

“I remember that. He kept scolding you for the rest of the school day.”

“Yeah, that sounds a lot like Nino,” Adrien grumbled. “He gave me a lecture about not infecting the rest of the class with my sick. I didn’t think of that. But, I dunno, I guess when you’ve been homeschooled for most of your life you don’t want to miss out on actual school, you know? Where you get to walk to classes and have lockers and sit next to your friends and stuff.”

Nathanael didn’t much see what the big deal was about walking and lockers, and sitting next to friends wasn’t really why he prioritized coming into school everyday. But Marinette told him during visual arts one day about how Adrien pitched a fit to his father about getting the chance to go to public school after being homeschooled with very little friends before this. Someone as vibrant as Adrien didn’t really seem the type to thrive in a homeschooled setting anyway. Someone who splurged on soup for someone he didn’t really know well needed to be around people.

“I just don’t want to get marked down for any reason,” Nathanael mumbled in between sips of soup. “I already get in trouble for not paying attention in class. I don’t want to make it worse by not being there at all.”

“Do you not like the subjects?”

“It’s not that. It’s just really hard to concentrate sometimes. Especially in physics. Mme. Mendeleiev is always watching me to make sure I’m taking notes, and I try. But sometimes she just talks too quickly and it’s all gobbledygook to me. So I just draw and do other homework and try to catch up at home.”

Adrien pouted his bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know physics gave you such a hard time.”

Nathanael shrugged. “I try not to make a big deal about it. It’s my fault anyway.”

“It’s not your fault at all,” Adrien insisted, pointing to Nathanael’s mug of tea to make sure he was drinking it. “I imagine it’s frustrating to try and pay attention in a class when things don’t make sense.”

“I was never much of a math or science person,” Nathanael admitted. “It’s always been like that.”

Adrien’s shoulders were slumped and his face was pulled into a deep frown, making him look more like a kicked puppy to Nathanael than anything else. It was almost strange to think that Adrien would be so upset on his behalf. Even Nathanael didn’t think it was too much of an issue, just inconvenient more than anything else. But suddenly Adrien’s face lit up, and he smacked his hands on the table so hard that he almost made the tea in Nathanael’s mug spill over. “What if I helped you?”

“Huh?”

“I’m really good at physics!” Adrien said excitedly. “Well. I mean. I do well in it. I like it, I mean. Not to brag or anything, God no! Just that I….well, anyway. If you needed help with assignments or with the material I could totally give you a hand.”

Yup, a puppy was definitely a good descriptor for Adrien. Nathanael could almost picture drawing ears and a wagging tail on Adrien right now and being perfectly content with the results. “You don’t know what you’re signing up for,” Nathanael insisted. “Honest. I’m probably hopeless.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Adrien waved off. “Look, you don’t have to say anything now. Just think about it. You have my number now. Just text me if you ever need any help. I’ll try to explain it slower than Mme. Mendeleiev does.”

There was no way that Nathanael could brush off that kind of kindness — and Adrien really was pulling out all the stops without even realizing the weight of what it was he was doing — so he nodded and ducked his face down towards his soup. “Alright,” he decided. “I’ll think about it.”

Adrien was only able to stay with Nathanael for a few minutes before he had to leave for his Chinese lessons. It was mostly Adrien talking about something silly that happened with him, Marinette, Alya, and Nino during lunch that afternoon, but Nathanael was fine to just listen and watch Adrien gesticulate through the whole story. Nathanael was slurping the last of his soup and feeling the medicine improve his fever a little bit when Adrien pulled his jacket on again. He stared at Nathanael for a moment looking pensive and unsure, but he shrugged his shoulders and pulled Nathanael into a brief hug.

“For good luck!” Adrien said as he pulled back and helped wrap Nathanael’s blankets around him again. “Let me know if you need anything else okay? I know your mother is coming back soon but still. Just in case.”

“I will,” Nathanael promised. “And….thanks again for all of this. I’m starting to feel a lot better.”

Adrien waved goodbye with both hands as he let himself out and locked the door behind him. Now that the apartment was empty, Nathanael couldn’t help but burst out into laughter, the tight bundle of warmth sitting in his chest the entire time finally unravelling and making him feel a lot less like the sack of garbage he felt like before. He finished up his lunch, shoved everything in the sink, and crawled back into his bed to try and rest off the cold.

He hugged his pillow to his chest and smiled into it before he fell asleep.

Nathanael had been one of the people who’d been in the class the longest, but he was perfectly fine with feeling like he didn’t strongly fit in anywhere.

He and Marinette had been drawing partners since they were six, Nino had been his back row buddy for as long as he can remember, and Kim had always been the one chasing bullies across the park to steal back the colored pencils they’d taken from him. But those young friendships weren’t nearly as deep as some of the others he’d seen. Marinette and Alya were practically inseparable, Kim and Max had more inside jokes than Nathanael even thought was possible, and Nino and Adrien were always huddled together by their desks coming up with secret handshakes and sharing headphones before class.

It never interested him to try and insert himself into those dynamics, and even though Rose insisted that wanting to be friends with people who already had established friend groups wasn’t intrusive in the lease, Nathanael stood by his word. He enjoyed the time he spent keeping to himself, and genuine kindness from his classmates was all he ever asked of anyone.

Of course Adrien Agreste went and took that normal brand of genuine kindness, injected steroids into it, and handed it back to Nathanael in a show of sincerity that he still felt undeserving of.

Adrien was an enigma. Nathanael watched him on first day of school as he did most of their classmates who joined them for the first time. Chloe was hanging off of his arm, he seemed to struggle making friends, and he stumbled around for a bit as he tried to figure out how this public school thing worked. But by his third day, Nino and Adrien were laughing with each other like they’d known the other for years. Everyone came up to his desk in the mornings to say hi not because he was a famous model, but just because he had a kind word and a warm smile for anyone who passed him. He was brilliant, excelled in his classes, did so much after school, and still had time to prove to everyone that there was nothing intimidating or reserved about him.

It was a wonder how someone’s presence could be so assuming and light up a room so brilliantly that people couldn’t help but be attracted to it. Nathanael wanted to chalk it up to natural magnetism, but he was really good at seeing beautiful and precious things in unlikely places and transferring them to all of his sketchpads. Adrien was something special, and Nathanael never thought that he’d be able to see that kind of specialness up close and personal in a way that left Nathanael’s head feel like it was swirling.

But….it was a nice kind of swirling. Sort of like when you spun around in circles for too long and left yourself feeling dizzy at the end of it, but still marveled at the way all the colors around you melded together into something breathtaking. It was overwhelming, but Nathanael wouldn’t necessarily mind more of that kindness.

Which led to Nathanael sitting in his room, thumb hovering over Adrien’s phone number in his cellphone.

His fever was gone, but his sore throat was still bothering him and he still felt generally weak and tired. So he decided to follow Rose and Adrien’s advice and stay home another day, which worked wonders since it meant he had a long weekend ahead of him. But he was looking through the physics homework that Adrien had brought him yesterday, and he kind of wanted to cry.

Adrien had the highest physics scores in the class, and he already offered to help Nathanael study. It seemed silly to say no to the help.

Nathanael took a huge breath, opened his texts, and deleted his message seven times before he sent it.

 nathanael: hey adrien, it’s nathanael! i hope school went well today. are you busy today? i was wondering if i could take you up on your offer to help me with physics? yesterdays homework isn’t making much sense.

 He carded his fingers through his hair, got up from his chair, and practically canon balled into his bed, hiding his head under his pillow.

Why was he nervous ? It wasn’t like Adrien was difficult to talk to or too intimidating to even look at. That couldn’t be even further from the truth, and it was evidenced by the fact that everyone always seemed to be at ease just by being around him. So why did Nathanael feel like his heart was about to burst out of his chest just from asking him for some private study lessons? It didn’t make any sense, but it certainly didn’t stop Nathanael from peeking out from underneath his pillow and waiting for the phone on his desk to illuminate with a new text message.

The moment it vibrated, he leaped out of his bed and unlocked his phone

 adrien: hey nath! are you feeling better? fencing practice was cancelled so i can come visit if you want.

 Visit? Have him come here again? Two days in a row?

 nathanael: oh gosh you really don’t have to if it’s too much trouble. im sure i can figure it out over text

adrien: lol it’s no trouble if im offering :P only if it’s ok with you ofc

nathanael: i mean i am feeling a lot better

nathanael: and i imagine this stuffs easier to explain in person?

adrien: haha so is that a yes? :D

nathanael: i guess so?

adrien: alright cool! i can come over in about an hour if you want. i just have to stop by my house and leave my fencing stuff. do you need notes and homework?

nathanael: actually that’d be amazing thanks

adrien: notes, homework, and your own personal study buddy coming right up! ;)

 Nathanael laughed at the long string of thumbs up emojis that Adrien decided to tag onto the end of the message, and he was almost positive that he didn’t know a single person in the world who could possibly get this excited about sitting down for an entire afternoon just to go over a pile of physics homework. He wondered if it was similar to the way Nathanael wished he could just take French and visual arts classes all day and got excited whenever he saw a nice charcoal set in the store.

When Adrien finally knocked on his door, he was practically bouncing on his toes and holding two boxes of pastries from the Dupain-Cheng bakery with a blinding smile on his face. “Hey!” he greeted. “Wow, you’re looking so much better. It was the soup, wasn’t it? It works wonders, I tell you.” He gently shook the boxes he was holding. “I brought more snacks!”

Nathanael raised a brow. “That’s���.a lot of snacks.”

“I said the same thing,” he frowned in thought. “Marinette sort of pushed them on me when she heard I was coming over. She was really adamant about it too.” Adrien cleared his throat and shook his head a little. “Uh, anyway! They’re palmiers and opera cakes. I hope that’s okay? They were on sale.”

“That’s fine,” Nathanael chuckled. Something about Adrien’s enthusiasm was exasperating in a really sweet way. Even though it was a lot, he was sure Adrien didn’t even realize he was doing it. “I’ll get us some water. We can study in my room if you want.”

Nathanael hung up Adrien’s jacket, grabbed some water bottles from the fridge, and led them into his room that he spent most of the morning cleaning. The moment they stepped inside, Adrien immediately dropped his bag on the floor by Nathanael’s bed and sprawled across his carpet, his limbs thrown about as if he were at a close friend’s house. He dug through his things and handed off a folder filled with papers and post-its. “Here’s all the notes and homework assignments for today. Let me know if you can’t read anything.”

“Thanks,” Nathanael said, accepting the folder and breathing a sigh of relief when he saw how little homework there was for this weekend. “So, brutally honest opinion, on a scale of one to ten. How impossible was the homework from yesterday?"

“A 3 max. Not that bad, I promise,” Adrien assured.

“Says the physics nerd.”

“Excuse me, I prefer the term physics connoisseur,” Adrien winked with a smile.

“I guess I’m lucky if I get to borrow your help for a bit.”

“Nah, don’t think of it like that. I think I’m pretty lucky to get to study with you. We don’t hang out much and I’ve always wanted to talk to you more.”

Nathanael’s back straightened up almost immediately and he couldn’t pretend that that didn’t make his heart flutter just a little bit. “Y-You’ve been wanting to talk to me?”

“Yeah,” Adrien said. “For a while actually. I just wasn’t sure how to go up to you and just….ask if you wanted to hang out. I didn’t want to be awkward about it.”

“You? Awkward about making friends?” Nathanael snorted. “You’re so popular! Everyone talks to you.”

“I’ve never really had to make friends before this,” Adrien admitted. “I mean, I was lucky where Nino was concerned. He reached out first, and he’s just the best. But everyone else I guess just came up to me and started being nice, and I only ever knew how to be nice back and just put on a smile, and making friends after that just sort of came naturally. It’s been working so far, but I’m still kinda bad at starting conversations.”

Nathanael furrowed his brows. “I don’t know if I believe that….”

“I’m serious!” Adrien insisted. “You for example! I’ve never known how to talk to you. You always seemed to want to be left alone and I never wanted to bother you.”

“I mean…I’m not really the best at socializing,” Nathanael said. “People sort of already know that so they tend to give me a lot of breathing room so to speak. But….it’s not like I don’t want people to bother me.”

Adrien reached out Nathanael’s hands. “I didn’t mean to offend you! It was just what was going through my head, I wasn’t trying to make assumptions.”

“It’s okay,” Nathanael laughed. “To be fair, I kinda thought you were really unattainable. Like you sort of give off all this positive energy and make it look so easy. I didn’t know how to talk to you .”

“Sounds like we’ve both been wasting a lot of time,” Adrien said. “I’ll admit, that’s kind of why I rushed over here yesterday.”

“Because you didn’t want to waste time?”

“No, because I thought it’d be the perfect chance to talk to you. I mean, it was mainly to help you because you looked miserable yesterday, but it was also just a great chance to get to talk with you. I-I hope that’s not weird or anything.”

Nathanael’s fingers were tangling themselves up in his lap. “No. That’s….actually really refreshing. I don’t think anyone’s ever told me they were that eager to talk to me. It’s not like I take up a lot of space.”

Adrien shrugged. “You don’t have to. I noticed you without you having to do that.”

Nathanael took a shaky breath in and was suddenly heavily aware of Adrien’s hands that were still gently braced around his wrists. He stared at him as if he hadn’t just admitted something that was making Nathanael think terribly indulgent but horribly silly thoughts that he was doing best to keep locked up tight in his head so as not to ruin the moment. Adrien had only been in their class for a few months and it was hard to believe that he’d been wondering how to talk to him of all people. But it was hard not to let his insides melt a little when Adrien smiled at him, and it was then that he realized that maybe this whole physics studying thing was a really bad idea.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and could literally feel the heat radiating off his face. “G-Good to know.”

Adrien must have realized that he was still holding onto him, because he moved back and rubbed his hands on the carpet underneath him. “Right! Yeah! So, physics! Uh….do you have the homework sheets.”

Adrien was a really patient teacher. He was good about letting them take breaks so that they could plan hangman and tic-tac-toe in the corners, and Adrien seemed to get a kick out of the fact that Nathanael was making silly comics of people running away in fear from his physics equations and interacting with all of the diagrams in the problems. It made focusing on the really complicated equations a lot easier, and Adrien was great at explaining everything in a way that was much more simple than what Mme. Mendeleiev liked to rattle off in class. It was the quickest he’d ever gone through his physics homework, and he even felt confident enough to try and do this weekend’s homework without any help. They managed to get through all of the problems together and rewarded themselves with pastries every time they got a problem right. It wasn’t often that Nathanael got to do homework with friends and he didn’t think that he’d ever find himself spread out across his carpet and laughing with Adrien while they stuffed themselves with sweets. It seemed like a strange dream that he didn’t quite know how he entered but wasn’t about to wake himself up from.

When they were finally finished with their physics homework, they were both laying on their backs next to each other, each with a box of pastries sitting on their stomachs, Nathanael allowed his giddiness to give him the courage to speak. “Can I ask you something? And you promise to answer honestly?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Why did you want to talk to me so bad?”

Adrien kept his eyes on the ceiling and spoke around a mouthful. “I….don’t really know. I had a feeling you were a really interesting person, and I was right. And you just caught my eye I guess.”

“Why though?” Nathanael asked.

Adrien smiled nervously and didn’t turn his head to look at Nathanael. “You’re going to laugh. And I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Is it bad?”

“No! Not bad!” Adrien promised. “Just….well. I was really excited when you called me by accident. More excited than I thought I’d be. I guess.”

Nathanael moved his box, propped himself up on his elbow, looked down at Adrien. “Why were you excited?”

“I’m serious, you’re going to laugh.”

Nathanael bit his lip. “Try me. I might not laugh.”

Adrien blinked and for the first time looked like he was perfectly planning what he was going to say in his head. “What do you mean you might not? You don’t know what I’m going to say.”

“I don’t,” Nathanael admitted. “I know what I’m hoping you’ll say.”

“What are you hoping I’ll say?”

“I asked first.”

Adrien’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Fair enough.” He sat up from the floor and turned around so that he was facing Nathanael. “Just….promise that if I don’t say what you’re hoping I’ll say we can just go back to making jokes and eating junk food.”

Nathanael really really hoped that wouldn’t be the case. “Promise.”

Adrien took a huge breath and raked his fingers through his head as if to psych himself up. “Well, during the first week or so of school, my driver had forgotten to get used to my schedule and remember that he had to pick me up after school. There was a time where I was just sitting out on the stoop waiting for him to come pick me up and I saw you listening to music, humming to yourself, and sketching in your binder. I don’t know if you remember that.”

Nathanael liked to stick around after school a lot to sketch when he wanted to enjoy the nice weather a bit before going home. “I tend to do that a lot. But keep going.”

“I knew that you were in my class and I sort of remembered your name, but I like I said, I didn’t really know how to go up and talk to you. Plus I didn’t want to bother you.” Adrien stared down in his lap and smiled. “I, uh….well the first thought that popped into my head was that you were really cute.”

Adrien squinted his eyes shut and turned his head away as if preparing himself for a blow, but all Nathanael could do was hope that all of the sudden joy that was rushing from his head all the way down to the tips of his toes wasn’t too obvious. “W-Wait. Do you mean….?”

“Aw, don’t make me say it, it’s embarrassing and I didn’t rehearse,” Adrien groaned.

“So you do mean that!”

“I-I’m not making you uncomfortable, am I?”

Nathanael’s head dropped in relief as he shook his head. “No. No way. Quite the opposite, actually.”

“Wait, really?”

“I’m just as surprised as you are.”

Adrien still looked at Nathanael like he was starstruck. “Wait, there’s no way this is happening….”

“That makes two of us.”

Adrien licked his lips and scooted closer to Nathanael so that their knees were touching. “Can I try something?”

Nathanael nodded. “Uh. Sure. What is it?”

Adrien’s eyes darted down to Nathanael’s lips before dropping back down to his lap out of nerves, and suddenly Nathanael felt as if he were going to faint. Surely that’s not what he meant? This was just the over imaginative parts of Nathanael’s imagination getting away from him and making him anticipate things that weren’t actually coming his way. But Adrien finished surprising him that afternoon by buckling up all the courage inside of him and leaning forward to give Nathanael a sweet, short kiss on his lips, so short that Nathanael only had time to inhale sharply through his nose before it was over and Adrien was keeping his shoulders bunched up to his ears and keeping his eyes turned to the ceiling.

“Sorry,” he whispered out. “I panicked.”

“It’s okay,” Nathanael chuckled. “Do….do you want to try again?”

Adrien scrubbed his hands over his face. “I’m so bad at this.”

Maybe it was because Nathanael thought it was so sweet to see someone as personable as Adrien suddenly look like he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands or where to drop his gaze that Nathanael decided to take Adrien’s hands, lower them away from his face, and try to go something brave for once. He kept his hands around Adrien’s wrists as he leaned in and left a softer, slower kiss on Adrien’s lips, waiting patiently for Adrien to relax and gently open his mouth to kiss him back.

It wasn’t Nathanael’s first kiss, but it was his longest one — long enough for him to pick up little details about Adrien that he hadn’t noticed before. He had long eyelashes, his lips were a little chapped, and his bangs were long enough to tickle Nathanael’s temples when he tilted his head just slightly. He was also a really sweet kisser, one that made his toes curl in his socks and all his sighs come spilling into Adrien’s mouth. He wasn’t sure how long it had lasted, but he was practically counting the seconds that passed the moment Adrien ended the kiss and kept his lips just half an inch away from Nathanael’s, his breathes furling and mixing with his own.

“Man,” Adrien muttered. “Nino is never going to believe me.”

Nathanael couldn’t help it. He laughed with his whole body and felt like there was almost too much happiness running through his body. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to distract us.”

“Please. That was a great distraction.”

Nathanael tilted his head back towards their books. “Should we try and do the rest of it? Aside from the physics.”

Adrien winced. “Ehhh. I mean. It’s Friday. There’s no rush.”

Nathanael smirked. “And I’m guessing you don’t want to head home yet.”

“Kissing is more fun than homework.”

Nathanael blinked and cursed under his breath. “Aw, shoot. I might still be contagious. I’m sorry.”

Adrien shrugged. “Worth it. Besides, if I get sick, I can always leave you a message by accident so you can bring soup to my house.”

Nathanael rolled his eyes when Adrien cupped his cheeks and pulled him in for another kiss. He supposed that after all of this, taking care of Adrien tomorrow when he inevitably got sick would be fair turnabout anyway.

[alphaalnitak]

Aesthetic for my series ‘Average Ordinary Everyday Superhero’s’

Credit goes to photographers, models and cosplayers (photo’s taken from Pintrest and quotes are from my fanfic)

🦊🐾

[iwroteinapastlife]

005:223:09:31:04

Finally, two days late, I bring my contribution to @thinkoutsidethelovesquare with a Soulmate AU that was supposed to be a drabble and just wouldn’t quit.

AO3 link here.

Enjoy! <3

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. Now, Nino, you may kiss the bride.”

Everyone cheers as the happy couple share their first kiss as a married couple. It’s barely even a kiss with how much Nino is smiling, but that makes it even cuter. Some of us weren’t sure if he would ever manage to drag Alya to the altar and just like everyone else, I’m clapping and smiling, happy that he finally did it. But unlike the others, I have another reason to be smiling. As I watch them walk back down the aisle, my mind travels back to the day it all began.

It’s the first day of school and five year old me is a nervous wreck. With my mother’s hand in my right and clutching a brand new sketchbook in my left, I walk with my head held as high I can handle into the room of fourteen other children. I try not to cry as my mother lets go of my hand and tells me to be brave. I’ve never been brave, she knows that. She says I’ll make lots of friends. That’s another thing I’ve never been good at.

I sit down in the circle with the other kids and distract myself by observing each of them in turn. The boy next to me is kind of big and scary, but a closer look at his grey eyes tells me that he’s kinder than he seems. The blonde boy next to him seems completely at ease, green eyes open and ready and I can’t help but feel envious of his confidence. He’s listening intently as a spikey-haired boy next to him excitedly tells him about something. From what I can hear, I think it’s about sports. Next to them is a girl who might be even more nervous than me, amber eyes downcast and long dark hair covering half her face. Maybe I can make friends with her. After her is a pink haired girl who could probably kill me with a single look from those daring blue eyes. She seems to be listening to the spikey haired boy talk about sports, but I think she’s trying to hide it. Next is a boy who seems completely oblivious to the outside world, clicking away on a calculator. Does he already know how to use that? He must be really smart. Next to him is a girl I can identify with. She has her blue eyes fixated down in her sketchbook so black hair keeps falling in her face no matter how many times she pushes it back behind her ears. He makes a mental note to ask her what she’s sketching later. Watching over her shoulder is an excited girl with reddish auburn hair and warm grey eyes. That would drive me insane; I hope she doesn’t do that to everyone. Next is a sweet looking girl with blonde hair and the biggest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.  I have no doubt that she’ll make friends with ease. She’s having what looks like a pleasant conversation with the girl next to her, another blonde with bright hazel eyes wearing a pink headband.  Next to her is a red headed girl who seems absolutely enthralled in whatever the blonde on the other side of her is saying. The blonde’s voice is kind of annoying and she’s just going on and on about a bunch of stuff she has. That must be the girl my mother told me about, the mayor’s daughter. Another girl with long brown hair and green eyes is on her other side, listening and chiming in occasionally with comments that seem to annoy the blonde. And last is the boy in the hat right next to me, listening to music on his headphones. I’m debating tapping on his shoulder and maybe asking what he’s listening to when the teacher comes in.

“Good morning class! Welcome to the first day of school! Can we all start by saying hi? Look around the room and wave hi to everyone.” I try not to look too nervous as I wave, but making direct eye contact with so many people is one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced. None of them seem too mean, though, so at least there’s that. “Very good, everyone! I’m Madame Bustier and I’ll be your teacher for the year. How about we go around the room and—,”

Everyone turns their head as the blonde rich girl gasps, staring down at her arm. “My time stopped!” There’s some rustling around the room as others check the time on their arms.

“Mine too!” one kid says.

“And mine!” yells another.

I nervously glance at my arm. The timer is covered right now by the sleeve of my shirt. It’s been counting since the day I was born, always telling me exactly how old I am, down to the second. My mother said that it’ll stop counting when something really special happens, but I have to be patient. She showed me that hers didn’t stop counting until she was 23 years old. I always thought that it would just keep ticking for a really long time, and I’m surprised that the mayor’s daughter’s already stopped. After all, nothing really special just happened, did it? All we did was say hi.

As even more kids around the room announce that their time has stopped, I pull back my sleeve.

               005:223:09:31:04

               5 years, 223 days, 9 hours, 31 minutes, and 4 seconds.

I wait for the 4 to turn into a 5 like it always does.

It doesn’t.

Thirteen. Thirteen kids out of the fifteen that were in that class had their time stop that day. All at the moment that the teacher had us say hi.

Back then I didn’t know why it was a big deal, but I quickly found out since it was the only thing the class talked about for days. I had heard the term soulmate before then, but never really knew what it meant. I still wasn’t really sure what it meant until my time had already been stopped for seven years and Marinette was looking at me with those sparkling blue eyes.

We had been teamed up for an art project and I had finally gotten to know the twin tailed girl I had been interested in from day one. And wow, she was amazing. I had always admired her looks. When I had eventually gotten into drawing people, she had been one of the classmates I drew most often. Not because I had a crush on her or anything like that (yet), but because I just thought her features were very objectively pleasing.

But watching her tell me about fashion and seeing her so animated and bubbly, smiling with her whole heart…I was lost. That was when I knew that Marinette was my soulmate.

I want to tell her. I’m smiling and nodding as she shows me some of her sketches and all I can think is that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with her. That the rest of the thirteen can cross us off their lists because it’s me and Marinette, happily ever after.

But as I open my mouth to speak, my tongue is suddenly dry. I’m a stuttering mess as I try to so much as speak her name. She’s looking at me with those beautiful blue eyes, patient as ever, and I can’t even say it.

So we do the art project and move on, and I’m angry at myself. And I’m drawing her every day and I’m dreaming about her at night, and I’m pacing around my room, just trying to figure out how to tell her, and I…can’t.

I’m going to tell her today, I tell my 15-year-old self. I’ve spent weeks trying to make the perfect portrait of her and I’ve finally settled on the one that gets the closest to her beauty. It’s her birthday today and I’m determined. I’m going to give it to her and tell her that I like her and that I want to date her because I think she’s my soulmate. I can do it. I can do it.

The bell rings. I take the portrait out and stand up, about to walk to the front of the room where she’s getting ready to leave.

Chloé beats me to her.

“Don’t think that you’re special, just because he gave you a present.” Marinette looks up at the bully with wide eyes while Alya glares, already sensing danger.

“W-What?”

“Adrien is just too nice not to give you a present. You aren’t special, he gives me birthday presents too.”

Marinette’s expression falls and her best friend steps forward.

“What is wrong with you, Chloé? It’s her birthday for crying out loud, can’t you give her a break for just one day?” The blonde looks at her nails with disinterest.

“I just don’t want it going to her head. He probably did it out of pity because he knows about her silly crush on him.”

I don’t hear the rest of the conversation, even if it does happen at elevated volumes, because in that moment my heart sinks. One glance at Marinette confirms the bully’s words and I’m devastated. I cry as I fall asleep that night and I wonder if I’m wrong. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe she’s meant to be with Adrien.

But the next day she greets me with a smile and I know I’m not wrong. She has a crush on Adrien, and I can’t blame her; he’s like the human embodiment of the sun. But that doesn’t mean her feelings won’t change. They will. Because I’m looking at the rest of the thirteen and I know that it isn’t them. It’s Marinette.

I give her the portrait and the joy it brings her is enough to have me smiling for days. Then she hugs me and I feel like I can fly. I think about telling her right then and there. I’m finally not stuttering around her, after all. But just because I know right now doesn’t mean she does. She still has a crush on Adrien, so I need to be patient. But that’s okay. I can wait as long as it takes. Even if that’s ten more years.

We’re finishing school and about to head our separate ways and the past three years have only made me more and more sure as time went on. Myléne and Ivan started dating fairly early on, and no one was surprised when Juleka and Rose announced that they were a couple (most of us thought they already had been for years), and Nino and Alya became official about a year ago. The list was dwindling and I still couldn’t take my eyes off Marinette.

But now I’m feeling like I’m out of time. I had been an idiot and assumed that she would always be around, that I could always wait another day before telling her, because we were soulmates and we can’t possibly say goodbye forever.

Then I found out she was going to study fashion in America.

Suddenly it’s the last day of school and my heart is racing and I don’t know how to tell her. Because we all know she’s still head over heels for Adrien and even if I know she’s wrong, she doesn’t. But why would she have a reason to think otherwise if I’ve never told her how I feel?

I’m an idiot!

And I have to tell her. I have to tell her now.

So I pick up my yearbook, ready to use it as an excuse, and I head toward the front of the room. And she greets me with a smile and asks if she can sign my yearbook before I have a chance to say anything. And my hand is shaking as I pass it to her and she hands me hers in return and my palm is sweaty as I try to remember how to use a pen. I consider confessing to her in her yearbook, but I know that would be stupid. So I write down a heartfelt note about how great she is and how I know she’s going to be famous one day, and I tell her to keep in touch just like everyone else does but I hope she’ll really do it. And I hand it back to her and she smiles at me and the words are on the tip of my tongue and I’m going to do it, I’m going to say it.

I open my mouth.

“Marinette, will you sign my yearbook?” someone asks.

And I can’t do it.

We’re two years out of school when Rose shows up at my studio and asks me on a date. Needless to say, I’m confused. We were all 100% sure she was Juleka’s soulmate.

“I found Juleka too soon,” she says. “We weren’t supposed to meet so early in life. We’re supposed to experience the world first, and learn who we are and what we want and then we’re supposed to meet our soulmates and form lasting bonds with them. But Juleka and I…we just ended up together because we knew all along and I… I never got to explore my attraction to guys.”

“So you two are on a break?”

“I guess, sort of. Or we might be broken up. I guess it sort of depends on how dating guys goes.” I watch as she stares down at the cup of tea I had given her. She studies the surface of the liquid with troubled eyes and her fingers nervously trace the rim of the mug.

“Rose.” The way her head snaps up, as if she’d forgotten I was there, confirms exactly what I’m thinking. “As honored as I am that I was your first choice of guys to date, I have to ask. Are you sure you want to go on a date?” Her frown was answer enough.

I spend the rest of the day with her, just talking and drinking tea there in the studio. She tells me about her relationship with Juleka and the way she blushes and smiles when she talks about her is enough to erase whatever doubt I might have ever had about them. I understand her desire to give guys a try before committing for the rest of her life, but even she knows it’s going to be Juleka at the end of it all.

She asks about me and for the first time in my life, I confess that I had been crushing on Marinette for years. Rose is bubbly and supportive just like she always is, but I can see the doubt behind her eyes. I ask for her honesty.

“It’s just…she’s so head over heels for Adrien.”

I sigh. “I know. That’s why I never said anything back in school.”

“Have you considered anyone else?”

I shrug. “I’ve glanced at the others, but nothing seems right.” Rose is pensive and there’s some silence as we both sip at our tea.

“What about Chloé?”

I nearly spit out my tea. She can’t possibly be serious. But I look up and there isn’t even the slight semblance of a smile on Rose’s face.

“You’re joking.”

“She’s not that bad, you know. Have you seen her at all since leaving school?”

“No, and I don’t plan to. She was awful.”

“I’ll admit, she could be kind of mean sometimes.” I smile as I take another sip of tea. Classic Rose, unable to say anything bad about even the worst of people. “But she’s come a long way since then. I bumped into her the other day while getting coffee and she stopped and sat down with me.”

“Rose, I’m sure you’re right and she isn’t actually evil incarnate. But even still, she and I are such opposites. I can’t imagine ever getting along with her.”

Rose rolls her eyes at me. “Fine. What about Adrien?”

My back straightens up in surprise. “Adrien?”

“Yeah. You’re into guys, right?”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“Do you not think he’s cute?”

“Are you kidding? He’s literally a model.”

“And he’s super sweet.”

“That’s true…”

“Of course, the rest of the class is pretty convinced he’s Marinette’s soulmate, but hey, someone’s crush has to be wrong in this situation.”

“I guess I’ve been so busy considering him my competition that I hadn’t considered it.”

Rose smiles and lifts the cup to her lips. “Consider it.”

It’s a few months later and everyone is in the same room again for Ivan and Myléne’s wedding. They were steady this whole time, but everyone is still talking about how this means they are officially off the list.

I watch Adrien smiling and laughing across the room as he talks to Nino and I realize that I really should consider it. That’s what leads me to ask him to dance.

We laugh and stumble about the dance floor. Neither of us knows how to dance with another guy, since we were both taught how to lead. Eventually I say that I’ll follow and we settle into a nice rhythm. We talk about life and how things have been going since school. Adrien tells me that he’s working on getting a degree in physics while still keeping up his modeling career and I tell him that I’ve been working out of my own private studio for a while now. He asks if I still make comics and I can’t believe he still remembers.

“I still make them sometimes in my free time if inspiration strikes, but I’ve never been too good at the story part of it. I would need to work with a writer if I really wanted to get something going there.”

“That’s too bad. I bet you would make the best comics.” I blush at the compliment and laugh nervously.

“T-Thanks, but I’m not that good…”

“Nath.” I brought my eyes back to his again at the sudden seriousness in his tone. “You’re an amazing artist.”

I can only blink as my cheeks no doubt start to resemble my hair. “I, uh, u-um, t-thank you.”

Adrien looks away and smiles and I wonder if I’m imagining the slight dusting of blush on his cheeks. “I was always really envious of your art in school. I considered asking you to teach me how to draw a few times, but I was too nervous.”

“You were too nervous to talk to me?”

“Yeah…” his smile grows and now I’m positive I’m not imagining the blush. He even stutters a little bit as he speaks and I can’t believe it’s even possible for Adrien Agreste to get like this. “I-I kind of had a crush on you.”

My feet carry on dancing, but for at least five seconds, my mind goes completely blank. It’s as if I blacked out, but the mere glass of champagne I had definitely wouldn’t be enough for that. “Y-You did?” finally stumbles out of my mouth as thoughts start moving again.

He laughs nervously and I can’t believe how cute he is. “Yeah. I kind of still do actually.”

Adrien Agreste is blushing and nervous in front of me telling me that he likes me and the inside of my brain is just a chorus of screaming. Now I know why Rose wanted me to consider it.

“I-I—but you’re—and I’m—but—what?”

He’s still smiling, but now he looks nervous about my reaction. “Are you… Is that…okay?”

I swallow nervously, not sure if I can speak properly right now. Suddenly I’m very aware that we’re surrounded by people and it’s warm and kind of stuffy. “Want to step outside with me?”

He barely has a chance to say yes before I’m taking his hand and speed walking out to the balcony. Thankfully, there’s no one else out there and the air is clear and warm and my brain already feels a million times clearer after just one breath.

“Okay, so let me get this straight. You, Adrien Agreste, famous model, have a crush on me.

“Yes?”

“You.”

“Yes.”

“Like me?”

“Yep.”

“You??”

He laughs. “Nath, what is this about?”

“You’re literally a model! I’m sorry, I’m just having a hard time believing this.”

“Being a model means I can’t have crushes?”

“Not on me! I’m just…me.”

He looks at me and I know I’m blushing because wow, no one has ever looked at me like that. “Nathanaël, you’re not just anyone.”

Wow, that’s so cliché. And I’m falling for it anyway.

“So… So what does this mean?” I eventually ask. “Do you want to…date me?”

That’s when Adrien’s expression falters. He looks out at the sunset longingly and I can’t help but think how picturesque the moment is. “That’s the thing. I can’t really date anyone with my modeling career going on. My father would kill me, and even aside from that, it’s just too much drama. That’s part of why I never told you before. I just couldn’t help myself tonight,” he says as he looks at me again, quite clearly checking out my entire body, “You look so cute.” I wondered if the purple collared shirt and black vest looked as good as I thought it did. It must if it had Adrien Agreste confessing to me. “So, I can’t exactly date. Or at least, not in public…”

I blush and try not to show how much the idea of a secret relationship turns me on.

And then I say something that surprises us both.

“What are you doing tonight?”

We’ve been dating in secret for a few months when we’re both lying in bed staring at the ceiling, completely quiet and lost in our own thoughts. I’m pretty sure we’re both thinking about the same thing, but neither of us knows how to start. Eventually Adrien rolls onto his side so he’s facing me.

“Hey, Nath?” I roll onto my side to face him too. He looks so nervous, but for some reason, I’m not. It all feels so natural and clear and somehow, I feel completely calm. “I… I don’t really know how to say this. I-I really like you, and these past few months have been great, a-and…”

He trails off and I take his hand in mine, giving it a loving squeeze, and I speak the words we both know are true. “We’re not soulmates.”

He sighs and he looks so sad and I just wish I could erase that emotion from his capability. I reach out and brush some of his beautiful, soft, golden hair behind his ear.

“I really like you,” he says. I smile.

“I really like you.”

“But it’s just not right.”

“We’re just not meant to be.”

He looks like he might cry. I wonder when the urge will hit me. I’m sure it will once I’m alone, but right now it’s so far from me I wonder if I’m in some sort of denial. I try to cheer him up as I continue to comb my fingers through his hair. “This doesn’t have to be sad, Adrien. So we’re not soulmates. That’s okay. That means that we’re both going to find something that’s even better than this. And this…is pretty great. We don’t have to remember it as anything less.” He smiles through the pain.

“I don’t want to keep wondering who it is,” he eventually says. I laugh.

“Me neither.”

“Any ideas?”

I sigh and roll onto my back again. I take up his hand again though, not quite ready to let it go. “I dunno, man. You?”

“I guess I could actually take up Chloé on one of her endless offers.”

“Ew,” slips out of my mouth before I can stop it. He playfully slaps me.

“Stop it, she’s not that bad.”

“Rose said that too, but I’m yet to be convinced.”

“Have you talked to her since school ended?”

“No.”

“Well that’s why.” I turn my head to look at him. He’s staring up at the ceiling again.

“Would you really date her?”

He sighs. “I don’t know. She decided I was her soulmate on day one for no other reason than because we were both rich and it made sense. Our moms became friends, so we started seeing each other outside of school and I was able to really be friends with her, but… I don’t know. It’s just hard to consider after spending so long rebuffing her advances.” He chuckled. “Maybe you should date Chloé.”

I smack him with a pillow and he laughs and I wish he was my soulmate so I could share moments like this with him forever. “Rose said that too. What is with you two?”

His laughter trickles out as he speaks again. “I don’t know, I can kind of see it. She really isn’t what you think. She was handed everything her whole life, so going to school and dealing with people that weren’t just going to give her whatever she wanted was pretty new to her. Obviously she didn’t deal with it very well. But she’s never been a horrible person underneath, and she’s learned a lot after entering the business world.”

“Business?”

“Yeah, you didn’t know? She’s studying business and plans to inherit the hotel from her father.”

“Huh, well that’s cool. I’m still not interested in her though. She once said that she likes pineapple on pizza.” Adrien laughs again and my heart aches with how much I want to love him.

“Fair enough,” he says. “What about Alix?”

“I mean, maybe? She’s ace though, and as you’ve seen, sex is pretty important for me.” Adrien chuckles at that.

“That’s certainly true. It’d be a shame for your body to go to waste anyway.” At that he grins and winks and somehow he still has me blushing.

“Which means you shouldn’t date Alix either,” I shoot back. I won’t try to wink. We both know I’m terrible at it. He laughs.

“We all know she’s going to end up with Kim anyway. Well. We all, except Kim.”

“Don’t forget Max,” I add.

“Do you think Max and Alix are also soulmates? Or is it just Kim and Max and Alix and Kim?”

“I don’t really know. They definitely get along well, but I’m not sure there’s any romance there. Should ask next time we see them.”

“Well,” Adrien interjects, “this is all assuming they’re Kim’s soulmates.”

“Oh don’t worry, Max knows that already and I wouldn’t be surprised if Alix did too.”

“He does? But doesn’t Kim still think it’s Chloé?”

I laugh as I answer him. “Yeah, you should watch Max’s face whenever Kim mentions it. The guy is patient, I’ll give him that.”

Adrien chuckles. “Imagine that. Knowing who your soulmate is and having to wait for them to realize it.” I have to tell myself not to mention Marinette. It’s not like I wouldn’t tell Adrien about my crush on her. It’s that telling him would also involve outing her crush on him, and that’s something I won’t do to her. I’m not sure I want to start thinking about her again yet anyway. Having her out of my mind for the last few months has been really nice and I’m not ready to let it go yet. “Meanwhile I’m over here wishing it were my boyfriend,” he continues, tone suddenly somber. Somehow we’re facing each other again and he’s looking at me with those gorgeous green eyes that are sparkling so bright in the aftermath of so many emotions.

I scoot forward and kiss him, letting myself enjoy the feeling of his lips gliding against mine. In that moment, I don’t care if we aren’t soulmates. I’ve loved every moment I’ve spent with him. I’ve loved every kiss, every touch, every everything.

He kisses me back, pressing his lips against mind and opening his mouth just enough to slip his tongue through. His hand connects with my waist and he draws me to him, leaning forward until I’m on my back underneath him. “Is this okay?” he asks, voice barely above a whisper. “Even if we’re not soulmates?”

I hook my arms around his neck and look into his pretty green eyes. “I’m okay with it if you are.”

And then he kisses me and it’s so sweet but so so bitter.

Juleka and Rose are one of the most aesthetically pleasing couples to exist as they stand at the altar in their personalized white dresses. Juleka’s is elegant and perfectly suited for her with beautifully patterned lace stretching across her shoulders, a simple form fitting shape, and a long train trailing behind her. Rose’s, on the other hand, looks like a summer dress with no straps and a skirt that cuts off mid-calf and flutters every time she moves. They look absolutely stunning and I decide right then and there that I want to paint a portrait of this moment and send it to them as an additional wedding gift.

A few years have passed since their brief time apart (they had gotten back together less than a week after my “date” with Rose), and now two more are “officially off the list” as Alya puts it. She and Nino are going on five years, but when asked she still acts as if anyone could be her soulmate. Nino just rolls his eyes and pulls her into a kiss. We all know they’re off the list, even if she’ll never “officially” admit it.

Marinette smiles when she sees me from across the reception hall. We haven’t seen each other since she got back from America. She leaves again in a few weeks to start her final year of school, and while in the past we’ve always managed to have lunch or something whenever she’s back, we’ve both just been so busy that we haven’t been able to this time.

She walks up and hugs me and I know I’m not over her. I may not be a blushing mess around her anymore, but she’s still so beautiful and talented and smart and just overall amazing and wow, I really think she’s my soulmate.

“A rare sighting of the elusive Nathanaël Kurtzberg!” she remarks with a smile. “I’m so glad to see you!”

“Me? You’re the one who disappears to another continent for nine months every year.”

She giggles. “You got me there. Want to dance with me?”

“Sure!” I say, and I have to remind myself that Marinette is a social butterfly. She acts like this with everyone and always wears that infectious smile and I can’t let it get to my head. She may be my soulmate, but I’m done trying to tell her for now. It would be useless to start something and then have her leave again.

Marinette and I fall into a rhythm dancing and she strikes up a conversation by asking what I’ve been up to. I tell her about my studio and how I may not be making a fortune but I’m still making plenty and I’m loving what I do. I ask her about school and she says it’s tough but a lot of fun. She says she’s learned so much about designing and about the business of fashion and she can’t wait to officially enter the fashion world in a year. She’s already got an internship lined up with Gabriel when she graduates and she couldn’t be more excited. I tell her I would expect no less than an internship at one of the best and most selective fashion lines from her. She’s truly such a talented person and I know she’s going to go far with her designs. She giggles and thanks me, then starts picking my brain about the commissions I’ve had going lately.

Speaking with Marinette just flows so smoothly I can hardly believe I’m half of the conversation. With anyone else there are lulls and pauses and awkward instances of talking over each other or talking about the weather because it’s so impossible to think of anything else to say. But with Marinette everything is just so natural. I wonder if she’s like this with everyone or if it’s just me. I want to believe it’s just me and take it as another sign that we’re soulmates, but I’m pretty sure I know better. She’s just one of those people. One of those people who just manage to get along with everyone—kind of like Rose, but without the blind optimism. She’s just so sweet and supportive and perfect that it’s absolutely impossible to hate her. The only person I’d ever heard of hating her was Chloé and that was just because she was jealous. It might have even been because Chloé herself had a crush on Marinette. I wouldn’t be surprised. Looking at her beautiful smiling face I can’t imagine a person who wouldn’t fall for her.

At the end of the night, Marinette and I part ways again and I still haven’t told her, but I’m okay with that. I tell myself that I’m waiting until next summer when she’s back for good. Once she’s officially back in France, that’s when I’ll tell her.

The Gabriel internship sends her to America since she’s already familiar with it. I keep in touch with her of course, but I can’t tell her.

Twenty years have passed since the day that thirteen kids’ time stopped and two of them are finally getting married. As everyone gathers before the ceremony, I keep an eye out for Marinette.

“The wedding marks my official move back to France!” she had announced a month prior. After interning with Gabriel in America for years, Marinette finally managed to break out into the fashion world and she’s going to be working alongside (rather than underneath) Gabriel now, in Paris.

Which means Marinette is officially back in France tonight and I am determined to tell her. A familiar head of pink hair catches my attention and I smile and wave as Alix approaches with Max and Kim following behind.

“What’s up, Nath, long time no see!” she says as she hugs me.

“And whose fault is that, Star Skater Kubdel?” She grins and scratches the back of her head, only a little bit modest. Last he heard, she was having companies grovel at her feet begging to sponsor her.

“Nathanaël!” Kim exclaims as he catches up. “Dude, I’ve got great news! I’m going to the Summer Olympics running for France!”

“Wow!” I respond, breathless. I can’t believe I actually know and went to school with a real life Olympian. Of course, knowing Kim I really should have expected that.

“There’s some more news too, Kim,” Alix says, rolling her eyes.

“Hi Nathanaël,” Max says as he walks up and hugs me.

“Oh yeah,” Kim says, “And Alix got sponsored by Gatorade!”

She smiles and rubs her arm. “Well yeah, but that’s not what I was talking about.”

“Oh! And Max signed a contract to work on the next Ultimate Mecha Strike game!”

“That’s true too, but I don’t think that’s what she’s talking about either.”

Kim pauses and looks back and forth between the two of them for a moment. They both look at him with an eyebrow raised and I’m pretty sure I know what the news is before even he does.

“OH!” he finally exclaims. He grins from ear to ear as he throws an arm around each of them. “And we’re dating!!”

I smile as I’m pulled into a group hug. “That’s so great, you guys! I was wondering how long it would take.”

Alix gives me a confused look as I pull away. “What, you mean you knew?”

“Yeah, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Max says, pushing up his glasses. “It was easy to calculate after Juleka and Rose were announced since the chances of Kim being with us by random chance increased from—,”

“Wait wait wait,” Kim interrupts. “You’ve known since the JuleRose wedding?”

“Actually, I was talking about when they became a couple back in school.”

“You’ve known that long and you didn’t tell us??” Alix asks, bewildered.

“I assumed that you knew,” he says to her. “And he was too hung up on Chloé.”

“It’s true, I was clueless. Couldn’t see that I had everything I needed right here.” He pulls them both toward him and the two smile bashfully. “So when are you going to make it official with Chloé, man?”

I blink at him. Isn’t there anyone who doesn’t think it’s her?

“I… Uh…”

“Nathanaël has to wait because his current chances of rejection are high since Chloé still believes her soulmate is Adrien,” Max chimes in. He’s obviously wrong in his reasoning, but I’m glad to have the excuse anyway. I won’t have to keep having this argument after tonight anyway. Because I’m finally going to tell Marinette and it’s going to be perfect.

I was already determined, but learning about Kim, Max, and Alix strengthens my resolve. The list is officially down to four and I’m more certain than ever that Marinette is my soulmate.

I’m going to tell her.

After the ceremony, the reception hall is alive with energy and loud music. Alya managed to convince Nino not to DJ his own damn wedding, but he still insisted that it be an awesome party, and he was not disappointed. I laugh to myself as I take a sip of champagne and watch the happy couple go wild on the dance floor. Alya is laughing at Nino’s dorky dancing and pretending she’s embarrassed by him. I smile even wider as Adrien jumps in and joins Nino in looking like an idiot even though I know he can dance better than that.

So I guess he’s with Chloé then. He doesn’t talk about his dating life whenever we get together these days, but Chloé comes up in conversation every once in a while and he’s always telling me about how great she is. Even though I don’t talk to her directly, I now know a lot about her life nowadays, like how she’s had a lot of success in business and how the hotel is stressing her out but she loves it nonetheless. Hell, I even know about the bad meeting she had with the linens supplier last week. After hearing it so much, I can only accept now that she really is a good person and I’m even starting to think about reaching out to her soon to maybe be friends or something. She’s the only person of the thirteen that I don’t talk to, and it just feels kind of wrong.

I hope she makes Adrien happy. I’m sure she will. They wouldn’t be soulmates otherwise. But I can’t help but be wary. And that beautiful man deserves nothing less than the best.

Across the room I spot Marinette having an animated conversation with Kim. Suddenly she’s smiling even brighter and she leaps forward to give him a hug. I can only assume that he told her about the relationship. Unless of course she got that happy over the Olympics announcement. It’s always possible—that is amazing news—but I’m pretty sure a reaction like that would have come from former. I drink the last of my champagne as Kim gets dragged away by his partners to go dance. Now’s my chance.

I’m going to tell her.

Marinette greets me warmly as I approach her, smiling and pulling me into a hug. “Nath, it’s so great to see you!”

“Hey, Marinette! You look great!” I mean it. Her bridesmaid dress is a lovely sheer pink that perfectly complements her figure.

“Thank you, I made it myself,” she says with a sly smile. I had had my suspicions.

“Did you make Alya’s dress too? She looks spectacular.”

“You really think so?” she says with a smile, turning to look at her best friend. She’s managed to pull Nino into a slow dance for the moment and the two are smiling like idiots at each other. “Gabriel and I designed it together.”

My eyes go wide and I stare at her in absolute bewilderment. “Alya is wearing a Gabriel/Marinette original? Didn’t that cost a fortune?”

She smiles at me. “It’s Adrien’s wedding gift to them. The only catch is that their wedding pictures have to be featured in a Gabriel ad, but they didn’t seem to mind.”

“Wow, Marinette, that’s…incredible. You’re incredible.” She blushes and smiles, rubbing her arm nervously as her dazzling blue eyes fixate on her shoes. I take a deep breath. I’m not scared. This is the moment. “Marinette.” She looks up at me with curious eyes, noting the change in my tone. “I think you’re my soulmate.”

The moment the words are out of my mouth I feel the weight of twenty years of silence lift from my shoulders. I am suddenly as light as a feather, I feel like I can dance on the wind…for about two seconds. Because that is how long it takes for her expression to betray everything. Two seconds is all it takes for me to know what she’s about to say.

“Nath…” She glances around nervously and I’m not sure I can feel my heart beating anymore. It must be since I’m still standing there staring at her, but if someone were to ask, I would tell them that my soul had completely vacated my body. I vaguely register Marinette taking my arm and leading me away from earshot of the other wedding guests. “We’ve been keeping it under wraps because of publicity, but—,”

“You’re with Adrien.” She squeezes her lips together in a genuine look of sorrow. She feels bad. Bad for me. Because she’s rejecting me? Or maybe because of what this means for me. Because if she isn’t my soulmate, and Adrien isn’t my soulmate, then…

Nope, I was wrong. Now my soul has left my body.

“Nath, I-I’m sorry, I would have told you sooner, it’s just that with the press always on him, and me trying to make a name for myself in the fashion world…”

I muster up a smile for her. It isn’t fake, really. Sure, I don’t exactly feel like smiling, but that doesn’t mean I’m not happy for her. And him. A designer and a model. A match made in Heaven, really. And besides, everyone had known she’s had a crush on him for years, including me. I was just the only one who refused to believe it was meant to be even when it was clear to everyone else.

Well, almost everyone.

“It’s okay, Marinette. I completely understand. And don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” I pause, then add, “And congratulations.” And I mean it. I really do. Because like I said earlier, Adrien deserves nothing less than the best. And so does Marinette for that matter.

She smiles gratefully, but I can see the pity in her eyes. I had spent over a decade memorizing every little feature of that face so that I could draw it a million times, and now the sight of it is breaking my heart.

I hug her and tell her that she’d better make Adrien happy, and that makes her giggle. Then I walk away, and I wonder if I should leave. I’m not really in a celebratory mood. Should I say bye to Adrien first? Come to think of it, I didn’t say hi to him yet. I didn’t get a chance to.

Why didn’t he tell me about him and Marinette?

I slow to a stop as I see Adrien up ahead talking to Chloé. She has short hair now and it’s an even better look on her than the long hair was. She smiles at him, but I can see her heart breaking.

Suddenly I understand why I know about her linens meeting.

Adrien hasn’t been telling me all these details about Chloé because he loves her. He’s been telling me about her because he wants me to love her.

Adrien walks away and Chloé sits down and puts her head in her hands. I briefly wonder if she’s crying, but if I know anything about Chloé Bourgeois, it’s that she would never cry in public.

I’m not thinking about what I’m doing anymore. Instead, I just let whatever happens happen.

I approach her table and hold out a hand. “Would you like to dance?”

Chloé picks up her head and looks at me in surprise. Then understanding dawns and she just looks at me with a bitter sort of sorrow.

“Nathanaël,” she begins, and I’m not sure I’ve ever heard her say my name in a non-insulting manner, “Be honest. Would you even spare me a second glance if you didn’t know?”

“Would you?” She looks down at the floor and I drop my hand. Maybe I should walk away. Maybe we’re not ready for this yet. Maybe we’ll never be ready for it.

Never ready to be soulmates.

“This is so fucked up,” I mutter, pushing my fingers through my hair. The comment was mostly to myself, but she shakes with a small huff of laughter.

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“It’s not supposed to happen like this,” I say, taking the empty seat next to her. “We got stuck in some freak circumstance with our class and it completely screwed up the way this is supposed to work! You’re not supposed to meet your soulmate along with twelve other people when you’re five years old. It’s supposed to happen when you’re older and ready, and you bump into each other on the street as random strangers and your time stops and you look at them and you think—,” I look at her then, and she looks at me. She really is a gorgeous woman, with perfectly smooth blonde hair and bright blue eyes that shine like the sky on a clear summer day. She’s looking at me, awaiting my words, and I can’t stop admiring her lightly tanned skin and her flawless cheekbones. I remember my words and suddenly they feel more genuine, “—wow. This beautiful person is my soulmate, and I get to spend the rest of my life falling in love with them.”

Her gaze holds mind for a few more seconds before I look away, unable to handle such a level of intimate eye contact with her right now. “But we didn’t get that. We got a class full of possibilities and rejections and confusion. And now…here we are.” She looks away and I follow her gaze to see Adrien and Marinette on the dance floor, smiling and looking absolutely perfect together. “This is obviously far from ideal, but I do want to at least be friends with you. We have to start somewhere.”

We sit there for a few minutes and just watch everyone dance. The entire thirteen are there, except us. Ivan and Myléne are looking at each other as lovingly as they did back in school and I smile because I’m glad they haven’t lost even an ounce of their warmth. Rose and Juleka are laughing as Kim bursts into their dance and Alix and Max attempt to contain him. Alya and Nino watch the others, whispering in each other’s ears and laughing to themselves. And Marinette and Adrien…look like the definition of perfection.

Finally, Chloé stands up, and I wonder if she’s leaving. She runs her hands down her dress—an elegant, deep blue, form fitting gown that looks amazing on her—to smooth out any wrinkles, and then turns to me, offering me her hand. “Well? Are we going to dance or what?”

I smile and take her hand and as she leads me to the dance floor I feel a little less sad.

After all, this isn’t the end. This is the beginning.

Two years later, Chloé is my date to Adrien and Marinette’s wedding.

A year after that, she’s my wife.

[nobodys-pearls]

Visions and Virtues Ch 4

Tomorrow is the 1 year anniversary of when I posted the first chapter of my first fanfiction - Illusions and Illustrations.

I just want to thank everyone who stuck with me, commented, gave kudos, or simply enjoyed the story. It’s because of you guys that I’ve gotten so much happiness out of this :D

(Also I put a little bit of touchy Adrinath in honor of Adrinath August ;) even though it’s platonic)

Read on [AO3]

Summary: peacock!Lila makes an entrance 

“I just got back from Italy.” Lila said to herself, vaulting over a smoking car.

“I kissed my – boyfriend? I kissed Nathanael.” She continued, flipping her long ponytail over her shoulder as she kept running.

“Now’s there’s an akuma.” Lila added, scanning the block for that flash of pale yellow light she saw earlier.

“And I’m chasing after it.” She finished, shaking her head. She had to give Paris credit – there was never a dull day in the city of lights.

Then she reached the end of the street. When she turned to look around the corner she spotted the akuma.

She was a young woman, probably in her 30s. She was wearing a white-and-black costume, and held a long black staff in her hands. She was also fighting Renard.

‘Wow, he got here fast.’ Lila thought to herself. He must have been nearby.

“Men are lying scum!” The akuma yelled, waving her staff. She blasted a beam of light from it, aiming for Renard, but he grappled out of the way just in time. “They tell you they love you, and then you find them with another woman!” She shrieked. “Why can’t it be black and white? Why can’t people just tell the truth?”

Renard had gotten too close to the akuma, and she hit him in the stomach with her staff. Lila watched as he flew across the street like a rag doll.

Lila clenched her fists. She had to do something. She ran into the middle of the street and pointed at the akuma.

“Things aren’t meant to be black and white!” Lila yelled. That got the akuma’s attention. She struggled to find something more to say, lowering her arm. “Not – Not all men are like that! You can’t punish someone for something they didn’t do!”

The akuma growled. “Look at him,” she began, gesturing towards Renard. “He’s probably a liar too. He even hides behind a mask. All liars must be punished.”

Lila winced. That struck a little too close to home. Then she took a deep breath and slowly approached the akuma. “I don’t like liars either.” She admitted, putting up her hands in a placating gesture. “Lying only hurts the people you love, I know that from experience. I was that person. The person who lied.”

The akuma gripped her staff more tightly in her fists. Lila glanced to the side and saw that Renard was slowly beginning to sit up. She hoped that he was okay.

“But I’m still learning. And although I’ve done bad things, I’m not a bad person. The man who cheated on you – he was wrong. He doesn’t deserve your forgiveness. But terrorizing the people around you, lashing out in anger, that won’t make you feel any better.”

The akuma looked at her for a moment, and Lila began to hope that she had gotten through to her. Then a black blur flew through the air and collided with the akuma.

Lila heard the sound of metal clashing metal, and she saw Chat Noir in a standoff with the akuma, his baton and her staff locked in combat.

The akuma screamed and threw the superhero off of her. Chat Noir slid backwards, moving into a defensive stance. Then he glanced at Lila.

“So Hawkmoth managed to pull off two akumas at once. Great. So much for sleeping in this summer.” He grumbled.

“I-I’m not an akuma.” Lila said. Chat lifted an eyebrow at that.

“Then who are you?”

Lila was at a loss for words. Chat Noir had a good point – who was she?

“I’m well, I’m –” She began.

“Chat look out!” A voice said, and then there was a flash of yellow light. Lila raised her arms to shield her eyes and when she lowered them she saw Renard and Chat on the ground.

“Are you two okay?” She asked. She glanced up and saw the smug grin on the akuma’s face.

Chat groaned and stood up. “Yeah, Renard pushed me out of the way of that yellow light just in time.” Then he looked at Lila. “Do you know what it does?”

She opened her mouth to answer when Renard stood up and yelled, “I know Chat Noir’s civilian identity! He’s Adrhfpmf –”

Chat quickly covered Renard’s mouth and looked at him with wide eyes. “What are you doing?”

Lila saw the akuma aim her staff once more. “Chat Noir! The akuma!”

Chat saw the akuma and jumped out of the way just in time, still holding onto Renard, one hand covering his mouth. “What’s going on?”

“That light! It must make you tell the truth!” Lila said, figuring out the akuma’s power.

Chat looked back down at Renard. Then he looked back at Lila and she saw something in his eyes.

He was afraid.

“This isn’t good. I can’t risk having him say anything!”

At that moment Renard struggled free from his grip. “My name is Na –”

Chat tackled him to the ground. “Shut up shut up!” He screeched, covering his mouth with both hands now. “What am I going to do?” He said to himself. Lila could see the concern in his eyes as he looked down at his partner. “I can’t do this by myself.”

“Soon all men will tell the truth!” The akuma declared, lifting her staff and pointing it at Chat, who was busy trying to keep Renard pinned down.

Lila acted on instinct. She ran towards the akuma and dove in front of Chat. Then she flicked her wrist and let the fan spread out before her.

The akuma laughed at her. “What are you going to do with that?”

“I have no idea.” Lila answered. “But I’m going to look good doing it.” She said with more confidence than she really had. She wondered if it was Duusu’s influence.

The akuma bared her teeth and shot out a beam of light. Lila did the only thing she could do –she swiped her fan across her body in one fluid motion, closing her eyes.

“Wh-what? How?” The akuma said. Lila opened her eyes and saw the shock on the akuma’s face. The beam should’ve hit her, but she felt fine. She turned to look at Chat.

“Are you okay? Were you hit because I don’t know what I’ll do if you were.” Lila said quickly. Then she noticed that Chat was also looking at her in surprise.

“No, I – you deflected the light with your fan.” Chat explained.

Lila looked down at her fan with wide eyes. It could do that?

“Oh.” Was all that she managed to say.

“Who are we fighting?” A voice said from above. Lila looked up and saw Ladybug dropping down, yo-yo in hand.

“The black and white one! This girl is on our side!” Chat said.

Ladybug nodded her head and threw her yo-yo out in front on her. Lila watched as it wrapped around the akuma’s staff. The superhero tugged and it flew out of the akuma’s hands. Lila was impressed that she managed to do all that in mid-air.

“NO!” The akuma yelled.

Ladybug landed next to Chat.

“Long time no see, my lady.” Chat said with a wink. Ladybug scoffed and rolled her eyes. Then she saw Renard.

“Um, what are you doing?” She asked, looking back at Chat with a raised brow.

“Oh look it’s Mari-umpf.” Renard began, but Chat tightened his grip on his mouth and moved to sit on him.

“The akuma got him. Now he’s compelled to tell the truth.” Chat explained.

Ladybug’s eyes widened. “This isn’t good.”

“That’s what I said.” Chat replied.

“Give me back my staff, you insect!” The akuma yelled from the middle of the street.

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “Insect. I’ve never heard that one before.”

Lila was surprised when a laugh escaped her lips. She had hated Ladybug for so long. The spotted superhero represented everything she wasn’t, everything she wanted to be. Ladybug had exposed her as what she was – a liar. But this Ladybug – she wasn’t just a hero behind a mask. She was – she was a girl, just like her.

Ladybug heard Lila laugh and turned her attention towards her. “It looks like my two boys are out of commission for this fight.” She began. Lila saw something flash in her eyes. It almost looked like – excitement. “Care to help me?”

Lila looked at her with wide eyes for a moment, but then she gripped her fan more tightly and nodded her head. “Just tell me what to do.”

“Ladybug is a pro at telling people what to do.” Chat said, still sitting on Renard. Ladybug stuck out her tongue.

“We need to find her akumatized object.” Ladybug explained, looking at the akuma who was having a tantrum in the street.

“It’s not the staff?” Lila asked.

“It’s hardly ever the weapon.” Renard said, wiggling out of Chat’s grip for a moment. Chat sighed and put his hands back on his mouth.

“He speaks the truth.” Chat said. Then he glared at Renard. “Now for the love of god stop moving.”

“Okay, find the akumatized object. I can do that.” Lila said, furrowing her brow as she looked at the akuma.

“I also need you to keep her distracted while I summon my lucky charm.” Ladybug added, rubbing her neck. “I know it’s a lot –”

“It’s fine,” Lila interrupted. “I want to help.” She felt excitement buzzing in her chest. This was it. This is what superheroes do. Then she looked at Ladybug. “Let’s do this.”

Ladybug smiled and nodded her head. “Lucky Charm!”

In that same moment Lila rushed the akuma, her fan out in front of her. “You want the truth? Your outfit is horrible. You hear that Hawkmoth? Maybe you should ask Gabriel Agreste for some fashion advice!”

The akuma growled. “You little brat!” Lila saw the outline of a butterfly on the akuma’s face. Good. She wanted Hawkmoth to be mad. After everything he put her through, this was her chance to even the score.

“Be careful, this little brat is about to kick your butt!” Lila said, and she did the only thing she could think of. She jumped on top of the akuma.

“Get off of me!” The akuma screeched, clawing at her. Lila squirmed around until she was on the akuma’s back, her legs wrapped around her waist and her hands pinning the akuma’s arms back. “That’s a cheap move! And you call yourself a hero!”

Lila smiled and leaned towards the akuma’s ear. “Listen up Hawkmoth. I do things my way. Don’t forget that.”

Then a wave of energy hit her, blowing her eyes wide. Images flashed across her vision. She saw Ladybug holding a necklace in her hands. She watched as the hero crushed it under her feet, watched as a black butterfly tried to flutter away. Then her sight went back to normal.

“What was that?” Lila breathed, clutching her head with one of her hands. Then she was thrown onto the ground. She forgot that she was on the akuma’s back. Now the woman towered over her, rage in her eyes.

“Uh oh.” Then Lila saw something around the akuma’s neck, something she hadn’t noticed before. It was a necklace, the same necklace she just saw Ladybug crush. Something clicked in her mind.

“Ladybug! I think the akuma is in her necklace!”

The akuma’s eyes filled with even more rage. She reached out her hands to grab Lila when a red blur moved in between them.

“Gotcha.” Lila heard Ladybug say, and when the spotted superhero moved aside she could see that the akuma’s hands were bound by a red and black neck tie.

The akuma screamed in frustration as Ladybug lifted the necklace off of her neck. “You said that this was the akuamtized object?” Ladybug asked, turning to look at Lila.

Lila nodded her head. “At least I think it is.” She watched Ladybug in awe as she crushed it beneath her feet, the butterfly flying out of it. It was just like those images she saw.

‘What did I do? Was that some sort of power?’ Lila thought to herself, looking at her hands. ‘Can I see the future?’

“Bye bye, little butterfly.”

Lila snapped out of her thoughts and looked back up to watch Ladybug waving goodbye to a white butterfly.

“Hey, could you check on Renard and Chat?” Ladybug asked.

“Yeah, of course.” Lila said, shaking her head. She’d think about her vision later, and what it meant. On her way over to the two other superheroes she heard the familiar words “Miraculous Ladybug!” behind her. Everything went back to normal.

“How is he?” Lila asked, walking up to Chat and looking at Renard, who was clutching his head.

“He’ll be okay.” Chat answered. “Right, buddy?”

Renard groaned and nodded his head. Then he gave Chat a pathetic look. “I know too much.”

Chat laughed a slung an arm around his partner. “I know you do. That’s why it’s a good thing you’re on our side.” He teased, ruffling Renard’s hair.

Renard laughed and gave him a gentle shove. “You never know, I could be a secret double agent.”

“Yeah sure, and I’m Hawkmoth’s son.”

They clutched their sides with laughter. Lila couldn’t help but smile at the scene.

“Thanks for helping us, by the way.” Chat said, looking at Lila. Renard looked at her as well.

She straightened her back a little and tried to look as confident as possible. “I was happy to help, anything to take down Hawkmoth.”

Chat gave her an appreciative nod. Then Ladybug joined them.

“A nice older woman volunteered to take her home.” Ladybug explained, looking back to watch two women walking down the street. “Wow, two akumas back to back today, huh?”

“Yeah, Hawkmoth needs to get a life.” Renard grumbled.

Lila scoffed. “You’re telling me.”

Then all eyes were on her.

“I don’t mean to be impolite,” Ladybug began, “But, well, who are you exactly?”

Lila tried not to blush. There was that question again. ‘Who are you?’ But she was a pro at this. She grew up with reporters asking her questions she didn’t know the answer to. She was used to probing gazes and expectant pauses. But to give these heroes credit, they were a lot kinder than the paparazzi that followed her family around in Italy.

So she did what she always did. She took a deep breath, put on her best smile, and improvised. “I’m Paris’ new hero. I’m here to help.” She declared.

“And what’s your name, mysterious stranger?” Chat asked.

Her name? Oh right, she had to think of a superhero name. Then the familiar Parisian smell of baking bread distracted her for a moment. She felt the coolness of the city breeze, so unlike the humidity of home. She saw the shades of blue shift across her vision.

She knew what her name must be.

“My name is Blu.” She stated. Not the French ‘bleu’, but the Italian ‘blu’, because she needed just a little bit of home.

“Nice to meet you Blu.” Renard said with a smile. “So how’d you get these powers?”

“Oh, uh –” Lila began, trying to find the right way to explain how she found a magical brooch in the street and decided, ‘hey, why not take this thing home?’.

“Renard got them by falling off his roof, so he already has you beat for funniest origin story.” Chat said, grinning. Renard stuck out his tongue.

“Well,” Lila began, puffing out her chest a little. “I’m the new holder of the peacock miraculous.”

Ladybug gave her a wide smile while Chat Noir looked at her in confusion, and then looked at Renard. Lila saw something shift in Renard’s eyes. It looked like recognition, then horror, and then something unreadable.

Then they all heard a beep.

“That’ll be me.” Ladybug said. “See you guys later. And welcome to the team, Blu.” With that she flung her yo-yo and flew towards the next building. Soon she was gone.

Chat was still looking at Renard. “I think I’ll leave too. I’m in desperate need of a cat nap.” He joked, but there was something tense in his eyes. “See you later, Renard. Bye, um, Blu.” He picked up his baton and vaulted away the same direction that Ladybug had left.

Now it was just her and Renard.

“You’re not supposed to have the peacock miraculous.” He said, standing to his feet.

Lila tensed at Renard’s words.

Renard sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry but, I was responsible for the peacock miraculous. I was on my way to take it – somewhere safe – when an akuma attacked. I must have dropped it.”

“Oh.” Lila said quietly. So she wasn’t meant to have it. She stole it. She felt something constrict in her chest.

“If I could please have it back. I’ll close my eyes so I don’t see who you are, but I need it back.” Renard let out another frustrated sigh. “I can’t believe I just forgot about it.”

Lila just continued to stare at him. So this was it. She really wasn’t meant to be a hero. Duusu was wrong about her. She felt the embarrassment heat up her cheeks. How did she ever let herself believe she could be something more?

“I – I understand.” She finally choked out.

Relief washed over Renard’s expression. “Thank you.” He held out his hand and closed his eyes. “And thank you for everything, I messed up and, well, we needed you.”

“You didn’t mess up.” Lila said softly. “You were trying to save Chat Noir.”

Renard laughed a little. “Yeah, he’s not used to people pushing him out of the way.”

Lila looked at him for a moment. This was the hero who saved her from that shadowy figure, who saved her from herself, from Volpina, who stopped by her room in the middle of the night to give her one last parting gift.

“Renard?”

“Yes?” He asked, his eyes still closed and his eyebrows raised.

“Well, I just want to thank you as well. Because I messed up myself not that long ago – and – you helped me. I needed you. So thank you, thank you for being a hero. For defending Paris.”

Renard smiled. “Now I’m blushing.”

Lila laughed moved to give him a playful shove, but when she touched him her eyes blew wide. Images flashed across her vision, much like they did when she was clinging to the akuma. She saw the peacock miraculous. She saw a wide room full of white butterflies. Then she saw the last image – and suddenly she could feel her heart in her throat.

It was Renard. He was holding the peacock miraculous – and – and showing it to Hawkmoth. He was handing it over.

“Blu? Are you okay?” Renard asked, opening his eyes.

Lila moved her hand away from his chest like she’d been electrocuted. “I can’t.”

“What?” Renard asked, concern in his eyes.

“I can’t give it to you.” She said, taking a step back.

Renard realized what she was trying to say. “No, Blu, you have to.”

Lila shook her head. “Hawkmoth, I – I –” She was still rattled by the vision. She couldn’t believe that Renard would betray Paris, but she saw it with her own eyes. She could feel herself shaking. She wanted to see Nathanael.

“Is he controlling you? Are you – are you working with him?” Renard asked, narrowing his eyes. She could hear the hurt in his tone. Or was he just pretending?

Lila didn’t know how to respond, so she did the only thing she could – she ran.

“Hey! Wait!” Renard called after her. She ducked into an alley.

‘I need to get away. I need to see Nathanael.’ Lila thought to herself. She ran down the alley when she saw that it was a dead end. “No no no no.” She kept running, wishing she could disappear, wishing she could fly –

And suddenly, she was.

She floated up into the air until she came to rest at the top of the building. She looked around in shock.

“I can’t let you have that miraculous!” Renard yelled. She saw him running down the alley and pulling out his grappling hook.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered, and then she ran across the buildings, flying, jumping, until she could see the park.

She jumped down to the street.

“Duusu? Can I please go back to normal?” She asked softly. Soon the transformation melted off of her.

“What a dramatic display!” Duusu declared, clasping his hands. “You definitely don’t lack flair, I’ll give you that.” He added with a wink.

Lila slid down the wall and sat down, taking deep breaths.

“Honey, are you okay?” Duusu asked, resting on her knee.

“I trusted him, and he’s he’s –”

‘He’s working for Hawkmoth.’

Maybe the akuma was right about men.

“Lila,” Duusu said, floating up to look her in the eyes. “You saw the future, didn’t you?”

Lila nodded her head. “Is that normal?”

The kwami laughed. “Yes, it does kind of come with the job description. But it’s not always reliable. It doesn’t always mean what you think. And sometimes it comes when it’s too late.” He said that second part softly, and Lila was tempted to ask him about it, but then his eyes brightened once more. “So how did it feel to be a superhero?”

Lila couldn’t help but smile. “It felt amazing.”

“You’re lucky. You got the best miraculous of the lot.” Duusu said, puffing out his chest a little.

Then Lila looked down at her lap. “I think it was a mistake that I found it.” She admitted.

Duusu put a tiny paw on her cheek and waited for her to look at him. “There are many paths in life, Lila, but there are never mistakes.”

Lila felt a warmth in her chest. “Thanks, Duusu.” Then she gasped. “Nathanael!” She quickly got up and ran back towards the park. The bench was empty. She sat down and looked at the street, wondering if something happened to him.

She was about to get up and look for him when she spotted that familiar head of hair. Duusu moved to hide inside her bag. She sighed in relief as he ran up to her.

“What took you so long?” She asked.

“Sorry it was crazy there, you should’ve seen that akuma.” Nathanael breathed, hands on his knees. But Lila noticed that he didn’t look that out of breath. Actually, she saw muscles in his arms that weren’t there before. Had he been working out when she was in Italy?

“I’m guessing you stepped in and saved the day? You used to have a track record of that, if I remember correctly.”

Nathanael chuckled and sat back down next to her. “Not at all. I might’ve made it harder for them, actually.”

“I don’t believe that.”

Nathanael sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Lila noticed how tired he looked.

“Hey, be so hard on yourself.” She said, taking hold of his hand and giving it a squeeze.

“I know it’s just –” Nathanael began, “things have gotten complicated since you left.”

The look in his eyes told Lila that she shouldn’t press him for an explanation. “Well I’m here now.”

Nathanael looked at her and smiled. “Yes. You are.” He rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand.

Comfort. That’s what Nathanael was to her. Being with him, she could almost forget that she was a hero now, that Renard might be working for Hawkmoth, that it might be up to her to stop him. She moved closer to him and put her head on her shoulder.

“Hey Nathanael?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we stay like this for a bit?”

Nathanael put an arm around her and held her close. “If it was up to me, we’d stay like this forever.”

Lila smiled and hummed in agreement. And yet they both knew that that was impossible.

There was a whole future ahead of them.

[troycattribunny]

I should learn Spanish just to read Adrinath fanfiction at this point

[autistickogaynewrites]

Away From You

Adrinath August Day 13 - Last Thing you saw/heard/tasted etc. Decided to instead base this off of a conversation I had with my sister.

Adrien is dragged to New York by his father for work, and while there, he can't help but be reminded of Nathaniel everywhere he turns.

Adrien could only describe himself right now downright miserable. He and Nathaniel had only been dating for a month, and it was the best month of his life. Until his dad gave him the news that the two of them were needed in New York to help prepare for a large fashion event, and there was no way Adrien was able to get out of it. Gabriel had Nathalie pack for him and he was given two hours to spend time with Nathaniel before they had to leave for the next week and a half.

Adrien’s emotions fluctuated between being mad at his father for the short notice and sad that now the dates he had planned with Nathaniel were going to be scrapped. He had called the redhead as soon as he got the chance, explained what was happening, and agreed that the best way to spend the next two hours was cuddling on Nath’s couch, watching The Princess Bride, and eating the last of the treats Nathaniel’s sister had made the day before.

The cuddling was almost enough for him to forget the fact he would be leaving his boyfriend and friends behind for the next week, but the thought still hung over his head like a dark cloud. Luckily, Nathaniel seemed to pick up on how much the thought of leaving was really bothering his boyfriend, so he simply let Adrien relax, letting him rest his head in his lap as he ran his fingers through the blond hair. Usually Adrien would speak alongside the movie since he knew it so well, but today he decided to simply watch, mostly absorbing as much of his boyfriend’s presence as he could.

He was just dozing off when he heard the knocking at the front door. Groaning, he peaked an eye open, noting that it was two minutes before he was due to leave, so the knocking was probably for him. Glaring at the clock, he rolled up, pulling Nathaniel into a kiss before pulling away with a sigh.

“I’ll text and call as much as I can, okay? And I promise to bring back the best souvenirs ever. I’ll have to buy a whole new suitcase just to hold all of them,” Adrien muttered, using one hand to brush Nathaniel’s hair aside as he stood up to leave.

“Alright, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Nathaniel responded, standing to walk Adrien to the door. “I’ll miss you.”

Adrien’s face softened, stopping in front of the door to pull Nathaniel into another kiss. A week and a half wasn’t even that long to be apart, but knowing that it was his father’s whims that were taking him to an entirely different country without taking his wants into consideration. When he pulled back from the kiss, he smiled at the flush that was now painted across Nathaniel’s cheeks, accentuating the light freckles there that few ever noticed.

“I’ll miss you too.I’ll try to text you before we take off and when we land. It’s a nonstop, so it should only be around eight hours. I’ll probably just be working on the assignments I’ll be missing and sleeping. Hopefully this week goes by fast and I’ll be back cuddling with you before we even notice.” Adrien tried to reassure Nathaniel, giving him one last grin before opening the door and going with Nathalie to the airport.

It was fair to say the week was not going by quickly, in any sense of the word. The first day had been blocked off so he could try to recover from the jetlag, which he couldn’t help but be thankful for. The next two days had been a mess of shoots, scrambling for an upcoming fashion show, and sitting alone in his hotel room when his father had somewhere to be.

He had wanted to call Nath more often, but taking the six hour time difference into account, all the free time he had would’ve been either class time or the redhead would already be asleep. He had tried to convince his father to let him go souvenir shopping, even saying that he’d bring the Gorilla, but Gabriel had quickly told him that they were in a foreign city in a different country and as such, Adrien would be confined to his hotel room when they weren’t working.

The fourth day was crammed full of work for his father, but Adrien’s schedule was mostly clear, which left him time to sit around and wish he was back at Nathaniel’s, cuddling and cracking jokes about whatever they decided to watch together. Sighing, he pulled himself from where he was sprawled across the bed, walking to the large windows and peering down at the sidewalk below. They were only on the fifth floor, so he had a pretty decent view of the pedestrians skittering about below him. Pulling the chair for the desk towards the window, he decided that he might as well people watch, hoping that it would provide more entertaining than watching tv or surfing the internet.

He tried to imagine what they were doing, where they might be going, if maybe they were meeting up with others or if they might just be going to work. He imagined little stories in his head, freezing when he caught sight of someone with bright red hair bobbing their way down the sidewalk. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but from his current distance, it almost looked like Nathaniel.

Pressing his face to the glass, he squinted, watching the person as they walked closer and closer. Eventually, he could make out their face, and even though the chance had initially been low, he still frowned when he realized it wasn’t Nathaniel.

Deciding he had enough of window watching, he got up from the chair, crossing the room to pick up the menu Nathalie had dropped off for him less than an hour ago. She had told him that he was allowed to order what he wanted, as long as he was careful to not order in excess. Flicking through it, he decided to order a simple steak, eyes darting around before he flicked back to the dessert section. Scanning the options, he stopped when he came across the picture for the strawberry sponge cake. Nathaniel always told him that his favorite flavor anything was strawberry, and he was especially weak against strawberry cakes.

Making up his mind, he called down for his meal, practically bouncing in his seat as he waited for it to arrive. It was such a small thing, but with how much he missed the redhead, he hoped the taste of the strawberries would be enough to trick his brain into being a little less miserable.

When he heard the telltale knock at the door, he barely stopped himself from sprinting to the door and yanking it open. After taking a deep breath, he opened the door gently, stepping aside as the worker pushed the small cart into the room. Once it was beside the small sitting area, the man turned to leave, and Adrien made sure to pass the man a few dollars. Once the worker left, he turned to the food, pausing as he saw the small vase with a single tiger lily in it beside the plate. He stepped forward to run his fingers across the petals, smiling softly when he remembered Nathaniel telling him how much he loved the flowers.

”Tiger lilies were always my maman’s favorites. She said they were the first flower mère ever gave her. They planted some in our front yard, and they’ve been there as long as I can remember. Maman always told me they mean ‘I dare you to love me’. I don’t know, I just think that’s more beautiful than a red rose. I’d want a bouquet of tiger lilies if I ever got flowers.”

Blinking back a few tears, he sat down to eat, eyes glued to the flower as he ate. Maybe when he was done eating, he’d call Nath. The boy would still be in class, but he’d at least be able to hear his voice through the voicemail, and maybe he’d even leave a message telling the redhead how much he missed him.

Mind made up, he ate his steak quickly, but slowed down to savor the strawberry cake. Once finished, he pushed the cart out into the hall beside his door and darted back inside to grab his phone. When he found it and checked the time, he realized lunch was just ending in Paris, and he didn’t want the boy to see the call and be late to his next class trying to talk to him, so he decided to wait. Sitting on the small couch, he flicked the TV on, groaning when it flickered to life and showed The Princess Bride just starting.

He usually loved the movie, quoting along as often as he could, but knowing that he had cuddled up and watched the movie with Nathaniel right before he had to leave made his chest tighten. Turning it off, he decided to just lay in bed and nap, maybe read a bit of fanfiction on his phone before passing out. His schedule was empty for the next two days, so he wasn’t worried about missing anything. Changing into pajamas, he crawled into the bed, pulling the blanket over his head as he buried his face into the pillow.

When he woke up the first time, it was to the sound of hushed arguing right outside his door. It sounded like one of the voices might be Nathalie, but he was too tired to think on it, so he simply rolled over and went back to sleep.

The next time he woke up, it was to the sharp rapping of his father’s knuckles against his door. His father had a very distinctive way of knocking that let Adrien know it was him, but he usually just walked into whatever room he wanted, and Adrien knew he had a keycard to the room, so he simply sat and waited for the man to walk in. When a few moments later there was simply another knock at the door, he pulled himself out of the bed, checking to make sure he looked presentable before walking forward and opening the door. His father stood on the other side, hands crossed behind his back as Nathalie stood tapping away at her tablet. His father seemed to look him over before his brows furrowed.

“Nathalie brought it to my attention that you seemed...distressed yesterday, and that I should see what I could do to remedy the situation.”

Adrien opened his mouth to assure his father he was fine, but the man simply held up a hand and stopped him.

“I came to check on you yesterday evening, but you had already gone to bed, so I had Nathalie take care of it.”

Adrien paused, raising an eyebrow as he waited for his father to elaborate. The man stared at him for a few seconds before lifting one hand to wave like he was beckoning someone forward. Adrien leaned forward in the doorway, eyes widening when he caught sight of his redheaded boyfriend walking forward, one hand dragging his luggage behind him as the other rubbed at his eyes.

“Nath!” Adrien shouted, smile painted across his face as he darted forward to hug the boy, smiling into his hair as the artist’s arms came up to wrap around him.

“Nathalie informed me that a large part of your upset seemed to stem from his absence, so I had her contact his parents and book him a flight here. He’ll be staying with you, although I expect you to behave appropriately. Your schedule is empty until Friday, when we have a gala to attend, so you’ll be allowed to spend time with him. I have also taken the liberty of scheduling blocks of time for you to get out of the hotel and ‘sight-see’, with your bodyguard of course. We’ll have to get him a suit if he’s going to attend the gala as well, but seeing as how he’s most likely quite jetlagged, that can be taken care of later.”

Adrien pulled back from the hug, looking down at Nathaniel and noticing how tired the boy really looked.

“I’m sorry,” Nathaniel muttered, hand scrubbing over his face as he tried to stay awake, “I’ve never flown before, and it was a really long flight. The time change is also messing with me, so I’m more than ready for a nap.”

Adrien reached behind Nathaniel to grab his luggage, wrapping the other arm around the boy’s shoulders as he guided him into the room. Pushing him gently forward, he turned to thank his father. Before he could say anything, Gabriel simply nodded his head at him before turning on his heel and heading down the hallway. Nathalie gave him a small smile as well before following after him, leaving Adrien and Nathaniel alone.

Adrien pulled the luggage into the room, shutting the door behind him as he set the bag aside and walked into the room, finding Nathaniel, still fully dressed, sprawled across the bed.

“Nath, you can’t sleep in those clothes,” Adrien grinned, stepping forward to pull at the boy’s jacket, “You’ll regret it when you wake up. I’ll help you get changed and then we can cuddle and sleep, okay?”

Nathaniel let out a dramatic groan before rolling over, yanking at his jacket and tossing it to the ground.

“I can’t believe your dad managed to convince my parents to just let me fly over to New York for a week. I’m glad I get to see you again so soon, but my mind is still completely blown.”

Adrien chuckled as he untied Nath’s shoes, tugging them off as soon as they were loose enough. Leaving the redhead to handle the rest of the clothing, he grabbed the luggage, dragging it towards the bed so he could pull out some pajamas for his boyfriend.

Giggling at the Chat Noir onesie that he found as soon as the bag was unzipped, he tried to see if there were any other pajamas and finding none, he passed the onesie over to Nath, grinning at the red that flushed across his cheeks.

As soon as the boy was changed, Adrien crawled into the bed, pulling Nathaniel into his arms as they lay together.

“I really missed you,” He whispered, running one hand through the bright locks, “I’m glad you’re here now though.”

Nathaniel hummed, shifting so he could press a kiss right above Adrien’s heart before settling back.

“I missed you too. That’s why I came. Now, less talky, more cuddly.”

Adrien laughed, pulling Nathaniel closer, tangling their limbs together as he closed his eyes and relaxed, drifting off to sleep to the sound of his boyfriend’s light breathing. Right before he finally fell asleep, he realized that he was so unbelievably happy to have the other boy in his arms, that if felt like his heart might burst, and unbeknownst to him, Nathaniel felt the exact same way.