Continuing Tales

Wingless

A Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir Story
by spectaclesandbooks

Part 38 of 38

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"Adrien, thank you so much!" Mari gushed as the two walked out of the Musee-d'Orsay, having just spent hours perusing the exhibits and beautiful arts. "Oh, that was so wonderful!"

Adrien smiled as she bobbed happily along next to him, her hand tightly clasped in his.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I did promise to take you, remember? As compensation for me not being able to visit you in hospital as Adrien."

"Still. That was so beautiful, I love Delacroix, he's one of the best French Romantics. I'm so glad you were able to get tickets- how did you manage it, it's the last day of the exhibition?"

"Being the son of the city's most prestiious designer in Paris has it's perks." The blond shrugged as he tugged his girlfriend along behind him so they could walk along the riverfront. "Father was able to influence the manager with some promised publicity."

Mari's eyes were big and slightly nervous as they looked up at him, their blue depths glinting in the bright afternoon sunlight.

"Oh… H-How does he feel about that, exactly? About you and me. I remember you saying he thought I was a bad influence on you."

A smile- that looked a little like a grimace- passed over Adrien's face.

"Well, when I told him I was dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng, he did wonder why the name rang a bell."

"Really?" Marinette looked at him anxiously.

"Yep. But he'd totally forgotten about the fact it was you I was visiting in hospital, so I just told him that you were the girl who won the derby hat competition. He was far more likely to remember you for that than the other thing."

Her mouth popped open and Adrien looked at her in surprise as she floundered for words.

"He- you- rem- he remembers my designs?!" Her voice was a high-pitched squeal and Adrien chuckled at her excitement.

"Apparently."

"Oh my god. Gabriel Agreste- Gabriel Agreste remembers me. You- wow. God. The top designer in Paris remembers me. Well… I… this certainly makes dating you worthwhile, huh?"

"Oi." Adrien pretended to look offended, and Mari giggled before pecking a kiss to his cheek.

"There are other perks, too." She admitted.

"Good." Adrien threw his arm across her shoulder as they strolled along the Seine. "Like getting tickets to the last day of exhibition at the Musee, yeah?"

"Amongst other things." Her voice turned coy and teasing.

"Mmm? Name some."

Marinette pretended to think, her loose hair flowing behind them in a cooling breeze. Adrien tried not to look too captivated by her, but it was hard. She saw him staring and giggled through her consequent blush.

"Well, you're very sweet."

"Good start. That's always what a guy wants to hear. Sweet."

"Oh yeah? Okay, how about handsome?"

"Better."

"Right. Kind?"

"Meh."

"What about… alluring?"

Adrien snorted, her choice of words not one he'd thought she'd go for.

"Uh, sure."

Marinette giggled and pulled him around to face her. She stood on her tiptoes and stretched her arms round behind his neck to pull them together.

"You're also charming, intelligent, funny, goofy, absurd, brave, and very, very pretty."

She pecked a kiss to his lips and pulled back to see him grinning.

"I thought we were describing me, not you, my lady?"

"Aah. And a sweet-talker to boot."

"Count on it." He promised, and chased after her mouth for another kiss. She allowed him one, but soon pulled away and grabbed his hand again, heading off back on their walk. The two walked in a comfortable quiet for another few minutes.

"What's the time?" Marinette asked after a while. Adrien raised an eyebrow whilst digging his phone out of his pockets.

"Why, have you got somewhere to be, bugaboo?"

"Nope. Just wondering."

"Okay, well it's-" Adrien broke off suddenly, his gaze focused on something Marinette couldn't see. Slightly concerned, she peered around to try and see what he was looking at, but she couldn't make it out. There were few other people around, most of them too far away to identify. Everything looked normal. She tugged at his hand.

"What? What's wrong?"

He dragged his gaze down to her, and she could see the cogs turning in his head, churning out an idea she didn't understand.

"Nothing." He breathed slowly, a mischievous and (dare she say it) rakish grin spreading across his face.

"What were you looking at?" She peered about again bemusedly, until Adrien placed his hands on her shoulders and hurried her over to stand with her back against the railing along the river.

"Nothing. There's something I have to do. Wait here- I'll be right back."

Marinette frowned as he dashed off. She waited for a few minutes, utterly befuddled, until a harsh, shrill laugh echoed along the street to her. She turned to see a couple of people walking towards her, a few hundred yards away. Mari squinted, and only then did she see that it was none other than Chloe and Sabrina. They didn't appear to have noticed her yet, as they were chatting and giggling as they walked along the the river.

"Marinette!" Called a voice, and the bluenette turned to see Nino and Alya darting towards her.

"Hey, guys. What're you doing here?"

Nino shrugged.

"We were in the area, and then I got a text from Adrien telling me to come to the Seine near the Musee-d'Orsay and find you."

"He also said to bring a camera." Alya added. "Where is he?"

"I… don't know." Mari frowned again. "We were walking, and suddenly he goes all tense and tells me to wait right here before running off."

"I wonder what he's-" Nino's musings were cut off abruptly by an almighty shriek, and then a splash. The three turned immediately to look at where the two girls from their class had been only moments previously. Only, now there was only Sabrina. And, bizarrely, Chat Noir. It didn't take them long to see where Chloe had gone- a huge, noisy thrashing was coming from the river, accompanied by outraged screeching and squawking.

Marinette and her friends dashed over to where there was a break in the fence by the river, hardly daring to believe it. Mari clapped a hand to her mouth when she saw Chloe floundering about, outraged in the filthy water below.

Sabrina, too, stood stock-still, staring at the splashing figure in the water. She looked like she wasn't sure whether to laugh or not. She sure wanted to.

Chat was trying his best to look innocent as Mari narrowed her eyes at him, playing with his tail idly as he leant against the nearest railing.

"Whoops. How did that happen?" His eyes were wide, his face blank as he stared at the screeching girl in the brown water.

Marinette tried not to laugh, her stomach aching with the effort of holding it in.

"It's a mystery." She could hear Alya and Nino spluttering behind her and tried to fix a glare on her face. "Maybe you should give her a hand?"

Chat sighed, reluctantly extending his baton down into the river where Chloe threw her arms around it, still gurgling indistinctly. He pulled it up and dumped the soaking girl unceremoniously on the ground before the little group.

"I- how dare- do you know- m-my shoes-" Chloe babbled, her pristine white jeans now rather brown and muddy. Her jacket was awry, her hair tangled, dripping and full of leaves. Sabrina was also now trying not to giggle, and Marinette fought to keep her own laughter bottled up.

"You okay, Chloe?" Her voice was strained with effort, and Chloe tried to glare at her. It wasn't very effective- she was soaking wet and had a twig stuck behind her ear.

"I- but- how dare you." She snarled, staggering upright. She looked like she was ready to slap the bluenette until the click of a camera caught her attention. She looked behind Marinette to where Alya and Nino were clutching at each other in an effort to remain upright, tears streaming down their faces as they laughed so hard they cried. Alya's phone was in her hand, and there was a photo evident on the screen- Chloe drenched in river water, her hair the messiest it had ever been and her face twisted in a very unattractive position.

The blonde went scarlet, her chin dripping. She stuggled to compose herself (despite having a bit off tree stuck to her cheek) and stepped forwards.

"Listen- do you- you- delete that immediately, or I'll-" Clearing his throat, Chat raised an eyebrow, and she froze.

"You'll what?" He asked smoothly, the smugness evident in his voice as he moved to stand beside Marinette. Behind them, Alya was now on the floor as she pointed and gasped at the ridiculous photo.

"I-" Chloe squeaked, her lingering fear of Chat Noir the only thing keeping her in place.

Chat smirked as she floundered.

"Thought not. Now, why don't you run along home? I think your hair needs a brush." There was a note of danger in his voice, and Chloe spluttered indignantly for a moment. Then she turned and stormed away, her wet shoes going squish squish squish as she marched away, and left damp footprints in her wake. Sabrina hurriedly smoothed the smile from her face (it took a lot of effort) and turned to go. But before she left, she looked at Alya and whispered;

"Please send that to me."

"Sabrina!"

"Coming!" The redhead allowed herself a giggle before darting off after the fuming Bourgeois girl.

Turning to Chat, Marinette had to press her lips together to keep from exploding into laughter. Her shoulders shook and Nino's spluttering weren't making it easy for her. Chat raised an eyebrow at her, his face a mask of innocence even as his eyes danced.

"Yes?"

"You," Mari fought to keep her voice even, "pushed Chloe Bourgeois into the Seine."

"I would never do such a thing." He said, mock-insulted, pressing a hand to his chest in shock. "She tripped." Mari raised an eyebrow, and he continued, "after I pushed her."

There was a pause.

And then Marinette exploded. She couldn't contain it any longer- great big belly laughs rocked out of her, her eyes scrunching up as she roared. Chat began to laugh too, especially when she became so wrapped up in her mirth that she was basically lying on the floor. Alya zoomed in on the photo to show, yet again, exactly how ridiculous Chloe's expression was, and soon they were all four of them struggling to breathe.

Nino pressed a hand to his face, his ribs aching as he fought to contain himself.

"Oh. My. God."

"Unbelievable." Alya gasped.

Mari worked to lower her voice, her glee evident in her face as she continued to snort.

"Chat… you just... I can't believe you did that."

He shrugged, and pulled her over to half-lie on him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, still chuckling. The street around them was vacant, so he looked around and released his transformation.

"I've been wanting to do that for months." The boy admitted with a chortle and Marinette squeaked as she laughed again. She pressed a hand to her stomach in an effort to quieten herself, before turning around to gaze at him.

"You… Jeez. Amazing. Adrien… thank you. So, so much. That was better than the date."

"Really?" Adrien laughed. "I should have just arranged this instead of taking you to the museum. That would have been much quicker."

Mari giggled, squeezing her eyes shut as she remembered the outrage on Chloe's face, the way her shoes squelched as she walked away, the misleading innocence on Chat's face.

"I guess that there's another perk of dating you." She grinned and he looked pleased.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

She gazed at him, warmth in her chest as she thought about how much she loved him, how much he was willing to do for her.

"You're ridiculous. You're unbelievably bizarre and fantastic and you're so invested in my own well-being that you're willing to half-drown someone on my behalf. You're brave, and loving, and empathetic. And I wouldn't have it any other way. You've always been there for me, Adrien, whether I knew it was you or not. You're always there to pick me up when I'm down, you believe in me even when I can't believe in myself."

He smiled, the universe around them disappearing as they gazed at each other. There were no masks between them, he was bared to her- all his love and happiness and hopes exposed, as hers were to him.

"I'll always be there for you." Adrien vowed. "Even when you feel like you're pinned to the earth, like you're wingless, I'll be there to help you fly."

Marinette smiled, her heart swelling.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Wingless

A Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir Story
by spectaclesandbooks

Part 38 of 38

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