#mlcreators

ML fandom week → Day 4: Character-centric

“Thank goodness for best friends. For true friends, the ones who love you no matter what.” ― Laura McNeill (Stay Tuned)

Hey! I was the back up secret santa gifter for @simply--miraculous for the mlcreators’ secret santa! I hope you like it! 

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Ship: Adrienette

Word Count: 1560

Rating: G

Summary:   Moving is always better with good friends with good taste. 

AO3

“Adrien, you know I love you, but I can't let you do this to yourself.”

“Yeah, dude. This is kind of sad.”

“I hate to say it, but I agree. Very sad indeed.”

“Et tu, princess?” Adrien pouted, hands falling dejectedly from the god-awful curtains he had been eyeing. Marinette shrugged, unapologetic for the greyish-greenish-yellowish color of the fabric he had picked.

Alya sighed, hip cocked out and a look that said she was ready to fight if he didn't step away from the paisley. “Listen, I don't know how you could be in fashion for so long and not be able to pick out some decent curtains for your first apartment, but that's why we're here.”

“And why we’re being honest, bro. Good bros don't let bros get the wrong pop of color.” Nino gave him a cheeky grin, pulling Adrien towards the bold solids.

Adrien let himself be dragged, giving one last longing look toward the pretty swirls of the paisley. “I'm just not that good at interior design. Fashion is easy, there's only one me to decorate- not an entire room! Ugh. This is the worst.”

“You could always go with a minimalist style,” Marinette mused, flicking some sheer white curtains his way.

It didn't seem like a half bad idea, but Alya balked. “Our little ball of sunshine with a minimalist apartment? Psssh. It needs to shine has brightly as he does.”

“Aw, Alya, that's so-”

“Plus, you know we're going to be hanging out there all the time so I want some big comfy chairs and it clashes with the minimalist look.”

“Nevermind, moment ruined.”

“What? She's not wrong, dude. Minimalism doesn't exactly scream maximum comfort.”

“Fine, fine. No minimalism, be picky.” Marinette knocked shoulders with Nino with a small huff and playful smile.

“Then what should I be looking for?” Adrien asked, tossing a throw pillow at Alya from a nearby display of coordinating pillows and blankets. She caught it easily, tossing it back with a roll of her eyes.

“Well, what do you want? Besides those seriously ugly curtains.”  Alya joined Marinette on a lounge display, both girls watching as Adrien sighed dramatically clutching the throw pillow to his chest.

“I don't knooooow. I guess I just… Want it to look like a place people would want to be. I wanna walk through the door and feel warm. I want it to be a home for all the people I love.”

“Dude.” Nino sniffed, crushing Adrien into a hug as the girls turned it into a group hug and mumbled things about being too pure.

“But seriously, big comfy chairs, Adrien. Think of the possibilities.”

Adrien hefted a bag of groceries up higher in his arms as Marinette stole the keys from his pocket. “I didn't know Alya had such a passion for interior design,” he chuckled, following Marinette's laugh through the front door and to the kitchen of his new apartment.

“I'm not sure if it's design, or the fact you're the first of us to get your own place. Either way though, I think she has a pretty good future in it if she wanted.”

“Pssssssh. I don't think so. I for one thought the curtains you picked out were awesome, Adrien. The color reminded me of camembert.” Plagg interjected, flying out from Adrien’s collar. Tikki pushed herself out of Marinette’s purse, glaring over at her counterpart.

“Cheese isn't a good model for good taste, Plagg. I think Alya could definitely make a career with her eye for complementary furniture.”

“True. She could convert her journalism blog to a design blog pretty easy, probably. Who needs life long dreams? Overrated, I say.” Plagg teased, twirling around Tikki as she batted him away.

“Maybe it would take her attention off the Ladyblog too,” Marinette mused, helping Adrien sort through the groceries as their kwamis played tag throughout the bare apartment.

Adrien hummed, nabbing the bottle of wine from the bag and rummaging for two glasses out of the sparse cabinets. “I'm pretty sure Alya will follow us to the ends of the earth, my lady.” He triumphantly turned to her with two mismatched glasses and filled them up. “Or at least until the end of her phone battery life,” he teased with a grin.

Marinette rolled her eyes but didn't deny it, taking her glass and inspecting it. “You got more,” she accused without much heat, switching their glasses before taking a sip and taking in the space. It wasn't much, not yet at least, but it was coming along.

Adrien leaned against the counter next to her, clinking glasses. “Well, at least it's over. The big stuff is now ordered and should be delivered in a week, Nathalie is sending over some odds and ends she said she found while going through storage, and Father is well. Supporting my decision in his own way.”

“Still only sending you emails with links to articles about why it's better to stay at home as long as possible?”

“... It’s progressed to statistics on success rates based off people who live at home longer, but at least now I know he misses me. Too bad he didn't while I was actually there, but it's a start. I guess.”

“He'll start actually speaking to you on a regular basis within a year at this rate,” Marinette predicted dryly. “I guess all parents handle change differently. I don't know how my parents will take it whenever I eventually move out.”

“I'll miss your dad’s freshly baked cookies,” Tikki sighed, zipping away from Plagg and landing on Marinette’s shoulder for a nuzzle.

“You and me both, Tikki.” Adrien mimicked her sigh.

“Well, I'm sure it won't be for a while, so both of you can stop looking so heartbroken.” Marinette lightly shoved Adrien’s armed with a laugh, finishing off her glass before she crossed over to the living area.

Adrien’s eyes followed her, watching as she twirled slowly, seeming to enjoy the bare wood floors while in her socks. He idly thought he should get a rug, but then he'd miss out on views like the one before him. “You don't think you'll move out any time soon?”

“Oh, chaton, I don't know. I didn't think I would want to, but…”

“But…?” When she didn't seem to want to answer, he stepped over to her and caught her hand, twirling her himself. “Something change your mind?”

She didn't miss a beat, letting herself be spun out gently before being pulled back into a closed position. “Well yeah. I know actually managing to get your apartment was a hassle, but now look at you. This is nice, this whole actually having your own space thing. But also…isn’t it a little lonely?” Her nose wrinkled like that wasn't the word she was looking for, but continued anyway. “I mean, I know your father’s house wasn't the most welcoming, but at night at least you knew there were other people in the house as well.”

Adrien hummed to some music only he could hear, moving them through a few steps before answering. “I get what you mean. I guess the thought doesn't really bother me. Yeah, some nights might be a little quiet but I'll have Plagg.” There was some sort of vague shout of agreement that came from the fridge, where Plagg was already pigging out on all the cheese they had bought at the store.

“And I like to think I'll have you around too.” Adrien whispered, shyly meeting his partner’s eyes at the suggestion.

Marinette melted, falling in a little closer. “Oh, mon chaton, of course I'll be around.”

Adrien sighed, nuzzling the top of her head. He was so glad to have his own place, so he could be free to do things like this. He savored having her close for a few minutes more before pulling away, going to get something out of a kitchen drawer while her curious eyes followed him.

“I was actually hoping you wouldn't mind taking this.” He said carefully, not sure how to word the proposal. He walked back over to her, taking her fingers and wrapping them around the small key.

She was silent, lips a little parted as she examined it carefully. “Oh, Adrien, I-”

“It's not a big deal, I just figured since you know, my apartment is centrally located in the city it's a good place to detransform and I thought it would only be right for you to have it. And in case you ever need anything, you know this is your home too. If you want it to be that is! I mean, I'm not asking you to move in, I know we're not ready for that yet, but I thought it was only right that you have it.”

Marinette's heart thumped at how he said yet, the curves of the key pressing into her palm as she gripped it tight. “I do.”

“You do?”

“Want this to be my home too. I do want that.” She breathed out, watching as his eyes warmed and his smile grew.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Yes.” She laughed, feeling light all over, hugging Adrien close as he picked her up around her waist to spin them in a circle.

I’m so excited to finally post my piece for  @a-little-light-zine, a Miraculous Ladybug digital charity zine benefiting the victims of Hurricane Matthew. Orders are still open until Feb 1!

Also on ao3

Marinette wakes to the crisp smell of gingerbread cookies, and a smile spreads across her face. Without having to check her phone (which is still grasped in her hand from the night before), she already knows the date. It’s the 17th of December. It’s also a Saturday, the first day of the Christmas Vacation, and a week before Christmas Eve. But most importantly, it was the Dupain-Cheng’s annual Christmas Decorating Day.

She flings the sheets off her body (disrupting a slumbering Tikki) and rushes down the stairs, wild-haired and barefoot.

“Maman, Papa,” she sing-songs, “Good morn—“ She stops dead as she notices her parents sitting on the couch, with definite not-smiles on their faces.

“Is something wrong?” Her forehead creases with concern.

Tom Dupain sighs and looks at his daughter, apology in his eyes. “Désolé, Marinette. We can’t decorate today.”

“Why?” she whines, bottom lip sticking out in a pout. Her good mood immediately dissolves.

Sabine Cheng twists in her seat and lays a comforting hand on Marinette’s arm. “We couldn’t find the lights in the cupboard, ma chérie. They must’ve gotten moved around when we renovated downstairs this summer.” Her reassurance does little to soothe Marinette’s disappointment. “We can check tonight after lock up, okay?”

“I guess…” Marinette smiles weakly at her parents, even as her heart falls.

“Okay then. Now why don’t you call Alya and see if she’s free today?”

Marinette glumly nods once and trudges back upstairs as her parents descend back down to the bakery to start their day.

one gifset per episode :: miraculous ladybug

one gifset per episode :: miraculous ladybug