m a r i n e t t e

ladybug

but buff

             The boy was unbelievably happy. Happier than he’d been in a long time, or that he could remember. That being said, there was a guilt that tapered at the edge of his mind. Although with her so close, not to mention her kindness– it was easy to fend off. Adrien was used to hiding things away, so to have the other accept this and not push him away? Well, it meant more to him than he could convey. Not to mention the back and forth he’d dealt with the entire night revolving around rejection. Adrien’s heart wasn’t strong. No, no it had been worn down into play-dough. It was because of this, that he’d learned to shield it. Although with Ladybug and Marinette, he’d gotten in the habit of letting down his walls and allowing them full access to himself. In all honesty, it was a miracle he’d held himself together. His heart was tired, and in her he found sanctuary.                 The girl’s touch was soothing in general, thankful for it– along with the words that followed. He might not need to thank her for things like this, but considering how much it meant to him, it seemed odd not to. So, he would for a while still. He was grateful to her, and he wanted to convey that about as much as he could. In any, and all ways he could.                 The suggestion of seeking refuge here, was one that surprised him– but the idea was definitely something he’d thought about before. He felt welcome here. With Marinette he felt happy, and as if this was a real home. He knew it wasn’t really his, but he wished it was. Oh, how he wished it was. In all honesty, this kind of place was what he’d been wishing his home to be for years now. 

            “I-I… would that really be alright?” Adrien knew what the answer probably was, but he had to clarify. What if his response had made her say it on the spur of the moment? What if the other had thought he was crying out of sadness or something? Wait– that was probably how this was looking– Adrien, inept at these kinds of situations, felt self consciousness weave its way thoroughly into his heart. Although… he… he didn’t need to hide that from her, did he? “I-I’m sorry I don’t– I don’t know why I’m like this– I’m happy, really happy because of what you said and I just…” Broke. Broke was the proper word. Broken, was the proper way to describe his voice as well. “I-I’m being weird– this is weird– isn’t it? People-People don’t cry when their happy and I–” Now he was rambling. Really unequipped to communicate these types of things. “I-I don’t… know whats wrong with me right now…” It was a muttered admittance he did as he hid his eyes in her shoulder. “I don’t… I don’t mean to be trouble… I just… don’t know whats happening.”                 Which was true. He really didn’t. Because Adrien Agreste, hadn’t felt this kind of joy before. The joy that brought you to tears, and made your heart this warm. He liked it. He really did. It was also because of that reason, that he was scared what would happen when it’d inevitably leave, or he messed something up. Because it was only a matter of time, wasn’t it?

     adrien was happy. he was happy with her- because of her. if there ever was a moment that she thought could top, well, anything that had ever happened before, it was this. what she had said wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for her, especially if it were adrien on the receiving side but the fact that he found something special in her words coming from her made them even more important. he was happy being around her, under her touch and praise.

     a small laugh came from within her, almost not believing he’d ask if she were sure of her invitation for him to seek her bedroom out whenever he needed some solace. on most nights, marinette would be at her desk sewing anyways and the extra company would hardly be in her way. “of course it is. i mean, we probably shouldn’t tell my parents that they have an unexpected guest in my room whenever but if they ever do find out, i know they wouldn’t mind entirely once we tell them what’s going on. only if that comes up though.”

     she slowly shifted him away from her shoulders and took his face in her hands much more carefully than before. thumbs wiped away his cheeks; just under his eyes. there marinette stayed, inspecting his face much closer than she’s done before but in a new light. instead of a dazed gaze, her eyes were more fixated on the little features she hadn’t noticed he’d had before: the way his nose sloped just slightly more at the end, the small whisker-like indents underneath his eyes, the smoothness of his cheeks underneath her fingertips. 

             Out of all the reactions he could have gotten, that one he certainly hadn’t been expecting. Nor was Adrien really expectant of such affectionate gestures from those he cared about. That of course, was an item on the boy’s long list of problems. Acts of affection were something that he’d come to accept just… weren’t given to him. Nor was he one to ask for them, even when he might have really needed it. The words that followed the girls actions, only proved to further amaze and surprise him. For a moment, he was stunned. Green eyes looking at the girl that clung to him, not really knowing what to do or how to respond at first. In truth, he’d honestly expected the girl to agree with him. He’d grown used to that kind of cold treatment after all.              Although no, that isn’t what she did. Instead, she’d taken him into her arms and told him otherwise. Told him that he meant something. Told him that he was significant. He hadn’t heard words like that in a very, very long time. Given that he couldn’t even gauge how far back, he assumed that it was when mother was still around. Because in truth, a lot of those memories were pushed back to the recesses of his mind. Purely because in comparison to the present– they hurt.              In the current, he felt something… new in his heart. It was similar to the usual warmth he encountered when he was around her, but it was… More than that. Her words had only amplified it, and now he was fighting off tears that threatened to fall from the corners of his eyes. No, no he shouldn’t cry right now– he was happy. People didn’t cry when they were happy, right? That was weird– and it would make her worried–

            Yet, why couldn’t he stop those tears from falling? Perhaps it was because of the fact that his heart had been stretched taught the entire night. Perhaps it was the fact that now, it was finally able to rest– and not only that, but was in the loving hands of another. Perhaps it was the fact that finally, there was a sensation of peace that had washed over him. Something the boy didn’t know he hadn’t had before. Something he didn’t know he desperately needed, because he’d had to carry on without it regardless.              Arms that had hesitated for a moment, soon wrapped tightly around the girl. Face coming to be buried in her shoulder. Somewhere inside, afraid that she’d up and disappear– and this would all be a dream. Because it was hard to believe that something this nice could happen to him. He’d been right before, when this had all started–                 He needed someone to tell him they loved him. For how long? Probably from the beginning.             “… T-thank you… I-I…” He hated the way his voice broke, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. “Just… T-thank you.” 

     there was a moment where marinette thought that maybe she had completely overestimated how things were going and that she shouldn’t have literally thrown herself at him. maybe the nagging feeling in her chest was right and that she shouldn’t have sprung anything at him so soon into their newest revelations but what he had said so easily about himself picked at her heart. the boy she loved honestly thought those things about himself- about her- and she’d be damned if anything was true. there was no way adrien was going to continue thinking them if she had anything to do about it.

     in an instant, her comforting senses kicked in with the sound of his voice muffled with her shoulder. she was never a great comforter but there had been far too many times of practice recently that her skills were getting better. just with him, though, she knew how much touch was already helping just by the strength of his hold around her.

    one set of fingers came to lace in through his hair, entangling strands, while the other set ran along his back gently with a phantom touch. “shhh, you know you don’t ever need to thank me. for anything. the only thanks i need is to know you’ll be next to my side.” cheesy, yes, but the truth. fifteen minutes had already changed so much in her as if her heart had opened up a previous locked part of it to hold all the adoration she held for the boy in entirety. no longer did she need to feel like she was cheating a part of herself when throwing small flirtatious remarks at chat noir when she had been giggling at one of adrien’s jokes that morning. 

     “hey, adrien,” marinette started, her head resting against his as she spoke to get his attention instead of pulling away. “i-i know this probably isn’t the time but putting two and two together... if you ever need a place to get away from your father then you can always come here. i mean, you already do, but you can come anytime you want, you don’t have to ask or stay outside. it makes sense now, i guess. even if it’s just for five minutes or a night. besides, school is closer to me than you.”

     “wo-woah! if you have a concussion chat then you should probably get it checked out sooner than later. you take the night off, i can manage. trust me.”