Author's Note: Now that's what I call a New Year's surprise! I haven't updated this story in 18 months! And today I woke up and thought... why not?
Sorry for any mistakes and typos, this hasn't been beta read.
One more detail - in the prequel of this story Adrien saved the day as his civilian self while wearing a Ladybug costume, and there's a paragraph that refers to that.
Now without further ado... enjoy!
Chapter 3. A Piece of That
On Friday Adrien decided to walk Marinette to school. If anyone asked him, it was purely a friends thing. Adrien was simply worried about Marinette's constant late arrivals, which admittedly got even worse in the last week. He couldn't blame her – not only that Laddiebug and Chat Noire had to learn new powers, develop new battle dynamics, but also Hawk Moth released an akuma every freaking night, apparently bent on wearing them out.
Well, so far he was succeeding. Marinette was dead on her feet when they shuffled to school and Adrien was holding himself together only by sheer power of his father's secret coffee, that spread a pleasant warmth over his veins. He was officially forbidden not only to taste but even to smell that brew. If it wasn't for Tikki who snitched him a cup, he probably would just sleep while standing. The dear kwami had also managed to nip some beans that would be useful later in the day. Just one sniff could make a tired teen last an hour. The boy had yet to witness Plagg being as helpful as his replacement red friend.
It was very nice to be at the bakery this early in the morning. Marinette's father slipped a bag with two croissants into Adrien's hand, patting him affectionately over the shoulder, and Marinette's mother followed with a hug and a few chocolate chip cookies. The boy could feel Tikki wriggling inside his messenger bag, undoubtedly eager to dip her teeth in the treat. His house wasn't exactly stocked up on cookies and those available at the mansion didn't even come close to Dupain-Chengs' pastries.
After getting properly provisioned the boy was ushered into the living room, while Sabine went to fetch the least morning person in the household (well, she didn't know about Plagg). Soon Marinette emerged from the attic and Adrien could only stare with a mixture of awe and shock.
The awe part was making his stomach do little somersaults at the sight of Snow White descending upon him from heaven, with a small smile and fresh coat of pink on her cheeks. She didn't have her trademark pigtails, but let her hair loose. It nicely framed her pale face spilling to her shoulders and Adrien immediately balled his hands into fists fighting the urge to touch that glossy veil that seemed so nicely smooth.
The shock part came full force on him, when Marinette sent him a bashful look from under her dark lashes and tilted her head up giving him full view of the black eye decorating the left side of her face, clear as day despite the generously applied concealer. It was placed just where the mask would cover it, so no wonder Laddiebug hadn't noticed anything last night. When had this happened?
Marinette was just enjoying her half-asleep state, while sitting on a bench with her head on Adrien's shoulder when Alya's cheerful voice made her wake up with a painful jerk. It was definitely too early to be that cheerful.
'Good morning!' the redhead chirped as her and Nino joined the duo on the bench.
'Morning? Yes. Good? Debatable.' Marinette muttered and she could swear she heard Plagg rolling his eyes between her books (he decided her little purse was too small and too pink to be comfortable, the lazy cat, and moved into the backpack, complaining about its color of course).
'Hey. What's with the black eye?' her friend asked casting an anxious look at the brunette's face.
'Oh,' Marinette blinked the sleep away from her eyes trying desperately to remember the excuse she had thought of earlier. 'I was, I was… ' she casted a panicky stare at Adrien but he was just as startled as her. '- I was ripping seams. Yes. I was ripping seams from a skirt I've been working on last night and I accidentally hit myself.'
Was that plausible? She was saving that excuse for a really nasty bruise just like the one she was sporting right now. It could have been one of those rubber bullets from the last-night akuma. Why-oh-why couldn't it be a bullet? Marinette would gladly take a rubber bullet in the head right now to spare her the humiliation as she heard a tiny voice snickering in her backpack.
'Yeah. And it totally wasn't Chat's staff accidentally elongating itself after someone pressed the wrong button.'
The girl vigorously kicked the side of the backpack and was satisfied with a muffled yelp followed by indignant silence.
At the same time Adrien noticed doubtful look Alya sent his way and it made him feel obliged to back Marinette up. 'Yeah. I was there. That was a pretty nasty blow,' he rubbed the back of his head and hissed when his fingers hit the yoyo inflicted bruise from yesterday. Marinette flashed him a compassionate smile.
'Who would have thought sewing is such a dangerous hobby,' the redhead replied glaring skeptically at the two of them.
Marinette and Adrien unconsciously drew closer together as if it could shield them from Alya's scrutiny. When she cocked her brow at the movement, they noticed what they'd done and sprang away mumbling apologies for invading each other's personal space. This brought the levels of flushed awkwardness to nearly lethal so Alya took pity on them.
'Nevermind,' she said putting on her best blogger smile. 'Guys, have I got a scoop for you!'
Soon the three of them drowned in Alya's revelations about last night's battle. Adrien and Marinette didn't even have to fake interest as they both were curious how the blogger would react to her discovery.
'Babe, this is great!' Nino, ever the supportive boyfriend, enthused, not noticing frowns from the other two listeners. 'Why haven't you put any of it on the Ladyblog yet? I'm sure this would blow up the internet!'
'It totally would,' Alya agreed. 'But sadly I don't have anything to prove it. At first I couldn't get close enough and then I lost my phone just before Chat saved me.'
'So… what do you think about this strange turn of events?' Adrien asked carefully.
'Well…' the redhead scratched her chin. 'Now I know why they were acting differently all this week. They literally weren't themselves,' she quipped with a wink and Marinette cringed at the sight.
'How do they look?' Nino encouraged her to keep talking.
'It's like they just exchanged suits, so pretty much the same, although…' she trailed off, a coat of pink coloring her cheeks, 'I must say that Chat Noire absolutely rocks the dom look,' she whispered as Marinette choked on her own saliva, while Adrien felt the heat crawling from his neck up at his own memories of the past week. He managed a weak chuckle, but it soon turned into a gabble when the blogger added almost dreamily. 'And you should definitely see that Laddiebutt.'
'Excuse me?!' They were startled by a shriek. No one noticed when Chloe and Sabrina got so close to them, obviously eavesdropping. 'What did you just say?!'
Alya squared her shoulders and set her jaw. 'That Laddiebug has a great Laddiebutt,' she replied acidly. 'Why do you ask?'
'Laddiebutt? I mean Laddiebug?!' Chloe spluttered. 'Why are you insulting Ladybug?! You- you- sc-' she stopped herself just in time to avoid the swear word spilling from her mouth. 'How can you of all people say things like that!'
'Because it's the truth,' Alya shrugged. 'You'll see soon enough. Ladybug-is-a-guy-now!' she sing-sung mocking the blond girl, while all three of her friends cringed.
Chloe's fit of hysterics required her to return home earlier and was the most entertaining event of the whole week. Soon the lessons were over and Adrien was about to lead three of his friends into his limo to start on the first official hang-out at the mansion. The prospect of pizza, gaming and binging titles from Adrien's huge library of series and films had effectively wiped out the memories of Chloe's indignant shrieks that had rang in their ears all morning.
Yet there was something else that was still stuck in Alya's recollections of the morning scene. Her journalist instincts flashed in alarm as she watched her best friend and her blond crush. They were hiding something for sure, and Alya was crawling out of her skin from the moment she realized what that might have been.
The Ladyblogger cast one last look at Marinette and Adrien chatting in the locker room. The boy leaned into the girl's personal space too much for it to look casual, and not for the first time. He'd been doing a lot of that lately. He always had trouble with broadcasting misleading non-verbal signals, but all those hugs, touches and looks he'd been showering Marinette with were quite surprisingly rubbing Alya the wrong way. Maybe it was because of how her bestie was acting too? She wasn't her normal bubbly self anymore, as if someone put her under something very heavy, that deflated her. Up until recently Mari never had been sarcastic, snappish, grumpy, tired, aching and bruised. Bruised. Alya pondered about those symptoms and Adrien's sudden affection towards Marinette. It would appear that his behavior was supposed to cheer the girl up, but what if his attention wasn't the answer, but the cause?
She caught Nino's elbow as the four of them exited school. Adrien stopped next to his friend, but Alya just cast him a charming smile.
'Go ahead and get to the car,' she nodded in the direction of Gorilla, who was already opening the door for them. 'I need a word with Nino in private and we'll be joining you in seconds, okay?'
Adrien shrugged and offered Marinette his arm. Nino eyed his girlfriend suspiciously.
She decided to cut straight to the point. 'Did you notice how Marinette looked at Adrien when she was telling us about the black eye?' she asked.
Nino scratched his chin. 'Yeah. So what?'
Alya took a deep breath and got the sentence out before she would change her mind. 'Do you think he hit her?'
Nino went from zero into full yowl in one second. 'I think you need to have your head examined, babe,' he chortled. 'This is Marinette we're talking about. If anyone could give themselves a black eye it would be Marinette.'
Alya was torn between shame and relief, as she eyed the pair boarding Adrien's car. 'Yeah, you're probably right,' she sighed.
Marinette didn't really look uncomfortable with Adrien, even if she sometimes seemed angry with him for some obscure reason, she actually made much progress. If someone had told Alya two weeks ago, that she'd soon see Marinette giving Adrien a murderous glare, or snap at him, she would dismiss it as impossible.
And yet here she was watching her best friend giving Adrien a peck on the check, to which he replied with a tender brush of his thumb over her hand. He brought it up to plant a delicate kiss on her knuckles, his lips lingering a little bit longer than what would be considered a proper hand kiss. His hand went to her waist as he helped her to her seat and for a moment Marinette's eyes fluttered shut with the most content smile Alya had ever seen on her friend's face.
'I am,' Nino put a hand around her shoulders as he led her to the car. 'But don't feel bad. She's your best friend. Of course you keep an eye on her. That's sweet, babe,' he kissed her hair. 'And smart, considering what Bustier told us about home violence.'
Alya turned to her boyfriend. 'Thanks,' she planted a kiss on his cheek. 'You're sweet too, you know?'
Only when the four of them were seated in front of a selection of steaming pizzas Adrien realized, it would have been a much better idea to actually order it somewhere else that at his kitchen. Instead of pepperoni, margherita or other honest and regular taste their plates were full of exotic combinations of ingredients. Alya eyed them suspiciously.
'Is that pineapple?' she asked with distaste.
'Is that camembert?' Nino prodded a piece.
Adrien forgot that he had requested for his pizza selection to always include some camembert. But he never had been the one to actually eat it.
To their surprise Marinette's hand shot out and took over the plate. The girl bit into the cheesy pizza with gusto.
'Wha-?' she asked around her mouthful. 'U –an –hom?' she pointed to the table. '-elp –urslvs.'
'Nah, thanks,' Nino waved at her. 'Anchois looks more edible.'
Marinette was absentmindedly munching on her pizza and discreetly slipping chunks of it into her backpack, while Alya gushed over the heroes for what had to be like a hundredth time that day wondering why they had swapped their costumes and powers and why were they hiding it. She was in a very peculiar mood, one that Adrien would like to avoid at all costs. Alas there was nothing he could do but to brace himself for the endless teasing as Alya seemed to feed of their embarrassment.
'I wouldn't mind spotting Laddiebug alone if you catch my drift,' she nudged Marinette under the ribs.
Her friend shot her a startled look while Nino choked on his pizza. Adrien rushed to pat his back.
'Relax, babe,' Alya guffawed. 'This is my celebrity freebie, remember?' She winked at him. 'Maybe I just have a thing for spots?' she mused out loud completely unabashed. 'But I wouldn't mind playing with his yoyo.'
She was rewarded with an outburst of Marinette's cough. Nino shot her a sympathetic look.
Alya totally unperturbed, pouted at them. 'But sadly, I don't stand a chance,' she sighed theatrically.
'Why?' Nino squeaked.
'There is no doubt,' Alya announced in a serious tone, although her eyes twinkled with mischief, 'that Laddiebug is still into Chat.'
Adrien felt the heat rising to his cheeks, as the redhead continued. 'You should have seen how he ogled her yesterday.'
This time it was the blond's turn to choke. Alya was onto him in an instant.
'Is something the matter, Agreste?' she chirped sweetly. 'Not so much of a Ladybug fan anymore? More of a baton guy now, I guess?'
Adrien and Marinette snorted in unison, sprinkling their plates with crumbs.
'Alya!' Nino narrowed his eyes. 'I think that's enough, babe.'
'Okay, okay,' Alya chuckled. 'I'm done with the innuendos, I promise.' She wiped an amused tear from her eye. 'As much fun it is to see you all so flustered, I really don't want you to die so young.'
At that moment the door to Adrien's room opened and one of the cooks appeared with another plate.
'Chef had this prepared especially for you, young sir,' the man bowed putting the pizza in front of Adrien. 'He was very impressed with your heroic act during the LadyNoir akuma. We all saw the picture,' he gestured to the desk, where Adrien had put a gift from Alya. A framed photo of two Ladybugs, that she took right after the battle at Chloe's party.
Everyone's eyes turned to the plate. The pizza was very red, generously covered in tomato sauce, with black clusters of olives sprinkled on top. The pattern was embarrassingly familiar.
Adrien's face went as red as the pizza. Marinette and Nino stifled a laugh, while Alya totally forgetting what she had just promised clasped her hands together and cried in glee.
'Oooh, I definitely want a piece of that!'
AN: As always, please leave a few words in the review box. I am always happy when you do that.
I have no idea when next update might come. January already looks extremely busy for me, and other WIPs and matters demand my attention. But know, that I am definitely not abandoning this story.
If you want to make sure not to miss any fics from me, follow my profile or follow my tumblr blog: perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr . com . Useful tags: "perdita writes" for my fics and "perdita draws" for my art. My askbox is open too!
Confession time. It is totally possible to give oneself an accidental black eye. I did that to myself a few times with carefree usage of book case doors. Didn't notice they were opened at my head's height and smacked myself so hard I saw tiny flying cats. But if you see black eyes and bruises on someone especially a child more often than reasonable, take interest. It may be an indication of home violence. But in case of children in can also be a case of undetected or misdiagnosed problems. For example with sight or with muscle tension. My kid suffers from the latter problem and despite her best efforts she's constantly tripping over her own feet and loses balance easily. Three to five visible bruises is a norm for us. And we're dealing with her problems.
That's why I'm utterly grateful for Marinette's trademark clumsiness - she's my kid's hero. Despite being clumsy she still becomes Ladybug.
All credit for ripping seams excuse goes to bullysquades and her awesome fic "The Ladybugs and the Bees"