#remote messages

The teenager releases a satisfied breath as he concludes his message. Now all he has to do is wait for a response.

"You two are unbelievable."

Adrien freezes, remote in hand, as Plagg flies into his field of vision. Shaking his head, he whips his hand behind his back, hiding the device from view. "What's so unbelievable?" he asks, the picture of innocence. 

"This!" the kwami exclaims, gesturing at the toy ladybug on Adrien's desk. “All the messages. I thought you would have gotten tired of this after a few weeks, but you’ve been at this for months now. Months. It's a little excessive, don't you think?"

"It's not a big deal," he protests.

"You might have had an argument when it was just 'one buzz for this, two buzzes for that,'" Plagg retorts. "But now it's nonstop. You two have learned Morse code, for camembert's sake!"

Adrien feels the heat rise in his cheeks, but he wills the blush away. It’s true that the kwami-sized toys have become an unlikely communication device, not unlike the way kids in American movies might shine flashlights into each other’s windows from opposite sides of a white picket fence. While initially meant for emergencies, it's now become a fun way for him and his partner to talk when they're not suited up. 

In truth, though Adrien would never be the first to admit it, he and Ladybug have been communicating in this fashion far more than is probably necessary. There's also the matter of finding a way to keep the mini-bug hidden on his person whenever he's out. He has a hard enough time keeping Plagg a secret, never mind a makeshift superhero paging device. 

But in a life like his, where secrets seem to pile up one on top of the other, it’s nice to have this. A secret that lifts him up rather than weighing him down.

Excessive or not, he's not about to give it up now.

Adrien is about to argue further when the little ladybug buzzes to life, interrupting their standoff. Quickly, he grabs a pencil to transcribe the message:

"Pineapple...on...pizza...is...a...crime...against...food..."

Plagg smirks. “There, you have the answer to your incredibly important question for Ladybug. Now can you knock it off? Or are you two going to be sending messages all night to your mechanical kwamis?”

The tiny god’s complaint elicits a laugh. “Oh, I see,” Adrien teases. “You’re jealous. Of a toy.”

“I am not,” Plagg huffs in reply. “But I don’t find my camembert nearly as enjoyable with the constant buzzing to distract me. So keep the flirting to a minimum, will you?”

“We’re not flirting. Ladybug and I are just friends.” Though the protestation may have rung hollow in the past, Adrien actually means it. While he’s truly loving the more open and carefree dynamic he and his partner have developed, over the past few months he’s found himself increasingly drawn to a different friend...one who, he’s finally realizing, he may actually be harboring more than friendly feelings towards.

Adrien wonders what Marinette thinks about pineapple on pizza.

***

It’s Adrien Agreste who makes Marinette realize that this remote messaging system she and Chat have developed might actually be getting a little out of hand. 

It was supposed to just be for emergencies, Marinette knows that. She had been the one to offer Chat Noir the remote for her toy cat in the first place. But then it became a way to say hi, or to send brief little messages. And then those brief messages turned into long messages, silly telegrams sent to one another from across the city just because. And now, she realizes, it’s turning into something even more than that.

And it’s not that it’s because Chat won’t stop. It’s because she can’t. Not when every little joke, every film, every random pun or anime reference makes her want to pick up her remote and say hi. 

Even now, sitting in the library with three of her best friends in the world, she can’t help but want to message Chat Noir to say hi...simply because Adrien has suggested they all get pizza for dinner.

Yup, this is definitely becoming a problem.

“What do you think, Marinette?”

The girl freezes, caught in her reverie. She turns to see Adrien, his green eyes shining as he awaits her answer. A soft smile graces his face - the kind that would normally stop her in her tracks, if she weren’t distracted by thoughts of another blond haired boy.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I uh, spaced out there for a moment. What was the question?”

Nino cuts in. “We’re still talking about where to go for food after study group,” he says. “Alya and I are saying we should check out that kebab shop that just opened around the corner, but my boy Adrien here is still pretty insistent on pizza.”

“Normally I wouldn’t care, but I’m just...craving pizza, okay?” Adrien argues back. “Besides, you know the lineup for that place is going to be around the block. We can go there after the excitement dies down.”

“But you’re Adrien Agreste, man!” Nino teases back. “You’d be able to jump to the front for sure!”

Marinette just laughs at the exchange, knowing that Nino has never - and would never - push Adrien to use his celebrity status to get special favors of any kind. “You make a compelling case, Nino,” she says, “but I’m actually with Adrien on this one.”

“Yes!” Adrien crows, garnering a host of angry looks and chorus of shushing from their fellow students. He ducks his head down, cheeks reddening as he drops his voice back to a whisper. “Oops. Sorry.”

Nino lowers his voice, but his response is no less impassioned. “Aw, come on, Mari! We’ve been friends way longer. Have you no loyalty?”

Marinette grins, her thoughts straying once more to her partner. “Sorry. The thing is, I’ve been craving pizza lately, too.”

Alya rises to pack up her things, her eyes sparkling as she speaks. “Well, in that case,” she says, “Nino and I will line up for kebabs, and you and Adrien can go get pizza. Just the two of you,” she adds pointedly.  

Marinette rolls her eyes at her friend’s blatant meddling. “Fine. We’ll be good on our own, right, Adrien?”

She turns to him for confirmation, surprised to find a light blush dusting his cheeks. Her brow furrows. I hope I wasn’t being too pushy in speaking for the both of us, she thinks.

“Um, er- yeah. Yeah, that would be great,” Adrien says at last. 

Alya smiles smugly, pulling the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder. “Right then. We’re going to head out, then. See you friends later.”

Marinette keeps her eyes trained on Alya and Nino as they depart the library, the familiar flutter of butterflies dancing in her stomach as she becomes more aware of the fact that she and Adrien are now alone. 

Her default response is, apparently, to ramble. “So...what kind of pizza do you want to get? Not that we have to share, we could always get individual slices - but personally I find it’s best if you order a full pie, even if it’s just a small one, because you know they’re fresh out of the oven, as opposed to the slices, which could be sitting out for who knows how long, and-”

“Shhhhhh!”

The two duck their heads together sheepishly, trying hard not to dissolve into giggles at the annoyance of their fellow students.

“I’m happy with whatever you want,” Adrien murmurs, giving her another one of those soft smiles that would have made old Marinette melt.

The butterflies in her stomach make their presence known once again, but new Marinette keeps herself in check. She just smiles back. “Same. As long as you don’t order Hawaiian.” 

Adrien chuckles, shaking his head. “Not you, too!”

“Huh?”

“What? Oh, nothing. It’s nothing.” 

Marinette quirks a brow, confused both by the remark and Adrien’s sudden evasiveness. “Okay, well....I’m gonna grab one more book for our project, and then we can probably head out. I’m starving.”

Adrien nods distractedly. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

She tilts her head for a moment, concerned. Is he okay? Maybe he’s just hungry. 

Shrugging, Marinette shuffles off toward the bookshelves, her back to Adrien. She silently congratulates herself on (mostly) keeping her cool around her friend, bolstered by the prospect that she’s actually, finally, getting over him.

But as she walks, she can’t help but think of another green eyed boy. Unable to resist, she slips her hand into her pocket and reaches for a tiny black remote, pressing the button twice. 

***

Warmth spreads across Adrien’s chest as he stares at Marinette’s retreating form. They’re going out for pizza together, realizes. Just the two of them. Almost like a date. Almost.

Buzz buzz! Buzz buzz!

Conscious of the annoyed glares darting once again in his direction, Adrien clamps hand over the messenger bag to dampen the noise. Still, he struggles to stifle the amused smile spreading across his face. It’s like Ladybug had known what they were talking about. He chuckles quietly, shaking head at the idea that two of his favorite ladies in the world share the same ridiculous dislike for pineapple.

His thoughts drift back to Marinette and he turns to watch as she reaches for a book. He smiles softly at the sight of her, balanced on tiptoe as she extends her fingers toward a volume just out of reach. He considers going over to offer a hand, but thinks better of it. Marinette is so amazing, she can do anything. She doesn’t need his help.

She’s also just far enough away that Adrien can send a quick message back without getting caught.

Looking around furtively, he reaches into his pocket and takes out the small black and red remote. No time to send a full message, so the old code will suffice.

He taps the remote twice, and -

Mew mew! Mew mew!

“Shhhhhh!”

Adrien freezes at the sound - not at the shushing, of course, but at the reason for everyone’s annoyance. Unless remote controlled cat toys are more popular than he’d thought, it can only mean one thing: Ladybug is here. 

He whips his head up in search of his partner, expecting to see a red-suited superhero nearby. But then, he realizes that there’s no reason for her to be suited up, given that there’s no akuma alert to speak of. 

As he looks around, he realizes something else as well: everyone seems to be glaring at Marinette. 

Wait. Marinette??

Adrien’s fist clenches around the remote, prompting the remote control cat to mew again.

This time, however, he's paying attention. And, judging by the panicked look on Marinette's face, it's absolutely clear she knows exactly where the mewing is coming from.

But if the mewing sound is coming from Marinette, that can only mean that-

Oh. 

Oh.

Oh my god.

The revelation shocks Adrien so much that he barely notices when the chair gives way from underneath him. The remote doesn’t fall out of his hand as he topples over - in fact, he actually clutches tighter, inadvertently pressing the button once more as he crashes to the ground.

Mew mew! Mew mew!

Another angry chorus of shushing follows, but it takes at least another ten seconds before Adrien has recovered himself enough to think about getting up off the floor. When he does, he rolls over - only to find the librarian glaring down at him.

“I’m going to have to ask you and your friend to leave.”

***

Marinette clutches the strap of her backpack as she rushes down the steps and toward the doors of Collège Françoise Dupont.

“Marinette. Marinette, wait! Are you okay?”

Marinette winces at the question. What can she say in response?

Yes, I’m fine! I was just surprised by a sudden mewing cat message my superhero partner/crush decided to send me, and you practically destroying your chair, and the applause that broke out in the library when we were ejected from the room. No big deal, right? But you’ll have to bear with me as I shouldn’t actually be telling you any of this given that you’re a civilian, and attempting to explain how I randomly started mewing in the library would not only be humiliating, especially considering that I’m finally starting to get over you, but also reveal my secret superhero identity as well as the strange messaging system Chat Noir and I have developed. But on the upside, no one was so angry at us that they got akumatized, so at least there’s that, right?

Maybe not.

Still, there’s no excuse for rushing out on her friend, so she slows to let him catch up. “I’m fine,” she says with a sigh. “I’m just a little...embarrassed.”

Adrien nods in understanding. “I’m so sorry. I mean, it’s my fault, really.”

Marinette shakes her head. “It really isn’t,” she insists. Despite her mortification, she can’t bring herself to be mad at him...or at Chat Noir, for that matter. My chaton just has an impeccable sense of timing, that’s all.

An awkward silence hangs over them as they exit the school and descend to street level. Marinette pauses at the bottom of the steps, still unsure of how to explain what happened. Instead, she points up at the gathering clouds. “Looks like it’s about to rain,” she observes quietly. 

When Adrien doesn’t respond, for a moment she wonders if he still thinks she’s actually upset with him - or worse, if he is upset with her for their little library escapade. She glances in his direction, hoping to get a sense of his feelings. Adrien’s expression, however, is frustratingly difficult to read. It’s not that he looks mad, but there is a tension in his brow that worries her. It’s almost as if he is weighing some insanely important decision that could change both of their lives forever.

Another beat passes before he finally replies. "Actually, I think I've got an umbrella in my locker. Hold on, let me go back and get it.”

Adrien runs off before she has a chance to respond. But, to Marinette's relief, he pauses at the top step, shooting her a little smile before turning and running back toward the building. 

As he moves, something seems to slip from his pocket and fall to the ground. On instinct, Marinette runs up the steps to retrieve it. “Wait!” she calls. “You dropped someth-”

She stops dead in her tracks when she realizes what she’s looking at.

A small black remote.

Marinette stoops down to pick it up, examining the item as a mental recording of the past ten minutes replays in her mind. How Adrien had confessed to be craving pizza, just like her. How he had laughed when she’d said no to Hawaiian. How he had looked like he’d seen a ghost when the mewing messages came in...as if he knew they had been meant for Ladybug.

But if he really knew the meaning behind the mewing sounds, it would mean that-

Oh. 

Oh.

Oh my god.

Marinette looks down at the remote in her hand, her thumb hovering over the button. All it would take is one press to confirm her suspicions.

Her suspicions...but also her hopes. 

Mew mew! Mew mew!

“Oops?”

Marinette looks up to see Adrien standing above her, umbrella in hand. Little rays of sunlight break through the clouds, illuminating his blond locks like a halo. “Chaton?” she squeaks.

He shrugs, shooting her a sheepish smile. “Told you it was my fault, My Lady.”

There’s a flash of vulnerability in his expression that transports Marinette back to that evening on the roof, when Chat Noir had first presented Ladybug with her remote communicator. She can see his fear, his anticipation of a rejection. But buried beneath, a glimmer of something else. 

Hope. Joy. Love. 

“It was you,” she mutters, almost to herself. “This whole time, it was you.”

Thunder rings out in the distance, and as if on cue, rain begins to fall. 

Adrien’s umbrella opens, sheltering them from the elements. Smiling softly, he takes her free hand in his and pulls her up to standing. “This whole time, it was us.”

Marinette chokes out a laugh, still in disbelief. “I’ve been so stupid,” she says. “If I had known that this whole time, my partner and the boy I loved were the same person, I-”

“W-wait,” Adrien interjects. “I...I was the boy you loved?”

Marinette can’t help but be amused by the incredulous expression on his face. Had he really never noticed? “I wouldn't say loved, exactly,” she admits. “For a while I thought I might have had a chance at getting over him, but I don’t think I can say that I ever really stopped…” 

A smile tugs at the corners of Adrien’s lips, and his eyes sparkle as he leans in a little closer. “Is that so?”

Almost unconsciously, Marinette moves to meet him halfway. “Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I have been thinking about someone else lately,” she murmurs. “I’ve known him for years, but we’ve been exchanging a lot of messages over the past few months...” 

Adrien closes the distance, tilting his head to whisper in her ear. “Sounds serious. But are you sure he’s good enough for you?”

“He’s the best,” she whispers back. “Actually, the two of you have quite a lot in common…”

Adrien pulls back, just enough to lock eyes with hers. His gaze travels down to her lips and back again, as if silently seeking permission. Summoning her courage, she lifts a hand to cup his cheek as she wordlessly nods in assent. Her eyes flutter shut, relishing the feel of his breath on her skin as he moves closer and closer, until-

“Finally!” 

The two jump apart, blushing furiously, as Plagg and Tikki fly out of their respective hiding places.

Plagg smirks in their direction. “It’s about time you two figured it out. But now that everyone knows everything, does this also mean we can finally retire the toy kwamis? If I may be perfectly honest, they creep me out.”

Tikki shoots a disapproving look in the tiny god’s direction. “Is that honestly what you’re thinking at a time like this?”

“Well, actually, I was thinking that I’m hungry, and that we should go get that pizza they were talking so loudly about in the library.”

“This is serious, Plagg! Our holders - one of whom is the Guardian - now know each other’s identities! We have to sit down and discuss the consequences!”

“Consequences, schmonsequences. We’ll never get anywhere if I’m too hungry to concentrate. Dinner first, then we give them the talk. Now let’s go get some pizza!”

Marinette shakes her head as the two watch their bickering kwamis fly into the rain. Tikki is right, of course; they definitely have some incredibly important issues to discuss. But in the meantime, there are other, equally significant conversations that need to be had. 

She gazes up at Adrien, her expression serious. “So.”

“So,” he breathes back, all awe and wonder. 

A smirk plays at her lips as she takes hold of his hand. “So, about this whole pineapple on pizza thing…”

Adrien’s laughter erupts from beneath the black canopy. He lifts her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “I hope this doesn’t ruin your good opinion of me, but I still think it’s delicious.”

It takes all Marinette’s strength to keep from going weak at the knees. “Incorrect,” she says with a sniff.

He chuckles at her stubbornness. “Tell you what,” he says as they begin their walk to the pizzeria. “I’ll give you a break tonight, but maybe we can negotiate something for next time? By then I will have assembled a full presentation as to why pineapple is the king of all pizza toppings.”

The thought of a next time delights Marinette to no end. She nods, her eyes sparkling. “Okay. Just send me a mew-sage when you’re ready to defend your position.”