#just ... 4 year old tablet that still runs but it's subpar. and a 6 year old tower in somewhat of the same boat. damn my stuff is getting ol

[floralb0t]

oopsies ... my surface go that i use for drawing just hit 4 years old and the screen got a second dead spot right in the center of the screen. i can still draw on it but it's less convenient now that i can't use a 1 inch square space in the center of a 12 inch long screen

[freedom-shamrock]

A Little Secret - Chapter 2

Also on AO3

Chp 1   Chp 2   Chp 3   Chp 4   Chp 5   Chp 6   Chp 7   Chp 8   Chp 9 Chp 10   Chp 11

Amazing art created by @soundofez​  pg 1  pg 2  pg 3

Giving Your Tongue to the Chat

By the time Marinette reached the library, Adrien and Alya had already laid claim to one end of a table, but they hadn't started work on the project.  She slipped her things into the place next to Adrien.  "Hey guys, sorry I'm late."

"Where have you been all morning?" Alya asked.  "Do you have any idea how hard it is being on a project with you and Adrien?  Between model shoots and extracurriculars, his schedule's insane, and you're the amazing vanishing bestie."

"Oh, you know me," Marinette said, smiling weakly.  "I overslept."  It was a lie, of course.  She'd spent most of her morning combatting an akuma on the other side of town.

"You know you're gonna need to fix that habit of yours before you pick up an internship, right?" Alya asked.  "Most designers aren't going to be as forgiving as us."  She planted her hands on her hips to deliver a stern look.

"Yes maman," Marinette promised.  She sure hoped she and Chat could find and neutralize Hawkmoth before Final Bac.  She suspected Master Fu had chosen teenagers for the ladybug and black cat simply because their absences would be difficult but not career shattering.  She couldn't imagine either of her parents fitting this into their schedules.

"She's just cross because she missed this morning's akuma," Adrien whispered.

"There was an attack this morning?"  She'd gotten much better at feigning ignorance and coming up with believable excuses.  She'd had plenty of practice, after all.

Adrien nodded, the small polite smile she hated firmly in place.  It wasn't quite his model mask, but it usually meant he was subduing himself to stick to the image his father had crafted for him.  It showed up a lot at school and in other public places.  Fortunately, it tended to be thoroughly tucked away when he was at her house.  "I was also out for an emergency shoot."  He snorted.  It had become a joke that his father's unexpected random photoshoots to capture one last thing, or replace something he found subpar constituted emergencies in Gabriel Agreste's mind.

"Oh dear," Marinette said dramatically.  "What was it this time?  Did you have a hair out of place?"

Adrien bit his lip and shook his head, clearly trying to restrain his mirth.  "Please, I was perfect."  He let out a sniff, tipping his nose into the air.  "But my jacket looked too snug across my shoulders while managing to look like a frumpy sack around my waist."  He rolled his eyes.

"I can't help but feel like neither of you are taking this very seriously," Alya criticized.  "This project is a quarter of our final grade."

"I'm so sorry Al," Marinette insisted, throwing babydoll eyes at her best friend.  "I'll do better."

"Ugh," Alya said, waving both hands in Marinette's face.  "Stop it.  You're crazy good at that.  And it should not be that effective on a seventeen year old."

She'd developed the skill to combat Chat's devastating kitten eyes, but no one in her civilian life knew that.  Grinning, Marinette patted her tablet.  "Well I'm here now, and I'm ready to be a focused and productive member of the team."  She straightened up proudly.  "I even did research last night in preparation."

"Was that during the time you were supposed to be sleeping?" Adrien teased, bumping her shoulder with his.

"The nerve," Marinette shot back with gasp.  Playful Adrien didn't come out nearly often enough, and she was always keen to encourage it.  She still liked him, possibly more than she had that first year, but it was the real him this time.  She'd been shocked to discover the true Adrien hidden under that image of calm perfection.  He was the second silliest person in her life, sometimes running neck and neck with Chat Noir, and probably the most approachable person she knew.  He got downright giddy when he could actually do a favor for a friend, and he tended to go over the top on such things.  She'd caught a persistent sadness lurking in the background, concealed by fake smiles and finger-guns.

His teasing demanded a response, so she stuck out her tongue at him.  

Grinning mischievously, he reached out and caught her tongue between two fingers.  "Gotchya."

"Llllll," Marinette objected, squirming out of his gentle hold.

"Could you two stop flirting and focus," Alya demanded, not bothering to cover her smile.

Marinette made a great show of assessing her tongue for damage.  "I'll get you back for that," she said, delighted by his lightheartedness this morning.  That usually meant things at home were going as well as they could.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" he asked slyly, leaning toward her.

"Dude, we do not use the smoulder at school," Nino said, tossing his things down across from his best friend.  "We've talked about this."  His tone spoke of long-suffering, but his knowing grin told a different story.

"Awww," Adrien whined, slouching in his chair like a chastised child.  "But it works so well."

"True," Nino agreed.  "But we are not raising a manipulative jerk here."  He gestured with one open hand at Adrien.  "You are so much better than some people you're related to. Let's embrace that, shall we."  Nino reached into one of the front pockets of his jeans.  "Oh, before I forget.  I got you a new workout mix."

Adrien's face brightened up, shattering the polite mask he usually wore.  "Really?"  He cradled the pen-drive as though it were precious.

"Yes really," Nino insisted.  "If your father is going to make you continue with the personal trainer and heavy duty workout program, despite the fact that you're already perfect, you deserve to enjoy the time as much as possible."

Adrien hugged the drive before carefully tucking it into his bag, beaming the whole time.  It didn't matter that Nino regularly gave his friends music, Adrien always considered it a special treat.

Adrien burst into history class after lunch with an excess of enthusiasm.  He was grinning and bouncing as he made his way to his seat.

"What did you have for lunch, and where can I get some?" Alya asked, leaning forward on the desk she and Marinette shared.  They'd returned to their original seating arrangement this year after trying all other configurations in previous years.

"My afternoon shoot was canceled," Adrien said.  "I have a whole afternoon off."  He collapsed into his chair in a move that looked remarkably like a certain boneless cat-boy.  "And father's gone this week, so Nathalie conveniently didn't plug anything else in."

"Aw dude," Nino said, disappointment coloring his voice.  "There's nothing I'd like to do more than hang out with you, but I've got a shadowing thing at the radio station today."

"No problem," Adrien insisted.  "I can't expect you to drop everything for me."

Nino frowned.  "You know I would though, right?  If you needed me to."

Adrien's eyes widened and he looked down, the edges of his ears going pink.  "Oh.  Um.  Today isn't a need, but thanks."  He glanced at the table behind him.  "Alya, Marinette, are either of you available?"  His voice sounded oddly strained, hopeful.

Alya sighed.  "I'm watching my sisters today, but we could probably join you for a bit at the park."

"I'm free," Marinette said.  "We could do the park first, and then go back to my place for gaming and dinner."

The goofy smile was back on his face.  "Really?  It's been ages since I had dinner with your family.  That'd be really cool.  Thanks."

At the park, Marinette watched Adrien chase Alya's nine year old twin sisters around the playground equipment.  He'd left his bag with her on the bench when he went in pursuit of "the little monkeys."  She hadn't asked him out, and had put that whole idea on hold for now.  It had less to do with nerves and freaking out, and more to do with reality.  The last thing Adrien needed was a girlfriend who ditched him regularly with crappy excuses for her absences.  He had more than enough abandonment in his life, and she couldn't bear the thought of adding to it.  Until she could be sure she wouldn't have to vanish all the time to deal with Paris' miraculous psychopath, she'd have to settle for being the best friend she could to him.  Her resolve didn't prevent her from enjoying watching him move.

"That personal trainer must have him doing some crazy shit to be in this kind of shape," Alya said.  "How does he even have time for that?"

Marinette shook her head, critically assessing everything he was doing.  The girls were chasing him now, and he turned and dodged far faster than seemed possible.  He could have run circles around Kim.  He darted under the swingset, leaping up to catch the support bar.  In a move that belonged in an action film or akuma battle, he swung his legs up and over the bar, holding himself fully upside down on extended arms for a moment before dropping down the other side and landing behind Alya's sisters, effectively swapping roles with them again.

"Holy shit Agreste!" Alya shouted.  "Don't you be teaching my sisters impossible stuff."

He glanced toward the bench, a wide devilish smile on his lips.  "Not impossible," he insisted.  "It just requires a working knowledge of physics."

"And a jacked body," she retorted.

"Hey!"  The girls swarmed him then.  Laughing, he scooped one up in each arm, spinning a bit as he walked back to the bench.  "I'll have you know that this body is the result of a lot of hard work."  He winked.  "And a pretty good hit from the genetic lottery."  He set the girls down in front of their sister, where they promptly flopped into the grass laughing.  "No artificial colors or preservatives."  He poked at his belly.

Alya made a little motion with her index finger.  "Let us have a look at that."

"Alya!" Marinette gasped.  "Do you want his father to see a photo of him flashing his abs at us on the front of some tabloid?"

"You're not curious?" Alya demanded in disbelief.

Marinette snorted.  "I've already seen it."  She grinned up at Adrien.  "I mean he had that recent swimsuit campaign, and it was quite flattering."

"I bet he was airbrushed," Alya taunted.

Adrien feigned shock, one hand going to his chest in mock horror.  "Airbrushed?  Me?!"

"The runway photos supported the evidence in the advertisements," Marinette pointed out.  "Don't worry, Adrien.  I've got your back.  I, personally, believe in your abs."

Adrien sat down beside Marinette, and oh, he was deliciously warm.  The air had just enough of a bite to chill her.  "I guess that settles that."  He stuck his tongue out at Alya and Marinette reached up and pinched it.  "Hey!"

Marinette burst into giggles.  "Told you I'd get you back."

"That was like two weeks ago," he objected.

"I can be patient."

Alya snorted.  "She can be ridiculously patient."  She sighed.  "Fun though this has been, I've gotta get my monkeys home, and you ," she paused to poke Adrien in the shoulder, "need to get our Maricicle warmed up."

Adrien looked down at Marinette, frowning slightly.  "Geeze, Mari.  I didn't realize you were so cold.  I'm sorry."  He stood up and pulled off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders.

Though she probably should have refused, her fingers held the jacket closed.  "Ooooh," she moaned.  "Soooo warm."  She tucked her face into the neck as well, subtly catching his scent from it.  She unzipped the little pouch she'd taken to wearing on her hip.  Scooping Tikki out, she settled the little being into the snuggly inner pocket of his jacket, feeling the little kwami shiver before relaxing into the added warmth.

"Time to get you home," he said firmly.  "I recommend tea and Mecha Strike."

Chapter title - "Giving your tongue to the cat" is a French idiom that means being unable to guess. Sometimes people use it in place of the American idiom "the cat has your tongue" but it's not an exact parallel. 

Chapter art by @soundofez, posted with express permission, can be found here.

 Huge thanks to my betas: Karnival and @chatbug-jk​